Jade let Rimmer work the rest of the day and was put into a healing tank by Rezu that night.

When she woke she found a message from Rimmer saying she was going to sleep for a few days the next morning. After spending a few hours trying to study, and finding that she was completely unable to focus, she went to the simroom and did some light exercises before getting shitfaced drunk.

The next thing she knew she was being dragged out of a healing tank by some drones.

Now she followed Rezu through the lab. It was long before dawn. Her body was stiff. At least the healing tank juice washed out of her normal hair easily. Too bad the tank did nothing for her hangover.

“Are you listening?” Rezu shouted at her.

“Yea. Trees are evil. Or something.” She held her pounding skull.

Rezu stopped and turned “The treefolk are our largest allied army on the planet. We depend on them to defend the vast areas between kingdoms. We couldn’t possibly keep the swarms at bay without their help. But our treaty depends on us staying out of their territories. You violated that. And you injured one of them.”

Jade groaned. “Somebody should have told me about the evil tree people.”

“Nobody expected you to cross the mountain range.”

“Well nobody expected that nasty bitch to show up, but she did. And when I say nasty, I mean fucking nasty. I drank four liters of alcohol and I can still cant get the taste out of my mouth.” She spit.

“Was that four liters since the battle or just what you drank last night?”

“Everybody else gets to act like a cunt whenever they want. I can have my bad days too.”

“Try not having them when we are going to see the treefolk.”

She sighed, “I’m sorry. I keep having bad dreams.”

He put a hand on her shoulder. “You have been through a lot lately. When things settle down I will take you somewhere, to clear your head.”

“But, I can’t leave the lab.”

“Are you going to complain or accept my offer?”

“Ok. Whatever. Let’s go deal with the evil trees.”

“Good.” He said, “I will do the talking. You get your energy out of the one you wounded. Then we get the hell out of there.”

“Sounds like a plan, boss man. You care if I borrow your claim again, when we get back? I need a few more showers to get my fur clean.”

“Nova, is not here. But you can ask her yourself, when she gets back.”

Jade teased. “You like her, don’t you.”

“She saw what I did to Red Rock Keep and she didn’t lose her mind. She is strong.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“Shut up and move.” He took her arm and encouraged her forward. “We want to be out of the forest before dark.” Rezu was wearing thick black leather pants and jacket and gloves. He had given her similar clothes. Some of the briars in dryad forests had tranquilizing effects. For a remnant, they would make them drunk.

A few minutes later they appeared on a temporary tele-pad just outside the third gate of Red Rock Keep.

Jade screamed and fell on her ass. She stared up at the biggest titan she had ever seen.

It loomed over her and waved with a deep gear sound.

She waved back, slowly. “It’s too early, in the morning, for this shit.” She muttered.

Rezu yelled something up at the titan as he pulled her to her feet. They walked. There were ground-shaking footfalls behind them as the titan followed.

It was bright here. Jade spawned her goggles. It was afternoon, about four hours before dark.

They crossed the cleared land and passed near the temple ruins. A bunch of mortals were hard at work chipping and hauling off the stone with picks and wagons.

A commotion went up as a two meter tall tornado of purple lightning and pink fire drifted out of the ruins. People shouted and scattered.

The titan stomped over, glowed amber and stepped on the little tornado. It shattered into vanishing motes.

“Good job Mouse.” Rezu said as he rejoined them and they continued walking parallel to the wall.

“The forest is over there.” Jade pointed.

“Like I told you before, the treefolk specified a meeting place, west of here.”

“Can you move us there with your power?”

“Flashstepping with Mouse hurts like hell and we want the treefolk to see us coming. Suddenly appearing with a titan could be seen as a declaration of war.”

Jade groaned to herself.

Rezu stopped and looked back. He held out his hand and spawned a five meter long vehicle. It had a handlebar and a seat you straddled at the back.

“A dart.” Jade recognized it from the simroom. Her cheeks hurt from grinning at it, “A Valkyrie model right?”

“You know your vehicles. But this one can’t fly. It’s got hover crystals and some other special equipment. I call it a ramdart.”

“Can I drive?”

“I have to go into a dryad forest because of you.” He hopped on the ramdart then looked back at her. “Are you getting on, or do you plan to walk?”

Jade hopped on behind him. “Um, I’ve never been a passenger.”

“Hold tight on to my waist.”

She leaned forward and put her arms around him. She could not help noticing his scent and form as her breasts pressed against him. She trembled as thick straps appeared over them, holding them to the dart.

“Let me remind you, I don’t date Mecromancers.” He revved the dart and in a moment they were racing across the terrain.

Jade had flown many vehicles in the simroom, everything from darts to dreadnought battleships. There were flight-training sims, for every military vehicle imaginable, left over from the war. But Jade had never driven the hover vehicles. Staying near the ground had seemed boring. She had been wrong.

Jade screamed in joy as the wind whipped her hair. Stone wall whizzed by on the right and trees whizzed by on the left. The kilometer between had been cleared of everything, a perfect place to dive a custom hover-dart. They danced from one slight rise in the terrain to the next, never more than a few meters off the ground. It was like riding green waves of earth.

It ended as fast as it had begun. Rezu parked the dart next to the wall and the straps vanished.

Jade held on tight as her chest pounded.

“You can let go now.” Rezu said.

She slowly pulled free. “That, was, awesome.” She stood and focused on controlling her trembling legs. That was when she noticed the massive golem coming along the path behind them.

It was sort of crouched and skimming across the ground like a massive child’s toy.

“When did titans get hover feet?” Jade said.

“It’s way too costly to put hover feet on standard titans. But that is Mouse. He is special.” Rezu folded the ramdart back into his storage.

Jade looked towards the forest.

Rezu spoke firmly. “Don’t talk. Stay next to me. Hold onto my arm if you have to. No magic. We don’t want to spook them. If I say ‘Nova’ throw up as many illusions as you can to give me a chance to flashstep us out.”

The presences in the forest felt like a wounded animals just waiting to strike at any opportunity. “I am the Second. I shouldn’t be doing something so dangerous.”

“We should be fine. They might give a little show of force. But I will take care of them.”

“Well at least now I know who to blame when everything goes to shit.”

“Hi.” A soft voice said beside her.

Jade, slowly, cautiously turned her head. Mouse was now, somehow, three meters tall, He was still broad shouldered and bulky as ever. One person stood on the other side of him, covered in a brown cloak. And a small plant girl with a beaming smile sat on Mouse’s shoulder. Jade whispered “Um… We have a visitor.”

Rezu sighed. “Did you hear anything I said earlier?”

“You told me, no to talking, no magic, and the safe word is Nova.”

“That is Klaus. He… she is a mecromancer. She is friendly. She is here to help smooth things over.”

“Hi.” Jade gave a little wave.

“Illusions will be ineffective versus treefolk.” Klaus said. “Even if we can’t see you, we can track you by feeling where you touch the soil. Stone will dull or block this effect depending in the type and thickness. If you can make illusions with solid footfalls, it might confuse them as to which one is real.”

“Thanks.” Jade nodded. She took Rezu’s hand. “Ok. Let’s get this over with.”