Shalelu
Nightmares
Shalelu woke to the unpleasant sensation of stones and grit pressing into one side of her face. A moment passed before she realised she was lying on the bare ground, and she moved to push herself upright. Muscles protested as she shifted to a sitting position, spying and reaching for her bow dropped carelessly beside her.
Still groggy, she carefully stood, and brushed the dirt from her face. She turned slowly, taking in her surroundings. She stood in a barren, mountainous wasteland, punctuated by rocky outcrops and the occasional scattering of sparse dark vegetation that shifted to and fro in the wind. The horizon was hidden behind mountains in all directions, and the grey rock of the landscape contrasted with a menacing, inky-blue sky that twinkled weakly with utterly unfamiliar stars. Those same stars would occasionally blink out entirely as flocks of winged, shadowy shapes briefly blocked them out, but in the dark sky even Shalelu’s keen elven eyes struggled to discern their exact form or their distance. She shivered, and only then noticed the chill in the air.
Shalelu had no idea where she was, and no idea how she’d found herself here. She tugged at memories, trying to piece together the events that had led to the present moment.
The necromancer. They’d travelled into Runeforge, her and Thia and the others, seeking the key to bringing about Karzoug’s downfall. The ancient complex had been divided into seven halls, one for each of the long-forgotten runelords. It had been in Zutha’s hall - the hall of gluttony, the hall of necromancy. They’d found themselves in the presence of a necromancer, ancient yet timeless, who’d asked probing questions about the outside world before lashing out in fury at their answers. The ensuing combat had quickly turned against them, and the last thing that Shalelu remembered was a spray of multicoloured lights that had reached out and struck each of them. Shalelu herself had been struck by a violet light - was that what had transported her here?
Thia, she thought again, with a jolt to the stomach. She had no idea how the others had fared after she had been ripped away from them. Had they been similarly transported to some other barren wasteland - or worse? Had they even survived the necromancer’s wrath? Would she ever see Thia again?
Fear and despair scratched at Shalelu’s mind, but she forced them away with elven discipline. Answers to those questions would not be found here, and they would never be found if she could not find her way free from this strange alien land. Survival must come before answers, and that meant focusing first on the basics - food, water, and shelter.
Shalelu turned again, her expression grim as she picked out the nearest landmark of likely significance. One rocky outcrop in particular caught her eye, nearer than the others and also bearing a shadowy opening that, with luck, would at least offer some shelter if nothing else.
With a new resolve, Shalelu began walking.