The sun was already peering over the horizon by the time they had reached their destination. Though the only way he could tell was through the small slits of light that pierced through the canopy above like streams of gold. Other than that, the actually light level had barely changed from how it was previously.
Of course, he did possess [Dark Vision], so the current luminosity of the area was rather superficial to him. However the fact that the ability was active proved that he still possessed his passive skills. Of course, that one skill being active didn't necessarily mean the rest were, so he had made a mental note to test them later on.
Though with that being said, there really is a lot of foliage in a forest isn't there?
As someone who had come from a world where nature had been entirely desecrated before he had even been born, this seemingly idiotic question was excusable.
He had seen images online of forest from before the planet had been destroyed by corporations, but never had he seen anything even remotely similar to this. Even the once famed amazon could not compare to such lush greenery. It almost felt like the trees in the forest formed a massive web of branches and vines, with almost every single one touching at some point.
Nature really is beautiful isn't it? Even though the forest in VR were nice, they are all nothing when compared to this. I think one of our guild mates used to say things like that back in the day. I think it was... Blue Planet right? Agh, I can think about these things later! I need to be thinking about the important stuff right now.
Now that the danger from before had been dealt with, and the shock of transferring worlds have passed, he finally had the clarity of mind to think about his situation. And in doing so, he had learned several key things about himself.
For starters, now that he had transformed into his character from YGGDRASIL, there were various things he had not considered about the body he now found himself in. his current form was vastly different from a human body, yet he could walk around in it as if he had always possessed it. He decided to attribute it to YGGDRASIL's mechanics, as inhuman characters – even those without legs to speak of – could be maneuvered as if a person was walking as normal, though some possessed added difficulty. While he did not know if that was really the case, there was no point in worrying over what was decidedly a non-issue at the moment.
The second was just how odd the body he found himself in was. Now that he was a plant type heteromorph, his sense of touch was greatly diminished. When he brushed up against trees and plants, he could barely feel them at all. At one point he had pressed his arm onto a tree with quite a bit of force to see what the limits of touch was, however the tree was knocked over before he could conclude if he had felt anything different.
As a last resort, he wanted to see if the sensation of pain was still present to truly conclude how the sensation had been affected. He wavered a bit, as human instinct causes one to avoid pain, but abandoned all thought to stab himself with one of the thorns on his body.
The feeling while there, was not quite what he would call pain. Discomfort, was more apt. he certainly felt it, but it did not feel like it usually would. Though that tiny sense of touch told him that this wasn't a dream, even if he had already guessed as much.
All of these were things he should have noticed immediately, but because he had fallen into a panic, he had failed to realize it.
Sheesh... I always used to tell my guild mates that anxiety is the seed of defeat and other such things, yet that was the first thing I did. Panic. Who do I think I am anyway?
Though he felt it was right to chastise himself for that blunder, another part of him was saying he should be thankful that he only panicked that much after such a ridiculous scenario had occurred.
Since I have time, I should go over what I've learned from him
He had been traveling alongside his elven companion for quite a while now, and had learned quite a few things about his immediate situation. They appeared to be common knowledge. and nothing was in it that he could say was useful to him in his current situation, but they were nice to know for future dealings. However the most important piece of info to him was his current location.
The Great Forest of Evasha was the name of his current whereabouts. While it did not at all familiar to him, even he could not claim to know every location that exist or existed within the game. However, when he asked him questions like "Have you heard of Vanaheim?" He could practically see the question mark above his head.
The names of the nine world were not even common knowledge, it was simply a known fact to those who played, as well as NPC's within. It would be like someone not knowing the names of planets in the solar system.
After hearing that troubling bit of news, he asked some questions regarding magic and lore bits from the game, being as innocuous as possible so not to arose suspicion from questions that could be considered common sense.
Not everything lined up with what he knew to be true, but a vast majority of it was confirmed, with many magic spells from the game being in this world as well. The early man's [Fireball] was proof of that.
With all of these combined, it would seem reasonable to conclude he was in YDDGRASIL as he first thought. To many things coincided with the game he knew to simply write that theory off.
It doesn't make any sense. How could a completely fictional world exist in reality like this? Much of the game was sourced from mythology, but even that was based in reality. More then that, how can I exist in this body! My character was nothing more then code, yet now it's my real body. How does that–
"We're here."
An abrupt voice suddenly snapped him out of his thoughts. He felt somewhat thankful for this, as his head was starting to hurt from this enigma of a world, and choose to file those thoughts away for another day, and focus on what was before him now.
A massive wooden portcullis was the first thing in view. Even if it was made of lumber alone, it could easily repel most attacks based on its size alone. Fire and the like could still breach it of course, but if it was further reinforced with magic, then it could remain sturdy even when faced with such methods.
Yet...
Is that really just regular wood?
While there was metal plating around the entrance, it was a very minor amount when compared to the rest of the structure. It did not even seem to be there for defense, but rather to reinforce the heavy gate.
Elven settlements appeared in YGGDRASIL as well, however, one had to go deep within vast forest that contained no small amount of danger. On top of the usual enemies, many forest could rearrange themselves to change its routes to confuse and trap players. Elves however, were immune to this, which is why it was crucial to have a elf, or druid in ones party when traveling in said areas.
Something as low quality as ordinary wood would never be found within anything even resembling a barricade. Even the relatively low-leveled areas at least used [30+] Materials.
Though elven cities were built into trees, the material itself was always high grade, as the forest were magic in nature. Some high level areas even utilized [Eden's Bark], an extremely rare crafting material that was sought after by crafting type classes, as it was extremely useful when building sets or items that relied on manipulating karma values.
And it when without saying it provided phenomenal defenses.
So then what material was used for this settlement?
Based on it's appearance alone, it just seems to be regular wooden walls, but isn't that a little problematic? No, scratch that, it definitely is. How can they expect such pitiful defenses to hold off any sort of serious attack?
Considering the fact the supposed attacker from earlier was capable of using the [Fireball] spell, then this would pose little more then a minor inconvenience at best. Even basic siege tactics would eventually prevail over such a meager barricade.
Perhaps its illusion magic to hide the real material, but what would be the point in spending time on doing so when the material itself is unchanged? Would the outcome not be the same?
Perhaps it was used to lower an opponents guard, or to hide the real material in place of another as to hide its weaknesses, but plain oak logs would be pointless, as they did not posses any resistances, only weaknesses.
I could find out for sure had I invested in more of the loremaster classes...
Feeling vaguely regretful at his past choices, he began to mull over whether or not he really needed to be this cautious when a sudden shout snapped him out of his thoughts.
"Hold it right there!"
A Frenzied shout snapped him back to reality, a feeling he was becoming thoroughly accustomed to by this point.
In an instant, bows were knocked and at the ready, the arrows gleaming tips acting as warning bells to whomever saw it.
Each one of the elves had there eyes trained on him without so much as a glance in other directions. Not only did this show him how adept at battle the group must have been, but it also gave him a slight feeling of happiness, as he was quite a large fan of the military and things relating to it. He knew it was not time for such things, but it still raised his mood a tad.
Though an impressive display, appearance-wise they left much to be desired.
Their gear, while looking to have been well maintained, could not be called anything other then shabby. Much of it appeared to be mismatched, and differed in quality from one soldier to the next. Most of them possessed standard long bows, however one or two seemed to have been equipped with crossbows, and were put at the front of the formation.
"W-what the hell is that thing!?"
"Shit, it has a hostage."
"What did we do to deserve all this?"
Various cries of worry began to ripple throughout the contingent, erasing the somewhat formidable air they previously possessed. Even so, their weapons did not once move away from his form.
"Wait!"
Iyrin's cry was surely the only thing preventing him from being transformed into a pincushion.
"Is that you Iyrin?! I though you and the other scouts were tracking down the scriptures movements!"
We had been up until an hour ago. We got caught in a trap, so I had to come back here as fast as I could to inform everyone."
"And what happened to the rest of the battalion?" There eyes shifted over to the mass of vines on his right, bathing him in their suspicion.
"The Holocaust scripture. They had managed to catch us by surprise and killed us all. "
Grimaces found there way onto the faces of the men. Hearing about yet another loss must have been hard for them to take. On one enjoys hearing about a lost battle. Doubly so for the losing side.
"–And if I'm correct, they are less then a days journey away from us."
"What!"
It would seem this news was a bolt from the blue.
The group immediately began discussing among themselves, seemingly in dire straights. Even Iyrin seemed grim despite being the messenger of the info. Punnito Moe – ignorant of these matters – could only stand around and act confused with what little understanding of the situation he had.
A lack of knowledge really is scary...
"Commander Eris needs to know this right away! But–"
What do we do about that? There gazes seemed to say.
"It's fine. He needs to be present for this meeting anyways. He may be vital for our plans going forward."
The soldiers looked to one another in nervousness, but eventually conceded, and the massive frame began to open, allowing them both entry to the walls interior.
Here goes nothing...
.
.
.
What the hell? Wasn't this supposed to be a village?!
Though he had called it as such, one look at the surroundings told a very different story. Only one word came to his mind when looking at such a construction.
Encampment
The first thing to tip him off in this regard was the housing situation. Barely any buildings populated the domain. Practically none in fact. While it was common knowledge that elves choose to live inside trees, so they could stay in harmony with nature, only one such home existed in this little hovel, but its purpose was unclear. The rest were were simply large tents that looked to have been converted to a home as best they could.
Various bits of war gear were scattered about in easily accessible places, such as nearby bedding areas or what looked to be a meal area. No matter how you looked at it, this was not a place that people would choose to live in.
Clearly, something was amiss.
"Excuse me. Can I ask a question about this place"
He would not necessarily be unhappy if he was denied. After all, revealing the secrets of ones base of operations was tantamount to surrender.
"Ah! Oh um...very well, what is it that you wish to know?"
His nervousness had not completely gone away, but perhaps the fact that they were now within his own territory help in that regard.
"Thank you. But something has been bugging me since I first got here, you had mentioned that this place was a village, but based on its architecture, it seems like it is meant to be more of an outpost for war correct?"
Though he had maintained a rather neutral face since the beginning, this sudden topic change must have brought out some very dark feelings from within his heart, as his expression quickly turned what could only be called feral.
"So even something like you could tell huh?"
He spat those words out like poison. Though that attitude might garner some anger from the recipient, he was most likely not the target of his wrath. Though with no facial expression to speak of, his thoughts did not carry over to the other party.
"Ah! I'm sorry, I wasn't yelling at you! I just got caught up in my emotions is all." he ended the topic with a quick bit of nervous laughter,
This being the first time he had ever seen the elf give any sort of intense emotions, he felt a slight bit of curiosity to the source of the plight. giving into it, he decided to indulge himself on it. It could also be used as key knowledge to possess later.
"Don't worry about it, I didn't think you were in the first place. But may I ask who you were talking about? Honestly speaking that's the first time I've seen you give any real emotion."
After hearing the inquiry, he simply turn his head down, his bangs covering his eyes from view. Staying silent. Just as Punitto was about to lament his luck, a quiet voice finally broke through.
"The Elf King."
The voice was dark, with no trace of emotion to be found.
"Ah, so the subjects of the king are in a state of unrest then. I understand now. Well, I'm sure he can't be so bad if a rebellion hasn't occurred yet."
Deciding to dance around the subject rather then ask directly this time, he asked the question in a more innocuous way. And it would seem that this approach was paying dividends already.
"You would think that wouldn't you. He is a king in name only. Tyrant is much more fitting of a title. He simply orders us around to fulfill his every whim and fancy, causing chaos then using the lives of others as damage control. The whole reason this war is happening is because of something he did hundreds of years ago. Honestly most of us don't even remember the reason. Yet were the ones dealing with the backlash."
With a quick "Tch!", he directed a look of scorn up at a massive tree in the distance. Since the roof of leafage had covered his view, he had not noticed the lumbering mass of Nature until now, but the sheer scale of it was truly massive. Even a casual estimate of its height would put it above 400 meters in height. And nearing the top appeared to be a balcony of sorts. It was most likely his residence/castle.
Seeing it gave him flashbacks to the guilds 6th floor.
Doesn't this sound familiar... With their circumstances being the same only a few hours ago, he honestly feel a sense of closeness with the elves. Even if it wasn't much, he could sympathize. Not that he would reveal that of course.
"I can understand what you mean, at least to some extent. But is he truly as bad as you claim?
"Please. He has never done a single thing beneficial to us, and the list of crimes he has committed is far too long to list. What I said earlier was just a mere outline of his personality. Look around. I don't think you'll find a single person who doesn't feel the same about that son of a bitch."
Indeed, looking around he could see many of the elves wearing similar expressions. Even if their face did not show it, a gleam of anger and resentment shown within there eyes.
"Then with this much dissent, why hasn't a revolt occurred yet?"
Hearing all this reminded him of his strategy games.
Their happiness meter is at an all time low...
A curt bit of laughter was all he received in response.
"Don't you think we would have done that already if we wanted to? There is no point in attempting the impossible. Let me ask you a question. what do you think someone in his positions needs to keep such a large amount of hatred quelled?"
Seeing as this was the first time he had spoken to him with some level of casualness, he decided to play along and act accordingly. Maybe it would show him that he had no reason to fear him, or at least would calm his nerves.
And after some brief introspection on the history of his own world, a country would typically handle mass riots with military force. That being the case, the answer he was looking for was obvious.
"Power?"
"Exactly. The elf kings individual might can crush a nation with ease. You may think you're strong, But I'm certain if you ever encounter him, you would know just how weak we all are in comparison. Even if all the elves joined together to overthrow him, there would be no chance at victory. It's almost as if the gods themselves bestowed there power upon him... or maybe the devil with his personality."
His spiel did not paint a pretty picture of his character, and it filled him with a complex blend of emotions.
On one hand, he felt sympathy for them, as having lived his whole life under the thumb of a higher power dictating the whims of life, he understood where they were coming from, and the frustration that must have built up in there lifetime. And considering there long lives, as well as the state of living, it may have been even stronger.
On the other however, was his natural instinct to survive, and staying here in the middle of a war zone was diametrically opposed to that goal. Especially if the power of this elven king was to be taken at face value. He personally felt his best option was to gather all the info he could gather at the moment, and run to a safe area if he learned of it. In fact the notion was still very compelling to him.
But–
Even if I choose to go on my own, I still don't know anything about this world yet. Chances are I would just get caught up in something no matter where I go, or die to an unknown threat. I have no gear, nothing to my name, and based on the reaction of elves so far, I would be attacked on sight . Honestly speaking, this situation I'm in might well be a miracle.
Could he really throw away this god-given chance at gaining ground in this world at the prospect of safety?
Well, I never was one for risk taking, and I have even scolded friends back in the day for doing unnecessary things. But this isn't a simple game, its real life. And if I don't take any risk, I will be unable to truly do much of anything. Even so, it really is dangerous. But...
"We're just about there."
Indeed, the duo's destination was now in view, and it would not be long at all before they entered, and when that happened, they're would truly be no going back. He needed to make his decision.
And that decision was–
There are some things I must learn if I'm ever going to survive here. Even if I saved one of their own, Its clear they don't trust me very much at the moment, and that fact won't change no matter where I go. That being the case, I should start with some simple questions, then move on to more important matters.
His mind being made up, he steeled himself for whatever was to come. Whatever happened to him in the future was solely do to this choice, and with that fact in mind, his chance of survival would depend on how he conducted himself and acted with these people in the future.
His mental preparations complete, he opened the door.
.
.
.
"Have there been any new reports on the holocaust scriptures movements as of late?"
A question rang out in the small room, destroying the stillness in the air before hand. However the question was not asked with any sense of urgency or even anything resembling the seriousness those words should have warranted. Rather it was spoken with the casualness one would see in a meetup between friends. Though it may have been from the fatigue of hearing-saying it so many times.
Though it had been know for quite a long time that the theocracy's holocaust scripture had entered the fray, there exact positioning was difficult to pin down, as in addition to guerrilla tactics of there own, they also possessed spells such as [Invisibility], which immediately made them superior in that regard.
"No ma'am. The scouting squad we had sent out only deployed yesterday, and they won't be back until tomorrow. Of course I'm sure you knew that, as you were the one who sent them out."
She had already known what the answer would be before she had even asked the question, just as she had the previous two times she had said it. Unfortunately, the miracle reply that would cast all her worries away had yet to come.
"Yes yes, but can't you give me a better answer? I can only take so much disappointment you know?"
"Only if you can give me a better question."
While one would normally not dare take this attitude with their superior, the elves had all formed a sense of camaraderie in this war, as they all suffered under the same cruel leader.
"I've also been meaning to ask this Folia-sama, but have you been getting enough rest? I don't mean to pry, but the dark ring around your eyes speak for themselves. Not to mention your appearance is well, unbefitting of your status at the moment. "
"Hmph! Do you really think either of those things matter at a time like this? Excessive rest should only be given to the most important people here, and I'm expendable. Rather if I actually did take that advice, my workload would be double the amount you already see."
Looking at the desk, he could certainly see her point. She had to constantly keep track of both casualties, current supplies and materials, the enemies current position, and various other things. Her secretary helped where he could. But he felt as if his only job was to bring her more work, since all he gathered then info she utilized. Honestly his position felt more militaristic then hers at times, since he dealt with a lot of the day to day reports and going ons of the armies.
In all likelihood, she has probably done more work today then the king has done in his entire life.
And his other point was also moot in the face of her argument. Elves were naturally more beautiful then the races of man, which was a large reason they were so sought after for slavery. This being the case, they did not need to spend as much time on grooming as a human might. Of course they could still appear unkempt or unattractive
It was not as if her beauty had diminished much in the wake of this, as her white hair still shone beautifully even with its lose ends, and her facial features remained perfectly placed despite the frown upon them. but the effect it had on the aura she gave of was another matter. Due to the dark rings, her eyes looked shaper then usual, and those who saw it felt like she had the personality of a vagrant who lived in seedy dark alleys. Of course, they couldn't exactly socialize with other races, circumstances being as they are, so it didn't really matter in the grand scheme of things.
"Even so, you'll likely burn yourself out at this rate. You need to take some sort of break or you won't even be able to do it properly."
She simply pinched the bridge of her nose, and gave a long and drawn out exhale. He had a point, but there wasn't much she could do about it.
Eris Folia. She was the head commander for this unit of the elven army, though calling them an army would be putting a pretty spin on things at this point. They were more like a ragtag group of mercenaries if one forwent decorum.
It was all the more apparent just by looking at the commander herself. A nations armies are normally made up of able bodied men to fight on the front lines, as their bodies are naturally stronger, and were typically the ones who preferred combat roles. Things like magic and natural talent meant this wasn't always the case. A talented Female magic caster could easily dispatch the average male soldier, and there were female warriors out there who could go toe to toe, or even surpass their ilk, A notable examples being Gagaran of Blue Rose.
While these were the former possessed different roles in wartime, either being used as an enchanter to supplement the front lines, or used as a ranged attacker to deal with large groups, not suited to open battle thanks to there poor defense. As for the latter, people who could reach that height of power were extremely rare, and would be better of using there talents on other things. Even Lenias Rockbruise, a powerful warrior in her own right, is only dispatched in war due to special circumstances, and is by no means an expendable loss.
However, this elf possessed neither of these qualities.
The only reason she was even fit to be the leader of this group was due to her experience. As a warrior on the front lines, she had seen her fare share of battles throughout the years, both victories and losses. However no matter how bad it got, she always managed to stay alive. These harrowing escapes had gifted her with a large amount of fighting experience, as well as tactics to stay alive which she passed along to increase there chances. This was why she – an average female warrior – was made commander. This alone spoke of how grave a situation they were in.
But an even greater reason then that were the two shining pools of blue and white she possessed. Proof of her lineage.
Faced with that, no one could object to the decision.
"Well, lets just focus on what we can control for now. How goes the matter of war gear?"
"Yes. Our blacksmith is working around the clock to prepare the armaments. Within the past week, we've managed to increase our number of short swords by 8, and we've melted down some of the theocracies armor, and intend to repurpose it for fortifications around the base. In addition, it would seem his skills have improved as of late, as he managed to smith a pair of crossbow the other day. provided we can get a hold of the materials, our strength should increase."
Hearing this good news brought a slight smile to her face. Speaking plainly, it was not much cause for celebration. But even a puddle of mud was bliss to a man in a desert.
"Perhaps we should ask our generous king for some?"
A snort rang throughout the room.
"I believe he likely spent the budget for weaponry on high-class wine for himself, so we are presumably out of luck on that front."
"Indeed. If were lucky he may only ignore it and not kill us for asking such a thing."
These types of jokes were all too common among the elves.
The king's decision to not enter the war did not just extend to his physical presence. He had also refused to provide funding or anything in the way of munitions for his contingent. Because of this, Blacksmiths and mages were godsends to their cause, being one of the few sources of armaments to defend themselves.
However, the number of elves who were suited to becoming either of these professions was despairingly small. Smithing had never been a needed trade within the forest, and the lack of conflict in the past meant the trade was rarely needed in the first place.
Therefore whenever anyone was found to have even an inkling of talent in the field, they would immediately be treated as a high ranking citizen, and would not be permitted on the battlefield in the event of their death.
Therein lie a key problem.
The theocracy boasted both a numerical, strength, and equipment advantage against the elves. They were beaten in every facet imaginable, and it was only through tactics they survived this long. While a mage could provide an incredible boost in fighting strength, it was far to risky to allow them to fight.
If the mages did battle against the foot soldiers of the theocracy, then they would risk losing a valuable asset in the war, and would thus lead to even further losses as time went on.
"Going back to the Blacksmith, do you think he'll be able to hold out? He barely has anytime for rest, and almost all him time is spent in there now? Not that he really has a choice in the matter like the rest of us, but we can't have him collapsing in the midst of his work.."
"It's hard to say. While there isn't any signs of quality decrease in the equipment or his health as far as I can tell, I can't imagine that lifestyle is good for him. We're not dwarves, and consequences will likely arise sooner or later from the type of workload he's being given."
She nodded her head in agreement with his assessment. "For now, lets have him take a day off. I know it may not be the best thing for us, but we can't have him very well keel over from smog intake. He needs to rest as well."
"Very well, then I will inform him of your orders. With that being said, that should be everything at present. Anything else is minor in scope, but I have them cataloged for you here in these papers at the behest of out mage."
"Yet another workaholic. There are better use for his talents then being a living paper dispenser. I realize he wants to get stronger by using magic whenever the chance is available, but there have to be better ways to do it." she said with a hint of sympathy as she took the dossiers from him, giving them a light tap to fix the slightly ruffled assortment. "Though its not as if I don't understand the desire to become stronger."
"Indeed. Then I will let you look through those at your leisure when you have the time. If something catches your eye, you know where to find me."
With a slight bow, he left her to resume her work, with the closing of the door allowing the room to return to the peaceful state it had been prior.
And now that the elf finally took his leave, her true thoughts on their circumstances came to light.
"We're fucked aren't we?"
Now that she was alone, she could let her real personality take hold. It was not as if she was required to keep appearances, but certain things were expected of her station, so she simply had to deal with it.
In dramatic fashion, she collapsed onto her desk and let her arms dangle, letting her accumulated stress win the war inside of her, and scattering the previously pristine stack of papers.
"We're outnumbered, the enemy is getting stronger, and we are completely unable to track them. Not only that, Reinforcements are impossible to request."
There was a time in the past when the elves had reached out to other nations to help defend their territory. Most human nations were sided with the theocracy, and saw there kind as a commodity to be sold then anything else. Even knowing this, they had still sent that request, grasping at straws.
However, as luck would have it, the Baharuth empire had decided to aid them for some unknown reason. Even if they had dubious motives, beggars could not be choosers, and 5,000 of the empires Royal earth guard had been dispatched to the scene. Even that small number would have made a world of difference to them.
However, when news of this had reached the elven king, he had made it a point to personally greet the delegates of the nation.
And the 5,000 troop contingent– Each of which being the level of a silver ranked adventurer – were swatted away like gnats, turning them into naught but a mass of scrap metal and pulsating flesh.
After this, both nations had decided dealing with one another in the future would be problematic to say the least. Not only that, the incident single handedly destroyed any hope for aid from other nations.
"I'd even take the help of an undead at this point..."
Of course, this was just grumbling on her part. An undead who wished to aid the living simply could not exist.
Just as she was about to continue, a crisp tok tok tok sound reached her ears, which had knocked her out of the misery born stupor.
Strange. Was there something he missed?
Her Secretary was exceptionally diligent. He needed to be if he wanted to continue surviving another day with the rest of the elves. So every time he gave his report, that was everything currently known to them at the time. She could confidently say this from years of his service.
That being the case, what could have warranted another visit so soon? And it was rare that any infantry would actively seek her out.
Did he just get some urgent news? Knowing our history, it can't be good. Can't the light of salvation show itself to us already...
With a sigh and bitter smile, she prepared herself to be let down yet again, and gave her permission to allow her guest access after reorganizing the strewn documents.
"Enter."
However, no amount of preparation could have readied her for what entered the room.
The first thing that came into her field of view was green. It was a wall of green that began flowing through the opening that instantly reminded her of the massive forest surrounding them. The scent of grass and moss even began to waft through the air.
The word strange didn't even do this sight justice. The scene before her was just outright bizarre, and she couldn't make heads or tails of it. Only staring with a dumbfounded expression as his office gained an involuntary room remodeling with the living office plant making its way to her.
As the lump of forest was halfway in however, she could clearly see two glowing yellow eyes within a cage of thorns near the top. As if that were a puzzle piece being slotted into place, her mind began to make sense of the mass, seeing it was not a mere wall of foliage, but a lifeforms made from it. The thorns that adorned the vines that seemingly made up its muscles went from a annoying hazard to weaponry in her mind, as she immediately assumed the worst.
Immediately springing into action, she scrambled to get her hand to her waist to pull out her side arm, immediately getting into a combat stance.
"Wait wait wait! Don't attack Folia-Sama!"
Right as she was about to strike, an elf burst through the small amount of space between the door frame and the monster, holding its arms out to stop her attack.
He was a rather young for an elf, giving him a rather petite frame, yet he was not very childlike, as he had passed 100 years of age. He was merely on the cusp of leaving his prepubescent years, and was just barely at an age that was acceptable to fight at.
Though she could not claim to know every elf by heart, his stature made it very easy to discern his identity.
"Iyrin! You should be out in the field right now! What is the meaning of this! And what is this... thing!"
"The theocracy had found us out in the field, and I was the only one who managed to escape! I had received the aid from this creature and it requested I bring it here!" He had to stop and take a breath multiple times throughout the meager explanation. Likely the stress of stopping the commander from making the first move.
Hearing the utterly ridiculous statement, her eye began to twitch slightly.
It wasn't as if cooperation with native species in the forest didn't exist, though it was quite limited in scope. It wasn't so much mutual cooperation as it was a ceasefire in the grand scheme of things.
However, that only extended to things like dryads and other sentient beings. Hell, even some of the forest kings and animals could be reasoned with. Massive hulking beast of vine and thorn did not fit within that description.
Seeing her confusion at his words, he gave himself some time to gather his thoughts and breath, before giving a more in depth explanation of what had happened.
"Allow me to explain..."
He began to give her a briefing in what had occurred over the past few hours. However when he had gotten to the casualties from the theocracy, she began to grit her teeth in anger at yet another loss.
How much more do we need to lose for that bastard to step up and take action! Does he want us to go extinct!
The audible grinding from her teeth gave all who could hear a description of her feelings on the matter better then words ever could.
No, calm down for now. I need to deal with this first. With a deep breath – albeit shaky – she managed to gain enough tranquility to her nerves to continue.
"And what about this... thing? Why bring this monster to this camp in the first place?"
If the creature took offense to the harsh words, it did not show it. Only stepping forward and answering in place of the poor elf.
"Ah, yes. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Tsu, a simple forest spirit. I happened to encounter this boy while he was being attacked, and stepped in to rescue him in his time of need. In return I had asked him to bring me back with him to ask a few questions."
After hearing such ludicrous words, she could only turn to the one responsible for all this, who was wordlessly moving his arms, in a way that seemed to say, This wasn't my fault, I had no choice!
"Is that so.." her gaze narrowed, scanning the figure up and down, as if she was trying to see evil intentions somehow. "And would would a monster like you have to gain from doing such a thing? Whats your motive here?" she asked, finally sheathing her sword back into its holster.
He simply shrugged his shoulders as he gave his reply. "Goodwill maybe?"
An eyebrow cocked up at lightning speeds, and her mouth took the shape of a ^. Body language that were clear-cut indicators of her inner thoughts. Utter bullshit.
"Well, even if you want to act that way, it is still somewhat the truth. But you are right in assuming I had some ulterior motives. I'll speak plainly, I want information."
Information could very well mean life or death in a war, and only a fool would give it out for free. Therefore, depending on what he asked for could be very dangerous
She threw the idea out as quickly as it came. The theocracy would never work with other races. More then likely this was unrelated to
"what kind of information?"
"We can get into specifics later. But the main thing I'm looking for is the general strength of monsters or people in the area, as well as some simple explanations on the enemy your fighting, as it would benefit me to know how powerful they are. There are other minor things as well, but some of them have already been answered from just being here."
The latter wasn't to bad, as it wasn't exactly a secret to most people. Of course, depending on how much info it wanted was another problem, but since it had been rather evasive in its request so far, she could use that as an excuse if they didn't give it what it was looking for. However the former was quite a strange thing to ask.
"Why would you need to know how strong the beast of the forest are if you live in it? Or are you trying to say you don't come from around the forest. If you were a recently created monster, I could understand, but–"
"I cannot say. Or rather, you wouldn't believe me even if I did say it."
The vagueness of that statement only added to the suspicions she had on this thing. This was going nowhere fast.
"I'll be the one to decide that. You do realize you are in the heart of my encampment correct? I feel like I am owed at least that minimal amount of information for peace of mind. "
"I still won't say anything. I simply can't trust you with that information."
The audacity. Here they were, in the heart of their village-cum-base of operations, and he was for all intents and purposes, an outsider. A dangerous individual at that. One who refused to be anything but coy with her with it's intentions, and it was the one who didn't trust them?
"Well, you don't need to give me an answer right away. I'll simply get them myself one way or another if you don't give them to me, so its not the biggest deal or anything. I'll let it go for now."
She could feel the cold sweat forming at the back of her hand. Depending on how one looked at it, that could very well be taken as a sign of aggression.
If you don't want to give it to me peacefully, I could just as easily obtain it through force you know? Was probably the message he was trying to convey.
However, the creature seemed to already be moving on to its next demand.
"Lastly, there is one thing I need from you, and I will not take no as an answer." It would seem this question was imperative to its M.O if that sudden attitude shift was anything to go off of. So far it had been rather passive, if not a bit coy. The sudden aggressiveness must have meant what he was about to ask was a rather heavy demand.
"Do you happen to have a map of the surrounding area? It doesn't even have to be too complex, just a simple outline with names will do."
With the motive revealed, his attitude was understandable. After all, maps were a vital point when it came to conflict. However, it wasn't as if they had anything worth hiding in them with the ones they had one hand. In reality, his bare minimum specifications was the best map they had available. Even the locations of the other camps were not on it, since it would be dangerous for the theocracy to get a hold of it.
"Fine. There should be one near the center of the base that we can have you look at. And we will discuss amongst ourselves about the information before we reveal anything. I'll have someone inform you on our decision by the end of the day. I will call my secretary, Mirn, to lead you to it once you leave. If that is all, then I will leave you to it while I speak with my subordinate."
"Thank you for your understanding. Then I shall leave it to you."
She couldn't see his expression, given he had no face to speak of, but somehow she could tell he was smiling. What kind of smile though was however remained to be seen.
.
.
.
Once they were sure he was out of earshot, she wasted no time unleashing the verbal assault she had been withholding. How she managed to keep her voice at such a level pitch was beyond him however.
"Are you completely insane?"
Probably, but that's besides the point.
Though he still held had his doubts that such a powerful creature would turn over his services for effectively nothing, the more he thought about it, it wasn't as if it was completely improbable.
If he wanted out subservience, he could have easily taken over the second he arrived. It's not like we haven't worked with other creatures beforehand, but our cooperation has always been mutually beneficial. what could such a being possibly want from us that it couldn't obtain on its own?
The more he thought about it, the more ridiculous the notion seemed. In all likely hood it was probably creating some scheme to gain there trust and enslave the entire forest. Something like that seemed more plausible then a random act of good will.
There was no such thing as a free lunch, and as far as he could tell, there was no price given on his aid.
All that thing had told him was it wanted information, but what kind of information was a complete mystery to him. It had asked some questions on there way to this place, but he couldn't make head or tails of them. They were either things that were generally common knowledge, such as magic, or odd questions of places and knowledge he had never heard of.
He was out of his depth. Faced with that fact, he only sighed deeply before giving he honest feelings on the matter.
"–Look, I'm just as worried as you are, but what choice do we have? If that creature had not shown up when it did, I would have died, and we would have no way of knowing the theocracy has gotten this far in. Even in the worse case scenario of this being an elaborate ruse to take over the forest, and by extension, us, its effectively swapping tyrants. The elf king is leading us to ruin as it is."
Her faced warped as if she had just bitten into molded fruit. It was a hard pill to swallow, and accepting it was even harder.
It could very well mean life or death if the coin flip they were betting on turned tails. Yet she could not find a good counter argument to his statement. There current monarch was certainly doing them no favors. Even so...
"...Did that thing really save you?"
"While its true motives are a mystery, and the timing of its arrival is suspicious, its undeniable that I would have been killed had it not intervened."
"Let's put that aside for now. If it does decide to turn on us, can we defeat it? How strong is it?"
As a veteran of battles many battles, she could gauge generally how powerful something was based its presence, just like an animal when they encounter a predator.
And while that Monster was there, her entire body was tensed up, as if it was preparing her to flee with all her might. Only the elven king compare in terms of presence.
"Well, it was able to instantly kill a member of the holocaust scripture in a single blow, and I had heard it chanting a number of spells, though I have no idea what they were. I had also noticed it was able to knock over trees with casual ease during while I had lead it here.
"Hmm, the later half isn't to concerning, but the former is what worries me."
As members of the holocaust scripture, one of the theocracies six aces in the hole, a certain level of strength was required in order to join there ranks. While that strength varied, the minimum requirement was still far above the elves in terms of power.
Therefore, while killing one in a single blow was no mean feat, there was too wide of a margin to infer its abilities based off of that alone. Having an unknown list of spells in its arsenal only added to the mystery.
"Could it be one of the forest 15 kings?"
"No. All of those creatures are thoroughly documented, and none of them are even remotely similar to that thing. Besides, even with there power, I don't think they could defeat one of the scriptures members in a single blow. I've seen one up close before, and its presence was no where near as suffocating."
If the commander was saying so, then that must be the case.
"Then what should we do about it then? If we refuse to listen, it may go rogue and attack."
"You said it yourself. Its the same situation we're already in. For now, keep an eye on that thing and give it whatever it request. If possible try and run it by me if it seems suspicious I'll also have you recite whatever spells you remember it chanting and see if I can find something about their effects at a later date." The more they knew about the creature, the better.
"Finally alert everyone here to its presence. The last thing we need is for someone to panic and attack. If that were to happen, then–"
"Understood!"
It would seem that potential outcome has skipped his mind. Understanding the implications, he quickly gave a nod of his head, before dashing out of the room to fulfill his duty, and prevent any more misfortune falling upon them.
The closing of the door brought the room back to its dreary silence. Though this time the reason for it was quite different.
Now that he had left, the accumulated stress she had been dealing with had seemingly magnified in a matter of moments. The waiting game they had been playing with the theocracy was already bad enough, but now that had a new potential Disaster brewing right under them, and she could do absolutely nothing in the event it came to pass.
The weight of responsibility was heavy, and it was already taking its toll, as she began to keel in her chair, her hand resting at her abdomen.
"Why did things have to go this way? Ugh, my stomach hurts..."
A/N We're back! And I would like to say a few things here as well.
Honestly, even I didn't think it would take this long. An entire year. A whole ass year for me to finally return to this. There were plenty of times where I thought to myself, "Ok, I'll work on it and come back now", write 2 sentences, then stop. Originally I wanted to post this on the 26th of October so it could be all poetic and such, since it would be a year since I started the fic in the first place, but life got in the way and if I'm being honest, I just didn't feel like working on it for a while. I'm not gonna say I'm going to have a schedule for this again, since it put a lot of undue stress on me (Even though there was no schedule and it was my fault for trying to rush it), but I am at the very least going to try and keep the uploads consistent. This way I can spend more time on one chapter and make sure everything is in order, as opposed to how they normally are. I will also go back and fix mistakes in the old ones. I cringe when I reread through to remember shit and spot one. That and some chapters just weren't as good as I remember at the time, so I may add fixes as well.
Secondly, As I said previously , I have no intentions of abandoning this fic. It would be unfair to everyone who has gotten invested in this story to suddenly say "fuck you" and dip. Though I don't know how long it will be, I know where I want it to go, and even have several commissions of scenes that will happen later already finished.
Finally, I would like to express my gratitude for those who enjoy this fic. I'm obviously not the best writer out there. Hell this is my first fanfic I've every written, and the spelling errors speak for themselves. So to see so many people say how much the enjoy my story truly motivates and invigorates me to keep going. Looking back there are parts I would have changed a tad, and after being away for so long, there are parts of the story that will be completely different from how I originally envisioned, and with the new novel coming out, the new info will definitely change some things, but even with that being the case, seeing so many people declare how to can't wait for new updates truly makes me happy, and I hope I can meet your expectations.
That's all for now though. I don't want to put a set date on when new chapters will drop, since as mentioned previously that makes me stressed for literally no reason, but I will at the very least try to keep it consistent. Plus I will try to make them longer, as that is a complaint I have seen.
With all that said, return of the 41 returns on chapter 41, and I will see you next chapter.
