Shivers ran over my body as I clung to the core, my whole body embracing it as if it was the sole line of defense capable of protecting me, now that this woman was here. I had only seen her for a single moment, not enough to know what had brought her here and what she planned on doing to me, but a palpable feeling of danger had taken me hostage ever since she cast her eyes upon me. No, even before that, there was this suffocating feeling of danger, as if a new raid had shown up, this time determined and prepared to deal with anything I could toss at them.

It wasn’t the first time I had seen an elf. There were traders that visited the town every few years, which always ended up as a big occasion. I had snuck out twice just to see this, both times with the help of Helena, an old lady who had served as a household helper in my former home even before I was born. It had been her way of allowing me to take part in the merriment resulting from the elves’ arrival, but had ultimately ended up with me realizing the exotic wares the foreign merchants had brought with them were way too expensive for me to get ahold of in this life.

As I wasn’t allowed to leave the house other than to buy groceries for when Helena was too busy to do it herself, there was no reason to give me any money for my own enjoyment, so even with the few times I struck a good deal with the peddlers and saved some money, my hidden stash wasn’t big enough to really afford anything those elves would sell.

Still, it had allowed me to meet these people in person, rather than reading about them from old books that were mostly related to their magic, legends, and myths anyway. But, the thing was those peddlers, even though they dealt with exotic wares, couldn’t hold a candle to the scary elven lady I had seen earlier. They didn’t come at me fully armored and with unknown intentions, but stayed behind their stall instead, only talking to me for as long as they thought I could be a paying customer. It was the difference of night and day!

The worst part of it was that she was closing in on me, which I could feel in every fiber of my being. Not only did the feeling of threat become more and more overwhelming with each passing minute, I even found myself unable to think straight from time to time. Why else would I find myself hidden in a hole, with only my core and a number of white furs keeping me company? There were three obsidian foxes guarding the entrance of my makeshift burrow, the last line of defense I was able to summon with the mana I had, but I knew that even they would have trouble against that elf. My whole body was telling me she was that much of a threat.

I had endured my fears and restlessness for hours when there was finally a change. The feeling of wrongness became weaker, first slowly, then rapidly, and within mere moments. It almost felt as if the elf had left the dungeon or had met a grim fate, but I somehow knew she was still out there, just waiting for me to relax. As such, I clung against my core even tighter, before once again trying to close the hole that allowed me to see the surrounding meadow, but I had no luck. Something deep inside of me was preventing me from doing so, likely my instincts as a dungeon, as barring access to my core was highly forbidden according to the rules. Due to this, I could only stare at the hole, hoping the foxes standing guard next to it would somehow be able to fend the elf off.

Even after the feeling of wrongness became more bearable, I still didn’t find the courage to check out how the situation had changed with my own eyes. Instead, I stayed where I was, hidden behind a thick layer of dirt that was, according to everything I knew about dungeons, impenetrable to all but the most powerful attacks. There was still earth magic to be wary about, but I could only hope the elf wasn’t capable of using that element.

Minutes passed by in silence before I could suddenly hear steps closing in. I hugged my core even tighter, fearing for the worst, but the foxes I had put up to guard me didn’t react to whoever it was. This could only mean it was Marisa, who I had seen with the elf before, or Myra, which would mean she had successfully defeated her.

A face soon appeared in front of the entrance, spooking me quite a bit. But instead of pale blonde, it featured vivid, blue hair, which allowed me to immediately recognize Myra. She had really saved me.

“What are you doing in here?” She asked.

I shook my head, unable to answer her. I didn’t even know what kind of weird idea had enticed me to dig a burrow to hide in as some kind of animal would do. When she then crawled into the makeshift tunnel to meet me, I couldn’t help but feel ashamed of my behavior. Luckily, Myra didn’t pressure me on the matter. Once she could sit upright in the chamber I had dug, she instead began telling me about what had happened in the meantime, beginning with the moment in which the elf had set foot into the boss chamber together with Marisa.

“Thank the gods,” I couldn’t help but whisper when she revealed she had defeated the woman, before realizing there was still a part of the story missing. “What has happened to her?”
“She is waiting in the boss room,” Myra revealed.
“She is still here?!”
“The foxes are guarding her. I told them to finish her off should she try to make a move.”
“But why…”
“She wants to talk to you,” Myra explained with a shrug. “Sounded important, if Marisa’s words are to be believed.”
"Important…"

I gently pet my core, hoping it would give me a little bit of courage, but sadly, there was no such thing. It was only when I was about to deny the elf’s request that a sudden feeling of warmth flooded my body, immediately washing away my fears and worries. Cilia was here with me. She had been guarding over me all this time, and would never allow for anyone to hurt me.

Encouraged by this unmistakable sign of support, I readily gave in. A minute later, I was already following Myra out of my den, her four tails waving in front of my face as we crawled through the tunnel. Once outside, she helped me stand up, before leading me towards the boss room where her opponent was still waiting at.

“I looked for you everywhere,” she said halfway there. “It is only thanks to those foxes that I found you.”

Hearing that, I couldn’t help but look back at the foxes. And for sure, with three shiny black foxes guarding a hole in the middle of the meadow, it wasn’t hard to guess where I had disappeared into. Thanks to them standing next to it, acting all suspiciously, the elf would have had no trouble finding me and the core once she got rid of them.

I couldn’t help but feel a little bit ashamed about the whole situation. Sure, I was panicking, but there was surely a better way to protect myself while still following the rules than hiding away in a burrow?

Sadly, I couldn’t find a better solution today, as we were already reaching the room in question. Myra led me through the opening I had left by the future viewing area, and soon, the elf was already in view. She was standing in the middle of the room, looking defeated as can be, with both Flash Foxes preventing her from making a single move. Marisa, too, could be seen at her side. The two of them were talking about something, but they soon noticed me approaching and, within seconds, they were already staring at me. Being back inside the den sounded so much better now.

Sadly, I didn’t really have that choice, now that I was already here. So I walked up to the pair while encouraging myself with the fact that I didn’t need to meet the elf alone.

Now, that she was in full view, the woman didn’t seem that threatening anymore. She was wearing leather armor, sure, but I couldn’t see a single weapon on her, meaning she had lost them all or was some kind of mage. Other than that, I had basically no idea about the stranger.

“I have brought you gifts!” The woman exclaimed once I had reached her.
I could only look at her questioningly. She looked slightly nervous, but she soon reached for her backpack and, once I had made sure the foxes would give her the chance to do so, knelt down and produced four fruits from it, placing every single one on the ground one by one. Out of the whole bunch, I only recognized one, a Golden Apple, a fruit deemed holy by the elves and, outside of the Great Forest, only ever found written about in books.

The elf, once she had placed down all of the fruits, explained that all but one of them, the Golden Apple, had actually been selected and bought by a group of ratkin that had also told her about this place. This could only mean that Fren’s friends had finally returned to buy her free–not that this was needed anymore, as I hadn’t even seen the tip of her tail after Marisa had escorted her out of my dungeon.

She didn’t give me the chance to ask about the woman. Instead, the elf now began listing the names of the fruits and their alchemic uses to me. Her first pick was a red fruit half the size of a fist that still had a thick, green stem and small, dark green leaves attached to it. The elf explained to me that this fruit was the sole thing on the thorny shrub it grew on that wasn’t highly poisonous and, when worked with carefully, could be brewed into an effective healing potion that was superior to those made from the plants she had seen in my dungeon.

I nodded, satisfied that she was willing to gift me such a valuable fruit. The elf, upon seeing this, was visibly relieved. A smile grew on her face as she presented the second one of the fruits which was yellow and oval and about the size of an apple. Rough, leathery skin covered the whole thing, protecting it from being sliced open easily. The elf was happy to explain what this plant did, and it left me rather curious, to say the least. Apparently, its smell and juice made cats feel intoxicated, thus being aptly named ‘Tiger’s Dream’. Those unaffected by this would instead experience the opposite effect–their minds would be cleared even if clouded by magic.

This fruit wouldn’t see much use in my dungeon, as I didn’t have a single fox capable of using magic that attacked one's mind, but it was still good to have for the future, so I wasn’t about to refuse this gift.

The elf, seeing my satisfied smile, used this as a chance to finally introduce herself, feeling safe enough to do so now.

“My name is Shael,” she introduced herself, while already preparing the next fruit to present to me. “Zaleria sent me here after I heard about a dungeon with fox-like monsters.”
“The Goddess of the Forests?”
“I don’t know exactly what she wants me to do, now that I am here, but I figured I should at least bring you a gift, something that will help you out.” She took a deep breath. “We want to build a good relationship with you.”

Once again I found myself nodding along, as I saw nothing that spoke against being on good terms with the elves. If anything, having multiple races build a town in front of my dungeon sounded like a good idea compared to it being solely constructed by Aspen and his men, as it would allow for a far more welcoming home to all of them and especially to Myra and the other foxkin that would find their way into this dungeon. As for how the elves fit into this picture, I had no idea yet, as it was unlikely they would be willing to leave the Great Forest to settle in this town instead. But, going by what Shael presented me with on our very first meeting, they would likely be willing to trade at least, which I obviously wouldn’t deny, as even I knew about the many treasures hidden in their forest.

One of these very treasures was presented to me now. It was a large, acorn-shaped fruit Shael called ‘Gaona’s Tail’. Like the goddess it was named after, the fruit was covered with short, white fur, making it indeed resemble a rabbitkin’s tail. The elf explained to me that the fruit would shine in a silver light once out open under the moonlight and, when eaten, would lift the mood and alleviate mental fatigue. She warned me against eating it too often, though, as that could lead to its effects becoming permanent.

The last fruit the ratkin had selected was yet again entirely unknown to me. It was a white fruit the size of an apple, but, due to it looking so smooth and almost perfectly round, seemed rather unnatural. Shael called it ‘Okima’ and explained that it would help fight off many poisons and venoms when eaten. After a moment of hesitation, she added I shouldn’t get my hopes up with this one, as the tree it grew on had very specific needs that were very rarely met in the wild, meaning that most of the harvest stemmed from Zaleria’s nature-alligned dungeons instead.

I nodded while promising myself that I would still try to find a way to make this tree grow in my dungeon, especially with the Blood Fruit endangering the lives of any delver that didn’t know the plant.

Shael looked more than proud when she presented me with her own gift, the only fruit of the whole selection I actually knew the name and purpose of. Golden Apples were almost impossible to cultivate as they needed the magic of very experienced nature magicians to grow healthily and were also banned from being traded outside of the Great Forest. To those lucky enough to get their hands on such a fruit it promised strong healing effects when eaten, but they only truly shined when used by an alchemy expert, as these could draw out its full potential and use it to create a regenerative potion strong enough to even restore lost limbs or cure blindness among other things.

It went without saying that I was more than satisfied with all of these gifts. And, after being around the elf for several minutes now, I didn’t even feel that scared anymore of her. So, after sending the foxes off to do their things, I found myself inviting her to the neighboring room, as the meadow there was likely far more comfortable to sit on than the rocky ground of the boss chamber. Shael happily accepted. She picked up the fruits, and handed them to me, before, once my arms were more than full, followed me back to the meadow that had a suspicious hole dug right in the middle of it. Hopefully, she wouldn’t notice…

- - - - -

Catnip

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