After robbing the Goblin corpse, Aghila ate it— she even offered him a leg which was both kind and…. difficult to turn down.
Anyway.
They then began their travels through the forest to reach her Clan village.
The Goblin armor didn't fit well. The leather midsection armor piece sat right above his belly button and the stone pauldron was rough as it squeezed his shoulder. The shin guards were too thin and the gauntlets didn't fit his clawed hands. But the fact that he could wear it told him the Goblins of Terra were huge compared to Earth rpg standards.
Over six feet tall for a goblin was pretty scary. If he was his original height they would've put him to sleep easily off presence alone.
That thought alone had him carrying the Goblin blade made of animal bone in a vice grip.
They traveled for miles under the sun. Griffin thought he would've felt the pain in his leg at some point but he felt good.
He felt alive.
Which made no sense considering he was worlds away from his old life where he just died.
He tried not to think on it too much and focused instead on the enviroment. The world was dangerous. No need to daydream.
"Especially with a sky like this." Griffin could see other planets in the distant blue expanse. Some had rings like Saturn forming an x while others had twisting auras of energy and starlight.
Rare birds flew in flocks that moved like fish in the water below.
Aghila stopped and sniffed a tree.
"We're here." She said.
"We are…? Nothings—" Griffin's ears twitched and he looked up the length of the trees.
All around them, Timber-Panthers were stationed high up on the trees like they were in the midst of climbing.
Many of them were larger than Aghila. Large enough to wear leather saddles allowing Elves to sit on their backs and aim bows at them with poisoned arrows drawn.
In the heavy winds he could smell the foul cocktails on the metal tips.
The elves wore forest blended armor and masks that made them invisible in passing but now he couldn't go without noticing.
"Stay calm." Aghila said casually before stepping in front of him and roaring and letting off a set pattern of chuffing sounds.
One of the Timber-Panthers started to jump from tree to tree, coming closer with superior feline agility.
As the cat got closer, Griffin noticed the size was one of many differences. The cat was also grey furred with golden rosettes and missing an ear.
"Aghila?" The elf on the cats back yelled from the trees. A male wearing a bone mask designed to look like the face of a bird.
"Yes, Jen." Aghila nodded.
"That's not your companion." Jen yelled down to her.
"He's not. But he saved my life and needs a place to stay." Aghila replied.
"We're not Heroes, Aghila."
"Does that mean we must act like Demons?" Aghila asked.
The silver furred feline hissed and crept closer before jumping from the trees and landing before them.
Griffin stiffened at the sheer size of the cat.
If Aghila was lion sized then the cat Jen rode was approaching horse size.
"Pragmatism is NOT demonic." Jen said.
Aghila leaned forward to scent the air, "Neither is fear."
The cat hissed.
Aghila roared at the cat and to Griffin's surprise it took a step backward.
Jen scoffed and removed his mask. He was a younger man with facial tattooing that moved like Razira's. He also had pierced ears and lips. After removing his mask, he began pulling a flute-like instrument from his belt. He put it to his lips and blew a tune that had the other cats and elves on the ground showing themselves.
They were completely surrounded.
"Welcome home, High-Daughter Aghila." Jen scoffed as him and his cat bowed.
Aghila returned the gesture, "Thank you for meeting me, Jen and Silvy. Now raise your head, if you don't wish to show respect then don't. I'll earn it eventually."
Aghila walked past them. Griffin followed.
He walked beside her, whispering simply because he felt like doing so with all the elves watching him so intently. "You're….. royalty?"
Aghila nodded, "Timber-Cats work in a Matriarchy. My mother— The High-Mother, is the strongest of all the Timber-Panthers in Verdana. She's the oldest as well. By way of preserving breeding stock and maintaining the power of our race, all bloodlines connecting to her must be respected and signified above others. It's the only way we'll survive."
"Verdana…. That must be the name of this continent. Or this forest. That's a huge difference but progress."
"It's the name of the Continent." Razira said quickly.
"Well there we go." Griffin thought, "And the Timber-Panthers seem to function like feline wildlife back on earth. Despite having human intelligence they still operate on instincts and breeding. It's intertwined in their humanoid politics. To be fair…. It's justified by the concept of magic that enforces a sort of phrenology—"
"The hell are you talking about?" Razira asked.
"I'm trying to learn as I go since someone's so reluctant to help me." Griffin replied internally.
"I'm sorry I'm not the best teacher, I just watched my brother die and my friend of six hundred years and now I'm stuck in the body of a coward. I need to process." Razira replied.
He felt her turn away again.
"I'll take you to the Healers and Diviners." Aghila said to him. "Perhaps they can help you."
"Yea with my memories that you think are missing." Griffin thought as the elves continued to follow them.
"What Elven Race is he?" Someone hissed
"He's too big for an Elf." Another replied.
"He looks like if an Elf laid with a Timber-Panther." Someone else commented.
That caused a few elves to laugh while others reacted in disgust.
Aghila hissed to silence them.
Eventually, Griffin could see something in the distance.
A great wall of tied logs bordered by archer towers stood in the distance. Massive flowers on stalks straight out of children's stories stood with glowing petals and cores of fiery pollen. Elves tended to the massive flower with with magical melodies and energy from seeds. They weren't dressed like the Elves following Griffin and Aghila. They wore robes and cloaks with covered eyes.
Aghila seemed to sense him watching as she walked beside him. "Chloromancers don't have direct combat roles or pursue The Magic of The Hunt. But they're still needed to protect this Clan. Obviously."
They approached the entrance gates and Griffin could hear the pull of ropes and strings as flutish whistles echoed from the elves behind them.
The gates gave way to a whole city. But the word almost didn't feel right. Cities burned ozone layers spewing foul fumes and smelled like the endless pounds of waste they collected beneath the tar roads.
What Griffin entered wasn't poison. It was harmony.
Fortified treehouses connected by bridges of braided vine and directed branches made housing networks for hundreds of Elves. On the ground and built into hills, homes of stone, wood and mud made up city blocks. Massive greenhouses flashed and spit pollen fumes as Chloromancers worked away at freshly soil-pressed seeds bursting with magic like fireworks.
As they walked deeper inside, he passed stone castles where elves trained with sword, bow and weapons he'd never seen. Even when they wore no armor, they still had the bone mask covering their faces.
"Welcome to the Oakenfang Clan Territory." Aghila said.
"This is….. unreal." Griffin said.
"That isn't likely. Wyld Elves are not as gifted in Illusory Magic as Shade Elves are." Aghila said.
Griffin nodded like that was casual info he casually missed, "Right…."
They passed the warriors and cultivators district and reached casual farmers at the core of the territory where children played with kittens and birds before finally reaching large unassuming buildings where he could smell them.
"The sick and wounded are tended to here." Aghila said. As if that was needed.
A woman screamed. Her cries blended with the wails of a baby.
"Life begins here as well." Aghila said.
Griffin felt his eyes water. Quickly and with an awkward wave of shame, he wiped his eyes.
"Empathy is the trait of only the greatest warriors. Embrace your similarity, Griffin." Aghila purred.
Griffin walked a little taller then for a moment.
Eventually, they reached a tall standing wooden building topped by a massive flower that reached for the sun with fiery petals.
Once inside, Griffin almost laughed at the familiarity. It was designed like a church mixed with a hospital with colorful windows, hide carpets, beautiful art and a front desk with a woman working under a lamp made of collected fireflies.
"Welcome into the High Healers and Diviners Hall. How can we help you and your guest, High-Daughter Aghila?"
"We both require physical examinations and my guest requires Mental Divination."
"Understood."