The Endless Forest

Tick, tick, tick…

“How much longer is it going to take?! It’s been three days already!” Torm shouted. His rage was equal to that of his new master.

“I’ve told you, it–”

He’s stalling.

“No you didn’t!” Torm grabbed the dwarf by his shirt and clenched his fist. “How much longer?” He asked in a hiss.

Hanzel only gave him that creepy smile…

Torm let his rage take control and punched the dwarf. “Tell me!”

The dwarf began to laugh.

“What's wrong with you?!” He dropped him and took a step back.

Hanzel leaned forward and spat out blood. “The moment I finish it, you will kill me.”

Torm narrowed his eyes as his shadow began to shift. An instant later a shadow panther leaped from it. It came to stand before the dwarf, towering over him.

Oh? I never took you for someone who was afraid of death.

Hanzel shook his head and let out another laugh. “Hardly. In fact, I’ve been thinking… I wonder what it feels like.”

The way the dwarf spoke, made the hairs on the back of Torm’s neck stand up. Meanwhile, his master cocked his head to the side in amusement.

Then what is the hold up? You give me what I want and you will get your death.

“No–”

The shadow panther struck, raking its claws across the dwarf’s chest leaving three deep cuts.

Hanzel gasped but remained standing. He looked down at his wounds and merely blinked.

Hmm, interesting… You cannot feel pain, can you?

“W-what?!” Torm shouted, nearly choking on his own spit.

The dwarf began poking his wound. “I don’t feel anything.” He looked up to the beast. “I want to feel pain, do that and I don’t care what happens. I will give you your key.”

You amuse me… Fine, I believe I can make use of you still. There was a pause as the form of the shadow panther began to fade. Torm, fix his wounds.

The beast disappeared.

I will give you a truly painful death…

Felix waited in uncomfortable silence as Eri changed. He kept expecting someone to appear and wonder what he was doing…

Thankfully, his door opened and she stepped out– The spare bedroom door opened, revealing Noria and Lorem.

Each couple stared at their opposite, knowing exactly what was going on. A wordless agreement was shared, and Felix simply gave a nod before leading them all down the stairs.

They continued down the hall and towards the noisy kitchen, all without saying a word. However, as Felix entered into the domain of Chef, the kobold appeared in front of him.

“Master! Chef need chat! Chef can no feed so many mouths! Too many Elf!”

“Woah, slow down…” Felix threw his hands up placatingly. “What’s going on?”

“Chef say Chef can no feed so many mouths!”

He stared down at the kobold in absolute confusion. “Wait… Did you think you have to feed all of them?”

Chef gave him an ‘are you stupid’ stare. “Yes!”

“I think it's because they are your guests,” Eri whispered into his ear.

He gave a slight nod before speaking. “I see, I am on my way to go speak with Aluin. I will address…this with him. But, fair warning, there will be more elves soon. You won’t be able to feed them all of them. We’ll probably have them provide for them–”

“No! Chef refuse to let elf cook!”

“Look, Chef,” he let out an annoyed sigh, “I understand your feelings on the matter, but there will have to be some compromises. Perhaps we can have their…cooks come and assist you?”

The kobold hissed at the idea. “Fine! But elf listen to Chef! Listen like Sick Master!”

“Okay, okay… Now, is there anything else?”

“No–”

“Good, now if you will excuse us…” Felix sidestepped around Chef and quickly made his way to the door. Gods, help me.

Stepping outside, he and Eri parted ways with Noria and Lorem. The other two began making their way to the hatchery. Meanwhile, Felix turned towards the campsite…

On the eastern side of the clearing the workers had set up shop. Near the front was Aluin’s tent. The Sage had chosen to stay with them, not wanting to appear to be giving preferential treatment towards Eri.

However, as he and Eri walked towards the campsite, Aluin suddenly appeared from his tent. He gave them a wave and waited until they were close enough to whisper.

“You two took your sweet time getting up.” He said, giving them each a nod.

Both Felix and Eri blushed, causing the Sage to cock an eyebrow.

“Hmm, I see. Well, I won’t judge.” Aluin said after a moment, giving a shrug. “I just hope you understand what your relationship will come to mean.”

Felix nodded, but he felt Eri’s hand grasp his and squeeze. A second later, she spoke.

“I don’t know what it will mean, but I decided that I don’t care. I– We will make it work.”

The Sage turned his gaze to Felix.

Felix didn’t hesitate to answer. “You know me, I’m pretty good at stumbling my way into and out of trouble. But Eri is right, we will make it work. And damn those who will try and stop us.”

“Careful Felix, there are plenty who would love to see you fail. Even more so now. You will have to damn a lot of people,” Aluin said with a hint of a smile. “Anyway, we still have much to discuss and…”

They looked back towards the camp, it was coming alive and many were already beginning to gather and approach.

“…Not a lot of time.”

Eri tightened her grip around his hand. “I’m ready.”

“Good, I will give you the gist of things for now. I plan on having a much lengthier discussion when the other…candidates arrive.” Aluin cleared his throat.

“You will be responsible for organizing and ensuring everyone has what they need. You’ll have to handle disputes and make sure everyone’s needs are taken care of. Felix will be the judge, and I will merely act as witness.

“You may come to me for guidance, but I would be careful with that. Others might see that as weakness, especially the other candidates. It won’t matter if Felix determines you are fit, if the rest don’t. Remember that.”

Eri swallowed but nodded. “I will, I’ll have to rely on myself for the most part.”

“Indeed… Finally, the actual designing of this dormitory will fall to Gillador. He will come to you, though, for anything that needs approval. And, of course, you will be in charge of making sure everything gets done correctly.”

Felix chose that moment to interject. “And my part is to just observe? Will I have any say in the construction of the dormitory?”

Aluin considered his question for a moment, “Probably in the initial design, this is your project after all. But I have an idea, if you will hear me out?”

“Oh? What is it?” he asked.

“Have Eri and the other candidates come up with plans and then choose which one you like the most.”

Not a terrible idea but… “Besides Eri, the others couldn’t possibly know what I want or need for this building.”

The Sage gave him a coy smile. “Then I suppose they will have to figure that out.”

Sly bastard… “I see what you are getting at here. Eri has a distinct advantage here.”

Aluin merely gave him a wink before moving on. “That will have to do for now, it looks like everyone is mostly gathered. I will get us started, Eri.”

“Wait!” Felix suddenly shouted.

“Hmm?”

“When there’s time, I have some things to discuss… For one, Chef is complaining about how many mouths there are to feed. But there is a more pressing concern I’d like to speak with you about…in private.”

Both Eri and Aluin gave him a concerned look, but only the Sage replied. “I understand, we will speak afterwards.”

Felix watched as the Sage left for the gathering crowd and after a moment Eri decided to speak up. “I should go as well. It won't look good if I don’t…”

He gave her a reassuring smile. “Good luck, I will wait from the side. I don’t want to give the impression of helping you.”

“Understandable…” she said, only looking a little forlorn.

Felix pulled her into a hug, forgetting for the moment that people were watching. “You’ll do fine. Besides, it's my opinion that matters in the end.”

Eri chuckled nervously. “True, but don’t forget there are still plenty of people out there who are unsure about you.”

He countered back, “You’re not wrong, but then they can be mad and upset with me, and not you.”

They shared a laugh as they separated.

Calming down, Felix added one last thing. “Seriously, though, remember what I said? I will always be on your side.”

That made her cheeks flush and it took her a moment to respond. “Thank you.”

With that, Eri turned around and made her way over to Aluin. Meanwhile, Felix headed for the crowd. He would stand off towards a side, near the front, and do his best to support her from there…

Eri took a deep breath, slowly scanning the small crowd. All eyes were on her, and everyone was watching with rapt attention. Even Felix seemed to be wholly focused on her.

This is it, she thought to herself. She found herself quickly poking through the bond she shared with Kyrith. He was awake, but was entirely distracted by the four little jewels. The sight brought a smile to her face.

That is what I want.

Peace and safety, family and friends. A place where all can live happily, where families can raise children. With no existential crisis, no famine, and no struggling to survive.

That feeling, it burned brightly within her soul. She latched onto it as she gathered herself. Her expression became serious as she addressed the crowd.

“Fellow Elves, I come before you to state my intention of becoming the next queen. I know there is much to do, and other candidates to consider. However, I shall prove my worthiness to all of you, to everyone.

“The other tribes are sending their own, to both help in the construction and to observe what kind of queen I, and the others, would be. Yet, Bernel sent their best and in such a short time. We should not squander that.”

She paused and let another smile show. “We shall begin at once! First, let’s start by getting organized.”

Eri randomly pointed at two individuals standing near the front. “You two! I want you to go around and gather a list of all professions. Bring it to me the moment you are done!”

She didn’t wait for a response as she continued, “Gillador, please come forward!”

Several moments crept by, but she waited patiently for the old elf to appear before her. “You are the architect, correct?”

He gave a dramatic bow. “I am, but please, call me Gil.”

“Right, Gil, it is a pleasure to meet you. We need to discuss how we are going to build this dormitory. But first, is there anything you need right now?”

The elf gave her a curious look before answering. “I was under the impression that I would be discussing plans with Felix. Has that changed?”

She nodded. “Each candidate will come to you to draw up a design. Felix will give the final sign off on one of them.”

“Interesting…” Gillador muttered before speaking more clearly. “Very well, I await what interesting ideas ya will bring. As for what is needed right now? Everything. Stone, lumber, nails… The list goes on.”

A hand went up from within the crowd.

“Yes?” she asked, looking directly at the person.

“Me and a few others are pretty good with an axe. We can get to chopping trees right now.”

“Go, gather and prepare as much lumber as you can.” She watched as four elves began weaving towards the back of the crowd, heading straight for their camp.

“Is there anything else anyone can contribute to right now?”

Several hands immediately shot up.

Right… Looks like I will be at this for a while.

Eri took another deep breath and set to work.