Awakening and Doubt (3)

"She's not lying. And as for the mark under her eye, it's a magic marking. The same thing that Merle has. I'm sure that you'll learna bout those soon in the future, dear."

I listen to Hewie and then scowl slightly. "Hey! Why do you always appear and disappear out of nowhere?!" I grumble quietly to myself and sigh before my attention is drawn towards Ellirith once more.

I contemplate how to answer her, although Hewie still bugs me a bit. 'How does she always appear at the right time? It's almost suspicious... As for Ellirith's request...'

"Fine, I'll help you. So, do you remember where she got kidnapped?" I ask her and put a hand on my hip, staring at her intently.

Now that I think about it, I don't even know where I am nor how this land looks like. I wouldn't know the place even if she told me the name... What a pain.

"I believe that it was somewhere around the outskirts of the Haunted Glade." She answers me, and I raise an eyebrow at the mention of Haunted Glade.

'What the heck is that? I don't think that I want to know why they named it the way they did...' I look at her with a small groan of annoyance.

"Do you have a map of the whole Elarion?" I ask her and wait for some sort of reply from her. "Does a map of Eldur suffice?" She asks me with a slightly surprised expression.

'Eldur...?' I stare at her for with an even more bewildered expression. "What's that?" I ask her dully as I tilt my head.

An awkward silence stretches on for about a minute before I hear Hewie laughing somewhere in the background, clearly enjoying my embarrassment. 'That damned bird... She didn't mention anything about Eldur!'

"Excuse me...?" Ellirith asks, completely dumbfounded at my question. I take a deep breath and repeat the question. "What is Eldur?" I realise that it sounds weird.

'I guess Eldur is something everyone knows... It's like I'm an alien in disguise asking someone what a pencil is.'

"Eldur is the continent that we live on..." Ellirith finally answers after snapping out of her shocked trance. Oh, I see... I must've sounded like a total idiot.

Poor lady, I feel kinda sorry for her that she has to talk to someone like me. But I can't just reveal that I'm not from this world! "I see. Thank you."

She nods and then goes to the altar, muttering something once more before a scroll appears on top of it. I observe curiously, wondering how she's summoning items however she wants.

"Thank you once again. The map is more than plenty." I say and give her a small bow as I take the map and open it. Uh, woah. I didn't expect this, to be honest. But it would be useful to keep it...

"I'm sorry to bother you once more, but is it possible to keep this map?" I try to be a bit more respectful now. I hope I sound respectful enough.

She gazes at the fountain and nods ever so slightly. "If it helps with the search, then sure." I'll see what I can do about her lost twin.

"Thank you. I'll use it well." I give her a nod and glance around. The force is still trying to push me out... However, I noticed that Ellirith doesn't seem affected. Why?

"But I have to ask..." I start, a bit hesitant to ask her about this. "What's this force that's trying to push me out?" I give her a curious look, which she repays with an unreadable one before she points somewhere.

"The whole village is protected by the forest guardians and ancient magic, so intruders aren't usually able to enter. This garden is under strict supervision specifically." She answers, and a small firefly flies above me.

"Now answe me this in return. How are you here despite not being recognised by the guardians?" She asks me with a serious expression, and I freeze on the spot. 'What...?'