Chương 26: The Giving Tree

Vin wasn't able to hold in his massive yawn as they made their way to the edge of the elven village, earning himself a raised eyebrow from Shia as they walked. The elf struck a far more imposing visage now that she held the lesser artifact in hand. So much so that the handful of elves that were up this early seemed to be more interested in the miniature tree she was carrying than the human walking by her side. Vin couldn't blame them.

After honing his ability to sense magical auras under Shia's tutelage, he could now sense just how densely packed that staff was with nature mana.

"I thought I told you to get some rest," Shia muttered as they approached their meeting place with Erik.

"You have a long mission ahead of you after all."

"The runic formation engraved on that lid was more complicated than I expected," Vin explained, stifling another yawn.

"I don't know what the problem was, but it took me most of the night to get it down. Randomly losing my vision to a few backlashes didn't really help either."

"What?!" Shia's steps faltered and she turned to glare at him.

"What part of 'runic backlashes are dangerous' did you not understand?"

"Eh, I figure so long as I don't try and learn any actual dangerous spells I'll be fine," Vin couldn't help but grin.

"Besides, this new spell was totally worth it!" Not only had learning the new spell bumped him up to level 13, but the additional night of practice had raised his Spellcraft skill two more levels and his Meditation skill by one. He could already tell his skills seemed to be taking more effort to level up now that they had gotten so high, but the experience payouts were huge every time it did happen.

Shia must have decided arguing wasn't worth it as she simply shook her head and led them the last few hundred feet to the meeting spot. As they approached the edge of the village, Vin recognized a faint shimmering in one of the nearby trees just before Erik stepped out of it.

"You can do that to normal trees too?" Vin asked, surprised to see the dryad so far from the Tree of Ancients.

"I am connected to every tree in this forest after all," Erik smiled, as though that was enough of an explanation for now. Vin wasn't sure if it was his increased focus or if he just hadn't noticed it the last time they'd met, but the dryad's bark-like face seemed to be creased with more wrinkles than he remembered.

"How did your days of study go? Were they as productive as you'd hoped?"

"I'll say!" Vin paused, squinting at the dryad.

"Wouldn't you already know how they went though? The house you put me in had living trees for walls after all."

"My people make a point of ensuring the elves have their privacy," Erik explained.

"We don't peer into people's homes unless there is a very good reason for it. And Shia's master made it very clear he did not care what reason we had, he demanded we never turn our eyes into his residence. We have continued to honor that request even after his disappearance, and I now believe I understand why," Erik said, smiling at a blushing Shia as she clutched her new staff.

"That is a wonderful gift your master has left you. I doubt I have to tell you such, but be sure to treasure it. Artifacts don't grow on trees after all." Vin stared at the millennia old magical beast, his mouth open in shock at the man's pun. But before he could call him out, he was hit by an even greater surprise. The dryad's form blurred for a moment as a second humanoid figure seemed to float out of it. To Vin's shock, he realized Alka was now standing beside the dryad, grinning at him.

"What… Alka! What's going on?" He said, startled to see his ghostly companion willingly showing herself to others.

"Once I realized you were going to be spending entire days cooped up in that house staring at runes, I decided to explore the village a bit," Alka shrugged.

"Erik here spotted my drifting around pretty quickly and invited me to hang with him in the Tree of Ancients. That thing is awesome!"

"Hold on, you've been gone for days?" Vin paused, pulling up his interface. He would have noticed if the temporary attribute points from his Human Vessel title had vanished. Sure enough, the bonus numbers were still right there on his sheet.

"How do I still have these bonuses with you not floating inside me?"

"I think when you first accepted the sword, you officially became my anchor, regardless of if I'm with you or not," Alka shrugged.

"I don't know, I'd have to ask a more experienced Slayer if I wanted a more concrete explanation. More importantly, did you seriously not notice I was gone for three whole days? I swung back every so often to check up on you, but I hadn't realized you weren't even aware I was gone."

"I was a little bit distracted," Vin admitted, scratching his head sheepishly. Glancing at a thoroughly confused Shia, Vin realized even if Erik had some magical way to communicate with the dead, to the elf it would sound like he and Alka were just making ghostly moaning sounds at one another.

"Shia, this is Alka," he said, gesturing to the grinning ghost.

"I picked her up a few fragments away during my travels. We're actually hunting for someone with access to divinity so they can put her to a final rest."" That's why you were so interested in my master," Shia said, putting the pieces together.

"Yeah," Vin nodded.

"It would have been really convenient for us if he'd still been around. Hopefully we'll be able to find someone else graced by the Gods sooner or later."

"Speaking of your journey," Erik cut in, gesturing to the sword strapped across Vin's back.

"Would you mind lending me that weapon for just a moment?" Vin glanced at Alka, but the ghost simply nodded with excitement. Shrugging, Vin handed over the sword, curious to see what Erik was planning.

"Ever since you first stepped into the Sacred Forest, I've had my eyes on this artifact," Erik explained, bringing the sword up to his face and twisting the blade around in his hands.

"The magic imbued within the blade is not anything special, but it is exceedingly rare for a dryad as old as myself to find a form of wood they are unfamiliar with. But I suppose with the merging of so many worlds, it is something that will be happening more and more frequently going forward."

"Petrified Elder wood," Alka said proudly.

"Indestructible, and worth more than some minor noble houses back on my world."

"Indeed, the wood is quite the wonder," Erik admitted, admiring the grain.

"Even with my mastery over nature, I don't believe I currently have the power that would be necessary to fully destroy the blade. But to make just a few slight adjustments…" Without any warning, Erik's body exploded into a shining green light, causing Vin and Shia to flinch back, shielding their eyes from the sudden display of power. Squinting, Vin tried to see what was happening. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Just barely, he could make out Erik within the green aura as the dryad burned magic power that made his own mana pool look like a pathetic puddle. Erik had his entire focus locked on the blade before him, and Vin could swear he felt minor fluctuations in the magical aura surrounding the blade. And then, almost as fast as it had begun, the aura vanished. Vin rubbed his eyes, willing his vision to return to normal as Shia sputtered beside him.

"Ancient One, you shouldn't be burning your power so wastefully!" She said, glancing around to make sure there weren't any nearby elves to hear her.

"Wait, you know about the current situation?" Vin asked, blinking the last dots from his eyes.

"I thought that was like top secret or something?"

"My master made sure I understood the true reliance both the elves and the dryads have on one another," she admitted, shrinking back slightly under the intensity of Erik's grandfatherly smile.

"I might not know exactly what's going on, but it wasn't hard to put two and two together when nearly all the dryads vanished after our greatest Druids lost their strength."

"My child, that is exactly why I asked you to aid our young friend here," Erik explained, his eyes soft as he took in the timid elf. Vin hadn't been totally certain before, but there was no doubt in his mind now. It was difficult to make out due to the dryad's bark-like skin, but after that incredible display of magical power, the man looked as though he'd aged at least a couple of years.

"Even with the loss of your master, you continue to be one of the most impressive druids within the village. It is because of that, I must make one more selfish request of you. Though I believe my request aligns closely with what you truly desire."

"I would like you to journey with our human friend here as he hunts for a way to save our Sacred Forest," Erik explained to the shocked elf.

"He has so graciously agreed to help us in our time of need, but he will need strong companions to help carry him through this turbulent new world we find ourselves in." Shia looked more and more confused as the dryad spoke. Finally, she shook her head, taking a hesitant step back.

"You want me to leave the Sacred Forest? Now, while you are at your weakest? If I'm truly one of the strongest Druids we have, shouldn't I be dedicating myself to helping you here? Especially with my new staff?"

"While your efforts here would certainly be appreciated, it would be akin to using one's strongest medicine to treat the symptoms rather than the disease itself." Erik smiled warmly, taking in the uncertain elf before him.

"I don't wish to add any more pressure to young Vin here, but if his mission is unsuccessful, it will not matter how many low level Druids I have channeling magic into the Tree of Ancients here. I would rather risk a little extra power to ensure his journey goes smoothly. Which is why I did this." Without warning, Erik tossed the enchanted blade to the side, directly at Alka's ghostly form. By reflex, she reached out to grab the hilt, and to everyone's shock, actually caught the blade in midair.

The three of them stared at the floating sword in her hands as Erik let out a melodic chuckle.

"The weapon was already enchanted to alter how it interacts with magic. It took a bit more out of me than I was expecting, but I was able to adjust the enchantment covering the hilt. The result is as you see before you." Slowly, as if she was afraid the blade would pass through her fingers at any moment, Alka swung the blade, completing a single arc. Growing confident, she tried a quick slash, then a few stabs.

Laughing, she entered into one of her combat drills, and Vin stared in awe at the speed of which the sword flew around. Seeing as she didn't actually have a physical body, she didn't seem to grow tired or have any need to rest.

"This is amazing!" She exclaimed, finally ending her drill with a frenzied flurry of slashes. Grinning wildly, she turned and gave Erik a deep bow.

"I can't begin to thank you enough for this. Just being able to interact with the world again means more to me than you could imagine."

"Wait… I could understand that!" Shia said, pointing at the beaming ghost.

"Indeed. I did more than just make it so you could hold the sword," Erik said, gesturing toward Vin.

"You are anchored to both the sword and your young friend here. Because of that, I was able to utilize the enchantment on the sword to… tweak your connection, in a way. So long as you and Vin are anchored, you will be able to benefit from his Polyglot passive."

"You can do that? How?" Vin asked, staring in awe at the dryad. It was easy to forget the kind, elderly man standing before him was actually a millennia old magical beast. Who knew what secrets and powers the dryad held.

"Magic is a wonderful thing full of infinite potential," was all the ancient dryad said, a strange hint of regret seeming to creep up into his voice.

"The more you study it, the more you'll learn that you've never truly delved deeper than the surface." Vin deflated when he realized that was the extent of the sagely advice he'd be receiving from the dryad as Erik turned his focus back toward a still hesitant Shia.

"My child of the forest… while I won't pretend I ask this favor of you for any reason besides the potential saving of my people, don't think I don't see the yearning in your own heart." Vin wasn't sure what he was talking about, but Shia clearly was, as she flinched back like she'd been slapped. Pulling her staff close once more, she looked hopefully toward the Ancient One.

"Do you really think he's still out there?"

"Shia," Erik chuckled, saying the elf's name for the first time.

"Over my admittedly long life, I have witnessed only a half dozen or so elves receive blessings from the gods, and none of them impressed me more than your master. I am thousands of years old, and I expect that crazy old elf to outlast me." Shia couldn't help but laugh, and Vin watched as her uncertainty slowly faded, quickly replaced with a look of determination.

Standing up straight, she held her head high and planted her new staff on the ground, grinning her familiar too-wide grin that sent a brand new shiver down his back.

"Ancient One," she said, her voice steeled with resolve.

"I would like to ask permission to leave the Sacred Forest."

"You never needed my permission, child… but I will give you my blessing," Erik smiled sadly at the young elf.

"I only hope you return victorious one day, with enough power to knock that senseless old master of yours down a few pegs."

"Now then, my magical display will no doubt have caught the attention of a few elves, and I don't want to hold up the start of your journey, so I will make this quick." Reaching into a nearby tree, Erik pulled three shining objects from the wood as though they'd been sitting in some sort of unseen hollow all along.

"I did say I had some artifacts for you after all."

"First, a ring of barkskin." Tossing a ring to him, Vin caught it and stared at the simple wooden ring. Unlike when he'd received his first artifacts, his magic attribute was high enough now that he could feel the nature magic radiating off of it. It wasn't anywhere as strong as Shia's staff, but it was still significant.

"That will increase your natural defense to a degree," Erik explained.

"Trees are far from indestructible, but they are certainly tougher than flesh."

"Thank you," Vin said, dismissing the notification that he'd earned another 1, 000 experience as he put the ring on his finger. Immediately, he felt a warmth spread out from his right hand across the rest of his body, and his skin seemed to harden to the touch. Thankfully it didn't change his outward appearance as far as he could tell, because it would be hard to explain to anyone why he suddenly looked like Erik's long lost cousin.

"Less exciting, but still an important item for any Explorer," Erik continued, next handing him a fairly ordinary looking waterskin.

"This is enchanted to pull ambient mana from the air and convert it to water. You can also pump your own mana into it for a quicker refill if needed."

"I bet this will be useful," Vin said, nodding his thanks and tucking the waterskin into his pack. With the crazy variety in fragments, he figured it was only a matter of time before he stumbled upon a fragment where finding water would be a problem.

"This last one is for Shia," Erik said, handing a thin wooden choker to Vin for a moment to allow him the experience gain before clasping it around the elf's neck.

"You'll be exploring fragments of other worlds filled with people and cultures we can't even imagine, and you can't very well be the only member of your party in the dark. This will allow you to understand other languages that you come across. Be warned however, it is not as powerful as Vin's Polyglot passive. While you will be able to understand and speak to others, you won't be able to read or write in their tongue."

"I will treasure this," Shia said, nodding her thanks to the smiling dryad.

"Now, I believe this old tree has kept you long enough," Erik said, gazing upon the three of them with hope and pride gleaming in his eyes.

"I wish you a successful journey, and that you make some fond memories along the way.

"Best of luck to you all."