…

  3-11-1706

  …

  The matron demanded to know why I was wasting mana on a tea cup that my poise was meant to balance. My answer of ‘gaining water magic skill ups seemed more important’ did not impress her. I worry what the new torture she will exact next.

  Today is a new trip to the grove. Monkeys flinging feces notwithstanding I am excited for the change of pace. Even if I am forbidden from using my better skills…forbidden from even writing them. I can't even remember who told me that.

  …

  -----

  Mother noticed my eagerness as I was wobbling in my chair during breakfast.

  “Morning dew? What makes you all so full of energy?”

  I'm heading to the grove today with Rin and Tona. It's been two weeks since I last went.

  She smiles at me, “Do be careful, healing you has grown more difficult.”

  I nod at her words, and poke at my bland salad. Its unremakeableness tries its best to damper my mood, but I deny its efforts. Taking a bite, I see its insidious plan now. I sigh and continue in my efforts at not being bored at eating.

  “Dawn?” The thought came to me in [Common]. I tilt my head at her. Is she moving onto [Common] words now for nicknames? Why? “Don't go beyond the grove monkeys. The creatures are far too much for you.”

  I smile and nod.

  “Also I have had these rings made for you and your friends. Sarcea, put this one on and do not remove it till you return.”

  It is as you say.

  “One last thought, do try to follow your etiquette better, Abigailo progress reports is noticing some back sliding. ”

  Of course, mother.

  -----

  I walk to Tona and Rin. They both wave at me. I returned the gesture after I made sure no hags were hiding. Since the coast was clear I hustled over to them. Tona gives me a wry grin. I wait for them to speak…as is proper.

  “The hag of a teacher is not here Sar, relax.” Tona admonishes.

  I smile, “Mother had these rings made. These are for you.”

  “Ah exp shares, nice.” Rin looks at the ring through the loop, her mood the sours. “Sar, these are both fifty percent rings.”

  I give a brave face, “Not like I can level, better you two get the most out of today's trip.”

  Tona nods while Rin just frowns. I follow Tona as we head to the castle courtyard. Rin follows behind after deciding to keep her peace.

  We enter the castle courtyard. Its walls are built to contain what lies in its center. A gnarled leafless tree. The tree's trunk splits and we enter the dungeon.

  “I have never been to the top of the trees before…” Tona remarks looking around.

  I walk out to him and see open skys. The ground I am on is the top of a massive canopy. A far cry from the loam of the forest the last time.

  “Isn't this the top of the central tree?” Rin squeaks out next to me.

  Before Tona can reply there is a rustling behind us. Thick vines bar our exit. What's going on? I don't feel Arccor behind us.

  “Something is wrong…we need to be careful.” Rin mutters.

  “Nonsense, even if we have to die, it doesn't matter. The dungeon isn't lethal.” Tona barks out at Rin.

  “Until it is.” I murmur.

  We all stop at that. Tona bravado trembling. He puts on a brave face and begins to walk forward. The thick canopy impossibly holding our weight. There really aren't any gaps. How is this possible? Dungeon absurdity no doubt. I have so many questions but I can't be the first to talk.

  “You look like you want to say something.” Rin prods.

  I pushed down the question, the matron was right about one thing. I needed to recognize my place.

  “I'd not burden you with my inquiry, Rin.”

  Good, perfect response. Yet she looks more annoyed. But—

  “Enough already, castle etiquette is for castles. Right now you're inside a dungeon and if we die and lose our store exp because you felt silence was better than pointing out a trap, I will hate you forever.”

  That seems harsh, “Sorry.” Her stare bores into me, “I just was curious what was special about the central tree?”

  Tona chuckles at our antics and chimes in, “The dryad grove is at its base. The core boss is said to be rather whimsical and depending on her mood she will offer a boon or rape you. Followed by eating you.”

  My eyes widened at that, "That's terrible…wait, does she eat you whether she gives you a boon or…”

  He nods, “Some go to her willingly, alright with either outcome should they fail at slaying her. Those who don't wish to meet that terrible fate wear necklaces that strangle the wearer should they be compelled. I hear the dryad has never given a boon to such cowards.”

  Rin gives an annoyed look at Tona. She was wearing a necklace I hadn't seen before. Oh. I wish I had a necklace.

  “Are we going to have to confront her?” I ask in a shaky voice.

  “Unlikely, especially for you. We will die far before reaching her.” He says as if the prospect isn't frightening.

  “Should we be moving forward? This is all clearly wrong.” Rin asked.

  He shrugs, “Can't leave, I plan on getting to my next level before getting forced out.”

  Before Rin could rebut him, he proceeds forward again. We follow.

  -----

  Another three monkeys accost us. We each have our own to contend with. I am still struggling with mine when Tona stabs it from behind. It slumps over, Tona giving me a strange look.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  “You're slower now…”

  “Damn it, Sar. You shouldn't let Arccor words get you killed. Thought you said this was life or death.” Rin admonishes me as she pulls her sword out of her monkey.

  I wince. I feel like mother knows what I do no matter what. “But—”

  “You can go back to holding back after I snagged my level.” Tona interrupts me.

  I give him an annoyed look that just elicits a chuckle. Fine…it's not just my life on the line. I'll just have to put up with the extra laps Arccor forces on me after. As if answering my new resolve, more monkeys show up. Seven. Not good. I don't think Tona is getting his level.

  Rin charges their left flank. Peeling off only one. Tona stops two but the other four seem determined to go after me. Weakest link. I start quick stepping. Any time I attempt to attack one the other three force me back. I am being corralled. I notice Rin slaying hers. Thank goodness.

  She turns to head towards me when she trips. The vine wasn't there before. I watch as one of my monkeys leaps towards her. It lands on her back and throttles her. Nooooo. I try to break through which only resulted in three monkeys barring my way and pushing me back. Only a push back not a capture. Why? I hear the sickening snap of bones as Rin is ejected from the dungeon. Distress yet heartening all the same. The dungeon is not lethal. But that had to hurt. The monkey that took out Rin joins the assault against Tona.

  He was breathing hard but had slain one of his assailants. “Behind you.” I shout out.

  I earn a kick to the stomach for my yell. Tona repositions while I try to make more room between my three. I am getting further away. Not good. They are so coordinated. A vine smacks me on my left shoulder from behind. I spin around it as the monkeys re-engage. I pull back further. I hit the edge of the canopy. Shit. I fall forward. Preferable to falling backwards. Just as the monkey are about to eject me like Rin, a new Elf appears.

  Arccor is here. He quickly dispatches one. The other two try to reposition. The only thing that repositions are their heads. They roll off the edge next to me. I get up and give a slight bow to my saviour.

  He looks around, I see two more monkey corpses but not Tona. My mood plummets. I look back at the edge that nearly claimed me. The one who doesn't have need for exp survives. It's pretty absurd. I feel a push, I stumble forward, turning my head. Did a monkey get past Arccor? All I see is the Elf wry grin as I fall.

  I hit various tree limbs on the way down. My own limbs are battered and broken. I hit the ground on my legs. The impact was too great, the bones snapped. The pain and shock caused me to pass out.

  -----

  The sharp pain of being lifted is only greeted by my panic of being unable to see. My face is bound by something. So is my body. I try to lift my right arm to remove the impediment but find it not responding with anything more than shooting pain. The left arm works but hurts almost as much. I grip what I assume is a vine but it does not give.

  “Now now poppet, no need to ruin the surprise.”

  My heart freezes at the words. The voice feels so familiar. My soul yearns. The vines around my head part.

  “Sarcea do not li—” Cea command was interrupted.

  Ahhhhhhhhhhhh, something is pushed into the area behind my left ear.

  “Oh no that won't do, not at all. No interruptions.”

  The dungeon starts shuddering. The dryad looks in a direction with a bit of annoyance.

  “She never bothered before, what makes you so special, poppet. A broken piece of spark. Did she slay me last week for you, I wonder?”

  The dryad continues to study me. She begins to smile. It grows larger as I feel something begin to form around my right ear.

  “Oh my poppet, I hadn't expected you to be a fellow flower. I would have surrendered the life core if she had just told me. Though it's not in you.”

  She is confused for a moment before her smile grows more wicked. The vibrant greens become ashen. The leaves veins become black. I just stare at the metamorphosis occurring in the grove. As if it was dying. Why did she call me a fellow flower…

  She reaches into herself and extracts a dark green core with swirls of black. The swirls are moving. A seed forms around it making it smaller.

  “Poppet, a boon. For a fellow flower. Enjoy your new life core.”

  She drops the impossibly cold seed into my hand. I can feel my hand wither as I grasp the thing. My eyes are dancing with panic.

  “But it is death.”

  The entire dungeon laughs even as there are even more shudders.

  “Oh poppet, you see through my illusions as if they aren't even there. I suppose I shouldn't have bothered. I know your soul yearns for this.”

  My hand slowly begins to pull the death towards my face. The dryad smiles, then frowns. I had stopped my arm. Mother wouldn't want this of me. The dryad sighs.

  “The witch's poppet resists the wrong things. I shouldn't be surprised, there are so many strings holding you up. I wonder if she knows that not all of them are hers.”

  I'm breathing heavily, trying to resist the monster's words. To not give into desire. Do not give into desire. I must deny it. I must live. I squint my eyes shut. Her hand touches my face. Then behind my ear. I feel a pinch and a white flower is brought in front of my eyes. My flower. It's a pure white thing with so many petals. I know that is wrong. It's not white. But it clearly is. My breathing becomes more labored. A titter escapes.

  “Ah, so lovely. You should laugh more, poppet.”

  Her words worm into me my mind, my body responds in shudders. Another titter escape. A bit of laughter. Something crashes into the grove. The seed is in my mouth, my own hand delivering it. I swallow it. The dryad smile falls with her head. Mother has removed it from her body. The seed is down my throat. I titter. She turns to me and starts removing the vines holding me up. The seed sprouts and rips through my body. She catches me as the seed reaches my heart.

  “It's too late, Cea.”

  Mother turns to the head that spoke on the ground. The head combusts and screams. I hardly hear it over my own. The seed has given way to the death core. The veins in my arms bulge out and become green. Then black. My pale skin becomes paler still making the earlier hue look like a tan in comparison. Then the skin grows tighter, the Elven pliantness becomes withered. My heart has stopped beating. I am no longer drawing in breath. My vision becomes cloudy.

  “Sorry mot.e…r.”

  -----

  …

  I have been confined to my room. I don't sleep. I do not know what day it is. All my veins are black. Including the ones on my face. I am unsure how the fluid moves, my heart isn't beating. I continue drinking my medicine, but any food I eat simply returns moments later with awful black bile accompanying it. They have kept my room so cold…or am I making it cold. I don't know. I have been propped up in my bed. My body still shattered. The only improvement is a white flower blooms above my right ear. My left hand writes this, my legibility suffers.

  No longer an Elf, just an undead. My love for mother wanes. Strangely, my feelings otherwise remain stable. I don't

  …

  -----

  The door opens, I give a shaky smile to mother as she stands there. In her hand is something covered in a white cloth.

  “Don't look at me so, Sarcea. It is I who failed you, not the other way around. I should have reached you sooner.”

  I just look down, either for etiquette or shame. I'm not sure. I remain silent as is my place. The woman winces. It wasn't her first visit. Sometimes it was alone. Sometimes it was with a few of her scribes. This is the first time she actually spoke to me.

  “The necklace has failed to improve your body, potions fail to absorb past your skin. You are unable to drink anything other than your medicine.”

  The most pristine skin around. Grey and undead. More broken bones then whole. I maintain the vigil of my lap. She continues.

  “I fear I angered the dungeon when I ruthlessly slew it for a life core. That it was for naught when implanted into you. It crumbled just days into your recovery.”

  I don't recall that happening but I am missing a week's worth of memories. A gap in my diary. She tried to give me a life core. The dungeon somehow knew it was me. After a moment she resumes.

  “What she gave you…it was an undeath core. The three master magics have twins each. Light and gravity. Void and time. Life and undeath. To absorb the core the individual has to bear the brunt of the magic, and to fill it.” I look at her, “You understand then, your body has become undead because this core magic kills whoever tries to absorb it.”

  But killing and undead are not the same. My soul is clinging to this body. Not fleeing it.

  “No one has managed to absorb an undeath core. The theory is you would need a life core larger than the undeath core you were to absorb. The undeath core would fuse into it. As life magic was used, undeath would fill it. In turn undeath would need to be expended for life to regain room. Anyone with a large enough life core would not want such a curse.”

  And I can't even take in a life core. I stop looking at her. I lower my neck, ready for my head to roll. Will my Tapestry survive? Instead of removing my head she instead removes the white cloth. A round black red orb is in her hands.

  “This magic core was harvested from a monster known as a Vampire, it had eaten multiple Elves. They never returned to my collective soul. My scribes have tried to understand its purpose. In the end it was determined the core was too dangerous to implant. It replaces life magic with blood magic. And causes a thirst in the user that can not be quenched. They always are driven mad and die. Your own curse denies you life magic…will you try this knowing the end result will likely change you.”

  I turn to her, and give her a wane smile. She is offering me a choice. To die an Elf or become this monster.

  “I'm an Elf, mother.”

  She returns my smile with something a bit braver than my own.