Hazel gawked at the endless greenery, mesmerized by the view. They were moments from crossing into Meir.

"It's amazing..." Evelyn said in awe, looking just as surprised by what she was looking at as Hazel.

"Yeah..." Hazel responded with a mutter, unable to take her eyes off the tower trees.

Neither of them had ever seen anything like this in their lives. Then again, witnessing such scenery was only possible after a mysterious system appeared and merged their world with another. Without these events, they would never have had the opportunity to experience the majestic view before them. It was that rare.

[Hazel Thatcher: So, that is Meir?]

[Astrid Skogr: The Great Forest of Meir.]

[Hazel Thatcher: Right...]

Hazel could practically hear her partner emphasizing the great part in the message, as if feeling proud of talking about her homeland. And sure enough, Astrid had every right to feel prideful after bearing witness to the forest before them.

[Hazel Thatcher: How did the Forest get this big?]

[Astrid Skogr: No one knows. These trees have been around longer than all of the oldest elves within Meir. And the oldest elves that were still alive were the Great Elders of the Meir Council. At the moment, they were well over three to four thousand years old.]

[Hazel Thatcher: You're kidding me...]

Hazel learned in high school that trees possessed a very long lifespan, allowing them to live for thousands of years. And the fact that this forest had been like this even before the current oldest living Elves was honestly baffling to her. To think that this forest had been around for more than four thousand years.

So much history...so much time passed for them. And yet they were still standing tall and towered over every living being in the world.

It didn't take long before they finally crossed the border between the human world and the world of Meir. Upon entering the Great Forest of Meir, their entire scenery was no longer an expansive sky with streets, buildings, and such, but now endless towering trees that practically blocked out the sky and moon itself, letting only beams of light peak through the gaps from above.

As Hazel and Evelyn looked around, she took a close look at one of the trees as they flew past it, and she immediately gasped in response.

"H-holy...that tree is as big as a skyscraper!"

When she got close to one of the trees, she got front row seats, discovering how absurdly massive they were. It wasn't just the height of the trees but also their girth. A single tree was no different than that of a skyscraper. She was no different than an ant compared to them. And there were hundreds to thousands of them within the forest. Maybe even a hundred thousand or even a million...

It was unbelievable.

Astrid wasn't joking about this place being called The Great Forest. If anything, the word "great" seemed to undermine the true scope and concept behind Meir. This place was more than just great. It was the literal definition of the word fantasy.

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[Astrid Skogr: Now that we're in Meir, it'll take a few more hours for us to make it to the Mapleash tribe, since they're located almost at the center of the forest.]

[Hazel Thatcher: I'm assuming that we're going to have to stop in the next few hours like before?]

[Astrid Skogr: Either that or when the sun comes up, and you'll have to put your familiar away for the day.]

Since there were only a couple more hours until the sun was supposed to come up, Hazel's group was running out of time. They needed to get further into the great forest before they would be forced to walk the rest of the way to the Mapleash tribe. It was either that or find a place to stay for the day and leave for the night.

Then again, that might've been their plan anyway. Since they were in Astrid's homeland, they should know a place to stay and recuperate. It might've been even possible for them to relay a message to Damien and have him come to them.

Either way sounded like the best plan for them.

While thinking this over, a sudden thought came to Hazel.

[Hazel Thatcher: Wait, so when we find a place to stay before making it to the tribe, what are the chances of us getting attacked or shunned by the other residents of Meir? You know, since my mother and I are human and non-residents.]

For some reason, it hadn't occurred to her that there was a possibility that residents of Meir wouldn't take too kindly to her presence. To the point where they could very well kick them out of the village. Sure, her brother seemed to be welcomed and all, but that was him. Hazel had no clue if that would apply to her as well.

Of course, they had Tine and Runa to vouch for them, but something told Hazel that this situation wasn't going to be solved so easily. A part of her feared that she was bound to encounter some form of discrimination. And honestly, she had no clue how to feel about that.

[Astrid Skogr: It should be fine since Tine and Runa will vouch for you, along with me and Chegyaeyi. Of course, it would be preferable for you and your mother to keep your distance from the residence in case something happens. While the people of Meir aren't exactly discriminatory toward humans or outsiders, there are certainly a few who actually fit the bill.]

[Hazel Thatcher: Great.]

Hazel let out a sigh after sending the message, already dreading what could happen next once they reached a settlement. The amount of horrible yet predictable outcomes was already swarming her thoughts, each scenario giving her a bad case of indigestion.

The group continued to soar through the forest of Meir, admiring the many colossal trees that blanketed the area. When Astrid and she were looking at a map to know where the Great Forest of Meir resided, she discovered that the entire area of Canada and then some was where it was located. This made sense considering that Meir was considered its own kingdom that rivaled Briarhart and Ruinvia. At least, according to Astrid, anyway.

She wasn't wrong, though. After getting a good look at this place, Hazel couldn't help but agree with her partner's boastful statement. There was a reason why Meir was called The Great Forest. And it was certainly showing from her perspective.

[Hazel Thatcher: By the way, do you plan to lay low and not reveal yourself until you get to the Mapleash village? You know, since your brother might catch wind of you and try to take you down before things got serious?]

Because of Astrid's circumstances involving her brother, having her presence known would cause more problems for them. If Kollr found out that Astrid was not only alive but also in Meir and trying to save her tribe, he could very well send assassins and the like to try and kill her.

And while Hazel was confident that her partner could protect herself, a part of her still worried about what kind of trouble this would bring to them. They were already trying to get to the village without causing problems, and that could very well fail because Kollr might discover his sister's appearance and attack. All of this just wasn't sitting well with her.

[Astrid Skogr: You're right about my brother discovering me if we're not careful. So, for now, I'll have to lay low as well until we get to Mapleash.]

Hazel let out a sigh of relief. It seemed like her partner was more reasonable than she thought. That was good.

Still, they couldn't be lenient with their cover. All it took was one slip-up, and Kollr would be on them like a pack of dogs. He would likely send every available member who was loyal only to him and try to kill Astrid. After all, if word got around that the true future chief of the Greyvolk tribe was still around and trying to take back control, Kollr's whole operation could very well end in shit.

So, it would be best for them to keep Astrid from getting found out.

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