Chapter 20: Chapter 20

Before long, The girl who had taken the lead back at the ‘incident’, who’s name I learned was Rose, was dragging me off for an interrogation. The other girl was Tess, and the guy with the axe was Adrian. As I followed her out into the forest, my mind went into overdrive. I couldn’t stop wondering how she was able to sense my magic, when the others couldn’t. Was she also a magician? Or was there some skill she had learned, or did she just happen to notice the branch growing? It should have been too slow for her to notice, but then I was still new to this world, there could be other factors at play.

When we had been walking for almost fifteen minutes, Rose appeared to be satisfied, and we sat down in the next clearing we passed. I guess it was time for the interrogation, though I was curious why we had to go so far from camp. I guess she really didn’t want to be overheard?

“Well…” She said, “you have managed to become quite the mystery, haven’t you. Tell me, what was it that you were trying to do when I noticed you? You weren’t even a little discreet with your magic, but I can’t think of what you would have been able to do.”

“I take it you can also use magic?” I asked.

“Yes, but that doesn’t answer my question”

“Right, Right. I was trying to grow the branch out to the next tree” I said. “You had your wagon stuck at the bottom, and you all have weapons. I wasn’t about to just climb down, and I didn’t want to get noticed. I thought…”

“Wait… GROW the branch?” Rose asked incredulously, cutting me off in the process. “To have that much energy… no one has been even close to doing that in decades, and now you just casually talk about GROWING branches over TWENTY feet!!!”

“It… really isn’t that hard” I mumbled, confused.

“Now this… this I have to see” Rose laughed, disbelief evident in her voice. “Alright, I’ll tell you what, if you can grow a branch twenty feet right now, I’ll believe you.”

I let out a sigh, not happy about having to waste so much of my energy. I was trying to recover from the last incident! Then again, if it meant I could gain the trust of these new people, it was worth it. If I was going to waste my energy, I might as well do it in style.

I sat down, gathering the necessary energy for this. Once I had converted enough energy into growth energy, I began guiding it over to the surrounding trees, along with a simple spell letting me tell the trees how to grow. It was more of a suggestion than an order, but the trees usually listened.

As the energy hit the trees, they began to twist, artfully arranging themselves into wooden pillars, suitable for roman architecture. Then, branches began to sprout, branching out over the clearing, twisting together in the center to form a dome over the clearing. Vines grew to cover everything, arranging into artful patterns and designs. As a final touch, I grew a thin branch, starting at the top of the dome, and reaching down twenty feet, where vines twisted themselves into a chandelier.

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As the spell finished, the amount of energy I had used for that little stunt hit me. Thankfully, I didn’t pass out, but if I hadn’t been sitting, I might have fallen over. For her part, Rose was looking around at the newly created temple in wonder. On her face, shock was evident, as well as amazement, and childlike wonder as she gazed at the temple around her. It seemed she was truly at a loss for words.

Finally, after a few minutes, she spoke. “This… this is amazing” she whispered. “To create even a small part of this should have been impossible, the energy costs should be far beyond what anyone left on this world is capable of. You… you should be dead. If not from the temple, then from King Thomasi’s witch hunters. How are you still alive?...”

I thought about it for a moment, then decided to tell her the truth. If what she said was true, and going simply of the fact that it matched everything else I had been told about this world, I would wager yes, it is, then creating this temple will have done more damage than any story ever could. Resigning myself to my fate, I asked her “so remember how I said we weren't from around here?”

I briefly summarized me and Syl’s adventures so far, from getting plonked here after leaving earth, to fleeing the battle with the slavers, and running into this group. I did omit a few details, such as the fact I used to be a guy, but I covered all the important bits. As I spoke, it seemed as if Rose’s eyes were getting larger and larger, and it seemed as if she didn’t want to believe it, but did. Finally, when I finished my explanation, she spoke.

“Well… Honestly, I’m struggling to comprehend this. Interplanetary travelers, people who have casual conversations with God, the most powerful magician in centuries, right in front of me, sitting in an entire temple that you just casually grew. This is… rather surreal, to say the least”

“Ya…”

“Tell you what” she laughed. “You’ve shared your interplanetary travel secrets, I’ll share a few of mine. I have a shrewd suspicion that you are about to be the next big thing, and I’d like to be on good terms with you.”

“Oh, you don’t have to do that” 

“Still. I could use a friend. Everyone I know is back at home. I know that’s probably confusing, just give me a minute and it will make more sense.”

Then, she sort of melted. In hindsight, I realize that she was dropping her disguise, but at the moment, I was rather confused. Her skin sort of melted, taking on a much lighter color, free of the tan you would normally obtain traveling in a wagon under the burning sun. Her ears expanded, growing into points, and the casual pants and top she was wearing melted into an elegant silver dress. To top it all off, an intricate silver band appeared on her forehead.

“Crown princess of The Hyallon, ambassador of the elves, Roselina Sullon, reporting for duty”

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