The morning came all too early. Vinny waggled his thin eyebrows at Wali with a sly grin. Yacob just went about the morning business as usual. Wali had to extract himself from Sas’cha, who was still very much asleep. When everything but the tent was packed away, she finally roused herself. She stretched, yawned, and looked blearily at the guys, then at herself for a moment. She seemed to realize what had happened, and she got her own sly grin.

They broke camp and headed out. The four of them made swift progress that day. The next four days went by swiftly. They fell into a routine with Vinny directing their direction, Sas’cha moving as she would and Wali and Yacob doing their best to keep up with the others. Vinny would set the direction, but Sas’cha would lead the way. Her intimate knowledge of the forest and everything within her territory was impressive.

Sas’cha turned out to be a very pleasant companion. She was a strong personality, very friendly, and had a teasing way about her. She knew she was by far the most powerful among them but didn’t look down on or treat the guys as if they were below her. She did focus an almost uncomfortable level of flirting at Wali, who happily entertained her.

She tried to tease Yacob, but he was a brick wall. She flirted with him, but he thought she was being nice. It was more due to him being a naive young man than anything else. She soon fell into a big sister role in her interactions with Yacob. She helped him and playfully teased him, but it was far more sisterly than with Wali.

Vinny had the most challenging time adjusting to her presence. Where Wali had almost a century of life and a flexible mind, and Yacob had a naive and open outlook, Vinny could not see her as anything beyond the apex predator. She teased him mercilessly, surprising him by poking him with a claw when he wasn’t looking or growling at him at odd times. Eventually, he had enough and snapped at her. She laughed and laughed at Vinny, and after that, he relaxed. The fear had been broken.

Despite Sas’cha’s overwhelming predatory aura, they still had to deal with a couple of monsters. One was a massive carnivorous vine. Yacob was snatched up by a vine spread out around the creature. Hanging by an ankle, he was pulled toward a Volkswagen-sized pitcher pod. He reacted by bursting into flames and burning through the wrist-thick vine. Vinny fired a couple of arrows into the pitcher, releasing an acidic ooze that made approaching the plant’s body hazardous; Sas’cha scooped up the fallen Yacob and pulled him away, singeing some fur but otherwise unharmed. Wali fended off the vines threatening him and Vinny. Once they were safely out of its reach, they simply left the area. There was nothing to gain from fighting it.

The other danger was a swarm of wasps. Each red and blue furry wasp creature could have carried off a housecat. Each had a nasty-looking set of shearing mouthparts and a steak knife of a jagged stinger. The swarm descended on them one day as they sat for lunch. The buzzing drones had dropped from the canopy silently to snap their dragon-fly like wings out not six meters above the companions. Some magic must have hidden their presence.

Vinny swore as he rolled away, “Gods be damned, Assassin Wasps.” He swept his blade through one of them, separating the wings from its body.

Sas’cha moved like a ghost, darting between them. Her claws flashed out, cuts appearing on the wasps a good hand span away from the tips of her supernaturally sharp claws. Wali was in a full spear dance, spinning around, stabbing with the spear’s point and swatting with the butt. Yacob stood his ground, swatting them down with stone fists and releasing the occasional gout of flame. The wasps could not pierce his armor or stone flesh. The encounter quickly became a competition to see who could kill the most. Sas’cha, of course, won with 34, with Yacob surprising the other two with 27 dead wasps piled around him. Wali and Vinny tied with 19 each.

None of the companions were uninjured, however. They spent the next while bandaging themselves up. When Sas’cha saw that Wali had a stab wound on the inside of his thigh, she leered at him while wrapping the bandage around his leg. She was a bit more handsy than needed, and Wali said, “It’s tucked down the other side.” She pulled back with wide eyes. He winked at her, laughing as she sputtered. “Two can play at your games.” He booped her nose and about fell over, laughing as she scowled and swiped a claw at him.

“You think this is a game?” She said fiercely.

“Isn’t it?” Wali asked. “You’re the one who claimed me, but have you really?” He teased. His own smile was wide as her brow furrowed.

Vinny interrupted, “If you two are done flirting? We have somewhere to be unless you need the tent erected for some privacy?”

Wali couldn’t let an opportunity like this pass. He said, “Well, if you would. Then we can get that out of the way.” He started to unbuckle his belt.

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“Wait!” Sas’cha shouted, scrambling back. “No, not now, not….”

Vinny and Wali started laughing; Vinny had his hands on his knees in a full belly laugh. Yacob looked on, confused. The look Sas’cha gave them was beyond scathing. She stormed off into the rainforest, fuming. Yacob said to them, “You two need to be nice, stop teasing her.” They both looked at Yacob and then started laughing again. The simple man had missed all of the small and sultry teasings she had displayed.

They returned to their trek moments later, Sas’cha still off on her own. A little over an hour later, Wali found his arm gripped by a clawed hand. Pinpricks of Sas’cha’s claws pushed through the leathers as she held onto him like a Sunday stroll. He looked over at her, the cloak Yacob had given her trailing behind her. “You are mine and mine alone.” She said to him. “I do not appreciate being teased like that.”

“If you open a box of snakes, you have to expect being bit,” Wali said simply. “Besides, who said anything about teasing.” He bumped her hip with his own.

She looked up at him suspiciously for a moment before smiling. “You are cute, little boy, and are not what you seem.”

“Heh, you don’t even know the half of it.” He smiled in response, knowing that she was both not a human and had centuries of life on him. She was definitely alluring and far more intriguing than any other woman he had met in this world thus far. She held an other-worldly beauty, a fierce and independent nature, intelligent, funny, and was interested in him in some way. This world did not have the same taboos as Earth. Wali knew a few families of inter-species relationships. There could be no children; not even magic could make half-elf half-dwarf offspring. That didn’t stop those folks from loving one another.

It seemed the general rules were simple, consent and compatible parts.

She pulled closer to him, hugging his arm. She then dashed off into the forest. She was an ancient and powerful spiritual creature, and Wali may never understand her. Wali struggled to understand his wife after thirty years. He shrugged and went back to the hike.

That evening they came to the top of a cliff. The break in the trees was a relief after days under the leafy canopy. The high cliff overlooked a vast circular clearing. Wali could tell that this was a crater of some sort by the sloped walls of the ring. More than a mile across, the ground some hundred meters below the cliff edge they stood upon. The crater was clear of ancient and massive rainforest trees.

At the center of the crater was a large lake, clear, blue, and mirror-still. At the northern edge of the lake, there was a large manor house surrounded by sprawling gardens. A barn and other smaller buildings were a short distance from the manor. They could see some grazing animals wandering in the tall grass of the crater. Wali could feel an intensity of mana inside the crater he had not felt before. It was soupy with the stuff.

Vinny pointed down at the house, “There it is. Marsai’s home, the Forest Witch’s Manor.”

Wali looked at Sas’cha. She nodded, “It has been some time since I was here last. There should be a way down into the vale just along there.” She pointed along the rim of the crater. They could see a winding switchback trail that was little more than a goat track just below where she pointed.

Wali looked at Yacob, “Can you do the elevator trick?”

“Yes, I think so, “ he replied.

Vinny and Sas’cha looked at the pair of teenagers. “What’s the elevator trick?” Vinny asked, his high-pitched tone as shrill as ever.

“Watch, go ahead, Yacob,” Wali said, grinning.

Yacob stepped to the cliff’s edge and raised his right hand over the lip of the crater. They all felt a rumbling in the dirt as Yacob concentrated. A platform of stones assembled itself and extended out into the air under Yacob’s direction. The loose stones began to flow into a single solid sheet of rock.

Wali stepped out onto the platform and bounced. It was as solid as if it were sitting on the ground. Sas’cha grinned and walked onto the platform, “Shall we fly then?” she asked.

“More fall with style, but I am sure it will be safe,” Wali said, watching Yacob, who grinned back at him.

“Umm, okay,” Vinny said as he cautiously stepped onto the rock platform. He looked over the edge, “That’s a long way down.”

Wali nodded to Yacob, who stepped out on the platform. Instantly the platform began to fall, causing Sas’cha to hiss and Vinny to let out an ear-piercing scream. Yacob quickly slowed their descent with a sheepish grin. “Just playing. This is easy,” He said to glares from Sas’cha and Vinny.

As the wall of the crater began to flare out, the stone platform began to slide outward. They surfed along the scree at the base of the cliff and out into the tall grass. The platform skidded to a stop, and Yacob grinned broadly. ”How was that?”

Wali lifted a hand for a high-five, “Good job Yacob. That saved a bunch of extra walking.”

Sas’cha gave Yacob a peck on the cheek, causing him to blush. Vinny looked a bit flush but said, “Yeah, good. I’m not so good with the heights part or the falling bit, but still good, yeah.”

Stepping off the platform, Yacob released his hold, and it crumbled into a pile of gravel and loose stones. Wali looked across the broad plains and was reminded of the savannah during the spring; knee to chest-high green grass flowed in waves, pushed by the breeze. They started to walk toward the house.

From the direction of the house, they heard the barking of dogs, several dogs. Sas’cha had attached herself to Wali’s arm again. When she heard the barking, she hissed a little. “Don’t like dogs?” Wali asked her.

“Most animals are fine. One of Marsai’s dogs bit me last time I was here. That was more than a hundred years ago, so probably new dogs now.” She replied. Minutes later, the dogs came near, bounding through the grass, springing up to see the visitors before running closer. Wali and crew halted as the dogs approached. The dogs were not guarding the home; they were alarms for intruders but not guards. Eight of them in total, long-legged, floppy-eared canines, somewhere between a bloodhound and a greyhound. They circled the group, sniffing and barking and howling.

From the house came a piercing whistle. The hounds quieted and began bounding back toward the house. Someone was home and raised a hand in greeting.