The five free forest elves retreated a step at such a sight. They were visibly appalled by the power of their opponent. They had hoped to quickly overwhelm him and conquer this area. Now, there was little hope of that. The king seemed to deflate, losing every bit of imposingness in his aura. A worried look crossed the woman face, she clearly feared for his daughter's life, as they had too weak of a position to demand anything at this point. The guy that had been freed by Luke started shivering just staring at his captured companion. He had been traumatized by how powerless he felt while restrained with the same trick. This spectacle freezed him with the memories (he hadn’t spent that long captured but most elves lead lofty and arrogant lives. If their belief in their strength takes a hit, it is quite hard for them to recover). The bodyguards were pretty pissed though it wasn’t pretty how their faces twisted due to the contained fury. They showed their training in the fact that they didn’t actually attack even though it was obvious they wanted to.

Luke took the time to observe them closely again. He noticed a few details that he hadn’t before like that their armors had holes and were chipped and torn in some places. Mostly in the arms and legs. It was evident that they have been fighting something smaller than them without much success. Luke guessed the unsuccessful part simply because they were archers. If the enemy got close enough to deal damage, then they were failing.

“I think they didn’t come to expand their territory, they came to get a new area under their control. Look at how damaged their leather armor is. They had been fighting until recently with no chance to repair it. They probably got kicked out of their home. We should help them.” Dahani whispered to Luke, interrupting his inspections. She couldn’t help herself, trying to provide assistance to anyone she found in need. She may regret it in the future, but it was a commendable trait to have anyway. He agreed with her words, but there was no reason to make it easy to them, was there? Luke sighed. If they truly were running away from something, he would feel obligated to help them. It wasn’t because he had an exceedingly caritative soul, but because he may need their forces if this new enemy invaded his forest. He wouldn’t trust them, however he could relent if they vowed to comport themselves. Besides, it might be nice to have ‘neighbours’ in who he could delegate some of the patrols. He would have more time to experiment with his powers that way.

“So, What are you running from? I don’t consider myself a cold blooded killer, so I would prefer to avoid needless bloodshed.” He said to the forest elves. The king came back to life with the spark of hope Luke’s words created. He instantly came to the conclusion that, at least for now, the best path to survival lied with this sentient (human? He seemed a little off for that). The whole group of captives stopped struggling against their bonds, sensing the change in the situation. They might live after all.

“Ants. Wee came to this world three days ago, several miles from here. The first few hours we established a camp, scouted the area and killed any big predator that could become a danger. Everything seemed to be going well. Don’t get me wrong, I would prefer to not have come, but we were coping with the situation. The next day the troubles started. In the morning we found tracks of giant ants, and that same afternoon they attacked our encampment. There were mostly ant workers with a few soldiers mixed in. We dealt with them without much difficulty, but we knew what their presence meant. There was a queen setting a colony nearby. If we wanted to keep the land we needed to take care of them fast, before they grew stronger. We sent more than half of our troops to strike their nest a few hour after the battle. The first objective was the queen, then the eggs and lastly the rest of the colony. They failed. The ants were much more numerous that what we have guessed and even smart. They set a trap by posting few guards at the entrance, hiding most of the soldiers inside, in well hidden passages. Our archers quickly took care of the entrance guards, becoming overconfident by their low numbers. Once deeply in the tunnels, the insects sprang the trap, encircling the our warriors and killing almost all of them. Only one of them could flee to report. He died shortly after from his wounds. I decided that we couldn’t fight them and we have been running since then. They had become enraged by the attack, so they have been following us, doing raid after raid to claim our lives. Fortunately, we are fast enough to avoid the ants for most of the day, but they always catch up while we rest. It’s taking a heavy toll on us. So, will you help us?” The king knew that the best strategy was to be forthcoming with the information. There was no point in crying over spilled milk, but if they wanted to improve the relationship somewhat, this was the best course of action.

Luke’s face turned uglier the more he heard. These jerks hadn’t just invaded his forest, they even brought another enemy too!

“You idiot! Know they are going to invade here! Do you think that a being crafty enough to to sprang a trap on you won’t notice the value of such a high Mana density area?! Now I not only do have to deal with you, but with a stronger enemy too! Is this your idea of trying to come to an agreement with me?...” Luke’s ranting was stopped by Dahani putting a hand on his shoulder.

“The ants would have come eventually. If they are only miles away, they would have showed up by next week even if the forest elves didn’t lead them. At that time, you wouldn’t be powerful enough to deal with their forces. This can be considered a blessing in disguise.” Her voice was resembling more and more the voice of his conscience. She was right, however. Luke sighed deeply. He seemed to be doing that a lot later.

“Fine! You can live in the area around this forest. And you have to patrol the border everyday. Nonetheless, you can only set foot inside this forest if you bring important news or I call you. Ah, you also have to help in the defense of the region, with the ants being the first thing we are going to fight. Take it or leave it.” He wasn’t going to compromise more than that. He could have asked for more, but to what end? Hey clearly didn’t have anything that could interest him. The things that he asked of them were things they would probably do without his directives. Well, maybe not the part of not entering the forest, but the rest of the things yes.

“We agree.” The king had no will to argue against those condition. After all, they were quite fair over all.

“And remember, I CAN take care of all of you by myself and will do so if you attack me again. I only forgive once.” His word were accompanied by a fancy show of force: multiple roots sprouted from the ground, stopping centimeters away from the group of five necks. The spear shaped end sent a loud message, ‘don’t mess with me’. Afterwards, the branches retreated, freeing every captive. They quickly grouped up and left toward the border. The display of power still fresh in their mind.

“So, you were going to explain me about branching…” Dahan said while looking at the disappearing figure of the forest elves.