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She dug fast. The rich smell of damp earth and loam filled my nose as I worked with her. In short order, we had cleared out a hole large enough for the sapling. Then it took the rest of the afternoon to apply the various dusts and magical workings inside the hole.
Only when those tasks were done did we lower the sapling into the hole. We tamped dirt around it.
The work was complicated by me moving carefully to avoid touching the Tree.
“You still haven't explained why,” Kara said.
“From what I was told, these little saplings are backups in case something attacks wherever the main tree's body is. It can transfer to another site and the protection it gives the Guild won't be disrupted. Which is really important, given the number of enemies the Guild has.”
“Is this place within the Tree’s protection? Within the Guild?” I asked. “Because from what maps I've seen, this is an area that nobody claims.”
“Right and wrong. Wherever Capital is, there's the Guild. So this area is technically claimed by the Guild, but it's not on maps because nobody knows exactly where the Capital is.” Joan smiled at me. “Clear as mud, right?”
Logic like that made my head hurt. A stealth land claim for the nation? Bullshit.
“Joan. Not stupid. What’s the real reason?” I asked.
She smiled at me, pale eyes sparkling, then sobered. “The Tree’s presence keeps riders from possessing bodies. I'm not sure how it works in Kalderon, but in the Guild the tree makes it so that only a dead body or a person who consents can be possessed by the riders. In places the tree doesn't protect, a person can be possessed unwillingly. I've been planting these saplings in places so that the protection is extended even if the people don't live in the Guild.”
“They don't cross the river to Kalderon as far as I know. The elves don't like them.”
“Good to know.” Joan tapped on her comm possibly making a note.
From the side, movement caught my eye and I pivoted toward it, pulling a knife. Six people, each only a foot and a half tall, wearing leather clothing and red and purple shirts and jackets, cut in a patchwork. They had long shaggy dark hair and carried bows, several of which were pointed at us.
I see an elfblood and the healing girl. You can call me Achak. A river wants me to tell you a message.The leader stepped forward. His lips didn’t move, but the words rang in my head loudly.
Kara winced and Joan grimaced.
“What is the message?” I asked. Keep it simple. “We're going to be setting up camp in a moment. Would you like something to eat?”
Do you have meat? Pig or chicken?
“We do.” Or at least I really hoped we did, since Kara had been in charge of packing the lunch and usually she included something that was protein. And she liked bacon.
So do we. We'll exchange.He glanced over his shoulder, and a crashing noise followed as one of them- all eighteen inches of him-dragged a dressed deer carcass into the clearing.
Joan busied herself with starting the fire and soon we had a heap of blazing charcoal in a brazier. Kara had packed beef shish kabobs, chicken salad sandwiches and cheesecake.
Our visitors butchered the deer further and laid venison strips on the grill. The smell was heavenly.
I passed them all the kebabs as the venison cooked. It was fun to watch them pull the vegetables off the skewers. Their mouths were full of what looked like sharp teeth, possibly they only ate meat.
I wondered what their type of spirit was called by humans but asking seemed rude.
When we were done eating and sitting in comfortable silence I asked, “What was the message?”
That the Compact still stands. Your and the human healer girl’s action tilted the balance back towards not ending it. But the greater spirits’ patience is thin. Part of the message is that the Compact is like spring ice, and no one should try to stand on it.
I was going to deliver this message to Silver on a priority. “Is there anyone else you can speak with about this? We might not be believed.”
We can speak with the Compact creators. Or rather the Compact creators can speak with the greater spirits. We have delivered the message. This beef was delicious.
“Feel free to take the rest!”
They did, leaving an equivalent amount of the well-done venison. They vanished from sight as soon as they hit the trees.
“That's not a comforting message,” Joan said.
