The canyon walls were wet with the morning dew and the elves sat in tense silence.

Thu’lain in particular observed his fellows’ various degrees of distress or relaxation. Tin’lo’s arm had ceased bleeding and they had bandaged it. He and Tu’lar spoke quietly and it seemed that Tu’lar was making sure that Tin’lo was as comfortable as he could be in the moment.

They are coping well.

Anar’dea sat against the wall and stared blankly off as if lost in thought. Trat’catha had spread out the contents of his bag and was counting his supplies with a critical eye. He could clearly see they were stressed.

Raj’ken sat alone and apart from everyone and folded in on herself, burying her head in her knees with her arms wrapped tightly around them.

I can’t blame her. I suppose I’ll try and brighten the mood.

“You know,” Thu’lain broke the silence, “I wonder if the stingers would have worked on the eclipse.” He schooled his features and his tone was deadpan. He met Raj’ken’s eyes and noted her confusion before he let a smile reach his eyes, just in time to let her realize he wasn’t serious.

“You’re unbearable!” Raj’ken yelled and threw a pebble at Thu’lain, but she was smiling now and he could hear the light chuckling coming from her and Anar’dea.

“You know,” Trat’catha contemplated, “It could have. But -” Trat’catha cut himself off for a moment. “Oh, good, you’re joking.” He let out a small breath, but smiled as he shook his head.

“I thought you were serious for a second there.” Anar’dea admitted, she started to count her arrows and knives.

“I’m not insane; it’s a good thing we didn’t go back for the stingers.” Thu’lain took stock of his supplies, and reached a troubling conclusion when he evaluated his dagger.

“I’m out of essence and, if I’m not mistaken, all of your cloaks are too?” Thu’lain asked.

“Yeah, all out,” Trat’catha answered.

“Same,” Raj’ken replied.

“All gone,” Anar’dea spoke after meditating for a moment.

“Dry as a desert over here,” Tu’lar grinned.

Thu’lain nodded as he considered their options.

“Trat’catha, do you know where we are?”

“We’re close to the pass, but honestly I didn’t know this canyon existed. It may be our best path forward and, with luck, it will bypass the Gaur’s territory, and from then on it’s mostly mountains after the lowlands,” Trat’catha replied, though his tone said he was considering something. “I don’t know that we will be able to get a decent harvest quickly; it’s a risky proposition right now. We may as well take the time to bleed ourselves.”

“I thought of that as well, but even doing so we won’t gain more than a few minutes of use from your cloaks, and it will leave us weakened,” Thu’lain pointed out and Raj’ken interjected.

“Well, I gotta say it. Our luck hasn’t been so great, We’ve run into two apex, Uchy once - twice for you Thu - an angry centaur clan, and an eclipse.”

“So, I’m thinking that making sure our cloaks and your dagger are fueled takes priority. I’m not personally looking forward to being caught with our cloaks down.” Raj’ken looked between Trat’catha and Thu’lain as they digested her words.

She has a point. We have been running into an unusual number of apex. They shouldn’t be so clustered in one area.

Thu’lain leaned against the wall as he considered a few theories; he’d need some more information to reveal them to the others.

“She’s right.”

“Yes, when you put it that way, it is clear what we need to do next.” Trat’catha smiled and finished packing away his belongings and tools. “We harvest just as soon as we are through the canyon, but I insist we do not antagonize any of the sapient life. The last thing we need is another enemy chasing us down.”

“Agreed, but before we move.” Thu’lain turned to Tin’lo and Tu’lar. “Are you going to need more time to recover?”

“Mm, no, I don’t think I will. It hardly debilitates me,” Tin’lo replied and Tu’lar gave a thumbs up before saying: “I’ve given him a few stimulants, so he’ll keep up just fine. Besides, he still has me.” Tu’lar’s smile widened into a full grin and Tin’lo rolled his eyes good-naturedly.

“Good, you both will take up the rear, then.”

With that, they packed up and restarted their journey. Raj’ken took up the lead with Thu’lain closing behind her. Overhead, the light of day filled the sky and the glowing red tones of Hargrithe painted the sky in magenta and crimson, Raj’ken looked up to the sky and smiled before calling back. “Hey, Tin, look up!”

“What?” Tin’lo asked confusedly. “Oh, thank the spirits, Niedhawk is over,” He blurted and sounded genuinely relieved, which was sensible, given how rough last night had gone.

“No more Ar’ghul for awhile, Tin.” Tu’lar grinned and gave Tin’lo a hearty pat on the back.

Raj’ken left them to their conversation, and it seemed that with the light of day the elves were comfortably chatting behind her. Except for the ever direct Thu’lain who didn’t seem to be interested in anything but killing ap-

“Do you remember anything about Anosora?”

Raj’ken was broken from her contemplations by his question and, when no one responded, she turned to see Thu’lain looking at her for a moment as he walked nearby.

“Oh, uh. Kind of. I remember our home, and the shining archways that went between our spire and the neighboring one. We lived pretty high up, and the view of the mountains around us was amazing.” She paused and noticed that Thu’lain nodded to her, as if to say he was actually listening.

What’s brought this on?

“I remember going to the springs all the time while I was still growing, and the golden waters. I also remember when the light of the pool started to wane and my parents would sometimes mention that they were fortunate I was born when I was.” She shrugged.

“I don’t really know what happened to them. We were separated during the evacuation. We had a spot picked out where we would come if we got separated, and I waited there for, like, two years. I made friends with the local salamin tribe and they helped me when I needed it. I traded them hides and stuff when they were willing. The way I hear it from other elves when they were chased away… or. You know.” Raj’ken glanced at Anar’dea. “I think I got lucky.”

“What makes you ask, anyway? Not that I mind, just that you usually don’t, well, chat.” She paused between words at the end as she considered the nicer way to say what she meant, but kept her attention forward through the dark canyon.

“Hmm, well my children only saw Anosora a handful of times.” Thu’lain’s voice was neutral, but she couldn’t tell if it was a front or not.

“Ah, yeah…” Raj’ken answered awkwardly.

Damn, I guess that’s why he doesn’t talk much. They must have died too.

“They were older by the time Erebus was sealed off from the Grey Realm. Maybe their children or their children’s children will be around now.” Thu’lain wondered out loud. Raj’ken was struggling to keep up with the implications of what he was saying, but ultimately was confused by one thing.

“Why are you telling me these things?” She blurted out, unable to stop herself from asking. For a moment she thought she’d been overly blunt, but Thu’lain kept rolling on.

“It’s part of my past.” Thu’lain paused as he considered his next words and how to phrase it. “I remember telling people about my past and hearing about theirs was a good way to befriend someone, it’s just been a long time since I’ve wanted to.” Thu’lain kept walking forward and Raj’ken slowed to be even in pace with him.

“Uh… so you want to be friends?” She boiled down her understanding of what he’d said.

“Precisely.”

Raj’ken couldn’t help herself but laugh a little, much to Thu’lain’s consternation.

“I’m sorry. Yeah Thu, we can be friends. I just figured you were only interested in killing apex and stuff.” Raj’ken relaxed as she walked, since she didn’t need to be confused.

“Well, it is their fault that I can’t see my family. Either way, it does make for a good hobby.”

“Right… Are they dead?”

“Could be. I wouldn’t know.”

“What’cha mean?” Raj’ken furrowed her brow in confusion.

“They live in Erebus, and I’m trapped here.”

“Oh, I didn’t know elves were able to stay in Erebus when the seal fell,” Raj’ken mused.

“They can’t.”

“Nope, now you lost me. Your family is in Erebus, but elves can’t -” She paused as she understood what he was saying. “Oohh, they’re half-elf?”

“Correct, though that’s technically incorrect. Elven heritage is more than half, but less than full. It’s not something that can realistically be quantified, so the name for them is Lumyn. And, while my direct children passed away, their children, if they still live, are my family.”

The sound of a rock cracking against the canyon wall interrupted their conversation; they both had knives in their hands within moments and their attention on the walls above them. They spotted four rotund beings with two arms, two legs, and heads about evenly-sized with their tubby torsos. Standing up straight, they would still only just rise to the knee of a person. Their yellow eyes stared down at the elves with intensity for a few moments before one of them spoke through its large mouth, which they saw was filled with serrated teeth.

“Awh, just elves. No fun! None!” The closest of the gulik croaked out in a high-pitched voice.

“Truly! No fun!” One barked in response, the others climbed down the walls, the intensity of their stare fading as they approached. Thu’lain lowered and sheathed his dagger, though Raj’ken kept hers raised.

“Thu, what are they?” Raj’ken remained wary despite noticing how Thu’lain seemed to relax.

“They’re called gulik, and they're mostly harmless to elves if you know how to deal with them.” Thu’lain smiled, though there was a warmth to his voice that seemed out of place when referring to such odd creatures.

Thu’lain walked ahead as Raj’ken slowed, watching his back just in case they tried to maul him, though the small creatures seemed wary of Thu’lain as well. He strolled up to them and knelt down.

Raj’ken watched as the gulik and Thu’lain froze several paces apart from one another. The four small creatures stared at Thu’lain with increasing intensity that unnerved her so much that she found herself looking anywhere else but into their unblinking eyes, but it seemed Thu’lain kept their gaze.

It felt like an eternal minute had passed when finally the stillness was broken and one of the guliks waddled forward fearlessly to Thu’lain.

“Thu, what are you doing?” The tension that had built up over the encounter had Raj’ken’s grip tighten on her knife and she reflexively braced herself in case she needed to move quickly; at the very least, she would back up Thu’lain if he was attacked, or if he attacked them - for harvesting, of course.

She wasn’t ready for Thu’lain to reach out and pet the thing on its scaly head, ruffling what little hair poked up and out. All the tension that had built up suddenly fell out and gave way to confusion.

Thu’lain turned his head with a small smile and a shrug and said, “Making friends.”