Mynas's pov

The halls of the palace are different than they used to be. Granted the only time I had seen them was after Jim wrecked the place. They were surprisingly dark inside, covered in burn marks and collapsed stones. Alexis took care of all that in a matter of minutes.

After everyone was removed from the palace grounds, she went to work. First, she tore down every structure left standing. She then went about building a new and improved palace, or I guess castle would be a better term. The wall surrounding it was replaced as well. The land it sat on was raised so it would be the highest point in the city.

The new castle is made of some kind of white stone, which makes it look like it's almost gleaming in the light of the sun. There are very few windows. They are mostly just in rooms where they are a necessity. Even without windows, the inside of the castle is still bright. Every ten feet there are lightstones embedded into the ceiling. I pause as I pass a hidden alcove in the wall.

She didn't skip on defensive measures either. In almost every area, there is some kind of trap waiting for invaders. She has hidden alcoves, ambush attackers like this one, and choke points with movable barricades that can be deployed in an instant.

One of the castle servants pass me and nod to me with a smile. I nod back as I re-adjust my grip on the silver tray in my hand. When people came back to the capitol, they were afraid of the dungeon at first. After a while they settled in fairly well, except for a few troublemakers that is.

Some of the population saw this as a chance to cause trouble. Anyone who ended up dead could just be blamed on the dungeon. It would make sense. Alexis has expanded her influence to where she is covering the entire capitol city now. Unfortunately for the troublemakers, Alexis can communicate with the people in charge. So when someone broke the law, or tried to steal, the guards knew almost instantly.

I start walking again, mentally berating myself for taking so long. Here I am, wasting time when people are waiting on me to eat. I shouldn't have let my mind wander like I did. I'm almost to the room my future grovemates are occupying. I need to hurry as it's almost time to change shifts again.

"It's me!" With both my hands full, I can't open the door. I'm stuck knocking with my boot as I yell. When the door cracks open, I see Shiva peeking out through the slim opening. When she sees that I'm alone, she opens the door the rest of the way to let me in.

"Thanks for bringing this to us." Shiva takes the tray from my hands and sets it on a nearby table beside the last one I brought. Most of the food is still sitting on the old try which makes me frown. They aren't eating enough. If they keep this up, they will start to go weak.

"How is he?" Shiva shakes her head as she looks over at the single bed against the wall. The thick canopy around the bed is blocking my view, but I know what is there. It's been two weeks since Jim dove from the tower, and he hasn't awakened. Every day I hope for a change and every day there is none.

Sarge rises from the floor beside the bed and walks over. I scratch his head as I place one of the plates from the tray on the ground for him. He quietly begins to eat the meat and vegetables, not raising his head until it's gone. Without a sound, he walks back to the bed and lays down beside it.

A chirping sound makes me look up. In the rafters of the room, the harpy is watching me. I follow Shiva over to the bed as the harpy drops to the ground. I catch myself turning my head to look back at the harpy on instinct at the sound of her feet hitting the stone floor.

Her feathers are a more vibrant shade of purple now. With Braylon's help, we figured out she was malnourished. The previous tamer was feeding her mostly meat and rotten bread. Harpies can survive on meat for a while, but they need fruits and vegetables in their diet to flourish. A big part of me is still nervous about leaving Thea, Shiva and Jim alone with an untamed monster. When I mentioned this to them, they had just shrugged and blew it off.

"Sarge is here if she tries anything." That was as far as my complaint had gone before it was shot down.

"Hey Jim, Mynas is back." When Shiva settels in on the bed, she starts to stroke Jim's hair gently. I glance over to where Thea is sitting on the other side of him, her head bobbing as she fights off sleep.

"Ok, time for bed." Thea's eyes snap open as she turns her head to me.

"I'm fine!" I ignore her as I start to walk around the bed. She starts to say something else, but I cut her off. I pull her to her feet.

"No arguing. We are getting you a bath and you are going to sleep. Look at you, you're exhausted and barely awake. You spend every waking moment casting every healing spell you know on Jim. You are barely eating and only sleeping when you pass out. You aren't taking care of yourself and it's starting to show." She opens her mouth to argue, but I cut her off.

"What would Jim say if he saw you like this?" That shut her up. Now, to get her washed up and asleep. Shiva chuckles quietly from the bed as we reach the door, so I turn my head to look at her.

"Don't laugh because as soon as I'm done with her, you're next!" Shiva lets out a surprised yelp at my words. This causes Sarge to look up. I wasn't wanting to say anything, but the room is starting to reek of unwashed bodies. At least the harpy doesn't seem to have the same issue. Whatever it's doing to clean itself, it's working.

Thea is fussing as I drag her down the hall, but I ignore her. The hall dead ends at a simple wooden door for the bathing area. It's one of the things I like the most about this new design of the castle. Each wing of the castle has a dedicated bathing area and most of the rooms have a connected toilet area. Alexis is apparently using knowledge from Jim's world to run water through the castle. So there is no stink usually associated with outhouses, or the standard indoor toilet areas.

The inside of the bathing area is simple, but well thought out. A deep stone tub big enough for at least ten people is sunk into the center of the floor. There are screens set to the side to change behind off to the side, with shelves of fluffy towels against one wall. I close the door and it locks behind us with a soft click.

According to what I was told, this bathing area and most of this hall is off limits to almost everyone. Alexis made a habit of sending a squad of orcs to escort anyone not supposed to be there away. It makes me smile softly, knowing that we have her looking out for us.

It's good to have friends that look out for you. Now, let's get Thea cleaned up and put to bed. I don't mind looking after Jim's grove. Hell, I'm just glad they are still letting me anywhere near them. After the stunt I pulled, Thea and Shiva could have easily made sure I had to stay away. Instead, Thea brought me into the grove. Maybe not with open arms, but I'm here all the same. I'm not going to forget that, and I'm going to show them it wasn't a mistake. So until Jim wakes up, I'll keep them safe.

Giving Thea a bath is a lot like bathing a child. She keeps squirming and moving away as I scrub her down. While I'm drying her off there is a soft thump behind me. When I turn my head there is a chest sitting on the ground.

"Thank you, Alexis." Thea starts to edge towards her old clothes as I open the chest. I end up berating her and putting on the fresh clothes Alexis gave us. The chest and Thea's dirty clothes disappear into nothingness as I do.

The walk back to Jim's room is quick, only slowed when Thea starts to lean against me. For all of her talk about being fine, she is falling asleep standing up. When we get back, I tuck her into bed beside Jim, nodding to Shiva on the other side.

"Do you need any help?" I shake my head at Shiva's question as I go over to the chest made into the wall. When I open it, there is a single large bottle with a thin spout on top.

"No, I'll manage. You just go get a bath." When Shiva scowls at me, I set my face into a hard glare. "Go, or I'll make Jim punish you when he wakes up." Shiva huffs loudly, but she heads to the door. I take the bottle from the chest and make my way back over to the bed.

Unlike the one in the bathing area, this chest won't disappear. I know without looking that there is another identical bottle already inside the chest. It's a special drink to help keep Jim alive, and Alexis has been keeping them stocked. It's not magical in nature from what I was told. It's a mixture of honey and grains with something called vitamins and protein to keep his muscles from wasting away.

I gently settle in the bed beside Jim and raise his head. Then scoot around until his head is resting on my lap. The spout slips between his lips as I start to tilt the bottle.

Slowly, keep an eye to make sure he doesn't choke. Jim slowly drinks the liquid without any reaction. When the bottle is empty, I set it on the table beside the bed. While I gently brush Jim's hair back, I glance up into the rafters. The harpy is busy messing around with something. A mass of wood and fabric is tucked into one corner, and she is peering down at me from inside it.

"Any idea what she is doing up there?" Sarge huffs as he looks up, then lays his head back down.

"Sarge said she is nesting. He doesn't know why she is doing it either. She isn't hurting anything so we are leaving it alone." I start to get up as Shiva slips back into the room, her hair still soaked. Shiva takes my spot on the bed, staring down at the sleeping Jim and Thea. Not knowing what to do, I start to head for the door, grabbing the old food tray as I do. For some reason, Alexis doesn't absorb them. I have to take it back to the kitchens. I'm just starting to open it when Shiva speaks again.

"Thank you." I pause and look back at her as she starts to speak again. "I know we are a mess, and I know you have been looking out for us. I realized while I was cleaning up that we haven't said thank you, so thank you." I give her a small smile as I start to slip out the door.

"It's ok. Groves are supposed to watch out for each other." When I shut the door, I hear it lock behind me. The trip back to the kitchen is uneventful and too short. The day is barely halfway over, and now I have nothing to do. I start to walk around the castle, not really paying attention to where I'm going. I briefly consider heading to the training grounds, but decide not to almost immediately.

There are always people on the training grounds at this time of day. It's always the same reaction each time too. They either keep their distance as if they are scared. They sometimes try to crowd me to ask about Jim. It's just not worth the headache right now. I'm standing on top of one of the towers when I feel someone walk up behind me. I haven't heard a sound of anyone walking. I just feel them.

"We need to talk." Mom's voice is hushed, and I do my best not to react to her speaking. "Stairwell, it's too exposed here." I push off the smooth stones and make my way to the stairs. I still can't see my mother, so I know it has to be something bad. She is concealing herself so well I can't even see a glimmer of her. That means she doesn't want to be seen talking to me, that can only be bad news.

"Well, here we are. What's going on?" Mom closes the door as she looks down the stairwell. "Where's Tarril?" Mom turns back to me and wraps me in a hug.

"He's watching the bottom of the steps. I need to know now, are you staying with the Marsterson grove?" Her look tells me she knows something and she is trying to look out for me. I stiffen my back as I meet her gaze without blinking.

"It's my grove now, mom." She scans my face, searching for any weakness in my face before she sighs.

"Even if you knew trouble was coming, that would be your answer, wouldn't it?" I don't even hesitate as I nod my head yes. "Too much like your father." Her voice is barely above a whisper, and I'm almost sure that I wasn't meant to hear that.

"What is going on mom? Why did we need to hide like this to talk?" She lets out another sigh as she starts to explain. I feel my body stiffen in fear as she does.

Apparently, there are delegations from every country on the northern continent coming here, as well as several from the southern continent as well. The official reason is to discuss what to do with Dolus now. According to her, it's all a front to hide their real reason. Despite King Ekon's work to hide what Jim has done, word has leaked out. The countries are meeting to decide what to do about him. From what she has gathered, most of them are afraid and are libel to act on that fear.

"Why do they need to do anything? Why can't they just leave him alone!? He hasn't done anything to anyone who hasn't provoked him!" Mom shakes her head as she leans against the wall behind her. When she looks back to me, I can see the sadness in her eyes.

"It doesn't matter why he did what he did. All they care about is the fact that he wiped out Dolus in a day by himself. If he can do it here, he can do it anywhere. They don't have a way to protect themselves, so they are scared." I clench my hands as I clamp my jaw shut. My mind is racing as I try to think of what to do.

"So what do we do?" Mom leans her head back, exhaling loudly from her nose as she does.

"For now, you go back to Jim and his grove. Let them know what is happening, and try to prepare. Tarril and I will try to gather as much support as we can. If Jim wakes up before the delegations all get here, we can decide then if we are staying or running. If he doesn't, then we can plan about sneaking him out." She tilts her head back down to me as I nod my head in understanding.

I was worried briefly that mom and Tarril would abandon us. It seems that she has already decided they are going to help. So it's one less thing to worry about right now.

"Why didn't Alexis warn us about this?" I can't hide the slight edge of suspension in my voice. I know my mother hears it, but she doesn't say anything about it.

"She is. She had to warn you through me. How do you think I found out about this threat?" Mom crosses the distance between us and wraps her arms around me again. "I don't know how, but they are monitoring what she makes in the dungeon. The only monsters that can talk are the manticore and her pixie. The pixie is always with her core now, and her core is in the throne room. She passed the message along through the manticore on the training grounds." I gently pull myself from her hug feeling guilty that I was suspicious of her.

"I'm sorry." Mom lifts my chin to make me look her in the eyes.

"Don't be. I taught you to question everything, so I'm glad you somewhat listened. Now go, you need to tell the others. We will try and meet you in your room later." I nod to her before I start down the stairs. I have to force myself not to run. I know I can't let on that there is anything wrong.

Warn the others, figure out the next step. I keep repeating the same thing over and over in my head. It's barely helping me stay calm on the outside, even as my guts are churning with nerves. I hope everything can work out, if it doesn't, then I guess we are running.

Thea's pov

It felt like I was only asleep for a few minutes when Mynas charged back into the room waking me up. While she was filling us in, I felt the fatigue in my body fade away almost instantly. It barely took any time for her to explain the situation and I felt my stomach sink with each word she spoke. She barely finished when the door opened again. Now, I'm looking around the room filled with people who are here to help.

Tarril and En'Las are posted beside the door with two other night elves I met as they brought them in. From what they said, they are the newest members of their grove. Their two new grovemates are Sage and Thistle. I want to make a joke about them being named after plants, but I know it's not the time for that.

Vaunea is leaning against the far wall, her eyes glued to the harpy above us. Beside her, Jacob is leaning close and whispering to Tobias. I was shocked to see Shevel Barron's son when he first walked in. Then he explained that most of the nobility in Dolus has been overthrown by King Ekon's army. He was part of a small group that has been left in a position of power. It was mainly due to his action when the King's order came in to enslave the population.

Tobias ordered his personal guards to arrest his father when he tried to comply. Instead, he secured the gates into the city and blatantly disobeyed the King's mandate. While the city was locked down, his men freed every slave in the city. His small group of loyal men held the city against numerous advances from nearby nobles seeking to gain favor from the King. They managed to hold the city for four days until the army of Rathenk cleared the fields outside the city of the armies of the Dolus nobles.

From what he told us, the newly freed slaves actually helped him hold the walls. Even with the numerous casualties his men suffered, his men remained loyal. When offered amnesty if they betrayed Tobias, his men remained steadfast. That fact alone was a testament to his men's loyalty to him. Even now when most of the newly freed demihumans are fleeing Dolus, those from Shevel are mostly staying.

Tobias and a few other nobles are currently in the capital at King Ekon's request. According to him, the new King of Dolus will be chosen from nobility still in power. Mainly because the ones still in power are those that rebelled against King Marcel. So they have proven that they valued their subjects more than the potential political gains of following orders they knew were wrong.

From what he said after walking in, the nobles still in power were the lucky ones. Most of the nobility was killed by their own subjects when the slave collars stopped working all at once. The few who were not killed by their subjects were hunted down by King Ekon's soldiers. Now, there is a huge gap in the remaining nobility's power they are struggling to overcome.

When Tobias learned that a meeting discussing what to do about Jim was being held, he started looking for a way to help. Apparently, he doesn't agree with the way he is being treated. The fact that every country was happy Dolus fell, but are wanting to condemn Jim for doing it doesn't sit well with him. He lucked out and managed to speak with Tarril as he was coming here. He is looking to help in any way that he can.

Tobias nods his head to Jacob, then clears his throat loudly. When the rest of the room turns to look at him, he pushes himself off the wall. He seems to take a second to steady himself before speaking.

"I know you don't have a reason to trust me, but I do understand the political game better than most." When no one interrupts him, he keeps speaking. "Jim's position is strained right now. Everyone is afraid of what he is capable of."

"He only did what he thought was right!" Mynas's voice is harsh, like she is blaming Tobias for the situation we are in. I reach out and pull her down onto the bed, silencing her by wrapping my arms around her waist. Tobias clears his throat again before he looks around the room and finally speaks again.

"I know, but it doesn't change the fact that he toppled a country in a day, by himself. That kind of power leads to a lot of fear in the people in charge. If he did it here, after only being in this world for less than a month, he could do it elsewhere." Jacob takes a step forward, resting his hand on Tobias's shoulder, which causes Shiva to tilt her head.

"So what can we do about it?" Vaunea sounds like she is already planning something, and judging by the tone it's violent.

"We need to gain allies, and quickly." Tobias ignores the tone of Vaunea's voice.

"It's kind of hard to gain allies when everyone is afraid of you. What we should focus on is how to get Jim out of Dolus. Het him somewhere safe and away from this shit." I want to agree with En'Las, but I can't think of anywhere that would be safe. From what she and Tobias have said, there are even delegations from the southern continent coming. If the southern countries are coming, will there even be anywhere we could run? On top of that, Jim is still unconscious. How are we supposed to move him like that?

"Run where? Every country is coming here. Yes, there are a lot of people who are scared of Jim right now. We need to convince them they don't need to be afraid. We don't have to convince all of them, just enough that the rest fall in line."

"Just how are we supposed to convince anyone to help? From what you have said, King Ekon isn't even going to help. He is the one who sent Jim into Dolus. If he is abandoning us, what can we do?" I squeeze Mynas tighter as she speaks, but at the same time my mind is racing.

Tobias is right. We don't need everyone to agree. While the room devolves into an argument about what Tobias said, my mind is already racing. It's the way of the world for the weaker countries to listen and follow along with the stronger ones. So all we need to do is get enough of the bigger countries to help.

"Quiet!" Sarge raises his head up to look at me when I yell, then lays down again. How long is he going to continue to lay there?

"As long as the boss is stuck in bed, I'm going to watch over him. You all do whatever you want. I'm staying here." Well that answers that question, but I didn't realize Sarge could hear me when I was thinking. Shaking my head, I turn back to the rest of the room.

"We can argue all day, but Tobias is right. I don't know who all is coming to this meeting, but we need to figure out when they are arriving. We need to meet them before they hear any wild tales from the soldiers here." Tobias is nodding his head as I'm speaking. He seems to be relieved that he is being taken seriously.

"Most of the smaller countries on the northern continent are already here. The larger countries seem to be taking their time in getting here. The southern continent seems to be sending their delegations all in one go." Tobias pauses as he shrugs his shoulder.

"Apparently, being at war with Dolus for the last few years has them nervous. So they are all combining their honor guards into one big guard for them all. From what I've been able to learn, there is something close to a full legion of men coming to Dolus." I shake my head trying to picture that amount of people marching on Dolus.

"So who should we be focusing on? I would rather not wait on the southern delegates to get here to start." Tobias rubs the back of his head as he looks upward, a loud sigh escaping his lips as he does.

"Assuming we focus on the countries that are here already….." Tobias seems to remember something as he winces. "I would say stick to the northern half of the continent. They were affected the least by Dolus's actions and we can hope they believe the stories are exaggerated. The downside being, most of them aren't too friendly with demi-humans." Shiva opens her mouth to protest, but I set my hand on her shoulder to silence her.

"There's also the Dwarves." Jacob tilts his head when Tobias turns around as if he is asking a question.

"Yes, but the official Dwarven delegates won't arrive for some time. For now, there is just a small group outside the dungeons area of influence." I tilt my head at that, wondering what Tobias is talking about. Lucky for me, Tobias explains everything I've apparently missed since we got here.

The dwarves had a caravan show up near the capital of Dolus two days ago. It was originally supposed to go to one of the settlements at the southern edge of the Dwarven nation. Instead, it had received orders to head for the capital of Dolus at best possible speed. A week and a half later they arrived and started constructing something west of the city.

When they were asked why they were staying outside of the city, they refused to explain. All any of them would say was they had to stay out of the dungeon. Apparently, Alexis had started to expand her influence at one point to see what they were doing. Before her influence moved more than ten feet, the dwarves packed up their tools and moved everything back over a hundred yards. It was only when Alexis quit expanding that they started constructing whatever they brought again.

According to Tobias, those dwarves are not the main delegation. However, if the rumor was too believed, the dwarves were connected at a high level. If we can convince them that Jim is not a danger to them, we have a better chance of the delegates listening to our pleas.

Of course after it was explained, we couldn't let the opportunity to talk to them pass. The big question became who would be going to speak to them. After a lot of arguing, and a fight nearly breaking out, it was agreed Shiva and I would go to the Dwarven camp. Mynas would come along, mainly because we couldn't figure out how to stop her.

Tobias and Jacob meanwhile, would be talking with different delegations from the few human countries that have arrived so far. Hopefully, Tobias would be able to convince them to listen to him. According to him, he has been in contact with a lot of them over the last few years. With some of them, he even has decent relationships through the underground. He made sure that we understood he wasn't making any promises. Even though he was pretty sure he could bring at least three of the smaller countries onto our side.

En'Las and Tarril, along with Sage and Thistle, will be doing their own brand of recruiting. En'Las heard that there has been a major influx of night elves in the capital. Some are seeking out specific people that wronged them, while others are looking for work. Right now, there still aren't a lot of people in Dolus that are willing to hire assassins. Word has spread that King Ekon's army employs night elf assassins as scouts, so more and more trickle in every day.

So the four elves are planning on expanding the grove again. The plan is to use the mana stone Jim gave them, as well as another Alexis gave them to convince new elves they needed to align with them. If they can expand the grove enough, or at least its influence, then they have a better platform to stand on when the southern delegates get here.

Vaunea, despite everyone's urging, said she was staying in the room. No matter what we said, she would just respond she was staying there. After the others left, Shiva and I asked her what was going on with her. She looked up, then said she wasn't leaving Jim alone with just Sarge and the harpy. According to her, the only reason she wasn't in the room all the time was because Shiva and I are always there. Since we are going to be gone, she will be there to look after Jim.

So that was how Shiva and I found ourselves standing in front of a heavy looking iron gate. According to Mynas, the dwarves raised the walls around their camp with earth magic. This gate was one of the few items that she knows the dwarves brought with her. Everything else they are keeping a tight lid on. Even looking over top of the wall was useless because of some kind of illusion magic. When someone tried, all they could see was a reflection looking back at them.

"Are you sure about this? What if they won't speak with us?" Shiva is fidgeting nervously beside me. I wrap my arm around her shoulder to calm her down.

"No, but I don't have any better ideas. If they don't want to listen, then we will keep trying until they do." Mynas steps around us and bangs her fist on the gate, making a dull banging sound with each blow. She turns back to look at me as she speaks.

"Have you ever dealt with dwarves before?" I nod my head as she steps back from the gates.

"Once. My father claims they are a pain to deal with. In my experience, they are quite rational and even reasonable. As long as you aren't asking something unreasonable from them. Of course, my father didn't manage to reach an accord while negotiating with them." Shiva seems surprised at that, not as much as Mynas is.

"Why was your father negotiating with the dwarves?" I shrug my shoulders as I hear a shuffling sound from behind the doors to the gate.

"He was trying to get them to help Winsdor in the fight against Dolus. The dwarves decided not to get involved. They have the country of Rathenk between them and Dolus, so they didn't see a need to risk themselves." Mynas turns to look at me, her eyes going wide.

"Wait, when you said you were formerly Thea Willows, you meant that Willows grove!?" I shrug as a plate of iron just under my eye level slides back on the gate.

"Whaddya wan'!?" The voice on the other side of the gate is gruff, and more than a little angry. A pair of angry looking brown eyes stare at us, flicking between Shiva and me.

"I'm Thea Marsterson and this is Shiva Marsterson. We are here to talk to whoever is in charge of this group." The eyes at the hole disappear, and I hear muffled whispers on the other side of the door. After a long minute, the eyes are back at the door, looking at Mynas.

"Whaddas she wan' here? Night elves never wan' anythin' good. Iffin its trouble, best say so now." Mynas shakes her head as she steps forward a half step.

"I'm not here for trouble, I swear. My name is Mynas of the Long Fields grove, potential mate to the Marsterson grove. I'm here to keep my potential grovemates safe, nothing else." The eyes disappear again, and there is even more loud whispering behind the gate. I try my hardest, but I can't make out what is being said.

"Why should we take the time to listen to what you have to say?" This time the eyes and voice are different. I open my mouth to answer, and close it. I really don't have a good reason for them to listen. From what I remember, dwarves are particular about what they consider a good reason.

"I don't have a good reason, honestly. All I can say is your people aren't getting the whole story of the hero. I've been with him every day since he has been here. I know the real him. I can tell you things about him no one else in this world can, and I think they deserve to be heard before someone judges him." The brown eyes on the other side of the gate stare at me without blinking.

The eyes disappear, and I feel my heart freeze in my chest. The panel slides back to its closed position with a loud bang. I can feel my knees starting to go weak as Shiva's arm slips around my waist to support me. I tried. I gave it my best shot and it didn't do any good.

Don't give up now, Thea. Make them listen to you. I'm starting to move towards the gate, intending to bang on it again, when it starts to swing open. When it is all the way open, a female dwarf steps out of the shadows to lean against the iron gate. The shadows of the gate give her skin an almost dull gray appearance.

"This man, the hero, do you love him?" I don't even hesitate to answer the woman.

"Yes!" Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Shiva nodding her head rapidly.

"Then that sounds like a good reason for me to listen." The dwarf pushes herself off the door and motions inside. "Come on in, but if you do be aware, the night elf will have to be under guard. Not that we don't trust you, but our clan has had some bad dealings with them in the past." I half expect Mynas to object. Instead, she just nods her head.

We all step into the shadows of the gate at almost the same time. The female dwarf leads us along a barely illuminated path. No matter how hard I try, I can't see into the darkness along the path. Which tells me it's not actually darkness, but more illusion magic. Shiva grips my hand tightly as a pair of heavily armored dwarves fall in behind us.

"How far do you think they are going to take us?" I don't even get a chance to answer before the dwarf ahead of us does. It surprises me at how easily she seems to be able to hear our whispered conversation.

"Not far now. We have a place set aside just up ahead." Just up ahead is a break in the gloom, dim light barely illuminates a large round tent.

"Come on now, inside." She lifts one of the flaps and motions us inside. I take a deep breath, then duck my head as I enter.

Please Ava, if you are listening, help me convince this dwarf to help us. The inside of the tent is dimly lit, even after I strengthen my eyes I can barely see.

"Please sit. I'll turn the light up while you take your seats." I can barely make out a pair of low seated couches as Shiva pulls us down into one of them. Mynas slides into the other as the light gets slowly brighter inside the tent.

We are surrounded by tables piled high with papers and books. There are several plates of half eaten food sitting around the room. The entire tent gives off the feeling of someone's messy personal quarters, not a meeting place. The two armored dwarves take up a position behind Mynas, hands resting on their weapons.

The female who led us here takes a seat on a chair across from us. She crosses her legs as she tucks a clay pipe between her lips. A match is drug across the armrest on her chair and set to the end of the pipe. I can feel my nose wrinkle at the sharp smell of dwarven tobacco. I don't usually mind pipe smoke, but dwarves use a particularly strong blend that is rather acrid.

"Before we go any farther, my name is Athlia Stoneskin, and I'm in charge of this camp." I realize as she is speaking that the dull gray of her skin wasn't a trick of the light. Athilia is not just another dwarf, she is a higher dwarf. A stone dwarf, and judging by her name, from one of the oldest families of stone dwarfs.

What the hell is someone like that doing here!? Why would they be leading a caravan anywhere near Dolus's border? I feel Shiva stiffen beside me as she realizes the same thing.