Author note: second longest chapter this week. Quite story heavy, I hope you enjoy. ^_^ 

~Day 51~

Ellephwen is yet to return, I suppose her returning in the middle of the night would be unlikely, but I wonder what they could be talking about that's taking so long. Well, the future of our entire continent I suppose...

Samora still seemed fine, a stark contrast to when Ellephwen was in the Kingdom of Ashes... 

Still, despite the worry that I was feeling, I can't help also feeling excited. Today I will challenge the Shadow Megalit, I'm not expecting to lose, not in the slightest, I beat the other two boss Megalits relatively easily, but I get the feelings the Shadow Megalit is more powerful than them.

I greeted Rugtug as usual, the Tugglits were almost done with the Fel Cissos corpse, all of the Tugglits who have the intelligence to wield weapons are wearing quite competent sets of bone armour. Also whilst some of them still wield stone spears or pickaxes most of them now have weapons made out of bone. Even if they don't become an incredible fighting force in a years times, they could probably still help, at least against the weaker monsters drawn by Laviases aura.

I carried on past Rugtug and carried on down to the third floor. More Rexes had come out of the hunting ground, from my count there appears to be six of them now,  that's a lot more than yesterday, there are three in the main chamber than connects the tunnels... Hmm, I really want to try fighting them, but challenging a few at once... No, I need to fight the Shadow Megalit at full strength, I'm certain of that. So I'll ignore these Rexes for now, although it's going to be a little harder to get past them all without being noticed. It might be easier to try to sprint straight past them, they'll probably notice me, but I don't think they'll pursue me, they're not stupid so they should realise they can't catch me... I think...

I darted through the middle of the small group, I kept my eye on the Rexes as I ran, they showed no sign of following me, I'm almost certain that at least two of them noticed me, trying to chase something much faster than you isn't worth it I suppose.

I stopped running after I reached the fourth floor, there was no need to, I can fight the normal slow Megalits quite easily so there's no need to try and dodge them. I reached the Shadow Megalits room easily, I killed one normal Megalit on the way, there really aren't that many on this floor, I only saw one other on my way here.

I looked inside the room, I could not see the Megalit, the strange unnatural darkness completely enveloped every corner of it. I activated my shield and held it close in front of me, I could hear him breathing, but I could not see him at all, my Night Vision was doing nothing... I cautiously walked further in... 

*WHACK!* 

Something cut in to the flesh on the side of my face, my body was flung sideways as blood spurted from my wound. The room must have been larger than I thought, I was flung far, but hit no wall. I twisted my body to land on my feet. 

That must have the been the Megalit... So he hides himself in his  own magically created shadows, that means he has the intelligence to use magic and the patience to wait for the opportune time to strike... I wonder if he has mortal level intelligence.

I raised my voice "Hellooo! Can you use speech?"

...No reply, so either he's smart enough to hide his cards, or he's not smart enough to use speech... I'm going to go with the latter, he seems the type to be arrogant enough to brag to me during a battle...

Maybe that's an unjust stereotype?

*Swoosh!*

Another swipe came in from behind, I was prepared this time so I managed to avoid the majority of the damage. Three claws still dug in to my back, but I wasn't sent flying at least...

I wonder... How do I fight this creature then... I think now would be a good time to have magic, but I don't have any.

Another swipe came from the left of my body, I jumped sideways, his claws reached my arm scraping it... He's faster than the other Megalits, but now that I'm used to his speed I think I can dodge him.

 Several more strikes came towards me  in quick succession, I tried dodging in and out of them, but a lot of the attacks connected. 

My torso and face began to get a little torn up, blood oozed out of the wounds, it wasn't actually doing that much damage to me, most of the cuts were very shallow. Still, at this rate there isn't much I can do, if I keep him here maybe I can...

*Crack*

I brought my shield in from the side slamming it towards where the Megalits strikes were coming from. It sounds like I cracked something. The Shadows seemed to regress and I could see a little better, in fact I could see the black fur of the Megalit. He was clutching the side of his head, blood seeped between his clawed fingers and flowed down his arm. So the attack to his head caused his magic to fade a little? It must have been a spell that requires concentration to keep going.

Still... He seems unable to move... Don't tell me that the Shadow Megalit is weak physically, I suppose when you create literal darkness and shadows you don't really need to be that physically tough. He does also seem to be a few feet shorter than the normal Megalits.

Being that weak though... I walked over to the bleeding Megalit to take a closer look, he's definitely injured... That's disappointing, I was hopi- expecting him to be the strongest of the Megalits... Well, depending on who your are that's entirely true, he could probably wipe out a room of well trained soldiers with ease and he did take off half of my health in the end... I guess I'll just finish him off now. I lifted Skullcrusher above my head and swung it down.

Overall level has increased from [Level 28] to [Level 30]

[Amplified Vision lvl 7] has increased to [Amplified Vision lvl 8]

[{Mushroom Helmet lvl 47}] has increased to [{Mushroom Helmet lvl 48}]

[Warriors Will lvl 29] has increased to [Warriors Will lvl 30]

[Warriors Strength lvl 19] has increased to [Warriors Strength lvl 20]

It's been a while since my Amplified Vision levelled up, I suppose I was straining my eyes quite heavily during the battle. Hmm, since the Shadow Megalit died his magic in the room faded, it was very similar to a lot of the other boss rooms, a small stream and a bunch of bones and corpses. I can also see the Megalit clearly, his fur is... Beautiful, it was obsidian black with a touch of dark purple as the light touched it. It probably wouldn't made very good armour, but on top of looking good, it's thick so it's probably quite warm. I'm definitely taking it home with me..

I skinned the Megalit, then buried the remains... 

Then, I headed home, there was nothing else to do today, I want to explore the Iron Wolves den tomorrow, that will give me more time to explore, the deeper in to the dungeon i get, the less in a day I have to explore it... Luckily the floors are getting smaller and smaller, which sort of cancels it out.

The Shadow Megalits hide was quite light, so it didn't take me much longer than usual to make it home, I set up the hide with my other hide and leather, then went inside.

What greeted me was Samora and Ellephwen sitting at the table drinking tea, next to them sitting on an odd transparent pink platform was Belric. A very comical image really, the platform wasn't much bigger than a normal seat, it had a beautiful flowery pattern on it and seemed to be floating a few ft in the air. He looked entirely our of place on that tiny seat.

"Uh... Hello..." I said, whilst stifling a laugh.

Belric turned around. "Ah, yeah, you noticed?  It's hard to find a seat that works for me, the Floskin arch-mage was kind enough to teach me this magic." He scratched the back of his head and gave me one of his awkward smiles he seems to only give me.

Wait Floskin... That was one of my evolution options wasn't it?

"What's a Floskin?" I asked whilst walking over to the table to join them.

Ellephwen answered. "Ah, of course, that was one of your evolution choices wasn't it? The Floskin are dwarf sized plant monsters, their bodies are physically weak, but their magic power is incredibly high. To be taught magic by their arch-mage is quite an honour." Belric scratched his head and grinned bashfully at that remark, this one felt genuine...

Anyway... The Floskin are essentially sentient flowers? I'm really glad I didn't evolve into one of them. Wait a minute...

I knotted my brow. "Arch-mage? If the Floskin have an arch-mage does that mean they have some kind of kingdom or tribe?"

Ellephwen smiled placing her teacup down. "Yes child, it is as you guessed, the Floskin have an odd Kingdom made out of tree-houses connected by bridges made of magic, it's far west of where we live, quite near the Dwarven Kingdoms... The King wished to come, but it was quicker and easier for the arch-mage to come in his stead, they are close brothers, so the arch-mage had permission speak for him."

Huh, I'd never really thought about it before, monster kingdoms, for some reason I just assumed all monsters in the Great Rurrian forest were under the Ents rule... I mean I knew that many monsters lived in tribes, I've known about Goblins sine I was human after all, but that's completely different to a fullscale kingdom. I suppose it's because out of the sentient monsters I've encountered most have been like Ellephwen, independent and low in population, a Dryad kingdom simply wouldn't exist, their population is too small, after all Dryads can't reproduce with each other, they have to find partners of different races, even then the birthrate isn't particularly high.

 I wonder what other races have kingdoms? Gedill is a Treechild, so he is under the rule of the Ents and I have no idea what Belrics race is...

"Belric is a Bersus, Ellephwen and whilst they do not have a set kingdom, they have several tribes all relatively close to each other. The Bersus are strong and powerful warriors, but are oddly peaceful contrary to their appearance." Ellephwen read my mind again and answered my thoughts.

That would explain why Belric acts so different to his appearance, he comes from a contrary species..

"Can you actually tell us what happened now?" Samora crossed her arms.

Ah, she must have been waiting to hear what happened for a while...

Ellephwen chuckled. "Of course, I apologise Samora. Well, to begin with the meeting ended up even bigger than we thought, monsters from all corners of the forest turned up. Including figures like the Orc warlord Gresk 'Gutweaver' Hreglin and Wolfmother Telegrawl who have been at war for years now. Normally Gresk would attack Telegrawl on sight, but even he understood the gravity of the situation... After I explained what I had discovered and told them of my theory, there was a unanimous agreement. The fact that we have six reincarnated people of age at the moment is no coincidence, there are Gods helping us, but the Gods did not assist us last time, which means they knew we could win against Lavias. That means one of two things, Lavias has somehow become even more powerful whilst sleeping, or there's something worse than him coming..." Ellephwens eyes had turned serious, no one in the room was smiling anymore.

Something worse than a being that can destroy an entire continent with a single attack? I shuddered at the thought. What kind of beast has that power?

Belric picked up where Ellephwen left off. "For that reason, everyone there agreed to complete peace, even Gresk and Telegrawl shook hands. Something this big means we need as many warriors as we can get, so that means not getting them killed in a personal grudge-match. That's why, at least temporarily, we have created the Great Rurrian Alliance' an alliance of almost every powerful or prominent figure in the forest. The Alliance will work together to strengthen ourselves for any threat, we will make up for each other weaknesses and we will ensure that our world does not fall to Lavias or any other threat we face..." Belric paused to take another sip of tea.

That's... A big decision to be made in one day, I suppose time isn't exactly a luxury right now so it's not like I can blame them or anything...

Ellephwen carried on from where he stopped. "The first step, is to ensure complete peace and cooperation with the other members of our world, the Mortals, the Demons and the Elves... Our first step is to ensure that intelligent monsters not be hunted, as it is now whether you're a Dryad or a normal Grey Wolf, you're still considered just an animal, nothing more. We need the Mortals to pass a law that gives monsters with Mortal level intelligence the same rights as them, or at least one that makes the hunting of them illegal. To be honest, most Kingdoms would not agree to this under normal circumstances, which is why we haven't pursued it before, but everyone knows about the threat we face. That will increased our chances, I know at the least Melena will agree to this, I discussed that something like this might happen when I last talked to her, after some consideration she told me she would agree. She's never discriminated due to race to begin with."

That's... Quite a bit to take in, if this law is passed in any Kingdom, that would mean a massive change to our world... If the law is passed, then it would make other laws possible, such as monsters being allowed to live in mortal cities, or towns. Monsters allowed to join their military ranks. You don't really notice it here due to Queen Melenas influence, but even the most gentle of monsters are often hunted, just for being monsters, especially in places like the Great Kingdom of the Holy Church, a country ruled by their religion, a religion that sees Monsters as their enemies... I've heard from samora that the Kingdom is always having at least a small scale battle with several Lizardmen tribes... I doubt they'll agree to it no matter what...

Well anyway, after that the discussion was over, all of the Alliance members left for home to tell their people of the decision, of course not all members have 'people' some were like Ellephwen, independent, but influential monsters. The Floskin kingdom was given the task to contact the Dwarvern Kingdoms and the Hevenpar Empire, it's a bit difficult to judge whether or not either of those will agree, Dwarves can be awfully stubborn and the Empire is known to have quite an arrogant ruler, but not a stupid one, so it's a mystery how he'll react.

Belric stayed for dinner, then left immediately after. I once again noticed the difference in the way he treated me to the other two, a completely different smile. There's definitely something off about it.

It was quite late and Ellephwen was quite exhausted from the meeting, she said it lasted from dawn yesterday to dawn today, so she must have come back as soon as it ended. So because of that we decided to have a slightly early night, there was a lot going on so I don't think any of us will get as much sleep as we want to, we'll be too busy worrying...

I do hope the Queen does accept the law as Ellephwen trusts her too, it will make travelling a lot easier for me, I'll still be attacked by bandits and other such people, but it would be just a big a crime to attack me as it would a human. Theoretically of course, I'm sure there will be nobles who disagree with the law, so might disregard any such happenings on their land, but most of the Ashes nobles who would do such a thing are apparently too scared of the Queen to disobey her. So there's that at least.

There's no point worrying about it for now though, I've still got the dungeon to contend with after all.

~Day 52~

I slept surprisingly well, I wasn't expecting to due to what we talked about yesterday. Have I just adjusted to getting heavy news every few days now? I'm not sure whether that's a good or a bad sign...

Anyway, Ellephwens back now, properly this time, it's not her job to contact the Queen of Ashes, she's considered too high rank and too valuable to be used as a messenger. I'm thankful for that, it means she'll actually be home. 

Today I want to explore the rest of the fourth floor, I imagine it only consists of the Iron Wolves den and considering how large the Megalits territory is I don't think It will be very large.

I greeted Rugtug as usual and carried on my way, it seems as though he still hasn't finished the trinket he was making me, I'm not complaining, it's an item I wasn't even expecting to get in the first place. 

I noticed a problem when I reached the fourth floor... The Rexes doubled since the last time I came. There were two many for me to just dodge through now, which means I'm going to have to fight a few to get past. That kind of defeats my original plan of exploring the Iron Wolves den at full strength. It will also take some time away from my exploration time... Hmm, maybe if I just defeat a few of them it will leave an opening for me to get through.

Okay, I'll give it a shot.

To the right of me had the thinnest line, there were only two of them, I do wonder why the majority seem to be gathered in this main chamber in the first place, did they know I was coming? I did dodge past them twice yesterday after all.

I charged at the two Rexes and before the closest could react I had brought Skullcrusher down on his head, he fell forward weighted down by the impact of my attack. A bite came in from the second Rex, I activated my Shield to block his incoming jaw, his jaw clamped around the Shield. I used the chance to strike, after landing from my jump I leaped back up towards to second Rexes head and used all my strength to crush the underside of his open jaw.

*Snap*

A loud low snap was heard as the Rexes lower  jaw was snapped in half and became loose under his skin. The Rex began to writhe around in pain, by this point a lot of the other Rexes began to notice the commotion, I had to end it quickly. I stood over the first Rexes fallen body and brought Skullcrusher down to, well crush his skull. With him down I leaped back up to the second creature landing another powerful hit on his head. He stopped writhing in pain and fell to the ground without another noise. Before any of the other Rexes in the room could react I ran down the tunnel to the fourth floor.

Overall level has increased from [Level 30] to [Level 31]

[Polearm Novice lvl 10] has evolved into [Polearm Journeyman lvl 1]

Ah my Polearm skill evolved, that's excellent news, it wasn't the skill I most wanted to evolve, but I'm certainly not going to complain about it. Still, it would seem that despite their large size normal Cission Rexes aren't that tough, especially when compared to the first one I fought, I was a  lot lower level then and I also didn't have Skullcrusher, but the difference still seems high. I wonder if he was  a highly evolved Rex then? That seems likely, I think.

I arrived at the outskirts of the Iron Wolves den, turning around it looked like I wasn't followed. That's good then. Now both Ellephwen and Samora seemed oddly confident that I could fight the Iron Wolves as long as there were not too many at once, so I'll listen to their advice. 

I proceeded onwards until I saw my first Iron Wolf, or Iron Wolves specifically, a group of three of them in fact. I took a deep breath and readied Skullcrusher. I dug my foot in to the ground and sprinted towards the closest Wolf swinging Skullcrusher towards him, with a yelp the Wolf was sent a dozen feet sideways, the other two charged at me, they seem to be faster than any of the Wolves I've fought so far, but they're not as fast as I am. I dodged in between the two and swung skullcrusher in a circle hitting them both. Hmm, I noticed it earlier, but the impact is like hitting a Rex, so they have the defence of a Cission Rex, but have much higher speed. Okay, I can take care of them as long as I don't get sloppy.

With a few more hits, the battle was done, I sustained a small amount of damage, but not enough to cause any worry. The Iron Wolves would be deadly if I lost concentration, of that I'm certain, but if I can manage to dodge their speed, I can win. I also don't think it would be smart of me to challenge groups any larger than say, six or seven, judging from the fight just then, I think I could take care of another 2 or 3 at the same time, but any more would be pushing it. Well, luckily I have the speed to outrun them if I do encounter them.

Anyway, with that conclusion I carried on exploring the Iron Wolves den...

...

Small, that's the first word I would use to describe their den, it seems even smaller than the Megalits territory. I would have thought the more powerful Iron Wolves would have spread their territory in to the Megalits.. Actually maybe they did, I don't know how small the Iron Wolves den was say five years ago, maybe they're a recent addition to this floor. I find it unlikely as the theme of this dungeon is 'Wolves' of course, but the only other explanation I can think of is that the Iron Wolves just don't want more territory. 

There's evidence of that, their population seems relatively small, especially compared to the other Wolves, so maybe they have a low birthrate, the lack of Iron Wolf pups around backs that theory up as well. The Iron Wolves dens layout is just like the other Wolves, but I only saw about 3 children the entire time I was here, granted I didn't exactly venture far down the tunnel they were in as I still don't have any desire to kill children.

Well, it's not like I'm complaining, thanks to their low population I haven't seen a group any larger than four so far. Ah, the Iron Wolves do have one major difference to the other Wolves though, instead of just having say Elder Wolves, or Sabre-toothed Wolves, they have a few different types.  

There were large Iron Wolves that seemed bulkier, their fur seemed almost like literal Iron now as well, it was sharp and shined in the light, it also felt metallic to the touch. They had slightly better defence than the Megalits, but were just as fast as the other Iron Wolves, dangerous. Then there were the ones who had longer legs and thinner bodies, they were faster than normal Iron Wolves, but with the same defence,  which is also quite dangerous. Finally were some slightly smaller Iron Wolves, strange tattoo like markings covering their bodies making strange swirls and jagged lightning like symbols. These Iron Wolves could use Storm Magic, or at least they seemed to be able to summon lightning, I got a surprise when I first fought one of them. They also have the same speed and defence of a normal Iron Wolf, despite being smaller. 

That brings me on to their pack leader, which I found in a room with what seemed to be a man made platform in, that the beast slept on. I wonder if the Lonely Wolf made it with his magic as the Dungeon boss. Anyway, the pack leader had all three qualities, he was larger, although only by about 4 ft, had a thinner body and could use some form of Storm Magic. His fur seemed to be made out of actual Iron and he had a very dominant aura. I grinned in anticipation when I first saw him... 

However, the way down to the fifth floor was not behind him, in fact I found the way down in just a random tunnel like on the first floor. There was something odd about the way down though, it was just as large as the previous sloped tunnel down to this floor, but it had stairs, not a ramp, but stairs. The entrance to it was built up with a decorative frame depicting the monsters of this dungeon killing various mortal races. The lines of the wall had the same magical light as this floor, but the lights were seemingly coming from lamps hanging down from nails dug in to the walls. It was odd and seemed a bit off coming from how the dungeon was so far. I wanted to go down, but I decided to stick with my usual rule of only going further down after defeating all the bosses on the floor, this of course left me in much anticipation, but I could hold out for another day or two. 

After all that, I left to go home for the day, with all of the Wolves I fought I did actually manage to level up a few times.

Overall level has increased from [Level 31] to [Level 33]

[{Mushroom Helmet lvl 48}] has increased to [{Mushroom Helmet lvl 49}]

[Polearm Journeyman lvl 1] has increased to [Polearm Journeyman lvl 3]

[Kingsfoot lvl 8] has increased to [Kingsfoot lvl 9]

[Warriors Heart lvl 29] has increased to [Warriors Heart lvl 30]

[Warriors Will lvl 21] has increased to [Warriors Will lvl 22]

It ended up being a pretty productive day. On my way back, I thought about the Iron Wolves pack leader, if I want to fight him on even grounds, then I'll need magic too, I have the Earth Magic skill and Ellephwen says I have an affinity for it. I'll ask her if she can teach me anything when I get back.

...

"Earth Magic? It might be a bit difficult for me to teach you, child. I could only teach you how to manipulate Moonwood as it only requires an incantation, a lot of magic require the use of specific poses or arm movements to cast, at least for those who are new to the world of magic. As you become more skilled you can complete many spells just by thinking about it. However, until then you may use this." Ellephwen went over to her box of old books and pulled out what seemed to be one of an anthology. 

She handed me the book, it was titled 'The Dryads Guide to Magic IV: Earth Magic' by Lady Allifirus. It seems to be part of an ancient collection of books that guide the reader in the ways to perform every magic a Dryad can learn. Ellephwen then told me that a lot of the magic in these books has been mostly forgotten by now.

I found a spell that might be useful against the Iron Wolf pack leader and got to work. It was a spell that formed a sort of earthen body armour around my body, it said that it didn't actually touch my body, but floated a few centimetres away from my skin, this seemed perfect to fight magic users, the spell would have to get through the armour first before it could reach me. Of course against melee attacks it didn't do that much, but I've already got enough defence against melee attacks.  

I carried on practising until bed time, Samora was pouting a little when I said that I didn't want to learn anything new about the Goblin Tongue today as I was busy. I don't think she was genuinely upset, she was just being cute.

Still I finally managed to, whilst not master the spell, at least accomplish it.  My Earth Magic skill grew a level, as far as I know magic skills work a little differently. Reaching max level just means you have mastered how to use them, it does not means your spells are more powerful, so even a master mage could just be launching a volley of incredibly weak spells at you. Of course a master mage would be smart enough to realise they need to train their Magic Attack up as well as their magic skills. Still the attack should naturally grow as you use the spells more, so if a master magician does reach max level in any of his magic skills he should already be a very formidable mage. 

Anyway, with that finished my mana is depleted and I am exhausted, so I went to bed and drifted off to sleep quite fast. 

~Day 53~

Since I forgot about it yesterday, I told Ellephwen and Samora about the stairway to fifth floor. Samora seemed to think that it's just because I'm getting closer to the Lonely Wolf, so I shouldn't worry. Ellephwen, however is a lot more cautious, she told me that if I do use it I should be very careful, a sudden change in a dungeons appearance apparently means it's a trap most of the time. I wonder if there would suddenly be traps after four floors, there hasn't been a single one yet. I also wonder why anyone would make a trap look completely different to the rest of their dungeon, shouldn't you try to conceal it? Surely making it look different completely defeats the purpose. Ellephwen read my mind and told me that dungeon bosses often do it to torment the adventurers, they fill the rooms with powerful weapons or other items, so the adventurers must risk themselves to get said treasures. 

That makes more sense to me, but other than on the corpses of dead adventurers I haven't seen any treasures. Still, that doesn't mean I'm going to ignore her advice, it's always helped so far, so I'll trust in her judgement and be extraordinarily careful when exploring down it.

That can wait until tomorrow though, today it's the Iron Wolves pack leader I'm challenging. I'm of course also using it as an opportunity to test my new spell. First of though, I had to get through the Rexes, their numbers don't seem to have increased by much, I think a few must stay behind just to watch over the surviving young's growth. 

To get past them, it looks like I'll have to kill a few again, this time it looks like I could probably get past one who appeared to be slightly away from the others, but close enough that trying to get past would probably fail for me. Which is troublesome...

I dispatched of him as quickly as I could, but one of the others caught on quite quickly, maybe they were prepared today due to what happened yesterday... Either way my leg was caught in his massive jaws. I didn't really want to have to regrow my leg, it would leave me tired so I would have to wait another day to challenge the pack leader. So I activated my Mushroom Bubble, the Bubble expanded around me forcing the Rexes jaw open wide enough that it broke, getting me an accidental second kill. 

I ran down to the fourth floor and deactivated the bubble manually, I didn't really want to use that skill, it uses up almost half of my mana and I wanted as much as possible for the upcoming fight. My Mana isn't exactly incredible, it's better than the average low ranks human mage, but in my previous life there was a rumour that the Hevenpar Empires Arch mage had a pool of around 50 000 mana, some said that he had unlocked the secret to immortality because of it, hold on, now that I think about it maybe he evolved to a High Human and is still alive today? Ellephwen did say that whilst it was incredibly rare there were a few cases of humans evolving, it's the only way I can think of that a human could attain so much mana. Most humans average at about 200 mana,  I'm certainly stronger than the average human by far, but there are truly some terrifying people out there.

Anyway, I'm digressing again, the point is it costs 20 mana to activate the Earthen Armour spell, then another 2 mana for every second it is active, which means I've cut my already short running time in half, now it will only last a few minutes... 

So this will have to be a short battle, my magic defence is quite high, but it wouldn't do much against a powerful monsters lightning attacks.

I made my way through the Iron Wolves den avoiding as many battles as possible, I couldn't avoid a few of course, but luckily it wasn't enough to leave much of a dent in my health or stamina. I reached the pack leaders room quickly enough, the pack leader was still sleeping on the man-made platform in the middle of the room. There were no other Wolves in the room with him and from what I've seen the Iron Wolves aren't a species for cunning ambushes, they seem quite straight forward really. Therefore, it should just be the pack leader I'm facing.

Stolen story; please report.

As soon as I stepped in to the room, the pack leaders ears pricked up, he was growling before he stood up, lightning flickering around him. I performed the required hand movements and activated my new spell. The Earth spun around my body and formed a protective armour, even though my face was completely covered I somehow could see the world around normally. The pack leader seemed surprised, but launched a volley of lightning anyway, now was the moment of truth.

*BZZ!*

*BIZZING!*

*BUZZZ!*

Small chunks of my magic armour fell off and the force pushed me back a few steps, but my body war unharmed. It works perfectly, I now have a countermeasure against magic, which means I can freely attack. Although, one downside is that everything is covered by the Earthen Armour, including Skullcrusher, my physical damage has gone down, but I can still win this.

I charged at the beast, he recovered quickly from his surprise and lunged at me, he was faster than we and he jaw wrapped around my body, I must be slower with this armour as well, sh*t! His teeth pierced the armour as he sent lightning through the teeth in to the armour. I felt a strange pain like something was squeezing my body as the magical lightning ran throughout my body. 

tensing my muscles and bringing Skullcrusher down on the Wolf head I managed to loosen his jaws grip on my body. I kneed upwards causing the Wolf to be knocked over backwards. A double hit, one from the top then from the bottom. It's just as I thought however, around a third of my health was gone from that single attack, it seems I'm quite weak to magic, perhaps even more so to lightning magic...

The pack leader returned to his feet and charged for a second assault, I couldn't muster all my speed so I had to fight a little differently, it will mean that my mana depletes even faster, but I'll have to use my Shield and end it quickly.

*PANG!*

The large Wolf ran head-first in to the newly appeared shield, he became temporarily disorientated, I used the opportunity to finish him off quickly. My mana was already down to less than 100. I moved my shield out of the way and swung Skullcrusher towards his head, the beast tried to dodge the attack, but it only caused Skullcrusher to pierce his eye. His eye popped and blood burst out of the socket. The Wolf growled in pain, I brought Skullcrusher around for another swing, this time hitting him squarely in the side of the head. 

His skull was still intact though and he was still alive, clearly heavily injured to the point he could no longer fight, but he was still alive. An incredibly resilient warrior, really. I'd noticed it with a lot of the other Wolf subspecies, but in general they seem like quite an honourable species, if you forget the Venom Wolves, of course. 

Just as I thought he would, the Iron Wolf lowered his head in defeat, his one remaining beckoning for me to finish the job... So I obliged him.

Overall level has increased from [Level 33] to [Level 35]

[{Mushroom Helmet lvl 49}] has increased to [{Mushroom Helmet lvl 50}]

[Polearm Journeyman lvl 3] has increased to [Ploearm Journeyman lvl 4]

[Warriors Heart lvl 30] has increased to [Warriors Heart lvl 31]

[Intermediate Regeneration lvl 10] has evolved in to [Greater Regeneration lvl 1]

[Earth Magic lvl 2] has increased to [Earth Magic lvl 3]

Ohhhh. My regeneration evolved from that fight? It might sound odd, but it's a shame I wasn't particularly physically injured that much, I would have been able to see the effect of the evolution if I had been. 

Well, that's the last boss of this floor defeated, a boss that if I hadn't used Earthen Armour I would have probably had to retreat, or I might of died, either way I learnt the magic I needed and it worked out well.

I won't take this one's hide, I'll bury him whole, I have enough leather and hide to last a while. Besides the Armoured Megalit still had a more solid body that this pack leader. After burying the almost metallic beast, I headed back, making sure to sneak through the gap I made arlier in the Rexes defences.

...

...

I arrived home without anything happening, since I hadn't done masses today it would be a while until dinner. Since I had spare time I decided to carry on my resistance levelling, I increased the concentration of the venom and did the usual process.

Since the venom was a lot more potent and actually began to heavily damage the skin of my hand, I managed to level it twice. My poison resistance however only levelled once. I wonder if there's a way to increase the power of the poison, I'm just using the pure liquid form of the poison I found in the chamber of the Fel Cissos, but it seems relatively weak compared to the Fel Cissos poison itself... 

Maybe I shouldn't mess with it too much, that could lead to me doing unnecessary damage to myself.

It was starting to get dark, so I headed in for dinner. 

After dinner, it was back to the Goblin Tongue as usual, Ellephwen was back now, so she joined in again, much to Samora chagrin. 

Today was more general expressions and complicated words and sentences. Even Ellephwen was learning words she hadn't even heard before. Samora looked very smug about it.

After that we all went to bed, I told the two of them that I would be going down the stairs tomorrow, after hearing was Ellephwen said Samora seems to be worrying about it now as well, they both trust me enough to be able to survive in the dungeon as long as I don't find the Lonely Wolf, but they still worry endlessly. Not that I can blame them though, I wouldn't be much different in their positions.

Still, they couldn't take away my excitement for tomorrow, if the fourth floor had the feared Iron Wolves, then what Wolves inhabited the fifth?

~Day 54~

I'm excited, today I will see what the fifth floor has to offer me. As I left for the dungeon Ellephwen told me to make sure to stay calm and be careful. It may be that the stairs indicate a huge level difference between what I've face so far and what is to come. I hadn't thought about that possibility either, I wonder why both of Ellephwens predictions are so negative, is she a pessimist..?

It would be quite odd to remain an optimist after what happened with Lavias I suppose, I wonder if that's why Gedills so miserable?

...No, Gedills just miserable, I don't think there's a reason for it.

When I reached the end of the second floor I noticed Rugtug and the Tugglits had completely finished off the corpse of the Fel Cissos, they were also heavily kitted out, most of them now had bone weapons or tools. It did look almost comical on their tiny bodies. Rugtug thanked me once again for the bones and told me he was almost done with the trinket, I told him not to worry, but I was certainly still excited to see what he would create.

Carrying on to the Rexes, I found that their numbers hadn't increased anymore, meaning there was still the same gap for me to get through, so I used the opportunity to sprint past, really this days going quite well... Hmm, maybe I shouldn't have thought that, that's usually a prompt to suddenly summon something to really ruin your day...

Well, it is at least in all of the stories I read when I was a human. Hmm, it doesn't seem to be in real life though, I arrived at the stairs without any issue, I only had to kill a few small groups of Wolves to get here too... I suppose there's nothing else to do, but venture down.

...

After a short while of walking slowly down, I saw no signs of traps, so I don't think Ellephwens first theory was right, the second could still be. anyway, I finally reached the bottom of the stairs, it came out to a giant oval room, around the edge of the room was a moat of fresh looking water, it was quite a well lit room and had four large pillars attaching the ceiling to the floor. On the walls were thousands of small battle scenes surrounded by some sort of ancient lettering, a language I hadn't seen before... On the opposite side of where I was, was a giant door, it was about 50 ft tall and was dark red, a small bridge led over the moat just as it did this side. The last things of note in the room were the two giant Wolf statues in giant frames in the wall, both around 40ft and with the appearance matching that of the description that the adventurers gave of the Lonely Wolf...

This really doesn't seem like a normal floor... Is what Ellephwen said about the level of the monsters suddenly increasing true I wonder? I took a single step in to the room.

*SCREEECH, SLAM!*

Behind me a loud screech echoed, I turned quickly to find a gate had descended from above the entrance blocking me, I tried to force it open, but there appeared to be a strange powerful barrier stopping me from even touching it...

This isn't good, it appears that I'm trapped, could this possibly be the Lonely Wolf intervening... 

Hmm...

I guess, I can only go forward?

I took a few more steps in to the room, the two giant Wolf statues heads turned to face me. I pulled Skullcrusher out and got in to a combat stance... The statues didn't move from their spot, they just stared at me... Well that isn't slightly creepy at all... 

I kept Skullcrusher out and carried on walking, the statues kept a fixed stare on me as I moved, when I reached the giant door a strange mechanism seemed to spring in to action as the giant door slowly opened. It opened just enough for me to squeeze through... What I saw on the other side was... Surprising.

((So you finally arrived, young Dryad.)) 

A booming deep voice seemed to appear in my head, I'm guessing it came from the hulking black mass lying down on the other side of the room I came to, it's two gigantic blood red eyes stared at me, unblinking. This almost castle sized monster must be the Lonely Wolf, he's even bigger than the adventurers told Ellephwen, he must be about 65 ft tall... I kept my weapon ready, but honestly, I don't think there's much I could do.

"You must be the Lonely Wolf." I kept my voice as level as I could, even with my skills, I was just as terrified as I was excited.

The Wolf narrowed his eyes and nodded his gigantic head. ((Ah, 'the Lonely Wolf' is it? Is that what they are calling me? It's fitting, I suppose.))

He didn't seem to be moving, I also couldn't see any signs of aggression from him... In fact he was just lying on the ground, looking very relaxed. So either he's not going to attack, or he's just confident enough that I couldn't even scratch him..

"Are you not going to attack me?" I asked cautiously.

He raised his head slightly. ((Are you worried about the fact that I locked you in here? I apologise for that, but I thought you might run away otherwise.))

I really feel as though he has no hostile intentions... This is completely different to what I thought, didn't he attack those adventurers as soon as they saw him?

I lowered Skullcrusher and sat down. "I was under the impression that you were aggressive.

((Ah, so there were rumours such as that? Alas, they were correct for a while, but a few hundred years with no one to talk to and nothing to disturb you can... Change you. I have had time to think, for decades now I have just wanted someone to talk to, even if it's just for a day...Hmmph, 'Lonely' is correct indeed.))

He just wanted to talk? So am I the first to get this far in decades? I suppose I should be proud of myself... Still something is confusing me.

"If you wanted to talk to someone, could not have just.. left the dungeon?" I asked whilst scratching my chin.

The hulking Wolfs eyes filled with sadness. ((Becoming a dungeon boss was not a blessing, it was a curse... A dungeon boss has complete control over his dungeon, but can never leave it. I am stuck here, until the day I die.)) The Wolf rested his head on his paw.

The poor beast... I had no idea that dungeons had such a rule, it's no wonder he was so aggressive for a while, eternal confinement would turn most beings insane.

"I am sorry about your situation... However could you not have just gotten rid of all the monsters inhabiting the dungeon then?"

((I have power over the dungeon itself, not over those who inhabit it, I have tried to contact the Tugglit known as Rugtug, but it would put him in danger if I were to connect our floors. I first designed this dungeon in anger, so it was made to be the complete opposite of what I desire now. In my grief and anger, I locked myself out so I could never change the core structure... If I were to attempt to connect myself with Rugtug, the proceeding tunnel would connect with every other floor as well, which would cause powerful monsters to flood in to the Tugglits home... No, unfortunately, you are the first to arrive, young Dryad.))

"I'm... Not sure what to say... That sounds awful... I apologise, but I must ask, however why did you feel such anger? Does it have something to do with what happened to your people?" I asked. It was a little bit of a personal question, but I think that this Wolf is quite a gentle creature, at least for now.

He narrowed his eyes. ((Tell me child, what do you know about my people?))

Was he angry? "I didn't mean to upset you... I only know that your subspecies was thought to have gone extinct 9000 years ago." 

The Wolfs eyes filled with regret. ((That is... correct. Tell me child, who told you of this?))

He's not going to try to kill Belric is he? He looks regretful so I don't think he will... Besides he can't leave, I suppose it's fine to tell him, right?

"His name is Belric. He is part of the Bersus species..."

The Wolf nodded understandingly slowly, still filled with regret. ((Just as I thought... The Bersus, they are the cause of my peoples extinction.))

What? They committed genocide?! I thought the Berus were supposed to be peace lovers not psychopaths?

"I was told the Bersus are peaceful?! Is that not true?!"

The Wolf shook his head. ((No, they were peaceful, but my people took advantage of that. We were known as the Royal Wolves and just as royalty often is, we were greedy. We took as much land as we could, hearing of the Bersus tribes peaceful nature, we sought to take advantage of that... After much fighting the Bersus were forced to make a difficult decision, to stop us  from hurting any other species, they decided that we must die... I was the only survivor, just a pup at the time my mother hid me under her corpse... Of course I hated the Bersus for a long time, but I'm sure not as much as they hated themselves for what they had done...))

Wow... So they have a history like that, it's no wonder Belric didn't want to talk about it, I think I'll keep it a secret that I know... Still, I wonder what would happen if the two of them met? Would they forgive each other, it has been 9000 years after all...

"Could you forgive the Bersus, if you met them again?"

((If I met them again, I would grovel in the dirt at their feet, I would beg for forgiveness... There is no doubt it my mind that what the Bersus did was right... Even if it pains me to admit it, we deserved it... If they didn't do it, King Lavias would have himself.))

Ah so he knows about King Lavias, I suppose a Ent king that lived over a hundred thousand years might have been a little famous...

"So did you carry the grudge for 9000 years? Is that why you held such anger?"

The Wolf shook his hulking head once again. ((No, I'm afraid to say I was just angry at the world... Every intelligent being I came across tried to kill me on sight... I understand now of course, a 40ft Wolf is not something you attempt communication with, but back then all I could think about was my hatred... After a large scale battle with a powerful Dwarven army, I became heavily injured, I found this place when it was just a large cave and slept... When I woke several years later, I found I could no longer leave... That just reinvigorated my rage... I was... A fool.)) The Wolf stared at the floor with what seemed to be a sad smile on his face...

It sounds as though this wolf has lived a sad and tragic existence... Even if his people were cruel, does that mean he had to be punished for what they did? The Lonely Wolf really does suit him...

((Child... I have answered your questions. Now I ask that you answer mine... Tell me, that great aura that I felt around a month ago, was that King Lavias... Has he, awakened?))

Ah, so he even felt it down here...  "yes... King Lavias has awakened. The Council of the Ents are currently holding him frozen in time, but they can only hold him around a year... Right now, an alliance of powerful and prominent monsters is preparing for the upcoming battle."

The Wolf sighed. ((It is just as I thought... I could not bring myself to participate in the first battle, he was one of the few who treated my kindly... I could not bring myself to fight him... Now, I am incapable of doing so.)) 

"Is... Is there absolutely nothing you can do to help, you must be powerful..." I asked with hope.

The massive Wolf paused for a moment. He then seemed to decide on something. ((There is something I can do... The Royal Wolves were practically kings of the Wolves... We had dominance over all of them and often made them in to servants... We also had the ability to give them some of our power. I can only offer you this power... It will not make you as powerful as I am, not even close, but it will help...))

He can make me stronger? I guess that is my objective for coming to this dungeon... Should I accept? Something sounds dubious though... He said they gave to power to servants...

"This won't turn me in to your servant or anything like that will it?"

The Wolf smiled, a strangely heart warming smile. ((No, young Dryad... It was not a power that created servants, just a power given to them... I promise you will not be indebted to me in any way. I merely wish to prevent this continent, our home from being destroyed.))

I hesitated... If he truly wanted to harm me he would have done so many times over... He as no reason to trick me... I nodded my head. "Do it."

The Wolf slowly clambered to his feet, towering over me. ((Hold still.)) 

He walked over to me leant down until his head sizes teeth were right next to my face, then as gently as he could tapped his nose on to my forehead.. 

A shining light poured out of the spot he touched I felt power, but for some reason my vision blurred...

I became unsteady on my feet, then the world around me faded to black.

~Day 55~

I woke suddenly sitting up in bed... I looked around my surroundings, I appeared to be in a single bed on a small wooden platform next to a large lake... Green trees and abundant grass surrounded me, several small pacifist monster wondered around the scenery. Whilst far in the distance massive walls sloped to a  rocky roof that must have been 500ft up.

Just where was I? I remember the Lonely Wolf doing something to me... Then I woke up here... I would say he must have meant harm to me, but I feel fine now and I'm still alive.

((Ah, I am glad you are awake...))

I turned around to see the Wolf carrying a massive basket of fruit in his mouth, he dropped the basket in front of me.

((Eat, you must be hungry.)) He nudged the basket closer to me.

Come to think of it, I was starving... I walked over to the basket and took out a rather juicy looking apple.

"What exactly happened?" I asked juggling the apple in my hand.

The Wolf lay down. ((That was my fault, I apologise. The power is meant only for the already powerful servants of Royal Wolves. I did not think about what it may do to a young inexperienced Dryad.))

Oh... So he unintentionally almost killed me, is that what he's saying? 

"Did it work?" I asked

The Wolf nodded smiling. ((See for yourself.))

What did he mean..? Ah, of course my stats.

[Name: Ellena]

[Age: 54 Days]

[Species: Virga Ferrea, Dryad]

[Height: 7'-3"]

[Sex: Female]

[Title/s: Kin of Ellephwen, Wolfmother.]

{Level: 35] + 7

[Health: 3738/3738] + 321 x2

[Mana: 872/872] + 91 x2

[Stamina: 3552/3552] + 292 x2

[Hunger: 576/3552] + 292 x2

[Attack: 3080] + 275 x2

[Defence: 4874] + 378 x2

[Magic Attack: 960] + 94 x2

[Magic Defence: 1784] + 177 x2

[Skills: [Pain Resistance lvl 10 (Max)] [Poison Resistance lvl 8] Up! [Mind Resistance lvl 2] [Venom Resistance lvl 7] Up! [Night vision lvl 10 (max)] [Amplified Vision lvl 7] [{Mushroom Helmet lvl 50}] Up! [tough stomach lvl 7] [Unarmed Combat Expert lvl 3] [Polearm Journeyman lvl 4] Up!  [Kingsfoot lvl 9] Up! [Warriors Heart lvl 31] Up! [Warriors Will lvl 22] Up! [Warriors Strength lvl 20] Up! [Greater Regeneration lvl 1] Up! [Guardian lvl 7] [Dryads Charm lvl 2] [Skinning lvl 4] Up! [Tanning lvl 3] Up!  [Leatherworking lvl 2] [Carving lvl 2] [Earth Magic lvl 3] Up! [{Wolfmother lvl 1}] New! ]

What... WAIT WHAT?!? On top of my stats advancing due to the level ups I've had recently, they've also been doubled?!? WHAT? 

Okay, calm down, calm down... it's no wonder I fainted, by the Great Gods...

The Lonely Wolf gave out a low chuckle. ((It seems you have noticed... Yes, the gift I gave you doubled the power you already possess, it should also increased you levelling speed, although not dramatically,  so you may evolve faster and become even more powerful... That is the unique skill the Royal Wolves possessed...))

That's... Amazing, I can see how they were so much of a threat now, on top of their own strength, being able to double their subordinates strength... Hold on though... I also have a new title... Wolfmother? I've heard that name before... There was one at the meeting that formed the Alliance wasn't there?

"What is Wolfmother? Why do I now possess that title?" I asked the Wolf.

((Ah, that is something a little extra I gave you. In place of my fighting power, I have given you the ability to tame any Wolf that is weaker than you... Hence the title Wolfmother, it is technically a unique skill, as usually you can only be born with it and it's extremely rare, but I have gifted it to you.. You will become the Mother of a pack of your own making...))

The ability to tame any Wolf weaker than me...? Granted, that will without a doubt be useful in the upcoming battle, especially if I evolve again, I can go and get the allies Gedill wants so badly...

Wait... That reminds me... I've found the Lonely Wolf... That means it's time for me to fulfil my promise... It's time for me to leave Ellephwen and Samora... 

A great sadness washed over me, I didn't think this day would come this fast, I thought I had several more floors to conquer first... Wait a minute, that reminds me, what was he doing on the fifth floor?

"I was told this dungeon was going to be at least six to seven floors, why were you on the fifth?"

((Hmm? Oh it is seven floors. However by the time it had reached five floors I had regained my sense and lost my anger. I decided to devote  following floors to peace... The last three floors are all my home and they give peaceful haven to the weaker species inhabiting this world...))

Oh... That would explain all the Mushmen and Rabbits around... Still, the fact that I have to leave...

((What is wrong young Dryad? Did my gift not please you?)) The Wolf looked concerned.

"No, no. I'm incredibly grateful... It's just that meeting you fulfils a promise and what follows is something I'm not looking forward to..."

The giant Wolf smiled. ((Please, tell me.))

So I told him what I was tasked with and what my promise is. I also told him about Ellephwen, Samora, Rugtug and the Goblins... He listened intently as I spoke.

((I see... Tis a shame that we must part ways so soon after meeting, but I have waited decades to have someone to talk to... I can wait another year.)) He gave me a soft smile.

I bowed my head towards the old, gentle beast. "I thank you for your help, truly.I also promise, as soon as I return I will come talk to you. I should have no problems reaching you by then anyway." I gave him a sad smile at the end...

((Of that I am certain. You are strong child and kind enough to talk to an ageing Wolf like me... It was only a short time we chatted, but for me, that's more than enough... Now go, you have been gone for almost an entire day. The Dryad and Elf you spoke of must be worried about you.)) He gestured towards a large door, it must lead to the entrance.

I began walking towards it. I stopped and turned around "It's not much, but I'll tell Rugtug about you." I waved him goodbye.

As I reached the entrance to the massive room I heard one last sentence from the Lonely Wolf. 

((Thank you.))

With that my first meeting with the boss of the dungeon was over, it didn't quite go as I expected...

...

...

After  a while walking I finally reached the fourth floor. I wanted to test out the skill the Wolf gave to me... So I slowly approached a group of three normal Iron Wolves. They turned and began to growl at me.

I slowed down, but kept walking with my arm stretched out, the Wolves kept growling, but did not back down or attack..

I reached the closest Wolf and reached up to touch his nose, the Wolf stopped growling, the other two nearby also stopped soon after...

Did it work?

"lie down." I ordered.

The three large Iron Wolves fell to the ground with the playful bark of a household puppy. 

This... Is a really weird experience for me...

I walked over and starting rubbing the belly of the closest one, he began panting happily whilst waggling his tale. His oversized tongue hung out of his large jaw...

They're... Kind of cute like this...

[{Wolfmother lvl 1}] has increased to [{Wolfmother lvl 2}]

Hmm. This will be very useful, even on my journey, they can carry my luggage... Not these ones obviously, Iron Wolves are a bit too large to travel with really... I'll have to find some smaller Wolves.

I told the Wolves to carry on with what they usually do, so they all got up and wondered off... It seems as though they keep their intelligence and own minds, but for some reason want to obey me all of a sudden? Quite an unusual skill, do they just see me as their mother or something?

After that none of the other Iron Wolves bothered me, in fact a few tried to lick my face, which was wet, very wet...

I soon arrived back at the second floor, since I'm leaving I wanted to have a proper goodbye with everyone, due to them being on the way, I though I would start with Rugtug... 

I found him pacing around quickly looking worried about something, when he spotted me he ran over.

"Lazz, ur ulrite! Ma sentriz dint zee ya ratun lazt nite, I vos wurid sik!" )Lass, you're alright! My sentries didn't see you return last night, I was worried sick!)

I smiled at the Tugglit, I was going to miss him...

I explained to Rugtug about what happened and then about the Lonely Wolf himself...

He seemed relieved that the Lonely Wolf was a kind beast and promised to become strong enough to reach him... He then told me to kneel.

I was confused, but did as he asked. Rugtug reached in to his robe and pulled out a beautiful glowing necklace. It had a small glass bulb in the middle filled with the beautiful magic light inhabiting Rugtugs tunnels. A intricately carved  spiral design held the container in place. The small Tugglit struggled, but managed to wrap the necklace around my head.

"If ure leeving, ull need dis. If ure eva luzt, den jus gentli sqeez the bub, it vil punt yu nurth ." He said patting my shoulder. (If you're leaving you'll need this. If you're ever lost, just gently squeeze the bulb, it will point you north. )

I held the necklace gently in my hand and smiled. I looked back up at Rugtug. "Thank you, Rugtug."

Rugtug lower lips began to quiver slightly. Then he wrapped his arms around me in a hug. "I'l mizz yu lazz." He whispered as he voice wavered.

I returned the hug, "I'll miss you too, I'll miss all of you." A few other Tugglits had a sad expression plastered on their faces.

After a short hug, I left for home. I also had the Goblins to talk to, but it's already getting late as it is... I need to see Ellephwen and Samora.

I reached home quickly and opened the door slowly. My body was thrown backwards as a red eyed Samora jumped me.

"WHERE WEEERE YOU ELLLENAAA!" She shouted through tears... I patted her head, honestly, it's only been a day.

Ellephwen was stood behind her with a relieved look on her face, I smiled back.

...

After Samora had calmed down I told them the events that led to me being late, they both listened intently, Samora seemed especially interested in meeting the Lonely Wolf, she smiled sympathetically as I talked about his past. When I was done the two of them understood what it meant and neither looked exactly happy about it.

"NO! I don't care what Gedill said, It's too soon! It's much too soon." Samora protested and kept doing so.

I tried to tell her it was a promise and that I had to, but I was most surprised by Ellephwen.

"Samora. She must go. I hate the idea as much as you, but this is bigger than us." Ellephwen sternly stated to Samora.

Samora sat back meekly in her chair pouting.

Ellephwen smiled. "It will only be a year, we will see her again. Won't we, my kin?" Ellephwen turned to me.

"Of course and I don't plan on leaving next time." I grinned.

Samora seemed to cheer up a little. She hadn't accepted it, but she had at least stopped pouting... 

Both Ellephwen and Samora were exhausted, they were stressed all day with worry. Apparently if I hadn't have returned by tonight they were planning on storming the dungeon... So I guess it's a good thing I returned...

I was also tired from what happened today. Both Samora and Ellephwen had had dinner; if a hastily made one, and I had taken a few apples with me for the walk back...

So with nothing else to do we all went to bed, none of us excited for what tomorrow will bring. I probably won't be leaving tomorrow, but It will only be a few days at most until I do. I have several things I need to sort out before then...

A small part of me, however, was excited. I've just stayed here since I was reborn, I haven't ever really been anywhere else... I was looking forward to that part a little...

Still, I don't think I'll be getting much sleep tonight.

Author note again: So that's the first sort of arc coming to an end. I hope you're enjoying the story so far, I enjoyed writing this chapter.

Also if anyone who doesn't like cliches and stereotypes is worrying about the little bit I wrote about the church hating monsters, don't worry. I have no intention of doing the whole 'the church is actually the evil one, they are evil zealots and are the main villain' thing. Just thought I would reassure you. :)