Mostly, Liri kept walking forward with her head low. The Inquisitor's guilt-ridden eyes kept popping back into her thoughts.
[Did I do the right thing?] She wondered. [Or, did I just cost a bunch of people their lives by not killing her then and there?]
She wanted to believe that there was a chance. That this girl could be different. But, when faced with death as she had been, would all Inquisitors act guilty like that? For all Liri knew, this could have been an Oscar-worthy performance on her part that saved her life.
If that was the case, then Liri had undeniably messed up.
[... No, don't think about it right now,] she told herself. [You made your choice. Just wait and see what happens.]
"... turn back," she heard, and the ven's ears perked up.
"No," another familiar voice replied. "Even if their fight is ongoing, what exactly could you and I do about it? We're better off..."
"Hey!" Liri called out as she heard her friends ahead. She began jogging past a set of dim grey trees.
Vegetation that reminded her of the scarred lands she was trying to heal. That wasn't quite what was on her mind right now, though.
Instead, she focused on the distant figures of Arisa and Caitlyn just a bit to the north.
The armor on her body helped to reach them quickly.
"Huh?" Caitlyn flinched as she saw Liri. "W-Who!?"
"It's me!" Liri yelled.
As the elf got a better view of her, she calmed down. Arisa turned toward her, beaming the moment she spotted the ven.
"You're okay!" The drasen woman cried out gratefully, running over to Liri and wrapping her arms around her.
[Uh, can I deacti-] as soon as that thought went through her mind, the armor on her fell off on its own, its wood landing on the ashen ground.
Arisa's warm arms were what let it sink in that they'd made it out. A fact that Liri was grateful for.
"You made it," Arisa said again, sniffling.
"I did!" Liri laughed a little. "I did... I guess we got lucky they underestimated me so much."
"We will not have that luck next time, then." Caitlyn stood a short distance away, looking behind Liri, likely to make sure she wasn't followed.
"We just got out of harm's way and you're already thinking about fighting again?" Arisa asked, looking at Caitlyn incredulously.
"It's good that we lived, but there are still people back there in need of help. Liri," Caitlyn said, walking up to her. "I don't expect you to help me. Now that you've seen what we're up against, I'm sure you probably want to stay as far away from humanity as possible, and I don't blame you. But," she added, "could you... Could you at least come take a look at our settlement?"
Liri's response was quick.
"I was already planning on it," she said with a giggle. Her tone took a more serious turn as she continued, though. "The humans have some serious firepower. I don't know if I can do too much as I am now, but... I still want to help."
Caitlyn's eyes gleamed when she heard that. She turned away from Liri in a hurry.
"A-Alright. Come on," she said, walking to the right. "The settlement is this way."
The three of them departed then from Diosia.
Liri took one last look at it.
[... The technological gap is pretty bad. Without people on our side fighting with guns, I don't think we stand much of a chance to win. I hope the elves have some tools we could use.]
For just a few seconds, the Duchess came back to Liri's mind.
[I can't say I judge you for choosing to survive over trying to fight for your people, but if, somehow, we end up winning and the elves re-take Diosia... I'm not gonna get in their way if they choose to punish you somehow.]
---
They walked for a few hours after that.
Mostly, the only conversations that happened revolved around the scenery around them. As they moved south, Liri noticed that the area around them was becoming more tropical. Sure, it was all still dead, but hints of old beauty shined through.
Naturally, she sensed a few Mother Trees as well. But Liri mostly just wanted to see the settlement as soon as possible, before she made the decision to go anywhere else.
"Here we are," Caitlyn said, bringing Liri's attention to her.
They'd ended up at some sort of cave.
"The settlement isn't in the cave, but rather, it will be behind it. By the way, it isn't exactly pretty, but none of the settlements are. Humanity hasn't found us here yet though and that's all that matters. Watch your head," she told Arisa, "and try not to slip and break an ankle or something."
A cramped, narrow hall of rocks and humidity greeted the three of them. They made their way through silently before Liri thought to ask:
"How many settlements are there?"
"Dozens," Caitlyn replied. "Each one just waiting to be discovered by the enemy and be forced to relocate again. Technically," she continued, "the Purity Act only mentioned that elves would have to leave human-occupied cities but, no one knows for how long things will remain that way. So, no one wants to take the risk of trying to settle anywhere larger only to get massacred."
[... They're right to not want to risk that,] Liri thought, as her heart ached a little.
"Okay," Caitlyn said, suddenly, as the space around them finally widened and they reached the other end of the cavern. "Here we are."
Liri's eyes widened.
They'd ended up at a beach of some sort.
Ahead, Liri saw what she could only guess was an old, human prison. One that was now acting as a home for what had to be hundreds of people.
"Oh, my goodness..." Arisa said. "There are so many elves here."
"Yeah, but, don't be fooled. These are the ones who lived. The number of elves who have died in recent years is... disheartening. Come on," she said, nodding toward it. "I'll take you to the Elders."