“No, they are not related to the Dryad in any way,” Raylas sighed.

“They are monsters of the forest, just like her,” Vodi grumbled. “As such they work together to ensnare humans into their traps.”

“You’re thinking of will’o’wisps. Fairies don’t lead anyone, they play with them.”

“Mountain cats play with their food too.”

Raylas shook his head as he handed the green fairy another berry. She snatched it up and happily started to munch down, along with a dozen other glowing creatures fluttering around. Most of them were blue or white, throwing snow or pellets of water at each other in a mock game to take each other's food.

They had slowed their pace to a steady hike through the woods. Raylas followed the directions the fairy pointed, which he hoped was toward the town, and the Knight watched their surroundings for any likely attackers.

Though Raylas didn’t feel any sense of danger around them. Even the trees were completely unmarked by goblin hands or bear claws. There were some old scrapes on the bark which spoke of deer, but no fresh markings to indicate any active predators. It was strangely peaceful.

“Fairies don’t hunt,” Raylas patiently attempted to explain. “They eat gifts given to them by strangers or are provided necessities directly by the woods itself. If you respect them then you respect the forest. It’s a simple thing that everyone was taught.”

“The woods just tried to tear you apart,” Vodi spat.

“No, no. The Dryad just tried to rip me apart. The spirit of the woods doesn’t care about things like that.”

The maiden of the woods is the spirit of the woods!”

“I thought so too until I met a Dryad,” Raylas said. He thought back to the creature the Orc had tormented. Scars on her branches, her leaves withered and limp. But her eyes blazed with fury at everyone, especially the corpse of the dark druid.

Yet in the end she was weakened. A creature of no more than a century or two of age from what the Captain had written. She had great control of the plant life around her, but she didn’t control nature itself.

“The Spirit of Nature is neutral,” he explained. “It doesn’t care one way or the other about you or those that reside in the woods. A human can rip the land up from the roots and it’ll let it happen. Goblins can bath the land in blood and it’ll just absorb the nutrients. Dryads are just another resident of the forest like us, tending and helping the forest grow. No, the only thing that makes the Spirit move is those that defile its domain.”

“Necromancers and the lot, I assume?” Vodi muttered.

“Exactly,” Raylas cheered. The fairies were quick to join in and dance around the two of them, juggling berries and nuts in a spectacular miniature show. “The main topic I was asked about was about the Undead in the forest. She thought it was Humans that brought them here.”

“Humans created the undead…” the Knight pointed out.

“Only according to the church’s scriptures. According to the stories from my village the undead were those cursed for breaking their vows. Eternal torment given to those who do not keep their promises.”

Vodi belted a laugh. “A good lesson to children in a quiet hamlet. But there are tomes and records proving humans are the culprit of the curse. An enchantment which had gone wrong an era ago or more which has lasted until today.”

“I have not read those records,” Raylas admitted. “Though regardless, my point remains. The fairies are currently my ally and are actively helping us escape the Dryad’s wrath.”

The fairies all paused their dance and slowly flew away from the two of them. The mirror eyed one watched as they disappeared. She shivered and her light dimmed slightly. She looked up at Raylas and frowned.

“And we have neared our destination,” he concluded. “The magic in the air has thinned.”

He held out his hand and gave the small fairy a proud pat on the head. She beamed in happiness and gave his finger a quick hug before rising slowly into the air and sitting on a branch, looking down at them.

“Our guides must return to the heart of the woods, their games continuing far from the eyes of us who are forced to understand the cruelties of the world.” He gave the fairy a wave and pulled out the remaining treats he gathered as he walked. He set them on a small pile and bowed his head toward the direction they came.

Nostalgia filled him at the prayer, a remnant of his time before he left his village in search for money and adventure. With a final glance at the glowing creatures he turned and wrapped his cloak tighter around him. He gave the Knight a look then started forward, following the final direction the Fairy gave him.

“You are insane to trust them,” Vodi growled, his weapon in the shape of an axe. “As far as we know we could be heading directly into death.”

“Death would have taken us already if we remained the way we were,” Raylas pointed out.

The Knight growled and went silent, trudging along behind him with his armor clanking nosily. Then again both of them were not exactly quiet during their trip. Raylas’ armor clanked as well, the scales of the dwarven craftsmanship ringing out to tell the world their quality. Not like he would complain. The armor saved his life during the Dryad’s attack. If it wasn’t for the small roots which managed to get between the weaves he might have been able to get through it without getting cut at all, though he still would have become entangled. There was only so much armor could defend against, after all.

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Soon he noticed a familiar sight. A large stone wall in the distance with a crumbling tower. With a gesture he raised his hand to signal caution, but the Knight ignored him and rushed passed toward the Fort.

He groaned as the older man plowed through the branches and snow like a bull, and decided to follow from a distance behind. Soon he saw him break through the trees borders onto the road. The older man’s smile grew as he stood under the sunlight. He held out his arms and stretched for a moment.

“Those pests were a help,” he laughed. “Is this that Fort you mentioned? I feel like killing some monsters right now.”

Not waiting to hear an answer he strode forward and stopped at the broken gate. There were no screams, no cries of bloodlust, or shuffling in the shadows.

The Knight turned toward him and let his axe melt away, crawling up into his armor with otherworldly grace. Raylas shivered at the sight. The weapon was powerful but what was the point of using something as… unnatural. Using a spear was better than it. At least with a spear it held its shape and killed in a specific way. There was no aura of evil, no sucking up of light. It was a weapon designed for a purpose.

He shook his head and lifted himself up from the brush he was hiding in and left the woods. The sun shone brightly, reflecting off both his and the Knight’s armor. The snow held their own reflection of the bright rays, lying undisturbed on the ground.

As he neared the gate he saw the large black circle in the middle of the Fort. The fire had long gone out, but what surprised him was what remained on the ground. Blood, both black and yellow, seemed to cover the walls. The smell of rot hung heavy in the air and the ground appeared to move from decomposition. Not much of the ground could be seen except flesh, bone shards, and crawling maggots.

Bile rose in Raylas’ mouth, but he managed to keep it in. He had seen similar in previous battles, though that flesh was recently dead and hacked and not those half decomposed.

The goblins had won, though. If the undead killed all of them every piece of flesh would have been eaten, rotted or not. Why they ate the ‘dead’ remains of their kind was still a mystery, but if one found a place filled with death but no remains then the culprit was most likely the undead. They were very thorough in their hunts.

That was why a priest was so important to bless the roads. If left alone the undead would sit and wait until their prey arrived, sometimes months or years at a time. With the blessing it would destroy their bodies and release their spirits so the cursed individuals may find peace. And with the dedication of the church and the clergy the Undead has become a rare threat to people. Common enough to still be a danger, but only found in the more wild parts of the world like this forest.

Both a good thing and a bad. If there were no dangers on the roads then there would be no need to hire mercenaries. There would still be work for them, but that work would be much more dangerous. Escorting jobs were easy money, after all.

“Chopped to bits,” Vodi stated as he crouched near a pile of rotten flesh.

Raylas shook his head to refocus on the task at hand.

“The gate was blocked by undead when we escaped over the far wall,” he said, pointing to a low point on the far side. “With some fire and food we attracted goblins here to use as bait. We hid in the tower for the attack then fled.”

“And yet they survived,” the Knight frowned. “Tough buggers. You sure they were just goblins?”

“No hobs or ogres. Just runts.”

He stood up and gave Raylas a grim expression. He looked at the woods then back at the grisly battlefield. “In that case I suspect foul play. The Dryad might have saved them… It would be just like a monster to save another monster.”

He paused at Raylas’ look.

“Your pest friends are an exception,” he sighed. “But I will have to rush to the next town to hopefully get assistance against the Dryad. She is far too dangerous to leave unattended on an important trading route.”

Raylas nodded in agreement. It made sense. The creature was more powerful than even he imagined.

“I need you to go to the town and rally up some defenses until I return,” Vodi continued.

“Makes sense…” Raylas paused and thought for a moment. “Wait, what did you say?”

“You still have the coin I gave you, right?”

He reached down and touched his pouch. Coin? What coin did he… Oh gods no. He just recalled the gold coin the Knight gave him to help question Darling.

“You will act with the authority of the Malix house,” the Knight continued. “As long as you have that coin, what you say and do will be, by extension, my authority. Keep the town alive…” He took a few steps, seeming to fly across the ground, stopping in front of him and grasping his shoulder. “Do not abuse this power, Raylas Aasim.”

“Raylas of Eilire…” he stammered. The hand wasn’t squeezing but it held onto him with an iron grip.

“Raylas Aasim of Eilire,” Vodi nodded. “I must go. Time is of the essence right now. She proved herself hostile by attacking us, she is searching for us with wolves and who knows what else. I pray that the Dryad doesn’t attack the town, but from what I have seen I worry for their safety.”

“That makes sense but-”

“I will be off. If things go well I should be able to return in a week.”

“I don’t think they-”

He released the shoulder and turned. “Fight well, and don’t die. I leave my Grandson in your care.”

“They won’t listen to-”

Ignoring his words the Knight launched forward, sprinting into the distance in a flash.

“me…”

A chill breeze blew past him, making him shiver. He stared at the snow. The steps of the knight were easily a dozen feet from each other, his strides appearing to make him fly over the ground. His shoulder throbbed from the grip, and his hand finally touched the cold metal of the coin in his pouch.

It happened too quickly. He had no time to explain that he wasn’t qualified.

He watched the horizon, hoping that the Knight would return. He was a defender of justice, a shield of the Kingdom. He wouldn’t just leave him there alone in the middle of the road. He waited.

Then he heard a howl in the far distance. A shiver went down his spine and he clutched the spear.

What was closer? The town or Gloomcrest? The town. Where was he going? To town.

He turned and started a brisk walk down the road, his eyes wide and his senses alert.

It was only a half day walk. If he picked up the pace he might even get there in less time.

He looked up at the sky and chuckled darkly as the sun was directly overhead. He was sure nobody would have a problem with him arriving at midnight. None at all…