They've mostly got the language. I'll ask them about structure and organization and who to talk to and so on.

Nod. Thanks. And hopefully we'll be ready to try for more magic forms soon, too.

They expect that'll be safe, yes.

Good.

...wonder if there's any point in talking about that, I do kind of have a plan now... Tyelkormo made friends with one of the elves.

Oh? Tyelcormo doesn't tend to make friends very easily, good time for it I guess.

Mmhmm.

Having some trouble with the idea of being friends with an elf, though.

Cultural difference again?

...I told you they tried to wipe us out like thirty-forty years ago, right?

Yes, you did. But - you thought that meant that every single one of them was individually evil?

Evil, no. Dangerous, though - maybe still not, but safer to assume it.

Tyelcormo is the kind of person to have dangerous friends.

Yeah, I bet they are. But this elf doesn't sound like one - apparently they're really upset about the war and want to help us make sure nothing like that happens again, it's weird.

I have to admit it doesn't seem very weird.

Sigh. Never mind.

I hope they can help make sure the war doesn't happen again.

Yeah.

Oh well. Snuggles. Somewhat pensive ones.

He asks for and gets a report on the elven cities.

The three elven cities appear to be members of two different civilizations; two are members of the same one and the third is the capital of its. 'City' is a fairly loose translation; the elves live in gigantic - just utterly huge, obviously magically enhanced - live trees, with platforms built in the branches and rope bridges strung between them. They don't appear to have an industrial base practically all; almost everything they use is plant-based, and usually in a very natural state; the wooden items look suspiciously like they were grown in their shapes, rather than being carved. There are signs of trading, though; things made of metal and stone are uncommon, but present, generally where a wooden item wouldn't be suitable for the task at hand rather than as status symbols.

Each elven civilization has a queen - their names are Amayi and Cacame - who's in charge of laws and the military, and a druid - Necalo and Imòla - who's in charge of their nature-protection work. They haven't been able to figure out how druids are chosen, but the queen's successor - the title is lothena, in elven, and there's still debate over whether it's better translated as 'princess' or 'general' - is chosen by competing in a three-day-long test of skill, endurance, and woodsmanship, arranged and overseen by the druid and their acolytes; one of the civilizations is preparing to have such a competition this summer, to replace a lothena who died in battle over the winter, and the other is staging a lesser version of the same event as well.

He relays this to the kobold. Wonder if they let outsiders compete; it'd be nice if we could just end up in charge of the elves and then make them be nicer.

Well, we can ask, at least. And she relays this to Tyelkormo.

Huh, I will ask. That would make this easy. He sounds a bit defeated.

Easier, anyway. You okay?

Yeah, of course.

Sounded like you were hoping this would go a different way. She leans back against him and looks up at his face.

It's just annoying how everything comes down to doing politics.