Jess sighed, resigning herself to the idea that Nevin might be speaking the truth. She straightened from her crouch and leaned heavily on the stone wall, ignoring the moss and dirt that would inevitably dirty her black skirt.

“Alright, let’s say that I do need to get these livers. How do you suppose that I do that?” asked Jess.

Nevin frowned up at Jess. “With your weapons or your powers. That’s how the others do it.”

Jess raised an eyebrow questioningly. “Alright then. Since I’m clearly not stashing a longsword down the front of my blouse, what powers do I have?”

Nevin was busily brushing the dirt from his dark green robe now that he was also standing. His frown had not diminished at all. “You should know what your powers are before you get here,” he informed her testily.

Jess sighed heavily before pinching the bridge of her nose with her fingers. Of course I should. You design your character before joining the game, not afterwards, she thought to herself. So, what now?

“What happens if someone doesn’t know what powers they have? Is there like… a test or something?” she asked Nevin wearily. He pondered over the question for a while before shrugging his shoulders.

“There must be something I can do to find out. What if someone hit their head or something and couldn’t remember?” She asked, knowing that her question sounded both desperate and ridiculous.

“I’m sorry, Miss. We don’t really have magic unless you’re royalty or you have a magical item,” he replied. Jess noted that he seemed to be frowning with concern, rather than irritation. His grey-blue eyes seemed distant and unfocused.

“It’s alright Nevin. This mess isn’t your fault. I am thankful for you trying to help me,” she consoled him. Afterall, Poor kid is as out of his depth as I am, she thought whilst considering what her next move should be.

“Normally I just give directions… but if you want, I could take you to the person in charge of your class?” Nevin offered tentatively.

“My… class?”

Nevin nodded vigorously, causing the hood of his robe to fall and obscure his vision. He pulled it back awkwardly. “Yes, all adventurers have a chosen class”. His eyes were bright, clearly hopeful about returning to a more familiar topic.

“Well… I normally teach science. Can I choose my specialism? I prefer biology,” Jess said.

“Biology?” Nevin repeated, the joy on his face dropped noticeably, leaving him deflated looking.

Jess forced herself to swallow a deep sigh. Time to start from scratch, she thought to herself.

“I teach the study of living organisms. Animals, plants, all that kind of stuff and the links between them,” she explained slowly.

Understanding lit up Nevin’s face, “Oh!” and, briefly, he grinned. “You’re a Druid then?”

Jess opened her mouth to speak but found herself lacking any coherent words. Would druid really work? I mean, I guess I understand plants and animals pretty well. Does that count? She considered carefully before she decided that Druid was as close as she was going to get to her actual specialism.

“You know what, Nevin. I think you’re spot on there,” she told him and was rewarded with a beaming grin. “So, what now? Who do I speak to for Druid stuff?”

“That’ll be Druidess Yllanala, Miss. She lives in cave nearby. All the adventurers go speak to her for wild-magics,” he gushed excitedly. “She’s a mountain elf, though everyone says she’s half giant. I don’t think she is though, she’s too pretty to have giant blood in her.”

“Alright. When you say ‘nearby’, how close is that? We’ve already done quite a bit of walking,” asked Jess nervously. There were towering hills beyond the trees spreading into the distance, the furthest from them seemed tall enough to be considered a mountain. The idea of trying to climb that to reach some ridiculous giant elf in a cave gave her the jitters, and that was ignoring the fact that she wasn’t dressed for the occasion.

“She lives in a cave at the bottom of Barrow Hill,” said Nevin, pointing at the group of hills, before adding, “That’s the nearest one.”

Jess nodded in acknowledgement. I can manage that.

“There’s not an official track, Miss. But, I think you’ll be alright even in those shoes,” Nevin said, glancing down with a confused look on his face. Jess noted that it hadn’t been the first time that he’d stopped with a discerning glance in their direction. When did people start wearing high heels? Better question… What time period is this?

Her thoughts were interrupted by Nevin. “Can I ask you a question, Miss?”

“Shoot,” she answered.

Nevin hesitated, before furtively glancing around at the trees. “I don’t have a weapon,” he whispered. Ah. I’m going to need to watch what I say here, Jess realised once more. She tried to soothe Nevin quickly before he worried any further.

“No, I just meant that you could ask the question,” she said, though this didn’t seem to bring him any relief. “Nothing else was implied,” she explained further.

 He gave a final suspicious scowl at the trees around them before seeming to accept her words as truth. “I just wanted to know if everyone wears shoes like those, where you’re from?” he asked before nervously adding, “They don’t seem very practical for… most things.”

Jess laughed. “No, you’re right.” Internally, her feet were screaming for reprieve. She’d give almost anything to be able to swap her footwear for something more comfortable. I might even stoop to wearing Crocs if someone offers me a pair. “They’re mostly worn by women. It’s a fashion thing.”

Nevin seemed content with the answer. Jess presumed that there must be some nobility in the city he mentioned earlier. Universally, it seemed human nature to choose to wear ridiculous and outlandish garb whenever people were given the chance to. It would stand to reason that it would be no different here.

“Alright Nevin, lead on,” she said. The sooner we get this mess sorted out, the better. He gave a decisive nod and started in the direction of the hill. Jess remained thankful that he didn’t deviate from the path at all.

As they walked, it became apparent that they were ending more untouched woodland. The greenery was denser, trees older and more gnarled, and the path became less forgiving. In places, the path appeared to disappear completely, instead being replaced by rocky outcrops or patchy tufts of wild grass. Ferns grew rife and Jess was impressed to see that some of those ancient growths were as tall as she was. Their delicate fronds splayed in all directions, glorying in the cool shade cast by the canopy above them.

The woods chittered with life, though most remained unseen. Unfamiliar calls tittered from the boughs of trees and the undergrowth around them. Insects hummed all around, though Jess was less enamoured with the biting winged beasties that clouded around them at times. She wondered idly whether there were bodies of water nearby or whether this world followed its own laws of nature.

It was almost a disappointment when they happened upon the mouth of the cave that Nevin eagerly pointed out. There were outcrops of limestone and other sedimentary rocks around the opening, each carved with a multitude of different runes and hieroglyphics. The cave itself seemed mostly untouched, as though whomever had carved the surrounding runes dare not approach the cave itself.

Jess gulped hard. What kind of elf lay within? Was ‘elf’ a layman term for anything non-human? Elves are supposed to be cute and friendly right? Nothing to worry about, she thought to herself, trying to drum up some courage.

“Make sure you’re polite, Miss,” Nevin warned. “She’s got a temper when she’s cross.”

Jess grimaced. Just what I need. An angry giant elf. Heavy on the giant.

“Just how big is this elf?” she asked, attempting to delay the inevitable.

“Big,” was Nevin’s simple reply.

“Wonderful,” she said flatly, then sighed. “Right, let’s get this done.”

As Jess stepped into the mouth of the cave, she could see that the inside appeared to be a long, curved tunnel that looped leisurely around to the left. There didn’t appear to be any light along the length of it. She pursed her lips as she took her first tentative steps forward, taking great care to keep a hand planted on the wall of the cave. It was unpleasantly damp and cool, but at least if she tripped over an errant stone, she wouldn’t land flat on her face.

A rock skittered past her, causing Jess to look back alarmed. Nevin’s sheepish face displayed a guilty expression. His hood was pushed back now, exposing an unruly mop of brown locks.

Jess continued walking and was unimpressed when the dimly lit route began to slope upwards. She wobbled more visibly on the ascent and was soon mentally cursing the she-elf for her ridiculous choice of abode.

When at last, the ground began to level out again, Jess realised that there was a faint flickering of light ahead. There appeared to be a doorway of sorts, a great arching opening in the rock itself, leading to the right. The interior beyond was hidden from view.

With a final glance back at Nevin, who gestured encouragingly towards the archway, Jess nervously rounded the door and glimpsed inside.