"To be honest, there were many rumors about the elves having a secret research facility somewhere in the forest. Often such rumors even originated from people of high standing, though they usually admit they only heard of it as hearsay themselves. Most agree that these rumors are little more than hogwash, mere drivel, and the product of an overactive imagination. The elves certainly aren't telling either way." - Excerpt from "Mysteries of Alcidea" by Janos Berqvist, circa 518 FP.

"So… is this the sort of place where you'd have to kill me if I speak of it elsewhere?" Cal asked half in jest while she helped herself to some of the baked goods that Nate had teleported to the table.

"Not really, no," replied the elf with a bark of laughter. It was clearly not the first time someone asked him that question, but it still tickled him regardless. "We usually just kindly ask that people who have been here do not spread word of it outside… unless we ask them to, which we do from time to time."

"That sounds rather contradictory," commented Cal as she took another sip of her tea and sampled at the piece of baked confectionery in her hand. The confectionery looked like a pair of dense, hard biscuits, which sandwiched a layer of the orangeish-golden honey between them.

Despite its plain appearance, the biscuits crumbled the moment she bit into them, and almost melted on her tongue, spreading a slightly sweet and savory grain-like flavor cut by a hint of astringency. They meshed wonderfully with the intense and oddly tangy honey in between, which has been concentrated until it had nearly reached a chewy consistency.

"Oh no, not really," replied the elven man as he snacked on one of the biscuits himself. When Cal emptied her cup of tea he just poured more from where he sat, into a small spatial portal that opened right above her cup. "You see, this place is mostly a haven for those who enjoyed doing their research in peace and isolation. People who found even Paradise, for all its merits, too boisterous and lively."

"So when those exact types get to visit and spend a good time here… they're usually very amenable to a request of keeping the haven our own little secret… or inversely, to spread rumors about it," explained the elven man further, as he poured himself a fresh cup of tea and stirred in a spoonful of honey in it. "You see, we keep those rumors laced with some truth, but also make sure it's just a bit too outlandish to be truly considered. When such rumors spread freely, most would just discard it as mere hearsay, as would the actual sources of said rumors when confronted, so none would actually hold much credit to such rumors after the first few times."

"A refuge in audacity, huh? Quite clever," admitted Cal with a nod as she took another of the delightful biscuits from the plate. "That way even if some really do believe in those rumors you could just openly ridicule them and none would be the wiser,"

"Exactly. We're just hiding in plain sight, in a sense. People tend to miss what's right before their eyes at times," said Nate with a slight chuckle. "But I digress. I believe you came here to meet the other three as well?"

"If you can drag those nerds out of their hideyholes," said Kino with an annoyed laugh while she took the last of the biscuits and munched on it. "Deities know how hard it was last time to pry them out when we took Kyara around."

Her words garnered an amused giggle from the therian woman, as well as from Martha. Apparently the other three champions present were quite maniacal with their research.

"Should not be a problem this time, I think. They happened to have a breakthrough just last week, and were celebrating till two days ago," replied the elven man with a smirk of his own. "Pretty sure they're still resting and trying to deal with the hangover from that party."

"Hah! Serves them right!" said Kino enthusiastically. By that time everyone had drained their cups of tea, and the platter of confectioneries was similarly cleaned. The empty cups and platters were teleported elsewhere by Naht'anavriel. "Take us over them. Can't wait to rub it on their faces…"

"Sure, sure. Let us depart then, this way," said the elf as he snapped his fingers and a spatial portal came into existence inside a circular growth of vines to the side of the garden. Cal had mistaken that loop of vines as a decoration earlier.

With Naht'anavriel in the lead, the group walked through the portal, and emerged in an enclosed, yet well-lit room, likely somewhere down in the tree's trunk. The room's furniture and decoration indicated that it served as both a living room and a dining room.

Some elven decorations could be seen on the walls, made of preserved vines and flowers interweaved and combined into pleasant-looking patterns or at times, crude yet beautiful pictures. Some wooden carvings that showed obvious elven workmanship were also present.

Sprawled crudely over one of the comfortable-looking recliners present was a goblin, one with dark brown skin and a mess of orange-red hair that seemed to stand on ends. She was holding a bag of ice cubes to her forehead.

At the same time, a dwarven man seated at the table looked up from his bowl of what seemed to be hot porridge, and looked at the arriving group. For a dwarf, the man dressed in a rather unusual fashion, with long robes and a monocle over one eye. His beard was also one of the best-groomed one Cal ever saw, one clearly cared for greatly.

"Yer back already, Nate?" said the dwarf, his booming bassy voice belying his cultured appearance, which elicited a wince of pain from the reclining goblin woman.

A door to the side of the room opened before anyone could answer, and a sleepy-looking merfolk woman walked out, clad only in a loose robe that seemed to glisten and shine under the light. She tracked wet footprints as she walked out and scolded the dwarf equally loudly.

"Shut your hairy trap for a bit, will ya! Some of us are trying to sleep here for deities' sake!"