It was clear to Tesilim that he would have his katana for at least a day. They had searched for the first cave after defeating the hell mantises, and it had definitely been over an hour before they found it, which told him his katana would be with him for a while. The cave itself was decently tucked away on the side of a hill, but knowing the general area where they were searching, the party had eventually found it. It wasn’t a particularly large cave, and there weren’t any connections to a deep system of caves.

  The cave acted more as a nest for whatever creature used it. There were a variety of bones, rotting pelts, and feathers strewn about the cave, along with dried leaves, sticks, and other dead greenery. Also, according to Lili, the many claw marks on the walls indicated a multitude of creatures had inhabited the cave at one point or another. Finally, and even though there were traces of man-made items and clothes, none were fresh enough to have been left by the brother in the last month or so.

  There was also the fact that the man-made items could belong to deceased adventurers of the past who ended up meeting less-than-stellar endings. After inspecting the cave, the party decided to move on to the third spot on their list.

  Travel time to the nature spirit grove took about two hours. During their travel, the party didn’t run into many more issues. They ended up fighting a particularly rabid panther-like creature that was quickly put down, as well as a few mindless nature-attuned creatures they happened to run into. These were things like an entity made of vines or a venus flytrap type of flower that had attempted to ambush them while they were taking a quick break.

  In the end, they arrived at their location at around ten in the morning, at least by Tesilim’s estimate of the sun’s position in the sky. An estimate that was confirmed by Alyx, who brought out a much more detailed watch from his bag.

  The good thing about the spot they had been heading to was that they hadn’t needed to search for it, at least not much. As Tesilim had experienced, the forest near the city was less abundant in bushes and roots and generally better maintained, making travel easier for everyone. Naturally, the further anyone got from the city, the more foresty the forest got, and it made parties slow down. There was magic to help travel along, but more often than not, spells that made forest travel easier burned through a lot of mana unless there were special preparations made or a party had certain nature-attuned casters with them.

  Of course, the problem of travel eased with rank since, at a certain point, a ranker could bulldoze through an area without issue. Obviously, Tesilim’s party was far from that point, though Lili might have been able to manage if she had spent good chunks of mana.

  Anyway, the party had been traveling in the general direction they needed to go for a while when they began noticing that their travel time had slowed. The forest had grown thicker, with spiky vines and bushes, slowing them or forcing them to detour. Trees grew closer together without seemingly affecting each other, while the area became darker as their canopies blocked out the sun. Additionally, they began to see fewer monsters and instead noticed an increase in normal and magically aligned beasts. These beasts, however, did not acknowledge them or even each other for the most part. Instead, they all seem to mostly coexist with each other.

  “Uh, guys, please tell me I am not the only one noticing the change in the environment,” Everyone heard Tesilim say in their minds, his voice tinged with worry.

  “No, and I do believe you can figure out why,” Their friendly gnome replied.

  Tesilim thought about it for a second before responding, “Is it the nature spirit? I know we were talking about it, but I just didn’t expect this. After all, dryads are nature spirits, right? And they don’t seem as uninviting.”

  “And you would know exactly how dryads are, wouldn’t you?” Lili teased, causing Tesilim’s mind to blank out for a bit as he tried to figure out how to respond. It wasn’t like Lili didn’t know what he had been up to. However, back on Earth, any possible answer he could give to any of his old girlfriends would have him hanging out to dry. Of course, what Tesilim failed to realize was that his worries were plastered on his actual face, and Lili was staring right at him, her smile showing how much she enjoyed watching him run loops in his head.

  “To answer your question, Tesilim. This is a wilder nature spirit, and in a way, it is more closely aligned with its true existence. Dryads, even the wilder ones, still maintain some form of civilized sapiency, with the ones closer to civilization much more so.”

  Having heard the explanation, Tesilim decided to ignore Lili’s earlier statement and continue the conversation with his gnome buddy, “Okay, but if it's wilder, why is it keeping all the animals in check?”

  “Yeah, I am wondering that as well,” Rose said, joining in on the mental conversation as they slowly made their way through the forest. She had studied plenty and had long identified the signs of the nature spirit at work, but what she didn’t really understand was why it did what it did.

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  “Also, and something Arelion pointed out, is it going to be angry that we are in its lands?” Jasmine asked, both twins wanting to learn more about their world.

  “Why it’s keeping the animals around is anyone’s guess. Though likely the same reason why it hasn’t attacked us. The fact is that it is close to civilization and has adapted to survive here, which means it doesn't randomly kill people. Honestly, nature spirits tend to adapt and generally work within their own rules, so I am assuming this one has a particular bond with animals for whatever reason.”

  “That’s about right. I have been here long enough and have heard about the spirit, and from what I gathered, it is a High C Rank creature. A very powerful one at that, due to its nature, but still C Rank. Basically, no one but the clergy of Amphis has dealt with it in an official form, and the two have reached an agreement, and thus the spirit is allowed to remain,” Lili said, adding to Alyx’s explanation.

  “So, it's not going to attack us?” Jasmine asked again.

  “I doubt it. There have been times when it has attacked adventurers, but mostly because they did something first,” Lili replied mentally before speaking aloud, “We are just trying to speak with it about Jalil.”

  “What was that about?” Tesilim asked, also switching over.

  “It's likely listening to us by now. I swear that vine just tried to smack me,” Rose said, Tesilim seeing her angrily stare at her surroundings.

  “Wait, wait, wait, is it actually one of those, one with the land type of spirits?”

  “Well, yeah, I thought that’s why you were asking about the environment,” Alyx said, throwing him a puzzled look.

  “I mean, I was, but I thought the forest had gotten like this because the spirit had grown it. I didn’t think it was able to possess the land.”

  “Ah, gotcha, that’s a fair point. There are a lot of spirits, so sometimes it's hard to tell what they can and can’t do.”

  “Wait, does this mean it can just attack with all the trees, vines, and stuff nearby?” Tesilim asked, now worriedly looking at his surroundings.

  “Yeah, it can. That’s why I said it's one of the strongest of its kind; not all nature spirits can spread out like this one and become one with the land. Don’t worry, though; I will protect you,” His girlfriend said, ending her explanation by winking at him. In turn, he rolled his eyes, causing him to almost run into a branch that had definitely moved to get in his way.

  “I think it's starting to get grouchy,” Jasmine pointed out a few minutes later as she actively dodged a spike vine that had randomly begun swinging her way.

  “Yeah, let's stop for now. If it doesn’t come to us, we will continue forward,” Lili said, keeping their conversation spoken so the spirit could still listen in.

  Coming to a stop, the party used the time to rest, and they reclined against tree trunks while still alert for anything that might come at them. During their few minutes of rest, the group remained quiet as they all waited for this spirit to try and contact them. Their silence helping them pinpoint the moment all the sounds in the forest changed.

  It came in a wave, with the chirping and movement of small critters quieting down. Then, a breeze passed through the forest, followed by the creaking of wood, which did not match the strength of the breeze that continued to blow. Finally, there was a large rustling of leaves, and everyone felt like they were being watched from every direction at once.

  The rustling of leaves died down to a more acceptable level, and with it, the feeling of being watched also waned. Of course, that’s when they all began hearing the voice; at least they heard the words, but they weren’t spoken in any actual language. Yet, somehow, it was still conveyed as a firm, harmonious feminine voice with a slight tinge of anger, even though the voice spoke as if it came from a bird’s chirp in the sky, the rustle of leaves on a bush, or the creaking of wood on a tree.

  “Strangers, why are you so set to enter further into my realm?” The sound came from a creaking nearby branch, but everyone understood, and they all looked at Lili. She knew more about the spirit than any of them, and being at the same rank, power tended to respect power.

  Lili, in turn, gave a small bow in a seemingly random direction before speaking firmly and respectfully, “I do apologize for our intrusion. However, we are searching for a wood elf whose curse gives them the power to transform, and we were led to believe that you view him favorably and might be of assistance in finding him.”

  There was silence after Lili spoke, an eerie type of silence, the entire forest going quiet as if time had stopped. Luckily, it hadn’t, and the noise came back almost like the spirit had stopped to think, and so had the forest.

  This time, the voice came from a bush right in front of Lili, and it seemed much more amenable to them, “Yes, I do know of this elf. He helped me some time ago. However, he is currently not within my domain.”

  “I see. Do you happen to know where he might be? Have you spoken to him in the most recent past?” Lili asked, hoping the spirit could at least confirm the brother was still alive. Then she watched as a bundle of vines moved in front of her, and the spirit spoke.

  “I have. He passed by here some time ago, as he always does, and like always, I offer him my domain to pass the time in as he hunts on the full moon. Sometimes, he accepts. Other times, he does not. This time, he did not.”

  “So, he is probably still hunting,” Lili stated out loud, more to herself than anything.

  Apparently, the spirit thought she was still talking to it. A small bird landed on Lili’s head, its chirps conveying the spirit's words: “Most likely, as he has yet to gift me with his favor before heading to his other home.”

  “Wait, he comes by before heading to the city?”

  “Yes,” Another rustle of leaves said.

  “Great! We still have one more spot to search for, so if he comes by before then, please ask him to stay for a while. Tell him that some of his sister's friends are looking for him.”

  “Very well,” A branch creaked.