The elf was walking toward them. Jeremy put Atticus down, and she wound around his feet, watching the elf approach with a couple more meows. He looked at her, then glanced between Jeremy and Zanie.
“Good Morning,” he said.
There was a beat of silence, then Zanie smiled and said, “Morning.”
The elf nodded seriously as though she had gotten the answer correct on a test or something. “I trust that I find you well?”
Zanie glanced at Jeremy, her friendly smile talking on a hint of incredulity. The guy talked like the start of a work email. Jeremy cleared his throat.
“We’re doing okay,” he said, “And you?”
“I am well,” the elf looked over his shoulder at the scorched spot in the middle of the circle again, then turned back and said, “I have been traveling.”
Jeremy had to suppress a snort because that was really not the reaction he should have when first meeting an elf. But it kind of went without saying that the elf had been traveling. He must have gotten here from somewhere, and Jeremy doubted he simply materialized when the magic suppression spell lifted. Hadn’t there been a delegation of elves meeting with the president a couple of weeks ago? He had assumed at the time that they came through one of the gates. In any case, it was funny to hear the elf state the obvious so plainly.
Although he did not look as though he had been traveling. When Jeremy and his friends moved from place to place, they were laden with bags – the duffle, gym back, various backpacks, and Zanie’s bag. And on top of all those straps crisscrossing their shoulders and chests were slung their M4s. This elf stood there with nothing except the shirt on his back. Or at least, that was how it appeared.
He had an overlay with four rings and had a light blue color, as though he were close to tipping into his next level. This, more than anything else, was what stunned and impressed Jeremy. It was neat to talk to a creature that was not human, was from another plane of existence likely, and was intelligent enough to speak with them. The dryad had spoken, but she seemed to have her own agenda in that kind of old Gaelic fey fashion. This elf spoke relatively normally, exchanging pleasantries, which humanized him enormously. The fact that he was so powerful was most interesting.
He continued to speak, expanding his explanation for why he had been traveling. “I am seeking out pocket dimensions. Did you happen to see a portal there at any point?”
He gestured toward the circle with one of his arms. There were several bracelets on his wrists of various materials, some colorfully woven and others incorporating metal or crystals. Jeremy immediately zeroed in on the crystals and wondered if they contained mana or had enchantments. There was also a cord around the elf’s neck, which disappeared beneath the collar of his shirt. He blinked at them expectantly.
“Um, yes?” Zanie answered. “Are you talking about the dungeon?”
“Dungeon?” the elf repeated.
“That is what we have been calling the areas through the portals,” Jeremy explained. The elf still seemed confused by this but decided to accept it and move on. The specifics of vernacular apparently did not concern him. Jeremy wondered how exactly he was managing to communicate with them. It wasn’t as if elves spoke English, right? Yet, here he was, talking to them in a perfect American accent.
“There was a dungeon here?”
“Yes,” Jeremy said. “We cleared it out a couple of days ago.”
“Oh.” The elf nodded. “And it disappeared after?”
“Yes.”
The elf looked between them a few times, his expression unreadable. “Do you mind telling me about the experience? I am gathering information about the…dungeons.”
Jeremy opened his mouth to answer, but Zanie beat him to it. “Sure, but do you mind telling us a little about yourself? I mean, I’m sorry…” She laughed a little and looked at Jeremy again, who raised his eyebrows at her. “I just have never met an elf before!”
“Of course. How remiss of me.” The elf held his hand out toward her for her to shake. “My name is Hazel. I am with a delegation of other representatives and scientists who came through what your countrymen have been calling ‘gates.’ As I said, I am studying the phenomenon of these dungeons that have appeared all over your world.”
“I’m Zanie,” she told him as she shook his hand, “And that’s Jeremy.”
The elf, Hazel, held out his hand for Jeremy to shake. He frowned at it for a beat, then decided that if Atticus had been hanging out with the elf and seemed no worse for the wear, he was probably okay. So, he shook hands with him.
“Our world?” He asked once he got his hand back. “Do you not have dungeons where you are from?”
“No, we do not. We suspect they resulted from the lifting of the spell which closed your world off from the others, but we do not understand them yet.”
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.
Jeremy looked over his shoulder at the spot where the dungeon entrance had hung in the air and scratched his chin. If they were from that, then how come one had popped up randomly here less than a week ago? It would probably be a good idea to talk to his elf about all he knew about the dungeons since he had been studying them.
“We watched as the one that was over there formed during a storm just a few days ago,” Jeremy told the elf.
Hazel’s eyebrows shot up. “You watched it form?”
“Yes, and then we managed to clear it, and it collapsed in on itself,” Jeremy said.
“So, you’ve seen the entire life cycle?” Hazel stepped forward eagerly. “Do you mind giving me as much detail as possible?”
“Sure, why don’t you come inside and we can all sit down where it’s a little cooler.” Jeremy could feel the sweat beading on his back just from standing beside the cars. The air shimmered around them with heat, something Jeremy was never going to be able to look at the same way again now that he associated it with how mana looked.
“Do you want something to drink?” Zanie asked, leading the elf toward the garage. She stepped past him and hurried over to the little fridge that Henry had in one corner to pull down a paper cup from the stacks on top of the appliance. She plucked the pitcher of lemonade Julie mixed up from them out of the fridge and poured a cup, then walked it back over to the elf.
Hazel was one hundred percent focused on Caleb, who was just finishing up with the guns. He had both hands braced on the edge of the workbench, brows furrowed, and a bead of sweat dripping down the back of his neck as he concentrated. When they came into the garage, he threw a quick glance over his shoulder, nodded at the new arrival, and said ‘Hey, ‘sup,” before turning back around. That was how incredibly ordinary this elf looked with a quick glance.
“You are able to command spatial magic so well?” Hazel asked, tone clearly impressed. “You must be powerful mages.”
“Well, thank you.” Caleb started haughtily, letting the gun sink back down to the workbench now that it was fully reassembled again. He spun around and put a hand on his chest like he was going to start an acceptance speech or something. Then he finally caught sight of Hazel’s ears and the color drained out of his face.
Hazel did not notice and asked, “How did you accomplish such advanced magic in the few weeks since the return of magic to your world?”
“It’s his unique personality trait,” Zanie said dismissively, holding out the lemonade.
“His what?” Hazel took the cup with a grateful nod. As he sipped it, he made a face like he had not been expecting something sour-sweet like lemonade and lowered the cup away from his mouth.
“His unique personality trait,” Zanie repeated. “He’s able to do spatial magic right off the bat, even though the rest of us cannot.”
Hazel nodded in understanding. “His gift.”
It seemed like he used the same term as the council. Jeremy wondered exactly how much contact the council managed to have with elves since they were apparently exploring the world if any at all. If any members were involved in the upper echelons of politics, then they might have while the elves visited DC.
“Okay, um,” Caleb held his hands out apologetically, “Is nobody else wondering how he is speaking English? I mean, how are you speaking our language?”
He asked the last question of the elf directly. Hazel smiled and said, “I’ve cast a constant spell that creates the illusion I am speaking your language. Anyone that I spoke to would hear their own tongue.”
Jeremy really wanted to see that spell. And perhaps the elf could read the expressions on their faces because he chuckled and said, “I can show it to you if you want, but it is rather advanced, and sustaining it constantly requires practiced mental strength and a large enough mana pool.”
Oh, yeah. Jeremy really needed to pick this guy’s brain. He gestured to the folding chairs so that they could all take a seat. “How about I tell you a little about the dungeon and you can answer some of the questions we have about magic since you are so practiced at it?”
Hazel looked at the folding chair curiously, then lowered himself into it slowly as though he were not sure it would actually support him. Then he relaxed into it and immediately found the cupholder to set aside his lemonade. They would have to get him water or something since he did not seem to like it.
“How do you know I am practiced at magic?” Hazel asked.
Jeremy looked at his overlay, then shrugged, “You’re an elf, right?”
Hazel chuckled. “Not all elves practice magic. But I suppose humans would not necessarily know that after so many generations have passed.”
“Your world used to have contact with ours?” Zanie asked, pulling up a folding chair to sit beside him. She leaned forward with her elbows on her knees, giving the elf one hundred percent of her attention.
“A very long time ago, yes,” Hazel told her. “This world connected many. But then the gates closed. It was also a long time ago for us. Not many who remember the events are still alive and it has passed into legend even for us.”
“So what’s the legend?” Caleb asked, pulling up another one of the folding chairs on Hazel’s other side. Jeremy watched with amusement as both he and Zanie crowded the elf with rapt attention, but he did not seem to mind. He just smiled.
“Well, you must first understand an even more ancient legend.” He sounded as if he had already told this to several people, launching into a rehearsed story. “This world is at a meeting point of sorts between other worlds. In our language, the word for it was literally meeting hall. But it was also unstable because of this and because of the constant wars and conflicts that raged between worlds at the time. Then, a human learned to use magic and taught it to his fellow people, and together, they built the gates in order to prevent this world from being torn apart, for no such great meeting place could ever remain stable for long.”
“The humans also became great mediators,” Hazel continued. “It was quite surprising to come here and learn about your proclivities for war, given that in our legends, your kind are pacifists.”
Caleb snorted.
Zanie had an incredulous look on her face as well. “So why were the gates closed off?”
“We do not know.” Hazel shook his head. “All we knew was that the gate closed, and this world was never heard from again. In our stories, it became known as the lost world and a fable about not focusing on being the mediator between others so much that you forget to defend yourself. It was always assumed that another world destroyed it or unbalanced the spell that created the gates.”
“The gates were created by a spell?” Jeremy said.
“Supposedly, according to legend,” Hazel said. “But now it seems like your world was not destroyed but simply cut off somehow.”
“Well,” Caleb glanced at Jeremy, who shrugged and made a go-ahead gesture, “we actually know how. It was a spell cast by these people who call themselves the council.”
“This is news. I cannot imagine a spell so powerful that it would close the gates, but if one could create them, I suppose such a thing could exist.” Hazel shook his head and sat forward in his seat. “Tell me of it.”