Journey to the wes

Being left alone with Aldi, I found that I had nothing to say to him. Since the night he asked for my origin, a chasm had opened up between us. Without trust, a merchant couldn't make a good deal.

We exchanged some common courtesies but ultimately parted without any substantial conversation.

Later I went to find Völsung and found him sitting in his office signing documents.

'I always thought you to be more of a warrior than a bureaucrat. Can't you let someone else handle the paperwork?'

"Usually I do just that. But these matters are too important to be handed to someone else so I have to do it myself. Enough of this boring stuff. When do you plan on leaving?"

'By tomorrow morning. I don't like the whole development in the north and I want to visit the dwarves.'

"Then you will be heading east, towards Nidavellir?"

'No, I plan to go west first and check up on Nerida and Sven. Then I'll head north to see the frontiers.'

"You intend to cross through the lands of the dead?"

'Do you expect me to go all the way around them?'

"Eldar! That's the place where all races used to bury their dead! King level entities aren't uncommon!"

'Then how did you manage to hold them back?'

"Without the suppression of the older generation and your apples that were circulated, many managed to break through in recent years. It's just that most of them are at the frontier so you didn't notice."

'I'll be fine. I'll be back in a few years.'

"Last time you said that you were gone for 70 years! Just get going and leave me a full storage of apples."

After I had filled the cellar with various kinds of apples, I headed out of the mansion and left the city. This time through the gate because Völsung had handed me a ring that held some kind of authority and let me pass the gate without trouble.

Now, gotta find Sven since he is somewhere in this forest. Me being a tree coupled with the benefit of having an innate understanding of life made finding someone in a forest awfully easy. I walked up to a random tree and established a connection with the forest.

Sven was to the west and right on route to the volcanic mountains where Nerida should be.

...

Walking was so excruciatingly slow. Traversing the distance between myself and Sven had only taken a few moments when I had done it through the forest connection. But actually walking all that way was many times slower. Wasn't there a faster way?

Wait, if my steps were bigger, I could traverse a larger distance with every step and travel faster.

Wanting to test out this idea of mine, I increased my body size to twenty meters and broke into a sprint. My speed rose exponentially as I practically flew past the trees. Naturally, the transformation magic that made me look human ceased to work and I looked like a tree giant.

Since it would still take some time to reach Sven's position, I increased my size further to around 250 meters. My speed reached a new high as I continuously advanced towards Sven's position.

Closing in on the location I had last detected him, I slowed down and returned to my human form. Witnessing a tree giant running towards himself would certainly not be part of a good reunion as I imagined it.

Connecting to the forest once again, I locked in on Sven's exact position, a mountain not too far off. There he was, sitting cross-legged on the highest point. I quietly approached him and intended to wait for him to wake from his meditation.

"So, how long are you going to just stand there? Did you really think I wouldn't notice a giant tree man running over here?"

'I just didn't want to interrupt you in case you were still in the process of advancing.'

"Well, no need to worry, I successfully advanced a few days ago. I just stayed here to use the peace and try to get some comprehensions for my next advancement. I didn't think you would come looking for me. Good to see that you are back"