The elven cavern offered a respite from the blazing sun outside. The entrance looked like a shallow crevice from a distance, giving an impression that the corridor would be either too narrow for a human to pass or simply a dead end. In fact, one had to squeeze through a very slim but tall gap to get to the main cave. Elane, as well as Fane, had no trouble navigating through the claustrophobic area, Lohse, however, felt overwhelming anxiety being surrounded by nothing but stone walls and had to be led through by the elf and Vermil, having her eyes closed for most of the way. This feeling disappeared as soon as they entered the chamber and a sigh of relief escaped the woman's lips. The cave was well lit and filled with makeshift furniture just like the fort itself. A big tent was set up against one of the walls protecting the inhabitants from moisture dropping from the cave roof. A bonfire, surrounded by a group of elves, was lit nearby. They weren't the only race present in the cave though, human children were scampering around, paying no attention to the newcomers. That was not the case for a lizard warrior, who was leaning against the wall partially obscured by shadows. He was staring at them intensely, absorbing every detail.
"Do remind me," Lohse said, taking in the surroundings. "What are we here for?"
"We are supposed to meet with Amyro and Sahelia to discuss the escape route," Elane responded, crooking an eyebrow at the woman. "Is something wrong?"
Lohse was visibly uneasy but she shrugged off the comment with a smile. "Oh no, nothing at all, not a big fan of caves though."
"You can wait near the entrance," the elf said. "I'll make this as quick as possible."
"Ohh, don't you worry about grumpy old me. It's fine," the redhead said, nudging Elane with an elbow in a lighthearted manner.
The noble answered with an unsure smile and proceeded into the cave, the flooring of which was mostly sand just like on the outside, but with one, merciful difference in temperature. Each step taken was silent and soothing compared to the scorching heat of the isle during the noon.
Amyro was among the group sitting by the fire. Color has partially returned to his haggard face, his limbs still thin and fragile, veins peeked from underneath the earthy, bark-like skin. Elane approached the group and was greeted by unfamiliar faces, all lean and fatigued but one of them being distinctly younger. Younger and blind. A mere glimpse at the eyes of the smaller elf was enough to tell as much. Her irises was bleached and irregular as if it splashed onto the sclera, while the pupils was not visible at all. Despite the condition the girl's head turned precisely towards the guests. Breaking into a huge, childlike grin she opened her arms as if to embrace them all.
"One friend brings another home," the girl spoke out loud in a raspy voice. "Thank you!"
"I am happy to see you are well. How is Amyro doing?" Elane asked with honest concern.
"He gets better. Little by little. We are together; we always get better if we are together"
"I am relieved to hear that. Sadly, I am not here to only inquire about his well being, he-"
"The way out, I know. You must travel it alone,.
The older elf was taken aback by the sudden and accurate intrusion. At the same time she felt a tugging on her sleeve, it was Amyro handing over a rolled parchment.
"You go first," he said in a tired yet thrilled tone."You clear the path, we follow."
Elane responded with a nod grasping the paper tightly, then turned to leave only to be stopped by Lohse's pale hand.
"Wait, before we go I...I don't know why, but...but I need to talk to this elf," her voice was trembling as if she was dubious of her own words. Her skin went pale, her fingers dug deeper into the elf's shoulder.
Confused, the elf looked the woman in the eyes, and seeing nothing but madness and widened pupils she glanced at her companions' faces-Vermil was alarmed.
"Lohse, is everything all right?" putting emphasis on the word 'everything' Elane tensed, feeling the woman's nails digging in her flesh. Things were certainly not all right.
"I don't...I can't... I just need to talk to her. Ok?!" Her tone turned frantic, violent.
"Fine, go. But I will be watching."
As soon as the answer reached Lohse's ears she let go of Elane, immediately turning towards Sahelia. Sweat beaded on her forehead as the two talked in earnest. Whatever the conversation was regarding, it took its toll on the redhead. Despite standing not too far from them, Elane had difficulty making out the words they spoke. Suddenly a whisper reached her ears.
"I don't like this, be ready to interv-" Vermil didn't get to finish this sentence though, as Lohse, in this very moment, grapsed the little elf by the neck and hoisted her to the very tip of her feet.
The woman's eyes gradually darkened, turning into a well-known black, her skin pale and her face is swarmed by sickly greyish veins. The elves around gasp, readying themselves to fight. The elven girl, however, remains calm, addressing the startled witnesses.
"Lohse is fighting an enemy. She will win. She must win."
The possessed screamed, telling whatever holds her captive to shut up and let her go. Her anger gave way to fear and begging.
"I don't want to hurt her. Don't make me…!" The plea echoed in the chamber.
Sahelia's breath shallowed, as the woman's grip became tighter and tighter, all the while the redhead slowly raised her even higher.
Assesisng the threat, Elane lunged forward, forcing Lohse's hands open. Restraining her and hauling her back proved difficult even with the inhuman strength of the noble.
The child fell back, coughing, and got caught just in time by Vermil who moved her well away from the two struggling women.
Lohse, squirming in the elf's grasp, smiled, face twitching in one, sinister smile as she looked down on Sahelia.
"Chatty, chatty elf. Chatty elf with all the answers. I wonder what your blood tastes like," the voice speaking aloud did not belong to Lohse anymore, the leading vocal being male, echoing with thousand others, the redhead's own cry woven into the undertone of the sound.
She lunged toward the elven farseer with impossible strength making Elane digging her feet deep in the ground below just to keep her from approaching the girl.
Whatever possessed their companion, made her bare her teeth like a predator facing prey, hissing the next words through clenched teeth.
"I bet the elf's blood tastes like honey. Like nectar. Like joy itself. Yours though-"
Lohse's head snapped back to Elane, grimacing with utter disgust.
"-yours must taste vile, rotten."
The enchanter was forced to spit.
"You smell as old as time itself, disgusting carcass."
With the last words, Lohse simply tossed the elf holding her into a tent hard enough to snap the supporting poles in two. The structure collapsed and buried everything beneath in cloth.
Vermil jumped in, bravely facing the threat. He jerked his shiv free from his belt, holding the woman at the knifepoint, realising that in a direct clash, he had no chance to overpower the woman, and Elane was out of the picture for now.
"She must be weakened!" Sahelia cried.
He nodded, then yelled at Fane, seeing the fiery tongues enveloping his wands.
"We must neutralize her, not kill!"
The appeal was answered with a nod as Fane flickered his wands. The fire was replaced with a thick, oily substance.
The possessed woman burst into a peal of manic laughter as she charged at the young elf. No weapons in hand, she intended to rip the child apart with her bare claws. Lohse's speed visibly increased but Vermil was quicker, catching her as she blinked by. He aimed for her temples with the back of hs knife's handle, but she doged, positioning herself ideally to be jabbed in the left by his other blade, which he kept hidden until now. By now Sahelia was far away from her reach, surrounded by her kinfolk. The redhead lost her balance, the injured tendrons hindering her ability to move effectively. The black voids of her eyes refocused on the rogue, ugly grin contorting the usually charming features. She tried to lurch at the man using her other leg, but she slipped on a puddle of slick liquid that appeared suddenly right under her feet. She toppled forward, painfully hitting the soil with her chin. As the other woman was falling, Elane managed to free herself.
Noticing the opportunity, she turned her sword in her grip, using the hilt as a bludgeoning mace. She rushed, slipping through the sand, and aimed for Lohse's head. The metal and skull connected, and the woman was knocked out cold. The fight was over. Lohse's body went limp and fell onto the ground.
Elane was panting, looking down at her. Vermil dropped his daggers and immediately began tending to Lohse's wounds. Fane kept his gaze fixated on them while reluctantly sheathing his wands. The rest of the crowd was flocking behind them. The silence was thick as a fog.
"Is everyone alright?" Surprisingly, Fane was the first to check on the bystanders. No major injuries were observed.
Following Sahelia's advice, Vermil laid down their unconscious companion on a bedroll near the fire. The wounds he had inflicted weren't too serious, but he feared the trauma that Elane's blow could have caused. No signs of internal injury could be seen but that was hardly any guarantee. The rest of the party gathered behind him.
"How is she?" The black-haired elf asked.
"Alive and, what's more important, back in control," the man answered, smiling reassuringly at the elf but she avoided his gaze, nodding hesitantly. Her thoughts were focused somewhere else than Lohse's wellbeing.
"Please, don't hold it against her when she wakes up. It's not her fault," the man whispered.
"She could have killed us without as much as a blink!" Fane stormed towards the woman pointing at her with a wrapped finger. "I am not sacrificing my safety for the sake of this haunted husk."
Vermil stood up at this comment, grabbing Fane's cowl and pulling him dangerously close.
"I understand your disdain but do mind your words," he spat through gritted teeth.
"She is in fact dangerous, but that does not mean she should be abandoned," Elane stepped in, separating the two men. "We have to stick together or we will achieve nothing."
Vermil's face lit up with gratitude but Fane let out a scoff.
"Or sit around and wait till we are killed."
Elane's lips curled into a vicious side smile as she glanced down at the undead.
"I did promise to be your bodyguard, no? I intend to fulfill my duty."
"Very well," the skeleton huffed, crossing his arms and turning away from the two. "We will see how that goes."
The conversation continued in earnest when the redhead's eyelids fluttered open. A dull pain echoed in her skull as she was pulling herself up. All three of them fell silent immediately.
"What? Don't look at me like that," Lohse mumbled, shrinking under the unkind stares.
Vermil kneeled next to her but before he could utter any word, Elane spoke.
"Whatever ails you, we will not abandon you over it. But you need to be honest with us so we can help, alright?"
"I didn't keep anything from you, I…" Lohse trailed off, massaging her temples."I….I didn't know either."
Crouching down to meet the woman's eyes, the elf stared into them sternly.
"I understand, but if anything arises you let us know. Instantly."
A shy smile appeared on the redhead's face.
"Geez, you are something. Glad it didn't freak you out enough to ditch me. A merry band of freaks are we."
"Can you stand up?" Vermil asked.
"Give me a second and I'll be up and runnin' "
Elane took a few steps back to give the two some room. Glancing around she realized Fane had gone somewhere. Was letting Lohse stay that unbearable for him?
In all honesty, the conversation turned out to not go in his favor and that made him disconcerted; how could his opinion be overlooked? He was but the only voice of reason that could have saved these fools. Irritated, he waited leaning against a rough stone guarding the entrance conveniently distanced from the rest. The sight of the elf looking around forced him to groan in annoyance, even more so that the elf seemed eager to approach him. Her silent steps finally reached his ethereal senses and ignoring her turned impossible.
"I did not suspect you to care for these humans. Why keep them around so suddenly?" his voice reeked of poison, the decision to keep the uncontrollable host around was visibly upsetting him.
"I know what I said and I stand by it," stopping only to scan the area warily she lowered her voice to a whisper, "But whatever inhabits Lohse's head it knows about me, it recognized my condition somehow."
" 'Old as time itself' was that it? I would not put much faith in whatever some disembodied spirit says through a meat puppet," the scholar was clearly not impressed by neither the immense strength nor bloodlust the apparition manifested.
"Whatever is in her it seems to know me," Elane moved closer, almost crushing Fane's faint silhouette against the stone,"Thus I intend to keep her close and observe."
"Do give me some spa- oh, very well. I am not saying you cannot do that so let me breathe...or so to speak," the undead wriggled under Elane's stern glare.
Only after admitting defeat did she back away.
"I am simply warning you not to believe every babbling ghost you come across. If you, in fact, were around at the beginning of the time, that would make you an Eternal which you clearly are not. You have my sympathies."
Those words etched the painful truth deep into her mind snuffing out every glint of false hope. Not an Eternal, not a human, not an elf. So many roles she could and did play but nothing came close to what she really was. Undefined, false, alone.
Her gaze turned away from the scholar, away from everyone, her eyes focusing on the depths of the cave, silent and dark.
"I will take chances...a babbling ghost has already told me more about this malady than you," and with that being said she waved towards her companions seeing Lohse up on her feet. "Are you two going? We do not have eternity to spare!"