(and one hour turned into nearly three months.. -_-)
(Chapter I end)
Kael'Thas responded immediately, but his small, stocky stature and the heavy water collecting between his armor restricted his movement severely. He trudged through the glistening water towards Elane with heaving breaths, who was steadily sinking lower and lower. She tried crawling backwards as the boy with chestnut hair commanded, but she was far too deep to crawl back to the surface. "Hang on 'Lane, Ima comin'!" Kael'Thas called after her. The brittle platform nobly holding Elane up finally collapsed under her weight. With a low, grinding crumble, the partition was wholly separated from the surface, sending Elane to fall to the bottom. Her screams plagued the party watching in fear. The hand that was supposed to grab Elane was instead grasping thin air. "****it!" cursed Kael'Thas.
He forfeited his fear of plummeting and jumped over the cascading waterfall. He thought he would be able to jump after Elane, since his combined weight was greater, but so far, there was no sign of her. After moment's ways down, he spotted a small jutting of land and a rogue Honeymint tree's gnarled branch reaching outwards. The assembling of twigs appeared like an old man's hand. It protruded downward to the right, swaying due to the occasional gust of wind, as if showing him the way. The bark was of a chocolate brown with a rough texture, doubling as protection. The ends of the twigs were dotted with small paper-thin leaves sporting a dull-gold pigment. It was springtime in the party's region, but this tint wasn't from the lack of life; the Honeymint tree took its name from the generous deposits of oozing sugar given from the pockets decorating the leaves. This was often made as candy or a sweet topping to various foods.
"Do you see her, Kael'Thaaas?" shouted Master Tristan. Kael'Thas peered above to see the old man's head popping out the cliff among the several other heads of the children watching in hope.
"No, not yet!" he responded. "I'm still lookin' fer a sign o where she went!"
"Well don't just stand there gawking at me you buffoon, find something that points to her location!"
"Awright awright, yer not helpin' by yellin' yeh know!" He finished his discussion with the rowdy old man and continued looking at the tree.
"Please hurry, Frank!" pleaded the tall boy. The others nodded in agreement.
The gnarled branch that roused his curiosity swayed in the wind, still in the same position. His prying got the better of him; he stepped over cliff and examined the direction the branch was pointing to. It was about ten yards away and a small size below his location, but there was a gaping hole in a column of mountain, staring right at the Honeymint branch, the diameter being large enough to fit several people at once; it was just like a den or cave. This tree literally 'ointed' the dwarf to a potentially important landmark. "Didn't Master Tristan say something about 'ointing to her location'?" Thought Kael'Thas. "How would he know such a place?" How he knew about such a situation he would have to ask him later. Right now came the important task of locating and rescuing the poor Elane from her dramatic fall. But how to enter the cave when the two platforms were separated by several feet of open air? It didn't seem there was a way to climb aboard, and the drop below suggested a near-instant death if one were to jump. He shuddered to think the possibility of Elane meeting that end.
Then it hit him. The tree! He'll just use the HoneyMint's branch as a slingshot of sorts and fling himself right over. Just to make sure he wasn't allowing himself to drop to a fool's death, he checked the belongings of the 'insightful' tree. The branch pointing to the cave wouldn't do him justice; the swinging direction was a quarter direction off. The smaller branch above its brother seemed to work. While it wrapped around the chest of the tree, it was stout and flexible. To Kael'Thas, this could be the way to the other side. He would run off the platform, jump to the taller branch, and swing upwards in a circular motion to land on the other side. It was a daring feat, but it needed to be performed.
Kael'Thas positioned himself for the jump. He gulped at the thought of failure, which was a plummet to the bottom and a possible end to his life. With enough force, not even his armor would protect him from Nature's spikes below. He quickly put that thought aside. It was time for him to overcome the high point of his day and prove to Master Tristan that he was not 'a buffoon'. Dust kicked off from his boots as he ran off the cliff and jumped with a clank and rattle of his chained armor. He forced his arms high with every intention of grasping the branch. As he neared his destination, it seemed his chances were slim and slimmer still. His luck overcame the odds and the lucky dwarf was able to reach the swinging tree, if just by the fingertips.
His next move was to swing around, gain momentum, and finally release at the high point of the angle and land smack onto the cave's land, safe and ready for rescuing. He maintained a firm grip on the rough bark of the tree while reaching with his mouth and chewed off a leaf for energy. His mouth tingled with the sweet, fresh taste of honeyed sugar. This helped alleviate his nerves with such a daring experience. "Awright, time t' do this" He said to himself. He shifted his weight to his legs, allowing the branch to heave upwards, then vice-versa to the back, giving a sweeping motion to the branch in use. He repeated this process several times, gaining higher depth and speed with each shift. He was far enough as it was, but it didn't seem to get him anywhere. The dwarf swung higher. The cave was staring at him, pulsating back and forth, daring him to jump and meet his doom. He was determined to meet the other side and determine whether Elane was in this cave or not. The next shift will be his last, when he will jump.
Kael'Thas took one last breath before releasing. A sudden, unexpected snap pushed his throat back, making him choke on his gasp of air. The branch he so faithfully used to make the final leap into the cave snapped at the wrong angle. He was thrust upwards to make a high enough descent, but the direction was too sharp to make a far enough travel. He coughed up a "NO!" as he plunged down wards to the deep below, the failed branch clutched in his right hand. If he could act fast, he would be able to figure something out to be able to save his fall. His leap was too sharp, but he was still inching forward towards the platform. The dark entrance of the cave was lost to Kael'Thas, but the wall beneath it was still graspable. With great strength, he impaled the broad end of the branch in the wall of rock. The wall complied with his wishes; the strike was deep enough to have the branch firm into the rock, allowing him to fall no longer and stay in one position. He made the best of this opportunity to climb upwards to the platform. He breathed a sigh of relief that the plunge was not farther away; any farther and the climb would be strenuous.
All slip-ups aside, he finally made it to the cave, where he spent so much time correcting his mistakes. The entrance was dark and brooding, where little sunlight entered. The sounds of drops of liquid falling from the ceiling echoed past his ears. Having no sunlight in the cave provided a cooling effect around Kael'Thas' body; it seemed as if the cave encouraged him to enter.
Muffled whimpers and cries bounced off the walls of the cave. Elane! She was indeed here. Kael'Thas resumed walking ever deeper into the cave, almost to a rush. "Elane!" he called. "Follow th' sound o' me voice! I'm righ' here!" It didn't seem just running in the direction of Kael'Thas' voice would work alone; the sunlight from outside could only reach so far before the rest of the passages would get incrementally dimmer.
"Frank! Help m-me!" called Elane in desperation. Her voice didn't seem so far from Kael'Thas, so he pushed on. He rushed forward to the direction of the cry, only to be bashed in the face by the occupied wall. The dwarf, merely disoriented from the sudden collision, tried a different approach and hugged the wall until it trailed off and pivoted to the left.
It was then that Kael'Thas attempted to produce some light. "If I'm t' help Elane out, I migh' as well try an' get a fire goin'" he thought. Arms outstretched and hands covered together to form a ball, he closed his eyes and concentrated. Within moments, sparks protruded from within, accompanied by a pulsating ringing. The sound grew faster as the concentration proceeded, until finally something bright and round was visible. It radiated a beautiful, golden light that formed rays protruding out the sides. Focusing harder, the ball grew, and grew, and grew, until it was able to fit in one gauntlet. The ball of light was complete, and the energy illuminated the circumference of Kael'Thas' body. He had to take a breather for a moment; it wasn't very often that he had to employ the arts of magic to aid him.
"Elane!" he called. "Move towards th' light!"
"I'm over here, F-Frank!" responded Elane, with a shudder. Kael'Thas stopped trying to persuade Elane to come to him and instead do the opposite; she must be frightened out of her mind and unable to move. At least the response was directly in front of him. He rushed over, ball of light in hand, until he saw a flickering of a girl with short black hair. Her hair and purple-robed clothing was drenched from playing in the water from above. She was shivering from sudden cold temperature without having a change of clothes.
A teary-eyed Elane dashed over with glee and hugged Kael'Thas' leg, glad to see somebody friendly rescue her. "F-Frank, you made it!" her face once of fear but now of joy.
"There's a lass," praised Kael'Thas, putting his arms around her, breathing a sigh of relief. "C'mon, let's get you back with everyone."
"Puh dat ligh oud!" screeched a high-pitched, violent noise. The two immediately turned their heads in the direction of the command. A few feet away from them stood a short, slimy-skinned creature with various shades of purple and ebony tints, porous and covered with brown-ish spots. Dirty, gray hair tufts poked from out the creature's large ears and on its head in mismanaged pieces. Its pale eyes were covered in film, barely able to see the light from ahead, but still sensitive to the beams. His face was gaunt and dreary, having a severe under bite that bore two long, thin, yellowish teeth that came to his slits in his face in the absence of a snout. The jaw seemed locked in position, allowing bites performed by the joints become rigid and powerful, and not allowing the victim to squirm free. The sparse light that shone on the lower body showed how the legs were thin, stiff, and had little pliability; the kneecaps, inches from the ground, barely bent towards the creature's confirmed direction. The 7 bony, rough claws and joints that composed the hands gestured for Elane to come closer.
"Ah wash abaht tuh enjeh my mil in duh darknesh, but", the creature stopped to slurp saliva dripping out the corners of its mouth, "yuh had tuh cahm and rihin it!" The creature stepped ever so menacingly towards the couple, who in turn stepped back. "Ah havent had uh haht mil in dahs..."
Elane responded in turn by quailing, running behind Kael'Thas and shivering. She understood exactly what the creature wanted--to feast on her for a midday meal. Once again tearing up, Elane's whimpers echoed throughout the cave. Kael'Thas had to do something. "Here, Elane, grab this", he requested. He held out his hands behind him, holding his golden ball of light in front of her and not losing sight of the menacing creature closing the gap between them. She reluctantly grabbed a hold of the warm magic ball, not wanting to lose grip of Kael'Thas for protection. "Now wha' I want ye t' do is t' take this light an' run fer th' entrance. I'm sure this path is the only way to the start, so you won't get lost."
"W-what about you, Frank, you won't be able t-to see!" Elane looked up at him in worry.
"Don' fret over me lassie, just go, quickly!"
"W-wait a minute, what if there are more of those creeps like him here?"
"Nah, thar weren't any beasties when I came through, so yeh sheddn't have any trouble."
"Okay..."
Kael'Thas pounded his fists with a determined stare. "I didn't bring any weapons with me t' th' rescue since I didn't think of needin' them", he thought, "so I'll jus' havta go a' this hand-t'-hand."
Elane took a moment to look back at the slobbering creature, whose gnarled claws were within feet of Kael'Thas's wall of protection, before motioning for a run. A hiss signaled that the creature knew of the retreat, either by the diminishing ball of light or by the scent of its prey fading away. "Hah dare yuh live mih!" the creature called, "cahm bahk hir, food!" The stiffness of the creature's legs restricted its movement speed, but the insight of its prey leaving behooved it to trample after Elane. However, Kael'Thas quickly positioned himself between the two, not allowing a single claw to touch her. "Yeh ain't goin' nowhere, beastie! Yer fight's with me!"
The creature's face drew back, anger rising. "Nuh one letsh mah food ged away! I wull haff yuh on duh fwoor beggink fur duh bain tuh stob!" With an airy sibilance, the creature leapt into the air and dived after Kael'Thas. His claws dug right into the dwarf's shoulders, however, the punctures did not reach through the armor, thus the attack was ineffective. Kael'Thas retaliated by grasping the creature's oily skin and curled up his body, drawing his legs back before launching a doubled kick like a spring. His opponent retched backward, letting Kael'Thas know the kick did considerable damage to his torso. The body did not fly backward, which was a problem for Kael'Thas--the creature's claws were stuck in the armor when it dived for his shoulders; it was stuck in place. To make matters worse, he did not take into account the creature's massive under-bite. It only took a moment's worth of pain to realize it already made its second move: sinking its teeth into Kael'Thas's neck.
The creature showed its bulky opponent who he's messing with. It dug and twisted to make the experience much worse. It did not take long before Kael'Thas used a free hand to grab unto the creature's head to pull it off--it was surprisingly easy for him. He acted quick and followed through by then pulling off its gnarled claws and forced the arms back to their owners, scratching the creature in the face. The counter must have had some effectiveness, as the creature recoiled and hissed, clutching its face and clumsily trampling about. Kael'Thas performed the final action and drew back a heavy punch, knocking the creature off its feet while producing a wispy "guh!" from the windpipe.
It showed no more movement since the attack. The dwarf was the winner--the creature was knocked out. He wasted no more time and backtracked to meet up with Elane, undoubtedly awaiting his return. Victory did not come without a price; the sinking wound he received from the goblin-like creature would be around for awhile.
"Frank, you made it!" Called Elane in jubilation. "Did you win?" She was standing just outside the cave entrance bathing in the sunlight slightly masked by the surrounding trees.
"Aye, though I kinda need a lil' breather," he answered. "He'll wake up shortly, so we gotta get back up to Master Tristain before he does. Come on, ev'ryone's waitin' for ya!"
"Yeah!" she exclaimed. "But..." She looked down at the golden ball of light Kael'Thas gave her. "How do you make this stop working?"
"I uhh... I don't know." He realized, dumbstruck. "Just uhh... throw it down the cliff or something, it will run out sooner or later."
"Okay!" she trotted to the nearest break in the ground and drew back her arms to playfully launch the ball of light as far as she could. With every collision with the cliff walls, the ball jingled with a light, pure sound, down until it reached the bottom to where it was nearly insensible.
Now that the two were finished with dealing with the cave, Kael'Thas finally said "Awright, let's git back up thar an' meet up with ev'ryone, I could use a bite t' eat." It wasn't too long after the motion that a distant call was sounded in the area where Kael'Thas leapt via tree branch into the cave. They listened closer before they realized it was the friendly, wizened voice of Master Tristain.
"Looks like you two need some rope!" He called, after appearing closer, his head over the high cliff. He gestured his hand over his head and looked behind him. "Come on children, let's give this slow hulk of a dwarf a hand!" Kael'Thas resented the low insults, but appreciated the much-needed help. He wasn't even sure himself how he and Elane were to cross the dozens-of-feet-high cliff above them without any help. A generous section of rough, stringy rope flittered above them and slapped the ground near their feet. They hurriedly grabbed their share of rope without thought like their lifeline. They each tugged on the rope to signal to Master Tristain that they have a hold. "Alright children, you ready?" Above the cliff, the three remaining children were positioned, both hands holding the rope with a fixed determination to help their comrades, while Master Tristain led the group in front. A smirk quickly flashed in the corner of his face. "Ready!!" shouted the group in unison. The old man held up his right arm like a flag. "Aaaaand...Pull!" He threw down the selected arm and pulled with his left. The children heaved with all their might, letting out various shouts and grunts.
The thick rope immediately pulled upwards, creating an arched shape above the two end points. Kael'Thas and Elane felt the effects of the pull. Their bodies, however, lunged forward in complete submission. The power of the pull brought them up and flung them into the sky. Kael'Thas's fat cheeks vibrated from sheer velocity, his face pulled back, eyes squinting, and teeth completely bared from the horror of being pulled so quickly. Elane's hair was pulled backward, then incrementally forced downward, then brought upward from descent, while her silky clothing fluttered with the wind. From squealing with laughter, she seemed to have a better time of the experience than her companion.
"Ithough'weweregonnab'ulledupth'easywaaaaaaaaaaay!!!!" Kael'Thas cried out. He was hanging on for dear life, though zealously grabbing unto the rope wouldn't do him much good, as he would be plummeting to the ground all the same. He stayed steadfast to the rope, while Elane stopped groping when directly under the eyes of Master Tristain. The result was Master Tristain rescuing Elane eight feet in midair, while Kael'Thas crashed to the ground in the distance to wherever the end of the rope led.
The reunion was heartwarming. Master Tristain let out a sigh of relief and spoke "Kael'Thas did something right for a change. At least you're safe, my dear." He touched down and released Elane, who was then greeted by her small peers, hugging her and jumping for joy.
"Wow, you went far!" Admitted the larger boy with the red clothing and blonde medium-cut hair. "What went on over there??"
"It was really scary, Daniel!" answered Elane. "There was this nasty monster with really big teeth who wanted to eat me, but then Frank rescued me and beat him up!"
"Woah, a monster?? Did you get hurt?" Asked the chestnut-haired boy with blue regal-silked clothing.
"I was just fine, Kashan, but I think Frank did. He might be hurt from the fight, he was holding his neck when he came out of the cave."
"I'll go see if Frank's okay," said the second girl with pigtails, also in reddish clothing.
"Wait Danielle, we'll go with you!"
Kael'Thas landed over the waterfall where the group first congregated in a small crater where his legs and arms poked out the disturbed soil. The position looked to be pretty painful. Master Tristain shortly found him after the incredible feat and peered quizzically over the heap. The limbs were twitching and squirming for a hold of something, but to no avail.
"That looks to be pretty painful", Master Tristain remarked. "I didn't pull you too hard, did I?
"No, yeh had jus' th' righ' amount o' power", muffled Frank in sarcasm.
"Alright, alright, I get it", he retorted. "Let me just grab onto one of your sausage-like fingers." At once, he lifted up Kael'Thas's left hand. The disturbed soil caved in, having the dwarf emerge out the ground and wheezed out some dirt that managed to find its way into his windpipe before gasping for some clean air. Master Tristain let go, allowing Kael'Thas to catch his balance.
The dwarf gave the old man a resentful look in the eye and spluttered out a mass of insensible gibberish before finally forming a coherent sentence. "Yeh...yeh pulled me out o' th' sky! ME! An'...an' what o' Elane, she coulda been in danger too yeh know!"
"Strangely enough, Elane was still able to know when to let go, instead of faithfully holding onto the rope due to an irrational fear of heights", prodded Master Tristain with a chuckle in his voice.
"Tha's not fair, yeh knew why I'm afraid o' heights an' yeh did it anyway!" His face was not amused.
The children finally caught up to the arguing duo, with playful laughter following. "Hey Frank, hey Frank!" poked Danielle with a gleeful face. "Are you hurt from the fight from the scary monster?"
"A lil' bit, but nothing too bad," he answered. "Beastie got me in th' neck, bu' I'll be awright."
"Nothing I can't fix," bragged Master Tristian. "We'll have to head back to Fort Argon for that, though. We're heading back to the fort, children!" He motioned after the children, who followed in their footsteps, Frank still clutching his neck and wincing.
He pulled some clumps of dirt out of his beard before asking "Are th' parents gonna return shortly?" The old man put on his normal face and responded, "They'll be back in a couple hours. They will have to cross the Tander Mountains before reaching town, and no doubt assailants will come 'seeking some pampered noble's riches'."
"Yeh think they'll be okay comin' from thar?" Kael'Thas asked.
"Absolutely. Because Kashan's old man is with the party."
"Tha's right, I forgot. Aye, no group is safest with him leading."
"They'll probably want their boys and girls clean too. I think the well in the back can give them enough bath water."
They were heading down the slope of the mountain, within moments of reaching the flat road leading to Fort Argon. Daniel and Danielle were holding hands behind the dwarf and old man and in front of the other two children; they were twin brother and sister. They didn't seem too embarrassed about the ordeal, though the sister kept yanking her brother's wrist to make him walk faster. Kashan and Elane noticed the interaction and looked at each other, however, they weren't so bold and direct as to attempt the same.
Kael'Thas noticed a puff of dust coming from outside the fort. "Yeh see tha', Master Tristain?
"Of course, but who would be making so much aggressive footing to produce so much dust?" He put his hands in front of his eyes to peer without the sun touching his sight.
"Bwuzzer!" came a voice from near the fort. "Wait for meeee!" It was high-pitched and squeaky, while the cloud of dust was inching closer to the group.
"Oh no..." sighed Kashan with annoyance. "My sister woke up." In front of the cloud of smoke was an even smaller child, with a cute, round face and small black pigtails barely protruding outward. She was dressed in a full-body, pink pajama suit, with a small, grey blanket lazily holding onto her shoulders, awkwardly running after the noticeable group, knowing almost insightfully that her brother Kashan would be a member. "Don't weave me awooone!" she called out after him, her short arms outstretched. She was running okay on the flat land, but on sloped land with loose stones just waiting to trip her, disaster was soon to follow. Sure enough, as soon as she reached the gradual slope, she stepped on a stone and felt her weight tumble over and landed on her knees. The scrapes on her hands and knees were more than enough to have her sniffle and cry from pain, instinctively having Kashan run over and pick her up. "Come on Kahna, you know I don't like it when you cry, smile!" Kashan pleaded with distain.
Kahna let up on the crying, only resorting to small hiccups and whimpers. "We're all done with this adventure, so we're all heading back inside, come on!" her brother insisted. She nodded while Kashan had her climb piggy-back. The small obstacle in the travel was over, and so the group continued back to Fort Argon.
Elane felt a twinge of envy, as the four children each had a sibling, while she was alone. She slowly walked behind the group while her head was in a slump. Her brief period of sadness was shortly and swiftly overcame when Kael'Thas promptly picked her up and placed her on his left shoulder. "No slumpin' fer yeh, brave lass, we're th' ones who'll lead th' pack!" Elane's expression quickly turned into a big smile while she exclaimed a "yeah!" and pointed to the group's destination. They will have to be cleaned up before the arrival of their parents.
