System Change

“Follow us,” Derek said, then took the lead and slowly moved back to within sight of the edge of the danger area where all the settlements were located.

“This place doesn’t look familiar…” Ryven said once they stopped, and he was able to get a good look around. “We’re definitely not in Indria, Cydaria, or Indaria… at least I don’t think we’re in Indaria. I’ve done quite a bit of studying the kingdoms lately. Where exactly are we? It doesn’t seem like a place inside Vallum, either.”

“We’re in Linderis,” Alanah answered. “The kingdom that I was born into.”

“Linderis?” Ryven frowned. “Wait! Did you say we’re in the kingdom you were born in? So… we’re on another continent, then?”

“Got it in one,” Derek said.

“Your traveling skill works from this distance away?” Ryven stared at Derek with wide eyes.

“Oh, you don’t even know the half of it,” Derek said. “I could take you to places you wouldn’t even believe.”

“Monster…” Ryven muttered under his breath, but neither Derek nor Alanah said anything about it.

“Uhem…” Derek cleared his throat, getting Ryven’s attention. “We need a little help here,” he said.

“You see,” Alanah started, then pointed toward the encampments. “Linderis is an even less friendly kingdom to non-elves than Indria was before all the contracts and alliances. For Derek—especially this far in—most elves from the kingdom would try to kill him on sight, or, at minimum, report him. And nobody here wants a bloodbath.”

“And it would be exactly that…” Ryven said as he looked at Derek.

“That would be all up to them,” Derek said with a shrug.

“And…” Alanah continued. “Half-elves aren’t treated much better here. It’s one of the reasons I left and only came back a couple of times before crossing the sea.”

“I understand,” Ryven said.

“Good,” Alanah replied. “Now, this is a very dangerous area called The Echoing Abyss. All of those encampments are built around the edge of probably the most dangerous place in this world. Last time I was here, people avoided this area like a plague—only occasionally sending the strongest out to deal with a monster escape if it wasn’t dragged back in.”

“So… you want me to…”

“Yes. We need your help to see what is going on. I need to get close to the center of the area, and I want to make sure that nothing drastic has changed since the last time I was here. I can think of a couple of reasons for the encampments that would make sense, but I want to make sure that there’s nothing that Derek and I should be worried about if we go in. And seeing that you are a relatively powerful elf, we thought that you may be able to provide a little help—touch up on your diplomacy, if you will.”

Ryven looked toward the encampments, then back to Alanah. He did this a few times before sighing. “Alright,” he said. “Will they accept me just because I’m a full-blooded elf?” he asked.

“If nothing else, their suspicions will be reduced drastically,” Alanah said.

“Just keep an eye out, and if things go south, be prepared,” Ryven said to both Alanah and Derek. “I would like to live to see my daughter become a proper queen in the future and meet any half-elf grandchildren she may have.”

“I’m sure everything will be fine,” Derek said. “And I’ll definitely keep an eye on you. I can be by your side in an instant if needed.”

“Okay…” Ryven sighed. “Let’s get this over with. If I make it out fine, I’ll meet the two of you back where you brought me after kidnapping me,” he said before turning and leaving on an invisible barrier floating extremely close to the ground..

“But…” Derek started, but there really wasn’t anything he could say after the duke turned and gave him a look that said ‘really?’. Derek turned to look at Alanah, but the siren could only shrug and agree with the man. It’s not my fault that he’s the one I grabbed… well… it is, but… Derek sighed, then inwardly chuckled at the ridiculousness of it all. He can think of this as a mini-vacation. I bet he’s the only one in his family who has traveled to another continent. He’ll be the envy of the royals.

After that, Derek and Alanah watched as the duke went the wrong way for a ways, then dismissed his barrier, turned around, and headed toward the danger area. “Smart,” Derek said.

“Yes,” Alanah replied. “He’s approaching from a different position to not lead any of them towards us. And he used his barrier to keep any tracks leading to us away.”

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

After a short while, Alanah and Derek saw a sentry from one of the small settlements take notice of the approaching duke. Once that happened, all the settlements became quite active. A couple of people from multiple settlements came out and met together before moving to intercept Ryven. The duke decided that where he was would be a good place to stop and wait.

“Good,” Alanah said to nobody. “Let them be the ones to approach and initiate conversation.”

The duo went quiet as a relatively large group of elves approached Ryven. Derek was ready to Void Shift at a moment’s notice to rescue the duke if needed, and he was sure that Alanah wouldn’t be too far behind him if he did. But neither of them wanted that—it would be best if they could solve this little mystery without giving up their cover.

After what seemed like forever, the group of elves stopped just in front of Ryven. From there, it seemed like a discussion began. Derek let out a sigh when he saw the lead elf shake the duke’s hand—that at least meant that the introduction didn’t start on a terrible note. However, after that, the group of elves turned around and began a march back to one of the encampments—with Ryven in the middle of them all.

“Do we let him go?” Derek asked.

“It didn’t look like he was in any trouble,” Alanah replied. “If he was, he would have at least signaled us.”

“Yeah… I guess,” Derek replied. “It’s not like he didn’t know that we were watching.”

“Exactly,” the siren said. “Besides, while he may not be the strongest, Ryven isn’t exactly a pushover. He’s even a close match for me if I’m not transformed, and he specializes in those defensive barriers. If something happens, he’ll cause a big enough commotion that we will know. If that happens, then we act. If not… we wait and see what kind of information the duke can bring.”

“Yeah…” Derek said. “But how long do we wait?” he asked. “How long until you can’t wait any longer?”

“I… I have a few days left,” Alanah said. “At least. I have a few days left before I must get back to Cydaria no matter what. But my departure won’t be long after.”

“I see…” Derek sighed. There wasn’t anything else that he could say at that moment. “I guess we cut it kind of close, huh?”

“One could look at it that way,” Alanah said. “One could also say that we had some near perfect timing. Though I expected to arrive in Vorandell and not Draylanthi, so that was a welcome miscalculation. More of Vorandell borders the sea, after all.”

“I may have to pay your friend a visit sometime after you leave,” Derek said. “I wonder how an older version of Avery might act.”

“I wonder that too,” Alanah chuckled. After that, the two went quiet and waited.

Almost an hour later, the duo saw movement coming from the camps once again. To Derek’s relief, he recognized Ryven as one of the first to step outside. He was then surprised that only a single other elf accompanied the duke out of the encampments.

“Looks like things went well,” Alanah said.

“Better than well,” Derek said, then nodded to the two elves, shaking each other’s hands and speaking casually. “Is he… smiling?” Derek asked. From their distance, Derek couldn’t really make out everyone’s facial expressions. He was just close enough to be able to see large body movements, and that was it. But for some reason, he felt that the two elves were enjoying speaking to each other.

“He just may be…” Alanah said. “Well… it’s better than the other possibilities were. Look at it this way, since it seems that they hit it off. Maybe he’s coming back with the information we need.”

“True…” Derek muttered. “Looks like they’re finished.” Finally, the escort turned around and began moving back to his camp. Ryven stood still for a few moments—watching his escort leave—then he too turned and began walking away.

“Let’s go,” Alanah said, then the two of them moved back to where Ryven said he would meet them. They moved swiftly, and the whole time, Alanah kept a look out around and behind them. They were much quicker getting to the meeting point than the duke was. Obviously, it would be weird if he were to travel quickly—and it would be worse if there happened to be someone tailing him.

Once they were there, they eventually saw the duke draw near. From there, they paid even more attention to making sure that the encampments didn’t send anyone to spy on him. They were also sure to cover the sky just in case they sent someone with flying skills. However, to both their surprise, it seemed that Ryven was able to leave without any tails, and soon, he made it to the duo.

“Well?” Derek asked impatiently.

“They were some very nice people,” Ryven said.

“You’re an elf,” Alanah answered, deadpanned.

“Still…” Ryven replied with a shrug. “It doesn’t take away the fact that they treated me, a stranger, well, when they could have told me to leave or even resorted to violence.”

“Because you’re an elf,” Alanah said again. “Their views are so swayed that they are more inclined to trust their own kind than a normal person is to trust anyone else.”

“Maybe,” Ryven said with another shrug. “But they gave me tea, and it was delicious.”

“Whatever…” Alanah muttered. “Were you able to get any information out of them? Why there are so many encampments built around the border of The Echoing Abyss.”

“Oh, yes,” Ryven said with a smile. “You’re not going to believe it.” He paused, and didn’t say anything else.

“Spit it out,” Derek finally said. “Or are you fucking with us because I… borrowed you without your permission?”

“You really should ask next time,” Ryven said.

“Fine,” Derek said. “Now, spill.”

“So, they told me about this monster from over a century ago,” Ryven started.

“A monster?” Derek asked. “Is it the one that makes The Echoing Abyss what it is?”

“Oh, no,” Ryven said. “It’s much better than that.” Then, he gave the duo a wide grin and said, “The monster was this evil half-elf with fangs and razors for fingers. She has dark sickly green hair, and with a single word, she can bring an army to its knees.”

“What?” Alanah said, stunned. “Are you serious?”

“Oh, I’m dead serious,” Ryven replied. “You are quite the legend around here. Oh, and they may treat humans and dwarves extremely poorly, but because of your legend, it seems that they don’t actually treat half-elves as bad as they once did. There were even a few half-elf guards, and some of the full-blooded elves didn’t give them disgusted gazes.”

“Oh…” Alanah muttered. “Well, what do I have to do with why they are camped around the abyss?”

“That’s the thing,” Ryven said. “It seems that The Echoing Abyss has been turned into a training ground for adventures, nobles, and students. Elves come here to stay on the edge and move deeper and deeper just to train their Mental Resistance skill and their willpower. It’s quite the idea, actually. Not a bad one, either.”

“Then that means that the people guarding here…”

“Are some of the strongest elves around. Instructors from schools are here to protect the students. Noble guardians are here to protect their lineage. And many high level guards are stationed here to help,” Ryven explained.

“Damn…” Alanah said. “That’s going to make sneaking inside very hard.”

“Not necessarily,” the duke said. “I may just have a way to help.”

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