Shit, that’s cold. My body crash landed into the water below. It was times like this that I was almost thankful for what I was. Almost. We began floating down stream.

“A river? There’s a whole ass river down here?” Eladren exclaimed cautiously opening one eye and then the other.

“Yes, and you’re lucky we didn’t land a few feet that way. We would have hit the stone.”

Shifting my body I directed her view towards the stairs near the bank. The ones we were meant to take before Ms. Disaster hit. Still, mulling over the possibilities of what could have triggered the trap on the stairs, it was strange. Those stairs had never been rigged to do that. I tried to sift through centuries of memories. Unease pooled at the bottom of my gut. The same feeling had washed over me when Eladren got close to the railing and back on the first level when the stones were repairing themselves. If it had been any one of those things I could write it off, but not all of them. It’s almost like the dungeon is waking up - as if he is waking up. A painful shiver shot up through my body. That’s the last thing we needed. I was perfectly content with this place slowly turning to dust along with him. At the very least we should be safe until we hit Sahaugin territory. Hopefully, we can sneak through. I looked over at Eladren. She was nearly hanging off the edge of me eyeing our surroundings. Somehow, I doubt we will make it passed them without trouble. Shaking my head I turned away back towards the river.

“Wait, if there’s a river that means there’s a source! We could go out that way,” Eladren excitedly rushed towards the back of me looking for the start of the water.” The soft glow coming off the water reflected in her eyes like two sparkling clear lakes, a shimmer of hope glinting in pools of blue.

“Sorry, this river doesn’t work like those above ground. Its powered by water stones. See?” I moved myself so she could see the large blue plates carved onto the wall. The outer ring was encircled by markings and runes that steadily emitted the same blue light that filled the river and the surrounding caverns. The second ring had deep carvings of waves, and at the center was a singular circle made of stone where the water flowed out of and down the wall into the channel.

Eladren’s excitement died and she turned back around and sat quietly. The vision of those cool summer lakes faded, blending in with the darkness of the dungeon. Her sleeve was torn and falling halfway down her arm. The light highlighted both old and new bruises. A pang hit the center of my chest. I hadn’t wanted to shatter her hope.

“Hey, it was a good idea.”

“You don’t have to be nice about it.”

“I know.”

We moved in silence through the water for a while until there was somewhere that looked safe. I carried us closer to the bank. A rest on dry land would do her some good, and honestly me too. While I wasn’t sure of the stamina of elves, I didn’t want to test it further. How long had it been since I interacted with anyone, or anything for that matter, that wasn’t part of this place? The last elves I had even met were grand mages from across the Astrea desert, a far cry from the shrinking girl who was stuck relying on me. The gods must have a sense of humor. A monster leading the damsel through the lair of an even bigger one. Hmph. I can’t believe I got myself into this mess. All I can do is try to get us through this alive and hope that he ignores us.

My body hit the bank and Eladren crawled off of me. Silently she moved onto the shore and sat down. Her eyes were distant. I wanted to bring them back. I needed her gaze. I wanted her loudness. The loneliness of the dungeon must have been getting to me more than I thought. Pushing my longing and confusion to the side, I shifted back into my humanoid form and walked ashore.

“Look, I’ll get a fire sorted. You just rest.”

She nodded.

Please, look at me.

“So, I never did properly ask you what you’re doing down here anyway?”

“My village sacrificed me to the dungeon,” she answered without turning towards me.

“They what?” I exclaimed, my eyes widening. Her body jumped at the sudden change in my tone. She looked back at me in shock.