'That's why I can't hide in the wilderness.'
With her current strength, living alone in the wilderness with her mother wasn't an option. No, the risk was too high. The nightmare from last night had reminded her that although her Character Corpse Eater's [Bloodless Tenacity] allowed Ellie to sustain greater injuries, she wouldn't die until her mana was completely exhausted, but she was far from being immortal. After her head was smashed into paste by that damn cannibal, she could feel her body slowly being chowed down until her mana went out.
Remembering that vivid feeling gave Ellie goosebumps.
'But why would dying cause me to exit the Promises? I should ask mom about this latter. Gosh, there are so many things I need to talk to Mom about. I hope she's awake by now.'
As she got closer to the tent, she saw the entrance flapping slightly and out came her mother. She hadn't had the chance to notice it, but her mother was looking much better lately. Her face was now full of life; the gaunt and haggard look that she was so familiar with to the point of haunting was gone in just a month of not being mistreated by House Gennan. Seeing her mother's health was getting better, she couldn't help but feel... well... happy.
Ellie promised herself that she wouldn't allow her mother to undergo any more torment. The two of them must find a way to cut all ties with Clan Thunderspine. Ellie didn't have high hopes for a group of fanatical cultists whose goal was to overthrow the government, but it turned out humane, especially when their 'Savior' was someone who demanded human sacrifice, and she was a half-human. It didn't take a genius to figure out how things would turn out for her the moment they deem Ellie has outlived her usefulness.
'Just thinking about it makes me angry.'
Ellie didn't want to ruin everyone's mood this early in the day, so she discarded the thought.
"Ellie, where have you been?" Alea asked, her voice full of concern.
She didn't use human tongue in the presence of the Dwarphs. A member of the cult, someone who knew the human tongue, was among them. Even though the tent was capable of muffling out sounds, with the Dwarphs' greater sense of hearing, she could only dare to whisper.
"I was so worried when I woke up and saw your sleep bag empty."
"I thought I should get some running," Ellie answered. "You know, Mom, you should run with me from now on. It's really good for one's health."
Alea chuckled before agreeing. "Of course, next time wake me up so that we can go for a run together."
"Alright, by the end of next month, I will make sure you can run as fast as the wind can blow." Ellie squeezed, loud enough for all the Dwarphs to hear. Her hands were held together in excitement.
Meanwhile, in her head.
'I hope this gives the cult member the false idea that Mom and I were going to make our escape by the end of next month.'
***
The five of them had breakfast together. The interaction was weird to say the least, with only Alea and Doread conversing, sharing tales from their past.
Periola didn't seem to be fond of that; her eyes sometimes looked up from eating. Meanwhile, Stensa didn't know what to say; the poor girl just nodded her head and smiled whenever the two speakers looked her way.
Well, Ellie couldn't really blame her. She, too, didn't know what to talk about; she worried that she might slip up, so she chose to remain silent. But that doesn't mean her mind was empty.
Her mother must have a reason to share these stories.
Firstly, Doread only knew her mother after Thumir, the current leader of Clan Thunderspine, had their fourth molding and transitioned from male to female.
Stensa, who didn't seem to know about this information, was agasped.
"Her transition wasn't so popular among Dwarphs. It caused great shame to Clan Thunderspine even."
Doread looked at Ellie as he explained.
"Molding holds a special place in our culture. The difference between those who can and those who can't is like heaven and earth. Before we have our first molding, our pupas are born gender-fluid. Calling them sons or daughters would both be appropriate. However, once they came of age, they would start to secrete a substance out of their mouth which would cover their entire body before hardening to form a cocoon. Then, we place the cocoon over a pile of red mana stones and leave it out in the sun to burn. For the next year, inside the cocoon, the youngster would melt away under the Divine Fire Spirit's breath. Turning softer. More pliable. Once they reach that state, it's time to put them in a hole and cover it up for another year, submerging them in the Divine Earth Spirit's hands. After, they emerge from the ground with a form stronger, faster, molded and refined by the Divine Earth Spirit with parts that had managed to withstand the Divine Fire Spirit's test."
Doread paused for a moment.
'He's about to ask me the question, isn't he?'
Ellie's guess was spot on as Doread gave her a question.
"Now, can you guess why Thumir's decision was frowned upon by Dwarphs?"
'Should I play dumb or should I answer it?' Ellie thought. 'A good teacher won't abandon their students for being dumb; however, it would most likely make them feel reluctant to share their knowledge.' That won't do since Ellie needed every bit of knowledge that might increase her chance of survival.
'But I can't just answer it too easily. Being smart would cause the cultist to become more wary of my attempt at escaping. Every word might be a misstep and have to be carefully thought out.' Ellie's mind raced as she carefully searched for words. 'I will answer, but the reasoning must be kept simple. Laughably naive even.'
"Is it because in Dwarphs' culture, an individual's strength would determine their standing in society, therefore female Dwarphs were inherently looked down upon?" Ellie picked out an aspect of Dwarphs' culture to avoid the true reason of Thumir's prejudices.
Doread stratch his head, looking at the two female Dwarphs awkwardly.
"That... is only true to an extent. But the reason was something else. Thumir had defined the will of the Great Divine Spirits. The form that was given to her was handpicked by both the Divine Spirits of Earth and Divine Spirits of Fire, both representing the concept of 'Form' in the Church of Three's teaching."
"I know that..." Ellie said, pretending to be sulky.
"To choose the gender that the two Divine Spirits deemed unfit for you is a grand sin no Dwarphs dare to commit." Doread continued. "Back then, Clan Thunderspine was just a small clan on the southern border. We were at the mercy of the bigger clans, who weren't so happy with us in the first place since our clan didn't respect the pecking order, acting out of place and making contact with one of the Royal Houses first. The fact that our Clan Leader dared to do such an outrageous thing meant the end for us."
"What happened next?" Stensa asked, seemingly interested by Thumir's defiance. "How did Clan Leader overcome everything and make our Clan into one of the most influential Clans on the southern border?"
A voice answered Stensa's question, but, to Ellie's surprise, it wasn't Doread but Periola who spoke up regarding the matter of Thumir.
"To calm the anger of the larger clans, the Clan Elders held a tournament to find a suitor for Thumir, and gave the winner's clan absolute control over our clan. There were candidates from smaller clans, too. Doread and other males in our Clans were picked but were forced to lose to candidates from the Greater Clans to make our case of submission known."
Periola glanced at Doread with killer eyes.
"Hey, you told me you had forgiven me. Don't take back your words like that, Periola!"
"Why would you think I'm still angry at you for being on the wrong side of our Clan Leader's history?" Periola turned her face away from Doread. "Yeah, that happened. The participants won the first round. They came to the next one, fully expecting to fight each other as organized by our Clan Leaders."
Periola gazed Doread, Stensa, and Ellie, all except for Ellie's mother.
Her body subconsciously recognizes Mom had a part in this. Does that mean she is also a member of the cult? No, that can't be it. If that were the case, then Mom wouldn't be guessing who is a member of the cult with me. That meant at least at that time Periola and Doread wasn't a part of the cult.'
Ellie's mind was cut short as she focused back on the story.
"They found all the Clan Elders staked on the podium, rotting in death and fear."