The staircase led down to an old crypt, it looked to be about thousands of years old, it was cold and eerie, the old bricks it was built with were covered in leaves and vines, the ground was damp with old bones all over. The atmosphere had an ancient sent to it. In the center of the crypt there was a pedestal with a book sitting on it, the title of on book was Erebus the condemned Goddess. I found myself with a longing for the book as though I needed to open it, like it was meant for my eyes only "open it, open it, open it." The mysterious voice recurrently whispered.
The whispers only grew louder and louder until I held the book, then they went silent. The room turned freezing cold, but the book, it had a warmth to It, I had a sense of comfort while it was in my arms. "It feels almost alive." I said softly to myself, the book opened itself with Its pages flipping rapidly and suddenly stopped in the center page of the book. The words written on the page suddenly began to disappear with their meanings visualizing themselves in my mind leaving me stuck in a motionless sate while I absorbed all the information, one Phrase continuously flashed before my eyes "Erebus. Erebus. Erebus. Erebus." It seemed never ending.
Hazel abruptly shook me and brought me out of It before I could absorb everything. My body became weak for a second, she was shaking me and yelling something but I couldn't hear her, my eyes went dark and I passed out.
As I was unconscious images of a map leading to a temple kept replaying in my mind, I heard the whispers again, they were continuously telling me that the temple of Erebus is where I needed to go for the strength I was longing for. The whispers, they kept on going, over and over again, each one more intense than the last, it felt like hell.
Hazel slapped me and I woke up, "HEY! did you have to hit..." I stopped after I saw the look on her face, it was full of worry and she looked to be holding back tears. "I was so worried." she said as she threw her arms around me, her embrace was warm and comforting. Her being here only strengthened my resolve, I steadied myself and looked her in her eyes "I have to go somewhere, Hazel." I said firmly without any hesitation.
She pinched me and said, "Okay, then let's go." Her face was teary but determined; I knew even if I tried to change her my it would be in vain. She has always been like this, so I won't argue with her if she wants to come I won't stop her. But I couldn't help but worry about what lies ahead for us on this path that I have chosen, what if it brings harm to the one I am trying to protect.
Nigh time then arrived; however, I couldn't get to sleep. My mind kept on showing me visions of the temple, they replayed endlessly along with the mysterious voice's whispers, it wouldn't stop pestering me. My mind felt violated, I got up to refresh myself and hoped that it would calm me down a bit.
Hazel embraced me all of a sudden as if she knew it was exactly what I needed. "It's okay, I'm here." she said, her voice elegant even though it was barely above a whisper. The visions and whispers all disappeared, it was like her being there for me warded them off, my mind became clear again. As we headed back to get some sleep, I couldn't help but notice how beautiful the stars were looking, it truly was a magnificent sight.
The night went by faster than I had expected, however the lack of sleep was too much for me to get up, it was most especially difficult after seeing a snake with the brilliant idea that I'd make a great sleeping bag. "What crime against nature did I commit to receive such a fate!?" I screamed at the top of my voice, fortunately for me I woke Hazel up from her ever so peaceful sleep. Instead of rescuing me she burst into uncontrollable laughter, my eyes narrowed in annoyance. "You want some of my blood before breakfast or not." I let out a pitiful cry, she then helps me by getting the snake off my sleeping bag but doesn't stop joking about it.
Today is the day we leave for the temple, but before we go, Hazel reminded me of the supplies we needed and so I had to made a quick run to the village near our campsite. This village was a human village and seeing as it was my first time being around humans my whole life. I found myself uninterested in them, I actually found them quite average in fact I think the dwarves had better settlements than this. Their hospitality was extremely lacking and there seemed to be a lot of shady figures around, either way they weren't much of a bother me, so I guess I was fine for the time being. What I needed were supplies, however there was a feeling of unease and I've felt it ever since I stepped into this village. There was this one man, it seemed as though he had been following me around, I felt uneasy, he definitely seemed suspicious to me.
I thought it best to hurry back to Hazel, just as I left the supply shop someone bumped into me "Do forgive me." a man said as he bowed his head at me and abruptly left. It was the same man whom I had suspected of shadowing me, the weirdest thing about him was the mask he wore.
I made it back to our campsite and Hazel helped herself to some of my blood, we had our breakfast and we packed up. "Are you sure you want to do this Hazel? It may be the hardest thing we've ever done and I don't know what we could face out there." I said looking into her emerald green eyes, the same eyes of that little girl I found in an alley three years ago, she really has grown. " I am never going to leave you Eden." She said her voice true and just, I simply smiled and took her by her hand. We then set out for the temple, unsure of what fate has in store for us