Return to Jorgaldur Volume II: the druid archer

Under the mountains

They encountered some elves, half-elves, humans and other demihumans along the way, but they avoided them, thanks to the sight of the goshawk, the hearing and smell sense of the lynx, Life Detection, and Camouflage. It was better to avoid being seen, to avoid giving any kind of clue to their pursuers, of whom they had no news. They didn't know if those pursuers were after them, if they had given up, or if they were waiting for an opportunity.

The sisters hoped to be safe in Narzerlak, the elven realm, for not only was Maldoa there, but the elf's ability against corrupted beings was more than appreciated. However, they had decided to be careful, to keep a low profile until they could talk to their friend. None of the sisters knew where to find her, but they hoped she would find them.

Finally, after several days of travel, they arrived in front of the entrance of a cave.

"Are you sure you want to come?" the elf wanted to confirm.

"Yes, totally. I can't leave you alone," the goshawk assured.

It was true that she didn't like closed places, or that she could cross the mountains from the sky, and meet them on the other side. However, it was also true that she would be terrible worried and frustrated if they were in danger and she couldn't help. It was no less true that she didn't want to stay so many days without her sister's delicious food.

So, with the bird perched on Goldmi's shoulder, they entered the cave. It was the entrance to the pass through which they were to traverse below the mountains. Besides, since she didn't need the costume, and it was a nuisance, she just went back to being a blonde elf.

It was a dark and quiet place, although the lamp dealt with the darkness. The only problem was that, from time to time, it was caught by a spider web, and they were attacked by its owner.

It was something sporadic, since the density of spiders wasn't great. In fact, less than other inhabitants of those caves, unlike what would happen many years later, when another visitor would pass through that same place.

The path they needed to follow was clear. Despite being a little traveled place, visitors had walked through it often during the game, and sometimes for real. Due to its low exposure to the elements, it was easy to follow the indications left on the stone, which would be impossible if the place had been covered by cobwebs.

Most of the beings in those tunnels avoided them, as they were aware of the difference in level, although some giant centipedes seemed bent on attacking them. With the safety of the difference in level, the elf took the opportunity to train some melee skills, as long as her sisters didn't want to play with the attackers.

The other beings that attacked them were spiders, but only if they got caught in their webs, something that didn't happen often. The lynx was walking ahead, and burned them immediately.

Without a doubt, the one who suffered the most was the goshawk, which couldn't spread here wings there, or see the sky. She felt closed in, although she was better at lunchtime.

It was also a problem to rest. There were no plants for Vegetable Home there, and they weren't sure if the fairy castle-shaped tent could protect them, so it was necessary to take turns watching.

In that situation, the goshawk was especially useful, since she could later rest over one of her sisters. Despite her limitations, as she was a bird in a place where she could barely fly, her affinity to the wind allowed her to establish a kind of barrier. She was able to feel if something was going through it. Of course, if this happened and her aura didn't scare the intruder, she would warn one of her sisters, usually the lynx.

It is true that her level was above the beings in those tunnels, but also that she couldn't use her weapons and skills, and her strength wasn't brute force. While she could be the victor, especially thanks to her affinity to the wind, the risk of injury was high. Besides, she didn't even want to think about her sister keeping her promise to give her packaged food if she acted so recklessly again.

They arrived at a kind of huge room, which seemed impossible to exist inside those tunnels. Not only was it wide, but it towered many meters above their heads.

They had no idea how it had been created, whether naturally or artificially, but there was nothing there that seemed to indicate that it had any purpose.

Goldmi ordered the lamp to rise upward, while using Sun to illuminate the ground, but they found nothing of note. However, they stayed there for a few minutes, while the albino goshawk took the opportunity to stretch her wings. She flied around and Plummeted, thus breaking some cobwebs with her wind.

"It could all be like that and not so narrow," the bird complained.

Elf and lynx laughed only a little. In fact, the feline had practically not messed with her winged sister, although it might be thought that it was a favorable situation for it.

However, the bird really was having a hard time in the tunnels, and, although they didn't recognize it, they loved each other too much to bother in those situations. Of course, as soon as they got out, she would probably remind it to her more than once.

A giant bat fell lifelessly to the floor of the huge grotto. It was big enough to fly and hunt, and the goshawk had been unable to resist it. Three days had passed since they had left behind that room where she had been able to stretch her wings, and more since she had been able to exercise her hunting skills.

However, soon both the bird and the lynx began to feel uncomfortable, and also the elf, as she felt them. There was something strange there. It could be seen in the behavior of the insects, the little ones and the giants.

There was a huge underground lake, the depth of which was impossible to appreciate, and it widened as they advanced. There, the insects came to drink, but they did it quickly, as if they were afraid that something might attack them.

Therefore, the three sisters were alert, although without fear. Their level was well above the zone, so they were convinced that they could deal with the beings that may be hiding under the waters.