"What a noise to wake up to!" Lloyd complained.
"Oh, leave it be. It's not hurting anything!" Boyce gurgled.
"Besides, at least we can get an early start today."
They left the cave and sat on the big rock that the crow had vacated. They took some food out of their packs and filled their bowels with the fuel for a rest.
Their curiosity and sense of awe had made them go back into the mine.
They were in there
only briefly while they took some notes and made some calculations approximating the overall dimensions of the mine.
They marked the location of this sight on their maps and then proceeded on their journey back to Pomperaque.
Not very far from the mine there was a wide, rapid-moving river that they had to cross before they continued their trek overland to the Dark Forest which spanned most of the northern part of the Virgin Mountains. It was a part of the land where no one lived since it was too hostile for any groups of people to settle. Only hunters and criminals roamed those desolate areas.
Lloyd and Boyce tried not to think of what lay ahead. They were given the choice of what routes to take and they chose the shortest and most perilous way.
They were beginning to see more wild life now, some larger than they had ever seen before.
They knew that they were nearing the Dark Forest because of these signs. The forest was home of every kind of titan-like animal, many of which were devilishly ferocious.