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Chapter 121 Nymph
🕑 Added 2021-11-29 17:56:19 +0000 UTCAuthor's note:
Hello, everyone!
Finally some more content! I'm pretty happy with how this one turned out. Five more chapters this week, next one tomorrow!
I hope you enjoy,
Cheers!
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The next few days passed in a flash. I spent a lot of time reading on whatever caught my fancy. I could not recall all the details but there was a lot of crafting and history. Though the history I read was packed into tales and legends rather than chronicles. I had another bath with the girls as well, enjoying it in my metal form this time. With a short stop at a smith, I had Selvie polish the glass in my feathers and the steel coating on my body. It was really nice having a body this shiny. I stayed in it for a whole day before shifting back for food when it had lost its sheen.
Then, it was time. The last Wendran of the month had come around and I was to meet with Nymph, Guardian of Serrington. I was incredibly curious since everyone I had asked did not know the nature of the Guardian. She helped occasionally with dwarves wishing to improve their enrichment but apparently did so using telepathy with one of her Protectors. It felt similar to what I had done with Selvie at the Ionad. Only, Nymph was hiding.
The gatehouse was closed off but Droy, who was keeping me company, knocked on the door. The Protector I had met last time let us in and bid me take place opposite his table. Droy got a chair as well. After exchanging greetings, he jumped straight to the point.
“Now, Fio. Nymph has agreed to let you into her walls. She has not agreed to let you enter her sanctum. That is, the grove in the centre. Please do not try. She will resort to force. Even me and my wife, the Protectors of Serrington, are not allowed in there. If she does want to meet face to face, she will tell me and come to the edge. I am afraid your friend will have to wait here, though. I hope you don’t mind.”
I nodded and Droy voiced an affirmative.
“Good. Then, please wait with connecting your telepathy. I will give you a sign when it is time.”
Without any more procedure, Banélin led me deeper into the gatehouse. After a few turns, we arrived at a door behind which lay the centre of Serrington. The dwarves tended to call a Guardian’s home Sanctum or sometimes Comraich. The latter term was used rarely in books. It looked to be some kind of old word from possibly a previous culture.
The place was nothing impressive. A simple ring of grass with some flowers here and there surrounded the grove in the centre. The whole area was maybe 50 metres in diameter, half of that grass. It led to a comfy feeling when one was standing between the walls and trees. Flowers bloomed here and there, insects buzzed and a small river ran through. It sprung out beneath one of the walls and made a quarter turn around the trees before disappearing again. I wondered why I had not seen it in the city. Maybe it was underground?
The trees in the centre were densely packed, maybe just far enough apart for me to squeeze through. In between, fern, vines and branches obscured vision. The place looked almost as dark as night. I tried to get a glance at Nymph but found nothing but leaves and more leaves deeper in. The trees seemed to hold some magic, not just the plant vis from the node that surely was in the centre of it all but also just plain magic. They looked very close to what I knew as greatwood trees but heavily scaled down to ‘normal’ size.
I tore my eyes away, not wanting to intrude on the privacy of my host, especially with how careful she was trying to be. The dwarf next to me huffed as he closed and locked the door.
“I’m sure you could just fly in and out if you wanted to but I, and Nymph, really appreciate you going through the proper channels. This is so nobody will disturb us. You are the only flying sapient in Serrington, as far as I know.”
A glance to the grove told me Nymph had established contact. She had to have [Telepathy], most likely. Unless she was a thaumaturge as well and had stumbled upon the same concept as my supersensory matrix without putting it in the Thaumonomicon she should have in such a case. No, this was the Skill. I could not imagine otherwise. After waiting for almost a minute and trying very hard to keep my eyes off the grove, Banélin turned to me.
“Alright, go for it.”
The connection was established without issues. What I did not expect was finding two minds where there should be one. That… had to be Nymph. And just as quickly, she was gone. I had only felt a brief flick of panic before she cut her end of the mental bridge.
The dwarf winced and put a hand to his temple.
“Are you alright?”, I asked.
He nodded meekly.
“Let’s try the other way. She wishes to listen in without giving you access.”
I considered for a moment. All I knew about my supersensory matrix and how it worked. I was confident there was no way to make it work like this. But I had an idea.
“Banélin. Take the supersensory matrix. If you hold the connection to both of us, you can decide who hears. Though… If you don’t have at least medium enrichment, you’ll have difficulty using it.”
He hesitated for a moment after I cut the connection.
“No, let’s try it like this first. I am hesitant to touch something with that much eldritch vis.”
I blinked.
“Then make sure to keep some distance from me.”
The dwarf gulped and nodded. I noticed him making a hand-sign following which the strange mental presence once again approached. I saw it connect to the edge of the dwarf’s conscious and retreated my own magic. After a bit of back and forth, we somehow managed to hold onto half of his mind without coming into contact.
“You’ll have to translate manually whatever I say, probably.”
He nodded and sunk to the ground. His breathing got fast and uneven very quickly until the ground below opened up, trees growing within moments to form a chair. I saw life and plant mana flow through and the dwarf was able to calm down with a few deep breaths. He rubbed his forehead before turning to me.
“Alright. This can work.”
“I’ll keep an eye on your flux. It’s rising quickly.”
“Thanks.”
Another minute passed without any conversation. Or at least none I was part of. I noticed the dwarf’s mind move and interact with the other soul. They were talking to each other. Finally, they were done. For the moment.
“Good. Now, Nymph is understandably worried you might harm her to gain strength. She would like to know your Class and levels.”
“You… don’t know them? At least, my Class, I expected you to know. Captain Dor did [Identify] me and he has it at level seven.”
“Yes. As a Citizen, you have the right to live in the Dwarven Hills no matter your Class or past. You have done service to Borsdown qualifying for citizenship. So, the details on your status page are kept to those you want to show them. Nymph has level seven [Identify] as well. She could just force that information. But she is not unreasonable.”
“I see. Then… I’ll tell you. But only if I am allowed to [Identify] her in case she agrees to show herself.”
A nod was my answer. Another silent conversation happened on the other end of the dwarf’s mind. I took another deep look at his flux. It was high. About two-thirds of capacity. At least it seemed talking to the Guardian did not worsen it by much.
“Alright. Nymph agrees”, he finally returned to our conversation.
“I’m an [Assassin] level 59 and my race is level 29.”
The flux had grown to three-quarters capacity.
“That’s your limit. Flux is getting dangerous.”
I disconnected.
The dwarf let out a deep sigh and sunk into his chair-tree. He closed his eyes. I saw his forehead move and wrinkle as he most likely conversed with the Nymph. For a whole three minutes, nothing else happened. I simply stood there, waiting. Then, the dwarf looked at me.
“Thank you for being honest, Fio. Nymph and I have come to the conclusion you will get very little from killing her in the open. Your Class combined with your approach should reduce experience to a negligible amount. She is willing to meet you, as long as I can stay and watch.”
I blinked. That made an unsettling amount of sense. But they had overlooked an important part. If my target was Nymph, I just had to avoid leaving witnesses. Which meant killing Banélin as well. With how exhausted he was, that would be very easy. Luckily for them, I had no such plans. I nodded my agreement and the tree-chair turned on the spot, roots digging themselves out of the ground and carrying the dwarf towards the grove. I followed the odd living carriage. The trees right in front started to bend and part, letting a larger opening of about two metres. I half expected some oversized rodent to step out but no, it was just more plants. And they were not stepping out. They were growing out.
A set of small trees grew from the shadows of the grove, leaves and branches soon covering every inch of the surface. Small flowers bloomed here and there in soft pinks and whites. Were those apple blossoms? Or cherry? I did not know my trees well enough.
Then, the new branches started rustling softly. Something was moving up through them. A few leaves widened and formed a cover about two metres away at the height of my eyes. Then they parted to reveal a small, green body. Four long legs held an elongated torso above the wood. Another two legs, looking more like arms, were held in front with hooked scythes at their ends. The insectoid face mustered me with its tiny bug eyes, two antennae twitching slightly. The Nymph was a…
[Identify]
Species: Praying Mantis (Adult)
Age: 380
Name: Nymph
Gender: female
Level: 78
And that age! By the horrors of the Empty, how could an insect grow so old? She was not even an evolved species! Did she pick Affinity on reaching major enrichment? Did that also increase her lifespan?
She gave a small bow of her head, my [Identify] having completely failed to activate its hidden condition. She had higher mental Attributes than I! She had to have a magic-based Class, otherwise, that would not make sense. I had a good idea what it was, as well.
I answered her bow with a deep bob of my head, eyes closed. She was very much my senior. I did not want to displease her. I could learn so much. By now, it was somewhat obvious why she was cautious to meet others. At that size, I could swallow her quite easily and most dwarves were larger than me. Even with a lot of physical Attributes, she would be in danger, but she had a magic Class on top of that.
Nymph soon decided to use her Skill. [Telepathy] felt different from the supersensory matrix. It was far less intimate, not connecting directly to the soul through the Empty but having a more physical presence of vis. My [Owl’s Senses] was able to spot the tendril going through reality as soon as the connection was formed.
“Welcome to my home, Fio.”
I could feel a lot of emotion in those few words. The supersensory matrix was more intimate but that only meant it was easier to take the feelings without the other party knowing. Nymph sent along what moved her at that moment. There was the fear of prey before a predator, forming an undertone that could never quite leave her mind. There was expectation and hope at meeting someone with similar mana enrichment and skilled at manipulating it. There was worry for her friend, still exhausted from the flux in his body. And there was a tinge of superiority as her [Identify] laid my soul bare.
I sent a burst of irritation along with my words.
“Thank you for meeting me. I guess it’s fair but my [Identify] is lower level than yours. Will you at least tell me your Class and if you have an Affinity?”
Amusement and a hint of relief came with her answer.
“Hum, I suppose. I am a [Grove Druid] and I have an Affinity.”
I knew it! I let out a clicking chuckle.
“Thanks. Then, let’s get comfortable. We have lots to talk about.”
“Indeed.”
