I awoke expecting to still be in the cart, only to find that I was in bed. Instead of opening my eyes, I just turned over and lied on my stomach. I didn't teleport myself to bed this time, and the room felt perfect. It smelled and felt clean and warm. I ran my hoof across the cotton sheets and noted that it no longer felt like cotton.
My eyes bolted open and I saw one of the treants standing over my bed. Was he watching me while I slept?
"Master, you're awake." He spoke? Thralls can't speak unless capable and ordered to. I hadn't woken up all the way until I felt magic in my body other than my own. I was being scanned by the treant. "Good, I see your head ache is gone." He said with a smile. I could not take this anymore so I rose from my bed and held the treant in the air with my magic.
"Who bid you to speak?" My voice was filled with magic as I was prepared to battle the wizard who has claimed my thralls for their own.
"I apologize if my speech is ill-timed, master. I was just guarding you while you slept to keep the pain from your shadowmancy to a minimum." He looked sad so I placed him back onto the ground hesitantly.
"Who gave you the capacity to speak?" I asked him.
"Yesterday, I think. I could feel a strange magic inside, and I knew words and speech." He replied as if it was a wonderful moment for him.
"Follow me to the laboratory, I'd like to examine you." I said as I jumped off the bed and trotted my way to the hallway.
"Yes, Master." The treant replied, At least he still seemed loyal.
My hoof collided with my forehead.
"Master, please don't do that." The treant was sitting on a small stool in the center of my laboratory as he sent out an apprentice level healing spell, something that should be beyond his comprehension. That's a big emphasis on should.
I should've done more research into this world's ambient magic field before I even contemplated semi-permanent conjuration. My treants acted as sponges and soaked up ambient magic from this place. No, not place, planet, these magical readings are unlike any other I've seen. This planet is somewhere I've never even heard of. What kind of things have to happen on a planet to make summons and thralls advance in intellect?
My thoughts were broken as I felt four wooden claws brushing my mane. "Master, you look stressed, maybe you should sit down."
Though his claws felt good, I moved forward ... after I enjoyed a brief few scratches. "D-don't do that." I ordered uncertainly.
We both remained in silence as I contemplated what I should do. I could feel where his claws delicately scratched, it felt good, I felt my life magic warm up. Not in a romantic way, mind you, It felt like he was filling a piece of my heart that has long been empty.
"Master, my brothers and sisters wait for you outside." The treant replied, standing up.
"What do you mean by 'sisters? I only created twenty treants." I asked, turning my head to look at him.
"By your decree my nineteen brothers and I guard the home and scare or kidnap all who would dare invade your land. Seeing you hurt yesterday, however, showed me that it isn't solely your land that needs protecting. A mere twenty treants were not enough to protect you and your home, so we began using the garden to create our own treants."
My eyes widened as I sat down forcefully. I took multiple deep breaths as I thought of the implications this could mean, for me, for Klugetown, for the treants, my home, everything. Thralls given not only sentience, but the ability to learn magic, and reproduce in some cases. Everything I have learned from magic and everyone who has ever taught me magic has repeatedly stated that a summon or thrall cannot and will not create thralls and summons of it's own.
"Show me." I ordered barely over a whisper. He went off into the hallway to lead me to his own summons, while I was still stuck sitting down.
"Master, I wouldn't mind carrying you if you would like." The warm and soft voice of my treant said from the hallway, removing me from my thoughts.
"No, no, I'm coming." I got up and trotted after him.
I couldn't help but notice him watching me as he led me to the front of my home. "Do you have a name?" I asked my thrall. A thrall with a name, what a concept.
"I share the names of my brothers and sisters, we are 'Thrall', 'Treant' and 'Guard'. The names are interchangeable, Master." He said, stopping in the middle of the hallway for this conversation I had started.
Thrall, Treant, and Guard were what I have been calling them, so it's no wonder they think it's their names. "That may work for the other treants, but you need your own name." I replied to his shock.
The treant fell to one knee, and held his hands to his life heart. "Master, you honor me. Surely, I, one who allowed you to be hurt yesterday, am unworthy of such a gift."
"It's just a name, don't make a big deal out of it. I'll also need to potentially either make or buy some clothing for you so I can pick you out among the rest." I assumed the treant liked this idea as he gasped.
"A name and clothing, master, you are truly a kind and honorable soul, worthy of our complete loyalty." He was full on bowing now.
I had grown tired of him and his nonsense so I picked him up into the air with my magic and turned him toward the front of the home. "Don't make a big deal out of it, show me the thralls you've somehow managed to conjure." My displeasure was plain, I wanted him loyal, sure, but such devotion would only get in the way of my research and study.
After a few more seconds of walking, we walked out of the home and all I could hear was shouting. Were we being attacked?
"All Hail The Master!" I heard a treant cry out.
"Long Live Sugar Hoof!" My Klugetown name, what?
"All Hail Sugar Hoof!" The sun was blinding me out here, my eyes tried to adjust.
Long Live The Master!" My eyes adjusted and I wish they had not.
Thousands of treants stood outside my home, cheering and praising me, pledging loyalty. I turned my back to the crowd and rooted myself like a tree in order to spread out my magic and get a sense of roughly how many there are.
"1000 .... 2000 .... 3000 .... 4000 ...." I turned to look at the treant who led me here. "Where am I going to house all these treants, there isn't nearly enough space inside!" I growled.
"Master, we've been up all night carving out the underground and building large spans of cavern for us all." He replied softly, sensing my anger.
"How?! We're on sand!" I pointed to the sand with both hooves.
"Magic, we kept the top layer of sand as a disguise, but began replacing underneath with rock with our combined magic." He said, reaching out to me.
I jumped away as I continued sensing more and more treants. The treant who led me here held up his wooden hand and every other treant grew silent.
"8000...9000..." My voice grew heavy as I realized how much difficulty this would bring. "10000 ....... 20000.......30000..." I could sense more being made every second.
I paced angrily and fearfully in front of an army of treants. "Master, If we—" I cut him off.
"Shut ... just ... shut up..." He looked sad for a second before I said something else. "How did you manage to make this many so quickly, I didn't plant that many ironwood saplings."
"The caverns, master, we began growing more gardens like the one you grew, it's not as good as yours, but nobody is as good as you." My hoof collided with my head again, much to his anguish.
"Oh, oh that's good, y-you all can farm now. That's that's good... that's great..." I hung my head low.
My eyes glowed a bright green as I projected my will into the treants. "Treants! Hear me and obey! Return to the caverns and do not exit unless ordered!" I just needed them away from me. They all walked in fine single file to the underground caverns as I nursed my head, I could feel the headache coming back. The treant who led me outside followed with them before I stopped him.
"Come back here, I would name you." I declared as he returned to my side.
"Do you have any idea how much trouble you have caused me by doing this?" I asked him and his smile and leafy brows fell.
"Master, I only wanted to keep you safe, and I knew just twenty of us would be unable to do it." He replied softly.
I looked at him with anger in my eyes, "I knew that, you weren't really meant to. I summoned the twenty of you so you could function as a home security system. If I felt anything happen to you, I would know something bad was happening and could fix it myself. But you, you've given me over thirty thousand treants. I could probably conquer the entire planet with that many!"
"If that is what you wish, master. It would be an honor to die in service of you." The treant replied while kneeling, I just rolled my eyes.
"You are to inform the rest of the treants that there will be no bowing or kneeling before me anymore." I said, staring off at the rising sun, watching the treants enter the cavern.
"Yes, Master." He replied and went to join his brothers and sisters.
"Wait."
He turned back around.
"Your name is Birch now." I said without care.
His mouth opened in a small gasp as he repeated his own name, "Birch. I am Birch. My name is Birch." He smiled brightly as he walked off, a little more pep in his step than before.
I meanwhile, stood outside a bit longer, wondering how I was going to protect my home or myself at least from whatever king or queen claimed this land as theirs.