They had completed the simple quest and were ready for the Exploration quest. It read as follows:

Exploration Quest

Long, long ago in a dungeon far, far away…. Wait that has been overdone.

It was and dark stormy night…. That one too. Dang it

You my Dimond in the Rough yo…. No already taken.

So need you to go explore this cave alright and report what you see and if you happen to find anything just bring it to me. Explore don’t get killed and bring me what you find. Easy right?

Thanks!

Wow thought Josh a lazy quest giver and writer on that one but they had signed up for it so they went about doing what was asked of them. The cave was an hour away from town and to the west. The entrance was blocked off with a rope and a warning sign on it. The warning read ‘Beware all ye who enter here. Certain Death awaits!’

Pepe the Intrepid had not even paid attention to the sign. Instead of reading it he had gone under the rope and was ready to head in when he did not hear any footsteps behind him he turned around looking at his friends “What?”

“Primo did you read the sign?” His cousin shaking his head “That’s why we got into all sorts of problems back in Texas.”

“We did sign up to do the quest so I guess we should go ahead just be careful alright.” Bobby did not really want to do another encounter quite yet; he was still somewhat shaken from the previous one.

They went under the rope and Josh cast a spell as it was dark and after only a few feet no light but the entrance light could be seen. “[Light Orb]” it was a small light that he had in his hand and provided about three feet of light ahead and behind them. Not much but enough to see by. They made their way down and down there was nothing at the entrance but the sign and the rope and further in there were some spiders webs but nothing more.

Continuing they came to a fork they picked the left fork after going the light from the entrance of the tunnel was no longer visible. Josh’s light providing only a small orb of light around them helped but not much. They continued; the sounds started after walking for ten minutes. There were small scratch sounds as if rats or other small rodents were scratching the walls they moved their light left and right but found no rats in sight. A few steps more and they heard sliding of something and then one of them yelped as he had felt something.

“Hey something touched my leg!” Erin’s voice echoing in the dark cave.

A small wind picked up inside they could feel it coming from the direction ahead of them the smell of something rotting came with the wind. The smell of rot was making them gag and they continued as they needed to find out what was there and report it. As they walked they could see a light blue light ahead of them it seemed like an entrance to another section of the cave the smell was coming from there as well.

They continued to walk to the area slowing as they made it to the entrance. They extinguished the light spell and investigated the chamber walking in slowly. It was mostly empty in the center of the room lay a large animal corpse the smell came from this dead thing. There was also a nest of sorts and inside an egg a large gold colored egg. Nothing else was around and there was no entrance that would offshoot deeper in.

“Are we taking it?” Everyone looked over at Pepe.

“Why in the world would we take it? What if the mom shows up?” Erin did not want to fight a pist off mother.

“Well, the quest did say bring back whatever you find. And this covers the whatever.” They did not like it but Pepe had a point.

They picked up the Egg and stashed it Erin's packs. It was just big enough to fit, when they picked up the egg everything went wrong. Seconds after picking up the Egg they heard gears moving. They were far enough from the entrance that they had no way of making it out in time as a gate came down trapping them inside the cavern.

“I knew it! We’ve seen this movie a thousand times chicos never listen to Pepe. You know how much trouble he got me into back in Texas?”

“Oy primo that hurts! It was just poquito.” Smiling while remembering the mischief they had gotten into.

“Should be a way out of here. Look around.” Josh started to head for the blocked entrance.

After minutes of looking, they stopped they had not found nothing.

“These bars aren't going to budge unless someone has a torch? And I don’t think my spells are going to do much to it pretty tick stuff. But I can try.” The others nodded to his suggestion. He prepared himself and took out his wand. “[Fireball]!” He let it fly against the steel bars as soon as it touched the bars it was snuffed out. Josh shrugged at his friends; they would need to find another way.

They were all disappointed about the results how where they going to get out?

The wind they had felt earlier picked up again. But where was it coming from? It took another minute for them to find the source it was coming from behind one of the walls. Walls that they though were solid as they got closer they could feel a draft from the bottom of the wall.

They started to feel around the bottom and found that at the bottom was soft dirt they dug and dug and after working for a long time they were through. The other side was pitch black Josh cast his spell again illuminating the place they jumped back at what they saw. On the ground sat a skeleton it had what at one point could have been clothes now only rags. A rusted shield a sword and some armor pieces were next to him. Underneath the armor a pack could also be seen.

“Ooh this is getting interesting!” Pepe was excited the rest just shook their heads. Here they were risking their lives and Pepe was excited? He was having fun, the others not so much.

Bobby looked at the pack picked it up the leather breaking as he tried to lift it. Instead he removed what was inside to place in his pack. They would look at whatever it was if they made it out “Will just need to report this and hand over what we found.”

They left the skeleton and the rest of its belongings behind needing to find a way out of this place. They walked and walked but saw nothing else. Left, right, left, left, right and then they stopped as they saw another skeleton. As they got close they saw it was the same skeleton as before. Somehow they had gone full circle but that was not possible.

“Hey how? How did we end up back here? That makes no sense. Maybe we missed something?” That had to be it. Josh had been in the center with the rest close by and behind him. “Let’s try this again one of you keep a hand on one wall and another on the opposite wall.”

They moved like that for a little while before Manuel called a stop “I feel something well I don’t feel anything it’s more of an entrance I think.” He had been on the right.

Josh moved the light to the right next to where Manuel was and shined it forward seeing that just as Manuel had said it seemed to be a branching tunnel. “Alright we do the same thing Manuel keeps your hand on the right Bobby you keep it on the left.”

They continued like this finding other tunnel of shoots some on the right and others on the left. Some they needed to backtrack as they were dead ends but they were able to make progress and they had not returned to their starting point. After what felt like hours but it might have been less as being in the dark the passage of time played tricks on the mind the walls felt different.

“Hold on. Josh can you come over here please and point your light.” Josh made his way over to Bobby and pointed his light around him.

The wall looked different it looked more uniform no longer was it cave wall but shaped rock more like walls. The hand of something had shaped this rock with tools Josh made his way over to Manuel on the left and it was the same on that side. They walked on after more walking and little change they made it to a larger room. Instead of a narrow walkway the walls expanded left and right at an angle.

The rest stood at the entrance waiting. Josh made his way around the perimeter of the room his friends looking on his bubble of light. He noticed what looked like some form of shaped rock sticking out of the wall in it some dark liquid if he would guess it was oil. “I think there are some lamps in here. Erin can you come light it please?”

They had learned a little about going into something like this and they had brought something that resembled matches from the store before setting out on the quest. Were they prepared for everything? No not really but they learned from their mistakes and brought what they thought they might need.

“Hold on.” Josh could hear his friend walking over to him he came into view in the circle of light. He was then rummaging around his bag before he brought out something he struck it once twice on the third time a spark went flying into the substance.

The thing caught fire a bright light coming on then another and other they shielded their eyes as it was much brighter in the total darkness they had been in it was too much for their eyes. It took them a few minutes to let their eyes adjust to the bright light. What they saw amazed them.

Sitting opposite the entrance yet another corpse the corpse wrapped in bindings now a desiccated mummy. It must have been a ruler of some sort buried here long ago. They approached the throne slowly for that is what it was sitting on. A pedestal in front of the throne with an idol upon it covered in dust. The mummies arms crossed at the chest a golden scepter in one hand and whatever it had held in the other nothing remained of it.

“And here I am with my phone at home no fair this is the best maze I been in.” Pepe ever the optimist.

“Pepe if you touch anything I will kill you before something else does.” Manuel was not going to fight some undead mummy for his cousin craziness.

“I was not going to touch anything!” As his arm and hand came down he looked at his hand “Ok sorry I can’t help it this is so freaking cool!”

“Not going to be cool when this thing puts a curse on you and haunts you forever or it eats you and then the rest of us.” An exasperated Bobby was not happy with the situation.

Josh did not have time for all of this “Alright settle down everyone. We need to figure out what we need to do here.”

On the alter the idol looked like a bird of some kind it was hard to make out but it stood there waiting. Waiting for something what that something was they would need to figure out. They looked around the alter and saw holes on the different sides. After seeing this they paid closer attention to the whole room. There were small holes in the walls as if something was missing.

“Seems like we have a puzzle of some kind going on. Could be wrong but I have no other ideas.” Josh pointed at the holes he had seen. They looked at everything around them the light of the room spilling outside and illuminating the wall of the passage they had walked through. On those wall pictograms were drawn.

Bobby and Erin went out into the corridor to examine the walls while Manuel and Pepe looked at the walls as well as the ceiling in the room for clues. Looking closely they saw what appeared to be small pictures around them they had not paid any attention to this before.

Erin called them from out in the hallway. “Guys come see this.”

The other three went outside joining Bobby and Erin. They were looking at the drawings on the walls which the light had not shown as not enough light was available as they walked. Now the light from the chamber was sufficient to see the drawings.

Erin was touching one of the drawings “This looks like our friend in there. I think it is telling a story but it is difficult to decipher. Far as I can gather some great calamity happened and the leader was able to do something to help. He called another man; I am not sure what this figure means but it is different than the leader and this other person did something and opened a door and through that door came help? It’s faded so not sure who or what helped.”

The rest of his friends looked at Erin opened mouthed. Manuel was the first to say something “How in the world do you know all that it just looks like weird stick figures and squiggly symbols to me.”

A very embarrassed Erin color rising to his cheeks told them about his report in history class that he had done it had been on Egyptian Hieroglyphics. And these looked similar not exactly but they were a form of pictogram or hieroglyphic that he had been able to decipher.

“Thanks Erin I don’t know how it helps us but maybe you can tell from the other wall there seems to be similar drawings on it.” Erin took a closer look at the opposite wall.

He was quiet studying it after a few minutes of intense concentration he looked at his friends “I think I have it. Won’t bother you with an explanation lets head back into the room.”

Erin went to the alter examined everything about it. Then looked at the idol standing atop the alter went around it one way then the other. Looked at one wall then the next went to stand at the center of the room and turned around to each of the four walls. Returned to the alter and looked at his friends “I know we told Pepe not to touch anything but well I need to touch the idol.”

Josh was a little worried about this but nodded “Everyone let’s get ready we don’t know what is going to happen.” Manuel took out his sword and shield ready for anything Josh raised his wand Bobby started to cast a protection spell on the team Pepe had his twin daggers out at the ready.

Erin slowly raised his hands to touch the idol and upon touching it waited, waited some more making sure nothing was going to happen. After waiting for a few heart beats he turned the idol on the alter and heard a click. He attempted to continue turning but the idol would not budge any further. He looked down to see that a secret compartment had opened at the base of the alter.

“I think we are clear come look something opened back here.” Josh was the only one that moved the others staying in their positions until the ‘all clear’ from Josh.

He and Erin looked and then proceeded to open the compartment inside there were a lot of different of different shaped blocks “Guys I think we found our missing pieces. Come help so we can put them in the places they belong.” With all clear they put their weapons away and came over.

Josh passed each one of them different pieces and told them to go look around the room and see if they fit in the holes they had found earlier. It took some time to get the pieces on the walls as they finished the first wall another click was heard. They moved on to the next wall and similar upon finding the last piece another click. They did these two more times getting a click each time.

Erin and Josh worked on the alter placing the pieces as they found them. It was like a jigsaw puzzle and there were a lot of pieces to this puzzle. The other three returned to them with some left over pieces that they handed back to Josh. It took a few minutes to place the pieces there was one left and Erin had it in his hand. He tried to give it to Josh but Josh shook his head “No you figured it out we be stuck here for sure if you were not here. You place the last piece.”

Erin raised his hand to place the last piece held his breath as it clicked into place. One last click from behind a wall was heard. Then to everyone’s surprise the throne began to move and slide along the wall. They had found a secret passage hopefully it was the way out. They waited for the throne to stop moving before looking.

It was a passage as they had guessed. The light of the chamber went in a way but then it was dark again. Joshed cast his spell again and held the ball of light on his hand ready to move on. They went single file Josh in front with his light followed by Bobby Erin Pepe and finally Manuel. As Pepe was going in he looked at the mummy raised his hand and was about to grab the scepter his cousins stopping him before he could grab it. “No just no. I don’t want this place falling on us.” Pepe nodded sadly; he could not help himself.

Their friends had moved on and the orb of light was receding they needed to catch up with one last look Pepe and Manuel sped up and caught up to their other friends. They got in line and moved as one down the corridor.

They did not run into any more surprises lucky for them it still took a lot longer than they thought it would take to find the exit. They got lost and ended up going in a circle once there was another large chamber but it was just natural rock formations some sticking from the ceiling of the cave stalagmites and Stalactites though if you asked the group they did not know which one was which.

They walked and walked finally getting to what they thought was a dead end they could go no further. The looked around Josh pointing his light at the wall they had reached. The wall for that is what it was looked like it was worked it did not have the natural feel to it as the other walls had. As they examined the wall there seemed to be an outline as if it was a door and if it was a door there was a way to open it.

“This maybe it boys lets fine a way to open this.” Since Erin had figured out the puzzle room they looked at him.

“I can try.” Along with Josh they looked at the wall carefully examining every inch that they could. Erin kept going then stopped and backed up “Can you shine your light here.” He pointed at a spot and Josh moved his hand closer. There was something different about the area Josh reached out and felt the wall and pushed. They heard the grinding of rocks as the wall opened ever so slowly the noise was loud as they had been in utter silence inside the cave.

It took time for the large piece of wall to open. They stepped through and continued walking they made it to a fork and to their relief they saw the light from the entrance. They had made it out alive their steps quickened as they made their way to the entrance. They stopped and took a long breath of the fresh air in the cave the air felt stale. They saw that it was now late afternoon darkness would come soon so they would need to hurry back to Avadur.

Congratulations!

You have survived the Cave of Wonderings you have leveled up!

Josh

Lv 3

XP: 15%

Pepe

Lv 2

XP: 65%

Manuel

Lv 3

XP: 15%

Erin

Lv 3

XP: 15%

Bobby

Lv 3

XP: 15%

Turn in quest at Adventurers Guild and collect your rewards.

Lv2 grants 2 STAT points.

Lv3 grants 1 STAT point.

Please distribute your STAT points at your leisure.

“Yes Lv2! Too bad I was not able to help with the fight I could have been Lv3 already like you guys.” Pepe was still mad about that whole thing even though his friends told him he should not be. That was Pepe for you miss certain death and he was mad about it.

The others were too tired to celebrate gaining a level they just wanted to make it back to Avadur.

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

They made it back to Avadur with minutes to spare since Miss Tebesa had paid their fees the check in guard just waved them through.

They stopped at the Guild Hall to turn in the quest. Guild Manager Dog was working on paperwork because it does not matter what world you are in there is always paperwork. He had his round glasses at the end of his snout, and he was writing something.

He looked up as they came in “Welcome back did everything go well?”

They proceeded to tell him everything that had happened in the labyrinth of a dungeon they ended up in. He nodded to some of the things they said and wrote down things as they started to explain them. Ask a few questions here and there for his report “Alright well let me stop you before you go into too much detail the Quest giver will need you to tell explain everything that you saw and did. Let me bring it up and see who put the request in.”

He turned around and rummage through a filling cabinet. It was interesting to see him do it as his paws were not hands yet he managed to still do his job. He found what he was looking for took out a piece of paper and examined it shaking his head as he finished, he put it away “ah I am sorry about all you went through but it was a request, and you fulfilled the request to the letter it seems to me. The requester’s name is Professor Ilosia of the Archeologist Guild he is a bit on the lazy side hence the blurb in the quest.” He gave them directions to his office building.

“Thank you, guild manager. Will go see him now.” Erin took the lead, and they made their way to this Professor bloke.

He got to the small building he saw a sign hanging to the left of the door it was colored green and it looked like it had a crossed hammer pick and maybe a magnifying glass, but he was not sure. Erin liked history so this was a fun trip for him he knocked then pushed the door open when someone on the other side said come in.

“Hello Professor Ilosia?” Erin saw a small man that nodded he had long pointy ears that stuck to the sides instead of up. There was not a wisp of hair on top of his head, and he only had a small white beard and wore tick goggle looking glasses. His outfit was a khaki-colored button up shirt and he wore same-colored shorts by the looks of things as it the bottom of the shorts just made it past his knees. The office itself was a bit messy scrolls everywhere some items on top of the desk that Erin could not identify there was a small hammer some small chisels and some brushes.

“The adventurers how exciting! You went and fulfilled my request, yes? How exciting tell me what you found?” He spoke fast and his voice was a little raspy, but you could hear the clear excitement in his voice. Erin saw him rub his hands together eager to talk to them.

“Professor yes it was interesting to say the least.” His friends nodded at this. They proceeded to tell him about the place and everything about their little adventure and what they found. Finally, they took out the egg.

“Oh, look at that. I do not recognize it, but I will send my colleagues a description. Please bring it to my shop in the back and we can measure and take notes on it.” Erin was the only one that went with him the rest waited in the front of the small office.

Erin followed him to the back carefully carrying the egg it was not extremely heavy and it seemed that the shell was very strong, but you never knew dropping it might break it. Erin looked at the shop it was much more organized than the front office. The tools were very particularly placed it had to of been someone else that had organized the shop.

“Please place it here.” The professor pointed at the center of the table off to the sides the tools lay and apposite that a lamp and some magnifying glasses. Erin placed it were indicated and very carefully the egg staid put where he placed it.

The professor started to take measurements of the egg with wooden calipers, picking it up and placing it on a scale. The whole-time taking notes about the egg and writing it down in very neat script, “Alright all done, please keep the egg and I will contact you when my colleagues get back to me.” They returned to the front office.

They settled on the reward and the boys returned to the inn for the night. Erin unsure of what he was going to do with the egg. He kept it in his pack as he felt that with him it would be safest.

Unbeknownst to Erin the creature growing inside was starting to move. It now had the energy and emotions of another being keeping it warm, something that had not happened for a long time. And the creature was happy with this energy and the emotions that came off the young man.