The group moved through the forest in a line, with Zilu at the front guiding the way and Yuki walking beside her in silence.
Behind them came Mark, Rose, Ely, and Aria in that order more or less, though the positions changed constantly because Ely and Aria had a habit of moving closer to Mark whenever the other got distracted.
Alice brought up the rear a few steps back, keeping watch over the rearguard as had become her custom.
Mark walked at a relaxed pace, looking around as they moved.
But the further they went into the forest, something caught his attention.
The trees were enormous.
Not enormous in the sense of "quite large."
Enormous in the sense that the trunks of most of them were as wide as a spacious house.
The treetops were so high up that Mark had to tilt his head all the way back to try to see where they ended, and even then he didn't always manage it.
