Return to Jorgaldur Volume IV: Reunion

Underground

Goldmi jumped down from the tree. She didn't Float to break her fall until just before landing.

She was in a hurry. Those blood beings had succumbed too quickly. Although they had them under control, the Hellhounds still should have held out a little longer. Besides, they had done it at the same time, for which she could only find one explanation. Krovledi was dead.

It didn't take long for her feline sister to catch up with her, and get her on her back. She had sensed that her elf sister was anxious, and knew exactly why. She wanted to find Elendnas.

"Hey! Don't leave me behind!" Smashy complained.

However, she was left with no choice but to make the short journey on her own, by making use of Onslaught. While she did have a skill to increase her speed, she preferred to use Onslaught multiple times in a row if the journey wasn't too long. She found it more fun.

However, she stopped before entering. After seeing that her brother was sitting down, resting, it was evident that the danger had passed. Therefore, she waited for Merlin, who was speeding towards her. He was wrapped in a spell that made his body lighter.

When they entered, they found the vampiress and the elf examining the floor of a room.

"Goldmi! It's really you!" the cat magician exclaimed when he saw her.

"Merlin!" she turned around. "It's good to see you."

The elf smiled, but that smile couldn't hide the concern on her face.

"What's wrong?" the mage asked.

Goldmi took a deep breath before answering.

"Elendnas was captured. He should be around. Maybe behind that barrier, if he's still... Can you help us? My power isn't enough, and Gjaki would cause a mess."

"I...!" The vampiress wanted to protest, but she stopped midway. Her friend was right.

"I can undo the magic, but I can't guarantee that there won't be some chain reaction or some trap," he offered.

The archer considered this for a few seconds before nodding.

"It's the best we have. Please..." she begged. She was in a hurry.

Merlin came closer. He would have wanted to talk to her more, about the old days, about how grateful he was to her. However, now what she needed was his help.

For a few moments, the mana condensed in such a way that it was almost visible, after which it was sent against the barrier. They entwined, which broke the links that held the spell, thus causing it to collapse.

Dispel was a spell that canceled other spells by adding more mana to interfere with the structure of their magic. It was much less subtle than Decompose Mana. Together with Detect Mana, it could analyze and break spells in an orderly fashion, which prevented other entwined spells from activating.

Luckily for them, that wasn't the case. Though powerful, the barrier had to continually be opened and closed to let vampires in and out. It would have been too cumbersome to have to turn other spells on and off as well.

The trapdoor was securely locked on the inside, since another exit had been used to attack them. However, it wasn't robust enough to prevent two barbarian siblings from tearing it off.

The other three looked at them in surprise for a few moments, for their raw strength was undoubtedly amazing. Recovered from her surprise, the elf hurried down the gap, followed by her sister. Somewhat concerned for her, Gjaki followed right after, and it didn't take long for the barbarians and the mage to enter.

It was a huge area, made of stone. The hidden part of those ruins had remained more or less intact by being underground.

Goldmi didn't just stare at it. Instead, she cast Sun to shine, and start inspecting the surroundings. The lynx decided to look in the opposite direction, while the vampiress summoned several Bats. Darkness wasn't a problem for them.

"Little fireflies, advance against the darkness," Merlin conjured.

Some spells were easier to cast with a little chant. Perhaps, for others, it might have been embarrassing, but the mage had returned when he was still a child, and had found it fascinating. By the time Merlin got old enough to be embarrassed, he was too used to it.

The barbarians, however, had it worse. For some skills, a prayer to the totems was necessary. The worst had been having to demonstrate it in front of their respective tribes in full.

At that time, they had wanted to crawl into a hole, and had feared that they would be laughed at. However, the reaction of the members of the tribes had been quite different. There had been great respect, gratitude and even adoration. Some of those prayers had been lost over time, wars or accidents. Being able to recover them was to recover their roots, their essence, part of their lost strength.

Therefore, they were considered messiahs, which had embarrassed them even more. At that time, almost ten years ago, they had been just teenagers used to living in the city, and quite introverted. That had been too huge for them, overwhelming, but they had had no choice but to face it. Without a doubt, they had left behind their introverted past.

Small lights began to emerge from the staff. They moved slowly but without stop in all directions, and dimly illuminating the place.

They found several of the rooms where the vampires had taken up residence, as well as supplies, though no living beings. All the vampires had left with Krovledi, and the servants were just lower level vampires.

There were also supplies and some weapons. Only one room was decorated with some luxury, so they assumed that it had been Krovledi's. There, they found gold, some potions and various valuables that the deceased vampiress had kept as trophies.

Not far from the room, there was a door that was sealed with a spell. However, it wasn't as powerful as the previous one, so Goldmi was able to Decompose it.

She flung open the door, anxious, and ran to the figure tied in a chair, his back to the door. There were tears in her eyes. She was happy to have found him, and afraid that he was hurt or dead. She had recognized the blond hair, the shape of those ears.

"Elendnas!" she called him without even stopping.

"Goldmi... You must leave... It's too dangerous..." he pleaded weakly, surprised and worried.

"Elendnas... Everything is fine... She's dead. You won't have to worry anymore," she hugged him, still crying.

He would have wanted to hug her back, but it was impossible. Instead, he smiled, despite feeling weak.

"In that case, it wouldn't hurt if you untie me," he suggested half jokingly.

She pulled away for a moment, and blushed in embarrassment for not having done so as soon as she arrived. He just laughed. Although the elf felt tired and weak, being able to see his beloved again was all he could wish for.