"That includes seeds, right? Tell me it includes seeds?" The question stumped Livia but if she had to guess. "yes, but,"

She got no further. Brunner started explaining but quickly realized Livia had never even seen the kauri tree. He nearly picked her up and ran rather than explain, but he shakily stayed himself. This could change everything.

The others knew what he meant, so despite his tongue-twisting excitement they were soon layered up for the cold and underway to the tree. The sight was stunning for the first timers, Brunner did not show it to just anybody, well, okay he did, but he asked everybody not to spread it around so if you were always staying put in Salcret you would not even be aware of such a magnificent things existence. Even Hyde was immediately in the mood to howl, to celebrate the glorious thing.

[This might explain a few things actually, we lost Salcret and the other southbound villages. Some of them hundreds of years ago, but the reason was unknown.]

A kauri tree had two different cones, one who released pollen and one who contained seeds awaiting fertilization which then ripened and released in turn. Brunner started speaking once he had given her ample time to be impressed. "If you mean to tell me that I can replenish the whole seasonal yield, it will mean my project truly has a chance, will you explain how it works?" Livia still didn't understand why the kauri tree was special, but she knew Brunner was sincerely on the lookout for Salcret and really humans in general, helping out was a given, and it might even mean he ended up owing her some answers. "I imagine you have a Skill that lets you sense your lands in a sense?" Brunner closed his eyes and nodded. "So focus on your Spell, focus on your holdings, and focus on your yields. Each in turn, and then use the Spell like you would a Skill, whole-heartedly. Once the Spell is underway you will recognise the same intuitive sense of the process you are used to from Skills, then you just hold on for the ride and pray your affinity pulls through."

She made it sound like more luck than skill, although experience was clearly a factor. Someone without a caster-Class getting a Spell at level 40 was like a very sudden change of vocation, despite handling the same subject matter he was used to.

When Brunner had been focusing with his eyes closed for 20 seconds the world suddenly started shaking. Hyde reflexively thought it was an earthquake and embarrassingly let out a surprised yelp before he could help himself, but the group soon realized it was the snow on the giant tree that was shaking off from the growing pines beneath. The process was over within minutes and despite the cold weather the tree stood proudly, looking just as ripe with its yield as it had in the autumn.

"Yes, yes, it frickin' worked!" He unleashed his boisterous laugh with a boom even greater than usual, the lads all clapped and Livia joined in once she was able to close her mouth after Brunner's inhumanly loud reaction. He started high-fiving everybody and as he got to Livia she finally got her chance to speak up. "Brunner, I don't get it, why would this be the thing you want so much, won't it take years and years to grow a tree like this from scratch, are the seeds really that valuable to you?"

Brunner's beaming face with its red beard and rosy cheeks was almost answer enough, but luckily Brunner was the kind of man who shared his successes with everyone who had pitched in.

"How about we get out of this cold, and I'll explain myself over some apple drink, body cakes and lingonberry jam?"

The fire was firing back up, and the drying herbs in the ceiling gave off a faint aroma that the burning bark mixed with. They jostled and all sat down to hear what had gotten Brunner so excited.

"I take it I don't need to explain about the volcanoes? Good, good. What I learned about in Zisle, and what convinced me that risking my life to bring my baby back home to Salcret despite the mortal danger, was how this type of giant tree interacts with the environment if you let it grow uncontested for long enough, and with the proper guidance," He coughed and went to bring everybody their drink before continuing. "The continent of Zisle had its volcano on the western side, and the eastern side had long been starved of energy in comparison. But there were a lot of druids there, of a very special and ancient kind. They had learned long ago that these trees, if their purpose was guided from beginning to end, were capable of digging their roots so far beneath the earth that eventually they hit pay-dirt, the magic hidden in our planet's core. Those roots grew exponentially, and released far more than the tree alone needed back on the surface." His audience were mesmerized by the implication. "If I could steal one of their sacred trees, and bring it back here and see if it could survive in Doc Forrest, maybe even thrive due to being uncontested, it would mean I could over time make our lands as rich and beautiful as the Cloven's."

Hyde didn't catch all that, but he had felt the special atmosphere in that mighty tree's glade. He would be returning regularly from now on.

Kalle spoke up. "Won't that attract attention though, are you ready for that? Is Salcret?" The question made Sten nod in appreciation. "That is why these seeds are so important Kalle, what I have proven is that a kauri can survive and thrive here, but even with my boosting it, it still only produces 100-120 fertile seeds each of its seasons, of those maybe 30 settle properly and start to grow, and despite my only giving them to fellow arborists I trust, of those 30 only ten might survive past the sapling stage. And they still need many years to actually get the effects we are hoping for, so the dangers are many, but spreading the responsibility ensures some will make it across the finish line, if we remain dedicated and do not falter over time." Brunner nodded confidently at his own speech. The effects sounded too good to be true, but if the trees came from outside of Elderwood even then who was to say what they could and could not do, except its long-time caretakers.

Livia had been nodding along, she knew how little time remained, and the fact that weakness would not be enough to keep them safe for long. Elderwood was not the kind of place for civilizations who wanted to hide. She decided to shoot her shot.

"Brunner, would you be willing to donate a seed or two to Roldy, for safekeeping with the guild, once we travel for the north of Dormata?"

The [Hatchet Arborist] smiled and rubbed his chin at the question. "Towards Cloven lands? That is risky... But we got attacked by the Mantis bastards just the other month so who's to say where is safe, you got it sister! But you take good care of her Roldy, okay? Come by later this week when my magic has recovered and I will try and show you how to get an [Arborist]-adjacent Skill for your 10th level capstone, for that tree to survive you're going to need it."

They decided to stay the night since the day's events had taken longer than expected, in the morning the lads all had a friendly spar, and Sten participated for the first time.