Translator: CinderTL
Eversong Forest.
The land was shrouded in an eternal twilight, as if time itself had slowed its pace here.
The Elf Fountain, which once flowed with silver radiance, now reduced to a mere trickle. The silver-roofed buildings, carved with ancient runes, still stood, but most were silent and empty, with only a few scattered windows emitting a faint glow.
Towering yew and silver birch trees cast long shadows across the forest. Occasionally, a few figures could be seen hurrying through the trees, but the bustling prosperity of the past was gone.
An invisible tension permeated the air, so thick that even the falling leaves seemed to carry a sense of vigilance.
Elven patrol squads in light armor moved silently along the forest paths, their sharp eyes constantly scanning every dark corner. The entire forest was enveloped in an atmosphere of high alert.
At the edge of the forest, deep within an ancient stone fort built into the mountainside, the light abruptly dimmed.
Sparse patches of moss, emitting a faint green glow, were embedded in the walls, providing the only illumination for this underground space.
The damp, chilly air was thick with the scent of old stone dust and a faint hint of mildew.
Narrow corridors were flanked by cells carved from rough stone. On the heavy iron bars, ancient runes had long since lost their glow.
In the deepest cell of the dungeon, Avril hung suspended from a central stone pillar by heavy iron chains.
Deep red welts were chafed into her slender wrists by the shackles. Her short brown hair, which had always bounced with her every move, now hung lifelessly over her forehead, obscuring part of her face.
Her eyes, once sparkling with mischief and curiosity, were now cast down, as if covered in a layer of ash, dull and lifeless.
The corners of her mouth, usually curved in a smile, were pressed into a tight downward line. It was as if all the life had been drained from her, leaving only the desolation and exhaustion of a prisoner—a stark contrast to the spirited and lively elf girl she had once been.
Just then, a voice tinged with a hint of helplessness drifted from the neighboring cell.
"I warned you, Miss Avril."
Galvis sighed softly.
"Though much time has passed since the Silverleaf Council of Elders issued the warrant for your arrest, those old fossils won't just withdraw their orders because of the passage of time."
In stark contrast to Avril, the bard, though imprisoned with her, appeared far more composed.
Unbound, he leaned casually against the stone wall, his long fingers tapping a rhythmic beat on his knee as if playing an invisible instrument.
"If you ask me, Miss Avril," he said, his voice still carrying that peculiar, melodic cadence, "you might as well tell them everything about your dealings with the drow."
"In light of your past service to the Silver Moon Guard, the elders would at least spare your life, rather than—" He paused, his fingers plucking an unseen string in the air, his voice dropping to a grave tone. "—letting you stubbornly remain silent."
"The rumors I'm hearing aren't good. Those old fools are already in their secret chamber debating how to execute you. Burning at the stake? Exile to the Withered Realm? Or... some even more ancient punishment? Believe me, it won't be—"
"Enough, Galvis!"
Avril snapped her head up. Beneath her disheveled brown hair, a flicker of indignant rage ignited in her once-dim eyes.
"I've told you, I've said everything I know about the drow! Every detail, every encounter—I told them all!"
Galvis clicked his tongue softly, his voice carrying the exaggerated lilt of a bard.
"Oh? Including the part where you claim to have been chosen by the Spider Queen Lolth while completely unaware, and then, as if sleepwalking like a puppet on strings, you wandered right into the Dark Elves' subterranean lair?"
He shook his head.
"Come now, Miss Avril. Even the most hackneyed poet wouldn't dare fabricate a plot so... lacking in rhythm."
"Believe it or not!"
Hearing the undisguised skepticism in his voice, Avril snorted and whipped her head away. The iron chains rattled with a harsh, grating sound from her violent movement.
After her outburst, a heavy silence descended upon the cell.
The elf girl set her jaw stubbornly, but deep down, she knew how absurd and ridiculous her story sounded.
After all, by all rights, being chosen as a chosen of the Spider Queen Lolth must mean a profound acceptance or faith in that dark deity's tenets.
Otherwise, how could that goddess, renowned for her cruelty and cunning, have bestowed such a "blessing"?
But...
Recalling those days—a blur of memories shrouded in thick mist—and the horror and confusion she felt upon waking to find herself in a Drow Temple in the Underdark, Avril closed her eyes in pain and slowly shook her heavy head.
Everything she had said was true.
Even if that truth sounded more laughable than a lie.
"Alright, alright."
Galvis sighed, finally pushing himself up from the wall and brushing the dust from his clothes.
"Can we at least start thinking about how to get out of this godforsaken place now?"
He paced to the iron bars, his gaze sweeping carefully over every corner of the cell.
The heavy stone door was sealed tight, and the rhythmic footsteps of a guard echoed from outside.
The runes on the walls, though dimmed and stripped of their former brilliance, still pulsed with a faint magical resonance. It was clear that any attempt to cast a spell would instantly trigger an alarm.
The ceiling was crisscrossed with a fine web of surveillance crystals, so dense that even a moth couldn't escape their gaze.
"They're truly losing their minds..." Galvis muttered under his breath, his voice laced with exasperation.
"What has gotten into the Council of Elders these past few years? I merely argued at the hearing that the 'evidence was insufficient and the proceedings were unfair' on your behalf, and they threw me in here with you for it..."
Avril remained silent for a moment, her voice raspy when she finally spoke. "Why... why did you speak up for me back then?"
Galvis, who was crouching to inspect the seams of the stone wall, didn't look up as he replied.
"First of all, while I'm skeptical of your story about 'sleepwalking into becoming a chosen,' I did promise Roland I'd bring his lively elf companion back in one piece."
His fingertips tapped a loose stone, and his tone suddenly grew playful.
"And second..."
He stood up and turned to the girl bound in iron chains, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
"I suspect that even our former Valkyrie of the Silver Moon Guard couldn't truly be so indifferent to death. Besides..."
He deliberately drawled the last word.
"...even if you were to die, I imagine you'd rather fall into the arms of a certain someone than end it all alone in this damp, cold dungeon, wouldn't you?"
Avril snapped her head up, her brown eyes flashing with the panic of having her secret exposed, which quickly ignited into a flame of mortified anger.
(End of the Chapter)
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