Their surroundings became darker and darker, and the group went deeper into the tunnel. For a moment, Eliza was worried that they would be traveling in darkness as she hadn’t been given a torch.

However, her fears were unfounded as soon the tunnel itself began to glow. Soft blue light emanated from tiny crystals that, like sparkling dust, coated the walls and ceiling of the tunnel. Eliza couldn’t help but gape in awe. She had never seen anything like it before.

They traveled through the tunnel for several minutes before it opened up into a large plaza with a giant statue of a Dwarf, kneeling and holding a giant blue crystal with both hands. Starting from his hands, small lines like veins wrapped around the figure to its base before spreading out through the groves in the cobbled stone floor. The blue veins went directly towards the walls and pillars of the building they had entered, lit up in the same manner as the tunnel.

The soft blue light emitting from the pillars revealed that the tunnel had exited into a large mausoleum inhabited by prisoners and guards alike. To the right, several tables had been placed that were covered in maps of the city. Primarily commanding officers occupied that area while everyone else carried supplies and handled other jobs around the outpost.

Xanthe led the group across the plaza and stopped them near the other side, revealing that the mausoleum was situated on top of a cliff that opened up to a large cavern. And in the cavern was Grimhold.

The city was built in a grid-like pattern of multistoried buildings. Occasionally, this pattern was interrupted by tall spires connecting the floor and ceiling. Throughout the city, blue crystals held by statues could be seen spread evenly throughout the blocks.

The crystals nearest to the cliff shone brightly, and the city around them likewise radiated the soft blue light. However, large swathes of the city were submerged in darkness; many of the crystals in those sections only lightly glowed, if at all.

“All of you stay here while I confirm the situation with the base commander, Kolgit; watch over them while I’m gone,” Xanthe said

“Ay, sir.” Kolgit saluted, and Xanthe left to go towards the map-covered tables.

Eliza walked forward and stood near the cliff’s edge. To her left was a path built into the cliffside that descended into the city proper below. She let herself admire the city, or at least what was left of it.

Someone nudged her from the side, and she turned to look at Kolgit, a proud smile peeking out of his beard. “Marvelous, ain't it? Yer looking at an ancient city that was the proud capital of a mighty nation a few hundred years ago.” His face was smiling, but his eye’s held a deep sadness as he looked over the once great city.

“What happened?” Eliza murmured as she returned her gaze to the city below.

Kolgit shook his head sadly, “Yer so young ya probably don’t know. Many have forgotten over the last few centuries, so people don’t talk about it anymore.”

He sighed before continuing, “Ya see, Demons didn’t use ta infest da surface lands. Yes, there was da occasional magical beast but nothing like the demons. People lived in relative peace aside from, ya know, normal boundary disputes and da like.”

Eliza blinked in shock but continued listening. She had never heard something like this before.

“Where did they come from then?” Eliza asked.

“Before that, what do ya know about the dwarves? What do they teach in that empire of yers?”

Eliza thought back to everything she had been taught and came up blank. She shook her head, “I don’t know; we’re not taught much when it comes to other races unless it's to learn how to fight them better. The Dwarves weren’t given much attention since most of them were dead now.

Kolgit chuckled sadly, “ well, At least yer honest, well, ta answer yer question; da dwarves dug too deep. Deep in the ground, there is a place full of da Demons. And the Dwarves dug right into it. And as a result, this once mighty city and many others fell. And afterward, the Demons moved onto the surface world.” He again shook his head sadly.

The Demons came from underground? She shook her head in disbelief. Her teacher had taught her that centuries ago, the Demons had descended from the north and began ravaging the empire's land. Many people died, but the army then managed to push them up into the northern forests. To this day, that’s where they constantly invaded with raid parties.

“Ya need only look over der,” Kolgit said, indicating with his chin towards the right side of the cavern, towards a darkened part of the city. “Dat der is da mine dat leads down to da Demon’s home. Also, where da waterworks is at.” now that he mentioned it, Eliza could see it. It was barely visible through the darkness, but a large circular hole burrowed into the caverns. She could see the outline of large cranes poised over the pit. Nearby she could barely make out a river that cut through the city.

Suddenly Kolgit perked up and smiled at her, “Well, dats enough history fer today, If ya would excuse me.”

“Why would you need to ask for my permission?” Eliza said, returning her gaze down to the city.

Kolgit only smiled and inclined his head towards her before walking off.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

Once he was gone, Eliza looked around the group, only to notice that Demitrus was gone. She met Leah’s gaze, and Leah gave her a reassuring smile. Eliza walked over to her.

“What’s going on?” Eliza asked quietly.

“What do you mean?” Leah asked, innocently tilting her head.

“I see; never mind then,” Eliza said.

It was then that Xanthe came back, “Alright, scouts have reported encounters with Rakna in the city around the Crystal Node we’re to recover; it is expected that the Rakna have begun nesting around the Crystal Nodes, so expect heavy resistance.”

Eliza waited for an explanation of what the Rakna were, but it soon became apparent that no explanation was coming. The thought of asking crossed her mind, but she immediately shot down that idea. It would be shameful if she showed foreigners her inadequate knowledge.

Xanthe continued, “The Condemned will approach the Crystal Node from the main street and attract as much attention as possible. The rest of us will attack from the side routes to destroy the nest; once the nest is destroyed, the Rakna should retreat. Is that understood?” he said, standing in front of the group.

“Yes, sir.” Everyone in the group said. Eliza jumped when she heard Demitrus’s voice right next to her. She looked at him in shock, and he chuckled, obviously pleased with himself. Eliza hadn’t even heard him come back.

“Then move out,” Xanthe commanded and started going down the path, The group following behind.

Though the path was old and in disrepair, it carried them safely down to the cavern floor and into the city proper. Now that she was closer, Eliza could see what exactly was lighting up the city. Smaller obelisks had been built along the length of the road with those selfsame blue veins running up their sides and into runic markings carved into the stone.

She didn’t see the Crystal Node it was connected to, but she would only need to follow the veins running across the ground.

The group traveled down the fairly well-lighted road, stepping around loose rubble from nearby collapsed buildings. Occasionally they would come across other groups of prisoners, but other than that, the city was quiet.

For Eliza, it was eerie to see a place that surely had been alive but was now…So dead. Every so often, Eliza thought she saw a shadow move between the buildings, and she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being watched by something. She tightened her grip on her spear and took a deep breath. Imagining things would get her nowhere. Nevertheless, she was all the more vigilant as they continued.

At first, the group was relatively relaxed, but the closer they got to the unpowered section of the city, the higher the tension rose. Finally, they reached the end of the illuminated area, and the city was shrouded in darkness before them.

Xanthe held up a claw, and the group stopped, “As planned, The Condemned will proceed forward while the rest of us take another route. Per standard procedure, if the mission isn’t complete within an hour, Each participating prisoner’s mark will activate until they find a guard.” Xanthe looked at Leo and the rest.

“Move out.” He commanded.

Eliza and the others moved past Xanthe and entered the darkness without a word. Again, Eliza was worried about seeing in the dark, but that problem was solved when Leah pulled a torch out of her bag and lit it using a small makeshift tinder kit.

Light secured, the group gathered around Leah, with Leo taking point. Eliza and Demitrus each secured a flank.

They traveled down the dark road for a bit until Demitrus spoke, “Is anything nearby, Leo?” he asked.

“Nope, we’re in the clear,” Leo responded, turning around with an expectant smile.

“Perfect,” Demitrus said, matching Leo’s smile. He then pulled out a half-filled sack and reached inside. Eliza’s eye’s widened in surprise when Demitrus began pulling out food. He pulled mostly bread and nuts, but he had somehow managed to get ahold of a small block of cheese as well.

“Did you get anything good?” Leah said, the torchlight illuminating the excitement in her eyes.

“Only the best that I could find,” Demitrus said with a self-satisfied grin. He handed some of the cheese to Leah, who was beaming with delight. Leo took some, and then Demitrus held a piece of bread out to Eliza.

“What is this?” Eliza asked.

Demitrus’s eyes opened wide as if she had asked some profound question. He looked at the bread and tilted his head in confusion as he pondered it. His eyes lit up in understanding, and in victory, he held it back out to Eliza, “ It’s bread.” He said as if he had made some grand discovery.

Eliza narrowed her eyes, “ Not that; what’s all of this?” She said, indicating to all the food Demitrus had brought.

“Food,” Demitrus said, giving her a lopsided grin.

Eliza glared at Demitrus with a look promising retribution.

Leah answered Eliza’s question, “ Demitrus went and took food from the prisoners in the forward base. They're given more than we are, so they should be fine."

Eliza blanched, stealing food from fellow soldiers. That was heavily punished in The Silverian army, to the extent that some soldiers were executed for too many repeat offenses.

“Are you going to take it or not? My arm is getting kinda tired.” Demitrus said.

Eliza’s stomach grumbled at the thought of food; the only thing she had eaten since dinner in the caravan, where absolutely nothing happened, was the lunch that barely qualified to be a meal. Hesitantly her hand began to reach for the bread, but then she stopped herself, to her stomach's dismay.

“I don’t want your pity,” Eliza said, looking away. She recalled when Demitrus helped her get out of the horrible memory loop. The last thing she wanted was to feel even more indebted to him, especially since it was him.

He blinked a few times before taking it back and shrugging, “suit yourself.” He then tossed it over to Leo, who easily caught it and started to dig in without comment.

Eliza watched as He reached into his bag and pulled out even more food.

When did he have the time to steal so much, he would’ve had at most five minutes, and on top of that, it seemed like they did this quite frequently, and yet, it seems no one in the camp was aware that it was happening, or if they did, they didn’t know it was him.

Eliza’s stomach grumbled, and her hand twitched as everyone dug into their food. Her body was already beginning to feel weak due to her hunger. If she had just one piece, it would be enough to last her through the coming battle. Slowly, she reached for a bit of bread, but Demitrus gathered it up before she could grab it. In her hesitation, it seemed everyone had finished.

“Oh, sorry.” his voice bled with sarcasm,” I forgot that you don’t want my pity, my mistake.” His eyes glinted dangerously, and he had a smug smile as he stuffed the bread back into his bag and turned around before starting to walk down the street.

Eliza’s hand fell back down to her side as she processed what had just happened. Then the anger came flooding in, pushing away all thoughts of hunger. She stared daggers at Demitrus’s shrinking back. Leo walked by, and Leah stopped by and proffered a little morsel of what she had left. But Eliza wanted nothing to do with it. She stormed past Leah and followed behind Demitrus.

The group traveled in a strained silence down the street for a while. Eliza's mind was clouded with anger as she thought of several ways to get back at Demitrus. This continued until, in the corner of her eye, Eliza saw something move in the shadows. Immediately she turned and held out the point of her spear in that direction. But nothing was there.

“What is it?” Leah asked, poking her head around Eliza.

“I saw something moving,” Eliza said.

“That's strange; I don’t see anything,” Leo said, looking at Eliza with his blank eyes. He went silent as he presumably, used his ‘vision’ to see everything around them.

”As far as I can tell, there’s nothing around us.” He said after a few seconds.

“I’m sure I saw movement, though,” Eliza said.

“Well, whatever it was, it's not there now. Come on; we best get moving.” Leo said as he started walking down the street, Demitrus and Leah following.

Eliza stayed staring at the shadows for a moment longer. Whatever it was, Eliza knew it was still there. Because she could feel it watching her, slowly she clenched her hand on her spear and began to follow the others. It seemed content with watching her for now, so she would deal with it whenever it finally decided to come out of the shadows.

The group continued down the street until, in the distance, they could hear the sound of a river. It was then that Leo held up a hand, signaling for everyone to stop. “Battle positions, Don't move once your in position, Now!” He whispered as loud as he could without speaking normally.

Immediately Demitrus and Eliza moved until the group formed a triangle around Leah.

It was quiet for a few moments, but then movement in the shadows, a lot of movement. Slowly she looked around, they were surrounded.