Chapter 2 - The Adventure Begins, The Mercenaries.
The girl doesn’t carry more than her clothes, a small bag and that strange box. Egios serves her something to eat, while looking at her bright red eyes. She takes the plate but only eats a little, she ends however, all the drink.
- You’re a vampiress
- So is.
- Who you are? Why do you know me?
- Barthum
- Barthum?
- He told me that you are a man of confidence, someone very cautious who could help me.
- Who you are?
- I'm a messenger, I come from a town on the border of Escyddar. The great priest Valnyr, entrusted me with carrying this package, is very important.
- What's in the package? - Egios asks.
- I do not know, I was forbidden to open it, but I must arrive at the place of delivery on time.
Egios takes the box and soon it shows that it weighs too much, for a vampire however it would be like carrying a suitcase full of clothes. On its cover there is a strange magic seal.
For that package, I lost 5 companions, ... I arrived at Barthum's Inn, he attended me and then told me to look for you. I really need that package to arrive at the place of delivery and I know ... that you can help me.
- I am not a warrior, I only grow my grapes and write novels.
- But he told me that you know routes, safe routes, alternate roads ... look ... I will pay you, I will receive a large payment for this delivery.
- Egios was confused, but he could not stop seeing the seal on that box, it was a mysterious seal, but he knew he had seen it before.
- Where do you take it? Who will receive the package?
- Ergaddya, on the border, I'm supposed to get to the village of Homrusk.
- Dark elven lands ... Why did the priest entrust this task to you?
- I work with a team that is responsible for moving valuable objects from one place to another, but I had never taken anything so far, nor something so dangerous ... well I say team, but I am the only one left. Please! I really ask you to help me!
- Let me think about it, stay here tonight and in the morning you will have my answer.
- Thank you!
Egios prepares the guest room for Kathrinna, she thanks him again and retires to rest, leaving the box nevertheless over the dining room. Egios takes several books he has and starts looking for information about that stamp. Since he is a writer, he loves collecting all kinds of books to inspire and be more successful in the data he gives in his books. In one of them he finds a clue.
- A seal of the dark lords, the seal of Qwrarles.
However, the book only mentions it and there is no other note about it. Egios leans on the chair and can see Kathrinna's bag that she has also left on it. Egios realizes that the girl is not around and proceeds to look the inside of it.
- Let's see a little more about who you are. - he thinks.
Egios takes out some changes of clothes, a pretty normal ring, an undelivered letter addressed to the Priest Valnyr where she excuses herself from not being able to fulfill the contract, 3 blood potions, vital food for the vampires and in the background a curved dagger whose handle is decorated in great detail, of golden and crimson colour with a shiny silver blade. Egios is amazed by such an artifact, he knows that more than a weapon is a jewel, whose value could surpass all his belongings together. Then the central jewel of the handle begins to move violently and in its place appears an eye that quickly sets its sights on Egios. He gets scared and drops the dagger to the ground.
- That was not very polite - says Kathrinna who looks out from the door of the room.
- I'm sorry ... what is that thing? - He says still a little agitated
She approaches and takes the dagger from the ground, it’s eye is still resting on Egios, she looks at the dagger and then at Egios.
- It's curious, this dagger was given to me by my father, he said it was a rare treasure that could find those people who are destined to do great things. I had never seen it’s eye open.
- It's a rather macabre way to find these kinds of people.
Kathrinna smiles.
- For me it's a very beautiful kind of magic, but I guess everyone has their tastes.
Egios rejoins and pass his hand across his forehead and head. Then he begins to organize Kathrinna's stuff back into her purse.
- Sorry, .. I am very cautious, I have few friends, but many people I know. And some have had certain problems that have affected me. Two years ago they burned my vineyards, and I also had some attacks on my house.
- It's kind of funny, you look like a person who leads a very quiet life.
- And that’s the normal thing,... - he says as he finishes closing the bag - but there are also certain things ... certain events that we simply cannot avoid.
- You tell me.
Kathrinna turns to look at the book on the table where the stamp of the box appears, Egios notices it and hurries to close it, she approaches.
- Why do you close it? I also want to know what it is. - She says taking it from his hands and gently passes it’s sheets looking for the page where it was.
- Do you really not know what's inside?
- It's not my job to find out what's inside.
- For that reason you lost your four companions.
- Five ... and ... yes, maybe you're right ... but I have my pride too, and I feel that whatever is in that package, it's better that it's not in my hands.
- Are there more packages like this?
- I don't know, you'd have to ask whoever picks it up. But my intuition tells me that maybe this is not the only one. In any case - she says as she takes her purse, putting the dagger in it. - I wait for your answer tomorrow, I will go to rest a little taking advantage of your hospitality - she smiles at him and then disappears behind the door of the room
Letter 2
Anmahbir, SL XXIII – 267 Odogan 8.
To my most esteemed and dear friend Ardulan.
I’ve embarked on a trip with a person I met, it’s a girl, very beautiful and interesting. She came to me asking for help to take a package to distant lands, it seems to contain something dangerous so I decided to accompany her on her journey.
Everything seems to indicate that I will have to postpone my trip to Lovuhr, but hey, something tells me that this will be a great adventure! We’ve been traveling for 4 days, we are approaching the frontier, I have discovered that she is a very charismatic girl who has ended up involved in some kind of trick, I must be very vigilant, by the way, the package has a seal that makes me very curious, I sent it to you in the same way as the other time, since we do not want to alert potential enemies. I know you're good with these issues, so I'd love to have your help.
With great appreciation.
Egios
- Who are you writing to? - Kathrinna asks - well, if you can tell me.
- Yes, of course! ... I am writing to Ardulan, he's my best friend, he lives in Haukari, we grew up together in the town, and even when we were younger we fought for the same girls.
- Kathrinna laughs - the "same"?
- What can I say, we were complicated. When we got older, I inherited my uncle's vineyards, so I decided to go to work, he stayed in Haukari, he entered as a student to an academy to learn about history, well it is not the most recognized academy, but he is doing it fairly good.
- Great to hear that. And you say he lives in Haukari.
- That's right, although lately he travels a lot for his studies, so sometimes it takes him to respond to my letters, but they always arrive, we tell each other our adventures, and I'm sure that this one we will undertake will be of great interest to him.
- I hope so, I would like to meet him someday, I also like history a lot.
- And tell me, do you have someone to write to?
Kathrinna looks away, visualizing the fields they cross as the carriage moves nimbly down the dusty road. Her eyes are lost for a moment between that hood that protects her from the sun's rays.
-I have friends, but you know that now I can not write to them, not until I get rid of this package.
-Everything will be fine Kathrinna, don't worry.
-Thank you!
The road continues for a couple of hours more, Egios watches Kathrinna with her calm gaze lost in the horizon, she is a difficult person to decipher, he has decided to go with her, but nevertheless he still knows that he doesn’t know who this girl is. A vampire, he would never have accepted that journey had it not been for that box, which is really in there?, if it were for him, he would have already opened it perhaps, but he has given his vote of confidence to that stranger and can not help but wonder if he really should trust her.
-Finally they arrive at a small town, after getting something to eat they rent a room in the inn to spend the night.
-Have you gone before to Ergaddya? - Kathrinna asks as she lies stretched out on her bed, while he looks out the window.
-I have gone to Saggadya, the kingdom to the south. It's a territory with very beautiful places, but I'm afraid it's not the best place to live.
-Anarchy?
-Something like that, it was never a country with a central government, so each town or city has its own rules, in most cases, very limited. It's a paradise for thieves and criminals.
-Will we go through that place?
-I'm afraid it's inevitable. - Egios turns to look at Kathrinna - Ergaddya on the other hand, it’s a frozen country, but much more plain than Manketh. The presence of the dark elves maintains control over the villages, few and small, but relatively quiet. It is a country renowned for its crystal forests and frozen rivers. The inhabitants raise the Bakore Borealis, huge ruminants covered with thick hair.
-For not to have gone there it seems you know a lot.
-I'm a writer, I love reading. Especially those that give me an idea of the world, it is amazing how descriptive an author can be, a good one can tell you so much about the situation that you really feel that you are there, you feel the cold of the place, the humidity, the sounds of the creatures , the jargon of the people, it's wonderful
-What books have you written?
-Oh I have several novels, I forgot to bring them, but I think I have a copy of my last work, do you want to read it?
-Oh! I would love it, in what language is it written?
-Abezi, the human language, a friend is helping me translate it into 5 more languages, including elvish.
-That's incredible, you must be a very recognized author.
-Only in Haukari I am afraid, although not as much as I would like, but it must start somewhere.
-Just give it a little time.
-Yes, ... Oh! Here you are - says Egios as he passes his book to Kathrinna. - I hope you like it.
-Yes, I sure will like it
At dawn they prepare to continue the journey, as usual Egios takes his time taking care of his image, while Kathrinna waits to read a little. They go through a shop and buy several fruits then they get a carriage and start the trip to the next town.
-I was wondering - he says. - Why did you not fight with those men in the alley?
-Me? ... I know how to defend myself, but it's not easy for a vampire to fight in broad daylight.
-I have seen vampires that are hardly affected by the light of day, They can fight almost the same as the night.
-Maybe with magic,... I have seen it too, but nevertheless their bodies are damaged by the exposition.
-Do you worship Ezgadion?
-Ezgadion?
-Do you worship him?
-Of course! He is the guardian of my people, our protector.
-What do you think of us humans? - he says looking away towards the landscape. - We do not have a guardian of our own, nobody protects us.
-I think ... you’re very lucky.
-Lucky you say? Why would we be lucky?
-Because you can choose who you want to worship.
-Ha ... - Egios says with a smile - it's an interesting way to see things.
-It's freedom, ... unlike, we have a pact of pride with our guardian.
-And so even, there are many of you who have revealed themselves against him.
-Well, I suppose they're also looking for their freedom.
-The guardians bind us ... bind to their power, their desires, their war.
-Have you been to the war?
-Have you been?
-I'm still very young, and you... as a human, you will not live by the time the next one happens.
-500 years ... every 500 years a war must happen, don’t you think that's a condemnation? - Egios says in a slightly louder voice, the other people in the carriage begin to look at him.
-It certainly is.
-Sorry, sometimes I let myself go.
-Don't worry, in a way you're right.
The world of Thaensra is protected by 16 guardians, each one concentrates an immense power, they are almost gods. They are called guardians because their task is not to govern, but to protect the mortals who inhabit the different continents. These guardians are divided into 2 factions, known as guardians of the Light and guardians of the Dark and every 500 years, there is a war between the mortals to determine which guardians will be awake for the next period. That is why the dates are marked first indicating the last war that occurred and followed by the year. This has been since the memory of the ancestors, of the first mortals, in a time when the guardians were still young and inexperienced, and perhaps they still are.
-Your book, you speak very badly of the guardians, - she says, laughing. - What have they done to you?
-You can not imagine! ... - He responds also laughing - hey, tell me about your colleagues, who were they? ... well, only if you want to do it.
-To be honest only 2 of them were close friends of mine, the other 3 were known to Reki, we hired them for this expedition because we knew we would need help.
-Reki, it's a name ...
-For an Adramus, - interrupts Kathrinna - I know they are a race that doesn’t get along very well with the majority, but hey, Reki was a very nice girl, I met her on one of my trips, she was a problematic teenager, without parents, she worked In a tavern but she did not get along very well with the owner, so we offered to come with us, she accepted gladly. It turned out that she had many acquaintances on the streets, which ended up being beneficial for the team.
-You speak ... very calm, as if it had not affected you so much.
-I am a vampire, unfortunately, emotions are not what we are best given.
-Yes, I'm sorry, continue.
-Well, apart from Reki, I worked with Bernaud, a very smart man, a vampire too, and the best warrior we had, although I must admit that Marcus and Astor were also very good.
-What happened to them?
-Someone wants the box, ... I guess that's already clear, and I'm worried that it's a secret cult infiltrated between the organizations. Because when they attacked us, it was shortly after sharing a time with some guards in a tavern, nobody had seen the seal of the box before.
- A few guards? Why were they going to show the seal to some guards?
- It was a tavern, we drank, we were not totally sane, and well, we learned the hard way.
- I thought vampires could not get drunk.
- Believe me, you can not imagine the drinks you can find in Escyddar.
- I'll go try them someday.
- I do not recommend it, it's not a good idea... well, not for a human.
- You underestimate my ability - he responds while laughing - well, the truth is that I am more a wine man, but hey, continue with your story.
- The guards ... well, ... I really do not know, we were on the road when we were intercepted by some men in black robes, they said they were from the Cult of Q and they wanted our box, we tried to defend ourselves but everything went out of control.
- But you, ... you managed to escape ... and with the box.
- Yes, the men didn't expect the weight of it and had difficulty lifting it, I took the opportunity to sneak off and into the forest, I guess I had some luck.
- I would say a lot ... fortunately.
- So is.
The bell of the carriage sounded indicating that they were arriving at their destination. Kathrinna hurries down, Egios writes down something in his notebook and then descends quietly. She looks at him and asks him
- What is it that you always write down in that little book?
- Ideas,... you never know when you have one, and it is very important to write them down.
- I see, I'll have to get a notebook of those.
- I have one to spare if you want.
- Sure!
They have arrived at the town of Old Hillside, an old town near the border between the country of Abezzel and the kingdom of Vanatuf, country of the dwarves. It is the last great town of the great plains, from there begins the ascent to the mountains. The town has high wooden walls and a river crosses through its center.
- We will need to buy enough supplies, it would also be good to hire some helpers, the passage to the Yconav forests is difficult and - if we add your friends in black robes, the more we are much better.
- And you have money?
Egios gives a sigh, then he replies her.
- Make sure you pay me when we deliver the box.
- Of course!
- And check if someone sells those potions you drink.
- I still have many.
- The trip is long and we don’t know if you easy can get them later.
- You worry a lot.
- Really, I don’t say it just for you, also for my own safety. you’re not the first vampire I know.
- Kathrinna laughs at Egio’s answer, then she answers him in a lower voice. - it’s okay.
- I going to buy groceries, we’ll see each other before the nightfall.
- Don’t going to buy only fruits, please.
- Why do you complain, you don’t even eat.
Kathrinna adjusts her hood and hiding her box among her clothes goes out looking for alleys and stores of ill repute. It’s still common that people to be afraid of vampires, even though it has been long since Lord Razor’s terror domain. Blood potions are created by alchemist from animal blood, for vampires it’s enough to survive however, it doesn’t allow them to exploit all their strength.
Egios goes first to the post office and after leaving his letter, they inform him that his correspondence has arrived. Egios take the letter and leaves the building, towards the horizon it can be seen the unfinished roads of the dwarf freighter, after hundreds of years, only one section was functional, connecting the territory of Abezzel, Vanatuf and Haukari. The huge machine allows to move long wagons between the territories, shortening the distances between the 3 nations, a feat of engineering. A second line was intended to build towards the territory of Sagaddya, crossing the forests of Yconav and the tundras of Dwaralav, but nevertheless the civil war that ended up overthrowing the government of Busalon and turning Sagaddya into the anarchic territory that is today frustrated the plans to bring such technology to those lands.
Egios reads his letter.
______________________________________________________________________
Redalzun, SL XXIII – 267 Odogan 10.
Egios
Dear friend
I like that you decided to take this trip and change the monotony of that town. An adventure like this deserves your full attention and if you have any difficulty, you know you can count on my support, it is my great interest that you can successfully complete such feat, for this I have sent you with this letter some magical objects that a good friend gave me to make your way more enjoyable.
I would like to know more about your partner, she seems a very interesting person.
I have reviewed the seal that you sent me, in the same way I send you a book where you will find the information you are looking for,I beg you to return it to me when you finish, as it is very difficult to obtain.
I hope you enjoy this trip very much and I hope you continue writing to tell me your adventures.
With appreciation
Ardulan
______________________________________________________________________
Egios realizes that he only received the letter, none of the other objects mentioned were there, so he rushes back to the post office and makes the claim to the employee.
- Sir, the letter was alone, we have a very well organized system, it is impossible that it had been overlooked.
- I know it has happened before, why don’t we go check? - Egios says somewhat altered.
- Of course, yes, sir, come here.
The young man takes him to the warehouse, where together with another employee they start looking for the package. Egios gets a little impatient and starts checking some boxes on his own, but the men ask him to please don’t move the other packages.
- I'm sure it should be there - Says Egios.
- But, there is nothing sir - says one of the men, after having moved a lot of packages and letters.
- No, no, I'm sure it must be.
- Are you sure sir what you are looking for is a package? Was not it next to the letter, perhaps?
Egios gets pensive for a moment, touches the envelope of the letter from outside and smiles a little.
- Excuse gentlemen, I think I was wrong ... have a good day.
Then he leaves the post office and looks inside the envelope of the letter, from there he takes out a small paper with a magic seal, he keeps it in his coat and goes to the inn.
In the room he realizes that Kathrinna has not come back yet, he leaves his coat on the chair and takes the paper with the seal, puts it on the table and presses the stamp with two fingers against the wood, when releasing it the paper unfolds on itself until it takes the shape of a medium package.
Egios opens it and inside finds the book, some small magical scrolls, which at its center say message, two rings, one of amethyst and the other of reddish color, a short sword and a dagger. The dagger has an inscription of runes on its blade, Egios picks it up to see it better and the instant when the sun's rays hit it directly its edge begins to shine, Egios marvels at such an artifact, then he hears someone going up the stairs and recognizes Kathrinna's voice a little, he hurries to put things in his briefcase as the door opens.
- Hello! I have good news! - says Kathrinna energetically from the door frame.
- Who were you talking to? - Egios says a little uncomfortable.
- That's the good news, come with me, I want to introduce you to some people.
- Don’t tell me... that you already hired someone, could not you wait for us to do it together?
- But... didn’t you give me money for that?
- I, well ... let me see who you brought.
- That's! Sure you will like them.
Egios makes sure to put his briefcase in a safe place, not very visible and then follows Kathrinna, together they go to the lobby of the inn. There, 3 men greet Egios, 2 of them human and the other one a young ape man of the race known as the Apincut, from the islands of Acumunap, it is rare to see them as far north as they usually prefer tropical climates, the boy is Kathrinna's height, somewhat slender but with defined muscles, of smiling eyes and a ponytail adorned behind one of his big ears. One of the men is tall and stocky but somewhat thin, taller than Egios, with a scar that crosses his face over his nose, he has a short beard and his hair is somewhat tangled. The other man is short, much heavier than the first and with some belly, he has a prominent beard under his broad nose, thick eyebrows and small eyes somewhat asleep.
- Look, they are mercenaries, I found them in a tavern, they recommended them a lot.
- Nice to meet you, sir, - one of them hastens to say while he extends his hand to Egios.
- The pleasure is mine - he says squeezing his hand.
- My name is Yovun, and this is my team ... Barleif - he says referring to the low man who greets Egios with tranquility. - and Nom'Hu - pointing to the ape man, who only makes a few gestures of greetings. - We are looking for adventures and a good pay, we are excellent fighters, we fought in the war of Koelli and for the Datriv lords of Haukari.
- Aren’t they perfect? - Kathrinna tells Egios with a half flirtatious smile.
- Ahh yes... just what we needed, it's a pleasure to meet you!
- It's a pleasure, my lord Egios, we'll be ready to leave for the sunrise, we just need to collect some things from our inn.
- Yes, no problem, see you here at dawn.
- That's how it will be - says Yovun as he says goodbye and signals the others to follow him.
Egios and Kathrinna go back up to the room.
- They are just what we need, and look... I even managed to convince them to charge us less.
- You're good at convincing people, I don’t have the slightest doubt about that.
- She looks at him and smiles -... You came because you wanted to, I never forced you.
- I received... a letter from my friend, he sent me a book, he told me that there I would find the answers to the seal.
- Oh yes, great! ... what did you find?
- I have not check it yet, come on, let's see what we found.
Egios goes for his book, but takes care that Kathrinna does not see the rings or the dagger, then takes the book to the table and begins to look at it.
- You have to trust people a little more. - Kathrinna says.
- My way of being has worked well for me so far.
- It's good to have a little more friends.
- I have friends ... maybe the one who should advise you is me, don’t trust people so easily... you see, maybe you end up with a strange box that brings bad experiences.
- Yes... I guess you're right
Egios continues checking the book, they soon realize that it is a book of occult arts, it describes black magic and dark alchemy. Kathrinna pulls back a little.
- Where did you say you got this book?
- My friend sent it to me, don’t worry, nothing happens ... it's just a book.
- Why would your friend have this book? Didn’t he study history?
- Is the academy... you know, they have these huge libraries, I'm sure they borrowed it from there.
- In Escyddar, these types of books are not open to the public.
- Hey... does it really matter now where it came from?... come, look here something appears.
- I'm sorry, is that this kind of dark stuff makes me uncomfortable.
- Even though you're a vampire.
- It’s very different.
Egios laughs softly then shows Kathrinna the seal of the box, appears in the twelfth chapter of the book where he mentions the demonic world. 6 Dark Lords who rule the world of darkness, Qwrarles is one of them and his seal is the one that appears on the box.
- It's very interesting, do you think what's in the box can be an artifact of this dark lord?
- No!... why would it be... that... that kind of thing you don’t give to a group of messengers, ... those are things that are carried by lots of guards and wizards.
- It’s not unreasonable what you say ... but perhaps it’s so important that they didn’t want to create so much fuss and go unnoticed. I've seen times when they do that.
- But this... this is bad, whatever it is in that box, it's really bad.
- Now it intrigues me, who is the person... or the people who will receive it ... and also, who are those black subjects who want it.
- And ... what would happen if this box is just a decoy?
- A decoy?
- Yeah... think about it, you create several boxes and you direct them through several paths, thus hiding the real one, which the bad guys will not know which to follow.
- If that were true... we could only prove it by talking to the person who will receive the shipment, are you sure you don’t know anything about him or her?
- No, absolutely nothing, I only know where I should be and the date.
- This is exciting, really a great adventure.
- No! Nothing exciting, this is getting worse, why should I have accepted this delivery?
- And ... if we open the box?
- No way! How about if there is some strange magical thing that those sorcerers do and it gets out of control?... I also have my honor and it’s to carry this box as it was delivered to me.
- Mmmm…
Egios remains half pensive, again turns to look at the book, Qwrarles the lord of despair. According to the legend the Dark Lords walked freely through the world, beating the mortals to their will and corrupting the souls with temptations until the Guardians in the first of all the wars, faced them and after their victory, banished them to a world more beyond all the lands, an empty world that they soon baptized as the infernal world. But everything is a legend, since no one has ever seen or heard about the Dark Lords, and no one has ever been in that world.
Kathrinna approaches with the intention of saying something to Egios but at that moment they listen to the horn of the town, Egios looks at Kathrinna and then both hurry to go down. At the entrance of the inn are the owners and several tenants gathered, then go out into the street and see a group of men armed with bows and light armor going towards the walls.
- Are we under attack? - Egios asks.
- I don’t know - Kathrinna answers - the best thing would be to go see.
- Yes.
Both go towards one of the entrances of the town that they find totally closed and with several guards guarding it. Kathrinna asks them what happened.
- A peasant arrived a few minutes ago, said his cattle were assaulted by Valfnars.
- What’s that?
- Sorry, but I need you to leave the area free, more men are coming, sure some of the locals will give an explanation.
Kathrinna and Egios step aside, and then Yovun appears with his team.
- The Valfnars are giant apes, anthropophagous and very aggressive - says Barleif.
- Giant apes? - says Egios - I had heard of them, they are from the mountain right?
- That's right, - Yovun adds - They come down from the mountains, usually before winter, seeking to eat a big quantity before hibernating.
- They go down in packs - continues Barleif - they attack the farms and the nearby towns. That wall ... they built it to keep them away
- Really so much for some apes? - Kathrinna asks.
- Oh!... you haven’t seen them - Barleif continues - 15 years ago, they entered the town. At that time, It didn’t have the walls, many people died before the guards managed to kill all of them.
- Humans are very fragile. - says Kathrinna.
- And you cannot even look at the sun - Nom adds mockingly. Kathrinna answers with a grimace.
- Come on friends - adds Egios - this is not something to joke about. - Then he looks at Yovun. - How long can this take?
- Well, usually between 1 and 2 weeks until they make sure that all the creatures have left or have been eliminated. - he replies.
- That's a long time, isn’t it Kathrinna? - says Egios
- Surely it's a long time, we can’t stay here so long... mmm... Yovun, how good are you fighting those apes?
- Hey, hey, hey... I am a mercenary remember... not a suicide, I would not fight against those things with 3 men... you need an army.
- Didn't you say you were the best one around?
- Hey... you say that because you haven't seen those things, ... they have fangs the size of a man's arm, they can smash a door easily with a blow, I'm sorry, but I do not like to fight lost causes.
- Is there any way to get out, without being detected? - Egios asks.
- You couldn’t speak serious...
- Yes,... he means it - adds Kathrinna - what options do we have?
- The option to stay of course... until things calm down, and then we leave quietly. - says Yovun.
- There is a way to cross - adds Barleif.
- Oh no, nobody asked for your opinion - says Yovun.
- Let him talk - add Kathrinna and Egios.
- Mmm... well - Barleif continues. - there are some dwarf tunnels towards the entrance of the mountain,... there used to be an old dwarf town, the entrances are big enough for us to enter easily but they are small so that those apes don’t enter. On the other side of the tunnels, we will easily reach Hamuleif, the town in Vanatuf.
- Surely there is some reason why NORMAL people don’t cross those caves - adds Yovun - it is better to wait and continue the trip, anyway we don't know if we will reach the entrance to the caves, for my concept it is very risky.
- I know someone who can guide us - adds Barleif, Yovun looks at him with some disappointment and the man remains silent.
- And?... who is? - Egios asks.
- Mmm... - Barleif tries to stay quiet, it shows on his peaceful face, however it's as if the words just started to sprout from his mouth - she's a dwarf, she lives near the river,... she visits the tunnels often, because she likes to dig antiques from there. - Barleif continues.
- Well, it would be better to go ask her - says Kathrinna.
- This, is a bad idea... I know why I tell you - Yovun replies.
- Calm down buddy - adds Nom, - if something bad happens, remember that I can run faster than you.