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Chapter 301 Celebrate!
🕑 Added 2023-01-08 22:57:38 +0000 UTCAuthor's note:
Hey there!
Here it is. Much stuff in this one. I'm tired. Reading too much...
Anyway, enjoy!
Cheers!
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“Um, what was that?”, Catori asked.
“The Hive”, I said.
“Yes, but…”
I sighed.
“Triple-Eye”, I said, “Was that what I think it was?”
The squirrel blinked and turned to us.
“Huh?”
“The Hive. The tree. You know?”
“Hive talked to you…”, he whispered. With his real voice.
Suddenly, motion sprang into all the squirrels packed around us. And noise. Chittering squirrels could be annoying but when they were the size of large horses, they were loud.
They were chanting.
“Celebrate! Hive is Great! Bring the food! Praise the wood!”
Catori giggled in my mind. I could not help but join her amusement.
Triple-Eye was pushed at us and bowed deeply before gesturing us forwards.
“The [Hive Mind] apologizes. We praise you. Hive is Great!”
I followed hesitantly. There was a veritable tide of giant squirrels around us in the tunnels and hallways. Higher and higher we climbed through the tree until eventually, we reached a large open space. Above, several hundred metres away, was a ceiling of leaves. The ground was uneven with trunk-like branches growing everywhere. Seats and what appeared to be tables had been cut into many of them. What had to be thousands of giant squirrels chittered and squeaked while finding places to sit. The only place staying free was the centre where a lake had been dug out. Yes, there was a lake on top of a tree.
Right next to the lake was one small table that had not been cut out of the tree. That was where Triple-Eye led us to. I jumped on top of a stool and barely saw the top when my seat suddenly grew. It stopped at exactly the right height to be comfortable. Triple-Eye retreated with his back facing away from us and stood still just a few steps in front of the closest other squirrels. One by one, the crowd fell silent. There was still some buzzing going on in the telepathic connection but I suddenly realized we had been kept at the distance Hive had pushed us to.
I looked around. Catori noticed that the lake was not carved into the tree. It was a natural bowl simply filled with water. My senses picked up the occasional node in between the tables, now that the crowd was still. For a few minutes, nothing happened. I was just about to ask Triple-Eye what was supposed to happen when the lake started to move. As if water was dripping into it, waves started to spread out from the centre. They slowly grew bigger until the water suddenly opened up. A pedestal rose from the bottom and a bridge slowly grew between it and the shore, right next to our table.
On top of the pedestal stood a trunk. That was it. Nothing more happened for another five minutes.
“This is a little annoying”, Catori mused, “I hope we won’t have to deal with this Hive too often.”
“Maybe they’re busy?”
Just as I said that, the trunk started to crack. The front bulged outwards. First what looked like a knee and a hand. Then a head and a shoulder. The wood was creaking all the way, the squirrels watching with anticipation. Finally, the humanoid shape was standing on the bridge. It was decidedly androgynous without any gender-specific body parts. It was also delicate and elfin, like the tree people living below.
The squirrels cheered.
The being raised a hand and the noise cut off. Then it walked to us. While it moved, more details formed on its bark, specifically the face. I saw a nose protrude and lips quell up. When it reached our table, its eyes slowly opened. There was a soft green glow. Herba vis.
The being sat down on another stool and crossed its legs. The hands, with only three crude fingers, were laid on top of its knee.
“Welcome, Fio and Catori”, it said. With a decidedly feminine voice, “I am Hive. You asked for help. I will help.”
I felt confusion ooze from Catori and decided to speak up with the arcane speaker.
“Thank you. You’re… the tree?”
“Yes”, it nodded, “I am using a Skill of my [Dryad] Class.”
“So… you didn’t go to sleep?”
It hiccuped. No. It giggled. It tried to giggle.
“I never sleep. Your [Identify] was appreciated. I do not need to return the favour.”
“Okay. What?”
“That’s so wrong”, Catori sent, “Are you trying to pretend to be human? So we don’t fear you or something?”
The dryad opened her mouth. Then closed it. The eyes disappeared, as did the nose. The mouth was still there but much flatter. It shifted its pose and fused with the stool. New arms made of vines grew from its shoulders, chest, and back. They dropped around it like a living dress.
“Apologies. I am not a skilled actor.”
“I don’t mind”, I said, “Just be yourself.”
The leaves above rustled. Then the sound cut off and the body in front of us nodded.
Catori chuckled.
“It would be helpful if you interact with us using that smaller shape. Easier to grasp.”
“I will try my best.”
“So”, I began, “The hungry node. What do you know about it?”
“It started eating my roots… a few millennia ago. About 6?”
Hive went silent for a few seconds.
“I had to expand horizontally. It will not be enough.”
I nodded.
“We have about 25 years before everything is gone.”
“I am aware. If nothing else works, I will have the bark-kin cut down the silverwood forest.”
“So taint will work?”, I asked.
“Yes. The other continent’s doom is the result of my minions testing that theory.”
“Great… Can you clean it up fully, though? Imagining there’s no place that’s not tainted.”
“Unlikely. But more likely than survival without.”
“What have you done then? To fix the problem?”
Hive stilled for another minute. At this point, I was sure they were distracted by something.
“I tried to talk.”
“To a node? What makes you think that would work?”, I asked.
The vine-arms wiggled a little.
“You are doing it right now.”
I blanked.
“What the fuck?”, Catori said.
“I am doing it right now”, Hive added.
Something clicked in my head.
“Nodes are the gate for souls into this world. But when they don’t have a body…”
“They disperse eventually. Correct. The soul will move on to the next life.”
“… Did Truth tell you that?”, Catori asked.
“Yes.”
“So you know each other?”
“Yes.”
“Then where! Is! He!”
“Yes.”
I blinked. Catori shouted in exasperation.
“Apologies”, Hive said, “I am mixing up my conversations. Truth is in the Beyond.”
“We know that much”, I said before Catori could stoke the fire of her anger.
“The Beyond is Truth. If you cannot see it, you do not want to see it.”
I felt Catori freeze. Then, she groaned. Slowly, she dropped away from me.
Hive’s ‘head’ fixated on me.
“I can give you a body to use for her”, they said.
“We don’t want to kill someone for that.”
“Use [Identify].”
I blinked, then realized they meant on the squirrel behind me. I turned my head and used the Skill.
[Identify]
Species: Soul Tree (ancient)
Age: 27903
Name: Triple-Eye
Gender: male
Status: healthy, sapient, hive body
Level: -
Class: -
I blanched.
“What? How? Explain!”
“I am the Hive. They are the [Hive Mind].”
“Okay, yeah… But they’re not their own soul?”
“They are not and yet they are. Their souls are tied to mine. The dead of the bark-kin often ask me to give them a home.”
“You’re a god.”
“I am Hive.”
I shook my head.
“Okay, so you can just make a new body for whatever soul that is. Still, this seems a lot like slavery.”
“It is heaven. They may leave at any time. When I die, they will be free.”
“I’m… just not gonna think about that at this time. I couldn’t really stop you with your level, anyway.”
“Intelligent.”
“By the way, why are you at level 400-ish when you’re that old?”
“I precede the system.”
Catori apparently came back in time to hear that.
“That’s insane. I found Truth, by the way.”
“We were talking about the Hungry Node”, I brought the discussion back on track, “You tried to talk to it?”
“I did. It is too young. Or lacking a body. It did not respond.”
“Why is it a Hungry Node, anyway?”
“I do not know.”
“We’re talking about this later”, Catori whispered suddenly, “I just went through the last minute of conversation. This guy is fucked up.”
“I am a tree”, Hive said, “Not a guy.”
I felt my other self shudder.
“Have any ideas about how to save the world, tree?”, Catori spat.
“I am resigned. The bark-kin will assist you. They still have hope.”
“Last time I met them they tried to kill me.”
“I told them of their errors. It will not happen again.”
“Just like that?”
Hive’s body pushed against the ground and rose on vine-legs.
“They worship me. I am tired. Farewell. Tell me if I can help save myself.”
Slowly, the form slithered back to the trunk in the middle of the lake. We watched it with confusion in our minds. Catori was still angry at the implied slavery of souls. I looked at Triple-Eye, very closely this time. I felt something give. The connection between him and Hive separated for a second. The squirrel looked confused and sat down. Then, Hive’s soul was back. Still just a tiny bit out of reach but right there with him.
“I’m… huh. This feels strangely lonely”, he said.
I walked up to him.
“Are you alright?”
“Yes. Just confused. I did not hope to get this task.”
Hearing the strange squirrel voice talk like a normal person was very strange.
“Why did you talk about killing the… bark-kin when you’re their reincarnation?”
“We can’t. We fight because Hive wants them to grow stronger. If we die, we are reborn. But we can’t grow. Not as much.”
“So, you’re mentally dominated by Hive to do their bidding?”
“Yes. We want to have a task.”
“Catori?”, I asked.
“Oh, for fucks sake. What can we do? Hive is much too strong. Let alone too big.”
“Right. But do you want a giant squirrel body?”
“Hell fucking no. What if it can use the body to dominate our soul as well? Count me out. I’ve got something in the works.”
“You do? That’s good. Tell me if I can help.”
“Thanks, Fio. I’m fine. Just… don’t use the starling?”
“Oh. Okay, I can do that. Good luck.”
She hugged me telepathically. I responded with my own feelings of affection.
Triple-Eye looked up.
“Anything else?”, he asked.
“No. Just… be happy, I guess?”
He nodded.
“I will.”
Then he reached out for Hive’s soul and was connected again. Bliss rushed over his face.
“I bring you down?”, he asked.
“No need”, I flapped my wings, “But thanks for the offer.”
He nodded and as one, the squirrels started to move. They were suddenly eating. Fruits and nuts of insane sizes grew from the tables cut into the tree surface. I watched them with conflicted feelings before taking off and pushing through the leaves. Time to visit the bark-kin. Even if they did not have a better idea to fix the Hungry Node, silverwood would be very useful.
