"Are you sure you don't want me to at least say hello?" I asked Aimon again as we reached the gateway.
"If my mother saw you, she'd probably keep you for hours," Aimon admitted. "I'd rather not risk upsetting Paeris any further."
"Alright… I do apologize, though, it seemed to take longer than I anticipated."
"Not at all. I'm glad that Queen Qhilleeqeth has actually interacted with someone other than my mother. I guess having Vee here was a tremendous boon."
"Does she not speak with you as the Carren heir?"
"She used to, but then when I bonded with Kali, she said I had betrayed her expectations…" he sighed. "It seemed she had wanted me to bond with one of her children."
"That's unfortunate, although I can see why you made the option. That tail stinger is quite intimidating."
"And a lot more reliable than venomous fangs. Not to mention that she can defend me while on my back, as if my own tail."
Oh… that explains the robe.
"Well. Thank you again," I replied as he finished activating the gateway.
"No, thank you. I honestly think I've gained more from this than you have. It has not been easy to secure [Basilisk Venom], and yet you provided me more than enough!"
He smiled and gestured towards the portal.
"Are you not coming?"
"Ah… no, I'd rather not experience teleportation again so soon. Plus, I want to continue my research. Please forgive me for not escorting you directly home…"
"Not an issue, take care, Aimon. It was nice meeting you face-to-face, Kali."
"Farewell, Sylthaeryn, Vee, please do visit again," he said, waving goodbye. Even Kali waved a pincer.
Vee, perched on my shoulder, frantically waved her front legs as well as we stepped through and were instantly transported once more to Caelthal.
"Well, that was fun and rewarding," Vee said as we stepped out onto the streets.
"Definitely rewarding," I agreed. "Now let's hope I get my pink slime core soon too, so I can test out the new trait."
"Then I can have some emergency healing potions to go with my Mana ones," Vee said excitedly. "Does that mean you'll be focusing on healing magic too?"
"Uh… I'll probably unlock it, but I can't confirm or deny it will be a focus," I answered honestly.
"True, you got your Elementalist stuff to finish as well."
"I was more thinking about reaching level five in [Dimension Magic] to hopefully unlock Riftmancer… but yes."
We walked throughout the beautiful streets once more until we arrived at the Feirelle home. Before I could even knock or enter, the door swung open, revealing a rather flustered Llewel.
"Ah, Lady Sylthaeryn, you're back! Come, we must depart to the Feirelle grove immediately," he said and closed the door behind him.
"Wow, two long-distance teleportations in one day, do we get frequent teleport miles?" Vee asked, giggling to herself.
"Very well," I replied and followed after him.
When we arrived at the area for the Feirelle gateway, he had me touch it and open it, and even activate the gateway. It appeared that my title and declaration by Loreleia were not just for show, as I had control over the small treespirit that resided inside it.
"Can you not return on your own?" I asked curiously when we emerged on the other side.
"I have a magic item that can replicate the effects, but it would be strange for me to use it when you are here with me," he explained.
"Is the situation serious?" I asked, now that we were away from Caelthal.
"Not exactly… I believe the Mistress wants to discuss potential next steps with you. Paeris was very successful with his interrogation, although he went a little too far in my opinion and made frequent use of my rewinds."
"Evidently, he takes his job very seriously."
"Quite…"
We marched off to a familiar room we had used before for sealed conversations. No sooner had we arrived than Paeris showed up. I connected both him and Llewel telepathically so Vee could communicate.
"Good, I see you are back. Very well done on the captive," he said.
"Did you get information on the attacks and plot?" I asked.
"Oh, I got a lot more than that," he said with a smirk. "But let's wait for Mistress Loreleia to join us first. Were your own efforts successful? I see the Carren branch did not ask us for any additional payments, but they were being cagey about answering me on your whereabouts."
"Probably because they had no genuine idea themselves. I was in a rift and completed my evolution," I replied.
"And I got info and a solution about my next one. So it was great!" Vee added enthusiastically.
"So you've evolved again? Fascinating…" Llewel responded. "I'd love to get some more slime samples at a later point to see the changes."
"Sure, I don't mind. I can create a bunch of different slime types now without borrowing them, so I'm curious to try it out myself."
A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
"Without borrowing?" he repeated. "What do you mean?"
"I am all the previous slime types, all at once if I want to, but selectively if I choose. Previously, I was simply a [Mana Slime]; now, I'm all of them."
"So you've become some sort of progenitor slime?"
"[Primordial Slime] is what it's called, but effectively that's the case. Supposedly, it's some legendary origin slime that split up to create all the other types, but I don't know if that was true or if Gramps was waxing poetics."
"I-I see…" Llewel murmured, looking a little flustered.
It didn't take much longer for Loreleia to arrive. I was expecting her to look different, but other than a new "radiance" in her complexion, she seemed to be about the same since I last saw her.
No wait… I think her ears are longer? Would it be rude of me to ask if her ears are longer?
I sneakily glanced at Paeris, Llewel, and my own ears and compared them to hers.
Yeah, I definitely think her ears are longer.
"Greetings, Syl and Vee," she said with enthusiasm. "I'm glad to see you both are back safe and sound."
"Nice to see you too, Matriarch Loreleia," I replied and did an instinctual bow.
"Heya!" Vee replied, simple and curtly.
"No need for formalities or [Roleplay] here, we are safe and secure," she replied.
I nodded and sat down in one of the unoccupied chairs, visibly relaxing and turning off my "elf mode" in [Roleplay].
"So what's the situation? Last I heard, you were recovering from an attack?" I asked.
"Yes. My ascension was still a success despite their best efforts, so I've joined the ranks of the High Elves," she confirmed. "Which means now I can sit on the council of elders once I've vacated my position as head of the Feirelle."
"Congrats!" Vee cheered.
"Thank you, dear," she said with a smile.
"And the interrogation? What happened?" I asked.
"Allow me, "Paeris said, clearing his throat. "Once the prisoner was awoken after the antidote, I began my thorough work. Thankfully, I had Llewel nearby as even in his captive state, he had quite a few failsafes that could take his secrets to the grave."
"Far too many…" Llewel muttered under his breath.
"From what I've managed to gather, a large portion, if not the entire Dornhallow branch, is compromised. Our prisoner is not the main perpetrator but one of the many elites in this scheme that has indeed coordinated with the Outeatus Kingdom as we originally suspected."
"Ha! I knew it!" Vee cried out.
Paeris gave a simple nod and then continued. "The current heir of the Dornhallow is in open communication with the Outeatus Kingdom, and even provided transport nearby to the Caelthal grove. Anyone who found out about these dealings was promptly disposed of and raised as undead thralls. We haven't been able to garner their true motive and purpose, but my current theory is that the current heir, Beluar Dornhallow, wishes to reignite the past glory of his branch through nefarious means."
"But going as far as to deal with the Outeatus?" I asked.
"The prisoner was under the impression that the Beluar had the humans under his thumb, as they obeyed his orders without question. How he accomplished that and what he promised the humans in return, I've been unable to uncover. Nevertheless, he is playing with fire and putting all of elvenkind at risk with his plot."
"It's a bit of a leap, but my current theory is that they intended to sacrifice an elven branch to the humans as a conquest. Thus riling up the rest of the elves to attack in turn and resume our wartime state," Loreleia added.
"So why target Sylthaeryn? Is there animosity between Feirelle and Dornhallow?" I asked.
"Not at all, and it appears that my daughter just happened to be a victim of circumstance. She was fed stories of the outside world, and her sense of wanderlust consumed her until she left."
"Really?" I asked, not believing it.
Loreleia nodded somberly. "I'm afraid so. My daughter never mentioned her collaborator outright in her diary, but there is mention of a B. Obviously, we can't just jump to Beluar on a mere coincidence like that, but that is why they wanted you dead. Not only to claim the golden oak for the invasion, but to silence you for knowing Beluar."
"Our captive made frequent mentions that Beluar demanded Sylthaeryn's death as a top priority and by any means necessary. He's been in hiding since your return and has not even set foot in Caelthal," Paeris said.
"The Dornhallow grove is somewhat close to where you encountered my daughter," Loreleia further explained.
"I was wondering how she got there in the first place…" I admitted.
"If you were truly her, we would have known of Beluar's involvement from the get-go," Paeris replied. "Hence the desperate kill order when you were discovered in Dhoggurum, even going as far as to involve his conspirators with the Outeatus Kingdom."
"So the humans would invade Feirelle Grove and the Dornhallows would swoop in to save the day?" Vee asked.
"I'd wager the plans were more nefarious than that, with the entire Feirelle Grove being captured and an invasion of Caelthal being staged," Paeris answered.
"That's crazy… I'm shocked his family is allowing it," Vee responded.
"As evidenced by the undead elves, the detractors were silenced," Paeris said.
"So… what's next?" I asked. "Do we attack the Dornhallows in response?"
"No, as much as it pains me to say so," Paeris said, clenching his fist.
"Really?" Vee asked. "Don't you have enough evidence?"
"We have plenty of evidence…" Paeris growled. "We even captured one of their safe houses and ransacked it."
"But that's not the way it's done. I intend to take all of our findings to the high council and show evidence of their conspiracy and aiding an enemy."
"But they murdered your daughter!" Vee replied, sounding outraged. I nodded in complete agreement.
Loreleia gave a sympathetic smile to Vee and then pointed directly at me.
"Oh… right," Vee sighed.
"Me?" I asked.
"You're Sylthaeryn," Vee replied.
"But not really," I replied.
"And I bet if that ever comes out, then Loreleia probably violated some sacred elf tradition or something like that."
"That's the conundrum," Loreleia replied. "We have to get them on their grand conspiracy rather than a blood feud over the death of my daughter. Our evidence, their recent actions, and the diplomatic power I've acquired are certainly enough already to isolate their group and begin a thorough investigation. Trust me, I plan to crush them thoroughly for what they have done."
"I see, although it still seems strange. Were they really doing this just to start a war?"
"That's what the current evidence suggests, although I'm sure we will find the truth of the matter when the high elf inquisitors begin their investigation. They are far more thorough than I could even dream to be," Paeris said.
"And there are certainly some elves who long for the glory days and find the peace time laborious," Loreleia added.
"Sounds like a big old political mess," Vee sighed.
"Yeah... Speaking of which, what does this mean for us?" I asked.
"Well. That depends… Do you wish to stay with us?" Loreleia offered.
"I'd rather explore the world if I'm perfectly honest. Vee even received a quest to go to the Vaelyssan Sea from one of the gods."
"A quest from the gods?" Llewel stammered in surprise. "I'd ask if you were joking, but after everything that's happened so far, I'm thinking otherwise..."
"It's real. Although I get the feeling we are allowed to decline it if we wish."
"Just transportation is going to be an issue. I don't suppose there's an elf grove that we could teleport to?" Vee asked.
"Unless I'm misremembering my lessons... I think the Nyrelis branch?" I asked.
Paeris nodded, with a look of pride briefly flashing across his face. "Correct."
"I believe I can pull a favor to arrange that," Loreleia offered.
"Really?" Vee asked. "'Cause that would be amazing!"
"But... if you're planning on leaving, then I hope you're okay with playing along for a fake wedding?" Loreleia said with a rather mischievous smirk.
"Um… I'd prefer not to, if I have a choice. Why?"
"Really? Not even for a magnificent wedding present?" Loreleia asked and pulled out a rose-gold colored slime core from who knows where.
"Is that…" I murmured, eyes wide as I stared at it.
"A pink slime core? Yes. I am a woman of my word," she answered.
I licked my lips. "But why a wedding?"
"Well, how else do you expect me to leave the Feirelle Branch if my daughter is about to go on another adventure? I can't leave it unattended."
"Oh no… please tell me you aren't serious," Llewel said, as if he'd suddenly realized where the conversation was heading.
"I'm afraid so, Master Llewel," Paeris said, placing a hand on his shoulder.
Vee burst out in a cackle of laughter.