Breaking down camp and breakfast was always quick. Mesu was used to the speed of the mornings, and her days now started before sunrise. She had noted that Anna was not an early riser. Working at the bar didn’t call for early prep. A lot of the tasks could be started midday, and there was still plenty of time in the evenings. Delivery days were the most hectic, but those were once a week.
The ride was at a leisurely pace. The site was close, rumored to have treasures of some sort. Em had traveled to it beforehand and reported it would be fine to explore. The danger level would be low, and he stuck with the group afterward.
“You know what you’re looking for once we get to Eberdeen, lass?” Em was riding too close for Mesu’s comfort. He was the only one who made her a bit uneasy. She attributed it to the way he treated everyone. It had her on edge.
“Not really sure. I’m under the impression it’s a ruined castle.”
“Ay, the place isn’t in ruins at all. I haven’t seen it. You look at it, and it’s just a clearing surrounded by trees. Was a temple to some forest God, I guess. There’s supposed to be a key. Something that reveals and unlocks it.”
“Someone rebuilt it after it was destroyed?” Mesu knew she wouldn’t be able to hide the confusion on her face. Em looked as if he took pleasure in knowing something she didn’t.
“May have been destroyed. Maybe not. Either way, something stands there. It’s hidden from our eyes and can’t be touched unless you have the key.” Mesu turned back to face forward. She had wondered why no one else had told her any of this. It wasn’t in the legends she had heard either.
“Do you think we need to get a key then before heading there?”
“Won’t know until we’re there. If we do get in, said to be a mountain of treasure. All of those artifacts that were found during the time of heroes stashed away. Lots of magic in innumerable items ripe for the taking. I figure I have my mindset on a couple of items already. Old debts and all.”
Mesu watched as Em took his eyes off of her. His smirk had grown as they talked. She glanced behind them, where Anna shrugged her shoulders. This was all new information to her, it seemed. Em continued to talk.
“Reckon that could be the final score. Gather and split the goods up. Would be nice to buy a whole town, be a lord or whatever the people call the ruler.” Em looked as if he was getting lost in thought. His daydreaming seemed to have gotten the better of him, and Mesu was thankful. She started to drop her pace a little and hoped he wouldn’t notice. She worked her way backwards to Anna. They slowed down.
“Did you know any of that?” They both watched Em to see if he would turn or stop and face them. He kept pace, but Mesu didn’t take her eyes off him.
“No, this is all news to me. I kind of want to find out who that source was but…” Anna shook her head, and Mesu knew exactly why. She had trouble talking to him while in a group setting. He was quick to insult and didn’t take anyone seriously. Mesu was having trouble seeing why Zoe kept him around.
“We can ask around the next town. Maybe the stories will be different if we are closer to the area. It’s a long shot, but could pay off too.” Anna nodded her head, and they continued forward. Mesu looked and saw what others had already seen. A hill was jutting out of the ground in a way she’d never witnessed. The grass looked painted onto rocky spikes that shot through the ground around it. As they got closer, she saw an opening that was barely lit. Her horse pulled up to the rest of the group.
“This wasn’t here the last ride I took.” Em looked around, confused. “We’re going the right way. Must’ve popped out of nowhere.”
Zoe led the group to the tree line and dismounted. Everyone else followed suit and tied the horses up. She gathered them together and stood so she could see the cave.
“Well, we’ll rest here and decide what to do about this. I know it’s none of our business, but it could be good business. Anna, Mesu, get the food and drinks out.” Mesu got to work as Zoe continued talking to everyone else.
“What are you thinking, Mesu?” Anna was gathering supplies as she turned to her friend.
“About what Em said, or this new exploration opportunity?”
“Both.” Anna shrugged and almost lost a few items.
“Em, we need to find out more information. I wish I could ask my parents about that; it’s likely they wouldn’t have known either. They had never mentioned anything about a key. I don’t even know where we would start looking for that.”
“As for this cave, I just have a bad feeling about it. With magic back and new threats rising, this might be one of those things we should avoid. Let’s get this stuff back.”
Mesu and Anna loaded up what they could carry and walked back to the group. The sun was lowering behind them, allowing for a better look into the darkness of the opening. Nothing new was revealed this way. Mesu knew it was already decided.
“What do you two think? Are you up for an adventure?” Zoe smiled at them. Mesu returned the look with an appreciation of being asked. She felt the need to express her concern.
“I’m not sure how I feel about this. An adventure sounds fun, but we’re already on a different one. We haven’t done any planning into this either.” Zoe’s face seemed to drop a bit as Mesu responded. Anna nodded in agreement.
“We’re going to watch it tonight. Anything out of the ordinary happens, we’ll call it off. If you would rather stay back, you have the freedom to make that choice too. I won’t force you into anything.” Zoe was still confident as she responded.
“Don’t worry there, babies. We got your diapers packed, just don’t expect me to be changing ya when we are down there.” Em laughed and walked back towards the horses. Mesu knew her face went from defeated to frustrated in no time. She hated giving Em the satisfaction of knowing he got to her.
“Em will be doing his own thing down there, too. You and Anna will stick with Tai and me again.” It felt a little better to Mesu knowing that, but she wasn’t sure if she would be joining them. She sat and stared at the cave. A bite of food later, she was watching for any sign not go through with this.