“You’re really unaffected? Are you sure? I hope you’re not just faking it to put up a brave front.”

“No! Excited! Muan sees tree-friend!”

Licht hummed, glad to see the young bush sapling was still okay. After resolving the issue with the farm and getting used to his new, much larger form, he first sought out Muan to make sure the young plant life was alright.

As it turned out, the rampant toxicity overtaking the forest hadn’t affected Muan in the slightest. Perhaps thanks to the Virtue of Twig, but Muan had been able to unhook its roots from the surroundings and seek out nutrients on its own. It had long disregarded the setup Licht had prepared for it, even if he hadn’t realized.

Not questioning how the bush had recognized him in a completely different form, Licht listened to the plant tell stories of its adventures during his absence. He realized during this that the brief noises that Muan used to make before starting a sentence had vanished, replaced by words describing its emotions.

Was this a result of [Arboreal Sense]? Now Licht seemed to be able to interpret the odd kinds of plant noises made by Muan as its emotional reactions to the dialogue it spoke.

Licht wondered if it was normal for plants to communicate in this way. Layering a sort of ‘emotive coating’ around each idea that they shared. In some ways, it felt like a purer way of communicating than mankind’s spoken language.

Although for Licht it still felt like they were just speaking. He wondered how the skill was able to translate what he was saying to Muan, but chalked it up to incomprehensible fantasy nonsense. It was better on his psyche to think of it that way.

After hearing the tenth story of Muan sneaking up on a squirrel, Licht had to inform the bush that he had other matters to attend to, to which the bush layered an emotional response of sadness onto its response before bidding him goodbye.

Though Licht didn’t forget before he left to use [Bestowal] on the young bush, granting it the next stage of wood virtue, Branch. Too much more at one time would be negative for it, so he left it at that.

“I’m sorry Muan, but I have to make sure the others are fine.”

Licht thought as he ran through the forest, ducking his huge frame under the verdant canopy ceiling.

…

As if it was coming from the white-leafed trees themselves, there didn’t seem to be a single spot in the camp where the sputtering of coughs and the mumble of groans couldn’t be heard from. Least of all from the children’s tent, where Racheal had taken to caring for Siha and Arjun, the sibling elves.

Hack! Alck! Cough, cough! Oooooh.

Though in her periphery Racheal could hear the distressing sounds from across the camp, her focus was currently on the children. Both of whom had eaten the deer meat which seemed to be ailing everybody.

Yet neither had shown any reaction.

It perplexed Racheal, made her anxious, and relieved her all at the same time. That the children at least were fine was something to be happy about, but the situation was still stressful. There was no way of knowing how terrifying a situation of everyone being sick in a community was, until it happened.

There had clearly been something wrong with the deer as they had learned after the fact. When the first person had started to fall to their knees and retch, it had been worrisome, but the second and third had set off the alarms. WIth only twelve people in the camp, such a development had put everything on halt.

Kushal’s plan’s to leave at the end of the week had been put on hold, and all other activities that they normally entertained themselves with were replaced with ensuring their survival. Those able-bodied were put to hunt, and for good meat this time. They made sure of that.

What that meant was that Racheal, who was fine as the illness didn’t seem to affect her fungoid biology, was among those few who were able to go hunting again. Amid them was Kushal, who despite getting the worst of it in the first few hours after the meal, had returned to health with more energy than ever before. It was a strange sight.

Perhaps the man just wants to leave that badly now? Racheal thought.

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“Racheal?”

Speak of the devil.

“Yes?”

She turned toward the face poking into their tent. Kushal.

“Why don’t you join us for the meeting today? Bring the kids too.”

“Huh?”

Wasn’t it too soon for a meeting? And why was Kushal mentioning it and not Emera? Most people were still under the effects of the illness or recovering. Why would they be having a meeting now of all times?

Though the questions would have to remain on the tip of her tongue, as the man’s face vanished as soon as it had appeared.

“Everybody gather around!”

Racheal could hear him gathering people outside in the camp. With some hesitation, she nodded at the two kids eating for them to follow behind.

Opening the tent flap and stepping outside into the center of the camp, she saw what was happening.

Elves with ailing expressions and sickly gray complexions sat around on log benches while Kushal and Kabir, one of the injured men who had since recovered, stood in front of the campfire with energetic expressions.

Racheal was surprised to see Kushal and another man leading the meeting today instead of Emera. Despite the woman having led most of the meetings in the past few days, she was nowhere to be seen by the fire.

As Kabir saw Racheal and the siblings approach he gave an approving nod. Leaning into Kushal’s ear he whispered something that none present could hear. Then the meeting started with Kushal’s discordantly upbeat tone.

“Thank you all for coming to the meeting! I know it’s an inconvenient time for many, but it is still my opinion that sharing information is paramount to our survival!”

Racheal tuned out the meeting as she led the siblings over to where she had found Emera. Laying down on her back, straining to look over at the meeting. Green veins were running up her neck from below her tunic. They were symptoms of the illness, but far more intense than most other people had. Racheal felt frustrated as she observed this.

Despite her training as an alchemist, she had no knowledge of these symptoms, and hadn’t been much help to the group other than giving out a few basic healing herbs she had found foraging. Although Kushal, who she had expected to call her out for it, hadn’t interacted with her much at all.

Kushal didn’t stop. Speaking to a small group of elves who were still groaning.

“That’s why I hold that we need to continue these meetings! Although sadly, our leader Emera is affected by the illness for the moment, I’m sure she will recover fast! Until then, I’ll take the honor of bringing up important topics in our modest meetings.”

Racheal knelt down next to Emera with the kids behind her. Their voices low enough not to disrupt or be heard by the meeting of the group.

“Emera, what’s going on?”

“...That bastard started feeling better immediately. I don’t know how he did it, but he and Kabir were the first to get back on their feet. All of a sudden they’re back to being chummy too.”

Racheal didn’t understand and looked back at the two.

“You don’t think they did something to the meat, do you?”

Emera didn’t pause.

“No. Not that the thought didn’t cross my mind. There’s just no reason they would have done so. Not to mention how deceitful it would be, they have nothing to gain by making the camp sick for a day or two. Not to mention that I was by the fawn’s body all the way back from the forest. They had no opportunity! But, there’s something else bothering me. Even if they managed to recover so easily, Kabir had sworn off his friendship with Kushal after being abandoned during the fight. Now look at them!”

Racheal and Emera’s eyes were drawn back to the meeting, where it did indeed look like Kabir and Kushal were thick as thieves once again. They both took turns in explaining their proposition to the group, which happened to be…

Racheal’s eyes widened.

“...Indeed, as Kushal says! The future of our group is not far north into Filigost, but here! In Trescult!”

“Yes! We propose to move our campsite further north by only a few hours on foot! There exists plenty of wildlife ripe for the hunt and clean sources of freshwater! Not to mention it is free of the blanching and decay which has grabbed hold of our part of the woods.”

“What reason is there to believe you?”

Racheal felt her mouth move automatically. Calling out the speakers was a panic response. She figured out that the land they were talking about was the area around Licht’s main body. But how had they traveled over there? As far as she knew none of the elves had ventured out that far.

She wasn’t as optimistic as Licht either. It was better to keep his presence hidden if possible.

Kushal smiled.

“Do you remember Racheal, when we were liberated from chains, the mysterious roots that helped us?”

“We believe that they came from the north, and with good reason!”

Kabir looked to Kushal, who nodded and rummaged through the pockets in his trousers. He pulled out a small green twig-looking instrument. A thread-like branch of some kind?

“Behold! The body of our savior!”

“A piece of its form that has fallen from its body! It will lead us to our mysterious savior, and from there we will find true sanctuary!”

Racheal’s voice stuck in her throat. She wasn’t sure if she recognized it properly, but wasn’t that one of the threads Licht used to connect to the trees?