As I looked at the twelfth princess, I took a bite, and I thought for a moment while chewing until I was done. "Why do you need it? Answer me this, and I will think about trading." I said. I knew if the royal family was looking for it, there were two significant reasons. One, they needed it badly. Two, they didn't want others to have it.
If this Scroll and its powers were real, this could be the downfall of any Empire or the prosperity of an Empire. "HUMAN!" One of the female archers yelled out. "That's enough." She said towards the one who spoke.
"You should know what is going on with our Empire." She said, looking at me, confused as I chuckled.
"I am not from this world, as you can tell from my clothes and the weapon I use. I am no fool to think you aren't trying to find out who I am or where I am from. You have been looking all over my body with intrigue, so it shows me that you have never seen this stuff before." I said.
My words made her nod for a moment as she spoke. "In the past, some people from other worlds have popped up from time to time, as the goddesses that rule this world are very sporadic in their natures. That explains why you didn't know the human tongue. I thought that was odd." She said before sighing.
Luthien was now in a tough spot; the legends of the past said people from other worlds are either weaker or way stronger than the people of their world. So she needed to make the trade worthwhile for this man, as she thought for a moment and started to speak.
"Then I shall tell you what is happening to my Empire, sir?" She said, remembering she didn't get my name.
"It's John Colt, but you can call me Colt," I said, waving her off as I took a bite of the fish. Some of the Elves were about to speak as she spoke up.
"He isn't from our world, so we can't expect him to follow our customs." She said, shutting the others up. This made me raise an eyebrow. She seemed to be a good ruler so far. I had a better image of her now, as she didn't expect me to follow customs and courtesies.
"Sir Colt, my Empire has been attacked on three sides. These are all run by humans, as they are the race with the most breeding ability other than monsters. Right now, they have waged war on us." She said, grabbing the edge of her cloak, and a look of pain crossed her face, thinking about the image of one of her sisters.
"I can guess the war is for one of three reasons, which most wars are fought for. The first one is for regional power; they see your Empire as a threat and want to destroy it. The second is that your Empire has the resources it needs. And the third one is for slaves. These are the only reasons wars happen." I said, making them shiver at the last one.
"I can see why they want to enslave you; you ladies would be considered the most beautiful back on my world, so I wager it is the same here." My words made the princess nod.
"The three Empires have one of those reasons as their major one, while having the others as secondary goals. I want the Scroll so we can have the goddess stop the invasion by divine force and prevent them from attacking us. We have already lost 40% of our kind to death or enslavement. I can't watch it anymore." She said, tears flowing down her cheeks, making me sigh.
My mind started debating. I wanted to get Tina back. But one person doesn't matter to the thousands or even hundreds of thousands of elves suffering right now. The moral struggle raging inside me finally made me speak after a few minutes.
"Do you have a way to bring back the dead?" I asked, making the women look at each other, so that was what the grave was they found. "We don't have an object that can bring them back, but we do know of an artifact and where it rests that can." The Princess responded.
"What is this Artifact called, and where is it?" I asked.
"It's called the Coffin of rebirth, it's a solid stone and gold Coffin in the land of the dead." She said.
"How does it work?" I asked her, so I knew what needed to be done.
"You drop blood or hair into it and speak the person's name. It is said that they would be reborn. But the place is filled with powerful undead, and that's before you make it inside the temple. Where they say even stronger beings live." She finished telling me.
"I am willing to trade with you, but I need three things from you. One, I need your help finding people who have washed up on this land. Two, please give them and me a safe place to live in your Empire. The Third one, I need a map to the location." As I finished speaking, I let her think about it.
"I agree to those terms. Do you want to sign a divine contract?" She said as an Elve shuts out. "YOU CAN'T, PRINCESS!" This elven woman had a sword and not a bow.
"Arwen, mind your place." She said as I looked confused.
"A divine contract is a contract you must hold up to or be killed." She said. Now I knew why the other elve didn't want her to do it; any loyal person wouldn't want them to risk death on a deal. But why would she go this far?
"May I ask why you would put your life on the line?" I said, looking at her with respect, and I liked her, which is hard for me to like anyone.
"Two reasons, the first one is I believe you would want something to make sure I didn't betray you. And the second one is that people who come from different worlds tend to be really weak or godly strong. I wanted to make sure that I showed you I was someone who could be trusted." She said.
Her words put her in high regard with me as I nodded. "I would like to do the contract with you, Princess Luthien," I said, bowing slightly. She has earned my respect by being honest and up front with me. She smiled and pulled out a paper, cutting her hand as she spoke.
"I, Princess Luthien, will honor the three desires of John Colt. By helping him find the people he is looking for, giving them and him a place to live within my Empire, and giving him a map to the Coffin of Rebirth. In return for the 'Gift of the Goddess Alune'." She said as her blood imprinted onto the paper. I pulled out the Scroll I had in my hand and handed it to her.
The moment the Scroll touched her hand, the back of my hand started to glow a bright rainbow color before dying down as a tree with a rainbow light shone on the back of my hand. And the contract burst into light as it entered the Princess's chest. But everyone was just looking at my hand before dropping to one knee.
Even the Princess was bowing, but wasn't on her knee. "What is this?" I asked, knowing it was important.
"That is the blessing of Alune, the goddess of the Elven people. She rarely blesses Elves and has never blessed a human before." The Princess said, her head down, before speaking again.
"We hold people, blessed by our creator, in high standing. I will make sure to report this back to my mother, Sir John Colt. You are welcome in any Elven kingdom or Empire around this world with the crest alone." She said, raising her head with a gentle smile.
I looked at my screen and froze for a minute. All my stats went up by 100, and my intellect went up by 300. Did I deserve such a gift? All I did was make a deal?
"Princess, you don't need to address me as Sir. Just Colt is fine. And can you ladies not kneel and bow? I am not used to that." I said, making the elves lift their heads and look around, before the Princess stood up.
"Then call me, Luthien. I will leave, Arwen, and five others with you so you can look for the people you desire. I must make haste back to the temple as my people need it." She said.
I nodded, now realizing that, once she had the Scroll and could save her people, she would be in a hurry as she turned to her closest friend. "Arwen, help him with everything you have." She said as her friend bowed.
"Leave it to me, Princess," Arwen said. I looked at her and realized she almost matched the Princess's looks. She had red hair in a ponytail and green eyes, while the Princess had blonde hair and blue eyes.
I looked at the storage list. I had cut off some of Tina's hair so I could have something to remember her by. Lucky I did that, or I would have to go back and dig her up, and I couldn't find it in me to do so.
"Sir Colt? Where to?" Arwen said, making me look at her.
"We will follow the beach. I have only been in this world for at most a day now. Anyone who washed up on shore shouldn't have left it." I said, making the ladies nod. We set off, as I looked at my hand. Does that mean that Alune is watching me?