42 The Newborn Dryad

The new dryad is definitely not Flora. She may have a similar appearance in a younger form, but the Flora I knew had passed. This one is spawned from her seed, so it is more or less her daughter.

Amusingly enough, she considers me her mama. Have I been imprinted on? I'm not sure how I'm supposed to feel about that since I'm still in my twenties. Whatever the case is, it's my duty to protect her since she's been entrusted to me. And she is kind of a cutie.

I pinch the dryad child's cheeks. She makes a little yelp, and then giggles. Tiny tendril fingers reach up to pinch me in return.

"Mama!"

"Oh, you're so precious! I should probably come up with a name for you. Hmmm."

I can name her Flora, but as her own entity she deserves her own name.

The dryad furrows her brows and mimics me, "hmmmm."

"What do you think? Azalea? Lily? Marigold? Camellia?"

"Cammy!" She exclaims.

Cammy hops off my lap and runs around the room yelling her new name.

"Cammy! Cammy! Cammy! Mama," and then throws her arms over me exhausted. "Cammy hungry…"

"I'm not even sure what dryads eat." I start looking around the room, but the only thing I can think of is water since dryads are entities of nature.

From my staff, I conjure water into a cup and lower it in front of her. Instead of drinking it, her hand unravels into a tangle of roots that dip into the water, soaking it up in no time. The buds at the tips of her hair open up to tiny fruits. Cammy plucks one out and hands it to me.

"For me? Uh…"

Cammy looks at me expectantly, but I'm reluctant to eat something that was a part of her body. I don't want to disappoint her, so I pop the strawberry-like fruit into my mouth. It bursts as soon as I bite into it, a sweet and sour flavor blesses my taste buds.

"Mmmm! Cammy, this is amazing."

It isn't just the taste that's incredible, I feel my whole body reinvigorating as though I've drunk a stamina draught.

Cammy continues to explore her new home with the curiosity of a newborn baby. She chases my familiar around much like Gurk does, but thanks to her tendrils and roots she is able to entangle him with ease. Rio is gentle around her and knows not to use his monstrous strength to break free.

While the two of them play, I take this time to brew some more potions. I originally wanted to leave tonight, but Cammy's sudden birth changes things. I can't imagine she will be happy about me leaving.

Or maybe, her birth is actually a good thing. Dryads are viewed as demihumans in the eyes of humanity. If I can show them how harmless and benign Cammy is, it could change their minds for the better.

Bringing her with me might work out in my favor.

"Mama, look!"

Rio is plopped down in front of me. He's been mummified from ear to paw in Cammy's vines. Muffled and unamused meows cry out for help.

"Uh, oh. Cammy—!"

***

Being a creature of fae origins, Cammy couldn't sit still in one place. She ran back outside to play, but I made sure to send Rio to keep an eye on her.

By the evening, I brewed an additional batch of restoration potions and elixirs of strength. These won't be for myself or the demihumans. Instead, I plan to gift them to King Marcus as a gesture of goodwill.

"With these done, I shouldn't waste anymore time and head out tomorrow. I'll need to secure a mode of transportation. I could just walk to Durai and hope I come across a wild horse but..."

I decide to put those thoughts on hold and look for Cammy. As I step outside of my home, I find Blue struggling against plant-like restraints at the steps.

"Mmmrpph!!"

"Cammy," I mutter under my breath.

It isn't just Blue, there are others who are entangled as well. I follow the trail of her chaos, freeing each unfortunate victim from their bindings. I finally get to Gurk who is none the happier to see me. Apparently he has been bound since the afternoon.

"Did you see where she went?"

"New guardian went to Mistress' underground garden."

"Oh, shit. Miuna!"

We hurry downstairs to find Cammy looking over the wooden container housing Miuna.

"Cammy!"

"Mama, look. It's bouncy!"

Cammy is poking the slime with a tennoraphallus she plucked from the ceiling. If Miuna could look angry, the bright red glow of its body is the telling sign.

"Ellori help… She keeps poking me with the— what is it? Penis? Mushroom? Mushroom penis? Penishroom?"

"Tennoraphallus," I answer, stifling a laughter.

The thick mushroom smacks against the gelatinous body and bounces right off. Miuna seems to have made its body composition thicker to prevent it from entering.

"I don't care what it is! Make her stop—"

The tennoraphallus spurts out its liquid spores on Miuna's body, catching the slime by surprise. It loses focus for a moment, and consequently allows the mushroom to breach past the surface of its body. Miuna absorbs both, disintegrating the matter in seconds.

"Uwwaahh… it feels so weird and sticky. What is that? What is that??"

"Are you okay, Miuna?" I manage to pull Cammy, who's having the time of her life, away from the container.

"I think so. Never had a mana-infused penishroom in me before."

"You're probably fine— did you just say mana-infused?"

"Oh, yeah. It was brimming with mana," it says as a matter of factly.

Actually, it isn't uncommon for something like the tennoraphallus to absorb mana— especially when it's bathed in it. This room is brimming with it because of the magic crystals that are grown in here.

Miuna's body begins to shiver. "Uuu… something's coming out!"

A bright pink liquid secretes from its body and pools around the container. I procure an empty vial from my belt and scoop up the liquid. Cammy sees this chance to absorb some with her roots. I'm too slow to stop her, and she manages to soak up some of it.

The tips of her hair bloom again with a different kind of fruit. This time, they look like translucent cherries.

"Interesting…"

I'll need to do more experiments. But judging by the two times this has happened, I can only surmise that Cammy bears fruit to different substances according to what is absorbed. First, I'll need to find out what this new secretion is.

"Miuna, I don't suppose you know what you just secreted?"

"Beats me," Miuna says. "It's never happened before.

The liquid gives off a sour scent. "If it's anything like your orc sperm secretions, I should probably not drink this."

***

Ana visits later in the evening after hearing about the birth of a dryad child.

"Oh, my god. She's the most darling little thing!"

Without regard for her own safety, Ana scoops the dryad into her arms. I stand by holding my breath, ready to break them up in case something happens. My worries are unfounded. Cammy reciprocates the affection with open arms.

"I want my own! El, give me one, too." Ana squeals with delight.

Since there's no danger, I pull up a chair and pour some tea for Ana. She plays with the dryad as a mother would a child. It occurs to me that Ana is in fact a mother, and has sired an orc son herself.

"You can't just own her. Besides, she's the kobolds— well, Ellowyn's guardian now. Cammy belongs to everyone."

"I've always wanted a daughter. It's too bad orcs don't have a female counterpart," she remarks while playing peekaboo with Cammy. "I hear you're leaving for Lotherain in the morning. Nervous?"

Lotherain. The capital of Parthun. It's not a grand city like the kingdoms to the north, but it is still the seat of power in these lands.

"The most I've ever dealt in politics is deciding what I want to eat in the morning. But lives are at stake. Running away isn't an option."

Ana offers me a warm smile. "If mulling over breakfast was our only worry, the world would go to hell in a heartbeat. My boys don't know what they want for breakfast let alone lunch and dinner!"

It's nice having a casual conversation. Just sitting around and talking gives me a heavy dose of nostalgia. How I wish to return to those lackadaisical times of wasting my days away. How I wish to just bury my face in ancient tomes and grimoires under dim light, with a cup of hot chocolate on the nightstand.

There was a time I didn't have to worry about losing my life— losing Mira or any life for that matter.

I feel a hand fall upon mine. Ana gives a reassuring squeeze and ushers Cammy onto my lap.

"Mama?"

I sigh and say, "I would have preferred to be a sister, but I guess mama will have to do."

Ana walks with me to return Cammy to her guardian tree. We each give her a kiss goodnight before she embeds herself into the trunk.

"I was hoping you can do me a favor," Ana hands me a letter. "Before everything goes to shit— and we know it will— I want to make amends with my parents. Could you make sure they get that?"

"Consider it done."

Ana gives me a big hug and races off. I'm left with a letter addressed to two names whom I assume are her parents.

"I should visit my parents, but I don't think time will be on my side…" I glance up to the canopy, hoping to catch sight of a star. Unfortunately, harsh winds appear to be blowing in thick clouds over the horizon.

My parents may just have a wait a bit longer.

Or perhaps, they may not need to wait at all.