**I realize I said these kinds of chapters would be less prevalent, but lest I run into the same issue I did with Chapter 23 & 24 and throw the continuity totally out of whack...here's more Meladris and Belgard! >_>

Besides, the events that happen in their chapters will be pretty important later on...spoiler...

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“Meladris?”

“…”

“Meladris?!”

“Hmm, wha…what?”

Meladris opened her eyes groggily as they refused to stay open. The peace and comfort of sleep barely winning in struggle between staying open and closed. Forcing them open and letting her eyes get accustomed to the faint light created by the illuminated stones in the area, she was greeted to a grizzled and unfamiliar face just after waking up.

“Ah!” she yelped “Belgard…don’t. Do that!” she covered her face with her hands, quickly feeling the dried and cracked mud all over them.

“Hehe. Sorry ‘bout that, but you just weren’t waking up at all. Wanted to make sure you were still with me.”

Belgard moved away from Meladris and plopped down on his backside into the still soft but much drier mud. As he sat comfortably he had a big smile on his face.

Meladris then realized what they had done before she had let sleep take over her. Her eyes shot wide and she stared at Belgard’s chest. There was a definite sign of a scar, but there was nothing more than that. The gaping hole that once contained the void crystal was nothing more than a scarred line in the middle of this chest.

She carefully stood from her body indented mud bed and took hold of the illuminated stone and held it closer to Belgard. She instantly noticed that his usual pallor was now replaced with a much livelier and healthier complexion. She took a deep breath in and smiled in relief.

“How do you feel?” she asked.

“Like a new man.” he replied, smiling wide his still white teeth framed by his dirt covered beard. “I owe you a great deal for that Meladris.”

She quietly shook her head side to side, and immediately realized that it wouldn’t convey the answer she wanted him to have.

“No, I owe you a great deal more than that Belgard. For being with me all this time, putting up with my selfishness now…and back then.” her voice trailed off and made it obvious she hesitated with saying it.

Belgard let out a deep and loud sigh as he heard this.

“Why must you blame yourself for that still to this day?”

“Because if not for me being deceived, none of this would have ever happened.”

“Aye, but it wasn’t just you that was deceived was it?”

“But if not for me, none of you would have been convinced. I was the one that pleaded his case and convinced you all to follow through with my selfishness!”

Belgard sighed exasperated and scratched the back of his head while shaking it side to side.

“Listen here, girly. We all agreed for the same reason…what you think was you being selfish was the same thing we all wanted. We all jumped at the chance for him to be able to stay with us for even a little longer. And the prospect of us actually being able to take upon some of the responsibility that he took wholly upon himself was something everyone agreed to. This was not all about you. So knock it off will ya?”

“…”

“Hmm? Alrighty?”

“As you say, Belgard. Thank you.” she said with a smile.

“Now…” he said with a grunt as he stood up. “Let’s figure out where the hells we are and see if there’s a way to get out of here hmm?” he said.

“Well without any more stones to illuminate it’ll be quite hard to see where we…I’m...going.”

“Ahhh. While you were sleeping like a wee little babby I took the liberty.”

Belgard reached behind him and pulled from the tattered sash that acted like a belt, two slender rods with rounded bulbs at the end. Without having any illumination magic on it, the tip of the rod was already glistening in the light from the stone Meladris held in her hand.

“A clay…scepter?” she asked.

“What? No! Well…yes. But look here.” Belgard pointed to the ball at the end of the stick.

Meladris then realized the reason why it was glistening more than clay normally should. Belgard managed to bring forth as much reflective and clear minerals and crystals to the orb at the tip of the stick as possible, which would allow any illumination magic to be that much brighter than any ordinary stone.

“I’ll be. Even without your sight, you are still able to impress, Belgard.” she said with genuine regard. “But why two?”

“Ah, well I figured that if we both carried one we could walk within a few paces of each other to illuminate a larger area than with one alone, even if I can’t see.”

Even though the rods were able to brighten a larger area due to the quality of minerals the magic would be contained in, there was still a limit to how far and bright it could be, so if there was a possibility to increase the effectiveness and range of any illumination without any negative repercussions, why not?

“I suppose so. I’ll be relying on your ears more than sight anyway in here.” she said.

“I’ll try to keep up. Now…which way?”

“Well how about the direction you heard that odd thud sound?” she suggested.

“I suppose that’s the only real thing we have to go on at the moment, so what the hell. Let’s get going.”

The two made their way out of the still soft clay ground, making sure not to trip or fall. The crystalline torches that Belgard had made were incredibly bright, so much so that Meladris had to hold it directly above her head so that the light wasn’t blinding her. The closer to the stone she threw earlier the easier it was for her to make out a large object that could have been the source of the thudding sound. But was still too far to make out what it was.

“I can see something Belgard. I…I don’t know what it is though, but it looks quite large.”

“Well if it’s something I can get my hands on I should be able to tell you what it is…hopefully.”

“Hopefully?” she questioned.

“Well remember where I tell you that this place just came to a complete stop as if something was eating all of the energy?”

“Yes. There isn’t actually something eating it is there?” her voice carrying with it a hint of worry.

“No, but there may very well be something that is drawing the energy into it. I can feel it, it’s very faint, but my feet tingle each time I take a step.”

Meladris didn’t pay it much mind before, but looking back at Belgard, the state of his clothes…if they could be called clothes anymore, was in a terrible state. Rags that had more holes in it than it had any right to made his shirt, his pants used to be full length and down to his ankles but were so ratty and worn it was now up to his knees and she couldn’t remember him ever having shoes after being treated the way he was by Valdiss. She frowned and made a mental note to get him a real set of clothing, with boots fitting one of Belgard’s worth, which to her, was irreplaceable.

“It’s nothing too bad I hope?”

“No, it’s not nearly as ominous as it sounds. It’s just something is drawing in all latent magical energy into itself. As for what it is…I have no idea.”

“Well we’ll be able to find out soon I think. We’re here.”

Meladris stood before what looked to be a massive wall made of a porous like substance. Holes of varying sizes dotted the entire thing. But there was no doubt about it, it held power, even she could feel it pulse with a faint energy.

“Let me have a look.” Belgard said as he placed his hand onto the substance.

He tilted his head and ran his hand across the holed wall over and over. His hand stationary in some places longer than other as he examined what it was. Occasional grunts and mumbles escaped his mouth but Meladris stood patiently, waiting for his deduction.

A few more moments had passed as Belgard groped around the wall, but Meladris had lost patience. She wasn’t about to continue watching him rub around a random hole filled wall all day.

“Belgard? What is it?”

“Hm? Oh, it’s…bone.” he said simply.

“I’m sorry?”

“Bone. It’s petrified, but it’s definitely bone.”

“You have to be joking. This thing is massive!”

Meladris took a step back and held the crystal torch higher to see if there was any end to the bone wall in sight. There was nothing. It reached higher and wider than the light could cast its rays.

“Yes, it is. It’s easily the size of a building.”

“And you claim that it’s a bone?” she exclaims.

“That’s right.”

“Belgard. If this is just a bone, you’re claiming something of this tremendous size if part of an even larger skeleton?”

“Well I suppose that would be about right, yeah.”

“And you don’t see the ridiculousness of that statement?”

“Well you’re getting at that if this bone is any indication of the size of the monster it came from, it would be larger than…well…a lot of things.”

“Belgard?! It would be larger than entire mountains! What manner of beast or monster or…anything is possible of that size?!”

Meladris’ mouth was wide open and eyes wasted effort in showing disbelief and fear at the prospect of something so large existing. Since Belgard wasn’t able to see her reaction she had to rely on reasoning and words to get the point across that something so outlandish just wasn’t possible.

“Well there’s a possibility that it could be real…” he said.

“Please. Do tell. What could possibly be that large?”

“Uh, well…lots of things!” he declared.

“Name two.” she demanded.

“Err…Titan Ogres and uhh…Dragons?” he said so unconvincingly Meladris could do nothing but shake her head in disbelief.

“The only things you could think of are beasts and monsters of legend? Honestly?”

“What about you then? What do you think it could be?” Belgard crossed his arms and faced the direction Meladris’ voice came from.

“I just think that it’s not bone. You’re mistaken and it’s just an unknown ore of some kind that can be confused with bone.”

“Oh sure, it couldn’t possibly be anything that defies logic, so you have to reason that it’s something mundane like a new rock…”

“Well it’s better than thinking it could be a Titan Ogre or a Dragon!”

The two argued in the darkness of the abyss as if they were children fighting over who was a better Knight or Hero of the ages. Meladris grinned slightly and took note that during this entire time, Belgard didn’t need to pause to catch his breath or rest, it was worth taking the void gem out of him.

“I bet she would know of a better possibility…” Belgard said under his breath.

“You mean Sarya?”

“Yeah. She was always busy with her nose stuck in any book she could get her hands on. Next to Master, she was the most educated and knowledgeable of the world out of all of us. I’m sure she could figure it out in an instant…”

His voice trailed off towards the end. Quickly turning around he placed his free hand back onto the bone wall and twisted it, but instead his hand sliding across the surface, a perfectly round portion of the bone twisted along with it. Taking his hand off of it, it gently popped out of the circle and fell into his hand, a perfect circular disk of bone.

“What’s that for?” Meladris asks.

“Just in case.”

She didn’t need to ask any further. It was in case they were able to meet up with Sarya, or Amrin, they could show them this disk and maybe it could be a point of discussion for them. But that’s under the impression that there would be no animosity between them long enough that it would be possible to have any level of amicable discussion.

“Well, now that we’ve determined our little thudding sound was a…dragon bone, where to now?” Meladris said.

“Your guess is as good as mine to be honest. I say pick a direction and walk.”

“You sure that’s safe?”

“No. But we don’t exactly have much of a choice do we?”

“I suppose not, no. Very well. I say we stick to the bone…wall, and see where it takes us.”

“Works for me.”

Agreeing on a course of action, Meladris raises the crystal torch high into the air and keep the wall to her right as she continued into the darkness towards anything that it’s inky blackness held in store for them.

It took more than twenty minutes of walking before they came to the end of the bone wall though, further confirming that whatever beast or monster it belonged to truly defied logic. The sudden lack of reflective light to her right caused Meladris a sense of unease that she didn’t think would be possible. Before she knew that something lay in front of her as they proceeded, the thing that made the thudding sound. Then there was a wall they could keep their orientation as they continued. Now, there was absolutely nothing all around them. The chances of them veering off by even a few feet from what could very well be their salvation caused her heart to beat a little bit faster.

Even with the blinding light from the crystal torch that Belgard created for them, she felt helpless and utterly lost. She turned to look behind her and gazed upon the blindfold covering Belgard’s face. This must be how he feels all the time. The helplessness, the loss and fear of something that could be directly in front of them and they would never know.

Deciding not to dwell on it since there was no way to fix it, she turned back around and continued onward into the empty black.

For hours on end they walked, with no end or any other objects to catch their attention in sight. Utter silence accompanied by the blinding white light from the crystal torches were all that followed the two as they made their way towards nothing, but hoped for something. A number of times they had to take a break to rest their legs or feet from walking so far. Luckily for them, the ground was relatively smooth and even, occasionally there was an incline or ramp they had to climb or slide down to proceed further.

Meladris attempted to keep track of the time they had been walking, but after the first few hours she had lost interest and any care of doing so. Knowing how long they’ve been walking only made her think even more of how long they could be stuck and wandering in this pitch black emptiness. Hunger started to gnaw at her but not to the point where it prevented her from thinking straight or at a level she could not cope with.

Only once did they become tired enough that they decided to take a nap to regain their strength before proceeding on. Without knowing of any way to tell how long they’ve been traveling or how long they’ve been asleep since falling to this place, the thought of them having been wandering aimlessly for days or weeks worried her.

“What do you think our chances are?” she finally asked.

“Of what?”

“Finding a way out of here?”

“Oh…I don’t rightly know. I’ve been trying to make a mental note of our area, but this place is so massive there’s no signs of a beginning or end. I just know of another one of those bone things coming from in front of us.”

“Really? Why didn’t you mention anything before?”

“Why? We’re heading right towards it, you’d find out sooner or later wouldn’t you?” he claimed.

He wasn’t wrong, but her unease with the emptiness and hours upon hours of walking caused her to lose a little of her composure and knowing that there was something ahead of them would have put her mind at ease if only a little.

“I suppose you’re right. How much further?”

“Not far.”

Just as Belgard said that, Meladris was able to make out a faint object just outside the light. Although this bone looked different. The closer they came to the object, the differences became more noticeable. Before she was able to notice holes, but this one was solid and looked almost reflective, plus there was discernable beginnings and ends to certain aspects to it.

“Belgard…remember when you said these could belong to something from myth or legend?” she asked, her voice shaking.

“Yeah, to which you scoffed I recall as well.”

“Well…I’ll let you know that it is not a Titan Ogre.”

“Hehe, so it’s a dragon then?” he said sarcastically.

“…”

“Meladris?”

“Belgard, if you could see what I see…” her voice trembled.

“You can’t be serious. A dragon? I mean, I know they existed, but they weren’t the size of mountains. I was being sarcastic.”

“This bone, it’s a jaw. The size of the teeth are…massive.”

“Fine, let me have a look.”

Belgard took a step forward, hand out in front of him and slowly made his way towards the jaw. As his hand touched the bone of the jaw he quickly recoiled in surprise. Taking a deep breath he placed his hand on it once more and traced the size and shape into his mind by pouring a little of his magic into it. Just as Meladris had said, it was truly enormous. The sheer size of any of the teeth were large enough to dwarf even the largest of beast’s entire bodies.

“This is ridiculous.” He said as he took his hand off of it. “There’s…there’s no way this is a dragon.”

“Then what could it be?” she asked.

“Well even if it was a dragon, no records I’ve ever seen indicate it being this large. Dragons once existed and were definitely one of the largest and most dangerous monsters in existence but this…this is on an entirely different level.”

“Regardless, even if it’s not a dragon, it is a monster the likes of which we should be thankful no longer exist. I cannot imagine how life would have been if something like this roamed freely.” Meladris declared.

“You got that right.”

“I say we continue the same direction and hope to find an exit…or something else.”

“Well now that you mention it, I’ve felt something on my legs that feels like a breeze.” Belgard said absentmindedly.

“What?! Why didn’t you mention it sooner? If it’s a breeze that means there’s a possible exit where the air is coming

from!”

“I didn’t want to get your hopes up, I just felt something very faint on my leg and no idea where it was coming from. But now I can tell you that it’s coming from that direction.” Belgard said, pointing behind her.

Meladris whipped her head around and looked into the darkness for a hint of a light of the outside or some glimmer of hope that it was clearly an exit, but she was disheartened when she saw nothing but more darkness.

“Let’s get a move on then. The sooner we get out of here the better.” she declared.

Having a new sense of hope and vigor, Meladris made her way towards the source of the air Belgard pointed to. The thought of exiting a mouth of a cave and being greeted to a vast lush opening of trees and grass and brilliant color made her smile uncontrollably.

Hours had passed as they continued towards the breeze. Meladris double checked with Belgard occasionally to make sure she was still going in the correct direction. She had no idea how he was able to feel the breeze from this far away, but it was at least something to go on. She didn’t dwell on it for fear that it was another bone of a mountain sized monster that was long since dead emanating magic or something that was mistook as a breeze.

Wallowing in the what-ifs and becoming disheartened, she felt it. A faint breeze on her cheek. She would have missed it if she wasn’t so focused on how Belgard could notice it, even if he had no shoes or pant legs, she felt nothing. Until just then. Her heart skipped a beat and she physically felt the joy and excitement well up in her body.

“Belgard…I felt it!” she exclaimed.

“Felt what?”

“The wind!” she turned to face him, her grin wide and child-like in its excitement.

“Well yeah, it’s been getting stronger the more we continue on. You just now felt it?”

“Yes…why were you able to feel it for such a long time?”

“Couple reason I think. One is I have barely any pants to speak of and no shoes. Second, I made sure to clean the clay off my legs since it was annoying me. So compared to your fully clothed and, no doubt still clay covered face and hands, I can feel things much easier than you.”

Meladris quickly raised her hand up to examine it and sure enough, it was still covered in clay and dirt. Touching her cheeks, there was patches of clay and mud as well, so it was no reason she could barely feel anything until now. But regardless, she was able to feel it herself and knew that there was something further on in the darkness.

“Come, let us hurry.” Her voice carrying with it clear excitement.

“Yes, yes.”

Meladris picked up her pace and hurried onward towards the source of the breeze that gave her hope. It was lucky that Belgard was in much better shape to follow behind her otherwise she would no doubt have left him behind.

Another hour had passed and Meladris was certain that she could see a faint glimmer of light coming from somewhere. Her heart once again skipped a beat as the excitement well inside of her.

“I can see a light!” she yells.

“Well that’s a good sign then.” Belgard said slightly out of breath, having to take twice the amount of steps as Meladris just to keep up with her pace.

The light and breeze became more prominent the closer they got to the source. The crystal torch added to the light from the crack in the wall and Meladris became aware that it was only a small fissure in a massive stone wall and not an actual opening. For a brief moment she became disheartened about being stuck in here forever, but she remembered that Belgard was now able to use more magic energy than he could before and would no doubt solve the issue of the fissure being too small for them to exit through.

“Belgard, the opening it too small. Any way you can fix that?” she asked, hopeful.

“Oh, I’m sure I can figure something out. Now, anyway.” he grinned as he moved closer to the stone wall.

Tossing the crystal torch to the side, Belgard placed both hands onto the stone wall and concentrated. Making sure not to cause too much damage to the surrounding area which could potentially drop stones directly onto them, he began to cause the rocks to tremble.

The rumbling and cracking sound of the stones changing and breaking as they moved apart filled the cavern. The small fissure widened and split apart, growing in size more and more. Pebbles and rocks fell onto the ground before them as Belgard continued to widen the gap. After a few more moment the opening was large enough to flood the area around them with a blinding and brilliant light that overshadowed even the crystal torch Meladris held in her hand.

Hearing and feeling the breeze as it poured in through the large opening was amazing to both of them, but what they enjoyed and cherished more, was the smell of the fresh air that encompassed them. Even though Meladris had been able to enjoy it more often than Belgard, the time they spent in the stagnant and ancient cavern made them both appreciate it. Although in comparison, the smile and expression on Belgard’s face was one of utter elation and appreciation. Having been locked up in the dungeon for the better part of three decades, the only smells he took pleasure in were the times Meladris visited him, her perfume or the scent of fresh air clinging to her clothes made him smile.

But now, right in front of him he could feel, hear and smell the wonder of clean, fresh air. Taking a deep breath in, he made it a point to savor every moment of it.