“Please? Please? Please?” the dryad implored.

“Sure, sure, no problem,” the elf assured, somewhat overwhelmed by the dryad’s pleas.

“Thanks! You’ve saved my life,” Ribvla exclaimed and hugged Goldmi.

The archer didn’t even know what to think about the dryad’s pleas, or the effusive displays of joy. Anyway, she had to admit that the embrace of her hostess, although strong, was soft and pleasant. The soft aroma of spring invaded her nostrils.

Her sisters watched from a distance. They were waiting for the food, and not paying much attention to the dryad’s incomprehensible behavior.

The elf had gratefully agreed to make her a meal, but the dryad was suddenly very quiet. Then, she had started to tremble. Nervous, she had asked her guest to make a lot more food. Ideally, by using certain ingredients that she herself would provide.

None of the three sisters had fully understood what the dryad had hastily explained. They only knew that other dryads wanted meals too, and somehow they had threatened Ribvla.

So, the kitchen was running for hours, and even the elf learned various recipes from Ribvla herself, and others were sent to her by other dryads. She even modified some, by adding or substituting some ingredients. For example, she put honey on some purple fruits, which were cooked and seasoned with various herbs. It was very successful among the three diners.

The lynx and goshawk didn’t hold back in the slightest, which ended up pushing them to the limit. That limit was well beyond what their sister had believed.

Meanwhile, the dryad savored each bite slowly. She was delighting in them, as she carefully and lovingly packed her sisters’ orders. Once done, she made the earth swallow them.

The elf even asked to send some special creations to Maldoa and Miletna, which was no inconvenience, although she was forced to cook some more later. Apparently, the young dryad had tasted it as soon as she got it, and her praise had caught the attention of her sisters.

Thus, while the bounty hunters were looking for them in the forest, they cooked and ate. A feline could even enjoy a nap to digest the food, with a white bird nestled on her.

“I’m sorry, you have to leave. You can’t stay any longer,” the dryad informed them with her head downcast.

The dragons had been blunt, and the dryads hadn’t been able to buy much more time. She would have to return them to the same place they had been brought from, although she delayed it enough to be relatively safe. At least, no hunters were too close, but they were around. Danger continued to stalk them.

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“I understand. If we have the opportunity, I’ll cook you something again,” the elf said goodbye.

The dryad’s expression of apology and sadness was obvious. They had seen her expression enraged, sad or indignant while she was speaking with her sisters. It was evident that she was worried about them. The truth is that she had saved them, and she had tried to protect them as long as she had been able.

“Be careful. To the north, there’re some ruins. It’s dangerous, but if you enter, you may find a passage. Don’t tell anyone that I told you,” the dryad whispered, while hiding her words with a kiss on the elf’s cheek. It was as if she believed someone might be watching them.

“It has been a pleasure,” the elf said goodbye, while smiling.

“An honor,” the lynx did, with respect.

“May the winds be favorable to you,” the goshawk did.

It is true that the elf’s sisters couldn’t speak with words, but they could communicate telepathically with her sisters. If a being like the dryad wanted it, they could also communicate with her.

When the landscape suddenly changed, not only did it not surprise them, but they reacted quickly, as they had no time to waste.

The goshawk took flight, and started surveying the surroundings first. After that, she went to search for the ruins the dryad had spoken of. She flew over the place, while dodging any high-level birds that might appear. She rushed into the forest at high speed if necessary.

Meanwhile, the elf and the lynx headed north, carefully. There were several traps in the area that they had to avoid, among other things, so as not to alert their pursuers. To do this, once again, Detect Mana and Detect Energy were essential.

Along their direction, her winged sister had only spotted one bounty hunter, but they couldn’t be sure there weren’t more. So, she continually cast Life Detection, both to avoid her pursuers and any predator, as an attack could give them away. Therefore, they relied on Camouflage if she detected something nearby.

All of their precautions were a high expenditure of mana, and also made they couldn’t advance very fast. That slowness put them in danger, since, at any moment, one of their pursuers could rediscover their trace. So, when they hadn’t found traps for a long time, they decided to stop looking for them.

Any decision they made was a risk, one way or another, so they had decided to move forward as quickly as possible, in the hope that there would be no more traps.

“I see the ruins. The area is at a few levels higher, but we should be able to handle the danger,” announced the goshawk, whose direction they could detect.

There they went, as fast as they could without discarding all precautions. That is, they had Life Detection, the lynx’s senses and the supervision of the albino goshawk.

They advanced through the forest, until the elf stopped suddenly, as she had been trapped in a large spider web. She summoned a Twister around her, which tore apart the web, and they went on their way. Both sisters had looked around, searching for the huge spider that must be the owner of the web, but it hadn’t appeared.

“Something has fallen on the web, and it has escaped immediately. It’s none of the ones that I have under surveillance. I better go take a look,” thought the arachne.

She took some time to arrive, as that cloth was an almost forgotten trap quite far from her current position. When she did, she discovered footprints that corresponded to a biped and a large feline. The arachne wasn’t an expert tracker, but she didn’t have much trouble figuring out who they were, either.

She followed the path of the tracks, while trying to erase them to avoid competition.

She also undid her human form, and recovered the half of her spider form. The arachne not only felt more comfortable, but she could achieve greater speed, as well as unlocked a greater combat potential.