A maelstrom of frantic shouting, alongside clanging metal, greeted Anton when he emerged through the portal at The Gate before the Fire Elf Cavern. Before he could get his bearings a near debilitating surge of pain shot through his head, causing him to stagger and almost stumble to the ground, but it disappeared the next moment. As he continued to step forward he furiously rubbed his temple with his gloved Dragonoid hands. Even with thick gloves the sharp claws and hard ridges left an obvious mark on his skin.

"Damn it. Way worse than normal." Anton mused to himself as he continued to step forward. "Way worse. Worse than… Hopefully Longinious knows something. Going to suck if I can’t travel-"

A large armored hand gently wrapped around his shoulder and pulled him forward. Rasha had entered just before him, just in case something had gone wrong.

"Are you okay?" Rasha asked loudly, almost shouting. "Everything's going really bad down here. I think that messenger was being too nice. Way too nice!"

Anton nodded and motioned for Rasha to pull him clear of the portal. She directed him to a slightly raised platform, probably built for and by a Dwarf, so he could see over the throngs of armored soldiers crowding The Gate. The moment he stepped onto the wood it creaked and groaned under tremendous weight. His weight.

"This is going to take some getting used to." Anton grumbled. He stood on his toes, rather the end of his thick boots while his actual Dragonoid toes curled into one another, but could see little more than the swirling mass of soldiers. "Normal day and I'd ask you to just carry me on your shoulder."

"I'm annoyed we can't do that stuff anymore too." Rasha’s long ears flicked back, her eyes darted towards the portal as it flashed. "Maybe there's some answers where we found Longinious. You know, before we knew that a spear could actually be a person."

Verona and Kal had stepped through the portal next, followed by Cetina and Mezot. Longinious was supposed to pass through next but nothing came through for some time. When the portal eventually flashed Longinious did not look happy. Her normally placid face was twisted in annoyance and disgust, but when she saw him it returned to normal. Happy, almost. She clearly wanted to flick the stones with her long tail but resisted the urge.

Axia, Zuhura, Calo and Sheso emerged next. The Dark Elf twins urged them to hurry to the side. They moved just in time to avoid a half dozen Beastkin soldiers charging through.

"Jeff's really bringing down everyone he can!" Calo was almost laughing. “Is that going to be a problem?”

Anton’s attention was drawn to The Gate, to dozens of well-built Dwarves seemingly waiting for an order to drag the ancient slab of metal close from some sort of Dwarven Captain. He seemed very similar to the dead Dwarven Hold Lord, thankfully it didn’t appear to be the same armour.

“If they break through The Gate then it’s not really going to matter.” Anton took Rasha’s hand, she took a good portion of his weight, and stood on the edge of the wooden platform, where it could withstand slightly more weight. “That is, of course, if Nithroel’s actually going to start a war over the Fire Elves. Which…”

“She might.” Rasha said. “If everything you’ve told me is true.”

Verona and Kal raced up the platform, a hand on their stomachs. Verona immediately pouted when it provided no real height advantage for her, a silent gasp to recover her breath. She made a strange sound towards Rasha and pointed with both hands. Rasha shrugged and lifted her up and onto her shoulder.

“It’s not a problem.” Rasha smiled at Anton. “She’s not that heavy.”

“Damn right.” Verona murmured, holding a hand to her brow in an attempt to see further.

The portal continued to allow a slow, steady stream of soldiers through. Anton tried to find someone in command. Someone that wasn’t just as confused as he was. A burst of flame inside the cavern immediately gave him pause. The soldiers shouted but they did not retreat or buckle. Magic, at least normal magic, barely worked inside the cavern. Even someone as skilled as Mezot would barely be able to conjure a few ice shards before being completely depleted. Perhaps it was a chemical weapon? One made by the Fire Elves was the only possible explanation, if that was what he saw.

“We didn’t really have time to investigate everything from the Fire Elf Cavern.” Kal stood on the tip of her boots, her tail swaying back and forth beneath her coat. “Or anything really. There’s a possibility that they’ve got something flammable they can use. Perhaps some sort of oil?”

“That drink they gave us was a little oily.” Rasha mused. “Maybe. I don’t know.”

“Just another thing to think of.”

“Isn’t that Avery?” Verona wrapped one hand around Rasha’s head and pointed to the rear of the throng of soldiers. “I haven’t seen him in a while but I’m sure that’s him. Avery! Avery! What’s happening?!”

After a few more shouts Avery snapped his head towards them. For a moment he didn’t seem to process what he was seeing, the next everything clicked into place as his head twitched back and forth. He waved and raced towards them, stopping for just a moment to shout some more frantic orders. Avery looked much the same as he had when Anton last spoke with him, which was admittedly a long time ago. He hadn’t really spoken to the man since dealing with the Goblins assaulting Atros and Kal’s arrival. Despite Anton remembering him as being rather quiet and even curt around him, especially him, and he was certain he was not particularly keen on the presence of Beast-kin, he seemed extremely happy to see him.

“Anton!”

Anton had never heard Avery speak so loudly, or happily, before.

At least he doesn't address me as a Lord.

“It's an absolute mess down here! They haven't pushed us back yet but they’re trying damned hard."

Anton glanced to Longinious, silently floating at the rear while she stared impassively towards The Gate.

"Dead or injured?"

"I don't think anyone’s dead so far." Avery grimaced as he waved for Anton to move forward. He seemed not to realize that Rasha was partially supporting him, nor seemed to care that Verona was resting on her shoulder. "At least on our side. Whole bunch of dead Fire Elves, but not by us. Soldiers, their soldiers, are fighting some, some even fighting each other… It's a real mess. No idea who to support… If anyone. We just don’t know what to do. Other than to keep them from getting out. Those were the last orders we got."

Verona scoffed, throwing her head towards Longinious. "Maybe if they see you they'll stop fighting… And then they'll just attack us. Wouldn't that be fun?"

"I'm almost certain that my presence would do little to nothing to calm the situation. No one on this side of The Gate has mentioned or commented on my presence. More importantly the Fire Elves made no mention that their spear artefact actually contained me." Longinious coiled her tail body tight and rose upwards like a spring, reaching an additional two meters in height, rising even higher than Verona’s position. She could only maintain her stance for a few seconds before her body gave way and she tumbled down like a bundle of discarded yarn. "I thought I might be able to see better, but I could not discern anything that hasn't already been stated."

"I wasn't going to ask about the new Beast-kin…" Avery trailed off as the shouting grew more fierce. "What do you want us to do? This, this is kind of your thing, not mine." He raised his hands in mock surrender. “I’m just an archer that did relatively well when we dealt with the Goblinsand has been here a long time. Not a diplomat or some sort of commander.”

"You sell yourself short.” Anton stepped down from the platform. He internally winced hearing the wood splinter and tear as his heavy boot rolled over the edge. “You’ve kept everything from falling apart, stopping them from making it through.”

Avery grunted but his attention was clearly focused behind him.

“There’s an old fortress not too far into the cavern.” Anton’s words were already having a strange calming effect on Avery, perhaps just the knowledge of a plan was enough. “We need to push everyone back to that point. And I mean everyone. At the very least we’ll be able to get a better bearing on who's who."

Avery returned a curt nod and ran towards the back of the line. Shouts ran out and the soldiers began to move forward.

"I think we should hang back." Kal said loudly, announced more accurately. "Magic doesn't really work inside that cavern. Not to mention there's more than enough people already in that… Huddle. The few of us wouldn’t really change anything. And I don’t really want to get too involved with this growing inside of me."

Kal almost smiled as the soldiers continued to push forward. Parts of the wooden barricade became visible, all had suffered significant damage from the attempted push.

“I would like to see this city.” Mezot had yet to relinquish her bundle of papers detailing Longinious’s abilities, however she had found a large hessian bag slung over her should. From where she procured it he did not know. “See if they have any magic materials or books. They must have something old…”

“They still thought the United Empire still existed.” Anton mused. “They might have copies of the original books. So long as they considered-”

"Oh fuck!" Verona, still on Rasha’s shoulder, pointed to the highest point of the barricade, the rickety and rotten wooden defence was mostly obscured by the jittering mass of Atros soldiers. "Their hair's still moving and alive even when they're dead."

Anton's vision had not improved from his latest transformation, at least by any noticeable amount. Regardless, it was very difficult to miss once pointed out. A Fire Elf had managed to impale themselves on an upright section of wood, tragically skewering their head from underneath their jaw. The scene was muted somewhat by their bright hair continuing to glow and pulse while waving slightly more frantically than usual.

I wonder if it's a separate creature? A parasite that lives and has developed alongside… Focus, for goodness sake.

"That will definitely take some explaining." Anton began to walk forwards, Cetina raced to walk in front. She waved Calo and Sheso forward, who needed no encouragement. "But this is beyond just us. We have soldiers so we should use them. Not to mention our magic's aren't really designed to help… Longinious? Do you think it's a good idea to test your Auras now? Give our men an extra boost to their strength? They need everything we can give them."

"A Resolve Aura? Certainly possible. But I don't know if it will affect the Fire Elves as well." Longinious grimaced. "They aren't truly what I would call hostile. Enhancing everyone would only put us right back where we started. I also do not know if it will work inside the cavern. Experimenting in this situation isn’t exactly ideal."

"Do what you can." Anton pointed forward. "And don't hesitate to take some of my Essence if you need to. Understood?"

Longinious returned a curt nod and sped off towards the rear of the Atros soldiers. Her unnatural movements through the air produced a confused expression from Avery, one which only grew when he saw the glow from Anton's tail reflected on the interior of his cloak.

"Bit of a wild story." Anton mused. Rasha gently placed Verona onto the floor and quickly caught up to Cetina. Judging from Verona's pouting face it wasn't her idea. "I'm surprised… You've been down here all this time since we had to flee."

"Yeah… After that all this happened." Avery wildly gesticulated towards The Gate, sighed and ran a gloved hand hard over his face. "So what's the fish lady supposed to do?"

Longinious stopped suddenly as she reached the rear of the soldiers, her long body tried to continue forward but she forcefully held it back, the large tail fin came dangerously close to striking a soldier. Some noticed the change in light and glanced back. They were more than slightly confused, the next moment they began to train their weapons on her, an unknown in a very tense situation.

"Don’t attack her!" Avery yelled over the commotion. “She’s on our side!"

Longinious did not give them time to think. A red light began to radiate out from her, quickly reaching the closest soldiers. Some recoiled slightly, those that did nearly stumbled as they looked to their hands in confusion and disbelief.

"Drive them back!" Longinious shouted. "I will ensure that you have the strength to do so. Do not let a single Fire Elf through! Otherwise Atros will be destroyed by the Goddess of the Forest! Go!"

Anton wasn't sure if the common soldier knew all that much about the Gods and their activities, but some would have been present when Nithroel's Kobolds laid siege to Atros. Regardless of whether or not they truly understood the soldiers redoubled their efforts and began to take significant ground. Longinious kept herself close to ensure they remained within the aura’s effects.

“I suppose it's a good thing that we don't need to get involved all the time, right?” Verona asked as she held his arm. “Share the load, if that's the right expression."

"I suppose it is." Anton managed a smile. "Certainly makes defending our home a lot easier."

From the outside...

Anton stepped to the side as another group of soldiers, Human and Beast-kin, raced past to join their comrades. They seemed confused about the red light, and Longinious’s presence, but Avery waved them forward.

Slowly, through sheer strength and weight of numbers, the soldiers pushed deeper into the Fire Elf Cavern, completely passing the flimsy barricade and deeper into the Ghlyirl lined floor. Longinious passed over the threshold without any noticeable impact. She threw Anton a glance, shrugged as she smiled, and continued to follow the soldiers.

As Anton reached the same threshold, the wall of tightly packed soldiers gave way, like water bursting through a dam. For a moment he thought, and feared, that prolonged exposure to Longinious’s Auras could be detrimental or even dangerous, but the soldiers looked just as confused as he was. Through the partings that began to form he could see why; the Fire Elves had given up. Broken. Fire Elf Soldiers, wearing a mixture of silk and chitinous armour plates, quickly retreated before their soldiers. Some grabbed other Fire Elves very harshly, these wore ratty silk garbs and rudimentary armor pieces, and threw them to the ground. Though Anton could not hear their shouts he knew the soldiers were extremely angry. His slight trance was broken when the Fire Elf soldiers began to stab and beat the others.

"Stop them!" Anton yelled. "Stop them fighting each other! We don’t know enough about what’s happening."

Officers relayed his order and the Atros soldiers pushed forward once more. Given the relative frailty of the Fire Elves it was easy to physically overpower and disarm them. At first all of the Fire Elf Soldiers were alarmed and quite hostile, but when they realized they could not win in a match of raw strength they relented and ceased their attacks. Much to Anton's dismay they did not make any attempt to help the wounded Fire Elves, unsurprising but still disheartening.

They continued to push forward, swarming around the disarmed Fire Elves, until the ruins of the old fortress came into view. Scores of Fire Elves lay dead around the base, all wearing the ratty clothes and armour, while a line of clearly exhausted soldiers manned the wall, with trembling arms that could barely pull back on their bowstrings.

"Don't you fucking attack us." Anton said through gritted teeth. Both Cetina and Rasha moved closer to shield him.

The tunnel widened significantly around the fortress, too wide for their number of soldiers to properly cover. A group of Fire Elves, wearing ratty clothes, tried to break through but were tackled and shoved to the ground by the Atros soldiers. For a moment Anton thought it was slightly cruel, they crumpled like a sickly child underneath a charging adult, but he had ordered far worse in Seocuria without batting an eye. Some continued to struggle but were forcefully stopped, as were the Fire Elf Soldiers that were advancing on them with their weapons lowered.

"What a fucking mess." Verona grumbled loudly, raising her arm towards the chaos and allowing it to drop loudly against her side. "An absolute fucking mess. And we can't use our magic to help or even stop any of this. Mezot? What do you… Where is she?"

Anton quickly found her only a few meters away, staring at a downed Fire Elf. He wasn't dead, at least Anton assumed the Fire Elf was a man, it was hard to tell when they were all so thin, but he was badly injured. Axia gently tapped her mother with the butt of her staff and quickly received her attention.

"It's still strange that access to mana is so strongly limited to be almost inaccessible, or prohibitively costly.” Mezot paused when a red light, Longinious’s Resolve Aura fell over them. "But Longinious’s magic doesn't appear to-"

"Humans!"

A shout from the fortress stopped Mezot. She pulled the staff tight against her chest while her eyes darted throughout the dimly lit cavern.

Longinious tapped Anton’s shoulder with two hands, her claws were extremely sharp, and pointed to the highest point on the fortress. Amongst the flaming hair of the Fire Elves one stood out. A somewhat dull head of flaming hair cowed behind the line of soldiers. One stepped to the side to allow the Fire Elf to come to the forefront.

"Bilaal." Longinious whispered into his ear. "He appears to be exhausted."

"You can see that well in this light?"

Longinious’s bright orange eyes bore directly through his. He couldn't even begin to guess what was going through her head. Annoyance that he doubted her? Whatever the case, she glanced back to the Fire Elves and gave a curt nod.

"Alright then. Bilaal!" Anton felt his shout was louder than normal. Kal's wince proved it. "Sorry Kal. What is happening here? Why are your people trying to go through The Gate when you know what could happen?"

Bilaal merely returned a smile and tried to wave them over. His face contorted in panic as his legs gave way and dropped behind the flimsy wall. A soldier on either side dived down to help.

"Well," Anton grimaced as he walked towards the fort entrance. "This will certainly be interesting."

---[]---

Bilal breathed extremely harshly despite Longinious’s Restoration Aura covering both him and the Royal Soldiers. Their thin frames, already weakened by their unceasing poor diet, even though they were clearly officers which Anton presumed were given more food, simply could not recover quickly enough.

"I have some water." Rasha offered a large waterskin to Bilaal. "If you need it."

Bilaal furiously nodded and almost swiped it from her hands. His somewhat dimmed flaming hair grew more intense with every gulp.

"T-Thank you." Bilaal gasped, wiping away the near river of water running down his chin with a slightly bloodied silk sleeve. "It appears even the water from the surface tastes better than anything down here."

Rasha smiled weakly as she took back the waterskin.

Kal gripped the edge of the railing and looked out over the remains of the battlefield. "What's going to happen to them? The ones from the Southern Quarters."

Anton looked to the impromptu triage field. The Southern Quarter rebels had been separated from the few wounded Royal Soldiers and were largely ignored. The only reason that the survivors had not bled out was due to the tireless work of the Atros soldiers, though few had been medically trained they still knew how to apply bandages and stem the flow of blood. It would have to do as they could not use their normal magic to help.

The Royal Soldiers looked on with obvious annoyance and disgust, yet they dared not draw too close. The simple fact that most were disarmed certainly helped.

Bilaal ran a hand through his flaming hair. "Our soldiers, those that fought to stop the idiocy, total idiocy, that could bring an end to our civilization, and yours, will be respectfully recycled after their funeral rights."

"And the others?" Kal raised an aqua brow.

"Thrown into the compost pits like they deserve." Bilaal's contempt was as clear on his face as it was through his words. "Some should be thrown into the streets as a message. As yet another warning. But we cannot risk an outbreak of disease with so many of our soldiers injured."

"Survivors?"

Bilaal scoffed. "We'll deal with them like their kind deserves."

Kal softly sighed, her ears dropped slightly.

I don't think we're going to be able to change his mind anytime soon. If we even want to…

"Regardless, thank you." Bilaal shakily rose to his feet. "If your soldiers had not been here they certainly would have passed through The Gate."

The Royal Officers murmured in agreement while respectfully nodding.

“How many men did you lose?” Cetina asked softly. “Even with Longinious healing them… Since we can’t use Tethra-”

“A few more would be alive if it wasn’t for this cavern.” Kal grumbled, her face impassive.

“...True. But can you maintain control now that they know there's somewhere above?" Cetina nodded towards the Southern Quarter Rebels, and their captured weapons and armour. "They tried to escape very quickly and would have if it wasn't for our soldiers."

Bilaal smiled as he steadied himself against the rickety wooden railing. “Though the Southern Quarters are heavily overpopulated, our soldiers outnumber anything that they could possibly throw together, in both quality and quantity.”

While Bilaal’s attention was placed firmly on Cetina, Anton saw the slightly worried looks of the Officers.

Bilaal’s a diplomat first and foremost. He has been very nice and polite, but I suppose everyone’s got their prejudices. Still, I doubt he would know all of the intricacies of their military.

When the Officers saw him looking they quickly either turned away or forced an obvious smile.

Keeping the Southern Quarter pacified is definitely easier if they think the Royals have a massive army. But what if they don't? Are they all under the direct control of the Royalty or of the noble families?

“Regardless,” Anton began. “Perhaps it would be best to have a few of our soldiers to assist yours. A sort of joint exercise to show our cooperation.”

Bilaal and the Royal Officers seemed a little confused, one or two of the Officers appeared to understand. Anton waved Cetina, Rasha and even Avery forward. He had remained within earshot, talking with several Atros soldiers. Anton noticed the absence of Beast-kin, despite their number inside the caverns.

“Our soldiers are much larger and stronger than yours, simply owing to their diets. Also…”

Anton paused, mulling over several thoughts bubbling through his head. He had no inherent reason to support the Royals other than they weren't the ones trying to escape. Perhaps that was enough? The current situation did not lend itself to be ideologically picky. They could always change allegiance later, if the situation required it.

“Not to mention our sheer presence will help stabilize the situation. Knowledge that we are supporting you will give them pause. Pause enough to potentially halt any sort of attack or rebellion until the situation is properly stabilized.”

“That-"

Bilaal stopped when an officer placed a hand on his shoulder, quite hard judging by the indent in the silk, and pulled him away. The officer murmured an apology and smiled before entering a huddle.

"Can we afford so many soldiers?" Avery asked softly. "It's not like we're doing that well up there that we can spare… Hundreds? A Thousand maybe? How many will this place need?"

"It's not the numbers per-say." Anton frowned as he saw Mezot and Axia speaking with a wounded Southern Quarter Rebel. Mezot was prodding the elf's scalp while Axia studied a carapace armour piece, shaking and holding it to her ear. “I thought Axia was supposed to be the normal one. Anyway, just the knowledge of our presence and support will be enough.”

“Still…”

“The Dwarves?” Kal offered, Avery tilted his head slightly. “The Fire Elves appear to respect them far more than us, Human or Beast-kin. Not to mention they’re already down here.”

“A good idea. We’ll see what men Umikgruid can spare.” Anton smiled as Bilaal separated from the huddle. “I’m pretty sure there’s more Dwarves here than all the other races combined.”

“Please forgive the small interruption.” Bilaal put on his best diplomatic smile. "We would be more than grateful to receive any assistance."

Somehow Anton could feel that Bilaal was trying his utmost to put on the same confidence he had but a few moments prior.

Guess he found out how precarious everything really is.

"We will bring out some of our Dwarven Warriors." Anton pointed to the bright light at the end of the bent tunnel. "Station them at the entrance of The Bend to alleviate our potential manpower issues. Is that what you called it? The Bend?"

"Indeed." Bilaal smiled. "For… Obvious reasons."

"It'll also give us time to react should there be another breakout attempt." Anton turned to Avery. "Can you get someone to send a message to Umikgruid? Tell him to send as many warriors as he can spare. Ones with proper armour too."

Avery passed on the order, a spritely young Human soldier hurriedly ran down the decrepit wooden stairs and towards The Gate.

"He's a good man." Avery said softly. "Works too hard though."

"Certainly better than the opposite." Anton cleared his throat. "Bilaal. While we wait I'd like to speak with whomever qualifies as the leader of The Southern Rebels."

Bilaal laughed nervously. "I can assure you there is nothing that you could possibly learn from them. If anything they will try and fill your head with poisonous lies."

Maybe a little too harsh. But you do realize your words are having the opposite effect?

"I still wish to speak with them.” Anton folded his arms. “If I’m to help, I need to know exactly what they say. Otherwise anything I say and do will just come off as false and insincere. It’ll end up doing more harm than good. And none of us can afford that.”

Bilaal did not protest. Instead he simply smiled and gently motioned towards the fields of the wounded Fire Elves.

Guess he’s not going to make it that easy for me then…

Anton returned a polite smile and began to walk down the rickety steps. Rasha and Cetina offered to help but Anton waved them down. He was not feeble, just unnaturally and extremely heavy. The green aura followed as Longinious stayed at the rear. Anton gave a final glance back, Bilaal and the Royal Officers began to breathe heavier once her Aura of Restoration left them.

“Do you plan to change sides?” Verona asked softly once they reached the ground. “Or are you being honest?”

“I honestly don’t know. But Bilaal and the Royals aren’t the ones trying to break out and bring Nithroel down on us.” Anton softly sighed as he motioned towards Mezot and Axia. “But we’ll play nice all the same.”

Kal grumbled as she looked at her hand. “I don’t know if I have enough mana in me to use a Truth Prayer on any of them without passing out.” She squinted at the ceiling, her cat slit eyes twitching as they followed the hexagonal markings on the abundant Ghlyirl. “I can’t believe, after how long I spent on my own, that I’ve already become so used to it…”

The Royal Fire Elf Soldiers cleared a path, Anton was sure that it was due to Rasha and Cetina leading the way, towards Mezot and Axia. As Longinious’s green Restoration Aura washed over the wounded Fire Elves they gasped in relief, breathing much easier as the wounds began to slowly heal before their eyes.

“You’re not overdoing it?” Anton asked.

“Not at all.” Longinious replied, shaking her head. “Everything is fine. I’m just annoyed that I cannot cover all of them… I shall move throughout the wounded Fire Elves to ensure that the maximum number survive.”

She did not wait for a response before darting away towards the center of the triage field. Most looked very confused by her presence but none tried to stop her. Anton received a shrug from Verona and Kal.

“She’s more like you than you think.” Kal's faint smile was almost playful. “Immediately runs off to help some wounded strangers and doesn't wait for a response.”

As they drew closer it became clear the wounded Southern Quarter Rebel was becoming incensed with Mezot’s blank faced prodding.

“Stop it!” The Fire Elf impotently flailed his bloodied bandaged arm towards Mezot. Mezot crouched close to his head so he could not reach, also the two Royal soldiers threw it back with the same disdain Bilaal held for their kind. “Dammit Human woman. Stop pulling my hair! It hurts when you do that!”

Mezot’s lips moved, muttering to herself, but it was only when they drew close that he could understand her words.

“Each strand of hair is substantially thicker than normal.” Mezot pulled at a few strands hanging over her own face. "Substantially thicker than normal. It also appears to be formed by hundreds of tiny segments… And the base is very large…"

Mezot’s head twitched towards Anton, her smile was bright and happy.

"Anything interesting, Mezot?"

"It appears their hair is slightly magical." Mezot tugged at a loose bundle of hair from the wounded Fire Elf. "Though it is extremely difficult to determine anything within this cavern. Judging by what you’ve said before I can’t take anything outside of the cavern without potentially destroying Atros. Which..."

"It's really strange." Axia shook the carapace armour piece. It lacked any metal or leather to bind it to the wearer, rather a fibrous plant material, probably a byproduct of creating their simple foods from mushrooms. “Even this is giving off a strange feeling. Well, the inside is. Is there any chance that we can take-”

“Don’t you dare, Human!” The wounded Fire Elf raged. “That is my family heirloom. It cost us nearly everything my parents had just to buy it!”

Anton waved and Axia somewhat reluctantly handed it over. It looked much like Anton first thought, the back-plate of a large insect. Small grooves ran along the interior, possibly where blood vessels once lay, but otherwise it was unremarkable.

“Just this?” Anton tapped the armour. “Just how little money do you have?”

The Southern Quarter Rebel’s eyes narrowed in anger but he did not reply.

“Could you please give us some space?” Anton looked to the Royal Fire Elves. “I have a few questions I would like to ask this man.” He raised his hand as the soldiers were about to protest. “I can protect myself against an incapacitated man. Not to mention I am more than adequately protected.”

The soldiers tried to measure themselves against Cetina and Rasha but failed miserably. Cetina alone had more muscle mass than both, not to mention Calo and Sheso were probably physically stronger. They let out a soft sigh before trudging away. The twins scoffed at their slumped shoulders.

“Now,” Anton shuffled closer. “I’d like to ask you a few questions, if that’s alright?”

The Southern Quarter Fire Elf eyed off the armour plate. His lips pursed tight while his hands gripped into tight fists.

Kal was, no, she still has the two rusted daggers she arrived in Atros. Just because it's not valuable doesn't mean it's not important.

Anton placed the plate by the Fire Elf’s side. He relaxed considerably once he tapped it with his bandaged arm.

“You don’t seem particularly agitated by the presence of Dark Elves.” Anton jerked his head towards the Twins, both of whom grumbled softly. “The Royal soldiers, if that’s the right name, have quite the negative opinion about them.”

The Fire Elf shuffled backwards. “I don’t believe much of what the Northerners have to say. After what they’ve done to us…”

Two sides to everything… I wonder what Lila would have said to me, if Leo hadn’t murdered her?

Anton turned to Zuhura. “Do you happen to have any spare pieces of paper on you?”

“I do.” Zuhura tapped her side. On her hip rested a small, simple hessian bag, one that Anton had not seen before. She noticed him looking and brought it forward. “I thought it would be very difficult and foolish to bring down all of the papers. Not to mention that if something happened to them I would need to record Longinious’s details again.”

She glanced at Mezot, once again staring at the Fire Elf’s hair. “Some of her records are… Difficult to understand.”

Mezot made no indication she heard or cared.

“And the bag is Kal’s.” Zuhura smiled at her. “She said she didn’t mind parting with it.”

“So.” Anton sat down and stretched out his legs. “My damned legs. What is your name?”

“Othniel.” The Fire Elf said softly. "My friends call me Othniel."

“Othniel. I wish that we could have met under more pleasant circumstances.” Anton checked Zuhura was writing, which she already was. “But… But you do understand why you cannot be let out of this cavern? At least for now.”

Othniel looked ready to spit in disgust, only he could not muster the strength. “They tried to tell us that same garbage.” He weakly nodded towards the two Royal Fire Elf soldiers, out of earshot but still relatively close. “That if we leave it’ll be the end of our race. A horde of Nithroel's slaves would attack. Just another way…” Othniel coughed heavily, each giving him serious jolts of pain. “Just another way they’re trying to control us. And most of us Southerners are dumb enough to believe it.”

“And what if I were to tell you that it was the truth? That a Goddess went to war over your species, permanently ruined hundreds of miles of land and forced what little of your kind that remained to hide in the depths of the world?”

Othniel’s eyes narrowed, his hair dimmed. He clearly had heard the stories a thousand times before. Hearing it from an outsider, the only outsider their species had met for hundreds of years, had a noticeable effect. He blinked and his hair returned to normal, alongside his demeanor.

“It doesn’t matter.” Othniel took a deep breath, his eyes looked directly up while his voice grew less passionate. “We won’t be bullied and threatened by the Northerners ever again. Never have our food and water rations cut because we will not bow and scrape at the table of some sick Northerner bastard."

Sounds almost like they've told themselves this so often it just comes out like it's rehearsed. Of course it could be his genuine thoughts. Or perhaps both.

"See them gorge on…"

Othniel’s lip quivered, holding back a terrible memory. In the brief moment of silence Anton quickly inspected him. He was even more malnourished than the Royals, so he knew they weren't lying about the poor situation in the Southern Quarter.

"Picking up scraps off…" Othniel’s voice almost cracked. His eyes moved past Anton and onto Verona. "But I see that's not an issue for those above."

"Are you calling me fat?" Verona sniggered as she raised a silver brow. She ran a hand through her hair, the other brushing down her shirt. "Even though I'm pregnant I can assure you that I'm not fat."

"Some days you certainly do seem to try." Kal said dryly.

Verona stuck out her tongue but continued to smile. When Anton looked back he saw Othniel staring unashamedly at Verona's chest. Verona wasn’t unaware and smirked back, coyly turning away and looking at Anton for help. Othniel immediately realized his mistake and tore his eyes away to return them back to the ceiling.

Being fat would undoubtedly be a sign of opulence down here. Probably, no, certainly would draw a lot of ire too. But I doubt they’d have ever seen women so ‘large’. Hell, even Calo and Sheso are curvier than those Fire Elf women we saw in the capital. Even the Queen, and I'm sure they're being relatively well fed. I wonder how they’ll react when they realize Rasha’s and Verona’s armour is actually rather form fitting? And what will they look like when properly fed?

“But now that we're here we can supply you with food." Anton made no mention of Othniel’s wandering eyes. "Not enough so that you can grow fat, but certainly enough so that you aren't constantly starving."

Othniel took a slow breath. "If there's that much food on the surface then why can't we just go up there?" He nodded towards Verona and Kal. "Surely there is some to spare?"

"You're aware of why you can't just leave?" Anton raised a brow. "That there is a reason you're down here, even though it's not your fault?"

Othniel’s eyes narrowed on Anton. "Do you honestly believe what the Royals say?"

He tried to mockingly laugh but started to cough painfully. Slowly he returned to normal once the very edge of Longinious’s Restoration Aura enveloped his body. Anton caught her eye and gave a nod of thanks, one which she seemed very eager to accept.

I honestly don’t think he, or anyone from the Southern Quarters, are just going to give up on their desire to escape that easily. Maybe… Maybe a little story. Doesn’t even need to be necessarily true...

"Honestly?" Anton pulled his legs up to his chin. "I don't know. I honestly don't. Perhaps Nithroel no longer cares about you and you’re just locked down here out of an unjustified fear? I just don't know."

"Then-"

"But I do know that Nithroel is extremely powerful, as are the people and creatures that follow her. And if she still does want you back, which I’m certain she will, then the consequences of even one of you passing through that Gate are catastrophic. For both of us. That risk simply can’t be taken until we know the truth."

Anton unbuckled a boot. Cetina and Kal moved to stop him, Verona hissed and they both stopped, Kal looked rather annoyed.

"I thought that I would be fine, no matter what happened in this world.” Anton smiled as one started to come free. “But I’ve learned that simply isn’t true.”

Othniel frowned as he saw the harsh scales merging with Anton’s skin. He wasn’t disgusted, like a normal human would be with a Beast-kin, but rather just utterly bewildered.

“There are many things that I don’t understand.” Anton pulled the boot down enough to show the claws that now formed his feet. “But there are serious consequences for when you deal with things that you don’t understand. This? This is mine.”

Anton loosely refastened his boots and removed his glove. Othniel continued to stare in silent disbelief.

“I didn’t listen. I didn’t listen to people far, far smarter than myself.” Anton put his glove back on, not that anyone else had seemingly noticed in the dim light. “But thankfully, I have many people with me that helped me through the troubles that followed. You, Othniel, and your entire civilization, will not have such a chance.”

He pointed to The Gate. “But the very second that one of you passes through that gate, there’s not going to be anything that anyone can do. You’ll be dragged kicking and screaming from these caverns, if you’re lucky. Nithroel might just be completely furious that you’re still alive and have you all slaughtered where you stand. Which…” Anton nodded towards the Royal Soldiers. “Is something that even they haven’t done yet.”

Othniel mustered a sneer, but at the very least he wasn’t about to argue the point.

“So… Would you be willing to accept food and safety, in return for not trying to get through The Gate at least until we can ensure that you’re not going to be slaughtered?”

Othniel tried to muster the strength to argue. Instead the fightleft his eyes, sighed, and relaxed. “It really doesn’t matter what I say. You, and the Royals, are going to keep us out.”

Anton smiled. “True. But I’d rather not have any more people die in front of me today. So? What do you say?”

Othniel grunted and looked away. “I… I’ll see what I can do. But only afterwe get some food and the Royals stop trying to kill us. But I’m not really important...”

“I’ll see what I can do myself.” Anton stood up. “I look forward to seeing you again, Othniel, hopefully under better circumstances. Rest and get better.”

Othniel did not know entirely what to say. Anton gave a curt nod, Verona cutely waved, which caused Othniel‘s face to redden slightly, and they began to return to the fortress. Cetina and Rasha ensured Mezot and Axia actually followed rather than begin to inspect another wounded Fire Elf. Longinious darted away from the center of the field to join them. She stopped, her tail body continuing forward before she snapped it back, when the wounded Fire Elves began to whimper and groan in pain. Without the Aura covering and healing them they were once again in tremendous pain. Perhaps even more so than before. Longinious shot Anton a look, pointed with all of her hands towards the Fire Elves while smiling bitterly. She wanted to join them but there was something more important she had to attend to. Anton gave her a gentle wave and allowed her to continue helping the Fire Elves.

Anton tried to speak with several more of the wounded Fire Elves, even some of the Royal Soldiers, but the information they divulged was almost useless to him. One propaganda, the other propaganda. All well-rehearsed and deeply ingrained in their minds. Anton did not try and comment on such things, only listening patiently. That had a differing effect on different Fire Elves, some appeared more confident, others less so now they were speaking to a relatively impartial outsider. Nevertheless, Anton thanked them for their time and moved to the next. After a dozen from each side he was confident that what Othniel gave was correct and decided to return to the wooden fortress.

Bilaal watched them from the wooden parapets, waiting for them. Though his face was now very calm Anton could see through his tensed hands he was exceedingly nervous.

“I trust that you’ve heard plenty of their… Drivel?”

“I don’t know if I would go that far.” Anton slowly made his way up the steps, waiting for the wood groans to become cracks. “But they certainly seem determined. And I doubt even I could dissuade them from their convictions. Perhaps if we all had more time, but that’s not a possibility.”

Avery whistled and pointed towards The Gate. A large group of Dwarves marched towards them, some already carrying large pieces of timber for a barricade.

"Excellent." Anton clapped his hands together. "Incredibly fast to react and thoroughly reliable, just like always. Now, let's have a look at the rest of your city."