It was starting to get dark by the time we arrived back at Athir. Ferrisdae assured me that she wouldn’t have a problem gathering enough help to cure the Treants despite the time. After getting directions from the guards, we went our separate ways.

The local Green Union branch was on the outskirts of the city in an area called the Riverside Calm. It was filled with stone walls, flowers, old trees, and the river that gave it its namesake. Considered a national treasure, very few structures bigger than benches and playgrounds for kids were allowed here.

If it weren’t for the fact that the Green Union was charged with the upkeep of the area, they probably wouldn’t have been able to build their headquarters there. From making sure the plants were properly pruned and cared for, that the structures were well maintained, and more, they had their work cut out for them.

Despite their terrible work with dungeons, I had to admit they were doing an immaculate job. The grounds were well kept. Trees were trimmed, the flower gardens were well within their boundaries, and there was no trash to be seen.

Which almost pissed me off; if they were this detail-oriented, why were they having trouble with the dungeons?

I shook it off. That's why I needed answers.

Signs directed me to a tranquility pond, mushroom rings, the playground, and the Green Union building, which was the one I followed. There weren’t many lamps here in the Riverside Calm, and I wanted to get inside or get out before it was completely dark. The trails were winding and idyllic, perfect for the Elves, and I picked up my pace.

Deep in the Calm, I found it. The trail split off, one leading back to the city and one leading to the Green Union building. The path led me onto a magnificent arch bridge made out of stone. It was about twenty feet long over a pond that appeared to be a great place for fishing.

Maybe I would bring Willow here when we had time. I felt like she would enjoy herself.

The Green Union building looked like a plain log cabin, but a sign nearby said that it was actually made up of petrified wood and strengthened with magic. The materials were a gift from the country of Despa, and came from a few miles south of Crystal Snows.

While interesting, it wasn’t what I was here for.

I attempted to let myself in through the ordinary oak door to find that it was locked. There was a cubby with words in both Elven and Imperial Standard that indicated I could ring the bell for service, but it wasn’t there. With a frown I knocked on the door.

And waited, then knocked again.

Even after a third rousing round of knocks, there was still no answer.

“Wish I could say I was surprised,” I muttered.

I took a quick look around the building to check inside the windows. It wasn’t a very flattering look for me, but it didn’t seem like there were many people around to see my suspicious skulking. The process didn’t take me more than a few minutes. It wasn’t a very large building and most of the trouble involved finding something to stand on to get a better look through the windows.

In the end, I found no trace of habitation or movement inside. It was an empty building.

With too much time spent here already, I returned to the trail and gave the door one more good knock. I was nothing if not thorough, and I only gave it a few seconds before I turned around to leave.

When I stepped onto the bridge, I found that I was no longer alone, and stopped.

On the other side of the arch was a tall, slender figure. They seemed to blend in well with the dusk, their skin either dark or covered. It was hard to tell from here. The telltale Elven ears weren’t there, meaning they could have been a Human. Vines with thorns covered their arms, and they held a long spike in their hands.

“You are Badger,” the person called, their voice distorted but feminine. She had an accent I couldn’t place.

Reaching for my chest, I placed my hand in my Pocket, ready to draw if needed. “Yes, I am Badger,” I replied. “Who are you?”

She raised the spike, which appeared to be a long, thick thorn, towards me. “Draw,” she ordered.

“That’s a silly name,” I remarked, causing her to tilt her head to the side like a puppy. I did retrieve my Hilt of Holding, but didn’t remove it from my jacket just yet. “Before I do, will you at least tell me why?”

She pointed the long thorn at me. “Altered,” she said before tapping it against her own head. “Altered.”

“CC?” I asked, my brow furrowing. If she had undergone something similar to what the Dungeon Master had done to us, then she might end up being problematic.

Instead of answering, the woman flicked the thorn and charged. Her movements were smooth, so much so that she essentially glided across the stone bridge despite the slight imperfections. I pulled the Hilt of Holding out of my jacket and switched the dial.

Based on the way she was holding the thorn, it looked like she was going to use it like an estoc. No cuts, but plenty of thrusts. Her weapon was long and she was tall. With the reach advantage, I would have to be fast to get inside her range. Even then I would have to worry about the thorny vines around her arms.

I lamented the rapier that had broken during the fight with CC.

“Step off bridge, you lose,” she said as I took a step back to get some distance.

While her statement was confusing considering she was the one attacking me, I decided there was only a slight disadvantage if I played by her rules. Of course, if it became detrimental, I would shirk them in a heartbeat. If she lost on her terms, she might be more willing to have a conversation.

After making that decision, there was only one thing to do. I thumbed the rune, summoning my scimitar. The curved, silver sword popped out of the hilt as I raised it. This particular sword had an enchantment that sought blood, even if it was still in my opponent’s body. It turned near misses into hits and had the added effect of causing dizziness in assailants who took too many blows.

I shifted the weapon to block the thorn as she aimed for my neck. It scratched the wide blade and whipped past my shoulder. I slid the sword against the thorn, which was sturdy even though it looked like wood, towards her. Repositioning the edge, I was hoping to catch her arm.

It did, but there wasn’t any reason to celebrate. The vines were just as solid as the thorn was, and I tried to withdraw into a better position the instant it became clear that I didn’t cut it. She took a step towards me, thrusting the thorny vines into my face.

Ducking low, I dropped my sword to catch in my other hand. I lunged forward, aiming a punch for her knee in an attempt to debilitate her early. The blunt end of the thorn hit me in the back of my head as she shifted, turning my blow into a glancing one, and I let the momentum take me.

Rolling onto my feet behind her, I quickly spun and backpedaled. Her thorn was close to my face, and I jerked out of the way. It grazed my cheek, but the wound started to go numb.

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I took my scimitar and sliced my face exactly where she did. I felt the blood get pulled away from me, but not just that. It wouldn’t get all of the poison from her thorn, though. Just enough.

Already feeling a little better, I lunged again, now much more wary of her thorns, and attempted to slash her abdomen. She stepped up, negating her own reach advantage again and casually flicked her arm in my direction.

This time, I was ready for it.

I beat my hand against my chest the moment it was free from my jacket. The plain leather buckler extended magically concealed metal plates to transform into a large round shield, newly refurbished from the battle with the Land Pirate, Raitheus Razorbeak. I looked up through the one-way window the cover allowed me, and noted that the woman didn’t seem surprised by its introduction.

In the split second that I had time to notice her features, I saw that she was made entirely of black wood. As I blocked the vine-covered arm with my shield, the scimitar sliced her stomach, but it didn’t have the pull it normally did when it detected and sought out blood.

Just as I was starting to wonder what she was, something sharp stung the back of my head. I winced and dove to the side in an attempt to get away from it. I rolled and leapt onto the thick wall of the bridge, twisting in midair so I wouldn’t take eyes off of the Blackwood Queen.

I blinked. “Blackwood Queen,” I said out loud.

“Halfling,” she replied. “Dungeon Inspector.”

The Blackwood Queen, I somehow knew, was an ancient species of Nymph that wasn’t native to the Central Continent. Smart and capable, they were also incredibly fierce and egotistical. They were well known for traveling before putting down roots in tropical forests that they like to rule like royalty.

Their presence wasn’t harmonious, however; these dangerous creatures were toxic to the environment. They poisoned and killed the animals living in their domain using thorny vines, often without mercy, and they would steal nutrients from the native species of plants. Once their new home was almost barren, the Queen simply moved on to their next territory.

She shouldn’t be here.

The Queen lunged at me from a complete standstill, thorn extending as she raised it. I caught it with my shield and pushed it off course only for it to start glowing green. A martial art, or perhaps a wordless spell.

I didn’t have time to figure out the difference as the effect took place. The thorn hooked to the side as if it was about to wrap around me. I shifted, pushing it over my head before it had a chance to and started to jump back only to discover I had no more room.

I swung my scimitar as she reached for me, and it cut into her hand. It wasn’t a deep wound by any means, but it gave me time to reposition and slip back onto solid ground. The moment my feet were down, I was working on defense.

Her movements became faster as she thrust at me, her thorn now back to its normal shape and size. I blocked it with my shield, allowing it to scrape past me.

Even though I was on the back foot, I wasn’t idle. I had retracted my scimitar’s blade and was using my pinky to change the dial. While some people might have chosen the fire sword to fight something called a Blackwood Queen, I knew that wasn’t the right way to go about it. They loved hot environments and were very fire resistant.

“Freeze,” I announced after I thumbed the rune and activated my next blade. The two foot long blade that appeared was drenched in a cold blue aura, and I switched tactics.

The Queen thrust her thorn at me one more time, and I bashed it away with my shield, throwing it wildly off course. Taking a step forward, she nearly ran into me due to her forward momentum, and I sliced upwards.

She shifted her hips, but not enough. The Queen screamed as I caught her in the side and slashed at me with her free arm. Jerking backwards, I pulled my sword free even as I nearly fell due to our proximity. Thanks to years of practice, I managed to keep my footing while raising my shield above my head.

The cold damage seemed to enrage her. Her nails elongated into thorns and scratched my metal shield, though they couldn't break through. All of the vines on her arms glowed a dark red, and I made myself as small a target as I could so I could hide behind my shield.

Every thorn except the one she carried grew several feet longer. Several hit my cover, knocking me lower, and two hit me. One grazing my ankle and another going through my foot. Not only that, but they pierced through the stone bridge as well.

I grunted in pain, but didn’t let it distract me. Martial arts like this always had a moment of weakness to them, and I had to capitalize on it. The very instant the thorns started pulling back, I started to strike.

It would have been easy, but a second flash of light caught my attention. The long thorn in her hand hooked around and came for me. I was in a bad position thanks to the spikes that hadn’t retracted yet. My shield was surrounded by thorns, so I couldn’t block it with that. By her design, I was in a cage.

Still, I couldn’t just take it. I twisted, and pain bloomed in my shield arm. Not breaking, but definitely protesting. I fell backward onto my ass, and the thorn pierced through my shoulder blade, missing its original target: my heart.

This time I did scream, but it was fine. The spikes retracted quickly and I cut through the thorn that pierced me with the sword. She screamed again, more rage than pain, but I still got the moment I was looking for. The Nymph was vulnerable. Getting up onto one knee, I thrust my blade into her gut.

She dropped the cut thorn and grabbed my hands. I shed my shield, letting it hit the ground. Grabbing the weapon with both hands, I lifted her over my head. For being made of wood, the Queen was surprisingly light. Her wooden face remained blank despite her screams as I threw her. She slid off of my blade, landing on the path in front of the Green Union building.

The Queen skidded against the ground, her thorny vines keeping her from traveling too far, and she got up to her feet. I grabbed my shield off of the ground and prepared myself when I heard a second voice.

“Sorry about that, Badger,” boomed a young man’s voice, though I couldn’t discern its location. “She just does whatever she wants. We’ll retreat. Congrats on your win, though.”

“Bad win,” the Queen seethed, her voice somehow even more distorted in her petulance. She didn't look like she agreed with the order to retreat despite the hole in her stomach.

“What’s going o-“ I started to ask.

Before I could finish my sentence, the Blackwood Queen disappeared into a portal that opened up directly underneath her feet. The Riverside Calm was plunged into an almost oppressive silence as the magic hole evaporated.

Panic almost took me as a thought crossed my mind, but I pushed it down.

Dropping my shield, I stayed vigilant as I retrieved my Sending Stone from my regular pocket. I couldn’t keep it in my Dimensional Pocket because then it wouldn’t work. Thumbing in a pattern, I held it up to my ear.

“Badger?” Ferrisdae asked. “What's going on?”

“I was just attacked, are you okay?” I asked quickly.

“You were attacked? By whom?” she yelled.

“I’m going to assume that you’re okay because you haven’t told me otherwise,” I said, taking a breath of relief.

Leaning against the wall of the bridge, I retracted my blade back into the Hilt of Holding and put it into my Pocket. I pulled out two vials, an antidote and a healing potion. I uncorked the first one with my teeth and drank it just as I started getting woozy. My body glowed blue as it magically counteracted the poison inside me.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Ferrisdae insisted. “Sorry, I’m absolutely fine. I caught Cojisto and Moose on their way back from the other dungeon, so they’re with me now.”

“Okay, good. I’ll catch you up later. I’m going to rest for a moment.”

"We've only been here for a day. How bold are they?"

I glanced back at the place the hole has been. "Not sure if this was a planned ambush, but I have to begrudgingly admit I don't understand a lot of what just happened."

“Are you okay?” she asked, sounding worried.

“Never better,” I lied. “Take care of the Treants, stay with the others, and be vigilant for someone who can make portals and a thorny, black Nymph.”

I uncorked the healing potion and took a breath. Gritting my teeth, I pulled the thorn out of my shoulder before taking the drink. My body painfully stitched itself back together, causing me to gasp.

“Did he just say a horny black Nymph?” I heard Cojisto ask.

“For the sake of the gods, no,” I yelled with a scowl. “Thorny and covered in vines. Just be careful. I’ll let you know what happened when we meet up again.”

Ferrisdae hesitated. “Okay, but only if you’re sure.”

“I am,” I said as I stood up, scoping out my surroundings. “I’ll see you later.”

“See you then.”

I deactivated the Sending Stone and checked my foot. It was still tender, but I could walk on it. Retrieving my shield and Hilt of Holding, I activated the club and used it as a walking stick, slowly working my way towards the exit of the Riverside Calm as I thought through this strange encounter.