In the end we got off easy, unlike the other squad who had walked into the ambush unprepared. We sported some scrapes and some bruises or in the case of the forgeborn some bent or dented bits and pieces. Xue took care of the former while the forgeborn helped each other out, performing first aid on each other. Although, maybe the latter should be called field maintenance instead? I wasn't quite sure and I felt that actually asking might have been more than just a little impolite. Seeing them do it certainly was a curious sight though. There was no doubt about that.

Sadly there was nothing we could do for the other squad. We couldn't even bury or rather incinerate their remains. The thing had eaten all but the one who had gotten away whole. It had only spit the chewed up armor and some other bits and pieces of their gear back out after it was done with them. There weren't even any bones. Gib said some prayers for them before busying himself again incinerating what was left of our foe even further. Apparently it was important to make sure that not even the smallest bit remained.

Gash'zur and I in turn took over watch duty while the others were busy. Even after a battle like this we couldn't let our guard down. Especially after a battle like this we couldn't let our guard down! My own experience suggested that most of the Deep Dark wasn't exactly teeming with higher life but the sounds of fighting might just draw in whatever scavengers there might be. I wasn't sure I wanted to find out what they might look like. And of course there was skinwalkers. Where there was one there might be more. And our recent experiences suggested that they preferably went after the wounded and exhausted.

Gash'zur's hammer was still glowing with an inner fire, as if it were fresh from the forge. That was an impressive weapon. She had saved my life before with her hammer and now she was wielding a force of destruction on par with weapons of legend. Not entirely unlike me to be honest. It was weird. A year ago I wouldn't have dreamed of ever laying eyes on weapons like that. Now I was wielding one and I wasn't even alone. If only I could have shown off my new glaive to Kaele. I couldn't keep a grin of my face at that thought. Just imagining the look on her face had that effect.

Well, maybe I would eventually have the chance to do just that. As the elation of a fight won without too many casualties slowly faded my mood plummeted even further though. Maybe I could show of my new gear to my sister, if she was still alive. I still had no idea who had gotten away from that damned dragon after all. How were the people back home? Oh Maidens, please keep them safe! It took some serious effort to push back the worries that started clouding my mind. Focusing on our comrades getting ready to move again did help though.

At long last every wounds was taken care off and everyone shouldered their packs again. Of the terror from the depths nothing remained but some scorched rocks. Hopefully Gib hadn't overexerted himself there. He looked a little pale and was sweating more than the hot humid air would have warranted. I could have offered to take over for him since I could cast the Burning Hands spell as well as anyone, including him, but he had looked like he needed to do this himself. Maybe he was dealing with a traumatic experience from the past? It certainly would explain why none of his squad mates intervened either.

As we got moving again we moved as slow and careful as before. Maybe even more so, especially while we were still in the place they called the colonnade. The place just had too damn many blind spots and the way each of us cast multiple shadows, which moved across all surfaces in strange ways whenever we moved, due to the multiple light sources didn't help either. Once we were out though Gib and the others relaxed ever so slightly.

It was Xue, the healer that stuck to our side for the better part who spoke up first. “Sorry about that. We, Gib and the rest of us, would have been happier if we somehow could have gotten ye back to the surface without getting ye involved in a fight like that but we couldn't just ignore what happened there.”

At this point the squad leader took over for her. “We scouts, we are used to loosing some of our number every once in a while but loosing a whole squad all at once is bad news.” He sighed and that sigh seemed to come from the deepest depths of his heart. “It was something personal as well. I can't deny it. Most of us had friends or family on that squad.” He fell silent after that again.

I couldn't argue with him anyway. I probably wouldn't have done anything different if I were in his boots. Or would I? Wasn't I somehow in a similar situation? Friends and comrades had fought, bled and maybe even died for me. What I was up against just wasn't a terror from the depths. Instead I might have to face a flying, fire breathing monster the size of a small citadel. Would I be able to just sneak past it if I had the chance? Was that even an option? Could I risk my life like that now that it wasn't just my life anymore?

No! It was no use to think like that. I would cross all the bridges I'd have to cross when it was time to cross them! No more. No less. The Devourer and her pawns might have other plans but I'd be damned if I were to care for their wants.

In the end it was Gash'zur's hand on my shoulder that pulled my mind out of that line of thought. She must have noticed that I had gotten distracted. She flashed me a smile and I returned it.

I still had friends at my side. She too had risked much in this war. She, in all likelihood, had lost her brother and she wasn't fretting over what to do or not to do. I should take her as an example!

In the end it was Gib's voice that kept me from going of on that mental tangent again. “Well, now that that unpleasantness is out of the way, we can look forward to what lies ahead of us. We will be ascending from here on and the day after tomorrow we should reach the watch post.”

Now that piqued my curiosity. “The watch post? The way you say it makes it almost sound more like a sight to be seen rather than a military installation as the name would suggest.”

He scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. “Well, ye aren't wrong. We keep watch over the Eye of Gondragar from there. An active volcano with an impressive lava lake. It is where that bothersome dragon makes its lair. Or at least it used to be where it made its lair. Anyway, it is also a gateway to the surface.”

Now that statement got some of his squad mates excited. A reminder that some of them had never seen the sky, the sun or the stars. It reminded me as well just how much I longed to see those very same things again as well.