Blood Elf Monarch

Chapter 21 - Erantell

Tristan and Layla tried their best to make their presence as small as possible. Alas, their hopes were crushed the moment they heard someone shout towards them.

"Halt, you there!"

Tristan deliberately acted as if he didn't hear the call and kept nudging Layla to walk forward, ignoring everything around them. Unfortunately, they were quickly stopped by a person clad in armor.

"Who are you and what business do you have here at the border town of Erantell?"

Tristan lifted his head and was about to answer the question when he realized that the guard was actually placing his attention at Layla.

His sister, on the other hand, could only show a stupefied expression to the fierce guard. She slowly leaned her head toward Tristan and whispered, "Tris, I have no idea what he's saying. The language is so strange!"

Tristan was startled when he heard his sister's words. Then, he was confused. Previously, she was able to understand what Cursaac said perfectly, but how come she could not understand this guard's words?

Throwing the problem to the back of his mind, Tristan decided to solve his sister's dilemma first. Luckily, he could completely understand and talk to the guard. As to how he did it, it probably one of the features from the system that was implanted in him.

Tristan slowly pulled Layla to the back so he was the one who faced the guard. Unfortunately, the pause and confusion on Layla's face already made the guard suspicious and restless. Hence, he began to call more people.

"What is going on here?" said a man with a slightly different armor compared to the guard in front of Tristan.

Tristan turned his head towards the source of the sound and spotted the man. Noticing the better, more luxurious armor the man wore, he quickly assumed that the man was the leader of the guards.

Seeing his captain was coming, the guard who stopped Tristan and Layla quickly spoke, "Captain, this girl is wearing very suspicious clothes. I suspect she is an outlander."

Tristan immediately looked at his sister, and it was true. Layla was wearing a white shirt that was covered with dirt and specks of red blood as well as dark blue jeans that were already tattered.

"What the hell are you looking at? Why are you all looking at me like that?!" Layla exploded as she noticed the guards around them casting their gazes on her. Receiving several pairs of eyes directly on her was definitely not a pleasant feeling for a young girl such as her.

Listening to the words Layla blurted out, the expression on the captain's face changed immediately, "You are not from around here, are you?! Tell us, where are you from?!" said the captain in response to Layla's remark.

Much to Tristan's surprise, it appeared that the guards could understand what Layla was saying, but not the other way around.

Tristan quickly stepped forward, trying to mediate the situation. Alas, instead of resolving the matter, his attempt backfired. All the guards drew their weapon out and brandished them. Several swords and spears were pointing their tip at Tristan and Layla.

"You too! Remove your cloak!!" the captain snarled at Tristan who draped a piece of clothes over his body, covering his entirety and only letting his eyes seen to the outside.

"Now, this could probably become a problem.." Tristan thought in his mind.

Tristan did hear from the poor Desmond before, about the war between humans and elves. His current appearance, which was of an elf, could bring trouble from these people if they were on the side of humans.

Sighing inwardly, Tristan could only comply for the moment. There was no way he would do a massacre without any reason here with his sister around. It was clear that Tristan just had to bet on this situation, to see what kind of reaction these people had when they saw an elf directly.

Tristan slowly lifted the clothes covering his face while readied his other hand to grab the sword.

The captain and the guards kept their stern expression as they looked at Tristan revealing his face. But unexpectedly, when the captain and the others saw his face and pointy ears, they suddenly let out a respectful attitude.

"Aah… I am sorry, sir elf. I didn't know"

The captain immediately sheathed his sword and all the guards quickly followed him, storing their weapons aside. Tristan noticed a sliver of worries in the captain's eyes, which made his brain quickly go into overdrive and acted the way an elf should do.

"Your apology is accepted. Am I allowed to come in now? Or do you need more time to check me again?"

"Of course not, sir elf. You are welcome to come to the town, but the girl here… She…"

"She's with me. Is there a problem?" asked Tristan with a serious face.

Noticing the look on Tristan's face, the captain quickly waved his hand, "No, sir elf. Of course not. But I still need to report this to the mayor."

"Sure. Do what you have to do. There's no benefit for me to prohibit you from doing your job."

Seeing the impatient gesture from Tristan, the captain immediately ordered his men, "Let them in!" The guards immediately made way for Tristan and Layla to walk.

Tristan quickly grabbed Layla, and walked through the massive gate entering the border town.

While glancing at the nervous guards, Layla said, "Wow, Tris… You are so cool! They all immediately turned polite when they saw you."

Upon hearing his sister's words, Tristan could only smile.

It seems the elves had more authority on this planet, or at least, in this border town. Tristan thought of asking for more information from the captain, but he was worried that would make them suspicious of him. Hence, he decided to find another place for the information he needed.

The two walked through the Erantell Town.

The town was filled with hundreds of small, rustic houses made with a combination of wood and stones.

Tristan and Layla also spotted at least two dozen humans doing their activities around the street before them. Some of them chatted with each other, some were shouting their merchandise, while others stared at Tristan and Layla with weird gazes.

After all, it was rare for an esteemed elf to appear in this small town on the border.

Tristan ignored the gazes he received, and continued to observe around. He saw that most of the people here were human. But then, Tristan noticed two short figures with heads too big to belong to a child, a dwarf that books and movies depicted. There was also a furry-looking figure that he couldn't recognize.

At the moment, Tristan and Layla both truly felt as if they went in one of the fantasy movies and books they read on Earth.

And like in such stories, Tristan could roughly guess the best place to get more information of this town and the world in general.

The tavern.