The portal guard led the group to a building that was clearly grown in the side of the large tree that was closest to the portal. Even so, it wasn’t all that close. If this was where the guards’ station for the portal was, it was surprisingly inconveniently located. Even in a place without significant weather, there had to be a reason to put the rest area a long way from a work area. Since it seemed unlikely that they couldn’t grow anything closer, Serenity was willing to bet that the reason was to avoid a surprise attack through the portal.
He didn’t think that happened often, but it was something to think about. Earth’s portals weren’t uniformly protected; worse, he hadn’t paid attention to what protection there was. It was entirely likely that there was more there than he realized. The possibility of more invasions wouldn’t have been missed, whether or not they were protected for the next decade.
There were less than seven years left of that time, anyway.
They were led into a relatively small room, only about fifteen feet on each side; it looked like it wasn’t designed with a group as large as theirs in mind. There certainly wasn’t enough seating. Serenity didn’t think it was enough space for twelve people, even though there was plenty of space to stand.
The guard left and closed the door behind him. Serenity picked a spot near a wall; he might as well let Jenna’s nannies sit. They were young but this was still a long, tiring tip for them.
“Why do you think they pulled us aside?” Rissa seemed to split her attention between Serenity and Blaze, as if they were the two most likely to have an answer.
“I’m not sure,” Serenity answered. “Maybe because I recognized Tzintkra? They probably want to tell us not to talk about it. I think that’s what Berinath meant.”
Blaze snorted at Serenity’s comment. Was it the fact that he’d talked to the moon? “I hope that’s all it is; then we can buy what we came for and get out of here. If it isn’t, see if you can get the rest of us released. I have faith you’ll be able to get yourself out of whatever this is if we’re safe. We’ll head back out through the portal and manage the purchases while you get out yourself. We can meet on Myrta; I have some contacts in Berek that can help us get what we came for and will let me know when you get there.”
Myrta sounded familiar; Serenity thought it was a planet on one of the routes to Berinath that he’d rejected because it was currently slightly longer. Berek didn’t ring a bell, but the way Blaze said the name it was likely to be a major city. Serenity would be able to find it, if he had to. “Sounds like a plan. It would be nice if we had more to go on; I didn’t expect this at all.”
“Neither did I.” Blaze frowned. “I’ve never had any problems moving through Berinath. The dryads are insular but they don’t interfere with things as long as you don’t threaten the plants or the domes. That’s better than many places.”
Serenity nodded. He could agree with that; governments willing to leave people alone were better than ones that wouldn’t. He hoped that he wasn’t going to end up in too much trouble for knowing too much; some places were fine with anything as long as you didn’t rock the boat but would come down hard on anyone who did. Vengeance was generally fine in them, but the Final Reaper wasn’t. No one wanted someone that powerful wandering around unattached.
Fortunately, he was nowhere near that powerful. The only thing he had now that might be dangerous was knowledge and it was more likely to be dangerous to him than to the dryads of Berinath. He’d happily agree to not talk about which planet the moon orbited if that was all that was needed.
It wasn’t long before the door the guard left through opened again. Several worried conversations stopped now that something was finally happening.
An older lady dressed in a robe covered in leaves, maybe even made of leaves, stepped into the room. She was pale, though her skin was lightly tinted with green. Her hair was a red-orange that reminded Serenity more of a leaf during the fall than normal red hair. It could have been hair dye; perhaps he was simply projecting because he knew she had to be a dryad?
In the silence brought by her presence, the elder dryad nodded sharply then asked, “So which of you is the undead?”
Apparently the reason they were pulled aside wasn’t his comment, after all. Had they taken him for an undead being? That was a surprise; a poor group like the Traa could make that mistake, but he’d expected better of a major crossroads like Berinath. They ought to be able to tell the difference between an elemental and an undead. Elementals weren’t that common but they also weren’t so rare that a place with as much traffic as Berinath could ignore their existence.
Serenity didn’t miss the fact that she was watching the entire room. Her expression was not concerned but he could see the tenseness in the way she held herself. She was ready for a fight.
What she wasn’t ready for, apparently, was no response. “Well? You may as well admit it. That will be easier for everyone.”
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“None of us are undead,” Serenity spoke up. Maybe he could straighten this mess out with some information; it worked with the Traa, after all. “Are you certain your sensors are calibrated correctly? I expected a place like this to be able to tell the difference between undead and an elemental.”
The elder dryad focused all of her attention on Serenity. He felt it almost like an aural attack, but it was simply her revealing herself to him. Her Tier was hard to estimate because her aura wasn’t the only one buttressing her power. She had a chorus behind her. It reminded Serenity somewhat of some of the generals he’d faced over the years; they had auras far stronger than their personal power because the power of their army backed them up. “Undead, necromancer, or elemental of death, it matters only a small amount. None are welcome on Berinath. An undead we would help return to life and sanity; the others are beyond our aid.”
“That can’t be cheap,” Serenity said, slightly stunned. He knew what it took to return an undead being to life; he’d done it a few times as Vengeance, to others as well as himself. It took a tremendous amount of time and some very expensive ingredients. It also took a great deal of skill; a small mistake could be painful, as he knew from experience, while a large mistake could have far worse consequences. Permanently killing the undead instead of raising them to life was not the worst outcome; turning them into a true mindless abomination seemed worse to him.
The elder dryad smiled gently. She looked almost kind with that expression. “Most are able to pay a large fraction of the cost back during their new life. Whether or not they can, however, it is the correct action to recover them from the unnatural corruption they have been forced into.”
Despite her sweet, even innocent, expression that didn’t seem at all nice. Serenity was sure some undead would happily work to return to life. He had. At the same time, he knew that not all undead were interested.
Serenity shook his head. This didn’t seem like the time to worry about that; he needed to worry about getting his people out of the situation instead. “We’re just here to buy some flyers, but if you want us to leave, we can look elsewhere.”
The elder dryad laughed mirthlessly. “Let you travel to spread the bane of all that is living, perhaps even the horror of death-in-life? No, that won’t do at all. Are you the beacon of death we saw? Will you surrender yourself to us as the guardians of life?”
She really liked to hear herself talk. Serenity wasn’t certain if he should be glad for that since it might give him a way to get his family out of danger or annoyed because it was just that aggravating. Maybe both?
“If I do, will you let my family and friends go?” Serenity was confident he could get himself out of whatever they tried to do to him. If it came down to it, he could turn to shadows and escape that way; while he could come up with ways to contain himself, he knew all of his weaknesses. They’d be using equipment made to hold most people and he could get around or through most of that.
A broad smile formed on the elder druid’s face. “So long as they do not carry the taint of death, they will be permitted to do as they choose.”
:Are you certain you want to do this? We can fight our way out of here. The portal isn’t that far,: Rissa offered.
:This is safer for Jenna,: Serenity countered. :I’ll be fine, she might not be. It only makes sense. Keep her safe until I can catch up with you.:
:I hate this,: Rissa complained. :This was supposed to be a fun shopping trip to a beautiful place and instead we’re running for our lives.:
:It’s not that bad,: Serenity countered. :I did get to see Berinath, at least a little, and Tzintkra from space was a heck of a view. That’s something.:
Serenity considered what would happen after he got the others released for a moment and hurried to give recommendations. :Please don’t stay on Berinath to try to get me out. I may not like what I have to do, but I promise I’ll be fine and I’ll meet you on Myrta, the way Blaze suggested. Maybe Myrta is beautiful too.:
:I still hate it,: Rissa grumbled.
Serenity looked straight into the elder dryad’s eyes. “Let me watch. I need to see that they’re safe.” His one large worry about admitting he cared was that they might be used against him. Serenity knew that the best way to get him to do something was to threaten his family. It wasn’t always what the enemy wanted done, but he’d always do something.
A hard look came into the elder dryad’s eyes. Serenity felt a Skill being used, touching his aura. It seemed more sensory than anything else, but Serenity couldn’t quite tell what it did immediately; he’d need a few minutes to tease the spellform the Skill created apart. “Are you being forced to protect them?”
“What?” Was she thinking he was undead again, only this time that he was under someone’s control? “They’re my family. Of course I want to see them safe.”
The elder dryad seemed to relax a little at that. “Very well, then. Let’s do that now so you don’t have to worry about them while we take care of you.”
Did he see a little sympathy in her expression or did he just imagine it? Serenity wasn’t certain. He also didn’t really care; the important thing was that everyone else got out. Once that was taken care of, he’d decide how much he wanted to play along with the dryads. He might just leave or he might try to find out more; the fact that Berinath was in the sky above Tzintkra did mean that he probably shouldn’t just ignore it if the dryads were completely hostile to the dominant forces of Tzintkra.
“Please put your hands in front of you so I can bind them,” the elder dryad requested. “You’ve been cooperative, but it will make everyone feel safer.”
Serenity took a quick look at the braided rope the dryad held out towards him. It was plant matter of some sort, but that was all he could tell. Well, that and the fact that it was enchanted, probably to be sturdier. :I’ll tell you what the rope does and if I need you to get me out,: Serenity told Rissa silently before he held his hands out towards the elder. :If I don’t say anything, assume I probably need help.: