The underground chamber felt suffocating as Theo tucked herself into a corner, hugging her knees, her gaze nervously flickering between the elf and Vine. The dim, makeshift torch that hung on the wall barely illuminated her friends face, who still remained unconscious.

  Tendrils of smoke poured out from the elf’s shoulders, spreading dark roots in the shadowy tunnel beyond the torchlight. Though she had little choice but to put her faith in the stranger, she couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable in her presence. Her stomach churned, as she silently longed for her old invisibility potion, which could have made this situation more bearable.

  For the fifth time since they arrived, Theo checked Vine’s breathing. Yep, she was still alive, always a positive thing to confirm where friends were concerned.

  “Come on,” Theo whispered, shaking her lightly, “What will it take for you to wake up already?”

  Much to her deep, agonising regret, she had given Vine half of her health potion, practically feeling the gold draining away with every drop that slid down her gullet. However, Vine’s condition remained the same.

  “Please, be reasonable. You’ve already drunk like, two of these things already,” she commented, though her rationalization didn’t convince Vine to awaken any sooner. Frustrated, she shook Vine harder. “Come on! Get up and kick some ass already!”

  “Quiet,” The elf’s commanding voice boomed through the tunnels. Though it wasn’t particularly loud, it was a tone that clearly commanded respect. Theo froze, terrified she’d just offended her most gracious saviour, distracting her from doing… whatever it was she was doing.

  “S-sorry,” Theo stuttered, her voice barely audible.

  The stranger turned her head to look at them, her silver hair catching on the faint light. Her equally silver gaze burrowed into her, as if trying to deduce something. “What are your names?”

  “Who, us? Well, my name is Theo, and my friend here is called Vine. I know it looks bad, but she’s not like the other weird people out there. I mean, she’s a little strange, but she’s—”

  “Enough,” she cut her ramblings off.

  “Right, of course, sorry,” Theo shrunk back, her voice retreating into a whisper. Seeing this, she turned her head away.

  “My name is Zelestia… I’ll be forthcoming with you, Human—Theo. I am partly responsible for the destruction of this town. I brought the Megabear, the goblins and the orc in the hopes of using your little village as fuel to summon a demon.” Zelestia admitted in the same way one might admit to leaving a candle burning through the night. Theo, of course, kept her mouth shut, figuratively anyway, since her jaw was hanging open with the most curious need to simply say “Huh?” Fortunately, the elf wasn’t paying attention to her dumb expression as she continued her confession.

  “I was on the verge of making contact, when that pillar of light ruined the ritual. I’m on a tight schedule right now and since I’m not going to be able to summon a demon, I’m settling for that girl you saw. However, I’m going to need your help.”

  “…”

  “I didn’t take you for the quiet type, Hu—Theo. Speak your mind. If I care to give an answer, I will.”

  “That’s… a lot to take in,” Theo whispered, not sure how to even process that information. From what her fried mind picked up, she had willingly thrown herself in a tunnel with the mastermind behind the initial attack on Carnifex.

  I fucked up, didn’t I? Theo thought repeatedly.

  “Very well. Allow me to ask you a question then.”

  “S-sure, whatever you want.” Theo whispered, her expression frozen.

  “Why haven’t you been targeted by the nooses?”

  “Oh… I don’t know.”

  “I’ve been very honest with you, Theo. I’d prefer you offer me the same courtesy.”

  “Ah, wait! Really, I’m telling you the truth, my invisibility potion ran out by the time the nooses started coming down—“ Zelestia’s shoulders slumped as her head twisted in befuddlement upon hearing that.

  “Did you say invisibility potion?” She spoke with genuine confusion.

  “Y-yeah, that’s right,” her voice’s pitch reached new heights.

  “Where in Nith did you get invisibility potions? Hold on,” the smokey roots spreading out across the tunnels rapidly retreated into the glowing red area on her shoulder, freeing Zelestia from her stance. “That drink I saw you feed your friend, what was that?”

  “… A health potion,” Theo admitted, trembling like a child confessing a crime to her abusive parents. Zelestia’s eyes went wide.

  “I feel I might have more questions for you than you have for me. Do you have anymore?” She inquired.

  “Me? Only half a sip,” She quickly revealed the half-drunk red vial. “Barely worth a thing now… O-or still worth just as much as before… Please don’t hurt me.” Theo eked out her plea, as if trying to implant the idea in Zelestia’s mind.

  “Hurt you? Naive girl, I’m going to go out of my way to make sure you survive this,” Zelestia said with a wicked smile.

  “Really? You’ll protect us?” a spark returned to Theo’s eyes, a joyous smile blossoming on her face from the first piece of good news she’d had in so long.

  “Us? Oh, I’m not going to protect your friend, she’s dead weight. No, my offer is just to protect you. So long as you do everything I ask, I will guarantee you safe passage all the way to the Kingdom of Elynore,” the elf’s smile was not nearly as reassuring as a few moments ago.

  “O-oh, I see.”

  “Good. Now, I’ll still need a few minutes to feel out the situation above, but after that, we’ll have to discuss our strategy.”

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  “Right, our strategy,” Theo parroted.

  “In essence, you shall act as my ambassador to the humans sheltering in the church. If that knight managed to survive our encounter, I have no doubt she’ll have spread only the worst tales about me. That’s where you’ll come in, I’ll need you to convince them to open their doors to me so we can formulate our next move as a group, so long as their minds aren’t so small that they can’t get passed such a minor thing as my little raid.”

  Minor? Did she just say this raid was a minor thing? They will want her dead more than me! Theo blinked, confusion etching her face. “That probably… I mean, I don’t think they’ll—“

  Zelestia’s eyes narrowed, her gaze sharp enough to pierce through the darkness. “What? Is there something I should know about?”

  I can’t tell her that that’s a horrible plan, or that I’m the second worst person to be her ambassador next to Vine! Theo thought, quickly changing gears. “N-no, not at all. Just leave it to me,” She stirred up as much confidence as possible. Though not her most convincing performance, it was enough to alleviate the staring as the elf’s expression softened.

  “Good,” Zelestia stated, moving back to her position at the center of the chamber. Once more, her shoulder blazed a bright crimson and smoke flowed back into the tunnels, the light dimming under their presence.

  “… Erm, about my friend,” Theo started, her nerves more than audible in her voice. “She’s really important to me, and is mostly the reason I’m alive right now. Is there anything you can do to wake her up? I promise she won’t be ‘dead weight’.”

  That, and she’ll be able to protect me from whatever you’re planning. Theo mused, hoping she wouldn’t pick up on her intentions.

  “Forget your friend. If she’s not awake now, her soul is likely being corrupted as we speak. She’ll be calling us beautiful soon enough.”

  “Corrupted soul? Beautiful? Do you know what’s happening out there?” Theo found enough strength to ask the question that had been plaguing her since she encountered them. What exactly where they up against?

  “I’ve narrowed down it to two or three options. How much do you know about Nith, outside of using it as an expletive?” Zelestia questioned.

  “Erm, I know we call it The Echo, because it’s like a mirror version of this place, but like, weirder,” Theo explained, much to the elf’s disappointment.

  “That barely scratches the surface. Does your culture place so little importance on the realm of horror barely a step outside our reality?

  “Y-yeah, I guess so. Ha ha… So, does this have something to do with that demon thing you were talking about before?” Theo asked sheepishly, to which the elf gestured it was only partly to do with that.

  “If the summoning ritual wasn’t interrupted, I doubt we’d be having this conversation. I can’t be entirely sure a demon is not involved, since I’ve only ever encountered the one. However, I have a very strong hunch about what it could be. As for what’s happening, that will be one of my bargaining chips against the other survivors, namely the priest. I’m sure they’ll be very interested in what I have to say, even more so if they are as clueless as you are on matters of the Nithic world.”

  “B-but what about my friend! I really think you should consider helping her.” She told Zelestia, hesitating on how much she should reveal of Vine’s identity.

  “Your affection for your friend is touching, but futile. Don’t worry, I won’t let her become a walking corpse like the others. My power requires a lot of blood to sustain itself and a fresh human like her would go a long way to keeping us both alive,” Zelestia stated with little concern as to Theo’s reaction, who’s face darkened with fear.

  “You want to use Vine as fuel for your powers? No! I won’t let you have her. If you want me to help you talk to the others, then—then you’re going to have to keep us both alive!” Theo moved herself in front of Vine, is if shielding her from the elf’s eyes.

  “Careful human, I only need one of you. Frustrate me, and I’ll turn you into fuel to awaken your friend.”

  “You don’t scare me, I’m Faithless Theo of the Blacksurcoats, and if you want to eat either of us, then I’ll—I’ll...” Theo looked around, and quickly picked up Vine’s bag “I’ll find something in this that will make you pay!”

  “…What?”

  “I’ll do it!” Theo yelled, not sure where she was going with this.

  “Is this some sort of traditional human threat? I doubt whatever is in that bag could be very threatening if you don’t even know what’s in there. Don’t make me have to mess up that beautiful face—?!” Zelestia’s hand shot up to cover her mouth as she turned sharply away. The tendrils around her shoulder strained, tensing up as if reeling in shock.

  “Zelestia?” Theo questioned

  “Bloodfalls! You little shits! Using my pacts with the goblins to… Beautifu-ck yourself! Get out of my body!” she cursed, staggering away from the pair. Her shoulder pulsed red, as all the smoke rushed back into her body.

  Theo didn’t understand what was happening, but she felt with every fiber of her being that any chance of staying there with her had just vanished. In a flash, she scooped Vine up from the ground and sprinted down one of the nearby tunnels.

  “Where are you going, stop!” Zelestia’s voice thundered behind her.

  Theo didn’t look back, plunging deeper into the tunnel network. Almostly immediately, her shoulders bashed into the walls, almost knocking to the ground. With no light, she was forced to slow her pace, trying to feel her way through the twists and turns while still holding onto Vine. Nothing was straight forward about this place’s design, curving and cutting in areas like a labyrinth.

  I wish I could just put Vine in the bag and run for it!

  Hopelessly lost, she felt a rush of relief wash over her when she finally spotted it. Far ahead, a tunnel, straight as an arrow, had a few rays of blue light beaming through its ceiling. A hopeful smile blossomed on her face as she ran ahead at full speed.

  “Don’t worry, Vine. I’ll get us out of this—” she was cut off when she slammed into an invisible barrier, knocking her flat on her ass and losing her grip in Vine. “OH, COME ON!!! It’s here too?!” She threw her arms into the air, gesturing at the stupid, unseeable wall.

  After collecting herself and Vine from the ground, she looked around for another route. Panic surged when she spotted a wall of miasma rolling towards her from back the way she came, like a black tide filling the tunnels.

  Taking the nearest available path, Theo blindly fled with as much speed as possible, her poor shoulders be damned. Once again, her vision was gone, relying solely on her other senses and what little luck she still possessed to make it through this. For all she knew, she was running straight into one of Zelestia’s conjurations. She didn’t want to know what would happen then.

  Her resilience was rewarded as a faint light appeared in the distance once more. She surged towards it, ignoring her ragged breaths as she held onto Vine for dear life. The light grew brighter, guiding her to a narrow hole, fit for a couple of goblins to crawl through together, angled up towards the surface.

  “Why couldn’t it be bigger?” Theo wined, investigating the hole. The surface was in sight, and it was all down to her to make it out. Sucking in her chest, she squeezed herself through the narrow passage. Theo wasn’t necessarily claustrophobic, but even she couldn’t help but feel nervous relying on the stability of goblin engineering as she crawled through dirt and stone, the gap clearly not designed for someone of her stature. Still, this was her only viable escape without risking the smoke catching her while she searched for a larger exit.

  Pulling Vine through the opening, who fit far better than she ever could, she dragged them both through. If even one section was slightly too small for her to squeeze past, they would both be easy prey for the resurrected on the surface or the delusional elf below. Inch by inch, she crammed her body through, until her arm finally breached the surface. Using everything she had left, she pried her upper body through the exit. Gasping, cold air filled her lungs as the pressure on her chest finally relieved. Unable to stop, she pushed the rest of her body through the hole and, at last, heaved Vine onto the surface.

  Freedom had never been sweeter. Both were covered in dirt, and Theo’s muscles had officially gone on strike, but they were free.

  Please, First, don’t let Zelestia’s smoke things find us.

  Drawing in deep, satisfying breaths, her heart pounding in her ears, she surveyed their surroundings. They were on the outskirts of Carnifex, in the unoccupied grassland next to the hill the church sat upon. The bushes and tall grass nearby made this opening virtually invisible, if you didn’t know where to look.

  Oh, and if you find the time, please don’t let them kill us on sight. Theo prayed, knowing their only chance of survival now lay with the survivors at the church, and the mercy of Hera.