Mason felt Eve's presence all around him even before he reached the tree. It didn't give him any kind of dungeon prompt, and he entered her tree through something like a regular door. Albeit a magic door built into a giant tree.

The huge, living walls of the great tree formed a kind of tunnel, and he walked towards the still singing voice of its mistress.

Was he still in the fey, he wondered? Or was this the ‘real’ world? Somewhere in between? He honestly had no idea.

In here, purred the great tree's voice as Mason reached a warm cavern.

It looked much the same as before, and not so different than a nymph grove. Eve had a much smaller body of water than the nymphs, though it had grown considerably since last time. Before it wasn't much more than a hot tub, now it was more like a swimming pool.

She also had actual furniture, mostly made of wood that seemed grown out of the tree itself. She rose from behind a small table, a silky grey skirt around her waist, not much more than a leafy bra covering her considerable breasts.

"Welcome, Champion." She smiled and held out her arms as she came towards him. Mason tried to keep his eyes off her body, because he really did need to learn more about druidic magic. But he’d forgotten how unearthly gorgeous she was, and he was definitely in trouble.

He closed the gap between them, and Eve wrapped her arms around his chest and breathed as she closed her eyes.

"I missed your scent. And your strength."

"I missed you too," he said, feeling a little awkward. Not because he didn't feel affection for her, but because he'd been so busy he honestly didn't have time to miss anything.

"There's no need for false words with me," she said, still hugging him. She pulled back and trailed a finger across his lips. "It would be enough to say: I'm pleased to see you."

Mason cleared his throat and probably blushed a little. He smiled.

"That's definitely true."

Eve grinned and took his hand, walking towards a kind of couch. She settled him and started gathering cups and plates from a nearby table, bending over right in front of him until the almost translucent material of the skirt showed a lack of underwear. Mason took a deep breath, wondering if it was just an accident or if things were going to be moving in a particular…

Eve came back and settled herself in his lap. Which he supposed settled the question.

"These grapes grow even in the snow," she said, lifting one from a cup to feed him. "Winter comes soon. You will find it harsh in this forest. You may need to learn a few things to feed your people, yes?"

Mason didn't bother trying to be coy. He just opened his mouth as Eve pushed in the grape, and a decent length of her finger. He chewed, and probably kissed a little. Eve grinned and leaned down to kiss him, moaning as he kissed her back.

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"I understand you have something to teach me," he said with a little chastisement. And also to try and keep his brain working.

"True." Eve sighed and chewed a little of the grape she'd stolen from his mouth. "You don't mind if I stay here, do you?"

"I'll try to focus."

"You've learned a rune from the nymphs, yes?"

Mason nodded, and Eve smiled.

"Druidic magic, as you call it, has always used symbols. That is because its true origin is the language of the gods. We use their alphabet, just as we use their pathways. Everything they left us holds great power, including their words."

"I learned Arboreal," Mason said, "from staring at a tree."

He sort of hoped there was a rune for 'cleavage' as his eyes moved up and down Eve's glorious body. At least he wouldn't mind staring at that for awhile. She kicked her legs over his lap like an excited girl, looking up at the roof with a smile as she chose her words.

"There are many others. Unfortunately, a person cannot be taught. The runes can never be written again. They can only be seen, and understood."

"My brother," Mason said as he realized. "He uses some kind of runes for his magic. He creates constructs, enchantments. I'm not sure what to call them. I think he called it 'Making'."

Eve gave him an unpleasant look. "This is not the same," she said flatly. "What your brother does is...think of it as a new language. A poorly translated pigeon tongue scribbled by the Makers when they failed to reproduce the God-tongue. They almost destroyed the world trying to unravel the secrets of the gods. Myself included."

Mason nodded, not needing to be reminded what 'Makers' had done to Eve. He could still see their wizards in his mind, bringing the endless winter that all but destroyed her and the lands around her.

"I'm sorry," he said, remembering her suffering.

Eve kissed his lips tenderly until he met her eyes.

"Why should you be sorry, Champion? It was you who saved me. You who comes with questions, not arrogance, to learn the secrets of the earth." Her expression darkened again. "But if this...brother of yours, if he is trying to learn the secrets of the Makers…it will make him…very dangerous."

Mason tried not to think about his brother. Of course Mason had also gained his prestige class and his Sleeves from the maker hall. He tried not to think about that, either.

"I don’t want to talk about my brother. Or Makers," he said, running a hand up Eve's leg. "I want to talk about magic. Or maybe how good you look. By the feel of this place, you're recovering nicely."

"Mmm." Eve leaned forward and buried her face in Mason's neck, taking another deep breath. "The restoration of the great forest. And your seed," she whispered in his ear. "Though...I could use some more."

He grinned, still running his fingers up and down her legs.

"The lesson first."

"You tease me, Champion," she said, not sounding at all displeased. When he patted her knee and stopped running his fingers, she sighed and gestured at a corner of the room still covered in snow and ice.

"There. It lingers because it holds a rune of power. Look closely, and long enough, and you may see it."

Mason nodded and stared. To him it looked just like a mound of snow, the edges melting and pooling into Eve's water, the top broken off and collapsing. But he understood its presence in the warm air was strange, unnatural. He tried to hold that contrast in his mind as he watched it, trying to imagine what kind of cold it would take to survive such warmth so long.

For some reason he found it hard to keep his eyes focused, his attention on the task.

"Every rune becomes more difficult," Eve explained. "The language of the gods is complex, and will fill your spirit as well as your mind."

Mason nodded and kept his eyes locked on the snow.

Eventually, the shape of the ice rune formed in alien blue letters. The lines whispered in his mind of endless winter, the cold of space, the frozen heart of nature's indifference. As it finished, Mason’s head began to throb, his vision blur.

"It's the rune," Eve explained, turning a little more serious. "I'm surprised you aren't suffering more. To learn two so quickly is difficult.”

Mason smiled and held his head. "It hurts. But in the grand scheme of my suffering, it doesn't even make the scale."

"Yes,” Eve smiled sadly. “Such is your fate, I fear. But you are very powerful, Champion. Especially since you are more ranger than druid."

"OK," Mason said. “I have two runes. What the hell do I do with them."

"Do not fear,” Eve said, settling deeper into Mason’s lap. “I will teach you."