Much to Alistair's chagrin his meeting with the elders was postponed until morning. Meanwhile, he was announced as a guest and led into one of the many houses. Of course, the guest thing was only a ruse to keep the regular elves calm. However, it didn't seem to help much as most elves they encountered regarded him with great suspicion.

It was likely aggravated by the fact that Alistair had two guards standing outside his little tree hut during the night. He had hoped that maybe, by some miracle, he'd be left to his own devices, but it was a vain hope.

At least this place is nice.

It was very tiny. Probably about as big as Melina's bedroom. The hut only had the bare essentials—a hammock, a little table, a chair, and what he assumed to be a toilet and sink. However, they were far from anything you'd see in a human house.

When Alistair lifted the wooden lid of the round toilet he was surprised to see a large hole which was filled with moss and other small plants. Contrary to his belief, it smelled nice. A strong aroma of pine and wind came from it, making him wonder whether it really was a toilet. But what else could it be?

I bet there's magic involved here somewhere. Elves have a much higher aptitude for it, not to mention that their long lifespans give them plenty of time to learn.

Examining the sink, Alistair learned that it didn't use piping as humans would. Instead, there was a narrow wooden tube that went upwards, out of the little hut. When he pressed the little crystal at the bottom of the tube, water flowed from it into the sink. The water from it flowed down a similar wooden tube which was connected to the hole underneath the toilet.

Very interesting. I wonder if we could recreate something like this too. What are the possible downsides? I wish Melina was here—she has a knack for understanding these things.

Tired after the long day, Alistair decided that the best thing he could do was sleep. But looking at the hammock he wasn't convinced that he'd be able to sleep in it. The blanket reminded him more of a cloak while the pillow was much smaller than what he was used to.

However, his worries turned out to be unwarranted. The blanket, although light and seemingly much too thin, was actually very warm and comfortable. Meanwhile, the pillow was stuffed with bird feathers, and within the confines of the hammock was the exact right size. Even the slight swaying of the hammock turned out to be soothing and soon, he was fast asleep.

In the morning, Alistair awoke only after he heard a loud knock on his door. "Human, it is time to wake up."

Sleepily, he opened his eyes and out of the small window positioned near the hammock, he saw that the sun had already risen above the tree-tops. Alistair felt surprisingly refreshed. He hadn't had any nightmares, nor did he wake up early. It had been a good while since he had had a chance to have such restful sleep.

"Human! Wake up!" The voice repeated itself, losing some of its patience.

"I'm up! Give me some ten minutes to get ready."

"Ten minutes!" The voice repeated and then he heard footsteps receding from the door. Alistair slowly got out of the hammock, being careful not to fall out of it, and got ready.

I wonder if there's some magic in this place that could have stopped my nightmares from appearing. It feels odd to be this well-rested.

But Alistair was certainly not complaining. He did not doubt that the way to the Architect was riddled with dangers. Having extra energy and focus would only do him good.

That is if I manage to get elves to cooperate. If they are not willing to hear me out then I can say goodbye to any chances of meeting the Architect.

The letter had said that after getting into the elven city, Alistair would have to convince the elves to tell him the location of Wyrm's Peak. Initially, he had hoped to go straight to this location, but he had no clue where it was and it wasn't shown in any map that was available in Sunglow. Perhaps, it was written down in some Church records, but those were out of the question.

"Human, are you ready now?" Another knock resounded on the door.

"Yes, I'm ready," he replied. Outside of the hut stood the same elf from yesterday—Elowen. With his silver eyes and hair, he looked even more surreal during daylight, although his disgruntled expression ruined the image a little.

"The Council of Elders will speak with you now. Follow me," Elowen said curtly and motioned Alistair to follow.

He wondered if there would be any chance of getting breakfast, but he knew that he had no right to complain. He was essentially a captive here. Alistair really hoped that he'd manage to convince the elves.

They went from one wooden bridge to the next, the network of them making nothing short of a maze. But Alistair did his best to commit the path they took to his memory. It wasn't easy, as they walked a rather good distance before finally reaching the house hidden in one of the largest trees in the surrounding area.

This house was clearly more important than the others and not just because of its size. It was decorated with intricate carvings that made little masterpieces on themselves, not to mention the many flowers growing from seemingly every seam of the outer walls. The place was absolutely stunning in Alistair's opinion.

The interior was also much more intricate than his wooden shack. It was like a garden within a tree. Green grass, flower beds, and bushes cut into various breathtaking figures. Alistair couldn't help but admire it.

The most beautiful place, however, was at the very center of the structure. It was a garden unlike any he had seen before. Flowers of the most beautiful shapes and colors bloomed around the center area. There stood a large glass table at which sat six elves.

They were dressed in cloaks and cloth masks that covered most of their faces. But even so, Alistair could tell that all of them are very extremely beautiful.

So it must be true. Elves only get more beautiful as they age. Talk about unfair. It's clear which race the System favors.

"Good morning, honored council of elders. I have brought the human before you as requested," Elowen bowed low before them, and Alistair quickly followed suit. Adhering to their courtesy was the first step in making the negotiations go smoothly.

"Thank you, Elowen," one of the elders replied, a female by the sound of her voice. "Please, state your name human."

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

"I am Alistair Sinclair, honored council," he said, keeping his head bowed.

"Sinclair? Are you in any way related to Duke Sinclair who rules over this region?" Another elder, male this time asked.

"Yes, he is my father. Although I suspect that it is actually my great-grandfather you are referring to as he was the one to allow elves to build their city here," Alistair explained.

The elder responded with a thoughtful hum. "It seems we are in luck. Please, have a seat, son of Sinclair. We'll discuss what has brought you here over breakfast."

Alistair went to take the empty seat across from the elders while Elowen sat down some distance to his right. He took the moment to study the elders. Each one wore a robe of a different color—white, yellow, red, green, blue, and black. The one in the black robe clapped their hands and then almost as if they had been hiding among flowers the whole time, elves appeared with trays of food in their hands.

The dishes laid before Alistair were quite different from what he was used to. Some kind of cakes looked to be filled with nuts, seeds, and berries. Some dish wrapped in a leaf that smelled vaguely meaty. There was fresh salad and a compote with a few shimmering fruits within it. They almost looked like feyfruit, but much smaller.

"Please, don't be shy and enjoy," the elder in white robes said gracefully gesturing towards the dishes.

"Should we really be feeding an intruder?" Elowen noted.

"He is not an intruder. An intruder wouldn't have gone along with you so readily. It is clear that the son of Sinclair has come here with a purpose," the elder in green robes, a man judging by his deep voice, said.

Elowen scoffed but didn't say anything more. Alistair nodded and decided to test the dish wrapped in leaf. It turned out to be a pleasant combination of mushrooms, meat, most likely venison, and some kind of tangy berry. Cranberry or gooseberry, perhaps. He couldn't quite tell.

For a while, they all ate quietly. Alistair would have thought that the atmosphere would be heavy and oppressive, but it was quite the opposite. He felt relaxed as the scent of pine and flowers wafted around them and birds sang their songs above their heads.

"I hope the dishes are to your liking," the elder in the yellow robes—Alistair couldn't quite tell if they were male or female—said.

"Oh, yes. Especially this drink. It is quite invigorating," Alistair said, sipping the compote. The flavor reminded him vaguely of Melina's shimmertart.

"I'm surprised a human would partake in such an unusual drink so readily," the black elder noted. It was then that Alistair realized that they were gauging his reaction. Alistair frowned as he wondered whether any of the dishes had any effects applied to them. Perhaps, that was the reason he felt so calm.

"You could say that I'm not entirely unfamiliar with enhanced food," he said.

The white elder laughed a melodious sound, and said, "You realized. How interesting! You also do not seem bothered to sit in the company of elves. Our minor enchantment wouldn't have been enough to calm you if you truly disliked our presence."

"I've grown used to elves by now. I've worked rather closely with a few of them during the few months I spent in Sunglow."

"Sunglow?" The green elder perked up. Alistair had hoped that they would recognize the name. Remi had once mentioned that her parents lived in Euroa, so it stood to reason that some elves here knew of Sunglow.

"Yes. It is currently the place where I live."

"Most interesting. I'm beginning to see a pattern here," the black elder said. Before Alistair could ask what pattern, he continued. "Let's not beat around the bush. Tell us, son of Sinclair—why have you come here?"

Alistair pondered for a moment how to best broach the topic. Should he even bring up the Architect? The sender of the letter had clearly wanted to keep it a secret. But on the other hand, would these elves even reveal the location of Wyrm's Peak unless he was truthful?

"I am searching for something and I was hoping that you could tell me where to find it," he said calmly, deciding to keep things vague for the time being.

"Unless you tell us what you're searching for, we will not be able to help you," the blue elder said sternly, his voice far colder and more detached than those of other elders.

"I wish to find Wyrm's Peak."

"Out of the question," the red elder, female with a fierce voice, shot him down instantly. "Humans are not allowed there."

That disheartened Alistair a little bit, but he didn't intend to give up so easily. "Please, hear me out first, before you decide."

So Alistair began to tell them of the visions he saw. Unlike with Heiliger, he didn't hide any details, telling them how they manifested and how they changed whether <General's Echo> ranked up. He noticed that during his story, Elowen seemed to become somewhat rattled, his eyebrow furrowing deeply.

"That is… very concerning… To think that this skill would affect a human too," the black elder said thoughtfully.

"Too?"

"I have these kinds of visions as well," Elowen said. "I thought it odd when you dropped your sword suddenly yesterday, but I assume we both saw the same vision."

"The most curious thing is that both of you see the same woman in your visions," the green elder said. Alistair pondered whether he should reveal that he knew Melina, but decided to keep it hidden. Yesterday, they looked ready to kill the sender of his letter.

"But what do these visions have to do with Wyrm's Peak? I'm afraid that the answers you seek are not there. We have been trying to unravel this mystery for quite a while already," the white elder said.

"It's not exactly the Wyrm's Peak I seek, but rather what lies beyond it."

All of the elders perked up at that. The red elder said. "What is it exactly? Be truthful, human."

"The Architect."

The air around them grew heavy and bird chatter stopped.

"How do you know about the Architect?" The blue elder demanded.

"My father told me," Alistair said. It wasn't exactly the truth, but it wasn't a lie either. His father had been the one to tell him about the Architect. There was no reason to clarify that he gained the information of their location somewhere else. Especially if there was even the tiniest chance that it could put Melina at risk.

"So you wish to speak with the Architect?" the white elder asked.

"That is correct."

"We cannot let a human near the Architect. You know their kind," the blue elder hit the table with his fist, making it reverberate.

"Please, excuse us for a moment while we go and discuss things among ourselves," the black elder said and stood up. Other elders followed after him, leaving Alistair alone with Elowen.

The silence was stifling, but Alistair couldn't bring himself to talk. He could see the questions in Elowen's eyes, but the elf didn't ask any of them, instead continuing to slowly eat his breakfast.

After some time which felt far too long to Alistair, the elders returned, looking solemn and calm as if nothing at all had happened. Elowen stood up to greet them and Alistair repeated the gesture.

"We have discussed the matters among ourselves." the white elder said. "We've decided to give you the location of Wyrm's Peak since we believe understanding these visions might be crucial. However, we have a condition. Few conditions."

"What conditions?"

"First, you will travel without any human assistance. If you have any companions, they cannot come."

"Very well." Alistair had no issue with this condition. He had intended to go alone in the first place.

"Second, you will take a binding magical oath that will forbid you to reveal the location of the Architect to anyone," the black elder continued.

This one made Alistair pause. He didn't know how magical oaths even worked so it made him a bit nervous. But he didn't intend to reveal the location of the Architect anyway, so he supposed it wasn't such a big deal.

"Alright."

"Third, Elowen will travel with you," the blue elder said sternly.

"I will?" Elowen asked in surprise.

"We want to understand the mystery of visions as much as the son of Sinclair. I believe you must meet the Architect as well," the black elder explained.

This condition Alistair didn't like in the slightest. It was clear that the elves intended to keep a tight watch on him.

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