Bard's Tale 04 - Holly Wood

"I don't need a mark on my neck to know my place with you, Tia. You are my big sister. You always will be. I can recall when you changed my diapers when I was a baby -- and yes, I can remember that far back. You read me stories and the scriptures. You played with me as a child. You helped teach me languages and all the mathematics I know. It was you who introduced me to codes and how to break them, a hobby that has provided me with hours of entertainment over many years. Mindal and I? We didn't have five mothers. We had six. I don't need anything to remind me how much you mean to me. I love you and always will."

The monk took a long breath before continuing. "I acted badly last night, and I hope that you will accept my apology. I'm sorry, Tia, for what I did to you and Mindal. We should be looking for Reison right now. Instead, you had to take care of me because I had a meltdown, and now you need to rest before we can resume our search. I really messed up."

"Apology accepted. I'm going to cast restful sleep on you. Don't resist it. I will be here, Tahna, resting beside you. I think it's important to tell you that the goddess visited me before our departure. She personally reminded me of psalm forty-two. I thought it was just for me, but now I believe the message was for both of us. Both of us have pledged to live by them. I'm going to expand on Her words. When you wake, I want you to think about psalms forty through fifty. Like me, I am aware you know them by heart. But I want you to reflect on them. Will you do that for me?"

"Sure, Tia. I... could I have a hug? I need to know we're okay."

Embracing her sister, Tia smiled on hearing Tahna's contented sigh. "Hugs are meant to be shared. I have an endless supply."

Then the priestess began to hum a favorite tune as she held her sister.

"Sing it, please?"

"Of course." Tia moved her hand to grasp her holy symbol, then sang.

"Hush-a-bye, don't you cry. Go to sleep, my little baby. When you wake, you shall have, all the pretty little horses. Blacks and bays, dapples, and greys. All the pretty little horses."

Tia murmured restful sleep, and Tahna began to relax in her arms. Tia resumed singing. "Down in the meadow, lies my little one. Go to sleep, my little baby. The bees and the butterflies, flutter 'round her eyes. Poor, little baby, crying, 'Mama!'"

Then she heard Mindal pick up the tune, singing along, playing the notes on her Rose. Soon, Tia, too, drifted off to sleep. If not settled, at least resting more peacefully than the evening before.

* * * * *

Tia was awakened at noon, as she requested. She let Tahna sleep while she cleared her mind and prayed for the restoration of her priest-magic. For the next two hours she chanted quietly and prayed, expressing her love and devotion to her goddess. As the power filled into her, she said prayers of gratitude for the trust shown. When she was ready, she woke up Tahna, and both exited the tent.

Mindal had meals ready for both of them, and Tahna surprised the bard by giving her a heartfelt hug. Mindal hugged her right back.

Eating quickly, Tia used her magic to break down the camp, and they quickly loaded up their backpacks and gear. The spells lighten load, pass without trace, and easy march to aid their journey.

Another divination spell to learn direction, and they resumed their quest to rescue their husband.

Every couple of hours, Tia cast spells to verify they were going the right way.

It just past sunset when Tia was informed that yes, she was close enough to use commune with nature. The camp was set up, dinner was eaten, and then Tia settled onto the ground, quietly chanting until her body fell over as her senses expanded.

Nests for squirrels, chipmunks, and birds. Warm dens for nearby coneys and a fox with her kits. Three does with fawns further away. Clusters of nearby useful herbs and places where wild vegetables grew. More information seeped into her thoughts, squeezing itself painfully into her memory. All of it flooding her thoughts and memories, the enormity of it all shocking her mind, taking long moments to settle, absorb, categorize, and recover.

Finally, toward the end of the hour, as the mind of the priestess floated along, still connected to every wild thing, Tia became aware of the tree humming with forest and earth magic, knew a dryad lived inside, and with satisfaction she memorized its location.

Her disembodied spirit slipped past the living bark into the dryad's home, past the kitchen and front room to the sleeping area. The priestess saw the dryad on her bed, on all fours, her cries urging him on while Reison yanked her hair and slammed himself over and over into her puffy, dripping sex. Watched with an ache in her heart as he suddenly pressed deep, grunting loudly as he filled the tree nymph with his plentiful seed. Heard her passionately calling out his name again and again as she writhed in ecstasy upon his hard shaft. Saw him pull out and the rush of semen gushing out of her gaping cavity. Rolling over, the dryad gave him a potion and Tia saw him harden almost immediately. Her squeals of delight while he roughly mounted her, bucking into her sodden core as her legs locked around his waist. Tia felt both the dryad and the tree eagerly feeding off the sexual energy. Most heart-rending of all was when he lifted his face and Tia saw the emptiness within her beloved's eyes.

At the spell's expiration, the connection severed. Tia gasped as her eyes blinked open.

Tahna and Mindal hovered next to her, anxious to hear any news.

"I found them," the priestess croaked out. Then exhaustion overwhelmed her.

* * * * *

Tia moaned when she finally awoke. Her head throbbed painfully. Knowledge of the forest around them flooded her memories.

Hearing the noise, Tahna poked her head inside the tent. "Hey," she said quietly. "Would you like some hot tea?"

"Yes, please," the priestess mumbled.

Tahna ducked back out.

Reaching for her holy symbol, Tia spent several minutes focusing on trying to cast the simple orison remove pain. Orisons weren't even full spells, yet it took several tries for her to successfully complete the simple healing magic. When it completed, she nearly sobbed with the relief it gave her. Her head still pounded, but now she was able to function.

Crawling out of the tent, the priestess sat near the entrance. Mindal watched anxiously, while Tahna leaned down and handed her a cup of tea.

Despite her intention, her hands shook as she sipped the hot, soothing beverage. Her mind still struggling to absorb everything she'd learned. From where they were, Tia knew everything about the land in a forty-kilometer radius of where they camped. Every leaf, plant, and burrow. What animals regularly crossed into the area in their hunting. All the cubs, kits, and litters that squeaked, grunted, yipped, or mewled. And burning at the center of her thoughts was the location of the dryad and her tree.

The dryad whose name was Holly.

The name struck Tia as odd because the dryad's tree was an alder, not a holly tree. Whatever, she thought. At this point, she didn't care.

Fortunately, the immediacy of all the new information would begin to fade after a day or so. Both commune and commune with nature were advanced spells, but no more difficult to cast than raising the dead or summoning an aerial servant.

There were plenty of spells more complicated and more taxing to cast. Commune with nature, however, strained the mind with its sheer wealth of sudden knowledge. Similarly, commune allowed the priestess to communicate directly with servants of the goddess or even the goddess Herself. The shock with the latter spell was from direct exposure to the divinity's presence and power. Both spells could only be cast once per month. A second attempt within thirty days would automatically fail, and risked serious injury or even death.

When Tia finished her tea, Tahna offered her a refill, which she took. "Thank you," she murmured. "How long was I out?"

"About two hours," Tahna replied.

"We saved you some food," Mindal offered.

With a shudder, Tia shook her head. Her stomach twitched uncomfortably at the notion of attempting to eat anything. "Maybe after we've rescued Reison. Nothing now."

"Are we close?" Tahna asked eagerly.

"Within an hour's march," the priestess confirmed. "A few more minutes for me to settle. Then we'll break camp and we'll be on our way."

Both of her younger sisters looked at each other in delight. After two nights with their husband gone from their company, they were eager to have him back again. Not just for the sex, which both thought of with needy aches between their legs, but for the hugs and kisses, and even just inhaling his comforting male scent while laying next to him as they slept. If asked, all three women would have agreed that his absence during sleeping hours had been the most difficult of all to endure.

When her second cup of tea was finished, Tia handed it to Tahna, then stood up. She cast the same spells for traveling in a speedy fashion. Break camp, followed by easy march, and then lighten load on the backpacks, including Reison's gear. With her new knowledge of the region, pass without trace was unnecessary. Tia knew how to bypass any obstacles; knew the easiest way to reach the dryad's lair.

When she finished channeling the last spell's energy, though, Tia suddenly fell down to all fours and vomited. Again and again, her overtaxed body worked to expel the tea and the remnants of her breakfast.

When her stomach finally stopped heaving, Mindal handed her a water bottle. Tia rinsed and spat, then sipped a little. Her whole body trembled, feeling weak.

"Mindal, take the extra pack," Tahna said quietly. Then she scooped up her sister into her arms. "Which way?"

Before Tia could protest, the monk growled at her. "Do not argue. It's my turn to take care of you. Just point the way. After you are feeling stronger, I'll let you walk. Agreed?"

Tia sighed, nodded, and pointed.

The sisters set off.

Mindal was strong, able to carry sixteen kilos of pack and gear all day without tiring or being encumbered. Reison was as strong as the bard. Tia, though, was even stronger, being able to shoulder twenty-three kilos without exerting herself. Tahna was the strongest one of them all; she was easily able to carry forty-five kilos all day without strain. With the gear made lighter by Tia's priest magic, Tahna could have carried Tia and her backpack all day without difficulty.

Fortunately, within half an hour, Tia was recovered enough to walk on her own. A short break while they all drank some water and Tia nibbled some dried fruit, then they resumed their quest.

As they neared the lair, all three noticed a subtle change in the forest. The air and the trees seemed serene yet hummed with an underlying sense of vibrancy. Like the potential of springtime for growth and new life, only more so.

Pausing, they commented on what they felt.

"It's the dryad's magic," Mindal replied, her voice a mixture of marvel, revulsion, and anger. "She's happy and she's fucking. The nearby trees feel it and are responding."

Tahna did a couple of stretches, then rolled her neck. "Well, we're about to upset her apple cart."

"Remember what I said. No killing."

"Can I at least break both of her legs?" the monk asked.

"No."

"A punch in the nose?" Mindal asked.

"That's acceptable. One punch from each of you."

The other two women nodded in approval.

They reached the stately, robust alder tree by midmorning. In the undergrowth surrounding the tree was clumps of hepatica, blue moon, marigolds, pink bleeding-hearts, all in full flower, and even some late daffodils bloomed. Under other circumstances, the women would have been entranced by the dryad's wild garden. Instead, if it were even possible, the beauty of the flowers angered them further, as the faerie gardener had wronged them.

While Tahna and Mindal watched, Tia pulled out her holy symbol and walked around the tree, casting a warding spell. When she finished, the priestess nodded. "That should prevent her from escaping. Once we're inside, I'll focus on casting mute on the dryad to frustrate her spellcasting ability. Tahna, you should focus on Reison."

"Reison? Why? We're here to rescue him."

"He's charmed," Mindal reminded the monk. "If she asks him for help, he'll fight for her. And maybe not too nicely."

"And you have the best chance of subduing him without him getting hurt," Tia added.

The monk flexed her hands, nodding.

Then the priestess paused. "Mindal? My wonderful sister and awesome bard?"

"Yes?" Mindal answered cautiously.

"Bards are reputedly able to charm people and creatures with their music. If you play out here for a bit before we storm the dryad's lair, do you think there's a chance you could entice the dryad to give up without a fight?"

The bard blinked, biting her lower lip. Then she nodded and began to grin. "I'm pretty good, but even if she resists, with Rose helping, I think I have a fair chance of doing just that. Brilliant, Tia. Absolutely brilliant."

Removing her pack, she unslung her mandolin case and lovingly retrieved Rose. "Come on, my girl, my beautiful Rose. Let's give this upstart bitch some magical payback."

"How much time do you think you need?" Tia asked.

"Four or five minutes at most," Mindal replied, putting on the shoulder strap. "No more than that. She should begin to hear it within a minute or two. Either she hears it or she doesn't. When you're ready to take us inside, Tia, I'll grab your hand. If the bitch isn't charmed, I'll try to tackle her in case she has a knife or something. That should give your mute spell a chance to go off without being interrupted."

With that, the three sisters were in agreement on the rescue plan.

While Mindal began strumming, Tia summoned an aerial servant. "If anyone tries to escape, catch them and hold them until I return," she instructed.

"In Her name," it whispered with a deep bow.

Mindal composed as she sang. The bard's voice and her enchanted mandolin crafting a song of power, the words and music echoing through the trees.

"Over hill and over dale, we have traveled the forest trail --

We search the land, and seek the return of our man.

Our love for him is strong; we come fierce in heart, mind, and song."

Tia began the spell tree walk, which would allow them to enter the dryad's lair within the tree.

Mindal completed her spell-song, repeating the musical command three times to give it power.

"You've trapped our man in your magic jail; With our power, we will prevail!

Onto the floor and on your knees; you've no exit, dryad, even by trees --

Surrender, dryad Holly, without fail!

Surrender, dryad Holly, without fail!

Surrender, dryad Holly, without fail!"

Tia's magic swirled up. The three women joined hands, and stepped inside, passing through the green barrier and into the dryad's pocket dimension inside the tree's heart.

They found themselves in the main room of the dryad's home. The next moment, they heard a crash, followed by the dryad's wail from her bedroom.

Passing into the sleeping area, the sisters were prepared to deliver mayhem upon the stealer of their husband.

But the young dryad, naked and disheveled, lay on the floor, weeping her words in Hellene. "I can't feel my tree! Foul, miserable monsters! What have you done? What have you done?"

A naked Reison stood nearby, sweaty and smelling ripely of spent semen and dried pussy juice. His flaccid cock dripped wetly with sexual fluids. He stared blankly. Waiting passively.

Seeing no need for her assistance, Mindal went to him, using her cantrips to clean his body and to freshen the air.

Tia stared scornfully at the young dryad, accusing her in the high Elven speech. "You only have yourself to blame, Holly. I name you thief! You attacked our sister and you stole our man, our husband, our mate."

Tahna stood next to Tia, furious at this nymph, ready to smack her with as much righteous indignation any wife has a right to demand when someone gets between her and her man.

Holly looked up, revealing the swollen side of her face.

"You tried to escape, didn't you," Tia accused. "We tracked you down, and you tried to run."

"Yes," the dryad said, weeping bitter tears. "I found him and took him, fair and square. He was out in the dark, all by his lonesome. He is unharmed, well nourished on dryads' milk, and well-fucked, too."

The bruising face cooled the anger of the monk. She cursed inwardly, but could not sustain her rage. The dryad was not human. She was a creature of faerie. The dryad's face was too similar to those of battered women she'd seen during her years as a homicide cop. And Tia's words about the psalm further cooled her anger, turning her heart to disgust.

"Why did you steal him?" the priestess demanded.

"I was alone. I would have loved and nurtured him, never ever hurting him. I would given him purpose in helping rebuild the dryad grove. He is unharmed!"

Tia murmured the spell, and looked upon the dryad with anticipation. Saw with aching heart the faint outline of the dark bands around the eyes of the tree nymph.

Holly was pregnant.

"Why didn't you stay with your old grove?"

"Ahh! No, no, no! I could not stand before the dragon!" Holly cried, covering her face, weeping anew. "The rest of the grove . . . all dead. Everyone dead! Teeth sharper than steel, claws longer than lances. And his foul, poisonous breath! I alone escaped, not yet bound to remain close to my tree. Leprechauns, pixies, centaurs, satyrs... all slain and devoured by that foul fiend, Skatargallik! The gods curse his name a thousand times!"

"Tia?" Mindal called out, interrupting. "He's still charmed."

"Give me your full name, Holly."

"Holly Wood."

Tahna snorted. Even Mindal rolled her eyes.

"Your fay name, too, Holly."

"I'm too young for that. I'm only twenty-two. When you reach majority at twenty-five, the grove mother gives it... gives it..." The dryad snuffled miserably.

"Then I command you, Holly Wood. Release Reison from your enchantment. If I have to undo the magic myself, I shall punish you."

"You've cut me off from my tree, taking most of my power. You break into my home... and steal my lover? How can it get any worse?"

"Trust me, Holly, it can get so much worse," Tia snapped. "Even should you manage to escape us, there are air spirits outside, ready to imprison you. Now do as I command!"

With a dismissive wave of her hand at Reison, the dryad spoke the word, "Egeiró." The Hellene command to awaken or arise. Seeing her dreams and plans shattered, Holly curled into a ball on the floor, weeping more bitter tears.

The three women watched Reison intently. Nothing for the first agonizing breath. But then his eyes blinked as he regained awareness of himself and his surroundings.

Noticing his nakedness, he exclaimed, "What is going on here? Why am I naked?"

Mindal hugged him. "Think, Reison! Think and remember. The memories of the past few days will come back to you."

His eyes widened. Then he gently pushed her away. "Please, not so close, Mindal. I need some space."

Sad, yet accepting, Mindal nodded. "Of course."

His puzzled expression hardened, then darkened as he now glared at the prostrate dryad. "She did something to me. And I... I did..." Looking at his wives, his face fell, ashamed.

The bard leaned close to him, her face full of love and anxious for his state of mind. "It wasn't your fault, Reison. You are not to blame. Do you hear me? You are not to blame. You are the victim here. She claims you were her lover, but she lies. She used her magic to steal your mind and compelled you to have sex. Whatever she thinks she had, she knows nothing of love or of the man she kidnapped and forced, and she will never know of the true bliss that will forever be out of her reach -- of being held and loved by you."