“I don’t trust that elf.” Hecatolite growled as Amethyst pulled her up the dirt path. “He’s up to something, did you see the way he grabbed her face! Who does that!”

“Eryl is a big girl, Hecatolite.” Amethyst sighed, “She can take care of herself.” 

Amethyst was annoyed that she had not been able to talk to the man, but part of her thought this was for the best. This will give her time to prepare, contact her mother and ask what to do about maybe starting negotiations. Besides she doubted Eryl would do anything to offend the elven dignitary, if anything it may even smooth over negotiations if Eryl was able to “break the ice” so to say. That, and though she would never say it out loud, separating Hecatolite from anything close to a noble was probably not a bad idea in the end. She had been slightly worried when her sister got in the man's face earlier; it was not lost on her exactly how dangerous Hecatolite could be, even if her jealousy was kind of cute.

Hecatolite rolled her eyes, “Did you see the way he looked at her? What if they have one of those collar things? Then what? I don’t want to have to fight her again, it wasn’t exactly fun the first time you know?”

“A normal slave collar wouldn’t work on Eryl, and I can assure you no one on this planet has a slave collar of that level,” Himari interjected, quacking her pace to keep up. “Don’t forget, the last one was a relic from a god.”

“So, what if it was a relic, I have like…” Hecatolite paused to count her fingers, “2… no wait safety stick… Did I ever get around to making Han's shield… 3… Yeah, three of those myself! What if someone else made one? Hells, what if the Goat made two just in case?” She pulled away from Amethyst and turning on Himari, holding three fingers up into the exasperated woman’s face.

“Hecatolite, contrary to what you believe, relics are not a common occurrence. You are already in a very small minority by having more than one. Besides,” Himari pushed Hecatolite’s hand away, “She was able to fight you with her mana sealed. Eryl isn’t exactly helpless you know.”

“And I doubt they will do anything like attack her,” Amethyst patted Hecatolite’s shoulder. “They don’t seem openly hostile; I think it would be best if we just let them talk. He thinks Eryl is a normal elf, he is probably worried about her, you know?”

“Pff,” Hecatolite clicked her tongue, throwing her hands into the air as she stomped up the road. “Fine! But when this all goes to hell, I will definitely say I told you so.” She glared at the clipped eared elf that was leading them, “Plague, where is this guy taking us anyway?”

The three of them looked to Wolf who was tailing behind them a good distance, “I think he is leading us to a… store?” He scratched his chin. His Elven was clearly not as passable as he thought, having only picked up a few words of the conversation earlier. They were either being led to a trader, or a tailor. He wasn’t sure why they would send them to a tailor, unless they were offended by Hecatolite’s rags she wore. Not having any other option, she had cobbled together an outfit from what they could find on the ship, so it wasn’t impossible… He was confident it was near the port given one wasn’t normally led to the “pork” … unless they think we need farm animals.

  Hecatolite huffed again, her scowl only lasting a moment before they broke though a small tree line into the… town? “Well… that’s a waste.” She said looking at what could only be described as a small village.

A few dozen small buildings bunched together at the end of a long pier with a handful of the strangely small elven ships docked. It looked like a small fishing village but even that seemed generous.

“It’s… smaller than I thought it would be.” Amethyst said with a nervous chuckle as she glanced up the single street that parted the “town” leading to the pier. “Looks… empty?” 

Hecatolite stomped forward, ignoring the group as she came to stand next to their guide, “Well let’s get this over with.” She tapped her tail on the dirt path with a thud breaking the three out of their confusion.

The three of them hummed with nervous energy as they walked into the barren town, all of them scanning the buildings for any sign of life… “It's a ghost town.” Amethyst muttered looking into an open window to find an empty home. 

“Maybe they are all working on the ships?” Wolf replied, “It's possible given how small this town is they could all be sailors.”

“There would still be someone around,” Himari answered, the sound of her cane tapping on the packed earth echoing through the empty street. “Not everyone could be on the ships, what about their families, children, Or someone to take care of the town, a baker, doctor, someone… but this…” she scrunched her nose looking at another building. They didn’t look to be in disrepair yet… “It doesn't look like anyone lives here at all.” The buildings looked new, though they didn’t seem to be well made; with gaps in some of the walls and overgrown greenery…Himari had a vague feeling as if she knew what was going on but couldn’t put her finger on it… a memory from her past life, maybe something she read in a book once?

 “You three coming?” Hecatolite called from up the street, having nearly made it to the other side of town as they all gawked. She didn’t have any interest in a town made of cardboard, her memories telling her clearly what this was as she shook her head. Why waste the time to build a fake town if you’re not going to put anyone in it? Ruins the whole point, at least put some soldiers in it or something. She sighed, maybe it was a new idea in this world to build a decoy; that would explain why Wolf and Amethyst were so confused? Whatever, they want to waste time with a game let them. I bet they have someone by the dock, that’s where I would put someone anyway, to greet people who sail in.

---

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Rilitar watched as the group of humans gawked at the empty town around them, nodding to himself; he had his doubts when the idea of building a decoy town to confuse slavers first came up, but clearly it wouldn’t be as ineffective as he first thought. He would need to tell uncle, though there was the strange white creature. The odd being didn’t even slow its pace, ignoring all the building around as it stomped up the road towards the docks as if it knew where they were going.

It was strange to him; the creature had no mana to speak of, yet it somehow made its way directly towards the only other person in the town... can it detect other life maybe? But how? He glanced back at the others as he cataloged them all in his mind. The human with an injured leg was clearly a caster, a decent one at that given he could feel her mana from here. The man with the odd hat, the one who could speak their language, was also a caster; though much weaker than the woman.

 That left the tiny human in black armor. She had a sword strapped to her hip that looked as if it was too long for her but he knew better; having seen her cut one of his men’s arms off with a single sword swing, if I keep my distance, I should be fine. He thought, eyeing the strange human. 

He couldn’t feel any mana from her, even when she was right beside him; yet she had to have some mana, the glimmering enchanted bands on her arms were proof enough of that. If he had to guess she likely had a small mana pool, he had heard of people with weak magic choosing to cover themselves in enchanted gear to offset their lack of magic themselves. That would explain why he felt no power from her but also gave him an idea on how to fight her if he needed to, just keep my distance and whittle her down with non-magical attacks. She would likely exhaust herself quickly keeping her defense up. The other two could probably be defeated in the same way, though it would be faster to close the distance and overpower them… that just leaves… his eyes fell on the creature beside him.

She wore the same bands as the woman in black, yet it was odd. Unlike the armored woman who was clearly covered in enchanted gear this girl wore loose fitting cotton clothing, the only hint of magic on her were those strange bands… is it possible that its mana pool is so small that’s all it could power? But then how does it intend to fight? Sure, its tail looked as if it would be a problem, but he doubted it would be anything more than a minor annoyance. And given its strange demeanor... maybe it really is just a child? He remembered the way it forced itself between his uncle and Eryl, clearly this was either ignorant or overly confident… 

He shook his head, remembering his uncle had instructed him to care for this group. The order was clear, keep them safe while he spoke to Eryl; he was sure later his uncle would have more orders about what to do with this group. Thankfully Tiniaka would be able to gain more information on these humans before then, maybe even shed some light on what this strange creature is. Though he did wish his uncle could have at least let him escort lady Eryl as well… “Merchant Tiniaka is right this way.” he said as the other three closed the distance.

“Thank you for… walking us.” The man said, clearly struggling to find the right words.

Rilitar nodded, not bothering to reply as he led them to a building beside the dock. Tiniaka will be able to ascertain the truth behind these humans. He thought as he knocked on the door to the “shop” that had been built.

---

---

Hecatolite looked up at the building, the sign with a picture of a scale and the word “merchant” carved under it in elven. “Forgot I could do that.” She said, reading the word. “Stupid skill.” She grumbled as Clipped-ear knocked on the door. 

“What?” Amethyst asked, coming up beside her.

“Nothing,” She sighed. This is boring. I doubt this is even a real shop. She fought the urge to yell as her annoyance bubbled up. This is so stupid! This is the elven nation isn’t it! Where are all the elves! Isn’t this supposed to be some super magical land filled with tall, dignified beauties like Eryl! All we have seen since we got here is clipped-ear and some geezer that made googly eyes at Eryl! And soldier boy keeps glaring at us! It makes me so… huh… what’s that smell… She froze, sniffing the air as the other three made their way into the store. I’m… hungry… I know, I’ll go find berries! Eryl said they had berries in the forest, right? Maybe I can find some grapes, do grapes grow on trees? Wait those grow on vines, don't they?… Maybe bananas? But those aren’t berries, are they? I should have asked more about the food around here…

---

---

“Well, this is not what I expected.” Wolf whispered looking up the well-worn isles that were adorn with all manner of goods. Rows of shelves stacked with household items of all kinds, from linens to cookware. Piled along the walls were barrels overflowing with produce from all around the world, he was sure he even saw fruits from the southern islands. “Is it a shipping hub?” This store was reminiscent of the warehouses for the sailor’s guild he had entered to get aboard the ship.

“It looks like a supermarket.” Himari’s cane tapped against the hardwood floor as she moved to one of the shelves. “At least you shouldn’t have any trouble finding supplies.”

Amethyst nodded along with the conversation as she walked around one of the shelves, stopping when she saw an older looking elven man sitting behind a counter, his head hung low with his eyes closed. If she had to guess he would be a older elven man, not that it was easy to tell, the only tell she could see was a few faint wrinkles on the man's face around his mouth and eyes; that with his faded white hair made her think he likely was older than both the other elves she had met so far. A pair of large glasses hung limply from one of his ears, Amethyst noticing they were significantly shorter than the others only. 

“Excuse me, sir?” She tentatively stepped forward only for Rilitar to stride forwards and slap the counter. The older man springing up, arms flailing wildly as he stammered something in elven. 

The two exchanged words as the man quickly fastened his glasses properly, the large glass disks enhancing the man’s milky eyes to a comical degree as he turned his eye to Amethyst.

“Well, hello there. Been quite a while since I had a human guest.” The man said in perfect Solresol, “How can I be of assistance?” His faint smile was overshadowed by the familiar tingling in the back of Amethyst's mind.

The man’s face shifted, just slightly, his smile twitching as the two of them locked eyes. The pressure in Amethyst's mind grew, is he trying to read my mind? Maybe I was too harsh on Hecatolite for looking at people’s souls. She sighed, the sound of tapping behind her pulled her attention away from the older man.

Himari came to stand beside Amethyst, an eyebrow cocked as the pressure in Amethyst's mind suddenly cut out. He must have canceled the spell. Amethyst thought looking at Himari

“Oh, you have a friend.” The elderly elf said, turning his eyes to Himari only for his smile to fade completely, clearly, he was not having any more luck with Himari’s mind as Rilitar seemed to look at the man impatiently. The man turned to Rilitar, speaking in a hushed tone he quickly reported something in elven.

Amethyst sighed, “Seems a bit rude to use soul magic when bartering.” Her words seemed to even surprise her as she spoke out loud, the man’s eyes going wide as he looked back to them. Why does he look so shocked? It's not like he was subtle about it.

“Amethyst, most people can’t detect when someone tries to read their mind. Only people who trained to counter it would normally be able to notice it.” Himari said, placing a hand on Amethyst's shoulder, more to steady herself as she attempted to dismiss the alarm in her mind from Babylon.

“Really? But I could always feel when the Queen read my mind…”

“I am not surprised; reading your mind before was probably significantly harder before you two split.” Amethyst didn’t know that queen Irithyl read her mind more than she realized, only noticing when the queen tried to read deeper into her thoughts and meeting the second consciousness that used to reside in her. Himari let out a relieved sigh as she finally managed to silence the terminal in her mind. “You did say you practiced keeping Hecatolite from reading your thoughts, so your mental resistance is  probably very high.”

Amethyst nodded, “That makes sense, and you have your protection as well. I remember the queen said she couldn’t read your mind either.” Their “hushed” conversation was interrupted as Wolf joined them. 

“What’s going on, did you two find something?” They both turned to Wolf who stood casually holding a piece of parchment in his hand. “It looks like I should be able to get everything I need for the ship here, that is if we can barter with them. I doubt they take gold from Algamir.” He said looking up to see the two elven men staring at him. He looked down at the two girls again before taking a deep breath, clearly thinking the two of them were trying to figure out how to deal with the language barrier. “Hello… goods… acquire? Pay with currencies?” He should have practiced his elven more.

The older man perked up, “Your elven is deplorable.” He replied as his grin returned. “But yes, I can accept gold for goods, but it will only be worth its weight here.”

Wolf’s face turned a faint shade of red, “Apologies, I haven’t had much practice with it.” he bowed slightly, “If you wish we could maybe trade, my ship doesn’t have much in terms of goods, but we can part with some supplies.” 

Amethyst eyed the elven man; it could be a cultural thing? Maybe it's not considered as rude here, and they are currently at war with Algamir and Utopia. I don’t think it’s that big of a deal, I guess, and making a scene out of it could hurt our hopes of negotiating. She could see the man’s smile widening as he and Wolf spoke, looks like he can read Wolf’s mind. Good thing he didn’t try to read… Amethyst looked around slowly… huh… is she behind one of the racks? She calmly walked to the end of the aisle, turning to look down the empty rows… don’t panic… do not panic… “Where is Hecatolite?!” She nearly screamed as she ran down another empty aisle.

---

---

Eryl followed Elder Astari through the forest, noticing that unlike the others who went towards the town they saw he led her directly east into the forest. Her mind wandered as they walked, this is nice. It is good to see the forest is still in good health, she took a deep breath, feeling the abundant mana swirling around her as the crisp fresh air filled her lungs. The mana is very rich here. If I remember correctly there is a ley line in the center of this forest where the great tree grows. Her ears drooped as she thought about it. I should try and keep Hecatolite away from the great tree. I can’t imagine what would happen if she encountered a source of the world’s mana.

“Before we venture further,” Astari stopped, turning to her. “I have some questions I need you to answer.”

Eryl could feel the pressure around them rising as the trees around them bristled. “Yes?” She replied, not bothering to look around. She did however make note of the strange show of force, he’s probably far into his reincarnations, if I had to guess. Enough raw power to be a seedling, and his control doesn’t seem to be lacking either given how much he is pushing out. Why would he force the mana out though, a show of force maybe? Is he attempting to intimidate me? He should be more considerate of those hiding in the trees, this much magical pressure is probably rather uncomfortable for the average mortal.

Astari nodded, a weary smile on his face as he recalled his mana, the magical pressure around them quickly receding as he allowed it to return to its normal level. “You didn’t even blink,” he chuckled. “Not many people could withstand that much force and remain that calm. Eryl, who exactly are you?” Astari had always been proud of his magic, rarely needed to force it out in such a manner given his neutral level of pressure was normally enough to cowl people.

“I am just a woman on a journey to return her companions home.” She answered calmly, deciding to be vague. She knew elves excelled in magic of all kinds meaning there was likely someone in the trees who could detect deception even if they couldn’t read her mind. It would be a lot simpler for everyone if they just believed her, not that she had any reason to lie to them; it would just complicate things if she had to explain “who” she was. 

Not only that but I would much prefer to keep both Hecatolite and Amethyst’s identities a secret. The more word of Deities walking among the mortals gets around the easier it will be for other divine to find them. She bit the inside of her lip at that thought, she had told the twins she didn’t want other gods to get the idea of traveling to the mortal plane; and that was indeed true. But… If Valor catches wind of them, I am positive he will send his heroes after them, after me. And I am no closer to knowing his plan… then again, the two of them could maybe fend him off… She shivered, not wanting to think of whatever outcome that train of thought led to. Enough souls had already been lost on her world without an all-out war involving Hecatolite. 

“Companions? The humans?” Astari asked, one of his eyebrows twitching as he spoke.

“Humans?” Her reply seemed to relieve the man, though it was a slip of the tongue, his question still confused her.   

“I see that strange creature is your companion then?”

“You seem to be misunderstanding something here, Elder.” Eryl’s ears folded down as she thought of what he meant. “At the current moment all the ones who accompanied me are my companions. I am not at liberty to discuss their individual races with you; however I fail to see how their race would confuse you in this context.” 

Astari nodded his head, “I see, allow me to rephase then.” He rubbed his chin as if thinking for a minute before continuing. “Eryl, are you being coerced into helping the humans? I do not see one of their collars on you, but they have used devious methods before. I can assist you in breaking whatever bonds they hold over you if you tell me; know that whatever they promised you is likely a lie, but my men can…”

“I strongly advise against whatever course of action you are thinking about.” Astari recoiled as she cut him off. “Elder Astari, know that I have chosen to assist them of my own accord.”

“Are you positive about that?”

Eryl leveled her eyes with his, she knew she couldn’t interfere in whatever he decided; but she could warn him. “I do not understand how you came to whatever conclusion you have, but know this Astari,” as she spoke a strange feeling welled inside of Eryl, the sound of her own heart quickening as thoughts of the twins flashed in her mind. “Harming them in any way will lead to nothing but ruin.”

Why is my heart racing? This is truly peculiar… is it because I am afraid the twins will destroy the forest… She felt a slight breeze on her lips as an image of Hecatolite’s smiling face flashed in her mind, the feeling of desire and confusion from the night on the ship flooding her mind… Eryl’s jaw clenched, trying to force the alien emotion from her mind.

Her words seemed to hang in the air between them for a long moment, Astari watching her closely as the faintest smile tugged the corner of his lips. “I understand, I apologize if I offended you, sister Eryl.” He turned his back to her, continuing their journey through the woods.

It was true Astari felt it needed to be asked, many elves have fallen for traps set by their own kind due to false promises made by other races. But this outcome couldn’t have been better, the older man could hardly contain his excitement as a sinister smile grew. He led her to the true town hidden in the trees, the threat clear in his mind as he plotted how to use this new knowledge. To think that she would go that far for those creatures. The image of faintly glowing lines appearing on Eryls neck as she spoke burned into his memory.