Chapter 23
minutes later we were all awake and getting anxious for command to make the next call. Surely they’re not planning to besiege this place, it’s not like we’ve got forces to spare. But then everything changed in an instant.
Horns sounded in the distance, followed by the light clattering of hooves. Out of the distant woods behind the portal came ten rows of slender figures in bright silver armour, banners flying in the breeze.
"Slender, Green to blonde hair, silver armor with intricate scrollwork and pointy ears. Safe to say these have been assigned the name elves?" I asked Karl
"Yup, definitely elves" he responded, casting some sort of spell on his eyes. "We should go say hello, we’re closest"
We quickly reported this new development to the rest of the attack group, making sure they didn’t take any actions that might jeopardize our safety, then headed back to meet the Elves. Being sure to arrive fast enough that we were between them and the portal of course.
"Groeten aan jou die van het portaal kwam." The lead Elf greeted us and Karl looked back at me with a smile.
"What did Lala say when we greeted her, that I spoke the language of royalty though I’m not? I think her master might have been at least part Elf. These ones are speaking Dutch too."
Well, at least we didn’t need to find an avid Tolkien fan to translate for us. But couldn’t these beautiful beings have picked a flowery romance language? It just doesn’t fit their image in my brain.
Being the only one of us who speaks their language, Karl strode forward with a bowed greeting and began a low conversation with the Elven representative. A few minutes later, he’d conjured a leather drink pouch of some sort and they were passing it back and forth, chatting like we weren’t in the middle of a huge battle against an Orcish encampment. But what could I do about it? Nothing. Just stand here and wait, it certainly wouldn’t do to insult an alien force that doesn’t seem to be hostile.