Though our journey wasn't that long I liked to think Rolan and I became friends. That was something I'd had few of in either life, but he was inquisitive, decent, and generally interested in what others thought, and that went a long way. For my part I answered his questions about my thoughts where I could, but there were some things I still wasn't willing to share with anyone.

“Tomorrow we'll be in sight of The Great Tree,” he informed us as we ate dinner, a mix of food Isha had summoned and some greens he'd shown us.

“Glad to hear it, I'm looking forward to seeing what you guys have for a city and spending tomorrow night there will be something to look forward to,” Chien said through a mouthful of food.

“Agreed, and we're almost out of supplies,” Isha pointed out. She'd taken to managing that aspect of our journey, similar to how she'd helped with running my home back before we'd left Atal.

“Um, no,” Rolan said with a shake of his head.

“No?” I asked.

“No, we'll not be resting in the settlement tomorrow. I'd explain, but it'll be easier to just show you in the morning.”

The rest of us just shrugged. He'd been an excellent guide through the forest so far and we had no reason to worry about waiting until dawn to see. Perhaps the settlement was visible from far off, the center standing out from the surroundings, or maybe we'd be on a hill or something. I really didn't know what the underlying ground was doing, having spent so long in the treetops.

Well before dawn we rose, Rolan thinking we should get into position, so we did walking in the cool morning darkness. I summoned a number of magical lights to guide us, simple glowing orbs to show the way as Rolan moved us into position. Before too long we found the place he wanted and our direction changed.

As the patches of sky visible through the thick canopy began to lighten we climbed. It was clear that we weren't the first, stairs and simple rails growing from the tree we were ascending. Step by step we reached upwards, like the branches all around us, aiming for the sky. Even in the excellent shape we were all currently in we were also quite tired by the time we made it, bursting forth from the shade of the leaves and onto a bough that grew above the surrounding limbs.

“So, what are we looking at?” Chien asked looking around.

“The largest tree in the forest,” Rolan said pointing towards what appeared to be a mountain.

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“Is it on that mountain?” my young apprentice asked, making me shake my head, though even I didn't want to believe it.

“No, it is that mountain,” I said, trying to fathom what I was seeing.

You'd be forgiven for missing it at first, but that particular plant was... impossible in size. I couldn't make out the branches, or what was on them, but the thing had to be a mile high. There were low-lying clouds around it, and it seemed to just blend, like it was meant to be there. Smaller trees grew all about, giants surely, but nothing compared to the mammoth there. Heck it wouldn't surprise me if there were a good few growing under it as well.

I'd have to check, but as Rolan had pointed out, not today. It was far, and our movement through the forest wasn't exactly fast most of the time. Trudging through bridges and over old limbs wasn't quick, and it wasn't like there was a river for boats or anything. Then again, with flora and fauna this large I'd hate to see what kind of monsters would live in any body of water.

“Magnificent,” Isha said, earning her a small smile from Rolan.

“It is isn't it. I never get tired of seeing it in it's full glory.”

“Have you been here many times?” I asked.

“Oh, a good few over my years.” I'd known he was older than me, but not how much. Less than a hundred years presumably, since he had none of the white hairs we gained at such an age.

As we got closer and closer it was clear that the paths were more maintained, the trees more curated. That wasn't to say there were tons of people about, as it was another day-and-a-half before we met another elf on one of the paths between the trees.

“Hail strangers,” he said as he approached, packs bulging all over his body. He was clearly a trader of some kind, out and off to wherever he was going.

“Greetings,” I nodded. “Hard journey?”

“Oh, no better or worse than any other, and just starting out at any rate.” He began setting down his burdens and stretching a bit, looking us over. “Please call me Layen. So, anything in particular you're looking for?”

“We were going to wait until we got to the center...” Chien demurred, looking towards us.

Layen looked almost shocked, eyes going between each of us. “You're from far away, I can tell by your clothes, but surely you won't leave me without some exchange?”

Rolan coughed. “It's considered bad luck for a trader to not have some business with those he meets if he's more than a day from any settlement. Indicates that the other side doesn't trust him, or means him harm. Even an exchange of stories is enough, if you have nothing else.”

“Yes, yes,” the man nodded. “Even if it's not much.” He gave an odd look to Rolan, but then returned his gazes to the rest of us.

“I've got a few beads I could part with if you've something to make our dinner more interesting,” Isha offered.

Back in Atal beads were the medium of exchange, with rarer types and materials acting as larger denominations of the local currency. What Isha offered were some of the cheapest from the city though, small shells similar to cowrie, not even colorful ones. It seemed she didn't expect much from this exchange.

“Oh, those are interesting. Use them in your hair and stuff? Novel, not sure how people will take to it, but I'm sure we can come up with something for it.”

“Is wearing such things not common around here?” Almost everyone back home had some worked into their outfits somewhere, often better off women flaunted them like wealth, which they were of a sort.

“Not really no,” Layen answered.

“Then what do people decorate themselves with?” Isha asked, tilting her head. Seems she'd never really considered other options.

“Oh, feathers, bits of shell worked into clothing if you can get it, and you can tell someone's really well off if their clothes are grown, you know, all the leaves perfectly shaped. Takes skill to do that right, but almost nobody wastes their time.”

I was finding this all very interesting. Each culture had its small differences even if we were close enough to all speak the same language. Chien had other thoughts though and elbowed me before leaning in to speak close.

“Boss, should we worry about funds? I didn't bring much other than beads to trade with.”

I just smiled. “No, I've got some ideas,” I answered as Isha pulled a few small herbs from the man, looking rather pleased with what she'd managed to get.