Dodging sunken boulders in the cave tunnel was much easier on the way back. Elsie could see the light from outside the forest entrance, making it easier not to stumble and know where to go. The others weren't ahead of her in the tunnel, but as she escaped the darkness and found herself in the forest once again, she found them. The three were standing on the path ahead, as they'd started to continue along it, except that they had stopped. Each of them were looking back, probably waiting and wondering what was taking her so long. So she quickened her pace, breaking into a jog to catch up to them, as she was so excited to tell them what was in her pack. 

Too excited to register what Ailbe was calling out to her until it was too late, "Elsie, stop. Be careful, there's a trap right in front of you."

As she jogged toward them, her left foot pressed down onto a lumpy pile of scattered leaves. The lump was what her group had noticed and only occurred to her as the rope noose hidden beneath those leaves had tightened around her ankle. In the blink of an eye, some unseen weight countered with hers and knocked her backwards. She screamed as her bottom hit the ground and she was dragged across the dirt before being hauled up into the air. 

It all happened in a second; Elsie was now shrieking and hanging upside-down, suspended by her ankle. Faye instantly covered her ears and barked at her, "Gees, be quiet. You're loud enough to wake the dead and I don't want to fight another Ogre."

As she hung there, still swinging vigorously, she managed to look down at Faye and retorted. "I was taken by surprise, okay?!" Elsie tried to wiggle herself out but to no avail, even trying to reach for the handle of her blade. Although her finger could grasp the hilt to unsheath it.

Faye simply watched her fail her attempt as she noticed that the rope that held her was tied to a sprung tree, which would be easy to break. BUT, after that noise her travel companion made, Faye had no interest in helping. Instead, she kept watch, just in case the persons who had set the trap came back. 

"Are any of you planning to help me?", Elsie asked irritatedly. 

"No," Faye responded nonchalantly. 

However, Ailbe was already scrambling around on the ground, preparing to catch her. While Aelric had also spotted, along with Faye, where the rope was tied to. Luckily, his glaive was already out in front of him and he swung it with precision. It connected with the rope on the second sharp swing and snapped it. 

How quickly Elsie fell. 

But Ailbe had her arms out and managed to catch her. As the sudden weight of a falling body hit her arms, her legs started to buckle. With a bit of quick thinking though, Ailbe placed one foot back and was able to steady her stance and balance.

"Thank you," Elsie said to both Aelric and Ailbe graciously as Ailbe carefully put her down and she removed the loop from around her ankle. "Right, we should keep going."

"No," Aelric answered abruptly, gripping his weapon more tightly. "Let's wait to find out who set this trap."

Faye glared at him. "I agree with Elsie, we don't need to wait around for a fight, let's move on."

"You agree with me, do you?", Elsie queried. "You agree but you wouldn't help me." 

Faye only had enough time to roll her eyes in retaliation before Ailbe calmly interjected, "As much as I want to find out who did this, we do have a mission to complete."

"FINE! Go on then," Aelric conceded and frustratedly gestured to the three to continue on, while he stuck around there a minute longer before following, just in case the trap-setters were close by.

The group continued walking north... for at least another 10 minutes until they all noticed something a little out of the ordinary. It was a knotted vine that hung down from a thick tree to the left and coiled in a pile where it reached the ground. Trancing the vine up with their eyes, they could make out a roughly made treehouse amid the branches.

"I say we climb this vine and find out what's at the top," Elsie suggested to the rest of the group.

"Yes, I agree." Ailbe nodded in agreement. "Maybe from there, we can look out for whoever set the trap, or attack them if they're up there." 

"The point is to investigate the possible places where the other goblin could be," Faye pointed out. 

"Who says it won't be up there?", Elsie replied, trying to poke a hole in Faye's reasoning. 

After a moment of staring at each other, they joined Ailbe by turning to look at Aelric, expecting that he would already have started up the vine. But he hadn't even moved. Then as if in reply to their staring, he told them, "I will stay down at the bottom and keep watch. Make sure nothing can escape." 

Faye shrugged, she didn't have to be told twice. "Suit yourself." 

Making her way to the vine, Faye began climbing, and Ailbe followed. 

But Elsie turned to Aelric. "You sure?" 

"Yes," he replied bluntly.

"You want to be alone, don't you?"

"Yes." 

After his second direct yes, Elsie didn't ask him anything else. Instead, she walked over to the knotted vine and started the difficult job of wiggling her way up the 11 metres to the treehouse.

When Faye and Ailbe stood together on the platform, they looked around the mildly dilapidated treehouse platform and didn't see anything of interest. Not even anything or one standing in the door frame of the house. It was only when a beast leapt at the two, that they saw him, but it was too late. The hunched-over beast looked ape-like and was covered all over in long dark hair, possibly fur. The ape-like beast roared as it hovered its upper body over Faye and Ailbe, pinning them both to his deck with incredible strength. The beast looked even larger and hairier closer up, wearing an animal hide loincloth and holding a large bone in his right hand. 

Faye took the brunt of the attack as she watched as the Apeman held a large bone in his right hand above their heads. He looked even larger and hairier closer up, wearing an animal hide loincloth, his breath was nothing desirable. Faye forced herself to turn away from the smell, and saw Elsie pull herself up and roll onto the platform. Taking no time to second-guess herself, she whipped out her sword and slashed it at the beast, slicing him as she did. The Apeman roared again.

Aelric, who was watching from below, looked around where he stood for a reasonable-sized rock. Seeing the sharpest one he could find, he picked it up and aimed, throwing it before the Apeman had a chance to retaliate from the blade attack. It was a perfect throw. It connected with the Apeman's head causing him to stumble backward. "What impeccable aim I have. Those girls clearly need to give me more credit!", he congratulated himself, looking around at his lack of audience. "Damn it."

Seeing the Apeman stumble after being hit twice, Ailbe realised she had but seconds to act. She pushed her up off the wooden deck, pulled out her longsword from behind her, and ran at him, plunging it into his chest. Such speed and surprise force pushed the beast backwards and she was able to pin him to the wall. The Apeman gasped, but it was no use, the longsword had penetrated his heart. And when she pulled it out from the Apeman's chest, he crumpled to the floor of the treehouse platform.

Ailbe and Elsie took their time to catch their breath and wipe the blood from their swords. Whereas Faye stood up immediately, dusted herself off, and walked to the door of the treehouse. Stepping past the others, heading for the door frame, she entered the beast's living room. Animal bones and rotting fruit littered the floor. The Apeman's bed was made of moss and lichen and seemed to be crawling with bugs. As for the rest of the one-room treehouse beast suite, there was nothing more than compost carpet. 

Nothing except a strange band around a dismembered arm at her feet. It seemed to be a copper bracelet. so she bent down to pick it up. Once Faye had a hold of it, tracing it in her fingers, she heard a voice... 

"Faye, can you see anything interesting in there?" Elsie called into her. Quickly, she twisted the bracelet into place on her wrist, wanting to hide her find from the others. A powerful feeling surged through her arm and made her jump. It was a good feeling though. Her arm felt stronger, feeling as if she now possessed even more skill with her sword.

"Nothing but leftovers," Faye finally called back before retreating out of the room. 

Back at the doorway, Faye noticed Ailbe had already climbed down and Elsie was just about to disappear under the platform too. She followed them back down the vine to stand with Aelric again, who was smug but saying nothing about his skilful shot. 

As the group all continued north, Elsie remembered that she had not yet told them that they held half of the Hammer of Stonebridge. The news carried them well and soon the path they followed led out of the trees, onto a large plain with tall grasses. Beyond it, they saw the rising ground and, further off, some low hills. Each halting when the path split into three directions; west, east, and north.