The Land of Broken Roads

“The dryads—the trees—put this on me. At first, I only talked to one, whose name was Home,” said Marina, showing the bracelet of twisting vines. She used Dirt’s word for Home, not her language. “She was a little gray child, a girl, with green hair. But there were others, hundreds more, mostly little girls, but there was at least one boy. None of them were as naked as Dirt, except that one. The rest covered themselves with little leaves or moss. It was—Oh, those trees!”

She paused and looked up at the few clouds floating softly in the sky, remembering.

“I told you the trees were big,” said Dirt, grinning smugly.

“What were they like?” asked Ignasi.

“If I had to guess, not counting the roots, which were huge themselves, the trunks were maybe forty paces across? I have no idea how tall they were. Too tall to even guess. But the lowest leaves must have been higher than those clouds. It felt like a dream. The whole time, seriously, everything felt like a dream.”

“Was the naked one Callius?” asked Dirt.

“I think so. He asked me a few questions about you, but I hardly saw him after that,” said Marina.

“He was showing off, then. It’s harder to do a whole body,” said Dirt.

“Huh. Well, mostly I talked with Home and Ona and Montse.”

“Wait, who are Ona and Montse? Were they dryads?”

“They certainly weren’t human. But those two were girls the first time I saw them, and right in front of my eyes they grew into women. Young women, perfect and beautiful,” said Marina. “I’m sure I screamed. That was one thing that I never got used to—how often they liked to shift their features or shape right in front of me.”

“I never met those ones, I guess,” said Dirt, unsure how he felt about that. It felt like she’d been treading uninvited on his ground and found things he didn’t know about.

“Oh, you did. They knew you. They just didn’t have names. I named a whole bunch of them,” said Marina. “That was quite a day. It was my first day there, after the night they took me. Dawn asked me something and I told her I knew more names than I could list, and then all day after that, every few minutes another one would just appear, standing right over there like she sprang up from the ground, and ask me for a name. At first, they asked me what the names all meant, but I kept saying I didn’t know because they’re just names, and eventually they gave up. I think to them, every name has a meaning instead of just a, a sound, I guess.”

As she talked, her eyes looked into the distant horizon, or up at the clouds, or into the embers of the fire. Always distant and always moving, as if her memories were all out there somewhere, waiting until she looked at them before they came back to her.

Dirt said, “I like how there’s always the leaves up there, never just sky. It makes it feel like you’re always inside. I used to get scared of the sky because I had nightmares about falling up into nothing.”

“Well, it just made me dizzy, and if I kept looking, I’d get nauseous. It’s too high up. Too big. Something about them just isn’t right.”

“Dear Marina, I think you’ve told us about everything except the bracelet,” said Ignasi, eyes twinkling.

She looked at him, face blank for an instant. “I’m getting to it,” she said, unconvincingly. “Actually, let me just start over. The night they took me, I was sure I was going to die from the bite. I knew how bad it was. But then I got… transferred? It hurt, and it was fast, and at the other end I was stunned. It was darker there, the shadows deeper, and all around me are these little girls with glassy eyes. They almost look like dolls, except they move like people. I can see they have gray skin, and their hair is all green, and they’re wearing clothing of moss or leaves but none of it matches. And I’m lying in this damp, wet dirt, blacker than any I’ve ever seen before, and one of them says something in a language I don’t recognize.”

Dirt nodded and said, “They were probably speaking my language. I didn’t know there was more than one language until I met you.”

“Yeah, I’m getting to that. Just listen. So this little girl smiles at me with all the grace of an old lady and babbles something, and I scream. I have no idea what’s going on or where I am, and she terrifies me. I try to get up and run, but there’s nowhere to go because I don’t recognize anything. There’s nothing to recognize. Just trees, but I didn’t understand that at first. Not until the next morning. I thought there was another earth up there, a whole different world, and the tree trunks were pillars holding the two together,” said Marina. She paused again and leaned over the fire to examine the meat and rotate the spits, but Dirt suspected it had more to do with trying to gather her thoughts than minding the fire.

She continued, “They grabbed me and held me down, and the little girl talks again, and I can see her face is sad, full of compassion, and she’s trying to explain but I don’t understand a word. I’m screaming, and she’s trying to calm me down, but there are twenty more of these horrid little monster girls holding me down, and then… then nothing. I wake up the next morning in a bed, right out in the open. I think it was the same spot.”

“Was it a bed of those little fiber clumps?”

“Yeah, it was.”

“I love those things. The only thing better is puppy fur.”

“Just let her talk, Dirt,” said Hèctor. He didn’t look angry, though.

“Sorry.”

“He’s fine, Hèctor. And yes, it was comfortable, but that’s not what I was thinking about at the time. It was cold and foggy and I couldn’t see the trees anymore. It was early, still twilight, and I can’t see anything. I’m looking in every direction and there’s nothing. I can’t see ten feet in any direction. Just my bed, and ferns. That’s it. I’m starting to think I died, honestly. I’m thinking, Marina, this is the underworld. That’s why there’s a second earth up above. You’re in the land of the dead. It’s not so bad, really. Comfortable. Restful, maybe, if those horrid children stay away. I’m sure they’ll be back, though, so I sit up and that’s when I realize my stomach isn’t injured anymore. Even my clothing is stitched up, but I can see where it was stitched. I pull up my shirt and all I find are little lines where the teeth marks should have been. No redness, nothing. No pain.”

Ignasi said, “Noble Socks licking my arm had the same effect. By the next morning, I hardly knew I’d been bitten.”

“Incredible, right? Well, at this point I’m sure I’m dead. I’m sure I’m dead. And then she appears—the one from last night. Except now I can understand her. She says her name is Home, and she’s a friend of Dirt’s. I ask if I’m dead, and she chuckles like an old woman. Not a little girl giggle.

“I finally take the time to get a good look at her, and I still can’t tell what she is. I’m wondering if she’s a witch, maybe, or something worse. A living puppet, except she’s far too realistic for that. She moves like a living thing. So then I think maybe they’re elves, some kind of fae I’ve never heard of, and I’m in the land of Faerie. Either that or dead, and they’re spirits from below. My mind is spinning, but I feel alive, so I’m not sure.

“She sees how upset I am and gently rests her hand on mine, in a comforting sort of way. She says she healed me and she wants to learn more about me, with my permission, because she’ll learn much in the process. What I’m made of. How I’m put together. I don’t understand her at first, because what on earth could that mean? But she wants to give me something as her part of a bargain, so what do I want?”

Marina paused again, a fingertip rubbing along the braids in the bracelet. She gazed deep into the fire and Dirt and the others all waited, hardly breathing, to find out what came next. But she was content to let them wait, deep in thought. Finally she said, “I told her I wanted a child.”

“You didn’t!” hissed Ignasi.

“Did you… get one?” asked Hèctor, eyes deeply wary.

“It’s not what you think. She wasn’t a witch. She’s a tree, like Dirt said. But I tell her I want a child, and that’s all I want, but I’m barren. She smiles at me and says, ‘We have learned much, but there is still more we wish to learn.’ And then she says she can fix me, fix my womb so I can bear children, and she will do it for free, asking nothing in return. But if I’m willing, then when I get with child, they want me to come back, and they’ll make sure it’s born healthy and strong.”

“She wants to take your child?” asked Hèctor, his eyes a little wider in concern.

Dirt cut in to say, “No, I’m sure they just wanted to see how it grows. They don’t know anything about the world. They’re trees. They didn’t even have eyes until they made dryads. They didn’t know what the world was.”

Hèctor and Ignasi both shot him a short glare for interrupting, but Marina said, “Yes, as the boy says. Home explained what Dirt just said. She says she’s curious about the world, how babies are formed and how they grow. She explains that inside me are halves of a seed, and the other half comes from a male, and those grow into a new life. She says if I let them figure out how I’m put together, they’ll find out why my part isn’t working and why I’m barren, and fix it.”

“Well, that’s not true,” said Ignasi. “Women do not have seed.”

“I know. But still, she was pretty convincing. And certain. She was absolutely certain.”

“So what’s the bracelet for?” asked Hèctor.

“I’m getting to that. She looks at me with those glassy eyes and her face is full of wisdom and concern, like an old lady’s, like I said. Except she’s a child, and not human. So I say I don’t know, and she promises it won’t hurt, because they have a lot of practice. Well, that doesn’t help either, because so does the butcher. But then she says she practiced on Dirt, and he’s fine, isn’t he? She says all I have to do is lie down and hold still. No pain.

“Well, obviously, they have my attention. If they can make me fertile again, any price would be worth it. So I do it. I lay down on the bed and tell them to go ahead. I’m scared and I have no idea what’s about to happen, but Home smiles and rests her hand on my forehead, and I fall asleep. Then I wake up a short time later, and it’s already over. That was it,” said Marina.

“Wait, they put you to sleep first? Lucky,” said Dirt.

Marina shrugged, having hardly noticed he spoke, too engrossed in her story. “Yep. Home tells me there was a problem with a passage in my womb, and my seed-half couldn’t get to the right place, and now it’s fixed. I’m fertile again. Just like that. A short nap, and I’m fertile. She also said there was something wrong with my heart, and she fixed that too. I say it was Home, but it wasn’t just her. There were others around. Always. Usually just a few close by, but always dozens out there in the ferns, watching.

“She helps me get up, but I feel fine. I thank her and ask where we are. She says she doesn’t know, but would I like to see her tree? Then she points at the biggest tree I’ve ever seen, and I finally realize it’s a tree, because the fog has lifted and I can get a good look at it. This is when I realize I’m in the place Dirt told us about—that giant forest. These are the dryads, his friends. I guess that means they were puppets after all, just very good ones.

“They show me around and there’s all sorts of things going on. Lots of work. They’re preparing something, so I ask them what, and they tell me, except it’s a secret. It’s a gift for Dirt, and you’ll find out next time you visit. That’s what they told me. I guess I shouldn’t say any more about that. But they show me all sorts of things, like Dirt’s little house under Home’s branches, and some old ruins. They asked me if I knew what they were, but I had no idea. It was old, though. Very, very old.”

“So, the bracelet?” asked Ignasi again, a twinkle in his eye.

“Oh, fine. The bracelet. It’ll bring me back to her when I’m pregnant again. And in the meantime, it’ll help me keep healthy and make sure I don’t run out of seed halves before that happens. I told her it takes nine months for a child to grow, so she wants me to stay there during the whole pregnancy,” said Marina. She rubbed the bracelet again and Dirt could see something healthy in her face, like a happy sort of hunger. Yearning, about to be fulfilled.

“Was that all, or was there more to the deal?” asked Hèctor.

Marina looked at him, her brown eyes sparking at first and then withdrawing. Dirt could tell she didn’t want to say the rest, but it was too late. She’d have to. “No, there was more.”

“Do you have to give the evil fae your child?” asked Ignasi, humor in his voice. His eyes, however, looked more serious now.

“Sort of.”

“Marina!” shouted Hèctor and Ignasi at the same time.

“It’s not like that! Listen to the rest first,” said Marina. She crossed her arms over her knees and looked back into the fire. “Home told me if I agree to give birth there and let them watch the child’s first few months, then I’ll never get sick. Any wounds I get will close and never take a rot. If I agree, then I’m certain to die of old age.

“So I’m thinking to myself, if I have a baby, or even several, I want to watch them grow up. I have to be alive for that to happen, but so do they. So many die, you know? So I say, ‘Then you have to promise to keep them healthy as well,’ and she agrees,” said Marina. “I think that’s what she was hoping for in the first place. But I’ve heard worse agreements, right?”

She shrugged and looked at her companions for affirmation, but they had their brows furrowed and didn’t even nod. She continued, “So that’s the deal. My children will be born there, but I’m free to leave after a time, with my child. It’s not so bad there, I don’t think. I wasn’t there long enough for everything to stop feeling creepy, but I could get used to it. They don’t know how unnerving they are. And a child wouldn’t know any better.”

“There are worse places to live,” said Dirt, quietly.

The other humans looked at him, then looked away before meeting his gaze.

“I’m sorry, Dirt, I know you’re from there, but…” said Marina, trailing off.

Dirt found he had nothing to say. Hearing her talk about his beloved trees in a way anything other than glowing affection bothered him. He understood, of course; he knew better than anyone how scary they could be at first. But they were still his friends, and he still loved them.

“Dear Dirt, if you don’t mind me asking, did you make any bargains with them as well?” said Ignasi.

“Oh, no, nothing like that. They’re my friends. For example, I agreed to carry this everywhere, which is part of Home,” said Dirt, gesturing with the staff. “But it’s because I want her to see the world with me. She can’t really travel on her own because she’s a tree. She makes me sap and water if I need it, and she’s also a really good weapon when I need one. But it’s not because we have a deal. It’s because we’re friends.”

Marina went pale and said, “Oh, I forgot about that. She’s watching through that staff right now, isn’t she? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to call them creepy. I just—”

Dirt grinned and interrupted. “Oh, don’t worry about that. Home is way, way, too old and way too powerful to get offended by a little tiny human. If anything, she’s going to fret that you didn’t say anything about it when you were there so she could figure out what you meant. Although she’s so smart I’m sure she already did.”

Hèctor said, “So will you live out your days in that forest, once you get pregnant?”

“Oh, no, just for a while. But maybe. If the dryads aren’t going to hurt me, then I can’t picture anything else there being any threat whatsoever,” said Marina.

“Well, mostly there aren’t any threats. Not anymore,” said Dirt.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“Goblins, although the dryads kill them now. And there was a gryphon once. There might be other things. The really bad one was the living skeleton named Prisca. She was—”

“Stop! Stop right there, Dirt. I don’t want to hear about any walking skeletons when I’m sitting within arm’s reach of so many non-living ones,” said Ignasi.

“Stop being so cowardly about skeletons,” said Hèctor. “They’re just bones.”

“Yes, and boats are just floaty wood, but you still won’t get on one, will you, Hèctor?”

“That’s not the same.”

Marina said, “That was one thing they showed me. The building where… Prisca was. It was incredible. I’ve never seen a building so grand.”

“It looked better when it was new,” said Dirt, sighing.

Marina just gave him a curious look, and Dirt realized what he’d just said. “Not that I would know. Just from how it looks now,” he hastily added.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“Well, it’s all collapsing now. The pillars are cracked and fallen, part of the roof caved in, the whole garden is so overgrown there’s nothing left, the roof lost most of its arch. Stuff like that.”

“Oh. Pardon me. I’ve said too much,” said Marina.

“What? What did you say? I’m confused,” said Dirt.

“Never mind. I think some of the meat is done. Don’t you, Hèctor?”

Dirt recognized she was hiding something, but before he could peek at her mind and see what it was, Socks said, just to him, -Don’t look. And don’t ask why. I know what she is thinking about and you will be happier if you find out later.-

“Well, that’s hardly fair.”

-It’s perfectly fair. Just trust me. And don’t think too hard about it either.-

“Fine.”

Dirt scowled, and since shifting his mind away from a good puzzle was near impossible, he stood up and stepped over to the fire to watch Hector cutting and testing different sections of meat.

The man poked at a spit on the edge whose meat was sliced thinner and wrapper tighter than most of the rest. After peeling a length of it away from the iron bar, he nodded and sliced off quite a bit, which he deposited on a serving platter. It would scarcely make a bite for Socks, but it was enough for the four humans to eat their fill with plenty left over. Even so, Hèctor decided it would be more prudent to share with the giant hungry wolf than make him wait. He put a few decent slices onto some plates that Ignasi had brought out and took the rest over to Socks.

“How do you want to do this? Do you want to lick it off, or open up and have me throw it in?”

Socks eagerly rose to his feet and got his nose close to the platter. -I will do it. I am worried you will miss.-

The sliced meat lifted from the platter in a bundle and Socks snapped his jaws to bite it right out of the air. He let it linger on his tongue, enjoying the flavor, then chewed a little to try and spread it out before finally swallowing.

“Well? Worth all the wait and effort?” asked Hèctor.

-Yes.­ I like it.- The pup sniffed the fire, already ready for more. He’d have to wait, though. -Humans are silly, but this is clever.-

Dirt’s mouth watered as he took his plate from Ignasi. The aroma, now that it was right in front of his face, was incredible. The rosemary turned the meat into something else, giving it a richness that he’d never experienced. He waved his hand over the plate to cool it off a bit, then picked it up and took a bite.

He’d thought the bread was the best thing he’d ever had in his life, and maybe it was up to that point. But this was far, far beyond that. The meat had layers—a bit of ash and char, a gray well-cooked section, and some paler red in the middle. It dripped juices that Dirt slurped up. The spices complemented the flavor perfectly and the salt brought out the flavor in a way he never would have guessed. It was incredible.

“Do you like it?” asked Ignasi, amused. “Look, his mouth is too full to answer. I guess he does.”

Dirt nodded vigorously and took another bite, exactly as much as he could possibly fit and still chew. He did so slowly, letting the juices mingle and run down his throat on their own.

The rest of the day passed much like that—Marina shared her experiences with the dryads while the meat cooked, and as more sections were ready, everyone ate their fill. Ignasi and Hèctor told her what had happened while she was gone, although they were a bit vague about precisely where Dirt had gotten the lights he’d used to chase off the angry ghosts.

By the time night fell, the embers were low and quiet and Socks had eaten almost the entire bull. He rested his head on the ground near Dirt, who idly petted and scratched the areas he could reach. The two of them silently sent puffs of affection and enjoyment back and forth as they began to nod off.

But it wasn’t time to end the day just yet. The humans’ conversation turned to their plans for tomorrow, which were mostly just more rummaging around for things, and maybe checking out the upper floors of the tower.

­Socks had other ideas, however, and told everyone, ­-That is not the plan for tomorrow. It is time for Dirt and I to leave. We have been here too long already. You can come with us if you promise to hurry.-

“Where are you going?” asked Marina.

-It doesn’t matter, but somewhere new.-

“Then how about we go to the city together and find out if it’s still there?”

“Do you know the way from here?” asked Ignasi.

“I’m certain,” said Marina. “That way. We follow those mountains until they flatten out onto the plain, and cross from there. When we get to the hills, we should start finding farms and it should be obvious the rest of the way.”

­-Then we will go look at all the humans in the city. Climb up so we can go to sleep now, Dirt.-