Tree of Aeons

Year 73 Month 6 Week 3

A large caravan passes by. They go along the road made by the earlier bunch.

“I hope they are sure.”

“No one’s sure, but if we manage to get there we will be one of the first groups to reopen the old trade routes. And that, will make us rich. The price differentials is huge!”

There’s easily 200 men in this group, with about a hundred horses carrying goods.

“Wonder why they did not just send airships.”

“You know how expensive the power crystals are? And they take so long to charge!”

At about this time, their conversation is interrupted.

“Hello merchants! Would you like to buy some oils and cloth?”

They turn and see two female elves. Laufen and Belle, with two baskets next to them, one containing olive oils stored in small wooden bottles, and the other containing the processed cotton cloth they worked on for the past few weeks.

Of course, hidden a distance away is the armored beetles. Thanks to the tall natural weeds, they can easily hide.

And they both picked a location well within my [root strike] such that I can quickly intervene if anything happens.

“Elf?”

“Kill them. We’ll get bounty.” One merchant says.

Laufen and Belle’s face turn pale.

“Shut up. The bounty is worth a lot less than our trade rights to the elven kingdom! Apologies ma'am, please ignore my guildmate.” He shouts out, and smacks the merchant on the back.

One of the riders, a guard ride up to them two. He signals to the merchants.

Two of the merchants then ride up to the elves, dismount and look at the wares.

“Hmm. I am surprised you have olive oils in this area. I don’t see any olive farms or groves.”

Laufen smiles, and did not answer.

“Hmm. condition is average, and storing them in wooden bottles is not good.” The merchant takes the hint and focuses on the goods.

“Yes, we would like to also buy some glass bottles, if you have them.” Belle adds. Olive oils are usually stored in vases, away from sunlight and kept sealed.

Another of the merchants ride up to the two. “Oils?”

“Your field of expertise.” The merchants glance at each other, and it seems this one is one that trades in all kinds of oils.

The merchant takes out a small glass bottle. “May I?”

“If you buy them.”

The merchant laughs. “Fine. I have six large amphoras empty. I’ll pay for that much.” He takes out some coin and pass them to Laufen.

Laufen carefully inspects the coin she receive. “Would you sell us a few of your large amphoras?”

The merchant shakes his head. “I have no extra today. But I will arrange for one of my men to ship some. You can pay my men then. How many do you want to buy?”

Laufen looks at her coins again. “I think this can afford me… ten?”

The merchant laughs. “Yes. Ten is about right, once you include the cost of transport. I will get my men to deliver ten then. To this location?”

He looks around, and jots some notes onto a book. Its probably his order or transaction book.

The amphoras, pottery used to ship goods, usually liquids between large distances. There’s also wooden barrels, or metal containers, but these amphoras made of clay are cheap and quite durable, so are popularly used.

Laufen nods. The merchant pours the olive oil from the wooden bottle, into his glass one. He inspects the color, smell, and stirs it a little.

“Hmm. It’s average, but still rather fresh. I can sell them.” The merchants make some kind of signal.

Some of the men, the merchant’s assistants come and assist to pour the olive oil from the wooden bottles into the large empty amphoras that hang by the side of the horses.

“How often do you make olive oils?”

Laufen pause. “Maybe once every 3 months? Except winter.”

“Ah. You will have available supply in 3 months? I know some nobles will prefer fresher olives oils, rather than those imported from further out.”

Laufen and Belle huddle and discuss a bit, and then she nods. “Yes. I think we can have two or three amphoras by that time.”

“Great.”

The cloth however, had no buyers. Superior quality cloth is available around the area, so the one they made won’t sell for much. So it’s not worth the effort of buying and them attempting to resell these average quality cloth.

But, strangely enough, one of them asked about the wooden bottles themselves.

“These wooden bottles are beautiful. The surface is really smooth. Do you have a master woodsmith with you?”

Well, they are made with my woodforming magic, and not carved.

“That’s a secret.” Belle smiles.

“Alright we should get going.”

“One more… do you have any vinegar stock for sale?”

“Ah yes. One small bottle?”

And that is the last of it. The merchants continue on their journey, and the elves have some coin and a small bottle of vinegar stock. It seems that Laufen and the girls are planning to make fruit vinegar with the extra healing fruits I make.

“Ah. Next time I want to ask for flour!” Belle sighs. “Too bad we had to buy the amphoras first.”

“Bread?”

“Yeah. I want bread.”

Jura laughs, and eats some potato chips. The inner courtyard is full of potatoes. It’s the elven staple apparently, since they don’t the vast farmlands the humans maintain.

“I’m fine with potatoes. They taste pretty good when fried with olive oil.” Jura shrugs.

“Bread.” Belle rolls on her bed.

Emile laughs. “We can trade for that next time. If we can get better quality stuff.”

The elves kept all the money at first, I wanted some, so after some discussion the elves gave me a fifth of the coin, which I keep in my inventory.

“Did not realise Tree spirits wanted money.” The elves collectively asked, it seems it never occurred to them that a tree would ever want money, even though I, a tree, am conscious, sentient, and I supplied the raw materials.

“I may need to purchase certain items so I want to start saving some money for it. Especially for the advancement of my… powers.”

“Oh…”

Well, I will need money someday, so might as well start saving. I would like to be able to trade, somehow. There will be goods or materials I’ll need to buy, since I can’t possibly make everything myself.

“So yea, can I have a fifth of all the coins received?”

The elves huddle and discuss, to be honest I can hear everything they are saying, but they agree. It’s really mostly about what they want to buy, and why a tree needs money, though in the end, their gratitude to me wins out.

Year 73 Month 7 Week 1

The elves are hard at work, mostly doing the olive press. The cloth they made is used to make new mattresses and clothing, but since it doesn’t sell, the elves now focus their efforts on the olives instead. So, a bit of this week’s cotton is left unharvested.

A small merchant convoy also drop by to deliver the amphoras as agreed. It seems the merchants have a means of long range communication.

It’s on one hot day, a small group of fleeing men and women, riding horses, six of them. Heavily injured, they all have multiple arrows in their backs, and even the horses are injured.

And a group, about ten men in cloaks chase after them. They seem injured as well, but less than the earlier group.

“Head for the trees!” The group of six gallop with all their remaining might.

The cloaked men chase, a few trying to slow them down with more arrows.

At this point, I wanted to kill all of them, but the six looks so heavily injured they would probably die of bleeding soon. And I would like horses…

“Who goes there!” Jura, perched on a tree call out.

The six yell out some gibberish I do not understand. Jura, though, does. And he shouts.

“Tree Tree, target the cloaked men!”

And he throws wooden spears at the cloaked men.

[Root Strike] x 8

Eight roots strike at the riders, faster than they could ever react, killing them instantly.

The remaining 2 jerk, trying to pull back, but they are too close.

[constrict] Roots pop out and tangle the remaining 2, and deliver a strong dose of sleeping poison.

The six riders earlier did not look back, and they ride next to the outer ring. The heavily injured six walk in, and it seems they all suffer heavy wounds.

It is then, one of them reveals a young baby.

Jura pauses.

“Huh?”

“Hold him. Please.” His blood soaks the cloth wrapping the baby, and Jura reluctantly holds the baby. The six wounded men and women dismount.

“Is this Freeka?”

Jura pauses. “Uh… I suppose.”

“Huh.” The wounded start to treat each other, and they pull out the arrows from each others back, and start pouring healing potion over it. Of the six, two male humans, one female human, two male elves and one female elf.

It is the female elf who shouted the gibberish earlier, and she looks at Jura, her armor drenched in blood.

“I am Eriz, an aide and guardian of Yvon.”

“Who is that?” Jura scratches his head. “And why do you know our passphrase.”

Passphrase? Ah, it seems Jura and the men developed a passphrase to identify friendly people before this.

“Ah. Yvon, our mistress, she.. she says her brother is the village head here.” Her wounds are recovering, the potions are working.

“Brother? Ricola?”

“Ah… yes. I believe she mentioned his name is Ricola. Is he around?”

“He’s dead.” Jura’s still awkwardly holding the baby. He looks to be less than 6 months old. “And.. take this child back.”

“Ah.” Eriz pauses, and turns back to face the other riders. “Do you have clean clothes that we can change him? All of ours is bloody…”

Laufen, who’s eavesdropping from inside the hideout, walks out with some clean cloth from the extra clothes she made with cotton earlier, a bowl filled with paste and some clean water. She takes the baby from Jura and starts to clean the blood-covered baby up. He’s alive, but weak and exhausted.

“Does Ricola have a sister?”

“Yes. I met her when we were wedded, but have not seen her since.” Laufen nods, her hands cleaning the weak baby. “Is she well, in the human kingdoms?”

Eriz smiles. “The mistress is alive. But it is a challenging period now, with the King suspecting the elves for treason. And the other Princes finding every chance to remove us.”

“Who is this child…”

“Uh… It is the mistress’s baby.”

“What?”

Eriz nod. “It’s inevitable. With the tension in the capitol, the mistress requests that her brother assist to look after her child.”

One of the humans walk up next to Eriz. “Please, raise the child as your own. We will return to the capitol.”

Laufen shakes her head. “I cannot. We cannot.”

Eriz pause, and the other human female come up. “Perhaps the 2 of us stay back with the child? The guys can head back...”

She looks around.

“Will you guys accept us? As a refuge?”

The other men nod. “That is a good idea. The child is most attached to you, Eriz. This place feels safe, and magical.”

Eriz looks around, at the trees and then at me. She stares for a while.

“...The mistress has many good people around her. She would want some of them to ensure her child’s safety.” One of the men say. “I will stay too, if you want.”

“Can we stay, with the baby?”

Laufen pauses, and they both go back into the hideout to discuss with the rest. They agreed, eventually. Laufen felt particularly conflicted, because if this baby is indeed her nephew, then she felt bad to turn him away.

“Yes.”

Eriz, the human woman, Safran, and a human man, Pock, stay back.

As for the two unconscious human attackers, they are kept in the jail, where the adventurers once were.

[Level up! Level 115]

[Skill upgraded - Subsidiary Tree amount increased to 40.]

[Skill upgraded - secret hideout has unlocked - Tree-asury]

Ah. Treasury. And more trees! So convenient, this levelling system.

Year 73 Month 7 Week 2

The 2 humans, under the influence of strong hallucinogens, quickly reveal that they serve one of the Prince of the Salah Kingdom, Prince Wargo, the first prince, and the King is aging, dying. So, all the Princes are positioning themselves to seize the throne.

Eriz and the mistress Yvon serve another Prince, Prince Galan, the third prince. It seems Prince Wargo is a humanist, meaning he is against non-human citizens of the kingdom, and he is recently a target of a botched assassination attempt by elves.

Prince Galan, who is surrounded by elvish and other non-human minders, are under tremendous scrutiny from the rest of the Prince, eager to eliminate the competition.

Yvon, is apparently a highly skilled administrator, in the inner circle of Prince Galan, and so having a baby is huge vulnerability. The men wanted to capture the baby and force Yvon to defect to Prince Wargo’s side. There’s also suspicions whether the baby is one of Prince Galan’s many illegitimate children.

And after extracting everything from the 2 men, I use [absorption] on them and drain their life away. It’s a slow, painless death, with the effect of strong sedatives. And one which leaves no remains, as their body turns into nutrients.

The elves are not comfortable letting the new people so near, so for the first day, the humans lived in tents, while Roma and Eriz stay with Emile and Belle.

The next day, I decide to spawn two of my new trees outside the 2nd circle, and so there is two new rooms for the new people. This surprised the new people greatly, especially Eriz. But the distance is necessary, because the elves are not comfortable with new people, yet.

“This… A spirit tree?”

“Yes.” Jura nods.

They also react strongly to the beetles. All of them jump and almost wet their pants went a group of beetles crawl down some of the trees while they are walking.

The beetles have been busy. Non-demon monsters multiplied and so I frequently send a group of them to kill these monsters.

Year 73 Month 8 Week 1

The newbies are here for a month, and out of boredom, they are now helping with the olive press. The merchants are supposed to be here the next month, so the olives are now stored in the amphoras.

The beetles have been very busy too. Every day some monster would appear and they would be sent on missions to kill them, and bring back their bodies.

So many monsters, that my beetle skill upgraded. Still, the beetles are equivalent to about six or seven hellhounds at their upgraded strength.

[Armored beetles upgraded to warbeetles]

Anyway, the elves are right to suspect these new people. Eriz has been communicating with somebody magically, and perhaps she forgot that tree spirits have vision of everything in the trees. Perhaps her mistress, but otherwise its coded and in an unknown language.

As for the remaining 8 subsidiary trees, I place them like pylons, in a circular fashion. Each of them as far away as possible, in one of the either directions.

With this, I can extend my vision to cover the entire valley.

And strangely, this led to another upgrade.

[Subsidiary tree upgraded. You can place a total of 60 trees.]

The increase in [subsidiary tree] means an equivalent increase in [tuberous storage] amount, so at 60 trees, plus ten with my main tree, I have a total of 140PU. Still very far away from that 1,000 PU.

There must be a way to do this.

Year 73 Month 8 Week 3

“No good. We must go back. We must help.” Eriz shouts, startling everyone.

“What happened?”

“The King, and the Prince, they start ordering mass execution of the non-humans.”

“What?!” Safran and Pock both seem surprised.

“How… how do you know?” Jura asks, his hand on a knife.

Eriz pauses. She rubs her head and then sighs. “I.. I have been magically communicating with Mistress Yvon. And now that the news is out there is a massive uprising in the kingdom by the non-humans.”

Pock shakes his head. “The King is mad.”

“Prince Galan and Mistress Yvon has not seen the King for weeks.” Eriz shakes her head. “It may be the Prince using his name…”

“What is the mistress planning.”

“Escape. The army is too strong and organised, and fighting back is meaningless. She had been making arrangements for the rest of the civilian non-humans to flee to the sympathising cities, or to the other kingdoms, but it seems the other kingdoms have closed their borders.”

Safran nods. “We can go and help with the refugee traffic.”

Eriz, Safran and Pock turn to face Laufen. “Please, take care of Roma. For us. We must go. We will return.”

“No. One of you stay.” Laufen insists, Roma still asleep on the bed.

“People are getting slaughtered. They need help.”

“And a baby child needs her guardian.”

Safran and Pock nod. “She has a point, and both of us will be able to disappear easier as humans. Eriz, please stay. We will come back.”

Eriz sighs. “Very well.”

And, a few skills of mine upgraded after using it all this while.

[Secret hideout : Biolab upgraded. Pods increased to 5.]

[Essence collection upgraded. Extraction rate and speed improved.]

[Mineral extraction upgraded.]

[Mineral augmentation obtained. You may use the metals obtained to strengthen your [subsidiary trees], and [insect warriors]]

Ah, I do have a large stockpile of essences and irons from the automated harvesting.

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