Eirik had locked down the temple room after he cleaned it. When he returned to the cabin back on Terra, he said nothing, but they all saw the blood on his knuckles. Without a word, he packed a small backpack and grabbed a seax, a hatchet, and a saw. He also packed some dried berries, smoked meat, and 4 liters of water (1 gallon) from the pantry, a fire flint, and a small, tightly bound package. When he was done, he started walking toward the woods.

"EIRIK, WHERE ARE YOU GOING?" Peter called out.

Eirik had almost reached the edge of the clearing and was about to enter the trees when he called back without turning around, "TO ASK THE FOREST WHERE TO FIND A GOD TREE!" With those words, he was gone.

"What did he mean?" Their mother asked.

Peter shot a glance at his brothers before he gave a shuddering sigh. "If I am correct in my suspicions, that little package he took with him was psilocybin mushrooms. He is going to find wood for a new statuette. Sorry, mom."

"Mushrooms?" She asked confused before it dawned on her. "HE IS GOING TO DO DRUGS?" She screeched before she made to run after him, but, to everyone's surprise, their father stepped in front of her.

"Don't! He is a grown man now, he must make his own way in life! As much as I agree with you that he should not do drugs, the choice ultimately lies with him at this point! Yes, he will always be our little boy, no matter how old he is, but we MUST respect the freedom of choice! Admonish him when he gets back because that is what I plan to do but do not try to interfere with him right now. He left because he needs to be alone for a while. Forcing your company upon him will only agitate him further. He will be back."

"Mom, Dad is right." Matthias and Jonas chimed in. "He needs alone time right now. It's a man thing."

She huffed angrily before she stomped into the cabin and locked the door. They soon heard the sound of very angry and loud cleaning inside.

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Eirik trekked through the forest for several hours before he found a place that felt right for what he was about to do. He then set about gathering firewood stones for a proper fire. When he was finished, he dug the little package out of the backpack and then strapped the tools securely on the backpack before he put it back on and tightened the straps. He took the time to make sure his clothes would sit comfortably for many hours, made sure his boots were tied with tight double knots and used the fire steel to get some small flames going.

He started feeding the fire until it was a good size that would not go out unless he neglected it. He sat down in front of the fire and opened the package. The dried mushrooms inside were in good condition and there were still plenty left. Placing the open package on the ground in front of him, he started focusing his thoughts on the coming task.

*magic mushrooms* had to be approached with respect. The mindset you entered the trip with would directly affect the trip you would experience. Showing respect for the action itself was important, as that would attune certain subconscious barriers to protect your mind while expanding.

"I seek a good tree. I must find the right spirit. I seek a god tree. I must find the right spirit." He kept repeating the 2 thoughts in his mind until they started ringing in his head by themselves. At that point, he started focusing on the trip he was about to experience. On the caution, he needed to take so as not to get lost during the journey. Mushrooms held great potential, but also a great danger for the unprepared mind.

An hour passed with this before he reached out and counted up 15 mushrooms which he chewed and swallowed, making a face at the taste. Closing up the package again, he stuffed it deep into his pocket and started waiting, still repeating his thought exercises.

He had no idea how long had passed before he started feeling the forest around him, but when he did, he became breathless. The sheer amount of life that surrounded him was almost overwhelming. He could see the life energy that permeated through the woods. The enormous, ancient life force that was the planet of Terra.

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He was walking through the woods. The spirits and creatures from the old tales occasionally crossed his path. tree spirits were laughing and communicating with each other, sending out pulses of energy towards one another.

When he got near, they all quieted down until he was past them, then it all started back up again. As if he was a thing to be feared.

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He was dancing in a meadow under the moonlight, the small light elves in the nearby woods laughing with delight as he danced with the moon. But when he saw elven women approaching, he ran as fast as he could. Dancing with the elven women under the moonlight would spellbind you to dance until you fell over, dead from exhaustion!

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He was surrounded by old trees on all sides, the atmosphere heavy and reverent. He remembered that there was something he had to do, he just could not remember what it was. He looked up and stopped. Before him stood a massive tree, its trunk almost black with age, but still bearing thick dark green leaves on the long think branches that extended in all directions. The giant roots snaked far away from the tree before they disappeared underground. A god tree.

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Eirik slowly woke up, his throat and mouth were dry and sticky and he scrambled to get the backpack off as fast as he was able to. So, when he finally managed it 2 minutes later, he got a hold of the large water container and drank greedily, rejuvenated by every deep drink of water. When he felt like his belly was going to burst, he finally stopped to take a deep breath and immediately vomited up half of the water he had just consumed.

"Fuck me, I hate this part!" He thought to himself as his stomach settled down. He still had water in his stomach and it would be absorbed. He wiped his mouth, took another small sip of water to cleanse his throat, and looked around. He saw the giant tree in front of him and his jaw dropped.

When he collected himself, he stood up and started walking around the giant tree on unsteady legs. As he came three-quarters of the way around it, he saw a big branch that had snapped off and was laying on the ground.

"That's weird, It's still fresh. How could such a branch just break off?" He thought as he inspected it. He looked to the sky as it dawned on him.

"THANK YOU, OLD ONE-EYE!! I SHALL OFFER THE FINEST WINE IN SACRIFICE TO RETURN THIS PRICELESS GIFT!!"* He yelled skywards before he got his tools out to cut it down to a manageable size, but he stopped himself as he looked at the long tree limb. Instead, he went to the other trees nearby and started making a sled so he could drag the large tree limb home, whole. There was an almost heretical possibility here