A Path of Bone and Poison 126 I.T. 29 Fairy Wars

When I woke up, I realized we were no longer on the 5th floor. We had been given a single day to rest, and that day had passed quickly. I did not regret how we had spent the day. It was important for the team to get some rest. Thanks to the earring I did not have a hangover, but the rest of the party was not as lucky. Only Lucifer was completely lucid. I sighed as I looked at their groggy bodies and then began to observe our surroundings.

Thankfully, we were not placed in a desert like we had been last time. In fact, we had been placed in a rather pleasant environment. We were in a meadow filled with flowers. I could hear a nearby brook and a warm breeze carried a refreshing scent with it. This place was basically heaven.

Just because we were in a pleasant environment did not mean I would let my guard down. My eyes darted around the meadow looking for any hidden dangers. I did not have to wait long before I encountered something strange. There were several glowing lights surrounding us. I could hear the soft sound of giggling coming from the lights.

I narrowed my eyes as I stared at them, summoning my short sword as I stood protectively in front of my companions. The lights slowly faded, revealing the bodies of several incredibly small humanoid bodies. On the back of them were a set of see through wings of different colors.

One of them approached and began to speak, but the voice was much too soft for me to hear. I could only stare at them confused. Thankfully Hylia had managed to recover most of her senses and put her hand on my shoulder. She looked to be concentrating on something.

The fairy in front of me seemed to be concentrating as well. I could only watch passively as the two communicated. I used this time to wake up the rest of my team. They jumped to their feet as they realized we were surrounded. They all summoned their weapons as they looked at the creatures surrounding us. Only Bailey seemed relaxed as she approached the fairy who was currently communicating with Hylia.

She bowed to the fairy and spoke in a quiet voice. I could not understand the words she spoke, but the fairy seemed to have a positive response to her. It spoke to her. The entire scene was not something I could understand. Hylia soon joined my, and mentally sent me a message.

"These are the ancient fairies that guard the forest. They say we have trespassed on their holy site but are willing to overlook our transgression if we help them with a task. I do not trust them... They seem off."

"How much do you know about fairies?" As I asked, I was consulting the bestiary in my library.

"They are natural tricksters but are bound by their word. They will actually let us off if we help them with their task... but likely the task will be something almost impossible to deal with."

The bestiary has more detailed information.

[Ancient Fairy]

Also called fairy or sprite. They are a distant relative to the elves. These creatures are pure magical energy that has been manifested and given life. They tend to congregate in areas where mana is thick, which allows them to grow. Very rarely they will attach themselves to a wizard, feeding on the excess elemental energy that person produces.

As a mutation of the worlds natural energy they are bound by the laws of the world. Any words they speak must be the truth. But the sprites are tricksters and have learned to twist their words so that the words they speak might be true but will not necessarily fit the current situation.

As I read the information, I told Bailey to stop communicating with them. She hesitated, but eventually listened to what I said. I asked her to explain their conversation up until this point.

"The fairy princess, the sprite who is closest to the natural laws, has been taken hostage by a species of creatures that feed on elemental energy. According to the Fairies the creatures are demanding that the fairies send give sacrifices a month to feed the creatures. If the fairies do not send the sacrifices the creatures will start a war with the fairies."

"This has been happening for as long as they can remember, and the number of fairies is rapidly diminishing. The natural energy on this floor is only enough to produce a single fairy a month at most, sometimes they go a year without a single birth."

I listened to the story with suspicion. If they needed our help why would they try to recruit us in such a fashion? Something did not add up.

"So, they want us to what? Rescue their princess? Won't the creatures who are holding the princess retaliate? Are they prepared to go to war with these "creatures?" do they even know what they are?"

Bailey spoke with the fairies for a moment before she answered. "The creatures are called Daemon and appear to be a corrupted version of the fairies. Fairies are formed from a mutation of the natural laws of the world, or in this case the floor. But the Inverted tower is a perverse existence, so it is only natural that these energies would become corrupted as well. These Daemon are called by them the "Fallen Ones".

I listened to her speak for a moment, all the while consulting with Hylia.

"It sounds suspicious. If the princess has been with the fallen ones for so long wouldn't she have been corrupted as well?"

"I don't know if it works that way, but why would they have not eaten her? Would she not be the best form of nourishment for them if they feed on the regular fairies?"

"It all seems too deep, perhaps we should use out heads, and just make for the exit. There is nothing making us do the task they have asked us to do."

"They have not even asked us to do a task yet. Maybe we should at least find out what it is."

I nodded and told bailey what we had decided. The answers came soon after we had asked.

"The task is to kill the princess. Her existence is what is causing the energy to deplete rapidly. It would not be an issue if it were not for the current situation. Even if she dies a new one will be born soon after. As for the gate... It is in the throne room of the Fallen ones."

I could only sigh. Was not that convenient. We would need to at least investigate the situation if we were planning on leaving the floor. But, based on what happened on the fourth floor it seems the rewards we gain from the tower are based on the actions we take. If we were to skip the task it would be easier for us, but the rewards we got would be negatively affected.

If we wanted the best results, we would have to complete the task. Completing the task meant we would need to put our lives on the line once again. This is not a decision we could make now. We would need to investigate and discuss before we could really decide.

After getting directions we began to walk away from the grove. Unbeknownst to us the grove transformed the moment we stepped from it, the once beautiful grove becoming a graveyard in an advanced state of decay. The fairies we talked to change into the rotting undead versions of their former selves. Their once innocent chuckling became a mad chuckling as three women stepped out of a small cottage in the center of the graveyard.

Chapter end