It made Asher indescribably happy to see a smile blossom across Verissa's face at the sight of the blueberries. He knew that there would be even more wonders where they came from as it was still several hour to their destination. He ate a meal of blueberries, stashing some in a woven basket in the wagon to bring back to his tribe. If Wren were still around he'd have a wife and child to bring things to as well, but now he was just happy to see Verissa enjoying herself.

He stubbornly refused to give in to the constant questioning, but listened with interest to her speculations. This was more than she'd talked to him since they met and it was wonderful to learn just how knowledgable she was, to make such intelligent guesses, and also how imaginitive she could be. It startled him with Remilia dropped her head in his lap, but he was quick to take advantage, stroking the creature's head and ears. He never thought the dogs would take to him, and it was a distinct lesson about trust taking time to earn. Would Verissa ever trust him? She trusted him some, but deeply? Would he always be the man who kidnapped her from her home and was expected to claim her body like property?

Ash tried to ignore the intrusive blackness of his thoughts. Verissa was down with the flowers now, wading through them as she stopped to pick them. "It's not just the bees," he promised. 

He grinned when Verissa ordered him down from the wagon and tied Phantom's reigns back up on the harness so that she could wander unimpeded. He tucked the herbalist's gear in his arms, handing it back to her when she needed it. He trailed along behind her keeping a watchful eye. 

"There are lots of magical places in the Kerawac and not all of them are good like this. And they aren't the same. None are quite like this. You'll see." He sighed. For all the wondrousness of this place, there was something sad about it too.

As they moved through the fields the bees simply bumbled around them, working hard to collect massive amounts of pollen. It seemed that when their were laden they headed towards the same direction Asher was guiding them. Verissa would find practically every herb she had ever heard of that could survive in this balmy climate, each one huge and glossy and ripe for harvesting. Berry and nut bushes were nearly bent over from the weight of their own fruits. The wagon was soon packed with more herbs than Verissa could ever use by herself, but would go a long way to proving her worth and earning her respect with not just the Thunderfangs but the other tribes they might chance to trade with at the upcoming Gathering.

By midafternoon the breeze had shifted slightly and suddenly the sky was full of something that danced and fluttered on the wind. Hundreds, thousands of soft pink petals that had a faint but sweet fragrance and scattered over the pair. Turning to look at Verissa, Asher smiled. "We're almost there. Just over the hill now."

Leading the horse and wagon by the reigns, Asher lead the way, and at the top of the rise they came across a valley containing a single tree. But to call it that would be a disservice. By itself it was large enough to contain the entire village of Silent Rise. It had one trunk, a massive pillar of dark gnarled wood that rooted in more than one spot, dark shadows of secret crevices betweem the roots that could be seen even from where Asher stood. A large pond had formed in the rocky ground at the tree's feet, the clear shallow water bubbling up from some natural well and trickling down in a meandering southward path towards the ocean. 

As they looked on, a gust ruffled the impossible crown of the gargantuan plant and a swarm of pink flowers lifted from where they were festooned on every bough, bearing them aloft to places unknown. The field around it was waist high with all the flowers bees love. Foxglove, sunflowers, chamomile, columbine. Snapdragons, crocus, and lilac. Zinnias, witch hazel, and goldenrod. A profusion of colour that Asher had never seen anywhere else and probably never would. 

But if the sight of the impossibly huge tree wasn't enough, there was a feeling about it that was hard to deny. Asher had felt it before and knew the tree's secret. He took a chance and tucked his arm around Verissa's back, hugging her to his side.

"Beautiful, isn't it? Many of the tribes don't even know it's here. I thought you might like to see it. Shall we go say hello?"