Chapter 10:
The Elven Village and the World Tree
THE NEXT MORNING, WE PACKED UP CAMP AND set off along the road to the northwest.
Sniffle, sniffle… It hurts… I’m in pain… Someone, please help me!
Hm? Was someone crying?
We were at a spot where the mountain sloped down into a deep forest. “Hang on, can we stop for a second? I hear someone crying,” I said, pulling Leaf to a halt and pointing toward the trees.
“Is there someone in the woods?” Mark asked, reining in his horse as well.
“I think so. It feels like someone’s calling me. Can we go check?” Honestly, I would’ve gone even if they had said no—because whoever it was sounded hurt and scared, and I couldn’t ignore someone in distress.
“You’re going to go even if we say no, aren’t you?” Lynn asked, deadpan.
Ugh, she saw right through me!
“All right, I’ll hack open a path for you,” Mark said. He readied his halberd, but the instant he swung, something smacked it away with a loud crack and the halberd clattered to the ground.
“Wh-what was that?!” He stared at his hand, opening and closing his fist like he expected it to be numb, then bent down to pick up his weapon.
A girl stepped out from the woods.
“They’re wood fairies! Ents!” she said.
Then I realized I recognized her: She was the fairy from the workshop who had been so excited to become a sprite!
I forgot to explain earlier, but the main difference between fairies and sprites was their size. A fairy was about as big as your palm, while sprites were around the size of a human baby. Fairies and sprites were both classified as spirits. Their wings were different too. Fairies only had one pair, while sprites had two—so four wings in total.
“Um, Miss Sprite?” I said. “I feel like there’s someone in there calling me and I want to go investigate. Are these Ents your friends?”
The sprite nodded. “How could you not know something that important?” she chided, puffing out her cheeks.
Just then, the tree closest to me emitted a deep creaking sound and slowly bent forward into a bow. One of its branches even folded across its chest (such as it was), like Sebastian, my family’s butler, would with his arms.
Oh, how gentlemanly!
“I am the oldest of the Ents who make up this forest,” he said. “Beloved child, I beg your forgiveness that my kin have blocked your path. I shall have them clear the way at once.”
“Thank you, Ent!” I grasped one of his branches—his hand?—and shook it properly.
The two people with more ordinary sensibilities began whispering to each other again.
“Hey, Letia.”
“Yeah, Mark?”
“Ents this, sprites that, ‘beloved child’… Is it just me, or have we gotten mixed up in something strange again?”
“I agree. But then again, Lynn’s always been unusual too, so at this point I feel like I’m used to it,” Letia said, shrugging.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Mark let out a long, deep sigh like he was being dragged into a world he didn’t understand. It was too late for that now—they’d already agreed to serve as our escorts indefinitely in exchange for those powerful rings.
While Mark was busy worrying, I chatted with the Ent as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Okay, Ent. Please clear the way for us.”
“As you wish.” The Ent bent low again with a deep creak. A rush of noise followed as shrubs and towering trees shifted aside at once, parting to reveal a path straight through.
“Thank you, Ent!” I said. “Lynn, Mark, Letia! Let’s keep moving!”
Mark looked tired for some reason.
What’s wrong with him? Eh, oh well!
I decided not to let him bother me, and we all rode ahead. The ground was just soft grass with no path or pavement, so we stayed mounted. When we reached the heart of the forest, there was no one in sight; all I saw was a shimmering magic circle.
“Hmm, I think it’s this way,” I murmured. Letting my instincts take the lead, I stepped into the circle.
“Hey! Wait, don’t just run in! It could be dangerous!” Mark shouted, rushing to grab me, but it was already too late. Light burst from the circle and enveloped me, like I was about to be transported somewhere else. I just knew it was going to take me away.
“Everyone after Daisy!”
The magic circle flared brighter, swallowing up not only me, but all four of us—including our horses and divine beasts—and teleported us, but to where?
I opened my eyes again and found myself surrounded by brilliant green trees. A single beam of light shone down from an opening above me, illuminating everything in a soft glow.
A tangle of young leaves and thick vines encircled the trunks. A clear stream wound its way between the mossy banks, catching and reflecting the light. Here and there were tiny bridges arching over the water.
A giant tree stood at the center of it, rising straight up toward the beam of light. It was so tall I couldn’t even see the top of it as it vanished into the clouds. Its leaves were shaped like big, withered brown hands that were cracking apart.
Sniffle, sniffle. It hurts… I’m in pain… Someone, please help me!
Oh, that was the voice!
“There it is! The cries are coming from that tree!” I pointed toward the enormous trunk and urged Leaf forward. Before we could move, I heard a sharp, booming voice.
“How did humans manage to find this forest? Are you trespassers aware that this is elven territory?”
The man who spoke had pale golden hair that fell to his waist, pinned back with a silver circlet. He was beautiful, but with cold, piercing emerald eyes. Long pointy ears framed his face. He had an arrow nocked to a taut bowstring, aimed directly at me.
I glanced around and saw that he wasn’t alone: Dozens of elves emerged from the trees, all with arrows pointed at us.
We were about to be shot where we stood.
Mark, Letia, and Lynn all shifted, ready to fight if it came to it. A tense silence stretched between both sides. Then, Leaf’s voice rang out.