Chapter 3: The Path We Walked
The next day, our heroes arrived at Ellis' grandfather's home, Alfheim.
"We finally made it..." Renee sighed in exhaustion as she, Leo and the otherworlders looked around. it was a haven for elves. It has a pond where elves can fish and a huge manor where someone important lives/
"Is this... Alfheim?" the former general asked Ellis.
"Yes. It is." The elven girl looked at Leo in worry. "Is something wrong?"
Leo looked at the passing elves, some of which glared at him. "I just... I have never before seen so many elves at once."
Ellis looked at Leo with a raised eyebrow. "Are there no elves where you live?"
"Not really..." Leo sighed.
Ellis looked at the former general with a little surprised look. "Oh... How dull..."
"Look at these elves... I have never seen an elf back in my world." Yuri stated as he looked up at the sky in thought.
"Yeah..." Kirito nodded as he followed Yuri's look.
"Are they hiding from the war?" Noire asked in concern. She knew, although she didn't know how she knew, that a small village like this wouldn't be able to withstand the rage of war.
"I bet they're waiting for the apolocliys and a hero, namely Leo, will come in to save them from their darkest hour! It's just like a video game!" Neptune beamed.
"Neptune, shush!" Renee scolded the hyperactive girl. Neptune's constant referencing of video games had begun to wear down even her patience.
It was then that Ellis noticed an old elf walking up to the party. She gasped happily and smiled. "Oh, grandpa!"
"I heard that Gridamas had invaded! I was worried sick about you, but I see you are safe now." Ellis' grandpa sighed, relieved that his granddaughter was safe from harm.
Ellis smiled. "Leo, Renee, Mister Lowell, Miss Noire, Miss Neptune, and Mister Kirito saved me! They're really, really strong!"
The geriatric elf looked at the party with a smile. "Are they? Then you have my thanks, for saving my granddaughter." He bowed lightly.
Noire crossed her arms. "Whatever! I didn't save Ellis just to be thanked!"
"In truth, sir, you have Borgnine to thank," Leo corrected. "He protected Ellis when we could not."
"I see..." He eyed Borgnine but, also, he eyed the trinkets Renee, Yuri and Kirito wore. Borgnine was silent as he said nothing; it seems that being eyed on like didn't bother him. "Ah, where are my manners? My name is Teonor. I have little, but please, make yourselves at home." He smiled.
"I will make us a delightful dinner! Good bye for now, Leo. Come, Borgnine." Ellis smiled as she and her mysterious guardian headed into the manor to prepare for dinner.
"Woo hoo! Finally some decent grub! That boar Leo killed left a bad taste in my mouth." Neptune licked her lips excitedly. Yuri and Noire sighed in annoyance.
Dyshana looked at Teonor. "Is she the only high elf in town?"
Teonor abandoned his smile and looked at the mystery woman. "Not only is she the only high elf in this town, but she's the only one in all of Lucrellia."
Leo's eyes widened a little bit. "I had thought all the high elves dead..." he muttered in astonishment.
"High elves have a deeper connection to nature than other elves. Perhaps that is why, when the rest of the world is in pain, our forests are lush and green," the old elf explained.
"She must be an orphan..." Renee stated as she looked down despondently.
Leo remained silent.
Dyshana, however, displayed no sorrow for Ellis' circumstances in her voice. "Then Borgnine is a larva summoned by your granddaughter. "
"What the hell is a larva?" Kirito asked.
"They are more commonly known as the fey," Teonor began explaining. "But, Borgnine is most likely a larva, a lesser god. They say that, even among the high elves, only the most powerful could summon such a being." The grandfather stroked his beard in thought.
"Then the power lay dormant within her to be awakened when she was faced with mortal danger," Dyshana inducted.
Teonor nodded. "Most likely."
"Whoa... So Elly is like a summoner or something! How cool is that?" Neptune gasped in awe.
Finally, Leo broke his silence. "Is it... alright for me to be here?" He asked hesitantly.
"Why would you ask such a thing?" Teonor questioned.
Renee and Noire quickly glanced at each other.
Leo sighed. He adverted his gaze so that he wouldn't have to look the elf in the eye. "My people have brought little but suffering to the Frontier. I cannot imagine any of you are happy to find a human from Gridamas in your town."
Teonor nodded. "Of course. I can speak only for myself, but I think you may be mistaken. It is easy for one raised in Gridamas to judge many through the actions of a few. True, many here may resent you and your people, but not all. A nation is made up of many people, and each one has an opinion."
"That may be so... but I feel you have all suffered much at the hands of Gridamas," Leo stated, his guilt for his past weighing down his words.
"I see..." the old elf said calmly as he stroked his beard. "Well, perhaps this is a conversation best left for later. For now, Ellis waits for us at my house." He smiled.
"Yippee! Last one there is a rotten dogoo!" Neptune cheered as she ran into Teonor's manor.
"Damn it, Neptune! Don't hog all the food!" Noire growled as she rushed after her friend.
Leo laughed a little. "Let us hurry before Neptune devours all the food," he joked.
Later that night...
Renee was sleeping in one of the guest rooms that was separated from the others. She heard a knock on the door.
She stirred for four seconds until she got up and went to the door. She opened it and found Teonor waiting.
"Renee, was it? Do you mind if we talk for a while?" he asked as he entered Renee's room.
"Sure, what is it?" Renee asked, sensing Teonor's worry.
Teonor looked at Renee with an amount of seriousness that she hadn't expected him to have. His gaze went down to her bracelet and lingered there. "... Where did you, Yuri and Kirito get those trinkets?"
Renee stared into Teonor's eyes with a serious look of her own. "I found it when I woke up in this world. The same goes to Yuri and Kirito. To tell you the truth, I'm not from this world. Neither are Yuri, Neptune, Noire and Kirito. Problem is, we don't know who we are and where we came from. But the odd thing about those trinkets is that we can't get them off, no matter how hard we try..." Renee sighed.
"It is as I feared..." Teonor paused. He closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again. "You three are wearing Summeril's cursed trinkets."
"Wait, what?" Renee almost shouted but kept her composure. "You mean to tell me these trinkets are made by the Dark King?"
Teonor nodded. "The Dark King, Summeril, had many trinkets cursed with his evil power... but he lost them during the Great War of the Gods. That was the rumour, anyway, but now you and your friends have disproved it by wearing them. The trinkets have the power to make the wearers immortal but they also give birth to a growing darkness. If the darkness reaches full power, then the wearer will lose his or her humanity and become Summeril's slave forever."
Renee couldn't bring herself to speak. The thought of being Summeril's slave... or anyone's slave, removed from her own will and forced to act for another's, made her feel sick. "... Are the tattoos on our flesh proof of our immortality?" Renee showed the old elf the tattoo on her stomach.
"That is correct. If you and your two friends are wearing them, then time is not on your side. Each month or year that passes will only make it worse. In perhaps fifty years, the darkness will reach its final stage."
"And there is no known way to remove them?" the girl asked the old elf.
Teonor shook his head. "I am afraid I do not know but... there may be a way somewhere in Agarest."
"... Thank you for telling me this, Teonor." Renee bowed her head lightly.
"It is no trouble at all, my child. I will leave you to your sleep." Teonor smiled as he exited Renee's room.
"Are you leaving so soon?" Teonor asked the party the next morning as they were ready to leave.
Leo nodded and smiled. "Thank you for everything. I do not wish to overstay my welcome. I do not know if I can change the course of a country but I believe Gridamas has lost its way. My purpose now is to help my country find its path once again. I have also made a promise to Dyshana that I must fulfil."
Although he sighed, Teonor couldn't help but smile. "Ellis will be sad, but... asking you to stay would be too much."
"We don't want to cause the kid any problems or anything," Yuri added as he stretched a little bit.
At that moment, a woman walked up to the party and Teonor and the party's eyes nearly jumped out of their sockets. She had black hair with shoe-like hair orniments, wore a white robe with red lines and red skirt, white detachable sleeves and markings on her face. This was relatively normal, though, and it wasn't why the party was so surprised. Their surprise was because of the woman's three eyes. "Worry not for the high-elven girl, nor for the Bracelet of the Covenant," said the woman with a smile.
"Um... who are you?" Kirito asked, rubbing the back of his head nervously.
"One should introduce himself before asking questions," the woman scolded Kirito before groaning. "It seems no one has any manners these days."
"We apologize. My name is Leonhardt, this is Renee Roberts, Yuri Lowell, Kirito, Neptune and Noire." Leo bowed his lightly.
"I know. You are Golden Leo of Gridamas, yes? Do not ask how I know this." The woman smirked.
"Whoa! She knows Leo's name! How cool is that?" Neptune gasped again in awe.
Noire slaps her head in disbelief. "Neptune..."
"My name is Vira-Lorr. I am a seer." Vira-Lorr kept smirking as she pointed to her third eye.
"A seer?" Leo repeated as if the word was foreign.
"The third eye on my forehead shows me visions of the future. My visions have made me many friends in Gridamas and Rigulus," Vira-Lorr stated with a smile on her lips.
Teonor's eyes quickly shifted from Leo to the seer. "Vira-Lorr, so he is..."
"Yes," she responded quickly.
Teonor cleared his throat. "Then, allow me to swallow my pride and make a request. Will you retrieve the Bracelet of the Covenant?"
"Bracelet of the Covenant?" Leo asked, confused again.
"An extemely dangerous talisman," Vira-Lorr explained. "It holds the power to destroy the world."
Neptune let out yet another gasp of awe. "Coolios! An evil relic that can—" Renee was quick to raise the back of her flat hand in front of Neptune's face. Neptune took that and remained silent.
"An object like that... here? Of course I will look for it, but why me?" Leo raised an eyebrow.
"Because it is obstructing your destiny. Some time ago, I lost my ability to see the future. Those visions were replaced with visions of you and your oddly dressed friends." Vira-Lorr folded her arms.
Leo and the gang looked between each other.
"Consider it a step in your meandering journey," Dyshana spoke up. "Accept their request, Leo."
Leo turned to her, still confused. "Dyshana?"
Dyshana was emotionless as ever. "Know, however, that I shall take care of matters once we have retrieved the Bracelet of the Covenant. Any objections?"
Teonor remained quiet for a short moment. "... Very well."
"If something like that is dangerous, we need to get it back," declared Renee.
Kirito nodded. "I'll go as well. We can't let this Bracelet of the Covenant fall into the wrong hands."
"Oh man... Why do I get dragged into this shit? Alright, alright," Yuri sighed.
"I-I'm only doing this for Ellis' grandfather!" Noire stuttered as she looked away.
"Aw, Noire is getting friends and I don't even know it!" Neptune laughed.
"Shut up, Neptune!" Noire snapped at her.
Vira-Lorr smiled. "Then, this is settled. Lead the way, Leo."
"You wish to come with us? But..."
"Surely you do not expect the danger to keep me here?" interrupted Vira-Lorr. "I have lost my second sight, but that is all. The high elven girl also comes. Understand?" Vira-Lorr frowned as she folded her arms.
Teonor sighed but smiled all the same. "I wish you safe travels."
Vira-Lorr smiled back before turning to the party. "First, we should head for Mimas."
To be continued...
Next chapter: The Fullmetal Alchemist and the Prinny