Ulanifin trembled. Her bosmer blood froze as she was dragged across the dirt floor. Never in her life had she been in a life threatening situation. She had always been fortunate in that regard. But these spriggans… looked at her with such disdain, and she no clue as to why they attacked her in the first place. Their wooden eyes were hollow, but she could tell by the way their magic resonance glowed red that they meant her harm.

She had been napping next to Greenshade's many waterfalls when the Spriggans came without her knowledge. Ulanifin awoke to the sound of angry hornets and expressionless, wooden faces. Their roots slithered across the forest floor, wrapping themselves around her legs and bound them as tight as steel chains. She screamed and tugged and scratched even as her hands became bloodied. Ultimately though, her efforts were for not. The spriggans pulled her across the forest brush, ripping her clothes on monstrous thorns and jagged rocks. And it was like that for the whole of the journey.

It felt it had been hours even it was only minutes. They dragged her cruelly and carelessly, across spiked grass, up steep hills, and cold stone, all while listening to their angry buzzing. Of course Ulanifin had tried other means of escape including grabbing at stray roots jutting from the ground. Those proved as fruitless as trying to break her bindings.

Light gave to shadow. Ulanifin's clothes was all tatters when the spriggans finally stopped. In the shade and where the noise of the forest did not carry, they rested.

"Let me go!" cried Ulanifin. There were scratches all along her arms and her clothes hung like sad rags just barely covering her up. "Please… what did I do?! Just tell me what I did to deserve this!"

"You've committed murder."

The sound came from a great big tree. It was not an oak or pine; it wasn't beech or hickory or any other kind of tree she was familiar with. It was a huge, ancient tree with a great big face on it. Blue fires like the guiding spirit lights flickered in its eyes while it spoke through an unmoving mouth.

"M-murder…" repeated Ulanifin, almost unbelieving. "I never killed anyone in my entire life! Everyone I know is either friend or family and I love all of them. I never killed anybody. And I never-"

"Liar," hissed the spriggans. The sounds of angry hornets buzzing echoed around her. Ulanifin could smell something on the air. Iron. Blood stains on the floor told the tale of many before her with unpleasant outcomes. Don't let me die here, she begged to whatever god could hear her. Please. Please don't let me die…

"You are a murderer. Twelve days ago you were spotted in the act. A guardian of the forest saw you viciously rip a flower from the earth, and watched, horrified, as you breathed in it's dying scent. Now the flower is dead. Withered and decayed. And that is your fault. Do you have anything to say in your defense?"

Ulanifin was dumbfounded. All of this? Just for a flower she picked? She almost laughed if it wasn't for the fact that the spriggans gathered around her looked so dead serious. Their hands glinted like knives. The thought of how painful they would be as they gouged at her eyes haunted her thoughts..

She drew in a shaky breath.

"I didn't know."

"Didn't know? Long ago the Bosmer made the Green Pact. It specifically forbids the killing, eating, or injuring of any vegetation. How could you not know of this?"

"But I didn't make the Green Pact!" shouted Ulanifin, pulling sharply on her bindings. "I never made the pact so that means that I can't be held accountable."

It was the wrong thing to say. All the spriggans began hissing at her. Their claws bared and hornets buzzing angrily. They did not rip her to shreds though. The tree held them back by his mear presence.

The tree continued its prosecution but it's voice was somewhat menacing now. He growled in his slow, thoughtful tree voice. His fire burned a little more brightly.

"All Bosmer are held by the Green Pact. You are no exception and now you must be held accountable."

"Please! Gods no! Please don't kill-"

"But you shall be given a choice. We could kill you… a waste of life and energy. Or you could dedicate your life to protect the forest to which you have so thoughtlessly besmirched. An eternity of protection for a lifetime of negligence. These are your options. Choose one… and live or die by your actions."

It was no choice, really. Only a fool would choose the former over the latter and Ulanifin was no fool. The words came out effortlessly.

"I choose to serve! If it means I'll live I'll do it!"

The Briar tree hummed and his limbs groaned. Though it's face was unable to make expression she could tell that this answer pleased the tree, as was all the spriggans who turned back into shades of green with calmness washing over them. The spriggans splintery fingers did not ease their grip though. If anything, their hold became even more taught. Around her, dirt moved as if moles were digging tunnels at unheard speed, circling around like sharks waiting patiently for the right time to strike. Suddenly, Ulanfin cried out as large roots sprang from the earth and tied around her limbs before slamming her to the cold ground, belly up. The spriggans that had held her silently treated into the audience who watched on with their empty eye sockets.

"Stop!" screamed Ulanfin. "You said you wouldn't kill me! I chose to serve!"

"Yes, you did," agreed the Briar tree. "But you can not serve me as you are. In order to protect the forest you must become one with the forest. Like all those before you they choose this path and became the guardians you see today. The process is long and frustrating, I know. But after time passes you will grow to enjoy your new lease on life, even onto complete and utter devotion. Now.. relax yourself. I must plant the seed."

Plant the seed? What the tree meant became immediately transparent when another root rose from the dirt. It was thinner than the other and had a green, bulbous end with an oozing hole. Ulanif grit her teeth as it's silky petals grazed against her inner thighs. "Please, don't," she mumbled. What choice did she have though? It was either this or let them execute her as they originally wanted. She thought, perhaps this way she'll still be able to go home, to be see her mother again and eat a warm meal. All she had to do was clench her close her eyes.

The root did not give consideration to Ulanif's comfort. Her underwear was one of the few things that did not get destroyed from being dragged through the weeds, but that only made it worse. It punched its way through the fabric, tearing the fibers and going into her folds dry. With the wind knocked out of her, she had no choice but to feel every inch of that bulb slide into her. "You must relax," said the tree. "Once the seed is inside you'll be released."

She whimpered pitifully.

Surprisingly, the root itself was soft and gentle once inside her pussy's passage. She was not wet enough to lubricate its movement, but the bulb's ooze itself covered her walls and made it easier. Also, Ulanif could feel the chemicals from the ooze seeping inside, spreading warmth throughout her abdomen like a creeping flame. Almost playfully, it began to turn.

"This has always been my favorite part," chuckled the tree. All around her, the spriggans watched and shook. They were moaning… loudly. Even though they did not touch themselves they shook as if in ecstasy while Ulanif was violated in the middle of the clearing. "Serve the forest," they groaned.

By now the root had began pumping in and out of her squelching pussy rhythmically. "Stop," said Ulanif again, but she was quiet than before and her whimpers became squeals. Hot tears leaked from her eye and snot poured from her nostrils. She bounced with every thrust. Her breasts bounced with a fever and her nipples became hard little nubs brushing against the fabric of her bra.

She was almost ready to forget that she was being raped. Without her notice her wounds had healed, including her fingers with which she had bloodied on her constraints earlier. The magic of the Briar tree was working its wonders.

The spriggans moans became a higher pitch as the bulb began to throb.

"Almost there," informed the tree.

"O-okay…" acknowledged Ulanif. Whether she wanted this or not her pussy had become a sopping mess. The walls of her vaginal cavity clenched around the invading phallus as if it was a real man's cock about to unleash its seed. With her labia folds flushed and swollen from arousal, she unleashed a lust filled moan, and came on the tree's root. Her femine juices dripped onto the dirt, and the earth drank it up almost instantly.

Right then, the bulb's oozing hole stretched open as its oval shaped seed pushed it's way in. Her eyes glazed over. Somehow, perhaps with the Briar's magic, the seed shoved itself through her cervix and planted itself in her it came to rest.

Sense came back to Ulanif's mind when the root slid out of her pussy with a sound akin to a wet tongue being pulled through a tube. The roots released their grip and she stood up on shaky legs, clenching her stomach.

"Can I go now?" she asked.

"I'm afraid not," said the tree, and two spriggans came from seemingly nowhere, and grabbed a hold of her arms once again. Ulanif screamed, feeling betrayed and used. Why did she ever believe it? Surely she was smarter than that?

"But I did everything you told me to! You promised to release me!"

"And released you I did. But still… you cannot be allowed to leave until your vowe has been fulfilled."

She screamed bloody murder as the spriggans pulled her away. The crowd dissipated and they lead her through a small cavern entrance that was almost completely hidden by dangling vines. It was dark, and she wept through the entire descent. She could feel in her womb even now, glowed with emense energy. She did not know what was going to happen, but she did know that it would be horrifying, whatever it was. Sounds echoed through the passage, most of it unintelligible. Only once they were further down did she begin to fully understand where she was, and what was making those noises.

Rows of women were tied up against the rock walls with roots fastened around their limbs. All of them had a glow emitting from their abdomens, the only source of light in the whole cavern. With a fervor terror, she noticed that most of them were in the process of some kind of transformation. Gnarled wood covered the limbs and chests of the women about half way through the process. The more far along were almost completely covered in bark, with glowing holes filled with green magic aura. And their faces… looked just like the many faces of the spriggans.

This was their forest guardian breeding ground.

It looked as if they were not particular about race either. There were bosmer, just like Ulanif, but also Imperial women, bretons, dunmer, altmer, orc, khajiit, argonians, and nords.

"That shit about the pact was a lie," she yelled. "The tree didn't care!"

The spriggans ignored her. After carrying her a few more yards there came an empty spot on the wall where they placed her. She struggled all the way, of course, but it was no use. Roots crept around her ankles and wrists and kept her pinned. There was some amount of movement allowed, as she could still somewhat moved her head. When the spriggans left she looked for any means to escape. If this was like any other prison there would be a lock to pick, or a loose bolt to break.

Perhaps her cell mates would provide some help.

Ulanif glanced to her right. No good. The dunmer woman was already too far gone, her eyes just glowing green pits and her legs a tangle of roots. Ulanif glanced to her left, and her eyes widened. Their was a bosmer girl just like her, and she did not seem to be that far into the transformation process at all. Her hair was short and kept in a knot held together by two porcelain sticks. It was time to seize the opportunity and make a new friend.

"Hey," whispered Ulanif, hoping that their was no spriggans around to overhear. "If you help me get free I'll help you. Just move your head over here and gnaw these roots holding my wrists." The girl ignored her. She just kept her eyes glued to the ground, her mouth hanging open dumbly with drool dripping off her tongue. Ulanif's heart fell. No help was coming. She had to figure out a way to leave by herself.

For a long time she struggled, trying any possible way to get free. The wounds she picked up from doing so sealed almost instantly due to the magic of the Briar. After what Ulanif could only ascertain was a few days the woman to her right came free from her bindings, a complete and whole guardian of the forest. More time passed and it was impossible to tell how much, as no light but the glow from the other imprisoned women illuminated the cavern. She grew tired, feeling the changes setting in. Her veins became green as her blood turned to chlorophyll. Her nails turned into wood. Eventually, after a long sleep, Ulanif awoke and saw a plant growing out of her folds. For what felt like an eternity the plant spread itself like vines under her skin. Twigs sprouted from her nipples and spread out among her chest. Movement became stiff, and eventually Ulanif could no longer find the will to struggle. Other women came and went as the bosmer woman watched ignorantly. When her skin began to flake away to reveal the bark underneath she began to hear what the Briar wanted her to hear all along. The plants and roots sang to her like they were her children. In fact, they were… just like the seed inside her.

Green was her bark, and hollow was her insides. It was difficult to notice when her eyes became pits but Ulanif was no longer the bosmer she was when she was carried inside the cavern. The roots let go of their own accord, and she stood up.

Navigating out of the cavern was easy. It was like she had a map of the earth inside her head, and when she did leave the cavern, coming out of the vine covered passage, she went right to the Briar Tree clearing. The tree was expressionless, just as before, but she could feel it in her, and knew it was a him.

"Are you ready to protect this forest and pledge your fealty to me?" asked the Briar tree, his voice resounding within her mind.

It was the easiest decision the spriggan ever made.