His mouth puckered sharply, realising what he saw. Despite knowing that they were supposed to face the Elder Treants, it still could not elude the sense of awe and horror in him, for the stakes had finally set in for him.
They were at war.
Gulping down as quietly as possible, Jake informed through the HiveNet of his observations. Feeling that hebhad done enough, he quickly scampered down the tree, unwilling to stay up any longer. He dod not know why, but despite the considerable distance between them, he still felt, deep in his heart, they were monitoring him.
Shaking his head at this ridiculous thought, he shrugged of any remaining traces of woodn bark and leaves from hisnbody, before reporting to his superior.
On the way, he met with A'rdu, a Armandrill. Their species looked very similar to an species that once lived on Earth, called the 'urm-ah-deloo'(?). Although he didn't bot know what they were, legends speak of them having near indestructible armour covering their bodies, impenetrable to steel bullets and iron hammers (back at the archaic past at least).
However, what set them apart were the fact that instead of having claws for hands, it got replaced with biomechanical jackhammers for hands. This made them very adapt at civil constructions, which incidentally happened to be Armandrill's designation at the camp. He singlehandedly set up the entire defensive battlements, and they were very sturdy to boot.
"Aye vant two ekspresh hawv yuu vere van uf za phew beepl hvo shpoke wid me. Nobudee efer shpoke wiz me. Ziz muns ve frensh, ride?" A very muffled voice spoke from underneath a bucket shaped helmet. Although very distorted, Jake still managed to understand what he wanted to say. Smiling frankly, Jake told him "Yes, we are friends. Now come on, let's see what we have for lunch today." He grabs ahold of Armandrill, dragging him into the cafeteria with him.
Deep within the forest, a giant Elder tree, reminiscent of the once living American Redwood Pine tree, slowly lurched itself forwards, each step taking minutes, yet striding through great distances. As it got closer to the surroundings, more and more trees started walking in from the shadows, each more unique than the rest.
Some had twigs spreading everywhere they walked, creating miniatures of themselves in each footstep. Some had life wilted from their surroundings, as poisonous fumes emitted from their very leaves itself. Some had insects do their bidding, conveying information through and from the treant, in exchange for its sweet, sweet nectar.
But all had the same defining feature:
Each were revered in their clans, having accumulated millenia in experience, earning them the moniker of Elder.
Yet despite their venerated stature, all quietly gathered around the vicinity of a weathered, upon which stood an inconspicuous, tiny in stature, common looking tree.
Yet no one belittled it.
Despite its appearance, it was the oldest living creature in the whole world, being the very first sentient tree. It was awake when the first creatures washed ashore, it witnessed the evolution of life across the ages, and it fathered the myriad trenats that live today.
It is the Grand Elder of treants, and it will protect its to the very end.
As the treants stopped coming in it lifted its head, from which two wizened green eyes pierced through to them. It got up, and shanked slowly to the front. There, it lifted two wizened branches, before declaring "We... Fight... NOW!"
As Jake stumbled back to his tent, feeling giddy and full, he started humming the lullaby hsi other sang to him, before she disappeared. Just as he was about to fall asleep, alarms sounded across the camp.
Large boulders of flaming matter was hurled across the incomplete defenses, spreading toxic fumes across the air. Insects of various shapes and sizes attached everyone, creating chaos across the ranks. Large thuds can be heard stomping through the dark forest, it's creator obvious to everyone.
They were being attacked.