Inside and Outside

Chapter 84: Inside and Outside

/Hello everyone. I am an elf. Pleased to make your acquaintance.

Today's host has asked me to give a short speech. Recently, trade between our regions has been increasing, and both of us thought it beneficial to have a general round of information on who we are. Well, not all of us are the same, but we definitely share some opinions.

My name is Björn. Yes, I understand, many would not consider that an elvish name. I understand I look more like a Loriel, or perhaps an Ilimar, but regardless, I am still Björn. I come from a background many humans may consider humble, with me being a splitter. Ah, that essentially means an elvish woodworker.

It is a very important part of our society. Splitting is different from woodworking in a lot of ways, of course, but they do share the core mechanic of shaping wood. Splitting, however, is more of an... exchange. We ask the trees to give us a piece of their wood, shaped to whatever we desire, and in exchange, we give them nutrients. Be that in the form of stamina, or mana, or even care. Some splitters water the trees and fertilize them, while others offer up animals or even their own blood.

To be a splitter can also mean to shape homes. You see, as we care for the trees, we always give back just as much as we take, and thus, elven trees can grow to enormous proportions, especially when it comes to width. And if we ask politely enough, after a longstanding cooperation, splitter families may begin to inhabit the tree they have been shaping for generations.

Not all elves live in trees, though. That image simply comes form splitting, especially since splitters are most often sent out to deal with other nations, so our impact is far stronger. But some elves prefer living in houses made from stone, while others again shape themselves huts from clay. Far up north, our people in Yunika live in houses made from ice.

Still, a central part of elven culture is sustainability. I have been working closely with this country to ensure a long and prosperous relationship, as deep as that of a splitter and their tree, and for that we have to consider the compatibility of our worldviews. So, in the name of Björn Ledograd I ask for your continued cooperation. Thank you./

A "Speech on Elvenkin", held by the city steward, advisor, and trade partner Björn in Valojn. Of course, he afterwards clarified, that summing up the entirety of a culture in a couple of sentences is difficult, and he only just scratched the surface of what makes elves.

- - - - - -

"Hey Zyl, can I ask you something?"

"Hm? Sure, what is it?" The man replied, curiously eyeing his feline friend.

"I wanted to ask... uh, about your... how do I put this... What kind of people are you into?"

"Romantically?" Zyl raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Mercury ground out between his teeth.

"Hmmm, well. I usually don't date very much, but in general, I don't have a specific type. What about you?"

"I- Zyl, I'm gay," Mercury replied. Telling people about it usually came fairly easy, Lucia had known for quite a while even, but when it was someone he had a crush on and it felt like half a confession, it was much harder.

"Oooooh, that's what you meant," Zyl said with a smirk. "Well, I'm omni. Doesn't really matter that much to me. I think personality is the most important part. I guess, if I had to say, I like someone who's fun to be around, and treats me like an equal." Zyl pinched his chin with his fingers and nodded confidently in the end, like it was an answer he had put a lot of thought into. "No one like that has come around in recent times though."

"Want to go on a date?" Mercury then blurted out.

"Huh?"

"I- I mean, of course you don't have to if you don't want to. It's just, I've been having a really good time talking to you and it feels like I've genuinely gotten to know you a little bit over the course of these last few days, so I-"

"Hey, calm down a little," Zyl said, placing a finger on Mercury's paw. "I'd be up for giving it a try."

"..."

"But how about we take our time? I have a lot of trouble with "love-at-first-sight" kind of things. It takes me a little while to bond with someone before I feel like I can develop romantic feelings."

"OF COURSE!" Mercury yelled excitedly. "Oh, sorry, I mean, hrm, yes, that's fine with me. I don't want to rush you at all. Just be honest with me, alright?"

"Sure," Zyl said with a smile. "I'll try my best. You too, alright?"

"Okay," Mercury said wearing a pleased grin.

Now for a short moment of insight into the cat's mind.

WOOOOOO YEAH BABY, THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT, THAT WHAT I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR, WOOOOOOOO!!!

Indeed, a very appropriate reaction.

- - -

Less than a handful of days later, the party finally arrived at Unbar. The city was relative largely, built into the area below a cliff. It surrounded the whole place in a half circle, though quite many acres of farmland were found outside the encompassing walls.

High above the rest of the ceiling, on top of the cliff, stood a mansion. It wasn't too huge, but kept in good condition, and it seemed quite decorated. What came first, the mansion or the city? Well, in this case, the answer was clear. The mansion.

It used to be naught but a summer home for Zyl's family, but eventually, he ended up moving there full time. The people who used to serve his grandparents had started a small village by then, but the mansion had still been there before, although the city had been halfway formed before Zyl arrived.

Still, it's name, Unbar, was given when he came there. The capital of the guardian's nation, a large spread of land Zyl had declared his and allowed people to settle. Thus, people came, and Unbar grew, the area of land under Zyl's command with it.

As they entered the city, Mercury was surprised to see many things. The guards at the gate weren't human, that much he could tell. After all, one of them had horns and red skin, while the other had a face covered in blue scales.

"A demon and a Sipisc?" Lucia asked. "Did you get new people to move in, Zyl?"

"I did," he said, waving his head, and immediately, the guards lifted their weapons. "You haven't visited in a while. Things were bound to have changed. How long has it been actually?" He said the last part in a slightly accusatory tone and shot her a long glance as the carriage moved further inwards.

Lucia remained silent at his question, simply staring straight ahead, when another voice resounded.

"Three years," it said, from on top of a flat building. "Three years."

The voice was a deep hum, strong enough to shake the earth. It wasn't loud, yet it vibrated within Mercury's skull as the power rattled his brain. Some villagers showed a very similar reaction, as they began shivering and quickly moved away from what would have otherwise become a big reception.

"Three-"

"Otto, watch your pressure," Zyl said with a smirk. "It's good to see you too buddy."

"Oh, right, sorry," the figure said with a much less supernatural tone, scratching the back of his head. "I got excited."

Lucia only gave a long sigh at this. "I would almost say I missed you, if it weren't for those antics of yours, Otto."

"Sorry..."

"Lucia, I think you're being a little mean," Mercury said.

"Who that?"

"It's a friend of Lucia's and mine. Otto, meet Mercuy, Mercury, meet Otto."

"Hey, nice to me-" before Mercury could finish his sentence, the other man disappeared form the ceiling, only to reappear right next to the cat and sniff his fur. "-eeet you?"

Otto sniffed a couple more times before crossing his arms and giving a satisfactory nod. "Good smell. Otto Mercury's friend now." He made the statement with a boatload of confidence.

The mopaaw quickly looked the dude in front of him up and down, taking note of his patchy skin, the tufts of fur, the pulsating veins of energy glowing beneath his skin, the jagged teeth sticking from his mouth, and then he mentally shrugged. "Fair enough. Good to make friends with you, Otto."

"Hah! Good friends indeed," Otto replied, whacking Mercury on the back to the point where he was flattened against the carriage and all the air pushed out of his lungs. "Oh-oh," Otto said.

"Pu! Chuchuchuchu!!" Lucia burst out in laughter, pointing at Mercury, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. "Chuchuchu, ah, stupid Mercury, serves you damn right, chuchu!" she mocked, leading Otto to slowly turn to her and give a thumbs up, making her lose her shit even more. Maybe she had really missed this a little, she thought.

Even Iris couldn't quite stifle a giggle, and thus, with most of the party feeling amused, and people more willing to welcome at least Zyl once more, the party made their way up to the mansion.

- - -

"Whoa, this place looks nice!" Mercury said, sweeping the inside with his eyes. It wasn't overly extravagant with it's decorations, luckily enough, but it was certainly still elegant. The floor was made from wood instead of cold stone, and there were patterned, diamond-shaped inlays placed around that seemed to give off warmth. The staircase to the second floor was inlaid with white carpet, and the lamps on the walls shed a gentle, warm light.

"Ah, please take your shoes off," Zyl said.

"Well, this is unfortunate," Mercury replied, looking at his paws. He was not wearing shoes, so he couldn't exactly get rid of the dirt on his feet as fast.

"Ah, right. Sorry, but is Maclroy around? I need someone to cast a cleansing spell on the mopaaw."

"I'm here," the answer came from a door that swung open, and out stepped a young, blonde woman. Her hair was cut to chin length, its almost touching the towel than was wrapped across her neck. Her face was covered in drops of sweat, and the air she breathed came out in puffs of steam even though they were in a warm room. She wasn't very tall, but all the more ripped in exchange, with her abs clearly visible on the tank top she wore.

"What do you need?" she asked casually, tilting her head to the side and looking Zyl over with her piercing yellow eyes. Then, after a moment she pinched her nose. "You stink," she said with a disappointed expression, before holding a hand out towards them. "<Mass Purify>!"

A moment later, a giant fist of light rushed towards them, and before Mercury even had a chance to cover, it passed through him, throwing him into the air, where he flipped over once before landing back on the ground.

"... Thank you for the monologue, Maclroy," Zyl said, his hair now in disarray.

"Anytime," the girl said, giving a big thumbs up and a wink. "So, what finally brought you back here, lazybones? And why'd you bring mopaaw? We running a pet shelter now?"

"Ah, that's-"

"I can speak for myself," Mercury spoke to Zyl, doing his best to hold back a hiss. "My name is Mercury. Right now, it's not so nice meeting you, but I hope our relations can improve as we get to know each other better." The cat wanted to speak slowly and with malice, as if talking to someone stupid, but he did remember he was a guest. The stupid bitch had been rude to him, but he wasn't about to immediately flip his lid.

"Oh, shit. Yeah, sorry, that wasn't very cool of me. My bad," she said, scratching the back of her head for a second. It really was just a second though until she stood tall and proud again, pointing her thumb at herself. "My name's Maclroy, I hope we'll get along well, Mercury!"

"She's one of the people who live here with me. I let her eat and stay for free as long as she casts the occasional spell and makes sure no one attacks the house when I'm gone. Yes, there are other people who make sure she doesn't wreck everything when I go out as well," Zyl explained, shaking his head at the energetic idiot he had the displeasure of staying with.

"Nice muscles," Iris commented, and perhaps, if he had been here, Avery would have agreed.

For a moment, it seemed as though the girl would be angry at Zyl's comments, but all of that annoyance immediately disappeared into nothingness in the face of Iris' smile. "Thank you!" Maclroy said instead, flashing a smile that was radiant enough for Mercury to want to put on sunglasses.

"Sorry to interrupt this," Lucia said, "but I'm weary from the long days of travelling. Is there any chance you could show us to our rooms, Zyl?"

"Ah, I think I'll be a bit busy, but I think Leon could do that for you."

"Who's that?"

"Me," a voice suddenly appeared behind Mercury as a rather scrawny man appeared from the shadows.

"Oh Jesus fucking Christ!" Mercury yelled as he jumped away.

The man who had spoken to him was thin, though not as haggard as he had first thought. He was also fairly tall, actually, extremely tall. Was that like... 2 meters? At least close to it, which sure was dang impressive. His skin was black, and his short hair equally so, though it had a slight tint of red to it. His face was shaven, though the stubbles still showed slightly, more in a charming than an unkempt way.

"My apologies, I did not mean to spook you," the man said, though his hands remained folded behind his back, and his eyes seemed to look past the entire room. Ah, now that he looked at them, Mercury could see that the man's eyes seemed slightly pale. A moment later, Mercury also noticed his outfit, a sleeveless sacco with a wine-red buttoned shirt underneath. Overall, Mercury would say he was maybe in his mid-fourties, and quite handsome.

"Ah, it's not a problem," the cat said a moment later. "Nice to meet you, Leon. My name's Mercury."

The other man simply nodded at the comment. "Follow me please, I will show everyone their guest rooms. May I presume lady Lucia and her stewardess to share a room?"

"You may."

Leon nodded again at that, and began walking ahead of the group, using a wooden cane to feel the floor a couple steps in front of him. His hands had a couple fainted scars, Mercury noticed, though he decided not to bother speculating. Leon didn't seem like a very talkative person, and since Mercury valued his own personal space quite a bit, he would also respect the preferences of others.

After a few minutes, he had been thoroughly cleansed by some tomboy, and was now being led through a mansion with more expensive material than he had ever been in before by a blind man, who worked for a guy he had asked out on a date. Ridiculous, honestly, Mercury thought while shaking his head. Still, he quietly followed Leon, waiting as Lucia and Iris headed into their room, while he was shown his own.

"There is a bathroom included. If there is anything you require, please tap the bell on the bedside table and someone will come by," Leon explained politely.

"You can hear it all across the house?"

The older butler smirked a bit. "Yes, but not all servants can. It is linked through stamina entanglement to another bell in the staff room. Please, do not press it excessively, we also are simply people."

"Oh, yeah, of course. Thank you, Leon," Mercury said with a nod.

"No problem, sir."

"Ah, no, please stick with just Mercury. I'm not so special, you know?" Mercury said with a crooked smile, waiting another moment for the man to nod before he headed into his room.

It was a fucking nice room. Like, genuinely, some top-tier stuff. The bed was unbelievably soft, like lying on a pile of feathers, and all of the sheets smelled freshly washed. The furniture was well designed, and it even felt largely homely, with a small door leading to a shower, and another door leading to a separate toilet as well.

Mercury smiled as he laid down in the bed. This was a very nice place to be he had to admit, and after such a long journey of bumpy carriage rides, it really did feel like he deserved a little bit of rest. With that thought, Mercury closed his eyes, and drifted off into his dreams.

- - - - - -

"You still alright, kid?" Gilah asked while giving Elliot a hand.

"Ah, yeah, I'm alright," the young boy answered, quickly accepting the help and lifting himself off the floor. "Did I pass out?"

"Seems like it," Gilah said, shaking her head. "I'm startin' to think the boss just wanted to get rid of us. This missions sits too far above our paygrade."

Elliot took a moment to reply, patting the dust off his robes, and righting the large hat he wore. "We'll be alright, I'm sure of it," he said, giving the area around a quick sweep for danger. "Not too much longer."

They had been tasked with travelling southwest, into one of those monster-infected forests. Not one that was created by a mar, but just the regular kind of evolved animal and plantlife. Still, with just two more mages as backup, it was tough finding their way.

Still, they couldn't exactly return without what the guild master had asked of them, and the entire party was aware of it. All of them deeply respected Esmeya, and it seemed as though she was on the verge of having a breakthrough in some recent research. When thinking about that, Elliot renewed his determination, and tried his best to ignore the aches and bruises all over himself.

"Ahhh, I know. Sorry, kid. Just getting frustrated. How much further?" Gilah asked into the air.

"Five and a half kilometers," one of the other mages answered, a woman, maybe half Gilah's age. She was using some sort of surveillance magic to keep an eye on the general area.

"Ugh, let's take a break then. I need some food in my system before I can continue marching," Gilah murred, plopping down on the ground before anyone even had a chance to complain. Then again, no one wanted to, seeing as they all decided to follow her example and pull some food from their inventories.

While munching on some rather bland rations, Gilah thought about things again. They definitely needed to get this commission done, but she just couldn't wrap her head around why exactly the guild master needed the venom from the tail of a snear. Seriously, those things already sucked, being Bears with snakes for their tails, yet even their normal bear jaws carried a small amount of venom in them.

Their bite force was decreased slightly because of the hollow teeth, sure, and their stamina was a little lower than normal bears because they needed to produce the venom, but their cunning was much higher, and some could even spray the shit all over someone's face. It burned like acid, too.

She shook her head at the thought of it. "What a pain, what a pain," she muttered, repeating the words of certain receptionist she maybe chatted with too much.