Lance shivered as she curled in on herself, praying to the Pillars that Hoplite would return soon. She'd never take off her Watcher cloak for the rest of her life, this cold seemed to penetrate her very bones. It had been an hour since Hoplite had left, and still he had not returned. Hopefully he was fine, there was still a lot for them to talk about. She could have sworn that she'd almost convinced him that he was acting mad, but then he had regressed again… how was she going to solve this exactly?
Lithia, The Spiral Queen herself, had told Lance that she would be crucial in restoring his sanity. How in the Dark Pits she was going to do that, she didn't know. Trying to reason with him seemed to have worked a bit, before he decided to leave anyhow. Perhaps that was all she needed to do? In the time she's come to know him, Hoplite has always been an overly-logical stick in the mud, bringing up holes in his reasoning may just be what needs to be done.
He may have attacked Lithia when she'd tried to do the same, but he didn't seem to want to harm Lance when she'd done it as well. Couple that with the promised protection of Lithia and Nolvi, and she had no real reason to alter her course. Hoplite would come back to normal if she just kept peppering him with the truth, hopefully at least. She drew her lips to a line as she considered what to do as of right now.
Hoplite had not taken his weapons with him, according to Lithia, maintaining invisibility was hard to manage for two objects, but trying to do it for three was a whole other beast entirely. It was hard to imagine that she'd be speaking with the Queen of Spiralling Death herself about such things, but it explained why Hoplite hadn't taken any of his equipment with him. How was he going to steal anything back from the Romai without being spotted? He could only cloak himself and one other object at this point in time, that also explained why he hadn't had his weapons when he'd saved her from that operating chamber.
Her brow furrowed. If that were the case, why were her chains and likewise blades still cloaked? Were they more intrinsic to her being now than she realized? The dwarven doctor had said that the chains were nigh-impossible to remove now, and at this point they felt more an extension of her will rather than anything separate. The chains must have fully become a part of her… It was either that, or Hoplite could cloak three objects… but she had a feeling that it was the former, rather than the latter.
She was drawn away from her thoughts as she heard approaching footsteps. Lance raised her head to see Nolvi approaching her, a floating blue orb of light by her side, casting dancing shadows across the cavern. Lance had to bury the urge to flee at the sight of her. A Spiral Queen Pillar-Born was a nightmarish prospect, a creature that could reduce the world to rubble should it be allowed to grow in power. Yet despite the reality of her nature, Lance couldn't help but feel that Nolvi had a good heart… it was a shame that she was cursed with divinity.
"Lance, there's trouble." Nolvi told her, spiralling eyes focused on her, "Hoplite's back in the cavern, but he's just… he's just running. I tried Telepathy but all he did was scream at me, something's gone horribly wrong."
Lance sat up immediately, "Screaming?"
Nolvi nodded, "I don't know what happened, but it is clear that his madness has reached a boiling point."
Lance stood up, "Let's go." She told her firmly, forgetting her fear.
Nolvi paused, "I… I would, please understand, but I cannot leave Grandmother."
Lance stared, "She's The Spiral Queen, I do not think she will perish if you leave for only a while."
Nolvi shook her head, "It is not that simple, I cannot leave her side. For now, I am bound to Grandmother until she decides that I am powerful enough to leave her care. I can't stray far from this door-"
"Stay where I can see you!" Lithia shouted scratchily from the steel chamber, "You'll get lost!"
Nolvi's shoulders slumped, "That, and she'll scream at me. Nonetheless, this is something you need to accomplish yourself."
"I thought I had your protection?" Lance asked with a frown, "Not only that, but how am I supposed to find him on my own? I've never set foot in these caves before in my life."
"I am sorry." Nolvi told her, "I can at the least communicate with you using Telepathy, I'll guide you to him."
"Can Lithia not just bring him here?" Lance asked, sparing a glance for the withered husk in her steel throne.
Lithia waved a hand dismissively, "Well of course I can."
Lance hesitated, before approaching the open door and bowing, "Lady Lithia… I humbly request that you bring my friend here-"
"Are you mad?" Lithia asked, "I will be watching from here, this is fantastic entertainment! A lady going to save her man from the pits of his own madness, I will not expedite this with my power, I want to see every moment play out." Lithia explained heartily, "This is just as the old Madari theater used to perform back in my era, displaying tales of heroism, tragedy… romance." She finished with emphasis, "Go forth and be my thespian!"
For just an instant, Lance forgot who Lithia was, opening her mouth to deliver a tongue-lashing to end the era. Incredulity, rage, embarrassment, all filled her in that single, hateful second. Thankfully reality returned before she could seal her doom. She shut her mouth, turning away from the Spiral Queen to face Nolvi.
The girl gave an apologetic wince, "I am sorry, she has grown quite bored of her confines…"
Lance drew her lips to a line, "Is there anything dangerous I need to know about?" She asked.
"There are dangers in the cave, stray Fiends forgotten to time, some bats, and some worse creatures." Nolvi told her.
"Worse?"
"There is a section of the Spiral Cavern that opens up near the top, the floors are made of fungus and there are mushrooms that tower like trees. Strange monsters linger there, and unfortunately that seems to be exactly where Hoplite is heading." Nolvi explained quickly.
"How far does your Telepathy go? Will I lose contact with you at a certain point?" Lance asked, gripping the handles of her blades tightly.
"It depends on many things, distance, thickness of obstacles between me and you, and so on. We may lose contact once you enter the caves but I won't know for sure until you get there." Nolvi told her, eyes drifting to her feet, "I'm sorry, that's all I can do."
"Will you lose track of Hoplite too once he gets up there?" Lance asked, picking up Hoplite's Fortis magnum. It was too big for her to wield one-handed, as he so often did, but if she ran into any of these dangerous monsters, she'd be glad to have it… just in case her chain-blades couldn't cut it. "Does this tracking of yours work like the Telepathy?"
"It is the Telepathy." Nolvi nodded, "So far I can still sense his mind, you should go now, I will summon forth a Light Orb and bind it to follow you, good luck."
Lance didn't reply as she ran up the incline of the cave, her bare feet protesting against the hard rock floor. As Nolvi said, an orb of light appeared at her side, illuminating the cave around her with a brilliant blue glow. The cold still pressed against her horribly, but she fought through it, keeping her pace as she continued up the path. The muscles in her legs began to burn as she continued forth, the skin on the bottom of her feet splitting open partially. Around half-an-hour passed of running up the spiraling tunnel before she was forced to stop, catching her breath as she nursed her aching feet.
Upon inspection, she could see some blood seeping through dozens of tiny splits in the skin of her feet… she couldn't continue on like this, she needed some padding or she'd wear them down to nubs. Huffing and puffing, she considered her options…
"Lance? Are you alright?" Nolvi spoke via Telepathy, "You've stopped."
"I don't have any shoes…" Lance told her through struggled breaths, "Where is Hoplite?"
"He's reached the caves now, but I can barely feel him. Come back down here, I will lend you my shoes. I should have thought of that before, I'm so sorry." Nolvi told her apologetically.
Lance cursed, why hadn't she thought of that either? Oh well, no use crying over spilled wine.
Lance shook her head, though the Pillar-Born wouldn't have been able to see it, "I don't have time for that, he's too far ahead as it is. Can you Teleport them here?"
Nolvi paused a long while before she replied, "Grandmother can… but she told me that struggle is a part of the theater."
Lance hung her head, how could such an ancient being be so petty and… and strange!? This was a life-and-death situation, but instead of using her boundless power to help, Lithia was instead using Lance and Hoplite for entertainment. This shouldn't have been surprising, in myth, Lithia was known for being a cruel and unusual woman. There was a tale of Lithia fusing a hundred people's hands together permanently, all because one man refused to bow to her… Lithia wanting to use this situation for entertainment wasn't a shock.
That didn't make Lance any less furious, of course. She shook her head, Pillar-Born, Vampire dwarves, The Spiral Queen herself; Lance had come to the Fiendwood in hopes of adventure, to see things no one else had… but this was all too much. As it stood, she just wanted to find Hoplite and get the hells out of here, after they saved Michael and Cat, of course.
And what about Twindil?
She ignored the question, looking back to her feet. Lance could not afford to tarry here any longer, but she knew that, without padding, she'd not make it far. She would not run back down to the bottom, that would take far too long and use up too much energy, but what else was she to do? All she had on her was the rags covering her modesty, her chain-blades, and Hoplite's magnum.
She froze as she considered her coverings… if she improvised, she could use them to pad her feet for the journey. Just take the top off, cut it in half, and she'd have some half-decent shoes.
But she'd be practically nude!
Lance shook her head, now wasn't the time to give care to such things. She pulled off the covering with a grimace, right before slicing it cleanly in two pieces with her blade. Gently, she wrapped them around her feet, tied them at the top, and stood. The cavernous floor was still rough to stand on, but at least like this it would save her skin. Her hand instinctively went to cover her modesty, but she immediately thought better of it. How was she supposed to carry the Fortis if she was concealing herself? There was no one in here to hide it from anyway.
Except Hoplite.
She continued up the cavern, clutching the Fortis. She could not let herself think of her nudity, Hoplite strutted about wearing nothing all the time! He was unbothered, the hussy, he would not take offense at her state of dress. Her blades floated gently beside her, held aloft by the chains attached. That almost gave her pause, but she could think about it as she ran. The chains had only seemed to work with some momentum before, but now they seemed to be floating on their own, why was that? Was her bond with them growing stronger, or was this an automatic process? Perhaps it worked like the Harkcrystal, using intent to achieve function?
She let her thoughts distract her from the misery of running up this rough rocky path, up until she came across a strange set of footprints. Massive ones, human shaped and red as blood. Her Watcher instincts kicked in, before she knew it she was kneeling down to inspect the tracks, quickly coming to the conclusion that they could only belong to one person. The space between the steps was long, and red spatter surrounded the footsteps. Hoplite must have become absolutely drenched in blood for this to have happened…
She continued on, following the trail keenly until eventually, the bloody footprints vanished. Not because Hoplite had disappeared right here, likely his feet either dried or patted off the blood the longer he'd ran. Despite that, there were still spatters that she could follow here and there, the crimson stark against the dark stone of the cavern.
"I can't feel him anymore." Nolvi told her, "I'm useless to you now, but I will contact you again in case he draws nearer to me."
"Alright." Lance gasped as she ran, lungs burning.
She had been in fantastic physical shape for centuries, able to climb trees with ease and sprint across flat ground for hours without tiring… but her legs were not used to the strain of running uphill for this long. Yet she didn't stop, even when her legs began to wobble and her exhalations began to taste of copper. Eternity of suffering passed before eventually her legs gave out, and she fell face first to the ground, catching herself with her elbows. The shock travelled up her elbows painfully, scraping away the skin.
Lance coughed as she struggled to catch her breath. This type of suffering she hadn't felt since she'd become a junior Watcher ages ago, when she was still used to sitting around all day. Nolvi checked in again to see if she was alright, but Lance couldn't reply as all her efforts were focused on drawing in as much air as possible in between bouts of coughing. There had to be an easier way to go about this, there was no way she could keep this pace, but if she slowed down, it might be too late to save Hoplite.
"I'm fine-" She managed to gasp finally.
She grit her teeth as she rose to sit on her knees, the cold of the cave long forgotten. Sweat beaded from every pore, blood seeped down her chain-wrapped forearms from still-aching elbows, eventually sliding through her hand before it began to drip from her fingers. That wasn't good… Geravall had always taught that blood carries air for the body, she needed to keep as much as she could. Lance barely gave it any thought as she removed the undergarments covering her, miserably slicing that in twain before wrapping the remains around her bleeding elbows. They weren't the best bandages, but they would have to do for now. They were wrapped tightly, so hopefully they'd stop the bleeding soon.
She then stood, shaking from exhaustion and naked as the day she was born, save for her chains of course. This would certainly make for a good story, if she lived to tell the tale, anyway. Again her thoughts drifted to just how she was supposed to catch up to Hoplite like this, all she had was his gun, and her chains-
She paused, putting a hand to her chin as she considered. Her blades hadn't dulled since they'd become bound to the chains, in fact, they had only seemed to become sharper as time went on… she awkwardly cradled the Fortis between her side and her arm, grabbing the handles of her blades before looking at the cave's ceiling. There weren't many stalactites obstructing it, so if she were to…
She hesitated before hurling the blade right at the ceiling, the tip sinking through the rock like butter, illuminating the ceiling with orange sparks as it made contact. Lance then withdrew it, summoning it back to her open hand to inspect the damage… only to see that there had been none. Lance threw the blade back up, latching it to a section of the ceiling further up. She then willed the chain to pull her upward by the arm, and it did so, the chains pressing against her forearms tightly.
Lance then repeated the same motion with her other blade, launching it into the ceiling further ahead. It was an awkward motion, as she still held the Fortis between her arm and body, but this would be far less strenuous than simply running up this incline. She repeated this again, and again, her blades latching into the ceiling as she quickly began to ascend, coming to realize that she quickly outpaced her earlier speed.
Another hour of this passed, her arms only barely aching as the chains did the majority of the work, until finally, the cavern levelled out. Removing her blades from the ceiling, she inspected them, coming to realize that they still bore not a scratch. They had been completely normal short-swords before, now that they were melded with the chains, they themselves had become magical.
There would have been no way she'd have made it up here without them… she nodded gratefully at them before staring at the tunnel ahead, a mouth of infinite darkness ahead. The blue orb was still following her, but it had grown a bit dimmer, perhaps it was due to the distance put between it and Nolvi?
"You're at the entrance to the caves now, I still haven't felt him so wherever he is, Hoplite is a good way into it." Nolvi spoke in her mind, her voice far quieter than it was earlier.
"Do these caves go to the surface?" Lance asked, "He could have gotten out for all we know."
"Likely they do, as Fiends occasionally find themselves wandering throughout it, but wherever this exit is, I haven't a clue." Nolvi replied, "I will contact you again if I can, but I may not be able to detect you for much longer… good luck."
Lance didn't reply, instead pressing forth into the tunnel. Hoplite's blood spatterings were almost completely gone now, but she could still see stray ones here and there. She used them to guide her path forward, walking through the thankfully straight tunnel for a long while until finally, it opened up into a massive chamber. The blue light had dimmed to near nothingness, but she quickly realized that she may not need it any longer.
An orange glow seemed to light up the cave, emanating from towering mushrooms the size of trees, just as Nolvi had told her. The glow came from beneath the purple cap of the mushrooms, illuminating the pure white stalks.beneath them. There were dozens of them within the cave, of different shapes and sizes, from the size of her hand to as towering as an oak, all emitting this same light. The vast space wasn't just flat ground, there was plenty of verticality here, dozens of slopes, small cliffs, nooks and crannies, dozens of places to hide if the need arose.
In fact, the only way she was able to tell that this space was massive was due to the fact that she could see the massive ceiling overhead, dotted with dozens of glowing mushrooms. It stretched overhead farther than she could see, but her view was eventually cut off by the different cliffs and the canopies of the mushrooms… if the tower caps could be called canopies anyhow. The ground became spongy and soft as she walked in, noting that the floor slightly sunk beneath her weight. It was a pale material, with umber veins running just over the surface, this too must have been fungus, at least she hoped that was all it was. Hopefully her skin wouldn't get overtaken with spores, but only time would tell.
Before she stepped in further, she inspected the air, observing it carefully to see if spores were floating about. Thankfully she could see nothing of the sort, and advanced further in. It was warm and humid in here, a stark contrast to the cold dryness of the Spiral Cavern, and a welcome one. She noted that the tracks she made in the fungal floor almost instantly filled back out as soon as her foot left the ground. This was good for her, because that meant she didn't leave a trail for any sort of monster to follow… but this was also bad, for Hoplite's footsteps were nowhere to be seen.
She strained her eyes as she looked for any sign of his passage, eventually finding one small drop of blood at the foot of one of the cliffs. The fungus completely covered the stone here as well, with a few glow-shrooms lighting the path up. Her eyes widened when she saw dozens more spatters leading up the cliff-face. If Hoplite had climbed the wall with his hands, there would have been significant damage to the fungus, however the surface only bore blood spatter, there were no tears to suggest he'd climbed this with his bare hands.
He was far too heavy for this spongy material to hold him anyhow, it would have immediately been torn as soon as he put his weight on it. The only way he could have gotten up this, was if he had jumped or flown. Using her blades to latch into the fungus, she ascended the cliff, climbing up over the edge with a grunt before summoning them back to her, Fortis still clutched in the crook of her arm. When she stood, she got a more complete view of the vastness of this fungal cave.
She despaired as she saw that it stretched farther than she could see, the glow-shrooms in the distance like torches in the night. He could be anywhere in here, how the hells was she going to find him? The blood would have stopped flaking off him eventually, leaving her with nothing to track him by. She shut her eyes, taking a deep breath to steady her nerves. Tracking was her speciality, she'd been doing it for centuries, how hard could it be to find a giant screaming Dragon-man?
Perhaps not difficult to find, but to catch? That would be a different beast, Hoplite could run faster than anyone she'd ever met in her life. If he ran from her, there would be no catching up to him. She just had to befriend the big metal Outworlder, didn't she? Lance then moved on, eyes scanning for more spots of blood. She followed them for a long while, across more cliffs and through small valleys, through the mushroom forests and through fungal tunnel networks, until eventually she ran out of blood to trace.
She stood beneath a mushroom tree as she considered where to go next. Hoplite was still hours ahead of her, but even he couldn't run forever. Considering his panicked state of mind, where would he do once he eventually wore himself out? If he was fearful, then he would hide, given his size and weight, there were only a few places that could accommodate him for that purpose.
She looked to the final spot of blood again, deciding to sit down beside it with a frown. Lance then shut her eyes tightly, clearing her mind as Muro had always taught her, and began to listen keenly, using her heightened hearing to try and pick up on any distant noises. If he was still screaming, she would have heard an echo by now… unless the fungus could absorb sound? She hadn't considered that until now, but Lance wasn't about to scream to test it, not when foul beasts could be lurking in ambush.
After a while, her ears picked up on something far away… the only noise seemingly present. She could not mistake it for anything else, that was a waterfall. If she could hear that, it must have meant that the fungus didn't completely blot out noise. She immediately stood, taking in landmarks to ensure she could find her way back to this place if need be. A body of water would be a common place living beings would frequent, it didn't matter if it was a forest or a dank cave. Perhaps she could find Hoplite there?
Some time passed before she finally reached her destination, a low valley split in half by a gigantic fungal wall that stretched all the way to the ceiling. A hole in the surface of this wall spewed out a steady stream of water, which flowed down into a huge lake, as big as any that could be found in the Faewood. She climbed up one of the mushroom trees, sitting atop the cap to use it as a vantage point. She scanned the shoreline, seeing a thick purple moss-like material forming at the water's edge. The water appeared black at its center, where the glow didn't reach, who knew what could be lurking in there?
She continued to follow the shoreline until she spotted a squat, humanoid figure, cupping wide hands before drawing the water to his smooth-shaven mouth. A dwarf, skinny and clad in little more than rags. If this water was cursed, he'd be turning into a Fiend soon. At least, that would happen if it were cursed… thinking about it, wouldn't all the creatures in this cave be cursed by now with the Spiral Curse then? Perhaps it really was safe to drink, she'd need to remember this for later. Now, where had the dwarf come from? Given his physical state and what he wore, he had come from the Romai dungeons, same as her. How had he escaped up here on his own?
…Had Hoplite's escape released some dwarven prisoners? She'd have to keep her eye out for them, there was no reason that they'd be friendly just because they'd both escaped New Romai. Lance couldn't just avoid the dwarf though, he could have seen Hoplite at some point, she'd need to go and interrogate him-
Lance's eyes widened as she remembered her state of dress, as in none. She'd almost forgotten that she was naked! Her jaw clenched as she considered how to approach the dwarf, who still drank slowly from the lake. She decided to get moving right then, quickly scaling down the tower-cap. She quietly stalked around the shoreline, until the dwarf's back was facing her. He seemed to be just staring at his own reflection now, apparently deep in thought. As fast as a man could run, she snuck up on him, keeping low to the ground as she went.
Once she was within striking distance, she held a blade to the back of his neck and hissed, "Don't move."
He stiffened, "I don't know where you came from, but I don't want trouble."
"Then answer my questions, and don't turn around." Lance ordered.
"...Very well." He replied, "I, am Heinlet Laret, former citizen of New Romai." He introduced with a shrug, "What is it that you want to know?"
"Have you seen a big man anywhere around here? Naked as the day he was born?" Lance asked him in a flat tone.
"Ah, like yourself." Heinlet noted, Lance noticing that his eyes hadn't left the water's reflection.
Lance suppressed a squeak, knees closing together before her free hand moved to cover her chest, "Shut your eyes!"
Heinlet's reflection complied, "Of all the things I thought I'd see here, naked elves was not one of them, neither were naked giants. I've seen this man, he was in a frenzy, screaming at someone I could not see." He noted, "I hid from him, I didn't want any part of his madness."
"How long ago?" Lance asked, ignoring the heat in her face, "I must find him."
"I'd say an hour has gone by now, he could be anywhere." He told her, "Are you going to kill me now?"
Lance hesitated, "Not if you give me your clothes." She lied. Truth was, she had no intent to kill him unless he posed a threat, but she needed his garb, if a threat of death would get her what she needed, then so be it.
Heinlet frowned, "No."
"Excuse you?" Lance asked, baffled.
"I have just become free, these rags on my back are my only possession, I will not have them robbed from me… I will never lose anything ever again." Heinlet told her, fists clenching, "So if you want these clothes, you will have to kill me for them."
His face scrunched up, as if anticipating a strike… but Lance couldn't do it. She'd never intended to slay him, even if he was a Romai, not unless he'd try to do the same to her. Her eyes fell… had she really stooped to such a point that she'd threaten someone with death for the very clothes on their back? This behavior was no better than that of the countless vagabonds she'd slain back in the Faewood.
"Very well." Lance told him, "I won't stain my hands with your blood."
Heinlet then eased slightly, but Lance still didn't remove her blade from his neck. There was other information she could glean from him before she went.
"This cavern is filled with life," Lance started, "But I'm not sure as to what is edible here, or even if the water is safe to drink. Seeing as you had no qualms sipping from that pool, I suppose that is safe, at least."
"Aye, the water is safe." Heinlet nodded, "To us dwarves, the fungus is completely edible, though other races may need to cook it; though I do not know for sure. The glowing-mushrooms caps are bitter, but they may be safer for your kind to consume than the fungal walls here." He paused, seeming to consider something a moment before he continued, "Such caverns are where our kind emerged from, to our race, this is our natural environment." He nodded, "I am shocked that such a massive fungal cave is here though, there is another directly below New Romai that feeds the whole population, we farm purring maggots, cultivate fatheads, and harvest plump hats for our brews." His shoulders slumped, "If only I could return to tell them that this was here… Our people would be allowed to grow beyond one million in number."
Lance's mouth hung open slightly, "One million? New Romai is so large?"
Heinlet nodded, "Aye, we've been here since the Sixth Era, I know not what age it is now, but we've not emerged since we retreated to the bowels of Ahkoolis to escape The Genocider's wrath."
"You mean Oros?" Lance asked.
A scowl formed on the dwarf's hard face, "Aye, the Usurper of Justice."
Lance frowned, likely it would be best not to inform him that Oros had ascended to become the Pillar of Justice itself.
"We have been biding our time, waiting for the correct time to emerge from the depths to take back our birthright. The Long Lords are stronger than before, no Pillar-Born can stand before them now… If I were a gambling dwarf, of which I am, I would bet that they may risk revealing themselves to destroy the Pillar-Born."
"Why do such a thing? Why not wait until the Godling War is over? They are apparently in no danger, they could take over easily enough after it is concluded." Lance questioned.
"Consider how the surface-dwellers would treat them if they were to succeed in saving the world from such monsters as the Pillar-Born." He told her.
Her eyes widened, "So they would want to be seen as heroes?" She asked, appalled, "Vampiric tyrants?"
"It would be easier to rule over a people that loved them, they may get minimal resistance if they do it that way." Heinlet nodded.
"I still don't understand why they wouldn't just wait until it was over to emerge, no matter how you look at it, it is a risk." Lance said.
"Yes, but I know them…" He paused, shoulders slumping, "They would not wish to rule over ruins."
"Why are you telling me all this?" Lance asked, brow's knitting together, "I'm your enemy."
"I simply want to." Heinlet replied sharply, "Must I give a reason for every single thing I do in my life? Perhaps I simply wish to talk with someone, is that so wrong? And as of my freedom, I have no enemies… I am my own dwarf."
As soon as she returned to the Faewood, she would have to warn the Harkhall of a potential invasion by these Romai dwarves in the future. She had no idea how they would stop an army of vampires, but the world could not fall under their yolk again.
She took a deep breath before asking, "Have you encountered any beasts thus far?"
"I have." Heinlet nodded, "Purring maggots, molemen, giant bats, among others. Worry not, at this time of day, they are not active, but when they do awaken, be silent. Their eyesight is poor but they're hearing is as keen as yours I bet, maybe better."
"Are any of these creatures edible?" Lance asked.
"Every part of the purring maggot is edible, never had moleman myself, and don't eat the bats, they'll give you froth-mouth. Seen it happen to my cousin. There are other beasts here too, but I'm no expert in their edibility, stick with the purring maggots if you can."
Lance frowned thinking about the name of the creature, but if it was edible, then what was she to do?
"What do purring maggots look like?" Lance asked him, trying and failing to suppress the disgust in her tone.
"They're big, about the size of three dwarves combined for the adults, and one for the younglings. Pure white with tons of folds and membranous flesh. They're mostly docile, you can walk right up to them and they won't flee, or rather, they're too slow to escape. They have no legs, so they crawl upon their bellies to nibble at the fungus here."
Lance shook her head, "How does such an animal propagate in such a harsh environment?"
"Numbers mostly, and the growling wasps can lay a hundred eggs a day- ah yes, I almost forgot, that is what an adult purring maggot will molt into once it reaches adulthood, stay away from that, it's not something to be trifled with."
Lance's face wore open horror, "What does that look like?" She asked, already knowing the answer.
"Exactly as it sounds, except as big as a barn door." Heinlet told her with a shudder, "If you hear a loud buzzing, hide, there is no outrunning them and they'll eat you, they won't mind the sharp ears." He chuckled darkly.
"Bad eyesight?" She asked hopefully.
"It's amazing actually." He sighed, "But they can barely hear anything at the least."
"Very well. Thank you for this information, but I've taken up too much time. Where did the naked man go?" She asked, still keeping the blade at his neck.
"From what I saw, directly behind where you're standing right now, but that's all I know. Good luck." He told her, seeming genuine.
"To you as well, don't turn around for a few minutes." She told him in a dangerous tone.
He scoffed, "I am not interested in ogling the body of an elf!" He exclaimed, clearly appalled, "Far too slender, you barely have any fat on you at all." He shook his head. "I have no desire to dilute the blood of the pure-beards."
Lance didn't say anything as she ran off, her footsteps silent on the fungal floor. The thought of gigantic wasps eating her alive invaded her mind, but she did her best to ignore them as she sped onward. Dirty wasps, all they did was kill things, that was the same for the Faewood and even caves as well, apparently. Why could she never escape them? She shuddered as she climbed out of the valley on top of another cliff, turning to stare back down at Heinlet, the dwarf still facing away from her.
Would he survive the coming days? She supposed that she would never find out. Lance ran ahead, wanting to take advantage of the fact that the monsters of the cave were inactive. Wherever they were, she could not see them out here in the open, more likely they were nested within tunnels, crevices, or even hanging from the ceiling… in the case of the wasps. As big as a barn door, he said…
She failed to repress a shudder, remembering the needling she'd received from a stray nest. Little Lance had been a tad too curious about the 'beehive' attached to a tree, and, having remembered learning that honey was inside, had taken a stick to break it open. However, what emerged wasn't honey or nice fuzzy bees… oh no. Lance had never gone near a beehive since, not knowingly anyhow. Sure, she knew now that bees would have been just as upset as the wasps had been, but the little monsters did not relent in attacking her, chasing her through the woods for minutes until she'd gotten home.
How many stings had it been? She couldn't quite remember, but she could clearly recall the hot stinging agony they had inflicted, along with the dozens of welts. She'd feared them ever since, and now she was told that giant wasps were floating around here? Scheming to devour her alive? Lance shook her head, she was getting off track, the focus here should be on finding Hoplite, and getting the hells out of this damn muggy wasp-hole.
She turned away from Heinlet then, darting off to find her friend.