Return to Jorgaldur

It took the prince of Engenak a couple of days to find out that the elf had also left there. He was furious, as it had taken too long, but also excited to find her trail. So, he headed with his bodyguards to the next area, well above his level.

They were worried and anxious, but could only but follow the prince’s orders. Besides, his bad temper exploded again when they arrived and found no sign of the elf.

However, that night, a hooded woman approached him.

“I think you’re looking for an elf named Goldmi. I can help you.”

The prince, who was about to call his protectors to throw her out, completely changed his expression. Now, that stranger had his undivided attention.

“Do you know where she is?” he asked. He was barely able to control his excitement.

“For a reasonable price, I can tell you where she’s now. For a little more, I can guide you to her. We could even catch her for you,” she replied in a whisper.

“How much to catch her!?” he asked, unable to control himself.

The woman smiled. The price she gave him wasn’t low, but she knew that a prince could pay it, she had investigated her client. Despite his excitement, he frowned, so pretending it was too much.

After a few minutes of bargaining, they reached a satisfactory agreement. His obsession was at his fingertips, and he had managed to cut the price ostensibly. She had achieved her goal, with flying colors. They had also agreed to leave the next day together.

“We shouldn’t trust her. We don’t know anything about her,” censured a member of the escort.

“It could be dangerous,” added another.

“That’s why you’re coming too, in case there’s a problem,” Krusledón disdained.

“But…”

“It’s already decided. Let’s go,” ordered the prince.

They had no choice but to obey, and accompany him to the appointment with the mysterious woman. She was waiting for them in a small clearing.

“I have good news. They’ve her surrounded, although she doesn’t know it. They can catch her at any time. What do you want to do?” she asked him.

“Catch her! Tie her up. I’ll take care of the rest,” he asked excitedly.

“Do you want her with or without clothes?” she laughed.

He thought about it for a moment, before responding with a depraved smile.

“Ha, ha. I prefer to strip her myself.”

“Enough is enough,” another voice was suddenly heard.

They all turned towards the source of that voice, a tree, behind which a leprechaun appeared. He was the same one that Goldmi had known days ago, but his face was much less kind than back then.

In addition, they were soon surrounded by beings of various races, who were armed, and of a higher level than the prince’s guardians, who were extremely nervous. The prince was simply confused. It took him a few seconds to realize the seriousness of the situation.

However, the bodyguards breathed a sigh of relief when, behind the leprechaun, a human dressed in a lavish, refined and extremely expensive suit appeared. His expression was stern, and his gaze was fixed on the prince.

The prince hesitated. He didn’t expect to see him there. It was certainly not to give him good news.

“Welcome, Uncle Krufil. What brings you here?” he received him with a small bow, since the status of the queen’s brother was higher than his.

“YOU bring me here! You had to come to gain experience and power and… WHAT DO YOU DO!? YOU ARE CHASING A WOMAN!! YOU ARE PLOTTING TO KIDNAP HER!! You have created a lot of trouble for us… Fortunately, nothing has happened, so it is enough to expel you from Narzerlak. Let’s go.”

The prince was extremely frightened by the unfolding of events. That his uncle had come looking for him in person meant that he had gotten into serious trouble. He was sure there was more to it than he had said.

In fact, he didn’t understand it. Despite knowing that he wasn’t in Engenak, making such a fuss for just one woman was something he couldn’t understand. After all, he was a prince. Besides, he hadn’t even gotten to do anything,

He didn’t know that Goldmi was too important to the Alliance to allow potential risk to run loose. As a result, they not only had him under surveillance, but had held high-level conversations with the kingdom of Engenak, which had also received reports from the prince’s guardians.

Finally, they had set a trap, both to confirm their suspicions, and to have an excuse to expel him.

The kingdom had understood that the prince had messed with whom he shouldn’t have. So, they had hastened to facilitate things so that he would get out of there, and cause no more problems. It was a much better solution than creating a conflict with the elven kingdom or the Alliance, a conflict that would bring them no benefit.

Thus, Krusledón was escorted to the border of the kingdom. He was banned to return to Narzerlak.

Maldoa was still in the same position, she was anchored to the ground by her roots. The toxic cloud had dissipated, but there were tons of rocks obstructing the tunnel, plus it would probably be unstable. It wouldn’t be easy to create a path, much less quickly.

She didn’t know anything about her friends or her cousin, and all she could do was wait, a wait that became unbearable.

On the other hand, they had begun to get clues about the kidnappers, clues that weren’t encouraging at all. Apparently, all of them had been on the border with the Lost Forest, while keeping a low profile and hiding their faces.

They had only managed to get information from two of them, the ones who had guarded the cave entrance, and the information was worrying. The woman was a criminal, she was wanted for numerous crimes. The man was an apprentice alchemist who had no qualms about studying a forbidden branch, which used living beings as ingredients.

If those were the two who were guarding the entrance, they could only fear the worst from the rest.

The drelf wasn’t the only one waiting. Bolbe, among others, was watching the waters, was hoping for a clue, a sign. Several dryads were doing the same through plants, though Melia wasn’t one of them. She was too far from there to act directly, but she was attentive and concerned about the news that reached her.

They were all connected. They were sharing not just information, but a barely contained fury. Attacking one of them was attacking all of them.