Episode 004: Eti Lifeflight

The trip over the shoulder of Mister Beefy could be compared to a roller coaster. Only a lot more nerve-wracking, as I only had his single arm keeping me from plummeting 20-feet headfirst to the forest floor. Considering I wasn’t the elves’ favorite person at the moment, well, I had valid reasons to be concerned.

But the speed in which they traveled reminded me of monkeys. Or, actually, a better comparison would be ninjas right out of a certain Shōnen Jump series. I know certain factions in my university would lambast me if I dared compare Legolas expys to monkeys.

Unfortunately, despite the trip being haphazard to my health, we soon arrived at our destination too quickly for my tastes.

Who would be ready for an inquisition though? And that’s assuming these elves would be reasonable and not xenophobic. I mean, they look like the elves romanticized in media but I’ve read about the original beings. Needless to say, they were not nice supernatural beings, with a type of alien mentality compared to human sensibilities.

I wasn’t going to make any snap judgments but I knew to be wary as I took in my surroundings after I was dumped unceremoniously onto the ground.

“Vode! What is this?” a male elve walked up to the patrol with two others behind him.

Said “what” tried not to be offended. Instead, I noted how this new individual, who had red-tones in his blond hair, addressed Mr. Muscles who had been my ride instead of the female Captain. My first thought was civilian since I had some cousins who were military and I found you always acknowledged the one with the highest command unless they were preoccupied.

The female Captain, Grine, had been standing off to the side, making sure the perimeter was secured and directing one of her scouts to head deeper into the home of elves.

Whether I can make use of this observation… Well, for the moment, I tucked the potential information off to the side as I continued to take in the waves my arrival caused the already present agitation.

Tucking my chin down to hide how I perked my ears to the surroundings, I made an assumption I was probably on the outskirts of their home or maybe possibly an outpost. The differences between this newcomer (named Eti Lifeflight) and the group that was patrolling seemed to reinforce the impression, including the distant sounds of bustling further in the direction the male elve came from.

Despite the joke about elves being one of those races that are always pristine, the patrol showed signs of gallivanting in the forest. Predominantly with their soft-soled long boots stained from mulch and dust, along with the random dirt on a sleeve or a streak of it on their face. In comparison, Eti and his group were cleaner, their shoes only showing an inch or two of mud splashed on them, hinting that these elves probably didn’t live that close to nature and probably had flooring and roads—in the village or city proper, whatever it may be.

Between the odd posturing between the two groups, I learned a bit more while finding myself actually preferring the lady elve that confiscated my phone over this newcomer who practically reeked ‘politician’ by his demeanor.

I shouldn’t have been surprised in hindsight that this shamaness that went missing would be a significant member of this community. Judging by the little structure I saw and how their magic (which I’m still trying to wrap my head around) worked, elves seemed to be nature worshippers. And considering magic was real along with how healers were always revered in small-knit societies…

I was in trouble.