Yuta
A glass bottle landed at my feet and released terrible fumes. I started to slip in and out of consciousness. The last thing I saw was his crooked smile.
~~
I woke to the sound of a whistling kettle. My sword and knapsack were missing. When I sat up, I felt a pain at my temples. I had been moved away from the entrance and placed in the center of the cave room. Boxes upon boxes filled with random knickknacks were scattered around the area.
I saw some clay statues, fine China, glass dolls, wheels, magnifying glasses, feathers, cogs, gears and other random things. This man was clearly a collector, hording things he found. It was hot and stuffy. A big furnace in the back was the culprit.
My captor then entered the room. "Oh, you're awake." He said taking the kettle off the flame. Taking a spoon, he stirred some black liquid within a glass jar.
I stood and tried pulling the bars with my hands. They were much to strong to break through. When I looked up I could see a locking mechanism with a keyhole in the center. "Release me." I ordered.
The man with the bamboo hat laughed and left his things at the table. "I'm afraid I can't do that. If you caught a rat, would you let it go?" he mocked.
I crossed my arms and leaned against the cage. "If you value your life, I suggest you tell me where Nifu is."
He laughed in disbelief. "All this coming from the one in the cage. The one you seek is right in front of you." He removed his hat and his entire appearance changed. What was once youthful skin had become wrinkled.
His sand colored robe turned into a red one. Unfortunately for me he left it open so I got an unpleasant view of his potbelly. A white unkempt beard started to grow to the floor and his back curved into a hunch. Attached to the loop of his trousers was a metal key.
That's my target.
"It is I, the magnificent Nifu," he said with his hands in the air.
"That was underwhelming," I said insulting his grand reveal.
"You little scoundrel. No matter, I'll do away with you in a little bit." He stepped back and began walking to the back of the room. "You know, I wanted to thank you."
"For what?" I asked annoyed.
"For bringing the emerald right to me." He tended to the fire in the furnace, feeding it more tinder and fanning it. "I spent all day digging up that woman's grave only to find that it wasn't there. Then you showed up."
"You what?" I said enraged.
He dusted off his hands and approached the cage. "I only needed to take back what was mine." He dangled the emerald necklace in front of me.
My grip tightened on the bars. If I were free, I would definitely give him what he deserved. "Bastard, why did you sell it in the first place?"
"Ah, good question. I had stumbled across it on my travels. The gem was indeed beautiful, I couldn't keep my eyes off of it. But it was too beautiful, to where I felt myself becoming obsessed with it. Something with that kind of energy was bound for trouble so I sold it to the first fool." He walked to another table and began digging through a large box.
"You'd willingly take back a cursed item?" I asked.
"Well, now that the Emerald of Desire has reappeared, I'd be a fool not to."
Now we're getting somewhere.
"What is that?" I asked.
He sighed. "No I can't-" He then cocked his head to the side and looked at me. "You won't be around to tell anyone anyway, so I guess I'll fill you in," He started searching in a chest for something. "The Emerald of Desire is a powerful gem that will grant you one wish should you find it. What you had was a shard of its old form."
"What's the point of keeping this then?" I asked referring to the necklace.
"Ah ha, found it." He retrieved a small metal holder and placed the gem inside. "I'm quite the inventor, so I'm sure I can make something that taps into the gem's energy. I can then modify it in a way where it leads me directly to the emerald. Oh Nifu, you're a genius."
He's so full of himself. I could use this to my advantage.
I chuckled and shook my head.
"What's so funny?" He marched over.
"I'm sorry it's just, I don't think you can make something like that."
He breathed heavily. "Excuse you? I'll have you know I've traveled the world. I know more than you'll ever know." He came close but not close enough to where I could grab the key.
"Let me out of here and I'll make this emerald finder for you. Your mind is going isn't it?"
"How dare you!? I'm as sharp as ever. You couldn't make it even if I laid everything out for you."
There we go. Come on old man, try to attack me. That key is as good as mine.
"What does someone like you want with something like that anyway? I don't think you can handle so much power." I sneered.
"Just like a stupid swordsman. You think strength is the only thing that matters. The real strength is in the mind. I'll show you." He did not attack me, he instead reached for the heavy metal tongs that rested by the furnace. "I can make this show me where the emerald is in a matter of seconds."
Damn it.
"I first need to figure out its properties, strip the surface that protects its magical insides." Nifu put on some cloth gloves and grabbed the little gem with the tongs. He then attempted to put it in the fire when the gem started to glow green. "What the-"
Then a female voice echoed around the cave. It was loud and authoritative. "Who dares to meddle with the likes of the all mighty Emerald of Desire?" it said.
What the hell?
Nifu started to panic. "What? It spoke!? What's happening? I can't move!?"
"Those who underestimate my power shall be punished." The gem then shot out a beam of light that went through his heart. That same light traveled back into the emerald.
His body went limp and he collapsed to the ground. The fall had caused the gem to roll all the way to the edge of the cage.
I could not believe what I had witnessed.
The gem had took his soul? How is that possible?
It glowed once more. I thought the same thing was going to happen to me when it spoke.
"Listen to my words Swordsman. I sense your pained past. There is hope to return everything to the way it once was. You can then live a life of happiness. Come find me, before it's too late..." The voice faded away and the gem stopped glowing.
The cave was silent for a moment until the Earth started to shake. Rocks were raining down from the ceiling. They fell on everything, crushing all of Nifu's collectables. A large one fell on a vase which sent shards of glass my way. I used my sleeve to shield my face.
The whole area was being compromised with me still in it. I then felt a cool liquid on my feet. Water had started to rush in from a hole in the ceiling as well.
Damn, this place is going to flood.
Just then a large boulder came falling down, freeing me from the cage. I first located my sword which was sticking out of a barrel behind one of the tables. The emerald drifted by my feet. After seeing what it did, I was hesitant to take it, but I realized it could be what I needed to find Tisun.
I headed for the entrance, but the pathway was blocked entirely. More rocks fell. I did my best to evade them, but one hit me in my right shoulder. A burning pain shot through the bone and warm blood started trickling down my sleeve. I couldn't give up here. If Nifu was as smart as he said he was, he would have an escape route.
The water had now risen to the furnace's level. I was left in darkness and no way to see the incoming danger from above. This darkness did not doom me entirely, for it allowed me to see a small opening towards the back of the cave.
This darkness did not doom me entirely, for it allowed me to see a small opening towards the back of the cave
I swam over the best I could and tried to pull the rocks away from each other. My head was completely under water now. I managed to make the hole a little bigger. The pressure from the water did the rest and I was sent down a harsh, rushing river. My body was tossed in different directions before I went over the edge. My body felt weightless and all I could see was white. In an instant, it all faded to black.
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