Chapter 10: Fae Village

If one checked a scroll on sprites, the first thing mentioned would likely be the small size of that particular fae. These very common types of fairies hovered only an inch in height. With such diminutive heights, an adventurer might be quick to think them not much of a threat.

They’d be wrong.

Though puny in raw size, sprites were as attuned to nature as any other fae. Like most other fae they, too, were also adept at magic. Though not as naturally talented as the 1ft-tall pixies, a sprite could still make itself quite the nuisance via illusory misdirection, as well as magically coaxing out poisons from plants to rub on their tiny swords and arrows.

Indeed, most sprites were fighters. Many a huntress encroaching on the deep woods found themselves tripping with numb ankles as swarms of sprites did fly-by slashes with paralytic tipped swords and arrows. They used their numbers to compensate for their size, and with such innate connection to nature, the average sprite knew almost every hollow to hide in or stone to duck beneath within their territory.

Sprites typically lived in villages, unlike the all-female pixies for whom it was more of a personal choice. There were quite a few settlements among the Snowless Forest, but only one cooperated with the village Beimenor once called home. It’s not that the fae were cruel to the mundane races--they adored those that respected the forest. Rather, a fae village covered a very large range. Only one really got the chance to meet the wood-elf village and all other fae settlements aware of those wood-elves figured one alliance was enough. They had their own areas to attend to.

The one village Beimenor and the other wood-elves stayed in contact with dwelled beneath an enormous 50ft tall mushroom. The red cap of the shroom sheltered their city from any rain drops while some surrounding tree roots and pebbles made for a nice natural wall from any floods.

Soft dirt made for fine building ground for the sprites, and build they did over the years. Their tiny houses were made of the smallest, thinnest twigs and twig shavings, as well as the most delicate leaves and flower petals. Between these homes stamped the gentle feet of naked pixies. Many lived in the village too, though not in houses, yet others were simply visiting or helped keep watch.

Male and female sprites flew through the settlement which spread through the city which used almost all the area shaded by the mushroom cap above. The buildings stretched back to just a bit before the shroom’s meaty white stalk, which was given a berth of respect by the sprites. It was here in their city that they rested and rejoiced between plans and actions to defend the forest.

Of course, the sprites didn’t try to attack Bula directly. She was much, much too big for that. Instead, they helped use magic and misdirection to lure her away from vulnerable parts of the forest and try to turn the giant back towards her lair. Even then, pixies did much of the work there.

As the afternoon went on, the sprites and pixies went about their usual business and leisure in the city. Then, came a great doom-heralding boom through the ground which startled them all.

Being an inch tall, the sprites were no stranger to booms. They were friends with the critters of the forest, and those posed no issue. Similarly, a random travelers didn’t either: such people could be lead away with ease or, if hostile, easily handled through poison and pixie magic.

This quaking sensation, this boom, was big. Very, very big. The sprites feared the worst, and their fears seemed true.

The reverberations got louder and louder, closer and closer, till it became very clear what was upon them. On their perspective of a ‘horizon’ came two giant green ‘objects’: Bula’s feet.

A sprite was just an inch tall. The average humanoid race, to them, would seem 500ft tall or so. The 1ft tall pixies that lived among them, walking along the space between their homes, would seem to be about 60ft tall to the sprites.

Bula, however, actually was 500ft tall. To the pixies, she seemed about half a mile in height. To the sprites, for whom the average elf seemed taller than some hills, Bula seemed to be well over 5 miles tall: past 6, even. Comparatively, of course.

Sprites were not one to panic, they were one to prepare. But, they had never thought this would happen. They were so deep in the woods, so out of sight, that they never thought she’d find them. Someone had to have told her, and they deduced it was the elves. Rather then blame their allies, many wondered only what had become of them to be pushed to betray the alliance.

So, the sprites and pixies tried to prepare. Sprites marshaled at the front of the city by the hundreds, beating their insect-like wings to fly in formations and stand stalwart with their swords. The pixies, too, braced themselves with magic already sparkling in their wings and between their fingers.

But, once Bula’s feet reached the edge of the city, it would’ve been clear to any impartial observer that they had no chance. The sprites couldn’t possibly prepare for toes that towered dozens of comparative meters: each digit stood over hundreds of feet tall--comparatively.

The toes wiggled, announcing her presence with some more vibrations to the city. From high above, the bellowing laughter of Bula rung out.

“Well, this must be the place. Let me get a closer look.”

The sprites struck at the toes, prompting little more than a few extra wiggles. But, Bula had announced her body was moving and nothing they could do would stop it. The giant troll’s feet shifted back, sprites cleared the way.

After taking a few quaking steps back, Bula shifted down to the ground with a thunderous thud. She laid down onto her stomach, with every minor, thoughtless movement of shifting her position being another reverberating disturbance to the sprites and their settlement.

Laying on her front, feet kicking in the air, Bula slid her body forward so her head was just about under the cap of that 50ft tall shroom. Her dark green hair encroached into the city. The strands, comparatively almost half a meter in thickness to the sprites, managed to barrel over a few of the boundary structures of the city. All the while, they made the ‘streets’ near-impassable by blocking them off in their laying.

Bula’s face loomed before the entire city and the sprites and pixies hovering to defend it. She smiled a smile that seemed over a thousand feet wide. Her eyes widened. She had clearly spotted them. The expression alone was enough of a taunt.

--==--==--==--

The mushroom stuck out like a sore thumb in the forest. It was the only red cap around. I probably would’ve found it if I was in the area, but this deep in the woods wasn’t someplace I usually needed to go.

I set my feet outside the cap, announcing my presence with a few toe wiggles among my words. I was gambling this was the spot but, I thought, ‘where else could they be?’

I bent down, belly against the soft cool ground, chin resting on crossed arms, and smiled.

It was them alright, and I was thrilled. I knew sprites were small, but I could still hardly believe just how puny they were when I found them. The pests that had irked me with magics for quite some time were right before me, and I could easily wipe them out.

I’m not sure what I expected. Fortifications, a bigger city maybe? The sprites were just specks, and their settlement reflected it. A sneeze of mine could wipe out the bulk of the place. The area of it was a bit bigger about the size of my feet side by side. The pixies were a bit larger than the sprites, but still nothing to me and not a concern.

Thrilled, beyond thrilled. It took me awhile to stop smiling, during which they futilely attacked my chin. I opened my mouth to speak, dragging out my words to let their doom sink in.

“I foooooound yoooooou”, I said. That pastiche of green and brown veritable-moss that made up their city trembled from my words alone.

I kicked my legs in the air, giddy. I felt the air sift between my toes as I continued.

“You little things have been such a nuisance. Hiding, magicking, pesky fae. Only good thing your kind ever did was making the forest free of snowfall as the legends say. Now, you’re just bothersome little pests. Your bugs to normal people, imagine what you are to me, so vulnerable.”

The fae retreated from tickling my chin just a moment. Perhaps they thought I wanted to talk? No, sprites weren’t the type for that. They were just trying to think of a better strategy. I wouldn’t give them any time: not that they had a chance to beat me anyways.

“No, imagine what I’m like to you. A titan, or a god.”

I chuckled aloud at the thought, and saw cloud of sparkles push back. Must’ve been a group of sprites.

Still chuckling, I languidly moved my right hand forward and hovered my forefinger over some of their city. I moved my shadow, making them guess where I’d strike.

“I bet it feels bad to be caught huh? To be ‘under my thumb’?”

I curled back my other fingers and pressed my thumb down on bit of their city. I gave the digit a few twists, grunting in satisfaction.

“I’m gonna destroy your pathetic little city.”, I declared, and I meant it.

“The only question is how.”

The sprites and pixies moved to attack my face, with the former just barely visible. Squinting real hard I could almost make out their few scraps of cloth and their tiny weapons.

They figured my facial features--eyes, lips--were more sensitive. Correct, but both the sprites and pixies were far too small to do anything to me even there. As they harmlessly tickled the softer flesh of my lips, I simply stuck my tongue and gave a quick lick.

I felt some delicate ‘fluttering’ sensations on my tongue, which were sprites no doubt and at least one pixie. I swallowed, overemphasizing the motion and noises best I could. I wanted them to feel fear, to squirm. They’d feed my satisfaction even if not very filling in their own right.

I blinked and noticed some little clouds of sprites falling down. They must’ve got clipped my eyelashes.

“Pathetic!”, I said. My tone leaked my joy like a water spring did water.

I pursed my lips and sucked in another ‘cloud’ of the sprites.

The fools kept attacking me even after that.

--==--==--==--

Every sprite in the city would defend it to the death, no matter the foe. That was just the type of people they were. Still, even they had to admit things weren’t looking good.

They thought it best to attack Bula’s face, figuring the area was more vulnerable. Hundreds sprites rushed the lips while dodging the slender stamping feet of their pixie allies. Once close enough, past the edge of their city, they took flight and swarmed the darker-green lip flesh.

Nothing. Their attacks did nothing--sans some tickles perhaps. The magic fizzled out on what seemed to be hundreds of feet of lips for the sprites. They could see the small indents in the lips as something to get their limbs stuck in: their puny weapons and strengths had no chance against someone that big. Even the pixie magic seemed to fizzle away harmlessly.

Still, they didn’t give up. Motion was observed and there was a bit of hope, till they realized it was a counter-attack, of course. Bula opened wide and even her casual exhales made the sprites stumble. A simple lick of her tongue and they were stuck.

There was no hope to dodge. To the inch-tall sprites, Bula’s tongue seemed to stretch about 600ft in length even if it was only about 28ft in real terms. The troll’s saliva stuck them to that bumpy surface and curled back. One swallow later and they along with a few pixies were down the monstrous troll woman’s gullet.

For beings as small as the sprites, it was challenging to try and comprehend those insides. The throat seemed like a great writhing tunnel, and its peristalsis an unstoppable hectic force squeezing and speeding them down towards Bula’s gut. Many sprites, perhaps the ‘lucky’ ones, got stuck to some of the throat slime and stayed there to perish via drowning.

The other fae passed through a massive gateway of flesh towards Bula’s gut. Wings soggy from all the fluids, they plummeted into what seemed like an actual sea of chyme. Some glowshrooms gave a bit of light to the chamber which seemed as massive as it was uncompromising. Many minuscule sprites disappeared under the churning waves, digesting alongside the bones of dead elves that seemed like giants.

Of course, a few elves still lived, wounded from the acid and near-death. They weren’t in much of a state to notice the fae, let alone offer any help. That’d be pointless too; they couldn’t even help themselves. All in Bula’s gut seemed fated to dissolve, only question was how long would the excruciating process take?

For the tiny fae, it seemed not too long.

Other sprites attacked Bula’s eyes. Here, they seemed to succeed in irritating those ocular orbs a bit. But, a simple blink from the giant troll took wipe out said irritation along with its many sources.

The lashes came down as unyielding columns of dark-green hair. The fae were crushed between the keratin pillars as they drifted by each other. For Bula, a simple blink carried immense forces to their tiny bodies: more than enough to splatter the sprites on impacts. Each lash was a great and tremendous weapon in its own right.

After that, Bula pursed her lips and inhaled a dozens more fae. Their tiny wings had no chance to escape such a powerful tugging force, so down her gullet they went.

A few sprites broke off to other areas. Some tried to sneak in through Bula’s nose to try and wound her there, but an idle inhale from the troll’s nostrils took them in far before they were ready. They also underestimated the quantity and stickiness of the mucus lining the region.

Those sprites found themselves glued to nose-hairs by Bula’s snot. A simple sniff pulled them deeper from there, till eventually the snot was too thick to change positions in, let alone escape from. At that point, it was only a short matter of time till they drowned in Bula’s boogers.

A very small amount of sprites, just a few dozen, saw fit to head towards Bula’s right ear. They thought it’d be easy to fly in there and cripple her sense of hearing. Though sprites didn’t get ear-aches, they knew many a mundane race could suffer debilitating pain from such injuries.

Of course, they made the same mistake the nasal-assailing fae did--only with earwax instead of snot. They got caught in the yellow-brown waxy stuff. The substance quickly cloyed their wings to the point of uselessness. Once stuck, they quickly learned the substance was like quicksand: every move they made sunk them deeper in. Eventually, each one flailed forward, positioned to drown.

Bula, though, felt a slight tingle in her slight-pointed green ear and simply gave that right one of hers a gentle tug towards the lobe area. That crushed a few sprites then and there, while ensuring the others were properly buried. From Bula’s perspective, she simply got rid of an itch. Her body was capable of ejecting the intruders from her ears with time on its own.

Chuckling, Bula let the battle go on a tad further. One more lick of fae had some sprites falling back towards her cheeks. There, even the smaller of those freckle-like dark-green spots dwarfed them by the dozen.

“Enough. I think I’ll lap up your city like the treat it is. A bit of sprinkles to rain down on those elves already stewing in my guts.”

One more chuckle sent some sprites flying. Then, Bula opened wide and stuck her tongue out towards the fae city.

That great open maw blasted humid heat out in the form of breath. Its taunting *“Aaaaa”* vibrated those twig-shaving made structures.

All that paled in comparison to Bula’s tongue.

She had simply reached out with the crimson muscle to lap up a bit of that moss-like city--from her perspective. To the sprites, a great wall of red-pink flesh was upon the place they called home for centuries. Saliva dripped from it and the roof of Bula’s mouth, and a single droplet ravaged some of the border.

Not that it mattered, though, as soon bits of the city made contact with the muscle itself, it was finished. Buildings and fae were crushed by the papillae of the tongue, but even more were stuck on contact. Saliva holding them steady, Bula dragged tongue deeper into the city. She had almost a tongue-full of the settlement before a voice rang out.

“Stop!”, said the feminine voice. It seemed unusually loud to Bula, and was *booming* to the fae. Said fae lamented, as they recognized the voice right away.