An Unexpected Party

Suddenly the light filtering through the roof of the dense forest turned purple. The air became charged as if lightning were striking everywhere around me at once. The feathers of the three owlbears surrounding me stood erect and their fear shone out of their eyes as they turned and fled. My scales were itching like they do when I fly in lightning storms.

Then came the boom, but it was different from the shockwave of lightning. A wall of wind came with the boom and nearly knocked me over. I could hear the sound of falling trees deeper in the forest. Something had crashed hard in the forest. It was probably connected to that strange purple light. I was curious about this weird phenomenon, but it had nothing to do with me.

I was more concerned that the owlbears were gone. I needed to find them, and kill them. That was the reason I was here. The guild quest called for defeat of three owlbears that suddenly appeared in the Demon Forest. I should be thankful for that strange light. It probably saved my life. I'm not sure I could have taken down three owlbears at once.

There was a deeper mystery I needed to solve. Owlbears are solitary hunters. Why were those three owlbears hunting together? They were too mature to be nestmate cubs. There was something off with their behavior and their eyes. Enough of this! Think later. Hunt now. I can't afford to let them get away. I need this bounty!

I jumped into the branches of the nearest tree and ran towards the one that was closest to me. The forest is too dense for me to fly, but I should be able to leap from tree to tree faster than on the ground. I can see the heat of the creature. That's odd, the creature has a hot spot below its left shoulder. I have a bad feeling about this bounty. The forest is getting brighter! There's a clearing ahead! The owlbear broke out into the clearing and stopped.

I leapt out into the clearing, grabbing my javelin. I hurled it at the hot spot below the shoulder, casting,

“Ice Lance!”

The owlbear leaped away. The javelin pierced the owlbear's hot spot and buried itself deep in its chest. Ice spread over its shoulder and chest, and down its leg.

Crackle!

What was that sound? It sounded like a chrystal shattering. The sound came from the owlbear. But that was the least shocking thing. I landed only a pace behind the fallen, half-frozen, and now dead owlbear. Someone was standing on top of a flattened devastation that moments ago was dense forest. A large circle of wreckage covering this newly made clearing in the forest.

On top of which there was a wild-eyed Dark Elf maiden in the center of it all, running full tilt at me with a drawn sword.

“Who the Hell are you!?”

“DRAGON!” yelled the strange, running elf.

“What are you blind? I'm not a dragon. Plus, I'm only half Dragonkin. Why are you attacking me?” I said.

I had no choice, I had to draw my blade.

“I'm warning you, I will defend myself if you attack me. And I will not let you take my kill. This is part of the bounty for the Guild quest I'm assigned,” I said.

The elf stopped mid-run and looked confused. Then she started moving her fingers in the air as if she was thumbing through pages in a book, and mumbling to herself. Oh great, a crazy elf, or one high on poison mushrooms or something. I definitely don't need this. Definitely outside of my pay-grade.

“Umm... excuse me. Can you tell me where I am? Is there a town, or a city nearby?” the strange elf asked.

“Sure, you are in the Demon Forest. The nearest town is Nirvan, about a mile from the edge of the Forest in that direction. Although you'll probably want to go that way until you get to the Empire Road and follow that in. There will be fewer beasts and monsters to deal with, if you stick to the road. You know because of the spell stones,” I said.

“Spell stones?” the strange elf asked.

“Yes, the Empress' roads all have embedded spell stones to deter beasts and monsters. You aren't from around here, are you? Not that I care, but did you cause this destruction? How did you do this? Was that purple light from the sky your doing?” I asked.

“I come from uh... a distant land. I'm not really sure how I got here. One minute I was talking to a golden-haired goddess, and then suddenly I was inside this purple light standing over there,” the strange elf said.

“I see. Talking to the Goddess. Do you talk to the Goddess often?” I asked.

“Well, no. First time,” said the elf.

“I see. Well, if you are planning on heading to the town, you might want to cover those ears. Dark elves aren't very common around here, and slavers might try and capture you. Not to mention, given the current political state between the Dark Elf Realm and the Empire, you might not get the warmest reception from the population,” I said.

“So, this is the demons' forest? Are there a lot of demons in the forest, too? Also, you make it sound like there are a lot of monsters and other beasts in the forest? I don't really have much experience with demons, monsters and beasts,” said the elf.

“Umm... the Demons all live on the Demon Continent now. This is just called the Demon Forest because it's the home of the Demon Cats, but we are pretty far from any of their tribal homes. Look, I'm kind of busy here. I have to process this owlbear and capture the other two I was hunting. So, I'm kind of busy. Are we done, Miss Elf?” I said, trying to end this awkward conversation.

“Well, I assume you'll be heading to the town when you are done hunting? Maybe I could accompany you on your hunt and travel to the town with you when you're done? Maybe I can do something to help you along the way? Miss ...?” the elf asked.

“My name is Deirdre, and you are called?” I said.

“Oh, I'm so sorry! I've never seen a Dragonkin before. My name Kanae Dreamweaver,” said Kanae.

“Kanae is an unusual name for an elf. I'm sorry, but I generally work alone, and hunting owlbears is quite dangerous. Not to mention these two remaining owlbears are acting strange and hunting as a group. Furthermore, you likely won't be able to keep up with me. I may also be here for a few more days, since your arrival seems to have spooked my prey and much of the local wildlife,” I said.

“I see. I promise not to get in your way. I'm really at a loss for my surroundings. I am confident I have fairly strong magik. Surely I can do something to help you?” Kanae said.

“Fine. You can accompany me. Just stay out of my way when I'm tracking and fighting. And you have to obey my orders. Without fail,” I said.

“Oh, thank you! Thank you so much! I'll be as silent as the lamb!” Kanae said.

“Ok. What's a lamb?” I said.

“Oh, it's a medium-sized domestic farm animal where I come from. We use their fur to make thread. They are also quite tasty,” Kanae said.

“I see,” I said as I cut open the now thawed out owlbear.

“Hmm, so there really was a chrystal buried in the owlbear's shoulder. Very strange,” I said to no one in particular, while processing the owlbear. I removed the soulstone and processed the owlbear the best I could. Then I stored the owlbear in the Guild issued item bag.

“Alright, are you ready Miss Dreamweaver?” I asked.

“Call me Kanae please, Deirdre. It's ok if I call you Deirdre? Yes, I'm ready whenever you are,” Kanae said.

“Ok, I'm going to head back to where I last saw the other two owlbears, and then try and track them down one at a time,” I said, as I jumped into the tree I had been in.

“Wait! In the trees?” Kanae asked.

“Yes, it's faster and safer for traveling. You're an elf. This should be second nature, yes?” I said a little puzzled.

“Umm, yeah, I'll try it,” Kanae said, and she leapt up somewhat awkwardly.

“Follow me, and try to stay close,” I said.

“Ok,” Kanae said, and we were off.

Kanae had no trouble following me, although her laughing was somewhat annoying.

“Oh my goddess! This is so much fun!” Kanae said behind me.

This book was originally published on NovelPhoenix. Check it out there for the real experience.

“Glad you're having fun,” I replied to this very, very strange and awkward elf. Had I not known better, I'd have mistaken her for a human teen. Granted I'm only fifteen myself, but have lived my life mostly on the streets of Nirvan as an orphan, doing what I could to stay one step ahead of the slavers and dragon hunters.

We traveled to the spot I had been when surrounded by the owlbears. I stopped and began searching for the tracks of the other owlbears.

“Why'd you stop?” Kanae asked.

“This is where I last saw the other two owlbears. There! There's the track one of the other owlbears went,” I said.

I took off again, going as fast as I dared. I had to drop to the forest floor nearly ten minutes later.

“Why did you jump down?” Kanae asked.

“The owlbear stopped panicking, and the track is harder to follow. There's the track. Hmmm... very strange it's heading toward the clearing your arrival created. I have a bad feeling about this. This is not normal owlbear behavior. You'd better get back up in the trees and follow me from up there,” I said.

I have a bad feeling the owlbears are hunting me, specifically, and have been from the start. Was this whole quest a setup to kill me, or anyone taking the quest? Why? This weird elf crashing here is another weird mystery. We followed the track of the owlbear for about fifteen minutes until it was clear it was headed for the clearing. I jumped back up into the trees.

“We're going back to the clearing. Probably both owlbears will be in the area. Hopefully, I can surprise them. Be as quiet as you can until I tell you it's alright,” I said.

“Stealth move. Scent conceal. Presence conceal,” I cast.

After a few minutes I could sense the owlbears. They were close, and close together. So weird. I slowed down to a crawl. I discovered the first owlbear. It was rooting around the kill site. The other was in the woods, watching, apparently. The owlbear rooting around also seems to have an embedded chrystal. I repositioned myself to have a shot at the chrystal that would also kill or immobilize the owlbear. I made my shot.

“Ice lance!” I cast as the javelin neared the creature. It looked up startled and made to escape. But it was too late, the javelin shattered the chrystal and buried itself in the creature's heart. A clean kill. But I had no time to enjoy my kill, as the other owlbear launched itself out into the clearing. Running dead on at me and pumping its wings in a backwards motion to boost its speed. I pulled out my short swords and braced myself. An instant before the owlbear reached me, I leapt up from the branch. Twisting my body while rolling forward over its head, I dove forward and drove my blades into its back. I missed the chrystal core, but managed to cut deeply into both trapezius muscles.

“Ice skewer!” I cast, and my blades became ice-coated skewers boring deep into the owlbear. The owlbear fell towards the ground as it quickly died. Suddenly the owlbear's shoulder began to glow.

“Area shield! Ice wall! Ice wall! Ice Wall!” I cast in alarm.

The bear exploded, and exploded the trunk of the tree I'd landed in, shattering into splinters. The remains of the tree blasted up and away from the explosion at extreme velocity. I was launched along with it. I leapt from the rocketing tree. My ice walls were destroyed and my shield shattered. A limb struck my leg and shattered it.

“Ow! Damn it!”

I pumped my wings to pull myself away from the wreckage of the tree and landed in the field away from flying debris.

“Spiral vine!” I cast around my leg so I could walk on it until I could get it properly healed. I limped back to the owlbear, or rather what was left of it. One of the back paws was intact. That would be enough to prove I had taken it down. I stuffed it and the other owlbear into the Guild's storage bag. I sat down to rest and collect my senses a bit. Kanae jumped down and ran to me.

“Are you alright? What the Hell was that? Why did it explode.”

“My left leg is shattered, but I'm otherwise alright. There was a chrystal embedded in all three owlbears. I managed to destroy the other two chrystals, but missed the third one in my battle. It was the chrystal that exploded and caused this damage,” I said.

“Do all owlbears have exploding chrystals in them?” Kanae asked.

“No. These were surgically implanted. This whole Guild job was a setup to kill whoever took the job. One way, or another. I don't know if I specifically was the target, or any party taking the job was,” I said.

I just hope there isn't some kind of backup attack plan still out there.

“Why would anyone want to kill you? That's really messed up!” Kanae said.

“I'm dragonkin, and to top it off, I'm half-human and half-dragonkin. Then additionally, I'm an orphan that reached adulthood without being enslaved. Not that an adult female from the slums, who isn't a whore, is safe from being abducted by slavers. Even adult merchants' daughters are sometimes targeted. You really must have grown up far from society if you don't know any of these things. You really need to wake up, if you are going to be on your own here you need to be cautious and take care of yourself, or you'll be picked up by slavers. You are far too ignorant about how this nation and world works.” I said.

“There are no slaves or slavers where I come from. So this is all new to me. Maybe I could partner up with you, and you can help me learn about how this nation works?” Kanae said.

I looked at this strange elf incredulously.

“I work alone. I don't have time to babysit strangers. I don't even know what you're capable of, and you don't look strong enough to join me in physical battles,” I said.

“I'm a mage, but haven't any experience,” Kanae said.

“A mage with no experience. Right. Alright, see that tree there with the silver bark? See if you can hit it with a stone dart, a fireball, or a waterball. Like this. Stone dart!” I said, shooting a stone dart into the tree.

“Alright, like this? Stone dart!” Kanae said, and a stone dart flew past the silver tree and impacted the tree next to it, cutting it down.

“Whoa! No need to go all out. Try again reduce the power a little,” I said.

“How do I reduce the power? I wasn't even thinking about making it strong,” Kanae said.

“That was your default level? Try calling a level one dart,” I said.

“Alright. Level one Stone dart!” Kanae cast and the dart hit the silver tree, still cutting it in half.

“What the fuck!? That's your level one!” I exclaimed.

“Um, I guess. Like I said I have no practical experience,” Kanae said.

“Damn! Alright, do you have any other elements?” I asked.

“I think the Goddess said I have all elements,” Kanae said.

“Right, the Goddess. Look nobody has all elements, and if you had all elements you'd be like the strongest mage in the world. Not to mention the most dangerous person. Every nation would have their agents after you to make you their court mage, or worse. It'd probably lead to all-out war to capture you,” I said.

“You're joking. Seriously?” Kanae asked.

“For real. You'd be captured or assassinated. Alright, try using a level two iceball against that tall tree over that way,” I said.

“Level two iceball!” Kanae cast. An iceball formed in front of Kanae and grew to one meter in size. It flew at high velocity to the large, tall tree cutting it in half.

“Holy Goddess! That's insane!” I said.

“Shoot a fireball up into the sky.”

“Fireball!”

“Try wind blade on that pine tree.”

“Wind blade!” Kanae cast, and wind blades sliced through the pine tree.

“Holy Mother of Goddess! Well if you have the light magik element you should be able to heal my leg with the heal spell and your palms pointed at my injury,” I said.

“Heal?” Kanae said, pointing her palms at my leg. My leg healed in just a few moments.

“Oh my Goddess! How about sword of darkness?” I said

“Sword of darkness!” Kanae said, and a dark sword appeared in her right hand.

“Try cutting into that tree with it,” I said.

“Alright,” Kanae said as she pulled the blade through the small tree, cutting it in two.

“You really have all elements! Don't let anyone know! Your life will be over. Yes, you can join with me. You don't have enough common sense to stay out of trouble, I'll teach you everything you need to know to survive here. Just for kicks if you are at least a level five, try any level five spell other than fire at one of the trees on the other side of the clearing.”

“Level five wind blade!” Kanae cast.

A ferocious blast of wind shot away from Kanae and the wind blades cut down a swath of trees as wide as a road and ten trees deep.

“Whuh!?” I said as my knees gave out, and I collapsed to the ground.

“Umm, don't tell me, but is your level over ten,”

“Yeah, I'm level 99,” Kanae said.

“Of course you are. I told you not to tell me. Cast level conceal on yourself. By the way, who are you? What are you? Are you the Demon Lord?”

“Demon Lord? No! I'm just a simple mage!” Kanae said.

“The strongest mage in the Empire is level 81. You are not a simple mage, you're stronger than any monster out there. Probably as strong as the Demon Lord. You are strong enough to defeat an entire army, or destroy a city or a mountain, maybe an entire nation,” I said.

“Am I really that strong? What level are you? Is it rude to ask?” Kanae asked.

“It is rude to ask. I am level 85, but I'm half dragon. I will someday surpass level 100. Everyone thinks I'm level 20. The average elf never exceeds level 25, although elite elves often reach level 85. Cast level limit 35 on yourself. You'll have to register at the Adventurers Guild to join me as a partner. With the two of us and that level we should be able to form a C ranked party. That will give us a lot of choices for work, and not stand out too much. This quest is what I needed to reach rank D. You should be prepared for trouble, joining a party with me. I don't know what's going to happen, but being C ranked should help shield us from the worst of it,” I said.

“Level limit 35?” Kanae cast and she shimmered briefly.

“Whenever you think you need full power cast limit break. Go ahead and try it, and then recast the level limit.”

“Limit break!” Kanae cast, and she flashed so brightly I had to cover my eyes.

“Damn! Now I'm seeing spots,” I said.

“Level limit 35,” Kanae cast to restore her limit.

“If I'm going to have to break the limit if I need it, why bother?” Kanae asked.

“When you register with any guild they will measure your limit and your elements. Your limit we can hide. We'll have to ask to test your elements in private. I don't think there is any way to hide you are all elemental from them. Demand confidentiality, in writing, before letting them test your elements. It will still probably be reported to the queen. Nothing we can do about that,” I said.

“Wow, I'm really glad I met you. I'm sure I'd have wound up in all kinds of trouble otherwise,” Kanae said.

“Oh, we're definitely going to cause a lot of trouble. But if we're careful we might be able to avoid the worst of it. It's going to be interesting, to say the least. Let's try and have as much fun as we can. I'm fifteen by the way, so I'm an adult now. What about you? It's hard to tell with elves,” I said.

“I'm just sixteen now, so I'm an adult too,” Kanae said.

“Well adult in human settlements. You're still a child in elven eyes and settlements,” I said giving her a suspicious look.

“Well, yes, that's what I meant. Obviously,” Kanae said, rather unconvincingly.

Who is this, really? Is she really an elf? What kind of elf would call herself an adult at sixteen, when the age of maturity for elves was thirty-five? Maybe she really is the Demon Lord, but I only detect an elf. I should be able to sense any demon. Her mana aura is crazy strong. I'm going to have to watch this one. I sense no danger from her though.

“Well what next?” Kanae asked.

“We should head to Nirvan and go to the Adventurers Guild. I have to report completion of my quest, and then we can get you tested and registered at the Guild. There will also be a battle test, but you should have no problem winning. Don't call out any levels when you cast spells. Don't use more than three elements and don't use the Dark element. You can also make a sword of Light, but people rarely use that element for offense. You'll attract the Church's attention if you do, and you don't want to attract the Church's attention,” I said.

“Got it.”

“Also don't use both Fire and Water. People will suspect you have all the normal elements if you do. I would suggest Earth, Wind, and Light. Light should be one that you pick, since you'll probably wind up using it for healing. So it's best to not hide that one.”