"Jarbuk, a message has come in from Noobville and Zentha. She says that Nuella wants you to bring him some barrels." Aleda said as she read the message just delivered to her by Neiren, Jaana's sister.

"Already? He just got back!" Shaala said angrily. "Does that pair of boobs think she can take him from me using Nuella's name?" Aleda tapped her foot, which made Shaala stop in her tracks.

"If Nuella said that Jarbuk has to marry Zentha, then he has to marry Zentha. Understand?" Shaala quickly nodded, which made Jarbuk lift an eyebrow.

"Jarbuk, take Shaala with you to meet the stranger this time. Ease her mind a little." He nodded, but didn't see any pleasure on Shaala's face. Only a bit of disdain, which made him a bit angry.

"If my company is not good enough for you, take one of those fairies with you. I'll be on my own wagon, while you take your own carriage." Jarbuk left the room, while Aleda shook her head.

"You really are trying to drive him away, aren't you?" She asked quietly.

"What choice do I have, Aleda?" Shaala asked her quietly. "He can't take a Stallion on, and if we marry, he'll die." Shaala walked away, with Neiren in tow, while Aleda shook her head.

"You couldn't tell him, Shaala, but you could make him swear to say nothing, and show him. You don't have to put him through this, or yourself."

 

* * *

 

"Keep your eyes ahead." Jarbuk said in an unfriendly voice. The two guards rolled their eyes.

"Right in front of you, man. How do you stand it?" One of his guards asked.

"She's an elf. Monogamy is not something they understand. If you ever marry an elf, know three things in life that are fundamental to their entire being. They eat, they fight, and they fuck, but they do everything with passion." The two human guards shrugged.

To them, elves looked like devils, and were no better than animals. They held nothing but disdain for them, and their vulgar ways.

After an hour of slow travel, they came to the part of the road that Jarbuk met Baris before. Jarbuk stood up and pulled his sword.

"Shaala!" he called out. She came out of her carriage. "Hostile threat!"

"Can you tell what it is?" She asked. Her detection spell wasn't able to go as far as Jarbuk's, as he had a lot more experience due to traveling this road every few days and casting that spell.

"Blue wolf! Elite variant!" Jarbuk said. "I'm only at level fifteen!"

"I'm sixteen, Jara! We might be able to take it!" She said, but watched him shake his head.

"It's a level twenty!" She rolled her eyes, and groaned. She got off the carriage. "What are you doing? Get back inside and get her home!" Shaala looked at Jarbuk in surprise, and her eyes misted up a bit.

"You're my fiancee. I am an elf. I may be a bloody bitch, but I eat, I fuck, and I fight, and all with passion!" She growled. "Where...what the hell." They watched as the wolf ran across the road.

"Yip yip yip!" The wolf whined, had blood flowing from it's hind quarters, and a wood spear stuck out of its ribs.

"Get back here, you blue bastard!" A large man ran after it, another spear in his hand. "You and that grey asshole have screwed my levels up! I'm going to waste fifteen hundred points because of you!"

Two steps, one leap, three steps, and one gigantic leap landed Baris right on the back of the wolf. The wolf screeched and went silent as a spear went into the base of its neck. Baris roared down at the wolf.

"Status on. Fuck. Yep. Fifteen hundred wasted experience points. That so could have gone into my fifth level." Baris turned, and smiled wide.

"Hey, Jarbuk! Just the dwarf I wanted to see! I have some materials to sell!" Baris frowned slightly as he watched the three people in front of him look at each other. "Something wrong?"

 

* * *

 

"You guys stay with the wagons, and the carriage." Shaala said and watched as the big man lifted the blue wolf like it was nothing, then put it back down.

"Just a minute. I have to run back and get that grey wolf I just killed." He loped off and returned in less than a minute, grey wolf in one hand, and picked up the blue wolf in the other. "Come on. I have a fire already set up, and a bleed out area." He looked at Shaala.

"It's alright, Baris. This is Shaala, and her little fairy friend is Neiren." Baris shrugged and led the way. That wasn't what was on his mind as his eyes told him something and he wanted to ask, but for now, he had work to do.

"Ah, Jarbuk, do you have any containers? I found a deposit of salt, and wondered if you might want some of it?" Shaala stopped at his words, but looked at Jarbuk quickly.

"We actually brought some barrels that are on the wagon. Could we get them a bit later? It's obvious you want us to stop for a moment, and chat. I've brought a few of the things you might want as well. Since you have extra XP to spend, you might be able to make it worth while." He said, but heard a snort.

"Much rather the XP towards the next level, but I guess it will do." Once they were out of direct earshot of the wagon, Baris asked a question. "If you don't mind me asking, who is your companion, Jarbuk? I don't recognize her species."

"I'm an elf." Shaala said saucily.

"Elf?" Baris frowned. "You don't look like a vegetarian." He said as he noticed her sharp teeth when he ran by as she had growled at the wolf. He heard a light laughter.

"She isn't, sir! Fairies are vegetarians. Elves are carnivores, through and through." Neiren said with a bit of a laugh at the end.

"Carnivores? You prefer meat then."

"Raw, actually." Shaala said. "It's getting hard to find fresh raw meat as the hunters aren't out as much anymore." She sighed.

"Well, I have two fresh kills right here. You're welcome to eat as much as you'd like. Organs, or haunch?" He asked and set the blue wolf onto a sharpened hook that originally was a branch, and now hung from a tree.

"You'll give me organ meat?" Shaala asked in surprise.

"Organ meat it is then. I take it that organ meat is considered a more expensive choice." Baris asked quietly.

"Organ meat is the preferred meat, but not the sole choice." Jarbuk said with a smile. "Our Guild Master is also an elf, like Shaala, and enjoys good fresh meat. If you wouldn't mind, can I buy the grey wolf whole? It will preserve the organ meat for her for a longer period."

"That's fine. Hm, I never expected guests, so I don't have plates." He picked up a slab of wood that he split using his knife, and charred the surface in the flames. He took out the heart and the liver. "Here, that's all that will fit." He watched Shaala smile.

"If you don't find it insulting, elves seldom like others touching their food." Her eyes glowed a bit. "Cleanse." Baris lifted an eyebrow. "It's a purification spell, to clean the meat and the plate."

"Purification. What does it do exactly? Does it wash away dirt, or destroy it?" He asked. Shaala smiled, and took a bite of the heart. She rolled her eyes.

"Fresh is best. Ah." She smiled wide. "Cleanse destroys what shouldn't be there, and at the same time, washes it away. Like this magic. Full Body Cleanse." Her eyes glowed, and with her hand aimed towards him, Baris felt the grime of the last few days get washed away. He looked at her in surprise, and she smiled. "It washes away the dirt, but doesn't leave deposits of fat around you. It destroys it until it's just dust. Cleanse is purification magic, and full body cleanse is in the Life Magic category. There is also surface cleanse, which does the same thing, but to surfaces like stones, or counters." Baris smiled warmly.

"Thank you. Although they are expensive at my low novice levels, I should be able to change that in time." He looked at a stone. "Cleanse." Shaala's mouth dropped open.

"What did you just do?" She asked in shock.

"Use the spell you taught me?" Baris frowned a bit. "Anyway, let me finish the dismantling of this wolf, and I'll take you to see the salt deposit." Baris stopped suddenly. "Wait, you're a vegetarian, right?" Neiren nodded, but seemed reluctant to say or do anything that drew attention to herself. She watched him walk over to a tree, climb up it effortlessly, and bring down a crude basket.

"I found something earlier today that should fill your belly. You probably expected to be in Noobville already." He handed her the basket.

"What's in it, Neiren?" Shaala went over and was a bit surprised.

"Apples, shepherd's purse herbs, a large yam, and a leek! Oh wow, this is just like the food I grew up with!" She lifted the leek, took a sniff, and bit into it. "No dirt or anything!"

"I washed them in the brook, so they should be fine. I did find some mushrooms, but I don't know anything about them." He climbed the tree again. "This is the other basket full I got, but don't know if the mushrooms are edible."

"Chicken mushroom! Definitely edible!" She seemed excited. "Where did you get them? I haven't seen any chicken mushrooms in town for a few years."

"Over east, there is a nice grove with mature oaks, birch, and chestnuts. The lake seems to feed this brook too. It was a beautiful area, and I felt like a trespasser, so I didn't stay long. Just long enough to pick a few things that shouldn't affect the area." Neiren stopped and looked at Shaala.

"That is a lovely grove. It used to belong to the fairies, and is still considered part of their territory, but they haven't lived there in several years." Shaala watched his face twitch.

"Well, doesn't that bite me in the ass." He climbed his tree again, and brought down another crudely made basket. Inside were three more yams. "I do not steal. What belongs to the fairies should feed the fairies." he walked back to the blue wolf, his cheeks red, and refused to look at Neiren again.

"Shaala? Is he upset he got caught, or..." She frowned. "Is he upset that I might think badly of him?" Shaala pursed her lips.

"If he was worried about being caught, he wouldn't have offered them to you. He also wouldn't have brought out more when he said it was all." She tapped her lips. "Why did he lie about it though? So he had some he could eat later, and not go back into the grove to disturb it?"

"That sounds about right, Shaala. I think I like him." Shaala smiled and lightly rubbed Neiren's head.

"He brought them for you, so eat them, little one. Maybe you can ask him for a favor. You haven't seen food from your home in a long time, right?"