When I awoke it was even darker outside than before. After a moment of confusion my foggy mind came to the realization that night must have already fallen. It was strangely quiet, and after another moment I realized that the rain had stopped.
My first thought was to gather my belongings and continue running, but my body felt too heavy and I felt so worn out that I couldn't bring myself to move. Running all day, the wet, the cold, the shivers, and sleeping on a bare stone floor all left me aching all over my body, so I remained lying motionlessly on the floor for many long minutes before finally gathering my strength and resolve and lifted myself up. My joints protested, and I felt like they should be creaking, like the branches of a dry old tree in the wind, or loose floorboards being stepped on, but they didn't.
I would have loved nothing more than a warm fire by which to thaw my frozen body, but aside from having no dry wood anywhere in the area, a fire would form a beacon that would be visible from a great distance away and would likely draw my pursuers to me. It was a luxury I would sadly have to forgo.
Thankfully, although convenient, fire wasn't necessary for cooking. I dragged myself over to my pack, which while just a few feet away felt like it was on the other side of a field. Rummaging in there, I found a rabbit. I pulled out a sharp knife and slowly cut off one leg. I put the rest of the rabbit away, then focused and sent heat into the leg. As long as it was small enough, even my meager power was enough to cook a portion of meat.
It took just as long to cook by magic as it did by fire, and I had to maintain my concentration throughout the whole process. I rarely used magic continuously for such a long time, and given my condition it was difficult to maintain my concentration. There were several times that my focus wavered, and the flow of magic was halted, but finally, it was done. I hadn't eaten anything since breakfast, so after a full day of running for my life, I was famished. I quickly devoured the leg, then prepared and ate a second one, and then a third. All in all, the meal must have taken hours.
It was only When I finished the third leg that I finally felt satisfied. After a short rest I got up to examine my wet clothes and blanket, and found that they were still wet. Thankfully the floor of the cave was slightly tilted, so the water ran out, keeping the interior dry.
Looking around, I once again took notice of the opening at the back of the cave. It was almost the right size and shape for a small doorway, but I felt something strange about it. On impulse, I used my ethereal vision and found a faint glow of magic along the edges of the opening. Was it there before? I couldn't know. I was too exhausted to pay much attention to anything when I arrived. So far it hasn't done anything, and I was too worn out and in too much pain to go trekking through the hills at night in search of another shelter while a bloodthirsty mob was searching for me.
Left with nothing else to do, and with my stomach full, I laid down again and quickly fell back asleep.
When I woke up again it was day. I forced myself to get up off the floor and dragged my feet to the entrance of the cave. I could faintly hear some unnatural noises. Standing there and listening, I realized that they were the voices of men and the barks of dogs, and they were quickly getting closer. The humans caught up.
My first thought was to gather my belongings and keep running, but that was impossible. They were too close, and would quickly find my trail and catch up to me. I might have been able to stay ahead, if not for my poor condition. I'd have to resort to my other plan: to wait for them to pass me by, then go another way.
I moved further back and lowered myself to the floor of the cave, then laid still to watch and listen. Eventually I was able to see them clearly. They were spread out over a wide area. The men with dogs were at the front, although there wasn't much for them to find, with the rain having washed away all the scents. The rest of the men, and there appeared to be dozens of them, were advancing in a line, as far away as they could be from each other while still being within earshot. They advanced quickly, and soon some of them reached the foot of my hill. I pulled back further, to make sure I wouldn't be seen, although that meant that I couldn't see them, either.
"Hey, what's that up there?" I heard one of the men call out to his friends.
"Looks like it could be a cave", another man answered.
"Think it might be hiding up there?" a third man asked.
"Only one way to find out", the first one said.
I quickly scrambled all the way back. I collected my wet clothes and rolled them into the blanket, then slung the pack over my shoulders and took the soggy bundle in my hands. I couldn't go out the front, as I would surely be seen. That only left the opening in the back. I had no idea where it led, or what the spell around the entrance did, but it was either passing through that way or facing sure death, or worse, at the hands of the men outside. I took a deep breath and entered.
Inside I found a tunnel, and at the end of the tunnel, a pinprick of white light, which gave me hope that it led to another exit. The tunnel was barely taller or wider than I was. Tapping into a hidden reservoir of strength that I didn't know I had, I hurried along its length, leaving the noises of the men behind.
The light grew. In the dimness of the tunnel I found it blinding to my eyes, but that only encouraged me further. Before long I reached the opening, and it was even larger than the opening on the other end, and perfectly rectangular in shape. I hurriedly stepped into the blinding light, and once my eyes adjusted I gasped in shock at the sight that greeted me.
