It took us about twenty more minutes to walk down the steep slope and actually reach the city’s perimeter. As we got closer, there were more and more people moving around. They were tending to the strange mushroom farms that seemed to encircle the city. I stared at the farms wide eyed, as it was quite an unusual sight for me to witness, while simultaneously being a pretty solid choice regarding that we were being underground.
Naturally, some people that worked at the farms noticed my stare, and stared back at me with the same intensity, if not more. I didn’t notice it at first, since I was too occupide with my personal gawking, but after the initial effects of surprise wore off, I couldn’t help but feel my skin prickle under the vivid looks I received.
I was feeling self-conscious about my ears, for once, as that was where most of the nearby dwarfs’ glares seemed to focus.
I was starting to feel sorry for Ariawyn. If I was gawked at this much, I could only imagine how she might have felt while wearing a dark elf armor. I sneaked a peek towards the older elf, noticing that she was marching forward with a determined expression while ignoring everything else around her. Figures, I sighed inwardly. She didn’t seem the kind who actually cared about being stared at.
While my thoughts jumped around in a circle, I noticed that we were passing by the first houses.
They were the houses that stood right at the edge of the city. They were mostly normal looking, if a bit run-down. They were made from stone, just like the previously seen multi floored buildings, which were uncommon at this part of the city. As I studied the shapes and materials of the buildings, I couldn’t help but notice the general cube and sometimes cuboid like shapes.
The buildings had no roof structure, at least not in the way surface buildings had. Instead of the triangle like roof structure covered in potteries that would protect the house from rain and the elements. Here, the top part was made from metal that was usually covered with a raised up layer of metal threaded net.
Emrum, noticing my confused glances towards the roof structure of the nearby houses, offered an explanation.
“Ah, you noticed the nets, lass. You are quite observant, I must say.” — He chuckled, then added. — “As you likely already figured out, there are no regular rains this deep under the earth. Especially under a mountain. The water just slides off the mountainside and gathers at its foot, effectively protecting us from flooding. That is part of the reason why we tend to favour mountains, you know.”
I nodded along, seeing no reason to argue about his explanation.
“Aside from that…” — He continued, some reluctance seeping into his voice. — “The nets and the metal roofs are serving as layers of protection from the occasionally falling debris or stalactites.” — Emrum admitted.
As if just waiting for this opportunity, Aria immediately interrupted the conversation.
“Are you saying what I think you are saying?” — Emrum remained silent while avoiding Aria’s glare. The woman seemed to interpret his reaction as a confirmation to her worst fear.
“Am I just supposed to accept that there is a chance a deadly stalactite just drops on my head any time of the day?” — She demanded in disbelief.
To which the dwarf seemed to perk up slightly. — “Ah, it’s really unlikely that it would drop on you. I mean… it’s a rare occurrence, mostly reserved for the occasional earthquake, outside of that the number of deaths yearly stay under the three-digit mark.”
“Earthquake?” — I asked, my face paling considerably from the idea.
Ariawyn gasped as she processed the dire news. — “A hundred people die from falling debris yearly in just this city and you call it a rare occurrence!?” — She furrowed her delicate eyebrows, her lips slightly parted as she struggled to get over the shock. — “You people are crazy.”
Emrum scowled at the woman as he said. — “Is that so? Well, what about your cities then? How many people drop off your tree houses yearly, hmm? I bet it’s a lot more than a hundred.”
My gaze sharpened as I looked at Aria, hoping for her fierce denial. Alas, it seemed that the woman, for once, did not argue back. My eyes widened as I searched her eyes, while she uncomfortably squirmed under our combined look.
Emrum’s lips turned upwards at the edge as he enjoyed the elf’s silent discomfort.
“Is that true, Aria? Are your cities built on the top of trees?” — I wondered while trying to accept the dangerous implications with which such homes would come with.
She nodded, a gentle smile lighting up her face, as I intentionally redirected the conversation.
“Some of them, but not all of them, just about one-third, are built that way. I hope to show you once the mesmerising beauty of the tree palace. You will never want to leave its sight once you gaze upon its remarkable beauty. Imagine a palace hosted among the crowns of ancestor trees, its foundation rooted in our very history. The magical trees fed with the blood of our fallen warriors. If you listen carefully, you may hear the whisper of the trees as they commune among each other. If you are truly lucky, you may catch sight of a wisp playfully flying through the ancient branches. They are beings of pure magic, healing and tending to the forest on their own. They are believed to be a lucky omen. I only seen them a handful of time in all my years. Can you believe it?”
There was a wistful silence as I got drawn into the precisely painted picture. I couldn’t deny the desire to see something like that, after spending my last years on a hospital bed, then wandering the barren tunnels of the deep roads for almost two months now.
Camilla spoke up in a thoughtful voice, as she too imagined the miraculous sight. — “I wonder if I could see it once too.” — Aria smirked as she managed to draw away our attention from the dwarven city. — “You might as well come along. When we visit it in the future with Selora, I wouldn’t mind.” — She said with a warm, almost motherly smile towards the human girl. Camilla suddenly jump hugged the surprised elf from the side while giggling with childlike happiness. It was an action that the older elf clearly not anticipated, and now struggled to stay on her feet. Her features morphing into a gentle smile with a hint of longing.
When did they get so close to each other? I wondered to myself.
I shook my head lightly, stepping next to Emrum while the other two were distracted. He noted my presence with a nod, then added with a bit of hesitation.
“You don’t have to worry about falling debris once we reach our compound. The Dimhollow clan, as many other noble clans, have extra precautions against such things. I assure you it’s as safe as it can be, just like the noble district. We have multiple steel nets forged by the best of the dwarven smiths spread over its entirety.”
I nodded to him, looking up in search of such precautions in our current location. My eyes could only see darkness and the rousing columns of rocks being swallowed by the same darkness. Beyond the all-consuming shadows, those columns were continuing their travel towards the distant ceiling. Yet, without the necessary light, I could only fantasize about the true height of this mysterious cavern.
Emrum naturally caught my glance and said in a whispering voice. I leaned closer to him, not to hear him clearly, because my elven ears were just fine with the distance, but to reassure him that I was listening.
“We are on the outskirts of the city. Only the poor and the unfortunate live here, it’s not exactly the best impression for our first stroll, but since we came from the southern gate’s direction it was inevitable to go through it, at least if we didn’t intend to circle around the whole place.” — He whispered into my ear and I nodded with a frown.
Well, no matter where one lives, it seems that there will always be a gap between the rich and the poor. The people living in this district clearly could not afford more protection from such hazards as falling debris than the very nets placed on the individual houses. Net’s that often had more large holes in them than I would like to admit, coupled with sign of patchwork.
We traveled through the district with hasty steps. As we got deeper into the city, the streets became a lot more crowded and lively with the bustling folk. The people here were made up from mostly dwarfs, but it was not unlikely to spot the occasional human group wading through the sea of dwarfs, especially so that they tended to tower over them with a head’s worth, and therefore stuck out like sore thumbs.
Now that I mention it, one such distinctly human group seemed to head in our direction, and I didn’t like the look on their faces.
I felt Camilla’s warmth as the girl unconsciously pressed against my right side. Her gesture further solidified my suspicion. Those people were clearly here to cause some sort of trouble. The question was, what kind?
Emrum and Ariawyn, being as perceptive as they always were, quickly noticed Camilla’s tension, just as the closing group of sneering humans clothed in similar clothes as Camilla and her companions were. May the poor sods rest in peace. I truly hoped that they got a next life just as I did, or something just as good.
Anyway, it was not exactly the right time for such thoughts as the group of sneering humans stood in our way.
The four of us stopped, keeping a few meters between our groups while reciprocating their unfriendly stares.
There was a few moments of silent stare-down. It was just enough for me to take in the appearances of the other group. There were three men and a lone woman. All of them were armed and armored, but not to the level of the dwarfs I traveled with. They were wearing armor made from leather. It was a light or medium armor that still preserved a high mobility for the wearer while offering moderate protection.
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One of them, a tall man with a pale and thin face, spoke up in a ridiculing voice.
“Hah! And here we thought that our dearest Camilla was lost to the deep… We should have known better. Cockroaches such as her have one retaining quality, they are hard to kill.” — The group of humans started to laugh at the words of their companion.
I glanced towards Camilla, who seemed to be embarrassed by the open humiliation. I also noticed that she was gripping the hilt of one of her hidden knives.
Who the hell are these idiots to begin with? I wondered silently.
“Is this your new team, then?” — The sole female of their group stepped closer while hovering her unimpressed gaze over the rest of us. — “Let me guess, the other one met an unfortunate end, again?” — I felt Camilla’s body shook next to mine. While the unknown woman’s smile widened with glee. — ”What a pity. I warned Langley that you were bad news, he should have never let you join the group.”
I glared at the woman, feeling enraged by her words. What the hell is wrong with these people?
“You might want to take back those words of yours.” — I warned them, unwilling to listen silently any longer. — “There have been a dark elf ambush. We lost a lot of good men, but it has nothing to do with Camilla’s ability. In fact, I owe her my life.”
The woman’s smile quickly evaporated as she once more registered my presence. She focused her sharp gaze on me, measuring me up by the look of it. Her eyes lingered on my elongated ears a few seconds, then her eyes widened slightly as she undoubtedly realized that I was an elf.
“An elfmaid, here? How unusual… So you say this girl saved you? I highly doubt it. She is a…” — I cut her off right there and then.
“Are you saying that I am lying?” — I asked sharply.
The woman narrowed her eyes at me, a dangerous glint in her dark brown eyes. I subconsciously strengthened my grip on my staff.
She sighed condescendingly.
“Allow me to warn you, elf, as a member of the adventurer guild. Get rid of this girl while you can. She is bad luck, I tell you. She lost two adventurer teams in half a year, while she was the sole survivor. I guess this makes it three now. There was always an unlikely and convenient explanation for her. ”
I blinked at that, somewhat confused by her line of thoughts. Emrum was the one who spoke up this time, before anyone else could interject. — “Undoubtedly those are unfortunate tragedies, rare but not exactly unlikely. You should be happy that she survived instead of finding fault with it, woman. What does any of this have to do with ya, anyway?”
The woman's face whipped towards the dwarf, as she said in a half sneer. — “Not unlikely? Hah, you dwarfs are all the same. One member of those groups was my brother, who is now dead. An orc ambush appeared on a routine patrol! Isn’t that familiar, hmm?”
Ariawyn was the next who spoke up. Her words carried a bitter tone that seemed to leave no further place for argument. — “If you are implying that Camilla has anything to do with the dark elf ambush, then you are a fool. Now step aside, before I drew my blade and cut you down where you stand.”
The woman’s expression paled considerably, seeing Ariawyn, who was currently wearing a bloody dark elf armor. She instinctively stepped back a few times before managing to get a hold on her emotions.
Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment that quickly turned into anger.
“Another damned elf, what is with these long-eared freaks climbing down the trees all of the sudden?” — She cursed silently, clearly not intending us to hear it, but we did anyway, at least me and Aria did, based on her darkening expression.
The tension was growing with every second between our groups, but before it could have gotten out of control, Emrum stepped in, stating with a clear voice.
His first words were directed towards Aria, who was about to draw her blade. The blade that Emrum gave back to her just after she entered the city.
“Ariawyn Virdithas, as a guest of my clan, I expect you to have more self control. Step back, and do not draw your blade in the city of Bal Dorahl, not without proper reason. You should realize the potential diplomatic drawbacks your actions might arouse in this situation.” — That said, his face turned towards the human group that caused the entire confrontation.
His voice was cold, losing any semblance of patience that was there previously. His dark brown eyes were piercing through all four members of the opposing party, one by one, finally stopping on the lone woman of their group.
“Those words that you spoke of are heavy accusations. You would better have proof to state such blatant words in front of noble members of the Dimhollow house. If you do have proof, I advice you to take the matter to court, but in the case if you lack such evidence, you would better step aside and not speak of this matter ever again.” — His eyes narrowed even further. — “Now get out of our way, before I decide to report your names to the authorities.”
Emrum’s tone of authority seemed to work, as the four human quickly stepped aside, after they heard the Dimhollow name. It clearly carried a lot of influence in the city. That said, I could feel them staring daggers into our backs while we walked past them hastily.
We marched across a few more streets that were becoming increasingly more crowded with people. Camilla suddenly decided to broke the freshly descended silence that seemed to engulf our little group.
“I… sorry about that. Those guys have been quite hard on me since, well, you heard what she said…” — Camilla was still tense from the recent encounter. It was also obvious to see that she felt guilty and embarrassed. Still, she clearly didn’t finish her words yet, therefore we waited for her to continue.
“It had been almost impossible for me to get into a proper group in the guild. All because of their meddling, they spread hateful rumors about me, and they even tried to intervene with me joining Langley’s adventuring party. Thankfully, they were one of the rare people who tended to cast aside such rumors. They deserved better… all of them.” — There were glistening tears appearing at the edge of her eyes, but she quickly dried them up with the sleeve of her blouse.
A weak smile sneaked onto her features as she pulled her pale red hair out of her face, green eyes glistening with a sense of acceptance as she turned to us.
“Honestly, I don’t think that I could get into another adventuring group after this disaster of a mission, especially not with them around, and being alone in the deep roads are practically a death sentence. I was pretty sure that my adventuring days were over, at least until you offered me that position, Emrum…” — She chuckled forcefully, then added in a shaky voice. — “So, that’s it mostly. I would gladly accept your offer of service if it still stands. If not, I… I can understand that, too.”
Emrum nodded, slapping the girl on the back gently, well as gently as a dwarf seems to be capable. — “Of course it stands. We owe you quite the favour after you saved Selora. From what I have seen of you, you are quite the talented scout, lass. I will personally ensure that you have a position that can utilize your skills while learning and expanding them.”
Camilla stiffened with surprise, then she smiled a grateful smile. — “Thank you Emrum, I will never forget this…”
The dwarf seemed to become quite fidgety under the emotional gaze of Camilla. He was clearly not used to such open gratefulness, as he scratched the back of his head with an embarrassed expression. All the while relentlessly leading us through the many streets and layers upon layers of people.
I smiled warmly while silently following their interaction. It was good to see that Camilla’s expression finally started to lighten up a bit. In retrospect, it was no surprise that the girl was becoming so depressed in recent days. Aside from losing her friends, she was about to lose her livelihood as well. Adventuring was a hard and dangerous work, after all, and it was more so in the deep roads.
While adventuring also paid especially well, compared to other jobs, it was basically a freelancing job, meaning that you could either get a lot of money, or basically nothing from a failed endeavour, while also paying for the repair of your own gear and every daily necessity. It was unsure if Camilla was even getting paid from this escort mission, seeing that the caravan was destroyed and the leader of the caravan was shot dead by arrows.
I guess it is the least of her worries right now.
~oOo~
As we continued to walk across the crowded streets of Bal Dorahl’s merchant districts, the lively streets have become richer in both design and style. There were many multi floored buildings around us now, often painted in rich and lively colors that formed a strong contrast compared to the blend and stone colored buildings of the less fortunate section of the city.
Among the colorful buildings there were those which were decorated by masterfully crafted statues, or covered in virtuous layers of marble showcasing the wealth of their owners. Buildings decorated with beautiful metallic carvings or murals painted on the walls of houses depicting certain historic or potentially religious moments could be seen occasionally.
There were shops in every corner of the streets, vendors shouting over the intensely haggling dwarfs. The occasional curse could be heard from time to time, before those voices too became lost in the general rumbling of a sea of people.
My lazy gaze, have long since turned into a desperate focus, as I did my best to follow Emrum across the chaotic streets. My heart was racing in my throat, as I feared the possibility of getting lost in this throng. I would never find my way again. To my surprise, Aria seemed to be struggling the same way, if not even more. She was glancing left and right, a troubled frown etched into her features.
While being afraid of getting lost was one very realistic thought on my mind, there was another reason why I was so tense. Seeing this many people in every single direction, I turned to. Feeling them brushing against me as we squeezed past each other after spending so much time in lost tunnels and before that, in a hospital bed for years, was quickly making me feel alarmed and kind of dizzy.
I was not used to so much people being around me, at least not anymore. My newfound anxiety was starting to get the better of me when Emrum suddenly stopped in front of us.
I looked around, noticing a tall metal gate with beautiful carvings forming the shape of wingless dragons facing each other on both sides of the gate, their mesmerizing forms laced with actual gold based on their unmistakable rich yellow glint. The gate itself was as tall as the buildings nearby blocking the entire street, and it was guarded by heavily armed soldiers.
Emrum stepped up to the guards. They seemed to recognize him immediately. There were a few words exchanged, but I couldn’t hear it from the hundreds of voices shouting in the background. I noticed the guards glancing towards us quite often while Emrum talked to him.
At last the man nodded, then barked to the other guards to open the gate. We were allowed to walk through without further issues, but I could still feel the intense gaze of the guard prickling my skin. I didn’t know what to think about that, since I was pretty sure that this was the first time I saw the man.
My thoughts have slipped through my mind the moment we stepped through. I stood rooted to the floor, surprised by the disparity. While the street behind the gate was far from abandoned, it felt almost empty compared to the chaotic nature of the merchant district.
I couldn’t help but blink rapidly while turning around to ascertain the truth.
Emrum watched my reaction with an amused expression, then he snorted, drawing my attention to himself. To my surprise Aria, and Camilla wasn’t reacting any better to the sharp differences either.
Emrum shook his head in amusement. Then suddenly straightened up himself, while saying in a warm, almost relaxed voice. — “My dear ladies, welcome to the noble district of the northern capital of the twin kingdoms.” — Waving his arm in a flourished and intentionally over-exaggerated motion towards the inner city.
His antics were rewarded by our silent stare.
Well… at least my stifling sense of anxiety was quickly retreating with having some space to breathe. Still, I wasn’t looking forward to experiencing that again.
There must be other exits from the noble district, since that particular one didn’t seem to get a lot of use either way.
Just as that thought passed, my stomach seemed to do a summer assault at the realization.
Damn… I am about to meet my new family, a family of dwarven warriors that have a history of not getting along with elfs.
What could go wrong?