“YOU’VE MET THE NYMPH?”

As far as screams go, that was a good one. It had even managed to startle a frightened yelp, out of the young man.

“What?”

“You- you have met the nymph? The forest nymph?” she asked, voice trembling.

“…yes?”

“In person?”

The young man bit back a sarcastic reply. He didn’t know why he was being questioned, but it wasn’t like he sent this ‘nymph’ a letter. Especially since he had just remembered right then and there what ‘letter’ meant.

“Yes, I’ve met her in person. Why?” he asked, nonplussed.

“You… how could you even ask that? Don’t you know who she is?”

Her voice had left the territory of fright and was making steady advancements into anger.

“Uhm, no. I mean, I know what she looks like and that she doesn’t like anyone hunting here. But nothing else. No memory, you know?” he said, pointing at his head.

That seemed to calm the girl down some. She approached him, breathing easier and started to explain.

“The nymph is… I guess you can call her the guardian of this forest. You remember how I said that in case of bandits or monsters, my village hides in the forest?”

He nodded.

“It’s because of her that we know we can hide in this forest and be safe. Nothing enters without her approval. Or if it does, it faces her wrath.”

“Okay… So, she’s scary and lets you hide here. And for that, you don’t hunt any animals. Got it.” He said, though internally he didn’t see what the big deal was.

“No, it’s… I don’t know how to explain this to you. Look, living in a village is usually hard. Monsters are attracted by food or livestock and bandits come when money gathers. Or anything to steal, really. To be safe, a village needs to pay for guards or train its own. That means that either everyone is a little poorer, since guards are expensive or there are less people to work, because they have act as guards themselves. And they’d probably be worse trained too.” She finished lamely.

“Which means the village is better off with this forest around. Gets to save some money.” He wasn’t stupid, he could see the implications. He just didn’t use money, so it wasn’t directly clear to him the first time around.

“Gets to save quite a bit of money. Plus, no one needs to starve, not even the poorest among us, as the forest provides enough food to live on. In the winter, the same people can gather small amounts of wood, enough not to freeze to death, even if normally they wouldn’t be able to afford even an axe. There’s also no predators in the forest, so there’s no fear of building houses right next to it or going in.”

She stopped there and seemed to hesitate, before continuing.

“There’s another thing. Before she came, some disaster or another struck this village every few years.”

“Why?” he asked. “Are there that many bandits?”

“Not normally. And before you ask, not that many monsters either. At least, not around these parts. But my village sits at a crossroads and it’s, well, more common for the wicked sort of people to find their way around to this village, as opposed to other villages. We’re better off, more trade and such, but much more prone to bad events.”

“Ah. I get it.” He said.

The girl looked dubious, but continued.

“Twelve years ago, a large group of raiders came down the road. We had a plentiful harvest that year, big enough to sell what we didn’t need for a hefty profit. I was told that people talked and the raiders found out. When they came, the villagers tried to resist. So instead of just taking the money, they torched a part of the village. Killed all those who resisted, beat those who didn’t and did… things to the women. It was bad and-“

She had tears in her eyes now.

“And a lot of people died.” She finally said. “I was too young to remember much, but I’ve been told of what happened.”

“I’m really sorry.” The young man said.

And he truly was. He might have had nothing to do with it and it didn’t impact him in the slightest, but it was clearly distressing to his new friend.

“It’s ok.” She said in a small voice. “But that’s why the lady of the forest is important. She came to this forest, ten years ago and changed it into what it is now. It gave us safety, so what happened then, may never happen again. My village has grown from it. A lot. But the important thing is that this place gave people hope. Peace. And for that we respect her and respect this place.” She finished.

“And you called her ‘bush one’!” she said accusingly.

“Wha- No! I mean… yes, but only the once.” He was caught off guard by her sudden change of attitude.

Belatedly, he realized why she was so shocked earlier. Not only did he meet this seemingly worshiped figure, but he called her names. Still, how was he to know?

“I also called her forest lady.” He tried. That sounded better.

“And tree woman.” She said in a deadpan voice.

“…sorry?”

She huffed.

“It’s fine. You didn’t know.” Looking up at the sky, she continued. “Look, I really have to go know.”

“Uh, yeah, of course. Don’t want people getting worried.”

She laughed a little at that.

“Yes. Well, it was an interesting experience. Yet, I’m happy that it happened.”

“Me too! Come back, anytime. I’ll catch more fish for when you do.”

This time the laughter that came out of her seemed more genuine.

“I’ll take you up on that offer. Until next time!” she said, going back into the forest.

“Bye!”

He watched her leaving until she was no longer visible through the trees and then sat down. What more could he do? The day so far left him exhausted, but with enough things to think about, that he worried he might not sleep at all. And Lola. She might visit him the next day. Yes, too many things learned, too much to think about. There was no chance of catching sleep that night. He laid on his back, deep in thoughts.

The young man dozed off before the sun had fully set and slept through the entire night.

He woke up with a start. Restful as the sleep might have been, he had too much energy to sit down any longer. His head was full of questions. Would Lola visit him again this day? Should he offer her something better to eat than fish? If so, what? He only had fish, for meat. And mushrooms. And somehow, he didn’t see the two mixing all that well.

He left for the forest, to hunt for better food stuff. Predictably, he didn’t find any. He did find some herbs that he thought might go well with the meat, as seasoning. Or perhaps that might make for a nice tea.

At which point he panicked about having nothing to serve the tea in.

Rushing back to his clearing, he grabbed a couple of pots and headed over to the stream. Clay was easy to find and water as well, but he did sweat all the way back to his shelter. A session of fumbling around rewarded him with one medium sized pot and two small clay cups. Or at least, he reasoned they looked enough like cups to be usable. Shrugging his shoulders, he started a fire and lay them to next to it for hardening.

There. Now he could serve tea while sitting around the fire. Sitting. Sitting was a problem, since the only thing available to sit on was the grass. And he did notice that while he had no issue in sitting cross-legged on the grass, Lola was much more reluctant to do it. Not to mention that while he did it, she was very careful not to let her eyes wonder down. He guessed the grass skirt wasn’t that wonderful as a garment.

Still, first things first.

Hunting around for some wood and vines he managed to cobble together something to sit on. Calling them chairs or even stools would have been much too generous.

Cups done. Sitting arrangements done. He had never appreciated his |Basic Crafting| Skill more than in that moment. Now, food!

He started racing to the stream before he remembered that he forgot to bring his spear.

“Forest lady, about the fish, please let me fish today too! Please, let me eat fish every day.” He silently prayed. He didn’t know if she was listening, but he figured it couldn’t hurt.

Moments later, he was walking back to his shelter, with four fish in tow. Smaller than the last time, but for once, he wasn’t complaining. Given that his crazed race around the forest ate the first half of his day, he figured this would be when the young woman might make an appearance.

The fire was still going, so he gutted the fish, placed them each on a stick and let them roast over the fire. All he had to do now was wait, so wait he did.

And wait.

And wait.

It seemed today she would be making a late appearance. Looking up at the sky, the young man saw the sun had moved a bit.

He waited some more.

And some more.

Perhaps she was busy? Did she say that she would visit the next day or just visit sometime? He couldn’t remember.

Waiting.

Maybe she lied to him? Did he scare her and she just said she’ll visit so he wouldn’t get angry? No, she didn’t look scared.

Waiting.

But maybe she was! After all, he did look like a crazed, mushroom munching man. Wearing a skirt! Who wears a skirt?

Waiting.

Crazy people wear skirts. Crazy people, living in the forest, waiting to prey on young girls. No, he was overreacting. Looking up at the sky, he noticed the sun had dropped down considerably by now.

Waiting.

He should have dressed better. And not screamed at her the first time he saw her. The situation was now alarming. And he had made fish too! He had taken the fish off the fire, since it would have been a waste to, well, waste them. Even if they were now cold.

Waiting.

It didn’t happen until the very last moment of the day. When the sun finally dropped low enough that it was no longer visible behind the trees.

He waited until the very last moment, but eventually he gave up.

Standing up, he felt his knees hurt in protest, only now remembering that in his troubled state, he had only moved once or twice, for almost the entire second half of the day. Morosely, he headed for his bed, not even tending to the fire, which was now almost out. He went to sleep hungry, cold and beyond afraid. Afraid that he had lost the only friend he had. Perhaps the only one he’d manage to make, in this blasted place.

Silently, he turned on his side and seen by none, a lone tear dropped down his cheek.

Night passed fast. The young man woke up in a foul mood and found he was in no mood to do anything. Technically, he didn’t have anything to do. He never did. But most days, he liked to make himself busy. Whether it was gathering wood, tending to his plants or just wandering about, he normally had something to do. But today, he didn’t feel like it.

That was how morning had found him. Sitting on one of the tied-up bundles of wood he had made a day before, looking at his shelter. He kept trying to think how he could improve it, but abandoning each thought before it was even half-formed.

“Hey you!”

“Gaaah!”

Granted, it wasn’t a very dignified sound he made, but his thoughts weren’t revolving around dignity at that point in time. Rather, they were more focused on elementary questions such as: ‘Where was his spear?’, ‘What monster was attacking him?’ and…

Why was a monster saying ‘Hey you!’?

Turning around, he saw Lola staring at him, surprised herself, but with an amused expression gracing her features.

“You did that on purpose!”

No. No dignity at all.

“I didn’t! I mean, not at first, but you were facing the other way and when you didn’t hear me approaching, I thought it would be funny!” she laughed. “Did I startle you?”

“No! I was just… surprised. I heard you coming a mile away.”

She didn’t look like she believed him, but given the quality of his lie, that wasn’t surprising.

“Well, I thought I should visit you in the morning, so there’d be more time to talk. I would have come yesterday, but I had errands to run.”

It was only then that he finally managed to take a better look at her. She seemed tired, even though night had just passed. Tired, yet happy. She was also carrying a bundle of cloth, tied to a stick, that she had just then placed on the ground.

“But I did manage to get this for you.” She said, while untying the cloth. Inside was a short knife and a round piece of… something.

While he was eyeing the strange object, she held up the piece of cloth. Which turned out to be a pair of pants. Linen pants. They looked worse for wear, sewn and patched all over the place and with the edges fraying visibly, but they were definitely a pair of pants.

“I… uh, thought you might like having pants.” She said, a little red coming to her cheeks.

It seems his earlier assumption about her eyes not traveling down for a reason was correct.

Skirts. Awful things.

“Thanks! Wait right here.” he said, hurrying to the back of his shelter.

In less than a minute, he came back, now wearing his new piece of clothing. Which was loose enough there was no fear of tearing and in which, most importantly, he could move about as he wished, without fear of anything showing.

“How do I look?” he asked, grinning.

“Like a new man.” She replied, visibly relieved. “I was worried about the state of them, you see. I couldn’t b-, I mean find others, but I though you needed some and…”

He did notice that she had a habit of babbling when she was lost for words.

“No worries, I love them! I’ve never had pants before. I think. And thank you again! But what I wanted to ask is, what is this?” he said, pointing at the circular, waxy object.

It was no bigger across than his palm and must have been three inches in thickness. It was slightly yellow and he had a feeling he should already know what it was.

“This? This is cheese. A block of cheese. You… don’t know what cheese is?”

Cheese. He knew cheese.

“I know cheese! I just remembered it, actually, but I know it. Oh, wow, I’m going to enjoy this! Do you think it goes well with fish?”

“I thought you might appreciate it.” She laughed.

She really had no idea how much the young’s man mood often depended on his stomach.

“And to answer your question, I have no idea really, but I imagine you will try it all the same. The last thing I bought for you is this knife. I noticed you didn’t have one, last time we met and well, I figure living in the forest is tough enough as it is.”

“Yeah, this should make things easier by a lot. Thanks for everything!”

But even as he smiled, his mind was slowly catching up to his ears. What was that she said?

“Wait, you bought this for me? Did you buy everything?”

Going by how wide her eyes went, he was right on the money.

“Uh, no, I mean, not everything. I bought the knife and the cheese, but I didn’t pay anything for the pants.”

“Uh-huh. Did you steal them?” he asked, even though he was convinced she didn’t have it in her to steal.

But it was funny to see her splutter.

“I don’t steal! And no, I didn’t steal them, I worked for them. I did bits of work, here and there.” She finished.

“Oh.”

Suddenly he felt bad. She barely knew him and she still got him all these things. Even cheese, though she looked like she needed it herself.

“Look, Lola, I’m really, really grateful. But you shouldn’t have. I… I-”

“You needed a pair of pants.” She laughed. “And give no more thought to it. Perhaps one day you will repay me.”

“That, I definitely will do. But please, sit down. Would you like a cup of tea?”

…

“You have tea?”

And that was how the first few minutes of the day went. Richer by a pair of pants, a knife and a block of cheese, the young man served her a cup of freshly brewed tea and offered her a slice of cheese, which she promptly refused.

“This is actually not bad.” She said, tasting the tea.

“Thanks! I found these herbs while walking through the forest. They smelled good, so I thought they could make for a nice tea. I thought I should have used the mushrooms first, but that would have probably ended badly.”

“Mushrooms? Which ones?”

“The, uh, red ones. The ones that hurt, when you pick them up. And go poof.” He said, trying to get his point across.

“Oh, those! No, those are good in a stew, if you want to give it some heat, but I can’t even imagine what would result from making a tea out of them. I’d probably burn through your mouth.” She laughed.

“Oh c’mon, they’re not that bad. I ate a lot of them a few days back.”

“Really?” she asked, wide-eyed. “But weren’t they, you know, hot?”

He thought about his previous parched throat and the back-end issues they caused.

“Yeah, I think it’s maybe not such a good idea to only eat fire mushrooms.”

“Ember-Caps.”

“What’s that?”

“That’s what those mushrooms are called. Or how we call them, at least. Ember-Caps.”

“Huh. Fitting.” He said while pondering the flaming shrooms. “I wanted to ask, but I didn’t manage to last time. The Nymph. Lady of the forest. What… is she, exactly?”

“You mean, what’s a Nymph? They’re guardians of forests and wildlife. We don’t know that much about them, but we know they’re all… connected, somehow, to nature. Not all are the same. Some don’t allow anyone in their forests and others don’t restrict predators. Some even adventure out and leave their forests. But the majority of them claim a part of or an entire forest and live there, either alone or in groups.”

“Oh, so all forests have one?” he asked.

That would have been bad. He really hoped he got to eat meat one day.

“No. Not even most. The majority of them live up north, with groups scattered across great forests, all over the world. This forest is really small for one such as her, but she chose it nonetheless.”

“And does she ever come to your village? Like, to talk?”

At that, she laughed.

“No. Never. Only the elders have talked with her and that was only when she first appeared. Other than that, she only appears if somebody of ill intent enters her forest and even then, she’s hard to actually see, with the hiding in the greenery and all.” She hesitated for a moment. “You know, I think you’re the only one to see her, in recent times. I knew nothing of her appearance, besides the fact that she is green and tall. So, I wanted to ask… could you tell me about her?”

“Like… what?”

“Anything really. What she looks like, what she dresses like. If she is kind and peaceful. If she was nice to you?” she finished, admiration entering her voice.

“Uhm, well she is tall. Taller than me. And she had long features, like, longer than a normal human. Her skin is green all over. And she has pointy ears!”

The young woman hesitated, before asking her next question.

“All over?”

“All over what?”

“Her skin. You said, her skin was green all over. I take that to mean her entire body.”

“Well, yeah. I got a good look at her and saw no area on her body that wasn’t green.”

She was silent for a few seconds, before sitting up. A small amount of fear entered her voice again, as she spoke to him.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know. When you said you had met her, I thought it only a random encounter. But… I should have known when you spoke so casually of her.”

“…what?”

“I don’t think I should be talking with you. I don’t… I don’t know how their kind looks upon these things, but she is the master of this forest and I’m afraid to anger her.”

“Wait… what? Lola, wait, why would you anger her?”

“Because.” She said and he could see there was now sadness in her eyes.

It didn’t look like she wanted to do this, quite the opposite. Which was more the maddening, since he didn’t know why she was doing it.

“I’m sorry.” She said. “I hope you understand. If she had ever found out, she might have taken her anger out on both of us. I’m happy to have met you.”

As she started walking towards the forest, he called out again.

“Lola, why are you doing this? Why would the nymph have a problem with you spending time with me?”

She turned and he could see her eyes glistening.

“Because! I’m just a human. And... well. She would surely take offense with me befriending her consort.”

…

“Her WHAT?”