The world rocked beneath my feet as the sound of violently shaking trees filled my ears joined by the bellowing whoosh of rushing air. The purple haze surrounding us both flared brighter before passing over to Kendrick alone. Our lips parted and the man crashed to the roiling ground, mud coating him from head to toe. He clutched at his throat, retching as the poison of my kiss took hold.

I stumbled back, clutching at the trembling trunk of a tree as the muddy ground bucked and heaved beneath my feet. Boopzy screamed atop my head, the small amount of lightning he still held within leaking out in small brilliantly colored crackles.

Stella.

I ran the moment the thought entered my head in stumbling, jerking movements that required a lot of tree clutching to move forward and not back. Boopzy flung out his tentacles, using his obscene strength and his many suckers to drag me forward when my own force was not enough.

A bird hovering just above me in its frozen state moved, its wings beating down twice before it froze again. The Guardians were fixing their mistake and not in a smooth motion. The tree I was clutching onto disappeared sending me sprawling face-first into the mud. I rolled, crawling forward on my hands and knees. The thick trunk flickered and reappeared behind me, just missing the end of my boot. My stomach flipped at the thought of the tree reappearing with my boot inside it. It felt like a fast and painful way to remove my foot that I was glad not to have experienced.

I pushed through a thick wet bush. Sasye screamed as a cluster of shadows chased her across the bare spot between dank pools of water and stubby trees. I smirked but it didn’t last long. Stella lay right ahead of me, her fur smeared in the same mud that soaked my leathers. A clawed hand covered in green and brown scales reached for her.

I snatched Boopzy from my head and squeezed his slightly distended belly. The bolt flashed from between his tiny rat fangs. The Croc roared and stumbled back. With the small amount of magic Boopzy had left inside the bolt was painfully weak. The Croc snarled and moved forward again as weak little flashes of wispy magic danced over its scales doing little to lower its health bar.

“Forget the fox,” I bellowed trying to gain my feet against the aggressive rolling of the ground. “Kill the Croc!”

The shadow creatures swarming Sasye didn’t listen to my command. I’d already told them what to do and they wouldn’t waver from that task.

I whipped my arm up and fired the bolt loaded there, swearing all over again when it flew right past the Croc without so much as grazing it. There were days I regretted not choosing archery over swordsmanship.

Boopzy flung himself away from me, skidding across the distance to fling himself at the Croc. With a loud screech, he wrapped his tentacles around the beast's muzzle squeezing hard until its jaw was fastened tight. The Croc rumbled deep in its throat, slashing at the Tentarat. I stumbled forward, my eyes bouncing between Stella sprawled on the ground and Boopzy. Blood oozed from the gashes over his tentacles. Above his head, his health bar lowered by large chunks with every swipe of the Croc’s claws.

I reached for my bum bag but my fingers hit the jeweled belt buckle I was wearing instead. I activated it and screamed out in a voice not my own.

“Captain Fluffers, could you please take care of this pesky Croc for me?”

I sent out a prayer to my Goddess that my gamble worked. My feet dug into the muck as I crawled forward. Thunderous booms of falling trees sounded all around as their roots were shaken from the ground. I fired another bolt. This one lodged in the Croc's hand drawing another muffled roar from its clamped jaws. The ground stopped its mad leaping leaving the muddy puddles to settle. The rumbling swamp was overcome by the ruckus of millions of bugs. Birds screamed out as they flapped through the trees.

I activated my Blink skill and launched myself forward. I stood over Stella, my sword in hand and another poisoned bolt loaded. Behind me Sasye screamed her fury, batting at the shadows that refused to leave her be. From the dense underbrush, her twin came bounding into view. Captain Fluffers growled and bowed his head low as the fur along his back rose in stiff peaks. A foul green liquid bubbled around his pointed teeth. Mud sprayed out around his feet as he leaped forward, wrapping his jaws around the Croc’s ankle. Its health bar dropped and when it did my eyes were drawn to the name above the bar.

Grand Swamp Croc.

Well, so long as it was grand. Glancing at the still-sleeping Stella I threw myself forward, planting my foot against the trunk of a tree and launching myself into the air. With a bellow fueled by the sight of blood streaming from Boopzy’s mutilated tentacles, I shoved my blade in its entirety into the Croc’s back, severing its spinal cord. The beast groaned and toppled. I Blinked again, leaving my blade in place to dart forward and shove Stella out of the Croc’s path.

The air blasted from my lungs as the dead beast’s head fell atop me. Boopzy whined and dropped his grip, toppling into the mud. The Croc began to glow. Digging my hand into the stinking glop I found my bum bag. I drew out the few poor-quality health potions I had created. Boopzy tried to fight me but his limbs wouldn’t respond. With three of the potions down his throat, his bleeding eased and his breathing steadied.

I tried to crawl from under the Croc but its damn head must have been filled with rocks. Wiggling only drove me deeper into the mud.

The shadows had finally given up their battle with Sasye, that or she’d managed to kill them all. She and Captain Fluffers sat side by side next to Stella’s still sleeping form. I frowned, worried that she was still lost in slumber when the swamp seemed to be returning to normal.

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A pair of boots appeared in front of me. The Croc atop me stopped glowing as all the lootables were siphoned from its corpse.

“Well look at that,” Kendrick said. “You actually managed to impress me. How on earth did you trick Captain Fluffers into helping you?”

“None of your business,” I barked before flinching at my own stupidity. The Jewelled Belt Buckle of the Lyrebird was still active, making me sound exactly like the man in front of me. So much for keeping that trick a secret.

Kendrick leaned back, his eyes twinkling as he stared down at me. “Now I see. First, you kissed me, now you imitating my voice. I’m starting to think you like me, Joe.”

“Shut up you pigheaded wanker,” I snapped, doubling down on my efforts to free myself.

“Now, now. Save the dirty talk for the bedroom.”

“God… I… Hate you,” I said between desperate yanking.

“It is a shame that you didn’t win our little game. Stella belongs to me now,” he said.

“Fuck off!” I pulled myself free, scooped up the struggling Boopzy, and flung myself in front of Stella. “I got here before the world stopped shaking.”

“That wasn’t the deal you fool. Sasye, please.”

The fox struck me in the back, sending me toppling back into the mud. My Evasion skill was no help against her strike. Captain Fluffers joined her, pressing me deeper into the soft mud. Foxes, or maybe just these two, in particular, were surprisingly heavy.

“Sorry, Joe. I like you and all but sometimes a man has to learn a hard lesson. You should have used your skills a little bit better.”

The world darkened in a second as if someone had turned off the sun with the flick of a switch.

Enough Kendrick, a surreal voice bellowed from all around. Time is short.

“But, my Lady, I…”

You’ll do as I say. Mind the Guardians and see Joe to the end I need.

I crawled through the darkness, ignoring their conversation about me but not to me. My fingers dug into the soft fur of Stella’s belly.

“Wake up, girl,” I whispered. “Let’s get herding.”

Stella rolled and let out a deep sigh as if annoyed by my presence. The metallic click of a lock snapping into place had me swinging my head about. The all-encompassing darkness kept the source of the noise hidden from me. The weight of Sasye and Captain Fluffers leaving my back was a relief I hadn’t expected.

“Come on you fool,” Kendrick snapped above me. “We have to get back to Cassie before she finishes her brew.”

In the time it took to blink my aching eyes, the sun turned on again, filtering weakly through the dense canopy above my head. Kendrick stood above me, his brow furrowed and his nostrils flared as he reached out a hand to me. Unsure what else to do, I took it and clambered to my feet. Stella yawned and bowed in a deep stretch before she shook out her coat and trotted over to stand beside me. My hand moved without the need to think, stroking her furry head and scratching behind her ears.

“What just happened?” I asked.

“Seems we’ll be spending a lot more time together my sweet,” Kendrick said.

“Can I have some of the loot you got from the Croc?”

“You’re so greedy. I like that in a man. No, you can not.”

He turned and trudged into the swamp, pushing aside thick emerald leaves as the shadows swallowed him along with the foxes bounding along at his heels. I shrugged, picked up my sword, and sheathed it before following him. Boopzy wimpered again. I eased my grip to keep from hurting him more. Stella kept pace with me, her tongue dropping out the side of her mouth as she trudged through the deep mud.

We had only made it a few feet when Jitta dropped from the air, warping into her human form the moment her stick-like legs hit the ground. She fell into step beside me. Heated daggers of her anger drilled into the side of my head making me sweat and jerk awkwardly. I was afraid to look in her direction.

“I’ll pay you back one day, Joe. Don’t ever forget it,” she hissed.

“Come on, it wasn’t that bad, was it?”

“Yes, it was bad. I can’t believe I fell for such a cheap trick.”

“Look, I think we can both agree that it was a lucky shot. Hell, I fired at the damn Croc back there and missed.”

“Right. A lucky shot. It had to be.”

In a few hours, we hiked into the clearing in the center of the swamp. Cassie looked up at us and smiled, not pausing her stirring of the bubbling cauldron.

“Look’s like the Guardians have fixed the glitch. I see you won the game, Joe, Kendrick, Jitta, I think the pair of you might be slipping,” Cassie said.

“Not at all. You know I have a soft spot for the boy. I let him win,” Kendrick said.

I snorted, startling Stella. Boopzy squeaked in my arms and rolled a little. His tentacles trembling. My mirth died as I looked down at his bedraggled form. He might not be bleeding anymore but one of his limbs had almost been torn clean off.

“Cassie, do you have anything to help Boopzy?” I asked.

She banged the spoon on the rim of the pot and laid it across the top before sauntering over to me, rubbing her hands on the sheer wispy dress she was wearing. She frowned, gently moving his tentacles around as she inspected the damage. Boopzy shivered in my arms, turning his furry little face away from her.

“A healing potion will do the trick. He will heal on his own though.”

“I know, but I hate seeing him like this.”

Cassie smiled and snapped her fingers. A fancy crystal flask filled with an iridescent red liquid floated through the window of her cabin, coming to rest in the palm of her hand.

“Because you’re so sweet, I’ll only charge you a thousand gold,” she said.

I reeled back at the price, stuttering over my words. A loud crash sounded behind me. Before I could turn a blast of neon blue light engulfed my vision filling me with a comforting warmth.