I come to a stop by the door Baltanthan once had sealed, my hand touching the frame, "It's funny... You know. I don't think I can do this. You finally get me up on my feet and we reach here and now I don't want to... I feel almost, precognisant."

"There's a lot on your shoulders right now, Liadanann. No one can blame you or be surprised that you're having these kind of doubts." my friend explains to me and he carries on towards the items we stored away before. He takes a few of them into his arms and offers me a smile. He disappears and I frown, speeding after him and stopping again in the chamber I trapped the others in.

Gulping, I find that the magic I trapped them in is still up and Baltanthan seems to vanish. Nodding a little, I clutch my hands together and approach the three. The bored trio lighten up in various ways. Nin moves slightly, Seigunfrei offers a smile and that vile she grips her blade. Dismissing the amulet's magic, I am suddenly met with that blade pressing against my neck.

"You have some explaining to do." Inerish warns, the sword's edge heating up with a slow line of fire going along it. I take a step back and she follows after, the sharp bit pressing harder against my neck because of it.

"N-Nin..." I meekly cry out and he pulls the sword away. Nodding some, I mouth a thank you and wait for Inerish to put the sword back into its sheath.

"Explain." she growls, her hand not leaving the sword's grip regardless.

"We've handled the problem... The weapons, it's been dealt with." I do as asked, looking around at everything but her eyes. She steps closer, one hand snapping to my jaw and bringing it in line with hers. Somehow, my eyes become magnetised to hers and I am forced to watch closely as the danger builds up within them.

"Have you?"

"Yes!"

"I don't believe you. You there, Exceptional Student, go the way they went and come back to me with the details." Inerish orders and Seigunfrei does as asked.

"Seigunfrei!" I whine, unable to get out of her grip and my friend shrugs a little.

"Sorry, Liadanann, but, Suhurlodst is my home and I'd rather not leave something like this to chance..." he explains, his hand rubbing the back of his head before he uses his magic to speed off. Suddenly, I hit the ground and pat the area where I felt a hand shove me.

"Inerish." Nin goes, arms crossing over one another.

"Oops." the accused giggles maliciously and I pull myself back up. Patting my side down and shuffling back into a proper stance.

"We handled it... The human soldiers are gone and the weapons were destroyed in the process." I whimper, unable to get my focus up towards them. I don't want to give out too much information or she will destroy this place.

"But can I be so sure of that, Baker? I've not seen it with my own eyes. In fact, I couldn't have because the one insisting it's all sorted trapped me in a ball during an emotional fit!" Inerish snaps, her magic firing off at the walls of the cavern and melting chunks of it down. The glow of magma joins with that produced by the regular lights. She turns my way, a fireball in her palm.

"We handled it!" I growl, calling on my amulet's power when she gets a little too close for comfort. The fire is so close that it's everchanging head of flaming hair is starting to lick at me.

"Being stuck in that orb, I am running low on patience for the pair of you." Nin warns, stepping up. His hands grasp us, one for one shoulder each and he squeezes. We both buckle under his strength but I almost laugh. If she's bending down like I am, he's squeezing much harder on her end.

Nin lets go, his chitters becoming aggressive and we back away from each other, magic depowering.

"I put you three in that container so you wouldn't destroy this mountain..." I mutter under my breath, leaning forward a little to look at the heat mark on my breastplate.

"We came equipped for that very purpose." Nin reminds me and I look away.

"I know... I know. But things changed when it became clear that this entire place is ddrai'och. I will not allow my one chance to have something belonging to my people buried and lost. Especially when I don't know if I will ever see my home of the past few years before your people captured me ever again." I explain to Nin, watching him as his posture seems to relax.

He puts a hand on my shoulder and I look away, "Look at me."

I do as told, though barely.

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

"You're letting things get to you. Just trust me, we'll sort it out." he assures me and I go back to looking away.

"You mean like how you want me to trust that you will ever stop loving a dead girl?" I grumble bitterly, walking away quickly before he can react. I didn't see him do it, but I know his body is tensing up. I know his mind-bound jaws are rearing back to snap me in two. Finding the exit, I get up and out.

The sound of the wind and the shine of daylight come back to my senses and I find a dented crate to sit on. Putting my cheek against a palm, I sigh out what frustration I can and try to ignore the pair as they come out of the mountain. They're bickering about something but I can't clearly hear. Looking up as neither of them are that way, I almost sigh again until I spot something new.

Getting off my crate, I rush out of the destroyed camp and back up along a nearby mountain. I choke up with a mixture of joy and sadness. Coming out of the mountain's peak is some kind of beacon. A pillar of crimson that pulses the air around it pinkish, reaching so high it seems to vanish.

"What did you do!?" Inerish demands to know, her eyes seeing it too.

"I ensured I can find my way back here..." I mutter, ignoring the tears in my eyes and instead focusing on what this means. I just need to get the money and time and I can come back here to get what I can out of this place. It will take as long as it needs to, I will figure out how to speak and read my mother tongue again and I can free that man. I can bring back all these artefacts and decorate my shop with them.

I won't be the only one of my kind I know exists anymore, I can have someone to talk to. Someone who knows the kind of life we used to live. I love my friends and Nin dearly, but, there are just some things they will never get. The small things like our toe-claws catching on things, what kind of metal is best to east and if oxidated or heated is more flavourful.

So many small things they can't get at all...

I look up and find Inerish oddly calm all of a sudden. She walks away and relaxes on a rock with a clear and wide smile. I gulp and keep to myself as every time I look at her, she reiterates the smile. Her lips move and her eyes close.

Bouncing my fingers against each other, I lock and intertwine them. Forcibly pulling them apart, I repeat the process, scraping off a fair bit of my armour's paint in the process. My right leg starts to bounce up and down. I focus on it, but even then it does not stop.

Magic starts to howl out of the mountain and Seigunfrei seemingly leaps out of it.

"Ah, here he is, a reliable source of information!" Inerish chirps and I look up her way with quaking eyes. Quickly getting up, I rush after her and make it just in time. Seigunfrei looks my way and puts his hands on his hips.

"Well, she's telling the truth regarding the soldiers being dead. I checked the way we were going to go as well, it leads the same direction. Lots of broken somethings but there's also an alarm going off. So, whatever those two did, something's bound to happen." he explains and I take a step back, locking eyes with Inerish as she looks my way.

"An alarm?" she repeats, a grin on the half of her face looking at me.

"Yeah, flashing and red but quiet." Seigunfrei clarifies and Inerish draws her sword.

"Well, that's good enough for me." she goes, the edge lighting up into a sudden inferno and my amulet gets to work. Covering myself in magical weapons, I charge for the human before she can bring down the mountain. I strike the ground and scream. I stare at Nin, quaking and trembling as he keeps me pinned.

"LET ME GO! LET ME GO!" I cry and thrash, trying everything I can. I start to call on the amulet's power but he takes it off and tosses it to Seigunfrei. My friend catches it and lowers it to his side. I can't get out, I can't get out!

"Whatever you did in there, Liad-" Nin tries to say.

"GET OFF ME! GET OFF ME! I CAN'T LET HER- NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!" I scream, breaking down into tears as Inerish's magic melts down the entrance tunnel of the mountain. Wherever Baltanthan hid the explosives, it doesn't matter. Her magic reaches them anyway and the blast throws me back inside my armour. Shaking my head and blinking against the ringing, I look around.

A shadow moves away from me and Nin's cloak goes back behind him.

He seemingly stares down at me, his grip growing tighter and harsher. I whimper and drop my head onto the ground. Quietly and with tears streaming down, I look at the light still escaping the mountain. He's still in there, that ddrai'och man...

How am I supposed to break into a mountain to get him out? I can't do that.

I can't even force my way out of the grip of one man. The one thing I have that could've done something was taken from me. I have nothing. My one chance to not be alone anymore, it's gone...

"Now, there's a job well done." Inerish huffs, walking off and Nin lets go. He offers his hand but I crawl away, heading towards the still-hot and melting rock instead. Pushing myself up just in time, I avoid falling onto the steaming stone face first. I weakly smash at it with my warming gauntlets.

Each blow grows in ferocity until I start to animalistically claw at the rock. My armour starts to fall apart and I stop when a sharp pain shoots through my hand. Clutching the wounded finger, I back away and fall onto my rear. I stare at one spot.

Only soot has been removed.

"I could've..." I try to say, failing to when a sniffle interrupts me. But, regardless, the sentence finishes itself in my head. I could've not been alone anymore. There would have been another ddrai'och in my life.

Now, no matter what I do, I will likely never see him again or know that man's name. Because of that evil creature, he's now trapped in a failing, ancient facility. Who knows what Seigunfrei might've done in the time he was in there? He was so quick he might've damaged what little essential equipment remained active on the inside.

Blinking slowly, I get back to my feet, I stumble away initially. Sorting out my steps, I start to poke around everything out here. Surely there is something I can at least take back with me? Anything, come on!

Please... I just want one small thing to remember my people by... Just one thing... God, please, help me find one item!

Finding a smashed open box, I sigh and clutch it tight. I start to whimper loudly, shaking uncontrollably to the point the box starts to rattle. I look at the closest dead human and the scorch marks covering the corpse. My breathing picks up and my blood threatens to boil me like that man is burnt.

"GGGGGGGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!" I howl until my voice turns raspy and quiet. My lower lips shake and my eyes close up, the shakes unending.