The jarring light from the lantern Hunter carried bleached light into the dark cave for the first time in a long millennia. Unlike the treacherous Blood Caves, the cavern the group traversed had a slightly unnatural appearance. The walls of the cave were too smooth to be endemic to the other natural caves of the forest, looking as though it was hollowed out of the mountain. This abnormal formation of the cave was masked by the scattered rocks lying around the inside of the cave, but the group knew they had found the right cave due to its anomalous nature.
The cavern’s decline remained at a steady pace for the majority of the group’s trek, although the path weaved throughout the mountain substantially. After a good while of hiking, they reached a fork in the cave, splitting in two opposite directions.
“Well… left or right?” Mark asked Hunter curiously, gesturing towards each path in front of them.
“Let’s see,” Hunter offered ambitiously as he walked closer to the left fork in the cave, holding the elemental gem in his non-bandaged hand. The gem in his hand started to fade in color the closer he walked toward the cascading left split in the cave. He then turned towards the right side of the cave, and the gem’s glimmer started to return, its color shining more vibrantly. Hunter turned around to Mark and Valin, continuing eagerly, “The gem is reacting more to the right than the left.”
“Then right we shall go!” Valin exclaimed enthusiastically, walking up to Hunter to the right fork in the cave.
The group started to walk into the right fork in the cave before Mark stopped suddenly, causing the rope tied around them to yank Hunter and Valin back. “I wonder…” he trailed off to himself, staring off at the left fork in the cave. He picked up a small rock that fit snugly in the palm of his hand and tossed it gently down into the left fork in the cave.
The resulting snag in the rope caused Valin and Hunter to stop walking and look over towards Mark. They watched as the rock rolled and bounced down the floor of the cave, which seemed like a useless thing to do. The Hunter was about to comment on the action to Mark but was interrupted by the surroundings of the left cave changing drastically, with large stone spikes shooting up from the walls and ceiling of the cave, breaking the stone into minuscule pieces.
“They don’t want anyone down here apparently,” Mark mentioned in a sarcastic tone as he walked back towards Valin and Hunter, who stood still staring at the left fork of the cave in awe. Mark walked a couple of steps forward in front of them before looking back to see them standing there speechless. He then questioned the two impatiently, “You coming?”
Valin and Hunter both broke their concentration on the now impassable side of the cave before Hunter responded softly, “Yeah, sorry.”
Hunter turned around and they retained their formation from before as they continued to explore the complex cave system. They wandered around for what felt like hours through the cave, using the Elemental Gem to guide them so they did not meet the same fate as the small stone thrown by Mark. Eventually, the cave gradually started to change. Small clusters of gems embedded into the wall started to appear the further they went, reflecting the glare from Hunter’s lantern in many directions and colors.
The lights from the gems being reflected by the lantern started to converge with another aura coming from a clearing ahead. The group carefully traversed into a large opening in the cavern, coated in the precious gemstones following the formation of the walls. The clusters of gems were splotchy, with many holes in the wall that looked to be mined out, similar to how the group retrieved the Blood Amethyst just days before.
On the far side of the clearing, there lied a rusted mine track with two large carts resting on top that were full of gems harvested from the walls. The group was pondering the majestic view in front of them with the kaleidoscope of colors bouncing from wall to wall when they heard a loud clanging noise fill the cavern.
They looked over to their right to see someone who was coated head to toe in dust, wearing a large metal helmet and overalls. He stood still with a terrified look on his face as he stared back with a dented pickaxe lying on the ground in front of him. Before Hunter could say anything to him, the miner blew a loud whistle he had tied around his neck that echoed profusely around the gemstone cavern.
In an instant, three human-like stone creatures emerged from the gaps in the walls behind them, towering above the group. The Stone Soldiers had a copious amount of metal armor around their stone bodies along with large cascading swords. They sliced the rope between the trio before grabbing and capturing them with their bulky arms.
“Hey- Ack- Wait! We don’t mean harm! We only need to talk to whoever is in charge,” Hunter spurted out dramatically, trying to resist the Stone Soldier behind him.
“For what reason,” the Soldier behind him stated in a robotic tone, tightening his grip on Hunter.
“The Soul Taker has escaped, we’ve been traveling the forest collecting the power tablets before he does,” Mark stated while struggling himself, worried that the Soldier would damage his bow with his tight grip.
“How do we know you aren’t pawns within the Soul Taker’s army?” The Miner in front of them asked abruptly, slightly shaking from fear of the newcomers.
“If you let me go for a second I can prove it! The Elemental Wizard entrusted us with the elemental gem,” Hunter suggested frantically, trying to reach for his pocket.
“Very well,” the Stone Soldier announced, suddenly releasing his grip on Hunter before resuming a battle stance with his sword in hand.
He fell to the ground, then carefully stood back up and took the elemental gem out of his pocket. Additionally, Hunter pointed the gem towards himself where it shimmered with a bright green glow. He then walked over and pointed it at Mark, and then Valin to prove that they resonated with the elements.
The Stone Soldiers behind them watched as the Hunter demonstrated that they could be trusted, to which they looked at each other briefly before releasing their grip upon Mark and Valin. The two of them straightened himself out, with Mark immediately examining his bow to see if it was damaged in any way.
“We will take you to the Mountain Snake. Follow us,” the same Stone soldier told the group in a monotone voice. The three of them pushed past Valin, Mark, and Hunter before walking over to the mine cart track. The trio followed close behind them reluctantly.
Each of the Stone Soldiers stepped onto the track and shaped themselves into large mine carts, much like the rusty ones that sat behind them. Mark, Valin, and Hunter all stepped into these carts before they started to move on the track through the long tunnel beside them. After a short minute of traveling through the miners’ tunnel, they emerged into a colossal opening, which was illuminated by a sea of shimmering gemstones above them resembling stars.
The immense room around them housed a vast city, much larger than anything Mark, Valin, or Hunter had ever seen before. The geometric houses were stacked on top of one another in a very precise manner, with roads and many other tracks connecting it all. The track that the group was riding on scaled high above the city on a large stone bridge before it started to dive down dramatically. For Valin, Mark, and Hunter, this mine cart ride resembled the one they had just experienced with the Serpent of Flourishment, except much more controlled.
As they sped further towards the city, the trio watched as the bustling roads of rock resonators stopped and watched them fly by swiftly. The track curved and twisted throughout the different districts of the city, with the track adjusting to sharp turns directing the carts in the proper direction. With each turn the trio slammed into the sides of their carts, not being used to the sudden and fast speeds they were going through.
Eventually, the track went above the city once again, and the carts found themselves coming to a sudden stop at a large temple in the center of the cavern. The temple in front of them looked significantly older than the rest of the city, implying that the city was built around it.
As the carts jolted to a stop the trio were knocked forward before they slowly crawled out of their carts. They were met with glares from a large row of Rock Defenders who bore large shields on their arms. After Valin, Mark, and Hunter stepped out of the carts, they morphed back into the three Stone Soldiers that had captured them before. The Soldiers gestured towards the trio, motioning them to walk forward. As they walked forward the Soldiers exchanged glances with the Defenders, causing them to lower their shields and shift inward in an orderly fashion so they could enter the temple.
The sanctum resembled the elemental temple in many ways, including detailed carvings of the forest. The elemental insignia was etched into the floor and the walls, with the rock icon being scratched over it, looking much newer than the insignia itself. The enormous temple housed a singular altar in the center, which held the rock power tablet upon it. The large sanctum was illuminated by a large quartz cluster above them, reflecting light into only the center of the room. The three Stone Soldiers then stopped and knelt behind the trio, causing them to nervously halt in their tracks.
“Mountain snake, these three claim that the Soul Taker has escaped and that they are collecting the power tablets. The long-haired one bares the elemental gem,” the center Stone Soldier announced into the shadows.
“You three,” a loud thunderous voice echoed from the shadows, filling the entire room dramatically, “Kneel.”
Before they could react, the Stone Soldiers used the handle of their swords to push Mark, Valin, and Hunter off of their feet onto the intricately carved floor below. This caused them to drop their belongings in the process along with the Hunter’s robe slipping off of his back slightly to briefly reveal his birthmark.
As the group started to sit up to kneel, a mountainous snake materialized from the dark shadows of the temple. He slithered himself around the group maniacally, inspecting the visitors to his kingdom and taking note of every detail. The large behemoth had large protrusions from above and below his body, resembling mountains and stalactites. Small gems speckled around his scales, being barely noticeable to the group. After making his rounds he quickly retreated and wrapped himself around the middle of the temple, just behind the altar.
“Well, let’s see it,” the Mountain Snake demanded in his thundering voice, glaring at the group with his blood-red eyes which flowed
Hunter adjusted his robe then reached back into his pocket and took out the elemental gem, presenting it to the Mountain Snake proudly. The Mountain Snake nodded to acknowledge the Hunter’s actions, and then he sat in silence for a few seconds, contemplating what to say next.
“So… you want the rock power tablet. Explain how you could protect it better than us,” the Mountain Snake responded in a condescending tone to the group.
“Well…” Mark paused nervously for a second, “We defended the Magical Kingdom from an onslaught by the corruption using the elemental gem. On top of that, we have the-“
“You hesitated,” the Mountain Snake interrupted loudly, with his voice continuing to thunder throughout the large sanctuary. “We have protected the rock power tablet here for millennia, repurposing this temple that once contained the Mysterious Crystal. We view hesitation as weakness.”
“If the Mysterious Crystal was kept here and was taken, what makes you think the corruption can’t simply do that with the rock power tablet?” Mark responded immediately, talking back to the beast in front of them.
“How we transferred possession of the Mysterious Crystal is irrelevant to your case. If you want the rock power tablet that desperately, you have to prove yourself,” the Mountain Snake foreshadowed to them, lifting himself and slithering back to the shadows of the temple. “And I know the perfect way you can do so.”
Suddenly, the floor beneath the group started to sink at certain points, following the tiles on the floor. As the geography of the room was changing, the two outer Stone Solders kicked Hunter and Valin into the sinking floor as the purpose of the shifting floor became apparent. As the depressions settled deep below the temple floor Mark looked out at an extensive labyrinth covering a vast majority of the sanctuary.
“Hunter! Valin!” Mark cried out to his friends, who were slowly standing back up after the shortfall.
“We’re fine, we just don’t know where we are,” Valin yelled up to Mark, who could barely see his peering head from the large walls towering around them.
“I’m sure by now you can see what is going on life resonator. We are going to play a little game,” the Mountain Snake announced, moving himself closer to the labyrinth. He used his tail to grab something large from the shadows, drawing it closer to the maze. He then proceeded to gently set a Rock Golem within the maze. He then continued with grandeur, “Whichever one of us can reach the center of the maze first wins. If you reach the center before I do, you can take the rock power tablet with you on your journey. However, if I reach the center before you, I take the life and magic power tablets from you.”
“That’s not fair! We’re not just going to give up our power tablets if we lose,” Mark shouted forward, his voice incapable of comparing to that of thundering Mountain Snake.
“Then get to the center before I do,” the Mountain Snake snapped back in a snarky tone. “The rules are as follows: We go in turns. Each turn we roll a die and we advance that many spaces. It’s your job to navigate your friends through the maze. And because I’m so generous, I’ll let you go first.”
Mark’s eyes darted back and forth between the maze and his friends. However, before he could say anything a large pillar emerged from the ground next to him, revealing a stone button with a square carved into it. Mark looked at the maze and then back at the button before reluctantly pressing it. After he pressed the button, a loud rolling sound echoed throughout the chamber before a large cube was launched from a chute on the left side of the sanctuary. The die rolled in a circle on top of the labyrinth before coming to a stop, with five large dots on the top of it.
“Five! Now aren’t you lucky? Instruct your friends to move them five spaces,” the Mountain Snake instructed smugly.
Mark looked back at the maze and noticed the notches in the ground marking each space. He examined the immediate area around Hunter and Valin, then instructed in a bold tone, “Go three spaces forward then turn left two spaces.”
Hunter and Valin looked up and understood Mark’s instructions, walking in the path he instructed. When they reached the fifth tile, they noticed a skull carved into it.
The floor beneath them began to glow a deep red, before large spikes shot up from the ground at Hunter and Valin, nearly impaling them. Their quick thinking allowed them to dodge the spikes quickly, before Valin shouted dramatically, “What the hell was that?”
“Oh I forgot to mention, the labyrinth is littered with traps,” the Mountain Snake commented nonchalantly, using his tail to gesture towards the carved tiles on the floor of the maze. “I would tell you what each one does, but where’s the fun in that.”
“That’s cruel!” Mark yelled at the Mountain Snake, his voice still being shadowed by his opponent.
“So is the Soul Taker. What makes you think the Soul Taker would tell you his tactics before attacking you,” the Mountain Snake roared with a dirty look.
‘Fair point,’ Mark thought to himself. He looked back at Hunter and Valin and yelled down to them, “Are you two okay?”
“We’re fine, just try to avoid any more skulls,” Hunter advised, straightening out his robe from dodging.
“My turn.” the Mountain Snake intruded. The loud rumble of the dice was heard again, as a group of rock defenders removed the previous die from the top of the labyrinth. Much like the last one, it rolled in a spiral on the top of the maze, before settling, landing on a three. “Three! How perfect,” the Mountain Snake announced with excitement. He moved his rock golem forward, landing on a tile without a carving. “Your turn.”
The button on Mark’s pillar popped upward, and he pressed it almost immediately, now completely accepting this challenge. The next dice emerged as the previous one was taken away once again, this time landing on a two.
“Aw, how unfortunate,” the Mountain Snake sympathized sarcastically.
“Move one step forward and one step right,” Mark called down to Valin and Hunter, completely ignoring the Mountain Snake. The duo landed on a space with no carving, bringing relief to Valin and Hunter.
“You’re no fun, where’s the witty comebacks?” the Mountain Snake said to Mark in a far from serious tone, starting his turn.
“Hunter’s the one with the witty comebacks, I personally don’t engage in banter with a talking geological formation,” Mark responded boldly as the Mountain Snake’s dice rumbled into the room.
“I’m much more than that you know,” the Mountain Snake started to say as the die settled on a six. “Much more lucky as well.”
The Rock Golem moved onto a space with a carving of a shield on it, to which it glowed green, and the golem became coated in a rock armor to protect itself. The Mountain Snake looked up at Mark with a smirk, before gesturing to him that it was his turn.
Mark slammed his fist into the pillar the second the button popped up and watched as the die rolled around to land on a four. “Walk four steps forward.” He instructed in a serious tone as he tried to keep his composure.
Valin and Hunter did as Mark told, and the exit of the maze started to become clear to Mark. However, they landed on a tile with a circle carved into it. The tile below them glowed red again, and then the walls around them changed suddenly, rearranging the order of the maze.
“What? Why is that even an option?” Mark shouted in anger, his composure starting to slip more.
“Oh look, that seemed to work out in my favor,” the Mountain Snake nagged in a snarky manner.
Mark looked into the maze again and saw that the rock golem had a direct path to the center of the maze, with only eleven tiles left to go to the center. His face dropped at the sight of it as the sound of the Mountain Snake’s die roll filled the cavities of the sanctuary. His face dropped further when the die landed on another six.
“That’s great! Well, not for you that is,” the Mountain Snake continued to condescend Mark, moving the rock golem three spaces forward and three spaces to the right, landing on a skull. The spikes launched themselves at the golem, but it was protected by the armor it had on its body.
Mark’s heart sank as the realization that they could lose overcame him. When his button popped up yet again, he pressed it grudgingly and watched nervously as the die landed on another two. He sighed deeply before saying, “One space forward and one space left.”
Hunter and Valin once again landed in a space with no carving, and they remained silent as they could barely understand what was going on.
“Getting a little nervous, aren’t we? Just a few more tiles then I win… life resonator,” the Mountain Snake commented in a cocky tone as his die flew from the chute inside of the sanctuary, landing on a three.
Mark groaned loudly as the Mountain Snake moved his rock golem three places forward, landing on yet another blank tile. It was then his turn to roll a die, and he sat for a second surveying the maze and all of his options.
“Give up already? I thought you had more resolve than that,” the Mountain Snake mocked Mark, getting on the nerves of not only the trio but also some of his rock defenders as well.
“I do. I’m thinking,” Mark stated instantly, starting to regain his confidence again. He studied the tiles around Hunter and Valin, forming a plan. He then carefully pressed the button to roll his die as he continued to study the area around him. The die rolled around before landing on a five, which isn’t exactly what Mark was hoping for.
“Three spaces back and two spaces right,” Mark instructed in a determined voice, showing his resolve had returned.
“Back? Isn’t that counterintuitive Mark?” Valin contradicted Mark’s actions in a confused tone.
“Trust me Valin, I have a plan. I just have to hope he rolls low,” Mark stated in a hopeful tone, staring deeply in concentration at the maze in front of him. Hunter and Valin shrugged and followed his orders. Once they got to the blank tile they ended on, they suddenly realized Mark’s plan but realized how risky of a move it could be.
“Interesting choice, basing your whole plan on luck. I like it,” the Mountain Snake complimented Mark in a curious tone. “Let’s see if it will work out.”
Mark closed his eyes as the Mountain Snake’s die came barreling out and rolled to a stop. He opened his eyes and saw the two circles on the top of the cube.
“You got lucky this time, but I am one space away from getting into the center of the maze, life resonator…” the Mountain Snake announced grimly, expecting his foe to be nervous.
Instead, Mark with full confidence pressed his button and watched as his die landed on a one. Before Mark could say anything, the Mountain Snake roared with laughter, “Ha! A one! How’s your plan working out now?”
“Quite well actually,” Mark stated before instructing with a grin, “One space forward.”
Hunter and Valin stepped forward in complete agreement with Mark’s instructions. The tile they stepped onto glowed red as the circle engraving rearranged the paths of the maze yet again, forcing the Mountain Snake’s rock golem very far behind, with Hunter and Valin being only five spaces away from the center of the maze.
“You did it Mark!” Hunter shouted with joy as he and Valin could see the center of the maze in front of them.
“Well played, using a trap to your advantage. Let’s see how the rest of this game plays out,” the Mountain Snake offered in an upbeat tone, commending Mark.
“We shall,” Mark announced vigorously, leaning against his pillar. He watched as the next die roll landed on a three, taking the rock golem to another skull tile, and destroying its armor with the spikes.
Mark then once again confidently pressed the button to roll his die landing on a six, winning him the game. Hunter and Valin very excitedly ran into the center of the maze, removing the rock power tablet from the altar in the center. Once they removed it, the maze rose back up gradually to be level with the temple’s floor once again.
“Congratulations! You outsmarted me,” the Mountain Snake admitted happily to the trio as he removed the rock golem from the maze, hiding it within the shadows of the room once again.
Mark ran up to Hunter and Valin, giving them a hug in excitement for winning. He then looked up at the Mountain Snake and said confidently, “Thank you, you played well.”
“A man of good sport, I respect that,” the Mountain Snake replied with a smile, “I’ll admit, I planned to give you the rock power tablet from the beginning. I haven’t played a game like that in many centuries.”
The group’s faces dropped as they realized that their efforts were seemingly for nothing, but before Hunter or Valin spoke up in anger, Mark responded solemnly, “It was a good game after all, I would be happy to play again some other time.”
The Mountain Snake laughed, “I do like you, you’re actually willing to put up with my banter.”
“Unlike us, we have to deal with it all of the time,” one of the rock defenders spoke up. She stepped forward, and you could tell she was smaller than the other defenders in the group. Much like the others, she had a gem embedded in her stomach, a bright green emerald.
“Ah Emerald, aren’t you a delight,” the Mountain Snake stated sarcastically. He shifted himself and slithered over to the group to continue. “If you all aren’t in a hurry, can we offer you a place to rest before you continue your journey? Where are you off to next?”
“The dragon training grounds, we are after the dragon power tablet next. We would love to stay the night here,” Mark responded, looking back at Hunter and Valin.
They both nodded their head in agreement, then Hunter spoke up, “I don’t see a problem with that! We should rest, we’ve been hiking all day.”
“Okay then! Emerald, can you take these two to one of the vacant dwellings in the quartz district?” the Mountain Snake asked her in an uplifting tone.
Emerald stood and saluted to the Mountain Snake by putting her right hand in a fist over the left side of her chest, and with her left arm placed firmly behind her back. “Yes my liege,” she agreed before turning to the group beside her and stating, “You can follow me.”
She led the trio out of the temple and back to the tracks, where there were two metal carts already waiting for them. Hunter and Emerald got into the first cart and Mark and Valin got into the second. After stepping into the carts they sped off down the tracks, similarly to how they did before.
As their tracks sped down the track, Hunter spoke up to Emerald to introduce himself, “Hi, I’m Hunter, the one with the bow is Mark, and the one with the staff is Valin.”
“Hello Hunter, I am Emerald, it’s nice to meet you all,” Emerald responded happily.
Hunter looked off into the direction they were heading in before continuing, “The Mountain Snake said we are going to the Quartz district, what exactly did he mean by that?”
“The city is divided into districts that are dependent on working status. The miners live in the ruby district, the defenders live in the emerald district, and so on. The quartz district is the district for royalty and city leaders,” Emerald explained, pointing to different districts in the city.
“Wow, everything is so organized here. Mark and I are from a small hunting village, we aren’t used to anything of this scale,” Hunter responded excitedly, gesturing back to Mark, who was having a small side conversation with Valin in the cart behind them.
“I can imagine, the culture shock must be a lot,” Emerald assumed, leaning back further in the cart.
“Definitely has been. Mark and I were at the Magical Kingdom before this, and their way of life was also incredibly different. They use weird tools for eating called ‘forks,’” Hunter described, moving his hands around mimicking a fork.
Emerald chuckled before responding, “We don’t necessarily need to ‘eat’ here, defenders and soldiers are born from the stone, using gems like mine as their life source. We serve the royalty our whole life before the energy in our gem runs out.”
“Oh… that’s interesting, I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t need to eat,” Hunter replied curiously, looking up to see they were almost at their destination.
“Here we are, the Quartz district!” Emerald announced, cutting off the conversation between the two of them.
The carts on the track came to a sudden stop like they did before, right in front of the large glorified entrance of carved quartz clusters. Inside the district, the houses were larger, unlike the other parts of the city they had gone through before. The houses were rectangular boxes, decorated with various types of crystals and precious gems. The larger houses in the district had more gems, whereas the smaller houses had fewer. After the carts came to a stop, Emerald gracefully stepped out of them, where Mark, Valin, and Hunter had to crawl out of them.
Emerald then escorted them from the carts through the quartz district, showing off the beauty of the district of royalty. Eventually, they stopped in front of one of the smaller houses in the district, which was roughly the size of the gem cavern they were in when they entered the rock city. The group walked in through the entrance, which was simply a luxurious curtain over a large hexagonal hole in the wall. Immediately when they walked inside they were met with a room much like the guest bedrooms in the Magical Kingdom, with three beds in the room, with one on each side of the room. Next to each bed, there was an entranceway into another room of the dwelling.
“Each of those entrances leads to your own places to bathe and clean up, along with places to put your belongings for the night,” Emerald explained to the three of them, who were in awe of how nice the living conditions were. After the trio had each claimed a bed in the room she continued, “I will leave you all be for the night. I’ll be back in the morning to guide you to the dragon training grounds.”
“Wait you’ll be coming with us?” Hunter asked excitedly, dropping his satchel and spear down beside the center bed.
“Yes, there is a shortcut through the caves to get there within a day, and the Mountain Snake won’t let the rock power tablet go without an escort,” She told the group solemnly, turning towards the Hunter as she spoke.
“I knew there was a catch,” Mark commented sarcastically, sitting down on his bed.
Emerald chucked and spoke as she turned back towards the entrance, “The Mountain Snake can be difficult to work with at times, but he always comes around eventually.”
“Sounds like someone else we know,” Valin responded, flopping herself down onto the bed behind her.
“Rest well,” Emerald said briefly to the group before leaving the room, leaving the group to rest before continuing their journey the following day.