A few hours have passed since our conversation at the dining hall. In the meantime, having nothing important to do, I was aimlessly loitering around the inner caves. Checking out my drying clothes, and looking at the dwarfs going around like ants.

The metaphor was quite spot on, being underground and in tunnels. I couldn’t help but smile at the thought, kicking up my legs unconsciously while sitting on the side of a natural outcropping protruding from one wall.

It was a strange thing, brimming with energy like this. I have almost forgotten what it felt like to be young. The times when I had trouble with containing my energy. It was a struggle to sit in one place, having so much energy felt almost wasteful.

I also understood that I have grown used to many items of convenience. Among them one was my laptop. In times like these, I felt a strong urge to just open it up and spend my time surfing on the web, watching movies, or just reading some novels or news.

I was considered an old man, but I was a modern old man, at least. Well, I still disliked smartphones, like any old guy worth its salt. I mean, seriously, every damn icon was so small, and clicking on anything with my thick fingers was a pain in the… well. Anyway… Just who the hell thought that using your fingers to click on anything on a screen is a good idea? You literally cover your field of view with your finger, not even knowing what you are activating… I didn’t even mention writing a message, the autocorrect… ah… Let’s not go there.

I sighed, shooing away the disturbing thoughts.

Still, at least my half cast pyroblast worked as intended. Throwing a pair of heated rocks into my bucket of water has managed to warm it up.

It was not a real hot bath, since there were no bathtubs here, not yet at least, but it was the best I managed since coming here.

My ears twitched lightly. I think I have heard my name called just now. I focused my hearing, the echoes of my immediate surroundings quickly faded into the background. This elven hearing was extremely useful, even if I only started to grasp the top of the iceberg.

It was nothing short of magic, and I believed that it actually was. I mean… there is no way that the slight difference in my ears’ shape and length compared to human ears could make up that much of a difference.

I focused my mind. There, indeed; I caught my name somewhere a few chambers away from my current location. And if I am not mistaken, at least based on the voice, then it was Emrum who was currently searching for me.

I opened my eyes, dropping my hyper focus, while simultaneously pushing off the ledge, my feet touching the ground comfortably more than a meter below. I straightened up, brushing my black hairlocks out of my face.

I turned halfway back, looking up at the height from which I had just jumped off leisurely.

I have to give it to Lord Axis. The body of an elf was something else. My ears twitched again as I heard the familiar voice impatiently calling out my name.

I turned forward and started to walk into the direction of the sound, while fishing out my hairband from one of my pockets and putting my black locks into a simple tail.

I was getting the hang of it. In times like this, I felt that it was not so different. Being a woman, I mean.

~oOo~

A few minutes later.

“Ah, there you are, lass! I was searching for you all over this damn place. One would think that you can’t lose someone in an enclosed tunnel, haha!”

I smiled at him, waving towards Emrum in a friendly gesture. — “I know, I heard you shouting my name. You would have been searching for a while yet if I didn’t come in front of you.”

Emrum’s eyes widened a bit before he waved my words off. — “Aye, those ears of yours are sharp as ever, lass.”

I nodded with a smile. — “Why were you looking for me?” — I asked.

“Oh, well… I just remembered that I have taken you in the clan and all…” — He blushed like a torch at the memory of a certain encounter. I had a suspicion of what that might be, but thought it wiser to ignore it.

He coughed awkwardly, then continued. — “What I mean is that I didn’t have the right opportunity to tell you what being an honorable member of our clan entails. There are a few things you should know. The rules are quite straightforward, nothing unreasonable, I assure you. Hmm… why don’t we find an empty spot and talk it over, feel free to ask any questions after I explained the basics.”

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Oh, yeah… That was a thing that happened… I honestly forgot about it in all this chaos. More like… I tried my best to forget about it. The whole situation from start to the end was awkward.

Even so, I understood the necessity to talk this over, and nodded, signalling Emrum that it was alright.

He smiled at that and beckoned me over. — “Wonderful, now let’s find a nice spot and get this over with.”

~oOo~

Not long after, we found a silent place in the corner of a mostly empty chamber. Sitting down on the edge of a pair of boulders.

I looked at Emrum, waiting for him to start his explanation. I didn’t have to wait for long.

The man whetted his throat lightly while brushing his long red beard in a habitual way. — “As you know, the Dimhollow clan is a warrior clan. Meaning, our clan has provided skilled warriors to the dwarven armies for many generations. For which service we have received the noble clan status over five hundreds years prior to this day.”

“What you need to know about our clan members is this. They are straightforward in their approach, quite stubborn and can be pretty harsh with their words. So don’t take anything they say too seriously. They will mellow out in time, I promise you that. I am a bit of an exception regarding my manners, you see…”

I nodded, waiting for him to continue.

“You being a part of our clan… Where should I start… Ah! The ring, yes… The ring I gave you is enchanted, as you know. It is part of a system of enchanted items interconnected with one another. A bunch of rings and similar trinkets connected to an enchanted stone tablet.”

I nodded, furrowing my brows as I focused on the explanation. This was starting to sound like some sort of wireless connection created through magical items.

“Well, what matters is this. When you put on the ring, your name, race, gender, age and a few of your characteristics appearance wise, have been stored by the magic, and sent over to the tablet. Showcasing your addition to the clan for all to see… Ah, you see… The stone tablet is hanged over one of the walls of the main hall. It also serves as a tool to watch over the lives of the main branch members. If someone falls in battle, or dies in any other way, their name will darken, as if covered in black soot.”

I nodded, with a surprised expression. — “That’s quite a useful magical enchantment.” — I stated, my words filled with a genuine sense of awe. Every day, I seemed to learn something new about magic, even when I didn’t even try.

Emrum smiled at that, a sense of pride warming his expression. Before he continued his explanation. — “Yes well, thank you… but the thing is… When the elders noticed your unexpected addition to our family tree under my name, and saw your race and age, it caused a bit of a commotion. The sort that ended with flying tables and a few broken bones.” — Emrum stated with a grim expression.

I couldn’t help but chuckle at the joke. My laughter quickly stifled out when I saw his serious expression, though.

“You mean… that was not a joke? Seriously?” — I gulped.

He gulped and said, a bit of sweat covering his forehead. — “Aye… Regarding the current political situation with the elves… it’s not really that big of a surprise…”

We stayed silent for a bit, thinking through the things with complicated expressions.

I took a shaky breath and asked. — “So… they didn’t take it well?”

Emrum snorted. — “That’s one word for it… I just got a letter. We have been ordered back to the Kingdom, immediately. It is a first priority order, given by the authority of the king. Our clan elder wants to see you, and my wife is probably going to skin me alive.” — He added the last part in a whisper, probably not intended for me to hear, alas my elf ears were on autopilot now.

I blinked, processing the unexpected information, and asked. — “Why is that?”

His eyes widened slightly, surprised by my question. He cursed, then said eventually. — “I guess it’s high time for me to tell you this… I hoped that we could get to know each-other a bit better before, but that’s no longer an option. You remember me mentioning that your name appeared right under my own?”

I nodded silently, already expecting which way this conversation will go.

“It means that I have taken you as my adopted daughter, Selora. Without asking my wife. When she gets to know the story of why I exactly did this, there will be hell to pay. You being a smartypants can probably put together the rest…”

I stared at Emrum, imagining what my old wife would have done to me if I adopted a child out of the blue without even mentioning it to her. My face paled rapidly as cold shivers went through my body.

I slowly stepped over to the troubled dwarf and placed my soothing hand over his large shoulder. He looked up at me while I looked him in the eye with a sympathetic gaze that only those of married men could understand.

We shared a moment as I patted his shoulder gently. — “It will be alright, Emrum… I will be there and try to help you out, I promise.”

He sighed, listening to my words. — “She will probably beat you as well, then…”

“Wo-would she now, really?” — I asked, in an unusually high-pitched tone, even for my current voice.

The answer was quick and honest.

“Aye…”

I gulped heavily, finding my worries turning in an unexpected way. Those goblins looked a lot less dangerous all of a sudden.

My smile strained as I asked. — “When are we going?”

Emrum sighed. — “Tomorrow morning, we are heading back with the caravan. It is waiting for us back in the main outpost. They even sent us spare mounts with the messenger.

“Mounts?” — I asked bewildered.

“Aye, mountain goats, the only mounts capable of travelling these terrains. I hope you are comfortable in the saddle, lass. Because we are going to ride as fast as we can.”

I sweat dropped hearing those words. I steeled my voice as I spoke up with deadly seriousness.

“Emrum…”

“Yeah?” — He asked taken aback by my fearful tone.

“I… actually have never ridden a horse… or anything like that…”

“What…?”

“…”

“…”