Hey, sorry for the delay! I know the new chapters have come out rather erratically lately, but I promise that I'm never gonna give up on this fic! Also, chapter not beta'd, could have typos.

Syrise took breaths shallow and steady in order to uphold her stealth. It was growing difficult. A few hours had passed, and it had been years since she'd need to extend her stealth for such a long time. Her forehead was sheened in sweat, matting her blonde hair to the sides of her face. Her limbs trembled and she had to lean back against the wall to keep herself upright. Though her knees felt ready to drop, she kept them locked through sheer willpower.

Across the cavern, Jazax didn't look much better. He'd been casting some pretty hefty healing spells the whole time, and it clearly showed. Frankly, he looked ready to collapse. It seemed these furbolg had decided to work him to death, she thought to herself bitterly.

Not that she would actually let that come to pass. She was waiting for the right time. For a moment to swoop in and grab him, covering him with her stealth again. But the furbolg weren't as stupid as they seemed. They'd kept him under a close watch by a pair of armed guards. And the more time that passed, and the weaker she grew, she was growing increasingly worried she wouldn't even have the strength to stealth them both.

She needed an alternative. She paused, feeling at her pockets. Smoke bombs? No, that wouldn't do much. Her pistol? No, no. Maybe she could poison them? Not likely. Syrise furrowed her brow, silently feeling around her bag. Then she paused, her hand brushing against a smooth stone. She furrowed her brow, taking out the stone. It was heavy in her hand and cool to the touch, fitting perfectly in her palm. Pure white marble marked with a single blue rune, which pulsated readily.

Syrise went to shove the stone back into the recesses of her bag, to be lost for another few decades. It wasn't an option, she told herself. But then she flicked her green eyes up towards Jazax. Suppressing a sigh, she accepted the truth. It was not only an option; it was her only option.

Taking a deep breath and bracing herself, Syrise clutched the stone tightly in her one hand, as the other pushed her away from the wall. She stumbled a moment but kept herself upright through determination alone.

When Syrise reached Jazax, it took all her willpower not to start panting from exertion. But she didn't, knowing it would break her stealth. Slowly and carefully, she positioned herself evenly between the two guards, behind where Jazax was bent over trying to heal a furbolg. She wouldn't have much time. This would have to be flawless, she warned herself.

Drawing her dagger in her free hand, she gripped the hilt tightly. The furbolg guards both paused upon hearing the metallic shink of the blade. Then Syrise swung the blade, slicing it deeply across the throat of one of the guards. As he fell to the ground, dead upon impact, her stealth faltered.

Jazax jumped back as the body landed next to him, looking up quickly. His eyes went wide upon seeing Syrise. But before he could say anything, the remaining guard jabbed his spear at her. Her reactions slowed from her exhaustion, the attack struck true and the stony spearhead pierced into her stomach. Syrise gritted her teeth, careful not to cry out and draw too much attention to them. They needed the precious few seconds they could have.

The furbolg wrenched his spear free, and Syrise hissed from the pain. Then the furbolg went to stab at her again. But before his attack made contact, he was hit in the head by a mace. He hesitated a moment, before collapsing forward, knocked unconscious. Syrise blinked in surprise, looking down at Jazax and realizing he had thrown it. In a different situation, she might've made a quip about his surprising accuracy, but instead she collapsed to her knees.

"Syrise!" Jazax hurried to her side, "What're you doin' here? You came back for me?"

"I n-never left," She grumbled.

Jazax's eyes widened in surprise at hearing this.

"Huh? Wait, wait. Y'mean, this whole time, you were-"

"Shut up, Jazzy," Syrise groaned, raising her hand, "I'm concentrating."

"Huh?"

Jazax looked down to her hand, seeing the stone. He stared at it curiously for a moment, before it began to glow green. Then his expression quickly became one of recognition.

"Syrise, is that a he-"

"Yeah," She mumbled, reaching out and grabbing onto his shirt, "N-Now shut up and hang on tight, or you're gonna be left here."

Jazax stammered in half-protest as she shoved his body against hers, before just silently wrapping his arms around her stomach. It was kind of strange, essentially being at the same height as him. Which she was, since she was kneeling down, too tired to stand.

But there would be time to think about all that later.

Another passing furbolg paused, seeing the both of them, and shouted something in the snarling language.

"U-Uh, Syrise?" Jazax furrowed his brow.

"Almost done," Syrise eyed the stone, watching the rune turning a shimmering green.

"Let's hope so, huh?" Jazax chuckled nervously.

Syrise flicked her eyes up for a moment, seeing several furbolg approaching them with weapons drawn. She bit her lip, looking back to the stone. Almost…

One of the furbolg approached them, raising his spear aggressively. Then he stabbed it down. But as he did, the two immaterialized before his eyes.

And in the blink of an eye, the dank smell, darkness, and quiet echo of the furbolg tunnel was gone. Replaced with bright sunshine, birdsong and running water, and the faint scent of perfume.

Once he realized they were elsewhere, and the glow of the stone was gone, Jazax hastily removed his arms from Syrise and stepped back. As he did so, he bumped into the central fountain and fell backwards into the water. Syrise chuckled a moment, watching him sit up in confusion as she shoved the stone back into her pocket.

"What the… where are we?" He mumbled, wiping water from his face.

Syrise grabbed onto the railing of a nearby bench, pulling herself up to her feet.

"Falconwing Square," Syrise sighed, pressing her free hand to her bloody side.

"Huh?" Jazax blinked at her as he crawled from the fountain, "And, uh, where's that, exactly?"

"Can't you tell?" Syrise traced the ghost of a tense smile over her lips.

Jazax paused, looking around a moment before shrugging.

"I dunno, I've never been here before," He said as he approached her side, pausing again as he eyed her wound.

Before she could respond, he reached out and pressed his hand over her wound. She winced in pain, but then felt a comfortable warmth dull the sting. She raised her eyebrows in surprise, looking down to see him rescind her glowing hand. Her wound was now fully healed, as though it were never even there.

Syrise flashed him a quick appreciative smile before standing up and gesturing around them.

"Well then," She cleared her throat, "Welcome, Jazzy, to the Eversong Woods."