Fortunately, the next two days pass without any mishaps, however the banquet is coming and I still do not know what to think of it. Missing it is not an option; Antonia will make me pay dearly if I do miss it.

  ‘I guess I better put on my best attire.’

  Which happens to be the clothes I wore for my ceremony of passage: a simple brown tunic and a leather cord to tie around the waist. I bought it from one of the tailors across town, it cost me half of what I had managed to save in the last six years.

  It is customary to receive a token or small object from the parents as a symbol. My father of course did not offer anything while I know for a fact that here offered my two brothers a simple copper ring, not much but still more than me. My mother gave me a thin leather necklace clearly made from scraps she collected in the shop, to maintain appearances I now believe.

  “Do not be too harsh with your father, he is a man of focus, and he is the reason the shop is still afloat.” She told me while offering me the necklace.

  ‘He is also the reason my token of adulthood is literal trash.’ I said back in my head, not wishing to hurt my mother.

  As I begin to change into my outfit I hear my father from the other room:

  “Scypion! Go see Seti will you, I am tired of waiting for my order of leather. He probably is too drunk to deliver it, the drunkard!”

  Sighing, I put back my work clothes, take a few things and walk down the main street, toward the limits of the town. Seti is the local hunter, he is the one you need to go to if you are looking for game meat, or good leather. He hailed from Silvana and is a bit eccentric; he likes his booze and his solitude.

  That is probably why his cabin is lost in the middle of the forest near the town; no one likes to go there as people go missing from time to time. The Empire is only partially tamed after all, traces from the Olds are still left and strange beasts roam the lands. I look at the sun’s position right as I pass the town’s gate and deduce that I have more than enough time to make the trip and get back before the banquet starts.

  The forest is thick with leaves, bushes and ferns. A small dirt path slithers between the trees. These trees are not as thick or tall as those you can find in Silvana but they are impressive, nonetheless. Light still manages to pass through the foliage but the shadows deep.

  A few birds are chirping, and I can hear the rustling of the branches. Passing by a clearing I manage to see in the distance a herd of venison grazing. I take advantage of a nearby stream to drink and wash the dirt of the last few days of my face. The ice cold water is refreshing in the forest humidity.

  I am about halfway from the hut when I first catch a shadow moving, right at the periphery of my vision, I turn my head slightly, but I see nothing unusual. Shivering, I speed up. The path starts going up a small hill covered with boulders and less vegetation, mostly moss and small shrubs. Right as I start the ascend, I catch sight of another moving object, again just at the edge of my vision.

  I try to convince me that it simply the shadows cast by the branches, I fail and start remembering some of the stories I heard back at the Old Duck. The fact that I cannot think of any that end well does not help at all. I realize that I cannot hear the birds anymore.

  Shivers go down my neck like I am being observed and my hands are sweaty. I do not even reach the top of the hill that a shadow moves again, this time it feels closer, no, it is.

  ‘Shit, not good!’

  I run, not back to the town, it is too far, but to the hut as it should be closer. I reach the top of the hill, there is no trees, only masses of rocks, I could turn at try to confront whatever is giving me chase but I am too scared to look back and I am unarmed.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  I keep on sprinting, weaving between the boulders covered by lichen, the undergrowth scrapping and nicking my legs. I start going down the slope, at first easy enough to navigate I hope to outrun whatever is behind me, however the path gets steeper and I keep accelerating until i almost cannot keep up with my own speed.

  And just as I am want to slow down, I slip on some mud, some damn mud. I fall, cursing my luck and I roll down the side of the hill, squashing small bushes which in return scratch my body. Eventually I leave the trail not able to control my trajectory, I brace, expecting to crash into a tree or a rock. Then the ground disappears below me, I fall an instant and crash onto the ground.

  I wake up, my entire body is screaming. Still disoriented I look around and see that I am lying in a circle of light coming from a hole in the ceiling above me. I feel moss under my body as well as small rocks digging into my back. I suddenly remember the shadow, the pursuit and my fall.

  Out of fear, I jerk my body up and try to stand, however with the sudden movement pain overwhelms me and I end up back on the ground. I take a few deep breaths, calming myself down, I try sitting, making slow and controlled moves. Each movements is excruciating but I eventually manage to. Now that I am in a more comfortable position I check my body for injuries:

  'No broken bones, and it doesn't look or feel like I am bleeding out.'

  While I am miraculously not gravely injured, I am covered in scratches, cuts most of which are not bleeding anymore, leaving a thin crust on my skin, and nasty bruises.

  'I look like I had a brawl with five people and lost.'

  Other than that, my shirt and pants are ripped in several places, and I am missing one of my sandals. My satchel is sitting right beside me, its content still inside: a pair of Silex stones, an apple now smashed as well as piece of papyrus where a proof of order is written.

  My eyes are now used to the surrounding darkness, and I take some time to observe the cave. It looks like a regular cave, the ceiling setting about 5 meters above, the rocky walls still wet from the previous rain. The only thing that does stick out is how strangely spherical it is.

  I look under me and I see that I am sitting on top of a small dirt mound, covered in moss. Most likely it is what broke my fall and the reason why I am mostly intact. I stand up and figure that I won't be able to leave this place the way I came. I go down the mount, my legs still shaking.

  As I put a foot on the rock, I notice that the ground is quite peculiar. I realize that it is overly flat, not uneven like you would expect from a random cave and it is not rock that I stand on but a glassy black stone.

  I get closer to one side of the cave and inspect the walls. I begin to see columns, arches and overhead moldings. I piece together that I am standing in a dome, not some natural formation but a man-made structure. However, the stone looks strange, as if it had melted and cooled quickly. I stand there incredulous at what could have possibly happened.

  As I walk along the wall, I first find a tunnel of which I do not see the end. A flash of pain quickly reminds me of the state I am in, and that it is not time to rush. I decided to keep on exploring the dome. A few dozen steps later, I find a statue hidden in the shadows. I stubble back.

  'What kind of creature is that?'

  While humanoid in shape, the statue stands about three meters tall, sculpted with a light tunic on, the details of the fabric astonishing, two of its four arms reaching up, toward the sky, as if trying to touch the sky. Its lower hands are holding the handle of what should have been weapons, now reduced to pebbles and laying on the floor.

  However, it is its head that is the most dreadful feature: it is faceless, no nose, ears or eyes to be seen, just a smooth surface, as if the sculptor forgot to give it a face. Then there are also its seven horns in a semi-circle adorning its head that adds a menacing look to the already disturbing statue.

  Unlike the rest of the structure, the statue is defect-free, sculptured out of a dark grey stone that I do not recognize. The figure radiate a strong energy as if only almost alive, only frozen in place. It takes a physical effort to take my eyes off of it.

  After exploring and not finding any other thing of interest I start considering my options.

  I look at the gap in the dome I fell from, but I refrain myself from trying to call for help; the creature might still be roaming around. The tunnel is the only option left for me. The dark passage is not inspiring, but I do not have any other choice, I reason. I catch myself glancing at the statue and shiver, uncomfortable.

  Suddenly, I realize that I feel quite hungry. I am intrigued as I ate just before leaving for the forest, I nonetheless eat the bits of apples still intact.

  Deciding that I need a light source, I created a makeshift torch using a thick stick found on the floor and part of my shirt. I take a last glance at the light coming from the crevasse, light the torch using my silex and I leave the dome and its effigy, entering the darkness.