The night air was thick with the ills of humanity.

Stench, cries, sobs, blood, and worse.

This region ’s fall to the abyss happened too recently for the proud two and three-story buildings lining the cobbled streets to fall into dilapidation. Still, they bore the signs of the fall too: there were signs of crude and obvious graffiti on the walls of previously well maintained buildings, bloodstains were not an uncommon sign, and there were also recent damage which scarred the buildings too.

It was against a large and crude dagger graffiti—which indicated that a gang ruled over this region—a familiar, yet strange, demi-human woman was being pressed against. The crude dagger gang marker looked like it was stabbing through her slender, and almost formless, womanly figure. Her greyish-pink skin faintly gleamed in the darkness. She was wearing a simple and cheap dress, and was clutching a stale loaf of bread against her almost non-existent breasts.

When I first saw her, she was listless and lifeless, happy to walk naked behind those who had brought her for the night. Now she was tearful and afraid of the three almost-full grown men who were taller and bigger than her. One was lanky, another podgy, the third was somewhat muscular.

It was this last who was holding his hand around the slender throat of the demi-human woman. He was looming over her. His other hand was running its way down her side and onto her hips.

The other two were watching with wicked grins.

So engrossed were they in that poor demi-human woman, they missed the brief lightning glow as Tan-bei ’s blades formed. The two of us had been so careful over the past couple of weeks since our guild, Saint Evaine’s Defiance, had formed not to do anything illegal. In doing so, we forced ourselves to act immorally as we overlooked so many issues we could have easily and quickly sorted.

But tonight both of us had broken.

I don ’t know why Tan-bei broke, but I broke because I was acting so unlike the heroes that I grew up listening to around the campfires of my tribe and, after they died, the Guardians.

And that unlucky, yet lucky, demi-human woman was the reason why. She had been sold off as a prostitute for a night and somehow ended up being a member of the family which brought her. It was a heart-warming tale, if it wasn ’t for the fact that the newly wed wife had disappeared and was likely dead—if I understood correctly what Nolicia told me.

The two side almost-men slumped down with Tan-bei ’s blades in their spines.

As for the muscular man, I tapped him on the shoulder.

‘Fuck off.’ He spat out, still running his hand up and down the woman’s body.

I tapped him on the shoulder again. A bit harder this time.

Without letting go of the woman ’s neck, he glanced round and saw only the wide expanse of my tunic which hid my broad and muscular body. Then he started looking up and up and up and then, only then, did he see my bark-covered face.

I grabbed him by his neck and started squeezing. He let go of the woman, who collapsed onto the floor, still clutching the stale loaf of bread against her chest.

‘Normally, I would think about letting you go with a warning.’ I said.

He nodded his head like he had heard the best idea ever.

‘But it would be unfair to your two friends. So, I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to be another of the victims tonight.’

‘Another?’

‘I am Bercilan, the guild master of Saint Evaine’s Defiance, and tonight I have decided to take this little part of Three Bridge under my protection.’

‘Just ya two, what can ya do?’ He asked, looking between me and Tan-bei. It was a mocking question, which he asked out of fear.

I didn ’t give him a verbal answer straight away. Instead, with a squeeze of my hand, I snapped his neck.

As his eyes started to fade into death, I finally gave him the answer he wanted: ‘enough.’

I knelt down in front of the woman who we had saved. ‘Can you stand?’

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The smell of piss was stronger now than before, and her dress was wet between her legs. She didn ’t stand, just shook her head.

‘I would stay and help, but there are other victims who need saving.’

She nodded.

‘I’m sorry to let you know that the woman you and your… Man, husband, lover, are looking for is most likely dead.’

‘Thank you.’ She whispered to me.

It seemed like she wasn ’t talking about saving her just now.

‘Thank you for telling. We love her. We miss her. Now we say farewell.’

I nodded and stood up. For now, I had to forget about her. I had to see who I could save next.

For the next hour Tan-bei and myself went on a rampage along the main street and some of the surrounding region, bringing an end to many fights and gangs and much criminal activity. Just as the two of us were about to stop, we ended up on the main cobbled street through the region.

Dead bodies lay everywhere. Buildings which had been in good condition not long ago were damaged or, in the case of one or two more difficult situations, fully demolished. There were few wounded, as most had managed to scamper away. The few injured who were remaining couldn ’t or wouldn’t flee the area.

Previously, this area was full of life and noise. Now it was almost as silent as the neighbouring forest. The few people who were still around did their best to remain silent as to not attract the attention of the Tan-bei and myself. I knew they were there, could sense them, but it didn ’t feel as bad as before we went on the rampage.

Sadly, the rancid stench of civilisation was still present.

‘We heard reports of mægen going on a rampage and look, what do we find?’

Three heroes stood in the middle of the cobbled road.

One was a man with a big bushy beard with streaks of grey in it, a pale blue tunic which was straining against his waist, and brown leather trousers. He was wearing a spectacle helm. He didn ’t look distinguished, just old and tired. The slump in his shoulders made him look even more pitiful. Behind him stood a tall and slender man wearing a jester’s outfit complete with a jangly bell hat and a theatre mask. The other was a woman, though you couldn’t tell because of her padded armour which hid any feminine shape she might’ve had. On her arms and legs, she wore stiff leather amour protection. And they wore a closed face leather helmet, which was modeled off a soldier’s helmet.

They were The Three Jobs. The biggest problem heroes for Three Bridge. They stuck their noses in everywhere and lorded over all. It seemed, from a Lundein perspective, that they were helping Three Bridge sort their issues out and were well loved because of that. However, they were mere bullies and did what they wanted, leaving behind a trail of problems for the innocent citizens of Three Bridge. Much like their attempt to force money from the citizens of Brook Bridge for protection. It wasn ’t long ago that we shut that down.

I thought that there would be something to tie The Three Jobs to that, but as they were free and here, then I guessed wrong. Either that or they had the power to avoid their rightful punishment.

‘Three Bridge is under the control of the guild Saint Evaine’s Defiance. You are not welcome here.’ Tan-bei said.

‘Oh, but we received a letter asking us to come and assist in the issue of two mægen going on a rampage. But we don’t see the leader of the guild, nor his only other guild member. We only see two outsiders who have taken whatever freedom they’ve been granted too far.

‘And I’m sure that we see Treeman there. A mere vigilante who has caused lots of trouble for the guilds when they were fulfilling their rights to chase criminals into unaffiliated lands.’

‘Treeman you say?’ I asked in a mock questioning voice. ‘I only see myself, Bercilan, here.’

‘How can you say that name,’ Soldier spat out, ‘and how dare you use the holy name of Saint Evaine? She was a pious soul who never let go of what was important.’

I had to laugh at that.

‘She was a pretty maid who fell in love with,’ Tan-bei spoke up, going further than I ever could, ‘and made the lord of the manor, Bercilan, fall in love with her. She wasn’t any more pious than you are. After she blessed my husband, she came and visited me in a dream. The only reason she remained at the chapel was so that she could sneak back to her lover’s mansion when Yvana was absent.

‘It’s not so much a love story for the ages, more of a sordid affair, which is all too common in noble society. Yet she honestly loved Bercilan and Bercilan loved her. If Yvana was less jealous, then… Who knows, I’ve not spoken to Yvana, only Saint Evaine.’

After Tan-bei finished, there was silence for a moment.

‘That’s it,’ Soldier screamed, ‘you prove yourself a heretic. Saint Evaine was a pristine, pure, and pious woman. No woman of the Temple would say such sordid things about her, especially in a guild devoted to her.’

‘So that proves it. There’s Treeman and a heretic here. Which means there are no members of Saint Evaine’s Defiance.’

In a moment of madness, I came up with what felt like a fateful decision. ‘If you desire to face Treeman. You shall.’

I gave into the inner wildness that swirled around within my chest.

Everything seemed to shrink as I grew taller. For the second time ever, and the first time which would be remembered, I transformed into Treeman in front of witnesses.