Chapter 6. On a moonlit night part two.
"Well, this definitely looks like the exit…"
The dwarf's astute observation hung in the air unanswered, as the elf didn't see fit to deign it with a response, too preoccupied was she inspecting the solid wall barring the way forward.
They had been walking for a while before hitting this literal wall that stopped both their movement and conversation. They had been exchanging various stories and anecdotes up to that point, after Rünira had finished telling Elara the story about the founding hammer, but the sudden obstacle had put an end to the lighthearted talk.
If someone had told her some hours ago that she would be having such a friendly conversation with Elara Lilix of all people she would've probably laughed in their faces. But now, it almost felt normal, like two friends talking about nothing as they strolled through a not-so-dark tunnel.
It truly made Rünira wonder if they could have been friends had her circumstances been different, had her life not be what it was today.
"Let me take a look," Rünira said, shaking off the gloomy thoughts. "I'm the expert in rocks and dirt after all."
Elara turned to look at her with an annoyed look, sighing slightly before nodding and stepping aside, letting her access the stony blockade.
Approaching the wall, Rünira extended her free hand, closing her eyes as her palm met with the cold stone, fingers carefully feeling the strangely soft texture. It was obviously not natural, its smooth and unblemished surface contrasting strongly with the cavernous nature of the tunnel.
"It's polished," Rünira muttered under her breath, turning to look at Elara. "This rock, it was polished, somebody made this and put it in here!"
"But why?" Elara said, brows furrowing in a contemplative look. "Roots were used to hide the other entrance, why would they change it to a rock? unless…"
"Unless they didn't" finished Rünira with a smile. "Could The Willow's roots reach all the way here?"
"Normally I would say no," said Elara, turning to look around the passage with a contemplating expression. "But The Kneeling Willoy is not exactly normal…"
Rünira moved to follow her example, approaching the sides of the tunnel to inspect the moss-covered walls. The plant's light had grown dimmer since they had entered, making it more difficult to see as time passed. But even then it wasn't hard to find once you were actually looking for it.
"Here!" Rünira exclaimed, scraping some of the glowing moss off the surface to reveal a winding root ingrained in the wall, the royal crest showing once again faintly on the twisting wood.
"You still have that thorn right?" She asked her companion with a cheeky smile.
"I hate you."
"No you don't!" Rünira chuckled at Elara's response, watching as she carefully pricked her finger again with the pointy object and smeared some blood on the crest carved in the root.
Both girls held their breath expectantly, waiting for something to happen, and they weren't disappointed. With a loud grumble, the tunnel started shaking heavily, the big rock blocking the way slowly beginning to move sideways as a gap formed between it and the walls. The smell of fresh air flooded the passage, flooding Rünira's senses as the entrance became bigger and bigger.
Finally, the tremors stopped, all movement coming to a halt as the exit opened fully. They started moving, stepping out of the tunnel and onto a clearing surrounded by trees and bushes. Rünira looked around, a slight frown marring her face at the deep fog that clung to this part of the forest, knowing it would make travelling harder than it needed to be. Turning to look at Elara she saw her inspecting the exit which lay hidden amongst the rubble of some kind of outpost long since reclaimed by nature.
"Well, I guess this is it…" she said, trying her best to smile, drawing Elara's attention "Which way was Orario again?"
Her poor attempt at humour didn't seem to set very well with Elara, who simply groaned, rubbing her temples.
"I hope you are joking, but in case you are not, you need to head south until you come across the Beol River, once there just follow it downstream to the Seolo Forest, from there it should be relatively easy to reach Orario."
Rünira nodded slightly, shifting awkwardly in place trying to think of something else to say, failing to find the words. 'Why am I getting so flustered all of the sudden?'
"Thank you, for helping me." She let out finally, trying to ignore the rapid beating of her heart. "I-I should get going!"
Rünira turned around jerkingly, walking only a couple of steps before stopping to take a big breath hoping to calm her nerves.
"Rünira wait!" Elara said suddenly. "I-I—"
Whatever Elara wanted to say was drowned by the sound of a piercing howl cutting through the silent night.
Fear.
That's what Rünira's world became as pure, primal dread welled up within her soul at the cursed sound. She couldn't move, couldn't breathe, couldn't think. The only thing she could do was tremble as the icy grip of terror seized her body. From the surface of her skin to the depths of her bones, the cold numbness spread, drowning her in despair. She had never felt so afraid, so helpless…
'That's not true.'
That single thought flashed brightly in her mind, stoking something deep within her, a flame long forgotten, a flame of pain and burning rage. It began to grow, slowly spreading through her blood, casting away the frozen chains that held her. She knew what true fear felt like, she had known since she was six, and this wasn't it.
With a gasping breath, she came back to her senses, snapping out of the unnatural terror and fighting to stay standing despite her trembling legs. Rünira had a good idea what was causing this, a memory of Vanur and the other scouts talking about the dangers of the forest flashing vividly in her mind.
"A Dread Wolf," She whispered, fighting against the induced fear with all her being. They had to escape.
"Elara! we need to go back! …E-Elara?"
Collapsed on the floor on her knees, mouth open in a silent scream, Elara started with wide, unseeing eyes at the darkness that surrounded them, seemingly lost in an endless nightmare. But that wasn't all, Rünira noted with dismay that the exit of the passage had closed behind them, leaving them with nowhere to run.
Cursing her luck, she was about to try and break Elara out of her shock when she heard it. The cracking sound of leaves and twigs breaking, a low, guttural growl that sent shivers down her spine.
It was too late.
Emerging through the fog under the pale light of the moon, Rünira could do nothing but look at the great wolf standing at the other side of the clearing. Black as night and big as a horse, the beast's sickly yellow eyes stared at her with nothing but hatred and hunger in its gaze. This monster was a predator, and they were its prey.
Rünira didn't know what to do, she couldn't leave Elara behind, besides, where would she run? The exit was closed, Elara was incapacitated and outrunning a Wolf through a foggy forest while carrying her was out of the question. She was quite strong, and a natural sprinter, but not deluded enough to think she could manage that.
No, the only option left was to fight.
A sense of grim resolve began to fill her as Rünira looked down to see the Aflhraûn resting upright on the ground, probably dropped in her initial shock. She reached to grab it, the previous feeling of warmth rushing again through her as she touched the handle, helping her fight the cold grip of terror.
She lifted it with shaky hands, before pointing it toward the menacing wolf the best way she could. The beast had been slowly approaching and was now almost in striking distance.
"C-COME!" She screamed with all her soul, seeking courage in her own words. "I'LL SHOW YOU WHAT DWARVES ARE MADE OF!"
Her own voice sounded muffled to her, the only thing she could hear was the earth screaming in her ears and the fire singing in her blood. Fight! Protect! Burn! Defend! Her body felt like it was both freezing and burning, fear and rage fighting for dominance over her. But when the dread wolf leapt to strike, when death stared at her in the face, she could not stop herself from instinctively closing her eyes and shielding her body with the hammer, waiting for her demise.
And she waited. And waited.
"You know, when I told King Alf about your nightmares I certainly did not expect this would be the result…"
The sarcastic drawl came, the familiar voice enveloping her like a warm blanket on a freezing night, casting away the cold and the fear. Rünira had never been happier to hear it in her life. She opened her eyes to confirm she wasn't dreaming. And sure enough, sitting on top of the downed wolf, legs at each side of its black body and a hand lazily holding the handle of a sword deeply buried into the beast head, was Vanur.
Rünira fell to her knees, legs no longer able to support her. A strangled sob escaping her as tears of relief came pouring down her cheeks. She was alive! and Elara was too! She didn't know how Vanur had found them, but she was sure glad that he did.
So lost was Rünira in her relief that she almost missed the feeling of a hand landing softly on her head, making her look up to see Vanur watching her with a small smile on his face.
"You did well kiddo." He said gently, almost sounding proud, before his smile turned into a smirk "I have seen rookie scouts soil themselves the first time they hear the howl of a dread wolf, but you… you did not succumb to the fear and even managed to stay on your feet trying to protect someone. I am impressed."
Helping her to her feet, he grabbed her backpack and checked her for any injuries before his gaze shifted to something behind her. "That is how it normally goes," Vanur said, gesturing behind her with a wholly unimpressed look.
Rünira turned around to see Elara, who still appeared to be under the influence of the howl's effect. "I-Is she going to be ok?" she asked, slightly worried for her… former bully? new friend? she didn't know how to exactly define the relationship they had formed since entering the hidden passage.
"Of course, she should wake up in a couple of hours," Vanur said, waving his hand dismissively. "Probably going to have nightmares for a while though."
Rünira could only shake her head, smiling at the elf's definition of ok. "Thank you for coming," she said, hating how meek her voice sounded.
"Thank Lauriel," Vanur said with a shrug, walking towards Elara, picking her up and throwing her over his shoulder. "She is the one who told me you were acting odd and, "asked me" to keep an eye out for you, like I am not busy enough already…" He finished with a grumble.
"Are you really going to carry her like that?" She asked weekly. Poor Elara, she wasn't a sack of potatoes!
"Huh? What's wrong with it?" said Vanur, looking confused. "It is the most efficient way to carry someone incapacitated."
Oh, Vanur… he was her hero on all things that mattered, but he certainly wasn't very heroic. 'No wonder he's still single…' Rünira thought, wryly.
"Anyways." He continued, clearly not liking the look Rünira was giving him. "We need to get back, I am sure Lauriel is beside herself right now, and King Alf wants to talk to you."
Rünira tried not to flinch too much at the mention of the High Elf King. "Do we really need to—"
"Yes." Vanur swiftly interrupted. "King Alf has already been informed, you are not getting out of this. Let's go."
The walk back was pretty uneventful compared to her trip with Elara, the secret tunnel turned out to be not so secret after all, being frequently used by the patrols. Worst still, apparently, though it worked, blood was not really needed to open it, a flash of magic being more than enough to do the trick. Rünira guessed it made sense in hindsight, the tunnels were very old, and elves were one of the few races capable of wielding magic back then.
Elara would surely be ecstatic learning about that particular detail…once she broke out of her stupor that is.
"Go inside and sit tight while I take your friend here to the halls of healing," Vanur told her with a pointed look once they arrived at the palace entrance. "The King will call for you after I give him my report of what happened. Do. Not. Leave."
Giving him a quick nod, Rünira entered the Royal Palace trying not to be too bothered by the guard's judging stares. It seemed like word of her little escapade had spread pretty quickly.
Arriving at the reception, she was surprised to see distressed looking Lauriel pacing in front of the door that led to King Larfal's office, still dressed in her healer robes despite the late hour.
"Lauriel?" Rünira asked tentatively. "What are you doing her—"
"RÜNI!" Lauriel interrupted, practically tackling her with a ferocious hug. "Thank goodness you are safe! I was so worried!"
"I-I'm fine," Rünira said, struggling to breathe.
"I knew you were acting odd so I told Vanur to keep an eye on you!" she continued without listening. "I had this bad feeling and went to your quarters but you weren't there and I didn't know what to do and—"
"I'm fine!" Rünira repeated, raising her voice a little, finally getting Lauriel's attention. "Vanur got to us just in time, nothing bad happened."
Lauriel looked at her for a moment, eyes so full of worry and hurt that it was hard for Rünira to not look away.
"Why did you do it, Rüni?" Lauriel asked, very subdued all of the sudden. "How could you just leave us like that?"
"´m sorry," Rünira mumbled weakly, burying her face in Lauriel's chest, the guilt she had been suppressing all night coming back with vengeance. "I just don't know what to do anymore…"
"Shhh…it is ok, everything is going to be fine," said Lauriel, gently caressing her hair. "I promise."
They stayed like that for a while. Lauriel's warmth and gentle humming helping Rünira cope with everything that had happened. She was starting to feel really drowsy, when a gentle cough startled her, making her turn to the door to see King Larfal watching them with his usual one-eyed look. Vanur stood behind him, looking very pleased for some reason. Whatever he had been talking with the King, it seemed that the conversation had gone well.
"My apologies for interrupting, but I am ready to talk now," Larfal said, gesturing towards his office with his hand. "Rünira, if you would be so kind."
Rünira let go of the embrace with a sigh, not looking forward to the conversation and already missing Lauriel's warmth as she walked inside the familiar office. Dropping heavily on her usual spot, she waited as Larfal quietly closed the door behind him and moved with effortless grace around the desk, sitting elegantly before looking at her with an inscrutable expression.
"I am glad to see you are unharmed after tonight's ordeal," Larfal began, voice soft and sincere. "Vanur informed me it was quite the adventure."
Rünira shrunk in her seat, waiting for the inevitable reprimand that was sure to follow. Larfal's tone was calmed and poised as always, but sometimes his gentle admonishments hurt worse than the tongue lashings she had received back in Bál Eldur.
"First, let me assuage some of the concerns you indubitably must be feeling right now by saying that I did not call you here to berate you for your actions tonight." He said, surprising the young girl. "Though indubitably reckless, the blame rests solely on me, and for that, I wish to apologise."
She could only stare at the High Elf King, too stunned by what she was hearing to form a coherent response. Not only she wasn't getting scolded, but Larfal wanted to apologize?
"You have been asking for combat training for a long time, and in my stubbornness, I have denied you every time, no doubt pushing you to seek aid elsewhere" Larfal continued, looking slightly amused at Rünira's dumbfounded expression. "But your actions tonight showed me that I have been wrong all along, and for that I am sorry."
"I-I don't understand," she said, not getting how trying to run away could change Larfal's opinion.
Larfal sighed deeply, looking very tired all of the sudden, his previous amusement was gone, leaving only regret in its wake.
"You see, I convinced myself that I was doing the right thing keeping you away from that world. You are so young Rünira, and you have suffered so much…" He said, concern shining clearly in his eyes. "I thought that martial training would only lead you faster down the path of violence, of blood and vengeance. I have witnessed countless times what revenge can do to a person's soul… I just wanted to protect you."
Silence stretched inside the office as Rünira tried to process what Larfal was saying to her. "What changed?" She asked finally.
"You proved me wrong," He answered simply. "When Vanur told me how you choose to stand between the dread wolf and young Miss Lilix at the risk of your own life, I realized that I had made a grievous mistake.
"In trying to protect you, I was only pushing you away, and I am ashamed to admit that it is not the first time I have committed this particular mistake." He said, gaze looking past Rünira to a painting of a beautiful elven girl, hanging on the wall.
Looking at her emerald hair and eyes, Rünira had a good idea about who she was. "Lady Riveria?" She asked, curiosity getting the better of her.
Larfal nodded in response, eyes still looking longingly at the portrait of his daughter. "My daughter was willful and headstrong just like her mother. She wished to explore the world, to see the wonders it had to offer. But I denied her at every turn, and that ended up driving her away. It made her resent me so much she decided to escape."
He stood up, walking slowly around the room seemingly lost in thought. Rünira watched him in silence for a while, as he probably reminisced about the past. She was about to say something when Larfal turned around, regarding her with a contemplative look.
"I doubt your father ever told you this, but my wife and your mother were the only reason we managed to form a stable, albeit secret relationship between elves and dwarves." He told her, coming to a stop before one of the book-covered walls, hand gently brushing against the old tomes.
The disbelief must have been apparent on her face because with a humourless chuckle Larfal proceeded to explain. "People say that the apple does not fall far from the tree, and let me assure you, Riveria did not get her adventurous side from me. My wife had a love for life so big it could not be contained, she wanted to experience everything it had to give regardless of risk. I think that's what drew me to her in the first place." He said, a wistful look showing briefly on his face before he continued. "But her recklessness inevitably led her to a dangerous situation. A year before we were to be wed, she got cornered by a monster and was about to be killed, when the most unlikely of allies saved her from a gruesome fate. Your mother."
"M-My mom?"
"Indeed," He nodded, retrieving a small portrait hidden amongst the books and offering it to Rünira. An elf and a dwarf stared back at her, arms over each other's shoulders, both equally beautiful and sporting the biggest smiles one could imagine. "My wife and Tara were kindred spirits, both strong-willed and possessing more desire for adventure than any sane person would deem healthy. They became lifelong friends."
Rünira watched silently as Larfal walked back to his desk, sitting down heavily, missing some of his usual decorum. He looked back at her briefly, eyes full of melancholy, before continuing.
"She was present at our wedding, and even during Riveria's birth, always disguised of course, at the time it would have been unthinkable to allow a dwarf to stay in the Royal Forest, and particularly with the Queen.
"Eventually I grew fond of her too, your mother was an extraordinary person, very hard not to like once you really knew her. She shattered many misconceptions I had about dwarves, and confirmed many others." He added with a small smile, before growing serious once more.
"When my beloved wife died my heart died with her, I could feel myself growing cold and distant, pushing everything and everyone away, even my own daughter… In the end, Tara was the only person in this world I did not manage to drive off, she had loved my wife as much as I did. She shared my pain."
Larfal gave her a sad smile and Rúnira could see it was still painful for him to talk about this, but the desperate desire to learn about her mother kept her mouth closed, eager to keep listening. "It still amazes me to this day how she managed to sneak into the palace without anyone noticing, just to check how I was doing…" He said, shaking his head slightly. "After she married Rörun, Tara made it her life mission to bring us together, to try and heal the wounded relationship between our people…"
Rünira wanted to hear more, but the sudden sound of a clock striking the hour, startled them with its ringing symphony, cutting off their conversation. It was getting quite late.
"But enough about that," Larfal said after a quick glance at the clock. "I did not call you here at this hour to make you listen to me wallow in old sorrows. I called you here for two reasons, to apologize and to make you an offer."
"An offer?" Rünira asked, confused.
"I know your plans have not changed, you are set on gaining enough power to one day challenge the Black Dragon and reclaim your birthright. As much as I dislike them, I recognize that a Gods' blessing is the only feasible way for you to achieve that goal. So here is my offer." Larfal said with a serious tone. "Allow me to fulfil Rörun's last request, stay in the forest until your age of majority, and until then you will be trained by Vanur himself in the art of combat."
Shock ran through Rünira's body at the offer, but she quickly shook it off, forcing herself to consider it carefully "Why should I wait?" She finally questioned, feeling conflicted. All her previous thoughts coming back, filling her with doubt. "Wouldn't it be better to go now? to start sooner?"
Larfal himself thought the gods were her best bet, why would she choose to stay here six more years, if she could get started now?
"Let me share a little secret with you," Larfal said to her, opening a drawer to his right and talking out a single letter. "This here is the most recent letter from Goddess Loki, Riveria's patron deity. She has been periodically communicating with me ever since they established themselves in Orario many years ago."
Rünira didn't know who this Loki was, or why she was important to the conversation, but she nodded along nonetheless, hoping to convey she was following along.
"In my long years I have found many gods to be very fickle, if not outright asinine, but Loki is no fool, she realized the importance of maintaining good relations with me and consequently the High Elves," Larfal said. "Over the years, she has shared with me some interesting facts about how their blessing works. She leads one of the most prominent Familias in the world right now, her word holds a lot of weight."
Rünira looked with interest at the sealed envelope, a jester's crest showing clearly on its white surface, wondering what secret could this goddess have shared with Larfal that would make waiting for years before going to Orario worth it. She also had no idea what a Familia was but it appeared to be important.
"One fact you might find relevant," He continued, looking at Rünira earnestly, "is that people who perfected their bodies and skills beforehand, grow in strength faster and with more ease after receiving their blessing than those who do not."
Rünira bobbed her head in understanding. "So…You want me to stay here and train until I become of age because it's gonna help me in the long run?" she asked, starting to get the King's point.
"Yes, that is the gist of it," Larfal said, nodding slightly. "Vanur already agreed to take you as his first real apprentice, he actually has been quite adamant about training you for a long time."
"Vanur's apprentice?" She repeated dumbly, a funny and warm feeling spreading through her chest. Vanur was a legend in the forest, a weapon master of peerless talent, the fact that he was so young only made his legend shine even more. And he had never taken a full-time apprentice before, she had heard a lot of her classmates whining about that. "He wants…me?"
Larfal appeared somewhat surprised by her question, an emerald eyebrow rising slightly in response to her question. "Hasn't he told you?" He asked. "Rünira… young Vanur has been studying forms of dwarven combat ever since you came here."
"He has?" She knew that Vanur was amazing, but that was hard to believe. "H-How?"
"Your mother was a great friend, and also a superb warrior, exceedingly knowledgeable and skilled," Larfal explained. "And knowing of my love for books, she found it appropriate, for some inexplicable reason, to write and give me many tomes on dwarven ways of fighting over the years. I must say, it drove your father crazy when he found out, grumbling about giving secrets away to the enemy, but she really believed it was for the best, so he did not complain too much."
Rünira found herself smiling a little at the King's words, she could clearly picture her father, groaning and cursing at prissy elves stealing ancient knowledge from them. She really missed him.
"I loaned them to Vanur when I caught him reading historical recounts of our ancient battles with the dwarves trying to figure out how they fought," He said with a chuckle. "I must confess, seeing him swing a war hammer around early on was quite the amusing sight, but as expected of Vanur he quickly got the hang of it."
This day had been full of shocking revelations. Lauriel, Elara, Larfal and even Vanur, she had learned things about each of them today, things that made her feel just a little bit closer to everyone. It made her happy.
"So, what do you say, Rünira?" Asked Larfal, watching her intently. "Will you stay with us for a little while longer?"
She didn't have to think about it that much, the answer to the question coming almost instantly. "Yes," she said confidently, feeling certain about her path for the first time in a long while.
"I will."
A/N: With this, we're one step closer to the end of the first arc (about three chapters, maybe.) and closer to reaching Orario. When I started planning this story the whole "growing up with the elves" part was supposed to be the prologue, or at most one or two chapters, but it quickly grew out of control. I was afraid to move on without giving more depth to Rünira's character or explaining Larfal's OOC behaviour (for those who don't know Larfal is not portrayed very nicely in the side stories, to the point that Riveria actually hates him.) but maybe it was a bit much.
I tried to strike a good balance between characterization and plot advancement, as I find pure action fics to burn out pretty quickly if your characters are completely shallow and without any tangible motivation (particularly OC's), but this is Danmachi and we all want to see some monster-ass kicking eventually (and we will).
So what do you guys think? is the story boring and moving too slow? too fast with not enough time spent on the characters? just fine?
Let me know.