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Aziel
Somehow, our safest route was an enclosed cave system, which houses some of the only remaining types of wild mythical beasts.
And I knew this for a fact. Back when I quested for my own living, even the bravest heroes wouldn't dare to enter the deep dark caverns. These parts were known as uncharted territory. A death sentence, even.
Yet, now it was a bustling place of Dwellven settlements. Pointy-eared citizens of varying shapes and sizes inhabited the fairly dim village. They ran around buildings connected to the rock walls, for presumably different errands. Patches of the last sunlight seeped through open holes, mined through the roof of the caves, revealing the final rays of day turning into night. Along the soily roads, torchlit lanterns hanging from poles were decorated with moss and vines.
I understood that their people needed more land for the revolution. But here of all places? There has to be a lot going on, for it to be this populated.
"Headmaster Chronisius."
The robed leader of the Chronicle Order was leading behind Thorne in front of me. While I noticed troops of the typical iron armour, coming from another entrance to the caverns, the Headmaster turned his head back to face mine with a smile.
"Hello again, Korr. Anything important?"
"Er- yes, actually."
I said in a lower voice, looking around. Headmaster Chronisius slowed down to walk by me, leaving us two fairly apart from the rest of the questers.
"So, these caves can host certain creatures," I started. "Can they not?"
"Well, yes, it's quite possible"
He barely had thought about it. His arms casually drifted to rest behind his back.
"But for now, we are protected here more than on the chaotic surface." Then the grey-haired man raised an eyebrow. "Why do you ask?"
I thought about it too. Maybe he was right, and there was more than enough deep reflection put into this. Surely, the Dwellven people around here wouldn't be living so seemingly peaceful, if there were constant untrained monsters out to hunt them. . . or if there was a struggle for domesticate the beasts?
Relax, Aziel. Your experience was to wing it with glory.
My heroic mind told myself within while I blankly walked. Obviously there wasn't a need to worry this much about wellbeing, even if I had a family waiting for me. Many say it doesn't help in the long run.
Before my mouth could fully open, to say another thing to Headmaster Chronisius, he treaded forwards to greet our dozens of average-looking soldiers, in leather disguise. They were meeting us again after they promised to search for another way in.
Beyond the sight, smaller Dwellvens carried blazing pickaxes, mining within one of the walls of the rocky barriers. Their tools emitting fire and ash dissolved the natural material, plowing way faster than the average one. I could tell that a new section of the caves was being created.
As our squad travelled through Mythin Caverns, one of the survivors we took in called out to me.
"Thank you, miss Aziel."
I immediately sensed he spoke their common Dwellvish language, as I turned around to meet the young fellow. He was notably not speaking in mere Dwarven or Elf, still holding his crossbow before those physically smaller than him. Mother holding her young child, guarded.
I smiled at the three, responding respectfully with their thick dialect. "No worries. It's part of the job, after all."
"Of course!"
Our eyes turned directly towards the familiar cheery voice of Jade. "I mean- no need to thank us, am I right?"
The girl with the creased cone hat was now walking right next to me. And previously beside her brother at the front. Either the wizard-in-training already knew teleportation powers, or she was terrifyingly good at butting in.
She awkwardly cleared her throat while twirling the dirty curls in her hair. It was a good cue for the mother survivor to speak as well.
"We shall part with you heroes, now. It's been an honor."
Her child, that seemed like young boy up close, ran up to me, embracing my waist in gratefulness then running back to his parent.
I noticed the appearance of the lady herself, now that there was no one to fight. Even if she was shorter in height, her slightly wrinkled and sharply nosed face matched mine in age.
The mother gave a bowing nod to me, then another to Jade who reacted like she won an award, before going off to part ways with our group and the tall Dwellven who protected them.
I found my eyes locked towards the dirt street they headed away to.
At least they're safe and sound. My inner self reassured.
"Hey, heroine!"
A certain someone snapped me out of it, as I stood. Namely Vexx.
"Are you coming to the other tavern or not?"
I quickly turned around to see him and the headmaster, standing in the middle of the busy roads with the rest of the squad up ahead. Expecting me to continue following.
So obviously, I didn't see a reason not to.
As I trailed behind them and Black Knight to join everyone else, Headmaster Chronisius spoke to us and the troops.
"I'm sure that all of us here could use a few hours of sleep. How far are we from the inn you mentioned, Thorne?"
The Dwellven boy glanced around his surroundings. He stopped and stared over to the side.
Tucked away in the far corner where he looked, stood a small, quaint building, of red brick and smoother stone fitted messily from the earthy walls. Fences displayed out from the double doors to create a path. Since there existed a naturally-made roof to the caverns, the usual flower garden to greet visitors was nowhere to be seen.
"Here it is." Thorne stated while we stared. "Come along now, people."
The group and I trudged along towards the entrance full of dirt. A big sign was hung from the door itself, saying;
'MYTHIN'S TAVERN (Bar and Sleep only. ONLY.)'.
The sign screamed it silently as if to prove a point.
"You seem to know your way around here, too." I heard Vexx say to Thorne in a low voice out loud.
"I do." The Dwellven stated after a long second, as our troops opened the doors for us. "You?"
"I know a place or two."
Inside the tavern was barely any room for the dozens of wooden chairs and tables, organized like usual with their wood chipping away, like the the cramped walls. From the back counter, a Dwellven's head perked up, lankier and aproned without any stain or mess, blinking and narrowing his eyes in a surprised fashion. As if it was surprising to see this many visitors at once, in the empty place.
This inn was clearly the cheapest option. I'm sure my brother Arden would agree. Even Yuna would make an innocently sly comment on the old quality, compared to our inn's.
Not that I minded the amateurness though, since I felt as exhausted as every non-veteran here, if not more.
"The beds." Black Knight, unhelmeted, asked Thorne with the most serious face. "They are not sized for the dwarf-likes, are they?"
Caught thinking about the many possible comments, a single laugh escaped from my throat.
The knight looked at me, returning a hesitant confused smile.
I cleared my throat and gently held my neck, reminding myself not to befriend a possible enemy, and glanced away to forget.
Too busy to answer, Thorne speedily moved past me and our crowd to greet the worker. The faintly older Dwellven reacted unfazed, with darkened bags under his eyes and wavy, unkept hair which began to cover his eyeballs. He stood up stretching from his stool, to possibly get all of this over with.
"Ah, there's my trusted night-shifter!" Our suddenly confident axe-wielder said while walking to him.
As her brother spoke, Jade rolled her eyes at his commanding-to-friendly demeanor.
"Oh." The tired laborer slowly set his sight on us, to Vexx who gave him an unexpected greeting nod, then back at Thorne. "Do. . . all these people want to go down-?"
"Yes, Finber, we would all like a room for free in your fine family establishment."
"They're not my family."
"Come on, don't say that-"
"I have no relation to them. I am stuck here while they are on vacation."
Then, Headmaster Chronisius stepped forwards to present himself.
"Hello there, you may know me as Headmaster Chronisius the 7th." He said in a quick voice. "The Chronicle Order and I have given a grand quest to these heroes, before you."
He gestured a hand to us and moved out of the way. The troops behind him showcased a prophecy scroll in hand, and an official golden-lined helmet, both with the imprint of a shining book. Vexx's vision was locked onto the divine paper. But Finber merely raised an eyebrow as our order's leader continued.
"Would you be so kind to, in the honor of fate and Niytri, assign us all a few rooms for free to rest in for tonight?"
With a sigh, Finber silently inspected the Headmaster, Black Knight, and the remaining division. Counting numbers in Dwellven with his unspeaking mouth.
"Follow me."
Our quester squad followed the lanky aproned worker beyond the counter, up the stone and wooden staircase behind it.
We emerged to the second floor, immediately greeted by a narrow hallway. Lanterns were attached to the dusted brick walls. Their glass protecting small flames were visibly cracked, as if barely kept. Between each light was a closed door, probably to different small rooms, considering how quaintly small this place was compared to ours.
Finber reached for the pocket under his work clothing, pulling out a ring of metal keys with carved-in numbers from their language. The others and I watched for quite a bit as he scanned through every individual one. The Dwellven's expression was sort of scrunched. It probably didn't feel as convenient to use the average human invention.
Finally, he got ahold of three door-openers, gripped with his fingers, and inserted each to their respective numbered doors all in the same area.
The entrances to the empty rooms swung wide, revealing two to three bunk beds with small tables individually, along with ragged carpets and barren shelves. Thorne instantly looked to us and Finber, as the slouching worker walked back towards our group. But the Dwellven quester said something instead.
"Well, in case anything happens, I'll sleep in my usual room downstairs to wake everybody up."
Thorne then turned his head to Headmaster Chronisius for approval.
"I can also be an alarm for the earliest morning, if that works."
The headmaster smiled like always in response. He seemed to enjoy the young aspiring hero's tenacity.
"Go ahead, Thorne. We're glad to have such a trusty contributor as yourself."
Returning his own determined smile, the teenager nodded his head in a quick bow, and followed where Finber had already left towards the staircase.
Black Knight questioned. "There is a room downstairs we aren't permitted to use?"
"Reserved for special guests."
Thorne's voice trailed off while going down the stairs.
But the Drownei kept staring at where he exited, still not convinced. The headmaster took some moments to divide the soldiers within the rooms. But Black Knight still couldn't keep his eyes away from the suspicious retreat. Even Vexx stayed with us and Jade in thought.
"For tonight, I will keep watch right outside the bedrooms." The knight told us. "In case anything happens. . ."
A stutter came out of my mouth, telling me to object, until Vexx interrupted.
"Bright idea. I might as well take over in the 'earliest morning'." He raised his two fingers on a hand, curling them as quotation marks from Thorne."How about that?"
"I shall wake you up by then." Black Knight directed his eye contact to him in agreement.
With that, the both of them walked off to Headmaster Chronisius, who had all the dozen troops organized inside two of the three bedrooms.
I stood in hesitant disagreement. I was even about to follow them, to possibly say something. But then I noticed the twelve-year-old wizard still with me. She, more than anyone else, was caught by the silent confusion, eyes directed downwards. And I understood the possible stakes more than anyone here.
"You alright, Jade?" I asked the young quester.
The Dwellven girl with the pointed nose blinked out of it, meeting my face upwards with her own distracted nervous smile.
"Pfft." She waved a hand forward. "It's just funny. He never wakes up early for anything."
Jade then shrugged, following behind me as the headmaster set all of us questers into one room, while he opted to stay with his men.
Eventually, after most of us ate, cleansed, and bought preserved food rations below, we laid in our white mattresses as the lanterns were turned off. My leather vest armour was placed under the bed. Without any windows to the nightly outdoors, I could tell now was the time the world of Midkyron went quiet.
The noises surrounding us fell deaf, with the only remaining ones being some soft snoring from the mattress above me, where the wizardess slept peacefully above her idol.
But nobody knew I couldn't sleep for about an hour.
The door was wide open, so that the dim rays of lantern light peeked in. Beside the wooden-made frame of the entrance, the helmeted Drownei walked back and forth within the slender halls.
After about thirty minutes or so, he wasn't visible for a while, and I only heard footsteps leading downwards as my sight remained straight at the doorway.
Then he came back with a chair, leaning it against the wall facing the room.
Black Knight sat down on the comparably skinny furniture, removed his helmet, and turned his head of the darkest silver hair to look towards our room. I closed my eyes to leave only a slight visibility. I knew I needed to be on guard, too.
Sure, it was a bit weird. But there was no way anybody could trust him that easily.
Everyone under the empire were taught that none of Drownei care. They naturally wish for their own betterment. Even if he lost his memories, why shouldn't he, too? Niytri knows the man can remember a week from now, and stab us in the backs once he does, in honor of unity under a dark lord.
Their superiorly guarded kingdom couldn't even save Calev.
Calev.
I've let go of the trauma by now, I thought. Yuna always tells me her father is in a better place now. Away from chaos, and stupidly selfish people, as she quoted from Ander.
Was Black Knight that? It was too difficult to tell. Yet I learned the same thing from a lot of people.
Evil stays evil.
I wondered if he knew that.
Still, as I kept my vision barely peeled open while wishing for home, I smiled at the memories from my own inn and dreamt in the darkness.