Chương 37: Elfheim

It wasn't just the grass and the Elf that told Arielle that she was somewhere far away from where she'd been. She pushed herself off the ground, glancing around wildly at the unfamiliar terrain. A lush grassland fanned out before her, next to a glittering lake with not a single trace of moss or dirt. In the distance, trees bridged with woven branches connected wooden abodes that climbed up to a hilltop. Twilight filtered through a shimmering, orange aurora, and the very atmosphere felt enchanted.

And most importantly, Ari was surrounded by more orbs than she'd ever seen in her life. Circular and whole, floating around her, every single color imaginable. They were all bright too, perfectly shaped, charged with energy. At her arrival, they rushed closer to her, and she put out her hand as they danced on the tip, smiling as they glided over her skin.

"Hello," she greeted.

"I'm Arielle Blacksoil."

"You're who?" The voice from above had her looking back up to the pearlescent orb floating in the air, with the elf in it. Or at least she thought he was an elf. He certainly looked like an elf. Though he was just about her height, he seemed leaner, bones smaller. He was wearing a forest-green tunic with silver embroidery, a leaf-patterned cloak, and a silver circlet with emeralds dotted across the golden base. He also had rings on each of his fingers and jewels adorning the points of both ears.

His eyes were clear blue that matched the sky, and he moved with an easy grace as he stepped off the bubble and landed on the grass in front of her. He waved his wand, and the bubble popped.

"You're not a druid," he commented, eyeing her in disappointment.

"You're human." Arielle blinked at him.

"Why can I suddenly understand what you're saying?"

"Because I already have activated my [Universal Translation] attribute. Once I realized you were human, I knew exactly what language to use."

"I see." That made sense to Arielle, but she still didn't know how she was here.

"I am in Elfheim?" That was the official name for the elven realm.

"Yes. The Kingdom of Elarion, to be exact." He puffed out his chest at that. She shook her head slowly as the bizarreness of the situation sank in, encapsulating her being.

"So... just to be clear, you're an elf, and I'm in the elven realm."

"Is it taking you this long to understand that simple fact?" He frowned at her question.

"And I'm not just any elf. I'm Prince Aerendyl, fifth prince of the Elven kingdom of Elarion." He paused in wait, but when nothing happened, he arched a brow.

"It is at this point that you bow." Ari didn't bow. Her mind was too busy to even catch the last of his words.

"How did I get here?"

"That is what I would like to know," he said as he circled her.

"Did I cast the summoning spell wrong? I couldn't have, could I? Unless Elarys lied to me."

"Elarys?"

"Yes. He is my brother, the third prince, and he is fond of practical jokes even at his unpractical age. He's nearly three centuries old; he should have outgrown such things. Of course, he would teach me the spell to summon a human rather than a druid."

"What do you need a druid for?"

"To capture one of my father's pets. They disappeared into that forest over there and are probably hiding." He pointed in the distance.

"Poor thing. He got scared off by the new celestial falcon my father acquired, and he's been in a state of fear since. He refuses to come out no matter how hard I call for him, and I do not have the time or energy to go in there and look for him myself. I have to return in time for dinner. My mother will know something is amiss if I'm not there."

"Is it not good that she knows something is amiss?" Ari asked.

"Your father is missing a pet. Perhaps she can help you find it."

"My mother? Help me like a mere servant?" He scoffed.

"No. She is far too busy with important queenly matters to lower herself to such a task."

"Okay, then. Can you not send servants to retrieve the pet?" It seemed like a pretty straightforward solution to Ari.

"No. The servants cannot know that my father's beloved pet is missing. Neither can my mother.'

"Why?" He cleared his throat, crossing his arms over his chest, like Brom usually did when he was accused of putting bloom draught in another warrior's mead.

"I cannot tell them due to the circumstances of his disappearance."

"I don't understand."

"Well, if you must know, I do bear some blame in the matter." Ah. Now she recognized the scenario. It was exactly like Brom's.

"It was your fault that the Falcon scared the little pet away."

"No. Not my fault, e ntirely." He shook his head, gesturing with his hand.

"I had simply wanted to introduce the two so they would become better acquainted. How was I to know poor Heedy would be afraid of the falcon? I don't even know why Father got the blasted thing. It is so mean to everyone except him, and it bullied poor Heedy into hiding."

"Where is your castle?" Arielle asked, interrupting the creature's lamentations about his father's pet.

"On the other side of that," he said, pointing at the beginning of a steep valley, which told her that they were on a hill. She began walking in that direction, but he said something in his elven language, and blades of grass sprouted out of the ground and manacled themselves around her wrist. They were deceptively strong.

"Are you mad?" The elven prince demanded.

"Do you not value your life?" Arielle merely stared at him obliviously until he explained, "If my father or any of his men were to see you, they would take you for questioning and probably behead you at the end. You're an unsanctioned human in elven territory." Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. She raised an eyebrow.

"You brought me here."

"Technically, I did not. I was summoning a druid, not a human. Something must have happened somewhere, or Elarys gave me the wrong spell, and now here we are."

"Well…can you send me back?" Arielle had wanted to explore Elfheim, as she'd only vaguely read about it in storybooks. It was somehow far more beautiful than the books, even though she had not seen much of it yet. The brilliant colors of nature and the orbs surrounding her–she wanted to see how far it stretched, how much of it they had. She wondered why it seemed already processed. However, she was not in the mood for a beheading, so it was better for her to go home without knowledge. Prince Aerendyl sighed.

"Of course, I'll send you back, but it cannot be done now. Summons are tricky, and I must figure out how you got here in the first place before I create the return circle, or I could be sending you into a world that's not your own." Arielle didn't know whether that possibility scared her or excited her. She did want to eventually explore other worlds. It had always been a dream of hers to visit the places in her storybooks and learn more about their histories. Perhaps she would become an adventurer in the future.

However, she didn't think it was right to do it now. Last she remembered, she'd been at the temple on a field trip. She couldn't just disappear and go on a grand adventure. They were probably searching for her at the moment, and if she didn't go back soon, they might think she was dead. Or worse. That she'd run away from school.

"I don't want to go to another world," she decided.

"Of course you don't. Which is why I have to be careful. I must confirm whether you came by my summons, and I must also learn the earthen return spell from Elarys before I complete it."

"Okay." When he made no move to attend to it, she asked, "Are you not going to do that now?"

"No. Elarys is practicing his swordmanship."

"How long will that take?"

"Only two human hours."

"No." She shook her head.

"I can't be here for that long. They will think something has happened to me."

"Would you rather I attempt the spell, and you end up trapped in a different realm, or in the void?"

"Obviously not, but I don't think I should stay here for that long. What am I supposed to do in the meantime?" He stared blankly.

"How would I know? You're only the first human I've ever met." She narrowed her eyes at him.

"You brought me here. You can't just abandon me."

"Once again, I did not bring you here necessarily. Whether or not you're here as a result of my failed summon is still in question, as I'm not convinced it was my magic that brought you to this realm. Secondly, if I indeed did bring you here, it still doesn't give me any obligation to stay by your side. Thirdly, you're a human. Don't you typically like to explore our world, and collect jewels and such?" Her annoyance and apprehension were temporarily beaten back.

"Did you say jewels?"

"Yes. Before the dimensional gates were closed, humans typically entered this world to attain wealth. Every once in a while, they still find their way here, and some even manage to collect many jewels before they're banished or beheaded." He pointed.

"For example, the Telaris Forest is full of what you humans call gold and some elven gems. I'm sure you can frolick there for some time, until I return."

"What if I run into someone who thinks I'm an intruder?"

"You are an intruder."

"Only because you brought me here."

"And I'll deny it," he said plainly.

"Sorry to say, but I will get in trouble if father knows what I've done, and well, I consider that more highly than I do your life." Arielle somehow wasn't offended, perhaps because he was a different species than her, who had different ethical concerns. She knew from Creatures and Clans that elves likely saw humans as less than them by default, and only a few levels above animals. An Elven prince probably had an even worse view of humans. At least he was clear with her and not deceptive.

"Thank you for your honesty."

"You are welcome. Just wait in the forest. Everyone at the castle should be at dinner. If anyone from the village runs into you, pretend you are a sprite. If I squint, you sort of look like one."

"I could change my appearance," she said, recalling a Tier-6 spell she'd observed in her spell book.

"[Mind Glamour]." The orbs around Arielle moved without passing through her EPUQ, which made sense as they were already purified. As the Luxa floated around her body, coating it, she imagined a sprite she'd seen in a storybook, a mischievous adventurer known as Tamsy. Tamsy and her shenanigans had frustrated Arielle a lot when she was younger, so she felt slightly conflicted about taking on the persona, but she was the only sprite she could envision clearly.

Of course, the effect of [Mind Glamour] could only go so far. She remained roughly the same size, just a little smaller, with pointy ears, honey blonde hair, and false wings sprouting out of her back. However, it was as good a disguise as she could manage. Perhaps there was a master tier spell that was an improvement on this. Prince Aerendyl's eyes went wide.

"Wait, you can use magic?"

"Yes. I thought you knew."

"No. Humans can barely use magic since they destroyed all of the essences on their planet."

"We have essences," Arielle was vaguely insulted by the assertion.

"It might not be as much as what you have, but it's there."

"Well... this changes everything..." His ears twitched a little, the rings around them trembling in his excitement.

"She's a human who can use magic and is skilled at deceit and subterfuge," he murmured to himself, while stroking his chin.

"Perhaps I might have use for you after all. Are you powerful for a human?"

"Yes. Relatively powerful. So powerful that I must hide it from other humans."

"Okay, that is adequate. What are your quest terms?" She raised her eyebrow.

"Quest terms?"

"Yes. What would you like in return for completing a quest?" She thought about it, and then she glanced around her at the abundance of purified, perfect essences.

"The essences. Can I take some of them with me?"

"Ah. Which ones in particular? I know some of them aren't compatible with the human realm, but I don't remember which ones." There are new types of essences here? Arielle's curiosity was officially at its peak. Of course, she'd seen that some of the essences were colors she'd never encountered before, but she hadn't assumed that they were foreign essences that could not be used on Earth. Oh, what she would give to take some with her, so she could study them, but she figured it was better she did not.

After all, she'd already gotten Elric in trouble before. She did not want to risk doing it again.

"I would like Calor, Luxa, Vitae, Massa, and Vacu."

"Hmm. I'm not sure what those mean in your world, but I will give you a crystal that can hold ten thousand units of Earth-compatible essences. At the end of the quest, you can select from a menu what percentages of each you want."

"Okay," she said instantly, even though her mind was screaming in excitement at the fact that she was about to gain ten thousand units. She could do so much experimentation with that. So much.

"And of course, any jewel you find in the forest can be yours to keep," he continued.

"I'm sending the terms now." Just then, something popped up on her system screen. <ELFHEIM SPECIAL REQUEST> NEW QUEST OFFER Quest: Retrieve Heedy, King Tyaenis' Prized Pet Quest Official: Prince Aerendyl Nature: Private Quests Rewards: Ten thousand units of earth-compatible essences, and any gems gathered from Telaris forest. Honorary Rewards: None. Duration: Dinner time. Two human hours or less. ACCEPT QUEST YES? NO?

Arielle almost jumped out of her skin in her rush to accept the quest, but common sense barged in before she could. This seemed too good to be true, and whenever things seemed like that, it was best to exercise caution. What were the ways this could backfire on her? Well, first and foremost was the fact that she likely should not be in Elfheim in the first place.

Even apart from Prince Aerendyl's father potentially beheading her, there would probably be earthly consequences for this unsanctioned invasion of the elven realm. Only powerful, well-connected mages got invited to Elfheim, and it was only on rare occasions. She was technically a powerful mage, but this visit had not been done with celestial approval, and if an unsanctioned quest showed up on her system, would that not call into question how she got the quest in the first place?

If she were investigated, she would be found to have broken the law, and Elric might get in trouble for her misdeed, too. However, letting go of a quest of this magnitude with rewards like that.... it seemed so wasteful. What to do... what to do...