Chapter 59: Chapter Fifty-Five – Fruits of the Forest

I couldn’t help but smile as I saw three baskets with towering mounds of coffee cherries atop them. They would be more than enough to stock my soon-to-be cafe for at least a few weeks.

“From the look on your face, might I assume I did a good job?” Lulu asked giggling.

“You did an amazing job Lulu!” I shouted as I hugged the Dryad. Nuzzling my cheek against the violet-colored skin of her shoulder. “I couldn’t be happier.”

“Wonderful,” Lulu gently petted the back of my head. “Then, may I get my treat now?”

“Of course!” I released Lulu and reached into the bag hanging from my shoulder. Producing three multi-colored crystals that Otrea had handed me before I left to visit the Dryad.

The moment Lulu saw the crystals in my hand she began drooling. Quickly snatching them away and running back to her tree. Either to hide them within it, or eat them, honestly I didn’t know. Harriette had advised me not to ask.

I stood there awkwardly for a moment, trying to remember the chant for the [Floating Disk] spell. As without it there was no way I’d make it home with the three baskets. Not in a single trip at least. When Lulu returned to my side.

“That reminds me Bernice. For a few weeks some neighboring trees have been reporting a lost faun near us. Otrea seemed disinterested in her, but it seems she injured herself pretty badly this morning. Do you think you could go assist her?”

Turning my head I gazed back at the path the led to Otrea’s caverns. I’d promised both Eurycelia and Kyra that I’d return quickly. But I didn’t feel comfortable leaving someone lost in the woods, especially if she was hurt.

“Are you incapable of assisting her?” I asked Lulu. I knew for a fact that Lulu was not tightly bound to the glittering crystal tree which served as her home, and ‘true body’. She could travel as far from it as she desired. The only reason she didn’t do so was simple self-preservation. Her Dryad body was immortal as long as her tree was not destroyed.

“She’d probably run in terror,” Lulu replied with a wry smile. “Many mortals view us as monsters. Dryads are known to capture unsuspecting travelers in their vines and then devour them. Sentient blood is supposably the best fertilizer after all.”

“I can’t imagine you eating anyone Lulu.”

“Well, not like that at least,” Lulu giggled licking between her middle and index fingers.

The obscene gesture was not lost on me and I quickly turned away from Lulu as my cheeks heated. “I’ll go find her now.”

“Do you have everything you need to heal her?”

“Of course!” I winked. “I’ve been practicing a lot since our trees started producing fruit. I can heal her and get her addicted to coffee all at once.”

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“Wonderful,” Lulu grinned. “Then I’ll leave you to it Bernice. Just follow the trees, they’ll show you where she is.”

Admittedly as cool as it was to see, Lulu's power had me a little freaked out. It just seemed unnatural to have every tree along my path bending its branches to point the way forward. 

It was a very effective showing of just how easily Lulu could exert her power over everything in her domain. Leaving me wondering what would happen if two dryads had overlapping territories. Especially if most of them actually were the monsters mortals believed them to be.

I continued along the forest, idly following the pointing trees on autopilot. As my mind continued to mule over Lulu and dryad culture in general. When I finally stumbled upon the girl.

Curled up by the edge of a small pond, was a human-ish-looking girl with bright blond hair. Currently soaking a torn piece of her tattered off-white dress in the stagnant water. Wiping the cloth along a deep gash in her arm before soaking it in the water again.

At first, I believed she was a child. As even sitting down it was obvious she couldn’t possibly stand more than a few centimeters taller than Eskame. But the more I watched her, the more I noticed the curves of her body. As well as some non-human features like her hands having one less finger than expected.

The non-human features alone meant I couldn’t use my human-biased brain to guess her age. After all, I’d have guessed Eurycelia was nineteen at best when in reality she was seventy-seven years old.

“Excuse me,” I called stepping closer to the girl. “Are you okay? I could heal you.”

Turning to look at me with bright blue eyes the girl watched me wearily. Her gaze slowly focusing on my ears. “Bunny ears,” She muttered her eyes going wide as she stared at me.

The girl’s eyes started to glow the telltale sign she was about to use [Analyze] on me. It didn’t bother me at all for others to know my name and level. Especially not now, but Otrea had worked hard to drill it into me that I should be more cautious. Especially after we found a mountain of letters waiting for me back at the manor in Lorepashe.

Calling upon my divinity I utilized [Cause Misfortune] to derail the girl’s attempt to analyze me. The moment I did so a limb snapped off a nearby tree. Falling onto the girl’s head and knocking her out cold.

“That… wasn’t intended.”

“She was already sick and exhausted,” Mommy Laura announced telepathically. “Her body was probably just looking for an excuse to shut down.”

Sighing I approached the unconscious girl, using [Analyze] upon her. After all, now that she was unconscious there was no other way for me to learn who she was otherwise.

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