Crystal Moon, Book 2: Magic of Luvelles

The night was a miserable collection of moments in which to visit the forest. . . the sounds of anything that moved echoed between the hardened trees, their petrified trunks acting as sounding boards, making it nearly impossible to tell which direction the sounds were reflected from. The slightest flap of a wing, skitter of a beetle, snapping of a twig. . . all heightened the tension within the warrior's mind.

With each step, Boyafed nervously pushed forward. . . aimlessly looking for the tree of Balecut. With his elven eyes he searched the shadowy outlines for beasts that he knew were hidden in darkness.

They were called Tricksters — devious creatures with the ability to teleport so rapidly that it was nearly impossible to bury a sword deep enough to kill one. Hideous game players with the features of gremlins, only taller than most of their cousins by a foot or so, they toyed with their victims before administering a grisly death. . . thus their descriptive, if gruesome, name.