With two heavily injured elves, it was all they could do to simply hold their ground. They had made it away from the water reservoir, but they weren't safe yet.
Lwyn was starting to sweat, and it had little to do with the heat of the air. The heat of the situation was more what was getting to her. Trying to help two of her friends, when no one else could offer much support, simply made this really rough. She could tell how much hardship Mhyl put herself through taking care of them, she took care of Thanrie in a situation much like this. Maybe with fewer enemies, but there was about as much fire. She was working with some of the ointment Ehryinae had, but the stuff clearly wasn't designed for these kind of burns, or even this degree of burns. There was also the water breathing problem.
Lwyn panicking was a bit of a breathing problem for herself. Actually, while she had been panicking about the visible burns, they did just drown. The water! Thankfully, while it felt like ages, it hadn't even been minutes. Getting the two elves here had actually taken seconds. This was good, because it was only now that she realized neither of them were actually breathing. Moments were eternities in situations like this, and she was scolding herself for her own neglect while she started to get the water out of their system. The water would also be burning them from the inside, so that's another reason to get it out. She wasn't exactly good at this, but she's had experience with problems in the Inn that were, unfavourable. People unable to breath, or having drunk too much of a liquid, both of those had happened in much less serious situations, and she'd been the one to deal with it. Sometimes, the stupid things she learned growing up seemed to be useful.
After some more seemingly eternity, she managed to get enough water pumped out to encourage a calm amount of breathing. It was still very shallow, they were in a horrible situation, but breathing was at least a good start. The water she pumped out of them had even scalded her hands, the internal burns would be a huge problem. She was familiar enough with the concept to know that the damage would typically be a catastrophe, mundane solutions wouldn't be enough. When it came to the gift, the Ember's specialization in fire was completely useless right now. Their other group had gifts that mostly seemed to be involved with slicing air, stealth, or something to do with mist. Mist was itself possibly cold, but it was also water, it would reduce their breathing quality, which would hasten the dangers. The two gifts they left behind seemed to be specialized in... ice.. and healing. Possibly the two MOST useful things they could have asked for right now.
Lwyn thought of it some more. Technically, not as much ice, cause while a small dosage could at least reduce their heat levels, ice itself could dramatically shift their temperature, which would have serious problems too. It was mostly the healing. Lwyn at least took off Mhyl's headset, so her head could cool off. The thing seemed actually waterproof, and then possibly also heat resistant, it looked to be working just fine. Lwyn looked around for something useful, but all she found were some very large steel crates. Actually, that could be useful.
"Ehryinae, the passage leading back where we came, can you blast the crates into a barricade, to stop them.. or at least slow them down?" "Ah, actually, not bad." Lwyn had a pretty good idea, according to Ehryinae. Getting everyone positioned safely, she blasted a giant sphere into the crates, which crashed towards the entryway and blocked it off. The noise of the explosion and the crash that followed resounded very loudly, much louder than past spells. With things blocked, everything started to quiet down.
"Lets not just think things are clear. They are certainly just trying to find another route. They probably know of another way. If we don't want to get cut off, we need to keep moving." Ehryinae looked at Lwyn's distraught expression, already worried about much of anything to do with the two elves. They refitted some of their still-empty bags to work to help fireman-carry the two elves safely. Two of the Embers complied with helping for this process, while Lwyn stayed alert for enemies. She tried using the headset, but not only was it too hard to understand, but her head was too small for it to fit nicely. Sometimes, being so tiny wasn't helpful.
They kept moving and eventually made it to the supplies they had been seeking. Soon after arriving, it was Thanrie that showed up. She turned off her boots on arrival. "Something here just didn't feel right, so I got Qheria's permission to come check things out. You left a lot of signals of where this place was, too. Wait, where is Mhyl?" Thanrie was looking around through her entire statement, but noticed their tallest member wasn't as visible as she usually was. Lwyn explained what happened, and showed Thanrie where the two elves were and how they were doing.
Thanrie's face slammed upon feelings of dread. First herself, now Mhyl. Qheria was also not going to take this news very well at all, just like last time. She reflected on her previous thoughts about luck, clearly this showed it wasn't something they could fully count on. However, it was also something they would have to hope could pull them through, they were in a really tight spot. "I'll go get Qheria. Ehryinae, I think we're going to need to leave the rest of this to you and Xyithy. We'll need to instead focus on saving our two friends." Thanrie was fairly assertive in a pinch like this, it was a fairly good idea. She was gone however before anyone could reply.
"Lwyn, if you are all going to need a quick way out, then my work isn't yet done. We did everything the sneaky way getting in, and I'm sure the Shadow Reavers were in their element when it came to organizing a sneaky solution. But now we need a dramatic, quick solution. The main gate is still sealed, and it's not going to unseal easily. Our best for dealing with sealed gates is also down, which will make attempts even longer. I need you to hold this spot with my Embers, you take charge while I'm gone. I'm going to deal with that gate, my way." Ehryinae was also gone quickly before Lwyn could reply. Suddenly, Lwyn was in charge of things.
She was already having another panic attack, and there was very little to panic about. Absolutely no one needed instructions, but the feeling that people were looking up to her and counting on her for instructions and guidance was blowing her away. She was just a half-elf, the dirt people walked over, she couldn't take these feelings of responsibility. It was too much for her, this whole situation was more than she could take. Lwyn fainted.
She found herself being woken up later by Thanrie, who had also gotten really worried that something very bad had happened to Lwyn too while she was gone. Ehryinae had still not yet returned, but Qheria and Zyuixqs were both present. Qheria had taken responsibility of carrying Mhyl, while Zyuixqs struggled to carry Chyurae. "I'm... I'm okay.. thanks." Lwyn got up, feeling very light-headed and dizzy. She found she was also bleeding from her forehead, falling on a hard floor like this hadn't done her any good. Still, even this was nothing compared to Mhyl's situation, she knew her own state didn't matter right now.
Thanrie made sure Lwyn got something to function as a bandage for her head, even if they didn't have much to work with. She also helped Lwyn stand, and gave her a shoulder to recover with. Lwyn insisted against it, almost falling over again in the process. At this point, Thanrie got a bit upset. "Okay Lwyn, I know you're trying really F~~~ing hard to look after Mhyl, but honestly.. if you have any F~~~ing hopes in taking care of anyone else, first you're going to have to start F~~~ing taking care of yourself. You matter too, you know." Thanrie was scowling at her, something she had never done.. to Lwyn at least. Zyuixqs recognized the look himself, so certainly wasn't going to get in the way.
Qheria hadn't said a word, nor did she look into saying anything. She looked like she was barely holding on herself. Moving almost as rigidly as the automatons they had fought, she ensured Mhyl was stable, and went to check on how Zyuixqs was doing with Chyurae. Qheria was someone who certainly knew that being such a failure wasn't being helpful for anyone, she had to do better herself before she could effectively lead anyone. Her own constant failures were endangering her friends, now once again.
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Ehryinae finally returned, having completed her objective. "Oh, great, everyone is here. The door is open. Good luck with those two." It wasn't until Ehryinae was done that she noticed the state everyone was in. Qheria looked much more exhausted then she actually was.. again. Lwyn suddenly being injured, with still signs of blood on her forehead, that was itself alarming. "Thanks, though we should probably worry more about Mhyl and Chyurae. They have a much more critical situation. But I'll make sure Qheria and Lwyn are looked after too, they both matter dearly and are very important." Thanrie's closing statement almost seemed like it wasn't only directed at Ehryinae.
The group made their way towards the main gates. "Zyuixqs, if you start getting too tired, let me know. We'll switch for a while." Thanrie could tell that Zyuixqs was barely holding on. He was so useless sometimes, but not by lack of effort. Thanrie herself was busy making sure Lwyn would be alright. They reached the gates, and observed the devastation, the entire gate had crumbled into large chunks across the field behind it. The ground itself had multiple craters and was still smoldering. Lwyn took a moment to worry if Ehryinae would be alright, this kind of stamina usage would endanger herself too. It was, however, too late to worry about that now.
Mhyl remained in a deep sleep through the entire journey. As she slept, so too did she dream. She was in a white frilly dress, seated in a park, watching the cloudless sky fly by. As she watched the sky, the blue started to itself fall like rain, and puddles started to form and grow rapidly. She ran, trying to flee the water that started to form. As a puddle enveloped a nearby tree, it sunk into the puddle and was gone. The water was coming for her next.
Running was difficult, she was wearing heels after all. Discovering that her heels were slowing her down, she threw them off, and ran bare foot. Through the grass, it was alright, but eventually the direction she ran went from fields to rocky path, the stones sharply stabbing her feet. She kept running, digging up a dust cloud as she ran, causing her to cough and choke. It was starting to get harder to breath, but she kept running, the water was still following her, the whole scenery behind her was falling away into a blue void much like the sky above her.
At one point, she stumbled on the road, sliding among the rocks and dirt below her, much farther than such a tumble should have. The rocks scratched and scraped across her entire body, her dress was tattered and torn, and was turning red from her own blood. The pain was immeasurable, and yet she still got up. She had to keep going, she had to escape.
She kept going until the path itself was edged upon a cliff, a single path hanging over an abyss of blue. The path behind her was sinking away, absorbed by the water falling behind her. She made sure to stay away from the cliff, but there was a long wall on the other side of the road. As she kept going, the path itself got smaller, the space between the wall to the one side and the cliff to the other was getting smaller and smaller. At one point, she had to start clinging to the wall as she went, the path smaller than her feet were wide. The wall itself was brambly and sharp, clawing at her as she pressed against it. Still, she kept going, there was no other choice.
As she kept going, the air itself started to get thin, and a wind threatened to blow her off of the path. She looked down at the clouds below her. It was getting exceptionally hard to breathe. While her elevation looked to be getting higher, she herself felt like she was getting heavier, as her dress started to drip drops of blood. Then she realized, it wasn't blood, it was red water. The water had reached her after all, and was trying to claim her, to pull her down. She struggled on, despite the weight and the difficulty breathing.
Then suddenly, even the path betrayed her. It came to an end, right in front of a white cloud. The cliff itself was an endless drop down on all sides. The path behind her was still disappearing, and her dress itself was still pulling her from the cliff, the rock wall almost shoving her off with it's spines and needle edges. But she refused to go down, she had to keep going. Go where? Up?
With everything else blue, Mhyl lept towards the only thing not blue, the cloud, left with nothing else to depend on or have hopes in. Her feet landed on the soft pillow of the cloud. The billows of the cloud came up as if to envelope her, causing her a moment of fear, but receded a moment later, leaving her dress as fluffy white as the clouds themselves, more than it was originally. The blood was rung out from it, raining below it as if to discard it into the blue abyss from which it came. The water could not pass, it too was absorbed by the cloud. Only herself was allowed to pass. She kept going, following the cloudy trail before her, until it reached a pedestal. On the pedestal was a book. She picked it up gently and opened it to the first page.
Mhyl coughed herself awake, which still felt itself painful. The healing magic which had being used on her had recovered her enough that she had regained consciousness. Aelyiq was there personally beside the warden, surprised at her sudden recovery from consciousness. Chyurae soon appeared in her vision as well, he had clearly not been far away at all, probably no further than the Wardens had put limits upon him. Lwyn was next to arrive, though she was still too dizzy to understand what Lwyn was even saying. It was familiar sounding enough to be either Elaethyx or English, but she was so out of it, she couldn't even figure out that. As her head cleared, she noticed even Tharie was nearby, worried. Qheria took some searching, she was sitting off to the side, looking ashamed. Oh, was she blaming herself again? Zyuixqs was missing, or did she miss him instead? She could hear footsteps going away, it might be him going to report her situation. That would make sense, he did so many reports.
"Mhyl, lay back down, you still haven't fully recovered. We still have a lot more work to do. You were injured really badly, you're very lucky your friends managed to bring you back safely." Oh, Aelyiq was saying she needed more rest. They were safe though, safe was good. Everything else, she could worry about later. More rest was good.
Lwyn watched Mhyl go back to sleep. She had been worrying about Mhyl the whole trip here, trying to tend to her injuries with ointments and whatever else they could, especially when breaks were needed. Qheria carried Mhyl the entire trip, a trip they couldn't do in one shot getting to the factory, and certainly didn't achieve getting back. Thanrie and Zyuixqs had both actually worn each other out carrying the other elf. Being a tiny half-elf, of course Lwyn hadn't been much help at all. She actually couldn't help very much, beyond being constantly concerned.
Thanrie meanwhile went to Qheria, not impressed that she seemed the only one who failed to notice Mhyl had woken up there for a while. However, she found even Qheria was asleep. With things calmed down, she managed to set aside another bed for Qheria and get her resting. Meanwhile, Aelyiq got Chyurae back into the other bed that was already prepared. Chyurae had recovered a while ago, not having been injured as seriously, but still also himself needed rest. Until he saw Mhyl was okay, rest had eluded him, but now he was getting pretty sleepy.
Lwyn remained there well past when the wardens had finished healing, still unsure how she could help, but devoted to the cause. Thanrie herself decided that it would then be up to her to get them some food. They had managed to return around lunch that same morning, and had been all a lost cause through lunch the next day. This was yet another lunch. Qheria and Lwyn had been here the entire time, both looking dead to the world in their own way. Almost inverse of each other in fact, Qheria looked like everything was her fault, that somehow she was to blame for everything.. while Lwyn looked like she didn't deserve anything better, and so was sacrificing herself for Mhyl.
Thanrie was livid, but not at herself or anyone else. She mostly cursed their hapless misfortune. Their luck had still been needed to save Mhyl, in all irony of her own cursing, but it was almost that self-same luck that had caused this. She had learned what had happened in detail. Predicting all of this would have been ridiculous. The chances of having a water cooling station was there, sure enough, that could have been predicted. Predicting that it couldn't take the heat and would have gotten warm, maybe Yuxzn could have pulled that off. But at this point, all we have is reasons to not get in the water. The chances of the water bubbling so perfectly as to catch one of them in just the right way to throw Mhyl into the water, and not just that but actually pull her under...
She was getting the impression that there might be more to this luck thing then they thought. It almost seemed like there might be two forces of fortune involving them, one wanting them to be victorious, the other seeking their defeat. The more she thought about it, the more sense that even made. To denounce the source of their misfortune would require her to also denounce the source of their good fortune. Meanwhile, she had found out, while Mhyl's health was as bad as expected, the burns she should have suffered.. were not nearly as bad as they should have been. The burns inside Chyurae's lungs were actually considerably worse than Mhyl's, and he had hardly inhaled water at all. It was another strange life-saving situation, just like the one Thanrie had gone through, and it was all too suspicious.
Thanrie brought everyone's lunch to the room, only to find she was the only one still awake. She set out everyone else's lunch, and started eating her own as she waited.