Obi and Cole were nearing the end of the soft, heavy-trodden road, one they had traveled for another few minutes. All around, the trees surged from the earth, scattering rainwater through the canopy. Snatches of white sky flickered between webs of brown and brittle leaves. Branches were flayed and the ground was covered in a rustling shroud of dry flakes.

Their journey was encompassed mostly in silence. They didn't speak, nor did they want to; instead they took the time to scout out areas for training, marking promising spots on a map found inside Cole's rucksack. The day had quickly shifted to night as they trudged along, leading back to the Shedee tree.

Just as they crossed into the clearing, a flock of crows lifted into the hazy orange sky as the sun began rising, just peeking out from the horizon. Below their feet, the two could feel branches moving about, slithering as if they were alive. A deep rumble caught everyone's attention, and the movement underneath intensified. Cole knelt to the earthen floor, his fine silken cloak settling on the ground as a soft breeze began to speed up around them.

"The nature spirits are agitated, they try to seek cover within me." Emily cried out.

Cole pressed his hand to the ground as the winds grew stronger. He could feel the Nature Princess in distress. Probing further, he closed out all sound from around him, allowing his mind and body to become one with the earth. Mentally looking further down, he could see an image forming on the back of his eyelids.

There was a flash of light, and he felt as if he was floating. Surrounded by darkness, he reached out to feel nothing, only to suddenly find that ground had appeared underneath him. His leather rucksack began to float upwards from its holster, and Cole reached to secure it in place. As his attention was diverted, a whisper began to form in the back of his mind. He turned sharply, but there seemed to be no-one behind him. A voice called out to him, his name, each syllable sounding raspy and hoarse. Almost as if it came from someone on their deathbed, yet the voice was ever more so powerful, commanding, even.

Cole was enticed to take steps towards the voice, when he started. A chilling, wet substance began to flow into his boot, freezing him in place. Cole didn't know what to do, or where he was, but he tried to shake off the ominous feeling and move against what seemed to be a flowing current of the substance, increasing in velocity as he moved towards the voice.

A tug on his wrist made him start again, only to find nothing to cause it. Cole looked up, to find the roof of a cave when a drop of water hit him on the forehead. Another voice, in the back of his mind, came to life. It whispered into him, this time, almost pained, but a feminine voice he recognized almost instantly, it was the Princess. "Don't go." She said, and Cole obeyed, retreating to where he thought he had begun.

Just as he took another step, a loud, shrill scream pierced his mind, and he dropped to his knees while covering his ears to no avail. The Princess was in pain, and in great danger. Reaching out with his hand, he mentally receded to the mortal plane and noticed he had shifted a few meters. Thankfully, time had not seemed to pass, and Obi hadn't noticed the shift. Cole decided to keep the raspy voice to himself, but hold back on everything.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"Obi, the Princess seems to be hurt! I sense a quest here. Split into calls!"

They had to shout over the wind to overhear each other, and the winds grew stronger, to the point where a shill howling began. Obi gestured and invited them all into a group Voice Chat. A few seconds later, the chat erupted into noise and Obi realized the chaos his soon-to-be team was in. He activated Loud Shout and spoke over all of them.

"Get yourselves together, Cole thinks it's a quest. Now's the time to work together."

"Yes, Sir!"

"Of course, Obi."

"Where do you need me?"

The last response caught Obi by surprise. Emily had some kind of glowing green ball of energy in one hand, and a small, inconspicuous dagger in the other. He stared at the dagger before nodding and responding.

"Stay with me. Melissa, Tug, and Cole go to the main entrance to the Shedee tree. Cole, I'll follow through with a charge."

Everyone sounded off, and they headed their ways. Obi fought through the harsh winds and noticed that everyone else was struggling. It was time to test his new class. Obi threw down his shield and sheltered behind it. Emily followed the lead and stayed behind him, almost 2 feet shorter than him, and sporting a much leaner build, she was easily able to stay behind him with room to spare.

The made it a few feet before a sudden gust nearly blew Obi off his feet. He stuck his shield down and knew that they wouldn't get any further with the shield's help. Obi looked over at the other group's progress, and thankfully, they had all made it. It seemed as though the wind had died down there but only grew stronger where Obi was.

He looked back at Emily, and she looked determined, but helpless.

"I could control the wind, but I'm not powerful enough 'cause I'm cross-classing."

An idea struck Obi, and he turned back around, surveying the area. As soon as he poked his face out from the shield, the buffeting wind blinded him, and he ducked back down. Though, he still had a trick up his sleeve. Reaching out with his hand, he pressed the massive digits to the back of the shield and chanted. He closed his eyes and felt the mana draw out from his arm. Opening his eyes again, he saw the brown wood, and magical inscriptions fade away slowly while the shield became transparent. He peered through the now clear material and tried looking for a means of escape from the treacherous winds.

Emily just looked at him with a quirk of her eye. From her point of view, all she saw was Obi staring into the grain of the brown, wooden shield.

"Wha--"

Obi hushed her while a plan formulated in his mind. He pulled his hand away from the shield, severing the mana connection and making sure not to waste any in the process.

"Emily, could you create air resistance around my shield? I have a plan."

"I can try. Air's not my strong suit."

"Do whatever you can. Just make sure you hold on to me."

Emily grabbed onto the folds of Obi's glistening armor and held tight.

"But why do--"

Obi rocketed forward with the shield, using his [Shield Dash] Gem to circumvent the massive wind force. After the initial shock, Emily steadied herself and helped by casting a layer of air resistance on the shield.

They reached the side entrance, a small gap between two massive roots that jutted up from the earth. The roots formed an arch that ended where the two conjoined. Obi had found the lore to this tree, and he had spent days painstakingly collecting all the pieces of lore-scroll to complete the portion of the massive lore that could be found all over the game world. At that moment, he fought the urge to open up the lore-scroll, and looked for the others.

***

Cole split off into a separate call when he realized that the wind was somehow interfering with their chats. He knew that the chats operated on a plane different to the game server, and he'd never seen anything like comms being cut off. The second he saw the body on the ground, it clicked.