Found, I sent to Yolin.

Dungeon, I sent to Alyssa.

Hopefully they're together, I thought while pinching my lower lip and stretching it. Hmm...

Come, I sent to Pokora just in case. “I sent them a message through the Bond,” I informed Lapia.

She nodded, walked to me, and produced a chair, where she sat down. She produced a book and flipped through the pages until she found what she was looking for.

I busied myself with Elf-watching.

Lapia's little quirks when reading tugged at my lips, forming a smile that soon let a quiet chuckle escape.

She looked up at me and raised her eyebrows.

I crouched down in front of her and rested my chin on her knees. “What are you reading?” I asked looking up at her.

She closed the book, keeping a finger on the page she was reading, and showed me the cover.

The title was written in Elvish which I didn't know how to read yet.

“Unpredictability of Dungeons, Floating Islands, and other such Phenomena,” Lapia informed me. “Originally written by Roston Kalamar some two million years ago, this is last millennium's revision.”

I hummed. “Isn't that a bit old, though?”

The Elf's eyebrows went up. “Excuse you?” she chuckled. “This is brand new, sunshine.”

My eyebrows joined in slight confusion at her words. “How is that brand new if it's from a thousand years ago?”

Lapia sighed while shaking her head. “Can you remember what the oldest written thing was on Earth?” she inquired.

“The hamuhamu-something code, I think,” I recalled with a shrug. “It had the line of an eye for an eye in it. A museum had it on display in a country I visited.”

My girlfriend nodded. “How old was it?”

I scoffed, trying to remember. “Maybe...” I squinted my eyes and looked at the sky. “Three thousand years old? Maybe older, but not by much.”

Lapia's face turned to confusion. “Are you sure?”

“That's what I remember,” I replied with a nod. “So, to me, a one thousand year old book is pretty old.”

She hummed and fixed a lock of hair behind a long ear. “For now, Natasha. There will come a day when you feel a thousand years is too short.”

“But that day is not today,” I countered with a smile.

“True,” she agreed and caressed my left cheek with a hand. “Now let me read and see if there's any information on that,” she told me and pointed at the hole.

I nodded, stood up, and retrieved a sketchbook.

Coming, Yolin's voice came.

Going, was Alyssa's reply.

Together, Pokora sent back.

“They're coming,” I told Lapia.

---

Twenty minutes later, and after I finished a series of sketches of the things I had seen since leaving the temple until we sat down next to the hole, the Tulmi Elf leaders returned accompanied by the redheaded individual.

I stood up and faced them with a welcoming smile, walking to meet them.

The gentleman carried a very simple, decently-sized clay cauldron with a lid on top. The lady carried a good number of birds tied together by their feet. The readheaded fellow carried a basket with assorted vegetables.

Gifts? I thought with expectation, thinking of soup.

The three stopped in front of me, knelt down, and said something.

“Ah,” Lapia uttered in understanding. “They weren't wishing you good luck, they were promising gifts to ensure success. I got that one wrong, sorry,” she apologized. “Their choice of words is a bit complicated.”

“It's alright,” I assured her and gave the Tulmi Elves a nod. “Thank you very much.”

The gentleman removed the lid off the cauldron, put it on the ground, and showed me the contents.

It was a light brown color that tempted the senses. The smell was sour and bitter with a touch of sweet.

He said something and offered the cauldron.

“He's... begging you to drink some,” Lapia translated, a little confused. She said something in Elvish to the man.

He nodded and said something back.

“It's medicine that will help you achieve victory,” Lapia informed me. “To connect with Galeia and see to the higher truth, he says.”

“Ooohhhh!” I breathed out in awe. So it's like Panoramix' magic potion? I wondered and took the cauldron with a smile. Don't mind if I do. “Thank you, Tak'Alo,” I chuckled in appreciation and drank a long gulp.

The man smiled and gave me a nod.

The taste was similar to the smell: bitter, sour, and slightly sweet. It also had a very earthly after-taste that made the back of my throat tingle pleasantly.

He said something and gestured for me to drink more.

“You have to drink it all for it to have any effect,” Lapia translated. “He says heavy people need a larger dose.”

“Alright,” I agreed and drank it all. My stomach felt warm and comfy after the liquid went down.

The Tulmi Elf grabbed the cauldron and gesture for me to throw it at the ground, then said something.

“Clay must return to Galeia after fulfilling its purpose,” Lapia translated.

I did as told, hurling the thing to the ground.

Naturally, it shattered on impact.

The three Tulmi Elves cheered in joy, lifting their arms.

The lady walked to me and offered the birds, saying something.

“I'm not eating raw meat,” I clarified. Whether I can eat raw meat without consequences or not was irrelevant.

“It's for your travels,” Lapia corrected my interpretation with an amused smile. “They fed the birds with the same concoction.”

“I see,” I chuckled and accepted the birds, then stored them. “Thank you, Azhi'Thara.”

She gave me a deep nod and stepped to the side.

The redheaded Fox-Elf walked to me and offered the basket with vegetables, saying something.

I waited for Lapia to translate.

“For travels, too,” the Wizard relaid the information. “These will keep you strong and healthy, he says.”

He? I thought with surprise, then gave the man a smile and accepted the basket. “Thank you very much.”

The three glanced over at the hole and said something while pointing at it.

Lapia replied, gesturing at her staff and my spear.

I held my chin in thought. What if I gave them something in return as thanks? I wondered and produced a Legendary quality blade shaped like a machete, then offered it to them. “So that you may protect yourself if you can't be reached. Use this to protect children only,” I told them. “I will know if you misuse this.”

Lapia gave me a surprised look, then translated my words.

The three Tulmi Elves fell to their knees, spouting words my way.

The lady crawled to my feet and took the weapon while shooting word after word.

“They're grateful,” Lapia translated. “Extremely so. They promise to follow your command at the cost of their lives,” she added, giving me an odd look.

I looked down at them and nodded.

“They asked if we found anything, and I told them the truth,” my girlfriend informed me.

I hummed. “Good. Ask them if they want to join in exploring the dungeon.”

Lapia translated my words.

The leaders replied with quick words and strong gestures.

“Hmm,” Lapia hummed. “They don't want to, but they're saying it in very polite words.”

I shrugged. “Can't force them. Their loss.”

Lapia nodded and told them something.

The tribal Elves replied and stood up, then told me something.

This is getting a little frustrating, I considered. I need to learn Elvish soon.

A few minutes of back and forth later, the Tulmi Elves retreated into the swampy forest.

Alone again, we went back to what we were doing before.

I sat down and produced the pencil to draw, but felt my fingertips tingle and itch. I rubbed them with my thumbs, and the sensation spread. Looking down at my hands, I tilted my head in confusion.

My fingertips, usually straight lines, were wiggling and shifting shapes.

I turned to Lapia with the intention of asking if she could see the same thing.

The Elf had a light red, thirty centimeter thick aura around her that moved like water and refracted light.

What the fuck did I drink? I very slowly thought, feeling like Lapia was a magnet my eyes couldn't leave.