VRMMO: World's First Glyphborne

Chapter 329: Ghosts of the Forest

From luscious green grass, which had been personally revitalised by Trivian, sprouted multiple vibrant, bark covered roots that Trivian had nothing to do with.

They curled together, forming into two separate trunks that grew further upwards, before those two combined together into an even thicker trunk the size of a torso. Exactly the size of a torso, in fact, as that was exactly what it was.

A tree, sprouting from the ground, had taken on a humanoid form. With two arms, two legs, and even a head that was topped with a mess of jagged branches like a poor imitation of hair. It had no face, just a blank wooden mask where a mouth and nose should be, but it did have eyes.

Golden eyes like chunks of solid amber that stared at them blankly.

The Tree-Person’s body let off a soft green glow, and became harder to look at the more you focused, as if they weren’t entirely there or were just another one of Elise’s illusions. But that was definitely not the case, as the illusionist herself looked just as shocked as the others.

"A Dryad." Trivian muttered, his eyes sparkling as he looked upon the radiant beauty in front of him.

The Tree-person, or Dryad, whipped its head towards Trivian and tilted its head in curiosity at the mention of such a name. It’s movements were stiff, accompanied by the sound of cracking and creaking wood, as if it was breaking itself apart to move every time, or perhaps was just stiff after years of slumber.

"That is correct." It said. It’s voice was androgynous, and instead sounded like the gentle wind brushing through the treetops on a warm summers day. Soft, gentle and bringing with it a comforting warmth that made you simply want to relax and slip away.

It was the type of voice that could lure a child into the forest to live there. Forever.

"Dryad. Faunus. Hulder. Mielikki. Abnoba. Many humans have given us many names. We thought that they were lost along with the kin.

So few remain. So much land is poisoned. Many homes destroyed. But you remember us... You heal us..." It muttered, a hint of reverence drifting into its voice as it leaned forwards and reached out with its hand.

It was a hand that had only three fingers, each of which was long and ended in a collection of jagged branches, which were aiming to brush against Trivian’s cheek. At least it tried, but Trivian leaned backwards quickly and took a step back, distancing himself from the Dryad.

It would have been a nice gesture, but all he could see was a mass of splinters coming straight for his eye. Plus he wasn’t exactly one for being touched by strange forest dwellers.

The Dryad tilted its head again, its expression unreadable as it did not exist, yet its sadness was evident as it slowly lowered its arm, with only the sound of creaking and cracking wood.

It looked over them slowly, before speaking again.

"It has been countless sheddings since we have seen a human like you. No root exists from the time of the humans like you, we have only heard tales. But... You have returned and will heal forests, yes? You need a guardian to protect the river of life. We will protect, but we must be helped in return."

The three humans, if they could still be called that after their metamorphosis, glanced at each other as they shared a confused look and began to whisper amongst each other.

"Sheddings? What is that supposed to mean?" Elise asked, casting a few suspicious look towards the tree-person.

"I think it means Fall. I mean Autumn. You know, like years? But that means they’ve seen people like us before.

People with magic." Trivian explained, sure of his deduction.

Valerie nodded softly in agreement, "It makes sense. Although we aren’t the only ones. The Monarch’s Cult I went to might have been sloppy in their techniques, but they still had magic. Maybe it means people with a source, or maybe they mean you specifically. Like Druids."

"That is correct." The Dryad answered happily, speaking at a normal volume despite the hushed conversation the three meat-bags had been having. They had thought that it was quiet enough not to be overheard, but apparently not.

"Some humans use life energy. But you are first to take from the world, like humans of old. First true mage." It explained, staring at Valerie, before turning its head to Trivian.

"And you are one that has the blessing of the All-Seed. That is the sign of the saviour. So you will help, yes?"

The three of them shared another look, having a quick silent conversation in their minds, as something else poked its head through the portal. It was a small three-horned lizard, one of the creatures that appeared the most.

Valerie smirked, as she straightened up and gestured to the lizard.

"How can we be so sure that you can properly defend this... River of life." She asked, using the strange term that it had used for the portal.

The Dryad tilted its head in confusion, before looking towards the small lizard that was plapping across the grass, its tongue hanging out as its eyes darted around with not much thought behind them.

Not that thoughts would have helped it, as half a dozen spikes of sharpened wood erupted from the ground and skewered through the lizard. It didn’t even have a chance to see what killed it, before it was turned into a grotesque effigy of the cruelty of nature.

The Dryad turned its gaze back to the party of three and tilted its head again, which was the only movement it made. It had killed the lizard without so much as the twitch of a leaf.

"This is proof enough?" It asked blankly, which only added to its creepy nature.

"Well... I’m certainly convinced." Valerie laughed nervously, glancing at the ground as if she was waiting for more of those spikes to erupt out from beneath her and give her the same treatment. That was until she realised something about the being in front of them.

"Wait, you’re a nature spirit from this place right? Did you see what happened here, before we came? Do you know what caused this? I mean... What created the river of life?"

"No, we do not." The Dryad answered plainly, deflating Valerie’s building excitement.

"Until the All-Seed’s Chosen One started to cleanse this place of the poison, we were powerless here. Our sight was blinded, our bodies would rot simply being in this area. We stayed far away. Although... We wonder now where your other human is, and why they smell of the poison."

"Our... other human? What do you mean? Do you mean Lucy and Jason? Because they are just over-" Valerie started to explain, before the Dryad cut her off.

"No. The land holds memory of another human presence within the last few feeding cycles. A human that carries the stench of the poison upon them.

They must be found. The poison must be cleansed."

"I’m sure we can do that," Valerie said with a slightly sleazy smile, "So why don’t you tell us all about this other human, and what kind of help you want in exchange for helping us."