Isaac continued exploring the dim and cold cavern. Fortunately, it didn’t seem to be dangerous as he didn’t notice any traces of corruption in the corridors. The smell of the cavern walls and groundwater mixed, creating a moist, earthy smell that lingered throughout the caverns. The depth of the crypt kept the caverns cold enough for Isaac to remain solid. The sounds of water dripping echoed throughout the halls.
Isaac kept his guard up. His body was much stronger than before, but it was more vulnerable to heat and great forces. He feared that he would shatter if someone hit him with a mace… he hoped that he would never see a mace or a hammer in the crypt as he went down a mossy flight of stairs.
The stairs spiraled downward for god-knows-how-long. It was strange to Isaac how anyone would’ve been able to be this deep underground; from what he had heard before, crypts weren’t usually this deep. Surely, there had to be something more to this as Isaac reached the bottom. It was even colder than before, but he saw what seemed to be a lantern in a small alcove.
The lantern was more than enough to light the entire room up. Like the torches, it was purple and bright, but it was cold. Surely, it only affected the corrupt since Isaac didn’t seem to have a greatly adverse reaction to it— he felt an irritable warmth when he touched the glass case. The small room was filled with shelves of books, all of them about incantations, enchantments, and spells. This was similar to Crawnav’s room earlier, except this was much smaller. There were a few holes on a mossy wall; perhaps this was how the unknown person survived down here?
Opposite the way Isaac came in was a study table. Two closed books were left beside the eternal lantern, along with a quill and a inkwell. In between one of the books was a long sheet of parchment, which Isaac took and read. Carefully touching the paper to prevent it getting soggy, he read the note:
“This cavern is such a wondrous sight. Other than being a perfect place to retrieve some materials that can only be found underground, it’s also the perfect place to test out dangerous spells and rituals. I’ve been risking getting apprehended by the citadel guards just to test out for my studies… apparently, they think that it’s endangering the other citizens.
“And yes, they were right. That’s why I needed to search for a new place. I’ve searched for a nice, secluded area to do my experiments, but I couldn’t find a place that would fit the king’s decreed order. He wanted me to be a hundred feet away from any residence or citadel within his kingdom, but with the sudden rise in population, it was impossible to find a suitable place. The king supported my studies, but he didn’t want to have concerned citizens coming up to his throne to have me exiled.
All wasn’t well until I found these caverns. They had been previously inhabited by another culture, as I couldn’t understand the inscriptions on the walls. I had someone from the citadel inspect it, but as I ventured downward, I came across this beautiful, vast space for me to work on new magic spells and rituals. The room was vast, around fifty by fifty. The ceiling was probably thirty or so feet high, around six times my height. The strange fungi lit up the room as I also saw a small pool of water at one side of the room.
“After telling the king I’ve found my new laboratory of sorts, he sent his men to bring all my materials there. It took some time to bring everything here, but it was worth it. All I have to do is send the king new discoveries until I either get dismissed or the king dies.
“I’ve also started taking in my fellow students who wanted to have their own experiments. Crawnav was a splendid student of mine… back when I traveled to that mountainous city, I admired his studious attitude. He had so many ideas, but the laws on using magic kept Crawnav’s innovation from bursting forth. When he joined me with my other students, he was always industrious in enchanting items. I even feared he would take things too far and die from exhaustion.”
The parchment ended there as nothing else was tucked in between the other book. Isaac wondered about what happened to this mysterious professor as well as his students. He wasn’t sure if Crawnav got out safely, though his note implied he would have died at some point before Isaac came here.
Under the table was a mage’s staff. Isaac only knew how to use holy magic, mostly healing and purification spells. He could use the staff as a melee weapon, however.