Following the guiding root whenever it popped up deeper into the verdant wilderness the trio soon arrived before a truly colossal tree. Its bark was a striking tapestry of snow-white streaks and coal-black swirls, smooth to the touch well creating an almost hypnotic contrast. Lush, vibrant green leaves cascaded from its branches that formed a natural canopy above them. They watched as the unfortunate man from earlier was secured by thick vines to a smaller tree not too far from it, still silenced by a vine in his mouth and letting out muffled groans, though John noted with a flicker of relief that the other vines merely bound his limbs, not slipping under his clothes.
"So, you led us here," John began, his voice echoing slightly in the sudden stillness as he scanned the peculiar scene, finding himself surprisingly calm. "And I must commend you for not subjecting us to the same... entanglements as him. But I'm curious," he continued, addressing the massive tree as if it understood, "Why only after we found him in your rather enthusiastic embrace?" He felt no malice from the formidable flora, only a profound sense of calm.
Faster than the eye could track, a vine shot from the great tree's trunk, coiling gently around John's arm. Its tip moving higher and brushing his cheek with an almost tender, exploring touch that startled everyone. Alice instantly raised her knife well positioning herself protectively beside John, seemingly wanting to cut the vine but before she could act, he stopped her with a raised hand.
"Don't," John instructed, his gaze steady on the vine. "It's not hurting us or acting hostile. Don't attack it yet Alice. Only if it tries to harm you or if I say so." His calm command earned him a look of utter bewilderment from her.
"No, the vine is clearly affecting your brain! It's controlling you!" Alice shrieked, her voice a theatrical crescendo. "Soon you'll probably think you're a succulent and try to plant yourself into the ground or that your compost and meant to be plant food! Nooo, you're not going to make plant food out of my cuddly bed or turn him into a plant! I can't cuddle a plant in bed!" Her overly dramatic tone made it impossible to discern if she genuinely feared his conversion to a leafy existence or if she was putting on a show for her own amusement.
Greeny, however had begun to visibly tremble, feeling a palpable aura of hostility from the grand tree that radiated outward to encompass the entire glade. The further she had been led, the more the surroundings seemed to press against her forming an unsettling, deeply unpleasant sensation for someone usually so attuned to and cherished by nature. Every fibre of her being screamed that the imposing tree was the source of this oppressive enmity but she couldn't understand why.
John gently rubbed the vine wrapped around his arm. "Alice, I'm perfectly fine. It's not doing anything and I truly don't believe it means us any harm, if it did then it would have done something by now." He tried to assure her, attempting to soothe her frantic energy. But Alice only widened her eyes and clutched her hands over herself as if suddenly needing to guard her modesty.
"Noooo, it's taken control of you and soon its vines will do bad and naughty things! It's already gotten to you and now it's trying to have you make me drop my guard! Then those tentacle things will do all sorts of terrible stuff and I'll lose my mind and end up addicted to all of it as a drooling mess for you well you end up becoming the plant lord, using me to plant your seeds to spread your various plant spawn to expand! Noooooo!" Alice cried out, her voice teetering on the edge of hysteria, though the mischievous glint in her eyes betrayed the undercurrent of excitement beneath her manufactured fear.
John was at a complete loss for how to respond to her. Alice, it appeared, harboured some rather... imaginative tastes and was now projecting them liberally onto the current situation. For a fleeting moment he was tempted to play along, to pretend the plant was indeed seizing control and that he would fulfil her outlandish predictions just to see her reaction but quickly shook his head, dispelling the absurd thought as it would carry to much risk of her snapping or causing them to jump into things too quickly.
Greeny, in stark contrast seemed genuinely terrified. Her eyes darted wildly between John's relaxed form, Alice's dramatic gesturing and the massive tree well trying desperately to shrink into herself and become as insignificant as possible. But the hostile gaze of the forest felt inescapable, all of it converging on her from the ancient arboreal giant.
Then, a chorus of small, ethereal voices almost childlike and unified echoed around them, seemingly from the very air. "We're so glad you're finally back! We were scared and worried when we changed. Some went out to look for you, but they couldn't find you. So I convinced them to stay and grow more. It's been two days and a night since we changed and in that time we pushed ourselves to transform this place while we waited for you! We knew we wouldn't need to wait long though! We hope you like what we've done Daddy! We may not have been able to show our feelings or communicate before, but we always listened and loved hearing what you had to say. We really wished we could help you! But the strange voice said this is a growing dungeon now and we think that will be able to help you now!"
Slowly, from the forest floor and the dappled shadows a host of small, almost childlike entities emerged. plant people, John thought, as he took in their forms, skins ranging from earthy browns to vibrant greens. Instead of hair they had various stalks, leafy branches or delicate blossoms adorned their heads. They varied in size, from as small as a human finger to as tall as a foot and their forms clad in clothing woven from bark or leaves. Some seemed to even have tiny, almost translucent wings like those of dragonflies that pulsed on their backs that allowed them to flit silently through the air.
Alongside them came animated stick figures, roughly the size of small dogs. Their frames appeared slender and fragile, yet they moved with a surprising strength. As they walked, their feet seemed to root and unroot from the ground with each step. They moved in a delicate procession, the stick figures leading with the smaller plant-sprites swirling around them like a living veil.
Finally, from the very heart of the black and white tree, a figure of captivating allure stepped forth. Her form was pale and exquisite, embodying a raw and primal seduction. Long, raven hair cascaded down to the middle of her back, with delicate tendrils framing a face dominated by crimson eyes, deep and striking as fresh blood. She wore a dress of black and white, clinging to her elegant figure, a thick, green vine wrapped around her waist that physically connected her to the colossal tree. Alice was instantly on high alert again, her amusement all but evaporated as she swiftly moved to stand between John and the plant woman, her face a mask of stern focus, ready for any conceivable threat.
"I may not be as big a nerd as John over here," Alice declared, her voice firm, "but I do know a thing or two from movies, I am not going to let you pull that whole seduction-kiss thing on him like that plant villain woman in that movie! And I'm sure as hell not going to let you use him for nutrients by trapping him in some fantasy well draining his life forever either! So I'm warning you now, try it and I'll be like a lumberjack and cut you down!" She said well standing defiantly, a small but formidable shield before John, receiving only an amused smile from the plant woman.
"We would never dream of harming our master," the woman from the tree purred, her voice a silken like a honeyed caress. "We are simply overjoyed that we can now properly interact with him and, perhaps, aid him in some way. And little girl," she continued, her crimson eyes twinkling, "if you were to attempt to 'cut me down,' as you so bravely put it, you would find yourself buried so deep in the earth you would truly never be found again. Yet, I must confess," she added, her gaze lingering on Alice, "he does possess rather good taste. You are quite cute indeed. I wouldn't mind sampling you, much like how our master would our bountiful fruit." She teased well moving with an unnerving grace, slowly approaching Alice before delicately reaching out to trace a finger lightly across her cheek. Alice froze, utterly speechless and unsure how to react both to her comments and actions.
Then the plant woman's gaze snapped to Greeny and the air seemed to crackle with a sudden tension. Her crimson eyes hardened, losing all trace of the playful seduction she had before. "That one though," she stated, her voice now cold and sharp, "we can all feel holds a lot of hostility towards our master. We don't understand why she is with him, but I suppose he brings her along to keep her in check. We do not question master's intentions or actions since we all hold unwavering trust in him but even so we greatly dislike that thing." Her glare burned with undisguised contempt. The stick figures raised their branch-like arms, pointing accusingly as the childlike sprites hissed, their small eyes glowing with fury directed solely at Greeny.
"What? But why?" Greeny sputtered, aghast. "I'm a fairy! We always have a good and pure nature oh incarnation of Mother Nature! If anything, they're what you should hate! Humans are horrible, foul and polluted beings who only take and destroy! So how can you side with them like this? Surely I'm far better to work with than these beings who are no better than nutrients to your mighty kind!" She argued, desperation colouring her words as she attempted to appeal to this plant women, trying to press and bank on her own self-perceived purity, hoping to gain an advantage and secure her escape by turning her against John and Alice.
Instead, Greeny was met with an even more searing glare. The stick figures advanced, their pointed branches aimed menacingly seemingly wanting to strike at her while the sprites shrieked and snarled with unbridled rage clearly having grown even angrier. With a sudden, forceful stomp of her foot the dark-haired beauty vanished from her spot before reappearing in an instant directly in front of Greeny, at the same moment that her foot struck the earth and her vanishing an appearing in front of Greeny, thick roots had erupted from the ground, lashing out like whips before coiling around Greeny, dragging her down and pressing her firmly into the soil. Her chain, held taut, pulled upward against the downward force of the roots causing her to feel as if she was being painfully stretched by the pair of different restraints. Groans of discomfort and pain swiftly escalated into piercing screams as the roots tightened, thinner ones wrapping around her arms and legs before slowly pulling them, threatening to tear her asunder. The sounds of her agony echoed through the glade as wicked thorns soon sprouted from the roots, slowly lengthening and digging into her skin.
"Listen closely, you insignificant wretch," She began, her voice a low, dangerous rumble. "For the sake of clarity, let us review a few fundamental truths. First, I am neither 'Mother Nature' nor any other ridiculous figment your deluded mind might conjure. Do I appear ancient? Do I seem burdened by the cares of motherhood? No. Second, the only filth in this vicinity resides within you. Not once have you uttered a single decent word. Even when we expressed our profound, undeniable devotion to our master you still dared to disparage and look down upon him and try to turn us against him. Your ignorance truly seems to be boundless. Third, for that audacious remark about turning our precious master into mere sustenance, we would have, without hesitation made you disappear. We would have dragged you deep into the earth, rooted ourselves within your very being and consumed you slowly for as long as you had life. We would have ensured you remained conscious though as our roots slowly spread through you, keeping you as our sustenance for ages untold on the edge of death but never allowing you to truly die. And finally, fourth, my name is Elena. A name I chose for myself that I carry with pride. Hmph."
Elena punctuated her declaration by stepping on Greeny, a deliberate, focused pressure that forced Greeny's head to sink slightly further into the soft ground. A muffled cry of pain, choked and desperate rose from beneath Elena's foot as the thorns continued to pierce her.
"Elena, dear," John's voice cut through the tension, remarkably calm amidst the aftermath of the monologue. "Could you please release her? While I hold no particular attachment to her survival, I suspect she might still prove somewhat useful. My primary concern is that you and the others might contract an illness from any sort of compost she could become. Furthermore, those cuts of hers will need treating and I'd rather not deplete too many of my medical supplies on her if I can avoid it. Unless, of course, the yarrow and onions would be willing to assist with blood clotting and act as antiseptics? Maybe with long leaves from other willing plants providing natural bandages?" He asked testingly.
Elena's rigid and cold posture softened instantly at the sound of her master's voice, a wide, almost childlike smile blooming across her face. Her eyes, suddenly wide and luminous, betrayed a dawning realization that her actions, however justified in her own fervent opinion, had caused him a measure of distress.
Meanwhile, Alice, still positioned slightly to the side chose to observe the unfolding scene with a distinct, almost predatory glint in her eyes after recovering from the Elena's teasing. A subtle, almost imperceptible tremor ran through her, a private thrill as her more fervent impulses as she savoured every bit of what was happening to Greeny. Yet, a peculiar and unwelcome thought, almost a whisper of masochistic longing seemed stirred within her that she attributed to when John had grasped her by the throat, her hand unconsciously reaching up to rub it as she wondered what it could be like if she were the one pinned, just a little less roughly, by John himself? A fiery blush erupted across her cheeks at that as a sudden, an intense heat that threatened to consume her as she glanced at him. Desperate to banish the vivid images, she frantically scanned her surroundings for a distraction, finding her gaze landing on the man from earlier, currently a pathetic bundle of wriggling limbs and muffled sobs with the vines holding him tight and a thick one still tightly stuffed in his mouth. Moving closer to him she began to gently work at the bindings, specifically the vine in his mouth. Perhaps his words, whatever they might be would provide the urgent distraction she so desperately needed from her own tumultuous thoughts.