Camilla felt infinitely better for the few bites of food, she was hungry enough that the dirty water and slightly spoiled meat didn’t phase her for more than a moment. Truthfully she had probably eaten worse at some of the roadside taverns she and Cydric had stayed at when their funds were at their lowest. Already her mind seemed clearer, her thoughts sharper, as though a fog had been pulled back from her senses. Her hand closed around the hilt of her sword and she slid it from her belt without a sound. She guestured to Cydric and flattened herself against the black basalt wall.

Keys rattled in the lock and the door swung open with a curious whir of tumblers. A dark figure, commensurate in size to Skaldi stepped in, a lantern was clutched in its hands but the fingernails were fused into black claw like talons. The figure was dressed in robes of red and brass with a strange tall hat. A full beard, braided with odd geometric ornaments hung beneath glowering red eyes. The dwarf thing stepped into the room and held the lantern high, large nostrils quivering. A questioning voice in the same dark tongue Camilla stepped behind the creature into the doorway. 

A second creature, holding a brass and gold rod, stood before her eyes widening with shock. She thrust the point of her blade into its throat with a twist of her wrist. Behind her she heard the sound of Cydric’s blade slicing the thick air followed by a crunch and a wet thump. The creature impaled on her blade gurgled blood for a moment and she eased the body down, using the elven steel as a lever against the things weight. She turned to see Cydric stooping to clean his blade on the tunic of the Chaos Dwarf he had decapitated. Myrmidia, the thing had tusks. Skaldi stepped passed her and seized the one Camilla had slain and dragged it through the doorway. She stooped and picked up the strange rod and followed, careful to close the door only to within a fingers breath in case it locked.

“Neatly done,” Konrad observed, lowering his greatsword.

“We have had plenty of practice,” Camilla said, giving Cydric a fond smile as she crouched and began searching one of the corpses.

“What if there had been more than two?” the greatsword asked.

“I could have taken two, besides the best fighter will generally in the lead, better for Cydric to take him,” Camilla explained. Several pouches were secured on a belt of woven metallic strands. She opened each in turn uncovering a handful of odd black metal coins, an unidentified powder and, amazingly a fist sized block of cheese. She sniffed the cheese and took a bite. It was fearfully dry but otherwise the same as one might find in any village in the Empire. In Tilea it would certainly have been blended with olive oil or wine. She tossed the block to Cydric and tucked the coins into her own pouches.

“I suppose I didn’t think of it that way,” Konrad admitted. Camilla tapped a fingertip against her temple and straightened up.

“You are used to fighting out in the open in formations. Tunnel fighting is something else again,” Skaldi rumbled, peering through the thin sliver of doorway to keep watch.

“You know it seems to me that everytime we go underground, things go poorly for us,” Camilla complained. It did seem that subterranean places were synonymous with misfortune. It wasn’t like there was much choice, but then there never did. 

“What are we going to do about her?” Camilla asked, nodding towards Dietricha. Yantz stood up, looking wary. He stepped forward placing himself between the unconscious wizard and the rest of the party.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“Well I would assume transporting us will be a little more taxing than cooking meat?” Camilla asked, placing a fist on each hip.

“Yeah so?”

Camilla nodded towards the unconscious wizard.

“It doesn't look like she is in shape to light a candle.”
[@POOHEAD189]