Following Vim deeper into another cave, I wondered if we were going to meet another monarch so soon.

We were in the Nation of the Blind, a few days deep into it actually. Unlike last time, when we had traversed through large open fields and prairies we were now traveling through mountains and canyons. Though right now we were in a cave, located in one of those very canyons, one that had been so hidden and out of the way that on a few occasions Vim had needed to help me traverse the rough terrain.

Unlike the cavern system where we'd met Tor in however, this one was… strangely not very dark. The caverns and tunnels were more open than usual it seemed, and even though Vim and I had been walking deeper and deeper for the good part of an hour I could still make out nearly everything in the cave.

The stones were lighter in color, which probably helped keep it brighter, but it felt a little odd… We had rounded enough corners and gone through entire sections of tunnels and cave systems that there was no way any of the sunlight was peering this deep into the cave to reach us here.

"Vim… where are we?" I asked, unable to contain my curiosity any longer. I had held back for the last day or so as we came here, but I couldn't any longer.

The cave seemed normal. I didn't smell, or hear, anything unnatural. And Vim had never mentioned another monarch in this area before, so…

"I found these years ago. While hunting a god," Vim said.

Found…?

"A god?" I asked as I stepped over a large rock. It was jutting out of the ground oddly, as if it had poked outward. It was sharp.

"Hm. In fact I found this place before officially joining the Society. Though not before meeting Celine," he added.

"Huh…" I continued following Vim as we rounded another turn. The rocky walls around us became… sharp and littered with similarly pointy rocks as the one I stepped over earlier.

Fascinated by the sudden change in appearance, I wondered why some rocks were sharp and why some were smooth. And why they seemed to change so drastically so quickly.

Didn't water smooth rocks…? Did that mean no water has ever been in this section of the cave?

I had to walk carefully for a short time, and was thankful I could see so well. Some of them were very definitely sharp. Not just at their points either. Almost as if there were ridges along their pointed sides, intentionally formed to be dangerous…

"Are we not here to meet someone?" I asked. He was speaking almost as if he was talking about a thing, not a person.

"No. No one's here. At least, there better not be," Vim said.

I see…

Blinking quickly, I smiled gently as I became suddenly very excited.

What was he going to show me? It wasn't often, rarely in fact, that Vim took me somewhere not related to the Society.

Though we might just be getting another one of those items he's buried throughout the world… which would be fine too, I guess. After all even though he was gathering them for a reason I didn't wish to indulge, it was fun to see and learn about things Vim kept secret from everyone else. Since the very fact he told me of them, and showed me them, was only further proof at how much he cherished me.

"I'm glad that Meriah got all antsy. We would have had to pass by here otherwise," Vim said gently as we rounded another corner… and seemingly came to a dead end.

So he was glad that Meriah had left. That explained how he had gotten a little… calmer after she had parted with us at Kaley's Hamlet. Here I had thought he had just been happy for us to be alone.

"Don't want her to know about this place?" I asked as I followed Vim to the end of the path, if you could call it a path. It was so littered with rocks and sharp points that it almost felt… wrong to even walk through it.

Hopefully it didn't grow dark here, else I might end up hurting myself. I'd not be able to traverse this place without sight, that was how problematic the sharp rocks were.

"I don't want anyone to know of this place, no," Vim confirmed as he stepped over to a wall.

"Not even me?" I asked happily as I watched him. He paused a moment, to glance back at me.

Smirking at him, I waited for his quip or his attempt to tease me in turn… which normally worked, since he was so good at it.

Instead though he only sighed with a small smile, and then he turned back to face the wall.

Before I could say anything, to tease him even more, Vim reached out and placed his hands on the wall.

Hesitating, I wondered if he was about to break the wall or something. Should I worry? The roof was littered with pointy and sharp rocks… would they fall on me if he did?

Vim's hands and fingers made noises as he began to push on the wall… and I flinched as I heard stone scrape stone… yet instead of a loud bang, or crack, the scraping sound only grew louder and louder… as he simply pushed a giant section of the wall deeper into itself.

A little stunned, I realized he was pushing a huge rock. A giant boulder, far bigger in height and width than the wall even was. And as he pushed it… light started to become visible.

"The outside…?" I mumbled in awe, wondering if we had maybe walked through the mountain already. The canyon we had entered in had been deep, and near some smaller mountains. It hadn't felt like had walked a great enough distance down here to pass through one of those mountains but…

Gleaming lights came into view, and I felt my shoulders slump in awe… as a world of pretty glittering lights came into view.

Stunned, I slowly walked forward… following Vim through the large hole-like doorway he had just opened up. Vim stopped pushing the rock after a moment, and turned and smiled at me as I walked past him and entered the new section of cave he had just revealed.

It was a massive room. Big enough to have an echo and more… and the walls and roof were absolutely covered by giant gems.

Glowing blue ones. Very similar to the giant gem at the Armadillo's home.

"Gems?" I asked as I kept looking around. Some of them were so huge, they were as if trees themselves. Many of them were thicker and wider than Vim, and many times taller. They all glittered faintly, though from a light source I couldn't place. Did they glow from within, like hearts? Or from another source of light?

"Crystals actually. Similar, but not. Come on, let me push this back and seal it up while you enjoy the sight," Vim said gently as he patted me on the rear, ushering me away from the stone he had just moved.

I stepped forward, leaving him behind as he went to push the rock back into place. The sound of him pushing the rock, scraping the rock it slid into, was deafening but I ignored it as I approached the nearest crystal. It was sticking up out of the ground at an angle, like a fallen tree, and was about my size in width.

"Can I touch them?" I asked softly as I stared into the blue crystal. I could see through it, as if it was made of glass, but it had countless little streaks of white things inside of it. Those white lines glimmered and glistened, like icicles in the sun.

"You can. They're just rocks."

Reaching out, I placed my hand onto the crystal… and found that it was strangely warm. Nowhere near as warm as a monarch heart, but far warmer than I had expected it to be. Especially since they genuinely looked like giant ice crystals.

"It's warm, Vim," I whispered in awe.

And strangely smooth. It looked as if it had grooves, yet as I ran my hand along it I felt none of them. It felt as smooth as glass or ice.

"Some of them are, yes. Weird huh?" Vim's voice sounded close, so I turned my head a little… tearing my eyes away from the beautiful thing to find he was now standing next to me.

Blinking at him, I turned and found the rock he had just been messing with. It was now back in place, sealing this cavern from the other.

"Is that um… the only way out?" I asked. The rock was massive. A huge boulder, as big as the hut Nory and I had lived in.

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Vim really was a monster.

"Yes."

"Don't die then, Vim. I'll be stuck here," I said as I returned my attention to the thing before me.

He chuckled at me as I reached up with my other hand… and realized I had my gloves on. I quickly took them off, and found that the crystal was even warmer than I had originally thought.

"They're beautiful…" I whispered, and glanced down the crystal a little. I stepped a few feet away from Vim, so that I could step up against another section of the crystal… to put my face up against it.

Resting my cheek against it, I closed my eyes and sighed at the warmth. It felt good, especially on the cut that was still healing.

Plus it made me relax a little. Which felt even better, since this place stunk terribly like that pit from my memory.

I wasn't sure if it was because we were underground, or if it was just mere coincidence… but ever since Vim had moved that boulder, I could smell nothing but that pit. The one my family used to throw me into as punishment.

It was so strong of a smell, so terrible, that I was barely able to even focus on the wonderfulness around me.

"They are, aren't they? There aren't many places like this in the whole world. Or well… there probably are a lot more than I think, but good luck finding any of them. And even more so good luck getting to them, too," Vim said.

Right… If this place really was sealed, except for that rock Vim could move, I doubted anyone else could get here. It was under a mountain. Near a canyon. It had taken us over an hour to get here, walking through caves and tunnels…

"Come on, Renn. We're not there yet," Vim then said as he stepped away from me and the crystal I was growing to want to depend on.

Pulling my face away from the warmth, I frowned as I hurried to follow him.

This wasn't what he wanted to show me? Really? What could be better than these things!?

As I followed Vim through what felt like a forest of the crystals, I began to notice slightly different colors amongst them. They were mostly the same shade of light blue, but a few had a pinkish hue, or a green one. Though…

"Are they actually colorful, Vim, or are they just… reflecting what's around them?" I asked, as I realized the green ones had grass or moss around them, while the blue ones didn't.

He chuckled at me. "You really are observant. Yes, they seem to reflect their surroundings. There's an aquifer below this area, one that a lot of these crystals are connected to and are submerged in. It's a mineral heavy lake. Thus their blue color," Vim said.

"Huh…" I nodded, finding that to make perfect sense. Though… "What about the pink ones?" I asked as we passed one of them. It wasn't as big as the one's around it, which were a mix of blue and greens.

"The honest answer is the stuff inside the crystal. There are tiny parts of different minerals and stuff inside that give it that color. Most of them are actually a type of white, a see-through, which you'll see up here in a moment," Vim said, explaining gently as we walked.

I hummed as we approached a huge crystal that emerged from another cluster of smaller ones, and was so big and long it hit the other end of the cavern wall, in the ceiling. Vim had to duck as we walked under it, though I only had to slightly lower my head.

As we walked under the huge thing, I found myself strangely happy. "You really are taller than me, Vim," I said as I watched the way he stood back up once we were out from under it.

"Hm…? Not by much," he said with a little shrug. He didn't seem to care either way, really.

For some reason it made me happy to be reminded he was though.

After a few minutes of walking we rounded some larger crystals and came to a new tunnel. One lined with crystals, though most were so big they ended up being the walls and roof of the tunnel, with the rock of the mountain only peering through occasionally between them.

"How did this form, Vim? It's as if they had all grown around this area we're walking through," I said as I noticed the way the crystals around us were formed. Some of them were so flat against the wall, it was as if they were the wall itself. Decorations, maybe.

Vim smirked at me. "Because it had been? There had been a huge crystal here, that they all were growing against and around. I removed it, to make this path," Vim said.

Slowing a little, I stopped midway through the tunnel and looked back and forth… and realized he was likely being serious.

I could see it. Where the hundreds of smaller crystals, some as big as me, had formed around a larger one. In fact some of the crystals even looked… broken or impacted, as if they had been pushing up against something bigger and stronger than themselves.

"Where'd you put it?" I asked as I returned to walking.

"The crystal…? I broke it a bunch, to get it out. It's in pieces somewhere around here," he said.

Oh… "That's too bad," I said. It would have been neat to see a big one in full. Were they elongated and so perfectly shaped all the way to their source? Or were they like trees, where once you dug under the ground you found a wry mess of roots beneath them?

"Hm…"

Leaving the tunnel we entered another large cavern. This one though wasn't as littered with crystals, and had more grass… and…

Staring at the building on the other side of the cavern, I felt my tail twitch like mad at the absurdity of the sight.

"Vim…?" I asked, doubting my eyes.

It was a house. Undoubtedly. Made of some kind of dark colored stone. It was such an appalling sight here, amongst all the pretty crystals, that it offended me.

"Why do you look offended?" Vim asked, pausing mid step.

"Why's a house here? Look, it doesn't belong at all!" I said as I gestured at the pretty crystals lining the walls and scattered around. There were even a few sticking out of the ground and grass, pointing upward to the ceiling.

"Hmph. Fine. You can sleep outside," Vim said as he turned away, smiling gently at me as he headed for the house.

"I could! Staring up at them would be wonderful!" I said. I'd almost said sleeping against one would be nice, since they were so warm, but I was glad I hadn't. Since they were, even if warm, hard like stone.

"Really? They're bright, so it annoys me…" Vim said as he frowned.

Oh…

Glancing around, I realized Vim was very right.

This cavern was so bright it was almost as if we were outside. Some of the crystals were even glistening and glowing as if lanterns.

Yes… Vim was right… it would likely be possible to sleep, but it'd not be as easy or comfortable as I had first assumed thanks to how bright they were.

"Are you here to sleep?" I asked carefully as I followed him up to the house.

A part of me was hoping not. Although I was already getting used to the smell of this place, it was still bad enough that it bothered me. I wasn't sure if I'd even be able to fall asleep here if I wanted to.

"Hm… actually, to be honest, I've not been very tired lately. That's odd, how come I hadn't noticed?" Vim slowed as he turned to look at me, tilting his head as if I could answer such a question.

"You haven't felt sleepy?" I asked, a little excited to hear so.

Vim shook his head a little, frowning at me as he did.

"That's wonderful, Vim. I have noticed you haven't really yawned or anything lately, too," I said. I had simply thought he'd been doing it without me noticing, or that he had been more aware of himself since we'd been traveling with people lately.

"Haven't I?" he asked.

I shook my head. "Not lately," I said.

"Huh… Well, like I said, I feel fine actually. Which is weird, since I've not really slept much recently. We've been busy, and all," he said as he stepped forward, towards what was likely the door to the house.

Likely, since it had no door at all. It was just… an open doorway.

The house was raised a little, built on the grass but with a layer of the brick beneath it for foundation. It made the front door a slight step up to get in, not something commonly seen. It was high enough that one could even justify using a stepping stone.

Stepping up into the house, I noted the stone it was made of.

"Is… this the same stuff that bridge is made of?" I asked. "The one near Lumen?"

"Yep."

Shaking my head at Vim, and his strange secrets, I followed him into the building. The hallway was slightly small and felt… weird. It reminded me of the Keep a little. There were no rugs, no furniture, only stone. Grayish stone, all cut perfectly to shape.

How long has this been here, I wonder? Vim had said he found this place not long before joining the Society… I wonder if he had made this building about then, too.

"You made this, right?" I asked as we passed another open door. I slowed a little to study the small room. It was full of stone boxes and crates. Made of the same bricks the house was, but slightly different in color.

At least, they looked like boxes. They had metal strips near their tops, and had little latches upon them. They looked like the metal latches that locked large gates, though didn't seemingly have any actual locks upon them.

"I did."

I turned, and found Vim was no longer in sight. His voice had come from another room. I had stopped, to study the weird stone boxes. A mistake. Hurrying a little, I found Vim in the next room… one that was in fact, an actual room.

Vim was unhooking a bag from his back, standing in front of a large couch looking bench. He was absentmindedly putting stuff onto the bench. Slowly entering the room, I glanced around at the furniture. The room was a large one; probably a little bigger than the one I had been given in Lumen. It had several couches, chairs, tables and dressers. There was even a huge mirror hanging on one of the walls, adorned by racks of pegs where one could hang clothes and items… though they were all currently empty.

"Vim…" I whispered his name as I studied the home, which looked far too clean.

"What?" he asked as he turned to look at me as he untied another bag.

"Does someone live here?" I asked as I glanced at a nearby dresser. It, like the rest of the place, wasn't just empty looking… it was clean. Too clean.

I stepped over to it, and ran my hand along the top of its surface. It came away as clean and fresh as if I'd just cleaned it up myself.

Not a speck of dust.

Maybe I shouldn't have been offended by this home so haphazardly. As weird as it was, made of solid brick… it was strangely interesting. Plus this room, thanks to it being so well furnished, it now felt homely. Though there was no bed here. Was there another room? Or was there no bed because Vim didn't need sleep?

"No one does, Renn. The reason it's clean, and there are no bugs or anything, is because of the stones. They repels such things," Vim said calmly as he returned his attention to undressing himself.

Wait… undressing?

I hesitated as I watched Vim not just take off his bags and outer layers, but even his inner ones. He stripped naked, rather quickly, and nodded as he pointed to the hallway we'd just come from. "I'm going to take a bath, if you'd like you can join me," he said.

"Say so sooner…!" I shouted.

He laughed as I threw my bags and clothes off, hurrying to join him.

Smell or no, I'd not miss such an opportunity!

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