Closed.

"You are terrible."
Dhea said this with a hidden smile. Despite the fact that he negated her magic, which was something he couldn't help, she liked having Yan by her side. Even if he did whine, despite not doing any walking.

However, she felt it would be rude to ignore the Orcs, even if she felt exhausted. She could rest after seeing what they needed. Her good nature would likely be the death of her, but she would always help where she could.
 
20edc1240ddf06f08743221253830bfb.jpg

​
Dhea made her way down the hill onto the dirt road and toward a group of Orcs gathered in the center of Torrepani. Some nodded to her in greeting, while some continued talking among themselves about a friend who was killed in the woods by an assassin. Dhea had a pretty close encounter with that same assassin, judging by the description of him told by the Orcs.

- "I've met the assassin."
- "Is that why you are troubled?"
- Stay silent.
 
Dhea sighed, before looking heavily concerned. She wasn't going to admit anything about meeting the assassin, because knowing her luck, it would bite her in the ass.
"Is that why you are troubled?"
 
"We are not troubled!" One of the Orcs growled, then added. "But, no, it's much worse."
"But with Esh dead, who will save Tia!" The other Orc added in, his brows furrowed. "She's our flower." He sighed, eyes filling with tears. "
"Tia is the Chief's daughter." The first Orc continued after his companion broke down in sobs. "Esh was to save her. Now Esh is dead, so soon Tia will be dead."

- "What happened?"
- "I'll save her."
- "You need a new hero."
 
Dhea already wanted to help, but she needed more information. With wide eyes and a soft tone, she spoke.
"What happened?"
She already wanted to hand the crying Orc something to wipe his tears, but she felt it might be a bit rude.
 
"Goblins." One female Orc responded. "They took her a sacrifice to a great cave demon." She mimed the gesture of throat slitting.
"Trouble is, our village will end if the Chief's line ends. Tia is his only child." The crying Orc chimed in, his words slurred between sobs. "It will all end!"
"All end." The rest mumbled in agreement, nodding.
"Who are you?" The female Orc suddenly asked, as if remembering.

- "A warrior."
- "A sorcerer."
- "A traveller."
 
Dhea lifted her chin, her shoulders going back. She seemed bigger than her usual petite self, but not pompous.
"I'm a warrior."
She knew she didn't look like much, but she had always prided herself on proving others wrong.
 
"Warrior!" The woman echoed with a sudden gleam in her eyes. The others looked at her and nodded as if agreeing on something.
"Great warrior?" The crying Orc stopped sobbing to look at Dhea.

- Yes.
- No.
 
Dhea took a moment. She didn't consider herself a 'great warrior', but she felt that it was what the Orcs needed at that moment.
"It depends on your point of view, but yes."
She felt as if she was lying, but they seemed to need the supposed great warrior she claimed to be.
 
"That is good!" The female Orc nodded with a grin, showing her lower tusks. The others were quick to join in echoing her approval.

Before Dhea could do anything, two brawny Orcs had hefted her in their arms, carrying her between themselves. Resistance was futile. Yan yelped and hid like he usually did, in order not to be shaken free.

- Ask what's happening.
- Wait and see.
 
It was certainly one of the wierder experiences that Dhea had beem through the past week or so. Rather than attempt to struggle or ask questions, she simply relented and waited to see where they were taking her.

They also didn't seem to be angry or hostile, so she felt relatively safe.
 
She held her tongue, waiting to see where they were taking her. The Orcs walked through half the village. Several others of their kind appeared on the doorways and windows, watching the groups that carried her, faces sombre. Some of them chanted and murmured blessings as they passed. The whole thing was starting to look like a ritual.

Finally the two brawny Orcs stopped in front of a house in the center of the village. They let Dhea down, rather carefully. The Orcs walked out of the place as soon as she was in though, locking the doors behind them. Everything fell silent, until Yan murmured frighteningly. "I don't know what happened with Tia, but they are definitely going to sacrifice us."

- Wait.
- Try to escape.
 
Dhea frowned, already not liking the situation. They had locked her inside a house and there had been chanting. She felt rather suspicious, but she tried to use logic.
Trying to escape could lead to more danger, but that didn't stop her from searching for a way out.

She wouldn't escape until she was absolutely sure she was in danger.
 
An hour passed before the doors opened again. Yan had been sleeping curled on her shoulder and when the doors creaked, he perked up his ears, eyes widened, expecting trouble. Though the opening walked another Orc, this one strangely outfitted, in robes of bright outlandish colours and a staff with some sort of a rock at its top. To Dhea's surprise he bowed so low to the ground in front of her, that his sleeves brushed the dusty floorboards.

"I apologise for this, brave warrior. I'm Proseus. The Chief." When he straightened, his expression was worried. "I have need of you and your strength. My daughter was offered to a terrible demon, down below. Won't you save her?"

Suddenly, the pieces of the puzzle started to fit together. The assassin told her of the Goblins reopening the old mines. There were ancient demons guarding those mines, no doubt left behind by the first sorceress. Now the Goblins were buying their own skin with innocent lives.

- Agree to help.
- Refuse.
 
Dhea frowned. It was not in anger, like many would think. It was in concern for this Chief and his daughter. She had no doubt that the task would be dangerous and nearly fatal, but she couldn't leave someone behind because it was 'too great a risk'.
"I'll help."
She did not care if she was injured, so long as the Chief's daughter was safe.
 
"Thank you." The Chief nodded to her. It was clear that Yan wanted to protest, but he stayed silent at least for now. "We cannot delay this." The Chief continued, beckoning her to follow.

Dhea was led down a short pathway through a forest to a crack in the ground. The Chief walked in front of her, while two Orcs followed behind Dhea. One was carrying a rope and another one a basket. Once they approached the edge of the crack, it was clear that they wanted to lower her down into the basket. Yan's uneasiness was palpable.

- Take the adventure.
- Try to escape.
 
With a soft sigh, Dhea was tempted to leave Yan with the Orcs, just so she could use her magic. But she also wanted to keep the Minimite safe. And that seemed to be best accomplished while he was with her.
But, she shook her head and took Yan gently in her hand. She turned to the Chief and held out the Minimite.
"Please take care of him until I return."

Without a lot of hesitation, Dhea climbed into the basket. She just waited to be lowered into the abyss.
 
Last edited:
The Chief nodded at her with respect, big hands careful not to crush the Minimite. "Watch the darkness." He said as the Orcs worked on lowering her down.
"You dummy, I am the one keeping you safe!" Yan's chirping was the last she heard as she went into the darkness.

The basket hit the floor with a thud and toppled over with Dhea in it, making her roll on the ground, quite unheroically. Her eyes could not make out anything around her, but a slight breeze suggested endless space in all directions. She was blind, helpless, trapped and now alone. Then, something clattered to her feet from above. Dhea's fingers wrapped around a long wooden object - a torch. As she moved to examine it further, something small hit her head. The second item proved to be a tinderbox.

b5562bbc9b0c05b0a1a1438e74655ebe.jpg

Striking the torch alight revealed her surroundings to her. She was in a large cavern, wide and deep. At the far end passageways disappeared to left and right.

- Go left.
- Go right.
 
Dhea was scared.
There was no way about it. She was terrified of what was in the caves. Of the supposed demon and the goblins. She felt so small and alone, that's she almost curled into herself. With a soft sob, she took a moment to shake it off and steel herself.

She was down there to save someone, not feel self-pity. She took a deep breath and turned right.
 
The passage to the right rose up in a gentle incline. After a couple of moments of walking she reached another intersection, where the path branches to left and right again. There was a large blue crystal at the wall of the cavern, right at the intersection, its surface gleaming in the torchlight. On a closer inspection, it might have been a pure diamond. Quite possibly the reason for the tunnels being carved. But, there was no one mining about now.

- Go left.
- Go right.
 
Dhea stepped forward to examine the crystal, already mentally marking it so that she could find her way back. She nodded to herself, before going left. She felt that she should go that way.
 
On he left the cavernous system widened. Pendulous stalactites hung from the ceiling above her head, some looking like they were about to fall and skewer her in place. Thankfully, none do. The passage then started sloping down a short way, before another path opened on her left. There are two stones stacked on top of eachother at the start of this passage, like someone was marking their way.

- Go left.
- Go straight.
 
The fact that someone was marking their way made Dhea suspicious. She also felt that it could lead to where she needed to go, at least part of the way. She assured herself that everything would be fine and walked down the left path.
 
She walked through another chamber of stalactites. The ground seemed to dip at the end of it, the tunnel narrowing. At the lowest point a crawlspace opened to her left. There was another stacked pair of stones in front of the passage.

- Go straight.
- Go left.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 3 (members: 0, guests: 3)
Back
Top