Chapter 135: Reunion

POV Eliza

I had planned to focus on the next boss, but I didn't get that far. I felt too confident; I couldn't explain my behavior any other way. I had little trouble with the stronger wights on floor 25, but sometimes I created problems for myself.

In a moment of carelessness, an enemy hit me and I lost my balance. The monsters immediately continued to attack me. I was able to dodge most of the hits, but not all of them. In retrospect, I would have preferred to have been hit instead and defeated them more quickly. As a result, I lost most of my provisions, which were scattered on the floor. I only noticed this after I had defeated all the monsters. But by then, almost everything was unusable. Unfortunately, this meant I had to return to Lightburgh earlier than planned.

At least now I was lucky and got out of the dungeon in the dark. That's why I was able to escape undetected from the soldiers and arrived in the capital after three days. I reported to the palace that I was back in the city, as was my duty as a recruit. There I received the news that I could join an expedition. It was about excavating a slave settlement. I was immediately reminded of the time when I myself was driven from my home with my community. I had to join the expedition and somehow manage to warn the hunted in time. Maybe I could even make contact with them and finally find clues about my people.

I signed up for the expedition and took part in the preliminary meeting. First, we were asked to report on what we had done and achieved in the meantime after the entrance exam. I confessed that I had been caught by a monster during a visit to the dungeon and had sustained some injuries. I received healing, but my development was set back. I was then instructed that, as a wizard, I should not engage in close combat and had to take better care of myself.

Then the actual meeting began. The direction in which the camp was located matched the direction my people had fled, so I was all the more motivated to rescue them. Then we were divided into groups of five with other recruits. I could remember some of their faces, but I couldn't remember their names.

We were allowed to train a little on site before we actually started. I took the opportunity to improve my riding skill to advanced. I would love to take the opportunity to increase my air magic to expert level. Unfortunately, it would then be obvious that I had an improved class, which was not possible due to my outwardly displayed levels. At least I was able to learn more spells. With that, I had learned all the spells in air magic up to advanced level that were known in the capital.

We set off westward and took just under a week to reach the next town, which was located in the middle of a large forest. From there, it was about four days to our destination. I had come up with a plan and hoped that I could carry it out without attracting attention. To do this, I wanted to use the summoning spell that my dark magic offered me.

Halfway there, I began my plan. In the middle of the night, I would briefly leave the camp and summon a creature. My goal was to summon a flying creature that I could then command to carry a small written message and bring it to the settlement of those I was looking for. Since I didn't know beforehand what I was summoning, it took me a few attempts to find a suitable creature. I handed it the letter I had prepared in advance and let it fly away. I repeated this three more times over the next three nights, sending a total of four messages. I hoped that at least one of them would reach its destination.

We didn't dismantle the last camp because it was already close to our destination and was to serve as our base for the next few days. There we received more detailed information on how to proceed.

"Tomorrow it gets serious. Our target is located within a palisade and comprises several dozen people. Among them are humans and non-humans, men and women, and children. Many of them are experienced fighters, so be careful how you behave in an emergency. It is important that we capture everyone alive. Understood? The group leaders stay here and the rest of you dismiss!” <Cornelius>

On the morning of the raid, I could only hope that my plan had worked. As my group approached the settlement, I could sense no presence within the palisade. So my plan had worked, and I was relieved, but I didn't let it show. Fortunately, the others paid little attention to me, so I was able to hide it without any problems. Since the settlement was deserted, the heroes, visibly angry, decided that we should return. There were clear signs that the settlement had been abandoned only recently. They therefore suspected a mole, so I had to be careful not to attract attention.

On the way back to the city, I persuaded two of the recruits to separate from the heroes there and stay behind with me. A suitable dark magic spell made it easier for me to persuade them and made me more convincing. Another effect was that the victim did not willingly remember who had enchanted them. The heroes agreed, and then two more recruits decided to stay with me and the two I had convinced. One of the soldiers' scouts also stayed behind, presumably to watch us.

In my message to the wanted men, I had asked for a meeting. I had specified ten days after the day of the raid as the time and the abandoned settlement as the place. I hoped they were willing to take the risk of meeting with me. I had given the name Mimi. If I found my old folks again, they would obviously know my mother's name. Depending on who I met there, I would appear as Eliza, the dark elf, or Eliza, the human adventurer. Provided, of course, that they didn't suspect a trap and were willing to listen to me.

I had specifically requested 10 days so that I could stay in the city for two days to allow the situation to settle. I also gave the other party sufficient time to reach a decision without feeling rushed.

I spent the two days in the city pretending to learn about the local flora by talking to alchemists and other experts. After that, I traveled back toward the capital. After about an hour, I turned south and walked around the city in the other direction. Then I walked west on the road in my form as Eliza, the human adventurer. I traveled quickly so that I could reach the point where the path led north within two days. I sensed no other presences and turned north. On my way to the abandoned settlement, I made sure to move quickly but not be discovered.

At that pace, I arrived near the settlement in the evening. Tomorrow was the tenth day after the raid. I actually sensed a total of three presences, one in the settlement and two nearby, hidden outside the town. I approached the two outside the town unnoticed in the shadows and used Appraisal on them. The first person was a female hunter named Yuna and the second was a spy named Aslan. The names were two of the three adventurers from my old community. Then the third member of the group of warriors should be Kron. I was greatly relieved because they were fine. Otherwise, they wouldn't be here. And I had found my old friends again.

I decided, of course, to appear as a dark elf, but I concealed the parts of my status that I wanted to keep secret. I knew that Aslan was skilled in appraisal. Then I stepped out of the forest onto the path at a distance and approached the settlement openly. Kron, who had previously been hiding in cover, appeared at the destroyed gate of the palisade. When he noticed me, he put his hand on his sword and called out to me loudly.

“Stop, stay where you are. Are you alone?” <Kron>

“I am, Kron. I'm glad you got my message.“ <Eliza>

”How do you know my name? Appraisal?“ <Kron>

”I don't need it. I know you from before, just like Yuna and Aslan.“ <Eliza>

”Since you know the three of us, you have insider knowledge. We still need to verify your identity. You could have gotten the information through torture.” <Kron>

“You're right, of course, but my appearance and my name should speak for themselves. It's me, Eliza. If you light a lantern or torch, I can step into the light and you can verify it. Then you'll know I'm real. And Aslan can use appraisal on me, just like he did over ten years ago.“ <Eliza>

”Let's do that. Wait a moment.” <Kron>

Kron lit a torch next to the gate, illuminating the entrance area. I noticed the other two approaching as well, weapons in hand. I stepped into the light and pulled the hood off my head. My white hair glowed in the torchlight. My almost black skin was naturally barely illuminated, while my eyes were shining. Behind me, Aslan stepped onto the path, along with Yuna.

“You've grown up, little one. You're taller than me now.“ <Aslan>

”Hello, Aslan, Yuna, it's good to see you all again. How are the others?“ <Eliza>

”If you have time, we'll take you to them. We owe you a debt of gratitude for your timely warning. Everyone is well. One person in particular will be overjoyed to hear that you are safe. Four years is a long time. Come on, let's go before we attract attention here.“ <Aslan>

”Lead the way, I'll follow. I want to see the others again.” <Eliza>

Yuna took the lead and the rest of us followed her. The torch served as a source of light for the others. It took us all night, during which I talked to Aslan. I learned a lot about the life of the community over the past four years. At that time, everyone had been able to flee and had been living here ever since. With wise foresight, they had already searched the area in advance for another old settlement where they could find shelter. We continued eastward, away from the capital. It was safer in the east, but supplies were becoming more difficult to obtain. In return, I also told Aslan a little about myself. I told him that I had been living in hiding under a false name and providing for myself by visiting the Nature Dungeon.

He also asked me how I managed to leave them the message. He told me that Yuna had spotted a flying bat on one of her morning patrols, which she found strange. So she shot the bat with her bow. But when she reached the spot where the dead bat should have been, she found only the letter with my message. That was two nights before the attack. Will then decided, in consultation with others, that it was safer to believe the message and evacuate the camp first. It turned out to be the right decision. Now that the Empire knew the location, they couldn't go back, but I would find out more once we arrived at our destination.

Around noon the next day, we came to a large clearing with many simple huts. I could sense the presence of almost 60 people. That was a few more than before. I was very excited as we approached.

'Finally I'm back, Mama.'

Somewhere in Lightburgh

“Another failure with the heroes? They are not meeting our expectations at all, even though they were only supposed to capture a few slaves. Why did we let the slaves live there undisturbed all these years without capturing them? The whole story is becoming more and more of a nuisance. They only recently started accepting a second class. At this rate, they will die before they are strong enough to defeat a dungeon. Lumos will not be pleased. Go and leave me alone. I must revise my plans.” XXX