by Dante King
Ben thought about how that man had locked these women up as property. The alpha was lucky he was dead or Ben would have killed him again.
Ben dashed outside and went over to the dried-up corpse of the giant. On the corpse’s belt, there was indeed a set of keys hanging on the inside of his trousers, probably to stop any of the other mountain ogres from stealing them and making off with the prisoners. But the keys had slipped out now that the man’s flesh was dried up and crumbling away like ash on the wind.
Ben removed the keys from the belt, returned to the hut, and handed the keys to Melody. As he stood back and watched, she undid the null locks, keys in one hand, wand in the other.
He had his Drain spell ready. After the fight and then taking away the fear of these women, there was only the slightest trickle of mana left, but he didn’t think he would need much in this situation. These women said they were slaves, and he trusted them, but he also knew they had been through a hell of a lot. He wasn’t about to take the chance that one of them, particularly the blue haired woman, might not just unleash a bit of that pent up rage once the lock was off. He watched them carefully.
Melody obviously shared his suspicions. She released the other two women first. As she unlocked the null lock on Lulu, the blue haired woman’s ankle, Lulu raised her hands in an offensive gesture.
Ben didn’t hesitate an instant. He held out his open palm and swiftly targeted her emotional strands. With the ease that was coming with practice, he targeted her anger and sapped it to about half strength. The anger filled Ben.
The sensation of anger was a white-hot, burning rage, like every molecule of his body had been set aflame. His muscles tensed, his eyes narrowed, and his hands formed into fists so tight they seemed to him like solid stones—stones that could be used to kill.
The anger was so intense that he nearly lost control, nearly let himself get carried away by it. But Ben managed to stop it at the last moment, to stand outside the anger and recognize it as the invading feeling that it was.
He closed his eyes and focused, putting every bit of his energy into quelling the anger, turning it from a raging boil to a controllable simmer. And when it had died down, Ben recognized something to it, a shade of the anger. It was a feeling of protectiveness, like the anger was there to defend, not just to destroy.
Ben pushed the remaining rage aside until it was nearly gone. And when it was, he took one slow, deep breath after another until he was calm.
Lulu slumped to the ground. The other two women gasped. Green mist floated around the green haired woman’s hands. The white-haired woman, Imogen, stood in what appeared to be a martial arts pose, fists ready to lash out.
“What did you do to her?” demanded the green haired woman in the middle.
“Nobody move,” Melody commanded, holding her wand out and facing the other two women. Lightning sizzled on the end of her wand, casting bright blue flashes in the darkness.
The lurid light display illuminated the faces of the women, all eying each other warily.
“This one carries an enchanted weapon,” the green-skinned woman said to the one with the bleached white hair.
“Please, everyone, relax,” Ben said, in the calmest tone he could muster.
He had zero mana now that he’d stripped the blue-skinned woman of her anger. Not to mention that he had now taken on that anger, so he could feel that emotion broiling beneath his skin, desperate to be unleashed. Facing imminent death was getting a bit tiring, if Ben were being honest with himself.
“All I did to Lulu was sap her anger,” Ben explained. “I had to be sure she would play it cool. I just helped to ensure that she did just that.”
Lulu sat up. “I’m fine,” she said. She rubbed her head. Ben hadn’t ever been on the receiving end of Drain himself, but he suspected it could feel a bit unpleasant. She got to her feet though, and appeared to be about as steady as could be expected. He didn’t know how long they’d been slaves for, but that had to be exhausting.
When the other women saw that Lulu was unharmed, they lowered their fists. The magic surrounded the green-haired woman’s fists dissipated into the air like dust motes.
Melody relaxed her magic and brought down her wand. “Where did you get the mana to do all that?” she whispered to Ben.
“Beats me,” he whispered back. “I seem to have more than I expected.”
The green haired woman in the middle, whom he assumed was the leader of their small group, took a deep breath and faced Melody and him. “Thank you, whoever you are. You have rescued us, and we are grateful. I hope you can forgive us for being a bit wary, after seeing what you did to the ogres out there.”
“Of course, I can understand.” Ben relaxed his own posture. “You have obviously all been through a lot. Why don’t we introduce ourselves?”
The women nodded, and they all appeared to relax a bit more.
“I’m Benjamin,” he said. “And this is Melody.” He gestured at the catgirl beside him.
The women stared at the pair. They seemed to be waiting for something.
“And your names are?” Ben asked.
“Is that it?” the green haired woman asked.
“Well, those are our names,” he said. How did introductions work in this world?
Melody jumped in and saved him from embarrassment. “This is Benjamin of Davies, an, uh, an aspiring sorcerer. And I am Melody, a catgirl and Elemental Acolyte of the Arcanarium. We were on a mission in these woods when we saw your plight. We felt that rescuing you and putting an end to some of these ogres was a worthy detour.”
Right, Ben noted, so that was how you made an introduction. Ben noticed Melody didn’t introduce him as the reincarnation of the Forgotten Ruler. Probably for the best. It didn’t seem like a good idea to him to spill the beans about his identity to every stranger they met.
Melody had mentioned the Grand Vizier’s Realm. Ben felt sure this civilization wouldn’t take too kindly to his return, and he didn’t know where they might have spies. He would make sure to keep his identity a secret from these women until he could talk to Melody about whether they could trust them or not.
The green haired woman nodded in satisfaction. “It is an honor to make your acquaintance. We are truly grateful to you once more for rescuing us. I am Vinata, a dryad, daughter of the warrior king of the Vineguard. I am a forest nymph,” she added as she appeared to notice Ben’s blank expression.
“A pleasure to meet you, Vinata,” he said. He turned to the other two women. “And you are?” He had heard these women address each other by name, but he assumed it would only be polite to make their acquaintance properly.
The white-haired women shuffled shyly. “I am Imogen,” she mumbled. She said nothing more. So he wasn’t the only one who was not so good at introductions. That was reassuring.
“This is Imogen the Oread,” Vinata added on her behalf. “Her people are the Oreads of Mount Krakor, a place far away from here. They are a people of monks and priestesses for the most part. Imogen is the daughter of the high priestess.” Vinata smiled at Imogen proudly. They must have all been good friends. They seemed very protective of one another.
“Oreads are mountain nymphs,” Melody said to Ben.
He nodded. It was helpful to have someone fill this information in for him.
“My name is Lulu,” the blue haired woman finally introduced herself.
“And let me guess,” he volunteered. “You are a water nymph?”
Lulu beamed. “You’re a quick one. How did you guess? The webbed fingers?” She splayed her hands. They were indeed webbed, with thick layers of skin spanning the gaps between the fingers.
“Actually, it was just a hunch, based on your blue hair,” he teased.
“Hmm,” Lulu paused in thought. “Perhaps you are worth keeping around. I am actually called an undine, which is another name for a water nymph. Our favorite pastime is luring men such as yourself to their deaths in the water. I could make an exception for you.”<
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OK, thought Ben, this is definitely one of the crazy ones. He didn’t feel half so bad now for using Drain on Lulu.
His stomach growled. He’d had nothing but a few snacks in the last twenty-four hours.
“Well, much as I’d honestly love to hear more about you all,” he said, “I’m starving. I figure we could all do with something to eat right about now.”
The nymph women all perked up at this suggestion. Even Imogen stood a little straighter, giving the impression that she was shyer than the others.
“Oh, that’s a wonderful idea,” Lulu said. “You really are a keeper.”
“But what will we eat?” Melody asked.
“I’m not sure about that,” Ben admitted. “I ate everything I brought with me from … from our campsite.” That was a close call. He wasn’t prepared to explain where he was from to these women just yet.
“And I’m not sure we really want to try what the mountain ogres were cooking on that fire,” he added.
Vinata shook her head. “I can assure you, even if you are … meat-eaters, you don’t want to try it.” She shuddered at the mention of meat-eaters. That must have been a dryad thing. Ben made a mental note to ask more about that later.
“Let me help,” Vinata volunteered. “I am skilled at finding food in the forest.”
Melody made a face. “Vegatables.”
Vinata raised an eyebrow. “Does the catgirl only want to eat mice?”
Ben raised a hand in a placating gesture. “Alright everyone, stay calm, please. We’ve all had a rough day, and we’re hungry. I’m sure forest cuisine will do just fine for now. Vinata, if you could get us something to eat, that’d be much appreciated. I’ll come with you and help.”
He looked at Melody, hoping to communicate his silent question: Will you be OK here with the others?
Melody fixed him with a serious stare that suggested she could fry these women with her wand if given the slightest provocation. It didn’t make Ben all that comfortable, but at least Melody would be safe.
Melody nodded. “We’ll stay and clean up here then.”
“Thank you, Melody,” he said. “Don’t worry, we’ll find you something more suitable to eat later. For now, we just need to fill our stomachs.”
Melody nodded and looked mollified. “Lulu, Imogen, if you could help me, we will get this camp cleaned up. Benjamin and I have other tasks to attend to in the vicinity of the ruins, so we may be staying here for a few days. If Benjamin thinks it appropriate, you may stay with us in the meantime.”
“Sure,” he said. “You three are welcome to stay with us as long as you like. I’m not sure where your homes are or how you’ll get back to them, but that’s probably a question that’d be better to think about once we’ve all got full stomachs.”
The trio of former slaves seemed pleased with this suggestion.
“Benjamin,” Melody said, “I will retrieve your rucksack and have everything ready for your return.”
“That’d be damn decent of you, Melody, thank you. We won’t be long.”
The other two nymphs joined Melody, who began giving instructions. He was surprised at how thoughtful Melody was proving to be already. He had total confidence, leaving the campsite to her.
Ben stepped through the doorway and turned to Vinata. “Please, lead the way.”
Vinata came out to join him, and they walked away from the campfire, toward the forest. He took the scimitar with him, figuring one never knew what danger might lurk in woods like this. He could feel his mana slowly returning to him, but it would be a little while before he’d have enough to cast even the weakest version of the Drain spell.
Outside, as Ben and Vinata walked through the village, the lighting was better than it had been in the dim hut. He got a better look at the dryad woman as she led him to the opposite end of the village from where he’d first entered it.
Her pert ass and petite breasts were supported by what appeared to be foliage. The bikini she was wearing was made from bright green clusters of leaves, woven together. The clothing looked very natural and comfortable.
Her smooth dark skin contrasted with her clothing in a way that did indeed look very much like the bark of a tree. If he could have imagined what a dryad would look like, that would have been it.
Ben couldn’t help admiring how Vinata’s cute ass moved as she daintily glided along on her smooth and sinewy legs. When he’d heard from Melody that nymphs were technically from the monster races, he had never imagined that a monster woman could be so sexy.
“Ew,” Vinata exclaimed in disgust.
With some effort, Ben tore his eyes from the female’s captivating behind and picked up the pace to walk beside her.
“What’s wrong?” he asked. Had she caught me staring?
“All these … buildings!” She almost spat as she pointed at the stone ruins we were passing.
He had to suppress a laugh. “Not your taste in architecture?”
Vinata glanced at him in surprise. “You’ve never met a dryad before, have you?”
“Can’t say I have.” He felt a prickle of heat at the back of his neck. He hoped he wouldn’t have to explain where he’d come from, because he still wasn’t sure how to go about doing that.
“We have no architecture,” Vinata tersely explained.
“What do you live in then?” His curiosity was piqued.
“We live in the trees, silly.” Vinata laughed. “What need do we have of architecture? All these structures are just…gross. At least they’re all falling apart and the forest will reclaim them soon.”
If Ben had understood Melody correctly, these buildings were the remains of his former empire, which he would soon be rebuilding.
“So, I take it you’re a bit of a nature lover?” he asked.
Vinata looked at him, confused. She flicked her bright green hair to one side and indicated her leafy underwear with a gesture of her dainty fingers. “Uh, I suppose you could say that.”
Ben realized how silly the question was as soon as the words had left his mouth. Of course a being of nature would be a nature lover. He chalked up his lack of brainpower to his brain still being fried from all the fighting and draining. “Tell me more about your people,” Ben said, trying to change the subject. “As you can probably guess, I’ve never met dryads before. What’s it like where you come from?”
Vinata smiled warmly. “My mother is the high priestess of the dryads. She leads our people in magical ceremonies in time with the seasons. Through the magic of our people, we are able to defend and nurture the forest, allowing it to flourish. The forest cannot flourish in such ways when exposed to the depredations of abominable races that cut down and destroy, and-and-and build things!”
She said the world “build” as if it were the most disgusting thing imaginable.
“Sounds like you dryads are big on this whole ‘harmony with nature’ thing.”
Vinata smiled at him, a dreamy expression on her face. “If only you could see the Temple of Flowers,” she said.
“The Temple of Flowers? I thought you hated buildings.”
Vinata smiled. “It’s not a building. It is made of great trees and leafy bushes, grown and entwined together. It is the sacred site where my mother serves. It was once a temple dedicated to the Forgotten Ruler, but the dryads have maintained it for the worship of the forest deities for many generations now.”
Ben started at the mention of the Forgotten Ruler, but fortunately in the darkness that went unnoticed. He made a mental note to visit this place at some point.
“My family resides near this temple,” Vinata continued. “We live in harmony with the forest. The plants and trees in that region defend us with traps, and the animals nearby will attack any intruders. Here—hold on.”
Vinata stepped over to an accumulation of the glowing mushrooms. She squatted and grabbed a couple handfuls of them. Once standing again, she approached Ben and handed him a few of them.
“These will be use
ful to see our way.”
“Like…some kind of organic flashlight,” said Ben, taking them.
“Flash-what?”
“Nothing. Anyway, you have a kind of deal with the trees there?”
Vinata furrowed her brow, clearly puzzled as the two of them continued.
“You look after the forest and it looks after you?” he explained.
“Yes, you could say that,” Vinata agreed. “My father leads the forces of the Vineguard. If any intruders get past the forest’s defenses and attempt to harm the trees, we drive them away. And my mother sustains the magical life of the forest there, so we give back to the forest, though we could never give back as much as we receive.”
While all this nature speak sounded a little out there, Ben found Vinata’s passion endearing. It made him hope he could meet these dryads.
“How do you maintain this arrangement?” he asked. “Do you have some way of communicating with the forest? What stops the trees from attacking you?” He still found it hard to imagine trees attacking people, but he was learning not to rule anything out of the realm of possibility in this strange new world.
Vinata laughed. “Wow, you really don’t know much about dryads. We communicate with the forest. Many of the trees can talk, in their own peculiar language. Have you never heard them when the wind is blowing?”
“Can’t say that I have.” Ben wondered if these were the talking trees Melody had been so upset about in his hotel room. Something told him she and these dryad women could end up having some feisty altercations.
“Well, we can talk to these trees,” Vinata said.
“Can you tell me what they’re saying now?” he asked. They’d walked probably half a mile outside of the town now, and they were surrounded by nothing but dense forest. He trusted that Vinata could lead them back again.
Vinata blushed, her dusky cheeks turning a slightly darker shade. “I am inexperienced in our craft. I can only make out what the trees are feeling if I listen closely. I cannot yet fully understand them, nor communicate with them.”
“But you will be able to one day?” Ben asked.
