394 Origin of Spriggans (1/2)
Dinner at Half Mono Village was always delightful. However, it felt a little odd seeing as everyone was able to fit into the tiny kitchen. So many people were missing and Zero wondered if he would be able to catch a glimpse of some of them before he had to leave tomorrow. Thankfully, the one person that he wanted to see was here.
”Cleo, have you ever heard of spriggans?”
The question was rather sudden and the dryad wasn't expecting it. ”Where did you hear about them?”
Truen listened as Zero retold the story about how they met Axel who was an exotic merchant. ”Schaf should be talking to him right now. In any case, we agreed to find the desert poppy for him. I've never heard of a spriggan anywhere before. He looks like a dwarf with elf ears.”
Cleo nodded. ”A spriggan is a distant cousin of dryads. However, like dragons, they are rare and said to be extinct. Are you sure he is a spriggan?”
Zero nodded. There was no way to doubt it because he didn't detect any lies. Isaben's blessing didn't trigger and Zero knew Axel was telling the truth.
”He said that he was a spriggan and the seeds of a desert poppy were the last thing he needed to complete the spell. He wants to return to the forest and track down the treasure he was guarding before. Axel didn't say much about what happened in the past but I think he has it tough.”
Cleo felt sorry for the stray spriggan. If a dryad was to ever lose their tree or forest, the anguish felt by the plants would be felt by them as well. If they weren't driven insane from the pain and become evil spirits that destroyed everything in its way, they would perish and return to the natural plane. Axel's treasure must still be around in some form because he wasn't crazy according to how Zero described him, merely odd.
”I believe spriggans are ancient tree guardians, similar to dryads but more powerful. They are the ones who guard legends like the World Tree. As humans have destroyed many of these trees, very few of them are left if they exist at all. This poor spriggan must have been separated from its tree because of the tree's relocation to a place he couldn't reach seeing as how he is still quite sane. If he doesn't return to his tree soon, the spriggan might gradually lose what remaining sanity he has and turns into a destroyer that the humans call the Monster of the Forest. When that happens, only a god can stop him.”
Hearing Cleo's explanation, Zero had a feeling he knew what treasure Axel was looking for. There were only a few trees that matched the powers of a World Tree. Coincidentally, one of them had no guardian that he knew about. If Axel had been searching for it over ten years ago, it was even more plausible that this tree Zero had in mind might be Axel's treasure.
”Are spriggans powerful?” he asked. If Half Moon Village was able to recruit a spriggan into their ranks, would that help with the current manpower shortage?
Cleo hummed. ”If dryads were like the top tier of spirits, a spriggan is like the king of spirits. There is a huge class difference. Hence, only a god can stop a rampant spriggan but any powerful magician can deal with a rampant dryad. Does that answer your question?”