"So how far away is this shrine?" Lea asked as they walked down a narrow path.
Dan glanced back. "Not far. This island isn't that big. We'll follow this road for a bit, and sooner or later we'll see the mountain, that's where the shrine is."
"Hm," Kald mused. "Doesn't sound too bad."
Dan shook his head. "No, not at all."
They continued walking until the road started to slope upward. As they reached the top of the hill, they spotted the mountain off in the distance. It stood fairly tall and was covered in thick, green trees.
"It's like a forest," Dalan said, eyes wide.
Dan nodded. "Yeah. But the path continues through the woods, so we don't have to worry about getting lost."
Elina pointed out a few scattered houses at the mountain's base. "People live out here, huh?"
"Yup," Dan replied. "Not everyone wants to live in the village which I get. You'll find houses all over the island." He seemed eager to answer any questions they had.
He seems excited, they must not get many visitors out here, Kald thought. He looked up—the sky was still gray, but not nearly as dark as the day before.
After about fifteen more minutes of walking, they reached the foot of the mountain.
Dan turned back to them with a smile. "Alright, this is the last stretch…" He paused, catching himself. "Oh—sorry for acting so giddy, I'm being insensitive."
Kald stepped up and patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it." He shot him a smile of his own, and Dan relaxed.
"Alright then, follow me."
The path took them into the forest. The air was thick with humidity, and the sounds of birds chirping and bugs buzzing filled the air. Kald kept his hand on his sword just in case, scanning the trees for movement. But he noticed nothing strange. Dalan nudged him and gave a silent nod, insinuating the same. Kald returned a thumbs-up and they kept moving.
Eventually, they came to a fork in the road. Dan turned right without hesitation and the path started to slope upward and curve to the right. After a bit more walking, they reached a cliffside. Dan nodded in satisfaction. To their left, there was an incline that ran along the edge of the cliff — he began to follow it, and the others did the same. After a little more hiking, they finally, arrived at a cave carved into the cliff face.
Dan stared at it, then swallowed hard. His voice trembled as he raised a hand to point inside. "I–in there," he said. "That's where the portal is."
Kald turned to his party. One by one, they gave him confident smiles. He smiled back, then turned to Dan.
"Thanks for guiding us here," he said. "But now it's time for us to take over."
Dan nodded, then bowed. "Thank you. Please… stay safe."
With that, he began his descent back down the trail. The party waited about fifteen minutes to make sure he was a safe distance away.
Then Kald turned to each of them, grinning. "Let's do this!"
"RIGHT!" they replied in unison.
And with that, they each stepped into the cave.
(And thus, Kald's adventure continues…)