Telsa Continued part 2

“We should use a shelter like this every night.” Seranin suggested, “It is already secure and we could all sleep without keeping watch. Breldin and his group are almost back.”

As she was finishing, Kretsiss walked into camp. “We don't have to make any offering to the wolf pack, they have already captured their own food.”

“That saves us hunting another.” Breldin sounded almost disappointed. “We can salvage the antlers and hide. We'll offer the hide and some meat to the farm when we go by for information.”

As Breldin and his group finished hanging their game on one corner of the magic shelter, Grelyen and his group carried in their bounty and set to work hanging it on the other front corner. “Your security measures are good for a wilderness camp, but I guess unnecessary if we are using a magic shelter.”

“The shelter was an after thought so you would have a place to hang whatever you came back with.” Maria shrugged.

“We have members of the party that require about eight hours of sleep, some that only require six, and some that only require four, Keeping watch is not an issue.” Seranin volunteered, “I can switch first and second half of the night with Keltsie, the Shadowkyn, Grelyen and Kretsiss can keep watch while they rest. Everyone else can sleep through and we only need eight hours of down time.”

“Adding the security of the magic shelter to that,” Grelyen added, “Makes certain we are protected and if anything actually attempts to get through, everyone will have time to be ready.”

Breldin and Samuel prepared dinner, it was their turn. They cooked steaks on the grill side and vegetables, tubers and greens that had been scavenged as they walked, in the pot. They were undisturbed through the night. In the morning they had a light breakfast from the rations they brought in from the outside

“I think Sreanin and I should approach the farm calling out and introduce ourselves before everyone else. We don't want them to think we are invading.” Breldin suggested.

“We need to be close enough to protect you if they become hostile.” Grelyen countered.

“The wolf pack will stay back unless I call them.” Kretsiss added.

“Well, hopefully they don't want a fight either.” Maria said as she finished packing her stuff and shouldering her backpack.

They all moved out following Breldin. There was some hushed conversations, but they were mostly quiet, being watchful as they continued forward. It was about four hours when the farm came into view. It looked like six to ten acres of crops from a distance and then some fenced in area with horses and cattle, or other animals. There was a main house, a barn, and what looked like two out buildings. There were a couple wagons in front of the house and barn and a wagon trail that lead into the farm from the north. The people they saw from a distance, at least a dozen of them were tiny at this distance seemingly doing work around the farm.

Suddenly the people at the farm were all moving to the house and barn. “They spotted us.” Samuel stated, “Can't blame them for being cautious.”

They continued forward closing the distance. They were three hundred yards from the barn when Breldin indicated the rest to stop and Seranin continued forward with him. Both of them shouting out “Hello! Greetings!” Until someone answered.

“That is close enough. Why are you here?” a single man walked forward from the barn.

“My name is Breldin, this is Seranin. We were hoping to trade some meat and hides for information.” Breldin explained

“We are self-sufficient. We raise our own food and occasionally take some back to trade with others for goods that are helpful.” The man looked them over. “My name is Jake. You don't look like soldiers or brigands. Let's see what you have to offer.”

Breldin gave a signal and Maria started forward to join them with her floating magic disc following, loaded with the meat and hides, all cleaned and wrapped. Jake held up a hand, obviously signaling the archers on the roof and at the hayloft window of the barn not to loose their arrows. There was about six hundred pounds of meat, and two scraped and cleaned hides.

“A generous offer for information.” Jake commented, “What is it you are looking to know.”

“We are on a quest to get cloud berries from a creek to the south east from where we started.” Breldin pointed in the general direction. “We were hoping you might be able to give us more detailed directions and an approximation of distance.”

The man made a low gesture and a young man maybe twelve ran up. “Get the large berry basket from your mother.” and the young man ran back toward the farmhouse. “You can fill out basket while you are there as a trade for the information, and stop by on the way back and we will enjoy a meal together.” He pointed a little more south than east. “Go toward that mountain that looks like a bald man's head on top. The nearest point of the creek is at the base of that mountain and a little more than a day away.”

“Do you want the meat and hides?” Breldin asked

“Like I said we have all we need from the farm, but if you don't want it I am sure we can either use it or sell it.” Jake took another look. “It is a generous gift. You could take this back with you and sell it?”

“We could, but we still have a ways to go to complete our quest. We will get your berries, and you can have this as a gift.” Breldin smiled.

“Follow me, then and we will get it stored away.” Jake lead the three of them back to the barn and the load was transferred to a flat board wagon. “We will get it into our cold cellar.”

The young man came running back from the house with a large shallow basket that looked like it would hold a dozen quarts of berries by itself. Maria smiled and accepted the basket.

“My friend,” Breldin clapped a hand on his shoulder, “We will see you on our way back. I look forward to hearing the story how you came to settle here.”

“Well met stranger, I am sure we have many stories we can exchange.” Jake gave a wave as they walked away.

The three rejoined their party and Breldin shared the instructions and exchange he had from Jake. He looked at the evaluators, “Do they continue to get encounters that are a first level challenge to their number if they settle here like that?”

“I don't know.” Keltsie confessed. “This is my first time meeting anyone who decided to stay. They may be part of a family from the outside and rotate who stays to avoid becoming people of the land.”

“They have defenses set up and are prepared if they get attacked.” Grelyen stated, “What do you mean people of the land.”

“Well actually there are a few references to people of the land.” Farlden sounded like he was going to cite a text book, “There is rumors that on some levels there are races of people that are from that level, making them people of the land. Then there are those who have come in and chosen to make this their home, after they have been here long enough it is rumored they become a part of the level. Then there are those who died here enough times, ..”

Keltsie interrupted him, “There are a lot of things that are rumors about the lands inside the tower that we are at best speculating concerning. The tower was only started about fifty years ago and the One hundredth level finished three years back. There is much we do not know about the tower. Like we go in and out all the time, but it seems that nothing that is inside comes out.”

“So,” Keirn started, “What is the role of GreenLeaf here? Should you be perhaps researching these things? I mean you seem to have control over access, but you don't seem to know a lot about what his going on. You don't even know what can come out? Can people who come in here get stuck? I don't know what 'died here enough times' means, but apparently there are things you don't want to or aren't allowed to talk about that you do know.”

Keltsie shot a stern look at Farlden, “There are things that are just speculation. We are not supposed to spread unfounded rumors.”

“We need to be moving.” Breldin said and started towards the bald mountain.

“Have adventurers actually died in here?” Telsa inquired as they walked.

“At best we have rumors, but since we have not lost any adventurers that we know of, it seems to be just rumors. There have been some like that farm who have chosen to stay inside, so that sometimes makes it more difficult to know.” Keltsie shrugged, “I am glad to tell you all I know, but rumors are not verified, so we can't treat them as things we know.”

“You mean if I tell someone at the counter on the way out, there is a farm in here with over twenty people living on it, that is just a rumor? But, you being here and seeing and experiencing it can report it and it is a fact?” Kahli asked with a dismissive laugh. “How many witness testimonies does it take for something to change from rumor to fact, or does it?”

“I am sure you know that if there is a commotion in the street and you have six witnesses, that you will get six different stories as to what happened.” Keltsie stated, “You have also seen times when a bunch of witnesses saw the same thing only to have it explained away as something totally different later when things get sorted out. There is a blacksmith who has been learning his trade along the road in here and we have gotten reports that he lives in here as one of the people of the land. He spends on the average three days a week practicing his skills in here and has a home in Kelleeshia. There are lots of rumors, but we know the fact he does not live in here.”

“I met that blacksmith.” Grelyen acknowledged. “I talked to him though so I knew what he was doing. It makes sense not assuming stories are true, even from multiple sources, until you can verify things. You do know that rumors are part of information gathering when you are investigating though.”

“Did you have rumors about that farm?” Keirn inquired, “They have obviously been there for long enough to build the house, barn, out buildings, fences, and harvest crops. Looking at the place a least a couple years of weather too.”

“No rumors about this.” Keltsie replied. “The wagon trail in and out seems well worn, which could be because they do not stay here all the time. We will learn more when we stop by on the way back.”

There was a sudden commotion to the right, where the wolf-pack was keeping pace with them. “The need our assistance.” Kretsiss hissed and headed in their direction.

The rest race after her. As they approached the pack was outnumbered by Goblins throwing spears and slashing their weapons at the wolves. Keirn somehow loosed a shower of arrows on the Goblins. Maria dropped a shower of hail. Seranin placed a hand on the ground and flames burste up around the Goblins. Kahli called up on an army of black flaming deamons that attacked the Goblins from behind. Telsa and Frelden started healing the wolves and anyone who got hit by the Goblin spears. They made short work of the battle. In spite of their numbers, these were still novice skill level enemies.

“The wolf-pack only wants the food they were carrying. We can have the rest of the loot we can find..” Kretsiss relayed what the pack leader told her.

“Gather what you find of value and put it with the rest that we will sort out on our way out.” Breldin looked over the attack. “With the number and variety, there must be a Goblin camp near. We will need to stay alert in case of another attack.”

“It seems that at least until we get back to the farm the wolf pack can travel with us?” Grelyen asked, “At least that way we can help defend each other more effectively.”

“You are right.” Breldin agreed. “We should let them make that choice though.”

“They like scouting around us.” Kretsiss stated, “But, they do agree to scout closer.”

“That will work.” Breldin conceded. “We can take a short rest and eat something before we set out again. Make sure our friends have water if they need it.”

“They have found the sources of water they need.” Kretsiss gave a slight purr sound, “They have offered to help us find water if we needed it. They have a distinctively different way of doing things than we do.”

Conversation drifted to other subjects and there was relaxed conversation as they continued through the mostly open grasslands. There were occasional bushes and berry patches. As evening approached they seemed to be moving downhill at a gradual pitch. There were more rocky patches and more bushes with scattered trees. Breldin picked a clear area to set up camp. Telsa began her singing and spinning dancing consecrating the area. Grelyen and Maria set up perimeter alarms and protections for the camp. Seranin set up a magic shelter big enough to accommodate everyone.

Telsa used her magic to make a great feast, a table with a grand spread of food from the land. It was her first time, but it worked just like in the dream she had the night before when ShadowDancer showed her how. “This is supposed to provide several benefits over the next thirty hours.”

“We should sit and take our time enjoying it then.” Seranin was the first to sit at the table.

The others joined. There was a variety of meats, vegetables, and fruits on serving plates and in bowls. They were still sitting around the table talking about two hours later, when Telsa stood up. “You might want to all stand up before the spell ends, the table and chairs will vanish with the meal.”

They all stood up and a few minutes later the feast, table, and chairs all vanished.

“That makes clean up easy.” Keirn laughed.

“Tomorrow we should reach the creek and hopefully all the cloud berry bushes we need.” Breldin stated, “We should probably get what sleep we can and head out early. I prefer that even with the shelter and protections that we have at least one person on watch.”

“We have two Elves, and two Shadowkyn, I think we can cover the watch.” Seranin replied.

“You know cloud-berry bushes grow in areas of the Northern and Southern Continents, they are places that have water and winter.” Maria mused, “There have been some who have attempted to grow these in gardens around Kelleeshia with some success. The bushes grow low to the ground, maybe ten inches tall.”

“I am glad at least one of us knows what we are looking for.” Grelyen whispered.

“I am a merchant.” Talloon stated, “I have seen the berries and the bushes they come from.”

“We should harvest the leaves also.” Kahli laughed, “They are good for healing tea and potions.”

“It seems we have more than one who knows what we are looking for.” Breldin chuckled, “However, that does make a good point, we should verify we know what we can before heading out on missions like this.”

“That was actually in the class we took back at the GreenLeaf school.” Keirn noted

“Nice to know someone was listening.” Keltsie gave her approval.

Grelyen and Keltsie took first watch. Seranin and Kretsiss would take over at six hours, although everyone would probably be awake at least after ten hours. There would be a couple hours to do any preparations for the day. The Wolf Pack would do their own thing and they would be ready to move at any time.

Keltsie caught Telsa and Keirn practicing pulling the bounty from the land as they produced some well shaped gems. “You know as followers of ShadowDancer, she gave her people that ability so that they would always be able to have the necessitates they needed, like food, water, and supplies for survival. You can draw food from plants out of season, or arrows from trees. It said it was a gift that did so much more than she intended, but she never recanted it in the slightest. I have heard, but not seen that you can actually draw meat from animals without hurting them.”

“The gift works different from the ability of the Shadowkyn to draw think from the land around them. They actually pull what they get out of the environment.” Telsa offered. “ShadowDancer explained to me that her gift actually makes the bounty the land could provide when we pull it out. If we walk up to a plant and use the gift to draw food from it, we get what we asked for, but it does not take anything actually away from the plant. We channel her power to produce it. There is iron in the ground around us right now, so I can draw iron or steel from the land in a shape I choose.” She touched the ground with her finger and as she lifted it a small steel ball formed under her finger. She handed it to Keltsie. “We are not supposed to advertise what we can do, but you already knew, so I can give you an accurate understanding.”

“Does ShadowDancer come to you every night?” Keltsie inquired. “She has been teaching me every night since I became her priestess.” Telsa shrugged, “She teaches all her followers, but she said she has taken a special interest in me.”

“The singing and dancing you do when you are in battle or doing magic, did she teach you that?” Keltsie seemed a little cautious in asking.

“She told me that comes from traces of an ancient bloodline that I inherited. I may be the rebirth of a lost race.” Telsa looked at Keltsie, “Why are you getting nervous about asking me things?”

“You are special, and I do not wish to anger the Ancients by inquiring about things that I should not know.” Keltsie was looking down as if she may have overstepped her bounds.

“It is good to be curious.” Telsa smiled warmly and reached out and lifted Ketlsie's chin with two fingers. “I will let you know if you ask about something I can not tell you. It is not wrong to ask for knowledge. You are not trying to force something you have been told not to explore. If you would like, I can ask ShadowDancer if she can visit you in a dream?”

“The Ancients choose who they visit, we are not all worthy, and I am not one of her followers even.” Keltsie whispered, “I serve Gaharias, and chose to also serve Tallund when I joined GreenLeaf. We can follow more than one Ancient, but dividing our attention too much can take away from what we are already doing.”

Telsa giggled, “I'll let her know you have questions, she may talk to Gaharias and Tullund since you follow them already.”

Keltsie shrugged, “It is time to get some sleep and I have watch, so I'll be over by the door.” ShadowDancer came to Telsa as she did every night, whether by dream of taking her to another place, it did not matter. During their time she shared the conversation with Keltsie. The Ancient ShadowDancer asured Telsa she would consult with Gaharias and Tallund and they would give Keltsie comfort and answers. She explained that Gahharias was the Ancient of the elves and an Ancient of the old ways, but open to the changes in ways with the new order of Ancients. Tallund was new to the ranks of the Ancients having risen up as a human to gain the power, he cared about protecting others and teaching them to survive, he formed the Order of GreenLeaf to help people rise up to be able to take care of themselves and to survive the challenges of adventuring in the world. They were not at cross purposes with each other.

“Why have you been so kind as to spend so much time with me?” Telsa asked.

“You are the reawakening of an ancient race, the Cerateine Elves, also known as the dancing lights of the forests.” ShadowDancer showed her visions from the past, “Your people had powerful divine magics, and warriors that brought fear to their enemies. The arcane magic they used was always augmented with their divine power, making their spells powerful and unexpected. They always sought truth and honor, although like all races they were not immune to corruption.”

“Were we wiped out in wars?” Telsa looked concerned.

ShadowDancer laughed, “No, dear. Your people were a powerful force for good that made them many enemies. One day they gathered into one place and decided to give the good they had to all the other races in hopes of saving them and slowing down the wars and darkness. They all agreed and became the dust of their divine power and spread out into the other races. This increased the numbers of healers and paladins and people in all walks of life that sought to bring the goodness they had been given to others around them.”

“So how am I to reawaken the race?” Telsa felt a little confused.

“Well, first you are of a bloodline descendant of the Cerateine Elves, and there was a prophesy long lost that promised they would be back when the time was right. There is a large round flat stone buried North of Silver Lake on the Northern continent that is engraved with their promise to return.” ShadowDancer gently cupped her cheek, “You are the fulfillment of that promise. Their power will be drawn to you and those around you and your offspring will be the rebirth of the race. This is why I need to teach you everything I can of your people, including their secret language.”

“So basically I am the mother of the rebirth of the Cerateine race of Elves.” Telsa was trying to soak in all that meant.

“We have done enough for tonight. Give thought to everything we have said and what you have seen.” ShadowDancer stood and stepped back. “Until tomorrow night.” She vanished and Telsa dropped into a sleep that seemed to be much longer than it was when she woke up.

Telsa heard that change of watch and Keltsie go to her place to meditate and get her nights rest.

Keltsie slipped into her meditative posture. Something different happened and she felt herself taken away. She found herself standing in a room with white stone walls, with modest, but elegant decoration. There was a fire burning in a fireplace on one side. The furniture was made of a medium brown wood, a low table in the middle, and seating around the room for up to eight people. The room was a place of wealth and modesty.

“Hello.” A Lady elf dressed in fire and shadows stepped in.

“ShadowDancer.” Keltsie recognized her from descriptions and statues she had seen, and gave her a slight bow. With an edge of awe in her voice, “You do me a great honor.”

“We heard of your curiosity.” An elder looking Elf in robes like a high mage said stepping in with a younger human looking noble right behind him. They human man was wearing Noble garments of the Second House of Celtan of Kelleeshia, and a gold and green leaf on the right side of his breastplate like that of the order of GreenLeaf.

“Gaharias, Tallund, I am overwhelmed.” Keltsie started to loose her balance and ShadowDancer helped her to be seated.

They all sat and Gaharias provided tea for everyone to drink. At first Keltsie could not find the questions she had, so the Ancients just talked openly about mostly trivial matters. It felt like getting together with her friends back home. Eventually she joined the conversation and asked questions. They made her feel comfortable, like she was just one of them having casual conversation, but kept the air of their power at the same time. She was welcomed to a private casual meeting of Ancients, the gods of her world and it was surreal. She would spend years wondering if it was real or a dream, if it were not for the fact they were giving her real answer.

At some point Gaharias and Tellund left and she was alone with ShadowDancer. “You know Telsa is special. She is the rebirth of the Ceratein Elves.”

“They disappeared thousands of years ago, thought to be just a story told for inspiration.” Keltsie pondered, “Except it has been required learning because of a promise that they would come back.”

“I have permission from Gaharias and Tallund to call upon you.” ShadowDancer paused, “I have to teach her all the ways of the Cerateine, which will include their ways of battle. Are you willing to sacrifice your path to be her battle master?”

Keltsie thought for several moments. She looked into ShadowDancer's eyes, “Does it mean giving up being a part of Greenleaf?”

ShadowDancer smiled with a soft chuckle, “No, child, that is part of who you are. This will require a shift though because you will train her and her children in the techniques of Cerateine fighting, which I will teach you. I will be teaching her, but she will need a sparing partner and someone to give her practical experience. I will have to grant you some abilities of the Cerateine race in order to accommodate this.”

“Will I start randomly glowing, singing and dancing like she does?” Keltsie looked concerned.

“No, you will be given the ability to dance like she does, but it is totally under your control. As for singing, that would be up to you.” ShadowDancer placed a hand on her shoulder, “The glowing is a manifestation of the divine power of her race, which she will learn to control.”

“I agree to do as you ask of me.” Keltsie stated

ShadowDancer began showing her with visions and teaching her some of the history and ways of the Cerateine warriors. Time seemed to pass quickly and stand still as if all was one. Then SahdowDancer stopped. “It is time for me to grant you rest and return you to your party. Close your eyes for a moment and when you open them you will be back.”

Keltsie closed her eyes. She felt her body physically changed so that she would have the ability to move like the Cerateine. She kept her eyes closed for a moment feeling the effects of the changes, knowing she had greater dexterity now and would be able to move with speed and in ways she could not before.

“Well, welcome back.” Breldin's voice caused her to open her eyes. “Where were you?”

“Sitting here in meditation.” she replied.

Breldin let it go, they were getting ready to move out. “Eat quickly, there is food on a plate for you and a cup of tea.”

Keltsie ate quickly. When she had a chance she pulled Farlden to the side, “What did he mean where was I?”

“You were nowhere to be found.” Farlden whispered, “Then suddenly you were there coming out of your meditation. I did not know you had a way of vanishing.”

Keltsie shrugged, but offered no explanation. She finished eating and packed her belongings. As she was packing she noticed a belt with sheathed Cerateine blades attached with her backpack. She strapped them on quickly and concealed them under her cloak, one hung on either side. The blades had a double curve and were sharp on both sides. If you stroked them one way they would slice, the other direction would pierce and gouge. She looked at Telsa and wondered if she also have blades hidden in her robes. She had to or they would not be able to spar and train together.

When they started to move Keltsie positioned herself next to Telsa and whispered, “I was visited last night, I am bound to you now as your battle master. My place is to help you train and train your children.”

Telsa giggled, “That is wonderful, she did not tell me all that.”

“She came to me with Gaharias and Tallund.” Keltsie seemed to gaze into the distance, “Then she stayed and taught me things after the others left.”

Kretsiss was scouting ahead and called back through the link, “Goblins”

Telsa repeated it out loud for Keltsie and Farlden. The group slowed down with weapons drawn. Breldin brought them to a stop when he could see the Goblin camp, or maybe their village, some of the structures looked like they had been there for awhile. Kretsiss came back to the group on all fours and stood up. They have what looks like five adventurers tied up in their camp. They look in pretty bad shape, but I could only get so close without alerting the Goblins.

“Draw your swords.” Keltsie instructed Telsa, “Everyone else stay back and only help if we need it. This is a training mission for Telsa. Use your Cerateine dance, fight and heal the captured when you are close enough.”

Before anyone could object, the two of them went into a spinning dance, racing toward the Goblin camp. They looked like they were surrounded by swords dancing in every direction.

Breldin signaled everyone to follow. “We need to be close enough so we can help if they need it. I can't believe our strict GreenLeaf evaluator just decided to rush in recklessly with no plan.” He looked at Farlden.

“I have no idea, something has changed.” Farlden glanced at Breldin, but kept his focus on where he was running. “Whatever happened last night, she has gained a level of divine aura herself. I have never seen that battle technique before, it looks like Telsa's without the golden glowing.”

Maria moved to the front. “I would say she was visited by an Ancient last night. There are a few that like to visit followers in their sleep. ShadowDancer has visited me a time or two in my sleep, I am a mixed race, although I chose Eric as my Ancient for the increased power to my magic, and L'Akyra for the bonuses to my other skills.”

“There are factions in the Ancients.” Seranin stated, “You have the Old Council headed by Gaharias, the New Council run by ShadowDancer, the Dark Council run by Darvel, there are many smaller bands of those with the powers of the Ancients with their own agenda, and dozens of Secret groups that would bring back chaos and confusion of the Legendary Wars. This does not take into account the powers that come from other planes like the demonic planes.”

“And they all have rules we are supposed to follow.” Samuel interjected.

“Pretty much the most powerful rules, I guess.” Maria responded, “Which is why they have all been obedient to the Old Ones, the Dragons that were here before time, until the arrival of Eric who may be more powerful than the oldest of the dragon Old Ones.”

“Except he yielded rule here to his daughter, ShadowDancer and she is careful not to throw things out of balance.” Farlden stated as they came to a stop to watch Telsa and Keltsie dance into battle with the Goblins.

The glowing made Telsa harder to follow, but Keltsie was not easy to follow either. The Goblins were rapidly being disarmed and injured. The bindings on the prisoners were cut and there was a sixth member of that group that was left laying on the ground as if dead that started to stir back to life. At some point in the battle the Goblins realized they were not being slain, and only injured enough to stop them from fighting. They started laying down their weapons and groveling, puling back from the fighting.

When the last of the Goblins stopped fighting, so did Telsa and Keltsie. Both of them were holding double curved blades that had a subtle glow, that the rest of the team had never seen before. Telsa finished healing the now freed group. Keirn following her lead started using mending to repair their belongings.

“Gather whatever belongings the Goblins took from you and be on your way.” Keltsie ordered.

“You will collect half of the coin and gems you have and give them as homage for sparing your lives.” Telsa instructed the Goblins and they quickly obey. “Now, I will heal you all, but you must never attack adventurers again. You can defend yourselves if attacked. Do you understand?”

The Goblin leader came forward. “We understand and will obey.”

Telsa gestured toward the group. “These are our companions. We are headed to the creek to pick berries.” She pointed to the wolf pack sitting at the edge of the Goblin camp. “Those are also our friends, we will ask them not to attack you.”

Keltsiss gave a laugh of amusement, “They will respect your words.”

The group was quickly on their way. There was no agreement, but one of the Goblins went with them. The Goblin seemed to not be concerned with talking to them, but just observing at first. It was not long before they reached the Creek, about an hour after midday. The Cloud berries were obvious along the banks of the water, but it looked like they were going to have to spend a lot of time going up and down the creek banks to get enough.

The Goblin asked in broken common, “These are valuable to trade with others?” He walked up to Telsa, “You spare us and take away how we survive, you teach us other ways?” Telsa knelt down to look the Gobin in the face. “We will do what we can. Follow me.” She went to the side and found a flat area to start a camp fire. Keltsie came with her. Telsa sat down by the fire she started and gestured for the Goblin to sit near her. She Pulled a rack and a pan out her backpack and filled it with water. Reaching out she grabbed a cloud-berry bush with several berries on it. She dropped the berries in the folds of her robe and broke the leaves and stem into the water as it started to boil and moved it from the fire.

“We let that cool and we drink the tea, it helps the body.” she smiled. She pulled a few tubers from the side pocket of her backpack and showed them to the Goblin. “We cook these till they are soft and mash them with the berries and it makes for a delicious sweetness to the food. Here, eat one so you can enjoy the flavor of the berry itself.” She handed one to Keltsie and ate one herself.

“Berries and roots are not enough to keep Goblin clan fed.” the Goblin searched for words, “Me Gelgr, have little goblins and mate to feed too.”

Telsa pulled a chunk of meat from her backpack and unwrapped it. “This is from the animals of the field.” She held her hands like antlers on her head. “Instead of stealing from adventurers or eating them, you can hunt these animals and eat their meat, with the roots, and the berries, and the green plants you know you can eat.” She looked at his contemplation. “Yes, you can gather berries and other things and trade them for coins or other goods.” Keltsie and Telsa sat talking with the Gelgr.

As Breldin was dividing their party into groups to gather berries, Keirn walked up tot he nearest berry bush with the large basket the farmers had given them. “The bounty of the land right?” He started pulling berries that were not there and filled the basket by the handfuls as fast as he could move his hand. They brought all the baskets they had to him.

“We should also gather leaves for tea and potions.” Maria commented as she started collecting the leaves into a bag. “We may also want to gather some of the berries for ourselves too.”

Keirn finished filling the baskets. The others all did their own foraging. They used Grelyen's Querelous Backpack to carry everything they collected. They set up camp and it was not time for the evening meal yet.

“I am going to take a bath in the creek.” She walked down removing her clothing and laying it out on a large rock. She used cleaning and mending spells to have ready for when she we done and sank down in the water. They all took turns keeping watch and bathing in the creek. Gelgr even gave it a try, first time he could remember ever getting clean.

They all relaxed and enjoyed the company. Always at least two volunteers keeping a watch for anything that might be cause for alarm. Even the wolf pack joined in the play. They made a larger magic shelter than what they needed. They fixed their meal inside and had time for casual relaxation before sleeping or resting for the night.

Morning passed without incident, and they were back at the Goblin village in a matter of a few hours. Gelgr joined his clan, standing a little taller than when he left. He started sharing what he had learned right away. They tarried with the Goblins for a day. Breldin took a group out to show them how to hunt and how to clean and skin their game. He explained that the skins and antlers could be sold or traded, and the meat can feed the village or if they could preserve it possibly sold or traded also. Maria and Seranin took a different group scavenging for roots, fruits, and vegetables. They explained how some of these could be farmed by planting the roots, and others by waiting till they seed and planting the seeds.

As evening approached they set up a secure magic shelter near the Goblin camp. When the hunting and harvesting groups were back Telsa cast a spell creating a magical feast for everyone, including the Goblins and the wolf pack. She actually had to caste multiple times to have enough.

“You have made these Goblins people of the land.” Farlden said in a faltering voice, uncertain if this was a good thing.

“What difference will that make?” Grelyen asked, “It seems like a good thing.”

“I don't know.” Frelden started, “People of the land interact different than encounters. They also have the ability to make changes. I also don't know if they can exit the level to trade with our world. None have done so in the last thirty plus years since the first level was created. We have seen a party of adventurers come in here and kill creatures, and leave and while we were still here there are energy balls that seem to reform the creature that was killed. The antelope of the field we killed earlier should have come back by now, it has been a few days.”

“So how is that different with the people of the land?” Samuel sounded confused.

Keltsie took over, “We do not know a lot about people of the land, but what we have learned has come from higher levels. The wolves that you have made into friends, if they kill a deer, the deer is dead, it gets replaced when a new deer is born and grows up. The normal cycle of life. We can't really prove it yet, but if someone comes in here and kills a deer, within three hours a new deer seems to appear out of nowhere. Honestly we do not know how these things have been made to balance, so at best we can guess that people of the land cause things to change in different ways then we do. There is speculation by some that on the seventh level down there is a war coming. Unfortunately currently our best information is just rumors, we do not even have any certainty that there are people of the land there to have a war.”

“There is more we don't know about this place than we do.” Farlden gave a heavy sigh.

“That is true about life in general.” Grelyen leaned back at the table. “It is true outside the tower in the world of Ethar, and as best as I can tell, each level in here is a world to itself.”

“If the encounters here are proportionate to the adventure party, how did that group of six adventurers wind up caught by such a large party of Goblins?” Samuel asked.

“More than likely,” Farlden began, “they had a run in with a smaller group that was a fair fight and lost. Then they would have been brought back as captives. They were here independently, not working with GreenLeaf training, so we wont find out how they got caught unless one of them volunteers that information. Keltsie and I will have an obligation to report what we know, but that is not much. I would imagine people don't report their losses, or things that may make them feel foolish.”