"My name is Hestia Orrenbelle. Tis' a pleasure to meet thee." She dipped her head in a bow and I did the same. "By allowing you to use my first name, I want to lower any barriers between you and I. So you needn't be formal with me. Let us talk. You ask me something and we shall take turns answering. Tis' our custom when meeting those from beyond our walls." She waited attentively for me to ask a question. I knew she was patient so she wouldn't mind if I took a while to think up a good question.

"How long have you been the village elder?" I asked.

"One hundred sixty-seven summers." she said without missing a beat. She was a lot older than she looked, but that wasn't to odd since she wasn't a human being and probably aged differently. "Where do you hail from, Eron?" She asked.

"Hail?" I asked, not knowing the meaning of the word.

She smiled. "Where did you come from." She corrected.

"Oh, I was born in Queens, New York. Where were you born?"

"The Deadwoods. What is Queens, New York?"

"Oh, ah, it's a city in—" I stopped suddenly. Would she know what I was talking about? "Hey, has the sky ever turned red?" She leaned closer, obviously fascinated.

"Not that I can recall. Why?"

"Do you have any memories of the sky turning red. Or how about everything going totally dark. Have you ever woken up and had no memories?"

"No. No to all three. Not once had I awoken with amnesia—" She paused then laughed to herself. "Forgive me, I haven't been totally truthful. I have awoken without my memory once. It was after a significant victory against our enemy. After the victory, I was brimming with pride and during the celebration, drank more than my body could handle." She grinned, "When I came to, my head throbbed with pain and the events of the night before had fled from me."

"So. . .pretty wicked hangover?"

"Do you know how I cured my 'hangover'?" My lips involuntarily stretched into a smile. I've heard this joke a thousand times.

"Drowned it with a 40oz."

"Drowned it with forty pints." We both erupted into laughter. The joke wasn't that funny, but the ice had been broken, and I knew we'd get along. Before I met her I'd assumed she'd be high strung and intimidating. She could still be intimidating, but she was carefree.

"Ack, my bad. I forgot about the turns and junk." She raised her hand, her face still red from the laughing fit.

"Nay, it isn't necessary any longer. I said it was only for those that hail from beyond our walls, but I consider you apart of our village hence forth."

"Whoa, that was pretty fast." I said, "I mean with all do respect, I'm grateful and all, don't get me wrong, but are you sure your making a good choice?"

"You sound like you don't want me to trust you." She laughed and clasp me on the shoulder. "I have my reasons, one being that not many people have triggered a fit like that in me when not in the midst of battle! But you need not worry, I haven't made this decision based on intuition alone. But I do advise you to be careful. Though you've got my word, I can only guide my people, not control them. Some won't share my opinions, so I advise you to watch yourself. And don't worry about housing; I'm sure the three young ones have taken a liking to you and will see you safe."

"Thanks. A lot. Just a few days ago I had thought everything was hopeless, but here I am now. Must've ate my lucky charms this morning. Oh, there was something I wanted to ask."

"By all means." She said.

"Earlier when you were telling me your hangover story, you mentioned that you won a significant victory over the enemy. Who exactly is the 'enemy'?

She rubbed her chin in thought. "We have many enemies, sadly. The most imminent being the Orc and it's number, but in this instance, it was the neighboring village of Ceodwig. You see, when their is a dispute between two villages, instead of pillaging the enemy and salting the wound further, we partake in something known as a War Game.

"In a War Game, members of both villages may volunteer in representing their people by entering. This way, the enemy boils down into the opponent. As a matter of fact, recently we've been in hostilities with that same village, and a War Game will take place soon."

"You asking me to join?"

She laughed "Not at all! Who would I be if I requested something such as that." In her hands, she fumbled with a silver metal object. When she held it out to me, I saw that it was the revolver that I had dropped back in the woods.

"Quite the peculiar weapon. No doubt it's from beyond the Deadwoods. I should be returning it to you."

"Ah, that's fine. You seem to like it so you can hang on to it." Her face lit up and she fingered the gun at eyes length.

"Careful!" I warned, "It can go off if—" She released the cylinder , spun it and emptied the bullets into her hand. She then pushed it back into place and aimed the gun at the air.

"I love it already. I shall now set you free." She joked, "leaved me to my. . .devices." Her eyes set back on the gun then flicked to the bullets in her hand. How she knew to unload the gun I'd never know, but I definitely knew I shouldn't be around when she's taking it for a spin. I gave a quick bow and made my way to the big doors. Everything had gone well and I made a powerful friend. I felt invincible.

I pushed open the doors and stepped out onto the steps, but once the doors boomed behind me, I was paralyzed.

I peered down at the many eyes of woodland elves. How long had they been here, I thought. Did they hear our whole conversation? Would they trust in their elder and let me go? The crowd shifted nervously, and I felt bile rise up in my throat from stage fright.

 Chill. Imagine them in their underwear.

That didn't help much, but it took my mind off the imminent danger I was in. The elves whispered amongst themselves. I took a step, and the entire crowd tensed, many of their hands going towards a scabbard at their hips. My heart hammered like a drum. Maybe I could walk back in and have the elder call them off, but as I took a shaky step backwards, they only tensed more, like dogs primed for an attack. If I didn't act fast, I'd be history, and if I did act fast, I'd be ancient history. I only had one option; talk my way out.

"Hey, I just had a good, long talk with you elder a minute ago. She says I'm alright so. . .how about we just chill." Murmurs traveled across the mob, then a burly man stepped forward.

"What say you! Are you one of them?"

"Gotta' be more specific, sir. If you're referring to the Orcneas—" When I said that last word, the atmosphere changed. Elves brandishing scary swords and cudgels advanced.

"—if you're referring to the Orcneas, I am not  in cahoots with them." The advancers halted.

"If you're not one of them, then how do you know of them?"

"He's from Ceodwig!" Someone in the crowd called out.

"Okay, well that's bullshit." I raised my hands in defense. "I'm not the enemy! You can ask Hestia herself!" The crowd gasped. What did I do now?

"How dare you disrespect our lady by using her name so freely!" You've got to be kidding me. Now they were really pissed, and there'd be no stopping their unbridled fury. I wanted to run, but I was frozen in place. What could I do against this angry mob. My luck seemed to fluctuate; sometimes it was of the charts, like the past few days, then sometimes it was rock bottom, like right freakin' now.

I heard the great wooden doors of the long house open behind me. My luck was off the charts once again. Hestia stood behind me, her argent mane whipping in the breeze. Her clothes stood out amongst all the elves. She donned a gleaming bronze lorica that covered half her body. Leather straps wrapped along the length of her body, holding the armor in place. But the most distinctive asset was the goat-skin cape that hung from her shoulder, the top half of the goats head giving it a powerful accent. As soon as she stepped out, all the elves dropped to one knee and bowed their heads. Watching the way she influenced the mob took my breath away. She had took on the persona of the fierce warrior now. She walked up beside me and clasped me on the shoulder.

"I have given this boy my consent. As long as he resides in our village, none are to lay a hand on him."

"But, my lady—"

She raised her hand and silenced the burly man that was talking all that good shit a second ago. "Hush. I know you mean well, but I have had conference with this boy, and he is neither Orcneas nor is he our enemy. If anything, he is what we've needed for a long time." The burly man nodded

 and dipped his head once again. She seemed so powerful. So in charge. No one could go against her word, and it inspired me.

"Orndir." No sooner had she said his name that the boy rushed up the steps awkwardly and bowed dramatically once he reached us.

"My lady!"

"Lift your head, child." She said in a soft voice. She took on the persona of the kind leader once again. She knew how to shift gears for every situation. He raised his head and stared at her, his face twitching with nervousness.

"I am counting on you to see that young Eron here is fitted and treated with hospitality. He flicked me a worried glance and nodded.

"As you wish, my lady!" I silently thanked Hestia for saving my ass. I joined Orndir at the steps and we made our way down. The mob parted for us to move through, but kept their heads bowed as long as their elder was present. Once we were some distance from the crowd, we released the breath we had been holding.

"Dude, you sounded like a genie back there. 'As you wish, my lady'."

"Fool! You almost got yourself killed! If not for Lady Orrenbelle, you'd be stone dead!"

"I don't even know what I did wrong." I exclaimed.

"First rule: never use Lady Orrenbelles name like you'd use mine. Second rule: Don't ever  mention the Orcneas in public. It gets people nervous. We're taught at a young age that if that name is uttered, to prepare for combat."

"Damn, my bad, man."

He sighed. "It's fine. You have our lady's consent now, so it should ease the people's nerves, but if I were you, I'd stay out of sight for a while, give them time to adjust." I nodded in agreement. I wasn't trying to go make anymore friends till the mob simmered down.

"So where we headed?"

"You said you wanted to cleanse yourself, so we're going to a bathing pond."

"Correction, I wanted a shower. But hey, a ponds fine too. As long as I smell fresh, I ain't complaining."

"Good that. Where near. Listen closely and you can hear the waterfall."

"You got waterfalls!" I could hear the roar of water in the distance and I raced towards it. Orndir kept up on my heels. 

When we stopped at the water's edge, I whistled in admiration. The pond was large enough to fully submerge in, but shallow enough so that I didn't have to worry about drowning. A canopy of tall twisting trees hung high over the pond, refracting the sunlight and giving the pond an almost oasis like appearance. Water fell from the sky, through the trees high above.

"You see that," Orndir said, pointing to the stream of water falling, "That's the waterfall. You can't see it because of the way the trees grow, but high above us is a rock face. That's where the water is falling from."

"Is it safe to get in?" I asked.

"Of course! I'll wait for you over there." He strode off and sat down, resting against a tree in the shade.

The only thing I was wearing was my pants, so I tossed those off and waded out into the middle of the pond. The floor was soft and muddy underneath my feet and the water came up to my chest. I let the waterfall beat down on me, washing away all the grime and sickness. But I got a startling surprise when I glanced at the surface of the water in front of me. At first I didn't notice anything, so I waded back out of the water to dry off. Once I was away from the rippling water, I could definitely detect rapid movement beneath its surface. It was large and seemed to slither extremely fast in large circles on the pond floor. All I could make out was a dark blur. I panicked and kicked out like a madman, trying to propel myself onto land and out of the water as fast as possible, but trying to run through water is like trying to swim through a foam pit.

Nigh impossible.

The thing in the water cut me off before I could reach the shore. The water in front of me bulged and surged upwards in a geyser. I shielded my face and braced for an attack, but none came. I lowered my hands and dared to look at my 'attacker'. My luck was off the charts again.

I thought it was an elf woman at first, but my glance flicked to her ears and I confirmed that she wasn't an elf. Over her ears were two conch shells and around her crown was a circlet of weeds. Her hair seemed to shimmer and sparkle with a bluish light and her skin was a light shade of green. Only half her body was visible, but her plant-like hair preserved her modesty. Instantly it clicked and I remembered what this was. Nereids, or water nymphs were benevolent water spirits and only attacked if threatened, otherwise they were curious creatures and I read that they were even capable of speech. The nymph stared at me with wide eyes, tilting her head from side to side. No doubt she'd only seen elves and was curious about what I was.

"Eron! Wh-what're you doing!?" I looked passed the nymph and saw Orndir at the water's edge, fear etched onto his face. "Get away from that thing!"

The nymph drew her attention to Orndir on the shore. He scuttled backwards and tripped over a log with a grunt. The nymph submerged herself under the surface and slithered rapidly in blur like an eel. She poked her head up at the water's edge, and stared curiously at Orndir groaning on his back. I waded to land and shook the water from my hair, looking down at the nymph in the water.

"What's the problem, dude? She looks totally harmless."

"Look's can be deceiving. Many creatures use their appearance to lure prey unawares."

"Nah, they won't attack unless threatened. It's alright." I got down on my knees and inched my hand close. The nymph flicked her gaze at it and followed my hand as I raised it up and down. It's eyes brimmed with intelligence and I knew it was more than an instinctive animal. It was thinking the same thing as me.

Then all of a sudden, she shot her hand out towards my face and clasped the top of my head. Orndir let out a scream, but before I could panic, the nymph muttered gibberish under her breath, then closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. She wasn't trying to harm me. If she was, I'd already be dead, most likely. I stared at her nervously, waiting for her to finish whatever it was that she was doing. I felt something buzz inside my head, then I was flooded with dizziness. The nymph's eyes shot open and she stared hard at me. Her eyes dilated, and spots floated in my vision.

That's when a stream of words filled my head. It felt like a memory, but from what the words were, I knew that wasn't the case.