"You will not see me, but I will see each and every one of you," were the last words Chaos said to them before showing them the location of the treants. And then, just like that, he disappeared. Was this going to become a habit? Talion hoped not.

Dyra knew best of all how to navigate forests, which meant she was in the lead. The others ran behind her, trying to keep up with her unusually fast pace. Somehow she managed to dodge every single branch, tree stump, rock, and tree root that stuck out of the ground.

Talion was not sure if wielding an axe near a boot of sentient trees should be considered an insult or not. It was too late now, anyway.

"We should be near," Dyra announced to the group.

"Are you sure? I don’t see anything-” Before Nalia could finish her sentence, Reiha gasped.

Talion followed her gaze.

They almost melted into the trees. Anyone simply walking by would have easily missed them. Two treants stood perfectly still, their leaves rustling in unison with the light wind blowing in their direction. Massive was not the right word to describe them. They were at least 50 feet tall, their arms and legs looking more like tree trunks than limbs. But most importantly, they were eerily silent. Other than the rustling of their leaves, they made not a single sound. No one dared to speak or make the slightest noise.

At first, it looked as if they had fallen asleep standing up. Their downturned heads gazed blankly into the ground. That was until the group came closer. The treant’s heads jerked to attention, their eyes locked on them. They both knelt down at the same time, still towering over all of them. Their hands, which were probably made up of thousands of overlapping twigs and branches, extended outwards. Without any words, the treant on the right grabbed Dyra, Nalia, and Reiha.

"Hey!" Reiha shouted, wriggling around in the treant’s hand. Nalia was squeezed in the same hand as Reiha and felt the full force of the panicked elf's elbow thrusts.

The other tree dweller reached for Aigor and Talion and lifted them up effortlessly. The creatures righted themselves and lifted everyone into the air. Talion's breath left his body as his arms pressed against the tree dweller's hands to keep from falling. He'd never been a fan of heights, especially not being lifted into the air by giant trees.

They all soared through the treetops. Though he was not even close to touching the ground, Talion could both feel and hear the rumble of the ground beneath them. He looked over his shoulder and spotted Nalia pressed against Reiha - who had given up trying to break free.

Talion wondered exactly where they were going. That was until he heard more rumbling. It was not just coming from their new friends either. He quickly scanned his surroundings and to his astonishment spotted more treants, large and small. Aside from the distinct lack of any form of dwelling or shelter, it appeared to be a fully functional tribe. The smaller treants, who Talion assumed were children - or should they be called saplings? - were all running around and playing. The older trees were either watching the young ones or doing other odd tasks around their camp. In the middle stood a giant tree that towered over all the others. Their gigantic friends stopped.

“You’re going to let us go, right?!" shouted Talion. No response.

More rumbling. This time it came closer to them. Talion looked in the direction it came from.

It was another treant. He seemed bigger, though. Talion could tell by its dry, withered bark that it was old. Ancient, even. Yet he still stood tall, smiling kindly at them all. Or at least he thought it was smiling. It was hard to tell because the entire lower half of his face was covered in leaves that resembled a bushy beard. Faintly, Talion could see various kinds of birds and other small rodents crawling up and down the old treant’s head and shoulders.

It spoke. Talion wasn’t sure if it was directed to them, or the other tree’s carrying them. It didn’t matter; he didn’t understand a word of it. It took only five seconds to realize he was speaking in an entirely different language, and a few more seconds for the old tree to realize they couldn’t understand him.

“Welcome…To our home...” It started. The treant spoke to them in slow, broken common, seemingly trying to think over each word before saying it. “Cavar said… You would be coming…”

It was obvious what it meant when they heard the words ‘Cavar’.

“We’ve been told you’ve been having troubles. With kruthniks,” Talion said, though not sure how loud he had to speak for the treant to be able to hear them.

The ancient treant nodded. “At dark… They rise. Ruin homes… Uproot small trees. Too many kruthik. Destroy master. Destroy all.”

Talion frowned. He seemed to get the gist.

“Well, we’re all happy to help!” Dyra shouted from where she was being held. The old tree smiled, seeming to appreciate Dyra’s presence.

“Kruthik… North. Where water meets rock. Easy find. Luck be with all.”

The elder tree proceeded to speak to the two carrying the team. They spoke back in the same language. Their comrades walked forward, dropping them back down at the edge of their encampment.