"It's so pretty!" A peel of joy escapes Sakura's lips as she looks around at the colorful glowing fungus hanging from the trunks of the mammoth trees. The morning light of the suns just barely seeps through the leaves overhead to create the dream-like twilight before us.
"I have to agree. It's spectacular." I say.
We considered selling the flowers we picked at the guild but Sakura suggested selling directly to her father. He apparently owns the only potion shop in town and relies heavily on the flowers from the forest to make his wares.
Despite our earlier confrontation, Jacques was calm and reasonable. Just seeing the sparkling smile on his face when he saw his daughter greatly informed me of his character.
I also got to see how manipulative Sakura could be. She worked her father like a fiddle; smiling and laughing to get the best possible price for the flowers. I almost felt bad when he handed over the money with tears in his eyes, but at the end of the day, he's reaping what he sowed.
"Hi, I'm Hai" My thoughts are interrupted by the voice of a fairy with green hair and a bright smile.
"Hello, you must be our guide for the day."
"Yup, that's me."
"Nice to meet you. I'm Sakura and this is Josh."
"Hi."
"Nice to meet you two as well." The fairy says with a grin.
"Thanks for giving us a hand today, did you have anywhere in mind?" I ask in an attempt to move the conversation forward.
"I don't know, what are you looking for?"
"I guess something we could fight safely; is there any pests you need help removing?"
"Hmm. Well, there is one thing."
"What the hell is that?" Sakura asks as we arrive at our destination. I follow her finger with my eyes and see a massive starfish at the base of a tree.
Hai took us a few minutes into the woods where the ecology changes and the trees become denser. The Mammoth Trees begin to be replaced by smaller trees which allows a bit more light through the foliage.
The trip was made shorter by the constant conversation between Hai and Sakura who appear to have hit it off.
"We call them Mean Stars. Be careful of their tentacles, they may not have eyes but they will defend themselves if they are attacked.
"I read a little about these things the other day. Let me see what I can do." I tighten my grip on my spear and approach the massive crustacean. The book called them Punctastars but I don't have the stomach to call Hai out for the cute name she gave them. The book recommends attacking the creature at odd angles to avoid the deadly limbs.
Once in range, I crouch down and stab forward while keeping my spear parallel to the ground. I make sure to aim for one of the tentacles furthest from me and slide the tip of my spear between the creature's pale red scales.
Whap!
The Punctastar extends its stubby tentacle and swipes at the empty air by my spear.
"Whew." I sigh as I imagine the damage that short limb could inflict if it made contact.
I continue stabbing at the monster over the course of the next fifteen minutes. Stab, slash; stab, slash; stab, slash. As it tires out, I manage to drive the tip of my spear deeper and deeper into its flesh.
Eventually, it stops fighting back and I rain down attacks as it slowly crawls away. The massive husk finally shudders and relaxes as the life spills from its body.
A deep sadness fills my chest as I watch it die. I've never killed anything before which makes this endeavor all the more heartbreaking.
Kill or be killed they say.
"I think its dead." I say as I call out to my friends.
"Wow! That was amazing!" Hai shouts as she whizzes around me.
"It's not a big deal. Now, how are we going to get this thing back to town?"
"You're taking it with you?"
"Of course. We need to sell it to make money."
"Hmm, Leader warned me about this." Hai says with a serious expression on her face.
"Warned you about what?"
"She says the greatest folly of humanity is how they consolidate power using commodities."
"That... well, I guess?" I tilt my head in confusion at the slew of unexpected words that escape the lips of the small fairy. "I mean. I don't know if I would necessarily call it a folly but I can see how she may view it as problematic considering she essentially lives on a commune. Is it a problem that I was going to take it with me?"
"No, just odd." Hai clarifies.
"Okay, that's fine then."
"Its so big!" Sakura runs up to the crustacean and throws her arms out to compare it to herself. josh seems equally amazed by the creature, although you couldn't tell by his expression.
I look around for something to help carry our haul. The forest is full of sticks and leaves which I figure will have to do for now.
I layer several Mammoth Tree leaves on top of each other and curl the edges around some sturdy branches to make a litter. Even though they're just leaves, the green sheets are almost as tough as leather.
"Alright, I think that's about enough for today. Let's carry this thing back to the guild."
""Okay."" The kids respond as they move to each side of the litter.
We make our way back through the woods with Hai's help and soon the treeline is within view.
"Thanks for the help today, Hai."
"No problem, Nick. It was a big help for us too because those things are real pests."
"They are? How so." I ask.
"The Mean Stars eat the Slimes which help control the amout of fungus growing on the trees. If left alone, eventually the fungi would kill the trees so we need to protect the slimes. Recently, the monster population in the forest has fallen which means the number of Mean Stars has been rising and we have been struggling to keep them under control."
"Wow, I had no idea there was that much going on. You fairies are like keepers of the forest."
"Yup! We help keep the forest healthy; it's our home after all." Hai says as she puffs up he chest."
"How's about we come back tomorrow?" I nod as I look around at everyone to garner support for my plan.
"Sure!"
"Okay."
"Thanks, you three. That would be a big help."
"No problem, see you then." I don't know how much of a difference we'll make but it feels good to be helping wither way.