Whether in the body or out of the body, I do not know. But at that moment… I kick myself and the chair back out of the way as if some rat was running through. I look at the wall by the window, then across the floor to the opposite wall, there is nothing.

“THERE IS ANOTHER GREAT TREE!” Reyansh exclaims with a Eureka moment, jumping to his feet. Hands in the air holding the bedrail.

Looking up at Reyansh, then at the bedrail, I remember the warning and the deaths prophesied. Jumping to my feet and putting my hand on the bedrail he’s holding above his head, “No!”

Reyansh focuses on me.

“No.” I set my jaw, my voice stern. “No. There is no Great Tree. Look!” I gently pull on the bedrail as he lets it down between us. Lilly and Jenn are now standing at the bedrail ends, opposite each other.

“See?” I focus strength into my hand, into my fingers, and gouge out some more wood fibers from where the bedrail is damaged. “I want you to understand where I am from.” Holding the mangled fibers in front of his face. “When I tell you it is dark, understand that it is not just void of all mana. There is nothing. No connections. It is dead to what you know of.”

Reyansh, looking from the fibers to where I gouged the bedrail, back to me with a look of pleading in his eyes now starting to turn red.

“I do not have the words needed to explain.” I hold the mangled wood fibers in front of him again, forcing the issue. “But you understand when you look at this.” I pull my hand back, gently taking the bedrail from his hands in the same motion.

Sliding the bedrail, laying it on the floor next to my chair. Jenn and Lilly are assisting Reyansh to sit back down. He is shaken and looking very elderly to me, at the moment.

We sit in silence for a moment, Lilly and Jenn to either side. Jenn comforting with her hand on her grandfather’s shoulder almost mirroring her mother’s action, except Lilly also has her other hand trying to comfort her father, patting his knee.

“Can I tell you again what comfort and blessing your family here has been to me?” I tell Reyansh as he looks up at me. “The kindness and support your family and the people here have given me I cannot express in words. The good that they have done. What they have accomplished here helping the children. I have never seen or spoken to an elf in my life before finding myself here. But what I have seen in Lilly and her daughter Jenn, speaks to me volumes of what your family must be like and the kind of man you must be to have such a wonderful daughter and granddaughter.”

Reyansh has visibly straightened. “Elf.” He says with conviction. Seeing my slight confusion. “I am Elf, not a man.” With that statement, you can hear the pride that he has for his race as he and his family sit a little taller, a little more regal in their appearance.

Shifting his gaze to his granddaughter, then back over to his daughter. “These days have been full of surprises. I could not be more pleased.” Turning back to me. “My daughter has told me of your plight, how you saved my granddaughter, then again a second time. I wanted to meet this man and thank him personally. Thank you.” He stands and holds out his hand to me.

Looking at his hand, standing I take it and he shakes my hand, not in the Elven fashion, but in the way of men. His grip is firm and there is far more strength than I would have expected.

Looking down at the bedrail he says. “I do not want to overstay my welcome.” He lets out a short soft sigh before looking back at me and continuing. “I am staying on the other side of the clearing. Please come, I would like to speak with you and have you as my guest.”

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

Waiting for an answer, he doesn’t shift his gaze from me. “I will come, what did you have in mind?”

With that, he smiles and turns. “It is yet to be decided.” Walking towards the door. “Come daughters, there are preparations to be made.”

Lilly closely follows her father, but Jenn was giving me a warm smile before she turned to catch up. Closing the door behind her, I am left standing looking around my room thinking ‘What the hell?’.

…

After a few minutes of just turning and looking around, I don’t see anything abnormal. I push the chair and furniture back into place and scan the room again. It all looks fine, which makes me feel even more uncomfortable. Walking over and opening the hidden room, I see most everything is gone except for the ghillie suit and items that I have acquired here.

Smelling something like fresh-cut grass, I look right at the ghillie suit and touch it. It’s not plastic! Feeling the leaf between my fingers and pulling back the edge, the inside suit is still there, but even that has changed. I stop. Looking at where my hand is holding the ghillie suit, I watch it change to match and blend with my hand. Processing this for a second, I slowly let go and step back. I watch as it changes and blends back to matching where it is hanging.

I just turn and shut the door. It can all just stay in there. I’m going to go get something to eat. “AH!” I stub my toe on the end of the bedrail! “BULLSHIT!” I yell, holding my toes, hopping on one foot as I fall into one of the chairs. It could have been worse, at least I have shoes on. Dobby has a sock. I get up and limp out the door. Where the hell is Bart?

…

Long story short, I find Bart near the main hall where I first came to this section.

“You want me to burn your bed? Now?” he asks again.

“Yes, Don’t you have someone here that is a pyro…? Fire-mage or something?”

“Because you stubbed your toe?” Looking at me with concern. “Couldn’t you forgive your bed and heal your toe, you are a cleric?”

Can I heal my toe? The thought didn’t even cross my mind. “Bart please, can you help me?” I am mad at my bed. My toe hurts. I am overreacting. What am I going to say? Can’t let the Elves get my bed? I should’ve tried to heal my toe.

Looking down and pointing at my toe. “Be healed, Be well!” I command it.

Bart’s standing there, looking at me yell at my toe. He waits for a second, then looks up at me “Well?”

I think about it. My toe. I’m stressing out. My toe doesn’t hurt and I’m not sure when it stopped. “My toe doesn’t hurt,” I tell him.

“I can work with that. Be right back.” He turns and walks away.

“That’s not what I meant.” He just keeps walking. I didn’t mean that I just healed my toe. I was just trying to say that my toe doesn’t hurt anymore. “Bart!” I yell. He keeps going as I watch him enter a building and close the door behind him. “Bullshit!” I yell, mostly at him.

I stand here. I should have left. Five, maybe ten minutes, old people come out with Bart. I don’t know, five or six of them, I don’t care and I’m not counting. As they get closer, I recognize them as being there, hollering about which Identifying stone to use next.

Walking up side by side with Bart, this one’s the old crone that was calling me stupid or something. Stopping in front of me, she’s glaring at me. The other old guys are gathering around me so they can see. She raises her hands like she is curling some weights. Then turns her hands over, palms down. Her knuckles and joints are huge. I can hear them cracking as she opens and closes her hands.

I know what she wants, what she’s asking. I gently take each one of her hands in mine and close my eyes. I at least have to pray for her. “Lord, this lady is asking me for help. I’m not sure what to do. Can you help me out? Can you fix her hands?” I keep my eyes closed for a few moments before opening them back up. Looking at her hands, they don’t look any different.

“What did ya do?” she asks, still glaring at me a little while flexing her hands a bit.

“Not a clue,” I tell her.

“Aaa,” she exclaims as she pulls her hands back and starts walking past me. “Where’s it at?” she asks Bart.

Now, the rest of the old guys are following her. She must know where she's going because she didn’t wait for Bart to answer. Bart and I follow after.

…

She does know where she’s headed because she takes a slow, but direct path straight to my building. I take a few quick steps ahead when we get close, and open the door for her. She climbs the stairs, down the hall, and everyone waits as I get around them to open my door.

Letting them in, right away as I enter, I see my ghillie suit sitting by the window in the sunlight. Same window the fog was by. It’s lying on the floor and just looks like some patch of grass growing where it doesn’t belong.

“This it?” she asks, bedrail in hand.

“That and the rest of it.” Pointing at the bed.

Corruption she says and I watch the bedrail do a slow burn turning to black ash. With a handful left, she touches it to the bed. A couple of minutes and everything is gone.

One of the old guy's turns. “I’m heading back.” The rest follow.

The crone stops in front of me, flexing her hand into a fist like she’s going to hit me. “They don’t hurt.” She says and follows after the rest of the group.

Once they leave, not shutting the door, Bart turns to me. “They don’t hurt.” He then proceeds to leave, shutting the door behind him.

I look around at the ash. At the ghillie suit on the floor. “You better behave yourself,” I tell it. Looking over at the door to the hidden room, it’s still shut.

Getting a couple of dinner plates, I scoop the bulk of the ash that I can and dump it out the window to the wind. Checking on the ghillie suit, I’ve been watching it, to see if it moves. It’s grown a tiny purple flower. “If that’s an apology, your forgiven.” No clue at all if it’s sentient. Not taking any chances right now in magic land with a possible venom suit. I head out the door to get myself something to eat.