It's been seven cycles that Krastinaff has been following the tracks of what's left of the troop, it's harder to follow, so far he's found two more dead along the way, if his memory is correct belonged to one of those groups with guide stones, apparently succumbed to the wounds from the last battle, the terrain is less muddy here, yet he continues unhurriedly following the tracks.
The only trail he thinks he can guess to who it belongs is Ramon's big footsteps, he hasn't forgotten that even in human form Ramon has a foot the size of an elephant, even the most elephant-like creature Krastinaff knows about being the ones that they live in the shadows of this layer, or whatever it is, it's ridiculously big, Krastinaff thinks.
Krastinaff returned to feel like a person at this time, even though he could sleep little and only at the top of a tree to avoid the creatures, he feels much better.
Trees that in Krastinaff's eyes begin to defy common sense, if he wasn't sleeping on top of them would he think it's an illusion, five Ramons tall?
Krastinaff doesn't need an inscription on the wall to know where to go, it was always pretty obvious, when they entered that layer they were shown, and now Krastinaff understands this. He's spent all the time he's been following the trail of the rest of the troop meditating on everything he knows about dungeons, especially what he's learned in this one.
While walking Krastinaff meditated, while eating Krastinaff meditated, while sleeping Krastinaff meditated, on what he understood, on what he learned, on what he has to understand.
The ideograms, the sound of the words, the meaning of the ideas danced in his mind, little he understood more than he had already learned, but this little is enough to change his understanding, to give him a much deeper perspective on his existence in that place, about the existence of that place, about the call he could not refuse.
The tracks are getting harder and harder to follow, Krastinaff must be hinting a long way back, but he doesn't care, he still have a lot of food in a very hard place to find food. Although the troop does not walk in a straight line, one pattern is very clear, they never move too close to the mountain, nor do they move too far.
The leader must still be guiding them, Krastinaff thinks, the path they walk is well chosen, only someone who knows where to go would do something like that.
On the way Krastinaff finds the bodies of probably all the members of one of the troop groups that had a guide stone, guide stone is the last body Krastinaff finds, there are also the bodies of strangers and a large number of monsters, it is difficult to know if they fought between themselves or together with the monsters, probably both.
It had been a while since Krastinaff had seen such a large number of monsters as in that enclave, despite only fifteen cycles since he had his last fight in his escape from the fort.
Krastinaff hasn't decided what he's going to do when he catches up with them, maybe he'll watch from a distance for a while, maybe he'll rejoin them, maybe join another troop that will help him more than the last, he just knows he won't be able to get where he should.
Krastinaff has consumed a few more of those stones during this time, he still has plenty left over, he's just sure Rikka hasn't gotten rid of her infection, but he has, whatever they did for her, they didn't that right, Krastinaff didn't had anything either, he just was lucky to stumble across the solution, at least it's a solution for him.
There were times at night that Krastinaff thought he had heard the whispers again or seen the figures floating around the creatures, maybe that's part of the infection, Krastinaff thinks.
After six more cycles Krastinaff finds what's left of the troop, all unconscious, apparently exhausted, they've lost a lot of weight, there's no food with them, Krastinaff picks up the stones they're carrying and feeds them and walks away, he takes the cart for half a day away from the troop and leaves it there, he gets back to the troop and he watches as they seem to recover.
There's only Rikka's team, Ramon and Susano's, in addition to the leader and his squire, Krastinaff sees that they find some food in the next three cycles, they seem alert and brooding.
Which is quite understandable, miraculously they haven't starved to death or been devoured by a monster, Kratinaff has a hard time hearing what they say for keeping a good distance from them, but they also don't seem to know what happened to the other group or Amira.
Krastinaff's resources were already running out, especially the food, seeing they he left the wheelbarrow behind, he takes the opportunity to put what is still worthwhile in the heelbarrow and abandon that cart.
The pilgrimage is indeed a long one, Krastinaff realizes that if there was one thing to be respected about the dwarf, it was that he said what needed to be said, despite saying a lot more of what he didn't need to say, and a lot less meaning.
The only thing that still disturbs Krastinaff in his musings is this hero thing, why is there such a thing? It doesn't make sense, so far Krastinaff saw that all that awaits a hero is physical and mental suffer, it must be a figment of the evil mind behind it all, that evil king, or maybe something worse if there is, Krastinaff hasn't stopped brooding, since he started walking with a group he hasn't meditated so much.
His thoughts are now much clearer and more precise, loneliness has brought out his dormant mental talents, here these talents are much more needed, his mother's heritage shows his value to him for the first time in his life, being a half-elf has its benefits too.
In everyday places it is not necessary to sharpen the mind so much, here it is better than Susano's mantras, Krastinaff is curious to know what happened to Amira, he has a bad feeling.
Krastinaff observes how the tribulation in his mind caused by this dungeon affected him, just by watching the suffering that troop is going through, that dungeon continually attacks his body and soul, without a strong soul there is no body that can triumph here, despite Ramon seems to defy this logic, if he hadn't known Ramon for so long, Krastinaff would be haunted.
These bands seem as quiet as the fort was, before they started to fight those creatures' attacks, Krastinaff has a hunch the spot they're headed for must be close, and three cycles later he sees a fort on the horizon, much bigger than where he came, better built.
That fort is almost as tall as the trees, looks like it was hewn out of the rock and reinforced with logs around it, it has a primitive elevator that takes his former comrades to the top of the wall, there are many more lookouts here, amidst this observation Krastinaff has a snap.
He's seeing it all from far away, a distance that should be impossible, even because there shouldn't be such a wide place.
He goes back to his observation, but now he has lost sight of his former teammates, there are many more guards in this place than in the other fort, just guards on the wall must already have more than half of the entire troop in the last fort.
The guards seem well equipped and fed, he watches guard even during the dark period, there are few creatures in the region and Krastinaff finds this intriguing, even more intrigued when he realizes that the grooves in the walls of the fort look like inscriptions.
The grooves are largely hidden by the logs that reinforce the walls of the fort, Krastinaff spends two cycles observing the movement in the wall, until something very remarkable happens to him.
He sees an female elf with very pointy ears, haughty bearing, in a tight but not too tight green outfit that covers from forearm to knees, with small necklines at the shoulders and sides of the waist, and a generous cleavage at the bust emphasizing her larger bust. That's the most impressing bust Krastinaff has already seen, despite being just above average bust, her neck is draped in a large crimson scarf, despite the elegant outfit she is barefoot, which does nothing to change her graceful walk.
The elf carries a nice longbow in one hand and an arrow in the other, she stops in the middle of the wall and looks up, Krastinaff thinks to himself what it must mean, maybe it's some kind of sign, but what's the use?
Krastinaff hears the hiss and sees the arrow stuck in the ground beside his head, he was face down watching from the top of the hill that fort almost a kilometer away, he is amazed, he looks at the elf who is no doubt staring at him.
Krastinaff's eyes spark, the elf retreats into the fort, Krastinaff's heart is pounding like never before, Krastinaff doesn't know what it is, doesn't quite understand what happened, but at least he got the message.
Krastinaff thinks for the rest of the cycle on what to do, in the next cycle he sees that there is another arrow a palm's breadth away stuck in the ground just like the first, he understands that the elf knew her observation time, and he still sees her getting back to the safety inside the fort.
Krastinaff goes down the hill and sneaks behind the sparse trees on the ground, he doesn't want to draw attention, the guard of the fort continues in their usual routine, Krastinaff arrives at the main elevator, he realizes that his presence does not cause a disturbance, he finds it strange. Inexplicable hospitality from the leader?
He is slowly hoisted up the platform, the guard acts as if he is nothing, just when he reaches the top there is a little fairy with lilac butterfly wings hovering on the air waiting for him, she has a much friendlier countenance than all the guards, yet despite being jovial, it is not the face of a friend, but of a servant with orders to carry out.
"Hello! Follow me, the magnanimous one awaits you." Krastinaff follows the fairy in silence, the experience with the last leader taught him to only speak when ordered, as well as obey a command, even when it seems just an invitation.
Krastinaff is intrigued by many things, this mysterious air that surrounds the fort seems to enter the rock itself, the guards despite being frowned upon, do not act aggressively as in the last fort, they are also better equipped, nourished and dressed.
Krastinaff walks through long corridors until he comes to a large door, the guards at the door open it at the fairy's command, the fairy's voice is sweet and pleasant, it's the second time in his life that Krastinaff has seen a fairy, and the first to enter in a place so imposing and luxurious for his living standards.
There are assorted tapestries and adornments scattered in the corridors, and when the guards open the door that chamber reveals itself even more luxurious, sitting on a great throne is the elf that Kratinaff had seen shoot the arrow, she is wearing the same type of clothing as before, but the colors are different, the costume is orange and the scarf is lilac, Krastinaff's heart races when he sees the elf's face up close.
The decoration in this room is more pompous, the elf, however, is the most beautiful thing in the room, Krastinaff's attention turns to a chain attached to the throne, Krastinaff follows the chain with his eyes and sees behind a vase of fern, the chain connects to a collar, it's a little dark in that place, but Krastinaff has no difficulty in identifying that silhouette, it's Amira.
The elf frowned for a moment as she saw her guest distracted by that mere slave standing in the presence of the magnanimous, the elf queen rose impetuously from her highchair.
"Come here!" the elf's command makes Krastinaff's body react on its own, he doesn't want to resist the command, but his attention is still on Amira, nor does the smell of delicious fruit or fragrant flowers on the table beside the throne catch Krastinaff's attention.