While Heinrich works, Zayla wanders over to the large stone to take another look at it. She'll spend as much time as she needs to examine every bit of it.
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Zayla takes a deep breath. "Wow," she mutters under her breath. Everard's voice startles her and she gives a quick gasp. "Everard! You're better? You're better! That's incredible!" She stands up slowly. "That fruit is really impressive." She pauses. "I had the weirdest dream."
"It fits the description," Zayla says. "I don't know what else it might be." She goes over to help Felix with Everard.
"Well, that was quick," Zayla says. She wanders slowly into the glade, peering in awe at, first, the wildflowers, and then the tree. She walks up to the stone and looks at it.
Zayla kneels down beside Everard and tends to his wounds.
As she works, she says, "Could we make a litter or something to help transport him in?"
Zayla steps up closer and fires and elemental ray at the cheetaur.
Satisfied that Evarard is at least stable, Zayla hurls her last ball of electricity at the cheetaur.
A third ball of electricity appears in Zayla's hand, but she doesn't make use of it yet. Instead, she reaches into her pack with her free hand and pulls out her healing potion. She then tries to get close to Everard to administer it to him while also staying out of the cheetaur's reach.
Zayla cries out in pain as the cheetaur's claw digs into her. She looks for a way to move away, but the wall they've all backed up against makes that difficult. With nowhere to go, she strikes at the cheetaur with the second ball of lightning that has appeared in her hand.
Zayla backs up with the others and casts a spell, a ball of electricity appearing in her hands. She hurls it at the nearest cheetaur.
"Cheetaurs? That sounds both frightening and kind of exciting. Is there a good place nearby to set up our defence?" Zayla casts mage armour on herself.
Zayla pauses and looks back at the man. "You just happen to know the password to Baba Yaga's hut? How did you come across all this wonderful information you so conveniently possess, and why should we believe it?"
"I don't know," Zayla says. "I've found the nights we've spent in the forest to be reasonably pleasant. Well, except for the things that want to kill us, I suppose."
"I suppose we should go seek out this Erasmus person eventually," Zayla says once they're back at the bottom of the ladder. "We should probably head back in for the night now, though."
Zayla takes the scroll, glances at it, and stuffs it in her pack. She remains otherwise quiet throughout the conversation.
Zayla stares dumbfounded at the rock, and doubly so as the others vanish into it and then emerge on the ledge. She stretches her arms out and prods around until she's able to find the ladder and then tries to climb it blind.
Zayla shrugs. "Sure, why not."
"If we had more time, I'd say we should keep watch on this place and see who comes to use it, but we can't really afford to waste the time. We should probably keep moving."
Zayla shrugs. "It won't be nearly enough, but I suppose anything is something. Maybe we'll find some helpful clues about our own crop issues."
"Here, have the rest of mine." Zayla hands Felix the remainder of her lunch. "Don't worry. You'll...uh...you'll get over her"
Felix gets closer to her, but stays out of arm's length. He falls to his knees. "The giants to the north are having trouble, but first, I must confess something to you. When we went to the pixie circle for mushrooms, we saved them from a rampaging ogre and one of them rewarded me with a kiss. I'm sure she was just elated for our help and it meant nothing to me, but it stays with me. You would know better than I, but, somehow, she has marked me with magic. I can now cause things to move about. I am true to you, but if this is too much, I will understand." He remains there on one knee. One hand over his heart and the other stretched out to Nerisal. "I take back what I just said," Zayla mutters under her breath.
When Felix starts to speak, Zayla moves forward as if to stop him, but she stops. "That was actually pretty well said, Felix," she says quietly.
"Ah, of course," Zayla responds. "I should've thought of that. Though I'm not sure how a magical tree will respond to being cut."
Zayla nods. "Understandable." She rubs her chin and ponders aloud, "I wonder if it would be possible for the giant to take a pit and plant a new magic in the giant orchards. Though whatever's stopping the normal trees from growing might also stop a magic tree. Of course, the tree is magical and might be powerful enough to override the magic cursing the orchards." She sighs. "We still need to find more information."
”Also, if you picked a peach and didn’t eat it that day, it rotted away with the next sunrise, right down to the pit.” "What happened to the pit if you did eat the peach?" Zayla asks.
Zayla's eyes perk up. "Magic peach tree? There's a magic peach tree there? Tell me more."
"I would love to, Zayla says and frowns, "and one day, I will. I just don't have the funds right now." To the others, she says, "We should go to this meadow first thing in the morning."
Zayla smiles as she enters the shop. "I really want a door like that!" she mutters. She forces herself to stop gaping at the store and turns to Zara. "We're looking for help or advice on how to make a dead orchard grow again." She explains the situation with Braugi the giant.
Zayla hurries after Everard. As she passes the captain, she says, "Well, come on! Like Everard said, time is of the essence!"
Zayla nods. "What if...?" she starts, pausing a moment to think a bit. "What if we fixed your orchard instead? I'm not entirely certain how we'd do that, but the truth is, feeding sixty of your people would probably leave us with no food left at all. But we'd hate to turn away anyone in need, so maybe there's something that can be done about your orchards."
Fifty apples? Like you say, that might cover the one giant at best for a day! It's a pretty common thing for fantasy to neglect considering just how much food all these various races would be vying for (especially the giant races), but that pretty much takes the cake! :)
Zayla moves up beside Everard. "How many of you are there? And how much can you eat?" she asks.
Zayla shrugs. "Yeah, I suppose. Don't worry. I'll work with him. I'll just grumble about it in private, is all." She attempts a smile.
Zayla doesn't go far after storming off. Just to the edge of camp. And then maybe to the other side of the camp and back again. Eventually, she'll settle down to sleep. She's completely oblivious to Felix following her .
"Antagonize him? I'm not antagonizing him. He's the one who started with insults when we first met him. He's the one who, when asked what we were doing, said that we were seeing to it that the giant would never bother Spielburg Valley again, deliberately implying that we were treating the giant as an enemy. He's the one who is ordering us around like we're his soldiers, and he's the one who can't even be bothered to take a shift on watch. I haven't said a word to antagonize him beyond respond to his arrogance and chauvinism. And no, he's NOT a good person. He may have done a few good things here and there, but that's a far cry from being a good person. Being a good person also involves treating people with respect, which is something I've yet to see him do with anyone." She storms off.
After the captain has vanished into his tent, Zayla mutters, "How about we ditch him and carry on after the giant through the night by ourselves?" She's only half joking. She will then go about her normal nightly routine and take her watch at the appropriate time.
Zayla shrugs. "Okay then. Let's do it."
Zayla arches her eyebrows. "The giant that apparently didn't attack anyone except after being attacked first? The giant that then left without causing any further harm? That's the story we were told at the gate. Maybe it would make more sense to find out what the giant was doing here first before rushing into a needless kill."
"Maybe this means if we can get to the brigand leader, he can be reasoned with," Zayla suggests.
"Interesting," Zayla says. She ponders a moment before continuing. "So the brigand leader doesn't want to hurt anyone from town, so who are they targeting? Just people coming in from outside? Blocking trade hurts people in the town, too, so what exactly are they trying to accomplish? Sorry, those aren't questions I expect you to know the answer to. I'm just thinking out loud."
"The brigand leader saved you?"
"Good morning!" Zayla responds cheerfully. "We were hoping we'd run into you. Though not quite so literally," she adds. "We've had an urgent summons to the castle. Perhaps you would like to walk with us so we can talk as we had planned." She does her best to not let him suspect that she and the others might have forgotten about their planned meeting.
Zayla shoves the last few spoonfuls of her breakfast into her mouth and gets up. "Ready," she mumbles with a still full mouth.
Zayla considers a moment. "You have a point, Felix. I was getting a little too excited about making the guard captain or whatever he is squirm. But taking on a giant... What else can we do? Just stand back while it goes around killing people? We don't really have a choice, do we?"
"Oh, absolutely," Zayla says. "We definitely need to go."
Zayla looks up from her food. "We crossed paths earlier," she tells the sheriff. "He and I didn't exactly see eye to eye. So I think Everard is just a little surprised he wants to see us. Of course, I wouldn't put it past him to think I was just some random groupie following Everard and Felix around. So if he doesn't realize I'm part of the group, he's in for a bit of a surprise." With a smile, she scoops another bit of food into her mouth.
"And some people are just too grabby," Zayla mutters under her breath after the door has closed. She turns to Felix and gives him a comforting smile. "Felix, I really hope you don't turn out like her in your old age. Come on, let's get back to the inn. I'm starving."
Zayla nods. "We'll be there and we look forward to hearing your story, thank you. Have a safe journey home." She looks to Hilde and gives her a smile.
"That was me, yes," Zayla responds with a slight bow as well. "Thank you for your kind words. The brigands are certainly vicious. My friends and I are hoping to help put an end to their villainy."
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