Chapter 102
Finally, having scanned the "garden" again, the young man could not find anything, so he had to leave this place empty-handed, but still he was pleased with his large catch, because in addition to the herbs that they would have enough for the next two or three years , they were also able to find fruits with two stripes, but what was the most excellent find was, of course, a snake evolving into a dragon.
Although Snape did not want to kill the monster, such a "transformation", even in his world, was considered only a legend, but according to the calculations of Snape, only such an individual could help Nagini evolve further, perhaps even become a dragon.
Still, he was closest to the snake, and if he performed the ritual with an ordinary dragon, then the chance of success would be scanty, but for using such a creature, Severus had to start from the beginning and calculate his every step again.
Of course, if the monster tells how he could become a dragon and leads him to the thing that helped him, then Snape will not mind getting himself another pet and a guard for the house ...
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It took much less time to get back, because Severus was no longer afraid of traps along the way, so in just ten minutes they left the gorge and in another ten they reached the forest of Treants, where they had already moved on.
And having overcome another couple of kilometres, they got out to the clearing, where they were met by a huge number of tree monsters and even the King of Treants in its full growth. Snape was not afraid of the trap from these monsters, so he approached the king without fear and stopped some five metres away from the giant.
"My young friend, we thank you for saving our forest," the Treant King began with a good-natured voice, the rest also nodded in unison, " Although the beginning of our communication did not work out a little, but don't be angry with us, I sincerely apologise, from this day you have become our guest, who will always be welcome in this forest."
"Thank you, I understand everything," Severus replied with a calm smile, not particularly surprised by such a bright reception.
"And take this as a thank you for all that you have done for us, " two beams burst out of the ground and abruptly stopped in front of him. They were two round-shaped wooden balls, consisting of roots and emitting powerful magical power, in purity not inferior to that which hovered in the forest itself.
"Although we agreed on only one thing, and no matter how painful it is for us to give them away, I'm sure that the ancestors would be able to understand us and personally would give them if they had such an opportunity!" the Treant King exclaimed with a firm voice, clenching its fists and then pushing them towards the wizard. "Hm? This is something unexpected for sure, but I won't refuse, thank you," as soon as they froze in front of him, the Prince waved his hand and moved them to his wallet, and then silently stared at the tree monster, which also silently looked at him, as if waiting for something then, but the young man still smiled calmly at him, and the twinkle in the giant's eyes blinked a couple of times.
The rest of the Treants silently looked at each other, not understanding what was happening at all, but did not dare to break the silence, nevertheless, one was their king, and the second was a strong man with whom they were told not to speak at all.
"…" King of the Treants.
"... " the rest of Treants.
"What's happening?" Finally, unable to withstand this silence hanging in the air, Nagini asked, but because of the rustle of the trees, besides the wizard, no one heard her.
"Apparently this oak decided that in a similar way he would be able to get something from the cave of the snake, naive ..." inside grinning, Severus answered her, while outwardly not changing at all and still silently continued to look into the king's eyes with a smile on face.
"Hmm! Ahem! I propose then to celebrate such a significant event!" finally realising that Snape was not going to share all the stupidity of his act, the king had no choice but to reluctantly forget about it.
"I'm sorry, but I can't join you, I need to get to the safe zone before evening, but…"
"But…?"
"I don't mind giving you something if you can answer a few questions and help me find something." The giant's right eye blinked again a couple of times.
"Then we could do just that…" A tired sigh escaped the king's lips, "Of course, then we will celebrate later, " and then he looked around the crowd of Treants and said sternly, "Let us talk, in private."
Those treants in response silently dispersed in different directions, their devotion and faith in the King of Treants was unconditional. And as soon as they left the clearing, there were only three beings left.
"You can go ahead and ask me what you want."
"This concerns a few certain herbs that I will need soon," several dozen A4 sheets appeared in Severus' hand, which he handed to the giant, "If you can find them, then I will tell you the way how the rest of your relatives can gain a full-fledged mind."
-"Do you know the way?!" the monster exclaimed with disbelief in his voice, lowering his face to the level of the wizard's eyes, 'Could he have found the thing which made that Snake more powerful?!'
"Tell me honestly, did you really find 'it'?! The Treant King exclaimed.
"If you don't believe me, then I can just leave…"
"Wait! I believe you! I believe you!" taking the sheets, the Treant King quickly began to examine the ingredients depicted on them, and then hundreds of roots burst out of the ground, rushing to different directions of the forest.
And after ten seconds, the first one returned, squeezing a small piece of land on which a light blue flower grew, followed by another one, with a white root, the top of which looked like a nettle, and after that another and another, and this lasted about five minutes … With every moment, more and more herbs appeared in front of the wizard, until the last root finally returned and a breathtaking picture unfolded in front of Snape, and the clearing was filled with multi-colored radiance spreading from the ingredients, but of course, it gradually faded away.
"With the exception of five of these thirty-two, only twenty-seven appear in our forest, the rest are unknown to me."
Snape just nodded silently, examining the herbs, and then smiled contentedly, collecting them all would be no less than a labour then working as a stonemason because most of these ingredients loved to hide in hard-to-reach and inconspicuous places, even Snape himself would have to work hard for a couple of days to find them , so he decided to use the help of the King of Treants, who knew this place like the back of his hand.
'Leaflet, Snake Vine, Triff, Mallor and Lavis Root, no wonder the magic background here is quite high, but for them to survive, they need one and a half times more magic, it's worth looking in the inner and forbidden parts, but still I'm surprised that some of these demanding herbs might grow here…' While the wizard was thinking, the giant stared at him, nervously waiting for his answer, and after he looked up at him,
"How is it?" The Treant King asked nervously.
"Everything is fine," touching the wallet, a box with "miracle fruits" fell to the ground, "These fruits can help solve your problem, for the sake of them you also wanted to deal with the snake and go with me to its lair, right?"
"Yes, " the Treant king didn't try to evade the answer, because even a fool would understand this and quickly grabbing the box, he pulled it to him, as if afraid that the person might take it back, Snape was even a little amused by such a reaction. "There are bones inside them, but this tree will grow for about a hundred years, so I propose mutually beneficial cooperation."
"I understand, but I can't…"
"I'm not talking about Hearts, but herbs, I will come here every six months until I can figure out the structure of the barrier and move here whenever I want, and after that, every month, is it a deal?" holding out his hand, the wizard looked at him with a smile, the Treant king in turn, calmed down a little and finally shook his hand "This is certainly good, but we will also sign the contract anyway," the hand of the Treant King trembled, and Nagini, only rolled her eyes...
***
Leaving the forest of the Treants and leaving them another box, tired of the giant's puppy eyes, they finally headed towards the "safe zone", and evening was already approaching, so Snape wanted to get there as soon as possible. "Safe Zone" , it was a place protected by a barrier at the junction of two areas where monsters could not penetrate, as well as one of the most dangerous places, because in addition to people exploring the inner part of the jungle, much more terrible magical creatures were constantly waiting for them at the exit, who were not averse to eating human beings.
Still, the difference between the outer and inner parts of the jungle was quite significant. In the inner area almost all the monsters had magical skills, when as in the outer part, they were closer to simple, Muggle animals, but they had a more developed physique and only a few possessed some specific abilities, like bloody wolves, among which only seven were able to breathe fire.
Of course, there were exceptions like the Treants, but although they had strength, in return they lost their minds, with the exception of one individual, and if they left their territory, they lost half their strength, and in contrast to them there were bloody wolves, their nemesis, restricting them if they wanted to take over the jungle.
Still, there was some kind of balance in the outer part of the "Magic Jungle", but Snape did not care much about what would happen after the disappearance of the wolves, and if the Treants took over the jungle, it would only be the best for Snape, and he doubted that after that, they will begin to destroy the rest of the living creatures. But even if this happens, Severus will just simply stop them.
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