Need not to say the disclaimer. Obviously.

Chapter 2: First Skirmish

"Taking care of you is my mission. I won't ever leave your side. Again."

"We're proposing one of our greatest troops to join this elite army. She'll be a suitable member and the Queen will give her a great position."

"No! I won't allow that!"

"Ladmir, why not?"

"I can't let her join! She's too young to serve for it. She's safer with us. She's only a young Elf!"

"We'll only withdraw this proposal if she refuses. We have to abolish this massive conflict against the humans and affiliate with them to stop the Dark Queen from destroying the world."

"...Tch."

"Don't you remember what I've promised? I'm never going to leave your side! Stay with me!"

"No... I want to serve the Queen. I'm sorry."

"Don't do this to me, Lire! You're the only member of the family I have!"

"I cannot defy you back then. Now I can."

"Is anyone okay?"

The female Elf asked the group while checking each one of them. Jin is caressing his head and relieving himself from Elesis's violent charade.

"Have you taken down that necromancer?" Elesis asked as she turned to Ronan.

"Not quite.." the spell knight shook his head in reply. "He has summoned several undead assets. Not sure if we're enough to take them all down."

"He's attacking the Elves right now. Are we just gonna stay here and do nothing?"

"An Elven organization wanted to take over. So I went all the way here for reminders."

"I bet there's more." Jin mouthed out.

The spell knight glanced towards Lire. "And... I've heard about him."

The female Elf's expression wasn't surprising, well, for Ronan. She slowly grew fond of hearing the same news over and over.

"Oh, it stopped raining!" Arme cried while looking up to the sky. "Finally, we can all go out!"

Elesis, Arme and Jin set up their things for their clashing against Lich as Ronan had ordered them to. Meanwhile, Sieghart decides to butt in.

"So, are we going to help this goldilocks find her lost carrot?" he asked.

"Well, it seemed that she's silently stressing it out..." Ronan replied while he and the gladiator conversed about it. They stayed outside the cavern to make sure they are out of Lire's earshot.

"I wonder how that guy's doing now. He would make a trophy for this emotionally drenched Elfie if he acquires a new skill or a new title!" Sieghart said haughtily with a shrewd grin.

The spell knight suddenly shot him a glare. He then sighed and spoke.

"Listen. If we could make it to the land of the gods, it's our chance to find Ryan. If he's made it there already, we're gonna make sure if it is guidance he is seeking." he explained. "For some reasons, I think he has other things that he doesn't want us to know. And I believe that it has something concerning them - him and Lire - which will also have an effect on us."

Sieghart eyed him sternly. "Ei, don't put the rest of us in the picture, kid. If it is an Elf thing, it's an Elf thing. You're trying to get yourself involved, aren't you?"

"No! That's not it. There are perpetrators in store for us. First, we have Lich. Then we have Kazeaze, then the enemy behind Xenia's corrupted forces! Of course we will be involved! Even if this godly situation is between them both, it will also involve us. Knight Master will send us to help them out and save them. Do you get the picture?"

"Yeah, yeah. I get it. And what about the other issue you're stressing about?"

Ronan shook his head. "Don't pay attention to it. I just realized that I'm putting myself in a situation which I'm not entirely involved into.."

Sieghart stood up and took his sword which is inside its scabbard. "Alright. Let's get this show on the road. C'mon!"

"Lire, we're going!" Ronan called out to get the Elf's attention. Lire looked over her shoulder and took her weapons.

"Coming."

The three left to catch up with the other three. Lire realized that she has no room for her thoughts just yet. She fired three arrows simultaneously as they all stabbed the nearest bark at once. It served as a signal to let the other three know that they have arrived.

"Hurry, you and Arme take care of Lich!" Elesis yelled whereas slashing every undead body she sees with her sword.

On the other hand, Lire sprinted towards Lich where Arme ran in circles whereas throwing a barrage of fire balls at the evil necromancer. Thinking fast, she ran in circles opposite to Arme's direction whereas nocking arrows repeatedly.

"Not bad." Sieghart commented.

Arme paused on her tracks and proceeded to stab the ground with her staff.

"Fire Storm!" Huge pillars of lava burst out of the ground, frying undead corpses to crisps. Lich's dark cloak was burned into ashes and his bony anatomy became brittle.

"You bunch of brats..." the necromancer hissed when he raised his staff. Undead arms burst out of the ground once more. They tangled themselves around Lire and Arme. The magician's petite screams can be heard while struggling from the vine-like arms which are crawling towards her legs, then to her thighs... until they reach her hips.

"Kyaaa! HELP ME!"

Lire can feel the vine-like things crawling along the same areas as well. She couldn't move her arms either. Elesis, on the other hand, grimaced as she swooped in towards them. Before she could do so, she looked over her shoulder to see Sieghart gazing at the scenario. The female knight sighed in annoyance and shook her head. She closed in towards the two and readied her sword for a fluid swing.

Arme's petite cries grew louder and louder, inflicting traces of annoyance at Elesis.

"I'm coming! If you could just stop be-"

"Iyaaa! I don't wanna lose my virginity! I want to live!"

"Zombies aren't gonna rape you, moron! Our situation here is nothing compared to those you see from porn movies! Only Sieghart has full knowledge about those things!"

Lire managed to break free from the grapples. More of them continued sprouting from the ground as she is left with no choice but to leap in a high velocity. She expertly landed on a thick branch whereas she readied her bow to shoot more arrows. While she's at it, her pointed earlobes suddenly twitched.

After hearing Elesis's nasty remark, Sieghart smirked. He swooped in towards Lich and gave the ground a heavy friction against the tip of his sword. Massive sparks emanated from within. He sent them towards the necromancer as it gave a great impact, sending the Lich staggering backwards. He faced Elesis and gave a cocky glance.

"Thanks for the energizer, Red."

"Come to think of it. Your ninja boy hasn't showed up." Elesis said to Arme after freeing her from the undead grapples. "Let's just hope he hoarded tons of useful things."

The petite magician pouted. "Ooohhh..."

"He makes a great asset, shorty," Sieghart remarked. "Besides, who would buy stuff nowadays? When you're short on money, your only option is to steal."

"What if he gets arrested?!"

The gladiator placed his hand over Arme's head. "You think too much, kiddo."

"He's getting away!" Elesis cried.

Lich summoned his undead soldiers back as he descended back to the underworld. The ground went back to its normal state.

"That's it?" Jin commented as he caught up with the others.

"He surrendered just for today." Ronan assured as he put his sword back into its scabbard. He looked around. "Hey, has anyone seen Lire?"

"She... she was here a second ago!" Arme mouthed. "She couldn't be running off like that."

"She's an Elf, which means her kind has capabilities to sense subtle elements and the odds." Sieghart gave a short lecture. "And the pointy ears explain it."

While they were at clashing against the Lich, Lire's sensitive hearing had led to her eventual escape. She ran back towards the cavern. By the time she got there, she heard a series of footsteps. Lire began her pursuit. She followed the unidentified owner's footsteps, not minding where it's taking her.

"It's gotta be him..." she mumbled when she ran past the creek and moved on. She swatted spiders and other insects away from her sight and evaded a snake's venomous bite. She eventually retaliated by stabbing its head with an arrow.

Lire then looked around her. The heavy rain is replaced by a drizzle as the rays of light shone above her with the trees' leaves blocking them. She is surrounded by vines, mossy tree barks, stray insects and mud puddles. She gave the trees a wary gaze. She's aware that her target must be hiding in one of them.

She impulsively fired multiple arrows repeatedly to harrass it. However, they are suddenly deflected as Lire evaded them. She continued to attack evasively when her eyes caught the sight of three green dots flying towards her. She gazed at them when it was too late for her to escape.

Those green dots turned out to be spores. They adhesively clung onto her body as they continued to spread by crawling on different areas. Lire collapsed to the muddy puddle and dropped her bow. She felt the poison spores sapping her energy, hence, causing her to weaken and writhe in pain.

Lire jerked to her side when she saw a shadow coming towards her. The spores continued to sap on her greedily like a nutrient-loaded crop as she moaned. Her vision started to become hazy as the shadowy figure approached. Before she could see its identity, she passed out.

The Elf opened her eyes as her vision gradually cleared. Lire blinked twice and jerked her head sideways. She is suddenly lying on a soft mattress.

"Ah, you're awake."

Lire jerked once more when she heard a feminine voice. She is then facing a woman who seemed to be in her mid-twenties. The blonde-haired Elf sat up on the bed.

"W...Where am I..?"

"You were attacked by a poacher. He mistook you for an animal so he quickly called for help," the woman explained. "I happened to pass by while looking for herbs. So I decided to take custody of you for a while."

Lire eyed the woman intently. She has her light orange bangs separated into two - one on each side - with a small strand of hair falling from one side, exposing her forehead. Her hair is tied into a twirled ponytail that goes beyond her shoulders. Observing the ears, they were pointy, identifying her race as an Elf. Lire stared at her arms and legs. Bandages have wrapped the wounds securely. She then stared at the small table beside the bed, a mixture of herbal dews can be seen on a wooden mortar along with a wooden pestel discarded on the side.

"Thanks.." Lire looked down towards her lap.

"Get some rest. I prepared some food." the woman stood up from her stool and turned to exit the room. Before she did so, she looked over her shoulder.

"I'm glad you're all right. I was able to treat your wounds quickly otherwise the spores have poisoned you badly."

Lire rubbed her head and smiled. "Thank you. I don't know what happened after that.."

"That's no longer important. The poacher wanted to apologize for what he did. I told him that it's all right and I'll look after you."

Lire blushed and avoided her glance. The woman smiled and exited the room. The blonde-haired Elf is alone in the provided room where she looked around to explore the area. Her nostrils caught the smell of the herbal dews, giving a quite unpleasant odor.

The woman returned shortly with a bowl of hot soup and a saucer of soft cake on a tray. She pushed the mortar and pestel aside and placed the tray on its place. She sat back on her stool.

"Do you like going to other places?" she suddenly asked.

"Umm.. yes." Lire nodded. "...especially when I'm doing missions with my team."

"The Elven Corps?"

"No.. but I'm part of that organization. I have joined another elite group. We get to travel in many places and, of course, save victims from the hands of blackguards and fire brands." the Elf explained.

"That reminds me of my brother who's in the same boat as you," the woman narrated. "Well... he left to save the world and serve the race he belongs to. He learned to appreciate the beauty of nature since he was a child."

"I see. I happened to know someone who's as similar as him. I guess it's just a matter of coincidence..." Lire replied when she gasped. "A-Ah, I haven't introduced myself. Umm... I'm Lire."

"I'm Lian. Feel yourself right at home."

It took me days to make this chap. There is no internet in the place I'm living in during weekdays.

Two more weeks before our sembreak starts. This story will be delayed for a while since those weeks are (and will be) booked by hoardes of deadlines and finals. Wish me luck!

Chap's finish date: 9/24/13

Update: 9/27/13