James stood, embarrassed by his battlefield ineptitude, uncertain of whether to express his gratitude or his embarrassment. Finally, he uttered a quiet,”Thank you, Celeste,” and joined the group approaching the downed knights.

The afternoon continued into evening, and the trio was led through never ending scenes of carnage and gore. The battle which had seemed frightening at a distance was completely horrific up close, but Oakleaf Gilderwood, surely the greatest of all wizards, healed all brought before him. By sunset this man, clearly revered by all, appeared years older than he had been just hours before. The last casualty tended, Oakleaf turned to James and explained, “I need to ask a favour of you, young James.”

“Yes sir. Of course sir,” blurted James. “How can I be of assistance?”

“If you will James, pray accompany me towards the enemy lines. I wish to inspect the pathway of their retreat. Celeste! Might you be so kind as to join us?” asked Oakleaf.

“Of course, Master Gilderwood,” was her instant reply.

“Captain Swartzkoph! A company of your finest swordsmen! Might they be available to us?” inquired the wizard.

“Indeed, an entire regiment is yours if you desire Lord Gilderwood. My debt to you would be repaid in only the smallest part by such assistance,” replied the statuesque captain.

In short order the troops were organized and deployed in ranks surrounding James, Celeste and Oakleaf Gilderwood. Each soldier carried an enormous great sword and each was armored with heavy plate mail. Twenty soldiers in all they numbered and Captain Swartzkoph assured them that no finer soldiers existed in all the Empire.

The group advanced into the enemy's battle lines and although James had witnessed horrors this day to surpass any previously seen in his entire life to this point, nothing could have prepared him for the hideous scenes of chaos visible on the enemy's line of retreat. Malformed beasts and distorted humanoids littered the landscape, obviously warped and twisted even before the battle had been joined. Damaged, wounded and scorched corpses surrounded the unit of adventurers as they advanced towards the hillside slope that had attracted the attention of Oakleaf Gilderwood. All along the way soldiers took the opportunity to drive their swords into any of the pitiable creatures which lay wounded, but not yet dead. The soldiers showed no mercy whatsoever. All wounded were slain.

“Once touched by Chaos there is no hope for redemption,” explained Celeste.

Oakleaf led the group towards the edge of the valley where the grass covered plain changed to forest rising up the mountain slope upon which the Wizard Lore Master’s gardens grew. He was approaching the spot on the battlefield where previously he had observed the departure of a Chaos unit. As they neared the point which interested the wizard, Oakleaf paused and inspected the ground, observing. “Great care was taken to obscure the passage of Gloamanthal and his minions. There is a reason for this. It is our task to discover this reason.”

With this Oakleaf Gilderwood set a pace up the slope and into the forest. Celeste, James, and the unit of swordsmen fell into single file as they wound upwards, between the trees. No trail betrayed the path but Oakleaf set a grueling pace, without once pausing to consider his route. Fifteen minutes' passage through difficult terrain left James exhausted and ready to ask the wizard for a rest. As James considered just how he was going to word the request, Oakleaf arrived abruptly at a solid rock face. At the foot of a sheer cliff, Oakleaf Gilderwood did pause, carefully inspecting the sheer stone wall confronting the group. No sign of anything unusual was noticeable to James. He could not imagine Oakleaf’s next move.

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The Emerald Wizard began to hum and then sing softly, placing both hands onto the smooth, sheer stone. He ran his fingers up and down and side to side eventually concentrating his attention on one particular area. A faint green line appeared and spread upwards and around forming an arch approximately two meters in height, then disappeared when Oakleaf withdrew his hands.

“The Accursed One passed through that archway into the heart of the mountain. I am certain. I am equally certain that we are unable to follow him,” stated Oakleaf Gilderwood and he quieted to consider his thoughts. After a minute or two he apparently reached a decision and looked directly at James. “Sir James!” he announced. “It has become obvious to me that I must journey to our capital city, Badendorf. I wonder if it would be possible for you to accompany Celeste and I on a journey to this fine city? I must return the summoning lens to the College of Astronomical Wizardry and ……..” he paused again, carefully considering his thoughts, “I will need to obtain some assistance with this most difficult problem. If such assistance can be found, we will find it in Badendorf.” And with that he set off back down the hill using the exact route with which the group had ascended the slope.

James found the descent somewhat easier than the climb but was nonetheless glad to re-emerge back onto the level plain that had hours before hosted the battle. James noticed that the sun was nearly set, bright orange in the northwest sky. Oakleaf and Celeste had exited the forest somewhat sooner than the slow paced James and he noticed that the pair were kneeling over an injured and unconscious mutated human next to a pile of dead humans with bull and wolf heads. Other equally gruesome mutations were obvious to James as he considered the carnage. That said, James did take note that the particular humanoid that interested Mr. Gilderwood exhibited only one mutation, despite the fact that he wore little more than a loin cloth. That one oddity was horrible however. James was disgusted to note that a large octopus-like tentacle grew directly out of the unconscious man's stomach, and bled from several wounds to the suckers.

A swordsman stepped forward and spoke,” Sir Gilderwood, might I be of assistance? Do you wish me to dispatch this vile creature for you?”

“Thank you for the kind offer, fine warrior,” answered Oakleaf, but the assistance I require will not include ‘dispatching’ this fellow. No, ……… I intend to keep him alive,” stated the Life Wizard.

“Alive!” gasped Celeste, with a look of panic sweeping across her face. “Surely not, Sir Gilderwood!”

“I meant exactly what I said dear Celeste,” confirmed Oakleaf, continuing, “and I must act in haste as the sun is near setting.” With that the great healer opened bottles and pouches applying copious quantities of priceless and magical herbs to the wounds and the mutation.

“Surely you cannot be serious my Lord,” insisted Celeste. “No man infected with such evil can be saved. All know this! He must be killed!”

“Trust my judgment dear Sister,” insisted Oakleaf. “It is imperative that I have this man's knowledge and I need him alive in order to receive it. With that the Wizard once again began to sing, softly at first, then continuing with a growing pace and volume. Green mist formed around the man and the hairs stood up on James’s arms and the back of his neck. James started to feel static like crackling between his fingers and still Oakleaf Gilderwood sang louder. The sense of power surrounding the group grew and grew. The Earth seemed to whirl about James. It seemed certain that the powers being invoked could not possibly be controlled or contained and James felt himself being lost in time and space, much like he had felt earlier in the day when he had been summoned to this insane land. The last thing he remembered was imagining or perhaps actually seeing snake-like movement in vines emerging from the nearby forest. For the second time this day James lost consciousness.

When he awoke he saw Celeste and several soldiers carrying the collapsed Wizard up and onto his Throne of Vines, which had somehow miraculously made an appearance here on the battlefield. The humanoid that had been the center of attention had mostly healed from his wounds and was resting peacefully on the ground, his eyes opened in wonderment. More significantly however, was the fact that the dried and wizened husk of what had been his attached tentacle was lying on the ground in front of him. And he was staring directly at those remnants with his mouth opened in gasping astonishment.

James stood back up and made his way over to the Wizard, arriving just in time to hear the words, “Keep him safe, and bring him to me in the morning………” Then Oakleaf Golderwood closed his eyes as the vegetation slithered up around his green cloaked figure, completely encasing him in protective vines.

Celeste nodded in affirmation and answered, “We will sir.”

James then experienced astonishment again as the vines encasing the Wizard rose up and began walking across the battlefield in the direction of the trail to Oakleaf’s home. Celeste and James followed but not before she asked the soldiers to bring the healed Chaos soldier up to Oakleaf’s home the next morning. They agreed to do this and James’s attention was drawn towards the northwest, where he noticed the very last fragment of the orange sun disappear behind the distant horizon. The longest day of the year was at an end. What would the morning bring?