Kurt had taken Joe to the hallways with some of the murals and started to ask about them.
"Yes, this was a temple of the fallen god Neptune."
"Fallen God Neptune?"
"Yes, Neptune is quite dead."
"Dead."
"Yes, he was slain in battle between the gods, it is perhaps why the wastelands became as they did, this temple, this temple has quite an ancient history. The short version is that a prophet of the land had made a deal with Neptune, for his water blessing the people would worship him as their true god. There was a trial for this of course, I could get you the scrolls if you want a more detailed telling."
"But wouldn't that mean Layla is usurping Neptune here, from what I understand from these murals he would have been the one that made the canyon and the original river Layla seems to be restarting."
"I guess some could see it that way, but I like to see it as Neptune keeping his promise from his death through Layla. Or a remaking of it by Layla. He has been dead for a long time after all, I doubt there are any true worshipers left, there are other gods out there, it's usually better to worship the living ones. I think more will be inspired by the transformation than enraged, don't you?" said Joe.
"So you're saying there are actual gods that come down and visit us?" said Kurt.
"Well yes, this temple could have been called Neptune's home, or one of them. He most certainly has stepped foot inside of the temple, the waters Layla creates mimic the same blessing of Neptune. It is a statement, Neptune's reign is said to be one of the most prosperous."
"That makes us a target though."
"We would always be a target I'm afraid, with this we actually get some points in our favor I would imagine, more than against."
"So this story is very well known."
"One of the most well known in some form or another, I would say. There are various lessons in the trial you see, it is quite a long story, so I'm afraid I don't exactly remember it all. Just the general theme of trial and the resulting blessing of the river. And Neptune has various other notable moments outside of this story as well. This mural here is really close to the end as the final part involved overcoming the rapids and calming the river. As you can see there were various dangers." The mural depicted a simple boat on a vast river with various monsters along the way." said Joe "I'm surprised you're interested in this Kurt."
"I mean I pass by them all the time."
Around that time Tom had rushed into the hallway and walked towards them, "Sir Kurt I have a message and a summons."
"Huh."
"It appears a group of around fifty elves has arrived and asked for an audience, her majesty has requested you join her in the throne room for it."
"Elves? Really?"
"Yes, I'm sorry I don't know much more than that I'm afraid, it seems a small group has approached, while the remaining has stayed and kept their distance. The goblins have assembled a small precautionary force surrounding them."
"Are Goblins and Elves usually enemies?
"Depending on the elf, they usually keep to their lands, arrangements have been made before, and battles have been fought. I wouldn't call them an innate enemy of the goblins. And goblins are known to fight each other as well. Friends and foe can change over time, I'm afraid."
"Are we near any elven lands?" Kurt had no idea elves were even real actually, there had been no stories about them from the other side of the gate, he assumed they must have resembled some of the stories told.
"The border of the Sylvain Kingdom is not too far, but I wouldn't say we are close, it would be a journey to get there, the canyon will eventually bring you to it. As I said, it's rare for them to leave their lands at all."
Kurt arrived in the throne room, Layla was laying on her sofa throne as usual for these things. A finely dressed man, with pointed ears, that was a good five inches taller than Kurt the elf, had two others next to him about the same height, "Your majesty," taking a knee, "I am Lord Victor, we ask for your mercy."
"My mercy?"
"My clan has been disgraced by the Kingdom, they have banished us."
"Ohh, and why would the King do that to you? What sort of criminal is in front of me? And why does he have an entire clan with him?"
"I made a claim to the throne, and so did many other elves when the king died. There was a power struggle, and it became clear I was in a losing position. I negotiated with the two main remaining factions, and they both agreed that if we took banishment we would be spared. The clans under mine would disperse and ally with the other two on their own."
"So you lost."
"Yes you majesty, my crime is that I lost, and to keep one to have claimed would be seen as a sign of weakness to the elves, banishment was only my option because the power struggle still continues, if there was only one other, our clan would surely have died, I made it easier for one of them to eventually claim power."
"I see, I know elven succession can be very violent."
"And so we are here, disgraced and banished without a land."
"And my mercy?"
"We are here without invitation. We can not go back to where we came, we are at your mercy. The goblins outnumber us, they have mounts, and shaman magic is great, while we are barely armed at all. I have a few swords, bows and we are short on arrows. And hungry, and a lot of my clan are women and we have children, we are not a force anymore."
"You think I would just attack you for being here?" said Layla.
"I have no idea, your majesty, command a horde of goblins,I just know there is nothing I can demand or even ask of you, just beg that you let us live."
"I beg of you let us live," said Lord Victor.
"You need not worry Lord Victor, I am not the type to kill ones for simply trespassing."
"By your grace."
"As a disgraced Lord this means you also have given up your right to ever claim again."
"Yes, no other clan would ever summit me again."
"Then what you are looking for is a master," said Layla.
"I'm sorry?"
"Are you wanting to simply pass through or stay in my domain?"
"Umm, well I didn't think you would."
"And why not? Can you not call me master?"
"A faye has never…"
"Had a kingdom before."
"Are you welcoming us?" The elf said unsurely.
"Are you familiar with shriki, si, kai-ra , all of the goblins here have taken the oath."
"Umm, that is a very serious ask."
"I would not force you, you may instead pass to the next lands, as long as you don't make any trouble you will have my blessing to peacefully pass through, the choice is yours to make."
"But if we wished to stay?"
"Yes, I would require it. You have been known, by your own admission, to try for the throne before, so I am even more inclined to require it. But after that I would welcome you as one of my subjects."
"I would have to discuss it with the clan, this is an unexpected offer."
"Of course you may have some time to think about my offer. But I have no qualms with you, as long as what you say is true and I don't have another squad of elves chasing you coming in, in that case I'm sorry I don't think I would be able to get involved, other than to ask you leave us out of it, I'm sure the goblins would love to watch the elves fight, we could arrange something honorable. Unless you were to submit then you would be a citizen of my kingdom. So if anyone is chasing you I suggest you tell me that now. I would be upset to find out you were lying about this."
"I assure you we have been banished, they are not chasing us into your lands. May I have a day to discuss with my clan?"
"Then tomorrow I shall receive your answer. If you wish to see our facilities in the meantime , I will ask you all to disarm before you enter. We do have a mess hall if any of you are hungry. I do hope you choose to stay, I'm sure you would be a valuable asset to me."
"Thank you, your majesty, we have a lot to think about."
And that was that apparently it seemed very familiar to what happened with the goblins, would this basically be how we would do it. And how likely were they to join us? Kurt wasn't sure about anything with elves. They have violent succession? That wasn't in the stories he was told, which he knew had nothing to do with the real ones. After they left Kurt asked Layla.
"Why invite them?" said Kurt
"They are helpless are they not?"
"That's what they said."
"So you think I shouldn't have shown them mercy?"
"No, that's not it," said Kurt, "I don't know anything about elves can they be trusted."
"With the ritual they can be, as I said I have no problem with them just moving on as well. I didn't think humans had even met them before."
"Well it's weird they are what we would imagine them as, we have stories but they were all fables."
"Strange."
"Yes, I would think the similarities are only surface deep."
"Yes."
"So what are they known for?"
"Well, they have a unique form of encampment, they can bless items better than most species.."
"Huh?"
"Well, most magic is outward, like the goblin's magic, that can fire a big blast, but they use crude swords, while elves on the other hand are known to have mighty weapons that are imbued with powers, and they have some renown for their fighting styles as well because of this. A master elf would take on several goblins in reality, goblins main advantage is tactics, big strikes and numbers. My Well does soak into many things, but their effects are not as potent."
"So they are not as defenseless as they claim."
"Is anyone here these days? But no, they are right even though they can do this, it doesn't seem like they have much ready for a battle, they have very little armor and weapons, they are in a very bad position, but a cornered animal bites in the face of death. It does appear to be a single clan which is an extended family really, so it is not a strike team as far as the goblins can tell."
"But on the other hand if they were to bless the goblins' weapons," said Kurt.
"They would be a very valuable asset," said Layla, "it is likely had they been here the Lizard Ant would have easily fallen to Warlord Travis' axe had it been blessed by the elves. And perhaps none of them would have died, or gravely injured."
"Well, then I guess I hope they say yes, I've been looking for a proper sword instructor, I imagine one of them may be able to perform this."
"I would think they would have someone, you may have to hold back, but they would be able to show you a more proper form."