The Ballad of the Bygone Drifters - The Druids

╔═════════ The DRUIDS - Chapter ONE ═════════╗

831 Words

The group padded gently through bushels of ferns and sedums, a veritable carpet of lush greenery. Mari and Grizz watched Otho practically floating through the foliage with glee, a joyful pep in his step as the flourishing vegetation cushioned his tattered paw pads. He turned to his companions, beaming in delight as he trotted backwards to meet them, gently tucking a blooming daisy behind each of their ears. In return he received a tender boop on the snout from each.

Cailu smiled softly as Otho approached him next, presenting the Haedian with a daisy of his own. “I think you will get along just fine with the Druids.” he smiled down towards the fluffy puller, who reciprocated the expression with a huge grin of his own, tail wagging happily.

“I hope so, plants are my calling.” he trotted back to the front of the group, once again taking the lead as Grizz leaned in to speak with Cailu,

“That's why we call him Pothos.” she commented fondly.

Otho moved through the plants almost like a dancer, pirouetting on his heels and effortlessly dodging stepping on any plants. He skimmed over top, dropping a hint of magic here and there, summoning blooms with the slightest nudge of his paws. His paws floated like a conductor’s, up and down, left to right, dancing along to an unsung song.

“The plants here,” he trilled, “They’re so lush and green. Verdant almost! The soil must be rich and fertile, despite the lack of sunlight.”

Mari approached one of the warm yellow crystals adorning the wall, gently caressing it with her paw as they passed. “The crystals are warm, like a cat laid in the morning sun. Suppose these substitute the sun?”

Beside her, Grizz nodded sagely. “Makes sense, we have seen the power of these gems.” The group continued to pad through the vegetation in the tunnels, Otho excitedly naming the different varieties of plants to his bemused companions.

“There’s so many beautiful plants here, flourishing! That one is a type of Sedum: Golden Stonecrop, named so for it’s gorgeous golden flowers. Eagle’s Fern! Lamb’s Ears,” he paused to gently caress a pale leafed plant, “So-called because of its texture and visual, come, touch it!” He encouraged his three allies to approach, each of them taking the opportunity to stroke the leaf. 

It was surprisingly soft and plush, Cailu in particular seemed quite mystified with the unexpected texture of this lucious plant, being not as well acquainted with the Druid’s caves as some of the others he frequented. Grizz and Mari however nodded happily, chattering softly with Otho.

Cailu looked over the heads of his wards, letting his gaze wander down the tunnel. “What plant is that then?” the three Vayrons followed his stare - up ahead was a large, sprawling plant. Rolling leaves snaked across the ground - larger the three pullers that approached it - rather than a vibrant green, these leaves were a dull ochre, their lustre fading down to the stems.

At the base of the plant, a Haedian in shades of aqua and veridian gently picked at the leaves, brushing dirt from their surface in a last ditch effort to restore the plant to some of its previous glory.

Otho’s lip trembled as he let out a sad moan, “Oh no,” he trotted over to the Haedian, delicately sitting beside him, “Hello friend,” the Haedian initially went to greet Otho as an old friend, but recoiled slightly upon seeing such a small, wingless creature. “Do not fear, I am a lover of plants as well.”

Grizz, Mari and Cailu softly approached the pair, taking notes on the care and attention that the Haedian was showing to the plant. “This one, it’s important?” Mari questioned.

The Haedian nodded, still apprehensive, however he seemed to relax a bit when he saw Cailu standing with them. “Yes… when she blooms she shares with us her gorgeous visage. Flowers of yellow and blue, little birds that entertain us with their vivid colours. A beautiful plant and one that will be sorely missed. Her siblings have sadly suffered the same fate.” 

He ended with a solemn silence, threading his fingers between each other. Otho leaned forward, one paw hovering over a crumpled leaf. “May I?”

The Haedian paused, still understandably apprehensive, but gave a stately nod. “You may, I worry it's already in its last throes; you can do no further harm.”

Despite this statement Otho still approached with care, delicately touching the furled leaves. His paw glowed green, the magic leaching from his paw pads and flowing down into the darkened stem of the plant. The group watched in awe as the magic rolled back up and along, shooting up the stem and into the dying blooms.

Slowly but surely, stems lifted from the ground, pulling the drooped leaves up as if on strings. Mari breathed out in awe, Otho’s magic was so delicate and precious, and it never once failed to take her breath away. Beside her, Grizz beamed in pride as the last of the flowers unfurled, revealing several blooms - each sporting the likeness of a small bird.

The Haedian’s solemn expression changed to one of tearful joy, “Thank you, you’ve saved her.” he whispered.

╔═════════ The DRUIDS - Chapter TWO ═════════╗

824 Words

The Haedian took Otho’s paw in his hands, shaking it up and down excitedly as he eagerly introduced himself, “My name is Mougre, you must come with me.” he tugged gently on Otho’s paw, pulling him towards the end of the room. “There are more like her, your magic is much needed!”

Otho looked back towards the rest of his party, who nodded and trotted to follow. Mougre let loose of Otho’s paw when it became clear that he was indeed following, hurriedly trotting through the underbrush.

The smell hit them first, gone was the fresh scent of growing plant life and morning dew, instead it was replaced with a sickly rot. Otho wrinkled his nose and turned to face his Vayron companions, a look of horror upon his face as he forced himself to breathe through his mouth.

“That smell,” he whispered, as Mari and Grizz reached his side again, “It smells worse than the Bird of Paradise. This may be beyond my magic.” 

“Have faith, love.” smiled Mari, gently nudging his neck with her nose. “Your magic is stronger than you realise.” Otho relaxed slightly, giving his partner a soft smile.

“I hope you’re right.”

The group soon found themselves in an open cavern, of which every empty wall was adorned with greenery and crystals. In its prime, it would be breathtaking, unique plants with magnificent colours decorating the dismal caverns with glorious colours. However, these colours were de-saturated and grey, marred by black pulsing veins that infected their roots.

Otho stood shellshocked, mouth agape as he surveyed the destruction. The air here hung thick and putrid, and the silence was overwhelming. Grizz leaned forward to whisper in Otho’s ear,

“Pothos, I don’t think we’re quite welcome here.” It was at this point that Otho’s gaze was torn from the plants, and instead drawn towards a small huddle of Haedian’s in the corner. Their stare was piercing and their eyebrows furrowed, teeth bared in an open display of aggression.

“Mougre,” hissed the leader, “You bring upsiders here? After they have already wrought so much destruction upon our sanctum?”

“Please friends,” the Haedian said hastily, holding up his hands, “I know what it looks like, but this one-” he placed a hand on Otho’s back, “His magic has brought back one of our sick plants.”

The Haedians shared a sceptical look, the leader scoffing. “Fine,” he huffed, “The upsiders may walk amongst our plants. However if they cause more destruction it will be your head on Auris’ platter.”

Cailu leaned down to whisper to the Vayrons, “I would not fear any threats of Auris, he will understand that you only mean to help.”

The Vayrons nodded as Otho tentatively stepped through the underbrush, stopping to sit at the base of a sprawling, low hanging tree. Mari padded over to sit beside him, cocking her head to regard the sickly plants. “Could this truly be an infection our kin have wrought?”

Otho shrugged slightly, “I am not sure, I mean, it’s not impossible?” he paused to trace the black veins with an extended claw, “But it looks nothing like what I’ve encountered topside.” he mused.

“It looks abhorrent.” stated Grizz, her lips curling in disgust, “Almost like the black mould that plagued our abode when we visited Thedale.” Otho considered this thought as he watched the veins slowly spread upwards towards the dagger-like leaves of the tree.

“Here, Sapling,” said Mari, as she placed a paw on his shoulder, “We are by your side. My magic is not one of healing but perhaps its strength can aid you.”

“And mine,” added Grizz, “The least you can do is try, the plant will die regardless of if we intervene.”

Otho nodded, taking a deep breath as he drew upon his magical reserves once again. He felt a pulsating warmth from his partners’ paws on his back and he drew upon that, pushing forth his own magic and using their additions to propel it down the deep roots of the plants. 

The Haedian group in the corner edged ever closer, curiosity getting the better of them as Mougre eagerly wrung his hands in anticipation. Silence prevailed once again as the sound of the Vayrons’ magic fell from a gentle thrum. Only the rasping breaths of the gathered crowd could be heard as no one dared move.

Grizz was the first to move, letting loose her held breath as she opened her mouth to console her partner.

“Wait,” interjected Mari, “Look.”

The Haedians leaned forward to peer at the trunk of the plant as the black veins slowly sputtered and split, sending small blasts of dark spores evaporating into the air. The crowd gasped as the colour returned to the leaves, the speed of the magic increasing with each individual vein that was popped.

Mougre clapped his hands in glee, “Your magic is fantastic!” he exclaimed, as the leaves started perking up, reaching towards the sun crystals.

╔═════════ The DRUIDS - Chapter THREE ═════════╗

894 Words

Otho beamed up towards their Druidic friend, “Thank you friend,” he smiled, “But I can only do so much, my magic won’t be enough to clear this whole grove. And even if it was…” he paused to survey the choked greenery. “I wouldn’t be able to guarantee it wouldn’t return.”

Mougre cocked his head carefully, “Could you perhaps, teach us your magicks? Then we can replicate your abilities.”

“Ah,” Otho laughed nervously, “Unfortunately our magicks are not easily learnable, they’re innate, and each of us have a different affinity.” Mougre visibly deflated, his ears falling flat against his head, “However, this ailment looks familiar to us. If you’re willing to exercise patience, we could return topside to find a cure?”

The next morning the trio found themselves laden with empty packs as they made their way back through the all too familiar tunnels. “So,” Mari started, “What’s the plan Otho?”

“Well, Grizz was onto something. The musty smell and the black almost vein-like appearance? I believe it’s a strain of black mould that was attracted to the natural dampness of the Druids’ grove.”

Mari nodded, “You have remedies for that back home.” she said, her voice carrying a hint of concern. Roenden was not a short journey away. Grizz turned back to glance at her companions,

“Otho is smart.” she stated, “I’m sure he can figure out how to concoct his own on Vitalus.”

Otho nodded frantically, “It’s not too hard, although I do want to make a few on the off chance one doesn’t work.”

It wasn’t too much longer before they reached the gaping entrance to the underground tunnels. At their maw, the Empyrian sentinels nodded their welcome. Mari stopped briefly to explain to them that they were only completing a supply run, after a short conversation she trotted to catch up with her companions.

Grizz scoffed, “They’re not going to stop us from going back you know.”

“I know, I just figured since we’re not too accustomed with Vitalus that it might be best to… you know… ask for directions.” she gave her a smug smirk and nudged Grizz, redirecting her to the left and walking in front of her to take the lead. “There’s a general store over here.”

“Right!” Otho exclaimed to his partners as they entered the shop, “I have a list of items that I need,” He gently nosed at the pack on his hip, retrieving a tattered list from inside. “Here.”

Mari squinted to read the writing, “Spray bottles, cloths, baking soda, white vinegar, tea tree oil, grapefruit seed extract, raw garlic and… beef jerky?”

“That one’s for Grizz.” The Vayron in question gave the pair a cheeky grin. 

“What? My stomach can only bear so much cavedweller cuisine.”

Mari rolled her eyes, and with that the group split off into three different directions. Grizz beelined straight for the fresh produce section, with Otho and Mari heading off to find the rest. 

It didn’t take long for the group to reconvene, but by the time they did the sun was already beneath the floating Vitalus mountains, with only a hint of orange to guide their way. Grizz sat by the entrance to the store, chewing on a strip of beef jerky as Otho and Mari triple checked the list against their purchases.

“I think this should work.” said Otho confidently, “I’ll try and mix it along the way, we’re already going to be travelling into the night.”

“Not that the lack of light will make a huge difference to our travels.” chuckled Grizz.

Their return back to the Druids’ den was slow and tiring. The lack of natural sunlight tricked their body clocks into thinking it was later than it was, meaning their footsteps were punctuated with yawns alongside the Otho’s mixing and tinkering. By the time they reached the grove, he was armed with three spray bottles filled with a foul smelling mixture.

Mari and Grizz - still tired from their impromptu journey back home - took the first opportunity to find a clear spot on the cavern floor to sit down. Otho on the other hand had found his second wind, excitedly approaching Mougre with his quarry.

“Here,” he said eagerly, grasping his pack in his teeth and passing it to the Haedian. “In here are some spray bottles with a premixed concoction. There’s also some of the base ingredients left so you can recreate it here.”

The pair approached one of the plants, where Otho began to direct him on how to proceed. “First, dip the cloth in clean water and use that to wipe off the majority of the ick. Now this spray won’t work immediately - it’s not magic. It should however prevent the sickness from returning. A barrier of sorts.”

Mougre nodded, tenderly clearing the leaves and the stems while making sure to cleanse the cloth in an isolated bucket of water. Once the plan was clean, he meticulously sprayed every available surface, wrinkling his nose as he did.

“Not ah, not the most pleasant scent.” he commented. Otho nodded apologetically.

“And it’s not a small job either, you’ll need to repeat this for the whole grove. Hopefully once the plants have had enough time to breathe without the sickness choking their leaves they will return to their gorgeous verdant colour.” he smiled up to the Haedian, who returned the expression in kind.