Surfacing Ch. 39

Author's Notes: This story is erotic fantasy written by Etaski. I reserve the right to be listed as the author of this story, wherever it is posted. If found posted anywhere except Literotica.com with this note attached, this story is posted without my permission. (c) Etaski 2017.

This is the first part of four in winding things down, and it is also a long arch concerning the Dragons of Miurag. As our Dark Elves find their way up top to make a home outside of the Underdark, one among them is changing in ways he can never fully describe. It has always been a private matter, yet some things can no longer remain hidden.

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Surfacing Chapter 39

The sense of having left something behind was stronger than it had been coming down, despite the fact that all we'd been after was now in our possession.

There stood in my mind knowledge that Gavin was waiting—not anxiously—for me to wander back to the Ley Tower for the third time; that Krithannia, Tamuril, and Talov all expected to see Mourn again when he was done with his three-thousandth mission; and that Furuc and the Wilder would welcome Gaelan back any time she happened to drift into the shadows of their forest...

None of these places or allies had any sense that life and events were not continuing on without us as they had and would continue to do in our absence, no matter how long that absence was.

The Underdark had been beckoning in multiple ways before, but now? Certainly the Dragon and the races below would continue on without us as well, just as the Surface did. That was no matter, and yet... an almost physical tugging remained, not just in me but as I noticed others looking back as well. Even my very first time going up, when we'd only looked forward and pushed as fast as we could adapt, there had been the understanding that our goal was to return to our homeland as soon as possible.

That was not the case here. The awareness of the Underdark not being our original homeland had been hooked deep into my psyche, and that was entwined with what D'Shea had said: practically speaking, there would be "at least a decade" of little or no contact while we all figured out our new games and balances. If contact happened sooner, then something was particularly urgent and not good news.

I could only hope that proximity was the source of the strength for this feeling, that it would get easier the farther away we got.

I reconsidered the idea of our goals being "in our possession" as well, bringing with us those we'd wanted to fetch in the first place. Maybe "under our protection" was the better mind frame for this journey. We had two non-fighter males and one young child, only one of the three having been on a journey this long before and that was decades ago.

There had been a little physical preparation, of course, but it wasn't as though we could have pushed them through a Sisterhood-survival test to increase their endurance and toughen them up. Starting out we were going slower than I ever had before—not an all-bad thing as I conserved some energy being used to grow my son—but it often pulled me out of my usual state of mind I'd long since developed for long travel. It wasn't efficient and more than one of us was aware we couldn't waste too much time.

*Sorry...* Natia signed as we had to stop yet again, eyes wet as she swallowed a whimper.

Gaelan patted her small hands in a silent "shush" and again picked her up. The child clung to her Mother's front while the backpack offset her weight, even as they both burdened Gaelan down further. I heard her whisper a spell to give her temporary strength through more of the cycle.

Jael and I then moved forward to guide the child's legs through straps off her Mother's pack before putting the harness in place to support her beneath her bottom to spare Gaelan's arms. Natia was walking when and as she could, but as expected her feet were badly blistered.

We were three cycles out after leaving Eyin for the final time, and she had escorted us out some distance from the farthest transport circle the Sisterhood maintained.

Eyin had shared in carrying Ruk's Granddaughter because she enjoyed it and took the last opportunity to do so. Despite her life-long habit of silence in these tunnels, with Mourn present she whispered encouragement to the frightened Drow youth—who was trying very hard not to show it.

"Soon you'll be scampering across rocky slopes beneath the clear Sky, just like the General," Eyin had murmured to Natia. "Breathing the vast air carrying scents from distant lands. You'll have to be sure-footed as a Grey Dwarf's gaurro. You'll be careful, won't you? Do as your Mother says, she will keep you safe."

My niece was chewing her lip but patted Eyin's shoulder to acknowledge she was listening. At the mention of the gaurro, I turned my head and blinked at her as well. Holy Goddess, I'd forgotten...

Eyin had sensed my attention and looked toward me. I could have sworn her eyes twinkled; she knew exactly why I had that look on my face. She signed with her hands. *It's alive. Elder D'Shea had to move it out of the lizard stables. Almost died of nerves surrounded by predators. House Bovritz has non-psion Duergar slaves and a few more of their beasts. We sold it to the Matron. Beast rests easier around more of its own kind and they can use it as it's trained.*

I nodded. Reflecting on how long it had been, that probably happened while I was still a Red Sister. I'd just never asked; D'Shea had kept me too busy and then everything happened so fast, and despite the Duergar shard in my skull at the time, she hadn't wanted me to continue using the beast. Too short for most Drow anyway.

Although my Elder had taken care of it in a better way than I'd thought, not unlike my niece after grabbing Gaelan for the Sisterhood. The Sorceress Elder found another place where both could "rest easier." Sort of. Natia only slept better once I'd executed Kaltra for poisoning her own Matron... and unknowingly avenged the death of Natia's sire, my brother I'd never known existed.

Thinking back on that time, rubbing the gold ring still on my finger beneath my glove, I had realized I'd forgotten to ask about another... He and I hadn't crossed paths after I'd emerged from hiding following the attack on the Elder Mind.

*Callitro was healed, wasn't he?* I had signed to Eyin, my last chance at news of battle survivors. *I thought I heard he went down in battle, but someone hauled him out under some circumstance. Last I heard he was alive in the Tower.*

Eyin nodded acknowledgement of my question, looking sober. *Alive, and remembers himself, thanks to your Consort, that's the important part.*

I felt my stomach tighten. *Crippled?*

*Not forever, if he has anything to say about it,* Eyin signed with a tight half-smile.

*What happened?*

*A battle-brother healed some bad wounds on the field and kept him from dying right then, but he was in a coma for a cycle afterward and some bones didn't set quite right as he laid out there waiting for us to find him. It was just a lack of experience on the part of the wizard who healed him, and that one didn't survive anyway.*

*Oh,* I signed, drawing her to pause. *Who saved him?*

Eyin had to think; she tried hard to recall the name she was told, probably by surviving "battle brothers."

*It was 'Raegel,' I think.*

The name had tickled my memory in an odd way, but I was sure hadn't known him, probably never even saw his face. I nodded and motioned for her to continue. *Callitro?*

*He limps and can't use his hands as before to make magic items. But Elder D'Shea is working with him.* Her mouth had twisted. *I think she sees this as an opportunity rather than a loss, although Callitro doesn't see it that way yet. But he will, I know it, because his Elder-Headmistress hasn't given up on him.*

I watched the particular turn of her hands which conveyed something of her own opinion at the same time. *Neither have you or Rausery.*

*Fuck, no,* she confirmed. *Auslan gave him back his mind as we couldn't do, but had too many other patients to focus on, not the least of whom was Vian's Eallo. It was enough for D'Shea that Callitro was awake and remembered who he was, and she moved him to the Tower herself. He hasn't left since, but things are far from over for that wizard.*

I had swallowed. I really hoped she was right. I didn't ask after too many others and Eyin was content to enjoy Natia's weight as she saw us safely through that first cycle before returning home to the City. And Rausery.

*******

The circle itself had saved us a vast distance. Right now we could even say we were several days ahead of where we'd been coming down. However, with Natia and Auslan each shredding their feet within three cycles of walking, the pace was getting sluggish fast. My Consort and my niece both simply had to keep walking to toughen up her feet; there was no other way to make it happen, yet we couldn't push so hard they'd be crippled themselves.

*Morix will be back soon, he can take Natia for a while,* Jael suggested, not for the first time.

Shyntre was adapting well, and had volunteered to take some extra weight from Gaelan's pack when she was starting to drag herself. They both refused to give me anything at first—saying my belly was enough added weight—but Mourn had spoken up and agreed I should retest that, out of necessity. He had been the one to distribute weight at the start and determine what everyone would or could carry, and he had been remarkably accurate on that account.

The majority of the time, Jael was the one most prepared for trouble as she slept a little less than the rest of us. We kept her pack lighter and easy to drop extra weight if she needed to draw her sliders, with or without Mourn present.

Gaelan could only hold so much as she also needed to carry Natia regularly, so Shyntre and I took consistently heavier packs and bore them stubbornly. I watched Shyntre, thought he was quietly impressive, trying not to draw attention to himself, but I saw the evidence that he'd done this before. He had the sore feet and aching back same as me, sure, but he didn't gripe and soldiered on the same that I did. Rausery's training was very clear.

Auslan wanted to do the same, the spirit was there, but he was in a similar situation as Natia physically—his feet were blistering and the endurance wasn't there. Further, no one could carry him for the moment so he simply had to keep walking.

*At least you can cheat,* Shyntre signed in amusement one eve as we were resting. He watched his Brother use magic to soothe aching muscle and bone, closing the open sores to make sure they didn't fester.

*It is not 'cheating',* the healer protested. *What good is my magic if I do not use it to lift the burdens which slow us down? We cannot linger, and I refuse to be the one who forces you all to stop short of your goal, cycle after cycle.*

The Dark Brother didn't argue that point, and Auslan also provided the same comfort to Natia at the end of each cycle, much to Gaelan's relief as she could see her Daughter's pain lessened. Perhaps it delayed the toughness forming by resetting the flesh as it had been, or maybe it actually quickened it because the body could skip the fight against infection and simply make what it needed? We would see fairly soon.

Both healer and child suffered without excessive complaint—just some—but I knew they *were* suffering worse than the rest of us. Regardless, Auslan proved he could soothe our worst aches after the first week, preventing small cuts and sprains from becoming worse by the constant use, and make it easier to rest, so our reverie did some good and we were able to continue on the next cycle.

There were several practical reasons we hadn't taken any sort of mount or pack-animal with us. Most of us agreed it was better for Natia and Auslan to adapt to harsher environments while still in the Underdark. The Surface would add several layers of stress and it would do little good to protect their senses from constant pain only up until that point, when it might simply be too much to bear consciously.

We also had no animal who could transition with us from Underdark to Surface, and no way to "send it back" to the City; it would wander off into the underground, get lost and either starve or get eaten by something else.

"Frankly, we can't really afford to waste even one riding lizard right now," Eyin had commented, agreeing with the plan. Difficult as it was.

Mourn led us, and he was many more things to us as well on this trip: guide, scout, obstacle-clearer, intimidator, defender, hunter... He also accepted being that missing pack animal when Gaelan simply couldn't carry Natia anymore and the child could walk no further without rest and healing.

Mourn would carry Natia on his back between his wings when he didn't have to scout ahead, and Gaelan's Daughter seemed to like that method of travel very much. I didn't blame her; he was the warmest moving carriage one could ask for. One time she even fell into a deep sleep and nearly slipped off as she went lax. We started tying her wrists together in front after that.

While there had been more than a few hovering predators sizing up our group while we moved through their territory, no creatures had actually decided it worth the risk to attack us. Mourn's scent and magic clung to us strongly through his own efforts—he didn't have the energy or desire for sex, but he could still make that extra-stick saliva and he licked Jael's and my face and neck a few times a cycle. For the others, he basically spit in their palms and they put it where they wanted.

It was almost absurdly primitive, but it worked extremely well to keep other meat-eaters back in the black wilderness. Not that we let our guard down or all rested at once; reverie was very much as it had been traveling with Gavin, Kurn, Castis, and Rithal: we took shifts, and someone was always awake.

Each of us carrying what we needed helped as well; it proved we were traveling as light as we could in the instance that Mourn lost his fight to stay Awake before we reached a specific location a day and a half from the exit portal within the mountains.

The plan of what to do if Mourn collapsed rested on Shyntre and me. It would be exhausting, but his shield magic coupled with my psionics could actually move an unconscious Mourn if we used a bit of ingenuity—and we had been able to practice. It would work, but we hoped it wasn't needed.

For further safety nets in place, each of us knew where we were trying to reach once we hit the Surface, though Gaelan, Jael, and myself could imagine it much better than the other three, even with a shared memory provided by the Guild Leader through me.

Mourn had been reticent at showing all of us a protected Guild contact-point, but listened to our arguments that if the worst happened—he fell to Sleep and accidents or illness befell the strongest of us—whoever was still alive and able to travel had to know where they could ultimately find help. If they didn't know, they stood no chance at all.

"Besides, it's just a cave in the middle of nowhere," Jael commented after I'd mindlinked everyone and Mourn had shown us the path to get where we were going. "Who's going to be able to describe that to anything in the wilderness that might care?"

Mourn said nothing, just exhaled and nodded. Old habits, of course.

*Krithannia and Talov know we're traveling now,* he'd mentioned on the seventh cycle after we'd left Eyin.

*You risked reach out to them in reverie?* Gaelan asked, looking glad he was still upright.

*He used a powerful spell,* Auslan answered her. *I felt it ahead of us as he scouted.*

Jael was smirking. *Yeah, me, too. Can't do that much, mate, it just makes you more tired.*

Mourn did not disagree. *Why I'm not shifting form unless necessary.*

But none of us—not even my little Sister, if she was truthful—could tell exactly how much strength the hybrid had left, and he wasn't telling.

Ionne kicked and shifted much more often as I tried to forage enough to eat in addition to what we could hunt and carry; the changes in my facial expressions whenever it happened always caught Auslan and Shyntre's attention as they checked over and over with me that all was well.

*Of course,* I answered more than once. *He just hasn't been this active before. It's distracting.* I raised an eyebrow at Auslan. *I think it's your fault.*

*Mine?* he signed.

*Yours and Morix's. When you get close, he is aware you are both hurting and he's a healer like you but can't do anything about it.*

Auslan looked simultaneously proud, flattered, and embarrassed by that statement. *I am sorry,* he signed, unsure what else to say.

At least it kept him from asking after my health the next few times my face scrunched up in response to another kick.

~Auslan's only concerned as a new Wilder sire would be,~ Gaelan told me during a rest when we could talk in the "privacy" of my own head. Natia was sleeping soundly in her lap.

~Ironic, given he's sired...what, twenty-something children on other females, including Qivni?~ I smirked.

~But he knows none of those children, and loves none of their Mothers as he does you,~ she explained, without really having to.

~I know,~ I acknowledged, focused on sharpening one of our dulled dagger blades.

Gaelan smiled. ~In truth, I can't wait to see how he acts when you go into labor. I am betting it will be very amusing.~

I smiled back. ~When, huh?~

~The trip hasn't been that bad, blistered feet notwithstanding. Morix has had a lot to do with that, given we're frequently vulnerable with males and children in tow, unlike before.~

~Shyntre would disagree he makes us vulnerable.~

She snorted very softly. ~He's always been the exception, hasn't he? I've barely heard a peep out of him this trip.~

~He's watching out for Auslan, and keeping his own magic in reserve in case we need it.~

~If Morix falls to Sleep, you mean?~

~What else?~ I wiped down the oiled blade with a cloth and prepared to tuck the small whetstone away. ~Wish he would tell us how much longer we have.~

Gaelan pursed her lips. ~Maybe he can't tell.~

I studied her face, hearing her tone. ~Oh? Thoughts? Or instincts?~

She made a face at me; she wasn't thanking me for the reminder, but she gave me her thoughts without filtering them first. ~I have an impression that Sleep came with very little warning in the past. This is the first time he's been able to prepare at all, so of course he can't tell us how long it'll last.~

I watched as Gaelan's face shifted between two vastly different mindsets, I could feel it as it happened; Graul's concern and protection for a young half-blood bleeding into that same feeling for the small child sleeping in her lap. Then a recollection of the City we left behind. Again, that tug...that lingering sense of loss.

~Your younger siblings?~ I thoughts, offering to hear her on that.

She nodded. ~Boqol's in a good enough place in the Tower, although I'm aware D'Shea will be the one overseeing his training. I don't' have a better solution for him and he seemed content when I met him again.~

There was a pause, and I nudged, ~How did he respond to you?~

Gaelan grimaced. ~Confused. He didn't really recognize me. My aura, he could see it. It was a short visit.~

I nodded. ~And your younger sister?~

~Talade,~ she supplied with a hint of mourning. ~That was who D'Shea and I argued over the most and what others gossiped about. She's a servant at House D'Verin. Still. The first month after when you were down, Sirana...it really was all Chaos and everyone able-bodied was needed at House Thalluen.

~Before I could really sort anything out for her, all the shit between Vian and Matron D'Verin's Granddaughters blew up and D'Shea forbid giving that Matron any hint that we wanted a particular servant in her House while we were busy humiliating her Granddaughters, and Elder Rausery agreed.~