The group made their way through the forest emerging on the other side. Everyone stared in awe as the palace loomed in front of them. It was bigger than anything they'd seen before and rivalled the size of the entire capital city of Elfhiem.
"Oh wow, can I assume the tree roots around the palace belong to the world tree?" Shaman saw how the palace was overgrown with plants and tree roots, but assumed this was the result of the world tree the elves protected.
"You would be correct, currently the tree itself is hidden, but its roots still reach the palace. They are well-kept and match wonderfully with the white walls, but I can't imagine the amount of work needed since, well, they can't stop the tree from growing." Kiruya confirmed what Shaman said and elaborated further on why the palace looked so overgrown.
"So this extravagant palace lets the tree grow into it?" Elysia hated the looks and couldn't imagine the mess it would create.
"Well unless you are an elf, I don't think living out alongside nature is something you would wanna do. It's the faith which most elves follow which lets them look past the mess and perhaps even embrace the tree. Anyway, the point is, they love it." Elanor being an elf herself understood the feeling. However, as of late her faith has been wavering, especially after receiving the system.
"Isn't it just a tree? I know it supplies magical power, but has it done anything other than that?" Silver didn't see the point of the tree and why it became such a religious symbol. To him, the tree was just something that can most likely be easily explained if anyone bothered to investigate a little inside it.
"If anyone else heard that you would be put to the stake and burnt alive, but… now that you mention it, I guess the tree really isn't anything special. Though the only people that can actually get near enough to confirm it are my father and grandfather." Elanor was quite shocked to hear Silver's view, but it also made her come to realise how stupid it sounds to outsiders.
"Hmm there definitely is something more to it than just being a magical tree, but that isn't our priority, we need to get inside before we are found." Kiruya didn't mind the talk about the world tree, but if Elanor's grandfather is on the hunt, they need to get moving before any soldiers capture them.
"Indeed, I'd rather not commit war crimes against the elves. Even if we only harm them in self defence they can still definitely prosecute us." Clara knew that they could face punishment if they hurt the soldiers and nothing they say will do any good. In the end, to the common people they would just be terrorists.
"Are there any entrances other than the front gate Elanor?" Shaman didn't want to just barge in. As long as they sneak in straight towards Elanor's father, they could hopefully finish the mission without any fighting.
"If the place hasn't changed there should be a few passageways that lead inside, but it has been years since I've left." Elanor relied on her memory from when she was a child, but it should be enough unless they blocked off the passages.
"Let's try it." Having no other choice they rolled with it, so Shaman gestured for Elanor to take the lead.
However, Elanor didn't get what Shaman was suggesting and just awkwardly stood there for a moment. Clara, who was behind Elanor, face palmed. Deciding not to make it any more awkward, she gave Elanor a light push.
Stumbling forward it all clicked in her head and she quickly corrected herself.
"Ahem yes, this way." Elanor's face turned red from embarrassment after missing the cue, but she tried to salvage as best she could.
Everyone else got a small chuckle out of it, but they did not judge her too harshly since Elanor has 0 social experience.
*
Crossing the small patch of meadows in between the palace and forest, they reached the palace wall. The group debated about using magic, but that would be a dead giveaway to their location.
"Now we have to follow the wall and we should come across a brick we can push in. I will know when we get there, so just keep an eye out while I look for it." Elanor tried recalling any specific landmarks that would tell her where the passage was, but could not yet find a single one.
While Elanor examined the wall moving along it slowly, the group kept an eye out for any patrols.
"Wait, if this place is securely separated from the outside, why would there be soldiers patrolling?" Elysia found it odd that there would be soldiers around the palace since supposedly the location was unreachable to outsiders as the only way in was either through the dungeon or a teleporter.
"They do all their training here as well, so you could say it's part of their practice schedule. Plus you never know if the monsters from the dungeon might make their way in here so they always have troops here just in case of emergencies." Kiruya knew some of the inner workings of the palace and gave a reasonable explanation to the group.
However, just as she finished explaining, the clinking of metal filled their ears. Shaman and Silver instantly activated [Shadow cloak] while grabbing the others. Silver grabbed Elanor by the waist and Kiruya by her hand. Shaman pulled Clara and Elysia close while going up against the wall.
Soldiers then came running by the wall, constantly looking around for any clues.
ραпdα nᴏνɐ| сom "Keep moving, the intruders could be anywhere in the nearby forest or open field." The leading soldier reminded his men what they were looking for.
"Yes sir!" The soldiers responded as they followed, but one elf in the back stopped to look at the wall. Something did not look right to him, as if something was distorting the space. He stopped in his tracks and walked closer to the wall, but before he took another step the leading soldier yelled again.
"ARGUL! Keep moving otherwise you are on shit duty!" The warning from the leader was enough for Argul to ignore whatever he saw and keep running.
The sound of their armour slowly grew distant and once it went silent they released [shadow cloak].
As the group stepped out of the shadows Silver fell to the ground. Kiruya was able to get out of the way, but Elanor, she wasn't able to move with Silver's arm around her. Shaman, Elysia and Clara were all fine, but when they looked over to Silver, they saw a rather peculiar scene.
Landing on his back, Silver opened his eyes, yet all he could see was darkness as something soft pressed against him. Raising his hand to push off whatever landed on him, he heard a moan right in his ears.
"Ah!~" Elanor, who landed on top of Silver, shot up from the ground only to fall on her back. Both Silver and Elanor's faces were completely red. As they tried getting up, their eyes met down the middle. Quickly looking away from each other, they avoided all eye contact and pretended nothing ever happened.
"Shh!" Kiruya tried to keep a straight face but wasn't able to hold back a slight smile.
Elysia and Clara struggled to keep their laughter in, but Shaman was glaring at Elanor. The very idea of her innocent Silver no longer being so innocent didn't sit right with her.
Elysia, seeing that reaction, quickly grabbed a hold of Shaman before she charged at Elanor and ruined this moment since Elysia supported Silver growing up.
"Calm down Shaman, he may have only been living for a year, but he is both physically and mentally a teenager now, so sadly we may have to let go of our innocent little boy soon." Elysia knew the system was involved in Silver's physical growth, but now it was evident that mentally he was also growing.
"The worst thing you can do is treat him like a child and deny his growth. Just like you did with me, accept and help him change for the better." Elysia, using herself as an example, hit Shaman in the right spot calming her down.
"F-fine, but after this I need to talk to Silver." Shaman couldn't fight Elysia on this subject as Shaman knew on the inside that Elysia was right, but just didn't want to admit it.
"That's okay." Elysia was glad that Shaman listened since it was a major concern that she would accidentally stunt Silver's growth.
"Ahem! Anyway, let's keep going! And next time, be better prepared to hide." Said Clara, steering their mission back on course. Silver and Elanor stood up and dusted themselves off. Clearly still embarrassed, they kept their distance and continued to avoid eye contact with each other.
'These girls I swear.' Kiruya shook her head, finding it ridiculous how calm and easygoing the group is despite the situation they are in.
'Gonna miss this when we return back to the Freya forest, but maybe Freja can let me join them after she has finished with the barrier.' Kiruya knew her time with the group was coming to an end soon, but hoped maybe later in the future she could tag along again.
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