Greg:

Greetings. I am Greg Jones, an explorer. I will be exploring the so-called phantom forest. Why is it phantom? Because everyone who goes in is lost to the folds of it. Welp, I'm going in.

As I walked into the forest, the noises of birds vanished. It was dead silent, except for the sound of me walking. I felt shivers go up my spine. Then I heard a twig snap. I ignored it and kept walking. Soon, I came to a fork in the road. I chose left, and pulled out a carving knife and scratched a G into a tree trunk. Satisfied, I walked down the left path.

Leif:

I walked through my woods, where my people live. I felt the presence of a human, so I went to investigate. I swung from tree to tree, my silvery blond hair whipping around. It came to my toes. Finally I spotted him, and climbed down to get a closer look. I accidentally snapped a twig. I didn't want him to see me, being an elfling and all. So I hid behind a tree, camouflaging in. Luckily he didn't turn around. He went to the fork in the path. We elves know to take the right path. But the foolish man chose left. Left is the way to Oak, an evil tree. Right leads to our home, the ropes course of homes all in trees. Well, I needed to observe him, and keep him safe. I tentatively followed behind, with my bow in hand.

Greg:

The left path led to a dark part of the forest. I was nervous at first, but continued. I saw a tree with a sinister face on it. Behind it was a dead end. It seemed to smirk " ya chose wrong" I instantly hated it. I don't know why such hatred emerged from me, but I kicked it in the face. " Ouch! You're going to pay for that!" The tree howled. I jumped back in surprise. The tree muttered something and leaves started floating upwards. They pelted at me. I shrieked and ran to the fork. I decided to take the RIGHT path. Get it? Bah, never mind. Well, I walked down the path. I was on the lookout for insane trees of death. Luckily, I crossed paths with none. I came across a big rock, which seemed to be covering an entrance into a cave. I shoved and pushed and pulled, but it didn’t budge. “That’s never going to work, you know.” A soft voice spoke, the only other sound besides me. “Also, you should know better than to hurt one of the sacred forest spirits.” I whirled around, and saw a girl, no older than 18. She had pale skin and silvery blonde hair. She had a circlet with an emerald gemstone in it. She wore a light brown dress that ended at her knees. The girl was wearing dark green pants under her dress. “I’m Leif, one of the Elflings of the Phantom Forest.”

Leif:

The man wore dark pants and a dark shirt on top. He wore a ridiculous orange hat. He had a scraggly beard too. His hair was brown, with gray streaks. He gaped at me, as though I sprouted broccoli from my hair. Maybe it was the pointy ears. Or the circlet. Or the unnaturally pale skin. Anyway, he backed away from me, as though I would bite. I sighed. “You want to go to the Village of Trees, right? Oh, are you wondering why this is called Phantom Forest? It’s because everyone who goes in goes down the left path and Oak, or the Evil Tree, kills them.” He shuddered and replied “ I would live to go to the Village of Trees.” I walked over to the boulder and spoke the sacred words. The rock rolled aside immediately. I turned around, smiled, and walked into the cave.

Greg:

I followed Leif into the cave. It was glowing green and pink. I felt magic through it. I saw emeralds, all big and amazing. Perhaps the Elfling’s circlet was created from it. I reached over to touch one, but Leif grabbed my hand. “NO.” she growled. I instantly backed up. Yikes, she was scary. We got to the end of the cave. She walked out, then looked back to make sure I came. Hurriedly I walked out. I looked around. We were at the end of a rope ladder, leading up a huge tree. Without hesitating, Leif climbed up. I followed tentatively. Elflings stared at me. One little boy said to his mom “ Mommy, that man is not an elf…” She replied, “What…? OH!!!” as she noticed me. I covered my ears absentmindedly. I glanced around and saw tree houses galore. These must be their homes. It was an incredible contraction. Bridges connected the houses into a main bridge, at least 20 feet wide. The tree houses were made with detail, and they were beautiful. Simple wood was placed in a delicate way, making a perfect home. Leaves were placed on the roof. But what took my breath away was the decorations. Beads were strung into beautiful patterns. Strings were made into gorgeous tapestries. And, on the bark door of each home was a single green gem, like the ones in the cave. I walked to it, as if in a trance. “Mr. Human, you are to not touch those.” Leif warned. I took another step. She walked over and dragged me away into a private area. “Sir, you don’t understand. Those gems are made with magic. We elflings are trained to cast enchantments on the emeralds in the caves. My circlet is made with an earth enchantment, so I have the power to call upon the earth. I also have a protection charm on it. All of the tree houses have protection gems. However, we have a Sacred Emerald. This protects not only our homes, but the entire forest.” Leif explained.

Leif:

Greg looked shocked. Well, I suppose it’s a lot to take in. I took him to Birch, the head Elfling. I told him about the human, and how he encountered Oak. Birch is the oldest elfling of the tribe. He has snow white hair and a long beard. His skin bags, but he is extremely wise. “Oak has been troublesome ever since some of the fire elves scorched him…” Birch said. “WAIT WHAT???!!!” Greg shouted. “THERE ARE MORE OF YOU?” “Yes, there are fire, water, wind, and earth elves. We and the fire elves have been at each other’s throats for years. The water and wind elves have been neutral to our fight. Well, they help both sides, but we haven’t convinced them to stay on our side.”I replied. Greg started pacing in a circle. “Mumble mumble elvesmumble more mumble going crazy…” he muttered. I took Greg to my tree house. He collapsed on a hammock and soon fell asleep. I didn't fall asleep for a while. I looked at my circlet. Its power was draining. My power was too.

Greg:

Whew, I woke up and it was all a dream! Oh wait… it wasn’t. Okay, to tell the truth, I was terrified out of my mind. I mean, I was barely handling Leif existing. BUT FOUR TRIBES??? Nope. I couldn’t believe it. Well, I rolled out of the hammock and saw Leif. She was in distress. “I talked to Birch. He told me that last night, the Sacred Emerald was stolen!” “What??” I replied. Then, I got a better look at Leif. Her hair was knotted, and her cheeks were flushed. I felt her head. She was burning up. “Whoa, you have a fever. Here.” I gave Leif a cool drink. She looked a little better. Then I saw her circlet. The glimmery emerald was now a dull green. “What happened to your circlet?” I asked. “The Sacred Emerald is our power source. Without it, we are weak.” Leif said. I walked out of the tree house. All the elves' circlets looked like Leif’s. Then I realized the truth. Without the Sacred Emerald, the elves would die.

To be continued…