On the other side of the forest, Bijan was leading two kids through the cave. As soon as they entered the cave, the environment changed which made them alert. They had already dealt with a lot of foe at the entrance of the cave but there was a certain pressure in the atmosphere.
They took few minute to adjust their eyesight to the dark. Julia and Jake took out the flashlight from the personal bag, using it to illuminate the cave. Holding the rifle in one hand and supporting the flashlight on the barrel Jake took the lead temporarily putting away his shield.
The cave entrance was huge but it only got bigger, only than they realized that the small mountain that was connected to it was partially hollow. The flashlights weren't high powered so they barely lit up the end of the cave so they had to move slowly.
" Just take it slow, don't rush it. I feel like this cave is a bit special." Bijan remind the kids. He thought it was just a small cave at first but the area was much larger and the path was wide enough for them to move around if there was any enemy attack.
During his time in the village, he did hear that there were quite a lot of cave around the village. Some of them were even used to mine in the past but due to the influx of monsters and no one able to take care of it, throughout the years the villager lost hold on these precious resources.
Now, there were only about forty people living in the top of the mountain. It was not possible for them to divert such a small amount of force to mine for resources. Bijan could see the signs of this cave being among the one being mined in the past, there were few large logs installed as a support but on careful observation he found out the craftsmanship seemed much more intricate than what people in the past could do.
There was lot of debate how the village came to be so the background of people who first settled here was unknown. Still with this much human activity, the cave should be a lively place in the past.
" Was someone living here?" Julia asked seeing the signs of civilization. She came to the same conclusion, the work didn't look like it was done by her village ancestors. The massive logs were too much for any ordinary people to lift. They were connected by hinges without use of any metal but the corners were perfectly aligned. Whoever built it must have intensive knowledge about cave exploration.
" Maybe they were looking for precious metals? There doesn't seem to anything left right now." Bijan commented. They moved through the large corridor to come out on the other side only to be shocked by the scene.
The huge cave had a narrow opening on the top from where bright sunlight passed illuminating large area of the cave. They could clearly see that there were dilapidated houses neatly built right at the center of the space. There were several other passages leading deeper down the cave but with how well they were arrange, it made them realize that everything was man-made.
The half sphere space with several section cut out at regular intervals leading to different sides of the mountain was so detailed and precise that they didn't know if it was work of humans in the past. After all the work was too precise, if there was sorcerer involved they would feel he could do it but Bijan already had earth elemental powers.
Even under his precise control, he knew he wouldn't be able to create such a thing. People believed that controlling elements was separate from what type of environment was they in but it was false. For example, if Bijan wanted to dig out such square entrance, he would not only had to dig out the mountain but only must use his powers to hold the loose rocks at the top so that it wouldn't fall down.
Not only that, he would have to hold it long enough for other people to install the support beams. He was sure that even someone like his master wouldn't have enough magic to do such a thing. He looked around which made his scalp tingle because only now he noticed that the cave wall seemed too smooth!
Didn't that mean that this whole space was created using magic and someone dugout the whole mountain to make room for these houses. What kind of being was able to carve out hundreds of meters and tons of rocks to create such a thing?
The kids also noticed Bijan gazing at the wall in a daze. They didn't know what he was thinking about but they also looked at what he was gazing at. They didn't find anything strange. Unlike sorcerers, they weren't knowledgeable about magic.
" Does your village have some great sorcerer in the past? Someone who could control earth element like me?" He turned around and ask the kids.
" Sorcerers? You mean like the Chief?" Jake asked. Julia on the other hand, quickly thought about it but ultimately, shook her head. As far as she knew, Esmeralda was the greatest person their village had ever produce other than her father but since he left home to venture outside, the villager had much more respect for the young chief than to her father.
The dark lady's popularity was not only for her healing powers which have saved many lives in the past but because of her relentless personality and not to mention her otherworldly beauty. Beside, her flashy attire..ahem, people couldn't help but stare at her but no one dared to have any thought because there were some hardcore people supporting her.
If not, when Sablethorn attacked villagers would have sacrificed her because in that way they wouldn't be invaded twice! They were willing to lay off their life just to protect her!
" Alright. I feel like this place is more mysterious than we previously thought. Still we will look around to see if there is any danger and than return. It was obvious that we wouldn't be able to explore this place in a day or two."
The kids nodded and began following him again. They would have to look at each entrance and look for dangers if they wanted to make this cave a temporary base. Although the houses were dilapidated, it was obviously a good news, they might find something unexpected!