While Ingrid prepared to bind the armour to Lily, I inspected her smithy. It looked like a well cared for place that was heavily used. Some weapons were on display, which I admired. She seemed to be a capable smith.

The additional request to include some fabric delayed the ritual. Ingrid got a bunch of books and started discussing details with Lily. While they were talking someone knocked on the door. Magnus entered.

“Excuse me, the lady Thessia asks if you could join her in the garden. She would like to plant her tree.” He said.

“Sure.” I said, then walked over to Ingrid. “We will be back. How long do you think it will take until you are ready?”

“I am not sure. Maybe two hours? I can send someone once we are ready.”

I nodded, then we followed Magnus to the garden. Lily stayed behind but Shani joined us.

The garden was rather magnificent. I had no idea what I expected but they had a pond, a small stream and plants in all sorts of colours. There was a flower whose petals looked like crystals. They were glowing in a faint purple light.

A large circular area was being prepared for Thessia. It looked like they had uprooted a few things to create space for her.

“Amaya, Lucy, Shani, it’s nice to see you! I am looking forward to feeling my tree again. I long for my roots to bury into the soil.” She said,

“Hey. So, how are we doing this? Do I just put the tree in the centre?” I asked.

“Indeed. Terath will help to get it settled.”

“What? Lazy is doing work?” Shani said.

“I am right here, you know.” Terath said from beneath us.

“Already napping in the ground!” Shani countered.

“Why is this airhead here?” Terath asked.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

“Because I am court elemental! I have an actual job, you know!”

“Anyway.” I ignored the two. “Are you ready?”

“Yes.”

I pulled the tree from my storage and placed it into the centre. The earth started moving as the massive roots sunk into the ground. As the stasis lifted it almost seemed like the tree started stretching its branches.

“I have a gift for you!” Shani announced. “I was busy yesterday and collected something.”

We looked at the elemental, who was grinning. A ball formed above the bunny ears and a liquid streamed from them into the sphere. This was blood. Surely this was blood.

Then the elemental launched the ball at the tree. It made a big splat and coloured the soil red. Thessia’s roots seemed to drink it.

“Oh my. What a lovely gift.” Thessia responded looking quite pleased.

“Dryads eat blood?” Lucy asked.

“My tree can consume living things. They are rich in nutrients. And blood can hold some magic. Just the right meal to recover from a stasis.”

Maybe I had misjudged dryads. Thessia seemed rather helpful. A priestess, a healer,... But her goddess was representing nature. And nature was not really kind. Also…

“Shani, where did you get this blood?” It seemed like a rather important question.

Her smile grew really wide. “I harvested it in the city!”

“How?”

“So… I borrowed some refugees and had them walk in dark shady places. Then I slaughtered everyone who tried to rob them!”

“I do apologise on behalf of the kingdom that someone tried to rob your people, Countess Amaya.” Magnus said, bowing. “Sadly, crime is something that can never be completely eradicated in a big city.”

He was just fine with that? Shani admitted to slaughtering people and he apologised to us? I looked at Lucy.

“Huh. That was a great idea, Shani.” She praised the elemental.

“I know! Next I need to find a good bait for some demons. How would you bait a demon army? I should ask Lily.”

“No. We are not baiting a demon army.” I said.

“Booo! Ok, no army. Hey, Magnus! Do you have any crazy cults in the area?”

“If we were aware of such a thing it would be eradicated. But you may inquire with the local guard about any ongoing cases.” He replied.

Was Shani now a vigilante? Fighting crime at night? Well, more like looking for an excuse to kill things. Well, if the locals were fine with it…

“Tell us if you find anything troublesome and don’t endanger innocents.” I told her.

“Of course! It’s important to keep our people and allies safe!”

“Hey, maybe Shani will uncover something.” Lucy said.

“I doubt that there is a major demon infestation inside the Dwarven Kingdom.” It seemed relatively stable so far. What we saw from the city so far people seemed to be doing well and were mostly happy.

“One would hope so.” Magnus said. “Our King is a kind and wise ruler.”

Maybe. He seemed nice at least. The problem was the Empire though. It was reasonable to assume they had some spies here. Now would those meddle with demons? Actually, would those be mind controlled?

“Hey, do you know of any imperial spies? Maybe some you have identified but keep around to monitor them and control the information they get?” I wondered.

“This is not something I could help you with. You would need to ask the king for access to such data.”

“What are you planning?” Lucy asked.

“Well, Shani’s hunts have given me an idea. Maybe we should go on a hunt of our own. Look for some imperial spies and see how many of them are mind controlled. Or if they know anything about the plot. This is the dwarven capital, the Empire must have someone here.”

“Ohhhh, I love a good hunt.” Shani said.