They were surrounded by beings appearing roughly human. They were tall, with broad shoulders tapering down to skinny, short, bowed legs. Their arms were muscular and unusually long, hands probably hanging nearly to their knees if extended. Their faces were pale, with high cheekbones, broad noses, and large ears. They all had dark hair and eyes, and most had varying degrees of thick facial hair. They appeared to be half-human and half-ape.

Many held drawn bows and others raised spears. At least a dozen were on the ground surrounding them, and that many or more were in the tree limbs overhead. They wore brown leather clothing, with shirts of leather armor. Their feet were bare, exposing long, hairy feet with long toes.

An exceptionally tall one approached them. He wore a green cloak over the brown leather and had a green circlet of leaves around his head. The four teens moved close together, facing away from each other. They kept their hands on their weapons. Caleb met the apparent leader.

“You must be the next group of questers,” the humanoid said. He didn’t hold a weapon.

“And you must be the elves.”

“And you just slew the spiders?” he asked, ignoring Caleb’s comment.

“Spiders? If you’re referring to the evil mutations in the web, then yes. We fell into their web and either had to kill them or be their food. Were they your pets?”

“They guarded the edge of the Forbidden Forest. We let them be, and, for the most part, they did not bother us. A pity, but an impressive feat. No questers have survived them.”

“So, no questers have made it this far?” Spence asked, looking over his shoulder at the speaker.

“I did not say that. The others were wise enough to avoid the clearing.”

“Burn,” Morgan said, also risking a look at the speaker.

“We’re supposed to seek out Illexya in Sabekha,” Caleb said.

“We will take you to Illexya.”

“And who are you?” Caleb prodded.

“Seker. I am the captain of the forest patrol.” Seker waved his hand, and the elves lowered their spears and released their bowstrings.

“What do you patrol against?”

“You ask too many questions. Follow me and try to keep up.” Seker turned and began walking in the direction they were heading before they encountered the spider mantis lair. The elves in the trees swung and leaped from limb to limb overhead. The others flanked them on the ground in a wide circle.

“I loved Planet of the Apes,” Trey whispered.

Spence was still exhausted. The potion wearing off made him even more tired than he would have been without it. It was probably only early afternoon, but it felt much later. He wanted to eat a good, hot meal and sleep. At least they were seemingly safe, though, surrounded by the elves. The elves looked like a genetic mutation of the gods, like the monsters they’d faced, and not naturally occurring beings. “I don’t think they’re taking us to Rivendale,” he whispered, referring to the elven realm in The Lord of the Rings. Trey actually chuckled. Spence was surprised he understood the reference.

The pine forest soon transitioned to hardwoods. The spider mantis pit was close to the boundary. The pines must not have been officially part of the Forbidden Forest. The elves scurried up and down the trees effortlessly. They just reached up, grabbed a low-hanging branch, and swung onto it in one smooth motion. Spence couldn’t count how many were around. Leaves covered the hardwoods, like the middle of summer, which was strange considering the bleak, winter-looking Barrens they had trudged through from Argos.

The woods were much brighter than the pine forest. The forest floor had a few bushes here and there but was mostly clear except for leaves and fallen branches. The tree branches overhead joined together, forming a mostly solid canopy.

The elves had their own language and exchanged short barks and grunts, like gorillas communicating in the zoo. Seker didn’t speak to them anymore, and they decided not to bother him. Spence hoped Illexya would be more like Titus.

They began spotting more elves on the ground and in the trees as they walked deeper into the Forbidden Forest. They also heard more barks and grunts. Spence noted that although they weren’t the elves of Tolkien, they did move effortlessly and could quickly blend into the woods. He also didn’t doubt they knew how to use the bows and spears. If they had any of the strength of the apes they appeared to be mixed with, they would be very formidable. He recalled his conversation with Enki. The Nephilim were big and strong but seemed disorganized and not overly aggressive. He doubted they would provide much of a fight. Taking the Forbidden Forest would be tough, although he hadn’t seen the Draconians yet. Then he realized he was daydreaming and tried to refocus on the current situation.

They eventually arrived at a cluster of massive trees, appearing out of place with the rest of the forest. They were as large as redwoods but were hardwood and not pine. A dozen or so grew close together. Seker halted the small entourage at the largest tree and turned to face them. “If you build a town on the ground, it is both easy to find and hard to defend. We chose a different option.” He turned, looked up, and made a few barks and hand gestures.

Spence followed his gaze up the massive tree and high above saw the underside of wooden platforms encircling the trunk. He studied the surrounding trees and spotted similar structures. A moment later, a rope ladder came tumbling down the trunk in front of them. The top end disappeared through an opening in the platform some one hundred feet above.

“Elves do not need the ropes. We use them when we have guests. Follow me,” Seker grabbed the ladder and began scampering up.

“Whoa! Wait a second! I don’t know if we can all climb that,” Caleb said.

Spence was proud Caleb considered him but also embarrassed. Despite it being a long way to the top, the rope ladder would be easier than an actual hanging rope.

“I will have some of my elves follow. No one will fall.” Seker continued climbing.

Caleb went first, followed by Morgan and then Trey. Spence stared dubiously up the ladder. He slid his staff beneath the straps on his backpack and then grabbed each rope tightly and placed a foot on the first rung. The ladder seemed a little more stable than he thought it would be, probably because of all the weight on it above him. Then he wondered how much weight it would hold. An elf behind him grunted. He shook his head and began climbing.

His arms were weak and legs shaky, but he slowly and steadily scaled the ladder. He didn’t look down and just pretended he was climbing a regular metal ladder, as he had many times at his house. He didn’t let himself think that those ladders were only eight or ten feet tall, not one hundred. But after what seemed like an hour, he finally crawled through the square opening, and Trey and Caleb hauled him to his feet.

Spence quickly stepped away from the opening. The platform was twenty feet wide and curved around the tree like a deck. A waist-high rail was attached to posts along the edge. Despite the rail, Spence’s stomach fluttered at the distance to the forest floor below. He never realized he had a fear of heights, but he had also never been one hundred feet high on a wooden platform in a tree.

Tree limbs stretched out in all directions beneath the platform, meeting with branches from the neighboring trees. Spence glanced up and saw the network of limbs continued until they blurred into the green canopy. Other wooden platforms and structures were both around the trunk and scattered on the larger limbs. Ropes stretched in random patterns from rail to rail and limb to limb. Elves swung and climbed in every direction he turned, adding to the sense of vertigo.

“Welcome to Sabekha, home of the elves,” Seker spoke.

“Tell me we don’t have to climb any of those ropes,” Spence stammered. He couldn’t. He wouldn’t.

“They are much quicker, but I realize you humans are not as…adept. There is another way.” Seker walked past Spence to the trunk. A narrow wooden ramp spiraled up the tree to the next platform above them, resembling a spiral staircase except with no stairs. Spence had no idea how it was crafted. It appeared to be one smooth board, somehow attached to the tree and curved around it, and at the same time gradually elevating the entire way up. It had a raised lip on the outside edge, providing the sole protection from an accidental step off the side.

“How far do we have to go?” Spence asked wearily. The ramp didn’t look much better than the ropes. He wanted to throw up.

“Only two levels. There we will find Illexya.” Seker began ascending the ramp with ease.

“Sounds easy enough,” Trey said, walking past Spence and onto the ramp.

Morgan walked over to Spence. “Come on; you can do it. This is a lot easier than killing spider mantises and climbing ropes. Just hug the tree and don’t look down.” She followed Trey.

“I’ll be right behind you,” Caleb said, standing beside him.

The climb wasn’t quite as bad as Spence thought since it started at the platform. He kept one shoulder, arm, and hand against the tree, stuck his staff's end inside the lip, and used it as a hiking stick. He occasionally paused and risked a glance out on the limbs to some of the other platforms and structures. They resembled children’s treehouses with small platform-like porches in front of the doors—the elves’ homes. He saw other, larger open platforms here and there that appeared to be gathering areas.

They passed through an opening in a second platform, which also encircled the tree. This platform was like the first, although it held a large wooden structure supported between two huge tree limbs. Seker led them past it and onto the next ramp section, and they continued climbing. Spence’s legs burned, and his arms and shoulders were weak. He had officially surpassed his lifetime exercise output over the past few days.

Finally, as the last light faded from the sky, they ascended through the opening onto the third platform. This one was slightly smaller than the others but had more elf activity. Lights on poles were spaced along the rail. Spence glanced around and saw other lights gleaming all around the tree limbs and platforms. He couldn’t discern what they were, but they weren’t flames. They resembled light bulbs shaped similarly to the tip of his staff.

Seker led them around the side of the platform to a large wooden hut built against the tree trunk. There was a break in the railing at the platform's edge, and a walkway extended to a huge circular platform suspended on top of several thick limbs. Ropes on both sides served as railings. A large group of elves milled about the structure, which was illuminated by a light glowing in the middle resembling a fluorescent fire pit.

Seker pointed toward the opening in the hut. “Illexya is waiting.” He then turned and walked back the way from which they had come.