187 The Grootslang

In the shadows, a dark shadowy claw placed another gem on the cave floor. It spaced them out so the next one would barely twinkle in the soft glow of Macha's necklace.

The Raijuu no Tsume's spiny leaves scratched Macha's palms so Tyr forced her to stop helping. His mind was preoccupied with inspecting the plants, and he told her to go relax.

She now wandered around within a few meters of he or Aži. As she admired the cave scenery, she saw something glitter in the distance.

In a cheerful voice, she called over to Tyr, "I'm going to look at something over there. Okay?" She pointed to a large pile of rocks.

He looked in Macha's direction and nodded his head. "That's fine. Be careful."

The earlier feeling of danger that he sensed disappeared, and he assumed it was just his post-war fears. This time he dealt with returning from the war better than the first time. The biggest factor for his ability to smoothly transition to civilian life was Macha, who helped give him a sense of security. This made it so he did not suffer too many nightmares since getting back.

Aži finished grabbing the last Raijuu no Tsume batch that would fit in the sack. After Tyr inspected them and popped the bulbs at the end, he looked up. "Macha, we're done," he called.

She did not respond, so he quickly shoved the plants in his bag. In a stern voice, he tried again, "Macha."

There was still no reply, which caused him to become upset. His eyes began to scan the area.

He placed the canvas sack on the ground and ordered Aži, "Take these back to the airship. I'm going to find her."

Today he dressed in his armor and brought his weapons along, so he was not concerned about his safety. While most of his spells were linked with the wyvern, he was an exceptional fighter in his own right.

Aži wrapped his claws around the top of the bag and hesitated. Being separated from Tyr always made him scared, but he did as directed. He could always make his way back to them after he dropped off the plants.

****

Macha had picked up a shiny red jewel, a green jewel, and a few more diamonds. They were all close together, so she did not realize that she had wandered away from Tyr.

Her hands were now full, and she looked up. Pleased with her find, she exclaimed, "I think we can use these in the flower vase." She spun around to his direction, "What do you... Tyr?"

Her eyes scanned the darkness and her voice raised, "Tyr?"

The silence that followed her question made her nervous. The darkness made her feel a sense of loneliness that she had not experienced in a long time. While she did not mind sleeping in the dark, the surrounding area was not familiar to her.

A scuttling sounded from the direction she came from.

Her body tensed as she thought, "Oh shit."

Macha held her breath, unsure if she was alone. She hurriedly shoved the gems into a pouch that she had fastened to her waist and moved her hands to her daggers. The handles were cold, but their presence helped to reassure her.

The soft glow of her crystal necklace did not illuminate the cave's depths. In an effort to locate what made the noise, she squinted her eyes.

A warm humid breeze wheezed from the direction she looked. The hot sticky air clung to her face and her hands shook with fear. It was the middle of winter and she knew she was deep in the cave. There would not be any reason for such a hot gust to blow suddenly.

Macha took a few steps back. Now she drew her daggers and lowered her stance.

Unsure if she should leave her light on or not, she did some quick calculations. After a second, she decided to keep it illuminated. Unlike Tyr, her senses had not been honed. She needed her vision to orientate herself, and she suspected that if a creature followed her, it could probably navigate the darkness.

An enormous outline began to form in the darkness as it moved closer towards her. Long tusks as long as she was tall appeared out of the dark. The soft light of her necklace bounced off the white ivory, which looked as sharp as a knife.

Macha's eyes widened with horror as she realized the creature's body had surrounded her. She looked around her at the sable-colored scales that covered a serpent's body. It had a pair of claws that scraped against the floor as it moved, tightening around her. A movement in the corner of her eye made her turn back to the tusks. A black elephant head hovered above her, its figure ripped in half and sharp teeth jutted out towards her from the seam that was created.

HISS

As soon as she saw the elephant split in half to form a mouth, Macha jumped onto the serpent's coiling body. Without hesitation, she vaulted over it and ran further into the cave, away from the large jaws.

The large slithering body pursued her and she could hear stalactites and stalagmites shattering behind her. Its heavy body was hit the large formations causing them to crumple to the floor.

The rocks and boulders whizzed past her as she ran. Her visibility was poor, and she had to dash from side to side to avoid colliding into the calcium deposits. As she sped through the cave, she tried to find a possible escape route or a way to turn around. The massive jaws that followed close behind her snapped, which only made her speed up her pace.

There was a large pillar of stone just ahead and she rounded it. She sped past the large monster and a massive tusk rushed towards her. As the white ivory moved to her torso, Macha leaned and glided across the smooth tusk. Her legs swung over the top as she hopped over it, barely losing any speed.

A large boulder quickly entered her vision, and she did not have enough time to move around it. Instead, she chose to jump over it. She raised her feet to hop onto the large stone and continued her pace. When she got to the top she jumped down, but instead of landing immediately, she fell for a couple seconds.

Her eyes widened with surprise because the fall was not what she expected. The distance had not been terrible, but her bones shuttered from the impact.

After the fall she looked up. The monster looked down at her and rolled the boulder over the hole.

The cold realization sunk in that the gems and the chase had all been a trap.

"Crap!" she cried as she hit her head against the stone. Under her breath, she muttered, "Freaking gems don't even grow on the ground like that. I just had to get distracted..."

In her excitement, she wanted to gather more than Aži. Now her greed led her to this situation. Although she wanted to blame Tyr or the little wyvern, she knew this situation was her fault. She had felt too safe with them in the cavern with her. She had let her guard down too much.

Her stupidity frustrated her, and she kicked the slick stone wall that lined the hole. The sides were too smooth to climb and even if she made it to the top; the boulder did not leave enough room for her to wiggle out of.