Hearthblade sang as it cut through three arrows in two smooth motions, with Tim snatching a fourth out from the air with his empty left hand. The girls dove to the ground as a second volley materialized from somewhere deeper into the forest. Adama cut through these arrows as well, making no effort to chase down the attackers. Naaza had reflexively drawn her bow and aimed to return fire, but he nudged her bow off course with the flat of his blade. As much as Tim preferred to counterattack, that wouldn’t help them in this situation. He instead elected to use his words:

  “You elves try to kill every stranger you meet?”

  Lilli was the quickest besides Adama to recognize the situation and adapt, calling out:

  “We mean you no harm! We merely wish to trade with the mighty High Elves of Alv Forest!”

  There was only silence in response for a while, before a rich, calm male’s voice spoke back to them:

  “Intruders, you trespass in the domain of the High Elves, in a time of war no less. Prove your sincerity by throwing down your arms and submitting yourselves for judgement.”

  Adama obviously wasn’t going to just give in to those demands outright, but he knew he’d have to be diplomatic here:

  “How about a trade. Show your faces and we’ll do just that. Or should I surrender myself to a faceless voice?”

  He sensed some bristling in annoyance from the unseen elf, then a response:

  “You are in no position to bargain.”

  “With a sword in hand, I’m always in a position to bargain.”

  More silence. Then:

  “Very well.”

  Like wraiths, five hooded figures appeared from the brush all around them. They’d clearly moved after firing those arrows, but Adama betrayed no surprise as he locked eyes with the leader of the pack. The male stood slightly taller than the others, features stern yet divine in their handsomeness. Piercing blue eyes regarded Adama from underneath the hood of an earthen brown cloak. Bows and arrows stood knocked and ready to be drawn and loosed at a moment’s notice. The male called out again:

  “I say again, lay down your arms.”

  Adama gave him a half smile in response and pointed to his left:

  “I asked for all of you to show your faces. Including that silly girl over there.”

  Icy marbles flicked to where he was pointing, and Adama heard a small sigh:

  “You can come out as well, Theresa. It seems our visitors are not easy to fool.”

  With a slight huff, a smaller figure moved out from behind the tree Adama had been pointing at. Unlike the others, this figure immediately threw off her hood and glared at Adama with emerald eyes that mirrored the swordsman’s own. Long pointy ears verified her identity as a high elf, though her hostile posture lacked much of their fabled dignity. Soft blonde hair framed a petite and intelligent face that reminded him of Eina’s, though this younger lady looked no older than 15:

  “I am not a ‘silly girl’. I’m 83 years old, I’ll have you know. You can call me that when you have decades of life experience to your name, foolish human. And how did you know I was there, anyways?”

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  Adama just grinned sarcastically at her:

  “I’m sure you’ll learn to properly mask your breathing after a few more decades of life experience, silly girl.”

  The young elf began to turn red, opening her mouth to retort, but she was cut off by another sigh and statement by their leader:

  “Enough. Do as bargained, strange swordsman. And please stop teasing the youth.”

  Adama was a man of his word, sheathing Hearthblade and presenting it to his captors. Of course, he secretly conjured a Hidden Blade and held it up his sleeve. The elves searched them, finding everything besides the hidden magical blade, and confiscated their things before binding them and leading them deeper into the forest. The elves remained totally silent throughout this process, which suited Adama, but Emi was restless enough to try to pry more information out of them:

  “Are you taking us to your home? Will you trade some of your tree sap with us? I promise you we have money and valuable items!”

  These questions and statements were met with no response as they trundled onward steadily. Soon, the party began to pass numerous strange looking trees. They were larger than their fellows, an impressive feat since the average tree in Alv Forest had a diameter of 20 meters, and they had strange carvings on their fronts that Tim realized resembled beautifully crafted doors. His suspicion was confirmed when one of these doors swung open, revealing a matronly looking elf, who glared at the prisoners in suspicion as they passed by. The elves had literally carved dwelling spaces into the trees, decorating the entrances and exteriors with elaborate wood carvings of forest scenes and lively animals. The others gaped and marveled at the picturesque forest houses, peering in awe at the beautiful elven village. Despite the pleasant aesthetics, the party also noticed the village was eerily quiet. There were maybe one or two children playing in the ‘streets’, with the remaining population being mostly older looking people going about their business. Adama saw no young men besides their escorts:

  “A bit of a ghost town, don’t you think?”

  Emi remarked, thoughtfully. It was her first statement that earned a comment from one of their captors:

  “Most of our people have been fielded to fight the inv-“

  “Hush Ludo.”

  The commander of this group stated imperiously, looking warily at the swordsman:

  “Do not discuss clan matters with unknown outsiders.”

  Adama gave no reaction, but inside the gears were turning. Those were two “good” signs. Blackford’s statement had been true, the Empire had truly come to Alv Forest. And even better, the commander of their Elf welcoming party didn’t necessarily suspect them of being Imperial spies. If he did, there would be no need to try to keep this sort of thing secret.

  The Empire was one of the most powerful political forces on the continent, behind perhaps Orario itself. Orario had more direct military might, but all of that stemmed from its control over the Dungeons and the ability to raise high level adventurers in large numbers that came from that. The Empire had no such luck, being forced to rely on lesser options to train their soldiers, but they controlled wide swaths of territory, allowing them to field large armies. While the Empire’s quality of soldiers was inferior, compared to Orario, their quantity was in a world of its own, making them the pre-eminent military power on the continent behind the Adventurer’s city. It was an expansionist power, one that was always looking to bring others under the Leonine banner, and it had set its sights on the High Elves of Alv Forest.

  Their escort brought them to a particularly massive tree with an unornamented door. Inside, they found a circular central room, populated by two prison cells on the left and the right with a central staircase leading upward. There were several injured looking human figures in these cells, but the party wasn’t allowed to examine them for long as they were led up the staircase and to an identical room. This room’s cells were empty, and the prisoners were split up and locked away in their confines. Adama was placed on one side of the room while the girls were confined on the other. The male elf leader said something to the others in a language the humans couldn’t understand, then turned to look at Adama:

  “I understand you wish to trade with us, but you have violated our customs by trespassing on our grounds. Once certain other matters are resolved, the council will decide your fate. Fear not, though we have good reason to distrust outsiders and humans we are not barbarians. If you are put to death, it will be painless, yet things won’t even necessarily come to that. We might even allow you to leave after giving you much time to reflect upon your actions.”

  Theresa puffed out her chest haughtily:

  “Perhaps you’ll learn to control your tongue after a few decades of that, silly boy.”

  Adama just smiled lazily back:

  “I control my tongue like I do my sword. Problem for you is they’re both sharp-edged and well forged.”

  Again, the elf was dragged away by her older companions before she could continue bickering with the adventurer. Adama didn’t tease her for no reason, though admittedly it was a little fun. He was putting on the affect of a cool, confident warrior, unbothered by their menacing statements. It wasn’t hard, since it wasn’t far from the truth, and it would engender the public image he wanted the elves to have of him for the next part of his plan.

  The elves had only left one warrior to guard them, and he leaned against the wall with a seemingly casual air that was belied by his watchful eyes and fighter’s grace. Still, Adama could tell just by looking at him that he was a capable Level 1 fighter at best. The High Elves didn’t have falna or gods in their forests, so far as Tim was aware. They generally eschewed such pacts, preferring to rely on their powerful natural physiques and connection to nature and magic, in keeping with the old ways. There were some high elves who had broken free from this orthodoxy, one notable example being high mage Riveria llos Alv from Loki Familia. But even High Elves who hadn’t been falna enhanced were theoretically capable of combat at the Level 2 and even low Level 3 tier, though that was only made possible by extraordinary skill on top of their normal physical abilities.

  They were also capable of various magics, as evidenced by the bars of his cell. They were made out of wood, appearing largely mundane and perhaps a little fragile to the naked eye, but Tim knew better. They had a conceptual weight about them, subtly vibrating with a hidden energy only clear to a capable mage. These bars had been grown and sculpted through magical means, making them much stronger than many Dungeon metals. It wasn’t quite an Orichalcum prison, but it would definitely hold most adventurers and just about any elf.

  That was why Tim’s guard was shocked speechless when the swordsman nonchalantly let his bindings fall to his feet, reached out, and tore one wooden bar straight from its socket.