In the middle of the road stands a man in green armor with dark red hair, long and braided over one shoulder, and light green eyes that carry an alien, eerie gleam. He carries no weapons that I can see, but his right arm is bare of any clothing and has a very vibrant and ornate dark green tattoo that spreads from his fingertip up to his shoulder.
It's not explicitly a weapon, but I can't help but be reminded of certain magical runes that it might be similar to. It'd explain the lack of a weapon and how he seemed to appear out of nowhere.
The other four horses stamped and skirted to the side as soon as the elf appeared, but as Meera and the others make various exclamations of alarm, mine settles back down and snorts, as if indignant that it got startled in the first place.
I don't know if that's merely its personality, or if it can sense that this elf is no threat to me - and therefore by extension itself as well. Either way, I appreciate it. Brave horse or trusting, both work for me.
I squint at the man, but before I can speak - and before he can, the ever annoyingly helpful System Helper decides to ruin the moment.
"Oooh! Oooh! He's not a threat, Master! In fact, this elf is just a low level guard who was patrolling the edges of the elven lands to keep anyone who enters out." She chirps over anything that elf might have had to say. "His arm possesses many magical spells that he can access quickly and wordlessly, but none of them rise to a level that will be of any threat to you. Even his self destruct won't do any damage to you."
The damn thing just keep chattering on, like I asked for a whole rundown and stat screen.
"In fact, if you just address him with-"
Enough! I didn't ask for a damn strategy guide!
"Intruders. Your entry into this forest has not been sanctioned by our Queen. You have three hours to vacate, or you will be turned out."
I squint at him. "We've been trying to leave. You keep extending the forest so we can't."
Kael makes a disgruntled face, clearly having intended on being the one to talk to the elf. Or maybe it was the way I spoke. I don't know, I'm just speaking normally.
The elf arches one elegant eyebrow at me, clearly displeased. "You are not allowed to pass through these sacred lands. Turn back."
I sigh. "Yeah...no. I don't care about your sacred lands. I just want to get through this forest so I can move on to the Death Zone or whatever."
The elf's eyebrows furrow and I can see the wheels in his mind turning as he tries to unravel the meaning behind my words. And, more importantly, how to react. I wait patiently, with my hands on the pommel of the saddle, ready to grab the sword at a moment's notice. Not that I need it. Apparently even his biggest bang can't do anything to me, after all. Then again, despite my horse's apparent trust in me, it probably would be a different matter for its survival, and I don't like the idea of walking however far away the Demon King is.
The elf finally shakes his head and scoffs, and his attention turns away from me. To Kael, I think. "You keep mad company. How fitting."
Kael clicks his tongue. "Really wish you wouldn't judge me like that."
Meera clears her throat and offers a blinding smile to the elf. He stares back at her blankly. Apparently he is not affected by her charm ability. If in fact she has one. I'm just assuming she does and tried to use it right there, since I don't know what else she could possibly have been trying to do.
The elf shakes his head. "You are mad yourself, Witherer, daring to show your face in our land again."
Kael purses his lips. "Wasn't your land last I was here."
"All wooded land is the elves' land."
"Now, you know I'll never acknowledge that." I don't think I've heard Kael sound so conversational and relaxed in a while. Probably not since before the dungeon. It sounds strange coming from the man.
The elf's arm glows. Rather, the tattoos do. It's just a short glow, but it's either the activation of some spell or another or it's a threat of one. "You should be arrested and executed for that alone."
Meera waves her arms. "Let's! Not! Kill anyone! Killing isn't any good!"
"Master, if you chose to engage him in combat he'd have no chance of standing up to your abilities!"
Thank you. You said that. That's exactly why I'm not getting involved if I don't have to. I'm not interested in any kind of fight where there's no challenge and not the slightest chance of harm or failure. It's a different matter if this elf attacks, but I'm not going to waste time starting a fight that's not even worth it.
"Your queen would have something to say about killing me, I suspect." Kael huffs, and then shakes his head. "Just let us through. As my companion said. We have no interest in your sacred trees. Nor will we cut any wood or harm any plant beyond what we must to travel through. Let us pass and we'll find another way back."
"You've already done harm to our plants."
Kael's tone in response is venomous. "Your plant did harm to my friend. Be glad I didn't do worse."
The elf narrows his eyes, and the two seem to enter into some sort of silent staring match. Eventually, it's the elf that breaks it, shaking his head in disgust. "Much as I would love to arrest you and see you killed..I can do neither that nor let you through."
"Is that so?" Kael raises his eyebrows.
The elf gestures back down the road, and his lips twist into a sardonic smile. "Our queen demands an audience."
Kael makes an exasperated sound. "Dammit..."
He took the word right out of my mouth. If the elves are hostile, then the least they can do is just fight us, instead of dragging us into some obvious side quest.
I purse my lips, sweeping my gaze across the figure of the lone elf.
I can easily lure him away from the others, given my defense should make the carnivorous plants harmless to me - and then once he's dealt with, I assume Kael has some plan to find our way out of this place. Whatever it is, it'll still be quicker than taking on whatever sidequest the queen has for us.
Four more elves materialize in front of us in the same manner as the first.
...Damn it.