Episode 7: Family Ties (Part 3 of 8)

With that, the echoing laughter of the Orcs begins to fade away as the party clearly walks away from the mouth of the pit. Lilanei then shifts uncomfortably on her backside, the pain from her fall surging through her spine. She gags suddenly, spitting out a huge wad of Orc saliva onto the ground before looking around in the limited light provided by the hole above her. She sees on one side of her their weapons, and then to her left she notices what appears to be the sprawled legs of her companion, who groans softly. Weakiy, she shifts onto her hands and knees and crawls to his side, shaking his chest slightly in an attempt to stir him.

"Locke! Locke, answer me! Are you okay?"

"Oh. . ." Locke moans, his eyes opening only to roll dizzily before his eyes close once more, and his head drapes backwards.

"Locke!" Lilanei cries, taking his face in her hands and leaning towards his face as she squints to see him through the dim light. "Please be okay! Wake up!"

"Urgh. . ." Locke sluggishly groans as his head lifts and his eyes open; he weakly shifts on the ground as he now looks up towards Lilanei and slowly utters, “Lil?"

"Thank goodness!" Lilanei cries as she presses her forehead against his and clenches her eyes shut, continuing, "I was afraid I might have lost you again!"

"I'd have rather died. . . than lose you again too," Locke mumbles before he closes his eyes once again. "I was having this terrible dream. There were Orcs. . . and all the ale had gone. . ."

Lilanei lifts her head away from his, placing his head softly on the ground as she withdraws her hands and pats him softly on the chest.

"Well, I'm afraid there really is no ale. And I'm equally afraid to say there really were Orcs."

". . . Are we dead?" Locke asks dizzily. "Is that why it's so dark?" In the darkness, his voice becomes strained as be begins to obviously become upset. "Lord, please don't tell me we died before we had a chance to see out our lives!"

Lilanei smiles slightly in the darkness as she says, "We're not dead, you buffoon. That Orc, Orochi, threw us in a cave in the ground. He said something lay in store for us within. Something bad, I fear."

"Nothing is too bad to stop me," Locke groans. "If anything comes at us, I'll protect you."

Lilanei grins and responds, "You won't be protecting anything with your arms tied behind your back like that. I'm going to have to move you. Do you think you can bear it?"

"Heh, Lil, you know me. I'm Locke! I can take anything!"

Immediately, she rises to her feet and walks to the other side of the circle of light to retrieve their sickle and dagger. Returning to Locke's side, she places these weapons on the floor as she kneels down. She then presses her palms against Locke's torso and pushes forward with a grunt in an attempt to roll him over, which he does with a slight groan. Feeling in the dim light for his bonded hands, she finds the rope which ties his hands together. Lil then reaches for her dagger at her side and slowly begins to saw the rope in twain. After a few moments, the rope weakens until it snaps apart, after which Lil undoes the rope from his wrists – essentially freeing them.

"Thanks," Locke replies as he groans and shifts his hands and knees under himself as he slowly rises to his feet.

Placing the dagger next to the sickle on the floor, Lil rises as well and attempts to gaze at his face through the darkness that veils it.

"How are you feeling?" Lil asks with concern.

"I've got a headache," Locke bluntly replies. "But apart from that, I feel okay."

"Thank goodness!" Lil cries just as before, as she then dives forwards suddenly and wraps her arms around his waist in a tight hug – taking no heed to any possible injuries he may have on his person.

"Don't think I'm ungrateful, but what did I do to deserve this?" Locke replies as he wraps his arms around her, hugging her back.

"Just shut up," Lil mutters quietly before adding in a mocking tone. "Don't say I never give you anything."

Locke simply complies, squeezing her a little tighter against him as he sighs and ponders on what to do next; after a few moments, Lil releases her grip on Locke and steps back, squinting up at him as she says, "What should we do now?"

"I don't know," Locke answers. "I can't see a blasted thing."

Lil immediately leans down and picks up her dagger, along with Locke's sickle which she hands directly to him. She then holds the dagger up as a small orb of light begins to form on its pointed tip.

"It won't last very long," Lil says as she begins to wave the dagger about the room, “and we can't see too much, but I suppose it'll help us get our bearings."

"Just as long as it's long enough so I can see your face again," Locke replies weakly as he walks up beside Lil and looks at her. "If this is the end, I'm just happy I wasn't without you."

Lilanei and responds softly, "This won't be the end. . . because I won't let it be."

Locke smiles at Lil before announcing, "Then let's find our way out."

Immediately upon seeing more of their surroundings in the light, Locke notices a large club of wood lying not too far away from them.

"Look," Locke announces as he points to the wood. "Could we use that as a torch? Can you light it?"

Upon seeing the club of wood, Lil cries, "That'll be perfect!"

Immediately, she dashes towards the wood with her dagger, leaving Locke behind in the darkness. She picks up the club and extinguishes the light from her dagger. After a moment, a large beam of light begins to shine from her place in the room as she lights the end of the club with a large ball of fire.

"You sure know how to light somebody's fire," Locke states as he walks over to Lil with a grin on his face.

"Ha ha," Lil says mockingly, narrowing her eyes at him. "In any case, we can use this to find our way out."

Out of nowhere, a sound emits from the silence of the cave. The sound, almost like a slither, echoes through the cave and causes our Heroes to perk up in alarm.

"What was that?" Locke asks anxiously.

"It must be the creature that Orochi spoke of," Lil answers grimly.

Immediately without any warning, a loud screech echoes throughout the cave, causing Locke and Lilanei's attention to center on a large stalagmite that grows up from out of the stone ground as a large worm like creature slithers out from behind it and screeches even louder. The large blue worm-like creature stands in front of the duo, and as it screeches, four long flaps open, revealing a large beak with razor sharp teeth inside and a long pink tongue which slithers around as it cries. Locke and Lilanei have encountered a vicious Grick.

"What is that thing?" Locke cries as he grabs his sickle in defense.

Shoulders slumping in defeat, Lilanei cries, "Not another disgusting insect!"

"I guess this is the nasty Orochi was on about," Locke announces as he waves his sickle in his hand, thinking of what to do.

"Well, it's either it or us now, and I don't plan on dying after what we've been through on Fukai! I'm not letting a lowly worm take my life!" Lilanei cries defiantly.

"That's the spirit!" Locke roars. "Let's get it! Argh!”

On that note, Lilanei dashes forward to strike the Grick with her dagger; however as she charges forwards she trips on a rock on the ground and immediately falls to her stomach in front of the monster – while she still grips the flaming club in her hand to continue to illuminate the cave. As she lays on the ground, Locke is unable to stop himself as he runs right behind Lil, his feet catching hers as he also trips and lands directly on top of Lil.

"Oof!" Locke cries as his head lies beside Lilanei's. "Sorry!"

"Ow. . ." Lil groans out loud as the Glick now screeches once again, saliva dripping from its mouth and raining down on them as it is ready to attack.

The Grick then opens its mouth once more and, to our duo's surprise and disgust, flicks one of its flaps that doubles as a tentacle towards them who now lay face down on the ground. Nevertheless, just as the tentacle is about to strike Locke's back, Locke launches to his feet, grabs Lil, and tumbles out of the way as the tentacle collides with the stone ground – causing the ground to rumble as a few rocks drop from the stone ceiling of the cave. After Locke tumbles on the ground, Lil plunges the unlit end of the torch into ground – allowing it to remain alight so that the may see inside the room. Diving to her feet, Lil thrusts her hands forwards suddenly as energy begin to form in her palms. She draws one of her palms back, which now holds the orb of energy, and then thrusts it forwards as a silver bolt launches from her hand and strikes the worm in its front.

The Grick screeches in anger and surprise as Lil's magical attack strikes it, its front waving with smoke as it slithers in front of Lil. Locke takes this time to regain his wits as he clutches his sickle tightly and runs across the rocky terrain towards the Grick. A large boulder lies in front of him, which he climbs up by pressing his right foot onto the top of the rock before using his right leg to push himself off the ground and up into the air. He flies towards the Grick and plunges his sickle down into its already wounded front, the sickle digging into the top of its skin and grazing it as Locke drops out of the air and leaps back beside Lil.

Noticing that Locke's sickle has just harmed it further, the Grick looks at its potential meal in anger as it screeches once more, its tentacles waving wildly in the air as it does so. Locke lets out a laugh from seeing the large creature suffer their wrath when suddenly the two bottom tentacles of the Grick fly out and strike Locke violently in the chest – the impact of which sends Locke tumbling onto his back from the impact. Seeing Locke fall to his backside, Lilanei rushes in front of him and faces the worm head on. Holding her dagger aloft, its blade begins to crackle with sonic power. As it peaks, this power launches from her blade heading towards the large worm's ugly face; however the Grick thrusts its head up into the air as it lets out a screech of annoyance, causing the bolt to fly past its face and collide with the wall of collapsed boulders behind it – some of the rocks falling out of the wall and onto the ground.

"Be careful, Lil!" Locke notes as he stands to his feet once more. "If we're not, we could bring the cave down on us."

"I'm trying!" Lil cries in frustration.

Right away, Locke rushes from behind Lil and runs towards the Grick. The Grick looks down and sees Locke charging towards it, the rogue diving and weaving to the creature's left and right and causing the Grick to turn its wildly in order to try and keep up with our Hero. To the Grick's distress, Locke seemingly disappears for a moment and within a flash appears in front of the beast, his sickle striking the Grick in the lower half of its body. The Grick, now feeling the urgency of killing its dinner before its dinner kills it, sets its attention towards Lilanei who stands in front of it. The Grick tenses its large body and begins to fall forwards, its large worm-like body once again fully lying on the ground as the shockwave of the impact causes the cave to once again rumble as rocks drop out from the walls and the ceiling. Now on the ground in front of Lil, the Grick opens its mouth as one its tentacles flicks out, striking her in the face – the impact snapping her head back as she is thrown to the ground.

Lilanei immediately begins to stumble onto her hands and knees after being knocked to the ground, panting slightly from the force of the blow. Still on her knees, Lilanei sits upright as she once again grasps her dagger, this time in both of her hands. It crackles once more with the same sonic power as before and with a sudden thrust forward with her dagger, this power erupts from the tip of the blade and launches at the worm in a great whipping motion, which strikes the Grick in the face. Standing to the side and watching Lilanei attack the Grick, Locke decides the time is now to act once again. Taking his sickle, Locke charges towards the creature which had since moved as it now lies on its belly. The monster screeches and just before Locke can issue his attack, the Grick slithers on its large body, causing the end of its large figure to curl back and forth as the end of its body whips into Locke's ankles in a tail whipping motion. The whip throws Locke off his feet and onto the ground beside him. The Grick then begins to turn, the rocky ground under it beginning to be thrown out of the floor as the Grick's body violently rubs against the ground. It looks at Locke who lies a few feet in front of it and screeches once more, the tentacles which adorn its mouth now flicking out at Locke as they viciously begin to whip him, each whipping motion on his body eventually beginning to draw blood.

Now rising to her feet in urgency as she sees Locke being whipped mercilessly, Lilanei attempts to launch a bolt of cold purple energy – much like she used on Locke in Lucio's mansion; however, in her rushed state, the magic simply fizzles and turns to nothingness. After a thorough whipping, Locke finally finds the opportunity to roll backwards and onto his feet. As he does this, the Grick screeches in frustration as its tentacles cannot reach him. Before it has a chance to move, Locke then leaps at the Grick and slashes his sickle across one of its tentacles. As he hits the Grick, he jumps into the air and kicks its tentacles, using the propulsion of the kick to leap over the monster where he lands besides Lilanei once more. The Grick's screech is louder than ever as it begins to turn towards our Heroes once more. The screech, combined with its violent movements, begins to cause more and more boulders from the cave walls and ceiling to fall and collapse around it.

Weary, Locke looks on at the monster before looking to Lil and stating, "Jeez, this thing just won't give up!"

Frowning, Lil responds, "Well this is the creature that the Orcs feed their victims to! I suppose it wasn't going to be an easy fight."

From the rumbling of the cave and the screeching of the Grick, our Heroes hear a call from the other side of the cave.

"Come this way if you wish to live!"

Locke and Lilanei look to their left and in surprise see a small opening in the cave wall. Standing in front of the wall is a Dwarf, holding his own torch. Without hesitation, Locke and Lilanei run to the Dwarf who backs up into the hole in the wall so that our Heroes can rush into it after grabbing their own torch – escaping the Grick which attempts to slither towards them. However, it stops when it realizes that the hole is too small for it to get through and instead lets out another screech of frustration before it slithers to the other side of the cave to look for another source of food. Our Heroes then look to the Dwarf who just offered them their escape. The first thing that strikes Lil and Locke is the fact that this Dwarf has no long beard; in fact, he has no beard at all! They cannot tell how much hair he has under his helmet, but they immediately see that this Dwarf has blue eyes and red eyebrows and for a Dwarf is quite slim and slender in comparison. He has a pouch on the front of his belt, while he holds a torch in his right hand. His body is not covered armour, as it is instead simply adorned in regular clothing.

"That, my friends, is the ever dangerous Grick. Harmless and unknown to you if you live above ground, but once you get down here, it is very deadly. Are you both alright?"

"Not too bad, considering we just went a few rounds with some over grown fish bait!" Locke exclaims.

Lilanei pants and nods in agreement as she says, "I'm alright as well. . . Hey, are you the one the Orcs were talking about?"

"The Orcs?" The Dwarf asks. "It depends. What did they say?"

Lilanei explains, "Just after Orochi threw me into the pit leading into this cave, he said that someone may still be alive down here and that I should tell him that he's lucky. Could that someone be you?"

"Ah yes," the Dwarf replies. "Unless some other hapless victim has been caught in the last few days, it must've been me. Speaking of which, allow me to introduce myself. I am Dorhi, a Dwarf from the town of Tuli. And who might you two be?"

"My name is Lilanei," Lil simply responds.

"I'm Locke," Locke answers. "Locke Kallidin. So, Dorhi, you're from Tuli, eh? Hm, we've had some run-ins with that place before."

"Really?" Dorhi asks. "You've been to Tuli?"

"Yes, but," Lil stops as her face is overcome with a frown and she continues, "it wasn't on the very best of terms."

"Why is that?" Dorhi asks in surprise. "The locals are quite friendly, even to strangers. I should know – I wasn't originally born there."

"Well, we—" Lil stops as she glances anxiously at Locke.

"To be honest, Dorhi," Locke begins bluntly. "We managed to get the Duchess killed and nearly had Bront's daughter eaten by an Ettercap."

"Ah," Dorhi says. "So, you're the two humans who were responsible for all that. Hm, quite a messy business, really. However, despite the Duchess being slain by your hands, most of the town recognize that you did what you could to save the Duke's daughter. So, we figure you can't be all bad – plus you killed that Ettercap! That thing made me terrified to go out of Tuli, which is quite hard because I'm a courier, you see."

Lilanei curiously leans forward as she asks, "So Dorhi, how did you ever make it into this predicament?"

"Not too much, unlike yourselves I imagine!" Dorhi replies with a little laugh. "I was on my way to deliver a message to the Baron of Illias from my Duke and stopped to rest as it was getting late. But, before I could actually make camp for the night, a pair of Goblins ambushed me and stole my bag! As you can imagine, I have a lot of letters and parcels I need to deliver across Murrad, so I needed it back. Little did I know, by chasing them, I had walked right into the arms of Orochi and his men. They took my goods and simply tossed me into this cave. I was almost a victim of the Glick, but as I'm small and had the resources to light a fire, I was able to just escape the Glick's wrath and run into this hole in the wall."

"Well, we were captured at an awkward moment," Locke grumbles. "It was tonight, actually. They caught us resting in our tent and took us by surprise."

"Hm, awkward?" Dorhi echoes, before asking with a chuckle as he tries to lighten the mood, "Intruding on a tender moment, perhaps?"

"Erm," Lil stammers as she awkwardly gazes away.

"I won't probe any further," Dorhi chortles. "Well, Locke and Lilanei, I've got to tell you that this isn't the most ideal situation for any of us to be in. That Glick's home is the entire cave there. I've found this small route myself, but it is quite treacherous and to be frank, I haven't had the nerve to go it alone since I hear. . . things moving around further down the tunnel. However, I do smell and feel fresh air blowing from somewhere, so I am quite confident that this tunnel will eventually lead somewhere that will get us out of this cave. That is, if you two are not willing to give up on life."

"Definitely not!" Lilanei exclaims in determination. "We've been through much worse, so I'd prefer it if we could make it out of this situation unscathed as well."

"Indeed," Locke agrees. "Beside, if we've got a chance to pay this 'Orcli' back, then I can't wait to get my hands on him!"

"Do you mean Orochi?" Dorhi asks, blinking in confusion.

Lilanei sighs as she explains, "Don't mind Locke. He's a bit of a block head."

"Locke the Block!" Dorhi exclaims with a chuckle. "You are quite witty, Lilanei."

"Yes," Locke bluntly says. "Too bad I'm always the subject of it."

Lilanei smiles as she quips, "You're just such an easy target, that's all!"

"Well, it's good to know that I've met two people who are as spirited as you are. Your spirit gives me great confidence. Let's see what lies past this tunnel and see if we can get revenge on Orochi and his men," Dorhi announces with hope.

Dorhi turns to walk back down the tunnel where he came from when Locke places a hand on Lilanei's shoulder.

"Wait," He hisses.

Lilanei turns to Locke with a confused expression on her face and says, "What is it?"

"A Dwarf from Tuli?" Locke states. "What happened the last time a Dwarf from Tuli saved us from a beasty?"

Lilanei frowns as she mulls over Locke's question, before responding, "I know it looks suspicious. . . But we really have no choice this time, do we?"

"I understand your fear," Dorhi announces, now stopped in his tracks while he looks back to our Heroes. "I heard all about what happened in Tuli, and it was a very horrible situation. But believe me, I am no beast in disguise. I'm simply Dorhi, a Dwarf who just wants to do his job, deliver a letter, and go home to his wife."

Placing her left hand on Locke's own hand which rests on her shoulder, Lil squeezes his fingers lightly before saying, "I say we trust him. If anything suspicious happens, however, we'll know to be wary."

Locke stares at Lilanei for a moment before finally nodding as he takes his hand away from her shoulder – but not before squeezing it back lightly.

"Nothing suspicious will come from me, I promise you," Dorhi announces. "But be wary. I know not what lies beyond this tunnel. I know there are things lurking beyond it, but what, I cannot say. So please, don't think I'm luring you into a trap."

"Okay, Dorhi," Locke replies. "We'll stick together."

"Very well. Follow me," Dorhi replies before he once again turns and walks down the tunnel with Locke and Lilanei following close behind him – as shadows are made by the torches lighting the way down the ominous narrow tunnel.

Each footstep that our Heroes take along with Dorhi echoe in the caverns of the dark cave. Both Dorhi's and Lilanei's torches illuminate the tunnel well enough that they can see twenty five feet in front of them. Along the way, they see various things: small rats squeaking and scurrying about the tunnel, spiders hanging off webs from the rocks that make up the tunnel walls, and even some water that either drips or flows in a very small stream down the sides of the rock wall.

"So, tell me," Dorhi begins, trying to take the tension out of the atmosphere. "What are you two up to, to come around these parts, anyway?"

"We're looking for our master, who went missing just a few days ago," Lilanei answers.

"Goodness!" Dorhi exclaims. "How did he go missing? Was he kidnapped like I?"

"He helped Locke save me from an evil man, but after we escaped, he shortly disappeared from the island," Lilanei explains again.

"I left him fighting the 'evil man' in question," Locke elaborates. "They were fighting tooth and claw. I wanted to stay to make sure our master left with us okay, but he wouldn't have it. . . I'm sure he took down Lucio though! Nobody can match up to Akorrin, not when all is said and done."

"Lucio, eh?" Dorhi echoes. "Is he as evil as Orochi?"

"Possibly more evil!" Lilanei exclaims in slight annoyance.

"Well, one thing you'll come to learn, my children, is that there is indeed much evil in this world, and it is great evil. Sometimes, it doesn't even come in the form of a monster, or a different race. Remembering that will serve you well as you look for your master, I'm sure," Dorhi announces to our two Heroes.

Locke and Lilanei, with Dorhi leading the way, continue on their path down the long tunnel, still listening to the dripping coming from the water that sinks down from the ground above them into the cave they are currently trapped in. As they pass a smooth formation of rocks that makes up part of the wall, they notice a large white “X” branded on the side of it.

Lilanei stops suddenly, before shining the light of the torch which see still holds on the wall, and says, "Look at this. I wonder what it could mean."

"X's are never a good sign," Locke announces grimly.

"Oh, that!" Dorhi says as he looks to the “X” Lilanei is referring to. "Don't worry about that. It's nothing sinister; well, when I say that, I mean I'm the one who drew it, with some chalk," he explains. "That 'X' means I haven't been past this part of the tunnel yet, as I have been too afraid to move past this point due to the tunnel widening out a little further away – and I have on many occasions heard movement from here."

Lilanei grimaces and mutters, "Perhaps it's another Grick."

"I don't know about that," Dorhi announces. "I'm not sure the cave is as wide down here as it is back there, and that Grick needs a lot of room to move around. They can burrow, but for some reason, it hasn't bothered while I've been here. Maybe it's because it has eggs or something in that part of the cave, or maybe the rock is just too hard for it to burrow through, I don't know. No, I believe whatever is lurking beyond this corner of the tunnel is something more."

"What? Something more vicious?" Locke asks. "Let it be; nothing can take us on!"

Lilanei rolls her eyes and utters, "Yeah, nothing. Except Orcs, Goblins, Bugbears, that Grick back there—"

"All those things just got the drop on us!" Locke cries defensively. "You know I'm good in a fight!"

"Hm, I suppose so," Lilanei retorts with a grin. "You make an excellent human shield."

Before Locke can respond, Dorhi speaks up, "Children, children. I'm pleased to see that your spirit has not wavered despite the adversity of this cave. But, we need to stay vigilant, and we need to stay quiet. Anything could ambush us, okay?"

Slightly embarrassed, Lilanei simply responds, "Okay."

"That's a good idea," Locke seconds.

The group continue to travel onwards along the narrow, long tunnel. After a while of walking, to which feels like a lifetime to Locke and Lil, the group eventually stumble upon a wider opening in the tunnel mouth – allowing at least two of the group to walk side by side instead of all of them walking in single file.

"Getting wider, and getting lighter," Locke exclaims as he looks back down from where they came. "Maybe we're getting closer to the surface."

"Perhaps," Dorhi says before pointing to the walls. "But also, look at the walls here. My father was a builder and specialized in foundation, and he taught me some of his craft. This isn't a natural formation of the cave. Somebody or something has been down here and literally broken the walls further apart."

Lilanei mulls over his words before saying, "Could the Orcs have dug this tunnel?"

"Maybe," Dorhi replies. "Although for what, I'm not sure. What reason would they have to come down here and build a tunnel, if they use this pit to toss away their enemies?"

"Well, Orochi did talk about invading our hometown, Illias," Locke announces. "Maybe it's some kind of tunnel to infiltrate the large walls that guard our town."

Lilanei cries, "I hope not!"

"Well, we can't answer that now," Dorhi explains. "Let's just keep moving."