Chapter 25: 25.Truth about crystal cavern expedition
AT THE SAME TIME
ALEXANDER
The crystal lizard suddenly chirped loudly, everyone turned toward it.
"What now?" Michael asked suspiciously.
The lizard looked at the remains, then it looked deeper into the cavern, then back at us.
"It says this is not the destination."Aiko listened carefully.
"What do you mean this is not the destination?" I asked.
The lizard chirped again.
"It says the dead humans never reached the important chamber."Aiko nodded.
Immediately Zavier became interested. Michael looked like he wanted to resign.
"Of course there is another chamber."He sighed.
The lizard happily started walking and Aiko followed. Everyone else followed after them, the path became narrower. Crystal formations covered every surface. Even my lantern reflected dozens of lights across the walls. Eventually the lizard stopped in front of what looked like a solid crystal wall, then it smacked the wall with its tail. A section of crystal slid aside.
"What."Everyone froze.
"What."Michael stared.
"What."The guards stared.
Even Noa looked surprised. Behind the hidden entrance was a massive chamber, mountains of crystal ore filled the room. Rare gemstones sparkled everywhere, ancient treasure chests sat untouched against the walls, and gold coins were scattered across the floor. The crystal lizard proudly puffed out its chest.
"It says nobody found this room." Aiko translated.
"Clearly." Michael looked ready to faint.
"I think this room is worth more than my entire hometown."One guard sat down immediately.
"Probably."Another one said.
Michael answered weakly. The crystal lizard ran toward one of the chests, it pushed the chest toward me. The lid opened and inside were mana crystals, enchanted accessories, several old magic books, and a beautifully crafted ring.
"DING." The system appeared. "Hidden chamber discovered. Bonus Reward Obtained."
Everyone looked at the notification. Then the crystal lizard chirped again.
"Oh no."I said.
I immediately recognized that tone.
"It says there is one more thing."Aiko listened.
The lizard ran toward the back of the chamber. Behind another crystal formation sat an enormous magic circle carved directly into the floor. Ancient runes covered every inch of it.
"That is a teleportation circle."Scarlet’s eyes widened.
The guards froze.
"No."Michael walked forward. He knelt beside the runes. "No, this is impossible."
"What?" I asked.
"This connects directly to the surface."Michael touched the circle.
Everyone stared.
"The original expedition could have escaped."The guild master looked shocked.
"The lizard says the circle activated only after enough mana was supplied."Then Aiko listened to another chirp.
"They never knew."Michael slowly looked at the remains in the previous chamber.
The realization hit everyone. The survivors had died only a short distance away from a way home. Nobody spoke for several seconds, then the crystal lizard gently nudged Michael’s arm. Chirp.
"It says the humans should go home now." Aiko translated softly.
Michael closed his eyes then nodded.
"Yes."He said. The guild master stood. "We’re bringing them home."
For the first time since entering the cavern, nobody joked. The guards carefully began preparing the remains, meanwhile the crystal lizard sat proudly beside the teleportation circle. Happy that it had finally shown someone its greatest secret, Captain Roland’s expedition was, for the first time in twelve years, finally going to leave the cavern.
"Master." Aiko said.
"What is it?"I looked over.
Aiko carefully opened the chest.
Most of the contents were old, coins, damaged equipment, crystal fragments, and several ruined documents. Then he pulled out a leather bound book the cover was worn with age, but one name was still visible. Captain Roland. The entire cavern became silent.
"No way."Michael immediately walked over.
Aiko handed him the journal. Michael stared at it for several seconds.
"This is his."His hands were shaking slightly.
"I recognize it."One of the older guards stepped forward. The man looked emotional.
"Captain Roland carried that everywhere."
Michael slowly opened the first page. Inside was neat handwriting, daily expedition records, route notes, supply reports, personal observations. Everything.
"We finally have answers." Michael carefully closed the journal.
The relief on his face was obvious. Twelve years of uncertainty had finally ended, the crystal lizard chirped proudly.
"It says it protected the book."Aiko smiled.
"You protected evidence for twelve years?"Michael stared at the monster.
The lizard nodded happily. Nobody knew how to respond to that. Eventually, the remains were moved onto the teleportation platform, and the ancient runes began glowing. Blue light filled the chamber as Scarlet reinforced the spell. Noa secured the recovered equipment, Rosalia stood beside me watching silently, and Aiko adjusted his gloves. The crystal lizard sat nearby looking pleased with itself. Then the circle activated, light exploded around us.
The cavern vanished and a moment later, we appeared inside guild headquarters.
The main hall. Unfortunately, it was the middle of the day. The guild was packed. Adventurers. Receptionists. Clerks. Visitors. Everyone looked up. At first, people were confused, then they saw the remains, silence hit the building. Complete silence. One coffin, two, three then more. Ancient armor covered in dust. Guild insignias from twelve years ago, nobody moved and nobody spoke. A clerk dropped an entire stack of papers. The sound echoed through the hall. Then panic started.
"THOSE ARE PEOPLE!" One adventurer screamed.
"WHAT HAPPENED?"Another one asked.
"IS THAT A RECOVERY TEAM?"Third one joined.
"WAIT!" One elderly adventurer suddenly froze. "No..."
He stepped closer slowly, almost afraid. Then he saw the insignia.
"Roland."The man’s face went pale.
The guild hall became silent again. Several older adventurers recognized the symbol, one woman covered her mouth.
"They found them?"Another man looked completely stunned.
Nobody laughed, nobody spoke. The missing expedition had become a legend, a mystery, a tragedy, and now the evidence was standing right in front of them.
Michael stepped forward.
"The crystal cavern expedition has been recovered."His voice carried across the hall.
The entire guild froze.
"Their remains will receive full honors."Michael said.
Several people immediately lowered their heads, even the noisy adventurers became quiet.
"And Captain Roland’s final records have been returned."Michael held up the recovered journal.
The reaction was immediate. Shock. Disbelief. Relief. Some people actually looked emotional. Meanwhile I was standing there wondering how my mining mission had somehow turned into solving a twelve year old guild mystery.
"You attract unusual situations."Rosalia glanced at me.
"I am aware."I said.
"You say that every time."Noa folded her arms.
"Because it keeps happening."I groaned.
Then, from the edge of the crowd, somebody pointed directly at me.
"Wait."He said.
Uh oh.
"Isn’t that the kid who found the hidden route?"He asked.
More people started looking.
"Oh no."I gasped.
"What?" I asked.
"I believe you are about to become famous again."The butler adjusted his glasses.
"That is the exact opposite of what I want."I frowned.
Unfortunately, nobody was listening anymore. The entire guild hall had already erupted into excited discussion. The funeral took place the following morning, for once, the guild was quiet, no shouting adventurers, no arguments over quests, no merchants trying to sell equipment. Just silence. The recovered members of Captain Roland’s expedition were given full honors in the guild courtyard. Rows of adventurers stood respectfully as the ceremony began. Michael stood at the front holding Roland’s journal. Several older adventurers who had known the expedition were present as well.Some looked relieved, others looked heartbroken. Twelve years was a long time to wait for answers.
Michael opened the journal and read several passages aloud, the records described the expedition’s discoveries, the hidden route, the crystal formations. The strange traps and the black silver deposits. Everything. Several guild scholars were already copying notes as quickly as possible.
"The trap records."One section immediately attracted attention.
"The expedition documented more than forty hazards that never appeared on official guild maps."Michael looked serious.
The hall became quiet again.
"That matches what we found."One of the guards nodded.
"The maps were incomplete from the beginning."Another guard sighed.
"So generations of adventurers have been using inaccurate information."Michael rubbed his forehead.
"No wonder people avoided that region." Noa said.
Guild officials immediately began discussing revisions. Apparently, half the exploration department was about to become very busy. Once the ceremony ended, everyone seemed emotionally exhausted, including me. Especially me. By evening, the guild dining hall was packed. Large bowls of guild stew covered nearly every table. For the first time in days, nobody was exploring caves, discovering treasure, uncovering mysteries, or negotiating rent agreements with monsters. We were just eating. Honestly, it was wonderful. Scarlet sat beside me quietly enjoying her meal, Noa was inspecting her equipment while eating. Rosalia somehow managed to clean her gun and eat at the same time, Isabella had already claimed three servings. Meanwhile, Aiko was being a perfect butler which somehow made him even stranger. Before I could reach my drink, it was already in front of me. When Scarlet needed more bread, Aiko appeared with bread, when Michael sat down looking exhausted, Aiko somehow produced tea.
"I did not ask for tea."Michael said.
"You looked like you required tea." Aiko replied calmly.
Michael stared, then took a sip. A few seconds later he sighed.
"This is excellent tea."He said.
"Thank you." Aiko bowed slightly.
"Why is the former anomaly bird better at organization than most guild employees?"The guild master looked defeated.
Nobody had an answer. Aiko continued his work. By the end of dinner, even the guards had stopped questioning it. One of them actually asked for a second cup of tea, Aiko provided it immediately. The expedition had been recovered, the cavern had been mapped, the hidden route had been documented and everyone was finally resting. I leaned back in my chair and sighed. For the first time in what felt like forever, nothing was exploding, nothing was chasing us, nothing mysterious was appearing.
"DING."Then the system flickered.
It seems that my wanted rest was over.
