Wolves of Hader

Chapter 58

"We're falling!"

"Uaaaah!"

Thud—Crash—

Rustle. Thump.

The metal structure and the elevator platform struck the forest simultaneously.

The elevator platform smashed into a large tree, and after that, I could barely think clearly.

The sky and ground flipped wildly. We collided and bounced around everywhere, then, with a heavy thud, the fall stopped.

When I finally came to my senses, I was lying in the grass. Above, I could see the elevator platform overturned and hanging from a tree.

Donnie and a few other members had somehow managed to cling to the branches, but the rest were nowhere to be seen.

"Is everyone okay?"

"We're safe!"

"We're fine, too!"

Cries from the Berserkers echoed from all directions.

As I raised my torso and looked around, I saw that the rest, like me, had fallen to the ground.

No one could get up immediately due to the shock, but it didn't seem like anyone was seriously hurt.

The trees had absorbed much of the impact, and everyone was wearing armor.

"Urendo!"

"I'm here!"

Urendo stood up amid the grass. From the way he scratched his head, it seemed he was amazed he had survived, too.

We all looked up at the long, overturned structure stuck in the treetops.

Everyone wore a look of disbelief. Who would have thought a Dran structure would end up like that?

Urendo glanced at my expression and spoke.

"Um... I'm just saying this so you don't get the wrong idea. That elevator hasn't been used in ages. We haven't had any reason to go over that mountain."

"Which way is the entrance?"

"Over there, that way."

"Let's go right away."

"Y- Yeah."

I gathered my belongings and sword again, then walked after Urendo. I was thankful no one had hurt their back.

Even thinking back, it was absurd. I must have had too much faith in the perfection of Dran construction and technology.

Truth be told, unless the elevator fell dangerously quickly, I never thought we would die.

Meanwhile, the air in the forest was warm. The fog covering the woods was also because this area was warmer than its surroundings.

"This forest isn't the village, is it?"

"Of course not. Dran villages are always underground, anywhere you go. This forest is where we cultivate food."

"Is there a volcano underground?"

"We couldn't live here if there was a volcano. We enchanted it with magic long ago."

"Do the Dran study magic, too?"

"Our tribe has been close to the Elin since ancient times. In fact, that's where all our magic knowledge comes from. We don't have elementals to help us create magic."

"What kinds of magic do you have?"

"The symbols of Eternal Flame and the Weight Reduction enchantment, more or less. Anything beyond that is confidential."

"What's the Eternal Flame?"

Urendo clamped his mouth shut, looking like he'd said too much. Maybe he thought we already knew that much.

Donnie answered instead.

"From what I've heard, it's an undying ancient flame. It can melt any mineral in the world, but it's somehow not hot at all."

"Is that right?"

Urendo didn't reply this time, either.

Anyway, with such magical tools, it was only natural that the Dran were different from human blacksmiths.

"Shh."

Urendo, who was leading us, stopped.

We stopped, too, keeping a vigilant watch ahead.

Tall bushes rustled in front of us, and Dran warriors began to emerge one by one.

There were nine of them, all carrying huge hammers and shields. One of them glanced at the bent structure behind us and spoke.

"Urendo. What happened?"

Urendo gave a sheepish grin.

"It looked sturdy, so I rode it with these folks... but it bent like nothing."

"That aside, didn't you know bringing outsiders here is forbidden?"

"I do. These people are customers who will buy Racrom. We won't go all the way to the entrance, so please summon the elders."

The Dran warrior who had spoken glanced over us, then whispered something to another Dran standing next to him.

That Dran immediately disappeared into the bush.

So we waited, though it was hardly a standoff.

The Dran seemed quite interested in our armor and weapons—it must have been a while since they'd seen human warriors.

About ten minutes passed.

It was a time when everyone simply stared at each other in silence. One Dran narrowed his eyes and looked toward the mountain peak.

So everyone looked in the same direction, but due to the dense forest, we couldn't see the top of the mountain.

Urendo asked,

"What's wrong?"

The Dran warrior just kept looking at the peak.

Something felt off.

"What's the matter, zyke?"

Finally, the warrior called Zyke spoke.

"They've come."

"They? Who?"

All the other warriors, except Urendo, had grave looks on their faces.

Then, Urendo seemed to realize who "they" were and looked at the mountain again.

"Really? Why did they come?"

"It's the first time in 24 years that they've come this far. There's no way they'll come down here... right?"

"If they do, it will be a disaster."

The Dran warriors stared up at the mountain, silent. Maybe there was a monster habitat in this range.

At that moment, the Dran commander glared at us.

"Humans have called them."

"These people?"

"If only one happened to come, that'd be another story. But if several come, it means humans have brought something ominous."

"No one among us is sick. We have no reason to harm you."

I finally stepped forward as well.

"What exactly has appeared?"

The commander didn't answer.

So I looked back at the peak, but I still saw nothing.

"Urendo, do you see anything?"

"I can't see anything, either."

Again, silence, only exchanging glances. There was a strange tense mood—like the eve before the arrival of a cold wave in thirty years.

After a while, no one spoke.

A group of Dran emerged from the bush. This time, about ten Dran with three elders at the lead.

As the elders arrived, all the Dran warriors bowed their heads. The approaching elders gave us a cursory glance, then stared at the mountain.

The elders, too, watched it in silence.

"This is no ordinary situation."

"Is an earthquake or a fissure happening?"

"I wonder. There weren't any signs."

Only then did the elder with the longest beard turn to us.

He looked over our armor, gauging our magic power, and seemed to recognize our weapons, too.

"Those are made by our people."

"That's correct."

The elder nodded.

He seemed less wary than the warriors.

"So, who is it among our kin?"

"It is Urald."

"Urald?"

The elders knew, but the warriors did not.

Another elder asked,

"How is that fellow doing?"

"He's doing well. He asked me to send his regards and said he would visit soon."

"We thought he'd never come again, but it seems he still misses his homeland."

The oldest elder spoke.

"If you're with Urald... are you perhaps from the Hader house?"

"That's correct."

"Oh!"

"So that's it!"

There were exclamations all around.

They looked surprised, but also happy. I had no idea why their reception changed so much.

"Hahaha! We feared disaster might come, but instead, it seems we've received a blessing. Now that I look closer, you do resemble Lord Hader. Is he well?"

"He has passed away."

This time, sighs could be heard.

"We're sorry. We didn't know."

"It's all right, elder."

The elders conversed quietly. It looked like something that had puzzled them was finally solved.

Now, they seemed to welcome us sincerely.

"Did you know my father well?"

"He visited our village several times. He'd always bring gifts, saying Urald had been a great help. I never expected his child would come here."

"Thank you for welcoming us."

"If you're from House Hader, of course we're glad. Ah, did you say you wanted to buy something?"

"Yes. We'd like to buy some Racrom this time, and hope to trade regularly in the future, too."

The elders exchanged joyous smiles. It wasn't just happiness about selling minerals.

There was something more.

"In truth, the only house we trust is the Hader house, so there's nothing better than selling to your family."

"Can we buy some now?"

"Why? Isn't it better to stay a few days first? There's a place in the forest for you to rest."

"We're short on time because we need to procure supplies and search for something else."

"Is that so?"

The elder looked at the mountain and nodded.

"I should have considered that. Then let's make the trade here and now. What do you need?"

"We'd like as much Racrom as we can carry. We also need some materials for Weight Reduction enchantments."

"Weight Reduction materials aren't usually traded... did Urald tell you to get them?"

"He did."

"Is that all?"

"And if you could prepare a transport device and build a path to the start of the mountain range, we'd reimburse you with what we have now and settle up the rest later."

The elder nodded gladly.

"Since I can confirm you're of the Hader bloodline, that's enough. Everyone, bring out the supplies he mentioned. And fetch the red talisman from my quarters."

"Yes, elder!"

The accompanying Dran disappeared back into the bush. The elders smiled kindly at me.

I truly hadn't expected things to go this smoothly. I hadn't known they were familiar with my house. Or that Father had come here.

The elders approached us. Their curiosity was evident—they finally started asking questions.

"Urald must have forged that sword?"

"Yes."

"May I take a look?"

"Please do."

I handed the greatsword that had been strapped to my back to the elder. The three elders each gasped softly in wonder.

"Amazing. Not just that the sword is huge, but also the unique properties of the material hidden within. The reinforcement stones embedded here are no ordinary substance, either."

"Where did you get these reinforcement stones?"

"I can't say just yet. If you want the material, we can procure it for you."

The elders nodded.

Then another elder asked,

"You seem to be accompanied by an elemental, which is quite astonishing. In my entire life, I've never heard of a human alongside an elemental."

"We are together because of a special bond."

"There might be something even deeper than that. Elementals never join with anyone except the Elin, after all."

Is there some hidden meaning behind those words?

The eldest elder changed the subject.

"Well then, if we're to trade regularly, we'll need to make a road. Where should we open the road?"

"We'd like a road from here to the eastern start of the southern mountain range. The best would be if we could load carts and go directly."

"The east side of the range? Wouldn't it be better to connect to the west if you want to reach your house directly?"

"In fact, we've moved to the eastern edge of the continent. Another house occupies our original territory."

"Ah, so something happened."

"That's right."

While we conversed, the Dran warriors brought the supplies we'd requested.

It was enough to fill the nine backpacks we each carried.

What we were offering for trade were gems.

We'd prepared these in case we ended up heading west—twenty ruby rough stones, and one large diamond.

When they saw the rubies, the Dran just nodded, but when they saw the diamond, their eyes and mouths widened at once. After all, it was the finest gem here, too.

"For now, please accept these. We'll pay separately for the road once it's made. Is that all right?"

"Of course. For a transparent gem of this size, it'd be fair to say we're giving you even more in return."

We exchanged the goods right away.

We handed over the gems, and the Dran filled our nine backpacks with Racrom.

On top of that, we received thirty Weight Reduction stones.

After we collected everything, the eldest elder handed me something like a metal talisman, inscribed with a red symbol.

"Always keep this talisman on you. No one has been able to use it for ages, but I thought you just might be able to, which is why I brought it out specially."

"What kind of talisman is it?"

"It's something originally crafted for the Elin. You'll naturally discover its purpose in time."

"Thank you very much. I accept it with gratitude."

With the deal done, we left immediately.

One objective of this journey to the west had been fulfilled.

I wondered if I could achieve the other as well.

Though it seemed overwhelming.