What better way is there to start a day by being held hostage by a demon?

As demure the thought had been, it had surely been the one the female knight had at the moment

Liliana Leathania sat there, her feet immovable seating on a wooden tree stump that doubled as a chair, all the while the brown-skinne d man in front of her offered her some tea. Which with the use of her still mobile arm she accepted reluctantly

She hated to admit it but the tea did smell amazing…

No, wait! She was supposed to be a knight of Gheria sent to fend off the wave of demons approaching the kingdom!

How she got lost in the forest was completely beyond her…

"What are you?!" she hissed at the thing offering her tea

She would have decapitated him on the spot if not for her sword being stripped from her person the moment she was bound to the earth. The man, an average male with hair as green as fields of grass on a summer's day splayed messily on his head, ungroomed with no facial hair.

To Liliana, he looked like he was of Quintasian decent with his sharp eyes but rounded features. His piercing blue eyes reminding her of the clear sky she was sure they would’ve been unnerving had she not noticed the fact that he kept them warm and relaxed.

He carried in his arms was regular walking staff, it was a dark brown color but only it seemed more, She had no idea why or how a simple stick could be special but she had no other word to describe it.

'perhaps a piece made of the Ficasian trees?' She thought. For her trained eyes kept darting to it, searching, scanning, trying to understand the object.

In all her 9 years of service she’d never seen nor heard of tree as odd as such. she assumed it had been a product of the demon lands

The knight knew only a little of what lies beyond the depths of Dreum's sands but the relatively parasitic and cannibalistic trees of the demon lands were said to be expanding there.

She stared at the man defiantly.

When they had met in the cursed forest she had done the reasonable thing and tried to attack him. It wasn't a brash action seeing as a normal man would never be in a wretched place like the cursed forest unarmed and unaccompanied

Her hands moved to her sword but her feet; slowly being encased in vines and tree roots were as still as a rock as the roots started to go higher, stopping at her armored knee cap before forcing her to sit on a stump she swore had not been there beforehand

"what I was is human" the man started, his voice husky and in a calm baritone "but I am more a part of the forest nowadays" he paused as he took a sip of the tea on the wooden teacups

It took a full second for her to discern the sudden change as a woodland creature passed the underbrush they were located at.

'where had he pulled those out from?!' she thought suddenly. When she had encountered this…. Thing, it didn't seem to be carrying anything just his walking rod and the white linen clothes on his back.

Looking around, she found nothing but the calm and serene forestry and the big tree almost the size of a stable in width and surely taller than the gates of the southern fortress

"but you not need know that, " he waved off before eating a cracker "you want some?" he asked offering a stack of crackers to her that surely wasn't there before

She glared at him defiantly

Whatever this dark being is, she would not fall for any trick it would throw at her

"more for me then" he ignored her glare and bit into another cracker before asking her "what's a young lass like you doing in the kreal A'dadhem?" the figure asked tilting its head to the side

'the what?' Liliana thought as she looked around only now noticing she wasn't in fact in the dark forest of Ghiera anymore 'does he mean the dark forest?'

"Where have you taken me demon!?" she shouted in alarm struggling to stand, the vines still grounding her to sit "if information is what you seek you'd best kill me now. I'd rather die than divulge information to your ilk!" she glared defiantly at him

A true knight wouldn't give in to torture or any means of extraction.

And Liliana had been one of the most loyal knights to her home country, having been raised there all her life. She wouldn't let a lone demon cause her betrayal.

The man just stared at her, unfazed by her anger, taking another sip of his tea before responding

"The people from the land of steel are as rude and unmannerly as I remembered them" he mused lightly "and for a fact of the matter, I did not bring you anywhere. You have wandered here of your own behest," he said his ever-patient tone never once faltering

"why-!…." Liliana would have called that a lie if not for her terrible sense of direction and she was one to get lost in her own village more than a few times and decided to take in her surroundings once more

Tall oak tree's surrounded her and flowers bloomed around the clearing where she was held captive, making it look more like a meadow instead of a forest.

So she really wasn't in the dark forest anymore…

She was about to speak once more to demand her location when she was cut off by a slight growling was heard from behind the man

An infernal growl that sounded like the grinding of steel accompanied by heavy steps. In other words, a hell hound was coming for her

"a friend of yours?" the person- thing- whatever he is! asked with the tilt of his head

"release me! I need my sword or we'll both be dead!" she shouted urgently as the growling grew closer and closer to their location "free me!" she urged struggling to stand due to her restraints

"I take it that's a no then?" for the first time, the man's lips quirked down and the mere look alone caused Liliana to freeze in her tracks as he turned around to address the incoming threat and walked towards it

'Is he leaving me to die?!' Liliana thought in horror.

As it was, she stood a slim chance at survival even if she wasn't bound to the ground and was armed

Her heavy plate mail armor and leather tunic would be ripped to shreds in a manner of seconds if she was to be mauled by the beasts

Suddenly two black figures stopped in front of him thrice his size on for paws claws as long as knives fangs as sharp as razors and eyes burning a molten hellish red.

It was worse than what she had thought.

At this point, she was almost coming to terms with the certain death that usually came with facing the agents of hell alone

The man stood straight his walking stick planted firmly on the ground, not a hint of fear present on his face, no defiance as he addressed the two beasts from the depths of hell, sent onto this realm as a part of the demon lands to desecrate the resting grounds of human

The two giant wolves addressed the man wearily and if Liliana's eyes weren't failing her, they looked… scared?

‘why would hellhounds feel fear…?’ the knight thought in confused awe

The hellhounds had been notoriously persistent, Liliana herself had been a part of a great many exterminations and defending posts before and the hounds had always fought to the death even if they’d known they would lose. For as long as her 8 years of fighting experience had told her, hellhounds did not Retreat.

‘just who or… what Is this man…?’

But before she could voice her confusion, In an instant, the same bindings that had wrapped around her feet did the same to the wolves, this time eclipsing the two bodies and forcing them to the earth with so much force she heard the snapping of bones and the whimpering of the beasts

Liliana didn't even have the time to blink before the hounds were on the ground mewling pitifully in agony, their chared black skin causing the plant life to wilt.

Yet somehow, someway, the same vines that were wrapped around her legs didn't even seem fazed by the demonic presence of the beast

But then, in a heartbeat, both of their guttural screaming was pulled to a halt as right before her eyes Liliana saw something she wouldn't ever unsee

The hellish hounds, for a second, turned back to being normal dire wolves inclining their head to the man thankfully, ceasing their struggling before a green light emanated inside them as the bodies started turning into greenery at a rapid pace

Where the heads would have been, there was louden stone and where the ribcage would have been there was a rose bush and inside it where the heart would be was a glowing object that seemed almost a fruit in the likeness

‘A heart…?’

Greenlight wafted as the man proceeded to take the fruits from both hellish beasts corpses and plant them in the ground where immediately after planting, a small sapling sprouted from the ground

"rest now, your suffering is over, return to the cycle of life" the man stated in prayer like position his hands together and eyes closed

the realization hit Liliana much like a bolt of lightning out of the clear blue sky, the realization of what kind of being she had the fortune or misfortune to run into

"you're… you're a druid…" she breathed out in shock

Yes. She relented that meeting this person was probably one of the luckiest breaks she had in her line of work compared to a number of outcomes that were sure to lead to her death. While she didn't trust him completely as he was a stranger she at least had a stereotype to build assumptions on.

Standing in front of her was a creature, once human, spoken in fairytales by mothers to their children in a bad light but spoken in high regard by wizard marshals and magus communities alike as a deceased race of practitioners of the arcane arts that stemmed from the root of all life; nature.

To them, a druid was likened to a master blacksmith or a master healer using the mundane way.

Standing before her still kneeling on the ground and tending to the saplings was a druid. A neutral force known only as a protector and nothing but that. A force that when pushed will push back with the force of the earth itself. It was often said that if you have made an enemy of a druid you are to have made an enemy of nature itself

Hell hath no fury as a woman scorned

And mother nature is an unforgiving mistress and an even more protective mother

"that I am young lass" the man and newly addressed druid nodded and flashed her a smile benign in nature as he poured himself another pot of tea which originated from nowhere "I still have a few crackers, I would feel horrible if I was the only one eating" he offered her a second time but this time Liliana accepted if a bit reluctantly

Druids in nature were said to be one of the hardest beings to be angered and are said to be protectors of those unable to protect themselves, often disguising themselves as farmers or simple shepherds, they watch over those under their guard

So far the stereotype seemed to be true which was: overly friendly and protects others. But there was also the saying that mother nature had taken back her druids three hundred years ago…

Still, Liliana would deal with this as she would with any nonhostile magical caster. By not offending it and hoping it doesn't put a curse on her.

Her guard captain had stressed the danger of associating and offending those who dabble in the mystic arts and as reluctant as she was against showing weakness, it was better to stay alive than to die a painful death by magic

"you never did tell me your name lass?" the druid said as he finished chewing a cracker

"it's Liliana, Liliana Lethania" she spoke after drinking the cold tea. Considering it was the first time she ever drank the tea.

she found the taste soothing

"I am from the kingdom of Gheira south to the river of kaya. Whom art you, druid?"

The man never once showing sign of any negative emotion besides a downward quirk of the lips smiled the usual small smile he had on and replied "I am named Moro, Moro of Krom"

While she didn't recognize the name it wasn't uncommon for people to take the name of their birthplace as the last name. still… she had no idea where this krom was

"As you seem to be more amiable now, I would like to ask you again," the druid said politely "what's a young lass like you doing in kreal A'dadhem?"

she looked around "truly, I haven't any idea how I have appeared here" she confessed "you see I was in the dark forest of Gheria with the knights of Lerdeath, I strayed apart from the group and now I find myself here"

"dark forest you say?" the druid piped up curiously "that would mean you have traveled to another continent entirely by accident"

Liliana froze.

'relax Liliana she mentally told herself 'your a holy knight of the Gheiran kingdom, you are to react as expected of your status'

"What?!" she screamed "surely you jest!" she yelled in denial

…Thinking and acting are completely opposite things for Liliana it seems

"i assure you lady Liliana I do not jest" he said calmly sipping his tea "you are currently located on the eastern forest of kreal A'dadhem" he replied curtly

What had she done?! Had she just abandoned her country and liege unknowingly!?

"no! The battle!-The castle!-The princes!" she began uttering out in breaths

A hand on her back made her stop, she turned the find the druid invading her personal space, she did not, however, feel any impulse to push him away nor the impulse that he had any ill will at all…

'It's as if… he wasn't there' she thought as she stared in the calm green pools of his face that served as his eyes 'he's so close…'

She couldn't feel him, he only smelled like grass, his breath on her skin only felt like the wind. If not for her eyes being open she would think he wasn't even there, that she was just standing in this clearing smelling the grass and flowers while feeling the cool breeze of the wind.

"fret not, such a reaction is acceptable for one such as you, but you need not panic," his voice had turned soft, softer than it had originally been "all will be alright"