Charmion's heart pounded violently. He slowly approached the staff, which was as thick as an arm, entirely black, and partially embedded in the green stone, its tip exposed. At the top of the staff was a round, white gem, neither jade nor crystal, set tightly within, casting a gentle light that fell upon Charmion as if scrutinizing him.
Charmion extended his hand to grasp the staff. In an instant, an unstoppable surge of power coursed up his arm, through his chest, and towards the magical constraint that had bound him for years.
Cold sweat poured from him as searing pain lanced through his body. The enchantment within him had been crafted by an extraordinary sorcerer, and even this formidable force had not shattered it.
Charmion endured the agony, his black robe whipping in an unfelt wind, the chamber filling with invisible energies.
Soon, the chamber began to tremble slightly, small stones cascading down, unnoticed by him, as the staff seemed to draw force like a vast, insatiable void, transmitting increasing power.
Thal stopped gathering jewels, and Wesley rose from the hoard, both noticing the continuous fall of stones and the faint tremors within the hall.
Wesley muttered hoarsely, "An earthquake?"
The other three approached, exchanging glances. Suddenly, Nia asked, "Where's Charmion?"
Their gazes quickly fixated on the second stone door to the left.
Reaching the doorway, they were stunned. Charmion's right hand clutched the black staff embedded in the stone, his black robes billowing, his face contorted in extreme pain.
Uni moved to help, but Thal held her back, his eyes betraying a strange expression. Just as Uni was about to speak, a sharp crack echoed as the stone split in two, followed by several muffled sounds within Charmion's body, reminiscent of the night they first met him, defeating the ape monster.
The chamber gradually settled, the stones ceasing to fall. Drenched in sweat, Charmion clutched the staff tightly to his chest, turned to the group, and rasped, "I'm alright now."
Nia hesitated, then asked, "Charmion, you seem to have struggled greatly. Should I heal you?"
Charmion, feeling the ache in his legs, sat upon the stone, breathing heavily, "I'm truly fine. Go, gather the treasure, time is short."
"Time is short?" the others echoed in confusion. Nia pressed, "What do you mean, time is short?"
Charmion, inexplicably embarrassed, hesitated before replying, "As far as I know, within an hour, this mountain will quake and bury this cavern forever."
A stunned silence fell over the chamber, disbelief etched on each face. Yet Charmion's expression was earnest—he had demonstrated an uncanny knowledge of the cavern throughout their journey, suggesting truth in his words.
In the oppressive silence, Wesley, voice breaking, cried out and dashed towards the hall, followed by Roderick and Thal. Nia and Uni exchanged a look and also made their way out.
Charmion watched them leave before his gaze returned to the black staff. He gently caressed this foreign object from the dark realm, its surface cool to the touch, yet its immense power unmistakable. The white gem atop the staff also emitted a soft glow, brushing against Charmion delicately.
As the six of them reached the mountain's base, they felt the earth tremble beneath their feet, followed by a deafening crash from the summit. In that instant, the ground shuddered violently like a wounded beast, making it hard to stay upright. In the midst of this chaos, Nia let out a shriek, wordlessly pointing towards the mountaintop. Following her gaze, they saw countless boulders tumbling down, soon forming a monstrous landslide that crushed trees and life in its path.
Roderick shouted, "Run!"
With all their strength, the six fled. Charmion shouted as they ran, "Veer to the side to avoid the path of the landslide!"
The torrent of rocks charged down the mountainside and finally came to a halt after ten miles, leaving the mountain a barren, stony peak and the forest at its base a chaotic pile of rubble.
Having narrowly escaped death, the adventurers finally reached a small hilltop in the distance where they found safety, and all eyes naturally rested on the man in the black robe. It was Thal who spoke first, clutching a bulging sack (filled, of course, with treasure—his bearing such a burden and yet escaping showed the dwarves' strength, even in the old near-death ones, especially when treasure is involved), "Charmion, though our time together has been short, we've faced life and death together. I feel you owe us an explanation."
Charmion regarded his five companions' eyes, hesitated, and finally said, "Very well. The legend of the Lost Cavern is that it was built by the gods to store their treasures (the gods are also greedy?). Fearing thieves, they created endless mazes to easily ensnare those who dared enter. That's how the name Lost Cavern came to be."
Roderick interjected, "Then how did you know there would be an earthquake in an hour?"
A look of embarrassment crossed Charmion's face as he replied, "Within the cavern was an artifact, a favorite of the gods. It's said the gods placed a curse—should anyone steal this artifact, it would cause an earthquake to bury them beneath the mountain…"
As everyone's gaze drifted to the black staff in his hand, Charmion gave a wry smile, "Yes, it's this Dark Staff, said to be forged by the god of the underworld, Dars…"
"Waaaah," Wesley wailed, lunging toward Charmion, "Give me back my gold, my jewels, my diamonds, my emeralds…"
Uni grabbed Wesley, restraining the others as well, "Let's not do this. We've already taken a fair share of treasure."
"But there could have been so much more," Wesley almost cried, "A whole hall of gold and jewels! Selling them would crash the gold market across the continent."
"We wouldn't have secured anything. That cavern was guarded by high-level beasts, far beyond our strength," Uni said.
"But now those beasts are all dead," Thal replied and then paused, considering, "Uh, by that you mean…"
Uni turned to face Charmion, her gaze sharp: "You killed them, didn't you?"
A mountain breeze rustled Charmion's mysterious black robe. His face was pale and haggard, yet his eyes were sharp as blades, "What makes you think so?"
Uni stared into his eyes, "In the cavern, I noticed the dead beasts bore no wounds, only traces of green blood at the mouths of some better-preserved corpses. It puzzled me until I recalled our first night meeting, when you saved me by slaying the ape creature. Apart from my injuries, that beast died by your hand, bleeding only from the mouth, its body otherwise unscathed. It perished much like those cavern beasts did—from internal injuries. Am I right?"
Charmion met Uni's unwavering gaze, his own shifting, and after a long pause, he confessed, "Yes, I killed those beasts."
A ripple of surprise spread among his companions; after all, high-level beasts possess immense strength, some have hide as tough as steel, others are venomous, or even immune to certain magic. Killing so many high-level beasts alone marked Charmion as a supreme mage, perhaps even on par with the continent's three greatest sorcerers.
Uni suddenly remembered, "Why did you ask Nia what year it was, as though you didn't know?"
Charmion offered a faint smile, "Though I defeated the beasts three years ago, I was gravely wounded. You recall the dreadful footsteps in the cavern? They also belonged to a high-level beast I'd never seen before, far stronger than the others. After killing the rest, I encountered that creature, against which I had no chance, especially without a map. I mistakenly triggered a powerful spell to seriously harm it but was left critically weakened, nearly dead, and fainted. Unexpectedly, I slept for three years. Surviving the ordeal was a surprise; the beast didn't eat me, perhaps due to the protective nature of the spell."
Intrigued, Nia pressed further, "What spell was that, so powerful?"
Charmion only smiled, leaving the question unanswered.
Wesley grumbled, "Well, you were lucky it didn't eat you, or maybe the beast was blind."
His companions exchanged smiles, feeling uneasy to fault Charmion. Thal conceded, "Fair enough, you slew the beasts but thwarted our treasure haul—let's call it even."
Charmion nodded, though Roderick couldn't resist, "Those cavern treasures were unparalleled. You filled a whole sack, enough to last lifetimes, which explains your perspective."
Nia added coolly, "Then show us the bag originally meant for your lute, so full it doesn't seem to fit one."
Roderick's face reddened but quickly regained composure, seriously declaring, "Ah, Miss Nia, I merely took a little for us to live well…"
"Pffft~~~~~"