Chapter 50 – Plotting trees

  The last bit of rock crumbled away, letting the early morning light fill the tunnel. Savgar squinted at the sudden change in displeasure, but he was the only one.

  “Finally,” Victor nearly cheered. “How long has it been?”

  “Not long enough for my liking,” Savgar said.

  “I only been underground for a few days, but I am already glad to be back under the open sky once again,” Bryant said. “Too bad it’s in the middle of a jungle.”

  “Well, we got our new entrance,” Victor said. “What do we do now?”

  “Two things,” Savgar said. “First, we need to find out where we are. Second, we need to figure out a way to hide the entrance. The tunnel could use some support to make sure it doesn’t cave in as well. I imagine we want to use this entrance regularly, not just a temporary back door?”

  “I think so,” Victor said. “But I think that will have to wait. We should get the others. Daniel had an idea about hiding the entrance. Zephyr can probably help us find out where we are in relation to the others.”

  “That works for me,” Savgar said. “Someone needs to stay and watch the entrance though. I can do that while you get the others.”

  “Sure,” Victor said. “Be back soon.”

  They headed back down the tunnel leaving Savgar alone at the entrance. Savgar watched them go, waiting until they were far enough away before turning to the vegetation outside the entrance they had just made. He walked up to the closest tree and prodded it with Thurg.

  “Don’t suppose you can talk too?” Savgar asked the tree. He waited a few seconds for a response. “No? Good. Unless you are just pretending…”

  *~*

  Elaine exited the Trial in a rush, running into Victor and the others as she came down the stairs.

  “You’re done already?” Victor asked. “That was fast.”

  “Given everything, it just didn’t make sense to take my time,” Elaine said. “It was actually not as hard as I was expecting.”

  “Yeah,” Victor said. “I mean Jack was able to get through it without knowing anything, so it couldn’t have been too bad.”

  “I would have thought that with a place like this, the Trial would have been much more difficult,” Elaine admitted.

  “I think the Trial is more about teaching than about weeding out the weak,” Victor said. “They are all about…”

  “What?” Bryant asked.

  “Can’t speak on the Trial,” Zajowle said. “It’s easy to forget, but Bryant still hasn’t done it. The contract won’t let us talk about it, but I believe I know what you intended to say, and I agree.”

  “Should I do the Trial then?” Bryant asked. “Do we have time? I may not be much help, but I still want to do what I can in the rescue.”

  “I think the plan is for you and Elizabeth to help in a more support fashion this time,” Victor said.

  “We don’t know what kind of state they will be in,” Elaine said. “Or what kind of resistance we are going to find. How is the tunnel coming along?”

  “Just finished it,” Bryant said. “Was coming to get Daniel.”

  “Need to find Zephyr as well,” Victor said.

  “Then let’s not waste any time,” Elaine said. “I’ll start packing up everything.”

  Bryant sighed. “Just as I was starting to get use to sleeping on a bed once again.”

  “We’ll be back,” Victor said, “and we’ll make our own soon enough.”

  “I am still wondering what having joined the Order will require of us,” Zajowle said. “The contract was very vague.”

  “According to Jack,” Elaine said. “It’s really not anything we aren’t already doing.”

  “Right, that re-sealing the Blood path thing,” Victor said. “Have we figured out how to do that?”

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  “Daniel was working on it,” Elaine answered.

  They checked the Candidates Tower first hoping to find Daniel and Reuf there. Neither were in the tower, but they took the time to pick up everything they had left in their rooms before leaving. With so many Storage skills between everyone, they were able to separate the small accumulation of items they had with whoever it might be most useful for. Once they were done, Elaine took them to the library Daniel often went to.

  They found him and Reuf outside it, looking over a nearby crossway and out into a lower section of the city.

  “What are you two up to?” Victor asked as they approached

  “Testing,” Daniel said not looking up.

  “We have been working on a couple of new spells and were testing the effects and limits of them,” Reuf explained. “What brings everyone here? Are you ready?”

  “The tunnel is all done,” Victor said. “And Elaine is finish with the Trial.”

  “Are you planning on undergoing it before we leave?” Zajowle asked.

  “It would be nice,” Reuf said. “But I do not trust myself to finish it quickly. I’ll wait.”

  “Same,” Daniel said. “I wish to take my time on something like that. I think there might be a lot to learn. No reason to rush it right now.”

  “Then we are ready to leave,” Bryant said. “Time to meet up with everyone.”

  “Suppose so,” Reuf said. “Are we ready?”

  “We will have to be,” Victor said.

  They started to leave, but Daniel stopped them. “I need someone to grab the small stack of books I set aside,” Daniel said. “Someone with an inventory skill. I wasn’t able to determine which one might have the knowledge we need, but I chose the ones that I believe were the most likely to.”

  “I’ll do it,” Zajowle said. “I have little in my storage right now.”

  It turned out that by small stack, Daniel meant over fifty different books he had piled inside. Zajowle picked them all up, making the area inside suddenly appear very empty. Once they were certain they had everything, they returned to the Candidate’s quarters. Daniel went to fetch a few things from his room as they passed by.

  “What did you have?” Victor asked.

  “Just the puzzle cube and the few books we took from Clayton’s camp when we first escaped,” Daniel said.

  “Were you ever able to translate those?” Zajowle asked.

  “Not yet,” Daniel said. “I was able to determine what language it was though.”

  “Draconian?” Zajowle asked.

  “Eldritch,” Daniel answered.

  Zajowle grimaced at that. “Then perhaps it is best to leave those alone.”

  “Normally I’d agree,” Daniel said. “But if Clayton was using them, it might be worth knowing what he was looking at.”

  “What uses Eldritch?” Elaine asked.

  “Well, eldritch creatures mostly,” Daniel said. “You won’t find those on the first realm… usually. But it is also a common language among certain cult groups. I am not sure how Clayton got a hold of them.”

  They left the tower and made their way through the tunnel. The light of the day was still shining by the time they made it to the exit, but Savgar wasn’t waiting for them when they arrived.

  “I thought Savgar said he would watch the entrance,” Bryant said. “You don’t think something might have happened to him?”

  “No, I don’t think,” Victor said. “I mean, it would have had to be something powerful for Savgar to have trouble with it.”

  “The Wenduags did manage to capture him before,” Zajowle said.

  “I don’t think a single Wenduag managed to do that,” Victor said. “And we are outside their patrols, aren’t we?”

  “Maybe?” Bryant said. “We haven’t actually checked yet.”

  As though in answer to their question, Savgar’s gruff voice reverberated from further in the jungle. “You can’t fool me!”

  Everyone took off in the direction of Savgar’s voice. They found him not far into the foliage waving his Warhammer at a particularly large tree. “I heard you! Muttering, whispering! I know you can talk, now speak!,” Savgar was yelling and raising his Warhammer behind him preparing to swing. “Fine! I warned you!”

  “Hey Savgar,” Victor called over to him. “What are you doing.”

  “The trees,” Savgar said. “They talk but won’t talk. But then they did talk. I heard it whisper. It is plotting something. We can’t trust them. Have to make the first move.”

  “Is he okay?” Bryant whispered to Victor. “What is he talking about, talking trees. Trees don’t talk.”

  “Er, he’ll be fine,” Victor whispered back. “He’s just adjusting to being surrounded by trees. He’s not used to seeing them. Savgar, the tree isn’t plotting anything and can’t talk. It’s alright.”

  “That’s what they want us to think,” Savgar said. “It’s all been a plot I tell you.”

  “You’re sure?” Elaine asked.

  “He’ll be fine,” Victor repeated. “Just an adjustment period. Come on Savgar, you know that isn’t true. At most they are plotting how best to grow. No different from anything else.”

  Savgar grumbled but did lower his Warhammer. “I’ll be watching you,” Savgar growled at the tree.

  “You’re going to be watching all the trees?” Bryant asked.

  “If that is what I have to do!” Savgar roared back.

  “Let’s just let it be,” Daniel said. “Zephyr!”

  Daniel called out to the still air with a touch of Mana to summon Zephyr back to him. It took a few seconds, but soon Zephyr was flying through the air towards them.

  “Yay! You’re here!” Zephyr cheered merrily. “Want to go see the talking pebbles?”

  “Talking what now?” Savgar called out, completely distracted from his thoughts.

  “The talking pebbles,” Zephyr said. “They sit under a waterfall and are always talking to each other. It sounds like gurgle, gurgle, splash. Come, I’ll so you!”

  “Pretty sure they aren’t talking,” Bryant said.

  “They are so!” Zephyr exclaimed.

  “I actually wouldn’t mind going to see it,” Daniel said. “But first we should find the others. Do you know how close we are to them.”

  “Not far,” Zephyr said. “I can only take you part of the way though. Maybe a few hours.”

  “Should get there by nightfall then,” Reuf said.

  “What about the exit?” Victor asked.

  “I’ll take care of that,” Daniel said. “I can set up a very realistic illusion on it to hide it. Probably should also make some kind of marker as well, so we can find it again.”