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I pass the docks, where I notice that pieces of wooden debris float to the surface, the dock seemingly having collapsed in places.
“Probably another boating accident,” I say, shaking my head.
The sheer volume of splintered wood is unusual, as is the seeming strength of the impact to the dock, but I try to put it out of my head. Just because I don’t have an explanation for a common occurrence doesn’t mean I’m going to jump to the improbable conclusions some of these dark elves reach.
Being more religious folk, they have their superstitions and their crazed ideas that guide their lives. If there’s something a dark elf can’t explain in the moment, chances are they’ll create a folk tale or a legend about it, forming the most outlandish myths and monsters to answer simple questions.
Leaping toward the rock wall behind one of the cabins, I slowly start to sidle gently, feeling the cliff edge below me jutting into my feet. The rocks are harsh, eased slightly by the occasional grass, weeds, and moss that protrude from the soil. What’s more, the ledge path rises upward, straining my feet. I look down at the ocean seemingly miles below me, the floating debris still somewhere in the distance.
I duck into the alcove, reaching the cove where I collect my thoughts. The water here is cool and refreshing, even chilling the air. A circular point in the center of the room overlooks a deep pool.
I imagine that this is a place of historical importance where somebody conducted rituals. From time to time, I’ll find a gold piece here or a piece of human debris.
Sitting down in the center of the circle, I begin to meditate, sometimes interrupted by the beating of chirops wings. I struggle to center myself, collecting my mind against the forces I know I need to return to in mere hours.
But in meditating, I find myself at ease at last.
I take a deep breath and feel the air change with my exhalation. Gently, I move my arms up along my sides, stretching them out.
And in my relaxed state somewhere in the midst of meditation, my eyes close, and I find my thoughts becoming erratic.
The rush of thoughts that fills my mind is incoherent. Eventually, my head empties, and all I can hear is the chirops around me and the sporadic dancing winds outside.
Then I hear a splash.
Two splashes.
I open my eyes, and I can see sunlight permeating the world outside. “How long was I asleep? Will they know that I’ve been gone and punish me for it?” I murmur to myself.
Fully balancing my thoughts and attempting to quiet the anxieties that now fill my mind, I peer into the depths before me.
My heart stops.
Looking up from out of the water is a pair of shining yellow eyes staring directly at me. Around it are several green, swirling tentacles that careen through the grotto waters.
I try to speak, but only a rasp escapes.
I don’t know what to do here.
Briefly, I close my eyes, hoping that I will open them to find the creature gone. But I have no such luck.
Still the creature inspects me, analyzing me with its unnatural gaze.
Get out now!
If I flee, I know that the creature may come after me. But I have a much better chance of surviving if I escape rather than just sitting idly, waiting to be killed.
Before the creature can react, I swirl around, pushing myself to a standing position and running out of the cavern entrance. I nearly fall to the oceans below as I overshoot the ledge, but I flail my arms forward and my body backward, stabilizing myself.
Odds are, if I fall here, I’ll collide with a rock below. And there’d be no real way to survive that.
I peer back into the cove uneasily, finding no signs that whatever was in the water is pursuing me.
I must have imagined it, I tell myself, shaking my head.
Everything, from waking up to seeing the creature in the water, felt incredibly dreamlike. I could still be in a dream right now, for all I know.
I sidle forward carefully, acknowledging the deteriorating state of my mind before returning to the camp. Along the way, I see a tall gentleman sitting on the edge of the dock, his feet submerged in the water. He wears an empty stare as he looks out over the debris.
