Office Romance with a Werewolf - Chapter 158

After they explored the tunnels for a week, Randell and Nida returned to the surface to prepare for the departure. Thankfully Ranz still let them stay with her, while her and ranz were still mourning. They were pretty busy for the next several weeks as the word spread of the migration. Most of the dwarves rejected the idea, but eventually had to give in or they would have been left behind to starve or be enslaved. There were several that stayed behind, and some only agreed to leave because Randell mentioned the possibility of them returning one day.

There was also the fact that another full moon came, and Randell had to spend another night in the dwarves black cells. He also had to explain what they found in the labyrinth, and what might threaten them when migrating. The Chiefs were quite surprised to find that Randell and Nida managed to fight everything they came across, and they didn’t block any tunnels, but merely left traps so they would still be useable later. In fact, after finding that most of what was down there was edible, Randell wasn’t as proactive in killing them because the monsters could be emergency food supplies.

He then mostly helped with the preparation for the caravans and moving leave. They had carts that they were loading up, and surprisingly they could run on little tracks they made in the tunnels leading down to the labyrinth. Randell once again realized that the dwarves were truly amazing. After three weeks of preparation, they were finally ready for leaving.

{How many all together are going?} Randell asked Wendell as he led the way down to the tunnels. Wendell shook his head and replied,

{only about three quarters of us here, so about six thousand all together.} Randell didn’t know what to think at the number. On one hand it was a lot of people to provide protection and a future for, on the other it wasn’t enough to truly make a difference against the purge yet. He could only hope that they’ll get the numbers they needed from the elves and beastmen. They would have enough to rebuild San Antonio though. But then Wendell said something that surprised Randell,

{there’s still caravans out there traveling, the ones who stayed behind will direct them to follow us, and we’ll have at least a thousand more arriving, maybe more.} Randell felt this was promising though, since they would have more joining them, but will also give them more time to prepare.

Randell was thinking about future arrivals as he made his way down to the labyrinth. Once he made it down to the tunnels, he and Nida waited for more of the caravan to show up, and they started their journey. During the time they were down here previously, both Randell and Nida studied the maps and tunnels so that they could learn the way through.

As they traveled through the tunnels, it took several days before they ran into another monster. This time it looked like a giant insect, some kind of beetle with horn. This time instead of transforming, Randell wanted to try fighting it with his battle axe. As the beetle flew at him and Nida, he rolled to the side and swung at its legs. Though the beetles shell was hard, he managed to get through two legs with one swing thanks to his strength and chi.

The beetle roared in pain, and barely kept its balance with its third leg on that side. As it spread its wings to charge Randell again, Nida used her ability to leap over the beetle and severed one of its wings. It roared in pain once again, and Randell kept forward and swung his axe down on the joint between its head and body, effectively decapitating it.

Randell glared at the beetle, of course the first thing they killed this time wasn’t something they could use for rations. He shook his head, and went back to escorting the caravan through the tunnels.

They had been traveling for several weeks in the tunnels. Due to burrowing monsters and any attacking the rear of the caravan where Randell and Nida couldn’t help, they had lost almost a hundred dwarves. This didn’t dampen their spirits though, as they expected to lose many more in this dangerous move. The bigger problem was the dwindling supplies of food and water. They were able to use certain monsters for extra rations, or find an underground river, but with no certainty if a monster would be edible or if there was a river they couldn’t help but be concerned.

Randell on the other hand, was starting to feel the pressure from being underground so long. He figured he wouldn’t be as affected if he moved at his normal pace, but he had to wait for the caravan behind him. Nida was similarly feeling it, as she grew up in a forest without any sort enclosure. This was the first time she was so enclosed for so long, and she didn’t like it. They were getting noticeably better though, as according to the maps they might only be down there for another day or two at the most.

{let’s call it a day, Nida and I will scout ahead and see if the exit is nearby.} when they heard his words the dwarves became noticeably excited, as even though they loved being underground it was a different story being in the labyrinth. As they all started settling for the night, Randell and Nida started rushing ahead. Though they couldn’t leave, the rush of the wind as they swiftly made their way through the tunnels was enough to calm them somewhat. They moved through the darkness, and Randell spotted movement ahead. He signaled Nida and they stopped to examine the monster. It was a large hairy animal, that had two horns on its head, that wasn’t that caught Randell’s attention though.

“That’s a horned bear!” Randell exclaimed with excitement as he recognized the scent. If it was a horned bear then it might mean that it wandered in somewhere and they were closer to the surface than they thought. Nida swiftly drew her bow, and loosed an arrow at its head. Even in the dark of the cave the arrow found the eye she aimed at, and the bear went down with only a weak groan.

After they brought down the beast they returned to the caravan with the carcass, and explained the situation. After leaving it for the nights rations, they returned to exploring the tunnels to find the exit. The two had spent over an hour searching, and only barely caught the scent of fresh air. They became even more excited than when they found the bear, and rushed towards the scent until it started becoming stronger. After several more minutes, they saw light ahead, and finally for the first time in well over a month saw the sky above them as they left the cave.

Randell and Nida were ecstatic as they were finally “home”. They breathed in the scent of the trees, the smell of the breeze going through them. They listened to the animals in the brush, and the creeks gurgling nearby. Neither one realized how much they missed the mountains until they had returned. Randell and Nida looked at each other, and suddenly felt emotional as he held her face and said,

“We’re home.” Before kissing her passionately. But as much as he wanted to go further, the two held themselves in check as they both reluctantly returned to the cave to report the exit. After a little more than an hour of travel, they found the night camp again and reported what they found to Wendell.

{we found the exit, a little over an hours travel for the two of us, so about a days march from here. Let’s rest up for the night before we finish the journey.} Wendell also became noticeably excited,

{really?! Then we can finally see some sunlight again! Believe it or not, after being in these caves for the last weeks I’ve had enough of being underground for a while. Too much extra stress being on guard all the time.} Randell laughed as he understood what Wendell meant.

That night everyone slept easily as some of their tensions were loosened when they heard they’d be able to leave the next day. Randell and Nida also got the rare chance to sleep all night as several dwarves insisted that they’d wake them if something happened.

After they woke the next morning, Randell and Nida led the dwarves to the exit they found the day before. As the caravan filed their way out of the tunnels they started to cry out with happiness at leaving the labyrinth. It wasn’t long until Randell sensed someone approaching and looked to see several people dressed in leathers in the trees. He smiled and called out to the leader, a familiar woman with three eyes,

“LADY! We’re home!” Lady smiled at him and Nida when she walked over.