Druid Chronicle Ch. 06

In the morning, lying entangled with Ephenome, Orren realized his collarbone was sore. He craned his neck trying to see it and it looked like there was something there, beyond the mark Neive had left.

"I named you as a druid." She said to him.

"But I already was..."

"Yes. Now you have my mark as well."

He didn't argue with her - what was the point? A dryad was maybe a little bit uncommon for a druid's mark. An alraune would be downright rare. Having both would be a display of power except it was unlikely any other druids would care all that much. Druids rarely had ideological differences to settle anyway.

He climbed out of the flower thinking once again he had a pretty good domestic situation. Ephenome had said nothing about Karalie so he assumed she was still resting. It was yet to be determined what percent of her life she spent asleep. The sun was past the meridian when Karalie shuffled in to his study.

Orren glanced up. She looked much as she had when they first met. Straight silver shoulder-length hair and matching eyes against a slightly darker grey skin. She walked up to him and hugged him, awkwardly.

"Good morning?" He tried, though it was bit past that technically.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"That's the best I've slept in months."

"I don't think I can take the credit for that, but I'm happy for you."

"Can I stay here?"

"What?"

"For a while?"

He was thinking of Sherra's warning and how it may pertain to Karalie.

"Probably, yes."

"Probably?"

"As long as you're not putting us in danger by being here."

Even as he said that he wondered if it was true. How much danger? The longer she stayed the longer she was likely to become part of the group. While he considered that she was changing. Becoming a burly, muscular man. Her voice deepened a little, maybe not quite enough to match her appearance.

"I can be someone else if it helps."

"Aren't you always you?"

"I don't know."

"Be who you want to be."

He took her upstairs and offered her food. She accepted fruit but carried it around with her rather than eating it immediately.

Upstairs he had the shutters open to let the breeze through the house and he could see Neive in her tree. He went outside followed by Karalie who still looked like some sort of bodyguard.

Neive took that in stride sitting with her legs dangling from a lower branch of the tree, but still higher up than the top of his house currently.

He told her about the rune message from Sherra. Karalie would hear it as well this way.

"Cloud dancer." Neive said immediately.

"What?"

"Air, water. Cloud."

"What is that?"

"Cloud spirit. Slightly worrisome. Moreso if with earth spirit."

He looked at Karalie. "Are they coming for you?"

"I've never seen such creatures before."

He looked back up at Neive who had no real reaction and seemed unconcerned.

"I can help." Karalie said.

He appraised her ... him. "You will have to be able to be very strong to compete with an earth spirit."

She started shrinking, returning to her normal female form. Her cloak was somewhere inside but she formed simple black robes as part of her shape. "I am strong, maybe not that strong. It doesn't matter how I appear. I can help in other ways."

She looked up to Neive. "Do you have your bow?"

Neive nodded and picked it up off the branch she was sitting on even though it almost certainly had not been there a moment before.

"Shoot me."

Neive nocked an arrow without question.

"Wait." Orren interjected. "Do what?"

"Shoot me."

"Why?"

"I want to show you how I can help."

Orren couldn't see how dodging an arrow, even at this distance was going to be particularly helpful at the moment. Reluctantly he stepped back.

Neive drew and almost immediately released. The bow strummed and the arrow was already buried in Karalie's chest.

Karalie reached up and pulled it out slowly. The 'wound' in her chest closed immediately. So did the equivalent 'wound' in the robe.

"That's impressive but how does that help?"

She stepped close to him. "This is going to seem strange."

He laughed, realize she was serious and then waited.

"May I?"

May she what? "Sure."

She stepped closer, onto his bare foot and also took his hand in hers. Then her arm and leg started to lose their shape and flow onto him. Her substance flowed up his leg and up his arm. It was cool to the touch and a very odd sensation. Most disturbingly she simply went under his clothes. All of them. Going down his side from his arm and up from his hip she made contact with herself along his torso. The remnants of 'Karalie' standing next to him separated to follow.

"Umm" he said as she flowed between his legs. He wasn't sure who he was addressing as the 'body' of Karalie was gone. Neive watched quietly from above.

Karalie covered his body up to his neck and then went up and around the back of his head, leaving only his face.

"I can cover your face too and leave just your nostrils for breathing." She said this somehow directly into his ear.

"No thanks."

Karalie raised her voice to Neive. "Now shoot him. Not in the face."

"Wait!" Orren yelled. "Are you sure about this?"

"Yes."

"She's a dryad. Her arrows are accurate and powerful."

There was a pause which was not confidence-inspiring. "It will be fine."

He felt a change. Looking down the outer surface of Karalie hardened to look like metal armor along his chest, legs and arms.

"Not the body Neive."

She nodded and nocked another arrow. It was aimed lower. As soon as she released it he felt a sting in his shin and lost his balance. Strangely, it didn't matter, he didn't fall because Karalie didn't fall.

"Uh-oh" she said into his ear again. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm really sorry."

He looked down at the arrow protruding from his leg. The points on the arrowhead were visible so only the tip had penetrated his skin. Karalie was already extracting it first from him, and then her. It fell to the ground near the first one.

"Off", Orren told her. He wasn't very comfortable like this.

She started to protest but then conceded and started to flow off of him in reverse. It was still a very strange feeling as she reformed next to him.

His leg was bleeding, although not very much. In truth, the arrow had barely broken the skin.

Neive pushed off her branch and fell to the ground lightly. She walked over to inspect his leg, collecting her arrows along the way. Licking one finger, she cleaned the blood off. Karalie was herself again, or one of herselves - quiet and a bit sheepish.

"There was more." She said softly.

"You could easily suffocate him like that, right?" Neive asked.

"I wouldn't do that."

"Could you though?"

"Yes", she admitted.

"Or squeeze him to death?"

"Probably."

"Or eat him?"

"I do not eat that much!" she protested.

"You could."

"I can protect him. From physical attacks and from magic. I underestimated the force of the arrow."

Neive gave Orren a look which he interpreted as "Don't even consider it."

With the dryad in front of him cleaning off his leg, he leaned forward and whispered in her ear. She nodded assent and walked back towards the house, this time, away from the tree. When she was across the clearing she turned and nocked another arrow. It was pointed down towards the ground at the moment.

Orren spoke a few words and carefully spread his fingers towards Neive. The tip of the arrow burst into a green flame.

Neive remained impressively calm despite her dislike of fire. Magical fire even.

Karalie was confused. "What are you doing?"

Neive brought the flaming arrow up and aimed it directly at Orren. He gave her a slight sign and she released it. The arrow stopped a few inches from his chest, still coated in green flame. He had prepared for the arrow and the flame. He now reached out and grabbed the arrow by the flaming point, drew on a small amount of power from his amulet and extinguished the flame. He rotated the arrow 180 degrees so it was pointing back at Neive, still hovering in air. He opened his hand, concentrated and then closed it quickly. The arrow shot back at Neive, not as fast as if launched from her bow, but it was still quick. She caught it by the shaft and calmly put it back into the quiver.

"Are you trying to impress me?" Karalie asked. "I've spent much of my life in the service of magicians, sorcerers and enchanters."

"No." Orren answered. "I'm trying to show you that you're going to have to do quite a lot better."

"At proving myself useful?"

"At many things."

She was silent.

"Why are you here?" He asked bluntly.

"I told you..."

"No. Your story is not believable." He had come firmly to this conclusion yesterday.

"What...?"

"There is no chance that your talents, however impressive they might be, could have fooled Sherra if you were inside her walls."

Karalie remained quiet. He could not read her reactions, if she even experienced them. Finally, she spoke.

"You're right. She knew of me. I went to her with the same questions I came to you with."

"And?"

"She sent me here."

"To what end?"

"Nothing devious. She said I could not stay with her; it was too dangerous. She also could not answer my questions."

"Too dangerous, because you attract the attention of other creatures. Magical creatures."

Karalie took a step towards them. "Yes, but not here. Sherra thought your wards were strong enough to hide me."

"Sherra warned me that things were tracking you." That was also a recent conclusion. It made some sense to him now. Sherra's motivations were complex, as always.

Karalie managed to look stunned. Orren almost felt sorry for her.

"You said you've been around magic users for many years. You should be used to their schemes."

"What do you do for them?" Neive asked. Orren had almost forgotten she was still there.

"Sometimes they use me to try to amplify their power. It doesn't always work. Sometimes as a spy, a decoy, to impersonate someone else, as a sex servant. It varies."

"A sex servant?" Neive queried.

Karalie shrugged, and changed. Her breasts grew, considerably, perhaps ridiculously. Then they shrank and a featureless phallus grew from between her legs to an equally unlikely proportion. She returned back to her most common appearance afterwards.

"Interesting." Neive commented. Without any real change in tone she added, "The elemental spirits approach."

"You can tell?" Orren asked.

She nodded, "There is potential danger."

"Come on." He led the way to Ephenome's courtyard. Neive and Karalie both followed and he filled Ephenome in on the latest news.

"I cannot detect them yet. A cloud dancer though. Perhaps you should not go to meet them."

"Why?"

"They are dangerous and possibly even divine."

That got his attention. "Demi-gods?"

"Near enough. It is said that if you watch one dance you will find nothing else in life ever interests you again."

"Okay, good to know."

"Do not underestimate her. Do not watch her dance."

"And the Earth spirit?"

"Isn't that your realm?"

"No." Neive answered that one. "They embody the world itself not the natural ecosystems upon it."

"We cannot keep it out if it is determined to get in." Ephenome replied.

He had expected an answer like that. "I will go to the gate to meet them."

"Orren", she said with an extra note of warning in her voice.

He brushed a hand down her arm. "I hear you."

"Cloud dancers and earth spirits. They are natural rivals. A cloud spirit would never come in contact with the earth or her life would be at risk. Something more is at work."

"I will go with him." Neive said.

That was unusual, but he was happy to have the company.

"As will I", said Karalie.

He looked at her, skeptically.

"If they are here because of me, I will leave with them. I did not come here to endanger you."

Orren did not think there was any other likely option. There was no reason for them to come otherwise. "Very well."

The three of them took a leisurely walk down the path to the gate. Once there they had to wait. Neive busied herself with the nearby trees. When the elemental spirits approached, he could feel their power before he could see them. The earth spirit walked, the cloud dancer floated along above and to one side of it. They advanced to within a short distance of the gate and stopped.

The earth creature stood still, looking like a statue carved of stone. A man? A woman? It was hard to tell. The cloud dancer was clearly female. She wore very little, showing off a curvaceous body, decorated in a goodly amount of gold jewelry which shone against her dark skin. Her hair was tied in a long dark braid that was studded with further ornamentation.

"Welcome." Orren said.

"Greetings druid." The cloud spirit spoke.

"How may I be of service?"

"To business so quickly?"

"You are an unlikely pairing. I anticipate your business to be of some importance."

She smiled, glancing at Neive who now stood slightly off to one side. Karalie was close enough to touch his arm.

"Very well. We come for she who escaped." The last three words were slightly stressed almost like it was a title.

Orren was expecting more to that sentence and there was none.

"You mean me?" Karalie asked. She sounded very uncertain.

The cloud spirit laughed that off. "Of course not."

"I think I need more information."

"Do not trifle with us druid."

"I would not dare to do so. I know of no escapees on my land." His mind was racing. Did she mean Ephenome? Antonella? He did not know the circumstances of Antonella's past. "What species is the one you seek?"

"She is human, if enchanted."

Human? He breathed a sigh of relief as that seemed to rule out the mermaid and the alraune. "There are no humans here, enchanted or otherwise apart from myself." He said it confidently and then immediately started to have second thoughts about the enchantment portion. Was there something he didn't know?

The cloud spirit looked over his head at something he couldn't detect. "Take down your wards and let us judge for ourselves."

His wards were interfering with their abilities. It made sense now and he was pleasantly surprised to discover that they could not read his estate through them.

"I'm sorry, that is not reasonable."

The pile of rocks on the left took a step closer. The cloud spirit remained calm but the smile was gone. "Is it not? I could dance for you perhaps, then I can ask you again and I would believe your answer."

Karalie had put her hand on his shoulder in a good display of looking somewhat frightened. Her fingers had elongated up his neck and one of them covered his ear on that side allowing her to speak privately to him.

"If she dances, I can cover your eyes enough to distort your vision."

That was a tempting thought but it might also be tantamount to open warfare. "Removing and replacing my wards is an arduous task and a considerable drain on my power. If I grant you entrance inside them will you be able to determine what you need?"

The cloud dancer looked over to the statue next to her briefly then agreed. "Very well."

He opened the gate, making eye contact with Neive. She was unreadable. Ephenome had already told him that he probably couldn't keep them out, so there did not seem to be much sense in trying. He also truly felt he did not harbor what they were looking for.

They had both entered and he had stepped back several paces to give them plenty of room. Karalie followed but had reformed her hand and withdrawn it from his back.

A long moment passed. Both the visitors were silent. It was the earth spirit who spoke, a much softer, mellow voice than he expected. "She is not here. We must look elsewhere." He or she immediately turned and stepped back through the gate.

The cloud dancer floated closer. "I do not believe you have the skill to hide her from me."

"I tell you truly, I do not know whom you look for."

She again glanced at both Neive and Karalie. "Did the three of you think you might be able to stop us?"

"We did not even know who you were, we did not come for a battle."

She smiled again. "Good. Because you could not. Good day to you druid."

He bowed to her. Neive went further dropping to one knee which stopped the cloud spirit briefly. "You keep unusual company dryad." Once more the cloud dancer stared into the jungle over Orren's head. She looked uncertain or uneasy, he could not tell which.

Neive said nothing more and the cloud dancer departed. They quietly watched them move back across the field and out of sight. Orren replaced his gate.

Neive spoke first. "That was the correct approach."

"A humble approach." Karalie said. "Not what I would expect from the magic users I've associated with."

"Do you know who they are looking for?"

Neive shook her head.

"I still think it might be me." Karalie said.

"They saw you, they scanned you in whatever manner they wanted. I think they would know if it were you. Enchanted or otherwise, I do not think you are human."

The three of them walked slowly back to the house together.

"So that was really just 'oops, wrong place'?" Karalie asked.

Orren shrugged, "My wards prevented them from seeing the location so we were suspect. Whoever they are looking for, they must have reason to think she is in the vicinity."

"She who escaped." Neive said it quietly, thoughtfully.

"I admit, I thought they could mean Antonella, I don't know her past. I will have to tell her and Phen."

"Why?" Karalie asked.

"It concerns us all."

"To what purpose?" she continued. "How would an alraune possibly know more about the affairs outside this land than you would?"

"She would surprise you, and she concerns herself with the security here. Our security. In much the same way Neive concerns herself with the health of the environment here."

"But that is what a dryad does. And what of the mermaid?"

Karalie had not yet met Antonella. "She is wise. She has taken an interest in the construction projects here but really she is just council and good council at that."

"Then I must have a similar role in order to prove useful and justify my stay here."

"You came for help, I offer help. It appears you have not put us in any danger after all and I have misread Sherra's warning."

"Nevertheless, I want to be useful and there is a role I can fill."

They were approaching the front of the house and he aimed for Ephenome's courtyard. Neive trailed them at a slight distance. She had been away from her tree and surely wanted to return but she was listening still. Ephenome could likely hear them now as well.

"All of your focus is internal, on here." She spread her arms.

"I am not concerned with the outside world."

"Yet it is concerned with you and you cannot avoid it. You have had to deal with Sherra and the Lord Mayor's troops and now this."

"What are you offering?"

"I have spent my life around them. Sorcerers, magicians, enchanters, lords and ladies. They never use my abilities in a meaningful way, they never take me seriously. Instead I spend my time at menial tasks but I learn their ways."

Orren frowned. "I appreciate the offer, but..."

Karalie interrupted him, starting to sound more passionate as she spoke. "I can be a peasant or a soldier or a messenger or a rich merchant. Sooner or later you'll need to deal with someone out there. Or you'll need information on something, or you'll at least want advice on it."

He glanced over to Neive who maybe gave the slightest of nods. "Her abilities could prove useful. So useful in fact that it's hard to believe you're not a more valuable member of some important household."

"They always want me to mimic a real person. I'm not good at that. It's hard to get all the details, the speech, the mannerisms. So then I'm just a...", she trailed off briefly before finishing the sentence. "... sex toy."