The first to direct his attention to me spoke up yelling in harsh tones, “Are you daft, or just plain stupid boy! Why would you call out if all the beasts are asleep!” The man began walking closer, his voice increasing in intensity as he moved further closer to me.
However as his rugged face was but a hair’s width away from my face, the young lady spoke up in hushed tones, “He did save me Gared, what I would like to know is how my supposed, ‘elite’ guards didn’t warn me of the danger, before this boy stepped in. If it wasn’t for me I would be resting in the Bark of Ancestors right now, would I not?
The man named Gared couldn’t help but nod at this statement, as it seemed all too real towards the situation. He stepped back joining the others in discussing more recent matters. The young lady, however, stepped forward to meet my eyes, “I am sorry for the way my guards acted around you, for if it wasn’t for your warning as trivial as it may seem my life most likely would have been taken.”
“It was nothing, really.” I attempted to say, however, the look in her eyes told me otherwise, it seemed she was really grateful for my efforts in helping her life, no matter how small. This I couldn’t doubt her for. Moreover, I noticed as when I was talking to the girl, the horrid stench had gone away. Asking promptly about it she began to narrate that the smell is brought on by the bait that they use to lure and trap monsters, to destroy large herds of the creatures, as they have recently been troubling the forests.
I asked how she came about acquiring such as marvelous invention, but instead of giving me a straight answer she said that I would only be told if I followed her into the forest with the guards. It seemed that an outsider such as me was not allowed to proceed this deep into the forest, nor was this girl allowed by her tribal law to communicate with outsiders. Regardless I had saved her life and this apparently caused her to have to thank me. Of course, I was pleased with such an outcome, but I had doubts as to where it would lead me.
After all, I wasn’t seeking to gain more attachments out in the forest, I desperately trying to overcome the ones I already had. But whatever my reasoning I reluctantly agreed to head with her into the forest, they guards probably wouldn’t allow me to leave without knowing that I was fully trustworthy.
The guards, gathering around the young lady, whom I still didn’t know the name of, but I didn’t feel like I should ask. Began to lead her away, and told me to follow, we walked through the woods for what must have been an hour according to my watch, surprisingly I kept it hidden very well with my long sleeve shirts. We began to walk down an old path full of vines that outlined the borders like walls, feeling the sheer strength of mana flowing within the vines due to my increased intelligence stat, I could tell that they were the spell of a powerful mage far beyond what normal conventions for strong I’ve seen so far.
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Not to mention the sheer age of the roots made the thought all the more devastating as mana as I knew it from my training with Pree in alchemy was suppose to leak out of certain plants, that’s why fresh ingredients in potions where always the most effective. The dirt path outlined with vines, ended in front of a tree covered in moss, I didn’t know what laid inside however the young lady seemed to raise a hand to the moss, and as if casting another one of her runic spells, began chanting. The vines and moss started to strangely act to her words, seeming to shift and move, the moss that was once covering the door had begun to part revealing an archway of bark that leads into a city within the trees.
The castles which most fantasy gamers would consider a fairy palace was only dwarfed in this city by the sheer magnitude of the tree standing within the center, its green radiance seeming to brighten even the darkest night with its dazzling brilliance. As roots, thicker than most trees, seemed to run down the sides of the bark, carrying that same green radiance, filled the very soil and ground with its glow. Lighting up the grass in a light shade of emerald that I had not seen before. Whilst, it wasn’t night outside I could still imagine the beauty that this tree would hold within the dusk hours.
The young lady, turning to me once more stated, “I would like to invite you to our manor to stay for the night, or at least until his Majesty The Fairy King will hold an audience with you to decide your fate. Will you accept?”
Weighting my imaginary options I decided to accept her offer as if I had much of a choice. At least this way I could explore the city later on and not be labeled as an outsider. Well, maybe not that second part She took me past the streets of the city, a major detail I noticed was the lack of any construction, it seemed everything in this city was built inside of a tree as if each tree was shaped purely to be this size.
Even the manor at which the girl had taken me seemed to be devoid of any originality, each house was made by the same person I observed and therefore the same overall style was used in each design, using Examination on each house didn’t help either. As all I received were question marks and a suggestion that I should get stronger to understand this creation.
The luxury household, whilst appearing dull on the outside, grasped another level of intricacy on interior decoration. As the walls were lined with paintings and statues of modern art. Even containing bookshelves in one room, which I was told consisted of the family’s main library, thusly meaning that the books I had seen were not the least to be found. In all honesty, I didn’t know for how long I would be able to hold myself back from the feast of knowledge that was held within this library, adding onto that my memory skill and I was sure that reading each book in that room would be worth it one way or another, who knows, maybe I could finally learn magic while I’m at it.
After finally been given a tour of the mansion I had grown rather fond of its interior design and library, regardless of these desires the young lady insisted I rest my head, as before I could rebuttal her, I glanced out towards the sky, only just realizing it had turned dark out. I found this strange but didn’t question it as I crawled into the all too comfortable bed, dismissing the only recently known blue notifications about stats gained I fell fast asleep.