It was a good thing that Torill warned me long before I could hear the small army of animated trees coming through the forest towards me. Even with the forewarning, the strange sound that preceded their arrival set my instincts on edge. The things made so much noise as they moved that it sounded like there were many more than fifty beings coming.
When the first one came into view, I saw why. The turtle's animated plants were all full sized trees, and they were constantly moving their branches around to stay upright as they walked, if walking was even the right word for how they moved. The tree creatures used their roots like giant tentacles, half slithering, half grabbing other trees to pull themselves forwards.
The most stunning thing about them, however, was the fact that I dimly sensed minds in each of them. It seemed that the turtle had given them life in the same way I had created Thorn. I watched with wide eyes as the lead tree walked up to me, it lowered a branch in front of me gently setting the turtle onto the ground in front of me. Before wandering off to stand with its kin who had filed onto the small road in front of me.
“The hero of the stone forest has finally recovered! It is good to see you well. It seems that the Great Mother rewarded you well, I have never observed such swift growth before.”
“I am not a hero!” I sent without thinking, that Concept sounded dangerous. "I was just there for a job!"
"Come now, you didn't have to seek out every petrified sapient in the forest. Most would count us lost. I still have some doubts about how some of the monster's older victims will recover, even if the great mother intervenes. And yet you carried us all to safety." The feeling of immense gratitude that flooded in with the turtle's message was heartwarming, and stilled further arguments as to whether or not I was a hero.
The little reptile looked past me at the cart I was hitched up to.
“Your companion told me that you would take my fellows on your cart, I see that you are taking the remains of our captor as well. Perhaps it will do them good to be able to verify its destruction, though I'm not sure if they are aware enough to sense anything around them at this point. The only way I managed to keep hold of myself was by continuously flooding my mind with mana from my own core. These humans have no such option.” Phantom hints of memories from his time frozen in stone infected the message, it was clear that the little spirit beast would be haunted by that time for the rest of his days. His sympathy for those still under the spell was palpable.
“Hopefully the sisters at the temple will be able to help them. All we can do is give them the chance and hope. I wish I could do more. Humans can be astonishingly resilient, though they definitely have their limits.”
I could still sense the minds in the petrified humans I had taken out of the forest, it gave me hope that they were somehow managing to hang on to something of themselves. I had seen many other statues in the woods that I didn't bother to carry out since they hadn't registered with Sense Mind. Whether they had somehow died, or their minds had faded to nothing, I did not know, but the System had assured me that they were gone.
“And you say you aren't a hero. You owe these people nothing, have no connection with them, yet your concern for their wellbeing leaks into your speech.”
I sighed, there it was again, the feeling was stronger this time. I was very glad that it took more than one grateful turtle to saddle me with a new Concept. I still tried to head it off as much as I could.
“No, not a hero. I just like to do my best to be kind whenever I can. You tend to get back whatever you put into the world. Besides, I have a mission from Belua to work with humanity. She hopes to create a working relationship between spirit beasts and humans eventually. This should help.”
“Strong enough to reduce the stone forest and all the monsters inside it to muddy rubble, I saw it with my own eyes. You're kind enough to take me out with the humans you rescued, you can't say you had an ulterior motive for that. And you are on a mission from the Great Mother herself to bring change to human society. I can tell that you are a proud beast just by looking at you, and yet you are consenting to pull a wagon to carry these victims to their people. What should I call you, if not a hero?”
“Angel.” I answered, simply “it's my name.”
“I suppose names are important when one spends time with the civilized races. The System labeled me Islon the Growth Warden on my last evolution.”
I had heard that the System named Spirit Beasts, it made sense, many didn't have sapient families to provide them with names. The little turtle didn't seem too attached to his name, I wondered how Spirit Beasts usually referred to each other. I didn't ask though, it would be hard to honestly answer the questions that would come from that kind of hole in my knowledge.
I heard Torill clear her throat, she didn't need to say anything. To her perspective, the turtle and I had spent the last few minutes quietly staring at each other. I looked past Islon to the trees that waited patiently with their cargo.
“Do you think that you can have them load the people onto the cart? My mate will help secure them. We should start moving soon. Torill has duties she needs to return to, and those people have been statues long enough.”
Islon's eyes opened wide, and he looked towards the trees for a moment before they started to move towards me, one by one, depositing their loads before wandering to stand by the path I had made from the remains of the stone forest. I craned my neck to look at them.
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“What are they going to do? I don't think it's a good idea for them to come with us. For that matter what will you do?”
“They have volunteered to spend the last of their time putting the land in order before they return to being simple trees once more. They will plant themselves where the stone forest once stood.” The turtle paused, clearly thinking on his own plans.
“So that's not permanent? I can't imagine what it would be like to be granted sapience only to have it fade away.” It felt a bit cruel to me, for the turtle to have done that.
“Perhaps someday I will have the power to elevate something permanently, though I am not sure why I would want to. Trees are happiest being trees, they are content to return to what they were. This experience will make them more likely to make a successful transition if they ever accumulate enough mana to form a core.”
“I see.”
Out of curiosity, I checked Islon's level.
Level 200 Growth Warden
No wonder the System went a little nuts when I made Thorn at such a low level, the undertones of Islon's message implied that he thought such a thing was far beyond his power at level two hundred. I wondered how my companion was doing. It had been weeks since the System had started their evolution. If it took any longer I would be forced to leave the area without them.
Islon interrupted my train of thought with a new message. “ I would like to journey with my brothers and sisters from the stone forest. I want to help them where I can. The life mana in my core is more useful for plants, but I am still a capable healer if it is needed. At the very least I can explain to the servants of the Great Mother what they have endured.”
“That might not be a good idea. The humans still fear Spirit Beasts. I am afraid I have quite a lot of work before my actions change any minds. I haven't made many strides in that direction yet. Most of my time in Brightwood has been spent learning.”
“Then perhaps I can aid in your mission. They should find me far less intimidating than you. My kind are not known for aggression even when we become monsters. I am certain it will be fine if they were willing to accept you.”
“They feared me when I was level 21. I have Belua's mark.” I sent energy into the mark on my forehead for the first time in a long time, causing it to glow. “And I still had to swear an oath to obey their laws and cause no harm before they accepted me.”
“I have no mark, but I do not mind swearing such an oath. I would still like to try. I truly want to help.”
I sighed, I should be ecstatic, getting spirit beasts to do what Islon was offering was a part of the optional goals in my contract. But I was worried for the little guy. He was powerful, but I'd seen more powerful humans. A certain priest came to mind. Still, as much as I wanted to protect the little spirit beast from potential complications, he was free to make his choice.
I could, however, see what I could do to smooth his introduction. I sent a prayer to Belua, there was a resource that I hadn't thought to request when I first arrived at Brightwood. Belua's response was a feeling of waiting to talk, it seemed we'd have a conversation in her realm.
“If that's your choice, you are welcome to come. It is not my place to try to stop you.”
“Thank you, you won't regret it!” Islon said, as though I was doing him a great favor.
I told Torill about the plan. She smiled brightly at the little turtle.
“Glad to have you along! Angel won't say it, because he's too sweet. He's probably worried about you, but if the Great Mother finds out you are working with humanity because of him, she'll be very happy! I'm pretty sure she'll find a way to reward you both.”
There was a pause where Islon looked at her.
“He is, isn't he? But I love him for it.”
I listened to half a conversation while the trees finished loading the petrified cargo on my cart. At least the two of them seemed to get along. I wasn't sure what had happened between them while I was leveling and absorbing those Concepts, but they seemed to have made friends. I remembered that Torill had trusted Islon to watch over me while she went to get the cart, so she had obviously learned something of his personality.
It was several hours before everything was ready for me to start down the road. I could have shifted to help, but Torill stopped me, telling me that I should rest while I could. She would no longer be powering the weight reduction enchants on the cart, she was running out of mana crystals to use for it.
When I did start pulling, I understood why. It wasn't an impossible weight, not with my size, stats, and new Concepts. But it wasn't a walk in the park either, the trip home was not going to be anywhere close to as fast as the run to the stone forest had been.
When I asked about the possibility of her casting the spell she'd used before, she told me that it would not work well on a beast pulling a cart.
“Besides, we want the people we pass on the road to get a good look at you. It will be good for your image now that you have that lovely milestone.”
“I guess that makes sense, but what about me holding you back from your contract?”
“As long as we don't take a week, it'll be fine. I'm a bit overdue for a few things, but a few more days won't make a difference.”
I nodded, and put my back into pulling the heavy cart. I couldn't manage to pull it very fast, but I managed to keep up a steady trot. Enduring kept me from growing tired, and both Islon and Torill cast things on me that helped keep me from needing to stop for food or water.
I had been traveling for a day and a half when I felt a strange tingle in my soul. Something I hadn't sensed in what felt like forever was awakening.