Meanwhile, back with Little Black-Ears’ group, tensions rise as they continue their flight through the forest. They climb through a maze of trees, squeezing through a gap between two trunks. However, the space they are crawling through suddenly begins to shrink. Little Black-ears exclaims that the forest is coming alive, a reference to a strange phenomenon that is found in Talyxian forest biomes.

As these areas consist of a wide range of strange alien biota, they form a kind of construct together that can allow for the topography and layout of a forest to shift over time. Because of this, these forests often do not maintain a static layout, rendering maps or memorization of them to be unreliable at best. This is yet another reason to why this alien landscapes are considered to be so treacherous, as the forest itself is a labyrinthian network that can become a literal deathtrap to even the most experienced adventurer.

One by one the sergals slip through the wooded gap, with Little Weaver being the last person through. However, while Little Weaver managed to squeeze mostly through the shrinking hole, they weren’t quick enough! The forest clamps down on the sergal’s foot, locking them in place. Ever quick-thinking, Little Stub-tail jumps in to help. After a hard tug, Little Weaver’s foot releases safely from the iron grip of the trees, freeing them to move on. It seems that they’ve all made it to safety… for now.