143-Dark Paths

"This is a never-ending tunnel!" Ghwynmyr complained as he sat at a protruding stone in the ground. He took out his gourd and sipped the little water he had left. He passed his gourd over to Urfaal who sat on the ground staring blankly at the shining light rune Orphella held in her right hand.

"Lad, 'ere yah go…" He touched the gourd on the beastman's face who have not heard him. "Oi!" He shook the gourd in front of Urfaal's face but there was no response.

He looked at the same direction where the beastman's eyes seemed to fell and realized it was on Orphella. It's not like Ghwynmyr hadn't notice how close the beastman was to Orphella, they were comrades, of course! But he never had thought that the beastman might've developed some feelings for the timid elf.

Ghwynmyr squinted his eyes and flicked the beastman's ears so hard, Urfaal jolted.

The beastman snapped out from his blank state and grabbed the gourd immediately, "T-thank you…" While holding his reddened ear.

Ghwynmyr sneered at the beastman, "Yah know, tis I notice. I'm nay blind…" He peered closer to Urfaal. "But, if yah 'ave something tah say 'bout—"

"Oh no! I have none!" The beastman quickly responded, stood up and walked away, "I will check something with Wahakim." Ulfaar stormed away with a blush on his face.

Ghwynmyr scratched his beard and smiled. Even at the darkest and lowest point of their existence, it would never hurt to have a little bit of love and laughter. Looking at his friend being  doe-eyed on a girl made him reminisce his younger years where he courted and dated ladies from his kingdom.

Orphella approached him and signed, "Where is he going?" He pointed at the beastman.

He smiled at her and signed back, "He's gone tah the Orkamuu."

The elf nodded and took his gourd from his hand and drank from it. The elf looked around and shone her light rune on the ceiling. There was nothing but piles of rocks and dirt caving them. Orphella sighed and looked at him shaking her head.

"Ave faith, Phellie." Ghwynmyr said. "We gon' out 'ere alive. Alive 'n well t'gther!"

She smiled at him tiredly and nodded. She took another sip of water from his gourd when one of Commander Crovar's knights approached them. The knight bowed at them which flustered them.

"Greetings, Lady Orphella…Master…Dwarf!" Surprisingly, he could only name one of them. Nonetheless, Ghwynmyr was happy that at least the elf got called by her name.

"Whut is it?" He interpreted Orphella's gesture. "Tis somethin' we did?"

The knight shook his head and answered, "Absolutely not!" He cleared his throat. "Lord Commander wanted to speak with you about this…expedition." He added.

"Me?" Orphella gestured.

The knight shook his head once again, "You and the beastman are needed, right away."

"Jus da two of 'em?" Ghwynmyr sheepishly asked.

The knight looked at him straight in the eyes, "Master Dwarf, Lord Commander hasn't mentioned anything to me about you."

Ghwynmyr felt insulted, but somehow, he understood the grudging Commander. As he recalled, the poor man's relative died in the hands of dwarven insurgents before during the battle of the Gorge. He recalled Tristam explaining to him how the poor budding knight got burned during one of the raids.

"I apologize Master Dwarf, Lady Orphella but we need to make haste." The knight pleaded.

Orphella and Ghwynmyr's eyes met. The elf wanted him to go with her, but he politely refused. He knew that his presence could prove detrimental to whatever plan the Commander Crovar had. The old Commander couldn't resist jabbing words at him the entire time and that might lengthen the planning period.

At this time, a brief and accurate plan was duly needed. They cannot stay inside that tunnel for too long. Every wasted time they had while they're there could mean lesser chances of their survival. Ghwynmyr was not going to allow that to happen.

Orphella left a few moments later escorted by the knight. Left alone, Ghwynmyr took some time for his mind to wander off. The dark unforgiving tunnel reminded him of the tunnels wherein he hunted the flame dragon. The air of tension and the suffocating darkness made it all alike. Their numbers dwindled significantly after the last wave of attack.

Ghwynmyr feared that if they encountered another attack like that again, they would all surely die. Luck couldn't smile on them twice. Commander Crovar felt the same and wanted to reduce the chances of doing it. He wondered what sort of plan the Commander had for them, if ever he had any. It didn't take long for him to know the answer.

As he laid himself comfortably on one of the stones lodged on the ground, he could hear muffled sounds of people arguing at the far end of the line. It was a back-and-forth argument with both sides trying to reach appoint across the other. The argument lasted for a moment before it quieted down once again.

In his mind, Ghwynmyr knew that both his friends were definitely not causing the ruckus at that point. Orphella couldn't speak and isvery reserved. She would more likely stare at you and judge you right there without saying a word. On the other hand, Urfaal wasn't the best of speakers. He usually tumbled his words and hesitantly voiced out any concerns so its most likely not him.

It was silent far too long. There was not a hint of sound following the argument. Ghwynmyr felt uneasy as he waited for a response. The eerie silence was too much for him to bear. He picked up his hammeraxe which he rested on the side of the stone.

He held the weapon on his hand, and stood up when all of the sudden, he heard a loud explosion followed by a hot gust of air. Ghwynmyr's heart raced as he feared the inevitable—another attack. He rushed to the direction where Orphella went, praying for their safety.

But as he came closer, he met Wahakim and the other Orkahmuus along with Orphella and Urfaal who he dragged by hand.

"W-whut 'append?" Ghwynmyr asked while observing Wahakim's discontented face.

"Oh you're here! Good!" Wahakim gestured to his tribesmen. "Take him along with us!" He commanded as he stormed away.

"W-whaddya…oh! Wait! Oi!!" Before Ghwynmyr could even finish his sentence, a over-towering Orkhamuu approached him and carried him in his arms. "W-what're yah doin?!" He demanded an explanation for such actions, but the Orkhamuu carrying him didn't answer.

"I stormed out of the place, my friend." Wahakim monotonously answered. "I stormed out because that COWARD no longer deserved my clan's services!" He added while spitting profanities.

Ghwynmyr was still puzzled with the answer. "Whut 'appened?" He dared ask the question once more.

Wahakim stopped and turned around and approached him. "He's planning to abandon the mission and leave the three of you behind. I AM NOT HAVING IT!" Wahakim gestured to the Orkhamuu carrying him to put him down. 

Ghwynmyr stared at him not saying a word. He silently observed the Orkhamuu jittered as he tried to remain calm while speaking with him. He could see how sincerely troubled Wahakim was when he learned about the plan to leave them at that hellhole. He looked back and checked if a knight was following them, but no one did. Whatever they did during that meeting definitely sent a clear message  to that Commander to NEVER follow them.

Curious of what Wahakim was planning, Ghwynmyr finally broke his silence and asked the Orkhamuu, "Whaddya intend tah do?"

Wahakim thought of it for a while and looked at him. "I chose to continue. I chose to look for the others and get the ores for Prince Arterius. Are you with me, friend?"

Ghwynmyr took a deep breath and smiled, "Lead the way, friend."