The elf had given up. He sat on the ground, staring blankly at the animal trap clamped hard around his foot, without moving.
In theory, he ought to have been strong enough to force it open. He hadn't even tried.
The miserable fight and the shame of being caught in a trap had left his mind blank.
It was summer. Even though Duskwood was cooler than most places, ice couldn't last long against a dwarf's hot skin.
Gred soon broke free of the spell. He slung his sword onto his back, pulled the short knife out of the ground, picked up his small shield and strapped it to his arm, then swaggered up to the elf.
The elf looked up at him dully. "Cut off my head and hang it over one of your ridiculous little fireplaces. Maybe it'll earn you some respect in the dwarf holes of Loch Modan."
"I'm a Wildhammer dwarf, pretty boy." Gred couldn't hold back another couple of laughs at the sight of him, then crouched to cut the herbs.
As he worked, he muttered, "But I do like how you describe the Bronzebeards. Well done."
"Whatever. Bronzebeard, Wildhammer—who cares? You're probably the only ones who bother keeping track of it so carefully, huh?" the elf shouted. Then he lowered his head and muttered, "Damn, that hurts."
"Give me your sword," Gred said, holding a freshly cut bundle of Kingsblood.
"You've already got it."
"The other one."
The elf reluctantly handed over his long blade. Gred weighed it in his hand. "This could sell for a dozen silver or so."
Not far away, Jess picked up the travel bag the elf had dropped and opened it. What he found surprised him.
There weren't many herbs inside, but they were valuable: some Kingsblood, Briarthorn, a little Grave Moss in a small pouch, and even a vine-like herb he'd never seen before. It might be Earthroot, but Jess couldn't tell without comparing it to his scroll.
There were also four glass bottles containing potions of different colors. He took them out, intending to open them and smell them. Then he remembered that with his limited knowledge of alchemy, he probably wouldn't learn anything from the smell. Better leave them closed, in case something evaporated.
Another little cloth bag held some biscuits and cheese. Jess couldn't resist breaking off a piece of biscuit to taste. It was a little salty, with a rich spice flavor. After eating it, he felt refreshed, as if quite a bit of his exhausted strength had returned.
The cheese tasted like raspberries. Since arriving in this world, he'd never eaten anything so close to the flavor of ice cream.
So this was the kind of snack elves made? His stomach had been won over at once.
He couldn't bring himself to eat it all. Instead, he lifted the bag and went over to Gred.
"This should be worth quite a bit. We might get forty or fifty silver coins out of this trip."
Gred waved the two blades in his hands. "These will bring in some money, too."
"So you're bandits after all?" The elf looked at them sideways. "The humans have taken Stormwind back. You could head north and find yourselves honest work."
"We're not bandits. This is self-defense. Don't forget you started it," Jess said. "We're taking your things as compensation for our injuries. And we're taking your weapons so you don't come after us and kill us."
He glanced at the bow on the elf's back. "Gred, shouldn't we take that too?"
"I almost forgot," Gred said. "But how's he supposed to deal with wolves without it?"
"Leave him two arrows. Elven arrows are sturdy enough to work as makeshift daggers, right?"
Gred chuckled as he took the bow off the elf.
The elf stared at him without saying a word, silently accepting what was happening.
Jess kept searching through the bag and found a box wrapped in a beautifully made silk pouch.
When he took the box out, the elf blinked without meaning to. He seemed to be trying very hard not to look at it.
Jess opened it. Inside was a necklace holding a beautiful gem, somewhere between gold and green in color.
"What's this?" he asked the elf.
"A cat's-eye gemstone," the elf said. "I can see you two aren't rich. You're willing to risk your lives for a little money. Just take it and go."
"Is the necklace yours, or did you steal it?" Jess asked.
"Why would I steal someone else's necklace?" the elf said. "Do I look like I'm short on money?"
Gred glanced at Jess. "This brat really is asking for another beating."
"A lady gave it to me as a charm to keep me safe," the elf said. "Take it. If you spare my life in exchange for it, then the charm will have done its job, and I won't have let her down."
Hearing that, Jess suddenly lost all interest in taking it.
"Well..." He hesitated.
"Leave it with him," Gred said, clicking his tongue. "Let him have something to think about in this darkness. That way he won't be quite so lonely and pathetic when he dies."
Jess tossed the necklace beside the elf's feet. "We're keeping the box. You can keep the necklace."
The elf picked it up and held it tightly. After a pause, he looked at Jess.
"Human, you're a warlock, aren't you?"
"Huh?" Jess asked. "Why do you say that?"
"You tried to cast a spell at me. You looked like a warlock. Don't worry. We're not that hostile to people who practice shadow magic. I only wanted to tell you something. Yesterday, at an abandoned human farm to the south, I found an orc warlock hiding there. After I killed him, I didn't touch his belongings. There's a tall mill on that farm. Its windmill has only one blade left, so you can spot it from far away. Very distinctive. If you have time, you can go there and look for anything you might need. That necklace means a lot to me. Consider the information my thanks for letting me keep it."
"It's probably around three in the afternoon now. If you leave right away and move quickly, you should be able to reach the farm and get back to Raven Hill before dark. Assuming that's where you came from."
Gred whispered, "That warlock might have Grave Moss or Kingsblood. Those are both tied to shadow magic. Worth a look."
Jess nodded. His head was already full of books about demons and dark magic. What if the warlock had some secret magical treasure? Wouldn't that be a huge leap forward for him?
"You two can go," the elf said. "Once I've rested and got some strength back, I can open the trap myself."
"We should leave you a weapon to defend yourself."
Gred looked at the two elven blades, ready to set one down. But the elf promptly pulled three daggers and short swords of different sizes from his belt.
"No need."
"Fine, then."
Gred tucked the blades into his belt, strapped the quiver on his back, put the bow over his shoulder, and said, "Let's go."
"One more thing," the elf said. "There's a pink potion in the bag. Leave me that one."
"Pink?" Gred asked as Jess took out the bottle. "Is that a restoration potion?"
"That's right," the elf said. "You wouldn't want your ally from Quel'Thalas limping along until wolves catch and eat him, would you?"
"Ally? Pah!" Gred spat.
The elf laughed.