As part of the quest line The Blessings of Nature I have acquired a specialist weapon by the name of Nettlebane that I am supposed to use to chop through the roots of the Eldergleam tree to obtain some sap.
In typical fashion it turns out there are people inside the tree's sanctuary area, who make various comments about how beautiful and awesome it is, and so on.
This makes me suspect there is some alternative way for me to complete this quest that doesn't require me to hack apart the tree. Is there? And if so, what is it?