Zellin orders his men to prepare a burial for the fallen soldiers.

It was Dwarven tradition to bury their dead with a stein of ale and some meat roasted on a spit.

The dwarves did this to honor those who they lost.

"We honor the fallen for Fiafyr!" Zellin said as he took a deep drink from his stein and handed it to Quinus. "To our fallen comrades, we shall see you again. In the next life."

'God, so many people died to save me.' Rya thought to herself.

She then looked over to Zellin and saw that his eyes filled with grief. He seemed to be holding back tears, but his face was etched with sadness.

He then gave a small cough and wiped away the tears that had begun to form in his eyes.

"To honor our fallen comrades, may the goddess bless your souls and welcome you home."

Hajdah, Laika, and the surviving mages stood atop the hill overlooking the army below.

"Laika, when things settle down I will need you to train Lady Rya water magic."

She nodded in agreement. "She is already so formidable? I've never seen someone cast a spell like that before! The power behind it is beyond anything I have ever experienced. It felt as though the whole mountain shook when she unleashed her earth magic! She should be the strongest mage in all of Fiafyr!"

Hajdah smiled. "Yes, yes she is. Those earth golems were something else. I've never seen a earth mage make identical golems twice, let alone four at once! That was quite impressive."

"If she was this strong, why did we almost attack her when she came to Ironside?" Suhail said with a raised brow as he recalled the first time they met Rya.

Hajdah, Laika, Akashia, and Dreshan all cringed at his words.

"That was a mistake," Hajdah said. "I was out of line too. I was also blinded by the fact that she is a dark elf and I'm sorry for involving us in such a matter."

Akashia nodded in agreement. "I have no excuses either. I was just as foolish. We will not make that mistake again, Suhail."

"Yeah, we shouldn't judge races on sight. We should observe them if we aren't sure," Dreshan added. "We were lucky she is a good person deep down inside and deserves to be treated with respect."

"Aye... That be true... Well, we should give Kyan a proper burial after his sacrifice."

They agreed and began to walk back down the hill to attend his funeral.

***

After everyone was done mourning, Zellin ordered his men to begin digging graves for all the fallen soldiers.

Rya wanted to help but the dwarves told her it was their rite of passage and tradition which they would do themselves.

"Rya? Are you okay?" Nieren asked as she noticed Rya was looking off into the distance.

'I know we were going to fight these mercenaries sooner or later. But did I make things worse? Fuck! Why did I let my guard down?' Rya thought to herself.

"Uh… Yeah, I'm fine…"

She looked up and saw that the sun had started setting in the west.

"Lady Rya, it wasn't your fault." Sir George said when he saw the look of guilt on her face. "You shouldn't need to fear being enslaved. No one should fathom the idea of being enslaved. I know that these words seem hollow, but that guilt you feel now is not yours to bear and we're here to help you. You have our word that we are here for you, my lady."

Rya gave him a weak smile. "Thank you, Sir George.

Nieren couldn't help herself as she walked over to Rya and hugged her tightly.

"It's okay, Rya. I know how you feel. Just let it go." Nieren whispered in her ear as she held onto Rya's body.

Rya looked down at the ground and felt guilty about what happened to the men of Ironside that gave their lives for her.

"I have to earn this freedom. I don't know how yet, but I will," Rya said in defeat.

At this point, Quinus came back over to Rya after finishing his task for the burials.

"What happened?" he asked when he saw her walking back towards them.

"She has some guilt, my Lord," Sir George answered.

Quin looked at her with concern. "Are you alright, Rya? We can talk if you want."

Rya looked up at him. Upon seeing those golden eyes of his calmed her.

"C-Can you pat my head too?" Rya asked timidly.

He obliged and patted her head gently.

'Mmmmh... Quin has been there for me ever since I met him... He soothes my heart... He cares about me... Like I'm his girlfriend... Augh... W-Why doesn't this bother me? Is it because I'm attracted to him?!' Rya thought to herself.

Quin reached out and took her hand in his own. "We'll get you through this, Rya. I promise. Now let's get ready to head back to Ironside."

Then it occurred to her, "Where's Dalia and Percy? They were with me after I woke up? But I lost them once we went after Rudolf."

Nieren spoke up, "Oh. I think I saw them run towards the woodlands... I don't know why they did that though..."

"Hmm. They must be after someone. Sir George. Lady Nieren if they aren't back by dusk. I want you two to find them. I can handle myself, but it would be best if we all stick together. Understood?" Quin asked both of them.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

Both nodded, then followed him. They waited for the burials to be finished.

***

Deep in the woods, a man was running through the dense forest as fast as he could.

'Damn! If only I got my hands on that slaver tool, I wouldn't be running for my life!' the man cursed as he continued to run while sweating profusely.

After a few minutes, the man made it to a clearing where he hid behind a tree.

It was Dietrich, one of the last Black Rose Mercenaries. Although he would have been killed for his betrayal if they caught him, he knew the chances of that happening were high if he didn't make a run for it.

They didn't know where he was, so he decided to hide there instead until he could catch his breath.

He checked his equipment to make sure everything was still intact.

'Okay, if I head south from here. I should be able to get to the Kingdom of the Divine Three. I should be able to start a new life there.' Dietrich thought to himself.

'Fuck! Why do healers have to be killed so often? I could have had her! Damn, the fates!' Dietrich cursed silently to himself.

'I'm not giving up yet though. I'll-'

*SNAP!*

Dietrich heard something step on a twig.

"Who's there?!" Dietrich called out as he readied his war hammer while looking in the direction of the sound.

It was a darker part of the forest, which meant it was probably a monster tracking him.

'What could it be? I doubt it's a goblin, we wiped them out. Slimes are uncommon in these parts. Is it migration season for direr wolves? Shit! It might be a ware bear! That's the last thing I need right now,' Dietrich thought to himself nervously.

*SNAP!*

Another twig snapped behind him and Dietrich immediately jumped to the side.

"Who's there?! Show yourself, you piece of crap!" Dietrich said as he growled.

There was nothing but stillness in the woods. An unnerving amount of silence filled the air, causing Dietrich to turn around. He saw nothing there. His eyes scanned the area for anything suspicious.

'If it was a monster, it should have appeared by now,' Dietrich thought to himself.

Dietrich began to sweat as his heart raced in his chest.

Suddenly, a cold breeze blew through the trees.

*SNAP!*

A twig broke underfoot. Dietrich reflexively turned around and drew his hammer.

He had no idea what was going on, but he knew he couldn't just sit there and wait to be attacked.

"Fuck it! I'm running!" Dietrich yelled out as he ran towards the brighter part of the forest.

He looked back once to see the shadows moving across the ground.

He started to hear the sound of footsteps behind him. Dietrich kept running, his heart pounding in his ears.

Then suddenly, he heard a growl coming from his right side.

Dietrich froze in place and looked to see a shadowy figure that had wolf ears and green glowing eyes.

The shadow had stepped onto a fallen log. The next thing Dietrich knew, the shadow leapt forward with claws aimed straight at his face.

"SHIT!"

*CLING! CLANG! CLING!*

It was Dalia the wolf-kin that attacked Dietrich.

"Trying to run from me, human? Ha! You won't get far," Dalia chuckled as she swung her clawed hand down towards Dietrich's head.

Dietrich quickly dodged to his left. He then raised his hammer in front of him to defend against the oncoming blow.

"This fucking mutt! Get off of me, you damned beast!" Dietrich exclaimed as he readied himself to strike Dalia.

"DEEP IMPACT!"

Dietrich's hand moved faster than the eye could follow as he brought his hammer down on the ground to create a large rocks to jet out in front of him.

Dalia was able to dodge the rock before it hit her. However, the force of the impact caused her to stumble backwards.

She quickly got up and tried to attack again. "If that's all you got, human, then prepare to die!"

"Like I would ever be taken down by a fucking mutt like you!" Dietrich replied as he swung his hammer downwards to send a barrage of rocks flying at Daila.

Daila narrowly dodged the first few rocks as she jumped around from tree to tree.

"What the fuck?!" Dietrich shouted out as he realized he wasn't dealing enough damage to her.

"You're not taking me down that easily!" Dalia laughed as she continued dodging the rocks.

'She thinks she can make a fool out of me!? She thinks—'

*STEP! STEP!*

*SWING! PIERCE!*

"GAH!" Dietrich looked down to see a sword blade sticking out of his chest.

"So, we finally got you, merc," said Percy as he flanked Dietrich.

Dietrich looked up to see Percy standing behind him with his sword in his hand.

"Y-You?" Dietrich said in disbelief as he looked at the blade that was sticking out of his chest.

Dalia was wagging her tail as she walked up to Dietrich while Percy continued, "Remember what we said to you in the Tomb of the Horde?"

Dietrich recalled the last words the kid said to him. 'I'll personally come for you!'

*Cough!* *cough.*

"Pl-ease, I'm sorr-y for w-hat I did. I don't wa-nt to die!" Dietrich apologized as he hoped the kid would let him go.

"Tch! Not so tough once you have a blade pierced through your body. It was unlucky that I missed your heart." Percy said with a straight face. "Personally, I would have killed you quickly. But you had to insult my girlfriend, my mate, again and again. So, I'll let her decide what to do with you!"

Percy pulled out his short sword from Dietrich's back.

Dietrich gasped in pain and tried to pick up his hammer. However, his hands were too weak now.

Dalia couldn't help but be excited about her mate defending her honor and giving her the kill.

'Hehe! Gamma's words make me hot and bothered! Mmmh! I got to control myself!' Dalia thought as she channeled mana into her claws.

Dietrich looked up to see Dalia staring daggers at him.

"Gahh! Please, I be—" Dietrich yelled out as he held his stomach in pain.

*SWING! TEAR! TEAR! TEAR! SWING! RIP!*

Dalia showed no mercy as she sliced and diced Dietrich into pieces.

'NO! I CAN'T DIE LIKE THI—' Dietrich's thoughts stopped as blood splattered on the ground dying it red.

Percy looked at Dietrich's corpse with disgust.

'Why are there so few decent people in this worl— WHOA!' Percy's thoughts were interrupted when Dalia jumped on him and squished his face in between her breasts.

"Ugh! Dalia? W-What are you doing?!" Percy said as Dalia hugged him.

Dalia giggled as she kissed Percy's lips.

"You protect my honor! So you're mine now! My wolf!" Dalia said as she licked the back of Percy's neck.

"H-Hey. That tickles!" Percy asked as Dalia kept licking his neck.

"Awe! Is Gamma getting shy? It makes me want to tease you."

"D-Dalia! I'm not shy! It's-It's just I don't want this merc's spirit to see a amazing woman. He does not deserve to witness such beauty." Percy said as he tried to calm Dalia down.

"Hehe! Awe! You're too cute Gamma." Dalia said as she squeezed Percy's cheeks and gave him a kiss.

"Cute? I thought I was handsome. Oh, right. I am handsome." Percy said with a wink and a smile.

Dalia blushed bright red and laughed happily.

"Alright, I'll admit it. You're handsome my little wolf. So, handsome that I am going to make it my mission to get pregnant with your children during this mating season." Dalia said as she stepped off of Percy and started walking.

Percy stood up, dusted himself off, and followed Dalia. "Thank yo— Wait! You want my children? This soon?"

Dalia turned around and gave Percy a seductive look.

"Hehe! It's because you are so loyal and honorable. I want to have a family that will grow up knowing the value of hard work and honor. I would like you to teach our children just how good they can be in life. Plus, I love the idea of having another body to cuddle with."

Percy swallowed his throat after hearing that last part.

"A-Ah! I mean, um... I love you, Dalia," Percy said as he hurried behind Dalia.

Dalia loved hearing that from Percy. He made her feel warm and safe. Things she never felt before during her life. Feelings that were my be foreign to her, but she embrace them with open arms. She couldn't wait to show her mate just how much she loved him.

'I wonder how many beds we'll be breaking tonight?' Dalia thought as she looked at Percy.

"Shall we meet back up with Alpha and Beta?" she asked as she looked over her shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm sure Lady Rya and the prince are waiting for us," Percy said as he put one hand on Dalia's hip.

It took them an hour before coming out of the forest near the plains where the battle was. Noticing the human-dwarf army bearing the dead.

"Wow! Did Lady Rya heal all the wounded? It looks like a one-way massacre than a battle. I mean I looked like the mercenaries were about to win before Lady was freed?" Percy said as he saw the bodies of the slain mercenaries.

"She did. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would become friends with a powerful dark elf. But here I am." Dalia said as she smiled brightly at Percy.

They walked to where they saw the others standing together talking. Percy noticed that the prince was looking their way.