Equipment Printing School Mage

"Outsiders, don't be fooled by this pretty face." At some point, a giant eagle landed on the treetop above them, swaying gently in the breeze. It opened its beak and spoke in human language. "She didn't lie, but she's hiding a piece of crucial information from you."

"Although everyone in the circle is indeed in danger, there are still a few druids who are particularly special."

"Fenwei."

"You are the most suspicious one in the Ring Society."

Sacred Forest of the Twenty-One Stars (Part 3) The Suspect's Sacrifice

The hawk perched on the treetops, its broad wings spread in mid-air, blocking out the faint moonlight from the treetops. The already poorly lit forest suddenly became even more eerie.

Fenwei hesitated and took a few steps away from Emilia and the other two. After confirming that they had no intention of attacking immediately, he raised his head.

She evidently recognized the newcomer's identity from the voice and replied, "So, you want to accuse me, Nazianzus? Accuse me of being the hunter who murdered the dryads, accuse me of having fallen into darkness?"

The druid named Narciss poked his head out, glancing over the people behind her. He then said coldly, "I'm not a judge. No matter how certain I am, I won't raise any questions until the meeting officially convenes."

Then, the falcon raised its head slightly and said, "...Outsiders! You are already very close to the Holy Forest. Even under the current special circumstances, outsiders are coming in group after group. Before entering the Holy Forest, you must explain your purpose."

Feeling Fenwen's pleading gaze, Emiya fell silent for a moment, then made way for Eswhite. The old priest cleared his throat, assumed the demeanor of a true clergyman, and said, "I am Eswhite, a priest from the Hollow Corner. If you follow the customs of other villages, you can consider me an elder, a clan leader, or something like that."

"For many years, our village has relied on logging for its livelihood. Suddenly, we learned that druids had come to the forest we depend on for survival, and we were inevitably worried. So, I was invited here."

"Hollow Horn, Hollow Horn..." Narciss recalled on the branch, then observed the overly broad outline of Eswhite, and was immediately frightened to the point of his feathers standing on end. "--Is that the group of bears who would cause a big commotion in the forest every full moon, the infamous group in the Sharptooth Forest?!"

A rare blush appeared on Eswhite's face. "Ahem, I admit we were a bit reckless before. I'll be more careful next time."

"Hmph, that's easy for you to say, you——"

Apparently, the profession of woodcutter had a particularly bad reputation among the druids, so much so that Narcissus was about to make a few more sarcastic remarks. Then, Mars abruptly interrupted the druid, saying, "According to Miss Fenwe, her mission is to [cultivate the Sacred Forest and establish connections with secular forces]. Consider this: Faerun is a vast continent, but how many forces have no conflict with the druids?"

"We haven't concealed our identities because we may not accept all of the Druids' beliefs, but we understand their motives. However, this doesn't mean that Druids are superior to us and can speak rudely to us at will."

"Sir, please be careful." Mars put his hand on his waist coldly. "Druids cannot accuse their colleagues at will. But we are in a foreign land, so we can't help but be suspicious."

He took a step forward, stepping into the moonlight in the forest. His sword was slightly unsheathed, and the bright moonlight reflected on the spotless blade, immediately reflecting into Narcissus's eyes.

The druid was caught off guard and nearly fell from the branch. He finally stood up straight and was about to yell, but was met with further roars from Mars: "Mr. Narcissus, we are guests who come here with good intentions. We don't know if there is any enmity between you and Miss Fenwei, but one thing is clear -"

"Suspicion is just suspicion until it's confirmed. You have no right to treat us this way."

Narciss stood up in an extremely awkward manner. After adjusting his posture, he spread his wings again. "Fenwei, I hope you really are not. See you at the meeting."

After saying that, the giant eagle turned around, spread its wings and flew towards the front of the crowd, and in the blink of an eye, it disappeared without a trace in the treetops.

Behind her, Fenwë shouted angrily, "No matter how many times I am questioned, I will answer: I did not kill any tree spirits, nor did I skin them alive to make cloaks!"

The sound pierced through the forest and shook the leaves, but it could not stop the giant eagle in front.

Fenwei took a deep breath and said, "...Let's go. The Holy Forest is just around the corner."

But just as she took a step forward, Emilia's voice rang out from behind her: "Although I didn't ask in front of others, I'm still curious - why were you singled out as the most suspicious druid? Or was this just a fabrication by that man named Narcissus?"

Fenwë's body stiffened for a moment, then he sighed, "It's not groundless. I am indeed an outlier among druids."

"Is it convenient to talk here?"

Finwe paused, sighed deeply, and turned around.

She glanced at Eswhite, then at Aimiya.

"You may not believe this... I am indeed a druid, but other than that, I may be closer to you guys."

This sentence was really beyond their expectations.

Emilia raised her eyebrows: "--Miss Fenwei, we just met for the first time today."

"That's true. But even after years of getting along, it's entirely possible to still be strangers."

Fenwë took out a badge necklace from his bosom and put it on his chest. "It's simple. Most druids in the Sharptooth Forest believe in the nature gods of Silvanus, but I am an outlier."

When the three of them saw the emblem on the necklace clearly, they froze almost at the same time and almost cried out.

A red mist rose from a silver star and reached the sky, with seven other silver stars surrounding the red mist.

This emblem was once ubiquitous on the continent of Faerun, but since the Arcane Blight a hundred years ago, fewer and fewer people have held it.

Mars hesitated for a moment, sighed deeply, took out an identical badge from his waist bag, and held it in his hand.

"...You're right, you are indeed closer to us."

"Although I never expected that a druid would be my sister in the church."

"They are followers of Mystra, the goddess of magic."

And Emilia couldn't help but cover her face.

Paladin of the Magic Goddess, Druid of the Magic Goddess, Bear Cleric of the Moon Goddess.

Only one person slightly strayed from the alliance between the moon and magic, but this person happened to be a mage.

Can't there be some normal people in their team?

Emiya sighed as she figured out the key point. "So, [Only druids who believe in Mystra would use magical items to sacrifice to the Sacred Forest]... is that their excuse?"

"Uh, no," Fenwë whispered, "I'm actually trying to cultivate the Sacred Grove using magical items."

"for example?"

"For example..." Fenwei's voice gradually faded. "The day before yesterday, I stumbled upon a giant sword made of crystal in the forest. It exuded an indescribable enchanting aura, so I brought it back to the Sacred Forest, hoping that its aura and power would help it mature..."

"Excuse me, could you please say that again?"

The Sacred Forest of the Twenty-Two Stars (IV) The Eight Sacred Trees

Things are becoming very difficult.

When she heard that, Emilia felt unusually distressed.

He sincerely hoped at this moment that this was just a coincidence - although the possibility was very, very small.

All his knowledge told him that crystal swords were extremely rare in Faerûn. In all the books he had read, there was almost no description of crystal swords. No one had ever used a crystal sword as a weapon.

The Winged Elves, a branch of the elves, favor a special material transformed from crystal. They like to use this special material called fiberglass to forge armor and weapons. This special material looks almost identical to crystal.

Of course, Emiya's sword only looked like crystal in appearance. Its true material was completely unknown, and it was some substance that Emiya didn't even know about.

But you can't call it "a sword made of something unknown." And although it has a name, it's too unique, which makes Emilia quite unhappy.

Therefore, Emiya has always called it the Crystal Sword.

Such a unique weapon naturally piqued the old priest's interest. As they walked, Eswhite asked, "Crystal sword? Can something like crystal be made into a sword?"

Before Fenwei could answer, Emiya spoke up, "Of course it can't be done. Crystal is transparent quartz, and if we only talk about hardness, it's actually quite good, harder and sharper than ordinary iron. But unfortunately, crystal is much less tough and brittle."

"Of course, you can't make a sword out of materials that break when you chop them."

This fluent and thoughtless answer made Fenwei smile playfully.

She raised her eyebrows slightly: "Mr. Emiya, your knowledge seems to be a little unusual."

The mage really didn't need to know this; this knowledge was Emilia's personal interest. But he wasn't interested in sharing his private information with others.

He didn't answer, and Fenwei didn't ask any further questions. He just nodded his lips with a smile: "Then, let me ask you another question... Are you interested in that sword?"

This time, Emilia did not remain silent. She looked directly into Fenwe's eyes and answered bluntly, "Yes."

Fenwei didn't get angry, but just smiled and said, "This is only natural. After all, even a druid like me couldn't take my eyes off it."

"After the Sacred Forest has fully grown, I'm not afraid to lend you the sword for research. Of course, before that... even in nature, there's always reciprocity."

Fenwei didn't continue, but his intention was clear.

This is where the trouble lies.

Emiya sighed deeply in her heart.

If the sword were in the hands of Archdruid K'ha, it could be retrieved as a trophy - but it has now fallen into the hands of a third party.

The conflict of interests suddenly became complicated.

At this moment, Fenwei stopped and said, "--So, we are here."

Emiya observed her surroundings in the dim moonlight, but soon gave up.

The forest scenery looked all the same to outsiders. Furthermore, his teacher hadn't given him any in-depth education in natural sciences. As a result, he couldn't even discern the subtle differences between the various tree species in Faerun at first glance.

Along the way, he tried hard to memorize the approximate direction of advance and the ups and downs of the terrain, and was able to confirm that Fenwei did not take them on a detour, but was indeed moving straight towards this location.

But he really couldn't see what was special about the forest in front of him.

Dense bushes, crisscrossing branches, winding vines, sharp thorns, mist that appears and disappears at night, and occasional wild animals and insects startled from their sleep - the forest is like this in every direction and every place.

He glanced around and saw his two companions had the same reaction.

The druid was clearly pleased with their performance, and said in an almost smug tone, "Then please watch. The difference between knowledge and reality is revealed right here."

"What you are seeing is what will become the greatest woodland in the entire Sword Coast."

The druid stood up straight, raised his hands, and began to chant a prayer.

"Sacred forest, shining like a star, surrounded by stars! I am your cultivator, guardian and maintainer, and apprentice of the world and nature!"

"Please lower your branches, clear away the fog in the forest, and show us the way forward!"

Amid the druids' chanting, the forest seemed to come alive.

The mist dissipated at some point.

Several large trees that were perhaps hundreds of years old slowly lowered their thick branches as if unable to bear the weight, and the dark green leaves on them, as broad as clouds, formed a wide path leading directly to the treetops in front of them.

This path woven of leaves was wide enough for two horses to walk side by side. Countless branches intertwined underneath, forming a sturdy and reliable support. Extending vines were tied to the leaves, sharing the pressure they would bear. A gentle breeze blew, yet this special path didn't sway at all.

Emilia was silent for a moment, then pointed to the natural path and said, "You want us to walk through the branches into the sacred forest."

Fenwei said as a matter of course: "Yes."

"As a warhorse, the Silver Ship weighs 500 kilograms."

"The forest's heart is wider than you think."

"Well, by the way, just out of pure curiosity, what would happen if we didn't take this path? Get lost in the forest?"

The druid sneered, "How could such a gentle method be the only one you have?"

As she spoke, she pointed to a cluster of ordinary shrubs under the big tree and said, "Big guy over there, use all your strength and throw a branch over there."

Mars shrugged, picked up a dead branch from the ground, then made a javelin throwing posture and threw the branch out like lightning.

The branches created a violent storm and fell heavily into the bushes.

The next second, the vines hidden under the bushes suddenly tightened, tightly binding the branch that fell into them, and then dragged the branch suddenly up to nearly ten meters in the air.

What greeted it was a large bush of thorns wrapped around the tree trunk - the tips of these thorns had a subtle ominous color.

Seeing the branch scraping against the thorns, making a teeth-grinding sound, Mars touched his exposed neck uncomfortably: "...Although it is just a simple trap, it is indeed well concealed. Although it should be effective against well-protected enemies... Tsk."

Halfway through his speech, he remembered why he did not wear armor on this trip.

In front of a druid, all metal protection is nothing more than a grill. The tighter the protection, the more it will be roasted.

As a result, the druids actually set traps in the forest specifically for those without armor, which can be said to be a well-intentioned move.

If you don't wear armor, you probably won't see a druid at all.

If you wear armor, the druid will probably be the last person you see.

Emiya sighed, "...So, how many traps like this are there?"

"I don't know. I haven't counted." Fenwei smiled mysteriously. "So, you better follow closely. From now on, the area around the tree roots is a deadly place. We even have to deliberately drive away large carnivores to prevent them from being harmed."

"Even I usually don't want to move on this kind of ground. I'd rather turn into a bird and walk from a high place."

Hearing this, Emilia immediately walked to the side of Phantom Horse, took out a cloak from her luggage and put it on, then silently pulled the hood over her head to cover the upper half of her face.

"…What are you doing?"

Emiya answered without hesitation, "Judging from your style, it would be better if you don't recognize my face."

Although the real reason was that they were now clearly close to the Druids' core area, they could come face to face with Korhal at any time.

If his identity is recognized at a glance, it will be too late to do anything.

Fortunately, his identity was only known to Korhal at the moment. It was too late just now, and it was unlikely that the druid named Narciss would be able to fully see his appearance in such a dim forest night.