Chapter 17.

A month. A month since the spectacularly quiet escape, the two women slowly got in a rough shape. They realised how dangerous the tunnels really were for small groups like themselves, forcing them to barely sleep, taking turns for the lookout and eating as little as they could to save supplies. They had lost quite a bit of weight, and the sharpness of their eyes was dimming, making them look relatively pitiful. Not being able to Cultivate was the biggest blow to Enora's morale, as she had put herself in this situation for that exact reason. She had no strength to complain though, as she knew Rose felt no better.

Yet they did fight a few times, getting Enora wounded in each occasion. At one point, she tried to take on eight Grey Devils, as she had done before but, surprisingly, it was way harder without anyone watching her back. She was the first to admit how overconfident she had been up until that point and adopted a more cautious approach of the coming challenges, 'cautious' apparently being synonymous with fleeing.

- We can't go on like this Enora., said Rose with a weak voice. That's fucking pathetic …

- What can we do mh ?, answered her interlocutor with a loud grunt. I'm no one-woman-army, and every other possibility is a dead-end : sink or swim.

Nothing else. It was in fact their first exchange in five days, as they tried to save their strength for real situations, like what happened the next day. They had been carefully looking around a new entrance, sure that it would lead to an inhabited area. Their instinct was right on that matter, as five Grey Devils were there resting, snoring while one 'stood guard'. He was sleeping on the job, really.

With a quick nod, Enora got closer, signalling to Rose to follow her. The girl had unsheathed the dagger that her companion gave her ten days earlier, as they both agreed that not only was it time for the young one to finally help in some way, but also that their predicament did not really let them afford an idle member. She had not killed yet, but wounded a few within the panic and always trembled like crazy afterwards.

Quickly enough, they were on the enemy, pouncing on the guard then on the sleepers as fast as they could. While they did, something peculiar happened before them. The camp was established upon some kind of hill, in the middle of a larger cave, meaning that, when they climbed, they could not see the other side, more precisely the person busy doing the same thing they were doing. When they attacked, so did he, creating a weirdly funny moment : he was surprised seeing two malnourished looking women, they were surprised seeing a well-armed man, and the Grey Devils were surprised about pretty much everything around. The humans still did their best, dispatching the monsters with little effort considering their numbers.

Collapsing on the ground to take care of injuries while congratulating each other would have probably been a fantasy, as nothing of the sort happened. Enora stood in place, pushing Rose behind her while staring at the man. He, on the other hand, pointed a dark silver spear towards them, frowning as he did. Seconds passed, the man finally holding a hand up, showing a desire for peace.

- Hello, let's calm down a bit.

His tone was meant to be soothing, and he took two steps ahead as he talked. Quite the mistake : Enora faked appeasement, only to be at range for a powerful hit to the side of his face with the bottom of her wooden spear. And another one when he hit the ground, for good measure.

Like robots, the two women began cleaning the place, throwing away the bone weapons and confiscating the man's spear and hatchet. Afterwards, they took a look at his stuff, finding the coveted treasure : food ! Whether they liked mushrooms or not mattered absolutely not, as they began to cook them over the still lit bonfire. "Thanks, devils !", thought Enora as she devoured her third cep looking piece. As a side note, the mushrooms stopped glowing orange light when they were plucked.

When finally they were sated, they realised the man had not woken up yet. He was still out a few meters from them, unarmed. So Enora took another look at his backpack, finding hygiene products like soap and a hairbrush, as he had shoulder-long hair. Apart from the food, she was the happiest about that. She immediately took it and began brushing Rose's hair. Truthfully, Enora might have been a serious and tough warrior, but she was still a woman sometimes. And Rose did not hide it about herself, complaining at the beginning of their journey about not being able to take care of her body correctly. Well, there it was.

When some movement was perceived around the man, the two women got a bit stiff, keeping on going with their business. They watched as he massaged his head, groaned loudly, sat and spent a few moments getting his thoughts in order. When reality ultimately came back to him, he looked around, finding his bag wide open, his stuff littering the ground and two unknown individuals staring with wary eyes. Of course, he got angry. But he was unarmed. So he stared back, not wanting to be the first to break the silence. Eventually, Rose spoke with her sweet yet firm voice :

- Did Arsenio send you ?

- Who ?, was his answer, accompanied by a questioning look.

- He is the leader of the group we left., continued Enora after some time. You really were not …

That was when it hit her. "I know that guy ! He left the first day ! With one of the books nonetheless. So he is not with those assholes …".

- I don't know what you are talking about., he continued seriously. I would like my things back now.

Rose looked at her protector with interrogating eyes, which were answered by a nod. They quickly put everything back together and threw it in his direction, not wanting to get too close. Only his weapons were kept.

- My weapons too.

- Not now. You'll get them when we are sure you're not a danger., said the girl.

- Stealing my shit is definitely the best way to make me a danger to you., glaring eyes.

- Fair enough.

Enora walked two meters and put the spear and hatchet down, then backed beside Rose without breaking eye contact with the stranger. He took a bit of time before getting the objects.

- Are you going to knock me out at the first sudden move or can I eat too ?, sarcastically said the man.

Only answered by two lightly shaking head, he began cooking more mushrooms over the fire, making the girls drool once again. Ten days of strict rationing made them weak to food, and they knew it. But no word was pronounced, and only the crackling of fire and sizzling of juices dropping in the flames punctuated the instant. That's when Enora took note of the missing fingers from the man's left hand. The scar did not look good, even if not that recent she judged from the slight redness it was tinged with. In a slow motion, he offered a plate of food to the spectators, looking a bit embarrassed by the constant stare. After hesitating a bit, the tall warrior took the plate and pointed at the helping hand :

- Grey Devils ?

- Grey Devils ?, he asked back with an inquisitive expression.

- The monsters we just got rid of, that's how we call them …

- Oh !

A few seconds passed in a daze.

- Good name. And yeah, one of these little fuckers ate them. You should see him though., he jokingly answered.

The tanned woman felt a bit more at ease, but not thanks to the joke, as welcome as it might have been. Instead, it was the fact that this man had fought and won, this scar proving it. He had fought and survived until that day, so, at the very least, he was not incompetent. Not only that, but he also had a booklet of magic, which made him valuable to her : if he happened to be decent enough and joined them, it would increase their rate of understanding of magic. And they would take fewer risks while exploring. "Maybe jackpot !". Quite a positive attitude.