I Can't Get the Vampire Rogue to Romance Me

Chapter 33 - Double Tree

Staring, she came to a complete stop. "Valerian. Where did you get these?" Evangeline asked, holding up her hand now covered in fine brown leather with cream-colored lace coming out of the cuff.

"Nowhere," he said lazily. "Just thought they suited you."

"What's wrong?" Hagor asked, hushing his voice down in response to her alarm.

"These are..." Evangeline started, then pitched down her voice so no one around them could hear. "These are the persuasion gloves the merchant we were talking to was selling!"

"How did you get them?" Artmond asked, but Sigismund's and Hagar's faces conveyed they already knew.

Valerian jutted out his chin. "What is the fuss about? I'm a rogue. It's what I do. And I thought you were a rogue too, which is why I'm surprised you are not only shocked at my actions, but you're also outing me in front of everyone else." This time he crossed his arms as he looked down his nose at her, like a school teacher who was very disappointed in his student.

Which she was not. Not even close.

I know I'm in love with him, but I am having a really hard time remembering why right now, she thought as she crossed her arms and met him eye for eye.

He raised an eyebrow to her challenge, then uncrossed his arms, spreading his hands wide. "Alright. I like a challenge. If you want me to put them back, I believe I can do a reverse lift or drop, if you will. Will that make you happy?"

It in fact would not, she thought, curling her fingers inside the gloves. They were surprisingly comfortable and fit her well. Even on that warm day, they weren't irritating her skin or making her sweat.

And there would be so many persuasion checks in their future.

"No, just... Just don't do it again ... unless we absolutely have to," she said.

Valerian then gave her a courtly bow with more flourish than even Artmond's had been. "Your wish is my command. Mistress," he said, giving the new title an extra bit of ... extra. He grinned cheekily at her as he straightened.

Not knowing what to say to that, she turned away, and they continued on around the small bend and away from the statue.

"Oh wow!" Evangeline declared as the view of the Two Great Trees came into view.

They were absolutely huge.

Each stood 145 feet tall, their branches thick with leaves and spreading like a roof under the heavens. Birds and small creatures scampered and flitted amongst their branches as if the two trees together were a pair of connected cities. Beneath the castle-wide trunks were people moving around a pair of temples at the base of the trees. The one on the left was made of stone, while the one to the right seemed to be shaped like many of the other structures in and amongst the trees.

Evangeline had seen this all before, but a distant image on a screen was nothing compared to actually seeing the grandeur of such colossal titans of nature with her own eyes. Even Valerian, who had stuck to her side as they walked away, with his snark and affected ennui at everything, came to a complete, wide-eyed stop before them.

"It makes one forget one's own significance in this world," Hagor said softly, less awestruck and more serene at the sight of the sacred trees.

"What an ass," Evangeline mouthed, burning a Meta point without even thinking about it. "The Tree of Dawn and the Tree of Twilight. Some say that they represent the twin deities of nature."

"Clerics say that, yes," Hagor noted. "But the trees predate the deities' birth into this world. At least, that is what we druids understand."

"And there is the crux of all the issues in this town, I'll bet," Sigismund muttered, though her gaze still hadn't lifted from the sight either. From their vantage point, the group could see signs of what she said. While the tree was united in branch and root, the people at their bases were moving only within the area around their respective temples. Almost no one crossed to the other, leaving a strange void in between.

That if anything, snapped Evangeline out of her awestruckness. "Here, we better get this part to where it belongs before the powder keg of a situation blows up on us from lack of coffee."

"Coffee?" Artmond queried, cocking his head to one side.

"Sorry, caffee," she corrected, drawing the sound out in a way that made her think of a bad Bostonian accent.

As they came closer to the two colossal trees, bunting also appeared, tied with big bows to the thinner trunks of the young planted trees on the left side of the walking path. People were also sitting in little groups, weaving flowers together and talking pleasantly.

"Are you joining us for the festival?" a pleasant voice asked as they walked past the entrance to the stone temple. A young acolyte stood there in a light gray robe, passing out a small stick with a pair of leaves tied to it and a flower in the middle. She held it out to Evangeline. "This is a piece of our divine tree. May it keep you safe as long as the flower blooms."

Evangeline nodded and took it. "We're actually looking for White Oak's scullery area. We have a delivery for her." She indicated her burden.

Social Skill: Persuasion. Success.

The acolyte's eyes widened. "Oh yes! Absolutely. Just past there." She pointed to a smaller path branching around the tree and its temple. "Just a little further. Once you're past that giant root there, you'll see her. Oh, thank Kish!"

These people are really hard up for caffeine around here, Evangeline thought.

She nodded and headed in the direction indicated, her party in tow. They had broken off into smaller conversations that Evangeline just did not feel like she wanted to participate in right then. It was nice to just soak up the atmosphere of this new world around her. They had to flash the token a few times, but doing so cleared their path until they got around the root, and sure enough, they saw what could only be the "scullery."

"What the heck is that?"

To be continued...

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