The next day, the elves come back with a wagon to transport the harvest back to their village. And when they do, they are overshadowed by an enormous mound of unsorted fruits and vegetables. It towers over them like a majestic mountain.

"Ah!" you pop out from behind the heap, already donning your traveling gear and ragged cloak. "You're finally here!"

"Garden Beast... h-how much food is this..?" Leronil can hardly believe his eyes.

"Eh? You want an exact count?"

"An approximate will do..."

"Well... there are carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, apples, apple berries, bananas, banana berries, oranges, orange berries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, berry berries, grapes, corn, beets, onions, garlic, spinaches, broccoli, leeks, red peppers, green peppers, bell peppers, peppercorn—"

"By Gaia, we'll be here all day!"

You wipe the dirt off your cheeks and smile. You're not to be underestimated when it comes to farming.

You, Celia, Anya, Fidri, and Leronil all help in loading the goods. It takes you a few hours, but you eventually pull it off. The cart, made out of large leaves and held together by spider silk, miraculously withstands the weight of a thousand units of crop yield.

By the end, the elves are winded and drenched in sweat. You're the only one left with plenty of stamina to spare.

"G-Garden Beast... how is that you're not tired..?" Leronil asks you, lying sprawled on the ground as his chest heaved.

"Oh. Maybe I'm not that prone to exhaustion?" you laugh awkwardly.

Obviously, that's not the case. It's thanks to the talent at your disposal.

Talent: Footloose

Description: You can walk to the ends of the earth without breaking a sweat. You have infinite stamina and your muscles never strain.

In anticipation of this slowdown, you've prepared bowls of orange juice to quench their inevitable thirsts. And you give these elves with their throats parched and arms weak an invigorating amount of refreshments.

They make a quick recovery but are swift to realize the long haul ahead.

"Uh... so how do we go about transporting this?" Fidri is the first to point out the issue.

"We pull, duh," Celia confidently answers.

"Yeah no, you're asking for the impossible."

"Just watch, stick-arms."

The woman backs up against the front of the cart and grips the pulling bar. She pulls and pulls like there's no tomorrow. Her face grows redder and you swear her beautiful locks of brunette hair were falling out of her head from the sheer stress of all that exertion.

She then keels over and gives up, gasping for air.

"Well, that went about as smooth as I expected." Fidri shakes his head. "Anyone else got some bright ideas?"

You immediately direct your attention to your friend, who has been standing idly by and watching.

"Mystfox, you haven't helped out at all. Get your butt over here and start hauling this thing!"

The animal rolls his eyes but is compelled to follow your orders. While this cognitive dissonance is due in part to his undying loyalty towards you, it could also be attributed to the "Beastmaster" talent.

Talent: Beastmaster

Description: All animals you tame receive the same amount of experience you accrue. You also hold more control over them, and they are more likely to follow commands they would otherwise ignore.

"You're gonna ask this tiny fox to pull all this bulk cargo?" Leronil scrutinizes the animal.

"Despite his appearance, he's actually quite the powerhouse. You'll see," you wink at the skeptical elves.

And lo and behold, the Mystfox clamps his teeth down on the pulling bar and effortlessly proceeds. The pointy-eared folks are once again astonished by the sight before them.

"You're just full of surprises aren't you, Garden Beast?" Fidri remarks.

You awkwardly chuckle, unsure of how to take that.

With the transportation issue sorted, all of you make haste and head for the Elven Village right away. You are to travel there through the forest by foot, with Leronil in the lead. You join the leader in the front, while the other elves guard the rear flank.

The grassy path ahead of you is peaceful for the most part. And the trees make you feel safe.

"I apologize for my behavior yesterday," Leronil says out of the blue. "It wasn't right of us to attack you without preamble."

"You're still on that?" you cling onto your wooden staff, in more ways than one. "That's water under the bridge, man."

"No, it brings me great shame to have given in to desperation. I dragged the Elderwood Scouts' honor through the mud, and in doing so, I attempted to kill the one who would save our people. I am unfit to be a leader."

"Well, yeah, that is pretty bad. But hey, you learned something! Just don't make the same mistake again and we're all cool."

"You are too kind, Garden Beast. I still can't fathom how you are considered a 'Spawn of Gaia' by the elders."

You glance over at the man, chomping at the bit to ask him a question that's been on your mind since yesterday.

"You keep saying 'Spawn of Gaia' as if that's a bad thing, but don't you serve her?"

"Hm? Of course, we serve her!" Leronil proudly says. "But we do not serve her spawn."

"Wait a minute. Wouldn't your people be considered creations of Gaia as well?"

"Heavens no! We do not dare claim to be children of the forest. We are but interlopers from another creator, living off land we do not belong."

"Another creator? Why don't you serve him instead?"

"Because he has abandoned us—left us to fend for ourselves in this world. And his name is lost to time, we cannot even recall it."

The wind howls as he imparts these words to you. Slowly, the elves' culture makes more sense to you. This is an entirely different dimension to the human customs you'd read about.

"Gaia was merciful enough to take in our orphaned race, and she gave us a home amongst the trees. That is why we elves worship her as we do." Leronil's tone was that of gratefulness until it darkened like the dappled shade we strode through. "But to live in another's home, you must abide by their rules."

"Rules?" you repeat, curious.

"The law that dictates all life around here: kill or be killed. We were not the only ones here trying to survive."

"So... the Spawn of Gaia to you are..."

"Rivals. Nothing more, nothing less. Animals and monsters. Threats to our people's existence in these hallowed woods. We kill them if we must and never without reason."

You turn around to see Fidri scaring Anya with a spider, and Celia telling him off. They hear all that Leronil talks about, and do not bat an eye, for this is common knowledge to them.

You can't wrap your head around this normalization of constant struggle, but you figure that's your human influence showing.

You scratch your head with the tip of your staff and say, "I can never grasp this religion thing... in both humans and elves..."

"If you'd like, I can introduce you to our shaman," he offers kindly.

"No thanks. Trying to process your beliefs has got me beat."

The leader lets out a hearty laugh as you reach a tunnel in a rock face. You don't remember seeing a place like this during your countless foraging sessions.

"Oh right," Leronil ganders at the underpass ahead, "we haven't properly introduced ourselves, have we Garden Beast?"

"I mean, I already know your names so there's no point..."

"Tradition dictates we greet all outsiders who enter our village."

The leader takes a few steps back and is joined by Fidri, Anya, and Celia. They form a straight row and bow to you. You and your friend stand stock-still, bewildered as to what was happening.

"I am Celia, daughter of Masser."

"I am Fidri, son of Bendril."

"I am Anya, daughter of Bendril."

"And I am Leronil, son of Ginta."

And in unison, they say to you, "We humbly welcome you to Elderwood Village, Garden Beast!"