Leo Niel loved the forest, the tall trees, which were even older than his great-great-grandmother, the forest mushrooms in which gnomes may have lived, the leaves in the most beautiful autumn colors, the silver fairy benches and their inhabitants, the small rodents that skittishly searched for food and the red plumed foxes that were hidden behind every tree, of the fat acorn sparrows and the plucking woodpeckers, winding roads and the gurgling bronze brooks and of the tree spirits that you sometimes heard laughing. She just didn't like the creepy Acornwitches very much. Unfortunately, it was no coincidence that she and Robert met those ladies in their passage through the Leafy Forest. They suddenly appeared, as if they had been waiting for them from behind a thick tree, and now took pleasure in frightening them. She let out a high-pitched scream that almost thundered Robert, who was riding behind Leo, off his horse.

'Well...' gritted the chief Acornwitch who had a particularly thick head. 'These are the next two to flout the forest ban on their ugly riding boots, what can they be boys?'

Leo swallowed. "Good afternoon, ma'am, I'm actually coming to visit the forest I've been missing for so long."

"Let's visit!" The witches laughed in unison. "Since when does someone waste their precious time on that? But oh well, sit down.' With a bony finger that ended in a brown pointed nail, she pointed to a tree stump. Leo slid off his horse and sat down carefully. Robert followed suit.

"Something to drink, youngman?" asked the witch, who happily plopped down past him.

'Yes, please, just take into account my stomach which is much weaker than that of a witch, a berry juice is more than enough.' Leo tried to answer as kindly as possible and yet not be saddled with some mud gravy. The hostess sent one of the surrounding witches in search of berries and then turned back to the two young men in front of her. "Are you also on a stupid mission?"

Robert nodded. The witch laughed falsely and glanced up. "They were too, but unfortunately they were so rude as to invade unwanted."

Robert and Leo held their breath. Leo forced himself to keep smiling despite the menacing sight of Alex Tikker and the three piglets in the tree along with their mounts. Then, a little further on, he also saw Mayor Guy standing up to his knees in a swampy pool.

"What did he do?" Leo's voice trembled.

"The surrounding witches sniff. "He dared to draw his sword against us and is currently staying in the absorption pool. Only when you stand still, nothing happens, but the slightest movement is enough to pull you a few centimeters deeper. His two servants have already disappeared."

Robert swallowed. He did not know the aldermen personally, but would not have the opportunity to do so now. He felt a bead of sweat slide down his spine. Leo accepted the moss cake handed to him by one of the witches and took a small bite of it out of kindness. It tasted like wilted lettuce and he could feel the grains of sand crunching between his teeth. He decided that they should keep their time with these hostesses as short as possible while making sure that she and their two horses did not end up in that tree. Leo cleared his throat. "Well, ma'am, we are indeed on our way to getting Tilliante to talk again after her father does not agree to the marriage between her and Henry Deer's Claw. But he's not that bad, you know. Yes, he dared to kill a tree spirit and turn it into a bed, but he only did so because you did not show him the way to dead wood. He has respect for these forests, just like all the people of Ythsen, by the way.'

He paused for a moment when the witch who had been sent away returned with a bowl full of berries. She placed the bowl right in front of Leo and Robert, stepped into it and began to crush the berries with her bare flat feet.

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"Thank you, Helma," the head witch grumbled, brushing Leo's pants with a sharp nail. 'Tell me, how do you know that the people of Ythsen have respect for us and the forest? They think we're disgusting."

"Me too," thought Robert, and he hoped in horror that they could not read his mind. He quickly said: "We consider you to be important foresters and we would like to know a little more about the ins and outs of nature, let our children play hide-and-seek among the trees and prepare berry juices like this one. We only know cherry tea.' He smiled at Helma, who smiled back crookedly. "For the time being, the tree festivals are only held for the trees in the country park because these forests are forbidden and tell me, how terrible it is that we do not get the chance to worship those mighty tree spirits of the Leaf Forest."

The witch raised her bushy eyebrows. "Mmm... and you think that if we gave them the opportunity to worship the trees of the Leafy Forest, they would?"

'Absolutely, we could proclaim you ministers of forest, leaf and tree fruit.'

That statement had clearly made an impression because the ochre eyes of all the surrounding witches sparkled and Helma even stopped crushing berries for a moment.

'So, so...' The chief witch scratched a whopper of a wart on one of her double chins. "And how are you going to introduce us to the Bourgeoisie?"

Robert racked his brain. How was he ever supposed to convince Siel to appoint these jerk witches as ministers? He was more likely to go for immediate execution before they had even explained what they were coming for.

'In three days' time, the results of Tilliante's assignment will take place and we will see who will be allowed to participate in the next trial. There will be a lot of people present and if you don't mind, that's the ideal time to introduce yourself to the people of Ythsen.' Robert could beat himself up for what he had said. But the witches nodded enthusiastically. The hostess roughly grabbed his arm and pulled him a little closer to her. He felt a sickening smoke hit his face.

"All right, little boy. The day after tomorrow we will be at the South Regional Gate of Azucar, in exchange we will let you through unscathed. But woe betide your bones if you don't keep your word." Her voice hissed in his ear like a poisonous serpent.

'But out of hospitality, we are happy to give you this jug of berry juice for the road.' Her voice changed and with a big smile, she poured Helma's freshly crushed juice into a stone jar. "It warms you in the cold, renews your energy when you are tired and satisfies your worst hunger. '

Leo gratefully accepted the jug and watched as one of the witches sealed the purple liquid with a thick cork. They had done it! They had actually received a favor from the jerk witches. But Leo thought guiltily of the other three candidates who hung disconsolate in that tree or sank in a floating puddle. "What happens to them?"

He pointed up.

"Oh well, we'll take them to the Regional Gate."

"Unharmed?"

"At most, they'll be missing a few hairs." The jerk witch giggled. "Good luck, young gentlemen, and let me give you one piece of advice, don't stare at Tilliante, no matter how overwhelming her beauty is. She can't stand it. My sisters and I wish you a good, safe journey, although for the time being they can only speak tree language and a word of Ythsaan here and there. Acorn is already working out well.'

Immediately, all the witches shout "Jerk!" at the same time. Robert laughed. The chief witch led them to their horses who were happily munching on some wild grass on a tree root. Both men hoisted themselves into the saddle, Leo put the jug in one of the bags and they gave their horses the spurs. Behind them, clawed hands waved them goodbye. They trotted along the forest path and felt the wind caressing their hair. The jerk witches were all ugly and so scary that they were the main subject of childhood nightmares, but according to Leo, there was an unprecedented power in them. They shared their power with giant trees and ruled over every plant that grew there. They watched over the animals during their hibernation and fed the young of deceased parents. With the snap of a finger, they prepared the most powerful potions that were almost equal to the brew level of the brain teasers and with their eyes they could even influence the weather. Perhaps they could play a particularly important role within the Courtly Functional Bourgeoisie and heal sick people with their natural forces? The forests would also become accessible to everyone again, because nowadays every traveler made a gigantic detour to avoid the Leafy Forest. Unfortunately, this was impossible to reach the Grey Vulture Castle because it was located in the heart of the forest in a large clearing. A bronze river meandered around it, over which several tree bridges had been built. Robert could already hear the water lapping against the banks and the sun was burning right on the top of his head, as the colossal black walls of the castle loomed before him.