Kaleb and the others marveled at how different the park looked compared to suburban Austin. They had gone from a sparsely populated rural suburb into what was essentially a jungle. The trees towered over them, almost blocking out the sun entirely. The grass was brushing against their ankles as they walked. In the distance, they could hear the sounds of various animals chittering in the woods.

Kaleb was surprised at how densely packed the park appeared to be. There was no trail or path for them to follow, just an uneven trek between the trees. Kaleb thought he could see a slightly worn path in the grass where past hunters had walked. Also, he was pretty sure he saw the remains of various rusted metal weapons at the feet of a few trees, which was worrying but not surprising.

Their group walked in silence for a short while. Basking in the serene calm of the forest. Until the sounds of clanging weapons and shouting broke through the forest. Kaleb looked at his fellow party members before taking off into a quick jog toward the sound. However, once they got closer to the noise, it mysteriously stopped. Kaleb and his friends came to a halt and waited to see if the noises started up again.

“Anything?” Kaleb asked quietly.

The others simple shook their heads as they waited. But no other sound came. Two Gun drew his pistols and scanned ahead while Jar-lock was looking back the way they had come. Claire was standing closer to her husband and flexing her fingers. Kaleb let out a breath and realized how tense everyone was. Sure, the forest was beautiful, but they all seemed to realize on some level that the place was dangerous.

Letting out another breath, Kaleb asked. “Do we try to circle away from the noise, or do we continue on from here?”

“I don’t think it matters. So long as we make it to our goal,” Claire said, eyes staring at the surrounding forest.

Jar-lock nodded as Two Gun put one of his pistols away. “And that’s the magic tree at the center of all this, right?”

“If I remember what Inora told us about this trial,” Kaleb nodded. “We have to find the largest tree at the center of the park and take some fruit from its branches. Piece of cake.”

“No way in hell do you believe it’ll be that easy.” Jar-lock said, as they all seemed to relax a little.

“Nope.”

Two Gun put his other weapon back in its holster and said. “Well, let’s…”

SCREE

But he was cut off as a loud screech punctured the silence of the woods and a large black blur charged out of trees at Two Gun. Jar-lock conjured an icicle and threw it as Kaleb got a shot off with his Cybar. The icicle seemed to bounce off the fast moving creature while Kaleb’s blast barely clipped the top of it. Just as Two Gun raised both of his guns and started firing, Claire’s slim green arm shot out and struck the front of the thing. Her punch sent the creature careening into a nearby tree.

The creature remained immobile as Jar-lock and Kaleb approached. As they got closer, they found it was a bird. A very large raven, to be more precise. Kaleb glanced at Jar-lock and raised an eyebrow. The large mage returned the gesture as they examined the thing. Behind them Kaleb could hear Two Gun blow out a large puff of air before shouting.

“What the hell?!”

Claire turned and put a hand on Two Gun’s shoulder. “Well, at least you got a few shots off, dear.”

Kaleb could hear the old cowboy’s grin as Two Gun said. “Sure I did, but that was only because of my mutation and even then the damn thing was faster than me.”

“What was it?” Claire asked.

“Bird.” Kaleb and Jar-lock answered at the same time.

Kaleb heard the grass rustle as Two Gun and Claire moved closer. Scooting over a little to give them a better view, Kaleb pointed at the large raven. It was a deep black with light-yellow legs, talons, and an almost comical orange beak. But the beak and head were twisted at an unnatural angle. A consequence of the things recent meeting with the tree.

“Lord, that’s a gigantic bird.” Two Gun exclaimed.

“Damn fast too, apparently. It broke its own neck when it slammed into the tree.” Kaleb said. “Do you think this forest promotes growth in its ecosystem?”

“No.” Jar-lock said. “It’s magical.”

“What?”

“Look at it with your sight. The thing lights up like a Christmas tree.” Jar-lock said, pointing at the bird and standing.

Kaleb focused his magic into his eyes as he heard Claire say. “Well, that makes sense. This is a Magic forest.”

Kaleb felt his magic settle in his eyes and he studied the bird. He had to turn his head, because Jar-lock was right. The damn thing lit up in a bright white light. As he looked around, he saw the same white light pulsating throughout the forest.

“Do you think everything in here is the size of a damn car?” Two Gun asked.

“Yes.” Jar-lock and Kaleb answered again. Kaleb was still busy examining their surroundings, crouched near the bird.

Jar-lock set a hand on Kaleb's shoulder. “We need to get going, so don’t even think about trying to take the bird.”

“I’m not that bad!” Kaleb said, letting the magic go from his eyes and standing up.

The others simply gave him unbelieving looks. Kaleb snorted and waved them ahead. As best he could tell, they were aimed north, so that was the direction they continued in. Kaleb gave the enormous bird one last look before he sighed and followed his friends. Now a little less awed by the majesty of the forest.

Kaleb could see both Claire and Two gun ahead of him watching the trees for signs of movement. Jar-lock kept his head moving, taking in everything he could as they moved deeper into the forest.

They traveled a surprising distance without incident before arriving at a large lake. As near as Kaleb could tell, the lake filled the center of the forest. Off in the distance, at the center of the lake, he could see a small island with an absolutely massive tree climbing into the sky. Kaleb shot a grin at his companions before he spoke.

“Oh, that’s exactly where we need to go. Isn’t it?”

The others simply nodded as they all moved down to the shore of the lake and glanced up and down the shoreline. Claire sighed loudly before turning to ask.

“We’re not swimming across, are we?”

Jar-lock shook his head. “Given that the woods are full of giant creatures. I don’t want to even think what could be in that lake.”

“Not to mention that would be a hell of a swim.” Two Gun added.

Kaleb was about to add his own opinion when the sound of rustling bushes caught his ear. Quickly drawing his pistol and turning, Kaleb saw three hunters charging out of the forest straight for his group with their weapons raised. He heard the others move as he rolled to the side and came out firing with his Cybar and Sun gun. Two Gun and Jar-lock also adjusted to the side, allowing Claire to swing her fists in wide arcs if she needed to.

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Two of the hunters hung back as the third moved to intercept Claire. Kaleb’s shots went wide as he came out of his roll and looked at their attackers. They were an eclectic group. They all appeared to be aliens of some kind, all different colors as well. One purple, one yellow, and an almost translucent grey.

The large purple alien collided with Claire and surprised Kaleb by tackling the larger woman to the ground. Kaleb and Two Gun aimed their weapons to help. But the yellow alien threw her arms at Kaleb, stretching them across the distance and grabbing his right hand and lab coat. Kaleb heard Two Gun start firing as the alien dragged Kaleb bodily across the beach. He struggled in the loose dirt and sand of the lake’s shore as the alien grinned, showing a row of sharp teeth.

Realizing he still had his guns, Kaleb pointed his weapons and sent several bursts of blue and yellow energy toward the alien hunter. The blasts caught her in the chest and Kaleb could see some of the blast get absorbed into the armor before his attacker screamed in pain and released him. Kaleb’s shot had set the alien woman’s chest armor on fire and she was bent over screaming in pain and trying to put herself out. Charging forward, Kaleb aimed a kick at her head, but before he made contact, the scream cut out and he kicked nothing but air. Looking down, he saw bright yellow motes of magic dispersing where the Hunter had been.

“Watch out!” someone screamed to Kaleb’s left.

Turning and raising his Cybar, Kaleb felt all the air leave his body as something collided with his chest and stomach. He went sprawling onto the ground with whatever hit him on top of his stomach. But as Kaleb looked down to push it off of him, he saw on unconscious Two Gun. He shifted the older man off of him as he looked to where Claire was fighting. He was just in time to see the large green woman grip her purple opponent’s shoulder and jerk violently.

Kaleb could hear the loud pop as the hunter’s shoulder was dislocated. But Claire wasn’t finished. Keeping the screaming hunter standing with one hand, she raised her left leg and kicked into his right knee. Another loud snapping sound resounded through the forest as the purple alien hunter screamed in pain again. Seemingly finished, Claire lifted the hunter bodily off the ground and casually flung him into the lake before she rushed over to her husband.

Kaleb glanced around for Jar-lock as Claire checked on Two Gun. He found the mage standing ten feet away from the final alien hunter. The two were just staring at each other. Kaleb thought he could see sweat on Jar-lock’s face. Sighing to himself, Kaleb aimed his Cybar pistol at the grey alien’s chest and pulled the trigger. Again, a blast of blue energy flew from his pistol and slammed into the alien’s chest armor. But this time, there was no screaming. The alien just stood there, staring into Jar-lock’s face.

Kaleb was about to fire again when he noticed blood seeping out of the hunter’s nose. Soon after, the alien collapsed to his knees and disappeared into grey motes of light. Kaleb shot his friend a curious look as Jar-lock sighed loudly and wiped a large hand down his face. Seeing Kaleb’s questioning look, Jar-lock grinned.

“Psychic duel. First one I’ve done in this game. Good thing I found those books on psychic defense.”

Kaleb shrugged his shoulders and turned to look back at Two Gun and Claire. The old gunslinger was standing again looking a little punch-drunk but otherwise ok. Claire was standing next to her husband, sending worried glances up and down his body.

“I told you, I’m fine, Hun. The jackass just got to me quicker than I expected.” Two Gun said, patting his wife’s back gently.

Claire gave him a sharp look before snorting. “Enhanced reflexes and he got the jump on you? Seems unlikely, and the bird also was a little faster than you were.”

“Yeah, well, we haven’t been fighting a lot. I don’t have a lot of points to put into evolving my abilities.” Two Gun clarified.

Kaleb thought that sounded plausible. He certainly hadn’t been out that much. But Claire snorted again.

“Bullshit! You’re doing that dumbass thing again, aren’t you?”

“What?” Jar-lock asked, having joined them.

Two Gun looked affronted. “It’s not stupid! It’s a legitimate strategy!”

Claire turned to Jar-lock and Kaleb, shaking her head. “He does this in almost every game we play. He saves his points until the last minute, just in case he needs a certain ability later on.”

“Oh, come on, dude!” Kaleb complained. “Where’s the fun in that?”

Jar-lock, however, shook his head. “No, he’s right. It’s a great strategy. What if you need to lock-pick your way through a door and you're only a few points off?”

Claire pointed a slim green finger at the Mage. “And what if you're not fast enough to stop a purple alien with enhanced strength from tossing you like a sack of potatoes? All those points aren’t gonna save you if you die and get sent to respawn. It certainly won’t help us.”

“Yeah, gramps.” Kaleb added. “Not a lot of baddies are gonna wait around while you play with your menus. Not to mention is that even how the Mutant evolution trees work?”

Two Gun shook his head. “Not really. Mostly I have to push points into my Reflexes and my Sensory Synchronicity. One to be fast and the other to keep my mind working at the same speed as my body. Other than that, though, I can increase my general abilities. Enhanced agility, Enhanced recover, things like that.”

“Well, get to it. We don’t have all day.” Claire snapped. But the grin on her face took the sting out of her words.

Two Gun just sighed before he got the far off look of someone looking at their menus. Kaleb glanced up and down along the shore before he holstered his gun. They appeared safe for now and none of them were injured too badly. Kaleb was about to offer to scout down the shoreline when a large blueish tentacle reached out of the lake and shot straight for them. Kaleb shouted a warning as three blue streaks slammed into the tip of the tentacle, burning it and making it retreat into the water.

Kaleb turned to see Two Gun grinning down at his new pistols. A proud-looking Claire standing just behind him. The white Ifrit bone barrel of his gun had a red tinge from firing so fast. But the redness dissipated quickly.

“Now enough with this ‘saving points’ nonsense. Let’s find a way across this lake.”

Jar-lock nodded. “Yeah, but let’s go into the woods a little. No reason to let whatever hell that was try again.”

Kaleb and the others agreed and headed into the woods before they trekked around the lake. The majesty of the woods was now completely broken. None of them looked out into the woods with reverence or awe anymore. Now they all searched every corner for the next thing that might try to kill them. Kaleb watched Two Gun as the old man seemed to have gotten twitchy-er after putting points into his ability.

His movements weren’t exactly jerky, but Kaleb could see the old gunslinger’s eyes dancing back and forth across the woods. He even spun around a few times, taking in the entire forest as they all moved through the dense woods. Kaleb was watching Two Gun’s fingers beat an erratic tune on his gun handle, so he almost missed the tree limbs up ahead of them shake.

Two Gun hadn’t, however. Faster than Kaleb could see, Two Gun had both of his pistols trained on where the noise had come from. The rest of the group got into fighting positions, Claire moving up ahead of them and Jar-lock conjuring another large icicle. Kaleb drew his own pistol as a bundle of brown fur crawled down the tree and came to a stop fifteen feet away from them.

“Awwwwwww.” Jar-lock said, dismissing his spell and smiling.

Standing just over four feet tall, hunched over slightly, and with its large bushy tail shaking ever so slightly, the squirrel eyed them curiously. Kaleb silently agreed with Jar-lock. The thing was adorable. But given the number of things that had attacked them since they got into the woods, he felt it was better not to take any risks. Two Gun and Claire seemed to be of the same mind as they closed ranks around the squirrel, who just stared at them.

“Brave little sucker, isn’t he?” Kaleb said.

“He’s just curious.” Jar-lock said, still smiling at the giant squirrel. “Hey, do we have any snacks we could give him?”

“This ain’t a petting zoo, Lock. What makes you think he won’t take your arm off?” Two Gun said.

Jar-lock snorted. “Well, first off is that he hasn’t attacked yet. Everything else tried to ambush us.” He waited for them to agree before he continued. “And second, is that he’s just so damn cute.”

Kaleb slapped his metal hand into his face. The sudden face-palm hurt him worse than intended, but he still felt it accurately portrayed his feelings. Claire and Two Gun just laughed as the Squirrel continued to sniff curiously at them. Kaleb looked around the trees to see if there were any more of the things, but all he saw were tree and leaves. Eventually, though, he spotted a large acorn tree. Smiling, he took aim and fired with his Cybar pistol.

For a moment after firing, Kaleb worried that the tree would catch fire, but somehow, the tree seemed to absorb part of the blast. Kaleb’s eyes widened as the tree seemed perfectly fine after being shot. Thankfully, the acorn he had seen fell to the ground, and Kaleb hurried to collect. Kaleb held up his prize and turned back to his friend. They were all staring at him wide-eyed, and the squirrel was nowhere in sight.

“You scared it off.” Jar-lock said, sounding a little miffed.

Kaleb shrugged, embarrassed, before he set the large acorn down next to the squirrels tree. “Ahem, well, we need to be hurrying, anyway. Who knows how many more of Julius’ hunters are waiting for us up ahead?”

Kaleb quickly hurried into the woods, keeping an eye on the lake’s shoreline to make sure he was headed the right way. Behind him, he heard the others chuckling before following behind him.