ABSTRACT
THE LAST PERSON WHO HAD GONE INTO THE CAVE had not come back. Most of the people who went in did not come back. Some of the ancient myths did tell of ones that had returned, but none of these stories had a happy ending. All of them described the unpleasant deaths suffered by those who had dared to pass the boundary and enter into the forbidden world. They returned in pain, nauseated, weak, and unable to eat. Their skins peeled away from their flesh, and they bled profusely. Sometimes, their families and friends suffered the same fate. It was clear that the land was poisoned, they were certain of that. But no one knew why. Were the Gods angry? Had the earth itself turned its back on them?
