Chapter 14 – The Long Road Home

The first thing Shaelith noticed was the unfamiliar smell. No sweet mushroom scent, no phosphorescent spores, but pine scent and damp forest soil instead. A rough blanket scratched against her skin.

Right. Still not home.

She tried to sit up and that proved to be a mistake. The world tilted to one side, and her stomach immediately rebelled.Mana exhaustion. The aftereffects were almost worse than a proper moss wine hangover.

They had set up a makeshift camp.The rescued women huddled together in small groups, only Ryzinre sat a little apart from them, with her hands resting in fists on her slightly rounded belly. The look of pure disgust on her face made Shaelith cringe inwardly.

“Oh, good! You were out of it for hours. The big guy carried you almost the whole way!” Mirrsoss’ melodic voice came from above, where the Umilari was perched on a low branch.

Dignified, Shaelith, so dignified.I’m not some damsel who needs to be carried.

The dwarf Grimbart approached her with some food.

“Eat slowly,” he grumbled, handing her water and hard bread. “Mana exhaustion is pretty nasty. Had it myself once after a rune experiment went wrong when I was young and stupid.”

“How far have we come?” Her voice sounded hoarse.

“About two more days until we reach Shaeravyn territory,” Thaelon replied from his guard post. “But the goblins are active and still searching for us, so I’m not sure how long it will really take us.”

Shaelith pulled herself up on a tree and gave her best to ignore the dizziness that immediately set in.

“You should rest, princess,” Benderast said and hurried over to her. “I don’t mind carrying you again if-”

“I can walk.” After two weeks of captivity,she had more than enough of feeling helpless.

The groupbroke camp and slowly began to move again, with the rescued women in their midst, who moved like silent ghosts.

Shaelith approached Ryzinre, who was walking at the edge of the group.

But Ryzinre immediately turned her head away. “No.”

“Ryzinre-”

“I don’t need your pity.” The words came out flat.

“It’s not pity.” Shaelith searched for the right words. “I… I care for you.We don’t have to talk.”

A bitter laugh escaped Ryzinre’s throat. “What’s there to talk about anyway? You were lucky, I wasn’t. And that’s it.”

“How can I help you?”

“Can you help me get rid of…” Ryzinre’s hand clawed at her belly. “… thesethings growing inside me?”

“Not yet. But as soon as we’re in Myzelemaerlazin,” Shaelith promised. “I’ll make sure it’s taken care of right away. You have my word. It will be quick.”

For a moment, their eyes met. Then Ryzinre quickened her pace, leaving Shaelith behind.

A soft hum announced Mirrsoss, who landed elegantly beside Shaelith. “Your mother is Matriarch Vyrnara, is she not?”

Shaelith nodded cautiously.

“Ha!” Mirrsoss’s wings fluttered excitedly. “So Benderast was right, he was. You really are something of a princess, you are.” She lowered her voice conspiratorially. “He called you a pretty purple elf a princess.”

Shoot me please.

The Umilari’s antennae twitched nervously as Shaelith didn’t answer and went on to her next question. “I’ve never been to, um, your city. Will theyaccept outsiders?”

“You saved Shaeravyn,” Shaelith assured her. “You will be treated well and my mother will personally see to it that you are rewarded appropriately.”

If she’s not too busy yelling at me.

Mirrsoss seemed a little calmer but continued to flutter restlessly beside her. And Grimbart as well and especially Thaelonkept glancing at the gloomy tree line ahead of them. They all seemed a little nervous about entering Shaeravyn territory.

Come on, guys, we aren’t that bad. We don’t eat strangers.

Ahead of them, one of the rescued women stumbled and Grimbart managed to catch her with his chronosteel arm, which moved faster than the eye could see, but she screamed in panic and lashed out at him.

“It’s okay, it’s okay!” The dwarf hastily stepped back, hands raised.

~

During a short rest, Grimbart sat down next to a fallen tree trunk where Shaelith was massaging her sore feet.

“Um, Lady,” he began, nervously tugging at his copper-red beard. “About Benderast… well, see, the thing is…he’s a good guy, really, but…”

Thaelonjoined them as well without ceasing to scan the surroundings with his alert amber eyes. “You’ve probably noticed that he sometimessays strange things.”

Oh, I’ve definitely noticed.

She kept her face neutral. “He seems quite enthusiastic.”

“That’s one way of putting it,” Grimbart muttered. “So… uh, by the Forge Father, how do I explain this. He’s convinced he comes from another world andclaims we’re all part of some kind of theater performance, but with rules and numbers that only he can see. He calls it a game.”

I’ve never spoken to a single soul about it, and he obviously tells every idiot who comes along. He’s so fucking careless. Butof course, he’s careless. That’s the whole reason we’re here, after all.

Thaelon nodded somberly. “He’s as crazy as a spring hare, but the best fighter I’ve ever seen.”

“How did you guysmet?” Shaelith asked, genuinely curious about Ben’s, or ratherBenderast’sadventures before they met.

Grimbart leaned back. “After the raid on the archives, where I lost my arm, I worked as a mercenary. I met Thaelon in the border region during the war and we traded regularly, I brought him supplies, he gave me herbs and information about safe routes. That’s how we became friends.And then I met Benderast through Thaelon basically.”

“Benderast helped me during a goblin raid on my little grove,” Thaelon continued. “He killed a whole horde of them almost single-handedly. Grimbart rushed to me when he heard reports of a horde near me, but by the time he arrived, Benderast had already made short work of them all. Benderast then promptly declared us his to be his’party.'”

“Thought he was out of his mind,” Grimbart grunted. “But by Forge Father’s hammer, the guy finds more contracts and fights than three mercenary companies put together. Good for business.”

“He calls it’quests,'” Thaelon added dryly. “He has a kind of seventh sense for where people are having problems, where they need help, and where they’re willing to pay a pretty penny if you help them out.”

Mirrsoss, who had become curious, landed beside them as well. “And he saved me from an…um, embarrassing situation. I MAY have swindled a few merchants with my Wing Dust, um, accidentally and he helped me out that.” She shrugged her antennae innocently. “He said I am a’perfect Support Class,’ whatever that means.”

“He means well,” Thaelon said cautiously, scratching his chin. “But he’s a bit awkward. Especially with women.”

Grimbart was more direct. “Please don’t take offense, he doesn’t mean to hurt anyone, he just doesn’t understand… how to behave.If he really comes from another world, maybe the customs are different there.”

Yeah, but not THAT different. At least not in that regard.

“This other world,” she asked with feigned ignorance. “What is it like?”

The three exchanged glances. “Well,” said Grimbart, “according to him, there’s no magic there and instead they use machines, likemetal carriages without horses and glowing boxes with moving pictures inside.”

“Like Dwarvish machines?”

“No, he says all of that is purely mechanical, no magic whatsoever,” Thaelon added skeptically.

“Oh, and he was a celebrated athlete there!” Mirrsoss added enthusiastically.

Sure, Ben.

“HUAAH,” they heard a loud groan from further ahead, where Benderast stood on a small steep slope. He pissed down the slope in a high arc, with considerable relish, slowly swinging left and right.

Shaelith had to suppress a snort.

~

As the sun set, Shaelith forced herself to help set up camp, even though every movement hurt and the dizziness hadn’t completely gone away yet. She cut her already sore fingertip again and drew simple protective glyphs at strategic points around the camp.

Blood is a shitty substitute for mycelial ink.

“Princess!” Benderast’s concerned voice directly behind her made her flinch. “You should rest! Let me bandage that!”

Without even asking for permission he reached for her bleeding finger.

“Don’t disturb a sorceress at her work,male,” she said with all the arrogance of a noble Shaeravyn sorceress she could muster. She dodged his grasp and activated the last glyph while he stood dejectedly beside her. The weak construct wouldn’t deter any major threats, but at least they would be warned.

After a meager dinner of hard bread and dried meat, which nevertheless tasted like gourmet cuisine compared to two weeks of goblin food, Shaelith curled up near the fire. She closed her eyes and tried to get at least a bit of sleep.

She heard footsteps. “Come with me, boy,” Grimbart’s deep voice growled. “We need to talk.”

Oh, this could be interesting.

His three party members pulled Benderast away from the fire, but they were still within earshot.

“Benderast,” Grimbart tried to mumble as quietly as possible, “you need to understand who you’ve rescued.”

“A princess, of course.” Benderast’s voice sounded smug.

“Not exactly,” Mirrsoss corrected. “The Shaeravyn don’t have princesses,but her mother is Matriarch Vyrnara and that’sone of the most powerful women in all of Myzelemaerlazin. She could have us all killed with a wave of her hand.”

“Cool! You mean she’s like the daughter of a major faction leader?”

Everything is a damn game to him. He’s not even trying to actually engage with us.

Thaelon cleared his throat. “The Shaeravyn arecomplicated and you really have to be careful. If you insult one of their matriarchs, it could cost us all our heads. This is no joke, Benderast, Mirrsoss isn’t exaggerating. They live underground in this huge-”

“Oh!” Benderast interrupted excitedly. “So, they’re basically Drow!”

A confused silence followed.

“What’s… drow?” Thaelon asked cautiously.

“Oh, right, so Drow are dark elves. Evil underground elves who worship spiders and constantly scheme, you know.”

We’re not in Faerûn, you damn nerd.

“They’re definitely not evil,” Thaelon said stiffly. “Not all of them, at least. They’re just a bit peculiar. And they don’t worship spiders either, I think. Yes, they live underground, but… dark? I don’t know. The purple of the Shaeravyn may be darker than the shades of us Sylvynbut calling people by the shade of their skin color seems rude to me.”

“No, no, that’s not what I meant, but…” Benderast seemed to realize that the explanation was going nowhere. “Never mind.” She heard him clear his throat, then lower his voice. “I could just call them Hot Elves.”

“Their body temperature is the same as ours,” Thaelon replied in confusion.

Aaaaaargh.

Benderast gave up. “Forget it. Tell me a bit more about these Shaeravyn people,I want to know where she comes from.”

Thaelon made a valiant attempt to explain the complexity of Shaeravyn society with the matriarchs, the hair communication, the scheming and complicated politics, butwhen he got to the concubine system and the open sexuality, Shaelith could practically hear Benderastperk up.

“Wait a minute,” he interrupted eagerly. “So they’re all justconstantly horny? All the time?”

No.

“I don’t know about that,” Thaelon said cautiously. “But I guess most humanswould consider them verypromiscuous. It has political and social dimensions that-”

“So, I could just go over to her and ask her…?”

No.

“I would NOT recommend that!” Thaelon’s voice became shrill with panic. “Shaeravyn women, especially the nobles, areunpredictable. She might say yes. But she might also kill you. Cruelly. With great pain.”

Instead of being deterred, Benderast sounded even more interested. “Ha! This romance quest is starting to sound like a real challenge! Never mind, I’ll win her heart. You’ll see! I just have to find the right dialogue options.”

Shaelith bit the inside of her cheek to keep from groaning loudly.

I’m going to strangle him. As soon as I have enough strength again.

~

Later, when the conversations had died down and only the crackling of the fire and occasional soft whimpers could be heard from the darkness, Shaelith tried to fall sleep again.

But it wasn’t that easy. At some point she needed to find out exactly when Ben had come into this world. The way he spoke and given how little of an idea he had about the world he lived in made it seem as if he couldn’t have been here very long.

That would just be my luck if Ben had simply landed in this world in some sort of He-Man version of his own body and immediately started playing hero.

She stared up at the stars through the treetops.

All the while I land in a toddler body and then have to grow up again for twenty years. And what the hell are these “skills” he keeps talking about?

She rolled her eyes upward. There were her traits, glowing faintly in her inner vision. But no skill trees, no experience bars, no level system. Just these few simple tags.

Why does he have access to more game mechanics than I do? Am I defective somehow?

Her eyes fell on the [Love Interest].

This is going to cause real trouble. I’m not Ben’s damn waifu.

She could tell him who she was, or rather, who she had been. Jacob Williams, the guy who had tried to save him. The one who had drowned with him.

Yeah, great idea. “Hey Ben, remember the guy who tried to pull you out of the lake? Surprise, it’s me! Only now I’m purple and have boobs. Oh, and I’m your designated love interest according to this weird display.”

No. That was definitely not a conversation she wanted to have. Not yet at least. Probably never.

Around her, the rescued women tossed and turned restlessly in their sleep. One of them had curled up into such a tight ball that it hurt to look at her and she whimpered, like she was trapped in a nightmare from which she couldn’t wake up.

Tomorrow they would reach the border post and then she was back home. Her mother would demand an explanation, and the matriarchswould probably also want to know what had happened. She needed to tell them about this warlock as soon as possible.

And somehow, she had to figure out what to do withBenderast. It was strange to pretend she didn’t know him, as if she hadn’t been the one who-

Quiet steps, then someone spread out a sleeping bag right next to her.

Her eyes snapped open. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Benderast making himself comfortable. He was not scandalously close by Shaeravyn standards, but definitely much too close for what he should consider an appropriate distance by human standards.

What the–

Shaelith froze when he put his arm around her.

How outrageously oblivious could someone be? The rescued women lay all around her, women who had just survived who knows how long of horror in goblin captivity and he-

He softly stroked her shoulder.

Oh no. Oh, absolutely fucking NO.