Working at her family's inn in the village Amara and far from the war raging through the rest of Cordelia, Aven Rose Knight doesn't think her dreams of adventure and excitement will ever be fulfilled. She resigns herself to only ever being able to r...
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Aven was not sure what to think of the guests in front of her. On one hand, Klo had just fearlessly led the group through an enchanted tunnel that had shortened their journey by, quite possibly, several weeks.
But on the other hand, Klo and Sorren were warriors of Edhem. There was no way they would be able to see the quest to the end, and Aven suspected that the two would try to stop her. However much Sorren and Klo tried to tell them that they disliked Balthier Stone, he was still their king.
Aven was amazed at the sight before her as they traveled through the tunnel. The mountains, which had been the first mountains she'd ever laid her eyes on, had been extravagant enough. The towering, rocky faces had peaked far over her head, making the girl feel more miniscule and insignificant than she ever had in her life. But, she still liked the sight of them. They were powerful, intimidating, and ancient. Stories were carved into the stone, and Aven was just itching to figure out what they said.
According to Klo, the passage had almost come to an end. The group had already spent one night in a small, hollowed out space. The dwarves had clearly thought of everything, because there was even a space for horses to be tied up.
Now, they were headed forward at a reasonably quick speed, Klo obviously being eager to leave the place behind. Aven could see light, filtering in through a crack in the cliff ahead of them. It was the same, ashen gray light that had accompanied the group through the entire goblin territory, but Aven didn't mind. She had finally gotten used to it, at the very least.
Klo slowed slightly, and Aven pulled back on her own reins to avoid running into the girl. "Almost there!" She called loudly, the sound echoing back far enough that even Eldrin heard it and perked up slightly.
"About time," Berkem muttered from behind Aven, causing the girl to laugh. She was pretty sure that he wasn't enjoying the company of the other two, but she couldn't blame him. As far as she could tell, Berkem had a habit of not liking the presence of new people.
"You're a dwarf," Aven told him goodnaturedly. "Shouldn't you of all people enjoy this tunnel, seeing as how your ancestors made it?"
Berkem shot the girl a glare, but it was not mean-spirited. "It's too small for a warrior like me," He responded.
"Ah," Aven giggled slightly, unable to conceal her laughter at her friend's excuse.
She glanced in front of her again, and her eyes transfixed on the horizon with surprise. Klo was speeding up, preparing to gallop out of the tunnel. It was morning, outside, so she obviously wasn't too concerned.
Aven followed the girl in front of her, careful not to go too fast and run into Klo's horse, which she had learned was named Partridge.
And then, suddenly, she was breaking free from the rocky cliffs and skidding down a gravelly path that made Cinder slip slightly and whinny in disapproval.
