The battle below was reaching its peak. At first, it had begun with some thuds from crossbows, then followed by melee contact with skirmishers and ambushers. The ongoing carnage saw elves maim, stab and slash each other in a whirling, chaotic melee.

"Keep moving, we're getting close to the target..." Mariel kept throwing glances at the map. Despite her serious expression, her feelings were in turmoil: The responsibility of command was weighing on her. Though her force had been reduced severely, and would in any other circumstance be considered outright lost, she relied on her determination to keep going. As they climbed a crumbled wall, she saw her advanced scout wave his hand. She nodded and repeated the wave. A few minutes followed, when the elf came back down.

"We can't make it. The path is blocked by the enemy, they are at least thirty strong."

"We have no choice, we have to push through." Mariel began climbing.

"No... We can't do it... They are too many."

Before she could respond, the two elves covering the rear raised their weapons at a nearby crumbled house.

"Show yourselves." With no response, they began to advance. The two elves disappeared into a nearby ruin of a shop. A short while later they re-emerged carrying a pair of elves, likely kids. Their clothes were tattered and not well suited for the temperature, and their limbs and faces bore signs of malnutrition and heavy stains of dirt. While being carried over, the girl began screaming for her little brother's life. She was immediately gagged while her brother remained frozen, still in shock. Both were dropped to the ground, and their captors drew their blades, lowering the cold metal at their throats.

"Stop. They're just kids!" Mariel called to the two elves, whom nodded but did not sheathe their weapons.

"Kids yes... But they're probably spies. We should kill them before they report our position."

"And if they're not huh? What then?" She approached them hurriedly.

"Then we still kill them. This is a warzone. Nobody's going to miss them... For all we know, they could be distractions."

Mariel stopped in front of the young girl, who seemed only more terrified to have someone who did not look like an elf standing in front of her, her pale skin, only paling even more.

"I'll remove the cloth... But you must promise not to scream. If you do, you will die... And who will take care of your little brother if you die?"

Cornered, the girl nodded vigorously, and Mariel pulled out the ball of cloth from the girl's mouth.

"Please... Let us go. We are innocent... We are innocent... Not spies... Only hungry." The girl's chant resumed immediately.

"What are your names?"

"M-My name is Yuli and this is my little brother Tylin. I was supposed to watch him since he's a little strange. But I lost track of him, and he went outside... And because of the snow we got lost... But I found food in the big tower up there. We took some, but they locked it all into a big box afterwards."

"Did the elves up there let you through?"

"No... They have big weapons, and wear frightening helmets... My little brother found a small collapsed tunnel we could crawl through which led to the base of the tower... It’s narrow. Miss and the other kin could never squeeze through."

"What's inside the tower?"

"It's big... And there are lots of weapons and food. Many nice books too... There's a big bowl hanging from the roof, and a desk and a chair, and some big trumpet like thing that makes funny sounds."

"The trumpet is a signal horn... The bowl should be a security feature... Perhaps tar... That's it! You, girl!" The elf's sudden outburst nearly made her cry again.

"Y-yes...?"

"Was there a big lever inside the tower? Like a stick attached to the wall?"

This time, the little boy nodded. "Big sister told me not to touch it."

"Okay. Girl. You'll go inside the tower, and pull that lever. If you do it, we'll let you both go free, we'll even feed you. But your brother stays here with us."

"We can't..." Mariel began but got a hard stare from the elf. "No matter what... No?" His snarky remark stung deep within her.