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Elsewhere
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"Druids creep me out man. Crazed werewolves? Not a problem. Vampires? Blood sucking pricks. Necromancers? All sorts of messed up, but not creepy. Not like druids."

Ray glanced over at his fellow hunter. Greg was the most vocal of their four man group and arguably the most skilled. If he were to get in a little more experience under his belt, chances were he would surpass the others. This was just another of the random tangents Greg liked to follow. "How so?"

Greg waved a hand impatiently, almost as though he was dismissing the question as ridiculous. "You have to ask? Dude. They make deals with the [i]friggen Fey[/i]. Some of those druids have [i]friggen bark[/i] instead of skin. Bark. How does that no creep you out?"

Arty spoke up. "I've spoken with Druids before, Greg. They are the only reason we have roads to connect the cities."

Greg shook his head. "Anyone who bargains with a glowing tree for power is creepy."

Razz snorted. "The Fey are not 'glowing trees' numbskull, they are spirits manipulating plant matter so they can influence their physical surroundings."

Ray raised his hands. "Look, I'm sorry for asking. But do you think that we could have this conversation when we might not be in earshot of one?"

The four hunters cast their eyes out the forest surrounding them. It was true that the trees and bushes could hide either a Fey or Druid, and only a fool would insult a Fey with this many plants nearby. Arty suddenly raised a finger and pointed. "There!"

A pair of softly glowing green eyes observed them dispassionately from the shadows. No, that wasn't quite right. Calling them eyes would imply that they were attached to a head of some kind. These resembled two dots of smoke very close to one another, suspended in the air. They zoomed away the moment they were discovered.

Arty shot a glance at Greg. "If we wind up fighting a twelve foot tall bear made of twigs and tree branches, I am going to flay you alive."

Greg nodded tersely and drew an iron knife. It wouldn't help much against the wood, but it would injure the Fey's essence. Less essence meant less tree could be controlled by the Fey. Minutes passed and noting happened. "We must have scared it off."

Razz snorted. "No, we just weren't worth its time. Consider yourself lucky."