Tooth and Claw, Part 7
You decide to ignore the human interlopers for now, focusing your efforts on the young orc girl and her mysterious ritual. With any luck, you can take this opportunity to learn more about the mysteries surrounding her... while also using those same mysteries to intrigue the dryads.
Not to mention Fallhazel, who you're certain is watching all of this. What exactly will the ancient Druid think of Juri?
You look down at the girl, who is hiding behind your leg. "Juri," you say gently in orcish. "Can you show your blessing to these women? They might be able to tell us more about it."
The child tenses, still fearful of showing to strangers what her family had passed down in secret for so very long. "I... don't even know if it will do anything here..." she whispers, looking up at you anxiously. "All it did for our village was to ease the curse on the land, just a bit."
"Don't worry," you reassure her, projecting quiet confidence. "They only need to see the power in action. I'll take it from there."
She swallows... but then nods bravely, and you give her head an affectionate ruffle. "Thank you."
With that, Juri steps forward, out from behind your leg. She kneels down, placing her palms on the rich soil of the forest floor. In a faltering voice, she begins to recite the same words you heard her speak back in her village. As before, you can tell it's a prayer of some kind, though barely recognizable as such.
Still, it's connecting to something, however faintly. Power flows through the spiritual conduit, through the orc-child, and into the earth itself. The four dryads move closer, curious in spite of themselves, watching the girl as she requests this tiny miracle. A small flicker of green light glows between her palms, though as Juri feared, when performed on uncorrupted ground there is little other effect.
And then, without warning, the magic cuts off abruptly.
Juri's eyes go wide. She starts to verbally backpedal in her recitation, repeating it again, frantically trying to find what mistake she made that interrupted the blessing. But nothing she does makes any difference. The power no longer responds to her call. With so many eyes on her, the girl is nearly in tears, trying to understand what she did wrong.
However... you're not so sure she did do anything wrong.
The dryads also step back, murmuring between themselves as the beautiful tree spirits try to decide what to make of what they just witnessed. Juri looks back up to you, flinching in dismay, but you kneel down beside her and place a hand on her shoulder, giving her a comforting squeeze and a reassuring smile. "That was more than enough," you tell her. Then you look up at the dryads. "So. What do you make of it?"
It's the gentler willow dryad, Leyfelathia, who speaks first. "I can tell that she was indeed invoking the power of Nature," the spirit admits. "But she was not doing so directly, as we spirits of the forest do. While there is a similarity between our powers... in her case it appears to be... mediated."
"But... that shouldn't be possible!" interjects the hot-headed elm dryad, Rhysandaria. "All the Old Mothers agree! That hasn't been possible since—"
"It is too soon to say what this means." The group's leader, Elysandria, quickly cuts the other dryad off. "And it would be unwise for any of us to spread baseless speculation. We... must inquire of those with more wisdom than us. Though the current crisis may delay this." She's trying to hide it, but she looks troubled. Unsure.
The four dryads pull away from you, conversing in an undertone as they try to make sense of what you've shown them. They're trying to keep the discussion private... but they underestimate your senses, and don't nearly go far enough away. Rhysandaria and her fellow elm are insisting that it's all some kind of trick. The other two aren't remotely trusting either... though they do seem a bit less certain of your foul intentions than their burn-scarred sister.
The private conference is interrupted, however, by movement in the distant logging camp. A group of men emerge from the rough buildings, heading over toward the contingent of forest-dwellers. The dryads break off their discussion, shooting you one last suspicious glance before hurrying to support the rest of their forces.
You didn't convince them to let you participate in the negotiations, so instead you slip behind a tree, peering out from its cover to discreetly observe as the two forces meet. Even at such a great distance you can more or less make out what they're saying, between your incredible hearing and ability to read lips.
The loggers, now that you have a clear view at them, are a rough, disheveled lot. All of them look hungry. Most of them look desperate. Some of them bear marks on their wrists that indicate that they've worn manacles for quite some time. You knew from what the dryads told you that these men weren't local to the area... but this puts new perspective on what's driving them to these lengths.
One of the loggers seems to be the leader of their encampment. A tall man, bearded and broad-shouldered, with a fair bit of charisma about him. He carries a woodsman's axe resting on his shoulder, and—unlike many of the other unskilled camp members—he seems quite familiar with it. Reading lips, you see some of the men address him as Ragath, looking up to him with respect.
But, as you noticed before, there's also another party involved in the standoff. A party who emerges from that handful of fancier tents pitched between the two forces, bearing a noble crest. It's a young woman, most likely somewhere in her late teens, dressed in fine clothes. Fine clothes that have not born up well in these rough conditions. It's pretty obvious that she didn't pack with much awareness of what roughing it (at least relative to her usual standards) would entail out here.
Even under the best of circumstances, she probably wouldn't exactly be considered a great beauty by most humans. She's gangly, awkward, her homely face narrow and pinched, peeking out from behind brown bangs. Her body is scrawny and flat, not giving her much figure to work with either.
You, of course, are hardly picky about such matters. But it's clear that she herself lacks confidence, perhaps due in part to such (perceived) deficiencies. And yet she's here all the same.
An armored female knight follows her to her right, watching over her with a worried look. Clearly a bodyguard. There are also a pair of female servants attending her as well, who seem either around her same age or a little younger.
So. A child of the nobility. But what is she doing here? It makes little sense. All the other players involved in this standoff you can understand... but her presence seems out of place. Like there's a piece of this puzzle you still haven't quite placed yet. If the local lord knows of this incursion, then why hasn't stronger action been taken? Why leave it to someone so clearly unprepared?
The three groups walk out into the wide empty area, meeting warily amidst the stumps of felled trees that stretch out to either side. You can quickly tell that the girl's intent is to mediate some kind of arrangement between the two parties... but it's just as obvious that she's in far over her head. She has no idea what she's actually doing.
At first she's mostly trying to convince the loggers to abandon their camp and leave quickly... until Ragath directs a pointed question to her about where else they could go. And whether her father will forgive his men their debts if they abandon this last chance that they've seized on to fulfill their quota. The noble girl has no reply to that, and soon switches to trying to convince the dryads to allow them to continue cutting deeper than usual, for the sake of the war effort.
The dryads, of course, treat this with contempt. They warn the humans that they are encroaching deep enough into the forest that their efforts will soon threaten some of the very trees that their sisters are bonded with. They warn that if the humans go one step further, they will receive the full outpouring of their wrath.
Ragath, in turn, offers to avoid any of their particular trees if they're clearly marked out. But the dryads are understandably unenthused about their sisters being the only trees left standing in what is otherwise a wasteland. Not to mention that they have essentially no trust that the humans will actually be so careful. As far as they are concerned, the humans' greed has been appeased too much already.
Back and forth they go. The meek noble girl is caught in the middle, buffeted first one way and then the other by the two much stronger personalities. It's clear that Ragath fundamentally sees no other way out for his men, other than to take this approach. It's also clear that the dryads see this as an unacceptable violation.
And it's also clear that the noble girl has no real authority in this dispute... which yet again raises the perplexing question of why she's even here in the first place.
Verika, of course, is also closely observing the talks with her keen elven eyes, hiding behind a tree close to yours. The two of you gaze out across the deforested area to where the negotiation is taking place. The drow frowns. "This... could go very bad," she says, worry in her voice. "I... think that's Lord Edrach's youngest daughter, Edith."
"You know of him?" you ask. "What's your impression of the man?"
"His territory borders the Great Forest, so he's had a few minor interactions with my village," Verika explains. "I can't claim to know the man well... but to me he seemed bull-headed and utterly full of himself." Then she shakes her head, perplexed. "I just can't figure out why he would send his daughter to such a dangerous place to begin with."
"Maybe he didn't," you muse thoughtfully, considering the possibilities. "Maybe there's something else going on."
Eventually, after long, fruitless arguing, the two sides separate again with nothing resolved, the tension only increased between them. The two elm dryads, in particular, are even angrier, with Rhysandaria venting to Elysandria that talking won't solve anything. That something needs to be done to strike back for the incursion that's already been made. Even the non-confrontational Leyfelathia isn't outright disagreeing... even if she's more worried about how such a conflict might escalate for them.
The situation is fraught with the potential for explosive conflict. And that's before you factor Fallhazel into the equation. Lurking out there, with her own plans. Watching your choices... and evaluating them.
How is she planning to use this situation? And how might those plans change based on your actions? That's the true wild card.
Either way, you'll need to take your ultimate objective into account as you plan your next move. Sooner or later, you'll need to draw the ancient druid out of hiding. And hopefully into your clutches, one way or another. The question is how best to accomplish that?
Soon the humans have returned to their camp, and the forest-dwellers to their gathering. Afternoon is fading into evening, and soon you will have the cover of night... under which all manner of sins might be concealed. What do you plan on doing with this time?
You could spend the night talking to one of the players in this standoff, trying to gain new insights without tipping your hand too far. You could also try a more direct approach, claiming someone who might be vulnerable to it. Without more of an angle, it would probably be too risky to try and get any of the closely-guarded leaders of the various factions alone for long enough to fully subvert them. But you could start with one of their more exposed subordinates. Which could, in turn, provide an opening for later.
Or—if you felt the best option was to be even more discreet for now—you could simply use your Dreamwalking power to investigate or seduce. The information you get might be slightly different, since it would be restricted to one source. And while the latest increase to that ability's power will allow you to seduce more effectively, it still might not be enough to subvert a strong-willed target in a single night.
There's also the question of what you want Verika to do. Accompany you to assist you? Especially if you wanted to subvert one of the more dangerous targets in a dominating way, she could be of great help, avoiding the likely need to supplement your (meager) strength with summoned tentacle beasts.
You could also have her search for information herself, listening in on conversation at one of the three camps. Or you could have her remain back with Juri, standing guard over the young orc-child in case anything happens.
