Chapter 273:
Deep in the Cave
“Ivy, I think this cave goes even deeper.”
I followed the line of Druid’s gaze and saw that the cave really did extend farther. What’s more, I could see a faint light.
“Do you think somebody’s in there?” Druid asked.
I quickly searched for auras, but there were no human ones. It was a familiar aura, though. Who was it…? “Oh! It’s Snakey’s aura!”
“The serpent? Should we go see?”
“Pu! Pu, puuu.”
Mrrrow.
Sora and Ciel happily bounded off into the cave before I could even answer. Druid and I hurried after them.
Since this was a cave, the ground was treacherous, so we couldn’t actually make our way through it that quickly. What’s more, I was carrying Flame. If I tripped and fell, it might get hurt, too. My heart raced as we traveled deeper into the cave… Then, suddenly, Flame’s weight disappeared from my arms.
“Huh?!”
“I’ll carry Flame. This is too dangerous. You okay with that, Flame?”
I looked to my right to see Druid holding Flame.
“Te! Ryu, ryuuu.” Apparently Flame was also worried about its safety.
“Thanks.”
Druid patted me on the head. We followed Sora and Ciel a little deeper into the cave until we arrived in a space much larger than before.
“Whoa!”
There was Snakey, sprawled before my very eyes. It wasn’t moving, so perhaps it was asleep. Or was it dead? Worried, I took a step closer and…
“Puuu.”
“Sora?”
“What’s wrong?”
Sora cried out loudly, bouncing between Druid’s and my feet. Sora was warning us that it was too dangerous to go any farther. It had helped me out many times with this signal when I used to travel alone.
“That means it’s not safe to go any closer, right?” I asked.
“Huh?”
“Pu! Pu, puuu.” Sora bounced up and down, pleased that I understood.
“Thanks, Sora. Mr. Druid, it’s dangerous to get any closer.”
“Wow, Sora, you’re so smart. Thanks,” Druid said, crouching down to pat its head.
“Pu! Pu, puuu,” Sora happily jiggled in reply.
“But what in the world is the serpent doing here? Do you think it was the one who opened that hole?”
Druid stood up and examined the serpent, leaving ample space between it and himself. I could take its temperature by touching it, but since I was unable to do that, all I could do was call out to it.
“Snakey! Snakey!” My voice bounced off the cave’s walls, but the serpent didn’t budge. Had it died?
“Ivy, look! The spot beneath its face is moving.”
I looked where Druid was pointing…and it was indeed moving up and down.
“Is it alive?”
“Yeah. It’s breathing regularly, so it should be okay.”
“Oh, thank goodness.”
“But why won’t it wake up on its own?”
He had a point. We were so close to the serpent, calling out to it, but it showed no signs of waking. Was something happening to it?
“Hm?” Druid turned and walked back up the path we’d entered through. “Damn it, I think it started raining.”
“What?!” I hurried over to the mouth of the cave, and I could hear the pattering of the rain outside. It was quite loud, too, which meant the drops were large. And the howling wind was far colder than it had been before.
“It sure gets cold fast out here…let’s go back inside.”
“Okay.”
The area where Snakey lay was deep enough in the cave to be protected from the cold. If it stopped raining soon, we would be okay. And if it didn’t stop raining, we would have to find some way to get ourselves back to the village. Just the thought of getting hit by that icy rain sent shivers down my spine.
“Panicking won’t solve anything. Let’s have a little tea break.”
“Okay, good idea.”
Yes, let’s just calm down. I found a sturdy area and set out my cups. I took out my pot and used a red magic stone to heat up the cold water. One thing I hated about myself was that my magic was weak enough for me to need Druid’s help using magic stones. Would I ever get more magic? I put some tea leaves in the hot water, waited a little while, and then poured it through a strainer into our cups.
“Here you go, Mr. Druid.”
“Thanks.”
“How is it looking?”
Druid had checked Snakey all over while I made the tea. “I didn’t see anything that seemed unusual. It doesn’t look wounded, either.”
Well, that was good news. But I was still worried that it wouldn’t wake up. I just had a bad feeling about it.
“Do you have any theories, based on what you see from Snakey?”
“Well, if it’s not wounded, then it must be sick. Somebody could also have put it to sleep.”
Put it to sleep? That’s a terrifying thought. I shoved down my anxious feelings with a big, long gulp of tea.
“Hm? But it doesn’t make sense for it to be sick.”
“Yeah, I agree. If it were sick, then why would Sora and the others be keeping their distance? They might be trying to tell us we’ll catch the illness if we touch the snake, but Flame could always heal us. I doubt there’s any illness Flame’s potions can’t cure.”
So, does this point to the theory that someone put it to sleep? Like, an adventurer with as much magic as Snakey? But it doesn’t make sense that my slimes are keeping us away. Unless only the person who cast the spell on the serpent can come near it?
“Mr. Druid, is there a magic spell that could put Snakey to sleep and make it so only the caster can safely go near it?”
“Hm? Ah, I see what you mean. Yes, there is a spell like that, but you need a summoning circle for it.”
A summoning circle? I looked around Snakey, but I didn’t see any summoning circles drawn on the ground. Maybe it was hidden beneath its big body?
“Could Snakey be on top of the summoning circle?”
“No, the circle has to be bigger than the subject you’re casting the spell on.”
Okay, so the serpent couldn’t hide it. I took another careful look around Snakey, but I could find nothing resembling a summoning circle.
“This is just a big mystery, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, I wish we could ask somebody about it…”
I was fairly certain that Snakey was Hatow’s guardian deity. But if we were wrong and told somebody, they might hunt it. And if it did turn out to be their guardian deity, that would cause quite a commotion.
“What should we do about this…?” Druid fell into thought, a perplexed look on his face.
“Pu! Pu, puuu.”
I turned toward the voice and saw Sora and Flame playing with the little black orb creatures. They sure get along well. Wait… Noticing Ciel was gone, I looked around the cave. Then I spotted it, right in front of Snakey’s face.
“Ciel…?”
“Huh?” Druid, also noticing Ciel, stared at it.
“Isn’t Ciel too close?”
“Yeah.”
Ciel was bumping its nose against Snakey’s. Then, the next thing I knew, a sinister magic energy surged up from the ground.
“Ciel!”
The moment the magic sprung forth, Ciel jumped behind me. The adandara had just barely avoided getting caught up in that menacing magic force.
“Oh, thank goodness.”
But what was that sinister magic aura? I hadn’t even touched it, and it made my skin sting.
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