“I do not think so,” said Erste. “I have a feeling it's nearby. Back farther in the cave.” He pulled on his boots and Alma followed suit. “Well, I’ve always wanted to scour the far reaches of this cave,” said Erste, with a sarcastic laugh. “Stick close to me, you two. It gets rather dark in the farther reaches of the cavern. I don’t want anyone getting lost. And there are creatures in here that aren’t altogether pleasant.”
Ing, Alma, and Erste shook off the soreness that had come over them in the night. “I'm not as young as I once was,” he admitted. Presently, they headed back into the darker areas of the cave. It was hard to see, but, luckily, the path was fairly straight; there were not many turns to cause confusion. As they headed farther and farther back, the ceiling became lower, and they had to duck down.
After what seemed like an hour, they found themselves in what appeared to be an exceptionally large treasury. It was filled with what looked like countless items of worth; from where they came was not certain. There were gold necklaces, cloth-silver-capes, ruby encrusted swords, ancient shields wrought of iron, silver rings, maps, and various other trinkets.
“Impossible,” said Erste, eyeing the area that lay before him. “All this time, this has lain in the cave. Something isn’t right here. Some of these items look like they belong with the mountain people. How is it that they came here so far away?”
Erste spotted a greenish spider-looking animal coming towards them. “Careful,” he said, holding his hand in front of Ing and Alma. “That is a Spidree. They are very dangerous. Their bites are filled with a deadly poison that paralyzes its victims.”
The animal looked like a spider in many regards, but it was the size of a dinner plate and had thick green fur and beneath the fur a powerful exoskeleton. They mostly kept to dark places and fed on their own kind. The Spidree drew close and Ing pulled out his sword. With one quick swoop, he cut it in half, and a purple liquid began to leak out. It looked like the poison the guards in Ganwin dipped their rods in; it had the same viscous quality to it that Ing could not forget. His blood grew hot at the thought of the evil end the poison had been put to.
It was odd to find a Spidree here because the cave was nowhere near Ganwin, where the guards soaked their bamboo rods in the poison.
“Are these Spidree in many places, Uncle Erste?” Ing asked.
“No, not many,” said Erste. “They mostly stick to caves, but I have seen them before in Lableck in my younger days out on the battlefield. Trust me, the life of a knight, of war and death, is no way to live.”
Ing wiped the poison off his sword and onto the ground. Glancing over, he noticed that his uncle’s eyes had already re-focused themselves on the precious items of the chamber. “Enticing as they may be, these treasures are not of our concern right now, Uncle. We must be moving.”
“I’m not looking at them in fascination. I’m looking at them in wonder. I don’t understand how they got here,” said his uncle, maintaining his unwavering gaze for several moments before following Ing and Alma out of the room.
Leaving the treasury behind them, they emerged into a most curious space. Several tall stalactites hung from the cave’s ceiling. Water dripped in from an unknown source up above making a constant drip-drip-drip sound that could become annoying if one focused their thoughts on it too much. Ahead of the three companions stretched a small body of water, with what appeared to be a modest cabin at the far end. It was a wonder who inhabited it. From the looks of it, it had been there for years.
“This is a very strange cavern, if you ask me,” said Erste thoughtfully.
“Who could live inside that cabin?” Ing asked.
“I cannot say,” said Erste. “I can only say that that cabin has not been here for long and the person who’s in it must have visited or been one of the mountain people to have obtained this treasure. Still, I don’t understand how he got it all to be here.”
Ing felt on edge. The cabin made him feel uneasy. Who knew what would be waiting for them inside its walls? Nevertheless, they had to search it. The Rod had to be there.
Up ahead, a boat was harbored at the foot of the lake, gently pitching in the water. Two oars lay at its side.
“There’s our way across,” said Erste, matter-of-factly. “Hop aboard.”
The boat was just barely big enough for the three of them to fit. Once inside, Ing, Alma and Erste slowly rowed their way across the lake. Erste was at the front. One oar was pushed through the water by his hands, the other by Alma, who sat behind him. Out of nowhere, the water began to show a shift in its surface. Another moment passed and it was now trembling, and the boat nearly capsized.
“What’s going on!” shouted Ing, grasping the sides of the boat in terror. What foul beast lies below troubling these waters?
“Don’t worry, we’ll be alright,” said Erste, sounding unconcerned.
“I saw something,” said Alma in a tone that was more serious than Erste’s. “It looked like-”
The next second, what looked like a man combined with a fish jumped out of the water and glided over the boat, drenching the three companions. It had orange skin that looked like it would stretch if pulled upon. In certain areas like its elbows and knees the skin sagged a bit. The creature’s face had grey eyes on either side, where human’s
