Chapter 204: First Leaf

Sella had drained the nursery trough before Luke and Lauren returned during their next approved session. The loose pots had been moved into shade, leaving room to work along both sides. Two workers lifted the stone covers from the channel beneath it, exposing a narrow trench filled with pale roots and scraps of chewed bark. They stepped clear once the last cover was on the ground.

Lauren left the wrapped graft seed on their reserved bench. After reviewing their report, the Bureau had allowed another ninety-minute session and cultivation in a separate pot. Their existing skill restrictions remained in place, and they were not to feed the seed their own mana or attach it to Heartwood. Lauren accepted Sella’s posted pest-clearance job before joining Luke beside the trench.

[Quest accepted: Nursery Channel Clearance.]

Sella handed Luke a pair of work gloves. "They spit when cornered. Keep your face away from the opening."

Luke pulled them on and extended the spear over the trench instead of leaning closer. Sella guided Lauren to the opposite side and handed her a long-handled brush. Lauren found the edge with its wooden head before briefly opening Oracle’s Glimpse. The violet lines across her blindfold faded after a few seconds.

"The nearest one climbs your side first," she told Luke. "I’ll work from here."

He checked the space between them before turning back to the opening. From the opposite side, Lauren could reach the exposed roots without standing in the path of his spear.

The channel ran along the wall beneath the trough. Closed wooden gates blocked both ends, leaving shallow puddles between the stones. The feeder roots crossed the trench in loose loops before disappearing into the nursery beds, and several had been stripped pale along one side.

Something clicked beneath the nearest loop. A creature longer than Luke’s forearm unfolded from the shadow, its narrow body protected by overlapping cream-colored plates. Two hooked forelegs closed around a root while smaller legs held it against the wall.

[Reedcutter]

Three more clung farther along the channel. Their jaws worked against the bark, shaving away strips that floated in the remaining water. Luke set the spear point above the nearest creature. It raised its head, and a cloudy bead swelled beneath its mouth.

Luke stepped aside before the spray reached him. The liquid struck the edge of the trench with a wet slap, leaving a sour smell and a sticky patch that immediately caught loose shavings.

"Lovely," he muttered.

The reedcutter scrambled higher. Luke used a short thrust to keep it below the rim, but the point struck a plate and slid toward the root in its forelegs. He stopped the attack before the blade reached the bark and pulled back into guard.

Lauren lowered the brush across the opening. "Stay on the stone side. I’ll keep the roots clear."

She pushed the loose loop away from the creature without trying to lift the whole network. The reedcutter held on, dragging the root with it until Lauren stopped pulling. Luke shortened his grip and brought the spear in along the wall instead of driving down from above.

Truth Behind Motion sharpened the movement of its forelegs. The hooks tightened before its body rose, and Luke waited until the pale underside cleared the stone. His thrust entered beneath the plates, pinning the creature away from the feeder root.

It jerked against the blade before dissolving into pale fragments. Lauren lifted the freed loop onto the rim, where Sella covered it with a damp cloth. The others stopped feeding. One retreated beneath a stone brace, while the remaining two came up the wall together, hooked legs scraping for purchase.

Luke moved along the trench to block them. The nearer creature opened its mouth, so he knocked its head down with the shaft before it could spit. Its companion reached the rim beside his boot.

Violet light flashed across Lauren’s blindfold as she checked the next few seconds. She drove the brush across the second creature’s path before it cleared the rim. The bristles caught its hooked legs, and Luke struck as its underside rolled into view. He recovered the point immediately, leaving the other climber to snap at empty air.

Luke held his guard until the remaining climber raised its forelegs, then thrust through the exposed gap beneath the plates. When it dissolved, he stepped back rather than following the last reedcutter beneath the brace. His breathing had quickened, but his arms still felt steady. He rolled the shaft in his hands and checked the edge before looking down the channel again. Lauren kept the brush across the open section while Sella pointed toward the remaining shadow.

"One under there."

Luke crouched far enough away to keep his face clear. The reedcutter had wedged itself beneath the brace with both hooked legs buried in wood. Reaching it would mean thrusting between a living root and the stone, with almost no room to correct a bad angle.

"Can we lift that support?"

"Not while the trough is resting on it," Sella said.

Lauren turned toward the wheel. "How much water would it take to cover the bottom?"

"A quarter turn gives a trickle. Anything more and you’ll flood the work area."

"Give it a quarter."

Sella eased the wheel through a quarter turn. Water crept along the stone from the inlet. The reedcutter shifted as it reached the brace, lifting its body above the shallow flow. Luke moved the spearhead into the open space beyond it and waited.

The creature climbed toward the dry rim. Lauren kept the nearest root loop out of its path with the brush, and Luke caught it before it reached the top. One controlled thrust ended the movement against bare stone.

Sella closed the inlet again. Luke checked beneath the brace and along both wooden gates, then stepped aside so the workers could clear the loose debris. Nothing else moved, but the damage became easier to see once the floating shavings settled. Several roots hung by narrow strips of bark. Others looked almost untouched until Lauren rested her fingers against them and followed the flow beneath the surface.

"The worst damage is under the stone collar," she said.

Sella knelt beside her. "Can you show me without lifting it?"

Lauren indicated a point just beneath the lip. "The outside is still connected. Inside, the flow stops before it reaches the beds."

Unveiled Weakness exposed the damage more clearly. Lauren traced the flaw with one fingertip, keeping her explanation focused on where the weakened section began and ended. Sella had a worker brace the trough before loosening the collar.

A hollowed root came into view. The reedcutters had eaten through its underside, leaving a strip of bark over an empty channel.

Luke looked from the damaged section to the nursery trees. "That’s why you couldn’t just kill the pests and turn the water back on."

"Half the beds would still be starving," Sella said. She reached for a narrow pruning knife. "This branch needs removing."

Lauren caught her attention before the blade touched it. "Wait. There’s a living branch underneath."

Sella held the knife still while Lauren examined the junction again. Luke could see only a dirty tangle pressed against the stone, but Lauren moved carefully between the strands until she found a slender root beneath the damaged one.

"Does it feed anything?" Sella asked. "Or are you feeling what’s left inside it?"

Lauren paused, then moved her hand farther along the wood. Luke cleared the loose shavings so she could reach without pulling on the exposed root. She stayed there through several faint pulses before answering.

"One of the small trees behind the trough. That branch is still carrying a steady pulse."

Sella leaned over the junction. "Show me where they separate."

Lauren guided her fingers to the fork. The smaller branch had been pressed beneath the dead section, almost hidden against the stone. Once Sella lifted it free, Luke could see the strip of intact bark leading back toward the beds.

"Past the fork, on the dead side," Sella said, repositioning the knife.

Sella cut through the damaged root while Luke held its weight off the living branch. When the last fibers parted, he lowered the dead section into a bucket. The grower eased the surviving root into a wider curve, and Lauren kept two fingers against it until she had checked the flow beyond the cut. Only then did she withdraw her hand to let Sella wrap it.

Sella replaced the collar without tightening it against the smaller root, then had the workers ease the trough back onto its support. Lauren checked the junction under the restored weight before they moved on. The remaining repairs took longer than the fight. Luke carried away the chewed sections while Lauren checked the other junctions with Sella, marking which roots needed wrapping and which could be left alone. He stayed close enough to hold a branch or move a cover when they needed him.

Once the last collar was secure, a worker unbarred the outlet while Sella opened the inlet gradually. Water passed beneath the repaired roots and drained away without spilling into the beds. Several leaves above the trough lifted as their stems straightened.

[Quest complete: Nursery Channel Clearance.]

[Reward received.]

Luke left his spear against the wall, removed the work gloves, and washed his hands while Sella fetched a small pot. A rooted cutting stood inside it, its pale stem no longer than Lauren’s hand.

"This one was raised separately. Clean stock, not something we pulled from the damaged channel."

Lauren accepted it carefully. Ancient Root Recognition answered as she touched the exposed root near the surface, tracing a compact network through the soil.

Luke leaned beside her. "Enough to support the graft?"

"The roots are active," Lauren said. "I can’t tell what the seed will ask from them."

Sella nodded toward their bench. "Then we begin with contact. Nothing gets cut until it responds."

Lauren unwrapped the Ancestral Graft Seed. Its green veins remained visible, and the tiny root emerged when she laid it beside the pot. It curled across the damp cloth without reaching the sapling.

Sella placed a narrow wooden support against the stem. "Here. Let that little root touch the stock. Don’t push it under the bark."

Lauren positioned the seed in the support. Luke held the pot steady while she settled the root against the pale stem, then withdrew her fingers. For several seconds, nothing changed. Lauren kept both hands on the bench rather than supplying mana, and Luke watched the tiny root without disturbing it. Sella adjusted the cloth around the support to keep it damp.

The root flattened against the stem. A fine green line appeared beneath it, connecting the seed’s veins to the living wood.

[Compatible rootstock detected.]

[Ancestral Graft Seed: Cultivation begun.]

[Oracle’s Heartwood integration unavailable.]

[Graft maturation required.]

Luke read the messages over her shoulder. "It’s growing."

Lauren’s smile came slowly. "Without needing my Heartwood."

Sella checked the join before fastening the support. "Now we see whether the stock can keep feeding it. Don’t mistake the first attachment for a finished graft."

Lauren touched the pot again. The new connection was faint, but she could follow it from the roots to the seed without forcing her awareness deeper. She released the ability after confirming that the flow continued.

Luke took a clean towel from beside the basin and dampened one corner. When he brushed it against the soil beside Lauren’s mouth, she tipped her face toward him. Her fingers closed lightly around his wrist, holding him near while her smile widened. He took rather longer than necessary to wipe away the mark.

They moved the pot onto the sheltered bench Sella had reserved. Sella would care for it between sessions. They would consider integrating it with Oracle’s Heartwood only after it matured and the Bureau approved the attempt. Lauren asked how much water it needed and where the support should rest as it grew. Luke cleaned his spear while they talked, then checked the timer. They still had time to reach the courtyard comfortably.

A pale tip had pushed through the groove in the seed while he worked, barely lifting the damp cloth. Luke told Lauren and guided her hand to the pot’s rim. She touched the rootstock, following the new growth through Ancient Root Recognition while he watched the tip unfold.

"The stock is feeding it," she said.

Luke moved the cloth clear of the tiny leaf and described it to her. Lauren’s smile widened, and she kept her hand against the pot until Sella reminded her to let the join settle. She released the ability and stepped back beside him.

"Next visit, we check the join first."

He secured the spear across his back. "Then you can decide how much of the afternoon we spend here."

Lauren asked Sella to leave the pot in that position, where she could find it by the edge of the trough. Before following Luke out, she reached for his hand and held it between both of hers for a moment. He leaned down when she drew him closer, and she kissed him beside the bench before letting him lead her toward the courtyard.