“Just what do you think you’re doing?”
When Arion heard the feminine voice behind him, his stomach sank. He fumbled with his trousers and robes beside the tree.
“My apologies, m’lady,” he said struggling with his belt, “It seems I had a little too much to drink before my journey, so I had to stop for a-“
He fell silent when he turned and saw the dryad staring at him from the bushes with large almond-shaped eyes. A cluster of ivy leaves clung wildly about her flaming red hair from which a pair of elongated ears sprang on either side of her head.
“You had to stop and water my grove, is that it?” she said revealing herself.
“Forgive me, your ladyship, I didn’t know it was your grove,” said Arion immediately gathering his robes and the staff that was leaning against the tree. “I will not disturb you any longer and will be on my way.”
The dryad followed him. She moved swiftly and gracefully as she caught up to him in the middle of the road.
“Not so fast, mage,” she said and blocked his path. “You need to tell me what you’re doing in my woods before I let you pass.”
The wizard cleared his throat.
“I’m Arion of Hawkview. I was just passing by on my way to the Keep. I have all my traveling permits, so…” he said letting the sentence hang in the air.
The dryad raised an eyebrow.
“Tell me, Arion of Hawkview,” she said, “why are you a liar?”
Arion put his hand on his heart as if shocked and wounded.
“You've been hanging around here since mid-afternoon,” she told him. “I've seen every naughty thing you've done. I know that your horse is right behind those trees. It’s a very convenient spot for an easy and strategic getaway if one were to need an easy and strategic getaway for some mysterious (and possibly nefarious) reason. Further!” she said snapping her fingers, “I know that those empty sacks are yours. Gathering herbs were we?”
Arion looked at the sacks on the side of the road and looked surprised.
“Those are not mine.”
“Don’t lie, you sneaky mage!” she said wagging her slender finger.
He took a deep breath and sighed. He had dealt with dryads before, and it had been a less-than-pleasant experience. At least it had been for him; the dryads, on the other hand, seemed to have enjoyed the tricks they played on him.
“This has been very entertaining,” said Arion, “but I have to continue my journey.”
He turned to leave, but the dryad was quick and grabbed his forearm.
“Are you mad, creature?” Arion said in surprise. “Let me go!”
The dryad held on to him with both hands then threw her weight upon him and wrestled him to the ground.
Just then, a large black wagon, drawn by a couple of equally black horses, appeared around the bend.
“Woahhh!” shouted the driver to the horses, who upon seeing the pair on the ground halted their advance with loud cries and commotion.
“Oy! What in the Lord of Demons are you two doing down there?” shouted the driver in common speech.
The dryad shook herself free of Arion’s grasp and standing up, she dusted herself off, and faced the driver.
“I am Nadine of Zylania,” she said with a slight accent, “guardian of the grove and protector of all creatures that dwell there.”
“Whoever you are,” said the man hoarsely, “I have business to attend to. Move aside!”
“This is my forest!” said Nadine standing straight with hands on hips. “You’re not passing through until you state your business.”
The driver grumbled but finally said, “by order of the crown, I am transporting orphans from West Gate to the coast. Here are my papers. If you don’t believe me, you can take a peek in the wagon, but make it quick because I want to get out of this forsaken forest before nightfall.”
Nadine ignored his insult as she walked past him and moved aside the wagon cover to reveal several small hooded figures huddled inside.
“Are you okay?” she asked them.
“Yes!” they said in unison.
She closed the flap and then walked up to Arion, who had been standing quietly with his staff by the side of the road.
“Would you care to explain why you were about to ambush and rob those orphans?” she asked him.
Arion glanced at the driver then leaned closer to Nadine. “He’s lying,” he whispered. “Look closely at the so-called orphans.”
Nadine plucked an ivy leaf from her hair, raised it to her lips, and muttered a few incomprehensible words. The leaf shimmered and disappeared in a puff of sparkling air.
“Tell me,” she said walking up to the driver. “Are you my friend?”
“Am I your friend? Why do you ask such silly-“
“Aren’t you my friend?” she repeated with wide staring eyes and a wave of her fingers.
“Yesssss,” he said, shoulders dropping, eyes glazed. “I am your friend.”
“Friends don’t keep secrets from each other, do they?” said the dryad with her cheek on his leg. “Then tell me exactly what you are up to.”
“I am carrying stolen goods under the guise of transferring orphans,” said the driver in a monotone voice.
“Who are those children?”
“They… are… not… children,” said the man, struggling with himself to keep quiet.
“They’re halflings!” shouted Arion. “Watch out!”
The horses cried out, reared back their powerful legs, and shook the wagon. Inside it, there was much shouting and cursing, then a band of small figures jumped out and clambered on top with bows and arrows drawn.
“Do not even think about it!” shouted the dryad.
An arrow struck the ground near her foot with a thud.
Mumbling arcane words, Arion raised his staff. There was a tearing sound as a bolt of lightning crackled and struck one of the archers perched on top of the wagon.
Nadine raised her arms and chanted in an ancient language while her fair skin turned the colour and texture of polished oak.
One of the halflings charged at her, sword raised, but he didn’t get far before he was entangled in vines that wrapped around his legs and dragged him into the forest kicking and screaming.
“A dryad! A dryad!” the calls rang out.
More halflings jumped out of the wagon.
Nadine ran to the side of the road and grabbed a surprised Arion by the robes.
Before he knew what was happening, Arion flew headlong into a tree. He raised his hand to brace for impact but instead found himself flying through the air and onto a bed of ivy.
He looked around trying to orient himself then keeled over and threw up.
“Oh gross,” said the dryad scrunching up her face.
“Traveling cantrips are not my favourite,” a very pale Arion said and wiped his lips with a cloth. "Where are we?"
The sound of hoofs and wheels thundered through the forest.
“Quick! They’re getting away,” she yelled.
Arion shook his head.
“I have learned my lesson,” he said picking up his staff from the ground. “I'm not a highway robbery kind of man. I will need to find another way to fund my experiments.”
Nadine returned in a little while, her laughter ringing out like a bell.
“Wasn’t that fun?” she said, her gaze following the departing wagon in the distance. “You wizards are crazy!”
Arion closed his eyes, his stomach still feeling queasy. He began to walk along the road.
“Too bad they got away,” Nadine said walking beside him, “but next time, we’ll have a better plan.”
“Next time?” said Arion stopping to look at her as if she was mad.
“Come on! Don’t you think we make a good team? Half the traffic along this road is all ruffians and cretins anyway. I can smell them leagues away. So, what do you say? You and I clean up the realm?”
The wizard folded the empty sacks and carried them under his arm.
“An interesting proposition,” he responded as one would to a child who just proposed traveling to the sky. “Steal riches from thieves, and then what? Give them to the poor?”
“Sure!” said the dryad with bright eyes.
“Hm. Let me think about it,” he said when he reached his horse, who had been patiently waiting behind a cluster of trees.
“Don’t think about it too long,” she replied waving her fingers, “or I might have to start without you.”
Back on his horse, the wizard rode across the forest, his mind filled with ideas of what could have been had he gotten his hands on the loot. If it hadn’t been for that meddling creature, his plans would’ve worked out. She had ruined his concentration, but at least she had also made a good point: he needed to learn how to make better plans.
As he raced along the vale, he thought about the dryad’s offer to rid the realm of evil but quickly dismissed it. Never get involved in the affairs of fairy folk was a common refrain among humans. Still, her sly smile and emerald eyes remained in his mind the rest of the journey.
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| X | InLeo | NFT Showroom |
Images generated by @litguru using Generative Art software