The dryad's wooden face was a mask of terror as Mr. Marion moved to stab its head, but Selise shouted at us from behind. “Mr. Marion, don't!”
I knew Mr. Marion wouldn't listen to Selise's cry, so I had to command him myself. Stop!
Mr. Marion's spike-arm stopped millimeters from the dryad's terrified face.
“Don't kill her!” Selise shouted as she approached us.
“Stay away, Selise. It could take you hostage again,” I said as I watched the dryad for any suspicious movement, but it simply stayed still on the ground as it looked up at us. “Why shouldn't I kill this creature? It tried to kill us.”
I felt Selise flinch from my words in my fabric sense, and I belatedly realized that I had been speaking with a harsh tone. “She's a dryad, Mr. Marion. They're sacred creatures.”
I snorted underneath Mr. Marion's mask. “There's nothing sacred about a tree monster killing innocent people just for wandering into its territory unknowingly. It tried to kill us, Selise, and it lost. It deserves what's coming for it.”
“Is this who you really are, Mr. Marion?” Selise asked with a slightly trembling voice as she slowly backed away. “Who are you?”
Selise's words made me flinch. I shifted my gaze from the dryad to the young huntress standing behind me. I was used to seeing her with a cheerful smile or a dissatisfied pout, but never have I seen her before with fear in her eyes, fear that was directed towards me.
“Selise, I—”
I was interrupted as Taloress stumbled from the bushes. When she saw us, she waved at Selise with her arm which was still shaped like a spike. She must have realized it as well and quickly morphed it back into a normal arm. Selise backed away in fear. You could have come at a more opportune time, Taloress.
“What are you, people?” Selise whispered.
“It's not as bad as it looks like! It's still us!” I said quickly. The dryad shifted below me and I immediately instructed Mr. Marion to get ready to stab at a moment's notice. “Don't move.”
“If you're going to kill me, do it already,” the dryad gasped weakly. “I am dead already. My life's blood spills from me.”
I looked down and realized that the sweet-smelling sap that was leaking from its body was its blood. “Be patient, dryad. The only reason you're not dead yet is because of my friend that you tried to kill earlier,” I growled.
Selise approached us despite my earlier instructions and kneeled beside the dying dryad. “We have a lot to talk about, Mr. Marion, but that can wait later. Please, help her.”
“But—”
“Do it!” Selise shouted as she glared at me. The way her lips trembled told me that she feared me, but she hid it in a mask of anger. Her fear stabbed my heart.
“Alright,” I replied as I separated Mr. Marion's left arm from his body and turned it into ropes that bound the dryad's limbs to the ground.
“What are you doing?!” Selise hissed.
“I'm going to heal it, but I'm not going to let it kill us when it recovers,” I replied as I began casting Heal on the dryad's body. I wasn't even sure if it would work on a creature like her, but there's no other choice besides trying. I'm almost out of mana.
What I was doing was too risky. My mana pool was almost depleted and if the dryad decides to fight back after it gets healed, I won't be able to defend ourselves. My puppets won't be able to move and my body isn't fit enough to run away from a monster. The pragmatic choice would have been to kill it right there and then, but Selise's fear of me scared me more. I didn't want to lose one of my few friends.
As my Heal spell activated, the ravaged mess that remained of the dryad's chest knitted together, slowly but surely. The wound was bad enough that it took me several casts just to stabilize the wound, but I did not dare heal it completely. The dryad's eyes grew wide as it watched its own chest knit by itself.
“That should be enough to keep it alive,” I said as I withdrew. My mind was already pounding because of my lack of mana, but my focus never wavered on the dryad, who seemed to stare at us with suspicious eyes.
“Why did you heal me?” the dryad asked, its deep groaning voice tinged with shock.
“I only healed you because Selise told me to,” I replied coldly. I didn't add that I would have killed her on the spot if Selise didn't interfere. This bastard almost killed my friend…
I shook my head. Selise's words earlier echoed in my mind, reminding me of the fear in her eyes when she looked at me. Is this who I really am? When have I become so… ruthless?
“Because we were the ones that attacked first,” Selise said to the dryad, her voice interrupting my reverie. “And you're a dryad! I heard stories about your kind! You protect your forests from those that wish to harm them and preserve the peace and balance within.”
“That is correct, and you have come and attacked me and my Hometree with the cleansing power of fire!” the dryad exclaimed in anger. I readied Mr. Marion to kill the creature the moment it tried to escape, but the dryad turned still. “But it seems there has been a misunderstanding. A grave one, indeed.”
“I'm sure that's what everybody says when they end up losing the fight,” I said blandly, but Selise shot me a glare.
“We are different from you, human. The Dayadra do not bother with excuses and lies,” the dryad said, managing to exude an aura of disdain even though its face was simply a flat wooden board with two holes for eyes and a long crack that functioned as her mouth. “A grave misunderstanding has occurred that could have cost us an ally. For that, I ask for forgiveness, manling.”
The dryad said that as it stared at Selise with an undecipherable expression. Selise grew flustered from the dryad's words. “What do you mean 'ally'?”
“The Dayadra are powerful, but we are few. Even the oldest and most powerful among us have been felled by the infinite numbers of mankind over the centuries. Because of this, we value allies outside our Sacred Forests, those who sympathize with us and fight for our well-being,” the dryad replied. “May I know your name, manling?”
“M-My name's Selise, and I'm not a ‘manling!’” Selise exclaimed.
“You are a human child, yes? Then you are a manling,” the dryad said with genuine confusion.
Before Selise could complain further, I butted in. “Does this mean you won't try to kill us any longer?”
The dryad looked at me with disdain. “If young Selise ever finds herself lost in our grounds again, we will extend our hospitality to her. But for you and your other companion, you are not welcome here. If we see you in our lands again, we will hunt you down or die trying.”
I snorted. “Then I'm going to tell you the same, Barkface. You and your tree-hugger friends aren't welcome in my territory as well.”
“You dare insult us?!” the dryad screamed.
“Will you two stop fighting already?!” Selise shouted. “Mr. Marion, I thought you always said you were a ‘grown man?’ You're being childish right now.”
“I'm not!” I exclaimed and pouted. Then I remembered I was supposed to be an adult and stopped pouting.
“And as for you,” Selise said as she turned to the dryad. “Mr. Marion is my friend. If you hurt him, we're not friends anymore.”
The dryad glared at me, and I returned it as well. But in the end, both of us surrendered under Selise's wrath. “Fine, the humans will be tolerated.”
Selise turned her glare to me.
“All right, all right, I'll be good to the dryads,” I grumbled. “Does this mean we can go now?”
“I would like to invite young Selise to our Sanctuary,” the dryad said. “I must introduce our new ally to our Matriarch.”
Selise's eyes practically sparkled at the dryad's offer. “Really?! It'd be an honor!”
“Selise! You just can't go to their home, it's dangerous!” I exclaimed. “Your father is going to kill me if he learns about this!”
“Dad can't dictate what I should and should not do, Mr. Marion,” Selise said with a frown.
“If the human does not want to come, then let him be, young Selise,” the dryad said with a sneer. “I'm sure the Matriarch will find his presence a nuisance, anyway.”
“Who said I'm not going? There's no way I'm going to leave Selise alone with a bunch of homicidal trees,” I said as I released the dryad from its bonds.
When it realized it was free, the dryad stood up, wobbling a bit as it did so. Its wound was not completely healed yet and it was probably weak from being treated with Life magic, which was a good thing since it'd be easy to fight it if it turned on us.
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As the dryad steadied itself, loud cracking noises suddenly emerged from its body as it slowly shrank. Its body morphed, the rough bark that served as its skin turning smoother and its torso gaining curves. Its face turned more human-like and ‘hair’ made of leaves started growing from its head.
By the time the noises stopped, a woman made of wood and leaves stood before us, naked. Despite the inhuman appearance, the dryad was beautiful. The dark brown bark that served as her skin accentuated the vibrant green leaves that flowed from her head like hair, and a fragrant smell wafted from her body, like that of fresh nature. The only blemish on her body was the small remains of the wound between her breasts.
“Shall we get going?” the dryad asked with a melodic voice.
My jaw dropped at what I had just witnessed, and judging by how Selise was silent beside me, she probably had the same shocked expression that I had.
I felt my cheeks burn in embarrassment as well as my eyes roved over her naked body. Damn you, hormones!
I felt Taloress behind me grope her small chest and pout. Master likes big breasts.
N-Not necessarily! I replied in a fluster. I love all kinds of boobs!
“You're so beautiful,” Selise whispered in awe, much to the dryad's delight.
“Thank you, young Selise. Ah, I forgot to introduce myself to our honored ally. I am known as Wennena. My friends call me Wenna and you may call me that as well, young Selise. Shall we proceed?”
When we finally managed to stop gawking at her beauty, Wennena started leading us deeper into the forest.
●●●
The journey through the forest was peaceful. Unlike the suffocating density and foreboding atmosphere of the Wild Woods, the dryad's forest exuded serenity. The presence of small birds singing on the tree branches was a big difference as well. In the Wild Woods, only shriekers were crazy enough to make loud noises, and only because they could duke it out with their fellow bloodthirsty monsters.
The Sacred Forest, Wennena called it, was something almost out of a fairy tale as I admired the serenity around me. The only thing that wasn't at peace in this place was my heart as it pounded in nervousness deep in my chest. Anytime now, Selise is going to ask for an explanation for everything she'd seen earlier.
I had held nothing back when I fought the dryad earlier, and as a result, Selise had seen my true abilities. She'd quickly realize that the power I've shown during the monster attack in the village was nothing but a child's play and that I've used an entirely different kind of power when I morphed Mr. Marion's body. Heck, she even saw Taloress transform her arms. I was certain that she was going to ask for the truth, something that I could not give.
My secret was not something I could divulge lightly. To let Selise learn of my Authority is akin to dragging her into hell when I eventually get found out. But that was where my dilemma lay: Selise would not be happy to be told lies. To keep my secret, I would have to risk my friendship with her.
It should have been an easy decision to make. My secret should always be a top priority. So what if my friendship with Selise crumbled? At the end of the day, no lives were risked, something that couldn't be said if she were to learn the truth.
But she's my friend, I thought in consternation as I followed a fair distance behind Selise and Wennena. They were talking as if they had been life-long friends, Selise asking all sorts of questions with bright eyes while Wennena answered patiently.
She's just one friend, a dark corner of my mind said. I already had my puppets with me. Taloress, Mr. Marion, Tedd, Spider. They were all my friends. The loss of one wasn't the end of the world.
I clenched my fist. A loss of a friend is one loss too many.
As my mind whirred for a possible solution to my unsolved dilemma, my fabric sense finally detected something out of the norm. Ahead of us, I detected huge masses of leaves below us moving despite the lack of a strong wind. Dryads.
The way ahead was blocked by a huge wall of underbrush that stretched on toward the east and west like a curtain wall. Wennena stopped before it and faced us. “Beyond this wall lies our Sanctuary, the only safe place for our kind. It is a great honor for outsiders to set foot inside our Sanctuary, and we only do it for those we deem our allies.” Wennena's eyes flashed as she looked at me. “You will show respect to every Dayadra inside, human, especially to the Matriarch. If you so much as try to insult us with your arrogance, I will have you banished.”
I didn't bother responding with a quip. The seriousness in Wennena's expression and the nervousness I was feeling were enough to sap me of my usual mood. I simply responded with a nod.
Wennena seemed satisfied with my response and gestured to the wall before her. The huge wall of leaves and thorny vines parted at her command, showing a narrow but long path that led to the Sanctuary.
Since I stood close to Wennena, she was within the range of my mana sense. I should have felt a surge of mana from her when she opened the way before us, but there was no disturbance in the mana inside her body. It meant that the wall parting before us was not magic. How did she do that?
When we entered the path, Wennena caressed the leaves lovingly. “Thank you, Ferti.”
The huge wall of leaves around us rustled loudly in response. It's alive, I thought in wonder and a bit of apprehension. The wall of leaves surrounded us on both sides, and if it decided to attack us, we'd have nowhere to escape to.
Thankfully, the journey through the path didn't take long. When we arrived at the other side of Ferti the Big Bush, I laid my eyes on the Sanctuary of the dryads. And my breath was taken away.
Ferti must have been a really big bush, because it was concealing a massive basin that must have been a few kilometers in diameter. The basin lay before us as if a giant had scooped out a part of the earth, and within the basin was a literal living forest. The trees were moving their branches like arms amidst all sorts of animals. Birds were perched on their branches, unafraid of the living trees, and other small animals scuttled about and played amongst the grass. When I looked at the other side of the basin, I realized that Ferti the Big Bush encircled the entire lip of the basin. The circumference of this basin must be more than a dozen kilometers long.
From my view at the lip of the basin, I realized that the trees were arranged by height. At the outer reaches of the basin stood the smallest trees, and as my gaze went further into the center, the trees slowly increased in height until I saw the small lake smack-dab in the middle of the basin, surrounded by tall trees I swear were as tall as the redwoods I knew of back on Earth. But there was one other tree that stood even taller than those.
In the middle of the lake was a small island from which stood a tree so tall that even from the height of the lip of the basin where I stood, I still l had to tilt my head slightly up just to see the top. Wennena had called it the Matriarch. How old does a tree have to be to grow that tall?
Selise wowed beside me as she took in the magnificent sight before us. “It's so beautiful…”
Wennena stood slightly straighter at Selise's words. “Come, I will introduce you to the Matriarch. She is the leader of our Sanctuary and will be happy to welcome new allies.”
“A-Are we really that important that we could meet your leader?” Selise asked consciously.
“Excepting the two humans with you, you are worthy of our friendship, young Selise,” Wennena said. I felt Taloress bristle in annoyance, but I simply kept silent. “Even when we fought as enemies, you still had the heart not only to spare me, but to save me from death as well. We treasure our allies as much as we treasure our water and soil.”
That seemed to assuage Selise's doubts.
Wennena started guiding us to the center of the basin. We passed by dozens of trees that moved by themselves, their branches and vines waving in our direction in curiosity. We even passed by other dryads like Wennena, and my face felt like it was about to melt from embarrassment when I realized that all of them were as naked and as beautiful as Wennena.
“I didn't know they would all be this beautiful and… naked,” Selise muttered beside me. I didn't even realize that she had moved beside me. The beauty of everything around us was that distracting.
“Yep, they're beautiful alright.”
“You didn't have to agree so enthusiastically, Mr. Marion.”
The other dryads gave us inquisitive looks as we passed by. They greeted Wennena cheerfully, who explained to them that Selise was an ally. She even emphasized the fact that only Selise was an ally, not me or Taloress. She didn't even have to do that.
The walk to the center was pretty long, although the downward slope of the land made it easier. The journey wasn't boring as well, what with all the beautiful dryads in their birthday suits staring at us with palpable interest. Dammit, of all the times my body could start pumping hormones, it had to be now.
When we arrived at the edge of the lake, I finally had the chance to calm myself. There were no more dryads around, and the only trees surrounding us were the tall ones. The massive Matriarch in the center of the lake loomed in front of us, but the rest of the view was concealed by the thick canopy above.
One of the trees near us suddenly started emitting cracking noises as a dryad emerged from it. She was tall and beautiful, but unlike the giggling and inquisitive dryads we met along the way, her eyes gleamed with wisdom and age, and in my mana sense, she glowed like a bonfire. This was a strong dryad. “Welcome back, Sentinel Wennena. The Matriarch will be happy to know that you've brought us three allies.”
“Greetings, Elder Ennoren,” Wennena said with reverence as she bowed. “I only bring one ally for the Matriarch. The other two are friends of our new ally, but I do not know if they deserve to be one of us.”
Elder Ennoren gave me and Taloress an assessing look before speaking. “If that is what you think, Sentinel Wennena, then you shall only bring our new ally to meet the Matriarch. The two will not be allowed to come.”
“But they're with me!” Selise exclaimed indignantly. “If they're not allowed to come with me, then I'm not going at all.”
Elder Ennoren's eyes narrowed at Selise. “You do not get to dictate our laws, human. If you do not like it, then leave.”
Selise and I were astounded at the Elder's words. Wennena said that dryads valued allies, and she seemed to believe it. But what I was seeing in the Elder dryad's eyes now was a cold, calculating gaze. To her, allies were only valued if she deemed them useful.
“But Elder—” Wennena began to say, but Elder Ennoren cut her off.
“If they cannot respect our laws, then they are not fit to be our allies,” the Elder said. “Guide them outside of our Sanctuary, Sentinel Wennena. They are not allowed to come back.”
Wennena and Selise's faces fell at the Elder's words. Seeing Wennena being submissive to this Elder told me that Selise's new dryad friend was a young one. And she had the gall to speak with so much bravado earlier…
“Come, Selise. If we're not welcome here, then it's time for us to go,” I said. I had no qualms about being kicked out at all. All this dryad business was making me uneasy, and I was glad to get Selise out of here.
“But, but—”
“We have no choice, Selise,” I said as I pulled on her arm. I turned to Wennena. “Thank you for the tour, Wennena, but it looks like we'll have to go.”
Before I could even take one step forward, a loud creaking noise echoed throughout the basin, followed by the sounds of millions of rustling leaves. I looked frantically behind me, thinking that the large tree in the middle of the lake was falling. What I saw instead was the Matriarch moving.
The Matriarch's enormous roots that sat at its base wriggled and the millions of leaves on its branches shook and rustled. Flocks of birds that perched on the Matriarch's branches flew in agitation while the surface of the lake rippled. Wennena and Elder Ennoren immediately fell to the ground in prostration.
“Mr. Marion, what's happening?” Selise asked with wide eyes.
“I wish I knew too.”
After a few seconds, both dryads gasped in shock before the Matriarch's rustling and groaning finally ceased.
“Your message has been received, Honored Matriarch,” Elder Ennoren said before standing up to face us with an unsatisfied but shaken expression. “Hear me, humans. The Matriarch has generously declared all of you our allies. Selise, Hunter of Wildpost Village. Taloress, Servant of the Masked Ascendant. And Mr. Marion, the Masked Ascendant. All of you now have the right to call yourselves a friend of the Dayadra.”
I froze in place at the Elder's announcement. How did they know? How did their Matriarch know?
Selise slowly turned to me as realization dawned on her face. Not only her, but everybody else was staring at me as well. Well fuck.
●●●
“Wake up, we're on our last leg of our journey,” a deep voice said that woke Lina from her restless sleep. She blearily opened her eyes and slowly sat up, taking in the sight of the wagon that she'd been riding in for the past few days.
“Breakfast is ready. Better get moving if we want to make it to Vont by midday,” the voice said. Lina followed it to her companion for the last few days, Ellis Hegan, who was peeking through the entrance of the wagon.
Lina got up quietly and exited the wagon. As usual, she sat near the campfire that Ellis built, a pot of porridge boiling above the fire. She wordlessly accepted the bowl and spoon that Ellis offered and served herself.
Ellis sat opposite her and took his own serving, his eyes wary as he constantly checked their surroundings for any threat.
“So, you got a good sleep last night?” Ellis suddenly asked to banish the silence. He never liked sitting in silence for too long.
Lina shrugged as she mechanically brought a spoonful of porridge into her mouth. Her eyebrows creased a bit as she chewed.
“I know, I'm not that good of a cook,” Ellis grumbled lightheartedly. “But unless you can cook, you'll have to deal with my meals while we're on the road.”
Lina wanted to tell the man that the worst food she could cook would have been heavenly when compared to this sorry excuse of a porridge, but she remained silent. She avoided doing things that reminded her of the past, and cooking always reminded her of the times she made food for Hele—
Lina set her bowl down on the ground, her appetite gone.
“That bad, huh?” Ellis commented with a grimace. “I mean, I tried my best…”
The silence returned when Lina didn't deign to reply. The quiet was uncomfortable, but Ellis had begun to get used to it since their journey began. In all that time, his companion never uttered a single word, so he always took it upon himself to drive away the awkward silence that always emerged when they ate their meals.
“I hope the roads around Vont aren't as crowded with traffic as it was when I first passed through the city. When I passed there last week to make it to Erfeld, the lines to the city gates reached all the way to the fields!” Ellis commented. He was met with silence.
“Apparently, the adventurers were on the lookout for a new type of monster. The Strikers were even sent to oversee the operation. A Platinum-ranked party!” Again, he was met with silence.
“I was in too much of a hurry when I first passed through the city, so I don't know much. But what I did manage to learn was that they were looking all over the place for a ‘spider monster’ that killed a Baronet and more than thirty people. I guess that's our first lead in finding our Ascendant.” That got a reaction from Lina, just like Ellis expected.
“Did they find him?” Lina asked with an intense gaze.
“No, they did not. As far as I know, they're searching around in the forests in the area, but I doubt they'd find the child. He's an Ascendant, after all.”
“His name is Brogen, not ‘the child’ or ‘Ascendant,’” Lina said with a dissatisfied tone.
Ellis shrugged. “Sorry, force of habit.”
“Can you tell me more of what you know about Ascendants?” Lina asked. It was the first time that she took initiative in a conversation, and Ellis jumped at the opportunity to talk to her.
“I'm sure you already know the general information about Ascendants. Legendary people capable of wielding immense power, their abilities far different from the normal kind of magic, abilities called Authorities. But what is less commonly known is why they are called Authorities in the first place,” Ellis said. “They are called Authorities because it gives an Ascendant jurisdiction over a certain concept. Just like how a Lord has jurisdiction over his domain, an Ascendant has absolute authority over the concept he wields.”
“What do you mean ‘concept?’” Lina asked.
“Think of it like affinities to magic. A Fire mage can wield Fire magic, a Water mage can wield Water magic, and so on. But unlike normal magic, the concepts that Ascendants can control go deeper than the surface,” Ellis explained. “For example, the power of an Ascendant who wields the concept of Fire doesn't end with simply creating or controlling fire. Since ancient times, fire symbolized cleansing and destruction, and those things come along with the Ascendant's Authority. They would be able to imbue the very idea of destruction into their fire. Their fires could burn anything it touches into ashes no matter what the material is, or it's also possible that their fires would never do any harm. Or they could even light a ‘fire’ in the minds of people and send them into a rage.”
Lina's eyes widened in understanding. “So an Ascendant not only controls the physical aspect of their Authority, but also the metaphysical aspect as well.”
“I don't know what metaphysical means, but I think you get the point,” Ellis said.
“So that's why they're called ‘Authorities,’” Lina muttered. “But why are they called ‘Ascendants?’ Is it because they've ascended higher than what a normal mage is capable of?”
Ellis fidgeted in his seat with an uncomfortable expression. “Sorry, but I'm not allowed to say that.”
Lina pouted. “Why?”
“Can't tell you either. Sorry.”
Lina sighed in disappointment and returned to the wagon, her bowl of porridge mostly untouched.
“Well, more for me, I guess,” Ellis muttered as he dumped the contents of Lina's bowl into his own.