Chapter 51: Chapter Forty-Eight – Caffeinated Legend

As we drew close to the volcano’s base, the forest grew too dense for us to continue by carriage. Harriette tied the horses up and gave them food and water. Then we all continued forward on foot.

“Bernie, are you feeling okay?” Eurycelia asked right as the elevation began to noticeably change. “Not feeling sick or anything?”

“Hmm?” I tilted my head and thought for a moment. I did feel a little nauseous but I didn’t really think much of it. “I’m fine. Why do you ask?”

“Because the ground here, it’s been desecrated.”

“Desecrated?”

“The land has been made toxic for those with divine blood,” Harriette explained. “Gods cannot manifest here. And those who tread upon this land after manifesting are weakened. As a demigod, it wouldn’t be unexpected for you to feel it.”

I looked down at the grass and dirt beneath me. It looked normal, everything looked normal. “How could you tell?”

Eurycelia gazed at Harriette before looking back at me. “You can hear it. The land whispers sacrilegious thoughts into your mind.”

“Can you do something about that?” I asked casting a concerned gaze on those around me.

“If one of us became corrupted I could. As for stopping us from hearing the whispers altogether, you wouldn’t want me to try. The only proper method would be reconsecrating the earth itself. Which none of us are capable of.”

“What about Eskame?”

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“It’s not a simple concept we could teach her. [Chantless Casting] only works if she can imagine what the spell is supposed to do. Which isn’t exactly easy to explain. Especially not for a child to understand. Otrea could probably do it. But who knows where she is right now.”

“Alright,” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Let’s grab a few cuttings from the coffee trees here and leave. I don’t feel like staying anywhere that strips away my ability to call my mothers for help.”

“A wise decision,” Harriette replied. “Do you see the coffee trees?”

“Not yet.” I gazed around at the forest around us. Even as the elevation changed, it was still so dense. I knew that coffee trees were small compared to the coniferous trees around us. They’d be taller than a person, but dwarfed by the rest of the forest.

If I was lucky, they’d have coffee cherries growing along their branches. I had no idea what season it was currently. But the weather felt like it was late summer or early fall. So instantly harvestable coffee was a possibility.

Of course, it was also possible these trees didn’t follow Earth’s logic. They could produce their fruit in winter for all I knew. It wasn’t as if any of the other fruits and vegetables I’d seen hadn’t changed a bit from their Earth counterparts.

I drifted around the forest, gazing for a plant that resembled what I was looking for. Until I finally made my way to the forest’s edge, where it began to thin out. Here in the shade of the other trees was a little grove with vibrant pink berries on its side.

Analyze

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