Return to Jorgaldur Volume V: Reunion (2)

Connection

"From what you're telling me, I'm not surprised that she woke up," Maldoa said.

"Why?" Goldmi asked curiously.

The two of them were talking about what had happened with the corrupted centaur. The rest were too busy eating, not counting Eldi. The drelf had given him permission to collect whatever ingredients he wanted, but only a third of each at most. Therefore, he was inspecting the plants thoroughly, and his assistant was collecting what he had been allowed.

"There're no losts that intelligent. Either they didn't convert, or they ended their lives a long time ago. The general must have been suppressing her somehow. Since we've killed it, it couldn't suppress her anymore. Surely, the contact with my aura triggered her awakening, though it would've happened sooner or later," the drelf explained.

"I see," the elf nodded, while taking a few sips of a hot drink. It was made similarly to tea, although the leaves added to the infusion were very different. It tasted a bit bitter, so the twins needed honey with it. They wanted to drink it like their parents, but they couldn't stand the bitterness. Her husband liked an even bitterer version. She sighed. She couldn't stop thinking about them.

"How about... Yum... that stuff? Yum," Gjaki asked.

She was eating her third waffle, this time with a greenish jam. She loved them, and a certain girl agreed. Menxilya had eating her second, as she ate slower than the vampiress.

In fact, a certain fairy had wanted to try them too. It had been strange, as they had never seen her eat anything before, although they had seen some other fairies do it.

In the end, she had left the waffle untouched, but she had eaten all the jam. For some reason, she liked it, and it was the first time that had happened. In fact, the elf showed her other jams, but she only wanted that one, not even the ingredients separately.

After some experiments, Goldmi got a more convenient product, and one that Pikshbxgra even got excited about. They were candy sticks, where the candy was the hardened and caramelized jam. She had cooked it longer to remove water, added more sugar, and introduced a common mana structure to give it solidity. It was only common for a master chef, of course.

Now, the fairy was floating around Eldi, looking at him curiously, and licking her candy. She even offered some to the cyber fairy, but it ignored her.

She continued to watch it and Eldi, until the drelf stood up. Then, the fairy followed her. She was curious about what she was going to do.

Maldoa hadn't only rested and eaten, but had regenerated with the help of the nature of the Source. Her roots had been nourished by the soil, and all the impurities and damage caused by the corruption had been removed. She was back in peak condition.

She approached the plant structure. Different species intertwined there, their shapes and auras interspersed in an intricate puzzle. It seemed to make no sense, although the patterns couldn't be coincidental.

She extended her roots again, thus temporarily joining to each of the different plants. It was essential to talk to them to activate that strange formation.

Then, she imbued them with her mana, with different amounts and frequencies according to the requirements that the plants themselves had transmitted to her. Without a doubt, someone unable to communicate with them could never activate it, even if they had all the time in the world.

It wasn't that it caught her by surprise, but the result disappointed her. All the connections were broken, which made that place a dead end.

They had wasted time, which put them in a bind. It wouldn't be easy to get to their destination unseen without the help of those formations. It put their mission in danger. Perhaps, they had trusted the girl's prophecies too much.

She didn't want to give up, but she didn't know what else to do. There was no choice but to disconnect and communicate the bad news to her companions.

"Zshsarr Greeddnnn"

Those sounds suddenly came through the plants. She didn't understand them, but that wasn't the most important fact. Since she had arrived at the Source, it was the first time that there wasn't only silence.

She listened intently, hoping and expecting, while checking the connections again. She didn't understand how something could have gotten there.

They were all broken. Some had been strong enough, or lucky enough, to partially survive. They had reached a greater distance before breaking. Nonetheless, none connected to anything.

"Zsisrgy GthAlkreksnyossne," she perceived again.

This time, she could determine where the message was coming from, it was one of the connections. It was broken, but something was getting through anyway. Without hesitation, she poured her mana into that root to reinforce it, to expand it.

All her concentration was on what was coming through there, above all, from where. That was the direction she made that root grow towards. It had managed to stay partially intact despite the corruption. Her mana directed the growth, while healing and reinforcing it, while trying to transmit. Each time, the message became clearer.

Finally, it managed to touch another root, which had also grown towards hers. As soon as they did, they intertwined tightly. A pure and powerful aura came into contact with hers, as it expressed its joy, its enthusiasm.

"Is there anyone? Yes! You're Maldoa! Moslina woke me up and told me everything! Where're you!? Ah! In one of those Sources! What're you doing there? I'm glad to see you! How's your mother?" this time she heard the voice of a dryad clearly.

Even though the dryad didn't keep quiet, the drelf smiled. She could perfectly understand her feelings after being isolated and hibernating for years. The same had happened to Moslina.

"And you are?" she asked her.

"Ah! I haven't introduced myself yet! What was I thinking? I'm Ginesla! Nice to meet you! Are the others with you? Let me see! Yes, they are! A fairy has really come too! What a pity you can't come! Moslina told me that the food was delicious!"

Maldoa couldn't stop talking to the dryad for quite a while. In fact, Moslina joined in as well, and even a third dryad named Tulipna. It was great news that she had found two more, and all of them were looking for more. If they were alive, they would surely be able to contact them.