Fantasy Unlikely Partners

[Flutterby]

Ilaria gave a small huff as he picked a tunnel and started walking, in a way that looked entirely random to her. She had to jog a little, her head slightly ducked, to catch up. The tunnel seemed like an appropriate choice, though, as it continued downward and into the heart of the mountain. Ilaria glanced over her shoulder every few moments, unease creeping up from the base of her spine.
"I do know how mines work, Chris," She said softly, as he explained that the miners would carry things up from the smaller offshoots to the carts. "I have been around a while, after all." Her voice came out a grumble, but she couldn't be annoyed for too long- he probably wasn't used to hanging out with someone with more life experience than him.
Her growing attitude, which was more about being underground than about him, deflated instantly when there was another clunk from behind them. She stopped next to Chris and nodded.
"There was one earlier, in the second cavern, as I was marking our exit." She felt a flash of fear, that something was following them, and it had erased her mark. "And yeah, the tunnel is narrowing." She cleared her throat, and said, "We should turn around and find the source of the sound now, before the tunnel gets too small to move in."

 

[Tharivle]

Chris nodded and quietly said, "Good Idea."
They turned around and started up the way they came. As they approached one of the interchanges they passed earlier there was a long, deep, painful moan. Like something a large dying animal would do. Then there was a faint shuffling. Chris shifted the torch to his left hand and drew out a knife and muttered something, and a sigil on the blade began to lightly glow. "Are you ready?" Chris asked, because whatever it was, was no more than 25 feet away in the cart room ahead of them.
Chris waited for Ilaria to respond then headed forward. As they stepped into the room it was as they left it as they passed through it the first time. Then they saw it in the tunnel that lead back to the main cavern. It was a large rock creature, almost like if a gorilla was covered in rock, and all the joints were pointed and sharp. Its bulky body almost didn't fit in the tunnel and it shuffled forward slowly and methodically. Chris tapped the blade on the tip of the torch and the steal burst into flame and Chris readied to throw. But just before he threw the knife the rock creature fell. Its legs buckled and it fell to the ground with a large thud. It was much louder, but it was the same loud clunking sound they had heard twice before. As it hit the ground there were faint cracking sounds and small pieces of the creature fell away. It laid there for a few seconds before lifting its head and slowly standing up again, and looked at them.
Chris lowered the blade, letting the fire go out, and held the torch to the side so the light was not interfering with him seeing the creature before him. He slowly approached, stepping cautiously into the room wile hugging the wall slightly. The creatures eyes opened, small green slits in a pointed jagged face. "Whhoooo arrrree yoouuu…" There was a mouth at the tip of its head and as it opened they could see a very faint green light from within the creature that flickered as if it would go out. The strain of speaking seemed to weaken the creature further and it buckled a little before catching itself before falling. Then before waiting for an answer it closed its eyes and slowly set itself down and leaned against the wall. It opened its eyes and lifted its head as if waiting for an answer.
Realization dawned on Chris and his eyes widened. "I am a knight of the Golden flame." Chris said as he stepped forward. "And this is my companion and my partner." He finished as he gestured to Rex then Ilaria. The creature closed its eyes again and slumped its shoulders as if relieved. Seeing that it didn't answer Chris turned to Ilaria to explain. "This it an Earth Golam. They were the personal guard of the Earth Spirit." Chris turned back to the creature with amazement in his eyes, "I didn't think any creatures from before the fall survived. Other than the Dryads."
"They came for him.... My master...." It said sadly. Then more forcefully and with rage it said, "I slew dozens of them..." Then sadly again it finished, "But I fell... And they took himm... awayyy…" Now that it was more in the room with them than in the tunnel, and Chris had gotten a little closer they could see how hurt it was. The creature had claw marks all over it, deep gashes where demons had pulled away pieces of rock from its body, and the points of its joints were broken off.

 

[Flutterby]

Ilaria followed Chris back upward wordlessly, her hand drifting toward the gun near her hip. she didn't look at him when he spoke, just whispered a yes back.
The creature that was shuffling down the tunnel toward them was a hulking, rock-covered figure, and for an instant Ilaria feared it was a demon with possession of the Earth shard. Chris apparently had the same fear, and almost threw his knife at it. But it fell, clearly in pain, and that gave them the time to realize just what they were looking at.
Ilaria glanced at Chris, and said softly, "Well, you'll be surprised to know that there are still a from the Sea and Moon Spirits, in hiding somewhere." She said it as she stared at the Golam, which she had never seen or heard of. Moon Children actively avoided being of sun and earth, except for humans, so it was no wonder she was only just learning of this species.
Her heart sank when the creature said the Earth Shard had been taken. They were too late to get to it. And then her heart was completely smashed, when Chris moved forward and the light shone on the Golam's injuries.
"Oh my skies.." she whispered, and brushed past Chris to crouch next to the rock-man. She looked up at Chris, and said, "These are catastrophic injuries.. is there- is there any sun magic that can help?"

 

[Tharivle]

Chris followed her as she swept down to kneel beside the Golam. Chris shook his head sadly, "I don't know of a way to save him. And even if I did, I am not powerful enouph to heal him."
The Golam shifted its head to look more at Ilaria who was now next to him. "You remind me of a Sprite I one knew... She too had a kind heart." Then in a weaker voice it said, "Take my heart to the Golden Grove... There, the light of the sun will sustain it... Until the might of the Earth can rebirth a new life within it..." Its words faded slowly, and by the last sentence its eyes were closed. A few small chunks of rock fell away from the Golam.
It gowned again and opened its eyes to look back at Ilaria, as if waiting for her to promise to do as it asked.

 

[Flutterby]

Ilaria frowned, looking back to the Golam's face. She had hoped he would- sun magic was much more compatible with earth magic. Moon magic was essentially it's opposite, like the sea and the sun were opposites.
She gave it a small smile when it spoke of knowing a female spirit, which would be either the sea spirit or her moon mother. She listened to the rest of his talking with a terse expression as she repositioned herself and laid a hand on the Golam's stomach and forehead.
"We will.. we will make sure your heart reach the Grove." She said softly. "And I will place it myself, between the Sun Shard and the Sea Shard. Rest now, you've earned it." She fell quiet as she concentrated, performing a piece of magic she hadn't even attempted in years. It wouldn't feel nice to her, but it would ease his way out of the world. Her lips mouthed an incantation, and her hands started to glow with a soft, white light.
The Golam gasped softly, and then it's face and body relaxed as it felt it's physical pain lessen.
Ilaria waited until the light of it's eyes went out completely, which took a lot less time than she thought it would, and then released her spell. The Golam was dead, at least for now.

 

[Tharivle]

With all the internal green light now dark, the Golam started losing his features as pieces of its body broke away in larger segments until it was just a pile of smaller rocks. He knelt down beside her and started digging through the pile of rocks. Even as he dug around the rocks were breaking into pebbles and then into dust. It was a large pile, but because it was getting smaller by itself, it only took him a minute to find what he was looking for.
With his arm elbow deep in pebbles and dust, his fingers closed around a larger rock and he pulled it out slowly. In his hand was a large emerald. It was about a quarter cubic foot, and was cone shaped. The base was rounded and the cone coming up from it was spiked with layers of sharper rocks protruding up. It looked like a green flame that had been frozen somehow and turned to rock.
Chris brushed it off a bit and blew on it to clear out some of the dust between the spaces at the top of the stone. Then he held it out to Ilaria, "Here, I think he wanted you to take this."

 

[Flutterby]

Ilaria removed her hands, falling back onto her butt a little clumsily. Her head spun, and the earth energy she had just consumed coursed through her, carrying pain that spread through her chest. It wasn't her own. She watched, holding back tears, as Chris dug through the pile the pile that was the Golam, as if it were a movie on a screen. Happening, but not here, not in front of her. It hurt, so badly.
She fumbled into her backpack and got out the water, taking a few sips with a shaky hand. Her hand still shook, as she reached out to take the heart. She had expected it to be warm, but it was as cold as any other rock when it sat in her hand.
"Well," She said softly, with a little crack in her voice, "I suppose there's not much reason to go any further down. And we should probably get word to the Golden Flame- that another shard is gone."

 

[Tharivle]

Chris nodded in response but waited silently wile she finished collecting herself and appeared ready to go. By the time she was standing and looking ready to go the pile of rocks was now just a pile of dust, and it was still shifting into finer particles and almost disappearing. If they were outside the pile would have blown away and there would have been nothing left. Chris lead the way back to the main cavern then to the tunnel they entered from and up to the mines entrance. Chris could see where the Golam had been, there was a dark spot towards the side of the cavern where he would have been resting as a bolder, and footsteps where it shuffled to follow them.
As they came out into the open they had to squint a lot because it was so bright. It was about 12:30 and the sun was shining brightly. Elmmriss had been in his tree form somewhere. They couldn't tell if he had been blocking their sight or they just didn't see him because they were adjusting to the sun, but Elm transformed and walked up to great them, "Hello again. What did y..." He cut his question short and was staring at Ilaria, more specifically, what Ilaria was holding. "Shame... This great guardian is one of the last of its kind. There are fewer Golams than there are Warrior Dryads."
Elm looked sad for a second with his head down, but quickly snapped out of it. "Am I to assume then that the Earth Shard was here, but is no longer?"
Chris glanced at Ilaria quickly before answering him, "Yes. He told us before he died, that he was defeated by a host of demons and that they took the shard away."
Elm narrowed his eyes in a frustrated look, "I should have been here. There is no way a force of demons powerful enouph to defeat a golam could have gotten past my watch. When I'm in tree form I can see every inch of this mo...." Elm stopped in mid sentence again. "The attack on the toy store. They sacrificed 3 small demons to make me widen my field of vision. Then sent one into town to draw me away so at least 3 dozen demons could walk into the very place that I was suppose to protect." Elm stood there with a mad look on his face, mentally kicking himself until someone else talked.

 

[Flutterby]

Ilaria followed Chris out of the mine numbly, the heart-gem clutched to her chest where pain was still radiating across her skin. It had started to concentrate in certain spots, which she knew were his wounds. It was beginning to lessen, but when they emerged from the cave, and the bright afternoon sun hit her face, Ilaria thought she might puke. She stopped a few steps before Chris, not even noticing Elmmriss, as she held the heart next to her chest and tried to convince her stomach to hold on to her breakfast.

Ilaria eventually straightened her spine completely and cleared her throat. "They're organizing, working together. They've.. they don't do that, normally. So you couldn't have known, Elm. It's not your fault." She took the last few steps to actually join them ,and then said, "What now?"

 

[Tharivle]

Elm collected himself and said, "Now.. You call the Grandmaster on your small, talking, box thing..." He stammered out the words as if he was confused. "And the two of you must return to the grove as soon as possible.
Chris smiled a little, "Are you talking about my phone Elm?"
The dryad shifted up and appeared to take in a quick deep frustrated breath, even though he didn't really have lungs. "Over my thousands of years of life I have learned a great many things. But it is maddening to watch you humans communicate across the country without the aid of magic, and not know how it is done."
Chris smiled again but stayed silent instead of teasing Elm some more. Then Elmmriss turned to Ilaria. "The heart you hold in your hands will not survive the trip to the grove. The golam pushed to stay alive for too long, and the heart is fading as we speak." Sure enouph, the faint green light flickering deep within the stone had lessoned. The previously bright vibrant emerald was now dull and almost gray in some areas. The small hum of power that could be heard was lessoned. Elmmriss stretched out his hands, "May I? I will share my power with it until we get back to my grove, then my tree will stabilize its energy. It should be able to go a few days without power after being placed by my tree for the remainder of the day and all night."

 

[Flutterby]

Ilaria watched the two of them, all but rolling her eyes at the developing bromance. Sure, she had performed an extraordinary piece of magic at great personal cost, but teasing the tree about not knowing 'cell phone' was much more important.
The moon child glanced up at Elm's face, with an annoyed expression, while he spoke. Her face softened when he offered to take the heart, and she handed it over like it might explode if she held it too long.
As soon as the heart left her hands, the pain across her torso and legs stopped throbbing, and the nausea started to fade. The tiredness clung on, even as the pain faded to an ache. She would need another hour, maybe two, before the earth energy stopped effecting her negatively. It was like eating unfamiliar, pungent food- probably fine, but definitely not for you.
"Sounds like you've got the plan all worked out already." With her hands now free, Ilaria fished around in the side pocket of her bag to take another drink of water.

 

[Tharivle]

As Elmmriss took the heart they could actually see him grow weeker. His shoulder slumped and a good portion of his innate energy and color seemed to drain away, and he looked at Ilara with a worried look. "Are you alright Ilaria? Carrying this would have been an immense burden, especially since moon magic is not very comprable to earth magic?"
Chris didn't know that the heart had been pulling energy, or that Ilaria was hurting and sick from it. His face grew concerned and he turned to wait for her answer.

 

[Flutterby]

Ilaria finished a large swig of water, wiping a bead of sweat from her forehead.
"I'm okay," She said softly, but her eyes were filling up with tears again. "He was so hurt, just- I mean... so hurt. I took his pain, I took it and gave him some of my energy, but I think.. I think it just killed him faster. I tried, to funnel what I took back to the heart, but I can't control it much." She sniffled, and turned away, trying to blink back her tears, and the emotions with them. She didnt want to seem dramatic, or overly emotional. But she had another living being's energy inside her, and now he was dead, and she didn't usually feed unless she was drunk. But she was sober, and it hurt.
She half-turned her head, looking over her shoulder, and said, "If Elm is going to be okay, if the heart isn't going to be too much, we should start heading back down. We need to talk to the Grove, and there probably isn't cell service up here."

 

[Tharivle]

Elm looked at her and waited for her to get her composer back. Then he stepped forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Let me show you how he feels about you." Elm closed his eyes and wispered something. Then a small green wave starting from the heart then up and down his arms went into Ilaria.
(The spell allowed Ilaria to feel the feelings that the golam had for her, not just what she took from him. Gratefulness, relief, love because she reminded him of someone he cared for.)

Chris waited paitently through the exchange, and once they were done he said, I know the way back to the car if you want to go back to your tree with the heart."
Elm nodded to him and said, "You didn't take anything from him, and maybe you will see him again." With those words Elmmriss turned and walked off into the woods.

 

[Flutterby]

Ilaria stared at the ground as Elm approached her, trying her best to not look at the heart he was holding. She considered shrugging his hand-branch off her shoulder, but stopped herself.
When the green wave touched her skin, it trickled down over her shoulder and chest. It was full of gratitude, and relief, and affection. It told her she had done the right thing- mostly that she hadn't killed him.
She nodded dully as Elm moved away, and then looked up at Chris. She stood quietly, and then moved to walk with him. She lacked her usual almost-feline grace, instead plodding like a worn-out mule.
"They won't wait long to use that shard," She muttered, knowing that it wouldnt be long until they were fighting again, when all she wanted to do was sleep.

 

[Tharivle]

Elmmriss disappeared into the trees, walking smoothly and quickly. Chris lead the way back to the car, with Rex walking along next to him, occasionally stopping and wandering off into the woods a little before trotting back to Chris's side. Once they reached the car Chris popped he trunk and put his bag in the back. Then he got his phone out and checked for signal. He had one bar, but then it switched to Emergency calls only as he looked at it. "I guess the phone call will have to wait until we get back into town."
Then he got into the car and started it. Once Ilaria was seated next to him he drove the 15 minutes back to the hotel.

 

[Flutterby]

Ilaria moved down the mountain behind him, watching Rex range back and forth into the woods. She tossed her bag into the trunk as well, after grabbing the bottle of water, and climbed into the passenger seat. She leaned back into it, resting her head on the cold window. She felt feverish, even though she knew that she wasn't.
"I wouldn't be surprised if everyone in town used landlines," She mumbled, when he complained about the cell service. She was quiet the rest of the way back, with her eyes closed and her forehead near the glass of the window.
As they pulled into the hotel, Ilaria unbuckled her seat belt, and climbed out slowly after he had parked. She lead the way inside, giving the attendant a small nod as they walked past. She didn't have a key to the door though, so she had to wait for Chris to open it for her.

 

[Tharivle]

Chris opened the door for Rex and watched him for a second as he slipped around the back of the hotel to where their room was. Then he jogged to catch up to Ilaria. He pulled the key out and had the door open a few seconds after she turned to wait for him. Chris went in and opened the slider door, where Rex was already laying on the deck. Chris stepped out onto the porch and pulled out his phone. He had service, so he found Felix in his contacts and hit the dial button.
"Hello Chris. What is the situation?"
"The Earth shard was here. But it was taken yesterday, by demons."
"Damn. I will send reinforcements to you. Hunt that thing down and collect the shard, and bring it to the grove."
"But sir, if you give me enouph reinforcements to win a fight with a spirit shard, the grove will be very vulnerable to attack."
"Don't worry about that. We can make due. Plus, there are two shards here now. The groves power will recover and then grow faster."
"Okay. Who is coming?"
"Seth will be arriving with a master pack, then an additional 100 knights within the day."
"Wow, thanks."
"Good luck Chris, and tell Ilaria that we are all grateful for her assistance."
"Thank you sir, talk to you when we know more."

The line went dead as Felix hung up and Chris ended the call and slid his phone back in his pocket. He went inside and opened the little fridge and pulled out stuff to make a sandwich. "Help is coming, and Seth is the one bringing the help."

 

[Flutterby]

With the door opened, Ilaria all but staggered inside. She stopped next to the bed, as Chris walked past her to the porch, and dug through her bag for a change of clothes.
She disappeared into the bathroom, and turned on the water. For good measure, .

Ilaria filled the tub with cool water, as deeply as she could. For good measure, she poured in a large glob of her bodywash, which puffed up into peach-scented bubbles. Her hair got piled on top of her head in a messy bun, where it wouldn't get too wet.
The water gurgled down the overflow drain as she climbed in. She sank up to her neck, scowling at the fact that it meant her knees weren't covered. The moon child took a deep breath, letting the bubbles tickled her chin, and closed her eyes with a sigh.
She didn't open her eyes when she heard Chris's voice, but called back, "That's great, hopefully they'll be here by morning."

 

[Tharivle]

Chris took off his boots and socks, then climbed up onto the bed. He sat against the headboard and ate his food and picked up the remote and clicked on the TV. Just as he was getting comfortable his cell phone rang. Chris swallowed the food in his mouth as he looked at the caller ID. It was Seth. "Hello."
"Good day Chris. If Rex is any indicator I would say that your room is on the back of the building, three windows from the right side of the building." Seth's voice was cheerful, and teasing.
Chris looked out the window stunned to see Spots sitting next to Rex and Seth standing on the outside of the balcony fence. Chris smiled and waved and hung up the phone. Then he set down his sandwich and pulled his socks and boots back on, and went and opened the door, "I didn't think you would get here for another few hours." Chris said.
"Yes, well I continued the research we started and pegged the Earth Shard to be somewhere in the Rockies. Then I had one of you younger people help me with, Google..." Seth made a confused face. "And we learned of the miraculous mine from this towns history, so I pulled together some help and we started heading this way last night."
Chris smiled at the old mans confusion. He remembered when there was no such thing as a cell phone, but to keep up with being a cop he had to keep himself updated with the technology, where as Seth really did not. "I'm glad you are here. What is the plan for housing the people coming? This is a small hotel, and doesn't allow pets." Chris asked.
"We brought the Hidden Barracks with us. The others are already setting it up in the woods." Seth replied as he gestured over his shoulder. "They should actually almost be done with it."
Chris rubbed his ands together, "That means good food."
Seth smiled and started walking back towards the woods, That it dose."

Chris walked back to the bathroom and nocked on the door softly, "Seth is here. I'm going to go help him get things set up here and maybe get some food. Rex will stay here with you, and you can join us when you are ready."
Chris left and hopped over the rail and jogged a bit to catch up to Seth who was walking rather slow. Rex and Spots stayed where they were, just hanging out on the deck in the sun.
The two of them walked into the woods about 25 yards, when the trees started getting a little bigger. They came upon a group of 16 men and women standing in a perfect circle even though they were spaced out several feet from one another. They all had their hand out at their sides and their palms facing forward and their eyes closed. They couldn't hear what was being said because they were talking so softly, but all 16 of them were speaking and incantation in perfect unison. There were three trees in the middle of the circle and there was a banner with the sword and flame symbol on it, that was staked in the middle of the trees. Chris and Seth stopped a few yards away from where the circle would be and waited for them to finish their spell.

The group stopped talking and slowly relaxed looking up to see if they had succeeded, and they did. The banner burst into flames and three waves of light shot down the wooden spike and traveled along the ground then into the trees. The fire stopped when the banner was completely gone and once it was gone the trees started growing branches sideways to form three walls in a triangle. There were no windows, just a double door on the side facing Seth and Chris. They waited to go in and the people started walking over to them and formed a group. They were waiting for something else to happen.
Then a cloud that had been hiding the direct sunlight moved out of the way and through the tree tops the sun hit the building. As the sun hit the building the walls started shimmering, before disappearing altogether. They could see through to the other side as if there wasn't walls there, even the three trees used in the spell looked the same.
Chris smiled, "You know, I haven't actually been in here yet."
Seth looked over at him and smiled back, "Neither have I." He said with a chuckle. Seth walked forward and a door materialized in front of him, and swung inward. A Dryad had opened the door for them. The group walked in and the Dryad stood to the side holding the door and then addressed the group. "For those of you that have not been here before, the dining room is in the back. Knights, Apprentices and Secondary's stay in the bunks up the stairs. Masters, your bunks are to the right. Council members, your chambers are marked with your names and are to the left. If you have any questions I will always be here by the door."

Chris was listening but was still in amazement, which is hard to do because he has explored every part of the grove. From the outside the building was maybe 12 feet tall with a floor space of 30 square feet. But he was standing in a common room that was over 1000 square feet, and another room even larger was in the back where the kitchen was. There were two staircases on each side of the main room that lead up to a second floor. There were two archways that lead to a bunk room and a small hallway. The arch to the left that had the hallway had 7 doors. and the Arch to the right had about 40 sectioned off bunks. Curtains for walls, but 40 rooms none the less, all with beds and desks, and dressers.
The common room they were in had a cabin in the woods kind of feeling. There were lots of chairs and sofas, several tables, and the walls and ceiling were polished wood. Chris watched as everyone but Seth went off to the right and picked a room. Seth said, "Go look around." Chris smiled and went upstairs. The stairs opened up to a long rectangular room. The second floor was just as big as the first but was one giant room. There were 6 rows of 25 beds. All sectioned off with curtains, that hung from an elaborate system of hooks and sliders. Each small area had a bunk that was over a small desk and shelf. There was also a small dresser to go with each bed. These 'rooms' were not as big or fancy as the masters bunkroom, but it was the same principle.
Chris's didn't stay long, because after messing with the curtains to see how they worked he didn't need to be there any longer. So he went back downstairs.

 

[Flutterby]

Ilaria soaked until her fingers and toes were prune-like. Which was quite a while, in cold water. She might have even fallen asleep, but she wasn't sure; she did close her eyes, but she only lost about 15 minutes, so it must not have been a full nap.
With her skin patted dry, she pulled on a clean pair of leggings and a shirt, and her shoes, since they were apparently taking a field trip into the woods. The moon child went out through the patio, saying, "Come on boys," to Rex and Spots. "Lead the way." She had no actual idea of where she was supposed to be going, but assumed it would be some sort of camp in the woods. Seemed like what the Golden Flame would do.
Rex lead the way, happily, and Spots waddled along next to her, grumpily. She considered picking him up and carrying him, but didn't want to risk offending something so ancient. He might know how to curse her.
They were still walking, through a random patch of trees, whem doors opened directly in front of Rex's nose. Ilaria jumped, and then rolled her eyes with a little annoyance. Apparently, this camp was invisible to the naked eye.

 

[Tharivle]

Chris got downstairs again and walked up to Seth. "I think we should talk about what happened. I didn't give very many details to Felix when I called him."
"Very true." Seth answered, "He said that you were oddly short and criptic during your conversation."
"I didn't want to overly alarm, or supprise him, and he told me you were coming." Chris said with a shrug.
"Then let's sit and talk." Seth said with a small smile. They both walked to the side of the common room and sat down in a group of 4 chairs. Seth leaned back and folded his hands in his lap and waited for Chris to start talking.
"We arrived and settled in. Then we followed sirens to a demon attack on the other side of town. Asked around and found out that he had been up on the old mine trail, where not many people go."
Seth nodded as Chris talked but remained silent. "The next morning we went up the trail and almost directly up the mountain. About half way up we encountered a Captain Warrior Dryad." Chris let the sentence sink in and gave Seth an opportunity to say something.
Seth's eyebrows both shot up in supprise and he leaned forward, "Really? I believed them to be extinct. How could he have survived for so long away from the Grove?"
"No, he said there are about 10 left including him. And they 'found' alternative power sources." Chris said.
Seth sat back again and then grinned a little, "He didn't like you very much did he?"
"Not even a little." Chris said with a small smile himself. The doors opened and they both turned to see Ilaria walk in. "But he liked her." Seth nodded and smiled, but said nothing.

The Dryad opened the door for Ilaria as she got close. Chris was confused as to how the Dryad knew she was there, because there were no windows or anything to see out. It was just a wall with a door.
The Dryad greated Ilara as she walked in, "Hello mam, welcome to the Hidden Barracks. I believed your friend is over there with Seth."
Chris waved when she looked over at them.

 

[Flutterby]

Ilaria followed Rex and Spots in, and smiled softly at the Dryads that opened the doors for her. "Thank you," She said, and then added, "The 'mam' isn't necessary. I'm not important enough for that." She gave it another smile, and then looked up to find Chris.

When her eyes landed on him, he waved her over. She have Seth a nod in greeting, but could tell that they had been in the middle of a serious conversation.
She tried not to look too amazed as she walked toward them, but they had almost an entire small town sized settlement here, and it was invisible and definitely larger on the inside than on the outside. It was extraordinary magic.
Ilaria joined them in the common space, picking the chair next to Chris, and sat down with them.
"Out of the frying pan, and into the fire, huh?" The moon child said softly, glancing between them. The guilt hit again, but she ignored it. She just hoped that the Golden Flame had some kind of plan.

 

[Tharivle]

Seth nodded in return and waited for her to sit down. "Chris was just telling me what has been happening. So far we are to the point where you met a Warrior Dryad." Seth looked at Chris and added, "Please continue."
Chris nodded and continued, "He asked Ilaria to tell him our business and then eventually agreed to help us. He led us to one of the abandoned mines, told us that this mine was always the most bountiful and never ran dry and so on. He was too big to accompany us so the two of us went in alone." Chris was about to continue when a Dryad walked up caring a plate of small pastries and a pitcher of water with some cups. Chris thanked the small dryad as did Seth, wile it placed the refreshments on the table between the chairs they were in. The dryad nodded and walked away.
"Rex couldn't track anything. Everything was demon sent. We could even smell the sulfur. And that is when we met an Earth Golam." Chris stopped again to see if Seth would interject again, which he did.
"An Earth Golam! Is it alive? Was it a Matriarch? If so how many little ones where there? Was it red, yellow, white, blue, or green?...." Seth actually stood up with excitement and shot all the questions out in rapid succession. He probably had more questions that he would have asked if it had not been for Chris's downcast eyes. Seth sat down with a sad look, "How bad?"
Chris answered each question in the answer they were asked. "No, he died. Yes, he was a Matriarch. No, there were no little ones. He was Green. But he was alive when we met him, and he did confirm that the Earth Shard rested there, and that it was taken just a day prior."
Seth listened sadly and nodded slowly. "There is not a single demon in past present or future that could have defeated a Green Matriarch Earth Golam. He must have killed 3 dozen minimum before falling." There was a small sad moment of silence and Chris was about to say something when Seth's head snapped up and he asked, "Did you recover the Heart?"
"Yes, we recovered the heart. The Warrior Dryad took it to his place of power to sustain it and rejuvenate it before it is taken back to the grove where it can regrow." Chris answered.
Relief spread across the old mans face, "It is fantastic news to hear that there are still Warrior Dryads in the world. But for a Golam to be alive after all these years is truly a miracle."
Chris nodded and then finished, "We gave the Heart to the Dryad and came back to the hotel, and you are now caught up." Chris looked over at Ilaria, "Did I miss anything?"

 

[Flutterby]

Ilaria sat quickly, and listened silently as Chris filled Seth in. She still didn't quite feel like she had a place to speak here, at least not as much as an actual Golden Flame member. She only moved when the dryad brought over refreshments, because her stomach reminded her that it was actually time for a meal. She took a pastry and smiled a little at the dryad before pouring herself a cup of water.

The Moon Child watched Seth geek out about the Golam with an eyebrow raised. She knew it was one of or even maybe the actual last, but this was a whole strange level of excitement she hadn't expected. Briefly, she wondered how he would react if she told him she knew where to find one of the last living unicorns (another favored one of the moon).

She cleared her throat softly, and said, "I just have one thing to add. I-I did some magic, before the Golam died." She glanced at Chris, and the focused mostly on Seth. "When I got the last of his energy to leave me, I had.. well, a vision, but I think it was a memory." She took a sip of water, nervously, and said, "I'm pretty sure the demons that stole the earth shard also have the stolen translation."