AC 2021 - Round Two: Team Two

[Celandine]

Gazing around in wonder, her silvery eyes aglow with pure scholarly desire, Celandine let out a small giggle as she moved to shuffle in her satchel, now dry and repacked after her adventures earlier that day. From it she plucked her journal, plus an Aleraran pen - a fascinating feat of engineering which did not require constant re-dipping in ink - and began to roughly sketch the scene around them.

Ancient faces of ancient men, scarred and eroded by the patience of time, were hewn expertly into the stone. They were carved into the sides of the caverns, designed to appear to hold up the roof itself, while larger stalagmites were fashioned into miniature icons of mighty cities. Time had taken its own toll with all things, and some of the truly magnificent pieces were all but unrecognisable as being touched by mortal hands, such was the curse of it. Salt water collected in pools, algae and cyanobacteria ate away in their own forms, and various fungi found surprisingly ability to thrive in the dampness of the tunnels. It was almost pitch black, but the lanterns the small drow contingent had brought with them allowed enough light for Celandine to make her drawings. As they continued down the tunnels she paused every so often to detail another face, another carving. It kept others needing to wait for her, but they would not quell her spirit for Vanimar seemed keen to allow her the time to express her enthusiasm. It was only when they had gone half an hour through the process that she finally spoke.

"No runes. No writing at all. That is curious."

He was there already at her side, short crimson hair slick with sweat. "Very likely gone with the rest of the figures. Eroded."

"Yes," she agreed, although frowned. "But I would have thought even a simple letter would have remained. A word here or there, some old dwarven name."

Her eyes glanced up ahead of the bright light of Umbra's torch fading behind a stuff turning. "Hmm." Gazing back over to the small pictorial she was attempting to copy she waited until the dark elf spoke again.

"Miss, you are supposed to be leading us …" he hinted.

"Miss?" Hearing the word made her heart skip a beat and she looked up to Vanimar. Again, the blossoming strange emotions from before fluttered through her stomach and across her face and she felt her cheeks warming as she looked into his warm, resting-embers eyes. So beautiful, so …

"Right yes," she nodded quickly, pulling herself from the distraction. Turning sharply on her heel she stared back to where Umbra had just disappeared around the rock. Silly immature thoughts of fancy were filling her head and she tried to shake herself to be rid of them. This sketch would do for now - she would go onto the next one and make a more accurate inky representation of that. Thus she moved her hoof forward and -

Suddenly, a blur of deja vu. A terrible, rumbling noise. As if the earth itself was being torn apart, as if a titan was emerging, as if the ancient world serpent Jormungr was twisting in his eternal slumber …

Dust. Shattering. Water. Screaming. Celandine was gasping, people were yelling, Umbra was … rounding the corner as the earth around them began to rumble.

The young faun came back to herself. Eyes fixed forwards she watched the tall mercenary of metal hulk away around the corner and she realised that her déjà vu was not just a dream. It had been a dream, but it also had been a vision - a warning of what was to come. Why just now her mind chose to remind her of it, why just now it made her see - she did not know. All she had was a few seconds of panic and she stumbled forwards, arm outstretched as she yelled in alarm.

"No, Umbra, don't go there! It's -"

But she was too late. Of course she was too late. The party was fated to come across a weakened part of the ancient and unkept mine sooner or later. Rocks began to rumble, water rushed. Even as the soldiers just ahead of her and Vanimar had some warning and froze in their steps the cave still caught Umbra. The walls they passed crimes away and the roof fell in, and Celandine cursed herself for not having paid attention before to where they were.

[Umbra]

There had been no time, no time to react, no time to turn to see what fear had taken the young girl that had called out with such a panic laced tone. In the time it had taken to partially turn around and bring the young faun to the corner of their eye, the many eons of erosion finally took their toll in the most inopportune moment.

The wall did not merely just collapse, it exploded along hairline fractures that danced across its surface before any eye could naturally perceive it. Now freed from the confines of it’s stone prison a deluge of mud, water and stone bore into Umbra’s back, knocking the knight off balance though none the worse for wear.

Until the archway above them began to give way.

The mercenary’s mind went blank while staring with wide eyes as the broken pieces of dwarven architecture rained down upon them. Umbra tried desperately to defend as best they could given the circumstance, releasing their torch in favour of raising both arms in an attempt to catch the falling archway. The muscles along Umbra’s arms and legs strained under the herculean effort it took to just hold the archway in place for just a single second. Gritting their teeth and hissing as loud as they could, the Mercenary managed to hold out for three seconds more before the archway fell apart under its own weight.

Even as the world around Umbra crumbled in an attempt to swiftly ferry them into a dark, hefty tomb, the mercenary made one last ditch effort to leap out of the way.

Crags formed upon the walls beside the two soldiers that had accompanied them, their eyes widened in horror as they watched the mercenary almost be buried alive. Thinking quickly, one of the soldiers threw themselves to the side on the ground to avoid the wall from collapsing directly on top of them. The second soldier was not as quick witted or as fortunate and was pushed off the edge of the open platform into the dark ravine below.

His scream was deafening but thankfully short, a stroke of good fortune saw the man land heavily on his arm upon one of the stone bridges that extended to the other side of the ravine.

Vanimar was the next to react as his eyes tracked the cracks running along the walls and ceiling towards his and the fauns' location next. Swiftly he pulled Celandine to one side and sheltered her from the collapsing debris whilst taking a heavy blow to his shoulder. He hissed in pain but steeled himself with a burning resolve to ensure that Celandine remained safe and unharmed.

The earth continued to recoil from under the burden of one of the gargantuan dwarven statues succumbing to the rigors of time as it fell forwards and impacted the far wall before it fell into the void below. The walls rumbled and echoed with it’s passing before a numbing silence was left in the wake of the catastrophic ruin the dwarven settlement had endured.

Just dust and echoes were all that remained in the aftermath.

And one stubborn mercenary that was not about to relive the traumatic experience of being entombed alive. Consciousness had yet to abandon the partially buried mercenary, as the remnants of the archway disintegrated into dust. Umbra groggily reflected that trying to catch it had worked about as well as trying to catch the lumpy fist of an angry golem. ultimately, an exercise in futility.

‘Not again.’ Umbra silently bemoaned, appalled that fate had deigned to repeat itself was utterly abhorrent to the mercenary.

‘Never again!’ Umbra mentally snapped, refusing to allow something so banal as despair get the better of them for a second time. Among the multiple stone rocks and mounds of dirt that had formed a grisly prison around them, the entirety of the mountain had yet to bring it’s full weight to bear upon the mercenary.

Slowly, the mercenary began to stir from under their terrestrial coverings, shaking loose dirt and mud while overturning rocks as they pushed themselves free from their earthly prison. A quick check revealed that everything was still relatively in one piece and despite earning a few new bruises, their armour had taken the brunt of the damage.

Umbra sought out Celandine’s location and quickly found the girl unharmed as she fussed over the captain who held his shoulder tenderly.

Assessing the damage that the cave-in wrought along the pathway, Umbra found one of the soldiers also emerging from a pile of debris with a groan before she shuffled to look over the pathway's edge to find the last soldier lying on a floor below.

“Is everyone alive?” The captain wearily asked with a slight wince, though the dark elf was determined not to let his apparent injury slow him down any more than it already had. Umbra declined to give a direct answer and chose to wipe off parts of powdered gravel and caked mud that now cling to the outer layers of their iron armour like a second skin.

“I’m unharmed, But Marik he…” The female soldier said distractedly as she peered over the platform's edge at their fallen comrade. Her eyes were frantically searching for a way down to the lower level. Umbra slowly approached the soldier cautiously as there was no telling what damage had been done to their path.

“Umbra! You're … huh?” Celandine called out joyfully as the mysterious mercenary emerged from what she could have only assumed would be their grave. Though her joy was short lived as the twinkle of something glittering caught her distracted eye.

“There was a stairway leading down a level off to the right.” Umbra told the female soldier that had accompanied them with a gentle inclination back along the pathway. Though before she was gone to aid her fallen friend Umbra had already turned to the faun to watch her curiously lean over into the shadowed crevice where the wall had previously been.

“This, we need this.” Celandine said with a breathless whisper as her eyes sparkled at the treasure she currently beheld. Curious as to what had the girl so enraptured, Umbra dislodged more gravel hidden between the folds of their iron plate armour before peering into the gaping hole in the wall to find a silvery rocky surface shining brightly in the dim light.

‘An ore vein?’ Umbra identified only to ask curiously “Whatever for?”

Celandine just hugged her satchel tighter as her face lit up into an earnest smile “So that we can close the gate.” She said simply. Umbra could only conclude that it had to involve the book containing the detailed account of the sword of the first king. She had stated as such once before and the girl was often not one to err.

[Celandine]

As if fate had ordained it, the cave-in had been the answer all along.

It was not a lie to say that she had been lost in the moment with the drawings and only remembered her vision at the last possible moment, so only able to give the last garbled warning. People were injured, but the gift of life had not been taken away and there was this new discovery. Glancing back to her hero - Vanimar the brave who had sacrificed his own shoulder's perfection for her safety - Celandine found herself smiling with mesmerised eyes. But the wonder was not for him, rather for the silvery sheen within the broken cave wall.

"Are - is she okay?" Celandine asked quickly back to the drow soldier who was more severely injured than Vanimar. Those accommodating the brazen haired woman nodded, one of them quite skillfully having already stopped the majority of bleeding.

Satisfied by that at least the young scholar took in a breath and turned back to the exposed ore in the shattered wall of the broken tunnel. Indeed, there was now copious amounts of dirt, stone and rubble to crawl over, but it was nothing that two solid hooves and a hearty spirit could not cope with to enable the faun to get up close to the cracked spine of rock and run her finger down the thin element.

"This is it," she breathed. "They thought they were without, that the mine had been bled dry, but here, underneath all this cave in," she glanced around them at a freshly flowing river that sped away down the dark tunnel they were yet to explore. The floor was, of course, now chaotic, and they would need to crawl one portion but it was not beyond accessible. "This is the metal. I need …" she thought a moment, and dug into her satchel, moving aside her oilskin wrapped books before finding the small knife she predominantly used for eating and a small sample pouch. Swiftly, she scratched at the silvery vein of metal and let a few shards fall into the pouch, collecting them and admiring them as if they were pure gold dust.

By the time she was done Vanimar had staggered his way over to her and Umbra. He had his arm now hoisted into a sling that the medic had apparently found the time to quickly attend to him. Celandine gleefully nodded at the spine of material, and it took him but a moment to understand.

"Is that - we found …"

"Quite by accident, yes," she said, carefully folding the pouch and knife back away. Once done she smoothed down her closely knit dark clothes and watched as Umbra strode a little away to begin lifting and moving some of the heavier rocks in their way.

"At least I believe it is. I have a sample at least to pass to the dwarves when we find them." She paused, her jubilation fading. "You are able to still come with us, despite your injury are you not?"

Vanimar paused, feeling the disappointment from her tone. But he nodded quickly as more of his kin, now checked by the medic and well maintained, ran to assist Umbra. Soon, heavy clunks and grunts could be heard as they made the path clearer and safer. Celandine stayed back, knowing she would be more of an annoyance for them than a help. The captain, now only with one useful arm, stepped down with her, watching the warriors in his charge put their hands to the heavy work.

"I will come with you," he seemed to swear, his words more of a promise than a simple statement. Taking in a breath he looked her up and down, glancing back over to the vein of promising material, and then over to her once more. "Commander Raimneth ordered me to get you there, miss, and assist in any way I could. He seems intrigued by you and your skills. You hold great promise."

She couldn't help but beam, only a little chagrin rising this time and only paused to wince as Umbra made a hefty throw, rocking the ground a little more. Dust flew up, and water splashed - but it was only a minor thing and did not cause any more damage to the tunnels. More grunts and groans, more curses and shifting of weight passed between those of able body and soon the key rubble pieces that were confounding an easier path were removed. The warriors turned labourers breathed heavily, but they had accomplished their task that would enable them all to be able to continue. With a nod Celandine began to climb up, seeing the other dark elves eagerly following in the wake of the Mercenary's abilities.

"Your words are kind,'' she finally replied. "Thank you."

Onwards the soldiers, the Mercenary and the young scholar went, their progress now slower but still steady. Celandine kept her hand on the strap of her satchel, feeling promise and hope in the fact that she had a small pouch full of potential. Even as they left the rubble and trouble behind them, the medic supporting the more severely injured dark elf, they felt their hearts lift. Despite all the stink and pain caused they were one movement closer on the chessboard into saving the country of Alerar. The quiet tinkle of water was their footsteps' company, and the light of Umbra's lamp guided their way.

Deeper into the mines.

Further north.

Towards the dwarves.

[Umbra]

Time held little concept within the deep dark gloom of the barren mines. Minutes felt like hours, and hours felt like days as each second was an eternity all unto itself. Both the sun and the moon could have raised up and settled over the horizon a hundred times over, but all that marked the passage of time this far under the mountains was a slow and steady erosion. An erosion that had left one of their number hobbling along on a broken ankle and another with a dislocated shoulder.

Even as they traversed the ancient pathways the minutes slowly ticked on by mile after mile. The dwarven city or mine, though those two distinctions were often synonymous with each other in dwarven terms, held many twists and turns and dead ends that served to only delay the group's progress.

Naughts and crosses were sketched onto old stone passageways in the group's wake, marking paths that led to either dead ends or the one that led to the exit north of the jagged mountains.

The remnants of the old civilisation were cluttered with ponderous clues that beckoned the young faun at almost every turn. Umbra was sure that their young charge would have reveled in the opportunity to uncover what secrets that lay hidden, were it not for being pressed for time to intercept the marching dwarf army then there would surely have been a different tale to tell.

Instead, Celandine merely speculated with the dark elven captain and some of the soldiers that knew their history that the dwarven city was a relic from a time when the dwarves had the sole claim to the land. From a time when the dwarves were known for their architects rather than their artificers Umbra supplied, adding their own small contribution to the talk that whiled away the hours.

Their path through the hallway eventually led to what looked like a large endless underground road swallowed by the darkest of shadows. Once, long ago Umbra recalled that they were part of a colossal subterranean network that ran the breadth and width of Alerar, connecting each and every dwarven city with a direct trade route. They only lingered just long enough for the scholar amongst their group to wet her appetite before the urgency of their mission took precedence once more.

“To think that the dwarves did all this?” one soldier among their number said in awe of the dwarves' ancient legacy. Umbra wondered what would become of it all once the Demon threat was dealt with, would there be a market for mercenaries like themselves to accompany scholars like Celandine that wished to uncover its ancient secrets?

Umbra pondered the mystery and allure of an ancient lost treasure, before ultimately dismissing the notion all together. They had more than had their fill of a subterrestrial adventure and were determined to comfortably stay on the surface for some time to come.

From the ancient highway a path took the group upwards along a winding path towards the very entrance that the dark elven Commander had spoken of in his youth. Light of the morning sun shone through a small gap at the crest of a collapsed ceiling, a steep climb over the loose rocks however saw the group safely on the other side amongst a collapsed ruin that no longer resembled the remnants of the dwarven city.

“Ah, I know these foothills!” Vanimar proclaimed joyously as he crawled out into the light. He held out his free hand to aid Celandine through the small opening in the time worn collapsed ceiling and pulled her to her feet with his good arm. She laughed and chuckled when she was hoisted upwards and was unable to hide the blush from the cheeks now that she was once more exposed to the sun's brilliance.

“I would very much like to take a more detailed account over what we discovered down there.” The faun said to the captain with a growing grin “But we have more pressing matters, such as those foothills you said?”

Vanimar smiled warmly and began his own recounting of his time within these plains, though he had soon admitted that he had not known about these ruins. The captain's admission however struck the Mercenary as somewhat odd.

‘Then these must be the ruins the commander said he played at as a kid,’ Umbra observed thoughtfully. The mercenary idly ran an open palm gently across the moss and ivy that had grown in abundance over the many long years over remnants of the ancient forgotten walls and fallen pillars. ‘Had he always known about what lay below?’

‘A thought for another time.’ Umbra relented, and turned to focus on aiding the rest of the soldiers through the small gap instead. Once they had all been brought back into the light the group gathered in the ruins of what Celandine believed to have once been a foyer, though it may as well have just been a small clearing overflowing with white petaled flowers. ‘Not more blood lilies at the very least.’

“If the Commander is right about the dwarfs, then we should be able to locate them towards the northwest of here.” The captain addressed the brave men and women gathered around. “From here we will split up into two groups, the first group will continue on in an attempt to contact the dwarfs, the second group will be heading back to Sanctuary through the mines so that the Commander can be informed that there is a ‘relatively’ safe path.”

Vanimar turned to give a brief look towards the injured soldier whose injuries were being tended to by the team's medic. “Malik, you'll be coming with us to the dwarves, they ought to be closer than Sanctuary and I'd rather place you into the hands of their chirurgeons than have you tread all the way back through the mines.”

The injured soldier chuckled and gave a wry grin in response “Dwarven healers? Ha, I think I'd rather go through the mines again.” He jested but the painful wince that crossed his face when he laughed told otherwise.

Vinimar ordered the remainder of their contingent to head on back to Sanctuary, while bringing only the wounded soldier and the female medic to continue onwards to find the dwarfs. The two groups stopped only for a quick meal before going their separate ways.

“And then there were five,” the captain commented sadly, leading the group to the northeast towards the green foothills. Their pace was limited only by the injured soldier accompanying them, though non begrudged Malik for the injury he sustained there was an eagerness to their pace regardless as the final stretch of their journey was before them.

- - -

As it turned out, finding the dwarven army was not a difficult feat within northern Alerar’s foothills. Their brash and courageous nature had thrown all caution to the wind as they had set up camp within one of the dark elves' outposts, the rising plume of smoke that billowed for the outposts forge and the hundreds of campfires gave away their position for miles around them.

Vanimar narrowed his eyes as they approached. “I wonder what the circumstances were for the dark elves stationed here to yield the outpost to the dwarfs,” the captain pondered as he adjusted the position of his arm in his sling. “Sanctuary was cut off from the rest of the Alerar military so the men and women here would have had no way of knowing.” Vanimar continued thoughtfully.

“That Raimneth declared martial law to make our alliance legal?" Umbra asked after sensing where the young captain's thoughts were leading him. Without being able to spread the word of the commanders declaration, each and every surviving portion of Alerar’s military may as well have been a separate nation left to their own devices. Some outposts may have continued on as normal waiting for any kind of communication while others still may have taken matters into their own hands.

“Sanctuary was supposed to be our last bastion in case of situations like this, it’s where all our leaders were supposed to gather.” Vanimar hissed as they grew closer to the outposts gates. “Be prepared for anything, The dark elves that were stationed here either welcomed the dwarfs with open arms or they were removed from their posts.”

What Vanimar was so reluctant to say was that he did not know if the guards had been killed or imprisoned, Umbra silently hoped that their situation was neither of these scenarios as that would only complicate discussions for a three way alliance.

“Get ready Celandine, you're going to need to be at your best.” The Mercenary told the faun walking by their side. The faun said nothing at first as she took in a deep breath and exhaled long enough to gather her resolve. She turned and flashed Umbra a radiant smile full of confidence.

“If not now then never.” She said full of determination, causing Umbra to let out a small huff in amusement as they secretly allowed themselves to grin under the privacy of their faceless helmet.

Two dwarves that stood guard outside the outposts' gates watched the group of five approach with guarded apprehension. For their short size they more than made up for it in their stout burly builds clad in heavier armour than Umbra and bore bear pelts that draped across their broad shoulders. They appeared as beings of metal and beard, large beautiful braided beards from hues of the darkest of ales to the warmest of sunrises.

Once the group had stepped within range, the dwarf to the left of the gate proudly stepped forward, Within his thick hands he brandished a large decorative axe that he used to lean against as he curtly addressed the group. “All right, Ya can halt right where ye are, what business do ye have here?”

Vanimar straightened his posture while Umbra made sure to stand close to the young captain. “We’ve travelled here from Sanctuary to bring a message to your leader. We seek to form an alliance with the dwarves along with Corone forces to drive back the Demons.”

The guard's brows narrowed on the young captain as he gave a dismissive huff of annoyance. “From Sanctuary yer say? Fat chance lad, everyone 'ere knows that that lump of metal is just a metal ore vein ready to be cracked open.” He laughed and began to stroke his long magnificent braided beard “And besides, yer really think to tell us ya crossed tha Jagged Mountains swarming with all kinds of demons without getting slaughtered?”

The dwarf began to guffaw along with the other guard beside who appeared unable to hold back his own amused snigger. “Heh, Ah go on, tell me another.”

It was Celandine who made the next move as she stepped around both Umbra and Vanimar to face the dwarven guards herself. Her hand was already reaching into her satchel, no doubt ready to brandish this metal ore she believed was key to securing their victory.

[Celandine]

"Greetings," she said, in a voice as clear as Aleran, artisan, crystal-cut glass. Straightening her back she brushed her hair from her eyes, took a proud stance that spoke of authority and pride, and then addressed the guards as if she belonged there and nowhere else.

"My name is Celandine van der Aart Rameses, daughter and firstborn of the Matriarch herself, Philomel van der Aart, grand matron of the Gilded Lily, high priestess of Drys and saviour of Radasanth. I come here with all the authority of her, and also Commander Raimneth Gryholt, leader of the Aleraran forces and de-facto leader of the Aleraran people during this time of strife and martial law."

Carefully she gathered her hands before her, staring with defiance at the guffaws of the guards on the battlements. More now had joined the original company, curious of the young voice declaring her presence and power, of who might just claim to hold such influence. With more of an audience now she felt herself smiling, years of training flowing through her veins.

"We have travelled far, and not without incident I might add, two of our number being injured," she spread a delicate gesture to the dark elves at her side, then went back to clasp her fingers. "We seek an audience with your leaders, and come with all the authority to form an alliance with yourselves, able to conquer this land back from the demon incursion. We came by way of ancient mines which hold significant importance for your people, and with a potential answer to the question of how to seal away the demons back into the hells they came from."

Holding out her hands now to the gates she spoke louder.

"With all these words I ask you to open these gates that in truth belong to the good elves of these lands. We come in good faith and we ask you to do the same."

There was silence. A hungry, nervous pause. She could see the tension emanating from not only her companions standing there - one awkwardly on his broken ankle, another tall and in their armour that hid everything - but also the collection of dwarven faces atop the gate and those two who were the original guards. Glances swapped between comrades, but no words were declared as they drank in the young scholar's words and made their own conclusions as to the impact and truth of them.

But eventually, the quiet was broken. A creaking resounded, and the strong wooden gates began to creak open. They parted, as did the guards, who, when they realised what precisely was happening, moved to the left and right respectively, turning inwards to see what was occuring. And as soon as they did they suddenly snapped to attention, as did all those atop the gates. Celandine remained where she was - strong backed and proud, with a smile dancing on her lips as she found herself actually recognising one of the beings now striding out.

Surrounded by a flank of their warriors, adorned in rich white pelts, walked three dwarven individuals: one a soldier by the looks of his helm and baring; another with an old, wise look and beard; and the last a handsome member of the civil service, whom Celandine recognised with a sudden shock.

It was Emry, one of the very members of the dwarven contingent at Sanctuary that she and Shinsou had come to make a fellow conversation with, even for that short half an hour or so. His flaming red hair and startlingly green eyes were unmistakable. As the realisation came to her face the dwarf's mouth within the neat confines of his ginger beard broke into a smile. He looked to his other two officers and gave a firm nod.

"That's 'er alright, and th'other," he gestured to Umbra. "They are who they say they're. Aye." He grunted and then gave a bow. "Miss Celandine."

"Master Emry," she smiled back and gave her own curtsey.

- - -

Ten minutes later they were seated within the grandest serving house in the encampment. Much of the small stronghold had been relegated for the use by the dwarves - any building with a large space turned into barracks and the squat houses left empty with belongings of those dark elven families who had taken residence there. They had passed a wide alleyway, which had been covered with a thick tarpaulin and now turned into a magnificent mess and kitchen; a barn that now housed tens of riding goats; and a series of tents that all ran into each other and connected to an administrative building to form some sort of armoury and training area. Celandine was pleased to see that at least they had left much of the drow's original design intact, and had not simply just trashed the place.

Settling down into her cushion the faun sat cross legged, opposite the three prime dwarves across an open fire. She smiled at Emry, the one in the middle and felt secure to have Vanimar to her left and Umbra to her right. The medic and the soldier with the injured foot had already been directed towards the dwarves' medical centre.

"So," Emry said, apparently taking the place of the spokesperson. "Now that we have approved your credentials, it is time to open discussions." He paused and frowned. "Did you not have another companion, Miss Celandine? Shinsou Vaan Osiris of the Brotherhood?"

Celandine felt Umbra shift uncomfortably but laid a gentle hand on their metallic leg. "Indeed, we did," she smiled grimly, "but as you might remember he went through the portal with the demons, and we have not seen or heard from him since. But we still believe he is working from within, as the illusions he left suggest." She was sure that Emry did remember that particular fact. Glaring, she made certain that the dwarf diplomat did not make any more accusations towards the man her mother admired so greatly.

Emry pursed his lips but then nodded, his great swathe of hair shaking behind him. "We'll leave th'subject then. Now, you'say yeh come with th'authority of Commander Raimneth t' create ah truce?"

"Yes," it was Vanimar who spoke now, butting in without hesitation. But Celandine smiled, knowing he was the best to speak on this. The dark elf went on. "I am Captain Vanimar Moravar, given the authority by my Commander to entreat with you. We seek a peaceful negotiation with you. To create an alliance to rid the demons from this land. My people are confined within Sanctuary, where the Commander holds authority, and in other unknown areas. As you can imagine knowledge of our peoples' whereabouts has been difficult to gather information about." He breathed and glanced along the line of dwarf leaders. "Upon that subject I would like to know the whereabouts of the Aleraran people who were stationed here."

There was a pause, before the armoured one spoke up. "They're be gone by th'time we ge' 'ere. We saw 'em going into the mountains. No idea why, bu' maybe they seen us comin'." He sniffed and shrugged. "No' gone af'er them. This be our outpos' for th'now."

Vanimar began to glare and opened his mouth to retort but it was Celandine who gently laid her hand on his knee and spoke again.

"Neither of us will get far without the other, Master Emry, and Master Warrior," she addressed them. "Now, I can provide intelligence on a route that we have just taken that will get you almost directly to Sanctuary. We have soldiers already tracking it back to say to Commander Raimneth to possibly expect you, or indeed to start filtering citizens through there to here, which is a safe place - at least for now." She moved her hand slowly from her dark elf friend's leg. He blinked a little and kept staring at the spot she had it placed.

"I discovered a route through a subterranean network that few know about. It is an ancient series of tunnels, mines and natural caves that starts close by and has a wealth of history that will certainly be of interest to you. We have cleared a path that is narrow but suitable and we believe is unknown to the demons at least for now, and that goes from here to the Jagged Mountains." She looked from one dwarf to the other deliberately. They all waited with pensive breath, and the oldest one was leaning forward with great interest, their eyes dancing. She acknowledged him, recognising the eager scholarly and historically intrigued fascination within them.

"Yes. Some ancient history that will be of definite interest to you. I am sure that in exchange for cooperation with your good selves in gaining back their country that Raimneth will be willing to exchange exploration of these tunnels. It would also be very helpful if you would be able to welcome any refugees from Sanctuary into this stronghold."

A moment of silence. Emry then turned to the older dwarf and said something in a tongue that she did not know of. The three leaders began to murmur away to each other in a dwarven dialect, keeping their tones low but also masked. Looking to Umbra, Vanimar and Celandine found that they too did not know what the words meant. And thus, they were forced to wait as the proud beings - warrior, historian and diplomat - discussed the proposition before them.

After a while it was Emry who spoke once more. "You said at the gates that you had a possible way of sealing the hells once more the demons came from?" He frowned, "Mistress Garrett here," he nodded to the historian, whom Celandine was surprised beneath the hair was apparently female, "asks what you mean."

And this was where she could get excited. Truly excited. Pulling in her breath, Celandine let her own eyes sparkle as she dug into her satchel and pulled out the pouch. "I found an ancient metal!" she said, enthusiastically. "Probably the one the mines were originally made to find! I believe, from my reading, that it is the perfect material to recreate the sword that was taken by Cazri."

Again, silence filled the distance.

"May I see?" Mistress Garrett whispered in awe.

"Of course," Celandine grinned, holding up the pouch. A guard at the side of the room stood up to take it. They peered at it intriguingly as they took it around the roaring fire to Garrett.

"I'd be honoured to have another scholar take a look," the faun went on as the wizened dwarf took the pouch and began to slowly open it. "Plus, I can show you the vein where I believe we can easily extract more ore from."

The stunned expression upon Mistress Garrett's face was more than it's worth in diamonds. It filled the room with a new glow that was brighter than the fire for all intents and purposes. An inhale of breath and everything turned to beauty.

"This is exactly what you think it is," she replied.

And a new sense of wonder was created.

- - -

Epilogue

And so it was that the three companions came to stand outside the building. Umbra looked the small faun up and down, perhaps somewhere beneath that mysterious mercenary armour a smile breaking out. Or so Celandine hoped. What she felt towards the noble warrior, she wasn't sure, but it was definitely friendship and familiarity. As they gazed at one another uncertainty as to how to say goodbye it was Vanimar who made the first move.

He struck out a hand - his good hand. "Farewell, Knight Umbra," he said stoically. "It has been a pleasure to meet you."

"And you," Umbra replied quietly, pausing before shaking the slender dark skin. "Look after her."

Vanimar saluted. "I will, sir. They need me to stay here, after all, to ensure all is well with the alliance. My other comrades, when well, will accompany the dwarf warriors soon through the tunnels."

"Mmm," Umbra nodded, and turned to look again at Celandine. "You're going to need a path to the gate," they said.

"I'll miss you," she murmured, but knowing that their lives in this whole adventure lay in different directions. Hers would be with the scholar Garrett, working with her to find a way to forge a replacement sword, to explore the history of the mines. Umbra's would lie in the fight against the demons, pushing them south with the dwarves, or coming up between the country at points in the mines - whatever path lay ahead. Celandine felt like a hole was opening up in her heart, and she flew forwards suddenly to embrace the hulk of metal.

Small faun, large Mercenary. It was an odd sight, but it was beautiful. Vanimar smiled a little, his eyes admiring her enthusiasm and passion, knowing himself that he wouldn't stray from her side soon.

"Here," she sniffed and pulled away before she dug out the map that they had used, and that she had traced an approximation of the tunnels that had been discovered so far. "Use this. You might need it. Just … you know, stay alive."

"Will try," Umbra said, curling their fingers around it. "Thank you. And you, Celandine. Stay alive too."

All bunnying in this thread approved.

[Preston]

Judgement: Round 2; Team 2

Congrats on getting to the second round. I’m looking forward to judging. Please let me know if you have any questions or would like additional commentary. I will keep the feedback brief for the most part. =)

Overall: I think, despite you both coming from a round where you were writing together, that you surprisingly did something different, you opened more individually. While you could have easily, and immediately, picked up together you told your character’s story since the end of the past round - this is a great example of how random people being put together could also open a story.

Plot - 17

(Story, Setting, Pace) -
I love the setting and pacing of the writing, interesting and flowed well. I think the story was good as well, but would have liked to see a bit more at the beginning to know what the intention of the thread was going to be.

Character - 21

(Communication, Action, Persona) -
The characters were very realistic for both of you, stoic on one hand and young/energetic on the other. Well written by both. The communication was very good, other than towards the end when the dialogue of the NPC’s felt a little like a tired trope. Action was hard because it was very clunky at times and difficult to read through.

Prose - 20

(Mechanics, Clarity, Technique)
Umbra - the first part of the opening post had a lot of short, quick paragraphs separated that felt a little disjointed or could have been elaborated on a bit. Afterwards, it felt like the style started to settle into place a bit more and flowed well.
The writing for the battle with the demons had portions that were a little unclear, it felt like more word usage and sentence structure, with a scattering of grammatical errors here and there.

Overall it was average across the board.

Wild Card - 7

- Caught that random Star Wars reference thrown in there. =p

- Score - 65

- Rewards -

Umbra: 975 exp | 245 gold
Celandine: 1224 exp | 306 gold