Four hours of treading through the pitch-black forest with little-to-no conversation had passed, with every attempt Goblin Slayer made at asking High Elf Archer a question about the Adventurer's Guild brushed off by the paranoid woman, who ended up using every single arrow within her quiver by the time they finally emerged out of the outer-rim of densely-populated flora; the treetops lessening-and-lessening, until finally they were able to once again see the blue sky above without any obstructions.
"Oh, thank the gods that's FINALLY over…!" Goblin Slayer heard High Elf Archer gasp out in an exasperated voice, as he looked over his shoulder to see her hunched over in the tripod position; her head hanging low and her arms straightened, as she supported her small upper-body by holding onto her own knees. "I was starting to worry that we'd have to spend the entire journey traversing through those forsaken woods…"
Even though Goblin Slayer had grown desensitized to the sight of the uncanny skin-walkers who Fairy Knight had been slaughtering left-and-right throughout their endeavor, he absolutely agrees with High Elf Archer's sentiment. Letting out a quiet chuckle as he made eye-contact with the petite elf, the moment she lifted her chin up from the grassy ground of the forest floor, Goblin Slayer gave her a relieved smile of his own before looking away from her to gaze at the beautiful scenery that laid before them.
Almost as though they had been rewarded for having survived the trip through the Oakshire Forest's terrifying defense, the large crystal blue lake that sat at the base of the large bear-head shaped mountain just a few kilometers away from them was breathtaking; especially considering the the way the rocky formation seemed to be staring up majestically into the cloudy blue-sky, as the sun above broke through the gentle overcast to shine its warmth down onto the glistening waters of the beautiful lake.
With clusters of trees growing in patches along the valley floor of the forest, Goblin Slayer checked his map before letting out another sigh of relief. "Whatever those things were back there must be what's keeping any invasive monsters or people out of this natural haven… All that's out here are just your run-of-the-mill woodland creatures; the worst thing we might run into is a curious black bear," Goblin Slayer announced excitedly, before sheathing his sword into his hip-scabbard; watching his new companion begrudgingly do the same, as she slung her long-bow over her back.
"I'm going to trust that you know what you're talking about, "Orcblog", because if that's the case then I don't see why we shouldn't find a place to rest for a bit; gods know that I'll need time to fashion some arrows from whatever materials I can scrounge up from around here," High Elf Archer muttered that last part to herself, before beginning to stretch her arms and legs, as Goblin Slayer glanced curiously back at her.
"… "Orcblog"? What's an "Orcblog"?" Goblin Slayer asked curiously, while beginning to walk alongside High Elf Archer as they began making their way toward the shoreline of the glistening-blue waters of the massive lake within the open distance.
"Oh, "Orcblog" is what "Goblin Slayer" translates to in elvish tongue; I could have sworn that I've already told you that earlier, but then again I might have just THOUGHT that I did, but never actually got around to saying it aloud to you," High Elf Archer explained while shrugging. "Honestly, with how traumatic that whole thing was with us getting stalked the entire time by those terrifying entities, I'd honestly be surprised if I ended up NOTgetting any nightmares tonight."
"No kidding, heh…Those weird things reminded me of the sorts of monsters you'd find only within the pages of a horror novel," Goblin Slayer quipped back, while looking up at a large bee-hive that was hanging down from the large branch of the pine tree that he and High Elf Archer were walking underneath; that cluster of flora being peaceful and well-lit, in comparison to the pitch-black wooded area that was behind the both of them. "So… "Orcblog" means "Goblin Slayer", huh? What about my real name? Is there an elvish way of saying it?"
Giving the intrigued boy a side-eye glance with a mildly amused grin across her pink soft-lips, High Elf Archer let out a throaty chuckle as she and Goblin Slayer walked out of the pine-tree inhabited area, and back through the tranquil field that made up a majority of the valley floor. "That's not how it works, Orcblog. There's no elvish translation for "Ren" or "Ashta", similar to there not being any other way of spelling my name… But if you're asking how I'd pronounce your name in my native language, then it would sound something along the lines of "Gore-Rhen Ash-Star"," High Elf Archer said with a whimsical look in her green eyes, as Goblin Slayer gave her a astound look of awe.
"Wow…! Is that really how you'd pronounce it…?!" The boy asked with a wide smile across his face, before suddenly finding himself confused when the green-haired elf began snickering at him.
"Fwuahaha! Nah, I just made that up on the spot, Orcblog; your name wouldn't ACTUALLY translate to anything in elvish! It's still just "Ren Ashta"," High Elf Archer admitted while still laughing to herself, as Goblin Slayer's smile wavered for a brief moment before finally joining in on the fun.
"Heh, hehe…! That was pretty funny… Say… Since I've got your attention now, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind me asking you a few questions about the Adventurer's Guild," Goblin Slayer brought up, as he changed the subject with a hopefully look in his dusty-rose colored eyes; the light of the afternoon sun reflecting within his pupils, as the content elf looked down into his gaze while the two of them continued to walk down the lightly wooded-area.
"Well, I'll certainly do my best to answer whatever questions that I can, Orcblog. Just keep in mind though, you're not exactly within the presence of a high-ranking adventurer here," High Elf Archer said with a slightly embarrassed expression forming over her smiling face, before reaching up to pull back the collar of her brown cloak that she had draped around her neck; carefully pulling out her fragile tagged necklace from underneath her green sleeveless tunic.
Recognizing that material of High Elf Archer's tag as being porcelain, Goblin Slayer's excitement slightly wavered after realizing that the petite woman was a beginner-leveled adventurer. "Oh… You must have just joined recently… Is that why you don't have a party?" Goblin Slayer asked bluntly, which caused High Elf Archer's eyes to widen as a gasp escaped her parted lips.
With her cheeks becoming a deep shade of pink, High Elf Archer furrowed her thin eyebrows as frowned nervously as she immediately shoved her tag back underneath the collar of her tunic and cloak. "Uhhhh…?! S-Sort of…?! You see, ummmm… A-After you get through the paperwork process, you're able to start getting assigned a quest in the main front lobby. That's usually where newbies congregate in order to either get recruited by more experienced parties, or form their own parties with other porcelain-ranking adventurers…"
"… And well, you see… I had an especially difficult time getting anyone onboard with joining me on one VERY specific quest that I… That I felt as though had more importance than the rest of the other quests that were seen as more desirable," High Elf Archer explained with a more somber expression taking the place of her previous look of embarrassment.
Thinking back to the written-message that the Adventurer's Guild had mailed to Mother Mary, Goblin Slayer recalled reading the part of the apologetic message that mentioned missing adventurers, and it was that his brain made the connection. "… No one else wanted to go up to the Mythril Mountains with you, because none of them must have wanted to share the same fate as the others who tried clearing out that goblin stronghold… Isn't that right, Arthemis?" Goblin Slayer asked, while watching as High Elf Archer stared back at him with an inquisitive look of her own.
"H… How would you even know about…? Wait… Wait, is that why you were so adamant about making it to Matterhorn?! You're planning on clearing out that old castle by yourse- Actually, never mind; coming from YOU, I shouldn't be surprised to hear that," High Elf Archer muttered, after remembering just how capable Goblin Slayer was with his servant by his side. "I have to ask though: what reason could a child like you have to take on that task? It's not like you'd be getting any sort of reward for it; no offense, but it's not like anyone would actually take your word if you were to tell them that you cleared out that stronghold all by yourself."
Although Goblin Slayer was admittedly having a great time of his life by being able to live out his earlier childhood fantasies, the scarred boy never forgot the reason why he chose to complete the quest; especially not after he had been earlier inspired to do so by his servant. "… My old village— before my older sister and I moved to Londobell— was destroyed by a goblin raiding army; an army of three-hundred and forty-seven that I, and Fairy Knight, defeated by ourselves. I've seen first-hand the atrocities that those vile things are capable of, and the devastation that their victims are forced to endure afterwards…"
"… This stronghold is the central nest for the goblins who inhabit the Frontier. For whatever reason, they're getting more desperate for supplies and for women to force themselves upon… If I can destroy their most fortified nest, then that should be enough to force whatever's left of their kind into a state of disarray; when I bring that stronghold down to the ground, only then will they know what it's like to have their home taken away from them," Goblin Slayer finished saying with a dark-intense look in his unnaturally glowing-red eyes; his crimson irises matching the same color as the shining crest on his right hand, while beginning to return to their natural color as his deep-seated rage began to wear off.
Taken aback at what she had seen and heard, High Elf Archer became silent as she continued to walk alongside Goblin Slayer; noticing the approving soft-smile across Fairy Knight's pale lips, which made her assume that the violent servant was influencing the child into taking after her vindictive behavior. "I mean… At least your intentions aren't selfish; most of the adventurers who were accepting the quest before I joined wanted to complete the quest for its handsome reward. Or at least that's what I heard, since they stopped offering a reward for it by the time I was registered into the guild," High Elf Archer explained.
' There's no reward being offered…? Oh… That's right; the Adventurer's Guild refunded Mother Mary her gold. I guess that makes sense why no one wanted to join her… After all, who wants to risk dying without there being anything to entice them into doing so? ' Goblin Slayer mused to himself, as he and High Elf Archer broke out of the small pine-tree infested area, before beginning to walk along the grassy-gravel, toward the shoreline of the breathtakingly gorgeous blue lake that was practically calling for him. "If that's the case, then… Why are you wanting to clear out that stronghold? Are you trying to get promoted to obsidian-rank, or something like that?"
"Hmhmm~! No, it's not like that. You see, I'm actually more-or-less after the same thing as you are," High Elf Archer replied, before her tone began to grow more somber as Goblin Slayer noticed her expression slowly brooding. ""Indoris Nerevar"… He's commonly just referred to as " Dark Elf" by humans, because dark elves in general avoid making contact with the surface world; all of them prefer to live in their underground cities… Anyway, to put it lightly, my kind and the dark elves don't see eye-to-eye on most things— especially when it comes to their destructive religious practices— but the one thing our people both unanimous agree about is that Indoris Nerevar must be slain."
Intrigued by what she was saying, Goblin Slayer cocked his head slightly to his shoulder as he asked "Who is Indoris Nerevar, and what does he have to do with you needing to go to the Mythril Mountains?"
"Everything; he has everything to do with us both going there," High Elf Archer replied scornfully, as just the thought of the dark elf made her hands tightened into closed fists. "Don't get it twisted: the Frontier's goblin infestation needs to be stopped, but the only reason they're even occupying that stronghold is because of Nerevar. He's the one ordering the goblins to go out to villages, so he could have them drag the children back to that damn castle he took over…! Our scouts have been doing everything in their power to figure out why he's kidnapping children; goblins usually just eat or violate humans that age, and they never have a reason to keep them alive… He's up to something foul, I know it."
Mentally digesting the words High Elf Archer told to him during her brief response, Goblin Slayer quickly realized that despite the horrible atrocities that the goblins committed against the children of his old village, not one of them had been killed during their raid. "That explains why only the adults and older teenagers were killed… By the way, do you have any guesses as to why he would be taking children to the stronghold?"
"Well, the obvious assumption is that he's using the children for some sort of ritualistic sacrifice; since dark elves aren't exactly above spilling the blood of kids, in order to appease the Chaos God that the dark elves worship. But not all dark elves are like that; some of them are able to escape the cult-like indoctrination process of their childhoods, and are able to be a part of human society just fine," High Elf Archer explained with a slightly begrudgingly tone in her voice, as she crossed her arms over her flat chest. "From what I've heard passed down from my family about Nerevar, he never worshiped any god… So with that being said, I don't have the faintest of clues as to why he's kidnapping children, and why he only started doing this a week ago…"
"… But then again, I couldn't care any less about whatever delusional-motivations he's using to justify himself; as far as I'm concerned, he's a dead man living on borrowed time," High Elf Archer muttered hatefully, as she narrowed her green eyes while staring blankly into the glistening waves of the massive body of fresh water before her. "… You're not the only one who's suffered from Nerevar's careless pursuits. However, you and I can ensure that the people of your village are the last of his victims. What do you say, Orcblog? Shall we continue to travel together, even after we reach Matterhorn?" High Elf Archer asked with a hopeful expression beginning to flourish across her beautiful face, as she turned her gaze from the lake to stare down into the inspired eyes of the child; who's resolve became amplified by her words alone.
Although Goblin Slayer was very much enthusiastic over the fact that he was getting closer to fulfilling another childhood fantasy of his, which was to be the leader of his own party of adventurers, the self-conscious boy who didn't want to seem too childish in front of the beautiful elven woman. So instead of expressing any sort of excitement over High Elf Archer's proposal, Goblin Slayer thought about how Fairy Knight would have responded and tried mimicking her cool-stoic style when he barely curled his lips into a small smirk; remaining calm and collected on the surface, as he gave the perplexed elf a single nod before saying in a deepened voice "… That'll be just fine."