"How far do we hafta go?" Ghwynmyr asked Urfaal while treading the cold interior of the small path they went in earlier. "Think I need tah rest." He said heaving his breath, placing his arm on his broken rib.

His friend, the beastman turned around and saw the grimace written all over his face. "I-I guess we should." Ulfaar put down Wahakim from his back and gently laid him against the wall before helping him. "Are you alright, Ghwynmyr." He asked with concern written all over his face.

Ghwynmyr grimaced with every step as he tried meeting Ulfaar halfway, but the pain radiated with every movement. He stood still and heaved through the pain, until his friend carried him in his arms and laid him beside Wahakim.

"Argh." Ghwynmyr gritted his teeth as he rested his back on the wall. "Gods damnit! Tis pain felt worse than that of me war injuries!" He exclaimed while trying to examine himself again.

The explosion he planned against the bat-like monstrosities worked its charm. It blasted their entire nest and them out of existence. But the explosive became too potent that he should've planned for a ten-layered shield instead of a three. The impact threw him off the puddle and the rocks might have hit his abdominal area giving him the broken rib.

Ulfaar tried to check on it, but Ghwynmyr refused. It's not like he didn't trust the poor beastman, it's just that any wrong move might cause him to bleed. The more he thought about it, the more he was convinced that his rib might have puncture or was about to puncture one of his organs.

"Tis alright, Urfie." He said while patting the shoulder of the squatted beastman. "Yah don't hafta worry about me this much! How's he doing." He pointed his lips towards Wahakim.

"He kept on groaning along the way." Urfaal sighed. "He hasn't been bleeding now, which I guess is a good sign. But I'm not sure how much longer can he hold with that rock in his abdomen." He looked at Ghwynmyr filled with concern for his friend.

"All we can do is hope…youch!" He gritted his teeth as the pain came crashing on his abdomen as he shifted his weight. "Damn it! Urfie, yah don't hafta worry 'bout me. Tis man'll be fine!" He smiled to mask the pain.

"Liar." Urfaal murmured. "I know that you're not…damn it!" He punched the wall in frustration that even the dwarf was surprised by his actions. "If only I…" He bit his lip until it bled.

"Stop that, lad! Tis not gonna help, Urfie!" He slapped the beastman across the face. "Yer presence…its already enough…ugh…gods balls! This hurts!" The pain struck him once again as he moved.

Ghwynmyr held Urfaal by his neck and leaned closer towards him while feeling the stabbing pain on his rib. "Yah listen tah me! S-stop b-blaming yerself! Conserve yer strength and yer mind, we're gonna need that as we go in deeper! Yah heard me, lad?!" He gritted his teeth in pain.

The beastman nodded. He knew Ulfaar just needed a little bit of confidence in him. His friend had always been there for them through thick and thin, though he couldn't seem to notice how much he contributed to them all this time. He understood that Ulfaar behaves like a kid sometimes and is desperate to keep his friends safe. Ulfaar was forced to act as a grown up in this situation. Fortunately, his words calmed the beastman down and with that, he closed his eyes and tried to sleep off the pain he had.

He woke up a few moments from a ruckus happening beside him. Ghwynmyr opened his eyes and saw how Urfaal holding Wahakim's wrist so tightly, he couldn't move. He immediately stood up and was immediately slap with his painful injury.

"Wuhappened?!" He asked as he gritted his teeth.

"He…he…stop that—no Waha—" Urfaal tried to explain to Ghwynmyr, but Wahakim tried his hardest to wiggle his way out of the hold.

"Death! I can smell death!" His voice echoed throughout the tunnel. "I am dead!" He screamed even more.

"No, you…you're not!" Urfaal answered as his grip slipped from Wahakim's wrist. Listen, it's us…your...fffrriiends..ow!" Wahakim headbutted him as both of them struggled for control.

The beastman's lip busted open after the attack, but he was still determined to hold his Orkamuu friend in place. Seeing the situation, Ghwynmyr stood up and approached them both.

"Hold him tight!" He said. "Oi! Lad! Wahakim, tis are yer friends…whatya—"

"Death!" Wahakim growled. "Let me go! I am going to die here! I smell death and decay! Rotten flesh! Rotten flesh everywhere!"

"W-what're yah sayin? Tis no rotten flesh 'ere!" He replied in his calmest voice. We're not leavin ya 'ere!"

"Silence! Death is coming! It's near! Let me go!" Wahakim growled and attacked Urfaal once again with a headbutt.

Seeing how violent their friend had become, he had no choice but to act. Before Wahakim could do another attack on Urfaal, Ghwynmyr clenched his fist and punched the Orkamuu right in the jaw knocking him out cold. Unfortunately for him, the strain from such impact radiated an indescribable pain on his abdomen that winded him from which he passed out a few moments later.

Ghwynmyr woke up in the arms of Urfaal. The beastman had carried them deeper into the path with him on his arms and Wahakim on his friend's back.

"You're awake already!" Urfaal cheerfully greeted him. "I thought you died! You know, you just laid down on the ground unmoving. I thought you were about to…d—" He sighed.

Ghwynmyr nodded his head. He knew the thoughtful Urfaal was worried for the both of them, the poor beastman could've just left one of them but he chose to pick them both and help them get out of that place alive.

He looked around and saw nothing but the dark and lonely path ahead of them, "Where are we?" He tried and asked. "Ah, yah can put me down now, Urfie. He asked the beastman as he tried to protect his dwarven pride from his current situation.

"We're in the deeper parts of the path." Urfaal answered as he gently put him down. "Does your rib still hurt?"

"It's nay gonna get away from just sleep." He gritted his teeth as the pain became more unbearable than before. "But, tis gonna be fine." He smiled as he tried to mask the pain.

Urfaal nodded albeit skeptical with his answer. "If you say so, but in the instance, you feel something, please let me know right away." He pleaded.

"I hear yah lad!" Ghwynmyr patted Urfaal's arm and continued their journey.

Along the way, both of them could hear the poor Orkamuu's murmurs about death and rotting flesh. His weakened voice and limping body was a harrowing image of a man in the brink of his demise. The poor Orkamuu broke his mind in protest to his impending doom but both of them, couldn't do anything about it.

They wanted to help him, but there was nothing that they could do but carry him to the surface. Whether he dies or not, they could only respect his wish. His voice weakened even more until he fell asleep.

Afraid that he might be dead, they halted and Ghwynmyr checked his pulse. Wahakim was still alive, but asleep, hopefully for the better. Their journey ended at the middle of a huge open space. They planned on taking another short break here, but the place gave them the creeps.

Just looking at it terrorized them, they were afraid of what this all meant. After all, most of times their comrades were killed was inside the huge clearings. The headless monsters and the bat-like monstrosities all showed up in a huge, cavernous space like this.

The thought of it made Ghwynmyr and Urfaal more cautious than ever. Urfaal took out the crescent blade from Wahakim and wielded it as they slowly treaded the new place. Ghwynmyr would have love it if he also recovered his weapon but unfortunately, the explosion melted their weapons as well.

"Lead the way, Lad." He told Urfaal they kept their defenses up against the unknown. After scouring the entire open space, they were convinced that it was safe for them to rest. Urfaal sighed in relief and smiled at him.

However, as they were about to put Wahakim down, a huge fog suddenly descended from the ceiling and covered them in a thick veil of whiteness. Suddenly, Wahakim and Urfaal was becoming hard to see. The fog thickened even more until they were no longer able to see each other regardless of how proximate they were from one another.

"U-urfaal! Can yah hear me lad?!" Ghwynmyr shouted but there was no answer. "Tis I, your frend. Ghwynmyr! Please say something!" He commanded but nobody answered back.

He took a step forward, when all of the sudden the hair on his back stood up. He knew right there, something was off. Ghwynmyr stood still in the middle of the fog and waited for a monster to come out from the fog.

He gritted his teeth as a huge silhouette appeared in front of him. The silhouette was a towering figure with four arms. He knew that monster was his demise, but he wouldn't just kneel down over the beast.

"Come 'ere ya abomination!" He taunted as he cracked his knuckles. "I'm gonna beat y'all dead!" 

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JULY PROMOTION!!!Please read AUX Chapter if you want to join!