The air inside the Lancerjacket cave system is musty, and smells faintly bitter, which leaves a strange tang in the mouths of anyone who chooses to speak while inside, though no one speaks as they slowly work their way through the depths of the cave system.
Inch by inch they maneuver around the crudely carved rock and stone, avoiding the tangled mess of roots that still glow with a faint orange heat from the fire that had been set through them just moments ago.
"Is someone going to tell me what the hell is going on here?" Aria murmurs under her breath after the group has moved so far away from the entrance not a single drop of light from the outside reaches them any more.
"My tribe was alerted to all the commotion, they must have come to investigate" Riven answers with equal softness.
"So we are hiding in a cave? Won't they be able to see the dead Lancerjackets above, or our footprints in the dirt and determine people where here and wonder where they went?" Aria asks in that sarcastic "i could have done better" tone she often speaks in.
Oliver would look to the others to see the expressions on their faces, but in the near total darkness he couldn't make out anything.
As if reading his mind, a small mote of illumination gathers from a collection of nothingness, manifesting as a single orb shedding pale yellow light over the cave produced by Riven.
Oliver's heart then sinks, as the expressions on everyone's faces informs him that what Aria said was likely correct. After all there was only one possible location to go, and all signs pointed to inside the cave they now occupied.
"What are we to do?" Riven's voice begin to take on a low, almost painful quiver of worry
"Don't worry, we will figure something out" Gideon consoles the Elf, offering a warm smile that seems to put everyone at ease.
"We? I'm sure Oliver will figure something out no? He is after all the one who got us into this mess" Aria jabs.
"Me? If you had just listened to what I said from the very beginning-" Oliver almost continues his little tirade, only to be stopped by a desperate "SHHH" from Riven, who looks up to him with pleading eyes.
Oliver sighs, and lowers his voice to begin speaking in a more measured tone.
"Lancerjackets should have larger pockets of open space in their caves, used for egg laying and food storage. I'm sure the elves will know we entered from here, but we can hide inside one of those small pockets. We just need them to give up and leave, correct?" Oliver asks Riven, who nods in confirmation. "So long as they don't think Riven was involved, we should be fine. No need to cause any more trouble than necessary."
Oliver looks to the others and wipes some gathering sweat from his brow as the plan is accepted.
"Lead the way" Aria offers with a dramatic rolling of her eyes.
Oliver's heart was beginning its slow descent into his stomach as the fear of letting his friends down surfaced in its place. While yes, Aria acting rashly alerted the local elves to this location, he should have known better, planned more. Oliver got so caught up in the initial perceived brilliance that he failed to account appropriately for everyone else's emotions.
This wasn't the first time his plans have gotten them into trouble but Oliver was determined to try and make it the last. Though truth be told that's exactly what he thought the last time something like this happened, and yet here they were, walking down smoke filled Lancerjacket tunnels trying to avoid being found out by Riven's tribe.
He might fail again, Oliver thought, but at the very least he could try and salvage this situation
With the mote of light providing much needed illumination, it doesn't take Oliver very long to locate the Lancerjackets hatching chambers. The open space is nearly as large as the tavern inside the town, with small pockets carved along the wall in a brick-like alternating pattern. Some of these divots are empty, while others contain eggs that have yet to hatch, and likely never will now that the adult population of Lancerjackets have been wiped out.
"Gideon, can you remove the eggs as carefully as possible?" Oliver asks
"Are we seriously crawling into those holes?" Aria asks, nose wrinkled in disgust, and then turns away as the egg makes a soft sucking and popping sound as Gideon removes it from the hole, leaving behind striking, yellowish mucus on the walls of the divot.
The sound of footsteps from the way the party came answered the question for her.
"Oohhhh, you owe me!" Aria grumbles as Gideon helps her up into the hole, grimacing hard as her hands slip against the slime.
"I really do!" Oliver offered in the form of an apology as the Gideon lifts the large, but light, egg back up, and seals Aria behind it, her groans and moans of protests becoming quickly muffled.
Riven is hoisted up into the next hole with far less protest, and Oliver can't help but admire the willingness even though the elf had only just met them. Oliver climbs in second to last, and as the footsteps grow louder Gideon looks around for a divot of his own.
Slightly panicking now, the footsteps sounding dangerously close, Gideon tosses free one of the eggs and then scrambles into the divot, only to be instantly thrown out as the weight and sleekness of his armor glides against the slime covered stone, sending him tumbling outward with a huge CRASH
"Oh no" Gideon mutters to himself as he tries to scramble upwards, only to slip and collide with the ground a second time as the mucus still coating his armor refuses to come off.
"You!" an unfamiliar voice speaking in the common tongue echoes through the lancerjacket chamber.
Gideon closes his eyes and lets out a long, defeated sigh.
"What are you doing here, Human?" an elf speaks to him in a broken accent.
Opening his eyes, Gideon examines the elves carefully, and his heart sinks.
The two elves were similarly androgynous as Riven was, though both had shoulder length white hair, with broader shoulders and narrower waists. They wore a collection of leaf clothing mixed with bark armor, and wielded barbed whips around their waists, bows at their backs and crude looking crystal spears in their hands.
"Greetings!" Gideon tries to put on a friendly face, bringing an arm out to lean against the wall only to slip on it, sending him crashing down a 3rd time.
The elves look to one another and then back down to Gideon unimpressed.
"What are you doing in our tribe's territory?" the elf on the left asks, their expression sour and clearly on edge.
"I was…admiring the architecture?" Gideon tries, slapping a gauntleted hand against the wall.
"You insult us?" the elf on the right asks, accusing.
"No no! I promise I'm not trying to insult you! Just, wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Elven culture and all that you know?"
"This is a Lancerjacket cave…."
"It is? Well, awfully bold of you to come waltzing in then" Gideon notes.
"You were here first" the elf on the left points out.
"Right but I didn't know that, which is why I was in here" Gideon lies.
"You're kind is not welcome here Human, remove yourself from this place now" the left elf again. This time he drew his spear as he spoke.
"Hey hey hey, listen I didn't mean anything by it I promise, Ill be leaving in just a little bit…" Gideon's eyes flash to the eggs where his friends lie in hiding. Gideon might not be the smartest man, but the eggs were heavy for him. There was no possible way Oliver or Aria or Riven would be able to remove them by themselves. He would need to be the one to free them, and if he left now, he didn't doubt the elves would be keeping a close eye to make sure he fully left the forest.
"No, you will leave now" The elf on the right said, taking another step forward.
"You see, I actually can't because I'm too slippery right now, maybe in a few hours when the slime dries…"
His quick glance to the Lancerjacket eggs seems to have caught the attention of the elf on the left. Their eyes kept returning to them and then back to Gideon, it was very clear these elves weren't used to being denied so brazenly or openly and the insult was getting on their nerves.
"I said, leave now!" The elf on the right snaps, their voice rising up as they take another step closer to Gideon.
Before Gideons mouth can open, one of the eggs pops from its hole and lands with a Splat onto the ground.
Everyone's attention turns to the eggs, inside, Riven breathes heavily, magic still lingering around their arms. They must have used some manner of physical enhancing magic, Gideon thought, to have moved that egg by themselves.
"Riven?" the elf on the left asks, shocked at the sudden appearance of their tribe's healer from behind an egg.
"Hello" Riven offers, exhausted from the extensive use of magic. The spell wasn't meant to enhance any physical abilities, instead it was a specific type of healing magic meant to relieve the burn caused when you use your muscles too much.
Riven had instantly began to panic the second the egg was placed in the divot to hide them. Riven in fact had been trying to escape the hiding place the very moment they were placed in there, but only now was able to escape, emboldened by the sounds of a potential fight.
Riven didn't know these strange humans very well, but they had been kind enough to accept their quest with little question, so Riven figured they owed it to these kind adventurers to prevent a fight where possible.
"What are you doing in there?" The elf on the right asks, having stopped their incoming assault dead in its tracks.
"I was…investigating the Lancerjackets" Riven tries, but the other two elves don't buy it.
The two elves look to each other for a time, and speak in the elven tongue to discuss what should be done. Both elves look rightfully annoyed at the terrible inconvenience and the absurdity of the situation.
The two elves turn to face both Gideon and Riven. "Are there any more hiding inside?" the elf on the right asks Gideon directly in common.
"There are'' He admits, recognizing the tone and knowing that he would be asked to leave soon. With the gig up, the only course of action left now was to not leave his friends abandoned inside a Lancerjacket cave.
The elf motions for Gideon to proceed, and with the mucus now mostly dried he removes the eggs from the hole containing Oliver and Aria.
As the two others are revealed, each looks miserable. Oliver has the expression of a man utterly defeated, while Arias face is profound annoyance, which isn't much different from her usual expression.
"Riven, come with me back to the tribe, you have questions to answer for this…" the elf motions around to the cave and the humans hiding inside of it. "The rest of you, return with my colleague. He will escort you from the forest." the elf commands with a shocking amount of authority.
"I will not be ordered-" Aria tries, but a single look from Oliver has her quiet down her rant into a low mumble.
With a flick of her wrist, Aria pulls the water out of the Mucus to dry the party, making the walk of shame from the cave just a little less uncomfortable.
They press onward through the cave in silence, exiting via the way they came in, and in silence the humans are escorted away from the direction of the tribe, while Riven is led rather aggressively back home.
Once the party reaches the edge of what the elves consider their territory, the elf man responsible for escorting them remains stationary, to ensure they leave the area. Grumbling the whole way, they march defeated back to the town.
"We can't just leave Riven" Gideon says moments before they reach the edge of the forest. His sudden words in the otherwise quiet walk grabbed the attention of Oliver and Aria, though it wasn't just the fact that he spoke, but rather the way he spoke.
Oliver and Aria look at one another to confirm they are picking up the same emotion in Gideon's voice. Neither of them have heard Gideon speak with such honest conviction before. Sure he had been serious, especially during combat, but the man had a habit of making light of most things, or at the very least being serious only as a reaction.
Gideon was something of a follower, rarely the one to take charge, so his sudden conviction made Oliver and Aria feel almost bad for not being able to match it.
"Listen, we didn't get paid, we have no money, it's getting late, and I'm tired. The elf-"
"Riven"
"Right, well, they knew the risks and took them anyway, the job went sour, oh well too bad, sometimes you just lose. Let the elf-"
"Riven"
"Yes yes, Ribbon"
"Riven"
"Riven, sorry, they knew this was a possibility. No point in getting our hands dirty now. The last thing I want is a pack of feral elves breathing down my back every time I go into the forest" Aria sighs, clearly exhausted.
"It is our fault though" Oliver offers,
"No no, it's your fault. It was your idea to pick the job, it was your idea to hide in the cave, all of this really comes down to your failure Olly, for a man as brilliant as yourself this really wasn't your finest hour" Aria comments, examining her nails daintily.
While not entirely incorrect, Oliver can't help but feel a little annoyed that he is being given all the blame for this, when everyone played a part in his plans failures, from Aria's explosive outburst alerting the elves in the first place, to Riven's escape from the hiding place early. Still, now wasn't the time to argue about whose fault it was, it was time to try and correct some wrongs, as well as make up for earlier failure.
"You're right, I got a little carried away and full of myself"
"Like you always do" Aria adds passively, much to Oliver's personal annoyance.
"Yes…" He agrees, though he doesn't hide this annoyance, and Aria only shrugs in response.
"But…we can try and salvage this" Oliver offers.
"Salvage what, there is nothing to salvage, it's all gone, poof, into the wind"
"The job might be, but Riven isn't…leverage, remember?"
Aria raises an eyebrow at this, daring to tear her attention away from her nails. "I'm listening…"
"We still removed the Lancerjackets from play, which was the purpose of the job, so Riven owes us some form of payment or else the guild will have their own special punishment for not following through" Oliver starts, and it works. Aria begins to get more interested, slowly leaning it, but not yet convinced.
"Riven is…definitely going to be punished for their interference in the Ascent trial, well, If we rescue Riven from the punishment then they will really owe us. Just think, not only did we save their family member from danger, but we got them off from the punishment of interference, talk about a potential payday" Oliver smiles, the plan already coming together in his head.
Aria leans in, giving her full attention now to Oliver as the two begin to work a scheme. "Oh ho ho, you have my attention Olly, what's the plan?" She asks, smiling wide.
"I'm glad you asked" Oliver returns the smile, and draws a nearly perfect replica of the elf tribe's layout from just the passing glance at it.
"Your memory never fails to impress" Aria coos.
"I practice" Oliver sucks down the compliment, as he finishes sketching its design. Aria, Gideon and Oliver all look down over it as Oliver lays out the plan.
"The entrance to the tribe has blind spots here, here and here" He says, pointing to locations on the sketch where there is no clear line of sight from a watch tower, a specific location deeper in the surrounding woods. "Which means they will have mobile scouts keeping an eye on the arcs not observable by their static watchtowers. Given the size of their tribe, number of houses, I estimate a population of approximately 220 give or take, which means they will have 5 guards on frequent rotation."
"Mmm, it's sprint, the forests are rich with game right now, they would allocate more to hunting"
"Ah! Right, good catch, in that case let's assume 3 to 4 guards on rotation. They will want to cover each blind spot simultaneously, but given the size and the distance with the walkways I estimate we have a 30 second window in which we can use to move from blind spot to blind spot, starting here, here, and the moving here" Oliver traces lines with a stick to show the direction of intended travel, all while Aria uses her magic to cause rocks to hover and move in time with the predicted guard movements.
"This building here is the most centralized, likely the elders hut which is where they are going to be holding Riven for trial." Oliver starts, but Gideon butts in. "Which one was that again?" he asks, and Oliver points to it again to confirm its location.
"The blind spots will take us to their locations here, once inside, Aria we will use your magic to create a series of distractions, using a combination of-"
"Where's Gideon?" Aria cuts Oliver off.
"Gideon will be positioned-" Oliver continues.
"No, where is Gideon now?" Aria asks, the question confusing Oliver and snapping him from his manic planning to look around the area.
"..."
"Shit" Aria groans in a dramatic exhale as she looks back the way they came, catching a small glimmer of reflective armor through the dense trees.
"My plan!" Oliver shouts in protest as Aria stands and begins to run after Gideon.
"Damnit…" Oliver kicks away his drawing of the village and follows after.
"What are you doing!?" Oliver shouts at Gideon as he breaches the barrier of elven territory and continues his straight forward path to the village, which is already well within sight.
"You've done enough of your plans for the day, now I'm doing my plan" Gideon speaks in a calm, even tone that has Oliver more than a little stunned, but upset too at the fact that his elaborate strategy was being thrown to the wayside in whatever half baked nothing Gideon assuredly conjured forth in his mind.
"Gideon, darling, no offense but your plans are well- how can I say this nicely" Aria offers as she power walks to keep up, her silted robes allowing for longer strides, but the length still causing issues for quick travel through the woods.
"You don't have to be nice, Gideon, you're my friend but you know as well as anyone else that your plans…" Oliver's voice trails off, as Gideon comes to a stop at the edge of the collection of tall trees containing the network of bridges and houses that make up the elf tribe.
Oliver's general perception is nowhere near as good as Gideon's, but even he can tell when he is totally surrounded.
In the trees all around the three of them, Elven guards train bows at them, some let their whips dangle while others move like a breeze on the forest floor, spears at the ready.
"You better have a damn good plan Gideon because I swear if I die to a bunch of half-wit savages ill-" Aria is unable to finish her sentence, as Gideon bows deeply, and announces loudly in an incredibly poor Elven dialect. "I am sorry for the intrusion, I have come to beg for forgiven on behalf of Riven"
The words stun the elves almost as much as they stuff Aria and Oliver. Aria briefly turns to Oliver in order to translate and Oliver quickly explains.
An uncomfortable silence hangs in the air for a moment, before an elven voice speaks in the common tongue from high above the branches. "Do not disgrace our language Human, speak the common tongue so you may save yourself any further embarrassment this evening" the voice is calm and smooth despite the venom that laces the words.
Coming from the tree of growing vines produced seemingly from nothing, in a very competent display of druidic magic, the leader of the tribe makes themselves known in the space. Making sure to remain high above Gideon to show their status, the elf before them is divine in their beauty. A perfectly symmetrical face of hard, angular lines from strong bones hidden under perfect caramel skin.
Aria blushes slightly at the sight, and Oliver has to take extra effort to bring his eyes away. Gideon however, is unfazed. His face is a mask of conviction and sincerity in spite of the situation, which would be very admirable were it not violently stupid.
"You wish to ask forgiveness? On behalf of Riven you say…curious. I will admit, human, you have my attention." The leader of this elven tribe gestures with their hand, and a guard leaves, returning moments later with Riven high up in the canopy. The much younger Elf looks troubled, confused, but with a visible mote of gratefulness at this display before them.
"Speak then, human. Beg your forgiveness and I may find myself merciful this evening." The leader says.
"Thank you" Gideon bows deeply once more, and clears his throat before speaking.
"Riven contracted our help via the Guild Hall, Riven, knowing that someone important to them was meant to partake in the Ascension trial, this trial would have them face a threat that was too unrealistic for them, is that right?" Gideon asks, looking at Riven who nods in response.
"How do you know this? Did Riven tell you this?" The leader asks, accusing in their words. While it wasn't against elven rules for special classes of elves to interact with humans, such as healers, scouts or diplomats, and while elves typically didn't mind sharing their culture with those willing to learn, certain practices were considered deeply spiritual, and that spirituality was wrapped in secrecy, to keep its details away from the corruption of the outside world.
Gideon shakes his head "No. we debused it ourselves"
"Deduced" Oliver corrects.
"We deduced it ourselves" Gideon corrects, slightly embarrassed.
"Very well, proceed" the leader commands.
"We agreed to help in return for some medical supplies, we are adventurers with the Guild and need them in order to continue to perform our duties. We meant no disrespect to you or your people. We didn't mean to insult you, we only wished to aid someone in need" He concludes, deepening his bow.
"Is this correct Riven?" the leader asks, turning their attention to the younger elf.
"That's right…I'm sorry I interfered with the Ascension trial… but I know in my heart it was the right thing to do" Riven says, their own conviction matching Gideons.
There is another moment of pause as the elves around the leader consider the words. After some time the leader speaks. "Your apology is accepted, however there is one thing we cannot overlook" The leader turns their attention to Riven, who winces at the glance.
"It is the duty of the elders to determine the difficulty of an Ascension trial, not yours" the leader points to Riven. "For your crime of interference, i hereby sentence you to exile, as if written in the law of our lands."
Several of the surrounding elves watching this meeting gasp, some murmur, others shout their approval of the sentencing.
"Although you may have believed it to be right, that does not make it so. You may gather your things and leave at first light. As for the interlopers, your ignorance of our customs does not permit your interference in them. You as well will be sentenced to exile from this forest. You along with Riven will not be permitted to return for a period of 5 years, or until such time that you return to these lands with a Godshead. This is my final sentencing" The leader cracks a manifested whip made of thorns. The sound reverberating from the trees.
Oliver, Aria, and Gideon remain bowed as the collection of elves disperse, the leader returning to their central home while guards remain outside in order to escort them away.
"You got her exiled…" Oliver says with no small hint of frustration.
"And you would have gotten us all imprisoned with your plan, or worse banished for life. I know I don't know much about elves, not as much as you do, but even I know they don't like it when people try and run away from their just punishments, it would have been worse if we did it any other way. Besides, if we never explained ourselves, who knows what the elves might have thought of Riven, trying to offload the blame to humans, they would have never believed it." Gideon says sternly, and Oliver considers, and then nods.
Gideon was right, the cost of being caught would have been much higher than the sentence they were given, and eventually someone would realize Riven was gone, which would be much harder on the elf than exile .
"Move" the elven guards demand. Reluctant, but understanding, the party makes their way from the collection of trees, only to pause at the sound of rushing footsteps.
They turn to see the guard raising their spears, and watch collectively as Riven sprints at them, a large pack over their back.
"I'm coming with you!" Riven shouts, before their foot gets caught on a root, sending them flying forward and face first into the forest floor, where they slide, coming to a stop at the guards feet.
"Are you okay?" Gideon asks, offering the elf a hand up.
Riven takes it, and stands, cheeks flush red as they brush dirt from their clothes.
"Are you crying?" Oliver asks.
"No!" Riven says quickly, batting some tears from their eyes.
It is several more minutes as they walk in silence to be left at the border, and then watched carefully as they make their trek back to the town.
"Where will you go now?" Aria asks out of mild curiosity as they reach the edge of the forest. By now the sun has fully set, casting the town in a blanket of blue.
"I…was hoping I could come with you actually, stay with you I mean?" Riven asks, becoming progressively more unsure as the words escape their mouth, mounting to an embarrassed sputter. "I'm sorry! I shouldn't be so presumptuous, surely you wouldn't want me in your own home, i didn't mean to intrude nor imply-" Riven stammers off as tears begin to form in their eyes.
"Whoa whoa whoa…" Oliver tries to calm the crying elf down. "Don't cry…" he looks to the others first, gauging their responses before returning to Riven. "I guess I'm just curious why you would want to stay with us? We just got you exiled from your home…I thought for sure you'd want to stay far away" Oliver notes, the nods from his party members confirming that he is not alone in his assessment of the situation.
"No no! Not at all…quite the opposite in fact" Riven admits, wiping away the tears. "I've always wanted to see the world, I can't speak well enough to be a diplomat, and I'm far too clumsy to be a scout, so I became a healer in order to be around humans as much as possible…i always knew that one day I would leave, I just didn't expect it to be so soon is all. In fact this is quite the boon" they confirm.
"A boon? How so?" Aria asks, also confused.
"I always felt rather trapped in that tribe, and…for an elf to leave, and abandon their people is a great taboo, to visit is acceptable but to leave is nearly unheard of, save for exiles or banishments. This was more or less the kick I needed to justify leaving. I can return and be welcomed back in 5 years, or sooner if we manage to kill a godhead.
"You're rather clever aren't you" Aria notes
"Clever? No no, I wouldn't consider myself clever at all" Riven waves their hands to dismiss the statement.
"Humble too" Oliver nods.
"Ahhhh~ no, really I'm none of those things, I'm just me"
"You are good, a healer will be invaluable, and you're too kind to leave to fend for yourself, of course we will have you" Gideon smiles, answering for the party.
"Wait really? Do you mean that?" Riven asks, looking around and seeing only nods.
"We were going to ask you to join our party if the job went well as it was, we figured you were interested in leaving, we just didn't know it would require such a roundabout way" Oliver adds with a chuckle.
"really? I'm very inexperienced, In fact the plan you came up with was really good, you all seem so well traveled and studied I thought for certain that you wouldn't want a complete novice holding you all down." Riven admits shyly.
"We all have our own history and experience this is true, but we all have to start somewhere, I think in fact, we are the most qualified to say that everyone deserves a good, honest start no matter where you come from" Oliver says with a smile as he looks around to the nods of the others.
"Well, I'm glad you will be having me! I look forward to many fun adventures with you all!"
The heat of the fireplace warms the room comfortably, the only small comfort left to be found as the party sits around the table picking at scraps of food, distributing stale bread and small spoonfulls of grool. Their four stomachs grumble in a harmony of misery, exemplified by their downcast eyes.
"This…isn't so bad?" Riven mumbles, just as a rat jumps onto the table and tears the last piece of bread from their hand, before scampering away.
Gideon throws back the chair and spins, bringing his sword down in a wide arc to hack the rat into two pieces as it tries to flee the scene of the crime.
"Ha! Now we have some more meat!" Gideon declares, grabbing both halves of the rat and walking it over to the fireplace.
Riven's heart sinks. "Maybe this was a bad idea…."