Calen stared at Lydia.
"...Is there a reason why?"
"Sure there is, the fucker was infected by Blight, and I don’t want to have a Withered on my hands."
He looked at the wooden auditorium.
"Should we move him sowhere else then? Those seats are already pretty banged up, but I doubt you want to completely destroy this room."
Vinifer made an upwards motion with his hand, and a giant green tendril grasped the dead elder to move him into the empty area.
The action combined with the total lack of giant vegetation - despite the fact that a fight between multiple druids just taken place - made Calen question sothing.
"If all of you can control plants, how co you don’t use that power during combat?" He asked, as he started to destroy the body of the forr Elder.
"We do sotis, but our recent match ups weren’t all that great." Lydia shrugged.
"How so?"
"Well, when we were fighting the Prowler I could only rely on the source oasis to use my power, and that thing has a very limited energy supply - it’s better to use it for utility, especially when you have the strength to fight on your own."
Vinifer nodded.
"And today we actually couldn’t use our abilities even if we wanted. Generally the power of nature is almost never used in fights between druids - unless one side is much more powerful than the other, you can’t tell whom the nature will listen to at any given mont, which makes such attacks unreliable."
"Interesting. Anyway, I think I’m done."
Calen released the fla, revealing a small pile of ash. He was about to look away when he noticed sothing shining inside the gray dust.
He bent down, and retrieved the small object.
"A key?"
It was indeed, a key - a tiny and ornate one, made of bronze.
"I thought you searched his body?" Lydia threw an accusatory look at Baor.
"I did - this thing wasn’t in his clothes..." The large druid crossed his arms with a contemplative expression.
Calen handed the key to Lydia.
"You guys probably know better what it could open."
The new Archdruid stared at the small piece of tal and sighed.
"Honestly I have no idea where to even start looking."
Baor put an arm around her shoulders.
"That’s what the prisoners are for, I bet you at least one of them knows what this thing is for."
Lydia shook her head slowly.
"The interrogation can wait until tomorrow, for now I think we should activate the new addition to the barrier, and check if there are any issues."
Vinifer looked a bit confused.
"New... addition?"
"Right, you didn’t know the entire plan."
Lydia explained their plan with the altar to Vinifer, while Calen jumped in any ti she didn’t quite understand the technicalities.
After the story ended, the forr Archdruid rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"It’s a very good idea, it makes us less reliant on Calen than simply recharging the great tree."
"Well, the fla will go out if I die, so technically you could be getting a much worse deal if I kick the bucket too soon."
Baor laughed.
"You’re supposed to end this shit show kid, if you die, we’re dood anyway."
The Elder ant it as a joke, but the sentence deeply unsettled Calen in a way he couldn’t quite understand.
He didn’t get too much ti to ponder the feeling, as a loud slap brought him back to reality.
"Ouch!" Baor massaged the back of his head. "What was that for!?"
"For running your mouth." Lydia addressed the whole room: "Let’s go to the chapel, the sooner we’re done with this, the sooner the great tree can recuperate."
***
When they reached the stone altar, Alara was already there, double checking all the enchantnts.
"Everything in order?" Lydia asked.
"Should be, unless there’s sothing wrong with the altar inscription itself."
"Alright then, no ti to waste - Calen, do the honors."
He stepped forward, and flicked a tiny spark towards the altar filled with holy oil.
Within a second a raging fire filled the stone bowl, fully illuminating the dark chapel. The runes along the altar lit up, and the glow traveled further outside the building, following the trail of runes to the main barrier.
"Let’s go to the wall to see if it worked." Lydia said.
When they arrived at the palisade, the effects were obvious - the once nigh invisible barrier had a golden tint, and was expanding, albeit very slowly.
"It will stop growing in a couple days." Isara said.
"It should cover enough forest to keep the great tree from deteriorating any further." Vinifer confird.
"What now?" Calen asked.
"Now we rest, it was a crazy week." Lydia smiled.
***
Calen found himself floating in the starry void once more, but the atmosphere around him was sowhat different.
"Hello."
A lodic voice welcod him - the sound was layered, as if hundreds of people spoke in unison.
’um, hi?’ he thought.
"You’re different."
A statue of a man entered his field of vision, it was made of liquid gold, and had no distinguishable features, just like the guardians.
’is that good or bad?’
"I do not know, but weren’t supposed to exist, not like this."
Calen felt his stomach drop - which was strange, considering he didn’t have one at the mont.
The figure continued.
"This cycle is strange, too strange. Did THEY wake up?" The golden statue shook its head. "No, THEY were never the ones for subtlety, sothing else must have gone wrong."
Its head turned to him, and despite the fact that neither of them possessed a face, they locked eyes.
"Very well, I might as well use this opportunity."
The figure ca closer, and Calen’s body suddenly materialised - before he could do anything the golden man put his left index finger on his forehead, and the world around him fell apart.
***
"Are you listening?" A beautiful girl with silver hair asked him
He sighed.
"Yes, of course"
She crossed her arms.
"What did I say then?"
"That you’re not certain about ascension, the sa thing you’ve repeating every day for the past century."
She picked up a white flower and twirled it between her fingers.
"How can you be so certain about this? If we do this... everything will change."
"I’m more stumped that you’re so hesitant about this - it’s a great chance, only a select few ever get the chance to... perfect themselves."
"Are you saying I’m imperfect?" She pointed.
He bowed with a laugh.
"Of course not, my queen I’m rely talking about this lowly servant."
She swatted his head playefully
"Oh shush you!"
He straightened and smiled at her more sincerely.
"You’re wrong about one thing though."
"Am I?"
"Not everything will change." He ca closer to her, and wrapped his hands around her waist.
She smiled.
"I suppose not."
They ca closer and their lips t.
***
Calen woke up and laid completely still for a mont.
He rembered the... dream? mory? He also knew that there was sothing before that, but he couldn’t recall the details.
The scene he observed was extrely vivid, yet completely blurred at the sa ti - he could almost picture the faces, and say the nas of the people in the dream, but sothing was blocking him from actually rembering them.
If it was truly a mory, whose was it?
It wasn’t his that’s for sure, he rembered his childhood far too well to be secretly hundreds of years old.
...well he was hundreds of years old from a chronological standpoint, but that’s beside the point.
For so reason he felt like he should keep that dream to himself, but maybe that’s precisely why he should share it with others.
He wasn’t sure yet, but he felt it wouldn’t fade from his mory on its own, so he had ti to decide.
The first part of the dream was more mysterious, the feeling was similar to the one when he t the Guardians, but he was certain it wasn’t them this ti. the presence that imprinted itself on his mind was... heavier, more powerful.
Calen shook his head, it wasn’t a ti to ponder such questions - the interrogation will start with half an hour, so he had to get ready.
***
The Elders and the party were sat together on the sa side of the long table.
"There have been... developnts we have to inform you about." Lydia started.
"Sothing serious?" Calen asked.
"That’s an understatent." Baor cringed.
Lydia threw him a dangerous look, but responded to Calen:
"We inford you that we apprehended Trent’s associates, three of them to be precise."
"Yeah, I rember - they were the mbers of his inner circle, right? They know all of his dirty secrets and plans."
"Yes, that’s what we were hoping to get out of them..."
"But?"
Lydia sighed.
"There’s no right way to say this I’m afraid: this night two of the detained druids commited suicide, while the third one is in critical state from attempting to do the sa."
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