I'm Ali Firecaller. I'm from a family of mages that focus on fire magic. We were trained by a young age to use the fire within us and force it out. As a fire elemental human, we tend to be angrier or more prone to uncontrollable emotions. My mother always told me that it's not the emotions that control you; it's you that let it happen. So I always think twice before I make a decision. Jonathan also helps me with that. The old priest is like a father to me. When our party was called by the King of Amisia, we were thrilled. To be recognized by the very king himself? That's unheard of.
The plan is simple, go on the outskirts of the Grey Forest, search for a girl in noble clothes and bring her to the king. Simple right? Wrong!
We spent a week trying to find anyone. Thankfully we didn't run in any wolves; otherwise, we would be dead. We found her beside a tree. She looked so peaceful, and don't get me started on her clothes; she is a royal alright. Misty was skeptical, she always is, she began rambling about our demise because of this girl, and the fact that she can't see her level only bought more negativity from her. Her name is Ellesha. A royals name, huh? True enough, she looked as innocent as a newborn flower, with her pale skin and her black clothes given her an ethereal look. She most likely grew up sheltered by her parents.
We spent three days looking after her. Three days where she didn't move, breathe, or anything. Jonathan said that she is dead, and we should just bring her body to the king, but before any of us could do anything, Greg just moved to her and begun to shake her.
To our surprise, she did wake her up, and crystal blue eyes met me. I was breathless for a few seconds. She must be hungry, I through, so I took some soup from my inventory necklace, and I stretched out my hand to give it to her. She refused me either because she doesn't trust us or she can't eat. She is a child thought she needs to eat. After a few seconds of silence, Jonathan asked her if she is okay, but before she could answer, Misty begun her sarcastic remarks. Always the negative person, seeing the worst in others. We can't leave her here, royal or not, but mostly because it is an order from the king himself. My hand grew tired from holding the plate, so I lowered to the ground in front of her.
She doesn't know us, so most likely, she's scared and skeptical, so I began to introduce us. Greg in full armor, Jonathan with a cross on his chest armor, and Misty the grumpy one. When I asked her name, she stood still and looked at my eyes, so I came closer to look straight at her face. I don't remember any royal to have eyes, hair, or face like her. She didn't move for a few seconds until I bring her back from her mind telling her again about the soup, and of course, she refuses me again. She began asking questions about where we are and what year it is. To say that she doesn't know the year that's understandable, Greg himself doesn't bother with the dates because he's a high elf but to say that you don't know where you are... How sheltered must you be not to know that? At least that's good that she knows her name.
Where are her guards, by the way? I should ask her that. And boy did I made a mistake. Dead for three hundred years? THREE HUNDRED YEARS??? What race is she? And with that, I take my staff and point it at her. Greg and Jonathan had the same opinion about it. Doesn't breathe, doesn't need to eat, and pale skin? A lich. The existence of liches is a taboo even for demons. They feed on life itself; that's how the Great War started. One lich wanted to subjugate all life no matter what race: demons, elves, dwarves, dragons, humans, beastman, all of them. The great war lasted for 600 years. We almost lost hope before the curch did one last strike against him, at his castle. After that, they declared victory and pronounced that all lives mattered no matter what race. Since then, there was no war between any race. To met a lich right now when Misty can't see her level, we are dead. I know it, Jonathan knows it, and Greg knows it. I should have listened to Misty; she must be so terrified right now.
When someone is pushed against a wall, they retaliate, and they do it hard, so Jonathan lied about the truth general skill wich only teachers and nobles have it. Her response sent shivers on my back, but she is telling the truth that much I know. To begin with, a lich would have killed us from the beginning. When she gets up from the ground, we could see how short she is. And cute. She looks so innocent.
A vampire, I wonder what kind of race it is. Jonathan glances at me, and I shake my head in a no. I never heard of that word or race, for that matter. If lowering our weapons could lead to our demise, but she can't do anything, could she? She's just a little girl. Jonathan keeps the lie about his skill. He must be terrified and want some sort of control over this situation. But considering the unknown, I would like to give her the benefit of the doubt. So we do it even when Misty is against it.
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Jonathan, as always without fear, begun to ask her questions. As he says, you can't truly live if you fear every detail. She can't remember how she got here and where she is. That could be true considering where she slept these three days with us. A wolf could eat her whole, and she won't know. Her race is another detail that bothers me; thankfully, Jonathan asks her about it, no doubt noticing my frown on my face. He always knew what to ask for me based on my face. It's not a demon, why would she think that we would mistake her for a demon? Does she have a past with demons? Greg as always al for the money. That high elf thinks with money and money always. I had to intervene; otherwise, this could lead us nowhere. I pressed her about her race, and thankfully she answered us.
To quote her, a vampire is someone who is cursed with immortality and can't walk in the sun without a protective item. I did not expect that. Is this why she is alone because everyone she knows is dead? Her guards are dead six feet underground. Dead because of starvation, most likely, in a cave without sun and only able to get out at night. That's the reference for demons, and some demons do get out only at night. The cross on her ears is the only thing that doesn't set her aflame. So if we take that from her, she will die? For a little girl, she is quite intimidating when she says her words.
But a deal is a deal, and I did promise her to answer her questions. Questions about the forest and us being adventures, which is insulting to us. Thes adventurers have a reputation as battle maniacs—crazy idiots who risk their lives in dungeons for some levels. True, the more high level you have, the more you live, but is it worth your life? You could die with the next arrow only for a level. We are explorers who examine the land or do other tasks. I had to lie anyway. We are here for her by the orders of the ruler, and I don't think she bought it based on her pout. She looks so adorable like that. If we weren't in these circumstances, I would hug this girl. The next unexpected question she asked was the mountains. There are no mountains in the Grey Forest. She must be from the underground. Her race could have lived there for thousands of years, and no one would know of them. Proving my point, the little girl said that the question is stupid, I know better.
The way she talks and moves her face is an example enough to know that she is a royal. No emotion was revealed on her face when she gave me the opportunity to ask her questions. Unbothered on the surface but the inside? Who knows. I make the gesture to the other two to follow me and tell Misty to get down here, threatening her with cookies. I swear that cat loves them so much she could live with eating only cookies. We spent a few minutes talking between us, but we froze when we felt a pressure coming from the camp where Misty and Ellesha are. Fearing the worst, we run there only to see Misty had a gushing wound on her left hand. I was surprised, but I was more surprised by her eyes. Red, a color you only see on dragon and demons. It was obvious why she would be called a demon. But with that pressure, she would be more like a dragon; only her eyes aren't slit. I asked her what did she do; the answer I got wasn't what I expected. She feeds on blood. Why blood? She must be joking with me, though she doesn't make jokes. If she doesn't feed, she will go berserker and kill everything alive, like a lich that is starved, wich gained from me a worrying look.
When I hand the potion to Misty to heal her wound, Ellesha asked me about the forest, and her one thousand year nap run over my head. The forest is full of high-level wolves, but I don't know if I should tell her that, so I glance at Jonathan to see what's his opinion, which was a positive one. She should know if she would come with us. The next thing I hear is a howl close to us gets our attention. A wolf this close means that they can't find any food inside the woods. By that point, I forgot all about the conversation they had and gave my command to my other party members. Formation one is our best shot against three wolves, more than that, and we will die. Thank all makers that they were indeed just three. Like we were trained I start with a fire spell, Greg takes one wolf, Misty attracts the other two kipping them busy long enough for Jonathan to activate the skill sanctuary. All according to plan, except I didn't have to channel the next spell or skill for that matter.
Ellesha took care of them in seconds. We all look at her in awe.
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My memories after we killed the wolves are kind of fuzzy. Sure we dealt with the grey wolves before but not without using all our potions. I had ten potions to restore health when needed, and just one was used. We don't know who used it or when it was used. All of us just woked up in the middle of the city tired from running from them even though we don't run after a kill. Misty and Greg were covered in blood, not from them but the starved wolves. And we also got the ears which we have no idea why we would collect them. They can't be used for anything. It was still some time before nightfall, so we decided to call it a day and get back to our house. Tomorrow we will go to the king and explain our weird situation. Hopefully, he will understand.