Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 1104 - 216: The Cave

Chapter 1104: Chapter 216: The Cave

The crevice was not narrow and could accommodate two people walking side by side. Beyond the crevice was a long upward slope, which made the internal space invisible from the start. Holding the Crystal Energy lamp aloft while walking through the crevice, the environment was eerily silent, as if in a post-mortem world, where only a faint, monotonous ticking echoed continuously. In the silence, the weak sound was startling, like thunder. It was the Water Elemental hiding in the moist air, cooled by the chilly cave ceiling rocks, transforming into dew that continually dropped, forming shallow puddles on the ground.

Following the upward slope, the sides of the path were littered with messy rocks, yet the middle was quite flat, with not a single stone left behind, clearly indicating someone had been here before. Upon reaching the incline, one could see an irregularly shaped oval cave. The cave was quite spacious; even with the exploration team’s seven members moving around, it didn’t feel cramped.

"If it rained while they were passing through here, they had a very good chance of setting up camp here, that’s almost for sure," Pannis pointed out about the cave’s environment, "Look, it’s indeed suitable for a campsite, and look, there is another crevice acting as an exit, so the issue of needing multiple entrances and exits can be resolved now."

Pannis was right, this was indeed an excellent place to set up camp from every aspect and evidently, they weren’t the only ones to think so. Stepping inside the oval cave, right before them was an abandoned Fire Pit. It was obvious that the cave’s previous users had left unhurriedly, not only had they tidied up the traces of living around the fire pit, but they had also carefully doused the fire with water to prevent any trouble from lingering embers.

In one corner of the cave, besides the Fire Pit, was the only other clear trace left by the previous occupants: a small pile of firewood and some broken stones, presumably leftovers from setting up the campsite. Unfortunately, the firewood had become damp and rotten, crumbling at the slightest touch, while the broken stones next to them might still be of use, but the cave was already full of stones.

"Indeed nice, very suitable," Catherine approached the abandoned Fire Pit and drew her sword to test inside, then waved her hand, "Let’s all get moving then. Lina and Freya, you two gather some stones to raise the edges of this fire pit a bit more. Pannis and Mr. Dillie, since you two are fast, please go down to the foot of the mountain and fetch the firewood we collected along the way. Vivian, prepare the drying work for the firewood, oh, and not just the firewood. Ava, you come with me to prepare the sleeping bags and other supplies, no need for tents since we’re in the cave."

"What about me? What about me?" a voice came from behind Lina’s backpack, "Sister Catherine, what should I do?"

"Just stop playing with that skull," Catherine sighed helplessly, "And don’t try to attach it to your cervical vertebra. If you’re going to keep messing around, just go back into the box."

"Uh, got it," Little Deer whimpered softly and shrank back into the backpack, pretending to no longer exist.

Accustomed to the adventurer’s life, the girls were well-versed in survival tasks in various terrains. Following Catherine’s commands, everyone quickly sprang into action. In less than ten minutes, a small campsite was essentially formed, and the warm flames began to crackle and illuminate the entire cave.

For outdoor living, fire was the most crucial element. Whether or not a campfire was lit made a completely different impression in a campsite. Even with the use of Crystal Energy lamps and stoves, nothing could replace a campfire. What was just a dark and cold campsite moments ago came to life with the first flicker of flames, as if a rigid painting suddenly stirred to life.

Near the fire, the girls stayed close to warm their damp clothing and gear. However, their attention wasn’t focused on drying but rather on carefully examining some items they had found in the cave shortly before.

The cave was not small and even though the previous users did not leave in a hurry according to the adventurer’s customs of clearing their traces for safety and hygiene, such as disposing of daily waste, extinguishing the fire, and removing any hazardous materials, these cleanings aimed to protect rather than to conceal. Hence, in such a campsite, information left behind by the previous users always remained, and now the task was to interpret these bits of information to understand as much as possible about what happened to the previous expedition decades ago. Understanding the events of the past could significantly aid in locating the Divine Servant’s nest and avoiding potential dangers.

However, this was not easy. Finding a diary of the deceased, as had happened before, was extremely fortunate and unrepeatable. Therefore, to reconstruct the events of the past required deducing it piece by piece from the fragments of the past continually uncovered.

"They stayed here for three to four days," Pannis heated his hands over the fire, "You can tell from the leftover firewood. Comparing the traces from the original pile of collected firewood and the remaining quantity, you can roughly estimate the time they lived here."

"Why so long?" Lina asked perplexedly, "Shouldn’t they have entered the Core Area to begin their exploration as soon as possible? Could it be because they encountered prolonged heavy rains?"

"No, there’s rarely prolonged heavy rain in the Forest of Death. Even if there were, do you think we would delay our journey by three to four days due to long-lasting rainfall?" Pannis shook his head, "Actually, I think it makes more sense that they spent a little more time here. It would be really strange if, like us, they stayed for just one night and moved on."

"Why? Oh, I see," Lina mused, having voiced her question but finding her own answer soon after, "At this point, they still didn’t know the exact location of the Temple of Danacus, probably only having a rough area in mind. So from here, they needed to start exploring more seriously. Hmm, since they eventually left prepared, does that also mean they didn’t find much around here? So they moved on to another location."

"Yes, I think that’s a reasonable assumption," Pannis continued, staring at an object that looked like a piece of wood, "Catherine, come take a look at this."