Shortly after saving the elvish enclave that was about to be overrun by bugs, we stopped at the village we had just saved.
"Welcome to Viridian," an exhausted elf said, serving as the representative for this particular enclave. We bowed politely, thanking him for their hospitality. But he was more grateful than we were. "If you hadn't intervened when you did, we would have been annihilated."
"It's nothing," Sigmund said softly, his head lowered slightly. "I'm glad we were able to save you guys in time."
"Yeah," I agreed, trying not to roll my eyes. "Especially after the delay caused by some idiot."
"Idiot?" The elf asked, raising an eyebrow. I hastily waved my hands.
"I'm referring to the idiot who attacked me on our way up to Viridian. For some reason, he prioritized his personal vendetta over the mission, though he justified it by claiming that I would betray him and backstab him while he was fighting spirit beasts. Not that I would, but the guy was…uh, paranoid."
"Don't worry about him. He's dead." Eliza sounded almost dismissive. "And quite frankly, I don't think I'll trust a bloodthirsty human like him. I'm glad he has been eliminated."
"As long as everything is fine." The elf sighed in relief. He turned back to the semi-devoured huts spread across Viridian. "We will be working on repairing the damage done to our homes, but we have set aside accommodations for you."
"If you don't mind, we will help with repairs and recovery efforts," I offered.
"That's right!" Silvia piped up. "We can cast basic wood spells that will help with your houses if necessary! Don't underestimate us!"
"Hey, Silvia!" Sylvie reprimanded her. "Don't be rude!"
"She's not rude at all." The elf laughed wearily and gratefully. "If you're willing to help, then please go ahead. Thank you so much."
"Not at all."
So we went to help the elves of Viridian Village. The party that came along with Wang Teng didn't, though. They kept to themselves, disappearing into the accommodation set aside for them. Silvia sulked at that.
"They could at least lend a hand!" she complained.
"They aren't obligated to," I replied.
"It's better to work without them, anyway," Sylvie agreed with a nod of her head. She waved her hands and weaved green mana together to repair a crack in a wooden wall. "I'm not sure if we can trust them."
"What's the matter?" Morten asked as he helped heave rubble off a house. I was also lifting debris off and placing them to a side, while Sigmund worked nearby, hammering a wooden panel into place. Silvia went over and welded them with wood magic.
"I don't know…maybe I'm just overthinking it, but they give me a strange sense of unease."
"It's fine to be on your guard," Myria assured her with a smile. "I don't feel the same way you do, but nonetheless, it is suspicious that they stood by and did nothing while Wang Teng attacked Jun Wen earlier. I believe they are telling the truth when they said Wang Teng isn't their comrade, but their inaction doesn't feel right."
"We just have to be careful," I said.
"They are of no threat to us," Sigmund spoke up as he hammered another wooden ledge into place. "If they attack us, I'll dispatch them easily."
"Sounds good to me." Morten shrugged. At his voice, I suddenly recalled something.
"Hey, wait. Where's their liaison? Where's their guide?"
"They are Europeans, so I don't think they need a liaison like you do," Morten said thoughtfully. "But you're right. It's strange that they don't have an elven guide. How are they making their way up the World Tree without an elf to guide them?"
"That's…certainly suspicious." Myria frowned. "Maybe they have been to Yggdrasil before, and thus don't need a guide?"
"The guide isn't just to show the way up Yggdrasil," Morten explained. "They serve as a mediator, someone to reassure the enclaves that the people they are guiding are not a threat. Elves being who they are, they don't generally tend to welcome outsiders to Yggdrasil. To leave unsupervised humans running about in their territory would be an outrage to them."
"And they probably didn't say anything because they thought those three were guided here by Eliza." Myria's expression was grim. "We should ask her."
"Yeah, even I was asked to meet up with a guide," Sigmund confirmed. "They assigned me to you, but under normal circumstances, I would have just gone on ahead on my own. But I respect the protocols set in place for Yggdrasil, which is why I agreed."
"Well, glad to have you here with us," I said.
"For now, we'll keep watch just in case." Sylvie did an intricate pattern with her hands. "I'll set up a spirit array for surveillance."
"Thanks. I'll leave that to you."
I patted her shoulder and returned to work. Several hours passed without incident, but when we finally found Eliza, we quickly filled her in.
"That is highly unusual," Eliza agreed with a frown. "Do you mind if I ask them about it?"
"Yeah, go ahead," Morten said. Eliza nodded and went to the hut where the three of them were resting in. They hadn't unpacked, and were making use of the furniture to relax. When Eliza entered, they looked up sharply.
"Oh, it's you. The elf guide from the other party." The bald guy said. "How can we help you?"
"I have a few questions, if you don't mind," Eliza replied calmly, doing her best not to sound contemptuous. She needed to be polite, especially since offending the human parties who had volunteered to help save the elvish enclaves and risking their lives in doing so was an awful idea.
"What is it?" the Wesley Snipes lookalike asked. He had taken off his sunglasses, and his eyes were a surprising red. Almost like a vampire.
"Where's your elf guide? How did you come all the way up here without an elven guide? To get entry into the enclaves, you'll need an elf in your party to mediate. They wouldn't let you in otherwise."
The three of them exchanged an uncomfortable look, which surprised me somewhat. I had expected outrage, denial, or at least for them to be on their guard, but they looked more dismayed than guilty. If they were hiding something, they would at least put on a poker face, but they didn't.
"About that…" the lady in the robes raised her hand. She had long brown hair that was tied into a braid, and she used her spear as a staff to lean on as she stepped forward. Her honey warm gaze darted to me. "If you remember that gray haired kid from Hua Xia? His name was Wang Teng, I believe?"
"Yeah," I affirmed.
She rubbed her temples with a free hand and sighed. "Wang Teng had an argument with our elven guide. Apparently, he wasn't happy with how arrogant the elf was, especially since the elf looked down on us. They got into a heated argument…and then Wang Teng challenged the elf to a duel and slew him in combat. So we…no longer have a guide."
…what the actual fuck?
Eliza was furious. She clenched her hands into trembling fists, the mana around her coalescing into a windy storm.
"Is what you said true?" She asked icily.
"Yeah." The dark-skinned swordsman replied calmly, not at all intimidated. I could tell that he was strong. A veteran, in fact, from the way he carried himself. "We wanted to stop him and our elven guide, Taroni. But Taroni insisted that it was a matter of honor and rejected our attempts in intervening. He was confident that he wouldn't lose to a 'mere human.'"
"Taroni," Eliza repeated. The winds around her dissipated and she facepalmed. "Of course. He was always arrogant and looked down on humans as a lesser race. I don't know why they allowed him to be a guide. They should know that he would eventually do something irreversible by insulting the human parties we requested for assistance."
"We were planning to report back to the garrison at the base of Yggdrasil once we completed our mission and return back there."
"Understood. I'll send the report anyway. I'm sure the authorities will have further questions for you later, but we'll keep in touch."
"Certainly. Don't hesitate to ask us anything."
Thankfully, that matter was settled. The party of three didn't seem like bad people, just misunderstood. Sylvie must have sensed the heavy, tense air hanging over them as they grappled with the truth.
After that, we were provided a separate, bigger accommodation because of our help with the recovery efforts.
"Please don't hold back!" The chief assured us. "You've gone out of your way to help us not just with combat, but also repairs and restoration! This is the least we can do!"
"Thanks." I bowed, and I could hear the rest of my party repeating their thanks. After such a day of grueling combat, followed by helping out with repairs, we were exhausted. I couldn't remember much of what happened after I entered the nice, luxurious place. All I recalled was dropping onto the bed and falling asleep immediately.
The next thing I knew, it was already morning. I sat up, bleary eyed, and reached for my glasses. Suppressing a yawn, I glanced out of the window. After washing up, I stepped out into the main hall of the huge wooden hut we were allocated.
"Breakfast is ready," Eliza called out, already waiting at the furnished dining table in the main hall. I nodded and joined her. It was simple fare, as expected of elven cuisine, but the taste was almost magically exquisite as ever.
Myria was already up, as was Sigmund and Sylvie. Silvia was still asleep, and Morten had gotten up shortly after me. We had small talk while eating the fruit juice lathered bread and berries that were typical of elvish meals.
After everyone had woken up and eaten breakfast, we got ready to set off and proceed to the next branch. Eliza checked with the spirits, raising her hand and communing with nature. Then she nodded almost to herself.
"The next enclave will be Noctwood," she announced. "They have suffered a few raids and incursions, but are holding out. Nonetheless, if we can relieve the pressure on them, it will help them greatly and disrupt the enemy's plans. Apparently, the demonic mages have a strong presence in Noctwood, which makes sense because of the spectral energies there."
"Don't mind if we join you?" Blade…ahem, the Wesley Snipes lookalike asked, having put his sunglasses and leather jacket back on. He was accompanied by the bald guy and the lady spearwoman.
"Not at all. I'll take over as your guide until they assign you a new one." Eliza offered her hand, and the dark-skinned guy shook it. "I'm Eliza Sherwood."
"Wesley Snyder," the dark-skinned guy replied. Damn, that was so close. So he had a different family name, after all. Wesley gestured to his companions. "The strong looking man is Baldur, and the lady here is Wilhelmina."
"Well met," Baldur said while Wilhelmina bowed politely.
"We are heading to Noctwood now," Eliza began. "If you don't mind."
"Sure. Sounds as good a destination as any while we slowly work our way up." Apparently, Wesley was the leader, and the other two followed his lead without objection.
We were about to set off, but before we could exit, the elf chief from yesterday rushed over while panting heavily.
"Please wait! Don't go yet!"
"What's the matter?" Eliza asked sharply. The elf chief looked up at her, his expression in a panic.
"We are under attack!"
"What?" Eliza frowned. "That can't be. We just exterminated the swarm of spirit beasts yesterday. How could they have recovered so quickly? Or is this a new wave?"
"No, you're mistaken." The elf chief shook his head frantically. "The new attackers aren't spirit beasts. They are dark elves."