章 80: Aftermath

Leo woke on a cold stone floor, naked and covered in blood. He saw Iris not far away in the same situation. He realized that she must've shifted right after he did. He couldn't even recall what happened after he changed, he looked around and saw the axe and hammer nearby. He felt the sudden pang of the loss of Karl, and would've cried if he didn't have Iris to take care of. He crawled over to her and gently woke her up.

The first thing Iris did when she woke was start heaving. Leo was scared that she would start throwing up parts of people, but was relieved when it was only dry heaving. After she spent several minutes trying to clear her empty stomach Leo went to find something to cover her nakedness. He found a cloak nearby, and wrapped her in it without a care for himself. After the two regained some of their strength, they started the journey back to Tirdaral. It took several hours to get through the tunnels, but they eventually found their way out again by following the scent of the freshest air.

There was a small group waiting for them, and at its head was Agmundr. When they saw Leo and Iris they immediately sent for some fresh food and clothes, while Agmundr walked forward and checked on them.

{thank the gods the two of you are alright, what happened to you two?} though it was a little soon to start interrogating them, he needed to know what it was they did exactly. He never heard of someone outside beastmen champions changing shape, but only Leo was the champion and they both changed into the same thing.

{we're a new race called werewolves, we change form at will or when our emotions get intense. It also heightens our senses and physical abilities. Due to my connection to Artemis, she makes it so that I alone lose control during the full moon and transform. That's why I insisted on being locked up last full moon.} Agmundr looked thoughtful at Leo's words, before the things he sent for arrived. After Leo and Iris changed in a private area, they started wolfing down their food. Iris especially was ravenous after her first transformation.

{I got the bastard.} she said when she talked for the first time after reverting back. Leo was surprised, and Agmundr looked shocked. He then asked,

{are you sure? You got the man who killed Karl?} Leo didn't even see who did it, so knowing Iris did and got the guy would Leo give him some closure. She nodded and explained.

{he was wearing some shiny armor, and blocked several of my arrows. When I was waiting for the next batch, I saw Karl rush at him and attack. The man apparently specializes in speed because he dodged Karl's hammer with ease and it only took the one attack to kill him. I rushed right for him, and didn't even realize I changed. I made sure that my claws got him and he went flying back into the wall.} after saying her peace, Iris went back to eating. Leo didn't press her more because he knew how draining the first change was.

What none of them knew, was that due to an insane stroke of luck, Alex was actually alive. He had returned to the capital of the Helian kingdom, but instead of being a hero he was known as the one who fled the battle. Because he had the tunnels collapsed, no one else had seen the "beasts" he claimed scarred him. He was then branded a coward, and was accused of abandoning the thousands of men left in the mountains. But because he was a champion, and therefore an asset even as a coward, he was spared a harsh punishment. Not only that but the women around him had abandoned him due to his scarring, and failure.

Leo was completely unaware of all of this, and continued eating his food. His main concern was facing Runa and lemmik later, when he couldn't save Karl. At least, until Agmundr mentioned another thing.

{about your offer to join you in the north, does it still stand?} Leo was surprised. He expected that the dwarves would refuse him until he could offer a kind of compensation.

{it is, but I require that you'll have to be under my leadership due to my blessing and to prevent conflict. And you have to realize, we may not have the means to support your entire race right away, but the right amount of effort from everyone will soon change that.} Agmundr nodded as if he had already expected that, and continued.

{they blocked the tunnels to the surface below, in other words were trapped here. It won't be hard to unblock them, but nothing keeps them from just blowing them up again, and we can't survive here if there's no trade from their efforts. So it's either slowly starve, or make a gamble.} Leo nodded in understanding. In the time he had been here he had learned everything he could about their lifestyle.

Though there were numerous mountain ranges there actually wasn't very much game due to the fact that it was so impossible to reach this area. As for farming, the high elevation actually limited their crop yields, so they had to rely on dwarven caravans and active trade from those who still desired dwarven products. By blocking the access from the mountain, the humans were now essentially choking the dwarves to annihilation. The only reason they had survived this long were their massive stockpiles of supplies.

Leo and Agmundr then set the time for a meeting, to decide the dwarves fate and when to migrate them to the northern mountains.