It was the first time he flew, and he doubted few humans would have surfed the skies in a giant eagle. Although he did not have much time to look at the views because of the darkness of the night, Rune began to lose the height they got while flying away from High Sword.

“Rune, what’s happening to you?” Aer exclaimed, clutching beside him.

“My energy... I can’t maintain this form,” she said in a trembling voice, and not because of the wind.

“Beware! The forest is moving!” Finnian exclaimed.

One could imagine that he was referring to branches, but it was much more. Everything that formed that forest was twisted as if it were from a snake nest. A thorn’s river was straight toward them, causing Rune to adjust their course. She managed to dodge the first strike in her wings, but there was no anything else she could do, as something caught her leg, dragging them into the woods.

Once they crossed that natural barrier, the appearance of Rune changed suddenly, returning to its previous level and leaving them defenceless in the sky. But that was not a dream in which he would wake up before reaching the ground, as they were going at such a speed that they looked like a meteorite. Or so it was until a dense sphere of air buffer the fall.

Landing calmly this time, at least he did not taste the ground again, but the fear didn’t abandon him. The little light offered at night leaked through the treetops they entered, but there wasn’t much around them. Three times the size of their world, the trees let their roots look wild, making the terrain difficult. The absence of plants in that infertile land gave an awkward, if not frightening, appearance when not hearing any other noise of what was out there.

“This is landing with style,” Finnian muttered.

“Did you like it? We have to repeat it some other time, but without forests catching us,” Aer said.

“Have you done it?” Finnian murmured, removing dirt and leaves from his clothes.

“Yep! I won’t be able to fly, but there are a couple of things I can do my way,” Aer said with a cunning smile.

“Why don’t you get up? Or are you too comfortable to move?”

Rune’s voice, damped by the earth, was heard when the elthean turned her head and looked at her friend. After moving, they made a quick check on her and, despite her injuries, most did not seem very serious except one of her legs—the same one she was hit twice in that night.

“You got hit by that demonic elthean,” Finnian said.

“It was aiming at you, so...” Rune murmured, not adding anything else.

“At least we’re one piece, but we should move,” Aer added.

“She goes first,” Finnian said.

Unhanging his backpack, he wished that everything was intact. Most were in good condition, even smoke bombs that looked like a few firecrackers, although it was not time to check it out. Soon he found what he was looking for, a small box with bottles as big as his little finger, each with a different colour liquid inside. However, some labelled “Emergency Only” were bronze that smelled like tea.

“Why did you step back so fast?” Finnian said as Rune gave a sip of its content.

“That elthean was very strong, more than I imagined,” Rune explained. “Between that, I could not keep that evolution level, and the forest began to move….”

“Can those things happen?”.

“We’re lucky that was just that,” Aer said.

“If it weren’t for Rune, we wouldn’t have lasted long there, wouldn’t we?” Finnian added.

Her evolving was very timely, although he did not fully understand how the process worked. At least she didn’t look so bruised after drinking the potion, but he doubted that she could change again to get them out of there. Or not so soon.

“Do you know where we have ended?” Finnian said.

“The Forest of Ellery,” Aer murmured. “We knew it as the Old Tree Forest, but it has changed too much. Theri intended to surround him, not through him.”

“That’s why we must get out as soon as possible,” Rune said, starting to walk and then limping in after trying to move forward.

“Go on my back,” Finnian said.

“That potion takes a little time to take effect, and we have to move fast, don’t we?” Aer remembers her.

Surprised at the proposal, he almost thought she offended (again) because of how suspicious she looked at him. He began to understand how proud and stubborn Rune could be, but they were on the same team. She hesitated. Even Aer realized it, although none pressured her. In the end, it was she who approached him and climbed as best as she could on his back.

“Now it’s up to us to look for a way out if we’re lucky,” Rune said, giving him a couple of taps in his head.

“I don’t think it is going to be that easy,” Finnian admitted.

“Why? Is it hard to carry me around?” Rune said with her usual responsive tone.

“Because the forest has trapped us. How many times does that happen?” Aer exclaimed.

“It’s you who have studied more Elthea sites, not me,” Rune murmured, dragging the words.

“Has the potion affected Rune, or is it relaxing her too much?” Finnian said.

“Maybe both,” Aer sighed. “But that is true. Few places would do what Ellery has done now. And that means huge troubles.”

“As huge as you, human,” Rune said, tapping his head again. “Or maybe more because you won’t be the highest of your species, right?”

He preferred not to answer it for the sake of both. Focusing on the positive, that the three remained alive, might not be enough. Although what other alternatives did they have? Wait for the forest elthean to give them a decent welcome? Or be found by that demon who wanted to finish your work?