The Forgotten Prompt 3

Candy Queen, Erimia, and Anue were slowly making their way through the cave system away from the Forgotten’s territory once more. Unlike last time, instead of a couple haedians following them, nearly the entirety of the Forgottens forces were silently padding along after them. Candy Queen felt a little uneasy at how orderly the haedians seemed to be, they moved in neat orderly rows, and there was no light chatter or murmuring. The once seemingly loose and light hearted haedians were now behaving like disciplined and orderly soldiers marching to their next mission. She could see an unsettling gleam of excitement in the eyes that peeked out through the dark clothes they were wearing. Anue had noticed the shift in tone too and was also a little disturbed by it. He got the feeling this wasn’t the first time such a large group had been gathered to raid a neighboring clan. He shook his head and tired to discreetly sooth Candy Queen as they led the raiding party down the dim corridor. 

Ahead of them Erimia obliviously hummed a happy tune as she walked in front of everyone. The massive tyrian found it easier to walk out in front of the runners as she didn’t have to worry about bumping into them while she maneuvered her huge frame through the passageways. In a way Candy Queen admired the tyrians lack of awareness but shook away her negative thoughts as they were already in far too deep to turn back now. The glittering light blue crystals on the wall provided just enough light for the group to see as they traveled but the runners couldn’t help but notice that this passageway was much more precarious than the previous tunnels they had traversed since meeting the Forgotten. The almost suffocatingly close cavewalls occasionally disappeared entirely as the cave opened into a sprawling abyss of blackness as the path continued over the void of a pit with unknown depth. At first Erimia liked the fact that she could spread her wings out if she wanted but as she continued to lead the raid party a pit of anxiety started to form in her belly. The path she was walking on was slowly narrowing and the crystals that encrusted the path barely gave off enough light in some spots for her to be sure she wasn’t stepping directly into the abyss. 

Candy Queen and Anue both noticed the tyrian stopped humming and was concentrating very hard on the path ahead and began to feel a different kind of anxiety about their situation. Anue glanced over his shoulder to see how the haedians were fairing with the suddenly single lane path and was surprised to see that they had easily funneled down into a single file line. Not a single trace of nervousness could be seen on the cave dwellers faces as they confidently followed the trio. The rainbow runner nervously gulped the saliva that had flooded his mouth as he turned his eyes back to the path ahead. It was impossible to see what lay ahead due to the hulking frame of Erimia. Subconsciously he was a little glad that he and Candy Queen were not the ones leading the charge but he also didn’t like not being able to see what was coming up. Candy Queen peered over the edge of the path trying to see through the seemingly impenetrable blackness to see if she could see the ground below.

Try as she might she couldn’t see anything out there, she felt like she could detect light in a couple directions but she couldn’t see anything clearly. Despite her nervousness she found the experience fascinating and peered down into the abyss nearly the entire length of the bridge. When Erimia finally made it to the other side she was relieved to see a wall of stone with many large glowing crystals sprouting from it. She quickly made her way over to the entrance and squeezed her way inside, taking care not to accidentally smack any of the reoseans behind her as she wriggled her way into the hole in the wall. As the throng of reoseans slowly pressed their way deeper and deeper through the cave system they noticed a change in the dank cave air, it shifted slowly from the smell of empty stone to a moist almost earthen smell. The air felt moist, almost humid as they also noticed the color of the crystals slowly shift from a pale blue to more of green as they steadily progressed into the Druids territory. 

One of the haedians behind them approached the group after a while and spoke up, “We’re almost there. Up ahead the path will branch into two paths. Take the one on the left, it will take you directly into the Druids main village. We’ll take the path on the right and begin the raid when we confirm that you have made contact with the Druids and have their attention.” The haedian was so matter of fact and succinct that the runners were once more unnerved. They nodded their heads together in acknowledgment, before double checking that Erimia had also heard the directions. Not long after this haedian spoke up they came upon a split in the path just like they had described. The surface dweller trio continued down the left path while the Forgotten haedians broke off to the right. Without the intensity of the haedians marching behind them the trio found themselves relaxing slightly as they continued along. Erimia still somehow hadn’t noticed the Forgottens odd shift but the runners decided not to bring it up.

After a little while longer of walking, the sound of rushing water could be heard and the number of crystals illuminating the path increased drastically to the point where it was so bright up ahead that they couldn’t see. By the time they realized there was a guard standing at the entrance the trio nearly walked smack into them. The Druid guard stumbled back in surprise as he stared up at the massive sunset tyrian who was blinking her eyes trying to adjust at the significantly brighter surroundings. “Surface dwellers…” they breathed in astonishment, when she heard this Erimia broke out into a toothy grin and Candy Queen and Anue inwardly groaned knowing what was about to come.