The Tidal Cave

     “And he was so worried about us keeping up.” Zemia whispered, turning to Clara, who rolled her eyes as Wiluite finally caught up with them.

     He stood in the trail, hunched over, panting, trying to catch his breath.

     “Sorry for the holdup, ladies! Ran into a…bit of a roadblock…on the way over.” he said in between gasps.

     “Which would’ve gone a lot quicker if you’d exercise more often.” Zemia quipped.

     Wiluite lifted his head, “Hey, I get out plenty! You know that!”

     “Yeah, how long’s it been since you last went anywhere besides the arcade or hanging around at Arthur’s? Or anywhere that isn’t less than five minutes away from home?”

     He just shot her a glare.

     Clara let out an exasperated sigh, “Alright, what’s the ‘surprise’ you wanted to show us this time, Wiley?”

     Wiluite smirked, “You know the lake that’s close by our neighbourhood? Well, I found a place nearby that’s pretty cool!”

     “Oh? And what’s that?” Clara said, raising an eyebrow.

     “I’ll show you, just follow me!” He turned tail and dashed through the woods. He led the duo through the dense forest, his friends running on all fours, keeping pace with the Kyrii as to not lose his trail. He finally came to a stop beside a pair of thick shrubs.

     “It’s right this way!”

     Wiluite pushed aside the foliage blocking the path, allowing Clara and Zemia through first. The sound of rushing water filled Clara’s ears as she followed her friends, brushing aside a few branches in her way. The path led into a clearing, revealing a vast waterfall overlooking a large pond below. Clara’s eyes widened, taking in the sight of the calm blanket of water, the tiny waves rising and crashing at the shores, the fresh air suffusing her lungs and the gentle breeze brushing her face. She looked into the water, it's surface the brightest shade of teal, clear enough to see everything from the fish to the rocks and sand below.

     “Beautiful, isn’t it?”

     She snapped out of her trance and glanced towards Wiluite, who stood right beside her.

     “Yeah. So, you wanted to show us a new swimming spot?” Clara raised an eyebrow.

     “Not just a new swimming spot. Believe it or not, that’s not all this place has to hide!” Wiluite winked.

     Clara’s eyes followed the Kyrii as he dashed across the east bank of the pond, crossing over rocks leading to the waterfall. He came to a stop right beside the torrential cascade and waved towards his friends on the other side, beckoning them over. She could see his mouth move, his words drowned out over the thunderous water. She turned to Zemia, shrugging.

     Zemia was quick to catch on; she went on all fours and clambered atop the rocks, moving quickly and effortlessly towards the other side.

     After a moment of hesitation, Clara made her way across, taking cautious steps, watching her balance as she stepped on the rough, mossy rocks, careful not to slip and fall. Wiluite watched from afar, arms folded, tapping his foot, keeping a close eye on his friend as she took her time crossing over. It wasn’t long before she finally joined them on the opposite side.

     “About time you made it,” Wiluite said. Zemia cast a glare at him, “alright, follow me, ladies! It’s right here behind the waterfall!”

     Behind the waterfall? Clara thought, curious.

     Her curiosity didn’t last long. As she followed her friends down a narrow path, she gasped, her body froze in place, her mouth slightly agape, eyes wide. Behind the waterfall was a cave leading deep underground. Stalagmites and stalactites piled the mouth of the cave-like rows of teeth. Her eyes locked with an impenetrable, vast emptiness looming deep in the grotto. The darkness appeared to reach out and grab her, to pull her in and shroud her within the cold embrace of the shadows within. She backed away, slowly, shivers ran down her spine.

     A cave? THIS was the surprise?!

     “Hey, you okay?”

     Clara almost jumped, she felt a hand rest on her shoulder. Wiluite leaned over, staring her straight in the eyes. She couldn’t bring herself to speak; all she could do was stare back at him with an uneasy look on her face.

     Taking one quick look at the cave ahead of them, he glanced back to his friend, “Oh, right. Don’t worry, I have that covered!” he grinned.

     Wiluite reached into his knapsack, procuring a lantern. He opened the compartment, lighting the candle inside with a match. A strong bright light flooded the mouth of the cave, painting the grimy stone walls in a radiant orange tint.

     “See? Nothing to worry about, I came prepared and all. Even got one for you too.” Wiluite handed her a spare lantern.

     He stepped into the dark cave. The lantern light cast away the shadows within, exposing a straight, narrow path. Reluctant at first, Clara held her lantern close, its radiance giving her the courage she needed and followed him inside, with Zemia tagging close behind. The rough limestone cave walls were damp and overgrown with moss. Cold drafts of air whisked from the darkness beyond, sending chills through her body. She could hear the faint sounds of water dripping from the roof of the cave and the wind blowing from outside and through the depths. Wiluite stopped in his tracks, turning back towards Clara.

     “You alright?” he asked.

     “I’m okay. It’s just a little cold down here.”

     Wiluite stared at her for a moment, then continued moving through the tunnels.

     “You know, if you want to back out…” Zemia said.

     “N…no, no, I’m okay. As long as you two are with me.” She walked along, sticking close behind her friends.

     Clara took in some air, trying to clear her mind as she made her way into the darkness. The sound of the rushing waterfall echoed behind the three adventurers, growing fainter, little by little with every step they took.

     “So, what’s so special about this cave again, Wiley?” Clara asked.

     Wiluite turned to her, a sly smile on his face, “Funny you should ask! Rumour has it that a long time ago, there was this Eyrie pirate, Clevant ‘One-Winged' Alabaster of the Scurvy Island Marauders and captain of the merchant vessel turned warship Howling Horus! Used to be a big name on the high seas back in his day, long before our time and all that. The bane of many a merchant vessel or any unfortunate ship to cross his waters. In fact, not many faced him and made it back to tell the tales…but the point is, one day his hideout was attacked by his rival, the self-proclaimed pirate king, not Scarblade of course, the one before him. He and his crew barely escaped, but it pretty much put a stop to his operations since the Howling Horus was destroyed in the attack along with most of the loot he had collected over the years. The Scurvy Island Marauders were long since wiped out or disbanded, as for the fate of old Alabaster, well, no one really knows. But there are rumours he hid what was left of his stolen fortune somewhere far, far away from Krawk Island, where he believed no one would ever find it. Of course, he left behind a few clues, but they’re actually fakes that led would-be treasure hunters in circles and dead ends. Which is kinda clever now that I think about it. I mean, who would ever think to look in some random cave in Neopia Central for buried pirate treasure?”

     Clara heard a soft scoff behind her, Zemia rolled her eyes and shook her head. She raised an eyebrow, “And you believe it’s here?”

     Wiluite paused for a moment, “Well, yeah.”

     “And how do you know? What makes you think they didn’t just bury it out in the woods somewhere, maybe marked it with a big ‘X’ on the spot for good measure?” Zemia said.

     “I don’t, it's a hunch. A lucky guess, maybe. See, I skimmed through some ancient Times articles the other day and some eyewitness accounts say they caught a glimpse of a small group of outsiders fitting the description of him and his crew sneaking their way through the outskirts of Neopia Central carrying some kind of hefty load with them and this is the only known cave in this general area, so I guess there’s only one way to find out, right?”

     "There's no stopping a desperate guy’s search for lost riches, is there?” Zemia whispered.

     If he’s so famous, why haven’t I ever heard of him before? Clara shrugged.

     Wiluite led the way, lantern in hand casting away the shadows as they ventured on.

     The cave stretched on for several minutes. Soon enough, the lantern’s light spilt out into a large chamber, a dead end, save for a huge hole in the ground at its center. The three adventurers came to a stop right at the edge, Wiluite stretched out his arm, the lantern hanging over the dark abyss. Peering over the ledge, Clara could tell that it was a good several dozen feet deep, perhaps more.

     “Whoa, what a drop!” Wiluite uttered, “where do you think that goes?”

     “Must be where all the water drains down to.” Clara replied.

     “Hate to be dragged down there.” Zemia said.

     “Speaking of, how are we supposed to get down? I can see some handholds, but it doesn’t look all that stable. Some of them look like they’re ready to crumble under our weight—”

     “Way ahead of ya!”

     Wiluite threw the knapsack off his shoulder and searched through. After a few moments, he pulled out a rope ladder, holding it up in the air with his arm outstretched, a wide smile running across his face.

     “Bravo. Guess you did come prepared after all.” Zemia spoke, an unmistakably deadpan tone in her voice, joined by a slow clap.

     “What? I do my homework from time to time. You gotta have more faith in me than that, sweetie.”

     Zemia snarled.

     “I never doubted you, Wiley.” Clara said.

     Wiluite did a double take, “Oh…thanks, Clara! I appreciate your…having faith in me.” His gaze shifted away. Clara could’ve sworn she could just barely see red on his cheeks for a brief moment.

     He crouched down beside the ledge and with one flick of his wrists, uncurled the rope ladder, the wooden handholds clacking as it straightened out, down into the darkness, the clacking growing more faint, until it suddenly stopped. He gripped the ends of the ropes and tied them as tight as he could around a nearby rock.

     “Alright, that should hold. So, who’s gonna—”

     "I'll go first."

     Zemia stood on the ladder and climbed down. As she descended into the pitch-black abyss, Wiluite and Clara kept a close eye on the ladder, making sure it was secure. After what felt like several moments, they heard a soft thud. Then her voice echoed from the darkness.

     “It’s a short fall!”

     Wiluite turned towards Clara, “After you.”

     Clara took one look at the ladder, her eyes tracking it down to where it disappeared into the darkness below. She felt a shiver run down her spine. The anxiety she had felt the moment she looked into the mouth of the cave came rushing back. She shuddered, shutting her eyes, taking a few steps back.

     She felt a hand on her shoulder, “Hey, don’t worry Clara, I'll be right behind you."

     Wiluite stood before her. His reassurance was all she needed. She stepped on the ladder, holding on tightly to the ropes. She took several steps down, only to suddenly freeze, as the ladder swayed under her weight, then it stopped. She looked up, Wiluite gripped the sides of the ropes as firmly as he could. He gave her a wink.

     Clara took a deep breath, slowly descending. When she was a quarter of the way down she felt the weight shift. She lifted her head, Wiluite had started his descent as well, lantern secured on his belt, giving much-needed light as they climbed down into the depths. She could feel the temperature drop around her. She shivered, as the lower she went, the colder it got. Eventually, her feet touched the cave floor once again.

     The trio collected themselves as Wiluite reached the bottom of the crevice. They were now in a spacious chamber. The sound of dripping water could be heard from all corners of the cavern. A few feet in front of them was a wide lake, one that seemed to have no end, stretching out beyond what the lantern’s light could reveal. The water was a dark, murky green, it’s calm surface disrupted by occasional ripples. An air of desolation hung over the place, one that was disturbed by the presence of the three explorers.

     "I'll go check out the lake, you two stay safe.” Wiluite said.

     He walked alongside the edges, lantern held firmly in his grip, looking for a way across. The left bank came to a stop at a large spire that extended high up towards the ceiling, it's surface too smooth to scale. As he made his way to the opposite side, the path came to an end at the edge of the cavern wall, where the lake stretched on. Kneeling at the edge of the shore he could see nothing but darkness below the surface of the water.

     "So, what's the plan, Wiley?” Zemia’s voice broke the silence.

     "Well, we could swim across, but that’s probably not a good idea, as there’s no telling how deep or wide this lake really is. That and it's pretty cold down here, we could end up catching neomonia or something.”

     “Afraid of catching an easily curable illness?”

     Wiluite just stared back, his eyes narrowing into a frown, “It still sucks to get sick you know! Guess if you don’t mind too much, maybe you’d like to go—?”

     “Guys, you see that rock over there?" Clara asked, grabbing the attention of her bickering friends, pointing at a large rock sticking out of the middle of the lake, “it has a little groove in it, you can tie the rope there.”

     “Hey, you’re right. Good eye, Clara!” Wiluite said. Zemia frowned, crossing her arms. He looked through his knapsack and procured a long roll of rope.

     “Zemia, hold on to the other end for me."

     Zemia immediately gripped the end of the rope as firmly as she could and tied it around a nearby stalagmite.

     "Alright, time to swim!” Wiluite said, wrapping the rope around his waist. He stepped back a bit, then ran towards the lake, diving into the water.

     The girls looked at each other, then back to Wiluite. They watched as the Kyrii sped across the lake until he fit the rope around the grooves in the rock. He turned back, signalling to them with a thumbs up. He continued on swimming, the light casting away the darkness beyond until he was barely a speck in the distance. After a few moments the rope stopped swinging, its position secured. Finally, they heard their friend’s voice again.


     “I’ve reached the other side! You can cross now!” His voice echoed throughout the cave.

     Zemia went down on all fours and walked along the rope. Clara followed close behind. As she crawled, she couldn’t help but stare down into the water below, she could see her own reflection in the murky lake staring straight back at her. Under the surface the water was dark and foreboding, like an endless abyss that once fallen into, there was no coming back. Soon enough, she and Zemia reached the other side, clambering onto the rocky shore. Another passage lay before them, a circular opening leading deeper into the depths. Wiluite untied the ladder, reeled it back and tossed it over his shoulder. They continued on their way through the winding, narrow tunnel, the strong smell of dampness in the air around them was nearly enough to make Clara choke. She covered her nose with her shirt. The thin cloth barely masked the odour, but it was better than nothing.

     The passage led into a wider chamber, the ceiling beyond the lantern light’s reach, leaving a pitch-black void above the trio. Clara looked up, staring into the dark abyss. She thought about tossing her lantern into the air as high as she could. She didn’t know why the thought crossed her mind, but at that moment she wished her brother Arthur was here to toss a fireball or cast a light spell up to the ceiling, just to see how high up it really was.

     "Found something!” Wiluite called out.

     Clara snapped back to reality, “What is it?”

     “Finally found that myth you were looking for?” Zemia quipped.

     “It’s not the treasure,” he knelt down, picking something up from the ground, “but I think we're on the right track!” He turned towards the girls, revealing a chipped, grimy piece of wood.

     “A stick?” Zemia raised an eyebrow.

     “Not just any stick, see how it’s shaped? This is part of a peg leg, something a true sea-faring pirate would have!”

     “But Wiley, that could belong to anything other than a peg leg.” Clara protested.

     “Yeah, even if it isn’t just a stick, you do know pirates aren’t the only ones who wear prosthetics, right?” Zemia rolled her eyes, “idiot.” She muttered under her breath.

     “You two are missing the point! Why would there be such a thing out here in the middle of a cave in Neopia Central of all places? This obviously stands out here, this could be the jackpot we’re looking for!”

     “Or, it could just be another fake-out, just like the last couple of times when you took us to that abandoned house way outside Central that you said was haunted and it was just an empty home? Or that time you had us all gathered in the middle of the hills, waiting for a mystical ‘once in a million years’ red moon eclipse that turned out to be just an ordinary lunar eclipse? Or, just like you said, it might be another one of his ‘clues' that’s leading us straight into a dead-end, or worse, our soon-to-be tomb?”

     "It's not! Yes, those last two turned out to be flukes, but this is the real deal this time, it’s got to be!”

     Clara’s ears twitched. A distant noise caught her attention, it sounded like a series of soft taps, followed by a rumble that shook the chamber, echoing off the rock walls, along with the sound of rushing water, the same kind of noise as the waterfall at the entrance to the cave. But that sound had faded away long ago, why was it suddenly so loud again? She turned her attention to her companions, who did not seem to notice as they continued their bickering.

     “Whatever. Let’s just keep moving and run into a dead end so we can get this over with. I don’t want to be stuck down here any longer than we need to.”

     “Shhh! Guys, do you hear that?” Clara raised her voice.

     Zemia and Wiluite went quiet. Another sudden, distant rumble echoed throughout the cave, followed by the sound of trickling droplets joined by the more distant noise of rushing water. The trio looked over their shoulders, a stream flowed down from the passage they had just came from. Wiluite’s heart raced, he was far too scared to speak of what was going on before water poured into the chamber.

     “Quick! Everyone out!” Zemia shouted.

     They made a run for it, rushing through the tunnel back the way they came as fast as they could, clambering atop the rocks, running on all fours. It wasn’t long before what was at first a shallow stream of trickling water became a river, flowing over the rocks, waves crashing and swelling, pools of water flooding the floors. By the time they had reached the chamber with the murky lake the water was ankle-deep. Wasting no time, they dashed across the ropes connecting the banks of the wide lake. Clara looked down into the water once more, this time she could barely see her reflection, its image warped beyond recognition in the rippling turbulent stream. When they made it to the other side, Wiluite tried to untie the rope, but Zemia grabbed him, telling him there was no time and to leave it behind. Before they knew it, the water had reached their knees. Their movement began to slog, fighting against the rising tide as it grew higher and stronger by the minute. Time was not in their favour. It was time to get out. Now.

     “Crud! This isn’t good, this isn’t good!” Wiluite muttered.

     Clara glanced towards the Kyrii beside her, clear panic in his eyes, whispering to himself in nearly unintelligible mumbling. The rushing water tore at their legs, pushing them back with all its might. She grabbed the rock wall, trying to keep her balance. Zemia skipped across the water, her movement swift, jumping from side to side, the current barely slowed her down.

     "We're not going to make it!” Wiluite screamed.

     "Yes we will! Just keep running!” Clara shouted back.

     She looked straight ahead, the ladder tied to the crevice leading up to the surface was in sight. Water flowed over the rocky cliffs where it stood. She perked, they were almost out of danger! Zemia reached the rope ladder, holding it steady, beckoning towards her companions.

     “Hurry, everyone up!” She commanded.

     Clara and Wiluite quickened their pace, kicking their legs as hard as they could, powering through the unrelenting river. The water level rose ever higher and with it, the current growing ever stronger. The ladder was just within reach, Clara relinquished her grip on the wall, about to grasp their ticket out of the cave.

     She heard a sudden yelp, followed by a splash. She turned back, Wiluite slipped, falling to the ground, nearly disappearing beneath the river. She lunged, grabbed him by the arm and helped him up, hand latched back on the wall as she dragged him along.

     "Wiley!” Clara shouted, “hold on, don’t let g—”

     A torrential cascade came down over the crevice, drenching the trio, the strong current wrenching away Clara’s grip on Wiluite. He shouted as he was cast back into the dark tunnels, calling out in vain to his friends for help.

     “WILEY!”

     Before she could react, another torrent engulfed them. Clara gasped as her feet were swept above ground, the current lifting her up, dragging her away.

     “Clara!” Zemia screamed. She outstretched her arm, reaching out to grab her friend. But it was too late, the current had taken its hold and she was far out of the Wocky’s reach.

     “Zemia! Find my brothers! Get help!” Clara called out at the top of her lungs, her voice echoing throughout the cave, her voice growing fainter and fainter as she was cast into the depths.

     Down into darkness…

     To be continued…