Forest Nightingales - The Forest Wants to Play

Oracle Caves

Something overcomes the beast as its angered snarl drops and its pointed ears lower as does its grip on my shoulder. John goes to strike at the beast but I stop him as the beast looks around and at itself in disbelief. I ask John if there is anything special about the Oracle Cave, he thinks for a few seconds and answers;

“All that I know of the caves is that they are a border between realities”

The beast looks at John and points to him grunting. I thoroughly believe that the beast is no longer a beast as long as it remains in the caves. John is unsure and insist that if the beast is to go through the caves with us it is to travel in front where he can keep an eye on it. The Oracle Caves are filled with glowing blue fungus and shining green veils of grass. The beast seems to shrink the further we tread into the caves and the further we walk the less beastly the creature becomes.

If I can escape the killing anything I will take that chance as and when it appears. The beast walks in front with both John and I keeping a keen eye on it. The caves grow dark, but steadily as we walk on a pulsing glow of blue lights our way through the caves and the source of the blue glow seems to be the fungus that grows in the damp walls.

Roots of the plants above dangle down like drapes shining with the blue glow from the fungus. As I move the roots I get a calming feel and when I look around to John my vision has become lazy, by the look of it, John also seems to feeling the same effects. The beast just sneezes hiding its nose with its muscular arms and as more and more fungus appears I see a shining blue mist floating around the cave. The fungus is expelling spores that we are breathing in, the roots that I had been moving with my hands had been covered in the spores and so when I rubbed my eyes they have been absorbed into my skin making the effect more forceful.

I fight the effects of the spores, as does John and the beast, wilfully dragging myself through the caves and as the effect courses my vision to slowly blur I drag myself along the wall. I notice the beast fall to the ground and picks itself up, for every time we fall we slow to a crawl. I am sick with illness brought on by the spores John follows after and when we reach an open cavity to the moonlight shining in the cave the fungus is not to be seen. All three of us take deep breaths, breathing in the fresh air till again we are sick, however, as I glance at what I had expelled I see a brown cocoon that begins to roll and rattle.

Before the cocoon hatches I stand on it killing what was inside, furthermore, what was inside was a large grey beetle with razor sharp pincers. When John is sick he does the same as does the beast, not knowing what could have happened if we had not found the open air we decide to walk on after resting and making masks out of clothing to cover our faces.

The cave becomes warped and oddly shaped as we reach what seems to be a wall of black water.

“This is where I leave you, Lewis” John says leaning against the wall. “Me and the old wolf here are instruments in the game now, the longer you stay in the darkness the more you become it”

I am reluctant in leaving, John tells me that if I succeed in my last task of relinquishing the power that Andrew had acquired from Pythose. The rippling pool of water standing in front of me is my gateway to the sun drenched glade where Andrew Weaver resides.