John checks his mask as he and the group cross the bridge to enter the camp. The residents seem to be a mix of Goatfolk, Sheepfolk, and Cowfolk. John quietly looks around until he finds what looks like the leader of the camp. The leader is a male Goatfolk that stands about to John's eyebrows without adding his horns.

John approaches the man saying “are you the leader of this camp?”

The man says without looking at John “aye, I don’t need more workers.” The man then looks at John and blinks for a moment.

John says to the man “We are not looking for work. I wanted to ask you some questions before I tell you why we are here.” The man just stares at John. So John continues “Did you cut down those trees on the other side of the river?”

The man nods and says “and it cost me some men in the process. The blasted forest demon attacked us and killed two of my men. Their axes did nothing to it even though it was of wood itself.”

John says “Did it do anything else after it attacks?”

The man says “No, it just went back into the forest.”

John says “What if I were to tell you that I have spoken with the ‘Demon’ as you call it?”

The man says “I would think you a fool.”

John smiles and says “What if I told you that I know why she attacks and how to stop her attacks?”

The man says “How do you know it is a girl?”

John says “gather your men and women of this camp around a platform for me to speak to them and I will tell you all.”

The man stands there for a second then goes and starts ringing a bell.

Soon John is standing in front of a crowd of mostly Goatfolk and maybe Sheepfolk with some Cowfolk standing in the back.

John speaks as loud as he can so everyone can hear him “I have heard that people are attacked when they cut down a tree in those woods!” as he points to Ava’s forest “You are attacked by a monster that is strong as the wood itself! What if I were to tell you that I have spoken with the creature!” a few people laugh. John says “You don’t believe me! Then ask your neighbor what tongue I speak in! Better yet what do I look like?” John lowers his hood and stands there for a moment waiting for the crowd to talk to the person next to them. Soon some start looking confused at the answers they are given. John says “I have magic that allows me to speak with everyone and look familiar to anyone! So would you believe me now when I say I have talked with her?” Quite a few people start focusing hard on every word John says “The creature is a Treefolk and her name is Ava. The forest you are trying to log is her forest. It is Ava’s Forest.” A few look at the woods in shock, even the leader of the camp looks dumbfounded at the forest. John says “She is only attacking because she sees you as attacking her trees, her friends!” The crowd looks back at John “What if I told you that when I talked to her, I found a way for you cut down the trees without her attacking?”

The camp leader says “How!”

John says to the camp leader “instead of telling you, I will show you.” He then turns back to the crowd saying “but I need two volunteers. First I need a brave man willing to cut a tree down!” No one moves for a moment. Then a male Cowfolk steps forward. He stands at least six feet at the shoulders and has a build to match any great lumberjack. He stands in front of John resting his hands on the handle of his double-headed ax that is fit for him to wield easily. As John looks the Cowfolk over, he thinks not only about the legends of the Minotaur but also of Paul Bunyan. John says “Now I need a courageous woman!” A few of the women start whispering amongst themselves. Then a female Goatfolk meekly steps forward timidly. One of the men rushes to stop her.

She responds to the man “If this stranger is telling the truth. Then…Then I won’t worry if I will see you again when you go into those woods. I saw what that thing did to the others.” She then boldly steps next to the lumberjack still shaking.

John says “Now all need is a shovel!” One is tossed to him. John says “Thank you.” to the person who tossed him the shovel and steps off the platform. John says to the two volunteers “If you will follow me.” John finds that the woman even with her horns barely reaches his shoulders. He walks up to Kenta and takes the sapling from her saying “You two stay here and don’t let anyone cross, okay.”

Nasha and Kenta both agree. John then walks back across the bridge with his volunteers.

John says to the lumberjack once they are across “Go ahead and start cutting a tree down. But you must only cut one down.” The lumberjack nods and walks away. John says to the timid woman “If you will follow me. We need to find a good spot to dig so we can plant this” motioning to the sapling.

John and the timid woman find a spot and John starts digging right before the lumberjack takes his first swing. John can almost hear the crowd flinch when the ax makes contact with the tree, scattering nearby birds. John keeps digging and the timid woman bends down to help keep the dirt out of the hole. Soon John and the timid woman hear a noise from the woods. John can’t identify it at first, then he realizes that it’s Ava’s roots slamming against the trees and roots as she moves through the forest. John says to the timid woman “Let’s keep working.” John has dug the hole deep enough to plant the sapling.

Ava is rushing to the sound as the trees seem to echo the pain of the attack. She stops at the edge of the woods to find the attacker but stops when she sees John and with another with their back to her packing the dirt around the sapling. Ava stands there mesmerized by the sapling and the care John and the other one are giving it.

John says to the timid woman “We need to water it.” John reaches for his waterskin when the timid woman takes a cup that was tied to her dress off. She rushes to the river to scoop up some water. The timid woman lets out a squeak and drops her cup when she sees Ava standing there. John looks at the timid woman then looks where she is looking. He smiles at Ava and goes back to making sure the sapling's roots are well covered. Ava is still standing there watching John and the sapling when the lumberjack lets out a yell. The tree falls into the river with a thunderous crash causing a small earthquake. The impact knocks Ava out of her trance and looks at the downed tree. The lumberjack turns around and suddenly readies his ax for an attack. For a moment Ava looks as if she is about to attack when she stops and looks back at John. John stands up and smiles at her. Then he nods to her. She looks at the tree again then back to John. She smiles and nods to him. Ava then turns around and heads back into the woods. The lumberjack steps next to John and the timid woman as they watch Ava disappear back into her woods. John and the lumberjack both grab the timid woman as she faints when Ava is no longer visible.

The lumberjack helps John get the timid woman in John’s arms, John thinks she may have soiled herself. They then start heading back. The woman’s man manages to get past Nasha and Kenta. He meets John halfway on the bridge. John transfers the woman to him and they head back into camp. The woman comes to after a moment they set her down to check on her. Another woman runs over the bridge to retrieve the timid woman’s cup, but she pours water over the sapling’s soil before returning.

The camp then turns to the downed tree. The camp leader jumps on some boxes and yells “WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR! GET! THAT! TREE!!!” The men rush to the tree, some grabbing rope, and tools as they run to it. John realizes that the trunk is thicker around than some of the men are tall. They throw the rope around the trunk and then several large Cowfolk form a team and pull the trunk along the banks on the camp’s side of the river. Then smaller Goatfolk and Sheepfolk jump onto the trunk and start systematically cutting branches off the trunk. John watches as they work to start breaking down the tree and sorting it into piles.

John approaches the camp leader saying “Do you understand now?”

The leader stops and looks at John saying “Yes! We have to plant a sapling for the ones we cut down.” He then laughs saying “I should have been doing that all along. It would give my children something to cut down.”

John picks up a pinecone from the new pile of branches saying “I hope your camp can survive until you can grow some saplings.”

The leader takes the pinecone and says “We will get enough wood from this tree to last a while. The wood is thick and strong, it is very valuable. We still have some trees on this side that we can cut down too.”

John says “Then might I suggest you set up a field to grow the saplings in. You could have the women tend to it.”

The leader says “yes, that will give them something to do besides cooking and cleaning.”

John looks at the tree and sees that a pair of Cowfolk have gotten on a two-man cross saw and are starting to section the trunk off. John says “what do you do with the wood?”

The leader says “we trade it with the nearby villages and towns. There’s one down the road that has farms that they tend to. So they always need wood for their fences.”

John says “just remember, replace what you take and Ava will spare your lives.” He then turns and leaves the man to return to his overseeing of the work.

John walks up to Nasha and Kenta saying “Well? Shall we be moving on?”

Kenta says as they start walking away “You had some real guts there. But I do agree that they shouldn’t just cut down the forest and not at least give something back to it.”

Nasha says “How did you know the mask's spell would work on all of them?”

John says “I had a feeling it would work and besides, If it didn’t, they would have been shocked to know that I was human and quite possibly The Traveler.”