Jade felt something watching them as they walked to a few paces from the tree line.

Rezu’s voice projected into the forest. “I am Rezu Archinius. Under the Treaty of the Falls, we come under a flag of truce.”

The wall of vines and bushes pulled back as the canopy split, opening up a wide path of stone.

Jade felt countless presences on both sides as they walked down the wide stone slab. It had settled and shifted over time but this looked like a runway for the large winged cargo vehicles. “What is this place?”

“I don’t know.” Rezu said. “Our records of before the fall have massive gaps in them.”

“There are thick buildings and underground structures ahead.” Klaus said. “If I had to guess, this is an abandoned military installation. But the treefolk do not care about such things other than to note areas that are poor or shallow soil.”

A tree covered mountain loomed in the distance as they walked. Jade thought that was odd place for a mountain. The area was generally flat. Pointing one end of a runway at the biggest hill in the area seemed, well, less than intelligent.

Rezu stopped and stared at the mountain, when they reached the end of the runway.

“What?” Jade said.

“Klaus.” Rezu spoke in a whisper. “Why is there a Worldtree here?”

“The Worldtree, it is the only one left.” Klaus said. “But I’m not sure. I saw it in the forest below the falls. I didn’t think it could move anymore.”

With rapid snaps and creaks the forest behind them closed like a zipper of solid plant matter. In a second they were surrounded vegetation and sealed in under a dense canopy.

Jade saw forms appearing from behind every tree around them. She recognized the naked, sensuous plant women from the statues in the Hall of Endrala. Oh yea, that’s a dryad. They were known to tempt unfortunate trespassers to their deaths.

One spoke in a soft, melodic tone. “You claim to come here under a truce? You bring one who has trespassed and harmed us. You bring a great machine of war. You carry one of our own as prisoner.”

“Wait. You have this all wrong.” Rezu said.

The dryad’s bodies, limbs and fingers stretched and tightened to look like dried knotty wood with angry teeth and claws. They rushed them like a wave.

“Was this part of the plan?” Jade said as she spawned her armor. It was still battered but Rezu had patched up the worst damage.

“Not the time.” Rezu said, now in his armor and holding two power daggers. “Mouse! Defense, knockback, twenty meters radius.”

“Confirmed.” Mouse boomed and grew huge again.

With cyan flashes, the front line of the dryads disappeared in rapid succession.

With a swipe of a massive metal arm the second wave was sent flying back by Mouse.

Jade fell to her knees and started drawing runes on the stone, rapidly setting traps around them. She was still weak, so couldn’t put much into each trap, but she had to do something slow the tide. Then something small landed on Jade’s back.

Klaus put a hand over Jade’s mouth and whispered. “Morph and head for the Worldtree. I will guide you.”

Only Jade’s ability to sense presence saved the little dryad from becoming kindling. She let out a low growl as she morphed.

“Go with him!” Rezu commanded.

She cloaked them both and made a dozen illusions of shadowcats around her. She managed to give fakes impacts to their feet. Jade also jumped and hit stone as much as she could to not give a smooth track to follow. Her right hip and shoulder burned, but not being murdered by trees was a good motivator to keep moving.

Monstrous dryads appeared and lunged repeatedly at the fakes around them. Klaus’ advice had been good.

Jade looked back to see a trail of soldier golems, bare handed, fighting the dryads that were trying to follow.

Klaus clutched onto what was left of her fur and whispered instructions as they ran.

The sounds of battle raged behind them.

Jade started to have worries. Who is this Klaus? Why didn’t a treefolk know this Worldtree was here? Maybe this is all a trap to get back at her for attacking them. She was now weak and alone with the little dryad.

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They crossed under the edge of the Worldtree canopy. A small city of wide, flat buildings of concrete and stone dotted the area with a truly gargantuan tree trunk growing up out of a field in the middle.

Klaus guided her up a large root.

“What is going on?”

“The one you injured is ahead.”

A large sheet of bark gave way and slid off the root. Jade just managed to catch solid wood with her claws. They dangled a hundred meters up with Klaus clutching painfully to her ears. She scrambled back up and took a second to look around as Klaus righted herself.

Other than the leaves in the breeze, there was no sound.

The roots were ancient, weathered, some rotting, others were nothing but a shell of bark. Countless large knots dotted along the roots. A close knot was recognizable as the top half of a dryad’s form, now hardened into the dark, wrinkled bark of the Worldtree. Her face held an eternal scream.

Rezu appeared beside them, with three-meter Mouse. Both were drenched with green, sappy, blood. Rezu screamed in pain and staggered. Mouse picked him up.

“Go.” Klaus said. “We must hurry.”

Jade nodded and ran with Mouse following. The massive metal man had no trouble navigating the thick winding root.

They reached the base of the massive tree and stopped on a concrete rooftop. There was a two meter long log laying there.

Jade jumped back as it moved. “What the fuck?”

“That’s a treant, the male of the treefolk.” Klaus said. “He is the one you injured.”

Jade could now see a face and wooden limbs that resembled arms. One limb bore her shadowcat teeth marks. Lines of dark green energy scared the flesh like a burn. She morphed, removed her damaged armor so it didn’t interfere with her focus, then set her hands on the limb and focused on removing her energy.

The treant groaned.

The rustle of leaves got louder.

Jade finished. The wound still looked like a burn but there were only faint green lines left in the hard flesh.

“We have visitors.” Rezu said. He was on his feet with a worthy attempt at a defensive pose.

There were dozens of bloody dryads at the other end of the rooftop. They were bandaged with wide leaves stuck to their wound. And they were dragging a limp cloaked figure.

One of them stepped forward. “Your bones will nourish our soil.”

“I chose to let you live before.” Rezu spoke with absolute confidence. “Attack again and I will kill you all.”

“Stop fighting! I fixed the treant!” Jade said.

“Are you going to fix the rest of us too young goddess? Are you going to remove the stain of stealing my child?”

“Mother.” Klaus stepped forward and spoke firmly. “I was never a prisoner. These are my friends.”

“They brought the great machine of war.”

“Mouse, wave at my mother.”

He did and bowed.

Mother sneered.

“Mouse is my titan. I built him long ago. I am the God Klaus Mordgammler. I implanted myself in your womb, after my last body died.”

“You stole my child.”

“No. I am of your blood. I carry Klaus’ memories, but I am your daughter.” She pointed at the cloaked figure. “I brought that one as gift to you, Plus hundreds more.” She giggled. “You were right mother. People are delicious.”

Mother gave a proud smile.

“I know of Klaus.” A different dryad said.

“Yes, God of Fire.” Another said. This elicited muttering and fearful stares.

Klaus grinned, magenta covered her body, and her hand glowed with small red flames.

There was a deep rumbling sound. A penetrating voice came from everywhere. “I have fed on my own kind to fulfill my purpose. But now I have finally found you. Fires of green, fires of red, the cycle of life begins again.”

“Watch out!” Klaus shouted as a swarm of vines shot out of the root towards the mecromancers. She threw up a wall of flames and pushed the vines back.

Rezu sliced at a vine that got through as he took up position in front of Jade.

The Worldtree shuddered. “The rebirth is at hand!”

“You can’t have the Second!” Klaus shouted.

“The rebirth is at hand!”

“NO! If she dies Endrala dies!”

“The rebirth is at hand!” The Worldtree shook and massive branches fell collapsing some building into dust clouds.

“WAIT!” Klaus shouted. “I have another way!”

“Show me.”

Klaus lowered the flame wall. There was an eerie silence as a vine came out slowly. Klaus stood firm as it touched her forehead. She was bathed in a golden glow.

Rezu whispered to Jade. “I can’t get a trace out. And I don’t know if all the gods could defeat a Worldtree from below, much less two battered gods and a child.”

“What’s the plan?” Jade said.

Golden arcane flowed from the roots like water and quickly filled the air.

Jade fell on her back as the Worldtree’s overwhelming presence pressed down on her. The world got hazy as its bottomless power flowed through her.

Rezu struggled to stay on his feet.

“Stop fighting Reese. You will need your strength soon.” Klaus said as she walked up to Jade.

Rezu fell on his hands and knees then collapsed on the ground.

Klaus stood over Jade. Her little fingers fidgeted nervously.

Jade’s chest pounded as she stared at the little dryad.

“I don’t want to die.” Klaus said with a scared little voice.

“I know.” Klaus spoke in a deeper, male voice.

“I am glad we met.” She said.

“Me too, little one.” He said.

“You won’t forget me?”

“Never.”

The Worldtree’s voice came. “The rebirth is at hand!”

Klaus turned into a dryad monster and lunged.

Jade’s screamed in her mind as her useless body failed to respond. She felt no pain as Klaus bit into her stomach and clawed at her.

Klaus stood and with bloody lips, clothes and hands. “You are delicious.” She said.

“I will be the host!” Mother shouted at the Worldtree.

“The rebirth is at hand!” The Worldtree shook violently.

Jade was barely holding on to consciousness.

“Rezu help me!” Klaus shouted.

Jade had no idea what the hell was going on. She blurrily saw Rezu cut Klaus’ stomach then cut open Mother’s. Vines shot out of the root and enveloped Mother in a cocoon of vines.

Rezu tossed a storage cube to a dryad as everything got worse.

Dryads were coming in an endless rush up the root. Many threw themselves at the cocoon only to be absorbed while letting out ear piercing screeches. The cloak was stripped off a naked susneran woman who was covered in bite marks. Dryads descended upon her with teeth and claws. The dryad with the cube spawned a naked headless corpse and more dryads piled on it. Cube dryad walked, spawning a line of corpses that were quickly being devoured.

The next thing Jade knew, she was being carried by Mouse.

Rezu was swearing and searching for something.

Dryad screaming was getting louder and the Worldtree was dumping clouds of brown leaves. The crash of limbs became and endless thunder.

Jade’s hand was pressed on cold metal.

“Open it. Come on. Open it.” A voice demanded.

She pushed energy into the metal and found a seam. With barely a though she scoured the ancient door clean and cut the lock, like she had done when she was feral.

Next, Jade saw Rezu leaned over her with blood stained hands and clothes.