Larka turned when the rest of the group caught up, she had heard the screams like the others and knew that Shiloh was the cause. While the other two who had saw her work were upset about, Larka was the oldest and had seen a lot in her time, tearing out what looked like someone's soul, or life force, wasn't on the top of her list. Though, that wasn't to say she saw it a lot. ”She's got a gash but I don't think it was poison tipped, since she's still awake, she's getting some healing potions into her now.” Larka explained as she thought for a moment. B]”Right, we'll check the last tunnel, you two stay here and keep an eye on that leg.” She instructed the two mercs she had come to help before as the rest of them and herself went down the last tunnel.

Lark had her rapier in her hand and was only a half step behind the leading merc from before when the battle cry, in very familiar words, was shouted and something came from the shadows at them. Larka step in front of him, but her eyes lay upon who was charging them the blade dropped from her hand as she reached out to grab the wrist of the hand that held the blade. The elf woman rammed into Larka but Larka took the brunt of it and stayed on her feet this time, while staring dumbfounded at the woman before her. ”Celeste?!” Larka spoke the name but the elf wasn't looking at her, only down and speaking.

Her words weren't right, choppy and broken basic words, speaking of Larka not being there and not coming for her. She must think that Larka was an illusion, it had been over two years, had she been in this place the whole time? Her hair was matted, even in the dim light Larka could see the bruises and unclean cuts and nicks on her visible skin, her clothing was in rags and filthy. Yet Larka made no mistake, this was Celeste, her missing wife!

Suddenly Celeste cried out again and yanked her hand free from Larka who was still standing there stunned. She darted away and the armoured merc behind Larka moved forward but Larka placed a hand on his chest to stop him making him grunt. “Who is she?” He asked.

Larka looked back to them, tears in her eyes and rolling down her cheeks. ”My missing wife.” She said simply and went to catch up to Celeste finding her crouched on the ground looking away. Larka placed a hand on Celeste's shoulder but he elf's reaction to the touch was instant and Larka just barely got out of the way of the blade before Celeste was knocking to the ground on her back.

The Reaver was stunned, looking up at her wife on top of her blades raised and the words spoken in the language that Celeste had taught Larka much of, made Larka's blood run cold. To come so far, to chance upon this meeting, only to have Celeste kill her in her delusional state. Larka's arm was pinned under her and she wasn't fast enough to get it free before the blade started to come down.

But it missed and shattered a few inches from her head and Larka breathed out slowly, as Celeste stayed there staring at the broken blade while staying on top of Larka. She could feel a few of Celeste's tears drip onto her own cheek and mix with her own tears as Larka wiggled enough to get her arm free. With it she reached up and gently placed a hand on Celeste's cheek. ”I'm real, my love, I never stopped looking for you.” Larka spoke softly as she carefully reached back and removed the broken blade from Celeste's hand and gave it a little toss away, just in case.

After that Larka, who was fully crying and breathing heavy at this point, gently pushed her way to a sitting position, keeping Celeste with her. ”Ar lath ma, vhenan, for bellanaris.” Larka spoke in Celeste's native language, words that she had taught Larka, who hadn't been the best student. Larka smiled wide, chin trembling as she cried in joy and pulled Celeste close to her and kissed her, deeply, and for the first time in over two years.

Larka's heart was thundering in her chest in excitement, she found her, after so long, she had found Celeste! The others in the group were forgotten for now, as Larka's full attention was on the elf woman she was holding so close to her now.

She watched the one-armed mercenary head off towards the settlement, likely to reclaim any prisoners taken captive by the drow. Although she knew how wary the others were of her, she stayed back to keep watch. The woman would be fine, Shiloh told herself. Whoever Larka had found, she was undoubtedly happy to see them. Her ears were better than most, so even though she couldn't understand the words of that foreign tongue she could read the emotion and intent. Leaving them to their heartfelt reunion, she worked on focusing her senses to block out errant noise. It was her way of covering up her poor handling with situations of high emotion. A cover for her own insufficiency.

On the way here she didn't say much and no one said much to her, aside from Larka. Then again that woman didn't seem to fear anything.It was hard to explain why she acted the way she did, so over time it was more convenient to assume an aloof and distracted demeanor. In reality, being in densely populated areas would wreak havoc on her, as the information flooding in would be staggering. Therefore she wasn't fond of loud noises, public festivals, and large gatherings of people in general. Places isolated and silent were the easiest on her eyes and ears. That left her with a noticeable stiffness when it came to social interaction aside from highly structured events. This was demonstrated through her businesslike attitude in her jobs and meetings with clients. No need for guesswork on what emotion to put on, or to read the atmosphere. It was just as uncomfortable for her as it was for those on the receiving end.

The mercenaries began to chat amongst themselves while they waited, and Shiloh's mind began to wander. For some reason she still had that lingering feeling of unease, like an ache in the stomach that wouldn't go away. Her ears must be acting up too, as there was that annoying ringing sound…

Ringing…wait that couldn't be right. Why would she be hearing these things when there wasn't an echo? An obsidian dart whizzed by her, nearly clipping her ear. Dodging like a knee-jerk reaction, she caught everyone else's attention when she suddenly stood up. The group had gone quiet and were staring at her with those eyes.

"What's th'a matter? The dark givin' you the jitters?" A woman asked through her thick accent. Looking at then, Shiloh turned to point where the dart had landed. "Something just brushed by me, it landed over there."

"What're you talking about? There's nothing there." "What? Can't you see? It's right–" Throwing a glance she stared when the dart she had sensed was gone.

"Bet it's probably a moth or something. There's bats in here right?" "That's what I heard, they better not be the biting kind. Ugh…just thinking about it gives me the shivers." The woman grumbled, rubbing her shoulders as she gave a shudder. Shiloh stared in disbelief at the empty patch of ground. No. No no no! That couldn't be right–she saw it, she felt the change in the air currents. She even heard the clatter of the dart as it fell on the ground. How did they not hear it? 

The rising tension inside her was broken with the muffled cry of the armored man who had taken the vanguard earlier. Something had leaped from the shadows and was half-dragging him while putting the man in a stranglehold. Another ambush! As if playing out on her worst fears, the others were being attacked as well and they were in an even less defensible situation. Out in an open area was even more of a disadvantage than the narrow passages–there was more cover and space for their attackers to maneuver around them. 

This was it, this was the end. That was the primary thought running through her mind as she took out her sword and shield, entering into a defensive position. Activating all of her senses, her head started to hurt with a throbbing pain as some kind of outside force proved overpowering. Pulsating, radiating, not like the usual oppressive burden of information influx she was used to… Magic. 

Especially the powerful kind, and that was never a good thing down here. Sending something coming her way in the midst of a dizzying migraine, her shield blocked it in time and let out a near-blinding flash that would stagger anyone nearby and looking in her direction in the dark. A new battle was raging, this one more intense than the others before. The drow might have been biding their time while testing their defenses, and had finally decided to launch a full-scale assault.

'It broke. Illusions haunt me, and it broke. How can boots fall silent?…' Celeste, while fighting the overwhelming emotions, was still dumbfounded with the current events. How could it be possible that this woman was actually Larka? She was certain this was just what she wanted, and her mind is playing tricks upon her. That must be the reason. When Larka's hand reached up, Celeste involuntarily jerked away with a gasp. That memorable voice drove daggers straight through her ears into her heart.

Still, Celeste watched the tossed dagger, pining for it. It was her only tool for revenge. Now it was gone. Even as Larka shifted underneath her, Celeste kept her eyes on that broken blade handle. The voice spoke again, this time using her own words she drove into that stubborn skull of Larka's. "I love you, my heart, for eternity." She whispered the translation, eyes ever so slowly moved to take in Larka's crying, smiling face. When Larka pulled her in close, kissing her, Celeste stiffened.

Body was real, the woman's smell filled her nose, the skin felt rough yet solid, lips… But it was an illusion? She cant be here! Celeste was crumbling into uncertainty and desire, falling into the kiss she had been hoping for when Larka finally came to rescue her. The elf stiffened again, pulling back from Larka with a frown. This was a test, had to be. Otherwise, would the drow be watching her so carefully? Slowly, she stood, turned her back on Larka and walked a few feet away from her. "Garas quenathra?"

Yet something was different. What was it that was on that one's hip? It talked to her, whispered her name. Cocking her head, Celeste pulled on it with her mind. Water came bursting from their water skin and wound itself around her arm. The fluid felt right to her, like a piece of her she had long since forgotten. The drow it had came from cursed. "She has her magic! You gave her the wrong water!" Holding her hand in front of her, Celeste admired the way the water flowed this way, and that, round her hand, down her arm and back to her palm, all at a push of her mind.

"Drow fear elf. Elf show them why, now." Her voice was dangerously low as she sounded like she was having fun. The water formed an shard of ice, long and sharp in her hand as Celeste charged forward. "Fen'Harel ma halam. Din'an!" Evading the blade in his hand, Celeste jammed the ice upward, into the drow's jaw, straight into his brain. As his body slumped to the ground, Celeste licked the blood off of the ice with a smile. With a flick of her hand, the dead drow jerked up into a standing position, then fluid as salmon in a river, turned to attack the others as she turned her back, walking toward Larka's group of mercenaries. She giggled maniacally. If the mercenaries that Larka had brought were afraid of Shiloh, they would be terrified of Celeste.

Larka smiled and nodded when Celeste gave the basic translation of what Larka had spoken in elven language to her. Larka had then kissed her wife deeply and felt Celeste stiffen under it, but Larka continued the kiss determined to prove that she wasn't an illusion. For a moment Larka thought she had broken through as Celeste fall into the kiss with her, but then the elf went stiff again and backed away. Larka frowned as Celeste stood and walked away turning her back to Larka, all this time Larka had no interest in what else was going on around them.

Celeste asked her a question, 'why are you here?', she asked. Larka went to answer but the sounds of the battle started to grow louder in her ears as Celeste seemed distracted by something. She watched the water flow around Celeste's arm and her eyes widened, so she still had her magic and they were keeping water from her this whole time!

Larka's mind finally came back into reality when Celeste went on the attack against the drow, Larke stood as well and slowly turned, her eyes full of sudden anger. If she had still had her old Berseker powers they would have been at full strength at the moment, as it was, Larka was working on pure adrenaline. She reached into her pocket and placed on her hand her knuckle duster and glared at drow attacking the group.

With a roar of anger Larka jumped in and started to pummel one of them she had surprised, striking his face until there was little left. She jumped off of him and ran into one with a sword. Larka didn't even acknowledge the blade as she attacked, catching him in the jaw while his sword gashed her side. Right away her eyes started to turn blood red and her muscles tightened somewhat with added strength. The Reaver went to the armoured man who had been at the front of their group, he was barely holding the two drow before him back.

Larka came at one and got her leg up in a bicycle kick to the side of his head that dropped him hard to the ground. Larka followed that up by stomping on his head a few times and that was enough of a distraction for the other drow to allow the armoured guy to run him through. Larka gave one last stomp with a yell as she looked around for another drow to kill, maybe.

Her eyes settled on one and she ran at him, he turned in time to see her coming and raised his blade, but Larka didn't stop. The blade went through her left shoulder and her fist collided with the drow's face sending him reeling back and away. Larka removed the blade from her shoulder and her eyes filled out totally going blood red as her powers kicked in hard from the new wound. Larka stepped over to the drow that she was focusing on a he was picking himself up and grabbed him by the throat and threw him against the wall. She pinned him against and one handed held him off of his feet against by his neck. ”Why!? Why did you kidnap my wife!?” Larka yelled at him, and when he didn't answer right away she slammed his head against the wall and asked again.

”Cousins wa, wanted to get back at forge woman for stealing from them, taking away forging metals from ground.” He explained.

Larka's eyes blazed. ”They took to get back at Zhana?! You tried to get back at a powerful woman like Zhana by taking MY wife!” Larka snapped and slammed his head into the wall until there was only mush left.

She dropped the corpse and turned to look at the others, fighting finished or not, Larka's powers drained from her. She gasped as she dropped to the ground, exhausted and covered in blood that was sizzling and popping on her skin as her body took in the life from it and her wounds started to heal.

People were screaming, fighting was going on everywhere. The one-armed mercenary had brutalized and slammed a drow into the ground and the rest of the party was fighting back. When Larka had returned another woman came with her, haggard and worn. The prisoner, likely. But then the prisoner did something that chilled her blood. The elf woman impaled a drow's head with an ice spike and then when they perished, proceeded to manipulate the fresh corpse like a twisted marionette. Bad memories of things best left unsaid resurfaced, and she made a split second decision to lay low and stay out of that woman's field of vision.

Close your eyes. Calm down. Think slowly and carefully. What would be the best plan of action in this sort of situation? The best and optimal method would be to end the fighting as quickly as possible, with the least number of casualties. There are at least five drow on the field fighting. Two are dead, but the enemy has an advantage fighting on their own turf. A madwoman is currently on the loose, and her actions are unpredictable. Taking all of this into consideration: best possible course of action–a temporary arrest of all movement within the immediate area. 

This thought process occurred over the span of less than a second. Opening her eyes again, she took in a deep breath for what she was going to do. "They're really going to hate me for this…" With a clap of her hands, a pulse was emitted and everyone who was around her became inflicted with paralysis. The sounds of weapons and people clattering to the floor as their muscles stiffened and the effects took hold told her deployment was a success. Unfortunately everybody was affected–not just their enemies. Feeling the strain hit, she knew she had to work fast. She shouldn't be using two powerful abilities in such quick succession, but this was her chance. Inducing herself into a state of high tension, the shadows around them grasped at the incapacitated drow and began throwing them about the cavern like rag dolls. When they were completely out cold, she let go and fell to her hands and knees. What she just did would basically cut the duration of her paralysis move by a huge margin, which was why she had to make sure they were given a thorough beating. 

Soon the other mercenaries would begin to feel the grip of that oppressive numbness wane and disappear. Shiloh's body felt like bags of lead had been dumped onto her all at once. Nervously glancing over at where that mad elf was, she urged her body to recover faster. 

Celeste watched Larka with wide eyes, taking in the way her wife fought. Where Celeste had lost her mind within her own delusions, Larka was fighting with such anger. Part of her reveled in the gore and chaos, the blood and the silence of their boots, somewhere within she was concerned. It was never a good sign to see this particular woman fight with bloodlust.

She listened to the man as he barely managed to get his answer out  to Larka who then completely beat him beyond a bloody pulp. The elf just stood there with eyes so big it was hard to gauge whether it was with wonder, shock, or something else entirely. Larka fell, and Celeste moved to step in her direction. Her wife may not be here in her mind, but that didn't mean she didn't care for the hallucination just the same.

A strange sensation overcame her, and she was unable to move a muscle. Celeste fought against it, growing frustrated and angry. To have her hallucinated wife right there and suddenly be so far because she could not even take a step was cruel punishment, worse than any beatings she ever had. This was a personal blow to her emotions, her psych. With all of her fighting against the paralysis, even her magic flailed against the blood of her puppet, trying to finish the swing he was in the middle of.

Finally the effect wore off, and Celeste stumbled. Her own momentum had her practically deposited in Larka's lap in a heap. She attempted to push herself up, only to find herself collapsing once more. There she lay, feeling quite heavy, everything foggy. The drow in her control faltered and fell, remaining still as her magic over him dissipated. "Light fire now? Zhana help?" While she didn't remember it, only knowing what she was told, it was how they escaped a similar situation. Her voice was so weak, distant to herself. This was all a dream, a blood-thirsty, delusional, hopeful dream.

Larka watched Celeste only as she started to come towards her, but then spell struck from Shiloh and even though Larka was already on the ground she groaned as the spell ran through her and her muscles became unmovable. Larka fought against the spell as well, but she had little in the way of magical defence, as she watched Celeste struggle as well, growing frustration painted on her face.

In time the affect wore off and before Larka could get herself moving Celest fell into her lap in a heap and tried and failed to push herself up. Larka reached out and put her arm around Celeste and pulled her up and close, her own muscles weakened and stiff, while Celeste spoke. ”Zhana can't help us from here.” Larka replied, she had once used fire to communicate with their friend Zhana who would come and help them in a time of need.

The Reaver placed her forehead to Celeste's again, trying to keep eye contact with the elf. ”I'm here, Celeste, this is real, I promise you. You asked me before why I came, I came because I love you and I never once stopped looking for you.” Larka spoke with more tears in her eyes. ”Come with me, we'll get you out of here and to a safe place, okay? I've made some friends in these lands who can help us, we can trust them.” Larka nodded, believing her own words and hoping Celeste did as well.

She got to feet carefully and tried to help Celeste as well if the elf allowed it, before she looked to the rest of the ground and Shiloh in particular. ”I believe our job is done here, the drow have been killed, and I need to get my wife somewhere safe so she can recover.” Larka spoke, keeping Celeste close if possible, not wanting to let go again. ”Is everyone fit to travel back to the surface?” Larka asked the group, though if she had to Larka would leave with Celeste on her own if she had to.

Once it seemed that everyone was in travelling condition again the group started to make their way back to the surface, following the paths they had taken to get down here. Larka stayed close to Celeste, dragging her if she had to, once in a while whispering to her to try and reassure the elf that this was all real, that Larka was real and she was really being rescued after all this time.

Everything hurt, even parts of her body that she never knew could hurt. This was why she didn't like pushing herself more than necessary. But it was worth it, even if the payoff led to what felt like several tiny tears in her limb muscles. Lying on the cold, hard ground she was breathing with eyes wide open. Inhaling deeply, she tried to dull the pain by shutting off her senses. "It hurts…everything hurts. I hate it when I do that…ugh." Hearing that Larka and everyone else seemed to be fine, she turned her head to face the mercenary. "Sure, give me a minute. Can you roll that healing potion in my bag over? My body and mind are currently at an impasse." Even willpower wasn't getting her through that full-body wreck she put herself through. Once the potion was within sight, she would use a shaky display of telekinesis to move it close enough to her mouth to drink from it. Taking a deep breath, she gritted her teeth as her body's accelerated recovery took place. When it was over, she slowly got up onto her hands and knees, then stood.

"Alright, legs are functional. They seem to be responding to my will again, as usual." The dry comments from her was more of a wry attempt to marginalize the stress they had just gone through, but just added to the less than favorable impression she already had with the others. Looking at Larka, she asked. "I can carry her…if you want. It's too dark in here to tell which way leads out again, but I have something that'd act like a compass." She offered a small pyramid made of pink crystal to the one-armed woman. "Hold it and think of your point of destination, then follow the light. You'll see what I mean when you try it."

At this point Shiloh was already working through how to explain the delay in delivery to her client, and potential solutions in sending the message she had been given to its intended recipient. At best she'd have to call on one of her coworkers and hope they'd have better luck than she did. She had all the details, the dwarf settlement where the recipient was said to be living in, the recipient's name, and some general distinguishing features. If her client wasn't satisfied with her work, she'd give a full refund on the insurance payment with a bit of compensation, to ensure the deal wouldn't end with a bitter taste in their mouth. As much as a hassle the job was, she did appreciate their patronage.

Celeste made no struggle when she was lifted. Her demeanor oozed that of an exhausted, emotionally drained woman. There was no peep to come from her, no whisper as the group slowly made it out with Larka in the lead. 'No more boots. Drow gone. Boots silent. No more beatings. Wife take elf home. Where home?' A thousand, incomplete thoughts ran through her head, bouncing round and round. The elf had rested her head on Shiloh's shoulder, giving the woman complete control over herself.

It felt like hours they had walked, Celeste lost in her own mind. The journey back had proven uneventful. However, the closer they got to the entrance, Celeste noticed the brightening of the distant opening. She squinted her eyes until that was unhelpful. Hissing, the elf pulled back, trying to shy deeper back into the darkness, however Shiloh proved a bit more stronger than Celeste was in her current state. Practically dragged, the elf threw her arm over her eyes, to protect herself from the bright light.

At the entrance, Celeste dug her heels in, refusing to take another step. It didn't matter what Larka or anyone said. Despite the fact that she was in blinding pain, it was the scent that caught her off guard. After not bathing for two whole years, Celeste had long since grown accustomed to her own stench. They could clearly see how thick the dirt was crusted upon her skin, how pitiful her ragged clothing covered her. Hair was beyond merely matted, it was also quite filthy. Dried blood was everywhere from noticeably infected cuts across her arms and exposed abdomen, her bones painfully visible under her skin. But the scent of the fresh air was so sweet and warm.

The elf's reaction was that of a sober alcoholic smelling her favorite alcohol for the first time in ages. An expression of longing bliss was on her face, more peaceful than she had ever shown in the entire time she had been trapped. Pushing hands out of the way, Celeste walked to the nearest tree. Tentatively, she reached out for it, fingers gently feeling the rough bark. Gripping and pushing her hand against it, the elf smiled at the pain as her blood now rushed from the wound. She pressed her nose against the bark and inhaled deep, taking in the essence of the fresh crisp scent of pine.

Something tickled at the bottom of her feet. Wiggling her toes, she peered down and noticed the green offshots blanketing the ground in a thick layer of grass under the pine needles. She crouched, fingers splayed as she felt the grass, fell to her knees and proceeded to lay on her belly. With fists full of grass and dirt, Celeste was practically nuzzling the ground. ”Child in toy store, child in candy shop. Young joy pales to freedom.” Tears were spilling forth from her eyes, soaking her cheeks.

Closing her eyes, Celeste listened to the birds chirping overhead, signing to the sun, biding good night to the world. Insects hummed and buzzed, scurrying here and there. Somewhere, little creatures were running through underbrush. The wind whistled through the canopy overhead. So many sounds she had forgotten, so many scents and it all continued to exist while she was hidden away. Now she was back, and can enjoy all of the sensations of being alive. There was only one word for how this felt for her. She was asleep, dreaming, or had died and finally felt peace. ”Heaven…”

Larka looked to Shiloh and found the potion she was asking for and rolled it as close as she could without breaking the glass. The rest of the group was picking itself up as well from the fighting, looked like they'd all be going home more or less in one piece and with a new person with them. Larka's mind was still reeling at the fact that she had found Celeste, by such an accident, it was hard for her to believe.

Shiloh offered to carry Celeste and Larka nodded in agreement as she took the offered pyrimid from Shiloh who explained how to make it work. ”Thank you.” Larka replied and focused on the surface, and the magical dealy did it's thing and created a path for them to follow back to the surface. She watched Shiloh pick up Celeste easily enough and Larka stayed close while they all followed the pyramid's path back to the surface.

It felt like hours but they could see the sunlight ahead and Larka lowered the pyramid for now, but then heard Celeste's hiss and turned to see what the matter was. Shiloh was pulling Celeste along, who covered her eyes as they made it to the entrance but the elf dug in and refused to move, Larka realized then the light but be hurting her eyes after so long in the dark. But now also Larka got a full look at Celeste and the state she was in; ratted clothing, filthy, matted hair that was also filthy, dried blood and infected cuts all over, and Larka could see bones under skin from almost starved for so long. It broke Larka's heart to see Celeste like this, but she would do everything she could to help Celeste in her recovery, and Larka wasn't fooling herself, it wouldn't be easy. But she loved Celeste and would be there for her for the whole time, no matter how long it took.

She watched Celeste as the elf walked to the tree, she waited allowing Celeste the time she needed. When Larka saw the smile on Celeste's lips tears formed anew in Larka's eyes as she handed the pyramid back to Shiloh with a nod of thanks not trusting her voice not to crack if she spoke. When Celeste lay on her belly Larka walked slowly over and sat down and laid on her back next to Celeste as she heard Celeste speak one word.

Larka carefully reached over to take Celeste's hand gently in her own. ”Ar lasa mala revas, ma vhenan.” Larka spoke softly with a smile. ”I have a place we can be safe and live together, Celeste, when you are ready we can make our way there.” Larka smiled. ”It's like Heaven for me, having you back again, my love.” She had tears in her eyes still.

Once Celeste was ready and they stood ready to go Larka to Shiloh and the rest who hadn't left yet. ”Thank you, all of you.” She said simply before the couple started to walk away back to where Larka knew was a safe place, and someone that could help them.