Devourer Class

Just outside of the city, Galahad had exited the school to get to the forest.

Galahad walked through the open fields east of Teramore. The grass fields surrounding the city were once a part of the forest that was cleared out in the construction over two hundred years ago.

The reason for building the city so far into the depths of the forest and valleys was due to the kingdom's discovery of a massive gate to the dungeon. Just like the many gates across Endora, they needed adventurers living nearby to cull the demons beneath it.

Eventually Galahad reached the end of the fields and entered the untouched part of forest. It was filled with a dozen different types of trees and plants that seduced creation class botionists into entering. The only two risks of being inside the forest were eating a deadly plant or getting caught in the mist.

The mist was a very peculiar and deadly trait of the valleys around Teramore. It moved unnaturally throughout the region like a predator that caught you if venturing too far away from civilization. The dangers lurking inside it were normally the mystic creatures or the bandits that drove their victims inside it to confuse them.

The phenomenom was never a threat to the city or any of the exiting path, so no one really investigated the cause. Some speculated it was a powerful mystic creature in the forest that hated intruders, others believe has something to do with the gate the city was built on.

Luckily Galahad's goal was not too far inside the forest, the location was never covered in the mist or ever valuable enough to be occupied by bandits.

Inside the forest, Galahad followed a makeshift trail he made by travelling the same way for so many years. After fifteen minutes of walking, he arrived at a small clearing that opened to a shallow pond. It was like a tiny garden of Eden, with a strange red twisting tree to complete the image of the story's setting.

Galahad sat on a fallen log and let out a whistle that resembled a Dire Dinger's call; a type of small bird that was indigenous to the forest. A rustling began all around him within the shrubbery, soon the red tree began to unwind to reveal a hollow space inside. A small redheaded girl walked out of gap with an unmoved expression that showed she quite familiar with the scenario.

"She grows ever more lively." she yawned in a very child sounding voice. Make no mistake, this was no child, it was a Dryad. A sentient race infused with the forest's life and bonded to the trees they resided in. When someone entered the territory of a Dryad, they were completely at their mercy.

Apharine was actually much older than Galahad and aged at the same rate as her red tree, giving the appearance of someone much younger. The younger she seemed, the more healthy her tree truly was. Sometimes during drought season or harsh temperatures, her appearance would age to that of a women closer to Sora's age. She almost looked completely human as well, except for the green tinge sureounding her brown eyes and thick sharp leaves for fingernails.

"Where is the nutrients?" She sleepily demanded with another yawn. She put out her little hand with a "gimme" motion.

Galahad grabbed his bag off his shoulder and pulled the second pouch of goblin mana orbs from his bag. The moment the bag came into view, the leaf dress Apharine was wearing exploded as a bunch of roots extending from her body.

The thin red roots covered a few yards in just a fraction of second, tearing apart the bag and grabbing the contents viciously. Once her roots had gathering all the orbs, they slowly retreated back within her leaf dress and her smile simply appeared like nothing just happened.

"Good enough." She said with a half smile. She then let out a little belch.

Anyone else would have found her sleepy attitude and lack of gratitude to be rude, but Galahad only chuckled at her. He simply found her to be quite an interesting person; its not often someone could find such a peculiar being within the forest.

'You can't blame a forest dweller for not understanding human customs.' He always thought the first few times he talked to her. Now it wasn't anything he really thought about at all, he simply called the dryad a friend.

"So how are the kings of the forest?" Glossing over her rude burp.

"Hehe you'd think they'd were humans based on that whole pride description."

She asked "How so?" As she tilted her head to the side.

"Well... Humans can always get swept up in arguments and end up putting pride, money, or self-image in front of their actual duties."

"We don't use money in the forest though, maybe treko leaves could work." She pondered as she looked up in thought.

"Uh… my point being, that humans and beasts act in a lot more similar manner than you might think."

She shrugged at his explanation "I like to think we are better than the humans that choose to take more than they need, simply because they are selfish."

"Fair enough." He shrugged back while recalling the mana orbs he just watched her inhale.

"There was something I meant to tell you, but I cannot recall." She brought her little hand up to her head and scratched out of habit. A few centipedes crawled out before she gave up on remembering.

"Well I'm sure it will come back to you." He smiled. "I don't suppose it has anything to do with the elf?"

"Let's see . . . . its nearly winter, . . . I'd say about eleven and a half years ago" Galahad shrugged to himself.

"You should just forget about her and keep bringing me food anyway." She said while inspecting a centipede that fell to the ground.

"Well I've had a few questions to ask her, especially if she kn-"

"Oh, goodbye!" She triumphantly shouted with glee.

"I... goodbye? Are you leaving?" Galahad was very confused by her behavior. His first thought was 'can she even leave the forest? Her tree was a part of her life force and soul.'

Out of all the time he knew Apharine, he never saw her outside of the clearing. Her bond to the red treko tree stopped her from being carefree and eat whatever she could find outside of the pond's boundaries.

"Yes I must go and take my tree with me, I have someone I need to confront, otherwise something very bad will happen." She spoke as serious as a leaf covered child could sound.

He felt his heart sink a little at her leaving.

"Will you come back?" Galahad didn't want to see her go, she was a part of his little hideaway in the forest. She was a longtime friend he could confide with and never spill his old childhood secrets. Especially the reason why he ran away one day and found this clearing in the first place.

"I see. When are you leaving?" He asked sadly.

"In a few days, I need to leave before the cold freezes the ground and the rivers for when I begin moving."

"That's a shame, and here I thought I would one day get to see that elf again, and then introduce you."

Galahad had told everyone close to him about the pond since he was a kid, but he didn't tell them that he saw an elf the first time he was there and the red Treko tree near the pond was actually a dryad he talked with every once in a while.

"That's okay, they are too stuck up for my tastes." She stuck her tongue as if she tasted something rather sour.

"Well it was nice to see you again, I'm sorry it turned out to be for one of the last times." Galahad said while sticking out his hand to shake farewell for the second time that day.

She only looked down at it before pulling a rotten, pink fruit from her makeshift dress pockets and put it in his outstretched hand.

Galahad sighed while shaking his head, "I probably should have explained a few more human customs to you before you left."

He set the moldy fruit inside a bag pocket before getting caught in a surprise hug from behind.

Galahad suppressed the growing twinge of heartache with a lighthearted chuckle, "You just love messing with me, don'tcha." He knew her too well for this hug to be a serious act of sorrow for her. Dryads were not a sentimental race, they were the carefree and rather unfiltered thinkers of Endora.

Galahad would always think how disastrous it would be for a dryad to roam free from their trees, especially when she was hungry.

She giggled as she pulled away, clearly revealing her hug was simply a joke. When she back away, she shouted, "Your it!" Then dove into the nearest bush. Galahad ended up chasing after her, playing tag with her for a good hour, leaving him exhausted and sweaty despite the chill.

She may have been little, but her speed and connection to the forest gave her an unruly advantage. The entire time she giggles uncontrollably like the little girl she only appeared to be in a physical sense.

Her giggles continued even when she saw Galahad fully disappeared back into the woods after packing up, heading back home for dinner with his friends. She then began her preparations to start a war.

*****

After Galahad had visited his old teacher and said goodbye to his forest friend, he headed back into the city and over to a pub known as Mower's. Named after the first owner's dog with a story plaque on the wall people could read. It was one of many notable eateries in Teramore, but its Rock Boar stew was what always brought Galahad and his team back every other week.

The stew contained diced meat that was grilled, and then tossed into the spiced broth to saturate the tough meat into something soft and chewy. It was the best meal they could eat all season round.

Eventually night was falling and the bells chimed eight times at the three resonance-crystals towers at the outskirts of the city. They notified the time of the day, but their more important function was sending out signals of magic pulses between karmic plates. Without it, no one could scry information to one another over long distances.

A few minutes later, Galahad came through the doors. The inside wasn't too much of a restaurant, it was a basic wood styled bar on one side and a few miscellaneous tables against the other wall. He was waved over to the table by Victor while the other four were slurping down the stew. It would have seem like a well mannered act by Victor, but his bowl was already empty by the time Galahad arrived.

Once Galahad sat down to the bowl they ordered for him, Rosetta put down her spoon and napkin.

"I have some interesting news for the whole team." Rosetta stood up from the head of the table. "There is a competition going on and I've already signed us up."