The walk down the river was both unsettling and filled with extreme calmness. Never once did Buck feel the winds change, the animals didn’t howl, and there never were any birds in the sky. Their cries had otherwise been heard half an hour ago when the group had been walking through the more forested part of the woods, yet when so close to the river and in more open areas, there was not a single one to be seen. It spelt danger. A forest was never quiet for no reason after all.

Was it a larger animal that had grown too strong? Had it taken those that it could before the other animals had fled the area in the hopes of living for another few days? Buck had no real clues to guide his way. The ground had been riddled with untouched grass, not a single creature blade having been stomped on. Yet just down by the river, a few meters away from the grass, the sand was readily filled with footsteps as if a well-marked stampede had gone through. Why hadn’t they walked on the grass? What did the creatures know that they didn’t?

There was no way to tell but not a single one in their group was putting it up to chance, all walking in a one-to-one line. Birka was in the front, guiding the way for the whole group to see. Tom was just behind her, sword ready for use. The more open area would have done him well if not for a certain healer that didn’t understand the importance of not standing too close to somebody with a large sword. Raphael had been the only one to not notice the grass and had nearly stepped on it. Aloy had stopped him, luckily enough, perhaps letting him live another day. Or maybe nothing would have happened. There was no way to be sure yet.

Buck was personally just behind the healer, having been instructed to make sure that nothing would happen to the precious child. It had perhaps been worded in a slightly different way originally but who was to say? Aloy was her quiet self, holding up the back of the group. Constant glances around made it clear she was watching it all in a quiet mood. She did seem like quite the experienced one, and this was just another piece of proof.

There were some wonders on just what she had seen in the forest. It was clear that some creatures were more powerful than others. The wolves, so mighty in other places in the world, might just have been common fodder here. And that made Buck slightly anxious. He could take a few of them on himself if in a desperate situation but anything more powerful than that would require more extreme actions. Perhaps he would even need to use a stone or two to boost him.

“Abnormal forestry can be seen,” Birka observed from the front, her words making everybody try to look past her broad shoulder at once. It didn’t help that the one just behind her was even larger, to the point where Buck had to tilt his body the opposite way to even have a chance at getting a look at the so-called abnormal sight.

And… abnormal it certainly was. Very peculiar, to the point where the young [Druid] dug down in his [Senses] to ponder for a few moments. Every tree in the forest, no matter the height, width, and length always had brown bark and green leaves. Every single one, no matter what, showed off these characteristics. And that made sense, most of the trees being from the [Oak] line of species. Buck had perhaps seen a few minor variations in the forest but nothing should have differentiated itself to the point where it could be seen from just a glance.

Yet that was just what he saw in front of him at that moment. Sitting about five meters away from the river was a larger, fully-blacked tree, white leaves sitting on the sides of it. The sight was like nothing in the forest, and the size was more than impressive for its current location. Even at their larger distance to it, Buck was impressed at just how much it stood out from the surrounding trees.

Which made him wonder why there were other trees around it, to begin with. They all seemed to be close to quite a steep hill, nearly vertical at their precise location. Shadow must have covered the place most of the day, so why had they been able to grow so large… And why in only that location? The rest of the riverside was much more suitable for plant life so why is the only spot that would bring the most difficulties with sunlight? Something was wrong.

“Something doesn’t seem right with that,” Raphael stated, always the voice of reason. “Black doesn’t strike me as good in this situation.”

“You don’t say,” Buck had to comment. It earned him a side-glare from Birka but that was shrugged off with the next question. “Do you sense any of that [Taint] you tried to find before?”

“... No I do not,” the healer answered, the brief glowing pupils obvious even when his back was turned to Buck. Made one wonder if they light up in the dark for anybody who didn’t already have [Night-Vision]. “We might be too far away right now.”

Nobody else had any better ideas as to why it couldn’t be sensed so on they went, getting closer and closer to the particular crop of trees. Not all of them had black bark on them, the ones beside the ashen one being mostly regular, albeit having a few black veins here and there. Buck supposed that some amount of Pattern-Sharing needed to be had through the years, a few roots perhaps mingling. It was uncommon for the [Oak] species to do such a thing but he had seen weird events before. And it wasn’t like they were like the original variants, to begin with.

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When they got within fifty meters, the details became clearer, Buck sadly not having the eyes his mother had been gifted with. His hearing was better than his dads but nothing else really struck out. Except that innate [Mana-Sense]. The skill that was meant to have triggered the moment they got closer. Buck wasn’t a master at using it, as had been cleared up through the years of trying, but he could use it better than most. What didn’t make sense when saying such things was the fact that he could most certainly not sense a single piece of the energy ahead.

“The trees aren’t speaking out loud,” Buck said before realizing how stupid that sounded to anybody, not a [Druid]. Animals weren’t the only ones who used Mana to communicate, trees very commonly sent out micro-bursts to give out any meaningful stimuli. If there was a need for energy, the trees could provide it to each other upon request. Yet they sent out energy passively too, just letting all close know they were still alive and well. A kind gesture but one missing at the current moment. “They’re not putting out any Mana. Nothing that I can detect at least.”

Most of the group was indifferent to that fact, not realizing its importance. Birka, however, was more than alert from that fact, gripping her axe tight for a few moments before relaxing her grip yet again.

“Any chance that they are simply dead?” the axewoman questioned, though it was a mute question.

“No. They are vibrant and alive, no matter what their colouring is,” the so-called Druid answered. Buck could see the leaves looking healthy as ever. Actually… “I think the black one is even bearing fruit.”

How peculiar to see at this time of year. The season for such things was still a few months away. That could only mean one thing. Buck got a little excited by that fact.

“Then it means something is hiding the energy from us,” the axewoman stated. “It’s either being consumed or it's being hidden away through a barrier. Either is a reason for caution. Make sure that nothing gets us from behind, Hunter.”

There was no response yet they continued on, steadily getting closer and closer. Buck noted the grass closer to the trees had been trampled by some creature. It looked to be a smaller one, the feet much too tiny to have been from a wolf. Yet… most of it was untouched, those prints several days old. Instead, it was all covered in liquid. Nobody was watering the trees, Buck refused to believe that, so there was only one true source.

“There are signs of aquatic attacks besides the trees,” Buck commented, just loud enough for Aloy to hear. “Watch out for anything that might swim upon us.”

“My sight is not perfect and the water has too many waves for me to see deep,” Aloy replied with no real hint of emotion. But she did look towards the water at some points after that point so it wasn’t like Buck cared too much. He was just happy knowing that somebody was making sure no creatures sneaked upon them.

When they got closer, the trees did seem quite taller than he had expected. At first, it had seemed to be about fifteen meters but closer up Buck had to change it to nearly twenty meters in pure height. How long had it lived there? When by the river, it must have taken quite a few years to reach such a height. It must have been hard to do.

Or it could have been accelerated in its growth due to outside influences. The bark was stretched at points as if it hadn’t gotten enough time to grow at those parts. It made the [Druid] wonder how such a thing must have felt just until it stepped within ten meters of the Black Tree.

It was without a doubt the strongest presence of Energy ever felt. It had everything Buck could imagine, a blend of nuances so extreme that he had to stop walking for a moment to breathe it all in. The stimuli were too much, his head feeling a more-than-mild ache. He should have realized something like it should have come when Raphael before him had breathed in deeply yet that might even not have been enough.

His pores were drinking it all in, his body trying to adapt to the new rich environment. Buck barely noticed that, trying to get his own [Mana-Sense] in order. The outside was like a blank sheet compared to what he was feeling when besides all the trees.

“Brace yourself, Druid. We need to find the source of this,” Birka stated, though she also looked slightly flushed. Even when she did not wield Mana, she could likewise see it as a place of power. “The source behind all of this is close. They have hidden, however.”

“No real need to think about where, though,” Raphael said, slightly coy from being able to handle it better. If Buck got the chance, he was sure that he would slit that kid's throat. First, however, he needed his knees to stop shaking. “They must be hiding in the cave.”

Ah, yes, the cave entrance. It was smaller than most that the Druid had seen, perhaps even made to be that way. With how smooth it was at some points, there was doubt it was completely natural. It was as if somebody had been trying to hide it better while still allowing them to get in and out of it.

“Then we are going in,” Birka said. “Does anybody here not have some ability to see and fight in the dark?”

Raphael and Tom put their hands up, making the axewoman sigh. Putting a hand in her satchel, she brought up two necklaces. Dripping a bit of blood on each, they both began to glow. Each was thrown to the two in the group capable of being bested by something as simple as low-lighting conditions.

In the meantime, Buck had semi-conquered his ability to shake, though his upper thigh still had some minor spasms. It wouldn’t be enough to do anything bad but it was certainly distracting as could be. If not for the others close by, he would have called it a day and tried to enter the cave another time. But, the consequence of democracy was that the majority was sometimes too stupid to think about the minority.

The entrance was easy enough to get through, still being a few meters high and wide. The ground inside, however… was quite rugged. Small holes, rough and smooth parts, and just about everything else that one would find unnatural in such a situation were found. But that was all overshadowed by one other fact.

“Is that an [Ore-Vein]?” Raphael questioned, the kid being the only one not distracted by making sure nothing was sneaking up on them. “That has to be one, right?”

Nobody else had thought to look at the miscolourings of the wall yet the [Priest] had clearly thought such a minor detail to be the most important thing of all. Buck had just been about to realize that fact in a more muted manner if not for the fact that he began to focus on the wall too. With [Mana-Sense] to aid the mind, the [Druid] was able to see the truth.

“It is,” Buck answered, trailing his hand across the rough wall. While the physical contact wasn’t needed, it certainly helped him see what was beneath. “There is… there is a lot of ore. I think I can sense [Gold] here.”

“Has this area been used for mining before, Hunter?” Birka asked, the axewoman gaining some level of interest as well. Such material was not commonly found in these regions. Yet… “Hunter?”

The lack of an answer made the group turn their heads. Yet they could see only empty air. Aloy was gone.