Chương 10: The Elf

All Elias knew was what the tavern keeper had mentioned, which was to head towards the green sun. That way, apparently, lay some ancient ruins troubled with wolves. He hoped the wolves weren't too ravenous, that the jungle wasn't too poisonous and sharp, and that these ruins were not too forlorn and haunted. But knowing what he knew about this strange new place, he felt certain that they would be. At least he had pleasant company.

Perhaps pleasant was being generous as far as this fair elvish warrior walking next to him was concerned. Her sword clapped against her back, and she occasionally cursed as a briar cut into her flesh, but otherwise a sort of chilliness seemed to have settled over her. She was here, anyway, even if she had gone a bit taciturn on Elias. He was glad for that.

"So … how long have you been, you know, in this place?" he asked, as he walked over a particularly gnarly set of roots in the path.

"Hard to say," she said. He waited, but she said no more.

"I can't remember much of my life. Just bits and pieces," Elias said, hoping to prompt something loose from her, perhaps.

"Does it get any better?"

"Maybe. I don't know. Yes? In a way, it feels like I've always been here. Like life was the dream and this is the real world."

"And … I know this is a weird question, though I have to ask it," Elias continued. She turned and raised an eyebrow at him.

"But do you also find yourself visited by a giant talking mushroom from time to time?" She gave him a suspicious look before turning back to concentrate on her footing.

"I've heard it appears differently to different people. The being. The guide. Whatever it is. I think it depends on how you … you know, how you died," she finally replied.

"I've heard the same. And so how does your … spiritual guide let's call it, appear to you?" He let the odd question hang there in the hope that maybe she would tell the story of her own demise.

"You know, whatever great deeds lie out here before us, there is no one out here to witness them," Fiona said, changing the subject entirely, a certain bitterness in her voice. Maybe that was the reason she was suddenly so grumpy, Elias thought. But he kept it to himself.

"Well, we can always share the story of our triumphs over a round when we get back to the tavern," he tried.

"It isn't the same. Great deeds need an audience, you know. They need witnesses to gape in awe. Without that, what is the point?" Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. He trudged on, unsure exactly how to address what seemed like a serious need for validation.

"You know, Fiona … the things we do have value in and of themselves," he said.

"At least that was the way I always saw life, when I had it. It doesn't matter if the world takes notice of you or not not. All that matters is that your deeds are virtuous." That heartfelt response gained him nothing but a derisive snort from Fiona.

"Sounds like something a loser would say."

"Ouch," he said, deciding to keep quiet for the next mile or two. They walked on through a jungle that seemed to thicken, down a path that seemed to narrow, towards a sun that seemed to grow only increasingly greener. That is, when the sun deigned to peek at them through the increasingly thick and oppressive canopy.

"Shit!" shouted Fiona.

"What? What is it?" Elias braced, gripping his staff in front of him and reassuring himself with a few quick regeneration spells. He looked into the darkness of the undergrowth, poised for some fanged and ridiculous creature to come rushing at them. But nothing did. Fiona only grabbed her toes and performed a few hops.

"I just stubbed my toe on something." The offending item lay in the path, entirely different from the surrounding green. It was a stone that had clear chisel marks. It was square and could only have been hewn by skilled human hands.

"Looks like we are getting close to these ruins," Elias said.

"Are you alright?" He threw a regeneration spell at her, just to be sure. She was still hopping around and holding her injured foot between her hands. The giant claymore was bouncing off of her back. It was kind of a silly look for a fearsome warrior.

"Sure, just give me a second," she said. While he waited for his healing to take effect, he took a moment and wandered around the undergrowth. It was not unlike browsing in a grocery store, so various and inviting was the flora he found there. He decided to give one of his alchemist skills, Plant Identification I, another try. Apparently, it was useful only for naming the many flowers and leaves he saw, and not much else. It didn't give him any properties of said plants.

It didn't tell him what interesting recipes they might be a part of. For now, with the low level of the skill, it would only name them. But the names, at least, were fascinating to him. Smashvines, Disco Spores, Electric Jasmine — and that was only to name a few. He resolved that at some point he would need to seriously consider leveling up his plant identification skill, in the hopes that the mysteries of these alien growths might be revealed.

After all, he'd have to make use of them if he hoped to ever use his crafting skill to gain coins for the quest, and pay back Fiona for her help, of course.

"Alright, then," she said.

"I'm all better. That's a nice spell you have there." He noticed she didn't say thank you. Brushing off her crude manner, Elias pushed forward. Now the square stones pretty much littered the path. It was clear they were getting much closer to these ruins. It was also apparent that they were quite old and had been resting in this scattered state for some time. Elias noticed a clearing up ahead. Was that a break in the canopy?

he thought, rejoicing in the notion of being out in the open for the first time in a great while. But this was something different. Something … a little bit unnatural.

"What is that?" Fiona said, mirroring his exact thoughts. They crept closer, cautious. Black and white squares, made out of stone, crisscrossed on the jungle floor. Standing on those squares were giant stone figures overgrown with moss. Could that be what he thought it was?

"It looks like a giant chessboard," Fiona said. As Elias beheld the thing, he knew that she was right, and he lost himself in a flash of vivid memory.