[Hmmmmmmmmm] the big tree blinks at me slowly a few times, as if surprised that I still exist rather than focusing on the question that I asked it.
I wait patiently whilst he inspects me but my patience is quickly running by the time he finally gets around to talking again.
[You look different,] he observes.
[Obviously, I've evolved!] I explode at him. [Can you explain to me why your plant-based parent is sprouting willy-nilly and soaking up gross mana around the place?! Do I have to ask every question three times or something?!]
He blinks.
[No.] He says finally.
I take a breath.
[So why aren't you answering my question then?] I grate out.
He looks at me with an almost palpable sense of pity.
[Because mother finds it amusing and so won't let me answer.]
The leaves and flowers that sprout from every surface around us seem to wriggle with amused joy and I slump where I stand.
[This might not be diplomatic of me, Mr Grove Keeper, but your mother is a massive pain in the thorax. Is she always like this?]
The tree nods in understanding.
[She is always like this, and we know. I ask that you be patient with her. She hasn't had the easiest life on this planet.]
The leaves rustle angrily and the Grove Keeper holds up his hands.
[I will say no more, but I think I might be able to answer your question now?]
The bushes sullenly return to stillness and the giant tree dips his head in appreciation.
[Hmmmmm. To answer your question in full, I will need to explain a little about mother, which may be why she is reluctant that I share, but I do not see the harm in a little truth. It is an extension of trust between us.]
[An olive branch? I can get behind that.]
The tree-man smiles wide, the bark on his face creaking.
[An olive branch? Yes. I like that.] He ponders the metaphor with a pleased hum that reverberates in his chests and sets all the plants to swaying before he continues. [The Mother tree is very sensitive to mana, her roots can sniff out changes from quite a long range, and her roots spread wide. When you stumbled into a tertiary root in this area, she began to expand her network in this area, this enabled her to detect the mana that you spoke of.]
[Wait, how much of the planet does your mother have roots through? And that massive thing I ran into was a tertiary? So it branched from a secondary that branched from the primary? How big is the primary?!]
The Grove Keeper chuckles.
[The primary tap-root of the Mother Tree is… vast. I will not bother attempting to describe it to you. As for your other question, I will not reveal much other than to say that it is likely less than you think. Our Mother is not a normal tree, but rather a monstrous tree, thus she does not follow the same set of rules you might think she does. To grow her network here, she needed to sacrifice root systems in other places.]
The bushes shiver in an accusatory fashion and the Grove Keeper once again holds up his hands in a placating gesture.
[An olive branch,] he says to both me and her.
The plants settle again but I can tell they aren't happy. Can a shrub glare?
[Okay. So what is it about this particular brand of mana, I don't even know what kind it is, that your mother finds so attractive that she would sprout up in our territory like that?]
[This… Hmmmmmm. Again, I do not speak overmuch. Suffice to say, Mother is an expert when it comes to containing and eradicating this particular form of mana.]
The branches around us creak.
[And she finds it delicious,] the Grove Keeper adds.
I raise an antenna.
[Delicious?]
[Yes,] he nods.
[I'm guessing the Mother Tree doesn't need water to survive, right? She 'drinks' mana?]
[This is true.]
[Alright then, I think I get it.] I take a look at the Grove around us, just as lush and vibrant as what I saw near the Colony during the siege, if not more so. What I don't see is nearly as many Bruan'chii. There are a few here and there, tending to the plants, engaged in what appear to be lively conversations with each other, but I expected to see many more. [Where are all your people, Grove Keeper? Has something happened?]
I can't imagine they were assaulted by the wave, it barely seems to affect them at all here. Their Grove falls outside the Colony's territory, but only just. We are more than likely taking the majority of the heat from the wave for them, but standing here, it feels like the madness in the tunnels is a mile away.
[Most have returned to the Mother to rest during this time of upheaval. When things quiet down again, they may return, or perhaps the Mother Tree will need them elsewhere,] he shrugs, [they will not mind regardless.]
Uh, what? They 'returned to the mother'. What the heck does that mean? Are they dead?!
[When you say, they returned…] I open cautiously, [are they… still alive?]
The leafy face looks at me curiously.
[Of course they are still alive.]
Phew!
[Just checking! I don't really know how… all that works.]
He just smiles.
[It is normal for there to be problems communicating between our peoples. There will be many misunderstandings, I'm sure. In time, we will know each other better.]
[Me too. Thanks for satisfying my curiosity and answering my questions. I'll be sure to come back and check in when the wave is done, just to chat and see how things are going.]
[You will be most welcome,] the keeper waves farewell and we turn to exit the grove.
I'm kind of surprised that I got as much information as I did, especially considering how irritating that damn tree is. I do kind of wonder about her situation and how willing she is to reach out to allies. To do the things she does, she must be what, tier nine or above? At that level of power, she still needs help? What the heck!? What exactly is threatening her? I'm also rather curious as to where her main body is. I wonder what strata she chooses to make her home?
The moment we leave the grove, it's like a light has been turned off. The environment changes in an instant from peaceful garden to shadow warzone. It's so abrupt that I'm certain there must be some sort of magical effect at work. My pets and I don't run into anything too challenging and are able to fight our way back inside the Colony's borders without much issue. With that mystery sorted, it's time to get back to charging forth and smashing the wave back to the outer defensive line.