Chapter 410: Ambush

Captain Izgerd and his fellow frost troll guards escorted the Sylvan emissary and her retinue through the dark cold tunnels of Grimstone. The mountain’s cave system was covered in rugged rock and patches of ice. Underground rivers flowed through the caverns, their sounds echoing across the walls.

They had been traveling in the winding tunnels for half an hour before a trail of blue light broke through the darkness. The mouth of the tunnel opened up to a large canyon-like cavern. The walls stretched a hundred paces below and twice as high above them. An icy bridge extended from the tunnel’s opening, spanning across the opposite wall where another tunnel entrance stood.

Captain Izgerd glanced back at the group. “We cross,” the troll said curtly. He spun on his heel and began making his way over the vast bridge of ice. His guards followed right behind him, paying no heed if the Sylvans were following.

Jahn stared at the bridge with an air of skepticism. The ice was two meters deep and three meters wide, and there were no rails on either side. But as chieftain, Jahn took the first step onto the ice.

He pushed his weight onto his foot, testing the bridge’s integrity. After a moment, he nodded to himself, and glanced at his sister. “It’s stable.”

Aurelia gestured him onward, “Lead the way.”

Jahn went on ahead and the rest of the Sylvan hunters followed. Aurelia and Otley walked behind them and Tauri reluctantly followed.

Tauri couldn’t help but look down at her feet with each step. The ice was fairly clear and she could make out the underground river rushing a 100 paces below them. A single misstep and she’d tumble all the way down. If she was lucky enough to not crash into the rocky shore her body would be swept under by the river. She swallowed hard at the idea. The world began to spin around her.

“Keep moving.” Srixa poked her in the back.

Tauri jumped with a small cry and almost tripped. She spun around, a mixture of embarrassment and anger in her expression. “When did you—? What are you doing behind me?”

Srixa shook her head as if the answer was obvious, “I’m in charge of covering our rear. I waited for you to get on the bridge but now we’re falling behind, so if you could, move that fat ass forward.”

Tauri considered tossing off the bridge for a heartbeat, then thought better of it, and settled for a muttered curse. She turned her back to the goblin huntress and kept walking, albeit with slow unsteady steps.

“Keep your eyes up and put one foot in front of the other. Take deep breaths and try to relax. We’ll be on the other side soon enough,” Srixa said.

Surprised at the unexpected sympathy, Tauri couldn’t help but ask with a spiteful tone, “Since when do you care about my well-being?”

Srixa smirked. “I don’t. But if anyone is going to kill you, it’s me, not fucking gravity.”

“Thanks,” Tauri rolled her eyes.

~~~

Otley silently walked next to Aurelia, though his yellow eyes kept glancing at her.

Aurelia sighed, “What is it?”

“Hm? Oh, nothing, First Mother,” Otley said hastily.

“You have something on your mind and I for one don’t wish to walk next to it for the rest of the night. Speak and be done with it,” Aurelia said.

“W-Well, I wanted to thank you for covering for me back at the throne room.” He glanced at the trolls walking ahead of them and made sure they were out of earshot before continuing, “If they had known that the Troll Slayer was the actual emissary I’m certain things would have played out quite differently.”

“Don’t thank me, I didn’t do it for you. As you said, things would have turned out differently. I need these negotiations to go well.”

“So that the Lunar Elect will listen to your petition?” Otley guessed.

“Why else would any of my tribe be in this godforsaken mountain?”

Otley stared at her thoughtfully. “What is it that you want? What is so important that you need to petition for the aid of the Lunar Elect?”

“…It need not concern you,” she said.

Otley cleared his throat, “If I may speak truthfully, there are many who are still loyal to you in Evenfall. You may have tried to keep yourself hidden when you arrived at the city, but some still noticed your presence. Word has spread that the Favored of the Moon has returned. Don’t you see? You need not the approval of the Lunar Elect. If you only gave the word, people would follow you. I would follow you.”

“Careful, son of Iron Spine. Your words are bordering on treason. The Lunar Elect presides over the Sylvan people, not I.”

“Honorable as always…” He bowed his head in resignation, “I will heed your words, Favored of the Moon… But if the time ever comes where you find yourself in need of aid, know that there are many who would stand by you.”

Aurelia did not respond to his words and kept walking, her gaze fixed on the tunnel entrance ahead. Otley took her silence as a sign that the conversation had ended. He bowed once more and walked on ahead.

Tauri drew closer to Aurelia, leaned over, and whispered from behind, “Excuse me for the intrusion, First Mother, but that man keeps calling you Favored of the Moon. I remember the Sylvan Guardian did the same. What does it mean? Favored of the Moon?”

“You shouldn’t eavesdrop on people’s conversations, orc,” Aurelia said annoyedly without glancing back.

Tauri winced, “I’m sorry, I was just trying to keep my focus away from the fact that we are standing on literal thin ice a hundred paces off the ground. And now I just did… great.”

“You’re as nosy as Stryg, I can see why you two like each other,” Aurelia said wryly.

“But you don’t approve of our– friendship,” Tauri noted somberly.

“Why should I approve of you two feeding each other's poor habits?”

“Is that why you disapprove of me? Or is it because I am an orc?” she asked quietly.

“What does it matter?” Aurelia scoffed. “You’d still be here, wouldn’t you? Doing whatever you wanted, without a care for others’ words, something else you share in common with that boy.”

“Maybe you’re right, I’d still be here,” Tauri admitted. “But you’re wrong about Stryg. He holds you in the highest regard.”

“You clearly don’t know Stryg that well then,” Aurelia laughed dryly.

“Gods, you really don’t know do you? Do you not see the way he hangs on your every word? If you’d ask him to jump off this bridge he would do it without a second thought. He craves your approval more than any other’s… I think he alway has.”

“If he really wanted my approval then he would have already broken things off with you.”

Tauri bit her lip, “Why do you disapprove of me so much? Give me one actual good reason. If you do that, I won’t try to convince you and I won’t bother you anymore.”

Aurelia paused in her steps and sighed tiredly, “I know you mean well, girl. But Stryg isn’t like you, in more ways than you realize. And if you stay with him, one day you will end up hurting him.”

“That’s— not true…” Tauri meant to speak with more conviction, but her words felt weak and uncertain as they slipped out.

~~~

Something’s off, Jahn thought to himself.

As he walked across the bridge he had noticed dozens of jagged holes protruding from the steep cavern walls. He glanced down the bridge and noticed countless more etched across the walls below. Skolgul tunnels, he realized grimly.

The monsters had probably borrowed through the stone and invaded the area when the troll’s mine shaft had collapsed. Judging from the size of some of the holes, elder skolguls had been through here, which meant they had probably laid eggs somewhere. Even if the trolls had slain the elder skolguls and the rest this place wasn’t truly safe until each burrow was checked for nests.

Why would Captain Izgerd risk bringing them and his people through this area? Especially with so few guards.

Jahn looked on ahead and noticed Izgerd and his fellow guards had already crossed the bridge and were waiting for them.

Odd.

There were twice as many frost trolls with Izgerd than before. Had they been waiting at the other side of the tunnel all this time? No, Jahn hadn’t seen them when they first stepped onto the bridge.

Which means they just got here.

Yet Izgerd didn’t seem particularly surprised at their arrival. Did he know they were coming? The expression on Izgerd’s face wasn’t one of surprise, nor of pleasure of meeting his fellow brethren. The frost troll seemed anxious, but not of the newcomers, almost as if…

Jahn turned around and looked across the bridge. A third group of frost trolls were waiting at the mouth of the tunnel from where they came.

A cold chill ran down Jahn’s back. His eyes widened in dawning realization. “AMBUSH!” he screamed.

The bridge exploded in a storm of ice shrapnel.