Soon, the food was finished and everyone began to gather around the fireplace. To Mariel’s surprise, what she had guessed to be some twenty-odd people had swelled to almost fifty. Young children, males and females and elders too had gathered around the meagre fireplace, seeking warmth.

“Hey… Where are Yuli and Tylin?”

“No idea…”

All present spread out and began searching. Not a piece of straw was left unturned, and even Mariel joined in, though the appearance of the two she was looking for escaped her. After a long while, most gathered around the fire again, and the two missing were nowhere to be found.

“Here! Tracks!” A voice had them scrambling towards a small tunnel, at the bottom of a hole which had filled partially with snow.

“Looks like they’re headed for the warehouses, the docks or the old square… Thrice damned kids… I told them not to leave. This is the third time…”

“Do we really have to go look for them again?” One of the other elves commented.

“They’re just kids…”

“Yeah, but they should learn…”

“Were you any smarter as a child?”

The argument slowly built up in strength. Soon all elven adults were yelling at each other, while the younger ones stood idly by, staring at them having their argument.

“Why don’t we ask the demon? You! What can you expect of kids?”

“Ah… I’m not sure if that applies here?” She began, but all eyes had turned to her.

“She’s right, this is about our own kin, and let’s be fair, even our youngest far surpass those of other races. It’s outright foolish to compare us to anyone else in terms of intellect…”

“That does it! We’re searching and that’s final. Who will go where!?” Kisando cut through the conversation by raising his voice. Immediately, any complaint was silenced, and those capable of using weapons raised their hands and were promptly divided into teams.

“I’ll come along… I know it’s silly, but I might find someone I’m looking for out there.”

“Who are you looking for?” Arandira looked at her with some surprise.

“Five humans, one of my own kin and one elf… They were with me on the ship.”

“We’ll keep an eye out…” She replied without asking any further questions.

“Mariel, you’ll go with me, the rest of you, search the square and docks, I’ll go to the warehouses… Don’t stay out in the open for too long, and make sure to return safe…”

The three groups entered the tunnel, and after a while of crawling through the frigid tunnel, they emerged in what seemed to be some sort of system for distributing drinking water, which still flowed through the open aqueducts and piping. They split up, one group climbed down a ladder and soon disappeared. The second group followed them for a while longer, and together, they carefully emerged out of the end of a damaged drain.

The second team left in a different direction leaving Mariel, Kisando and three other elves moving alone with Kisando at the head.

A snowstorm blanketed the whole area, making it impossible to see any meaningful distance ahead. The chilling wind bit into Mariel’s skin, and despite her best attempts, the cold penetrated her clothes. The wind made going tough, blowing directly at them, almost blinding them in white. Despite the wind, the sounds of war continued to crack and thud in the distance, seemingly unhindered by the growing storm.

“Stay close, this route is much quicker, and the storm will keep us hidden.

“Mariel…” She heard a familiar voice in her mind. But unlike the usually crystal-clear resonance this time it sounded so very far away, and the storm was not helping.

“I know you can hear me. I’m together with Siravin and Cassy, and we’ll come for you… Think long and hard about your surroundings…”

Her heart jumping at the fact some of her friends had just turned up alive, she began to focus her hardest on imagining her surroundings. Snow, ruins, thunder in the distance and the elves living underground. Soon Siah’s voice returned.

“I’ll lead them to you. Don’t die…”

“Mariel? What’s wrong?” She looked up to find Kisando staring at her.

“N-nothing… I’m just really cold…”

“Just keep moving then… It’ll keep you warm…”

They continued for a while and soon entered an old building, a kind of hall, which walls were still intact and provided some shelter from the wind.

“It used to be an exhibit hall. Here we’d display the remnants of our past, and would even invite foreign diplomats to gaze in awe at our social and technological achievements. In the past, we could have conquered the whole world Mariel. Now we’re slowly dying as our society destroys itself. An old legend has it that our kin incurred the wrath of our gods, and we were banned from waging war beyond our own lands.” Kisando’s eyes carried a deep sense of loss, as he gestured towards the rubble-covered floor of the hall. They continued, working their way over fallen pillars and the heaps of debris. Scattered among the faded marble were elven remains, likely killed when the hall was destroyed in some great act of terror or by accident. They had soon traversed the building and were about to step outside.

The sound of falling stone made them freeze in place. Kisando made some gestures, and the other elves spread themselves out and readied their weapons.