When Shyia returned to the Tree, silence greeted her. There were no signs of the Scarlet Order, and, far worse in Shyia’s mind, no sign of Max. The ground near the tree looked smooth, as it the entire area had been freshly tilled. The camp was still standing, but the fire was out. That wasn’t a big deal, Shyia could easily get more wood. She could see someone was still in the camp, but it wasn’t Max. It was a woman. Small, dark, classically pretty. She was wearing a re-purposed Scarlet Order cultist robe. She called out as Shyia approached.
“I wouldn’t come any closer.”
Shyia paused. The stranger was warning her off, but from what? An ambush she couldn’t see, perhaps? “Why is that?”
“The roots.”
Shyia frowned, confused. “What roots?”
“The tree is magical. It has animated roots.”
Shyia had known about the magic, but the news about roots was new. “That’s… new.”
“Tell me about it, I just thought it was a tree, then the Nine Hells broke loose. Seriously, if you get any closer, the roots will block your escape. I’ve been trapped here for two days.”
This didn’t make any sense to Shyia. She had been there for almost 4 days with Max, and had not seen anything like what this stranger described. “There was a man.. Older, different from the others. Do you know what happened to him?”
“The one dresses in funny clothes?” The stranger noted Shyia’s nod. “I’m sorry, but the Tree ate him. If it helps, I’m pretty sure he was already dead.”
Shyia’s heart sank. Max had done so much for her, for nothing in return. He’d treated her like an equal.
“What… How did it happen?”
“I assume you mean to ask how he died?”
Shyia gave a wordless nod, not trusting herself to speak at the moment.
“ I take it you two were close?”
“Max was… a friend. He saved my life.”
“I’m sorry.” the stranger seemed genuinely apologetic.
“So what happened?”
“A bunch of Scarlet Order showed up with a couple of mules, and myself, along with 5 of the Order’s special killers. A Hand. Your friend, Max? He killed the entire Hand, but took mortal wounds doing so. While this was going on, the tree’s roots came alive, and started attacking everything. It attacked the cultists, the mules.. The only thing it didn’t go after was me. It ignored me until...later.”
“Later?”
“When I tried to leave, the roots stopped me. Every time I try to walk away, they burst out of the ground, and chase me back to the tree.”
“They didn’t do that when I was here earlier. I don’t know why.” Shyia frowned. The stranger’s story rung true, but at the same time didn’t match with what she had experienced earlier.
“I need those supplies, though. I’m going to take a risk. Maybe the roots were just riled up from the cultists?”
The Tree had been dozing. So much energy spent in such a little time. It was so sleepy, but there were still things to do. The other female animal had returned. This was excellent news. The new female would have someone to bond with, and stop trying to run away. Now, to entice the other female to stay while the Tree finished healing the male. Perhaps… Animals found smells to be important. The Tree would signal with the scent of the male, and hopefully that would entice the female to wait for the male to be released.
“They block me every time I try to leave. I see no reason why they would not block you.”
“I’m sorry, I seem to have left my manners in the bottom of the last cell I was held in. Amaya Renior. Of the
“Shyia. No second name. I’m from.” a pause. “I was from a small goat herding village in the foothills near
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Amaya seemed genuinely touched by Shyia’s plight.
“Ok, let’s try something. Walk towards me.” Shyia offered a hand.
“Alright, but if I see roots, I’m not going to try it. They sting when they slap you.”
Amaya got up, and walked towards Shyia. Nothing happened. Once Amaya was fully outside the Tree’s zone of control, she laughed in relief. “I thought I was going to spend the rest of my short life trapped at the base of that tree.”
“We still have to collect the supplies.”
There was a long silence.
“How do we get the supplies without fighting the roots for them?”
“I don’t know, but we’d better figure it out.”
“The tree doesn’t seem to react to me, at least, it didn’t while I was here earlier. Perhaps it will continue to ignore me.”
“That’s a pretty big ‘maybe’.”
“Yes, but we need those supplies. We’ll die without them.”
“Well, I guess there’s nothing for it. Best of luck then?”
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“Thanks. Here I go.”
Shyia crossed walked towards the supplies, sweating nervously as she got closer to the Tree. A few roots stirred sleepily, but that was the full extent of the Tree’s reaction. She took note of the changes the Tree had made. There was a small pool, full of crystal clear water. A variety of fruit, berries, and fungi seemed to be spawning along the edge of a small...well, it wasn’t a hut, but it wasn’t a burrow, either. If that wasn’t a combination midden/outhouse sort of thing, to the far side of the Tree, she’d be very surprised.
She stared at the heavily changed area for a long time. Several blossoming flowers were slowly opening, dangling from the branches, that she knew were lower than when she had left. Shyia walked back over to Amaya.
“So all this happened while I was gone?”
“Yes. Clearly magic is involved.”
“You’re not kidding. This… this doesn’t make any sense.” Shyia walked back towards the little hut. She paused to sniff one of the flowers. The scent…She frowned. The flower didn’t smell like a flower. It smelled like a man. A specific man. Max.
“This… Something very strange is going on.”
Shyia sat down near the ‘hut’. There was a nice stone fire pit, untouched from when Max had laid it out.
“Amaya? I need to think about this. This is a lot of very weird shit to take in all at once. Are you certain you’re not some kind of plant mage or something?”
“I have about as much magical talent as is required to put a shine on a copper, if I was willing to take an hour doing it.”
“I’ve got a little bit of gift with animals, but nothing that could explain this.”
“So who’s doing it? It couldn’t be the three, it’s a tree for gods sake.”Amaya sounded exasperated.
“I agree, but I don’t have any answers.” Shyia looked at the tree, and thought. “I think it’s safe to come back.”
“Coming back isn’t the issue, it’s being allowed to leave.”
“I don’t think it’ll make you stay. Whatever was driving the Tree before, seems to have stopped. Even if it’s not stopped, I’m going to need your help packing the mules.”
Amaya looked at the mules, who were casually grazing. “I don’t understand why the Tree isn’t eating those mules. It ate the other three.”
Shyia looked surprised. “Really? It didn’t go after the mules last time. That’s strange. Still, whatever set it off doesn’t seem to be going on right now.”
“I think I’ll stay over here for now, just in case.”
“That’s up to you.”
Shyia looked at the huge lump on the side of the Tree. It was almost the size of a tun, and it had not been there when she left.
“Where did the big burl on the side of the tree come from? It wasn’t there when I left.”
“That’s where it’s eating your friend.”
“What do you mean?”
“That’s where it put the body.”
“Just Max’s body?”
“That’s correct, yes.” Amaya sounded peeved.
“But… why just Max’s body, and none of the other bodies?”
“I have no idea. The roots ate everything else. Dragged it into the earth. Maybe it’s saving your friend for later.”
“That’s a horrible thought.”
“You asked.”
Shyia abruptly got up, and walked over to the burl. It was smooth, the bark looked new, green. She ran a hand over it, and then hammered on it with a fist. It sounded exactly like hammering on a full barrel. Which suggested it was hollow.
“Why would it be hollow?”
“What?” Amaya had moved around to be closer to the supplies and the strange little hut, but was keeping outside of what she thought the roots range were.
“The burl. It’s hollow. Why would it be hollow.”
“I have no idea. Who cares. We have bigger problems. Like getting out of here alive.”
Shyia really didn’t like how this conversation was turning out. Max was missing, the tree was acting very strangely, and had done something peculiar with his body. She wanted to know what was going on.
Amaya just wanted to go home. The last 3 months had been the stuff of nightmares, and all she wanted to do was go home. She wanted to sleep in her bed. She wanted her hair done the way her favorite maid did it. She wanted to eat at her mother’s table again. She wanted to hear her father’s laugh. This stupid place, the stupid cultists, and the stupid tree could go to hell, and they could take the stupid peasant girl with them.
“But we…”
“I DON’T CARE. I’m tired, I’m dirty, I’m hungry, and I’m terrified out of my mind, and I want to go home. I don’t give a shit about your peasant boyfriend, or whatever. By all means, stay here and do whatever. Just give me some of the supplies, and you can stay here and fuck the stupid tree for all I care.”
Shyia took a deep breath to blast Amaya right back and stopped. She held that breath for a moment, and then let it out.
“Ok, you’re having a horrible time. I get it. Screaming at me isn’t going to make things better. I am trying to figure this out, because understanding what’s happening right now is literally the difference between life and death. I don’t know how to swing a sword. Do you?”
Amaya replied in a sulky tone. “No, I do not.”
“Well, neither do I. We are two women, in the middle of the wilderness, with no knowledge of how to fight, weeks, if not months from the nearest town that isn’t Order controlled. We need to find a means of defending ourselves. If that means learning to fight, or finding a man to do it for us, so be it, but we better have some kind of a plan better than ‘hope it works out’!”
Shyia took a deep breath. “So. as much as it creeps me out too, I think we need to stay here for the moment. The tree isn’t hostile to us” She held up a hand, stalling Amaya’s complaint “If it was going to hurt you, it would kill you, not spank you.”
Shyia continued. “The tree isn’t hostile to us, and will defend us while we figure out what to do next. From the looks of the little garden it’s made, it’ll even feed us. I know those mushrooms, and all of them are edible. It’s not a great plan, but it’s a start. Now, are we working together, or are you going to piss off in a huff?”
Amaya just sort of...deflated. And then started to cry.
“I’m sorry, I just.. I.. can’t cope, ok? I’m not cut out for this, and I don’t know how to deal with all this… horror. Watching the tree rip people apart like they were straw was..” She swallowed.
Shyia felt a little guilty for taking the hard road with Amaya, but something had to shake her out of her fantasy view of ‘things will just work out’. In her experience, things never ‘just worked out’. Either you worked your ass off to make things work out, or you starved. Or froze. Or died.
“Hey, Hey, take a deep breath.” Shyia approached Amaya, and took a knee and gave the smaller girl a hug. “Things are going to be alright, because we’re going to work hard and make things turn out alright. It’s just gonna take a lot of hard work.”
“So, lets start with the little things. First, we’re going to go collect firewood. I’ll show you.”
Shyia got Amaya up, and between the 3 mules, and the two women, they managed to circle the Tree, and collect a goodly amount of dead wood.
“Ok, so next step, I’m going to show you how to start a fire.”
Starting a fire ‘cold’ is a tedious process, but it was one Shyia knew well. Eventually…
“And that’s how fire is made. Normally, we don’t let fires go out. Now, why don’t we get started on something to eat.”
“Gods, I’m starving. What are we having.”
“Salt pork soup, most likely. It’s quickish, and relatively easy. When was the last time you ate?”
“I’m not sure, three, perhaps four days ago?”
Shyia winced. “You’re going to hate what comes next, then.”
“Why?” Amaya clearly didn’t know the reason for Shyia’s reaction.
“You’ve been starving. Let me guess, you didn’t eat much prior to this last bit, right?”
“No, they’ve been starving me.”
“Yeah. They do it on purpose. It makes you weak, and sluggish. And stupid.” she paused. “No offense meant.”
“So… what does it have to do with eating today?”
“Your gut isn’t ready for a full meal. If you eat as much as you want, you’ll puke it right back up. Some people even die.”
Amaya was wide eyed. “You’re lying.”
“Why would I lie? I need you alive, and well disposed towards me.” Shyia snorted.
“This is one of those peasant things, isn’t it?”
“Yes, learning how to not die of starvation is a ‘peasant thing’.” Shyia struggled to keep the snippy tone out of her voice.
“Ok, I get you probably think I’m useless, and in this case, you’re probably right. I don’t know..” Amaya paused. “ peasant things. I don’t even know a better set of words for those sorts of things.”
“Survival. It’s called survival.” Shyia grinned. “At least you’ve got the sense to know that you don’t know. There are graveyards full of people who couldn’t get that far.”
“So… what do I do?”
“You eat slow. Start with very small portions. Wait, then eat some more. But slow is key. If you rush, you’ll puke at the least. I’m very serious about this. I’ll help you figure this out.”
“Thank you?”
Dinner was strained, to say the least. Shyia called the pace at which Amaya could eat, and Amaya tried not to resent Shyia’s instructions.
Elsewhere….
The leader of a certain secret village woke up in the middle of the night, screaming in agony, his soul was burning. After several abortive attempts he managed to get a functional ward up, that caused the burning to stop. This could only mean one thing. Something had gone wrong with _both_ caravans….