John was up before the sun had risen. Clad in his leather armor and chainmail hauberk, he sat sharpening his sword. “Nothing to worry about. Nothing to worry about,” he repeated to himself. He was trying to psych himself up for the unknown cave. Ivan and Monty arrived after a short time, they too dressed in leather armor. Ivan carried a large zweihander on his back and twin swords on each hip. Monty had a small sword on his waist and his bow on his back.

“I don’t think that’s going to work in the cave, Ivan,” John said as they approached, eyeing his large sword. “Unless it’s way bigger than Stanley thought.”

“That’s why I’m bringin’ these babies,” Ivan retorted, pointing at his belt. “They’ll slice and dice just as well!” he said, loud as ever. “We’re ready. Stanley said it’s on the other side of the large outcropping west of here, then a decent trek farther west. Maybe two hours total. He built a small tower of rocks to indicate the beginning of the steps. He said we can’t miss it if we follow at the edge of the mountain.”

“Smart. I wouldn’t have thought to do that. I’m still worried though.” John stood, putting the sword in its sheath. “I hope that’s all it is, an empty cave or old abandoned mine. Or that he was mistaken, and the steps just look man-made.” He looked west. “Let’s go.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They traveled west around the outcropping, then north again, following near the edge of the mountain range. John lost count of all the animals he saw as they walked. “Doesn’t look like we’ll be wanting for meat any time soon. There are animals everywhere.” John pointed at a group of three deer grazing in the tall grass.

“I know. The area’s been untouched for so long, they’ve been allowed to breed uncontrolled. Good for us.” Ivan was chewing on a particularly long piece of grass.

“Yes. Good hunting for years,” added Monty.

John smiled at them. “See anything out of the ordinary yet? Or the rocks? I keep losing focus and watching the forest.”

“Nothing. We should be nearing the area soon. We’ve walked for quite a while. Just keep your eyes peeled eh? Instead of looking for animals.” Ivan hit him on the back, nearly knocking him over.

They hiked a little while longer before Monty spoke up. “There,” he said, pointing in the distance. A pile of rocks stood about a meter high.

“That’s obviously out of the ordinary.” Together they walked the short distance. John was disappointed at what he saw. “They sure look like steps, not natural for sure. Damnit.” He scratched his forehead in frustration.

“It’ll be fine. Look at them though, just like he said. Over half are crumbling or covered in debris. Hell there’s even a bush growing in the middle of one up there.” Ivan gestured above their heads. “I’m near certain it’s deserted and for a long time.”

“I’m not as confident as you, but either way, we gotta check it out. Be careful. You guys are way bigger than me, more likely to have a misstep on these tiny stairs,” John said with a sly grin.

“Keep it to yourself. We’ll be fine. You lead. Monty, you go next. I’ll bring up the rear.” Ivan unsheathed one of us swords while John did the same. Monty nocked an arrow. They approached the entrance carefully. The ledge the steps led to was quite big and strewn with rocks. “See, told ya. Abandoned,” Ivan said, motioning around them with his sword.

John glared at Ivan. He walked around the ledge, kicking rocks, eyes to the ground. “Nothing here. Or at least, nothing left” He walked toward the entrance. He put his pack on the ground and took out three torches. He lit one with his flint and steel, then lit the others from the first. He handed one to each of his friends. “Be careful. Nothing stupid. We run this just like every cave we’ve done before. Eyes and ears open. Let me know if you see anything. We’re heading in.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“The air smells old. No tracks. No equipment. No sounds. There’s nothing here.” Ivan swung his torch through more spider webs. They’d traveled a good distance down the gently sloping tunnel. They’d just encountered their first split, so they rested for a moment.

“You know as well as I do that that doesn’t mean there’s nothing here. Remember the mines in Mantir?” John was scribbling in his notepad. Ivan had taken the lead when John had resorted to mapping the tunnels rather than paying attention. “However, I’m getting no sense of danger. My trait isn’t foolproof, but it’s saved my life more than once.”

Ivan shuddered. “Spiders, everywhere. Big damn ones too, not these little things. No thank you.” He scraped off some webs he’d walked through. “Which way boss? Monty? Any ideas?”

“Split up.” Monty pointed at John and himself then the right path. Then Ivan and the left path.

“Mmmm. I don’t like splitting up. But there really does seem to be nothing here. If I travel with Monty, I can at least map that corridor.” He looked to Ivan who said nothing. “200 paces, then return. If you come to a split, return. Take no chances, got it?” He poked Ivan with his sword. “Got it?”

“Yea boss. 200 paces. No more.” Ivan smiled. “See ya in a few.” He walked down the left path.

John pointed with his head, and he and Monty went right.

The duo barely made it a hundred paces before coming to a large cavern. So large they couldn’t see the end with their torches. “Dark Sight.” John whispered. “Sorry bud, but it’s only good for me.” With it activated, John could see a longer distance away, but still not to the other side of the cavern.

Monty tapped his head. “Enhanced Vision.” He smiled.

“Oh nice. Didn’t know you had that. Can you see farther now?” Monty nodded yes. “I’ll head around right, you go left. Hundred paces then head to the middle if you’re able. I can’t see what’s there. Could be water. If you can’t, come back to the entrance. I’ll do the same. Watch for my torch, and I’ll watch for yours.” John grabbed the wall, balancing himself as he traveled through the cavern.

Everything was wet from the water dripping from above. Moss grew across the walls and ground. He kept his eyes on the ground around him, searching for anything. John walked 100 paces then turned to his left. He could see Monty’s torch across the cavern. He headed towards it. The middle of the cavern was lower and held about a foot of water. Monty met him shortly after he arrived in the center.

“Anything?” John asked.

“Nothing” Monty replied

John sighed. “Let’s go back then, wait for Ivan if he’s not there. I’d like to explore further, but we have to be careful.” They turned and headed back.

They waited at the split for Ivan. They heard him long before they saw him. He was huffing, out of breath.

“I’m getting too old for this,” he said, breathing heavily, leaning on the wall of the tunnel. After catching his breath, he continued. “I ran into another split, but one of the ways had collapsed so I headed down the other. The tunnel got quite a bit wider farther down. I could see things glittering in the walls, reflecting the light of my torch. I’m no miner though. No clue what they may have been. Other than that though. Absolutely nothing.”

“There is a big cavern on the right path. We didn’t go all the way through though, so not sure how big it is or if it continues on.” John was taking some notes. “Let’s head your way. Better prospects that way maybe, if there’s gems. I’d have gone that way if I had seen them.” John put his arm out, indicating for Ivan to lead the way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They continued to travel along the corridor. Along the way, John picked a few of the sparkling rocks out of the wall to have Stanley inspect. Ivan stopped abruptly after rounding a sharp corner, causing John to run into him. John shoved his friend but he didn’t move. That’s when John looked up from his notepad. He was flabbergasted. They were standing in a large room. There were metal bands scattered about, remnants of what would have been barrels. There were pails and pickaxe heads strewn around the room. Nothing wooden remained.

John finally spoke.“This. This is definitely man made. Or something made it. The walls are smooth. There’s empty sconces in the walls. Metal laying around. Empty for years. Everything’s rusted from the moisture in the air.” He picked up a pail and the bottom fell out, spilling rusted nails everywhere.

“I bet this was a barracks of sorts. Where they slept and ate when they weren’t mining. Been dead and gone a long long time for there to be no wood left.” Ivan was walking around the room. “Another small room here, looks to have had a door once.” He stepped through and disappeared.“There’s a small metal box in here! Nothing else!” he shouted, causing an echo. He came out carrying it a moment later. “What do ya think? Looks fancy.” He ran his large fingers over it. “Some engravings. Can’t tell what they are with this light. Put it in your bag. Might give us a clue who was here.”

John accepted the box and put it in his bag. “A dead end. The collapsed tunnel’s a no-go for now. How long have we been here? Do we have time to check the big cavern?”

“Not sure. Hours.” Monty was lazily kicking the nails around.

“I think we have time. If it goes too much farther, we’ll stop for the day, and go back to camp. Come back tomorrow.” John was intently drawing in his notepad. “Finished. You lead,” he said, pointing to Ivan.

They trekked to the cave, this time staying together and walking towards the middle. Along the way, John had to light three new torches that Monty carried. The last three they had. “Well, we can only go as far as these now. We’ll bring more when we come back.” They each activated their vision spells in the hopes to see something. They cavern narrowed, eventually leading to a small exit.

Ivan stopped. “Keep going?” he asked. “I’d guess we have a two hour walk back to the entrance, another two hours back to camp. If we’ve been here even five hours, that gives us maybe three hours of daylight left to explore. We keep going for ---” He stopped abruptly and turned, raising his sword and torch. After a moment, he whispered. “Did ya hear that? I heard a chattering noise coming from the exit.”

They froze, intently listening for any noise. At first, all they heard was the drip, drip of water from stalactites. Then, faintly, they heard it. Chattering. “I don’t like this. Not at all.” John had put away his notepad and now stood, both hands on his sword. “Advance?”

“Yes. For a bit. We need to see.” Monty added.

“That’s the most I’ve heard you speak yet, Monty,” John said lightheartedly. He turned back to the exit. “Ok then only I go.” He put up his hand when Ivan started to object. “I’m quieter than you two by far. Take this.” He took off his chain hauberk. “I’ll just scope it out. If it’s something we can’t handle, we go back, prepare, and come back tomorrow. Ok?” They nodded. “If I don’t come back in, half an hour, come looking for me.” John smiled.

He headed in, no torch, only using the touch of the wall to guide him. He rounded several corners, the gravelly chattering getting louder and more distinct after each turn. He turned a final bend and stopped. He slowly crept ahead, a light showing from the wall. He reached up. “Luminescent moss. And it was hung here. It didn’t grow. Great.” He blew air out of his mouth and headed farther. After another few minutes of walking, there was now so much moss that he could easily see where he was going, and it was getting harder to stay hidden from sight. He heard it again. He dropped to the ground behind a small boulder when the noise he’d just heard sounded like it was only several meters ahead of him. He peaked around the edge of the rock, and that’s when he saw it, the small creature, gathering moss. “A Goblin,” he gritted through clenched teeth.

The creature was small and gray, maybe a meter in height. It had floppy ears, huge eyes, and sharp teeth. It had some of the moss around its neck and head and more in a pouch it was using to collect it. It slowly approached John, making its way down the cave wall oblivious to him. It was now on the other side of the boulder. John tightened the grip on his sword, ready to fight if need be. He saw a foot first, then a hand, then its huge eyes staring at him from the top of the boulder.

“Smelly human.” That’s all John heard before a rock was smashed on his head.