Lillian trekked up the unsteady road alongside Lucius. The breeze was surprisingly chillier than expected, but pushed on nonetheless. The same as the Bremwall demons who huddle together as they march, as the rocky cliffs continued.
Curious, Lillian peeked at the carts and watched as the demon children sat in place. With just a glance, she could tell they were getting nauseous with a few looking dizzy, as the cart bumped along the road.
"So how far up does this road take us?" Lillian asked.
"This road leads to the second-highest point in the pit… As soon as we reach the top, we can start heading west, down into a separate cove."
"Cove?"
"It's another part of the pit that stands as unclaimed land and has been for centuries… There's lush forest, big jungles, a lake that expands to the ends of the cove, and a ceiling as beautiful as the stars in the skies."
"Oh?" Lillian's curiosity piqued. "So it's unclaimed land like the unconquered land above. But why is that?"
"The monsters that live there make it too inhospitable. Unlike the valtrop, there are land worms called Hafu's that can swallow you whole, and winged beasts called Garsils that would drop you from the air. And this isn't mentioning that most of the beasts in this cove are unaffected by most magics aside from anything physical, like earth or water magic. Just like those valtrops we've faced off against."
Lillian pondered his words, then glanced ahead up the rock road. "So when we enter this cove, we have to be ready for danger."
"Yeah. But luckily for us, the frost season will be coming soon, so most of the beasts will be acting in the best interest of hibernating for the season. Regardless, we have to stay on guard, just in case."
"I see… And there wasn't any other path."
"If there were, we would've used it instead. Remember, the Pit. My homeland. It's much more dangerous than the world above. All your kin had to deal with was a few strange monsters that dug their way to the surface."
"Like those goblins and Slimy blobs?"
"Exactly. And they're hardly as dangerous as everything else here. That's why I envy the humans above. For the peace they were born with." Lucius sighed.
"Hopefully, the future generations of my kin will know this peace, too." Lucius glanced at the children, still bearing with the cart ride. "These children included."
"You truly love your kin, don't you?"
"I want an end to the endless wars we face. I want peace without worry. Most of all, I want the hope that my kin were deprived of since the beginning of our seciption… I have seen my fair share of war alongside my late father and my brother Rakon, and I've grown tired of it."
Lucius clenched his fists, boiling with frustration. "It's such a shame that Rakon doesn't see it the way I do. He still holds onto my father's values of firm control and absolute loyalty… he clearly believes his way of creating a kingdom above is the best. But right now, he's playing a stupidly dangerous game. And one he's bound to lose."
Lillian agreed, nodding her head.
"
The Bremwall demons exhaled and sighed in relief at the welcome news. It didn't take too long for the group to reach the top, finally. Everyone found themselves exhausted from the trek up the otherwise unsafe path. Glancing back, they could see the layers of forest and plains that made up their world. It was a unique sight like none other.
"
Kisik nodded and proceeded, pulling bags from their cart along with Jala and a few other men from their town.
Without hesitation, a few demons put together some makeshift tents and beds of hay to rest. All the while, the children, freed from the constraints of the cart, were led one by one by the undead women to be cared for by them.
While some followed calmly, a few brazen boys and girls raced from the cart, deciding to explore instead.
"
The men and women of the caravan couldn't help but watch as the small group started to look around and explore all around the edge of their newly forming camp, unlike the other children who hovered close to their undead caretakers.
Lucius, noticing this, wandered closer to the children with Lillian by his side. He then set one of the undead women to keep an eye on them. "
Lillian could only chuckle at their curiosity. "They seem to be coming out of their shells more and more, aren't they?"
Lucius silently nodded.
"Your Majesty."
Lucius and Lillian glanced back to find Jala approaching with Fren behind him.
"Is there trouble?" Lucius asked
"The chief Kisik wanted to talk about some issues with the rations. Apparently, there's been some spoilage in some of the meat."
"That's not good."
"Kisik wants some advice on some animals we could hunt for game here."
Lucius rolled his eyes."Surely, he could figure this out himself."
"Just go talk to him, Lucius. I'll stay behind and watch over the children." Lillian said.
"Fine, so be it. Let's go, Jala." Jala and Fren followed behind Lucius to converse with the chief.
Seeing that the children were entering deeper into the shallow set of trees, Lillian followed. She stood by the undead guardian and watched as the children explored the strange set of curvy black trees. Some even looked over the horizon of the jungles and forests ahead.
Even Lillian stopped to take in the view beyond the trees. "It's such a beautiful view. And that lake…. It reminds me of the oceans of Nirenberg. Those tall cliffs and the stars that reflected in their waves. How strange. And it isn't even nightfall."
She turned back to the children. Her gaze stopped on a lonely boy who stared into the leaves above, as if lost in thought. "Isn't that the child who fought with the other child?"
Unexpectedly, the only girl jumped from the tree and ambushed the boy, chomping into his shoulder.
"Aahhhh!!!"
"What the- Is that girl the same one who tried to prey on me?"
Lillian could only watch as the girl nibbled all over the boy's shoulder and arms, all before the boy managed to break free from the girl.
Lillian could only chuckle inwardly at the spectacle. "S-she must be hungry."
A chase between the two ensued, with the boy being chased through endless circles past the trees and the other boys.
Eventually, through the chaos, the other boys teamed up against the girl, turning the tide of this minor scuffle.
With the roles reversed, the chase continued with a mob of boys in pursuit of the girl who had disrupted the harmony of the adventure they sought. The girl was quickly cornered on the cliff of the mountainous peak and made a prime target for the newly acquired weapon. Rocks.
Equipped with small stones, the boys chucked them at the girl, only for the rocks to strike a wall of earth conjured by Lillian.
"
The undead minion followed suit, taking the rocks from the boys, one by one.
The group of boys pouted and groaned at the intervention. Strangely enough, the ambush child began to raise his hand, pointing it straight at the girl. However, to his shock, Lillian stepped in front of him.
"
Suddenly, the earth shook and trembled around Lillian and the children.
"What the-"
A giant snake-like creature erupted from the ground below. Its skin was as tan as sand, with a pattern that looked like a staircase. It wasn't long before the creature bent its long body, revealing the circular mouth with rows of teeth.
Lillian could only look on in horror as the beast screeched.
"LILLIAN! GET OUT OF THERE!!!" Lucius raced to Lillian's, but was too late as the creature lunged at Lillian and the children, and swallowed them whole. "LILLIAN!!"
The creature whipped back into the ground.
"Jala!!"
Without hesitation, Jala hurtled a blazing wall of ice aimed at the creature, snagging the end of its tail.
The monster whipped around from the cliff, trying to free itself from the trap.
Lucius clutched the huge back end of the worm and shot a torrent of fire onto the creature's back. The worm flailed around even harder, screeching in pain.
Just as Jala prepared to assist, the monster freed itself, fleeing into the ground.
"Damn it!" Lucius clenched his teeth.
"We should chase after it.' Jala suggested."
"No! If we enter their tunnels, we may very well be eaten too. I'm still bound to my puppet so I can feel it heading directly to the lake." Lucisu cringed. "Grr! If we're lucky, Lillian will find a way to escape the damn thing."
Kisk joined Jala and Lucius.
"
"
"
" ********
Within the worm's slimy guts, the children, confused and terrified, squirmed about, trying to free themselves. All the while, Lillian held off strong, not trying to get crushed by the constricting muscle.
"Argh!!" A pool of acid drizzled over Lillian. Acting fast, Lillian manifests bubbles of water around the children, shielding them from the worst of the elements she had to endure.
"It'll be a cold day in hell before I let you stop me!"
Lillian aimed her hand as far from herself and the children as possible; slowly, a yellow, fiery energy began to build up.
The yellow ball of fire launched away, exploding upon impact.
Feeling immense pain, the giant worm screeched as green blood gushed into its gut. Suddenly, the sense of gravity kicked in for Lillian, pulling her atop the kids.
Seconds later, the worm erupted from the ground of a dense jungle. It wormed around a giant tree, writhing in pain.
Another explosion sounded from within its gut. Then another and another. Eventually, a large hole was blown from within the worm, scattering its matter across the ground and scaring off
any creature that dared watch.
Another expulsion of green blood splatters across the jungle grounds, along with splashes of water. From inside the corpse of the worm, Lillian pushed out, falling to the ground hard. She coughed and wheezed, desperately trying to reorient herself. "Th- The kids."
Lillian reached her hands to the corpse. Slowly, one by one, a demon child was pulled out through the barrier of water around them. Even Lucius's undead minion was being pulled out, but quickly ceased seeing the horrid state of the undead women.
Looking back at the shaken children, it was clear that their confusion was growing ever more, along with their fear.
Frightened by their new surroundings, the children called one after another." " "That's her mother…"
Lillian approached the girl, placing her hands on her small shoulder. " Tears started to well up in the girl's eyes. And despite Lillian's words, she continued to reach out to the undead woman who bobbed its head around like a confused child.
A blood-curdling scream cut through the pleas of the children.
Alarmed, Lillian whipped around, discovering one of the boys getting dragged away by a vine.
"Shit!"
Lillian shot a ball of fire, severing the vine from the boy. She then raised her arm, conjuring forth bracelets of earth around the children, and pulled them to her.
Unexpectedly, another new beast leapt into action, clawing at the ground as it chased another of the boys.
Lillian quickly regestured her hands, manifesting and launching a blind flurry of earth spears at the monster. To her shock, the beast managed to evade each one with uncanny agility.
Hearing the fast approach of another Lillian, gathered the last of the children safely and manifested a pillar of earth, erecting them above the jungle trees.
Lillian gasped and fell to her knees, a nausea overwhelming her. She began to choke and wheeze. "S… Something doesn't feel right!"
Suddenly, she felt her hands swell and her muscles tighten. She gasped and coughed blood onto the earth pillar they stood on.
"This! Isn't this the illness those other children fell victim to!?" Lillian could look on in horror as her arms swelled and blood gushed from her mouth. "This is bad! What do I do!?"