Chương 25: Chapter 19: Roots Beneath the City — Part I

POV from outside the Silverwood chamber, while Kaelen was inside. By the fourth day, the entire grove stops pretending the situation is temporary. No one says it directly, though Garrick comes closest during the morning meal while staring toward the heartwood tree near the center of the clearing.

"He's still alive in there, correct?" he asks. Aibell looks up from the bundle of herbs resting across her lap.

"You asked me that yesterday."

"And your answer remains suspiciously calm."

"My answer remains medically accurate."

"That is not reassuring." Ciara hides a smile behind the wooden cup in her hands while several of the children nearby glance toward the heartwood tree again with open curiosity. The trunk has remained partially open since Kaelen entered it four days earlier. Thick roots still weave around the entrance in layered spirals, though enough space remains between them for parts of his figure to remain faintly visible within the chamber beyond. Mostly his face, sometimes one shoulder, nothing more.

The deeper sections of the heartwood remain hidden behind silver-green light and woven roots. At first the soldiers expected Kaelen to emerge after several hours. Then evening passed. Then the following morning. By the second day, concern had spread quietly through the grove despite Aibell's repeated insistence that surroundings around the tree remained stable. Now the atmosphere surrounding the heartwood has changed from worry into cautious acceptance.

The grove itself seems calmer than before Kaelen entered the tree. The roots beneath the clearing carry a steadier pulse of mana through the soil surrounding eastern Fallowspire while the air itself feels cleaner somehow, especially near the runoff channels leading toward the eastern district beyond the grove walls.

Several nearby residents have already started visiting the outer gardens simply to collect cleaner water from the restored basins without entirely understanding why the runoff no longer carries the same stale smell it once did. The city has begun noticing. That part concerns Garrick considerably more than the tree itself. A messenger arrived from Havlar during the second morning carrying a formal summons demanding a full report regarding the tunnels beneath the city.

Two more arrived afterward from separate council officials requesting clarification about the 'rapidly expanding growth' spreading beneath eastern Fallowspire. The third messenger used the phrase invasive magical vegetation. Garrick disliked that one immediately.

"You could simply ignore them," Merrow suggests from beside the firepit while sharpening a knife against a whetstone with slow deliberate movements.

"That strategy tends to work poorly with councils," Garrick replies.

"You have attempted it before?"

"Repeatedly."

"And?"

"They continued existing afterward out of spite." Ciara laughs softly into her cup before shaking her head. The quiet conversation settles naturally through the clearing while morning light filters through the canopy overhead. Several children move between the outer roots carrying buckets of water toward the newer gardens spreading near the eastern edge of the grove.

The younger heartwood roots beneath the pathways have started blooming with pale green shoots over the past two days, especially near places where runoff water passes beneath the soil. Aibell notices Garrick watching the growth again.

"You realize the roots are healthier now because the river corruption is gone," she says calmly.

"I understand that."

"You sound unconvinced."

"I sound concerned," Garrick replies.

"There is an important distinction." He glances toward the heartwood tree again afterward. Silver-green light still drifts softly between the roots surrounding the opening. Kaelen remains motionless within the chamber beyond them, seated beside the older silverwood tree growing at the center of the heartwood. At some point during the third night, the mana surrounding the grove deepened enough that several soldiers sleeping near the outer roots woke believing rain had started falling nearby.

The sky had remained completely clear. That detail concerns Garrick too. Not because the grove feels dangerous but quite the opposite. The atmosphere surrounding the clearing feels older now in ways difficult to explain properly. The roots beneath the grove no longer resemble unusual plant growth spreading through abandoned land beneath eastern Fallowspire. They feel established. Like the grove has finally settled into the city deeply enough that removing it would leave something missing afterward.

Garrick dislikes how much sense that thought makes. Another messenger arrives shortly before midday. This one wear council colors openly instead of Havlar's district insignia, which immediately worsens Garrick's mood. The young official steps carefully through the outer grove paths while staring upward toward the heartwood canopy with poorly concealed unease. He nearly walks directly into one of the smaller root clusters crossing the pathway before catching himself at the last moment.

Ciara gestures the messenger to meet her before the soldiers decide intimidation might improve negotiations.

"You're from the council?" she asks politely. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

"Yes." The messenger clears his throat quickly.

"I carry a formal request for Lord Garrick and..." His voice trails off when he notices the heartwood tree properly for the first time. More specifically, he notices the figure seated motionless within the roots. The young man goes pale immediately. Garrick follows the direction of his stare and sighs quietly under his breath.

"You could have looked less unsettling while meditating." Kaelen, unsurprisingly, offers no response from inside the tree. The messenger swallows visibly before extending the sealed document toward Garrick with unnecessary haste.

"The council requests immediate clarification regarding reports of ancient druidic activity beneath the eastern district," he says carefully.

"There are also concerns regarding the river chamber collapse and recent changes affecting the lower waterways."

"Recent improvements affecting the lower waterways," Aibell corrects mildly. The messenger hesitates.

"The wording remains under discussion."

"Of course it does," Garrick mutters. He breaks the seal and scans the document briefly while the grove settles quietly around the clearing beneath the afternoon light. The expression on his face grows flatter with every passing line.

"That bad?" Merrow asks.

"They want Kaelen present before the council immediately." Aibell glances toward the heartwood tree.

"That may prove difficult."

"Yes," Garrick replies dryly.

"I intend to inform them that extracting him from a sentient magical tree currently exceeds my available skill set." The council messenger leaves shortly afterward looking deeply unconvinced by everything he witnessed inside the grove. Garrick watches him disappear through the outer pathways before folding the sealed document against his palm with visible irritation.

"They used the phrase 'potential arcane destabilization' three separate times," he says.

"I dislike anyone that committed to writing."

"That seems statistically limiting," Aibell replies while reorganizing the herbs spread across the table beside her.

"It is a sacrifice I am willing to make." Merrow snorts quietly from near the firepit without looking up from the blade she continues sharpening. The grove settles back into its calmer rhythm once the messenger disappears beyond the outer roots. Children continue moving between the eastern gardens carrying water buckets while several soldiers repair sections of the older pathways damaged during the recent rains beneath the runoff channels.

Yet beneath the ordinary movement surrounding the clearing, tension has started threading itself quietly through the grove. The city is paying attention now. Garrick glances toward the heartwood tree again. Kaelen remains seated motionless within the opening between the roots while silver-green light drifts faintly through the chamber surrounding him. From outside, only part of his upper body remains visible beyond the woven heartwood.

The rest disappears deeper within the tree beside the older silverwood growing at the center of the chamber. The sight has become strangely normal over the past several days. That realization concerns Garrick almost as much as the council summons themselves. Ciara notices his expression while gathering empty cups near the firepit.

"You're staring, again."

"I am evaluating the situation."

"You've been evaluating it for four days."

"And the situation continues becoming increasingly magical."

"That does sound inconvenient for you specifically."

"It truly does." Despite the complaint, Garrick's gaze lingers on the heartwood a moment longer before he exhales quietly through his nose. The difference in Kaelen since entering the tree has become difficult to ignore even without the deeper mana awareness Aibell possesses. Earlier, simply standing near him often carried the subtle tension of someone bracing constantly against pain beneath the surface.

Garrick noticed it most clearly during quieter moments; the way Kaelen shifted pressure away from certain movements, the exhaustion hidden beneath stillness and the instinctive caution surrounding every use of mana after the river tunnels. That tension has faded gradually over the past few days. Even motionless inside the heartwood, Kaelen somehow appears steadier than before. Merrow notices the same realization settling across Garrick's expression.

"The healing is working," she says quietly. Garrick looks toward her.

"You're certain?"

"As certain as I can be without climbing inside the tree myself, which I suspect the grove would object to strongly." She brushes several loose strands of hair behind one ear before continuing.

"The mana around him has stabilized completely. Earlier, he always looked like someone forcing himself to keep standing through pain," Merrow says quietly.

"Now the strain around him feels… quieter somehow."

"And now?" She glances toward the heartwood again.

"Now the grove is rebuilding him." The answer leaves the clearing briefly silent. Even Aibell stops sorting her herbs before lifting an eyebrow toward the tree.

"That should not be possible."

"Normally?" Merrow shrugs lightly.

"Probably not." The older soldier studies the silver-green light drifting through the roots for several seconds before speaking again.

"I preferred the tunnels," she mutters eventually.

"That opinion seems medically concerning," Aibell replies.

"The tunnels only tried killing us directly. This place appears committed to becoming increasingly mystical over time, which is also concerningly accurate," Garrick admits. Ciara laughs softly beneath her breath while several of the younger children nearby begin whispering excitedly among themselves after overhearing part of the conversation. One of them eventually approaches the heartwood tree carefully before stopping near the roots surrounding the entrance.

"Is he becoming a tree?" the girl asks seriously. Garrick stares at her for several seconds.

"I genuinely do not know how to answer that." Aibell presses both hands over her mouth to hide a laugh. Before anyone can continue the conversation, another figure enters the grove through the eastern pathways. This messenger wears river clergy robes. The atmosphere around the clearing shifts subtly the moment several soldiers recognize the markings.

Conversations quieten, even the children step back instinctively toward the nearer roots while the older priest approaches the central clearing beneath the heartwood canopy. Unlike the council official earlier, the river priest shows no visible fear toward the grove itself, only caution. He stops near the firepit and inclines his head respectfully toward Garrick before allowing his gaze to drift upward through the roots surrounding the heartwood tree.

"So, the stories were true," he says quietly.

"That depends entirely on which stories reached the temples," Garrick replies. The priest ignores the answer almost completely. His attention remains fixed on the tree.

"The lower waterways have changed," he says after a moment.

"The corruption traces vanished entirely three nights ago." His gaze shifts slowly across the surrounding grove.

"The river feels cleaner than it has in decades." Aibell exchanges a brief glance with Garrick. That timeline matches almost exactly with the moment Kaelen's meditation deepened fully within the heartwood. The priest notices the silence immediately.

"You did not realize the effect spread that far."

"No," Garrick admits honestly.

"We did not." The older man studies the roots beneath the clearing for several moments afterward before speaking again.

"The temples are divided about this place," he says quietly.

"Some believe the grove should remain untouched after what happened beneath the city. Others fear anything ancient enough to change the river completely." His expression tightens slightly.

"The council mostly fears what it cannot control."

"That sounds considerably more believable," Merrow mutters. The priest's gaze shifts briefly toward the heartwood tree again.

"And him?" he asks. No one answers immediately. Because none of them are entirely certain anymore whether Kaelen entered the grove merely as its protector or whether the roots beneath Fallowspire are slowly shaping him into something older.