I couldn’t sleep for long, when I heard a frustrated grumbling voice, followed by a vigorous shake to my shoulder.

I drowsily opened my eyelids and glanced up. Seeing the face of Emrum standing in front of me was quite a surprise. I looked around, startled by the dwarf, quickly realizing that I was no longer in the hospital.

I could see a dozen curious brown eyes glancing in my direction while pretending to do anything but that. My memories slowly came to my help as I recalled my arrival at the outpost, then falling asleep on the chair.

What was more important was the fact that all of this wasn’t just an extremely long and realistic dream after all. I have been truly recreated as an elf by a god none the less. A God I now own my allegiance to. It was such a strange feeling, being young, if not exactly energetic in my current state, but I was still filled with life, and my body actually listened to my orders like it was back in my younger days.

In the midst of all those strange experiences, I didn’t even have time to enjoy my regained health.

My thoughts were distracted by the arrival of another dwarf. This one seemed older than the others in the chamber. He seemed a lot meaner too, and equally imposing. A huge claw shaped scar was running along his left cheek, crossing over his nose and left eye, which on a second glance was completely white, likely blinded by the same injury.

His sole, healthy brown eye glared daggers at me and my drowsiness immediately scattered, finding myself sitting straighter in the chair.

Aside from his scars, he had the longest beard among the dwarfs that I could see. Opposed to that, the top of his head was completely bald. His beard was of the color of black weaved into a single large braid in the middle and a few smaller ones on both sides. It was even decorated with large metal rings.

I gulped as I looked up at the intimidating dwarf. The man looked me over. I found it hard to not squirm under his frosty glare, but somehow managed.

Emrum spoke up at my side.

“This is the commander of this outpost. His name is Balgrun Rekaven.” — Emrum stated in a professional tone.

Realizing that I was being introduced to the commander in front of his man, I forced myself to stand up, using my staff to give me the necessary support. However, the moment I stood up, I saw that there were much more of the dwarfs in this place than I initially thought, every one of them looking at me curiously, as if they had never seen an elf before.

“Cough-cough…” — As I stared at the dwarfs in surprise with a little bit of fear. Emrum gave me an impatient reminder of the ongoing conversation.

I looked back at the black bearded dwarf whose name I already completely forget, more like never even memorized it since I was still half asleep when Emrum introduced him. Unsure of what to do, I decided on a mostly universal greeting.

That is to say, I bowed my head and introduced myself in a humble way.

“Greetings my good-dwarf-sir, commander?… I-I am Selora, I am grateful for your hospitality.” — My words had quite the effect on the dwarfs around… As wild murmurs and whispers were exchanged among them.

Even the commander seemed to be affected by my words, his strict I will crush you expression mellowing out to a you might yet live one.

The man glanced around the barracks and stated a firm order to the men.

“Silence.” — His demand was met immediately as order came back to the room.

The man stepped closer to me now, only having about a meter of distance between the two of us. Even Emrum seemed to step to the side, leaving me to face the black bearded dwarf on my own. A task that I wasn’t eager to do at all.

As I looked into the heavy eyes of the battle hardened warrior, I tried my best to not look away, but it was a futile attempt as my gaze again and again slipped to my feet.

The man seemed satisfied by this reaction. A lingering smirk appeared on his face as he spoke up.

“What does an elven girl-child want in the deep roads?” — The man asked, in a dry tone.

It was an uncomfortable question I couldn’t really answer. Especially that I had no desire to be here in the first place. I blinked and shook my head, mumbling the only believable answer that held some truth.

“I… lost my way… sir…” — My words were followed by an awkward silence. Then another wave of murmuring between the dwarfs.

“Is she an elf child?” — One voice asked.

“I never saw one before…” — Another added.

“Of course, you never saw any. They are not supposed to leave their precious forest before adulthood.” — A new voice lectured the previous ones.

“But then, how did she come here?” — The baffled voice of a dwarf appeared, and there was no immediate answer to his question.

After some time, a slightly confused voice joined in, unsure of his own words.

“She got lost. Didn’t you hear it?”

A few snorts were the most distinctive reaction to those particular words.

“Lost, my arse. We are in a deeper section of the lost tunnels. And they go far deeper than the roads we are used to. There is no way a surface child could get to this depth on her own… I would sooner believe that she was born here than accidentally wandering into this damned place! On my beard, not even I could come here on my own! None of us!”

A thin layer of sweat began to form on my forehead when I heard those words. What the dwarf was saying is technically true… even if I wasn’t born by natural means. I had absolutely no intention of revealing that fact to either of them.

I wasn’t planning to act like some messiah, that usually makes you end up on a cross. I can’t reveal that I was sent by a God until I know enough of this world to not make some critical mistake in the process.

My attention focused back to the present.

Just in time to see most dwarfs nodding to some argument, which I missed while lost in my own thoughts.

The commander seemed satisfied by the conclusion of his men, even if he wasn’t going to comment on it. Instead of that, he continued the questioning in a sarcastic voice.

“So you got lost, girl? That’s too bad. You must have been terrified… A young elf, so far from the forests. How fortunate for you then, that you have run into one of my lost men. I find it curious that said man is coming at me with an unlikely statement that you were the one who saved his life. Tell me, how would you achieve such a feat?”

I could feel the tips of my ears getting hot from the suspicious stares directed at me.

“Ugh… well…” — I clasped, then unclasped my fingers unconsciously. Should I say it? Emrum must have already said it, so it would be foolish to lie at this point. They might decide to kick me out of the outpost and I wasn’t likely to survive that.

The memory of Emrum's reaction to me being a witch was still heavy on my mind, though.

“I… I might have used a magic spell… called healing touch… Unfortunately, I miscalculated and used too much of my power… ending up as the dead weight in the process…” — Seeing the surprised expressions around me, my voice trailed off.

Whispers, both curious and fearful, traveled through the room. Arguing about me truly being a witch, or trying to deceive them for whatever reason. Dwarfs seemed to be unusually suspicious towards elfs, I did not know if they were like that towards every race or if this treatment was specifically reserved for my kind.

“So, you are admitting that you are a witch?” — The dwarf man with a black beard stated with surprise he couldn’t hide.

I nodded. What else was there to say?

There was a moment of silence, then the commander burst into rambunctious laughter.

My fingers tightened around the shaft of my staff as the unexpected noise made me jumpy. Ears twitching while trying to figure out what was going on. Slowly, more and more of the dwarfs joined in the laughter and I was getting frustrated by being on the receiving end of a bunch of dwarfs laughing outright.

After a minute or two, the laughter quietened, and I found myself staring at the dwarf commander, a wry smile plastered on my face. They say elfs have bad manners… right, these guys were laughing at me straight on for two minutes.

The commander was clearly amused by my annoyed expression. He smirked at me good-naturedly. The previous coldness was nowhere to be found. I guess that was good news.

“You were right, Emrum, she is nothing like a witch… I am starting to understand why those long-eared fools guard their young so closely. This one is as clueless as she can get!”

The commander gave me one last through look and said.

“She can stay if she wants, give her one of the empty beds. I hear there are a few that became ownerless this morning.”

The thought of a proper bed was such a promise I had no way of resisting in my current state.

“Thank you, sir...” — I said without thinking about the second part of his sentence.

A worried protest came from one of the men behind him.

“But commander? Do you want us to sleep along with an elf? How can we trust her?”

The commander was unbothered by the question.

“If she can trust you enough to sleep in the same room as the lot of you, you have no reason to protest, either, Regmir. Except if you mean to say that you are more delicate than an elf maid?”

Another wave of laughter burst through the room. This time it wasn’t directed at me, thankfully.

The dwarf who asked the previous question turned red as an apple, trying to deny any notion of said accusations.

“No, commander… of course not.”

The black bearded boss dwarf laughed and barked at the man.

“Thought so.”

Still, another voice of protest formed in the far back of the room. I couldn’t even see the speaker.

“But she is a witch. She said it herself!” — Unlike the previous question, this time there were a number of worried expressions on the dwarfs. Some even nodded along, showing their similar thoughts on the matter.

The commander also turned more serious as he stated.

“A witch that saved the life of one of our comrades. While risking her own in the process. Dwarven custom has always cherished battle bonds above all else. Because only when your life is on the line will one’s inner value come to the surface. Only then can we see if our inside is full of mud, or there is a diamond waiting to be polished, a diamond that holds tighter than the best of our steel.”

There was a solemn silence as some of the dwarfs nodded proudly, while others looked to the side with a shameful expression.

The commander continued.

“This girl, as far as I am considered, has shown what she is made of. Above that, Emrum made a battle bound with her.”

This statement clearly surprised the dwarfs, as multiple gasps filled the room in a short time.

“I trust you all to know the weight of such words. Yet for those who are unfamiliar with the custom.”

The man gave a side glance in my direction. Then continued.

“It means that he guarantee’s your trustworthiness with his reputation, even taking responsibility for them to a certain degree. It also means he would proudly march into battle by your side. This is a dwarven custom, and while it isn’t exactly a promise of friendship, it is also a kind of similar to that in your culture. Truth is, it is more and less at the same time.”

With that said, he turned back towards the crowd.

“She might be young, but in the dwarven kingdom, such connections are not taken lightly. No matter her age, the length of her ears, or being a witch of all things. Until she doesn’t give us reason for distrust, she will be part of the Bronze Company.”

“Selora, I welcome you in our company. Anyone who has any more arguments should come forward now and say it.”

Seconds ticked by, but nobody seemed to have anymore opposition. The words of the commander had great sway over them. I, too, felt touched by his words. At least if I disregard the constant reminders of me being a kid or a girl.

Two facts I was struggling to acknowledge.

“Now bring her some food. She is as thin as a twig, then after she ate let her rest. If you have questions, young Selora, ask anybody in this outpost. The Sons of the Stone are not a rag-tag bunch. They are disciplined soldiers of the allied dwarven kingdoms. You are as safe with us as if you were back in those forests of yours.”

Listening to the words of the gruff-looking commander, I couldn’t help but smile at the man. He might have been a strict leader, but he was also reasonable and kind when it was necessary.

I nodded to him, who waved me towards the chair where I was sleeping a few minutes earlier. With that said, he turned around and left unceremoniously.

A curious buzzing went over the crowd in the barracks.

As I stopped being in the center of undesired attention, I sat back down and in a minute or so, some men brought me a plate of cold grilled meat, much more than I could reasonably eat on my lonesome.

There was also whole bread and a large mug of warm milk at the side.

I took in the mouthwatering sight of food. Looked up at the pair of dwarfs who brought it to me and were looking at me with knowing smiles.

“Thank you!” — I said to them, then turned my focus back to the food. Not seeing any cutlery in sight, since the meat was already cut into smaller parts, I reached for the closest one. Grabbed it and raised it to my face, taking a greedy bite.

The meat was cold, true, and a bit chewy, but the taste was pretty good even if it didn’t remind me of any meat I'd ever tasted. It had a sweet tinge to it, but not as strong to make it uncomfortable.

I took another bite, gulping it down with the milk, then reaching for the bread to break off a large piece of it and send it after the rest. I ate quickly, relishing the moment. I couldn’t quite remember when was the last time I ate with such a healthy appetite.

I could sense the lingering glances from the dwarfs and hear the occasional chuckle. I didn’t mind it. I was far too occupied with my current undertaking.

About fifteen minutes later, my stomach was full, and I was pointed to a bed without fuss. Being so tired and stressed, thanks to all the excitement of the day. I somehow managed to take off my gray outer robe and backpack, drop it on a nearby chair, kicked off my knee-high boots with decidedly more struggle and finally crawled under the thick wool blanket, almost immediately falling asleep.

I didn’t mind the curious glances, nor the amused whispers. I felt relaxed and safe among the dwarfs. It reminded me of the time I spent in the army as a young man. It was tough, but a rewarding experience, one that I happily remembered, probably because I never had the experience of going to war.

Reminded of my youthful days, I was overcome by a comfortable sensation and eventually fall asleep.