After a long day’s monotone walk, we made camp in a large cavern at a pre-planned destination. I have been told that this place was often used as such by the patrols treading the underground paths.

The day passed in surprising dullness, earning me a pair of aching feet and a grumbling stomach. It was true that we were still less than a day’s worth of distance from the outpost, but based on all those tales of mysterious horrors residing in the deep, I was expecting something more.

True, I was practically in the safest spot of the column, and therefore even if we ran into something dangerous, that wasn’t smart enough to run away upon sensing a hundred or so angry dwarfs heading in its direction I likely wouldn’t know about it.

There were a few scouts heading in front of the military column and even behind it looking for lurking threats that may or may not be intent on attacking our rear.

Thanks to all those well practiced methods and safety measures, which allowed us to wander the deep roads with reasonable safety, I didn’t experience another encounter with goblins or similar entities aboriginal to this place.

It was something unexpected none the less; I was relieved by it.

I sat on one of my blankets, which was draped across a protruding rock. It was folded at least two times to gain enough thickness and serve as a layer of insulation between my bottom and the cold rock surface.

Oh, yes… Remember me constantly complaining about the cold back in the outpost? Guess what… I was practically shivering in my boots out here.

It was mostly fine while we were walking… But, that illusion was quickly dispelled after we stopped here to make a camp for the night. Did you know? These dwarves didn’t even care to make a fire… Saying that it was dangerous to allow large amounts of smoke to freely accumulate underground. The smoke could get trapped in small pockets, creating invisible deathtraps.

Anybody could walk into them without noticing it and dying as a result.

Emrum raised a questioning brow at me. I glanced at him, urging him to speak. Too frustrated with my current predicament to word it nicely. — “If you had finished ogling me, you might as well state your thoughts.”

He blinked at me, then shook his head silently. Which only managed to further irk me. Yet I let it drop, pulling one of my spare blankets over my shoulders. Letting it drape over my coiled up form.

“It’s nothing… I was just surprised that you, as a witch, didn’t know about such things… It’s basically common knowledge…”

I glared at the man and his common knowledge.

“Emrum… “ — I started slowly, finishing to engulf myself in the protective layer of the blanket. Waiting for its cold material to be warmed up by my alarmingly escaping body heath.

“Do I look like an elf who spent decades underground to you?” — The dwarf blinked, evidently surprised by my sarcastic question.

“No…” — He said eventually, taking another glance at my shaking form tightly covered in a thin layer of blanket. While no doubt looking extremely presumptuous.

He shook his head slowly, chuckling to himself.

“Don’t you dare laugh at me… Emrum…” — I hissed from the side. The man in question covered his mouth sneakily and turned away from me, attempting to hide his merriment and failing miserably.

“I hate you…” — I said without an edge… The beginnings of a smile curling at the side of my lips.

Regmir, who had been strangely quiet since the start of the expedition, chose that particular moment to remind me of his vindictive presence in my vicinity.

“I heard that on the surface people tended to burn witches on pyres… They couldn’t have been wronger in their assumptions. It is cold that your kind hate the most, not fire.” — He finished with a smug expression plastered across his horse face.

There were a few subdued chuckles traveling across our little circle. The entire group of soldiers were separated into units made of ten individuals, which were coordinated by an officer in our case, Emrum. Who was receiving his orders directly from Lavacoat, the expedition leader.

That also meant that we were camping together with our unit, for simplicity’s sake. If everybody went to sleep wherever they wanted, it would be chaos to make heads and tails of it every time we broke camp. Or in the worst-case scenario, we got ambushed in the darkness of the night.

I listened to the sounds of snorts, with a darkening expression. I was really not in a mood to be made fun of right now. I was hungry, tired, and about to freeze to death.

I gritted my teeth and hissed back at the bastard. — “Is that so? Coincidentally… I also heard that on the surface horses walked on four legs instead of two…” — There was a moment of tense silence following my words, just enough for me to question my wit, then a burst of genuine laughter traveled across our little group.

Seeing and hearing the unmistakable reaction, I felt a sense of relief wash over me, along with a sense of satisfaction.

Skod, who was sitting on my left, slapped me on the shoulder playfully. — “I can see why Emrum took a liking to you lass, your tongue is as sharp as any dwarven blade. A trait that is worthy for a member of a warrior clan such as the Dimhollow. Only if I realized that you were willing to join in a dwarven clan sooner, I would have made you an offer myself.” — He chuckled, giving me a sidelong glance.

From the weight put behind his playful backslap, I almost rolled off the stone that I was using as an impromptu chair.

I glared up at the idiot, creasing my brows in frustration. He kind of did… or still does, in fact… He totally intends to introduce me to his son… if I remember correctly.

Tum spoke up at the other side of our circle. He just chunked down some sort of alcoholic beverage that made his face flush red.

“By that, you mean you too would attempt to take a peek at her while she is dressing?” — He stated with a wide smirk.

I pulled tighter the blanket around my shoulders, sensing a shiver running up my lower back suddenly.

Wait… could it be? Did Emrum and Tymur do that intentionally? That’s… it’s impossible they wouldn’t do something like that… right?

Regmir, no doubt seeing my disturbed expression, decided to rub salt into my wound by choosing that moment to comment. — “Witches of your caliber bring prestige and wealth to any clans, no matter its size and history. It wouldn’t be surprising to resort to unorthodox methods of recruitm-…” — He couldn’t quite finish his words, as another much harsher and colder voice interrupted his insinuating tone.

The voice belonged to Emrum, and he was clearly seething with anger. I never heard his words sound so ominous as they were now.

“One more word, Regmir Shatterrock, and I am going to smack in that annoying face of yours.”

My eyes widened, head snapping towards Emrum.

Seeing his uncharacteristically cold expression. I gulped, slowly massaging my slightly numb shoulder at the place where Skod touched me. These dwarfs couldn’t seem to contain their strength for the love of… Not everyone’s bones are as thick as a mammoth’s.

Aside from my internal annoyance, I was very invested in the ongoing conversation. The possibility that I was deceived and brought into a dwarven clan by intention made my stomach churn with a sharp sense of revulsion and disappointment.

I mean… it’s not like I had anywhere else to go if they would simply ask. I would most likely accept the offer and go along with it. There was no reason for such deceit… not that they were aware of this at the time… damn…

With those swirling thoughts at the forefront of my mind, I glanced at Emrum tentatively.

Seeing him overcome by barely contained fury, I decided that it was impossible for his character to willingly participate in such underhanded dealings. He was always kind and forthcoming with me to begin with.

Also, his actions were too consistent and contrite for me to believe in anything else.

It was not me alone who came to this conclusion. Several pairs of angry glares were pointed at Regmir in a matter of seconds.

Regmir realizing this, quickly raised his hands with a disarming smile. One of his hands holding a broken-off bread piece making the situation somewhat comical.

“Of course, of course… It was merely a bad joke.” — He stated.

My eyes were drawn to the piece of bread, my hunger climbing up on my internal priority ladder. Then I realized that the bread piece I was staring at was getting bigger… no, it was flying towards me!

I barely managed to catch it in a panicked flurry of movements. Causing a few good natured chuckles to appear around the camp.

Slightly embarrassed, I looked at the offending bread. Then I glanced up, my eyes refocusing on Regmir, who was sitting empty-handed once again.

The man winked at me, a gesture that made the small hairs on the back of my neck stand up in protest. Catching my disturbed reaction, he looked at me with a knowing smirk.

This… this bastard was actually teasing me!

“A peace offer, if you will, lass.” — My initial revulsion dispersed somewhat. Being surprised by his seemingly genuine kindness. I was really hungry, after all. In the end, I nodded hesitantly. Then took a happy bite out of the bread. It was at that moment when the man added another unsavory opinion.

“Thank the paragons. I could hear your grumbling stomach from a mile away. If things continued down that path, you would end up luring every sort of darklings right atop of our camp by morning.”

My ears twitched as the words were slowly untangled and made sense of in my mind, still distracted by the blissful taste of food after a day of marching.

Then I heard the laughter crashing through our section of the camp and I was jolted back to the present.

“Wait… what did you just say?” — I looked around exasperated, seeing how the others practically roared with laughter.

Skod laughed along with the unfamiliar dwarfs of our unit, saying in between fits of laughter.

“…Lass… you would have been a fine… a fine dwarf I say!”

I blushed, sitting with downcast eyes, feeling genuinely embarrassed for once.

In the end, I decided to ignore the fools, and picked up the remainder of the bread, munching on it feeling embarrassed.

“What was so funny about being hungry…” — I mumbled to myself, trying my best to ignore the dwarfs. Which, for whatever reason, caused them to laugh even harder.

Tum shouted over the heads of the merry band. — “If you eat the whole bread alone, you won’t have space for the rest. We are just about to unpack the rations. I hope you didn’t think that we only brought bread with us for a week’s long expedition?”

My eyes grow wide, realizing what the problem was at last.

My chin dropped down as I glanced up at my overly jovial party. I slowly closed my mouth, gulping down the recent bite, feeling my chin bursting with an additional layer of red blush.

“…” — I couldn’t even say anything they burst into another fit of laughter.

“… What the hell…” — I whispered to myself, realizing that I had managed to make a complete fool out of myself once again.

I guess that’s just part of my new life.

I looked over at the laughing dwarfs. My harsh gaze slowly morphed into a soft stare. As I took in their merriment.

I sighed… the day’s accumulated tension finally leaving my shoulders.

This reminds me of my young days, the days that we spent huddled among a close group of friends, playing the guitar around a simple campfire. Complaining to each other, whose parents were the bigger jackasses. Needlessly exaggerating pitiful squabbles. Telling each other our dreams that were so unrealistic, they were bound to never become reality.

That sense of freedom, that sense of rebelling filled with dreams and a strong will to live. The sheer sense of potential that life was offering to us. A chance to show it to the world… Those days… I thought, they will never return. I thought that I had grown out of it. I became old.

I glanced at the people around me once again, seeing the dwarfs laughing with a juvenile energy. Who would actually believe that these guys are over sixty and more?

Seeing them laughing with such simple joy, I was beginning to really feel my age. As the memories of long dead friends, forgotten among the distant layers of time and space, bubbled to the surface of my calloused soul.

Still, against all odds at that moment, something tightly bound, gently loosened up inside the deep recesses of my subconscious. For the first time since coming to this world. No… for a long time, even before that. I felt a sense of serenity settling over me.

At last, I felt at home.

Soon enough… I found myself laughing along with the dwarfs, sharing in the unperturbed merriment. Enjoying the momentary peace that the night offered to us.