Spending two days loitering around inside my small, run down room was not easy. I could use the courtyard at the back to practice with my bow, but other than that I had nothing else to do. Before, my life consisted of practicing magic, meditating, reading and exploring the forest. But right now, I do not have any books, I cannot explore the city and, the hardest part, I do not longer possess magical abilities. I did not think this was going to bother me that much, but not having mana almost feels like being in a wrong body, like this is not myself.

I thought that I would be able to find solace in the delicious human food but so far, I have only eaten bread and cheese I bought from the owner of this hostel. The bread tastes like cardboard and the cheese looks and smells like something I accidentally left out of the fridge last week. In the village we did not have cheese, as obtaining it will mean committing taboo by capturing wild animals, so I cannot really complain about the one here, but the bread the elves made was a piece of art, it was baked daily and made with several herbs and vegetables.

“I had not noticed, but elves are almost royalty in this world.”

However, my suffering ends today. I have been asking around the travelers coming to this hostel and I found a place where the elves would not dare to enter. The Lunalight Tavern, a famous shack almost as old as Listeria frequented by travelers, adventurers and knights which serves the most renowned lamb pottage in the continent. No respected elf would ever enter a place sinfully serving meat.

“I wonder if I have enough money for a full plate? I did not even have breakfast today to prepare for it.”

Counting the various coins inside my bag, I put on a robe to hide my clothes and prepared to leave my room for the first time.

Even though it was night and the streets were incredibly dark, the sea of people was not stopping. Knights patrolling the city, adventures returning with their bags full of treasures and merchants picking up their stalls, the city was as lively as when I arrived. After twenty minutes of running down the streets as fast as I could, I was standing in front of the tavern.

“Is this place really that famous?”

As the travelers described it to me, the place looked older than any building I have seen. Its wooden door and windows were already rotten and the roof looked like it would fall the next time it rains. Swallowing my doubts, I opened the door and entered the place just to be met with the awful smell of dirt, sweat and roasted meat. I was about to turn an leave, but an insane pressure prevented me from doing it.

Everyone is looking at me; the scantily clad waitresses, the drunk adventurers with blood on their clothes and even the old man at the bar seemed to stop for a second the moment I crossed the door. I assume it is because of the robe covering my body and the scarf covering my face, but I do not want to reveal my pointy ears and delicate face yet.

“Good… night…”

I said in voice only I could hear and walked towards the bar. Everywhere I stepped, the stone floor was either sticky or wet.

“Are you lost kid?”

“Perhaps.”

I finally uncovered my face in front of the bartender.

“You’re a girl…? What are ya?”

“An elf.”

“For real? Y'all still exist?”

Good, my assumptions were right and the hunters have not visited this place.

“Yeah, pretty much. In fact, I am looking for some friends.”

“Ol’ Rodney was always boasting with his stories about the elves in the secret forest. But I never thought I’ll see one myself”

“I am kind of a weird one”

“You’ll bring me good fortune lassie, the first drink is on me tonight”

My objective can wait a few minutes, this is the moment I have been dreaming about. Though in my dreams this happened at a fancy bar with an elegant bartender, this lousy tavern will do for tonight.

“What do you have gramps.”

“Mead and cider, two copper a pint.”

I have no idea what any of those are. I do not even know why I asked, even if they have beer or whiskey they are not going to be called that here. Elves have practically no books or knowledge about the modern human world, so I am in blank when it comes to what people eat and drink here.

“I want one of each.”

“Oooh, felling rowdy aren’t cha? I like you already lassie.”

“And put a plate of pottage with them. I want to see what is so famous about it.”

“Claude! One big plate of pottage!”

The bartender screams made the whole place shake.

“Lunalight’s pottage is the pride of Listeria, no traveler leaves without tasting it. I always imagined you elves like some fancy-pants folks, my Nan would die again if she knew one came asking for her pottage.”

“Let’s just say I want to know how you humans have fun. How much do I own you?”

“Five copper lassie.”

Cheap, so cheap I almost reconsider ordering the lamb. I rummage through my bag and put ten copper coins in front of him.

“Gramps, if you happen to meet someone who has seen another elf recently, send them to my table for a free pint. I’ll be sitting at the back.”

“Gotcha.”

I came up with this plan yesterday night. A tavern frequented by every traveler in Listeria is the perfect place to gather information. If no one here has seen another elf, there is high chance they already left the city and I can move freely starting tomorrow.

I sat at the furthest back table I could find and after a couple of minutes, a young woman brought the two wooden glasses and left them in front of me with a cute smile.

“Thank you”

I was too shy to ask which one is which and inside this dimly lit room, they both looked exactly the same. Praying to Jörð, I take a sip of one of the yellowish murky drinks.

“Ugh… this taste like soap water.”

I almost spat the drink immediately. It was slightly sweet and I could taste the alcohol faintly but other than that, the flavor was horrible and the liquid stuck to the back of my throat making it hard to swallow.

“Mmm… this is not that bad… it tastes like apple juice.”

The second drink was much better, it was sweeter and I am certain it contained apples or some other fruit.

“Was the mead too strong for you miss?”

I was so focused on my drinks that I failed to notice the bearded man with two plates standing in front of me.

“Sorry I didn’t mean to scare you, but you were making some interesting faces right now.”

The man put the plates on the table and sat with me. Before I could say something, he began talking.

“When Martial said a girl came to the tavern I couldn’t believe him, and then he said it was an elven girl to top it off. I am sorry but I had to see you with my own eyes. My name is Samuel, captain of the Gorsstar Guild.”

I reluctantly shook his hand. If he were not the captain of some guild, I would have asked him to leave instantly. He was twice my size and openly carrying a sword.

“My name is Maria.”

“It a pleasure to meet you, Maria the elf. Can I have the mead? Martial also said you were feeling quite generous tonight.”

“Serve yourself.”

Bingo, this shady person might have some interesting things to say.

“Taste the pottage, it is only good while hot.”

I did not notice, but the plates this guy was carrying were the lamb I had ordered. Just by looking at it, my stomach started grumbling in anticipation. I took a spoonful of the meat, sauce and vegetables and as soon as it touched my tongue, I was transported to heaven. The sauce was the perfect combination of spicy and sweet, the vegetables retained their texture and flavor and the meat almost melted into my mouth.

“Good isn’t it. I bet the elves don’t have this kind of junk food, with how tiny and flimsy you all look.”

He was painfully correct, in twenty years I did not taste something as delicious as this cheap pottage. Seemingly understanding I was reaching nirvana, Samuel stayed quiet until I finished devouring the food while also eating his own serving.

“I am sorry. I have been traveling for the past week without getting much to eat.”

I lied to save a little face.

“I assume you are here because your friend told you I am looking for other elves.”

“That is only part of the reason.”

He ordered another pint and answered nonchalantly.

“When I was a teenager, doing errands for the guild. Some elves came and helped us with a mission for about a week. They used divine arts to return a couple of monsters to the mountains, I became fascinated with it since that day.”

Divine arts, he must be referring to magic. I got my hopes up in vain, he just want to see me perform some party tricks.

“I am sorry to disappoint you but I don’t know any divine arts. I am just a traveler looking for her companions.”

“You didn’t let me finish, little Maria. I may or may not know about your three companions.”

He knows…

“Let’s make a deal. If you accompany this drunk man with your stories about the legendary secret forest and the elven village, I will tell you where your friends went after visiting my guild.”

He did want some party tricks, in this case party tricks I can perform. It is time for my teacher side to shine and give this guy a lecture in elven history.

“I will need another drink to make my stories interesting.”

“Martial! Another cider! I will be the first Listerian to get wasted with an elf. Hugo is going to go crazy when I tell him about tonight, he might even make a song about it.”

“A song?!”

Wait, slow down old man, who said I was getting wasted with you.

“I guess you wouldn’t know Hugo. He is a bard, kind of a celebrity around here. The King even commissioned him to write and sing about his legends all over Listeria.”

A bard… I might have hit the jackpot tonight.

“Well then. Bottoms up, Samuel the human.”