Chapter 234: Roses (1/2)
“What do you use for trading? Amongst each other I mean.” Ilea asked, folding her hands before her.
The elf raised an eyebrow, “Do you suggest elves trade shiny metals as a base of our economy?” Ilea shrugged, making him continue, “We trade knowledge, favors and…,” He stopped, his smile waning.
Ilea smiled and clapped her hands together, “Good, let’s do that then. Plus I get all the shiny rocks and gear in there. Not really interesting for a historian.”
The elf contemplated and answered, “As long as you show it to me. Enchantments and metals can say a lot about a culture. You seek knowledge then? Or favors.”
Ilea was seeking strength, monsters to slay and preferably dungeons. Getting anything in addition from an actual real life elf would only add to her gains. Plus Dagon, Elise and pretty much anyone seeking knowledge would rip her a new one if they knew she had botched this opportunity. She was curious herself if she was honest. The elves had been an enigma. An angry enigma killing thousands. She was however not about to judge a whole race by the actions of a few warriors.
“Sure, I’ll show you the stuff. Does the dungeon start right beyond that door?” She asked, pointing at the rose.
He nodded. “Indeed. However I would prefer not to waste my time on this. Even if you claim to have slain an elf I won’t be waiting here for a long dead human looking to fight through a dungeon above her capabilities.”
Thought you’d never ask. Ashen limbs expanding from the pellets she had created, her buffs coming to the max as she breathed out, a grin plastered on her face as she moved into an aggressive stance.
“The other humans in hiding may join as well. I’m well aware of the strategic benefits.” The elf said, moving back his hood to reveal lightly curled red hair falling to his shoulders. Magic thrummed around him as he prepared.
“It’s all me.” Ilea said and rushed at him in the span of two seconds. Her fist reached toward him before it impacted an invisible barrier. The force was distributed among it, a part of it shocking through her arm before she moved back, her ashen limbs smashing into the barrier and pushing a total of eight spells of Wave of Ember into it.
The elf rose his eyebrows but didn’t react in any other way, the barrier standing strong.
[Elf – Mage – lvl ??]
Could be anything between me and a literal god. Continuing the assault, she grew more bold and simply stacked her attacks again and again, her destructive mana slowly eating into the barrier before cracks formed and it shattered in glittering shards, the elf vanishing and appearing in the middle of the hall. Ilea blinked after him in an instant, her fist rushing at his face with all her speed. The Elf’s eyes opened wide before an unseen force stopped her arm. Another moment passed and a thin barrier formed near her elbow and sliced into her flesh between the connecting pieces of armor.
He held her and formed a second cutting edge when she formed ash within his barrier, her arm stuck and her ash now reaching out to him. Vanishing again, she watched him appear while healing her wound. The cuts were deep, ripping through tissue easily but not quite getting through her enhanced bones.
The elf watched her,gray mist seemingly swirling in his eyes before she closed her fist again. A dome suddenly cut off all the sound, runes starting to glow in a dark light below her. A cold feeling immediately spread and nearly made her vomit before she realized what it was. Curses? Her healing magic spread through her. She had to give it to the elf, his magic was quite a bit more impressive than Kyrian’s. Her health started draining but not at an alarming rate. If her health drain resistance worked it would become even more manageable as time went on.
Trying to blink out of the dome didn’t work and she could tell through her Sphere that digging under it wouldn’t be an option either. Instead her ash spread out, heating up as much as she could. Adding more and more to it, she covered the whole dome. Concentrating on her manipulation skill, she focused all eight of her ashen arms on a specific point. With an explosion of mana, she hit the barrier with all of them, Wave of Ember ripping out a chunk of her resources. The barrier cracked and allowed her to teleport out, Ilea appearing before the elf in the blink of an eye as her fist again hit a barrier.
He smiled, showing his teeth and lifted one of his hands, “That is enough human. I will await your return. Books and relics as well as biological remains, should there be any.”
Ilea activated her meditation, the damage from his curse was fading quickly with her high level healing and resistance to his spell. “I want answers first.”
He snarled and hissed at her, making her blink her eyes in a confused manner. “That is not part of our trade agreement!”
Ilea chuckled and sat down on a nearby wooden chair, “Calm down man. No reason to get all pissy. I won’t go in there with you behind me. I know you lot don’t like dungeons but I need to know why.”
The elf looked at her and sat down slowly, claws digging into his chair before he replied in a calm voice, “It is forbidden.”
Ilea sat forward, her elbows resting on her knees. “Really? Look if that’s the kind of information you’ll give me then I won’t bother getting a single bloody book out of there.”
He hissed and opened his mouth wide before he calmed down again, looking up at the ceiling and sighing, “Why would I bother. To play this game with a creature like you…,”
“Traps in there, maybe your abilities are badly suited for the monsters inside. Maybe it’s a sacrifice thing and the first one in dies. Or you’re just bored, this is actually your dungeon and you’re a dragon trying to have fun with my little old human self.” Ilea suggested and sat back, the elf staring at her in silence.
A bit of air was pushed out of his nose, “Amusing.” He spoke and tapped one of his claws on the armrest of his chair. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt. It is forbidden. To enter dungeons. By those we serve. To add to that our biology is… sensitive to the mana density found within most dungeons. Just sniffing that door makes me want to puke.”
Ilea nodded, “Interesting story. So if I were to pull you inside you’d puke? Why not do that then.”
He stood up and threw his chair, “I cannot! Under no circumstances am I to enter a dungeon. Human it took me decadeswandering these desolated lands to find…,” He sighed and calmed down again. “… I am tired. Of this, of your presence. You have my offer and I will remain in this hall for seven cycles of the light. Do as you will.” He stood up and walked to the other end of the cathedral, taking a chair and summoning his book again.
The air around the elf had calmed down again.Ilea stood before the door and turned her attention to the silver rose, the metal showing spots of rust. If the lightning didn’t kill me, this won’t either. Her hand reached the handle and she pulled. Only a little, checking if the elf moved but he had remained in his chair. The metal made a creaking sound, her strength enough to pull open the huge double doors with relative ease. She only opened one of them, peering through. Stairs led downwards but what greeted her was a small field of green grass, silver roses reflecting the light of the sun.