The thick mud sucked at my boots, making horrible squelching sounds as I tried unsuccessfully to run. The rushing shadows circled me like vultures waiting for their meal to cark it. I clutched the pulsing egg tighter to my belly. It was a warmth at odds with the chill of the shadows.

I only made it to the courtyard of the oddly shaped building before my stamina bar flashed and drained entirely. My shaking legs folded beneath me. I cradled the egg in the gap of my folded legs and bent over it, protecting it from the shadows with my body. They slithered over me, leaving trails of icy burns in their wake.

I felt the roots slowly begin to extend as they reached for the muddy ground. They weren’t as eager as they’d been in the blackened scar by the lake. They recoiled from the earth like touching it stung. The glow in its center was fading.

“This… is… fucked…” I murmured around my chattering teeth.

I closed my eyes. There was no need to empty my brain this time. I was too cold to think. I should have been in agony, but instead, all I felt was tired. I could hear distant bellowing, or maybe it was just thunder. I breathed deeply of the rich, earthy scent that only came after a downpour. The light at the core of the egg called out to me. It wasn’t a sound or even something I could see, but a feeling that reached the very core of me. Somewhere deep beneath the earth, a matching sensation cried out, begging the egg to bond with it.

I tightened my grip on the egg as I channeled my meager supply of magicka into it. The flame inside the egg flared back to life like a burner would if you cranked up the gas. Its roots dove with renewed vigor into the ground, searching for the brightness down below.

A shrill scream filled my aching ears as the shadows grew angry. They could feel the intense presence as well as I could and were furious about it. No one had defied them and gotten away with it. This pathetic cowering thief would be no exception. He would die like all the others who had tried to free the guardian, and his bones would lay here in the mud, surrounded by decay and long forgotten.

I whimpered as the many voices of the shadows dug their fingers into my mind, warping my ability to stay calm. I was spiraling into the abyss. My grip on the egg loosened as my body grew limp. I spied my health bar through the fog. The shadowy spirits weren’t dealing me physical damage. Instead, a snowflake icon had appeared beside the draining bar. The damage of the status effect took chunks of health each time the shadows replenished the timer.

“This is not how I expected my Chosen One to behave; cowering before the very things that should be prostrating at your feet.”

Her words were brimming with power as they blasted through the numb feeling that had overwhelmed me. I blinked, craning my neck to look up at the towering Goddess who had materialized in front of me. The shadows retreated from me, circling her sandaled feet in ever-quickening loops. Her visage began to fade as quickly as it had appeared.

“I gave you the power, now use it.”

Steely determination washed over me like a wave crashing against the shore. I pressed the egg into the mud as I stood on shaking legs. The shadows hissed and returned to me, their many voices stabbing at my mind all over again. This time I would not let them in.

A wild war cry burst from my lips. I held my arms out beside me, stiff and straight, as I summoned my Shadow Pulse skill for the first time. The last of my magicka exploded from me in a wave of purple light, pushing the shadows back.

Below my feet, I could feel the energies combining, twining together in a serpentine dance as the light in the egg blazed.

The shadows reeled before gathering themselves again, rushing back towards me. Palpable fury pressed down on me, demanding I submit.

“You will listen to me!” I snarled, my voice thundering forth with a power I had only dreamed of.

The shadows paused in place, shuddering like scolded children. I smirked as I watched them, spinning in a tight circle to ensure I held their full attention. The egg at my feet cracked open, setting the pulsing light free. It crawled up my legs, replenishing my magicka with raw, almost painful intensity.

“I banish you from this place. Rottnest will no longer tremble in fear beneath your cruelty. She belongs to Mother Nature and those who understand her will. Return to the shadow realm and beg the forgiveness of my Mistress!”

The light exploded as my Shadow Pulse had, burning away the shadows until there was nothing but brightness in their place. The ethereal orange flames spun into a vortex that reached for the sky. The roiling dark clouds that had covered the island since long before we had arrived dissipated as the flames neared, drenching the sodden earth in sunlight. With a final burst akin to a firework igniting, a winged creature blazed into existence, its powerful screech of triumph enough to have me clamping my hands over my aching ears.

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The orange flaming bird dove, its long coiling tail feathers streaming out behind it as it neared me.

“Shut the hell up!”

Frank rushed from nowhere, his rapidly beating wings sending him hurtling toward the magnificent creature.

“No,” I cried, reaching a useless earth-bound hand up to stop him.

The flaming bird pulled out of its dive, spiraling up again. Frank matched its movements with surprising dexterity. Together they danced, twisting and diving only to float back up again on hidden gusts of air.

“I’ll be damned,” Nigel said from Sob’s back as the towering horse squelched through the mud to stand beside me. “It’s a phoenix. You hatched a bloody phoenix.”

“Not me. Rottnest did it all on its own,” I said.

“What kind of hippie bullshit are you spewing?”

I ignored the foul-mouthed little runt. The loud crack of stone breaking drew my eyes from the dancing birds high overhead. The buildings around me were crumbling. Enormous tree roots snaked through the rubble as all manner of plant life reclaimed the spot. Thick bristly grass sprouted in an endless blanket from the mud at our feet. Mother Nature was not messing around when it came to reclaiming the island. The quokkas, seemingly untouched by Melumek’s outlandish invasion, reappeared. They scampered through the new growth, feasting on the sprouting native grass.

“Come on,” I said quietly. “We don’t belong here. It’s time to go.”

Nigel leaped off Sob’s back, dusting off his clothes and straightening his hat. “You don’t belong here, that’s true. I do, though; I am a Hortus Gnome. Come back and visit me when you kick the deranged Toilet Croc loving God’s ass, ey?”

Frank dropped down heavily on my shoulder, letting out a satisfied screech. The phoenix circled overhead before floating off slowly toward the south.

“Best follow it,” Nigel said, his voice still tempered by awe. “I think it wants to help you get home.”

Uncomfortable with lengthy goodbyes, I simply gave the small gnome a salute and a mumbled farewell before turning away from him. Somehow, I didn’t think this would be the last time our paths crossed. I swung up onto Sob’s back before the horse had a chance to fight me on it. I gripped his mane in firm hands as the horse whinnied and chased after the phoenix.

Quest Complete: The Hall of Pain and Sorrow

Reward: 20,000exp points, 1,000 gold, Nature Resistance (I)

New Skill Unlocked: Unrelenting Force

The shadows bow before you and pray for mercy. When activated, the dark spirits that roam the earth will do your bidding. Strength and duration of Unrelenting Force is determined by player level and Perception ability.

Requires the blessing of the Shadow Goddess to activate.

My smile brought on by my new achievements was short-lived. As we chased the phoenix over the hills and dips of the island toward the brilliant blue ocean, the reality of my situation struck me with enough force to almost unseat me.

Nigel the Gatekeeper had told me everything, and for whatever reason, despite the absurdity of it all, I believed him.

Theo had known about Tony the cable snake man from the moment he’d set foot on this island, and instead of following the lead, he had cozied up with the Outsiders. It was awfully suspicious that one by one, every member of our group had vanished, aside from his own daughter, of course. Whatever or whoever had scrawled that skull with the rose in its mouth on the wall at the Old Mill must be in league with the traitorous warrior. Hell, it might even be his own symbol.

The similarities between the marking and the emblem worn by the members of the Fellowship of Fayum had not escaped me. Theo must have allied with Melumek’s most devoted supporters.

Sob snorted and dipped his head, forcing me to ease up on the tight grip I had on his fiery mane. I mumbled a quick apology as we neared the crashing waves. Sob followed the remnants of an old path down to the sandy beach and continued his chase.

The phoenix dropped down low over the water. Golden light flowed from the creature's beak, forming a magical bridge over the sparkling waves. Sob didn’t hesitate in his charge. A chime similar to crystal tapping together emanated as his hooves struck the light, and he carried us toward the mainland.

Even as the fury was building inside of me, I couldn’t help but be grateful that we didn’t need to paddle a kayak to make the crossing. If I was lucky, I would never have to shove my ass into one of those bastards again. Give me horse riding over open water kayaking any day of the week, no matter how calm and serene the day had become.

Sob ran at a steady pace, not nearly at his full speed, and still, night descended before we returned to the sands of the beach just outside Perth. The golden bridge behind us faded, leaving us with little more than the light of the moon to navigate by.

The phoenix swooped down to hover in front of me, its red eyes boring into my soul. I tried to look away from the intensity of it, but the creature held me captivated.

“Shut the hell up!” Frank screeched from his perch on my shoulder.

The phoenix trilled happily and spun in place before shooting back up into the sky and flapping off toward the island we’d left behind. It was plain the mythical bird was as fond of farewells as I was. Intense gloom radiated from the raven’s beady eyes as he watched it go.

“Come on, Frank,” I said, giving his feathered chest a little rub. “We have traitors to hunt.”