Nold slid his way into the hole in the mountain, Zalan close behind. Zalan had never been spelunking before and he was glad he never tried. It was cold and moist. Zalan breathed slowly, needing to exhale to fit through some of the tighter pieces of the cave. He felt claustrophobic and immediately knew that if he ever got back to his world, he would have absolutely no interest in being a caver. Nold finally emerged in a large chamber, a pool of water in the center of the room. Zalan stumbled his way out, tripping and falling to the ground. He turned back to the small crack in the cave, wondering how Nold knew about it.

“Come along,” Nold said, taking a few steps in a direction in the darkness.

“Wait, Nold, what is all this?” Zalan said, looking amazed.

The chamber they emerged was piled in Artifacts and debris. They were strewn about the edges of the cold pool of water, some having been pushed further into the cave by a high tide. Zalan looked over them in amazement. There were Satiators, Wind Wands, a Storm Caller, and even a Heart of Purity. Several other Artifacts he either didn’t know or didn’t remember filled the rest of the space. He had found the mother lode that the pirates were searching for on the outside. Between the Artifacts he recognized and the others in the room, this might be the most powerful place he had stepped into. Rep would have loved this room considering the sheer number of Artifacts.

“This is probably where that current they were talking about leads!” Zalan said.

“Stop wasting time,” Nold said quickly. “Come along. This room is dangerous. Too many Artifacts we are unfamiliar with.”

“But what about the stuff we are familiar with?” Zalan asked. “Look at all those Satiators! What if we find someone who hasn’t eaten in a while? We could save people who are starving! Or search for weeks!”

“If you wish to spend time here when people may be dying further within, feel free,” Nold said derisively.

“But if this is where the flow of water comes out, wouldn’t the bodies float into here too?” Zalan asked.

Nold hesitated and looked it over thoughtfully. He pursed his lips in thought.

“No, there is a more important place further within where we must search.”

“Another spot where water comes in and brings in this many things?”

“Indeed,” Nold nodded.

“Should we split up, then? What if someone winds up in this room?”

“They will not.”

“Why not?”

“Because… There are rocks at the mouth of the river flowing into here. Too large for a body to pass through but not large enough to stop Artifacts,” Nold said confidently. “This is an offshoot of the main current.”

“What? How would you know that?” Zalan challenged.

“For the same reason I know where Morloch is within these caves. I have traveled the world. I am familiar with the landscape,” Nold said dismissively.

“Morloch is in this cave?” Zalan asked, suddenly nervous.

“Do not be concerned with him. We should be much more concerned with how unfamiliar you are with this place. There are death traps in many rooms, including this one.”

Zalan peered to the back of the flow of water, trying to see the entrypoint. He squinted, but couldn’t see a thing. But he also didn’t see any driftwood larger than an Artifact in the water. Nold may have been right about no bodies winding up in the room.

“Should we swim up there and check if people are stuck in the rocks?” Zalan asked.

“No, they would bump against the outcropping and go further inward,” Nold replied, scratching at his wounded shoulder in annoyance. “Now come along, stop wasting more time.”

“Fine, just let me grab a few Satiators.”

“Careful!” Nold reached his arm out. “This mountain is primed with several traps from pirates of the past. Follow exactly where I say to go, or you may be seriously injured. Or worse.”

Nold reached out a hand and emitted a very thin layer of Elemental Sand. He created light pockets on the floor for Zalan to step over confidently. Zalan had to take extra long, careful strides to make his way to the water’s edge and pick up Satiators. When he picked up a third one, he stared at the water he pulled it out from with wide eyes. He froze for a few seconds, absolutely stunned.

“What delays you now?” Nold snapped.

“I found the Homeseeker!” Zalan pulled it out of the water triumphantly.

Nold grew a wide smile on his face, massively relieved.

“Good! Well done! That will be of much use to us once we are done here. May this be the beginning of the good we will come across ahead of us,” Nold said.

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

Zalan tucked it away, feeling considerably more at ease knowing that they would have easy access back home. He, Buttonwillow, Nold, and Rosemary weren’t stranded here. They would be home and receiving healing rest as soon as Zalan found Rep and the others. And he was sure he would find them. He agreed with Nold that it felt like a good sign of things to come.

Nold laid out a path of sand for Zalan to follow to catch up with his mentor. Nold nodded to him and made his way deeper into the mountain cave. The reflecting pool of water provided little light around them. Nold emitted Elemental Fire from his palm, illuminating the way ahead of them.

“It’s still kind of dark. Can you make the fire bigger?” Zalan asked.

“No,” Nold said, sounding frustrated at the question.

Zalan didn’t press him further, guessing that he was limited by his wounds.

Now that they were deeper within, they took much slower steps. Nold seemed to deliberate before every move and Zalan would watch his feet carefully, matching him exactly. On occasion, Zalan could see mechanisms connected to the floor in the dim firelight. He wondered what kind of traps lay ready to spring if he stepped on any.

He suddenly wondered why Nold knew where every trap was. Zalan considered that may have been the reason that he wore gloves. He could have taken such significant damage, that even Healing Rests would not remove the wounds. He knew scars would only form if wounds were self-inflicted in this realm. But he wondered if traps counted as self-inflicted damage. After all, the wound wouldn’t have appeared if you didn’t trigger the trap, yourself.

“Tell me,” Nold said, sounding mildly curious. “What do you intend to do with Morloch—what was the name you called him—Morloch the Manipulator! What do you intend to do once you find him?”

Zalan would have preferred that they talked about almost any other topic. He sighed ambivalently.

“I don’t know,” Zalan admitted. “I don’t want to really have to think about it until I get there.”

“If you do not want to talk about it with me, I suppose you prefer to move in silence,” Nold said.

It was like Nold knew that was exactly what Zalan didn’t want to do. Being in the dark place lit only by a small flame made Zalan feel more isolated than ever. Zalan knew that if he was in complete darkness on his own, he would lose his mind. Hearing another person’s voice was comforting, even if that voice had to come from Nold.

“I’ve been trying to negotiate a lot recently. I feel like it’s been going well.”

“Negotiating?” Nold said, sounding interested.

“Yeah, I talked Boznoks into giving me Nightbloom without fighting them. I was able to talk things out with Ma to get this ship. Even the pirates! We talked things through with them. I feel like I’m getting decent at talking things out,” Zalan said.

“So you wish to simply converse with Morloch?” When Nold said it like that, Zalan felt somewhat silly about his plan. But he doubled down.

“Yeah. I mean, I don’t want to kill him. I think…” Zalan said, unsure.

“I see. What do you know of Morloch?”

“Not much. Madam Hikma just said that he was really strong and I should be wary of him. So, I might try a sneak attack if I have you and Rep to help me. But I really want to talk to him. Figure him out.”

“Interesting that Hikma seems to know the name of the man, but has nothing more to offer. How could she lead you to the island where the man is, but know so little?”

“I don’t know, she kinda has a lot of shallow knowledge. That’s kinda her thing in Oriton.” Zalan shrugged, taking an extra long step behind Nold to get his placement right.

“And she sends you to complete her chores with little to no context. Sounds like the work of a manipulator to me,” Nold suggested.

Zalan’s face scrunched at the suggestion. He blinked a few times, registering the remark.

“No, she’s… She’s not manipulative, she’s just helpful,” Zalan said, a hint of confusion in his voice.

“She has a town paying her a fortune daily, but does not offer straight answers. She does not even offer any magnanimity of strength. Just words that seem to confuse you,” Nold said, sounding sincere.

“I know Morloch has Elemental Air Power. But she never showed any Elemental Power,” Zalan said, regaining some confidence.

“Ah, so she has shown you her abilities on her wrist?” Nold asked, suspicion in his tone.

“No, she… It’s different, she…” Zalan was tripping up in his own mind. He had thought that Madam Hikma’s answers were frustrating at times, but only because she had no more information to offer. Was there something more to Madam Hikma than he thought? Why was she sending him on quests that she didn’t have all the information for? What could she gain? The memories of the vengeance he wanted upon her snuck in from the far vestiges of his mind. Zalan ran a hand through his hair as he shook his head, shaking the thoughts away.

“I don’t know. I really don’t know,” Zalan said, not remembering if he was even asked a question.

“I trust that you will do well with Morloch,” Nold said.

Zalan breathed a little easier. Madam Hikma was far away. Right now, he needed to focus on what was real in front of him. Having Nold’s confidence in his strength had always worked out for him. He almost won the tournament under his tutelage. He looked up at his dim beacon of light. Nold was cloaked in several dancing shadows.

“You’ll be there with me when we go up against Morloch, right?” Zalan asked.

“I will most certainly be there,” Nold said, full of conviction.

Zalan smiled, feeling even more confident that he would be able to complete the quest. He tried to brush aside the thoughts of why he was given the task in the first place. He hadn’t exactly been able to pinpoint the progress that Madam Hikma said he was making. He just had to take her word for it. He had no milestones to go after with her other than her own plans of overcoming the Monsters of the Mindscape. Allegedly, he had already overcome two of them, but he had no idea when that could have happened in his time in the realm. It could have been a random Roach, or maybe it was Hatewing the Elemental Dragon.

Zalan couldn’t help but second guess Madam Hikma’s direction. Would her quests really be the means of him getting back to his own world? Confusion swirled in his mind, resurging the questions he had before the tournament. What did Madam Hikma actually know? The only reason he had confidence in her was because Rep had confidence in her. But now that Rep wasn’t around… Zalan didn’t know what to think anymore.

Taking another slow step forward, Zalan saw something glint at him on the floor. A gold coin reflected the firelight in his eyes. At first he ignored it, then saw an open pouch not far from it. He squinted at the bag in the darkness. It was difficult to tell, but looked faintly familiar. He peered in and investigated further. He knelt down and moved to pick it up.

“Is this Rep’s money pouch?” he asked, raising it.

Nold twisted his neck around quickly, then widened his eyes in dread.

“No! Do not touch it!” Nold screamed.

It was too late. Zalan both felt and heard a trap springing from below him. Before Nold or Zalan even had time to think, the cave began to rock.