I took a few steps closer. The human was still recovering from the slap and spat at the ground in front of me.

“Peto!”

Valtheril slapped him again.

“In New-Elven. I know you speak it, filth.”

Damn, he was pissed.

“Fucking monsters don’t deserve to live,” The human said with disgust, and a slight accent.

“Are you working for anyone?” Valtheril slapped the human’s face once more.

His cheeks started to become bruised from the abuse.

“I work for no one.”

“That’s a lie!” Valtheril punched him in the stomach.

I reckoned this was where that enchantment would shine. Valtheril would know exactly when a lie was told to his face. He wasn’t quite giving it away either. This behavior from the General would simply be seen as bluffing.

I, however, knew that this definitely meant that there was someone else behind the attack besides this scum.

The human spat in Valtheril’s face. Valtheril, in return, drew his sword and held it under his chin.

“One finger less wouldn’t make much of a difference, would it? I wonder which one I’ll take first.”

“I’m telling you I’m not working for anyone.”

“This would be much less painful if you just give me a name.”

“Fuck you!”

Bad idea.

I knew that talking like that to a General who knew you were lying would not do much good.

Valtheril slowly got to his feet and walked up to the beam behind which the human’s hands were bound. He gripped his sword and stabbed it into the beam. I couldn’t quite see what happened behind the wood, but I saw two fingers land on the stone floor.

Blood and screams followed shortly after. The human writhed in pain as two of his fingers were severed from his hand. He tried kicking with his legs, but the chains held him down with too much force.

Valtheril’s sword then glowed with the same white light that I’ve seen Velariah’s sword glow with. Sizzling came from behind the beam and the human screamed even louder.

Did Valtheril just cauterize the wound?

Ouch.

Valtheril sheathed his sword and knelt down before the human again. “Feel like talking yet?”

The human groaned in pain but didn’t say a word.

“El?” Velariah whispered to me, before taking one of my arms and leading me away from the human. Valtheril gave us one glance before he turned his attention to the human again.

“Which fingers would you like to give up next?” Valtheril’s commanding voice was easily heard, even on the other end of the warehouse.

“Hey, El. I was just thinking. Since he seems to be playing tough, and he thinks you are a monster, why not use those… monster properties to get him to talk.”

“What do you mean?” I asked, unsure what the elf was getting at.

“I meant those…” She pointed down to where I hid my fangs under my body. “Maybe those will get him to talk. Try using some scary story about him rotting away from the inside, slowly, painfully, something like that.”

“Vel, you’re pure evil. You might be right, though.”

Velariah reached inside her pack and fished out the cyan anti-venom potion that we still had with us. “Here,” She handed it to me. “Use that as a bargaining chip if he isn’t cooperative.”

I nodded and turned around. Valtheril was about to slice off another finger or two with his sword but I stopped him.

“Let me try…”

“Alright,” Valtheril said as he sheathed his sword. “Go for it.”

He stepped aside and I lowered myself to the human. I tried to move my legs in the creepiest way I could imagine as I slowly moved them and myself forward. I made sure to bend all the joints and show them off in clear sight. I then put my pedipalps on his shoulders, making sure to poke his skin with the tiny claws at the end. I may have ‘accidentally’ pierced his skin a bit with them.

I then pulled up my fangs and held them in clear view, making a digging gesture with them as they were in front of his face.

“So,” I started. “The General promised me I could do whatever I wanted to you. I imagine being melted from the inside isn’t exactly how you imagined leaving this world.”

“You fucking monster!” He spat in my face.

Anger rose in me once more. I wiped away the spit.

I pinned my front two sets of legs in his side, making sure to cause him a lot of pain with my claws. I sank my fangs in his stomach, causing him tremendous pain just from that. I didn’t inject any venom just yet.

I placed a pedipalp under his chin and forced him to look at me.

My anger caused me to do things I never imagined I’d do.

“Even better idea. I’m going to pump a bunch of eggs inside your stomach and have them hatch inside of you. I daresay getting eaten alive by spiders from the inside is an even worse way to die.”

I was bluffing. I had no idea if I could actually do that, but my threat seemed to get the desired result.

His eyes grew full of fear. I could feel his heartbeat rise through my limbs and fangs.

“I don’t know who it was. He wore a black cloak. I couldn’t see his face, we met at night. He was an elf. One of his ears was cut off at the top,” He talked quick, with a shaky voice, clearly trembling from the prospect of ending up as spider food. “That’s all I know, I swear.”

“Which ear?” Valtheril asked sternly.

“His left, I believe… or no, it was the right. Yes, definitely the right.”

Valtheril nodded from behind the human, where he couldn’t see the general.

This human spoke the truth.

So far, I’d only met one elf who would fit that description.

Valtheril walked over to the warehouse doors and pushed them open. He then motioned us to follow him.

I released my grasp on the human and removed my fangs from his flesh. Blood trickled down from the two puncture wounds that were left behind.

I imagined that wouldn’t kill him.

I joined Velariah and Valtheril on the outside, behind one of the open doors.

“Master Lorin?” Velariah said the same name that I thought of when I heard the description of the person behind the human’s attack.

Valtheril rested an arm against the door and leaned on it with his head.

“He did seem hostile towards me ever since I met him,” I stated. “But plotting to kill me… I don’t know.”

“Where was Lorin before you got attacked?” He asked.

“He was in the oak before the huge Borer showed up. When I returned for the ritual, he was gone,” I spoke. “Can’t you talk to him and detect lies?” I asked.

“Arresting a treemender without solid evidence isn’t exactly appropriate. They hold a special status within Elven hierarchy.”

He slammed his fist on the large, wooden door. “I need more.”

“You think he is the one that delivered that bogus report to the guild?” I asked. “Is there anything you could do with that info, if that’s the case?”

“Handwriting…” He thought aloud. “Whoever wrote that report must have talked to him. I could work from there…”

He thought for a second.

“I talked to the Lore keeper, but she didn’t know who gave her that report. I’ll get her to work on cross-referencing the handwriting to any adventurer’s signatures next. I’m hoping to know more soon. If I find anything, I’ll let you guys know.”

“Anything we can do?” I asked.

“Not much. Not at the moment, besides being careful. I’ll keep the soldiers guarding the village while I try to get to the bottom of this. I’d advise not to get close to Master Lorin in the meantime.”

“Don’t have any reason to get close in the first place,” Velariah said. “Although we were planning on seeing Master Endomir sometime soon. I guess we’ll put that on hold for now.”

Valtheril nodded, then sighed.

“All this bullshit is delaying my plans regarding the goblins too. I do wonder if everything is connected.”

“Tell us if we can help…” Velariah said.

“I will if there is anything.”

Valtheril closed the large doors to the warehouse. “You guys should go home. I’ll continue my investigation.”

“What about the human?” I asked.

“I’ll have Master Pylanor check him for any signs of magic that affected his mind. I’ll need to keep him alive until after the investigation. There are those things and a few other factors that will decide his fate.”

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I thought back to the human mage that wanted to fry me seemingly ages ago. Could he have been controlled too? His behavior and actions led me to believe he was acting on his own. He had been far higher rank, too. I think Valtheril was just a massive miscalculation in his plans.

This human, however, did things that didn’t make any sense.

But why didn’t he want to speak about who commanded him to do this? Did he hate me that much? He did seem to have a personal interest in killing me, either way.

I didn’t think I would feel remorse if he were to be executed.

I thanked him and walked home with Velariah.

After the usual routine in the hallway, we were soon seated at the table again, discussing our plans for the near future. Elly was making lunch for our party while we were struggling to come up with ideas.

“Well,” Draco said. “I am going to assume we are going to have to scrap going to the dungeon, too.”

“Judging from the things going on in Dawnleaf and with Elania suffering from targeted attacks, it’s probably better to avoid places where it’s hard to escape, so yes,” Velariah replied.

“I’m getting so tired of this shit,” I said. “This is not how I would imagine things to go when I woke up here. This was exactly what I wanted to avoid.”

“You’ve made great progress, though, El. We can’t lose sight of our goals because of all this. My father is smart. He will get to the bottom of this all. After that, we fix the goblin problem and then… chocolate and dungeons.”

I laughed. “Yeah, that does sound amazing. I can’t wait.”

I would love to be able to live without all these problems surrounding me and instead, focus on one thing at a time.

Despite the multiple injuries and surprises we’d been through, I still looked forward to adventuring.

This promise of power was very attractive, too. I felt the want for more power slowly creep into my mind and soul.

I felt like the feeling went beyond simple survival.

“So?” I asked with a sigh. “What shall…can we do in the meantime?”

“Well, strength training is one thing,” Velariah started. “We can also still make money with your fancy ‘silk weaving’ inherity. We could also get our armor picked up. I asked Dworag to get started on it. I didn’t hesitate to ask, especially after what happened.”

“Note to self, armor is pretty important,” I smiled.

Elly entered the room with coasters, and a loaf of bread, neatly sliced. The coasters made me think that she was about to serve soup.

My stomach grumbled.

I hadn’t eaten in four or five days. I only realized just now.

I hope she had prepared plenty…

She walked back and forth a couple of times to serve plates, bowls, and spoons.

It was going to be soup! I was delighted.

A large pan of steaming chicken soup was finally brought to the table.

“Seriously, El. The way you’re looking at that pan makes me fearful that Elly is going to steal your heart,” Velariah laughed.

I burst into laughter. I think Velariah realized why, soon after. I laughed uncontrollably at the joke I was about to make. I couldn’t believe myself.

I must have looked stupid doing that.

“Well, I heard I have two. You don’t even have to share! I have one for each of you!”

Seralyn laughed as well.

I finally managed to stop. “Terrible joke, I know, I know. Don’t worry, Vel. You can have both.”

“Looks to me you’re going to have way too much fun with this,” Velariah chuckled.

“I most definitely will.”

We had a hearty lunch, during which I still chuckled every now and then at the possible jokes I could make regarding my new anatomy.

Yeap, I definitely looked stupid.

“Glad to see you’re in a good mood,” Velariah smiled.

“I’m sorry, I can’t help it.”

We finished lunch… Well, I finished lunch… eventually… The others had already finished ages ago. I just had to do proper restocking on my reserves.

We then went on to discuss our future plans.

“I kind of promised to get Velariah a new set of armor,” I mentioned during the conversation. “That’s what she was talking about earlier.”

“Neat,” Draco commented. “You could use a new set. Especially now that your leg armor is half destroyed. A new set is probably going to be more worthwhile than having it repaired.”

“Yup,” Velariah said. “It’s going to have plenty of enchants too, so I’m pretty happy with it. I have to be honest, though. I have Elania to thank for it.”

“No need. You pooled your money with mine to pay for my ritual too. It’s only fair.”

I turned my attention to Draco. “You know, you could use some new armor too. You’ve been using that for a while now and it didn’t do much good the last time it got truly tested. I imagine that if you had had some proper enchants, I wouldn’t have had to sacrifice my leg.”

“I…” Draco looked down at the table, “Suppose you’re right.”

“Shit, I’m sorry, Draco. I didn’t mean it like that.”

I covered my face with a palm.

“I’m so sorry, Draco. I just… don’t want to have you get injured when I can help, you know…”

“I understand, Miss Elania. No offense was taken. I also understand your concern and can see you’re determined in the matter. I’ll accept your offer. I do intend to pay you back when I can, though.”

I nodded. “That’s fine.”

I had half expected Seralyn to comment on the matter but she remained quiet. Nira wasn’t the jealous type at all. She seemed to be staring at Gray, who was eating from a proper dog bowl now.

“Sounds like a trip to Dworag is in order,” Velariah said as she shoved her chair back and stood up with her hands still on the table.

“I’m curious to see what he made for me. I’m so excited!”

The excitement in the elf was visible in her entire body. She was almost jumping with anticipation. A child in a candy store with money to spend on whatever they wanted was nothing compared to Velariah right now. I was surprised she managed to hide it so well before and during dinner.

This elf was truly puzzling at times.

“Let me get the gold,” She said before she raced upstairs.

Seriously, she could fall down the stairs and break something with that kind of carelessness. Stairs were many a human’s mortal enemy…

It didn’t take long for the hyperactive elf to return with a well-filled pouch of gold. The sound of clinking coins had a charm all of its own.

The others and I followed her to the hallway where Draco helped her with her armor, possibly for the last time. I wondered if her new armor was going to need anyone to help her. I imagined she was going to use featherlight enchants on every single piece. If I recall correctly, every piece would have three gem slots.

I put on mine and brought my spear with me. I reckoned the spear was going to be the first item I was going to replace by the time I was going for an upgrade of my own. It had served me well.

I wondered if I should go for a spear again, or perhaps something different. I was going to need training if I were to pick a new weapon, and I wasn’t sure if it was going to be better. A spear seemed to be ideal for me.

A halberd could be an option, but it was far more unwieldy than a spear, and I’d possibly need to build up more muscle to handle one.

I was going to need to do strength training too when we got back…

“Hey, Vel?” I asked once we set foot outside.

“Hm?”

“Have you done any strength training while I was out?”

“I have. How did you notice?”

I chuckled. “I didn’t, I was just curious if you’d already spent time on it.”

“Oh,” She responded, seemingly slightly disappointed.

Seralyn grinned.

It seems Seralyn fed on awkward moments. It appeared they served to fuel her soul in some way.

It didn’t take long for us to reach the almost empty village square. The town guards and elite soldiers were still scattered throughout Dawnleaf. Their presence was almost ominous.

I hoped we could return to normal soon. This was just idiotic. I liked this village. Now, almost nothing of what gave this village its charm remained.

We reached Dworag’s workshop and Velariah entered.

I waited outside with the others and wondered if Dworag would have the stones to flirt with me in front of all the others. I hoped not. Maybe I should yell at him about the relationship I was in?

The dwarf’s flirting somehow amused me and I felt bad for feeling that way. Did that make me a bad person?

The elf and dwarf exited the building after a minute or so. Dworag didn’t look all too happy.

“Miss Elania, I heard what happened. I’m sorry you had to go through that...”

I shook my head. “Thank you, Dworag, but I’m fine now. No need to dwell on it.”

“Aye, I understand. Word of advice, though. Pretty much the whole village knows what happened. I’d be careful if I were you. People might see you as a threat because you lived through something like that.”

I hadn’t thought about that yet. Would it really be that bad?

Please don’t tell me there’d be people trying to hunt me because I was seen as an alpha trophy now.

“I’ll be careful. Thanks for the advice. Has Velariah told you why we’re here?”

“To pick up your new armor. I also heard you want to commission something for Draco, correct?”

He looked at the lizardman who nodded in response.

“And I was told there were special circumstances when it comes to the design, correct?”

“It has to have elastic straps that can support my second form,” Draco replied.

“Let’s have a look inside to find something you like that we can reference to then, shall we?” Dworag suggested.

Draco then looked at Velariah, then at me.

“Go for it,” I said.

“We’ll be back in a bit,” The dwarf promised before walking inside with Draco in tow.

I was left outside with the others.

“Damn, El. You seem to have it tough,” Seralyn commented with a neutral expression, her arms crossed.

“Maybe. I don’t know, honestly. At least I know I should be able to gather strength more quickly than usual, so that should help to deter anyone from trying to hunt me to put on their wall as a trophy.”

It made me a bit more hesitant to leave Dawnleaf, knowing that we could be followed by assassins or the like. Then again, I do wish them luck in trying to keep up. Perhaps we should do a few more rounds in Arch’s dungeon before heading out?

Maybe we could borrow some of the soldiers to guard the entrance?

“It’s alright, Seralyn,” Velariah spoke. “We will be able to deal with whoever tries to attack her. I doubt there are many people around here who would actually try it. There’s probably going to be severe punishment for that human bastard, if not straight-up execution. It will most likely happen in public too.”

Ouch. That sounded like a great deterrent for anyone who dared to even think of doing something to me. I could see why this used to be a thing back on Earth as well.

“She’s tough,” Nira spoke softly. “We’ll be fine.”

“I hope you’re right,” Seralyn answered, slightly skeptical.

I looked at the closed door of Dworag’s shop.

I hoped we could do something soon. I hated wasting time doing nothing. Sure, there was strength training we could do at home, but Corium would be far more precious.

Valtheril had better get to the bottom of this quickly…

I hated this feeling of not being able to help with something that mainly involved me…