Lithoniel

It turned out Rolim was right. Not that Lithoniel had ever doubted him. His analysis seemed reasonable, and probably she would have reached the same conclusion if she wasn't so busy trying to prove her theory was right.

As soon as they started going south, keeping the mountains on their right as they advanced on the Ash Marshes- a plagued plain extending for hundreds of leagues from the hill of the Great Penumbra to the mouth of the Brimstone's river - they finally found out what they'd searched for so long. Tracks. A lot of them.

Lithoniel and Rolim exchanged a glance.

"Don't make any noise from now on." She whispered to Kolvar.

Kolvar nodded, but his throat made a wet sound as he swallowed. Lithoniel pretended not to hear as she squatted, moving unseen through the plain as only an elf could. Rolim and Kolvar followed her example, but they didn't have to do that for long. At some point, the footprints split up, as one set of tracks headed east, deeper inside the Ash Marshes and toward the mountains of the new Peaks.

Lithoniel and the brothers kept going south until they had to turn right and go west to follow the trail. They were coming closer and closer to those raging volcanos when they saw something completely out of place. There was a black wall, new and roughly built, standing on the gray plains. It wasn't that far from the West Ridge but placed at a safe distance from that river of lava running down the mountains.

From where they were standing - a small hill maybe a mile away from the wall - they could see the smoke of the campfires mixing with the vapors rising from the mountains. It was what they were looking for, but there was a problem.

"The size. There are way too many tents." Lithoniel muttered under her breath.

She couldn't say how many exactly - she had to get closer for that - but the camp was huge, several times bigger than she'd expected.

There have to be thousands of them, maybe even tens of thousands.

"No tribe is that big." She said quietly.

"It's not a single tribe." Rolim whispered. "Look at the way the tents are positioned."

Lithoniel squinted her eyes noticing Rolim was right. The tents weren't evenly distributed throughout the encampment but divided into six different groups. Besides, there was a big empty space in the middle of it. Lithoniel had a pretty good idea why no one set camp there.

"You're right." Lithoniel agreed with him. "And that's why there are no tents in the middle. They probably bickered about it, as every tribe wanted to set camp there."

"I didn't see that." Rolim furrowed his brow, a bit surprised. "But it makes sense. That's a position of dominance."

"Which means those tribes are still divided." Lithoniel continued. "This must be pretty new. Probably they joined together when the volcanos erupted."

"An alliance of convenience to..."

"...take our territory."

They looked at each other and nodded.

"You're doing it again" Kolvar grumbled, and despite everything, Lithoniel smiled.

That smile soon faded away when she realized what this meant for their tribe. They were completely outnumbered.

"Can we go now?" Kolvar asked, desperate to get out of there as soon as possible.

Lithoniel took a deep breath and nodded.

"Yes, let's go ho..." She was saying when she heard someone walking behind them.

No, not walking but...trotting? But when she turned around what she found was no horse, but something much bigger. She had never seen something like this before, a beast she could only describe as a very big lizard. It wasn't very tall, maybe even less than five feet, but it was at least twelve feet long, and even its hooked tail wasn't much shorter. Its thick black skin was red-streaked and reinforced by armored scales, its tongue thin but forked and long, maybe even longer than Lithoniel's arm.

"Is it...a dragon?" Kolvar asked, hiding behind a rock like he was terrified it may able to see him.

"A dragon is much bigger than that." Rolim whispered, his voice calm and steady. "Besides, it has no wings."

"Rolim, do you know what is it?" Lithoniel asked, but she kept staring at the beast.

Rolim frowned. "I heard tales, but I never saw one before. However, it should be a...salamander."

"A salamander?" She repeated, a bit curious. She had seen and hunted a lot of animals over the years, but she had never heard of such a beast.

"Salamanders are native of these plains, but it's strange to find one here." He frowned. "As far as I know, they are very territorial. They live underground, in those old tunnels running deep beneath the Marshes."

"The muddyfire tunnels?" She asked, and when Rolim nodded, she added, "That's why I never saw one before."

"No one did. Not in our tribe at least. It was an old hunter who lives in a tribe close to the Brimstone who told me about it. "

"So, what is it doing here?" Kolvar asked, but no one answered him.

The three of them kept staring at the salamander. If what Rolim said was true, the beast's territory was far from here. Besides, since the salamander came, it didn't move at all. From time to time it looked back, its forked tongue darting out of its mouth as a long hiss came out of its throat.

"It's almost like it's...waiting for something?"

Lithoniel didn't have long to wonder. They first heard it, a noise, loud and continuous. Then they saw it, a big shadow popping over the horizon. It was another Salamander, maybe even bigger than the first one, its skin of a deeper red, almost burgundy. But it was what lay beyond it that made her scalp go numb.

The salamander was pulling some sort of carriage, a thick rope tied around its body as it scampered on the hillside. However, the ones on the chart weren't passengers but prisoners. It was a cage, and the sound they had heard before was the noise made by the carriage's wheels running on the marshes' rocky soil. Even if they were still far, Lithoniel could already vaguely recognize them.

They are our people.

She wasn't the only one who realized that. She heard Kolvar taking a sharp intake of breath and Rolim squinting his eyes, his hand touching the handle of his knife.

When the two beasts were close enough, the smaller salamander hissed and the one pulling the cart responded with a deep roar. That's when Lithoniel saw there was someone else. They were so small compared to the salamanders, she almost didn't notice them.

Hunters. Maybe a dozen of them.

Lithoniel saw one of them, an elf a bit shorter than the average, coming forward to pat the head of the smaller salamander. It was an odd gesture, but the beast's reaction was even weirder; it tilted its head before lowering it, allowing the elf to pat it.

"That's the third time it runs off, Beastmaster." Another elf, taller than the first one, said.

Beastmaster? It sounded a lot like a title, one she had never heard before.

Lithoniel could tell both hunters were men, but that's all. It was impossible to distinguish their features as they wore cloaks and scarves to protect themselves from the dust storms.

"I already tried to tell you, but you didn't listen to me. You really shouldn't have brought a female. The big one" The Beastmaster said, pointing to the salamander pulling the chart. "is a male and we are in the middle of the mating season."

"Are you telling me..." The taller elf sounded surprised.

"That was a mating ritual." The Beastmaster concluded. "Right, that's exactly what I'm trying to say. She," He said looking at the smaller salamander. "ran off because she expected the big guy to chase after her and..." He paused like he didn't know how to explain it. "...conquer her."

"Why didn't you tell me before?!" The second elf sounded outraged.

"I don't tell you how to do your job, Nighstalker." The Beastmaster mocked. "I hope that you'll extend the same courtesy to me from now on."

Rolim and Lithoniel exchanged a glance when they heard he was the Nighstalker.

"You made your point, Beastmaster. Now please calm them down."

The two salamanders, especially the big one, were getting nervous.

The Beastmaster sighed. "I'll do what I can, but don't expect miracles."

Apparently, the task was way too hard. The instincts of the two salamanders clashed as one wanted to run and the other to chase. As soon as the Beastmaster tied the rope around the female's body and tried to lead her back to the chart, she refused to move. The Beastmaster tried to pull the rope, but without avail.

"It's better if I go first with the female." The Beastmaster said to the Nighstalker. "We're close anyway and that big fella can pull the chart alone."

"Fine" It was the Nighstalker's curt reply.

The Beastmaster didn't seem to care if the Nighstalker agreed or not. He got up on the female salamander as if he had done it a hundred times, and rode it until elf and beast disappeared from sight.

Lithoniel was shocked. The Salamander was fast on the plains, maybe even faster than a horse. The carriage, on the other hand, moved slowly. It took some time until the convoy reached the position where Lithoniel and the others were hiding. When it was just below them, at the bottom of the hill, Lithoniel gripped the hilt of her sword.

"What do you want to do?" Rolim hissed to her, his hand grabbing her forearm.

"We can take care of them. If we ambush them..."

"Don't even think about it," Rolim warned, his voice growing rougher. "That salamander can breathe fire, and its skin is hard like chain mail. Even if you take down those guards, the beast will tear us apart."

Lithoniel tightened her lips. "If those prisoners go inside those walls, it's over for them."

"If we attack them it's over for us." He rebutted.

Lithoniel opened her mouth to reply but Rolim preceded her.

"Think, Lithoniel. If we are dead, who's going to tell the Loremaster what we've seen?"

Lithoniel took a deep breath.

"I know but..." She shook her head. "I can't leave them. I just can't, Rolim."

But Rolim was relentless. "You have to. At least for now. Besides, are you ready to kill them, Lithoniel?"

Lithoniel's mouth snapped shut.

"Lithoniel, you were ready to sacrifice your life for the tribe. I bet they are no different." He said, pointing to the chart. It was slowly heading to the palisade's gate. They could still reach it if they hurried. "I know you want to save them, but you can't save anyone if you're dead."

Lithoniel looked at her companions before biting her lips. Kolvar looked worried and scared while Rolim was staring at her with such intensity she could barely meet his gaze. He looked grim but determined like he was ready to pick her up and carry her away by force if necessary.

"Alright" She surrendered and Kolvar sighed with relief.

"I'm not leaving them." She hastened to add. "This is just a strategic retreat."

Rolim's expression finally softened a little.

"I never believed you would. Besides," Rolim smiled at her. "We still have a chance to free them, don't we?"

"We do." She was still a bit shocked but managed to nod. Then both she and Rolim turned to look at the encampment.

"Don't tell me you want to sneak inside?" Kolvar asked, following their gazes. He sounded alarmed.

"We can make it." She assured him. "We just need to wait until night and..."

"Lithoniel, that's insane!" He hissed.

"Kolvar, I have to help them" She said, her voice soft but resolute.

"You can't." Kolvar insisted. "You know the law. We shouldn't risk our lives to save..."

"It's a custom, Kolvar." Lithoniel specified. "Not a law."

Kolvar shrugged like it was the same for him.

"Be as it may. You know that we have to leave them. Even if the tribe wasn't in danger, and the information in our possession wasn't so important, we still shouldn't save them." He said and Lithoniel clenched her fists, all her muscles tensing as she tried to rein in her anger.

"They got caught." He continued without a shred of empathy like he didn't care if they lived or died. "They are weak and stupid. We should just leave them to their desti..." He said, and Lithoniel couldn't take it anymore.

"I won't leave them!" She snapped. "Do you understand, Kolvar?! I won't!" She yelled.

Luckily no one was around, not that Lithoniel cared at the moment.

"They got caught" Kolvar repeated like he wanted to justify himself.

"Maybe so, but this doesn't give you permission to treat them like trash!" She exploded, her voice bitter and filled with so much anger and resentment she looked like a completely different person.

Rolim looked surprised, but Kolvar was worse. He looked utterly dismayed, his mouth hanging open like he couldn't recognize her.

"I'm sorry, Kolvar." Lithoniel apologized to him when realized what she had done. "But my answer won't change. I won't leave them." She sounded calmer, more rational, but her voice didn't waver.

Kolvar shook his head. "Lithoniel, I know you're brave, but there is a fine line between bravery and stupidity. You are not a God, you can't save everyone. And that nobility of yours is not a virtue." He said and though he was trying to hide it, she could feel the contempt in his voice. "It's a weakness."

After that, he turned his back on them and started walking away.

"Kolvar!" Rolim called, but his brother didn't stop.

"Let him go. He said nothing wrong." She whispered.

"Lithoniel..." He said, evidently worried as he stared at her.

Lithoniel looked paler, frail and vulnerable now that her anger was gone. It seemed that Kolvar's words hurt her more than expected.

"Maybe he and the Loremaster are right." She said looking down, her fingers closing around the hilt of her sword. "Maybe I'm weak, and that's why Teacher refused to see me."

"You know that's not the true, Lithoniel. You told me, didn't you? You know why the Loremaster refused to see you."

Lithoniel nodded, but she looked distracted, lacking conviction.

"Listen to me, Lithoniel." He said, forcing her to look at him. "You're not weak and you don't have to rescue those people just because you think you have something to prove. Because you haven't. You have nothing to prove, Lithoniel."

When she heard him, Lithoniel opened her eyes wide, trying to look away and hide from him, but Rolim didn't let her. He grabbed her shoulders and squeezed so hard she knew he would leave some bruises. She winced but even then he didn't loosen his grip.

"You have nothing to prove." He repeated, his voice growing stronger. "Not to that idiot of my brother, or Elwin, the Loremaster, and for sure you've nothing to prove to our people. You know them, they are spineless sheep at the best of times."

"I..." She tried to say something, but she could do nothing except stay there and stare at him.

"You owe them nothing." He repeated. "Nothing, Lithoniel. Do you understand me?"

She looked at his face and opened her eyes wide when she realized he was serious. He wasn't just lying to cheer her up but actually believed in what he was saying.

"Do you understand?" He asked again and she nodded with more conviction this time.

"Good. Now, let's go find that idiot of my brother. Then, we'll go rescue our people." He squinted his eyes. "Unless you are still planning to act like an idiot and do everything by yourself?"

"Never dreamed of it." She said, smiling innocently.

Rolim narrowed his eyes.

"So long as you understand that." He said and when he went back to look for his brother she followed him.

She was about to embark on another suicide mission, but she wasn't scared. Not anymore.