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We were running for some time, I have no sense of time in this place, but when we finally slowed down I was completely exhausted. Dola used her Dwellvari sense of direction to find the easiest way out, something about “feelin th’ stone.” Ben was the happiest I have ever seen him, he thought we were racing or something and constantly ran ahead of us, silly dog.

Once we finally exited the dark obsidian tunnels and entered back into the brown and gray ones I was more accustomed to, I let myself relax a bit. I never thought I would be happy to see the old tunnels again, go figure. Dola and Vorn both looked like they wanted to keep going but knew I wasn't used to all the exertion, so we stopped and rested for a while.

Ben came over and lay next to me and I gently patted him while trying to recover my stamina. “It will be some time before we reach any of the settlements, I just hope we get there in time,” Vorn said this with a concerned frown, he wasn’t blaming me, at least I don’t think so… he was genuinely worried.

“Has nothing like this ever happened before?” I ask curiously, this wasn’t something that would occur often I'm sure, but in a land where magic and monsters existed… well anything was possible wasn’t it? Vorn shook his head and was about to answer when Dola cut in, “There‘re many Cults an’groups who worship or follow evil beings… but they usually’re seen workin’ alone.” She went on to describe some of the wars that were fought against worshippers of evil, but it all sounded rather cliché to me, like they were tales spun by bards who didn’t know all the details.

One such event was known as the Rising of the Void Lord, where Hrathure, a lord of the Void tried to enter this realm through the aid of his followers. However, the Holy Paladin Order put a stop to it by burning their stronghold to the ground. It all seemed so heroic in it’s telling, I almost forgot about our current situation… almost. Speaking of fighting evil though, I remembered something I wanted to ask Vorn.

“When we were trying to escape, I threw this dagger and it seemed to know exactly where I wanted it to go… is there something special about it?” I produced the dagger that I still held from before, and looked at it in curiosity. Vorn nodded, “yes, it has an enchantment upon it that increases accuracy.” Vorn stated this matter as though it was obvious, but I was rather grateful that Vorn would let me use such a weapon. He barely knew me after all. I looked at Vorn’s second sword; he never unsheathed it once in the last fight, I wonder why?

Snapping out of my reverie I remembered one more thing I needed to ask, “what is Zorandug?” I remember that they had mentioned it before, and was quite curious to know what it was like. Dola’s face brightened and looked down the tunnel with a bit of nostalgia evident in her gaze. “Tis me home, and th’capital o’ the Dwellvari people. Carved out halls tha’ reach deep int’ the mountains. A truly wonderful place it’ is…” She said something about the founder, Zoran, digging out a great mine and eventually, over time, a great city was formed. All I got from it was that I was going to be underground again… hurray.

We ate some of Vorn’s rations then started to move again, I was tired, when was the last time I slept? Time has no meaning here, just the constant dimly lit passageways and the rocky walls all around me. I wasn’t claustrophobic before this ordeal but I sure as hell have developed a deep dislike for caves now. The air was earthy and stale and the only sounds heard were the soft echoes of our footsteps. Although Vorn had reactivated the light enchantment on his ring, the dark tunnels ahead seemed to just go on and on like a nightmare. No matter how much time you spend down here, it never gets any better.

We ran into a few huge insects, they were docile mostly, so we ignored them, they were centipede like with hundreds of legs and big multifaceted eyes. Dola said that if you were in a pinch you could eat them without having to cook the meat; I couldn’t suppress a shiver of disgust. Even Ben, the bottomless pit, shied away from the creatures, they must have not smelled right to him because he was giving them a rather disapproving look.

We were relatively safe from being found by any undead who were searching for us; Dola had used her senses to find a passage that led directly to the surface. Vorn then used Illusion magic to hide the passage from any pursuers. I asked him how he used magic, and he told me it was a natural affinity he was born with. He could use other kinds of magic, but it would take a longer time to use effectively. When I asked how he knew what his affinity was, he simply said it was mandatory for Green Wardens to take the test… he didn’t really elaborate on the test, saying it was a secret known to those who took it.

Magic would be a useful thing to learn in this world… I could only hope, with my origins, that I could use it to some extent. We left the Insects behind and continued on our way, but Vorn raised his hand to signal a stop a short while later. We did so, I even held my breath, and strained my ears to listen… nothing, was Vorn jumping at shadows now? Not that I would blame him. Vorn mumbled something about growing old but was cut off when the wall suddenly burst open and a large two-headed snake went for both Vorn and me! It would have had us to, if it hadn’t been for Dola, who used her Pickaxe in a reflexive movement to peg the snake to the ground.

The large six-meter long snake whipped around madly trying in vain to free itself from the Pick. In doing so it broke more of the tunnel and rubble fell from the ceiling, some rained down on me, hitting my shoulder and making me lose balance. I deflected most of it with my makeshift shield, but was still unable to block it all.

Hissing violently the snake rounded on Dola who was keeping it in place... who had caused it pain. Vorn didn’t need anymore warning, he unsheathed his blade and went for one of the heads whose attention was focused on Dola. Using his momentum he put his full body into a powerful swing that nearly decapitated one of the heads clean off the body. The snake had the element of surprise, but it misjudged its prey, one head now hanged lifeless and the other, now enraged, went in for a kill, with little regard for safety.

It was about to bite down on Dola when a black form flew in and tackled the thing against the tunnel wall. Ben was promptly shaken off but he had gained enough time for Vorn to regain his stance and attack again, having overextended himself a bit on the last swing. Throughout this rather epic encounter I had been knocked down by the rocks and debris, I rose just in time to see Ben courageously attack the snake… that’s my boy. I rose to my feet and readied my dagger but the final blow had been struck, Vorn stood over the corpse of a twitching two-headed snake breathing heavily.

“Did ye have a nice rest Blake?” asked Dola with her characteristic grin, I grunted in answer, somehow I felt… jealous, what’s with that? Ben had a few scratches and bruises here and there but he was okay. He’s been a great help throughout this whole ordeal; I don’t think I could have survived without his help… I’ll need to reward him when we get out of here.

Dusting himself off, Vorn approached us with a bit of relief on his face, “that was close, but it means we’re getting closer to the surface, we should reach it soon…” Vorn looked at the snake’s corpse with a difficult expression, “we don’t have time to skin it and gather materials… too bad, Oroborites are rare in these parts.” He said as he cleaned his sword on a piece of cloth and sheathed it. We left the body behind; other creatures would feast on it no doubt.

The rest of our journey to the surface was uneventful, the Oroborite was a feared predator, and so much of its territory was uninhabited. I was fully aware that had one of us run into that thing by ourselves, we would have surely had a run for our money. I would have died instantly most likely, the thought made me a bit more anxious to get out of here. Though from what Dola and Vorn had told me, the outside could be just as dangerous if not more so than here. I just wanted to be out in the open again, with fewer places for monstrous beasts to hide.

My wish was finally granted, I began to smell a difference in the air, a freshness that I had all but forgotten. To be honest it almost made me light headed, but I kept walking, my heart beating faster with every step in excitement. Ben was no different; he probably had smelled the outside before any of us. Once I was close enough to smell it too, he couldn’t hold it in anymore and ran up ahead.

Vorn shouted, saying it was dangerous to go ahead alone, but I knew there was no stopping him. It wasn’t long until I saw light anyway, so we picked up our pace, I was finally going to be free of these damned caves and tunnels, finally going to see the sun. Feel the wind on my face and the warmth on my skin. As I emerged from my underground prison I was overwhelmed at first, the sky was overcast and the sun was close to setting, the surroundings were desolate and unforgiving… wait. Ah come on!

We seemed to be surrounded by a dark swampy forest, whatever wasn’t wet was rocky and rough. Behind us, where we had just come from, were great mountains that seemed to go on forever, their snowcapped peeks hidden in the clouds. Ben was frolicking in some swampy water close to the trees, he seemed genuinely happy. Oh well, I had expected a wonderful sunny day and a beautiful forest surrounded by lush grassland… serves me right for thinking this was some kind of fantasy novel.

Despite the surroundings, I was truly happy… I was free, finally out of the stale earth. I took a moment to just breathe in the air, it smelled wet and earthy, but not like when I was underground, there was life in it. Warmth I had been missing for god only knows how long, the scenery wasn’t very lovable, but I couldn’t deny the pure joy I felt. Vorn and Dola had been waiting patiently behind me, they seemed to be amused by my reaction.

Vorn walked up next to me and placed a hand on my shoulder. With a wry smile he said in a calm and proud voice, “It’s a bit late Blake, but welcome to Ghalanos, if the current situation wasn’t so dire, I would show you around personally, but we must get moving.” I nod, understanding completely, the feeling of urgency was still there in Vorn’s tone. There was still great danger building up below our feet, and nobody but us knew about it.

={=====>The Sorrowen<=====}=

She placed the sacrifice gently upon the altar, it was a mere animal, but it would serve as the blood that stained this glorious day. She slit the creature’s throat, letting the blood pool under it, filling a steel basin at the altars base. “Oh Unending One, hear my words, we have found the second fragment of the key, and thou shall be free again once more!” she spoke with a tone of love and reverence, her eyes bled tears of joy, feeling the consciousness of her unholy lord reaching out to her. The blood in the basin swirled and danced in reply… soon… soon you will be free to finish what you began my lord.

The Sorrowen, for she was not some mere woman, rose to her feet and produced a gilded fragment of what looked like a diamond shaped object. The fragment was warm to the touch, and made her remember what if felt like to have a living body. Such memories were useless to her, she did not need them, her glorious undeath was a gift from her lord, and she was forever grateful.

Her thoughts were disturbed by a commotion outside the tombs walls. She put away the fragment and made her way to the entrance of the tomb. Her steps made no sound, and though there was no wind her deep crimson dress wafted around her like it was alive, which in a way, it was. One of the Acolytes came running into the tomb with a frantic expression, what was this ones name? These pawns all looked the same, black robes and black leather masks that resembled a skull, skin scarred over and over with patterns of unholy sigils and runes. The man came to a halt when he saw her terrible beauty, unable to look her in the eyes, which had recently bled tears of blood from the ritual contact with her master.

Her deathly pale, beautiful face was marred by an evil unseen, but nearly tangible… an aura of malice and cruelty. “Speak,” she commanded in a strong yet painfully melodious voice. The Acolyte nearly went for his ritual dagger to cut himself out of pure pleasure stopped and remembered the task at hand. “Revered Sorrowen, I bring news that someone or some thing has breached our defenses and witnessed out glory.” The man spoke reverently, as though she were a prophet of his lord, for she was, among other things.

So the insects above had seen the greatness of her lord’s forces had they? “And I assume you dealt with the intruders?” she said in a voice that promised pain otherwise. The Acolyte simply fell to his knees and begged for her forgiveness over and over again. “They overwhelmed the patrols and escaped into the tunnels! We are currently loo-“ that was all he could say before her hand grabbed his throat. His eyes, hidden by the hood, bulged in a mixture of fear and bliss, his skin turned gray and haggard like all the life was being drained from him until she let him go, his body turned to dust the moment he hit the ground.

Feeling refreshed after her meal, she thought it didn’t really matter… she had found what she had come for; soon the entire world would know death and despair… and She, Baeletra Sel Vikken, would stand by her lords side when the time came. Yes, let the insects scurry to defend themselves… it was already far too late now.

={=====>Blake Lambet<=====}=

Vorn was adamant about us not going through the forest; apparently there were worse things inside than anything I had seen thus far, so I didn’t argue. It would be common to run into animals if we went around, but they were the least dangerous things around here… something about a taint in the forest. Anyway, we began to move, getting as far away from the caves entrance as possible. Vorn told me it would be dangerous to camp too close to the forest at night, so we made some distance.

Vorn went on to explain his plans, he would stay with us until we got out of the Untamed Lands, then he would separate from us to go warn the surrounding human settlements. The man Vorn had promised to take me to was located in Zorandug, so Dola would be able to lead me to him. He hated having to leave us but Zorandug would need to be warned and so would the Human lands.

I was so focused on what Vorn was saying that I didn’t notice we had climbed a rocky ridge that overlooked the surrounding lands until it was right in front of my face. The sun was starting to set, painting the sky a variety of colours from orange to deep red, the clouds had parted a bit and I could start to see stars in the darker parts of the sky. It was beautiful… even the decaying swamp like forest beneath us, which sprawled along the mountainous ridgeline, was a wonder to behold. I was truly free, perhaps for the first time.

I could hear the birds, whose calls I didn’t recognize; starting to go silent, night was nearing… my first real night in a different world. Dola nudged me with her elbow, a different, understanding smile on her lips, and a knowing light in her eyes. Dwellvar emerged from the earth when they were of age, much like I had, and seeing the sun and the stars for the first time was overwhelming for them. My experience was nothing like hers must have been, but it was similar, and she could relate.

For the first time since I woke up in that circular cave with the glowing magic stone, I really felt alive. There was a world of possibilities to explore, and here I was… taking the first steps. I couldn’t help but feel excited; even if it turned out I couldn’t return home… I was alive.

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