1 The Cave

A barricade of rocks blocks the entrance to the cave said to hold the treasure you most desire. You blast threw the wall with your flame magic. After a magnificent, blinding explosion of red hot magic, the dust settles. And where the wall stood is now a crumbling, smouldering mouth of a decrepit cave passage that extends far far into the earth. As you enter the smell of must and mildew hits you. And the floor underneath gives way to rough stone and uneven cobble slimy with moss and condensation. As you walk deeper into the cave the light grows dimmer and dimmer. Making it even harder to navigate the small rocks that reach up from the ground below. You struggle to maintain your vision. You faintly hear the sound of stale water leaking and dripping threw the cracks of the ceiling above. The sound of pebbles displacing echos loudly. And just before you start to rethink how far you've gone into the cave, the unmistakable scent of a sweet salty ocean breeze kisses the inside of your nose. The air ahead feels colder. You see a faint glimmering in the distance. At last the corridor of earth and filth opens into a glorious isolated cavern. Aluminated by a hole in the ceiling where a waterfall gracefully pours sea water into a pool collecting at the base of the chamber. It sparkles with magic. Several smooth stones protrude from the basin. And there seated on the largest one, seated in pale moonlight, is a single, perfect, mermaid. She's beautiful yet so familiar to you. She freezes in place and swiftly looks at you. A deer in the headlights. It's as if time stands still and all of reality melts away, until all that's left is this perfect moment between you and her. Mermaids are very rare. There aren't many of them left. Sometimes their lifeless bodies wash ashore on beaches. Their chests long have taken their last breath. But to have the chance to see one alive is considered a very divine gift.