Several hours later, the group heads deeper into the the forest, the trees allowing less and less light to touch the forest floor. At one point, the lack of light was making it extremely difficult to see for those who do not have innate night vision.

Luckily, the lack of light did not last long as the group found themselves passing by several sentries before heading into a cave which is spiraling downward.

“Truly Impressive,” Arjun says as he walks downward, his eyes focused on the walls, particularly the glowing roots crisscrossing everywhere.

“Yea…” Valen says, watching as a pulse of life sends an array of colors through the roots, illuminating the passage that they are traversing.

“Mana… there is so much of it here… why?” Gang voices next to Valen, who continues to carry Diva’s sleeping body on his back.

Arjun pauses, mindlessly taking a look at the children who are just as amazed as the adults.

“All things have mana, and just like monsters can evolve to utilize it better, so too can plants,” he says, taking a moment to feel the walls and roots, feeling the warmness of the plant as it pulses with mana in the form of light.

“It clearly evolved to create this light, but the reason is unknown to me.”

“It was a symbiotic relationship,” Mordendos says, walking towards the group, having been in the back the entire time, listening to the group as they banter, figuring out that he may have made a mistake in taking them to his home.

“Centuries ago, the first of my kind had found this place, researching the plants living in this cave, finding that they have developed the ability to utilize their internal mana to produce light. The man, Morsis Maneiro, had built a home inside the cave, a small initial hut, and studied the plants.”

Morendos extends his hand, sliding it across the wall,” And he found something rather interesting.”

He turns to Arjun,” he found the answer to your question.”

At this point, the group finds themselves confused at why Morendos is being so talkative now, unsure of the man’s intentions… except for Arjun, who is following every word with extreme interest.

“Some species required the light in some way. What could they offer?” Arjun asks, getting a smile in return from Moredndos.

“Protection. The native species that live within this underground cavern are known as the muskrets. These rodents, though small, are actually very intelligent. But unlike the other species of this forest, they lack any potent night vision, something that is extremely important if you want to escape a night predator, something this forest does not lack at all.”

Arjun places his hand on his chin,” So these muskrets, they get protection from these night predators by this cave... but I don't see what the plants get in return. Is it possibly some form of nutrients?”

“And that is the big question. It bothered Morsis for over twenty years, trying to figure out what the plant gets in return. And he actually found it out accidentally.”

Arjun raises an eyebrow, completely curious, while Gang rolls his eyes, clearly seeing through Morendos attempt to create goodwill and trust.

As for Valen, he is distractedly watching the girls, listening in as Lin as explains the finer details of being a pokemon trainer…

Mordendos looks forward, remembering the story as his late father had told him,” Morsis was exhausted, having spent the entire day researching these muskrets, following them, writing down his observations, eventually becoming exhausted enough to lay down on the ground and take a nap. Which had resulted in him sleeping for an extended period of time… all night to be exact. Upon waking up, he found himself swarmed by the muskets, all sleeping alongside him.”

Morendos chuckles softly,” The muskrets had already taken him as one of their own, more than happy to share their warmth with him as the cave during the night could get a little chilly.”

Morendos shakes his head,” but that wasn't the amazing part. It was the fact that his enchanted armband had been completely drained of mana, having been resting all night atop one of the plants.”

Arjun’s eyes widen,” It’s Parasitic!” he yells, startling everyone around him, a manic smile blazing on his lips.

The guards quickly unsheathe their weapons, pointing them towards the group once more, reminding them that they are still prisoners.

But Arjun takes no notice,” The plant is taking mana from the muskrets, fueling its survival while at the same time producing light which is giving them a home… impressive… truly impressive.”

With a wave of Morednos hand, the guards resheathe their weapons.

“That is correct. The amount of mana is insignificant as the regeneration of mana for living beings is quite high.”

“And light alone barely utilizes mana,” Arjun adds in.

Morendos nods towards Arjun, continuing his story.

“ When Morsis finally returned home, he found that his home city was in shambles and his people were being hunted down by the orcs. Apparently, a war had broken out between his dark elf city and a large Orc mainland stronghold.”

Morendos pauses, frowning,” The Orc’s won, killing the king and forcing his people to flee the kingdom or risk being turned into a slave. When he returned, he found his people in shambles, looking for help… and that's what he did. Having lost their home, he gave them hope, telling them of a safe haven, a place his people can live without other races interfering.”

“He took them to the cave, a place of hope, a place where he built his city.” Morendos walks forward, spreading his arms, the tunnel opening up, revealing a truly majestic and beautiful sight.

“A city unknown to the world. A city he named after himself, the city of Morsis.”

Valens' eyes widen in amazement as he takes a look at the city. The cave itself is massive, ranging seeming up to a hundred miles in diameter. And at the center of the city is a massive tree, its glowing roots extending in every which way, touching the roof of the cave, down towards the ground, creating a great deal of support. Around the roots are wooden homes, countless wooden homes which reveal a truly massive population of people.

The group watches for several minutes in awe, staring at the dancing colors while Morendos smiles triumphantly, happy to show off his city, a city very few none dark elves have ever seen.

“Come,” Morendos says, interrupting everyone,” we still have a bit of a long trip to go. The palace is at the base of the great tree.”

Immediately the group heads towards the city, Arjun taking a confused look at Morendos.” It was only one plant, not several.” he says confused.

Morendos gives Arjun a cheeky smile,” Did I now? Why, were you expecting to take a plant home for study?” he asks, watching as Arjun quickly blushes.

“Unfortunately, we only have one tree, and considering how vital it is for my race, we are not at all willing to give it up,” he says, waving away as he walks towards a curious group of guards.

Valen turns to Gang, ignoring the disappointed expression on Arjun’s face,” What do you think? Something doesn't seem right. He is being too nice,” Valen says.

Gang nods, watching as Morendos directs the guards to allow his group through and tells them to explain the situation to the guards deeper in the city.

“That's because he wants information. He is playing nice, expecting to win our trust so that he does not need to torture the information out of us.” Gang explains speaking from experience.

Valen pauses, looking towards Lin as she points excitedly at the city, completely relaxed, trusting in Valen to keep her safe.

Gang moves closer to Valen and leans towards his ear,” You don't need that ring to summon things do you.”

Valen caught off guard, almost drops Diva before regaining his posture and then giving Gang a long look.

“I… don't,” he says, after contemplating for a while.

Gang nods, turning towards Morendos as he comes back to the group.

“Move quickly, my brother does not like to be held waiting,” he says, annoyed.

The group complies, walking towards the palace, a huge wooden building built onto the side of the tree.

________

Sometime later, the group arrives at the palace, causing a frown on Morendos face as he finds the Guard captain, a very close friend of his, standing with several palace guards.

“ What's the meaning of this Zaxis?” Morendos asks.

Zaxis, the guard captain, steps forward, towards the prince and gets on one knee.” The King has ordered the prisoners to be taken and chained into the dungeon.”

Morendos, confused,” We don't have a dungeon.” he says, looking down.

“Uhhhmmm, we don't, but we have a few rooms set up for interrogation.”

Morendos shakes his head,” No, I want them to be taken to an empty room upstairs with food and water. They are to be treated with respect.” he says authoritatively.”

Zaxis frowns,” and the king?”

“I will speak to the king,” Morendos adds.

Zaxis nods and stands up, turning towards his guards. ” You heard the prince, escort these people to a large room.”

The guards as one, lead the group towards a relatively large room on the third floor, leaving the group to their own devices while Morendos heads towards the back of the palace, the location of his own chambers.

_____

Entering inside, he finds that his room, covered with various trophies of monsters and furs, looks exactly the same as he had left it.

He shuts the door behind him.

“Llarian, we must talk.”

At the sound of his words, a woman in black garb seemingly moves out of a shadow in his room.

“ Why is it you always know when I am around you,” she says, taking a seat on an empty chair.

Because you are always in the right place, at the right time.

He walks and takes a seat on a chair opposite hers, laying back and allowing the wood to support his weight.

“I made a horrible mistake,” he says, looking upwards.

“These people have nothing to do with the light elves. They were just passing through and now my brother will most likely have them executed.”

Llarian sits there, listening.

“All because I believed we could use them to force my brother into fielding an army. To fight the holy kingdom before they become too strong.” he shakes his head, massaging it with his hands, trying to swallow his guilt.

“Then allow me to take care of it?”

Stopping, Morendos looks back down, towards Llarian, her toned legs resting one on top of the other. Morendos gives them not even a glance as he focuses on her words,” How so.”

She smiles, slowly standing up,” Don't you worry, just be ready to react properly.” she says, walking towards the door, opening and leaving without a word.

************************

Ralamyn Maneiro looks down, staring at captain Zaxis, giving the captain a vicious smile.” So, my brother brought captives, and instead of treating them as captives, he had them be treated as guests. This is perfect.”

Zaxis keeps his head down, listening to his king, Keeping his expression neutral.

“Good, Zaxis, I want you to inform the council of an emergency meeting tomorrow. Have the nobles come to the palace. I want to make sure I have a large audience. Make sure that the prisoners and my brother show up.”

Zaxis nods and stands up, turning around and walking out of the king's chambers to inform his guards.