"How old are you?" Anse asked with a smile.
The little girl held out her fair little hand, still covered in crumbs, spreading all five fingers. After thinking for a moment, she curled her thumb slightly. "Clara is four."
She leaned against Anse's chest, not shy around him in the slightest.
Elves were a long-lived race, with lifespans of up to seven hundred years. Four was indeed very, very young.
Anse looked into her eyes, deeply curious.
Clara had black hair, heterochromatic eyes, and pale skin. Her features did not fully match those of mainstream Sun Elves, Moon Elves, or Wood Elves. She was probably of mixed elven blood.
"You can stay at Moon Shadow Kui Ling for now. Don't think about leaving just yet. Your Mentor is in Livington District—he might come looking for you." Anse did not intend to get too involved. He had already returned the favor today.
He wanted to see the world. Adventure and battle were bound to be unavoidable, and bringing a child along would be absurd.
"Mm." Kafka was not stupid; he could hear the implication in Anse's words.
He had heard his Mentor mention Moon Shadow Kui Ling. It was said that it initially only received elves, Half-elves, and Halflings, before later opening to the public. It had been running for decades and had a good reputation.
The atmosphere fell silent, leaving only the sound of their footsteps.
Before long, the group entered the northern part of town, and the crowds immediately thinned out.
Screech—
An eagle's cry came from overhead.
Finn abruptly stopped, then turned to Anse. "We're being surrounded!"
There had been too many people earlier for Gray Hawk to distinguish them, but once they reached this secluded area, those people had nowhere to hide.
"Those slavers? How many?" Anse