The Dryad 18 In Which Our Heroes Travel A Long Time And Lots Of Stuff Happens.

We rode on through the morning with only a few short water breaks. The horses we got were healthy and strong and did not show much weariness was we traveled. That was the reason I told Gray to get these horses. I could tell when I searched the village with my powers that these horses were well cared for, and thus, healthier and stronger than the others in town. It turned out that Gray had a little experience taking care of horses, which was good since none of the rest of us knew the first thing about their care.

Lunch time approached and my first lesson with Emily was about to begin. We decided not to make a fire for lunch today. We were just going to eat the bread and other more perishable foods first. They tried to get me to eat too, but for the sake of saving food and because there really was no need for it I held back.

Once they had finished eating I began to teach Emily. Leafia was sitting nearby. I could tell she was trying to secretly listen in. I really did not mind. Though her powers would be limited unless she awakened a gift in magic, she would still be able to do some simple plant based magic since she was an elf.

The first thing I was going to work on teaching Emily was how to focus her powers over a smaller area. Without this she would waste too much energy, but most importantly it was the foundation for teaching her further abilities. If she could not focus her power on one plant, how would she ever get it to grow in a way she desired?

Her first task would be to cause only one blade of gra.s.s to grow. In some ways it was lucky that we were in a big open field. Gra.s.ses provided the best medium for practicing control. There were a lot of the same type of plants nearby which required more control. This also meant that you would progress faster.

Leafia was actually doing a little better than Emily at this. I figured that was because Leafia had so much less power. That meant that the brute force method that Emily method had been able to get away with for the last 300 years wouldn't work for Leafia. It's not that Emily was not making progress. It was more that she had a really long way to go.

After our lunch break, we continued on our journey uneventfully. We traveled all day and a few hours before the sun set we stopped to set up camp for the night. After the camp was set up and dinner was made Emily came to practice with me. Seeing how interested and talented our eavesdropper was, I told Leafia to stop pretending to not be listening to us and just come join the lesson.

This continued on for several days. Every night it would take some convincing of Istan and Gray to let me do the night watch all by myself, but true sleep was not something that I needed. It turns out that Emily did not need much sleep, but she had gotten in the habit of pretending to sleep through the night to fit in. She also suffered from the same lower energy level at night that I did, but it did not seem to affect her as severely. I had to think that was due to her being part animal and part plant spirit. Her animal half was not dependent on the sun for its energy.

As we would set up camp for the night I would cause a small patch of grain to start growing. I did not make it grow as quickly as I could since it was harder to me to regain my power in these gra.s.sy fields, but it would be mature by morning. Each day we would harvest some for ourselves and save the remainder for the horses since gra.s.s alone was not enough for them.

After a few days Emily stopped pretending to be asleep in the early morning. We would use that time to have her practice some more. After a few days she improved to the point that only a patch about the size of a man's foot was growing at once. This was a big improvement, but the last bit would prove to be the hardest.

During these last few days Leafia had gotten to the point where she could usually focus on just one plant. I had decided overnight that I would teach her the next step in growing her powers today. I would let Emily hear the lesson too, but it would do her no good until she could focus. The next step was getting the plant to grow in the direction you wanted it to. It was more than just focusing on one part of the plant. You also had to give it instructions on how to grow. Telling it to grow would not be enough.

Istan had also tried to learn in the beginning. I knew that his power was very limited, but it turns out that his talent was also extremely lacking. I told him I did not mind continuing to work with him, but he said something about not wanting to waste my precious time. However, since I was sitting here doing next to nothing otherwise, I think it had more to do with him not wanting me to see any incompetent side of him. Elven pride could be entertaining at times.

This morning Emily had spent a couple hours practicing before the other started to wake up. If she did not hit any major stumbling blocks she should be able to press to the next stage in three to four more days. I was hoping that teaching Leafia the next stage would push Emily to be even more diligent in her studies.

I explained to Leafia and Emily that you had to provide energy to the part of the plant you wanted to grow. Then your had to tell the plant what direction to grow. Telling the plant which direction to grow would likely be the hardest part since plants' sense of direction and s.p.a.ce was much different than animals'. Leafia's practice was going better than I expected. She really was gifted. Though, I am only guessing the plant is doing what she wants it to. Only one part of the plant is growing and it is moving around, but there is know way for me to know if what the plant is doing matches with what Leafia is trying to get the plant to do.

Gray was making a simple breakfast to allow the girls more time to practice. After the food was done he came over carrying bowls for Leafia and Emily. As he handed them their food he said, "If I remember correctly we should be reaching the next town by the end of the day at the latest."

"I have never traveled directly from our village to this town but that seems to be correct from what I recall when I lived in this village."

"You used to live here?" Gray asked with surprise

"Yes, but it was a long time ago. I always made sure to move to a village a long distance away to minimize the risk of someone I know coming across me again. I would say that it has been 80 years since I left this village."

"So you won't meet anyone you know then?" I could not tell if Gray was pleased or disappointed that he would not be able to meet any of Emily's old friends.

"I would think not." Emily was definitely a little sad about that. She must have had so many farewells over the years. I myself have not needed to go through that since I really only spent time with Faun until recently when Mist became aware. But after stepping out of my woods again I realized that my life has been rather dull.

"We should try and see if we can gain any more information about the magician in this town." Gray said.

"That is probably a good idea. You had said before that you had no idea if what the magician said about his homeland was true or not. This might be a chance to verify that information." Istan agreed.

I mentally agreed but part of me really did not like the idea. "Let's hope that we can get there early enough that we can gather some information before nightfall. I, myself would rather not spend my night inside a town." I was probably putting the others out a little. I think that I am the only one that would be happier to sleep on the ground than in the village inn.

"This horses are doing well and can push a little harder today. But it would not be wise to skip out on the town. Besides information gathering, it is a good chance to stock up on supplies," Gray responded.

"I have an idea," Istan interrupted, "Leafia and I can go with Forest Mother, *cough* Laurel around the village and we can meet up on the following side the next day."

"I think that is a good Idea," Emily said. "There is a forest to the south east of the village. It would be a few hours past the village. I think that would be a good area to meet up."

I really liked the sound of staying in a forest again, so I had no issues with this plan. No one else had any complaints either so our plans were settled. The day continued uneventfully until midday when the village came into view in the distance.

Emily spoke up. "There is a road up there heading around the south side of the village. If you take that, it will take you to the woods. We will meet you there."

It was a little sad to be separating from my new friends, but really one day should be nothing to me. However, part of my mind kept flas.h.i.+ng back to the last time I separated from Faun. It was only supposed to last a few short months. I could not help but notice the anxiety in my heart.