Missteps
Chapter 84 – Against the Fey
With renewed vigor, Iados led up the expedition as far from the smoking tree as they could.
It wasn’t very long till their path led to an area that was more firm ground than swamp. At one point they even found an exit to the maze of paths and the swamp. Marking the location in all their minds, the group turned back.
Just a few minutes later, the path diverged again. They decided on the right fork, and this led them into a ring of the healthiest trees they’d seen so far, with an unbroken view of the sky above the raised hill in the center.
At the top of the hill, curled up and snoozing on a large, flat rock, was a long, thin creature. What was left of the twilight sun glistened off its blue and green scales.
Ander gulped softly. “We should go back.” He whispered to his companions, his mind already swirling with the story Master Bymer had told him of the old man’s first and only foray into the valley.
Everyone looked down at him quizzically.
“While I agree that we should give it a wide berth,” Jennavieve narrowed her eyes down at the halfling. “Why do you think we should?”
The wizard took a step back, his eyes on the creature. “If that thing is what I think it is, then this whole area is probably the most dangerous place in the swamp.”
That caught everyone’s attention as they all turned to look at the dozing creature, who hadn’t moved an inch.
Lia instinctively moved to hide behind the closest tree. “Just what is that thing?”
“Master Bymer said it had the power to turn someone into a jade statue.” Ander answered as he lowered himself closer to the ground.
The rest of the party followed suit.
“That doesn’t sound too bad.” Harlin chuckled nervously. “I mean, you guys have spells to turn people back from that, right?”
None of the spellcasters answered him.
“So that’s it, you just turn into a statue?” Iados asked the wizard.
Ander shook his head. “He has a friend that likes to eat jade, and who can blend in with the sky and has a razor-sharp beak and talons.” He pointed a finger to the sleeping creature. “That thing seemed to have more of an appetite for flesh.”
Wide-eyed, Iados looked back at the beautiful creature. “Yeah, I vote we don’t play with it.”
“Agreed,” came from the chorus around him, and the group very carefully tiptoed back the way they come.
Frustratingly, the party discovered that several of the paths in the area all led right back to the deadly clearing. In the end, they were forced to make several jumps to different paths and scale a few trees to get away from the clearing.
As they got back into the more submerged area of the swamp, Lia noticed that the spindly swamp trees in this area, weren’t so spindly. In fact, several times, they’d found broken pathways where the trunks had quite literally shoved the stones aside. The partially submerged roots were also thicker, and at times, it was easier to walk on them instead of the stone.
Both elves took this as a sign that they were getting closer to the Crann Arbora.
Not long after, the pathways opened into another clearing.
The stone gave way to rough wooden flooring, with fabric screens set up and separating the different ‘rooms’ in the area. A large parchment-laden desk was set up in the middle, with various stacks weighted down with different-sized rocks. A hammock was set up in a corner with a few chests. Across the way was a table and cabinet.
As they all took in the space, they could see other paths that ended at the wood flooring and even a stone bridge off to one side.
Ander made a beeline for the desk, with Lia right behind him. The rest of them spread out around the living space.
“I thought Tyren was supposed to live in a castle?” Iados questioned as he gave the hammock a push and watched it swing. Next to him, Harlin opened a chest to find it full of clothes.
“I guess when you come from nothing, then anything can be a castle.” Jennavieve mused as she opened the cabinet and examined the neatly stacked piles of dinnerware.
“Find anything interesting?” The akudaem asked as his wandering brought him to the duo at the desk. Ander stood on the pillow laden chair as he skimmed through the loose pieces of parchment, occasionally stuffing one into his bag.
“Not really,” the halfling answered. “It looks like she was trying to teach herself how to use her magic.” He held out a page full of arcane sigils. “Everything on this page is what a first-year Circle student is taught their first week.”
“But remember, she didn’t have the benefit of anyone actually teaching her.” Lia looked up from the book in her hands. “She took what she knew of the raw power within her, combined it with whatever books on the arcane she could get her hands on, and figured out how to open portals between dimensions.” The elf made no effort to disguise the awe in her voice.
“You find anything about how to get out of here?” Jennavieve asked as she walked over.
Ander shook his head. “There’s so much here, and it’ll take me quite a bit of time to go through it properly.” He sighed and tucked another piece of parchment into his bag. “We’ve got bits and pieces of different spells, random notes on spell components, and even a few observations on the creatures she tucked into the swamp. If she had any sort of organization to all of this, it’s probably in an actual spell book or journal.”
“And that is decidedly not here.” The druid sighed and added another book to the small pile on the ground next to her.
Iados sighed heavily. “Alright, no use staying around here. We might as well continue while we still have some energy to fight.”
“I think you’re too late.” Jennavieve said, gesturing towards the hammock. Lia and Iados peered around the fabric screen.
Harlin was laid out on the hammock, fast asleep.
“Didn’t he already have a nap today?” Iados growled.
Lia laid a hand on her arm. “It wasn’t the most restful, besides he’s not used to this life. I’d be willing to bet this is the most excitement he’s ever had in his life.”
The akudaem signed and ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah, I guess that’s true.” He looked back at the sleeping form, and before he shook his head, a soft grin on his face. “We’ll give him a half hour.”
“I thought I was supposed to be the leader.” The elf teased as the two of them walked a bit away.
“Well yeah when it comes to politics and making sure the rest of us don’t put our foot in our mouths.” Iados reasoned. “Outside of that, it’s not like you’ve got a whole lot of adventuring experience.”
Lia scowled. “True, but I’ve literally been training for this type of experience longer than you’ve been alive.”
The akudaem rolled his eyes. “You trained to be a pencil-pusher in some little culture club, not an adventurer. Your uncle wouldn’t have ever let you leave his side if you didn’t make such a huge mess back home.”
Anger started to boil up within Lia. The most frustrating part was that he was dead on. Not wanting to admit it, she turned on her heel and went back to the desk.
With a heavy sigh, Iados moved across the living space and sat down heavily at the table.
Jennavieve slid into a seat across from him and pulled out a small bag of jerky. She wordlessly held it out for the akudaem, who accepted.
“So, what’s the deal with this uncle?” She asked.
Iados huffed. “He’s a controlling bastard.”
The elf nodded. “How big did you just mess up?”
The former pirate was silent for a few minutes. Finally, he leaned forward and set his elbows on the table. “Honestly, I’m not even sure.”
Jennavieve tilted her head to the side. “How can you not know? Even to me, it looks like you gut-punched her.”
“It’s hard to explain, and it’s not really my place.” He snuck a glance over to his girlfriend, who once again had her nose buried in a book. “Something happened a while ago, something she hasn’t told me about it. Ever since then, she hasn’t been sleeping, and when she does sleep it’s nothing but nightmares.”
The cleric watched as the former pirate’s face hardened.
“She talks in her sleep.” He admitted. “Used to be it was just small, funny tidbits. Comments on the latest party antics, weird snippets from whatever dream she was having. Now it’s her begging Himo to stop. Now its whimpers and the softest cries of pain.” The violet face lowered till it was resting on his crossed arms. “I wish I knew how much of those nightmares were real.”
“Have you asked her?”
Iados nodded. “I don’t know if it’s fear or something else keeping her from talking, but she won’t talk. And so, I don’t know where the line is anymore.”
Jennavieve munched on another piece of jerky. “Back when I was still training to be a ranger, one of the other cadets kept freezing every time we did this one exercise. Pretty basic one, just a simple self-defense maneuver. One person comes at you with a knife, and you disarm them. Easy.
“Turned out, a wyvern had attacked this guy when he was a teenager. Nearly eviscerated by a talon. Now, when he saw that knife coming towards him, he thought it was a talon. No matter how many times we told him it wasn’t a talon, he still froze.”
“Did he get past it?” Iados asked.
The elf nodded.
“How?”
The thin face scrunched up. “He stabbed himself with the knife.”
The akudaem’s eyes widened. “Why?”
Jennavieve sighed. “It was the only way he could reassure himself that it wasn’t a talon. He said that the sensation between the two was completely different.” She shivered. “My point is that people not only react differently to trauma but also in how they overcome that trauma. If she’s still having nightmares, then maybe she’s not ready to overcome it.”
“So, I’m supposed to just keep listening to her cry out in pain at night?” Iados hissed.
“Until she’s ready to ask for help, then yeah.” The elf took out another bite of jerky. “Unfortunately, you’ve fallen into the biggest trap between elves and humans, or whatever you are. Your lifespans are so short that you’re consumed with the idea of making the most out of every day. Whereas ours are so long, we don’t care about a single day. We’re raised to take the time to consider every option. Our idea of a quick decision is if we make it within a year.”
The former pirate’s jaw dropped. “How the hell are you supposed to work with other races like that?”
Jennavieve smiled and shook her head. “That’s the thing, we really don’t. There’s a reason we’re so isolated; not all of it is self-imposed. We can be as patient and stubborn as nature itself but also as resistant to change.”
“So, it could be years until she’s ready to face this?”
The elf nodded. “If you’re lucky, you’ll be dead by then.” She left the bag with Iados, stood up, and walked off.
Iados sighed and lightly slammed his head on the wooden table. That conversation had done nothing to alleviate his confusion and worry; if anything, it had increased them.
Head still lying on the table, he turned so that he could gaze at Lia. Eventually he settled into a light doze, his thoughts centered on what a good boyfriend would do to help their girlfriend.
He wasn’t sure what eventually woke him. It could have been the slight jarring of the wooden table under his cheek. Or it could have been the part of his brain that always seemed to be on edge, slapping the rest of him awake. Whatever it was, Iados was the first one to look out and see a familiar red-headed figure running frantically towards the little campsite.
He quickly pointed out the rapidly approaching figure to the others. The red-head’s arms were raised above him as if in greeting. They could all see his mouth moving, but it took longer for the words to reach them.
Stolen story; please report.
“Move your asses!” Carric yelled as he ran full tilt across the stone bridge towards his team.
It was too little, too late, as three large shadowy creatures (a bear, deer, and elk) materialized and surrounded the small living space.
Jennavieve gritted her teeth as she took out her swords. “How do we want to play this?” She asked the two men near her.
Harlin shrugged. “How do you guys usually do it?”
“I generally just go for whoever happens to be closest.” Iados remarked, unnerved that the creatures around them had made no move to attack yet.
As the trio watched, Carric ran right past the deer towards them. The deer didn’t move.
“What part of ‘move your asses’ do you people not get?” A panting Carric criticized as he ground to a halt.
The akudaem grinned. “With all the effort we took to come get your ass, we sure as hell weren’t leaving without it.” He passed over the guide’s quiver and longbow.
The air was tense as the adventurers stared down their shadowy foes, neither side making the first move.
“What are they waiting for?” Jennavieve grumbled as she white-knuckled her swords.
Carric pointed towards the bridge. Stepping out of the shadows and stopping just on the other side of the bridge was a man. He was thin and short, with impossibly round eyes and ridiculously pointed ears on either side of his face. “Everyone, meet Lurc, the biggest Fey asshole in the valley.”
The elven cleric narrowed her eyes as she turned to face the newcomer. “We’ve already met.” She growled.
Harlin smirked. “Well, now that everyone’s here, let’s get this started.” He took off running towards the nearest enemy: the elk. He quickly delivered two strikes into the shadowy form, eliciting a howl of pain from it.
Iados looked at Jennavieve and pointed towards the Fey. “Go get that pointy-eared bastard.” With a final smirk, he turned and ran straight for the deer that was between them and the Fey.
She didn’t have to be told twice as she took off.
The deer ran to meet the akudaem, its head lowered. Just as the violet form moved to dodge out of the way, the shadowy antlers suddenly lengthened.
Iados hissed in pain as the antlers dug painfully into his torso as the large form passed. However, the pain only lasted a moment before an intense chill took hold and numbed the wound.
Across the way, the bear took the first move as it charged toward the paper-laden desk with a growl.
Ander scrambled off the chair and to the other side of the desk.
Lia wasn’t as lucky. A shadowy claw raked along her arm painfully as she ducked under the desk.
“This is probably a good time to go animal.” The wizard hissed around the corner of the desk as the bear started to tear into the papers above them.
The druid didn’t bother to answer as she started to gather power from the earth around her. Within a few moments, the large form of Bitey emerged and tackled the shadowy bear to the ground.
Carric, who took turns firing at either the elk or deer, backed up until he met up with Ander. “We can’t let the Fey leave,” he said as he loosed an arrow at the deer. The guide winced as he watched the akudaem smack the shadow across the face with his quarterstaff.
“Why?” Ander asked. He watched as the bear threw the large dire wolf off and attacked again with its claws.
“He’s got some crazy plan to open a gate out of here.”
The wizard threw a confused look at the guide. “And that’s a bad thing because?”
Carric loosed another arrow before he looked down at the halfling. “Because he’s planning to use what’s left of some elven spirits he stole to power it.”
“Oh,” Ander grimaced. “Jennavieve is not going to like that.” He flicked an eye over towards the elven cleric. His widened as he saw that somehow the previously unarmed Fey had managed to outfit himself with a crossbow and that the cleric was currently stalled as she dodged what appeared to be green magic arrows. He turned to see if the former pirate was in a better position.
As much as Iados hated to admit it, he was getting beat by a deer.
Granted this deer was a bit larger than a normal deer, and the bursts of cold that accompanied its hits seemed to be doing more damage than the actual hits themselves, but it was the principal of the matter.
He wasn’t mad that the occasional arrow seemed to injure the shadow creature more than his own hits. Just as long as the creature’s hits kept coming at him.
He heard the grunts from creatures and humans alike from the other fights around him. All they had to do was hold off the shadows long enough for Jennavieve to take out the Fey. What was taking her so long?
Jennavieve cursed as she dodged another arrow. It was taking way too long for her to cross the damn bridge.
“Just give up already.” The Fey droned as he aimed another arrow at her. “Give up and I promise to reunite you with your friends.”
The elven cleric winced as the words drove a spike into her head. For a moment, she considered it. For a moment, all she wanted more than anything in the world was to be with her cousin.
Then she remembered the angry little man, Morgen, and that dismembered hand flung into a wooden box.
She remembered her hatred for the Fey in front of her.
The glare on Jennavieve’s face caused Lurc to take a step back. A split second of fear crossed his face before he twisted it back into the dispassionate stare of one who’d spent their life in service.
The elven cleric didn’t notice the change in his countenance as she sprinted towards him. With a final leap to cover the distance, she brought her swords down and slashed a red line across his chest.
Lurc grimaced in pain as he stumbled back. “You should have brought that kind of fight the first time.” He brought his hand up to his mouth and let out a piercing whistle. He grinned as numerous bare-branched little shrubs trotted out of the forest around him and swarmed on Jennavieve.
It wasn’t long before they’d knocked the weapons from her grasp and manhandled her onto their ‘shoulders.’
Iados cursed when he saw the elves’ predicament. He cursed again when he just barely managed to block the deer’s antlers with his quarterstaff.
“Ander!” The akudaem yelled out as she shoved the shadow creature back. “Help Jennavieve!”
The wizard, who’d just loosed another cantrip towards the bear, turned to look. His eyes widened as he realized the troop of bushes were moving.
Stepping away from the desk’s safety, he grabbed his waterskin out of his pack and emptied it on the ground.
“What the hell are you doing now?” Carric questioned as the water sloshed against his boots.
Ander didn’t answer. He knelt and started to furiously draw symbol after symbol in the water, mumbling a spell under his breath the whole time. One by one the symbols evaporated and shot up in the sky.
Above, dark storm clouds formed and gathered above the captive elf and Fey. The temperature of the whole area dropped as snow and ice rained down. A freezing fog whipped up from the warm ground as the cold took over, obscuring the whole area on the other side of the bridge.
Iados stabbed his quarterstaff into the deer’s chest and gave a satisfied smirk as the creature disappeared with a small pop. When he saw the storm, he whistled appreciatively. “So, you can do more than fire.” He quipped over at the halfling.
Ander flipped off the akudaem as he collapsed back on his butt, his breath coming in sharp pants. “Just go in there and get her already.” He yelled back as loud as he could.
The former pirate grinned a final time before he took off.
Across the field, Harlin didn’t have the time or energy to care about anyone else. Though the elk was huge, it was fast, and the big man found himself spending more time dodging the creature’s heavy front hooves than fighting it.
He could tell by the fractured edges of the shadowy form and the patches of the creature that were see-through that the attacks he was able to inflict were making an impact.
The question was, which one of them would fall first?
As if in answer, the elk swatted the human with its horn, sending him flying back onto his back. His axe bounced out of his grip, and a stream of blood started to flow from a gash above his eye.
Shakily, he got back to his feet. He wiped the blood away from his eye, grabbed his axe, and attacked.
The elk still stood.
Along a different edge of the site, Lia, the dire wolf, was trapped in her own battle. However, unlike the battles of Iados and Harlin, she traded bite for bite and claw for claw with the bear. She wasn’t even aware of how injured she really was because her entire furry body was numb from the cold effect of the bear’s attacks.
So intense was the fighting that Carric didn’t even bother trying to fire into the mess of fur. Instead, he fired a shot off towards elk that had reared up to attack a once-again downed Harlin. His arrow hit true, and the creature disappeared.
Meanwhile, the animal form finally took as much damage as it could, and in a quick burst of light, the much smaller form of Lia lay sprawled out on the ground in front of the large shadowy bear.
Thankfully, Ander was prepped and ready with another spell, which was just enough to take it down.
“Thanks,” Lia winced from shoulder pain, carryover from the bite that had pushed her spell over the edge.
“Just go help Harlin,” Ander told her as he helped her to her feet. He pointed his head towards the human who hadn’t moved from his sprawled position. With a nod she headed over.
As the rest of his team cleaned up the shadow creatures, Iados ran straight into the cold fog. Since he couldn’t see exactly where Jennavieve and the individual creatures were, he guessed.
Once he got close to where he remembered them being, he tucked his head down into his chest and tackled the first solid object he encountered. It was like hitting a wooden fence, but thankfully, one that hadn’t been well-built. Like a line of dominoes, the small shrubs knocked each other down one by one, scattering along the ice-covered bridge.
In the chaos, Jennavieve was unceremoniously tossed over the edge of the bridge, taking an unexpected plunge into the water below.
As Iados picked himself up, the sounds of the Fey cursing got his attention. He rushed towards the noise and once again tackled the first thing he encountered.
Back on the other side of the bridge, Carric helped a water-logged Jennavieve out of the river.
“I take it you’re the infamous Carric?” She muttered once she was back on dry land.
The redhead nodded. He opened his mouth to answer, but a shrill yell from the other bank interrupted him.
“A little help would be nice!”
Carric shook his head at the sound of Iados’s voice. He turned to look at Ander, who’d settled back down in the pillowy chair. “Any chance of stopping that storm?”
Tiredly, the small wizard said a few words and snapped his fingers. The snow and ice stopped within a few seconds as the clouds dispersed and the fog disappeared.
The guide couldn’t stop the grin on his face as the image of Iados sitting on the back of a very unhappy Fey was revealed. He pulled a length of rope out of his pack and ran through the wooden carnage scattered across the back half of the bridge. It didn’t take the two of them long at all to truss and gag the unhappy Fey.
Lia had managed to get Harlin into one of the dining chairs and pump a healing spell into him. Now, she sat next to him, using a wet rag to clean up the lingering blood on his face.
“I’ve got that,” Jennavieve said as she came over and held out a hand for the rag.
Harlin shook his head. “Nah, don’t worry about it.” He pointed over towards the chest. “Why don’t you go get yourself some dry clothes?”
The elven cleric smirked. “Worried about me getting a cold?”
The human grinned and shook his head. “I don’t want to hear you complain about getting a cold. With as snarky as you are now, I shudder to think how you are when you’re sick.”
Jennavieve rolled her eyes. “As if I’d let you take care of me if I was sick.”
“Then let’s not let that happen.” Harlin stood up, twirled the elf around, and lightly pushed her by the shoulders all the way to the clothes chest he’d found earlier.
“What was that?” Ander asked as he came over and took over Harlin’s vacated chair.
Lia chuckled. “Friendship.” She moved to put the rag on the table and winced as the movement jarred her shoulder.
The halfling reached out towards the shoulder. “You want me to look at that?”
The druid pulled out of his reach. “It’s alright, just sore, and I’ll probably have a wicked bruise. Nothing that won’t heal.”
“Alright, if you’re sure.” He leaned back in his chair. Over her shoulder, he saw Carric and Iados pick their way across the bridge, the newly captive Fey hoisted over their shoulders. “You know, we’re friends.”
Lia paused and looked at him curiously. “Yes,”
“And friends talk to each other.” He turned back to look at her. “I’ve noticed that you haven’t really been talking to any of us lately.”
The druid dropped her eyes. “I’ve just had a lot on my mind.”
“Pretty sure that’s when you’re supposed to talk, or at least that’s what Shenir told me.” He twisted around until he was facing her. “I know what it’s like to be in the dark place. I know what’s it like to be scraping the bottom of the barrel. I know how much it can tear you up.”
“This isn’t like a gambling addiction.” Lia said softly.
“True, but then again my problem wasn’t truly about gambling.” Ander admitted as he frowned. “My problem was the loss of control I had over my life. I lost all my little sisters and my mom. Each time, I was powerless to do anything. I mean, I was just a kid when the triplets and my mom died. I hadn’t been old enough to really do anything then, but it was different with Cora.”
Lia turned to face the halfling. “Was she the one who was kidnapped by the cult?” The druid thought back to that night in the owlbear cave on their very first adventure.
He nodded and turned back to the table, his hands in his lap. “Honestly, we’re not even sure if it was a cult, we just knew that the day before members had been seen in town. And then the day after they’d all disappeared.” He took a deep breath and continued. “There was a festival that week, so I was home from the Circle academy to help. Cora refused to leave my side; she was so excited I was back. I was sixteen, and she was ten.”
“Isn’t sixteen a little young to be starting at the academy? At least for a halfling?” Lia asked, trying to remember her lessons on halfling society.
Ander shook his head. “We’re generally considered to be adults around our twentieth birthday or so, though honestly, I’ve met adults who act more like children. In fact, I’d been a student since I was ten or so. I started down a dark path after my mom died, and my master took me in to change it.
He gave a wry smile at the memory, then shook his head. “Getting back to the whole point of this, when Cora was kidnapped, I was there. Someone snatched her from my side while we were walking down the street. I chased them into an alley, where the kidnapper’s friends jumped me. They beat me, tied me up, and stuffed me in a crate. The whole time, I heard Cora yelling for me and for anyone, but no one came.
“With all my magic training, I was still powerless to stop them from taking my little sister.” Ander’s voice was low, and his shoulders slumped. “Everyone kept telling me it wasn’t my fault, but I couldn’t convince myself of that.”
“Is that when you started gambling?” Lia asked. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Carric start to walk over, but she waved him off.
The wizard shook his head. “I threw myself into my studies, particularly the divination side. I was determined to find her, but I never did. Eventually, I gave up, and the hole that’d been there since my mother had died got deeper.
“The gambling started after Xi went missing. Seeing the way her disappearance affected my master and Derick brought back all the pain. Instead of just skirting the edge of the hole, I fell right in and couldn’t get out. Some of my academy friends took me out one night, trying to cheer me up, and we played cards. I’d played cards before, but this time, it was like I was playing with a mission. With every hand I won, it was like I could build a step out of that hole.” He chuckled to himself. “I was good at cards. I knew how to count them and how to read my friends tells. When I played cards, it was like I was the puppet master. Winning those hands became a high, and I kept needing a bigger and bigger hit.”
“What happened?” Lia’s voice was soft. She found herself leaning in close to the small wizard, so that he didn’t have to raise his voice for her to hear. This story wasn’t meant for the others; it was meant for her.
He looked up at her with sorrowful eyes. “I lost. Not only did I lose, but by that point, I’d put everything I had into the pot, including my spellbook. The book my master had given me was the book he’d spent so much time and money on putting spells in there for me to discover. I lost it and was thrown out into the street like trash. I’d finally hit the bottom of the hole I’d been digging. As I lay in that dirty alley, with the smell of trash and refuse around me, I realized that I’d only been chasing after the illusion of control. I realized I’d never really had control. And that was when Shenir found me.
“She picked my sorry butt off the street and took me to her hotel room. Later, I found out she’d thought I was a lost little kid.” He shook his head and grinned. “She was the one who made me get myself out of that hole I’d fallen into. Losing my spellbook hadn’t paid off all my debts, so she helped me find odd jobs to get money. A few times I tried to gamble my way out of debt, and she stopped me. The biggest thing was she made me face my demons. She made me talk about all the dark thoughts I’d been burying for so many years, and to admit all the fears I had never dreamed of naming. If it weren’t for her, I’d still be lying in that alley.”
The small wizard looked over at Lia and reached out to put his hand on hers. “You can’t get out of the hole by yourself. Even if it’s just one person, you have to talk to them. You have to let them in so that when you fall in, they can help you get out. Don’t wait till you hit the bottom.”
Lia’s breath hitched. She wrapped her hand around his and squeezed. “Will that stop me from hitting the bottom? Talking to someone?”
Ander shook his head. “I haven’t met anyone yet who hasn’t had to hit the bottom first.”
“What if that’s what I’m afraid of?” The elf whispered her gaze on their clasped hands. “What if I’m afraid of what’s at the bottom?”
The small halfling used his other hand to bring her face up to meet his. “Then make sure you’re not alone. You won’t know what you’re facing if you don’t hit the bottom.”
She sighed. “What if we’re not strong enough?”
Ander rolled his eyes. “How do you know how much strength you need if you haven’t faced it yet? Stop worrying about all the ‘what ifs’ and focus on getting information. Identify the enemy is, and then devise a plan to defeat it. No one said you only had one chance.” He jumped out of the chair. “Now, speaking of enemies, let’s go finish up with this Fey and work out how to get out of this damned valley.”