After a night of rest, it was ti to get moving again. My arm and hand were still mangled, so Abe and Jared did the heavy lifting to pack up camp.
While they worked, I studied the rough map I’d drawn as our guide to Myrel. It wasn’t perfect, but it would get us there.
I wandered out of the cave and looked at the river. Then I looked at the map. I turned in a complete circle and then lined the map up with the river so they were parallel. From there, it was easy to figure out where we were going.
We’d saved as much as we could from the river, and the fire had dried everything out overnight. With our shortage of gear and supplies, packing up camp took hardly any ti at all.
Jared helped get my backpack on since my hand was still too injured to use, and we set off again.
We headed along the bank of the river. The further we got, the deeper the gorge around the river beca. Soon, it was a sheer drop into the rolling rapids below, and I heard the sound of rushing water more than saw it.
Around midday, we stopped for lunch.
I opened my pack and took out the Cryptex.
“What are you doing!?” Jared asked, wide-eyed.
“I’m just ssing with it. There’s a lot we don’t know about it, and now that it is partially assembled, I think it is worth exploring.”
“Rember what happened the last ti you ssed with it?” He pointed to my bandaged hand.
“Look at this. These pieces still move, even though the Cryptex has locked itself together. I’m willing to bet there are hidden puzzles in this thing.”
“Is losing your hand worth figuring out the puzzles?” Jared’s voice took on that overly protective tone I knew all too well.
I ignored him and started fiddling with the pieces of the Cryptex. They reminded of clock gears. When I spun one, so of the other pieces would spin in a chain reaction along the curve of the device.
“Alright, put that away. We’ve got to keep moving,” Jared said, standing up.
I bit my lip and reluctantly tucked the Cryptex back into its waterproof case. I slipped it back into my bag, patting it into place several tis before I zipped my pack up again.
We continued walking along the river. The sun had moved through the sky and was at our backs now.
Abe led the way, and we walked single file along the edge of the gorge. On one side, there was a drop-off into the river. On the other, there were scraggly rocks as tall as houses, making a narrow passage for us to traverse.
When we made camp for the night, I imdiately took the Cryptex out again and started playing with it.
Jared was busy setting up our bedrolls and coming up with a al that we could enjoy with what little rations we had.
Abe was checking the periter and stoking the fire.
For a while, neither of them bothered .
I stared at the little moving parts of the Cryptex. My eyes followed them in a line and I could see how several of them interconnected.
Grinning, I started turning one of the pieces. Down a line, it turned another, then another, and another.
Click, click, click. Pop! Zing.
“Whoa!” I jumped back as a small compartnt opened on the Cryptex.
“Are you playing with that damn thing again?” Jared asked, crouching down beside .
“Look, I opened a secret compartnt.” I grinned at him.
Jared’s eyes narrowed sternly and he shook his head. “You’re obsessed with this thing.”
“I am not. There could be other compartnts to open....”
“To what end, Eliza? That one looks empty. And the more you ss with it, the more you’re putting yourself in danger. You could have died the last ti this thing acted out.” He ended on a low growl.
“We barely know anything about it. I think it is worth studying. It might help us with breaking your curse.”
I started turning another piece that connected to a separate line of gears from the ones I’d just turned. They whizzed and whirred, flashing gold as they reflected the firelight.
“No, no more.” Jared snatched the Cryptex away.
“Hey!”
“You’re obsessing over this thing and it isn’t healthy. I’m going to carry it from now on.”
“But—”
“Where is the protective case?” His tone darkened, and he fixed with a look that told it was useless to argue with him.
I stared at the shiny Cryptex in his hand. The flat surfaces danced with reflections of the fire flas. It was so hard not to play with....
“Eliza?”
“Okay, okay.” I handed Jared the protective case.
He quickly wrapped it and tucked it into his backpack.
“Are you hungry? We should eat.” He held an arm out to .
Reluctantly, I went to him and he wrapped his arm around my shoulders.
I sucked in a sharp breath as his fingers curled around my upper arm, just under the edge of my short-sleeved shirt. His skin was warm, his fingers strong and firm.
Pleasant tingles ran through my arm.
***
“Hey guys, there’s sothing you should check out,” Abe said, jogging back toward us.
For the past few days, he would hurry ahead and scout out the area while Jared and I kept our own pace. Rather, we kept my pace. My arm and hand were healing, but it was still useless for climbing and we still had a lot of jagged rocks to scramble over.
Jared stayed with to help along.
More than a few tis, that ant him standing behind , hands gripping my hips or pressing against my backside as he lifted or nudged along. At so points, I thought he was doing it on purpose and enjoying it.
“We can’t afford any more delays,” Jared argued.
“Oh, co on. We haven’t deviated from our path for days. Besides, this isn’t a detour. We don’t even have to leave the path,” Abe enticed with a confident smile.
“Well, I’m absolutely tickled pink by the prospect of a slight change of scenery,” I said, smiling playfully.
“Alright, let’s see what you found. After all this, it better be worth it.” Jared narrowed his eyes at us.
Abe led us to a very large cave. I stood in the mouth of it, tilting my head all the way back on my neck just to see the top. Cool air gushed from inside. It slled earthy and damp.
“Hello!” Abe shouted into the cave.
“Hello, ello, ello, lo, lo,” his voice echoed back.
“You know what this looks like?” I asked arching an eyebrow at Jared.
He smirked and shook his head. As grumpy as he was with about ssing with the Cryptex, I was glad to see I could still get him to smile.
“A perfect place to find so artifacts.” Setting my bag down, I pulled out a soft bristled brush, the kind used in archeology digs, and headed into the cave.
“Let set up a light!” Abe called after .
They followed inside, each holding flashlights. The beams illuminated enough of the cave for to see that there were so old artifacts scattered around.
I went to a pile of broken ceramic and wooden beads. There were also bones scattered among the artifacts.
“Look at these!” I gushed.
Jared cast his light over the pile.
I knelt down in the soft, moist earth on the cave floor and brushed so of the dust away with my archeology brush.
“Um... are those finger bones?” he asked, motioning to the bones.
“Looks like.”
“Okay, that’s weird. We should get out of here. There’s still plenty of ground to cover before we make camp.”
Jared walked away, leaving in darkness.
A soft whisper of breath puffed out from the deep bowels of the cave. Standing up, I faced the tunnel that led deeper underground, into the dark core of the mountain range.
My stomach lurched. It felt like a hook looped around my insides, gently tugging deeper into the cave. I stared into the darkness, transfixed. My feet shuffled along the dirt floor, sothing from the depths called to , whispering to on the air.
“Eliza, co on!”
Shaking my head, I jolted out of my trance.
That was weird.
I pocketed my archeology brush and rejoined Abe and Jared outside the cave.
Abe was stroking his chin, staring at our backpacks. Jared stood beside him, eyes darting around to all the rocks around us.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
Abe pointed to our packs. They’d been knocked over. “It looks like soone was rummaging through our things.
Grunting, he lifted each of our bags and handed them to us.
“It’s best we put several more miles between us and this cave before we make camp,” he grumbled.
“Agreed,” Jared said. He helped get my pack on again and once more, we were off.
The rocks and mountains faded behind us, opening onto lush, green rolling hills. The grass rippled like ocean waves as gusts of wind fluttered across the vast fields. Wildflowers bobbed against the breeze, bending flexibly to keep from snapping off at the stem.
I was grateful to be out of the mountainous parts of the trail. All that scrambling and climbing over rocks had slowed down with my injured arm. It was nice to walk in open fields with just so small, easy-to-navigate hills around us.
The further we walked, the larger the hills got. In just a few more miles, they were starting to look more like mountains again.
I groaned and shuffled my feet along. It was a miracle that Abe and Jared had saved my shoes after the attack at our first camp and their dive into the river. Fortunately, they had, and I didn’t have to do all this in bare feet.
“What’s that ahead?” Abe asked, coming to a dead halt.
Jared and I quickly pulled up behind him. I nearly crashed into him but Jared grabbed my hips and pulled back.
My stomach fluttered but he released after a quick mont.
“The path ahead is blocked. It looks like a rockslide,” Jared said. “Eliza, is there any way around on the map you made?”
“Um....”
I ferreted the map out of my pack and looked it over. It didn’t look like there was an easy way around the rockslide. Sothing about where it was located bothered . It seed familiar, like from a vision or dream. The only difference was this towering heap of rocks in my way. If I could just find....
“Hold this.” I handed Jared the map and got closer to the rockslide.
Abe and Jared ca up behind , their footsteps crunching on small pebbles and gravel.
Bending over, I studied the base of the rock slide. I pushed grasses and shrubs out of the way.
Under one of the shrubs were three stone pavers, clear as day. Smooth, flat, and circular, the pavers were expertly positioned together. There was no way they were naturally occurring rocks.
“We’re here!” I cheered, pointing to the stone pavers.
“How can you tell?” Jared asked skeptically. His blue eyes narrowed on .
“I recognize this place. This is it! We’ve reached Myrel.”
Jared and Abe exchanged a look. I waited for Abe to call deranged again.
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