Elf Maidens of Thurn Pt. 03

"When winter approaches, Thurnian farms prepare for the bitterly cold weather to come. The farmers don't require elven workers over winter, so the current season's workforce is dismissed. The adolescent elves begin their long walk back to the city, where they are to spend the winter in an elven ghetto. If the harvest is late, then it is sometimes a race against time to reach the city before the snows start. Adolescent elves making the journey back to the city as winter approaches face many dangers. It is common knowledge that villages on the route to the city won't provide shelter for the elves should the road become blocked by snow.

"Since farmers and mine owners aren't required to report fatalities among their workforce, there is no accurate record of how many elves start the journey back to the city. According to government records, an unknown number of adolescent elves will die from being trapped in the wilderness by early snows, or from attacks by wild animals. Even travelling in groups is no guarantee of safety. The lucky ones are offered transport on ships, but not all will arrive safely. Reports of a secret slave trade in young elves are becoming more frequent, but previous investigations by government officials have met with little success."

I conclude my presentation with a list of places and employers whom I and my assistants had interviewed. The Chief Procurator doesn't seem unduly surprised by the content of my report, suggesting a lot of what I've documented was already known to him or that he simply doesn't care. As I expected, my report causes some discomfort among my audience, but little enthusiasm to do anything about it. Only the reports of an illicit slave trade caused my audience any real consternation. The Chief Procurator decides to enlarge the scope of my mission towards finding out the truth or otherwise of the rumours about missing adolescent elves. I doubt that he is really interested in the fate of the elves, and that he is more interested in keeping me out of the way. My marriage to Cassandra has given me indirect access to the Emperor, and consequently I now pose a greater threat to the Chief Procurator's position of power.

I could refuse the task, but Cassandra is eager for me to do the work, even though it means we will be separated for several weeks at a time. Fortunately, I can time my most of my absences to coincide with the weeks when neither Defina35 nor Defina36 are in heat. Consequently, my duties won't impact too much on our family sex life.

Since I'm not expected to start my investigation immediately, I make the most of my time with Cassandra and our two Elf Maidens. Thanks to Cassandra's efforts, we now own a larger house in the same neighbourhood as my old house. The larger rooms enable us to have a larger bed, or more precisely, two beds pushed next to each other. Now the four of us can have sex and sleep side by side in comfort.

Chapter 10

Two months later, I'm once again presenting my findings to the Chief Procurator and his advisers. Much to the disappointment of the Chief Procurator, my mission didn't result in a fatal misadventure befalling me. His growing antagonism towards me is obvious for all to see. The more I get to understand the issues affecting the elven population, the closer I am to finding a solution to the so-called Elf Maiden problem. Even the Emperor is impressed with my work so far, although Cassandra probably deserves most of the credit for fuelling the Emperor's interest.

"You will recall that the disappearance of scores of adolescent elves each year while travelling back to the city at the end of the season has resulted in speculation that some are being kidnapped and sold into slavery," I say as I begin my presentation. "There is no logical reason why anyone would want to enslave a young elf as she has little monetary value. Being unskilled and incapable of sexual activity, it would be cheaper to hire an elf for whatever task is required rather than feeding and housing a slave. Nevertheless, the rumours have persisted for several years. Sea captains report an abnormal increase in economic activity in the western cities of Thurn, but the local leaders deny any connection to the missing elves.

"As we know, when winter approaches, adolescent elves are discharged from their seasonal jobs. For their own protection, they must make their way back to the city ghettoes to shelter over the worst of the winter weather. Each year, dozens of elves simply disappear on their journey. Some are reputedly killed by wild animals while passing through forests. Others are believed to become trapped in early winter snows and perish. And then there are the rumours that some are being captured by illegal slave traders and transported to distant cities. My investigations discovered some young elves working in cities that officially prohibit elves from residing. Apart from being thin and poorly clothed, most elves I encountered appeared to be healthy. They denied being slaves, but refused to say how they arrived in the city.

"I believe that several distant cities now have unregistered populations of adolescent elves. Unlike adult Elf Maidens, young elves have no legal rights and are classified as animals under outdated Thurnian law. Consequently, it is impossible to label the elves as slaves, although in practise that is what they are. When I questioned the city leaders, they say the elves are the wards of the city and are rented out to factory and mine owners as and when required. Since factories operate all year, the elves are provided with food, clothing and shelter throughout the year in exchange for their labours. According to the city leaders, an elf is transported to an elven ghetto in an eastern city when she reaches adulthood. Unfortunately, I could find no evidence that this occurs. It seems likely that on reaching adulthood, the elf is taken into the forest and abandoned to fend for herself.

"During my travels through the western regions of Thurn, I and my assistants talked with several groups of adolescent elves working in mines and factories. Most of the elves are poorly fed, and many are without a full set of clothing. The elves all tell a similar story of being rounded up while travelling back to their home city at the end of their season's work. Unaware of the reason for this diversion, and mindful of their duty to obey Thurnian citizens, the young elves simply allowed themselves to be transported. The mines in western Thurn are very deep, and the air temperature is constant all year round. That may explain how groups of young elven mineworkers survive through the bitterly cold winter.

"As usual, work accidents are common among the poorly trained young elves, particularly as they are often given the dangerous tasks that Thurnian citizens shun. An injured elf must seek help from other elves since no medical services are wasted on elves. If the injury is serious, then the elf is discharged from work and left abandoned in a nearby forest. Employers admit that in such cases, nearly all the discharged elves are likely to perish. However, there have been persistent reports of elves who have recovered and now live wild in the deep forests. Those reports are usually dismissed as fanciful rumours, since wolves and bears are common in the forests, and elves aren't taught how to use weapons. Nevertheless, such rumours are widespread in the regions close to the huge forests of the west.

"Not all kidnapped adolescent elves accept their new duties without resistance. Although they have no legal rights, the young elves can nevertheless fuel discontent among the other enslaved elves. The city wardens round up the ringleaders and put them in tiny underground cells while a decision is made about their future. Those elves who show remorse for causing trouble are re-educated and assigned to duties requiring long hours of hard labour. Any who still resist are taken deep into the wilderness and, like injured elves, are abandoned to fend for themselves against the wolves and bears that roam the forests. Popular Thurnian folk tales often delight in telling of the misfortunes of young elves devoured by wild animals.

"With the help of local villagers, I and my assistants came across several groups of adolescent elves living wild in the huge western forests. Contrary to the popular Thurnian folk tales, the young elves seem capable of defending themselves against the wolves and bears that claim the deep forests as their territory. Not all the elves we saw are escaped or abandoned slaves. We discovered several young elves without the unique serial number that all elven children born in Thurn have tattooed on their inner left arm. Those elves must have been born in the wild and survived through several winters. We set about trying to discover how they achieved that, and the location of their mothers, or indeed any adult elf.

"The wild elves we met were friendly and co-operative. They took us to a large elven community living in a network of caverns, deep in the western forests. My initial reaction was that this hidden community would cause great concern among government officials, for which reason I promptly classified the discovery as top secret."

My comment is greeted with grunts of approval and the nodding heads of my audience.

"The most disturbing aspect of our discovery is that a group of young Thurnian men are living with the elves and taking advantage of the plentiful opportunities for sex with the fertile adult elves. The population of the community has increased to nearly a hundred in only a few years. This is likely to increase further as more of the adolescent elves reach adulthood and succumb to their overpowering urge to mate.

"The more we investigated the large underground elven community, the more surprised we became. Far from being unskilled 'animals', the young elves have established all the necessary facilities to enable their community to survive. The adult elves trade with nearby Thurnian villages for food and clothing. Along with the offer of sex, the precious gems found in the elven controlled mines somewhere in the huge western forest provide the currency the elves need to conduct trade. Wolves and bears keep well clear of the elves, whose strong odour and excellent hearing enables them to avoid any unnecessary fights. With an increasing number of fertile Elf Maidens, the elves periodically invite young Thurnian men to join their community. The promise of unlimited sex means that there is no shortage of volunteers.

"The young Thurnian men who live with the elves in their hidden community are often exhausted from their daily exertions servicing the needs of Elf Maidens in heat. However, when given the opportunity to return to their own villages, the young men invariably choose to stay with the elves. The powerful pheromones emitted by fertile Elf Maidens usually attract several men at a time. Each Elf Maiden typically requires three or four men to satisfy her cravings and the young men are invariably happy to oblige."

"The elves allowed us to do a census of their elven community, which currently contains twenty adults, forty-six adolescents, and thirty-two elves aged of eight years or younger. Eight of the adults were pregnant at the time of our visit."

I sit down on conclusion of my presentation and prepare to face the barrage of questions my audience are sure to launch.

"When you returned to civilisation, why didn't you order this illegal elven community to be rounded up?" snaps the Chief Procurator, clearly alarmed that the population of elves is much larger than he feared.

"The local villagers have no interest in destroying the elven community with whom they regularly trade," I reply. "The officials of the nearest city say the deep forest is outside of their jurisdiction, and that the Emperor must deal with the matter. To be honest, I doubt the elves would simply allow themselves to be rounded up. They are far better equipped to survive in the forests than any Thurnian man or woman. Even if an military expedition managed to reach them, the elves would most likely disappear deeper into the forest. Most of the western wilderness has never been mapped, so we have no idea how far it extends."

"So, what do you propose we do about your discovery?" prompts the Chief Procurator.

"There is no evidence that the elven community in the western forests represents a threat to the stability of the Emperor's domain," I reply. "The issue that requires attention is the same one that affects the adolescent elves in the east. The working and living conditions of adolescent elves must be improved. We must give them the same legal status as adult elves, and require employers to meet certain minimum standards regarding working and living conditions."

"Hmm. I can't see that idea gaining much support," chortles the Chief Procurator, sensing a chance to belittle me in front of his advisers. "I note you don't propose allowing elves to be given equal rights with Thurnian citizens."

"In time that would be desirable, but there needs to be a radical change in the attitude of Thurnian citizens towards elves for that to succeed."