[@Stabby] [@Zeroth]

Femus spotted Nira's approach and let her speak first.  She was right, the decision was between hiding and fleeing.  But, there was a complication that she didn't know about yet.  There was no time for idle guesswork.

"I gained another level but the system gave me a warning.  My body can't delay 'evolution' for much longer.  My gut tells me that we should use this chance to get to the tree while everything's scared and hiding from the goblins.  But, moving when I could start evolving anytime seems like a risky gamble.  If we stay on the far side of this tree from the goblins and stay quiet, I could go through this... evolution... and then we can move on.  I don't know how long it will take but... everything in this world seems faster than things were in ours.  What do you think?"

He wasn't the leader of their little group.  The decision had to be mutual.  If he did enter the evolution process, he'd be vulnerable and completely relying on Nira's protection.  Even if he didn't do it now, he'd have to do it before he gained his next level.