Chapter 26: Chapter 26

They spent another week in the town, resting and getting supplies. It was full on winter, and the snow was deep. Storms came often as well, so the party outfitted themselves with thick winter clothing, except for one person.  

“You’re making me cold just looking at you,” Lyreen said, shivering slightly.  

Anna wore the same thin dress she always did, sans shoes and underclothes as usual. “I’m perfectly warm. You should worry about yourself. You look a little blue,” Anna replied.  

“There is no way you are warm,” Lyreen said. Walking over, she took off a glove and touched Anna’s face.  

“How...she’s warm, like sitting next to a fire,” Lyreen said.  

“She’s just normal body temperature. She’s right, you’re freezing,” Barika said, looking at the elf.  

Lyreen hugged Anna closely and put her face against hers. “So warm,” she said.  

“Uh, this is kind of weird,” Anna said.  

Voekeer peeled her off. “Lyreen, please, just use your mana to warm up. We won’t walk as far. I promise,” Voekeer said.  

“Fine,” Lyreen said, and she seemed to get some color back.  

The pace was slow anyway. The snow was hip deep in some places. Thokri was in the lead. Anna had been, but she wasn’t slowed in the slightest by the conditions and strolled along like it was a warm summer day, quickly out pacing her companions.  

The night came quickly, and they setup camp in a relatively snow free area. They had a large tent for all of them to sleep in, having traded the smaller ones for it. The large tent was easier to warm and was made from thick weatherproof materials.  

Inside was an iron brazier. They used wood that Anna had cut down to size. She had become good with felling trees and cutting firewood in the last few months.  

There was a flap to let the smoke out of the top and several small holes to let fresh air in. Those were placed away from the sleeping area.  

“Can I borrow your wolf pelt?” Lyreen asked.  

“No. I don’t want it to smell like sex,” Anna replied.  

“We aren’t doing that in the tent. I told you that,” Lyreen replied.  

“Still no. You got Voekeer to snuggle close to,” Anna said.  

“Fine,” Lyreen said, huffing.  

“Anna, come sleep with me,” Elaine called.  

“What? Why?” Anna asked.  

“You’re warm, and you don’t want sex, so you won’t get grabby,” Elaine replied.  

“Maybe the tentacles will,” Lyreen said, sounding snippy.  

“Leave them out of this,” Anna replied.  

“Lyreen, your being kind of bitchy. You ok?” Elaine asked.  

“Sorry, I just ran low on mana keeping warm,” Lyreen replied.  

“Okay, I understand that,” Elaine replied. “How about you Barika?” Elaine asked.  

“Sure,” Barika answered. “I don’t care for this weather myself,” she continued. The two women moved next to each other.  

“Why didn’t you ask her first?” Anna asked.  

“Um, you’re warmer?” Elaine said haltingly before looking at Barika who just smirked.  

“Well lass, you can come in here with me,” Thokri said, lifting his blanket and patting the ground.  

“Nope,” Elaine said, causing everyone to laugh.  

Anna got up several times that night to tend the fire. She could make herself wake up at any time and fall back asleep without any issue.  

The others woke at dawn. No one wanted to leave the tent until later in the morning. The others were sitting now, but huddled in blankets. The elves were sharing a large one. Barika and Elaine had separated. Elaine was bundled up. Barika simply had her blanket hung over her shoulders like a cloak. Thokri didn’t seem to be bothered by the temperature in the tent and was intently sharpening one of his many knives.  

“Is it warm enough in here, or do I need to add more wood?” Anna asked. While she could tell the difference in temperature, nothing was uncomfortable for her. She had gotten better by listening to the others when they would complain of being too hot or cold, but everyone had been sleeping so she could only guess.  

“It’s a fine temperature for sleeping, but we need it a bit warmer while we are awake,” Barika said. Anna added some more wood and stoked the fire. “That’s better,” Barika said.  

“Everyone else good?” Anna asked. They all nodded, having taken off their blankets. Thokri just kept sharpening, not paying attention to anything else.  

After procrastinating for an hour, they packed up and left, braving the cold once more.  

The snow was up to her waist. She glanced back at the rest of the party. They were walking the path she had made. They asked her to lead again because of the ease she could cut a path. They also asked her to look back to make sure they didn’t fall too far behind.  

She looked up. Snow had begun to fall. The snow fell harder, and the wind started to pick up. It was up to her chest now. She could barely see, having to use an eye to stay on the road.  

“We won’t last much longer!” Voekeer shouted, pointing off the road.  

“There is a cave system that way!” he yelled, his map fluttering in his hand.  

The snow was deeper when they left the road, over her head in some spots, but with the eye, she was able to lead them to the cave entrance.  

“We will have to leave the packs out here,” Voekeer said.  

The cave entrance looked more like a long crack than an opening. It was just barely wide enough for them to squeeze through. Turned to the side, Thokri’s armor was scraping in spots. Anna was scraping as well.  

“I hope I don’t tear my dress,” she thought.  

After a few feet of squeezing, the path opened into a cavern. She turned to her friends and noticed they were all shivering. Their clothes had been soaked through from the trek through the deep snow.  

“We need to move away from the entrance,” Barika said, shivering from a blast of wind.  

They took the only path large enough for them to fit, walking deeper into the earth.  

Something flashed towards her. She grabbed the spear thrust, turning it aside, and backhanding the small creature that held it. Its head hit the wall with a crunching sound, and it fell to the ground. Still, she looked down at it. It was small and lizard-like, although it stood on two legs.  

“Kobolds,” Thokri said, and then spat. He looked at Voekeer. “Watch your crotch, lad. That’s where they aim first,” he said, tapping his armored codpiece.  

Voekeer shifted, moving his hand as if the cover himself, but then shook it and pointed farther into the tunnel. “Let’s move on,” he said.  

Anna drew her mace and walked on.  

The kobolds were easy to spot now that she knew to look for them. She dispatched them with ease as she walked.  

She noticed something on the wall. It seemed to sparkle. “Magic?” she thought, and walked over to inspect it.  

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Something jabbed her butt. She swung around and hit the kobold in the head, sending the head flying into the wall. The body twitched and fell.  

“It stabbed me in the ass,” Anna said as the party looked at the now headless kobold.  

“Cheek or hole?” Thokri asked.  

“Cheek,” Anna replied.  

“No harm then. What did you find there?” he asked.  

“The wall looks like it has magic in it,” she said, pointing at the sparkling spot.  

Thokri walked over and licked the spot.  

“What? Why?” Anna asked.  

“Dwarves taste minerals. They can see in the dark, but colors are washed out. It helps them find the good veins,” Barika said.  

“He sees just like I do then,” Anna thought.  

Thokri turned to them, a grin on his face. “Mithril,” he said. Everyone nodded. “Lad, make sure you put this in the report to the crown. A mithril mine would be a boon to this region,” he said.  

Voekeer nodded.  

“What about the kobolds?” Anna asked.  

“We’d have them cleared out in a week,” Thokri replied.  

They continued deeper into the caves. They had escaped the wrath of the storm a while ago but pressed on, curious as to what other secrets this place held.  

The tunnel widened, spilling out into a large cavern. The walls glowed with a blue-green color.  

“It’s not magic. What is it?” she thought, and walked to a large growth of the glowing stuff.  

Something shot out from below. It sailed under her dress towards her crotch, sliding past the lips, before slamming against a small fleshy mound nestled between them. She felt a crack, and when the kobold pulled the spear back, the tip was missing.  

It looked dumbly at it before she brought the mace down on its head. It was a mighty blow. The creature was pulped by its fury. A shockwave from it created a breeze throughout the cavern.  

“What happened?” Voekeer asked. The party was looking at her with wide eyes.  

“It stabbed me in the crotch,” Anna replied, turning to face them. She lifted the front of her dress and fished out the offending piece of stone, letting it drop to the ground. It made a clattering sound.  

The women shuddered when they realized what had happened.  

“That’s it. I’m done playing with them,” Anna said. A multitude of eyes appeared and whooshed off in all directions. In an instant, the entire cavern was filled with tentacles lashing about angerly.  

Soon screams and tearing sounds could be heard. The party was standing completely still, gaping at her. The screaming soon stopped, and the tentacles just disappeared as if they hadn’t been there in the first place.  

“I saved the dwarves a week,” Anna said. She turned and stormed off farther into the cavern. The party scurried after her.  

They walked in silence for a few minutes. Anna had calmed down.  

“So, what happened?” Elaine asked.  

“Well, I walked into that cavern, and I saw a something glowing on the walls. I went over to look at a big patch, and it stabbed me,” Anna replied.  

“Bioluminescence,” Elaine said.  

“What?” Lyreen asked.  

“Oh, some fungus glows in the dark,” Elaine replied.  

They walked a little farther. “Were exactly did it hit you?” Elaine asked.  

Anna thought about it for a moment before answering. “You know that little nub between the lips?” Anna asked. The woman nodded. “It broke the spear tip off on that,” Anna continued.  

“Oh gods, ouch! I know you can’t get hurt, but I think I just felt that,” Elaine replied.  

“Is it that sensitive?” Anna asked.  

“Yes!” all three women replied. Anna just shrugged.  

They explored deeper.  

Anna had used the eyes and tentacles in an autonomous manner, learning how to do that during the month-long siege. It used less of the dream’s power, and she didn’t get dizzy if she just let them do what they thought was best. While this worked for wiping out the kobolds, it didn’t give her a map of the area, so they explored the old-fashioned way.  

Thokri was walking next to her now. With the kobolds gone, there was little threat of ambush.  

“Now, lass, you see that water on the wall there? That means this cave was carved out by water over the years,” he said. He had been teaching her of the underground, having spent most of his life there before he began adventuring.  

“Are there other ways caves form?” Anna asked.  

“Aye. These ones are from rainwater seeping down from above. Ones near the shore can be from the waves crashing over the years. Some are empty lava tubes,” he replied.  

“What’s lava?” Anna asked.  

“Molten rock from deep in the ground. Don’t know why, but it spews out every now and then from volcanos,” he answered.  

“Oh, like when I broke that crystal,” Anna said.  

“Aye, lass. Just like that, but whole lots more,” he replied. He stroked his beard some. “There is the deep burrower. They are like giant worms that eat stone. Never see them this high up. Those caves are smooth and straight,” he continued.  

“How deep have you been?” Anna asked.  

“Deep, lass. ‘Bout as deep as you can go before you hit the deep ground. Don’t want to go there,” he answered.  

“What’s the deep ground?” Anna asked.  

“It’s a network of caverns and passages that lead on for miles and miles. Might even be all over the world. Promise me that if you ever want to explore that place, you’ll go alone,” Thokri said, suddenly serious.  

“Why?” Anna asked.  

“You’ll be the only one to come back. I’ve never heard of anyone else escaping that place,” he replied.  

“What could be down there?” she thought. 

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