Return to Jorgaldur Volume II: the druid archer

In the fortress

Goldmi entered the fortress while feeling some familiarity. It was similar to the one she had been before, and she knew what to do. However, the officer in charge of the post was hesitant.

Those officers were in charge of managing the small fortresses, providing accommodation, and taking care of the basic needs of those who come to fight against corrupted beings. But the appearance of that elf had made him very nervous.

It wasn't because she was quite attractive. Not because she was accompanied by a huge lynx. It was because she matched one of the descriptions that should be given special treatment. They used to be people who shouldn't be offended, who often had contacts with powerful kings or nobles. They could even be their children.

The problem was that there were no single rooms left. Even he had been forced to give up his a few days ago.

"No, no, it's okay. If there is room in the sleeping quarters, that's fine for me," assured the elf, somewhat overwhelmed.

She didn't expect that they would give her preferential treatment. In fact, she just wanted to avoid problems, she preferred to go unnoticed, to just be one more there.

Actually, the elf could sleep even better in her tent, but she couldn't show it if she wanted to keep her identity a secret. And it would be suspicious if she went to sleep to the forest.

The officer sighed in relief. That VIP wasn't as arrogant as those who had arrived days ago. Even so, he apologized several times, and overwhelmed Goldmi a bit more.

Meanwhile, her sister was lying near the door, somewhat oblivious to those absurd problems, from the point of view of a lynx. It was fine for her to even sleep on a tree branch. The only important thing was that she could savor the delicious food cooked by her sister.

It was late, so she went straight to the women's dormitory, chose one of the spare beds, and place on it a badge with her name that the officer had given her, in a slot engraved in the headboard. In this way, she had claimed it as her own. Along with a trunk that she didn't need, and that had magical protection.

It was vacant due to its position near the exit, something that people didn't usually like much. However, since there was extra room for the feline, it was ideal for her.

No one was there at the moment, as most were in the dining room, eating or drinking. She had already done before arriving, just in case.

She leaned the bow to the wall, since keeping it in the inventory might reveal her identity, and began to prepare the bed. Just then, a first group of four entered. Goldmi turned to greet them, as she was perhaps hoping to befriend them.

"You, the rookie, who told you that you can take that bed without my permission?" a woman with red skin and a pair of horns on her forehead addressed her arrogantly.

It is not that all demons are like that, but that one in particular was. She was aggressive and domineering in character, and liked to oppress newcomers. Especially if they were alone and weaker, as seemed to be the case.

Goldmi stared at her, puzzled, too confused to say anything. She didn't understand what this was about, what she could have done to make her show hostility toward her. The demon woman interpreted it as having intimidated her, as if the rookie was scared of her.

"Well, for five silvers a day I'll let you be here and..."

Midway through the extortion attempt, she fell silent. She might be a level 32 warrior, but that didn't mean she didn't have to be careful if a huge feline got up and took a step toward her, while staring at her, even if the feline was a couple of levels below.

"Order your filthy pet not to move if you don't want me to make minced meat out of it," she threatened, while reaching for the huge sword at her back.

Not that she didn't feel a bit scared, but she couldn't back off in front of her subordinates. What she didn't expect was that, the instant she took her eye off the elf, a sword had reached her throat.

"She's my sister, not my pet, much less dirty. You better not try to do anything to her," Goldmi threatened.

She had recovered from the moment of hesitation when she had heard the lynx insulted. She had reacted almost instinctively when she saw that the demon woman was about to draw the huge sword, so threatening her sister.

The red woman was paralyzed. She was sweating, while the tip of the sword was threatening her throat. Although that elf was two levels below, she hadn't been able to see how that elf had reached there with the sword, and now she was in danger. Unsheathe isn't a very common skill, as it can only be used occasionally. There are others much more efficient, unless you can master dozens of them.

The other three, her subordinates, were also frozen. They didn't know what to do. Suddenly, that elf, who seemed somewhat shy and easy to intimidate, now had a defiant look, and hadn't hesitated to act. In addition, there was a huge lynx who was watching them closely.

"More are coming," said the feline, who had heard footsteps.

Her sister, who neither wanted to go further nor knew very well how to act in those situations, withdrew her sword to the relief of the four women. She would have liked to say something, like the bold heroes from novels, but she didn't know what. So, she just turned her back on them and walked away, though she was observing them through Visual Link.

However, it was that attitude, like she was ignoring them, what scared them the most. They were used to threatening, raising their voices, trying to intimidate to hide their own weaknesses or fears. But they had rarely seen that kind of behavior. Only veteran and powerful warriors, who didn't need to show off, and could afford to ignore their enemies, behaved like that.

Adding to the fact that she had a huge feline that she called sister, they made sure not to cross her path again. They left with aggressive looks and some grunts, but it was mainly to save face, to not show how scared they were.

Truth be told, while they had completely misunderstood the elf, that didn't mean they were wrong in their judgement. Actually, she was much more dangerous than she might seem.

Goldmi sighed in relief, although she feared they might give her trouble later.

"I'll watch them," her sister assured. "Someone is coming."

The elf turned, and hoped there weren't more trouble. She saw a somewhat strange looking woman, somewhat vegetal, who was looking at her with beautiful green eyes.

"Are you fine? They are troublemakers. It's better to stay away from them."

"Uh... Yes, I'm fine. Nothing serious has happened," the elf tried to downplay it.

"Well, if anything happens, tell me. I'm Maldoa" the drelf introduced herself.

"I'm Goldmi. She's my sister," the archer did the same.