Return to Jorgaldur Volume V: Reunion (2)

Old Maisha (II)

Goldmi had stayed behind with the girls, but she was watching the situation closely. The elf was even listening through Auditive Link, since she had left the goshawk next to her husband. The kraken was with her, while the lynx, Shrunk, was playing with the girls a short distance away.

"Mom, is something wrong?" Gjami asked, surprised.

"I don't know, but if it does, dad will fix it," the elf assured.

"Of course! Dad is the best!" Eldmi exclaimed.

"Always," her mother smiled.

Meanwhile, the nobles and guards had stopped. That elf wasn't luxuriously dressed, although the clothes he was wearing were more valuable than all the others together. After all, it was an armor of extraordinary quality created by Eldi, and which Goldmi had changed the appearance to make it look like simple clothes.

However, as much as he didn't seem to be a noble, everyone recognized him. He was a hero, with a higher prestige than any of them. In fact, Elendnas had been given several titles, although it was something that hadn't bothered him for a long time.

Perhaps, at first he had valued and boasted about them. Until he had been caught by Krovledi, his body had weakened, and he had met Goldmi, whom he had lost for many years. All this had led him to not care much about those titles and fame. Although now, it was useful.

"Lord Elendnas! It's a pleasure to meet you! You don't have to bother! You see, they're just some commoners who've stolen some passes that don't belong to them. We'll take care of it," an elf woman assured. She was also dressed very opulently, very upright, sticking out her chest, as she wanted to get his attention.

It must be said that not all nobles were like that, nor all the nouveau riche. However, they had been lucky enough to meet a group of them who had come together.

"Are you saying that my sister stole the pass that I gifted her MYSELF?" Elendnas asked, very seriously.

He had even used Reverence. It was a skill that he had acquired by chance, and that he rarely used. However, they were accusing his sister, so he didn't hold back.

All the elves suddenly fell silent and turned pale. Even the guards, who hadn't really done anything, but they had intended to.

"Uh... This... It was a misunderstanding. I... I'm sorry... Well, I have to go," the elf who had spoken excused herself.

"Ah... Yes... I had only come to see how it was like... Nice to meet you. Have a good time," another one said.

One after another, the whole group looked for any excuse to leave, even if they had preferred to be swallowed up by the ground.

Elendnas didn't say anything. He stared at them as they left. He wanted to hit them, but he couldn't do something like that. At least, not there. The guards simply retreated.

"Thank you, brother," Elenksia hugged him.

"Are you okay?" he asked worriedly.

"Yes. But it's lucky you've arrived. Otherwise, Klimsal would've beaten them," his sister sighed.

"I wasn't going to hit anyone!" she denied, while looking away. She wasn't very convincing.

Elendnas stayed with the two of them until they calmed down. Then, they went inside, and he returned with his wife and daughters. Although, he was a little surprised when he arrived. Goldmi had taken out the strange device she called telephone.

"What're you doing?" he asked.

"I'm calling Eldi. He doesn't answer, maybe he's busy... Ah! Hello Eldi!" the elf exclaimed.

Her husband stared at her, surprised. So did the twins. They liked that device, and they wanted to use it too.

"Hello, Goldmi. Has something happened?" the high human on the other end of the line worried.

"I need to talk to Melia. Is she around?" she asked.

"Yes, wait a moment. She's right here. Honey, Goldmi wants to talk to you," he was heard saying.

The dryad was sitting next to him, leaning on his shoulder. She had taken her husband to her Origin. She had always wanted to show it to him, and now they were both there, alone. Liodon was still kidnapped by Bolbe, while Lidia was helping with the preparations for her son's wedding.

"For me? Pass her to me! Hello Goldmi! Do you need something?" Melia said, as enthusiastic as ever.

"Yes, you see..." the elf began.

It didn't take her long to summarize what had happened. It felt unnatural, out of place, it was a sensation she couldn't stop feeling. That's why she needed a dryad to advise her. Maybe, she could help her. Plants were her domain, and they were facing a huge plant.

"That's beyond our jurisdiction, old Maisha acts on her own, but I can tell her. I don't think she'll like to hear it. Let's see what she says. She'll tell you something if she wants to," the dryad suggested.

"She'll tell me something?" the elf was surprised.

"Yes, of course. She can contact you easily from so close. Oops... She got angry... If you don't want anything else, it's better to hang up. I think she'll call you right away," Melia suggested.

While talking to the elf, the dryad had transmitted her thoughts to old Maisha. That's what the dryads called the huge tree.

"Already?... Ah... Wait... My daughters want to talk too..." Goldmi felt a bit nervous.

"Pass them to me!" Melia exclaimed.

Goldmi smiled when she saw that Eldmi was surprised because the dryad had recognized her without hesitation. Not many were able to distinguish them, and even fewer just with their voice. Of course, Melia was cheating. She was observing her and her aura through the plants.

Although that smile soon disappeared. Suddenly, she noticed how the enormous aura she had perceived when they had arrived fluctuated, and then part of it concentrated on her.

"You must be Goldmi, the one the dryads told me about, right? You're the only one with such affinity here," she heard a voice in her mind.

It spoke slowly, although a contained fury was perceived. Not in the voice, but in the aura.

"Yes... It's me... Are you Maisha?" she asked, somewhat bewildered.

She wasn't sure if that voice could hear her, since it was like that with the dryads. She could hear them, but they couldn't hear her.

In fact, it was similar to the connection with them, but much stronger. After all, the connection was from very close by.

"Yes, that's what our dryad friends call me. Others call me the tree of life, the sacred tree or something similar, but I like Maisha. I'm in front of you," the voice answered.

Melia hadn't quite revealed it, but now Goldmi was totally sure. Not only because of the words, but because of the aura. Old Maisha was the huge tree in front of her, the sacred tree of the elves.