Chanterelle's cheeks were still red and she quickly nodded to Terran without making eye contact. "Yeah. Lhoris was saying something about that the other day."
"I'll have to find out where he wants me to plant the seed," Terran said, and he headed off to find Lhoris.
In the afternoon when the seed was ready, Terran planted it exactly where Lhoris had requested. All the elves gathered and sang while it grew into the barracks. Inside the main floor was an open area for training, cubbies for equipment, armor stands, and a separate room for Lhoris to sleep. The upper floor housed five more rooms for the settlers, and Chanterelle announced that she would be moving into one of them. Terran opened the settlement tab to see the changes.
Settlement: Gneiss Glen (Tap to rename)
Level: 1
Fortifications: none
Sky Moss used: 2/5
Population: 20/30
Housing: 4/5
Seeds grown: 4/5
Days until next seed harvesting: 15
Total Buildings: 4/5
Barracks 1/1
Fungi Garden 0/3
Shaman Hut 1/1
Chieftain Hut 0/1
Orchard 1/3
Leaf Armory 1/1
Weaponmaker 0/1
Occupations:
Orchard Tender: 3
Mother Tender: 1
Armorer: 1
Captain: 1
Shaman: 1
Tenders: 2
Warriors: 2
Loamers: 7
The entire settlement was in high spirits the rest of the afternoon as they prepared for a feast. Enoki and Kumotake found a rare type of mushroom and gathered enough to prepare for the entire clan. The smell of apples baking and an aromatic soup filled the air. Terran's mouth watered as he helped cut up the mushrooms.
As the sun set and the first star appeared in the sky, the elves gathered with Terran to celebrate the growth of their settlement. After everyone had eaten their fill of the delicious food, Petram stood in the middle of the gathering smiling around at everyone and raised his cup.
"To our leader, Terran, for finding the Mother Tree seed and managing the growth of our settlement," he toasted.
"For leaf and stone," cried everyone, raising their cups.
Terran's ears turned red as the elves all toasted him. Even though Terran missed his friends, a deep part of him felt connected to the tree. He knew his friends would love the culture and history of the Rock Leaf Elves, the Mother Tree, and the settlement.
When the elves began singing, Terran snuck away from the group and headed towards the forest to look at the stars. Luna stayed lounging by the fire while Ara stroked her silky fur, so Terran sat alone staring up at the countless pinpoints of light that filled the inky sky. The eerie sound of the elven songs filled Terran's ears, and he nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard a voice behind him.
"Mind if I join you?" Chanterelle asked in a husky voice.
Terran's tongue suddenly stuck to the roof of his mouth. It took him a moment to answer. "Oh, of course, yes."
He noticed the muscles in her arms and her long neck as she sat down next to him. His nostrils filled with the smell of the campfire and baked apples. She smiled at him as her knee brushed his leg when she adjusted to make herself more comfortable.
"Everything okay?" she asked, rubbing her forearm.
"Yeah. I was just thinking about my friends and wishing I knew where they were," he said quietly. "This isn't going how we had planned at all, and to be honest, I miss them."
"It's hard to be away from the people you care about for so long. Are you lonely?" she asked.
"Sometimes," he said, looking up at the stars. "But not always," he continued with a smirk, glancing at her sideways.
She touched him gently on the arm and whispered, "Maybe I could help with the loneliness, at least."
He turned to look at her and his breath caught in his throat as he was drawn in by the intensity of her eyes. She gently tucked an errant piece of hair behind her ear as her cheeks flushed a bright crimson. Somehow she looked even prettier when she blushed.
Terran's heart raced as he whispered, "Can I kiss you?"
She smiled warmly and leaned in closer to him. He smelled the floral scent of her hair and the mintiness of her breath as he leaned in with his lips slightly parted, his posture eagerly matching hers.
Their lips had brushed against each other when a scream cut through the night, snapping them both upright. Terran's first thought was that Kumotake had found him trying to kiss his daughter. Chanterelle turned her head to listen, then sprung up, running back to the fire when more shouts came. There was a loud crashing noise like trees being felled, then a massive shadowy shape came into the firelight, grunting and pounding its chest.
Chapter Twenty
The Crag Troll was the largest specimen of the humanoids that he'd seen, though most of them, Terran realized, had been dead. The Crag Troll in the middle of the party stood twice as tall as the tallest elf with arms as big as tree trunks, carrying a steel maul with runic designs on the hilt. Its breath could fell a small child, reeking of decaying flesh and rotting teeth.
Already two elves were being dragged away from the fire, into the safety of the shadows, while another elf, a loamer named Gaeli was unconscious near the fire, but the Crag Troll didn't look content with just a few minor injuries. It roared with a ferocity that gave pause to the nearby elves, who were only beginning to muster a defense.
The roar didn't stop Chanterelle, who raised her sword high, leaping over the fire to jab the tip of her sword into the lumpy back of the Crag Troll before it could stomp on Gaeli. On a normal foe, her strike would have been deadly, but the thick hide of the enormous humanoid deflected the worst of the damage, only leaving a slight line of bloodred. The Crag Troll responded with a spinning strike, the maul rushing through the air. Terran's breath caught in his throat as he feared for Chanterelle's life, but she tumbled forward, out of the fire and beneath the maul, which ended its journey smashing into a tree trunk. A cascade of leaves fell upon the scene.
One of the elf children had fallen behind the old log that they'd been using to sit upon, and as she climbed to her knees, tears in her eyes, the Crag Troll lifted its maul again. Terran shouted as he grabbed a pine cone from his pouch. He flung it at the Crag Troll's eyes, turning it into a wave of stinging stone shards that made the troll flinch away. The maul hit right near the elf girl, turning the log to pulp, but the miss gave her a chance to scurry away.
Since it'd been a party, none of the other elves had weapons, which meant he and Chanterelle had to fight the Crag Troll alone until they could return. The Crag Troll didn't seem content to wait—it pounded through the fire, sending sparks into the grass, as it came after Terran. He barely dove out of the way of the maul, which tore a huge splinter from the tree behind him. Chanterelle used the distraction to slip in and slice the back of the creature's ankle, which elicited a great cry from the beast.
As the Crag Troll turned towards Chanterelle, Terran sprayed it with another round of rock shards, but its thick hide made his attack almost meaningless.
"Come on, you ugly bastard," said Terran, searching around for something appropriate to use as a weapon. He spied a prickly yellow gourd that when split, had a tasty fleshy center, called a pocum. As the Crag Troll went after Chanterelle with its maul, swinging it effortlessly in an attempt to obliterate her into pulp, Terran leapt to the fallen gourd and grabbed the vegetable with both hands. The spikes were soft and pliable, but as he funneled his Stone Touch spell into the gourd, they turned to rock.
As the Crag Troll chased Chanterelle around the tree with long, loping strides, Terran lobbed the stone pocum right in its path. The Crag Troll's foot came right down on the spikes, and the beast nearly toppled over as it grabbed for its injured foot. The stone pocum stuck from the underside of the foot.
[You have increased your skill Improvisation]
Skill: Improvisation 5 (INT)
The pause in the chase gave Chanterelle a chance to spin around and slice at the raised foot, cutting the tendon behind the ankle, enraging the Crag Troll further. Terran used the distraction to drag Gaeli from the scene. Two other elves carried the fallen elf away once he was away from the fire. By the time the Crag Troll removed the stone pocum, it was swinging its maul so widely as it stumbled around the broken party that even a blind man could have gotten out of the way. At this moment, the rest of the elves returned with bows and longswords. Immobilized by their tactics, the massive Crag Troll was quickly taken down by the tribe. When it finally fell over, it had nearly thirty arrows in its flesh.
Petram knelt by the dead Crag Troll, poking at its lumpy head with a twig. The shaman's nose wrinkled with disgust.
"Where there is one Crag Troll, there must be others not long behind," said Petram.
"Are you sure? Couldn't it have just been a scout, or it got lost?" asked Terran.
Petram put a hand to his chin. "It is possible, but unlikely."
Chanterelle swaggered around the scattered fire, eyes wide, mouth set in a grim line. She kicked the metal maul.
"This isn't Crag Troll make. Someone gave this to the troll," she said, swinging her blade in practice strikes. She clearly hadn't come down from the adrenaline of the fight.
"If more Crag Trolls come, the Mother Tree will not be able to stand. She's too newly returned, and we are without defenses," said Petram.
"We have capable fighters. Look what Chanterelle and I did," said Terran, gesturing towards the fallen Crag Troll.
Petram stood, looked Terran right in the eyes, and said, "Can you beat thirty Crag Trolls? Or fifty? What about a hundred? The mountains to the north teem with the foul beasts. If they choose to come back here, we are finished."
The shaman marched out of the dim firelight, leaving Terran alone with Chanterelle. She'd calmed her perpetual motion, but the same intensity remained in her gaze.
"We need to get the settlement to rank 2," she said. "It's the only way we can survive."
"We don't know for certain there are more Crag Trolls coming," said Terran, but he lacked the confidence of his words.
"You know what you must do," said Chanterelle as she faded back into the shadows, leaving Terran alone next to the dead Crag Troll.
The massive humanoid took up the entire party area, while embers from the scattered fire still burned in the grass. Terran looked into the darkness, trying to remember what it felt like for that sweet moment when he'd thought he was going to kiss Chanterelle. His lips tingled with that memory, but the responsibilities of his position weighed down on him. As Rock Leaf Elves moved through the camp, collecting fallen foods and putting things to right, Terran felt as empty as the corpse he looted.
Chapter Twenty-One
When Terran awoke the next morning, the terrors of the night came back to him. He lay on his back thinking about the destruction the Crag Troll had caused and the poor elves that had been injured. His thoughts were continuously cycling through one anxious moment to the next. When he finally landed on the feeling of his lips brushing up against Chanterelle's for that brief moment, he jumped out of bed with his heart racing. He decided to go see Petram and check on the injured elves.
"What can I do to help?" Terran asked as he leaned into the chamber inside the tree.
Petram was grinding a leafy green herb with a mortar and pestle, working it with short turning motions. It smelled slightly minty.
"We need more bloodroot for healing. I have almost depleted my stores," Petram answered, showing Terran the small white flowers. "They grow in the sunlight along the edges of the forest. Get all you can find, but come back quickly."
Terran was relieved to have a task to complete, and he and Luna left to gather the needed healing herbs. Luna led them to a clearing filled with the tiny white blossoms, and Terran set to work gathering as quickly as he could. The delicate leaves fell off the stem as he picked each flower, so he had to be very gentle. After filling the container Petram had given him, he and Luna returned to the settlement.
The elves had been busy cleaning up the destruction created by the fight with the brutal Crag Troll. They had removed all the trees knocked down and stacked them in a pile at the edge of the clearing. Leaves had been strewn all around the ground where the grass had been trampled, and the central fire pit had been repaired.
As Terran was headed to the shaman hut, a large group of elves appeared at the edge of the glen. Each of the elves stared in wonder as soon as they saw the Mother Tree. Terran noticed a few tears on some of the older elves as he approached the group.
"Hi there," Terran called out.
A few of the group stopped admiring the tree and looked in Terran's direction. Their weary faces smiled in relief as he got closer. Terran counted ten elves. All were laden with supplies, and a few had weapons.
"It's a relief to see the tree is still here," an elf with jet-black hair and cat-like green eyes said. "We have been worried for some time that something dreadful was going to happen before we made it."
"A Crag Troll decided to crash our party last night, but we managed to fend it off with only a few injuries," Terran said.
The elves all shared a look. "A single troll?" the same elf asked.
Terran nodded. "Yeah, but it's fine now. I just need to run these herbs to the shaman. Why don't you go rest around the fire? I'm sure someone there will make you all some tea and you can tell us about your journey."
Terran brought his foragings to Petram as the group of elves made their way to the fire pit.
"Petram, I have the bloodroot," Terran called out as he entered the shaman's hut.
There were three elves with various bandaged spots lying on mats in the central area. Petram was still sitting at the table grinding herbs into a paste. The room smelled of black licorice and wood fire, and a light smoky haze filled the air.
"Oh thank you, Terran the Tenacious," Petram said, taking the satchel from Terran.
"More elves have just shown up. Ten of them. I sent them to the central fire to get some tea," Terran said. "How are they doing?" he asked, looking around at the injured elves.
"They will be fine. As soon as I apply the new compress I'll come meet the newcomers," he responded.
Terran joined the new elves at the fire pit. A tender named Elia was recounting the story of the Crag Troll attack with arms gesturing wildly.
"...and then Chanterelle cut its ankle," Elia was saying.
"That sounds like a harrowing experience. I'm afraid after all that you will not like to hear the news we bring," the dark-haired elf said as the corners of his mouth dropped.
Terran sat down and took a sip of the tea Elia handed him. "Let's wait for the bad news until Petram can join us. Tell us where you have come from."
"Since the destruction of the first Mother Tree we have been living far to the west near the border of the Jagged Peaks. As soon as we felt the calling from the tree we began making our way back here. I'm surprised to see how far the settlement has progressed already, and even more shocked to discover that you are the leader," he said, looking Terran in the eye.
Terran laughed. "That seems to be everyone's reaction. I'm starting to get a complex."
"The Mother Tree knows best," Petram said with a smile as he walked into the circle. "Terran has been an excellent leader. He even managed to gather some Sky Moss on his own. His determination makes up for his lack of experience I'd say."
"Petram. I am so pleased to see you, my old friend," the black-haired elf said, rising to greet the shaman.
"Sythorn," Petram said as they inclined their heads. "I'm so glad you made it back home."
"I'm afraid we bring bad tidings, but we are here to help however we can," Sythorn said, sitting back down. "The Crag Trolls in the Jagged Peaks are mobilizing. They have an army and are heading here to destroy the Mother Tree yet again."
"Ho
w do you know they are heading here?" Petram asked.
"Several days ago we came across a seer with a crystal scope on our journey. Using the scope she was able to locate the horde and discover their plans. Last night's attack just proves their plan has been set into action. I'm afraid the settlement in its current state will be no match for the beasts."
Terran's brow furrowed. "A seer with a crystal scope?"
"A fully grown Mother Tree produces crystals with various properties. The seer must be old indeed if she still has a crystal scope. The item allows the owner to scry across any distance if a clear description of the subject is provided," Petram explained.
"They can see anyone as long as you can describe what they should be looking for?" Terran asked excitedly.
"Yes," Petram said dismissively. "But that doesn't tell us how she knew the trolls are coming here."
"They had written orders," Sythorn explained.
"What? That is bad news indeed. It does explain why the one last night had that maul. Who could be controlling the Crag Trolls enough to issue orders?" Petram said.
"We don't know, but the seer said the letter ordered the trolls to come here and destroy the Mother Tree," Sythorn said in a low voice.
"How long do we have?" Petram asked.
"Maybe a week." Sythorn frowned.
Terran's thoughts reeled. They had a week before a horde of Crag Trolls came to destroy the settlement. They had barely managed to fight off a single troll last night. Even with ten new elves Terran didn't think they stood a chance. His best bet was to find the seer and ask her to locate his friends so he could get back to them.
His thoughts were interrupted when Petram said, "We must level up the settlement and create fortifications as quickly as possible. Then we could properly defend against the attack. We have enough Sky Moss to have another seed ready tomorrow, but we need the spirit essence to continue."
Everyone looked at Terran in anticipation. His options seemed hopeless. There was no way he and Luna could defeat the Spirit Bear to get its essence, and his friends were an entire continent away. If he could find this seer he could find out where exactly his friends were. Plus maybe the seer could actually communicate with the subjects being scried. Then he could send them a message. The tree was really the elves' responsibility. He was supposed to be playing this game with his friends, not worrying about what happened to some group of NPCs.
The Stone Tree: A LitRPG Adventure (Kingmaker Saga Book 1) Page 14