Chapter Six
There was no falling, flying, floating, or gliding. There was only the space of a breath before he found himself on the hard cold stone floor of an unfamiliar cave, the massive book clenched tight against his chest. The landing knocked the wind out of him, and his body ached with pain. It took a second for his eyes to adjust to the light blaring at him from the torches that illuminated the walls, tight in their sconces.
With shaky legs, Ben stood up, still holding on to the tome as though his life depended on it. Its weight seemed to comfort him more than it hindered, as he attributed its presence as a sign that he had passed through. Gripped in his hand, the medallion had left an imprint in his palm. He placed it in his pocket, convinced that it had helped him through the abyss.
The chamber he found himself in was not a natural cave formation. Someone had taken special care to build the octagonal room with large dark-gray bricks that stood from the floor up. Above him was a vaulted ceiling that was well out of his reach. Four statues depicting massive human beings rested along the edges of the room, each staring at him with a cold gaze that only stone could have.
Upon closer examination, Ben saw that each statue had a different item in its hand—a cup, a sword, a shield, and a torch. Each statue was also aligned with an element found in nature. The man with the cup was knee deep in water, pouring it from his chalice. The stone was moist with condensation. Adjacent to him was a man with a long sword that pointed toward the sky. His hair and clothing seemed to be windswept. Next was a woman with a shield and she carried a cloth bag full of sand. Her counterpart, another woman, held a stone torch that helped to illuminate the room. Each statue had a large unique design carved into the base.
Against the wall behind the statues was a small podium that had a stone book resting on it. Looking at it revealed it to be an effigy of the very book Ben held in his hands. He wondered if this was a coincidence or if this was the room that greeted all travelers to this world. The book itself was opened to a single page that had been etched into the stone. Opening his own book, Ben felt a quick breeze hit him in the face. He flipped through the pages until he found the one that matched the page before him, carved in stone. Both pages, paper and stone, depicted a large pentagram with five symbols drawn at each point. Looking back at the statues, he could only surmise that each must have aligned with an element. Yet, with the four elements and the five points, there was still one statue missing.
“What have I stepped into?” he asked, closing the book and looking around the chamber. It took him a while, but after some investigation, he found an entrance that was all but hidden behind another wall. The room created an optical illusion that almost made it impossible to find the escape. Ready to leave, he walked toward the door when something caught his eye. There, around the corner, a person’s booted foot moved.
“Hello, who’s there?” Ben asked. As soon as the words left his lips, whoever the booted foot belonged to darted out of the passage. Ben took off after the person, trying to keep up, but he or she had disappeared. Standing outside, trying to catch his breath, Ben found himself in the middle of a dense forest. Pine trees loomed around him, reaching up into the night sky. To his right was a large cliff that was higher than the trees and on top of it was something he couldn’t believe. There, mocking him, was the house he had just left, standing tall and proud. Before he could question it, something moved in a bush at the corner of his vision.
“Come out, I’ve got a knife!” Ben said, hands shaking as they tried to open the folded blade.
“Whoa, whoa, okay, I’m sorry,” said a male’s voice. Out of the shrub came a man wearing dark green cloth pants with black boots and a light red shirt under an obsidian cloak, the hood of which partially covered his face. Along his belt were many pouches, each contoured to whatever was in them.
“Why did you run?” Ben asked, breathless.
“I didn’t think anyone was there. You scared the piss out of me,” the man replied.
“So, why did you hide?”
“Because I couldn’t outrun you,” he replied, struggling to get up. The man examined Ben’s jeans and T-shirt and frowned. “Strange dress for a man.”
“You’re one to talk,” Ben replied.
The hooded man looked surprised by this but didn’t respond. They stood there for a while eye to eye, not saying a word until Ben finally broke the thick silence.
“What’s your name?”
“Miles Strange. Yours?” He dusted himself off and checked all of his gear.
“That’s an…interesting name,” Ben said, trying not to say “strange.”
“Yeah, I chose it myself,” he replied, and then fell silent, looking at Ben as if waiting for a response.
“Oh, I’m Ben. Ben Harking. Sorry, I’m not really sure what to make of all of this,” Ben said.
“All of what?” he asked.
Ben shook his head. “Never mind. What were you doing in that cave?” he asked. Not sure if he could trust this man, he gripped the book even closer, unintentionally revealing its worth.
“Treasure hunting. Did you find that book in there?” Miles asked, stepping closer to examine it.
“No, it’s mine,” Ben spat. There was a brief moment of silence again before Miles relented and backed off.
“Eh, it didn’t seem like it had anything worthwhile anyways. I’m off. Catch you around,” he said, turning his back to Ben and leaving with a simple wave. Ben stood there, watching as he disappeared without a sound into the forest.
“Wait! Maybe we can travel together?” Ben yelled, but received no reply.
“Well, that was strange,” he said, entertained by his little pun. With the distraction gone, he focused his attention on the matter at hand—getting back up to the house and figuring out what to do next. Things weren’t the same anymore, which was obvious, but the problem now was getting it all sorted out. Looking at the book, he decided that it was best not to open it again. He needed to get somewhere safe. He had a feeling that people might want the power it held. Just by seeing the look Miles gave it was enough to tell him this.
Ben stood there for a while, trying to figure out how to get back up to the house. After a few moments of indecision, he got frustrated with himself for stalling and started walking in the direction he was facing. The forest itself was scary at first, but after a while, he was able to use the light from the moon that stood high in the starless sky to find his way. He expected animals and such to be roaming around, but found and heard none; this didn’t disappoint him. The pine forest was cleaner than he had expected. He walked on a bed of pine straw with little resistance from downed limbs or overgrown brush.
After less than an hour of walking, his feet had already started to groan their tired and sore song and he had to stop. The house still loomed overhead peering down at him through the tress, but he couldn’t find a means to get to it. He sat on a log, thinking about everything that had happened so far. He remembered the fear he felt before he jumped and the pain of the fire against his hand. All of these things had already started to change him. The adversity he had faced in one day was already taking shape in his mind, helping him become more than he already was. There was no turning back, which meant that by moving forward, he had only the future to face and whatever that would bring.