With the second purple sun having set as Starling moved deeper into the woods most of the forest was dark save a low luminescent half-light. This clearing, however, glowed with a soft welcoming radiance it was a warming and comfortable light, and it surprised Starling that it hadn’t really been visible until they breached the curtain of vines that now surrounded the open space.Those vines wreathed the trees surrounding the small open space and they were the ones radiating the soft gentle light, only inwards it seemed, and barely any escaped out into the forest surrounding the clearing.
Starling stood stunned, utterly shocked by the transformation of the tree they had touched that morning.
What the hell has happened here, if I didn’t have the skills to prove it to me I wouldn’t think this was the same place…
Touching the tree after waking had been a wild experience, swiftly forgotten with everything else that had happened that day. The tree, it seemed, had not forgotten and the dramatic alteration to it’s appearance was something Starling’s mind was tripping over in an attempt to comprehend.
How did this happen? Who did this? Is the forest alive? Are the trees able to read my thoughts? What the hell is going on here? This isn’t natural this is insane!
The gnarled roots at its base had untangled themselves, stretching up and out from the base of the tree, lifting the trunk up from the ground. They now formed a sort of hollow under the tree, with the roots forming a loose open wall all the way around apart from on one side where an opening led inside. The roots were now draped in foliage, with ferns and vines that illuminated the inside of the space through the gaps in the roots. From where Starling was standing the inside looked dry and inviting, with dry leaves making a floor to keep away the dirt.
The leathery trunk of the tree had changed as well. A groove now ran down the outside of it, a deep channel that spiraled around the outside of the tree. Starling spotted the glisten of water running down it and hear the soft burbling of fresh water flowing down a slope. Looking up, they saw how the branches and leaves had changed to channel rain water down into the groove that circled the trunk until it vanished into the under area of the tree. It was exactly like the image that had flashed in their mind that morning. The tree had become what Starling had seen, and it was now a safe, warm place to rest, with fresh water on demand.
I.. I don’t understand what has happened here… Is this the foundation power? Can it do all of this? Unattended?
[Warning: Foundation Aspect Manifestation]
[Anomalous Interaction Detected]
[Structure Exhibiting Unexpected Development]
[Intense Psychological Discomfort May Trigger Unexpected Manifestations]
This clearing felt safe and looked beautiful, but it was extremely unnerving. They took in more details, like how the ferns had all changed their orientation to make a pleasing spiral. They leaned inward towards the tree, the effect was eerie if you looked for too long and it made Starlings back itch if they concentrated on the layers of the spiraling ferns for too long.
Shaking their head to clear the feeling, Starling strode boldly over to the entrance to the shelter and ducked inside, curious at what they would find. The hollow under the tree smelt of wood shavings and sap, it was a clean and safe smell, reminding them of campsites, workshops and the beginnings of adventures, the good times before things go wrong.
In the hollow was a bowl built from tightly packed roots, the water from the spiral outside drained into it, with the overflow running down the back of it through a channel and out of the shelter - keeping the floor dry. There were a couple of raised wooden flat areas, somewhere to sleep off the floor, and at the far end a sort of desk with…
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Things other people have left.
Starling froze, their feeling of discomfort growing exponentially, stealing all the warmth from their flesh. It was clear that other people had been here during the day, that they had found this place and come inside here, put things… it made Starlings skin crawl and without realising what they were doing they started to channel [Environmental Awareness] to make sure they were alone. They crouched in silence for several tense minutes, making sure nothing else was alive nearby. Once Starling was absolutely certain nobody was around they crept carefully further into the shelter, curious as to what was lying on the bench,
Someone had left a small pile of jerky on the wood surface, and there were notes scratched above it into the trunk (now highlighted by red sap).
“Take what you need, I can bring back more tomorrow - Jeff"
"Jason, we headed West, use the double peaked mountain to mark North!"
“Woke up here with this weird tree, whats going on?”
“If you wake up here, take shelter in this tree and I will send one of my group around every morning to pick you up - Jeff again”
Starling felt their breath catch in their throat. This was too much. There must be people everywhere! They couldn’t let them get too close, that would cause problems, people might get hurt.
They had to get out of here.
Starling started to back away, no longer really noticing the other small things left by other people. Grabbing a couple of pieces of jerky when their hunger momentarily overcame their caution they turned and ran, bursting from the hollow and straight out into the darkness of the forest.
Starling ran blindly through the undergrowth skills forgotten, tree trunks looming out of the dim luminescence forcing them to dodge and duck at the last moment again and again. In their head they ran their checklist over and over.
High Ground, Water, Shelter, Food
I need to find shelter.
It took them several minutes, but repeating the checklist, going over what they had done that day, and focussing on the next thing they needed to do gradually let them slow down and stop blindly charging into danger. Starling put out their hand and leant against a tree, no longer quite as perturbed by the texture of the bark or the warmth to the touch. They panted for breath, scanning around for anything dangerous but it was quiet.
They tried to ignore the fact that they hadn’t used any of their skills during that charge, that they could have run into something dangerous at any moment and not been in any position to defend themselves.
Stupid! Stupid! You could have fallen, you could have run into a branch or a predator, you don’t know where you are. You are the worst survivalist ever. Who runs from a safe place to sleep into the unknown? Who runs from an offer of help?!
Finally they stopped berating themselves and looked at where they had ended up.
As they had been running, the ground had been steadily leading them up the hill and the forest had opened up as they rose above the general tree line. Before them was an open hillside that pinged a couple of their survival instincts, stopping them in their tracks. A natural rise provided good drainage and clear sightlines down the slope. Three of the leathery trees native to the forest grew together to the back of the rise, their trunks and thick canopies making for an effective natural windbreak. But what really caught Starling’s attention was the strange regularity peeking through the ferns.
After being in a natural environment for so long even the hint of a right angle and a straight line really stood out. Moving closer, carefully, Starling knelt to brush away what ferns covering whatever was hidden. Doing so revealed ancient stonework, picked out in geometric patterns. Starling’s hand tingled faintly as it made contact with the stone. Something about this place felt incredibly right, even though they couldn’t put why into words.
Was it possible my skills had somehow led me here during their dash from the other clearing without needing to use them?
The practical part of their mind cataloged all the survival advantages of this place, now registering a small spring that burbled up around the edge of the stonework, a small depression capturing it before it trickled out to the hillside.
There was a small pile of branches near the stone, almost as if they had been gathered and deposited here. Starling looked around and picked one up. This time, they would build properly. See what this power could do with careful purpose and control. No more accidents. This was going to be a safe place for them to return to. Somewhere they could control.