Chapter 96. Forest of Ents.
Almost until midnight, Severus questioned them about everything in the jungle that interested him. Some of the information he had previously gathered from the writer was already a little outdated. In six months, certain species of monsters had shifted both their habitats and their habits. It was a surprise, for instance, to learn that the tree monsters, resembling ents, which he had planned to encounter on the road, had moved south, directly into their nemesis, the blood wolves. He had plotted the route specifically to cross their path because, like dryads, tree spirits that took the form of exquisite beauties, they were favorites of nature, and that meant the purest magic and a wealth of rare herbs were always found near them. Now, instead, there was a lair of yellow monkeys there, which annoyed him mildly.
One species of turtle that had interested him because of its longevity and regeneration had been wiped out entirely three months ago by an unknown predator. At the site of the slaughter, researchers had found only one large, long track leading to the river that circled the outer part of the jungle. According to their assessment, it belonged to a huge snake, almost a meter wide and at least fifteen meters long. For this part of the Magical Jungle, that was a genuine monster, capable of tearing through all wildlife without much difficulty.
According to Patricia, there had been several attempts to track the creature, but all of them had failed. It vanished as if into thin air, and after that incident never appeared again, so the search was called off.
Severus disagreed with some of Patricia's guesses, however. The idea of a gap in the barrier, for instance, was simply impossible in a dome this stable and powerful. In his view it was far more likely that some creature had simply been fortunate enough to consume something valuable, something that boosted its strength enough to wipe out an entire species. But whether it was a snake or not, he could not say for certain until he saw that track with his own eyes.
Still, Patricia gave him plenty of fresh information about the Magical Jungle, and then she adjusted the map slightly and helped refine the route, because Severus had no intention of skipping the ents. Besides exploring the forbidden part, his second goal was gathering ingredients, and thanks to the extraordinary strength of the tree monsters, almost nobody entered their territory. That meant the harvest promised to be very rich.
Patricia tried to talk him out of what she called a suicidal decision. He had saved their lives, and she simply could not bring herself to let their savior walk to his death. She failed. So the next morning, after wishing him luck, they parted ways. The group headed for the jungle's exit, and Severus went south, toward the tree monsters. The road was going to be long: thirty-five kilometers to reach them, and then another forty-five to the safe zone.
By his calculations, the whole journey would take a full day, but this time he planned to use wind magic to speed things along and cover the distance in half that time. Of course, that meant forgoing most of the herbs along the way. But according to Patricia, who had once visited the place, a month after the ents had left she found an abundance of rare ingredients there. Other wizards had been gathering there too, and even in an entire month they had not managed to collect everything, which spoke to the sheer size of the territory.
Over the next two and a half hours, they skirted several territories belonging to different monsters and passed through what could only be called a serpent's paradise, a three-kilometer stretch packed with those slithering reptiles. They could have gone around it, but that would have cost at least another half hour, and Severus did not have the time. So they went straight through. Thanks to Nagini, whom no snake dared approach, they crossed without any real difficulty and even collected a couple of poisonous herbs that were nearly impossible to find elsewhere. These grew only in places saturated with toxins, where even chewing a blade of grass could easily kill you. It was a sort of forbidden territory within the outer part of the Magical Jungle, a place even devoted snake enthusiasts were afraid to enter.
After fifteen minutes, Severus finally dismissed the wind spell and his feet touched the ground. They had reached the ents' territory: a lush green forest that stood out sharply against the vivid colors of the ordinary jungle. Besides tropical trees, other species grew here too, including oak, spruce, elm, elder, and even a weeping willow visible in the distance. The grass was so tall it nearly reached his waist.
"An interesting place indeed." Severus could not suppress a surprised gasp as he smiled at the view. "The last time I saw something like this was in the fairy forest, and even then I nearly lost my life to those little monsters."
"Stop drifting off." Nagini nudged him in the side, though she herself was studying the lush forest with genuine wonder. Compared to the ordinary jungle, it looked particularly majestic and alive.
"All right, let's take a closer look." Severus stroked her head and stepped into the ents' territory. "Nelly, don't touch anything yet," he added, glancing to his right at the house-elf, who was almost invisible through the tall grass.
"Yes, master."
Severus was heading toward the very center of the forest, because, like other creatures, the tree monsters had a leader. They were magical trees that had gained consciousness through magic, but they were highly intelligent, understood human speech, and even possessed empathy, which was why they were called favorites of magic. After all, even if you burned down the entire forest, if even a small root remained, an ent could be reborn, though it would lose all its memories.
Finding the leader among them was straightforward. Only the largest tree, the one bearing the most magic, could become the leader, and it was almost always located right at the center of the forest.
After a couple of kilometers, Severus emerged into a small clearing. At its center stood a massive tree a little over thirty meters tall, its enormous branches almost completely hiding the sky above the open space.
"Greetings, leader of the ents. I have come with a request: allow me to gather herbs, and in return..." Severus waved his hand. The next moment, saplings of various trees began appearing around him, over three hundred in total, bought from shops in Knockturn Alley when he had first learned of these creatures from Brew. "I will give you all of these saplings."
For a few seconds, perfect silence hung over the clearing, until finally the tree stirred and two glowing green points appeared high on the trunk.
"Three hours." A booming, elderly voice rang out, making Nagini and the house-elf flinch, and Severus kept watching the tree with the same calm expression.
"Thank you. Then I will not trouble you further." With a slight bow, he turned and left the clearing without another word.
Once Severus had gone, roots rushed toward the saplings from all directions, wrapping around the pots, lifting them up carefully, and carrying them away in different directions.
Patting the house-elf on the head and sending her to gather ingredients, Severus walked through the forest at an unhurried pace.
"I thought you would try to take all the herbs by force."
"Since when do I look so bloodthirsty to you? That kind of approach is nothing more than wasteful," he thought, tapping Nagini on the snout. Severus climbed up into a tree and watched Nelly work. And if he had done that, most of the herbs would have been hidden from them anyway, because ents despise being threatened. It was simpler to bargain with saplings, and apparently he was not the only one who had thought of that. Remember those trees from the Muggle world at the edge of the ents' territory, and that weeping willow, which could not have appeared in a place like this naturally.
"I see. But how do you know that?"
"Well, I overheard it while passing through Knockturn Alley," Severus lied without blinking.
"You could have just said you did not want to answer, or at least come up with something more believable," Nagini snorted, resting her head on his shoulder.
Someday I will tell you everything, but not now.
Stroking her head, Severus closed his eyes and leaned against the trunk. He had not breathed air this clean or felt magic this pure in a very long time, so he decided to rest in the calm of it. And if he had joined the gathering, he might have irritated the ents. He should not be too greedy here, and Nelly gathered like ten people, so he was not worried.
The next three hours passed without him noticing. He had not slept so soundly in a very long time, all while absorbing the magic around him. Compared to what lay beyond this forest, it felt like a breath of fresh air.
"Severus! Wake up!" At Nagini's worried voice, Severus snapped his eyes open and looked around with mild surprise at the creatures that had gathered around them.
They were large humanoid trees of different sizes and species, with human facial features, and their eyes glowed with orange light.
"Has the time already passed?" He looked at them with a trace of embarrassment. He had not expected to fall so deeply asleep that he would not even sense them closing in. This was the downside of places like this. It was far too comfortable here.
"Yes, human," came the hoarse voice of one of the ents before him.
"I apologize. We will leave the forest right now." Stretching, Severus rose to his feet, then turned to the house-elf who had appeared nearby holding out a small box. "Good girl," he said with a smile, patting her. He took the Undetectable Extension artifact and tossed it into his pouch. "We are leaving your territory." But as he was about to jump down from the branch, a wooden hand appeared in front of him. Surprise flickered across his face, then gave way to a slight frown. "What do you want?"
"The king ordered us to bring you to him," the ent said. At that moment, the tree Severus was standing on also stirred and rose onto its feet. "We will carry you ourselves."
"Why?"
"We do not know."
Pointless trying to get more out of them. "Fine. Lead the way."
The creatures nodded in silence, and the tree beneath Severus started toward the center of the ents' territory.
"What if it is a trap?" Nagini asked, worried, and Severus smiled at her.
"Do you know their main weakness?"
She tilted her head.
"Fire."