Unwilling Dungeoneer

Part Two of Two

Julio was walking slowly down the spiral staircase, one hand on the clammy wall, surrounded by complete darkness. In his haste to get down the staircase, he had forgotten to grab a torch. He had forgotten to bring his pack too. The only thing he had on him was his notebook and writing material. Yes, I should have thought about this a bit more. He scolded. His darkvision was not much help, he could barely see his own hand, but that was nothing new.

He slowly, but steadily followed the path down. Genuinely surprised that Hector, Clyde and Lola had not caught up with him yet. What is taking them so long? It is not that difficult of a puzzle. but nonetheless, he did not hear them.

It took him some time before he reached the bottom of the stairs, where he was met with even more darkness. “This darkness is getting tiresome, completely claustrophobic.” Julio remarked to himself with a grimace.

He was following a wall until he got to an edge of sorts, when he tried to grab for it. It disappeared between his fingers. He started to panic, moving backwards trying to grab ahold of something, finding nothing to hold on to. In that instant when left in nothingness, the panic took over, his head began throb, and his pulse racing, it started to feel like he was buried deep underground surrounded by darkness and the eerie silence that comes with it. But it was a different silence here. In the cavern it was the silence of a big open space, but here it was the cornered silence of closed tight quarters. Julio was now gasping for air, feeling the press of everything around him, like he was buried, like there was not enough air. The uncertainty of what to do, with the panic gripping tight around his throat, he kicked off the ground, all though it did not feel like the ground should. It was soft and felt more like dense water. 

Julio started moving upwards at an angle, not fast by any means, but he was moving. So surprised by this fact, he completely forgot about the claustrophobic feeling. Am I flying? It does not feel like it? I still feel the ground underneath my feet. It feels more like dry mud. 

Feeling entirely baffled by the situation, Julio tried to think to move ahead in the darkness. After a couple of tries, it worked. He managed to move forward, feeling everything around him, moving around or through him. It was an unnerving feeling, but at the same time, he had never felt more free to move in whatever direction he wanted. 

While caught up in the moment, Julio felt something downward to the left, like this would be the right way to move. He began to move that way, only to feel something blocking his way, he tried to move through it, but it would not allow it. Frustrated by this, Julio moved up instead, only to find something blocking him this way. so he moved down again following the blocking obstacle, until it was not there anymore. Wait, is this a labyrinth? you got to be kidding me. Julio thought to himself, noticeably more amused than annoyed. He quickly found a pattern that seemed to move him in the right direction. Some time later, he got the feeling he had arrived, where he wanted to go. but there was nothing around him. He could not see anything. He tried to move forward a little bit at the time and all of the sudden, he was standing at the edge of the fully lit cavern, almost like he had stepped out of the rock wall. 

Did I come through there? how? Julio was smiling with a wide grin, completely lost in the possibilities. He was studying the rockwall, seeing if there were any tricks to go back. it seemed to be one way. That is an unsettling revelation. This would mean the only way out is through. Julio was still smiling, he did not know why he was so excited from the prospect of facing more of these trials. 

He took a look at the cavern, the ceiling was too high to see, but he could see both side walls and an end wall and maybe a curve. Julio began walking, looking around. but for a long while nothing happened, he was walking along the one wall and easily came to the curve, he thought he had seen. Before going any further Julio looked back and found it a bit weird, the entire cavern was almost comically straightly carved. 

After going through the curved section, Julio came to a slimmer area, with a bridge leading across a long stretch of open space, there was no other way across. There were walls on both sides and at the end of the bridge, he could see a small podium. Something on the top was emanating the same dark green pulsing light that had been present at the tortoise statue. 

As Julio moved closer to the bridge, he felt an uneasiness. It cannot be this easy, there has to be something more to this. Julio's suspicion grew, as he crept closer to the bridge. As soon as he was within reach of the bridge, rocks and boulders started to fall from the ceiling. Most of them never touched the bridge, but some would hit with irregular intervals, shaking the ground when they did. Julio stopped and stood in shock and awe. how am i supported to get through this! 

He was staring in hopelessness at the immense challenge before him. But as he stared at the rocks and boulders fall, he quickly noticed a pattern. Three rocks would land on the bridge, followed by a short pause and then two Boulders hit the bridge, followed by a longer pause before the pattern started over again. From what he could see, he would not have enough time to run across the bridge, in the longer pause, but maybe he would be able to see the rocks coming, while he was running across the bridge. 

Julio continued to stare at the thousands of rocks and boulders falling, they were falling like from a waterfall, as if something was pushing them over an edge high up, beyond the darkness. It was first when he saw the twice boulder hit and fall off the bridge, he noticed that he was running at the dead sprint. What am I doing? Azuth, I can not stop now! The thoughts racing through his head. No! I need to focus. When are the rocks going to land?

Julio barely had the thought before he saw it. It is too late, I can not move out of the way. The rock was on top of him. Failure once again. Why would I believe it would be different now?

Wait? Why am I not dead? Julio had closed his eyes anticipating the crushing weight of the rock. But he had jumped out of the way instinctually. He got to his feet quickly, when he heard the second rock fall on the bridge. But he was running back the way he started. I cannot do this. The third rock hit somewhere close behind him. He ran faster, soon after it Julio was back where he started. There has to be a way to cross this bridge. Julio’s frustration grew with every rock and boulder hit the bridge. He spent a long time pondering on how he could get across. But there was no logic to where the boulders or rocks would land on the bridge. Only the same pattern. The bridge was too long to sprint across. He decided to take a rest, just for a little while. I did not get a lot of sleep after all. He went back to the curve in the cavern, where the waterfall of rocks could not be heard as well. 

Julio leaned against the rocky wall, and slid down on his bottom. He immediately felt the weariness take over. I will just take a short nap. During all of the excitement, he had not noticed how exhausted he was and how hungry he was. When he had felt the powerful magic of the trail and how he had wilted it with ease. It was surreal, it was… well… magical. I want it. I need it. Julio thought to himself as he drifted into sleep. A deep slow growling voice sounded in Julio’s deep sleep. 

“The mountains have been there since the dawn of time, immovable and unchanging. Civilizations will rise and fall, forests will flourish and wither, oceans will swell and recede, yet the earth, the rock and soil will remain eternal and unyielding. It is always influenced, yet it endures unaltered. The earth knows not haste, everlasting witness to the fleeting lives of those wandering upon it. It knows no urgency, only the quiet persistence of time. Embrace the timeless truth: the mountains only are moved by the passing of ages and even then they only moved for themself, no other.”

Julio’s dreams were of mountains weathering the long years of civilization coming and going, forests overgrowing and dying and oceans rising and falling. But the mountain was still there, nothing had been able to move them. Everlasting patience. 

Julio woke up slowly, he looked around like he was certain he had just missed someone, but he did not see anyone. Only the dark green pulsing light from the podium across the bridge under the waterfall of stones, rocks and boulders. 

When he got up, he could feel the weariness, the hunger and the words from his dream, “the mountains only are moved by the passing of ages”

In a slow and steady pace, Julio moved towards the bridge, with a new approach solid in his mind. He walked with the everlasting patience of the mountains. 

“It is always influenced, yet it endures unaltered.” the words firmly fixed in his mind. He reached the bridge, stepped on it, with no fear and no hesitation. One step at a time, rocks and boulders falling around him. The first rock landed on the bridge in front of him and rounded off the edge, the second rock somewhere behind him, he felt the shock from it hitting the bridge. The third rock he saw coming, it would land on him, if he did not move out of the way. 

“The mountains have been there since the dawn of time, immovable and unchanging.” He continued on his path with no thoughts for his safety. The rock landed harmlessly against his skin. Julio barely felt it. He walked across the bridge at the same steady pace and with the same patience and confidence.

He approached the podium, the dark green light emanated from an emerald with a swirling pattern of dark and light green colors inside. All of it moving with the pulsing of a heart. Julio stared at it for a long moment, watching the colors swirling and pulsing around inside. 

He decided to learn a bit about this clearly magical object. He started to mumble the incantation, feeling all of his magic flow through him and move towards the emerald. Julio’s smile widened as he learned a bit about the emerald in front of him. It was old, ancient even. It was something like a prison to hold pure power. He could not understand everything, the spells used were old and complicated, and Julio had never been much of a mage to begin with.

Julio could not hold back anymore, He needed to feel this immense power in his hands. Picking up the emerald, he felt a rush of magic racing through his hands into his body. As he thought it would be too much, the flow stopped and the deep slow growling voice sounded again in the back of his mind. “Patience will always win. The eternals should always be patient.” 

Julio knew instantly who had spoken to him. “So, you are the guardian of earth? Or do you have a name you would rather use?”

“Those who are eternal, have no need of names. I am the bearer of worlds, the everlasting patience.” the guardian answered with such self importance, that Julio felt the rumble of conviction through his body. 

“We are now bound to one another. I will share my resilience, strength and patience with you. In return you shall fulfill my requests in full, as they arise.” With that statement, the emerald grew a necklace made of different types of minerals in a ray of colors around Julio’s neck, it gave off the everpresent odor of damp stone. 

“Yes, bearer of worlds. I shall fulfill your requests.” Julio smiled, the thought of the power he would wield. He suddenly noticed that he could see everything around him. Not just the stone waterfall or the bridge, but where the stones fell from and where they landed. He could feel the whole cavern and knew that with thought he could change it. 

“What first, Everlasting Patience?” Julio asked, expecting a long explanation of a plan. 

“First, we return to the surface, leaving the prison behind us.” 

Julio started forward at the same slow pace and passed over the bridge easily, pushing the rocks and boulders out of the way. Julio noticed even if he wanted to run, his body would not let him. He found he was not annoyed by it. “Mountains only are moved by the passing of ages” it echoed in his mind. 

As Julio approached the labyrinth, with awe. Now seeing, feeling the full picture, the whole labyrinth in all its glory. Impossibly large, a masterpiece he had not understood until now. “My wardens built this to keep out any who seek me out.” 

“It is impressive, but I found the way through it with some ease. How can that be?” Julio asked, still in awe of the grandeur of the labyrinth. 

“My influence guided you to me.” the guardian replied. 

Julio started towards the labyrinth and entered it with ease, moving through it was much simpler, now that he saw the whole labyrinth before him. He came to the staircase, still at the same steady pace. 

As he got to the top of the staircase, he landed a hand on the blocked pathway, letting the element powers run through him and requested it to let him exit. The pathway opened as it had before he entered. Raising up to reveal a doorway, Julio exited, met by the light of the pulsing glows of the symbols. Yes, finally free again. “Freedom! Hahaha! And it seems I am not the only one.”