“In two weeks, this is over,” sighed with relief one of the silhouettes.

“It was time! We’ll only have to bring them food once again. Then, we can enjoy the show,” the other one congratulated itself, with a grim smile on its lips.

“And we can take advantage of the elves remains,” added the first.

“You only think about eating, you’re hopeless,” the second laughed.

They stopped on the circular inscription engraved on the rock and dropped a drop of their own blood. As soon as the rock absorbed it, a slight reddish glow covered the magic circles, and both disappeared. Not only did blood serve as a catalyst to activate the portal, but it prevented other races from using it.

Both appeared inside a small cave, over another inscription similar to the first. Then, they left through the barrier that was hiding and protecting that place, floating over the huge cavern that was already familiar to them.

“There’s something strange,” perceived the first one.

“Yes, it’s very silent, very calm,” the second one agreed.

Both figures descended to check the situation, without even being able to imagine what they were going to find.

Thousands of corpses were piled up along the entire length of the cavern, the stillness being broken only by the movements of a few spiders, and by the faint sound of the ones giving a feast with the remains of their fellows.

That terrified both of them, but not because of the presence of death, something they were already used to, but because of the consequences that resulted from the death of those arachnids. That meant they had failed in their plan, and that their Lord would be furious.

They decided to descend to examine the bodies. At least, they had to find out how it had happened, or they would be tied to a pole in broad daylight, letting the sun gradually incinerate their skin.

They spent hours dissecting dozens of spiders, and the only conclusion they could draw was that they had been poisoned with some kind of unknown substance, a substance that had lost its effect, and of which there was no trace left.

They had no other clue, so they went back through the portal with a heavy heart, fearing the moment when they reported such a failure to their Lord. They didn’t know which or who they had been, how they had found the place, and could only speculate on how it had happened. However, they didn’t try to flee. They were aware that they could never escape their Lord, and that the consequences would be much worse.

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Elsa frowned. They hadn’t yet managed to contact the third candidate, the one with whom she was sure that victory would be assured. It was said that she was ruthless, that she had even killed without hesitation others of her same race, all who hadn’t acknowledged her as her queen.

There were several objects in the treasure that were of no use to them, but perhaps she might be interested. They were objects that needed a dark magic, magic to which the race of her candidate had affinity. She hoped she could tempt her, although Elsa knew she had to handle the matter carefully. That candidate could be too greedy, and may try to appropriate the rest of the treasure. She would need a contingency plan.

All this, of course, if they managed to find and convince her. The most they had been able to do was leave a message, but she didn’t know when she would receive it. Or if she had already, and had decided to make them wait, or ignore them.

It was the last piece she was missing. She trusted victory against the visitor without her, but she wanted to make sure. She couldn’t allow Eldi Hnefa to escape alive.

Melia watched the events around the visitor with concern. There were no plants with which she could contact inside the mountain, so she was blind once he entered. It was obvious that the situation was more dangerous than expected, and she could only trust that he could overcome those dangers.

The dryad’s face drew a smile when she sensed they had arrived, casting her worries away.

“Mom!” they both exclaimed, throwing themselves into her arms.

She hugged her children. As much as they weren’t her own blood, she loved them as if they were. She had raised them, educated them, taught them and trained them. She had seen them grow, cry and laugh. She was their mother, and they were her children.

“Look what dad gave us!” said the man with black hair and golden eyes, excited as a child.

Both drew two identical swords, whose power was appreciable, a power that was multiplied when they both fought together, making them even more powerful than they already were.

She smiled at them again, and encouraged them to do a display, since she knew they were looking forward to it.

Then, they talked about him, about the meeting with his daughter after so much time, about what the dryad herself knew about his movements, at least as far as she could tell them.

They stayed late at night, and the twins ended up falling asleep on their mother’s legs, as if they were still those children from seven decades ago. Both Lidia and Líodon were adults, but, when they were with her, they still behaved as somewhat spoiled children. Even her grandson was like that, but only if his parents and uncle weren’t close. He was too shy.

She looked at the sky, wondering again if they could all get together as a family. But the future isn’t something that can be foreseen just like that. All she could do was wait, with fear and hope.

The calm face of her children and their quiet breathing brought her back to the present. It was useless to worry about a future she couldn’t control. For now, she would enjoy her time with two of the beings she loved most in the world. Unfortunately, due to both her responsibilities and theirs, they couldn’t see each other as often as they would like.

She raised her face to the sky, while humming a song as only dryads can do. It sounded sweet and relaxing. It was as if the breeze was caressing the leaves of the trees. As if the waters of a river flowed a few meters away. It was deep. It was intimate. The song of the birds didn’t take long to join the melody, and also did insects and other inhabitants of the forest.

The next day, the people from the surrounding area felt more refreshed than usual, since their dreams had been extraordinarily pleasant. They even had the feeling that there were more flowers than usual, and that a pleasant warmth floated in the forest.