He had been tasked with carrying the unconscious girl on his back while they journeyed deeper inwards.
Dieter found it amusing, saying that Lukk had developed a knack for carrying helpless women to safety.
He, and the swordmaiden’s little sister named Julia had found it significantly less entertaining, albeit for vastly different reasons.
Cornelia walked in front of them, holding the small child’s hand.
Together with Old Fer’ they seemed to be the only ones that the little lass was willing to interact with.
As the girl constantly looked back to him with a combination of fear and anger, Richter’s words echoed in his mind.
Cornelia’s findings were rather significant, despite her source being barely seven years old.
Firstly, she had confirmed that there was another path to the surface, as the girl had been brought in through one.
Secondly, the sisters had initially attempted to hide from their party.
But of course with the younger of the two being so scared that proved to be in vain, as Dieter had no trouble tracking them down as a result.
And most importantly, she said that both sisters had been brought in separately.
As for what reason the older sister had gone berserk, she could not explain.
Nor did she want to talk about where they came from.
As they were all tired out from the events of that day, they had decided to call it a night.
They slept in the same room they had found Julia and her sister in, with guard duty rotating every two hours.
It was not just to ward against potential hostiles, but also to make sure the young girl didn’t suddenly wander off.
He woke up the next day to see the child fast asleep, laying in the embrace of her big, comatose sister.
With little Julia guiding them, the journey upwards proved trivial.
One of the chambers they had walked by proved very interesting to her.
It was completely empty, save for some decoration and imagery carved into the sides and a large mirror that filled the entirety of the wall on the opposite side of the entrance.
How exactly was anyone’s guess, but the child was able to manipulate the cramped room through pure thoughts to carry them upwards.
Its movement was perfectly smooth, slowly accelerating upwards, much unlike the overly crowded elevation platform they had been forced to use to get down.
It had excited Fernand to no end, as he asked question after question to the little girl, who actually seemed to enjoy the attention given to her by the kindly old man.
Finally, the moving chamber slowly halted its movement.
Its stone-metallic doors opened again to show an unsuspecting, small basement, leading to an abandoned but well kept two-story house on the very outskirts of Den Zollum.
They went outside to make sense of their newfound location.
Its streets were full of passersby, as a local open-air market drew the attention of many in the area.
Not wanting to draw attention to themselves by carrying an unconscious, well armoured young woman around, they had made the place their temporary home for now.
Dieter and Richter had left the fortress-city almost immediately, seeking to find the others of their detachment still camped in the woods with the plan to contact command and inform them of the happenings in the undercity, and to await new orders.
It would take multiple days at least before they’d return, and so they had a lot of spare time to kill.
At the advice of Richter, Lukk now wore the civilian clothing found in the residence, and had left behind his armour and weaponry hidden in one of the closets in the main bedroom.
It did not quite fit, as Lukk was significantly taller and broader than whoever pretended to live here, but it couldn’t be helped.
As the group was growing hungry, he had decided to go out to buy some groceries for the lot of them.
With no shortage of silver coins on him, he had decided to make tonight a feast.
When he was about to leave, Cornelia stopped him.
‘May I join?’ She asked shyly.
‘I am desperately craving some sunlight, and wish to explore the upper city and see the locals and their habits for myself.’ Lukk thought about the potential risks involved, and against his better judgement he nodded.
‘That would make me very happy,’ he smiled.
As they walked through the bustling streets, Cornelia could not shut up for even a moment, and Lukk enjoyed every single second of it.
She enthusiastically talked about the locals and their customs, and how she had friends that originated from the city, and how apparently one of the sweets they both loved originated from here.
Apparently they had a celebration named Karneval where they’d dress in the silliest way possible while parading through the streets, four times every year, to celebrate the passing of the seasons.
Once he took notice, there were all kinds of shops throughout the streets where they’d sell the most obscene looking costumes, sometimes even bordering on the degenerate.
She’d pester him to try one out, and after an unrelenting assault of words he finally caved in and bought one of the sillier hats, which he’d wear for the rest of their trip.
Funnily enough, he was hardly the only one wearing such an odd piece of clothing, as throughout the day he was regularly and cheerfully greeted by others wearing similarly strange outfits.
Strange, Lukk thought.
When they arrived, all he could see were soldiers, ravens and the cautious, observing eyes of distant strangers.
Now, it reminded him..
They finally visited the open air market, looking for some fine, fresh ingredients.
Their temporary stay came with a kitchen, and Lukk was aching to put it to good use.
He hadn’t cooked in so long, and he sorely missed it.
The cold, wet feeling of washed vegetables in his hands as he would skillfully cut through them, the heat of the kitchen and the smell of ingredients as they sizzled in his overly expensive frying pan.
The joys of sitting together at the dinner table, the discovery of new combinations and unknown spices.
He even missed the feeling of kneading cold meat in his hands, however rare and special an experience that was back then.
Cornelia pointed at some spices she swore he’d love, as he loaded the ingredients in their shopping bag.
After handing out a month’s worth of salary in a single shopping spree, he was finally satisfied.
With a meal like this, even the young Julia would surely warm up to him.
Maybe he’d even let her help them cook.
Tired but happy, they at last returned to their stay.
Using a coded knock, they waited for Fernand to open the door.
The man sure took his time, as they waited for him while they cracked jokes and reminisced about their day.
The door finally opened, and before them stood a woman clad in silver-gold armour, the very same that had almost ended his life the day before.
Her deadly, hateful stare melted away their good humour in a single heartbeat.