Sarby and Thatch continued down unknown paths. After passing by intricate human made trails carved with unnatural patterns, they decided against taking that direction and instead, wandered aimlessly. Though the sun beamed high in the sky, the shine from Sarby's crystal horn dulled and he felt an emptiness, a craving, a pain.
He patted his horn, trying to feel the cracks that the Chief had filled with crystals and the ache strengthened. The crystals just needed to be replaced? Where could he find more? His gaze danced in all directions across the open field.
"You okay there, Sarby?" Thatch walked up close to him.
"I'm not sure. I feel like I've started going crazy these last couple days." Sarby rubbed his horn. "I wish we could have got a hold of the crystals back from the Kalands."
"Yeah, that would have been nice. We'd be pretty rich then, huh? Oh well, At least we got out in one piece." Thatch scratched his forehead with his vines.
"No, I don't care about money." Sarby stared out in a daze. "Hey, can we go over there quick?" The Elnoa lifted his arm and pointed to a mountain.
Thatch focused ahead, then nodded. The two strolled along and fought their way through weeds and thorny plants to the entrance of a small cavern etched into an enormous mountain face. The entrance reminded Sarby of his own home somewhat, but instead of finding dazzling crystals shining all throughout the inside, all he found was darkness.. His horn glowed just enough to lead them on a path further inside.
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"Is there a certain reason you wanted to come here? I feel like finding a small friendly Zinnal village would help us more than an isolated cave. Who knows what else could be crawling in here..."
"I don't know, this place just reminds me of home. Was hoping going inside would help me feel better."
Thatch stuck close around Sarby, using his light to look around. "Well? Is it working?"
Sarby shrugged. He placed his paws along the wall and walked forward, hoping to find anything that resembled a crystal. They made their way through twists and turns in the darkened space, Thatch seemed to grow hesitant about continuing forward, though he didn't refuse to stop the adventure.
Signs of other animal and Zinnal life came into light with broken down chairs, scraps of food, and paw prints planted in all directions. The humidity of this cave was unlike the cavern Sarby grew up in. His paws grew sweaty as he scraped at the moist mud on the walls. There wasn't a crystal in sight. Over and over he continued searching in desperation, his attempts growing more frantic with each failure to find anything that shined.
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"We've been at this for a while, don't you think?" Thatch said, seeming to grow concerned for Sarby's erratic behavior. "Probably about time to head out and take a break, yeah?"
Sarby sighed. "No, I can't. I can't." He felt the inside of his body twitch in uncomfortable ways. All he could think of was finding the crystal. He felt himself become a nuisance for Thatch, but even that couldn't stop him. "Let's check one more area first, okay?" Even if there was nothing there, Sarby already knew he wouldn't stop at that "last" one.
"Guess that won't hurt. Though I am getting hungry, by the time we get out of here night will have already fallen. Hope we can find some food before then."
Food was the last thing on Sarby's mind. He had a craving stronger than he had ever had for food.
Dim red light shined out as they turned and something caught Sarby's eye. It sparkled even more under the glow of his horn. His heart racing, Sarby took off toward it.
"Hey, Sarby, slow down!" Thatch galloped to catch up to him.
Sarby reached out and grabbed the sparkling object, struggling while pulling it from the wall. He yanked it out and lost his balance for a second then held it close to his own light.
It was no doubt a crystal, though the inside was covered in filth. It dazzled nowhere near as bright as the ones from his home, yet he couldn't help but smash it against the ground to break it down into smaller pieces. This had to be enough to work.
Thatch stood beside him. "What are you doing?!"
Sarby didn't hear a thing. He continued bashing the crystal against the ground until it shattered. He then collected up the small pieces in a pile at his feet, and with crazed eyes, forced his paws into the tiny crevices in his own horn scratching at the crystals the Chief had put in. One by one they fell onto the ground, their dull shine offering the ground some light. He grabbed at his newly acquired treasures and forced them into the wound on his horn. Pain shot through as he mangled the sharp edges in the small cracks, but as soon as the first piece fit snugly, he felt relief. Though the quality of crystal wasn't as pure as the ones he had received weeks prior. Nevertheless, it was as if his mind cleared over. The fog that floated within his head disappeared, and he felt completely himself again.
Sarby stretched his limbs and his horn illuminated brighter. Every detail around them was now visible.
"I didn't know crystals could be used like that." Thatch said, moving further away from Sarby, examining the intricacies of the cave. He rubbed his horns against a piece of furniture in the middle of the room, itching them.
"I didn't until recently either." Sarby picked up the remaining pieces of crystal. "I know I'm going to need these for later." He could already feel a staggering difference between the quality of these crystals. These impure ones would not last as long as the ones from the Crystal Cavern. Sarby shook his head. Was this what it meant to be Awakened? You could never shut off your insatiable desire to consume? What would happen if he ran out? Would he lose control?
Thatch looked like he wanted to say something else, but decided against it and accepted the crystals from Sarby. Thatch gathered the small amount up and wrapped a couple of vines around them on his back.. "Sarby? You ready to head on out?"
"Oh, yeah." Sarby turned and brightened the way out of the exhausting twists and turns. They finally reached the exit, and the sky dimmed to a pink color as the sun sank behind the horizon.
"Damn, was hoping we could find food before the sun dropped." Thatch rushed forward along tall plants, observing for fruits.
"Sorry, that took much longer than I thought it did. Time seemed to freeze when I began my search. Can't believe the day is over already."
"I can. Thought I'd never see the sun again."