User blog:Thrycius/Zheiro and The Moonlight Sculptor: Chapter 23

'''Disclaimer: This is a crossover fanfic between Brave Frontier and The Legendary Moonlight Sculptor. I don't own either of those; they belong to their respective owners, namely Gumi/Alim and Nam-Hi-Sung (남희성) respectively.'''

'''Disclaimer (extended): This crossover fanfic now also contains some elements from the Type-Moon universe, owned entirely by Kinoku Nasu. I don't own anything from there, either.'''

Is this your first time seeing this story? Go directly to chapter 1 here!

Zheiro and his companions walked silently through the Blood Forest. It was rather eerie, Zheiro thought. Despite the brilliant red coloring that surrounded them and the bright sunlight which shone through the trees, walking in through an area with this much red surrounding them gave him a rather strange feeling.

And that was not to mention that neither the ever-talkative Thrycius nor the arrogant Sarui who couldn’t stand the storyteller for some reason were both entirely silent too, although as usual Thrycius was still grinning as if he had not a care in the world.

At least that would probably never change with Thrycius, Zheiro thought to himself.

“I don’t like this place.” Sarui suddenly spoke up, interrupting his train of thought. “Something feels wrong.”

“Really?” Thrycius asked, grinning. “I thought you would have been happy, considering all the potential material you could use around here for your paintings.”

“There certainly are a lot of things around here that I could use for my paintings,” Sarui agreed, “But the atmosphere feels completely wrong for me to just go and gather materials.”

“The atmosphere?” Zheiro asked. “Is this your intuition acting up again?”

“You could say that,” Sarui grudgingly admitted.

“Couldn’t it also be said the atmosphere feels this way because none of us were talking?” Thrycius said with his usual grin.

“No, it should be the opposite,” Sarui replied, scowling. “In the first place, even though you yourself hadn’t been talking, that stupid grin plastered on your face wouldn’t normally make the atmosphere feel this way.”

“Ha ha ha!” Thrycius simply laughed in response, not bothering to say anything else.

Zheiro looked at the storyteller, starting to feel that something really was wrong. “But why are you so quiet today, Thrycius?” He asked. “Usually that would have been a great opportunity for you to say something and fill the silence with your usual storytelling.”

“Hmm,” Thrycius responded. “If I had to say, it’s because I’m waiting.”

“Waiting?” Zheiro asked. “Waiting for what?”

“Something interesting,” Thrycius said vaguely, grinning all the while. “After all, Sarui said that the atmosphere felt wrong, so there’s no way that nothing is going to happen. Whatever it is, there’s a good chance it’ll make for a good addition for my writing.”

“Is that really all there is to it?” Sarui asked, staring at the storyteller. “That’s all you have to believe that something interesting is going to happen?”

“Well, why not? A woman’s intuition can be quite sharp, and considering it’s you I wouldn’t doubt its accuracy,” Thrycius said, laughing.

Sarui narrowed her eyes at the storyteller and stared at him for a few moments as he continued to grin. The air between them began to feel so tense that Zheiro was worried something might end up happening, but in the end Sarui simply snorted in distaste and turned back to leading the way through the forest.

Lately, her dislike for the storyteller was starting to become even more obvious, Zheiro thought. He really wanted to do something about it before their group broke apart, but asking her about it while Thrycius was still around was probably a bad idea.

But the silence was really starting to get to him. Zheiro was starting to wish that someone, anyone, would start up conversation like they always did.

And suddenly—

“Oh, and what do we have here?” An unfamiliar voice called out, as if fate was mocking him by fulfilling his unspoken wish.

Zheiro turned towards the direction of the voice to find himself staring down a… human plant?

It was also the only visibly green thing in this forest that was filled with nothing but red.

“Are you humans lost? Or perhaps is it me?” It asked with a shrill giggle. “Either way, would you like to come with me?”

“What is a dryad like you doing here?” Sarui asked, taking a step back as she looked at it cautiously. “I heard that dryads were extremely timid creatures.”

“Well, you certainly didn’t hear wrong,” Thrycius confirmed, grinning as usual. “Dryads really are extremely timid.”

“Shouldn’t we try to answer its question first?” Zheiro asked, trying not to derail the conversation.

“Yes, yes you should,” the dryad said suggestively. “You’re all staying until you answer. Why don’t you all join me for some fun while you’re at it? I’m sure the three of you will find it quite enjoyable.”

“And if I refuse?” Sarui asked, reaching for her paintbrush.

“Then I must insist,” The dryad jittered. “But I would prefer it if we kept things peaceful. There’s no need for violence, is there?”

“Well, if you’re not going to be hostile towards us, then I suppose that’s true,” Zheiro replied, looking up and down at the dryad. “In any case, I’m pretty sure that we’re not lost. But as for you...If I had to say, you certainly look out of place here. You don’t blend in at all.”

“That’s not a very satisfactory answer,” the dryad replied, pouting as it drew closer to him, eyes flashing. “But at least it’s better than not trying at all. Speaking of which,” the dryad said, looking closely at his face as it draped its arms around his neck, “You’re quite the fine looking human! Mind keeping me company for a bit?”

Zheiro tried to take a step back to avoid the dryad’s overly forward actions, only to find his legs tangled in some vines which made him trip and fall—only to be supported by the arms of the very dryad he was trying to get away from.

“Careful, human,” The dryad said, giggling. “You don’t want to hurt yourself now, do you?”

“Can you get off me?” Zheiro asked, starting to feel very uncomfortable with the dryad.

“Nope,” the dryad said. “You be—Ow!”

Before Zheiro realized what happened, the dryad separated away from him, taking a few steps back as it held its head in pain.

“Do you mind not trying to capture my rival here?” Sarui said dangerously, holding her favored paintbrush out. Apparently Sarui had whacked the dryad on the head with it, judging by the situation.

“Capture? Oh no, I was just holding conversation with him,” the dryad protested lightly. “It’s not my fault if he decides to get enthralled with me, is it?”

“What?” Zheiro spluttered. “Since when was I enthralled with you? If anything, you were the one throwing yourself all over me!”

“How mean!” the dryad protested. “Is it wrong to support someone who tripped?”

“It is,” Sarui growled, “If you were the one who made them trip in the first place!”

Upon hearing Sarui’s words, Zheiro glanced down to find that his feet were now wrapped and entangled with green vines that definitely weren’t there previously. A quick application of his moonlight sculpting blade, however, ensured his freedom within seconds.

“You did this?” Zheiro finally said incredulously, looking back up at the dryad. “What are you trying to accomplish here?”

The dryad stared at the three of them for a long moment. It was long enough that Zheiro contemplated asking Thrycius if it was okay for them to just leave, but eventually the dryad spoke.

“I didn’t expect to meet three humans at once who could resist a dryad’s magic.” It finally said.

“Magic?” Zheiro asked.

“Zheiro, you didn’t notice?” Thrycius said, grinning. “Considering all the training I’ve given you, I’m surprised you didn’t even notice at all. This dryad has been trying to bend us to its will using its magic.”

Upon taking a closer look at the air around him, Zheiro finally realized that the storyteller spoke the truth. He really would need to keep training more so that he could easily perceive the intangible more often.

“In other words, it’s an enemy,” Sarui said, unaware of Zheiro’s thoughts as she raised her paintbrush as she fell into a combat stance—a sentiment that the dryad also felt as it brought about various vines around them in a threatening manner. “And it’s a monster more intelligent than the others, to attempt something indirect like this.”

“But why would it go so far as to do something like this?” Zheiro asked, raising his sword as he stepped back in a cautious manner.

“Because,” the dryad hissed, “humans are the enemy. If you won’t become mine, then perish.”

And before Zheiro could ask any more questions, the vines in the area lashed out—and the battle started.

At least, battle was supposed to start. But it was over before Zheiro could even do anything.

The moment the word ‘perish’ left the dryad’s mouth, Sarui dashed in and smacked the dryad in the head with her giant paintbrush, sending the dryad sprawling. In retaliation, a few vines snaked out from around them towards the painter, but they were all cut down in a flash with Sarui’s painting knife, held in her left hand— a surprising feat, really, considering painting knives aren’t sharp and simply weren’t meant for cutting.

As the dryad finally landed awkwardly on the ground from Sarui’s initial attack, Sarui once again smashed her paintbrush upon the dryad’s head before it could do anything, this time finally rendering it unconscious, if not dead.

“...Was that really necessary?” Zheiro asked timidly at the sudden display of ruthless violence—and by one of his own traveling companions, too.

“The dryad already voiced its intent to kill us. Why should I hold back?” Sarui asked. “The only reason I have not killed it yet is because it showed sapience. Whether or not it will actually listen to us is entirely another matter, however.”

“Sapience?” Zheiro asked.

“Simply put, sapience is the ability to think and act using knowledge, experience, understanding, common sense, and insight,” Thrycius explained. “You can think of it as the dryad being able to display wisdom, unlike most of the other monsters we’ve fought. It certainly was able to hold a conversation with us, no matter how one-sided it was.”

“Right,” Sarui said, nodding. “If we are able to talk with this dryad, we may be able to ask it where the missing youths are. However, considering the initial hostility it showed us, I had no choice but to knock it out first.”

“Asking it where the missing youths are— You were actually thinking that far ahead?” Zheiro asked, impressed. His attention had been more focused on the dryad at the time and upcoming threat of battle. He had actually forgotten about the youths for a bit there. “But what makes you think that the dryad will cooperate? Not only was it hostile towards us, but we just knocked it unconscious as well—there’s no way the dryad wouldn’t be angry at us after all that. What will stop it from attacking us the moment it wakes up?”

“If it decides to attack, then I’ll just knock it out again.” Sarui said confidently. “And if it decides to attack again, I’ll keep knocking it out until it gives up.”

“And if it never gives up?” Zheiro asked.

“Well, I suppose I could just dismantle it for some more painting material,” Sarui nonchalantly replied. “After all, constantly refusing to listen to reason means that my initial evaluation of the dryad having sapience was incorrect. And if this dryad is simply a monster that was imitating a human, then I will have no qualms about tearing it apart.”

“I kind of doubt it was simply imitating a human,” Zheiro noted. “I mean, it was able to hold conversation with us. ”

“I think so too,” Sarui agreed, nodding. “And that’s why I think it will have to give up eventually.”

“Of course, we do have a solution to prevent it from attacking,” Thrycius commented, giving off a mischievous grin.

Zheiro didn’t really like the sound of that.

It took a few hours for the dryad to regain conscious, only to find itself tightly bound to a rather large boulder and with a strange, narrow piece of paper stuck on its face.

Obviously, with its limbs bound the dryad was unable to rip off the offending piece of paper, but its vines were not responding to her commands, either.

On the plus side however, the paper was narrow enough to still allow it to see the humans before it. Humans were the last thing the dryad wanted to see, and the humans standing before it were the same ones that it had attacked before, which clearly made the situation worse..

All in all, it was in a terrible situation.

“Oh, it seems like it’s awake,” the only female human in the area said, noticing that its eyes were now open. “Hello there. Can you hear me?”

The smile that the female human wore did nothing to comfort the dryad. It looked… predatory.

“Where am I?” the dryad finally asked angrily. “What are you planning to do with me?”

“See? I told you it had sapience,” the female said arrogantly, crossing her arms as she looked over to one of her companions. “And it didn’t even try to attack us.”

If the dyad had its way, it actually might have attacked them. No, scratch that, it definitely would have attacked.

But really, why was it unable to command the vines like it usually could?

“So, little dryad,” the female human said, still giving off that scary smile. “Have you noticed anything strange happening around this area?”

“Yes,” the dryad said. “You.”

“How rude!” The female human shouted, pouting as she crossed her arms. “I’m perfectly normal!”

“Now now,” a different human said. This one was also grinning, but there didn’t seem to have any meaning behind his grin. “I’m pretty sure that it’s not particularly normal for people to go prancing through forests, knocking out dryads and sealing their movements.”

“If you put it that way, that’s certainly true,” the third human said. Out of all the humans here, he was the only one not smiling. If anything, he was looking exasperated with the whole situation. “Did we really have to go so far?”

“I certainly think so,” the first male said, still grinning as he casually leaned against a nearby tree. “I still have reason to think that it would have attacked us otherwise.”

Despite his meaningless smile, he was surprisingly sharp. It might be a good idea to be more wary around him.

“In any case,” the female human said, restarting the conversation, “Has there been strange occurrences other than us going on around here?”

“Why should I tell you?” the dryad asked, glaring at them. “When swarms of humans come through here every day, wreaking havoc, causing destruction, and depriving the forest of the earth spirits? Humans like you are the enemy here; I have no reason to tell my enemy anything.”

Zheiro tilted his head when the dryad declared once again that humans were the enemy. What did it mean by that? Were humans doing something to anger the dryads in this area?

“Have humans been doing that here?” Zheiro wondered aloud, expecting input from his companions to the current situation as he turned to face them.

“I believe the dryad here is complaining about the actions of summoners,” Thrycius lazily commented as he leaned back to evade a vine attempting to grab him. “Depriving the forest of the earth spirits? Sounds just like them. Earth spirits are among the materials that are used to evolve some of their summons, after all.”

“In other words,” Sarui concluded, “It’s the summoners who are the real enemy here, not us.”

“Which could explain why this dryad has become far more aggressive than dryads normally are,” Thrycius continued. “If one’s home was gradually being destroyed in such a manner, most would certainly grow angry.”

“But what about you, Sarui?” Zheiro asked. “You gather a lot of material from the forest, right?”

“...Did you actually think I was mindlessly ripping everything apart and gathering everything I could get my hands on?” Sarui asked dangerously, challenging him with a glare.

“...Um, yes?” Zheiro replied, sounding a little more unsure than he thought he would be. Normally he would have replied instantly, but the way Sarui questioned him made him hesitate a little.

“Well, for your information, I am very much aware of how much I gather for my paints,” Sarui informed him imperiously. “What might look like mindless destruction to you is actually highly efficient gathering which leaves no waste behind. I am not stupid, Zheiro; if these forests becomes deprived of resources faster than they can be replenished, then we will eventually run out of resources. And I’m sure you can understand how troublesome that will be.”

“Well, you’ve certainly got your bases covered,” Thrycius said, grinning. “Trying to become the perfect painter?”

“What are you talking about, I already am perfection,” Sarui said putting her hands on her hips as she posed. “Jokes aside—If we have come to the right conclusion, then it would seem that the summoners are going out of control in this area.”

Zheiro stared at Sarui in confusion. That was supposed to be a joke? If he didn’t know, he might actually have believed it! After all, Sarui was a person far beyond his comprehension, considering just how good she was at practically everything.

“That certainly seems like it,” Thrycius confirmed. “There aren’t that many other groups of people that would so recklessly capture spirits and the like without realizing the environmental issue their actions may cause.”

“But this has nothing to do with our search for the missing youths,” Zheiro finally spoke up. “Right?”

Silence fell across the clearing as his question hung unanswered in the air.

“Um,” a timid voice suddenly spoke out. “Can you humans untie me already?”

The three of them looked at the dryad, who kept shifting its gaze between the three of them.

“Ah,” Zheiro sheepishly said as he scratched his head. “I completely forgot about the dryad during our discussion.”

“Even if you ask to be untied, how are we supposed to know you won’t attack us again?” Sarui asked, ignoring the sculptor’s comment as she turned to face the dryad. “That was the whole reason we tied you up in the first place, little dryad.”

“I lost my reason to attack because you said it was the fault of these… summoners, not you humans.” the dryad said. “So could you untie me?”

“And how do you expect to make up for the inconvenience of being attacked by you?” Sarui asked. “I’m not so magnanimous as to just let you go free without punishment.”

“Well,” the dryad said, hesitating. “You’re looking for some human youths, right? I think I might know where they are.”

Today Ixia got to have the day off.

Free from magic lessons and free from her usual work of sewing and weaving clothes (not that she hated either—magic was fun and the time spent weaving was also time she could spend thinking about her childhood friend), she was allowed to spend her free time however she wished, as long as she stayed out of the restricted areas.

The court magician had already warned her that those areas were warded anyway, so trying to enter them even in spirit form would be dangerous, even for the court magician who was far more experienced than she was with magic.

Initially, she thought about laying around, daydreaming all day again about her childhood friend as she admired the bouquet sculpture she had in her room, but she decided that doing so wouldn’t be very productive at all. As much as she enjoyed thinking about him, she too had to improve in various aspects, to become even better than she was now—and besides, she already got to think about him while she was weaving clothes, and weaving was certainly productive.

Therefore, she decided to mess around with magic. Magic was interesting—and being able to freely explore the castle and the surrounding city was an amazing experience, if a bit a lonely. More often than not, she wished that she could also show her childhood friend the view—but to do that, she would need to teach him the same magic that she learned. And to do that, she had to have an even greater mastery of magic, a mastery of a level where she could confidently teach magic safely.

Thus, magic practice.

And if anyone were to ask why she didn’t choose to practice weaving instead to even further improve her skills (and would allow her to dream about her childhood friend), Ixia would inform them that such a question would be meaningless when she already did practice every day, even while completing requests. What meaning would there be in endlessly sewing and weaving until her hands got so tired that she might accidentally injure herself? Hard work was certainly important—but so was doing things in moderation.

In any case, Ixia decided to explore the castle in her astral form. It was the magic she needed to teach her childhood friend, and the more she got used to it, the easier it would be to explain to him.

Locking the door to her room, she began her preparations…

A/N: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA IT'S ANOTHER UPDATE

It's a bit on the shorter side I suppose, but next chapter is where lots of things start happening.

''Were you expecting combat? Well, too bad, cause Sarui decided to be Sarui, the glorious, magnificent young woman that she is. Maybe later, maybe not. Although, this isn't really a combat oriented story, so fight scenes should be few and far in between anyway.''

''Really, both Ixia's and Zheiro's side of the story this chapter are supposed to lead into things which start next chapter; In Zheiro's case, the reveal of what happened to the missing youths, which will also lead on on towards the final battle in mistral against Maxwell. Honestly I'm really excited to post that scene with Maxwell... too bad the proofreader hasn't finished proofreading ch 24 since forever, so no can do for now.''

''Anyway, if you couldn't tell already, I decided to touch on the potential environmental problems caused by all the farming we do in games and such. Of course, it's never a problem in a game setting; since if anything, games want you to farm to achieve rewards, and while this is true in real life, sustainability is also important, so remember to save energy everyone! Well, even if I say all this, it's not like Zheiro and co can do much about it... And it's just a game after all, amirite? right!?? So farm away like mad because we all have no life ''

''I also had looked quite a bit into bf's dryads and whatever little lore they had when I wrote this chapter, which was part of the basis for the dryad's actions, rather than resorting to combat immediately. I wonder if I pulled it off well enough? You guys tell me, after looking into the dryad's lore and quotes.''

''As for Ixia, her scene is going to lead into more lore about this story in particular. Although, I can't say I'm familiar with BF's current lore anymore, it's almost like it's a completely different game now apparently, rip me. Someone should summarize the entire lore of BF to me about it lol jk''

''That, and a small bit on her personality, but it's not much. Really, too bad I can't continue to update for a while as things go for now, so this might be the last you'll see of my writing until proofreader gets back to work.''

In any case, hope you enjoyed this chapter!

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