Chapter 25: The Abandoned Shrine

POV Eliza

When I opened my eyes again, all I saw around me was darkness. Where was I here? I wasn't dead, that much was certain. The pain that radiated throughout my body spoke for itself. I could hear a solid, quiet splash, like the dripping of water. My nose smelled a musty humidity. My eyes slowly got used to the darkness and I could see much more clearly. The ability to see in the dark was really handy. I seemed to be in a cave because I saw a ceiling above me. There was only darkness in front of me, but my ears could now make out that the dripping sounds were coming from deep in the cave. I tried to move, but all I could manage was a moan. Judging by the pain, I had broken several bones. What had happened to put me in this situation? The last thing I remembered was running away from our pursuers. I rode with Kira from the soldiers into these rocky hills. But since I could barely ride, at some point I fell off my horse and down into the gorge. No wonder I sustained serious injuries. I must have ended up in this cave. I was still thinking about what to do next when I heard quiet voices behind me. Was that Kira? No, there were several and they sounded male. These had to be our pursuers. They mustn't catch me. I had to get away from them, so I started crawling away from the entrance. The only direction I had was deeper into the cave. I slowly crawled along and could hear the voices getting closer. I could now understand what they were saying.

“Come on, keep looking. She has to be here somewhere.” <Captain>

“We’re already looking, captain. But in this darkness we see almost nothing. The moon isn't there to make it at least a little brighter." (<Soldier>

“What do you actually have your heads for? So that it doesn't rain in? Then turn on the torches. Do I also have to tell you to breathe?” <Captain)>

They were looking for me, clearly. Torches? Then they would definitely discover me. I had to get away from them. I crawled as fast as my strength and pain would allow. I cursed my lack of strength once again. Why did I have to be so weak? But crying didn't help, so I crawled on. On, on and on, on and on. I could see them getting closer behind me because it was getting noticeably brighter. I could see a big lead in front of me, quickly behind. Then they can't discover me. I gathered the last of my strength and even got myself up onto my knees. I reached the ledge quickly and yet infinitely slowly. Exhausted, I leaned back against the wall and gasped for air. The pain was almost unbearable and I was barely able to stay conscious. Then I heard the voices appear very close.

“There are so many rocks lying around here that you can't see far even with torches. And there is the gorge wall in front. I'll go there and search." <Soldier>

That was definitely the gorge wall where my cave is. I held my breath in fear and hoped for the best. But then my salvation came from an unexpected direction.

“Captain, over here. I found something. A spear.” <Soldier>

The voice was further away from my cave and the flickering light of the torch grew distant. It became dark and quiet around me again. Only the distant dripping of water could be heard. I dared to breathe again. I noticed that my mouth was completely dry and I almost started coughing. I held my breath again, frightened. Still silence. I still sat quietly and waited. I didn't know how long I waited, but neither the voices nor the torchlight returned. I didn't dare go outside because the enemies were lurking there. All we could do was either wait here or go deeper into the cave. At least there was water somewhere in the cave, so that should be my next destination. After gathering enough strength, I stood up with a groan. It was very difficult for me, but I staggered forward with the help of the wall next to me. The smell of musty humidity grew stronger and stronger. What surprised me was that the cave was structured more like a passage. It was significantly less jagged than I expected, as if it had been worked on before. But I didn't have time to think about that right now. I had to make sure I survived.

After endless minutes the passage opened into a larger round cave about 20m wide and 30m deep. In the middle was a lake with an island on it. And on the island there was something that looked like a building. An aura emanated from the building that I could feel up to here. The aura seemed familiar to me, maybe because it had the same calming effect on me as the full moon. I suddenly felt the pain much less and my panic became less. I gained new confidence and staggered further towards the lake. As I stood in front of the lake, I saw an old dilapidated bridge that led to the island. Only remnants of it could be seen and the musty smell seemed to come from them. It was probably made of wood.

Then suddenly I started coughing and I realized how thirsty I was. I got down on my knees and grabbed some water in one hand, bringing it to my mouth. I tried cautiously, it was ice cold but fresh. Apparently the lake was fed by a spring that continually supplied it with fresh water. I drank the water greedily and it tasted better than anything I had ever drunk before. Then I washed my face and immediately felt refreshed. In response, my stomach began to growl. Only then did I realize that I didn't have a backpack with me. I looked down and only saw my two belt pouches and the dagger in its sheath. I didn't have anything else. In one belt bag I had important smaller tools such as fishing hooks, line, a small knife and a folded bag. In the other I had an emergency ration that lasted about a day. It wasn't much, but it was all I had left. I had to deal with it somehow.

My eyes fell again on the building in the middle. It was about 3 meters square with a peaked roof. Since it had not fallen into disrepair, it would have been built of stone. But before I took a closer look, I walked around the lake and looked for other exits. But I couldn't see anything else except a damp cave wall from which water was dripping into the lake. The ceiling above me was also closed. I was always amazed that I could see so well despite the lighting conditions. I can't see any colors and only outlines, but otherwise it was almost like day. Without it my situation would be much worse.

The smallest distance from the edge of the shore to the island in the middle is only 2 meters and the water was not very deep. Since the bridge was dilapidated and no longer usable, I had to wade. I was already shivering from the cold water, but jumping wasn't an option in my condition. The building had an attractive effect on me and so I cautiously entered the lake. The ice-cold water flowed around my foot and my calf muscles immediately cramped. I cried out at the sudden pain and backed away. I had to massage my calf for 2 minutes to make the pain go away. So I could forget about wading through the lake. But how did I get to the island? I went to the site of the bridge again. About 1 m away I could see a rise just below the surface of the water and another a meter behind it. Another row of elevations could be seen 1 meter to the left. Maybe these are the stakes on which the bridge rested. I tested my luck and took a big step towards the front stake. It seemed stable and I stood on top. Luckily I had good agility value and was able to keep my balance. Then I took a step onto the next stake and it also held my weight. Now just one more step and I could get to the island. I continued to have luck and finally set foot on the island. I took a deep breath of relief.

Then I turned my gaze to the building. From this side I saw that there was a large passage in the side wall and something was standing behind it. Was that a statue? I walked closer and saw that it was a statue of a woman. The aura that I felt all the time emanated from this statue. It was the strongest aura I had ever felt. I felt that it was not a negative aura, instead one that was favorable to me. On impulse I touched the statue and I immediately heard a voice in my head that I had heard before at some point.

'There you are at last, Eliza. I have been waiting for you.'