Thera and Ben looked at each other, trying to silently communicate whether or not they should walk down into the earth, but the village elder went down and without much other choice they both followed.
It didn’t go down far and there was a source of light, although faint, and despite the seriousness of the situation and just how uncomfortable it seemed, the moment they reached the bottom and saw Sachel, Skoe, and Ralia, Thera burst into laughter.
The village head gave her a surprised look but Ben ignored it, he kind of understood where she was coming from. While Sachel and Ralia had just been sitting down on the dirt floor, looking kind of sad until they’d noticed who’d come, Skoe had been bound to the wall by thick and powerful plant roots, his legs, torso, and each of his four powerful arms was secured to keeping him from moving.
“Okay, getting to enjoy this made the four hours of waiting worth it,” Thera said, causing the elderly dryad to drop just enough of her negative attitude to cast Ben a questioning look.
“Thera has a bit of a complicated history with them,” He told her with a shrug as Sachel spoke up.
“Ben, what are you doing here?” A bit of light had returned to her eyes as she saw them and her voice was tinged with hope.
“Myriad asked me to come help you out so I made my way here, but seeing as how you could have been freed after a couple months or just paid a fine if you wanted out it seems like it was a waste of my time. Why exactly didn’t you just pay?” He asked, wanting to get to the heart of the matter before deciding what to do.
Unfortunately, it seemed the reason was entirely practical. “Do you really think we all have that much money?” She asked, which was a fair point when he thought about it. Just because he’d managed to gain an unreasonable level of wealth in a short time didn’t mean everyone would have that much saved up. “And as for being stuck here, do you think you’d be able to deal with being stuck in a dark pit for two months? We’d really appreciate the help.”
She looked at him with pleading eyes and Ben sighed. A part of him thought this whole thing might be partially his fault for converting her, but a greater part was saying she should have known better to go into an area she wasn’t allowed. Even if he was the apostle of her god, he wasn’t her keeper. Still, Myriad sent him to help so as long as they were agreeable he would.
“Huu, okay. If you guys agree to pay me back over the course of the next two years I’ll pay to get you guys out, does that sound reasonable?”
Sachel and Ralia quickly agreed while Skoe seemed like he was trying to but couldn’t from how tight the roots binding him were.
Actually, isn’t that kind of dangerous? I may not know what sort of vitality he has but breathing is kind of important.
He cast a quick concerned look to the man, but he wasn’t dead so he figured it was fine and turned to the village head. “Okay I’ll pay, let’s get this over with.”
She looked shocked he actually agreed to spend so much but pulled out her card and tapped it against his, receiving the funds he’d transferred over while Ben couldn’t help but feel he’d been a little scammed with the cost.
With that done she walked over to Skoe, placing a hand on the roots that bound him and after a few minutes, they were loose enough that he could walk out. Once that was done they all quickly left the dark, damp hole in the ground and Ben let himself be thrilled to have finished up everything so easily. They would need to find somewhere to sleep for the night, but he’d done what Myriad wanted and they could get home while Sachel and her friends focused on finding some other way to complete her trial, at least that was what he’d hoped.
“Alright, you’re all free to go so be on your way and don’t come back,” The elderly dryad spoke, and Ben was more than happy to agree.
“Don’t have to tell us twice, come on guys let’s-”
“Grandmother, please! I just want to help!” Sachel told the woman desperately while cutting him off.
Wait, grandmother? Myriad what the hell have you dragged me into?
<...>
Ignored by his god, he instead got front row seats to the fight breaking out in front of him.
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“The moment you abandoned our god you lost your place in the village. Outsiders aren’t allowed in our forest so either rejoin the faith or leave.”
“Nobody here has any fighting skills! If you don’t let us in then what will you do?” Sachel asked desperately as if begging the woman to let her help, but was only met with scorn.
“We’ll manage alone, as we always do. If you’re so determined to cling to whatever god convinced you to turn traitor then we don’t need you.”
“We’re all a part of the same world, we need to be able to ask for help if we need it!”
“Because that’s worked so fucking well in the past, hasn’t it!” The elderly woman screamed back, before regaining some control of herself. “Dryads depend on dryads and you’re already barely that. As far as I’m concerned our relationship was severed the moment you abandoned Jagal.”
There was so much venom in the old woman's voice it was enough to stun everyone. That is, everyone but Ben, who stepped between the two and had gone deathly quiet, trying to contain his rage.
“Apologize.”
“What?”
“You went too far. Apologize for saying that.”
He wasn’t planning on backing down, but neither was she, and instead waved him off dismissively. “I don’t expect outsiders to understand. You got what you came here for so get lost, I have a village to look after.”
He held his tongue for a moment, just long enough to think through what to say next without just swearing at the woman for a while. As good as that would feel, it wouldn’t be constructive.
“We’re just not allowed in your stupid forest right? There’s no rule against us staying here?”
“Are you really going to stay just to be a pain in the ass?”
“No,” He told her with a shake of his head. “Sachel will solve whatever stupid problem your forest is having without ever setting foot in it, and then after you’ll apologise to her and invite her back with open arms.”
The old woman let out an angry chuckle, more than ready to kick them all out should a chance come along. “Fine, but the moment any of you walk into the forest, you're getting locked up and I’m sending off for some templars to deal with you.”
“Excellent, as the apostle of Myriad, I fully intend to hold you to that.”
With that he turned around and marched off, not waiting to see the old woman's reaction as he started talking to the air.
“Hey Myriad, give me the quest for earning a large amount of faith from non-believers, I’m going to make these jerks love you.”
<RECEIVED QUEST- FAITH OF THE FOREIGN>