The world beyond the small cave Lauri had found himself seemed to be constantly raining. Marshland stretched off far into the distance broken up by the occasional hill and mountain. Taking tentative steps forward, Lauri looked down.
The cavernous path he was standing on gave way to a sheer drop.
"That's… Not the best…"
Looking to the sides, what Lauri had thought was a mountain actually seemed to be some kind of man-made structure. The stone walls were too straight, too smooth as if somebody had constructed the wall by hand, chiselled until it was perfectly flat. Or as if it had been pulled out of the ground. Lauri looked back at the stone chamber he had just come from.
The thought of the unnatural stone walls that rose from the ground filled his mind. With a deep sigh, Lauri dropped onto the ground resting his head against the wall.
"Why couldn't it just be easy… Just drop me in the middle of a human settlement, put me near Husk-born Fiends. I'll gladly take Fiends over this mess."
Sending Luminescent Helper forward, Lauri took in the wall. The view was mostly the same, the three-hundred and sixty-degree view Luminescent Helper gave Lauri allowed him to see the marshland but it also allowed Lauri a better view of the stone wall.
Of course for the most part it was just a sheer vertical wall of stone, but near to the only imperfection in the wall – the tunnel Lauri was currently residing within – Lauri noticed a certain detail. There were small grooves, leading up from the base of the cliff to the hole. The grooves stopped right below where Lauri was sitting.
'Wait a second.'
Moving onto his chest, Lauri slowly crawled towards the edge of the tunnel, inspecting the groove, Lauri put his hand into it. To Lauri's surprise, his hand fit into the groove. Lauri looked back towards the door, his face growing pale.
"Oh no, no no no. Please don't tell me… This is how you leave…"
With a grimace, Lauri sat back.
'If I tried climbing down and lost my grip, the fall would just kill me. But I can't eat rocks, there's no water up here either.'
Tapping his fingers on the cold stone, Lauri pondered his situation for a few minutes. Rocking back and forth he approached the edge before backing away. This process lasted ten minutes ending as Lauri lay flat on his back.
'That's it, I'm just gonna wait here for a bit. It's not like I'm even hungry or thirsty.'
Closing his eyes, Lauri focused completely on Luminescent Helper.
'I'll see how much my little friend can see. If I see a lot of Fiends I'll know how cautious I have to be. Yes, that sounds like a great idea. Good job Lauri.'
Lauri did just as he planned, remaining on his back he viewed the world through his helpful Imprint. Luminescent Helper was able to travel roughly 30 metres before the connection began to weaken.
Remaining within this 30-metre radius, before long Lauri spotted movement down in the marshland. A Fiend glided across the muddy ground without issue, long thin legs with wide feet allowed it to move without hindrance.
Whistling, Lauri sat up.
'That thing moves fast, I could be in trouble if it finds me. Although it doesn't look like it would be good at climbing rocks with those legs. Alright, I shouldn't put this off forever.'
Looking over the edge, Lauri focused on the grooves. They ran down the side of the cliff in uniform pairs, a perfect distance apart to be used as both hand holds and foot holds.
Dismissing the chitinous gauntlets of Her Aegis so that he could get a better grip on the rough stone. Lauri took a deep breath and slowly moved himself over the edge. Hanging onto the edge of the cliff, Lauri's mind was suddenly struck by crushing dread. His heart beginning to rapidly beat Lauri – unable to pull himself back up – put his hands and feet into the groves and then remained motionless.
'C- C- Calm down- Just- Just breath-'
Resting his head against the cold stone, Lauri had to wait for the moment to pass unable to bring himself to move. Closing his eyes the feeling of dread remained within his head. Removing his perspective from Luminescient Helper after a moment Lauri could feel himself beginning to calm now that all he could see was the darkness behind his eyelids.
'Maybe… Maybe I should have prepared myself for this a little more…'
After his momentary freakout ended, Lauri took a deep breath opening his eyes.
'Just, just don't look down.'
Feeling for the next foothold with one foot, Lauri kept his body as close to the wall as he possibly could. Ensuring that his grip didn't slip, Lauri slowly but steadily climbed down the cliff face. What Lauri had expected to be a hellish endeavour was actually rather peaceful – as long as he didn't look down – Lauri was able to scale the cliff face with relative ease. Although the constant weak pitter of rain could have been a problem, as Lauri took his time with each movement. He was able to move without a problem. The grooves dug into the cliff by those who had come before him were mostly to thank for this.
Without them, Lauri knew he would have never been able to make it to the ground but after thirty minutes, he managed to reach the very thing he was unsure he'd reach.
Lauri's feet landed on the mud with a loud squelching noise. For a moment his body trembled, a deep sense of foreboding filling his heart. Leaning against the cliff Lauri tried to catch his breath taking in his surroundings as he caught his breath.
It was just as it looked from the tunnel, flat, flat and wet. It was very wet. Kicking a pile of mud, Lauri frowned.
'There's practically nothing here. Just muddy flatness until those hills.'
With a heavy heart, Lauri wandered forward a small frown crossing his lips.
'Where… Where did that Fiend go?'
In addition to the sense of foreboding, he couldn't quite shake, not being able to see the Fiend he had spotted from on high sent a shiver down his spine.
'It's not the worst place to lose a Fiend, the flat ground means I'll be able to see any Fiend before they get anywhere near me… But the reverse is also true. Just be careful.'
Reconnecting with Luminescient Helper, Lauri sent it to fly above his head. This allowed Lauri to see anything that might approach him from any direction – whilst it was not much help at the moment due to the giant stone cliff behind him. When Lauri was more in the open, this would be an undeniable advantage.
Trudging along, Lauri slowly made his way to the hills some distance away from the stone cliff. As he cleared half the distance, Lauri spotted a large puddle of water on the floor. Unlike other patches of water, this one had formed on a large stone that stuck outright of the ground. The puddle of water seemed more like a bowl.
Approaching it, Lauri inspected the water inside the little stone bowl. His first thought was that it seemed clean, there was no mud in the bowl.
'The water looks so clean, it must have been collected from the rain.'
Squinting, Lauri looked into the sky.
'Is it raining more than it was a minute ago?'
Shaking his head Lauri returned his attention to the bowl. Looking around, he shrugged.
'Rainwater is fresh water, so there shouldn't be any concern about bacteria. Does the Aether Stream even have bacteria?'
Cupping his hands Lauri scooped up a handful of water. Bringing it to his lips Lauri paused.
'What, is this…'
There was something wrong with the water.