4. Chapter 4

4

Chapter 4

I lex couldn't believe the mess they had thrown themself into. Standing out in the open and staring at a human was bad enough, but approaching? And startling them enough that they fell off their horse? And catching them in their arms? Ilex wasn't sure what they had been thinking. This wasn't like them—they didn't interact. They observed.

But something about this human had been arresting. The way they had tilted their face into the sun as if it was the greatest, simplest joy—it reminded them of how it felt when the sun was on their own face.

Ilex blinked down at the creature in their arms—it was small. They supposed they had better break the silence; the poor thing looked as if it would implode in terror.

"Hello there," they said as gently as they could manage.

The human's eyes widened even further somehow, apparently astonished that Ilex possessed the ability to speak.

"Hello," the human responded. Its voice was lovely. Light and melodic like the song of a bird.

"My name is Ilex. What should I call you?"

"I'm Dahlia, she and her, and I'm a necromancer from Daosbor," she said. They noticed her breathing evening out a bit, but she made no move to extricate herself from their arms.

"Dahlia. It's nice to meet you. I use they and them, and I am a Dryad from, well, here." They said, mirroring the information she had shared in an effort to be less threatening.

"A Dryad. Fascinating. I've never heard a thing about Dryads," she mused, studying their face.

"I've heard of necromancers, but I know almost nothing about them, so I suppose we're even," Ilex said, offering a bit of a smile. Humans liked that, right? They were rewarded when she returned their smile tenfold and laughed, clapping her hands in excitement.

"Well, Ilex the Dryad, thank you for catching me, and not thank you for scaring me half to death! What was that all about anyway? Do you make a habit of startling travelers in the woods just to rescue them?" She joked with a chuckle as she shifted, clearly trying to right herself. They helped her adjust, and she stood before them, brushing herself off.

"That's my horse, Misty, and my cat, Fluffy. They're happy to meet you, too," she added, gesturing at her travel companions. Ilex looked over and offered a polite nod to the skeleton creatures. Fascinating—they had never seen anything like it.

"Did you make them?" They asked. Dahlia nodded proudly.

"I raised them; obviously, I didn't make the bones from scratch, but you know… I guess I did about half the work. It's one of the less taxing forms of necromancy, just doing the bones. I don't even have to think about it once they're moving on their own again. It's making the flesh that's really the hard work."

Ilex felt certain Dahlia could have said many fewer words to convey the same meaning, but they liked the sound of her voice. They wished she would keep talking.

"Well, Dahlia from Daosbor and Misty and Fluffy, may I offer you a snack or a comfortable place to rest for a bit? I assume you are on your way somewhere. People don't often wander through this part of the wilds for no reason."

She considered for a moment and then said, "I would love a snack—thank you, Ilex! And to answer your question, yes, I am on my way to Ichorna for the celebration! It's a whole month-long ordeal, so I set off last week."

Ilex gestured for her to follow, and she grabbed Misty's reins, walking at their side.

"Lucinne—you know, the main city in Ichorna—well, they're having this grand celebration for the new year because of the new millennium starting and all that. I think it's just an excuse for them to show off. Do you know much about Ichorna? I don't have to explain it if you already know. I don't mean to be rude," she said. Ilex wasn't certain, but it seemed she had perhaps said all of that in one breath. They didn't think they had said that many words out loud to another living being in the past ten years.

"I do not, actually. I am a bit isolated out here in the wilds—the folk of Wellsah aren't exactly used to seeing us around these days—so I don't really keep up with current events," they answered, continuing to make their way toward their home. It was well-hidden amongst the trees.

"Ah, well, the short version is that the Ichornians have blood magic which…" she shuddered a bit, "Well, it's nasty stuff if the wrong person uses it. Anyway, they've spent all this time building their rail system, that's what I think they call it; it transports people quickly from one place to another along some sort of track. I think they're trying to get back in the good graces of the other nations so they can have better trade and such. I'm no politician, so I'm not entirely sure, but that's my hunch," Dahlia twittered, looking around at the trees as she walked.

"I see. If you're not a politician, what are you?" Ilex asked.

"I'm a bit of an herbalist myself. I'm a trained necromancer, but my specialty is potions and that sort of thing. I have a workshop at court because I suppose I'm decent at what I do, so they gave me a spot and like to keep me around. I never thought I'd be important enough to be sent on this trip, but here I am!" She finished with a laugh. Her smile was contagious. Ilex felt themself smiling right back.

"And here we are," they said, gesturing to their cottage. Ilex studied Dahlia's face to read her reaction to their home. They weren't quite sure why they cared so much—but they found they did.