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  [colpse]Chapter One Hundred and Sixty-Four - Tree Time

  I nded with a thump atop a big old rock, my knees bending with the impad my ears flopping down so fast they tapped my shoulders.

  Standing up slowly so as to not spook anyone, I took a moment to look all arouhe st thing I wanted was to be ambushed while my friends were still above. Actually, I wouldn’t want to be ambushed even with my friends around.

  Ambushes were no fun.

  The nearby stream gurgled and did happy little stream things, and the woods--despite seeming rather dark and foreboding from above--were actually real quaint when on ground level, with big trees as far as the eye could see and the occasional bush and scampering squirrel. It was a bit cool in the shadow of the Beaver but not so much that it was unfortable.

  The only truly worrisome thing was the trees looking at me from within the forest. I could make out maybe six or seven dryads, some half hidden behind trees or boulders, others disguised by bushes.

  If some of them weren’t moving a little, there was no way I would have noticed them at all. They certainly had an advantage when it came to hiding in a forest.

  I wondered if this world had a variation on ‘missing the forest for the trees’ and whether it took into at dryads being a thing.

  The rope dder smacked the ground a couple of meters away, dragging my attention up to the Beaver where a couple of the lumberjacks looked like they were ready to e down.

  Not to be outdone, Amaryllis climbed onto the rails, stuck her arms out o her, and stepped off. She glided down nid gently for a bit, then nded on top a pile of stohat shifted and cttered beh her.

  “Anything iing around?” she asked as she brushed her feathers straight.

  “Not really,” I said. “Lots of dryads in the woods, but none have stepped up yet. Is everyone ing down?”

  “Not everyone, no. We’re supposed to meet with some dryad leader first, then head over to the important trees. A huge waste of time, if you ask me. They’re trees, it’s not like their opinion matters.”

  I shook my head. “I don’t agree,” I said. “They might be trees, but they’re still people. This is their home. I'm actually kinda gd that they defend it. It means that we o take them as seriously as they deserve.”

  “Well, whatever,” Amaryllis said. “That five pert dist on goods, even if just applied to wood and lumber, will be worth any number of talking trees.”

  I rolled my eyes, making sure that Amaryllis could see it, because what was the point of rolling your eyes otherwise? “We should go say hi to the nice dryads before the lumberjacks and pany guys get down here. I have the impression that they’re not the best of friends.”

  “You think?” Amaryllis asked.

  I made sure to bump shoulders with her as I passed by. “e o’s go talk to some rees,” I said.

  roached the stream, across from which I could see the rgest number of dryads gathered behind a small pile of rocks and a few tightly knit trees. “How do we call them over?” Amaryllis asked.

  “We could go to them?”

  My harpy friend hummed. “I don’t know. It’d feel safer to meet halfway.”

  That was fair. And if they didn’t want to, then I’d go ahem myself. Sometimes, to make new friends, you just had to put yourself out there a little. “Hello dryads!” I called out.

  Amaryllis’ head snapped around to stare at me. “Are you okay?”

  “Huh?”

  “You sounded like someone just hit you in the chest,” she said.

  I patted my chest, still covered in intact armour, then looked back up to her. “No? I’m fine. I was just calling out to the dryads.”

  “That was their nguage then?” she asked.

  “How did it sound like?” I wondered.

  “Like someone wheezing. I’ve heard old birds who smoked pipes their whole lives speak more clearly,” she said.

  Shrugging, I turned back to the woods. “It doesn’t seem to have worked,” I said. Cupping my hands over my mouth, I tried again. “Hey there! My name is Broccoli, and I’m a friend! We want to speak with you, please!”

  The trees rustled, and some of the dryads that may have thought they were hidden tucked themselves behind some trees and bushes in a hurry. The gesture was somehow very i and child-like. Were they young dryads? They were certainly smaller than Oak had been. Very cute! I approved wholeheartedly of little tree people. The only problem was that with bark-like faces it would be hard to pinch their cheeks.

  Movement from nearby had me turning just in time to see a bush split apart and a pair e dryads move out from hiding. They had been surprisingly close the eime.

  One was shorter thaher, with a curvier body and a distinctly willowy look. The dryad had long, braided braop its head that fell down in a long cascade along its back. I was tempted to call it a ‘her.’ She was definitely very feminine, with a few flowers in her ‘hair’ and an outfit of sorts made of woven leaves.

  The er dryad was...

  “Oak!”

  Amaryllis eyed Oak, thehis is that dryad you know?” she asked.

  I nodded as Oak stepped up and pced the butt of his spear onto the grouo him. He was a bit bigger than I remembered, with a few more scars along his tough bark-y skin. He was wearing a sort of toga made of woven leaves, with bits of wood pced along it. Armour of sorts?

  “Sister... Broccoli?” Oak said.

  “Hey!” I cheered before boung across the stream. A few of the dryads fli the motion, and I saw bows and spears rise, but no one did anything rash as I crashed into Oak and gave him a big hug. “Oak!”

  Oak didn’t so much as step back from the fory hug. “Sister Broccoli,” he said before he started to pat me on the head. “Ears?”

  “Yup!” I said. “I grew ears si we met. Do you think they’re cute?”

  Oak looked at them very carefully, and seemed to ponder his words. “Growing is... good.”

  I felt my cheeks warming up, and I stepped back from Oak. “Thanks! I kinda like them.” I cpped my hands. “Oh, you o meet my friends. And I o hear everything that happeo you. And who’s this willow dryad? Is she a girl-dryad... is she yirlfriend?”

  Oak let out a long sigh, but it sounded like a happy sigh. “Still talk fast,” he said.

  I couldn’t help but giggle. “Sorry! I just have lots to say.”

  “Hello, Sister Broccoli,” the dryad o Oak said. She had a big smile on, and a bunch of flower bulbs in her outfit started to open up to reveal all sorts of pretty flowers. “I’m Wisp.”

  “Hi Wisp!” I said before opening my arms wide iimal hugging position. “ I hug you too?”

  “Yes!” Wisp said.

  I wao be careful not to squish her flowers, but Wisp didn’t seem to care at all and gave me a tight squeeze. “Whoa, you’re strong!” I said as I let go of her.

  Wisp let out a breezy ugh. “Yes.”

  “So, are you a boy dryad irl dryad? You’re very pretty,” I said.

  Wisp seemed to think on it for a moment. “I’m Willow,” The dryad said. “Girl, but mostly tree.”

  “That’s so cool!” I said. “Are you the ohat we’re supposed to meet here today?” I asked.

  Oak seemed to hesitate before nodding. “Meeting with the Destroyer,” he said. “Peastead of war. And no more cutting of brethren.”

  That sobered the mood up a little. A gnce over my shoulder revealed that not everyone was dow. Awen had joined Amaryllis on the shore though, and they both looked nervous in their own way. “Do you want to meet my friends?” I asked. “We’re here to help make things better.”

  “Sister Broccoli will help?” he asked.

  “Yeah, of course.”

  “You already helped much. ons to fight the tree-cutters.” He raised his spear.

  It took me a moment to add things together in my head and realize that somewhere along the way, I may have maybe made a little mistake. “L-let’s talk about that in a bit,” I said.

  “Neons?” Oak asked.

  “Ah-haha, not quite,” I said. “Did your littler friends want to e out too?”

  Oak shook his head. “They stay here. For prote. Wisp e.” He gestured to the willow dryad.

  “Alright.” I gestured to Amaryllis and Awen. “e on, I’ll show you to my best friends, and maybe ter we check out the Beaver together?”

  “Beaver?” Oak repeated.

  “That’s my ship!”

  He looked up to the ship, a frown growing across his brow. “So much wood. So many brothers. But... to fly.”

  “Flying is pretty cool,” I said. “Maybe Amaryllis show you how to make a glider or something. It wouldn’t be flying-flying, but it would be pretty close. And I bet there are magics that could help.”

  The thought of flying trees was too amusing not to imagine.

  Oak nodded very seriously. “I will learn,” he said. Then, with a sweepiure, roots speared out of the grouh us and arched over the stream before pnting themselves in the cracks and crevices in the rocks opposite. Soon enough, there was a nice bridge spanning the running water.

  “!” I said as I skipped over the bridge to my waiting friends. “Guys! It turns out I know this dryad.”

  Amaryllis seemed pletely unphased, which was somehow a little disappointing. “Of course you do. Will you be adding some trees to the crew ?”

  “I was just thinking that!” I said.

  She ed my head with a wing. “You idiot, I was being facetious. We’re not going to have an airship crewed by trees of all things.”

  “But it would be so cool,” I said.

  “Um.” Awen said. “It would be pretty, ah, ?”

  Amaryllis tossed her wings up and stepped past me to greet Oak and Wisp. “Hello,” she said.

  I turo find Oak looking at Amaryllis with his brows furrowed. “You... hit Sister Broccoli,” he said.

  Amaryllis nodded. “She was being an idiot.”

  He seemed to sider this, then nodded as if it made perfect sense.

  “Hey!” I protested. Huffing, I jumped over to the two and stationed myself o them. “I didn’t know you could talk, uh, human-ish, Oak.”

  The dryad nodded. “Have learned. For... unig.”

  “I’m impressed,” I said while giving him a thumbs up. “So, this is Amaryllis, my best friend. And this over here.” I reached out and pulled Awen closer. She came, then gave the two dryads a shy little wave. “Is my best friend Awen.”

  “This one flies?” he asked while gesturing to Amaryllis.

  Wisp stepped up to her, and very carefully reached out a brang hand to touch her wings. “Nice,” Wisp said.

  “She glide a bit. Like a chi.”

  Amaryllis poked my side, right under where my breastpte ended. “I uood that,” she said. “You’re still speaking on.”

  “Oof,” I said. “Don’t worry, I’d never insult you without you being able to uand.”

  She poked me again.

  Oak’s wooden face carefully twisted into a small smile. “Sister Broccoli still makes friends,” he said.

  Grinning back, I nodded. “Yup! I’m gd to see that you’re well, Oak. I was a bit worried for a bit when I heard that there was trouble with dryads around here.”

  “Lots of trouble,” Wisp agreed. “Oak caused much of it.”

  “Oh?” I asked. “Well, that sounds like there’s a story behind it. Do you think you tell us what’s going on? Before we o meet with the others? If we’re going to help, it’d be nice if we were all on the same page.”

  ***

  RavensDagger