Welcome to Gaia! ::

Shoneah wasn't bothered by the reaction of the elves when they spoke of the people of mixed marriages; the idea of marrying someone outside her own people was distasteful to her as well, to be honest.

Tal was once again the one to give the answer.

"Many races of elves," he began. "Earth Elves, of course, and Fire Elves; Light Elves, Dark Elves, Water Elves, White Elves. Humans."

"Demons," Jabek growled, glancing at Eron.

Shoneah bristled, ready for a fight; but Jabek said nothing further.

"That depends on who and where you are," Tal replied, ignoring Jabek's comment about demons. "Fire Elves for example are welcome in most places, as they are ... well, not neutral, but they are peacekeepers. The White Elves hate the others, and keep to themselves. The other races get along well enough, at least most of the time, as long as the people keep to themselves."

"And as long as the humans don't get greedy," Talmon said angrily. "Every once in a while, they decide they want something that isn't rightly theirs, and they take hostages or make raids to get what they want."

"Our borders are closed on three sides," Tal went on as though he hadn't been interrupted. "Kelibrae and Poleria are human nations, and yes, they do tend to cause trouble. Poleria especially. Northeast is Jielam, White Elves ... they will kill anyone who enters their country who is not one of them. Shiezin is to the southwest, and it's a very friendly place. Our people helped them build their homes, and in return they have promised to come to our aid in case of attack."

Shoneah listened in silence, focusing on keeping herself warm, though she was interested in the same information that Eron was.

Tal was about to respond when Jabek jumped in. "It depends on how well you can keep yourself hidden," he quipped.

"Stop scaring them," Tal sighed. He turned back to Eron. "He is partially correct. If you can keep yourself hidden, then it's safe to go anywhere. But there are some countries where you'll be safe, and some where you'll want to avoid people at all costs. Fire Elves, you'll be safe. Dark Elves, relatively so, depending on the country. There's one under rule of a tyrant, no one is safe there. Humans ... avoid when possible. Talmon was correct, too, they will cheat you out of what they can, and if they don't they'll try to steal it."

He hesitated a moment, then added softly, "But above all, you must not pass through any of the countries belonging to the White Elves. They kill anyone on sight who is not like them."

Shoneah looked at Eron evenly.

"I will go anywhere to get back to my family," she said quietly; and she meant it. Nothing mattered to her more than her family and her tribe, and her only goal now was to return to them. "I am accustomed to travel. It has always been my life. If we must travel to find someone who can help us, then that is what we shall do."

If Eron was content to stay, or didn't want to travel far, she would leave him - she would feel bad about it, but she would leave him behind nevertheless. She needed her family.

Shoneah nodded. "It does sound that way."

They would not be able to head out immediately, though. There were supplies that they would need.

"Is there a way that we can get the things we'll need for travel?" she asked, looking at the others again. "Proper weapons, clothes, a good bag, maps ..."

"Unfortunately, we haven't got much with us," Sabor said thoughtfully, "but if you stay with us until we return home-"

"Which will be in a few days," Talmon added, "since we've nearly enough meat to take home."

"-then we can give you provisions to set you on your way," Sabor finished, ignoring Talmon's interruption. It seemed that Talmon had a habit of interrupting people, and they were so used to it that they just ignored him.

Shoneah's jaw tightened slightly at the thought of the delay. She was so desperate to be back home that even an hour's delay seemed too long; but she knew the value of the supplies that they could get, and she knew that it might be the difference between life and death. Returning home alive and in good health was more important than arriving home quickly.

She looked at Eron. "What do you think?"

"If there is game and water, we can live off the land," Shoneah murmured. Her brow furrowed slightly as she remembered the past day, during which they'd been unable to find anything to drink. "Water of course is the most important ..."

"We have maps, though only of our country and those surrounding us," Tal offered. "It may not get you far, but it will be something."

Shoneah nodded. "Thank you. And while I do have my sword for protection, I will need to make more bullets for my guns. I had not planned to be gone long from my home, and I have a very limited supply. Do you have the materials to make more?"

The men exchanged curious glances, and Tal looked back at Shoneah. "What are bullets and guns?" he asked. "I have never heard of these things. Are they known by other names?"

Shoneah blinked. Was this world like the Gaia of ancient times, before technology? Even her people, as rustic as she knew they were considered, had firearms and basic technologies, as her weapons and her goggles testified.

She sighed and pulled a pistol from its holster. "This is a gun," she said, holding it out to show Tal. "It fires bullets. You point it at what you want to shoot and pull the trigger."

She opened the bullet chamber and removed the bullet, holding it out to Tal to examine. "This is the bullet. Ammunition."

Tal took it and looked at it closely. "Sulfur, charcoal, and saltpeter," he murmured, rolling it between his fingers. "Cased in ... brass?"

Shoneah was impressed. "Very good," she smiled, holding her hand out to take the bullet back. "Are the materials readily available?"

Tal returned the bullet to Shoneah, frowning. "Not readily, no."

Now all of the Earth Elves (minus Uri, who couldn't understand him) looked at Eron, impressed by his deep knowledge of the processes of extracting the named components.

"Very good," Tal said, new respect in his tone. He held the bullet back out to Shoneah. "If you want the ingredients you need, you would do well to head either north or south. There are volcanoes in both directions. South would probably be safer, and it is closer to your route west, if it is your wish to go to Caras Galadhon, and it is also in that direction that our village lies."

Shoneah took the bullet and returned it to her pistol, then closed the bullet chamber. "That sounds like a smart plan," she murmured, looking at Eron. "What do you think?"