"Do they all smell?" Vera asked. 

"No, not all of them," I replied. "Some of them could even talk."

"What?"

"A few have lived for a very long time."

"How?"

"These monsters survive and live by tricking others."

Light began to recede from the cave as if retreating from the darkness within. If we did not find the children within the night, we knew that they were most likely gone from this world. The air around us became more foreboding as gloom set on the Elves. I could feel the stare from Vera as she looked to me for guidance. I steadied myself and pulled out some rope from my bag.

"Tie yourselves around the waist with this rope," I said to the others. "So we won't get lost in the darkness."

They all looked to me and nodded.

We quickly made a line and secured each other with the rope. I led the charge with Vera behind me, Darius was after Vera and Lenard after Darius. I planned to use the rope to help climb the North Mountains, so there was a considerable length of it. While we were all bound together by the rope, we still had some distance and free range of motion from each other. Vera had a sword in her hand and Lenard prepared his bow.

I readied my broken Mithril sword for what we might face next.

The moonlight would not come out so soon as the sun was still disappearing from the horizon outside. We had to flail around in the darkness until the moon touched the night sky. I walked further into the inner workings of the cave as the others followed me. Time seem to stagnate as we walked through the caves. All the light that once pierced into the caves soon disappeared. Vera seemed nervous as I heard her erratic breathing behind me.

"It's dark," Vera whispered. "I can't see."

"Close your eyes for a bit and let them settle to the dark," I whispered.

Our progress slowed as we waited for our vision to adjust.

"How are we going to find the children?" Vera whispered to me.

"We need to make some distance inside first and if Lenard is a ranger worth his salt, he should be able to find them," I whispered back.

I could hear Lenard give a snort in the darkness.

After some time, my eyes adjusted to the pitch black darkness and the contour of the caves started to form in my vision. The caves of the North Mountains were lined with a thick grime. There were areas inside the cave perforated with seemingly bottomless holes. Jagged rocks and narrow passageways were in abundance as well inside the mountain. The mountains themselves were made out of minerals like a moon rock and other exceptionally rare materials.

Those rare materials were the only reason why I came through here before with the Hero and my former companions.

Pathways inside the mountains led around the caves like a maze. Some paths might lead you underground while others to the top of the North Mountains. Traversing the caves of the North Mountain by itself was already treacherous. The topography of the North Mountains was horrendous in nature too. This was one of the very reasons why people stayed away from the North Mountains. It was a natural border divider between us and the Demons to further north.

Yet the dangers of the Mountain terrain and its inner workings wasn't what frightened everyone.

The inner landscape of the caves reflected the cruel ways of the monsters living here. Old blood seems to stain parts of the cave while bones littered other areas. Any living being caught here or outside the North Mountains would be quickly devoured. The creatures in here often fought with one another for territory or food. They were horrors not meant to be seen by the outside world.

If it wasn't to find these children, I wouldn't have dared enter the caves at night.

I hoped from having seen the Ghasts that the children had passed through this way. With them so close to the entrance, the children should not be too far off. I only guessed that the Ghasts had seen the children. Ghasts would only take the forms of beings that they had seen before using their shadow magic. Ghasts did not have eyes but used magic to see their surroundings.

We were in their territory and a prime delicacy for these monsters.

A cold breeze whizzed through the caves and became a needed relief from the feeling of dread. We continued our way and the sound of our steps reverberated clearly throughout the cave. I could only assume that the other Ghasts were not yet awakened by our presence. The pressure was mounting over me and I felt some goosebumps as sweat dripped from my forehead. After a couple of steps, I tripped over a rock and stumbled to the ground.

The rope tightened around my waist and the others behind me became startled.

"What happened!?" Vera whispered.

"What is it!?" Lenard whispered.

"I tripped," I whispered back as I picked myself off the ground.

I was embarrassed by my momentary clumsiness until I saw what was in front of me. A steep cliff was only a few feet in front of where I had fallen. Had I not fallen beforehand, I would not have seen it until it was too late. I didn't want to know what laid below the steep cliff and I didn't intend to find out. But then I noticed something else as well from my little stumble.

A set of small footprints were beneath me, they seem to go away from the cliff to a passageway through the wall.

If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

"Footprints!" I said.

"Lenard, come check," Vera whispered.

I moved out of the way for Lenard who knelt on the ground to inspect it.

"The size and length are indeed a child's but…" Lenard continued. "These tracks are…days old."

"What?" I said.

"These tracks aren't going to the cliff but coming from them," Lenard said.

"So close," Darius said.

I gazed over to Darius who was eerily quiet in our march inside the North Mountains.

"We'll definitely find your children," Vera whispered to Darius.

"No, you won't," Darius replied. "Because I don't have any children."

Darius suddenly cut the rope connecting him to Vera and pushed her off the cliff. I dropped down to the floor as I felt some resistance from the rope and held on. I was sliding off until I used my sword to stab into the ground and stop any momentum. Vera fell off the cliff and dangled on the rope before the black hole. I looked over to Darius in anger who smirked at me.

"Vera!" Lenard shouted.

The sound of his shout echoed throughout the caves and a rumbling could be felt.

Lenard readies his bow and fired an arrow at Darius. The arrow pierced Darius and dispersed his body apart like it was a shadow. A black mist oozed off of Darius and revealed his true form, a Ghast. The arrow was stuck on his body but it didn't threaten his life. Darius tried to move away but a rope still bound Lenard and Darius together.

While they fought, I struggled to pull up Vera with the rope.

Lenard shot at Darius again and used the rope as resistance to prevent his movement. Darius pulled on the rope and flung Lenard towards him. Lenard could not fight the strength of the monster as he flew towards Darius defenseless. Darius slashed at Lenard and cut the rope off that bound them with his claws. Lenard clutched his wounds as they bled while he knelt on the ground.

Soon the cavern started to light up in a faint white glow. Moonlight had begun trickling inside the North Mountains and the cavern reflected it. I would see the grotesque form of Darius and his true face. The Ghasts from earlier might have been his partners. The Elves whose forms they took were most likely dead already. We had been tricked and lured here by this Ghast.

"Monster!" I said.

Darius looked at me and smiled with his jagged teeth.

"Die obediently and feed my master," Darius said.

Vera finally climbed up the rope and safely came back to the cliff.

"Vera look after Lenard!" I said.

I use my sword to cut the rope which connected me to Vera.

Dashing towards the Ghast I fought him with my broken blade. The monster's claws were as tough as the Mithril sword and countered my blows easily. Darius was moving erratically and I couldn't grasp a sense of his movements. I stabbed at the monster who leaped in the air and landed on my back. He plunged his sharp teeth into my shoulder and ripped out a chunk of meat.

I howled in pain as my blood seeped through my cloak.

I threw the Ghast off and immediately held my shoulder. Darius spun around the air and landed on his feet. I held up my blade and hesitated a bit as I sized up the distance to him. Darius seemed to be mocking me with a snicker. I was going to give this monster a big shock and clutched my sword tight.

I flashed forward over to the Ghast who was surprised at my sudden movement. Darius raised up his hand in defense and I obliged by cutting it from his arm. I spit at the monster and give him a kick away from me. The Ghast screamed in pain as his blood poured out from his hand. Darius flailed his arm and some of the blood spurted on my face.

I became temporarily blinded by the blood that hit my eyes.

"Demitri! Watch out!" Vera yelled.

I felt a sharp pain in my stomach as it cut across my gut.

"Demitri!"

I swung my sword around in defense and tried to rub the blood from my eyes.

"Vera!" Lenard said.

I could hear Vera shriek and a rush of emotions came to me.

Wiping the blood off my face I saw the Ghast holding Vera around her neck. Darius had his back to the steep cliff while he held onto Vera. He was goading me to come forward as he kept Vera hostage. I wasn't going to let Vera die by this monster. I calmed my breathing but my anger didn't subside.

I made my move quickly before the monster could react.

In an instant again, I flashed to Darius and stabbed him in the side. He released his hold on Vera and I pull her away from the cliff with my free hand. In that moment the Ghast held onto me as he fell backward into the cliff behind him. I couldn't use my skill to flash away and despair came to me. I tried to free myself but the Ghast gripped my arm and pulled me down with him.

I could see Vera and Lenard's shock as I went with the monster off the cliff.

"Demitri!!"

The cave was glowing brighter with the moonlight being reflected inside but I was falling back into darkness.

After they screamed my name, I couldn't hear anything nor could I see anything.

The silence of the cave was almost deafening and I tumbled down into a dark abyss below.