The sky raged with rumbles and flashes of lightning, though it didn't bother Jered and Evelyn one bit. Still, he had his 'Mana Sense' pushed out to the limits. The world around him was blurred by a thick sheet of rain, and the pattering of raindrops against the leaves made it hard to strain his hearing. Evelyn couldn't offer any help at the moment, so she stuck close to Jered.
Something tickled his 'Mana Sense', standing on the very edge of it.
He slowed down to a stop, prompting a concerned frown to twist Evelyn's face, "What's the matter?"
"Something or someone is ahead of us," Jered said emotionlessly, ignoring the sudden jerk on her expression, "I think it's waiting for us. It isn't moving."
"And you want to move towards it... right?"
He flashed a smile at her, and she rolled her eyes with a rueful sigh.
"I don't think this is a good idea."
"I know, but I'm tired of running away..."
"..."
Evelyn didn't know how to respond. He was right. In fact, she was tired too, but that was the fate of those at the bottom of the food chain. They couldn't act rashly. They didn't have the power to. Jered's smile turned into a soft one as he nudged her arm, "Are you scared?"
She wasn't scared, just wary, "No..."
He wiggled his eyebrows knowingly, "Hmhm!"
"I'm not..."
"Oooh-kay..."
"I'm not!"
If she were ten years younger, she would have defended her point by pouting and stomping the ground. Then again, if the circumstances were more comfortable, she would have probably done it anyway.
"I'm just horsing around. The fact that you have been holding my arm ever since we stepped foot in here doesn't mean anything at all. You could probably release it and not feel anything. Correct?"
"..."
Evelyn had a reasonable comeback at the tip of her tongue. She knew she had. But taking into consideration Jered's age, she decided to let him have the win anyway.
"Whatever," she turned her head around, cracking an eye open to glare at him when he thought she wasn't watching, "I'll keep holding your arm, but it's not because I'm scared."
"It's because you want to protect me."
Despite the veiled jab at her, she still smiled, "Yes, undoubtedly."
Since Jered was so adamant about meeting that shady entity, Evelyn couldn't do anything but tag along. She tightened her grip on his arm, and prayed that no fighting would ensue. With bated breath—mostly her—they slowly shortened the gap between them. Through the curtain of water, the mist, and the dense, swaying foliage, a silhouette clothed in a black cape with the hood on walked towards them.
Jered's 'Mana Sense' told him that there was no one else in a 50-meter radius. Whether he could trust that information remained to be seen. Magicians of a higher level could easily bypass it, so he just assumed that there were more people around them. And they were most likely stronger too.
The fact that they didn't attack denoted that a 'conversation' was on the list. They had sent someone to greet them, after all. An Elder-Tier one too.
Evelyn noticed it too, and felt her shoulders loosen up a bit. With Jered there, he could at least guarantee their survival, no matter what happened, "I believe there are more of them skulking around. Be careful," he warned, and she mentally rebuked herself for not using her head in such a delicate situation.
The entity took the last few steps towards them, leaving just a bit of room between them in case Jered and Evelyn tried anything funny.
"What is your purpose of coming into our home, humans?"
A refined, womanly voice tinkled out.
Jered exchanged a glance with Evelyn, mouthed out a low 'Let me take care of this', and faced the hooded woman. He cleared his throat, choosing his words carefully, "Greetings, entity of unknown origin. We are lost travelers from the far lands of the North. Due to a most unfortunate event, we found ourselves in quite the pinch and without provision. We thought that venturing inside this lovely forest would solve our problem. I would like to extend our apology for intruding on your property. It was not our intention, believe me. If our presence here is not welcome, we'll turn around and leave."
"..."
"..."
Evelyn didn't know how to feel about his speech. It was not bad, it was just too dramatic. Though, from the way his lips were curled up into a mischievous smile, she reasoned he had done it on purpose. Well, as long as they managed to avoid conflict, it didn't matter. The hooded woman could easily see through his sugar-coated nonsense, but didn't seem to mind it too much, "I'm afraid you'll have to come with me first."
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"Oh, really?"
"Yes, really."
"Hmhm," Jered hummed thoughtfully, "Fine, but no handcuffs."
The woman blinked behind the veil of her hood, "Hand... coughs?"
Evelyn whispered, "Jered... they don't have that here."
"Oh..." he coughed, "I mean: no restraint."
She shook her head, "You'll be treated as guests. No harm will come to you as long as you show the appropriate amount of respect. However, I can't guarantee that everyone will be respectful to you. Humans don't really have a good reputation of being friendly with our kin."
Jered didn't know which race she belonged to, so he didn't know how bad the situation was.
Humans were allied only with a few minor races in Archiland. And they used them mostly for resources and labor, so it wasn't surprising that they had enemies even in such a backwater place.
"That's understandable. We'll adhere to your words... for as long as no one crosses the line."
She nodded, "I'll do anything to avoid such a situation."
Evelyn piped in, "Where are we going exactly?"
"We're going to Helgrind. It's the core of this forest, and the place we reside."
She nodded, "I see."
"Come along, then. My father wishes to speak to you both."
The woman turned around, leaving her back completely unprotected. It further solidified Jered's theory that there were more of them laying in ambush. One wrong move, and a barrage of spells would be heading their way. It was either that, or she was irredeemably stupid for exposing herself to an underhanded attack. But Jered preferred to believe that she had come prepared.
Surely, their arrival had been long noticed by them.
Jered and Evelyn followed her at a safe distance.
"She's not luring us into a trap, is she?"
"We're already inside the trap, Evelyn."
She groaned, "The forest?"
He nodded, "Uh-huh," he beckoned at the crooked faces carved on the trees, "I believe they've been watching us through the trees, that's why I didn't sense anyone or anything. The fact that she greeted us so calmly reinforces my point. We're most likely surrounded. They prepared themselves to meet us. In hindsight, you were right. It may not have been a good idea setting foot here, but I can't deny that I'm quite curious about this place."
"I don't sense any malice from her, so it should be fine... maybe," Evelyn muttered, not really trusting her words, "What do you think her father wants to speak to us about?"
Jered shrugged, "How would I know? He might be curious about us. I don't think this place is a hotspot for human tourists."
"Duh."
"You can hold onto me if you're scared."
"I'm not scared!"
----------------------------------------
Something rippled in front of them, probably a barrier of some kind.
In fact, a clearing opened up right after, and in the middle, a tree. But it was not just any tree. It looked like a pillar that sprouted out of the ground to hold the sky from falling. In one of Kendra's adventures, he mentioned the majesty of Yggdrasil, the world's tree. Apparently, it was born from a seedling that the World's Spirit herself cultivated into adulthood. The fruits it bore could achieve miracles, for they contained a drop of divine power.
It was a captivating tale.
And he couldn't help but think of it when Helgrind came within sight. Contrary to Yggdrasil, though, Helgrind's bark was black. A heap of red leaves was strewn around the complex array that was Helgrind's roots. The branches overhead were like a thick canopy that seemed to stretch all over the forest—then again, it probably did, and the barrier just concealed it.
Then he took notice of the quaint houses occupying every inch of the clearing, as if someone had shoehorned a small city in such a cramped space, and somehow managed to make it fit. A smattering of people filed out of their dwellings and stared at them, specifically Jered and Evelyn. He stared back at them, a pleasant smile on his face. The denizens of the forest had a striking appearance.
Pale skin. Black eyes with no pupils or sclera. And very delicate features.
They reminded him of Elves, or their evil counterpart, the Dark Elves.
Except that they weren't.
He didn't know a lot about the more unknown races in Archiland, but he was pretty sure he could recognize a Dark Elf when he saw one. He nudged Evelyn with his elbow, looking for advice, "I don't know either," she mouthed out, easily figuring out what he was thinking.
"I'm disappointed in you."
"Oh, whatever."
The folks around them began to inch closer, breaking into hushed murmurs among each other.
Jered could faintly make out words like 'Fucking humans', 'The worst race out there', 'Should we spit on them?'
Luckily, the hooded woman stared them down, her mana flaring up as a warning.
"They're guests here, and they shall be treated as such!" she said when a particularly daring man got a bit too close.
Of course, Jered was not intimidated. Most of them were Neophyte Tier, with some of them barely making it into Adept Tier. If push came to shove, 'Pharaoh's Flame' could fix the issue.
They finally made it out of the encircling throng, and headed towards a narrow pathway that led to a lavish mansion.
"I apologize for that," the woman began, "They're not bad people, they just have a bone to pick with humans. We've had a lot of bad history with you people, after all. Nothing recent, but the scars of the past are still fresh."
Evelyn wanted to ask 'What scars?' but it could have been a sensitive question. She decided to sideline it for later.
After that, there wasn't much discussion.
The mansion up close was even more magnificent. While it was not a modern masterpiece, it was still something that would sell for an inflated price in the human plane. The hooded woman walked up to the main entrance door, and held a hand over a magic circle engraved on the handle. After a drawn-out beep of confirmation, the door unlocked and opened by itself.
She ushered them inside, following right behind them.
A chandelier with bright, white orbs instead of candles lit up.
"Let's not make father wait any longer," the woman said, pulling her hood down.
It was Jered's first time seeing another race's devastating beauty so up close. It was the dark kind of beauty, the one that tempted you to sell your soul with a coy curl of her lips, a captivating flutter of her eyelashes, and a knife on your throat. There was no innocence on that delicate face, and no innocence should there ever be. She was made of sin, to sin.
She bounced her wet hair around, running her slender fingers through her black chocks for good measure. She pointed at the door ahead of them, the one up the stairs, "Remember, you must address him as 'my Lord'. It's imperative that you do so for in this place, he's your superior."
Jered nodded, not bothered by it, "That's fine."
He walked past her, Evelyn right behind him.
The woman followed them with her eyes.
"My father is a reasonable man. Do not lie to him."
Only a fool would dare to in such a situation, and Jered was certainly no fool. Well, sometimes.
A red, imposing door was in front of them.
Jered's hand loaded up to knock, but it was not necessary.
"Come in, guests."
A deep voice rumbled from inside. The clank of the latch being unlocked rang out, then the door creaked open.
"Ominous," Jered chuckled, staring at the maw of darkness where the voice had come from. He wondered if the room was naturally dark, or if it was just for the theatrics. He glanced back at the woman, who met his gaze with her vantablack eyes. And then he turned around, nudging an apprehensive Evelyn, "It's not too late to hold onto me."
"..."
"Your loss."
With a helpless smile, he stepped inside.
Not wanting to be left behind, Evelyn tailed right behind him.
And once the veil of darkness swallowed them both, the door slammed shut.