Too Broke For Afterlife

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Far, far away, in a land so strange to this century's norm, a group of heroes was traveling through the lands of the Elven kingdom.

The heroes were each unique and driven by different ambitions but their road was the same. They had to find the Elven King's old general to save royalty and slay the mighty dragon.

Traveling all night and day, without taking a single break, the heros were getting close to Bieri, the Elven kingdom's capital. On the horizon they already saw white tents promising refuge or danger. 

Would they be welcome? Only time can tell.

And…

Okay, I can't do this.

I'm not a writer. I sort of wanted to set the mood but I'm just sounding like a pussy right now.

Basically, me and the guys are almost at the capital. Our group currently consists of me (duh), Walark, Aehorn as he is half-elf and Isabella who now goes by Pool.

When we had introduced Pool to the others, Aehorn was furious.

"A water genasi? Seriously?"

"Why? What'S wrong with genasi?" I had asked.

"They are one of the rarest races! Do we really wanna draw attention when we have to sneak into an occupied country? Why do we need this chick anyway?"

It took us a while to convince him that Pool with her persuasion skills and empathy would be a great asset.

Genasi look a lot like humans but her skin is blue as well as her hair and the eyes are big and pitch black. So I guess not very human after all. Unless you only see her shadow.

In the last 24 hours I've been close to dying of boredom several times. Sure, the nature is really pretty and yadiyadiya but after Pool, Walark and I were done with catching up, there were no interesting topics left.

Pool was quite shocked when I told her what Kassius had whispered into my ear. Either, an actual ally had hacked into the NPC or it's yet another trap. Either way, we - as usual - don't really have a choice here. If we quit the mission and the guild, Goldres might never tell us about the crystal symbol he is carrying. We'd be back at 0 and currently that's the worst place to be.

Aehorn wasn't happy that he'd be the only original member accompanying us. He called us dumb noobs and said that he isn't a nanny but now he seems to have realized that this is the best formation for what's ahead.

As a half-elf, Aehorn can negotiate best, Walark is the strongest fighter, Pool's use has already been explained and I'm the one who Kassius seemed to trust the most.

I don't know why though. I've never been told by someone that I'm trustworthy and that's also not something I care about. It was probably the hacker instead of the preprogrammed NPC.

Currently walking over a field, the morning sun shines down harshly. It's going to be a hot summer day in Troll Flower.

"We should ask someone for directions," Walark suggests. "What about this guy?"

We look over to an elf watching his sheep, his chin resting on the walking stick.

"Good idea for once. Hello!"

Aehorn waves at the elf who gets pulled out of his daydreaming and waves back.

"What a curious group! Haven't seen a lot of genasi around here."

Aehorn throws Pool a death glare who shrugs innocently and whispers "I didn't know, okay?"

We walk over to the shepherd.

"Tell me, my friend. We are looking for someone. Do you know your way around here?"

The elf sways his head while thinking. "My occupation makes me a bit of a loner but I do know many briefly. Who are you seeking?"

"The general of your last king."

His eyes widen. "Our king. He fell in battle. His brother took over the throne but he is being controlled by the Human King. It's been an awful year for all of us."

Aehorn tries his best to not show his impatience. "And his general? Does he still work for the army?"

"Oh, yes. Though I'm not sure how longer he'll stay. I've heard rumors that he strongly disagrees with this new aggressive warfare."

Interesting. It's the brother who sits on the throne but the Human King pulls all the strings."

"And where do we find him?"

The shepherd looks over to the capital that is now only a couple hundred feet away.

"Find the center. His tent is one of the blue ones."

"And what does he look like?"

The elf smiles at Aehorn. "You'll know once you see him. But may I ask why you are looking for him?"

We exchange glances.

"To deliver a message. Thank you for your help, it's greatly appreciated."

"But of course. Best of luck to you."

We say goodbye to him and continue walking.

Once we are out of hearing distance, I grin at Aehorn. 

"I didn't know you could be this soft, you prickly foot mat."

The hybrid ignores the insult. "Elves are very peaceful and proud of their heritage. Manners are very important. If you offend one, watch out."

Quick as lightning he pulls out his dagger and presses it against my throat. He grins devilishly.

I push the blade away. 

"That's not funny."

"Oh, I think it is."

"Make out already!"

We both stare at Pool angrily.

She just laughs. "You're like the same person, Aero is just more aggressive. And you know what they say: Lovers tease."

Aehorn pulls the dagger back and marches towards her.

"And you know what they say about dumb bitchs and stab wounds?"

"Dude." Walark pulls him back. "She is just joking."

"Well, I am too! Or not? Wanna find out?" But he doesn't sound like he is joking at all. If this was a 30s comic, there'd be smoke coming out of his ears.

"I'm sorry," Pool apologizes. "I won't cross this line again."

"Good," he grunts.

Well, at least I'm no longer his least favorite person. Who would have thought that someone could hate Isabella?

We are definitely grabbing attention from the elves around us as we walk along the pebble road that leads from tent to tent.

Why do they live in tents anyway? Are houses too advanced?

A piece of cloth hardly serves as a protection from the outside world. If a pack of bears decides to attack, nobody here would be safe.

One hit with the paw and your tent flies away.

But I guess elves are so in tune with nature that no animal would see a reason to attack them.

Luckily, nobody stops us and tries to strike up a conversation.

"The blue tents are over there," Aehorn says and points to the left where blue peeks out behind white.

"It's good that the general still seems to be in charge even after the king being overthrown. Imagine if he wasn't, we wouldn't know where to look."

Aehorn rolls his eyes at Pool's comment and then whispers to me.

"Does she always ramble that much?"

"Hey, I heard that!" She hits his arm. "I don't ramble, I'm just trying to make conversation. Not everyone enjoys trotting around with nothing to say."

The hybrid shrugs. "Your need to fill silence isn't really a sign of confidence."

"Shut up, you're not my therapist."

"But you'd need one."

"Guys."

Walark interrupts the two and steps in front of them.

"We don't want to stand out, right? So stop fighting like babies."

"Don't tell me what to do," Aehorn snorts.

And with that all three start fighting. What kind of kindergarten did I get thrown into?

I watch and wait for them to stop when I see a movement out of the corner of my eye.

An elf is approaching us.

This one is well-built, his hair is black as well as his eyes and he is wearing a green coat over dark grey pants, boots and vest. His face is surprisingly masculine for that of an elf.

Finally, the other notice him as well and quiet down.

The stranger looks at each of our faces before he starts talking.

"I've heard that you have been looking for me."

"Are you the general?"

He nods at Aehorn's question.

"Please call me Seledrin. I have led the Elven army for the past few years. What message did you mean to deliver?"

"You and your people have been mislead," Aehorn says. "Your last king, Kassius, did not fall in war." 

When he hears the name, his eyes widen. "What do you mean?" 

"He didn't die. Instead, the Human king locked him up in the mountains where he is waiting to be saved."

Seledrin's hand grabs his sword and he slowly pulls it out. 

"He is alive?" 

"Yes." 

"If this is a joke..."

He lifts the sword and I stumble back. "Woah, put that down." 

But the general ignores me. "You better not try to fool me. Or I'll end your lives."

So much about peaceful creatures. 

Pool steps forward. She smiles. 

"We are telling you the truth. He is alive. He told us to find you as you're the one who can save him."

"He mentioned me?" 

I furrow my brows. Why is he so flustered by that? Of course the king thought of his strongest fighter. 

"This is a miracle. We all thought he is dead. We've been mourning every day." 

He seems to be lost in thoughts for a second, then he nods. 

"I will save him.. And if it's the last thing I'm going to do.