The group strolled through the streets of the village, admiring the impressive view with cameras and interested gazes. None of the buildings reached beyond two stories, except the giant monument in the center of the town. Yet, the thriving village had an urban feel. Captain Moore noted that a few elves frowned and closed their windows or doors once they saw the human group, but he paid little attention to them.
Unlike the humans, Caelu received a round of smiles and waves as she passed through the village.
"Caelu! It's good to see you safe. Where were you?"
"Are you alright? Are you injured anywhere?"
"What are those clothes?"
Several elves greeted and hugged her warmly, most pointedly avoiding the humans hovering near Caelu.
The group continued their trek through their village. Next to the dirt streets, water flowed through the numerous canals, which provided clear, fresh water. A fishy smell leaked into the streets, though Captain Moore saw no fish in the water.
Several trees and plants grew canopied parts of the streams, mimicking the vegetation found above ground. Captain Moore saw several elves draw water with buckets, though none seemed to be using the water for bathing.
Behind the captain's group was the elven children, who followed Captain Moore with pleading eyes and smears of chocolate on their face.
"How do plants grow here?" Captain Moore asked.
Caelu pointed to the very top, causing the group to fixate on the luminous rock illuminating the large cavern by itself. "The sunrock acts like the sun, with all its nurturing and lighting properties. Legends say that the god Anulos tossed sunrocks onto this realm during one of his many fights against himself…"
"He fought against himself?"
"Anulos is the God of the Sun and the Moon. He has two faces, and they are locked in an eternal struggle for dominance."
"Isn't the sun stronger?" Sergeant Wells wondered out loud. "I swear I learned enough science to know that the sun is brighter and stronger."
Lieutenant Li nodded. "You are correct. However, this world's moon is pretty large and unique, in that it glows by itself despite being similar to our own moon. Perhaps this explains the reason why."
"Gods lighting up the moon? What are they, some sort of batteries?"
"Gods exist here, and it would not be ridiculous to think that the God of the Sun and the Moon… may also be linked with this world's moon."
"Right, so… Anulos is two-faced, and in a fit, tossed a bunch of these sun rocks onto the ground?" Captain Moore repeated.
"Yes! Since Tesa is the God of Earth, he was the first to find these and bring them to us for our tribe to use. We have three other chambers with these rocks, which allow us to grow our own food and remain underground," Caelu stated.
They continued their tour towards the center of the town with a sizeable group in tow.
"... And that's the communal bakery! It's run by the old man Inap, one of the oldest elves of our tribe. I heard he didn't want to become an Elder, so he decided to take over the bread shop…" Caelu rambled while the group passed by a small building with displays of strangely shaped breads. Some were vaguely familiar to the human group, though others were shaped in patterns or figures that looked… crooked at best.
Lieutenant Li pointed at one of the breads. "What grain do you use for baking?"
"Wheat!"
"Wheat… is also on a planet trillions of miles away from Earth? Which also happens to have humans…"
"Aliens?" Sergeant Wells offered. "That was the most common theory among our boys."
"Maybe there's a more scientific reason for all this," Lieutenant Li grumbled, skimming through his notes. "I'll need to look into it once we return to Fort Colossus. I think I saw a turkey earlier as well."
"The logical explanation would be that someone planted it here and also on Earth. Hence the existence of similar grains, animals, and humans on both planets," Specialist Smith offered.
"So the History Channel got that shit right? Earth was built by aliens or some shit?" Sergeant Wells asked.
Captain Moore cleared his throat and glared at the soldiers. He spoke in English, ignoring the stares from the elves. "We are not getting into a whole discussion about this while we're on a mission. Even if we're in a friendly settlement, we're still amid the unknown. I want eyes up, and no one getting into arguments until we get back to the fort. Understood?"
"Yes, sir." the response was unanimous and in English.
"What did you say to them?" Caelu asked after a minute of silence. "They're so silent now. I understood... two words about "friendly" and "discussion?""
"They were talking too much. Since you're the guide, you should talk more than them," Captain Moore suggested.
"Oh! I could show all of you some of the games we play. I think we've seen most of the sights already."
"Do you think we'll have any luck appealing to the other elves?"
Caelu peeked at an older elf walking nearby, but the man frowned and trotted off in a different direction.
Captain Moore frowned. "I see."
"Not until the elders announce it…"
"I guess it can't be helped… so about the games you were discussing."
Several minutes later, Captain Moore and the other soldiers were surrounded by kids while Caelu cleaned up the 'playing field,' as she called it. The size of the field suggested it to be some sort of long-distance activity, as the boundaries were about the size of a typical soccer field.
"Woah!" the elven boy with purple hair from earlier shouted while he poked Captain Moore's ears. "Why are they so stubby?"
A few kids around him giggled, prompting the captain to smile and gently place the elf down next to him. The small boy had smears of chocolate in his mouth. "Well, we humans have stubbier ears."
"Why?"
"I dunno. But I'm guessing you can hear pretty well with those ears, huh?"
"Yep! I can hear to the end of the village if I really concentrate!"
"Well, I can't. So you've beaten me there."
The kid rose to his feet and thumped his chest, "I'm better than the humans!"
Others nearby cheered at his silly antics, earning a weak chuckle from Captain Moore.
The other humans were interacting with the elven children to a degree. The captain noticed Sergeant Wells drawing some wacky patterns with dirt on his face to amuse the kids. Specialist Smith had only one elf beside her, awkwardly patting the elf girl's head with a smile. Lieutenant Li was showing a few pictures of stuff from Earth through his camera, with a dozen kids letting out oohs and aahs.
Some adult elves dragged their children away with fear and scorn in their eyes. Yet quite a few kids remained, perhaps those with busy parents or orphans.
"What's that?" the elven boy asked, pointing to the rifles.
"It's a weapon from our tribe," Captain Moore said. "They're very dangerous, so don't touch them."
"What do they do? They look like weird sticks or clubs!"
"It shoots these tough and sharp metal fast. It's kind of like a bow but much more powerful."
"A much more powerful bow? I want to see it! Can I see it?"
Captain Moore secured the rifle between his legs before the kids tried anything. "Maybe in the future, but not right now."
"They're here to learn more about us," Caelu said. She clapped her hands together and smiled. "Why don't you guys play a game to show them what you do to have fun?"
"Ok!" the purple-haired boy shouted, dragging Chiu and the others along to set up their game.
A few minutes later, the group was at a small empty field with rigid lines drawn upon the earth. The kids ran around while forming teams, and soon, the human group and Caelu watched the children play their 'game.'
"You know, they don't seem much different from kids on Earth and Nova: running around, playing sports…" Captain Moore watched the local children play a game while sitting on his pack.
Sergeant Wells snorted. "Yah not too different, if you just ignore the fact these kids are tossing fucking chunks of rocks at each other. Christ, this is a children's game?"
A team of half a dozen young elves slung a flurry of rocks and hardened mud across a line, forcing the opposing group to erect barriers created from dirt. Simple earth spells were done with a wave of a hand and some concentration, while more difficult techniques required seconds of chanting and hand motion.
Captain Moore watched as a young girl no older than five lobbed a small mudball with her hands after she had formed it with magic. In response, Chiu threw up a rock shield on his arm and stuck out his tongue.
Surprisingly, the rock shield was massive, which prompted a look from even Caelu.
He watched an older teenage elf finish chanting a stanza in Hanj and forming a mudslide by pushing the wave forward with two hands.
Sergeant Wells grinned. "These elvish kids make American kids look like pussies."
"I think football is much easier to follow than…this." Captain Moore motioned to the flying projectiles filling the air.
"... Shit, imagine this, but with a football. You try to tackle the quarterback, but wham! A dirt pillar to the face."
"What's football?" Caelu asked, keeping an eye on the field due to her position as the 'referee.'
"Something only Americans play and call the wrong name for." "The greatest sport."
Lieutenant Li smiled as Sergeant Wells gave him a dirty side-eye. "After all, football is actually…"
"We've been hearing that same joke for a century; I don't think you need to finish that sentence," Sergeant Wells grumbled.
Caelu scratched her head. "I… don't think I understand."
"It's a sport where there is a ball made from the skin of animals and tossed around while men 'fight' for it," Captain Moore answered. "There are rules to ensure that one can only knock the person carrying the ball."
"Perhaps it's similar to beluball, but with no weapons?"
"Wait, what?" Sergeant Wells asked. "A ball sport… with weapons. Football, with swords and bows?"
"The ball is a target but can only be struck by weapons. It is a game created by one of our ancestors to hone our mastery and grace with weapons even while living in isolation underground," Caelu explained.
"Football… with weapons. This… this is phenomenal. How has no one thought of this at home? Combine the two greatest American things into one: football and guns!"
Captain Moore sighed. "No. I don't even know what else to say. Just, no."
"Do you think if an elf decided to come back to Earth and play football, they would be allowed to use magic?"
Caelu frowned. "Why wouldn't they?"
"Because our world has no magic," Lieutenant Li clarified. "It's natural for your people, but to us?"
"Honestly, the NFL just might. The ratings would be through the roof," Captain Moore said.
Finally, the attacking team paused their onslaught when Caelu raised her hand in the air and cracked the ground below with her feet. As if a light switch had been flicked, the defenders slid out of their makeshift barriers and slung attacks across the line.
"Like a turn-based dodgeball, but with death on the line," Sergeant Wells noted while ducking a mudball that strayed too far from the field.
Suddenly, the cavern began to rock back and forth, prompting a few rocks and dust to shower onto the ground. Captain Moore immediately placed his pack over his head and held his breath while staring at the ceiling. "Holy shit, not again!"
Instead of a god appearing and shaking the world, the grey obelisk at the center of the town grew popped into his view. The tall tower started to grow, until it was nearly touching the sunrock on the ceiling. Shortly after, the earth shuddered three consecutive times before it settled.
"Well, it looks like it's finally time," Caelu announced.
Captain Moore turned to the elf. "Time for what?"
"The Elders are calling for the village to gather. They're going to officially announce your arrival to the others."