Moira watched the two of them leave the forge. She had witnessed the whole conversation. It was not that she hadn't wanted to participate or that she enjoyed playing the mysterious mercenary. Well actually she did enjoy playing mysterious, but that was not the reason she had left. It was actually quite simple, she had actively limited her involvement. A politically necessary step. She sighed. Although she loved playing mysterious, she hated being limited in her actions. Giving up full control. But in this case she had to admit Elric had done an excellent job choosing the task. Hard enough to make the little girl grow, but still manageable. With this thought she closed her eyes and slept for real.
Lunara was anxious. Elric had lead her through several broad tunnel-streets before heading into the less populated outskirts of the Dwarven town. She had run from Umbarat Forest to avoid fighting, only to strike a terrible deal, see her home in ashes, run to the only place she knew she could go to, only to be involved in things far larger than she could even fathom. And now she would have to fight whole orc nest on her own. It would have been hilarious, if she wasn't scared out of her wits.
'We are here. Right at the end of this tunnel you will find your destination. Take this charger. You have to place it somewhere on the huge pink crystal in the middle of the cave. It has to stay there for at least 10 seconds. The more the better. Come back once you are ready. Good Luck.' Elric said and handed her a small dagger and some weird looking staff with several crystals attached to it, the charger. Than he turned and left on the same way they had entered. Leaving Lunara alone.
The entrance of the tunnel he had pointed to looked like some beasties' maul ragged stalactites looked like fangs, the corresponding stalagmites had been shortened to make it easier to enter. The stench of orcs that wavered out of the depth didn't help either.
Lunara shuddered. All her instincts screamed at her to turn around and run.
But she knew if she did, neither Elric nor Moira would help her any further, her destiny would be sealed.
With an other gulp she entered the pathway. Clenching her cold and sweaty hands around the handles of the dagger and the charger she advanced cautiously. This was the first time in her life she really felt the advantage of her light-sensitive moon-shadow-elf-eyes. Usually they were more of a nuisance, when they kept on getting teary in sunlight, but in the sparse light off the tunnel they let her see every detail. Her feet treading lightly, avoiding loose ramble and sharp stones that would only announce her arrival. Something she thought to avoid as long as possible.
Her heart raced in her chest, but she forced her breath to remain steady and silent. Orcs were known for their keen ears and noses. Along with several other traits she avoided to think about just now. She got even more cautious as the intense stench grew even more penetrating and her eyes could make out the first simmer of the light at the end of the tunnel.
After a while she heard a strange rumbling. It took her a while to recognize it as the snoring of a sleeping guard post, lying fast asleep behind a huge bolder. She had to cross his legs. That wouldn't do. Lunara knew she couldn't leave her back unguarded. She unsheathed her dagger and slit the sleeping orcs throat with a single resolute motion, often practised to bleed stags and other deer back home. No sound only a surprised gaze answered her decisive action. Those eyes... she knew she would never forget the first real enemy she had ever killed and in cold blood at that. She shuddered but advanced rapidly, the time to ponder would be later, when her task was done. Right now it would only get her in harms way.
Lunara spied around the boulders edge, carefully avoiding to sully her feet in the rapidly growing puddle of blood. The stench of fresh blood would be too treacherous, when she ventured into the camp. Grimly smiling she mustered the cave with the eyes of the seasoned hunter she was. It formed something like a kettle. Her lookout marked the highest point, but it was only one of five visible entrances and the smallest by far. That explained the lack of other guards.
The whole place was lit by the light of the magic crystals growing here. Thousands over thousands of crystals glowing in different colours, growing in different shapes and sizes. Quite an impressive view, but all of them were dwarfed by the pink crystal, Elric had sent her to reach... it was impressive. Around five metres high and with a three metre diameter at its basis.
The huge crystal was situated in the very centre and all around it- the orcs' camp. Sprawled all around the crystal orcs lay snoring. It felt like they had celebrated some kind of feast, seemingly including lots of alcohol. Lunara smiled, her luck was not bad. Right now her mission seemed indeed feasible. But she knew it was a high risk all the same. Only one of them had to wake up and see her sneaking around than she would be done for.
But even though right now was the best chance she would get. Her tension rose again as she readied herself to advance, a last deep breath, than she left the relative safety of her lookout. She ran down into the kettle elegantly avoiding to make any unnecessary sounds, whilst proceeding as fast as possible.
When she arrived at the camps boarder she slowed down to sneak even more carefully. It felt surreal. She nearly danced over the lying bodies of the orc warriors. Always finding a tiny space to place her slender feet in between the mass of orcs. Every now and than the absurdity and impossibility of her endeavour tried to surface her mind, but she consciously pushed it back as she felt it would only invoke disaster upon her.
After a few minutes that had felt like several hours to her she reached her destination. The pink crystal looked even more impressive than it had from a distance. Now she had to place the charger on the crystal... but where? The whole surface seemed smooth and unnaturally seamless. Slowly and carefully she walked around the crystals base.
There it was a gap looking like a keyhole, a seamless fit for the charger she carried. She pushed it in. A click resounded and the crystals glow intensified drastically. All orcs around her shot wide awake. 'Oh shit...' the young elven girl cursed under her breath. 10 seconds. That was the time she had to survive for the crystal to start working properly. 10 seconds too many it seemed. Lunara readied herself to go all out when she felt a certain tingling and than burning sensation under her skin surrounding the mark in her face, her demon-mark. All around her orcs looked like someone had dipped them into acid. The weaker ones already fled for the cave's exit. This had to be the effect it had on orcs and other creature with infernal connections.
The burning intensified slightly. Didn't Elric say it also held minor demons at bay? 'Fu....! I really hope I am still elf enough not to be expelled along with the angry horde.' Lunara cried and tried to get a hold at the crystal.
She touched the crystal the burning feeling intensified, it was extremely unpleasant but manageable, but it still siphoned her strength like crazy. Suddenly she felt very tiered and weak. Her knees crumbled. The same moment the orcs identified her as the reason for their misery. An extremely fierce looking orc, spear above his head, ran towards Lunara, who tried to get back on her feet. Thankfully his charge was stopped by a huge energy wave emitted by the crystal and he was forced to flee. But only after tossing his spear at Lunara.
She barely avoided being hit in the chest but suffered a deep cut in her left arm. Pain shot through her whole body. Her consciousness wavered. The outer areas of her vision turned dark. Finally the last of the orcs had left and she started to drag her own unresponsive body towards the entrance she had came from. The moment she left the inner perimeter she could breath lighter and advanced slightly faster.
Finally leaving the light of the crystals, entering the dark tunnel she sighed in relief. A wave of tiredness rushed through her veins, stumbling back through the dark tunnel, barely able to hold her eyes open. Staggering the last few steps into the main-tunnel her consciousness finally gave in and she sank into the arms of the waiting Elric. 'Well done, Girl. But we have to hurry for your time is fleeting.' he said with a worried expression, which was the last thing she saw before falling unconscious.
