This story is intended to be fairly wholesome and for most viewers. However…
*This story contains LGBTQ characters and concepts.
Book of the Dryads – Chapter 3
New abilities, New Directions
=== At the dryad village. ===
"So, let me get this straight. You two encountered Emily's parents - Skyla's former wife and her traitorous friend, and in the argument, Skyla was shown to be a dryad in full view of everyone."
"Yes, Lilac," both of them said, their heads down.
Lilac sighed. "If there is any consolation, it's that the people of the outpost are those who either have encountered us before and have kept the secret or are those who have shown a willingness to defend us. However..." Lilac nodded to the pale-skinned dryad man behind them, who walked out. "... We need to make sure this Tomas and Mary don't know about us. They might be ones to talk, and they have the resources to make us hurt."
"What are you going to do to them?" Skyla asked.
"Honestly, I wouldn't mind if they 'disappeared'..." Emily muttered under her breath.
"Marcar will handle memory alteration. He will change their memories to think Emily died and erase their memory of ever having seen a dryad. Don't worry, he knows what to do."
"A little different than others we haven't been able to trust, but there were a lot more pieces to deal with this time..." said Skyla.
“How does that even work?” Emily asked.
“We use a special kind of spore, born of magic, that allows us to tap into memories. It’s not easy for us to do, but it has proven necessary to keep ourselves hidden from those who would harm us.”
"So, what about the offer?" Emily asked.
"Give me a while to think about it. This is not an easy decision. We have prided ourselves on our secrecy here. It has protected us. But as you yourself have said, and as the people at the outpost implied, we aren't going to stay hidden forever. It's a hard truth to take in, but it is the truth. I must make preparations and think things through carefully. You may go."
Emily and Skyla left the shrine. "I think that went about as well as it could have..." said Skyla. "It was a good thing the people at the outpost were friendly."
"Of all the things, those two had to follow me all the way here? I was pretty sure I made it clear in my note I never wanted anything to do with them again..."
"I thought you were exaggerating when you talked about them earlier. Now I realize you were sugar-coating it. They’re horrible people. I'm sure Amy would have become sick from being near them."
"Amy has 'heartsight,' correct? The empathy ability? I thought that was touch only?"
"Usually, unless the feelings are strong enough, she can sense it in close proximity - and those two oozed toxic negativity. She would have felt it."
"It's amazing these magic abilities you dryads have, and not all of you have them."
"Actually, about that... I've been meaning to tell you I have one too!"
"Wait, really!? What did you get?" Emily asked with considerable enthusiasm.
"I gained an ability to identify mineral compositions and know exactly the kind of minerals I am looking at. I can scoop up dirt and tell you everything that's in it!"
"That's amazing, but why haven't I heard about this yet?"
"For one, I hadn't gotten around to it yet. Second, I am the first dryad to have this ability, as far as we know."
"Wait, you developed an ability the dryads have never seen before? How?"
"Lilac thinks it's because of my mining background. It influenced my magic development, and as a result, I can make out any mineral I come across!”
“So there might be more abilities the dryads could have that they’re not even aware of yet… Fascinating…” Emily pondered.
“Would you like to see what we’re using it for?”
“Of course!”
=======
Skyla took Emily to a tunnel cut into the grove’s mountain walls. Large roots were snaking in from the forest’s trees, grown in with the help of the dryad’s basic magic. As they ventured deeper, Emily could see why: not only were the roots being used to support the cave network, they allowed for growth of glowing fruits and lichens to keep the place illuminated for the dryads to see their work.
Emily was given a wooden helmet and a set of pads for protection. They were grown for her, and they fit her head and body perfectly. As Skyla and Emily made their way down, she could see just how much work the dryads had accomplished since they started this project: she could tell the dryads had made it well past bedrock, no small feat, given they were using plant-based magic and seemingly basic wood tools.
Even still, that didn’t prepare her for the large chamber cut out of the stone below the village. It was massive! It was about the same size as the village square, and about 50 feet tall!
“My God, how did you manage this?!” Emily exclaimed.
“Creative problem solving. We can use basic dryad magic to fortify tools made from plants, but that’s not enough. With some insight from me, we also have created living machinations that mimic more modern tools.”
“Wait, you can recreate complex things with plants?!” Emily asked, jotting down everything furiously.
“It’s fairly new, something we’ve only been doing since I arrived and joined the community. But as we’ve been growing, we need more space. Obviously, it’s hard to grow out with the valley the way it is. We can grow our trees up, but even that has limits…”
“So you go down…”
“Exactly! With my guidance, we can dig through all of this and make more space for the village. This might also help later if Lilac decides to take up the outpost’s offer; we have found a few precious metals down here, including some gold. It does nothing for dryads right now, so it would make for excellent trade fodder later.”
“So even now, that cursed yellow metal keeps showing up in your life, doesn’t it?”
“Heh, yeah, it seems I can’t avoid it, can I? But if it helps the dryads, then it’s worth it…”
“Oh, Skyla, you’re here!” said a purple dryad as he ran up to them. “We got some ore we need you to look at!”
“Oh, perfect opportunity! Show me the way!”
The dryad man took the two over to a wall on the far side. As he did, Emily was looking around. She had been in a couple of caves in her life, but this one didn’t smell stale at all. She realized there was another reason for the root system: air filtration. The air down here was just as fresh on the surface thanks to the roots the dryads were hard at work growing down here.
“Admiring the work?” asked the violet man.
“I never imagined any of this was possible. It’s so pretty…” Emily started scribbling down more notes.
He leaned over to Skyla. “Does she know the other reason we’re growing down here?” he whispered.
“Not yet, I don’t think,” Skyla whispered back. “She has to earn Lilac’s trust first. It may be a few years… You know Lilac.”
“Of course. Let’s just hope she learns sooner rather than later… It could be a real shock for her later to see she isn’t aging like she should…”
The group came up to the ore deposit in question. A small nub was exposed. A gleam came from it, but it seemed lighter than silver. “So, Skyla, what does your Mineral Sense tell you?”
Skyla put her hand on it. Her hand glowed. Emily absorbed the sight.
“Hmm… Oh, this is rare ore indeed! We have some platinum over here. It’s a hard, dense metal. Really heat resistant. We have about a cubic foot. You need to chisel round it a little bit more, then use some Pressure Roots to erode the material around it.”
“Okay, thanks, Skyla!”
“Anytime!”
“Platinum?! That’s rarer than gold!” Emily exclaimed.
“It seems the valley is rich in all sorts of deposits. It might even be what contributes to the good soil we have, with all sorts of minerals that you won’t find anywhere else,” Skyla explained.
“Good soil, magic, rich minerals… What doesn’t this place have?”
“Well, we’ve tried to replicate sunlight with our magic, but it never works. Also, although it grants us a lot of insight into life and how it works, we can only really manipulate plants directly. We have to infer and experiment to make medicines for other animals… Or so it was explained to me.”
Emily was scribbling it all down. “So your magic is limited to some extent?”
“That’s what I understand.”
“Fascinating…”
“So, our underground work has to be limited. As plant beings ourselves, we need sunlight every now and then. I can foresee us not being able to go every deep without some way to bring the sun down here… We’re working on it.”
“You know, a series of well-placed mirrors might work…” Emily suggested.
“We were thinking the same thing. We just got to make the mirrors ourselves, or…” Skyla paused for a moment. “Honestly, I hope Lilac takes the offer. I think the dryads need more help than they’re willing to admit.”
“I can tell the dryads are a proud people. And I understand their mistrust of humans. I mean, look how you got here…”
“Yeah…” Skyla said, her tone down.
“But look on the bright side! You found yourself, and your daughter is here, with you rather than them! Seriously, I am never going back to that life. I love you, mom!”
Skyla’s eyes welled up as she smiled. She reached down and hugged Emily. “Th-thank you so much!”
Emily returned the hug, smiling as she did so. “You’re welcome!”
Several nearby dryads saw the display and gushed over the display of affection. It brought tears to some of their eyes.
=== The next morning. ===
Lilac summoned the dryads to the sacred Lake of One’s Truth. She had an announcement to make…
“My people, you no doubt heard of what happened the other day with Emily and Skyla… And the offer made by the people of the nearby outpost…” she started.
“And? What do you plan to do, elder?” asked one of the dryads.
Lilac closed her eyes. “It’s not like we can avoid contact with humans forever. Amy and Skyla aren’t the first to come into our fold. And as Emily has proved, they won’t be the last. If the people of the outpost are genuine about their offer, we should accept it. We need to make our voices heard to the wider world…”
“Because you can already feel the affects of human industry, right?” Emily asked.
Lilac nodded. “I know the more sensitive ones among us – myself included – can smell the ash of human activity coming closer to our realm. If we can offer guidance to willing ears, we should. Otherwise, we could be lost without anyone knowing we’re here… It’s time we see if we can trust humans again… I will be choosing several dryads to bring with me, as well as Emily, who is chronicling our people at this very moment. But I want to make sure all voices are heard. If you have any objections, please say something now…”
A very scarred dryad man walked forward. Emily noted his ears were a different shape than most, somewhat like ferns or palm tree leaves. “If anyone would have objections, it would be me. I was there when conquerors burned down my realm in the land they now call Florida.” He took a deep breath. “But as those who’ve come through our grove recently have proved, not all of their kind are bad. And I remember the days when the native people of these lands respected us and our word. They’re still out there, no matter where they’ve come from. It may be that we just need them to hear us. It won’t work with everyone, but it will work with some of them. Enough, I pray.”
A lot of the dryads began nodding in agreement.
“It’s settled then! In a few hours, I will take those I choose to the outpost and negotiate a deal. With hope, we will be back with good tidings… For now, return to your normal lives.”
The dryads began dispersing. Emily, who had never been here, decided to take a peek at the mysterious lake, with Skyla beside her. She was relieved that her reflection was almost identical to herself, pushing any doubt out of her mind of who she was… Although it intrigued her that she had the same exact flower as Skyla did.
“Like mother, like daughter…” Skyla said with a grin.
“Heh, I knew I liked that flower of yours, I just didn’t think I liked it that much!”
“So… Are you thinking of…?”
“No, not right now, at least. I can’t say it’s out of the question one day, but for now, I’m fine staying a human. No one’s treating me poorly for it around here.”
“That’s not the response I expected, but It’s not unheard of among our people…” Skyla and Emily turned around to see Lilac behind them. She came up to the mirror-like lake and saw Emily’s dryad reflection for herself. “Then again, if you look that similar, I can see you putting it off for a while. It’s whatever you choose, Emily.”
“Thank you, ma’am!”
“Do you mind coming with me, with your book? There are things I wish to discuss with you, Emily.”
“Like?”
“Our past with humans. Before we go, I want you to know about our history…”
CHAPTER 3 END
By CrystalSeaDragon44
