The Dryad 50 Rain

Every now and then we would still see some farmers out in the fields tilling or finishing up harvesting. There were even a few who were planting more hardy varieties of crops that could last through the winter. The first time I saw someone planting, I let out a little of my power to see what they were going to try growing in winter. It had to be something different than what they planted 1000 years ago. Then it would have spelled death for the farmer if the plants started to bud before the frost came. I found it was wheat, but I noticed that this wheat was slightly different. It was much stronger against the cold. I felt a small thrill of happiness as I recognized the trace of another dryad's power in this transformation. It felt like it was something Yew would have done. She was one of the older dryads. My guess was that this was how she came to a compromise with the humans about not cutting down her woods. She was always very practical. Trading with the humans to keep her woods safe is something she would have thought of. I wonder if I could have done the same thing. But getting the elves involved did not work too badly. I think once I get back I can convince them that it is not a holy ceremony every time I want to go for a walk. Or I think I can at least get Istan to do that for me. Though if I left it to him, I think it would turn into a holy walk that must be done in secret. As long as they gave me the s.p.a.ce I needed, I would not complain too much.

With this cold resistant wheat, the humans would be able to harvest early in the spring. This would give them a stable food supply and they would not have to wait till fall to restock their food stores. Also, depending on what they wanted to plant after the wheat, they would be able to get two harvests in that year. I guess if I start to have issues with the humans again, I could do something similar to that.

By lunchtime on the second day from the grove, clouds had rolled in and a light drizzle had started. As we rode, I lifted my face up to let the cold rain wash over my skin. A smile crept onto my face as I silently enjoyed the refreshment. "Miss Laurel, could I offer you a second cloak to keep you warm and dry?" Istan rudely pulled me out of my reverie. I looked over at him with a slight scowl and saw his look full of concern.

I really enjoyed being out in the rain and happily refused, saying, "No thanks. Keep it for yourself."

"Forest Mother, I can't dare have this warm cloak while you are suffering in that thin cloak. The one you have might be higher quality, but I know it is not that warm. We left on warmer day and I did not have a heavyweight cloak with me when you borrowed it," Istan said pleadingly.

"If your concern is that you are warmer than I am, you can go naked." I really wanted to be 'naked' myself. The cloak was getting heavy in the water and was quite uncomfortable. But even I knew that my birch bark 'clothing' would stand out too much, not even mentioning that to have a lady riding without a cloak in the rain would be suspicious. "I am more than warm enough as I am. And since you insist on calling me Forest Mother, that means that you remember that I am a plant. When it is raining, do you cover your crops in tarps to keep the rain off of them?" Istan spluttered a bit, trying to find words. I laughed lightly and turned my face back into the misty drizzle.

There was a village not far in front of us that we were heading to for lunch. I hoped that it would not start to rain harder as the day went on. I would be fine in it, but it was by no means warm, and I knew my companions would likely get sick if they were out all day in this weather. This really made me wonder whether I should break my self imposed rule and keep going, planning on giving them some medicine at the end of the day. There was no law against it. It just felt wrong to make people sick since I knew that I could make them better.

I really wish there was an air spirit I could ask about the weather. The air did have its own spiritual essence, but it was very diffuse. I would be surprised if it has ever managed to form a sprite. I have never seen or heard of one. The spiritual essence in the middle of a thunderstorm or on a windy hill top was noticeably stronger. If one of those really strong storms that rolled off the ocean lasted for a few years, we might be able to get a sprite to form. But it would more likely take decades.

My skill at predicting the weather was limited, even more so when I was suppressing my powers. At best I could tell you the rain was not going to stop in the next 30 minutes without using my powers. We needed to figure out what to do this afternoon. But there was nothing to be gained by talking about the weather while out in the rain, so I would wait to bring the question to them until we found a dry place to eat at the village.

As (I have learned) was to be expected, we quickly were able to find a restaurant to eat at once we entered the town. This one even had a covered stable we could keep the horses in while we ate. Horses did not mind the rain as much as people did, but it would still be better for them to be able to take shelter. The restaurant, which was on the first floor of an inn, was only half full right now and it was easy to find a spot for the five of us to sit. It did not seem like this place gave you any option for your meals, so we did not need to take any time to look over a menu. I had not stayed at many places yet, but it seemed to be about half the time that the restaurant would give you a few choices. Well, all of them gave you the choice to eat or not, but I don't think that that really counts.

After we sat down at our table, I asked, "Should we keep going in the rain, or sit here until the weather breaks?" Everyone hesitated at this question. If we halted that would delay our journey and we had no idea how long the rain would last. But no one wanted to continue in the rain, either.

"I think we should keep going. Surely the rain will stop soon knowing how great the importance of this journey is?" Istan said with confidence. Why did Istan's response not surprise me at all?

I was tempted not to respond to him but I thought this would be a good lesson for all of them. "The rain has no way of knowing what we are doing. Throughout all my years I have never yet seen an air or wind sprite, whatever you want to call it. The magical essence in the air is not concentrated enough to form one. This is something completely out of everyone's control. Not even Mother Earth could change it." She would be able to tell us when it would end, but I was not going to give them any ideas about asking her about a simple rainstorm.

"I still say that we keep going," Istan said sounding slightly defiant, as if convincing himself that the rain would listen.

Gray was the next one to speak up. "If we or our horses were to fall sick today from traveling in the rain, would you be able to heal us, or would that delay our trip even longer?" Gray really was the most practical of all of us. I was pretty sure that if they believed I could mitigate any illness that we were to sustain due to traveling in the rain, they would all chose to continue.

It looked like I could no longer put off my decision about whether I should let them get sick knowing I could make them better. The others could all see me hesitating.

"Laurel what's bothering you?" Leafia asked me.

I slowly responded, "It feels wrong for me to do something to make you sick knowing that I can make you better."

Everyone was silent for several minutes while I thought. The silence was only interrupted by the arrival of our food. "Thanks for waiting! Please enjoy your meal," the waitress said cheerfully as she set down our food. This meal did not seem that cheerful to me. We were all eating in silence.

The slightly awkward atmosphere continued for about a minute until Emily said, "I know. Some of the medicines I sell will make your body stronger so you are less likely to get sick. Since medicine like that is able to be found on the market, it would not be odd for us to use some so that we do not get sick and delay the journey."

This was a good idea. Why did I have to make them sick in the first place? I could come up with a medicine that could prevent them from getting sick. Part of me really did not know why it felt much better to me to make their bodies stronger so they did not get sick, rather than healing them after the fact. All I really knew is that making them stronger from the start felt much better.

After thinking for a moment I came up with a medicine that would make their bodies strong enough to fight off disease but would not impact their physical strength. It still felt wrong to me to make them physically stronger.

"If we go with Emily's idea, are we all willing to continue riding this afternoon?" I asked. Istan, Leafia and Emily quickly agreed. Gray seemed a little more hesitant as he looked at Emily. I could tell that he did not like the idea of subjecting Emily to the inclement weather. I could understand why he felt that way. To me it was a sign that he was really a good husband for Emily. There was no way I would hold that against him. Once he saw that Emily had her mind set on continuing, he quickly agreed, too.

The awkward atmosphere that was hanging over us at the start of the meal had dissipated now that we made up our minds about what we were going to do. I would still need to make the medicine and give it to all of them, but that would have to wait until we were not in a room with so many other people. I should probably make some for the horses, too.