Merry Christmas! This was the other half of the previous chapter which accidentally grew far too large.

To figure out that little question I started by looking around, and immediately noticed how green everything was. The bushes had new growth, the grass was a vibrant emerald, and even the dying cypress tree nearby looked like it was going to pull through. Which made me realize that I had likely given my excess energy to the others, or it had been taken from me somehow.

As I ruminated on that topic, I began to feel outwards with my roots while pondering the sudden change. I had a feeling that my own internal stomach was relatively small at the moment, likely hurt by my lack of leaves. My body was also still on the mend as it were, and though healthier then before I still appeared sickly from the outside observer.

I paused my ruminations to drink a whole host of large, ugly looking centipedes, turning them into dutiful undead servants. I then sent them back out in search of more prey before going back to what I had been doing before being interrupted. Thankfully I had managed to get an answer by then, though I couldn't quite explain it in terms a human would understand.

You know the mycelium network that connects trees together? Well it also infects a tree's roots and grows inside of them, which doesn't actually feel that weird, let me tell you. The closest I could describe it would be intertwining one’s fingers with another when holding hands.

Anyway, this network was actively pulling tiny bits of nutrients out of me, and my first instinct was to put a stop to it. Something delayed that however, an image of the grove upon my first arrival popped into my head, reminding me of how things had been. Nearly everything was sickly, dead, or dying, and I got the feeling that I had been the cause of all that.

Up until the moment my consciousness was flung here, my body had been a drain on the system. Now the woods were simply taking back the investment they had given me, with a tad bit of interest too. I felt a little spiteful about this, but then I got the odd sensation that my neighbors appreciated my efforts.

Again, there werent really any human terms to explain the experience but I just knew they were happy. So I held off on my instinct to replant everyone in a hundred meter radius, and instead considered the good it gave me.

For one it looked nicer, as a grove of half dead trees in the middle of a swamp was not a pleasent sight. The other trees could also be used as a place to store excess energy for the moment, and in turn they could give that back if needed. After all, only I could protect the grove from outside invaders determined to do it wrong.

My pony servant trotted around the small pond and stopped at the far end, their gaze drawn down to the water. Which looked cleaner, with a healthier amount of plants growing at its bottom and around its edges. There was a bit of algae at the top, but it wasn't so numerous as to blot out the sun for the plants at the bottom.

It was a nice view, though I knew it had a long way to go before it was as healthy as it could be. It was also enough to make me want to continue my experiments, though I again paused that thought process for a moment.

Shifting focus over to my roots again, the deer skull had returned with a recently deceased squirrel. Though done in by what looked like a disease or illness, I still drank it up and received no ill effects from it. The thing didn't even taste that bad either, though I made a note of not doing that very frequently, as I didn't want to push my luck.

What was I doing again? Oh yeah. Experiments. I thought to myself.

Redirectly my hooved servant to a small bush, I began to carefully dig it out of the earth. Once free, I walked over to my roots and dropped it down, my body ready to continue where I had left off.

Consume. I thought to myself, only to be disappointed once more.

Again I couldn't eat it, though this time it wasn't revulsion that stopped me, but rather it felt like biting a spoon. We’ve all done it at least once or twice before, so its not that hard to understand. One moment you’re not paying attention and the next you’re accidentally chomping down on your utensil.

That felt exactly like this, only I knew I was strong enough to bite through the metal if I wanted. That didn't exactly seem like a very good idea though, for obvious reasons, as for one I doubted it would be worth the effort. Furthermore I got the impression that plants simply didn't have what I required.

Plus it felt a little like canabilism, so I decided to put the small bush back for the moment. I even took the time to give it a little water, pruned its branches and muttered it an apology for having removed him from his spot. I couldn't tell if the thing appreciated it or not, but either way it seemed content with the gift of nourishment.

Redirecting my attention outward once more I noted that my small swarm of insects, and vermin were doing well. I had managed to catch a few rats, some large ugly looking bugs with a ton of legs and what looked like a spider with wings. A sight which would be utterly horrifying to human me which seemed oddly adorable through the eyes of my equine servant.

Or at least it was until I crushed it, drank its fluids and resurrected it as a skeletal abomination not meant to live. Even then it was still kinda cute in a weird, creepy crawly kind of way.

Either way I brushed that thought aside when the deer head returned with a brightly colored and very dead bird in its skeletal jaws. After dropping the corpse onto my exposed roots, I consumed its body in seconds, gaining a nice little boost in the process. It also made another question pop into my head, one of many now that I was thinking about it.

I’m not distracting myself from the fact I killed someone, no siree. I thought to myself.

Either way I moved on with my next experiment, namely inhabiting the bird and really feeling out its new senss. I was immediatly surprised when I felt far more in tune with the wind then I had been even as a necromantic tree. My skeletal wings caressed the slight breeze and informed me that a greater gust was coming in a few short seconds.

Sure enough I was proved correct a moment later, and I began to wonder if the thing could fly anymore. It couldn't, unfortunately, which had been the obvious conclusion to such a test, given that it had no feathers to speak of. Only thin, narrow bones, and whatever compound made up its rather thick, narrow beak.

Sending the deer skull off in search of another, I waited patiently while my floating servant hunted its prey. When it returned I did not consume the raven it had killed, rather I set the corpse outside the range of my roots. Then I commanded it to rise, and serve me in undeath for all eternity.

Sure enough, the creature stumbled back up, shaking itself slightly before waiting patiently. Like usual I could see through its eyes, move it around as I fit, and had all its senses. After a quick test I could also confirm that it could indeed fly around like normal. It wasn't an elegant flight, but it was at least able to zip around the treetops without hitting anything.

It also didn't take any extra energy to get it airborne like the skull which took a small, but constant stream of power to stay aloft. I had more than enough though, so I didn't worry about rationing my strength, at least for the moment anyway.

Then what is the deal with you, hmm? I thought while looking down on my tiny thestral servant. Do you require the same flow of magic? If so, how can I give you that strength?

I tried to replicate the process where I gave the skull some of my power, but that didn't work. It was like trying to plug a brick into a wall socket, it simply wasn't possible. I tried a few different ways of doing it but quickly gave up as it was beyond my ability.

I then turned my attention to a fox which the squirrel squad had managed to catch, and was delighted to find it was already dead. Dropping it on my roots I drank it up, and reanimated its body, only now aware of just how good a hunter I’d become. I was no Nimrod, but I was at least a little better then the bumbling English major I had been only a week earlier.

Perhaps all the skills, and experience of the animals are being absorbed, but since it's mostly instinct I don't realize I’m even taking it in the first place? I thought.

Either way it sounded logical, and I decided that was the most likely solution for my sudden prowess. Either way it made me wonder if I had gained anything else from the insects I had bent to my will. To test their ability, I inhabited them fully, pushing as much of my consciousness into their tiny little bodies.

The result was an immediate expansion of my senses, but in a direction I hadn't truly expected. Though they had no organs, or internal structures at all, they were able to keep some of the abilities they had in life. For example, several of the insects could detect the faint presence of chemicals in the air, especially around a particularly unpleasant body of water.

Several others could detect vibrations to a degree that not even my tree body could replicate. On top of that, the ones which used to have large, compound eyes seemed able to tell a lot more about light. I couldn't really describe it in any greater detail, but either way I was kicking myself for not pushing my servants more upon first acquiring them.

Note to self. Test new creatures for senses and abilities I didn't already have. I thought to myself, only to stop. I bet if I combined a few of each insect with the fox I would be able to hunt with incredible skill.

After loading up the fox skeleton with undead insects, I found that was indeed true. It was like the thing had an antenna on its back, and a whole suite of sensors at the ready. To say locating prey was easy would be an understatement, and I was able to discover even the best hiders around.

Teaming the insects up with the squirrels, and birds proved effective and soon I had gathered a small, but respectful army. Not just during the course of a single day mind you, this was an endeavour that I focused myself on for a forty eight hour period. During this time I remained alert and ready, only taking a brief three hour nap near the beginning of the second day.

This seemed to alleviate the malaise which had settled over me, though not completely. I had a feeling that wouldn't happen without me first making up for my most recent, and cruel blunder. I pushed that thought from my mind and spread my servants out far and wide, seeking out the outermost edges of my territory.

Upon reaching these limits I found that it was probably nearly a kilometer squared at this point. During that time I spotted a few larger creatures like a giant six eyed toad that was sleeping soundly in a small bog. There were a few odd looking crocodiles as well, though they looked far too large for me to hunt at the moment.

I also didn't see any wooden wolves during my time, though I did hear them a few times. Whenever I detected their presence I made sure to give them a wide berth, as I was still unsure of how to react to them.

I wanted desperately to simply say hello and perhaps interact with them, though that assumed such a thing was even possible. They could be purely robotic like I first thought, or they might be driven by some creature hostile to giant necromantic trees. Either way I decided that building up a larger army, and explorign the area was a more prudent course of action.

To that end I sent my zombie bird up as high as it was able to go, a process which took some time. When it finally did reach the very top of its height I was able to see for miles in all directions. Not only that but I could also see over the top of the rock wall which had been at my back the entire time.

I saw that it was an incredibly large plateau of some kind, one that was more or less devoid of noticeable features. Perfectly flat, and incredibly high in the air, I noted that there were only a few patches of scraggly grass at its top. Other than that it was just a blank expanse of rather grey stone that stretched on and on for miles before ending well outside my zone of control.

I can't be a kilometer up though, so my territory is likely more of an oval shape. I realized. Though that might not apply to going down.

I directed my zombie bird to descend once more while I prepared my zombie pony to do a bit more spelunking.

Now then, let's see what those noises were, hmm?