“The language of benefits, on the other hand, is one shared by all races.” - Saying attributed to the Silver Maiden.

“Peace be upon you, o Dwellers of the Woods,” said the group’s merchant-guide in somewhat broken, but passable elvish of the same dialect. He slowly reached into his tunic, his every movement deliberately slow, and brought out a token of carved wood which he showed to the elf. “We bear no ill desires in this foray of ours, and merely plead to be allowed passage westwards, as per the agreement between the elder and my honored uncle.”

The elven man that spoke stepped a bit closer and gestured with his hand, asking to see the token, so their guide laid the token almost reverently in the elf’s hand. A quiet, yet tense moment passed as the elven man studied the token closely, before he finally gave it back to their guide and crossed his hands before his chest as he spoke.

“This is indeed the elder’s token,” affirmed the elf with a nod. “But in the past this token had only been used for the passage of one person, with up to two guards with them. Explain why you have brought so many with you this time, traveler. Your uncle might be considered a friend of the woods, but what privileges that status confers to him does not necessarily confer to you as well.”

“My honored uncle has bid me to ferry his honored guests to-”

“I think it’s better if we speak for ourselves, though thanks for the vouching regardless,” said Aideen with a smile as she cut off their guide’s words mid-sentence. “Eilo, you want to handle this?”

“Sure, Aunt, thanks,” replied Eilonwy. She then stood up to her full height and pulled down her hood, revealing her long, pointed ears for everyone to see. While Eilonwy was covered under her cloak and hood, while her height might make some wonder, it didn’t necessarily mean that she was an elf, as there were occasionally people that reached her height amongst the humans as well.

Her ears, on the other hand, were very obvious telltale signs of her elven heritage, especially when combined with her height, a good half a head taller than Aideen herself.

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“Greetings, brethren,” said Eilonwy in fluent elvish, albeit with more of a southern dialect. Still, the languages were similar enough that the northerners would likely understand what she said to them regardless, so that was not a point of worry. “I had not expected to get to see some distant brethren on this journey, so this is a pleasant surprise to say the least.”

“Oh? This is an unexpected surprise,” said the elven male that had addressed them all this while as he turned to face Eilonwy. “You are descended from one of our brethren to the south, I take it… Hmm… You reek of Death Mana, child, so I assume you are one of those who dwells beneath the shadows of the leaves?”

“Three of my grandparents hail from the Forest of Shadows, yes, as does the man who sired me,” replied Eilonwy calmly. “These days we consider ourselves a part of the Lichdom, though.”

“One must do what they must,” said the elven man with a shake of his head. “I am all too aware of our own precarious position here, where we survive and get to be ourselves at the sufferance of our neighbors… and because we are a thorn they do not wish to grasp with their hand for the time being. In the south you had a far larger, far more united enemy to face, so it is most understandable to seek the protection of those stronger.”

“My great-grandfather said something of that nature to me in one of his lectures about our people. The weak submits, the strong thrives, is that not so?” replied Eilonwy, to which the elven man nodded sagely. “We were weak and ailing at the time, and one of the two strong powers next to us was bent on ending our existence, so we naturally turned to the other.”

“It is how it is,” said the elf with a nod. “Tell me, Child of Shadows, how fare our brethren in the south? Do they live well, or do they chafe under the yoke instead?”

“Mostly well, I’d say. Great-grandfather even has one of the highest positions in the Lichdom, even beyond people from all the other races bar one,” replied Eilonwy relaxedly. After she revealed her identity and started to converse with the elf, the other elves around them mostly adopted relaxed poses as well. They still kept their weapons at the ready, but were no longer actively threatening to use them. “Some might consider being a butler to be an insult, but to be one to the Bone Lord himself is surely worth recognition.”

“Indeed. Fools be those who dare to dismiss the Lord of Bones,” admitted the elf with a nod. “Very well, cousin. While this is outside of our usual rules, if you wish to borrow our forest paths, we will not deny you their use. We only ask that the forest is to not be transgressed upon during your passage, and that you ensure that the rest of your… group does the same.”

“But of course, cousin. Consider it done,” nodded Eilonwy at the elf’s words.

“Then may you find your path forward a smooth one, cousin,” said the elf with another nod before he turned and walked towards the dark forest. One after another, the other elves vanished into the dark forest as well, until the convoy was left alone once more in the dark, only lit by their campfire. The group’s merchant-guide and his two guards looked at Eilonwy with surprise clear on their faces, even as she calmly sat back down by the campfire.

“I’d say that went pretty well, wouldn’t you say?” said Eilonwy with a chuckle as she looked at the baffled faces of their guide and guards. Aideen and Kino soon joined her in laughter as well.