CHAPTER 117 There’s Mia Now

CHAPTER 117

There’s Mia Now

Rufus

The only thing that made marching through the Hollow bearable was the fact that being commander general was noticeable enough for people to give me space. There were more than just elves in the Hollow today, and the rest of the forest visitors were respectful of my title.

Otherwise, it would have been impossible. As it stood, I was merely uncomfortable.

I smiled at the crowd and nodded my thanks as people parted for us.

I’d missed Brownie’s performance while meeting up with the Dark Horde, and currently, there was a band of pixies playing flutes while five elven women performed a dance with flower vine whips.

The Green Oak Dungeon had a half-moon circle platform around the door where adventurers stood waiting for their turn to face the dungeon. I deliberately walked onto the platform to wait, granting me that extra separation from the crowd below. The willpower it took to ignore my notification tab and experience the full smell, taste, and sound of two hundred people with my [Keen Senses] was a nightmare.

“Mistress Puma.” I waved at the pulsing gate. “Do you think you could identify our poisoner when she comes through?”

The beastwoman straightened. “I can.”

“Then we will wait.”

It was a half hour standing with the rest. Three times the gate shimmered with a bright green light and a party exited onto the platform, but Mistress Puma shook her head each time. It wasn’t the party with three human mages, an elf paladin, and a ratkin sword fighter. And it wasn’t the party of two wolf beastmen, a human healer, and an older elf porter. The third party, all elven adventurers from Sumbria if I judged them correctly by their cuff buttons, also had an elven porter.

I hailed one of the parties that were waiting for their turn. The leader, a preela with a greatsword at the ready, also had a porter waiting at the back of their party. “Excuse me, but are there porters for hire around here?”

“Yes, Commander General.” The preela bowed politely. “There are a few still standing by the dungeon registry.” The preela pointed through the crowd to where a table was set up under a shade with three Hollow elves manning it. To the left stood two elves with packs under a sign that read “Porters for Hire.”

I coughed. “Thank you.”

The porter who was now hiding at the back of the party looked at me with trepidation. I tried to approach the elf gently. “You’re from the Hollow, yes?”

“I am already hired!” the elf squeaked, waving his hands in front of his chest and sending glances to the preela, begging for help. I sighed. This happened sometimes; whether a proud elf or a stalwart lizardkin, when faced with my title, they panicked and made assumptions. At least I knew to be patient.

“I do not need a porter,” I reassured him. “I just have a question.”

The elf relaxed a bit. “Alright. How can I help the commander general?”

“I’m looking for a porter named Mia?” I stabbed my thumb over my shoulder at the gate. “I’m just wondering if she’s still inside?”

“She is!” The elf nodded. “She’s with the Star Striker party. They have two front liners, Jerry and Mitch, and a vanguard named Paul. Their healer is a catkin named Nolan, and they have a lilith named Lily.”

“Thank you,” I said, expecting that to be the extent. I wasn’t prepared for the elf to keep going.

“Jerry is an elf for the Yarrow clan, and he specializes in tanking. His primary focus is …”

The elf kept talking while I stood there, awkwardly trying to find a pause in the conversation that would let me politely escape. Porters, on top of being carriers for dungeon loot, sometimes acted as dungeon guides. They memorized floor plans and spawn times, and which creature was weak to which attack. They also kept track of the parties’ strengths and weaknesses, experience points, loot division, and mana and health, often standing in as the healer if a party didn’t have one, or taking care of the healer if they did.

Finally, the elf himself saved me by pointing over my shoulder. “… and he will buy every crinkle dewdrop you find—Ah, there’s Mia now.”

I spun in place, and Mistress Puma was immediately by my side, activating some skill or perk on the thread she’d picked up in the forest. It glowed faintly and lifted into the air, pointing at the party that had just come through the dungeon gate .

They were laughing and full of comradery, an elven paladin patting an elven fighter on the shoulder and saying something that made the two smile brighter. There was another elf, and the catkin and lilith, and coming in from behind was a small elf porter.

To my shock, Mia appeared to be only twelve years old. Her green skin was a softer shade, like a pastel, and her short dark-brown hair was puffier than Queen Henrietta’s, if that were possible. The young girl was wearing a thigh-length green dress, with the fashionable cut of the skirt imitating a leaf, and tight leggings tucked into sturdy boots. Mia smiled at something the lilith said, pushing her wide circle-frame glasses up her nose. I couldn’t see what color her eyes were, as the sun glinted off of the overly large frames.

She was easily carrying a pack four times her own size on her back.

Mistress Puma stepped forward toward the girl, and the light of the thread got brighter. The leader of the group, the paladin Jerry, immediately noticed Puma’s approach. He stepped between the frowning beastwoman and the porter, a pretend smile on his face.

“Excuse me, but my porter is not available right now. We have yet to sort our loot, and I would appreciate it if you gave her some space.”

“What? No—” Mistress Puma began.

Jerry cut her off, pointing toward the registry booth. “You may find your own porter over there. Good day.”

I also stepped forward. With our conversation now drawing everyone’s attention, I felt the stares and the sweat running down my back.

“We are not looking for a porter,” I announced, calmly and only loud enough for the group or anyone with a skill to hear. “We are here to detain Mia for questioning, under orders.”

Jerry frowned and shifted his weight so that he was fully blocking the young elf, who looked confused and terrified. “If you would detain a Hollow elf, I would ask that your king go through the proper channels. Duke Briarthorn can take her, or no one.”

It was a show of rebellion against the kingdom, but I did not hold it against the elf. The entire situation was unfortunate, and I was already going to look like the villain in the eyes of the insular elves.

“Party Leader Jerry Yarrow,” I announced, pulling out a magical writ and unrolling it for the elf to see the glowing signatures. “I am here on behalf of the Continental Council. Mia is coming with me.”

Jerry looked between me and the elf girl, and I could tell that even as I waved the magical sheet of paper in his face, he was still probably going to stand firm.

“It’s fine, Jerry,” a voice piped up behind me, and I turned to see Lady Amy walking up the stairs to the platform. “I will stay with Porter Mia and make sure she has a representative. ”

Bronwynn, Henrietta, and Gerda were at the bottom of the stairs, with my queen waving hello and my bard holding a bag of nuts. Gerda was saying something to the queen that made the human girl laugh.

“Then I will entrust her to you. Sorry, Mia.” Jerry took a step aside, and the lilith gently pushed the girl forward until she walked free of the party. The catkin man reached out for the pack when Mia unclipped her chest strap and let the bundle fall. The catkin caught the pack, and then promptly fell over, crushed under the weight of it. Jerry and another elf stepped forward to help.

“Please keep my herbs safe, Lily …” the girl begged, tears in her eyes, as Lady Amy took her by the arm and escorted her toward the palace.

Overhead, I spotted my missing partners in crime as two grimalcats momentarily blotted out the bright afternoon sun.