Interlude ~ Three Days Later

"Remind me, Sir Brysen-- what are we doing in the Glimmering Woods, again?" asks the elven ranger.

The swordsman laughs, in a slightly patronizing tone. "Were you not paying attention, Aria? We're here to slay a dragon." He chuckles to himself.

Her expression sours. "...I was not at the meeting-- you had sent Elioxus and I to pick up breakfast for the group, if you'll recall."

"Ah, yeah-- whoops." He rubs the back of his neck in embarrassment. "But yeah. dragon slaying." He says with an overdramatic verve.

"A-are we really going to be fighting a dragon...?" The harpy whimpers out.

The swordsman pats her on the head. "Nah, probably not. Those Ale-knights probably got scared of their own reflection." He stretches, before setting back on the trail. "Who would believe in a two-toned dragon, anyway?"

A two-toned dragon. 

Oh, dear. It might have been best for me to have shown up for the meeting, after all. I had already become a bit nervous hearing we were visiting the Glimmering Woods-- what have Allogor and Penelope gotten themselves into, getting into fights with the Ale-knights?

"Hah, that sounds totally stupid!" The feline laughs to herself. "I bet it was Ris-nya who made it up. They're such a coward~"

At least they seem to not be taking the idea seriously. It would be disastrous if the swordsman knew of Penelope, especially when she's nowhere near trained enough to handle him.

Honestly, if it were up to me, I would wait until-

"They said this 'dragon' was protecting a green kobold with them though, so we've gotta be on the look out for that."

...

My heart skips a beat.

"Why... exactly?" I ask.

The swordsman turns to face me. "Because the king wants his trade routes, remember? God, Eli-- you're so forgetful." He sticks his tongue out.

Right. Those damn trade routes. I'd hoped to have convinced the monarch to change his mind, but no luck. Still... what's going on here?

"They'd said this kobold was protesting the routes, so we need to make sure they won't be any trouble."

"I'm surprised a kobold would even know what a trade route is." The elven ranger remarks with surprise.

"It's probably nothing to worry about." I quickly interject.

"We've still gotta check, though-- king's orders." He sighs, disinterested with the prospect.

If they find Poi Village, I may need to...

Well, at least for now, I need to remain calm. We're just combing the forest to look for anything that would pose a threat to the king's efforts. I hardly believe he would be concerned about kobolds, after all.

...

After a few hours of walking through the forest, we've come up with nothing-- much to the party's relief.

It's a shame-- I would've loved to enjoy a peaceful walk with these people I still somewhat consider friends (swordsman notwithstanding). I do always enjoy going on walks, they give me time to relax and reflect on my situation. But, needless to say, I feel particularly drenched in anxiety right now; I can't really think on much other than-

"Let's check out the cave over there, Bry-nya! I'm sure there's bound to be kobolds there."

...

"Yeah, you're probably right. Good idea, Toko~" He pats her on the head, scratching behind her ears.

"I-is this even necessary? I hardly believe any kobolds would give the king any issues in forming his trade routes."

"What, are you scared of some kobolds, Eli-nya~?" She teases.

"Besides, if that 'big scary' two-toned dragon is there, the king would want to know." The elven ranger adds, outnumbering me.

...Shit.

I move to stand beside the swordsman as we head in, figuring to take as much of the lead as I can without rousing suspicion.

"Trying to show you're not so scared of the dark, eh, Eli? If I didn't know any better, I would figure you wanted to wear the pants in this relationship."

Shut up.

We make the trek through the cave system. I steady my breathing, knowing it's not a far walk to Poi Village from here. One foot in front of the other... and everything will be okay.

The various kobolds see us approach-- some of them see Brysen and scurry away, others see me and continue with their business.

Thankfully, Penelope, Allogor and Khil'nub are nowhere to be seen. Hopefully they're in hiding-- if they're even here to begin with.

"Awww, they're so cute~" The feline remarks. "Can we keep one, Bry-nya?"

"We can stop by Anson's and see if she has any. Maybe her hot daughter will be there too- gah!!" He's interrupted by the elven ranger elbowing him out of her usual jealousy.

"What's going on? Who are you people?" Mae'poi walks in, holding her spear outwards to face us. Her eyes widen with realization as she sees me-- causing her to quickly point her spear out more aggressively towards us. I'd told her about the swordsman and the others, after all.

The feline bares her fangs, ready to strike-- only for the swordsman of all people to try and defuse the situation.

"Woah woah woah, calm down, ladies-- no need to fight." He gestures for Mae to put down her spear. Seeing as she doesn't, he continues. "We're just here on the orders of King Pavrice. He's caught wind of a two-toned dragon that's scaring off the hired help on behalf of a green kobold, and so we were wondering if you had any idea what that might be about?"

She furrows her brow, maintaining her stance. "I know not of any two-toned dragon, nor any green kobold. The last one in this village was sold off into slavery."

"Right, right. Sorry to hear that." He remains unphased by her threatening posture. "Where's the village leader, then? I'd love to speak with him."

"You're speaking to her right now."

"Ahhh, sorry again." He laughs to himself. "Well, we're off then." He says... heading off deeper into the cave.

"It- it's dangerous down there. You will die." Mae shouts out.

"We'll be fiiiine."

She looks to me, worried. Deliberately, I brush past her to start a mind link. "I will watch over him, as I always have been-- just keep Pento and the others safe." She dislikes having others enter her mind, but I find it necessary, given the at-present dire situation. I shall apologize later, if need be.

"Guide them through the second exit, if you can." She responds, understanding the gravity of the situation. "...Lord Exgrave and their new recruit are training in the forest. Be careful to not run into them as you leave."

New recruit? I'll have to ask Allogor about them later. I'm just glad we had not stumbled upon them during our examination of the forest.

...

Against any sort of common sense, we descend deeper into the tunnels. The harpy casts a spell, illuminating her staff so we can see better.

"Why exactly are we descending into these caves?" The elven ranger groans, clearly upset. Caverns are a bit of a sore spot for her, so I can understand why she's found herself unhappy with this development.

"I mean-- I don't see how the village leader could harbor an entire dragon y'know? I scanned the entire place while we were there, and I really doubt you could fit a huge-ass dragon in those dinky little huts."

So he actually believes the story, then. At least he thinks that Penelope is physically an adult-- that will throw him off our trail long enough for him to get bored (as he usually does) and give up.

"Nyeh, I really doubt there's a dragon, Bry-nya." The feline never enjoyed caves either, though more out of preference rather than trauma. "I just think we're barking up the wrong tree-- or, is it meowing?" She laughs nervously.

"But there's still a kobold." He remarks. "I doubt the Ale-knights, cowards that they are, would be scared of just a kobold, and I don't see why they would make up such a specific lie about one, either. So as much as I'd love to bail and get wasted at Aurora's, we'll have to do our due diligence and find out what this 'dragon' really is."

The trek through the caverns is absolutely torturous, having to deal with the swordsperson's apathy in tandem with the dread of the giant insects that lurk deeper within. The only comfort I can find is in the fact I know that we will not be finding Penelope nor Khil'nub here.

The feline and the elven ranger resign themselves to holding tightly to both of the swordsman's arms, with the harpy staying close to provide a guiding light. I myself have resided to breathing exercises, knowing it best to manage my stress levels as we continue.

...

The deeper we go, the harder it gets for me to remain calm. I debate internally if I should let the others know what lies here. Perhaps that would even scare them into heading back. Would they get suspicious of me if I did? I'm sure the swordsman would call me a coward, at the very least. Does it even matter if they did, though? We have a little one with us, after all-- only the gods know why the swordsman thought it fit to take a harpy along with us on our journeys. She may be seventeen now, but still-

"Oh hey, look-- giant cicadas. Isn't that neat!"

...I would never consider myself a religious individual, but perhaps there's a first for everything.

"Maybe it was one of these? They've got some funny patterns, after all."

The swordsman approaches one of them with a look of curiosity. Time slows down to a crawl. I forget how to breathe.

"S-stay away from them...!" I forcefully whisper without thinking. "And keep your voice down!!"

The elven ranger nods fervently, looking absolutely mortified.

I look back to the swordsman.

That smile. That gods-forsaking smile. He takes in a breath.

"What?!" He deliberately raises his voice to contrast my whisper, shouting in playful defiance. "You're gonna have to speak up, Eli!" The feline and the harpy giggle alongside him, with only me and the elven ranger aware of what's about to happen.

Before she or I can say or do anything, however, the two of us hear it.

kliklik

It starts off slow. A low, dull clicking noise. The swordsman doesn't even notice it as he approaches the bug, poking it to tease me.

kliklikliklik

It picks up, growing louder and louder as more of them stir awake.

kliklikliKLIKLIKLIKLIK

Louder. Faster. LOUDER. FASTER.

KLIKLIKLIKLIKLIKLIKLIKLIKLIKLIKLIKLIKLIKLIKLIK

The cave begins to shake violently as the clicking becomes unbearable, metamorphizing into a deafening, reverberating hum.

Brysen, you motherfucker.

We all clutch our ears in anguish. The elven ranger shouts something out, but no one hears her. Likely, it was something to the effect of 'We need to leave, NOW.'

Instinctively, the swordsman grabs the harpy by the hand, quickly running out the wrong way.

Perfect. I can use this as an opportunity to rush back to the village. Maybe the swordsman will lead the others to the second exit on his own. Or, maybe he'll lead them to their untimely deaths. I honestly hope it doesn't come to that-- I don't hate any of them. At least, any of them other than the swordsman.

But right now... I've failed Mae'poi. I need to make up for this before it's too late. Once the five of us approach a junction, I quickly fall back to slip away once the swordsman makes a decision. ...He's never been good with directions, so we spend what feels to be a small eternity before my chance arrives.

Whatever, time to retrace my steps. I'll reconvene with them later.

Though, I'll have to watch myself-- the entire cave's collapsing around me. No matter-- I take great pride in my agility-

"E... Eli-nya...?"

Shit. The feline came back to find me. The one person who can match up to my speed.

"Why aren't you with the others?" I ask, prodding to see if she's alone.

"I saw you dart off, s-so I figured I needed to chase you down!" She puts up a pout, hands on hips. We both know she's faking it. "C-c'mon... we've gotta get out of here before they realize we snuck out."

"I know-"

"Together!"

"I..." Excuses run through my mind at lightning speed. None of them, however, are able to leave my lips. "I cannot."

"...What's going on?" She walks over to me, placing a hand on my shoulder. "For Luma's sake, you've been distant ever since we killed Exgrave. You trust me, right, Elioxus?"

"Of... of course."

"So what's wrong?"

I'm shaking. Why must she be here now, of all times?

"Come on... We used to tell each other everything when we were dating. Why clam up like this?"

She's not even doing her usual puns. That, combined with the tears in her eyes, means she's not going to take no for an answer.

...She's so stubborn. Classic Nema. If we were in any other situation, I'd find it cute.

But can I trust her? I'll be betraying Allogor's trust if I come clean.

...

Run, or talk.

If I don't decide soon, I'm certain the two of us will remain standing here until the rocks crush us to death.

We're at a standstill.

...

I let out a sigh.

"Keep this between us."

She smiles. "Of course."