Morrigan tapped her foot furiously as she listened to my story. I have seen a lot of emotions briefly flash in her eyes as my story progressed, anger, worry, and disgust. Lily on the other hand was examining Elandris’s face. I was pretty sure he was preparing lines for his cringy flirting.
“Let us help.”
She said, her words sounding more like an order instead of an offer. Elandris looked at Morrigan for a second.
“I am thankful for your offer, Morrigan Blackclaw. However, this is not an offer I can accept nor it is needed.”
Morrigan’s feline ears perked up. She puffed her chest, reminiscent of a cat trying to make herself look bigger.
“This is not something that only affects you. We also benefit from the blessings of the Mother Tree. It is only natural we would help you take it down.”
Elandris wasn’t intimated by her. His face remained cold and emotionless.
“We have long held traditions just as you do and they were held for a long time because they were necessary. That’s why we can’t accept your help.”
Truth to be told, I was on Morrigan’s side. While a lot of people coming inside the forest could stir up the elementals and the spirits inside the forest, Nidhogg chewing its way through the Mother Tree sounded much much worse. Still, I watched silently from the sidelines. I had two reasons for that:
1- If I were to listen to both of their arguments I could have an easier time finding the middle way.
2- Morrigan needed experience negotiating with other people.
“You yourself said that you don’t have any resistance against Nidhogg’s poison. Will you be okay with throwing your people’s lives for the sake of upholding traditions?”
Good point, Morrigan. Elandris clearly cared about his people, especially his juniours just like all good seniors did. If we make him think that allying with us can lessen the lives lost, he would be more willing.
“It is correct that Nidhogg’s poison is super effective on us but that doesn’t mean that other races are immune. Will you be okay with throwing your people’s lives for our battle?”
Damn. Elandris parried it quite nicely. His voice was steady and calm, just like his posture. His parry was quite sharp, calling Morrigan’s leadership in the question. For a second I was afraid of Morrigan flashing her teeth but she remained collected.
“This is not just your battle. Our people have been allies for more than 20 years. You are our neighbors. We have no second thoughts helping you, just like you wouldn’t have if we were in trouble.”
Hah. I smiled. If Elandris denied it, he would deny that Elves wouldn’t help the beastkin in case of trouble. But my smile faded when Lily spoke up. If he fucks this up I am going to punch him.
“If what you worry about is people pissing off elementals, I can help. I am an elementalist after all.”
Huh. He sounded sensible. A nice change of pace. Though I was sure he did it only to get closer to elves.
“If only elves can fully understand elementals and spirits, then perhaps we can form a small, elite group. A group of elves can accompany us to make sure we don’t cause a ruckus. Isn’t that the best outcome for both of the groups?”
Lily's unexpected intervention brought a glimmer of hope. His proposal to form a small, elite group comprised of elves and our party seemed like a reasonable compromise. I refrained from showing too much enthusiasm, not wanting to overshadow Lily's rare intelligent moment. Morrigan, still maintaining her composed demeanor, considered the suggestion. Her tail flicked side to side, a sign of her contemplation. Elandris, on the other hand, remained stoic, carefully weighing the potential benefits and risks.
"I understand your concerns, Elandris," Morrigan spoke, choosing her words carefully. "The elementals and spirits within the forest are indeed sensitive to disturbances. Lily's proposal of a small, elite group makes sense. We can work together without causing undue harm to the delicate balance."
Elandris looked at Lily, his sharp eyes scanning him head to toe.
“What you do is pretty dangerous. Drawing power from the elemental plane directly burns oneself.”
I frowned. But before I could ask what he meant, he continued.
“You never told me you knew an elementalist.”
“I never had the chance. I also didn’t think it was worth to speak off.”
Elandris smiled, hearing my words.
“The last human elementalist known died a hundred years ago.”
I never thought much about Lily’s powers. Just like me, he had a Spark and connection to a Star. I figured out that his powers just had to do with that, just like mine were.
“What suggest is logical. I also would like to learn more about you. Poyraz, as a Guardian of Forest is also welcome. However, that’s all. Even though I find borrowing your strength to be the sensible thing, others may not think like that.”
Well, it was better than nothing I suppose. Lily was quite happy. That bastard has been wanting to meet with elves since he heard that they lived here. He made his way to Elandris.
“I also would like to learn more about you. Preferably with a bottle of wine.”
I facepalmed before turning to Morrigan. She didn’t look that happy.
“I am relying too much on you.”
She said with a disappointed tone.
“You have your own responsibilities. What if other beastkin groups arrive and you aren’t there?”
I laughed and smacked her shoulder.
“Good luck on boring, long political talks.”
She sighed to stop herself from smiling. Morrigan's frustration seemed to dissipate with that. Lily, still beaming with excitement, continued his attempts at charming Elandris.
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“Plus, you guys have the Regal and Grizzon problem. Any leads?”
Even though a lot happened since I entered the dungeon, I still remember our talk before. Morrigan clicked her tongue.
“No. It is almost like they vanished in thin air. It is highly that they teleported. Maybe Ama could have tracked their teleport but she wasn’t with me.”
I narrowed my eyes.
“I thought beastkin mages capable of teleporting were rare.”
My first experiences with teleportation actually warped my perception of it. Blanche who was the first person capable of teleporting not only teleported herself but a group of people too. Ama could teleport herself too. However, from what I learned later, teleporting was not only a difficult magic to acquire but it was also a human structured magic. While beastkin started to incorporate their magic into it, since their magic capabilities were lower than humans, teleportation was a rare magic to have.
“Regal must have human “friends” that can teleport. Or maybe they have some kind of item. Who knows? I have no intention of chasing after them for now. After you guys return and we talk with other beastkin groups, maybe then we can hunt them down.”
I added my thoughts, "I agree. Chasing them down now is an unnecessary risk.”
I stretched my body, my joints popping loudly.
“There goes my vacation. I guess that’s what I deserve for not sitting my ass down and resting. Take some of the items before you go. Give stat-boosting crystals to Arslan and Nocturna.”
A warm smile blossomed on Morrigan’s face. I furrowed. Not that I didn’t like her smile, it was pretty but I wasn’t sure why she smiled.
“Does something matter?”
I asked. She looked at Lily, who was too busy flirting with Elandris.
“Lily told us that Arslan reminds you of your younger self.”
I paused for a second. I touched my chin and lamented my lack of beard.
“Hmm. I guess you can say that. Except I had less talent than him and was much angrier. I was also much better looking than him.”
Morrigan's smile persisted, despite the surprise in her eyes. I guess she expected me to deny it? Arslan did remind me myself, I guess? I really didn’t think about it too much as I had too much shit on my plate already.
“I can’t think you of less than a genius. You learned Mana Manipulation in record time and your growth since I first met you is simply massive.”
This time it was my turn to smile though my smile was somewhat bittersweet.
“I always thought that talent is an overrated term. It is no doubt that some people are born with greater capacity than others but it isn’t everything. In the end, we do not stay the way we were born. I was born with talent slightly above average, at least that’s what I want to believe. I have seen many people learn faster than me and surpass me in a short amount of time.”
And then they died. But I wasn’t going to say it. Morrigan paused briefly her golden, feline gaze fallen in contemplation.
“Was he one of those people?”
She asked while looking at Lily.
“He does have the talent. But his lack of discipline and mindset will kill me one day.”
She gave me an understanding nod.
“I don’t really get how you are best friends. It always looks like he does whatever he wants and you trying to make him focus on what’s important.”
I shrugged.
“It is a little of a balancing act. Life is pretty dull if you live like me, at least when I am not getting involved in some massive battle. We also bled together enough times to have enough of a bond.”
Morrigan raised an eyebrow, a hint of curiosity in her eyes. "What made you two become friends in the first place?"
I winced remembering the not-so-pleasant days of super soldier trials.
“We both were selected for the training camp of super soldier trials. Nothing like a month of soul-crushing training to bond over.”
Morrigan looked away, seemingly ashamed of bringing up unpleasant memories.
“It is okay. You have the right the be curious about our past life.”
I reassured her. At that point, Lily finally extricated himself from his attempts at charming Elandris and joined us. He wore a satisfied grin, evidently pleased with the progress of his interactions.
“We are going there to kill a super dangerous dragonic monster. Not to get laid, Lily.”
He grinned even more.
“I can do both at the same time. Plus, what is the point of killing a dragon if you are getting a prince or princess?”
I would be lying if I said a part of me didn’t agree with him. Still, one of us had to think bigger than just getting into someone’s pants. First of those things were the items. Even though my bag of holding was big, it couldn’t carry all the stuff, I also did not need all of it. Firstly, I pulled the Reckless Charge skill book.
“I think this skill will suit Arslan though if he finds it too dangerous to use, give it to someone else.”
I took the items I gave to Elandris back. I gave the Crown of Storm Beast to Morrigan to give it to Amaterasu while I gave the Thunderhoof Hide Cloak to Lily. I also gave the Nidhogg’s Reckoning Blade to Morrigan as not only it would be useless against the Nidhogg, but it also wasn’t a good idea to bring it to where elves lived.
“Eluton will have a lot of work to do.”
She inspected the Cloak of Shadows and the blade.
“Good. It is better to work than gather dust.”
I answered. Then I looked back at Elandris.
“Are you sure it is okay for me to take it all like this?”
He nodded.
“It is a tradition to gift the new Guardian of Forest so don’t worry about it. I also got the parts and the potions, remember?”
The group of twenty beastkin had already stripped the useful parts of the hydra. They also took the drops that weren’t useful, mana stones and golds, and headed back to Whifur. Morrigan looked at me with serious eyes.
“Be safe, both of you.”
I waved my hand.
“You too.”