Corin, Livia, Zhi, Nanaua, and Simeon sat down with the rest of the forest elves during dinner. This had been their custom during the last several nights of travel, but tonight was different.

In previous nights only a number of the forest elves would be sitting down with Corin and the rest. The others would be walking about, tending to their horses, and imbibing on their nectar. But tonight the entire thicket surrounded the group as they waited to hear what exactly had led these five adventurers to this very spot, and to learn why exactly a deadly squadron of Zifors was looking for them.

“Greetings fellow furtives,” it was Zhi who spoke to them. “During the last several days you have shown us a kindness unlike any that we could have expected from strangers. You took in five lost souls and agreed to guide them safely through a mysterious land, and you did so without asking for anything in exchange, and with no care as to where we came from, or why we were here in the first place. But it seems that it is no longer possible to keep it amongst ourselves. We truly wish that during our time here none of the troubles that followed us would find us and disturb your peaceful existence, but it seems that is not possible. So in order to let you know why I am here, I will introduce myself. I am Zhi, an Onsiel, a furtive that can wield magic. I was born in the estate of Tonatiuh, a Dragon Titan. Within several months my powers will fully manifest, and when that occurs Tonatiuh wants to sacrifice me to enrich his powers.”

Zhi continued her tale, relaying to them how she had brought down the Dragon Temple, their encounter with Corin and Livia, the other Zifor squads they had encountered, their traversal through the ocean, their encounter with Arandu, and lastly the artifact that she is seeking to complete.

Throughout the entire tale the forest elves did not make a single noise. They seemed very much like the trees that surrounded them. It made Corin anxious. He wanted to know what they thought, if they could help, but there was nothing to be gleaned from their expressions.

Once Zhi was done, silence overtook the camp. Corin looked around at the forest elves, but still could not tell what they thought.

“I have heard many intriguing tales in my life” Ciba began, finally breaking the silence. “but what you have endured to arrive here is like nothing I have ever heard.”

“Our thicket is still undecided on what course we will take, but our main concern is that of the artifact you seek. Its validity was of concern, but that you found a portion of it in Arandu's domain, as you had read, seems to quell those issues. The fact that it's guarded by Titans from the sea, air, and land would seem to validate that it is indeed powerful and that the Titans rightly fear, but how? How exactly does this artifact work that would make the Titans so terrified of furtives finding it?”

“We don't know exactly how it works,” Zhi began “but in the texts there were many allusions to magic. I don't believe it was mainly focused on the Onsiel, I believe it extends beyond myself. Perhaps it severs the bond between Titans and their Gods and weakens their magic? Or perhaps it allows other furtives to wield magic?”

“What if it is none of that? What if you unleash something that furtives too should fear?” Ciba asked.

Zhi was quiet.

“The thicket is concerned about what may come if we decide to aid you.” Ciba added.

Although his questions were deep and probing, he did not seem agitated in the least. He was calm while he spoke with Zhi. Corin felt as if he needed to speak up, lest they might be faced with the prospect of certain death at the hands of Throk.

“What if it is something terrifying? What if it is something that wipes all furtives out? Or what if it does exactly what we think it will do and helps us fight against the Titans?” Livia interjected now, her tone rising. “If we focus on these what ifs we will always live under the tyranny of the Titans! You yourself Ciba, you have lived over a millennium, and your whole existence has been predicated upon the whims of Giants! If Baltro were to feel displeased by one of your offerings he could destroy all of you in an instant! Don’t you see? This is the only opportunity we will have in our lifetimes to fight back against the Titans! If you wish to go back to your lives, where a Dragon can come in and burn your entire forest, or a Giant may feel strong enough to defeat Baltro and take over this domain, then so be it, we cannot force you, but we will not continue down this road! We will take the fight to the Titans and do whatever we need to create a world where furtives are no longer scared.”

Livia shook as she finished her speech. Corin had never seen her get this agitated while speaking, unless she spoke of some gadget she was working on. Her fervor for this fight became more apparent to him.

“Yes, yes I see your point.” Ciba said out loud, he was facing the other forest elves.

Ciba continued waving his hands to the other forest elves. It seemed as if there was a fervent discussion occurring.

“Obano, we heard you, please lower your voice.” Ciba continued out loud.

“Seems like your wife’s speech has them all worked up.” Simeon said to Corin in a low tone.

“Do you think they will help?” He asked Simeon in a quiet voice.

“That is enough.” Ciba finally stated out loud.

Ciba turned to Corin and the others.

“Consensus cannot be reached.” He announced.

He turned towards Livia and Zhi.

“Friends it seems as if your entreaties have spurred quite the argumentative spirit in our thicket. I did not know it was possible.” Ciba said to Zhi and Livia and then turned to all present.

“There are valid points being stated by all. Yes it is true that we forest elves do not engage in warfare or participate in violent behavior. It is one of our most ardent principles. What the outsiders are suggesting would be tantamount to inflicting violence on those that pursue them, that I cannot argue with.” Ciba stated as he looked at the crowd. Corin’s heart sank as he heard this.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

“But it is also true that forest elves do not ignore those who are in need. And it is quite clear that these outsiders that we have hosted over the past several days, are in danger. You have all seen the Zifors that hunt our guests. They are ruthless and efficient. Without our help it is clear that the Onsiel and her friends will see great harm inflicted upon them.” Ciba stated.

“I asked the thicket to come to a consensus but this has not occurred. As such I will take it upon myself to decide what we will do.” Ciba announced loudly.

For the first time Corin heard the other forest elves speak out loud in voicing their opinions.

“We cannot participate in this conflict! Bloodshed only leads to more bloodshed! There will be no end to this once we begin!” Drolbo, a younger forest elf, spoke up. It was the only time Corin had heard him speak.

“Drolbo, never fighting back can also lead to bloodshed. Violence can only be confronted with violence.” Oba shouted back at the young forest elf.

“Forest elves deserve a place in the forest, no more hiding from the Giants or the Dragons!” Another voice came in.

Other voices began to add to the cacophony. Corin would look at one side and then the other, trying to understand who was saying what and what they were thinking.

“If we aid these outsiders, then Baltro will see that as a sign of disrespect and destroy all of us!” A loud voice added to the chaos.

“Silence!” Ciba’s voice drowned all the others out.

As he had demanded, the forest elves quickly ceased their bickering. Corin’s heart raced so fast that he felt he might faint if it did not calm down.

“I have decided,” Ciba stated.

The entire forest was quiet. They all waited.

“We will aid our guests in reaching Baltro, we will aid them in offering rites to Baltro to appease him, and we will aid them in ridding themselves of the Zifors.”

Corin felt his heart rate begin to subside.

We might have a chance of surviving this after all.

Words began to erupt again from certain factions of the forest elves.

“I have made a decision and it is final.” Ciba shouted.

The forest elves quieted. They began to slowly disperse.

Ciba was left alone with Corin and the rest of the group, Ciba turned to face them.

“I’m sorry you had to see such a public display of disunity. It is not common for us.” Ciba stated with his usual calm demeanor.

“Thank you so much.” Corin stated.

Ciba looked at him, but did not say anything.

“Tomorrow we begin our journey towards Baltro.” Ciba said, not addressing anyone in particular. “We will help you get there and perform rites to seek his blessing. When it comes to how the Zifors and Baltro will come in conflict I trust you to make preparations.”

Ciba said this and left.

Corin stared at the others. Nanaua, Zhi, Livia, and Simeon, all of them quiet.

“A decision has been made, let us do what we must to ensure it was the correct one.” Nanaua stated.

***

Corin lay on the bedroll, thinking of what lay ahead of them. The upcoming clash that would put them between a Giant and the Zifor squadron.

Livia lay with him. Although little had changed in the past several days, Corin could not help but feel an imperceptible gulf between them. It was not uncommon for him and Livia to have periods of unease in their relation. From what Corin had seen with Livia's own parents, it was only natural for two people to have disagreements from time to time, but Corin wanted to make sure that this gulf between them did not keep increasing.

Corin put his head up against Livia’s. She did not open her eyes but she smiled.

“Not asleep yet?” Livia asked coyly. “I thought after all of today's excitement you would be dead tired.”

“That thing earlier today?” Corin replied. “Oh I had already forgotten about it, to be honest.”

That got a slight chuckle from Livia.

“Leading them back to a Giant.” Livia said, now opening her eyes. “I have to say that is quite the gamble you proposed Corin. It honestly gave me a pause when I heard you say it.”

Corin laughed but part of him could not help agree.

“Well, there aren't many other options.” Corin started. “And if it goes completely catastrophically terrible, you can then tell me what a bad idea it was.”

“Oh love, I don't have to wait until then.” Livia said laughing.

Corin laughed as well.

“But it is the best bad idea we have so far.” She said now looking at him.

Corin could not help but feel at ease once again with his wife. There was a topic he had yet to breach, and he felt now was the best time.

“It has been quite a dizzying turn of events recently.” Corin started.

“You don't say? The forest elves, the Zifors, the mines.” Livia said.

“And there was of course the Dragon.” Corin added with a chuckle. “That was an interesting character.”

Corin did not notice any reaction from Livia. She looked at him, but he could tell that her mind was elsewhere.

“What did you think after we spoke with the Dragon? Was there anything from that meeting that you could not shake from your head? Anything that altered the way you think?” Livia asked.

She looked away from Corin as she asked.

Her eyes never met Corin's. He could tell that there was some internal debate at play in her mind.

“Oh,” Corin was caught by surprise. He thought about what to say. “Well, I would say so. What I could not shake after we met with the dragon was the revelation about the Gods. When the Dragon said that Titans were blessed by Gods, and that they were the only Gods out there, I had a hard time accepting that. Even though I was never the most devout believer, I always believed in Jokasta. I always felt somehow, someday she would come and help us against the Titans. But hearing the Dragon say that what I believed was nothing but a fantasy, and that the only real Gods were the Titan’s, it left me very confused. I mean what does that make us, then? Does that mean we deserve to be trampled by the Titans, just like the dragon said? I thought about it for a long time, but then I realized something. And it gave me some peace of mind.” he said.

“What was it?” she asked. Now she had her eyes closed as she listened to her husband.

“The fact that the dragon knew nothing of the artifact. To me it showed that although the dragon might know a lot more than we do, it does not mean that its knowledge is limitless. And so if it doesn't know about the artifact, then what else does it not know about? That means that maybe Jokasta is out there, maybe she is watching over us, and maybe us furtives do have a right to live here, just like the Titans do.” he finished.

She listened to him, her eyes still closed. He could tell there was something troubling her.

“How about you, was there something that stuck with you after encountering the dragon?” he asked.

It had been the question that had been burning in him for the past several days. He could tell that Livia had not left the mines the same person that had gone in, he knew it was due to their meeting with the dragon, what he had said to her, but she had not said what exactly had troubled her so.

Livia was quiet as her eyes stayed shut. Corin reached out and grabbed one of her hands and kissed it. He wanted her to know that whatever was on her mind, that he would be there for her.

“If you don't want to talk about it, it's fine.” Corin mentioned.

“No, I'm fine. It's ok.” Livia said as she opened her eyes. “I'm just getting worked up over nothing. I just, I think about what the dragon said, about sacrifice.”

Livia hesitated, and Corin felt that he should say something but Livia began again.

“What if the dragon's warning comes true? What if we are asked to sacrifice something important to us? I know what I said at the moment, but when I think about it, that doesn't seem like myself. I don't think I could sacrifice everything.” Livia paused. “I don't know what came over me.”

She stopped.

“It's been a long trip Livia. We've had to leave our home, had to travel across the sea, and consistently put our lives at risk. To me that seems like a lot of sacrifice.” Corin said to her.

“You're right.” Livia said as she tried to smile. “It has been a long trip.”

“The dragon was also probably speaking about his own experiences, from what he lost due to his banishment. He might know a lot, but he can't see the future.” Corin added.

“Yes, that's also true.” Livia said sounding a bit more relaxed.

“Remember, we'll weather the storm together.” Corin said.

Livia looked at him in his eyes.

“Yes, we will.” She replied.

She smiled and gave him a kiss.

“Thanks.” She said as she turned around.

Corin soon fell asleep, content that he had finally been able to help his wife.

Livia spent the entire night awake, mulling the words of the dragon.

“Sacrifice. Everything.” Livia would repeat to herself.