Closed.

Dhea sighed, her fingers going through her messy fringe, before smiling at the elves. A warm, open smile. She didn’t want make them any more nervous than they clearly were.
“I’m on a quest. To stop a rather evil person.”
Her tone dripped with sincerity.
 
"A quest." The Elven woman nodded, then turned to the other Elves, shouting out. "Did you hear that? She's on a great quest!" She laughed, but when Dhea continued explaining, her laughter died. Her smile fell off and her eyes widened.

"You are the Analander." She said, placing a hand over her mouth. "We've heard about you." There was another wave of murmuring passing around the other gathered Elves.

- "From whom?"
- "From the Serpents?"
- "You couldn't have."
 
“.....from whom?”
Dhea’s eyes were wide. She was confused. Gods, was she confused.
How had these elves heard of her?
She looked a lot like a confused animal at that moment. She wasn’t too worried about that.
 
"The Serpents." The woman said. "They are hunting you. The Moon Serpent is close."

She walked back across the circle, joining her friends, but not before gesturing for Dhea to follow. The Elves were not that interested in talking about the matter further it seemed, because they returned to their matter of throwing dice. The Elven woman sat next to them, taking out a dagger and proceeding to sharpen it.

- Ask what they are playing.
- Ask the woman about the Serpents.
- Tell a joke.
- Leave.
 
Dhea sat near the Elven woman, her brow furrowing. She didn’t know how to ask about the Serpent. She crossed her arms, eyes on her scuffed boots.
“What can you tell me about the Serpent? The one that told you about me?”
Her warmth had vanished somewhat and so had her softness. Sometimes it worried Dhea when she could switch between the two sides herself so quickly. It made her feel less than honest, hiding her steel behind a soft smile and the other way around.

She wished she was one or the other, not both.
 
"Only that they are all after you and that neither I, nor any Elf here, wishes to get involved." The woman said, not bringing her gaze up from the blade. "You were granted freedom of the camp by the Elder, but I suggest you leave as soon as possible. Before my people get anxious."

It seemed that Dhea would not get any useful information from the gathered Elves.

- Rest by the campfire.
- Leave the camp.
 
Dhea shook her head, before turning to the fire, her eyes focusing on the centre of it. She would rest there for a moment and then she would continue. She’d certainly be glad to.
 
She rested by the fire with the Elves whispering about her for a couple of moments. Then one of the Elves slipped away.

After a quarter of the hour Dhea heard a shrill whistle. A signal? She had only a moment to consider the possibility before she was caught. The Elves swarmed from all sides, arrows trained at her, while a couple of guards came forward to grab her arms.

The Elder approached her with a miserable smile.

"The Seven Serpents are looking for you. Which makes you of great value." He turend to the Elves talking in their native tongue.

Dhea was dragged across the dust to the back of the caravan. The guards around her set to work making a tall wooden X from two long planks of wood.

"Please, do not mistake us for the servants of the Archmage." The Elder spoke, looking at her sadly. "However, we have been lost in the wasteland for far too long."

- Threaten them.
- Try to make them see reason.
- Say you can help them.
 
Dhea shook her head, her eyes pleading. They didn’t understand. Her fingers dug into her palms, hard enough to draw blood.
“No. The Serpents will kill me and then they kill you. They have no concept of value, just death and destruction.”
She didn’t struggle as she spoke, but her voice was breaking.
“I am trying to stop the Archmage, the person who caused all of this. And what are you doing? Handing over the one person who can defeat him. He will not reward you. Why can’t you see that?”
 
"I can see enough." The Elder said. "Which is why we need to hand you over, Analander. You would bring death and ruin to us all."

The wooden cross was now finished. The restraints were secured.

"Hoist her up, men." The Elder ordered and the other Elves hurried to drag Dhea to the cross.

Her hands were freed for a brief moment until they prepared the restraints on the cross. If she meant to do any spellcasting she would need to do it now.

- Cast a spell.
- Run.
- Plead.
 
Dhea offered a soft prayer to Courga, before casting a spell of sleep. She couldn’t let this happen. She would die and she couldn’t let any of the sacrifices that had been made for her be in vain.
She would run and hope that she’d never see the elves again.
 
The spell worked flawlessly. The spell, boosted by the presence of her deity, knocked out cold all of the Elves in the surroundings. Perhaps some were left standing, on the verge of the camp, but they were not close enough to catch her as she made her escape.

Thanks to that she was able to slip out of the camp, through the fences on the back and into the desert. She ran and ran until the spell faded off, but at that point she was already too far away from the Elves to be seen. She was once again in the wasteland, tired and baking in the heat of the sun. The road passed by her on the right, leading toward the mountains. On the north she could see dunes, or barren hills, it was difficult to say from the distance, while further down south was the empty canyon of the river.

- Continue east.
- Go north.
- Go south.
 
The road wound upwards from there and into the mountains. Heat beat down from an empty sky. From the mid distance, a screech reached Dhea's ears. The mountainside was barren and there was nothing apparent that would cause that sound. Suddenly, behind a boulder, a fearful shape emerged. A Wraith, quite similar to the one she encountered in Shinva's tomb. It beckoned at her with a single bony finger.

- Run.
- Attack.
- Cast a spell.
 
“Oh, fuck me.”
Dhea cursed rather loudly, before drawing her silver blade and darting towards the Wraith. She started swinging, just wanting to release her anger upon something inherently evil.
 
"Enough! Let me be! I mean you no harm!" An unusual squeak came from the Wraith.

An old man emerged from behind the rocks to the right, holding his arms up in the air.

"Leave Ren alone, he never does any harm, it's just for fun!" He said, presumably talking about his Wraith. Suddenly the terrifying apparition flickered and contorted, until eventually it fully disappeared. It was only an illusion.

- Threaten him.
- Say you mean no harm.
- Ask about the illusion.
 
“.....oh for....”
Dhea sheathed her blades, before putting her hands on her hips and narrowing her eyes at the old man.
“I meant no harm, but your Wraith seemed he did. What was I supposed to make of it?”
 
"It's just for fun!" The old man said, not letting his arms down still. He was clearly frightened. "Just an illusion. I learned it from a traveller! It won't hurt you!"

- Ask about the illusion.
- Dismiss him and continue.
 
“Who taught you this illusion? Did they give you a name?”
Dhea looked less foreboding and murderous and more concerned. For the man’s safety, but also because there was someone teaching people illusion spells.
 
"A traveller, I said." The man fiddled with the hem of his ragged tunic. "She traded me a bracelet of bone for some food. She was starving to death Trying to get to Mampang she said, but I don't think she was going to make it, she was so hungry. She showed me how it was done." He explained.

- Ask about the woman.
- Ask about himself.
 
“Can you tell me anything else?”
Dhea pressed her fingers into her temples, eyes closed. She had an idea of what was going on, but she wanted more proof to her theory before she was fully on board with it.
“Did she look like me?”
 
"She was a warrior like you." The old man said. "And a wizard too. She looked much older and skinned than you, though. Full of scars." He added, then fumbled through his pockets producing something with a shaky hand. "Here, take this, don't hurt me." He held out a spiked metal disc and a vial of yellow powder. "Take them, please!"

- Take both.
- Take only one.
- Refuse.
 
Dhea raised an eyebrow, before taking both of them and tucking them away. She looked over the old man, before shaking her head.
“Be more careful next time.”
 
The vial was filled with fine grainy powder, bright yellow in colour. It would be useful for spellcasting, if it was indeed the genuine stuff, if Dhea sniffed at it, it would make her movements exceptionally fast fro a short time. The disc was just a plain metal disc of unknowable purpose.

"Thank you!" The man exclaimed as she took the item, fidgeting in the spot for a brief moment, before turning and bolting downhill, as fast as his legs would carry him.

- Continue ahead.
- Turn back.
 
Dhea shook her head and tucked the items away. She continued, her throughts wandering. She felt rather alone, isolated from the rest of the world. She missed having a person by her side, to talk to and spend time with.
And for some reason, Dhea missed Rhain.
 
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