Jason curiously went into the forest, but not to deep as to be far away from the group. He observed his surroundings, his ears picking any noise around him, but it seemed to not be necessary as he noticed something strange. The light around a tree before him begun to twist and turn until it finally stopped to reveal the figure of a long haired elf. 

"I.... didn't expect this." said Jason as he knew the elf that appeared before him. It was the same one that had saved his life and the same one who had nailed that paladin at the adventures guild.

"What is the meaning of this, why did you call me here? You called me here right...." asked Jason as wondered what he had just witnessed. It certainly seemed something like magic, but he had not seen the magic of this world so he didn't know.

"I'm here for you." calmly said the elf as she approached Jason and stopped before him making Jason frown as she was almost a head taller than him.

"For me? For what reason do you have business with me?  I would guess that it doesn't have to do with the truffle as I'm still alive......" smugly said Jason as he knew that if she had wanted to kill him he would be already dead.

"Yes , you are correct, it has nothing to do with that. I'm approaching you with a proposal from the elders of Grail Grove."

'The elders.....

"They have quite liked your findings and the seemed to have come to the conclusion that you're smart enough for the task they are to give you."

"Whoa whoa task , what are you talking about? What do the elders of Grail Grove want with a Farmer like me?" 

The elf took a good look at Jason and calmly said something Jason would never have expected.

"I am here to recruit you as an informant for the Grove. You will be working under me , reporting any useful information about the moves the Empire makes and other stuff."

Jason blinked a couple of times, before he snorted. He snickered at the words he just heard , but the elf's serious face didn't change. That calm and beautiful face only looked cruel right now.

' This is fucked up! They are asking me to be a spy for them? Who the fuck do they think I am , James Bond?!

Fuck....'

"Did you think it over?" said the elf with her normal emotionless look. Her eyes were fixated on Jason and waiting for his response.

Jason on the other hand was thinking about why something like this was happening, but he couldn't get an answer. The only thing he could think about was that it had to be related to the truffle he handed over.

"Can I refuse the offer, without angering the elders of course. Huh, is that possible.....

"Unfortunately for you, no." bluntly answered the elf." You can only agree or you will he eliminated by the end of the day. I can't of course kill you as I'm prohibited, but hiring a human assassin wouldn't be any different.  

So, do you agree?"

"Hahaha, oh boy do I agree....." laughingly said Jason" To tell you the truth , right now I'm very tempted to refuse your offer, but I'd rather not. Still, why should I become a spy for the Grove , except for keeping my life that is .

Come on, enlightened me." excitedly said Jason.

"You...are choosing to die?" 

"Oh no , I'm not choosing to die, but it's that I don't really like to give without getting something in return. I'm asking for something equal in return to me handing my life over to you.

I know very well that if I go forward with what you said I will most certainly be betraying not only my country, but also my race? So something worthwhile would definitely make me change my mind."

Silence reigned over them for a while until the elf finally decided to speak

" Ask....

"Ask? Ask what?" said Jason a little surprised at the elf's words.

"What do you want in return? If it's something reasonable I'll will give it to you."

"You will?" questioned Jason and the elf nodded her head.

' It seems that I hold some value to the elders as they seem to be very adamant to rope me in, or am I overthinking it? Either way, what should I choose.....

Jason fell into deep thoughts as he contemplated his next move and couldn't help but think of Veina. If he accepted , she would definitely be mixed up on anything that he was mixed up.

" Firstly if I agree , what would happen if I had a sister? Would she be involved into this or.....

"No, she will not be involved. You will also not be doing anything dangerous as you're only one of many informants that the Grove has. "

"Salary....

"One silver coin every two days."

"Hmmmm........ that isn't that much, but it isn't that low. 

Fine, I'll agree to becoming an informant for the Grail Grove, but I have one more request for you. Maybe even a couple of questions after that.....

"Very well, let me hear them."

Jason cleared his throat before he said his demands.

"Firstly, I want to raise my level and the level of my archery with little effort. Then, I want to know any information about what is going on right now. Why are there so many dead bodies outside the city?" said Jason hoping that he didn't ask for much.

"The increase of your level and your archery skills level....is acceptable." said the elf making Jason release a sigh of relief.

"About what is happening right now.... it's a bit complicated, but the gist of it is that it's an attack from the Dark Church. They seem to have infiltrated the city and the adventures guild pretty deeply before this morning, they decided to make a move. From the information I received a gate to someplace was opened bringing forth numerous undead which wrecked havock on the city, even the ones outside weren't spared."

' The Dark Church, again?! Why the fuck can't they just fucking stay away from me?Am I cursed to meet them everywhere I go?'

"The casualties were in the thousands, but that is only the tip of the iceberg. The turmoil has shaken up the foundations of the city so much that by royal decree, there was issued a complete lockdown of the city for the next week."

"A lockdown of the city? Why would they do that?" asked Jason as he worried about the situation.

"It's not clear, but it seems that this is only the beginning of the Dark Church's plan, and they are preparing for the worst."

After thinking about this for a while Jason asked the important question.

"Do I have to return to the city?" 

"No, you're to stay with me until this thing is over. You're going to be under my constant supervision from now on."

"Great, let me just get my sister...." said Jason full of excitement, but he had forgotten one simple thing, women were nosy creatures.