Garden Of The Abyss

Taking a moment of rest and frustration, Iris sat down against the unwelcoming, rigged wall to the side of the tunnel.

"--I\'ve been at this for at least an hour now...Is this really the trial?"

Venting to herself in a contained whisper, it seemed the rocky corridor had responded to her complaints as a pebble moved in her vision. There wasn\'t any wind strong enough to push a pebble, looking as if it was deliberate by a separate force.

"...Hello?"

Iris raised the orb of light she used as guidance, focusing it on the area of the sudden movement. In place of a subtle, almost unremarkable noise a pebble rolling made--a rumble erupted in the tunnel as a portion of the wall seemed to jut out from its place.

She quickly stood up out of fear and confusion, watching closely as the outline of a door-shape had been made from the rock that stuck out of place.

As if being hoisted by unseen hands, the large slab of stone was then pulled to the side, revealing a hollow entrance into the stone innards of the thought-to-be lonely cavern. The silhouette of an entity with humanoid proportions stood in the doorway, obscured by the constant shadows that loomed in the cavern.

"Who\'s there--?!"

Not knowing what the intentions of the beings were, she called out, focusing her mana as she prepared to launch a spell towards the enigmatic entity.

"--Sorry...I didn\'t mean to alarm you, missus."

Bringing the sphere of illumination near the doorway, it revealed the identity of the being that greeted her with its timid voice, reminiscent of a gentle old man. While resembling a human, the timid man of seniority clearly was not of the same species. He stood a height shorter than her own, nearly coming lower than half of her length.

His long, pointy ears carried his surprisingly clean glasses, the wrinkled, yet healthy skin of his covered in layers of silver body hair.

"...What are you?" Iris asked without thinking, quickly correcting herself out of embarrassment, "sorry--I mean to ask who are you?"

"It\'s quite alright...I am sure my race is one seldom seen on the surface. I am Heldjrim--a primorelf, a simpler term would be...Ah, a cave-elf."

"Primorelf…? I\'ve read about your kind, actually! It said they all had gone extinct…"

A solemn expression came over Heldjrim\'s face from the girl\'s last few words, adjusting his glasses as he slowly turned himself, ushering for her to follow him inside the secret abode. Sitting inside the hollow walls of the seemingly endless cave was something beyond her imagination--an extensive base not containing just a simple spot of rest, but an extensive network, built into the side of the cave.

"This is…"

"The home of the Ender clan, which I believe is the last standing clan of my race."

Heldjrim ran his wrinkled finger against a violet magic seal imprinted on the wall, causing the stone slab to return to its place as a door.

"We\'re inside of the Purgatory temple, right? Or am I mistaken?"

"No, you\'re correct, missus."

"I don\'t understand...An entire community living in this place...Forgive me, but it is simply hard to believe."

It was a sight that made her question if her own two eyes had been lying to her. One moment she was traversing the desolate cavern devoid of anything, and now--the place she stood contained bustling life, humble cottages sat in the vibrantly lit village that sat within the protective walls of rock.

Streams of water flowed through man-made rivers, accompanying rows of produce being grown with the assistance of magic--as seen by the farmer primorelves, tending to the growing green with a verdant glow emanating from their plans.

They all seemed to wear the same general attire, keeping themselves glad in robes of pale hazel fabric, likely crafted from a singular tailor.

"I understand your confusion, missus. It is quite unorthodox, I do say, but we\'ve been given this home by the generosity of the gods of this domain."

"The gods…?"

Heldjrim responded with a nod, stepping down the smooth, meticulously carved steps of tan stone, "The very ones who formed this sanctuary. If it wasn\'t for their guidance and hospitality, I\'m afraid our clan wouldn\'t have survived the scourge. If that happened...Our race would be wiped off the world."

Following the short of stature ground elf down the steps, taking note of the absence of shoes on his feet—hairy and calloused from likely walking barefoot on stone his entire life. Each step the elderly elf took caused his curly locks of silver to bounce, draped over his shoulders.

"I still don\'t understand...Why\'re you showing me this place?"

"Ah, well...We understand the dangers that await beyond our humble village. Even if it\'s temporary...We wish to give visitors relief from that danger, a place of rest."

"—You said your people follow under the old gods, right?"

Iris stepped onto the narrow wooden bridge to cross the stream of water, following after the welcoming elf.

A pair of younger members of Heldjrim\'s race greeted Iris. On the left, a young female primorelf stood shyly, fiddling with her bright, curled locks of red. The boy to her left, seeming similar in age, wasn\'t shy enough to try to hide his gaze--staring straight up at Iris with his dazzling silver irises, beaming with youthful vigor.

"This here is little Eurya, my great-granddaughter. Come on now, say hi to the missus."

Heldjrim gently pushed the small girl forward as her pointed ears twitched, looking down shyly as her scarlet hair obscured her emerald sight-seers.

"...Nice to meet you…"

"It\'s nice to meet you too, Eurya. I\'m Iris."

Squatting down to meet the small girl\'s height, Iris couldn\'t help but smile as she gently ran her hand across the top of Eurya\'s head.

"And that there is little Einsdel, he\'s shaping up to be the next guardian of the Ender clan. You\'ll have to forgive them, it isn\'t often we actually get guests here--so they may be a bit reclusive."

"It\'s alright! Hi, Einsdel."

Greeting the young elf with spiky, light-brown hair to match his pointed ears, Iris met his handshake, holding his small, but firm hand in her own with a vibrant smile.

"Listen...I really appreciate the offer to stay, but I came here with someone...I have to find them."

Iris told Heldjrim, fixing the silver ribbon that held the fur-lined cape draped over her shoulders. He looked almost hurt at those words, quickly attempting to dissuade her decision.

"No, no...You must stay, missus Iris. Once you move onwards, you can\'t retrace your steps back here. I\'m afraid...Once you leave, you can\'t come back to our village."

"Why\'s that?"

"It\'s the way Purgatory is designed, missus. I don\'t mean to intrude but...I\'m sure your friend will be fine. Purgatory can be harsh to visitors, but I\'m sure a friend of yours is capable of withstanding it."

Heldjrim guided her over to a bench that sat in the pavilion, serving as the main intersection of the interior village as primorelves went about their day. As far as she could tell, there weren\'t any ill intentions from the elder elf, looking at his slightly sunken in dark-silver irises which sat behind his sight-assisting lenses.

"--I agree with you, Ren is probably alright...Even so, sitting around and doing nothing isn\'t going to help him."

Beginning to stand up from her seat, Heldjrim quickly got up after her--hassling her like a desperate salesman attempting to meet a quota.

"Please, missus, I implore you to stay--just a night."

His eyes lit up with delight as he stopped the girl, who placed her hands on her hips before facing him again, "I still don\'t understand. Why is it so important for you for me to be here?"

Standing over the weather elf so highly that she had cast a shadow over him, Heldjrim seemed to shrink away from her serious questioning--his eyes darting between the ground and her as he attempted to avoid her azure gaze.

"Well, ur, missus…"

"Tell me, Heldjrim. I want to know."