Chapter 9
Holli Brances moved alongside Ryson as they headed toward the Lacobian desert. She obviously took Mappel's request seriously for she remained ever within arm’s reach. The Sword of Decree remained sheathed at her side, but Ryson knew it would take her less than a second to wield it against any potential foe.
Ryson made a point of watching Holli closely when she was first introduced to him. If Ryson's life would be dependant upon this elf, he wished to know as much about her as possible. As only a delver would, he examined her movements, expressions and replies. He realized immediately that her personality was as diametrically opposed to Lief Woodson's as possible. Where Lief's emotions would burst forth, Holli remained stable and controlled. Lief had previously showed signs of humor, but Holli remained stoic and reserved. Ryson would never forget the look in Holli's face when Mappel presented her with the sword. She barely breathed as she took possession, and a smile dared not crack her lips. She held it with the care a mother holds a newborn, but not with the same emotion. She said not a word. She only nodded her head as if willingly accepting some Herculean task.
Holli Brances looked very much like an average human female, except of course for her pointed ears. She stood tall and slender, but no more than some of the appearance conscious girls from Connel. In truth, her most distinguishable characteristic was her darting eyes. Even when resting, her eyes flashed about constantly, drinking in every surrounding image. She took nothing for granted. She looked about, scanned the horizon, and watched for the slightest movement in all directions. One pass was evidently insufficient, for this surveillance continued unendingly.
Unable to ignore this trait, Ryson found the habit catchy. After but a few moments with the elf guard, he too, began to constantly scan his surroundings. Such diligence became strenuous as the two ventured further southward.
The forest increased in its density. Thick branches overwhelmed the travelers, limiting their movements and choice of paths. It also restricted their visibility which obviously discomforted the elf. She twisted and turned her neck with greater speed, hoping to offset the limited sight distance with a quicker review of everything around her.
Ryson considered making conversation to ease her discomfort, but he quickly realized such an action would only compound her difficulties. He knew that his questions or comments would be viewed as a distraction. He remained quiet, concentrated on finding the quickest and easiest path through the trees.
Holli did eventually speak, but only to request a slower pace. She could not keep up with him if he concentrated solely upon movement. That would mean she could not fulfill her obligation of protecting him. Every time he began to pull away, she rebuked him, almost ordering him to remain within her grasp.
The remainder of this long day ended as the final light of dusk disappeared. Holli requested they remain in the trees for the night and Ryson did not object.
They barely spoke. She told the delver to sleep the entire night. She would take the whole watch. She made some reference about being trained to rest while remaining awake. Indeed, a highly trained elf guard could go unencumbered for several days without actual sleep. They only needed breaks from strenuous activity. Holli found such a break as she perched herself between two thick boughs of a large oak tree.
Ryson bent back the branches of a soft blue spruce, tying them together to create a make-shift hammock. He sprawled out without fear of falling and drifted into a deep sleep. When he woke, he could not recall a single dream.
Holli woke the delver at the first light of day. They both used the new light to inspect the surrounding area. Ryson even dropped to the ground to check for signs of intruders. Holli followed him unhappily. She did not wish to leave the trees, but she could not forget her duty to remain at his side. Nothing was found, and they decided to move forward. They were traveling again before the sun rose above the tree line.
Ryson kept them moving at the quickest pace Holli could follow. To his pleasure and surprise, she showed no signs of fatigue from the lack of sleep. They moved southwest and she made no complaints over his speed. If anything, she seemed more apt to follow the delver as if she spent the night preparing for the task, both mentally and physically.
Their diligence paid off as the trees became more diluted. The dire heaviness of the forest began to lift. Pines and deciduous trees spread themselves further apart. Their travel quickened, unencumbered by the stifling forest. Before them, thick branches formed long bridges in nearly every direction. As the number of trees dwindled, the space around them opened. Holli found it easier to survey the encompassing grounds, her eyes swept across the landscape with broad scans.
The heightened senses of the delver grasped the forest's weakening hold in the direction they set. The soil content below them was becoming rocky and dry. Moisture in both the air and the ground was fading. The trees showed signs of a greater struggle to reach the sky. Browning leaves and withering branches were a testament to the harsher environment of the desert that waited well ahead of them.
The Lacobian desert remained far off, they would still have to travel the sparsely vegetated and rocky hill regions which separated the forest from the desert, but by all accounts, they should reach the outskirts before late afternoon.
Before the sun was overhead, they were forced from the trees. To Holli's dismay, this form of travel was no longer possible. The trees grew too far apart for them to leap from branch to branch. They tried for a while and each showed the leaping ability of the nimblest of squirrels. The soil, however, became dryer with each passing step. The forest thinned to a cluster of trees and then a smattering. Soon, the landscape was nothing more than rocky terrain spotted with more sagebrush than healthy trees.
Holli reluctantly accepted the inevitable and they trotted upon open ground. Only the increased range of her vision gave her any solace. Without the thick forest to block her view, she could see far off to the horizon in each direction. She remained cautious and at her urging they shied away from the steeper of the hills or any large boulders. She directed them in a path that would keep them in areas of little cover.
Ryson questioned that tactic as he recalled the weapons of the goblins. Walking through the open ground left them vulnerable to crossbow fire. He asked if they might be safer keeping close to the hillsides. She disagreed flatly.
Holli knew the path she chose left them without protection, but it also reduced the chance of ambush. This was her greatest fear. She knew enough of elflore and listened well to Mappel's advice. The goblins did not pose a true threat in this area. They hated the dryness of the desert, perhaps almost as much as the elves. Thus, she did not fear an attack from crossbows. If they were to be assaulted now, it would be by creatures that cared little for using arrows.
She explained no further and they continued forward. They made excellent time and the scent of the dry desert air soon became clear even to Holli.
Upon a high clearing, Ryson squinted his eyes and peered across the horizon. In the far distance, the sparsely vegetated hills and rocky terrain were replaced by sandy dunes. Tall cacti reached toward the sky. They numbered more in the distance, but a few jutted up from the land they now traversed. Ryson examined the ground and saw more signs of sand accumulating among the rocks and gravel.
"The hard ground is starting to give way to the desert," he exclaimed. "Pretty soon we'll be walking on pure sand. Can you see it in the distance?"
"Yes," Holli stated simply. "It will not take us long." She said nothing further.
Ryson, however, felt the need to talk. He saw the vast emptiness of the desert before them, and its far reaching desolation brought loneliness to his spirit.
"You know, when we get there, I'm not really going to know where to go." He offered this as much as a warning as an attempt to open a conversation. "So far, I've been traveling with a known objective. I mean, I knew how to get to the desert, but when I reach it, I won't know much after that. I don't know how to find algors. I might be
leading us into nothing more than empty sand. Don't misunderstand, I'm not worrying about us getting in any trouble out there. We can get food and water if we need it. It's just that we may end up wandering around for weeks and I still might not find what we're looking for."
Holli's eyes remained focused on unseen threats. Her reply was short and to the point. "Trust your senses, delver. Mappel does and so do the forces that sent you to us."
Ryson grunted. It seemed every elf he met couldn't resist tying his meeting with Lief to some act of fate. Couldn't they understand the curiosity of a delver and how it led to his current predicament? It was the tremor which initiated his desire to renew explorations. It was his brush with the walking dead which commenced his meeting with Lief Woodson. Yet, every elf, from the spirit of Shayed to this elf guard, wished to act as if Godson himself placed him within their midst. Could they not understand coincidence?
The delver could not refrain from discharging his annoyance with the suggestion. "Here we go with that again. I keep trying to tell you all that I'm not here by any special providence. I think you're all putting too much faith in something that may not even be a factor."
"I only know what I am told and what I see," Holli replied simply.
"I just see a coincidence," Ryson insisted. "But no one else seems to agree." With a shrug, he turned his attempt at conversation back to the subject of the Lacobian desert. "Anyway, I'm just warning you that I really have no idea where to go when we reach the sand. I remember everything that Mappel told me, but I don't think it will help me choose one direction over another. I just want you to understand that."
"I understand that we are both on a mission. You will do what you must, and I will guard you."
Holli did not let the conversation deter her from scanning the rocky terrain. Small rock formations filled the area amid a barren landscape. Brown hills, basically appearing like large, rounded boulders buried half underground, broke the level plane of the horizon to the north and west. Any signs of Dark Spruce were far behind them. Cactus and sagebrush presented the only break from the hard surroundings, and their own brown, dry, harsh appearance accomplished little in offering any cheer.
Again, Ryson could not help but notice the ever watchfulness of the elf guard. "Did you know that watching you do that can be very unnerving?" he asked. "You've been looking around in every direction since we started. I have to admit you have me more nervous than I think I've ever been. I keep thinking that something's going to jump out at us. It was hard to deal with in the forest because we couldn't see very far. Now, that we're out in the open, I've been able to deal with it a little better, but it still gets me uneasy when you look behind us. What is it that you keep looking for?"
Holli spoke as if the answer should be obvious. "I watch for things which may or may not be there. If I do not search, I will not be prepared."
"But shouldn't one look around here tell you that we're not being followed or that nothing waits ahead of us in ambush."
Holli simply could not agree. "Things change from moment to moment. What I see now may change within an instant. I will not know unless I check."
"So you never rest at this?"
"Not while on duty."
The delver considered the proposal. He understood the initial inspection, which fit with his own delver instincts, but to keep examining the same thing, that sounded more like tedium. It was a delver's desire to find something new, not to inspect for consistency. He knew he would find it irksome to reexamine the same rock formations over and over again just to remain alert. For him, for all delvers, there were other ways to sense change or even danger. The sounds of loose rocks being disturbed ever so slightly, tracks off in the distance, or the scent of an intruder; these warnings would gain a delver's attention, but constant visual inspection seemed arduous at best.
"I imagine it would get pretty boring just looking around at the same stuff all the time," he remarked. "There hasn't been much going on since we got out of the trees. I don't know what you could be looking at, but we can see for a pretty good distance out here. Not much is happening."
"That is exactly what a guard wants to see," Holli acknowledged.
Ryson raised an eyebrow as he considered the short statement. "I guess that's true. I suppose if things kept changing you'd be pretty nervous. Let me ask you this, have you ever been ambushed by anything?"
Holli answered without hesitation, though a note of displeasure drifted among her words. "Not while at a post, and not on escort, but once on patrol."
"What does that mean exactly?" Ryson seized upon the response, hoping to coax something new from the tight-lipped elf guard.
"A post is a fixed position. It is the easiest duty. A guard will take a position and remain there for extended periods of time. Since we do not move, it is much easier for us to spot an intruder. On patrol, we must move about a designated area. Since we are moving, it makes it easier for an intruder to spot us first. That would give the intruder an advantage. An escort is by far the most difficult. It covers a wide scope of the land. There is usually no designated area, and there is little time for the guard to become acquainted with the territory. It is what I do now."
"That's the most difficult?" Ryson wondered allowed, trying to compare the differences in his mind.
"Absolutely. Consider what we now face. We travel in an ever-expanding path, we have no idea what lies ahead. It is next to impossible to maintain continuous points of reference. Our surroundings change with every step."
"I see. And you've never been ambushed while escorting?"
"No, it is what I excel at." Holli showed no sign of pride. She stated it as a simple fact.
Ryson hungered for more information about this elf. He wished to know what might propel someone to remain ever so vigil. "Can you tell me what happened when you were ambushed on patrol?"
Holli frowned. It was obviously a topic she did not like to remember, but again, she did not hesitate in replying.
"It was early after my final training. I was patrolling the eastern edge of our camp. I chose a path too high in the trees. I mistakenly believed it would give me the best vantage point. It did not provide sufficient cover. I was spotted by a raiding party as I made my rounds."
"What kind of raiding party?" Ryson asked with obvious curiosity.
"A group of elves from another camp."
"Really, other elves? You'll attack each other."
"Just as humans and delvers will," Holli responded, this time with a tone of indignation. "Elves compete much the same way as other races. In harsh winters, there is always a struggle for food."
"So that explains why you need guards. I was wondering about that. From what Lief said, I gathered that the threats to the elves disappeared when the goblins and the other dark creatures disappeared. I couldn't understand why the camp needed guards."
For the first time, Holli spoke with a passion as she quickly came to defense of her accepted role. "There are many reasons for guards. We can warn of wild animals, secretly turn away curious humans and delvers without them knowing we are even there, and also fight off an angry tribe of dwarves out looking for trouble."
"You can turn away a delver?" Ryson responded with disbelief.
Holli answered as if reading from an elf guard's manual. "A delver will often follow that which most calls to his curiosity. If a delver is moving toward an elf camp, the delver can be led away by creating diversions, or offering a mysterious sound or smell in an opposite direction."
Ryson nodded. He could not argue the point but he did make a mental note. "I'll have to remember that. Anyway, what happened with the raid?"
Holli's voice repossessed its heaviness. "Two of an opposing camp's party came from below me using the thick branches as cover. I was lucky to escape their capture. I fled back to the inner camp and warned my superiors of the raiders. It was my greatest failure."
"If you weren't captured, and you warned your camp, how can y
ou consider that a failure?"
"A guard’s responsibility is to find the raiders before they find you. I was located and ambushed. I was forced from my position without discovering the party's size. It was not what I was trained for."
"I see." Ryson saw the signs of discouragement on Holli's face. He felt the need to console her. "But that sounds like a long time ago. You must have done much to make up for that mistake."
"Perhaps."
Ryson did not allow the near defeated response to stand. "No, not perhaps. You must have. I consider that a fact and let me tell you why. This is no small affair we're on now. Mappel must trust you greatly. He knows what this is all about. Ever since I met you elves, all I've heard is how things will never be the same and how crucial this whole affair is. Do you think he would send just anybody in the desert with me? Besides that, he's letting you carry that sword. You must know what kind of honor that is."
"It is indeed an honor, but also a great responsibility."
"Oh, I'm sure it is."
Ryson smiled as he noted the disappointment fading from his companion's expression. He let silence overcome them, hoping the encouragement would drive any further misgivings away from his escort. As they moved, now in quiet, he took an opportunity to check things out for himself. Not only did he look off into the distance, he sniffed the air and listened to the wind. He considered those things Mappel told him of the algors and what he might sense in order to find them. Unfortunately, at this moment, he remained unsure of where to travel when they reached the sand.
Thinking of the sand, it was at that moment that Ryson closely examined the ground. Something troubled him. He watched as he stepped down into the mix of sand and rock. He could not pinpoint his alarm, but he did not like how the ground reacted to his step. He was about to say something to Holli, but suddenly, she dropped nearly out of sight.
The elf guard made no sound as her step took her through a camouflaged hole in the ground. When her foot penetrated the veil of sand and rock, her momentum carried her downward through a sizeable gap which measured two arm-lengths across. She showed no sign of panic. She remained in control and used her forward momentum to propel herself to the far side of the opening. Her right hand found solid ground, and she managed to stop her fall. By that time, her entire body, up to her neck, remained submerged under the surface of the ground. Only her head and her right arm remained within the delver's sight.
Ryson leapt over the circular opening. He knelt in front of the elf and took hold of her hand. He also reached into the opening and grabbed the back of her shoulder.
"Hold on, I'll pull you out."
As he began to lift her up, he heard a distinct clicking noise echo up through the hole. The sound grew louder and quicker. The delver could not identify the noise, but he knew whatever was causing it was moving towards them. He continued to pull Holli free, but he leaned forward to look over her shoulder and into the hole. His eyes quickly penetrated the darkness. He made out the trace outlines of a far reaching tunnel. It was tubular in design, fairly tall and very wide.
His attention seized upon the source of the noise within this underground cavern. It moved towards them through the shadows. It skittered through the tunnel in awkward sideways movements, its many legs tapping over the sides and bottom of the tunnel. It crawled vigorously, its intent clear.
As the creature closed upon Holli's vulnerable body, it bounded into the light that cascaded through the opening. Ryson felt nothing but pure aversion to this thing. A grotesque mix of spider and crab, grown to enormous proportions, it veered up with open claws. Bone-hard pinchers the size of tree limbs and two eyes extending out of its face brought similarities to the crab. The rest appeared like a giant spider with most of its round body covered in thick black hair. Its six legs were jointed high in the middle, and they propelled the creature directly towards Holli.
Ryson pulled with all his might. He tried to free Holli from the hole before the creature could get any closer. She was halfway into the open air when the first claw reached up and took her by the waist.
Again Holli made no sound. She attempted to twist free but could not break the grip. She turned her head to look down at whatever held her. If it brought fear to her, she made no sign of it. She quickly took her free left hand and brought it to her side. The other claw grasped it just as quickly. She hovered halfway out of the hole but fully in the grip of this monster.
Ryson continued to pull at her but the claws fought back. The delver held on with all his strength even as Holli sunk further out of his sight. His grip around her right armed tightened, and he dug his knees into the soft sand. He braced himself against the ground swearing not to give up.
"Let go of my arm!" Holli commanded.
"What?!" Ryson exclaimed with ever-widening eyes.
"Let go of my arm!" she shouted forcefully.
The strength of her voice was so resolute, he almost obeyed without thinking. He did not, however, release his hold.
"If I let go, it'll take you in!" he managed to blurt out as he continued to struggle against the force which opposed him.
"Do it!" Her eyes blazed with such fury, her mouth formed a grimace out of pain and anger. "Do it now!"
Ryson let go. He watched in absolute shock as Holli was completely sucked into the hole. She was gone.
He knelt stunned for but a second. He darted his head back to the hole. They were not directly below him as he hoped. The creature had backed away from the opening. It would not allow its prey any chance of escape.
Ryson watched in horror as the two claws remained firmly attached to Holli's waist and her left arm. It pulled her closer to its open mouth which included two large, white fangs. Ryson was about to leap into the hole in hopes of saving the elf when Holli's quick movements held him in place.
The elf, even while in the clutches of such a fiendish creature, found the strength to use her right arm. Her hand flew to her waist in a blur. Her fingers gripped the hilt of the powerful and magical sword which remained at her side. As the blade flashed out of its sheath, it caught the drifting sunlight. The blade glowed like fire and it lit up the entire tunnel for as far as Ryson could see.
The creature reacted violently to the blast of light, seemingly more out of fear than pain. It did not drop Holli from its claws, but it pushed her further away from its face. The two eyes of the monster recoiled. As they did, Holli brought the sword crashing down between them. The light from the sword flashed with even greater brilliance. The blade burned as if immersed in flames, and it split the creature nearly in two. The monster collapsed to the ground with a crunch as dark liquid spilled from the huge gash.
Holli leapt clear and back towards the hole. She watched the dead creature for long moments before checking her own wounds. Her waist and arms were cut, but all wounds appeared merely superficial.
Ryson gracefully lowered himself into the tunnel beside the elf. He spoke with obvious concern.
"Are you alright?"
"I'll live," the elf responded with obvious disgust.
"How's your waist?"
"Abrasions. Slightly bruised. They should be cleaned, but perhaps we should not waste the water."
"Don't worry about the water. I can always get us more, even in the desert. Just take care of yourself."
"I should be dead for such carelessness." Her voice was hollow, made even colder by the echoes of the long reaching tunnel.
Ryson was taken aback by Holli's abruptness. Her response was more confusing than the appearance of this mutated creature.
"What are you talking about?" he questioned.
"I'm talking about what happened here. I stepped right into a trap. You talk of how Mappel trusts me. Now you see how I repay that trust."
"Hey, ease up. I barely noticed the hole and I'm a delver. I should have seen it long before you fell in."
"I am an elf guard. I can not afford to make such mistakes." Her voice was cold and bitter.
Ryson shook his head vehemently. "That's ridiculous."
"It is not ridiculous. What if you had fallen? If I had lost you to this thing, how could I have explained it to my captain, to Mappel?"
Ryson could not accept the harsh self judgment. He pointed to the remains of the creature with near ferocity. "Do you even know what that thing is?" he demanded. "I've never seen anything like it. I doubt you have either."
"I do not know what it is," Holli answered with a near lifeless tone.
His pressing eyes bore down upon her. "Then how could you have been prepared for it?"
"I must be prepared for everything," Holli responded quickly. "I was warned to watch for the unknown, the unexpected. I did not fulfill my duty."
Ryson heaved a heavy breath. He was determined not to allow the elf to hold on to such a perception. "What is your duty?"
Holli answered swiftly, and with more than a hint of self-disdain. "To protect you, to see to the safe conclusion of your mission."
"Was I hurt?" The delver's simple question echoed through the tunnel.
Holli remained silent.
"Was I hurt?" he asked again. His expression demanded she speak the obvious answer.
"No," she allowed.
"Then you have not failed in your duty. You were told to watch for the unexpected. That's a very vague instruction. You dealt with this monster better than I could have. And neither of us got hurt. I can't ask for more than that."
For a moment, Holli appeared slightly relieved. Her sternness, however, returned quickly. "Be that as it may, I can not allow such a thing to happen again. As you have said before, yours is a mission of great importance. If we must face such unexpected obstacles, then I must heighten my awareness."
She checked her ire long enough to apologize for what she felt was previously inappropriate behavior. It was the duty of an elf guard to remain watchful over those they escorted. They would give orders when safety was at risk, take command when danger presented itself, but they were to always remain in control. They were also to give continuous respect.
"By the way, forgive me for shouting orders at you, but I needed my right hand. I could not free my left. I believed that the sword was my only hope."
Ryson waved aside the apology. He took no offense at the time, and none now. "I would have yelled, too. As for the sword, it looks like you thought right." Ryson's gaze locked upon the shimmering blade of the sword. Strangely, it did not hurt his eyes to stare directly into the glowing metal that brought near daylight to this dark tunnel.
"That sword seems pretty special," he remarked with obvious interest. "It even gives off its own light."
"It is not a source of light," Holli confessed, "it simply magnifies the light around it. That is part of its enchantment. Do not underestimate that power. It can catch the faintest gleam and offer enough light for travel into the darkest of caves. For example, it can catch the light which flows through the hole in this tunnel from a great distance. We could walk far and deep. We could turn corners and descend steep banks. We could reach a length where are own eyes would sense no light at all. The sword, however, would still capture the light which flows from that opening. It is only in an enclosed place where light is completely blocked will the sword fail to offer illumination."
"I see." Ryson took a moment to glance down the long tunnel. The light from the sword lit the passage way with greater depth than the brightest of lanterns. It allowed Ryson to inspect the walls and to follow the path. The tunnel twisted and turned for a great distance before the path curved out of sight. "I wonder how far this thing goes."
Holli showed no interest in the tunnel. "It is of no concern to us."
She stepped back to the opening and passed an expectant glance at the delver. She obviously wished to exit the tunnel and continue with their original quest.
Ryson's curiosity would not be so easily contained. He meandered within the walls of the tunnel, taking deep longing stares down the enclosed corridor. He offered his own opinion. "I don't know about that. We don't know what that creature was. You said so yourself. Maybe this tunnel holds the answer."
Holli's response was coldly logical. "The creature must be a result of the tainted magic which now swells over the land. The sphere emits energies which can alter creatures in unthinkable ways. It might have been nothing more than the egg of an ordinary spider that somehow became mutated. It's a surprise we haven't come across something like this sooner."
Ryson's growing desire to explore the tunnel exuded from him like smoke from a fire. "But look at how long this tunnel goes. Who knows what we might find."
"And you wish to explore it?" Holli's expression was harsh.
"Of course. If the magic created this creature, it might have created something else."
She frowned dubiously. "Yes, something more terrible and more deadly. I do not see the point in taking such a risk."
"We shouldn't just leave without inspecting at least a little further," Ryson requested. "We may never have an opportunity like this again."
Holli stared sternly at the delver. "How will this help us in our quest to find the algors?"
"I don't know. I don't know what may be down there. That's why I think it wouldn't hurt to check it out."
"This will not help our cause," Holli spoke angrily.
Her tone finally caught Ryson's attention. He stood confused over her adamant stance.
"What's wrong?"
"You have been given a task," she replied forcefully. "That task was to find the algors, or have you forgotten? We must find them and explain to them of what is happening. According to Mappel, even according to you, there are important decisions to be made involving the sphere. We have not the time to explore this irrelevant tunnel dug by some monster. We must return to this objective."
"It won't take long just to have a look around," Ryson persisted.
"It will not help us." Her hardened stare did not ease. "I know what is causing this. It is your natural instincts as a delver to explore that which is new to you. I must ask you to contain these feelings until we have accomplished what we have set out to do. Now, I can not find the algors on my own. That is your responsibility. But I also know that I can't force you to do anything. I know enough about you that if you wanted to leave me behind you could do so in an instant. I can't capture you or even keep up with you. I can only ask you to remember your pledge to Mappel, and to Shayed. Remember your responsibilities as I remember mine. We need to find the algors."
Ryson grimaced at acknowledging the truth. He knew his desire to explore the tunnel failed to hold any true rewards other than satisfying his own curiosity. He cursed lightly under his breath before accepting the only true course of action. He looked to Holli requesting forgiveness with his eyes.
"Of course you're right. This kind of thing just happens to me sometimes. It's hard for me keep my attention focused with so much going on. I hope you can understand."
"You do not have to explain further. Let us forget this matter and exit this tunnel. I will need a moment to clean my wounds. Then, we will return to what we must do."