In the hands of a dwarven statue, the Crystal Node loomed above Eliza. Around her, the area bustled with activity, now an outpost having been liberated from the Rakna and Wraith.

Leaning slightly on her spear, she held her free hand on the pommel of the sword they had given her as she looked around. She was surprised by how much they had managed to get done in just a day. Small barricades had risen around all the street entrances, securing the square from intrusion. They had set up a few tables, and already there were a few cots for the people stationed in the outpost to sleep at.

Leo had gone to get their orders, nearly stumbling over a couple of the fractured stones left over from the fight with the Wraith on his way. When he started talking to the other team leaders, Eliza turned to the other two.

"Have you guys noticed?" She asked

"I notice many things; you're going to have to elaborate," Demitrus said, casually stretching his arms. He looked at her from the corners of his eyes with a half-upturned smirk.

"Are you talking about Leo's condition?" Leah asked, turning her head to look at Leo in the distance with a worried look.

"Yeah, I think he can't see right now," Eliza said, looking at Leo as well.

Demitrus's smirk widened, "How novel of an idea, Eliza, the blind man can't see." he said.

Eliza felt a tinge of annoyance and looked at him, exasperated; she sighed, "You very well know what I mean, so let's hear it." She said.

"Hear what?" the smile grew wider on his face, and he slightly tilted his head to the side.

Eliza felt her right eye beginning to twitch, but she suppressed it. She didn't know why he was trying to annoy her now of all times, but she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of seeing her pissed off, so she decided to ignore it.

"Since you're confident enough to be a jerk, you must have a plan on how we're going to get out of this. So, let's hear it. Or have you finally lost it?" She said dryly.

"To your first statement, all things in their own time." He then tilted his head further, and his smile widened, giving him a half-mad appearance, "As for your question, What do you think?"

Eliza narrowed her eyes.

"Now's not the time to be doing this. Leo's coming back." Leah said, cutting into the conversation.

Eliza turned to look, and Leo was indeed coming back. Her gut sank; he had a thunderous expression as he made his way back to them. Whatever they had been ordered to do, it wasn't good. As he made his way over, this time, he actually tripped on a stray stone and stumbled forward a few steps, barely managing to catch himself. He made the rest of the way to them, stepping more carefully.

"What's wrong?" Leah asked, worry in her voice.

"They want us to attack from the south-western direction of the waterworks before everyone else to draw the Rakna's attention to us. Once they're distracted, the rest of the groups will flank from the side.

"That doesn't sound too different from what they usually have us do. What's the big deal?" Leah asked.

"It's the whole plan, rather, the lack of one. They've essentially commanded everyone to charge and attack at the signal. No strategies to counter the horde of Rakna, no tactics, nothing. They've all but given everyone the death sentence."

Eliza grimaced at the blatant disregard the officers had for the lives of their soldiers, "Horrible leadership aside, if there's an exit in the waterworks, it'll be in the eastern area, towards the mountain wall. If we want to escape through that, we'll need to fight through the entire nest to get there." she said.

"Exactly, assuming we survive past the first wave of Rakna," Leo said, scratching his hair with a frustrated sigh. "Hate to be the downer here, but our chances are pretty slim."

Demitrus walked up to Leo and clapped him on the back; Eliza noticed Leo jump at the unexpected contact. "Let's not lose hope, guys; it'll take more than just a few Rakna to take us down. Let's get into position." He said, and he started to walk towards the western barricade.

Reluctantly the group followed behind him, and soon they stepped out of the outpost. They made their way through the city, the streets now illuminated by the glow of the runic pillars flanking either side of the road.

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***

"You know, I agree that just a few Rakna wouldn't be able to take us down. But that is a lot more than just a few." Leah said, looking out over the waterworks.

Stretched out before them was a large, rapidly moving river that would have branched into a series of canals and reservoirs if the water wasn't flowing through a large open gate built into the side of the mountain. As it was, the channels were devoid of water, and instead, about half of them were filled with Rakna nests. A lot of Rakna nests.

"That's an understatement," Eliza said, surveying the scene. Aside from the swarming mass of Rakna before them, The canals on both sides of the rivers were spanned by small bridges forming several interlocking pathways through the area. She could see larger bridges that crossed the river at three different points. Across the river, the canals led to extensive mining equipment that surrounded a deep hole that led deeper underground.

"I think now would be a good time to tell us about whatever you have planned, Demitrus; we need to attack in 15 minutes," Leo said

"Well, first, I'm going to remove these marks," Demitrus said as he pulled out the leather-bound book he had been holding earlier.

He opened the book to a page and began to read through it. Putting the book down, he began tracing his finger over his hand's mark in a weird pattern. It took a few moments, but eventually, the mark on his hand flashed bright blue before fading away. He smiled, an excited glint in his eyes.

He flexed his hand a few times before showing it to the rest of the group. "Told you I could do it." He said, standing up and walking over to Eliza. He held his hand out to her, "Hand." he said.

Slowly, Eliza held out her hand that held the mark to him. Gently, he grabbed her wrist and began tracing the same pattern on the mark. His touch sent a tingling sensation shooting up her arm, and she shifted uncomfortably. As if he hadn't noticed, Demitrus continued his work, and Eliza began to feel something moving within the mark. Strangely though, it was not painful; it could even be considered pleasant. And then he was done, her mark flashing a bright blue and fading.

Demitrus flashed her a bright smile before letting go and moving on to Leah. Eliza felt a surge of emotion as she flexed her hand. She was free again, well, almost. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her pendant. Slowly, almost reverently, she slipped it over her head to return it to its rightful place, hanging next to her heart.

She carefully clenched it in her fist, recalling when Gary had stolen it from her. She didn't ever want to have something like that forced on her again. No, She wouldn't allow something like that to happen again.

Raising her head, she looked over in time to see Demitrus finishing with Leo's mark.

A bright flash later, they were all free.

Leo began to rub where the mark had been with his free hand. "Alright, we're free now; what's next?" Leo asked.

A sinister smile surfaced on Demitrus's face, "Now? Now we cause some chaos," He said, pulling a couple of torches out of his bag.

"You're insane," Eliza murmured, looking at Demitrus with a bit of admiration; upon seeing the torches, she had a good idea of what he was planning on doing.

"Ah, it seems you found the answer to your question; I'm glad," Demitrus said as he lit a torch, smiling up at her; he proceeded to light the other ones.

Leah looked between them, confused, "I'm sorry, but I don't understand. What are we going to do with the torches?" She asked.

"We're going to sprint and throw these torches into the nests. Once we reach the other side, we'll need to hold out until the rest of the teams' attack and draw enough attention." Eliza said.

"Or until something like a wraith shows up, drawn by the commotion. Then we'll slip away in the chaos." Demitrus said, handing a couple of burning torches to Eliza.

Leo shifted uncomfortably, "That's all good and all, but I don't think I can run. I haven't told you guys… but I can't see right now."

"Yeah, we know," Eliza said.

"You know?!" Leo asked, surprised.

"If you were trying to hide it, you didn't do that good of a job," Leah said.

Leo coughed, his cheeks slightly reddening, "Either way, I don't think I can run through a place infested with Rakna." His voice suddenly became serious. "You might… need to leave me behind, and I'll be a distraction," He said, his voice becoming quieter.

"What!? No!" Leah cried out in outrage, grabbing him by the arms, "How could you suggest something like that!"

Leo grabbed Leah by the shoulders and drew her into a hug. "One of us needs to get out of here, Leah." He slowly pushed her away.

Tears began to fall down Leah's face, "No, I won't allow it; if you're not going, I'm not going." she declared, firmly planting her feet into the stone ground.

A sad smile came to Leo's face, and he turned his head to look in Eliza's and Demitrus's general direction.

"I trust you will take care of her for me?" He said.

"Leo!" Leah cried out, outraged.

Demitrus released a dramatic sigh and looked down, a sad look in his eyes. "Truly, my heart doth rend for you; this scene is enough to make any man cry," Demitrus said, his voice quivering as he wiped a tear from his eye. "That is, it would be, but being unable to see isn't a big problem. You know you can come with us," he said.

"What?" They both said simultaneously.

"How?" Leo demanded.

Demitrus turned towards Eliza and smiled, "What do you think?" He asked.

If Eliza wasn't sure before, she was now. Demitrus was testing her for something. The problem was, what?

She took a deep breath through her nose and thought for a few moments. It didn't take long for a solution to come to her mind.

"Both of you just need to move together while we distract the Rakna. After we burn several of their nests, they'll be coming after us with a vengeance. They probably wouldn't even notice the two of you in the chaos." Eliza said, watching his face closely.

His eyes brightened, and his smile widened slightly. It looks like she got the correct answer. He turned back to Leo. "You hear that?"

"...It could work, but will you guys be okay? And are you truly willing to go that far for us?" Leo asked incredulously.

"If I weren't serious, I wouldn't have mentioned it. And I'll be fine. I specialize in running away." Demitrus said confidently.

Leah looked at Eliza with a worried gaze. Eliza sighed, "Don't worry. I more or less know what the Rakna can do now; they won't catch me by surprise as they did before. If it's just running and distracting, I'll be fine. Anything else that happens is just the nature of the battlefield." Eliza said, starting to walk towards the waterworks; it was about time for them to attack.

"T-thank you." Leah stuttered, her lips trembling, "When we get out of here, I'll do whatever I can to help you." she promised as Eliza walked past.

A memory of Dyrene's back as she faced off against thWraithth, which allowed her to run away, crossed Eliza's mind. A sad smile momentarily came to her face.

She replaced it with as reassuring of a smile as she could and placed a comforting arm on Leah's shoulder, "Don't worry about it; it's what friends do." she said.

Eliza took off her hand and continued walking; she heard the others follow after her, Demitrus walking next to her.

"It's what friends do. "She mumbled to herself as she neared the first nest.

When she was close enough, she looked at Demitrus, and their eyes met. He gave her a nod, and she nodded back. Then she began to run.