"What is this?" Kigen demanded as he continued looking. He was having a hard time processing what he was seeing. He understood what he saw, it was just quite hard to process it.
First, there were the piles of glowing gems. With just a glance, Kigen could tell they were extremely precious. However, this was not the only thing inside there. Besides the pile of gems, there was also a pile of shiny looking armor. There were also rods, spears, and other kinds of weaponry.
What was amazing about all this was they were all fairy sized.
Kigen was practically drooling as he stared at the crazy amounts of wealth in the ring. He couldn't understand why the druid would hand over such precious amounts of resources just like that.
After a few more minutes of him exploring what he just received, he turned his attention to the druid. He didn't ask anything, but the question still hand in the air. This was just too much money to just give away.
"You want to know why?" The druid asked, seeing Kigen's look.
"Yes," Kigen answered. The others were still in shock, Nixa desperately wanted to know what was in the pendant. Based on Kigen's reaction, it was pretty mind boggling.
On the druids' side, several of them also wanted to know. This was their prized possession, and their elder was just giving them away. He had not explained it to them too, so they wanted to find out as well.
With everyone looking at him, the elder smiled. His eyes held a certain glint. He then turned and looked at the fairies, and then the druids, before speaking, "This is a gamble, this much is true."
He continued to smile that careless smile loaded with some undertones. After a while, he turned around and said with a seriousness no one expected, "I am sick of living like this. I want to see a glimpse of what we once were, before I die. All I have are stories. With this, and fairies, we stand a chance."
After such a passionate speech, he turned to Kigen and asked. "Noble fairy, do you think this is enough to give you a chance?"
"Yes. I think they are more than enough, but the truth is, we don't know the power of the enemy, and so we cannot really be sure," Kigen answered. Thinking of those mountains of gems, Kigen wanted to see what a boost in power they could provide for the entire fairy family.
The way the mother tree worked was, if one fairy gained a boon in something, then all other fairies got a share too, as long as they were jacked in. Same went for future generations.
"I have to be honest with you about my expectations," Elder Maa said. "This is an investment in the future. A joining of our people. This is not just some temporary alliance, but a union of two groups. The enemy in the bog is just the first obstacle, not the end goal. That wealth is my contribution towards that future."
Kigen could feel the druid's sincerity. He also understood somewhat the ideas the old man was purporting. What got Kigen the most was the willingness to invest in their future. Did this prove their trust in them, or just a desperate act of a dying druid? Kigen couldn't tell, but he wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth.
Just as the conversation was going on, a little fairy suddenly appeared.
"What?" Kigen demanded, "Another attack?" The fairy only nodded as they tried to catch their breath. Kigen did not even wait. Shooting like a bullet, he suddenly disappeared in the skies, leaving the druids behind. The other fairies took a moment to catch on before also turning and running back to the mother tree.
Kigen had been anticipating this. The moment he left the mother tree, he knew they would know, no matter how discreet he'd been. Hence, he was always on the lookout for any messengers, anyone delivering those bad news. The moment the fairy arrived, he braced himself for the worst.
Moving at blitzing speed, he made it back to the mother tree in mere moments. As expected, he found his kin embroiled in a huge fight with the mysterious looking birds. Their ugly faces, jagged beaks, and rooting flesh made for a grotesque look. Now, more than ten of those birds were swooping in and out around the mother tree.
Kigen could make out his kin desperately trying to hold them back. The younger ones were huddled up deep in the mother tree's foliage. This was the new plan after their brush with kidnapping.
This time, he did not rush in headfirst but took some time to observe the surrounding. He could tell that this was some probing effort. The real enemy was concealed somewhere.
"The guardian has appeared," Mongik whispered as he looked up into the skies where Kigen was. Rather than attacking, Kigen was just hovering there, looking around.
"Why is it not attacking?" A voice was heard from the nearby puddle of water.
"Something's not right, could he have found some help?" Mongik asked once more.
"Mongik, how you disappoint me," A gruff voice was heard. From up in the tree overlooking the two, a strange bird was perched. This was the one that had spoken. "That little fairy is the one that has you this scared?"
"Go ahead, attack him," the puddle of mud under the tree retorted.
"It is unwise to underestimate the fairy. It has proven to be more than resourceful," Dianah interjected.
"See, Mongik, that's how cowards talk." the bird barked back. Some of the other puddles of mud nearby were flinching. Their commander was being looked down on, which meant they were being looked down by extension. Unfortunately, this is how it worked. They had suffered a serious loss, and that opened up to criticism and mockery.
"By the way, in case you haven't noticed, I've been attacking. It's your guardian that's refusing to take the bait," the bird retorted. He forced the birds to make even more desperate lunges at the fairies, trying to draw out the ire of the guardian.
"What do you have planned?" Mongik demanded. He wondered if this was a nefarious plot or just some bird fronting.
"Nothing major, just a test," the bird replied. "Do you think the fairies are immune to death energy?"
Mongik did not answer. From his vantage point, he could not see a thing, but they were all monitoring the situation in their minds. Since they were psychically linked, the bird was projecting the view from the birds onto the other golems.
Neither golem liked the bird. Of the many creatures under the master, only this bird remained mostly unchanged. It was like the master's favorite pet, and he showered it with resources. It also served as his most favored tool for attacking, testing the enemy's weakness, as well as defending.
Due to the master's favoritism, the bird was not very liked by its cohorts. That did not seem to slow it down, and it paraded around as though it was superior to all others. Now, it had been tasked to test the strength of the guardian, and he was not taking the bait.
"Do you think he's afraid?" the bird asked nonchalantly.
"Afraid of what? Your little birds?" Mongik scoffed.
"Well, he failed to kill them the last time they met," the bird mused. "Could be, it fears my bird and would not dare come close."
"As if!" By now, Mongik was hoping that Kigen and the fairies teach this fool a lesson he'd never forget.
Suddenly, a scream was heard. One of the birds in the field of vision came crashing down. Even the bird did not see what happened. Then came another, and another. In quick succession, five birds came down.
"What's happening?" The bird demanded. It turned one of the birds to look at the fairy guardian, but the thing was not where it had been just moments ago. Where did it go? More importantly, was it responsible for the deaths?
Just as the bird was looking around confused, two more birds came falling from the heavens, leaving only three.
"You better call back your birds or you won't have any left," Mongik happily warned, not bothering to conceal his glee.
His warning came too late. By the time the bird thought of calling the remaining birds back, they too had also come falling down.
Nina and the rest of the fairies were also just as shocked as the golems. They had not even seen Kigen's approach. All they knew is that they had been in a hard fight, and the next moment, they enemies started dropping from the skies.
Just as they were wondering, they noticed their kin flying back. These were Nixa and the others that had accompanied Kigen. Now was when they were arriving. It was then that Kigen revealed himself.