The silver amulet bounced against Kel’s chest with every step as he made his way down the road into town. The small leather bag Petyr had given him jingled heavily in his pocket, so much so that he stopped for a moment to throw it in the satchel before resuming his course. Naturally, there were more than five trees in this area; the road he walked was lined so thickly with pine trees that the green bows and high trunks formed a virtual wall. The city wasn’t named after the pine barrens themselves, but after the five enormous trees that marked the edges of the town. They weren’t just the perimeter, they were the basis of the city - the pillars upon which Five Pines was built. He did not understand how literal this was until he crossed the threshold and into town.

The road widened into a large courtyard. Beyond, the rest of the city loomed. It was massive - buildings and winding roads spread under and shaded by the five giant pines that rose taller than mountains above it all. Shops and houses were carved into the large boulders lying among the massive tree roots that sprawled from the giant trunks. Above, in the branches, the windows of buildings built on platforms anchored to the bark glinted in the sun. It looked as if glass, stone, and wood had grown and twisted together into a beautiful living city.

Some said that the trees were a protective barrier, which explained why a town so old had never experienced the ravages of war and time. Others just thought it was enough of a landmark that no one would think to harm a place that beautiful. However it was possible, the town had lasted for nearly two hundred years and was the oldest town in the vicinity.

Kel had no idea where to go. Coming from a place like Fellow’s Glen, his mind could barely comprehend what it was seeing. The people here were certainly different too. There were farmers and merchants milling about, sure, but there were actual shops and restaurants too. No one here had the dust or grime that the farmers in Fellow’s Glen consistently carried on their clothes. And there were people who didn’t seem to do any of those things: men in suits, women in fine dresses, travelers on their way to Ferryton. In the distance, people were queuing up before giant lifts, pulleyed platforms that rose high into the sky. Teams of men and oxen heaved in unison to drive them upward. Children were running around playing.

And then he saw something he had never seen before, something that for a moment surprised him. A figure, balancing a pair of buckets from a well, steadily strode by on legs that bent forward instead of back. The ears were pointed and covered in fir. It was a fox, walking on two legs. An actual, honest-to-Gibb animal person. Kel couldn’t help but stare as the fox made its way down the road. He was so enthralled in fact, that he wasn’t really looking where he was going and accidentally bumped into a burly man in a suit. The stranger glowered at him, annoyed.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Kel exclaimed. Then, because he had no idea who else to ask: “Not to bother but do you know where I can go to find work?”

The man grunted and shrugged. He pointed to a sign with bright red lettering across the square, hanging from where the roots of the closest of the great trees curled over and into the ground.

It read: Rootwater Inn.

“Thanks!” Kel gave a quick bow. The man grunted again and stalked away. At least he was helpful, Kel thought.

The inside was dingy and dark, but comforting in a way. From the stairwell, Kel could see down into the tavern that occupied the floor below. Nearly opaque windows along the upper wall allowed a soft glow of light from the shady square into the room. Firelight lit the dark wooden interior, beams hung low across the ceiling. One beam in particular was crooked and asymmetrical and in the dim light it took a moment for him to realize that it was the giant root of the tree above that cut right through the tavern. Or perhaps the tavern had just been built around it. It had the smell of a root cellar, which made sense to Kel since the building seemed to be mostly underground.

He made his way down a set of creaking stairs and over to the bar. There weren’t many customers at the moment: only an old man asleep at the corner of the long, rough-hewn counter,

“Help you?” An attractive, thirty-something woman asked from behind the counter. She wore a red scarf around her head, like a wide headband, and a green apron. She didn’t exactly smile, but she didn’t seem sullen either. Kel was surprised someone that age could still have freckles.

“I’m looking for your resident wise man. Or woman. I’m, uh...looking for a job.”

She sighed. “You’ll have to be more specific - We have five.”

“Five of them!?” That was great news. Surely one of them would need help. “Do you know where I can find them?”

“I help paying customers.”She gave him a terse nod, gesturing to the bar.

“Er...sure.” He took out one of the gold coins with the zephyr relief stamped into it.

“Can I get dinner with this?”

Her eyes widened. “Honey, you can get a….er yes. Dinner. That should just about do it.”

He sat at the bar and handed her the coin, which she eyed greedily before putting it away. “Just a moment,” she said as she retreated back out of sight and into the kitchen.

While he waited, Kel busied himself by looking around. Aside from the old man, the only other person there was a diminutive figure in the corner, wrapped up in a cloak and sleeping. What was with all the sleeping in the middle of the day?

Within a minute, the barmaid was back with his dinner. She set out a large bowl of stew, a plate with sliced apples and cheese, and a mug of cider. It tasted similar to what he had had before. Kel wondered if Petyr had provisioned his food from Five Points as the caravan had approached. A marquess had the resources to do that, he supposed.

“So do you know where I can find them? The wise...people.”

The woman picked at her teeth. “We just call them the Elders. They’re scattered throughout the city.” Through the cloudy windows, the fading light glowed a little dimmer. The day was moving along. She blinked, as if they were too bright. “I think you could visit a couple of them before dark, but not all.”

‘Where can I find them?”

“Well, most people live up in the Branches. The Elders all live on the top level of the Branches. That’s where you’ll find them, if you just ask around.”

“Who should I ask for?”

She counted on her fingers. “There’s Beverly, Stavish, Daal. Hrm...I’ve never met Martin. And then Gale.”

“Gale...as in wind?”

“Sure.” She didn’t seem very interested in the comparison.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

“My master used to say that all names have meaning.”

She gave him an annoyed look. “Well, not much meaning in mine. I’m Valir.”

“That means star.”

“Well, first I’ve heard of it. Mr…?”

“Kel.”

“Well, Kel, you’d better get going if you’re going to find the folks you’re looking for.”

“Right.” He stood up to leave. “How do I get up there? To the Branches?”

“There’s a couple of lifts on either side of each tree. In fact…” She searched about and returned with a random wanted poster, which she flipped over and began to scratch with something that wrote like a quill but had no ink well to be seen. She drew five large circles, one for each great tree, and labeled them. “We are here,” she said, drawing an X in the south-eastern corner beside one of the circles. “You’ll find Martin here” she marked the northernmost tree, “and you’ll find Stavish here” she marked the eastern tree, which was closest to them. “I honestly don’t know where the others are, but they each occupy a tree so if you go down the list, you should find them.”

Kel spent the evening looking for the two Elders Valir had pointed out to him. He made his way to the first tree, Nevaresk, which was closest to the Rootwater Inn. At the lift, he offered a coin to the lift attendant while people crowded in all around them. The short man smiled politely and shook his head. “It’s free,” he said as he shut the low gate behind Kel. They rose into the sky, much higher than he expected. Even the first level was about twenty feet off the ground. As they went further up the tree, Kel was less inclined to look down. He wasn’t afraid of normal heights, but this was insane.

Stepping out onto the highest level, he expected to feel some vertigo but was pleasantly surprised - the platforms that ran around the tree, supporting all of the homes and buildings, were thankfully wide enough that he could only see over the edge if he walked right up to it. There was a finely carved railing, likely to prevent any accidents, and the people here walked around as if they weren’t hundreds of feet in the air. Families were hanging up lanterns and banners for the festival, neighbors gossiped, business owners barked about their wares.

He took it all in as he made his way, clockwise, around the giant tree Nevaresk. When he reached the south eastern side, which took some time, he paused. In the distance, he could barely make out Fellow’s Glen and the surrounding forests, tiny against the horizon. To the south, about sixty degrees, the waterwheel of Ferryton Mill rested, looking like a child’s toy. From this distance, it appeared stationary despite his knowing that it never stopped turning . Tiny dots of temples and towns stood scattered among the patches of farmland that made the whole of Sepheria look like a patchwork quilt. It was breathtaking.

With very little trouble, Kel was able to find the Elder who inhabited this tree. Martin was truly an elder in every sense of the word. He was perhaps 95 and barely spoke, resting in his favorite chair as he watched the goings on outside his window. . His apprentice was basically just a caretaker and Kel was pretty sure any of the traditions Martin had once maintained were now long forgotten. The more he talked with them, he realized that he would probably not be much help to the aged man - it was clear that his questions were annoying and his presence unwanted. After a few minutes of awkward conversation, Kel had sheepishly moved on.

The second Elder, Stavish, was younger and much more of a functional wise-man living on the North-Eastern tree. Unfortunately, he was so busy that he had Kel walk with him as he went about his business. Medical visits, security casting, blessings. At one point, he had to look away awkwardly as the man settled down to deliver a baby. The problem with Stavish, he soon realized, was that he didn’t know how to accept help and he certainly wouldn’t have time for training Kel.

Neither of them, when asked about Maximilian magnus,were aware of where he lived. Martin claimed to be related to him, but didn’t go into any details and instead began rambling about fisheries. Stavish hadn’t even heard of him.

There was still some time left in the day, so Kel decided he might as well search for the third Elder. After some asking around, he found her: Beverly. Her room was bright, facing inward at the courtyard from the western tree. Indeed, the entire wall facing outward was made of glass so clear that he could make out lifts as they climbed up and down the trees across the city.

“Would you like some tea?” the silver-haired woman offered. She wasn't old, necessarily, but she wasn't young either.

Kel had not had anything to drink since he left the tavern and accepted graciously.

“First time in Five Pines?”

“How could you tell?”

“Just a guess - you seem to be taking in everything. I imagine it’s a sight to see, especially if you’re young.”

“I’d heard about this place and about the festival, but I never knew it was this beautiful.”

“Ah yes,” she said as she poured them each a cup of tea. “The festival. Travelers often assume that it’s a festival for the dead. But it isn’t. The spirits that visit us aren’t the spirits of the dead. Those folks are gone, their greater selves reborn and all that held the individual spirit to the earth, gone. What we host are elementals, greater spirits of the planes, goblins and demons.

“Are you serious?”

“Of course I am. We light the lanterns to distract some and to please others. Each element appreciates a different color and presentation, so every house chooses an element it wants to attract or, if they are content, they use all colors to maintain balance.” She motioned around to the houses on their platform and those barely visible at the next branch. Vibrant streamers and lanterns of all colors blew in a gentle breeze around them.

“Why do you think they visit here?” Having summoned something resembling a goblin, Kel was inclined to believe that the visitation she was talking about was literal, even if it wasn’t.

“The trees are a great conduit; they join the sky to the earth. Once, when the god of the sky and thunder, Isaac, threatened to pull away and leave the earth to the void, Gibb raised his many-pointed spear to bring the two together once more. These trees are his spear, his grasping fingers that secure earth and sky.” William had never told him that one.

“You’re a disciple of G’uin, aren’t you?”

“How do you know that?” she tilted her head.

“Stories. Followers of G’uin tell stories while the other god’s followers pass knowledge through rites and secret ways.”

“Very astute. We tell the stories, they keep the secrets.” She said no more, watching him intently.

“So do you need an apprentice? I can be helpful and one of my best friends back home is a disciple of G’uin.”

Unfortunately, I do not, young man. I’m still able-bodied enough and my grand-daughter is training with me. But are you sure you need to work for an Elder? Have you not done so for a long while? Is it not time to gain more...breadth of experience?”

He shrugged. He hadn’t really thought about it before. “It’s all I know.”

She grinned, a few gold teeth glinting in the setting sunlight. “Then you should strive to know more.”

Kel sighed as he crossed the giant bridge that joined the western-most tree and the one he had started on. The sun was setting over the mountains in the distance, chased by a glistening river that may have been the same as the one that ran by his village. He would have to visit the next two elders tomorrow.

The tavern was raucous and loud when he returned. A minstrel wandered the hall, strumming and singing songs. As tired as he was, the carnival atmosphere made Kel feel quite comfortable, if not at home. He walked over to the bar, avoiding a pair of men with arms entwined singing along drunkenly to the music.Valir was still behind the bar and, despite the long day she must have had, she greeted him warmly. “The traveler returns. Any luck?”

Kel sighed and passed her another coin. “Not exactly. Can I get dinner and stay another night? “Honey, with what you’ve given me already, your rent paid up for a week. That includes meals. Now put that away,” she gestured to the coinpurse.

“Are you sure I don’t need to pay you any more?”

“No kid. In fact, don’t let anyone see that bag or what’s inside. That is way too much for someone your age to hold."

“Oh.” Kel, who had only really bartered for the things he needed, had no real concept of money. Sure, he had been taught that he would need it if he left Fellow’s Glen, but he had never had to actually use it. Now that he thought about it, however, the gift from the marquess had been overly generous. Suddenly, Kel felt rejuvenated; his situation was much better than it probably ever had been. To think, a few days ago, he had been facing the end of his life as he knew it and now he was staying in a tree city, with a fat bag of gold!

That night, lying in bed studying Kyleria’s book, he wondered what she and the others at home were thinking. They had loved him, he was sure of that now. But had he really shown them true appreciation for their kindness? He listened to the singing that emanated from the great room. It was pleasant. For some reason, rather than distract him it helped him concentrate. He wished his friends back home could hear it. Finally, just as the twilight of dawn began to glow, he slept.