Winter is an atypical time for the forbidden forest. The first month of snow falls still too timidly to tame the livid green empowered by the dense environmental essence. However, the cold comes regardless; the freezing winds make everything duller, and most beasts find a place to retreat and hibernate. Even so, the coldest season is far from being bountyless, as the new climate summons from either the northern lands or from whatever hibernates during warmer times all sorts of cold-aligned beings.
Even without snow-covered ground, the precipitation of the tiny ice crystals does its fair share to make movement difficult by creating a slippery path, while cold itself makes people sluggish. Rick was mentally prepared for the impact on travel speed since he was accompanied by the golden trio, but they amazed him by moving yet slower. Apparently, the winter climate was affecting them almost exponentially.
If he knew of it, he wouldn’t have agreed to rest for two days before guiding them on an expedition to the cave. From now on, every day would add difficulty to the journey, so they had to get there as soon as possible. Of course, if the place ended up being wealthy enough, a harsh and longer trip would be justified.
The extra time only made the hunter more anxious. Their plan was bold, which was in line with the bookstore style, but he wasn’t sure if they could accomplish it. Either way, to progress further he would need access to more and better resources. Mapping and ‘controlling’ the area that preceded the mountains had given him a good start, but it was only a start.
When dusk approached, the hunter made a conservative decision of stopping at one of his shelters. Although they could reach the cave if they braved three to four hours of the night, the risks wouldn’t outweigh the benefits of getting there one day ahead. If he had been alone, however, things would be completely different.
The shelter was small and didn’t have anything other than some safety to offer, but fortunately, they were all used to the harsh conditions. One of the pros of moving in a group is rotating the night watch, which allowed them to sleep much better knowing that someone was guarding their safety.
The night passed without any hurdle and soon the group was again on the move. With sunlight, they moved faster than they would have done the previous night, so the cave was within sight in a little over two hours. Though, if Rick was to describe it, he would use ‘less slow’ instead of ‘faster’.
Once in the cave, the group immediately started the first stage of the plan, opening a wide enough passage to the other side. With a pick hammer at hand, Cyrus rained down destruction over the rocks. Each furious strike would take off a good chunk out of the rock block.
Strong as he was, the warrior still had to take a dozen or so breaks before finally breaking open a way to the other side. Suddenly, the team was assaulted by the colorful brightness of the glowing stones and crystals embedded through the cave section ahead. Cyrus even stopped his excavating, confused about how to proceed.
Rick had been oblivious to the value and use of the glowing objects, but the trio had enough adventuring experience to see through it. Although such materials would rarely end up in the hands of low tiers and the destitute, they knew well what shinings could bring; countless opportunities. Every time similar things appeared, the merchants and traders of Riverend would fight to get a part. And now, they faced a cave full of it.
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The hunter’s ignorance was soon corrected by the trio, but he didn’t get equally excited. At first, he thought that the shocked expressions meant the stones and crystals could be sold at ridiculous high values. However, the adventurers quickly rectified his understanding. Like every essence material, those minerals would have a tier, which by default would limit their prices. Who would pay gold for something of copper tier? The real value of those shinings lay in their rarity. They couldn’t buy gold but they could buy favors.
Someone who hadn’t experienced the broader world, where many would often trade in influence and contacts, couldn’t understand it. Even so, Rick wasn’t disheartened; if they could sell the rocks and crystals, it meant more coins in his pocket. In his opinion, the true prize was at the end of that tunnel.
After recovering from their finding, the excavation proceeded with Cyrus widening the passage and the others cleaning away the chunks. No more than one hour later, they deemed the hole wide enough to pass, so the warrior stopped. Keeping it narrow also had its benefits in case their attempts failed.
The group then entered the shining section, and confirmed their guesses about the materials; only Rick’s insistence kept them from excavating the materials right there. And so, they went down the right tunnel, the hunter scared of what would come and the trio regretful for not early profiting. The glowings became rarer as they walked down the path, but they still offered ample lighting.
At this point, Rick was no longer bothered by their slow speed, now he welcomed it. Still, it didn’t take long for the team to arrive at the end of the tunnel. The hunter only peeked below to confirm their position, and then gladly crouched back and gave way to the next person to explore it. One by one, the trio crouched through the narrow section and spied on the hundreds of ratlings below.
Nothing that Rick said could have prepared them for that frightening scene. Even with magic and a strong formation, they wouldn’t last five minutes against such numbers. The next ten minutes, which they used to review the plan, was the longest of their lives. In the end, they could only follow the script and pray for it to work.
Unwillingly, the hunter returned to the end of the path, and after hesitating for a few minutes, he shouted at the beings below. Without waiting for a response, Rick crouched back at his fastest speed. No matter what, he had to get back to the entrance before the ratlings caught up with him.
The ‘getting their attention’ part of the plan definitely worked since screams and stones started to hit Rick midway through the tunnel. Fortunately, he soon got to the trio, who waited for him defense-ready. He dashed past the adventurers and turned back to see, for the first time, how terrifying the pursues looked.
Then, he got to see countless enraged ratlings holding stones and sticks, at least for a brief moment.
“Ignite!”
Iris flicked her hands and conjured the cantrip in the lines of flammable grass that surrounded the attackers. The ratlings jumped away, back or to the side, and avoided the sudden fire without much damage. Still, the magic display was enough to silence them and make them retreat, if only a couple of steps. The following two seconds of stalemate staring were cut short by Cyrus' battle cry and sword air slash.
The ratlings reacted by taking a few more steps back. A few of them look as if they wanted to go forward and face the trio, but after the mage cast a fire above her hand in clear threat, they seemed to give up. Soon, the beings’ rage started to give place to curiosity; their eyes were clearly focused on the team’s gear and wearings.
Rick and the trio finally started to breathe again. The conflict was far from over, but they could at least verify the speculations of the bookstore owner. The so-called ratlings were fascinated by craftings.