Second Floor: Moonlit Meadow Quadrant, Twilight Forest Zone. Near Lysara.

Fenrin ducked behind a tree, narrowly avoiding the fountain of green, caustic liquid that sprayed past him. A single droplet landed on his leather greaves, hissing and sizzling as it ate away at the armor.

"Sel, what do your notes say about these guys?" The half-elf archer called over his shoulder, risking a quick peek at the large centipede. The monster was scuttling towards him now, rapidly closing the distance between them. Acidic fluid dripped from its serrated mandibles, leaving a smoking trail behind the creature as it barreled through the undergrowth.

"Ahhh… Corrosipedes. Hang on!" Fenrin's companion, Seldrin, rifled through a series of pages in his journal. The elf was a good way back from the fight, having retreated to the boughs of the trees when the monster emerged. "They spit acid and have a strong bite, so try and stay away from its front!"

"That's real helpful!" Fenrin rolled his eyes, notching another arrow. He dashed out from behind his cover, trying to circle around the side of the enormous bug while he pumped mana into his bow. The arrow began to glow, crackling with electricity. He let it fly just as the corrosipede turned to face him, its dozens of legs churning the ground and sending bits of earth soaring in every direction.

The arrow struck the monster on the side of its body, penetrating deep into its soft flesh. Arcs of lightning burst from the wound, scorching its body and sending it crashing to the ground in a tangle of spasming limbs. Fenrin didn't wait for it to recover, he knew that wouldn't be enough to finish it off. It was level 15, two higher than himself. Monsters that strong rarely fell to a single attack. He continued to circle, peppering the creature with arrow after arrow and generally keeping to a safe distance, all the while keeping an eye out for any sign of additional threats.

"Ah! Found it!" Seldrin's voice came from above, triumphant. "It has an acid sac on the underside of its body, between the head and thorax. Piercing it should kill it!"

"So, its neck?" Fenrin asked, sending another arrow into the monster's side. It had finally righted itself and was turning towards him again, looking angrier than ever. Two large, compound eyes glinted in the evening sunlight, their red tint giving the monster a malevolent air.

"Technically, insects don't have 'necks'." Seldrin called down. "It's called a 'cervix'."

"This isn't the time for a zoology lesson, Sel."

"Good point. Ok, get it to spit again, I think I can nail it from up here."

Of course, getting it to spit more acid would mean giving it a target. Fenrin sighed, skidding to stop between two trees and shouting at the monster.

"Hey, ugly! Over here!"

He let loose another arrow for good measure, slowly backing away as the monster rumbled towards him. Yes, he definitely had its attention now. Fenrin had no intention of being blasted by its caustic expulsion, however. There was a much better way to make it expose itself.

"Mimi, now!"

"Cacaw!"

The piercing call of a bird of prey answered him. A moment later a feathered, multi-colored blur descended from the canopy like a missile. Mimi arced through the air, slashing at the corrosipede's face with her vicious talons before flapping back towards the sky. The insect chittered in pain and rage, rearing up on its hind legs to snap at the bird with its mandibles. As it did, it exposed its belly, and the green sac hanging from its neck. Or cervix, Fenrin didn't really care what it was called, just that it was in his sight.

He and Seldrin fired simultaneously, twin arrows finding their marks in an explosion of caustic fluid. The monster hissed, collapsing to the ground. It twitched feebly for several long moments before finally falling still. After a quick glance at his surroundings to ensure the area was truly safe, Fenrin shouldered his bow and cautiously approached the monster. Seldrin dropped from a nearby tree, the wood elf landing lightly. He brushed some leaves from his tunic and gave Fenrin a tight smile.

"Nice work."

Mimi fluttered back down, perching atop the monster's body and letting out a victorious squawk. Then she began pecking at it.

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"Mimi, no!" Fenrin beckoned towards his familiar. "That can't be good for you."

The bird chirped in protest, reluctantly fluttering over to alight on his shoulder. She shuffled her two sets of feathered wings, settling them one over the other. He reached up and patted her head affectionately.

"The monsters really are getting bolder." Seldrin said, examining their fallen foe. "Something must have them riled up."

"That's why we're here." Fenrin agreed. "Whatever it is, we need to put a stop to it before they start attacking the village."

"I think we're close." Seldrin said, closing his eyes. "The forest is getting quieter, lethargic. Like it's sick, somehow." The olive-skinned elf pointed in the direction the monster had come from. "It feels stronger that way."

"Let's check it out, but be careful. I'd rather avoid any more fights until we know what we're dealing with."

"Agreed."

The two of them continued through the forest, moving as quietly as they could. That was easier for Seldrin, with his innate connection to the woodland spirits. Fenrin, only a half-wood-elf, lacked the ability to sense the natural world as clearly as his friend, but he'd spent enough time in these woods to know how to navigate them with care.

"This is around where Siora last was, right? Before she went missing?" Fenrin asked, a frown forming on his face. Seldrin's sister had been gone for almost two weeks now, apparently.

"That's right." Seldrin said, sounding worried. "We've been looking every day, but no one has any idea what happened. It's like she just vanished into thin air."

"Do you think it has anything to do with the new integration?"

"I don't know." He shrugged. "She knows every inch of these woods, and everything in them. Nothing here could have hurt her."

"I've always heard that the Labyrinth shifts and reorganizes itself when it connects to a new land." Fenrin offered. "Maybe she got caught in the shuffle, and ended up somewhere else?"

"If so, I hope it wasn't far… Thanks for coming to help, by the way. Having a wayfarer looking too will make a big difference." Seldrin added, clambering over a fallen tree. They were speaking in low voices, to avoid attracting any attention. The care seemed unnecessary, though, as the woodland around them appeared to be completely deserted. Strangely so.

"Of course, I came as soon as I heard about the integration. Everything is fine back home, and I wanted to make sure it was here, too."

On his shoulder, Mimi cawed in agreement.

"We'll find her. Siora knows how to take care of herself." Fenrin continued, trying his best to stay optimistic. "But first, let's figure out what's going on with these monsters. It could be related."

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It didn't take long for the pair to find the source of the disturbance. Fenrin and Seldrin lay atop a ridge overlooking a shallow valley that was much more sparsely populated with trees than the rest of the forest. They were concealed amidst a collection of thick bushes, and Fenrin was careful not to make too much noise lest they attract attention. The half-elf wasn't nearly as familiar with this region as his companion was, but even he knew that the large, stepped pyramid rising from the center of the valley hadn't been there previously. Nor had the dozens of shambling figures that meandered around its base, walking in and out of various entrances.

"A stronghold…" He murmured softly.

"I think you're right." Seldrin agreed solemnly. "Right on our doorstep… This isn't good."

"It isn't." Fenrin agreed, peering at the moving figures. "Those are undead, I'm certain."

Seldrin cursed under his breath, and Mimi clucked her beak in trepidation. He raised a hand to stroke her head. "Go take a look for us, Mimi?" He asked, the mental link he shared with his familiar adding an additional layer to their discourse.

The bird bobbed her head once and took to the sky, soaring out towards the new structure. The pyramid was comprised of several distinct levels, each ringed by green torches. It had to be at least a hundred feet tall, its peak rising higher even than the ridge they observed from.

"The other monsters are fleeing. They're being driven towards the village." Seldrin said.

"And the undead will follow. I don't know too much about strongholds, but even if Lysara isn't fully in its territory, it must be at the border."

"This quadrant has always been light on monster manifestations." Seldrin said, clenching his hands into fists. "That's why we settled here. Why? Why did the Labyrinth have to generate one now?"

"It has to be the integration. Everything is changing."

Fenrin trailed off as a prompt appeared in front of him. It was a quest, a pair of quests, actually. One was to defeat the stronghold boss to protect Lysara, and the other was a more generic quest to successfully conquer any stronghold. He drew his lips to a line.

"Unless your people want to completely relocate, we're going to have to deal with this. And soon."

"We don't have enough warriors to take on a stronghold. We're equipped to defend ourselves from wandering monsters, not to assault a fortress of the undead."

Perhaps Master Rhysten would have guidance? Maybe he would be able to defeat the stronghold boss, despite his old injury. If not, the task could very well fall on Fenrin. As far as he knew, he was the only active wayfarer in the area. That was a task he had little confidence he could accomplish alone.

"I know. We're going to need some help."

If there was time, he might be able to send word to Estelhelm to recruit other wayfarers or mercenaries to join them. Spoils from strongholds were said to be quite valuable, so it was possible that someone would answer the call. As long as they weren't busy dealing with other aspects of the evolution the Labyrinth seemed to be undergoing. Either way, he wasn't going to leave his father's people to fend for themselves. It was the burden of the noble families to defend the common people from threats like this, and he wasn’t going to shirk his duty. Even if he stood alone.

Fortunately for him, although he didn't know it yet, help was already on the way.