Chapter Eleven: A Fork in the Road

We ventured down into the wide eerie expanse of the dark cave. It was decently spacious with a low ceiling, wet and dripping with water.

The light from outside only illuminated the entrance area of the cave. But a few seconds into the cave, the darkness was dimly illuminated by strange luminescent spores floating around in the air.

Looking to the sides of the caves, at the bottom of the walls were unsettling mushrooms. These fungus were oddly shaped, bright and colorful. They latched onto the uneven wet walls of the cave. From their luminescent body, the spores were constantly released within intervals. Providing a decent amount of lighting in the cave.

... Just enough to watch our feets.

The mushrooms were littered everywhere so the amount of spores in the cave were close to abundant.

With close, careful and weary steps, we continued down inside the cave. The passage and darkness seemed to go further and even more deeper. The ground underneath our feet was squishy and unsettling from the strange dampness of the cave.

The droplets of water beating eerily against the ground only added to the pressing tension of the party.

Mere minutes into the cave, and the ground seemed to slope downwards. It wasn't exactly at a steep angle though. Just enough to understand it led a steady decent underground. Slowly but surely.

Don at the front of the party stopped just before the slight slope. He leaned his head forward and looked down, wearily peering into the darkess of the slope.

He hesitated to take another step.

He looked slightly over his shoulder, his face dimly illuminated by a passing luminescent spore shone against his stiff expression. He nodded at the rest of us and turned forward. Took a step and continued down the wet cave, down the slope.

Hesitantly and reluctantly, we all followed.

Soon the light provided by the entrance behind us vanished into the darkness. Fortunately the range of the spores went down the slope as well, illuminating our path just enough to watch out steps in the muddy ground.

Only the sound of dripping water, laborious breathing and musshy footsteps reigned in the cave.

It might have just been me but the more we descended, the colder it felt.

Within the uncomfortable and tense silence, I was graced with a variety of thoughts running rampant inside my head. Considering all the terrible and terrifying things that could go wrong. Those possible and those purely insane.

Just as I continued to think this, the slope finally came to an end and the party arrived at a wide underground expanse spacious enough to fit more than twenty people.

The ground in this part of the cave was a lot smoother and dry and the ceiling far higher. No water dripping down. The reach of the luminescent spores didn't reach this far down into this part underground.

The space instead was lit up by glowing gemstones sticking partially out of the walls and ceilings.

"A.... amazing!"

"Woah."

"It's pretty."

The numerous gems and stones of various lights and colors littered the underground ceiling like sparkling stars in the deep night sky.

The awe striking sight was breathtaking and one to behold. For that moment, the weary, unsettling feeling of fear following us was forgotten and the kids, I included of course, all stared in awe at the glimmer of the stones.

"I've got to get me one of these." With a spark of avarice lit in his eyes, Don tried to pull out a small piece of glowing rock out of one of the walls.

"Haha, guys! I told you it was a good idea to continue. Hahaha! Look, Leon, if we had went back when you said we should, would we have ever gotten a chance to see this? Nope. Hahaha! I've decided. This will be our new base and hideout. Our Stone Fortress!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. If you stop stuffing your pockets full and look over here, you'll notice that we might be in a little dilemma." Leon's words brought the Party back to earth.

"Huh?"

"So... which way do we go?" Pointing a finger at three open paths across the spacious cave, Leon asked with uncertainty written on his face.

I took a step forward and peered at the only three available path in our way forward.

We had arrived at a fork in the road.

"Aren't we supposed to be down here looking for Muffin? We shouldn't get carried away over some pretty stones. We're in an unfamiliar underground cave, who knows what could happen. You guys should keep your eyes peeled. Don most especially. Let's find Muffin and get the hell out of here. This place gives me the creeps." Shooting a stern look at Don, Leon said.

With a dejected sigh, Don threw the piece of rock in his hand and turned to face the matter at hand.

"Well we could pick up a few on our way back so no prob."

"Ok. So with that settled..."

"Which way do we go?" Tilting his head to the side, Kyle shares an even uncertain gaze between the three available paths.

Thanks to Leon, everyone's come back to realize our true purpose for being here. We had to find the damn dog and get the hell out of here.

"Hm? Why don't we just pick anyone and go explore it. What's the big deal." With a nonchalant attitude, Don casually made his way towards one of the open path like it didn't matter.

"Exactly! We can't just pick anyone. We could get lost and not to mention, miss Muffin. And we aren't here to explore!" Yanking Don by the ear, Leon tried to make sure he got his point through Don's thick skull.

In any case a fork in the road those give rise to some level of dilemma though. Uncertain of which path to go as well as the possible risk and danger they all might have and throw at us.

If we don't pick a path then we won't find Muffin and only lose him more.

'Goddamit. That damn dog... Hm? Dog? Dog....Ah, Dog!'

"Uhm, hey, why don't we just follow the pawprints left by Muffin down the path he went. The upper cave had wet muddy ground so Muffin is sure to have left a trail right? I mean, even we did." I turned to Leon and said pointing at our own tracks of foot print leading down from the murky cave above. His brows widened slightly in realization.

At almost the same time, Kyle and Trise shouted:

"Found 'em."

"Yup. We found Muffins prints."

"I did first by the way. Just a side note. No direct importance to the matter at hand. Just saying."

The rest of the party all brushed past Kyle paying little attention to him. They were instead drawn to the small pawprints leading into the middle path heading further into the cave.

"I guess we're heading straight then?"