Through the growth of the swamp I saw two glowing embers. They blinked. An alluring figure full of curves emerged with an inviting smile on her face.

“Why, hello there,” her voice purred.

Colors grew vibrant as my eyes focused in on her. Her face was mesmerizing, and I was instantly pulled in, drawn to her. I felt my heart beat faster, felt the heat well up inside me. She moved closer and closer, as if gliding on air. The world around me fell away, grew silent in a watchful gaze.

“Quit it Ivy,” Darya’s sharp voice cut through the trance like a knife.

In an instant, the colors dulled, and the world turned colder. I inhaled sharply, and regained my balance and composure.

The cute face pouted. “Oh come on, don’t spoil my fun.”

“Ignore her horns,” Darya told me. “They’re just for show.”

Ivy pursued her lips, as if scolded. “Not just for show.”

The young woman strutted forward, clad in snug fitting leaves and bark that flowed with every movement of her body. The camouflaged tones of her skin shifted from green and yellow, to cool gray and blue and made her stand out against the swamp. She had four large horns covered in bark. Moss colored hair flowed down her back, and a vine-like tail ended in a bushy puff of petals. Glowing red markings crossed her arms as if made out of lava.

Keen eye showed her as [Bel’dryad] [Green.] Interestingly, she was the first non-monster to be more than ‘gray’ to me. With all the leaves, the bark and the greenery, she looked a lot like a dryad, but also something more, but what?

“You know how I hate swamps,” Darya said. “And I’m sure you know why I’m here, so let’s get going.”

“Has it been a month already? I sure do love our little get-togethers.”

Without seeing if Ivy was coming along, Darya turned around and trudged right back in the direction of the village.

“And who is this handsome young man? Is he your-”

“No,” she barked over her shoulder.

“Does it mean th-”

“No.” Darya turned her thumb in my direction. “This here is Kevin, he’s staying at the abbey.”

We followed Darya who picked up the pace, seemingly eager to get out of the swamp and back to the village. While I stomped in my new sandals, Ivy’s bare feet touched the soggy swamp ground without making a sound.

Ivy moved in close to me with a warm smile on her face. “I saw you before,” she whispered. “Here in the swamp. It told me that you’ve come from the bleak henge.”

“The what?”

Ivy glanced to the side, to the menacing structure overlooking the landscape. “The cube, as you call it. It wasn’t always here you know. This bountiful paradise wasn’t always infested with the scourge it unleashes.”

“Which scourge is that?”

“Both of them. The grubling Swarm, and the vile Zar’cha infestation. They’re not from this world.”

“How did they get here?”

“They came with the cube, of course. And it’s not all that it brought, there are many more horrors it brought along, and they are much, much more dangerous.”

I was suspicious of Ivy from the start. While she had a warm and pleasant exterior, there was something sinister lurking inside. Though, she was easy to speak to.

“Do you live here alone?” I asked. “In the swamp all by yourself?”

“I do and have been ever since I was outcast by the grove, as I’m sure the reasons for that are obvious to you.”

“No, I’m afraid not. Why?”

“Because-” She ran her hand up my arm, tapped on the bony protrusion at my elbow with the tip of her pointy, clawed finger. “I have more in common with you than I do with them.”

That didn’t tell me anything, but I decided not to pry about it. “Why not live in Rosedale, the village?”

“I don’t mean to be rude, but … it’s the smell.”

“Of the humans?”

“Mm, and all that they create.”

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While walking I stayed alert for the lizards and the massive turtles. I spotted one in the distance. Its behemoth shell jutted out of the water with its head poking up.

[t5] Goliath Turtle [Skull]

Ivy must have sensed my unease. “Don’t worry, while they may look threatening, it’s not interested in eating you, as it only eats plants. Unless you attack it, then it may change its mind.”

We caught up to Darya. She was in a sour mood the entire morning. Maybe it was all the snakes in the swamp, or maybe the coming Dark Night. It probably didn’t help that she had an ailing father, an orphanage full of kids, and a village under a looming threat to worry about.

“Where is Aiden?” Ivy asked Darya. “He hasn’t returned, has he?”

“No. He’s gone like the wind.”

“Aww, that makes me so sad. Where did he go?”

“If it was up to me, he’d go to hell.”

Ivy tsked. “That’s not very nice.”

“He’s a thief and a scoundrel, okay? It’s best if you forget all about him.”

“Fine. So, how is the village?”

“It’ll be fine, don’t worry about it. More importantly, we got ourselves a three man battleground orb. Interested?”

Ivy smiled mischevously. “Ooh, I don’t know. With him?”

“Obviously.”

Ivy sucked in air through her white teeth, and the tip of her tail fluttered with excitement. “That is quite … tempting.”

“Quit playing hard to get. I already know you’ll do it.”

As we walked, I learned that Ivy wouldn’t do void dungeons because she doesn’t feel comfortable with killing animals, even if they are in the Void. However, she was okay with battlegrounds as it would be against other people, and she doesn’t like most people anyway. She’d only come out to the village on the Dark Nights because she had a particular hatred for the swarm and the Zar’cha infestation. They were an invasive species. It was this hatred that got her kicked out of the grove, and not because she was a half-breed, dryad, demoness hybrid with a pyromaniac streak. While the elders were strict that all living things were sacred, Ivy felt that exceptions had to be made.

The sun was high in the sky by the time we returned to the village. Nobody batted an eye at the sight of Ivy, or me walking about for that matter. I felt more comfortable with Ivy around, as it made me feel like I wasn’t the only one standing out among all the normal humans in the village.

The place churned with activity, and especially around the north-eastern corner by the lake. That’s where they were setting up the pyre, and a circular construction elevated off the ground on supports with reinforced sides and spiked barricades.

“What sort of monsters do you expect?” I asked.

“The usual,” Darya replied. “Burrowers, worms, roaches, and the fliers too, even the lake will be chock full of em. We’ll be alright as long as the bulls leave us alone. That’s the worst of it... well, almost the worst.”

“Bulls?”

“They’re not actually bulls, it’s just what we call ‘em. Those behemoths are way bigger and way nastier. All they crave is a good stampede, and to hell with any walls, pyre or defenses in their way."

“And the flyers?”

“That’s what that cover is for, otherwise they’d swoop in to snatch up a kid.” She winced. “Happened before.”

“And where would they be coming from?”

Darya gestured to the Cube. “That’s where they breed, and that’s where they come from.”

“Has anyone tried to exterminate the nests?”

“You’re not from around the Cube, are ya? Folks gripe about the bugs, especially as the Dark Night creeps in, but they're also itching for the gold it hauls in.”

I scoffed. “Gold? What gold?”

Darya tapped near her eye. “For some bizarre reason, the bugs have bits of gold in their eyes. The more you squash, the more eyes you collect, the richer you get.”

“Oh wow. So if the nests are destroyed then no more gold?”

“Sure, but that'll never happen. The place is infested with them to the brim.”

“Why not hide in the basement for the night?”

“Works most of the time, until it doesn’t. Some can burrow, and last spring, the entire Thatcher family was .. uhm.” Darya winced, looked aside. “Well, now the village needs better roofs.”

As we talked, repairs were being made to ensure it wouldn’t collapse. More tree trunks were being piled up on the pyre, and an additional pile was set to the side to replenish the fire as the night went on.

“What’s stopping them from burrowing and coming up right in here?”

“Nothing. And sometimes they knock out one or two, but luckily, they’re not that smart.”

Darya went on to explain that because some bugs could swim, heading out on a boat didn’t work. Walls were useless as they were capable climbers. Small lights around the village didn’t do anything and the bugs were capable of snuffing them out. However, they wouldn’t touch a pyre, but mostly.

***

Luther inspected Lermin from head to toe, but there wasn’t much to admire about his lanky form. It wasn’t his physical prowess that impressed him, but his sorcery. Lermin had his arms crossed over his chest, hand tightly gripping an artifact of immense power. A wand crafted by none other than the Supreme Commander himself. Its destructive potential was undeniable, as he witnessed it personally. It was capable of knocking several books aside from across the room.

Lermin snorted, adjusted the spectacles on his nose, then spoke in a nasally voice. "He saw lots of magic pote-potencha- power in me and said I'll for sure become a super strong wizard when I grow up."

“He did? I didn’t see you speaking with him even once.”

“No, no, I did. It was, uhm … far outside the abbey where you can’t see.”

Luther was suspicious of what he said, yet allowed for the possibility. Regardless, what mattered more were his capabilities. Luther needed the best of the best.

“And compen-compensache- what do I get?” Lermin asked.

“Top bunk bed spot.”

“And?” Lermin stretched out the word.

Luther groaned, unhappy with the way the meeting was going. Obviously, the chap knew his worth. “Hard sweets, rationed.”

Luther didn’t like to offer this much, but it was a necessary measure. It meant he’d need to deal with Steven -- a most dreadful affair. First however, he needed the necessary funds from Yuliana.