Chapter 23 - Escape Through The Dark

I wake up to Luna shaking me lightly. Apparently, it's time for us to move

on, rather than an emergency. I sit up and look around sleepily, remembering

that I'm not a morning person when woken up unnaturally. For the past weeks

I got up on my own before anyone had to shake me, but today it seems I was

just a little bit off.

It's the sixth day of our descent into the kingdom under the mountain, and

according to the bard today we will finally see the actual city of Rathgolim.

So far, we have only been moving through tunnels used by the dwarven

miners.

Looking down at my side, I find Kamii lying next to me as she always

does. I stroke her hair before bending down to her ear and whispering 'wake

up'. Her eyes flutter open sleepily, and she looks up at me, before smiling. If

we were alone, I would cuddle her right now - and potentially do some more.

Turning around to my other side, I wake up Daica in the same manner.

Unlike her older sister's graceful reaction, she jerks up into a sitting position

in surprise and looks around in confusion, before realizing where she is.

"Can't we skip today?" She lies back down on her blanket, muttering in a

sullen tone. In the past few days, she had gotten quite used to talking back

like that every now and then, since the journey isn't as exhausting as it was

when we were ascending the mountain. At that time, she didn't even want to

waste a breath on saying something she knows is pointless.

"I wish. But look on the bright side: Tomorrow we'll be out of here."

Patting her shoulder, I stand up myself and help with the preparations for

breakfast.

"Let's go." Rolan nods when we're all packed up and ready to depart.

Leading the way with a torch, he pushes open the door to the hallway outside,

revealing endless darkness rather than a wall on the other side.

The scenery has changed by quite a bit recently. While we used to be

walking through only tunnels, for the latter half of yesterday we've been

moving alongside a chasm that seems to disappear into unfathomable depths.

There are crumbled wooden frameworks above and below us, suggesting that

this area was under development up until the dwarves left.

"This is the fastest way, according to the markers. There are others, which

are wider and have more secure footholds for carts and carriages to pass

through." The bard explains as we pass a section where the ledge is just

barely wide enough for the big man to walk straight on.

"W-w-why didn't we choose those w-wider paths?" Daica complains, her

legs shaking as she leans on me. It seems she has a fear of heights, as she

tries her best not to look down into the abyss.

I can't fault her for that; while my aversion to it isn't so extreme that I can

barely stand on my own, my knees still feel weak when I stand right on the

precipice.

"Because it would take us almost a whole day longer." With a look of

sympathy, the bard responds to Daica's rhetorical question. She knows that

we can't afford to take detours, and it's not like this route is that dangerous.

Shortly after our lunch break we finally walk out into a vast hallway. It's

wider than anything we saw before, and to our right, there's a giant archway

leading into impenetrable darkness.

"Just beyond here is the great city of the dwarves." With the pride of a

guide showing foreigners a place of interest in their home country, the bard

gestures forward past the archway. When we pass through it, he turns to

Luna. "I think we can go for a little more light here. If you would please,

Runa?"

She does as she's asked and wordlessly turns the flame atop her staff up. It

illuminates our surroundings and reveals a seemingly impossibly tall cave,

held up by titanic pillars cut from the very mountain itself. Inside those

pillars are windows, beyond which only blackness lurks.

I assume that these are like multi-story apartment buildings, in which the

dwarves used to live. I can't even begin to imagine what this place must have

looked like when it was illuminated by thousands of lights, the streets

bustling with life as the dwarves went on their daily businesses.

"Welcome to the city of Rathgolim." Stretching his arms out in an allencompassing gesture, as if presenting a landscape, the bard states with

meaningful gravity.

We walk out into the halls, slowing down our march to take in the sights that come into view under Luna's light. The wooden doors to the houses

around us are all broken down and crumbling from old age. They're at a

height barely enough for me to stand upright in, but that's plenty of space for

dwarves; the ones I saw in Hovsgaerden were only about as tall as Senka.

Suddenly, a familiar rattling sound comes from all around us. Our wonder

at the view of this magnificent city is blown away and instantly replaced by

alarm.

"Undead?" Rolan draws his sword and looks around. I turn to the closest

source of the noise and find that from an alleyway between the stone houses a

few skeletons are slowly moving towards us. They're taller than any dwarf, so

they must be human remains.

"Libera-" I begin to chant the spell that will turn them to dust and free their

souls.

"Wait!" The bard shouts, but it's already too late.

"-Animar!" As I finish the incantation, a nova of light expands with me as

the center and travels outwards. It hits the skeletons and burns them away,

just like it did during the cemetery clearing quest. "Huh?"

"That was-" Before the bard can explain his reason for trying to stop me, a

high-pitched, nerve-grating scream echoes through the stagnant underground

air.

"What was that?" Gram looks around in surprise and turns his shield in

every which direction, readying himself to defend against this potential

threat. The acoustics of this place makes it hard to pinpoint where it came

from, so everybody's on high alert.

We soon realize that it's no longer the first scream echoing off the walls.

It's being answered by many others, and it soon settles into a chatter that

seems to expand in all directions. From the depths of the halls, a deeper voice

bellows something in a strangely guttural and foreign language, before the

noise of metal armor pieces clattering against each other rises all around us.

"I have a bad feeling about this..." I mutter.

"Run!" The bard shouts, and we spring into action at the same time as all

around us strange creatures appear on top of buildings and emerge from

alleyways. They come at us from all directions, and the entire mountain

seems to come alive.

With my night-vision, I can see what they are. The best way to describe

them would be bipedal naked mole rats. They have tiny beady eyes, giant incisors that are exposed, and wrinkly pale skin with few bristly hairs sticking

out all over their bodies. Their heights are mostly around the same as those of

the dwarves I've seen, some being smaller and some bigger.

This fact seems to have allowed these creatures to scavenge dwarven armor

pieces and tools for their own use. Many are wearing rusted chainmail or

dented armor pieces, wielding all kinds of tools as weapons, even if they

were not intended as such.

As we run through the streets of the ruined dwarf city, the trampling of

countless feet grows louder by the minute. When I look up, I see that mole

rats are pouring out of the windows in the pillars as well as cracks in the

buildings, climbing down the walls adeptly.

The encirclement is quickly shrinking.

"We need to get to the Bridge of Enleith, quick!" Shooting his crossbow

behind us while running, the bard exclaims. With so many pursuers, his

haphazard shot easily finds a target. A high-pitched squeal confirms that he

killed or at least wounded one of those creatures, but it's only a drop in the

ocean of flesh and metal coming for our lives.

"Hasta de Lumin!" I shout, and a spirit spear forms above me even while

I'm running. In its radiance, the mole rats that come from our sides shy away

with surprised screams. At such close range, and illuminated by my light, I

finally get a good look at them, better than I could with night vision.

They're hideous!

Releasing my spell towards the front, I aim to open up a path before us. It

cuts a straight line through the air and pierces two of the creatures, before

detonating on the breastplate of a third. They were among the first to come

out onto the road that we're following, and my spell deters others from doing

the same. But only for a moment.

"Quick!" Rolan shouts, cutting a mole rat's head off while running past it.

That seemingly casual feat of strength and skill causes the surrounding

creatures to stop and fall back in fear. These small critters are many, but

they're cowards.

Then the deeper voice from before bellows something and all the enemies

begin to move again as if shaken from their shock. It's obviously their leader,

but I can't pinpoint his location because of all the squeaks and clanging metal.

I look back and find that Gram has picked up Daica, carrying her while

running as fast as he can. Kamii has been able to keep up with me so far, and Luna isn't doing too poorly herself, despite her less than stellar constitution.

"Hasta de Lumin!" Once again, the radiant light gathers above me, before I

release it towards our front. Once again, it pierces several of the mole rats and

causes the others to shy away. But at this point, it's too late; the encirclement

is complete. The houses, alleyways, and rooftops around us are filled with

enemies, a huge army is right to our rear, and there are more and more

closing up the path ahead.

This spell is pretty bad for area of effect. It can take out several individuals

in a straight line but does nothing for when the caster is surrounded.

Then I hear Luna beginning to chant. I'm sure her magic is much better

suited for clearing large packs, so all we have to do is hold out until she's

ready. It will most likely take anywhere between thirty seconds to a whole

minute. I just hope the party can hold out long enough.

"Mahkotoh!" Kamii shouts, and I spin around. A mole rat wielding a metal

spike has emerged from a crack in the ground and is jumping at me. The little

dark elf throws her crab claw around and slaps it out of the air. The little

creature is confused but doesn't look hurt, as it shakes its head to regain its

composure. Then it opens its mouth and screeches in a high-pitched tone

threateningly, before charging at us again.

Before I can react, Kamii swings her cursed arm again. Since the creature

is now moving along the ground and already gauged the previous hit as

harmless, it doesn't try to dodge. Instead, it attempts to take it with its rusted

breastplate.

This time, its feet leave the ground as it's sent flying back into its pack.

Wait, that hit just now looked stronger?

From the encirclement, another mole rat gathers its courage and charges

forward. Kamii lets her right arm crash down from above. Apparently, having

misjudged her reach, the creature takes it directly on its head. A cracking

sound emerges from its neck, and it falls to the ground lifelessly.

Don't tell me...

Before I can pay further attention, Gram lets Daica down right next to me,

before bringing his shield forward just in time to repel a larger mole rat

coming at the party from the rear. In fact, this one is almost as tall as I am.

When I look into the darkness, I finally notice that among the encirclement

many much larger figures loom. Some of them are as tall as the big man, with

muscular bodies to match, towering over the others of their kind like adults would over children. They aren't moving just yet, but I don't think any of the

humans would be able to deal with those.

Are these small ones actually only children?

Rolan is using his torch as a deterrent on one side while swinging his

sword on the other, trying to cover as much space as possible. The bard is

doing the same, having drawn his short sword and using it to threaten the

enemies that are inching closer; reloading the crossbow under these

circumstances is pretty much impossible, so it's a good call.

Gram is using both his stature and his massive shield to hold our back, and

Daica has put down her backpack, and taken out vials and flasks of chemical

substances, mixing them together hastily. Even under these circumstances,

her hands are unexpectedly steady in their work. She might be creating either

an explosive or some chemical which can scare the creatures away.

Then my attention is taken by a mole rat with shattered incisors and a

bloody mess for a face flying through the air. Spinning my head around, I

find that Kamii has entered a battle trance, roaring vigorously while swinging

her cursed arm. She has started advancing into the densely packed creatures,

who have nowhere to retreat to. Every hit seems to gain more and more

weight, and at one point, enemies are flung through the air like ragdolls or

splattered onto the ground, their bodies broken beyond recognition.

Wow! I remember her hitting me before, but it was only once. There seem

to be specific conditions attached to that strength, or else I would have shared

the fate of these hideous creatures. Maybe it has something to do with a

combo counter or something like that, but that just sounds way too out there.

Wait, this is a fantasy world, it's entirely feasible that a strange power with

game mechanic-like laws exists here. I quickly look around, but it seems

everybody is occupied on their own fronts, so they don't notice what Kamii is

doing. For now, I feel like they don't need to know.

"Ignis!" For the first time, I chant it loudly, and a giant flame appears on

top of my palm. Luckily, I had enough foresight to lift my arm high above

me, or I would have burned my own face off. Throwing the fire into a group

of mole rats that are trying to circle behind the little dark elf, I burn several of

them to crisps while the others clamor to get away.

"Catastrophe!" Luna calls out and raises her staff. Her spell is done! It took

even longer than the laser one, so I hope it's good. The fire and wind crystals

embedded in the tip of her staff glow in their respective colors, symbolizing that this spell is using those two elements. From that glow, a ball of light flies

up high into the air and explodes in a bright flash. The mole rats shy back

half a step, blinded by the sudden light.

The brightness fades and leaves behind a large flame, from which small

fireballs rain down on our surroundings. It's a firestorm spell, which affects a

large area - perfect for the occasion. The moment the balls come into contact

with the surrounding enemies, they explode and cover the creatures in flames.

However, the original flame is used up quickly, and while it was effective

in causing havoc and breaking the enemy formation, not that many of them

have been killed. Just when I think this, an upward draft pulls the fire from

the burning corpses all around us and gathers them back into an even bigger

flame.

That's a multi-use spell, just like the laser? I have to admit that Luna has

the most destructive potential on the team while being the physically

weakest. Just like a true glass cannon. She must have put all her points into

spell power and none into cast speed.

After the second deadly rain of fireballs, the encirclement crumbles and the

mole rats scatter in all directions, running for their lives. Even the big ones

that were only watching, most likely for an opening to charge in, are

retreating in terror.

"Now's our chance, make a run for it!" Rolan shouts and pulls Luna out of

her spell-casting trance. She blinks her eyes, before swinging her staff behind

us, throwing the entire original flame down onto the street. It explodes into a

huge field of fire, which cuts off the path for any pursuers.

"This way!" The bard shouts and leads us while swinging his short sword

at the routing enemies, to dissuade them from barring our way.

"Hasta de Lumin!" I shoot a spirit spear at those that seem hesitant to open

up the path. Then I leap to Kamii's side, grabbing her left arm. She spins

around and swings her crab pincer at me, but I dodge just in time, before

taking hold of her shoulders. "Snap out of it! We're running!"

"I-I'm sorry..." She looks shocked at her own actions, but I pull her along.

"Don't worry." I give her a reassuring smile. As I take that moment to look

at the carnage she left behind I suppress a shudder. Towards the end, those

she hit were scattered into tiny pieces where they stood instead of being sent

flying, practically disintegrating from the force of the impact.

Damn, that was close! Cold sweat is forming on my forehead at the thought of what would have happened to my body if she had hit me just now.

"Daica!" I find that she seems to have finished mixing her concoction, but

there's no point in using it for the time being. "Take Senka."

Without waiting for her reply, I place the doll girl in her free hand, while

lifting her backpack from the ground. She looks at her new luggage with a

surprised expression but immediately begins to run after Rolan and the

others.

"Big man! Come on!" I wait for Gram, who is taking his time strapping his

shield over his backpack so that he can run faster.

"Coming!" Gram responds while turning around one last time to make sure

nothing is pursuing us through the wall of fire, before joining up with Kamii

and me.

Suddenly, the angered voice of the mole rat leader resounds through the

caverns, and I hear whirring sounds coming from the rear.

Several metallic impact noises on Gram's shield confirm that they're

shooting at us with bows. Luckily, none reach us, since we were running

forward, and the big man isn't hit anywhere other than on his shield. I have to

wonder how almost blind mole rats can use projectile weapons, but I won't

question it; they aren't hitting anything, and that's the important part right

now.

I think now is the time to use that light shielding spell; there will be another

volley, and this time their aim might be better. The incantation is really a

mouthful, and I feel like I'll bite my tongue while trying to speak it on the

run, but under the current circumstances, I have to try nonetheless.

"Spiritia sanctia, servas eon circon meas!" I don't know what I should be

doing when I finish, so I throw up an arm. From my chest a sphere of faint

light expands, covering me, Kamii and Daica before me. It's a bubble, which

travels with me as its center.

It worked!

"Everyone, get inside here!" It doesn't encompass the whole party on its

own, but the space inside is just big enough for the other members to join us.

Rolan and Luna look at me in wonder, probably thinking why I didn't use this

earlier. Actually, it just slipped my mind, until the arrows started coming.

A huge number of ripples move across the shield bubble, and I realize that

hundreds of arrows just bounced off of it. If I hadn't used this when I did,

everybody here would have been turned into pincushions!

I don't know how many hit points this shield has, or how long it lasts, but it

doesn't seem to break under the constant rain of arrows and other projectiles

that come down on us. I just hope it'll hold out for as long as necessary.

All around us, the mole rats are beginning to appear on rooftops and stream

out of houses. Apparently, they already circled the barrier of fire Luna left

behind. I can see that they're easily keeping pace with us, holding their

weapons in their powerful jaws while running on all fours.

"The bridge is just past the city!" The bard shouts while running, and points

forward. We're following a mostly straight path, which seems to have been

the main street of Rathgolim. With my night vision, I can tell that in the far

distance there's a wall, which marks the end of the giant cave that houses the

dwarven city. "We can make it!"

As if to mock the bard's hopes, a roar echoes through the entire cavern and

seems to shake the very foundations of the mountain. Everybody comes to a

tumbling stop, and the shield bubble disappears with unfortunate timing - I

can't tell whether it was affected by that roar, or its duration just ran out

naturally.

The mole rats begin to cheer, so it must be something from their side.

"What was that?!" Rolan looks around with his sword at the ready. He must

realize that his weapon is wholly inadequate to deal with whatever can create

that kind of sound.

"That is their queen." Unexpectedly, the bard has an answer.

"You know what these creatures are?" I find myself asking him with a hint

of suspicion. Why didn't he say anything earlier? He was against going

through Rathgolim, most likely knowing that it's dangerous because of these

mole rats living in the city's ruins. If he had only told us, we most likely

would have decided against going through here.

"They are the Graebern, an ancient race that has been living underground in

these mountains long before humans walked these lands and the dwarves

made these caverns their homes." He speaks while looking at the enemies

beginning to rally. "Over the years, there have been very few encounters with

them, but never have they mobilized like this."

I'm sorry, I drew them toward us with that needlessly large-scale Libera

Animar spell. They didn't notice us when we were only walking around with

Luna's light. But what's done is done, getting out of here is more important

than placing the blame.

Opening the Scripture of Belys, I look for a spell I used to think of as

useless before. It illuminates the area around the caster, which is safer than

the open flame from Ignis. Other than that, I didn't see any meaning in

learning it, since the fire spell achieves the same effect, and I can see in the

dark anyway.

"Circoluceo!" I shout, and an explosion of light spreads out from my body.

With my unnecessarily huge magic output, what's supposed to be a sphere of

faint illumination that surrounds me, becomes something akin to a

subterranean sun.

"Woah!" The others in the party cover their eyes in surprise, but since they

weren't looking directly at me, they aren't completely blinded.

But the Graebern were staring us down in the twilight of the weak torches,

so the effect is much more profound. Pained squeals and high-pitched

screams come from all around us, as the creatures of the dark had their retinas

burned away as if they looked directly into a midday sun. They claw at their

eyes and stagger about, running into each other in the ensuing confusion.

"Go!" Rolan isn't one to waste opportunities when he sees them, so he

pulls Luna along, who's still blinking her eyes from the flash-bang.

The entire party immediately starts to move once again, and we run past

the dazed creatures, through the streets of Rathgolim. I don't know how often

this will work, so we really need to get clear of the encirclement as quickly as

possible.

"There is the Bridge of Enleith." The bard announces in a hopeful tone and

increases his pace.

When I look in the direction of where he points, I can see that there's a

pretty narrow bridge leading across a deep chasm. It's only wide enough for a

single horse-drawn cart to cross, though it must have been somewhat

spacious for the much smaller dwarves.

There are no Graebern on the small platform of the other side, as far as I

can tell. Just beyond that platform is a massive gate, similar to the one we

passed through to reach the dwarven city. That must be the exit.

The earth-shattering roar from before echoes through the entire mountain

once again, and this time it sounds much closer. When I turn around, I see a

massive naked mole rat in the distance coming after us on all fours. It's even

bigger than the cyber-dinos I saw on the Dark Continent. That must be their

queen.

Fresh pursuers who weren't directly affected by the S*lar Flare are

beginning to close in from all sides once again, and the path to the bridge is

about to be cut off. Arrows are coming from behind us as well, though Gram

does his best to block them with his giant shield.

While I can understand that getting onto the bridge will make it so not as

many can pursue us, they still run faster than humans do. Even if we make it

across, they'll just follow us and catch up in no time.

"Hasta de Lumin!" I shoot a light spear through the ranks that are closing

up before us, causing them to scatter again. That was barely enough to let us

break through.

Rolan slashes his way through the few Graebern that still bar the way onto

the bridge, and the party begins to run across it. I look back and see that our

pursuers are practically already gnawing at Gram's heels.

But what chills me to the bone is their queen, who has almost caught up.

It's much faster than any of the others due to its size, and it doesn't look like it

will stop because of the relatively small bridge. If that thing barrels through

us, we'll fall into the seemingly endless abyss below.

The bard turns around at the last third of the bridge and shoots a crossbow

bolt at the giant Graeber queen. It sticks her right in the shoulder, but she

doesn't even flinch and continues on like it was just a mosquito bite. Her hide

is too thick for something tiny like that to cause any significant harm.

We keep running, and I see Rolan, Luna, and Daica making it across to the

other side safely. I let go of Kamii's hand, waving for her to go ahead first,

before turning to see how Gram is doing. He's the slowest of our party

because of the amount of luggage he's carrying, as well as the giant shield on

his back.

"Hasta de Lumin!" I'm beginning to feel dumb for having to chant this

every time, like a character calling her attacks. Releasing the spirit spear

straight at the mole rat queen's forehead, I hope that it will pierce through her

just like it did against all the smaller ones.

But she's unexpectedly nimble for her size and dodges the spear by

lowering her body to the ground, barely slowing down. Still, it buys Gram

enough time to catch up with us, and I continue to run alongside him.

We pass by the bard, who isn't moving from his spot, and I spin my head

around in surprise. What is he trying to pull?

Everybody crosses the bridge, and we look back to see that he has exchanged his crossbow for his lute, playing a note that echoes into the

chasm below. The returning sound creates the illusion of a ghostly orchestra

rising from the depths to join him.

At the dissonant music, the giant Graeber queen, who has made it to the

center of the bridge, stops once again and stares at him from a distance in

careful curiosity.

Don't tell me he's actually really powerful and is going to use some soundbased magic to stop her and the entire army behind her from crossing the

bridge? There was never any sign of that!

"Go, my friends! I shall stop them here." He calls out to us while

strumming his lute more and more fervently, a fearless expression on his

face. The queen looks around and sniffs the air audibly, before realizing that

it must be a bluff. With a mighty roar that drowns out the bard's music, she

charges forward once again.

Wait, is he really just bluffing?

"What did you mix there?" I turn to Daica and ask her about the concoction

she made.

"A-an explosive, but-" She begins to answer, and I take the flask out of her

hand without listening to the rest. Putting as much strength as I can into my

arm, I throw the glass bottle across the bridge. It lands between the Graeber

queen and the bard, and shatters, spilling its contents.

But nothing more happens.

Huh?

The queen comes to a skidding halt and sniffs the concoction, before

shying back half a step. Then it tries to smell again, finding that it's nothing

dangerous after all, and continues to charge forward.

"Why didn't it go off?!" I spin around to the big dark elf and point at the

broken flask.

"I-it wasn't finished!" She looks close to tears.

What the f-

"-iend from the shadows! Return to the abyss! You!" Raising his voice and

letting it echo throughout the cave, the bard spreads his arms heroically.

"Shall not-"

Oh no, you don't! I won't let you look cool here on your own!

"Hasta de Lumin!" I chant and put all my intent behind it. My aim isn't the

massive creature coming down on the bard, but the bridge itself. Maybe I can break the stone and make the Graeber queen fall into the depths.

Shooting the spear into the ground just in front of the bard, the light

explodes on the rock. He stumbles backward from the impact and stares

down at the place where the spirit spear hit. There's a small crater, but the

bridge is still fully intact.

Damn!

The massive creature turns to look at me, then at the small sizzling crater,

before snorting in what I can only interpret as mockery.

What?! That creature's making fun of me! It didn't work the way I hoped it

would this time, butShe takes a step forward and cracks form in the stone where the spirit spear

left its mark. Then she takes another step while swinging her giant claws

down at the bard. He looks up fearlessly, ready to face his death.

That's when the bridge collapses under her feet. Apparently, my shot was

enough to destabilize it to the point where two more steps from her weight

caused the stone to break. Squealing in a nerve-grating pitch and grasping the

air impotently, the Graeber queen falls into the endless abyss below.

"Quick, get off the bridge!" I call out to the bard, and he reacts

immediately. Turning on his heel, he runs towards us while the stone under

him begins to crumble away with every further step he takes. He just barely

makes it to our side, jumping the last stretch. Gram takes hold of his arm and

pulls him in.

Looking across the chasm, we see in the light of the still-burning flames

from Luna's magic that the other side is teeming with Graebern. They scream

in unbridled rage because they lost their queen, and I can see some of them

beginning to climb down in hopes of saving her.

Then an arrow whirrs past my ear.

"Run!" Rolan sees that more and more of them are readying their bows,

and quickly pulls Luna and Kamii along. Gram shields Daica, the bard and

me, as we quickly make for the giant gate at the end of the platform.

With this, we leave the great halls of the dwarves, the City of Rathgolim,

behind us.

It seems that there are no Graebern on this side of the bridge. Even after

more than what feels like three hours of intermittent running, we haven't

encountered any more enemies. The leader calls for a break so that everybody can catch their breaths, although I'm sure we need more than just that.

Everybody except for me is completely exhausted. Even Kamii, who has

been keeping up even better than the men, is sitting down and breathing hard.

I have to act like I'm the same, but in my previous life, this would have

been a breeze; I ran full marathons at top speeds, so the light jogging that we

did - even while carrying all this luggage - wouldn't leave me panting just yet.

"How long is it until we make it out of here?" I ask the bard, who's

drinking from his water canteen while standing on shaky legs.

"We still have half a day and one night before us." He replies with an

uneasy expression. "We have to stay on the move."

Thus, we set off again, but at least we go at the more reasonable pace of a

brisk walk. The unspoken agreement is that we would only walk at this speed

as long as we don't hear any pursuers.

At one point, the bard tells us that it's already deep at night and that we

should find a place to sleep. While we haven't been running anymore and

pacing ourselves rather well, fatigue is mounting. Everybody's still soldiering

on, setting one foot before the other even at the edge of total exhaustion.

Even I can feel tiredness crawl into my mind, as my mental state is

deteriorating under the stress of the unknown darkness all around us.

A high-pitched sound from behind immediately sets us straight again, and

we make a run for it, stretching the limits of our stamina to the utmost to get

out of this place just a moment earlier. Between sweating like a pig or

bleeding like one, anybody would choose the former.

"So... it was... just the wind..." Rolan falls to his knees as the sound is

coming from all around us, accompanied by a fresh breeze.

"It fooled... even me..." The bard comments, out of breath. His hearing is

exceptional, but even he was on edge at the time, so he couldn't tell the

difference between a Graeber's squeal and the wind blowing through cracks

in the tunnel.

I think he doesn't look like he had a brush with death earlier, as he wears

his usual smile. I feel like hitting him over the head, but Rolan already does it

for me.

"What were you thinking back there?" Now that his perception of danger

has taken a backseat, he's reminded of what transpired on that bridge.

"Well, the situation looked quite dire. I was not aware that Lady Marcott

had such a precise grasp of the bridge's weakness." He sounds apologetic and

lowers his head, but there's still a relieved smile on his face. "She really saved

me... saved us there."

I sigh at his nonchalance. The others were quite worried about him, but I

guess it's part of his nature and what makes him so special. They can't stay

mad at him, which in turn lifts the morale of the party.

"Yeah, you're really a great addition to our group, Chloe." Rolan gives me

a smile that would have charmed me if I was any other girl. I just reply with

my own.

My priorities, Senka, Daica, and Kamii, are all safe, so I'm content. I also

learned something incredible about Kamii's curse, and now I know that she

has quite the frightening potential in that crab arm of hers. Luckily, the

humans haven't noticed it, since nobody brings it up. I'll make sure to keep it

a secret from them for the time being.

All in all, that was quite the adventure. I finally understand the thrill people

doing mountain-climbing, going deep-diving in the ocean, and participating

in all kinds of extreme sports must feel. Everything seems much more real

when there's danger to one's life involved.

"This was really an experience. I don't think anyone has ever survived such

a close shave before. You'll have a great story to tell." Gram comments with a

wide grin and slaps the bard's shoulder weakly. Even the big man, a paragon

of strength, has reached his limits.

Indeed, the bard has the perfect job to spin this into a grand tale for the

ages. I just hope he makes sure to mention my grand role in it.

We choose to continue through the night so that we can put this mountain

behind us. While there are no signs of the Graebern following us this far, we

can't rest until we're out in the open. According to the bard, they won't leave

the safety of the earth.

It's the light of day again.

There's a titanic gate before us, opened just a crack. Due to its sheer size,

that small opening is enough for a horse-drawn carriage to pass through

easily. Beyond it, we can finally see the natural light of the sun. The wind

blows in the cool and fresh air, which seems to wipe away the memory of the

sweltering staleness that was the underground, and the fetid stench of the Graebern that has been clinging onto us since our encounter with them.

"The Gate of Datharod." The bard announces, with far less enthusiasm than

he showed for most of our journey. Nobody had a wink of sleep for a long

time now, and even I'm feeling exhausted at this point. "Just beyond here is

The Maw."

I look up and try to gauge just how tall this is, but I can't even begin to

imagine how this gate was opened or closed. When we pass over the

threshold, I see that each wing of it is so thick that Gram couldn't touch both

sides with his arms outstretched. The dwarves must have had some ingenious

technology or specialized magic for this.

The outside looks similar to The Whisper, but is far more extensive; the

massive stalactites and stalagmites make it look like the opened jaws of a

gigantic beast. I get why people came up with this name.

As everybody breathes in the cold winter air their shoulders slacken as all

the tension leaves their bodies. We aren't completely clear of the underground

kingdom just yet, but there haven't been any signs of pursuers ever since we

crossed the Bridge of Enleith. Still, I think we have earned ourselves some

relaxation.

This is the western side of the Kongensgrad. Judging by the light outside

and the fact that according to the bard we walked through the night, I would

say it's just after sunrise. Stepping out into the open, the world without walls

and ceilings expands before me. A lush forest lies a distance below the

opening of The Maw, and the song of birds travels on the wind.

It's peaceful.

"Over there." The bard comes up to me and gestures across the landscape

to my left. "You can see it from here."

"See what?" I look over and notice that he's pointing at the ocean. No,

that's not right. Due to our elevated position, I can see that in the misty

distance there's a shore on the other side. It's a huge lake.

At the edge of that lake stands a sprawling city with a magnificent wall. It's

impressive, even when compared to the demon capital of Arkaim, although

it's still quite a bit smaller. The entire city is arranged in concentric halfcircles rippling out from a large bridge that connects the mainland to an

island on the lake. Covering that whole island is a citadel made of white

stone.

The sun peeks over the mountains behind us, and the light falls onto the city, illuminating the palace's tallest tower first. I feel my breath stopping for

a moment, as I take in the fantastic vista.

"That is the capital of the Kingdom of Lares, Kongenssoevn."