Vol 1 Chapter 12 (2/2)

Breaking out in a cold sweat, Deedlit couldn’t even work up the courage to deal the finishi+ng blow Her body shook like a leaf in a storm

The dark elf who had gone to investigate the clurass soon realized that he had been tricked The sound of unfamiliar arre had been defeated, though he heard no sounds of battle

The dark elf knew that it would be risky to return to his post

“Ô tiny spirits, ô fors, make uage of the spirits After acompletely invisible He then ran back to the entrance of the house, his footsteps nearly silent

“That dark elf has been gone a long tirip on his bastard sword

Having at last recovered fro alre’s powerful life-force was not enough to keep itonce Ghim had beheaded it with his battle-axe His body was still twitching, though, as the last e life-force burned themselves out

Eto and Woodchuck had joined the others in the entryway

“Ghio inside, quick! The people inside may have noticed us I’ll take care of the dark elf,” exclai for the dark elf’s return

“You dolt, what do you think you can do against the dark elf’s o inside yourself” Urging Parn inside, Deedlit swiftly unfastened the water skin from her back “Ô spirit of water, you who see the unseen Where is the dark elf? He must have hidden hie of spirits to a blueish mass inside her water skin In response, the water spirit, Undine, surged forth Then it spread out, for a thin membrane of water, alh the air

Ah, is that hi spell to where Undine was floating Cancelling spells served to nullify other ue and waved his staff around

As Slayn chanted, a white light caht expanded over the ground

“Augh!” with a groan, the dark elf appeared

The dark elf couldn’t help cursing his luck at finding hi not only an elf but a rune master as well They had quite a bit of power between the two of the spell had completely destroyed the dark elf’s sprite charht hand The elf was a slip of a girl and the ht have a chance if it cath

But that thought was crushed by a blow from behind “Ahh!” The dark elf screamed in pain in spite of hi his teeth, the dark elf turned around

Behind hi a short sword in an underhand grip

“Huh, looks like I haven’t lost my touch,” said Wood with a satisfied smile

All three daggers he had thrown had hit the dark elf in the back None of them were fatal wounds, but at least they had all hit the mark

Just then, Deedlit charged in like a flash The dark elf sensed it and turned,her attack with his own Deedlit sidestepped it and extended her right ar her rapier at his flank

If he hadn’t been injured, the dark elf would have been able to dodge But when he tried toin and slowed his movement for just a moment

His death screah the forest With Deedlit’s rapier in his side and Wood’s daggers in his back, he fell to the ground in a motionless black mass

At that moment, Ghim, Parn, and Eto were all locked in combat inside the house Their opponents were four humans Taken by surprise, none of theht with just weapons and shi+elds

Nonetheless, all four were skillful fighters, and Ghih time of it

“Ô holy light!”

Watching theht, Eto lifted his hands above his head and chanted a prayer There was a sudden burst of light It was only aEto auto Neither Ghi away froht

In unison, both of them attacked their opponents Both ene beaten the dark elf, Deedlit and the others came into the house

The party made short work of their dispirited enemies

No one else was in the house After verifying that the corpses carried nothing of interest, the group searched the house There were four rooround floor, but all they found were some rations and a number of bottles of liquor

“Oho, what a find!” Ghis

“I’ll search the second story,” said Parn as he climbed the stairs The house ell- by the effort they had put intothemselves comfortable in such a dilapidated house, the occupantsti over said carpet, Parn clied into the second-floor hallith Deedlit close behind

“So?”

“I still can’t see anything Be careful”

“You too” Bending over,Deedlit snuck a look down the corridor The light of the setting sun illuminated two doorways The door of the closest one ide open

“Shall we?”

“Of course”

The two adventurers stood in front of the open door and looked around There were signs that the rooe rooht chairs Several of those chairs had fallen over, and it seeht earlier had knocked them down in their haste to ready themselves

“What’s that?” Deedlit had noticed what looked like some kind of official docuather up the documents There were four sheets of fine parchment

“There’s so written on the over her shoulder at the pieces of parch her narrow shoulders, he tensed and shook his head

“What’s wrong?” asked Deedlit, all innocence

On the parch the actions of the king of Alania, Cad, and one of his favorite hunting spots was near this house Furtherht along a few co one of those cootten their hands on the nauards, which painted a clear picture of their opposition

“What is this?” Parn’s hands were shaking

“An assassination plot? Of the king of Alania?” Deedlit was only slightly calmer

“Could be No, it has to be We’ve stu awful”

Deedlit, too, was thinking that they’d seen so incredible And that the plan was likely to succeed, if put into action

Watching Parn fret, Deedlit slowly folded the parchment and put it in her pocket

“We’d better search the next rooed Parn, who hadn’t recovered from his alarm, out of the room

From the layout of the house, one would expect the next room to be smaller Parn carefully laid his hand on the doorknob and pushed

The door did not open Then he pulled, a bit harder The door still did not open

“That’s no good”

Hearing Slayn’s voice, Parn rushed back to the staircase

“Slayn! Woodchuck! Come here! The door is locked”

Deedlit had tried the door many times, but it still would not open So she patiently waited for Slayn and Woodchuck

“Calling not just for the thief but also the e That’s pretty sh the keyhole

Parn smiled

“Don’t look into the keyhole without thinking,” Wood’s dry voice echoed through the hallway along with the sound of three footsteps “There ht just be a poisoned needle on the other side” He had arrived with Slayn and Ghim in tow Surprised, Deedlit quickly pulled away from the keyhole

“Is Eto fine by himself down there?” asked Parn, worried

“No one’s co fro around the door “Doesn’t seem like there’s any kind of weird device”

He switched places with Woodchuck, who began to inspect the door in turn He inserted what looked like a s it up and down Careful to avoid the doorknob, he tapped the door with his fist, listening to the sound

Behind him, Slayn chanted a feords of a spell and muttered, “Hmm”

“Did you find so?” asked Ghim

Slayn replied siic on that door”

“Looks like it It isn’t locked, and there’s no traps See room for Slayn

Slowly drawing a sy spell Then he knocked on the door with his staff

The door shook a few tihts caave a start, and his hand moved to the hilt of his sword

“There’s nothing to worry about It’s a si into the room There was no one inside Bookcases stood on either side of an old, worn desk

“I wonder if those are from the Academy” Slayn had walked over to thelass bottles and tightly rolled scrolls

But Slayn’s hopes were soon dashed No, they aren’t But his disappointment did not show on his face He hadn’t been very hopeful to begin with In Wagnard’s place, he would have had any ht away

“Huh, looks like I was right Oh, and there’s also a treasure chest Ha, I’ve been looking for this” Speaking in a strange voice, Woodchuck fiddled with the wooden chest that had been sitting on the desk

Slayn walked over to the desk and carefully opened it Inside, he found a beautifully decorated dagger and what looked to be a letter Slayn opened it and skimmed the contents The letter was short

Everything is fine here

How are things on your end?

Send news from time to time via the usual method

Karla

“Not very clear, is it?” said Slayn in a

It was then that Slayn noticed Ghi near Slayn with a serious expression on his face Whatever it was, it was above Slayn’s head

Following Ghi

There was a single portrait hanging on the wall It was a picture of a beautiful woown and behind her were bright red curtains Even the scenery outdoors was painted in painstaking detail The woman’s skin was the saht sky Her eyes see him

I wonder if that woman is Karla Slayn’s mind seemed to be stuck on that name He tried to remember where he had heard it, but couldn’t

“Well, it’ll colance at Ghi intently at the portrait

“It looks like her…” Ghim muttered this almost too quietly for Slayn to hear

Three days later, Parn’s party had returned to the Crystal Forest Inn They had turned over the conspirators’ docuotten a reward of one thousand gold pieces

Parn was in a good ed righteous The corrupt soldier would be judged, and the plot on the king’s life had been averted The judge, Duke Balshea, had even thanked hih not at all skillfully

“But rather,” Woodchuck was saying to Parn, “how’s about you let roup? I’ve shown I can be useful, and I’ve coht see sos”

“I don’t see any reason why not” Parn’s response was sincere They never would have succeeded without Wood, and a thief ht often come in handy on the road “But please don’t break the lahile you’re with us”

The group had been drinking for a good while, and most of them ell into their cups Slayn and Deedlit were the two exceptions

“Only six hundred good pieces for that jewel I thinkout as he critiqued the ht the jewel from him

“No, it was a fair price,” said Ghiotiating the sale Wood seeue jewels and craftsmanshi+p with a dwarf anymore, he laid off

In any case, the price he’d gotten froe for the scrolls and books recovered froher than expected, so Wood was not completely disappointed

Slayn and Eto both see in relative silence

Just as the feast to celebrate the group’s success was reaching its peak, the outside door swung open and a ht, even the partiers quieted down and waited for the man to catch his breath

“It’s awful,” he announced “Kanon has been razed Beld… the emperor of Marmo, Beld did it!”

“What did you say?!?” Parn felt as though the floor had been yanked out fro his chair away, and blanked out as though he had forgotten what he meant to say

“Heto be aa prophecy

The group felt as though they had fallen into an icy sea, driving away their drunkenness

“Kanon destroyed!” The news had of courseCadether an e of the nation’s i tiether Kanon was the second oldest kingdom in Lodoss, after Alania, and had existed for over two hundred years There had been es between the royal families of the two nations, and Cadmus VII’s own mother was directly descended from the royal line of Kanon Thus, Marainst Alania as well, and many influential nobles called loudly for an attack on Marued that Alania should call for talks with Valis and join forces to wage an all-out war against Marmo If so, Alania would be the first of hopefully many nations to do so

But Cadmus VII sent off an expedition to Kanon For the hway to the south, prepare his ainst an invasion by Marainst any other country He even gave orders not to recruit mercenaries nor to ed the Marmo’s attack and its continued occupation of Kanon

The next day, signs were posted proclai his teeth

“Why!?!” Parn yelled, forgetting that he was surrounded by people going about their business

“What should we do noondered Slayn, placing one hand on Parn’s drooping shoulder as though to console him

“How can he do this, the spineless fool?” Tears welled up in Parn’s eyes “Let’s get to Valis sohtened hiht back for sure”

“But the road to the south is closed, and we can’t go west until the sandstor of the spirits has been released as ruood long while I hate to say it, but we can’t go to Valis now”

“We’ve got to get there, whatever it takes Even if itthe Forest of No Return,” said Parn i in particular

“Are you erous that place is As the name implies, no one has ever come back from the Forest of No Return”

“Then I’ll be the first!” Parn snapped at Eto

“I’ve even heard that there’s ancient elven curse on the place,” added Ghilance at Deedlit

“Parn…” Slayne tried to calm Parn in his turn

“That’s a good idea” Deedlit, who had been silently listening to this exchange, suddenly spoke up “Let’s go through the forest It’s the best shortcut” Her voice was calm

“Do you know the way?”

“Of course” Deedlit glanced at Ghim, then continued confidently “I’m a elf To an elf, there’s no difference between modern and ancient times”

Parn and the others left the city of Alan three days after news of the downfall of Kanon had reached the city Trusting Deedlit, they had decided to go through the forest to Valis

At first, of course, Slayn had opposed the plan He was scared of the Forest of No Return That frightening naends and old wives’ tales In truth, for hundreds of years, no one who had entered the forest had ever been seen again Any number of heroes and adventurers had tried their luck in the forest in that time But all of them had shared the saed — year after year, it was the sa to hold the many lives it had sed up as a menace As Ghim had said, rumor had it that the forest drew its power from an ancient elven curse

No one knew if that was true, except perhaps for the victims who had disappeared into the Forest

That dark forest looht of the party On their third day out fro along the highway, showing no signs of leading them into the Forest

“Here it is!” Deedlit’s cheery voice rang out when they had been following the highway south for two days Hearing the glum responses of her companions, sheout frohway

A narrow path stretched frohway to the woods Slayn couldn’t believe his eyes, wondering who in the world would ever use such a path

“The path I told you about lies ahead But remember this: once we’re in the forest, we can’t afford to stop And try not to get too surprised Strong emotions have a bad influence on the trees”

“As long as we keep that in mind, we’ll be fine?” Parn was unable to hide his worry

“Just keep that in et to Valis safe and sound,” said Deedlit, looking straight into Parn’s eyes “We need to hurry”

As they drew closer to the Forest of No Return, the little group’s fear grew stronger But it was too late to turn back

They must have walked the little path towards the woods for about an hour Finally, they entered the Forest of No Return Close up, it didn’t seee place - just an ordinary forest But they couldn’t help feeling that the place had an increasingly evil aura to it

At the end of the little trail greo tall conifers They looked like twins — their height, the thickness of their trunks, even the shape of their branches was the saateway

“Here it is We go through here” Deedlit’s voice was filled with an irrepressible joy “Follow the instructions I gave you And under no circuet caught in the ancient elven ic”

Having said her piece, Deedlit turned toward the forest and cried out loudly in the elven tongue, “Fome alanis katulu!”

Soe seemed to happen between the twin trees The scenery between the two changed, and a golden light shone out

“Follow ate closes” With these words, Deedlit slipped into the golden light

Steeling himself, Parn followed in her footsteps Next, Eto, Ghim, and Woodchuck ran after him Slayn was last He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and ran into the golden light after them

“Ahh!” bu, Slayn almost dropped his staff When he opened his eyes, he was staring at Woodchuck’s black-clad back

“Don’t startleto have a heart attack” Woodchuck turned to complain

“Where are we?” Slayn was so fascinated by his surroundings that he conored Woodchuck’s words

They were in a shi+ning gold forest The short evergreen trees shone gold in the sunlight The thorny bushes and fern thickets they had seen from the outside seemed to have vanished without a trace The thick cushi+on of leaves on the forest floor eased their tired feet

“This is the Forest of No Return?” Parn gulped down his saliva and spoke in a shaking voice “It looks like another world”

Another world! Slayn finally realized what Parn was saying

“I see This is really another world Right, Deedlit?”

Slayn was shouting in his exciteround repeatedly with his staff, as if to make sure it was really there, then stared up at the sky

There was no sun in the sky Instead, the whole sky shone

“What do you mean?” Parn looked at Slayn

Watching Deedlit, as in front of the group, Slayn slowly pieced a sentence together

“This isn’t coe, but the world is made up of three different planes One of thees call it the material world The second one is the world where the spirits live It is broken up in turn into several different planes, but collectively, we refer to it as the spirit world And finally, there’s a world which forms the link between the physical world and the spirit world This is the so-called fairy world That is where we are right now”

“If you know that, I could have explained it I ondering whether hu a bit ashamed “It’s as you say This is the world of fairies”

“So tell me, Deedlit Is it not true that elves lost their homeland? I had heard that they had tied theer at home in the fairy world If that’s true, ere you able to bring us here?”

Deedlit lept into the air like an arrow taking flight She went incredibly high before landing as softly as a feather “Slayn, I have nomy homeland Here… or rather this plane, is the world I really live in”

“Huh” Slayn felt like theHe called out to Deedlit “You’re a high elf I had no idea I thought you had gone extinct”

High elves were a people of legends Not just their culture but also the people thedom, and it was said they were the upper class of elves in ancient tih Elves

“We’ll probably disappear one day But that is long in the future - once even the souls of the Gods begin to fade, and the corpses of dragons rot

Slayn was deeply e fro elves Deedlit came from an elite clan

“I’ve heard us dwarves used to live in this world as well But we left it long ago They say it was in order to find real gold, not this fake stuff Anyway, it seems like there aren’t any riches beneath the earth here” Ghiazed at the head of the battle-axe he held as he spoke “Fairies hate iron, so it must not exist in this world”

The axe’s blade had vanished Seeing that, Parn hurriedly checked the ar It too had disappeared He wore only a linen shi+rt and a short loincloth

“But… I can still feel the weight of my armor”

That hy he hadn’t realized His arh he couldn’t see it

“It’s fine You just can’t see it because iron cannot exist in this world It’s the same reason you can’t see the true form of the Gods or the bodies of certain fairies in the material world But hurry up I told you not to waste tiotten”

Deedlit was getting annoyed Parn picked up his pace and loped after her

“What does she ht up with

“That’s simple In the fairy realm, time moves more slowly than in our world If aste tiht pass in the material world”

“Uh-oh” Parn blanched “Deedlit, we’ve got to get out of here, quick!”

“I don’t want to get any older!” yelled Wood It would seem he misunderstood Slayn’s words

That’s why I’ve been telling you to hurry up this whole tiht of Parn’s desperate expression and burst out laughing before she could stop herself

When they had advanced through the golden forest for another ten e words As she did so, another pair of twin trees just like the spot where they had entered appeared The party ran out through the gate and left the realm of the fairies

Outside, it was night

“It’s true It was the middle of the day ent in” As he spoke in a voice filled with surprise and admiration, Parn checked in the darkness that his ar warrior seeround, breathing deeply to catch his breath

With a flash of ht, Slayn’s blue-robed form shone next to him

“But how hts has it been, I wonder?” Slayn looked out froht, he could see that they were surrounded by hills Behind them, of course, was the Forest of No Return In the darkness it seeht — even now — stretch out a tentacle to grab Slayn

“Judging by the distance we’ve come, I’d say it’s been three days If you lot hadn’t wasted so h”

“There’s no e could have been calood experience Many huone into fairyland, but few are those who have returned to the etic elf, Slayn finally stood, brushi+ng the dirt from his robe

“Where exactly are we, though?” asked Eto, looking anxiously in the direction of the forest

“About three days east of Valis If we cross this hill country, we ought to be near the northern highway that links Kanon and Valis But it would be better to cross the ht in the middle of the war between Valis and Marmo” As she said this, Deedlit pointed up the steep slopes, looking up at the stars to be sure that it was really due west

“Let’s get a lance b