“They are simply just a race of people here in this continent…” –Elesil took another sip of tea- “Uhm… From what I had heard from your sister about your world, that, your world had stories, fictional ones, and this world have some similarity with elements in those fictional stories told in your world, and there are some certain stereotypes in those stories…” –saw an agreement nod from Samuel, Elesil continue- “Well, let see if I could make things clearer and help you grasp more about this world…” –Elesil gathered this thought- “About the Orcs, like I said they are just a race of people, just flesh and blood, born and die, capable of hate and love, bravery and cowardice like any other folks in Varlaurea.”

“So… how many race there are?” Samuel curiously inquired.

“Well, many, first, there are my people, the Elvas, we live mostly at the north of the continent in the Eternal Forest where we are heading right now, then there are the Uppers, a folk much like you, and like my people they live in northern Varlaure, to the northeast of the continent are the Orcs, and at south of the continent was the Downers. Then live scattered throughout many mountainous regions of the continent was the Dwarf, and those are the most likely folks that you might easily come across.”

“Wow, you know a lot, huh” –Samuel amazed- “Oh hey… when we fought the Orc with the mask, and the way you shoot lightning out of your fingers, that look so cool mate, is that magic? How do you do it? can you teach me a few trick?”

“Teach you? That… I am not so sure if it possible” -Elesil shook his head- “Because, in this world, the ability to perform magic is innate, you are either  born with it or you are not, and beside, you are from a difference world, so I cannot say for sure.”

“Is that so? What a shame” -Samuel sighed.

As the splendid sun peeked out of the mountaintops afar, the men continue on their journey. About just passed midday, when the two of them were traversing a beautiful meadow stretched over a hilly landscape, dotted with tall brushes and mighty oaks. Samuel caught something within his sight, something was moving on a hill at the right-side of him about a few hundred lias away. As the first Samuel thought it was just the local wildlife, but after a few seconds tracking the silhouette Samuel started to wonder if what he saw was a human figure, but the distain was too far for Samuel’s eyes to make anything clear.

“Hey, Elesil, do you see something moving over there? was that a human?” –pointed his hand to guide Elesil’s eyes, Samuel asked.

Elesil turned toward where Samuel’s pointed and his keen Elvas’s eyes soon confirmed Samuel’s suspicious, “That is not just a human, but a young lady also,” and thus the two men quickly turned their velelis.

As they get closer Samuel’s eyes finally could make out the detail. Indeed, that was a young lady no more than twenty, wearing an expensive looking long cobalt blue dress, although tattered and dirty. Her messy uncombed wavy red hair reached down over her hip. The young women seemingly trudging her feet forward, her posture wobbled side to side as she walked. The more Samuel got closer the more he could make out she was obviously in distress.

Heard the sound of galloping velelis, the young maiden turned her exhausted face, and she recoiled as soon as the sight of two approaching riders came to her eyes, with trembling arms she tried to held the blade in her hand up and backpedalled. Fear shown clearly on her eyes, but those, although bleary looking eyes still somehow gave of a hind of defiant. Before the men could utter any word, the girl tried to run but only resulted in her tripped and fell, rolling down the hill.

By the time she rolled to the foot of the hill, the girl was completely unconscious. Samuel and Elesil quickly set up a campfire under an oak tree and tended to her. Beautiful was her oblong face, with green round eyes and a slender elegant built, adorned and complement her beauty was various jewelleries, showing that she was a lady of high status. A fever was plaguing her as she shivered and mumbled unintelligibly. On her left arm was a makeshift bandage torn from her dress, as the men open up the bloody makeshift bandage, they found a strange and gruesome wound. The flesh on her arm was punctured and ripped by what seemingly dozens of small sharp objects arranged in haft-circle pattern. After seconds of confusion, Samuel guessed what he saw perhaps was a bite wound, but caused by what kind of animal? He had no idea. By the shape of the wound, the animal must have a flat face to leave such mark, and somehow he felt the shape somewhat resemblance human bite-mark, but was little bigger in size.

“Was that… a human bite mark?” Samuel wondered.

“A lizardmen’s bite mark to be precise” –Elesil examined the girl’s wound more closely.

“Lizarmend? Uh… what is that? another race of people on Varlearea?” Samuel curious.

“It…” –After seconds of hesitation, reluctantly Elesil quenched Samuel’s curiosity- “Well… you can say that” –Elesil tone of voice seemingly filled with sadness- “They are not very common in Varlaurea like other folks that I had mentioned before, as tall as an Orc, strong, aggressive and almost fearless, they live scattered throughout Valaurea in small band and tribe. But that is not what we should concern right now” –Elesil changed the subject- “The lizardmen are rarely venturing this far up in northern Bricatia, how and what had happened to this poor lady to get bit by one of them, I wonder.”

“Can you treat her wound?” Samuel asked.

“Yes, I can, but the wound seemingly infected, it need to be disinfected and treat with medicine before use magic to heal” –Elesil stood up- “I will look around to see if I can find some herb to treat her wound, you watch over and wash her wound for me, please”

“Will do,” Samuel said

Finally, after hours or so, under the benevolent shade of the mighty oak shielding her from the bright sun above, the maiden opened her eyes and found herself lying on a bedroll, with the sounds of something bubbling nearby. Her green eyes turned and saw a pair of veleles innocently gazing not far from where she laid and seemingly someone was tending for her, judged by the wet clothe on her forehead. Warm heat together with the smoky scent of a campfire came to her nose from where the bubbling sounds was, and once she turned her head toward the sound’s direction, her eyes wide opened in surprise as they saw the figure of a Elvas sat next to a bubbling pot, sharpening his blade.

The sight of the strangest of stranger, spooked the maiden, but it seemingly the Elvas had yet to noticed that she had awake. Why was an Elvas sat next to her in the middle of nowhere like this? What was he up to? The maiden wondered to herself. Still plaguing by the fever and haunted by the ordeal she had been through, paranoid quickly grabbed hold at her mind and the maiden immediately assumed that Elvas stranger had malevolent intention. Her hand carefully searched the ground around her until it found a rock that fit her palm, with fingers wrapped firmly at the rock the maiden raised it high, ready for a pre-emptive strike.

“Put that down, or you will regret it” -Elesil uttered a warning in the common tongue, eyes still focus on his dagger.

Heed not what the Elvas warned, with all the strength she had left in her, she threw the rock aimed at Elesil’s head. In a tick of a second, Elesil eye’s turned milky white and the rock stopped mid-air before fell to the ground harmlessly. A sense of chill rushed through her core as the sight of the Elvas slowly turning his head toward her. Scared she might, but still she searched for anything she could use at weapon to use.

“Whoah! Whoah! Whoah! Calm down” –came back from fetching water and saw the ruckus, Samuel ran in to prevent any violent- “Calm down, calm down, we mean you no harm, calm down,” Samuel spoke in Bricatish.

Clenched a rock tightly in her trembling hands, the girl turned to Samuel and spoke with a frightful voice, but Samuel couldn’t understand any of her word because she spoke in a difference language, the best Samuel could describe the sounds from her speech were they sounded somewhat similar to the French language from his world.

“Er… miss, can you speak the common-tongue?” -as Samuel tried to get through the language barrier, Elesil came near her and started to speak to the girl in her own language.

After a few exchanges, she appeared to had calmed down and let go of the rock.

“I... I’m sorry for my behaviour,” the red hair girl apology in an accented common speech.

“It’s alright, we know you’re scared, but you’re safe with us, we just trying to help” –Samuel brushed dirt off of the bedroll- “Come, you should lie down, your fever hasn’t gone down yet.”

“Thank you, er… sir…” –the girl thanked as Samuel wiped sweat on her head.

“The name is Samuel, Samuel Challenger, just call me ‘Sam’ is fine” –Samuel charmingly smiled- “Handsome boy over there is Elesil Ithilon” –Samuel pointed at Elesil, “What about you?”

“Er…uhm… E… Emma, just Emma,” the girl answered after some hesitation.

“Alright, ‘just Emma’, mysterious aren’t you” -Samuel shrugged- “So what’d happened? Where do you come from and how you ended up like this? From your accent I’ll take that you’re not Bricatian.”

“Ah… well… yes, I’m from Celgealia” –the girl smiled- “I was… on my way to visit my relative in northern Bricatia and got into an accident.”

“Does… that ‘accident’ of your leaved bite mark?” –Samuel raised an eyebrow- “Like I said, we just trying to help, you don’t have to be so secretive.”

Heard that, the girl Emma now noticed that the wound on her arm had completely heal and leaved no trace of its once existence, thanked to Elesil’s healing magic. As Emma hesitated on what to respond, Elesil spoke in her Celgealia’s language about something to help with her fever and handled her a cup of medicine from the pot. Emma didn’t respond and just stared at the cup full of doubt, Samuel took the cup of medicine and had a sip to prove to her that it was not poison of any kind and wondering what really had happened to her to made such a young lady became so distrust like this.

The bitter taste of the medicine sent shiver rushed throughout Emma’s body, she couldn’t help but stuck out her tongue to detest the liquid just went down her throat.

“Alright, now lie down and rest, I’ll wake you up when dinner ready,” Samuel said, pulled up the blanket for Emma.

“I’m sorry, I just…” –after seconds of thought, Emma continue- “I was attack by bandits, Lizardmen bandit, I…”

“It’s alright” -Samuel interrupted- “You’re scared, I get, right now, just rest, you can tell me what’d happened when you ready.”

Thus, slowly Emma slipped into slumber.