AsterMarsh Forgot to upload a chapter last Friday, so I'll drop a chapter today instead. Enjoy :)
It was early in the morning, or so Mel thought, when she made her way down one of the narrow paths carved into the underground. She’d spent the night in Austin’s room, thinking about other things than the war or what they’d do now. But morning had arrived and today she needed to make some decisions.
The corridor snaked into a large room with a couple of bunk beds, just like the ones Marcus had used in the barracks when he’d been a soldier. The thought tugged at Mel’s heartstrings and made her worry bloom into full height. She’d left Marcus here in Aldrion when she’d gone into the wasteland and, according to Austin, no one had seen him since he’d escaped the dungeon. He’d been thrown in there by Derek for her crimes, and she hated that he’d paid for what she’d done.
Neither of his friends, Catherine and Leeroy, had been found either, and Mel could only assume they’d either died or made it safely into the valley. She hoped it was the latter.
Hanon pulled on a clean shirt and turned to her at the entrance. He gave her a small smile and as soon as Mel mirrored his expression, Luthel came up behind them like a shadow lurking in the darkness. His face was covered in a frown and he looked around them at the people who were getting ready for the day. His eyes seemed suspicious and Mel couldn’t help but take a step back from him. This place seemed to be getting under Luthel’s skin in a way Mel hadn’t expected.
“I was sent to get you,” Mel said, looking at Hanon. “Austin has called for a meeting in the map room, the same room we found him in yesterday.” She looked around the space, noticing a few people observing them. “Did you sleep alright?”
Hanon gave her a slow nod. But it was Luthel who answered, “Why should Hanon attend a meeting? What is it you’re trying to lure him into?”
Mel raised her hands. “Woow, slow down. I’m not trying to do anything. Hanon was invited by Austin. He wants to know about our time in Krazaa and if Hanon’s willing to help around here.”
Hanon didn’t say anything again, and Luthel took a step forward toward Mel. He placed himself in front of Hanon to shield him from her. “We said we’d get you here. But now we need to leave. Go back to the wasteland.”
Mel shook her head. “You saw how many shadows are out there. I don’t know if it’s safe for you to go right now. Maybe you should wait here until they’ve at least left the city. You are free to stay as long as you’d like.”
Luthel shook his head back at her. “We need to leave, now.”
Hanon put a hand on his father’s arm, catching his gaze. “We need to help Melissa get into the valley. We’re not there yet. You promised me.”
Luthel took in a deep breath and then released it, seeming to relax only a small bit. “Fine, but we should leave for the valley today then, not attend some meeting.”
Mel shuffled her feet back and forth, trying to think of something that could be reasonable for Luthel to postpone entering the valley for a day or two. She racked her brain and came up empty when Hanon spoke again. “We can’t use the passage through the mountain until Austin gives us his permission. There are guards stationed everywhere, and I don’t think we can just sneak past them. Let me go to this meeting and see what he wants. Then we can make a decision.”
Mel swallowed hard, looking over at Luthel, who seemed to think it over. She knew Austin intimately and would probably be able to convince him to let them pass, but Luthel didn’t know that. He’d seen them be cozy a while back in the wasteland, but last time he’d seen her with Austin, he’d led her out from the map room with a hand held firmly around her arm. She guessed it was easy to believe they weren’t exactly friends anymore.
#
In the map room Austin stood with his hands on a large table, just as she’d found him yesterday. He was hulking over the thing, looking at the people who’d gathered. Hanon and Mel had been the last ones to arrive and next to Austin stood Oliver with a calm smile covering his lips.
Gabs leaned over the map on the table in front of Austin and pointed to a section on the top half of it. Mel stepped forward, seeing a large building with town hall written across it.
“This is where they’re holding the remaining survivors,” Gabs said. “Oliver and his informants have searched for others, but they’re either dead or at town hall. We don’t know what they’re planning to do with the survivors, but according to our intel, some disappear every few days. Our best guess is that they’re killed somewhere else, perhaps for food.”
Mel felt a shiver run down her spine. She’d never seen a shadow eat, but perhaps they did need some kind of sustenance. It didn’t add up though, and if they were used for food, where did their bones go?
It was quiet for a beat and then Hanon stepped up next to Mel, looking down at the map. “They’re not eating them.”
“Then what are they doing?” Austin asked.
Hanon’s gaze traveled from the table to Austin and connected with his eyes. “They’re turning them into shadows.”
Mel felt the icy feeling in her spine intensify. Of course they were, that’s why there were so many of them. The void had found more people to turn. It was probably why they were still in Aldrion and hadn’t gone into the valley yet. They were amassing all the shadows they could first.
“Then we have to save them,” Austin said. “Then it’s even more important than before. If the void is getting stronger for everyone it’s turning, then we have to cut off its supply.”
“How are you planning to do that?” Hanon asked.
Mel was surprised at his interest in this and felt a surge of hope rise in her heart. Perhaps she still had a chance at convincing him to join their side. Her surprise seemed to be mimicked in Gabs’ and Austin’s faces. They must have never heard Hanon speak before, not more than once or twice at least. This was a lot of words for him and in a way Mel felt proud that he trusted them enough.
Austin pointed at a few different points of interest on the map. “Here, here and here, there are shadows stationed with a beast or two every day. We’ve been able to get information from up at the dragon forge and Falden, but there doesn’t seem to be anyone there anymore. We think the shadows have killed or moved everyone to town hall during the recent days. If we can get through here…” Austin pointed at the road stretching from the eastern to the western gate. The same place Mel had seen an impossible amount of shadows loitering. “...then we could get into town hall and possibly save some of the survivors.”
Hanon shook his head. “There are too many shadows around there. It won’t work.”
Austin nodded. “I know, but we’ve checked everywhere else and even if we went out into the wasteland and around somehow, I’m not sure we could get around the barracks and the military quarter to get to town hall that way.”
He dragged a hand over his face and released a sigh, looking over at Mel for a quick glance, and then fixed his eyes back on the map again. Hanon’s face had scrunched up into a concentrated stare and Mel started to feel the hope in her heart drain. There really wasn’t any way they could get to town hall without crossing the army of shadows.
“But we’re inside some kind of tunnel system, right?” Hanon said. “Is there a path leading up around this area?”
Gabs shook her head. “We’ve mapped out the tunnel system and nothing seems to lead that far out. We know there is a dungeon underneath town hall, but it doesn’t seem to be connected to the tunnels we’re in right now.”
“What if we extended the tunnel, then?” Mel asked. “Take in some elemental warriors that are good with earth magic and make a new tunnel underneath the army?”
Gabs and Austin exchanged a silent glance, and Mel got a worried feeling in her stomach.
“What?” she said.
“There are few elemental warriors left in the city,” Oliver chimed in. “We lost most in the fight against the void, and some had already left the city after Derek died. But even if we could locate some that are proficient in earth magic, we’d need weapons. And let’s just say we’re quickly running out of any magical imbues. It’s not like we can make new ones after the dragon stones got destroyed.”
Mel winced at his comment, knowing full well that she was to blame for the dragon stones flickering out. She’d gotten them all into this situation and she desperately wanted to be the one who fixed this now.
She turned to Hanon. “Could we do that?”
He shook his head, but then seemed to stop to consider it, anyway. “I’m not sure. If you say that your warriors could create paths through the mountain with magic from dragon stones, then technically yes. It’s just that I don’t know how to do anything like that. We’d need to figure it out, and that could take some time.”
Mel turned back to Austin, a smile spreading on her lips. “I need you to get me the best earth shakers you can find and a map over the dungeon system underneath town hall. We’re going to build a tunnel all the way there and steal the survivors from underneath the void’s gaze.”
Gabs and Oliver stared at her in confusion, not seeming to understand how she or Hanon could possibly move earth without magical imbues. But Austin just gave her his usual dark gaze, full of tension and that something that only he seemed to possess.
He smiled back at her and then gave her a quick nod. “It’s worth a try if you think this could work. But if it doesn’t, maybe we will have to give up on the idea of saving anyone else. The city is already under a lot of pressure and I’m not sure how long it will be until the void finds our hiding place and decides to pay us a visit.”
Austin turned to Oliver and continued. “I need you to also bring forth the last supply we have of earth imbues. I know this will be risky, but I think it will be worth it if we manage to save the people who’re held up at town hall. This will be the last thing we do for Aldrion before we all head into the valley and leave this place. I also want you to send along as many people as possible who’re living here in the underground to the valley, with a few of your guards. To make sure they get to the other side safely.”
He took in a deep breath and then added. “If this goes wrong, I want there to be as few people left in Aldrion as possible.”
Oliver nodded. “Yes, sir. This will be our final mission beyond the mountain. May it serve us well.”
AsterMarsh Forgot to upload a chapter last Friday, so I'll drop a chapter today instead. Enjoy :)
It was early in the morning, or so Mel thought, when she made her way down one of the narrow paths carved into the underground. She’d spent the night in Austin’s room, thinking about other things than the war or what they’d do now. But morning had arrived and today she needed to make some decisions.
The corridor snaked into a large room with a couple of bunk beds, just like the ones Marcus had used in the barracks when he’d been a soldier. The thought tugged at Mel’s heartstrings and made her worry bloom into full height. She’d left Marcus here in Aldrion when she’d gone into the wasteland and, according to Austin, no one had seen him since he’d escaped the dungeon. He’d been thrown in there by Derek for her crimes, and she hated that he’d paid for what she’d done.
Neither of his friends, Catherine and Leeroy, had been found either, and Mel could only assume they’d either died or made it safely into the valley. She hoped it was the latter.
Hanon pulled on a clean shirt and turned to her at the entrance. He gave her a small smile and as soon as Mel mirrored his expression, Luthel came up behind them like a shadow lurking in the darkness. His face was covered in a frown and he looked around them at the people who were getting ready for the day. His eyes seemed suspicious and Mel couldn’t help but take a step back from him. This place seemed to be getting under Luthel’s skin in a way Mel hadn’t expected.
“I was sent to get you,” Mel said, looking at Hanon. “Austin has called for a meeting in the map room, the same room we found him in yesterday.” She looked around the space, noticing a few people observing them. “Did you sleep alright?”
Hanon gave her a slow nod. But it was Luthel who answered, “Why should Hanon attend a meeting? What is it you’re trying to lure him into?”
Mel raised her hands. “Woow, slow down. I’m not trying to do anything. Hanon was invited by Austin. He wants to know about our time in Krazaa and if Hanon’s willing to help around here.”
Hanon didn’t say anything again, and Luthel took a step forward toward Mel. He placed himself in front of Hanon to shield him from her. “We said we’d get you here. But now we need to leave. Go back to the wasteland.”
Mel shook her head. “You saw how many shadows are out there. I don’t know if it’s safe for you to go right now. Maybe you should wait here until they’ve at least left the city. You are free to stay as long as you’d like.”
Luthel shook his head back at her. “We need to leave, now.”
Hanon put a hand on his father’s arm, catching his gaze. “We need to help Melissa get into the valley. We’re not there yet. You promised me.”
Luthel took in a deep breath and then released it, seeming to relax only a small bit. “Fine, but we should leave for the valley today then, not attend some meeting.”
Mel shuffled her feet back and forth, trying to think of something that could be reasonable for Luthel to postpone entering the valley for a day or two. She racked her brain and came up empty when Hanon spoke again. “We can’t use the passage through the mountain until Austin gives us his permission. There are guards stationed everywhere, and I don’t think we can just sneak past them. Let me go to this meeting and see what he wants. Then we can make a decision.”
Mel swallowed hard, looking over at Luthel, who seemed to think it over. She knew Austin intimately and would probably be able to convince him to let them pass, but Luthel didn’t know that. He’d seen them be cozy a while back in the wasteland, but last time he’d seen her with Austin, he’d led her out from the map room with a hand held firmly around her arm. She guessed it was easy to believe they weren’t exactly friends anymore.
#
In the map room Austin stood with his hands on a large table, just as she’d found him yesterday. He was hulking over the thing, looking at the people who’d gathered. Hanon and Mel had been the last ones to arrive and next to Austin stood Oliver with a calm smile covering his lips.
Gabs leaned over the map on the table in front of Austin and pointed to a section on the top half of it. Mel stepped forward, seeing a large building with town hall written across it.
“This is where they’re holding the remaining survivors,” Gabs said. “Oliver and his informants have searched for others, but they’re either dead or at town hall. We don’t know what they’re planning to do with the survivors, but according to our intel, some disappear every few days. Our best guess is that they’re killed somewhere else, perhaps for food.”
Mel felt a shiver run down her spine. She’d never seen a shadow eat, but perhaps they did need some kind of sustenance. It didn’t add up though, and if they were used for food, where did their bones go?
It was quiet for a beat and then Hanon stepped up next to Mel, looking down at the map. “They’re not eating them.”
“Then what are they doing?” Austin asked.
Hanon’s gaze traveled from the table to Austin and connected with his eyes. “They’re turning them into shadows.”
Mel felt the icy feeling in her spine intensify. Of course they were, that’s why there were so many of them. The void had found more people to turn. It was probably why they were still in Aldrion and hadn’t gone into the valley yet. They were amassing all the shadows they could first.
“Then we have to save them,” Austin said. “Then it’s even more important than before. If the void is getting stronger for everyone it’s turning, then we have to cut off its supply.”
“How are you planning to do that?” Hanon asked.
Mel was surprised at his interest in this and felt a surge of hope rise in her heart. Perhaps she still had a chance at convincing him to join their side. Her surprise seemed to be mimicked in Gabs’ and Austin’s faces. They must have never heard Hanon speak before, not more than once or twice at least. This was a lot of words for him and in a way Mel felt proud that he trusted them enough.
Austin pointed at a few different points of interest on the map. “Here, here and here, there are shadows stationed with a beast or two every day. We’ve been able to get information from up at the dragon forge and Falden, but there doesn’t seem to be anyone there anymore. We think the shadows have killed or moved everyone to town hall during the recent days. If we can get through here…” Austin pointed at the road stretching from the eastern to the western gate. The same place Mel had seen an impossible amount of shadows loitering. “...then we could get into town hall and possibly save some of the survivors.”
Hanon shook his head. “There are too many shadows around there. It won’t work.”
Austin nodded. “I know, but we’ve checked everywhere else and even if we went out into the wasteland and around somehow, I’m not sure we could get around the barracks and the military quarter to get to town hall that way.”
He dragged a hand over his face and released a sigh, looking over at Mel for a quick glance, and then fixed his eyes back on the map again. Hanon’s face had scrunched up into a concentrated stare and Mel started to feel the hope in her heart drain. There really wasn’t any way they could get to town hall without crossing the army of shadows.
“But we’re inside some kind of tunnel system, right?” Hanon said. “Is there a path leading up around this area?”
Gabs shook her head. “We’ve mapped out the tunnel system and nothing seems to lead that far out. We know there is a dungeon underneath town hall, but it doesn’t seem to be connected to the tunnels we’re in right now.”
“What if we extended the tunnel, then?” Mel asked. “Take in some elemental warriors that are good with earth magic and make a new tunnel underneath the army?”
Gabs and Austin exchanged a silent glance, and Mel got a worried feeling in her stomach.
“What?” she said.
“There are few elemental warriors left in the city,” Oliver chimed in. “We lost most in the fight against the void, and some had already left the city after Derek died. But even if we could locate some that are proficient in earth magic, we’d need weapons. And let’s just say we’re quickly running out of any magical imbues. It’s not like we can make new ones after the dragon stones got destroyed.”
Mel winced at his comment, knowing full well that she was to blame for the dragon stones flickering out. She’d gotten them all into this situation and she desperately wanted to be the one who fixed this now.
She turned to Hanon. “Could we do that?”
He shook his head, but then seemed to stop to consider it, anyway. “I’m not sure. If you say that your warriors could create paths through the mountain with magic from dragon stones, then technically yes. It’s just that I don’t know how to do anything like that. We’d need to figure it out, and that could take some time.”
Mel turned back to Austin, a smile spreading on her lips. “I need you to get me the best earth shakers you can find and a map over the dungeon system underneath town hall. We’re going to build a tunnel all the way there and steal the survivors from underneath the void’s gaze.”
Gabs and Oliver stared at her in confusion, not seeming to understand how she or Hanon could possibly move earth without magical imbues. But Austin just gave her his usual dark gaze, full of tension and that something that only he seemed to possess.
He smiled back at her and then gave her a quick nod. “It’s worth a try if you think this could work. But if it doesn’t, maybe we will have to give up on the idea of saving anyone else. The city is already under a lot of pressure and I’m not sure how long it will be until the void finds our hiding place and decides to pay us a visit.”
Austin turned to Oliver and continued. “I need you to also bring forth the last supply we have of earth imbues. I know this will be risky, but I think it will be worth it if we manage to save the people who’re held up at town hall. This will be the last thing we do for Aldrion before we all head into the valley and leave this place. I also want you to send along as many people as possible who’re living here in the underground to the valley, with a few of your guards. To make sure they get to the other side safely.”
He took in a deep breath and then added. “If this goes wrong, I want there to be as few people left in Aldrion as possible.”
Oliver nodded. “Yes, sir. This will be our final mission beyond the mountain. May it serve us well.”
