“Welcome to the World Tree Inn, Mr. Stell,” Luka said as they exited the tree line.

  Stell pushed past, stepping far into the clearing, his head back and his mouth opened wide. Franky was one step behind, however, gawking in his own right. The orc and demon stared, their sunglasses hiding the awe in their eyes. They traced the bark of the tree up and up, finding the clouds amongst her leaves like early morning fog. Then they both looked down, movement and beauty catching their eyes.

  Ressen had gone through some changes since last night. Apparently, World Trees were completely at tune with nature and could change their shape at will—something about magical xylem and phloem, as Jear explained.

  Before the picnic dinner last night, Ressen’s base simply entered the ground like any normal tree. Now, roots, bark, and simple wood twisted through the ground and breached high into the air. Arches of burled wood eclipsed the clearing at set intervals, each routing back to Ressen’s base and smoothing into her wide frame.

  Branches grew like vines, leaves as orange as the emberwood vaulting a massive grand staircase. A mimicked canopy hung curtly, one that swayed with the wind and breathed with Ressen’s lifeforce. Polished wood rose from the ground and threaded neatly into buttresses, turning gnarled the higher they went. They mixed between several glass windows, providing privacy without ever hinting at their practicality.

  This was a hotel, after all.

  Outstretched limbs held hundreds of balconies, circling the outer edge of Ressen. They curled gently, panoramic and breathtaking. Bioluminescent moss clutched like carpet and creepers held firm. Windows, doors, everything not ordinarily natural was simply natural here. Glass was crystallized sap; metal knobs were petrified wood.

  Standard rooms went up thirty stories, but above those were the VIP rooms. Entire floors with the sole purpose of hosting large royal parties or delegates from other nations. Everyone would have a room, even an entourage of a hundred.

  “Come on,” Luka said, smirking at his companions’ awe. “We haven’t finished furnishing any of the floors besides the lobby and penthouse.”

  “P-penthouse?” Stell asked, unfamiliar with the word.

  “It means the topmost suite and is often the most luxurious.”

  The demon looked at the World Walker hesitantly, still afraid of his eyes. The sunglasses rendered his curse inert. He twirled his pen and readied his notepad. “For the incoming princess, I assume?”

  “Yes.” Luka chose not to mention how the floor directly below the penthouse was near completion for the impending park visit of the crime lord.

  Stell took notes as they walked. They passed under arches and into a garden path. Loose gravel fitted perfectly between bushes of flowers. As a World Tree, Ressen could grow whatever she wanted. Spitting fountains of water launched streams over the path and into basins made of wood—she could also interact with the water table in the area. Birds sang their songs and bathed themselves, and an army of toads had already moved into the moat-like pond.

  Lily pads and other more alien plants clung to the edges of the water. Big fluted elephant ear leaves drooped into the shallows, lightning elemental yellow flowers ziped and zapped bugs, catching breakfast, and hundreds of tiny, budded tulips bloomed when anyone looked at them. The garden was alive and not just because Ressen hosted it.

  They rounded the side toward the path leading to and from the park and village entrance—in other words, the main entrance. Guests were already out and about, hundreds of them, all walking around the area or gawking at the naturalistic beauty. The grand staircase leading into the hotel’s lobby floor was swarmed, everyone shuffling through to look at the newest attraction of the park.

  Luka hummed. “Maybe we should take the elevator.”

  “Elevator?” Stell asked. “Those are rather rare in these parts.” He scribbled down more notes.

  “In these parts, no one builds for height.” Luka thought of Sneerhome and how most, if not all, buildings were two or three stories tall. “They are very common in my world… but these are a bit different.”

  Luka pointed at twin open-air gondolas moving in parallel up and down Ressen’s trunk. They rose up thirty stories quickly, green vines pulling them up and gently lowering them down. They made three stops, every ten floors, where guests would depart onto landing floors.

  “They’re not open to the public yet,” Luka explained. “And on each stop, there’ll be amenities, entertainment, shopping, and restaurants.”

  Stell paused in writing to ask, “Amenities?”

  “Spas, swimming pools, arcades, art galleries, museums—”

  “Arcades?” It was another word the locals didn’t recognize.

  “A place with a bunch of games. I’ll have to figure it out later.”

  Stell wrote as fast as his fingers allowed. “And when do you expect the other floors to be furnished?”

  “By the end of the week. Ressen is asleep right now, according to Jear. It takes a lot out of her to build furniture and stuff.”

  “That’s World Tree Ressen and Elven Consort Jear, correct?”

  “Correct.”

  A beat passed. “Could you get me an interview with them?”

  Luka hesitated. “Jear… maybe. I’ll ask. Ressen’s going to have to be a ‘no.’ She’s a tree, she doesn’t talk like you or I.”

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  “So, what you’re saying is if I could find a way to talk to a tree, you could set up an interview?”

  “Not sure. Let me ask.” Luka turned away from Stell and spoke into the open air. “Tannin? What do you think?”

  A gentle breeze crossed the garden. Words, emotions, and images flooded the World Walker’s mind.

  He turned back to the journalist. “Tannin said ‘sure.’”

  Stell stopped writing mid-sentence. “World Tree Tannin?”

  “Yeah.”

  “World Tree Tannin, who's half a world away?”

  Luka scrunched his face. “What, do you think a new father would simply stay away from his newborn daughter?”

  “No—” Stell sputtered the word. “I never meant— I would never presume—”

  Another breeze rushed through the area, this time a bit forceful. Stell stumbled a step forward as if an invisible giant clapped him playfully on the back. “What in the world…” he muttered.

  “That was Tannin,” Luka said, a chuckle on his lips. “He’s a nice guy; you’re not going to offend him that easily. He’s a massive, world spanning tree after all.”

  “R-right…” Stell wasn’t sure if he should be impressed or fearful.

  They entered a gondola, to the excitement of the nearby guests, and zipped up—both Franky and Stell held onto the railing for dear life. Then Luka unlatched the door and exited, the others shakily following.

  “That might have been one of the most frightening things I’ve ever done,” Stell muttered, Franky nodding along.

  “Really?” Luka asked.

  “Too fast!”

  “Much too fast!” Franky echoed.

  Well, that was an easy enough fix. Luka leaned over the edge, even though he didn’t have to, and eyed the glyphs controlling the elevators. With a wave of magic, the inscription adjusted, and the gondolas slowed.

  “This way,” he then said, leading into the mostly unfurnished upper floors.

  There were chairs and tables, wall trim and floorboards… but everything felt hollow. Compared to the outside gardens of Ressen, inside felt mostly dead. Wood failed to curve and twist; vines and moss were hardly green.

  “The penthouse isn’t like this,” he explained as Stell took more notes.

  To get to the penthouse, they traversed the length of the topmost accessible floor, finding a curved, split staircase at the back. It rounded against the inside of Ressen’s trunk. It looped around once, landing at the entry hall to the first of the VIP floors. It went up again, to the next, and again to the penthouse.

  “This is the only way into the VIP rooms,” Luka explained. “Soon, though, we’ll have a separate elevator keyed specifically to the VIP floors in the lobby for VIPs. Only they and their entourage may enter, and the elevators will take them directly to their floors.”

  “Exclusive,” Stell said, scribbling. “And I suspect these VIP rooms are going to be hefty in price?”

  “Oh yes. Tram said to start the pricing at seven hundred gold a week for the first two rooms and a thousand for the penthouse.”

  “A week!?” Stell sneered. “What are you smoking Mr. World Walker!?”

  Franky, maybe not helpfully, pulled a small case from his back pocket. “Prismpuff.”

  The demon, despite wearing sunglasses, stared incredulously, his eyes easily tracked between the duo. Luka forced himself not to facepalm and continued the tour. He stuck a key into the penthouse double doors and pushed them open.

  “I hope you can see why this suite is priced so high,” he said.

  Stell scoffed and walked in, activating an assault of magic. He froze on the spot. His eyes scanned the room, and his grip on his pen waned. It fell from his fingers, his jaw opened wide. He had been teleported—well, they all had.

  The suite, if it could be called that, sat amongst the clouds at the very top of Ressen’s trunk. Nestled within her leaves, sat a jungle, a jungle a VIP could call home for a spell. Luka gently pushed Stell forward, momentarily ignoring the shocked Franky.

  “Teleportation magic, courtesy of Jear,” he said. “Turns out, when you’re as old as she is, you learn a thing or two.”

  “We’re a-at the top?” Stell asked.

  The floor, as wide as Ressen, was an open concept. A roof of branches and leaves stood overhead, the walls empty beside a woven railing. The ceiling tented upward; a treehouse fit for a king. Birds hung around the edge, monkey-like beasts curled up on the couches. Walls sectioned off individual rooms but never felt forced or necessary. There was plenty of room, and a view unlike any other.

  “This high up, there won’t be any rain,” Luka explained. “Unfortunately, it’s a bit chilly, so I had to add some heating glyphs to the floor.”

  Stell’s head snapped down, finding a pattern amongst the wood grain. He lifted his sunglasses as he stepped toward the edge, lightly peering down before jumping back. “Is this safe?”

  “Yes. Goddess Tippy blesses everything I create, remember?”

  “And you trust her?”

  Luka made a face. “Do I trust the park’s patron goddess?” He let the question hang in the air. He honestly wasn’t sure. “Yes, I do.”

  “You’re sure?”

  A beat passed before Luka asked, “How do you think we’re getting down? I’m not walking down those stairs and Jear still has to enchant the elevators.”

  Stell stared at the World Walker. “You’re serious?”

  “Yup.” Luka shooed one of the monkeys off a chair and took a seat. “Beautiful little guys, aren’t they? Jear says powerful magical trees attract all types of strange wildlife.”

  “Is that safe!?”

  He nodded. “Jear has also assured me that Ressen emits an aura that pacifies all predatory instincts in the wildlife she supports. Ressen’s very essence is nature, and she cultivates it.”

  Stell somehow found his pen and got to scribbling.

  Luka continued to talk. “That means, Ressen will grow many, many strange and/or unique herbs, flowers, and plants. She also will, eventually, take over all the park and make sure everything naturewise is up to standard. Bushes, weeds, stuff like that.”

  He snapped his fingers. “Oh, this is a good time to announce the next themed section of the park.” Luka waited a moment for Stell to catch up. When the demon looked up, he continued. “Sticking with the nature theme, the Bestial Grove will open as soon as possible.”

  “And what, uh,” Stell’s mind reeled to keep up, “will the headliner be?”

  “We’ve planned to have a nature theme since the beginning,” the World Walker explained, “but with Ressen’s sudden appearance, it can be so much more. The concept will be an open-space zoo, fitted with various biomes to better harbor more types of animals, beasts, and monsters. The headline attraction will be a safari—”

  “Wait a moment!” Stell looked almost aghast. “Did you say monster?”

  Luka blinked. “Yeah, sure. Ressen attracts and pacifies everything, including monsters. So, they’ll come of their own free will, happy to live in a peaceful place. If Jear is to be believed, monsters are intelligent and would gladly come.”

  “Do—do you even know what you’re saying!?”

  “Sure, I do. World Walker Park will soon be the only place in the world where people and monsters can live together. We’ll have griffon petting areas, sunning basilisks, and molting phoenixes. Where else can you be so close to creatures such as these, safely?”