28th Level: The Old Elding Village

Alara expected to see a look of pain, or fear on the priestess's face, but instead she wore a sinister smile that made Alara's blood run cold. Thalia's eyes glowed bright red and her bloody teeth were gritted. She spoke with a darkness that only added to the ominous feeling that suddenly surrounded Thalia , “Found you!”

In the distance, a loud screeching could be heard followed by a loud thud. About 300 ft from where Thalia and Alara stood, a body lay burning. The flames had burned so strongly that only charred ashes remained in the shape of a humanoid body even after such a short burn. As the fire dwindled, the spike that was impaling Thalia began to fade away and broke down into shimmering orbs of green light that disappeared as quickly as they appeared. She was left with a gaping hole where the spike had been. The injured priestess fell forward, landing in a single leg kneel. With her left hand cradling her innards, and her right hand in a fist on the ground, Thalia let out a hiss. “Oh christ! This one hurts so bad. That bitch got me good!”

Alara rushed to her side, wrapping water around her hands that had a cool blue glow. Thalia smiled, as her eyes changed back to purple. “Don't waste your time kid. I'm immortal, remember? Unfortunately, I'm not going to die from this wound. Just sit back and enjoy the show. Sorry, it's a bit grotesque.”

Hesitantly, Alara listened to her new master and sat back on her bottom. As Thalia began to let out painful grunts, Alara placed her hand over Thalia’s. Thalia looked up at Alara, her face scrunched in pain before she let out a scream. There was a pulse of magic that was so strong it knocked Alara back and caused both women's runes to light up. As if time were rewinding, the blood that had spilled onto the ground began to travel back into Thalia's body. She punched the ground. The real pain was about to start. Strands of tissue began to walk their way across the gaping hole in Thalia's abdomen. One strand at a time, then layer by layer, rebuilding Thalia's body. She gripped onto Alara's hand until her wounds had fully healed. 

Alara was speechless and simply sat holding onto Thalia's hand. The priestess was shivering, and had become painfully aware of the shock that the princess was feeling. Unsure where to begin, Thalia squeezed onto Alara's hand and whispered, “Hey, I could use my robe back, I'm freezing.”

As if snapped out of a trance, Alara removed the robe and placed it over Thalia's shoulders. She struggled to find words, but as she was about to speak, Thalia began to talk instead. “Immortality isn't very pretty is it? This happens everytime I suffer a fatal wound. I could list all the ways I've tried to kill myself, but I think that would take all day. Besides, we need to get out of here.”

Alara's heart filled with compassion for her new teacher. She couldn't imagine feeling so much pain just to continue living a life full of isolation. Hell, Alara couldn't imagine what it felt like to want to stop living in the first place. It must have been a devastating feeling to have your will taken from you like that. Alara felt sadness for the priestess, but decided to hide her feelings. Thalia was right though, they needed to get out of there and wallowing in sadness would only hold them back.

“Ok Thalia, should we get going or do you need a bit? That looked like it really hurt.”

“It was excruciating just as it is everytime, but a small part of me always hopes that if I keep putting myself through this, then one day I will finally stop regenerating. No one should live this long, it isn't natural and has left me with nothing more than fading memories of people that I cared about. I've been alone for such a long time already, and that pain is worse than the physical pain I feel while healing. Enough about me and my depressing life. Let's get going, the exit should be open now that the caster is out of the way.” Thalia got up with a jump and gestured for Alara and Yotaro to follow her. 

The team headed towards the opposite end of the tunnel where there was a wooden door that stood on its own, unattached from any walls or structures. Thalia grabbed the handle and on the other side of the door, there was a bright light.  The three passed through the doorway together. The door disappeared behind them as it shut. Alara's eyes became large as she realized they were no longer inside of a cave, but out in a sunny meadow full of blooming flowers. From where they stood, they could see a small town. The buildings were short and had straw thatched roofs with simple doors and windows. Right next to the meadow was what looked like a dirt road, and a small lake surrounded by large trees.    

“Woah!” Alara blurted out. She picked a flower and smelled it. It seemed real. But, how could a place so sunny be buried hundreds of meters underground? The dungeon was surprising her more and more as they explored.  She looked at Thalia who was as giddy as a school girl. Touching flowers with her fingertips and spinning around. The smile on her face made Alara blush. “She's so pretty,” she thought to herself. 

Yotaro was behaving similarly, in the form of a horse, rubbing his back on the flowers with his legs kicking awkwardly in the air. The creature let out a gleeful whinny before laying himself down. Thalia noticed Alara standing awkwardly where the door had disappeared, and rushed over to the blonde beauty. She held out her hand and with an ear to ear smile, “Come on princess, live a little.”

Alara returned Thalia's smile and grabbed the little woman's delicate hand. The smile made Thalia's heart race, and her face flush. She tried her best to hide this from Alara by turning her head as she began spinning the princess around in the flowers. They spun so fast that the two lost their balance and fell into the flowers. The two girls laughed happily and looked up at the sun together. 

Between giggles, Alara whispered, “ I'm actually really glad I gotta see this magical place, Thalia. Thank you for saving me instead of letting me die or killing me.”

Thalia turned and leaned over Alara so close that her hair touched the young woman's cheek. With a smile, “I'm glad you like it. This place is important to your family. This is the first Elding village. So maybe I should say, ‘Welcome Home, princess Alara’.”

Rather than reply, Alara looked into Thalia's purple eyes with her green eyes and pulled her closer by the fabric of her shirt. Both women slowly leaned into each other, caught up in the moment, but before their lips met, Yotaro as a fluffy bunny hopped right over the two beauties. The women, embarrassed by their behavior, pushed away from each other and looked away from each other in silence. 

Thalia shot up in her characteristically abrupt style, and brushed the dirt off her robe. “I don't know about you two, but I could really use a bath, and a nap. How about we head into the village and see what there is so we can start prepping. I'm sure one of the empty houses has some supplies in it for bathing and maybe even a bed to sleep in. Let's go!”

Awkwardly, Alara replied, “Yeah that sounds like a good idea. I'm beat. Nothing some hot water can't fix though. Also, I'm starting to get hungry again. Do you think there will be any food there?”

Thalia shrugged her shoulders, “If there is, it probably isn't good to eat since the place has been abandoned for 150 years. But I know there will be buckets and a stove there for us at least.”

They walked down the dirt road that led to the village; as they passed the lake, Thalia stopped at one of the trees close to the shore. She affectionately stroked some writing that was carved into its bark before slowly moving on. Alara stopped to look at the writing and saw the name “Elias Elding” carved where Thalia had touched. 

“Um, Thalia, who is this Elias guy? I've heard you mention him before and it seems like he was important to you. Was he a lover of yours?”

Thalia burst into laughter, “No way! Elias was just a very dear friend. I cared for him since he was born and stayed by his side until he died. Our bond was more like that of a mother and child than anything else. There is the other matter too, he was a boy. I have never felt any attraction towards the opposite sex.”

They continued walking a bit while Alara processed what Thalia just said at the end. “No attraction to the opposite sex. No attraction , opposite sex.” After about a minute the dots connected and Alara finally realized what Thalia meant. She suddenly stopped walking and grabbed her shirt near her chest. “Thalia, are you saying you like other women? You mean as more than friends.”

Thalia rolled her eyes and continued walking backwards, “Took you long enough to work that out. Yes it means I like other women romantically. Let me guess you're disgusted?”

Alara's face was red and her eyes full of tears, hesitantly she whispered, “I like them too.”.

Thalia stopped moving, “Sorry didn't catch that. Can you say it again louder?”

With balled fists Alara yelled out, “I thought I was the only one that like other women like that!:”

Thalia bent over and began to laugh so hard she was crying. As she wiped away her tears with the sleeve of her robe, “You are quite a strange one, princess. You looked so embarrassed there, yet you announced your confession so loudly! Is it really such a big deal that we share tastes?”

With a puzzled expression, “...then what happened earlier?”

Thalia sighed, “You're gorgeous. I haven't spent time with anyone else in ages and I got caught up in the moment. Sorry if it bothered you, Alara. Won't happen again.”

For reasons unknown to her, Alara was suddenly feeling bold. Hugging herself, she whispered, “It's not as if I wouldn't have liked it. Plus you are beautiful to me. It's just, I've never done that with anyone before and you're so nice to me…”. Alara's face turned red as a tomato with a horrified expression as she realized what exactly she had just said OUTLOUD to her new instructor. 

Thalia tried to play it cool and just slowly turned back towards the village before speed walking down the dirt road. Bright red at the tips of her ears gave her away though. When she turned around she went into a gay panic. Holding her face in embarrassment and biting her lower lip. She was very careful not to reveal this to Alara because she did not want to fall in love. Especially not with a surface dwelling mortal of all people. That pairing was bound to end in heartache for both women, and Thalia didn't think she could stomach anymore loss.

After just a few moments, they arrived at the village. The main street was narrow, and led to a large sculpture of the Thalia dancing with an expression of bliss on her face. The craftsmanship was on another level, and every detail of the fabric and skin was flawless. They didn't even have statues on the surface that were so detailed and perfect. 

The town appeared to be built around the statue with 12 or so houses surrounding it in a horse shoe. They were large houses that could probably fit several families in one. They were simple and unpainted but appeared to be well built and clean despite being abandoned for decades. 

There was one house that stood apart  from the rest of the homes that was much smaller than the rest. Thalia noticed Alara's eyes drifting towards the house. “That was Elias’s childhood home. He was an orphan. The two of us lived there until he became a teenager and we traveled the dungeons as merchants. Later, he used it as a lab. Check it out later if you want to.”

“Is that ok?”

“Yeah, Elias is your 6 times great grandfather afterall. You have every right to see where your family came from.”

Alara still felt uneasy about her family line originating in the dungeon but who was she to refute facts from someone who actually lived during that time. 

“Alright Thalia, what should I do now?”

Thalia smiled, “It's time to start your training of course. Are you ready?”

Alara smiled eagerly, “Yes I am!”