Chương 26: Chapter 19: Roots Beneath the City — Part II

POV from outside the Silverwood chamber, while Kaelen was inside.

"I think," Garrick says eventually, "that he walked into the grove looking for healing." The older soldier folds his arms loosely across his chest before glancing toward the roots spreading beneath the clearing.

"What he walks out as," he adds quietly, "remains considerably less certain." The priest studies the heartwood for several moments afterward without speaking and then begins to wait without speaking a word. He remains in the grove longer than Garrick expects. Most visitors leave quickly after seeing the heartwood tree properly. Even the ones trying to hide their unease usually find an excuse to retreat once they notice Kaelen seated motionless within the roots surrounded by drifting silver-green light.

The priest simply watches quietly. Eventually, he walks toward the eastern basins where cleaner runoff water continues flowing steadily through the restored channels beneath the grove. Several children pause nearby while filling buckets, though the older man only kneels beside the stone basin and dips his fingers into the current without speaking. After a while, he exhales softly.

"The river no longer feels sick," he says. No one answers immediately because despite everything that happened beneath the city, none of them had truly considered what the corruption's disappearance might feel like to people who spent their lives listening to the waterways themselves. The priest rises slowly afterward and studies the roots spreading beneath the nearby pathways. Pale green growth has begun appearing between sections of older stone where runoff water passes beneath the soil.

Small flowers bloom near the eastern channels now despite the colder weather lingering beyond the district. The grove continues changing the land around it quietly.

"The council will not understand this place," the priest says eventually.

"That makes two of us," Garrick replies. The older man almost smiles at that before turning his attention back toward the heartwood tree.

"Understanding is not always required for fear."

"That sounds unhelpfully ominous."

"That sounds historically accurate." The priest leaves shortly afterward, though not before requesting permission to return later with several other clergy from the river temples. Garrick avoids answering directly, which both of them recognize as the closest thing to agreement currently available. By evening, another council summons arrives. This one, carries three separate seals. Garrick stares at the document for several seconds before handing it directly to Merrow without opening it.

"If that contains the phrase arcane destabilization again, I may start committing crimes." Merrow breaks the seal calmly while Aibell attempts unsuccessfully to hide her amusement beside the firepit. A few moments later, Merrow sighs.

"It contains the phrase arcane destabilization."

"Of course it does."

"It also says the council is becoming increasingly concerned regarding unauthorized magical expansion beneath municipal foundations." Garrick rubs one hand slowly across his face.

"They somehow made roots sound bureaucratic."

"That may actually be their greatest accomplishment so far," Merrow says quietly. The conversation fades beneath the softer rhythm of evening settling through the grove. Lanterns begin glowing near the outer pathways while soldiers rotate shifts near the district entrances more out of routine than necessity at this point. No one has attempted entering the grove forcibly. Yet. Still, the attention surrounding the district continues growing with every passing day.

More residents now visit the outer gardens during daylight hours, usually pretending curiosity about the cleaner runoff water while openly staring toward the heartwood canopy overhead. Rumors spread faster than roots. Some claim Kaelen entered the tree willingly to heal after the tunnels collapsed beneath the river. Others insist the grove itself consumed him during a druidic ritual older than the city.

One particularly inventive version apparently claims the heartwood now chooses who may safely drink from the eastern waterways. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Garrick blames soldiers for that last one immediately and he is probably correct. Night settles fully over eastern Fallowspire by the time the grove finally grows quiet again.

Most of the children sleep near the firepit beneath heavy blankets while the remaining soldiers keep watch near the outer pathways surrounding the district. The heartwood tree glows softly beneath the canopy. Garrick notices the change first. The silver-green light drifting between the roots surrounding the chamber has deepened steadily throughout the evening. Earlier, the glow remained faint enough to resemble reflected moonlight beneath the bark itself. Now the roots pulse visibly similar to breathing.

Aibell rises slowly from beside the firepit the moment she notices it as well.

"That's different," she says quietly. Merrow follows her gaze toward the tree and immediately straightens.

"Should we be concerned?"

"I honestly have no idea," Aibell replies. That answer concerns Garrick significantly more than the glowing roots. The mana surrounding the grove thickens gradually afterward. Wind moves softly through the canopy despite the stillness hanging over the rest of the district while silver-green currents drift visibly between the roots spreading beneath the clearing. Several soldiers wake almost immediately.

One of them reaches instinctively for a weapon before stopping when the warmth spreading through the grove settles against the clearing instead of danger. The sensation feels strangely peaceful, older somehow. Garrick rises slowly and steps closer toward the heartwood tree while the roots continue pulsing beneath the canopy overhead. Beyond the woven opening between the bark, Kaelen remains motionless beside the silverwood tree growing within the chamber. Yet something about him has changed.

The exhaustion that once seemed permanently settled into his posture has disappeared completely. Even seated within the roots, somehow the tension he carried for years finally loosened beneath the grove's influence. The realization stills Garrick unexpectedly. For the first time since meeting Kaelen, the man inside the tree no longer resembles someone merely enduring his own existence. The roots pulse once more beneath the clearing. Then the heartwood begins opening wider.

The movement spreads gradually through the older roots surrounding the chamber entrance. Woven heartwood shifts aside in slow deliberate motion while silver-green light deepens beneath the canopy overhead. The grove around the clearing falls completely silent. Even the children stop moving. Garrick steps forward instinctively while several soldiers near the outer pathways straighten at the same moment. No one reaches for a weapon this time.

The atmosphere surrounding the roots carries none of the sharp tension that usually precedes danger. The grove feels calm. The opening widens further until the chamber beyond becomes properly visible for the first time in days. Silverwood branches spread softly through the interior beneath drifting currents of pale light while deeper roots weave through the walls surrounding the older tree growing at the center of the chamber. Kaelen remains seated beside it for several moments longer. Then he opens his eyes.

The change becomes obvious immediately. The exhaustion that once seemed permanently carved into the lines of his posture has faded almost completely. Earlier, even moments of stillness carried the sense of someone bracing constantly against pain beneath the surface. Now that strain has disappeared beneath something steadier. The silver-green mana drifting through the chamber settles gradually around him as he rises from beside the silverwood tree.

For a moment Garrick notices the wooden staff resting near the roots beside him and frowns slightly. That definitely was not there before. Kaelen's hand closes around it naturally before he steps toward the opening between the roots. The grove responds immediately. Mana moves quietly beneath the clearing while heartwood roots surrounding the pathways pulse once beneath the soil.

Several nearby flowers along the eastern runoff channels bloom almost simultaneously before the current settles again beneath the district. No one speaks. Kaelen steps out of the chamber slowly afterward. The roots close behind him in deliberate silence while the silver-green light fades gradually back beneath the bark surrounding the heartwood tree. Only faint traces of mana remain drifting through the clearing once the opening seals completely. For several moments, the entire grove simply watches him.

The changes remain subtle until seen properly. The older exhaustion has vanished almost entirely from his movements. Even the scars beneath the mana channels near his hands look less severe somehow, softened beneath healthier skin where years of strain once left visible damage. More than anything else, Kaelen simply looks rested. Garrick suspects none of them realized how unnatural that would seem until now. Aibell recovers first.

"You were inside that tree for five days," she says. Kaelen blinks once.

"That explains why I am suddenly very hungry." Relief breaks the tension across the clearing almost immediately afterward. Ciara laughs softly into one hand while several soldiers nearby visibly relax for the first time all evening. Even Merrow exhales quietly beneath her breath before folding her arms again.

"That is your first response?" Garrick asks flatly.

"I considered saying something mystical," Kaelen replies while glancing briefly toward the heartwood tree behind him.

"It felt irresponsible."

"That sounds considerably more like the person we expected to walk back out." Kaelen's gaze shifts across the grove afterward, the roots, the gardens, the children gathered near the eastern pathways, the cleaner runoff channels beyond the clearing. Something quieter settles across his expression while he studies the grove surrounding him.

"It grew," he says eventually. Aibell lifts an eyebrow.

"You say that like you are surprised."

"I was occupied."

"That is one way to describe disappearing into a magical tree for nearly a week," Garrick mutters. Kaelen ignores the comment entirely. Instead, he crouches near one of the smaller heartwood roots spreading beside the pathway and rests his hand lightly against the bark. The grove responds immediately beneath the soil surrounding the clearing. Mana moves quietly through the roots beneath eastern Fallowspire before settling again almost as quickly. Several nearby soldiers stare openly.

Kaelen notices a moment later and slowly removes his hand from the root.

"That may become alarming if I continue doing it unconsciously," he says.

"That may already be too late," Garrick replies. Despite the dry answer, his attention remains fixed on the wooden staff resting beside Kaelen. Eventually he gestures toward it.

"You would like to explain that?" Kaelen looks down at the staff briefly. For the first time since emerging from the heartwood, uncertainty flickers faintly across his expression.

"No," he says honestly.

"Not entirely."