The elf gasped for air as she struggled against the rock wall. She was suffering from a few broken ribs and a slight amount of internal haemorrhaging. Adrenalin rushing through her veins was keeping the pain away but forcing her to shake as she tried to get up. She pushed herself groaning as she did, knowing full well she could not rest in a battlefield.

The dryad, after being speared by glass, had evaporated into golden tendrils of light, the other warrior seemed to still be bleeding out on the ground. The elf jumped as a cough came from the body of whatever mad beast that person was, then the body followed suit, evaporating into golden light. The elf looked over to see Steve holding himself up with a stick. He tried to avoid the scattered glass as he limped away from her.

She tried to walk towards him and stumbled in that direction.

"-Stop," she called.

A deafening roar erupted, and more of the trees fell. A giant gorilla came crashing through. The two of them could hardly move, just look up towards the beast, a feeling of inevitability.

Suddenly a spear shot into the beast's shoulder, a glass spike the length of a small bus. The gorilla collapsed into one of the maze's walls, chipping bits off of it. The gorilla swatted in the direction he was hit from the spear. Another shot came into his leg, spreading him wide and pinning him to the wall. Then as he gave a final roar, the last shot went through the ridge of his mouth, coming out the top of his head.

Out of the trees, a cardinal in his basic priest robes walked towards Steve and the elf. 

 "The beast is dead, but it proved... Costly."

"Is i-" she went into a fight of coughing.

"You are injured, I will get one of the healing acolytes to heal you."

"No, no. It's... fine." She said, aware of how poorly their healers had been when she saw them in action.

She seemed to touch one of the crystals on her armour from within her robe and concentrated, focusing a stream of mana through its intricate workings. She activated another one of the armour's functions. It appeared to put her to ease, as though cleansing water had flowed through it, soothing her pain. A slight blue glow came from the armour as cuts and bruises across her face appeared to heal.  

The cardinal walked up to the lady and took a knee.

"My lady, the ambush is over, resistance is fading. If this is all, rest assured that victory is secured."

"Good... Have you seen the soldier that was just... Over there?"

"I have not, is he in need of discipline? If so, please do not trouble yourself with the acts of a petty soldier. I would be happy to deliver any punishment personally."

"No, truly it is fine."

She looked again into the distance, trying to find Steve but unable to see anyone that resembled him. The echo of battle still held the occasional slash of metal and Wilhelm scream but appeared to be drawing to a close.

"Before I depart, I must say. It is an honour to fight beside a higher being such as yourself."

The elf looked to the floor.

"Honour, duty, fear or just powerlessness. There is no means to differentiate your behaviour, and I cannot see any reason to try and see one." 

The cardinal gave out an incredulous expression for a moment before he remembered himself, and looked to the floor.

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"As you wish I will serve," he said.

Steve was hidden in the bushes looking out towards the battle, the carcass of the gorilla resting against the maze wall and the battered soldiers picking each other up from the ground. He was hidden in a bush trying to hide, besides him, in a shadow of darkness, there was another being. The shadowy figure could be seen if you focused on the area, and there you may have seen a hint of blue-green skin. 

"Are you here to kill me," Steve asked the shadow.

"No. I only wish to understand."

"A philosopher now are you?"

"I am a goblin and a guild member. It is best you remember that."

"so what. Steve fucked up again. Is that what you're going to say?"

"No."

The two of them waited in silence for a while. A silvery drone appeared across his being and seeming to want to contact Steve. 

"they want to talk to you, through the drone."

"Adil says he is more confused than normal,"

The drone slithered to Steve and perched onto his ear; he was now in full contact with the people of the cave. Adil's voice cam through a soft and understanding tone in his voice, but he was exasperated.

"Hey, Steve. Are you... Alright?"

 "Yeah, I'm ok. Is Morganna angry with me?"

"She has said a few things about you being a gullible fool. But she seems to be coming around. She said something about 'the pureness of a mentalist cannot be bound', I think her regard for you stops her from wanting to well... hunt you down and kill you."

"That's nice. Can you tell her I'm sorry?"

"Steve."

"yes."

"This is a war you know?"

"Yeah, I know... So what do I do now?"

"Get back to base. We will move to the next stage of the plan."

"Ok."

The line closed and he was left injured and in a bush, with the orcish beast standing over him.

"What are you going to do?"

"I will carry on taking the captives back. We have been able to drag a few through the teleporters without their notice. Do you need help getting back?"

  "Yes please," Steve said, solemnly looking to the ground.

"I will be back later." The goblin announced, having seen a soldier approach to their location.

With that, the giant of a goblin took a step back and appeared to disappear into the shadows, a flicker of darkness disappeared until what was left was only a space of shrubs and other plant life. Steve got up from where he was sitting and walked through more of the bushes. There he saw men appearing to recover from their wounds, audible groans as they ached from the pain.  Steve heard the sound of a slightly panicked shriek coming from an oversized push that was under parts of a collapsed tree. Steve pulled back some of the wood covering it after seeing the shine of metal sticking out. 

After uncovering the bush, a sharp dagger shot out and he had to take a step back. A panicked jittery person was hiding within the bush. The man got up and looked around as if trying to get himself in order. Steve realised it was a lieutenant he had seen before, a man that had been notably angry. 

"You! Don't ever speak of this. I am a lieutenant and honourable."

"I dont mind that you were hiding in a bush, sir," Steve replied, making the lieutenant uncomfortable.

In a gruff, the lieutenant grabbed for the collar of the soldier's armour.

"NOT. SO. LOUD."

Suddenly a voice caught both of their attention as someone called from between the trees.

"Ah, Lieutenant. I have been looking for you."

An old man in fancy armour that appeared to have sweat out a river was standing with a couple of men to the groups right. The man was also someone Steve had recognised. He was wearing the armour of a major, an old man and one of the two major's he had met, but it was not the one with an eye patch. 

"And if it isn't the boy major Maël was so fond of. What have you been up too."

"Hi, major. I was just helping the lieutenant out of this bush." Steve said before he could stop himself.

The lieutenant gave him a fierce glare and looked like he was a step away from violence. The soldiers beside the major snickered.

"Ah, my boy. It's good to see you are alive and kicking," the major walked forward and put his hand on the side of Steve's shoulder. He looked down and saw the state of Steve's foot and how Steve was holding himself up with a tree branch.

"Get that checked out before the bone sets wrong."

 Steve gave a weary smile in response. The group separated as Steve was pointed in the direction of the healing acolytes. The acolytes for the church were the healers. They would wear minimalistic clothes, between the robes of the cardinal and the armour of the soldiers and focused on using crystals, not yet able or allowed to conjure their variety of mana. The healers appeared to be taking care of a large proportion of soldiers with critical to minor injuries. Steve sighed when he saw them through the bushes. A dark shadowy figure was standing beside him.

"Ready?" The shadow asked.

"Yeah," Steve replied. Before the full length of a zweihander plunged through his chest. He gasped and grumbled as he faced the pain. His vision soon fading to black.