Shrek's eyes searched through the dry grass of the field for the cave with his colleague, Sean McHaffin. He knew it could've been around any corner, it was only a matter of time until he accomplished his goal... Suddenly, in the corner of his eyesight, he noticed it- a meter-long and three-foot-wide patch devoid of any vegetation. "There she is!", He exclaimed enthusiastically. "This is th'place I stumbled upon while hunting this sunday. Seems t'be an ancient man-made cave 'rsomethin. Pass the rope, will ya?"
Sean handed over an old but reliable climbing rope of theirs, which shrek anchored into the ground with a rock. He looked down into the cave opening, almost entranced at the pure, undiluted black. Despite it being noon, the cave seemed to reject any sunlight; it was darker than space itself, darker than a black hole. "Well, what're you waiting for, Mr. Indiana Jones?", Sean teased. Shrek snapped up and awkwardly smiled. He didn't realise how much time he spent staring into it.
" 't's just.. I feel like I've seen this place before, in th'weirdest damn way. Like I was alweys meant to come'ere.", he tried explaining. "Well, you were here just this sunday, weren't you?", Sean chuckled. Shrek faked a laugh awkwardly, knowing his partner would never truly understand what he meant. "Whatever. I'm goin' down."
Shrek zipped down the rope, his thick ogre skin rippled but remained unaffected by the harsh rope burns most people would receive in such a situation. Sean slowly climbed down after him. " 'can't see shet! Pass me the torch, willyer?", yelled the sexy green ogre. His voice echoed. The place must've been much lager than anticipated. Shrek found the rubber activation switch on the torch and clicked it, illuminating their surroundings. What the two saw was breathtaking.
They were clearly in a sort of massive and ancient temple, with massive marble support pillars and an extremely large and intricately weaved rug on the floor, but an extremely odd detail about the place was the almost complete emptiness of it all. The only object in the room was an absolutely colossal candle. Something about it seemed absolutely alien, it seemed older than time itself. No, even older. Years upon years of wax collapsing upon itself and dripping down the sides gave it an indescribably eery look. It seemed almost alive. The wick was lit. Behind the candle was an even more massive wall, filled to the brim with scratches or perhaps carvings. "Damn it! Someone must've looted the place before us. There's nothing of interest here at this point. Just a candle and a scratched wall." Sean said, frowning. Shrek didn't listen to what Sean said. He was trapped under the spell of the candle and the wall. He slowly made his way to the wall touched it. A shiver crawled down his spine. The stone was cold and moist, and not unlike the candle, seemed like it was aeons old. He ran his fingers through some of the intricate grooves. Suddenly, they seemed to magically change. No, they looked exactly the way they always had, but he could perceive their meanings now. "Anak'tau Rahav Ulu'Ruthu, Terokan Q'la'at Ut Tekar Het A'Aurit Rakitau. K'thati Tahu Het Ka'a, K'Ulu'Ruthu.", Shrek read. Sean looked at him as if he fell off the moon. "C-come again?", he asked.
"They're no rodent scratchings, McHaffin..", Shrek understood. "It's a map."