Ch.109 The Gossip Girl

Ch.109 The Gossip Girl

The yard itself was filled with flowers and trees that gave off a soft shade of green. Yet the flower beds were a mess and needed attention. There was a small garden with vegetables growing in it though they looked a little overgrown.

It was rare to see such a small garden in a city like Ironside but here it was. It all was created by a Wood Elf. Her name was Yuliana. She lived in this house with her daughter Nieren for over 30 years.

Yuliana had been born into Wood Elf Royalty, but because of the death of her brother at the hands of the Black Rose Mercenaries. She grabbed the Elder Tree seeds and her daughter before they fled.

She wishes she could have brought her over to one of the hidden villages of a Noble Wood Elves that escaped the war. But she feared that they would take out their anger on her daughter, for she was half High Elf which is why she has her father's blonde hair, instead of the wood elf green hair. And the surviving Wood Elves would blame her for her father's betrayal by abandoning the Wood Elf Kingdom in their time of need.

Her husband ran away with his soldiers right before the fighting started, leaving her and her daughter to die. The few times she tried to go after him, was thwarted by his guards.

He claimed that he would send a message to her once the High Elf King assembles an army. He told her that this was the only way they would be safe. Yuliana knew then that he never was attempting to help her or her people. And he never cared for their daughter. He was more displeased than happy to be a parent. It was such a a rare gift and he seemed indifferent.

Yuliana knew she had no choice but to flee with her 14-year-old elven daughter to the city of Ironside. She heard about how the dwarven city came to be a part of the human kingdom of Fiafyr. And it was a kingdom that didn't condone slavery of any type. It was the only place she thought it would be safe for her daughter until her daughter comes of age and is considered an adult at the age of 70 years. She knew it was a long shot but it was the only city on the continent that gave her hope.

It took her and her daughter a month of avoiding slavers and monsters to get to Ironside from the northwest.

Yuliana knew she couldn't tell the Baron's men that her daughter and her were fallen Royalty. She couldn't trust that word wouldn't get out and have assassins come after Nieren and her. So, they had to live as commoners and lie about their heritage.

They were given the run-down house as refugees since they were fleeing from war. This house was given to her and her daughter for a agreement. If she was able to help with agriculture in the town then they could live in the city rent free.

Most wood elves were amazing at growing plants but Yuliana never did anything in agriculture, due to her being raised as a princess. But she knew this was the only way to get refuge and agreed to do the work.

Yuliana was sloppy at first but she was lucky that the Baron didn't mind her sloppiness. As long as she produced rare fruits and vegetables for the city was all Baron Arathar Coldforge cared about.

After a year of working hard, she made friends with some of the other farmers but tried to keep to herself as she feared that they would be discovered at some point. She always trying to cover her hair and ears so people would mistake her as a human. And even after all those long days in the field and growing stuff in her personal garden. She had her daughter and her side goal.

This goal was important for bringing back her people's kingdom. And all she needed to do was grow a new Elder Tree from seeds she grabbed from the palace on top of the old Elder Tree that was destroyed during the war. It was a Wood Elf's greatest defense against all the other races and monsters but before the war broke out their kingdom's tree began to wither and die.

The elves knew it was foul play but no Elf knew how the humans poisoned the Elder Tree. Yuliana knew the only way to save her people was to grow another one.

But no matter how much she tried she couldn't get it to grow. And as the years went by her daughter became interested in her bow and sword. She always struggled with using the green touch. While Nieren was not good at growing plants like her mother. She thought she could help out by becoming an adventurer instead. She had a natural knack for hunting and sword play.

Yuliana worried that her daughter had more High Elf blood running through her veins than Wood Elf. And no matter how much she tried to discourage her. Nieren wanted to follow in her own footsteps.

After a year of bickering, Yuliana gave in a little and let her daughter go out under strict conditions in hopes to prevent these urges to become an adventurer. She was still not of age to be alone and the work could be dangerous.

Years went by as she tried to grow the seedlings. But nothing ever came of it. And Nieren grew tired of farming because she still wasn't good at growing plants. After all, she wasn't a full-blood Wood Elf and she wanted to become an adventurer instead. And some times when Nieren snuck out to the Adventurer's Guild. A few of the members taught her the skill cloak. It was a rogue that noticed that she had a knack for concealing herself with her mana. It was a skill that was tough to master and it took her only a month to learn it.

So, with this skill helped Nieren to sneak out more often as an adventurer until she started becoming a household name in the city of Ironside Adventures Guild.

Yuliana was displeased that her daughter was putting themselves in danger, but knew she needed to try and make a living for both of them but it was hard to make a good living on small amounts of corp yields, even if they were rarer plants. And every time Nieren came back from a Quest with her rewards. It made her happy to help her mother and Yuliana was starting to reluctantly agree that this is what her daughter was. But even if Yuliana agreed to her being an adventurer, she still wanted her home every day so she knew Nieren was safe.

So, this went on for years until the goblin horde showed up and things difficult between them again as her mother tried to forbid her from going out on quests.

Nieren had been out adventuring for two years now and was getting really good at adventuring alone. She didn't know what the big deal was about the goblins. She dealt with a few in the past and thought they weren't anything to worry about. But her mother didn't want her to go out with so many goblins around. So, against her mother's wishes, she found a way to sneak off past her mother's plants and left a note for her telling her that she was going to save the city.

That was when Nieren ran into Rya. When Nieren helped the Crown Prince free the Dark Elf which helped defeat the Kings Slayer and Rodulf of the dreaded Black Roses.

Yuliana didn't know that the Black Roses were gone as word hadn't reached the poorer part of the neighborhood yet and she was worried sick about her daughter. All she could do at the moment was wait and try to get these, damn, Elder Tree seeds to grow. She needed to do it for her daughter's sake.

***