Chapter 183 - 156: High Elves
"I just spoke with them. That period of history really did exist," Agatha said, sitting across from Shire. She hadn’t even touched the tea on the table. Waving a notebook in her hand, she was practically bursting with excitement.
"That’s why I said the twelve of them are a treasure trove." Shire nodded. He held his teacup with both hands, leaned back in his chair, and watched the excited Agatha with a smile.
The day before, he had finally persuaded the Skeleton Warriors, bringing all twelve of them out of the catacombs. Shire had promised to seal the entrance and have his men restore the surface vegetation so that no one would ever discover the site and disturb the eternal rest of the soldiers of the Seventh Forest Field Army.
As for the Black Dragon Banner, Shire decided he would use it as his own battle standard from now on. ’It’s an Epic Level item, after all. I can’t let it go to waste.’
"It’s a shame they were all soldiers in life. If only there had been a few scholars or learned men among them," Agatha said, flipping through her notebook with a soft sigh. "Still, I can glean a fair amount of useful information from their descriptions of daily life."
"So, what did you find out?" Shire asked, taking a sip of tea. He eyed the notebook in her hands with great interest; it was filled with pages of dense, cramped writing.
When he had first brought the Skeleton Warriors back to the Fortress, it had caused quite a stir. Not only did the Centaurs and little goblins keep their distance, but even the other goblins were unwilling to approach.
But there were two exceptions: one was Shan Xi Ao, and the other was the Unicorn.
The radiant white Unicorn had actually approached the Skeleton Warriors on its own, completely ignoring their fearsome reputation as evil Undead Creatures.
This came as a surprise to Shire. Shan Xi Ao had approached them due to his peculiar, foolhardy nature, but the Unicorn... ’Could it be that it sensed something special about them?’
The Skeleton Warriors, in turn, were quite fond of the Unicorn. Elton had even told Shire that back when they used to patrol the forest, they would bring fruit along just to feed the creatures. Apparently, the white unicorns preferred fruit to grass, but they just couldn’t climb trees to get it themselves.
"Back in their day, there weren’t many forms of Rune Language. They only told me about a few interesting ones, including Rune Language: Door," Agatha said, looking at her notebook. "They had never seen the Rune Language: Mind that we currently use. According to them, no one in the Holy Country tamed beasts that way."
"So," Shire paused, gently swirling the contents of his cup, "the Holy Country’s Rune Language was also evolving. The Wave of Magical Beasts they fought in must have taken place a long time ago."
"That’s possible," Agatha nodded. "They also mentioned a few other forms of Rune Language. One of them allows for long-distance communication, which I found astonishing."
"Long-distance communication?" Shire paused. ’Like a wireless telephone? Or an instant telegraph?’
"Yes," Agatha said, flipping through her notes. "They said it allows for two-way communication and requires a stone engraved with a Rune. But it was only ever used by their legion’s General to contact others."
’Interesting.’ Listening to the strange description, Shire was beginning to get a grasp of this particular Rune Language. "There’s no rush," he said. "The forest is huge. I’m sure we’ll find more."
"They also mentioned that the Holy Country had several large cities," Agatha said, picking up her tea. She tested the temperature before taking a large gulp. "There was one city in particular that left a deep impression on me."
"Which one? The one that floats in the sky?"
"No, none of them had been there," Agatha said, glancing at her notebook. "That’s the Pure White City. The city they spoke of was called the City of Many Races."
"The City of Many Races?"
"That’s right. It’s a Forest City, located deep in the woods. Many Races lived there—Gnolls, Lizardmen, Dwarves, and so on. One of the Skeleton Warriors said his family’s neighbor was a tunnel-loving Kobold who got punished by the city council for secretly digging out several extra basement levels." Agatha chuckled, but her brow soon furrowed. "They said that city was home to nearly every intelligent Race, but there were no goblins among them."
"Well, they didn’t recognize us when we first met, either," Shire said with a shrug. "Maybe goblins are an outside Race, like Rubus."
"It’s very strange, Shire," Agatha said, closing her notebook. "And do you know what else they told me? Before they died... they weren’t human."
"Not human?"
"Correct. They were Elves."
"Elves?" Shire leaned back, stunned. He had assumed they were all human. "You mean like those pointy-eared, green-haired folk you see around the city these days?"
"As far as I know, there are two types of Elves now. The first is the kind you mentioned, the Tree Elves. They also call themselves Forest Elves. They all have long, pointed ears, green hair, and sometimes dark markings on their faces." Agatha held up two fingers. "The other type is the Zor Elf, also known as the Dark Elf. Those creatures live in the Eternal Darkness Plane, and the books say they are vassals of the Demon Lords."
"But, Shire," Agatha raised a third finger—pale and slender—"they said they are neither of those two types of Elf. They call themselves High Elves."
"High Elves?" Shire frowned, thinking for a moment. After a few seconds, he said doubtfully, "I’ve never heard of that Race."
"Me neither," Agatha said, lowering her hand and gazing at the goblin across from her. "There’s no record of them in any history book or bestiary. According to the warriors, this Race, like other Elves, was long-lived and had long, pointed ears. But their hair was gold or silver, and their skin was even fairer than that of the Tree Elves. Their eyes were black, and the noblest among them even had black hair."
"And now this Race," Shire said, holding out a clenched fist and then quickly splaying his fingers open, "has just... vanished."
"I was stunned when I heard their account. Partly because the High Elves they described had completely vanished, but also because these High Elves were apparently able to coexist peacefully with other Races." Agatha took a sip of tea to soothe her throat. "As you know, the Tree Elves are incredibly proud. They look down on all other Races and are constantly fighting with the Dwarves."
"Right, I know the type. You often see a few of them on the ships coming from the Archipelago. What is it they’re always saying..." Shire stared at the ceiling, trying to recall the phrase. Then, in a shrill, mincing voice, he whined, "I must return to the Great Dome!"
"That’s the one." Agatha burst out laughing. The hook-nosed, straw-haired, wrinkle-faced, hunchbacked Ghost Witch doubled over, shaking with mirth.
"All right," Shire said, waving a hand to calm himself after laughing with her for a moment. "Whatever Race they were before, they’re just skeletons now."
"So what are your plans for them? What will you have them do?" Agatha asked, tidying her hair slightly.
"I’m still thinking about it. The initial plan is to let them recover their Magic Power first, then have Little Claw teach them how to brew potions," Shire said, putting down his cup. He picked up the Little Tin Soldier from the table and began to fiddle with it. "Once everyone gets used to them, I plan to have them train my subordinates."
"As you know, my goblin subordinates only know basic hacking and slashing. I’ve given them some light training in battle formations, but if they were to face a real army, their lack of discipline would be exposed immediately. I’m hoping these battle-hardened veterans can help me train them properly."
"That’s an excellent idea," Agatha said with a nod.
"And they seem to be very skilled in their Sword Techniques. Last time, neither Little John nor Red Eyes could defeat them easily," Shire added thoughtfully. "That’s another aspect they can help train my men in."
"Most importantly," Shire said, looking up at the Ghost Witch across the table, "on future expeditions, I can bring a few of them along. They’ll boost our combat strength, and I can ask them if they recognize anything we find in the Relics."
"And if you find something in a Relic that they recognize, you’ll be able to figure out its purpose or how to repair it much faster!" Agatha interjected, her purple eyes flashing with excitement.
"Exactly." Shire nodded emphatically.
"Just how many ancient Relics are there in this forest?" Agatha sighed, her conversation with the Skeleton Warriors making her even more eager to explore the Nightmare Forest.
"Lots of them," Shire said with a smirk. "Once we hear back from Broken Tooth, I’ll take you to the Rune Language Material Library. It should be safe by now. I found a massive amount of white stone there, as well as a giant relief carving."
"Really?" Agatha hopped down from her high-backed chair, looking as if she wanted to leave that very second.
"Let’s wait for his message. The area isn’t completely safe yet. After all, it’s close to the Earth Goblins’ encampment, and there’s an Ogre camp nearby as well," Shire said with a smile. "They may not patrol the area as much as they used to, but safety comes first."
"What’s the relief carving like?" Agatha pressed.
"It seems to be a carving of several cities. It’s enormous. I think it might depict some of the cities the Skeleton Warriors mentioned, like the City of Many Races and the others," Shire said after a moment’s thought.
"Great! We’ll go take a look, then," Agatha said joyfully.