“Do you think this is the Necromancer?” Iridia looked up at Kaleb and then back out to the fungal forest, the party had yet to descend into the subterranean world. The air was warm and humid, the wet wind had been sealed out and now they were left with a pungent musk in the air that didn’t offend the senses to any degree.

“No.”

“But the evil has cut us from the heart.”

“This place exists outside the realms of the divine heart, neither evil nor good, a purgatory to test its inhabitants perhaps.”

Gin-rith was trying to watch for movement between the stalks of the fungus, mumbling to himself. “The roots grow thick here, friends, We have been absorbed into the madness of our wood, this place is a cyst and the roots below are thirsty.”

“I do need to pee,” Flencer smirked, “think that’ll quench the greedy fecker?”

“I think you’ll get a root in the eye,” Kaleb said as he sidestepped down the shallow incline into the alien world below, leaving Flencer wincing at the thought of which eye he was referring.

Gin-rith followed quickly, “I do not recommend we venture through this place, Kaleb.”

“Why was a waypoint written in your language leading to this place?” Kaleb paid his concern no heed, waiting at the bottom for Iridia and Flencer to follow with the stag.

“I suspect the forest imps played a trick upon us.”

Kaleb huffed, “Imps? Perhaps it would be best to tear each tree from its root in this foul place,”

“I assure you, this wood was once a hospitable place, it is worth returning it to that glory.”

Iridia moved in front and approached one of the huge mushrooms, She placed her hand on the stalk and pressed, her hand sank into the velvety surface a little and left her hand print When she pulled back, it corrected itself and firmed up like the self-healing the Paladins had. “I suppose we won’t go hungry down here.”

“You’d want to eat these?” Flencer approached the mushroom, “Heh, we might be in a forest within a forest, I reckon eating these will take you on an adventure within an adventure.”

Iridia’s eyebrow quirked. “What are you talking about?”

“Pay no mind to the Dwarf. Do not eat the mushrooms. We will find the edge of this place and search for a way out.”

Iridia nodded and hung a lantern from the end of her spear, shield in the other arm, ready to defend. Kaleb stood in front with Gin-rith, hammer over his shoulder and lantern held out in front. The lanterns weren’t necessary down there, for the natural light brightened the way before them, though brewing corners of darkness watched them menacingly, daring to invite both brave and stupid into their claws.

“What might we expect down here, Gin-rith?”

“Unfortunately I did not bring my bestiary, but I assume something of concern.” For the first time Kaleb detected a hint of sarcasm in Gin-rith’s songs, perhaps a silly question conjured it, but either way, it brought a smile to his lips, for in the absence of competency there was always self-deprecation.

The fungal grove chirped, buzzed, hummed and croaked playfully with the sounds of busying swamp creatures. A blue frog hopped across the path of Iridia and caused her to jump on one foot. “Ah, ugh!”

“Tis a frog, Iridia.”

“I do not like slimy things and things that bounce and hop.”

“Do not speak ill of the Dwarves.” Kaleb grinned.

“I dun’ bounce or hop, I bumble thank ye muchly.”

The party exchanged witticisms as they ventured deeper to keep their nerve. Gin-rith wasn’t much good at the game and thus opted to remain completely vigilant for he knew that the wrath of the forest was not to be underestimated. He quickly tired of the back and forth and reminded the party of which he was most concerned. “Need I remind, harpies carried your horses away like a bird a worm and they are the tamest of kin you should worry yourselves about.”

“Agreed, let’s remain perceptive.” The warmth and comfort had brightened the party’s spirits, the height of summer did not visit the forest and the cold whipping rain had lashed them into a misery only a lush heat could pull them from.

A cracking sound ahead brought the party to a hushed standstill. They watched the glowing alley of fungus glitter calmly until one of the great umbrellas crashed down across their path, a large shadow dashed from one dark corner behind a great mushroom.

“Something has been stalking us for some time.” Gin-rith knelt and felt the ground. “The roots are screaming, it’s impossible to make sense of them.”

Kaleb put his lantern down and held his hammer in both hands. “We must continue,” he breathed deep, “Flencer keep an eye on our rear, Iridia shield up.”

The party continued without molestation or disturbance for an hour, the creatures had silenced which unnerved them for the ambience made this place feel welcoming and alive. In the distance, there was a blaze high up, but not the fantastical lights of the creatures. “Up there.” Kaleb pointed. “A way out perhaps.”

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Iridia nodded. “We should head for that, it’s a good waypoint.”

They made for the direction of the blaze in the wall, a beacon to potential salvation that calmed their nerves, however, the thought of escape was dowered by Gin-rith’s accurate conclusion, “Escape may still lead us into an unknown area of forest, I hope I can find our way.”

“I’d expect you to know the way in your own home, Half-Elf.” Kaleb sneered.

“Our home has twisted and contorted into something unrecognisable, we didn’t always require waypoints to get through to the other side.”

“Should ‘ave just followed the path through.”

“That path would have spiralled around and brought you all to madness, the waypoints through the thicket are the safest.”

The party was frozen by the wretched cry they heard when they had first arrived, this time it was louder, closer and impossibly more blood-curdling. Another mushroom was felled and out of the blackness where the light dare not glow came a creature that would shudder the bones of the dead gone a thousand years and quake the souls baked into the deepest burial chambers.

It grunted through its pecorino nostrils, looming a man taller than Kaleb with arms the length of its body and claws that were as if bones fashioned into blades were fused onto a plate of alabaster and bloody sinew. It clicked and wiggled its head, antlers that could break a wall rattled and it scraped its cloven hoof against the ground.

“Wendigo.” Uttered Gin-rith.

It puffed out its pallid chest, necrotic flesh flapped freely and its blue heart could be seen behind the veiny ribcage, frozen into stillness.

“Wendi-who?” Flencer raised his crossbow.

“Run!”

The party did not heed Gin-rith’s advice, standing firm, partly out of sheer mesmerism from such a mind-mangling visage. It snorted and lashed out, Iridia absorbed it with her shield but was sent stumbling back onto her arse. A cry of pain followed the crack of her arm breaking.

Flencer let a bolt go but it pinged off the elongated skull of the Wendigo. It brought its claws down to rend the flesh from the front of Flencer’s body, but Kaleb brought his hammer and body between them with zealous alacrity, holding it by both ends to catch the blow. So strong was the beast that it slid Kaleb back and then snapped the haft of the hammer, those claws raking over his face. “Ah!”

Flencer had loaded another bolt and aimed it at the beast, however, there’d be no way he could let it go in time before it was upon him.

The wendigo leaned forward but was grabbed by roots that sprung from the ground, they wrapped about its ankles and wrists with a taught grasp. Gin-rith was chanting with his staff held aloft. “Away from it!”

Flencer took the advice and took cover behind a mushroom. Kaleb crawled away and grabbed the heavy hammer, now shortened to a hand mace due to the break, his face leaked claret on the hungry soil which absorbed it instantly with a ravenous hunger.

Iridia had made it to her feet but her arm hung low, unable to raise her shield she called to Kaleb, “My arm, it’s broken and it is not mending.”

“We cannot heal here as I thought,” Kaleb spat blood from his lips that streamed down to his chin. “We are chaff in the wind to this thing.”

Gin-rith was straining to hold the Wendigo with the binding roots of the forest, it was able to tear away its claw and one of its feet, and its attention was turned on him.

“How do we best this foe?”

Gin-rith cried, “You cannot!” he gritted his teeth, and blood streamed from his nose as he took upon himself the strain of those roots through his magic. “I am unable…to…hold it.”

“I’ve yet to meet something I cannot kill,” Kaleb wiped his face and flicked the blood from his hand, raising his broken hammer and charging into the rear of the massive beast, he struck with all his power and shattered the hip bone, crippling it some and allowing the roots to drag its foot down.

The Wendigo let forth its shriek in Gin-rith’s direction and caused him to cry out in pain, holding his ears and letting his staff fall. The roots retreated and the Wendigo backhanded Kaleb, sending him flying into a mushroom, which fortunately softened the blow.

Kaleb looked up at the beast, that frozen heart desperate to break free of its icy tomb and beat once more. “The heart! Shatter the heart!” He looked over at the struggling Iridia, Flencer was nowhere to be seen and Gin-rith had the attention of the Wendigo. “Run! Get away!” He called to Iridia, the air had been knocked from him and his voice was but a wheeze.

Iridia drove her spear into the side of the Wendigo, the tip eased between its ribs and kissed the tip of the heart, stopping just short of the frosted organ, The beast was greatly perturbed and danced away, wrenching the spear from her hand. It roared once more and looked at Iridia whilst it tore the spear from its side.

Gin-rith had recovered and crawled behind a stalk with his staff in hand, he was able to summon a root to grasp at the hoof of the Wendigo as it made for Iridia, bringing it to its knees for a moment. Iridia took the chance to limp into a dark corner.

The Wendigo righted itself and ripped the roots away, shaking its leg free of them. It grunted and snorted out cool air as it spun around wildly on the spot, looking for a victim to obliterate. Only Kaleb was in sight now and the Wendigo seemed to savour the sight of the downed Paladin.

Kaleb’s ribs were broken, his vision was marred by blood and his back was pressed to the stalk of a mushroom, he hadn’t the power or the energy to move away from the aggressions of the Wendigo.

Gin-rith could no longer muster up the roots of the forest to grab at the feet which were now kicking up dust, ready to charge into Kaleb and surely break him in two.

Iridia at this moment had found Flencer attempting to climb a Mushroom stalk, he explained to her his plan and she helped him achieve the goal.

The Wendigo had charged at Kaleb and all that Gin-rith could do was watch as it killed the Paladin.

Kaleb spat blood and spoke what could be his final words: “Imith-Idith-Allath-Igith.”

The Wendigo’s antlers crashed into the stalk of the Mushroom with its head down in a rather compromising position.

“Brilliant,” whispered Gin-rith to himself. The plan to enter the vault was only a temporary solution.

The Wendigo ripped its antlers from the stalk and pulled the mushroom down over the gem. It turned and let forth another wretched cry of pain and snorted out mucus and frosty clouds from its tall nostrils.

“Hey you, you big bastard!” Flencer stood atop a particular tall mushroom with his crossbow ready, he was sweating from the climb but now had quite the vantage point. “Show me that heart!” The Wendigo made to charge, Flencer held his breath, he had one chance or he’d be worm food. The Wenigo manoeuvred to face him, its chest protruding and heart on display as if to challenge the Dwarf, or perhaps in a moment of self-loathing a last-gasp plea to be freed from this awful cage.

Flencer squeezed his eye shut and pulled up the trigger of his faithful crossbow.