CHAPTER 1.14 - THE WOMAN OF THE WOODS: IV
As Hugo and Rian look on, Thae and Anuk finish their conversation with Thaesurala. The dryad’s expression is serious; however she embraces the pair in turn. As they return to Rian and Hugo, the woman of the woods walks into the trunk of her oak tree. This time, she exhibits neither hesitation nor difficulty; surprisingly, it has ceased to look jarring. The woman’s skin takes on the tone of the tree’s bark as she melds into it and to Hugo’s eye, her head leans back a little in a gesture he reads as pleasure. He can’t shake the mental image of slipping into a warm bath.
Anuk’s expression is quizzical, her eyes darting to the small collection of items at the halfling’s feet but Thae, ever the servant, brings the companions up to speed. “We have a good description of the man, this Nobody, we believe.” Thae glances in Anuk’s direction “And Anuk kindly promised that, should we meet him, she would tell him of his child.” Anuk, rather than shooting an angry glare at Thae, simply says “I’d remind him of his responsibilities to both Thaesurala and the boy.” She looks back at the little nest in which the child is still sleeping. “Nobody seems to share colouring with his son. Stark white skin, although his is covered with black tattoos. Seems like he’s bald, although we think that he has black eyebrows.” Thae nods. “It seems our dryad friend is unwilling to give the child a name in absence of the father. Anyway, did you find anything, Hugo?” The latter said brightly, expectantly.
Hugo picks up one of the proto-coins, the thin metal dancing across his fingers as he executes a perfect knuckle roll. “Well, I hope he’s around to name it. Nothing magical about these – they’re zirconium. Although I’ve never seen it so black. My guess – no confirmation – is that they’re currency? He maybe left his pet, this weapon and some money?” He can see Anuk’s reaction, senses she believes he’s full of shit and performance. Well then, better improve the show. He returns the coins to their pouch, places them carefully into his new satchel. “Oh, did you see? Rian made this for me!” He beams with pleasure at the man, whose eyes seem suddenly to be averted. Anuk looks on, but Thae makes a murmur of approval. “I saw you working, quite lovely, Rian.” The big man shifts uncomfortably, so Hugo takes over duty as ringmaster.
“The dagger’s fascinating. It is magical…” Hugo sees Anuk’s gaze fix on the blade as he, ever the showman, rolls the blade from his palm to the back of his hand, catching and switching his grip to the handle. “…but barely so. I don’t even have a name for the metal, but the effect seems intrinsic TO it. Kindof supports your theory, Thae; it’s lethal to our hostess’s kind, but!” He sees the flash of anger in Anuk, seeks to head it off. “I’m not sure he would even know that. It needn’t be intentional, if it does come from the opposite plane to Thaesurala’s. You know, somewhere hostile to life? Makes sense it would be anathema to a creature so tied into the seasons, life itself.”
Then the big finish. He picks up the monocle reverentially, carefully, no tricks this time. “Now this is baffling. It is magic. It was created, empowered. Schools of…Enchantment and Abjuration?” Surprisingly, Anuk fills in, noting Rian’s and Thae’s blank looks. “Enchantment means like Thaesurala’s charm; it’s a bit of a messy school, does a range of things, but emotions and such are key. Abjuration tends to be protective. Like a spell to shield or even un-knit a hostile effect.” She looks flatly at the faces of her colleagues. “Wizards.., they’re always putting things into pigeonholes.”
Hugo smiles brightly at the pale woman. “BUUT…it’s not working properly, look here.” He is rewarded as the others lean in to watch him run his nail around the diameter of the loop. “See? Here there’s a tiny crack. Not a full split, but still.” He frowns. “It seems too well created, blended, to have been made so fragile. An artefact of this quality should be very difficult to break. Sadly, because it’s flawed, I can’t get a proper read on its intended effects, but it seems to be tied into emotions.”
Rian clears his throat “So…it brought us here, and Nobody was here. Stands to reason it’s his, the visions and…stuff?” Anuk shrugs, as Hugo and Thae are twinned in uncertain nods. As Rian begins to reach his hand out to Hugo, he can’t resist asking. “So, big man. You haven’t used it since we arrived, am I right?” Rian nods silently. “I think we should see if it has any effect on someone other than you.” The woodsman looks uncomfortable as Hugo continues. “I volunteer. I really want to see this other place. If it’s going to wipe me out, I’ll do it before bed.” The big man’s face has lost some, of its uncertainty. “And then it’s straight back to you, Ri.” The man drops his hand back, nodding slowly.
“I suppose that begs another question, then.” Hugo scans the others’ faces as he asks: “What do we do from here? Other than assist Anuk in hunting Nobody, of course.” The woman actually chuckles at this. “How noble, but I promised nothing, little man.” She has again adopted a posh tone, milking it ironically. Her face becomes serious immediately, though: “I need to be heading towards the Capital.” Rian looks interested at this. Hugo meets Thae’s eye, sees the half-elf’s eyebrows raising, another slow nod. “The Diamant City? Certainly Thae and I would accompany you on the road, if you’ll permit.” Rian, uncomfortable again: “I don’t have anywhere to go.” It sounds sad, but not helpless. “But I worry about Dolf and his men.” They all nod, Hugo beaming at the group.
“Well, that’s a problem for another day, but we’ll be better off guarding one other’s backs.” He looks to Rian. “You know where these bandit fuckers are based, yes?” Rian looks worried, but nods. “I have a little something in mind if we want to check them out. But I could do with some supplies.” He pantomimes a hard-luck shrug, drops into an even more impressive upper-class accent than Anuk’s. “I find myself momentarily embarrassed.”
Rian ponders, brightens. “We’d be passing close to Oakbridge…” The thought seems suddenly complex to the bearded man, his eyes darkening. Anuk, apparently oblivious, muses: “Oakbridge is a pretty little town, we could do worse en route.” Hugo sees that Thae has picked up on Rian’s difficulty but is kind enough to keep silent. Hugo looks to the sky. “It’s still early, but I think we could all do with some rest in this pretty place.” Thae nods, adding “And much as I trust our host’s capabilities, I would rather be here to assist, in case of…” Anuk takes over “…bandit fuckery.”
-x-
The afternoon passes pleasantly. Hugo spends it tootling with his lute. Or apparently so, anyway. He was maybe too bold announcing he had a plan, however he’s certain the effect he intends is within his reach. Or just a little beyond. He runs his fingers over the frets, feeling for the little bursts of potential in the notes. Anuk, he notices, is spending time reading against a tree at the edge of the clearing. From this distance, it’s hard to make out whether it’s a bound tome or a thick notebook; whichever, she seems protective of it. Thae, in between apparently endless meditations or prayers to ‘the Goddess’, sometimes drops in on the others to chat. In the instances where the half-elf approaches Anuk, Hugo notices that she’ll return the book to her pack. Neither guiltily nor obviously protectively, however Hugo’s penchant for reading tells makes him increasingly certain she doesn’t want it to be noticed. Interesting.
Each of them’s showing the strain of the previous day, none more so than Rian. The big man has spent the majority of the afternoon leaning against the trunk of Thaesurala’s tree, close enough to the child to seem protective. Hugo shuddered at first when the giant mastiff, Night, materialised next to the wild man, however Rian seemed to be uncowed. Within minutes, the giant creature was close by, accepting pats. As the afternoon grew dimmer, the giant hound grew more at ease, and seeing Rian’s restful state, curled up alongside him. Remembering the creature’s jaws encompassing his head, it feels alien to Hugo to have the beast so resemble a regular dog. He can’t, however, dispute that Rian looks extremely comfy, particularly when the sleeping man’s head slumped onto Night’s fur.
Thaesurala, too, would breeze in and out. It seemed that she had some impetus as hostess, and Hugo was certain that the blooming, radiant health she was exhibiting was subtly manifesting in her Teril. Everything about the clearing was somehow more enchanting: the foliage more colourful, the birdsong more tuneful, even the babbling of the little brook that much more…fairytale. The dryad was still feeding her uncanny child every couple of hours and appeared to be splitting her time between her tree…her Ebwyn…and wandering through the forest.
It was difficult for Hugo not to feel safe. But somehow, he managed it. Sure, the bandits might be an issue, but he had seen the little crew here thoroughly vanquish a much larger force. Following their discussion of ‘what next?’ he was confident in the short term, but an unwelcome little seed of hope was germinating inside him. Caladria was complex, dangerous even, for Thae and him, but with Rian and Anuk as a force multiplier? His head spun. And what could they accomplish if they truly became a team? He doesn’t like his resources this sparse, nor does he like a plan dependent so much on herding the wants of others. Then again, he built an impressive clique out of a bunch of outcasts, discarded people, before. Maybe he could do so again?
-x-
He starts awake, Three jumping where he lies curled on the halfling’s chest. He strokes the little creature, making soothing apologies. He looks over to Three’s “seat”, swears that the little guy must have consumed half his body weight throughout the day. “Looks like the dryad life suits you, little man?” Seemingly in recognition of the word, Three stands on his chest and points with his nose at the event which woke them.
Thaesurala has walked into the clearing from an edge, bearing a brace of rabbits, necks wrung, as well as an intricate basket woven from living wood. Even from flat on his back, Hugo can see vegetables and mushrooms, sprigs of herbs and the suggestion of more beneath. Suddenly, it strikes him just how hungry he is. Rian, seemingly up and about prior to her arrival, has approached the dryad, gratefully accepting the munificence of the woman of the wood. Anuk and Thae are beelining to her, Elvish praise and gratitude spilling from them.
Hugo sits up gently, allowing Three to slip under his shirt, blinks his eyes to clear the sleep fug. Seeing this, Thaesurala gives him the cleanest smile he has ever seen. Gods, she really wouldn’t need a magical charm. Anybody appreciative of the female form, in Hugo’s opinion, would happily follow her, do whatever they could to please her. The thought curdles a little as he returns to the mental image of Wiln, gleefully digging his own grave.
-x-
A couple of hours later, stomach fit to burst from a truly excellent rabbit stew, Hugo’s listening along to Thae and Anuk’s translated conversation with Thaesurala. Yes, they must leave; no, the dryad has no fear of bandits. Hugo suppresses a chuckle. The idea of tattered remnants of a hit squad, having pressed through a forest erupting with hostile animals, emerging into the clearing. Of them thinking they might offer harm to a wild creature more ferocious than they could imagine. And one with offspring to protect.
The dryad offers Night as guide to the nearest village; at this, the translation breaks down, as she has no conception of human names, but Rian seems unconcerned. The forest’s full of tiny settlements, such that a name might not be terribly instructive. But the big man has no doubt that they can use the place for whatever supplies they might be willing to trade. And the villagers will absolutely be able to set them on the path to larger settlements. Again, Hugo notices that Oakbridge is mentioned, however the big man now seems more certain about this as a destination. Seems he didn’t just spend the day sleeping and maintaining his equipment.
Thaesurala’s sole condition, however, is that for Night to serve they must arrive before dawn. Suddenly, Hugo’s glad for his unintended sleep. He watches as Thaesurala speaks, actually growls and barks at Night and appears to receive responses. They should aim to leave around midnight. Another round of thanks and praise for the dryad’s generosity and they set to breaking down the little camp they made. A few hours of sleep, and they’ll be able to simply stash bedrolls and leave.
