The Tree That Touches the Sky, Eophock

The agreed-upon days passed, and the group reunited. The naturally cold climate of the continent of Ulfria created an astonishing wall of frosted fog around Thar-Abbys, and the almost spectral appearance of the Multicontinental, surrounded by lights and glows, only added drama to the melancholic station where one could barely see beyond a few meters.
"The Multicontinental bound for the regions of Ulfria, Gold Jungle Island, Allaughashir, Dremoria, Nher Vael Arhym, Fortuna Institute, and the city of Eophock is arriving. Please begin boarding. You are kindly asked not to forget anything, as after Ulfria we will cross the Rainbow Sea and therefore will not be able to stop, slow down, or change direction. Thank you for choosing us"—a female voice announced from the ecoquartzites, crystalline, purplish formations embedded along the installation, whose hue varied in coordination with the voice they emitted.
All the adventurers looked at the announcement boards and mission chalkboards to see if any caught their eye or fit their route. Meanwhile, on platform A1, Mina, Íthil, and Jacob prepared to board.
"You're not forgetting anything, are you? It would be very unpleasant if you left behind any important tools," Mina said in a serious tone as they gathered all their luggage.
"Don't worry, we have what we need," Íthil and Jacob nodded.
Among the three, Jacob was the most agitated. He had his eyes on the enchanted luggage cart, trying to load his luggage onto it without touching it, nervously. Just when he seemed triumphant, the cart moved slightly a few millimeters, touching Jacob and triggering his unfortunate allergy, illuminating all the platforms in the area.
"No way!" Jacob shouted as Íthil laughed at the top of his lungs.
Íthil threw the singed Jacob onto a sofa in their cabin.
"No doubt, Jacob, you'll be a great help on missions, hahahahaha," Íthil said, holding back a mocking chuckle.
After settling in, Íthil slept for a while longer while Jacob took inventory of his newly purchased portable weapon repair workshop and a small stove. Mina, for her part, prepared sturdy quartz flasks with their respective alchemical and medicinal compounds. A journey of two days and three nights awaited them.
At dawn on the third day, already past the city of Nher Vael Arhym, the group was preparing. Before them appeared a tree unlike any they had ever seen. They hadn't even seen its base yet, and they were already observing its canopy; it soared enormous and carefree on the horizon, beyond the clouds, while its massive trunk revealed a huge and bustling settlement nestled in its bark and along its thickest branches.
A few minutes later, they arrived at the station embedded in one of the tree's roots, where multiple vehicles were also arriving and departing.
"I've never had the chance to visit Eophock before; it's quite intimidating, to be honest," Íthil said, astonished by the tree's dimensions, but with a tone of distrust.
"Me neither… I have to agree with you, it's enormous! But there's an aura of tranquility coming from this tree," Mina said as she observed the city above in the branches. A multitude of vehicles of all types traveled among the branches, and entire residential blocks were nestled in its trunk.
"This city is incredible; I particularly agree it's big, but nothing is more extraordinary than the platinum mines beneath Thar-Abbys; they truly left me breathless!" Mina and Íthil looked resignedly at Jacob, who was lost in his mining fantasies.
They looked around from the enormous branch that housed them. From there, they could see residential districts, plazas, and commercial areas located on the tree and its roots. Meanwhile, on the farthest buttresses were farms with terraced plantings. With this landscape, they could comprehend the true dimension of the tree.
"Wow, the existence of this tree in the desert is truly incredible! One would think this land is poor and infertile," Mina said as she tried to tame her hair, which played wildly in the air.
"Actually, you're wrong, children; it's because of the tree that the Dumas desert exists. This tree is an Amhin-Talogh, a spirit tree from the realm of Garod," an attractive female voice said.
The three adventurers turned their gaze to a shop window in a nearby station establishment. On its balcony sat a woman whose age was dangerously hard to discern, with long, straight black hair that cascaded over her shoulders, down her back, and halfway to her thighs. The dark, deep tone of her hair contrasted with her soft, pink complexion. Large hair rings adorned each side of her face, and a platinum snake tattoo ran down her right arm. She wore a polished platinum amulet and a long, sleeveless, Chinese-style dress. A pleasant and relaxing scent emanated from her; deep experience could be seen in her eyes, but her face, with remnants of a large, half-eaten smoked pork leg she held in her right hand, somewhat detracted from the encounter.
"Aah!" Jacob and Íthil gasped, mouths agape, hypnotized, while Mina judged them with her gaze.
The charming woman, wiping herself with a handkerchief, approached Íthil and Jacob, and with her index finger gently closed each of their mouths.
"As I was saying, children, this tree creates the desert among its roots. These extend throughout Dumas, and in its thickest, exposed roots are the roads, oases, and medium-sized settlements, and in the middle of these are the desert expanses of Du…ma…s… Are you listening to me?" the woman asked Íthil and Jacob, who were staring intently at her, to which they merely nodded, intensifying their gaze.
PHOOM!—reverberated in the establishment, accompanied by a slight tremor. Everyone fell silent and turned to see Mina restoring her companions' ability to speak with a gentle tap on each of their heads.
"I must apologize for my companions; I see they are slightly weak to certain stimuli," she said, tapping her foot on her companions' unconscious bodies.
Sighing slightly, the beautiful woman looked at Mina and gently laughed.
"Well, it seems your friends and you have a task," she exclaimed as she looked at Mina's wooden medallion and the other two that lay on the floor.
"Yes, and I see you have one too," Mina pointed with her hand to the platinum medallion held by a half-red cape on her shoulders. This one had diamond letters that clearly marked a double SS, denoting the highest level among adventurers and masters; even directors and teachers usually only reached an S.
"Of course, everyone has work; it's rare for a Thar-Abbys student not to," the woman said, laughing charmingly as she picked up a medium-sized bag from beside her table.
"Cheer up, students, and good luck with your missions!" she said one last time before disappearing into the crowd of people passing through the station. The crowd parted as if clearing the way for such a beautiful woman.
Mina huffed and murmured—"Of course… everyone has work"—carrying the two unconscious figures and tossing them onto a nearby bench where they soon regained consciousness, and proceeded to continue their journey.
The group found the transport sections without much trouble. Jacob managed to get a good discount on transport to the swamps. They set off, loading their belongings, and began their journey to their next destination, traveling over the root in a cart powered by Stoneworks. The journey wasn't too long; the road was very well maintained, and along with the occasional clusters of houses embedded along the sides of the road and the terraced gardens maintained next to the desert, the journey always offered something to look at. At dusk, they stopped seeing the desert landscapes and noticed the change in the cart's movement; they had already left the root behind, beginning the dirt road. The change in the landscape was also evident.
"And… what kind of place are we heading to, little one?" Íthil said as they watched the vivid green of the tree gradually turn into twisted, sparse, and brownish trees.
"I'm not a dwarf!" Jacob grumbled while Mina let out a perceptible laugh.
"Well, the place we're going to is a free town called Theos," Jacob added.
"Free Town? What's that like?" Mina and Íthil asked.
"Yes… the Dragas region is known for not having concrete political stability and constantly changing leadership. In short, the region is very unstable. Fights and political disputes instigated by external powers keep the region chaotic, providing cheap labor," Jacob replied.
"Oh, yes, I've heard rumors about that; they say the source of all this are the Reclamationist Orders," Íthil added as he looked out the window.
"Yes, I've heard those rumors too," Mina exclaimed as she closed the window on her side of the cart.
"It's a possibility. The Reclamationist Orders have a strong presence in this region, from assassinations, coercion, corruption, and political movements in other countries and academies, supposedly for the collection of Archaeorelics," Jacob said somberly.
"An acquaintance told me that not long ago, the last legitimate male head of the already agonizing royal family of the region was assassinated. It seems there will be civil war soon," Mina said as the cart's movement rocked the group.
"Yes, the Reclamationist Orders have successfully and with impunity taken labor and soldiers from nearby regions for a long time," Íthil said as the cart entered a more forested region.
The adventurers stopped their chat for a while as they entered the great Dragas Swamp and began to observe the shadowy and famous figures of the region that, like small pairs of eyes, played within the hollows of some trees, among the dry leaves and in small, darkened crevices of the place.
Mina, nervous, grabbed Íthil and Jacob by the neck while pointing out the window with a finger.
"W-w-what… what… are those?"—
Jacob, turning from red to purple, strangled, could barely respond.
"Those are Umbranati, a natural phenomenon of the region, they look like small creatures in the shadows and cavities. Mina, please… I'm choking!"—
Íthil, also caught in Mina's grip, added.
"Don't worry, they're a hallucination; it's never been proven that they're real, most likely they're an effect of the animals in the area"—Mina, not entirely convinced, released Jacob and Íthil and grabbed the nearest weapon, just in case.
And so they continued for a few hours until the lights of a village appeared on the path, covered by fog as if by a veil.
"According to my watch, it's around 3:00 p.m.," Íthil murmured.
"Yes, it's still very early," Mina and Jacob began to prepare for arrival.
"So this is it? Theos!" Jacob said as they watched the carriage move away through the muddy roads. It left them at the crossroads about 300 meters from the village's outer barricade.
"Come on, we still have to check the place and talk to the villagers," Íthil put his travel bag on his shoulder while the other two followed him.
The group followed the mossy and damp stone and brick path that extended to the village. The fog seemed to have a consciousness and many times they felt it charge from the forest onto the path only to stop and vanish at its edge. 50 meters from the entrance, a nervous voice raised an oil lantern and shouted in a tone lacking confidence.
"Who goes there?" an old, rough voice asked.
"We come from Thar-Abbys," Mina said firmly. The other two raised their hands as a sign of arrival.
"Okay… okay… stay right there, we'll come for you."
An elderly man, carrying a rusty sword and a moth-eaten leather breastplate, walked towards them. Short but very muscular, he approached the group and, bringing an oil lamp closer, tried to strain his tired eyesight as much as he could, and barely discerning what was in front of him, he said:
"Please show your medallions, one cannot be too cautious in these lands," the man said as he looked at them with suspicion.
Mina and Jacob raised their medallions while Íthil raised a glazed bread roll.
"I see… I see… two wood and one silver. You don't know how much relief it gives us to see the level of the people sent to us; the village will be able to rest better from today onwards. Your previous friends left and abandoned the village just like that; I hope you don't run away."
Mina looked at Íthil with reproach while Jacob barely held back his laughter. They headed down a narrow path that soon led them to a village. The mist hovered around the surrounding forest sections like an animal stalking its prey. The red brick buildings and stone tiles stood solid and unmoving against the surrounding forest, offering refuge from the external fog.
"Three big and strong lads arrived from the academy, make sure to help them as much as possible to solve our problem!" the old man shouted. Jacob and Íthil laughed in silence, seeing Mina get angry.
"Can I hit him? Just a little, it'll be quick, he won't feel a thing, I promise," Mina muttered a curse as she clenched her fist.
Moments later, with most of the village gathered, everyone converged in the central plaza where there was a kiosk.
Around it gathered what seemed to be almost the entire village, various people all between 6 and 45 years old, almost entirely composed of young and adult males. Those under 20 were all children, while in the kiosk sat 4 older adults, one of whom was the watchman.
"Pleased to have you here, adventurers, we are glad that Thar-Abbys has finally given us a turn. We hope you resolve our situation as quickly as possible, do not hesitate to consult me or any other member of the village," said a woman appearing about 50 years old, with a somewhat reduced body. The lady still moved vigorously and without problems; her clearly experienced voice gave the impression of a tough worker with great leadership. The adventurers couldn't help but feel a little dwarfed by such an imposing presence.
"My name is Regis, our watchman whom you already met is Raya. These are Laurel and Merril, we are the leaders of the village of Theos," the four elders greeted the adventurers.
"As you know, we are far from everything; we feared they wouldn't send anyone after last year's incident," said Merril, an older lady with a cheerful demeanor and comfortable clothes.
The village was in low-voiced conversations while various glances judged the adventurers.
"Thar-Abbys sent us and we want to be of complete help, don't worry, we are with you!" Mina said while a great majority of the villagers showed relief in their eyes at the news.
The 4 village leaders smiled.
"We are glad to see your willingness to work. The village and we were worried; your last companions who came left the job and fled the village without making any progress," said Raya, supported by several villagers who expressed their anger.
"We are very sorry for the attitude of our companions, this time we will help you using the best of our abilities," Jacob affirmed.
"Very well, tell us the real problem you have," Íthil spoke as politely as he could. At that moment, most of the village remained silent while Regis began to speak.
"As you can see, we have a population problem. Our village is not very big… and there are few young people to begin with. We know there are incursions from other countries to forcibly take young people, but it's almost always those of middle age and they have no shame, they don't care about being discovered, they do it in broad daylight. Unfortunately, we have a bigger problem: as you may have noticed, there are no young girls or young women. We have no idea who the culprit is or where they are!"
An incredible sinking feeling suddenly hit the 3 adventurers.