A Dwarf in the Great Forest
"A dwarf in the Great Forest?"
Even without considering the war between Elvenheim and Tertius that would erupt years from now, it was well-known that elves and dwarves didn't get along at this point in time. So why would a dwarf come to the Great Forest of all places? And that tree monster chasing after him was clearly...
"...an ent."
"An ent? You mean that's...?"
"Yes, spirits of the trees. What the hell did that dwarf do?"
The moment they grasped the situation, Tiny's group had no choice but to regard the dwarf with suspicion.
Thick trees four to five meters tall, their roots and branches morphing into legs and arms as they charged forward. The tree spirits commonly known as ents were beings used by a select few elite elf hunters as vanguards in place of warriors.
In other words, the dwarf being chased must have done something gravely wrong to the elves.
As if reading their thoughts, the dwarf—pumping his short legs furiously—bellowed at them as he approached.
"It's a misunderstanding! They're the ones misunderstanding me! Just because I'm a dwarf! Damn it!"
His words might be true, but Tiny's group had no reason to help him right now.
'Getting tangled up with elf rangers would complicate things.'
Tiny quietly drew his warhammer, intending to threaten the approaching dwarf. Seeing this, the dwarf's eyes widened in shock, and he shouted.
"Wh-what are you doing!? I'm an innocent dwarf!!"
"We'll know once we hear the other side."
As if in response, two arrows whistled past the dwarf's head.
"Argh! For real!"
The dwarf yelped in terror, but Tiny's eyes gleamed at the sight.
Elves renowned as master archers had been shooting like that for a while now.
'They're not trying to hit him?'
It seemed the elves' arrows were deliberately missing the dwarf.
"Eeeeek! Save the dwarf! Help me out here!"
So Tiny didn't stop the dwarf as he darted behind him for cover.
'What the hell is going on?'
To mediate the situation, he pulled out his best card.
"Wolrang!"
"Awooooooo!"
At Tiny's call, Wolrang appeared and let out a howl toward the darkening sky.
The response was perfect.
"A wolf spirit?!"
The sporadic arrows ceased, and...
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
...the massive tree giants halted a dozen meters from Tiny's group.
"A human spirit user... ha... "
A blue-haired elf peeked out from between the broad leaves sprouting from the tree giant's body.
"You're no merchant or hunter, so what brings you to the Great Forest...?"
The moment Tiny saw this, his eyes lit up.
'Hiding like that in the Great Forest?'
Concealing oneself in the branches of a tree spirit was a common tactic for elf spirit archers, but it was only used in open plains with nowhere to hide. Tree spirits were inherently slow compared to knights or monsters, so there was no need for such methods in a dense forest full of cover.
And they'd been deliberately missing their shots until now.
"You were just trying to chase this dwarf away."
"We asked first, human spirit user. The Great Forest is elven territory."
The elf's eyes sharpened as he spoke.
"Leave him to me."
Garen stepped forward.
"It's an honor to meet the children of the World Tree."
He naturally bowed, pressing his palms together at his sides, then traced a vertical line from his solar plexus to his forehead before straightening. Finally, he drew a horizontal line across his shoulders to complete the greeting.
The elf's eyes widened at the sight of a human knight performing the Blessing of the World Tree—a gesture rarely used even by elves these days.
And on top of that...
"We were en route to Elvenheim when we got caught up in this unwelcome mess."
He even produced a bundle of sky-blue hair from his pocket.
The elf's expression changed upon seeing it, and he leaped down from the spirit's branches.
"A token of friendship... This aura—it's Haruel's. My apologies."
'An aura from hair?'
Tiny stared at the elf in wonder as he touched the sky-blue strands. The elf's guarded face had softened into a warm smile.
"A wolf spirit user and a knight bearing a friend's token—we must extend our hospitality. Welcome to the Great Forest."
It felt a bit off to be welcomed to the perilous Great Forest rather than Elvenheim itself, but Garen smiled as if he'd expected it and asked,
"Then, could you explain what happened here?"
The answer came from waist height behind them.
"It's a misunderstanding! I just attacked thinking it was a monster that popped out...!"
The urgent voice belonged to the dwarf.
According to him...
"You were camping with a human merchant caravan heading to Elvenheim, spotted a tree monster on night watch, and attacked it?"
"Yeah! That's it! Who wouldn't be startled?!"
The dwarf protested his innocence, but...
"That dwarf unleashed a massive blaze of magic fire, forcibly unsummoning one of our spirits. One of our comrades was badly injured as a result."
"I-I said I was sorry!"
"Possessing a fire-based magic weapon in the Great Forest is warning enough. When we tried to confiscate it, he refused—so we were just chasing him off."
Following the elf's gaze, Tiny spotted a thick gauntlet-like device on the dwarf's arm.
'An artifact?'
It looked like more than just a gauntlet, with a protruding barrel at the wrist.
"The hand cannon's my masterpiece! What if you take it and don't give it back?! Everyone knows elves and dwarves don't get along!"
'If you know that, why were you heading to Elvenheim?'
Tiny wanted to point that out but latched onto something else the dwarf had said.
"You called it a misunderstanding earlier? Where's the misunderstanding here?"
"I-I mean... assuming I'd harm the forest was the misunderstanding! I never intended that!"
'Pretty brazen...'
As Tiny narrowed his eyes, the dwarf flinched and averted his gaze, looking just like a naughty kid facing scolding parents. And without a beard—unusual for a male dwarf—he seemed downright childlike.
Tiny sighed unwittingly, and the dwarf, glancing away, suddenly spotted the warhammer in Tiny's hand. His eyes widened.
"Wha—? Stamp?!"
Tiny flinched.
"What?"
"Th-that's the one I made!"
"What?!"
"The weapon I left at my dad's place! Stamp! My dad, Rendol! Right?!"
"So you're..."
"Grandal! The guy who made that hammer. So help me out here!"
Tiny couldn't help but be dumbfounded by the coincidental connection.
In the end...
"...We're a bit bewildered ourselves, but since he seems connected to us, we can't just stand by. Is there no room for leniency?"
Garen stepped in again. The elf frowned slightly and took a step back.
"If you bear a friend's token, we can trust you. But we need his oath never to use that weapon again."
"Of, of course! Absolutely! I just need to get my stuff in Elvenheim!"
Grandal's emphatic assurances only made him seem less trustworthy, but...
"...We'll trust you."
"Thank you for your mercy."
The elves glanced at Garen's face and withdrew.
Right after...
"Phew, that was close. Th-thanks, humans."
Grandal sighed in relief and offered thanks, but...
"No problem, hm?"
Numerous footsteps approached from the direction the elves had vanished.
'The elves lied?'
Startled, Tiny whipped around to face them.
"—Light over there!"
"—No elves in sight!"
"—Lord Grandal! Are you safe!?"
A group arrived, pulling five large wagons—clearly a merchant caravan.
Soon, an elderly merchant from the lead wagon approached through the torchlight.
"Oh, Lord Grandal! You're safe. My apologies—we couldn't afford to pick a fight with the elves..."
"Nah, nah. I get it. Thanks for following me."
The old merchant's formal speech contrasted with the childlike dwarf's casual tone. But dwarves, long-lived at 400-500 years, weren't considered adults until 150, so it wasn't so strange once you knew.
And behind them...
"What? Just the two of them in the Great Forest?"
"Impressive."
"A human with a wolf, no less..."
The caravan's guards or mercenaries whispered, eyeing Tiny and Garen.
In that moment...
'That aura feels familiar.'
"Huh?"
Garen nudged Tiny's shoulder as he tilted his head at the old merchant, pointing to the caravan's flag.
"An eagle?"
Tiny tilted his head again at the emblem. The flag marked the caravan as under noble patronage, and an eagle pointed to only one house in the Aslan Empire.
And then...
"My benefactors who saved me. Introduce yourselves to the caravan master. You guys know them too, right? It's the territory caravan where my dad's at?"
Grandal's words confirmed it.
"As I thought..."
Decisively...
"It's been a while, Sir Tiny."
The stranger greeted him familiarly.
"Who...?"
Woof!
The moment Wolrang transmitted the old man's info, he flung back his traveler's robe, revealing a black eagle badge.
"It's me, Merchant Jay. Quite hurtful that you don't remember."
Blackwing's true leader, Jay, stood before him disguised as an old man.
* * *
"So you prepared a caravan right after Carun?"
"Didn't you hear? I thought you knew."
Jay countered Tiny's incredulous look with one of his own.
Then...
—After Carun, head to Elvenheim. I'll arrange a way in somehow.
Tiny recalled the Sword Emperor's words from before the palace disaster in Carun.
"That was about this? Why didn't that guy explain properly? And you made a whole caravan for this?"
If the Sword Emperor heard, he'd probably say, 'Why repeat myself? Blame your thick skull.'
Luckily, Jay flashed a rotten grin but answered politely.
"Not made—we're borrowing an existing caravan's name. The goods are all real. Traversing the continent end to end... what a pain."
Tiny guiltily averted his eyes from Jay's glare.
But a question lingered.
"How do you plan to get into Elvenheim?"
"We can't enter, but we can trade. Elves love human necessities."
"And that gathers intel?"
"Just seeing what they need and how much reveals their internal situation. There's a human merchants' rest area outside Elvenheim—gathering info's easy."
Tiny couldn't help but look at Jay with newfound admiration. He didn't grasp reading situations from sales exactly, but the confidence was palpable.
"...What can't you do?"
"Fight."
Tiny chuckled at the unexpected reply, delivered as if it were obvious. He could only raise his hands and nod.
Of course, one puzzle remained unsolved.
"By the way, where'd you pick up that dwarf Grandal? What's a dwarf got in Elvenheim?"
Elves traded with all great races except dwarves. Wood-burners and mountain-miners versus gardeners and sentinels—they were natural enemies.
A dwarf heading there wouldn't end well.
Yet...
"We met him just before entering the Great Forest. He's wandering the world gathering materials for the ultimate weapon. With ties to Lord Rendol, I couldn't ignore him."
"What?"
Tiny couldn't help but laugh at the absurd explanation.