Chapter 12: Kinship

Alexander and Nethaniel's next location was only a week-long journey away; however, it required taking a boat and then entering a very ominous forest. Most players would travel to different towns and cities via caravans, which moved at incredible speed due to magical enchantments. What the Elf and Half-Elf were doing was known commonly as Adventuring. Hiking by foot, off into the unknown to explore regions of the game where there were no clear quests or benefits, just mystery and possibility.

Neither of the young men felt very adventurous as they traversed the wood. Here, they were feasted upon by bugs and attacked every few feet by poisonous snakes or other creatures. The Mobs were luckily low-level, but they all possessed fighting Poison Attributes. This wasn't surprising given the forest's name, the Poison Wood, though the two friends hoped to find their next contact as soon as possible.

Ultimately, it wasn't them who found their contact but the contact that found them. Surrounded by Alexander's Mana Shield, the two were huddled together while walking through a sea of fire ants when a loud roar startled them. In a panic, Nathaniel called out, "Run!"

The next moment, a massive creature, a mix between an anteater and a bear, emerged and charged towards them. Letting out a yelp, Alexander didn't hesitate to turn and follow his friend who had first spotted the creature. Death in Eden wasn't permanent for the player but came with many repercussions. First, it wasn't a painless process, and one would feel as much as 80% of the pain as a normal person would, or even more, depending on the skills used. Additionally, after death, one would be logged out, and you couldn't log back in for a week, and when you did, you would be back at the most recent major city you visited. Additional one's levels, stats, and skill levels would drop slightly, and you would lose items at random and gold, the currency of Eden.

All in all, it was something everyone wanted to avoid as much as possible.

Luckily, both Alexander and Nathaniel knew skills that improved their movement. However, unluckily, this strange monster seemed to be at a much higher level than both of them and could still keep up. Given his unnaturally high stats for his level, Alexander knew he could have escaped if he wanted to, but abandoning his friend was out of the question. Sadly, his Hermits Tranquility could help him hide but wouldn't work on his companion, which left his bread-and-butter escape combo of Bonk and Drowsiness.

Calling his friend, Alexander shouted, "Big tree at 3'oclock, a hundred yards out. You bait, I'll strike!"

Nathaniel nodded quickly and blurted, "Fine!"

Like so, the Elf sped ahead and climbed the tree with monkey-like agility. His friend, leading the beast, soon passed underneath him, and as the monster followed, Alexander fell on him from above. With a decisive Bonk on the head, the beast froze up and stumbled where it stood in delirium. The Elf then slid off its body onto the ground and threw out a hand while shouting, "Sleep!"

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A puff of glittering sparkles appeared, which the beast inhaled in its daze and promptly slumped over asleep. A normal Drowsiness spell would only make a mob more sleepy, and it may take several minutes to fall asleep. However, the Drowsiness spell Alexander had just cast used up 500 points of Mana, ten times its base cost. Like so, the beast instantly passed out, allowing both youths to relax.

Alexander sighed deeply and called, "The things asleep, Nathaniel. You can come back now."

His friend emerged from a nearby bush with a disheartened expression and announced, "Great, just one problem." He held up an arm to reveal a snake biting into his body and finished, "I found a friend."

The Elf sighed and walked over. His loyalty to Elvish culture forbade him from killing a wild animal, so he grabbed its head with a hand. Having grown familiar with the following acts over the last few days, he pressed upon its jaw while removing it. Once detached from the Half-Elf's body, Alexander tossed it away before he brought out an antidote he had synthesized and added, "Hope this works, buddy."

As Nathaniel drank the potion, a stern voice called from behind them, "That was a Scarlet King Snake. A mere Lesser Potion scraped together from odds and ends won't save him."

Both youths turned around to see a tall and thin she-elf wearing dark green attire. Both young men grew excited and rushed over to her, asking in unison, "Are you Livian Elderwillow?"

The female blinked and evaluated the two youths like an animal, determining whether to flee or stay put. Ultimately, she crossed her arms and nodded, "Yes, I am she."

Both youths let out happy whoops before Alexander pleaded with her, "Big Sister, I was sent by Balin, the Master of the Mages guild in Camelot, to seek guidance from you regarding magic. My friend Nathaniel and I have been looking for you for days now. Would you please help us?"

Livian hesitated and remarked, "Balin is an old friend…" She then eyed his title, growing more at ease, but still crossed her arms, "But why should I help two foreigners who attack my beast companion?"

Alexander glanced at the sleeping beats, then put his hands up innocently, "Apologies, it attacked us first, and we were just trying to get away. I only used a Drowsiness spell, so it shouldn't be harmed."

The female Elf snorted at him and remarked, "As elves, we must strive to live in harmony with nature. I have no reason to teach you if you can't achieve even this much, even if you are my kin."

The young male Elf was unsure of what to say, but the next moment, a bright symbol appeared above his head. Seeing it, the woman instantly took a knee. Once the light faded, her eyes were filled with awe as she blurted, "You're blessed by Corellon!"

Alexander nodded and responded, "Ah, yeah."

In a flash, the she-elf was on her feet and grabbed his hands excitedly while blurting, "Why didn't you say so, little cousin!? We Elves have to stick together after all." Eyeing Nathaniel with slight scorn, she added, "Half breeds, too, I guess." She visibly suppressed her disaffection and turned back to Alexander before adding, "I have medicine at my home that can heal your friend, but we should hurry."

The male Elf nodded happily, "Of course, let go."

They all darted off, and as they moved through the woods, Livian commented happily to her Elf kin, "You have great running form. Who taught you."

Alexander responded honestly, "My mother did in the Green Mountains."

Crinkling her brow, the she-elf asked, "I thought foreigners had no parents in this world."

The youth let out a slightly sad sigh and answered, "That's mostly right, but we still have parents, and they can follow us here to Eden in special areas." He added in a more solemn voice, "My mother was very traditional and taught me as much as she could before she passed on."

Livian revealed a pitying look and commented, "My apologies, little cousin. If you need, you can consider my house yours."

Alexander smiled at this and nodded, "Thank you."

Nathaniel rolled his eyes at this, feeling sick as he slowly lost HP, hoping they made it to their guide's abode in time to save his life.