After the group got up for the morning and prepared for the day, Teal, concerned about the disasters that befell us the day before, asked that we discuss some ideas for how to prevent this kind of thing in the future. His first thought is a leader for the group. To work as a cohesive unit in battle under a leader such as I imagine he is talking about would take a lot of training. Not only can I not imagine Agenar taking place in such exercises, but I can only imagine that Travis and Val would grow and tired and frustrated by the repetition involved. I asked the group if they would follow a leader, and, as I predicted, Agenar scoffs and says no immediately. After a bit more discussion we all agree to discuss plans and allow for input before taking individual actions that would affect the whole group. Well, most of us agree, since Agenar wandered off without telling anyone or getting any input, as usual. One of these days his wandering off is going to cause the group to have to make a difficult decision. (And, yes I know the irony of my judgment after my own actions yesterday, which in some ways were worse than his since I put us in more danger before we had even recovered from our last battle.)

Travis was determined to go back down the stairs to see for himself the place that he came from. The group was very wary after the peril we faced only yesterday in that place but down we went. We decided to head to green room first, because we knew that the skeleton Bob would at least talk to us. Maybe we could get some more information to help us figure this place out, and hopefully get each of the colored liquids so I could complete the task given to me yesterday by the voice in the red room. As we headed up the short green hallway and into the room at the end, the skeleton Bob greeted Travis, saying how long it has been since last they had seen each other. Travis asked about this place and his role there. He was starting to get some of the answers he is looking for as they went back and forth. After a while Travis finally asked the question I was interested in, which is whether he was allowed to take the green liquid. Bob, despite being informed of Travis’s loss of memory, seemed puzzled by the question assuring Travis that of course he could take the liquid, as if it was a ridiculous question to ask. True to his word, Bob did not stop Travis as he retrieved a vial of the green liquid, or stop us as we left the room heading back to the center room. Pouring it into the strange apparatus at the center of the room, the liquid went down the pipes and more then Travis could possibly have had in that vial filled up a portion of the center of the device. 

We then headed to the red room, which, as yesterday, didn’t seem to have any guards. The voice spoke to me as it had yesterday, pleased that I had returned to finish the task assigned to me. With our success in the green room with Bob, I felt that perhaps this time I may actually succeed. 

In the blue room, though, things were not so easy. A water and fire elemental guarded the liquid in this room. The water elemental did not seem to be a big fan of Travis. Instead of allowing him to get the liquid as Bob had, they attacked. As I moved forward to slice through the water elemental with my blades, I feared that such an attack would have no effect on a being made out of water, but as I sliced threw, I felt the water give way and the element lurch as if hurt. We worked as a group, fighting the guards, slowly wearing them down. Teal, who is always resourceful in battle, used his affinity for water to do massive damage to the water elemental, making large volumes of its body disperse. Agenar shouted to retreat a few times, and while the battle was tough, we were holding our own. Seeing that the party was not responding to his calls for withdraw, he joined in the attack and finished off the water elemental with an Eldrich Blast, water bursting out and putting out the fire that was starting to consume Travis whom the fire elemental had turned his attention to, stepping into the wood man and setting him ablaze. With one enemy down and one to go the entire party turned their focus to defeating the fire elemental and made short work of what was left of him. We gathered the blue liquid as our victory prize, though we were feeling more on guard knowing that not all this place’s guards were so willing to help Travis.

After resting for a bit after our difficult battle, we ventured to the last two rooms, more cautious than before. Our concerns were unfounded, though, because, much like Bob, the other guards greeted Travis as an old friend and showed no interest in stopping him from obtaining the last of the colored liquids. Travis talked to each one and asked more questions, slowly putting together more of the pieces about this place, though each answer seemed to lead to more and more questions. These beings must be very old indeed and continually referred to all of us except Travis as slaves. Everytime they used the word I felt Val tense up beside me. I put my hand on her shoulder and squeezed to reassure and relax her before her temper could get the better of her, but I didn’t need to worry, she kept her thoughts to herself. 

With all of the colored liquids obtained and put in the colored apparatus, a tunnel of light leading downward opened up as was described by guards. There was one thing I had to do before going down. I head to red room to contact the voice once more (first informing the party of my intentions as we agreed to do). I let the voice know that the task had been completed and asked if there was more I must do. With a pain so deep, far beyond anything I could imagine, the kind of pain that can only come from imprisonment so long that one no longer remembers what came before, the voice asks me to bring this house of cards down. I want so much to help, to release those trapped here so long, but when I asked how the voice did not know. The only thing we could do was go down the tunnel of light and see for ourselves.

As weary as I am of staying so close to the place where I had only recently been so near death, I was glad we decide to camp by the fountain. The thought of traveling out of this place and finding somewhere suitable to camp exhausts me even more than I already am. It is strange how peaceful this place is compared to the horrors we faced below. As I settled down, I listen to the murmur of the fountatian and am quickly deep in a restful meditative state.

***

I came out of my meditation several hours later feeling much better after a much needed rest. Val immediately went to sleep as second watch got up but Tilia told us about the room they had discovered. After Pantaghion got a chance to see it, I went for myself. A winding tunnel opens up into a small room with a large flower in the middle and hundreds of floating lights. Again, it strikes me how calm this place is as I watch the flower slowly flow back and forth as if it were drifting with the movement of waves underwater. I sit in this place for a few moments, enjoying the quiet. So rarely on our ventures do we find such tranquility. The last time I had been in such a peaceful place was several years back when I first found Lia again…

I was with a squad within The Rovers at the time. My father would have preferred I had joined The Home Guard like himself but as long as I was in The Verdant Guard he couldn’t complain. I had loved being in the forest since I was young. Me and Lia had often snuck off and spent our days in wilderness just outside the city, exploring, climbing trees, foraging for berries and other tasty treats. Those are some of my fondest memories, and are the reason why I chose The Rovers over The Home Guard.

Our squad’s assignment was to go patrol a village a ways from the city which had been repeatedly attacked by bandits. Our commander briefed us on the assignment, informing us that we would be staying in the village until the problem was dealt with. We would take turns patrolling the village day and night while scouts were sent to look for the bandits’ camp. I was to be on a patrol shift of course, with only the more senior Rovers scouting the woods, so I would be spending my time in the village. 

When we first arrived I was not to be on patrol for several hours so I took the opportunity to explore. In wandering around I talked with several villagers I met and perused the wares of some of the traders in the village. As I looked up from wares of a particularly skilled blacksmith I saw her. 

I didn’t believe what I was seeing, as if I could imagine such a thing, but there was Lia, walking down the other side of street. I watched her for a moment stund. When I finally shook myself out of my shock, she was rounding a corner down the street. I quickly raced after her and caught up to her halfway down the next block practically running to catch up to my friend who, as always, set a fast and determined pace. She seemed as shocked to see me as I was to see her but also as happy. It was a relief to see that she was glad to see me. I wasn’t sure after all these years if I would still mean much to her. After surprised and joyful greetings we quickly decided to go the tavern and catch up over a drink and a bite to eat. Though it had been decades since we had seen each other, it felt like no time at all as we spoke with the comfort and easy of old friends. 

I tried at some point to ask why her and her mother had left the city all those years ago with only rumors left behind but she kept deferring the questions and distracting me with nostalgic stories of sneaking off or driving our teachers crazy with her constant interruptions and outbursts. She had always been so different from all the other elven children with her messy wild dark hair and her strong emotions that you could always read clearly on her face and often spilled over, coming out in loud burst of laughter or shouts of frustration. It had always set everyone else on edge, but I had always been intrigued and attracted to this wild classmate who was so unlike anyone else I knew. You always knew what she was thinking, she never hid behind fake niceties. We could have sat and talked forever about the past but the present wouldn’t allow for it. Before I knew it, it was time for me to head back and start my patrol. I hated to leave but I had to. Lia gave me directions to a house a little outside the village and told me to meet her there when I was free again.

***

I should have been focused for my patrol, even if I didn’t expect any trouble while I was on duty for the late afternoon hours into the early evening. But I couldn’t wait till it was over so I could go find my friend again. It was hard to concentrate and stay alert. This should have been concerning, but I suddenly couldn’t seem to care much. All I could think about was seeing Lia again. She has always been my weakness.

After what seemed like a lifetime, the next patrol finally came to relieve us. I am practically running skipping out of the village in the direction of the place Lia told me to meet her. The place I arrive at is a small picture perfect house tucked away in the forest, surrounded by trees. There is a small garden in front with a mixture of flowers and plants that are good for eating. There is an inviting bench just a short ways from the house looking over a small flowing creek. The last of the day’s sunlight reflects off the flowing water. As I walk towards the house Lia comes out the front door to greet me, walking over to me with open arms. We embrace and I feel… it’s hard to describe, whole? I want to just stand there in her arms and never move again. We do stand there for a while, neither speaking, just hold one another. Eventually Lia pulls away. I want to grab tighter so she can’t, but instead I release her. 

She invites me inside and brings me to the kitchen where her mother, Valanthe, is cooking. She too comes over to embrace me, a wide smile on her face, telling me how surprised she was when Lia told her I was there, and happy she was to have me in her home. She poured us all something to drink and we settled around a small table placed in the corner of the kitchen as Lia goes to gather a third chair from another room. The three of us talk, mostly about what has happened in the years since we last saw one another. I tell them about my training, how I am with The Rovers now. Valanthe and Lia tell me about the small village and their day to day lives there. Why they left the city to come here is carefully avoided, topics changing the few times it starts to come up. I don’t push it. 

Eventually late evening gives way to night and Lia’s mother excuses herself, heading off to her room for the night. Me and Lia are left alone. She looks at me with a look I can’t quite place, hunger? No that can’t be. She invites me to walk in the woods. She waves away my concerns of bandits and gets up and heads for the door saying we won’t wander far. What can I do but follow?

We slowly meander through the trees towards the creek and stand there for a while quietly listening to the babbling of the water. Then Lia turns to me, gently putting her hand behind my head she pulls me to her lips and kisses me. It would have taken me weeks to build up the courage to do that, but Lia, who has always had the courage to do what she wants, doesn’t hesitate. I sink into her kiss as the rest of the world fades away from all thought. If you had asked my name right then I wouldn’t have known. The moment lasts forever and is over way too soon. She pulls away and looks into my eyes, her hand still holding my head. She says nothing, just looks at me. I feel like I am right where I am supposed to be and that everything in the world is right and good.

I haven’t felt peace like that in the three years since that week I spent with Lia in the small house tucked away in the forest.