As Sam sprinted through the forest, a wave of realization crashed over him.
'This place is more dangerous than I had expected,' he thought, the recent encounter with the glowing worms still fresh in his mind. The fear of potential beasts lurking in the forest fueled his urgency to escape.
"Are these the beasts people talked about? If they are, then I need to get out of the forest," Sam contemplated while navigating the unfamiliar terrain. Despite the uncertainty, Sam continued to run, hoping to find the forest's exit. The pressing concern was Lorenzo and his henchmen; if Sam could just escape the forest, he could deal with that problem later. However, there was a significant issue – he didn't know where he was.
"I'm I lost?" Sam questioned internally, anxiety creeping in as he considered the possibility of encountering another beast in his disoriented state.
Suddenly, an unforeseen obstacle disrupted Sam's escape. Tripping on a rock, he stumbled and fell into a pit a few yards away.
"Ouch!!" Sam exclaimed in pain as he landed headfirst at the bottom of the pit. As he stood up and assessed his surroundings, he realized he was in a meter-wide and 17-foot-deep pit, adding another layer of complication to his already perilous situation.
As Sam assessed his predicament at the bottom of the deep pit, the steep walls made it clear that climbing out was an insurmountable task. "Oh, God, I'm trapped," he muttered, a sense of helplessness settling over him.
Despite the confined space, the bottom of the pit was surprisingly spacious, with concrete walls and floors. The existence of this man-made structure left Sam puzzled, as he wondered about its purpose and why someone would build such a pit in the middle of the forest.
"How am I going to get out of here?" Sam pondered, his eyes scanning the surroundings. Fortunately, his fall into the pit hadn't resulted in severe injuries, and he only felt an ache in his back along with a throbbing sensation from the spot where Lorenzo's brick had struck him.
Determined to find a way out, Sam attempted to climb the steep, slippery walls, despite the odds being against him. His efforts proved futile, and he soon realized that there was little in the pit to assist him, except for a mysterious hole on the wall that piqued his curiosity.
As Sam gazed into the dark hole in the pit's wall, he hesitated. The opening seemed just large enough for him to squeeze through, but an uncertainty lingered. Sam couldn't shake the feeling that his night had been a series of impulsive decisions, each leading him deeper into peril.
The unknown destination of the hole and the string of questionable choices weighed on Sam's mind.
"I know this could be another stupid idea," he mused, reflecting on his earlier actions. "But I couldn't just stay here and wait to be rescued. I would eventually die of starvation and dehydration before anyone thinks it's a great idea to enter the forest to even find this pit."
As Sam considered the potential outcomes, he found himself leaning toward the decision to explore the mysterious hole.
"The hole may even lead me to salvation or into another place I'll get trapped," he reasoned. With a resigned sigh, Sam embraced the uncertainty and prepared to squeeze through the opening, hoping that this choice would lead him towards an escape rather than further entrapment.
With no other apparent option to escape the pit, Sam cautiously approached the hole and proceeded to climb into it. The initial squeeze through the tight opening was a bit challenging, but Sam managed to navigate through, finding himself in an entirely different environment.
As Sam emerged from the hole, he discovered that he was in what appeared to be an underground cave. The cave had a significant span, approximately 7 meters wide, with several additional holes leading to unknown destinations. These tunnels seemed to connect various places, but the spot Sam was in appeared to be the main area the hole was designed to access.
The cave's ceiling featured pointy rocks hanging a few feet above the ground, creating an eerie and potentially hazardous atmosphere.
"That totally doesn't look safe at all," Sam remarked, eyeing the precarious formations.
While surveying the underground cave, Sam's attention was drawn to something in the middle of the space. The night sky filtering through a small hole in the ceiling provided just enough illumination for Sam to discern details in the cave, allowing him to spot something intriguing amidst the shadows.
In the middle of the underground cave stood a two-foot-tall stone podium adorned with intricate rune carvings. These carvings, in the form of spirals, converged at the center, where an eye was prominently featured. On the podium rested a red-colored book that piqued Sam's curiosity. Drawn by its intriguing design, Sam approached the podium for a closer look.
As Sam examined the book, he noticed a mesmerizing spiral with an eye in the middle, resembling the carvings on the podium. This spiral was crafted with plated gold and accompanied by words that captured Sam's attention:
"The shadow lord returns?"
Curiosity getting the better of him, Sam attempted to read the contents of the book aloud. To his astonishment, as he spoke those words, the book flung open by itself, causing Sam to topple backward and land on the cave floor.
"Did that book just open by itself?" Sam questioned, visibly shocked. Slowly regaining his composure, he approached the book again, only to find the pages completely blank.
"What a strange book. It opened by itself, but there are no words written on it," Sam remarked. However, as he pondered this oddity, another unexpected event unfolded.
The book began to glow with a brilliant white light, intensifying rapidly. Without warning, the light shot out at incredible speed, penetrating Sam's head with force. Overwhelmed by the impact, Sam was thrown backward, colliding with the cave walls before succumbing to unconsciousness and collapsing to the ground.
*******
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