Meliodas, Jellal, Ultear, and Meredy eventually made it past the border of Bosco. They stopped on top of a hill overlooking the new country's land. There was a vast, rocky tundra spread out in front of them. In the distance, one could see a few mountains and a massive forest just at the foot of the mountain.
"This is my first time in Bosco." Meliodas commented as he looked at the view. Ultear pulled out a map of the country, with everyone gathering around her to take a look at it.
"There appears to be a lot less railroads here than in Fiore, so expect to be doing a lot of walking. Astral Duchess is located south of a city called Silva, which is just at the other side of that mountain." Ultear said as she pointed at the large mountain looming in the distance. "After we get through, we'll rest at Silva. We're primarily known through Fiore, so we'll have an easier time traveling through Bosco, but be wary of the council as their reach spreads throughout all of Ishgar."
---
The group walked across the bare rocky tundra, leading towards the forest at the base of the mountain. The forest opened up into a clearing, revealing a small town with only about a dozen buildings. At the edge of the town was a large sawmill powered by a watermill. The sound of chopping trees could be heard in the distance as axes slammed into the wood.
"I don't remember this town being on the map." Meredy commented.
"It was probably too small to be considered a town. It's more like a mill that developed into its own community." Jellal responded. The group walked through the main path going down the town. A couple of burly men holding axes looked at the group curiously as they walked through. One of them approached the group. He was a middle aged man with short brown hair. He had a square jaw covered by a thin layer of stubble. He wore a white headband drenched in sweat around his head and a dirty white tunic along with brown pants tucked into black boots. He mounted his axe over his shoulder.
"Welcome travelers!" The man greeted with a large grin. "What brings you to our town? Although, we're not actually a town, just a tight knit community that cuts down trees. But I do like to call us a town!"
"We're just passing through." Jellal said. "We're heading to Silva."
"Silva? Ah that explains the fancy garbs." The man continued as he eyed their cloaks. "You all must be mages! They have a college in Silva dedicated to studying magic."
"Thanks for the information, but that's not why we're going. We'll be on our way now." Jellal continued.
"W-wait!" The man shouted. "You guys are mages right? Could you help our mill out with a monster issue? I'll pay you generously! A hundred thousand gems!"
"Gems?" Meredy questioned.
"The currency here in Bosco. I believe a hundred thousand gems is worth about a million jewels in Fiore." Ultear answered. Meliodas raised an eyebrow at the currency. 'Wasn't that also the currency name in Edolas?'
"We'll need to talk about this first." Jellal said. The man nodded and the Crime Sorciere group backed away and huddled together.
"I think it would be nice if we helped him." Meredy commented.
"It may also increase our risk of being found out though…" Ultear added.
"I say we do it." Meliodas said. "Doesn't hurt to make a bit of extra money on the side either. We'll need the gems while we're in Silva. I think our chances of getting caught might go up if they catch us paying for stuff with Jewels."
"You're right. And Crime Sorciere is a guild to atone for our sins. We will help those in need along the way." Jellal said as he glanced at the other members. "So it's decided?"
Meliodas, Ultear, and Meredy nodded. They split up from their huddle and Jellal approached the man.
"We'll help you out. Just give us the details." Jellal said. The man's eyes sparkled and he got down on his knees, bowing on the ground."
"Thank you so much!" The man cried out. He quickly jumped back up and regained his composure as he grinned at the group. "By the way, forgive me for my rudeness, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Miller. What are your names?"
Jellal immediately froze at the question. Ultear and Meredy's eyes widened as they had to think of names for themselves.
"I-I'm...Sieghart." Jellal said.
"Zalty!" Ultear quickly replied.
"I'm M-Melody!" Meredy said nervously.
"It's nice to meet you all! Mystogan, Zalty, and Meredy. And-" Miller stared at Meliodas with a puzzled look on his face. "I apologize. I think I might have missed your name."
"Oh. I'm…" Meliodas paused briefly. 'Sorry Zel.'
"Zeldris." Meliodas answered.
"So what is it you need help with exactly?" Jellal asked.
"Lately we've been clearing away an area closer to the base of the mountain. But there are these strange tree-like monsters that have been showing up. They've already killed one of our people and injured several more…" Miller answered with a sad tone.
"Then we'll deal with them. Let's go."
---
"Where did you get the name, "Zeldris." Meredy asked as the group walked through the forest.
"Zeldris is the name of my younger brother. Knowing him, he'd probably be a bit upset with me if he knew I used his name like that." Meliodas said with a cheeky grin. "So how did you guys come up with your nicknames?"
"Zalty was a previous alias of mine under a different identity." Ultear said.
"I never had any fancy alias like them so I went with a cute name." Meredy explained.
"My previous alias was Siegrain, but that name carries weight so I altered it." Jellal answered.
"I see." Meliodas said. "I think I remember seeing "Siegrain" on some list in Sorcerer Weekly a while back."
"Oh you're talking about that top ten men of Fiore list. Jellal was quite popular with the ladies back when we were in the council." Ultear said teasingly. Jellal looked down at the ground, pulling his hood lower over his face.
"I didn't care for those things..." Jellal commented.
"Oh look we're here." Meliodas said, pointing straight ahead at a forest clearing. At the edges of the clearing, were a few stumps of trees where the woodcutters had been working. There were signs of a struggle, with a couple of broken axes on the ground and a blood stain on one of the tree stumps.
The group noticed movement coming from several large bushes behind the cut down tree stumps. A strange bipedal creature began to walk out from the bushes. Its body appeared to be made completely of wood. It had a square head with leaves coming off the top, taking the appearance of hair and beady black eyes. Its arms were almost as long as its body, reaching the ground. Coming out of its arms where its hands should be were many smaller roots. It had shorter legs that widened towards the bottom, taking the appearance of a tree's trunk.
"An ent. We don't see a lot of those in Fiore." Jellal remarked. Behind the ent, the bushes began to rustle even more, as three more ents walked out. The ents slowly made their way into the clearing, approaching the group of mages.
"Ents are weak to flame magic. Since they've walked into the clearing, I don't have to worry about burning down the entire forest." Jellal said. He raised his right hand in front of him. A red magic circle appeared in front of him and four fireballs launched out of the circle. The fireballs collided into the ents, engulfing them in flames and causing their bodies to quickly burn away until only their ashes remained on the ground.
"That was simple." Meliodas commented.
"Ents are not very strong. But they can give average mages and non mages a difficult time." Ultear said.
"I don't think we're done here yet." Meredy added. She pointed in the direction that the ents came out of initially. Over a dozen of them began to approach.
"Outnumbered but still no match." Ultear said. A green orb formed in her hand and she held it out in front of her. She paused as she noticed the ents that Jellal had burned into ashes were suddenly sprouting, turning into large trees. The bark from the trees began to shift, forming into the bodies of ents.
"These ents are different from the ones in Fiore. Even fire magic doesn't seem to keep them from coming back." Jellal commented. "But the ents that regrew appear to be weaker. If we keep destroying them, they'll eventually run out of magic and stop regrowing."
"There's something else coming out." Meliodas said. From the tree's a figure jumped out, landing in the clearing between a few ents. The figure was twice the size of an average man, with a human shaped body made entirely of wood and a glowing yellow sap. It had sharp claws on its hands and feet that were made from wood and its eyes grew an eerie yellow color and its body gave off a green aura.
"I've never seen an ent like that before." Ultear commented. "And one with high magical power like that."
"You humans who destroy my forest. I will return you all to Mother Earthland so that your useless flesh may feed her." A voice echoed into their heads.