The Land of Green and Gold Part II: Silence

Chapter 20: Në-Elajira

Macintosh led the Moonlight Band Elder back to the main town road then straight out of town, back into the forest. The young sylph chattered between bites of his apple.

"I haven't actually met 'em yet—Forest Band, I mean. I saws 'em comin' in town to gets supplies yesterday. I thoughts they was Forest Band but wasn't too sure, an' then I heards some other fella call 'em Forest Band in the market where they sells them fancy lanterns." Mac tossed away his apple core and grabbed another apple from his bag. "I was gonna say hi but I chickened out. Ooh, look! There they is!"

Just within a particularly thick border of trees, the group came to a halt at the rim of a shallow valley where around 20 Elder were moving about, seeming to be packing up their camp. Griffin shadow veiled his eyes as he watched, noting the vibrant green color and varying amounts of it within each dryad. There were no sylphs, wisps, spriggans, phoenix, or naiads among them, at least as far as he could see. Although the majority of Forest Band seemed to have an average amount of magic, two in particular stood out: rather than the green magic staying contained within the outline of their bodies, the magic of these Elder flared well beyond the borders, enveloping the two dryads in wreaths of thick green magic that seemed to rustle slightly like leaves in the wind. Unable to see anything of these two powerful Elder other than their magic, Griffin released the shadow veil and studied them warily with his regular sight. They were both middle-aged adults, one female and one male. Although Griffin wasn't close enough to see them very well, he could still make out the female dryad's light brown hair and white flowery sundress, as well as the male dryad's dark brown hair that fell in loose curls to his shoulders. Mac trotted up to Griffin's side, purple wing tips quivering in excitement.

"Mister Rock says they has two Top Wielders. Two! Tha's a lot, i'n it?"

Griffin nodded, still watching the two powerful dryads. That must be them. Two Top Wielders, huh? No wonder Forest Band is famous.

"This is so cool!" Mac continued, still munching away at his apple. "I can't believe I gets to meet two famous bands'n one day!!! And a cow. Apple?"

Griffin shook his head and Mac replaced the offered fruit back into his bag.

"Do you think they'll be okay with us just, you know, walking down into their camp?" Starlight asked.

"We're not carrying weapons and we're obviously not human," Ash pointed out.

"True, but not all Elder are friendly..."

Griffin clenched his fist, thoughts drifting back to Blood Band. To his left, Night Shade stared stoically into the forest.

"We'll approach them without weapons, but be ready to fight just in case," Griffin decided, feeling inside himself at the same time for his magic. The warm darkness leaped up at his consciousness, full and ready for the slightest command. "Follow my lead and you'll be alright."

Griffin led the way down the valley, eyes flicking from dryad to dryad as he searched for any signs of aggression. The dryads all stopped what they were doing to stare at the newcomers, though none seemed to display any hostility. A few even went back to packing.

Bringing his group to a halt at the bottom of the shallow valley, Griffin waited for one of the Top Wielders to come forward. Instead, a different dryad approached them. This one had dark brown skin that gleamed like polished wood and short black, curly hair. He wore dryad made clothes of a rich chestnut-brown color that blended nearly seamlessly with the surrounding trees and strapped to his leg was a band with a sheathed throwing knife, reminding Griffin of his own weapon from when he had stayed in the Tepora Forest. The dryad's pine green eyes studied Griffin's group, and Griffin stared back with shadow-veiled eyes, noting the low amount of magic shining from the dryad's body.