“Not gonna lie, this was a lot easier than I thought,” Hazel said, staring at the injured Dark Elf Rogue currently suffering from his wounds, including the effects of her baneful sickle skill.
The skill possessed a curse effect that slowly weakens anyone who is inflicted by it. Hazel mostly used it to take down her enemies in one strike, but there were a couple of occasions where she used the skill to wound an opponent and allowed the curse to further deteriorate its body.
In a way, Baneful Sickle was much like Decay, which reminded Hazel that both skills were frequently used by witches. She didn’t believe that to be a coincidence but held off on learning more about it until she found some books that talked about them. Her top priority was survival, and it would remain that way unless she encountered some information regarding witches. Then she’d do some research on them.
Putting that aside for now, Hazel and Astrid eyed Dolk, watching him currently suffer from the Baneful Sickle’s curse effect along with his other injuries. Taking a closer look at the wound, Hazel noticed that purple veins were spreading from the spot, and it looked shockingly similar to the cracks on the Fractured creatures when they died.
Regardless, they were able to complete their mission, which was to catch Dolk off-guard and severely wound him. Thankfully, he was already pretty banged up before showing up, so that made their work much easier to do.
They needed to fight a couple of Orcs before Dolk actually showed up, so by the time he did, Astrid and Hazel were exhausted at that point. But they succeeded in their goal, so that was all that mattered.
Dolk took a breath and raised his head, looking up at the pair with widened eyes. “W-who the hell are you?” He questioned Hazel with a snarl. “And what the hell are you doing with Astrid?!”
“Geez, his Yandere trait is kicking into overdrive now that I’m next to you.” Hazel backed away, visibly disgusted by Dolk’s behavior.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about…” Dolk growled.
“And you don’t need to,” Astrid chimed in, glaring at Dolk. “Because we have something else to discuss. Like why were you so adamant about keeping me in this world? What the hell is Kollr planning, huh?”
Dolk froze, his expression shifting to fear as he looked away from Astrid. This only angered the dark elf captain, who grabbed him by the collar and slapped him in the face. Witnessing this, Hazel flinched from the slap, even though she wasn’t the one who got hit.
“I’m not here to play games, Dolk,” Astrid growled, pushing the rogue away. “Either you tell me what the hell is going on freely, or I’m going to make you.”
Dolk trembled with fear, clearly against telling her anything involving Kollr. But Astrid wasn’t going to give up just yet. Not when her brother was up to something that could endanger the entire Tribe.
“Dammit, Dolk, staying silent won’t do you any good. Just tell me what you know, and it will make things a lot easier, alright?”
“I-I can’t…” Dolk muttered fearfully.
“You can, you just don’t want to!”
“Just how afraid are you of Kollr?” Hazel jumped into the conversation. “He must really scare the hell out of you if you’re keeping quiet like this.” She crossed her arms and smiled at the Rogue. “Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if this bastard had any dirt on you. That could certainly be why you’re not saying anything.”
Astrid turned to Hazel. “Hey, what are you…?”
Hazel raised her hand, motioning for her dark elf partner to let it happen. Astrid paused for a moment before biting her lip, deciding to trust whatever the Mage had planned.
“Y-you don’t know anything, human!” Dolk snapped, interrupting Astrid in the process. “So stay out of this!”
“Come on, there’s no shame in confessing, man,” Hazel said with a smug grin. “What kind of blackmail is he holding over you, huh? Did you kill someone? Oh! Or maybe you have some kind of secret shrine of Astrid that you worship every day and morning. I bet that’s why you’re so cranky.”
“Just shut up, human! This has nothing to do with you!”
“Maybe not,” Hazel shrugged her shoulders, maintaining her sly smile. “But I’m sure as hell getting a kick out of guessing what kind of blackmail this guy has on you,” she mocked the dark elf rogue, looking down on him condescendingly. “I mean, why else would you be so persistent in keeping quiet, huh? It’s not like Astrid’s brother is doing anything else worthwhile, am I right?” She nudged Astrid’s shoulder jokingly.
“You bitch!” Dolk snarled; his eyes red with anger. “You don’t know Kollr like I do! You have no idea what he’s planning to do! What kind of deal he made with those damn High…?!” His eyes widened suddenly, realizing what he just said.
Hazel’s grin grew wider, grateful that her little goading actually worked. She guessed that Dolk wasn’t going to confess to Astrid so easily, so she decided to take matters into her own hands. Which was pissing off the dark elf into spilling the beans, and it worked flawlessly.
She did this all the time with her brother when he was keeping a secret from her since goading him was the best solution to get him to confess since he would do it in the heat of the moment. And with that experience, she decided to test it out on Dolk and was more than happy with the results.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Astrid, on the other hand...
Hearing this, the dark elf captain was a bit dumbfounded by Hazel’s tactic, but she quickly shifted gears and her eyes narrowed while glaring at the Rogue.
“What do you mean by deal? And what does this have to do with the High Elves?” Astrid rabidly fired her questions at Dolk, not giving him the chance to think.
“A-Astrid, please…”
“No, I don’t want to hear anything from you except the truth, got it?!” She raised her foot and planted it on his chest, pushing him down on the ground. “I want to know why my brother is associating himself with the very bastards we despise! The very people who consider us defective and flawed when they were the ones who created us in the first place!”
Hazel froze in shock after hearing this. The High Elves created the Dark Elves? That was some major Lore drop she just received just now. Like Earth-shattering lore that could crucially change the lives of the Dark Elf Tribe forever. Then again, it seemed like they already knew since Astrid just said it.
Still, Hazel did not expect to hear this kind of information. Especially out of the blue like that while they were questioning Dolk. That kind of revelation seemed like one of those major plot twists that happen in the middle of the story, as a way to not only shock the main character but also the audience with the reveal.
And yet Astrid already knew. Despite being in a serious and precarious situation, Hazel couldn’t help but feel a bit bewildered by this sudden change in events. But that was for Hazel to worry about.
Astrid had other issues to deal with.
“What kind of deal did he make with the High Elves, Dolk? What is he plotting?!”
“Please…just forget about the Tribe, Astrid,” Dolk begged, tears beginning to stream down his face. “It’s already too late to save them. We should focus on saving ourselves.”
Astrid clenched her hands tightly in anger. “You fucking coward… you’re supposed to be a member of the Greyvolk Legion. A soldier that protected the Tribe, and yet here you are, begging to save yourself. You disgust me…” Her eyes were filled with repulsion as she looked down at her former comrade.
Hazel could tell that the dark elf ranger meant every word toward one of her own. Not only did she feel betrayed, but also slighted. Offended even.
Here she was, trying to fulfill her duties as a member of the Greyvolk Legion and one of her people was acting like a coward. Trying to preserve his own skin, when he became a member of the Legion to put his life on the line for his people.
Even Hazel felt disgusted with Dolk’s actions, but for the sake of being respectful, she kept her feelings to herself, allowing the remaining two dark elves to continue their dispute.
Dolk looked away, more tears building up in his eyes. “I may be a coward, but I at least know enough to become one. To know that whatever we do, it will not matter in the long run.” He turned his gaze back to Astrid, his eyes filled with dread and defeat. “You don’t know anything, Astrid. You don’t know that Kollr has already won.”
“I don’t care if he has, because I will do whatever I can to stop him. That is my duty and purpose. To protect the tribe and its people. You of all people should know that.”
“I do...” Dolk closed his eyes with a crushed expression. “I know that now. There is no stopping you from going back to the tribe. No matter what I do or say to convince you…it won’t change anything.”
Out of nowhere, Dolk pulled out a dagger and cut Astrid’s leg, forcing her to retreat. As she backed away, her hand was placed on the cut on her leg. She grimaced in pain then turned back to glare at Dolk.
The Dark Elf Rogue rolled back and stood up sluggishly. Hazel and Astrid took notice that the curse from Baneful Sickle was beginning to progress further on his body due to the purple veins looking more visible and sicklier. They continued to fester and grow, like a tree breeding numerous branches and spreading more.
He started to look pale as well, which was very noticeable thanks to his gray skin, while holding his dagger and aimed it at Hazel and Astrid. The mage and dark elf captain stayed in place, both of them wielding their weapons and ready for a battle in case Dolk decided to fight them.
Hazel made sure to prepare an attack beforehand so she could catch Dolk off guard, allowing Astrid to take him down. Though, what he did next surprised both of them.
“I know I can’t stop you, Astrid. You have your duty as the daughter of the Tribal Chief and the captain of the Legion. Nothing will convince you to simply walk away from your home and people.”
“So, what now?” Astrid inquired, keeping her bow trained on Dolk. “You’re going to fight us to the death? You’re already on death’s door with your injuries, so what would be the point, huh?”
Astrid was right about Dolk being so close to death. His current injuries coupled with Hazel’s curse effect, the dark elf rogue was dangerously close to his expiration date. His movements were sluggish as he stumbled in place and his eyes were glossed over, as if he was blind.
Even if he attempted to fight them, it wouldn’t amount to much. In his current condition, all Hazel needed to do was take one good swing at his skull, and the fight would be done and over within a second.
“You’re right as always, Captain,” Dolk gave a depressing smile. “It would be pointless to fight you guys. Which is why…” He pulled his dagger back and placed it on his neck. “I don’t plan to do something like that.”
Astrid and Hazel stare in disbelief at Dolk’s actions, and yet neither of them put any effort to stop him.
“Human…” Dolk turned his gaze to Hazel. “I don’t want to do this, but I’m leaving Astrid in your care. Do not make me regret that.”
Hazel remained silent, uncertain of what to say. She didn’t even nod her head in acknowledgment. She was stock still. Frozen in place as if her feet were trapped in ice.
“I’m sorry, Astrid…for everything,” Dolk apologized to his captain with a pained look on his face. “I let my fear of losing you cloud my judgment and committed a horrible act. And for that…I’ll make up for it with my death.”
Dolk then plunged the dagger into his neck right down to the guard of the blade. Blood spurted out and fell to the ground along with the dark elf rogue. His crimson essence continued to spill out, staining the green grass red.
All the while, Hazel and Astrid simply watched it unfold. Hazel was a bit shocked at what she just witnessed while Astrid maintained a calm and composed expression, not showing an ounce of sadness or hatred.
The pair stood there for a moment, watching the light in Dolk’s eyes vanish in an instant, leaving a haunting gaze as they bore deeply into them like they were silently judging the human and dark elf.
She then slowly walked over to Dolk’s corpse, leaving Hazel by herself. Standing over him, she kneeled and reached over to his face, closing his eyes since they were still open after he died. Astrid didn’t bother saying anything about Dolk as she did with her previous comrades, but she still stayed quiet and mourned over his death. She even had tears streaming down her face, showing that despite how much she hated Dolk, a part of her still cared about him.
And just like that, Astrid was the last dark elf left standing in the dungeon.