With all their might, Morn held on to the leg of the daemon. It was futile, they knew it. If the daemon wanted to run, it could, taking Jade with it. The orc didn’t have time to think about why they cared so much. The giant insect daemon walked towards the pit that it had opened. Jade was shouting and trashing, but the daemon ignored her. She looked from the dark pit back to the daemons face and the mandibles that were holding her. Then, she had an idea. She readied her blade and aimed for one of the four beady eyes. The daemon was now standing over the pit, it’s five unsevered legs to each side and ready to slide down the dark tunnel below. The deamons only defense would be to let her go, which Jade knew for sure that it wouldn’t. Jade struck her blade right into the unarmored eye and felt the blade sink in deep. The daemon twisted its head and screeched.
Morn looked over their shoulder back at Acantha and saw her standing still. She was not moving at all. The severed daemon leg lay before her on the floor. Their plan to keep the daemon alive was only useful with a live spawn to eat it’s leg and gain the daemons memories. They had failed. Without a second thought, Morn pulled on the daemons leg to pull it’s body towards them. The daemon was focused on it’s newly arrived headache and let itself be pulled back just enough for Morn to reach its body. The orc slashed their large axe into the daemons underside. The axe managed to get stuck in its armor. Morn cursed to themselves and tried to pull the axe out. They didn’t know what happened first, the axe coming loose, or the evaporation of the daemons body. A black mist hung where the daemon had been and was blown away up into the cave by a non-existing wind. Morn blinked their eyes in confusion.
Then the orc heard Jade cry out for them. If the daemon had not taken her, she was still here. She was still here where the daemon had left her. Right above the gaping hole of the seemingly endless tunnel downwards. Morn dashed forward and they saw the elf fall. Before they knew it, she was out of sight when she fell into the pit. Morn stopped at the edge and looked down, only to find the elf coming back up at them with outstretched arms. Her eyes wide with fear and determination. She had somehow managed to jump off the wall. Morn fell to the ground and offered their hand, which Jade gratefully grasped onto.
“I’m so happy you work out,” she said as Morn pulled her up, out of the pit.
Morn grunted. They didn’t like using their hands for holding on to people. It felt very intimate, an intimacy they didn’t care for sharing with the wimpy elf. They turned back to Acantha. Jade exclaimed in panic and ran towards the spawn girl that now looked like she was made from stone.
“What happened?” Jade asked Morn, but Morn shook their head distractedly as they looked at what Acantha had been doing just before she turned into stone. “What’s that in her hand?” Jade continued to fire questions at Morn, completely forgotten the fear that she usually felt for asking. The adrenaline of almost falling in an bottomless pit was still surging through her body and the realization of having lost a friend started to dawn in on her with every breath. As gently as they could, the orc took something that Acantha was holding between her fingers. It was a silver coin.
“It’s one of the coins Aoda gave us,” Jade remarked. Morn nodded. “She wasn’t trying to use it to go home, was she?” Morn shook their head. Acantha wouldn’t bail on them, they thought. Jade frowned in thought and examined the spawn more closely.
“Silver has magical properties,” Morn said and then looked at Acantha’s chest where the coin had been. “She was drawing something.” Morn didn’t bother to point it out to Jade. They saw the small unfinished, iconic drawing of a mountain in Acantha’s bark. Perhaps, if they could finish it. Morn put the silver coin to Acantha’s chest, the palm of their left hand on her back and pushed the silver into her hardened skin. Jade let out a little yelp as Acantha’s eyes moved to look at her friends. Then Acantha took a deep breath and started coughing. She curled forwards and would have fallen to her knees if Morn had not hold her so tight. The spawn started retching and coughed up something black that seemed to evaporate as soon as it came out of her mouth. Jade made a disapproving sound and gagged empathically.
“Are you ok?” She asked. Acantha looked back at her and frowned.
“I know who sent the daemon,” the young spawn answered. Morn grinned and slapped her shoulder in approval. Acantha smiled back, proud. Jades worried frown turned into an annoyed one.
“That’s not really what my question was about.” Jade mumbled, more to herself than to the others. With her feet, she felt something move in a corner of the cave and she turned around to face it. She had expected to see a little kid with their guide and indeed there he was. A little elfling, roughly seven years old, came out of hiding. The little grey, golden eyed, bunny he held in his arms.
“Hi,” Jade greeted him. When he didn’t respond she added, “We came to rescue you.”
The kid walked closer and looked over the three of them. He was wearing well made clothes that had become dirtied during the kidnapping process. He looked very much out of place in the cave. Like a little abducted prince.
“You’re not Totems,” he stated.
“Eh, no, we’re not,” Jade cleared her throat, “We were sent by one though. Do you want to meet her?”
The kid nodded wearily and came closer. He stood upright with his shoulders curved slightly back, his head held high. Acantha thought that if not for the fact that she was much taller than him, he would have probably looked down on her.
“I’m hungry,” the elfling said. Acantha sighed in annoyance. Jade looked helplessly towards the others. They didn’t have any food left.
“Once we get out of here, we’ll get you all the food you want.” Jade offered in a kind voice. The kid nodded again and Acantha gave him one of the four silver coins.
The four of them closed their eyes and prayed and waited. But they heard nothing back.
“We’re in someone else’s territory,” Acantha said. They had been praying to Aoda, but something in this cave was keeping her out of earshot. “There’s magic in this cave.” She walked back towards the stone slab. The letters on it were still glowing. She tried to read them, but it was not any language she knew. She pushed the rock, Morn tried to help her. It didn’t budge.
“Looks like we’re stuck,” the spawn concluded. Her eyes drifted towards the pit at the other side of the cave.
The elfling pouted and pulled on Jade’s elbow.
“I’m cold,” he said and she looked back at him sadly. What terrors he must have been through. She wrapped one of her arms around his shoulder and pulled him close.