Respite

WIth some help from the voice in my head I was able to concentrate enough to leave a simple message for our friends as Reynauld and I made our way out of town heading north. Our travel lasted for hours leaving the two of us in various states of tiredness making the arrival at our destination all the more rewarding. When we made it I was almost slipped off of my feet by the size of the structure I was looking at. The so-called ruin was the still standing remains of a large castle made of an assortment of dark colored stone covered with different forms of moss and natural life. I could see pieces of stone littering the ground as I looked up to see the jagged pieces of a broken arch looming over the both of us.

"How long has this place been sitting here?" "My guess is as good as your Ms. This place could just be some run down fort that Dismas and I just happened upon when we were raiding the nearby dungeon." I looked over to him and cocked my head, "What do you mean by dungeon?" Reynauld pulled out another map this time covered in road paths and border lines.

"The dungeons became active about five years ago the closest to this place have undead in them, the one to the south produces these weird mushroom creatures, to the east live a tribe of pig spawn the terrible things, and to the east near the abandoned ports are when you can find the cult of very aggressive fish people carrying a highly contagious disease. I've also heard stories about the people that attacked us earlier but no one knows where they came from."

< This place just keeps getting weirder and weirder, but it's definitely better than standing in the same place for a literal eternity. The undead thing could be a potential problem but I for one would love to meet the little pig people and see what they're like. >

"You said that we were near a dungeon right, do you know if this place is safe to sleep in for the night at least?" The outside looked strong enough to defend us but being so close to one of these weird places sounded both unwise and unsafe. "There still could be some reanimated bones rattling about in the unchecked areas of this place but Dismas and I have cleared the parts where we'll be making camp so everything should be fine." I looked up at the archway one more time before walking into the dark insides of the building.

Reynauld and I slowly made our way through the halls of the building walking past many either sealed or busted down doors. I decided to walk into one of the open rooms we passed by but there was nothing except a wooden desk sat across from a decently sized bed covered in drapes. There was a lingering smell of mildew that caught my attention as I looked over to a large bookcase that stretched along the wall across from the bed. "This place looks like it used to be a study of sorts, I wonder if any of the books are still intact?"

< Is there anything you're looking for in particular because judging by the current states of everything in here even I can tell most of these books have begun rotting after being here for so long. There might be somethings in the desk though how about you give that a look first, we might even find some hundred year old smut books if that's what's got you so curious about those book. >

"I'm choosing to ignore that last bit and to focus on the fact that there could be valuable things hidden in old places like these even if things are a bit moldy."

< How about we find somewhere to sleep before we go rummaging through some dead person's personal book collection doesn't that sound so much better, I think it does. >

I ended up leaving the room and to my surprise I found a currently unarmoured Reynauld setting up four sleeping bags in a circle around a pre-built campfire. The rest of the room was filled with an assortment of barrels and sacks along with some decorative items. There were partially melted candles scattered across the floor that acted as the rooms only source of lighting.

"This is where the four of us will sleep for the night the door is the only way in and out and you can find our food rations in those barrels. Just don't be afraid if anything goes bump in the night as I said Dismas and I have only cleared out this part of the building so be cautious if you plan on doing anymore exploring Ms." "Thanks Reynauld", I walked over to one of the sleeping bags and began my rest.

When Dismas and Audrey had finally arrived both of them looked like they were on the verge of collapsing, Reynauld and I even had to help them walk to their respective sleeping areas. "Are you two hurt, we made some food if you're hungry." I went over to the fire where we had some stew cooking, filled four bowls and passed one out to everyone. "I appreciate both the food and your concern but there's no need to worry, the knights lost track of us long before we reached the city gates. But I have to ask, was the talking tree you're doing?"

< I knew the tree message was a good idea, we should really find more efficient ways to manifest our powers rather than wasting it all wildshaping. It'll help us conserve our power making it so we can get into more than one fight at a time. And since we're on the topic of power usage how about we spruce up this dusty old room. >

Listening to Alys' thoughts I put down my bowl and began pushing some of the energy I had recovered through the marks on my hand. "Take this as a small sign of my trust in all of you." Everyone around me watched as my arm began to glow with a familiar faint green light they had all seen before, but instead of the claws and fangs they would normally see everyone sat in awe as I lifted my hand into the air causing every plant in the nearby area began to bloom and grow at a rapid pace. I was so focused I didn't even see the vines reaching out wrapping themselves around everything and everyone.

I felt the flow of energy pouring out of me through the ground and into the plants that continued their rapid growth. I felt connected to every plant in the room but I had to force myself to stop before the drain could become too taxing and even I was surprised by the result I got. The room was completely different from when I first saw it, the room was covered in these snake-like vines and I just stood there. "What's going on?"

< Wait for it, this is the fun part. >

The marks began lighting up on my arms brighter than I'd ever seen them before as every plant in the room began to light up and glow with this emerald green light. The amount of light reminded me of when I first met Aerous so I quickly shut my eyes to avoid being blinded. When the light had finally died down I opened my eyes to see what was left and what I saw was beautiful.

Broken parts of the wall had been pieced back together, melted candles had been replaced with an assortment of brightly glowing lamps, every shredded painting had been mended, and our sleeping mats had been replaced with four elegant beds. Even the scent in the area had been replaced by the smells of freshly bloomed flowers.

"A simple yes would have been enough but I honestly haven't felt this good in a long time." I looked over to the places where I last saw my friends and just like the room every part of them had been seemingly cleaned and restored. Their clothes were freshly cleaned and any lingering wounds they had were gone leaving them looking like they had taken a trip to one of the local spa places I had been told about. "Thank you for this Rose but I think we need to survive through a bit more before I can comfortably say I trust you." This statement immediately caused him to catch a punch in the shoulder from Audrey, "Ignore him."

The only person who hadn't spoken yet was Reynauld who was busy examining his armor. The dents and scratches on Reynauld's chestplate were replaced with a crest depicting a golden sun resting in the center of a silver cross. He pulled his longsword from its scabbard and held the pristine blade like it was the first time he had ever picked it up. It was only when his hands began to tremble and his resolve began to crack did he resheathe the iron blade. "Thank you for this Ms. but I think it would be best if I turned in for the night."

< I wonder what upset him so much >

The days continued to go by as the news of an attack on holy knights quickly spread throughout the city, leading to more guards being stationed and a warrant put out looking for people who matched four distinct descriptions. A man of average height wearing a fur coat and red bandana, a woman dressed in dark clothing with a mole on her face, and two women dressed like members of the church believed to be the runaways that were already being searched for. These descriptions fit two of the people who had been helping me since I first arrived in this world which made the option of getting help from any authoritative figures hypothetical at best.

If the news of an attack on the market didn't catched the eyes and ear of the people, the idea of someone actually attacking people as feared and respected as knights surely would. The spreading of this information caused problems for everyone involved ranging from people being falsely accused, a brief increase in crime involving theft, all the way to raids on any buildings considered to be known hideouts for criminals. These events all happened over the course of few months with me only hearing about them when someone and I went on a weekly supply run.