The great horde of mutants had still not returned to the caves in any great number. The companions met a few lingering defiled who had come back early, but they were able to mostly dispatch or avoid these creatures without much trouble. Thankfully the darkness of night still covered the realm, though dawn was now very near, likely less than an hour away.
Leor let a deep breath into his lungs as the cool night breeze ran across his body. The fresh air of the outside world was incredibly refreshing, especially after spending so long in the dank caves.
The companions made their way across the mountainside toward Drelk's fortress with vigor, their steps lightened by the nearness of their journey's end. Still, they were forced to move with even greater stealth than usual, because Bone had lost his cloak. Without the concealment of the precious enchanted item, it was much harder to slip through unnoticed. Thankfully, Bone was a Highblood Beast, so his ability to conceal his presence even without the cloak was second to none.
Finally, after nearly twelve hours of nonstop struggle, the companions beheld the sight of the large fortress doors once again. As they moved through the fields toward the entrance, the doors began to swing open even before they had made their presence known. The old elf must have been anxiously waiting for them this entire time, and noticed their approach before they could even announce themselves.
The great doors split open, and the warm light of the fortress spilled out into the darkness. They had made it home in one piece.
Three days quickly passed after the attack on the fortress and the daring nighttime rescue of young Rynn. During that time, Thale worked tirelessly to gradually heal all the injuries sustained during the ordeal, though he focused most of his attention on Drelk and Leor. He paid special attention to the old elf because he didn't have a Beastly body, and his injuries were so severe that he could hardly walk. Leor, on the other hand, was given particular attention because Thale was desperately hoping to retain Leor's aid in saving more of his defiled kin.
Leor sat on the makeshift bed in his dusty bedroom as Thale slowly wiped the sweat from his own brow. He had just completed another round of healing on the young human's arm, and this should be the final treatment. Leor's own body possessed a tremendously powerful healing ability, so Thale was able to add the extra fuel needed to turn a speedy recovery into a miraculous one.
Leor untied the linen cloth from his neck, allowing his broken arm to fall loose for the first time in days. There was a slight hint of soreness still in the limb, but overall it felt as good as new. Leor clenched his fingers tightly into a fist as he felt the strength of his healed arm.
He wore a satisfied grin as he looked up at Thale.
"You have my thanks. Laying around and healing is my least favorite activity, so I was quite happy to receive your offer of treatment."
Thale waved his hand dismissively, a humble smile on his lips.
"It's the least I could do, Leor. You quite literally saved my life only a few days ago,"
The two made their way out of the repurposed supply building that served as Leor and Alina's home, walking down the cobblestone street as they made conversation.
The fortress had become a far busier place over the past few days, as the dozens of dark elf survivors began to make the place their home. Unused buildings were quickly cleaned and restored, the fortress was scoured for necessities like bedding or clothing, and one older elf even requested smithing equipment so he could resume his life's work of crafting weapons, armor, and various other adventuring necessities.
Others among the new inhabitants had raided Drelk's small armory, claiming suits of leather armor and many of the weapons for themselves. Thankfully, the Guard Captain's crossbow that Leor had his eyes on was left untouched, so the young man quickly snatched it and kept it in his room to use as soon as he was healed.
The vast underground fortress still couldn't be called bustling, since a few dozen dark elves were hardly enough to fill the massive place, but it was more lively than Leor had ever seen it.
As they were walking, a group of three young male dark elves passed through the opened fortress entrance. Each wore light armor, with short bows on their backs and daggers at their waists. The small group was working together to drag the corpse of a mid-sized defiled stag.
Leor raised an eyebrow in approval at the sight. The defiled stags were numerous in the forest around the fortress. The creatures weren't very powerful or threatening. In fact, unlike most defiled, the stags tended to run from fights rather than toward them, but their speed and durable bodies made them difficult to hunt down. It was much easier to just slay one of the many other defiled in the nearby area during a hunting trip.
At the head of the group was a young elf named Veyrick. He had been the son of a noble family in Draemyr, his father being some big shot in the city government. Leor had initially disliked the young elf, finding his attitude a bit arrogant and off-putting, but the elf had quickly recruited a team for himself and set to work making himself stronger. That sort of initiative was something that Leor could appreciate.
Veyrick's group had quickly learned the ins and outs of the fortress, and as soon as they discovered the relative value of meat in this place, they started a hunting party to grow their wealth while they trained. The small team of elves had gone to the trouble of hunting the stag because its meat was considered rare and high quality to the Beasts of the fortress.
Leor watched with a grin as Veyrick's group dragged the carcass toward the Beast area while he and Thale continued through the fortress doors outside.
"I won't take up much more of your time, Leor. You know what I am going to ask you.", Thale looked up toward Leor with a pleading expression, "Please help me. Come with me tonight when the sun sets, and use your incredible ability to save more of my people. It isn't just a selfish request on my part, the more people we save the greater your odds of getting off this realm become," Thale suggested.
Leor's brow furrowed as he turned to glance at the elf walking beside him.
"Oh? How so? I understand you want to save your people. I also don't like the idea of leaving people in such a nightmarish state. However, I can't spend all my time trying to save others. We don't have forever to discover a way out of this realm. If I save every one of them, and then we all perish together between Viridrak's teeth, how does that help?"
Thale's expression became severe. He felt like the future of his people was resting in his hands at this moment, so he couldn't afford to make a mistake here.
"Because… you need knowledge! Isn't that right? Have you and Alina even discovered any possible methods to possibly achieve your goals?" Thale countered.
Leor scratched the back of his head as he listened, before shrugging his shoulders.
"No, we're still working on that," he answered honestly.
Thale nodded firmly at his words, holding his palms out as he continued.
"Right! You don't even know where to start. But do you know who might know? Someone who worked in and around the tower of Draemyr their whole life. Leor, the knowledge we need to survive could very well be waiting for us inside the mind of one of my defiled brethren!" Thale nearly shouted the words, before taking a breath and continuing more calmly. "Ehem. Look, I just had an idea. If you're worried about wasting time on this endeavor, I can put together a team to capture defiled dark elves. You would only need to quickly use your Willpower talent to cleanse them!"
Leor's brow rose as he listened to the offer, slowly realizing that he had no reason to disagree. If Thale was willing to go so far, then Leor could at least do the much easier work of providing his Willpower.
Thale could see that his words had struck a chord before Leor even replied, a smile of relief slowly stretching across his features.
"So, what do you say, Leor? Won't you help me save my people?".
Leor let out a light breath as he pressed his lips together, slowly nodding his head in assent. Thale nearly jumped into the air in his joy, clenching his fists tightly as he began to thank the young human.
"Good, good! You won't regret this. My people are bright and hard-working. They will only improve our odds of surviving. You've made the right choice!"