Chapter 174 - A Relieved Heart

"Just a bit more to go."

Velrum called out as if reading the impatient air around Ren. As the ghostly-haired Outlander followed the two down the wide tunnel, he noticed that the slightly taller of the two, Velrum, kept his hand pressed against the wall as if using it as a crutch. 

"Is there really a whole village in a place like this?"

Ren asked the question that had plagued his mind since dropping down. The width of the passageway was filled with nothing but darkness and damp stone; not a single sign of life other than those he saw existed. 

"Still doubting us?"

"Of course I am."

"Good; that means you aren't an idiot."

Imparting some wisdom onto Ren, Moko's words only seemed to put the young man on his guard before the primorelf waved his hand as if saying, "I'm kidding". 

"Oh, we're here."

"...We are?"

Watching as the two stopped in their tracks, Ren raised an eyebrow as nothing in their scenery had changed--it was still the same, ever-present air of darkness accompanied by the smell of wet sediment. Velrum waved his hand to call Ren over, jabbing his yellow-tinted fingernail against the stone before him. 

"Urr, yeah, that's just rock. It's kind of everywhere."

Giving a smartass reply, Velrum let out a sigh before tapping his knuckles against the stone--a hollow, resounding sound released in return. 

That sound--something is behind that rock, Ren thought. 

Bewildered by this all, he watched as the form of the stone began to shake, releasing a rumble before jutting forward and sliding to the side. Immediately, the light from behind the door seeped into the dank tunnel--coming into contact with his eyes like the light of the savior. 

"Welcome to Ender village; the last bastion of primorelf kind."

Moko presented that which waited behind the secretive door, holding a reassuring smile as Ren poked his head into the newly revealed entrance. 

Even though the sight was clear before his eyes, his brain didn't want to believe what he was seeing: normal, relaxed villagers going about their everyday life, tending to crops and retrieving water from wells, children playing without a care in the world--it was simply an impossibility made possible in front of him. 

"I don't get it...How?"

"As I said, you can talk up Elder Heldjrim's ear all you'd like. That lonely old man won't mind answering all of your questions. And, as it so happens, Iris is at his abode."

Velrum had his hands on his hips, stretching his back before straightening his beige cloak, gesturing with his head for his companion to lead the way forward once more. 

"A doctor is more important for you right now, but I don't think any amount of words will sway you from seeing the girl…"

Moko sighed as he led Ren through the village, gaining the eyes of the villagers at the sight of the snow-haired adventurer. 

"Uh, hello?" 

Giving the watchful villagers a wave, it only resulted in some of them shying away, but not averting their gazes. 

"Don't take it personally, Ren. We've just been through a lot lately as a community. I'm sure they'll come around soon enough." 

"I see." 

Though their houses were small and humble in scope, some built of timber, and some of soil—it was astonishing to see it at all in the realm of hardships. 

Fields of crop, flourishing streams, a community; the lonesome feeling of constant battle no longer solely harbored his heart. 

Ren stopped himself suddenly, placing his palm over the girl's forehead as he confirmed a hunch he had. A warmth met his skin—a heat that surpassed the norm. 

"Moko, right? You mentioned a doctor…"

"I did, yes." 

The two escorts halted with the human, watching him as they tried to discern the source of this sudden stoppage. 

"Aiko…I think she's got a fever. I'd like to be there when she wakes up, but…"

"I understand. You're worried about her, aren't you?"

Ren simply nodded his head at him. Reaching out to retrieve the girl from his arms, Moko's attempt to help was met with some rejection as Ren pulled back. 

"Ah, sorry…"

It was an instinctive action; for some reason, he didn't want to part Aiko off with anybody else. Ren relaxed this reluctance of his, slumping his shoulders as he gave the unconscious girl one last smile. 

"Poor doc' is going to have a busy night ahead of him…" 

Moko released a dry chuckle as he retrieved the slumbering girl, carrying her on his back. Despite the size of the primorelf, falling short of Aiko, he held her without seeming too encumbered. 

"Come on, lad, don't want to keep your friend waiting, right?"

"Right!"

Following Velrum onward, Ren's heart throbbed with a spectrum of emotions: excitement, joy, anxiousness--it felt like the morning of Christmas, rushing towards the living room to see what bountiful gifts arrived that year. 

Such excitement came with irrationality; somehow fearing that if he was a second too late that Iris might just float away. Walking up the trail of dirt, overlooked by the ashen trees that still held onto some bit of life, he couldn't shake the fluttering feeling running up his calves and through his thighs as the clear home of the mentioned elder came into view. 

"Is that it?"

Ren asked in a huff, the anxiousness shrouding his words as he began to pass up the man leading him. 

"...Yeah it is. Hey! Hold on!"

Velrum's call was futile; Ren already began to approach the abode of Heldjrim in full sprint, kicking up the dirt behind him as he moved with a fixed target before him. There was no plan in his head, not an ounce of tact as he pounded his fist against the door in search of who he longed for. 

"Iris! It's me!"

There wasn't a chance given for response as he continued pounding his hand against the door without any care for his own injuries, not hearing the footsteps that approached from the other side of the gate that withheld him from the girl. 

As the door swung open, it wasn't who he had searched for, but another one of the stout creatures--clearly surpassing Moko and Velrum in age. The tiny, hunched over primorelf adjusted his glasses, shaking his head as if his ears were ringing. 

"...You almost sent this old fool to an early grave, I thought the cavern was coming down on top of us!"

He laughed with a slight rasp, clearing his throat before properly greeting the exasperated young man, extending his wrinkly, hair-covered hand up towards him. 

"Pleasure to meet you. I am Heldjrim, the elder of this village. You must be Sir Ren."

"...Yeah. Where is she? Is she here?"

Shaking the old primorelf's hand rapidly, Ren didn't waste any time returning to his point of arrival--stepping into Heldjrim's abode without any sort of asking. 

"Hey! Ren! Hold on a second!"

Finally catching up, Velrum walked into the open home with a huff, bowing his head to Heldjrim before apologizing for the behavior of the young man. 

"It's quite alright...The village is always quite silent, a bit of rambunctiousness won't hurt."

Heldjrim laughed as he stroked his beard, guiding Ren towards his point of interest as he guided him towards the back of the stone-built home. 

Being so certain of his goal now, the adrenaline-filled anxiety that propelled him forward began to settle, now feeling his heart come to a still as he slowly approached the room at the end of the hall, breathing in the chill air that inhabited the entirety of the village. 

Just a few more steps, just a few more and I'll see her again, Ren thought. 

Air vacated his lungs as he turned the corner into the room, his eyes settling on a figure so desired that it embedded itself as mythical in his mind. Those illustrious, ocean-like hair, wavy and somewhat curly yet so perfectly retained--they were unmistakable. 

"Iris…"

Falling to his knees from the sheer relief of her existence being validated by his own two eyes, no response was garnered from the girl as her back was to him. 

Before he could repeat her name again, reaching his hand out, he could hear the subtle, melodic breathing emitting from her. 

"Asleep, huh?"

Ren smiled wryly to himself, propping his back up against the wall as he sat himself by her, letting out an exhale that seemed to spur on a fit of exhaustion once more. 

"I think you might have the right idea there…"

His words came out mixed with a yawn, adjusting himself into as comfortable a position he could be, propped up against the rock-formed wall. It felt as if finally relaxing himself from the goal he had ahead of him had relieved both his mind and body. 

Soon, his limbs went numb from the sudden burst of exhaustion, a welcoming warmth running over his body as he felt his eyelids become dense, flickering as he fruitlessly tried to hold on just a few more moments to consciousness. 

I did good today, I think...So it's fine if I rest, Ren thought.