CHAPTER 25: LEARNING TO BE AN ELF
“What doyou know about forest trolls?” I asked the others, once Sen-ti had crept into hiding. He had pointed us to the direction the troll had last been seen, told us that at least ten of his fellow Wildings had been killed by the creature, who hated them, for some reason, and then skedaddled out of sight. I knew he was watching us, though. He’d be able to find us. After exiting their home, I realized that I could sense Wildings—I could feel Sen-ti’s energy.
“I don’t know if we’ve fought one in the game,” Reggie said.
“We did, once,” Thornhold said. “Remember the campaign where we fought MiaDia? The ghost witch?”
I thought back. Then, like a slow drip, the memories filtered through. “Yes, I do. For some reason it just doesn’t register?—”
“That’s because you were dealing with personal problems,” Brynn said, her voice soft.
I frowned, trying to dredge up the memories. And then, they came. That was the week I caught my then-fiancé cheating with my then-best friend.
I had decidedto take the afternoon off to spend with Lucas, and when I got home, ready to make a romantic dinner, I saw his car in the driveway. Worried that he was sick, I hurried in. I heard some noise from upstairs, and—still thinking he was groaning in pain—dashed up the stairs and into the bedroom. Where Lucas was on his hands and knees, face plastered between the legs of my best friend. She saw me first, screamed, and slammed her knees together, smashing Lucas’s head.
He let out a loud curse, glanced over his shoulder, wincing, to see me coming at him from the doorway. Lena wasn’t the only one who gave his ears a thrashing that day. So angry I couldn’t think, I popped him a good one across his face, then boxed his ears.
After that, I turned on Lena, chasing her down the hall and out the door naked. She raced into the yard, and I slammed the door, locking her outside on the front lawn. Between her screaming for Lucas to help her, and Lucas alternately cussing me out and begging me for a second chance, I realized I couldn’t deal with anything. I grabbed Lena’s clothes and Lucas’s pants, stuffed them into his arms, and just as silently pushed him toward the stairs. He hurried down them—he probably thought I was going to push him down them—and I followed him, pointing at the door.
“Get out of here, you asshole.”
“Erenye—please, just listen to me,” he said.
I gave him a cold stare. “You have ten seconds to get out, or I start destroying everything you own.” My voice felt as strong as my heart felt broken.
He gave me a long look, decided that I meant it, and left. I locked the door, turned the deadbolt, and stood there in my broken world, trying to decide what to do.
“Right,I remember now. I didn’t want to think, I didn’t want to tell anybody, so I showed up for the game that night. I have very little recollection of what went on, but now I remember. We fought the ghost-witch, who had conjured up a forest troll. But we managed to kill her before the troll could fully materialize. So all it took were a few strikes to take him out.” I snorted.
I had gotten over Lucas in good time, I finally told my friends about what happened when they noticed I was barely paying attention that night, and now—now I considered myself lucky that I’d escaped a red-flag relationship. I had gone on a few dates since then, but I had no interest in getting involved with anybody on a deeper basis. I could take care of my own needs, and my friends rounded out my social circle. And now, back at base, I had Star waiting for me.
“Okay, forest trolls. I remember we did look them up once we figured out what she was conjuring,” Ray said. “They’re vulnerable to fire, but blunt weapons won’t do much damage on them. They’re a Level 7 monster, chaotic evil, and they hate Elves, because Elves have a connection to the forest and can usually use that connection to prevent the forest troll from going on rampages.”
I frowned. “I know I have a connection to the forest, but I didn’t realize I could use it against creatures. I usually play a Symcat, so I’m not that familiar with the Elfin race.”
“What are their stats?” Brynn asked.
“About nine feet tall, strength of 18+, vulnerable to fire but almost immune to blunt attacks, so use your sword,” Ray said. “And given you’re a ranger,” he said to me, “you should be able to commune with the forest to find him.”
I hadn’t realized that. “Can I do that for more than forest trolls?”
“I think so. Why don’t you pick a tree and give it a try?” Reggie said.
I shrugged, but stepped up to the nearest tree. It was a huge old maple. Not sure what to do, I decided to place my hands on the trunk. I closed my eyes and leaned my forehead against the grain of the bark, reaching out, searching for some semblance of thought.
And there it was. But the tree was sleeping—softly resting till spring. It sighed as I reached out, like a sleeper turning in her slumber, but still she slept, lingering in some ageless, endless plane. I backed away and looked around, sending out feelers, trying to find one of the trees that was awake.
I was drawn to a tall cedar tree. I slid between the lush branches, inhaling the cleansing scent of the wood. I pressed my hands to the trunk, and then laid my cheek against the bark. Immediately, I felt a sense of welcoming, of homecoming. The tree’s aura embraced me like a long lost friend. Then, in a communication not of words, but of images and sensations, I asked it where the forest troll was.
The tree embraced me again, and then I saw a stand of brambles, near a boulder, and behind the boulder, the forest troll was gnawing on something that had once been alive. I had no idea what it was, and I didn’t want to know.
I formed a question, trying to project in energy, if the trees could help us keep the forest troll from killing the Wildings. And once again, I felt an acceptance, and then I caught a glimpse of a twisted, gnarled tree and realized that we were standing rightnear it. The bark was gray, old and twisted, and a resin dripped out of it. The cedar tree projected the image of me dipping my arrows in the resin, and I immediately understood. The resin was poison, and it would affect the forest troll. I wanted to ask the name of the poisonous tree, but there were no words for it, so I sent a huge thank you to the tree, and broke away from it.
“The tree over there? It’s sap is poison. The cedar told me to dip my arrow tips in it, and that should poison the forest troll.” I thought for a moment about Elves, and how they seemed to know so much about the forest. No wonder, they were able to communicate with the woodland, and find out secrets.
“Well, shall we try it? But first we have to find the troll,” Brynn said.
“I know where it is, at least approximately. Let me prepare several of my arrows. Just make certain not to touch it—we don’t know if the poison can be transmitted by touch alone, or whether it needs to be injected, so to speak.” As I headed toward the tree, I thought I should gather a bottle of the sap for future use. I knelt down, thanked the gnarled ancient tree, and began to prepare for the coming battle.
