The stairway leading up the giant tree was the first of many wondrous little discoveries Henry made. It was as if a low branch had sprouted near the water surface, flattened itself, then curled around the tree all the way up. Now that he was climbing the natural-looking steps in his human form, he realized how gigantic these trees really were.

  Even if he’d reduced his size when he’d gotten Flowing Form, Henry had still been massive. But now, as a human, the sheer scale of these trees boggled the mind. They were at least fifty feet in diameter. At least. He had nothing to measure with and he couldn’t tell very well from this angle, but as he quietly walked behind the two guides, and as the wind ruffled his hair and made the treetops sway, he felt like an ant. A tiny little ant climbing a huge oak back in his old world.

  Next to him, Maurice and Stormsong were just as awed. Now that they neared the first inhabited section, their eyes were glued to branches above them. Maurice had asked to be put back on Stormsong’s head—he was too heavy for Henry’s current head—and all three of them were holding their breaths.

  The two had no expectations, but Henry had lived most of his life in a human society, so he had a couple of questions. Mostly pertaining to logistics.

  “Where are we going to sleep?” he asked, using an illusory voice. He couldn’t use the mimicked form to speak. He wasn’t even sure if it was possible, but he would keep trying. For now, he just tried to dub over the word. Just so he didn’t weird out the people around.

  “We’ll show you to a spare lodging, although I’m not sure if it would be fitting for your companions. If they need water, we have a few pools available. We could reserve a couple for your stay.”

  Henry glanced behind and hummed. Stormsong gave him a puzzled head tilt and clicked in her tongue, which the two guides could understand as well, considering they all had the trait that allowed communication through understanding. “What’s a pool?” she asked, and privately, she spoke to Henry and Maurice. “[I have an idea for a way to move around, but it’ll take me some practice. I’ll work on it later.]”

  Zimir quickly explained the concept, and told them how they had a few pools for training as well as for leisure. It was a novel concept to both Stormsong and Maurice, but it made perfect sense to Henry.

  After all, some folk would want to enjoy a swim without risking their lives unnecessarily.

  Moments later, the stairway finally evened out into an open plaza made out of wooden platforms built atop a network of thick branches coming out of three different trees, which cradled the wide space. People milled about, wearing thin and airy colorful robes. From a quick glance, this space seemed to be a market of some sorts, limited by protective wooden-mesh walls against which merchants had their wares displayed.

  Wooden baskets and crates full of vibrant fruits and vegetables filled the stands. Vibrant red tomatoes, peppers of all colors and sizes, glossy fruits that made Henry’s mouth water, and a bunch of produce he’d never seen before. Another section was for fishmongers. Fish, large and small, were displayed, hung. Some were fresh, some were dried. Next to most products, little wooden signs specified the price and weight.

  And it’s all in tokens.

  Henry mentally rubbed his hands together. He could do that physically, but this body still felt a bit awkward.

  A few purple crabs that Henry had fought on the way up were propped up on one particularly large stand, and there was a small crowd watching and listening to a tall, thick-built merchant as he vaunted their freshness and taste of the crabs to the interested and amused onlookers.

  As Henry stepped into the platform, with a dolphin the size of a small-truck and a multi-colored crab atop her, a hush spread out through the crowd, like a rippling wave he could almost see, until only the crab merchant could be heard for a couple of seconds before he realized what was happening.

  Surprisingly, it wasn’t fear or concern that he felt from the crowd through his telepathic sense. Well, there was a little of that, but it was mostly curiosity. And a little bit of greed, but he didn’t expect that to last for long.

  A potbellied merchant close by leaned over. He seemed to be specialized in spices. “Zamir, what’s going my boy?”

  If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  The B-rank coughed, stepped forward, then addressed the crowd. He seemed a bit nervous. Then again, Henry had never been that good at public speaking either, so he could empathize. “Hey everyone. This here is Henry, Maurice, and Stormsong. Awakened guests of his Lordship.”

  If the crowd had been quiet before, it went completely silent for a beat before they exploded into question.

  The spice merchant frowned as his eyes roamed between the three guests. Being close to them, his voice was easiest to pick out. “What do you mean awakened? I only see two— Oh. Oh?”

  They couldn’t tell, as far as Henry knew. The mimicked shell should be displaying him as human, but maybe there were people who could see through it. Though if these humans were anything like those of Earth, the eyes should be a clear tell for them.

  Then again, maybe yellow eyes aren’t special in this world.

  After some back and forth, Semea tapped the butt of her spear on the wooden flooring, and the knock resounded through the crowd. As if familiar with it, the people settled down.

  “We are giving the guests a tour,” she said. “You can ask and visit at a later time, if they’re open to it.”

  There were a few huffs and mutterings here and there, but everyone went back to their business. Seemingly, at least. They were still staring and whispering between each other, but no one asked them any questions directly or stepped in their way. With that, they continued up the trees.

  The second platform was a school. Well, school and training ground, mixed into one. All of it was covered by a particularly large leafy branch, and within it, young people from all ages were spread out, watched by multiple guardians. They stood or sat in small groups, listening to their instructors, practicing, taking notes, and sparring.

  When Zamir made the announcement here, all students but a handful instantly abandoned their classes, which resulted in a red-faced and ashamed Zamir as he scurried Henry and the others away under the combined glares of nearly ten instructors as he tried to extricate himself from the excited and curious children.

  The third platform was the largest yet, and at the same time, the most impressive.

  Maurice had been pretty quiet so far, surprisingly, but Henry could almost hear the little gears whirring in his head as he absorbed everything around him like a sponge. There would be questions. That was guaranteed. At some point, the dam was going to break and Henry was going to need all of his Octominds to deal with the onslaught. But for now, he didn’t mind the small questions. Then again, he could let Zamir deal with the questions. After all, they were honored guests.

  “[This is so pretty. What is it?]”

  Henry took in the scene, and answered.“[This, Maurice, is called agriculture.]”

  The scenery was breathtaking. Multiple round knot-like pots carried gently swaying, fruit-laden trees. Thick ropes were holding them up, and a few of the trees had been brought lower through a pulley-system so the farmers could examine the tree and harvest their fruits. All around, racks upon racks were set up in large drawer-like fashion. The farmers would pull on a rack, harvest or plant all manner of produce, then they’d push it back before they’d pull the one above or below and do the same. There were so many small, ingenious and fascinating details, and there were easily forty to fifty people taking care of seemingly all the nutritional needs of the settlement.

  “Your friend is right,” said Zamir. “This is one of our five breadbaskets. This is what we live on.”

  Stormsong peered down at the two humans. “Can’t you just catch your meals? You two are powerful enough.”

  At this, Samea smiled for the first time. “Meat gets old when you’re eating it raw day in and day out. You’ll have to try our food first, then you’ll know why this is necessary.”

  Henry knew perfectly well how important this place was and clearly, so did the humans. Most if not all those working here were C-ranks and even a few B-ranks. A few younger folk who would have fit in the platform below were helping out, all in D-rank.

  Maurice looked around, eyes shining. An older woman came close and handed him a banana. The crab turned the fruit around a couple of times, then brought to his mandibles, and shuddered as he took the first bite.

  Maybe I should have told him it’s better when it’s peeled.

  Maurice chewed for a couple of seconds before he shoved the whole thing between his mandibles. He was literally vibrating at this point, and a few of the nearby children giggled as the crab’s oddly shrill voice blasted everyone in range. “[This is amazing!]”

  Henry had to agree. It really was.

  Click here to join

  If you want to support me and read ahead, there's . I use the new subscription model, so you will not get double billed on the first of the month.