The city of Ithielthiel was amazing. It blended seamlessly into nature and was like an extension of the forest itself. The city was built into the trees, and when it could not be built into the trees, the trees molded themselves around the city. It was like seeing an ancient city that had been abandoned and overgrown, but instead of being abandoned, it was thriving. Up on closer inspection, nature had not encroached anywhere where it was not meant.

Walkways made entirely out of intertwining tree branches created bridges between the upper levels of the city. The roofs of every building were ecospheres unto themselves with various plant life growing on them. The structures that were not built into the trees were made out of wood or stone and had intricate designs carved into them. Roads were made out of stone, and for a city that was half-nature they didn’t have any vegetation growing on them.

Even though I knew this city had been designed for a game, I could not stop gaping at it. If Ithielthiel had been in the real world, it would have easily been considered one of the wonders of the world.

“I’m glad you are enjoying the view of our city. There are not many humans that get to gaze upon the work of their betters,” Elaria said with a half-smile over at me.

She became a lot more amicable since the encounter with the spiders, and even though she still insisted upon treating me like a lesser being, at least she wasn’t openly hostile towards me anymore.

“I have to admit that I’ve never seen anything like your city in my life,” I responded to her.

“Lesser species like yours don’t know how to live in symbiosis with nature,” she said. “We elves have mastered this.”

Ah, and every time I think I’m starting to like her, that arrogance and contempt reasserts itself. Elaria, the great hidden gem of Irune. I smiled stupidly and almost laughed but quickly caught myself.

“What are you doing?” Elaria asked frowning at me “If you don’t stay near me, I’ll be forced to kill you.”

“Sorry, I was just in such awe that I got distracted,” I shot back with a small amount of sarcasm that thankfully she didn’t pick up on.

We continued through the city, past a busy marketplace, beautiful homes, and elaborate temples until we ended up at a training ground. Several elves were practicing while a stern and muscular elf stood watching.

“Eldertits, how many times do I have to tell you to use both hands when swinging your axe and to strike with purpose! You are not just swinging it around randomly. Aim for critical points such as the neck or right below the ribs,” the Stern elf yelled with some annoyance at a woman practicing on a dummy in front of him.

In response the woman, Eldertits turned around snapped her heels to attention and extended her right arm upwards into what I can only assume was a Nazi salute and yelled, “Yes, Hauptsturmführer, it will be done for the fatherland!”

I stared at the one named Eldertits open-mouthed. She had hair the color of red velvet which hung loosely down to the upper middle of her back and brilliant forest green eyes on what was a very beautiful face. She was thin but incredibly toned and wearing what basically amounted to a loincloth on her lower half and a small covering over her enormous breasts. This left her stomach completely exposed and also gave ample cleavage. In her left hand, she was holding a huge axe by its handle as if it was nothing.

This had to be a real person and not an NPC. There was no way AI could have possibly conceived of a character named Eldertits that gave Nazi salutes. Her hair color was also different from all the other elves which normally seemed to range from blonde to brown.

“How many times do I have to tell you? Call me by my name, which is Daeron, or title, which is captain,” the stern elf said with an exasperated sigh.

“But sir, Hauptsurm...,” Eldertits started before catching sight of me and changing her tone completely, “Oh look a human loose on the streets, hide the kids!”

Daeron turned around quickly with alarm in his eyes until he spotted Elaria next to me and asked, “Elaria, where have you been, and why have you brought it here?”

“Captain,” Elaria started with a normal salute before she was cut off by Eldertits.

“My God, it's undressing me with its lewd eyes. Someone, stop it. I feel so violated!” she yelled out with very obvious mock outrage.

“Calm yourself, woman, before I have to have you restrained!” Dareon yelled before turning back to Elaria.

I could see behind Dareon’s back that Eldertits was laughing silently to herself. This was no mere elf, but a troll disguised as a beautiful woman.

“Captain,” Elaria started again, “I found it out in Irune within our domain.”

Daeron’s eyes narrowed as he asked, “Then why is it still alive.”

“Ooh, I bet she’s fucking it,” Eldertits chimed in.

Daeron and Elaria both glared at her which didn’t seem to bother the mad elf in the slightest.

Getting a little tired of being spoken about like I wasn’t there, I said, “You know I’m a person, not an it, so if you’re going to speak about me as if I’m not here please use he or him. Honestly, though you can just as easily use my name, which is Ryland by the way.”

It was now my turn to get glared at. Though this seemed to amuse Eldertits even more who was doing a positively awful job of hiding her laughter.

“He,” Elaria started through gritted teeth, “was found deep in our domain, and states that he didn’t enter willingly, but instead entered a portal which brought him.”

“That’s impossible, no portal can let out in Ithielthiel without being explicitly granted permission by the king, and the king is not in the business of granting humans permission to link portals to our land,” Daeron retorted outraged.

“That’s what I said, but I’ve traveled with him, and there’s no way such a pathetic creature could sneak past our rangers,” Elaria stated. “On top of this, I’ve fought beside him and believe his story.”

Daeron stared long and hard at both of us before saying with a sigh, “Very well, if what you say is true, it is indeed troubling. Elaria, keep an eye on it and meet me back here in two hours. I must go discuss this matter with the council.”

Leaving the three of us he headed deeper into the city.“Let's get you some decent clothes and a bath so you can be halfway presentable if you are summoned,” Elaria said over to me.

“Oh, I love shopping and bathing!” Eldertits said excitedly coming closer to us.

“Absolutely not,” Elaria said flatly turning to Eldertits.

“Oh come on, nobody can resist the titties,” Eldertits said shaking her breasts back and forth at Elaria.

Whatever she thought this would accomplish, it didn’t, because Elaria shook her head and said, “No, I don’t need to babysit anybody else today.”

Pouting Eldertits said, “Well you can’t keep me from following along, this is a free city.”

Maybe for an elf but not for me, I thought grimly.

Elaria set off with Eldertits and myself following behind. The streets of the city weren’t overly crowded, but I drew stares as we walked. There was a rather obvious absence of any races that weren’t elves, and as the sole exception, most of the occupants seemed to find me utterly fascinating.

“Don’t mind the stares. People just can’t help but notice the titties,” Eldertits said with a grin and a wink.

I opened my mouth to respond, but then closed it as I thought better of it. Anything I said would probably just draw out an even more outrageous statement. I wasn’t quite sure what to make of Eldertits, but I had to admit, I got a kick out of how uncomfortable she made the other elves.

Elaria seemed determined to ignore Eldertits and charged ahead with no indication that she heard anything. I actually had to quicken my pace to keep up with her. Perhaps she was attempting to make us walk fast enough so nothing could be said. No matter her motivation, the result was that we ended up in front of a tailor’s shop quickly.

The store, like most things in this city, was built into a tree and had a simple wooden sign with a needle and thread pictured on it with some writing that I couldn’t understand. Once inside, I could see that it was lined with racks of different clothing items and accessories.

A plump middle-aged looking elvish woman smiled and approached us. Well, until she saw me, then she recoiled. Elaria quickly spoke something, in what I’m assuming was elvish, and caused the woman to frown. Elaria again spoke, and the two women seemed to haggle back and forth until the store manager relented.

I was ushered by the woman and Elaria to the back of the store where three shirts were shoved in my face.

“Try them on,” Elaria said looking annoyed.

Great Elven Tunic - Green

“A common site around their forest home, these tunics are designed for comfort, quickness, and stealth.”

Durability: 40/40

Weight: 1 lb.

Superior Elven Shirt of Elegance

“Your nose will stick up as high as your ears in this”

Durability: 50/50

Weight: 0.5 lbs.

Charisma: +2

Common Elven Shirt - Grey

“Yep, it’s a shirt.”

Durability: 30/30

Weight: 1 lb.

I tried the tunic on, and it was very comfortable with a half collar at the neck. It split down the middle leaving a little room from my neck to breathe. The bottom of the tunic split up the middle as well to allow for free movement of the legs. It felt a little bit like wearing a dress, though. As if picking up on my thought process, Elaria pulled a belt off of a rack and put it around my midsection, which I had to admit looked quite nice.

Next, I tried on the Superior Shirt, which was white and had intricate embroidering up the sleeves and around the collar. The middle was done up with fine silk lacing, and the shirt fit my body like a glove. It felt amazing, and I looked amazing in it.

Lastly, I tried on the gray shirt which was exactly what it sounded like. It was less comfortable than the other two and had no collar and these annoying strings hanging from each side of the neck area.

“How much for the superior elven shirt?” I asked the store manager.

She blinked back at me not responding, so I asked the question again with the same result. Elaria finally spoke up in the other language which prompted the woman to respond.

“It’s forty gold pieces for the superior shirt, fifteen for the tunic, and five for the gray shirt,” Elaria said turning to me.

“I only have thirty gold pieces on me,” I responded.

Elaria turned back to the woman and relayed what I told her to the woman. The woman responded to Elaria while I stood there waiting. It was really annoying not being able to understand what they were saying.

“She’ll sell you the tunic, with the belt, and a pair of woodland pants for thirty gold pieces,” Elaria stated before adding, “take it, you won’t get a better deal. I had to push her hard for this much.”

I agreed and was handed a pair of brown pants and the belt Elaria picked up and handed to me earlier.

Simple Elven Belt

“It’s worn around the waist.”

Durability: 20/20

Weight: 0.5 lbs.

Good Woodland Pants

“Great for getting around a forest”

Durability: 30/30

Weight: 1 lb.

I equipped the new clothes and toggled my appearance over from my robes. It was so much better. I almost forgot how much I disliked having the robes equipped.

“What do you guys think?” Eldertits said walking over wearing an extremely short, layered, almost ragged looking green skirt with a white top that covered her arms and upper chest but cut off about two-thirds of the way down her breasts.

“It’s great if you’re going for the desperate hooker look,” I said.

“Appropriate for an elf of your assets,” Elaria stated matter-of-factly.

“Oh Elaria, have you been admiring my assets?” Eldertits said ignoring my statement completely.

“I was merely stating that your clothing choices were suitable for showing off your physique,” Elaria responded clearly not picking up on what the other elf was getting at.

“No need to be shy. Tits can tell by the lecherous look in your eyes that you want this body,” Eldertits said smirking back at her.

“I believe you have misunderstood me, I am not interested in elven women that way, only elven men,” Elaria said slightly backing away.

“Baby, you don’t have to lie. This is a safe place for our kind. We can show the world our love here,” Eldertits said closing the distance between them

“Wait,” I interjected, “only elven men?”

“Did I mislead you as well? I apologize, I harbor no romantic feelings towards either one of you,” Elaria stated clearly annoyed now.

I responded, “No, you misunderstood me, I was merely questioning why you specifically specified elven men.”

“I would have thought that was obvious. It's because non-elves are beneath me,” Elaria said still annoyed.”

“Damn girl! That’s some master race, racist shit!” Eldertits said with mock outrage in her voice.

For once, I actually agreed with something the crazy elf said. These elves, minus the one that was obviously a troll, had a serious racial superiority complex going on. Turns out, even in the virtual world racism still existed. Actually, it might be even worse here.

“If you two are done, please pay the woman so we can be on our way,” Elaria said and proceeded to exit the shop without waiting for a response.

Eldertits and I both went up to the store manager and paid. She spent significantly more than I did, though it still felt like a lot to me considering thirty gold was all I had to my name. After this, we exited the shop to find Elaria waiting for us.

“Now, we will get you a bath so that being human is the only disgusting thing about you,” Elaria said to me.

I was about to snap at Elaria, my patience with the constant degradation finally wearing thin, when Eldertits chimed in excitedly, “Oh bathtime! I bet Elaria can’t wait to get me alone in the bathhouse!”

Seeing the alarmed look on Elaria’s face and still feeling pissed, I couldn’t help but to say, “Yes, all three of us should probably clean up. I assume it will be split into boys and girls.”

Her eyes tried to murder me right then, but seeing no way out of it, she grudgingly agreed.

The bathhouse was a marvel much like everything else in this city. Water ran down individual seams in the lining of a tree until splitting and coming out of faucets which then pooled into large tubs built into the floor. The water was constantly cycled by drains which kept the water in an almost constant state of clear, even with many people scrubbing dirt and other grime off of themselves.

A large partition separated the men’s side from the women's, and though it kept them from being able to see one another, I could still hear the not-infrequent laughter of Eldertits. Elaria was silent, but I could just imagine that scowl which caused me to grin.

It's funny how quickly I found myself comfortable with these people. Some of them, like Elaria, weren’t even real. During the later stages of my life on Earth, I found it difficult to be around others, and now I was comfortable hanging around a woman who thought me disgusting and a troll. What did that say about me? Could I find it easier to spend time with a computer program than a real person?

Using the soap that was provided, I scrubbed myself from head to toe until a new status icon popped up.

Cleanliness

“Being Clean makes you more pleasant to be around. Others will be more receptive to you.”

Status Effect: Charisma +15%

Duration: 6 hours or until dirty

Not a bad status effect for something rather simple. I’d have to remember this for the future if there was ever something I needed to use charisma for. It seemed like everything in this game affected something else, and that really helped to make it feel like a real living and breathing world.

Leaving the bathing area, I walked into the changing room, and my clothes immediately materialized on me. Putting on clothes was a simple thing to do but having them materialize was pretty damn convenient. Not going to lie, I’m totally going to get used to this. Who can’t dress himself? Not me.

Entering the waiting area, I found Elaria sitting there with a scowl on her face. I could just imagine how annoying Eldertits must have been which caused a smile to spread to my face as I imagined this.

She must have noticed and guessed at what I was thinking about, because she asked, “Does something amuse you, human?”

“It’s nothing,” I said quickly erasing the grin from my face. “How was your bath?”

She stared at me as if trying to figure out if I was mocking her before answering, “It was fine. I see you have cleaned up nicely, you’re almost handsome.”

“For a human?” I asked, this time mockingly.

“I’d say you are handsome for a human. I said almost, because you’re still human,” she answered.

I was actually a little taken aback by this almost compliment from Elaria. That fifteen percent charisma boost was more effective than I thought. There might still be hope for this extremely bigoted computer program yet. Actually, on that note, how does a computer program even become bigoted? Was it purposely designed that way, or did the AI grow this way organically? There was no way I was going to be able to answer this right now, so I dropped it.

Eldertits strolled out of the women’s changing room shortly thereafter and winked very noticeably at Elaria which actually caused the ranger to blush and turn away while crossing her arms.

“Now that everyone is finished, let’s return to Daeron and hope that he figured out what to do with you,” Elaria said standing up and exiting the bathhouse.

I looked at Eldertits, shrugged, and followed Elaria.

“I relayed the information to the council, and they are greatly troubled, as am I,” Daeron said. “The idea of an unauthorized portal opening into our lands is disturbing. We will investigate it further. As for the human,” he added turning his gaze on me. “Since we cannot prove that he entered our domain of his own free will, it has been decided that he will be given a choice instead of being sent for immediate respawn.”

“What would the council ask of him?” Elaria responded with the same question I wanted to ask.

“You do not know this, and discretion is expected, but Turin of House Parthanuun has been captured by the dark elves of Maleuhur.”

“What? How did this happen? When did this happen?” Elaria exclaimed loudly.

“Quiet, Elaria, lest we create a panic,” Daeron snapped at her. “It happened three days ago. As for the how, it has been reported that the dark elven enchantress, Viltria the Shadow Whisperer, was seen accompanying him on the outskirts of northern Irune before they crossed the Deadlands and eventually entered the Black Gate. It’s suspected that she placed an enchantment on Turin that bent him to her will.”

“I will send that villainess for respawn myself!” Elaria said angrily.

“You will do no such thing,” Daeron responded sternly. “You are to guide Ryland to the gate but not to enter yourself as you would be killed or captured on sight. As a weak human, Ryland is unlikely to seem like much of a threat to them. Once Ryland has entered, he is to make his way to the city of Maleuhur, locate, and then rescue Turin.”

I was being given a quest, and from the sound of it, it was a big quest that seemed like it would take a lot of time to complete and have a high degree of difficulty. It also didn’t help that I hadn’t understood half of what I Daeron said.

“What happens if I refuse this task?” I asked, fairly certain I knew part of the answer already.

“You will be sent for respawn if you decline and declared an enemy of Ithielthiel,” Daeron said flatly. “This, of course, means we will attack and kill you whenever we cross your path.”

Not much of a choice then really. Getting sent for respawn would be annoying but being declared an enemy of a large group would make things really difficult this early into the game. I’ll have to play this one carefully or this afterlife is going to get a lot more difficult.

“What do I get if I rescue this prince of yours?” I asked.

Daeron and Elaria looked at me and laughed before Daeron said, “Turin is not a prince, but the third son of a minor noble family. If he was our prince, we would have marched to war. Still, he is one of the people, and a noble to boot, so we cannot allow him to simply suffer at the hands of those black creatures. If you complete this task, you will become a minor friend of Ithielthiel and be allowed free passage through our lands whenever you wish. We will also pay you the sum of five hundred gold pieces. More than fair in my opinion.”

“There are many things I don’t know,” I said. “How am I supposed to locate this city or elf?”

“Should you choose to accept this quest, everything you require will be given,” Daeron said as I received the quest notification.

You have received a new quest: An Elf Lost in the Dark.

“Young Turin of House Parthanuun has been captured by the dark elf Viltria and taken to the underground city of Maleuhur. You have been asked to find him and return him to Dareon, head of the rangers of Ithielthiel.”

Type: Rare

Reward: 5000 XP, 500 gold, 1000 Reputation points with Ithielthiel

Penalty for Decline: -5000 Reputation points with Ithielthiel and immediate attack by the elves of Ithielthiel

Penalty for Failure: -5000 Reputation points with Ithielthiel

Do you accept this quest?

Yes or No?

Wow, that distribution of reputation points was uneven as hell. Plus one thousand for completing but minus five thousand for failure or declining. I didn’t really see much of an option in the choice, and besides this was a game after all, so I might as well play. I mentally clicked yes and accepted the quest.

“Excellent,” Daeron said. “You have three days to prepare. I would suggest, for starters, that you learn Dark Elvish, so you can communicate when you are there. The choice is yours, however.”

“How am I supposed to learn a language in three days?” I asked incredulously.

“If you apply yourself I see no reason why you wouldn’t be able to,” Daeron responded.

You have received the optional subquest: Learning the Language of the Dark

“You have been given 3 days to learn the language of Dark Elves. The great library of Ithielthiel is a good place to start.”

Type: Common

Reward: 400 XP, 10% boost in the chance to succeed An Elf Lost in the Dark, Ability to speak Dark Elvish.

Penalty for Decline: None

Penalty for Failure: None

Do you accept this quest?

Yes or No?

This seemed like a tall task to ask of anyone. I’ve never heard of anyone learning a language in three days, but things in this game didn’t exactly work like they did in real life, and if it was a quest, it was probably possible. I mentally clicked yes and accepted the quest.

“Hold up, this sounds like a quest that the Titties needs to be involved in,” Eldertits said butting into the conversation.

“You wish to assist this human in his quest?” Daeron asked her.

“Yes, for the glory of Ithielthiel and all that,” she said flourishing her hand.

“You should know that for you, it will be very dangerous,” Daeron explained. “While they see humans with something like indifference or disdain, dark elves, and our kind have long been enemies and they will most likely view you with pure enmity and hatred. The odds of you being captured or sent for respawn are very high. Do you still wish to assist on this quest?”

“Fuck yes, ain’t nothing gonna keep these Titties down!” Eldertits said excitedly.

“Very well, you are a free elf, and the choice is yours to make,” Daeron responded to her.

I looked over at the elf, who seemed very pleased with herself. I wondered who the person beneath all the jokes and purposely offensive remarks actually was I resolved that before this quest was over, I was going to get to know the real Eldertits and try to find out why she acted the way she did.

“That is all from me for today. Elaria will show you to a place to stay for the next three days and will brief you on the finer details of the quest tomorrow,” Daeron said dismissing us.

Elaria lead the two of us away from Daeron where we traveled down a couple of streets, up some stairs, and across a bridge to an establishment named the Oakspring.

It was built into the lower level of one of the great trees. Upon entering, there was a great room lined with tables and a hearth, a bar, and a kitchen area separated from the rest. Around the outside of the circular room wound a wooden staircase that slowly circled upwards until it disappeared into the floor above.

Elaria made her way over to the bar and spoke with an elven woman standing there in rapid Elvish. I couldn’t understand what they were saying, but Eldertits seemed to be following along without a problem. After Elaria gestured at the two of us, the woman frowned, and her tone changed.

“Looks like you’ve got a real admirer,” Eldertits said to me with a smile.

“By her tone, I’m guessing she has a no humans policy,” I replied, annoyed at how much this kept popping up.

Were all elves really this racist?

Elaria, at this point, cut the woman off and spoke in a very firm voice, from which the woman shrank back. Finally, after some reluctance, they seemed to come to an agreement.

“You have both been given rooms on the upper floors. I promised that you would treat this establishment with respect and not steal anything. Don’t make me a liar,” Elaria said sternly staring at me.

“Please follow me,” the woman said in the common tongue.

She led the three of us up the stairs to the fourth floor and showed us to two rather bare rooms which only had a bed, table, and a chair.

“These are not the most luxurious rooms, but they are free,” Elaria said. “Please get some rest, and we will go over the details in the morning. I will see you then.”

Elaria turned to leave, but before she could, Eldertits said, “You know, Elaria, you’re welcome to join me in my room, and we can continue where we left off in the bathhouse.”

The back of Elaria’s ears went red all the way up to their tips, and after hesitating for a brief moment, she purposely strode away and left us in silence.