Onterrath (Part 1)

Dunn scowled and complained. "You mean after your insanely reckless decision. That attack —."

"— was successful, and we managed to make it out alive, so drop it." Liam interrupted him.

"All I meant was we could have taken it slow! There was no need to be hasty."

"You wanted a drawn-out battle? We were on our last legs! Forget fighting, even standing was difficult. If the battle continued any longer, none of us would have made it back. Let's not discuss it any longer. What happened after I fainted?"

Dunn was miffed but thankfully stopped ranting. "Do you want an overview or do you want me to go into the details?"

"Unbelievable," Liam groaned. "Just start with what happened after I fainted?"

Jade uttered a single word like it explained everything. "Ioriel."

If it was anyone else, the explanation wouldn't mean anything, but Liam understood what she tried to convey. He didn't know how desperate the situation had been, but using the other part of her ability was a last-ditch resort. If the effect was too strong, she wouldn't be able to use the boundary to return.

"Is she okay?"

Dunn watched him with a grim look on his face. "No."

Liam didn't respond and continued staring at Dunn.

"I'm messing with you," he laughed, punching Liam in the arm. "Now that you woke up, I couldn't contain my excitement. The others are all okay. Our only concern was you."

"Are you sure?" he stressed.

Both of them nodded.

"And the Rhox?"

"Ioriel killed it. Don't ask me how she did it as I have no idea. By now, everyone should be back in their own lands."

There was an exception to his last point. Glancing at Jade, Liam wondered if he should ask her.

"I can't go back to the northern lands," she answered, putting an end to his dilemma. Her face was suspiciously blank, giving nothing away. It wasn't a good time to dig into her past, so Liam let it go. She would open up when she was willing to, and there were more pressing issues he had to focus on.

He diverted his attention to the people standing behind Dunn.

"Who are they?"

"Oh. Let me present our rescuers — Caleb and his squad. Caleb and Blake aren't here as the commander summoned them, but let me introduce the others,"

Dunn pointed towards everyone, introducing them.

Their squad had two snipers, Leo and Ella. Along with the archer Kiley, and Caleb who preferred to use pistols, they took care of long-ranged attacks.

Finn acted as the scout while Eric and Liam were in charge of the squad's defense.

Finally, Pearl, Blake, and Kyle were the close combat specialists.

Liam was surprised to hear Pearl was part of the squad that rescued them.

None of the squad members had the heart to introduce themselves enthusiastically. Just because Liam, Jade, and Dunn were reveling in their happiness didn't mean the situation around them was peaceful.

Too many people were crying for help. Soldiers were shifting the bodies of their fallen comrades. Others tried to pacify the villagers who picked up fallen weapons and pointed them at the soldiers with trembling hands.

Pearl was silent throughout the entire conversation. Struggling with herself, she voiced her thoughts. "How did you know?"

Everyone apart from Liam was confused and turned to look at her. Ignoring their questioning looks, she kept staring at Liam.

"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you."

Thankfully, she didn't push for an answer.

"If I acted earlier, this could have been avoided, couldn't it?" She couldn't remove her eyes from the injured soldiers.

After the hostility she directed towards Liam, she was expecting him to indulge her?

"I didn't expect you to kill him based on my word. If the soldiers in the army could act with such impunity, it would be tyrannical."

'But the situation would have been much better if you paid heed to my words,' he added in his head.

Not knowing his true thoughts, Pearl relaxed.

"I still can't believe a single thrall can give rise to so much destruction." Kiley's words depressed the others.

"Most of the destruction wasn't caused by the corrupted." Liam's words stunned everyone.

His words confused Ella. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"I am sure you will know it soon enough."

"Anyway, why don't we retire for the night. I don't think anyone is in the mood to celebrate," Dunn suggested. "Liam will be staying with me, so I can take him to the tent."

They readily agreed and left in their respective directions. Liam, Jade, and Dunn conversed about random topics and did not discuss anything important. They couldn't be sure if someone was listening in on them.

After they reached the tent, Liam quickly used his ability to isolate themselves.

"Safe?" Jade asked.

When Liam nodded, she threw herself onto the bed while Dunn and Liam chose the chairs.

"Fine craftsmanship," Dunn commented when the bed didn't collapse.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jade asked with a sour look on her face.

"Nothing."

Luckily for Dunn, Jade let him go after glaring for a few seconds.

"You know if someone is spying on us, they will wonder why they cannot hear any noise when we are talking." Dunn pointed out.

"It's fine. Do you think the commander expects us to silently listen to her without keeping any secrets?" Jade answered.

While Liam agreed with her statement, he would rather hide his abilities. The problem was the current situation did not allow him to do so. It was imperative for him to get as much information as he could before meeting Alisha.

"What is going on and why is everyone glaring at us?" On their way to the tent, a lot of soldiers threw hostile glares towards their group. Most of them were directed towards Dunn and Jade.

"Let me start at the beginning. How much do you know about the continent?"

"That's a very vague question," Liam said. "Let's assume I don't know anything?"

It wasn't much of an assumption as he didn't remember a lot about his life before the Rift.

Dunn drew a rough outline of the continent on a piece of paper. A line through its middle divided it into two parts.

"The west is Sherthyr, and the east belongs to the other races."

"What do you mean the west is Sherthyr?" Liam asked, his voice rising in pitch.

"Wait, you didn't know?" Jade sat up in her bed in surprise.

"You actually meant it when you said you had zero knowledge about the continent?" Dunn also looked up from his drawing to stare at Liam.

"Don't ask me the same question again and again. Can we move on?"

"Sherthyr," Dunn uttered with a reverent look on his face. "The jewel of Onterrath. It belongs to the strongest race on the continent, the elves. Some say they are strong enough to resist the combined might of every other race.

"The common people consider the dwarves to be the richest race, but that isn't true. How can the race owning half the continent be poor?"

"Don't stray off the topic," Jade interjected. "You are wasting time speculating unnecessary things."

"Right." Dunn cleared his throat and continued.

"The elves only have a single ruler and everyone in their race is answerable to him.

"On the eastern side of the continent, the dwarves lie to the south, bordered by the elves on one side, the orcs on the opposite end, and the Heleon theocracy lies above them.

"The Shurin kingdom lies between Sherthyr and the Theocracy. To the north, it faces the sea.

"Finally, the northern clans share a border with both the Theocracy and the Shurin kingdom."

"Why the sudden geography lesson?" While it was informative, Liam didn't understand its relation to their situation.

"Patience my friend," Dunn said.

Jade rolled her eyes and snatched the pen from Dunn's hand. "Let me do the explaining. You tend to go off track."

Her actions annoyed Dunn. "What can a musclehead like you explain?"

"Stop quibbling." Liam interrupted the comeback Jade was about to throw. "Let's focus on the important topics shall we?"

Jade snorted and drew a small circle in the center of the continent.

"What's that?"