by Travis Bughi
In Emily’s mind, the thunderbird screeched again.
* * *
The morning brought hurried activity. The centaurs had either decided not to follow the amazons or the stream-walk had done its job of delaying them. No matter the correct assumption, the amazons had a much more important task at hand.
Today, they would begin their hunt for a treant.
Emily supposed it began like any hunt for a large creature, but the only thing she’d ever done was scout for behemoths, and that was one time not too long ago. So she watched, instead, and tried not to get in the way.
They started by checking their supplies, which were few: rope, arrows, and bows. Next, they checked the ground for footprints and moved objects. However, considering their prey was a large, living, breathing tree, there were a few alterations to the hunt that Adelpha now described to Emily.
The first was that the only droppings a treant left were leaves. The leaves could be any shape or form, depending on the treant, so one had to keep an eye out for not only the leaves, but also whether or not they matched any nearby trees. Once they found a few leaves that did not match any of the nearby trees, they would know a treant had been through the area. Judging by the decay of the fallen leaves, they could gauge how long ago.
The next change to their hunt was that they were not looking for damaged trees, but rather for healthy and vibrant trees. Treants had not earned the nickname ‘tree shepherds’ for nothing. They were constantly tending to the forest like it was their own personal garden.
“You see this one’s bark?” Adelpha pointed out. “It doesn’t show as many signs of weathering as the ones we slept by. A treant has been by here.”
Emily was hopeful and kept her eyes searching forward. She peeped over every hill and around every tree, expecting to see one far off in the distance.
However, the forest was not like the Great Plains. This forest could hide anything from view, and so their hunt had only just begun even after the signs of a passing treant became more and more common. Emily was having difficulty reining in her anticipation and was reminded of the feeling she’d had when scouting for behemoths. Just like on that trip with her father, Emily’s excitement started out high but diminished as the day drew on. The amazons traveled, Emily thought, in all directions: north, south, east, and west. None of it seemed to matter to the treant they were tracking. Their target was wandering through the forest on an aimless path.
The only thing that did make sense was their method of tracking. The prints in the forest floor were getting fresher, the different leaves were becoming more frequent, and each tree along the amazons’ path looked healthier than the last.
As the day drew on, so did they also draw nearer to their prey.
The amazons’ movements grew more silent as they stalked deeper into Angor. Emily started wondering what they would do when they caught the treant, or even what it would look like. Were treants capable of human speech? Did they think like humans? Considering how they tended to the trees of Angor so well, surely they must be thinking creatures capable of lengthy planning.
And what of their hair? The branches used to make amazon bows were taken from the top of a treant’s head. Chara had told Emily it was like giving them a haircut and didn’t hurt at all. If that was so, then why were the treants so adamant about keeping their wood safe? Emily thought about asking Chara this and then remembered her instructions to get closer to Heliena.
No time like the present, she thought and slowed her pace to fall to the back of the group. To her surprise, Heliena did not acknowledge her immediately, so Emily spoke up.
“Hello, Heliena.”
“Emily.”
“I wanted to ask you something about the treants. How do we know they feel no pain when we take their branches?”
Heliena seemed disinterested at the moment, so Emily thought perhaps she’d appreciate a straightforward approach. After mulling over the question, Adelpha’s little sister decided to indulge Emily’s interests.
“You’ll see,” she said and nodded confidently. “They don’t struggle and don’t move at all when we break the branches. Really, I don’t think they can even feel at all. However, while you’re here. . .”
Heliena closed the gap between them and lowered her head.
“Are you going to watch Belen?” she whispered.
Emily had told Heliena about Belen’s disappearance in Lucifan. As a consequence, she shared Emily’s distrust of the older woman. Emily, in turn, grimaced. She was not fond of lying, and for reasons she couldn’t completely explain, decided to be honest right then and there.
“Actually,” she sighed, “I’m to watch you.”
Emily held her breath, expecting Heliena to scowl or balk, but was surprised when she did neither. Instead, she only frowned, and then nodded slowly.
“I think that’s for the best,” she said.
“You do?” Emily raised an eyebrow.
“The more eyes on me the better,” Heliena nodded. “Everyone already thinks I’m the traitor—well, that’s either you or me—so it’s only fitting we work together, I suppose. I’m surprised we haven’t been hung yet, just out of example, knowing some of these women.”
“You know, it’s talk like that that makes everyone question you.”
Heliena frowned and looked regretful. Emily tried to move past the comment.
“I’m assuming Adelpha and Chara will watch Belen,” Emily said. “I think it’ll be our duty to stay out of the way. Don’t take treantwood you don’t need for a bow. Are you even making one? Are you pregnant?”
“No,” Heliena touched her stomach as if to ward away the idea. “This is only the second time I’ve been to Lucifan, but I still don’t feel ready for something like that. I do want to make a bow, though—one of my own. I worry that taking some will rouse more suspicion in others.”
Heliena looked to Emily, a pleading expression written plainly upon her gorgeous face. Her stunning, blue eyes threatened to suck Emily in, daring her to steal glances and admire her features. Emily had been called attractive before, most recently from a pirate named Captain Mosley, and even the charming knight, Sir Gavin Shaw, had favored her with a long stare more than once. Emily had enjoyed those extended glances and hoped that she would get to enjoy them again.
However, Heliena’s beauty was of a whole different nature. Hers was an enticing, drawing aura that made people look twice, three times, and then back once more. It was the type of beauty that made one forget to blink. Thankfully though, as envious as Emily was of that beauty, it did not sway her in this moment. She held up her hands and shrugged before shaking her head.
“I already did you a favor,” Emily said. “I told everyone it was me who killed Okamoto, and look what that got me? If you want to make a bow, that’s a risk you’re going to have to take.”
Heliena’s expression changed in a flash. Her pouting face burned off to anger, and she snarled at Emily, making the latter balk.
“Fine, go then,” Heliena nodded ahead. “You don’t want to help me; you just want to watch me? Watch me from up there then, gremlin. I’m done with this.”
“Heliena!” Emily said. “That’s not what I meant. I meant no offense. I was just saying—”
“I said we’re done here.”
Heliena crossed her arms and looked away. Emily stuttered over her next words before swallowing and looking ahead. None of the amazons had been close enough to hear their whispering voices, but a few had turned back when the conversation turned loud at the end. Emily’s cheeks grew warm, and she sighed.
“Okay, then,” she said. “If that is your wish. I’m sorry.”
Heliena scoffed, and Emily sighed one last time before quickening her pace to catch up with Chara.
The old woman was enjoying the slower pace the amazons had assumed. Traveling fast made it difficult to keep quiet, and the treants were apparently very good listeners.
“I tried to talk to Heliena—”
�
��Sssh,” Chara cut her off. “We’re getting close.”
Emily fell silent and her gut hardened. She did her best to walk carefully among the dead leaves and branches covering the ground, though in the encompassing silence of Angor, Emily struggled to make no sound. They stalked forward up a steep hill, using the roots and small holes in the dirt for traction. At the crest, Adelpha held out her hand and signaled for the others to stop.
They halted.
Adelpha peered over the edge and then ducked back down quickly. She turned back to the others, and they met her gaze. The princess smiled and pulled out a line of rope. She then withdrew a specially made arrow with a hole at the end and looped the rope through the hole. The other amazons who had rope, about ten of them, did the same.
Once everyone was finished, Adelpha raised her bow and pointed it over the hillcrest. She drew back the string and held it taut.
“Charge!” she yelled as the amazons sprinted up the rest of the hill.
Chapter 5
The amazons sprinted up over the hill and Emily looked for the treant.
At first, she did not see it. The only thing she saw was a bunch of scattered trees no different from what she’d seen throughout all of Angor. Then, one of the trees moved, slowly, yet far faster than any tree should. It was then that Emily noticed it: a large tree with a head, two arms and two legs. Although it was at least four times her own height, the treant was human in so many ways. Its arms and legs ended in hands and feet with five digits each. Its arms bent at the elbows, its legs bent at the knees, and its head swiveled on a neck. Besides the fact that every part of its body was wooden and adorned with thick branches and leaves, Emily could have easily mistaken it for a really tall human. The treant even had a face, complete with a nose and a pair of eyes.
It was those eyes that made Emily pause mid stride. They were round, glossy, green and so entirely human that Emily was caught completely by surprise. In every way, the treant’s eyes looked just as fragile and normal as her own, only four times bigger. Emily found it difficult not to peer into them and had to blink several times to break the trance.
The amazons charged down the hill and began to encircle the creature. It backed away in circles, trying not to be surrounded, but it was too slow. The dirt below quaked with each massive step, and the treant’s entire body made the sound of wood creaking and bending, while the leaves covering its head rustled.
Rather than unnerve Emily, the treant’s size actually soothed her. Like almost all gigantic creatures Emily had met (except the bugbear), this treant moved slowly. Although it might be capable of a burst of speed, she doubted it would charge her constantly with a relentless intent to kill.
The amazons had finished circling the treant now. The women with rope held their bows at the ready, waiting for the command to shoot. The silence in the air made Emily’s every breath heavy with anticipation.
Then, the treant did something that Emily was entirely unprepared for; it spoke.
“Back,” it said in a slow manner, like a minotaur.
Emily jumped a bit. No one told her treants could speak.
“I mean you . . . no harm,” it said, holding its arms out defensively.
“Neither do we,” Adelpha replied. “Release!”
Arrows with ropes tied to their ends were released through the air. They crossed all around the treant, none striking it. The arrows instead went past the giant creature and buried into nearby trees.
That’s when the others, those without rope like Emily, went into action.
Emily leapt to the nearest arrow and yanked it out of the tree. She took hold of the rope and gripped it tightly in both hands. Emily looked to see whose arrow she’d caught and, in disgust, saw that it was Belen holding the other end. The older amazon looked at Emily and twisted her own face in disdain. However, neither of them let go. This wasn’t a time for emotion. This was a time to run.
They ran in opposite directions around the treant, ducking and hopping over lines of rope in their paths. The other amazons paired up, too, and began running around the treant, twisting their ropes about its legs.
“Leave,” the treant breathed with a thundering voice, “me.”
It swung down with both hands, sweeping with an open palm across the land. Amazons dived and dodged, and the treant hit nothing but air.
“Faster!” Belen shouted.
They ran faster, and the ropes wound tighter, restricting the treant’s movement. Soon the ropes would be drawn together, and the treant would topple to the ground where its arms could be secured. All the while, Emily’s heart was pounding. She looked up at the towering tree shepherd as the tightening rope brought her closer to it.
It’s going to fall, she thought.
Just then, a rope caught her across the stomach. The tight line swept her off her feet, and she crashed to the ground. As Emily hit the dirt, her hand fell open and the rope left it.
“You idiot!” Belen screamed.
“Emily!” Chara yelled. “Get your rope back!”
Emily jumped up, her cheeks burning with shame and her mind alight with fear. She looked desperately for the rope she’d dropped and saw it trailing across the ground in front of her. The treant, too, saw that Emily was not moving, and it raised a mighty fist to crush her into the ground. Emily jumped for the rope as the treant brought down a clenched jumble of solid wood. Her hand outstretched, she caught the end of the rope just barely and then watched the earth quake under her as the treant struck the ground behind her. The sticks, leaves, and other debris of the forest bounced into the air briefly before falling to rest again.
Emily hit the ground and then leapt to her feet. Before the treant could sweep his hand over her, she was running again. This time, she made sure to keep her eyes looking forward.
“It’s coming down!” Hanna yelled.
The treant’s legs came together, and the next step it tried to take was halted by the twisting lines. It hung in the air, attempting to balance on two feet that had been bound together, but its attempts were ultimately futile.
The tree shepherd seemed, to Emily, to take forever to fall. The treant bent in the air, trying to displace its weight back to the center, but, instead, its efforts only delayed the effects of gravity. The tall creature fell forward with its arms reaching out to soften the crash, but there was too much weight to hold. The treant hit the ground with a thud so loud that Emily was sure the entire forest heard it.
The amazons were quick to pull some of their ropes up from the legs and scatter them up and down the length of the creature. One or two ropes never would have held the treant, but more ropes were pulled out and wrapped around it before the treant’s slow movements could bring it up. With speed that spoke of endless practice, the treant was secured so tightly it couldn’t even roll.
The treant somehow seemed even bigger on the ground, Emily thought. Even with it lying on its back, one could barely see over it to the other side. Emily had to climb on top of the treant in order to cross it and secure her end of the rope about the creature’s waist. She was hesitant to do so at first until she saw others doing it.
“Let me . . . go,” the treant commanded.
The amazons ignored him and tightened their knots.
“I did not know they could talk,” Emily said to her grandmother.
Chara only nodded. She was breathing heavily and, with Emily’s help, went to lean against a tree once she was finished.
“Are you alright, Mother?”
“I’ll be fine,” Chara said as she sat down at the base of the tree. “Running I can do, but all the ducking and dodging has me quite worn. I’m just getting too old for this kind of thing.”
“Emily!” Adelpha called.
“You’ll be okay, Mother?” Emily asked Chara.
“I’ll be fine,” she said, nodding and giving a faint smile. “Go.”
Emily ran over to Adelpha, hopping back over the fallen treant as she did so.
“We’re going to sta
rt cutting the branches,” Adelpha said, then lowered her voice for the next part. “Watch the others, especially my aunt’s puppet.”
“Chara told me to watch Heliena rather than Belen,” Emily whispered back. “You’ll have to watch the others, or find someone else. Apparently there are too many distrusting eyes on me already.”
“I’m to watch Belen, and you’re to watch my sister?” Adelpha sounded shocked. “Well, fine then. Go see what she’s up to.”
Emily nodded and sprinted around the treant. As she headed up towards its head, she was caught for a second by its eyes. It wasn’t their striking human resemblance that caught Emily’s attention this time. It was the fact that they were focused on her. The tree shepherd was watching her, and its eyes looked so very sad.
“Please,” the treant said to her. “Release me.”
Emily paused for a second, unsure of her position. Should she reply to it? None of the others did. They all ignored the treant’s calls, so why shouldn’t she? However, it looked so sad. Why was it so pained by this? Adelpha swore that the treant would come to no harm, but surely there must be something they were doing wrong. Did the elves cause this much pain to treants, too?
“Emily!” Heliena called.
The treant maintained its gaze, and Emily had to blink a few times to break the trance.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered to the creature and then sprinted off.
Heliena was at the treant’s head and had her hand on one of the branches protruding out like hair.
“Have you forgotten we are suspects?” Heliena chided. “How can I prove innocent if you’re not watching me? Now here! This one! This is the one!”
Her excitement was genuine—and strange. Adelpha’s younger sister had been nothing but a melancholy participant in their journey, until now, so her sudden enthusiasm made Emily feel further out of place. She was still trying to shake the shame she felt for leaving the treant to suffer.
“I’ve found it,” Heliena smiled.
