章 9: 009
009
After countless weeks spent in what turned out to be a tunnel system inside a mountain, Marcus finally reached the surface. The last thing he saw before collapsing at the foot of the entrance, was a rural forest and a night sky well lit by the three moons gathered in the sky. He truly was on a different world, with far more stars lighting the voided space between the impossible set of moons.
Marcus woke up with the joy of sunlight hitting his face for the first time in this new world. When he opened his eyes, he saw there was only one sun in relation to the three moons that were no longer there. The amount of suns didn't matter though, when all he needed was the heat he was basking in now.
He put his hands in front of his face to shield from the sun's rays and was surprised as to how red his nails and skin had turned. His eyes were beginning to adjust to real light, not just the faint glow of the crystals.
'I'm sure I probably look monsterous, bloody and feral.' Marcus sighed to himself and decided it was time to move.
The sudden change from an underworld setting to a green and lush woodland forest had felt like he'd been reborn for a third time.
Once he stood up, he tore off the Skulker skin socks and felt his feet rub against the warm grass, he decided to stand there and enjoy the new feeling. After countless days and nights walking on the cold, coarse rock, this felt like it was a luxury carpet greater than anything he had in his old apartment.
'Oh god, what's going to happen to all my stuff back on Earth?' Marcus only now decided to worry about all the stuff he lost back on Earth.
"Oh God! Who is watching Mochi!" Marcus cried loudly into the woods, not realizing until now that because he died, his apartment would be emptied of all his belongings like his rugs, furniture, and clothes. Then everything would be passed on to his closest of kin per his will. That wasn't too big of a realization, but then he remembered that his dog, Mochi, would have been home alone for all the time he was dead. Who was feeding the poor dog? His water bowl would empty every two days, and he needed out every afternoon when Marcus got home from work like clockwork.
Marcus was stressing too much to realize he had lived in an apartment complex, the moment his dog would start barking, someone would figure out that he was gone or notify the landlord. Too bad it would take him about two more weeks to figure that out.
After reassuring himself that his previous life probably ended well, Marcus decided to look for the stuff he brought out of the tunnel with him. Yet the sling made of wet skin and intestine twine was gone.
Marcus looked to the wooded area in front of him and was surprised to see his bone spear and bag had been dragged through the treeline. His bag was full of holes and torn open across a thorn shrub, while the spear had some small bite marks along the middle as well as getting caught under a tree root.
'Seems the surface wildlife was interested in eating my survival gear. At least they weren't big enough or brave enough to go after me.' Marcus inspected his moved belongings and himself.
He didn't see anything taken directly off his body so it seemed the stealthy little thieves were only capable of so much. He grabbed his spear and almost began his hike through the woods.
Marcus stopped and stole a glance back at the hole he had just escaped from, the perfectly cut rectangle in the mountain's side was pitch black inside. Just looking at the entrance drove the heat from his body.
He only stopped because he remembered something just before falling asleep on the grass. 'There was something in the middle of the cave, what was it?'
Passing out from disbelief had made his night rather fuzzy, so Marcus was somewhat curious as to why the mountain and all its awful tunnels were designed like this.
Inside, Marcus could see more clearly that the room was still vacant of everything but the little statue in the center. On the wall opposite to the exit, was the entrance back into the dark tunnels he now learned to fear. He had no interest in that though, he was curious about the object standing in the center of the floor.
It was a two foot tall block of stone with the hilt of a sculpted sword sticking out of the top. Marcus slowly approached it, uncertain if he should be glad to find such a thing. This was the first manmade object he'd come across and it could have symbolized anything.
Some older religions back on Earth would make all sorts of things to ward off curses or bless warriors, but this was Krotosia now; a place of weird monsters, mountain labyrinths, and a stranded naked man wearing untanned monster flesh.
For all he knew, the stone could be poisonous to his body, or its a secret trapdoor lever that'd throw him right back in the mountain.
'Maybe it's best if I leave this thing be. It doesn't look like anyone's been here in a while anyway, no point in waiting for worshippers that never come.'
He did a small once over and noticed faint markings carved into the side that faced the exit. They meant nothing to him, it wasn't in any language or script he could recognize, so he could only look over the details a few times before saying his final farewell to the place he'd never call home.
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