Glimmer of hope.

"Why? He is weak. Just leave him behind," He asked again, waiting patiently for an answer.

"Humans don't choose their mate solely based on strength. We seek other things. He is a great warrior, he always puts my safety above his and he makes my heart tingle. And we don't mate to produce offsprings, we - we do it for fun, because it feels good. And on top of that, I can't bear any children for him, he is an Orc," She explained leaning on the roots just above the surface.

"There is a Priestess. Ancient woman in the well, even deeper in these territories. She might know some tricks," He said, reaching out his arm to help her down from the roots. 

"I'll take you to see her, if you want,"

She accepted his help and jumped into the water before him. He reached behind her back, held her by the shoulder and pulled out the last arrow after he broke it in half, slowly and carefully.

Her wound slowly closed thanks to the legendary flowers she ate. 

"Would you be able to take me back to the plants you showed me last time? I'd like to harvest some more," 

"I can do that. Just keep your eyes low, there are body parts all around, nothing pretty for you to look at," He answered and waited for her to hold her breath. He first took her above the gap so she could breathe again. But he didn't allow her to look around, he kept her face turned to his chest and quickly went back under the surface.

At the bottom of the chasm, he carefully released her and gave her some space. She began deftly harvesting the Red Whips, planting their seeds back into the mud. He watched her warily, waiting for her to finish her work.

She collected ten of them and planted seven. At the end of the gap, she found the chest again, but this time, it was slightly different.

Chest of the undead leader's son

She opened the lid and quickly took the items into her inventory, already running out of air.

Wide belt of the undead leader's son + 350 HP

Sharp Sickle of the undead leader's son +90 speed

Leather cloak of the undead leader's son + 100 intelligence

4 000 Gold

He clung to the rock on her left side and watched her. She turned to him and put her arms around his neck so she could hold on to him as he would be in a hurry to reach the surface. He wrapped his arms around her to keep her from falling away from him and bounced off the bottom.

As she struggled to catch her breath on the surface, he asked her with his hoarse, gravelly voice if she had collected everything she needed. She replied with a nod, before an aggressive cough set her lungs on fire.

"Climb onto my back, I'll give you a ride," He suggested and turned around, patiently waiting for her.

She grabbed his shoulders and let out a startled cry as she surfaced on his hard back. He wasn't swimming as fast as she had seen him earlier. In the shallows, his chest rubbed against the roots and muddy bottom as his arms and legs pushed his body forward. He swam for like twenty minutes before slowing down and sinking for her to climb off. The journey would take her hours otherwise, as they were in the very heart of the swamps now.

"Do you see the dead tree over there? She is in the well under it. I can't get you closer than this, but I'll wait here for you. Good luck, Anna," He said as he pushed her closer to the island.