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The Elf Living by the Swamp

The three of them finally found a small town, which they quickly identify as a freetown. Unlike the ones in the desert, this ‘freetown’ had some rules, so it was fine to get in with Narati. The Fa’ar, of course, wasn’t sure if he would go in, considering the incident with the previous freetown.

They needed something new since they needed the muns they had slowly spent for repair and supplies, so Jek went out to the streets to find anyone needing help.

Unlike other settlements, however, the swampy area wasn’t full of people needing help. It was instead the opposite. The ones living around that place were strong people from different races. One in particular was a race of reptilians called crocs, who were basically crocodiles having the body proportions of a human, times three. Their appearances were intimidating, even for Jek. For someone who had never been around swampy post-apocalyptic area before, he never saw crocodilians before.

One of them eyed the wolf with its green reptilian eyes. Despite of Jek’s attempt of looking tough, in the end, the croc might’ve thought that he’s nothing but a wimp, with all the guns strapped on his back. He was partially right, however, as the croc saw the eye of a killer when they stared each other, not a total wimp. He thought that even if Jek would surely die before killing the croc, he would make an impression first in hand-to-hand combat. The Lup wasn’t someone who relied on his pack like regular wolf.

At least that’s what the croc was thinking about.

Jek gave up after a fruitless search of income. Everywhere he looked were people working as gun-for-hire or mage-for-hire depending on their preferred weapons, or something like that. With no decent business, their line of work was the only one with a shred of honesty in it, even though they were consisted only of crocs.

He met Raine and Narati, who were drinking their fill while talking with the bartender, a human girl with canine tail and ear. A hybrid of two races. Jek silently sat beside them and said, “Open the tab, kiddo. I need it.”

This surprised both his companions, especially Raine. The human knew that the search for work was fruitless, and he was drinking down his failure. Since coming to the new region, they had never found any work that’s worthwhile, which contributed to their decrease of income.

“No luck here too, huh?” said Raine while drinking his beer.

“Everywhere around here is filled with crocodile people waiting for someone to hire them,” said Jek. “No one around here need help from strangers.”

“Why don’t we do something like that?” said Raine after something came up his mind. “I mean, the three of us are more than capable, right?”

Jek scoffed. “Yeah, right. A wolf with a gun, a retired enchanter bounty hunter, and a bomb-using rat might be a good team against a group full of scaly grunts who might as well be smart, too. I feel capable already.”

The three of them sighed in unison, causing the wolf-girl hybrid to look at them sympathetically.

“Oh, uhm…if you need work, I might…be able to get you some information.”

“Don’t sweat it, wolfy,” said Jek towards the wolf-girl. “In the end, we’ll screw up anyway. Who else can walk through the swamps aside from those crocodiles?”

“No, uh…those crocs are not doing hunting jobs. They are just hired to escort people through the mutated swamp.”

“Wait…mutated?”

“An anomaly caused many of the swamp dwellers to mutate, forcing the crocs to settle in this town,” said the bartender. “I don’t know the detail, but someone said that someone unleashed some sort of black magic that permanently mutated the swamp.”

“Mutated like what?”

The wolf-girl whispered to Jek’s ears, but then it perked up and he was suddenly disgusted.

“Who the hell has a perverted mind to do something like that?! Do they have a fucking grudge or something?”

“No, uh…”

“I won’t take the job even if it’s just retrieving something lost in the swamp! That’s risking my dignity!”

“Jek, aren’t you a bit too harsh?! What the hell is she talking about anyway?”

Jek then whispered to Raine, to the point he, too, was disgusted.

“Uh, young wolf lady, I must confess. That’s quite…forcing our way through some embarrassment.”

“I haven’t finished yet…”

“Hey, what’s going on there?” asked Narati while sipping a juice (even though this world had no rules, they were self-conscious that 15 years old Fa’ar like Narati would not be allowed to drink alcohol).

“You see…”

The bartender then whispered at Narati’s ear, but he wasn’t reacting the same way as Jek and Raine was, which troubled them. But somehow, from the way Jek heard, his breathing was becoming faster and faster, and his heartbeat was uncontrollable. It was as if he was scared stiff or too excited, which troubled them.

“Why don’t you say so?” said Narati after hearing her.

“Well, your companions thought that this is something embarrassing.”

“Not for me, it isn’t.”

“Narati, what the fuck?!”

“If you two don’t want to go, then I’ll just go there,” said Narati with a smile. “Besides, it’s not like they’re gonna kill me, right? Everyone who comes in there comes out fine anyway.”

“They are already dead, you fucking worm-tail!” exclaimed Jek. “Get away with your dirty thoughts and listen to us!”

“I don’t care if there’s a treasure in the middle of that place! It’s best if we leave that place alone!”

“That’s the point. It’s a rescue mission.”

Jek and Raine stopped and said, “What?” in unison.

“Someone is trying to purify the whole forest with white magic and is trapped in the middle of the swamp,” said Narati. “She went in and had not been out for almost a week. If we manage to get her out safely and purify the swamp at the same time, the people will be grateful and give us muns. Thousands of muns.”

“She’s apparently a magical healer,” said the bartender. “She has disciples, but they haven’t finish their training and cannot optimally help those in need of healing. And…they can’t heal corruption.”

Jek and Raine shuddered, which invited a smirk on Narati’s face. This annoyed Jek, who moved towards him and said, “Don’t think you’re better than this! You just want your body to be ravaged by those things, aren’t you, you goddamn ma-

“Whoa, stop right there, Jek! It’s a secret! Secret!”

Their argument attracted the other bar patrons, so the wolf-girl bartender asked them to continue it outside. Jek gave her some muns for three drinks and walked outside while arguing with Narati. Raine nodded while smiling, while also smiling on his friend’s antics. He had never seen Jek and Narati being so close before.

Once outside, the two of them stopped arguing, with Jek saying, “Just how are you supposed to go through a swamp with plants mutated by black magic, huh? All they do will end up impaling you and let you rot in the bog below!”

“I-it’s not like I want them to impale me! I was going to blow them up!”

“So? It might only kill some, not all! The only thing that can kill them is a powerful fire magic that can burn everything up. Unless you have one of those, you won’t be able to go through them unscathed!”

“Uh, guys, don’t start a scene in this small town,” said Raine. “Everybody’s watching us.”

True to what the human said, everyone listened in their argument, which started to sound like bickering couples. Both immediately stopped and cleared their throat, with Raine smiling on them.

“Why don’t we look at the place before we take any action?” said Raine. Both agreed on that and walked towards the swamp indicated by the bartender.

At first glance the place looked nothing like what the bartender described. It was just a hot, damp place with little to no sunlight and muddy ground. It wasn’t look very threatening, at least in the sense of dangerous animals anyway. They weren’t sure if there’s a strong foul magic around that lake.

Some steps later, however, they found the reason why people didn’t want to talk about it. Vines were having mobility like those of tentacles, and their appearance were menacing in many ways. In addition to that, spiky grass and dangerously deep swamp loomed in front of them, inviting them to go through a playground of hell.

Raine gulped, intimidated by how the swamp looked like. He even said, “So, guys…I’m not feeling well already.”

“If someone just got trapped in there, I don’t want to talk about how they got themselves out without losing a limb,” said Jek. “But…being violated is one of the worst kind of torture that could…”

Narati walked forward and said, “Well, that could be worse. I thought this place would be full of snakes or dangerous animals.”

“Hey, are you seriously going to go through these plants? We don’t even know where our target is.”

“Please, Jek, I’m not that extreme.” Narati then put an explosive on the nearby tree. It stuck there like being glued.

“I suggest going back some steps. It will be messy,” said Narati. Both Jek and Raine complied. When the three of them were at the safe distance, Narati pushed a button on the trigger he was holding.

A small explosion made a crack on the tree, in which it started to topple and fell on the swamp. Due to the tree being hollow, it acted as a platform for them to walk on.

“Huh. Touché,” said Jek.

“It’s not like those vines are going to attack us if we submerge their tree, right?” said Narati. “Besides, we got help.”

True to Narati’s words, Raine could feel a tingling of mana flow directly in front of them. This was further proven when a vine just out of their reach shot towards them, only to be deflected by an unknown force of nature.

“Never thought you’re the team leader,” said Jek behind him.

“I’m the one with the bomb, so it’s obvious, right? Besides, it’s not like I’ll stay meek all my life, right?”

Jek smiled. “Yeah, except when you’re around guns.”

“Oh, come on, Jek, not this again!”

“I’m telling you the truth, Narati. When will you take a gun? I mean, you have a freaking grenade launcher!”

“At least grenades don’t have gunshot noise, right?”

“I can’t even understand your logic! Clearly a gun is not as loud as a fucking grenade!”

“Guys, can you stop arguing while crossing the trunk?! This is not the best time to talk about it!”

Narati and Jek realized that the argument could continue later. It was true that despite of being accustomed with gunshots, Narati still winced every time he heard one, while he was basically calm when near explosions. Jek was annoyed by how much his companion and friend was wincing (possibly because he had been using guns since he knew how to hunt), and was trying to convince him that gunshots were not as loud as explosions, but Narati wasn’t convinced.

Crossing the downed trunk while being protected was something new for the three of them. The swamp was clearly full of corrupted plant mutated into plants with the sole purpose of humiliating someone by ravaging their body and doing unspeakable things that could cost them their pride. While Jek and Raine were worried about this, Narati did not seem to mind. Jek wanted to think that he trusted the person who erected that shield, but he couldn’t let himself think that Narati was trying to let himself be violated. Narati was a little disturbed, both in his sense of justice and his fetish. It was unavoidable, given how the wasteland could do to people. Narati, however, was a select few who’s lucky enough to keep their sanity in check.

They soon reached what they assumed to be the center of the swamp. There, it was apparent that, despite the swamp’s unwelcoming aura, the center was radiated with pure light of white magic at work. Not only that, while the swamp was still a swamp in many ways, the center was less corrupted and more like a regular swamp. There was a patch on land in the middle of it, and in it was a person. It was clear to them that the person was a woman, apparently in her 20s or 30s, but as they walked closer, her visage became clearer, and they knew who she was and what race she belonged in.

“So that’s why you volunteered to go in here and try to purify the swamp,” said Raine. “You’re an elf.”

“The ears are dead giveaways, huh?” said the elf with a cheerful, but soothing tone. “Been a while since I saw someone cross that swamp. I love the way you use that rotting tree as a bridge. Most people don’t think of that and end up getting…uhm…well, you know what I mean.”

“I bet no one has explosives with them,” said Jek. “We should get going. Your students are waiting for you.”

“I’m happy to get out of this wretched place, but, my job here isn’t done,” she said. “Say, I sense three people in your group. Where’s the third one?”

Jek and Raine looked at each other then realized that Narati was missing. In horror, they tried looking out of the center, but to their relief, Narati was sitting by the downed tree trunk, still protected by the elf’s magic. From there, the elf could see him, and the fact that he was a Fa’ar.

This quickly made Jek realized Narati’s decision. He knew that elves were the people who loathed their existence and wanted them dead. Jek didn’t know how old this elf was, but it was clear that her knowledge of magic came from decades of learning, even centuries.

“Uh…sorry, elf, but he’s not harmful,” said Jek, trying to assure the elf of Narati and to dissuade her from releasing Narati’s shield. “I know the years have not been kind, but, trust me, he may be a bit too furry and looks dirty, but he’s not…diseased or something. Will you let him in?”

“I’m fine with Fa’ars,” said the elf short. She walked to the borders of her magic shield and said, “Come in, young rodent. I’ve been expecting you. Please, do not be shy. I mean you no harm.”

“W-with due respect, it’s better…if I’m out here. All I do is causing corruption to get inside and…sully your presence. I prefer to stay out here. I’m sorry…”

“No, you’re not going to corrupt me or anyone else.” The elf looked at the Fa’ar curiously and then turned towards Jek.

“How old is he?”

“15,” replied Jek.

The elf gasped before slapping Jek, then Raine.

“Are you two mental? You ask a child to go with you?!”

“Hey, it’s not my idea! It’s his idea!”

“This world has gone crazy…” The elf then said, “I don’t care of his reason to stay out there. He must go in. I cannot sustain this shield just for him while I purify this place.”

Jek and Raine nodded to each other and pull Narati in. The unsuspecting Fa’ar was surprised by their actions, and he fell into the patch of land with the elf in it. He was instantly surprised and scared to the point of shivering and moved away to the very end of the shield. Jek and Raine looked at him sadly. For a Chaos Race, being so close to an elf could be the worst offense he could possibly imagined. The elves hated them for the cause of the war years ago, and it was apparent throughout the wasteland. Jek had never seen an elf who regarded the Chaos Race as Beast Races. They considered them mindless beasts who needed to be slaughtered.

This elf, however, was not apparently that hateful. In fact, she sympathized with the Fa’ar. From the way Narati reacted, it was apparent that he had seen things that the elves did to his kind, and he didn’t want to associate himself with them.

“Hey…it’s okay, young rodent,” said the elf while extending her hand. “I’m not that clean either. We are in this together.”

Narati was reluctant. From the blue eyes to the fair light skin and silvery long hair, he perceived the elf as an angel of sorts, and he felt like he was some vermin that needed to be exterminated. Narati had seen elves slaughtering a whole Fa’ar pack just because they were living close-by (not his pack, apparently), but the kindness the elf had was enough to make him feel like he had done something wrong and irredeemable.

The elf sympathized even more when she realized that the young rat person was scared because she was an elf. Jek could see that her elven ears twitched before she quickly went down and hug Narati. This came as a surprise to the young Fa’ar, especially it was an elf who hugged him.

“Do not fear me, young one,” said the elf. “I’m not like the others. You, like every other kind in this world, has the right to live. Even if everything ends, and even if your race was the cause of all this, do not blame your race for what you are. I can feel innocence and kindness in your heart, despite of the atrocities you have done to survive. Will this hug change your mind?”

Narati couldn’t reply. He returned the embrace and started to cry. He had never felt such kindness from an elf before. It was so out of place and so foreign for him, but he knew that this elf had such pure magic that even a Chaos Race could feel it. For the first time in his life, he felt peace.

Raine shed a tear when he saw the scene. Never in his life he saw an elf hugging a Fa’ar. It was like a dream come true for him, who wanted equality in the land without laws.

“It’s so beautiful,” he said with a squeal. “It’s so…”

“Oh, shut it, human,” said the elf after she calmed Narati down. “It’s not something that uncommon around here. This is a free-town, remember?”

“So, it’s not the first?” said Jek.

“What age are you living in? Elves are not that bigoted. Well, the city dwellers, yes, but I live in a forest for 300 years! I don’t care about uptight society or old magic. I live with nature, and this place needs my help.”

“Yeah, you see, we are here to get you out, so if you can…”

“No, I must finish this work,” said the elf. “Just give me one more day and I will come with you.”

“You’re barely making any progress, as far as I know.”

“I’m not focusing towards your position. I’m trying to restore the crocodilians’ village. All I did towards you is to escort you in here, since you apparently are the most creative bunch for a while. I can’t reach as far as where most are standing before braving the swamps and end up victims themselves.”

“How are you surviving this whole time, then? A week in here doesn’t seem to help you replenish mana.”

“I have some Elven Breads. I thought I’ll be here for at least five weeks, but this freak magical accident is nowhere as severe as I thought, so I have some left if you want.”

“You expect us to stay here?”

“What else you can do? Besides, you’re here because you need muns. I’ll be glad to return, but please, keep me company. It’s been a while since I talk to a Fa’ar. They don’t seem to like me, but you have an underage explorer with you, so might as well get acquainted.”

Jek had no way to convince the elf to stop her work and get out of the swamp, now that she had a reason to do it. They decided to stay for the night in that swamp while the elf did her job.

“What’s your names? We give names to remember the people we meet, for one day we can meet each other again when our paths cross.”

“Is that an elven culture I’m not aware about? Most are reluctant to do that.”

“I’m a wood elf, not city people. I don’t dwell with ‘modern’. Anyway, my name is Aranis Darion, daughter of Lirena and Elgas Darion. What are yours.”

“Jek Barlow,” said Jek. “Don’t bother with my parents. I’m an orphan.”

“Raine Winlow. Mom called Patricia. Dad? Don’t care.”

“Uh…my name is Narati Vasra.”

There was an awkward silence before Jek said, “Don’t you have parents, kiddo?”

“But, they’re…”

“Everyone’s parents are already dead, Narati,” said Aranis with a smile. “But, I will not force you for that.”

Keeping Aranis company wasn’t that hard. She was quite talkative for an elf who lived in a forest for 300 years. Her job as a healer gave her many chances to talk with many interesting people who seemed to be ailing in the harsh wasteland. Surprisingly for them, for an elf, she did not seem to mind about the violence and claimed to be able to taking care of her own, which was the reason of her survival.

Despite of living in the forest for many years, she was not entirely secluded. She was born and raised in a small elven village near a forest that had now long gone due to the war. She was there when the war started. It was the same war that destroyed many lands and cities, back when she was still 45 years old (equivalent to 12 years old for regular human). It was also a war that turned the world into a wasteland. Living in a town by a swamp was the closest thing she could do to remind her of the good old pre-war days.

From here, there was a lot of things that they could learn of the pre-war culture. Even then, tensions before the war was hot, and there was apparently a reason why the Chaos Races were born, but Aranis, being so young at that time, had no idea of it. Narati heard her stories and became fascinated by them, despite of being hardened by the world around him. He wished that things would look like that if it wasn’t for the war, but he came to the realization that he was a Chaos Race, the people who caused the world to become like that in the first place. Luckily, Aranis was there to comfort him. The fact that she was an elf comforting a Fa’ar was enough to convince Narati that not all elves were bad.

Jek and Raine, while they were enjoying Aranis’s hospitality, they felt that it was unfair for them to relax. They had no muns to sustain their journey, and their talks of forming a mercenary group didn’t seem right at all, given that they only had three members and there’s no imposing ‘mascot’ for them to convince people that they were legit and could do the jobs they give them, from menial tasks to complex bounties. All they could do now was to get this elf woman out of the swamp and get the thousand muns they were promised.

Convinced by Aranis that the swamp was safe in her magic shield, they decided to get a decent rest without any guard duty. It had been a while since they had this kind of luxury. With Narati in tow, they had no heart to rent a room in a town and leave the Fa’ar to stay outside the town and sleep in tents. They wanted to keep the 15-years old Fa’ar safe, both from the world and from himself.

Aranis and Narati became fast friends, partially because of Narati’s fascination of a friendly elf and Aranis’s openness to the young rat. Their talk quickly became personal, but mostly in Narati’s case. He relayed the fact about his sense of justice, which, while twisted, had a good in it. Aranis was worried that the wasteland had warped Narati’s young mind, but if he stayed in control, she didn’t mind.

The night went on sooner than they think. Without apparent danger from the swamp, the group slept soundly. They woke up the next day feeling refreshed and ready to face whatever’s thrown at them. That’s when they saw Aranis still concentrating on purifying the whole swamp.

“You didn’t sleep last night?” asked Narati.

“Can’t sleep if I’m working, right?” said Aranis straining. “Besides, I’m just putting in the final touch and…done!”

Aranis uttered some unknown elvish language before a bright light engulfed their vision and bathed the whole swamp. When the three of them opened their eyes, they found out that the whole swamp had no sinister aura anymore, along with the plants returning to normal and some wildlife starting to return. That’s when they could see houses in the middle of the swamp. There was no land around, just some wooden houses built over the swampy land and some platforms. Jek could say that it was for the crocodilians.

“Neat spell,” said Jek. “And here I thought it’s a process.”

“It is a process, but with a slow build-up,” replied Aranis. “As your friend. He knows what it feels like.”

Jek decided that asking about it wasn’t their top priority. Now that the job’s over, it’s time for their job to continue. The Loup asked Aranis to follow him, in which she obliged, followed by Raine and Narati. Exhaustion took the best of her, however, and she couldn’t even walk, prompting Jek to carry her through the swamp. The rotted trunk was still there, giving them a bridge back. Now that there wasn’t any corruption as far as eye could see, they could at least calm down. With the elf weakened from the ordeal, there was no protection from the swamp’s corruption. Luckily, her magic worked.

The group was greeted by both the crocodilians and the townspeople, who helped Aranis down from Jek. She quickly regained her strength and slowly walked towards her students, robed people of all races, be it humanoid or beast. They greeted her and some hugged her, to which it was revealed that some were so young, even younger than Narati by the look of it.

“Running an orphanage?” asked Raine.

“Quite, but not really. These children lost their parents from raiders and bandits, and this free-town is the only place for them to stay without scrutiny and harm. There are some Fa’ar children in there, too, and this is the haven for them…and you, if you want to stay, Narati.”

“I-I’ll pass.” Narati wasn’t sure if he would want to stay in an orphanage if he had been travelling around and killing people. The children seemed so…innocent, in his opinion. Who would want a crazed kid in their midst?

“And I suppose you want your compensation?” asked Aranis.

“Nah, we’ll pass,” said Jek. “You have a lot of mouths to feed. It’s not right to take…”

“Here, as promised. 5000 muns.”

The three gasped upon seeing the junks. They were trinkets that were clearly of high value, something they had never seen before. She smiled towards the three when she saw their genuine shocked expression.

“We have more than enough to cover another year,” said Aranis. “Some of the older ones may not look like it, but they need to work if they want to start surviving and start their own life. I’m merely teaching some who are interested in healing magic. Those 5000 muns have been appraised, so it’s all yours, as thanks.”

“B-but, isn’t it too many for a small rescue mission? I mean, this is the amount of bounty for a serial killer!”

“It’s not that small in our eyes, wanderers,” said one of the townspeople. “You risk yourselves in there, so we must thank you. Aranis is such a dear person for us, and we don’t want her to be lost. Again, we thank you.”

They don’t know what they would do with that much money. If they wanted to become mercenary groups, they would spend the pay to hire people into their ranks, but then…5000 muns! It’s an unheard quantity, even for bounties. A serial killer was a very rare thing despite of the state of the world, and it was also if they were delivered intact.

With mixed feelings, the three of them left the free-town, intending to spend them in hiring people.

Back with Aranis, the elf still smiled towards the group, but the townspeople were looking at her with a solemn expression. This caught her attention, to which they worriedly asked, “I-Is there…something wrong? You don’t look grand.”

“Why are you lying to yourself? We know you want to travel with them.”

“What are you talking about? My place is here, in this town! Don’t be ridiculous.”

“The wanderers are right. That’s a ridiculous amount of muns to give for a simple rescue mission,” said one of her students. “Are you sure about that? That’s your heirloom, the one that you cherish the most!”

“I don’t that thing more than I do you, right?” replied Aranis. “Besides, you need to train on your healing…”

To Aranis’s surprise, one of her oldest students a young human, let out a powerful healing aura that cause refreshment to even Aranis, a wood elf. This burst of mana and the white magic involved was complex enough that it would exhaust a normal person. Aranis had once trained some of her pupils that magic, but she told them that it was a complex high-level magic. There was no way they could pull it out without training. Magic was something dangerous to learn and could also be fatal.

“When did you learn that?” said Aranis, serious.

“I learned it during the week you disappeared, Aranis,” he replied. “I know it’s hard, but I managed to conserve my mana flow, just like you taught me.”

“Aranis, we know that you’re a wanderer who helps people along the way,” said another townspeople. “But…you cannot let yourself rot in here. You’re a fair, kind elf, who doesn’t care if they are a beast person or not. All you want is to save people, isn’t that right?”

“But Madeline…I can’t…the children…”

“We will take care of them. While you are away in that swamp, the crocodilians vowed to protect this place in return of you returning their village to us. Please understand, Aranis. It’s not that we’re kicking you out; we are giving you a chance to see the world again.”

Aranis had doubts in her mind. It was true that she was a wanderer who went to a town, help the people, and leave. She wanted to travel with them, but the free-town was the first place where she became smitten with. The people were kind to her and to the refugees living in there, be it Chaos Race or not. She wanted to see the children grew into adults with good intention.

But then…she knew her time staying there was not permanent. Unlike other beings, her race had the longest life span. She had reached half of her lifespan, but even if she gained a hundred years more, she would see the people she knew around her die, and the children she raised die. There were not much elves anymore, as most refused to be involved with the ‘common rabble’. If she was one of the former ‘city elves’, she would behave like that. But, she was a ‘country elf’ who farmed and hunted. She knew a lot of people of the villages out of town.

And that’s the reason why she travelled. She wanted to find new people and places, along with new adventure. Violence was something inevitable in this age, but she knew it wasn’t her problem.

That was when she saw the three wanderers returned, confused as to what was going on. Aranis looked at them, and knew what she must do. She walked towards the confused Jek, and said, “Jek Barlow, isn’t it? Will it be a burden if I travel with you?”

This confused the wolfman, but he kept calm and said, “Can you fight, or at least defend yourself?”

“I’m a wood elf,” she replied. “I know how to use bow and arrows, and 400 years of travel experience. Are you doubting me?”

Jek smiled to her and said, “Never even once. I’m glad we have a healer in our group. But, are you going to travel just with that…robe?”

“This? No, of course not! I have my things. Let me pack for a while and we’ll set off, yeah? Besides, that 5000 muns…those are my travel money. You’re not planning to spend them in one place, right?”

“That much money? Nah, I’ll buy a house with that instead. Just kidding. We’ll wait for you. Go do your thing, and we’re off.”

Aranis never thought that chance would come to her in the form of her savior. It may seem so sudden, but for her, it had been 20 years living in that free-town. The people had grown, the children had become adults, and people died. It was time that she left them behind, knowing very well the pain of losing those that had a shorter life.

Packing her things up and embracing some of the people she knew, she walked with Jek, Raine, and Narati to destination unknown. She took a good look towards her back, to the people who had been so good to her for these couple years. It’s time for her to move on. She’s an elf, after all. The pursuit of knowledge would never end, even if the world had ended.

Let’s just hope the four of them would not cause more trouble than it worth….