Fantasy Unlikely Partners

[Tharivle]

Chris pulled out his phone and took a picture of the map then slipped it back into his pocket. "Scout." Chris said, and Rex trotted forward and put his nose to the ground. Chris followed Rex down the path, and smiled at Ilaria, "I love hiking."
They walked in a general downhill for the first few minutes, the trees growing steadily thicker, until they were at the base of the mountain and the trail broke off into three branches. Left would take them clockwise around the mountain, and Right would take them counterclockwise around. Straight would take them up the mountain itself and into the harder portions of the trails. "Straight." Chris said as Rex stopped at the intersection. Rex followed the command and kept going straight up the trail. They walked quietly for almost a half an hour. Didn't see much, they were still under the tree line, but the trees were getting thinner again and there were slightly more rocks around. They didn't see anything out of the normal, it was a calm sunny day and the birds were chirping. "Care for a break and some water?" Chris asked as he turned to Ilaria and held out a bottle of water.

 

[Flutterby]

"I do too, but I haven't done a trail like this is a while," Ilaria said softly, as they started downhill.
She followed along, slightly behind Chris, watching Rex as he lead the way. He would alert them before anything else, if there was something going on. Once they had chosen their path, and it started to head upward, Ilaria started to pay more attention to her surroundings herself. But there was nothing to see, at least not yet.
She took the bottle of water with a small nod of thanks, and took a sip. "A walking break, just slow it down a little. I don't want to stop completely if we don't have to."
After a few minutes of a slower pace, they naturally fell back into a quicker pace, but it was slower than they had started. The trail had begun to switch back a little, to help with the steepness, and she could tell that soon they would have to be careful with their footing.
"How high up did you say we're going?" She asked, taking another sip of water.

 

[Tharivle]

Chris looked around before answering. "The base of the mountain is around 5,500 feet. So I would guess us to be at 6,500 ish." Chris looked up towards the peek then added, "The peek is 9,000, but there is a plateau ish part at about 7,500. And the trees are still pretty thick at 7,500. So if I was going to hide a demon base camp, that forested plateau is where I would put it. And well get there with about another 40 minutes at this speed." Chris smiled and took a couple sips from his own water bottle.
As they walked the trail started leveling out just a bit and there was more of a shoulder as the switchbacks stopped and it became more of a normal trail through the woods again. They walked for another minute or so then Rex stopped and looked around. "What is it boy?" Chris said in a whisper. Rex looked confused but clearly was bothered by something. Chris frowned and looked around himself. "Ari... Where are the birds?" Chris asked the question as he realized that there was no forest sounds. No birds. No squirrels, nothing but a very faint wind.

 

[Flutterby]

Ari glanced at Chris, with a small smirk. It had taken him a few seconds longer than she and Rex to realize how quiet their surroundings had gotten.
"Either we scared them away, or something else did." She said softly, glancing up at the treetops on either side of the trail. "Try not to worry about it." She added, and rubbed Rex's ear as she started walking again.
It didn't seem like 40 minutes to get to the plateau that Chris mentioned, more like 30. Ilaria paused, when she could tell they were almost there, but couldn't hear anything, just the same creepy silence. Rex didn't seem to hear anything either, so Ilaria moved forward cautiously. When she reached the flat ground, she stopped again.
There was absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. Ilaria looked around, but besides the intense quiet, there was no sign of anything going wrong in this section of woods.
"No demon base camp here," She pointed out, rather obtusely.

 

[Tharivle]

Chris looked around with a confused look on his face. "If there are no demons in the area, then what is making the forest so quiet."
The wind shifter a bit and Rexs head snapped upwind, and then he turned to face the new smell. "What is it boy?" Chris whispered as he knelt down beside Rex. Rex was alert but didn't seemed worried. "Find." Chris said, and Rex started trotting off the path into the woods, alternating between sniffing the air and the ground. About 30 feet off the path, concealed by a group of bushes was evidence of a struggle. The ground was ripped up and the trees has gashes in them, and most noticeable was the dark red almost black blood. There was a blood trail and tracks that lead away. "This is Demon blood. And it looks like the demon lost." Chris said, then he asked, "But what was it fighting?" There was no discernable tracks or marks that weren't from the others. So either two of the same thing were fighting or one party didn't leave any outward signs of their presence. Rex followed the blood trail and Chris followed Rex. They didn't walk but another 10 feet before they came upon a large bat/cat creature, it was dead. It had enormous bat wings that were folded up behind it and cat claws and fangs, but the body was built like a person. The demon was covered with short dirty black fur, and it had red eyes that were affixed open and lifeless.
The demons paws matched the tracks they had found, and the matted fur was still shiny with dark blood. They could see cuts that would have been from battle, but the most prominent injury was an upward stab to the abdomen area. There was a branch stabbed into the creature in an upward angle from the belly and out the middle of the back. The branch was pointed at the tip out the back but appeared broken off down at the belly.
Chris knelt down by the demon looking closer at the branch and said, "We didn't find a camp, but why would a demon running away from a Warrior Dryad come here if it wasn't a camp?"

 

[Flutterby]

Ilaria took a moment to take another drink. She was tiring more easily than Chris, a combination of the fact that she was out of shape and it was still so daylight. She almost rolled her eyes, when Rex suddenly found another smell and Chris sent him after it immediately. The two of the were a little dense, sometimes.
She followed behind them after a second, giving a soft grunt to acknowledge Chris's comments. She glanced at him, but preferred to draw her own conclusions about what she was seeing. She noticed the number of fresh-green leaves on the ground. When she looked up, Ilaria made note that the leaves didnt immediately appear to match the other trees around. So, it had been a rough enough fight to shake leaves loose from the dryad. Was that painful, for the dryad?
She clomped down the path behind Chris again, and almost immediately covered her mouth and nose. The clearing reeked, of death and sickness and sulfur. Ari gave the body a look over, and then said, "Do you think that's its arm?" Her voice was a combination of disgusted and worried, but muffled by her hand.
The moon child cast her eyes around. "The dryad couldnt have gone far, I think we should ask its opinion. Do you think Rex can.." Ilaria trailed off, looking at the treetops slightly up the mountain. For the smallest split second, she thought she had seen a glimmer of gold in the leaves.

 

[Tharivle]

Chris looked up from where he had been kneeling when she cut her question short and was looking up the mountain. "Did you see something?" Chris asked as he looked up the mountain where she was looking. He didn't see anything, so he answered the question that she thought she was going to ask, "No. Rex can't track a Dryad. They smell like trees, and for as good as he is, Rex can't find a tree in a forest, especially an unfamiliar forest."
Chris looked back down at the dead demon. "And no. I don't think it is its arm." Chris pointed to the break. "The break it to clean, almost like it was done by a saw. Warrior Dryads grow weapons and armor and simply discard them when they are not needed." Chris stood and turned to her again. "So if I had to guess, This was a killing blow, and the Dryad grew the spike, stabbed the demon with its right wile holding it upright with its left. The broke the spike off where its hand would be, and walked away."

 

[Flutterby]

Ilaraia didn't seem to be hearing Chris; she was staring out at the trees intently, trying to determine if she had really seem a glimmer, or if she was just hoping that she had. After what felt like several minutes, she shot her arm up and pointed, "There. Did you see it? It's over there, watching us."
She immediately started walking in the direction, a new pep in her step as she did. There wasn't a path, and the ground got very rough very quickly. Every few feet, she would look up and seem to check her direction. Finally, she reach another small level spot, breathing a little heavy. Now, she could clearly see the leaves of the dryad peeking out from behind another tree.
"I can see you," She called, with her hands on her hips. "Come on, I'm tired, and it's sunny, and I already know you're right there." Ilaria's voice was a little impatient, but mostly just pleading. The tree was up another slope, and her back was beginning to hurt.

 

[Tharivle]

Chris could see the Dryad now and he let Ilaria talk, and lead the way. After she said that she could see it, the Dryad moved. It was about 35 yards away. Something small came at them. "Spear!" Chris shouted as he pulled Ilaria back.
A sharp spiraled spear buried itself into the ground in front of them. But it was not where Ilaria had been. Even if she had not been moved she wouldn't have been hit. "Leave me alone." The voice was like a knife cutting through the wind, unlike the calm gentle voices of the other trees and Dryads they have talked to.
The Dryad disappeared into the trees when they backed away from the spear, and they could no longer see it.

 

[Flutterby]

Ilaria saw the spear an instant before Chris shouted, and was luckily already backing up before he pulled her back, or she would have stumbled and fallen. It landed about three feet in front of where she had been, safely getting its message across. With the harsh words that followed, it was unquestionable.
"Leave me alone?" Ilaria repeated, obviously confused.
"Hey, excuse me, thats not going to work," She shouted back, as the glimmer disappeared behind other trees. "We need your help, with the shards!" Ilaria's shouting was met with silence, and she scowled. For a long moment, she stood there, thinking while she alternated between chewing on the inside of her lip, and eating the raisins out of the trail mix she had brought.

 

[Tharivle]

Chris looked at Ilaria while she thought, "Should we go after it?" Chris asked.
"Never hunt a hunter...." Chris spun to his left and drew his sidearm at the words. Somehow a 7 foot tall, glowing tree had snuck up on them in a matter of a minute. The Dryads eyes narrowed in on Chris, "Come now merger. That weapon can not hurt me." The Dryads voice was cold and amused. He obviously didn't think much of Chris. But then it turned to Ilaria.
"You said you need my help. Speak, before I change my mind about listening." His tone was slightly softer with her and not as jaded, but he was still short and blunt.

 

[Flutterby]

"I don't-" Ilaria was cut off almost immediately, as they both spun to find the warrior dryad had already come down to them. She mouth remained open, as she stared at a 7 foot tall, glowing tree. It looked to her like some kind of elm tree, but she couldn't be sure. It was beautiful, in a fearsome way.
It spoke almost coldly to Chris, and Ilaria's brow furrowed. He didn't seem like a very friendly dryad, not like the ones they had already met. The fact that he had not only thrown a spear at them to deter them, but was also not a fan of Chris, put her a little on edge.
But then he spoke directly to her, a little more kindly, and she got over her amazement and suspicion, and answered concisely. "Demons are finding spirit shards and attacking humans. This is the second bodily attack we've seen in the last week. They're getting bigger, stronger. There is.. a translation of a satanic rite, that would allow them to personally possess and control the power of a shard." She held her breath for a moment, and then said quickly, "It was mine, and I lost it during an attack, and now we don't know where it is or who has it, but we know that strange things are happening in this town and we think there may be a shard nearby that a demon may take and use. We can't let that happen." The words rushed out of her mouth, because she didn't feel like she had much time to explain, but her voice was steady and confident. She stared upward, praying to the Moon Mother that the dryad would help them.

 

[Tharivle]

The Dryad didn't interrupt at all and listened. Once she finished the Dryad didn't speak. He just stared at her with narrowed eyes.
It was only about 10 seconds of silence, but it seemed like forever. The Dryads shoulders relaxed, "This is the 4th demon I have slain within my woods in the last month." He turned to Chris, "I don't like the Golden Flame. They are arrogant in their power. They dismiss those who would serve because they are not 'mergers'. And they have little regard for those that get hurt in their pursuit of justice."
The Dryad turned back to Ilaria, "But I will help you both because demons with that kind of power spells doom for us all."
The Dryad turned and made to walk away. "Come, I will show you my home. You both can rest and resupply. And we can talk where there is no chance of prying eyes or ears."

 

[Flutterby]

Ilaira met the eyes of the Dryad evenly, even though she got more uncomfortable every passing millisecond. Finally, he relaxed, and so could she. Her face grew concerned, and she glanced at Chris briefly. But her gaze darted away when the Dryad seemed to admonish him, trying to hide her confusion. Weren't the dryads and Golden Flame working together?
She gave the dryad a nod, and started after him. She walked slowly, to wait for Chris to get even with her, and them looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "What was that all about?" She said, not exactly lowering her voice. She didn't feel the need to be secretive about asking Chris's view- they had certainly heard the Dryad's.

 

[Tharivle]

Chris stayed where he was for a few seconds and let the Dryad walk a few strides before following. His head was hung almost as if he was feeling guilty.
Chris looked up at Ilaria when she asked him what was going on, and then glanced at the Dryad to see if he was going to say something, which he did not. "As you know the Mother Tree and the Warrior Dryads predate the fall of the spirits. They were the army of the Greater Spirits, unmatched by any other standing force. They were the beckon of light and justice that shined over the entire world."
Chris paused and again glanced at the Dryad, who had changed nothing. It was just gliding over the forest floor, not making a sound or an impression, keeping his head forward. "After the fall, the Mother Tree and her Dryads were entrusted to the Sun Spirit who best displayed the ideals of justice and law enforcement. And as the Sun Spirit fell he created the first of the Golden Flame. Being so small in number and untrained, the Golden Flame still needed the Warriors to assist them in both defense of the shard and peacekeeping across the world."
Chris again looked up to see if the Dryad was going to interject, but he still remained silent. "As the power of the Golden Flame grew, and the power of the demons fell, the need for a supreme standing force lessoned. The Groves defenses were strong, so we didn't need an army. The jobs in the field became jobs in the city, and 7 foot trees don't blend well on the sidewalk."
Chris paused again and looked down with a guilty look, not wanting to look at the Dryad. "The common story is that the Warriors were given the option to retire, and that they did opt to leave... In truth they were forced to retire. The Grandmaster and the Council at the time agreed that in order to maintain peace the imposing and undisputed supernatural army could no longer be controlled by one group. So They told the Mother Tree to stop making Warriors, and the Warriors themselves were banished from the grove. It was the most civil banishing anyone could think of but it was still a sentence of death. For without the grove the Warriors would become normal trees."
Chris didn't let Ilaria ask a question even if she was going to. He continued, "The Golden Flame was getting threats of war from pretty much every organized supernatural group because of the power they controlled with the Warriors. And they feared the Warriors themselves. So they were banished."
Chris looked up and took a deep breath. "So, he called us arrogant because we thought they were not needed. Before the banishment they were confined to the Grove in favor of letting Knights go on missions. And our actions take more to cover up because they are generally more destructive." Chris looked up at the Dryad again and kept his eyes on the creatures head and said, "He doesn't like me because the last time he saw a member of the Golden Flame the Grandmaster was telling him to leave and never come back." Chris looked back to Ilaria, "And now after over 2,000 years of being alone, we have the audacity to ask him for his help."

 

[Flutterby]

Ilaria listened quietly, and her face grew a little angry. She didn't like being lied to, and didn't appreciate the fact that the Golden Flame had done all that in the first place.
"So what you're saying is, you totally deserve the attitude," She said softly, giving Chris a rueful look. No wonder the dryad was angry. He had been cast aside and left to die, by people he had helped for his entire life. It cooled her own heart a little toward the Golden Flame.
The dryad gave a soft grunt, seemingly in response to her remark, and turned to the left. Up a small ridge, and then through some thicker underbrush, and then broke into a clearing. Alone, they would've walked right past it.

The dryad slowed to a stop in the middle of it, and gruffly said, "This is my home. There is food, fruit, there," He pointed vaguely to a few fruit trees nearby, but that wasn't what Ilaria was looking at.
In the center of the clearing, was a large oak tree. It probably looked like a regular tree to other eyes, but for Ilaria and Chris, it glowed so brightly it would hurt their eyes at first.
Ilaria winced, and said, "Is that a.. another Mother tree?" She asked softly, and the dryad gave her a glance.
"Not exactly..." He began, with a small glare at Chris.

 

[Tharivle]

"Not exactly... I am a Captain. And these are my soldiers." Said the Dryad as he gestured to the tree in the center of the clearing. "They gave their lives before they withered to form a single tree of power. This tree acts upon me the same way as the powers of the grove, only it is a fraction of the power." The Dryad gestured around to the couple fruit trees and said, "Much like how the grove allows trees to bear fruit all year, so dose this tree provides for the same things."
Chris looked around and was sad, but didn't show it. He felt bad about what had happened between the Warriors and the council at the time, and wile the clearing was beautiful, it lacked the same vibrant energy that the Grove had. Everything was lush and beautiful, but nothing was alive or had minor personalities. "Is that how you have survived? This tree restores your power like the Grove dose." Chris asked.
"No... The Grove has the purest energy, and power of the grove allows us to be alive anywhere in the world. This power source is enouph to sustain me within this point to about 5 miles away. It is a pause on my loss of power. Should I leave I will not die, but my timer will start ticking again. The only way to add time to the timer is to be in the Grove." The Dryad was calmer now, almost welcoming and understanding.
The Dryad sat down in the grass and placed his palms on the ground and closed his eyes. Then out of the ground in front of him grew two stumps that then formed into chairs. They could see the wood growing from his arms and traveling across the ground, then twisting into the chairs. He then stood and only parochially transformed into a tree. His arms grew leaves and his legs came together, but he still had more human body features than a true tree. "Come. Sit. Let us talk about what brought you to my mountain."

 

[Flutterby]

Ilaria stood with her head slightly downcast. The thought of being barred from your life force, and then to have others sacrafice so that you could continue, well.. it broke her heart. She held her tongue though, letting the dryad talk and leaving Chris to respond if he wanted. He didn't seem to have anything to say though, and she could imagine why.
The dryad went so far as to make them chairs, so she sat and looked at Chris before starting to speak.
"This started near the Grove. The demons there found the sea shard, and were pretty insistent on attacking the Grove. That one was handled.. so we put out word to find the other ones. It lead us here, because of the missing dogs. We had only just got here, when the attack happened. We followed the police cars in." She paused, taking a drink of water, and then continued.
"We find out that the man in the shop had been looking for his dog up here, and wondered if maybe he got too close to something up here."

 

[Tharivle]

Chris took a seat next to Ilaria and let her start the explanation.
The Dryad listened closely then responded, "Yes. That man was up here 4 days ago. I happened upon him wile hunting a pack of those flyers. I killed two of them and captured a third. And he told me that the fourth had gone down to the city to 'take care' of the human. Unfortunately I was a little late in getting to the toy shop." The Dryad looked between the two of them for a second then said, "I was posted on this mountain from the start of my days. I had 4 other captains with their 20 soldiers, as well as my 20 soldiers all under my command. I was never told why this post got this much attention, and it isn't a strategic point within this mountain chain." He paused saddened by the fact that he was now alone.
Chris took the opturinituty of the pause to ask, "When was this post assigned to you? How long have you been here?"
The Dryad straightened up and answered, "I was born prior to the fall of the spirits. And this was my first and only assignment since the fall."

 

[Flutterby]

Ilaria was clearly shocked when the dryad answered that he had come into contact with an entire group of four demons. If they were already grouping, she felt like they were behind.. and would end up walking into an army with just the two of them and Rex.
"The medics on site said it was bad, but that he would at least live." Ilaria said softly, not able to really tell how much the dryad cared about that specific human. She would have cared, quite a bit.
Her eyebrows shot up, when the dryad said he had been on this mountain since the fall of the spirits.
"There has to be a shard nearby. That's the only reason," She said, looking over at Chris. "It has to be." Her eyes scanned the edge of the clearing, and then she added, "Would you have any idea where it could be, nearby?"

 

[Tharivle]

The Dryad tilted his head slightly, thinking of any place that he think would be of interest. "There is one particular mine that might be of interest. The entrance partially caved in, and I am to big to get into the opening." He nodded as if deciding that that was a good place to look for something out of the ordinary. "It was a natural cave before man came and made it a mine. They pulled an abundant amount of ore from that mine. But I never detected anything supernatural being removed from the mine by the miners, so I let them do their work." The Dryad transformed fully into his human form and said, "Come, I will show you."
As they started walking again the Dryad explained further, "The mine that we are going to never dried up. And they found many valuable ores inside. But once all the other mines in the area dried up it became more costly to operate just the one, because of where it is on the mountain. So it was shut down with all the rest of the shafts."

 

[Flutterby]

Ilaria listened quietly as they walked, deciding that it sounded like the best place to look for a shard. But with a partially collapsed entrance, and what she assumed was a network of deep tunnels, how would they find it? And how would they get it out safely?
There was something else bothering her, too. After the Dryads finished explaining, she asked, "Do Dryads have names?"

 

[Tharivle]

The Dryad didn't break stride, but he did look over his shoulder at her and peered down at her with a curious eye. "Dryads can communicate with one another telepathically, so long as they are within close proximity to one another, therefore having names are unneeded.... Still, every Dryad has a name."
He turned his head back and gave no further explanation. "What is your name?" Chris asked.
The Dryad looked at Chris over his shoulder with the same perplexed look, as if he didn't know why Chris would ask such a question. "Dryads name themselves. And they do so by what tree they emulate, what ideals they have, what they are good at, what their job is." Replied the Dryad, but then he turned forward without saying his name.
"I'm Chris." Chris said, nodding a bit, confused why the Dryad seemed hesitant to give up his name. Then the Dryad stopped in mid stride and spun around to face him. Chris almost tripped and fell into the Dryad because of how fast they had been walking and how fast they stopped. The Dryad stared down at him with piercing eyes, but he didn't seem mad, just very confused. "It is not normal for a Merger to show interest or respect for those of a lower status. Why would you care to have my name?"
Chris was just as surprised by the question as the Dryad apparently was for asking it. "Umm.. I ask for your name because I don't want to call you 'the Dryad' from now till we part ways." Chris paused then asked, "Has nobody ever asked you for your name?"
"No... There was no friendship between the Golden Flame and the Dryads. It was title only interaction between the two groups. Mergers would call on us by rank, and we would usually not answer with words, just by nodding then action."
Chris now was confused as well. Even if you don't like each other, how could two groups function without learning the names of at least the commanders? Chris thought.
"Well I'm not going to say 'hay you' every time I want your attention. So what is your name?" Chris asked.
The Dryad tilted his head, perplexed. "My name is Elmmriss... Those that knew me by that name usually just called me Elm."
Chris smiled at him and said, "Lead the way Elmmriss." Elm turned and started walking again without responding to what Chris said.

 

[Flutterby]

Ilaria looked up at him evenly, unperturbed by the way he looked at her. When he answered her, and turned away, Ilaria nodded. she wanted to ask his, but had a feeling her didn't want to give it for some reason. Otherwise, he would've given it then.
Chris, on the other hand, apparently didn't perceive that or care to respect it, and asked anyway. The non-answer he received made her smirk a little, and she glanced at Chris to tell him to let it go, but he was already talking again.
She had to slam the brakes, giving a surprised squeak, as the dryad spun around to look at Chris. She kept her eyes down, during their exchange, feeling a little like she was eavesdropping. The relationship between the two groups was becoming more complex by the minute, and she was slowly starting to see that as much as the Golden Flame clung to the idea of being the just and noble protectors of the supernatural world, in their early days, they were as fallible as any. Pride, it seemed, was their weakness.
Finally, they had established his name and were walking again. The moon child let the awkwardness hang for a moment, and then piped up with, "I'm Ilaria," She glanced at Rex, jogging between her and Chris, and added, "The dog is Rex."
As they climbed, Ilaria had to work harder to keep up, as her calves began to burn. She stopped feeling like talking to Elmmriss, and stayed quiet. Next thing she knew, Elmriss was slowing, and saying something about being nearly there.

 

[Tharivle]

Elm looked back slightly and said, "It is nice to meet you." Then he added, "All of you." Elmmriss's words were forced but sincere, like he meant them but wasn't use to saying them.
They started climbing more steeply now and the ground got slightly more rocky. Then they arrived at the entrance to the mine. There were little pockets of grass poking up around the entrance, but most of the dirt had been crushed into rock from years of foot traffic. The entrance had been boarded up at one point, but the boards had been ripped away and thrown to the side. Looking in, they could see where their had been a cave in. The opening would be enouph for Chris to barley squeeze through, and he would have to take his bag off.
"Look at the nails." Elmmriss said as he pointed to the boards that were on the ground. The tips of the nails that were sticking out of the boards were not rusted where they would have been inside the wood of other boards. "Still shiny. This mine was recently opened. I tried to get in before it was boarded up, but I was too big. Then when the humans sealed it up I gave this place no more mind."