Watcher’s Fate: A LitRPG Saga (Life in Exile Book 3)

by Sean Oswald

  Communicating seemed difficult, though, as it didn’t have any apparent syntax or structure to its words. It might only be trying to communicate in ideas. The more she thought about it, the more she was convinced that an ancient tree would have very little in common with a human, or even a longer-lived elf, in terms of how it viewed the world.

  That still left her with the problem of how to communicate, so she did the only thing she could think of and fell to one knee with her head bowed low and her arms outstretched like the branches of a tree. The treant stopped flailing about when she did this, and a moment later, its stream of words also stopped. Emily took that as a cue and raised her head while still staying on one knee. “Great Elder of the forest, how may the Circle aid you?” The words were part intuition and part magically ingrained feelings from her induction.

  “Foe no moon children steal dungeon axe flame wait serve moon no dungeon steal.” The treant’s voice was deep and ancient. Emily felt as though she could feel the seasons passing in its words. Still, that didn’t grant her any greater understanding of the words it spoke.

  “I plead with you, Great Elder. I do not know what you mean, but the Moon Elves and the humans within my land are no enemy of yours. We wish to live in balance with the forest.” Emily could only hope that it understood her words better than she understood what it was saying.

  One massive hand extended out towards her. Slowly, but still it moved towards her. The hand itself was nearly half as big as she was, and as it got closer, a flower sprouted out of the tips of each finger. Then, as those flowers blossomed, tendrils extended out from the buds and snaked their way towards her before connecting with the side of her head.

  “Save Lady Emiri!”

  “It’s attacking!”

  “Mom!”

  Emily heard the cries, but it was like they were far removed from her, and she was only able to shout out, “Wait!”

  Beyond that, she lost the ability of speech as she felt her mind pulled into a great consciousness. One which was not distinctly more intelligent but simply vaster. She found herself seeing images flash before her eyes and felt deep emotion attached to each one.

  A glint of light flashed off the blade of an axe. She felt the bite of the metal as it sunk into her trunk. Yet resignation. This was part of the cycle.

  The bright red and yellow of flames surrounded her. The heat oppressed her. She felt her very flesh being consumed as fuel for the fire. Yet endurance. Through it all, she was unable to utter a single sound.

  The warmth of the rays of each sun descended as her leaves soaked up their life-giving energy. The fluttering of wind blowing through her branches. Her roots spread deep into the earth which anchored her. She felt her very body become the home to a host of creatures from things too small to see to singing birds and crawling pests. Yet patience. This was the true circle.

  All these impressions and more were fed into her mind directly as raw sensation laden with feeling. Pain and growth entwined in her, forming an ancient balance.

  Then she felt the coming of man and saw the coming of many two-legged beings. She recognized humans, moon elves, and minotaurs. Others she saw and took to be the sun elves she had heard of with their fair skin and shimmering hair. Still others, she didn’t know but saw through the senses of the ancient mind filling hers. Centaurs and dwarves were obvious enough that even without much knowledge of fantasy lore, she could identify them. Even the orcs she was able to identify based upon their similarity to Balayria.

  She saw how some of the races worked in unity with the forest and how others seemed to work in opposition. In it all, she felt how the trees endured and found balance. Mysteriously, within that, she felt a presence behind the forest. One which was as beyond the treant’s understanding as its ancient life was beyond hers. It was a presence which she knew as Shanelle.

  Finally, she saw the young treants disappearing. She felt the resignation that spoke of an understanding that many younglings had to be cut down. That it was only pruning and a part of the cycle. Now though, these who disappeared were not cut down or burnt. She got the sense that they entered the earth and never came back out. There was confusion in the great mind and even more in her own as Emily tried to understand what was being conveyed to her. It was nothing for a tree to return to the earth. That was a cycle, yet somehow, these lesser treants were entering the earth.

  Then one last image, which she caught only as the briefest of glimpses, made things clearer. For once, she understood more than the elder who was sharing its feelings with her. It was the image of a cave entrance, a gaping maw of stone in the side of a hill, and it was a place she had been, the dungeon. Somehow for reasons that she didn’t understand, the lesser treants were entering the dungeon and never returning.

  Well did Emily know the dangers of the dungeon, but she couldn’t understand why the tree-like creatures would even enter it in the first place. She knew she was missing something, but what was clear was that the elder treant’s young were being consumed by the dungeon.

  Just as the treant’s mind had been bared to her in this mental meld, so had her thoughts been exposed to it. Emily didn’t know if it understood her way of thinking any better than she had understood its ancient mind, but she could only hope. She felt a humble sense of connection to the great treant. Her induction into the moon elf Circle had filled her mind with much of their lore and customs. A part of that had made her feel that her role was as the caretaker of the forest. She hadn’t even realized the sense of superiority she had felt in her way of thinking that her adopted people lived in harmony with the forest.

  Now she had a new way of seeing things. The treant didn’t consider the moon elves to be the caretaker of the forest. Instead, it considered the forest to be the caretakers of the elves and the myriad of other life forms that called it home. More important for her struggling faith, she had a sense of Shanelle as a creator, the force behind the forest. It made her feel more at peace in her role as a chosen.

  That had to be pushed to the back of her mind though as the tendrils were withdrawn from her temples, and her body was once again under her own control. Emily had no idea how long she had shared communication with the treant and supposed it might equally have been an instant or a lifetime. Looking around, she could see the unease in her guard and saw that Aoi was busy holding back reinforcements from town, so it must have been at least a few minutes.

  Again, the treant spoke, but this time its words came out more like a question than an accusation. “Moon young aid?”

  Fear clenched Emily’s gut as she knew what the next words she spoke would mean for her. “Yes, Great Elder. The people of the Murkwood, moon elf and human alike, will aid you as best we are able.”

  A moment of silence passed between the two before the treant once again extended out its hand, and a seedling sprouted out of its upturned palm. Right before Emily’s eyes, it grew to be a full two feet tall before breaking off and landing on the ground before her.

  “Grow use balance,” the treant said before turning and striding back towards the forest.

  Emily stared for another minute at its rapidly retreating form.

  “Mom, that was surreal. Did it talk to you?” Mira’s question broke Emily out of her own thoughts.

  “Yes, it was asking for our help. Apparently the lesser treants have been entering the dungeon and not returning. I think that at first it thought we had something to do with it, but it must have seen in my mind that we didn’t.” She paused before continuing. “This has been a lot. I need to get back to town. Can you ask a couple of the hogo-sha to grab this clipping and carry it back to town? I have some thoughts about what to do with it.”

  Aoi spoke up now, “As you wish, Lady Emiri. This is a great gift. That was an elder treant but not just any elder treant. It was a sacred ash treant.”

  “Forgive me, druid, but there are still gaps in my knowledge. Does that mean something special?” Emily asked.

  Speaking almost reverentl
y, Aoi answered, “The sacred ash is the only tree considered more precious than ironwood. It is strong but not as hard as ironwood and does not grow to the same prodigious size, but it endures by being both strong and flexible. Its wood is good for holding enchantments and responds to magical guidance better than any other tree.”

  “So what you are saying is that this is a precious gift?” Emily said pointing to the small sapling which had been deposited on the ground by the treant.

  “Yes, a gift worthy of royalty and a sign that whatever the elder saw in your mind, it trusted you. Sacred ash is all that I described, but sacred ash from the body of an elder treant will be doubly so.”

  “Thank you, Aoi.”

  “You are of course welcome, my Lady, but for what are you thanking me?”

  “Your words have given me hope. I felt like the burdens kept piling up. Protecting our people, building homes, and keeping my oaths. Then to have to take on yet another task to help the elder treant with the young ones … well to be honest, it just didn’t seem fair. My to-do list was becoming never-ending. Now, though, I think that this may provide more solutions than problems.”

  Not understanding Emily’s words, Aoi simply bowed her head and said, “Yes my Lady.”

  “Please see that it is planted next to the plot marked for the temple of Shanelle.”

  “What?” blurted out one of the forest wardens.

  Aoi added, “My Lady, we all know of your devotion to the forgotten goddess, but you must understand that this tree will grow into something of spiritual significance to the Circle.”

  “If only you could have seen the world through the eyes of the treant as I did. Please, just trust me, and do as I ask. We can discuss the reasons later, but for now, I am drained and need to rest. There will be much to do tomorrow.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  It takes a certain kind of individual to be an adventurer. Strength of will and a reckless disregard for one’s personal safety are central requirements, but above them all is curiosity. — Jayfen Tarzen, former guildmaster Theriot chapter of the Adventurer’s Guild.

  Eris’ Rise - Dave Nelson

  As Dave and his patrol were riding into Eris’ Rise, he could immediately tell that something was going on. It was about time for the evening meal, and far more people should be in the mess tent or waiting in line for their dinner. Instead, villagers were scurrying around. Upon closer inspection, there were two clusters of people. The larger of the two groups was near the partially built temple of Shanelle, while the smaller was in front of his home.

  Looking back and forth between the two, Dave said, “General Eikhorn, will you go and see what is happening outside of my home?”

  “Certainly, happy to help, General Nelson,” Steffen responded.

  “If it isn’t anything you judge to be significant, then do whatever you deem appropriate. If something serious is wrong, will you please ask one of the villagers to come and get me? I will be at the crowd over by the church. I think I can hear my wife over there,” Dave said. He let out a quick pulse of his Esoteric Sense and was able to confirm that Emily was indeed smack dab in the middle of the larger crowd.

  “Come with me, Jackson,” Dave said, and then started walking in Emily’s direction. The guards, forest wardens, and druid followed him while Steffen and Tabor strode in the opposite direction.

  Once Dave got closer to the church, he heard voices trying to shout over each other while Emily was clearly trying to calm everyone down.

  “Planting it here is an insult–this is the holy ground of the Shanelle.”

  “A sacred ash belongs in the forest, not next to a monument to the forgotten.”

  “Will you all stop and listen to me?” Emily said as she raised her voice to be heard.

  Dave had never seen the people of Eris’ Rise acting so obstinate around Emily. Both the elves and humans generally always deferred to her, albeit for different reasons.

  Rak’kar stood right next to Emily, and when the crowd didn’t calm down, he slammed his axe into the ground and bellowed out like thunder, “Stop your mooing! You will listen to Baroness Murkwood.”

  Even Dave had to admit that the eight-foot tall minotaur was intimidating, and so he wasn’t surprised when the crowd’s shouting devolved into quiet murmuring. This allowed him and Jackson the perfect opportunity to push their way through the crowd to reach Emily’s side. The guards called out, “Make way for the Baron!” but Dave was moving so fast that they couldn’t get in front of him.

  Nevertheless, the crowd soon saw who was moving through, and a path was made for him. “I don’t know what the problem is, but both my wife and I have always listened to everyone one of you. We have only been lord and lady here a short time, but I challenge any of you to say you haven’t been treated fairly.”

  As Dave’s voice rose in anger, the crowd calmed even more, and most faces could be seen staring at the ground. Since no challenges were raised, Dave continued. “It appears that there is a dispute between different parts of our community, but never forget that is what we are, a community. A single community of neighbors and friends. We all rise or fall together. So, each side may pick three representatives, and my wife and I will listen to what they have to say in three hours’ time, after everyone has eaten. We will hold this meeting at the new town hall building.” He ended by waving his hand in the direction of the partially built town hall building.

  There were a few “but my lord” and “we want to hear from the Chosen” interjections, but apparently, his words were taken seriously because leaders rose up on each side and moved their respective groups apart. Dave moved to Emily and embraced her.

  Dave released her and waited for her to give Jackson a hug. Meanwhile, he picked up Sara, gave a one-armed half hug to Mira, and said, “Well I know I only kicked the can down the road a bit, but that sure looked ugly.”

  Mira laughed quietly, and Emily gave her a scathing look before responding, “No, thank you. I needed time to gather my thoughts. You were definitely my knight in shining armor.”

  The new, more confident Dave took the praise in stride without fumbling over his own words. “Anytime, queen of my heart. Now though, do you want to tell me what that was all about, or is this something we need to discuss in private?”

  “Actually, it’s best to tell you about it here.” Emily then proceeded to tell Dave all about her encounter with the treant.

  Once her story was over, Dave asked, “So what does that have to do with the crowd here?”

  Emily pointed over to the thirty-foot tall tree that was growing next to the church plot. He was a bit embarrassed that he hadn’t even recognized that there was an entirely new tree there. “Wait, I thought you said that the treant gave you a tiny sapling to plant?”

  “Yes, and in the past few hours, it has grown into the tree you see,” Emily answered.

  “Is it weird that, despite knowing that Eloria is a realm of magic, I am still shocked when I see things like this?” Dave asked.

  “It’s okay to let yourself feel the wonder of it all. I know I do. Just so long as we don’t treat it like a game,” Emily said as she squeezed Dave’s hand.

  “Besides, magic is so much fun.” Mira laughed as she spoke, sounding so much like her teenage self.

  “Maybe I can get some magic now,” Jackson chimed in.

  Dave groaned inwardly as Emily’s head whipped over to look at her son. “What do you mean?”

  Wanting to get ahead of the problem, Dave said, “The patrol ran into some creatures, and I used it as an opportunity to level Jackson up some. Don’t worry, I was going to tell you all about it, but there hasn’t been time yet. Can we talk about this later? There is still some other problem going on at our home.”

  “No, I want to talk about this now. Wait, what do you mean, problem at our house?” Emily asked.

  “There is another crowd gathered there. I asked Steffen to look into it, but we should probably go there now. Then we can talk about Jackson as
well as what we are going to do about this tree.”

  “Don’t think this is over, but yes, I guess we need to go see what is the matter.” Then Emily turned and started walking in the direction of their home with Dave moving to keep up.

  Sara looked at her siblings and asked, “Is daddy in trouble?”

  Jackson just shrugged his shoulders while Mira laughed and said, “It’s just a grown-up thing.”

  When they got home, the crowd around the front of their house had dispersed, and only four small groups remained. Baron Eikhorn’s group consisted of his guard, Ernst, and the royal mage. The Baron seemed to be trying to speak to a group of three men who were sitting on the ground with a ring of elven archers standing around them with arrows nocked. The final group was Sir Derrick Mun Hagen, the lead paladin from the church of Mishpat, and another pair of paladins who flanked him.

  Dave overheard the impassioned words of the paladin as he spoke to Eikhorn and pointed at one of the three men sitting on the ground, a monstrous bald man in jet black plate armor. “Surely your king’s codicil does not extend to this man. He and his ilk are an affront to the true Gods.”

  “I would remind you that he is your king too,” the baron responded.

  “My king is the King of Heaven, Mishpat,” was the paladin’s brusque retort.

  Dave chose that moment to make his presence known. “Sir Mun Hagen, you know that you are here because King Borstein asked your church to aid in the forming of my barony. You are, of course, welcome here, but if you are going to be here, then you will recognize the authority of myself and my liege lord.”