Ethelred waits for Gus to return from his morning ‘prayers’. As he approaches the trees Red stops him near on of the fallen trees outside of the Grove.
“Gustav, I have been thinking, studying.. pondering…”
Ethelred looks around walks a bit farther away from the Grove and indicates for Gustav to follow him. Red touches the fallen tree, ensures it is does not talk.. which as he does this seems crazy. But then talking trees, also crazy.
In a hushed tone.
“As I was saying I have been studying some ways to protect use in battle. While I have a path that is simple.. there is another path that would be more.. effective.”
Ethelred takes another few steps farther from the grove and indicated of Gus to follow. Even quieter he begins to talk again.
“But it would require a bit of a sacrifice.. and I would need your blessing to even start. This tree (indicates the a closest fallen tree) for example could be utilized to give a protective blessing of Raiden… could form a sort of armor… But it would require removing the bark from a fallen tree….”
Ethelred pause as waits to see what reaction Gustav has.
Gustav looks up like his eyes are trying to look back at his skull. Then he looks back at Ethelred and says:
“Perhaps my god would be happy for a use of his blessings for destruction of evil. Before we leave during our training I will pray one morning on it and get back to you.”
“It will take sometime to prepare, so the sooner I know the better. While you are praying you could consider if the actual tree could be used to make other items. A new axe handle or an new bow would be quite interesting projects.
I have some new insights into how some truly useful tools could be made. It will take time, but I think the results would impress even Alexis.”
Gustav spends the next morning praying louder than the previous day behind the dead tree pile. After that, he spends about an hour touching different points on all of the logs on the bark, on the trunk, on the rings where it snapped in half with a gritty green and brown healing salve from his healing kit. It smells a bit like pine, grass and sap as well as lavender somehow.
Gus then walks to Ethelred and says:
“Take this salve and any time you cut into it first add the salve to the teeth of the saw. Anytime you pull off the bark dig into the salve with your fingers first. The tree needs to know you were welcomed by my god everytime you touch it.
Please if you are able cut thinner bendy branches I can use to make a shortbow.
Afterwards we can take the remains and into the circle of trees leaving them to feed the ground over time as it detiorates. Thank you for wanting to make something useful out of it.”