7 days....
The following morning Prād and Sanjaya headed out towards the forest carrying a basket between them, Prād limping despite his best efforts. Tercia had cautioned against going into the forest with only the two of them, however, Sanjaya dismissed her concern. Most of the hunting spiders were dead along with the ettercap that had lead them and he knew that the others would not likely leave their webs.
Once they got closer to the forest, Elhandriel, sitting comfortably on the embroidered cloth that covered the contents of the basket withdrew her focus and became visible once more. Over her bandages, she was wearing simple garment that Prād had made by folding a piece of cloth in half and cutting holes for her head and wing stalks, tied at the waist by another tiny strip of cloth.
With no real paths the three of them, guided by the pixie, cautiously followed various game trails and gaps in the foliage in the direction of the dryad's sacred tree. After about an hour of slow progress, the trio began to encounter thick strands of web. "We're close, " said Elhandriel, looking somewhat excited. Prād handed the basket over to Sanjaya, lit a torch and carefully moved the webs aside with his staff, burning away whatever was necessary. He was exceedingly cautious not to set anything on fire but with the recent rain, the webbing only shriveled away and did not ignite. Fortunately, there were neither spiders nor ettercaps.
A few minutes later, they came across a massive tree, its flanged, buttress root system splaying out in large, woody ridges from a trunk that was easily the width of two people with their arms wide. Strands of web hung from its branches and wrapped its trunk, dressing the majestic tree in a grey shroud.
"Wow, where do we even start?" Sanjaya pulled at some webs but they were far too strong to break. "We can't burn them without risking upsetting the dryad." He pulled out his dagger and after a few seconds of sawing, managed to cut some strands. "This barely works...." As they were trying to figure out what to do next, the soft sound of laughter came from within the boughs of the tree.
Sitting on one of the thick lower branches, one leg dangling down, the other pressed against her chest, was a strange, youthful looking looking woman. Her skin the colour of bark and her eyes green like budding leaves of her tree, her hair layered shades of light and dark brown, adorned with small blossoms. Prād's eyes widened and his face turned red. Aside from some floral bangles and bracelets which looked like they were still growing, the dryad wasn't wearing anything. He quickly looked away, struggling to control himself. Sanjaya on the other hand was unphased and simply admired her fey beauty for a moment before addressing her.
"Greetings lady Karya," said Sanjaya with a bow. "My name is Sanjaya, I'm here on behalf of the town of Lone Creek. We believe that the ettercaps are a concern for both of us. I have brought some gifts in the hopes that we may form an alliance. "
"Karya!" Exclaimed Elhandriel who proceeded to speak excitedly in the strange, melodic language of the fey. While they were distracted, Sanjaya set down the basket between the flanged roots and and took the opportunity to surreptitiously cast his language divination.
"... and then these humans found me and have been looking after me."
The Dryad took a long look at the humans, her eyes lingering on Prād - who was staring fixedly at his feet and spoke slowly with a strange, ancient accent. "The forest has seen your progress, from a few explorers digging in the mountains to the village that is there now. You came with saws and axes and cut our trees, destroying our homes to make your own. So we called on the spiders to defend us, and you left us alone. Now even the spiders have left us, taken by new masters, but they can do nothing to us. My tree is strong and they cannot break it. The forest saw your people at the temple, burning your way in. Why should the forest help you?"
Sanjaya contemplated her words, her attitude was inline with his expectations, and carefully formulated his response. "I understand your perspective. With a better understanding of the forest and its nature the people of the town, under your guidance, could operate in a way that benefits your forest, helping with planting, protection, fires and sick animals. We can also benefit you in other ways, please come down and take a look at these gifts...."
"I could plant a garden of the rare herbs that you have here," added Prād.
Elhandriel stood up on the basket, hands on her hips. "Come on Karya, you know you need their help to get rid of the spider masters".
"Hush little one." The fey words from the dryads lips sounding like leaves in a stream. "You are a hundred years too young to advise me. Humans are cunning, short-lived creatures and their agreements do not last."
Her gaze turned back to the humans. "I will consider your offer. In the meantime, please remove these webs from around my tree. You may use fire but do be careful." With that, she seemed to melt into the branch on which she was sitting leaving Sanjaya and Prād somewhat bewildered.
About half an hour later, they had made considerable progress, pulling away clumps of dirty webbing and burning where necessary. Sanjaya contemplated the webs in his hand. They were dirty and barely still sticky, but strong, soft and flexible. He wondered if it were possible to make a cloak or other garments from it. There would need to be a way to treat it and protect it from fire though.... He had no clue what the process would be like but it seemed like a good idea, so he gathered up some of the longer stretches for later experimentation. At that moment, he noticed that both the basket with gifts and Elhandriel had disappeared at some point. Perhaps the dryad was more interested in what they had brought than she had let on.
As they were clearing away the last of the reachable webs, the dryad emerged from the tree, stepping from its trunk like someone walking out of a waterfall. Prād gave her a startled look and quickly focused his gaze elsewhere.
"We have decided to assist for now but have some conditions. I will do my best to keep the spiders from attacking you, in return you will only kill in self defense. Spiders are simple creatures, I will incite their patience and caution while the ettercaps will incite their hunger, I cannot say to whom they will listen. Once the ettercaps are dead, all humans are to leave the forest."
Sanjaya thought for a moment. She was taking a hard stance, but he felt that there was room for a more amicable agreement. "Lady Karya, I am glad that you are willing to assist, however, some of the townsfolk, myself included, wish to explore the temple. I am particularly interested in any remaining knowledge and the others wish to see if there is any ancient treasure left behind. Additionally, if we simply leave, there is no lasting benefit and eventually, ignorant humans will begin to chop down trees and when you defend, they will attack. Only by sharing your wisdom could such an unfortunate fate be avoided."
"You have a valid point." The corners of the dryad's mouth turned up slightly. "I will also allow this young man to plant his garden under my supervision. Tell me, what are your intentions towards Elhandriel?" She gestured toward one of the flanged roots where the pixie was sitting as though she had never left.
"I have no intentions," said Sanjaya. "We rescued her because she called for help. She has been very useful in my research and is welcome to stay as long as she likes. I have heard of priests in the capitol with divine magics that could restore her wings, but such rare services are expensive and in great demand. I know that there are people who would capture and cage her. She would fetch a high price as a curiosity or a nobleman's display piece so staying in human territory is not without risks. This is why we have kept her hidden. I imagine that she would prefer to return to her people, but I would be sad to see her go. My only promise is that I will not restrict her freedom."
"I have no people." Elhandriel's voice was a hollow whisper. Her eyes brimmed with tears, then her expression changed, her tiny, scarred face twisted with helpless anger. "I hate them. I hate what they did to me. They killed my friends and my family. They burned my wings." Her voice changed from a venomous whisper to a rage-filled scream. "I HATE them!"
Prād squatted next to the pixie and said simply: "You are not alone." He crossed his legs, closed his eyes and took a deep breath through his nose. Simply being present.
"The forest has spoken a harsh truth, without people or wings, she will not be able to survive here." The dryad held out her hand and a branch of her tree dipped within reach. Buds emerged and opened into flowers, the flowers withered and became small, red berries. The dryad took the handful of berries, giving one to the pixie and the rest to the young monk sitting next to her. "A gift for a gift. These will help with your injuries. Eat them before the sun sets. Now go. I will be watching."
The walk home was a quiet one. Prād had eaten one of the berries and marveled at its effects. Feeling the healing energy, he circulated his ki, visualising the wound on his leg and washing it in green light. The pain was rapidly diminishing. He would certainly perform a more focused meditation using the rest of the berries once they arrived back at the inn.
Elhandriel sat on Sanjaya's shoulder enveloped in a gloomy silence. The news had hit her hard. Her world had crumbled. She didn't know what to do or where to go, entirely reliant on humans that she had recently met. Filled with despair and hatred, she could only lament her situation. Having heard that there may be a way to restore her wings gave her a thin sliver of hope, tenuous as it may be.
Sanjaya was replaying the encounter in his mind. He thought it had gone rather well. The dryad would help and had agreed to allow Prād to act as an emissary. He wished that he had asked more about the temple and its previous inhabitants, but Karya did not seem comfortable with their presence and was not forthcoming with information - she had dismissed them before he could even ask. Still, the channels were open.
They reached the riverside inn around midday and after fending off Terica with few choice pieces of information, Sanjaya headed towards the barracks to inform Jack Slate of the developments, leaving Prād and Elhandriel to meditate and heal. As he approached the training grounds, he was welcomed by sounds of shouted orders and the thunk of wooden weapons on training dummies. Everyone who was to participate in the upcoming temple raid was undergoing mandatory training under the strict eye of captain Slate. Not wanting to interrupt, Sanjaya joined the small group of archers but since his crossbow bolts were in short supply, he decided not to fire any, instead loading and firing the empty crossbow to get the hang of the structure and style of the orders that he would follow.
Once the training was complete, Sanjaya relayed the events of the morning.
"So she'll help us, but we mustn't attack any spiders except in self defense...." Surmised the captain. "That sounds good. But what about exploring the temple? It's going to be difficult if we need to leave the spiders be and a lot of the men are only really here in the hopes of finding something. Then there's that 'spider queen' that you mentioned earlier. I bet that if there's anything to find, she'll be the one sitting on it."
"I don't know," replied Sanjaya with a shrug. "I imagine we can discuss these things when they come up. The dryad - Karya - didn't grant us much of an audience but she will be present, perhaps she intends to facilitate the exploration - after all, spiders have no interest in treasure." 'Except maybe as bait' his mind added but he did not voice these thoughts.
Back at the Riverside inn, Prād was showing off his leg to Tercia. "Can you believe its fully healed?"
Tercia eyed out his muscular thigh. "Amazing. I wonder what else she can heal. My husband's knees always give him trouble in the cold - that's why you don't see him around much in the winter... I wonder if she can help with that. Did she say which gifts she liked? Maybe it was the preserves. I'm sure she's never had preserves before, living in a forest and all."
"Well," Prād's face flushed slightly, "I think she needs some clothes...."
Sanjaya was in his room, carefully removing Elhandriel's bandages. The angry red burn marks had significantly receded, and the weeping scabs had closed leaving mottled skin and fresh scars. No further treatment would be needed. Looking at the bandages, he noticed traces of a silvery powder glittering in the lamp light. "What is this?" he asked.
Elhandriel looked at the bandages and her face lit up. "Pixie dust!"
She gave a little dance and shook her body, a few tiny, scattered particles fell from her onto her pillow where they evaporated after a few seconds. "My pixie dust is coming back!"