Herro there guys. It's me again after such a long time lol! XD Anyway, glad to be back on this story. That being said though, I truly hope that you guys still haven't forgotten this story. Firstly to refresh your memory, I'm putting a brief summary here:

The story started with a certain hero named Thelanor driven to despair due to the curse made by his enemy. Having nothing to live for, he killed himself and leaving his friend, the wood elven ranger archer Fenris being alone with the promise that Thelanor's reincarnation would return after a thousand years. Fast forwards to the current timeline and we saw our main character Azuren being found and adopted by a childless couple. Things didn't last for long though as through the schemes of one man, the couple died and Azuren became a hated existence. After some hardships, he managed to know two bosom friends Julia and Ilgen. The formers death caused his awakening while the latter gave up his life to free Azuren. After running all the way to the woodland realms of Eden, Azuren found out about his destiny and accepted it after some struggles. He managed to settle his score with the scoundrel responsible for his plight and we jumped forward to the time where Azuren had become an adult. Shortly after, he set off for his journey with a few companions: an elderly Edenish druid named Lyren, a wood elf by the name of Eldan and lastly Fenris, who had by that time become a giant wolf. After their brief stay at Anglas where Azuren used to live, they've decided to set off again with the villagers' views on him finally changed. So where will the party head next?

Wow hopefully the summary won't be too long. I always suck at that section of my English tbh. :( And for your info, this chapter onwards will be a new minor arc which I plan to reveal some major whammies on the plot. ;) Anyway, hope you guys will like this arc. :) With that said, on with the story!

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Circles of Arven: Chapter 39 – Random Destination

A shriek rang out throughout the woods as the last Orak fell under it's opponent's blade, a deep single slash wound drawn across the chest. The onlookers were amazed by the show of superior martial skills displayed by the duo of elf and human as their blades were stained by the black blood of the slain. There were two of the spectators who weren't surprised by the whole fight though as they went forward to congratulate the two.

"Fifty Oraks without breaking a sweat... you two sure enjoyed yourselves, huh?" questioned an elderly druid.

"Not much of an effort here. I could have deal with the lot all by myself anyway." shrugged the elf.

"That bugger's getting rather egoistical isn't he, Lyren?" said a giant wolf to the druid in a telepathic manner.

"Well I would have more or less expected it from Eldan if his taunts during the fight were anything to go by, Fenris..." replied Lyren in an identical way.

"Amazing!" exclaimed a middle aged portly man dressed in fine clothes, "Killing fifty of these filthy beasts within half an hour... you both are truly amazing! How about the two of you being my own personal bodyguards? I believe I can pay you handsomely for what you're truly worth."

"Sorry there dude," commented Eldan in a nonchalant tone, "We've got our own stuff to take care of. With that being said though, I'd like to know your daughter better especially if she's as pretty like you've said..."

The rotund man could only leave his jaw hanging at the wood elf's reply as his human partner proceeded to smack him across the head with a swipe of his palm.

"Hey what was that for, Azuren?!"

"Manners, Eldan, manners. You don't talk about somebody's daughter out of nowhere especially if it's along the line of picking her up..."

"But that rich dude did say his daughter was a hot chick!"

"But I don't think it gives you the license to fool around..." frowned Azuren.

"Yeah I know what you mean here. But I always respect ladies, girls, chicks or whatever you want to call the opposite sex. You should know that back there in Anglas."

"I only saw you enjoying yourself there to be very frank..."

"Why you're reacting in this way? That's not you to be frank..."

"Because... well I just think it's not right..." replied Azuren as he looked away blushing.

"Ha ha yeah... as if I'll buy that," smirked Eldan, "Truth is you're interested in that rich little missy especially after our dear employer here commented that you're her type of guy. And of course the fact that she's got a pair of G-cup boobs from his description just sweetened up the whole issue by a bazillion times over."

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!! I'M NOT YOU FOR FUCK'S SAKE!!!!" screamed Azuren as he lost his cool and started to throttle his impudent companion.

"Erm is everything alright here?" questioned the stout man as a single drop of sweat rolled down his head.

"Don't worry. Things will be fine," quipped Lyren as he continued, "It's just that this young ranger of ours is a total idiot where reaction towards the opposite sex is concerned. A bit more exposure and things will be pretty much alright... hopefully at least..."

To Lyren's words however, Fenris could only sum up his views in a single statement.

What a pair of bloody morons...

XXX

"Hey you still sore over that rich missy talk? I swear it's just a joke!" commented Eldan as Azuren still wore a face darkened with anger.

"Let me get this clear, Eldan:There's a limit to everything..." growled Azuren as he turned to face the elf.

"Okay okay, I know that. And besides, I've apologized. Now that we've reached some random town, you can just relax here for now."

"Shit... now that you've said that, I just feel my anger is abating," commented Azuren as he placed a hand over his face, "By the way, any plans on where to stay overnight? I doubt I will want to rush things forward especially when I don't even know where to start the journey..."

"Why ask me?"

"Because you're the one in charge of the finance, Eldan. You did volunteer for the job although I doubt Fenris was pleased..."

"And that's still the case." commented Fenris as he sent his thoughts into Azuren's mind.

"Never mind, Fenris," assured Lyren, "All of us don't have any experience in money matters, so it's good to see Eldan volunteering for it."

"You still can do it, Lyren."

"But Eldan did say that he's got some experience in the outside world."

"Only when he was a kid..."

"That's enough. Elves have a long memory span."

"I still don't like it..."

"Well then let this stay here be the test on his money management, right Eldan?" commented Lyren as he only turned to face thin air, "Wait a second, where is he? Azuren, you know where he has gone? I swear he was here just now."

"Yeah, now that you've said that, I'm thinking about the same thing as well." frowned Azuren.

Then the trio heard a commotion nearby as a crowd circled around the source.

"I've got a bad feeling on this..." commented Azuren as he hurried to the scene with Lyren and Fenris.

"I second that." replied Lyren while Fenris just said nothing.

As the three of them made their way through the crowd, they saw a scenario that they dreaded the most as a burly figure fell onto the floor screaming in pain.

"Aw come on there... it's just an elbow dislocation. Don't tell me you're not expecting some kind of divine backlash when you did your harassing." said Eldan in a mocking tone. Then turning to face another pair of ruffians who were taken aback by the turn of events, he continued, "So what's the deal? You want to stay on and fight or will you want to take the easy way out and take this loser with you?"

The duo's reactions were pretty obvious as they carried their injured companion and voicing threats to young elf, which he knew was nothing but empty words. Then turning to a particular direction, he soon scratched his head in bewilderment.

"Hmm weird... I swear she was there just now..."

"And I assume the she you're talking about has gone missing in action..." commented Azuren as Eldan turned to face him.

"Well yeah, guess that's the case..." replied Eldan in a resigned tone, "Bummer that though. The chick was a cute gal to be exact..."

XXX

"Well, the smoked salmon seems rather yummy here," commented Eldan as a mouth watering platter of grilled fish and hash browns greeted him, "In that case, I won't stand on the ceremony then."

"I really admit that the food is great here," agreed Azuren between mouthfuls of roasted lamb, "Plus the whole stay is within our financial means. Pretty much of a bonus here..."

"But it will only be around a few days," replied Lyren as he sipped his thick vegetable stew, "There's no knowing what will happen... all of us know that."

"Well, let's enjoy our stay here while we can then." commented Eldan as he tucked into his meal, "And it seems that our resident bigby wolf is also enjoying his meal as well."

"I hate to admit this, but maybe that elven idiot indeed has some kind of money sense." said Fenris to Lyren as he savoured his meal of roasted ribs.

"GET OUT OF HERE! YOU'RE NOT WELCOMED IN THIS PLACE, YOU LOWLIFE!", roared a voice as Azuren and his company's attentions were drawn towards the tavern at the opposite side. Before they could register what had happened, a middle aged man around the age of forty winters in a dishevelled appearance was thrown out forcefully.

"Ha! Big deal you dickhead! I can still brew my own stuff! So what if you boot me out?!" retorted the messed up individual as he shake his fist at the entrance before he stormed off.

"Well, it seems that Djekkar is at it again..." commented a nearby waiter.

"Djekkar?" questioned Azuren with his eyebrows raised in curiosity.

"A well known weapon smith and warrior during his peak. Too bad he turned to the bottle if you get what I mean." replied the waiter. Then as he turned to leave, he left these last words, "Don't associate yourselves with him, visitors. Alcoholics aren't known to have a good temper and that includes old Djekkar."

"There's a reason behind every act. This is the basic wisdom you've taught me, Lyren." said Azuren as he looked at his mentor.

"Pretty much true. If what that attendant said is right, then there must be a certain reason behind this Djekkar's turn of fate. Most likely due to a certain trauma by my own guess. I hate to say this though, but we don't have any spare attention for him. I'd like to help him if I can, but we can't really afford any compromising."

Azuren nodded as he saw the truth in Lyren's words. However, he felt a certain tugging in his heart where this drunkard was concerned. For some weird reason, he felt that he couldn't leave this wreck alone. Just as he was wondering why he had this feeling, Eldan tapped him on the shoulder.

"What?" asked Azuren in an irritated manner.

"The cute gal I'm talking about just now... she's here." Eldan smiled as he pointed to the counter of the inn.

Turning to the direction where the wood elf was indicating, Azuren saw a young girl around sixteen winters giving hand signs to the person in charge of the counter. She was dressed in a simple garb of olive green frock with a dash of freckles on her cheeks. Her face was in a heart shape manner with large brown eyes that could attract any male looker. Her hair was of a similar colour done in a single ponytail and her looks despite the presence of the freckles was enough to invoke a positive reaction from any normal person of the opposite sex. In fact the freckles seemed to enhance the innocent feel she exuded.

Azuren was at first curious why the girl was giving hand signs, but his sharp senses typical of an Edenish managed to discover the reason. The girl was mute, hence the reason why he's only able to hear the person at the counter talking. In a very real sense, Azuren felt pity for her since he could only imagine any prejudice she might have faced. He only knew too well about the possible chances of people reacting negatively to others different from them given his own traumatic past. This feeling however dissipated as he caught wind of what was said.

"Oh, so you want some spare meat and veggies? Well I've guessed you'll come. Don't worry I won't give you the leftovers. Follow me, Ruth, to the storehouse. You can take your pick of the choice morsels."

"It seems that you're taken with Ruth," commented a nearby waitress as Azuren blushed from these words addressed to him. The serving girl laughed as she continued, "Don't be shy. I can tell you for sure that every lad in this town of Glassis desires her to be his girlfriend. Unfortunately she wasn't really that interested. A real shame since she's a real beauty in every aspect. If there's anyone who stand a chance though, it would have to be Jose."

"Jose?"

"Her childhood friend. Both of them have been dependant on each other ever since that thrice damned incident. Jose is right now a member of the militia while Ruth is doing some odd jobs to supplement the earnings."

"Incident?"

"Yeah. Her cowardly gambler of a father owed the creditors quite a sum and that resulted in him running away. You can't imagine their anger at that act. Thrashed her home all the way. Before that, she could speak. But after that trauma, she became mute.

That was when Jose came into the picture. He was an orphan shunned by his peers due to his tendency to pick a fight upon seeing anything he deemed as dishonourable. That's also why he got drafted into the militia. That mentality would definitely come into handy. I guess it's a case of two persons without any support finding friendship with each other."

Then as Ruth exited the storehouse on her way out, her hands carrying various foodstuffs, she caught the attention of a couple of burly men. Leering at their target, they made their way towards the girl as she made her exit. Azuren could only guess what was going on in their minds. With a burning fire of rage within him, he started towards the two lechers only to see Eldan having made his first move.

"Stay out of this pal. For obvious reasons, I'm gonna lay the smackdown. Girls like Ruth are there to be protected, not toyed around with..." said Eldan as he gave Azuren a look that gave him no doubt of this truth within the wood elf's mind. That very expression only spoke volumes about the hundred and eighty degree change from his normally flippant attitude.

"Well well what do we have here? Such a cute girl like you shouldn't just be doing groceries," sneered one of the scoundrels, "Why don't you join us for a drink and some fun afterwards? We'll be sure to make you feel like a woman!"

Upon these words, Ruth could only stand rooted to the ground helpless and scared. The speaker then proceeded to grab her forcefully only meet a punch straight into the face, the impact breaking his nose and sending him reeling in pain. The attacker was none other than Eldan as a proud smirk was splashed across his face.

"Well, so sorry for that punch. It's actually just a knee jerk reaction from a gentleman." taunted the elf in an arrogant tone.

"You bloody bastard! You know..." before the other man could finish his sentence though Eldan straightaway drove a knee into his nether regions, the shock of the impact rendering him into a combined state of pain and being stunned. Pushing his repulsive target away, Eldan gave him a thumbs down sign.

"A bastard like you doesn't deserve to have that thing in between your legs. Go figure if you can, fucker!"

"Well, guess we've seen a positive side to this bugger's personality." commented Fenris within his mind.

"So there Ruth, hope you're not shaken by these two morons. One disfigured and the other permanently impotent," smiled Eldan in a rascally manner, "Why don't I escort you back if you're willing to? I can tell a bit about myself on the way..."

"May the gods damn that idiot. Guess some things just won't change for the better..." muttered Fenris darkly in a voice that wasn't really audible to other people apart from Lyren and Azuren due to the sensitive nature of the Edenish senses.

"Well, as the old Edenish saying goes, it's easier for a wolf to give up hunting than to see a person changing his habits." smiled Lyren. Azuren however started to tense up as he detected an aura of animosity. Lyren and Fenris seemed to realise this immediately after these words as they prepared to stop any form of unnecessary conflict. However, the whole thing has been put into motion as Eldan reacted swiftly to a single attack aimed at him, his right hand catching the fist of the attacker just before it connected into his face.

The assailant was none other than a blonde young man around Azuren's age, his brown costume inclusive of a chainmail shirt with a sword belted at the waist suggesting his class as a fighter. He was rather handsome by human standards with dark brown eyes burning with anger. Ruth, on seeing the young lad tried to pacify him with a series of hand signs. If there was any facial reaction to her efforts though, the warrior didn't show it as he spoke with trembling rage.

"You don't have to defend him Ruth. It's obvious that he's out to harass you. So what if he saved you from those two gutter trash? Doesn't mean he's anywhere better than them from his own attitude."

"Jose!" exclaimed the counter in-charge, "You know Ruth won't want this to happen!"

"I appreciate what you've done for the both of us, Mr Butterim, especially since this inn was your own business, but I'm not going to spare anyone who takes liberties with Ruth no matter what you might say. Don't worry I'll hold myself accountable in front of my superiors."

"Oh interesting..." smiled Eldan, "Guess this might be a better fight here. I'm sick and tired in playing around with tons of losers up till now to be honest."

"Try me bastard. I'll make sure you'll feel sorry for your actions." snarled Jose as Azuren shake his head in frustration with a hand placed over his face while being helpless in front of the debacle that was waiting to explode.

Shit, this doesn't look good...

XXX

Well so you guys have it. The brand new chapter ending with a minor cliffie. :D Anyway I've originally planned for this chapter to end with the conclusion of the fight. The length of the chapter however obviously prevented me from doing so. But I guess it's a good thing since it means I can do more chapters without a major writer's block. The early part of the chapter... erm well I guess it's a half baked attempt in sexual humour. If you guys like it, then I'll be obviously glad. To be frank though I truly expect the possibility of criticism levelled at me here. With that being said, what do you guys think of the G-cup comment by Eldan? I was like "okay, using the aspect of bra cup size should be okay here" kinda reaction when I did that part. If everything goes well, I guess it might be some sort of staple for the future sexual banter. To be very frank I've seen it before in certain fanfics set during historical times a la Soul Calibur, so I guess it might be okay here. :S Anyway, do review guys. :)