Remus had experienced many things in his life. He’d met many races and been to places most couldn’t fathom. Despite how much he’d seen, he knew that there was always something more waiting out in the world to discover, but never did he think he would see the other side of the Alps.

It had been a good decade since he’d been on his last travels, and while he’d considered a vacation sometime soon, he never expected to be thrust into these new lands in the way he had.

The Alps were impassable. That fact was common knowledge for centuries. You can’t travel far through the Middle Elevation without breathing equipment, not to mention the ever-increasing dangers one faces as they climb higher. In comparison, the journey through the tunnels beneath the mountains was incredibly tame.

The whole idea of a cave system running through the entire Alps still boggled his mind. There were plenty of mining operations in the Alps that had never come across the underground caverns. It was unthinkable to think they’d always been there.

The journey to this new land was not exactly… comfortable, in any sense of the word. He was usually fine with a bit of discomfort, and if it weren’t for his junior team-members, he might have even treated it like a holiday. But the treatment of the mermineae toward his compatriots left nothing but a foul impression of his captors.

The mermineae’s method of torture was the same as the way they lived; primitive. It was almost a walk in the park compared to his time in the war prison of West Henosis. The mermineae’s attempts relied heavily on their claws or blunt force, nothing creative at all.

The most frustrating part was that he gave them the information willingly; there was no reason to hide what he knew. The sensitive information he could never disclose, were never questions asked of him. He gave up information like strengths of mercenary members and important locations with hardly any hesitance all to prevent them hurting his team, and yet they did anyway.

The information was public anyway. They’d be able to find out everything from asking any member of the Mercenary Order they picked up along the way, so he never held back.

Remus tugged at the bindings locking his tentacles together. A thick sap-like substance that wouldn’t loosen no matter how the force applied.

The mermineae were incredibly uncivilised. Not having even the most basic of amenities for a comfortable life. They hide themselves with their camouflaging fur against predators and hunt with their teeth and claws, not even assisted by weapons. He could hardly consider them more than beasts.

The only thing that might indicate potential growth is the rotten rug tossed over Remus and his two teammates. The sap that holds the furs together being the same that binds his limbs.

The warmongers of the warring isles would be considered an advanced civilisation compared to these merminea.

And yet, despite their lack of advancement, they have strength comparable to his own. Each one of them equivalent to a Luis ranked mercenary at the very least.

Remus looked over his two comrades with frustration. Their own limbs locked and weapons confiscated. He had seen none of the mermineae carrying them on their travels, so he had to assume they didn’t bother bringing them along. They don’t use weapons themselves after all.

Bunny was as strong willed as her father. Her eyes glared at any merminea that glanced her way. There was no reason to hide any information she knew, especially after Remus told them in front of her, but she held back anyway.

Jav… had not lasted so long without problems. He had been loud and aggressive against their captors for a few weeks after his questionable attempt to free Remus and Bunny, but after that, he’d pulled into himself. He only talks now when absolutely necessary. It was both sad and infuriating to watch his young friend’s fall.

A bundle of leaves landed on the ground before him. Remus looked up to a set of grey eyes. The Forvaal were the strongest of the mermineae. Even without that strange ability of theirs to reduce an object to dust, they have the strength to go toe to toe with the best of the Luis mercenaries. He didn’t doubt there were some amongst them that could compare with the Beith ranked.

“Rub those into the bindings. Be subtle. Do not move until the bird arrives.” The Forvaal blended back into the earth after murmuring his piece. The words barely loud enough to register.

Remus stared after the Forvaal. “Huh.”

Bunny inclined her head in question.

“It seems we have a benefactor.” Remus knew that if this merminea represented a group opposing their captors, the only reason they’d have to free them would be to gain information themselves. Well, he wasn’t about to ignore this gift.

He squirmed his way over to the pile of long dry leaves. The restraints making movement difficult. He pressed the sap-like substance into the pile left between them and tried to rub them in. There was no guarantee that these leaves could somehow remove the sap, but Remus would risk himself before he let the other two try it themselves.

Bunny looked like she wanted to jump on the chance, but her own restraints and biology stopped her from moving. For now, she’ll have to be patient; something he was surprised she still struggled with, despite being stuck so long.

Jav huddled into himself, ignoring anything happening in the real world. Remus felt like his body wrung every time he looked at his friend. It was times like this that he wished he’d focused more on increasing his strength rather than exploring the world. Many of the Beith mercenaries he’d once stood side by side with, were now leagues ahead of him. If he had replicated the effort they put in, his team would not have fallen into such a situation.

Remus rolled back and forth over the long leaves. A build up of dust piled from around the leaves as they ate away at his restraints. Eventually, he felt the sap drying up against the membrane of his skin. It only took a small tug with his limbs to crumble the bindings that had locked him away for months.

Without being obvious to any watching mermineae, he stretched his muscles that had become stiff after so long being unused. He moved on to freeing Bunny, who was squirming where she lay as she watched, envious of his freedom.

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Jav didn’t notice what was going on until no sap remained on his limbs.

“What?” he looked down at his now free hands with confusion.

There would be no easy escape for Jav this time. They had torn his wingsuit to shreds after his capture. It was good to see him react to the world once more. Remus had been afraid that he would remain a shell if they’d ever escaped, so his immediate reaction was rather relieving. Even if he didn’t think the volan would be okay for a long while.

This whole situation, Remus felt responsible for. He’d treated the search through the caverns as another of his exciting adventures through an undiscovered place. He should have pulled back when half his team showed heavy resistance to push on. But no, he’d just gone and put everyone in even more danger.

Jav’s father, his old teammate from decades ago, he wasn’t sure he could face him should they ever return. He’d let his old friend’s son fall prey to such horrible treatment in his care.

Bunny peered out from under the cover of shed mermineae fur. She looked to the sky, obviously looking for the bird mentioned. She turned her gaze back to Remus with a raised eyebrow, remaining quiet.

“I’m not sure how we’ll get out.” He answered her unspoken question. “but we’ll need to wait for the signal before we make any attempt. Let’s hope they have a decent plan.”

Jav was still looking at his hands.

Remus touched the tip of a limb on the small volan’s back. “We’re getting out. You think you can push through for a bit?”

“Huh?” Jav’s eyes don’t seem to focus, but he responds regardless with an affirmative hum and a nod. “Mm”

As soon as Remus got his team out of this mess, he was going to make sure they were fine. He’d already underestimated the effect of mental health when he’d sent Solvei into a prolonged panic-attack. He wouldn’t make the same mistake.

Once out of the mermineae’s clutches, he needed to find Grímr and Solvei. They must still be trapped down in the depths of the Alps. He could only hope they were still hale and surviving. Maybe they found a way up in his absence.

There was no point in worrying now, not when he still needed to get these two out of danger. He’d seen the girl’s eyes; she was a survivor. No matter how much she feared, he didn’t doubt she’d find a way out.

He knew from the start the young áed had the determination to push onward. Her desperate gaze in that first spar he’d had with her had shown him not to treat her as a child. Doing so would have been an insult to the challenges she’d already faced.

Despite their ages, Remus believed Solvei had a far better chance of escaping than Grímr, assuming she got a proper grasp on her terror. Grímr was far less likely to take any risks to reach the surface. That also meant he was likely to survive longer down there, even if it meant becoming a part of the ecosystem. Remus hoped the two of them could rely on each other until they reached safety.

As the sun lowered in the afternoon sky, Remus could feel the tension exuding off Bunny beside him, her impatience doing her no benefit as they wait for the signal. Jav didn’t really seem to process what was happening, but he was aware, which was good enough for Remus.

He put a tentacle around the volan and lifted him to his head. Jav twitched at the touch, but didn’t fight his grasp.

A flash of light shone from the north. Remus’ eyes swivelled in the direction as Bunny twisted her neck. For a moment, he doubted his sight. The unforgettable burning falcon flew toward them.

Remus couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped him. It was so relieving to know she was alright.

“I guess the bird we were waiting for was Solvei, after all.” He felt giddy for the first time in a while. Hopefully, she came with a plan and wasn’t hoping to take on the bunch of mermineae alone.

The áed wasn’t heading directly for them, instead she seemed to aim for the area Remus knew most of the mermineae were hiding. How she knew they were there, he didn’t know.

Well, she was the signal, so he might as well follow their plan. He tossed the cover off their heads to the confused squeaks of the nearby merminea. Bunny wasted no time throwing herself at the nearest of the sounds, snapping one’s neck before it even realised what happened. She was best with a weapon, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t fight without one.

Unfortunately, they could only get the jump on one. The next arm-wrestled their way out of her grasp as she tried to do the same to them.

The snap of Remus’ whip-like limbs sent a few mermineae sprawling, but they quickly fade out of his sight, camouflaged against the ground. He grunted, passing his gaze over the surrounding, knowing that they’ll try to sneak up on them in a moment of distraction.

He needed to ignore these and get his team to safety. There was no way the three of them could take on the entire congregation of mermineae.

His eyes fell back to Solvei, to see what her plan was and to be sure she was okay. But he could hardly believe what he saw. As the áed in her falcon form closed the final distance to the camp, the flames surrounding her exploded. In moments, a flashover of bright yellow fire smothered the camp.

This was far greater than anything she’d been able to achieve the last time he’d seen her. More than that; this was more fire than he’d seen any other áed achieve. The golden flickers hugged his form but did not burn. They were hot, of course, but not enough to breach the enhancement of his outer membrane.

The same was not true for the mermineae around him. High-pitched screams met his ear. After all they had done to his team, he could not say he cared all too much for their pain.

The flames were difficult to see through, but the mermineae visible before him were no longer covered in the fur that made them so hard to spot. Remus took advantage of the creatures’ pained flailing to take the offensive. He shattered spines and crushed the heads of those too busy crying in pain to defend themselves.

A laugh echoed above Remus’ head. “You get what you deserve, bastards!” Jav didn’t move to join the fight, but he seemed to enjoy the retribution laid on those who’d caused him so much pain.

Of course, not everything can go perfectly.

Bunny, who’d been beating on a merminea, was blown into Remus. A powerful strike by one of their captors as they flew in through the cover of flames caught her off guard.

Remus absorbed the impact and dropped her at his side. The new merminea crouched on all fours and glared at them with its glowing, cloudy grey eyes. Flames licked across his skin, where no fur remained, boiling the surface of its body. Despite the bubbling skin, its focus entirely on Remus.

The merminea bared its fangs and hissed, a sound like a combination of a whistle and a growl. The glowing of its eyes intensified, and Remus felt a deep, sharp pain through one of his foremost limbs. He dashed to the side before flinging himself toward the Forvaal.

Even as fast as he was, it wasn’t quick enough to hit the mermineae. It scampered to the side and dashed toward Bunny, who stood ready to retaliate.

Remus peered down at the throbbing pain in his tentacle, only to find it gone. Reduced to dust and spread through the flames. The fight was still going. He couldn’t focus on it now.

He rushed back, hoping to get the jump on it while it was engaged with Bunny. It was not to be. As soon as he came within striking distance of the merminea, it dropped to its forelegs and kicked at Remus. Its claws cutting deep into the limb he’d flung forward in attack, before scurrying out of the range of retaliation.

Remus stood beside Bunny, prepared to rush forward once more. He couldn’t afford to let the Forvaal attack them with those eyes again. With no clear way to stop it, he needed to put all his effort into not giving the merminea a chance.

“Weren’t you told to wait for the giant bird?” a familiar voice asked from the shroud of flames.

Not a moment later, golden chains materialise out of the flame and wrap around the Forvaal, tripping it in mid step. The burning bird flew in with talons poised for the merminea’s eyes before it could regain its balance. A wet squelch and a screech announcing that she’d hit her target.

The giddy feeling was overwhelming now, and he couldn’t help but let out a guffaw. “It’s great to see you again, Solvei.” Despite the pressing circumstances, it really was.

The Forvaal was quick to gain distance as it clutched a hand over its bleeding eye. Unfortunately, there was still another glowing orb to worry about.

Now, all they needed was Grímr, and the team would be united.