16 Treants Vs Gnome Riders II (1/2)

A sharp pain spread across the bodies of both Nimble and Adan, who were close to the blast.

Even as they fell to the ground, the electric charges of the failed spell still caused their limbs to convulse uncontrollably.

The druid could feel a metallic taste of blood on his mouth as he tried to understand with happened.

”Someone tempered with my spell. But whom?”

Struggling to get up, he gave a meaningful look to a strange figure that just appeared on the place where the giant treant should have been.

...

Theodore watched in astonishment as the giant tree began to shrink, retracting towards its center.

A humanoid figure took its place. This was a very handsome young man, with a delicate face and around a meter and eighty centimeters in hight. His ears were long, like those of elves and gnomes and his green hair was long, reaching his back. The skin, however, had a very woodish tone of brown.

Unlike humans, dwarves, gnomes and other monolithic races, the fairies were a much more varied kind. Treants and other unintelligent creatures like lesser natural spirits occupied the bottom of the hierarchy.

But dryads were different, possessing great wisdom. One could even say they were ”proper fey”, while treants, their less evolved relatives, were nothing more than useful servants, just like an ordinary drone whose existence was fully devoted to the queen of its hive.

Most importantly for the gnomes, dryads were much fiercer opponents. Not only their bodies were stronger, but some could even use magic, which as particularly powerful when they were in humanoid form.

However, there was a silver lighting. Since this was a sentient creature, maybe it could be reasoned with.

Thinking so, Ted tried to use diplomacy. His side was clearly loosing, so a peaceful solution was in his best interest.

”Oh, mighty guardian. We apologize for intruding on your domain. There is no reason for this carnage to continue. Why not end the fight here and now? You are winning. That's certain. But as you saw, my friends and I are capable fighters. Victory will not be achieved without a lot of treant lives being lost. We should just shake hands and walk away. Let this be a sign of goodwill between our peoples, showing all that there is still room for peace in this nasty war.”

Hope is the last one to die. This hunter had a reputation for being a reasonable man, having friends in both political factions in his home village. If there was someone on this group who could talk the dryad out of killing all of them, he was the one.

However...

”Your words are reasonable, but your actions apeek for themselves.”

Saying so, the young man pointed towards the wooden. He had taken notice of them as Theodore gave his speech.

”Those weapons in your hands were made with wood taken from one of my dead sisters.”

At this point, his face distorted with disgust.

”Don't blame yourself for this. I always believed gnomes to be a savage bunch, a true plague on this forest. Your little corpse desecration is only the most recent proof.”