A week had passed since the failed expedition into the underground highways. The Wardens back in frontier had seemed to lose their drive as so many new recruits had been lost in the deep tunnels of the dwarven highways.
Tharon was at the training yard lazily thrusting his spear at a training dummy while, he clearly hadn't been sleeping well after the loss of his childhood friend, who's brakkorn Hura was laying down not far away from the training yard next to Dagna the dwarf who was sharpening her axe.
Lyra, the girl from the tavern in Vaerthruin hadn't moved from her bed in the groups shared quarters since their expedition returned to the town of Frontier. She at times had to be forced to eat by the others. Alaric the half elf sat atop one of the town hall's towers plucking at his lute signing a low sad song.
"In shadows deep where silence weaves A calling soft the night believes Mistress of ravens take us in, guide us through the veil of dreams and break apart our silent screams." Alaric's voice carried over the square from his perch atop the tower
"Save us in your soft embrace as if welcomed home in your grace, lead us to eternal bliss in your shadow we find our rest." He choked back a sniffle as he continued to play. The wardens who could hear him stopping their work to allow a moment of mourning.
"Lady of death in twilights glow with gentle whispers let us go ease our hearts as they fade away and cradle us till break of day in your arms let peace reside as we drift on the moonlit tide." A finial strum of his lute brough the song to a close. Alaric placed his lute down on floor next to him looking out at the setting sun.
"It wasn't long that we knew each other, but I hope both of you have found peace on the other side of the veil." Alaric was fighting back tears, it was true that he had just lost two of his friends and squad mates but still all of those feeling the loss of Zarath and Sha'lara were still teenagers fighting monsters and such, this was the first real experience they had with the monsters known as the blighted, sure they had fought corrupted beast and a few blighted but they had never fought anything they couldn't handle.
No this was the first time they had watched friends die on the battlefield been caught off guard by creatures they thought were mindless. No, now these young wardens realize just how dangerous these blighted creatures are and why the wardens stand against the blight itself. This darkness that corrupts the very land that these creatures touch.
The town itself felt the effects of the wardens who once walked around with a swagger in their steps, now recruits now sat at their barracks, veterans now seemed more on edge. Though no one, not even the commanders knew the true level of the threat brewing.
The sound of rusted metal scrapping against rusted metal echoed of the hard stone walls of one of the many underground tunnels, a large horde of blighted creatures, human, dwarf, elf, spiders even blighted wyverns and dogs move along the path of an old abandoned dwarven highway.
Zarath and Sha'lara both lay flat on a ledge using the salvaged canvas tarp from the wagon to cover themselves watching from above as the horde moved on. After a week of being down in the tunnels the two of them had learned a little bit of the paths and just how many blighted were actually down here.
As the horde finally passed Zarath sat up and leaned over the ledge just enough to see. before pulling out a piece of town cloth that had rough writing on it using a piece of charcoal he found in a blighted camp.
"That's the third group we have seen in the last two days, I'm not sure if we should be more concerned about the fact that so many of those dam things are down here or that following them seems to be leading us towards the exist."
Sha'lara was folding the canvas tarp and wrapping it around her waist as the only means of carrying it. She was careful to avoid touching her chest as her ribs were still broken slightly and neither of them still had received proper medical attention.
"I say its more concerning how terrible the smell gets every time we find a large group, but honestly its still better than being lost in these tunnels."
Zarath, managing to use just his hands, got up standing on his good leg, the splint that Sha'lara had crafted from the salvaged wood and trap was somewhat falling apart at this point. He had gotten good at balancing on one leg not that he was happy about it at all.
"Honestly I'm just more curious as to how so many of them even exist down here and no one has noticed."
Once Sha'lara had finished wrapping the canvas around her waist she moved over, pulling one of Zarath's arms over her shoulder to help him walk. They had developed an awkward system to help each other out, both injured and just barely avoiding starving down here, they at least learned what mushrooms they could eat without getting sick after Zarath tried to see what they could eat.
As Zarath and Sha'lara walked slowly working their way down to the actual highway itself the two of them had grown use to being this close to each other though Sha'lara still disliked whenever her tail and Zarath's would brush against each other's.
The dim light from the glowing crystals the ancient dwarves used as lamps along the highway cast long and shifting shadows along the stone walls as they hobbled forward. The air was heavy with the scent of rot and damp after the horde had passed through, making every breath a reminder of their situation. Somewhere in the distance, the faint skitters of claws against stone suggested they were not entirely alone, and both tensed instinctively.
"Let's keep moving," Sha'lara whispered, her voice barely louder than the shuffle of their feet. "If we're lucky, we'll find another abandoned camp and maybe a way out before the next horde doubles back."