Ch. 13: Catching Up

It took me a minute to adjust to the dim light, but when I finally did I could see that we were in a narrow passage. Although my head didn't quite touch the roof, Strubin behind me had to bend over to travel through.

In front of us, Sophi and Kirune's forms blocked out all the light from the other side. It was a shame that Arius had left us behind. We could've done with his exceptional night vision.

Then I gave myself a shake. We don't need anything from him.

We can do this.

We continued in single file for what seemed like hours, although the steady dim light told us that not much time had passed. I could hear Kirune's unsteady footsteps in front of me and feel Strubin's warm breath on my back.

Eventually the light faded, and we were left walking in complete darkness.

Finally someone broke the silence. "It's super dark in here," Sophi murmured thoughtfully.

Kirune coughed. "You think?"

"I wish we had some light," Sophi continued. "Without it I feel nervous."

I muttered agreement, despite the fact that Sophi was only reinstating the obvious. I guess she was trying to make small talk, or maybe she was trying to relieve her own stress by talking.

I can create some light. Dukalis said suddenly.

I caught my breath. Oh, good! What spell is it?

Companion Bulb, He replied. It doesn't require any words to activate; just some steady concentration would do the trick. Here, I'll do it.

Warm magic rushed into me, and as I stretched out my hand suddenly I was blinded by a warm light.

"What's that?!" Kirune yelped. "Is the passageway caving in?"

Strubin laughed behind me. "No, Kirune. Aven just made some light."

Kirune turned around to see me holding a small glowing orb of energy in the palm of my hand. "Oh. Companion Bulb! I wish I had thought of that."

I smiled. "It's fine. At least we're not blind now."

Up ahead, Sophi gasped. "Guys! I think I can see some light up ahead!"

"Are you sure you're not just seeing Aven's light?" Kirune asked jokingly.

"No, you furball! It's the end of the passageway!" I could hear her footsteps quicken into a run. "Come on! We're almost there!"

"Slow down!" Strubin called. "You don't want to trip on a stray rock."

"I'll be fine!"

Soon Kirune began to break into a quicker pace. "She's right! Let's go, everyone! Freedom, here we come!"

He left to run up ahead, and within a few moments it was just Strubin and I in the cave.

"I'll stay with you," He murmured. "I won't leave you behind, I promise."

I reached up to lightly flick his nose. "You can't even get past me to begin with!"

Suddenly my light began to flicker, and then it went out. Without it, I could finally see that there was a bright light at the end of the tunnel, and Kirune and Sophi were no longer in the cave.

I quickened my pace, and soon I was out of it as well, and I stood there, blinking the bright sunlight out of my eyes.

The tunnel had led upwards, and I was standing almost a league away from the cliff. In front of us were the gently rolling plains, and a small river cut from the edge of the ravine to the West Horizon. The sun was dipping below the hills behind the God's Headrest, and when I squinted I could see houses in the distance.

I looked around to see that Sophi and Kirune had waited for us, and as Strubin emerged from the tunnel behind me they raised their hands triumphantly.

"We made it!" Sophi crowed, twirling around in the warm sunset haze. "I knew we would!"

"There's Undergrove!" I pointed. "Come on! Our quest isn't done yet!"

The four of us broke out into a run, racing along the river's edge and heading to the city in the distance, the harsh sunlight casting a bloodred glow on the world.

The grasses flowed deliciously in the wind, fanning my mane back and giving me renewed vigor. Beside me were my friends, their tails streaming out behind them.

Now that we were in an open expanse, I felt the strong need to stretch my legs and run. So I ran, as fast as I could, until the world felt like a blur as we barrelled into the fiery sunset.

Finally the sun began to fade, and as dusk fell we approached the outskirts of the city. The stone buildings rose up high above us, but it wasn't anything compared to the lavish sculptures in The Capital. Nonetheless, it felt good to be among civilization once again.

Soon we were in the middle of a street, with people going to and fro, some closing up their shops for the night, others going off to see their friends and family at the end of a long day. Streetlights blazed harshly as the world descended into nightfall.

"We need to find Arius," Strubin said suddenly with a gasp. "The gods know something might have happened to him."

Inwardly I groaned. Why can't we just leave him? Obviously he wants nothing to do with us.

Kirune stopped him. "He's likely with Unydae. She and her warriors were supposed to stay here in Undergrove, remember? What we need to do is find her, and then she can tell us where Illesior is."

Sophi nodded. "Good plan. Let's go!"

As she was about to dash off, Kirune held her back by the edge of her cloak. "Hey!" She yelped. "What's the deal?"

"We need to ask around," He replied coolly. "If we run off in the middle of the streets then we might end up getting arrested."

She slumped her shoulders. "...Fine. But make it snappy! I'm so hungry I could swallow a Zenatile whole."

Strubin laughed. "I'll remember that the next time we get cornered by one."

We began to travel deeper into the city, until we approached the grounds where Undergrove's Assessment Ceremony would be held the following morning. It looked similar to the courtyard in Gatesborn, but instead of being surrounded by welcoming palm leaves and tropical plants, it sat in the middle of a stony expanse. At the far end were some stairs that led up to an important-looking building, likely the town hall.

"I bet Unydae's in there!" I said confidently.

"I bet you're right," Sophi added, already racing towards the stairway. "Come on! Last one there is a rotten Zenatile egg!"

Kirune chuckled as he chased after her, but Strubin was picking me up to place me on his shoulders. "You've done enough walking as it is," He murmured. "You should rest."

I scoffed. "Just because I saved your life once doesn't mean that you're automatically my lifelong servant, Jumbo!"

He laughed. "I know, but you're too cute to not help."

He lumbered up the stairs, then put me down as Sophi began rapidly ringing the doorbell as if she were being hunted by a score of monsters and her life depended on it.

Kirune tried to drag her away from it, then dropped her as the door suddenly opened. A short White Mane in a maid outfit stood there, looking surprised at the four Aetryim that stood there in front of her.

She looked us up and down slowly. "...Who are you?"

"I'm Aven Elsgard." I placed my hand to my heart respectively. "That's Strubin Elvebarin, and these are Sophi Emberiss and Kirune Aeurlis. We're here because we're part of Prince Illesior's travel party, and-"

"Aven, is that you?"

I pricked my ears and tried to look over the White Mane's shoulder, then widened my eyes when I saw a familiar face staring back at me. "...Illesior?"

He barged past his escorts and the maid, scooping me up in his arms and twirling me around.

"H-HEY! What's the deal!?" I yelped.

He laughed and put me back down. "I was right! I knew you were alive! Oh, Aven, my faithful Bookkeeper!" Suddenly he hugged me, so that my face was buried in his silky black mane, which smelled faintly of tropical fruit.

"Murrf!" I mumbled, scrabbling to get out of his grip as he ran his fingers through my fluffy white mane.

Finally he let me go, and before I could shout a stinging protest I saw that his face was filled with an overwhelming relief. He grinned, his pearly white teeth glimmering in the light.

"I see that all of you are alive, then," Illesior looked all of us down in turn, then made a face. "Oh, dear gods, you're filthy! I hope none of you are injured?"

Kirune raised his hands. "All good, your highness!"

"Excellent! Follow me; Unydae and her escorts are waiting for us." With that he turned, leaving us to go after him.

After shooting Strubin an apologetic glance, I ran up to beside the prince.

"Illesior, have you seen Arius?" I asked him before he could say anything.

His blue eyes gleamed. "Yes, of course! He came in an hour ago. He said that the rest of you were on your way."

"And where is he now?"

"He's in the main hall, eating dinner with Unydae's warriors."

I exhaled slowly. "Okay. What do you want us to do?"

He smiled. "Well, first I want you four to wash yourselves in the bath, then join us in the hall to share your experiences."

"After that?"

He looked at me as if I had made a joke. "...Rest, of course! We'll need our strength if we're going to make it to the Assessment Ceremony in Xy'Kiln tomorrow."

I nodded. "Sounds good. I'll go get myself cleaned."

As I turned a corner and stumbled into a bathroom, I couldn't help but feel amazed at how quickly we had made it out of the ravine, all on our own. I owed Strubin, Sophi and Kirune so much.

"We're almost there, Dukalis," I murmured. "Just a little farther."