The Funari
"Wooo!" Finrod felt his body bend in several directions instantaneously and he was immediately put back together again in an entirely different place. His head rang just as appeared at the other end, however nothing worrisome that a light shake couldn't fix.
He looked to his side and saw Elessar chewing on a nut, she had been waiting for him.
"You made it." She said
Finrod simply nodded in response, his head turned as his eyes made out the area. He could hear the songs of birds quite closely like they were just above him.
The place where he stood alongside the Graimpuf and its owner was a little hut built in a tree previously serving as a shrine for the goddess but since the goddess had gone, it was transformed into a transport hub hosting a sweet-smelling portal.
Finrod looked through the square window by his right and saw multitudinous trees going as far as he could see, nothing interesting. However, when he walked to the window peeping out his head, he saw little wooden huts littered below with lots of Funari in their businesses.
When he observed further, he spotted some huts on tree branches as well.
"I see no tears in space around? Did you not fight those creatures?" Finrod turned to ask.
"Ohh we did, we fought well, and lost a lot of our people but we persisted and the portals were closed by an overachieving spatial mage."
"Ohhh"
Negative feelings stormed into Finrod again. Had he trained, had his people practiced in the arts of battle, had they not depended so much on the goddess, a number of them would have made it out alive.
"Let's go. I want to show you to the chief." Her words snapped him out of his thoughts and he followed her.
She went through the opening meant for a door except there was none. When she did, Finrod saw her fall.
"Elessar!" He ran forward and poked out his head.
"Woo!"
Elessar slid down a large vine with just her feet and Finrod watched her reach the bottom safely.
He was looking down at her when he felt the Graimpuf forcefully push him out with its head.
"What?" he let out, seeing himself fall in the wind.
Suddenly, the Graimpuf came beneath him and pushed up its back against his leg and Finrod reflexively held on. The beast slid down a couple of vines as it jumped from one to another until it reached the bottom, throwing Finrod off itself.
He laid on the ground with his limbs stretched about looking up at the canopy of leaves above.
There Finrod saw it, the largest tree he had ever laid his eyes upon.
Where the little room stood was in a little hollow close to the roots of the massive tree, its gargantuan size cast a large shadow over everyone and everything around.
He had to stand up to appreciate its massive size.
"That tree, it's like…"
"A god? Yes, some think so as well, she provides immediate protection and sometimes bears fruits that cure many ailments. More so, our victory over the invading demons could be attributed to her as we mostly fought on the vines and exposed roots while the demons were far from accustomed to fighting in places like that. Also our Chief, the tree lent him its strength."
'Lent him his strength?' Finrod didn't exactly get that part and he had questions, but he simply let himself be in awe of the monstrous tree.
The giggling of Terian kids broke him away from his feeling of consternation as a couple of them came to greet Elessar.
"Elessar"
"Do you have nuts or berries"
"Did you kill more demons?"
They stormed her with questions, some grabbing a hold of her trousers for attention. There were about a dozen of them and they were handsy as they made their requests.
Some were curious about the pale fellow in their midst, they gave Finrod side glances while some just stared.
Noticing this, Finrod thought to greet them lest they think he's one horrible fellow.
"How do you do little ones?" he asked, forcing a smile. Those who paid attention to him hid behind Elessar as soon as he spoke.
She squatted, "He's not here to hurt us, he's a friend."
The kids understood, they didn't stop glancing his way but they didn't exactly keep their distance like they had done previously.
Finrod began to imagine what they must have gone through and images of dead elven kids flooded his mind. He shook his head when a voice called him.
"Finrod! Stop doing that, you're scaring the children."
"Now go…" she said to them and they scrambled running in various directions. The kids were no larger than four-year-old human children, they had no antlers like Elessar yet and only their droopy brown hairy ears like that of antelopes and deers told them apart from the human child.
Finrod smiled as he saw them run down, they were the cutest things he had ever seen.
Elessar began walking forward and Finrod followed her. They walked into a group of huts and around them were Funari gazing at Finrod, they all knew who he was–that he was an elf and that he was possibly the last one and yet they couldn't keep their piercing gazes away.
The area was chatty before he had entered but it turned to a graveyard as soon as he went through. His identify skill picked up the classes of those he managed to lay his eyes on before looking away.
[Warrior- lvl 13]
[Healer- lvl 9]
[Archer- lvl 11]
Finally, he passed them and yet, they watched him from behind, mumbles escaped from their mouths as curiosity bit into their minds.
"Come, we are almost there."
'I'm coming, I'm coming'
Finrod felt that she was treating him like a child and he didn't like that one bit.
Finally, they stopped at the edge of the village just before the trees and in front of one.
Finrod looked up above and spotted three huts in the tree in front of him. The lowest was fixed in a hollow at the stem of the tree, one was at the lowest branch and the last was at the tallest branch dangerously high.
"The chief's hut is the one at the highest. He must be busy with something but he'll be glad to see you."
"That I hope."