"What happens? Are we in danger?" Aline dared to ask. She looked with frightened, huge eyes on Erya.
"Not at all", Erya replied. "I just mean it's unfortunate you meet me, a foul thief and betrayer of everything as the first person you meet here".
All four looked at each other and didn't know what to believe about what was just being said by this stranger. Should they believe her and did they really have a choice either way? Ellie stood and weighed one foot against the other as if bored. She was tired of being scared, to be honest!
"Alrighty then" Ellie decided for the four of them "what do you suggest we do next?"
The other three earthlings were looking shocked at Ellie. What happened to this little girl and why is she this... courageous and bold now? She has never shown any bravery, and even Nels was surprised. He was thinking about all the times he doubted her, but now he was convinced to support her. When seeing Ingrid's hesitation he decided to step up for his sister.
"Yes, I wonder the same thing, I'm with Ellie, I want to do something!" he said.
Surprised but glad to hear that Ellie smiled and Erya suggested that they should see her sister in the underworld. She assured them that the underworld wasn't dangerous, it was just called that because of how people were treated in the lower classes in Avoranic. She said they built a whole society underground because of the mistreatment they faced over the ground. Ellie decided that she wasn't scared of Erya and smiled at the stranger and to her surprise Erya smiled back.
"I like you" Erya smiled at the girl who walked beside her "You really seem levelheaded and bright".
"Wow, thanks" Ellie responded and smiled even bigger. She looked at Ingrid who looked annoyed by everything, but she didn't care because she had just got her first friend.6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwvMfpvzGd0
They walked for what seemed like forever until they stumbled upon a short little guy seemingly hiding under some kind of giant roots from a tree. When they looked closer, they saw that the little dwarf was stuck and Erya immediately went down on her knees so she appeared to be the same height as the young boy. The boy was unusually short, of course, he was a dwarf, but that didn't Ellie and her company know.6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBZatuHSgs8
"Why is he so short?" she whispered to Erya.6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZyhdQFv9JS
"I almost forgot you're an earthling..." Erya replied. "He is a dwarf child and it is pure respect and honor to each other to go down and be at the same height as dwarfs. Some people don't but..."6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCHRKAhdnDA
"...They want us dead." the boy replied in a curiously gloomy voice. Something with him seemed dead. Like his soul had been swallowed by some evil force...6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAcwQolxDTI
"Have someone hurt you, little guy?" Erya responded and with just one hand she broke the tree root in half by squashing it in her right hand. Ingrid looked scared and Erya was quick to explain herself.6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBbtlTaCdtw
"I'm just a half-elf but my dad's strength and speed have been passed down to me. You see, elves are very strong and very fast... And someone who is entirely elf-blood is even stronger and faster. Don't you ever mess with one. They want even elves like me, "my kind", dead".
The boy followed them for just a few minutes until they all saw a quiet common field.6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡysg1TkK9ZW
"Now" Erya prepared them, "When you step on this grass you will fall through the field. Don't be scared. That's the way to the underworld. The only way. Take each other's hands! Now!"6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGd5xE6RpqA
The other one hesitated but when they heard her last word they immediately did what she asked for. A few moments later they all stepped on the field and fell through it. The young boy was with them as well. They didn't know who he was or why he followed along, but neither did they know Erya so nobody even questioned it.
It was like being in an underground in a big city but without the actual vehicle driving. Ellie remembered being in London once in her life and then she and her mom were using the underground to go places. This was a similar feeling, except it lasted for like five seconds.6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXK3M4hN77k
And they were falling instead of taking a drive forward. Ellie felt a mysterious feeling in her belly, similar to the scary but excitingly tingling feeling someone feels if they've experienced a merry-go-round in an amusement park. For the first time since she arrived in Avoranic, she didn't think about anything but here and now and she was finally enjoying the unknown!
When they suddenly were standing still again, they couldn't see anything. Nobody said anything until Aline did.6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC9QJ1WRKex
"Are we dead?"6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtyE87JPvxY
"Oh you silly human" Erya chuckled and took Aline's arm before she even thought about asking how Erya could see in the darkness, the space just lit up and they saw that they were in some place that looked like a cave with walls made out of rock. Before anyone reacted, because it happened so fast, the entire space appeared to be in daylight while being under the ground. And what was that...? Ellie gasped and her earthly company did the same. It was people of different kinds and appearances everywhere! What almost all had in common though, was the poor clothing. Many of them had holes in their shirts and clothes in very rough condition.6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡza0fiz29Lo
"This is the underworld" Erya finally answered their thought. "Most people here are very poor. We are outside the system. Now, let's find my sister Norya"6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡi9Xzro1zYE
"Did your parents have a bad imagination when deciding your names or what?" Nels laughed out loud and Ellie felt embarrassed about him at the point. To her disappointment, Ingrid giggled along. Erya's eyes changed from green to intense red in less than a second and both Nels and Ingrid stopped laughing immediately.6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLJ90ylYq8e
"Do you want help find your way back home or not? To me, it doesn't matter if the four of you just strut around here in all eternity and become mad or something"6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVDM0bJHBbl
Nels looked directly at Erya.6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM5RjV0fTLO
"Why do you want to help us anyway?" he asked.
Before anyone said anything more people around them started to stare and from nowhere a grey and black ghostlike figure appeared in their group.6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPIDEWeliK1
"Look, now the ghost officers think we are in trouble," Erya told Nels and sighed. She turned to the officer with a smile. "Excuse these. They are my cousins, they are from... Niran. They don't always have their manners in place. I'm so sorry!"6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqIenQqznqG
Erya's smile looked glued onto her face, but the officer nodded and was floating away just as quickly as he appeared. She turned back to Nels and said a few selected words.6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpiRAOcQbmP
"You, boy, just shut up. I understand you don't trust me, it's mutual! To be honest, I'm running away from something and you guys are my disguise. I help you with your problem, you help me with mine, so we both win."6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhLqtRC1bnw
"I don't want to be with you if you're some sort of a criminal!" Ingrid pointed out.6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIEzvQz7NIK
"Well, seems like you have to suck it up. How much of a choice do you have?"6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQqI4qWuypO
Ingrid realized the hopelessness of the situation.6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMK5NJW4FCs
"Well spoken," she said. "I guess we all have to help each other with this mess."
and then Add to home screen.