Eating Souls In Another World

Chapter 07

Walking through the darkness made Drake wish he had brought with him one of the torches they found in the cavern. That would have been like shouting for the cultist to come get them, however, so his only choice was to tolerate the lack of visibility and continue advancing.

It wasn't long before they came across another source of light which prompted them to slow down. The faint orange glow came from a hole in the tunnel which appeared to be man-made.

The hole led to a wide room illuminated by something in the corner. Several long boxes were placed around, and looking inside the one right beside the entrance, Drake learned they were filled with straw.

“Are those… beds?” Rollo whispered.

The wooden boxes turned out to be a simple type of furniture. Since so many of them were placed around they guessed that the room was a shared sleeping quarters for the black cloaks.

There was nothing to see inside so they went on their way. The two found several more rooms, all of which were empty with the residents being away for some reason.

At some point, the darkness seemed to fade little by little. That caused Drake to become alarmed. Though he didn't like it all that much, the darkness provided them with a good cover. Now that it was gone anyone would be able to spot them from dozens of meters away.

The source of the faint light was a strange moss growing on the tunnel walls. According to Rollo, it’s called Night Moss and it typically grows in humid environments such as this.

The long tunnel continued for a while. Luckily they didn’t run into any cultists so far, but that in itself was upping Drake’s stress levels beyond the safe levels. 

The cold was starting to have its effect on him as well and the occasional pointy pebble stabbing into his bare feet threatened to make him lose it at any moment. He didn’t know when but his patience seemed like it would run out soon enough.

“A storage room?” 

Rollo's murmur brought life back to Drake. The two checked another room they came across which, unlike the previous ones they passed, was filled with crates stacked on top of each other. 

Realizing that they had found where the cultists kept their supplies, Drake dropped his caution and rushed inside. He checked the boxes one after the other and found that some were quite heavy and impossible to open.

I probably need a crowbar…

Thankfully some of the boxes were already open. Those contained an assortment of vegetables as well as dried meat and fruits. There were a few barrels nearby that smelled like oil and others that had the distinct scent of alcohol. 

Rollo jumped at the chance to get some snacks but then stopped. He stared at something silently for a few seconds before running in its direction. 

“My bag!” He cheerfully exclaimed as he picked something from atop one of the crates.

The Red backpack was almost double his size. It had what looked like a rolled-up sleeping bag as well as a small metallic teapot, a long rope, and a bundle of thin branches. 

From the looks of it, he had brought along what he’d need to spend a few nights outside however everything was taken away when he got captured.

Rollo checked the contents of the bag and took out a small machete which he then used to open the boxes that previously refused to budge getting surprised by what they contained.

Some had swords in them while others had spears. A few were filled with different pieces of plate armor. There were a bunch of bows and arrows as well. 

Coming from a world where guns made all of those irrelevant, Drake's first thought was that they were props for some movie. It was only when he examined one of the swords up close and saw the sharpness of its blade did he realized all of it was real.

The crates contained enough weapons and armor to equip a small army. Drake had no idea what the cultists planned to do with all of it but he surely had no intention of lingering around to find out.

That said, he had a reason for looking through the crates and he didn't want to leave just yet. Thankfully the search didn't last long and he soon found what he was searching for.

Looking at the clothes Rollo wore and the fact that the tunnels they were in were inside a mountain named Icewyrm, Drake deduced that the region they were in was known for its cold temperature. That being said, he expected the cultists to have some equipment for traveling in such weather and was right on the spot.

They had everything from wool trousers and socks to leather jackets and boots. Drake quickly layered on a few pieces and a few seconds later the cold no longer pierced his bones.

“The storm you mentioned before…” As he checked another box, Drake turned to Rollo with a question. “Don’t tell me it’s a snowstorm?”

“Well yeah…” the read head replied. “It doesn’t rain that often so we only get snow most of the time.”

The image Drake had formed of the world outside was shattered once again.

Don’t tell me it's one of those places where where the snow never melts…

“Hm?” 

As he struggled with the revelation, Something in the corner of his eye caught Drake's attention. It was a small box placed on an altar-like rock at the far end of the storage room.

Looking for something to warm himself with had kept him from noticing it despite it being something hard to miss.

The small box was different from the crates they checked so far. The wood it was made of seemed to be of much higher quality, with the edges covered in beautiful golden carvings and the cover having a strange emblem at its center. 

Seeing the keyhole it had given Drake the impression that it was locked, but seeing the faint glow coming from the small gap under the lid told him otherwise.

For reasons he didn’t know, his heart started beating faster as he reached for the lid. Drake faltered for a moment, gulping audibly. Before he could hesitate again he opened it and gazed at what was inside.

“No way…” The moment the content of the strange box came in sight, Rollo leaned in with his eyes wide open and his mouth agape. “Are those... Beast Souls?”