In the distance, she could see a tree that was almost the centerpiece of the cavern, stunning to the point she knew it would have had a shrine back home. It looked vaguely like a willow tree, but the bark was smooth white like an aspen’s, and its branches glittered with sparkling light that could be seen even from where she stood. There were faint signs of buildings around the edge of the cavern, but the only one that looked intact was near the tree itself. So, after a moment of hesitation, she raced toward the tree, praying there was someone who could help her, and who would respond to her pleas.
* * *
Entering the cavern made Gideon pause as well, surprised to find such a sight inside of a mountain. But he didn’t pay it much attention since he’d just caught a glimpse of his target fleeing toward the massive tree. He signaled the orcs to pursue with a grin. “Catch her.”
The two orcs grunted, one speaking in a deep voice. “Yes, boss.”
Breaking into a ground devouring jog of his own, Gideon noticed that the magic in the air seemed to be particularly rich as he dodged around a couple of trees. The orcs simply smashed through the barriers in their way, barely even slowing as branches appeared before them. Gideon wondered what the Adjudicator would make of this place when he gave his report. Maybe they’d even reward him if it proved valuable.
As he circled another tree, Gideon found that he’d gained on the slave. Right as she got near the big tree, he thought that she should be able to hear him clearly enough, and he shouted out an order. “Slave, halt and do not resist captivity in any way!”
And he grinned as the woman suddenly skidded to a stop where she was, unable to move. The enhanced hearing of elves sometimes was a blessing, in his opinion. Gideon slowed down, breathing slightly harder as he slowly advanced on the elf, who turned around, obvious despair on her face. It took him a few minutes to approach her, during which time the two orcs also slowed, laughing softly as they did so.
Finally catching up, Gideon nodded in satisfaction, a thin, cruel smile appearing as he spoke harshly. “You have caused me quite a bit of irritation, slave. Since Lady Tanna insisted I come after you, I was taken away from more important tasks to hunt down your miserable ass. Perhaps I should let my troops have their way with you as punishment for your attempted escape before we take you back? I…”
Enjoying the sight of utter terror dawning on the pretty woman, he was about to continue when the tree trunk abruptly rippled, drawing his attention away from tormenting the elf.
“Please, let me go.” The slave almost whispered, her voice trembling as she stood there, hugging herself and staring at the orcs in terror as they flanked her, horrible grins on their face at the suggestion. “I just want to go home!”
Gideon ignored her mewling, watching the tree as it rippled again, and with a third ripple, a long, shapely leg stepped from the tree. The skin of the leg was pure white, matching the bark of the willow, and the only markings on it were a handful of lines and whorls that looked like the smooth grain of a wooden plank. But without pausing, a woman stepped out from inside the tree. She had wide hips, a narrow waist, large breasts, and a breathtakingly beautiful face. Her skin was perfectly formed of some kind of patterned white wood, and her eyes were the deep green of fresh shoots, while her lips looked like burnished gold. Her golden hair was long and flowing, falling almost to her knees, and she extended a hand in front of herself, seeming to flex it almost curiously as she ignored the gazes that she’d drawn. She was as tall as he was, and Gideon took only a moment to realize she had to be a dryad of some form.
“Well, at least something of actual value came from this pathetic task,” he sneered, smirking as he ordered one of the orcs. “Grab her. She’s coming with us too.”
“Right!” The orc laughed, stepping toward the dryad while the elf stared in shock, her mouth opening and closing wordlessly.
The orc swung his club at the dryad with a grin on his porcine face, obviously planning to harshly knock her away from her tree. But just as the club was about to hit her, her eyes rose to meet Gideon’s without the slightest expression on her face. A splintering crack echoed through the chamber and the orc soldier stopped, looking stunned as it stared at the shattered handle of its club, then at the wrist-thick branch that had lowered to block his attack.
With a flicking gesture, the dryad caused two branches to lash out with blinding speed before Gideon could even begin to react. The branches hit the orcs hard enough to send them flying as the sickening sound of breaking bones echoed in the cavern. Gideon snarled in shock as his hands instinctively dropped to the hilts of his swords, taking a step toward the dryad. It was at that moment that a thin line of heat wrapped around his throat, and his second step slowed to a stop.
His hand obeyed at first, reaching toward his neck, then slowed and began falling at the same time the rest of his body stopped obeying his commands. His sight blurred slightly, and he saw what looked like a single strand of one of the hanging branches dangling only a few inches from his head, the length of it covered in blood.
And then he fell to the ground as his vision slowly began to fade into darkness.
* * *
Lily’s eyes went huge as the dryad appeared. She opened her mouth to try to warn the dryad of the danger, but the words stuck in her throat as terror paralyzed her—what would be done to her if she spoke? But just as the orcs attacked, the tree reacted instead, causing her voice to freeze for an entirely different reason.
In an instant, the orcs were knocked away with sufficient force that they were likely dead or dying. And all in less time than it took her to blink. The Enforcer attacked almost instantly, but he never saw the branch that circled his throat three times, the thin strand flickering with golden energy for a moment as it tightened and pulled like a child pulling the string of a top. Lily blanched as the strand-like branch cut through his neck like a hot knife through cheese, and she saw the confusion on his face as it pulled away from him, and how he tried to reach for the wound briefly. He staggered forward a single step more, then fell to the ground with glassy eyes.
And through all of it, the dryad watched without the slightest expression on her face. She watched the Enforcer fall, staring at him for a few moments before shaking her head slightly. The lack of expression was even more horrifying to Lily than the casual brutality of the Enforcer, and she almost lost control of her bowels when the dryad turned her attention to Lily.
The dryad’s eyes were like nothing Lily had ever seen before. The bright green color felt deep, like she was staring into an endless, incomprehensible abyss, and she swallowed hard, too terrified to speak for a long minute. Finally, she whispered. “P-please… don’t hurt me…”
A hint of a smile played across the dryad’s lips as she tilted her head, vanishing just as quickly as it appeared, and with it faded some of the terror that wracked Lily. The dryad stepped forward, the movement so graceful and perfect, as though it had been carefully choreographed beforehand, and stood in front of Lily.
“What are you doing?” Lily yelped, wanting to jump away as the dryad abruptly reached out to tug up the hem of her shirt, and pull down the waistband of her trousers And of course, the order kept her from trying to escape or resist, to Lily’s bitter realization.
Ignoring Lily’s protests, the dryad revealed a black symbol across Lily’s lower stomach. The slave brand was palm-sized and curved with numerous jagged shapes. It was slightly triangular, pointing down toward her nethers with the upper edge an inch below her navel. Lily flushed in shame at the sight of it, though the dryad didn’t seem to react the way she expected, her face expressionless as she studied the symbol.
The brand made it so that Lily couldn’t hurt herself except by a direct order from her master. And her master was anyone with a command sigil branded on them, such as the Enforcer who’d died, or whomever they told her to obey. She knew that some of the rebels knew how to undo orders if there wasn’t anyone with a command sigil nearby, but she had no idea how it
was done, and with where she was, she was afraid that the order the Enforcer had given would lead to her dying of starvation.
Finally the dryad stood up straight, seeming to think for a moment. Then she looked at Lily curiously and picked up a rock. Pointing at the slave brand, she crushed the rock, shaking her head. Lily blinked, and with hope kindling in her heart, she slowly asked. “You… can break it?”
Her hopes were dashed when the dryad shook her head firmly. Bitterly, Lily reminded herself that she should have known better. No one knew how to destroy the brands—that was why Kelvanis was so powerful. But she was distracted when the dryad dropped the rock, pointing at the slave brand and then at the Enforcer’s body. Then she pointed at herself, and at the brand.
“Ummm…” Lily blinked, trying to understand, and then guessed, afraid to get her hopes up a second time. “You can take control of it? I guess?”
The dryad nodded firmly, a slight smile appearing again. Pointing at Lily, she tilted her head and raised an eyebrow.
“You want my permission?” Lily guessed again, her hopes rising. At the dryad’s firm nod, her heart jumped in joy as she nodded fiercely. “Please! I… I have to follow his orders, so if you don’t, I’ll probably stand here until I die. I don’t want that to happen. I just wanted to be free of what… what they were doing to me…”
Ignoring Lily’s words, the dryad leaned over and pressed her finger against the very center of the brand. Her skin was oddly warm and soft for appearing to be wood, Lily was surprised to find. But she gasped as she felt a slow warmth spread outward through the brand, almost as if it were exploring each stroke of its design. And as it progressed, she felt a faint tingling rise up her spine, and it almost felt like she could hear faint words in a language she didn’t know. Lily watched as the brand turned gold threaded through with green highlights from where the dryad was touching. It slowly spread across the brand, taking several minutes to turn the entire brand green and gold.
As the last threads of the brand changed colors, Lily felt the compulsion of the Enforcer’s order vanish abruptly. A gentle warmth and some other strange energy enveloped her body in the aftermath. Staggering slightly at the sudden release, Lily gasped and steadied herself.
The dryad tilted her head slightly, as if curious, blinking once before straightening slightly and nodding, a smile of satisfaction on her face. It took Lily a few seconds to realize that she was actually free of not just that order, but all of the others that Lady Tanna had given her as well, and a smile bloomed on her face.
“Thank you! Thank you so very much! I’m Lily, Lily of Vernglade!” Lily spoke excitedly, relief almost making her legs collapse beneath her. Even if the dryad was going to control her choices, she had to be better than Lady Tanna. But her smile dimmed slightly as the dryad ignored her thanks, stepping around her and walking back to her tree. And then she asked, trepidation filling her voice. “M-may I ask who you are? Can you talk?”
The dryad stopped, turning her head toward Lily, then looked at the tomb that her tree was towering over. The tree was almost like a guard in front of the building’s front door, Lily realized. But then the dryad spoke a single, perfectly inflected word, her voice bell-like in beauty. “Sistina.”
“Sistina? That’s a beautiful name!” Lily exclaimed, awe rippling through her at the perfect beauty of the dryad’s voice. She’d always heard that dryads were the manifestations of nature’s beauty, second only to nymphs, but there was something magnetic about Sistina. Swallowing, Lily asked, hesitant now. “Umm… Sistina? Since you now… command the slave brand… can I leave? Will you let me?”
Again Sistina looked at Lily, this time appearing incredulous before she nodded firmly, making a shooing gesture toward the cave entrance.
Lily took a hesitant step toward the cavern entrance, almost not believing that this was real, then looked back. Sistina had stepped toward the entrance of the tomb and was crouched down, naked as she picked up small crimson fragments that were scattered over the stones. It was then, looking at the exit, that Lily’s determination wavered. Screwing up her courage, she decided that she didn’t dare try to journey south, and she needed somewhere to stay. So she took a deep breath to steady herself before turning back and speaking.
“Actually, could… could I stay here for a while? To prepare to try to go home?” Lily asked after a moment, nervous. “It’s a long trip, and I don’t have much of anything.”
Sistina simply nodded, a smile flickering across her face again.
* * *
Sistina carefully picked up the scattered pieces of the ruby she’d once been, not missing the slightest fragment of it. Something about the shards was fascinating, and she wondered if she’d be able to remember more if she used them as hints. But she wasn’t thinking about the fragments—that was more an idle thought. Nor was she thinking about the human or orcs. Their attacks had annoyed her, but they were gone and no longer important. Besides, they’d never been a real threat.
Instead, she was contemplating the symbol on the elf, Lily’s, stomach. It felt so familiar, and figuring out how to claim it had been easy as absorbing water, sunlight, or air, for that matter. Even now she could feel the symbol linked to her core of mana, and knew that if she wished, she could send a command whenever she wanted. Range would weaken that ability, but it didn’t matter, since she had no interest in enslaving the young woman. She liked elves, since they reminded her of the original Sistina, the memory of whom made her mentally reach out to stroke the tomb of her namesake. But the most interesting thing about the symbol was that she could feel more mana pouring into her pool from it than she’d gained from any other creature so far. The link between them was also stronger than anything she’d felt before, and it intrigued her.
Based on her prior experiences, Sistina probably could change Lily somewhat if she wished to, much like she’d changed some of the plants and her own body. But she didn’t want to—that would be interfering too much with the only other fully sentient individual in her domain. The young elf seemed to be drawing on her domain in any case, instinctively improving her body, so Sistina felt it didn’t matter anyway.
So while Lily took items from the bodies of the fallen orcs and the human, Sistina raised one of the larger ruby fragments and looked through it at the ceiling, seeing the world hued crimson through it. But staring at the light coming from above, she came to a decision. She needed to be able to defend her cavern if more humans or orcs came for her Lily. A Lily was a plant, after all, and plants were hers.
* * *
The next few months were among the strangest in Lily’s life, even including when her village had been ransacked and she’d been enslaved. The day after she’d taken up residence in Sistina’s cavern, she found that the bodies of the Enforcer and the orcs had vanished without a trace. Most days Sistina never moved from under her tree, but seemingly randomly, she would go on a journey to one point or another in the cavern. And the cavern was strange as well, now that Lily had time to truly examine it.
Days after she’d taken up residence, one of the old buildings moved in the middle of the night. It moved next to a large field near Sistina’s tree, fully repaired rather than missing half its roof, and with full furnishings inside that were finer than anything Lily had grown up with. The field quickly filled with fruit trees, vegetables, and other edible plants in mere days, growing far more rapidly than she would have believed even a druid could manage. Many of the plants were oranges, apples, and other fruits that shouldn’t have grown in the same climate as one another, such as the single banana tree she’d seen, or that were thought to be extinct, like the fireberry bush.
When Lily wanted to talk, she would go up to Sistina and chat for hours, though Sistina never spoke another word beyond her initial introduction. It amused Lily that the dryad would occasionally nod or make gestures to get her own thoughts or desires across. Lily found herself quickly growing able to interpret the gestures. And the translation came even more easily wh
en she realized that she could faintly sense Sistina’s desires, moods, or responses. Nothing as concrete as thoughts came across, simply faint approval, disapproval, or other simple emotions.
Without a change of clothing, Lily’s garments began falling apart as winter approached outside of the mountain. Before Lily could say anything, Sistina took the fibers of a few plants and wove them together into cloth almost effortlessly, though the dryad seemed to be concentrating heavily throughout. The cloth was dyed with other plants, and then she shaped it into clothing that perfectly fit Lily without cutting a single strand. The clothing was light, easy to move in, and yet allowed her to deal with the elements more easily as well, something that Lily marveled at.
She was growing stronger and faster too, Lily realized after a few weeks. After a month, she took a bow and arrows she’d found, as well as a knife from the Enforcer’s body, to go out hunting. It took a few trips before she managed to get any game at all, but she improved somewhat before winter descended in full force. While she was out, though, she ensured that she tried to bring back additional plants, which always made Sistina happier.
The oddest moment was when Lily realized that despite living with a dryad who never spoke, she’d never been happier than she was in the cavern. For the first time in her life, she was safe and didn’t have to worry about much of anything. She was freer here in the caves than she’d been at home in Vernglade, and a large part of her wondered if she even wanted to go home.
Eventually winter passed, and Lily began to venture out in the spring once again, eager to add different food to her diet.
Chapter 3
“Did you see any sign of pursuit?” Captain Vendis asked the scout who’d just caught up with the group.
“No, ma’am. Not yet, anyway,” the man replied, shaking his head wearily. “I imagine they’ll come after us as soon as they realize that the horses are a distraction, though.”
Ancient Ruins Page 3
