"You're improving," Livune casually commented as she twiddled a strand of wheat.

"Thank you, I try my best," Erend smiled back and approached her seated figure.

"Your friend, she's knowledgable for a fledgling human."

"Oh? Rare for you to compliment someone."

"Credit was due. Do take note that no power is without cost. The augment I gave you could break you if you use it without thought. The strain is great. Your body needs time to adapt to the flow of Source made possible with by the word of power."

"Nice of you to tell me days after giving it to me."

"My mistake. You have proven to lack even the most common of sense."

"Rude," Erend mumbled.

"Yet true. You know nothing."

"You could sugarcoat it a little," he complained, plopping down beside her. "Was there anything you wanted to speak about?"

"I just felt obliged to warn you."

"Thoughtful. Do you know what makes me enter the dreamspace?"

"Not sure. But with practice, you should be able to do it as you wish."

"Are you always here?"

"Yes. I have been constrained to this place by the Night Mother."

"Why?"

Livune sneered at him, "That's between me and her."

"Isn't it lonely?"

"I am always in her embrace, and I can see the world through your eyes."

"What?"

"How did you think I could know what you were up to? I'm not omniscient."

"Just feels like a violation of my privacy is all."

"The mother sees all of her subjects too."

The thought of arguing against the invasion of his privacy felt like a lost cause, so he decided not to push it further.

"Any thoughts on what I should do in the future?"

"None. There is much to learn. Whatever you do will lead you down the path to more knowledge."

"Good to know..." Erend conceded. Livune was as blunt as ever. There was no point in prying for more information.

The two spent the night talking about trivial things. Erend couldn't help but feel that the powerful elf was lonely. Who knew how long she'd been confined to the dreamspace? She refused to tell him more of her situation after all.

Erend awoke to a light shaking.

"Get up, time to swap."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm up. Anything out of the ordinary?"

"Nah, it's been calm. Not even the smallest noise."

"Good. I'll take over alone. No need to wake Cordelia."

Charles lifted his eyebrows, "You sure?"

"Yeah, I'll manage."

Charles went to lay down on the moss-clad ground beneath a blanket. They'd set up a windbreak but it felt pointless. The thick clusters of intertwined trunks didn't allow any wisps of wind to reach them.

The starry sky lit up his surroundings just enough for him to plant each footstep with care. A large, oddly placed boulder became his seat for the last watch. He wondered how it had gotten there. There were practically no rocks or boulders to be seen in the forest. It was all painted in shades of green and brown. Apart from the prison region that is.

On nights like these, he could feel the impact his awakening had upon him more clearly than ever. Before, the cold light of the night sky had felt comforting to him, but now it felt as if he was made for the night. His vision was clear, his lungs powerful. Livune did call Elísitrá the night mother, probably for good reason. Her blessing, if that's what you should call it, had altered him.

Slowly, the night passed him by, before long it was morning and the cool embrace of the night regretfully let him go. He could hear Cordelia stir awake with a yawn.

"Morning," she greeted him, "anything happen?"

"Nah. Calm as ever."

"As if," she chuckled. It was nice that she could laugh despite recent events. "You tired?"

"Nope. I'm good. Ready to beat down some orcs as ever."

"Good," she smiled at him. Her hair was tangled and stuck to her forehead. Normally she'd spend a while each morning to make herself presentable. Erend liked her more this way though.

"And you? Things might get more hectic from here on out."

"I think I'll manage."

Erend smiled at her, "Want something to eat?"

"I'd love some."

Source stirred to life and opened the spatial Pocket. After a bit of rummaging through the slurry substance, he pulled out a couple of slices of bread and three sausages.

"We'll have to make do without heating them. There's no telling what we'll attract."

"That's alright," she replied and accepted her share of the food. "So," she said while biting off a large piece of bread, "what's the plan for today?"

"We'll go ahead and scout out the prison again. See if they've let out Dad or Albert. I don't think there's much point in surveilling the roads, though we could see where they lead."

"Hmm..." she mused, "Okay."

Erend raised his eyebrows and took a large bite of a sausage, "What?"

"Nothing. Just feels a bit weird to do things without permission is all."

"Best get used to it. We're pretty much on our own now. Johann just barely made it out. I reckon he won't be of much use on the field anymore."

"I guess, still feels weird. One day you're a student, the next you're on the run from unknown enemies and at odds with the orcs."

"Come to think of it, I never saw you at school?"

"Of course not. I'm a noble. We usually don't mix well with others. Partly because of jealousy, partly because of snarky teens with a superiority complex."

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"You know. I actually had you pegged as one of those," Erend commented with a sneer."

Cordelia's jaw fell agape, "You did not!"

"No, I really did," he chuckled, "Glad I was wrong though."

"Well I thought you were mannerless and suicidal, so I guess that about evens things out," she giggled deviously.

"I suppose it does."

"What are you two so jolly about?" Charles asked with a groan, "You're making it impossible to sleep in."

"Sorry, it was about time to wake up anyway," Erend smiled and handed him his portion of the breakfast. "Eat up, then we're heading out."

Charles saluted in jest, "Yessir!" then went about decimating the food.

The three packed up and then buried their gear in a shallow pit before heading out toward the prison.

The crisp and dry morning air filled their lungs as they set out. From the lack of fluffy clouds in the pale blue sky, one could quickly surmise that there was no chance of rain. It was both a bane and a boon to the party, as Erend had learned the hard way. While the rain was annoying, it made tracking harder in much of the forest. The springy moss didn't get dented despite becoming heavier from the soaking and made for good surprisingly good footing. He wasn't one to complain though.

The surroundings of the prison were as calm as ever. They could hear the domineering shouting of orcs from hundreds of paces away.

"Sounds like a busy day at the mines," Erend mumbled.

"That could be a good thing," Charles added. "They might be too busy to notice if a few non-orcs sneak in."

"Sounds way too risky," Cordelia complained.

"I agree with her. Unless something manages to keep their attention for a long, long time."

"Foreshadowing?" Charles joked.

With a chuckle, Erend agreed, "Mayhaps. For now, let's get close without being noticed."

The prison looked much the same as ever with its looming walls and soul-crushing atmosphere. Erend led the group toward the hole, half expecting to find a familiar pair of scarlet eyes staring back at them, but to their surprise, there was no one there.

"Maybe he's at work in the mine," Charles suggested with a shrug.

"Probably. That does make things harder for us," Erend sighed. "I wonder if I can make myself hear better..."

"If you find the right word for it, you should," Cordelia encouraged. "I have no idea what a good word for that would be though."

"Same," Charles added. "What now?"

"Let's hold up here for a while in case he returns. If he doesn't we go see where the road leads. We don't all need to sit around here doing nothing though. Charles, you go find a vantage point and scout out the mines. Make sure you're not caught. Cordelia you can head back to the treeline in case we need some cover for escape."

"Got it," Charles whispered back and skulked away.

"Be careful," Cordelia commented as she too left him by the walls.

When the others had left him for their own tasks he shoved his face to the wall. Inside, listless prisoners strode around the grounds with listless expressions. Reddened, scrawny bodies. They were being staved and kept in the sun for too long. Most of the prisoner's skin had already begun to peel off their bodies, making them look like burn victims, or worse; like zombies from the stories of evil magics.

Among the many listless people, one face made his skin crawl.

Albert.

The once poster boy for vigor and health was already looking like he hadn't felt hope for years. He was bruised and beaten with nasty cuts marring his chest and back. The cuts had been cauterized but still leaked pus and blood. With a pale face and gritted teeth he quietly made his way to a spot where no other prisoners sat.

Erend wanted to grab his attention somehow, but the patrolling guards made it into a challenge he wasn't sure he could overcome.

If Albert is out, maybe Dad is too!

Erend's eyes darted around the prisoners, hoping to see another familiar face, yet his father was nowhere to be found. In a poor attempt to forget his disappointment, Erend decided to try and lure one of the prisoners his way, however, most seemed to be awfully unconcerned about all his attempts. It was almost as if they were mind-controlled into not noticing any involvement from the outside. He knew that couldn't be the case, though, as Lari seemed perfectly content in speaking to them. Maybe it all came down to a lack of willpower. Erend had seen what they did to prisoners. It certainly wasn't anything pretty. He couldn't blame them for feeling hopeless.

Time passed yet none responded to his call. He decided to head to treeline to notify the others of what he'd seen. Charles and Cordelia were already there, discussing something with lively gestures.

"Erend!" Charles wheezed, "Did you see him? Did you see Albert?"

"Yeah. He looked like shit."

"Was it that bad?" Cordelia asked, the worry on her face clear for all to see.

Erend shook his head, "It was. He'd been whipped to near death. He was littered with wounds, the poor bastard."

"And Thomas?" she continued.

"I couldn't see him. Could you, Charles?"

"No... I was hoping you would have."

"Sadly not. I tried to get Albert to notice me but he was too far away to contact without the guards noticing."

"No good spells for it?"

"Not that I know will work. Felt like a very risky gamble."

Cordelia hurriedly nodded her head, "Maybe there is hope for you after all. I'm proud of you. If you did something stupid we'd be dead by now."

"I'm glad you two are enjoying yourselves, but how the hell do we get Albert out?!" Charles hissed at them. Erend had never heard his friend like this. He was usually the one who did the joking around.

"Sorry," Erend sighed and gripped his temples with one hand. "You're right. We could create a diversion, but that would leave us with having to outrun the damn orcs again. If they have more of those wolf-bear-things we'd be royally fucked, so let's not."

"And Lari?" Cordelia asked, also adopting a more serious manner.

"Nowhere to be seen."

"We can't leave him there," Charles squeezed between his grinding teeth.

"We might have to. Johann wouldn't want us to risk everyone for him. Not without a plan. It would be foolish beyond measure."

The group fell silent, until Charles jolted awake from his ruminating stupor, "What about the tunnels? You've already stirred up trouble there more than once. Why not do it again? That should be enough distraction for us to at least get his attention if not outright rescue him."

"That might work..." Erend mumbled in thought.

"And it also might get you killed," Cordelia complained with a wrinkled nose. "Just when I thought you had learned."

"Not if we make solid preparations. If we start a fire they'll have to deal with that in addition to us."

"Us? Cordelia shot back.

"You're joining me. Charles will go by himself to reach Albert. It's easier this way. Besides, I will most likely need the backup."

"Fine... at least this way I can keep you from doing even more stupid things."

"Great. Then it's settled. We'll head over right away. Charles, you move when the opportunity arises."

"Got it," Charles shot back, much more at ease than before. The guilt of not having been with the fighters when things went south must have been weighing on him.

Cordelia was more quiet than usual as they walked through the forest.

"It's going to work out, don't worry too much."

"And what if it doesn't?"

"We'll worry about that if it happens."

"I'm not saying I don't understand," she sighed. "I just don't like it."

"I know, I don't either. But it's a good chance of getting information quickly. The alternative was teaching Lari Genesi, and that just ain't happening in a few days."

"Whatever. What's the plan then?"

"Set up a trap of some kind then we set the pantry on fire after ransacking it. If they don't have any guards that is. Without food, they'll need another delivery, which we'll hit."

"You want to starve them?"

"And somehow supply the prisoners with food. Weak guards and strong prisoners could turn the tables in our favor."

"Sounds doable enough."

Just a few paces away they could see the walls of the goblin camp. They walked inside and passed the large campfire in the middle. The remaining ashes of what had been Carl still lay pretty on the charred logs. Erend didn't say anything, but he didn't need to. A macabre trail of blood did lead from the cave to the pyre after all. Cordelia scrunched up her nose but didn't say anything. As they stepped inside the cave Erend made sure to grab the con tool Johann had left inside.

The crawlspace was just like it always had been, tight and damp. Erend made sure to lead the way slowly while keeping an eye out for whatever traps Johann had left behind after Erend's last scuffle in the prison. There weren't that many. Most were shallow pits with primitive wooden spikes inside. They wouldn't do much damage to an orc by themselves, but the psychological impact of having one pierce through your hand was not to be belittled. Especially if it happened to one of the orcs, they were known for their short tempers after all.

After avoiding a few traps the two managed to leave the crawlspace and were able to stretch for a bit before heading further inside the tunnel. Before long, they could see the barricade that the orcs had built at the exit. Erend kept leading the way, still wary for traps, but there weren't any. The sealed exit wasn't more than a pace away from them. Erend ran his hand against its rough surface, the orcs had sealed it using robust wooden planks. It looked like the planks were made from the intertwined trunks.

Erend shook his head in disbelief. Making a plank from something like this was unfathomable for him. It didn't make much sense. Then he steeled himself and drew his blade. "Sharpen," he commanded the sword and cut away at the barricade.

His blade soundlessly cut through the wood as easily as if it were butter. The planks fell in the hallway, causing a small ruckus. Erend and Cordelia cringed at the noise but didn't complain. They were here to make noise, after all.

Erend turned to face Cordelia with a confident smile, "You ready?"