Walking along the tunnels leading ever upwards from the village where they had found Thurrock, Pucks focus constantly switched between the ever more rapidly changing environment, Thurrocks impossible broad back walking in the front and his memories of the evening in the tavern.
Taron, a little annoyed by Pucks ignorance at his attempts of playing games or playing pranks on the others, decided it was time to instead make Puck the target of his pranks.
Using an outcropping, he cowered behind it until Puck ambled by lost in his own thoughts. Pushing forward, Taron jumped straight into Pucks way. His snake mane standing up as threatening as possible and his maw opened wide in a soundless roar, he did indeed cut a pretty threatening picture.
Getting startled, Puck reacted far differently than he would have even a few months ago, instead of screaming or ducking away, he started one fluid motion where he held Zephyrian in his hands before he even knew what he was doing.
Finally focusing on the moment again, Puck felt his head redden a little at his own reaction. He should have been able to see that coming. Feeling Scarlets amused stare in his back, Puck decided against turning around and simply walked a little turn around Taron.
Having gotten the intention of his friend even in the heat of the moment, Puck laid his hand on Tarons back as he walked by, pulling him along.
Pointing at a particularly new kind of growth on the walls, Puck felt Taron relaxing a little as he communicated his opinions on the strange shrubbery.
As their little group came closer and closer to the surface the environment started to change faster and faster as more and more vegetation started showing up in the tunnels they walked through.
Having never seen anything even remotely like this new shrubbery, Puck couldn’t help but compare it to the few kinds of moss and Mushrooms he had lived with until now.
What was missing down in the lower tunnels for complex kinds of plants to appear? Having asked Scarlet, Puck had been surprised when instead of her it had been Thurrock answering his question.
Well, “answering his question” would perhaps be a little stretch of the explanation the orc had given. For about three minutes the massive orc had talked about the different kinds of mana and mana intensity making plant life in the eternal ice possible at all.
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Having understood next to nothing, Puck had asked more questions but had only been met by silence. Scarlet seemed to have gotten more out of the explanation as she had fallen into deep thoughts right after.
From a certain point on, Puck had felt another change that first had been novel and then simply had started getting annoying. It was getting warmer.
Though interesting and worth studying, Puck couldn’t help but notice that Gremlin bodies were made only for the coldest of temperatures. Incapable of the thing, Scarlet called sweating, he felt his body heating up ever more.
Having asked Scarlet what they should do, she had admitted that she felt the stinge too but that he shouldn’t worry. Though not made for it, Gremlins were capable of adapting to warmer temperatures. Instead of sweating or something like that, both she and Puck would soon start to feel their bodies permanently adapting to a higher temperature. They would only have to endure the next few days until than…
Having walked for another two hours, where Puck had tried to give Taron as much attention as possible, Thurrock finally called for a rest. Sitting down in a small clearing, Pucks attention fell on the torch Thurrock had rammed into the ground a few feet from them.
Even though it was exactly the same one Thurrock had taken with him a week ago, it was never burning out. Only when Thurrock blew it out for the night did it stop burning, to then start anew in the morning without any problems.
Feeling like it was a funny thing that the great orc still had to rely on something as hindering as light, Puck had found out at one point that Thurrock was only carrying the torch because he wanted to, not because he actually needed it.
Looking into the fire, Puck couldn’t help but agree that the way it wrapped and danced, illuminating the cavern in ever changing shadows, was beautiful. Giving the world a depth it didn’t have when everything was dark.
The meal this evening came from some strange kind of flower Puck had plucked along their journey. Ground to a paste and mixed with water, it made for a yellowish soup. Though strange and a little too spicy, it had something to it.
Looking over at Thurrock, Puck felt his mood sour again as he saw the orc taking out a bottle of liquor from his backpack. While travelling Thurrock never drank anything, remaining sharp and vigilant. In the evening though, when the others prepared for bed or slept, he simply sat there in the darkness, taking swig after swig until nothing remained of the bottle.
Could this really be the immutable and unkillable warlord Puck had heard the other Orcs whisper about? Had he always been like this, ready for war during the day but becoming a disgusting drunkard for the night?
Ducking his head just in time, Puck escaped an empty bottle thrown after his head. Having stared a while too long, Puck felt a burning gaze on him as he hastily turned away to put himself to rest.
Letting his eyes wander over Scarlets resting form for a moment, Puck met her eyes. Seeing the stiff mask, she wore for a face, he felt like even though Thurrock was that much mightier than them, there would soon come a day when she would stand up to him.
Looking forward to that day, Puck let his thoughts wander to nicer places again. Day by day they were coming closer to the surface, reaching for that mysterious place everything seemed to be leading back too.