A New World, an immersive game experience

With this mention, the conversation quickly turned to what Eldrian could bring with him. Evale pointed out an important fact; they should only store extra's in his storage. While he was there to ensure that their sacrifice would not be in vain, both twins felt that Eldrian would likely die first if something should go wrong. In that case, if they relied too much on his inventory they would be without the items they might need.

Eldrian felt slightly useless when this was mentioned and he couldn't really deny it. He certainly would be the first to go if something really went south, if they tried to protect them then he would only be a burden. Something he did not wish to be.

Hence he didn't have much of a problem with this, though he still felt terrible realizing this. After talking about this for around half an hour they slowly got more used to each other. Slowly the topic turned to if they knew any of the other people that might join them on the mission. The twins only mentioning that they knew a stealth expert who was going to join them, having no idea who the other members were or how many there would be.

Then it turned to how they preferred to fight, Eldrian asking this in curiosity not having expected them to actually talk much about it. With them not minding Eldrian gladly told them of his training and how he preferred polearms, asking why Evules would choose a sword when he was half horse. Naturally, he said this much less gracefully than that, luckily Evules was not bothered by Eldrian's lack of etiquette.

"It is actually quite simple, though it would be even more so if I could show my sword to you. I don't use just any sword but rather a really large greatsword. This gives me great range, past that of normal spears. Yet the entire length is deadly and it is far nimbler than a spear."

"Ah, well I think the nimble is up for debate." Eldrian quickly chirped in, causing Evules to laugh as if he heard a great joke.

"Wait, are you serious?" Evules questioned after seeing Eldrian not joining the laughter.

"Of course, I mean your thoughts are likely so due to your training. If you have the same training with the spear you would think differently." Eldrian said without missing a beat, quite used to talking to people far stronger than him.

Eldrian's response and Evules lack thereof caused Evale to burst into laughter, "When is the last time someone other than me dared talk to you like this brother?"

"I can't remember," Evules replied with a slight smile as he looked at Eldrian in a more favorable light.

"If you are so confident then why are you still only Tier 1?" Evules asked after a slight pause.

"Simple, because I have no idea how to move forward. I have no teacher, and those who had knowledge claimed that their knowledge does not fit my path. While they did inform me of plenty of things, I still need to connect all the dam dots..." Eldrian paused, sighed, and continued, "There are too many dam dots. I keep getting sidetracked into a different area that I have no idea of if it is even useful."

"What are you talking about, it is quite simple. You learn the spell modules, you train through casting them, and then you learn the next modules." Evale said as soon as Eldrian finished.

"Not for me. You do know about High Elves, don't you?"

"Wait, you are a High Elf? No wonder," Evules suddenly interrupted in shock, quickly realizing why Eldrian would take much longer to progress. He quickly thought of Eldrian as a few hundred years of age now, and quickly tried to change his tone to a more respectable one.

"Hey, why do I feel you just misunderstood something?" Eldrian asked, but before they could continue they were interrupted as the doors of the room opened.

All three of them turned around and looked at the one responsible, a young man in his late twenties. Wearing bright red fancy noble attire walked into the room quite full of himself.

"Greetings, who are you?" Evules asked, stepping forward and extending his hand to the newcomer.

"Zereus, are you also here for the mission?" The man in red asked, slightly on guard as he sensed that the centaur in front of him was not someone weak.

"We are, I am Evules and this is my sister Evale. Lastly, this humble elf is Haru."

"Am I early?" Zereus asked as he looked around, completely ignoring the introduction.

"Not really, we are here to meet each other today. So why don't you introduce yourself?" Evale replied, stepping forward too.

"I did, didn't I? If that is all, then I am going to an inn." Zereus said, quickly leaving before anyone could say anything more.

Sighing Evules turned back to Eldrian and Evale, "I had hoped we won't get any strange characters, seems that is already no longer the case."

Still curious about how Evules fought as a centaur, not able to really fathom this, Eldrian quickly led the topic back to this. Realizing, later on, that there was also a limitation for Evale.

"Evale, how do you actually move while aiming?" Eldrian asked as this thought popped into his head. It was quite simple for normal horse archers. While they turned and aimed, the horse would keep going. It would dodge holes, rocks, trees, without the rider needing to lead it. This certainly wasn't something a centaur could do, at least so Eldrian felt.

"What do you mean?" Evale asked and Eldrian quickly explained what he wondered about.

"Oh that. We actually developed a certain spell for it. Most centaurs actually learn it as soon as they can, even though it was made with archers in mind."

"And that spell is?"

"A Tier 3 earth and wind spell, though its Tier isn't really limited to just that. It is just the lowest level at which one can learn it. Instead of taking control of the elements, this spell sends feedback to its caster. Allowing us to sense our environment when we must focus on something else."

"That is amazing, do you think I can learn it?" Eldrian quickly asked, believing this spell would be amazing to almost anyone.

"No, at least not without going through a good number of hoops. While it certainly isn't the only spell of its kind, it is one we centaurs developed over decades. As such it is regarded as something similar to a legacy." Evale replied trying her best to explain why in her denial.

Eldrian quickly apologized for his haste in requesting it. From which they then started talking of things less important and much less involved in the mission. Eldrian quite enjoyed their company, they were easy to talk to and did not mind his questions.

Through this conversation, Eldrian managed to bring up that he was not hundreds of years old, and also found out what the cape-like clothing was called. This piece of clothing was indeed considered as pants to centaurs, though it was unisex.

It was called an Akro and lighter color generally emphasized feminity while darker ones musculinity. Adding onto this the brightness of the Akro seemed to show your standing, so a bright cyan Akro would indicate that the centaur was a female noble. Though this wasn't really followed strictly in casual wear and the importance of color was more for formal gatherings.

As they talked and Eldrian learned more of their culture, their conversation would be interrupted from time to time. Generally, those who came would quickly introduce themselves before leaving, none seemingly wanting to stay for tea, or anything more really.

After the fifth time this happened Eldrian had to ask, "Why is everyone staying in an inn instead of just taking the accommodation here?"

"Privacy, safety, politics, preference. It isn't really just one thing," Evale quickly answered as the door again flung open, "Kydone! You're early!" Evale suddenly shouted and rushed to give the person who just entered the room a hug. Her speed such that Eldrian didn't realize she had moved until the wind almost blew him from his feet. The nearby chairs and tables all thrown to the ground.

Turning around Eldrian saw a demi-human being lifted into the arms of the centaurette. Striped light gray furry ears and a similar tail slightly visible to him. As soon as Evale let her down Eldrian could get a better look.

This person wore a dark purple robe covering most of her body, even so her ears clearly struck out from under this robe. Her tail had quickly hidden under the robe once she was let go. As she moved closer Eldrian could see the fur of her ear extending slightly onto her cheeks.

"Kydone, long time no see," Evules said with a bright smile, offering his hand. Completely ignoring the mess his sister caused by rushing over to the doors. Eldrian realized this only as he turned his sights from the demi-human. Flabbergasted when he saw the shambles the room was in now.