10 Elves, Babies, and Souls

With their only experienced fighters down, the children were now extremely vulnerable.

"I think I broke a leg or three," Bridget Will, the arachnid, whimpered as she limped toward the group. Natalie rushed to the arachnid and supported her.

"Sorry, but I think we have more problems to worry about," Nora stated as she witnessed numerous of ants crawling all over the Joa's carcass. Every single one was the size of a human infant.

Jae grabbed Alexis's fallen rapier and slashed at the ants who approached Alexis's fragments.

"Hurry and gather what's left of Alexis! Scarlett, help me out here!" Jae yelled.

"Eeew! Ants are gross!" Scarlett complained as she squashed the pests using her claws. Yellow juices squirted from their crushed guts.

While Jae and Scarlett warded the ants, the other children scavenged for Alexis's remains in a hurry. Luckily, she was broken into large portions rather than minuscule fragments, so it was not too difficult to collect her. Finally gathering and depositing the last piece into a bag, the group fled from the scene.

"*Pant* Have we *pant* lost them?" Scarlett asked. Her tail created a trail in the ground.

"I think so," Jae replied while observing the rest of the group.

Farlyn and Bridget were in no condition to walk properly, not to mention Nora, the slime, who couldn't run in the first place. With Jade in a near-death state and Alexis in an unknown condition, he didn't know how long everyone can last.

"We should either find a place to rest or split, taking half of us to the village with Jade and Alexis," Clara suggested.

Scanning the group's condition, Jae nodded, "We should split up. I'm not sure how much longer Jade can last."

The demoness originally had jade-like skin, however, she was currently deathly pale. Her breathing was haggard as she laid tragically on Wendy's back.

"Bridget, Natalie, Layla, Melody, and Nora should stay. The rest will come with me to the village. Scarlett, help me support Farlyn up. We'll need her to find the village and negotiate with her leaders," Jae ordered.

After discovering a relatively safe area, the group separated.

--------

Two days had passed and the group had arrived at the elven village.

Houses made of wood were embued within trees, soaring above where no normal human can reach. Stuck in the middle of the settlement was an enormous stump, carved out to be another dwelling. Vines and flowers wrapped around the village, yet the pathways were clean enough for them to cross.

Jae was honestly tired of describing trees and forests in his mind.

Obviously, the chiefs of the village were in that stump, however, Jae worried that the elves were going to reject the children without hearing what they had to say. After all, judging by Farlyn's blatant discrimination against "monsters" and demons, he was not too keen about this endeavor.

But for Jade, they had no choice.

"I'll try talking to them, but there's no guarantee that they'll agree to help you all," Farlyn sighed. Originally, she did not believe in the children's far-fetched story. But, watching the children struggle to save their friends had changed her mind. She simply did not want to see those misfortunate youths perish right in front of her.

All the children, except Jae, wore cloaks to hide their racial traits. However, Wendy could not completely hide her lower body as she was a cervitaur--half-human and half-deer.

Numerous eyes glanced through the windows of the houses. Nonetheless, they merely watched with vigilance as the children passed through. Perhaps, none of the elves had attacked because Farlyn was leading the group.

Once they reached the entrance to the stump, Farlyn bowed, "It's me, Farlyn Phelorna. I have returned from my journey and I am requesting an audience with the high chief."

"You may enter," an aloof voice resounded.

Vines crawled, forming a road that connected the entrance and area in front of the group. Treading on the uneven vines, the children entered.

Inside the stump was far more spacious than what Jae had initially expected. The entranceway led to a circular room. Eight doors were positioned around the walls and a spiral staircase in the center led up to the above floors.

"The high chief is on the top floor."

"The top floor?!" Scarlett exclaimed.

Jae wondered if deer can climb up stairs, but seeing Wendy proceed effortlessly, he assumed they can.

It turned out there were eighteen flights of stairs. By the time they arrived at the top, Scarlett was gasping for air as she toppled over.

A field of multicolored flowers filled Jae's vision. Branches interweaved together to form a grandiose throne of wood in the middle. On that, sat a gorgeous woodland elf. Her champagne blonde hair slid past her pointy ears as she observed the group with her porcelain-like eyes, which encompassed the sky. She seemed like a divine creature.

"Gweetwings humen childwen to ouw village. We, the Pher--lo--wna cwan welcome you. I am the cheef, Ia--alan--ntha Pher--lo--wna."

If it weren't the fact she had the appearance of a baby.

"Are you kidding me?" Flabergasted, Scarlett pointed at the baby, "She can't be the high chief! She can't even pronounce her 'R's' not to mention her name!"

"I can too pwonounce my aws," she said, proudly.

"No, you can't."

"Yesh, I can."

Halting the two's bickering, Clara intervened, "Enough, Scarlett. We don't have time for this."

Jae spoke, "I apologize, High Chief Ialantha Pherlorna. But, may I clarify that you are indeed the chief?"

Ignoring Jae's question, Ialantha asked Farlyn, "Did you nyot expwain anything to them?"

"I-I'm sorry high chief!" Farlyn kneeled to the baby.

"*Sigh* Why don't you do so wight now?"

"Yes!" Turning towards the children, Farlyn explained, "You may not know as humans, but once we elves reach our body's peak, we stop aging for hundreds of years. However, we aren't immortal. At a certain age, we start aging backward. Currently, the high chief is one of the oldest of this generation and doesn't have much longer to live. She's around--"

"Fawlyn, don't speak of a wady's age! I'm still young at heawt!"

"Young in the body as well," Jae thought but did not voice out. He pictured a conference of elder elves having a meeting with each other. Imagining a group of infants conversing about serious matters brought a grin to his face.

"I-I'm sorry!" Farlyn bowed again.

"So, why are human childwen visiting me? You also bwought Fawlyn."

Although Jae was curious about how she knew they were human despite their various racial traits sticking out from under the cloaks, he knew it wasn't the time to ask.

"I heard from Farlyn that you can heal our friends."

The ancient elf's eyes glimmered, "Hmm, that young giwl with demon parts and the cwystal golem in the bag."

"How--"

"You see, my eyes are a bit special. I can see dwough many dings and faw bewond-augh how annowing!" Muttering words under her breath, mana flowed around her. Suddenly, her words became clear, "Is this better?"

Ialantha's voice changed from an immature soprano to a majestic contralto. It seemed to be her voice from the time her body was adult-sized.

"You must be bewildered on how I knew all of you are humans or at least used to be. My eyes can see through the past and present of living beings. Occasionally, the future as well. However, for some reason, I cannot see further back from when you awoke in that jail nor can I see the future of your group. I can't even see what the boy is. How strange?"

"If you can see all that, then you should know why we are like this," Jae said.

Ialantha sagely nodded, "Those minions of the demon king Sazroth messed with your bodies. Except, what is stranger than your bodies are your souls."

"What?"

"Boy, a part of your soul was squished with parts of eleven others. All twelve of your fates are connected. Yet, this link was not caused by Sazroth's minions. How peculiar."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that if even one of you die, you will all follow."

Jumping up, Scarlett screamed, "What?! So if Jae or anyone else dies, we're all screwed?"

"Yes," Ialantha indifferently confirmed, "Now, on the topic of your injured frie--"

"That doesn't make sense! Layla is a skeleton! She looks the very definition of the dead!" Scarlett interrupted.

Dispassionately peering at Scarlett, she answered, "Your skeleton friend isn't an undead nor is she dead. She's a rare race that is formed from the earth to appear like humans. Simply, incomplete. However, she can evolve like the undead to a higher form. Hmm...its coincidentally similar to how Sazroth became a lich. Or, perhaps a part of fate."

Pausing, she moved her gaze from Scarlett to Jade, "Before you rudely interrupted me, I was about to say that I will cure your friend."

"Great!" Scarlett's tail wagged, "Could you hurry and heal her?"

"However...," Ialantha smiled cruelly, breaking her indifference.

"...you will have to leave the dryad girl here."