“Breaking News:


    Traxians Breach Defensive Line - Abenstadtian defenders were outflanked by Traxian legionaries early in the morning, prompting a strategic redeployment of all defensive troops to reorgainize the defense line. Numerous towns and villages have now been placed in the Traxian warpath including the towns of: Tier’s Rest, Helmhal, Festheim, Krostheim, Bears Mark…”


    - Arterian Affairs, All Editions, “Front Page - 21st of Euthus”


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    Pain. Unceasing, unrelenting pain. Sophie’s eyes barely opened when they shut once more. Her nerves were still mostly frozen, locked in paralysis to protect themselves from the agony. As a brief flicker of consciousness circled around her mind, it vanished just as quickly and only darkness remained.


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    A breath. She felt her chest rising up and down, the first sensation in a while. Her mind slowly came to life as each part of her body began the arduous process of repairing itself. She tried to open her eyes but found that she couldn’t. Concerned, she tried to move some parts of her body only to discover that it was still beyond her. Just then, a nerve stem somewhere near her spine connected and the sheer suffering she immediately felt sent her into shock once again. With every neuron on overdrive, she passed out once more, her body’s only way of retaining what sanity she could.


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    Her mind felt a faint comfort, a touch of warmth that lit up the darkness within. It was light, almost fluffy, like a gentle pillow illuminated by a nightlight. And then, it wasn’t.


    Her mind recoiled as the light was snatched from her mind’s eye. Her consciousness snapping back to reality into a torrent of agony. She howled as every nerve exploded into raw pain. Flesh and bone shook under the pressure as reconstituted organs worked furiously to restart hey body. Blood gushed out of whatever haphazard wounds were left open, her ears popping from the sonic boom within her mind. All she could hear was the ringing in her ears and the beating of whatever formed her ‘heart’.


    The ever familiar taste of iron entered her mouth and her eyes shot open as she hacked out globules of blood. Lost in a coughing fit, she barely cared that her limbs were mostly limp or trapped in puddles. Unconsciously trying to right herself, she tried to move her right arm only to find it unresponsive, her hand caught in a death-grip on her sword. Hoping to get her bearings, she forced herself to shuffle around, her muscles burning up with every little movement.


    To her horror, she found that not only was her arm essentially stuck in its half shattered state. She had done such a thorough job in holding on, that during her fall, the impact had meant she pulled downwards with the sword, splitting the spider’s head. Looking down, she found that the sticky liquid puddles surrounding her were the blueish bloody ichor of the spider.


    Horror, agony, disgust, and regret swirled within her to create a vile tincture. Adding to her pain, she retched and hurled whatever she had left out, her guts straining themselves but also equal parts willing to aid in expelling the feelings of vileness. With whatever strength she had left, she threw her body weight onto the sword and leaned against it till it split the head further open and released both blood, guts, and herself flowing out onto the cold cavern floor.


    Her spirit broken and her body shattered, she crawled a few shuffles away from the oozing liquid and stopped. Exhausted and horrified, Sophie couldn’t help but start to cry.


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    Cold, in pain, alone, and completely spent. Sophie lay unmoving as she watched strange deformed beasts picking apart the spider’s remains. Three legged monsters that stood as tall as a human but with four claws tore into the carcass, stuffing their ant like maws with chunks the spider. She coughed a few times and accidentally caught their attention, though they didn''t seem to react all that much. Perhaps the one good thing to come out of them was the sheer fact that as deformed as they were, they avoided her in a similar fashion to normal animals. A little breathing room.


    In her down time, she spent it nursing herself between the tears and assessing what damage was done. The first was a horribly painful experience, with every movement making a crack or sending a sharp lance of pain throughout her body. The second was comically simple. Her bones had been shattered, her organs liquified from the impact, her clothing shredded by chiton. In essence, everything had suffered traumatic damage and yet here she still sat. In pain, but in some sense of the word, alive.


    Listlessly, she watched the carnage unfolded ahead of her. The brutal devouring of the spider that saw even more guts and disgusting blueish ichor spilling everywhere. She fought to urge to gag, but thankfully had no energy nor anything to expel. Noticing the tingling in her throat, she suddenly felt parched and dried, her body calling out for relief. To her dismay, wherever her canteen was, it’s gone. Damn.


    Unable to do much else, she started looking around her surroundings properly. What little light that helped her to see was provided by little clusters of glowing mushrooms and crystals. Though judging by how the crystals would seem to sway a bit in the darkness, she suspected that might be part of a creature. But without getting close, she had no way of knowing.


    With mushrooms dotted around her, they illuminated a large river running beside her. A river which now contained half the giant’s spider’s legs moving with the current, barely attached to the body as the river tried to claim its prize. It was an ominous sight, and Sophie knew that while the insects ignored her right now, it wasn’t a certainty that they would leave her alone if she overstayed her welcome.


    There was another problem, the river proved a tempting target since she was also thirsty from recovery. One good look at the reflections and murky black water however, dissuaded her from any rash actions. Doubly so now that was contaminated by her own vomit and spider ichor. In terms of animals at least, aside from the mutant insects munching away, she spotted no immediate signs of other life forms. However, such a large carcass was bound to attract more scavengers, and judging by the size of the insects feeding on the spider, she suspected that whatever else might lurk in the depths would be something she’d rather not meet.


    With great effort, she turned her body to get. She found that she was now deep in a crevice of sorts, caught between two sheer cliff faces that she wasn’t even sure she could climb on a good day. Disregarding ascending directly as an option, she instead tried to ascertain how far the river went for with little success. Dejected, she sighed and leaned against the rock, distracting herself with pleasant memories of Aryana’s gentle touch. Shit, she’s going to be so mad at me after this. I got… got right flattened I did. Ugh, it’s so… unpleasant. She shivered, guess I finally know what death by falling properly feels like. Goddess, this is horrible. At least I recovered... quickly enough? I think?


    She felt the vibrations before anything, a low methodical plodding that had stopped the ant humanoids from their feast. Straining her ears, she could almost hear a rhythmic tapping, almost like heavy boots crunching against the stone. To her increasing disgust, slimy little antennas popped out from somewhere atop the ant heads, the creatures clicking their mandibles together as they digested the noise. Then came the sharp red eyes in the darkness, not round like a human or animals, but spaced and slanted, like an elf’s. If that wasn''t enough, she caught the one defining trait show themselves under mushroom light, their pointy knife like ears.


    Sophie tensed, but there was little she could do as three ashen skinned elves stepped into view. Clad in light plate armor of some sort, they carried sleek darkened swords and halberds that almost blended perfectly with the shadows they emerged from. Their attention was currently more focused on the insects that seemed to take the new intrusion poorly, crouching down and ready to pounce.


    Fear gripped her heart and she honed in on the one emotion that she caught on the strange elven face’s, contempt. They seemed to be responding to the fact the spider had fallen and seemed equally distasteful of the idea of prodding around its remains. Worse, they were actively disdainful of the fact that the creatures were nearby. Somehow I don’t think they’ll take very kindly to my presence either, and I’m in no condition to fight.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    The moment the lead insect let out a horrific wail and charged, Sophie summoned everything within her and pushed it to her legs in an attempt to move. More wails and shrieks echoed from behind her as the rest of the insectoid posse attacked the strange elves. With the sounds of battle masking her escape, she carefully started inching away, wincing every time one of the insects let out a high pitched death rattle. I…ugh… I need to move faster… come on!


    She bit back the pain that ached from her muscles, her body still trying to mend itself. Each step broke her down a little bit more and Sophie feared simply collapsing before she could escape.


    A loud shout in gibberish seemed to be directed at her and she tensed for a moment. Worried that by looking back she’d lose what momentum she had from exhaustion, she grunted and sped up, forcing her body to keep going.


    Another shout, this time more aggressively, and Sophie knew she had been spotted.


    The massacre behind her started drawing to a close and she could hear the now more frantic footsteps of the elves chasing her. Time was running out and so were her options. In a foot chase, she was done, her body was too weak to outrun anyone let alone warriors. When she turned to take a glance behind her, she saw one of the elves quickly catching up. Panic welled up inside her and she froze, unsure of what to do.


    Looking down at the sword still clutched in her hand, she debated standing her ground only to quickly disabuse herself of the pointless notion. I can barely run and to try and fight now? I mean, I could scare them off… Shaking her head, her breathing grew more ragged as the elves drew closer. The closest one, presumably the leader, wore long flowing white hair and an expression filled with malice and curiosity.


    Stricken with indecision, Sophie awkwardly stared at the elf as she approached. The elf caught a glimpse of her bladed hand and slowed their approach. Her red eyes regarded Sophie with blatant hostility, furrowing into a deeper frown when Sophie felt the elf’s eyes land upon her ears.


    “Quco thes?” The elf growled.


    Sophie stared blankly at the elf. Her confusion however only seemed to anger the elf further and the elf raised her blade against Sophie.


    “Who?” The elf snarled, her lips curling upwards in disgust.


    Sophie tried to speak, but her mouth remained dry and her throat drier still. A rasp escaped her lips and she despaired, realising that communications would be impossible.


    “Who… are you?” The elf growled as she advanced.


    Her two compatriots caught up, their halberds pointed at Sophie. Unlike their leader, they wore neatly tied ponytails and looked almost identical to each other except that one was male and the other female. Yet their behaviour made it obvious who commanded the pack as they seemed to still and remain next to their leader, unwilling to advance without orders.


    The elves whispered amongst themselves while still keeping their weapons pointed at Sophie. Her eyes darted to the leader’s expression, seeing how she seemed to be on the verge of attacking. Sophie then gazed at the murky black waters, her mind slowly embracing the idea of escape. Dammit, is that really…?


    A small shuffle was what first alerted her to their movements. In what felt like an agonisingly long second, the two halberdiers lunged forward at her, covering the distance incredibly quickly. Shit! Sophie flailed her arms in a poor attempt to defend herself, the male elf managed to slap her hand with his halberd, freeing the frozen limb from its stupor but also sending her sword flying. No!


    Destabilised and unarmed, she tried to steady herself only to be met by a metallic smack from the female elf’s halberd. A lance of pain shot through her and she crumpled, her body’s limit having already been exceeded, now pushed to the brink of failure once more. With a surge of defiance, she did the only thing she could. She kicked sideways and pushed against one of the elves, using the fall''s momentum to launch herself towards the river. Perhaps expecting to have subdued her, she was a hair quicker than the elven reflexes, managing to submerge herself in the murky waters before they could grab her.


    Darkness clouded her vision as the waster rushed over her, holding her firmly in its murky embrace. The river was far deeper than she had expected, she couldn’t feel the bottom. She was afraid, but there was nothing she could do. With her weakened body, it didn’t take much for the current to seize control of her movements, the river carrying her downstream. Her initial objective, at least, had succeeded. In their moment of triumph, they didn’t expect her to have thrown herself into the river. Even if they did, they probably expected that she would surface of her own accord easily. To be fair, she had hoped so too.


    Panic reigned as she was stuck under, what little air in her lungs quickly running out. The river was a merciless, unfeeling being, the waters dragging her deeper and deeper as she watched with horror at the fading light. Her head smacked against something and she began seeing stars, her mouth instinctively tried to gasp only to now choke up as water flowed in instead. Her thrashing grew more wild and frantic, the prospect of drowning now seeming far more possible than before.


    Her hand felt something and she immediately latched on, hoping to at least steady herself. Without knowing it, she disturbed something greater and felt a sudden movement as it jerked away from her. It almost ripped her arm right off and had her clinging on for dear life as whatever it was sped down the river taking her along with it.


    She didn’t know how much time had passed when it started trying to get rid of her by thrashing. She only knew that she was at her limit when it gave up using speed to dislodge her. First it swung from side to side, her arm slowly giving way but not quite. When that didn’t work, it tried shaking her up and down, still she clung on. It was then however, that Sophie had a last ditch idea. The next time it tried, she would try to tug downwards as hard as she could in hopes that it would retaliate by pulling her up. She could feel her breath run out as she started to splutter, her insides gradually rebelling against the prolonged denial of oxygen.


    When it seemed to shake once more, she put her plan into action and threw her weight downwards. Initially, it seemed too strong for her, then it felt as if she had vastly overestimated the creature as they both trended downwards. But the pivotal moment arrived when she felt what could only be described as an undercurrent of anger come from the creature.


    In less than a second, she found the water rushing away from her as she was launched into the air. The air?!


    She opened her eyes as a light wind brushed past her cheeks. She winced from the sudden lack of water but was grateful nonetheless. Her gaze affirmed the fact that she was now practically soaring about a whole story off the ground, the river below her opening up to a bigger pond or lake. Beyond that, she was in another part of the expansive cavern, with what looked like structures were scattered in the distance. She didn’t get much time to see much more however, as she soon found the cold stone floor fast approaching once more. Shit.


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    Something obscenely wet and heavy licked her cheek. What the-


    She darted awake, bolting upright as she sat there in minor shock. She felt woozy from how quickly she moved, the nauseating sensation not quite enough to stop her from noticing the creature in front of her. Lifting her eyes, she found a startled looking dog sized rodent staring right back at her. She groaned. That was enough for the rodent to realize that she had in fact, not passed on, and it quickly retreated behind a rock, peeking out at her with disappointed eyes at a lost meal.


    Safe for the moment, Sophie then felt the foul water snake down the back of her throat and quickly began vomiting it all back out. It was an unpleasant experience but it meant she was alive, and that was all she could ask for right now. She lifted her hand to touch where she had been licked to find a red substance coating her fingers. Blood. Reaching for her head, she grimaced as she found the source of the rodent attracting liquid. She had a massive open wound where her head had smacked the ground. She looked at her bloodied hand again, more disappointed than worried. Goddess… I’ve died or been so close to death so many times I’m starting to get used to seeing this.


    She shook her head to clear her thoughts and felt slightly dizzy as her vision blurred. Damn, I have to take it easy or I’m going to just topple over. Sophie let out a tired sigh and tried to push herself up. To her surprise, she managed to stand up properly in spite of the soreness she felt. Swaying on her feet, she absently gazed out at the lake before her. It was dark, murky and almost alien if not for the strange lights that swirled within them. Wildlife perhaps, maybe even whatever the hells I was holding on to… she shuddered. But if I only held onto a part of it... that must be massive. Best not dwell upon it too much.


    With a grunt, she pulled herself together and set her sights on the area around her. Strange cliffs, a lake, maybe buildings over there? She tried to squint where she had seen buildings from the air. More rock, more cave, that rat, that oversized damned rat. Right, I’m lost as the hells below, dammit. Sorry, Ary. Might take a while before I get back to you. Forgive me if we don’t make it to Ostia in time.