The light at the end of the tunnel brightened with each step I took and, before I knew it, the dead trees of the dry forest hooved into view. Just a little further...

Moments later, we crossed the threshold and stepped out into the open air.

I was breathing heavily from the exertion and Maria wasn’t feeling well after enduring my sprint. I had tried to cushion her, but there was only so much I could do. At the end of the day, Maria was still an unawakened, which, compared to my stats, made her as fragile as glass.

To calm her down, I let her down from my back. She wobbled a bit when her feet hit the ground, and her exhaustion was instantly replaced by recognition. A bright smile appeared on her face, and she turned to me with a disbelieving look, as if she couldn’t believe her eyes.

The sun was starting to rise on the horizon, something only the natives of the between lands and dark-affinity classers could appreciate in these cursed lands. All others would be assaulted by the deadly mist that hunted trespassers.

For us though, the morning felt like a blessing. Like a warm smile welcoming us back, assuring our safety after a long and arduous journey.

The area near the dungeon’s entrance was free of vegetation, even the dead kind, so I decided to set up a small camp. Even though we were still near the border, I knew that we were safe here. These were the dry man’s lands. His powers would crucify any unwanted guests without question, and the abyss watcher’s guards couldn’t follow us here, as was evidenced by the fact that our pursuers hadn’t followed us into the dry man’s territory.

Maria and I were exhausted, so I summoned Revan to guard us while we rested. Neither of us could fall asleep, the battle-lust still keeping us on our toes. My intent was to wait for the dry man to find us. There was no escape from... whatever his intentions were, no matter if they were good or evil. I was strangely calm, despite my future being up to what was essentially a coin toss. Had that guard lied about the dry man, or spoken the truth? Only one man could answer that question, and our lives depended on the answer. At the very least, my principles wouldn’t die with me, even if the between lands proved to be my grave.

Suddenly, I heard hurried footsteps, coming from the forest above the dungeon. The direction of the border. I shot up, alert and ready, took Maria into my arms, jumped onto Revan’s back and commanded him to run for his life. He took off with deceptive speed, but I could tell that our guests were approaching more quickly...

I braced myself for a fight and looked over my shoulder at the dungeon’s entrance. Three figures emerged from the tee line above it, one of them slumped over the shoulders of the other two. We were already quite a distance away at this point, but I could still make out their attire, which seemed strangely familiar...

“Hold on, Revan! They’re friendlies. Bring us back there.” I commanded, internally relieved at the fact that another fight could be avoided.

Revan snorted in derision, angry that I had scared him for something trivial, but obeyed anyway.

As we approached, the trio seemed to be on guard, until they noticed me sitting atop the giant lizard. They lowered their weapons and chuckled lightly, though the wounded one started coughing badly afterward.

I dismounted Revan and approached, joining them on the log I had placed near the campsite.

“And so our wayward courier joins us...” the grey-robed wizard chuckled, seemingly unfazed by his grim wounds.

His companions, the old innkeeper known as Dullahan and the giant bone golem, seemed less enthused by the wizard’s quip.

“Shut up, ash. You need to recover.” The bone golem spoke with his deep gritty voice.

“Gruuah.” the innkeeper gurgled, assenting.

Ash, as he seemed to be called, was about to protest when the golem turned his attention to me.

“I see you have managed to keep Maria safe. I thank you. Truly.” He said sincerely, before turning to Maria. He kneeled down and put one arm up to cover his heart. Because of his size, he was still towering over the rest of us, even though he was kneeling.

Maria shied away from his gaze and shook her head, before attempting to hide in my black robes.

The giant seemed put out by her response, but it seemed like he was angry at himself rather than her.

“I see. In the past, I was a bearded knight. I carried you all over the keep and kept you out of trouble. I protected you. No, I was meant to protect you... I failed. I have no excuses.”

Hearing this, Maria perked up, her eyes wide.

“Mr. Beard?!” she shouted, surprised.

Ash and the innkeeper chuckled, while the golem, a knight, apparently, seemed embarrassed.

“That was your nickname for me, princess. Back then, only my beard poked out of my armor. I proved undeserving of your attention, in hindsight.” He declared self-deprecatingly.

That was all Maria needed to her. She shot up from her seat and ran over to the bone golem, before embracing one of his stumpy legs. Mr. Was surprised by her gesture, but made no move to pull her off. With her face buried in fifteen tons of bone, Maria started to mumble.

“Why are you like this now?” Something about the tone with which she spoke made me think she felt guilty for his fate in some way.

“Your father saved me, despite the fact that I failed in my duty to protect you. He gave me a second chance... I will NOT fail you a second time, princess. Not unless I am destroyed in my entirety...” he spoke gravely.

“I don’t want that...” the princess mumbled.

It was a heartwarming sight, this reunion. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to enjoy it. Since this knight appeared to be loyal to Maria first, and the dry man second, I had to investigate. After a moment’s hesitation, I decided to simply lay all of my cards on the table. If the dry man intended to kill his daughter, I couldn’t hold him off alone.

“I ‘m sorry to kill this moment.” I spoke, determined. “But I have grim news. It concerns Maria’s life.”

The three generals hadn’t been expecting my tone and turned to me in surprise, their eyes wide.

“Before I entered the dungeon with Maria, one of our pursuers, a tier 4 bordering tier 5 guard, alleged that the dry man intended to kill Maria.”

The three generals scoffed, while Mr. Beard shouted in outrage, even scaring Maria. After they calmed down, though, the calmest of the three, Ash, spoke up.

“Is there any fathomable reason that made you possibly suspect this guard’s words are true? Need I remind you that the dry man kept his daughter alive for more than 7 years before she was kidnapped? Why would he kill her now?” he spoke, barely able to mask the fury in his voice.

Despite his tone, I kept calm.

“He alleged that the dry man was on the cusp of reaching tier 7. All he needs to do to advance is to eliminate all attachments. With the death of Maria, his goal would be fulfilled. I ignored his words at the time, but you have to understand that I don’t know the dry man that well. For all I know, it could be true.” I spoke.

The generals fell into contemplative silence, before starting to discuss in a hushed whisper. Somehow, I couldn’t understand what they were saying, despite being right next to them. Suddenly, one of them turned to me.

“If you believe the dry man had it out for Maria, why haven’t you run off yet? Waiting to get your reward first?” he accused.

Feeling slighted, I rebuffed his accusation.

“Don’t think I’m here for selfish reasons, fool! Even I have boundaries, and abandoning a little girl to die is where I draw the line!” I spoke angrily, through clenched teeth.

Thankfully, the generals seemed to believe me, because they fell into contemplative silence.

Ash broke the silence first.

“Sorry. I’m just a little on edge right now. Regardless, I don’t believe that guard. The Lord cares about his daughter more than most fathers do. He couldn’t shut up about her, back then. Always going on about this or that story he read her, what new toy he made for her... That stopped after her capture. Unless it involved her rescue, he never brought her up again. Too painful, I guess. He blamed himself for her disappearance, after all.” Ash explained, the other two generals nodding along.

Strangely, Maria was the least distressed amongst the five of us. She seemed oddly at peace with... whatever was to come.

The generals didn’t seem to notice this, though.

“We thank you for your concern, young warrior, but I believe it is not needed. Out lord will not welcome the princess with death, I assure you. If he does, we three will die defending her.”

Unfortunately, their words did little to put my fears to rest. Regardless, I knew it was too late to change my mind when the dust started to gather near the campsite. It clung together to form a cocoon, before falling back to the ground, revealing a new arrival. The three generals kneeled as their lord approached.

He walked, then jogged, then ran and eventually sprinted at Maria. I stood up and nearly drew my sword by instinct, only to find the father and daughter embracing each other, both sobbing quietly.

A tier 6, an existence that ruled over countless lives and deaths... reduced to a man. Somehow, I respected him for never abandoning that part of himself. The part that loved, feared, doubted, felt crushing guilt... He had kept those emotions, despite the weight they undoubtedly carried these past few years.

When the generals stepped into the treeline to give them space, I lowered my head in shame and followed.