Chapter 47: The Elven Officer

Chapter 47: Chapter 47: The Elven Officer

Several minutes had passed since they had entered the inspection area. During the time of the waiting, they were under the constant supervision of elves.

No one ordered them to take any seats.

No one informed them about the situation.

Just waiting.

Arin took a glance around. The woods surrounded the inspection area, but the atmosphere was by no means calming like outside of the gate. Not only there were elves in all directions, but also they were well-equipped to defend themselves.

Some of them were perched on the wooden walls, with bows in their hands. There were those who were watching from behind trees. Some were observing Ayan especially, while other groups took a particular interest in Saira. But most of them were giving suspicious looks to Zarl.

Arin could hardly blame them.

Zarl was leaning against a tree with crossed arms, looking as comfortable as if he was in his own study. A group of elves surrounded Garul, who stood at quite a distance from Zarl. The young man had been silent since entering the inspection area.

Arin let out a sigh.

"How long are we supposed to wait?"

A guard refused to answer.

Adnan turned towards the gate.

"They probably sent someone to check us out."

"Someone important?" Arin asked.

Adnan nodded.

"Most likely."

Arin looked puzzled.

"Because of me?"

"Not only of you,"

Adnan glanced at the others.

"A Dungeon Master, a Hero, a demon, a dragon, and two prisoners coming together at the border of Elf Lands... that can hardly be of no interest to the guards."

Arin rubbed his temples.

"When you put it that way, we do seem rather shady."

"Extremely shady," Zarl muttered.

Everybody looked at him.

The man only smiled.

"But do not worry. I’m sure they will understand."

Ayan looked at him in disbelief.

"You are the most untrustworthy among us."

Zarl placed a hand over his heart.

"I’m really touched."

"I was only telling the truth,"

Zarl’s smile returned.

That is why I like you."

Ayan turned his gaze away.

Arin shook his head.

Then, the sound of approaching footsteps was heard from the other side of the gate.

Right away, some of the elves straightened up. From beyond the gate, a number of elves entered the inspection area, armed with weapons. In the center of the company was an elf captain, clad in dark green armor decorated with silver patterns along its surface.

Long silver hair was tied at the back of his head, and his look was calm but sharp.

As soon as he entered the inspection area, all elves immediately stood at attention.

Arin understood on the spot that this was no regular captain. The elf captain stopped several meters away from the group, and looked the young man over. His gaze lingered on Adnan, then on Saira, then on Ayan.

Finally, it came to rest on Arin.

"Which one of you is the Dungeon Master?"

Arin slowly raised his hand.

"That would be me."

The captain studied him for a moment.

"I am Captain Eryndor, in command of this border post."

Arin bowed.

"Nice to meet you."

Eryndor did not return the bow.

Instead, he turned to face the guards.

"You said he claimed to be a Dungeon Master."

"Yes, Captain."

"And the rest?"

The captain’s gaze came back to meet Arin’s.

"A Hero, a demon, a dragon, a former Chimera, and two prisoners."

Eryndor narrowed his eyes.

"Quite a company."

Zarl raised his hand.

"Actually, I am not a prisoner."

Ayan slowly turned his head to look at Zarl.

Zarl lowered his hand at once.

"Never mind."

Eryndor paid no attention to Zarl’s remark.

"Why did you come here?"

Arin took a deep breath.

"We are investigating the death of a previous Dungeon Master."

The captain’s expression changed slightly - barely noticeable, but not missed by Arin.

"You said a previous Dungeon Master?"

"Yes."

"Who?"

Arin hesitated.

He did not feel particularly comfortable telling the elves more than he needed to.

"We do not know his name."

In a way, it was the truth.

At least, it was the truth as far as Arin was concerned. Eryndor fixed him with a long look. "And how did you get involved?" Arin turned to his companions. There was so much he did not yet want to explain. The power of a Dungeon Master, Arene, the Pocket Dungeon... or the last words of the previous Dungeon Master, for that matter.

"I awakened my Dungeon Master’s Mark inside a dungeon."

Eryndor narrowed his eyes.

"Awakened it?"

"Yes," Arin replied.

"How?"

"I don’t know."

Arin looked at Eryndor.

For a few seconds, the captain seemed to study him intently, then he turned his attention to Ayan.

"And you?"

Ayan stepped up.

"I am Ayan."

"I know what you are," the captain replied.

Ayan did not change his expression.

The captain’s eyes flashed with a strange emotion.

"Your aura is unmistakable."

Arin blinked.

"You recognized him at once?"

"Any half-decent elf can recognize the aura of a dragon," Ayan said with a slight nod.

Eryndor turned his gaze on Saira.

"And you?"

The young woman’s expression tightened.

"I am Saira." "You’re a demon."

It was not a question, but Saira nodded.

"Yes."

Some elves shifted their hands closer to their weapons, but Arin saw it, as did Ayan.

Saira lowered her gaze for a moment. That was a scene familiar to her from long ago - and yet, Saira was almost glad that it was so long ago. She remembered these woods, remembered finding an injured elf after a particularly fierce hunt. She remembered saving the young elf’s life and leaving him alone, without asking for anything in return.

But the young man would not have recognized her, even if he remembered her at all. Perhaps the older elves among the warriors would recall the story - but to the others, Saira was just a demon, and a dangerous demon at that. The fingers of her right hand curled slightly, but Eryndor was watching her closely enough to notice it.

"You have been here before," the captain said.

Saira looked up.

"Yes,"

"When?"

"A long time ago."

"Why?"

Saira hesitated.

"I helped someone."

"A elf?"

The captain looked into her eyes.

Saira nodded.

"Yes."

"You expect me to believe that you don’t remember his name?"

The captain’s gaze was piercing.

"His name is important to me."

"No, his name... no, I don’t."

"His face?"

Saira shook her head.

"It’s been too long,"

Eryndor did not say anything else, and Arin could see that he was making uncomfortable with Saira’s answers. Arin moved a step forward.

"She isn’t lying to you," he said.

Eryndor turned his gaze to meet Arin’s.

"You know that for certain?"

Arin nodded.

"I trust her."

Eryndor did not reply at once. After a pause, he turned his attention to Mira.

"And you?"

The girl straightened.

"My name is Mira."

"What was your relationship with the Dungeon Master?"

"I was his maid,"

The captain turned to regard Arin.

"She was turned into a Chimera."

"That’s true," Arin confirmed.

"By the prisoner?"

Arin turned to Zarl.

"Yes."

Eryndor turned to look at Zarl.

The warrior gave a broad smile.

"Hello."

Something in the captain’s face tightened.

"You performed experiments on living creatures."

Zarl shrugged.

"It’s true."

Some elves at once drew their bows, but Zarl only let out a loud sigh. "See that? I always wanted to make it clear, that I prefer honest answers to questions. I prefer them because people get mad when you speak the truth."

Arin groaned.

"Zarl, please!"

"What?! What of it?"

"Just stop talking."

"That I can do."

Zarl turned to the captain.

"And him?" Eryndor asked, looking at Garul.

The mercenary lowered his head.

"I served Zarl."

Did you help in the experiments?" asked Eryndor.

Garul hesitated for several seconds.

"No,"

Zarl looked him over.

Garul continued: "I obeyed orders. I did not participate in the experiments."

Eryndor regarded him for a moment, then turned his attention back to Arin.

"The Hero."

Adnan stepped up.

"Adnan."

"Why is a Hero traveling with you?" the captain asked.

Adnan gave a short smile.

"Curiosity," he said after a brief pause.

"Curiosity?" Eryndor raised an eyebrow.

"Besides other things," Adnan added.

The captain looked him over.

Arin saw a faint trace of a smile on the young man’s lips.

"Arin is someone special, and I wanted to see what kind of dungeon master he would become," Adnan continued.

Arin regarded his companion.

That sounds more like an unpleasant surprise than anything else,"

"I usually do," Adnan added with a chuckle.

Again, Eryndor turned to Arin.

"You have satisfactorily answered some of my questions," Eryndor said after a pause.

"But not all of them,"

Arin already expected that.

"Such as?"

"How do I know if you are actually a Dungeon Master?"

Arin went silent.

The guards instinctively tensed up, tightening their holds on their weapons.

Then Eryndor continued: "A statement like that cannot be enough." Arin looked at his sleeve - not that he wanted to show him, but there was not much else to do. Carefully, he pushed the fabric down, revealing the black mark on his hand. Almost at once, a ripple of dark energy emanated from the mark. Elves almost jumped away, drawing their bows.

Eryndor’s eyes went wide.

The mark flared up in red, then dimmed just as quickly, vanishing at once. A tense silence followed. Eryndor stared at Arin’s hand.

"There can be no doubts," the captain finally said.

Arin pulled his sleeve back up.

"I suppose that’s a satisfactory answer,"

Eryndor did not reply at once.

Instead, he looked into the distance, past the trees. Arin could see a change in the captain’s expression, and he did not really like it.

"You know something,"

Eryndor turned to face Arin.

"You said you were investigating the death of a previous Dungeon Master. You must understand that this is not entirely unknown to us,"

Arin’s heart skipped a beat.

"What do you mean?"

The captain’s expression did not change.

"The Elves know about the previous Dungeon Master."

Everyone seemed to hold their breath. Ayan’s expression hardened. Saira slowly raised her head. Even Adnan looked surprised. Zarl’s smile vanished for the first time since the beginning of the meeting.

For the first time since setting foot on Elven Lands, the mercenary was too stunned to say a word.

Arin stepped forward.

"You knew about him?" he asked.

The captain nodded.

"We knew that there was a Dungeon Master," Arin stated.

Arin felt his heart race.

"What happened to him?"

"A lot of things," Eryndor said, gazing into the distance, "but not all of them."

Arin clenched his fist.

Finally, he got somewhere.

At least, a part of the answer, if not the whole thing.

"The chief of Elves awaits us," Eryndor said, turning to the gate.

Arin gasped.

"The chief?"

"That’s right," Eryndor replied.

He turned to his men.

"Prepare an escort," he ordered.

Elves obeyed at once.

Ayan remained calm, Saira looked nervous, Adnan was curious, Mira was close to Arin, and Garul was silent. Only Zarl was smiling.

Arin narrowed his eyes at him.

"Why are you smiling?"

Zarl shrugged.

"Because it’s about to become more interesting,"

Arin groaned.

He had a bad feeling about a meeting with the Elven Chief.

The gate opened wider, and the guards let them pass.

This time, instead of pushing the visitors back, the Elves escorted them into the forest. Arin turned to look at the trees ahead of them. Whatever the Elves knew about the previous Dungeon Master, he was determined to find out.