After a lot of squirming and general discomfort, the trio reached the woodland city of Timbarkland sometime before midnight: Massive trees as far as their eyes could see, each reaching heights greater or equal to ten stories and were about as wide as ten meters or more. There was a patrol and a border but since some woodland species could temporarily achieve flight, Lenora had no trouble just landing on a tree and blending in with the crowd. Or at least she did, but Drifus stood out. Even here elves were a rarity, though perhaps not as much as in the rest of the continent. After all, this place was home to many half breeds and while Drifus had much better looks compared to said half-breeds, he just needed some makeup in the form of applying dirt to his face which Jay took care of.
"So, there are three things we need to do here," Lenora said, watching over the city below and above, all sitting down in on a bench in a well-lit area. "First, we need to find lodgings. They don't let you check in after the evening so it'll be hard if not impossible."
Most of the houses were on top of the trees, connected by wooden pathway. Some parts were not connected and residents were expected to use ropes to Tarzan their way to the other side.
"And the other ones?" Drifus asked.
Jay wasn't paying attention. He just stared at the wondrous tree houses, the sizzling scent of fresh meat and veg skewers, the odd bushy-mazy layout of both the upper and lower part of the city and… and the sheer green. He couldn't quite make out half of the city or the forest since it was so dark right now but he got a feeling that this place would be overwhelmingly green during the night.
"We need to find a knight and befriend him. If we can't, we'll have to kill him. And lastly, we need to find you a wife."
"Huh? Why?"
"Because last night I kept hearing certain splashy sounds."
"Yo-you heard those…" he mumbled.
"Yes and to never hear them again, we're going to find a good looking elf so you can just get it off your-"
He elf breathed an exhale. "You don't have to worry about that. I promise to never let such shameful sounds reach you again," he said.
"If you say so." Lenora said. "Let's go. Jay?" she said, but the boy was fast asleep.
He might have been excited, but he was also rather tired. Besides, children weren't supposed to stay up that late.
Drifus picked up the boy and the two walked around. Most of the Beastmen going about at this hour were nocturnal. Feline, canine, and such. Hunter Beastmen. Some even the rough kinds. Their eyes glowed in the dark as they stared at Lenora and the elf.
Of course, Lenora's cocky smile never left her face. She was fully aware of the danger around her yet paraded so nonchalantly that even the boldest of thugs didn't have the guts to get near her. Just who was this human and what sort of secret weapon did she have to walk amongst the most fearsome beastmen without any fear?
The lady in question though, had only one question in her mind. How the fuck did I forget about this? She might or might not have forgotten that it wasn't wise to hang around in the dark in Timberbankland even if she had an arc mage with her.
"You," one Lioness beastwoman called her.
"Yes?" Lenora said. She maintained a perfect smile although she was starting to think it might be cracking up any moment now.
"Who are you, what are you doing here at this hour?" She towered over Lenora.
Mostly humanoid in shape with marginal fur and a feline nose. Her ears were also feline; some whiskers. A big stout lady wearing soldier armor. Didn't seem to be hostile.
Yet.
"We're travelers. We're here to see the sage of the woods. But it got really late before we could get a room and well, we've been wandering since." She didn't lie perse.
"Don't you know how dangerous it is?"
"We know but what choice do we have?" Again, no lies.
Some beast folk had the ability to tell through lies. Apparently, they could sense small changes in one's voice. Lenora didn't know if this lady had that ability but she wasn't taking chances.
"There's a church just past those trees, head there. You should be safe for the night."
"Thank you."
Ordinarily, Lenora would have also headed for the church. And while she was heading for the church, it wasn't a conscious effort but rather just a coincidence.
"You there, be sure to protect her," she said, eyeing the elf but her eyes quickly fell on the boy. "So young yet already parents…" she mumbled, sighed. "Come, I'll take you myself!"
Lenora didn't bother correcting the lioness on her mistakes. These woods weren't safe and she hadn't lied even once. So, it was all good.
About ten minutes later, they reached a temple of sorts. Mostly wooden with some glass here and there. There was space on the inside and a small alter. No statue or pictures. Just an unnamed alter. People believed in many gods and as space was premium, this was one of the 'all purpose' churches of the land.
"Alright then, take care. And never set out in the night again," the lioness left.
"Thank you, truly!" Lenora yelled but the lioness was already gone. She seemed to be in a hurry.
"She thought we were married," Drifus said.
"Probably, yeah," Lenora said. "I guess we can roll with that for now."
"First with lover, now with husband… sigh," he sighed but didn't seem to be too against it.
Yet.
[A/N
I'm thinking about making the chapters a tad larger and maybe increasing the update frequency. But that's hard considering I'm also serializing another novel. Sometimes I envy writers who can simultaneously write three or even four novels and upload daily. Meanwhile, I have my hands full with just two XD
Anyway, thanks for reading. Have a nice day. ]