D.R. & Associates had been in Treetown for three days. The companions had not intended to stay so long. They were concerned that there would be more attacks on Newtown by parasite-controlled dinosaurs soon. However, Ophelia had sent flying creatures, pterodactyls, eagles, and even owls and bats for night time observations, to check on the barricaded settlement from above. Newtown seemed to be ok for now.

Kazandra the Mentyl bookseller had returned to Newtown to her shop after consulting with Ophelia about the possibility of a cthullid presence on Jasmia. Each of the Associates had found something of interest to them here in Treetown. It had become something of a vacation resort to them. When the Associates came together for meals, they each shared what had been going on with them, but since it was established that Newtown apparently wasn’t going to be immediately destroyed by a mind-controlled dinosaur army, there hadn’t (so far) been any discussion of exactly when the Associates would be moving on. Each of the Associates had interests and passions that were not related to battle and constant adventuring. Treetown was giving them an opportunity to indulge those. Even the curious mystery of Sir Rictor Mortisse faded into the background.

Hiln and Deldric spent a lot of time together on the platforms near the top of the canopy. Hiln loved engineering. Though the Treetowners didn’t use such a heavy substance as stone for much, Hiln enjoyed sharing his knowledge of pulley systems and what was possible with counterweights. Deldric, for his part a skilled engineer himself, was also a sky gnome. His home clan of gnomes lived in a cloud city on their homeworld. Whereas most gnomes shared an ancestral mystical connection to Elemental Earth, the sky gnome clans of Deldric’s homeworld (which was also Don Espino’s homeworld) had severed that ancient tie and formed one instead with Elemental Air.

Regular gnomes, for example, could magically speak with burrowing mammals such as badgers, moles, prairie dogs, rabbits, etc. Sky gnomes, on the other hand, could magically speak with flying birds. Non-flying birds such as ostriches and penguins, were right out.

Deldric was soaking in the sky, literally. His smile grew and his laughter peeled all the way down from the treetops whenever he felt the wind on his whiskered face. He was working up there on helping the Treetowners assemble a floating ship from natural materials. He saw it as a challenge to stick to their code of building from naturally grown, non-metallic materials while building a vessel that was both airworthy and practical for moving sizeable loads from place to place. It would never travel above the sky to other worlds like the vessels that docked in Newtown, nor would it set any speed records, but the Treetowners had already named the craft, even though it was not yet complete, Deldric’s Challenge.

Ravenwood simply found places to meditate for hours on end. He also offered his healing services to give a break to Ophelia who normally healed and cured everyone in Treetown of their various ailments. When he wasn’t meditating or healing, Rave wandered Treetown just looking for places to volunteer to be of use to anyone who needed anything. The other Associates remarked to each other sometimes, when Rave wasn’t around, that for someone who was no longer a cleric, Rave sure lived his life like one.

Gayle fell in love with the dinosaurs. On the Associates’ first day in Treetown, Gayle became friends with the dino rider who had first greeted them when they had emerged from the jungle. Gayle was now on her way to becoming something of a dino rider herself.

As soon as it was decided the party wasn’t leaving right way, Natasha had put up her weapons and armor. They wouldn’t be coming out again until either the party left Treetown or some raider force would be foolish enough to attack a settlement with a Hierophant Druid, loyal dinosaur defenders, and a visiting adventuring party. Natasha was soon in the cooking areas learning all the local ways food was prepared in Treetown, everything from fried jungle fruits to dino strip steaks.

Don Espino could hear Natasha’s laughter, a much more open and carefree laughter than they usually heard from her, as the young elf passed the cooking areas. Whatever the ladies there were cooking smelled absolutely mouthwateringly delicious. Espino knew that in most human cultures, cooking was seen as female work. Many human males made much of a potential wife’s ability or inability to cook well. Espino thought that some human husband would consider himself very fortunate to have Natasha for a wife. Natasha, on the other hand, Espino thought, wasn’t the marrying type.

Don Espino de la Rosa, child age archmage of the Great Magocracy, felt restless, the one Associate who hadn’t found a place for himself or a rhythm here in Treetown. He had studied everything that interested him at this point, even shadowing Deldric and Hiln for a day to assist with their aerodynamics calculations, and to add some creative ideas of his own. Deldric’s Challenge wasn’t his challenge, though. Espino thought that was a masterstroke of motivation on the part of the Treetowners to name their new ship that though.

“Hello, Espino.”

The elf youth looked up to see Ophelia Oakwillow. He had been hoping to find her. After three days, he really hadn’t known where to look. She didn’t seem to have a house. She didn’t seem to stay with anyone. Did she sleep outside? 

“Hi,” he said.

“How are you today? You seem unsettled.”

“I’m ok.”

Ophelia smiled so brightly it seemed that Jasmia had, all this time, had two suns, one heretofore unknown, and the second one had just risen for the first time, surprising the world.

“I didn’t say you seemed troubled. I said you seemed unsettled.”

“What’s the difference?”

“Troubles come from without. They are things we worry about. Unsettlement has to do with the self.”

“And I seem unsettled?”

“Yes,” she said sweetly, as if being unsettled were no big deal, certainly not a criticism or anything negative. She reached out with one hand. “Will you cloud watch with me?”

“Sure.” Espino took her hand.

The two young elves lay down in the grass, forming a straight line with their feet at opposite ends, the crowns of their heads almost touching.

Espino found it very relaxing to be talking to someone without seeing their face. He was used to seeing the faces of his teachers, mentors, and the students he was competing with at the Great School. He was always watching for signs of approval or disapproval, for signs that he was doing or saying the right thing or the wrong thing. Cloud watching with Ophelia seemed much less intense.

One thing Espino had in abundance was imagination. It wasn’t hard for Ophelia to explain how to cloud watch. It was a little harder for Don Espino to grasp why anyone would cloud watch. It didn’t seem to serve any purpose. It didn’t even seem like a particularly challenging mental exercise. Finally, he accepted it as a form of relaxation or stress-relief meditation. He thought he could use a little of that, since he agreed with the druid girl’s assessment that he was indeed a little unsettled.

Ophelia was taking a turn. “That one looks like a rhinoceros. You can see its horn.”

“You’ve seen a rhinoceros?”

“Yes.”

“Here on Jasmia.”

“Yes, but not nearby. Far from here. I’ve done a lot of exploring.”

“With a party like the Associates?”

“No. By myself.”

“I’m surprised you weren’t eaten,” Espino blurted bluntly.

There was a brief pause during which Don Espino thought he might have offended the child Hierophant. The pause lasted long enough for him to wonder why it mattered so much to him if he offended her. Of course, it wasn’t a nice thing to do, and he would normally feel bad about offending anyone (who didn’t deserve it, anyway), but it seemed to the young mage that it mattered to him whether or not he has offended Ophelia more than it normally would under the circumstances. It was almost like it mattered to him whether or not she liked him. What did he care? Before he could ponder this further, the elf druid continued.

“Why doesn’t Treetown need a wall like Newtown does?”

Espino briefly considered before answering, “Walls keep things out. Newtown is trying to keep the jungle out. Treetown is trying to live as a part of the jungle.”

“Very good!”

Espino could hear Ophelia’s smile in her voice.

“The reason I am safe out there in the jungle is because I travel as part of it.”

Ophelia described her ability to shapechange. She could become any natural creature. She often traveled as a bird to cover large areas speedily. She had even been a rhinoceros in the herd of the rhinoceroses she had encountered. Her limitation to natural creatures meant no dragons, basilisks, cockatrices, undead, or other beings of magic. 

“What if you’re flying as a bird and a bigger predator bird hunts you?”

“Then I change into something less appetizing.”

Espino liked to use his mage magic to change into creatures, but next to Ophelia’s druidic might, he was an amateur dabbler in that department. If she needed to, Ophelia Oakwillow could stay transformed and switch from form to form almost 24 hours per day should such a trip require it.

The two elves lay, head to head, in silent contemplation for quite awhile until finally Espino asked, “What do people do here?”

“They survive. They live, love, and laugh.”

“But what else?”

“Does there have to be anything else?”

“Yes, for me there does.”

“The children play.”

“I’m not a—” Espino stopped.

After it was apparent the mage boy wasn’t going to continue, the druid girl urged, “Tell me about your life on your homeworld.”

Espino told Ophelia about his childhood in the Great Magocracy back home. He went on a long time. He was very detailed. He told of the rivalries and the successes and the failures, the rush of victory and the shame of defeat. He told of friends who had become backstabbers and of teachers both kind and cruel but all very, very strict.

Ophelia listened to it all. Espino couldn’t see her face, but he could feel her listening. Finally, he wound down his story, telling of how he had joined the group of adventurers who would go on to become D.R. & Associates.

When he was done, Ophelia was crying.

Now I’ve done it somehow, he thought. What did I say?

“What’s wrong? Why are you crying?” Espino was getting up to see what was wrong with the Hierophant of Treetown, but she was already up and facing him. Though tears rolled down her cheeks,  her eyes were bright and fierce, and weren’t producing any new tears to join the flow. A firm decision had been made.

“Don Espino de la Rosa, Archmage of the Great Magocracy,” she addressed him with

Formality, “you and I are going to go gather the children of Treetown and play, just play. No politics. No magic. No cutthroat competition over limited resources. No worrying about problems. We will just play, play, play until we are too tired to continue. Do you understand?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“Good. Because I am the Ruler of the Druids of Jasmia and I don’t like to command things. I’ve never commanded anything before actually. But I do now. This is a command. This is important.”

“There are other druids on Jasmia?”

“Espino, it’s playtime. Questions later.”

“Yes, your rulership, your highness, what–”

“Call me Ophelia.”

“Ok, Ophelia.”

Hand in hand Ophelia Oakwillow, Hierophant Druid of Jasmia and Don Espino de la Rosa, Archmage of the Great Magocracy, began gathering the children of Treetown ro play.