When the trial began again, Ollie wasted no time in putting a new plan into motion. The cypress tree was a powerful guardian and Ashlynn had showed Ollie several ways to harness it's power but when he compared the offensive might of the witchcraft he'd learned to the power demonstrated by the massed group of Inquisitors, he found it sadly lacking.
"It isn't that I'm weak," Ollie realized. "It's that my strengths are more suited for defense and counterattacks than offensive actions. More than that, I need time to prepare. Trees don't grow overnight, and I can't prepare my army overnight either. I need time…"
He also needed to set aside his desire for revenge. In his haste to strike back against the Inquisitors who had tormented him in his previous attempts to pass the trial, he'd skipped over many of the things he should have done in a bid to cut the head off the serpent, ending things once and for all.
