51: Forest Fairy's Quest

Dusk settled, and the bonfire flickered in the center of the camp.

I was poking the fire with a branch when I suddenly caught sight of a group of Tass Creatures approaching from the south bank, walking on the frozen river.

They climbed the slope and stopped abruptly just before hitting the mist.

The leading Tass Creature shouted in stiff common language, "Wi...Wizard Sir? Is...is it Wizard Sir?"

Turns out they were old acquaintances. I motioned for Sphere Professor to go forward and negotiate; they were familiar with Sphere Professor's voice.

It turned out these Tass Creatures had to expand their hunting range due to the scarcity of prey in winter.

They had previously gone south and encountered Gnolls, which made them turn back north.

I exchanged some fresh meat with them for some spears—this weapon was quite practical in the forest.

"If you need anything in the future, you can trade outside the stronghold," I told Sphere Professor to relay to the Tass Creature leader, "We'll be back in a month."

Watching the Tass Creatures depart joyfully, Randall frowned, "Why trade with such evil creatures?"

"Trade knows no race," I said, poking the fire, "I don't understand why some people distinguish good and evil by race. Humans also have bandits and criminals; can all humans be condemned because of that?"

Randall opened his mouth, unsure how to answer me.

"I only judge people by their actions, and it's the same for other creatures," I continued—

"Tass Creatures can speak common language, communicate, and trade; they don't just know endless slaughter and robbery.

This shows they are civilized intelligent creatures.

I think they should be given a chance for peaceful coexistence.

As the saying goes, 'education for all,' Tass Creatures can also be educated and influenced by civilized ways of behavior.

Since there's an opportunity to contact civilization, why force them to remain barbaric?

Forcing them to believe that only slaughter can ensure their survival is not something civilized people should do."

Perhaps my words were too advanced for this era, overturning Randall's perception.

Randall fell silent. He stared blankly at the sparks dancing above the bonfire, as if contemplating something.

While I was learning elvish with Sphere Professor inside the tent, Dragon King sent an alarm message.

I quickly walked out of the tent to check the situation.

Randall stood at the edge of the mist, pointing to the southeast, "There's a Fey Creature approaching."

A lithe, slender woman was walking towards us.

Her skin had a faint green tint, and her posture was graceful.

She had thick, dark green long hair, wore a wreath woven from fresh flowers, and her ears were pointed and long.

From her appearance, she looked very much like a type of Fey Creature Randall had mentioned: a Forest Nymph.

As she approached, I noticed her face was full of anxiety.

When she reached the edge of the mist, she stopped.

I felt a warm and serene aura emanating from her, the scent of nature, which made me feel very comfortable and at ease.

"I sense a mist here that is benevolent yet also holds danger, and it contains the aura of nature." It was elvish. The Forest Nymph anxiously called into the mist, "Is anyone in there? My friend is in danger, can anyone help us?"

She came seeking help. I motioned for everyone to step back; only Sphere Professor and I understood elvish here.

I held Sphere Professor and took a step forward, out of the mist.

"Sister, who are you?" I asked in my clumsy elvish, "What happened to your friend?"

"Oh...child, you are...a Half-elf, you have the aura of nature about you." The Forest Nymph was startled when she saw me.

She glanced at the mist behind me and continued, "Child of nature, please listen to me! My name is Fiona, and I am the guardian of this ancient forest, coexisting with every tree here for a long time. The one in trouble is my friend, Lilian, the Water Sprite. She's trapped and her life is in danger!"

"You don't need to worry," I said, seeing her constantly looking at the mist, knowing she had doubts. "My friends are also in the mist. You can tell me what happened and how to help her?"

"Lilian, she recently moved into an underwater cave. Now the river is frozen, but she can't break through the ice to get out," Fiona said anxiously, "I want to help her break the ice, but my power is limited. I can feel her vital signs getting weaker and weaker."

Listening to her elvish was still a bit difficult for me, fortunately, Sphere Professor was there to translate.

"I understand, Fiona, friend of nature. We won't stand idly by," I said, "Are you willing to take me and my friends to the location where it happened?" After speaking, I turned and communicated a few words with Randall and the others in common language.

"I can also speak common language," Fiona suddenly said.

I blinked, thinking: Why didn't you say so earlier?

Randall and the other two stepped out of the mist.

"Thank you so much, brave adventurers! Lilian's new home is not far ahead, please follow me," Fiona said in common language.

Then, she turned around and led us towards the riverbank.

I shrunk the mist and kept it behind me, continuing to conceal Dragon King, Black Little Leopard, and the Wild Dogs.

If anything went wrong, I could quickly expand the mist's range to guard against external dangers.

We followed Fiona, walking east along the riverbank for more than ten minutes.

"It's down there," Fiona stopped and pointed to a large pond by the bank.

I carefully observed the terrain. This was a low-lying depression formed by geological reasons, where groundwater emerged, combined with accumulated rainwater, forming the pond.

Seeing the topography of this place, I quickly made a basic hunter's judgment of the environment.

I took out tools from my space and, with everyone, began to drill holes and break the ice on the surface.

After breaking some small holes, we found that below the holes was still a thick layer of ice.

Could it be that the entire pond had frozen into a solid chunk of ice?

"Can we speed it up?" Fiona stomped her foot in anxiety, "I feel Lilian's life energy is draining away!"

"Fiona," I said, "I do have a faster method, but it might hurt her. Do you know her exact location down there? We can avoid it..."

"I know!" Fiona pointed out Lilian's approximate location to me, "Below here, there's a passage to Lilian's bedroom."

I really had a headache; this communication efficiency.

It seemed that it wasn't just a language problem; cultural differences and vast differences in racial customs were huge barriers to communication.

"Is she in her bedroom now?" I continued to press for details.

"Yes."

"Where is the bedroom?"

"Over here, under the tallest tree. There's a cave below."

"Then why don't we dig on this side of the slope?"

"This side...this side would hit tree roots and also destroy Lilian's new home."

"A house can be rebuilt," I said, looking into Fiona's green eyes, "but Lilian can't be saved if she dies."

"But...but this tree might also die."

"We'll make a small hole, and you can give this big tree proper care afterward."

"O-okay." Fiona bit her lip and finally nodded in agreement.