Once I have permission I grab the box of pieces from my hut and carry it to the tree. Then I sit down, take out a piece of the gate, and tap into the mana contained within it. Instead of just feeding it to the tree I run it through my body first, which isn't pleasant.

However, using my body I am able to cleanse the mana and add a little sacred power to it. This way no traces of the old spells will be able to affect the tree and it will be enhanced. Thanks to previous experiments I know exactly how much sacred power to mix in with the mana.

The tree sucks up every drop I give it and by the time the stone crumbles to dust it has already grown. From just one stone the tree looks to have grown about three feet taller. It also grew more branches and leaves, it is even better than I had hoped.

The positive results encourage me so I immediately grab another chunk of the gate. Watching the tree grow as I feed it mana gives me a very pleasant sensation. However, after the second piece crumbles to dust I stop myself from grabbing another.

While I need the tree to grow to a massive size, doing it all at once isn't a good idea. The tree needs time to rest and get used to the changes before I continue. That is the only way that I can be sure that the tree remains top quality.

While I could easily do this with a normal tree, I am going for something more special. The tree is already special, but if I make it grow too fast it will lose what makes it special. From what I can sense from the tree, two pieces of the gate per day is probably the limit right now.

Brightfire says "The tree looks amazing! Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Yeah, actually. If you and the other scouts can, bring some fertilizer and bury it around the tree."

Brightfire says "What kind of fertilizer?"

"Just the guts and other stuff you normally throw out after a kill."

Brightfire says "Sure, I will pass the word. What are you going to do?"

"For now I am going to go talk to your father."

Brightfire just nods and walks off, so I turn around to go find Stillwater. However, when I check his hut he isn't there, so I start wandering around the village. I finally find Stillwater talking to the elves that I freed from the human fort.

Of course, as soon as they see me they all come over to thank me for freeing them, yet again. It is only about the twentieth time, not that I can really blame them for it. Once they are finally done I manage to steal Stillwater away for a minute.

Stillwater says "How is the tree?"

"Perfect! It will take a while but it should work exactly as I hoped."

Stillwater says "Any idea how long?"

"At least a couple of weeks just to grow the tree. The construction I am not sure about yet."

Stillwater says "Alright. What else do you need?"

"We are going to need materials for ropes and sails. I did take some ropes off the ship we used, but I doubt they will be enough. I am also thinking I might be able to make the sails out of the tree's leaves, but I want to know what options we have."

Stillwater says "For the sails I will have to check, but the ropes are easy. We have a way to treat vines that make them into perfect ropes. They are what we use for the rope bridges between the trees."

"Sounds good. We will need a decent amount. Let me know what you find about the sails, but you don't need to rush."

Stillwater says "Alright. Anything else?"

"Well, I did have an idea of using bones to reinforce the hull. Do you know of any beasts large enough for that?"

Stillwater says "A couple of hundred feet long? No, not on land anyway."

"Not on land? So you know of something in the ocean?"

Stillwater says "Know may be too strong of a word, but there is a legend of such a beast."

Stillwater then goes on to tell me the legend, with a description of the beast. From the description it sounds like a crocodile with flippers, just over four hundred feet long. In fact, it sounds exactly like a dinosaur I have seen in a movie, I just can't remember the name.

The description is a little different than what I remember from the movie. The beast he describes has more flippers and two tails, but the rest is close enough. I am not sure if I want to even try fighting something like that, it would just eat me.

Then again, as long as I can avoid the teeth I can probably kill it from the inside. It is big enough that its bones would be the size I am looking for, if it has bones. I know sharks don't have bones, but I can't remember if the same applies to dinosaurs.

The only real way to find out would be to kill the thing, but getting it back to shore would also be a problem. If it does have bones then it will most likely sink to the bottom once it is dead. Something that size is going to weigh several tens of tons at least, a little much for me to drag.

The only option I can think of would be to follow it to the bottom and butcher it there. Of course, it wouldn't be that simple, the blood from the thing would attract all sorts of other things. I don't really know anything about this world's oceans, or what might live in them.

The obvious answer would be to go for a swim and find out, but my swimming isn't all that good. However, if I use shapeshift and turn into something that swims well, that could work. It is going to take weeks to grow the tree anyway, so I won't really be wasting any time.

Last time I went swimming, it was as a drake in lava, but it worked really well. I am half tempted to make a water drake form and use that, but I don't know if it will have side effects. As much as I want to be a drake again it is probably better if I think of another form to use.

Now I just need to think of a form, I think about it after saying goodbye to Stillwater. I continue to think about it as I shapeshift into an eagle and fly towards the ocean. The first forms that come to mind are a dolphin or an orca, but they are mammals.

It would probably be better to use something that doesn't need to surface for air. Something like a shark, but not something small enough to easily be eaten. That is when I think about the movie Meg, a megalodon is probably my best bet.

It has speed, maneuverability, and good attack power, it is also an almost perfect hunter. Instead of landing on the beach, I fly out to sea a ways and then land in the water. I quickly drop my shapeshift and then start building the image of a megalodon in my mind.