Corin and Nanaua lurched forward as the strange contraption they were in began to move. Kaha sat close to Nanaua, unbothered by their sudden movement. Corin and Nanaua steadied themselves and held on to the sides of the platform.

  “How is this contraption able to move?” Nanaua asked as the platform moved higher.

  “The thicket members above adjust various weights whichmove this lift.” Ciana replied with her usual air of indifference.

  Corin and Nanaua studied the forest ahead of them as the lift raised them into the sky.

  As far as the eye could see Corin and Nanaua saw rows of the massive trees. The animals that walked in front of the trees blended into the surrounding terrain. All that Corin could see were small blots of color moving in between the trunks of the trees, barely perceptible at this distance. Soon they reached the top and the lift stopped. The sudden stop made Nanaua and Corin lurch once more.

  “You won't have to worry about that anymore.” Ciana said as she stepped out of the lift.

  Corin stared in awe at what lay in front of them. A wooden walkway extended from the lift they were on, connecting to the massive tree trunk and spreading out in front of them. The walkway entwined with some of the branches of the massive trees, using them as supports for the various structures that the forest elves built high above the ground, and linking to branches from surrounding trees as the sprawling forest elf community expanded. On the wooden path Corin saw various buildings buzzing with activity, with forest elves moving about them, engaged in various activities, and interacting with one another. But Corin did not hear anything.

  “What an amazing sight.” Corin muttered.

  “This is one of the many communities we have established in this forest.” Ciana replied as she stepped off the lift.

  “Be careful where you step.” Ciana added without looking back.

  Corin looked down. They were so high above the ground that animals on it looked like tiny dots.

  “Oh dear.” He whispered.

  Carefully he stepped over the edge of the lift onto the wooden walkway and Nanaua and Kaha followed close by.

  Corin was amazed by the group of forest elves he walked amongst. They seemed so similar to Ciba’s thicket, but at the same time there were many differences. Instead of caravans, they lived in fixed homes. But they had their own unique twist, as these were both adjacent and part of the large tree on which they nestled into.

  Rather than the draft animals that pulled their caravans the only animals that Corin saw here were the native species that could climb high up into the tree. Corin saw various species of birds fluttering about.

  There was also a unique feature that Corin had never seen before. A vine that seemed to be interwoven into the various wooden structures that seemed to produce light. It helped Corin determine where the edges of the walkway were without having to look, and it provided an unusual glow to the entire structure they were on. The light calmed Corin, making him feel less terrified of being so high above the ground.

  As Corin walked on he did catch on to a striking similarity between the two thickets of forest elves. The silence that pervaded their home. As the forest elves moved and carried on with their business there was not a single word exchanged by them. They also did not display any curiosity about the strangers in their midst. One of them stopped next to Kaha to hold out a piece of meat which the wolf gladly snatched.

  As Corin walked by the various structures, memories from his time with Ciba resurfaced. He remembered how welcoming their thicket had been, walking long miles with them as they navigated through the forest. Cherished time he had spent with Nanaua, Zhi, Simeon, and of course Livia. So much had happened since then, in only two years.

  Ciana led them to a large structure from which a thin strip of smoke emanated. From the outside Corin could smell a sweet scent wafting out.

  “Follow me.” Ciana said as she stepped inside.

  The sweet scent gave Corin a feeling of calmness that intensified as he walked inside the building.

  Inside the structure the smoke concentrated at the top, covering the ceiling in a haze of smoke that made it hard to tell the height of the room. The only source of light was a large fire in the center of the room from which the soothing aroma came from.

  Inside the structure various forest elves were all preoccupied on different tasks. Some kept the fire burning, providing more fuel to the fire from what seemed like a pile of tree bark. Beyond the fire, three forest elves sat near each other silently staring at the incoming travelers.

  Ciana pointed to a spot in front of the seated trio and Corin and Nanaua quickly obliged. They sat down across from the trio while the gentle fire burned in between them.

  “Friends of the forest.” The forest elves spoke to Corin and Nanaua in unison.

  “Welcome to our home.” The one on the left spoke now.

  The three forest elves barely moved and save for the times they spoke could easily be mistaken for small trees. They seemed so old that Corin could not even tell what their gender was supposed to be.

  “I believe you have come across others of our kind before?” The same forest elf continued.

  “That is correct.” Nanaua spoke. “It was over two summers ago that we encountered a thicket. They showed us a great deal of hospitality and helped us through a difficult ordeal.”

  “Oba spoke to us of your time with the thicket.” The middle one spoke. This forest elf sounded the same as the first one that spoke. “Of your journey to find an artifact to defeat Titans. Of your pursuit by agents of the Dragon Tonatiuh. And your deception of the pursuers with the unwitting aid of the Giant Baltro.”

  The forest elf mentioned the facts casually, with no intention to imply any wrongdoing but Corin could not help but feel anger, regret, and shame. All those events that led to him helping unleash Jokasta into the world. That led to their current predicament. But Corin did his best to ignore those feelings and focus on the matter at hand.

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “Yes, the words you speak are accurate.” Nanaua replied with a stern tone. “We were being pursued by agents of our former enslaver, the Dragon Tonatiuh. It was with the aid of the former thicket leader Ciba that we were able to deploy a ruse to shake off our pursuers. Ciba was killed in our ensuing encounter with one of the pursuers.”

  “Yes, and Oba let us know of the vision Ciba shared before his demise.” The last of the trio spoke. Like the other two there was nothing that Corin could differentiate between the two. “That helping the Onsiel would bring about a great change in the world, and thus we have seen it.”

  The pang of guilt stabbed deep within Corin.

  “The retreat of the Giants, the rising of the Seidrs, and as Ciana tells us the disappearance of many furtive settlements.” The last forest elf continued speaking.

  Corin looked away from the forest elf.

  “Just as Ciba had said, a great change was to come and he and the rest of the forest elves decided to help you achieve that change, for he believed in you, all of you.” The last one continued. “In your moment of need Ciba saw within you a great potential and agreed to help. Now it is our turn to ask for your help, to seek to tap from the same well of great potential within you.”

  Corin felt as if he had misheard the forest elf.

  “Even after all that has happened, after what…” Corin stopped but steeled through “after what we helped bring about, you would still come to us?”

  “You surely know that forest elves are compelled to help those that come to them in their time of need.” The center elf spoke. “Neles is in dire need of help and we believe you may be the only ones who may be able to reach him. We have tried to send other forest elves to reach him, but he is too dangerous, and we do not wish to do him any harm.”

  Corin and Nanaua looked at each other. They understood how dangerous this person could be. They had seen Zhi’s power firsthand many times, they knew the danger that unchecked power of that magnitude posed.

  “We'll find him, and we'll make sure he comes back safe.” Nanaua said.

  “Thank you friends of the forest.”

  ***

  “This is as far as I'll go.” Ciana said.

  Corin, Nanaua and Kaha stood next to the base of a massive trunk. The span was so wide that it covered half of Corin's field of view. Beyond the tree Corin saw more of the massive trunks that shot up high into the sky, but nothing that hinted at the presence of danger.

  “How far?” Corin asked.

  “For you both, half a day's walk.” She replied.

  “We will take it from here.” Nanaua replied. “You will know once we have made contact with him.”

  Ciana began to walk away but stopped.

  “The elders…” She began and then turned to them. “There are many in your village that rely on you. Whatever it is that happened after you left Ciba’s thicket, it does not mean that you have to save every furtive you meet. There will be those that you will not be able to save. Whatever you choose to do, just be safe.”

  Corin looked at Ciana.

  “We know we cannot save every furtive we come across, but we still move forward as if we can.” Nanaua replied.

  “I know you do.” Ciana said. “I await your return.”

  She turned and left.

  Corin and Nanaua looked forward.

  “How will we know when we are getting near him?” He said.

  “I think he will let us know.”

  The two followed down the path that Ciana had pointed them towards. It was hard to tell where anyone could find shelter in this forest. The trees were so tall and so far apart and all that could be seen was a wide open plain. Corin could not see where anyone could find refuge.

  “How can someone even survive in an area like this?” Nanaua asked.

  “It can't be easy.” Corin said. “There isn't much in the way of food, and the area is not very friendly to furtives.”

  The two continued while Kaha stayed close to Nanaua. They had walked for a long distance without sight of a single living creature.

  “Have you seen any other animals?” Corin asked her.

  “I have not.”

  It seemed that Neles had scared off the other inhabitants of the forest. They continued for a second until Nanua stopped them.

  “Over there do you see that?” She asked Corin.

  He looked to the distance and he saw something odd. A single large ice spike, with a dead reindeer atop it, speared straight through.

  “Well that's one way of hunting for food.” Corin said.

  “Let us inspect it closer.” She replied.

  The three of them approached the animal.

  Corin inspected the animal.

  “This animal has probably been dead for several days.” Corin said.

  He looked at the animal, several pieces of it were missing. The hind legs had been removed as well as a large portion of its lower body.

  “One single person couldn't have eaten all this meat in a single meal.” Nanaua added.

  She reached up and ripped a piece of meat off the carcass. She threw it at Kaha who gladly ate it.

  “You're right.” Corin replied. “He must have come back several times. He might be close.”

  “We should be careful.” She added.

  “Yes.”

  Nanaua and Corin followed ahead, looking for more signs of the furtive Onsiel. The day continued as they walked, slower now that they felt they were near their intended target.

  “Look.” Nanaua pointed to the trunk of a tree.

  Various spikes of ice were embedded on the trunk. They walked up to it and observed them. It was clear that they were the work of the Onsiel.

  They walked around the edge of the trunk when Kaha began snarling.

  “Corin.” Nanaua whispered.

  The two of them looked around, there was nothing that hinted at the presence of the Onsiel near them.

  Nanaua tried to continue walking but Kaha would not move, he was intently focused on a large patch of snow covering the trunk.

  Corin took a step toward the large patch and heard some muttering. A memory flashed in his head, Zhi muttering various words before unleashing one of her spells.

  “Get down!” He yelled as he ducked to the ground.

  Nanaua followed quickly and a mere moment later three ice spikes shot out from beyond the patch of snow that covered the trunk. The spikes flew high above where Corin had stood only moments earlier.

  “Leave! Leave now!” An angry voice yelled at the two of them.

  Before Corin could even react, a strong gale pushed him, Nanaua, and Kaha back. The three were sent reeling from the base of the tree.

  “You will not take me back!” A voice shouted from the direction of the gale. “I will not join this cursed war!”

  “Neles!” Corin shouted. “We are not here to take you anywhere! We just want to talk!”

  He stood up as he looked to the base of the tree. Corin could see a hollowed out portion near the base of the tree from where he and Nanaua had been attacked.

  Nanaua stood next to Corin while Kaha kept snarling.

  “No!” Neles shouted back. “Stop with your lies!”

  The Onsiel stepped out of his enclosure. His clothes seemed like rags and were torn and tattered. His face was gaunt, his eyes sunken, and his hair long and matted. He had a scraggly beard that seemed to sprout recently. Amidst all that, Corin kept focusing on his eyes. They were wide and full of terror.

  “Leave! Leave!” Neles shouted as lightning shot out from his hands. The lightning impacted all around them, the ground, the tree behind them. Everywhere but them.

  “Corin get close to him.” Nanaua muttered to him.

  He didn't look in her direction, and he did not know what she planned on doing, but Corin followed her guidance. He raised his hands as he started inching towards the Onsiel.

  “Neles please listen to me!” Corin pleaded with the Onsiel. “I swear we are not here to hurt you or to take you anywhere! I know you don't want to hurt us either! We just want to talk!”

  “There is nothing to talk about! I won't go back to her! “ Neles shouted.

  Corin took a step forward and Neles instantly reacted.

  “Stay back!” The Onsiel shouted and shards of ice flew at Corin.

  Corin did his best to cover his face, but the sharp shards cut small gashes on his forehead and cheeks.

  “Corin!” Nanaua shouted.

  “I'm fine!” He shouted back.

  “If you don't leave I will have to hurt you!” The Onsiel shouted.

  “Now!” Nanaua shouted.

  A block of ice the size of a fist flew past Corin straight at Neles. Before the ice had struck its target Corin was already on the move. As Neles tried to prepare for Corin to pounce on him the block hit him in the head knocking him down.

  Corin instantly landed on top of the Onsiel prepared to hold him down but stopped.

  “What is it?” Nanaua shouted as she ran up to Corin.

  Corin looked at the Onsiel. He was unconscious. There was a gash on his forehead where Nanaua had struck him with the block of ice.

  “Did I kill him?” She asked him.

  Corin inspected the Onsiel. He could see him slowly but surely breathing.

  “No, he's just out.” He told her. “It won't be long before he's up. Let's make sure he is in a better place to listen.”