Yarrow sat on his lonesome, the shadows of the leaves hanging overhead bathing him in their chill. He watched Ashencrane, the once fair maiden having cracked open an eye to meet his gaze. He ignored her and heaved a heavy sigh, looking over at Elies next, squeezing the life from his staff as he watched Ilta wrap his wounds in the Peppergrape trees’ pungent leaves. Perhaps the hell cat had a heart, after all.

The aged adventurer shut his eye. “Must this ordeal involve him, Galdraenae?” he wearily asked.

The gold-haired woman appeared before him, the light shrouding her forcing him to open his eye. “It must,” she softly replied. She sat at his side and leaned against him, cradling his arm while her garb fluttered like flames in the wind. “Time and time again, it must.”

“Is there no other way?”

“You’re well aware the answer never changes,” she said. “Come to me. The end of this lie you’ve lived draws near.”

*******

Ayko walked in circles while Chestplate scribbled at the piece of parchment on his knee. The knight covered the paper when Hazelmere tried to take a peek, but he didn’t mind Arzen hovering over his shoulder.

The young man glanced at the sky, his heart twisting with each new star tearing a hole in the darkness. He had no idea what time it was, but he only had until midnight.

His face heated up when Hazelmere touched his hand. “It’ll be okay,” she assured him.

Ayko returned her smile but couldn’t slow his hurried breaths. “Is this how it feels to be scared?” He sat on the ground and wrapped his arms around his knees, with Hazelmere following suit. “I guess I lied to Chestplate and myself.”

Hazelmere playfully bumped her shoulder into his own. “Of course you did. You’re brash, but you’re not crazy.” She snorted. “Not always, anyway. It’s not a sin to be afraid now and then.”

He turned to face her. “What if that old man doesn’t keep his word?”

“Then we’ll find another way,” Hazelmere replied.

“And if we die? If we get eaten alive like our parents?”

“We won’t,” Hazelmere said. “I have you, and you have me.”

The duo jumped to their feet when Chestplate’s scribbling ceased, the knight flashing them the previously blank piece of parchment.

Ayko squinted and leaned forward, slacking his jaw as he looked up at Chestplate. “That’s…hm?”

He tilted his head and traded glances with Hazelmere. “That is the Frostlands, isn’t it?”

Hazelmere giggled. “I think?”

Ayko held the parchment in the air and flipped it around—rough, blob-like sketches of trees filled it while blue blotches and traces bled through the paper. “Trees…waterways…” His eyes darted to another spot: a black cluster of trees with a red circle scribbled around it. “And that’s…?”

Ayko and Hazelmere cupped their chins.

“Where the Wolfcat sleeps, my little novices,” Chestplate said. “Which reminds me…” The adventurer yanked a medallion from around his neck, a finger-length tubular wood instrument hanging from it. “Bait doesn’t work with them. You’ll need to lure it out, not to mention it’ll keep away the others.”

Chestplate dangled the whistle over Ayko’s outstretched hand before shoving it into Hazelmere’s. “I give that right to you,” he said, closing her hand around it. He shoved the makeshift map into Ayko’s hands next. “Yours.”

Ayko rolled his eyes but held his tongue when Hazelmere bumped him. “You gonna see us off?”

“Nope,” Chestplate replied. “Arzen and I must resume our search. You’re not the only one with no time to kill—we’ve dawdled long enough.”

Ayko smiled and nodded. “Thanks, alright?”

“Don’t thank me yet. You’ve gotta survive first! If you can kill a cub, you can kill the crowned head itself.”

Ayko suppressed a gasp, his eyes darkening while Hazelmere's eyes widened. “A cub gave us a run for our orbs?”

“Steel yourselves, and you’ll live,” Chestplate said. “Regardless, I’ve done all I can do.” He whirled around and walked towards the opposite tree line. “Till we meet again and all that,” he said with a final wave.

Arzen folded his arms and eyed the pair before doing the same.

Ayko and Hazelmere watched as they vanished into the trees, the young man grabbing his sword’s hilt. “Come on, Haze. Let’s go kill us a king.”

*******

The bushes rustled, and the knight stopped in his tracks. Was it that boy again? He would cut him down if he came to hug him. His chest loosened when a soft giggle sounded from up ahead, its owner’s faint steps growing only slightly louder.

“Where have you been?” The knight asked.

He cupped his chin as the strange but familiar woman stumbled his way—she had the eyes of a Skyfiend and short, ruffled hair the color of roses. Jutting from her head were two nub-sized horns, and garbing her gangly torso was a pink robe covered in white flowers.

The woman yawned and shut a cat-like eye, flicking away the tear beading from it. “Away…” she said absently. “Would you believe me if I told you?” Another yawn escaped her, and she leaned her cheek against Arzen’s torso, her arms dangling weakly at her sides.

Arzen grunted. “Off!” he snarled.

The woman threw her arms around him when he tried to shove her away. “You’ve finally finished, “Chestplate”?” she yawned. “Being something you’re not?”

Chestplate’s brow twitched. “Don’t chaff me, singer. I’ve trained countless disciples like that runt over there,” he said, eyeing Arzen.

She released Arzen from her grasp and fell to her knees, shutting her eyes. “His training wasn’t futile. With that boy, all you did was teach a fish to swim.”

Chestplate shrugged. “I thought I’d ease his desire before he dies.” His eyes darkened. “With me, Arzen. Naranin must be close–I’ll let you have your fun with him before I kill him.”

Arzen snickered, frost puffing from his armor’s cracks. “I’ll make it slow!”

Chestplate walked onwards, brushing past the slumbering Songstress, whose snoring filled the crisp night air. “Do what you want. Just remember, I have to land the killing blow.” His frown further contorted his face. “So specific…so dumb…the dark gods truly are a bunch of bitches.” He growled. “Whatever. Let’s end this quest already.”

*********

Ayko held Chestplate’s map before his face, keeping the river in his peripheral. “We are supposed to follow it, right?” he asked, tilting the map in all directions.

“Mhm.” Hazelmere walked at his side, twirling Chestplate’s whistle as she gazed upon it. The look on her face was that of confusion and awe, perhaps? Ayko couldn’t say for sure.

He tore his peripheral gaze from the gushing stream and to his friend. “Oi! Why’d he give that to you?”

“Perhaps he thought you’d break it,” Hazelmere replied.

“I only break my things…or Elies’!” Ayko protested. He eyed the whistle hungrily. “Trade me, will you?”

“I agree with him,” Hazelmere laughed. “I’ll give it to you once we're done,” she said when he puffed his cheeks. “I’d rather not have it, but there’s a reason he gave it to me.”

“And why’s that?” Ayko asked.

Hazelmere furrowed her brow. “I can’t say I’m sure, but I’m sure we’ll know in due time. I can only trust his judgment just as you should.”

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Ayko groaned and threw back his head. “Fine. But it better be a damn good reason.”

The river thinned as the duo pressed forward along its length, its roar quieting to a low gurgle. The trees thickened in the river’s place, and their leaves huddled together like floral umbrellas, smothering Ayko and Hazelmere in their shade.

Ayko craned his neck to look at the black sheet covering the sky—not even the slightest twinkle of light was visible, be it from the moons or stars. He gritted his teeth and set his hand upon the hilt of his sword, his eyes darkening when fog shrouded the ground next. Shadowed columns rose from it, one then two, their number growing as the pair walked onwards. Frosted stones littered the ground, with the occasional snapped sword and cracked shield jutting from the snow.

Ayko stopped and knelt, wiping the snow from a gleaming piece of steel that caught his eye. It was a chest piece not unlike Chestplate’s, though it lacked the adventurer’s cobalt hue and was instead silver and checkered with splotches of rust. Still, it was better than nothing. He grinned, taking it in both hands and hoisting it over his head and tunic.

“Does it suit me or what?” The young man asked, chin in the air as he knocked on his new armor.

Hazelmere gave him a worried look. “These are ruins, Ayko. You’d be smart to put that back where you found it.”

Ayko sucked his teeth. “If this is about pissing off the dead, they’re just that…dead. Be it from The Inferno or elsewhere, they won’t have time to care about this shit. Besides, they’d want us to make use of it.” He scrambled to another shining spot in the snow, taking a steel shield in hand. He gave it three swings before placing it on his back. “If anything, you’d be smart to grab something for yourself.”

Hazelmere stared after him. “I will not, but I can’t make you put it back.”

“Oh, come now,” Ayko said. He picked up a rusted helmet next, only for it to crumble to pieces. His face fell, and he turned around, stepping over to his friend and throwing an arm around her shoulder. “How about I don you with something, then?”

The young man’s face burned as Hazelmere’s cheeks reddened. “I-I didn’t mean I’ll clothe you!”

The snow crunched nearby, to which Ayko and Hazelmere turned in unison, the former taking his sword and shield in hand. He lowered it slightly when a man limped from behind one of several crumbling towers nestled between the trees.

“Thank the gods, adventurers!” the stranger gasped.

Ayko looked him up and down, sword and shield still in hand. He was red-haired like Elies, though his scalp was bare, and hair covered the lower half of his face. His chain mail leaked blood, and in his hand was only the hilt of a sword.

“You’ve seen better days than me!” the man said, his voice trembling. “Damn Wolfcats nearly killed me–ate the whole of my party alive!” He fell to his knees and fumbled with his belt, tossing the coin pouch at Ayko’s feet. “I-I’ll pay, of course! Just get me away from this place!”

Ayko looked down at the coin pouch and back to the stranger, making no move to touch it. “We’ll help, but we’re not leaving. Not yet. You’ll have to stick it out till we’re done here.”

The stranger lowered his head, howling with laughter as he covered his face, the yellow flecks in his eyes flashing between his fingers. “That was the wrong answer, Shadowhand!”

Fog plumed into the air, shrouding Ayko’s view. He cursed and held his shield before him, matching the Wolfcat’s snarl with one of his own.

Hazelmere yelped when the beast’s shadowy visage pounced at them. “Ayko!” Wind shot from her outstretched palm, tearing a hole in the thickening mist. The gust slanted just short of the Wolfcat’s ear and crashed into the crumbling tower at the beast’s back.

Ayko gasped and sheathed his weapons, taking Hazelmere by the arm. The stone column tumbled, and rocks clacked together, hushing the Wolfcat’s pained yelps.

Ayko tightened his grasp around Hazelmere’s arm and skittered away, several stones launching from the fog and grazing the back of his head. The crumbled monolith vanished behind him along with the others, leaving him, Hazelmere, and the trees alone yet again.

The young man leaned against a trunk and slid to the ground, and his head slumped as he gasped for breath. He swatted the sweat from his eyes and swiped away the blood dripping down his neck before turning to Hazelmere. “Can’t believe you’ve got more breath than me.”

He gasped and jumped up, his heart pounding as he whirled in all directions. “Haze?” He shouted her name as he sprinted ahead, his lack of breath an afterthought. “Gods! Where have you gone?”

Ayko’s tightening chest choked the air from his lungs, and his knees turned to jelly. Had he lost her? He fell to one knee and hovered a hand over his scorching throat, his breaths reduced to mere rasps. “Speak, Haze! Answer me!”

Laughter echoed from the rustling trees, causing Ayko’s eyes to flash. It was feminine but shrill, like a crow’s cawing.

Ayko lifted his head, meeting the gaze of a violet-haired woman cloaked in indigo robes. She sat atop a branch, grinning at him from ear to ear, showing her two rows of jagged teeth. Her black eyes shared the same yellow flecks as the man from before.

“She paid the price all dark ones do for coming here,” the woman said. Her pupils shrank. “And you will, too.”

Ayko shot her a black look and aimed his sword at her. “Horsepiss! Just tell me where she is!”

The woman rested a hand on her cheek. “If you must know…”

A young boy whooshed past, the wind blowing Ayko’s hair before he crouched on the branch above the woman’s own. He was dressed in furs, and his brown hair was bunched into a rough-looking ponytail. Hoisted over his shoulder was a tall, slender woman whose blonde hair hung low enough for him to climb on. Her arms hung limply, and blood dripped from her neck.

The boy tossed her at Ayko’s feet and snickered, leaving a blur in his wake as he hurried away. The woman laughed and followed suit.

“Haze!” Ayko dragged her to a nearby tree and leaned her against its trunk, the half-elf placing a hand over the teeth-shaped wound on her neck.

“They caught me,” Hazelmere whimpered, her eyes welling up with tears.

“I’ll find them,” Ayko declared. He tried to stand, but Hazelmere grabbed him by the wrist.

“Stay with me! Please!” Hazelmere squeaked, looking at him with pleading eyes. “What if they come back?”

“Then I’ll cut them down!”

“I…understand,” Hazelmere muttered. “But…can’t we rest here a bit?” She blushed as she looked away. “Can’t I lean against you?”

Ayko choked on his words and flinched away. “F-five minutes. We can’t rest any longer than that.”

She sighed as he sat next to her, sweat beading on his forehead as she leaned her cheek against his shoulder and shut her eyes.

“Ayko!”

The young man darted his head to his left. That soft voice sounded close and an awful lot like…?

Hazelmere appeared over the tree line, huffing and covered in sweat, her eyes wide. “Get away from him!” she demanded, stepping closer.

Ayko gasped and eyed the one leaning against him. She opened her eyes, which flashed with the same familiar yellow flecks as the others. She cackled. “Idiot!”

Zephiriere, Hazelmere uttered.

The apparition released Ayko from its grasp and jumped away, the blur left in its wake turning to mist when the gust of wind grazed it. A flash of light shrouded its visage, a Wolfcat taking its place when it dispersed.

The Wolfcat growled and hunched down. “None can reach the king! Nor can you leave here alive!”

Ayko clanged his sword and shield together. “We’ll see about that!”

The trees rustled, and more Wolfcats stalked atop the branches, scores of them, their gold eyes glinting as they stepped from the shadows. “Shadowhands have no place here!” they barked.

Ayko took a step forward. “We’re not Shadowhands!” he spat. “I don’t even know what that means!”

“Enough of your lies!” another snarled. “You reek of that Levis’ foul scent!”

Ayko quickly looked at Hazelmere. Chestplate? His eyes hardened. “Chestplate’s not a Shadowhand, either!”

“Yet he’s slaughtered countless beings of light, including dozens of our own.”

Ayko’s lips twitched with a frown. “Chestplate?” he asked, unbelieving.

“Now you’ve come to do the same as he had!”

Ayko ground his teeth together and squeezed the hilt of his sword. “I don’t want to do it, but I must!”

“And so must we. We’ll rip you and that girl to shreds and anyone else who consorts with the dark!”

Ayko readied himself while the Wolfcats hunched down in unison, but Hazelmere stepped forward and held her arm before him. Taking Chestplate’s whistle in hand, she took a deep breath and blew into it.

Ayko blinked at her. He couldn’t hear anything save for the wind’s howl, yet the Wolfcats’ jaws gaped and their mouths frothed. One by one, they skittered away while Hazelmere cried and fell to her knees.

“I’m alright,” Hazelmere said when Ayko crouched beside her. She gave him a queer look. “That roar. Could you not hear it?”

“Hmm?” Ayko tilted his head. “What roar?”

Ayko’s spine tingled, the ground seemingly turning to rubber. He helped Hazelmere to his feet and stared ahead, watching the king-sized shadow rise between the trees. It knocked several to the ground as it stomped closer.

“You’ve done a fine job in scaring off my children.”

Ayko’s bones quivered, and he winced, the blaring voice rattling his head. Stepping forward was a Wolfcat whose white fur was striped orange. Its gold eyes resembled candlelight, and its tusks hung from behind its lips, nearly touching the ground. Blowing in the wind was its mane of charcoal-colored fur.

The beast stopped and stared down at them, its pupils growing and shrinking as its eyes darted wildly. “Amarant used that same trick ages ago.”

Ayko clutched the side of his head. “I don’t know who that is!”

“You know and regard him well,” the Mountainous Wolfcat bellowed. It shut its eyes and gave a single nod. “It is why you must meet your end, and I suppose I shall be the one to bring about your demise.”

Ayko twirled his sword, one eye still squeezed shut. “No chance in hell, ‘your majesty’! Your heart’s mine to take! Not the other way around!”

“Spoken like a true man of darkness.” The King Wolfcat’s pupils swelled. “Very well.” Its jaws gaped, and flames crawled up its throat. “A Shadowhand deserves a Shadowhand’s death.”

Ayko held his shield in front of his face, scorching pain twisting as his face as flames streamed past his cheeks. “Bollocks!” Strain weighed down his voice, and he thrust his shield at the sky. The flames squelched as they turned to smoke. “He’s a pyromancer?”

“Like Elies,” Hazelmere said, her hair blowing in the wind that twisted above her palm.

“Means he’s as dumb as him, too,” Ayko said. He clanged his sword and shield while the Wolfcat gaped its jaws again. “Haze, if you’d be so kind, I’ll ask you to hear me out.”