Draco comes up with an idea for me to use my thread?
I must be dreaming.
He took a few steps back.
“Create a thread, or several, and attach them to my shield and the ground,” Draco called out.
I thought for a second, but I saw what he was aiming for.
I walked up next to him and created a sticky thread which I connected to the floor and then to his shield. I repeated this four times and made sure his shield was covered as well as I could cover it.
Draco then got back in the stinger’s range.
The massive scorpion still struggled against its restraints and struck Draco as soon as he stepped within range.
He had no problem blocking the attack.
Draco’s plan came to fruition. The scorpion’s stinger was now stuck to the shield, and the shield was stuck to the threads connecting to the ground.
Velariah saw her chance and jumped forward to the beast’s face and started slashing at the beast’s pincer claws.
In the meantime, I created more thread and stuck them to the beast’s stinger, which was semi-immobilized in mid-air. More threads meant less movement, creating an easy opening to strike.
I ran up to Velariah to assist her with her task. She made an overhead swing and severed one of the beast’s claws. Without it, the way to the beast’s head was open on one side.
“Vel, step to the other side. I’m going to see if I can end this here.”
She did as I asked and stepped to the beast’s right claw and brought her sword down once more as I created some distance between us.
The monster screeched in pain as I started my charge. I held my swords out straight in front of me, joined by my spear. I was fairly confident I could pierce through its exoskeleton with these weapons and this speed.
No claws or deadly stinger were in my way. I reached the beast’s head and felt my blades part flesh. My spear was deflected and I lost grip on it as my momentum carried me forward.
My blades would have to suffice.
One of them turned red-hot and emitted a small blast of fire as the dragon-blessed effect on it triggered from the attack.
The scorpion cried out in pain again. I retracted my blades and kept stabbing its head. Some of my attacks were deflected but I also managed to impale it several more times. It didn’t take long before the beast stopped struggling against my webs.
I panted and retracted my blades for the last time from the beast that now lay dead at my feet.
“Nice work,” Velariah said as she walked up to me.
I sighed and walked to the threads that were still stuck to the stinger. I then wiped freaky, green insect blood off my blades and retrieved my spear.
“Thanks, Draco. That was a great idea.” I told Draco, who had reverted to his original form.
“And great job, Velariah on getting those claws out of my way. It went a bit differently than I had expected, but it worked out well in the end.”
“Hmm. How do I get my shield back?” Draco said, scratching his head as he observed the tangled mess before him.
I smiled at the comment as I ran my hand over my forehead, wiping away the sweat and rubbing my eyes.
“We should bring a saw with us next time,” Seralyn commented. “Just to cut through Elania’s silk.”
“Heh,” Velariah chucked. She cut through the webs with her sword after a couple of swings and handed the half-webbed shield to Draco.
“Is everyone okay?” Nira asked.
“Could you check them for signs of poison?” I suggested. “Just in case.”
The harpy nodded and we took another small break.
We used the time to check on everyone. I drank some water while waiting. I looked at the exit of the large room and wondered if there were any enemies beyond it. Last time, there was nothing except for the hellspider queen.
Would it be hostile to us?
Would Arch finally start talking?
I sat down on the floor and wondered if this dungeon had anything planned for us.
“You okay?” Velariah asked, putting her hand on my back.
“I’m fine. I’m just thinking…”
“Let’s move on. If we can deal with that scorpion, we can deal with a large spider if need be.”
I nodded and stood up. “You’re right.”
I walked back to the doorway to pick up my scabbards. Draco collected his dropped torch and put it away in his bag. We’d have no need for it anymore; there was plenty of light.
I had Nira carry my scabbards as I led the way down the tunnel to the hellspider queen. We walked through the tunnel fully alert and found the large creature at the end, guarding the core room still.
“Welcome back, Miss Elania.” It suddenly spoke.
“Cut the crap. You know why I’m here.” I responded with anger.
“Yes. Yes, I do. You’re angry because of what happened to the elf.”
“She has a name.”
“I’m sorry. Velariah was it, right?”
I nodded.
“I wish I could have done things differently, but you needed the learning experience. I am truly sorry. For what it’s worth, know I never put her life at risk.”
“How can I trust that?”
“You can’t. Trust is built over time. I believed it was necessary to teach you both to stay focused while out in dungeons. Not every Ancient one may be as forgiving as me, even if they are able to communicate with you.”
I didn’t know what to say. He brought up valid points…
I felt used, though.
“You’re… interesting, Elania. I’d prefer to have you stay alive. I hope my lesson will help out in that regard. Do relay my message to Velariah, too. She is important to you, I can feel it.”
I hated it.
I hated this feeling.
He has just put me in my place and had been right in doing so.
I could really kick a wall right now.
Fuck it.
I walked to a wall at the side and gave it a good kick or four. I couldn’t be bothered to feel the pain I received from doing that. I was angry. Angry at myself, but also at the carelessness that Velariah showed the other day.
I’d even warned her…
“Your anger is justified, Elania. Your actions today showed me you learned from your mistakes. As a token of the trust you seek, I will give you some info about yourself that I observed the other day. It appears your blood… is special.”
“Wait, what do you mean?” I asked.
“Think for yourself. I will be releasing my grasp on my minion once more. I thank you and your companions for the mana you’ve provided me today. I hope our relationship continues to grow in the future.”
After that, the hellspider queen reverted to the same behavior that it showed after Arch cut off previously. It started wandering around mindlessly.
I let myself drop to the floor once more, a gloved hand on my forehead as I tried to process the information.
My blood was special?
Velariah was the first one to approach me, as expected.
“What did he say?”
I removed the hand and looked at her sternly.
“First of all, you got yourself injured because you were reckless, that was on purpose. He hopes you will learn from that.”
I was sure my voice was angry. As soft as it was, I believed I got the point across.
“What?” She said in disbelief.
“And you know what? He was right, too.” I finished.
Velariah remained quiet. I hoped she realized that Arch had a good point. We had already resolved we should pay better attention when out in dungeons, but the confirmation from Arch himself was relieving.
I felt relieved because it didn’t appear that Arch was hostile at all. His actions had made complete sense. He also provided me another piece of information about myself.
I was still slightly skeptical about trusting him, we should remain alert while out here. Maybe he intended for me to feel that way?
If so, he was doing a great job at it.
“Secondly…” I spoke softly. “It appears my blood is special.”
“What does that mean?” Velariah asked in a soft voice.
The others joined up with us and seemed eager to know what Arch had told me. I was sure they heard me scolding Velariah, but I doubted they got that second part.
“My blood is special…” I repeated myself so the others could hear it too. “Do you guys know what that could mean?”
“You certainly seemed to leak quite a bit the other day,” Seralyn commented. “Think it has something to do with that?”
“Well, yeah,” I commented. “I had the feeling that had something to do with it. Arch told me he observed it being special. I’m trying to figure out how-”
Hold on a second.
The gears started spinning in my head before I could finish talking.
“My wound…”
I looked at Velariah to see her facial expression confirm that she too, reached the same conclusion that I had.
“It was completely gone within hours...” She finished my sentence.
“As was yours…” I still looked at her.
I recounted the events that happened the previous day. I received a head wound from one of the bats, causing me to bleed quite a bit. Not much later, Velariah received puncture wounds to her legs from one of the boars. I’d helped to bandage and clean it.
My wound healed itself in record time. Was that because of my blood? Did I get my own blood into Velariah’s wound and cause it to heal insanely quickly as well?
That brought my mind to when I first came to this world.
“Velariah, you remember when my arm was completely busted?”
“That troll did that, right?”
“Yes, I am convinced he shattered every bone that I had in that arm. Well, within hours, the pain subsided immensely. I don’t think that’s natural.”
“It’s not.” Nira pointed out.
Nira’s answer confirmed my suspicion.
“So, my blood heals wounds and internal damage?” I asked no one in particular.
Nobody replied, but I knew what they were thinking.
“And here I thought I received a cool ability.” Seralyn broke the silence after a while.
“I’m shocked,” Draco admitted. “If that’s true…”
“And it becomes known, I might be hunted once more. Adventurer or not, I doubt they would leave me be…”
“They won’t,” Velariah confirmed. “You guys better keep your mouths shut.” She said, peering into everyone’s souls with her eyes.
She was scary like that.
I believed with all my heart that none of these people would cause that information to come out. Velariah’s statement was still reassuring.
“I’m not even certain, I’ll confirm for myself, but everything seems to point to it… ” I said.
“Hold up,” Seralyn spoke again. “You seem to be crazy resistant to poison. You appear to have insane regeneration. How many abilities do you have?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know yet.”
“Master Pylanor summoned Grandmaster Ineus. We’re hoping to find out her inherity within a couple of days.” Velariah said.
“There’s something you’re not telling me,” Seralyn said. “I don’t know if I should ask what it is, but I’d like to be clear here.”
I looked at Velariah once more. Could we tell them already?
“There’s already pretty damning information about you out in the open. Why not add the rest as well?” She said.
“I’m scared,” I admitted.
“So am I, but we can’t hide it forever.” She said as she knelt in front of me to hug me.
I was afraid I’d hurt her with my words earlier. I was happy to see she could tell I didn’t mean it personally.
“Okay…” I spoke softly.
I stood up together with her and Velariah made a few things clear.
“None of this information is to get out. My father is aware of the things that Elania is about to tell you. If he finds out the info is leaked… well… I don’t think I have to say what happens next.”
She paused a second to look at our party members.
“We’ve hidden this information until now. I, personally, feel that it’s only fair we tell you. Our lives are connected, after all. I’ve come to know that any information that Elania shares with us on the fly in combat is because of her experience… in some way.”
She then looked at me. “If you’ll do the honors…” She said softly.
I nodded.
“Gods, where do I even start…?”
“First off, I’m not from around…here.”
“Yeah, no kidding,” Seralyn said.
I shook my head. “I mean, from this world.”
I could see the brunette and harpy’s eyes grow large.
“What?” Nira asked.
“I’m not from this world,” I repeated. “I’m from an entirely different world without magic, called Earth. We had no Lizardmen, Elves, Harpies, Goblins, Trolls, and anything like it. We only had… Humans. I was one of them.”
“But how? Why?” Seralyn continued the questions that I am sure the others had as well.
“Trust me, I have no idea how or why either. You know, that cave where we found that chest of coins? That’s where I woke up one day… changed into… this.”
I tapped some of my legs on the floor to put emphasis on my confession.
“That’s quite the story,” Draco commented. “I can see why you were hesitant to tell us. I am sure many things were different if there was no magic.”
I nodded.
“Our combat was a different story entirely. I’d rather not elaborate on that.”
“Understandable,” The lizardman nodded.
Seralyn scratched her head.
“I can see what you’re thinking,” Velariah said to the other elf. “She told me she spent an entire day learning how to walk.”
I chuckled at that.
“That was one shitty day,” I commented.
An audible grumble coming from my stomach interrupted our conversation.
“Whelp, looks like it’s time to feed the spider again,” Seralyn laughed it off.
She took the news surprisingly well.
Nira still looked as if she found it hard to believe what I’d just shared and Draco… Well, Draco was Draco. He seemed intrigued but didn’t pry further. I was convinced I’d get questions soon enough.
We walked back through the dungeon. Draco harvested the massive scorpion’s tail and the others went about to check if any of the other monsters held anything of value.
I’d sheathed my weapons again and by the time we reached the stairs leading out of the dungeon, Nira started the questions.
“What did your old life look like?” She asked.
“I’ll be honest here, Nira. It really wasn’t anything special. I seem to have lost all my memories with regards to my family, I can’t remember faces or names. I’m not even sure if they were still alive before I came here. As for what I did? Most of my time was spent in front of a computer, not that that tells you much.”
I was shocked at how little I remembered.
What made me, me?
If there was some kind of god that put me here, did they remove those memories in order to increase my survival probability? I still seemed to remember survival techniques when I first came here, and I had last seen those shows many years ago.
“I don’t remember my name, my parents… my age, even.”
“Oh,” She spoke softly before looking at the ground.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m not sure if I want to remember, I’ve given up on trying to find it out. This name I have now, Elania, it’s not my own. Velariah gave it to me.”
“Must be harsh,” Seralyn looked at me with a tinge of sadness in her eyes. “I’m sorry for the things I’ve said that might have upset you. I didn’t know…”
“It’s fine. Velariah told me a thing or two about you as well.”
The white-haired elf stood to my right as Seralyn questioned me from the left.
Seralyn nodded.
“So, about you and Lady Velariah.” She said the ‘lady’ part with a hint of playfulness in her voice, as if it was excessive, which it was. “You also mind telling me how things are working out between you two?”
She most definitely knew…
“We’re in a relationship,” Velariah said without a second thought.
What the hell? How could she throw me under the bus like that?
I looked at the floor in embarrassment.
“Knew it,” Seralyn said.
I walked up the stairs and exited the dungeon. The others soon followed me. I hoped my face was a little less red. I could only buy myself so much time.
“You know the two of you are super cute together?” Seralyn commented behind me after she’d climbed the stairs.
Why did she have to rub salt in the wound?
“Better to stop here, Seralyn,” Velariah said. “You know. Now, just leave it as it is. She isn’t exactly comfortable with this kind of teasing.”
Thanks, Vel.
“She’s just told you of her origins. I’d hoped that would make things clearer. That includes her… ability to talk about things like this,” Velariah continued as they followed me through one of the tunnels leading to the surface.
“Yeah, I’m sorry, Elania. I got a bit carried away.”
She was very apologetic today. Was that because she finally knew my story, or something else?
“I can see you’ve walked with that for a long time,” Draco said, walking up next to me after we were back outside.
“That must have been heavy on your heart.”
I nodded. “It was. You have no idea how happy I am to have you guys.”
He smiled broadly. “I am happy to have you as well, Elania. You’ve taught me a fair bit, I look forward to having more adventures together.”
“Thanks, Draco. You’re a good friend.”
I turned to Nira behind me.
“How about you, Nira. Would you stay with our party as well?”
“I’d be more than happy to.” She replied in her usual soft voice. “You guys are the most dependable party I’ve been with so far. I’d like to call you guys my friends someday too.”
“We already are, Nira,” Velariah interjected.
The harpy looked at the elf with her eyes glowing. Velariah nodded in response. Nira then smiled from ear to ear.
“Let’s go get something to eat, shall we?” Velariah continued, addressing everyone. “By the way, did you know that Elania was the one who invented coffee?”
Draco comes up with an idea for me to use my thread?
I must be dreaming.
He took a few steps back.
“Create a thread, or several, and attach them to my shield and the ground,” Draco called out.
I thought for a second, but I saw what he was aiming for.
I walked up next to him and created a sticky thread which I connected to the floor and then to his shield. I repeated this four times and made sure his shield was covered as well as I could cover it.
Draco then got back in the stinger’s range.
The massive scorpion still struggled against its restraints and struck Draco as soon as he stepped within range.
He had no problem blocking the attack.
Draco’s plan came to fruition. The scorpion’s stinger was now stuck to the shield, and the shield was stuck to the threads connecting to the ground.
Velariah saw her chance and jumped forward to the beast’s face and started slashing at the beast’s pincer claws.
In the meantime, I created more thread and stuck them to the beast’s stinger, which was semi-immobilized in mid-air. More threads meant less movement, creating an easy opening to strike.
I ran up to Velariah to assist her with her task. She made an overhead swing and severed one of the beast’s claws. Without it, the way to the beast’s head was open on one side.
“Vel, step to the other side. I’m going to see if I can end this here.”
She did as I asked and stepped to the beast’s right claw and brought her sword down once more as I created some distance between us.
The monster screeched in pain as I started my charge. I held my swords out straight in front of me, joined by my spear. I was fairly confident I could pierce through its exoskeleton with these weapons and this speed.
No claws or deadly stinger were in my way. I reached the beast’s head and felt my blades part flesh. My spear was deflected and I lost grip on it as my momentum carried me forward.
My blades would have to suffice.
One of them turned red-hot and emitted a small blast of fire as the dragon-blessed effect on it triggered from the attack.
The scorpion cried out in pain again. I retracted my blades and kept stabbing its head. Some of my attacks were deflected but I also managed to impale it several more times. It didn’t take long before the beast stopped struggling against my webs.
I panted and retracted my blades for the last time from the beast that now lay dead at my feet.
“Nice work,” Velariah said as she walked up to me.
I sighed and walked to the threads that were still stuck to the stinger. I then wiped freaky, green insect blood off my blades and retrieved my spear.
“Thanks, Draco. That was a great idea.” I told Draco, who had reverted to his original form.
“And great job, Velariah on getting those claws out of my way. It went a bit differently than I had expected, but it worked out well in the end.”
“Hmm. How do I get my shield back?” Draco said, scratching his head as he observed the tangled mess before him.
I smiled at the comment as I ran my hand over my forehead, wiping away the sweat and rubbing my eyes.
“We should bring a saw with us next time,” Seralyn commented. “Just to cut through Elania’s silk.”
“Heh,” Velariah chucked. She cut through the webs with her sword after a couple of swings and handed the half-webbed shield to Draco.
“Is everyone okay?” Nira asked.
“Could you check them for signs of poison?” I suggested. “Just in case.”
The harpy nodded and we took another small break.
We used the time to check on everyone. I drank some water while waiting. I looked at the exit of the large room and wondered if there were any enemies beyond it. Last time, there was nothing except for the hellspider queen.
Would it be hostile to us?
Would Arch finally start talking?
I sat down on the floor and wondered if this dungeon had anything planned for us.
“You okay?” Velariah asked, putting her hand on my back.
“I’m fine. I’m just thinking…”
“Let’s move on. If we can deal with that scorpion, we can deal with a large spider if need be.”
I nodded and stood up. “You’re right.”
I walked back to the doorway to pick up my scabbards. Draco collected his dropped torch and put it away in his bag. We’d have no need for it anymore; there was plenty of light.
I had Nira carry my scabbards as I led the way down the tunnel to the hellspider queen. We walked through the tunnel fully alert and found the large creature at the end, guarding the core room still.
“Welcome back, Miss Elania.” It suddenly spoke.
“Cut the crap. You know why I’m here.” I responded with anger.
“Yes. Yes, I do. You’re angry because of what happened to the elf.”
“She has a name.”
“I’m sorry. Velariah was it, right?”
I nodded.
“I wish I could have done things differently, but you needed the learning experience. I am truly sorry. For what it’s worth, know I never put her life at risk.”
“How can I trust that?”
“You can’t. Trust is built over time. I believed it was necessary to teach you both to stay focused while out in dungeons. Not every Ancient one may be as forgiving as me, even if they are able to communicate with you.”
I didn’t know what to say. He brought up valid points…
I felt used, though.
“You’re… interesting, Elania. I’d prefer to have you stay alive. I hope my lesson will help out in that regard. Do relay my message to Velariah, too. She is important to you, I can feel it.”
I hated it.
I hated this feeling.
He has just put me in my place and had been right in doing so.
I could really kick a wall right now.
Fuck it.
I walked to a wall at the side and gave it a good kick or four. I couldn’t be bothered to feel the pain I received from doing that. I was angry. Angry at myself, but also at the carelessness that Velariah showed the other day.
I’d even warned her…
“Your anger is justified, Elania. Your actions today showed me you learned from your mistakes. As a token of the trust you seek, I will give you some info about yourself that I observed the other day. It appears your blood… is special.”
“Wait, what do you mean?” I asked.
“Think for yourself. I will be releasing my grasp on my minion once more. I thank you and your companions for the mana you’ve provided me today. I hope our relationship continues to grow in the future.”
After that, the hellspider queen reverted to the same behavior that it showed after Arch cut off previously. It started wandering around mindlessly.
I let myself drop to the floor once more, a gloved hand on my forehead as I tried to process the information.
My blood was special?
Velariah was the first one to approach me, as expected.
“What did he say?”
I removed the hand and looked at her sternly.
“First of all, you got yourself injured because you were reckless, that was on purpose. He hopes you will learn from that.”
I was sure my voice was angry. As soft as it was, I believed I got the point across.
“What?” She said in disbelief.
“And you know what? He was right, too.” I finished.
Velariah remained quiet. I hoped she realized that Arch had a good point. We had already resolved we should pay better attention when out in dungeons, but the confirmation from Arch himself was relieving.
I felt relieved because it didn’t appear that Arch was hostile at all. His actions had made complete sense. He also provided me another piece of information about myself.
I was still slightly skeptical about trusting him, we should remain alert while out here. Maybe he intended for me to feel that way?
If so, he was doing a great job at it.
“Secondly…” I spoke softly. “It appears my blood is special.”
“What does that mean?” Velariah asked in a soft voice.
The others joined up with us and seemed eager to know what Arch had told me. I was sure they heard me scolding Velariah, but I doubted they got that second part.
“My blood is special…” I repeated myself so the others could hear it too. “Do you guys know what that could mean?”
“You certainly seemed to leak quite a bit the other day,” Seralyn commented. “Think it has something to do with that?”
“Well, yeah,” I commented. “I had the feeling that had something to do with it. Arch told me he observed it being special. I’m trying to figure out how-”
Hold on a second.
The gears started spinning in my head before I could finish talking.
“My wound…”
I looked at Velariah to see her facial expression confirm that she too, reached the same conclusion that I had.
“It was completely gone within hours...” She finished my sentence.
“As was yours…” I still looked at her.
I recounted the events that happened the previous day. I received a head wound from one of the bats, causing me to bleed quite a bit. Not much later, Velariah received puncture wounds to her legs from one of the boars. I’d helped to bandage and clean it.
My wound healed itself in record time. Was that because of my blood? Did I get my own blood into Velariah’s wound and cause it to heal insanely quickly as well?
That brought my mind to when I first came to this world.
“Velariah, you remember when my arm was completely busted?”
“That troll did that, right?”
“Yes, I am convinced he shattered every bone that I had in that arm. Well, within hours, the pain subsided immensely. I don’t think that’s natural.”
“It’s not.” Nira pointed out.
Nira’s answer confirmed my suspicion.
“So, my blood heals wounds and internal damage?” I asked no one in particular.
Nobody replied, but I knew what they were thinking.
“And here I thought I received a cool ability.” Seralyn broke the silence after a while.
“I’m shocked,” Draco admitted. “If that’s true…”
“And it becomes known, I might be hunted once more. Adventurer or not, I doubt they would leave me be…”
“They won’t,” Velariah confirmed. “You guys better keep your mouths shut.” She said, peering into everyone’s souls with her eyes.
She was scary like that.
I believed with all my heart that none of these people would cause that information to come out. Velariah’s statement was still reassuring.
“I’m not even certain, I’ll confirm for myself, but everything seems to point to it… ” I said.
“Hold up,” Seralyn spoke again. “You seem to be crazy resistant to poison. You appear to have insane regeneration. How many abilities do you have?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know yet.”
“Master Pylanor summoned Grandmaster Ineus. We’re hoping to find out her inherity within a couple of days.” Velariah said.
“There’s something you’re not telling me,” Seralyn said. “I don’t know if I should ask what it is, but I’d like to be clear here.”
I looked at Velariah once more. Could we tell them already?
“There’s already pretty damning information about you out in the open. Why not add the rest as well?” She said.
“I’m scared,” I admitted.
“So am I, but we can’t hide it forever.” She said as she knelt in front of me to hug me.
I was afraid I’d hurt her with my words earlier. I was happy to see she could tell I didn’t mean it personally.
“Okay…” I spoke softly.
I stood up together with her and Velariah made a few things clear.
“None of this information is to get out. My father is aware of the things that Elania is about to tell you. If he finds out the info is leaked… well… I don’t think I have to say what happens next.”
She paused a second to look at our party members.
“We’ve hidden this information until now. I, personally, feel that it’s only fair we tell you. Our lives are connected, after all. I’ve come to know that any information that Elania shares with us on the fly in combat is because of her experience… in some way.”
She then looked at me. “If you’ll do the honors…” She said softly.
I nodded.
“Gods, where do I even start…?”
“First off, I’m not from around…here.”
“Yeah, no kidding,” Seralyn said.
I shook my head. “I mean, from this world.”
I could see the brunette and harpy’s eyes grow large.
“What?” Nira asked.
“I’m not from this world,” I repeated. “I’m from an entirely different world without magic, called Earth. We had no Lizardmen, Elves, Harpies, Goblins, Trolls, and anything like it. We only had… Humans. I was one of them.”
“But how? Why?” Seralyn continued the questions that I am sure the others had as well.
“Trust me, I have no idea how or why either. You know, that cave where we found that chest of coins? That’s where I woke up one day… changed into… this.”
I tapped some of my legs on the floor to put emphasis on my confession.
“That’s quite the story,” Draco commented. “I can see why you were hesitant to tell us. I am sure many things were different if there was no magic.”
I nodded.
“Our combat was a different story entirely. I’d rather not elaborate on that.”
“Understandable,” The lizardman nodded.
Seralyn scratched her head.
“I can see what you’re thinking,” Velariah said to the other elf. “She told me she spent an entire day learning how to walk.”
I chuckled at that.
“That was one shitty day,” I commented.
An audible grumble coming from my stomach interrupted our conversation.
“Whelp, looks like it’s time to feed the spider again,” Seralyn laughed it off.
She took the news surprisingly well.
Nira still looked as if she found it hard to believe what I’d just shared and Draco… Well, Draco was Draco. He seemed intrigued but didn’t pry further. I was convinced I’d get questions soon enough.
We walked back through the dungeon. Draco harvested the massive scorpion’s tail and the others went about to check if any of the other monsters held anything of value.
I’d sheathed my weapons again and by the time we reached the stairs leading out of the dungeon, Nira started the questions.
“What did your old life look like?” She asked.
“I’ll be honest here, Nira. It really wasn’t anything special. I seem to have lost all my memories with regards to my family, I can’t remember faces or names. I’m not even sure if they were still alive before I came here. As for what I did? Most of my time was spent in front of a computer, not that that tells you much.”
I was shocked at how little I remembered.
What made me, me?
If there was some kind of god that put me here, did they remove those memories in order to increase my survival probability? I still seemed to remember survival techniques when I first came here, and I had last seen those shows many years ago.
“I don’t remember my name, my parents… my age, even.”
“Oh,” She spoke softly before looking at the ground.
“Don’t worry about it. I’m not sure if I want to remember, I’ve given up on trying to find it out. This name I have now, Elania, it’s not my own. Velariah gave it to me.”
“Must be harsh,” Seralyn looked at me with a tinge of sadness in her eyes. “I’m sorry for the things I’ve said that might have upset you. I didn’t know…”
“It’s fine. Velariah told me a thing or two about you as well.”
The white-haired elf stood to my right as Seralyn questioned me from the left.
Seralyn nodded.
“So, about you and Lady Velariah.” She said the ‘lady’ part with a hint of playfulness in her voice, as if it was excessive, which it was. “You also mind telling me how things are working out between you two?”
She most definitely knew…
“We’re in a relationship,” Velariah said without a second thought.
What the hell? How could she throw me under the bus like that?
I looked at the floor in embarrassment.
“Knew it,” Seralyn said.
I walked up the stairs and exited the dungeon. The others soon followed me. I hoped my face was a little less red. I could only buy myself so much time.
“You know the two of you are super cute together?” Seralyn commented behind me after she’d climbed the stairs.
Why did she have to rub salt in the wound?
“Better to stop here, Seralyn,” Velariah said. “You know. Now, just leave it as it is. She isn’t exactly comfortable with this kind of teasing.”
Thanks, Vel.
“She’s just told you of her origins. I’d hoped that would make things clearer. That includes her… ability to talk about things like this,” Velariah continued as they followed me through one of the tunnels leading to the surface.
“Yeah, I’m sorry, Elania. I got a bit carried away.”
She was very apologetic today. Was that because she finally knew my story, or something else?
“I can see you’ve walked with that for a long time,” Draco said, walking up next to me after we were back outside.
“That must have been heavy on your heart.”
I nodded. “It was. You have no idea how happy I am to have you guys.”
He smiled broadly. “I am happy to have you as well, Elania. You’ve taught me a fair bit, I look forward to having more adventures together.”
“Thanks, Draco. You’re a good friend.”
I turned to Nira behind me.
“How about you, Nira. Would you stay with our party as well?”
“I’d be more than happy to.” She replied in her usual soft voice. “You guys are the most dependable party I’ve been with so far. I’d like to call you guys my friends someday too.”
“We already are, Nira,” Velariah interjected.
The harpy looked at the elf with her eyes glowing. Velariah nodded in response. Nira then smiled from ear to ear.
“Let’s go get something to eat, shall we?” Velariah continued, addressing everyone. “By the way, did you know that Elania was the one who invented coffee?”
