Sir Jeffrey Trailson, Knight of the Land, awoke in the morning and realised he was hungry. He slowly got dressed and left the tent, locating a small campfire where some of the guild members were preparing a breakfast. They eyed him with suspicion but did give up some of the food to him when he asked.
He realised Kelly was still on sentry duty, so he brought the food over to her and they ate breakfast together. When they were done eating he stayed with her and chatted until Olig came over and informed her that her shift was completed.
Jeffrey watched her go as she returned to the tent to sleep again. Standing watch overnight had left the blonde militiawoman exhausted and Jeffrey did not blame her for wanting a rest.
Whilst she slept he decided to explore the area around the tower. He wandered over to the flickering building. He was finally getting used to the way it seemed to leap in and out of existence. Wandering its perimeter he found nothing else out of the ordinary. The ground did not seem warped or broken by the appearance of the tower - as if it had always been there.
Yet it was still eerie the way there was nothing beyond the windows but darkness. Jeffrey watched as a man with a large hammer swung it at the glass. The hammer bounced off, leaving the man staggering, and Jeffrey knew that there was definitely something amiss. A few of the guild members had taken it upon themselves to dig down beneath the tower but Jeffrey did not think they would meet with much success.
He spent the morning investigating the tower but did not really make much progress. He did not really expect to in all honesty as he was not a mage but it did seem to him that there was no immediate danger. That relaxed him.
As lunchtime approached he suddenly remembered that he'd promised he would have tea in the morning with the elven mage, Issara. He hurried back to the main encampment where he found the beautiful elf walking to her tent. She smiled broadly at him as he approached, brushing a strand of red hair away from her face.
"Jeffrey!" she said. "There you are. I was wondering if you'd forgotten my invitation."
Her ornate robes were green today but just as tight and revealing as those she'd worn the day before, not doing much to conceal the fact that she had a slender body and lovely big tits. She was about 5'1" and looked to be in her early-twenties. Her eyes were a warm amber colour, and her lustrous red hair fell loose and straight to her shoulders.
"I'm afraid I got caught up in examining the tower and lost track of time," he said at last when his mind had recovered from how gorgeous she was.
"Well, you're here now," she said happily. "So I think we ought to have that tea."
He followed her towards a large tent in the middle of the camp, near Rama's own. She pulled back the flap and gestured him inside and he stepped through.
Issara's tent was wondrous to behold. Not only was it rammed full of various pieces of magical and alchemical equipment, it also smelled faintly of spices and was bedecked with opulence.
He watched as the elf mage started making the tea. She gestured for him to sit on a sofa in the middle of the tent, so he did, finding it surprisingly luxurious. In fact Jeffrey wondered how she'd ever managed to transport it there. Then again she was a mage so he suspected it had something to do with magic, and magic was something he would never really understand.
A short while later Issara brought over the tea in two ornate cups and sat down next to him. He took a cup and smelled the liquid inside. It seemed very rich and heady, not like most tea he had tasted. But then again this was elven tea and so probably very different to what he was used to.
He took a tentative sip and smiled. It was actually very nice indeed.
He realised that Issara was staring at him with a smile on her face. She took a sip of her own tea then spoke. "I find you very interesting, Jeffrey."
He looked at her with confusion. "Interesting? Me?"
She laughed. "Why, yes. In a good way. It's not often I meet a real Knight of the Land. Tell me what it's like."
So as they drank their tea, he did. Issara seemed fascinated as he talked of chivalry and his responsibilities, constantly asking questions about different aspects of his duties. He guessed that since she was an elf and had spent her time in human lands with mercenaries that she had not come across many knights before.
They spoke for a good while, enjoying the other's company as the morning stretched towards afternoon. Around lunchtime Issara fetched some fruits from a case and they ate together. The fruit was fresh and delicious and Jeffrey realised it must have been preserved by magic.
Eventually they got onto discussing Issara's background. Jeffrey found the elven mage an enchanting woman indeed. It seemed that she had been a wizard for many years, and was in fact over forty years old. But since elves aged and matured at half the rate of humans, that meant that she was the equivalent of a human woman in her early-twenties.
And as they talked Jeffrey was sure he picked up on a flirty undercurrent between them. However given that he had not yet had sex that morning he was also growing extremely horny and he suspected that it might have just been wishful thinking on his part. His time in the company of the stunning elf was making him quite uncomfortable and he hoped he did not make a fool of himself by making a move on her when she didn't want it.
After another short while she stood again to make more tea. Jeffrey let his eyes rove over her gorgeous figure as she did so, but that only made his horniness worse. When she returned with fresh cups, Jeffrey tried to distract himself by taking another sip.
"This tea is truly delicious, Issara. A common elven blend?"
"It is indeed. Fresh from the gardens of Quol'tan."
Jeffrey had heard of Quol'tan. It was a beautiful island kingdom far from the coast that stood as a shining beacon of elven prosperity and ingenuity. Many philosophers claimed that elven civilisation had come from that very island and the elves that lived there now liked to pride themselves on that belief.
"Is that your homeland, Issara?"
She smiled. "It is. How did you guess?"
"You speak of it very fondly," he said. "I have not met many elves in my life, but I do know that there are cultural differences between you just like there are amongst humans. As I understand it, those from Quol'tan are more, um..." He struggled to find the word.
