Chapter 690: Puzzle masters (2/2)

“He’s fighting somewhere on his own. Got a little salty after he fought me. Not that it’ll be any better now that I got my third evolution,” she said. “Here, I’ll show you some cool stuff. Would be nice to have your opinion.”

“Ah, Ilea. I’m so proud of you. Come then, and tell me about the things you learned in school!” spoke the ancient eldritch tree monster.

“Goliath, what do I have to sacrifice to get an upgrade to my armor?” Pierce asked, tapping her chest.

The smith juts sighed and waved them over, Bralin following like an excited puppy.

“I’ll go talk to Owl,” Verena said and waved to the being currently floating around Aki’s executioner form.

“How long until you’re not the most powerful here anymore?” Ilea asked with a glance to the high leveled creatures. She transferred over to the crystal tree, the mana density likely too much for everyone besides the four mark lich and Aki, maybe even them.

“You’ve already brought the Fae, have you not?” Meadow answered.

“Right,” Ilea mused and formed her three new elements. “An evolution that in fact mentioned both you and the Fae, including a few others.”

Roots formed from thin air, flowing towards the small sphere of ice before they stopped.

Ilea smiled. “Missing your friend?”

“Not at all,” the Meadow lied.

At least she thought it lied. Then again the tree said it sometimes didn’t talk to the Elemental for hundreds of years if not longer. “Need a hug?” she asked and hugged the tree without waiting for an answer.

“You know,” the tree said when she let go and stepped back. “I do appreciate your human concern for me. Perhaps like a human would the concern of their pet. But while the people here can be trusted, rumors already exist of our… involvement.”

“Us?” Ilea asked with a shocked expression. “But you’re into higher beings. I already fail the one thousand brain requirement.”

“I merely thirst for knowledge, and the awakening of life to said knowledge. Know that this circumstance won’t help your wish to remain mortal,” the tree explained.

“I’m already functionally immortal, Meadow. Look at this,” she said and moved a piece of rock with her space manipulation.

She smiled when the tree didn’t respond immediately. Just a teeny tiny bit delayed. Thought I wouldn’t notice hmm? But I did.

“A gift. Not from me,” it said finally. “Be grateful. Few have ever possessed this skill.”

“You do though, right?” she asked.

“Yes. In fact I do. But compared to you it required centuries of study. Just be careful with it when other space magic or realm connecting teleportation is currently active nearby. Someone with the capability but no underlying knowledge could cause… devastating complications,” it said, without its sarcastic tone for once.

“I appreciate the warning. Something like what happened in Erendar?” she asked.

“No. That was the controlled result based on all my capabilities. Your involvement could doom an entire continent,” it said.

Ilea suddenly felt the weight of the floating stone a little more consciously. “I’ll try not to interfere with anything major. What about this then?” she said and formed the fires of creation.

A giggle went through the vicinity. “Humanity keeps surprising me. Or dare I say life itself. To think a body born so bound to flesh could truly accept the flames of creation. Coupled with your element manipulation… well, I suppose if anybody could’ve succeeded, it would’ve been you.”

“Give yourself some credit,” she said, flicking the stone towards it. “Some healing and earth magic was involved too. And while the Fae is a powerful space mage, it’s not the Fae I trained with. It was you.”

“Humility. From Lilith herself. Your growth seems not entirely limited to magic after all,” it said as another flow of wind moved through the vicinity.

A space magic trick Ilea had seen many times before. She raised her hand and tried to replicate it. She failed.

“I will teach you,” the Meadow spoke.

“And I will learn,” Ilea answered. “Got more too,” she said and activated Primordial Shift. Space itself writhed around her, flesh and flames moving in lazy patterns, in and out of existence itself. She could feel something pulling and pushing on her, roots trying to grasp and chunks of stone vanishing when they appeared to reach her. “Are you testing?” she said and deactivated the spell.

“Ilea. I believe you did it,” the Meadow spoke. “You learned a spell no being I know of, nor I, could ever use.”

She twirled and bowed. “I’m amazing. I know.”

“If you understood but a fraction of what just happened, your human brain would eat itself. I fail… to grasp its entirety. It is… disproving several long standing theories. I would like to study it more, if you ever have time to show it to me,” the tree said.

Ilea raised her brows. “Really? That crazy? Sure, happy to help with the first thing of use I can do for you. Other than physically moving you around that is.”

“Appreciated,” the Meadow said.

She showed off her gates too but other than the lifted restrictions, nothing about them was different in a major way.

“I encourage you to train your new manipulation spells. They should be the key to more options in the future, both simply for your spells and for your evolutions. Though I do not claim to know a being such as you. With this, Primordial Shift, you have shown me, anything could be possible,” it told her.

“I’ll try to work on it. Could do that with you as well,” she said.

“I’m here, and you always have at least zero dot three percent of my attention, you know that,” it said in a loving voice.

“You’re such a great friend, Meadow,” Ilea answered.

“Ah, many years it has been since I’ve seen the work of Eranur herself,” Goliath exclaimed from his smithing area, the massive form of Bralin’s high quality war machine towering over the nearby forges.

“I’ll be back for more training then,” Ilea said and cracked her neck. “Will probably borrow some of the residents for an afternoon. Enchantment puzzle. I’d take you but well…”

“I have been looking into options, but so far no satisfying conclusion has presented itself,” the tree said. “A long range scrying spell would likely be the best but it’s proving a difficult puzzle.”

“Only divination mage I know is Cless. Just ask Claire for some resources once she’s here,” she said.

“The required gates will soon be ready. Iana informs me that the contracts between Hallowfort and Ravenhall are still in the make. Once that is done, they will move on to the next stage,” it said.

“Call me when the meeting happens. I want to see that,” Ilea said with a smile. The Council of Ravenhall meeting the Meadow and seeing the north was one thing, but Catelyn in Popi’s store, now that will surely be near palpable happiness.

“You will likely be required anyway. I doubt the tensions and prejudice between so many different species won’t cause any issues, even with a central link like yourself,” the Meadow said.

“I’ll make sure they don’t murder each other,” she answered. “But with all the possibilities, I doubt our allied factions would do something stupid. Everyone else will be the issue, but as long as the security on the gates is in our control,” she said.

“It’s amusing… how incredible a simple teleportation gate is to a species with your available level of magic,” the Meadow spoke. It sounded excited more than condescending.

Ilea squinted her eyes, imagining the tree to be the all knowing controller of a four x game. How far ahead in the tech tree are you. “Wait… you’re literally the tech tree.”

“Indeed,” the Meadow answered.

“Don’t act like you understand my thought process,” she answered.

“But I do,” it said.

Ilea nodded slowly. “Sure. Sure you do, Meadow. Why don’t I go talk to someone more reasonable than an ancient space tree. Like a lich.”

“Or a dwarven death machine controlled by by a talking dagger,” the Meadow said.

Much more reasonable. Yes.

“Oh, one last thing,” she said and teleported to Bralin. “Can I borrow your music box thing for a while?”

The dwarf summoned it without looking at her, nodding as he watched a liquid sphere of metal float between Goliath’s hands.

“Thanks,” Ilea said and moved it towards herself, vanishing right after. “Can you make something like this but with more than one piece of music on it?”

“An intriguing toy. I will have a thousand looks,” the Meadow said.

“Thanks,” Ilea said and dumped the Void Lord corpse. “Might interest you too, no idea.”