The Forgotten Zodiac

"We don't know. But you're okay now," Sylas nodded, helping Byrne sit up. He looked up at the humans. "He's alright, then. Was anyone else with him? Where did you find him?"

"We were exploring the ruins just north of here. I don't suggest going there, though, the whole place is rigged..." Bruce showed off his bandaged arm, which had a splotch of red shining through. "And no, we didn't see anyone else." He glanced at Hal, who sighed through his nose.

"Is he alright, then? That's good." Hal nodded.

L'arc sighed through his teeth. "Wonder where Bird got to..." he murmured, kneeling next to Byrne. "You okay?" he asked. Byrne gave a nod.

"Last I recall, Bird was with me. I opened up a door filled with gas on accident, though... knocked us both out, I assume."

"You sure you didn't see anyone?" Sylas frowned. "Anyone else? Even remotely human shaped?"

"Er..." Bruce glanced at Hal, who sighed.

"Yeah, there was one, but--" Hal started to say, but a whistle caught his attention. Both men turned and looked up, spotting what appeared to be a small black pillar of smoke. "Shoot, that's the emergency signal. What's going on?"

"The foresters must have found the camp," Bruce frowned. "Let's hope we make it back in time to avoid a major conflict."

"Great. It's been nice meeting you, L'arc, and I'm glad we could return your friend. I'm afraid we have to go now."

"Hold up," Sylas frowned, catching Hal by the arm. "You guys seem peaceful enough. What are you doing so far into the forest?"

Hal turned and blinked at him. "Mapping out the area. Trying to find forester towns, actually, but...quietly. Our mission is to find a good route for a road, and bring the route to the forest king for his approval. Overall, we're trying to help the new settlement out here, and maybe pave the way for more...the human cities are cramped. The wastes are dead, we can't grow anything where the Darklands used to be. But these plains...they're huge. Isn't all this what started the war in the first place? Our 'great' king thought it'd be a good idea to try and take something that wasn't theirs. But these plains are empty, no one lives here yet. And if someone does, we'll just take steps to avoid upsetting them. All this...isn't actually done under the guidance of the king, though. I guess you could call it a rebellion of sorts. We're a group that calls ourselves the Nirva. Human, but not really accepting of King Harold's reign."

"The Nirva? Tobias told me about them," Sylas accidentally dropped his accent as he looked towards L'arc. "They were opposed to the war from the start. If they are who they say they are...I see no reason in not helping them. After all," He grinned. "You'd be hearing from them eventually, one way or another."

"One way or another," L'arc agreed with a nod. At this point, Byrne had recovered enough to stand, and was checking the immediate area for Bird even though he'd heard that the nymph wasn't here. He wasn't overly worried - the Nymph had taken care of himself for years, he could certainly get himself back to them in one piece.

"There's something I didn't mention," L'arc said, looking at the humans. "I happen to be the Forest King." He paused here for their reactions, glancing towards the plains which the Nirva had hoped to settle. "The plains have always been the witches' territory, but they don't mind sharing if you let them do what they need to. I can contact them for you, if you like."

Hal blinked in surprise. "You...you are? I heard he was coronated just a few days ago...and then with the demon withdrawl, the war was coming to a close..." He mulled it over for a moment, then sighed. "I'll tell my commanding officer. We'd prefer to make contact ourselves."

"Hal, we have to get back," Bruce nudged him.

"Ah...right. Sorry. We'll be back," Hal turned and hurried off. "If you'd like to help, you may as well just come along,"

"Should we?" Sylas looked to L'arc for an answer.

L'arc shrugged, then nodded. "I'm sure it'll be fine," he said, turning back to the humans. "Byrne, you coming, too?" he asked.

"Err, if you want me to," the human said.

"Come on," Sylas chuckled, turning on heel and running after the humans. "No point in waiting around here!"

The camp was hardly there anymore. It was torn up, and there weren't even any humans around anymore. Bird was tied to a tree, but something was off; he was practically embedded in the bark, the wood covering his hands and feet. It was obvious he was using Nymph magic of some sort. As the humans approached, the roots of the trees nearby snapped up around the humans' ankles.

"W-what the," Hal twisted, falling on his face, surprised when more roots grabbed at his arms.

"Hal! D-don't worry, we'll get you out of there somehow!" A voice called from above. Looking up, they could see the entirety of the human camp, caught on branches and some even hanging upside-down where they were. "We're...not too sure what happened..."

"It's that monster!" Bruce drew his sword. The trees instantly started grabbing at him, too, lifting him into the air just the same as the others.

"Well. This looks fun." Sylas blinked, looking around. "You should probably talk to him, L'arc..."

L'arc released a huge sigh. "Bird! Bird, it's okay, put those people down!" he called, running over into the Nymph's like of sight. "Come on, it's all right, okay?"

Bird looked up at L'arc. He could plainly see the sheer terror Bird was experiencing. The look he gave the forest king was a plea for help. Of course, being in a temple his entire life, avoiding most other people when they were present, and then waking up tied to a tree and surrounded by humans. Humans who, when they noticed he was awake, started asking him a bunch of strange questions that he didn't understand, and then one had drawn his sword! (Although he had been going to polish it, not run Bird through, but the poor Nymph didn't know that.)

"Oh...okay...b-but, they--"

"No buts," Sylas shook his head. "Trust your king. I do it every day. You can trust L'arc."

Bird hardly glanced at him, swallowed dryly, then nodded once. The trees bent to his will, dropping the humans safely on the ground, along with three tents, and a small cat (one of the Nirvas' pet, apparently). The tree holding Bird withdrew, and the Nymph sagged against the ropes, exhausted. "M-my king, they...they took her. Can't you hear her?" He whimpered. He didn't ask to be untied, but neither did he apologize for what he had been doing.

"Hear who? I--" L'arc began, then realized that being quiet would help him listen better. He cocked his head slightly and looked around, listening carefully to see if he could hear what Bird was talking about.

Bird wiggled his arm out of the bindings. He reached forward and grabbed L'arc's hand, and then he could hear it; a gentle song, coming from a glowing blue-gray stone in Bruce's pocket. "Please, L'arc, it's the only thing I have left of my older sister. It's the lullaby she would always sing to me, I can't sleep without it..."

L'arc tilted his head and listened carefully, pinpointing the location of the music as he turned to Bruce. "Erm, I think you've got something of Bird's," he said.

Bruce finished brushing himself off, then sighed. "I mean, yeah, I took something. I didn't think it was that important, we found a whole room full of shiny rocks," He reached into his pocket and handed the stone over to L'arc. "Didn't think this one would be so important..." He muttered. Hal gave him a firm whack on the back of the head.

"I told you not to take it, you idiot. Get that man untied and let's clean this up," Hal started giving orders. Bird was cut loose, and he immediately sprang on L'arc; not to take the liquid crystal right away. Instead, he hugged the forest king.

"Yeah, yeah, you're okay," L'arc muttered comfortingly, patting Bird's back somewhat awkwardly. After he suceeded in wriggling out of Bird's arms, he handed over the stone. "Byrne's back at camp," he reported, to erase any worries that the Nymph might have had about his companion. Finally, he turned to Hal and Bruce. "Need any help with the cleanup, here?" he asked.

"No, I think we can manage." Hal nodded. "I apologize for any inconvenience my companion may have caused. Your friend there, is quite...interesting."

"If I may be so bold as to say so, you humans are quite interesting to me," L'arc said, a quirk of a smile on his lips. "I suppose I'll be hearing from you again?"

"If you are indeed the forest king, you will be hearing from us quite soon." Hal smiled a bit, nodding. "O-oh, one thing, though. Have you seen a half-druid girl at all? She has green eyes, blond hair, normally very cheery...she's my daughter."

"You lost her?" Sylas raised a brow.

"No. She's a few years younger than yourself, actually. She...had to flee. The people of the city I used to live in, well...they executed her mother. I managed to escape with her, and I directed her to the forest. I...don't actually know if she made it at all, though. That was a couple years ago..."

"I'll keep an eye out," L'arc promised. "And I'll ask Versha, too. If she's still out here, I'm sure we can find her," he said.

"Thank you, L'arc." Hal dipped his head slightly, then turned and started barking orders again.

"Hm...half druid. I've never even heard of such a thing." Sylas mused as they walked away. "I mean, I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. If a Neirid and a Selkie can get together and have Bermuda, why not a human and a druid? It's just...not something I've heard of before."

"Mmm." Came L'arc's quiet noise of concurrence. He looked over at Bird, then turned and started heading into the forest again. He'd ask the Nymph if he was truly all right when they got back into the forest.