“Kael, I don’t want to hear one of your jokes,” Elron grumbled, poking the fire with a stick, his face set in a tired scowl.

Maris, seated between them on a log, flashed a teasing smile. “Oh please, do tell. I love a good joke.”

Kael's eyes gleamed as he leaned in. “So, there was this northern elf, okay? His wife had left to the village to sell their leftover crops from the summer…”

Slyra rolled her eyes, cutting in with a warning. “Your holy ears will bleed, sister. You don’t want to hear this.”

Kael ignored her and carried on. “He was a shepherd, right? So one day, early in the fall, he took his flock up into the mountains to graze...”

Elron stared into the flames, the hollow gaze masking his thoughts. How can he be so chipper after eating a man?

“It started getting cold,” Kael continued, “so naturally, he did what any of us would do—he huddled with the sheep.”

Maris, fully engaged now, asked, “What happened next?”

Kael grinned. “Well, he got a little too warm between the sheep, so he took his favorite one to the edge of a cliff...”

Slyra groaned, shaking her head. “I already know where this is going.”

“He glances over his shoulder, just to make sure his wife isn’t around, because what he’s about to do... well, no one should see it,” Kael said with a mischievous smirk.

Elron’s mind wandered again. How could someone who just revealed himself to be a shapeshifting monster tell a joke so casually?

Maris, intrigued, asked, “Does he... murder the sheep?”

Kael shook his head. “Worse. He has his way with the sheep! Pushes right up against it, and they do this awkward dance on the cliff edge, one wrong move, and it's game over.”

“That’s disgusting, Kael,” Sylra spat, wrinkling her nose. “How is that even a joke?”

“Wait, wait, the best part’s coming,” Kael said, barely holding back laughter. “As he’s in the middle of it, his wife shows up, sees what’s going on, and yells, ‘You stupid elf, get behind the sheep, not on the edge of the cliff!’”

The group fell silent for a moment before Kael delivered the punchline with a gleam in his eye. “And out of sheer panic, the elf leaps straight off the cliff.”

Elron, lost in his own thoughts, let out an unexpected chuckle. The sound of it made Kael light up.

“See? My best bud gets it! He always has my back,” Kael said, patting Elron on the shoulder with a triumphant grin.

“He wasn’t even listening, and that ‘joke’ was just an insult to northern elves,” Slyra said with a frown.

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Maris shrugged, “Yeah, that was rather crude.”

Kael waved them off dismissively, “Bah, you two just don’t appreciate good humor. That’s alright, I’ll teach you the ways of it.”

As Slyra was about to snap back, however, she stopped as she noticed a dwarf with ashen grey skin approaching the group. His gait was unusually graceful for a dwarf, and Elron immediately sensed his strong presence.

“You there, high elf with the sword. I need a word with you,” said the dwarf, his voice gravelly but firm.

Elron turned toward him, his eyes tired and ringed with dark circles. “My commanding officer said our squad could take our time in the mornings.”

The dwarf let out a low hum, his expression unreadable beneath his thick beard. “Your commanding officer has gone missing. You’ll take his position until he’s found.”

Elron groaned, rubbing his temples. “Until then, what?”

“Until I say so,” the dwarf grumbled, clearly uninterested in further discussion.

Too exhausted to argue, Elron nodded in reluctant agreement and turned his attention back to the fire. The dwarf lingered for a moment, seeming to assess Elron, before sauntering off, apparently satisfied.

Kael clapped. “Well, look at that! You’re a sergeant now!”

Slyra teased, “Oh, look at you! Big shot in the woods.”

Elron sighed and turned to Maris, “How many soldiers does this add to our group?”

Maris tapped her chin thoughtfully, “Roughly ninety.”

Elron groaned louder this time. “Gather them up, Maris. Send them all out hunting.”

Maris stood up without hesitation and went to collect the troops for the hunting expedition. After the last battle, the army had lost many of their pack mules. With so many dead, they had no way to carry essential supplies. The army was now forced to hunt for food more frequently just to survive. The whole situation made no sense to Elron. Why hadn’t they retreated back to the kingdom? Instead, they kept pushing further into enemy territory, seemingly without end.

“Does anyone know where we’re even going?” Elron asked, frustration creeping into his voice.

Kael chuckled, “You’re the leader now, you should know.”

Slyra smirked, “Since you’re so important now, maybe you should attend their officer meetings and find out.”

Elron groaned internally at the thought. The last thing he wanted was to sit through meetings and, worse, potentially hear from his brother. No way was he dealing with that. As he mulled over the idea, three other sergeants—two fighters and a barbarian—approached while he slouched on his log.

“So, you’re the new guy, huh?” one of the humans said, sizing him up.

“You don’t look so tough,” sneered another.

“Oh, what do we have here?” said the third as he pulled Elron’s sword from its sheath.

Elron barely glanced at him, saying nothing.

The man held the sword up to the sun, admiring its dark, gleaming edge. “This thing looks wild. I think I’ll keep it.”

Elron smirked and said, “Go for it.”

One of the sergeants stepped up, clearly annoyed, “What’s with that smile?”

Before Elron could answer, the man holding the sword screamed as eerie, green flames ignited around his hands. He dropped the sword, scrambling to put out the magical fire, which stubbornly clung to his skin longer than it should have.

Elron couldn’t help but chuckle as he summoned the sword back to his hand in an instant.

“Damn you! What the hell was that?” the man growled, clutching his burnt hands to his chest.

Elron sheathed the sword with a smirk. “It clearly wasn’t yours to touch.” He stepped closer, his broad chest almost brushing against the sergeant’s. The tension in the air grew thick as the three exchanged uncertain glances. They hadn’t come here looking for a real fight.

One of the humans jabbed a finger into Elron’s chest, “You’d better watch your back, stick.”

Elron chuckled again, “Will do.” He waved them off dismissively.

Slyra sauntered over, hands on her hips. “You sure have a way of making friends.”

Elron scoffed, “I’m usually the nice guy! Everyone around here keeps testing me for some reason…”