11 - A Secret Revealed

As I crept down the narrow confines of the cave tunnel, I felt the texture of the rock on my bare feet. At the same time, I became aware that my feet had become more calloused from going barefoot so much. Constantly walking on rocks and grass and hot, abrasive sand without the usual soft projections of shoes had made my feet become tougher. I dared feel a sliver of pride at the idea that I had grown tougher too.

Then I realized what a massive doom flag that was and nearly slapped myself. I was walking into a cave filled with monsters that were nightmare fuel. What the fuck was I thinking getting all confident? Idiot. I tried to shed those feelings and focus on how scared I should be instead.

It wasn’t difficult. The first sight of scorpions in the corners of the tunnel made my skin crawl. When I saw the first momma-sized one, the last shreds of potential arrogance ran screaming like a terrified little girl. So, by the time I spotted the first giant papa type, bigger than I was, I thanked cheeses sliced that the bastard was down a side corridor and prayed with all my might it wouldn’t try sneaking up behind me.

I crept along, trying to move like a wannabe ninja, one foot softly placed after another. The scorpion vision was a blessing. I spotted the remains of scorpions I had killed before, still lit up in neon blue and green like the living ones were. The full corpses were no longer there, just bits and pieces like the inedible tail crystals, a leg here, a shard of shell there. And the pincers. Guess they were too tough for the scorpions to eat too.

At least, I assumed it was just scorpions in there, especially given how many there were. But maybe it was a more complex ecosystem. Could there be other things in the cave tunnels? Something that ate scorpions, maybe something that didn’t even fear them?

I cursed. The fear and darkness were making my imagination run wild in a bad way. But that was good. It would keep me on my toes. Keep me from being complacent. Hopefully.

It did worry me just how little of the bigger scorpions I’d fought were left. Something had devoured them.

Luckily, I made it to the same point that I had the last time without dying again. It had taken longer because I’d had to basically shuffle with my back to the side of the tunnel the whole way, my attention in all directions, lest monsters drop out of the ceiling or come sneaking up behind me. I was probably fear-sweating most of the way, but the coolness of the tunnel helped.

Ahead, the tunnel became purely black, and not even my scorpion vision helped. It was time. I calmed myself with a few deep breaths and tried to steady my nerves. Turning the light on was a huge risk because I didn’t know how the scorpions would react.

I sighed and felt stupid. Why hadn’t I tried this earlier, while there were only tiny scorpions around? Dumbass.

No help for it now. I decided to risk it.

Trying really, really hard not to let out a full lightning bolt, which would suck out the rest of my mana and cause me to pass out and likely get eaten, I eased open the crystal in my forehead. I fought to allow only a tiny bit of energy out.

A faint golden glow came into being. The tunnel became visible again.

I was probably clenching too hard on the energy source, but that would hopefully become easier with practice.

No scorpions were in sight. Just in case, though, I stood there, back against the rough rock wall, head slowly sweeping back and forth. I waited for the light to disturb something.

Minutes passed.

Eventually, I realized that it was fear as much as wariness keeping me in place. That was fine. Better safe than sorry. But I had to move forward. So I eased away from the wall and continued down the tunnel, the floor, as always, leading me deeper under the desert.

Caves are fascinating places. I didn’t know if this was a natural one or if people or magic had dug it out. The light from my improvised headlamp glittered off the quartz and gold in the walls, giving it a fairy-like feel despite the danger. While the cave had been hot near the entrance, it had then cooled further in. But as I went deeper, the temperature evened out.

The tunnel took a sharp turn. Like an idiot, I took that turn too fast.

I came face to face with a momma-sized scorpion, her exoskeleton scarred and chipped from many battles, one of her pincers missing entirely.

I paused in surprise, stupidly leaving myself vulnerable.

Before I could react, the scorpion flinched. Its pincer opened, ready to fight, but it stepped back, first once, then a few times. But then it paused.

I was frozen. Had the light startled it? Why wasn’t it attacking?

We stared at each other for a long time. A bead of sweat trickled down the side of my face, and I had to stop myself from lifting a hand off my spear to wipe it away.

I very slowly slid my front foot forward, ready to stab the creature if it came at me. The hair on my neck stood up. Where there was one scorpion, there could be more, and any commotion might draw them.

The scorpion reacted. It skittered back another few steps.

I slid another step forward.

The scorpion moved back again. It seemed wary of the light. This far from the surface, it must not see light very often. I wondered how the arachnids survived at all down here. They might sense motion, might see each other in the dark, but how did they sense the tunnel itself? Were they so sensitive that they could sense their own vibrations coming off the rocks, like a bat using echo location? If so, that would be incredible. It also meant that no matter how careful I was, my passage probably hadn’t gone as unnoticed as I’d hoped. That’s probably why I’d almost gotten assassinated last time.

Worrying that moving too fast might trigger a more aggressive response, I took another sliding step, and the scorpion did the same. As long as I moved slowly and it had room to retreat, maybe it wouldn’t attack.

We kept that up, almost like partners in a dance, for several steps. The only reason I didn’t get my spine severed is because the scorpion that had been silently sneaking up behind me accidentally hit the back end of my spear when it tried to snip my spinal cord in two.

I’d been too focused on the enemy in front, and I’d forgotten to be aware of what was behind me. I was so on edge that I freaked the fuck right out. I panicked. I half spun with the spear, so jolted with fright that it was like I’d been hit by lightning.

My headlamp flared like the sun as I momentarily lost control before catching myself just before a lightning bolt was released.

The sudden bright light caused both scorpions to skitter backward, pincers defensively crossed over their ugly faces.

I hissed, “Fuck this noise!” Now seemed like the right time to panic. And to get the hell out of Dodge, cuz there was no way I was going to be in the middle of a scorpion sandwich. I went right, like I was trying to squeeze past the scorpion in front.

The scorpion ahead, affected by the light, squished itself up against the opposite wall, trying to get away from me and giving me room to pass. I ran forward while wacking the scorpion’s backside on the way by, like I was giving it a spanking.

That scorpion jumped forward, right into the face of the twin coming from behind me. The two crashed into each other’s faces and completely ignored me as they both erupted in all-out violence. They bashed and snipped and wrestled.

I sprinted down the tunnel, the bright light reflecting off so much quartz and gold that it nearly blinded me. I saw one yellow vein in the wall as wide as my thigh. If this really was gold on the walls, the first geologist down here was going to lose their shit, then have the biggest orgasm of their life. I could easily imagine greedy CEOs sacrificing their first, second, and third-born children to own the mining rights to this land.

I ran away longer than I should have, but it was like my legs were full of fear. I passed by a couple of side tunnels, sending other scorpions fleeing into darker corners. I was super grateful that the light drove them away more than it enticed them.

It took some time to slow down and lower the light’s brilliance. I got my pounding heart under control. I wasn’t so sure coming down here had been such a great idea after all. I kept going down and down, and despite the pitch black environment with seemingly little to eat, it was as if I was making my way through a vast scorpion nest with no end. Given this was a world with magic, maybe that was possible.

I paused, breathing hard as I checked the tunnel behind. I couldn’t hear the fight back there, but they were probably still at it. Maybe even more had joined. How was I going to get back to the surface?

Indecision and worry paralyzed me. I squatted next to the wall, then wiped my sweaty hands on my robe. For a few minutes, I just listened to the sound of silence and tried to calm down. That, and find my courage again. I told the demon of fear in my chest to stop being an asshole and to give my balls back.

Eventually, I stood. Time to get moving. I couldn’t stay down there forever. Just a little further.

I heard a distant clang of metal and felt a faint rumble through my feet.

That…was interesting. Metal meant the sound hadn’t been natural. It had to have been human, er, people-made. I was in a world with more than just humans. I had to get used to thinking in different terms.

Were there more of those lizard guys down here like the dead one from the oasis? Was I about to stumble on a dwarven city, the metal the ringing of a distant forge? Or was I about to encounter an evil race of underground elves who would be happy to filet and eat me?

Sure, there could be something nasty waiting ahead. I could be taking an even bigger risk by moving forward. But I had to know what that was. I was a sucker for mysteries. And it appeared that I was maybe a natural explorer. So I continued on.

Maybe fifty or seventy paces later, I again heard the clang and felt the rumble, now stronger than before. I was getting closer. Maybe that should have made me more cautious, but before I realized it, I was practically jogging for short bursts before slowing and creeping again. I was lucky because I didn’t see any other scorpions in the tunnel. But then I accidentally zipped past an alcove with a horse-sized bastard only arm’s reach away, the sudden light only caused it to press itself against the wall rather than attack. I hurried past.

The tunnel levelled out. In the distance, I saw a blue-green light dead ahead. At first, I assumed it was a large scorpion. But as I warily neared, ready to shove my spear down its throat, I realized it was actually light at the end of the tunnel. I approached, stopped while still in the tunnel, and snuck a look at the chamber I’d arrived at.

The space was large, the ceiling high overhead, like I was looking through the front door of an indoor soccer field covered by a rock dome with a hundred dripping stalactites. Want to know the difference between stalactites and stalagmites? Neat trick. StalaCtites has a C for ceiling. StalaGmites has a G for ground. The ground was covered in matching stalagmites, some taller than I was. Both the wet, smooth cones above and below were covered in fuzzy blue-green moss that gave off a steady glow, the source of the light. Here and there in the moss, small white flowers bloomed, and tiny scorpions the size of my hand or smaller, crawled through the moss, almost invisible because of the similar lighting. Water dripped, so I guessed I was now under the spring that fed the oasis.

Clang. Rumble.

The sound was loud, right in the room with me. Whatever was hitting the ground was powerful.

I couldn’t spot any really big scorpions, so I edged into the open space. Slowly, I made my way into the chamber, eyes everywhere. Being was dangerous. I could sense it. Then I passed a fat stalagmite and was able to see most of the chamber ahead of me.

I gasped, then snapped my jaw shut.

I was at one end of a rough oval. On my right, someone had long-ago carved what looked like both a shrine and a prison into the stone wall. It was square, the outside covered with writing and picture carvings. In the middle of it was what appeared to be an ogre-scorpion hybrid. The top was the ugliest ogre imaginable, while the bottom was a jet-black scorpion. Together, they stood four stories tall. Chains and manacles ran from the floor to all six arachnid legs. Both of the ogre’s arms were manacled to the wall with chains thicker than I was. The creature looked beyond exhausted. As I watched, it bent slightly, then gave a mighty pull with one arm. The chain on that wrist was bolted to a plate in the wall. When the ogre pulled, the chain snapped taut and the plate pulled out of the wall slightly before catching on the bolts. That’s what was causing the clanging sound and the heavy vibrations. He was a prisoner.

At the hybrid’s many pointy feet was a pit like a swimming pool. It was filled to the brim with excited baby scorpions all crawling over each other. Prancing around the pit like a fussy mother was another hybrid. This one also had a scorpion bottom, but the top was a very buxom elf with pure white hair and what looked like purple skin. Her face was grotesque.

I swallowed. These things had to be gods. Or demi-gods. Or something equally terrifying. One wrong move, and I’d be food for sure. I resolved right then and there that that was as far as I was ever going and that it was past time to get back to the surface.

Then something glimmered on the far end of the cavern, like a flash of light reflecting off glass.

A dark, gravelly, evil voice tauntingly whispered in my ear, “A secret revealed…” Then it laughed and laughed as the voice faded away.