Skills skills skills. Now at level 25, Sanders had 7 skill points available. Riza had decided to make him a resurrectionist so she had that weakness covered, as well as the fact it was mostly skills she had not taken. She could see if there were other hidden skills available.
Life
0th Tier
[Heal] (10/10)+ -Learned
Restore 95 points of health to a living entity
Cost: 10 es/sec
[Leech] (10/10)+ -Learned
Drain 55 points of health from a living entity
20m range
Cost: 10 es/sec
[Cleanse] (Passive) -Learned
You have immunity towards any toxin, disease, or contamination
1st Tier
[Sapping Curse] (1/10)
Prevent a living entity from recovering health for 1 hour1
Casting Time: 1 sec
Cost: 5 es
[Animate Critter] (1/10)
Raise a corpse smaller than yourself into a level 0 zombie
Casting Time: 5 sec
Cost: 5 es/sec
[Life Sense] (1/10)
Scan for either a general or specific form of life
1m radius
Casting Time: 1 m/sec
Cost: 1 es
[Last Words] (1/10)
Extract thoughts from an entity that died within 1 hour
Casting Time: 1 min
Cost: 5 es
Hidden Skill
Requirements: [Heal] (10/10)
[Rejuvenate] (10/10)+ -Learned
Restore 500 points of health and regenerate any wounds to a living entity
Cost: 150 es
2nd Tier
[Reanimate] (1/10)
Raise a corpse into a level 0 zombie
Casting Time: 1 min
Cost: 10 es/sec
Requirements: [Animate Critter] (5/10)
[Inanimate Life] (1/10)
Bestow the gift of simple life to an inanimate object
Cost: 100 es
[Remnant Memories] (1/10) -Learned
Summoned entities are created with a 5% higher level
Cost: 5 es
Hidden Skill
[Rejuvenate] (10/10)
[Overhealth] (10/10) -Learned
All excess healing is stored as additional health up to 100% of maximum health. Decays at 10 health/sec
3rd Tier
[Resuscitate] (10/10)+ -Learned
Bring an entity that has died within the past 10 minutes back to life
Casting Time: 1 minute
Cost: 10000 es
Requirements: [Rejuvenate] (10/10)
[Amalgam] (1/10)
Combine 2 summoned entities into one entity
Casting Time: 5 min
Cost: 500 es/entity
Requirements: [Heal] (1/10)
[Senescence] (1/10)
Alter the age of something by 1 minutes per second
Cost: 50 es/sec
Requirements: [Rejuvenate] (1/10)
[Raise Dead] (1/10)
Raise a corpse into an undead version of itself beginning at level 1
Casting Time: 5 min
Cost: 1 es/sec per level
Requirements: [Reanimate] (5/10)
4th Tier
[Resurrection] (1/10)
Bring an entity that has died within the past 1 day back to life
Casting Time: 1 hour
Cost: 10000 es
Requirements: [Resuscitate] (10/10)
[Chimerical Spawn] (1/10)
Bestow the gift of complex life to an inanimate object
Casting Time: 10 min
Cost: 1000 es
Requirements: [Inanimate Life] (10/10)
[False Life] (1/10)
Raise a corpse into an undead version of itself beginning at level
Casting Time: 1 hour
Cost: 2 es/sec per level
Requirements: [Raise Dead] (10/10)
Hidden Skill
[Leech] (10/10)
[Essential Leech] (4/10) -Learned
Choose a living entity. Upon death, drain 0.4 stat points from its highest stat if possible
Casting Time: 5 secs
Cost: 12500 es
5th Tier
So far, [Overhealth] was the only discovery.
Being the smart lady that she was, before killing all those demons, she had managed to convince Sanders, and Daven, to purchase [Leech] and [Essential Leech]. After all their many complaints over their lack of physical stats, they were more than happy to do so.
The results were not all that great. [Essential Leech] took an inordinate amount of essence to level and Riza had effectively quadrupled the effectiveness of it with her boons, not to mention the efficiency increasing with each level.
At level 8, a single stat point costs Riza 7031 essence. With Sanders, after he had level to 25, [Essential Leech] was only level 4 and gave him 0.4 stat points for 12,500 essence. Noticeably worse.
Not to mention, it took time to regenerate all that essence and rather than killing one demon every ten minutes or so, he slipped in an [Essential Leech] whenever he could but frequently went without.
All of that meant his total stat points acquired from over 100 demon deaths was a measly 3.4. Pretty insignificant but far better than how Riza fared when she first got the skill and still relatively impactful compared to his small base stats.
Afterwards, Riza did the same with Daven, and his stat distribution was rather amusing; apart from 0.1 in Endurance, the rest went straight into power.
At least, he seemed pleased with this outcome.
Entity Manager Excess Essence 11.54 es/sec
Entity Name Skill Level Health Stamina Essence Cost (es/sec) Daven Raise Dead 25 198/198 122/122 57800/57800 -0.86 Sanders Raise Dead 25 130/130 114/114 58100/58100 -0.93 Harold Raise Dead 5 420/420 100/100 20/20 1.30 Haroldson Raise Dead 5 420/420 100/100 20/20 1.30 Tiffany Raise Dead 1 20/20 20/20 20/20 0.50 Eye Demon 1 Raise Dead 1 20/20 20/20 20/20 0.50 Eye Demon 2 Raise Dead 1 20/20 20/20 20/20 0.50 Eye Demon 3 Raise Dead 1 20/20 20/20 20/20 0.50 Eye Demon 4 Raise Dead 1 20/20 20/20 20/20 0.50 Eye Demon 5 Raise Dead 1 20/20 20/20 20/20 0.50
Riza was still speechless whenever she looked at the entity manager.
They have so much essence… It’s insane.
This was ridiculous but it got Riza thinking. Their essence regeneration was around 33 per second. That was from primordial magic skills as well as a maximised meditate.
The primordial strength was essentially a mirror of the magic one, and [Meditate] didn’t consume anything. That meant, it was totally possible to have a health of 60,000 and regenerate 33 of it per second by putting all your points into constitution.
That’s a similar amount to greater demons, except they can also use magic. They’re cheating.
Riza shook her head, getting back on track. Skills.
Daven was slightly worse off than Sanders. Without only [Heal] and [Cleanse] being the life skills he had, there were quite a few he needed before taking [Essential Leech].
Life
0th Tier
[Heal] (10/10)+ -Learned
Restore 95 points of health to a living entity
Cost: 10 es/sec
[Leech] (10/10)+ -Learned
Drain 55 points of health from a living entity
20m range
Cost: 10 es/sec
[Cleanse] (Passive) -Learned
You have immunity towards any toxin, disease, or contamination
1st Tier
[Sapping Curse] (1/10)
Prevent a living entity from recovering health for 1 hour1
Casting Time: 1 sec
Cost: 5 es
[Animate Critter] (1/10)
Raise a corpse smaller than yourself into a level 0 zombie
Casting Time: 5 sec
Cost: 5 es/sec
[Life Sense] (1/10)
Scan for either a general or specific form of life
1m radius
Casting Time: 1 m/sec
Cost: 1 es
[Last Words] (1/10)
Extract thoughts from an entity that died within 1 hour
Casting Time: 1 min
Cost: 5 es
Hidden Skill
Requirements: [Heal] (10/10)
[Rejuvenate] (10/10)+ -Learned
Restore 500 points of health and regenerate any wounds to a living entity
Cost: 150 es
2nd Tier
[Reanimate] (1/10)
Raise a corpse into a level 0 zombie
Casting Time: 1 min
Cost: 10 es/sec
Requirements: [Animate Critter] (5/10)
[Inanimate Life] (1/10) -Learned
Bestow the gift of simple life to an inanimate object
Cost: 100 es
[Remnant Memories] (1/10) -Learned
Summoned entities are created with a 5% higher level
Cost: 5 es
Hidden Skill
[Rejuvenate] (10/10)
[Overhealth] (1/10)
All excess healing is stored as additional health up to 10% of maximum health. Decays at 100 health/sec
3rd Tier
[Resuscitate] (1/10)
Bring an entity that has died within the past 11 minutes back to life
Casting Time: 1 minute
Cost: 1000 es
Requirements: [Rejuvenate] (10/10)
[Amalgam] (1/10)
Combine 2 summoned entities into one entity
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
Casting Time: 5 min
Cost: 500 es/entity
Requirements: [Heal] (1/10)
[Senescence] (1/10) - Learned
Alter the age of something by 1 minutes per second
Cost: 50 es/sec
Requirements: [Rejuvenate] (1/10)
[Raise Dead] (1/10)
Raise a corpse into an undead version of itself beginning at level 1
Casting Time: 5 min
Cost: 1 es/sec per level
Requirements: [Reanimate] (5/10)
4th Tier
[Resurrection] (1/10)
Bring an entity that has died within the past 1 day back to life
Casting Time: 1 hour
Cost: 10000 es
Requirements: [Resuscitate] (10/10)
[Chimerical Spawn] (1/10)
Bestow the gift of complex life to an inanimate object
Casting Time: 10 min
Cost: 1000 es
Requirements: [Inanimate Life] (10/10)
[False Life] (1/10)
Raise a corpse into an undead version of itself beginning at level
Casting Time: 1 hour
Cost: 2 es/sec per level
Requirements: [Raise Dead] (10/10)
Hidden Skill
[Leech] (10/10)
[Essential Leech] (4/10) -Learned
Choose a living entity. Upon death, drain 0.4 stat points from its highest stat if possible
Casting Time: 5 secs
Cost: 12500 es
5th Tier
With only four skill points left, Riza felt it was prudent to save them. While she could’ve spent them in some more earth skills, none of that was necessary at the moment, Daven’s combat capabilities were sufficient through the damage of a maximised [Leech] and the sustainability [Heal] offered.
It was a similar situation with Sanders except there was one more skill Riza was curious about.
[Animate Critter] (1/10)
Raise a corpse smaller than yourself into a level 0 zombie
Casting Time: 5 sec
Cost: 5 es/sec
If this works, it would be fucking incredible. Except… they don’t have any of the boons needed to make it work well. [Animate Critter+] and [Essence Monarch] works just fine but without [Way of Life], [Raise Dead] is too expensive.
Although, they only need [Way of Life] right? No, [Essence Monarch] would only give 20%, not 40%.
Then, this would only work as a proof of concept and is otherwise a wasted skill point. I need to save this line of thought for another summon. Later.
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Entity Manager Excess Essence 13.71 es/sec
Entity Name Skill Level Health Stamina Essence Cost (es/sec) Daven Raise Dead 27 198/198 122/122 66800/66800 -1.94 Sanders Raise Dead 27 130/130 114/114 67100/67100 -2.01 Harold Raise Dead 5 100/100 100/100 120/20 2.50 Haroldson Raise Dead 5 100/100 100/100 120/20 2.50 Tiffany Raise Dead 1 20/20 20/20 20/20 0.50 Eye Demon 1 Raise Dead 1 20/20 20/20 20/20 0.50 Eye Demon 2 Raise Dead 1 20/20 20/20 20/20 0.50 Eye Demon 3 Raise Dead 1 20/20 20/20 20/20 0.50 Eye Demon 4 Raise Dead 1 20/20 20/20 20/20 0.50 Eye Demon 5 Raise Dead 1 20/20 20/20 20/20 0.50
Where do I go from here? Daven and Sanders are both max level so that goal’s accomplished but now I have Tiffany and Harold as well as multiple humanoid demon corpses that I can raise as well.
Do I want all of them at level 25? Obviously, but is that doable? Assuming the number of demons to level is equal to the level, that’s 325 demons to go from level 1 to level 25. That’s multiple months’ worth of demons to go through.
Greater demons are more efficient but I have no idea how often they’re made. At least they only require one body.
If I want to make any more significant, permanent progress, it needs to be long term. I’d need to be committed to this place. Is that what I want?
All that’s left of our short-term goal is to level Meren to 25 and then we go looking for the colossal demon. I suppose there’s no plan for what to do afterwards.
Alright. If we’re keeping this place, what do we need to do?
First of all, we need to keep everyone from finding out about this place. Kratten has no reason to be interested in this place so no demons can leave the caldera.
And if anyone does enter the caldera, they should not see any demons. Scouts will need to be made, and plans to hide everything away. Daven can get started on that, covering up the massive hole leading to the nest. Completely unnecessary.
There’ll need to be a demon with earth skills as well for when we’re not here.
Haroldson still needs to be alive to communicate with the demons but with what’s left of the other nests, it’s only a matter of time until-
Fuck. What I did wasn’t enough. The eye demons in the other nests are alive but I didn’t give them any psyche skills. They can’t communicate with the other demons.
Okay okay. Assume the demons know someone destroyed those nests. They’d probably think it was me, which means they know I’m in this general area but not where exactly.
They’d likely try to communicate with the caldera, possibly request backup, but Harold hasn’t said anything about that so they haven’t found out yet?
Unless they already know the caldera is compromised.
The more I think about it, the more that staying here is a bad idea.
Okay. Relocating an entire nest is next on my to-do list.
Riza groaned at the thought. Who knew being a manager could be so hard?
Putting that on the backburner, what else would I need to do? Establish long-range communication. In addition to earth skills, another demon will need psyche skills. Possibly [Expansive Mind] and [Sending] depending on the distances involved. Will need to be a higher level than 5 in any case.
And then someone in our party would need to communicate with them as well. Either Sanders or Daven. Sanders has more skill points but Daven would benefit more from [Seeker Mastery]. I’ll talk to the others about this.
----------------------------------------
“A little bit left. You’re heading towards a farm right now,” Lefie’s voice rang throughout Riza’s head with no opportunity to respond. She was using [Inform] to make the distance.
Riza relayed the instructions to Harold, who adjusted his digging, the earth melting away under his magical touch.
Behind them, in a caravan probably miles long at this point, where dozens to hundreds of monsters and only a handful of demons. Greater, farmers, and humanoid demons made up the vast majority that was left, the beast having been culled for levels.
Meren was now at 25, and both Harold and Tiffany–the two humanoid demons alive through [Raise Dead]--were both at level 8.
Riza was underground all alone while Meren, Daven, Sanders, and Lefie were up on the surface. Part of this was pragmatic–fewer people needing to breathe meant Riza’s air would last longer–but it was mostly personal preference.
It turns out, people just don’t like being cooped up in a narrow tunnel underground with a bunch of demons.
Their destination wasn’t definite yet, just a general area. From the caldera, north led to Kratten and eventually the quarry so was a definitely no-go while the east led to the edge of the island, also not where they wanted to go. Thus, they were re-treading the steps they made that lead to the caldera in the first place.
The plan was to head towards the forest and establish the nest in the mountains next to it. Far away from the Empire and the demons so hopefully, they’d be relatively hidden there.
Riza trudged forwards as Harold continued to dig. An expulsion of gas left her hands, suffusing the fog with breathable air as she sighed.
It was tedious work, but necessary.
----------------------------------------
“You should be under the mountain now,” Came Lefie’s voice.
“Can Daven dig down to us?” Riza asked through [Inform]. There was no need to direct it towards Lefie instead of Daven but years of experience with phones meant the habit was hard to beat.
“Yes. He’s digging now.”
Riza slumped on the ground, back against the wall, muscles relaxing as the tension gradually unscrewed them.
Just need to carve out a nest and close off the tunnel and then we’re done.
Why do I keep doing this? New rule: no more messing with demon nests.
Since Daven was coming to dig them out, Riza sent Harold down the tunnel to seal it up where the caravan ended.
He didn’t have a lot of essence so it wouldn’t be very thick and would require Daven to come down to reinforce it but even the thinnest of walls would take a massive weight off Riza’s mind.
As he walked away, Riza sank back into her own vision, blinded by the fog, and closed her eyes. The thick, woolly clothes she was wearing kept her warm down here but did little to soften the ground where she sat.
The minutes turned into hours as Daven dug. Riza received live updates from the man. It got harder and harder to breath down there so trips back to the surface grew more frequent, extending the excavation.
Eventually, however, the wall next to Riza peeled away, the stone turning in on itself, as Daven came through. He took large, mouthfuls of air in quite a worrying fashion, not saying anything but gesturing for Riza to come up with him.
It was a fair journey back to the surface, Riza further underneath the mountain than she expected. All that stone meant a bunch of extra digging.
They exited into a little cave that seemed to be natural. The rest were already there, waiting for them around a fire.
“Yay! You’re back!” Lefie excitedly jumped up and gave her a quick embrace.
“I wasn’t gone for long.”
“I know,” The teenager said, sitting back now around the fire. She was awfully close, taking its warmth for all it’s worth.
It was a fair bit warmer here than it was with the demons, Riza noted. The fire helped a lot but the face Daven must’ve sealed off the cave helped with keeping all the heat inside. A flat wall of earth blocked what looked to be the mouth of the air, only having a few air holes around the top for ventilation.
“Are we finally done with the digging?” Meren asked, and Riza could tell everyone else was interested in the answer.
“Nearly. I’ve sent Harold to seal up the tunnel but that will probably take a couple of days. Once that’s done, we can finally relax.”
“Aren’t we hunting that large demon?”
“That’d be relaxing compared to this. Something familiar.”
“I seriously doubt that.”
----------------------------------------
For the next few days, the group didn’t stray far from the cave, their sole entrance to the burgeoning nest.
The days’ worth of travel it took to get to this point resulted in a very long tunnel that had to be sealed up. Harold, at level 8, thankfully had enough essence pooled that he could close the tunnel in one trip but filling in the rest of the useless space was going to take time. Multiple months, potentially.
There were a few preparations that needed to be made before Riza felt comfortable staying there indefinitely.
For one, the nest needed renovation. As it currently was, the tunnels alone were inadequate. All the many monsters needed farms to breed and seeing how Harold was both far away and limited in his essence, it made sense for Daven to be the one to do it.
The goal wasn’t building just enough farms to house the current number of demons but to future proof it as well and seeing how population growth was exponential, that was a lot of additional farms.
The rest of them, meanwhile, would investigate the forest.
Standing outside the cave, on a carefully extruded ledge, Riza could see the vast expanse of barren trees below.
Or, she would, if this abominable fog hadn’t rolled in this morning. As it stood, she couldn’t even see the base of the mountain and the blistering chill wind dissuaded her from waiting until it cleared. She shuffled back inside, arms wrapped around her.
The main goal was to make sure there were no demons. Auxiliary to that, anything interesting. Sanders and Meren would be in one group, scouring the forest west, beginning at the base of the mountain, while Riza and Lefie would be another group, investigating the eastern portion.
Nests were the important thing. Could they sense any demons? Last time they were here, it was a straight line passing through but completely clear. Hopefully, that was a good sign.
The forest was massive; it stretched the length of the mountain range. It’d take a few days to get through.
The first day was uneventful. No demons, nor anything of interest. Just hibernating trees and a few animals, though even those kept away.
The next day, Riza shifted her focus from demons to… something else. When she searched, she’d take moments to close her eyes, sinking into a mental abyss where she felt nothing but the wind on her face, the frigid air all around her, and twinkling of demons at the back of her mind.
And the undulating nature of the world. She had felt this when she searched for the nests outside Kratten. Like tiny, miniscule demons floating on the breeze.
She felt a similar thing here but different. The wind cut through the trees, a whistling sound to her ears, and Riza could sense this, the sickles of air. At least, she thought that’s what it was. Breathing, flowing, moving. An ethereal sensation she couldn’t pin down.
But that wasn’t all. Stagnant pillars of feeling. Small, blossoming bursts of energy drew her senses all around her. Vivid and colourful but obtuse. There was no way to describe it; the experience defied description.
She spent so long in this introspective state it worried Lefie at times, wondering if she had found something. Alas, Riza reassured her it was nothing.
“I think I’m starting to like forests more than people,” Lefie said during one of their wanderings.
“Are you?” Riza replied somewhat disinterestedly.
“Well, I think I have for a while. When I was younger, I used to pester my parents to take me to a city,” Lefie chuckled, reminiscing. “That must’ve been annoying.”
“I used to nag mine to take us camping in the forests. They never did. I spent a few nights hiding away in one when I didn’t want to come home,” Riza said, thinking back on her memories. It wasn’t that long ago.
Artificial trees with a carefully controlled weather and climate within the forest meant camping was actually quite pleasant. A younger, less experienced Riza wasn’t able to appreciate it back then.
“Hmm. Like the opposite of me.” Her voice was gentle. Content.
“Yeah. It was quieter at night, when I went there. Fewer tourists.”
“Tourists?”
“People who go places to experience them,” Riza defined the word.
“So… they’re travellers?”
“I suppose.”
A couple, quiet seconds passed as Lefie digested the new word.
“I think it’s more, like, many people–together–that I don’t like. S-society,” The word was awkward in her mouth, like she didn’t know if it was the correct one. “I quite like people. When they’re nice.”
Riza hummed a note of acknowledgement, although not quite sharing the sentiment.
The silent moment stretched into seconds.
“Do you- er… do you not like people, Riza? Like, you don’t talk much. To others. You talk to me and I like that,” She finished with a smile.
It was unusually forward of Lefie, her tone tinted with concern.
“No. It’s…” Riza began, feeling herself heat up slightly. “It’s scary.” Her voice was small. Quiet.
“People are scary?” A nod. “But… You kill demons? How are people scary?” Lefie asked with not a small amount of confusion.
Riza shrugged. “It’s not a rational fear. I just get all nervous. My heart starts beating really fast. It’s a different scary to demons.” She avoided looking at the girl.
“Oh. Wow. That… makes no sense. You’re awesome! You have nothing to be scared of.” The teenager's face brightened suddenly. “I’m going to make it so you no longer have to be scared!” She declared.
“No-”
“No excuses! You don’t have to do anything. Leave it all to me!”
Riza debated with herself whether to stop Lefie, ultimately deciding not to. How much harm could she do?
----------------------------------------
“An incredibly dense thicket?”
“Couldn’t see through it at all. We tried walking around but it was huge. Couldn’t find where it ended, or what was inside,” Meren explained, relaying what she and Sanders had found earlier that day to everyone.
Daven had renovated the cave somewhat, adding a table and chairs–all made of stone, of course–which the group were all using.
“That’s highly suspicious,” Riza stated the obvious.
“That’s what I thought. Sanders said he could sense something within it but it was… strange.”
“Strange?” Riza asked, turning towards the man, prompting an explanation.
“Ain’t feel like a demon.”
“But you felt something?” A nod.
Shit. We’re not alone. But it didn’t feel like a demon. Not enough cause to relocate.
“We need more information.” Everyone seemed to be agreed on that matter, apart from Lefie, who was being uncharacteristically silent.
“You said it was too thick to cut through?” Riza asked.
“It was bloody thick, and I have no idea how deep it goes. Could be minutes to hours,” Meren answered.
“Digging would be faster. How strong was the thing inside it?”
“Dunno,” Sanders said. Helpful.
“I need to get down there. Sanders, take a break from the digging. We’ll all go but hang back a bit while I see what I can find out about it,” Riza said decisively.
“I think I may know what it is,” Lefie suddenly perked out, surprising everyone with her voice.
Wide eyes prompted her to continue.
“Well, I don’t know for certain, but it sounds familiar. My tribe, sometimes, when there were demons nearby, they’d set up sections of the forest that sounded like what you described. Really thick thickets that were impossible to get through.”
“It’s your tribe?” Riza asked with an air of disbelief.
“I’m not saying that,” Lefie immediately responded, her voice small and quiet. “Just, it sounds like skills were involved.”
“Could be a humanoid demon,” Daven said.
“Or the Dominion,” Riza’s mind instantly went to. It adds up. What would they be doing out here? We’d need to be careful.
She drummed her fingers on the table, wondering what to do. I don’t want to leave, but also don’t want them to know we’re here, but if they’ve put up defences, like Lefie said, they’re probably already aware of us. Or of the demons.
“They probably already know we’re here. There was a man, in my tribe, and he had skills that let him grow and manipulate plants. He made the thickets. He also had a skill that let him see things in the forest,” Lefie said.
“That’s useful information. We should assume they saw us in the forest. Did any of you use skills?”
All of them had used psyche skills to communicate at least somewhat, but Meren was the only one who used more than that, in her attempts to cut through the bramble.
“They don’t know about Daven, either.”
“What are we going to do? Scare them off?” Daven asked. “Unless they have four Guardians hidden away, we’re stronger than them.”
“Or talk to them. It worked with Adewyn,” Meren said.
“No scaring them off. The one thing we don’t want to do is impress upon them that we’re a threat.”
“So, what do we do?”
“I… I don’t know”
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The tree billowed open, bark separating like ribs within a ribcage as branch-like tendrils released the tall, sinewy form of a woman.
She hurried out with urgency, almost falling to the ground as her senses quickly reorientated.
“What have you seen?” A young man asked, gently wrapping his arms around her shoulder for stability.
“The small woman, Riza. She’s alone. She may be a tamer; the birds are acting strangely,” She replied, shrugging out of his grasp as she regained her regal bearing.
The same, leafy dress hung upon her slender frame, the petals darker, some having fallen off. It lacked colour, as if a reflection of the forest around her.
Her long, black hair was interwoven with sticks, twigs, and flowers, an impossible combination of unkempt and elegant. Her feline eyes were glazed over, unfocused.
He shook her head, taking a deep breath. The forest smelled like death.
“What are your orders?”
It was like the breath revitalised her. She stood up straight, towering over the man, and spoke with gravitas absent from her previous words.
“We will meet with her.”
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The canopy blocked the crow’s sight, the extent of the brambles hidden from Riza. She switched instead to mice, shrews, small rodents capable of burrowing through the thickets but even them were blocked. Too thick, too tough.
But, in the end, all of that was unnecessary. As her vision once more fell back into her body, the orange, leafy ground sprouted a pink, saturated flower. A spot of colour in the otherwise uniform landscape.
In real time, a stem stretched up from between the desiccated, dead foliage, bending and flexing and growing, a bulb sprouting and then blossoming into a beautiful, pink flower.
Another one joined it, and then another, a handful filling a single spot in a matter of moments. Her gaze was drawn to them, drawing upon the same sense demons did.
Riza didn’t move, her senses on full alert. Armed with an army of critters, she knew there was no one nearby who could’ve done this. Instantly, her mind went to the thicket.
Growing plants quickly. That must be quite a distance. Tentatively, Riza estimated the level of the person responsible at least 15.
Perhaps in response to her inaction, a second handful of flowers bloomed unnaturally quickly, a foot away from the first patch.
She still didn’t move, but her suspicions were confirmed by a third patch, also a foot away from the second, forming a line.
They’re leading me somewhere.
They can sense through the trees. See and hear stuff. Trees shift and flowers grow. Total control. It’s like I’m in their body.
Bending down, she picked a flower, twirling it between her fingers. No thorns.
It floated to the ground gently as patch after patch sprouted up like fireworks, Riza beginning to follow them.
They led her deeper into the forest. Just to be safe, Riza encountered the boundary of the woods further east than the base of the mountain, directly below their cave.
But the flowers were leading her further east still, into the heart of the woods.
Twists and turns, walls of tightly interwoven trees threatened to block her path but the flowers led her through, directing her towards hidden passages, thinner portions. It was like she was cheating in a hedge maze.
And then, finally, the flowers stopped in a clearing. Large, thick trees dotted the place, the ground suspiciously clear of leaves and bushes. It reminded Riza of some of the forests back home, only more natural.
Brambles secured the circumference, blocking sound and sight from penetrating through.
In front of her, apparently waiting, was a large, muscular man. His clothing was clearly made by hand, combining fibres and hide. It was colourful and patchwork, but thick and sturdy., a cloak covering most of his form. Fur lined everything.
His eyes were sharp and feline, long, black hair draped over his shoulders messily.
Riza came to a step a few metres before him, remarkably petite before him.
“Welcome, Riza,” He greeted, voice deep and intimidating.
“What do you want?” Riza asked. She mentally counted the critters flying overhead, attempting to still her beating heart.
“It appears we have the same question. This is our forest of which you stepped within.” He clasped his hands behind his back, the motion opening up his cloak, revealing a sword hanging on his waist.
“You’re not part of the Chosen, are you?” Riza asked.
The man laughed, the sound a hearty rumble.
“Fortunately, we are not. And you do not belong to the Dominion, either?”
The question reminded Riza of lawyers, only asking questions he already knew the answer to.
Taking in his appearance, Riza thought how to respond.
“I am not. Are you… Nolitos?” She asked, confident she was butchering the pronunciation.
The man’s expression shifted subtly, micro expressions flashing by.
“You do not call us ‘tarny’?” His tone lacked the contempt Riza was used to when hearing that word.
“It seems… rude.” Her heart was beating as fast as it had when she faced that colossal demon.
The man smiled, chuckling.
“Well, we are not Nolitos. We are Fyllopoi. I do not expect you to know the difference.” Although the words sounded condescending, the smile remained on his face, reaching his eyes.
A hundred different thoughts raced through her mind as she wondered how to proceed. Them not belonging to the Empire was certainly a good thing, if she didn’t fuck it up.
“Your friend, the girl,” He continued before she could think of something. “Is she Nolitos?”
“What’s it to you?”
“The Nolitos have passed through here before. We may recognise her.”
We’ll see if that’s true.
With slow movements, Riza covered her mouth and spoke under her breath, thinking of Lefie, and activated [Inform].
“Do you know of the Fyllopoi?” The response came as soon as possible.
“Don’t do anything. Wait for me!” Her tone sounded more excited than scared.
“That is a [Message] skill, yes? You don’t have to speak aloud for it to work.” You don’t?
Riza tried to keep the surprise off her face. Power plays. Showing he knows exactly who I am and what I can do. Except, that was a guess. Wrong skill.
“Are you fine with waiting?”
“Oh, yes. Of course! We are happy to accommodate a member of the Nolitos. Please, have a seat,” He said, swinging his arm behind him to grab his cloak as roots sudden exploded from the ground, wrapping around themselves and expanding in size as they knotted together, forming a crude stool.
The same happened before Riza, the grassy floor pushed aside as the bark shot up from beneath it.
Riza eyed the seat warily before finally sitting on it. They could trap me whether I’m standing or sitting.
At first, the man asked Riza questions; how did she know the Nolitos, know Lefie? Where did she come from, her appearance betraying her lack of Empire origin.
She answered none of this, complying with Lefie’s directions absolutely, doing nothing.
The man quickly got the message, content to wait silently for Lefie to arrive.
By the time the girl had showed up, yellow flowers guiding her this time instead of pink, she was breathing heavily and drenched in sweat. The thick layers must’ve been dreadful with all the running.
“Ah! She has arrived!” The man announced jovially, gesturing with his arms.
Lefie scrunched her face in concentration, staring at him.
“Please, take a seat as well,” He swung his arm out, another stool popping up beside Riza.
Lefie showed no hesitation as she plopped herself down onto it.
“We are all here now. I have forgotten to introduce myself. I am Savid,” He pointed to himself animatedly.
Interrupting Lefie before she could introduce herself, knowing he already knew her name, Riza leaned over to whisper at her.
“Why did you want to come down here?”
“I’ve met the Fyllopoi before but something’s wrong. He’s not their leader.” A spark of tension struck at Riza but before she could do anything, her head whipped around to a nearby tree, a sudden feeling pulling her focus towards it.
Luminous tendrils of pale green and brown peeked out from beneath the bark, only preceding a bending of wood as ribs of bark broke free of the trunk, peeling away as a human-sized hole began to open.
Out stepped a graceful, tall woman, dressed in nothing but leaves and with an undeniable presence.
“Mesandra!” Lefie shouted, joy infecting her tone, settling some of the anxieties burbling within Riza.
Still, she shot up out of her seat anyway, taking a step closer towards the girl.
“She’s the leader. She was here the last time I was here,” Lefie explained excitedly.
Riza looked between Savid and Mesandra as the woman walked towards them, towering above them. She matched the man in height.
“Lefie. It’s wonderful to see you again. I’m sure there are many questions but before that, I must apologise for this ruse,” She gestured softly at Savid. “The average Chosen wouldn’t hesitate to slay me on sight. I had to take precautions.”
Her smile was gentle, bearing the warmth of a grandmother at only half the age.
Savid stood up, bowing reverently, before taking a seat again. Mesandra walked closer to the pair of them, vaguely waving her hand at the ground, magicing up another seat. Instead of a stool, this was a beautiful chair, decorated with flowers of all colours and with a wavy, naturalistic shape to it.
“Now,” She began, her tone suddenly sharper, her eyes firmer. Whereas Savid was charming, her voice bore the gravitas of a ruler. “Where is the rest of the Nolitos?”
Riza turned to look at Lefie, who was shrinking under the gaze of Mesandra.
“I-I don’t know. I haven’t seen any of them in months. Have-Have you heard from them?”
“No, I have not. I fear… did the Empire finally get them?”
“No, not like that,” Lefie shook her head. “A fire burned down the forest. I-I lost them in it,” She struggled to get the words out. Riza placed hand on her shoulder and squeezed softly.
“That is… Unfortunately.” The silence was weighty. “There is always space for you with us, if you wish to take it.”
“Thank you but I’m, er, I’m good. It was a while ago now and, well, a lot has happened.”
“Evidently,” Mesandra said, looking firmly at Riza. She felt like she was wilting from the attention.
“I suppose we should talk about the purpose of this meeting. Your group passed through this forest once before, and we let it go, but you have returned. Why?” It was clear she was talking to Riza.
Deep breath.
“We’re sort of wanted by the Dominion and were looking for a place to stay.” Riza decided to answer honestly. Lefie seemed to trust them, and it sounded like they had a mutual enemy.
Mesandra looked to Lefie, who nodded a confirmation.
“Are the Dominion actively searching for you? Is there even a miniscule chance they will follow you here?”
“No one knows we’re here and we have a way to know if they’re close to us.”
“You are certain of this?”
“Yes,” Riza said, while Lefie nodded firmly.
“Where are you currently residing? It’s outside the forest?”
Riza hesitated to answer but Lefie had no such compunctions.
“We’re in a cave in the mountains.”
Mesandra nodded sagely.
“Very well. For as long as you do not threaten our life here, we will allow you to live peacefully. And Lefie? You’re always welcome to visit and even stay here if you so wish.”
“I-I’ll keep that in mind.”
“I believe we are done here.” With that, Mesandra stood up graceful and swung an arm over her chair, a wave of her wrist and the natural furniture shrunk back into the ground as if it was never there.
Lefie stood up, as did Savid, their seats vanishing too.
“Are you able to leave by yourself or would you like the flowers?”
“Um, the flowers please!” Lefie smiled.