Ep. 732 Return to the Elves Part 2 (Patreon)

The stream that goes past the tree is reduced to barely a trickle, but I doubt that is the reason. A lot of the trees and plants around are dying because they are not getting much sun. The tree has grown so massive that it is shading a huge area, a couple of football fields worth.

Silverstream is easy enough to spot, she is sitting in a small camp amongst the tree's roots. Before we reach her I shapeshift back to my old form so that she can recognize me. When she sees me a big smile lights up her face, I guess she was worried about me too.

Silverstream says "Ash! You've finally returned!!"

"Yeah, I'm back. Sorry to have worried you!"

Silverstream says "Who was worried?! I was just bored taking care of the tree for you!"

"How is the tree?"

Silverstream says "Not so good. I ran out of stones to feed it a few days after you left. Once the stones ran out the surrounding trees started dying and the stream dried up."

"So, once the stones ran out the tree started draining the area. That is about what I was expecting."

I walk over to the tree, kneel down, and place my forehead against the tree. The tree opens with its usual welcome and then conveys its hunger to me. When I question its readiness it tells me it needs one more burst of mana to finish preparing the seed.

So, I leave Nala and the foal playing around the tree and shapeshift into an eagle. Then I fly into the mountains and head for the spring to gather water. I fill the five casks that are in my pouch and then return to the tree with them.

However, when I open the first cask, the foal rushes over to me and hits me with a begging look. Curious, I set the cask down and the foal immediately starts drinking it. As it drinks the water its hide and horn start glowing lightly, it looks almost holy.

Again, out of curiosity, I open the second cask and offer it to Nala, who also starts drinking. She doesn't glow like the foal, but I can tell she is enjoying the water so I let her finish the cask. Then I pour the remaining three casks on the roots of the tree, but the tree tells me it is not enough.

So I make another trip back to the spring to refill the casks again, and while I am there I drink my fill. Unfortunately, other than being cold, crisp, and delicious, there isn't any other effect. So I fill the casks and head back to the tree, then pour them onto the roots of the tree.

The tree lets me know that this time it is enough, and then it tells me thank you and goodbye. I am not sure what it means but I can instantly tell that something is happening. A hole opens on the trunk of the tree and inside I can see two objects.

One is small, about the size of a pear, the other is much larger, about the size of a football. The football sized one looks kind of like a pinecone, so I am guessing that is the seed. I am not sure what the other is, but I can sense the energy of the tree flowing into the seed.

It looks like I was wrong, I won't have the tree's help during the construction of the ship. As the energy flows into the tree I can tell that the consciousness of the tree is fading. I feel rather sad as the tree sacrifices itself to create the seed, but I can't stop it.

Soon the tree feels just like every other tree, what made it feel special is gone. However, the seed now gives off an almost holy feeling, even stronger than what the tree did. When the last of the energy of the tree enters the seed, both it and the other object fall out.

Of course, I catch them before they hit the ground and carefully hold them in my hands. The hole in the tree that they were in closes up all on its own leaving the trunk as it was originally. I carefully put the seed into my pouch, then I take a look at the other object.

No matter how I look at it, it looks and smells like a fruit, but this shouldn't be a fruit bearing tree. As I am looking at it I get a gentle feeling from it, a feeling of gratitude. If I had to guess I would say that this is a fruit and it is a thank you from the tree.

For now I just put it into my pouch with the seed, I am not going to eat it based on a guess. If need be I will wait until the seed is planted and ask the new tree if it is okay. For now, the tree is finally ready to be cut down and I can get to work.

"Silverstream, can you head back to the village and gather anyone who is free to help?"

Silverstream says "Sure, but what are we helping with?"

"I will handle moving the trunk, but first I will remove the branches. I want some helpers to remove the leaves and carry the branches to the village."

Silverstream says "Alright, I will be back in a while."

Once she leaves I climb up the tree until I reach the first branch, which is huge. This branch alone is bigger than most trees, and it is only the first of many. Before I remove it I cast a Transport Barge underneath it so it doesn't fall and damage anything.

Instead of cutting the branch off of the trunk I use mana to separate it from the trunk. This way the trunk is left with no damage that I would have to fix later. Once the branch is freed from the tree I use the Transport Barge to slowly lower it down.

However, I do not drop it to the ground, I leave it hovering a few feet above the ground. Then I climb down and start using the same method to remove all the smaller branches. Once all the smaller branches are removed and set aside, I lower the main branch to the ground.

Just as I am about to climb back up the tree, Nala comes over and growls at me. It is only then that I remember we haven't eaten yet and she must be hungry. First I pull out food for Nala, then I take out a bunch of salads to see what the foal likes.

Once the foal is eating happily I take out food for myself and start eating. After we are done eating, Nala and the foal go back to playing and I climb up the tree to work on the second branch. As I am stripping the smaller branches from the second branch, the elves arrive.

From the looks of it almost all of the village has come, and Stillwater, Brightfire, and Silverstream are leading them. I wasn't expecting this many people, but I won't turn away the help. First I ask if they have eaten and when the answer is no I lay out enough food for everyone.

Stillwater says "Thanks for the food! Now, what can we do to help?"