On one side of the campfire, Charles and Shapiro were deep in conversation in Common. Meanwhile, Hanni’s curiosity was piqued, but she couldn’t follow along, so she turned to Nymeria beside her. "What are they talking about?"

Nymeria stammered, able to understand the strategies Charles and Shapiro were discussing, but not quite confident enough to summarize. "Uh... talking about how to deal with foes, and some magic stuff, um..."

Her explanation was limited, leaving Hanni a bit confused. At that moment, across the fire, Sophia looked up and addressed them in Elvish: "You don’t understand Surface Common?"

Hearing this, Hanni looked a little sheepish. "I only studied Undercommon. I never thought I’d end up needing to speak with people on the surface..."

Sophia nodded. "Oh, so you haven’t learned the ’Comprehend Languages’ spell either, right?"

Hanni scratched her head and gave a sheepish laugh, "Actually, it’s in my spellbook, but the orcs threw it away. Sigh..."

Mages are heavily reliant on their spellbooks for casting. The upside is that learning spells is easier and you can keep more spells on hand. For example, two tenth-level spellcasters—a warlock with no Pact of the Tome, relying on memory, might recall ten spells at a time. But a slightly smarter wizard could cast thirty, and handle more situations with ease.

But the downside is obvious—lose the spellbook, and a wizard can only cast those few spells memorized ahead of time. It’s got to be the weakest setup among all spellcasting classes.

Sophia didn’t mock her. After weighing things over, she suddenly said, "Here, let me help you. Wouldn’t want you lost when the Priest gives orders."

Hanni’s eyes lit up, just as she was about to thank Sophia, she felt a wave of magic power settle over her. Across the flames, Sophia said, "How does that feel? Can you understand me now?"

She spoke in Common, words Hanni couldn’t usually understand—but now the meaning was perfectly clear.

Suddenly, she found Charles’s conversation clear as well: "The biggest problem right now is that your ancestor still retains the insane, almost angelic speed she possessed as a true celestial. That’s going to be the trickiest part..."

Hanni nodded quietly. "I understand now. Thank you!"

Sophia smiled, assuring her it was no trouble. Hanni listened carefully for a while, then turned to Nymeria, whispering, "Isn’t this just the basics about Celestial Creatures? Nothing special."

Nymeria instantly panicked. "Ah? Is it?"

Hanni gave her an incredulous look. "You’re kidding me, right? Have surface elves really fallen so far they don’t teach this basic knowledge anymore? No way, right?"

Hand clamped over her mouth, she gave Nymeria a teasing grin. "Seriously, celestial basics are required classes in Menzoberranzan—any dark elf kid could give a full report!"

"Unless..." She left the sentence hanging, but the implication was obvious. Nymeria felt awkward, fumbling for words. "Silverymoon teaches this too... just... um..."

She didn’t know how to defend herself; everything she said just made her look more like an out-of-touch airhead.

Across the fire, Sophia smiled at the two elves, thinking their rapport was developing better than expected. But sitting next to her, Hattie frowned—she could hardly stand to watch Nymeria get teased like this.

Even if she wasn’t quite part of the monastery family yet, Nymeria was at least someone worth trusting—a true "insider." This little dark elf was just a temporary guide, maybe even a potential troublemaker.

She needed to push back, to keep Hanni from getting too cocky.

After confirming with Sophia, Hattie also had the "Comprehend Languages" spell cast on her. Now understanding the conversation, she jumped in to help Nymeria: "Well, everyone faces different enemies. Moon Elves don’t exactly have to worry about celestials hunting them down, so it’s only natural the focus is different, right?"

"Just like you, Hanni—you don’t know all that much about the starry sky here, do you?"

Hanni quit teasing, scratching her head awkwardly. She wanted to protest, "We don’t get chased by angels all the time!" But, thinking of the common surface stereotypes about her people, decided to leave it.

Instead, she looked up at the sprawling night sky, mesmerized. "Yeah... in the Underdark, the ceiling is always pitch dark—not a single glowing mushroom as far as you can see."

Her words made everyone laugh. Nymeria didn’t mind the earlier teasing and smiled, "Those are called stars, not mushrooms. Up here, the sky is empty—nothing grows there."

Across the fire, Hattie smiled, "See, Hanni? Different focus, different blind spots. You’ve just found one of your own, haven’t you?"

Hanni grinned, letting it go, but Hattie wasn’t finished, seizing the chance to ask, "By the way, Hanni—how old are you? You seem to know so much."

"One hundred," Hanni replied matter-of-factly. "It’s my first time out hunting Purple Worms with my mom. That’s why I panicked and got caught by orcs—no experience..."

Her voice turned a little downcast, feeling embarrassed for herself. Hattie suddenly understood, her gaze turning sympathetic as she considered Hanni’s petite frame and slim figure. "Oh, so that’s it... Honestly, I thought you were maybe thirteen at most."

Hanni glanced down at her chest, then grumbled, "I’m normal for an elf! Not like you humans—all big and busty, doesn’t it get in the way?"

She looked like she might offend the whole group, but Hattie and the others just traded glances, barely able to contain their laughter.

Aside from Adele, everyone present was fairly well-endowed. Even Sophia, if not as magnificent as Hattie, still had a notable, graceful figure.

"Quit laughing!" Hanni huffed, jabbing a finger at Nymeria, "She’s the weird one! Oh right, you’re a warrior—work out all the time... Still not normal. I’m the real deal!"

She made a couple of exasperated gestures while Nymeria, who’d been teased about her education, was now laughing uncontrollably.

But that wasn’t the end of it. Noticing Hanni’s flat build, Hattie coolly continued, "But you know, the Nymeria who’s been looking after you is only fourteen years old."

She emphasized "Nymeria Sister" with a deliberately mocking tone, twisting the knife. "Miss Hanni, it’s getting awfully hard to believe your story."

Hanni looked like she’d been struck by lightning.

Her neck stiffened as she stared at Nymeria’s chest in disbelief. "She... fourteen?"

Nymeria puffed up with pride, accentuating her not-overwhelming but already enviable curves by elven standards. "Yep—eighty-six years younger than you!" 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

"I’ve barely even started learning half those things—you’re just tagging along on your first quest!"

Hanni’s jaw dropped. She couldn’t believe she’d been fighting over snacks, pouting, and being protected by a child not even twenty.

"Uh... what..." She stammered, glancing up at the tall, shapely elf girl beside her, completely at a loss. "What do you eat, Nymeria? How’d you end up like this?!"

She really couldn’t figure it out—even her mother, more than three hundred years old, didn’t have a figure like that!

Nymeria shrugged, blushing, and fibbed, "I’m average for a Moon Elf—plenty of elves have better figures than me."

And then, copying Hanni’s teasing tone, she said, "No way, can it be that in a thousand years, all Dark Elves have gotten this... flat?"

Hanni buried her face, and laughter swept around the fire, filling the camp with joy.

~~~

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