"He's a traitor of our race. He traded the gifts of life for those of death. His corpse has no place in our sacred ground. Only fire can purify his remains and by turning him into ashes, his spirit will be cleansed of undeath and be able to start anew once he blooms again." A Treantling said.
Friya snapped her fingers and the dried willow was soon turned into ashes and carried away by the wind. Once killed, a thrall would lose all the vigor that their blood core granted them and their body would revert to the shriveled state that constantly feeding their master inflicted upon them.
"I must say, I would've never expected for a human woman to be so strong and powerful. Watching you killing a filthy Grendel was… exciting." A male Dryad wearing nothing but a smile and sporting a six abs pack you could grate cheese on said while grabbing Phloria's hip.
"I was hoping you could show me some more of your moves, if you have the time." The Dryad was beyond handsome and tall enough to look her in the eye. Yet Phloria just grabbed his wrist before he could go any further and just said:
"Thanks, but no. I'm on a mission and I've no idea who I can trust. There could be another like him hidden among you."
At her words, all plant folks looked at each other with eyes full of suspicion, at least until Lith patted each one of them pretending to be using a diagnostic spell.
"You're all clean, there are no more thralls here. You can stop doubting each other and maybe you could help us." Lith said. "Have you noticed…"
He was cut short when the female Thorn hugged him from behind, squeezing her full breasts against his back. Her form was now perfectly compressed, making her look just like a human woman with emerald skin and blonde hair.
Every part of her body was soft and warm. Her touch was a sensual caress.
"I don't feel too well. Probably it's because I've partially merged with that scum. I think I need a more throughout examination." She said.
"No, you don't." Lith replied while pushing her gently but firmly away. He was tired of those shenanigans.
'Damn! Plant folks are utterly insane, they really don't care about anything but power. One minute ago, she wanted to beat me up, now she wants to eat me up. I wouldn't trust them even if I was still single.' He thought.
"We're looking for Erlik's last known headquarters." All the plant folks pointed at the most withered tree-house, just a few meters from them. Lith was relieved to notice that both the Dryad and the Thorn didn't seem angry for being rejected, just disappointed.
"Have you noticed anything or anyone suspicious around here?" He asked, receiving so many answers at once that he had to interrogate them one at a time. It turned out that plant folks were paranoid enough to be in Lith's league.
Not only did they point fingers at each other, but also to everyone living in the neighborhood.
"Okay, forget about it. Do you have any idea why even the neighboring houses are partly withered?" Lith was repeating the questions that Kalla was whispering in his ear with a spell.
The enthusiasm for the battle had momentarily made the plant folk forget about her existence and she wanted to exploit the situation as long as she could. The moment they noticed her again, best-case scenario, the plant folks would refuse to help.
Worst case scenario, Kalla would have to fight again.
"No clue, but we found it ominous as well and reported it to the guards. Yet not even them found a decent explanation." A male Thorn said. "We thought that it was due to some infected feeding upon them or because Erlik and his minions had poisoned the ground, but it's not the case.
"As you've pointed out, they should have recovered at this point. Even though houses aren't plant folks, they still possess quite powerful regenerative abilities. The undead have been put to flight days ago and the buildings checked for infected.
"Everything turned out clear and yet…" He pointed at the fallen leaves and the blackened windows.
If all the houses of the city block were blooming as if it was spring, Erlik's hideout seemed to have just come out of winter while the neighboring houses looked to be at the start of fall.
"This makes me wonder, why Erlik didn't infect the tree-houses? They would make a powerful juggernaut." Friya asked, drawing the undesired attentions of both males and females creatures.
"Laruel's buildings are not alive as you and I are." A female Thorn tried to hold Friya, but she dodged in time. "They lack sentience and they'll never gain it. They are grown with the purpose of giving every one of us a place to live.
"They are just a means to an end, like your cattle."
"Why do you say that they will never gain sentience? Laruel seems abundant in world energy and they are living beings. On top of that, their ability to respond to their owner's will makes them look almost sentient already." Friya dodged the strong arms of a Treantling as well.
"That 'almost' makes all the difference in the world. The tree-houses are just regular trees, but being planted in Laruel grants them special properties. What you mistook for intelligence is just the energy of the World Sapling coursing through them." Said the female Thorn who had hit on Lith.
"World Sapling?" Lith asked.
"The offspring of the World Tree, the first and most ancient among all plant folks. Not only are they alive, but they are also the only reason why our kingdom has peacefully existed for centuries.
"World Saplings supply each city with enough magical power to allow everyday life and protect us from all intruders. They are the true ruler of our kingdom since each city is nothing but a manifestation of their power."
"Now you've lost me." Phloria was on the verge of starting to chop hands and heads if someone tried to grope or caress her again, but she could only grin and bear it. She could recognize the look in the plant folks' eyes.
It was the same look that her suitors who were too desperate or drunk had while revealing things they shouldn't talk about just to try and impress her. The fight seemed to have sent them into a mating frenzy.
Making them snap out of it would have probably meant that they would become hostile again.
"If these World Saplings are so powerful, why do you even have a ruler? Why don't they stop Erlik?" She asked.
"You humans call the World Saplings 'plant Liches', but they are so much more. Such a powerful creature doesn't reason like a mere mortal. They choose a place abundant in world energy as their home and then they focus entirely on the search for knowledge.
"Like Liches, they become so engrossed in their magical research and their attempts to reach the next step of evolution to forget about everything else, but unlike the undead, they are alive and benevolent.
"In exchange for knowledge and resources, they grant us their protection and bestow the elected ruler of each state-city a fraction of their power."
"In exchange for knowledge?" Lith echoed.
"Yes. We share with the World Sapling all our spells, magical research, literature, arts, everything. It's a small price to pay for a peaceful life."
