The Depths of Deceit

All who entered the caverns were never seen or heard of again. It marked a place of no return and a fate unknown to those who failed to resist its allure. Soft echoes vibrated along the cool rocky walls of the underground tunnels, barely breaking out of the only known entrance. The echoes were haunting in a way that it howled like sad, lost souls but could have easily been a trick of the wind. A small group of locals who lived nearby the cavern had tracked another missing person to its entrance.

“Do ye hear that?” Noran said, scratching his greying beard. Tenielle held her torch out further and squinted into the dark hollow. The group quietened, waiting for the sound to repeat itself but the night was dead silent.

“Stop trying to scare us,” Tenielle whispered harshly, “We aren’t here for ghost stories, we’re trying to find a missing person.” She glared into the cavern one last time trying to discern any kind of movement in the shadows, but all remained still. A deeply worrying feeling troubled each member of the search party as they faced the reality of all their missing persons. Each time someone went missing, they were tracked to the cavern entrance. And every time a search party entered the caverns to find them, they became a part of the missing persons.

“This has to end…” Tenielle muttered to herself.

“And how do ye suppose we end it?” Noran pestered, ready to argue against the idea of entering the cavern.

“If someone knew the answer to that, we wouldn’t be here,” Tenielle snapped. Lydia sat at the cavern entrance and tried to meditate; she had a way of finding people through spiritual energy and had helped track others to the cavern entrance previously.

“Tenielle, a word?” Mato beckoned, urging Tenielle to split from the group momentarily. He leaned in towards her, “I have tracked every missing person back to this place, and yet, not a single soul re-emerges. We cannot enter and yet we cannot remain starved of closure.” The hunter made an obvious, but important point. Tenielle looked him in the eyes and placed a well-meaning hand on his bare shoulder, “We’ll find your brother, Mato, I promise.”

He adjusted his sash and nodded, though Tenielle sensed he would remain unsatisfied for quite some time.

Noran squatted down beside Lydia, “Do ye hear it yet lass? Have the soft cries of the caverns reached you yet?”

Lydia opened one eye, with great annoyance, “The only thing reaching me is the stench of whiskey on your breath. Why are you even on this search mission?”

Noran stood up straight and laughed from behind his large belly, “Do ye forget I’m on the council, lassy?”

Lydia rushed to Mato and Tenielle, a look of desperation on her face. Tenielle pouted as Lydia admitted defeat, “I wasn’t able to pick up anything. It’s like it’s so loud I can’t sense anything….”

“You mean there is a lot of spiritual energy here?” Mato said, hope returning to his dark brown eyes.

“Well, I don’t know what kind of energy it is but yeah, there’s plenty of it.”

A loud belch marked the end of the unsuccessful expedition. Tenielle called off the search and led the party back to the village without a clue as to how she would solve the mystery of the cavern.

The next morning, they reported to Chief Dia who was disturbed by the recurring association with the cavern. She rubbed her forefinger along her jawline as the search party reported their lack of success.

“Perhaps we need to obstruct the entryway to avoid further casualties…” Dia suggested.

“No!” Mato roared back, “There’s a chance my brother and the others are still alive – destroying the way out will seal their fate.”

Tenielle was in agreement, as was Lydia.

“Please reconsider,” Tenielle begged, calling Mato back into place, “There would be many in the village who would detest such methods while their loved ones are missing.”

Chief Dia raised a brow at Noran, “And what of your findings? You’ve barely said a word, old friend.”

Noran nodded respectfully and stepped forward. Tenielle prayed and hoped with all her might that he wouldn’t mention the voices.

“I heard calling from the caverns, my lady,” he humbly admitted.

“It could have been the wind,” Tenielle interjected. Dia raised her palm, commanding Tenielle to silence. Noran carried on explaining the eeriness of the cavern and how it exuded a dangerous aura.

Before anyone could respond a young researcher burst into the main hall, “Chief Dia! I found the tome on geographical anomalies and curses!” He appeared to be a bright young man but was completely unaware of the council meeting taking place before him. He came to a halt and coughed awkwardly.

“Tenielle and company, please make yourself acquainted with Hamal, my apprentice. He has proven to be most useful for bringing useful research to light.”

Lydia felt an almost immediate attraction to the young man. His shaggy brown hair and enchanting green eyes were enough to make her heart flutter. He waved hello and smiled politely before flipping open the book to the pages citing geomancy.

“Looks like you might be useful on this quest,” Tenielle admitted, running her eyes over the book. Mato was dubious about ancient spell books and tomes and preferred to wait at the door.

“As you can see here,” Hamal began, inviting everyone to gather around, “it points to geomancy origins stemming from the gods, or more likely mortal carriers of their reincarnated powers.”

Noran was delighted by the mystery of it all and was the first to ask questions, “This is fantastic information! Can it be used to help us find the missing persons?”

Tenielle scoffed at the old man.

“It looks like it might,” Lydia chimed in with an unusually soft voice, “If we can find a way to remove bad energy from the caverns without entering it maybe that will help.”

Hamal smiled at her with great respect, “That’s true, I’ll continue studying the other records and let you know if I find anything. We can regroup this afternoon and head to the cavern.”

“Okay, deal,” Tenielle agreed, heading towards the door. She noticed Mato’s lack of participation and flashed a look of concern.

“What? I’ve tracked enough animals as a man of the wilds to know those books are no good. Whatever is at work here won’t appreciate us messing with it.”

Tenielle laughed at Mato’s seriousness on the matter, “You’ve faced off several beasts in your lifetime and you’re scared of books?”

Mato simply shrugged her condescending attitude off, “I’m going to head out to the cavern and search nearby to see if we missed anything.”

Rolling her eyes at the concept of going anywhere near that place alone, she insisted on joining him.

Meanwhile, Lydia attempted to make a move with Hamal, “So, where are you from?”

Nervous and intimidated by Lydia’s soft, feminine features, Hamal almost struggled to keep his composure, “Uh, the capital actually. I was working in the main library as a clerk under the king but I was sent here after Chief Dia sent a request for help with the missing persons case.”

Lydia’s big, blue eyes opened wider, “Wow, you’re pretty high up in the ranks then, huh?”

A blush of red spread across Hamal’s face. He couldn’t deny his achievements, not especially when it might impress the pretty girl standing before him. Lydia suggested they continue studying for the time being, though her eyes often strayed away from the pages before her; checking to see if Hamal was looking back at her.

The hour of meeting was approaching. Lydia and Hamal had formulated a page of notes to present to the others, touching on theories and possible rituals to try and cleanse the caverns safely. Tenielle and Mato had returned with nothing; it directed Mato to believe something more malicious was at play than simple magic.

“It just doesn’t add up,” he blurted out to Tenielle as they headed back to their separate houses to recuperate.

“I know. I’ve never felt so inadequate at my job, I’m so sorry,” she admitted with great vulnerability. Mato clapped her on the back gently before going his own way.

Lydia and Hamal were reading together when a flicker of magic caught their eyes.

“Did you see that!?” Hamal whispered, staring in awe at the pages.

“Yes!” Lydia exclaimed. They looked at each other briefly.

“We’ve just started the chapter referring to the pantheon of gods…this must be a sign we are on the right track!” Hamal declared, gleefully. His excitement quickly deteriorated as they read. Each page featured one of the corrupted gods.

“Reika, Devalar, Echan, Sibelus…and who is that?” He stammered. Lydia’s brows furrowed as she tried to determine the name through an inkblot. Below the name read the words Goddess of Torment, Chaos and Trickery.

“Looks like it might be Crucira, what do you think?” Lydia suggested. Hamal nodded affirmatively, he skimmed over Crucira’s lore but by the time he was done a hellish force had taken hold of his body. He arose rather suddenly and turned to leave.

“Lydia! I’m not doing this, help me!”

She shot up from her chair and came to his side, “What do you mean?”

“I can’t control myself! Please, make it stop – argh!”

Her eyes began to water with great trepidation. It took all her might to stop him in his path, but his body overcame her, tossing her to the side.

“Lydia! I’m so sorry! Please get help!” he yelled. His cries became muffled until his voice could be heard no more. The force pushed him out of the village and towards the cavern. Lydia ran to Tenielle’s house and pounded on the door as hard as she could.

“Tenielle! It’s Hamal! He’s in trouble!” she pleaded.

Tenielle opened the door and immediately began following Lydia. Hamal was resisting as much as he could, but his body continued stepping towards the cavern. All the force in the world was drawing him into the caverns, like an unforgiving ocean current.

“There!” she shouted. Tenielle rushed in front of Hamal and pushed back, but it made him move more viciously towards the caves.

“What did you do?” Lydia shouted, barely able to catch up. His body disappeared into the darkness before Lydia could catch up, leaving her to fall to her knees in despair.

“I didn’t do anything! I tried to stop him but he became angrier! What the hell is going on?” Tenielle demanded. Lydia cried quietly, burying her head in her hands. She explained, through sobs, that they had been reading about corrupt gods when a force took over his body.

“We have to report this immediately,” Tenielle said, yanking Lydia up onto her feet, “come on.”

They rushed into the main hall and explained that Hamal had been swallowed by the caverns. Chief Dia was deeply hurt to hear the news of her new apprentice, “How terrifying it must have been for him. We cannot allow this to progress, I must block off the entrance.”

“No! I still need to find my brother, please! Tenielle back me up!” Mato pleaded.

Tenielle had no words. It was true, leaving the caverns was no longer an option. Tenielle had failed as an investigator and member of the council.

“Is there anything else you can tell me about this occurrence? Even the smallest of details can change our focus.”

Lydia looked across to Tenielle with a fearful and guilty expression. She had to let the Chief know the truth, “When Tenielle touched Hamal…he moved towards the caverns at an inhuman speed, it was like she somehow enhanced the hold the power had on him.”

Tenielle’s eyes widened. Mato glared at Tenielle.

“I’m not saying it was intentional, but we can’t ignore details when so many lives are already at stake,” Lydia cried.

Chief Dia pondered the new information, “Tenielle is this true?”

Tenielle nodded, “I was only trying to help hold him back! I had no idea it was going to happen, I swear!”

“Tenielle, you’ve been on this case since it began. There has been little to no progress. In order to keep your innocence, I must keep you imprisoned and uninvolved for the rest of the case. Do you understand?” Chief Dia said.

Tenielle fell to her knees, tears welling in her eyes. Not a single person spoke against the Chief’s decision. Her job, status and friends amounted to nothing in her time of need. Two guards lifted her by the arms and guided her beneath the main hall to the holding cells, “It’ll just be until the case is solved, or until the caverns are sealed – don’t worry. We’ll bring you food and water.”

Tenielle cried in her prison cell for the remainder of the evening until an unexpected visitor came to visit. It was Lydia.

“I feel awful for the Chief’s decision,” she said with the saddest look on her face, “I shouldn’t have said anything. I just don’t know what to do anymore.”

Tenielle was overwhelmed with shame.

“So…I came to free you,” Lydia claimed, gently dangling the keys from her fingers. Tenielle’s brows furrowed, “You can’t do that. It’ll only get me into more trouble.”

“Trust me,” Lydia said, popping the iron gate open.

“No,” Tenielle said, firmly. She stood in place with her arms folded.

Lydia’s sadness quickly turned into a grim smirk, “I’m not asking.”

Tenielle’s body began moving out of the cell.