Ribbontail: Enter Emalia
Chapter 30: Nde Cave

Author's Note: Please read my artist's comments before continuing. :3
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When Ribbontail awoke the very next morning she was stiff and cold, yet still quite aware of the activity around her. There was a great calamity buzzing through the caravan carriage. The other passengers were squabbling amongst each other, pacing about and shoving things aside. Ribbontail, still half asleep, could only grumble and shield her face from the morning light.

O’liday must have seen this stirring and rushed up to Ribbontail, pulling her paws from her face. The young goddess looked up at the feliulf with a weary groan.

“Dude, get up!” he said to her in a startled whisper, “Something totally happened to that pig guy. He’s, like, dead!”

The last word alone startled Ribbontail clean out of sleep. Scrambling up onto her haunches, the girl lurched back. “D-dead?” she stammered, “What do you mean?”

“Dead! How complicated can that be, dude?”

At that O’liday pointed a paw behind Ribbontail, and with a little whine the goddess turned. There, in the corner where he had spent much of the past three days, sat the hunched figure of Scumtrot. The hog’s bulbous body was leaning against the wall of the carriage, totally unmoving with his eyes closed and his fat tongue poking out over his chin. It was as though he had just died in his sleep.

Infin and Timothy stood before him quarrelling quietly to one another. They turned, stopped their little argument, and stared at Ribbontail with wide eyes. Apparently they were both confounded by the situation.

“Wh-what happened to him?” Ribbontail asked as she stumbled to her paws.

There was a momentary pause, and Infin and Timothy glanced cautiously at each other. It was Infin who gave the answer. “Oh! Ribbontail, hello! We... well honestly, love, we don’t know what happened to this man...”

Delicately Infin turned to the deceased swine, and with the softest motion she lifted open one of his eyes. She stared at it for a second before letting the eye droop shut. With a sigh, the merchant turned and shrugged. “For a man his size, it could be anything,” she continued, “heat stroke, heart attack, an infection of some sort. The only thing that’s certain is that he went peacefully. The bloody chap looks as though he just passed on without a care in the world.”

The ferret Timothy gave a little snort as he crossed his arms and took a few paces back. “Pity. The guy’s got no sympathy from me,” he snorted, “Never before have I seen such an inconsiderate, disgusting, vile person. He smelled kind of like eggs, too... which was weird...”

O’liday stifled a little laugh, his jovial side coming forth even as he stood before the dead man. “Hehe yeah and dude: look at his face. It’s like he just died in his sleep. Hey! Maybe it’s like the dream that I had the other night, with Infin being all monstery and evil. Hahaha! Maybe something happened like she can actually-”

“Timothy! O’liday!” Infin hissed, turning abruptly on the two men, “that’s no way to speak of the dead. I doubt any of us really liked this chap, but that’s no reason to talk down about him.”

The merchant finished her quick scolding with a click of her lobster claw.

Lifting their paws in a compliant- or perhaps simply forced- apology, Timothy and O’liday fell silent. For the longest while after this nobody said a thing, and instead they watched as Infin examined the hog’s corpse. After many quiet minutes of checking his eyes, prodding his hands, and inspecting his personal food rations, she huffed.

“Well I’m more than sure it was something relating to the heat,” she said finally, “But... come now, we’d best not dwell on that. Say a prayer for him later, maybe, or a moment of silence when you’ve got the time. Come O’liday and Tim, let’s get this fellow outside. We’ll let the desert decide what to do with his body.”

Ribbontail yawned, her eyes drooping back shut as she watched Timothy and O’liday hurry to help Infin lift Scumtrot’s body. She was too tired to comprehend what went on after that. Back to sleep she drifted, but not before catching a glimpse from Infin’s prying, curious red eyes.

“Poor Scumtrot...” was the last thing Ribbontail thought before curling up, stretching her legs, and snuggling back down to sleep.
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The rest of that morning was spent with an air of awkwardness. The unexpected and anticlimactic passing of Scumtrot left the caravan passengers feeling even more tense than before. In any normal situation Ribbontail would have expected some conversation. But now nobody spoke, sitting in the carriage seemingly lost in their own minds.

Ribbontail sat quietly with PuppetRibbontail, who seemed most relieved to be reunited with her master. She looked down at her paws, took a deep breath, and scratched her ears pensively.

“I’ve got to go out and talk with Infin soon,” Ribbontail finally said to O’liday. She knew that she’d have to ask Infin about Nde cave sooner or later, “there’s something important that’s come up and... I’m just going to ask her for help.”

O’liday, who had been reading a week-old newspaper he’d borrowed from Timothy, looked up at Ribbontail and shrugged. “Good luck with that one, dude. I totally tell you: the lady’s really been acting weird lately.”

“Isn’t she always acting odd?” snorted Timothy the ferret. For the past hour he had abandoned his paperwork and instead sat lengthways on the bench, performing blank-stared acrobatics with a yoyo. At the unexpected mention of Infin he paused, let the yoyo rest in his lap, and shrugged. “Good luck getting any help from that woman.”

All attention shifted to the businessman as he said this. Instantly Ribbontail’s statement was forgotten, and their minds switched to the concept of Infin’s position.

“Go on...” O’liday murmured as he sat up. Both he and Ribbontail stared curiously at the ferret.

“She just doesn’t click with me,” Timothy said as he set aside his yoyo, “She seems nice and all, but something about her seems... off. Her personality’s always changing and half the time I can’t even tell how she’s feeling. Don’t you guys think it’s suspicious that that Scumtrot guy dies the very night after he picks on her?”

Timothy lifted his paws as though to say “right?”, and at that Ribbontail and O’liday glanced at each other.

Before either of them could say anything the business continued with a final point. “And what’s with that mask of hers? Does she have something to hide under there?”

“He’s totally got a point, dude,” O’liday meowed as he turned to Ribbontail, “she’s always seemed kinda suspicious to me, too.”

Ribbontail opened her mouth to respond to her friend. Yet once more she was cut off by Timothy, who apparently lacked patience at all times. The ferret said to O’liday, “Then why’d you come?”

At once Ribbontail rose to her paws, aggravated suddenly by Timothy’s accusing tone. Infin was being so kind to them and doing all she can, and this man still distrusted her. “We came because we needed her help, and still do,” she spouted, “I trust her. Now I’m going to go out and ask her for something. I’ll be back in a bit.”

Leaving the dumbfounded O’liday and Timothy behind her, Ribbontail turned and nudged the carriage latch open. She tumbled out of the carriage; this time she was fully aware now of the transition through a magical barrier, and she fell on all four paws. PuppetRibbontail leapt out behind her.

With a few deft movements Ribbontail peered around and analyzed just where they were. It was a decidedly hot day out here, perhaps because of the time, with the bright white sun glaring down from up above. A hot wind brushed Ribbontail’s face as she glared through the heat. Desert. Nothing but desert, still.

One of the Summoning camels groaned as it stepped over Ribbontail, one of its broad feet almost landing square on her head.

“Ribbontail?” called Infin from the front of the caravan line, “Is that you, love? Good day!”

Ribbontail smiled as she saw the merchant there, leading her camels as usual. The masked Emalian was waving her lobster claw back at the two wolves; she seemed absolutely delighted to see them.

“Hi!”, greeted the young goddess as she hurried to the front of the caravan line.

From behind the wooden mask, Infin’s eyes twinkled as a returned greeting. The lady did not vacillate once as she looked down, chuckled, and asked, “How are you doing, deary? Alright, I hope. I wouldn’t think that children like yourself see dead people often...”

Ribbontail thought of the death she’d seen here on Emalia. Screech, Kerberos, and to some extent OmenBeast... she’d experienced death more in these first two months than she ever would have on Earth. The young goddess smiled up at Infin. “It’s okay. Really, death doesn’t scare me that much. How are you feeling about it?”

“I’m fine, truly I am. Tis a pity that chap died so unannounced,” Infin said rather stoically. Then she added with a laugh, “But stuff like that happens all the time, so it’s something you just get used to. The desert’s a harsh way to travel, you know!”

“Not like there was any other way...” Ribbontail thought as her eyes turned to the ground. She shook a bead of sweat off her nose.

Smoothing the wrinkles on her black cloak and adjusting the rope she held in her claw, Infin then turned and blinked down at Ribbontail. “So Ribbontail, was there something that you needed out here?”

“Nde cave,” Ribbontail prompted, “D...do you know where that is, or WHAT it is? I don’t really want to explain it or anything, but something came up and I need to go there. Can you help me out?”

Infin’s eyes twinkled for a moment. “Nde cave? I believe I know that place. Yes, if I recall, I pass that location every now and then. Hold on one moment, if you will.”

Blinking through the sun’s glares, Ribbontail watched as Infin rummaged through the cargo strapped to her lead camel. From a sack she pulled that large map of hers, which she then unfurled. Still while walking- which Ribbontail found quite interesting-, the trader stared down at the parchment, scanning the skies and mumbling to herself.

After a brief pause Infin continued. “Ah yes here we are: Nde cave, just as I thought. If we travel northwest from here we should arrive near the location by sunset. That doesn’t correlate well with Timothy’s plans, but I’m sure the fellow wouldn’t mind a quick detour.”

“Thanks, Infin!” Ribbontail said, smiling as the masked woman winked down at her. As Ribbontail and PuppetRibbontail turned back around to head back to the caravan, she heard Infin call out a curious string of commands to her camel Summonings:

“Di matu! Di matu! We’re heading for Nde, loves!”
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“Bogus man, are you serious? Why can’t I come with you?” O’liday sat in the open doorway to the carriage, the dying light sending shadows across his disgusted face.

Ribbontail stretched her legs and scratched her ears, giving her friend a smile. “This is something very important and very personal... and I don’t want you to get hurt, that’s all. Don’t worry: I’ll be fine!”

It was sunset now, with the red sun painting rough violet clouds across the sky. Like a vast painting, the sky above them was adorned with brilliant hues of orange and pink. This was the time they’d reached their destination. It was just as Infin had predicted.

The caravan’s progress had halted for the moment and Infin, PuppetRibbontail, and Ribbontail herself gathered outside. Behind them loomed the entrance to this alleged Nde cave. It was a flat outcrop in a massive hill, which seemed more like a gargantuan beast sleeping in the middle of the desert. Whatever this “Nde cave” was, it seemed duly impressive from the outside.

Infin had an unlit torch held in her claw. “Yes, not even I have been in Nde cave, so it’s best to send as few people in there as we can. Don’t want to endanger the whole lot of you, right?”

“Aww c’mon dude!” O’liday objected, almost leaping down after his two friends. “We’re like sun, surf, and sand: we’ve GOTTA be together!”

The feliulf’s pleas were met again with Ribbontail shaking her head. “I’m sorry, O’liday,” the wolf mumbled apologetically, “But we’ll be as quick as we can. I promise you won’t miss a thing.”

Huffing as he adjusted his hat, O’liday turned and retreated back into the caravan carriage, yanking the door shut as he went. Infin chuckled at this but promptly lit her torch. With light in hand, she made her way towards the cliff face.

“Here it is,” Infin said, flourishing the torch. Its dancing red flame illuminated the mouth of the cave, a clean and wide hole carved into the hillside. It looked like any standard cave, Ribbontail felt, but deep within she could see nothing but devouring darkness.

Ribbontail gulped. “I... have to go in? What...what exactly IS this cave?”

Stroking her blaze of hair, Infin sighed deeply. “It’s just an old shrine of sorts, if I recall. Old caves like these are often just used as a tomb or an underground sanctum, so don’t expect too much. A tunnel or two, a burial chamber perhaps. I’m sure that whatever you’re looking for would be easy, hmm?”

With a sigh Ribbontail looked back down at her feet. The lady made it sound so easy. But who knew what dangers lay within that darkness?

“I know what you’re thinking,” Infin added with a slight chuckle, “and so I’m going to let you take along one of my lovelies, Arhil. She’s got a little naughty streak in her, so I’m sure she’d love to come along with you. Arhil dear!”

Arhil was one of the camels in Infin’s caravan, the tailing one to be precise. This camel carried no cargo on her back and instead had a magic lantern of sorts tied around her neck. With the usual moan, Arhil hobbled up to her master.

“Like PuppetRibbontail,” Infin said as she dusted off the ghostly blue camel, “she’ll pretty much obey any commend you’ve got for her. Arhil here’s a daft girl and she’s pretty cowardly, so she’ll turn and run if you come across any beasties like bats n’ whatnot. But I tell you now that this lantern of hers will be an immense help. The thing is brighter than any torch you’ll ever need!”

For a moment Ribbontail paused to admire the lantern Arhil carried. It sparkled with an inner white light, like a giant firefly suspended in time. Ribbontail smiled as Infin handed her Arhil’s lead rope. With this camel and PuppetRibbontail at her side, she was more than sure she’d be alright.

“I’ll have a nice fire set up for us when you return,” Infin concluded, giving Ribbontail a little pat on the head. Then, in an act of unusual fondness, Infin gave each of them- Arhil first, then PuppetRibbontail, then Ribbontail- a big hug. “I wish you all luck. Do be careful, sweeties.”

Ribbontail smiled. This lady, no matter what O’liday and Timothy thought, could not possibly be a beast fit to murder. She was far too kind and far too compassionate. Giving Infin a nod and a bleak smile, Ribbontail turned with her two Summonings and entered the ubiquitously dark cave.

The tunnel within Nde cave was a treacherous one. It was dark, and wet, and cold and silent, and Ribbontail’s breath echoed all around as they descended a shadowed stairway. Leading the way, the young goddess had no light to go by but that of the ghostly lamp Arhil carried. There was nothing but gloominess as the three descended the stairway.

After what seemed an eternity, Ribbontail and her two guides finally reached the bottom of the passageway. Ribbontail paused and almost fell tails-over-toes as the ground leveled out, transitioning from a tunnel of stairs to a massive, chilling room.

“Wow...” Ribbontail mouthed, standing in awe as PuppetRibbontail and the camel Arhil filed out alongside her.

The three of them stood in an enormous stone chamber, cloaked in shadow all around with a high ceiling and wide walls. From what Ribbontail could see, squinting there in the darkness, it was much like another hallway: it seemed to stretch on forever before them. Most curiously of all the walls were lined with massive stone pillars, each one topped with a delicately-carved statue of a snake. Each snake held in its jaw an unlit torch.

“Some light could really help right now. Ugh... but come on, we’d better just get this over with,” Ribbontail whispered to her two undead companions. They followed her close, and silently, as she began a nervous trek through the cave. Through the colossal hallway the three strode, slowly and hesitantly and sure to stay within Arhil’s light.

Ribbontail had expected something terrifying to happen. She imagined a ghastly beast leaping out to attack them, or Arhil’s light to suddenly dim into nothingness. But their progress through the gloom was steady and reassuring.

After a few minutes they finally reached the end of the cavern, which ended abruptly and with no show or lavish display. Set at the very end of the cavern was a tall circular dais.

Ribbontail blinked and sucked in a long breath as they approached, running up to see just what it held. Glimmers of gold and blue lighted against Ribbontail’s face as she threw her forepaws onto the platform. On it was naught but a little yellow gem, the exact size and shape of a marble, clutched within a silver claw.

“Beautiful!  Hey guys, look at this thing. It’s gorgeous!”

Indeed the crystal was gorgeous, shining through the darkness with swathing light and splendor. Yet Arhil and PuppetRibbontail showed no interest; they just stood there behind her, wary as any Summoning should be.

Tentatively Ribbontail reached out to retrieve the gem from its stand. “This must be what Fidei was supposed to get,” she told her two helpers, “thank goodness that was easy, huh?”

Ribbontail carefully tucked the artifact into one of the pockets along to her halter, something she thought she’d never use. Then the young goddess turned, smiled at the two Summonings, and said, “Okay, now let’s get out of here. This darkness is giving me the creeps!”

Immediately as Ribbontail turned and started back from where they’d come, the blazing glare of countless torches burst through the darkness. Instantly the Nde cave was flooded with light, and Ribbontail recoiled with shock. So the snakes atop the pillars had a purpose after all. Those torches would gladly help guide the way back!

Now that the stone cavern was lit it seemed a lot less frightening: smooth tiles glimmered at her feet, and she could see that the pillars that lined the walls bore delicately-carved images of serpents and birds. Yet Nde cave was still very large, so Ribbontail gathered her wits and begun forward.

Then suddenly a low groaning rumbled, like the ominous sound of distant thunder. Ribbontail swerved, knowing the dangers of Emalia, and yelped as she saw just what it was.

Beneath their feet the cave tiles shuddered, and jagged cracks tore their way across the flooring. The cave roared as fractured pieces of the floor broke in chunks, falling away into a great black abyss below. Hungry, ominous, and eating its way towards them, the definite chasm would devour all trespassers within the cave.

The floor was crumbling!

Consumed now with irrational fear Ribbontail spun around and threw herself away from the cracks, calling out to the two Summonings as she did. “Run!” she yowled over her shoulder, “We’ve got to get out!”

Ribbontail vaulted through the corridor with PuppetRibbontail and Arhil, not daring once to look back at the crumbling floors. With her ears pinned back and her head held low the young goddess fled, paws thumping hard and eyes wild. But even still the floor tore away behind them. Cracking stone and crumbling rock nipped at their heals, threatening to vanish beneath them and feed them to the abyss.  All around them Nde cave roared, like a great beast consumed with rage.

Ribbontail did not stop until she reached the stairway, upon which she and PuppetRibbontail threw themselves. It was only then that they turned around, aghast to see how far behind Arhil had fallen.

“Arhil, hurry!” cried Ribbontail.

Stumbling and groaning piteously, the ghostly camel hobbled frantically, those glowing white eyes wide as the floor disintegrated beneath her. Yet the Summoning could not run fast enough. The cave tiles at her feet gave way to nothingness. All Ribbontail could do was watch as Arhil crumpled, slipped, and fell back into the horrific abyss below.

Then suddenly it was over.

Silence consumed the room as the final bits of Nde cave’s floor collapsed into the darkness below. The two ribbon-tailed wolves stood there at the base of the steps, Ribbontail with her mouth open and her chest heaving. She could not believe what she had just seen. There was no Nde cave now, just a room bearing a great black void.

“ Arhil...” Ribbontail gulped down a knot of fright and confusion that had tangled itself in her throat. “What will Infin say...?”

PuppetRibbontail heard this thought, peered down into the abyss before them, then gave her master a nuzzle. As the torches within the cave dimmed and the ever-present silence hung in their ears, the two turned and began their ascent back up the stairs. They could only guess what would happen next.