Morning passed him by in a flash. Johann had given him command of Albert and Jack. Together, they formed a balanced team, and there weren't too many to hamper their maneuverability. After a quick briefing session, they set out and headed into the tunnels.

"God, this sucks," Albert complained.

He was by far the largest of the three. His broad shoulders scraped against the narrow walls on more than one occasion.

"The tunnels widen a bit further ahead," Erend consoled him.

For today's mission, he walked in the center of their formation. Jack brought up their rear. Erend had thought about bringing the bow, but instead opted for a few more goblin daggers. He'd stashed most of them in his Pocket. He kept two tucked in his belt, ready to fire away with Force.

"So let me just make sure I've understood this. We're going in there to scout out a few more corridors and that's it, right?" Jack asked.

"Yeah. Picking a fight with the orcs head-on would be foolish. So staying stealthy would be preferable," Erend explained.

"So why the hell did you bring me? I'm not exactly someone stealthy," Albert groaned.

"You clank way less than Carl though, he would never be able to stuff himself in the tunnels with that shield of his."

Albert sighed in resignation.

"Look. The tunnels widen just up ahead. It's not much further til the fort now. Let's try and keep the talking to a minimum," Erend told the others.

Albert grumbled something about seniority but didn't seem to mind that it was Erend who led the excursion, not really. Neither did Jack.

After a bit more crouching, Erend stopped the three. Light streamed through the opening of the tunnel. The sounds of footsteps traveled to them from the stone-clad hallways.

"Quietly, carefully," Erend whispered.

They nodded and snuck up to the tunnel-exit. After confirming hallway was empty, Albert climbed out and stretched his arms with satisfaction before he helped the other two climb out.

"That way," Erend whispered with a point.

Through his quiet instructions, the three quickly reached the room where he and Anya had held up the last time.

He felt the doorknob. It didn't give way.

*They must have tightened security since last time...*

Luckily, the hallway was filled with doors. They had plenty more doorknobs to twist. It didn't take long for them to find an unlocked door leading to a pantry.

The three quietly stepped inside after making sure they weren't seen. Sausages hung from the ceiling, slapping them in their faces whenever they tried to turn around or take a step.

Albert didn't even hesitate as he cut down a whole sausage link. He handed it to Erend with a meaningful nod.

Erend took the hint and stuffed the sausages in his Pocket. Then he was handed a few slabs of steak, then eggs.

"Oh!" Jack exclaimed from behind the two meat-pilferers. They turned in haste, sending the sausage links swaying across the room.

"Ssh!" Erend hissed at the cleric.

Jack hurried over to the two with a broad grin, he carried a sack of something.

"It's wheat!" he whispered with ecstasy. "We can plant it! Make bread!"

Erend understood the man's excitement. In fact, he felt it too. But they couldn't afford to make so much noise. Despite the valuable treasure they'd found. Erend pressed a finger to his lips and shushed him again. Then he quickly grabbed the sack from Jack's hands and stuffed it inside Pocket.

"Let's keep going," he whispered and nodded toward the door.

The three stood pressed against it for a few seconds, listening for footsteps or noise of any kind. The hinges creaked as they slowly pushed it open. Erend cringed at the noise and gripped his dark metallic sword.

*Dear Gods, don't let anyone hear that.*

Hurried footsteps echoed against the walls. Erend took a step out, his heart stuck in his throat. The hallways were still empty. He breathed out a sigh of sweet relief.

They continued their mission and snuck through the fort to the corridor where Erend and Anya had stolen the large map.

There weren't as many doors in the corridor, but the noise and bustling activity of orcs was noticeably louder.

*No wonder they saw her.*

Erend pointed at a door with a decorative window. Alfred led them there with confidence. He quietly took up position with his back pressed against the wall, surveilling the activity of the corridors while Erend stretched his legs to see what was inside.

Just as Erend's eyes peeked over the edge he saw the shiny dome of an orc on the other side. He felt his heart skip a beat as he jolted back down, out of sight from the ones at the opposite side.

Jack looked nervously at him, probably hoping for an explanation. Erend hadn't been trained in military signs. He did the best he could at conveying what he'd seen as he mouthed, "O R C," as clearly as he could without making a sound.

They couldn't go further into the fort without clearing the room. Leaving an occupied room behind them would come back to bite them if they were ever discovered.

Erend took a breath and withdrew one of the goblin daggers with his free hand and quietly stood up to peek through the window again. Sadly it wasn't one of those barred windows he'd seen before. There was no way he could stab the orc through it with having it shatter and alerting the whole fort to their presence.

He threw a glance at Albert and Jack, who nodded at him in return. They were ready for what was to come. Erend bit down on the hilt of his dagger, and used his free hand to slowly twist the doorknob. It gave way.

Please, just one time. Don't creak, you damn door.

It did.

The orc jerked at the noise.

Throwing caution to the wind Erend threw the door wide open and lunged with his sword. It took the creature in its side, rending it open and having blood leak out. In fear of what would happen if it had the chance to shout for help, Erend threw himself on top of it with his free hand pressed to its mouth.

Without much effort, the orc threw him against the wall. But he had bought enough time for Albert to rush inside and swing his axe. The orc's head hit the ground before it had a chance to scream.

Erend quickly took note of his surroundings and got back up. His back ached, but nothing was broken.

Bodies of species he'd never before seen were laid out on tables. Their stomachs had been cut open, guts spilling out.

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"What the fuck is this," he uttered in an exhale.

"Some sort of laboratory?" Jack guessed. "Nothing good for us. If they ever catch us."

"They won't," Albert snarled.

Buckets stood lined against the innermost wall. They reeked something fierce.

With his nose in a vice grip, he approached them. Nothing could prepare him for what he saw inside.

He spun back around and retched, "Fucking animals!" he pressed out between convulsions.

The buckets were filled with heads. Human ones. And ones that couldn't belong to any other race than the gray elves.

Something within him stirred. It wasn't anything he'd ever felt before. It was something... primal. Something that he hadn't been able to feel before the awakening.

A frenzied whisper filled his mind, *"Balance the scales."*

The familiar blue and white thread appeared in his vision. He couldn't think of anything other than his want to follow it.

"I'm sorry guys. There's something I have to do."

"What the fuck do you mean? Where are you going?" Albert incredulously asked.

"Erend!" Jack wheezed after him. "Are you crazy?!"

Albert moved to stop him but was stopped by naught more than a glance.

"What the..." he muttered with wide eyes.

Erend quickly put the two of them out of his mind. The only thing he could think of was the thread. The only thing he could feel was the murderous urge that filled his every pore.

He strode through the hallways with confident steps. In one hand, he held the beautiful dark sword, in the other he held the primitive pale dagger.

The sound of burly voices and the ugly language reached him. He picked up his pace and started to jog. The Source in his immediate surroundings thrummed to life. He could feel it all. Even if he closed his eyes, he could see. At least a small radius around him. He was the master of this space.

He turned a corner and came face to face with a squad of five orcs. The thread danced toward them, tying knots around the joints holding their limbs together and their weak points. He smiled. The last time he saw the thread felt like such a long time ago now. And he couldn't recall it feeling this good.

He lightly tossed the dagger into the air and Forced it into a violent arc. Even before the orcs had time to draw their weapons the frontmost of them was taken by surprise. His skull shattered along with the dagger.

The eyes of the rest widened in synchronized understanding. One of them, an orc with a braided beard and a large two-handed sword barked at the others. They seemed to take Erend seriously and prepared for the threat accordingly.

Erend grabbed the second dagger from his belt. Its cool hilt rested in his hand like it was specifically made for him, for this moment. Still running at them he threw the serrated blade over the heads of the group before he activated Force.

A dagger-wielding orc in the back of their formation helplessly fell to the ground as the serrated dagger liberated its head from its neck. The attack was a clever one. Erend would never have thought of it on his own without having thoroughly experimented with the spell the day before.

*Three more.*

The three remaining were the leader, an axe wielder, and an unusually short orc that was covered in tattoos. He couldn't see if it had any weapons.

*He could mean trouble.*

Erend took a long stride, placing him within range of them all. He slashed his sword along the trajectory that a particularly bright thread showed him. The sword took the axe-wielding orc in the thigh. Warm blood sprayed over Erend as he cut through a major artery. The orc howled in pain and threw himself at Erend. But he had already moved his bloody dance to the next target.

The short orc jerked back in fright as Erend bolted at it. it pointed a stone of some kind at him. Its surface lit up, revealing glyphs.

*A tool.*

The leader stepped in to defend the stone wielder. He swung the hulking blade at Erend with a wide arc. The sword could easily reach both walls of the corridor without much trouble.

Erend bent back to dodge the swing. Just before he could find his rhythm again, a heavy foot hit his chest and pushed him to the floor. He recovered with a backward somersault.

Source pulsed from the stone wielder. Something was coming, and soon if he didn't stop it. The skilled leader stood between Erend and the tool wielder, making sure that Erend couldn't stop the casting without going through him.

Erend bent forward and set of at an angled sprint. As he got closer and the leader tensed his shoulders for a slash, Erend dropped down to the floor and slid past him by using Force on himself. The leader frantically turned, but the momentum of his sword was too heavy to stop in mid-air.

Erend smiled at the tattooed orc as it panicked. He probably would too if he was faced with confronting a human projectile. The orc dropped the shining stone and turned around to run. But there was no escaping Erend's blade.

Once again he cut along the trajectory of the thread. His sword slashed through the orc's Achilles tendon with little resistance. It fell down, and before it could get up again to limp away, Erend put it out of its misery. He quickly snatched up the stone and put it in a pouch that hung from his belt.

Only one orc remained now, the leader. He turned to face it. Its breathing had grown ragged, it left moist clouds hanging in the air as the orc stared daggers at him. The hulking creature gripped the large sword with both hands and got into a battle-ready stance. Its muscles bulged and pulsed with vitality.

It charged at Erend with a squeal.

"Here piggy, piggy," Erend mocked and met it with a charge of his own.

Unlike when he faced the other orcs, the threads intertwined and constantly moved according to the actions of the leader. They showed lines of attack that were harder to follow, but far from impossible.

The large sword screamed through the air in a diagonal cut. Instead of fully dodging, Erend slightly sidestepped the arc, using his sword to gently redirect the hefty blade. It hit the ground, scattering stone in each and every direction. He moved in close before the orc could retrieve the blade for another attack, and aimed a cut at its inner thigh before darting back out.

The orc jerked back. It was quick enough to avoid meeting the same bloody fate that its comrade suffered. But not quick enough to go without damage. It bled heavily, putting a timer on the fight.

Erend felt that his victory was all but assured. That's when he heard the mighty scrambling of armor growing louder behind him. How he could have forgotten himself, he didn't understand. What he did realize, however, was that it was him who was on a timer. Not the other way around.

With a jolt, he dashed at the orc, lowering his upper body enough that he could scoop up the large axe of the bled-out warrior. He tossed it to the side and reached out to his Source. The leader was undeniably vigilant and focused on the axe. He'd already seen two of his underlings fall to the spell, he wouldn't fall for the same trick.

Luckily, Erend didn't expect him to. The weapon he sent flying wasn't the axe, but the sword in his hand. It whirled through the air with a power that Erend couldn't even dream of recreating with skill alone.

The orc's breastplate did little to stop the blade as it dug itself deep into his chest. The leader fell to his knees, the life rapidly draining from his eyes.

Erend walked up and retrieved his sword, before hurrying back to the tunnels. The reinforcements would flood the halls any second now.

The halls leading to the tunnel were empty. It seemed like the orcs were holed up on the opposite end of the corridor he'd just fought in. At the very least it was from that direction they'd come from when they chased Anya as well. Two-for-two seemed like good odds to base his assumptions on. So he did.

The threads had vanished from his sight. His body felt weak, but his soul felt light. He was filled with the satisfaction of having accomplished something great just now. At the same time, he felt a sudden apprehension of dread filling him. What was it that had compelled him to move like that without thought? He could very well have put the others in danger with his reckless stunt.

*"Good,"* he heard the gray elf whisper in satisfaction. *"There is hope for you yet, young squire."*

*Squire?*

Erend could barely finish his thought before he caught sight of Albert and Jack. The two stood guard by the tunnel entrance. When they caught sight of him, he could practically see the blood drain from their faces. He knew he was covered in orc blood, but surely it shouldn't warrant a reaction like that.

"Get in, hurry!" Erend shouted at them.

They took a split second before they reacted and scrambled inside the cave. Erend joined them before the entourage of angry orcs had time to even turn the corner leading into the hall.

"Go, go, go!"

The three rushed through the snaking tunnels. Albert scraped his shoulders on more than one occasion. Despite not even having entered the crawlspace yet.

Already on edge, the cuts and bruises didn't help to alleviate his mood, "Mind telling us what the hell that was about?" Albert demanded.

"I don't know either! Before I was aware of what I was doing I was killing orcs."

"And your eyes?"

"What about them?"

Albert and Jack stopped dead in their tracks and looked at each other. Jack shook his head in resignation, "You'll see when you get back."

"You're making me anxious!"

"You should be!" Albert wheezed back as he pressed himself inside the crawlspace. "Some real spooky shit is going on with you today."

Deciding to leave the future's problems to the future, he moved on, "By the way, what does squire mean to you guys?"

"Aside from the obvious?" Jack asked back.

"Yeah."

"It's a title of power in an old power ranking system used in the churches and temples."

"Oh? Is it high?"

Jack laughed, "No. It's the lowest."