Aeril slowly stirred from his sleep. He often hated waking up, especially when he was as comfortable as he was feeling right now. Feeling more lethargic than normal, he was content to lie on the comfortable bed and try to remember what he had dreamed about. He figured it must have been a good dream as he felt quite cozy at the moment. When he couldn't figure out what he had dreamed, he began to think about how comfortable the bed was. It was by far the most comfortable bed he had ever slept in. Far more comfortable than his own bed in Freeport, which was made more for utility than comfort. This bed on the other hand, with its silken covers and cushioned mattress that seemed to want to envelop you in its embrace, was made purely for comfort. Just laying down on it relaxed so much that you couldn't help but feel very drowsy. If it weren't for one thing, he'd probably be asleep again, instead of just wishing to go back to sleep. He wished whatever it was he was hugging would stop moving so he could go back to sleep.


That thought suddenly struck him as odd, why in the world would he be hugging something? With a gentle squeeze, he confirmed that he was indeed holding something in his arms. Since he couldn't figure out what it was he was holding he reluctantly decided to find out, and he slowly opened his eyes. Once his vision cleared he was easily able to make out dark blue of someone's back and neck. With a sigh of relief he realized it was just Maji and closed his eyes to go back to sleep. Half a second later his eyes flew open in surprise and he all but vaulted out of bed. "Good morning to you too." Maji sarcastically said as she turned to face him. "Just what are you so jumpy about?"


Aeril was unsure of what to say or do. He had already insulted her the night before, he didn't want to insult her again. He hadn't meant to grab her, but how did he explain that to her. What was confusing him was that he didn't know if saying anything about it would make things worse, better, or even if grabbing her like that was bad. For all he knew he could have complimented her or insulted her, so if did complement her then apologizing would then be an insult. However on the other hand if he had insulted her, than not apologizing would most definitely be extremely bad. So far he only seemed to anger the girl more than anything else, despite trying very hard to be friendly with her. From the back of his mind came the thought. Why do these things always happen to me?


Aeril tensed when Maji suddenly frowned deeply. He backed away from her slightly, almost as if expecting her to hit him. Although he wouldn't really blame her if she did, he had grabbed her while he was sleeping. He watched as she placed her thumb and index finger to the bridge of her nose and asked. "Why are you looking at me like you're scared I'm going to beat you within an inch of your life? Please tell this has nothing to do with our little talk last night."


He hesitantly nodded his head yes. Maji sighed. "Let me guess. You're scarred to say anything in fear of insulting me again." Again he slowly nodded yes with a nervous and fearful smile. "Let's just say it was an accident and forget about it ok?' She said sounding very exasperated. He sighed and nodded his head again. "Good. And since you're over there already, bring me my cloths on the desk chair." Then as an afterthought she added. "And for goodness sake stop nodding your head and say something."


"Ok, sorry." He said as he picked up the pile of cloths from the chair and handed them to her. Aeril decided to stretch and practice a little to make up for the day before. Ever since Varlon had begun to teach him at the age of ten, he always seemed to feel much better after practicing. After practicing he would completely forget about the other kids who would often tease him back then. Finally he reached the point where he felt so good about himself that he didn't care what the kids thought of him anymore. Even now as he was practicing, he felt all the embarrassment, and awkwardness melting away.


Although Maji had taken the cloths from Aeril, she instead put them on the night stand and went back to pouring over her spellbook like she had been before Aeril woke up. "Perfect." She said.


"Hmm?" Aeril asked. "What's perfect?"


"I have a plan. Something about this town is seriously wrong and I plan on finding out what it is." Quickly throwing her cloths on she said. "Come on, I need your help. You can finish your practicing after you help me out."


"Ok I guess, but how am I supposed to help you?"


"It's nothing really. All I need you to do is to be a gentlemen and open a few doors for me."


Aeril gave her a confused look. "You want me to open a few doors for you? Why would you need my help for that?"


Maji didn't answer him, instead. She quickly began casting several spells. The first spell she cast reillusioned herself back into the half elf form she had when they arrived in the city. The next spell made his eye's tingle, and the third made her fade like a ghost. Looking at her was like trying to trying to follow a single strand of silk floating in the wind. His eyes wanted to just look past her and not at her. "What happened to you?" He asked.


"I cast invisibility on myself, which is why I need your help. It'll look odd if someone sees a door handle turning itself and then the door opens and closes by itself. That's why I need you to open a few doors for me, so I can get outside undetected."


Aeril sighed and started getting dressed himself. "Alright I'll go, so much for practicing today."


Maji turned and looked at him nonplused. "Why not? I just asked you to open a few doors, then you're quite welcome to come back here and practice all you want."


"Ya, but then how are you gonna get back in? Besides, if it's that important to you, I might as well help you out."


Maji considered him for a minute, before shrugging her shoulders indifferently. "Whatever. If that's what you want to do, it's up to you. Hurry up though. This invisibility spell isn't going to last forever." Grabbing his hand, she pulled him forward and said. "Come on let's go. Remember I'm invisible so don't look directly at me, and if anyone's around make sure anything you say to me sound like you're talking to yourself."


"Ya, but what if you wanna tell me something?"


"If there are people around then I'll pantomime instructions, otherwise I'll just whisper it in your ear. Just remember to control yourself and not react."


Aeril nodded his head and opened the door. Maji let go of his hand and took his arm in hers to better lead him. As they walked to the foyer of the inn, the inn keeper called out to him. "Why good morning! Did you sleep well?"


Aeril turned to look at the tall brown haired woman. With a smile he answered. "Oh yes! Thank you. The room was wonderful and the bed was the most comfortable I've ever slept in actually. In fact this inn is the fanciest place I've ever stayed in."


The girl laughed. "Well, I'm glad you think so highly of it! It's always a good omen when your first customers think so highly of your business!"


"We're your first customers?"


The girl nodded her head. "Oh yes, the entire town is relatively new after all. There haven't been many people out this way recently, so I'm just glad the two of you enjoyed the room. It would have made my brother proud. He had the idea of building the inn, but — sadly he never had the chance to see it come true."


"I'm sorry to hear that." Aeril said somberly.


"It's alright. This inn was his dream. I'm just glad I was able to give life to it. Anyway I'll leave you to your business, I was just curious if you and your beautiful companion found the room comfortable."


"Yes, it was very comfortable and thank you miss — "


The girl looked embarrassed having realized she never gave her name. "Oh my, I'm so sorry. I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Reaya, Reaya Noliani."


Aeril blinked. "Isn't that elvish for mist and fog?" He asked not noticing Maji raised an eyebrow at him and gave him a quizzical look.


Reaya smiled. "Yes it is. I'm one quarter elvish. My mother gave me my name because it was a really misty day." Laughing she continued. "It's kind of ironic though. While I look human, I have an elven name, but my brother looked elven and had a human name. Oh silly me there I go again, you must forgive me, I tend to get carried away at times. I'll let you go. I've food to attend to."


As soon as she turned her back, Maji pulled on Aeril's and pulled him out the door and into an alley. After going outside and making sure no one could hear him he said. "Sorry, it's not like I purposely stopped to talk to her."


Maji shook her head. "I think she could see me."


Aeril looked at her incredulously. "How could she have seen you, when I can barely see you?"


"She was looking right at me when she mentioned me."


Aeril shook his head. "Come on. If she had seen you, don't you think she would have said something? Especially since she'd be able to tell you were invisible?"


Maji shrugged. "Let's just go look around. She gave me the creeps."


With a shrug, Aeril let Maji lead him away and around the city. Although it was still early, they quickly noticed everyone in the town was young. The town was bustling with early morning activities. Shop venders could be seen preparing their stalls and their children ran through the streets. Yet none one person the saw showed a hint of being middle aged. The oldest people they saw looked to be between their upper teens and early twenties. While Aeril found it a funny coincidence, Maji was extremely put off. With each minute she seemed to be more convinced that there was something odd about the city.


When they heard the town bell, signaling the changing of the city guards, Maji quickly dragged Aeril to the gate they came from. "Why are we going back there?" He asked as they began to approach the gate.


She made a gesture for him to be quiet, pointing out that there were people nearby. Moving next to him, she stood on her tiptoe and whispered in his ear. "Shh quiet. There are people around. We're here because that guard from last night didn't strike me as completely honest. I may need you to go off by yourself for a bit so that I can follow her. Here come their replacements, let's get ready. I'm going to go up to them. When I give you the signal, walk up to them and start talking. Alright did you get all of that?"


She waited for Aeril to nod, and quietly walked up toward the gate. She had only taken a few steps, when she stopped and stared at the guards in astonishment. Aeril wasn't sure why, but she was obviously impressed. She quickly came over her surprise and began waiting for the coming guards to pass her, she quietly fell into step behind them. Before changing the guards exchanged a few words which the girl, Mechigia, seemingly dismissed.


The couple were talking as they walked toward the center of town, with Maji following closely behind. He watched as Mechigia stopped, gave Zagorn a kiss on the cheek, and something. Zargon sighed deeply before nodding his head and walking away. They took a few more steps when Maji gestured for him to come. Walking slowly toward her, he called out to her. She turned around to see who was calling her. Seeing it was Aeril, she smiled at him and in a tired voice said. "Why hello. You're up early today!"


Aeril shook his head. "Not really, this is about the usual time I've woken up recently. Me and Maji have been traveling for about a week now. It hasn't been very long, but I've pretty much gotten used to the schedule already."


Mechigia looked slightly taken a back. "So you've only known each other for less than a week?" She said sounding surprised. "I thought the two of you were lovers."


Aeril blushed profusely and shook his head and his hands in denying manner. "No! We're not . . . I mean we're just friends. What . . . why would you think that?"


"Well just from the way the two of you acted last night, you seemed pretty close to me. So when misty told me the two of you were sharing a room in the inn that just seemed the most logical answer. Seeing Aeril blush even more when she mentioned the shared room, she gave him a knowing smile. "So tell me where is she now?"


"Oh um uh she's uh around. Why do you ask?" He answered nervously.


"Oh no reason, she just seemed like an interesting person to talk with. Anyway I'm tired, I've been on duty since the firewall formed last night." She yawned deeply as she said. "I'm going to see misty before heading off to sleep." Extending her hand to him, she said. "If I don't see you again, it was a pleasure meeting you."


Shaking her hand, he said. "Ya same here." Aeril watched her as she walked back to the inn, and belatedly noticed that her armor looked pretty fancy. It was an entire suite of fashionably made highly reflective purple chain mail. The only way he could think up of why he hadn't noticed it earlier was nervousness. He waited until she was no longer in sight, before turning around to look at Maji. Seeing the wide eyed stupefied look on her face, he nearly jumped back in surprise. "What's wrong?" He whispered, out of both concern and curiosity.


"Sh-sh-sh-she h-had a — "


"A what?" Aeril prompted.


Maji stood up straight, took a deep breath, and composed herself. "The rings she was wearing — Her engagement and wedding rings!"


Still not understanding why an engagement and wedding ring would cause such a dramatic reaction, he asked. "What about it?"


Maji balled her fists in frustration, and breathed deeply to calm herself. "The rings she was wearing are not exactly what you would call normal or inexpensive. She had on two velium blue diamond engagement rings and a velium diamond wedding ring!" She exclaimed not caring that she was invisible.


"So? Is that important or illegal?" He asked honestly not understanding what was upsetting the girl so much.


Maji grabbed her hair and pulled it to keep herself from yelling or screaming. "First question do you know what either velium or diamonds are?" Aeril shook his head. Sighing deeply she said. "I should have known and just explained. Ok. Velium is a metal similar to silver, gold, and platinum. It's the eternal ice that was created when the goddess Veeshan, The Wurm Queen, first breathed upon the continent of Velious. It's a metal like none other; it's clear like ice, but as easy to work with as gold. Not only that, but due to its divine origin, it amplifies any enchantment place on it. Which means the price of velium is extremely high. Diamonds are one of the rarest gems in the world and blue diamonds are the rarest and most valuable gem in the world. Not many people have seen, much less, bought diamond jewelry, to say nothing of blue diamonds. I'd estimate the cost of making one at no less than seven hundred and fifty platinum per blue diamond ring, and five hundred platinum for the ordinary diamond ring. That's about two thousand platinum! Platinum — not gold — platinum! Only richest of people can afford to be spending thousands of platinum like that, so now do you understand why I reacted like I did?"


Aeril who had the same wide-eyed look Maji had earlier, nodded his head. The concept of that much money was almost too much for him to grasp. As a monk of Quellious, his life had always been a simple one. He lived in a simple home, with only the essentials in it. A small wooden table big enough for him, Varlon and two others to eat at and a bookshelf, and two beds were the extent of furniture in his house. When he told Reaya that the inn was the fanciest place he had ever stayed in, he wasn't exaggerating in the least bit. His bed in Freeport was nothing more than a mattress on a wooden extension from the wall. The bed in the inn was a large, with thick plush covers, on a spring mounted support frame. Compared to his room in Freeport, the inn room made him feel like a king.


But he knew there were bigger, fancier rooms out there. When in he was at Kia's wedding, the reception was held in a North Freeport inn called the Jade Tiger Den. With its green imported stones for a foundation, wall to wall green silk carpet, spacious rooms each including a private bathroom with a large soaking bath, the Jade Tiger Den was easily the most extravagant inn in all of Freeport. A night in that inn was said to cost nearly a hundred platinum a night!


He was also pretty sure kings and nobles had likely had even nicer accommodations. What they were he couldn't imagine, but he was sure they were much nicer. So for him to imagine spending two thousand platinum was beyond his understanding, even if it was for a wedding and engagement ring. "You still wanna no more?" He asked Maji.


With a deep sigh Maji said. "Yes, I would. There's just something disturbing about this place! But seeing as how with those rings and the armor she's wearing she's obviously swimming in money, perhaps it might be a wise idea to let her be. Let's get back to the inn, so you can come get me; then we can find something to eat."


"Sure." He said walking along side Maji. Keeping his voice low so as not to be heard by others he asked. "How expensive is her armor? I noticed it looked pretty fancy."


Maji scoffed slightly. "Extremely expensive. The chains of that armor are pure platinum. It's a rare armor due to its cost, but more importantly it's an ornate armor reserved for use in special ceremony."


Nodded understanding what Maji was both saying and not saying. The fact that the armor was made out of platinum meant it was highly expensive, placing her even higher on the wealth scale. What she didn't say and what was likely putting her on edge was, why would a woman who was obviously as wealthy as she was, be on guard duty at night wearing a ceremonial suite of armor?


Now he was beginning to feel some of Maji's caution. From what he had seen, those who were wealthy often hired others to handle the things they wanted done. If she were wealthy then she wouldn't be out here working as a guard. But if she wasn't wealthy she wouldn't be able to afford any of the things she had. Of course the engagement rings would have come from her husband, which could mean she wasn't wealthy; her husband was the wealthy one. But that still didn't fit, since they had both been guarding the city last night. The only other thing he could figure was that she or her husband had stolen it, but that wouldn't make sense either. Maji had said that blue diamonds were the rarest and most valuable gems in the world, the person who was stolen from would likely have people looking for it. By wearing it in public they would risk themselves getting caught and arrested.


Aeril shook his head. There was no way he was going to be able to figure it all out, so why bother worry about it? Luckily for him they had arrived at the inn by that time and he opened the door for Maji to enter. But as he did, he found himself looking directly at Mechigia as she was leaving the inn. He apologized and stepped aside so that she could pass by. As he did, he quickly noticed two things about her. Firstly she had taken off her armor and was now dressed in an attire more suitable for a small out of the way village. That was contrasted by the second thing he noted: a golden necklace with a light blue gem on it. The necklace was without a doubt the most beautiful necklace he had ever seen. Unlike a sapphire or any other gem he had seen, the color of this gem didn't seem to part of it, but a light that was contained inside of it. A quick glance at her hand showed a similar gem on the ring on her left hand.


Aeril was bewildered by the picture she presented. If not for the jewelry, he wouldn't have blinked twice if he had seen her in the farming community of Nearfield. It seemed so odd for the woman to have traded her expensive platinum armor for a pair of worn work cloths! The slight pinch Maji gave him snapped him from his daze. "Are you off to bed now?"


Mechigia answered sounding even more tired then she did minutes before when they had first spoken. "Yes, I haven't been able to sleep well the last few days. And I've been staying up far too long."


"Well I hope you're able to sleep good now. I'm going back to my room and then me and Maji are going to find a good place to eat."


Stifling a yawn, she said. "Thank you. If I may make a suggestion, I would suggest eating at the tasty dish. It certainly lives up to its name." Yawning again she said. "I'm sorry, I'd talk more but I'm just too tired. You two have fun."


"Thanks!" He answered as he waved goodbye to her. He turned back to see Maji rubbing her temples with her hand. He reached out put his hand on her back. Turning to look back at him, she shook her head and headed inside. He followed her back to the room and opened the door for her. She walked straight to the bed and fell onto it face first. After a moment she rolled over so that she was staring at the ceiling. Aeril was feeling a bit concerned so he asked. "You ok?"


Turning her head to look at him, she didn't say anything for a little while. "If I am, I must be insane."


Aeril blinked twice, not understanding her. "Huh?"


"Just forget it. Go ahead on do your practicing. I'm just gonna lay here for a while. Let me know when you're done and we'll go at place she said. And by all means take your time."


Aeril shrugged and began to warm up for his practice. He began as Varlon had taught him, and focused his mind for the practice session he was about to have. He cleared his mind of how Maji was acting weird, or how the village got here, or about the paradox that Mechigia presented, instead his focused his mind on his training. With his eyes closed he began to move through some of the basic forms he had been taught. One moved flowed to the next and soon he was no longer even thinking of what the next form was; he simply let his body do what it felt was right.


He thought it was weird how focusing on the art was easier for him to do when he had a lot on his mind. He would have thought it would be easier to do when there wasn't that many things on his mind. He had the easiest times when he was confused or upset, almost like something he had done many times before in similar situations. He had to admit it helped immensely. When he was upset, it would help calm him; when he was confused, it would it would either help him understand or help him simply forget.


Right now he was forgetting. Everything was simply melting away into oblivion, creating a moment of sudden clarity. He had reached the state where nothing else existed, just him and the art. It was the stage in which he felt as if he were two different people. He could see both at himself and through himself. He could see how easily he moved through the motion, as if he had become one with the art. He was amazed at the mastery his other self had over the art. He watched as his other self was slowly forming a spiral as he continued moving through the complex motions of forms he didn't remembered learning. As he looked at himself moving through the spiral, he thought he could see a blue trail tracing his steps through the spiral.


He was just about at the center of the spiral when the sound of something hitting the floor brought him out of his reverie. He turned to see what caused the noise and saw Maji, who was seated on the bed, reaching to pick up her fallen spell book. Aeril shook his head to clear his mind a little he asked. "You ready to eat?"


"Did you finish? I didn't mean to interrupt you. You can go ahead and finish."


"Nah, it's ok. I think I was almost done anyway."


"Almost?" Maji asked raising an eyebrow.


"Ya almost, come on I'll explain it while we're eating."


Leaving the inn, they were quickly able to find the suggested restaurant. Inside they found a few tables and several seats by the counter. As soon as they entered the tall man behind the counter said. "Welcome the tasty dish! Please sit here at the counter, and tell me what you'd like to eat."


"What types of food are available to eat?" Maji asked.


"Why just about anything! You tell me what you want, no matter where its from. I've cooked for everyone from trolls to high elves, and many of them said they felt like they were eating their mamma's cooking! So what do you want?"


"Anything huh? Well why don't we go for some fish rolls and mammoth steaks with some hearty meat sauce."


The man look disappointed. "That's it? I'm offering you the worlds most exotic foods and all you want is fish rolls and meat sauce on steak?" The man sighs. "Well if that's what you want."


"What's wrong with that?" Aeril asked. "It sounds good to me."


The chief looked at him and said. "I have traveled the world over learning to make the best foods anyone can find, yet most of the people here only want plain and boring things.


"Ok then if you want to make exotic foods, let me change my order." Maji said. "Hmm why don't you make him a caynar nut stuffed trout, jumjum salad, and a side of snow bunny stew. I'll have some vegetable roughy, crispy gourami, and a side of glowing goo."


The chef's eyes lit up as Maji told him her order. "An exquisite choice indeed, although your last choice is most peculiar."


"Will that be a problem?" Maji asked.


"Of course not, it just seemed out of place. But if that's what you want, that's what you're going to get. What type of trout would you like for the stuffed trout: Cauldron trout, fogwater trout, or frosty cave trout?"


Maji thought for a moment. "He'll have the fogwater."


"Excellent choice. Give me a bit and I'll be back with your food." He said before moving to the kitchen to prepare the food.


"You know I have no idea what you just order." Aeril said to the illusioned dark elf girl next to him.


"That's ok. You'll like it. I just hope you're in the mood to eat, because we're virtually going to have a feast. We've got food from all over the world. Though where he's getting his ingredients is something I want to know. For example the caynar nut stuffed trout I ordered for you is an erudite recipe with a rare type of trout only found on the continent of Kunark. The jumjum salad is of course a halfling meal, and snow bunny stew is from the continent of Velious."


"So why'd the guy say something about the last thing you ordered?"


Maji laughed softly. "Glowing goo is a special treat dark elf parents give their children. It's pretty much an edible lump of glowing goo that's really fun to play with. I haven't had any in years! Not since we left Neriak, since some of the ingredients for it grow only in Nektulos."


"Why'd you leave?" Aeril decided to ask her the question he'd been wondering ever since she told him that she was living in Nearfield.


"Neriak is hardly a good place to grow up. I suppose my parents were afraid I'd become too accustomed to the hate and subterfuge that are a part of daily life there. From there we moved further down from Neriak to Svartal. It's a small community about half the size of Nearfield, probably even a bit smaller than that. Anyway we were there for a little while, before I moved to Nearfield where I've lived ever since."


"You moved there by yourself? Did your parents move to or are they still in Svartal?"


"My — " Maji suddenly stopped. Aeril noticed her eyes change from blue to red, a sure sign that he just asked the wrong question. Maji then reinforced his guess when she said. "I don't want to talk about it."


"Sorry." Aeril didn't know what to say. The two sat in an uncomfortable silence until the chef returned.


"Ok let me make sure I got this straight. That was stuffed fogwater trout, jumjum salad and snow bunny soap for you, and vegetable roughy, crispy gourami and glowing goo for the lady what fine taste. Enjoy your meal!"


Aeril stared at the food in amazement. She definitely right about there being a lot of food, it was so much they almost needed a larger table. Aeril began eating the stuffed trout. His eyes went wide from surprise. It was simply delicious! He quickly sampled the rest of his food and found to his delight it was equally as scrumptious. "This is good!"


While Maji's eyes had turned back to blue, it had lost the shimmer it seemed to have earlier. Giving him a half smile she said. "Well I'm glad you like it. Something just told me that you would enjoy it."


"The fish is bit spicy, but the salad and stew balance it out. This is some of the best food I've ever had! The chef was right, you really do know how pick out a tasty meal!"


Taking a bite of her food, she said. "Well after moving from Neriak, I needed a place to stay whenever I had to return to the tower for testing. So I stayed at the house of one of my mothers closest friend. Well she owned an alchemy and herb shop close to one of Neriak's best restaurants, so I would go there quite often. I must have picked it up there from watching what everyone else was having and trying it myself."


Maji then reached over and took some of his food. "Hey! What's with girls helping themselves to my food? Kryn does that all the time, and there you go doing it too. Is that some kinda girl thing I don't know about?"


Maji laughed and shrugged her shoulders. "Oh please, lighten up. It's not like you can't have some of mine. Here, try this." She said offering him some of the vegetable roughy.


Aeril shrugged his shoulders and took some of the offered food. "It's good, but a little too salty for me."


"I suppose it would be, it's a seafood dish." Taking some more from his plate, she asked. "So now, what was that about not being sure if you were almost done practicing?"


Aeril sighed. "It's really hard to explain. In some of my most recent fights and earlier today, I didn't completely feel like myself. Kinda like I was there doing all the moves, but at the same I felt like I was standing off to the side watching myself practice. It's kinda like I was two people at the same time."


Maji's eyebrows rose. "Well that's certainly interesting. Though it could explain a few things. You certainly seemed to get better as I was watching you. It almost looked like you were going through the motions of some elaborate dance. I was half expecting you to become an elf near the end the way you were going."


Aeril turned a quizzical look at her. "Why do you say that?"


"Well at the end you seemed to be mostly dodging, and you typically become an elf you go into a purely defensive mood." She picked up her bowl of glowing goo and extended it to him. "Here try some."


He looked apprehensively at the bowl of light blue goo, which true to its name, gave off a slight glow. He spooned some out and gingerly ate it. "Hey, it's pretty good!"


Maji smiled at him, her eyes once again gleaming blue. "Isn't it? For dark elf children, glowing goo is just like what chocolate and ice cream is to humans kids."


"I can see why, it feels kinda weird, but it tastes great."


"Of course, kids don't eat it using spoons. You're supposed to eat it with your hands, so that you can feel it as its oozing out of your hands between your fingers."


"But if you eat it that way, some might drip on you."


Maji rolled her eyes. "Oh please, stop being a baby." She said as she flung a small bit at him. She began laughing at the expression on his face, as the goo began to slowly drip down from his forehead. "Besides it's kinda fun when it gets on you like that."


"Hey! No fair" He protested.


Maji stuck her tongue out at him, and continued eating her food with a smirk on her face. Shrugging his shoulders, Aeril began eating his food as well. Although they didn't really say much to each other, their relative silence wasn't an uncomfortable one. Seeing that Maji was obviously enjoying her meal, made him feel a lot better. As they were finishing their meal, the chef came back to them. "It seems you're nearly finished, I take it you enjoyed your meal?"


"Oh yes, my compliments to the chef. This is one of the best meals I've had in quite sometime! How much will all this be?"


The chef had a pensive look. "Hmm? When I said go all out, you certainly did. Considering the difficulty of restocking, give me five platinum and we'll call it even."


Aeril nearly choked on the food he was eating when he heard the price. Five platinum was slightly less than a common laborer's made in two months. Granted the food was good, but to spend nearly two months wages seemed a bit much! The shock of hearing the price was nothing compared to the shock he felt when Maji said. "That's it!?"


"What do you mean by 'that's it?' You make it sound like five platinum was nothing!"


"Dear, I think you missing the big picture here. Sure the food is good, but that's not what you're paying him for. Let's consider the vegetable roughy I asked for. Red Roughy, the main ingredient of the dish, is a rare fish that has only been found in one place in the entire world, the western wastes of Velious. What your paying him for then, is the risk he has to take by going into the holy lands of clergy of Veeshan, The Queen of Wurms. The Any non-dragon who would dare enter the Scars of Veeshan, whether enemy or ally risks a very quick death at the hands of Veeshan's Children. Not to mention just getting there is an adventure of epic scale, and getting there would require you to either fly above the great mountains of the cobalt scars or by swimming the gauntlet through the icy cold water of the siren's grotto. With that in mind, and knowing that few whoever attempt the trip survive, does five platinum still sound like it's too much?"


Aeril was taken aback as he heard what Maji said. "Are all the other foods that dangerous to get?"


"Not all of them, your jumjum salad and my glowing goo aren't all that dangerous. Well the glowing goo isn't dangerous for a dark elf, though I'm not exactly sure how dangerous it would be for others. But anyway yes most are pretty dangerous to get, and the jumjum salad is a halfling recipe that has to be done right otherwise it taste disgusting!"


The chef who was listening quietly to their conversation finally spoke. "I'm simply amazed by your knowledge. I have never met anyone with such knowledge or exquisite tastes. You simply must come back tomorrow for breakfast. If you come for breakfast tomorrow, I'll give you this meal for free!"


"May I ask why?"


"My little brother will arrive tomorrow from Rivervale with his teacher, who was once my former teacher as well, Wealbar Littlefoot. Master littlefoot is planning on giving him an examination to test his skills by making him the head chef of the restaurant for the day. But as I told you earlier the people of this village couldn't tell the difference between real food and pig slop. You would be the perfect test for my brother's test!"


Aeril noticed the way her eyes began to light up as the chef spoke to her. Maji obviously enjoyed the meal, and the idea of having more was especially pleasant. What surprised him, was when she turned to look at him as if asking for permission. That struck him as odd, why would she be looking for permission. He usually just followed along with whatever she wanted to do? She obviously wanted to stay, so why would she hesitate?


Deciding he didn't want to risk ruining her good mood, Aeril nodded his head and was quite surprised by the look of joy he received for doing so. Maji smiled happily at him, before turning to look at the chef. The chef having seen the exchange between them spoke before Maji had to chance to answer him. "Excellent! Try to be here about this time tomorrow. I should have everything set up by then."


After scooping up the last bit of her glowing goo with her hands and eating it, Maji asked the chef. "The entire clan of deathfist orcs couldn't keep us from being here, that I can assure you. But tell me, what else is there to do in this town until then?"


"Ah well there are quite a few things actually. There is a large pool for swimming at the south edge of town, as well as a few magically created hot springs incase you prefer bathing to swimming. There also a high elf woman and her husband who give wonderful massages, and if you are into plays there's a theater on the west side of town. Oh and one place I'm sure you kids will want to goto, is the hedge maze. It was built by my friend conundrum, who made it so that the path is always different. Not only that, but there are many different ways you can use the maze. You know how gnomes are about their creations, if it doesn't have some kind of control panel, it hasn't been made correctly. So he's made it so there are several different settings. For example one setting could be just a simple maze for a romantic walk, another could be set so to play a scavenger hunt or hide and seek, and yet another might be a timed escape through an extremely arduous maze."


"Wow, that really does sound like a lot of fun! Do you want to try it Maji?" Aeril asked.


"Sure why not." She answered him, then turning back to the chef she asked. "Do you know a good time to go, when it might not be so crowded?"


The chef gave her a smile and said. "Ah but that's one of the most beautiful things about the hedgemaze, I don't know how he does it, but he's made it so that over a thousand groups of people can be in the maze at the same time and none of them will ever know. After all how romantic would it be for a couple who wants to take a leisurely walk, if they have to share it with a group of kids playing games like hide and seek."


Both Aeril and Maji looked quite impressed. "Well thank you for your advice, and you can be sure to see us here at about the same time tomorrow!" Maji said excitedly. The chef nodded his head and walked away to another attend to another table. When he left Maji reached into her money pouch and dropped five platinum on the table. Seeing the questioning look Aeril gave her, she said. "Gratuity, after all the food was magnificently prepared. It would only be right to leave a gratuity."


Aeril hung his head in embarrassment. "Ya I guess you're right. So um — well uh do you want to go now?"


Aeril looked up in time to see Maji's eye's turn green as she smiled at him. Although they hadn't known each other that long, he had quickly learned one thing. Whenever her eye's turned green, Maji was feeling mischievous. And whenever Maji was feeling mischievous, he was the one that always ended up feeling embarrassed. Aeril guessed that he must have made a face, because Maji's smile became took on a very sinister feel to it when she took his hand and began pulling him out of the restaurant. That was when the feeling of dread really began to gnaw on him. "Um . . . Maji . . . Where are we going?"


Maji gave him another glimpse of her sinister smile as she turned her head to look at him as she lead them down the streets of the village. "Why isn't it obvious? We've been on the road for nearly a week now. Where do you think we're heading?"


Aeril eyes' grew wide. "No! No way!"


Much to Aeril dismay, Maji's eyes seemed to turn greener and her smile seemed to become even more sinister. "Yup! You guessed it. You and I are going to take a bath! Now quit stalling. It's been much too long since the last time I've had a nice long bath. And considering we smell like a pair of trolls, it's obvious that we're long overdue."


Well here's another surprise chapter. I hadn't intended to give an entire chapter to median, it was only supposed to be the beginning of chapter 12. But it just grew too big, and I decided that it's been much to long since the last time I've posted a chapter of this story so here it is. There will be a little bit more about their stay in median next chapter but it won't be nearly like in this chapter.


I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It took some work to actually do. For those of you who are unaware, all the foods mentioned are actually in the game with the exception of the glowing goo. Glowing goo is a modification of an existing meal called edible goo. All of these foods are made with a medium high baking skill which is why it cost so much (especially since a lot fo the ingredients are somewhat hard to get due to the danger of the zone they're in, or the rarity of finding said item. edible/glowing goo is the exception to this. Edible goo is one of the first things you can easily make as a low level baker since it's very easy to make, and all the things you need for it are readily available to most chars just outside the city. Considering how easily it is to make and since it's a gooey type food. Despite the fact that Maji thinks it's the greatest thing ever, believe me when I say you probably don't want to know how it's made. A dark elves taste in foods, clothing, fun and such are quite unique!


Oops after reading one of the comments sent in, I realized that I uploaded the non spellchecked/grammar checked version of the chapter. My apologizes to those who have already read the chatper


Also, a note on the jewelry mentioned. Velium blue diamond wedding rings don't exist in the online or RPG game. As Maji stated blue diamonds are by far and away the most costly of gems in the game, and are the most magical and most difficult to work with. Blue diamond jewelry is definitely made by request, especially if it's using Velium as both are very pricey. If you thought, Maji's reaction to it was extreme let me give you this tidbit to chew on. If you want to translate platinum and gold into us dollars think of it as 1gold piece (GP) = 1 us dollar. 1 platinum piece (pp) would then = 10 us dollars. What Mechigia was wearing would cost over 4000pp that's over $40,000 in today's money go back a few hundred years and that's a tremendous sum of money. Just think of it, her armor was made out of platinum, so she was wearing money!


Congratulation for those of you who picked up the dragon lance reference, conundrum and the hedge maze were inspired (borrowed) from the most recent dragon lance trilogy "the war of souls."


Let me know what you think! Emails and reviews always lift my spirits and inspire me to write more. I apologize for my slowness in getting these chapters out, hopefully the next chapter'll be out by new years when I'll be on Christmas break (maybe two chapters if we're lucky) so until then thanks