We started the day by tearing down the old barricade and digging a trench the new one would go in. Around midday the trench was finished and we went in search of saplings, being careful to extract them in good condition. Slowly but surely we planted them in the trench around the cave entrance until we had a solid line of saplings almost touching each other the whole way.
“How tiny trees keep thing out?” asked ultai
“By not staying tiny” was my response.
Growing things with aether was one of the first things any student learned and while all channeling of the aether had side effects growing plants was semi-predictable, normally just producing plants that were more aggressive in feeding themselves. Kneeling down and burying my hands into the freshly upturned soil a grasped the roots of a sapling and poured my will into the aether.
The saplings took on a life of their own swaying, growing and intertwining as they reached ever higher towards the sky. All at once the newly grown trees locked together tightly and then curled back, covering the entrance to the cave in a solid dome with only a single opening between the branches. Almost all the light had been blocked out as I pulled my hands free of the soil and turned to face the trio, looking forward to their already awed expressions growing grander as the side effects kicked in.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
The bark on the tree dome started to split and crack, and from the opening hundreds of flowers started to bloom. As the flowers fully opened up they started to glow a pale blue highlighting the trio’s smiling wonder as they stared upwards.
“You should take a look at the outside of it”
Before I'd fully finished the goblins had already bolted through the opening, reveling in getting to show off I followed behind grinning like a fool. Outside the dome we all looked on as a shaggy moss was rapidly growing across the dome and onto the hillside, feeding the trees with more sunlight than they could ever truly need.
We were still standing outside the dome when the other goblins began returning with rabbits. All of them would take a moment on getting back to stare before heading in towards the cave, and everytime they entered the dome I'd here whooping and giggling.
The trio and me Stayed there enjoying the majesty of it all until the sun had started to set and we could make out the flower glow from outside. As we turned to Head in for the night and start dealing with the rabbit situation, I felt sudden pressure on my leg. Looking down I found Ultai thoroughly latched onto me. Leaning down I placed a hand on her back and waited, after a short time she let go and scurried towards the other two before resuming our descent.
“Spicy chief” I heard Ultai say as we once more entered the darkness.