Year 62

  *Serenvale, The elven capital. The northwestern district has been turned into a military district. Emma listens to Norman while watching a group of elves practicing their swings. Snow begins to fall lightly*

  Norman: You also have a meeting with your father this evening after lunch.

  Emma: What’s this one about?

  Norman: You told me it was for the plan to help people who want to escape the country.

  Emma: Oh, I thought that was with Giovanni?

  Norman: No, it’s Ariella and your father.

  Emma: Okay.

  Norman: And next week is your bi-monthly public update.

  Emma: *Rolls eyes* I hate those.

  Seraphina: yes, but you are the one everyone is looking to for hope right now.

  *Norman kneels before Seraphina, Emma turns and gives a half smile*

  Emma: I know. That doesn’t make it any less boring.

  Seraphina: You can be at ease, Trebun.

  *Norman exhales from holding his breath.*

  Emma: You’re dismissed Norman, I’ll see you after the meeting.

  *Norman bows before leaving the two alone. Emma creates a privacy bubble around the two.*

  Seraphina: I’d like you to volunteer when your father speaks with you later today.

  Emma: Okay?

  *the two sit in silence for a moment, then Emma turns to Seraphina.*

  Emma: Can I know why?

  Seraphina: I think they’re still watching Ariella, and she’s already planning to go.

  Emma: Go? So we found a way?

  Seraphina: Yes… It’s a dive point.

  *Emma pauses in disbelief for a moment.*

  Emma: How did we miss something like that?

  Seraphina: You’ll find out later where fewer people can see us.

  Emma: Okay, I’ll let Gareth know he’s to take charge while I’m gone.

  *Emma sits down with Ariella and her father, as the door closes and locks, a magic seal forms, protecting them from eavesdroppers. Goren hands a report to the two of them.*

  Ariella: I already read the report, and I’m willing to go.

  Goren: Let me talk about what’s not on the paper first, then. *Sigh* And before you ask Emma. The Divepoint was hidden under a tree root system. A recent wild fire revealed it.

  Emma: I haven’t even read anything yet!

  Goren: Yes, but when I read it I was told by Queen Seraphina that you’d ask.

  Emma: If it’s a dive point, then sending me only makes sense.

  Ariella: *Irritated* I’ve been down there too.

  Goren: I was going to have you two choose some of your team to scout it actually.

  Ariella: We don’t have time for that.

  Emma: Arie.

  *Emma turns to her father*

  Emma: Dad, can you send just the two of us?

  Goren: We’d like at least Ariella to stay in the capital.

  Emma: If they’re afraid of her being kidnapped again. I’ll protect her.

  *Emma shifts her eyes toward a corner of the room, as she notices the hidden presence move slightly.*

  Goren: So you’re aware of the threats?

  *Ariella shushes Goren and they turn to her and she looks at them.*

  Emma: *Irritated* Arie? When I asked why you hadn’t been sleeping, you just said it was because you felt more watched than usual. *Angry* You left out that last part!

  Ariella: Because I didn’t want you to worry. You were talking about how stressed Keya has been making you. With all the people she keeps bringing home with questions for you.

  *Emma rubs her forehead.*

  Emma: Even more of a reason to let me go. I can get away from all of this for a moment.

  Ariella: But your Bi-monthly.

  Goren: The mission should only take four months in total.

  Emma: So it’s settled. We’ll head after the Bi-monthly. I’ll tell them I’m checking the borders to Lycaris. *Turns to Goren* Where are we going?

  Goren: I’ll have to confirm this with your parents, Ariella. Giovanni asked you both to send one elf, not go on the mission.

  —-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  *Emma and Ariella climb down from a cart and make their way through the forest, eventually reaching the Dive Point. The two look into the dark chasm.*

  Ariella: Well, look familiar?

  Emma: Ha.Ha.

  *Emma hands some rope to Ariella.*

  Emma: Go tie me off.

  *After tying Emma off to the tree, she slowly drops into the hole. As she reaches the bottom she calls out for Ariella to join her. Down below, the two look around at the familiar darkness. Lily hops out excitedly.*

  Ariella: Well, Lily’s excited.

  Emma:*Smiles* Because she remembers how spoiled she got down here.

  Lily: Can we go find a boar while we’re here?

  Emma(TL): No. We’re on a mission.

  *Emma looks up at the hole one last time before pointing south.*

  Emma: the capital is that way.

  Ariella: So if we find the roots you found years ago.

  Emma: I figure we could house people there.

  *Emma pulls out Lily’s armored saddle. The two get on Lily’s back, and Emma ties Ariella to herself with a rope. Emma turns back to Ariella.*

  Emma: Hold on tight. When going at high speeds, you can fly off if a gust of wind finds us.

  *Ariella squeezes Emma tightly and Lily takes off. After a while, Ariella struggles to stay awake, and begins bobbing her head..*

  Emma: I tied you off so you can sleep, I’ll wake you if we need to rest.

  *Ariella taps on Emma’s back to confirm she heard her and rests her head on Emma’s back. The warmth of her body comforts Emma as they continue in the darkness. After some time passes, Emma notices a wyvern acting weird in the distance. She decides to give it a wide berth to avoid conflict, but her curiosity gets the better of her and she decides to have Lily stop. As she tries to pry Ariella off her, Ariella whines in her sleep.*

  Ariella: Nooo. I want the last piece of the Sweet berry pie.

  Emma: *Whispers* Arie. Aerie, wake up.

  *Ariella blinks a few times before looking around.*

  Ariella: *Drowzy* What’s wrong?

  Emma: Shhh. I need you to stay with Lily while I go check a wyvern. I think it might be a Gravenborn.

  Ariella: Don’t attack it without us.

  Emma:*Smiles* I won’t. But the further west we went, the more Gravenborn we found. When I was down here before.

  *Emma runs off and spies on the beast from a distance. It repeatedly jumps up and slams its back into the ground.*

  Emma thinking: It looks like it’s fighting something. Wait. *Gasp* Is what they meant by they make a rock shell?

  Emma(TL): I’m on my way back.

  *Emma returns to Lily and Ariella.*

  Emma: It’s Gravenborn. Which means if we try to pass through we might bring it with us.

  Ariella: Well. What causes Gravenborn?

  Emma: It’s like a parasite that grabs hold of the brain and causes the blood to coagulate. It then uses the blood like an adhesive to hold the rocks in place as armor.

  Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

  Ariella: So we have to cut off the head?

  Emma: Yeah, or pierce, the glowing red eye on its body. That’s where the Parasite is.

  Ariella: How did they clear it out before?

  Emma: From what I gathered. It kind of went away. The cold winters above keep them from living up top.

  Ariella: So can we freeze them?

  Emma: Yeah, but unless we find the source, we won’t be able to do anything.

  Ariella: *Sigh* I miss Ruddy for this stuff. He always had some plan.

  Emma:*Offended* I came up with plenty of plans too.

  Ariella: Ariella: Yeah, but maybe as a healer he’s heard of a way to attract parasites.

  Emma: That’s it! We’ll make them find us. We’ll hunt something small and watch the body.

  *Ariella and Emma head back up top where they hunt some Direwolves. Returning to where Emma saw the wyvern, the two place the bodies. *

  Emma: Okay, Now we wait.

  *Emma uses her magic to make a small shelter inside a large stalagmite. Lily peers through a small window, watching the bodies, he tail wags playfully. As Emma rests, Ariella brushes Celestra.*

  Ariella:*Smiles* I’ve missed this.

  *Celestra turns her head.*

  Celestra: I didn’t. It stinks down here.

  Lily: But the food is so good!

  Celestra: Doubt it.

  Ariella: Excuse me?

  Celestra: No. Lily said.

  Ariella: *Giggles* I figured. So, what was she saying?

  Celestra: She was saying the food is good.

  Ariella: *Deep breath* Well, she is Emma’s spirit.

  *Emma talks in her sleep.*

  Emma: What do you mean by that?

  *Ariella jumps.*

  Ariella: I forget you sometimes respond in your sleep.

  *Celestra and Lily snicker.*

  Ariella: Oh hush you two.

  *Lily’s ears perk up and Emma sits up. Ariella screams and jumps.*

  Emma: One of the bodies is moving.

  *Emma and Lily sightshare to spy on one of the corpses as the limbs start to twitch. Emma brings down the shelter and the two spirits grow to their mount/medium size.*

  Ariella: We’ll catch up, go ahead.

  *Emma hops on Lily and darts off. Upon reaching the body, Emma notices white, string-like things connecting to the body from the ground. She watches as the Sqoux vomits thick tar-like blobs of blood.*

  Emma: it seems to be ignoring us at the moment.

  *Ariella and Celestra reach the two as the Direwolves have started rolling in the blood. It then moves to a pile of loose gravel and rolls around. Emma puts her hand up, signaling Ariella to stay on Celestra.*

  Emma: We’re fine. But stay back, I don’t know when it will attack.

  *Ariella and Celestra nod as they back up. As the last of the rocks settle on its body, Emma notices the red eye form on the back of its head. The Direwolf turn to Emma and jump at her, she cuts the creature in half with a quick swipe of her blade. Emma kneels beside the body and looks for any sign of the parasite.*

  Ariella: Hey Emma, what are these white worms?

  *Emma turns and notices something fall from the ceiling. Everyone looks up to see the massive, hulking creature resembling a decaying mass of twisted flesh. Its skin appears covered in the milky white worms. Slow and lumbering, it oozes a thick, foul-smelling sludge wherever it moves, leaving trails of decay in its path. Its body is riddled with open holes from which the parasites escape.*

  * The beast lets go of the ceiling, and Emma uses a gust of wind to push everyone away. As the disgusting creature’s stalk-like eyes look around, it coughs up some of the parasites. It then walks over to the body and begins eating. Emma runs over to Ariella.*

  Emma: Are you alright?

  Ariella: Yeah, what is that thing? I can’t really see it.

  Emma: I don’t know. But it’s covered in those worms.

  *Ariella grabs her bow.*

  Ariella: Should I freeze it?

  Emma: Let’s back up first. We have to make sure there aren’t more of them.

  *After the creature finishes its meal it turns to one of the bodies in the process of changing. Having eaten all the nearby corpses, the creature lies down and rests, waiting for its next meal to prepare itself.*

  Ariella: That’s weird, it’s left wide open.

  Emma: Come on let's go.

  *Emma stands up and starts moving toward the creature.*

  Emma: It’s not in a pack, so maybe we can kill it and move on.

  *Ariella waits until Emma gets close and fires an arrow, hitting the creature's foot. As its massive body stands up it watches Emma running toward it and roars. The force from the roar shakes the stalactite loose, The creature’s eyes focus on Emma behind it. The creature jumps and spins quickly to face Emma, and starts taking in air through the holes in its body.*

  Emma: BACK AWAY!

  *Lily zooms past Emma, Emma grabs ahold of her. Everyone manages to stay clear as the creature shoots a cloud of spores out of its body. Emma shoots a small fireball and the creature is swallowed in the explosion as the spores quickly ignite. The shockwave causes a small hole to form in the ceiling, Emma and Lily are blasted away from each other. Emma stands up, her ears still ringing and bleeding, and drinks a potion, Lily limps over to her and the two start calling for Ariella. Using her sense spell, Emma notices the two hiding against a rock.*

  Emma: There you two are. It’s clear so you can come out now.

  Ariella: Sorry.

  *Ariella’s strained tone makes Emma move faster, she finds Ariella with a stalagmite piercing through her leg.*

  Ariella: I broke my potions. Do you have another?

  Emma: Arie! Yes of course!

  *After Ariella drinks the potion, her skin closes. Celestra helps with the healing to avoid scarring.*

  Emma: Why are you apologizing anyway? I’m the one who didn’t think the explosion would be so big.

  Ariella: Yeah, what was that about?

  *Ariella winces as she holds her leg. She sits up and pets Celestra’s head.*

  Emma: If I had to guess, the gases from the bodies it eats?

  Ariella: Oh. Well, I’m safe here, you can go investigate while Celestra heals my leg.

  *Emma hands two potions to Ariella, a red one and a white one. Ariella spins the white one with a disgusted look on her face.*

  Ariella: I hate Bonelixers.

  Emma: Do you want to lose your leg or not? I know Celestra can help heal it, but we both know you’ll still have to drink one.

  Ariella: You’re just happy I’m the one drinking this for once. *Smile* Never had more than a broken bone when Ruddy was our tank.

  Emma: You know what. Give me back my potion.

  *Ariella drinks the potion and then burps.*

  Emma: Nice Princess.

  *Ariella tries to speak but almost throws up. Emma laughs as she walks to where Lily is batting at a parasite in her smaller form.*

  Emma(TL): Don’t touch that.

  Lily: Why?

  Emma(TL): Don’t make me be a mom right now. Ariella is already being a butt.

  *Emma watches as the worms slow down, until they stop and shrivel up after a few minutes. She grabs the body and puts it in a small bag. As she reaches the body of the creature all she finds are chunks of rotting flesh. Emma covers her mouth and nose with a cloth.*

  Emma: I wonder, if we froze it? then maybe it wouldn’t smell as bad.

  *Emma and Lily return to Ariella. Ariella is standing next to Celestra, limping.*

  Emma: So good news. We killed the thing, but I understand now, why they said not to use fire. I assumed it would run. It’s now scattered all over out there.

  *Emma creates a small stone chair for Ariella to sit while her leg heals.*

  Ariella: Thank you. *Sits* Any sign of the parasite?

  *Emma pulls out the dead worm-like parasite.*

  Emma: More good news, they seem to die when they separate from a host for too long. If I had to guess, dwarves might’ve just blown them all up and that

  S where all their divepoints came from.*Laughs* After you’re all healed up let’s continue forward.

  Ariella: Are you sure we shouldn’t check on that?

  *Ariella points to the beam of light shining down.*

  Emma: We can check it on our way home. I could use my knives to fly up and check.

  Ariella: No, and the more I think about it. I feel like if someone was up there, the light would be getting blocked out occasionally.

  Emma: Good point.

  —-----------------------

  *Ariella notices a light in the distance while holding onto Emma, riding Lily. She taps on Emma's shoulder*

  Ariella: There’s something over there!

  *Emma notices the light and smiles*

  Emma(TL): Left at the next pillar

  *Lily nods*

  *Just outside the jungle, the two elves hop off Lily. Ariella looks around, mouth open wide in wonder.*

  Ariella: This is the place you went to?!

  Emma: Yeah, but last time the Red dragon lived here.

  Ariella: yeah, it walked past us while we were scouting. Luckily it didn’t seem to notice us. So if it had a nest here. How can we be sure it will be safe for us?

  Emma: because I know it could see through my stealth, but it left me alone unless I got too close, then it would start growling so much the ground would shake.

  Ariella: Well it’s our best shot.

  Emma: I have a better idea on how to get home by the way.

  Ariella: if you’re going to recommend blowing another GraveHive.

  Emma: No, look around. There are squox and things here.

  *Emma points to a group of squox hopping through the trees.*

  Emma: I think they came through the roots.

  Ariella: Do you know where?

  Emma: Well, no. But it allows us to save more people. Especially since I have to check each person manually.

  Ariella: True, but we’ll also have to get more guards. I don’t know many elves capable of fighting off the creatures down here.

  Emma: And once we finish moving people in, we can cover the Dive point for good.

  *Emma leads Ariella to the nest, where they camp for the night. The next week they search through the roots, finding nothing but dead ends.*

  Ariella: Okay, we tried your idea. Tomorrow we head out.

  *Emma lays down on her bedroll, frustrated.*

  Emma: Fine… I was really hoping though.

  Ariella: We can send a team to look for it when we get back. Come on, I’ll start the fire, you go catch us dinner.

  *Ariella easily starts a fire using some firerocks while Emma watches the smoke of the fire spiral, the wisps dancing their way up.*

  Ariella: Emma. Dinner.

  Emma: Wait.

  *Emma points to the smoke as it pools at the ceiling. The smoke moves in waves, pulsing, toward one of the roots.*

  Emma: that’s our way out.

  Ariella: We can discuss it when you get back, I’m hungry right now. Go.

  *Emma rolls her eyes and smiles before running off to hunt. She later returns with four squox, and the two resume their discussion.*

  Ariella: If we can reach the surface, we can make an elevator to get to and from, but how’re we getting there? Celestra can’t fit and fly in there.

  Emma: I was thinking I could make some stairs, but I’ll need more food for that level of magic.

  Ariella: Couldn’t you just do one and just raise us up?

  Emma: I wouldn’t want to plug the hole for air flow.

  Ariella: Fair point. *Nods* But, um. What about your Dad?

  Emma: We’ll send a letter when we get up there.

  *Reaching the ceiling, they manage to crawl into the roots.*

  Ariella: Couldn’t you open this up more?

  Emma: Yeah, but I’d like to know what’s blocking the airflow first.

  *The two reach a large open room. A giant green glowing heart pulses in the center. A plant-like humanoid walks out from the root, a Dryad, and Emma pulls out her blades.*

  Dryad: What brings you here?

  *Ariella puts her hands over Emma’s blades and steps forward.*

  Ariella: We are trying to find a safe place for the elves of the forest above to live. We were hoping to live in the jungle below.

  Dryad: And you came to me because?

  *The Dryad turns to Emma.*

  Dryad: I’ve watched you tear apart my branches before—the damages your fights have caused me.

  *The two pause for a moment.*

  Ariella: We didn’t know you were a Dryad. My family has lived in the Veiled Glade for.

  Dryad: Yes. I am aware. And I’ve tolerated it this long. Now, what do you two want from me then? Just know, if it doesn’t interest me you won't be leaving here alive.

  *The dryad keeps its gaze on Emma.*

  Emma: So you know what I am?

  Dryad: Of course, Veil Seer. But, you’re different. You want to save your people.

  Emma: Exactly! And like she said, we're hoping to hide people down here.

  Dryad: You two poured smoke into my roots. Directly into my heart.

  Ariella: And we apoligize. We meant you no harm.

  *The roots creek as the Dyrad walks around the room.*

  Dryad: But how can I be sure the next one will share your sentiment?

  *Emma looks at the dryad’s soul, and notices the brightness of the giant heart beside it.*

  Emma: Because you want to help the elves.

  *The dryad leans forward, glaring at them both...*

  Dryad: I’ll help you all, but only the Elves/Spiritwalkers. No other race may know. And I’d like you to collect something for me.

  Emma: *Excitedly* Anything!

  Dryad: Find me the Tears of the First Bloom. You’ll find a book in the library above.

  *Both elves bow.*

  Ariella: We will return with them.

  Emma: Would it be to much to ask for you to help us return to the city above?

  Dryad: No.

  *Their ears droop as they frown.*

  Dryad: Think of it as a trade for the smoke. I’ll let you leave today, but you’ll return with the Tears later.

  *Emma and Ariella, annoyed but grateful, make their way back to the surface where they meet with Queen Seraphina and Giovanni.*