While the overall cheerful atmosphere spread across our traveling group like wildfire, I quickly gathered my wits and looked for my friends among the joyful people. While I hastily walked among the group, looking for Ariawyn and Camilla. The two had been walking along the back of the column last I saw them, therefore I headed in that very direction.
I was just apologizing for the fifth time after once again colliding with one of the celebrating people around, when I finally noticed Camilla’s pale red hair glinting through the throng. I immediately headed in her direction. Meanwhile, the sounds of distant hooves were getting closer by the minute. The riders must be close by now, I concluded silently while pushing towards my friends.
I squeezed myself between a few bulky dwarfs, and the occasional human that was mixed among them. I guess there were times when it was good to have a smaller body type, because I quickly found myself standing in front of Camilla and Aria, who was looking down at me with a scrutinizing gaze, while Camilla was simply watching me with amusement.
Suddenly becoming the focus of their undivided attention, I didn’t know what to say.
I mean, I couldn’t quite admit that I rushed to their side, because I was afraid that Aria might cause some sort of commotion once again, like threatening them to shorten their stature with a head’s worth or…
Aria’s focus intensified while I was trying to figure out what to say. — “Did you get bored with your dwarf friend? Finally deciding to say hello to us?” — Aria teased, but there was an edge to her words which could not go unnoticed.
Yeah, well… unsurprisingly, Aria and Emrum didn’t see eye to eye at all. Especially after Aria casually mentioned to Emrum along our trip here, and did so without discussing it with me previously, that she intends to take me back to the wood realm. After all, I should be raised among my own kind. Obviously, this resulted in another argument among the two, as Emrum stated that he already decided to take care of me as her own daughter, of all things. He even stated that he owes me so after saving his and his companions’ lives.
To which Aria only laughed, and stated that by that measure her life was also saved by me, therefore it nullifies his argument.
There were quite a few threats and curses exchanged between them, and this time, it was not the sophisticated type. All in all, I had to step in multiple times to calm the waters, while feeling extremely uncomfortable and occasionally humiliated by my own forced role between their arguments. I have never imagined that after being reborn in a fantasy like world, my major headaches will come from serving as a buffer between my companions.
Life was truly cruel sometimes. I sighed.
Well, at least I have my staff back. Unfortunately, Emrum could not save my backpack, which was apparently stolen by the dark elves after the raid. It was truly lucky that Camilla kicked my staff under the cart, or it would have been stolen, too.
The familiar hum of the white metal, its smooth touch against my fingers as my grip encircled it, filled me with a sense of courage. I could feel my mana circulating around and inside the staff as it reinforced my magical capabilities, soothing my emotions and helping to focus my thoughts. I have realized, after spending so much time without the staff, that it was a lot more than what I initially believed it to be. Its presence affected my mind in subtle but important ways. Directing my thoughts away from fear and self-doubt, towards productive and comforting thoughts, it was a pillar of confidence, sort of.
Unfortunately, now that I knew of those particular effects, they seemed to lose a lot of their effectiveness. Since I tended to question my decisions, exactly because I was afraid that the staff was influencing my thoughts.
Anxiety was a special kind of jerk, after all. It always found a way into one’s thoughts.
I was poked in my forehead, after my friends have grown annoyed by my lack of attention. I looked up at Aria, who was shaking her head in a disappointed fashion while Camilla was snickering by her side. I could still see the dark circles under her eyes. It’s not really surprising, merely a few days have passed since we were told about the cruel fate of her friends. Such a short time is not enough to handle the grief, even if the people of this realm were a lot more used to that sort of thing, especially adventurers.
I will admit that the girl took it surprisingly well. I suspected that it was not the first time she lost some of her close companions. Adventuring life in the deep roads of all places didn’t sound like a life insurance. At least, she and Aria became fast friends after the incident was revealed to the older elf. She quickly took it upon herself to welcome the crying red head under her motherly wings. Seemingly, all of their previous differences were immediately forgotten and likely forgiven. It was good to know that at least some people were getting on well.
Before I was once again poked in the forehead by Aria, I coughed lightly and said.
“Well… I just wanted to see you. Nothing particular…” — Aria beamed at that, while Camilla chuckled from the side, commenting about how much a scatterbrain I was for an elven magic caster.
I smiled at her, unwilling to retort. It was good to hear her laugh once again, both me and Aria worried about how silent she became recently, for obvious reasons. Getting back to the capital seemed to have an effect on her, that or all the cheerful atmosphere around us.
Alas, the joyful pause have come to an end, when our column slowly but surely started to move towards the gate once again. I stepped in line next to Camilla, gazing over the slightly smaller dwarfs around us, and noticing a few goat riders moving along, escorting us back to the gate. Everything seemed to go well for a change. Let’s hope that it keeps that way.
~oOo~
An hour and a half later. We have finally gone through the gates. Yes… gates. There were three giant gates built, one after the other, with increasing levels of security. There were side tunnels after the first and second gates that lead to different dwarven cities or outposts. Emrum, who have joined our trio at the back of the column, explained to me eagerly, while ignoring Aria’s cold glares.
Still, I was happy for his presence, as it resolved any lingering issues about our presence when we were inspected at each gate. Dropping the Dimhollow clan name clearly held a lot of influence around the garrison and the gate guards, as it is expected from a noble clan of warriors, I suppose.
Even so, Ariawyn have received quite a few unfriendly or simply surprised stares from the dwarfs. She was getting twitchy, and I had to remind her multiple times that she was still wearing a dark elf armor, therefore she shouldn’t take it personally and change to a different gear as fast as possible.
She snorted at that, reminding me that she wasn’t exactly swimming in money right now. To which I offered her, quite smugly if I may add, that I could pay for it, since I was still officially under the service of the Bronze Company, and was already due to a full paycheck which was around fifty gold, if I remembered correctly. The woman shook her head in disbelief, but didn’t say no to my offer.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Anyway, out of the one and a half hour of time, we spent a full hour in front of the third gate, the one that lead into the city itself. Obviously, it held the strictest security measures and even with Emrum's presence and authority we, by that I mean me and Aria, had to offer a detailed explanation about our presence here, and general intentions in the city. I reminded Aria to not screw us over with her temper tantrums, to which she simply scoffed and slapped me on the back of my head.
Still, in the end, it seemed to work out, and we were let into the city with some reluctance.
Camilla and Emrum was already waiting for us at the side of the road. They were let through almost immediately. While Emrum was treated with high regard, Camilla seemed to be almost shooed into the city, as if the guards were annoyed by her very presence. It was clear by a glance that they had some sort of history, not that I was going to ask.
Anyway, when we all were standing on the other side, I couldn’t help but huff in disappointment.
“All that waiting and there are more tunnels to walk by? I expected a spectacle of the city…“ — I complained, and earned a friendly pat on my shoulder from Emrum.
“Come now, lassie, you will have your spectacle after a few more tunnels and turns. I can promise you that.” — Emrum added with a warm smile, while Ariawyn was glaring at him and his lingering hand placed over my shoulder.
“If you are looking for a true site to see, the endless forest of the wood realm are especially beautiful at this time of the year. Now that autumn is closing in, the forests will dress themself in a variety of colors, all ranging between red and yellow. The sheer beauty of nature is truly overwhelming, don’t you think, Selora? Unlike these dirty mold infested tunnels and caves.” — Stated Aria. Throwing a challenging glance towards Emrum.
“I…” — I began to form my answer, but was immediately interrupted by Emrum.
“Oh, yes. The forest is quite a sight indeed. It’s a pity that is so infested with poisonous snakes, giant spiders, and swarms of mosquitoes.” — Emrum added, with a barely hidden spitefulness that was so unlike compared to his general warm personality.
I stepped between the two, sensing another upcoming argument and simultaneously attempting to cut it short before it could truly start. — “Please, stop arguing like a married couple. Is it so hard to accept the possibility that I might like both of the places, and might also want to visit them if the chance arises?” — I said and was rewarded with the sight of their gawking expressions.
“Married couple you say?!” — Emrum shouted in disbelief. — “Child, I am already married! Stop saying such scandalizing things before someone overhears it! Especially with that vindictive elf!” — Emrum added with finality, his face turning slightly red with both fury and embarrassment.
Of course, hearing his exclamation, Ariawyn was even more scandalized.
She sputtered like a kicked cat, turning red in the face, quite similar to Emrum in that regard. — “Married couple!? Have you lost your mind, and to believe that he has the gall to be exasperated by such sinful comparison? I might as well marry a keg of beer with little legs!”
Emrum blinked at that, and throw a confused glance at the elf. — “What are you talking about, woman? I don’t even drink, at least not while traveling in the deep roads. That would be suicide!”
"Hah! So you do drink, when you are not on the road!” — The elf pointed it out, still clutching onto her previous argument.
“I am a man and a dwarf, of course I do drink! What is wrong with that?” — Emrum demanded in a childlike confusion.
“What is wrong with that? He asks! Is that what you will teach to poor Selora here, to drink like a man? That’s exactly why you should let me take care of her!” — She finally got to her real argument there, causing Emrum to scoff at her with a dirty look.
“I told you, that’s not happening, and I don’t see the point of your argument, either.” — Emrum said back, offhandedly, while all of us continued to walk towards the city, following the wide and well-lighted tunnel carved into the rock.
“Well!” — Aria shouted, almost overcome by her restrained fury. — “I won’t leave that girl here, alone with a bunch of barbarians, so you better figure something out, dwarf! She is too pure and exceptional to be taught by brutish dwarfs alone! She might as well be the last of her kind. Aside from that, you have showcased your ignorance and stupidity regarding the real worth of her immortality by letting her participate in extremely dangerous situations! By the gods, if the elven races realize that you stupidly risked the life of a pure being such as her, they might as well come together and lynch you!”
Emrum stopped and turned to Aria with a shocked expression. We all stopped seeing this turn of events and silently waited for the dwarf’s reaction. The tension was palpable in the surrounding air. — “What do you mean you won’t leave? Are you implying that you want to stay in my home, along with Selora?”
Ariawyn stared at the dwarf, a series of vivid emotions traveling across her face in rapid motion. It was clearly not the part she expected him to react to. In the end, she glanced at me. Seeing my stupefied expression, she took a deep breath and stated with certainty while gently massaging her temple. — “Yes, I will.”
To everyone’s surprise, Emrum's head shot backwards as he erupted in a grandiose laughter. It took him at least a minute to calm down after that, while we stared at him in shock.
When he gained back his ability to speak, though still occasionally shaking with laughter, he waved his large hands in a sign of surrender while once again starting to head towards the city. — “Women!” — He shouted, looking towards the ceiling, then added with a sparkle of amusement. — “Do what you want. It’s been a while since our house had an elven guest, but you will have to work if you want to stay for long. Of course, it will be easy to find you a place among us, seeing your capabilities as a warrioress.”
That said, Emrum suddenly turned towards Camilla and asked her with an unexpected seriousness. — “What about you, lass? Do you have a place to stay, after…” — His words strayed off, unwilling to rip open the barely healing wound. — “If you are up for it, as a thanks for saving Lora’s life back when the caravan was ambushed, I would like to offer you a permanent place among our ranks. We can work out the details later, of course, in the case you accept my offer to begin with.”
Camilla’s eyes went wide like saucers as she stared at the dwarf with a shocked expression.
I had to poke her in the ribs to get her out of her stupor.
She bristled, then started to nod as if her life depended on it. — “I-I… I would very much like that! If-f you would have me!” — The girl stammered her words out at last, her pale expression getting some color.
Emrum chuckled again, adding nonchalantly. — “Of course, at this point, the more the merrier!”
I glanced at Aria’s sour expression, then took a look at the beaming Camilla. I couldn’t help but sigh, shaking my head and feeling amused. Still, I was thankful to know that our unlikely group, with all our differences, seemed to find a way to stay together. It was truly heartwarming.
While my thoughts seemed to swim along the shores of my unlikely predicament, the always present anxiety of my uncertain future hovered in the air with the fickle warmth that filled my heart. The tunnel which we have been following for quite some time now, have reached its abrupt end.
My painfully numb feet, after the seemingly endless walking, stopped, rooted into the ground. My mind was overcome by the spectacle of lights and shapes spreading out in front of me, filling the wide cavern that seemed to have no visible end. There was a steep slope following the now tunnel turned road downwards. However, my gaze was not focused on that.
In the middle of the enormous cavern that filled out my vision, between the towering natural stone pillars cascading like waterfalls from the distant ceiling down to the bottom of the cavern. There lay before our eyes the city of Bal Dorahl, one of the capital of the dwarven twin kingdoms.
It was breathtaking.
At a first glance, the city was filled with tall buildings, most of them three to five floors tall while being surprisingly narrow in width, somewhat reminiscent of the giant stone pillars that surrounded them, but in miniature size compared to them. Its streets were well lighted by either mechanical lights or those of magical origin. It was impossible to discern anything concrete from this distance. The warm golden lights of the city glinted through the many glass filled windows, causing a shimmering effect that reminded me of the playful glint of an earth covered gemstone. It shined through the silence, ignoring the suffocating darkness that surrounded it on all sides.
A monument of stubborn defiance against all the terrors that thrived in the deep.