Chương 5: Caves (1)

Rowan shot through the air, plummeting down towards the glimmering lake below. The wind whipped through his hair, and he shut his eyes, waiting for the inevitable impact with the dark waters. Then, he crashed feet-first into the liquid. — Rowan woke, head throbbing as he coughed violently. He tried to twist, but he couldn't. He was underwater. Or, at least, most of his body was. He was floating on his back, his face just barely above the water. He tried to take a deep breath, but there was still water in his lungs.

Forcing himself upright, he treaded water as he continued hacking up liquid. The water tasted bitter, almost like acid. Slowly, his breath returned to him. But as the panic faded, everything else made itself known. His head throbbed, and even as he kicked, he could feel his aching legs threatening to fail him. Glancing around, he realized his head had popped up in a cave. Desperate to escape the dark waters, Rowan pulled himself out of the lake. For a moment, he just let himself relax on the stone floor.

Then, he forced himself to focus. Had he blacked out when he hit the surface of the lake? It seemed so, but Rowan's biggest concern was whether or not his legs were okay. Nothing felt broken, but they ached terribly. He'd done his best to hit the water feet first, but the cliff had still been terrifyingly high, if not enough to kill him. Finally calming down, he took a moment to really take in his surroundings. The cave was lit by a mix of phosphorescent moss and the shimmering waters of the lake.

But the deeper he looked into the cave, the less moss there was, until all he could see was utter darkness. Turning his gaze back to the liquid that made up the lake, he inspected it more closely. He hesitated to call it water. It just looked too foreign. It was dark, far darker than any water should've been. But it also glowed. When he'd been on top of the cliff, he'd assumed it was just light reflecting off the lake, but it was an actual light source.

Before he could look any closer, Rowan received a notification. Weapon selection has begun. Please select a weapon. Longsword (Common) Shortsword (Common) Spear (Common) Dagger x2 (Common) Bow and Arrows (Common) Mace (Common) Flail (Common) Axe (Common) … Before he checked the list, Rowan took a moment to think. Since the System had said weapon selection was supposed to begin ten minutes after the grace period for Apocalypse difficulty ended, that meant he hadn't been out for too long.

As he propped himself against the wall and prepared to look over the choices of weapons, he felt a wave of nausea wash over him. Closing his eyes, he tried to ride it out. After a moment, it faded, but it never fully went away. Rowan shifted in discomfort. Had the kick to his head really been that bad? Or had jumping into the lake contributed to it? Accepting that the nauseous feeling wasn't going away anytime soon, he gritted his teeth and looked over the list. There were so many choices.

He hadn't even heard of half of them. Some of them didn't even seem like they were from Earth. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. So he began to rule out options. Anything he hadn't heard of was out the door. So were ranged weapons. He was in a cave, after all. As he looked back at the top of the list, he tilted his head.

He supposed a spear could be useful if he had to face something in the tight confines of the stone tunnels, but it would also be hard to maneuver. And if he wanted to turn it around… Depending on the length, Rowan thought that he might not even be able to do so. And for that reason, the spear was out. He shifted again. The nausea wasn't getting any better, and his skin was beginning to itch, too.

With most things eliminated, it left Rowan with a choice between bladed weapons, like a sword or blunt weapons, like a hammer. He grimaced, feeling a slight burn in his throat before he refocused. He wanted to choose a blunt weapon, if only because it seemed like it would be effective against both soft and hard-skinned things. A sword could work, too, if whatever he was facing had weak points, but he still didn't think it was the right option. Just as he was about to choose an option, he stopped.

There was no time limit on choosing a weapon. He could think on it while he figured out what kind of place he'd found himself in. Nodding to himself, Rowan envisioned the window disappearing, and to his surprise, it actually did. He quickly brought it back up and then closed it again to make sure it wasn't gone forever. Then, he carefully stood, trying to ignore his nausea. Rowan swallowed and frowned. His throat still burned.

Shaking his head, he bent down to take a drink from the lakewater that had made its way into the cave. But he stopped himself, a horrible thought coming to him. The nausea, itching, and burning. What if it wasn't from the kick to the head or thirst? What if it were the water itself that was the problem? Hastily, Rowan scrambled away from the liquid. As he came to the realization, the itching, the pain, everything became so much worse. He didn't know if it was just in his head or if something had actually changed.

But it didn't matter. All that mattered was surviving. He didn't know if he even could survive, but he had to try. And just sitting and doing nothing wasn't helping his chances. Taking a deep breath, he tried to calm his trembling body. There were only two options. He could get back into the lake, or he could go deeper into the cave. Despite the obvious danger the lake represented, Rowan was sorely tempted to take that option.

He had no idea how deep down he was; the lake's surface could be five or fifty feet above. But if the cave was just barely underwater… He took a moment to relish the idea of swimming up and getting back onto the surface. Rowan knew that there were dangers on the surface, but the idea of wandering into the complete darkness that was the cave was terrifying as well. Still, he knew he had no choice but to do so.

With how he was already poisoned, he thought that if he dove back into the waters, no matter how brief the time, there was little chance he would make it out alive. Stopping to grab a handful of the bioluminescent moss for light, he marched into the darkness. — Rowan stumbled forward, weaving through the endless caverns. Ever since he'd pulled it from the wall, the moss's light had been fading. And now it was barely visible. Not that it mattered; his eyes were closed in a futile effort to stave off the nausea.

He had no idea how long he'd been wandering. Minutes? Hours? He doubted he'd been trapped in the cave for too long, simply because he was still alive. His throat burned, and his mouth was dry. With each step, his head throbbed. He kept moving, slowly making his way through the stone tunnels. He'd all but lost hope when, in the brief moment that he opened his eyes, he saw a faint glow up ahead.

It was barely brighter than the moss in his hand, and in the near-complete darkness, Rowan had no real way to gauge the distance. So he pushed on, clinging to that lone, desperate hope that whatever he found would be enough to save him. Each step was like an eternity as he shuffled his way forward. Every inch of his skin burned. Mustering up the energy to crack open an eyelid, he searched for the light. It was closer now. So much closer. Then, he stumbled.

Rowan let out a weak cry of pain as his knees hit the rocky floor. He tried to push himself back to his feet, but halfway up, he was hit by a wave of nausea so powerful it was like a punch to the gut. As he emptied his stomach, he felt a tearing pain in his chest. He gagged as thick bile poured from his mouth. It tasted metallic. Like blood. But he kept moving, forcing himself forward. The light was so close now. He could almost feel it. Each breath was torture, each movement agonizing.

He fell once more, collapsing onto the ground. Opening his eyes, he saw it. The light. There, floating just feet before him, was a chain. It glowed faintly, illuminating the area. Rowan fixated on the light, on the metal links. He needed them. They were all he had left. Crawling forward, he reached out a shaking arm. And just as his vision faded, he felt the cool touch of metal on the tip of his finger. Inheritance Claimed: Chained Lord +3 to all stats