With this ring

Malinoriel was at the back of the group, covering their escape in case any of the invaders decided to pursue them. She was aware that Random was hanging back near her as well, while most of the others were further ahead, investigating which direction to go in the maze of tunnels, and making sure the path was clear, or at least free of Fomorians. Fleeing civilian stragglers still passed occasionally, but she had a sinking feeling that most who were going to make it out already had - the rest were either dead or captured.

There was a loud noise up ahead, a crash of stone and other debris, and the rest of the party ducked behind some crates to wait and see what it was. Mal and Random did the same, though a bit further back - there were screams and the smell of blood in the air, and it seemed that no matter which way they went, they were going to face more fighting. She readied another arrow in case the combat was coming to them this time.

Random jumped at the loud crash and jumped to the side, almost landing on Mal as they sought cover behind a stack of broken crates.

"Oh..." he said, quickly crawling to the side of her, "Sorry..."

He peeked over the nearest crateand saw the rest of the party taking cover as well. Two cyclopses were ahead in the tunnel, moving away from the group, and from the looks of things Del wanted to wait until they passed before moving on.

"Damnit. This is bad. This is really, really bad," random muttered to himself. He turned to the elf girl beside him. Despite the chaos, Mal seemed to be keeping her cool, readying an arrow with a determined look.

"How are we supposed to get out of here? And even if we do, where are we gonna go? From the looks of it, the whole city is under siege."

"All we can do is keep going," Mal said under her breath, keeping her eyes on the enemies ahead in case they turned this way. "It's bad," she agreed, "but we have to keep trying. Maybe at least we can help some people on our way."

Random watched as the two cyclopses moved on, heading towards a large, high-roofed structure beyond the hallway that he guessed was some sort of market building.  

"Looks like they're starting to set up camps. This isn't a random attack, it's an occupation."

Mal nodded grimly at the tiefling's assessment of the situation. "It certainly looks that way. We'll have to get to the surface and see what things are like there." Hearing the concern in his voice, she turned to him for a moment. "Are you going to be all right to keep going?"

Random blushed purple.

"I... yeah, of course. I'm fine. I can handle it. I've seen worse than this. I mean... this is pretty bad, but we kicked ass in the arena. If we can keep that up we might have a shot."

"Good," Malinoriel said with a faint smile. "We'll get through it together. All of us."

Random smiled back. If his heart hadn't already been racing from adrenaline and running, it might have skipped a beat. Maybe when this was over... if they were still alive...

He turned away from that line of thought as futile for the moment and looked back at the enemy building.

"I hate hiding like this..." he muttered.

"Man, if only I could set this whole place on fire. These things burn just like everything else. Too many innocent people, though..."

Mal nodded. There had been a distinct satisfaction that came from setting the headquarters near the arena on fire.... but that reminded her of something else. "Your ring!" the elf exclaimed, having just realized she still had his magic ring on her finger. "I'm so sorry, let me give it back..."

"Oh!" Random said, caught off guard.

"Um... yeah. I mean, if you don't still need it. I don't mind if you do. I mean... it suits you. Umm... like... with the setting stuff on fire and everything. I mean... You did really good with it."

Malinoriel stifled a slight sigh.  It wasn't that she was unaware of Random's crush on her - she would have had to be completely oblivious not to notice the way he blushed and stammered around her.  But this was hardly the time to get into a long discussion of why it wouldn't work out, or her obligations to her house, or any of that.  She liked him - maybe even under different circumstances might have allowed herself to feel more than that - but she knew he would only end up being disappointed.  It made her feel sad and wistful, and she couldn't afford to be distracted like that right now, not if they were going to make it out alive.  Maybe once they were more secure, she could talk to him about it - it was something she had been putting off for too long, not wanting to hurt him.  

"Thanks," she said with a faint smile as she pulled off the ring and offered it to him, "but you need it much more than me.  I'm glad you were willing to lend it to me for a little while, though."

"Oh... of course. Any time." Random smiled as the elf placed the ring back in his hand.

"Well... any time you need to set a few things on fire, at least."