The starship descended through a canopy of tall pine trees, their needles rustling in the spring wind, until it touched down in a sun-dappled clearing. Below, Pine Ridge's village clung to a hillside: wooden cottages with roofs patched with rough cloth (instead of resin-sealed wood), and a pile of empty clay pots near the edge of the forest—where villagers usually collected pine resin. A man with a thick flannel shirt and calloused hands stood beside the pots, frowning as he ran his finger over a dry pine trunk.
Lin Che stepped off the starship, and the man looked up, hurrying over. He carried a small knife used for scoring pine bark, and his boots were caked in pine needles. "You're the travelers from Daisy Dell," he said, his voice gruff but anxious. "I'm Gareth—Pine Ridge's resin collector. For a month now, the pines won't ooze resin. We score the bark like always, but nothing comes out. Resin's how we seal roofs—keeps rain out. It's how we make torches—keeps the dark away at night. Without it, the roofs'll leak when the summer rains come, and we'll be stuck in the dark after sunset."
Xiao Ya walked to the nearest pine tree, her boots crunching on fallen needles. She pressed her palm to the tree's rough bark, and her fingers glowed green. A soft vibration ran through the trunk, as if the pine were sharing a secret, and she nodded when she looked up. "The trees are stressed," she said, turning to Gareth. "A group of beetles nested under their bark—they're eating the inner wood, so the trees are using all their energy to fight the beetles instead of making resin. The pine needles say the beetles came after the cold snap last month—they hid in the bark to survive, and now they're multiplying."
Gareth's jaw tightened. "Beetles… my granddad talked about them—said they can kill a whole grove if you don't stop 'em. I checked the bark, but I didn't see 'em."
Mo Ying slung her toolbox over her shoulder, already inspecting the tree's bark for small holes. "We'll make a natural repellent first—something to drive the beetles out. Then we'll help the trees heal, so they start making resin again. Lin Che, you can help Gareth score the healthy parts of the bark (gently, so we don't hurt the trees). Su Qing, can you use runes to boost the trees' strength? Help 'em fight off any remaining beetles?"
Su Qing flipped open her Arcane Manual, pointing to a page of healing runes. "Runes for vitality—they'll help the trees repair their inner wood and start producing resin. Gareth, do you have pine needles and mint? We can boil 'em to make the repellent—both smell strong to beetles."
Gareth's face brightened. "We've got piles of pine needles by the cottages, and Mrs. Hale grows mint in her garden. My daughter, Lila, can help boil it—she's good with the fire."
True to his word, a girl of 10 with braids tied with pine twine appeared minutes later, carrying a large iron pot. "I can tend the fire!" she said, setting the pot down near a stone hearth. "And I know where the mint is—Mrs. Hale lets me pick it for tea!"
The work began quickly. Lila and Su Qing boiled pine needles and mint in the pot, filling the air with a sharp, fresh scent that made Gareth sneeze ( "Beetles'll hate that," he laughed). Lin Che and Gareth gently scored the healthy sections of the pine bark—making small, shallow cuts that wouldn't harm the trees—while Xiao Ya walked among the grove, her hands glowing green. She whispered to the trees, encouraging them to let the repellent seep into their bark and drive out the beetles.
Once the repellent cooled, Mo Ying and Lila brushed it onto the bark's holes with soft cloths. Within an hour, small beetles began crawling out of the holes, scurrying away from the scent. Gareth knelt to watch, grinning. "It's working! They're leaving!"
Su Qing then carved healing runes into small pieces of pine wood, tucking them into the bark's cuts. The runes glowed green, sinking into the wood, and the trees seemed to straighten—their needles brighter, their trunks steadier.
By afternoon, the first drops of golden resin began to ooze from the scored bark, dripping slowly into the clay pots Lila had placed below. Gareth held a pot under the sap, his hands shaking a little. "It's resin," he said, voice soft. "Real resin."
The villagers gathered around, cheering as they placed more pots under the trees. Lila dipped her finger in a pot of resin, then pressed it to her cheek ( "It's sticky!" she giggled), and Gareth promised to seal the village's roofs first thing the next morning.
That evening, the village hosted a feast in Gareth's cottage. The table was set with pine needle tea (made from the leftover repellent mix), venison stew, and a loaf of bread baked with pine nuts. Lila sat beside Xiao Ya, asking her to talk to the trees again—Xiao Ya laughed, letting Lila hold her hand as she glowed softly, and the nearby pine tree's needles rustled, as if waving.
Gareth sat with Lin Che and the others by the fire, holding a small clay pot of fresh resin. "My granddad always said the pines take care of us—give us resin, give us wood, give us shade," he said. "Today, we took care of them. Thanks to you."
Before they left the next morning, Gareth handed Lin Che a small pine wood box, its lid carved with a pine tree. Inside was a chunk of fresh resin—golden, sticky, and still warm from the tree. "This'll seal anything," he said. "Fix a broken tool, patch a leaky bucket… or just keep it as a reminder. Reminder that even trees need help sometimes. And that you gave us back our protection—our roofs, our torches, our pines."
Lin Che took the box, running his finger over the resin. It was smooth, like liquid gold, and smelled of pine.
They climbed aboard the starship, waving goodbye. Gareth and Lila stood in the pine grove, holding the resin box, while the villagers waved from the hillside. The clay pots of resin glinted in the morning sun, a promise of sealed roofs and bright torches.
Inside the cabin, Xiao Ya placed the pine box on the dashboard—next to the daisy petal bag from Daisy Dell, the wool ball from Thornfield, and all their other treasures. Su Qing flipped open Li Wei's map, pointing to a village in the west. "Cedar Hollow," she said. "Li Wei's notes say their cedar barrels are splitting—they use 'em to store dried food for winter. If the barrels break, the food'll get moldy, and they'll go hungry."
Mo Ying grinned, adjusting the starship's controls. "Cedar barrels? We fixed pine resin, well water, sheep wool—barrels are easy. Xiao Ya can talk to the cedar wood, find out why they're splitting. I'll help repair 'em with resin—Gareth's resin'll seal the cracks good."
Lin Che looked out the window, at the pine grove below. The Star Marrow on his wrist glowed softly, matching the golden resin in the box. This was their journey: not grand battles, but mending the bonds between villages and the earth—helping trees, healing wells, sealing roofs. It was quiet, it was steady… but it kept life going.
"Cedar Hollow," he said. "Let's go fix those barrels."
The starship turned west, toward the horizon. The pine trees below rustled in the wind, and the scent of resin lingered in the cabin. Ahead, a new village waited. A new problem. A new chance to bring hope.
And as always—they were ready.