"Leaving the elves alone, they won't just attack us out of nowhere, would they?" Arad stared at Aella.
"The elvish kingdom is far more advanced than the human one. They might have already detected us walking through their borders with magic." Aella stared at Arad with a smile, "We could consider their silence as an acceptance,"
"[Or buying time to strike us, you never know with the elves.]"
Aella sighed, "I hate it that you're right," She looked at Arad, "We can't drop our guard down until we drop the elves into a city and leave the kingdom,"
Arad scratched his head, "If the elves already know of us, can't we drop the elves here and leave?"
"We don't know for sure, so they might end up eaten by monsters." Aella looked at the tent door and back at Arad, "We should at least drop them off with local elves,"
"Can't we split up?" Arad lifted one finger, "I can fly in, drop them into a village and bolt out of there quickly,"
"[You can't do that. The elves would be suspicious and would probably kill them. We have to drop them in person.]"
"Then how about me using the void step to help us get out?" Arad smiled.
"That would work," Aella nodded.
"[If elves know something, it's how to mess up with long-range spells. You will end up teleporting into a tree or a wall. It's dangerous.]"
"Do you have a suggestion then?" Arad growled, staring at his chest.
"[I have several ideas, but none of them is certain to work. 70% at best.]" Doma smiled, "[Want to hear them?]"
"What kind of question is that? We're here trying to figure a solution, aren't we?" Arad grunted.
"[What I'm asking is if you want to rely on the wisdom of an ancient witch. Or learn to figure things out on your own. The difference in experience is huge.]"
Arad scratched his head, "I do want to figure it out on my own, but I don't want to risk everyone's lives for it,"
"[Fine, I got your back. Can you lend me your body for a second?]" Doma giggled.
"What will you do?" Arad looked down, puzzled.
"[Set my plans in motion so no matter how badly you mess up, I can bail you out. But I can only guarantee your lives, nothing more, so don't blame me if you failed and Aella ended up losing a leg. I can't save that.]"
Aella looked at Arad, "So we could end up injured in the worst case?"
"[Not from my plans. I'm saying that what I can set will only save your lives, nothing more. You have to live with the responsibility of adventurers, isn't that right?]
Aella sighed, "Adventuring is risking one's own life for the sake of exploration and glory. We can't remain in this line of work if we aren't ready to take some risks,"
Arad nodded, "Fine by me, let's do it,"
CRACK! Arad growled, curling into a ball and hitting his head on the ground, "[That's your first mistake. As a leader, you must discuss such things with the whole party and take their opinions. Call Jack, Lydia, and even Eris.]"
"You didn't have to pinch me that hard," Arad growled.
"[Who has the best insight into planning for this party?]"
"It's Jack," Arad grunted, "I know. I should have called him first," He stood, taking a deep breath.
"[Remember, communication first. The whole party must walk by the same plan to avoid unexpected actions. As if one member made a mistake, they could get everyone else killed.]"
Arad then heard someone call from outside the tent.
Jack brought the bear meat to Arad to store it before lunch. Aella looked at it, disgusted. She can handle seeing beef or chicken, but this one is too gamey and smelly.
"Doma wanted us to have a party meeting discussing how to get into the elf's kingdom. Can you call Lydia and Eris?" Arad looked at Jack with a smile.
"How about we leave it after lunch? You can't think straight with an empty belly, can you?" Jack smiled, "It would also give me time to process some things in my head,"
Arad nodded, "Of course, I was thinking the same way,"
***
After lunch, the meeting started inside Arad's tent, "So, why did you wake me up?"
Eris stared at Arad, yawning and rubbing her eyes.
"We need to plan forward. You're traveling with us, so Arad thinks you need to have a say in the matter," Aella growled at her, sneaking closer to Arad.
"[It was me who said that, and are you crawling closer?]" Doma's voice came from Arad's chest, causing Aella to gasp for a second, "I'm not,"
"I doubt the elves would attack us," Lydia looked at Arad, "I'm carrying a holy flag. That should stop you from attacking,"
Jack shook his head, "You can't expect other people to respect it, especially the elves,"
"I'm carrying the earth's mother flag. They would be fools to disrespect her flag," Lydia growled.
Arad looked at them with a smile, "There is something I wanted to discuss first. Doma says she can offer a fail-safe for us. We at least won't die,"
Jack looked at Arad, "Explain further,"
After Doma explained, Jack nodded, "I can understand that you will only protect us from death, but how will you do it?"
"[Arad, can I cast a spell?]"
"Do it,"
Arad's right hand moved on her own, the palm opened up, and the fingers pointed up. A white cube emerged out of nowhere. "I call this the sealed box. It's the item I used in the past to strip the elvish queen and hand her in the middle of her capital. I'm sure she would call all the soldiers to the capital to protect her if she saw it again."
"Won't that expose you?" Arad growled.
"[They were sold in mass in the elvish black market. A lot of people wanted to use it after me, so the elves have been tracking the illegal transport of it.]"
"So you're saying more people have it now, so it isn't nearly you the one attacking."
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