Chapter 41: Secrets and Strategy
Chapter 41: Secrets and Strategy
"Alice, kindly take our guest to the house and see if there's still running water. If there is, get her cleaned up slightly and have her change her pants. Hopefully, get her a fresh pair while you're at it. I'll be talking to Elena here, both to inquire about that herb and to help plan what's to come," Braedon instructed, receiving a pout and a nod from Alice.
"Just make sure I get some action in that 'plan' of yours. I'm really itching right now and need something to sort it. As for you, come on, he may trust you, but I don't. I'll be watching, so any strange movements and I promise it will be your last. So, make sure not to try anything," Alice said, her tone frustrated at first before going cold as she glared at Rebecca, leading her to the house.
Seeing them leave, Braedon turned his focus to Elena, who seemed visibly anxious from her fidgeting.
"Okay, first, does the greenhouse have any herbs like she described? And furthermore, what changes have happened while we were gone? It's clear you and the others have grown much, much stronger," he said to her, getting a bright smile with a small one tugging on his own lips.
"The Yarrow and Witch Hazel have grown a lot stronger. They can heal most wounds. The Aloe works well for skin issues, and the Saint John's Wort is good for nerve pain and injuries. They are the most prominent ones, but none match this Elysium's Vitalis Herb the girl spoke of. Even sap from my own tree, while having extremely high healing properties and able to act as just as strong a poison, pales greatly when compared to what she has described. I'm sorry, Master. As for changes, all the plants have mutated or evolved into stronger forms, but we have kept to the greenhouse. A few of the younger ones did go out searching for you – the Peppermint and Lemon Balm, to be specific. Somehow, they were the first others to get a human-like form. The rest focused more on increasing their natural effects or lethality, while those two felt it wouldn't matter much if their effects were increased. Instead, they focused on getting human-like forms to go look for you, Master," Elena explained, getting a surprised look from Braedon.
"The other herbs can look human now, like you? Not the stick figure ways they were before?" He said, some excitement in his tone, thinking of the possibilities.
"Well, some of them. Others chose to still keep focused on improving themselves instead," Elena said, getting a nod from Braedon, still happy to hear that tidbit of information.
"What happened here while we were gone? I'd like to hear more details since we have some time now, and I doubt she was the first to go in the greenhouse," he told her, getting repeated nods from Elena.
"You're right, Master. There were others who tried to enter, but we ambushed them. At first, we tried to scare them away or chase them off, but those who were persistent became nutrients for us. The fight earlier was because she used some weird kind of smoking stones to make us believe she started fires. While we focused, she got deeper than anyone else has, and that's why we reacted so violently. As for why the fight was so long, it's because that sword she has isn't normal. It seemed to burn just as much as it cut, and she had good instincts. When we tried to ambush her, she reacted faster than anyone else before," Elena said, her expression a mix of sadness and guilt.
"It's fine, my dear. You tried your best and kept everyone safe. That's the important part. So, if you and the others have been evolving and mutating and stuff, is there any fruit or food me and the other humans can eat? I don't think much would be left in the house from the raids, and I can tell you now I'm rather hungry," he told her with a smile as he patted his stomach, hoping to help cheer her up by making her feel useful and feeding into her subservient behavior.
"Mhm mhm, the fruit plants and some veggies would be more than happy to have you eat their products, Master! They will be so happy," Elena said, her head having shot up and giving him a large smile.
"Well, why don't you tell everyone I'm back and get some things organized for us? I'll be back in a bit with Alice and the girl, and we can then eat together," he said, patting her head. No sooner had he said that than she sank into a root, shooting into the greenhouse in excitement. This got a small laugh from Braedon as he turned to head to the house, his smile fading as he began to think.
"Now, there's no way in hell I will be abandoning this place. The plants are more than enough reason to make this our base of operations once we fix things back up. The problem is John had read enough novels and manga to know the controllers of the area won't allow us to stay trouble-free. We're going to need to take care of them. Sigh, back not even an hour, and already having to think of how to handle things," he said, rubbing his eyes.
"Okay, no point letting it get to us. What would John do? Hmmm, oh, I know, haha, yes, this may work. Not the sneak in and kill everyone slowly one by one method I'd do, but it could still work. Besides, I doubt I can even sneak with this large of a frame, even if I can be silent," he said, a grin on his face and a small laugh leaving his lips as he made his way inside to see what could still be salvaged from the house and what work was needed to build it back up.