Master Of None

The bright sun nearly blinded them as they came back out on top. There were already visible differences from when they entered the prison just an hour or so before. The streets were more or less empty, but there were multiple elven guards standing along the path the party was taking. It seemed they were getting a very different welcome now.Â

"We took the liberty to bring out our most decorated guards to ensure the clearest path to the meeting." The elf smiled like it had done something amazing. However, Walker felt it was a way to hide some of their way of life from the party.Â

"What a shame we can not see the beauty of a bustling city. This baron city seems so sad." Su unexpectedly spoke up with this sounding fairly bitter. She knew this would throw a little salt in the elves' wound after treating them the way they had. She was not happy at all with the fact that she had been injured but even more, that the elves had not listened to them until they realized their status. It was unacceptable to her.Â

The elf just smiled a little harder. He definitely felt that one but was strong enough to hide it. The guards around their path were staring straight on and did not flinch at all. They were very well trained. The path they tread was put together stone and had obviously been done by hand. The market they traveled through was very basic but from where they walked they could see a high amount of potion stalls and very few armor stalls.Â

Walker took note that this kingdom might be a treasure trove for alchemical knowledge. He also knew that if it was acetable he should get some special arrows for Gil. On Su and Midnight's side, he knew there was almost nothing of value. The elves were more invested in mana and archery to have heavy armor or materials that would be beneficial to monsters. At most he thought they could have some high mana crystals or duel elemental mana crystals.Â

"Please follow me this way. The main hall of the elders is up this way." The elf lead them to a very large branch that dipped in to the earth. Walker could tell it was part of the massive towering tree that made up the majority of the city.

Their footing was much better than expected in the giant tree limbs and Walker had a suspicion that there was a magic spell at work. They were even keeping a firm footing on the slippery looking moss that was on most of the branches.Â

The large hall that seemed to be part of the tree itself had an intricate design. The vines from the tree had long been guided creating massive columns and murals. Only someone with extreme skill could build and design such a thing. The entire party stood in awe for a few moments before realizing they had fallen behind and should instead keep their serious mannerism.Â

The moment they entered the elder hall any voices stopped and instead a silent intimidating feeling took over the room. There were the enforcers kneeling in the center of the room that had captured the party. On the siders were older looking elves that wore different colored robes. The ones that wore multiple colors appeared to be high ranked and those that wore gold embroidered robes an even higher rank.Â

In front of the enforcers was a massive vine hammock that seemed to be swaying without a breeze. Walker started to notice that it was not swaying but the vines making it up were moving and changing. Upon this vine hammock was a pristine looking elven woman. She wore perfectly white robes and had many flower patterns embroidered upon them.Â

The elf woman was there with closed eyes not moving a muscle. There was an aura about her that made it seem like her mana was infinite. Walker could clearly sense the high amount of mana that was coming from her and had the impression that if she were to channel it in to a spell it would destroy the entire city.Â

"Queen, elders, I have brought the guests of our kingdom. " The elf that had guided them introduced them then scurried away anxious to be away from the trouble that was about to ensue.Â

One of the elders with the gold robes stood up and looked at the party. "Before we proceed with a proper welcome we would like to inquire about the incident that happened out in the forest. We have been sent details from the guard that recognized you standing and we would like to hear it from you. We have also heard the story from our enforcers and would like to hear your thoughts on them." The elder's words held a lot of weight and the enforcers were visibly shaken by them.Â

"My party has been following and hunting the purple slimes causing decay in the forest. After saving some of the last remaining forest goblins we gained information that there is a massive slime on a path toward your city. We followed the signs of decay and have gathered some slime cores. Unfortunately, the damage has already been done to the forest. We saw that the decay would spread if we did not prune the branches and decaying saplings." Walker spoke with as much firmness as possible under the gaze of every elder. The queen still did not react to anything said.Â

Walker continued on knowing that he still needed to stress the danger this massive slime had. "We were attempting t follow the massive slime and in hopes stop it before it grows larger, Sadly these enforcers saw out pruning and blames us for destroying the forest. We did attempt to speak to them but they stopped us. On top of this, we did not fight back out of respect for your kingdom's laws. Unfortunately, this did not seem to matter since we were treated like worthless trash. If it were not for your guardsman we would be down in your prison waiting for a chance to cause an escape."Â

The elders all murmured slightly at this. The human that was standing in the court was saying that they would have been able to escape the prison if they needed to. It was something they believed impossible with the mana draining crystal pillars they used along with the ropes.Â

"As far as I am concerned that guardsman deserves some form of reward for using their intellect before just throwing someone to the wolves. So far they seem to be the only respectable elf we have met." This was enough to hurt the elves' pride. They knew that the party was not in a good mood from this instance and that the news of this would be brought back to their kingdom without fail.Â

"We understand how you must feel having such a rude greeting when you were attempting to help. We also know of the decay in the forest and have increased patrols for such reasons. These enforcers are on edge and have let the weeks of missed sleep catch u to them. We are willing to dole out any punishment you see necessary."Â

This was the elder's way to ensure that the party would be happy with what ever punishment was given. They needed to retain their political standing with the other kingdoms while they focused on their long battle with the demons. The two kingdoms had never seen eye to eye just in cultural differences. Unlike the demi-humans and demons' hate based off of war the elves had hatred based off of the forms of magic they used.Â

The elves were a nature based society that used natural mana and focused on elegance. The demons used brutal mana that they formed from various ill intentions and malevolent tendencies. The two were more or less opposites in every way. The tales of the two races butting heads were endless and went on longer than the record of the demi-humans and demon's wars.Â

"You want us to decide the punishment? Well, what if I were to kill them here in the hall?" Walker knew that saying this was a risky move but he needed to test just how important their standing was to the elves. The fact that they had been thrown in a prison was a huge effect and cold greatly change the relationship with their kingdom.Â

"We of course would not object. If that is what is needed to make things right, then go about it swiftly." The elder looked a little pained and so did the enforcers. None of them had expected such an answer from the young ambassador.Â

"Then it is made up. I have the perfect punishment for them." Walker knew that the tree was still damp from the nearly constant rain. He used his grand elemental manipulation skill to control the water around and condense it in to a binding form. He imagined the ice wrapping the enforcers the same way as the ropes had bound them. " I want them to stay bound by my ice magic for the same amount of time my party was bound by their ropes."Â

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