Hope to meet again

The air was damp from last night's rain, and the campfire barely kept the chill at bay, the ground was starting to dry as the sun's light bore down on it. Two tents sat next to the campfire, mostly dry by now along with their hosts who were finishing off their freshly caught breakfast.

The taller of the two men had a sharp look about him, dirty blonde hair with a beard to match, his leather armour strapped on and sword in its sheath, his bow and quiver lay at his side as he sat next to the campfire. The shorter man wore simple cloth and a cloak which suited his slimmer frame, presiding the dagger fixed to his belt nothing about him looked sharp, as his black tied-back hair hid in his hood only showing a short beard on his face, barely masking his kind features.

"Back on the hunt today Mikeal?" The shorter man said as the fire started to die, a shame but necessary he told himself. "Aye, the bounty on him might have increased by the time I catch him with how long it's taking." The blonde man sighed while shouldering his quiver. "You watch yourself on your travels, I reckon them wolves haven't cleared off that path." He clicked his tongue which his horse replied with a snort.

The men had only their tents left to pack before the day officially started, "I hope the next town is close, friend." The black-haired man said while checking his things, "Are you cursing me Greysen? The closer that town is the easier that thief is gonna have it." He joked while unhitching his horse and mounting it.

Thoughts clouded Greysen's eyes as he watched on but soon resolution flashed through them, he happened to meet Mikeal's blue eyes which stared back into his murky green. "Hope to meet again!" Mikeal shouted as he set off, a damned saying if you asked Greysen. "Hope to meet again." Barely made its way to Mikeal as he sped off.

With a sigh and a final look around, Greysen too set off from the clearing, down the same path Mikeal took on his hunt. His tent was now dry and packed away while the fire had all but died as Greysen and Mikeal said their goodbyes.

'We will meet again soon, enjoy your final hunt friend.' He thought, testing the ground with his boots, 'At least the earth is soft today.'

A few days before.

It felt like the earth was too cold and started to shiver, all birds took off in flight while animals ran or hid, and while the entire world felt like it was breaking it only was in a small area of the forest, so small in fact only one person even noticed the occurrence.

With a start Greysen sat up and pulled his dagger, cursing his luck that some bears had found his tent, only the shaking was too fast and fleeting for it to be a bear. After imitating a statue for a while, his heart finally calmed a little allowing him to move.

A quick check around his tent revealed the absence of bears or their tracks, 'Higher chance bears had learnt how to fly than a monster passing by.' He joked trying to make sense of what happened, his gaze quickly flew around the clearing checking for any other explanations but none could be seen, he was sure nothing had changed, looking all the same as earlier that night.

It was only now he noticed the cold sweat on his body and the dryness in his mouth, his heart still pounding in his chest telling him he wasn't as calm as he thought. He chose to camp next to a river for many reasons but had never considered its sudden new use to him now.

A quick trip towards the river and then back to sleep, it was only a minute away and his eyes had started to adjust to the night now, he could calm his nerves and check his surroundings further before going to sleep again. After putting on his boots and strapping his belt on, he took off.

He told himself it might have been the lack of sleep playing on his mind but he couldn't hear anything else but his own footsteps.

The sound of the river was slowly picking up as he walked onwards, the walk seemed a little steeper than he remembered but he hadn't paid much attention to it before. 'Maybe the mine collapsed? That caravan said there was a mining town nearby.' His mind was steeped in thought as he walked towards the river, his feet taking one step after another.

His mind suddenly blanked as his body fell, he had barely realised he was falling before pain racked his body as he slid, he soon made a stop and looked around him. He made out a slope behind him but it was too steep to be a ditch, the ground was level all around the river.

The smell of dust lingered in the air as he slowly pawed about, the rock at his feet was cold with the occasional puddle there. The moon had been hiding behind the clouds that night, there was no moonlight leaving the surroundings pitch. 'I don't remember there being a damn cave near the river.'

His stumbling soon bore fruit as he found a wall, the pain had mostly faded by this point and a quick check told that everything was in place and at the appropriate angles. He leaned against the wall gathering his breath as he noticed it was too smooth to be a part of a cave, his eyes started to wander as he caught something in the dark above him. He slowly reached towards it and pulled it free.

'I'd had always heard about ruins being discovered with lost treasures buried in them.' The torch was old but it still caught the sparks from his fire striker which he was thankful he always kept in his pouch, as the torch sprung to life the light revealed what was around him.

A long stone room, with arches holding the roof, under the light the slope revealed to be partly containing stone brick explaining the rough landing, looking to his left he saw rows of stone benches facing towards a pile of rubble.