A hundred-men retinue stopped for a rest on the shore of an oblong lake. A jungle of towering elms grew right up to the light-green water’s edge, their dense crowns shielding the humans from the merciless summer haze.
Three dozen protected, people who had forfeited their freedom for protection, unpacked the mules for their betters. They retrieved cooking supplies and tents for the hunters and gentry, who went to wash their faces and drink from a chill brook burbling as it fed the cool lake with fresh water.
“As if these will go anywhere if you don’t pull their rope,” Drak, the solitary hopeful hunter muttered curses after his uncle ordered him to stay and watch over their most prized quarry.
A group of four peculiar creatures stood beside him, a length of rope loosely tied around their midsections, its end extending all the way to the hunter’s hand like a leash. The bizarre lifeforms were walking plants, only one of them barely humanoid, while others had extra limbs and irregular body shapes. Their appearance disturbed the youth, but the plantmen, as humans called them, found him no less alien. Unlike humans, though, they were more open towards weird creatures milling in their vicinity.
[Do you need water?] a five-legged tangle of vines asked. The scent she released carried a caring, musky note.
[I’m full.]
[I can last two more weeks before I need water.]
[Moving is easier the emptier my pitcher is.]
The vine creature processed the sweet scents of others’ refusals. [I need water. Would you follow me to the lake? I apologize for disturbing you.]
[Sure.]
[No problem.]
The group moved simultaneously, making Drak yelp.
“Damn things,” he shouted after a moment’s embarrassment. Plantmen moved slower than adult humans walked, their steps always placid, unhurried. However, they moved in perfect coordination, matching each others’ pace.
Drak watched the creatures reach the water’s edge. The vine monstrosity tossed one of its tentacles into the water and they froze, immobile like they had never moved, blending into the forest greenery.
“How do you abominable things know what you’re doing?” the young man muttered, unaware that the plantmen found human behavior just as erratic.
Suddenly, the creature most closely resembling a human shuddered, the hair of snowdrop blossoms adorning her head shook as if in a sudden gust. She spun around with speed Drak had never imagined in a plantman, her circular, bee-like eyes staring into the forest.
[You backstabbing son of a bitch,] Spring screamed, her words coming out not as a shrill voice, but a sharp, pungent odor.
[Are you well?] the vine asked.
[I’ve never smelled half of those words, what do they mean?] an inquisitive willow with countless branch-like tentacles released a whiff similar to carnations’ scent.
[You are safe. Relax,] a clump of reeds assured.
[Where am I? What’s happening? He… he stabbed me,] Spring’s stench toned down, but her words grew more confusing.
[Are you injured? As for your questions, we are standing here,] the vine explained, a calming, minty scent permeating the air. [There’s a nice lake with pleasant water. I know you said moving is easier with your pitcher empty, but how about you take a drink now? Dehydration is dangerous.]
[What?] Spring’s odor grew more unpleasant, but then turned spicy with excitement. [You smell familiar.]
Spring faced the reed. The blossoms of her hair fully closed as her complex olfactory organ, which humans mistook for eyes, took in the reed’s fragrance.
[What was your name? You were in a cage next to mine for years. Right. You were Subject Seventeen before you withered.]
[Are you addressing me?] the reed shook in bewilderment.
[She is confused. I think she just needs water. She’s making up words none of us have ever heard. I can’t even repeat their aroma.]
“Hey! What are you doing there?” Drak shouted, his voice an unintelligible jumble of vibrations against the skin of the four talking bloom-folk.
[Humans!] Spring cried out. [They will hurt us! They caught us to cut and graft us. Wait! I remember where I am.]
[Stop,] the vine said. [Have some water first, then explain everything.]
[She’s rambling. Did she cut herself while walking?] the willow asked, her words overlapping with the vine’s. [Humans are harmless. I smelled them blow into dandelions to help disseminate them. I can’t be bothered to help random primitive plants, but the last time we stopped, they spent their time dispersing the seeds of over a hundred plants. I counted. That human was fascinating in its dedication.]
[They what?] Spring took a moment to understand what the willow meant. [They were playing. They rip plants and use them to enhance themselves.]
[You mean they have symbionts like us?] the reed asked, but Spring’s scent grew more acrid, showing her foul mood.
[They can’t naturally grow symbionts. They steal ours and graft them into themselves. That’s how they get extraordinary abilities. Like living off of sunlight and water.]
The reed clattered in amusement. [Living off of sunlight and water is not extraordinary. Even common weeds can do it.]
“I’m warning you! Any sudden movements and I will—” Drak shouted, but did not get to finish his threat.
“Drakkus, what are you doing?” an elderly one-eyed hunter with green hair sticking out of his nose like a mustache shouted. He advanced towards Drak with an angry scowl on his face, thumping like a war-trained elephant. “I gave you an opportunity to join us for an important expedition, and yet here you are, yelling at mindless plants.”
“But they are planning to attack us,” Drak said, and the one-eyed elder laughed.
“My boy, I’m sixty years old, and I’ve never heard of wild plantmen attacking anyone. They are just dumb plants. At worst, they follow their instincts and gather around corpses for extra fertilizer.”
“I heard they attacked hunters back home,” Drak refused to yield, still eyeing the four creatures, which had suddenly started moving on their own. “They first came to the water, then they moved suspiciously.”
The elderly hunter sighed and fixed his brown leather eyepatch.
“Look boy,” he pointed towards the water’s edge thirty meters away. “What do you see over there?”
“Donkeys drinking water?”
“And did anyone lead them there, or did the beasts go there because they were thirsty?” The old man spoke with a calm voice, but the youth did not understand his point.
“Aya,” the old man shook his head seeing the dumbfounded look. “You’re my late sister’s only son. You know how difficult it is for a protected to rise high enough to become a hunter. I took you with us, hoping you could catch someone’s eye and elevate your status through hard work. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Drak was silent for several long moments before he shook his head. “I’m sorry, uncle Skitt, I don’t understand.”
Skitt’s good eye twitched.
“Stop embarrassing yourself,” he hissed. “You need to save a hunter’s life five times from mortal danger to rise above being a protected. Keep your eyes open for an opportunity, and watch for any signs of topiary horrors. Raising an alarm counts as a saved life. Don’t waste your time guarding against powerless plants about to get potted. Do you understand now?”
“Yes, uncle Skitt,” Drak nodded and no longer paid attention to the dumb, powerless plants talking behind his back. Instead, he focused on looking out for the real dangers of the jungle, the topiary horrors.
The bloom-folk ignored the human, much like he ignored them. Their conversation had escalated with agitation to the point which three of them considered insanity, while Spring exuded scents of victory and excitement.
[I returned through time somehow. My memories are jumbled, but I have some of them, and I have a perfect opportunity. Do you know they tortured me for years before I broke free during a wildlings’ rampage?]
[Why would wildlings go on a rampage?] the willow asked, her interest growing keener.
[Stop encouraging her. And you, drink some water, you are unwell.]
[You still haven’t explained why living off of sunlight and water is extraordinary? Everyone I know has lived like that their entire lives.]
Spring, however, ignored their questions, speaking her thoughts aloud, since bloom-folk could not think quietly.
[They are taking us to the Searing Flame clanhold. There we will stay for years or decades before an enormous wildling attack. They will destroy the settlement and kill all humans within. I recall there were attacks every few years and some of them were close calls, but the Sun clan helped deal with them because of the Young Miss.]
[Think, think! Was there anything else important about this time period?]
Spring stopped exuding essential oil fumes, and the three others assaulted her with their own fragrances.
[Drink water!]
[What happens next in your story?]
[Are we all extraordinary because we live off of sunlight and water?]
‘Extraordinary,’ that word tickled Spring’s attention. [Extraordinary! Right! He was extraordinary, and he mentioned he had passed right by me ages ago, when I was first captured. He was so sullen whenever we discussed our past, and he rambled on and on about how he should have saved me.]
Spring’s fragrance grew spicy, full of excitement and energy.
She gathered everything in her and invested all the scented oils she had in store.
[Thorn, HELP!]
A hundred-men retinue stopped for a rest on the shore of an oblong lake. A jungle of towering elms grew right up to the light-green water’s edge, their dense crowns shielding the humans from the merciless summer haze.
Three dozen protected, people who had forfeited their freedom for protection, unpacked the mules for their betters. They retrieved cooking supplies and tents for the hunters and gentry, who went to wash their faces and drink from a chill brook burbling as it fed the cool lake with fresh water.
“As if these will go anywhere if you don’t pull their rope,” Drak, the solitary hopeful hunter muttered curses after his uncle ordered him to stay and watch over their most prized quarry.
A group of four peculiar creatures stood beside him, a length of rope loosely tied around their midsections, its end extending all the way to the hunter’s hand like a leash. The bizarre lifeforms were walking plants, only one of them barely humanoid, while others had extra limbs and irregular body shapes. Their appearance disturbed the youth, but the plantmen, as humans called them, found him no less alien. Unlike humans, though, they were more open towards weird creatures milling in their vicinity.
[Do you need water?] a five-legged tangle of vines asked. The scent she released carried a caring, musky note.
[I’m full.]
[I can last two more weeks before I need water.]
[Moving is easier the emptier my pitcher is.]
The vine creature processed the sweet scents of others’ refusals. [I need water. Would you follow me to the lake? I apologize for disturbing you.]
[Sure.]
[No problem.]
The group moved simultaneously, making Drak yelp.
“Damn things,” he shouted after a moment’s embarrassment. Plantmen moved slower than adult humans walked, their steps always placid, unhurried. However, they moved in perfect coordination, matching each others’ pace.
Drak watched the creatures reach the water’s edge. The vine monstrosity tossed one of its tentacles into the water and they froze, immobile like they had never moved, blending into the forest greenery.
“How do you abominable things know what you’re doing?” the young man muttered, unaware that the plantmen found human behavior just as erratic.
Suddenly, the creature most closely resembling a human shuddered, the hair of snowdrop blossoms adorning her head shook as if in a sudden gust. She spun around with speed Drak had never imagined in a plantman, her circular, bee-like eyes staring into the forest.
[You backstabbing son of a bitch,] Spring screamed, her words coming out not as a shrill voice, but a sharp, pungent odor.
[Are you well?] the vine asked.
[I’ve never smelled half of those words, what do they mean?] an inquisitive willow with countless branch-like tentacles released a whiff similar to carnations’ scent.
[You are safe. Relax,] a clump of reeds assured.
[Where am I? What’s happening? He… he stabbed me,] Spring’s stench toned down, but her words grew more confusing.
[Are you injured? As for your questions, we are standing here,] the vine explained, a calming, minty scent permeating the air. [There’s a nice lake with pleasant water. I know you said moving is easier with your pitcher empty, but how about you take a drink now? Dehydration is dangerous.]
[What?] Spring’s odor grew more unpleasant, but then turned spicy with excitement. [You smell familiar.]
Spring faced the reed. The blossoms of her hair fully closed as her complex olfactory organ, which humans mistook for eyes, took in the reed’s fragrance.
[What was your name? You were in a cage next to mine for years. Right. You were Subject Seventeen before you withered.]
[Are you addressing me?] the reed shook in bewilderment.
[She is confused. I think she just needs water. She’s making up words none of us have ever heard. I can’t even repeat their aroma.]
“Hey! What are you doing there?” Drak shouted, his voice an unintelligible jumble of vibrations against the skin of the four talking bloom-folk.
[Humans!] Spring cried out. [They will hurt us! They caught us to cut and graft us. Wait! I remember where I am.]
[Stop,] the vine said. [Have some water first, then explain everything.]
[She’s rambling. Did she cut herself while walking?] the willow asked, her words overlapping with the vine’s. [Humans are harmless. I smelled them blow into dandelions to help disseminate them. I can’t be bothered to help random primitive plants, but the last time we stopped, they spent their time dispersing the seeds of over a hundred plants. I counted. That human was fascinating in its dedication.]
[They what?] Spring took a moment to understand what the willow meant. [They were playing. They rip plants and use them to enhance themselves.]
[You mean they have symbionts like us?] the reed asked, but Spring’s scent grew more acrid, showing her foul mood.
[They can’t naturally grow symbionts. They steal ours and graft them into themselves. That’s how they get extraordinary abilities. Like living off of sunlight and water.]
The reed clattered in amusement. [Living off of sunlight and water is not extraordinary. Even common weeds can do it.]
“I’m warning you! Any sudden movements and I will—” Drak shouted, but did not get to finish his threat.
“Drakkus, what are you doing?” an elderly one-eyed hunter with green hair sticking out of his nose like a mustache shouted. He advanced towards Drak with an angry scowl on his face, thumping like a war-trained elephant. “I gave you an opportunity to join us for an important expedition, and yet here you are, yelling at mindless plants.”
“But they are planning to attack us,” Drak said, and the one-eyed elder laughed.
“My boy, I’m sixty years old, and I’ve never heard of wild plantmen attacking anyone. They are just dumb plants. At worst, they follow their instincts and gather around corpses for extra fertilizer.”
“I heard they attacked hunters back home,” Drak refused to yield, still eyeing the four creatures, which had suddenly started moving on their own. “They first came to the water, then they moved suspiciously.”
The elderly hunter sighed and fixed his brown leather eyepatch.
“Look boy,” he pointed towards the water’s edge thirty meters away. “What do you see over there?”
“Donkeys drinking water?”
“And did anyone lead them there, or did the beasts go there because they were thirsty?” The old man spoke with a calm voice, but the youth did not understand his point.
“Aya,” the old man shook his head seeing the dumbfounded look. “You’re my late sister’s only son. You know how difficult it is for a protected to rise high enough to become a hunter. I took you with us, hoping you could catch someone’s eye and elevate your status through hard work. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Drak was silent for several long moments before he shook his head. “I’m sorry, uncle Skitt, I don’t understand.”
Skitt’s good eye twitched.
“Stop embarrassing yourself,” he hissed. “You need to save a hunter’s life five times from mortal danger to rise above being a protected. Keep your eyes open for an opportunity, and watch for any signs of topiary horrors. Raising an alarm counts as a saved life. Don’t waste your time guarding against powerless plants about to get potted. Do you understand now?”
“Yes, uncle Skitt,” Drak nodded and no longer paid attention to the dumb, powerless plants talking behind his back. Instead, he focused on looking out for the real dangers of the jungle, the topiary horrors.
The bloom-folk ignored the human, much like he ignored them. Their conversation had escalated with agitation to the point which three of them considered insanity, while Spring exuded scents of victory and excitement.
[I returned through time somehow. My memories are jumbled, but I have some of them, and I have a perfect opportunity. Do you know they tortured me for years before I broke free during a wildlings’ rampage?]
[Why would wildlings go on a rampage?] the willow asked, her interest growing keener.
[Stop encouraging her. And you, drink some water, you are unwell.]
[You still haven’t explained why living off of sunlight and water is extraordinary? Everyone I know has lived like that their entire lives.]
Spring, however, ignored their questions, speaking her thoughts aloud, since bloom-folk could not think quietly.
[They are taking us to the Searing Flame clanhold. There we will stay for years or decades before an enormous wildling attack. They will destroy the settlement and kill all humans within. I recall there were attacks every few years and some of them were close calls, but the Sun clan helped deal with them because of the Young Miss.]
[Think, think! Was there anything else important about this time period?]
Spring stopped exuding essential oil fumes, and the three others assaulted her with their own fragrances.
[Drink water!]
[What happens next in your story?]
[Are we all extraordinary because we live off of sunlight and water?]
‘Extraordinary,’ that word tickled Spring’s attention. [Extraordinary! Right! He was extraordinary, and he mentioned he had passed right by me ages ago, when I was first captured. He was so sullen whenever we discussed our past, and he rambled on and on about how he should have saved me.]
Spring’s fragrance grew spicy, full of excitement and energy.
She gathered everything in her and invested all the scented oils she had in store.
[Thorn, HELP!]
