Sanders was in his assorted fruit treehouse when Howard came to visit. Howard still couldn’t get used to how the door would sometimes just vanish whenever he went to knock on it and an arrow would appear on the floor guiding him in.

{What did you need?} Sanders asked, once Howard made it to the kitchen. The whole first floor was a kitchen, just like with the tiger lily house. Sanders was consistent.

{If money were to grow on trees, what kind of tree would it grow on?} Howard asked.

{Probably a crystal tree, why?}

{A crystal tree?} Howard asked, what is that?}

{It is exactly what it sounds like. A tree made of crystal,} Sanders explained, {Ah, I see, so you were hoping I could suggest a tree to grow money on from my world. I agree. Pine needles should never be used as money. The crystal tree would certainly work but it might end up being too bulky since it is literally a tree made of crystal, there is no bending it into shape. But, the leaves, flowers, and branches could each have different values. Let me see if I can think of anything else.}

Howard waited for Sanders to think and thought on his own. A crystal tree definitely sounded a lot better than pine needles and pinecones or anything from Earth, but he could already see one main issue. Harvesting the leaves, branches, and flowers could prove to be difficult.

{How about everlasting blossoms?} Sanders asked, {They are rare trees that grow beautiful leaves and blossoms that never fade or wither as long as the tree is alive… but you would have to supply the tree with a lot of Wisdom to keep it healthy and the blossoms might fade if they get too far away from the tree since it would be the only one in the world..}

{That might not work depending on how much Wisdom I would have to give it,} Howard replied, {I still have other duties.}

{Right.}

The trees Sanders was suggesting were a bit more fantastical than Howard had anticipated. As Sanders thought some more he braced himself for whatever might come next.

{I know! Tinsel trees!}

{Tinsel trees?} Howard repeated dubiously. He couldn’t help but imagine all of the overly shiny artificial Christmas trees that showed up every December.

{Yes, they are also known as puff trees, or pompom trees,} Sanders explained, {They have golden leaves and their flowers look like silver pompoms. They last as long too and are often used for jewelry.}

{That sounds the best so far,} Howard agreed, still not sure about it.

{Still, a money tree. You sure have lofty ideas,} Sanders chuckled, {I have decided I will do some more research so I can help you better!}

{Wait, shouldn’t you help me grow those trees you mentioned?} Howard asked.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

{I will go get them now,} Sanders promised, {Even if you only use one, it might be fun to grow all of them.}

Howard tried to say something else but Sanders promptly vanished. Just who was he that he could just grab rare trees from his home planet to let Howard grow for fun.

Just as he was about to leave, Sanders returned with three small trees. While Howard called them small they were about four feet tall, with the tallest being closer to five feet. That was the everlasting blossom tree. The crystal tree really looked like it was made of crystal and pure gemstones but it was the smallest tree, somewhere between three and four feet tall.

{Shall we go over how to grow these trees?} Sanders asked with a bright smile, {They are all a bit unique.}

Howard wondered what he was getting into but motioned for Sanders to continue.

{I will start with the everlasting blossom tree. It looks similar to a wisteria tree and it neems the same basic things to grow, with the addition of lots of magic to create the everlasting effect.}

{So it is a wisteria tree that was enchanted,} Howard concluded.

Sanders hesitated. {Probably.}

{The tinsel tree is called a tree but it is actually a freshwater plant. It needs to be mostly submerged to survive, letting only it’s branches reach for the sky to collect moonlight.}

{Wouldn’t the sun here kill a tree like that?} Howard asked.

{It may have to be kept inside,} Sanders agreed, {The crystal tree might be the hardest to grow, but they are actually incredibly useful. Crystal trees get all of their nutrition from toxins and poisons. If it lives in an area without toxins and poisons it will stop growing and will become a crystal tree statue.}

{You do know that the fountain purifies the are of poisons and toxins, right?} Howard asked.

{It purifies the area of what you consider to be poisons and toxins,} Sanders corrected, {My main concern with this one is if someone tries to make any kind of dishes out of it. The crystal usually contains the poison and makes it safe to handle, but if the crystal is worn down, this tree quite possibly carries some of the most deadly poison in existence.}

{Maybe you should take that one back,} Howard suggested.

{It will be fine,} Sanders assured him, {I used these trees to help purify an area that had become to toxic to sustain life and they cleaned it right up.}

{This wouldn’t happen to be one of those, would it?} Howard asked.

{Perhaps.}

{Please put it back,} Howard told him again, {I think the tinsel tree will work just fine.}

{If you are sure,} Sanders pouted, {But I really do think it would be useful. Maybe I will just grow it with me.}

Howard gave in, thinking that was as far as he was going to get Sanders to budge. {Then I will take the other two and propose them to the others.}

{I will carry the everlasting blossom,} Sanders told him and picked the potted tree up.

Howard noticed when he picked the tinsel tree up that the pot was full of water, not dirt which made it especially difficult to carry. Luckily telekineses made it so that weight wasn’t too much of an issue.

When they made it to the meeting room, Selina looked furious.

{Howard! Where did you go?} she demanded.

{To find a solution,} he replied and looked down at the potted tree he was carrying.

Sanders set his pot down. {I think we found one but Howard is so picky.}

{We do not need to use something filled with deadly poison as money,} Howard stated firmly, trying to make sure they weren’t tempted by Sanders’ attempts to convince them.

{Something filled with deadly poison? Just what were you doing?} Natalie asked, appalled.

{He asked me about trees from my world,} Sanders replied, {I provided him with a few options and he selected the tinsel tree.}

{It does look like tinsel,} Selina noted, looking at it, {but why is it in water while the other one is in soil?}

{Apparently, it is a water plant,} Howard explained, {We will probably have to find a way to keep it indoors to protect it from the sun but still allow it to soak up the moonlight.}

{Ooh, sounds fancy,} Selina said with a smile, {Maybe you could add another room on the third floor and make a pool for it off the river. Maybe large windows that can be covered would work?}

{The sunlight should be filtered by the needles of the tree up there, right?} Natalie asked, {If the membrane windows are used to protect from the radiation you might be able to put both trees there without having to worry about constantly opening and closing things.}

{Let’s wait until the trees are stable and we come up with a money system before we propose this to the others,} Dorian suggested, {I could take care of the everlasting blossom tree. I had one before.}

Selina looked at one of the tinsel puffs with nostalgia. {I used to pretend these things were magic money when I was a child. You know, those pompoms that look just like this. It should be fun to make a real money system with them.}