Chapter 201: Vision Quest
Garin was beneath the earth again. So, this time, it wasn’t a complete shock and not a horrifying burial. This time, he didn’t feel the earth pressing into him like that awful peyote trip.
So the sensation wasn’t unfamiliar, not to someone who grew up underground. Garin awoke to find himself in caves, like the Kingdom’s, but not quite. Having spent his whole life in caves like these, it was quite eerie not to have the signature LED lights lining the walls—or any artificial source. And the walls themselves were different too—chalky. By no means was he an expert in stone and the Kingdom. Some men and women could rattle off all the other minerals in even the deepest expeditions, and rocks besides that could only be samples outside of the Kingdom.
Yet, Garin knew these stones didn’t belong to the kingdom.
Being trapped underground, without a light, in a strange cave he knew wasn’t his home but felt familiar enough was unnerving. Moreso, given that he had no idea how he’d gotten here in the first place.
“How did I get here?” Magic, probably.
Very shortly, he had another realization.
“I’m alone.”
No Erec prowling around, whose Strength was a welcome blanket of security. No Colin snorting and complaining. No Olivia, to comfort him and tell him things would be alright.
Just him, trapped underground in a place that might be his tomb.