Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

"What do you mean, we should return?" Luf asked unwillingly. Once they entered the cover of the tree, the communication orbs functioned again

"What do you mean, we should return?" Luf asked unwillingly. Once they entered the cover of the tree, the communication orbs functioned again, allowing them to call Minas Mar. However, things did not go as she had hoped they would go.

"Seth is currently off the grid, and we can't just join a war on that side. At least not without his agreement," Mary said seriously. Although Seth had little involvement with the general operations and management of Minas Mar, he was still the person with the last word.

Luf knew that, but she had not expected the Tower Master not to be there right now; otherwise, she was sure he would have agreed to send immediate reinforcements. Maybe he would have even sent a horseman or a beast of calamity.

"I know you want to help them, but it is too dangerous. You should return for now, so we can properly arrange a team to step in and look for Bodeka and the others," Leana's suggestion came from the communication orb. She looked up at Rayki, and their eyes met.

They didn't need words to know that they agreed on this. There was no way that would would agree to return to safety first while they waited for other people to sort things out. Who knew what happened to their comrades while they waited for Seth and the rest to get moving?

Earlier, Luf had not thought there could be anything that would threaten Bodeka and her people. But these things were strong individually AND came in great numbers. Even if they failed to kill the faer, it didn't mean they couldn't kidnap and torture them.

Bodeka and the others were not as strong as Rayki or Luf. They wouldn't be able to resist such a massive disadvantage. They couldn't leave them behind. They needed their help, now. Reaffirming their choice with a deep look in each other's eyes, Luf answered.

"Sorry, Leana, Mary. This is more of a notification than a request for permission. We ARE going back now. We just wanted to let you know," she finally said. Yeah, returning alone was never an option.

...

---Minas Mar, Present---

"...and that was yesterday evening? So roughly 8 hours ago?" The blacksmith asked with a mix of concern and disbelief after Mary and Jane explained the situation to him. Nodding, Seth got up from his seat and walked toward the exit door.

"What are you doing? You can't just leave, we-" Leana spoke up, but Seth lifted his hand to signal her to shut up.

"What I'm doing? I'm getting some of the big guys and going to get my faer back," the blacksmith said, his voice deliberately carefree. "There is nothing big to discuss here, I'm getting as much firepower as possible and getting them back," he said with a shrug.

Of course, he was not as carefree as he played. Since they had lost time due to his absence, he had to hurry now. He wasn't going to blame himself for taking some time for himself and the girls; all he could do now was act fast and make sure nothing worse happened.

To think Luf had not called back for 8 hours didn't spell anything good.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

---Pakkonaia, 8h ago---

Abruptly ending the call, the two were ready to go on their rogue rescue mission.

However...

"Are we using the passage to get back?" Rayki asked her. They had no idea where exactly the subterranean base was located. Apart from the passage, they had few clues.

"I don't think that is a good idea. I think the other end of the passage has already collapsed. Otherwise, Bodeka would have probably caught up with us," Luf mumbled as she shook her head.

"Are you sure? The corridor was pretty long. What if they arrive after we go looking for them and they miss us? It's not like they can inform us of anything," Rayki voiced his doubts. Although Luf wanted to act, she had to admit that he was right.

If the passage didn't collapse and the team of faer simply entered it way later than them, they may appear here while the two of them were wandering in the forest, trying to find the elevator to the main base... but there was a solution for that.

Luf pulled a small bronze colored ball from her inventory, a golem eye. The improved scouting version with a remote screen that allowed anyone to share the scout's vision. With this, they were not forced to wait, unable to act, and they didn't have to risk their lives by returning into a possibly unstable tunnel.

"Good idea!" Rayki praised as the golem eye descended the spiral staircase. The steps and the bottom of the vertical shaft were littered with corpses, but nothing unexpected so far. After passing the aftermath of their battle, the golem hovered down the straight corridor.

10 minutes... 20 minutes... 30...They had really run for a while. Luf had not noticed that the passage was this long. They started believing the golem would make it all the way back to the base, but hope was actually blossoming, only to be dashed by a sorrowful sigh.

The screen finally displayed a caved-in ceiling and a corridor blocked by debris. This had to be around the first third of the way. At this point, it would probably not have mattered how close behind the other group would have been; they never had a chance to go far down this route. Luf sighed.

"Well, at least we now have the golem location as a way point and don't have to wander blindly," the bard tried to cheer her up. Since they received the golem's transmission, they could also locate it from above ground. They would lose their way in the dense, enchanted forest.

"Right, it's not like this changed anything. Let's go!"

Having made sure Bodeka and the others wouldn't come via the secret passage, Rayki and Luf set off. At first, they followed the signal of the golem, but this quickly became unnecessary. The noise of battle and explosions penetrated the silent forest.

"I guess that is where the main complex is..." Luf spoke up, when they saw the light of fire and spells in the dark sky. It had taken them roughly an hour to get to this point. They had passed the place where the golem had stopped in the passage a while ago.

"The fight seems to be in full swing," Rayki commented on the raging storm of war they could hear from a distance. Judging by roars, screams, the sound of breaking stone, and exploding spells, it was a terrible battle for survival.

"Let's hurry, it's not far now," Luf said and charged forward, worried for her subordinates.

"We didn't talk about it, yet, but what will we actually do when we arrive?" Rayki asked, running beside her.

"What do you mean?" she asked, slightly confused by the question.

"I mean, our strategy is to save the others. Do we jump into the fight and help the nightelves to win this? Are we just sneaking in to look for them? A mix of those?" the bard explained his question. The winged creatures had attacked them earlier, so maybe they had enough reason to fight them... maybe they wouldn't even get the choice?

"We won't fight unless we are attacked. The priority is finding the others. If we have to fight, we will get rid of them as quickly as possible and continue looking," Luf instructed. Their goal was not to save the demons.

Although having saved them in a dire situation gave them an advantage for the future, Luf had no intention to waste their already lacking manpower on someone else's battle. After the short exchange, they ran silently for another 20 minutes or so before a crater came in sight.

Yes, a crater. The soil above the subterranean base was blown off, and the structure was laid bare for the winged lizards to attack.

"Wow, that's a little more than I expected," Luf mumbled.