4.13

“Have any of you ever been to the Elder Tree?” Stick asked.

“No,” said Jimena.

“No,” said Hunter.

“I’ve never left Athena City,” said Silas.

“Really?” asked Stick.

“I don’t think any of us have,” said Silas.

“Well, get ready for an amazing journey,” said Stick.

“What about Gauzelle?” asked Silas.

“We’ll just have to go back sometime when she joins us again,” said Hunter.

“We should pack right?” asked Silas.

“Yep.” The three of them went to their rooms and packed with feverish excitement.

“What kind of weather do I pack for?” Silas asked.

“All of it, we could experience all kinds in one day,” called Stick. Within twenty minutes, everyone was ready.

“Let’s go,” said Stick. She activated her teleporter and within a flash, the four of them were standing in the middle of a small town.

They looked further out into the town and could only see the sky. Turning the other way, they could see grand, gnarled tree trunk. It was bigger than anything they had ever seen before.

Hunter looked at his feet and could see that the ground was green and looking above he could see that a leaf slightly overlapped above them.

The Elder Tree was a colossal thing of nature. The largest natural thing on the earth. It stood at almost the exact opposite end of Athena City, and the top of the tree touched the stratosphere.

There were eight main towns and cities that were built onto some of the leaves of the tree, each town was higher up in the tree than the previous. Where they were now was Twinderbark, one of the lowest towns on the Elder Tree.

The buildings of Twinderbark had a strange architecture to them, looking almost alien compared to Athena City. Where Athena City was flash with modernity, glass, metal, and rectangular buildings, Twinderbark was chock full of buildings that leaned and twisted together. Very little metal was used, with most looking as though they were hollowed out nuts and seeds of some kind.

A lot of the buildings had rope bridges that connected them along the top. Twinderbark made for an interesting skyline and the location inspired many artists. Not only to paint or draw what they saw at Twinderbark, but with writing stories and even directing movies.

There were two main methods of ascending and descending the Elder Tree. There was the means of a an incredibly fast elevator that was built into the trunk.

But for those that preferred the more scenic route, there was the giant beetles. These giant beetles wandered all over the Elder Tree and were used to help in construction and transport between the levels. Some were even used to defend the Elder Tree from attacks. The trio stepped back to make room as a giant beetle passed them with a load of people on its back.

“Do you come from here Stick?” Silas asked.

“No, not from Twinderbark. I come from Apex, which is the topmost city.” Stick was filled with a sense of pride returning home and seeing the reactions of her trainees.

“Why did you come to Athena City? This place looks beautiful,” Jimena asked.

“Because that’s where I need to be for now. Come with me, I got somewhere I want to take you.” Stick led them down the winding, curved streets of Twinderbark.

She brought them to a squat building, one that looked like a dried-out seed. It was double-storey and had oddly shaped windows with no glass.

“What’s this place?” Silas asked.

“One of my favourite places at the Elder Tree. Come on, hope your hungry.” Stick waited at the door as the other three walked in. She rounded in behind them once they had all entered.

The singular room was dimly lit by floating lights and Hunter realised the lights were glowing bugs.

A sweet, soothing song bounced around the room. A live band played on a small stage that sat in the middle of the room. There were five members in total. Although one played a guitar, the others all played instruments that looked nothing like what Hunter had ever seen before.

Various people from all around the world were jam-packed within the room, eating and drinking. All of the food looked exotic, all number of colours sprinkled throughout. The drinks were a large drop of liquid that sat within a cone. As people drank from them, the drop reduced in size but retained shape.

“Stick, this place looks amazing,” said Hunter.

“That’s because it is. Now, we can head on upstairs if you like, it’s a little easier to talk up there.” The others nodded and she took them up the spiral set of stairs that encircled the centre stage.

The room up here was set up like a mezzanine. The floor didn’t quite reach the edges of the building and had a small barrier to keep people from falling. The music was quieter up here, but the room was just as full.

“Ahh Jadell, long time no see.” A high-pitched voice broke through the din and a well-dressed insectoid was standing at the table. Antennae poked out from above its mouth, looking like a moustache and it stood almost seven feet tall. Small mandibles poked out from within its mouth and Silas watched as they would retract back in.

“Hello Humphry. Yes, it’s been too long. I was wondering if you could get us all a plate of the usual. Usual drink for me but not for them, they’re all too young.”

“Certainly ma’am,” Humphry bowed and skittered off downstairs.

“What are we gonna do while we’re here?” Silas asked in excitement.

“I’m here on some official business. I’ve gotta see some people about a few things, but the three of you are here to relax. I’ve been talking to Michael about it and we both agreed its what’s needed right now.”

“So we can just relax?” asked Jimena.

“Yep,” replied Stick.

“What about crime? Being a superhero?” asked Hunter.

“There are many who live here as well. Athena City isn’t the only place to be if you wanna be a hero.”

“What should we do, where should we go?” Silas asked.

“Your meals.” Humphry placed four plates on the table and another waiter, this one an elderly woman, placed their drinks.

“Thank you, I’ll call you if I need anything else,” said Stick.