Guardian Spirit

Chapter 18

The hall where the group had been guided into to wait made it difficult to believe they were inside a tree. In size the hall compared favourably to those they had seen in the imperial palace of Ramyn.

The walls lacked many of the elaborate tapestries, but they were replaced by the intricate forms the grains of the wood formed. In many ways the walls were more beautiful to look at than the tapestries or paintings of the imperial palace. There was much more details to be discovered in them.

There were windows, but they were simple and functional ones whose only purpose was to let the light in. There were chairs and tables in the room. They seemed to grow directly from the floor.

Gareth and Cheid were quick to find themselves a seat to rest their weary legs. Ahnilr and Nisoen were tending to the bodies and their proper treatment, leaving Nala alone with the two men.

Even she found it hard to believe an Elf Tree could grow to such scale. Compared to this her parents tree seemed tiny. Then again, the age difference between the trees must have been hundreds, if not thousands of years. They were likely tended to differently as well.

There was a commotion in the hallway outside the room. Nala could make out the shouts and crying. A mother calling for her son. Nerduin's mother, figured Nala. She was tempted to step out and meet her face to face, try to explain what had happened, but she realized now would be the worst of times for that. Instead, she headed to the table where Gareth and Cheid sat and tried to block out the noises from the hallway.

“What's the commotion about?” asked Cheid as Nala sat next to him. Their ears were not as keen as hers.

“Nerduin's mother,” replied Nala quietly.

“Ah.” Cheid glanced that way with slight concern. Gareth seemed to ready himself to fight off anyone looking to come even close to them.

Their fears were unnecessary this time. The voices began to gain distance. Nala sighed out of relief. She hoped they could move on from the city before she had to face anyone from Nerduin's family, but she feared that was a dream that would not come true. She doubted the High Council would be up to making quick decisions. They'd likely debate the matter for at least a few days. They'd probably want to test her as well, but she was determined not to play along with games like that. The goddess had proven what she was plenty of times already and it seemed that every time she needed to do that it led to further problems for her.

She feared being pulled into the politics of the High Council. Nothing good would come out of it.

“How long until they'll see us?” asked Gareth.

Nala shrugged her shoulders. “You heard what Ahnilr said. Even she didn't know when. It could be an hour, it could be it goes until tomorrow.”

“I hope they'll bring us some food then,” said Gareth. The big man seemed to always take any chance he could to enjoy some food.

“I'm sure they'll look after us,” comforted Nala the big man.

They waited. The most excitement the group got was when Cheid paid homage to the throne. He came out all worked up and proceeded to ask questions from Nala.

“What is that liquid in the pit below the seat? How do you keep it smelling like I had just stepped into a forest?”

The young elf looked a bit baffled to have such obvious questions thrown at her, but she soon remembered Cheid was visiting an Elf Tree for the first time. Of course he wouldn't know about such things and the same held true for Gareth.

“It's all thanks to that liquid,” she began to explain and both men listened to her intently. “It's something the trees themselves produce. It absorbs all the waste our bodies produce and turns it into sustenance for the tree. It has the benefit of also masking any smells as you noted.”