The Dive: Birth of a Wordsmith (19 page)

I sighed, shaking my head.
“I see.. I think I know what has happened. If you would allow
me to explain?” When he nodded, I began. “The first group
were young ones out on their first hunt. Since the village they are
from cannot sustain themselves on merely their fields, they rely on
meat from the forest. When the young become a certain age, they
undergo a rite of passage where they are sent into these woods
together on a hunt. I think that, because they were so inexperienced,
the animals were easily able to detect their presence. That’s
why they were so restless.”

“
And the reason for
their attack?”

“
The villagers do
not know that elves live in these woods. At least, not completely.
The one I spoke with said that there were hunter spirits, which I
believe refer to your clan. When your group appeared to investigate
the disturbance, I believe that they surprised the young hunters.
And, because they are not old enough to know better, they assumed you
were humans. To them, other humans appearing in what they perceive as
their lands would be an act of aggression. So, when your group did
not speak to them, because we speak different tongues, they assumed
you were hostile. As I said, they are but children.”

“
Then explain the
ones who came later.”

“
That is actually
the easiest part about all of this. They were the veteran hunters
from the village, who were sent to find out why their young had not
returned. Like you said, they were dressed the same and followed the
same path, so this time you assumed that they were hostile.”

“
I see.. Tell me,
this spell that you use, to communicate with us. Would you be able to
use it on one of them, as well? I would like to question them without
your presence. As you seem to be a third party, I can trust that you
have not spoken with them before.”

“
I understand. You
want to get their story without the chance for me to tell them what
to say, correct?” I smiled to him, and he nodded.

“
As you say. You are
strangers to this land, and the value of your word reflects as such.
Dariel will escort you to where they are being held, and will observe
you casting the spell. She will act as your escort while you are
here. Perhaps you could even instruct her in the spell’s use,
as she is one of our shamans.”

“
I will do my best
to do that as soon as my duties are complete, sir.”

He nodded, waving a hand
to dismiss us, and the elf woman--Dariel, apparently-- led us out.
“If what you say is true, then it seems both of our people have
misunderstood the other.”

I nodded to her, following
behind with Denise. “Agreed. And I’d say that the main
reason would be a lack of ability to communicate. If you wouldn’t
mind, I would actually like to teach you the spell when we are done.
I’ve also got a few questions for you, as well. Needless to
say, this is my first time meeting an elf.”

She looked back at us and
smirked. “And yet you know our city as if you lived here.
Perhaps I have questions for you as well, stranger.”

“
Jin.”

“
Pardon?”

“
My name. Stranger
is… well I’d rather be called by my name.”

“
Very well, Jin. I
am Dariel Vinehaven. And, may I ask your companion’s name?”

Denise smiled to the
woman. “I’m Denise. A pleasure to meet you. Your city
really is beautiful, you know?”

“
Thank you. You are
our first guests in many decades.”

“
So you haven’t
had.. new elves appearing?” I asked, trying to find a way to
approach the subject.

“
I’m afraid I
don’t get your meaning.”

Thankfully, Denise took
over. “Some of the human cities over the last couple of months
have had people, foreigners we call them, appearing in the center of
town with neither knowledge or wealth of our world. I believe Jin was
asking if this place was the same.”

Dariel shook her head,
“No, though I can not speak for other elf clans. Even among our
own kind, we have been isolated too long. Maybe your arrival is a
sign that we need to change, and embrace the world rather than hide
from it.”

I nodded, “That
would be nice. If your clan could form a peace with the human village
beyond your woods, then it would be a good start.”

“
I agree. But there
are those even among the elves who thirst for battle. For a peace to
be possible, first the humans must support your story.” She
finally brought us to another hollowed tree far away from the others,
though this one was the only one with something like a door. Forming
a criss-cross pattern like the bars of a jail cell, thick wooden
branches served as a gate for this tree. Not only that, but the
‘bars’ were wrapped in thorned vines. Inside, I could see
at least a dozen humans, mostly male, ranging in age from teenagers
to men in their prime. “These are the humans we have captured.
Please, perform your spell.”

“
Is it alright if I
use the incantation? I don’t want to risk you thinking I am
attempting something, but at the same time I’d have the spell
as strong as it could be to prevent errors in translation.”

She nodded. “Very
well. I am versed enough in the arts to know if your actions are
false. You may proceed.”

“
Alright.” I
pulled out my grimoire and flipped it open to the page with the
spell. “Sorry, new spell so I had to look up the incantation.”
I smiled sheepishly to Dariel, and she shook her head with a slight
smile. “Okay, here we go… In writ and spoke, in law and
deed, let language flow from silver tongue. Tongues.” I pointed
at a man near the front of the cage who seemed to be the least angry
at our arrival, and then nodded to Dariel, who approached the tree.

“
Hunter, can you
understand me now?” She asked curiously. Perhaps she wanted to
make sure the spell worked first.

Either way, the hunter
blinked. “You can talk? And you speak our tongue.”

Dariel nodded to me,
satisfied. “Thank you, it appears that the spell works.”
She waved towards an elf on a nearby platform, and then looked at the
hunter again. “One of my people will be here to talk to you in
a moment. Please answer his questions honestly. I truly hope that
this will be resolved.”

The hunter nodded, and
Dariel turned to us again. “And now, we must go. Since I am
your escort, I will show you to my habitat. There, we may ask each
other our questions.”

Denise giggled a bit,
likely thinking about how her and I first met, but I nodded to her.
“Please, lead the way.”

Chapter
9

After returning to
Dariel’s habitat, which was another hollowed out tree without a
door that held a comfortable looking bed and a few wooden chairs, she
immediately asked me to explain how I was able to know their city so
well.

“
You see, the
foreigners we asked about earlier? After coming to this world, they
are able to learn some unusual abilities over time. In my case, I am
able to navigate cities. Not entirely useful for an adventurer who
spends most of his time outside, though, is it?” I smiled to
her.

“
No, I can see how
it wouldn’t be.. So, you are a foreigner? But, you said they
have only been appearing for a couple months. Does that mean that
human magic has advanced to the point where one can become so skilled
in such a brief period?”

I shook my head to her.
“Not at all. Most children train for years. Another quality
about foreigners is that our abilities grow at a faster rate. I’ve
also learned that this can be shared with someone from this world.”
Dariel’s eyes grew wide as saucers at that. “Ah, sorry,
let me explain. Denise here is from this world. But after meeting,
the two of us became good friends, and she decided to join me on my
adventure. At that point, her abilities began growing as mine did. I
think it would take genuine loyalty to form a bond like that.”

“
I see.” She
smiled and looked to Denise. “You are quite fortunate.”

“
You have no idea…
Adventuring has always been my dream.”

I nodded, and then
remembered something. “Oh, right, I should teach you that
spell. It’s not really complicated, since it was something I
made on the spot, but it should prove helpful to all of you.” I
took out a parchment and pen, and began writing out the details of
the spell that came to me through my Magical Knowledge and Spell
Knowledge skills. After I finished, I handed the page to Dariel, and
she looked it over.

“
I see.. It really
has been too long since we embraced the outside. Our understanding of
runes has become limited to those of nature.”

“
Well, that’s
one of the reasons I was looking for an elf clan, actually. I was
hoping that I might be able to learn your Nature magic.”

That got a surprised blink
from her, and she looked up at me. “You wish to know the magic
of the elves?”

“
I do. I am not like
most foreigners, you see. Due to circumstances I can’t explain,
I am unable to return to my world. As such, I need every bit of
knowledge that I can get in order to survive here.”

She slowly nodded to me.
“I see. Very well, I will prepare one of our beginner tomes. If
your story with the humans turns out to be true, I will grant it to
you as a reward. Is that alright?”

I nodded, and smiled
weakly. “No point in giving it to me before I know if I’m
going to see the next sunrise or not. Though, personally, I hope that
I was right.”

“
As do I, Jin. I do
not want our clan to embrace the world in an act of war. If we come
out, I want it to be with peace.”

“
I understand. I
hope you can accomplish this. Now, may I ask for something else?”

“
You may ask, though
whether we can grant it will depend on the request.”

“
Of course. Denise
here is an archer, but her bow is not capable of displaying her full
skills. I have heard that the elves are the best archers of the land,
and was hoping we might trade for one such bow.”

Dariel grinned slyly to
me. “You certainly do ask for a lot, don’t you?”

“
I merely wish to be
able to trade. If we have anything of value to you, we will share it.
In fact… I think I may know of something that would be
valuable enough to purchase a good bow..” I smiled, and she
tilted her head curiously. “In order to graduate as a human
mage, we must perform a feat of magic that none before us have
accomplished. That means that I know a spell that nobody else in the
world can use. If I teach it to you, would that be sufficient?”

Denise blinked, and then
grinned, and Dariel’s eyes grew wide again. “That would
depend.. What form of spell is it?”

“
It is my own
creation, down to the rune that was used. This spell allows you to
recast an existing spell as a new one. Hmm, let me give an example.
As a summoner, I am capable of merging two or more of my creatures
into something new. If I were to use this spell, I could then take
that hybrid, and split it into its component creatures by changing it
to a basic summoning, or vice versa. I could also turn one elemental
spell into another, without the need to fully cast the new spell.”

“
Pardon my
suspicion, but what is the benefit of altering the spell instead of
simply casting a new one?”

“
Well, first of all,
the cost of the magic used is reduced. If the first spell I cast has
a greater cost than what I wish it to become, then I do not have to
expend any of my own energy to cast the second spell. And if it is
the other way around, I merely have to pay the difference.”

“
I see… that
would certainly be useful in a prolonged battle, allowing one to
conserve their energy without restricting their ability.”

“
My thoughts
exactly. I hope to expand this spell later to learn more uses as
well, but for now this is the only use I have for it.”

“
And you said you
created this rune yourself? That is not a simple task.”

“
Yeah, well…
I was very determined. For the humans, you only have one chance to
become a mage. If what you create is not truly unique, you are
forbidden from trying again.”

“
Oh my.. there must
not be very many such mages among the humans... “

“
There truly aren’t.
And most of those who graduate stay in the college as instructors.
Typically the answer to the test is to create a spell that requires
specific circumstances to cast. But, as I had no wealth to purchase
rare materials, or time to wait for a rare celestial event, my
options were limited.”

“
I am curious.. what
is to stop one from leaving the college without taking the final
test, and simply claiming they are a full mage?”

“
Ah, about that.”
I pulled out my grimoire again, and Denise’s eyes went wide.
“This is a present granted to those who pass the final test. A
magical tome that automatically records all spells the user gains,
and can increase their ability.”

“
I do believe it can
do more than that… may I?” She held a hand out for the
book, and I blinked a bit before handing it over.