Mountain hopping

If Eli found such a treasure just a hundred paces from the entrance of the cave, imagine what lay deep inside its corridors, or maybe in its center.

The only problem that stood between them and a life set in luxury, was the foxes. A fox with a single tail, or maybe just a couple was no problem for the three to handle.

"But what if there were foxes with three, or four tails? Could we take them on, just the three of us?" Eli asked cautiously.

"The caves are pretty narrow, so their numbers won't count as much as they would out in the wild. The both of you can support me as I take care of the foxes." Maria replied, sure of her abilities.

The truth is, she was the only one of the group that had some experience with the sword, as her father was the head of the town watch. He made sure Maria and her brothers knew how to handle a sword and a fight, both for self defense, and for them to one day succeed him.

If something other than a small dog attacked Eli or Nasos -even if they were holding a sword or a knife- the most they could do is clumsily flail their weapon and hope for the best.

"I gotta teach you two some swordsmanship at some point. For now, Eli can map out everything and prepare our supplies. Nasos, what can you prepare for the trip if we set out in two days?" Maria asked.

"I can have a look at what I've got now, but I'm missing a lot of stuff. I'll make a list and I can go shopping tomorrow, if you can lend me some money." Nasos said.

Nasos was the only one that got some form of education, at least up to a point. The local priest had taken him, and a few other kids to teach them some things, like writing, arithmetic and some natural science.

At least until he passed away a few years ago, he made sure to educate as many children as he could take in. That goodwill, unfortunately did not extend to his successor, who couldn't see the value in educating a few street urchins.

In reality, Nasos was never really interested in a lot of stuff he learned, but he made sure to learn them either way. But natural sciences, and alchemy caught his attention immediately.

He understood he couldn't turn lead or coal into gold, or any of the other superstitious idiocy some people believed in, but he knew that some concoctions can give you pretty beautiful, or dangerous reactions.

Even without knowing how to engage in one-on-one combat like Maria, or if he didn't know so much about the natural world surrounding him, he could make some simple concoctions to keep himself safe, or at least safely escape.

The trio eventually decided that the time for serious planning was over. Their heads were fuzzy from the wine and they had eaten the whole rabbit, and whatever else Nasos had to offer.

"You know… you can sle- sleep here if you want to… just don't drink the rest of my wine" Nasos said, trying to phrase everything correctly.

"I'm… going to sleep now" he said just before he got up and stumbled his way into his straw bed.

"He really did get that hammered over a few pints of wine, huh?" Eli said, mostly to himself.

Maria, thanks to both the pipe and the wine, was in a completely other world, so there was no point trying to hold a conversation with her.

"Do you need help getting to bed, Maria?" Eli offered his help.

"No, I'll be… just fine. You go ahead"

In the early morning, after drinking half a bucket of water each to counteract the alcohol dehydration, and eating a small breakfast, the other two left Nasos to make his shopping list, and lend him a few coins before departing.

Eli and Maria had to wait for Nasos to get his bombs and smokescreens ready, they couldn't start doing anything without him. He told them his contraptions would be ready by midnight, so they could begin their trip in the early morning.

The next day, the trio met up again outside Nasos' cabin to begin their descent to the foxes cave. They had taken supplies for a whole week each, as they didn't really want to have to resupply if they ran out or rations. It was better to be overstocked than understocked anyways.

Maria was carrying a short sword by her side, while Eli just had his map in his hand, and his bag of supplies. And of course, who knew what Nasos' mind had thought up this time, and what that bag in his shoulder carried.

It was a long, 3 mile trek down the mountain, with a lot of dangerous looking slopes, but Eli's map made it much faster and easier than it otherwise would have been.

That said, it still wasn't a walk in the park. Nasos and Maria, not accustomed to walking in such terrain, had to be cautious of every step. Even so, they both managed to get through the narrow mountain passes without breaking an arm or a leg.

Even with the help of Eli and his map, they managed to lose track of the right path twice. After all, the path to the foxes cave was concealed behind the thick foliage that surrounded them in every direction, so you really had to be careful looking.

Eventually though, they managed to find the concealed path to the cave entrance. They carefully stepped inside the path mindful of their every step.

"Careful here, the path is really slippery at places. If you fall down here, it's unlikely that even your body will ever be recovered, never mind survival." Eli said nervously.

The others nodded and heeded his words. They didn't need to be told twice, especially after seeing the steepness of the mountainside in this path. It was a place where only mountain goats would find themselves at ease.

But eventually, they reached a wider step, and just when they lifted their gaze off their feet, they could see the cave entrance in front of them. A strange, otherworldly feeling overcame the group, as they were unable to turn their attention away from the deep hole in the mountain.