We waited outside of the side tunnel in nervous silence, the terrifying knowledge that at any given moment more dark elfs could attack us lingering above. Eventually Ariawyn joined us in our waiting. I won’t lie. My heart skipped a beat from fright when I spotted her wearing that ominous, dark, leathery armor belonging to the dark elf’s. Even if I knew that she was the one currently wearing it, it made me feel. I don’t know, disturbed? Maybe I was simply too much on the edge after that impossibly close call.

It wasn’t just me, either. I could feel as Camilla’s body tensed unnaturally since we were sitting closely side by side. I suppose no matter how Camilla acted, all nonchalant and stuff. In the end, she was just as shocked by recent events as any other reasonable person would be. The fact that she was an adventurer could hardly protect her from such disturbing events. Based on their group, I very much suspect that such brutality and coldheartedness weren’t exactly the norm on their average excursions.

Ariawyn’s slightly frustrated voice broke our trance with her sobering, strict tone. — “What are you gawking at, stand and get your legs moving, or do you expect me to carry the both of you?”

We didn’t need more motivation, especially now with the armor added intimidation. The woman was much more intense looking with a proper armor in place of her barely holding together clothes. I already felt a sense of pity towards Camilla, as the girl still anxiously avoided any sort of eye-contact with the wood elf.

It took us, and by that I mean Aria, about ten more seconds to decide in which direction we will go. Then we continued our previous run, alas this time it was a more subdued pace, one that I could keep up for a considerable amount of time, even in my tired state.

We didn’t talk while running across the halls. My hovering magical white orb which seemed to dutifully follow me on its own wherever I went, being the only source of light in the darkness.

~oOo~

Two and a half hours. That was how much we run, according to Aria’s estimate. I had no idea if that was true and had no way of checking it myself. Aside from the burning ache in my… well, suffice it to say that all of me hurt at this point, one way or another.

What made it worse was that we were still going. At this point, my entire body felt either sore or down right numb. From the two, the latter was the one that kept me worried. That and the now dull pain that traveled up my leg coming from my soles and feet with every step.

Honestly, I never really thought into it, but those movies showcasing the training of special forces were damn right. It was truly possible to run so much that you just wanted to collapse and cry or vomit your literal soul out of your body. Damn me if I wasn’t close to it right now. I considered this body to be in a very good shape, truly it was, which is evident from the sheer fact that I wasn’t lying dead on the ground for an hour and a half now. Still, after all that happened, and now so much more running, I knew that I have been pushed far beyond my capabilities. Of course, I was not the only one.

Still, the others didn’t have to burn their mana as well while running. Regarding mana…

Ugh… initially, I was afraid that my mana will run out, leaving us in complete darkness, but to my enormous relief, it seemed that the light magic was consuming a smaller amount of mana than my body was naturally creating. I guess my magical training and all the difficulties I endured in these precious few weeks weren’t going to waste. That was definitely good news, and a much-needed boost to my morale in my current circumstances.

Still, the situation hasn’t truly changed. I couldn’t help but wonder in silence, while listening to the sound of our steps echoing through the hopefully empty caves.

When will the next awful challenge find us? And it will definitely find us, since we were in the deep roads, no matter if this was a more controlled section, closer to the dwarven kingdoms. While the other question that truly struck the fear in my heart was the more pressing issue. How are we going to deal with it?

I have literally no more mana to spend and with the constant use of my light magic while it indeed won’t run out, it won’t really fill in either. My mana pool feels somewhat stagnant at the moment thanks to the two opposing effects.

Meanwhile, Aria was still shocked and weakened from the blood loss and the trauma she suffered. No matter how she tried to hide it from us, likely in a vague attempt to not scare us more than necessary. The truth was plain to see to anyone who had eyes. It was all showed in the occasional hobble of her steps or when she literally dragged her feet kicking up gravel. Not that I was any different on that front. Still… I think that the two of us being elves and all seemed to have a natural constitution towards long distance running. Something that Camilla evidently lacked.

That… or we were simply in a better shape. I wasn’t sure about that, it could be anything really. Because the girl looked straightout desperate at this point. I knew that Aria noticed it too… it was impossible not to hear her wheezing. Based on the noise she made, I was starting to feel genuinely worried for her life. I just knew that she couldn’t possibly go any longer without a serious amount of rest. I suspected that I could run about another thirty minutes before ending up like Camilla. While between all three of us, it was Ariawyn who had the most balanced breathing, which caused me to realize that the woman was probably only tired because of her injury and blood-loss.

That… well, that sent a shiver down my spine. For God’s sake, the woman was a monster.

Apparently, it seemed that Camilla wasn’t prepared to die yet, as she spoke up between her chaotic breathing. She spoke in a jittery tone that was a lot higher than her usual voice.

“… Wouldn’t it be… a good time… to rest noW?!” — She squeezed out the words.

I glanced at Aria, who looked back at Camilla over her shoulder, not slowing down in the process. It was then, when I noticed that shady grin at the edge of Ariawyn's mouth, and I couldn’t help but feel a surge of shock and disbelief by this new revelation. Was she… was she solely doing this to punish Camilla?

I shook my head… because that would be impossibly stupid and irresponsible from the woman, and it didn’t suit her character one bit.

I thought about it for a while, then realized what was going on. Aria must have understood that we wouldn’t survive another encounter with the dark elves, just as we all did. Therefore, she pushed us to our limits in the hope of avoiding that very scenario. Of course, she wasn’t above to make it look like she was intentionally torturing the big mouthed lass.

“Oh? Did you say something, Camilla? I didn’t hear it clearly. You must be hinting that the pace is too slow for your superior human abilities.” — The wood elf stated in a sweet playful voice that made us shiver, and I really hoped that my previous evaluation was correct about Aria’s true intentions.

Because Camilla definitely didn’t realize the deeper implications one bit, I am not surprised about that since the girl lacked proper air circulation in her brain at the moment.

When she heard Ariawyn’s answer, she looked both struck and ready to burst into tears. There was a few seconds of silence as she processed what was going on, then answered in a pitiful tone.

“… Uh… I got it… I am sorry! I am really sorry, I mean it! Just… let me rest a bit… Please…” — Camilla literally pleaded with the woman, dropping all sorts of pretense along with her usual haughtiness.

At last, Aria seemed to come to a stop. Her shoulders loosening up from the constant strain of running ahead of us, dictating the pace and looking out for trouble.

“Fine… Since our resident human can’t go any longer, I guess it will have to do.”

“… I hate you…” — Camilla whispered silently and I almost immediately slapped my forehead in exasperation. Seriously, how stubborn can one girl be?

“Did you say something?” — Came the instant retort from Ariawyn. Echoing through the caves in a steely voice.

Camilla’s momentary boldness dissipated as fast as it appeared, leaving behind the stuttering girl. — “… I uh, I-I just said… I-I am sorry… Please don’t kill me?” — Added Camilla hastily, the last part in a barely whispered jumble of words as she collapsed on her knees, unable to stand upright any longer.

Aria, who obviously heard both of her remarks just as I did, regarded the girl with a newfound levity. As if reminded of an old memory. She shook her head gently, saying in a smug voice.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“You are tenacious and proud. I will give you that. Apparently, you also know when to back down. A good trait to have as an adventurer.” — She sighed and added. — “Of course, I won’t kill you. I won’t say that it didn’t cross my mind, though.”

Camilla tensed and asked with a bit of panic. — “It… It did?”

Aria looked at the girl’s befuddled and scared expression. Then her strict features slowly melted away, giving way to a tired chuckle. She shook her head in amusement once again and said. — “Only for a second.”

I crouched down next to the wall, giving way to my own muscles weary protest. I didn’t want to sit down, as the ground was cold, but the next thing I realized was my butt hitting the ground as my legs gave way under my weight. I hastily shoved some of my long coat’s thick material under me, hoping for it to be enough against the creeping cold.

And while I half heartedly listened to the others’ banter, I also focused on my own personal crisis.

I didn’t really notice it until now… but the moment we stopped running; I felt a gnawing hunger assaulting me, seemingly out of nowhere… and it was wild. While my previous life was far from being a jolly ride, one thing was certain. In my entire life, I had never had to go hungry for a longer amount of time. Even when it happened, it wasn’t because I didn’t have anything to eat, but because I was otherwise occupied.

It is safe to say that I never truly went more than an entire day without food.

That, however, also meant that I wasn’t used to hunger. And it slammed into me with the weight of a sledgehammer. I felt feint as my stomach convulsed on itself. I closed my eyes as I was getting nauseous from the slowly circling caves around me, but all it did was make me focus on my hunger.

Suddenly I remembered of that half-eaten piece of bread that I found on that man. With a new purpose, I searched my coat’s inner pockets, where I stored some of the looted items. It didn’t take too long to find what I was looking for. As I held the bread in my hand, I could swear that the damn thing looked a lot smaller than the last time I looked at it.

Whatever… I shrugged my shoulders, and was just about to take a bite out of the food, when I accidentally looked up and noticed the others staring at me. I immediately felt the rousing sense of guilt, just realizing that I completely forgot about them.

I took in a deep breath as a hasty attempt to collect myself, then offered the bread to Camilla. — “Could you cut it in three equal parts? I don’t really have a knife anymore…” — My backpack was either stolen by those bastards or it is still back in the cart where I left it.

Either way, it was no use to me right now.

Camilla took the bread and nodded, pulling out the knife from the back of her boot while concentrating on the task.

Aria, after some hesitation, decided to sit down right next to me. I could literally see the tension leaving her muscles the moment she relaxed. Naturally, she was also tired from the run. It baffled me how she looked the most relaxed from the three of us.

In the meantime, Camilla finished slicing up the bread and shared it with us.

I grabbed my share and, without further hesitation, took a large bite out of it. It tasted like bread. Dried bread to be precise, but luckily it was not so dry that we couldn’t chew it down with some effort. It was a kind of relief, truly, since at this point I genuinely didn’t know what I could expect from these crazy dark elves. Who knows from what they made their bread. Alas, it seemed like a completely ordinary brown bread.

Thank Lord Axis for small mercies.

We ate our portion in silence, while trying to catch our breath. The last two and a half hours were gruelling. I could see and feel it in my continuously shaking and twitching legs. I was starting to suspect that I won’t even be able to stand up after finishing the food. Still, I couldn’t really care about it, it was future me’s problem while my present focus was solely concentrated on attempting to consume the remains of the bread.

It was not a large piece, but since it was quite solid and dried, it took both effort and time to actually eat it. Even so, we managed. It took about fifteen minutes, but all three of us finished their portion. Damn if that bread didn’t make me crave for water, therefore I hooked off the waterskin from my belt and took a few large gulps. The water felt cold and refreshing on my tongue. It soothed both my body and soul with every gulp.

When I finished, I offered it to Aria, who followed my example, taking measured gulps, then offered it to Camilla, who greedily drunk the rest.

Neither of us blamed her for it. It wasn’t that large of a waterskin, not for three people.

Now that we all drunk and ate something, we realized that there was nothing else on our hand to do. Sitting in a small triangle, we stared at each other awkwardly. The previous events and the conflict between Ariawyn and Camilla clearly left some tension in the air. Alas, the two women seemed too tired to continue it at this point. Leaving a subdued tension behind.

I couldn’t help but notice the gentle, coercing tug of the dreamworld. As it attached to my consciousness with numberless strings. I resisted for a bit, then decided that it was all futile.

Alas, my arm was shaken by Aria as she spoke to me in a worried tone. — “Don’t you dare to fall asleep on us now. Your magic light will dispel the moment your consciousness fades away.”

That jolted me up as I glanced at the floating orb above us. Damn… I completely forgot about that. The realisation also sent a burst of panic across my body.

Wait… does that mean I am not allowed to sleep? What the hell!

I saw as Aria stood up. Her features contorting with frustration and tiredness. She looked at us and spoke in a no nonsense tone. — “We have rested enough, stand and follow me.”

Both me and Camilla sent disbelieving glares at the women. I wasn’t even sure that I can stand up now. How does she expect to go further after, like, what, twenty minutes of rest?

To my surprise, Camilla slowly started to stand up without saying a word. While I couldn’t help but stare at them like a fish thrown on the shore. — “Wait… are you serious? I am not even sure if I can stand up yet.”

In the white light of the magic orb, I saw the familiar glint of a sword, its tip freezing right under my currently dropped chin. My heart hammered against my ribs in a panicked frenzy, pumping fresh blood across my body mixed with adrenalin.

I felt as my body shook from the fright that coursed through me, and I couldn’t help but shout at the wood elf for scaring the shit out of me. In my momentary confusion, I only managed to squeeze out a few coherent words. — “… You! What are you doing!?”

The cunning smile she gave me was quite uncharacteristic of her. Yet the answer that followed was even more baffling. — “Look at that, it seems your legs are quite fine after all. Now come along quietly before I decide to slap you awake, foolish girl.”

I didn’t know what she meant by that, not until I looked down and realized that I was already standing. I genuinely didn’t know when I stood up. Was it when she attacked me? I wasn’t sure, but there could be no other answer… I glanced over to Camilla, who looked just as shocked and pale as me. Yet, based on her subdued expression, she seemed to completely accept this to be our fate.

She must have been too traumatized from that run to once again argue with Ariawyn, and I could completely understand why. The woman could be quite terrifying. The more I know of her personality, the more I realize that it is not a good idea to get on her bad side.

I felt a hot glare run over my skin and I instinctively started to follow the angry-looking wood elf. This time we weren’t running, only walking at least.

She must have realized that running was truly out of the question in our current condition.

It didn’t take more than a few seconds and both me and Camilla were once again following the wood elf, like ducklings following their mother. It was quite a comical sight from that particular perspective.

None the less… it was definitely far better than being stuck with dark elves. Even if my leg muscles cried with every step.

We continued to walk across the dark corridors for another painfully long hour. It was then that suddenly both me and Aria became aware of the distant sounds of heavily armored footsteps heading straight towards our location. Based on the noise generated by the men, there were somewhere between fifty and a hundred armed men, at least. A small army donned solely in heavy armor in the middle of the deep roads.

My shoulders relaxed with a heavy sigh of relief. A gentle smile was tugging at the edges of my lips, hoping to finally encounter with the patrolling dwarfs.

Well… at least that was so until I heard the warning shout of one of those same dwarfs. — “Dark elves ahead!”

My smile froze, stepping forward and raising my arms in a surrendering gesture. — “Wait… it’s just a misunderstanding, we are not dark elves!” — I went ahead of an incoming soldier who looked quite confused as he clearly never saw a dark elf surrendering. It was then, when I heard the previous voice shouting once again.

“It must be another of their conniving tricks! Capture them and we will beat the truth out of them later.”

I saw as the previously hesitant man’s features steeled and he reached for my wrist, immediately bending my arms behind my back. I heard the alerting sound of weapons being unsheeted behind me as Aria took a fighting stance, ready to spill blood at any moment.

“Don’t you dare to touch me, you measly little bastards, or I will shorten your stature with another head’s worth!” — She hissed at the approaching dwarfs who immediately jumped back, surprised that the presumed dark elf in front of them spoke the common tongue. Alas, the surprise quickly waned off as they simultaneously readied their axes and hammers.

It was at that time, in the midst of the spreading chaos, that I finally remembered my ring. I shouted over the dwarfs in a shrill voice, drawing their attention to me. — “No! Stop this, please! There is no reason for further bloodshed among us. I am Selora, Selora of the House of Dimhollow. Daughter of Emrum Dimhollow. We were taken by the dark ones, and managed to escape, barely… They might be still on our tail. We also stole some of their gear. That is why Aria is clothed in a dark elven armor.“

There was a moment of silence among the dwarfs, which was followed by hushed whispers.

I waited for a while, then added with haste. — “I can prove my identity. Just look at the ring on one of my fingers. It is the bloodline ring of the Dimhollow House.”

There were another series of whispers. Then I felt as thick, coarse fingers prodded my hands that were still forced behind my back by the same dwarf.

At last I felt the tight grasp loosen on my wrist as the man standing behind me shouted out loud. — “The girl speaks true! She is one of ours.”