High Elf : Orcbolg,” the elf said without preamble. Her voice rang out clear, as if she were intoning a spell.
It was before noon, when the adventurers who had woken up late came to see what quests were still available.
It was considerably calmer than first thing in the morning, but the Guild Hall was still filled with hubbub, and every eye was fixed on the elf.
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Young Warrior : Oh, man... Get a load of her!” A greenhorn warrior boy whistled appreciatively.
Cleric Girl : Hey!”
his party member, an apprentice cleric girl, snapped.
Young Warrior : Sorry,”
the boy said with a placating smile, but his eyes kept darting back to the elf.
It was hard to blame him. Elves were naturally possessed of an otherworldly beauty, but even among their number, this young woman was striking.
Age has scant meaning for elves, but by appearance, she might have been taken for seventeen or eighteen years old. She was slender and tall, clad in close-fitting hunter’s garb, moving as gracefully as a deer.
The great bow slung across her back showed she was a ranger or perhaps an archer. The rank tag around her neck was made of silver.
Druid adventurer : She’s a high elf... They’re the blood descendants of the faeries...”
Rhea Adventurer : Their ears really are longer than other elves’...”
A druid and a rhea girl whispered with a half-elf light warrior while their other party member, a heavy warrior, looked on. A young scout listening nearby said knowingly,
Heavy Warrior : Of course they do.”
Guild Girl had dealt with high elves before and was not nervous about meeting this one, but she was baffled by the words that came out of the girl’s mouth.
Guild Girl: I’m sorry, ma’am. Do you mean oak, like the tree?”
She was used to people approaching the counter and simply saying the name of a monster, but this was a word she had never heard before.
Then again, there are fifty thousand kinds of monsters (no exaggeration!), so it was possible this was some variety she wasn’t familiar with.
Or perhaps it was the elf’s name? The elvish language had the rhythm of a spell or a song.
High Elf : No. Orc. Orcbolg.”
As she repeated the words, High Elf Archer tilted her head as if to say, Got it? Under her voice she added.
High Elf : Strange...I’d heard he was here.”
Guild Girl : Um, I see. So you’re looking for an adventurer, then?”
