“Fairy Mother,” I said gently, lowering my weapons. “It’s okay. We don’t have to keep doing this.”
The Fairy Mother blinked then looked around in confusion. She was obviously disoriented and scared.
Behind me, Pandora and Layla approached.
“She’s just a normal fairy like any other,” Pandora said softly. “Or had been.”
“The Spirit Stone had been too much for her,” Layla added.
“I’m sorry,” the Fairy Mother said in a sad, vulnerable tone. “The stone…I grew obsessed with it. I didn’t mean to…”
“Hey,” I said, putting my hands up. I’d already put my weapons away. “It’s okay. You can leave this place. The stone wasn’t meant to be wielded for so long.”
Her scared, innocent, vulnerable face twisted into something altogether different. She shook her head slowly, as if coming to a horrible realization.
“No, no…no!” she growled. She thrust a finger toward me. “You’ve come here to steal my stone!”
“You don’t really want it,” I said, taking another careful step toward her. “Gaia Stones aren’t evil, they aren’t malevolent, but they can do wicked things to those who keep them too close. Mortal souls weren’t meant to hold onto them for so long. Trust me, I know.”
She shook her head more insistently now, baring her teeth. “No, you’ve come to slay me for my treasure!” she screamed.
“Fairy Mother, look at what the stone has done to you,” I said, hoping to calm her down, but it was, sadly, far too late for that.
Without a word, she shot up toward the ceiling, flapping her fairy wings madly as she drove herself toward the stone hanging from the ceiling.
“Don’t touch it!” I shouted.
“I’ll lay waste to this entire realm before I give up my stone!” the Fairy Mother shouted, then plucked the stone from its spot on the ceiling.
She never had a chance.
Now that she was weakened, merely laying her hands upon the Spirit Stone was too much for her mortal form.
It was like a nuclear blast, a blinding flash of golden-white that promptly enveloped and vaporized her. I just hoped that it all happened too fast for her to feel it.
The stone dropped to the floor. It was still trembling and crackling with energy, but at least there were no more explosions. I took the Gaia Stone container box from my pack, the one that had originally held the Storm Gem, then carefully placed the Spirit Stone inside of it.
I shut the box and exhaled.
I turned back to Pandora and Layla, who were on their feet, yet still obviously recovering from the spell they’d been put under.
“Are you two okay?” I asked.
They both nodded. “I don’t remember much,” Layla said.
“No, me either,” Pandora echoed, then winced when she saw the wound in her shoulder.
I went right over and healed the wound. “She had you two under her spell,” I said. “I just wish I could have found a way to spare her.”
Layla looked at me curiously. “But Gamelord,” she said, “Kehlya demanded that you slay her. If you would have let the Fairy Mother live, then you’d lose an army.”
“I’m not one to trade lives, Layla,” I said. “If I could have prevented the Fairy Mother’s death, I would have done so without question. And Kehlya could kiss my Earthman ass if she didn’t like it.”
Layla crossed her arms and gave me a strange look. I hoped I didn’t come off too strong. I hadn’t intended on offending her. At that, she turned away with a contemplative look in her eyes, and strolled out of the chamber.
Pandora gasped. “Look at that,” she said in a hushed tone.
She was pointing to the doorway, which Layla had just thrown open.
Now, with the Fairy Mother’s influence long gone, I saw her ‘castle’ for what it truly was: An awful collection of hollowed-out spriggan elder corpses. We followed behind Layla, then noticed something strange.
All throughout the densely wooded structure, there was sunlight pouring in through the cracks.
By the time we reached the exit, Layla threw open the door and raw sunlight filled our eyes.
High overhead, the sickly trees were sprouting green leaves in place of their dark, dead ones. Thick as the canopy still was, the branches of the tall trees yielded just enough to let the sunlight pour down through the forest ceiling.
Though it was already late-afternoon, rapidly hurdling toward the evening, the lush, late-day sun spilled across the forest for the first time in ages.
The shimmering golden fairies that had been in the Fairy Mother’s employ had shed their golden artifices. They fluttered about, just plain proper fairies now, and they greeted me warmly as they swarmed around us.
I recognized the lead fairy, the one that had led us here. She flapped her little pixie wings then landed before me, then promptly bowed down in respect.
“Champion, forgive us for our behavior,” she said. “We were all manipulated and held under the Fairy Mother’s sway.”
I gestured for her to rise. Just like my old, deceased friend Duke Gladios, I didn’t like it when people bowed to me.
“No need to bow,” I said. “And don’t worry about it. My only regret is that I couldn’t help the Fairy Mother come out of that ordeal alive.”
The fairy stood up, then cocked her head in surprise. “You didn’t slay her?” she asked.
I shook my head. “I didn’t,” I said. “I tried to shed her of the insanity that the stone had forced upon her, but in the end, she was too far gone. No, the Fairy Mother died by her own hand, tragically and accidentally.”
The fairy grimaced. “I knew the Fairy Mother back before she’d gotten twisted up in magics she never should have been toying with,” the fairy said. “Anyway, Champion, I’m happy that you gave her the chance to redeem herself, even if it didn’t work.”
She nodded to me and smiled once more, along with the rest of the fairies, before they went flying off toward the sunset.
Layla still had a strange look in her eyes as she marveled at the forest, as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She said precious little, only walked about the trees, running her fingers across their newly healthy bark.
“We should start back soon,” I said.
Pandora shook her head. “I suggest we spend the night, Earthman,” she said. “It’s a long journey back. The Fairy Mother’s spell has weakened me, but if I spend the night recuperating, I should be able to teleport us back to Woodhaven without much problem. In the end, we’ll get back quicker than if we left on foot now.”
Ah, I wasn’t going to argue with her. The idea of spending the night and resting up definitely appealed to me. While absorbing and channeling the magic from the Spirit Stone hadn’t been quite as taxing as actually wielding it, I definitely needed some rest.
I looked back at the structure created from those dead, hollowed-out spriggan elders. “Sounds good to me,” I said. “But I’d rather us spend the night outside in our bedrolls, rather than inside some spriggan corpses.”
Pandora smiled. “You read my mind, Earthman,” she said.
Suddenly, the ground rumbled, damn near as violent as an earthquake. We all braced for what was coming to us, the lumbering mass that was moving through the trees off to our right.
We all brandished our weapons…but only for a moment.
Layla let out a sigh of relief them slung her bow back over her shoulder.
“It’s okay,” Layla said. “He’s not hostile.”
Whoa.
I was struck with a powerful sense of vertigo when the massive spriggan elder pushed his way out from the lesser trees, as easily as a human man might step through some bushes. This spriggan elder was nearly as tall as the Spriggan King, I noted, but he had a warm look in his eyes, and a smile that showed through a long beard made of leaves.
He stepped gently toward us, or as gently as he could, because despite the certain grace in his movements, his every step contin
ued to shake the ground.
He spoke in a low, ponderous, yet wise voice, his smile never once wavering. From here, it almost looked like he had tears of joy in his eyes.
“Who here has slayed the Fairy Mother?” the spriggan asked.
Layla grinned then pointed at me. I approached the spriggan elder, praying that he truly wasn’t hostile, because if I wasn’t careful, he’d be able to squash me with a single step.
“I didn’t slay the Fairy Mother, but I did defeat her,” I said. “The name’s Gamelord, but you can call me Earthman. I attempted to save the Fairy Mother, but she’d been too far gone.”
The shifting tree roots that made up his lips curved into a wider grin. Now I saw that those were indeed tears of joy beading around his green eyes.
“Earthman, is it?” the spriggan elder said. He nodded toward me and, when he did, the leaves in his beard and the leaves topping his head rustled and rained down on us. “You can call me Greenbeard. Long have I prayed for an end to our plight. The Fairy Mother, pitiful creature though she was, twisted and perverted my people. Even me,” he said, adding a quick frown. “Me and my brother, who’d been our king.”
Chapter Nine
My stomach promptly tied into a knot. This towering spriggan elder was none other than the brother of the Spriggan King. Sure, he looked friendly enough now, but I wasn’t confident in how he’d react if he learned that I’d been the one to kill his brother.
The world rippled as I made a new save point, but I hoped I wouldn’t have to revert back to it.
However, Greenbeard merely smiled sadly. “Alas, even under the sway of the Fairy Mother, I was conscious of the evil she imprinted upon us. No being suffered this more than my big brother. Tell me truly, tiny Champion, are the rumors true? Are you the Earthman who slayed my brother?”
I swallowed hard. Both Pandora and Layla looked nervous, and I couldn’t blame them. I considered charging a spell in the Soulguard, just to be on the safe side in case this big guy turned hostile, but if he caught wind of my magical charge, that just might have made things worse.
Instead, I took a confident step toward him. “I am,” I said. “Along with the Fairy Mother’s influence, your brother had fallen under the control of Lord Blackfyre, the most powerful of the Dark King’s lich lords. The Spriggan King launched an attack on the city of Silverton. I had no choice but to kill him.”
Greenbeard nodded contemplatively. Though there was an acute, sharp sadness in his eyes, he nevertheless smiled again. “Then I must thank you, tiny Champion,” he said, much to my relief. “Though I’m heartbroken over my big brother’s death, it is true that he was in immense pain. By slaying him, you showed him mercy.”
“Does that mean you’ll become the new Spriggan King?” I asked.
Greenbeard shrugged, making a number of his thick, leaf-covered branches rustle as if caught in a strong wind. “Those are questions for another time,” he said. “What I can say is this,” he went on. “The spriggans owe you a great debt, Earthman, a debt we will pledge to repay. Tell me, what can this humble old tree do to repay you?”
“First of all, forget all about that stuff about you owing a debt to me,” I said. “What I’ve done here was simply the right thing to do, so you don’t owe me shit.”
“Ah,” Greenbeard said, “you’re an honorable one. But still, surely there is something I can offer you.”
“Not just to me, but to you and your people,” I said. “And to the wood elves, both the ones in Woodhaven and the ones that had been corrupted by the Fairy Mother.”
“Go on, then,” the spriggan elder responded.
I gazed toward the setting sun. Beautiful as it was, I had to admit that the sight of it gave me an ominous feeling down in my gut.
“Now that the Fairy Mother is dead and her sway over the forest is gone, I’m sure that the Emperor will eventually take notice,” I said, which was something I hadn’t considered until now.
Greenbeard scowled at the mere mention of the Emperor. “So, that one still draws breath, eh?” Greenbeard said. “It’s been a long time since I heard of the world affairs outside of this forest. I’d been hoping to hear that the scoundrel had been overthrown.”
I shook my head. “No, he’s as wicked as ever,” I said. “And he intends on collecting Gaia Gems and Gaia Stones to tighten his grip on the realm. Greenbeard, if you wish to aid me, I’d be honored if you and your people could stand with the United Rebel Front against the Empire.”
The towering spriggan responded with an eager, battle-ready grin. “I believe I can speak for my people in this regard,” he said. “Earthman, tiny Champion, you indeed can count on the spriggans to stand beside you.”
Then, the spriggan got down on one knee, a simple movement that nevertheless shook the ground beneath my feet. He extended his hand then opened his wide palm.
“Take your blade and cut my finger,” Greenbeard said.
I nodded, unsheathed the amber longsword, and slashed a small cut onto the pad of his forefinger.
A bead of tree sap bloomed from the small cut. As it hit the air, it suddenly began to harden. With a delicate touch, Greenbeard pressed his forefinger to his thumb, and molded the amber into the shape of a leaf. Next, he plucked the finest vine from his forearm, threaded through the amber leaf, and fashioned it into a necklace.
He offered it to me. “When the time comes, simply call on me using this amber amulet,” he said. “Once called, I’ll bring my people to you. Earthman, you shall have a legion of spriggans at your back in the war against this vile Emperor.”
I took the amulet gratefully and slipped it around my neck. “You’ve done more for me than you could ever imagine,” I told him.
He stood up, grinning proudly, and gestured to the new green and bright forest around us. “The feeling is mutual, Earthman,” he said. “Tell me, are you and your party planning on spending the night in the forest?”
“We are,” I said. “Then, in the morning, we’re going to teleport back to Woodhaven.”
“Tonight, you may sleep soundly in these woods,” he said. “Though free of the Fairy Mother’s grip, there are still goblins and various creatures in the forest that might hunt you in the darkness. However, I will call upon my sprites to guard you in your sleep.”
“Thank you, Greenbeard,” I said.
He nodded to me, then to the Mananymphs. “I leave you in peace then,” he said. “I must convene with my brothers and sisters and see how they fair, now that they’re free again.”
At that, the spriggan elder waved goodbye then walked off, back into the trees.
*****
Within minutes of the spriggan elder leaving, Pandora was already yawning. She smiled a sleepy sort of smile. “It’ll be good to sleep out among the trees this evening,” she said as I fixed her bedroll for her.
Though it wasn’t even dark out yet, she looked more than ready to get to sleep. I made a fire and fixed some dinner for her, but she’d nodded off before I even finished. I smiled, kissed her head as she slept, then left her sleeping by the small fire.
“Earthman,” Layla said, taking me by surprise.
She’d been off in the trees since Greenbeard left. I was still concerned that I’d offended her in some way, when I’d admitted that I would have saved the Fairy Mother, given the chance.
“Hey,” I answered.
She held up her bow and gestured to it. “Come with me,” she said.
“What, are you planning on shooting me?” I said, smiling.
She rolled her eyes playfully. “If I wanted to shoot you, you’d already have an arrow in your ass,” she said.
I stepped quietly away from Pandora and followed Layla out into the trees. About thirty yards out, I saw that she’d constructed a wooden dummy from old, broken tree branches, then secured it with her green magic.
Now, instead of her cloak or her light armor, Layla was wearing only a simple dress fashioned out of leaves. I swallowed hard when I got a good look at her
, with her bare midriff like a magnet for my eyeballs. When she suddenly glanced back at me from over her shoulder, I looked away. I didn’t want to piss her off by staring.
Instead, she just smiled when she caught me. “These last few days, you’ve seemed in better spirits than when I first met you,” she said.
“Well, before I ran into you, I’d been going through some trouble,” I said.
Her smile faded a bit. “You lost friends.”
I nodded. “I have,” I said. “But still, they didn’t die for nothing. When we return to Homehold, we’ll have an army of spriggans with us. And, hopefully, an army of wood elves.”
“May I ask you a question, Earthman?” Layla said as she drew an arrow back and aimed it at the wooden dummy.
“Sure,” I answered.
“If Kehlya asks you if you’d meant to spare the Fairy Mother’s life, will you answer truthfully?”
She shifted her eyes to the side, staring at me with a sideways glance, as she awaited my answer.
“I will,” I answered.
Without moving her eyes back to the dummy, Layla let the arrow fly. It landed right through the wooden dummy’s head. She turned to me. “Even if that endangered your chances of her agreeing to pledge our army to you?”
I chuckled. “Yeah, I guess you could say I’m not the smartest dude in the world,” I said. “But I don’t want to gain an army through a lie.”
Layla set her bow aside then approached me. She ran her fingers gently across the Soulguard, then looked up to me. “I admire you, Earthman,” she said. “It’s been so long since I trusted one of the cityfolk. For many years, I’ve lived with the elves, among the trees. I never thought I’d get the chance to see the rest of the realm again.”
Without thinking consciously, with my right hand seemingly moving on its own accord, I brushed her hair to the side of her face, and let my fingertips linger on her smooth cheek. “How come you never left the woods?” I asked. “You can pass for a wood elf, after all.”
She raised her hand to mine, as if to make sure I didn’t pull it away from her cheek. “At first, I meant to,” she said. “I even considered trying to seek out my sisters in hiding, in hopes that we might rise up against the Empire. But, as the years went on, I found the small comforts of the woods more and more inviting.”
Monstergirl Quest Book Three Page 7
