The forest Trial was actually quite beautiful as we climbed higher. As we climbed, more flowers started appearing, and the air got lighter and brighter. I would never call it peaceful, but it had a beauty.

The tree we were climbing had red flowers. They didn’t seem to have petals like a normal flower, but a whole lot of red stems formed the flower. It was beautiful. When we stopped for a break, I looked closely and picked a flower. This was one of the smaller ones that fit in the palm of my hand.

The flowers themselves didn’t seem to be poisonous. The smell was a delicate floral with a woody scent to it. I plucked a couple of the red stems and crushed them in my hand and the scent was marginally stronger, but there didn’t seem to be any other effect.

Typically, flowers are pollinated to produce fruit or nuts and, therefore, seeds for the plant. This particular tree didn’t seem to have any fruit or nuts, and I think the seeds were small, light things held in small pods that would disburse in the wind. I might have Herbalist 1, but this was way outside of any herb knowledge.

I stored what I thought were the seeds and was rewarded with them being planted in my Mana Garden. I guess that is one way to identify the seeds. I would be interested in what we could do with a fruit or nut, but we would have to find a different tree for that, and the nearby ones are clusters of this type. If I get a chance, we will move to the top layers and sample other tree types.

I also need someone with better gardening and plant skills. Plant skills, huh?

“Hey Suda, what do you know about this tree and flower?” I held up the flower I plucked.

“Not a lot. There are variations that normally grow near the coast outside this trial, but there are none near this area. Obviously, they don’t grow anywhere near this size, either. The Trial has changed them.”

I would have to wait to get more information. Merryport was near the coast. They might have similar trees. “Are there other trees here you recognise?”

“There are some, yes. I am sure I saw an oak variant and some Pine types. They had the needle leaves. A lot of these trees should not be growing in the same environments, and they have been massively changed by the Trial and not just in size. I am not sure how much of the outside knowledge applies to these trees.”

“If we were to harvest some wood, what would be the most useful?” Take everything you can!

“Hardwoods are good for bows and spears. Softer, springier wood is often good for shields. I saw some Poplar variants that would work.”

“What do you think of this tree's wood?” I asked.

Suda put a hand against the rough bark and concentrated, I assume, using her Plant Manipulation. “This is a hardwood, probably a bit brittle for things like a bow, but probably a good building wood.”

I looked at the branch and got out an axe. It was the diameter where Suda and I could probably touch hands if we stretched our arms around it. “What do you think? Should we take some with us?”

“I think,” said Suda, looking up into where the branch went, “that if you cut this, it would upset a lot of monsters, and we would be under attack.”

“Good point,” I conceded, “Shall we find one that might cause less disturbance?”

It turns out Suda didn’t need an axe to cut tree limbs. She found good ones with few knots and twists, and she fell them easily and debarked them. I stored a number of clean logs before I got the notification:

Storage upgraded:

Timber Racks have been added to the Warehouse.

Suda cut and stripped logs, and I picked flowers and seeds. We then crossed to another type of tree. This had some sort of acorn seed, and my garden planted it. There is no way the garden is big enough for even a normal-sized tree, let alone these monstrosities. However, I think selling seedlings with a sample of wood will bring in a good amount of coin.

I am not going to grow a forest, but Suda is interested. She just doesn’t have anywhere to grow it. Apparently, the Lieutenant has family in Al’drossford and knows the Duke, so she is planning to try to make a deal with them. As long as I get a cut, I am happy.

“Do you want me to purchase the seedlings, or would you like a share in the business?” Suda asked.

That was a decision. A share in the business was great for long-term profit, but it was a huge risk as the seedlings might not grow outside the trial. “A share certainly. 50/50?”

“Ha! Dream on. I will be doing all the work. In fact, without my Plant Manipulation, there is almost no chance of these growing. 5% max.”

“40%”

“Seriously? The Duke and Alistern will certainly be taking a cut. 10%”

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

I sighed, “I suppose I can come down to 25%.”

“You are joking. You want a quarter of the profits when you have a one-off job to get the plants to Aldrossford alive, and that is it. Your job is finished, whereas mine is barely starting. This is years of work for me. Decades. 12% absolute tops or forget it.”

That is how I got 15% of her profits for decades to come and no work. Well, I promised to deliver more seeds when I came across them. It sounded like a good deal to me.

Shit. I am now invested in the war. If I can’t keep Al’drossford standing, then my 15% is worthless. I wonder if I can convince her to plant her forest elsewhere?”

The trouble with being in the upper canopy was that the branches were thinner, and the foliage was thicker. Our sight lines and manoeuvring space were both reduced.

The monsters were smaller but generally faster. A lot more of them had wings. The flock of fire sparrows was annoying. Tree Squirrels could throw things very hard. The flying foxes didn’t actually have wings but thin skin under their arms so they could glide. They had a nasty bite.

The magpies were the worst. They were nasty creatures with death magic. Austin spent a lot of time cleansing people.

Ryan lost an eye to the magpies. Austin saved his life, but he will have to wait for a full healing team to get it replaced.

Dusk was settling as Suda and I put our eyes on where the tablet piece will be. It was in a nest of thousands of large birds with black and white feathers and large, bright orange, oversized beaks.

“Hornbills,” Suda identified, “or a trial variation of them.”

There were hundreds of them, and the tablet piece was somewhere in the middle.

“A lot of air affinity,” I said after using my Assessing Eyes. “Tāwai?” I ask.

Tāwai’s Hunters Eye was worth consulting. “Weak body. Weak Body. Strong beak, strong claws.”

“Physically weak, huh? That air manipulation will hamper any ranged attacks.” We backed away to consult with Juth and the others.

“Night is coming, and they don’t look like nocturnal creatures. Could a few of us sneak in tonight?” I asked.

“Air manipulation,” Myantha said, “They will sense the air movement for sure. I am starting to develop that.”

That was bad news for me. If she can sense air movement, she will sense right through my illusions. Oh, yeah, so will the Hornbills.

“Between you and Tāwai, could you calm the air for us to get in? I will hide us from the eyes. You two hide us from air movement,” I said.

“Thin branches are easy to move when you step on them,” Suda said.

My Feather Fall was only level 2, so there was limited help from that. “So Suda needs to come as well?” I suggested as she had Plant Manipulation.

Juth said, “So you are suggesting a stealth strike team with Marvin, Myantha, Tāwai and Suda?” I nodded. “What happens when it all comes crashing down on you?”

“You come and rescue us,” I said, “or better, we run. Whether we have the tablet piece or not, if we are discovered, we run. We run to you and a fortified position. It is night, so we don’t want to run far. There are too many nocturnal predators, but that means they might not chase us far either, especially if we go down.”

“That has potential,” Juth said. “How about we go down now and work our way underneath where you think the tablet is and make a base? Then, all you have to do is sneak upwards.”

I nodded, “The sense is not pinpoint accurate, but that sounds good.”

We had to go lower than we estimated to avoid the air senses of the Hornbills. Only some quick work by Myantha and Tāwai saved us. At least we have proved their air manipulation can counter the Hornbills, even though they needed a lot of improvement.

Tāwai’s warning gave us the seconds we needed. He was flying above us with his Silent Flight and trying to use his Air Manipulation to sense air movement when he squawked a warning. Some of our group were not stealth-orientated. Even Joe had minimal stealth.

A dozen Hornbills swooped down at us, and the warning was enough for shields to be raised. The Hornbills all seemed to have air manipulation, and they could do what Tāwai was only learning. The Hornbill name did not just refer to their massive orange beaks but also the horn noise they could make and focus with their air manipulation.

Tāwai and Myantha’s counter only slightly blunted the noise. The shields helped, but what saved us was being stationary and braced. Blood trickled out all of our ears as eardrums burst, and that still didn’t stop the sound from thumping through our bodies and disrupting them. Being stationary and braced meant the disorientating and dizzying effect didn’t send anyone plummeting off the thin branches.

My eardrums burst, but my Toughened Body withstood it better than most. Tāwai’s Blacksteel feathers helped blunt it for him, and he only crashed into me. While he was with me, he cast Heal Wounds for my eardrums and then for his own. Rob took it hard, but his regeneration kicked in fast.

Joe, Suda and Juth all had skills that blunted the attack. Myantha, Hist, Ryan, and Wella were all struggling. Austin did something to boost us all. I think it was an aura or similar.

This was the effect of twelve Hornbills, not hundreds. We would be sneaking in surrounded by several hundred of these. I am starting to have second thoughts about this plan.

I sliced a Hornbill in half with Cutting Light. The bodies were quite weak, and they were large birds. Tāwai was faster than they were. Tāwai was also mad. He was a bird and made to fly. Being made to crash land got him angry. He took off from my shoulder with a powered Gust. It shot him away at speed, but from my perspective, it felt like he farted in my face.

Wind Blades shot out from his wings, slicing into a Hornbill, and then he crashed into it, claws and beak working. The hornbill’s claws came up to rake Tāwai, but his feathers blunted it. I think one Blacksteel feather fell amongst the many that Tāwai’s claws were ripping out of it. Tāwai had also positioned himself so his beak was pecking, whereas the hornbill couldn’t twist his beach around enough to get Tāwai.

I had to turn my attention to my own defence, but Suda’s vines had captured several, and she was bringing down others with her bow. Austin got everyone back in the fight, and it didn’t last long. We were lucky that there were only a few at the bottom edge of the flock and that we didn’t attract more.

The worst-case scenario would be if there were enough Hornbills to make the sound attack continuous.