32 Captured
James and Virgil setup camp in a small cave near the base of the mountain. It had been nearly a week since they had arrived. Fortunately, they both had plenty of supplies in their interspatial accessories.
James was currently sleeping. He faced a large tiger that shot fire towards him. He weaved and dodged as he added more slash wounds to the tiger. He eventually got struck by a claw and died. He appeared within an empty space and faced a system display window.
[Would you like to try again? Or wake up?]
"How many times have I died so far today?"
[Nine.]
"Eh, I guess that's enough for today. I'm glad it only costs 1 energy unit per day instead of per fight. I'd be broke by now otherwise."
[You've improved a lot. Keep at it another couple weeks and you'll probably beat it.]
"Ugh!" He screamed in pain. "The hell was that?"
[It appears your friend is trying to wake you. I'll end the dream function now.]
He awoke to see Virgil stepping on his stomach. "Finally awake?" He smiled. "All you've been doing lately is sleeping."
James pushed Virgil's leg off and stood up to stretch. "Not like there's much else to do. We almost got killed last time we went hunting two days ago. We should just stick to fishing at the nearby river while we slowly train."
"No way!" Virgil shook his head. "We need to start planning our escape. It could take us years to get home. We have no time to delay."
"What's the rush?" He questioned. "As long as we keep training and don't get killed, then we'll live to be at least 500 years old. What's wrong with wasting a few years leisurely training here? Better than getting killed by a magic-beast."
"You! Do you even want to go back home?!" Virgil complained.
"You know I'm not originally from the Drake Kingdom. Why are you acting so surprised? Besides, my master already left. My engagement with Lumi was canceled. The kingdom is going to hold a draft for the war soon. Why would I even want to go back?"
"You know about the draft?!" His eyes widened in shock. "How did you find out? Not even Skeleton would have let something like that slip."
James smiled and patted Virgil on the shoulder, "I am a man of many talents. I have ears everywhere. The winds whisper their secrets to me. Perhaps I'll share some of my great wisdom with you some day."
"Screw off!" He brushed aside the hand on his shoulder. "Enough joking around. Let's get serious. I've scouted a bit further each day. Another couple weeks and we should be able to move bases. We'll keep heading north until we exit the mountains. Based on what I've seen so far, I think it'll take us around a year if we're lucky."
"Fine, fine. I'll help scout today. Let's go."
The two began to jump from tree to tree within the nearby forest. Virgil tracked their location on a map he had started creating. Each day he discovered dangerous areas and marked them on the map. He would detour around them while searching for safer paths to travel.
Whoosh!
Something shot past their heads. They both froze in shock and took up defensive positions. James covered himself in shadow silk armor while Virgil covered his feet in electricity. They both stood tense, ready to react to anything.
"I thought you said this path was safe?!" James complained. "You said we wouldn't encounter any danger for at least another two hours."
"It should have been." He frowned. "Maybe a beast's hunting path includes this territory at a certain time of day. It's foolish to assume any place within these mountains is truly safe."
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
A series of sounds rang out. James moved to the side and felt something graze his cheek. It tore straight through his shadow silk armor and left a small cut on his cheek. His eyes widened in fear. He heard a loud thud as something slammed into the back of his head. The last thing he saw before losing consciousness was Virgil dodging back and forth as if he was dancing.
…
"Ugh!" He slowly opened his eyes and felt his arms and legs being restrained. He looked down and saw his hands and legs were tied by some type of rope too strong for him to break. The floor was made of light-brown wood and appeared fairly clean. He looked up and saw wooden bars in front of him. 'Am I in a jail? I must have a special affinity with being thrown in jailcells in this world.' He looked around the cell and saw Virgil. He shook him awake.
"Mm." Virgil rubbed his head as he was awoken. He looked around at the empty jailcell and frowned. "Where are we?"
"I don't know." He shook his head. "I just woke up to."
Footsteps sounded from down the hallway. They gradually came closer. A man stood in front of their cell. He was tall and had pale white skin. Golden hair hung to his waist and his ears were pointy. He wore beautiful green clothes that looked like they were sewn together from large tree leaves. His eyes were a beautiful golden color and seemed to shine with wisdom.
James stared in shock at the man. 'There can be no doubt about it! The man standing before me must be a goblin!' He turned to his friend and spoke, "Weren't goblins supposed to have green skin or something?"
"Mm." He nodded. "I've never seen one so tall before. His skin color is also unusual, but he's so ugly? He must surely be a goblin."
"HUMANS!" The man yelled. "I am not one of those filthy creatures! I am a noble elf! You'd best learn some respect!"
"What?!" The two yelled in shock. James turned towards Virgil once again. "Hey, weren't elves extinct? Also, shouldn't they be extremely beautiful? This guy looks like he lost a fight with a tar pit."
"Mm." He nodded. "In the legends they are supposed to be extremely beautiful. This goblin must be trying to fool us for some reason."
The man in front of them might appear very beautiful under different circumstances. His golden hair and eyes were very attractive. However, his white skin was covered in black boils. They covered his face, arms, and everywhere else his skin was visible. They wiggled slightly and emitted a smelly black smoke that made the boys want to gag.
The man pointed a spear towards the two and shouted, "Do you want to die?! Do you not realize your current situation?!"
"Okay, okay!" James held his hands up in defeat. "You're an elf! A beautiful and noble elf! We are lucky to be able to gaze upon your eternal beauty. Even the moon would feel inferior when basking in your presence!"
"Hmph!" The man snorted. "No one likes a smart ass." He threw two rolls of bread to them and set down a bucket of water. "The trial will be held tomorrow. That may be your last meal. I recommend you try to enjoy it." He turned around and left.
The two boys waited until they were sure the elf was gone. Then they turned to each other and began laughing. James yelled, "Bwhahaha!!! Did you see him? He was so damn ugly?!"
"I know! I know! How could he possibly have the face to call himself an elf?! Have the goblins gone mad?!"
"He made my master look like a devilishly handsome man! I should bring him here for an ego boost when I find him!"
"Haha! Maybe the last of the elves hooked up with some goblins and these are their last remaining descendants?"
The two joked around for a while before slowly calming down. James spoke with a serious face, "They mentioned a trial. Do you think they're going to kill us?"
"Hmm." Virgil rubbed one of his horns as he thought. "Hard to say. Why capture us if they just want to hold a trial to kill us? Doesn't make much sense." He stood up and covered his body in a silver and red aura. He kicked a wooden jailcell bar with all his might, but it barely trembled. He then created some fire from his shoulders and tried lighting the cell on fire. However, the wood didn't even turn black from the flames. "Looks like we won't be escaping…" He sighed.
"Right. They even took our storage devices and Snekky. I hope she's okay."
The two laid down and rested as they waited for tomorrow to come.
…
The next morning. The man returned and opened their cells. "Follow me. Try to escape and I'll kill you. I assure you it will be quite easy for me."
The two followed behind him and exited the jail. They saw a large number of trees. Each tree had a wooden platform and building built around it. Simple suspension bridges made of vines connected the various platforms. The self-proclaimed elves could be seen traveling across them. The hair and eye colors varied, but they were all tall with pointy ears. Each one was covered in the ugly black boils that continuously released a putrid stench.
The trio walked across many long suspension bridges before seeing a gigantic tree. The other trees appeared tiny in comparison. They approached the tree for nearly an hour before finally reaching it. They were like tiny ants standing before it. They looked up and saw many suspension bridges were connected to the tree. Each one led to a different entrance. They tried to see what color the leaves were, but it stood so tall that they could only see clouds beyond the wooden trunk.
They entered the tree and saw a long hallway. The man led them for several minutes before they reached a large hole. The man waited several seconds before a wooden platform appeared in the hole. He pushed the boys on top of it and stepped on it as well.
James watched as vines began to pull the wooden platform upwards. His eyes widened in surprise. 'So, this world has elevators as well? I wonder if someone pulls the vines? No, it's probably some type of magic artifact doing the work…' They stood on the platform for nearly an hour before it stopped. 'I wonder how high we are. It felt like the platform moved pretty fast. Are we near the top now?'
They exited the elevator and walked a short distance before reaching two large doors. A beautiful mural of the elves was painted on them. They bathed under the moonlight while playing various instruments. Their skin was unblemished by the black boils within the picture. They truly looked like the beautiful elves that had gone extinct in the past.
The doors swung open and they saw an old granny sitting behind a large desk. She took a sip of an unknown liquid and let out a sigh, "So these brats are the ones that trespassed on our holy territory."
James examined the woman in front of him. She was even uglier than most of the other elves. Her skin was covered in wrinkles and appeared very dry. Her gray hair only existed in patches, while the rest of her head was bald. Her pointy ears drooped down like a dog's. The black boils that covered her seemed to be even more numerous than those that covered the other elves. Her only redeeming feature was her black eyes which seemed to contain deep wisdom and pride.
The woman grinned, "You two may call me Chief Tsin." She glanced at the man that had entered with them. "You may leave now. I'll handle everything from here."
"Yes, chief." He bowed and turned to leave.
"Sit down." She ordered. She poured them each a cup of the liquid she was drinking.
The two glanced at each other before taking a sip. "Apple cider?!" James exclaimed in surprise.
"Eh?" Virgil revealed confusion. "You've had this before? I've never heard of it."
"Mm." Chief Tsin nodded. "It is apple cider. Only the elves drink it. Where did you drink it before?"
"Ah…" James smiled awkwardly. "My dad used to make it for me in my homeland."
"Is that so? How odd." She nodded. "Let's move to the main agenda. You two have trespassed on the holy territory of the elves. You have hunted our wildlife and cut our trees. Normally, I would just sentence any humans that invaded our territory to death."
The two gulped and stared nervously as they waited for her to continue.
"However, I am quite curious." She continued. "You two are mere fledglings. Elves your age would still be considered as little children. Even amongst humans you would only be considered as teenagers. If possible, I don't wish to kill mere children. So tell me, how did you make it this far in the Magic-Beast Mountains?"
