The carriage slowly moved, with Adeline inside, who was already bored. The snake next to her remained dormant as it curled into a ball.

  “You asleep or something?”

  “I am not asleep; I am simply resting.”

  “Do you rest a lot?”

  “I need to conserve and rebuild my mana and energy. I spent most of it mating and transferring it to my offspring.”

  “I do have a question: do you like Scales?”

  “I care for her since she will be the mother of my children, and we are already bonded for life.”

  “That is romantic, in a snake way. It was pretty quick how you guys went straight to business and produced babies.”

  “There is nothing hard about it. We were compatible mates, though her mana was slightly different, maybe because you named her.”

  “Oh yeah, what is your name?”

  “I don’t have one. The Queen wanted to name me, but that would prove too taxing for her. I am thankful enough for her providing a pce for me to live.”

  “Do you want me to name you?”

  The snake uncoiled itself as it stared at Adeline, who was staring at the ceiling.

  “It will be very taxing for you. I do not advise it.”

  “I will call you Alfred; you seem very wise.”

  A burst of red mana exploded from her body, which promptly covered Alfred, who slowly turned to a more red color with hints of green throughout his body. His size also increased, and his bck eyes turned red. He let out a powerful hiss, revealing a set of rge fangs and razor-like teeth.

  “See, no big deal.”

  “I thank you for naming me; you are now my master.”

  “No, you still belong to Gena’s side. She is the one who went through the effort of caring for you.”

  “I understand, but I will still remain indebted to you.”

  “How long have you been in the elven city, if I may ask?”

  “I spent most of my life there; it has been over one hundred years.”

  “It still amazes me how long you people have lived. I should have asked the old man how old he is. He probably was here since the dawn of time.”

  “We creatures live for a long time, but it’s not infinite. That ability belongs to demons and dragons.”

  “How many demons are there anyway? I haven’t met any yet.”

  “There are different cssifications of demons: lesser demons, higher demons, and noble demons. There are not a lot of them, and they are very spread out. Some have gone into hiding after the various incidents.”

  “I will probably need to find them and bring them back to their senses. I am curious, why do elves think demons are evil?”

  “I only heard tales from the Queen and other high elves, but two hundred years ago, a noble demon went mad and attacked everyone. The attack originated from a human city and spread to the elven city. He indiscriminately killed elves, humans, and even injured a dragon. It was truly a disaster.”

  “So that’s why Gena thinks humans had a hand to py. I will keep that in mind.”

  They continued on their trip for a week. Adeline made sure to exercise and practice her swordsmanship stance and swinging. They finally reached a thick forest with a rge mountain overlooking it. The trio dismounted as they made their way through the forest.

  “The orc camp should be around here. I do have to warn you, there are a lot of them.”

  “I will deal with that.”

  They continued making their way through the forest until night fell. The trio sat around the campfire as they ate. That was when Adeline realized something was watching them, but she did not overreact.

  “There is a weird smell coming from there.”

  Alfred was quick to notice as his head turned.

  “I know, let them watch.”

  After they finished eating, they all went to bed, with no one staying up to keep watch. After some time had passed, movements could be heard as several figures revealed themselves. They lightly walked around the area as they investigated. One of them got closer to Adeline as she felt the heavy breath on her face.

  ‘This is definitely an orc. Fang does the same thing.’

  In a fsh, Adeline caught the figure as it began to scream. Alfred wrapped himself around the other figures' necks tightly. Joseph relit the campfire, and to their surprise, it was not orcs, but small human-like creatures; it was a group of dwarves.

  “You are not orcs, are you dwarves by any chance?”

  The dwarves had thick coats of hair covering most of their faces, only revealing their eyes. They silently stared at each other as if holding a private conversation among themselves, then turned back to Adeline.

  “We are what you call dwarves.”

  “What are you doing here? Don’t you live underground?”

  The dwarf once again stared at his comrades for a brief time before turning to Adeline.

  “We were looking for food.”

  “Are you lying to me?”

  Adeline’s grip slightly tightened as the dwarf started to panic while staring at the others.

  “We are not lying; don’t eat us!”

  “I won’t eat you, just tell me the truth so I could help you.”

  The dwarf stared at the others and turned once again to Adeline.

  “We were chased from our homes by the orcs. We are looking for food and also enemies. Humans sometimes come here and kidnap us.”

  “Take me to your camp; I can help you.”

  The dwarf lightly nodded as Adeline let go of his hand. Alfred unwrapped himself as they followed the group of dwarves. They soon reached a small cave. One of the dwarves entered, then exited with another dwarf with white hair holding a staff.

  “The young ones told me you could help us.”

  “I can do my best to resolve this, but tell me how were you chased out from your homes.”

  The dwarf slowly moved to a small rock, then sat down.

  “We always lived underground. We would come out at night to forge and hunt, then return underground. A year ago, a group of different orcs appeared and captured many dwarves. They said if we left the underground, they would spare us. With a heavy heart, we agreed, but the moment we left our home, humans appeared more frequently, and they would kidnap us. It has been a very bitter time.”

  “Are the orcs still there?”

  “Yes, they took over. They are currently stealing our iron and minerals.”

  “Do you have any idea why your brethren are being kidnapped?”

  “We are very good with our hands, and we can build a multitude of things, mostly weapons. That’s why we ran away deep into our mines many centuries ago.”

  “Can you take me to your home so I could resolve it?”

  The old dwarf turned to the other dwarves for a moment before answering.

  “Can you leave the hydra with us for protection?”

  “Alfred, do you want to help them out?”

  “Yes, I am content with guarding them.”

  “There you go.”

  One of the dwarves stepped forward.

  “I can take you there, but miss, it’s very dangerous.”

  “I will be fine. Joseph, can you keep a lookout for any humans around this area?”

  Joseph disappeared into a nearby tree as the dwarf led Adeline to the base of the mountain. As they got closer, wagons could be seen littered around the area. Trees around the area were cut down, with more evidence of human presence in the area. Adeline thanked the dwarf as she told him to return. Adeline climbed a tree and waited for her next victim.