Chapter 93: An Old Legend
"Man, I keep forgetting how persistent those biters are." Little Mac stood weary from the other side of the cave-in. The snarls and banging did not settle down as he hoped, in fact, it seemed as if it was getting louder. "Do you think they'll ever give up?"
"My non-existent cash is going to be no." Sword commented, there took a glance at the dark abyss ahead of them before calling to the space princess. "Rosa, do you think you can make the wand of yours any brighter?"
She shook her head "Sorry, this is the most I can do."
"Well we'll have to settle for that then. Let's keep moving. Those who have chargeable moves, do it now. It might get you out of trouble in the future." Sword and Rosalina took the front lines as everyone else followed in line, with Shulk guarding the back end of the group.
"Man I'm already starting to hate this place." Brawler said, as he and Gunner were walking near Sword.
"Not a fan of the dark?" The blond Mii replied.
The fist-fighter scoffed. "As if. I'm reminded of that time I was in the dungeon back at that island."
"Island?" Questioned Gunner.
"Yeah? You know that callosum where we first met? Before I met you two I was trapped in one of the dungeons down below. It wasn't hard to get out as I literally punched out the bars, but… wow. Those corridors were so tight and dark. I was on edge as those stupid squid things wouldn't keep leaving me alone. Good thing that's over and done with."
"Wait, you guys were on a floating island once?" Little Mac butted in the conversion. Several of the Smashers were invested in the topic, and wanted to know more.
"Yeah… we never really got around telling the rest of you guys did we?" Gunner realized before indulging in the presentation of their story. "Yeah we did, and it wasn't just one island, it was islands. We actually met each other at the same time on these islands."
"Floating… islands..." Shulk shouldn't be surprised but he couldn't help himself. This new universe, despite its faults, was a beauty in defying the laws of physics "When did this happen?"
"Happened at the beginning of the year, before we even knew of the Smash Brothers." Gunner answered. "It was quite the rollercoaster those first few days. In fact, we actually-"
"Um, I don't want to interrupt your story. I bet it's very great and I would like to hear the rest of it but we're not exactly in a position to let our guard down just yet." Said Wii Fit. "Maybe a bit later, okay Gun?"
Gunner sighed and whispered a weak "Ok". Villager twiddled his thumbs together, now beginning to become uncomfortable with the tight spaces of the tunnels.
"I'm kind of regretting we didn't bring a map before coming here. You think we could've found one at the park?
"No." Rosalina said. "From what I glean from this world apparently Old Cave is a separate location of the park, which means it shouldn't contain a layout of this place."
"It's not a total loss. We navigated unknown territory before. Just need to stick together as always." Answered Greninja. They encountered several diverging tunnels as they braved the darkness. Heeding the frog's advice, they refused to separate and went with their guts. It was at the fourth tunnel at the right where things got very interesting.
"Look at that, this area has more space than the other parts of the cave system." Sword took a step or two forwards and noticed the stale stench in the room. "Wished we could have savaged our air fresheners."
"Yeah, this scent smells familiar… oh no." Brawler spoke. Rosalina shined her wand one the source and all of them became repulsed. Skeletons dressed in miner attire litter the room. There weren't as many bones as they were expecting, but with the limited light they had it was too much.
"Man. I even after all this time. I never got used to this." Gunner spoke.
"The bodies? Yeah it's certainly an… ugly aspect of this world. Look at that, there's nothing on the bones. Has a lot of dust on them too." Brawler observed.
"These must be the first victims of the Deermen" Shulk said, Rosalina turned her wand slightly to the left to several enlarged skeletons with horns. One of them had a pickaxe lodged in one of their foreheads; the blood from long ago staining the very tip of the blade" Dead Deermen? Did the miners kill them?"
"By the looks of it, probably. At least they went down fighting." Sword remarked as he accidentally kicked something plastic. Down he saw a bulky yellow flashlight. The Mii picked it up and pressed it on. Despite it appearing accidentally, its bulb flashed like a candle against the oppressive void.
They were in a breakroom of sorts if they had to guess. There were beds hugging the walls, surprisingly looking brand new. Spoiled coffee and rotten pastries were spilled across the dainty white tables. A bulletin board with documents to photographs, schedules and sketching to whatever the worker required. What was all of this? Weren't they just mining for coal?
"Let's search around here. Hopefully they're supplied around here." Brawler knelt down and patted one of the bodies. "I know this is a burial site, but I like to believe they wouldn't mind us having their supplies."
"I don't know about that, but we can't afford to be picky. Just take only what we need."
Gunner found more flashlights, this time mounted on two helmets. She wore one and gave the other to Wii Fit. The presence of more light made the room substantially easier to see. All of them reluctantly investigated this grave. Despite the large space provided for, all of the items were pretty much useless. With the exception of some mining tools, rope and another flashlight it was all there is.
"Another ripped bag of trail mix." Sword sighed as he tossed the bag away. "Is there anything good on that board, Mega Man?"
"Um… Nothing so far. Hey look at this!" The android plucked the piece of paper from the tack it was bound to and gave it to Sword. "It shows where all the minerals are going, I think we can use this as a map."
"Good find, my little blue dude. At least we're not going in this blind."
"I agree. I don't think there's anything left in this room. Let's take a look at that map and see where we should go next." Suggest Rosalina.
"Yeah, I think it's about time to d-"
"Wait." Interrupted Greninja. He retrieved a large green notebook from the body of a miner that had a yellow badge on its shirt. He flipped through the first two pages and looked up. "It's a journal. Apparently whoever this used to be was a foreman. This could be our break."
"Why?" Asked Brawler. "Wait, do you think…?"
"Tell us what happened? Maybe. Only way to find out."
"Well don't just stand there, read it. We're living on borrowed time as it is." Urged the Mii.
"I'm sorry for invading your privacy. I'll promise to return this after I'm done reading." Greninja opened the book and skimmed through the contents until he stopped on a specific page. "Oh?"
"What is it?" Robin asked.
"Most of these are simply him writing his thoughts or reminders but these pages here are longer than the rest. I read them aloud now." The frog took a breath then carefully translated the contents to his teammates.
"January 02. Things have been settling down lately. My men are complaining how the outhouse smells like absolute ass but that's nothing new. We got enough coal to make the higher ups happy but it's not doing much to improve our money situation with the town. The mayor *sly bastard* is doing his best (HA!) but it's not amounting to anything. I'm getting sick of it at this point, we might as well not even exist to the rest of the world. Clarice is pestering me about packing our bags somewhere else but I have to keep reminding her the housing is not cheap. Even if I sell the house I fear we won't have enough to get the shelter we need. Way to kick the new year!"
January 15. Well, ain't this an interesting turn of events. My boss got contracted by some rich asshole down east. Apparently from what I know, this guy is interested in treasure hunting of sorts and believes Old Cave is the place he's been looking for. He mentions something about the "Horns of Deliverance" and he also believes it's in here somewhere. I don't even believe a whift of that B.S. but he's paying top dollar, and he's famous too. Some of the guys around here think this will be a fresh start for this ancient town. If that's true we'll get more tourism- will put us on the map. I'm not holding my breath but a man can dream, and dream I shall.
January 18. I finally got to know more of that "Horns of Deliverance" legend. I'm not going to write down the entirety of what I read from the internet. But I'll leave the note here for reference. I don't really believe in this lame urban legend and I don't see how this is connected to the treasure, but hey I'm getting paid for this crap. So what the hell.
Between the pages was a slip of paper, Greninja unfolded it and spoke aloud of its contents.
THE HORNS OF DELIVERANCE (1870)
"A traveling vagrant travelled to the old state of Haven in the search of a brand new life. He was a very kind but reluctant and shy man, despite all his efforts he never once had a friend, all he had were acquaintances and nothing more. One day he came across an injured fawn in the woods. Its pack had been decimated by hunters, predators and the harshness of winter."
"Feeling immense pity for the mammal, the vagrant took the fawn into his sanctuary and nursed it back to health. When it came time to release the fawn in the wild, it stayed. It refused to go back into the wilderness as it felt a great connection with the vagrant, and so did he. It was a mutual friendship. They were often seen walking together around on the outskirts of the town."
"One day, a woman was found horrifically and brutally murdered in the forest. Although the local police didn't find any conclusive evidence, the residents of the town suspected that the vagrant was responsible and formed into a vengeful mob thirsting for blood. They broke into his tent, dragging him by the hair to the tallest tree in the area. The fawn desperately tried to save the man that saved it. It fought back but only gained a bullet wound in the eye."
"The vagrant was strung up on the highest branch without mercy. His thrashes and choking was the only sound perimating the forest until silence took hold. The mob then cut down the body and took it back to town, leaving the fawn to become succumbed to its grief. It was later found out that they got the wrong man, and they soon kept quiet about their involvement in the act. It was like nothing ever happened."
"Months later after the lynching, reports of attacks spread across the town. Individuals that were present during the lynching were vicious bitten and skewered all over their tortured flesh. It was initially thought to be the work of a bear or some other animal, but close inspection of the bite marks revealed them to be the work of a deer. Legends had spread of the deer, so filled with unimaginable vengeance and insanity, teeth sharper than the blades of swords, and the horns that always delivered punishment wherever they went. The worst of them all was when the leader, a deputy sheriff that formed the lynch mob, came back home and found brown fur and claw marks all over his daughter's room. The place was broken-in and ransacked. His daughter was never seen again."
"Heartbroken and enraged, the man went out to hunt for this monstrosity, to put an end to all the terror. He left into the wilderness and was never heard from again. Coincidentally, the attacks also ceased. A bitter peace was washed over the town. Although they were no longer hunters, they still felt a sense of unease from time to time, as if the deer could sense them. The cold…"
(The paper is torn off from here)
Greninja inserted the note back between the pages and looked at the Newcomers. Some were intrigued, others slightly disturbed. "When was the story published again?" Asked Mega Man.
"It says 1870."
"Wow, according to the bulletin board this mining company was founded several decades ago."
"While the dates are intriguing, I'm more interested in that story. What did they say? A deer becoming angry and biting and terrorizing people? Does that ring a bell to anyone?"
"I think I know what you mean. You think this story is connected to this realm's apocalypse?" Robin inquired.
"Maybe. I am not sure myself but this can't just be coincidence. The deermen came from this cave. The guy who wrote the journal said they were looking for something in this cave. That deer must be the cause of this somehow."
"Assuming that urban legend was real." Brawler clarified. "Then yet again this entire realm seems to be absolutely insane, nonsensical and ridiculous. We have a frog ninja, a magician and a goddam space princess in our group so maybe I'm just getting tolerant of the absurdity of this world."
"Maybe this is why we are here. To find that deer and put a stop to it. If that's true we can possibly go home!" Villager smiled, eager to return to the mansion he now called home.
"That certainly gives us a lead to follow." Shulk agreed. "Assuming that deer is still in here somewhere, what should we do when we find it."
"We'll figure it out when we find it. It's too early to discuss any further plans. We need to find more evidence. Greninja, how much of that book do you still have to read?"
"Only a handful of pages. But I suggest we keep moving through the tunnels first. I can read on the way."
"Yeah, this room is really putting me off. So many bones. A bad omen..." Murmured Wii Fit. "We should get moving. How many flashlights do we have?"
"One, two… I count about four of them." Answered Gunner. "Now that we have a map, where do we go now?"
"Well according to his paper." Rosalina tapped on a specific spot on the map. "All the tunnels we passed back there were either dead ends or looped together. What? Now this looks promising." She flipped the map around and pointed somewhere near the upper-right corner. "It says here that this section was recently added to the map. I think we should go here and see what we can find."
"Certainly better than going in blind." Sword said. "Okay then, we'll have team formations set up as before. Greninja keeps reading that book, I have a feeling it's gonna help in the long run."
They all left through the tunnel by the coffee machine and ventured forth into the unknown. But if they had stayed and listened just a bit from the tunnel they just came from.
They would have heard the snarling.
Well, that explains a few things. Only one more chapter till this arc concludes! Hope you guys are ready for it, I know I certainly am! Till next time.
