Waking up

Flinch had no idea how much time had passed when he awoke, but there was no light outside. Had he slept through a whole night and day? He felt sore but not as sore as he had expected and to his surprise, the headache was gone. He reached up but still found the horn where it was last seen. A sigh escaped his lips as he wiggled out of his hiding place. ‘Well, this is my life now, huh. A lone goblin trying to make it in the big scary world. I am doomed.’.

He spent some time exploring the caves and was shocked at how expansive they were. Countless tunnels of varying sizes intertwined to form a true maze, which Flinch made point to remember. He figured it would be a great place to hide, though it worried him that he saw no other creatures lived here. Good for him, but why?

He set traps in the forest, dug up roots and collected berries. There was a river nearby, so water wasn’t a problem. Weeks went by during which Flinch learned about the forest and mapped the cave in his mind. One day he found a new cave and was shocked by its beauty. It was large and filled with pale blue crystals of all sizes. Some had grown from ceiling to floor or the other way around like massive stalactites while others were the size of Flinchs finger. He was about to pick one up, when he heard a rumbling growl from a different tunnel leading inside the cave. He froze, this was the first sign on life inside the cave apart from small insects and it sounded massive.

Flinch quickly fled into the narrow tunnel that had led him to the crystals and hid, keeping his eyes trained on the other tunnel. Heavy steps approached until finally a massive werebear lumbered into his field of view. Its shoulders were six feet off the ground on all fours, the grey wiry fur seemed to have been pierced by many dozens of swords. It made its way to one of the larger crystals, bit a chunk off and ate it. That was when Flinch noticed it weren’t swords stuck in his body, it were jagged crystals growing out of its skin. The creature didn’t seem in pain, and if these crystals left bad wounds it would have been long dead. It moved slowly, but that could be explained by its size and the lack of urgency it felt eating inanimate objects that couldn’t flee.

Were there crystals making that thing stronger? Flinch couldn’t help but feel they did. He made a note to never wander near the cave and left quietly.