The Regressed NoBody

I eased into the seat and turned my attention back at the elders occupying the seats opposite and around us. Their expressions serious and looking more favourably at us, except for Serven.

But ignoring the elf, I turned my gaze at the muscular and tall orc beside Zalar, we shared a silent nod as he took a breath, his tusks prominently reflecting the light of the artifacts placed around the chamber, giving them a luster as his moss coloured eyes shifted to my right, at Mordian and then at Aurora.

The hunched elder of the orcs made the suggestion and everyone agreed to his suggestion and nodded except for Serven as he had a soiled expression and sullen eyes like a child, who was just yelled at by an adult.

The dwarf from earlier, with the black beard, took a breath and took the initiative to introduce himself.

“I am a strategists sent by the dwarfs’ high magistrate—who sequentially holds the highest power and authority amongst the dwarfs, together with the six member council, as our leader—and my name is Durin Stoutforge.” The black bearded dwarf said with pride in his tone as he pointed with a wave of his hand at his companion who sat beside him with a composed and observant demeanour. “Similarly, my friend here, is also a strategist like me, and his brain is much sharper than mine—making him good at deductions and an inexpungible tactician. He likes making and handling artifacts as a hobby, Grimnir Goldvein.”

Grimin sighed as if he was cringing over his friends lengthy explanation as he looked at me with a gentle expression across his wrinkled and slightly bronze face which looked much older and stern than Durin. A smile replaced his still lips as he nodded at me in a greeting.

I nodded back respectfully as Durin settled in his seat as he crossed his arms, waiting for the others to do the same as him.

“Serven Finwe,” Serven simply said with a solemn expression as he didn’t look in our direction, his tone wry and face still sullen a little as he reached his hand out and picked up a parchment lying in front of him.

His companion—the elf with the lighter locks of long hair—stood gracefully, his expression having a solemn yet holding a grace and elegance which spoke highly of his etiquette just from the movements of his body, his lips pursed slightly as his almost feminine voice reverberated through the chamber.

He slightly bent his head, to the point of being respectful of the other party and placed a hand over his sternum as he greeted us.

“I am Vaerin Eärendil, of the Eärendil family of the elven race.” After a short pauss he decided to disclose some personal information about himself, his expression remained gentle and graceful in the entirety of his statment. “We of the Eärendil family have been serving the royal family of the elven race since a long time ago—for the last six generations, as their aid."

Vaerin's bow deepened slightly as he soon unbent and with a soft smile looked at each of us and then slowly turned his eyes toward Aurora.

Aurora beside me stiffened slightly, her face took a peculiar expression as she immediately composed herself gracefully, as if that loosening of her face hadn’t happened earlier as she returned his smile with a gentle nod and the handsome elf settled in his seat, a content expression now replaced his face.

I shifted my gaze back immediately toward the orcs now. Zalar, the hunched orc stood, his body was similar to a human male in height and muscle mass, but the things which made him stand out were the tusks growing out of his lower mouth and the reddish shade of his skin with several strips of the same colour coiling around his body likes serpents.

“I am Zalar, an appointed elder of the Kara’bian tribe. Our tribe as been the one leading the orcen factions for a very long time. Similarly, my good friend here,” he waved his hand toward the muscular orc siting beside him. “Is from one of the five factions which the Kara’bian tribe has led so far.”

“I’m from the tribe of Valoria, Suren, similarly I’m an elder of the faction created to oversee the other orcen tribes.” The muscular orc said, his heavy and deep voice reverberated through the chamber like speaking in the depth of a lake.

“Wait? If there are six factions amongst the orcs, then what about the other tribes and their appointed elders and leaders?” I asked curiously, and Zalar began to explain about the other tribes and what had become of their elders since the war had started.

Zalar seemed to sigh before he began speaking, Suren beside him had his expression slightly twisted, making him look even more horrendous with the wrinkles and furrow lines of his face.

“There are five other tribes, beside the Kara’bian tribe, which has been the leading tribe beside the five tribes. There is the Valoria tribe, the Nerevan tribe, the Thaloran tribe, Zandrak tribe and finally the Eldoria tribe.” Zalar looked at me for clarification, and seeing that I was deeply immersed in the topic, he continued further, trying to sound as rhetorical as possible. “Each tribe has played an important role in the development of the orcen race; each tribe represents an aspect of either our lands or elements on which we were formed."

“The Kara’bian tribe is situated and built where the winds are strong, making a good environment where warriors can nurture themselves. The Valoria tribe is best known for their prideful and strong warriors and nurtured history, known to live in harsh conditions, their tribe is situated deep in the mountains, being the oldest tribe beside the Kara’bian tribe. And this sanctuary is built between the area which is found exactly in between the two tribes”

Aurora beside me listened with deep curiosity, her face made an expression as if she was already aware of the existence of these tribes, but she still showed strong interest in the topic brought up by Zalar.

“The Nerevan tribe is hidden deep in the plains of water and near the ocean. The Thaloran tribe is found in an area where the sun never shows itself, where the skies are always blanketed by heavy and dark clouds with ferocious lightning striking every few seconds, making the tribe a kingdom of eternal night. The Zandrak tribe is near the sand dunes and Eldoria is where the sun rises first and sets at last.”

Interesting! Each tribe has a distinctive and unique history and elements which makes a person feel the wonders attached to their names.

Zalar’s eyes seem to take a more serious and sombre hue, the gentle and graceful expression over the orc’s face suddenly vanished as he spoke, each word laced with a frowning edge.

“The demons initiated a full-scale attack on our people suddenly, several months ago—almost an year and a half ago—, we fought to the best we could, our strong warriors had driven the demons to a corner in the beginning of the war, they fought with all of their might, but it was until that unfortunate think happened...”

Zalar leaned back into his seat, his shoulders loosened as his face wore a scowl, Suren beside him made an even more twisted scowl.

“We were betrayed by our own kin, they sold information and revealed plans which we had made to expel the demons from our lands—we had gotten ample support from our allies and acquired strong reinforcements—, but after a few months had gone by and we were on the winning side, I had find it odd that the demons weren’t giving us a harder time than I’d expected them to before our betrayal, and we found out shortly afterward that they had placed mana distortion devices across our lands in secrecy using our people and making them false promises to allow them to live and not distort their current lives after the war was over.”

Zalar’s nose wrinked, the malice in his eyes burned like a fiery storm, his voice laced in venom, as his desperate and anxious eyes looked at me. “That was when it happened, our side began to lose battle after battle, death became a common aspect and we lost ample numbers each day, as for the demons they grew stronger as our forces declined.”

Seeing Zalar’s expression, Suren placed a hand on his shoulder, indicating for him to calm down and relax. He sighed, as he took a breath and smothered the scowl from over his face.

My brows knitted in thought as I came to a conclusion of my own, similarly the reason why the elders and leaders of the four other tribes weren’t present. It seemed obvious with the relative information just given to us.

“The ones who betrayed us were the elders and leaders of Nerevan, Thaloran and Zandrak. Eldoria fought for us and were our loyalist warriors, and they were the ones to perish first; their defeat instigated the worst part of the war.” Zalar clarified immediately as he read the confusion over my face. “But shortly afterward, the elders and leader of the three tribes were betrayed by the demons who made them promises when we orcs came to our weakest point in the war. By then, the impregnable fortress of Esparossa, which sequentially is the strong-hold of the Kara’bian tribe, had been conquered, and the elders and their leaders who had betrayed their kind, their bodies were badly mutilated and hanged on crosses for display—their heads severed from their bodies—to sent tremors and panic through our people, which had worked better than they had expected.”

“Panic rushed in and consumed everyone like a forest fire. Revolts happened, making it less advantageous for us to fight as a group, and by then that happened, we had completely lost the war, and escaped to the sanctuary.”

Durin looked at Zalar, his hand patting his beard as he made a sympathetic expression. Zalar turned his gaze to me and then shifted it to my bond.

“This our last line of defence, we barely have any fighting personnel, and even if we do engage in a battle, we would probably lose. Similarly, we have no way of communicating the other sanctuaries—or to reach our allies."

The entire chamber turned silent, everyone seemed to be frowning. They knew that they couldn’t even escape because the demons had placed the mana distortion devices across the orcs lands—so using the compass was not possible—even if they had one in their possession.

“Thank you for explaining your circumstances, Zalar. I think I might have the general idea of your situation and the amount of damage the demons have done so far.” I showed my gratitude as I heard his explanation.

“Heh, like you do. Someone who has just arrived here a few hours ago..” Serven scoffed as he kept reading the parchment from earlier, but his brows knitted into a sneer.

Aurora glared at the elf, having enough of his rude behaviour, her eyes filled with annoyance as she looked at Serven who was nonchalantly reading the details written over the document. I simply turned my head toward her as she held back whatever she could have said, as Vaerin by his side turned his head toward her and apologetically bowed his head as his expression turned awkward and stiff.

Ignoring the elf and shrugging his derogatory words, I thought of something and shared it with Mordian immediately as we came to a conclusion—he showed skepticism over my suggestion—and just as he replied back I asked the orcen elder, Zalar.

“Can you firstly tell me the exact amount of the forces and resources you have? And how much time would it take to prepare them if we need to bring them with us.” My brows knitted in thought as I leaned back slightly and straightened my back against the high back chair. After a moment of pondering, I added right away. “And what is amount of the refugees currently staying here?”

“I might be asking too much all of a sudden, but the sooner we get a clear grasp of the situation, the sooner we can launch a counterattack—for that, we need to highlight our advantages and disadvantages, leaning more toward the tactical side, because of the lack in numbers.”

Zalar’s brows knitted in thought, he pondered for a few long seconds, as his hand took a hold of his chin and shortly after he opened his mouth and explained.

He clearly explained the exact amount of orcs, elves and dwarfs who were capable enough to fight, who were available in the city, the amount of injured and incapable were more in numbers than the ones who could fight and be used as reinforcements. And the amount of the refugees far exceed the number of the warriors. Plus, the bigger problem they had was of resources, they had more mouths to feed than food, and they lacked emitters to heal their people and resources to make potions and herbs to treat their fallen.

Honestly, the situation looked much worse than I’d first thought. There were more problems than solutions. And they barely had a chance at turning the situation around, even if we helped them.

We needed to do something, and quickly. It was better if we made some plan and executed it to seize an opportunity to tilt the tide of this losing war. It was far-fetched, but worth a shot. The orcs had already lost and even with Mordian and I helping them, it would be pretty hard to do so in these circumstances.

I suppressed the sigh building within me, as I shared my thoughts with Mordian, we both communicated mentally as Aurora observed us silently, knowing well that we were conversing telepathically. From her expression growing more impatient each passing second, I knew she wanted to be a part of our conversation.

It was honestly a terrific perk of being bonded that we could communicate to ourselves in situations like this—where we couldn’t speak our opinion out loud. Because, there was no one I trusted more than Mordian, our partnership may have been built upon the standard of mutual benefit from our covenant, but his presence always soothed me to a point that I knew whatever we did, we both can make it work. If I made a mistake Mordian would correct and help me out.

“We have told you enough. Don’t you think it’s right for you tell us how you came here?” Serven suddenly said as he gazed at us, his eyes shifted back immediately as he looked at Mordian. “If you want us to trust to, shouldn’t you also tell us about yourselves? That's the least you can do?" He raised his chin, as he looked down at me through his nose.

“I find it hard to believe that you just happened to be exactly near the place where the orcen soldiers were ambushed. Don’t you all find it odd as well? With the distortion devices placed all over the lands and hindering the usage of the Compass, isn’t it impossible for them to come here, even if they found a blind spot; while anomalies may occur, wouldn’t the demons be alerted right away using some artifact or other means.” Serven placed the document down and crossed his arms, his face growing impassive and cunning. “And if you did, we have secretly checked for any blinds spot during the war, for using the compass and there were almost none, but not zero—and in places that are far out of reach from civilization. So how did you come here and were closely near the spot where the orcen warriors and the demons were engaged?

All the elders sitting in the chamber turned their curious and skeptical gazes at me, nodding to his statement. Serven had made a valid point and it wasn’t too far-fetched to consider the holes in our sudden arrival and helping the orcs—which in their eyes could be a grand scheme plotted by the demons, but ultimately we were sincere so far, and Huŕum had allowed us to come with them to this sanctuary—, but he had also produced the ability of an anomaly occurring, which I was waiting for, if a scenario like this had happened, which it did.

I turned to the elf slowly and solemnly, my eyes unperturbed and looking relaxed, my lips slightly pursed and curved, as I brought my hand forward and ingested mana into the dimensional artifact given to me by Vetustima—in pair with Mordian—, that I’d decide to wear in secrecy before coming inside the chamber.

This dimensional artifact didn't kept stuck on my finger, so I had guessed that the one that Vetustima gave to Mordian was special.

I already had an excuse ready beforehand for a moment like this, and I’d made this excuse together with Mordian.

The ring in my hand produced a dim lustre of light as the mana stirred and I withdrew a disk like object, with a dome on one side, which was already damaged and the mana it used to hold extinguished, making it a dead and useless artifact.

I laid the compass down on the table, so that all of them could see the broken artifact in question. Immediately after witnessing the artifact, the elders made obvious, yet curious looks, hinting they were aware of what this device was, but unsure what it pointed toward.

“This is obviously a compass. But it’s beyond ruined and unrepairable.” Grimnir suddenly said, his eyes keenly observing the object, its charred and broke surface made him frown, as if he was sad for the destruction of this object, similar to an enthusiast on the loss of some valuable item.

“Yes,” I acknowledged. I deliberated for a moment as their curiosity surged to its limit, as I observed their expressions clearly and then told them about the remnant spirit of Vetustima Vivagrandus and how Mordian, Aurora and I had come into contact with him on sheer coincidence when we used this compass to move to a different and unknown land, not yet marked before.

I told them that this was an artifact that Mordian possessed and was inlaid with old and ancient ash-aran magic making it an intricate and peculiar device, different from the others.

They turned to Mordian and my bond nodded as if acknowledging my every word being true.

Without having to turn to my side or giving any signal, I realized Aurora maintained her graceful and obvious demeanour, making her look like she was already aware of all the details I'd just spoken—even if she had no idea of the exact details. Her expression remained calm and eyes looking around the octagonal table, casually reading the surprise, curiosity and apprehension on their faces.

The others seemed apprehensive of my story, their expressions conveying doubt and clear skepticism as Mordian observed their expressions beside me and even without having to tell him he began to speak, his heavy masculine voice reverberated through the chamber, sounding almost ethereal.

I knew, if I told them these details and right afterward Mordian explained, my explanation would appear more convincing and closer to being the truth—despite a lie—because he was a dragon and the minor races had quite a history with the ash’ari just like humans, and they placed great emphasis over the ash’ari, as far as I'd observed. And the ash’ari and their intricate history was veiled by a thick fog which the orcs, elves and dwarfs would probably be unaware of.

Because, judging from the surprise on Aurora’s face when finding out about Mordian and also the orcs and now the elders, I came to the conclusion that the minor races were aware of the existence of the ash’ari, but knew very little about them, judging from the hierarchical system and knowing nothing about the leading clans amongst them.

I turned my attention back to the conversation and focused on my bond’s words.

“When we used this compass after finishing venturing into an unknown territory, we arrived at a peculiar location which marked the secluded ruins of an ash’ari elder—an ancient existence.” Everyone listened carefully as if they were spellbound, their expressions infatuated by the mysteriously striking and stunning demeanour and looks of my bond, which seem to transcend the normality of this world.

Mordian took no concern in their gazes as he explained. “In those ruins, we met the remnant spirit of Vetustima Vivagrandus, the forefather of the titans. And the reason why the artifact is broken—its because, after our trial at the hands of such an existence, he asked us to hand our compass to him. And when we decided to use the Compass which the remnant spirit of Lord Vivagrandus—of the ancient leaders of the ash’ari—had altered and made changes to, it brought us to the orcen lands without our consents.” The orcen elder beside Mordian frowned, as if unable to fully grasp his words.

“And the moment we arrived here, the Compass destabilised all of a sudden, it’s mana was in jeopardy and afterward a distortion occurred and overloaded it with mana, which made it break on it’s own accord, which we later found out was caused by the mana distortion devices shortly after.”

“It’s even a surprise that we made it here in one piece despite the artifact getting destroyed.” Mordian fell silent as he leaned back and eased into the high back chair.

“And when we arrived, we sensed the ongoing battle immediately, so we decided to assist—which I think one you finds fault in.” I finished for him, as my gaze lingered on the elf on the left side.

“Do you seriously wish for us to believe everything you just said?” Serven asked, his face flummoxed in anger as he hesitantly looked at Mordian, his eyes quivered as they met my bond’s golden suns, as he shrank back.

“Then tell us; why did such an old and mighty existence of the ash’ari remain as a spirit and why Lord Vivagrandus altered the compass Lord Astrionyx possessed?”

Mordian turned to look at Serven, as the elf slightly flinched “We don’t know!” Mordian answered with a calm breath, his eyes looked serene and unhesitant as he impassively looked at the others, his eyes remained solemn and words confident as if each word was spoken with outmost certainty and assurance. “But from what I can tell is, the remnant made us appear here for a reason, and that reason might as well have been to help the orcs. Before when we came here, we weren’t aware of the orc's situation, and neither did Lord Vivagrandus explain any further, but merely spoke to us in riddles. Because the ancient forefathers are enigmas within the ash’ari clans, they are to this day respected and revered."

“We are not sure why Lord Vivagrandus appeared when we were travelling, challenged us, and why he altered the compass which brought us here. Even we find it odd, and somewhat unbelievable.” I added as I drew closer to the table as my hands laid on the surface.

“But he did tell us one thing. ‘Somethings are ought to be done than others’, I believe that there is a bigger picture behind our sudden and coincidental encounter with the ash-aran lord. Some bigger scheme plotted in the shadows long ago.”

After our explanation, everyone fell silent for a moment, unable to utter a word, Serven still seemed dissatisfied with our explanation, but judging from the detailed information we had given the others seem to accept it for the time being.

I heaved a sigh inwardly. They had come to believe our fabricated lie and it would be for the best. Because sometimes it was better to tell a lie, then to complicate the situation, regardless.

“I believe this should have answered some of our questions regarding our guests,” Zalar looked at Serven with a calm face as the elf seemed to break into a scowl “and the ones which still linger, hope we can suppress them for the meantime and move on to the important tasks at hand which need our attention more, then just holding a session of interrogation.” Zalar said, as his eyes mischievously turned, holding a glint of arrogance and wry humour.

“Very well,” he dryly coughed as we all began to discuss the matters of war. Serven's eyes turned more determined as he displayed deep solemnity. “Then the topic that needs our utmost attention is deactivating the mana distortion devices, and then retaking the fortresses of Tseige and Esparossa—all while we somehow retake the compass from the demons.”

The first and foremost topic which was brought up were the mana distortion devices. From Mordian’s short explanation and how I’d observed the mana in the atmosphere in a frenzy and weakened state in certain areas, I could more or less tell what and how that device operated—how they targeted the magical energy. It most probably weakened and supressed the mana using some artifact.

And judging from the suppressed state in which the mana was around us when we fought the demons, I found it odd, as if the mana was forcefully being held together to not allow it to work as it was supposed to—similar to like a wet cloth which was stretched to it limit.

Then Zalar explained the places which had the distortion devices placed—the land found precisely between the Kara’bian and Valoria tribe, the Nerevan tribe and the Thaloran tribe, plus the significance of the Tseige and Esparossa fortress, and what we needed to do.

He pointed out facts that we were unaware of, as I tried to make a general idea of what we needed to do.

“Our best shot at turning the situation in our favour would be to first deactivate the mana distortion device between Kara-ban and Valoria. While a majority of the reinforcements would be busy in destroying the artifact, we need people to rush to the fortress of Tseige and release the prisoners held in the dungeon founded below the fortress.” Zalar said, brows knitted, pondering over the assumption he was making—each word holding a great burden and panic.

“It wouldn’t be easy, but even before we discuss the compass and the distortion devices, we would need soldiers who can defend and fight against the demons while we fulfil the requirements—even if we somehow steal the compass back and have an opportunity to use it after taking care of the mana distortion devices. It would honestly consume a lot of time—which we are short of on—, if we are to maintain a stable connection and bring reinforcements in a short time.

After his well thought response, Zalar slowly told us about the surroundings of Tseige and the inner lay out. He reached out his hands and rummaged through the piles of the paper and parchments as he withdrew one and pushed it in our direction.

“Similarly, if I had to place a number on it—more than half of our forces and reinforcements are currently imprisoned in the underground dungeon of Tseige.” Zalar added, and I was slightly surprised and stunned by the amount.

I took the parchment in hand and began to study the information mentioned on it. There were several place which were highlighted beforehand, detailing and concisely describing the information about the fortress and its entire layout—the number of rooms, the amount of resources stored in the fortress, from food, water, herbs and other precious materials, which was supposedly the biggest storage unit in the orcen world, plus the underground dungeon which was laid on a every large scale area for keeping prisoners.

While I was reading the parchment, I saw Zalar take another one out and respectfully bowed as he handed the goatskin to Mordian. My bond took it, and began to read the information about the Esparossa fortress, meanwhile I read the previous one.

I shared the details about Tseige while Mordian described the most necessary details about Esparossa. We continued to share our thoughts with one another, the situation looked more bleak than we had previously thought.

But, we still needed to do something to push the plan into motion. And for that, we needed to take some risks.

I handed the parchment to Aurora after finishing reading as she took it and keenly studied it.

Esparossa was the biggest and best know as the impregnable fortress. It was the main base of the orcs and their elders and leaders and had several artifacts, potions and treasuries filled to the brim with jewels, priceless artifacts and several other useful items. Plus, also having an underground imprisonment, second only to Tseige, where currently their leaders and some elders were kept.

Huŕum beside us seem to stir and shift in his position, his face growing into a silent grimace on the mention.

Mordian sent the overall structure and layout of the inside and outside of the fortress, described in the document, and made some suggestions.

We gave our pointers—Aurora waited for her turn and threw in her own suggestions and assumptions over the matter which more than half of us agreed now, adding depth to their ideas and plans. Sometimes we disagreed on certain points which clashed with one another, the noise in the chamber sometimes rose as we were somehow able to push for a basic understanding for the time being.

Right now, we had come to a mutual understanding and agreement over the matter and made a base for the operation of retaking the lands and deactivating the artifacts responsible for distorting the mana, hindering the compass useless. It was still not a proper plan, but we had made some progress so far.

We needed to come to terms at some point. It would take a few more discussions, but with more precise information we might as well have a proper plan ready by the time we need to depart for the execution of the operation.

“Simply put, it would be a large operation, one that would require utmost planning and tactical perfection, we would only get one chance—to make things right and to give ourselves a good standing in this war.” I let my gaze wonder around the octagonal table, looking everyone in the eyes, they seemed to understand my gaze and didn’t pull away. “But, after our sudden ambush on the demons while helping the orcs, they would also be on high alert and cautious. They wouldn’t try to make any bold actions against us, and I think they will start to prepare for a counterattack.”

“Why do you think that?” Suren asked, his nose flared as he exhaled.

“Firstly, they won't be entirely sure of my existence—for the well-known fact about humans being unable to use the compass’, or even being aware of its presence—, secondly,” my gaze wandered to Mordian as we came to a mutual understanding, “because of Mordian’s arrival with us. The demons would be assuming that the orcs now have a dragon—perhaps an ally or a messenger sent from the ash’ari —on their side, meaning that the ash’ari are taking interest and part in the war secretly to determine certain things, which would arouse doubt in their judgement and blind them of our exact number of forces and make them believe that a good number of ash’ari are here to assist us, but in hiding.”

“And while that happens, if the demons decide to communicate with their allies and ask for more reinforcements then they would have to deactivate one of the mana distortion devices in a certain range to allow that to happen, which can also work in our advantage.” Durin said as he patted his beard with a solemn expression, his expression turning more excited and full of vigour upon the formation of the plan.

“But what if they figure us out? That possibility still stands despite our best efforts at hiding it?” Vaerin spoke, his eyes shifted to me, as he questioned with a skeptical tone, but the young elf didn’t show any disrespect, only certain doubts of the plan failing, which was within my expectations. I completely grasped the point he was trying to make. But it was fine.

Because, Mordian’s presence here was the catalyst which would allow us to instigate the next phase of our plan.

“Then you can just take it as me making a bold guess. Because if we were able to come here, they would suspect that others can also by by-passing their certain means, but still somehow, and they would start to think that we are gathering reinforcements in silence to give a final comeback.” I looked at Suren, as I shared my thoughts with him. “And they are already close to winning the war, so they wouldn’t want any anomalies to occur, so while they are on high alert and confused by our sudden arrival we will take this time and create more mayhem to create more confusion for them.”

“Simply said, they would underestimate us regardless of whatever attempt we make. Because, they think they have already won, and whatever we try will fail, that’s exactly what they would be thinking. Because, they would suspect the sighting of a dragon.”

“But the possibility of anything happening or going wrong cannot be drawn out. Because it would be a race against time for us, regardless of whoever makes the first move.”

"So you want us to make a gamble—despite the risks? It's reckless to suggest such a strategy," Suren argued, his hands resting on the arm rest of the chair as he straightened.

"But do you have a better option? With barely any military personnel and resources left, this might be our last chance to roll the dice. We're no better than drowning men grasping at straws." I argued back, and Suren didn’t say anything back.

After some more discussion, we decided it was time to put a short end to our conversation for now, so that everyone could clear their minds and think of better ideas.

“Huŕum, please guide our guests to their quarters, and have their needs tend to, so they have a comfortable stay here.” Zalar said as he stood and so did the others.

Huŕum, heeding the words of his elder, guided us out of the chamber after a short farewell to the others.

I nodded to them and then slowly turned and fell in line with the orc, whose back was wide enough to cover half of the entrance.

We didn’t speak much, as we were guided through the long and lavish hallways adorned with several artifacts and monoliths and tapestries.

After turning a few times, we finally arrived at a wide door which was made of iron, but was rusted from the edges and looked quite dilapidated.

Huŕum bid his farewell as he told us he would be right back, he twirled as the orc vanished into the long hallways, as we decided to enter the quarter.

I pushed the door open and saw the inside which looked quite barren. An artifact lit the inside with its bright light, spewing its warm rays and making a display similar to the sun’s rays. The floor was made of cobblestone and granite and made a lot of accumulated dust, from not being tended to in a while.

There were two beds made of stone and wood and placed over them were grass weeds and hay working as a mattress, in both corners of the room. The beds were big enough to accommodate four people at once.

On the left side was a wooden table and chair and their were visible moss growing in the gaps in the walls, as the room didn’t provide any windows, making it look congested and slightly claustrophobic—despite being big and wide.

I stepped forward and sat down on the bed made of weeds and hay as I leaned back using my hands and looked at my companions looking right back at me.

“So, what do you think?” I asked as Aurora sat on the other bed opposite to me.

"There are more problems than solutions." Mordian voiced as kept standing. "Honestly, it would be a long shot if we wish to win. No less, we need a miracle to turn the situation around."

I smirked at my bond asI leaned forward and spoke. “Then, should we get to work?"