We have been traveling for two hours and something. At least… According to my inexperienced sense of distance and time. Just where is this tree we are looking for?

“Where are we even going? All I can tell is that we are going northeast.” I ask.

“Already tired?” Eadwald asks.

“He did train intensely today.” Meuko says.

“I am fine. Just asking.” I say, apparently defending myself. Why do I feel the need to defend myself?

We do have dirt roads, which helps with traveling. General paths that food gatherers and Hunters made as a guide. But we split off the road about an hour ago.

“I just realized… We have roads.” I say.

“Yes...” Sylvar says.

“We always did.” Meuko says.

“Exactly. So how...”

“Remember this landmark. Volter… Write that down.” Alayne interrupts me.

It is worth it. This is the first time I am seeing this. As far as I have seen, the ground usually elevates gradually. But here, the ground looks as if it was cut in two. One half is low, the part from where we are coming. The other is elevated to the point where we would have to start climbing… For a long time. The ground goes further than most trees around here, overshadowing in its scale. What a sight, this cliff.

“At least we do not have to get up there, right?” I ask, nervously scratching notes about this location. Northeast. Really close to the mountains. Fatal drop. Avoid dropping.

“The tree is on the top of this cliff.” Modesta says, sitting on the ground.

“Cliffs like this are rarely formed. Usually...”

“Usually they require constant degradation from water. This is not just any ground. This is a strong magical place.” Modesta interrupts Sylvar.

“An Uthinas? Here?” Sylvar looks amazed.

“A what?” Meuko says.

Finally, someone else that does not know what is happening.

“Uthinas. It is what we call them in elvish. Places of rather large magical concentrations.” Sylvar says.

“We rest here. In a few minutes, we go.” Eadwald says, resting her shield on some sort of wooden crutch, specially made for the shield. Square, metal shield. Full of dents. Chipped in some places as well. Big enough to cover her when she crouches. She also has a metal helmet, tied up at her side. I guess she wants to be able to look around for now. I love my notes.

“Can we talk about the roads? How come the goblins do not just follow the roads.” I say.

“Goblins are stupid.” Alayne says, almost scoffing “Nothing more to it.”

“What are you hiding from us? Blago said you needed this particular wood for something.” I say.

I need to learn more.

“What about you three? Let us talk about what you are hiding.” Alayne says, extending his hand mockingly towards the three of us. Is he talking about the knife? Did they hear about our plans? Do they know we communicated with the goblins? It is only now I realize that I have been doing a lot of things behind their back. When did I manage to do all that stuff? I really need to start sleeping more.

“We- What would we possibly hide? Ask Sylvar, he is the truthful one.” I say.

Sorry, Sylvar. I would only mess it up.

“Fitting. The elf it is then.” Alayne says, turning his attention towards Sylvar.

“What would you be referring to?” Sylvar asks.

“The… Pup.” Alayne says, angrily. Obviously…

The pup? Sylvie? I forgot about that secret.

“An Abomination? Really, Sylvar?” Eadwald asks “I would think that you would know of the dangers.”

“I assure you, I have no idea of what you are mentioning.” Sylvar says.

“Call on it.” Modesta says.

“Excuse me?” Meuko asks, almost in a threatening manner. Are we going to fight them?

“We are not going to hurt the Abomination. We would have already. If… We meant to.” Modesta says.

“Sylvie.” I say “She is called Sylvie.”

Sylvar whistles. He knows just as much as I do… There is no way to avoid this confrontation. A minute passes. Distant panting. Sylvie runs at Sylvar and starts licking him.

“You trained a Blight Dog? How intense was the torture?” Alayne says.

“No torture. Sylvie liked us since the first moment. She saved Volter’s life.” Sylvar says.

“Twice… No, I think it is three times now.” I say “But, how come you did not kill her?”

I already know who made the decision to not instantly kill a creature that could be threatening.

“You have her to thank for.” Modesta says, gesturing at Eadwald.

“After you lost an eye, the presence of enemies increased. So did the presence of animals. We found goblins attempting to capture these wounded creatures. We thought it might have been a result of your assault. I thought the Abomination might have been the same.” Eadwald says “There is enough suffering as it is. Besides… A beast such as this would keep the goblins in check.” Eadwald throws an intense look at Alayne. They must be having their own problems. I have enough of mine to spend time on theirs.

“We are grateful. Her name is Sylvie.” Meuko says.

“Right. How is she not burning you all?” Modesta asks, from a distance.

“The glands were completely cut. She is safe, as long as you do not threaten Sylvar.” Meuko says.

“Enough. Cease the lying. There will be no forgiving the next one.” Alayne says.

Is he… Angry? At what? The lying or the fact that Eadwald and Modesta accepted Sylvie rather quickly… Who is our Leader? I know almost nothing of his work, other than the obvious decision making for the Village. What does he like? How does he calm down? What sort of magic does he enjoy using?

“Of course. We were simply worried with bringing a two-headed beast inside the Village for all to see.” Sylvar says.

“No more hiding information. Otherwise, you cannot be trusted.” Alayne says.

“We should plan now. The sun will be gone soon.” Modesta says.

We came up with a rather simple plan. We climb the ground around the cliff, taking a longer time but avoiding the rather impossible climb of the cliff itself. It is basically a steep hill, filled with different sizes of stones, roots and bushes. Going up takes effort but the fact that the dirt is stable makes it much safer than the rocky nature of the cliff. Weird word… Cliff. Focus. Modesta explained that taking branches from this… Varuna wood will not work with magic. Our strongest weapon, Modesta’s refining magic is mostly useless. That is why Blago supplied us with a hammer and nails. It would be a lengthy process, one that we decided Meuko would be best to handle. While doing that quickly and running away before anything happens is the general plan… Everyone knows that it is not going to work like that. Goblins somehow used that wood. They know of this place and they will probably be here to protect it. We start climbing. My muscles do not take kindly on this whole endeavor. It has been some time since I felt this much burning.

“You got this.” Meuko says.

The rest of the group has climbed further ahead, giving us a moment of privacy.

“Why do you think they need this?” I ask.

“My guess… They use something like the runes Eadwald used on us.” Meuko says.

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“But what would it be?” I have trouble following her thoughts.

“The goblins stopped a certain distance before. I think they use magic to keep everyone outside of the Village unaware that we exist.” Meuko says.

“That… Would make a lot of se-”

“Everything all right?” Sylvar asks, drawing the attention of the Hunters towards us.

This is one of those rare instances where Sylvar’s care is unnecessary. And rather problematic.

“Sorry. Kind of tired.” I say, picking up my speed. Continuing this conversation now is dangerous. I need to change the conversation so they do not suspect anything.

“Sylvar, how come the troll did not attack us first? It focused on the goblins first.” I ask, slowly catching up to him.

“I believe you would not eat something you do not know. If someone gave you the fruit you know and something else bizarre…” Sylvar says.

“Sure.” I say, pretending that I follow his line of thinking.

“The troll simply followed us because it had nothing else to eat. As soon as it saw the goblins we were fighting, it chose to eat what it knew. We were lucky. If that monster had gotten the taste of more humanoid flesh… We would be the ones being eaten.” Sylvar explains.

“I understand that, at least.” I say.

“Was the first example not enough?” Meuko chuckles.

“Focus.” Eadwald says.

I have to really grab and pull myself upwards with effort. Food and water would not be that bad right now. The tired feeling I have coursing through my body leaves me as soon as I climb the final stretch, as the tree that Modesta was talking about is revealed in front of me. What a sight. Right next to the cliff... A tree the size of Alayne’s house. More branches than I can count, breaking into more branches, creating a network that could hold all the goblins that ambushed us before that troll fight. We start walking towards it, taking in the sight. At least… That is what I am doing. The others must probably be looking for enemies. Since nobody is shouting, we must be clear.

“Check this area.” Alayne says, everyone spreading out.

The tree has a different look than the rest I have seen. Aside from the size, of course. It certainly makes me feel small. Sylvar taught me about tree rings, circular markings on the inside of the tree’s trunk. This one must have hundreds and hundreds of it.

“Do we call it Varuna?” I ask Meuko, who has stayed next to me because of what I assume is her worrying about me.

“Sure...” Meuko says “Keep your eyes open.”

“How could I not. Also… Eye.” I chuckle.

“Right… Eye, then.” She touches my shoulder.

“Look at it. The wood itself. In places... It spirals inside itself.” I say.

We stop almost a breath away.

“That is a lot of branches.” Meuko says.

“I see nobody. Gather around.” Eadwald says.

“Any plans?” Sylvar asks.

I am focused on Varuna. The sound of leaves rustling… The branches moving beautifully, almost mesmerizing…

“Someone must have noticed us.” Modesta says “So… Where are they?”

“I heard birds whistling while climbing.” Sylvar says.

I never heard anything. That is Sylvar for you. I can never reach his state of awareness.

“And that is important because?” Alayne growls.

“I think they were not birds but distant use of whistling arrows. Messages.” Sylvar says.

“Signals for reinforcements. We need to act. Now.” Eadwald says.

The roots have broken the ground all around this area, moving in ways that make the ground here uneven. Such strength… These roots must be reaching all the way to the bottom of this cliff. I look over the precipice, taking in once more the fact that a fall from the edge… Certain death. I feel the wind running through my spine, making me cold. It could be the stress.

“Meuko is the strongest. Pick up the hammer and nails, climb up. We need three branches, a bit larger than the size of Sylvar’s short bow.” Alayne starts giving commands.

I am so interested in Varuna.

“The rest of us cover her. Sylvar, you can climb as well, use the higher ground or stay down here. Your choice.” Alayne says.

“A problem. Serious one.” Modesta says, conjuring four rock javelins. One of the magical weapons dissipates, energy flowing towards the Varuna tree.

“Our magic is weaker here. Be careful.” Eadwald says.

“My magic is still powerful.” Modesta says.

“The whistling sounds are getting closer.” Sylvar says.

I extend my hand towards the tree, only to be suddenly pulled back. Sharp pain. Claws. Alayne.

“Focus. They will be here soon.” Alayne says, urging me to join the others.

“I will be done as soon as possible.” Meuko says, dropping the bag and climbing the tree.

Sylvie starts growling. They are here.

“Forgot about her.” I say.

“How dare you.” Sylvar says.

It is only now that I carefully look around, examining the area around our objective. To the south, there is the cliff. To the north, ascending ground, tree line at about half of Sylvar’s bow range. The tree line eventually joins the steep slope we took minutes climbing. To the east, open ground for a few minutes worth of walking travel, then thin trees just before the base of the mountains. I would also imagine that there is a steep slope as the cliff naturally meets the eastern ground. The sound of a familiar horn rumbles my ears. The same horn that was used the day we ran away with that griffin egg. If I remember correctly…

“Here they are. Get ready.” Sylvar says, drawing his bow.

“Hold. We take the first ones with magic. Reserve your arrows.” Modesta says.

“Right.” Sylvar says, moving towards me.

I get a javelin from our supply bag.

“Meuko. Catch.” I say, throwing it towards her.

“You better not die.” Meuko says.

“Not before I see you using that magic one more time.” I say, turning my back.

A loud sound, clanging behind us. It is Meuko, hitting the tree with the nails. Why does it sound like she is working on metal… Blago was not lying. Every hit Meuko makes, my heart reacts. Like my body is one with the Varuna tree. Not going to lie… It does not feel okay for my heart to react this much to simple vibrations. The guttural sound of the horn frightens me as it is used repeatedly. Goblins start charging at us from the northern tree line. That is the only place they can get close to us stealthily. These goblins are different, armored. Metal and bone helmets. Shields. They are here for a fight and we have no ambush advantage to use. The other noticeable trait is the fact that these are not just green goblins. I notice blue, purple and pink skin coloration. If color indicates some sort of group… The green ones brought a lot of reinforcements. I hope there not any more of those hiding.

“Light rain.” Eadwald says, reminding me of the spell she used right before I passed out all those days ago. Yellow thin blades appear out of nowhere above Eadwald. Seven, eight, ten. She extends her hands, blades traveling towards the goblins. Two large groups of goblins, melee fighters all, raise their shields as they rush us. Only three goblins get killed by Eadwald’s spell, the rest deflecting the projectiles with their armor.

“My turn.” Modesta says, putting his hands on the ground.

The ground shakes as rocky formations erupt from the ground, the edges attempting to impale the goblins. Two goblins get killed, as one is impaled and the other gets crushed between the newly placed rocks. They will be on to us. They were fifteen. I throw a spear, which misses entirely. Now they are ten.

“Ungelod.” Alayne says, throwing a lightning bolt. The bolt incinerates a goblin, then bursts into two smaller bolts, killing three goblins in total.

“Damn tree. It siphons a lot of power.” Eadwald says, drawing her sword.

The goblins have dispersed, attempting to avoid any further ranged attacks against them. I rush to Eadwald’s side.

“Sylvar, cover Modesta.” I say, drawing my sword.

The goblins snarl as they get closer to us. I throw a dagger towards a goblin. I only hit the shield, dagger sticking between the wooden and leather parts of it. At least I know where to find my weapon later. Five goblins are coming at us.

“Hold.” Eadwald says, goblins almost on top of us. Why? She wants to draw them in, then attack. She is smart. I lower my body, readying myself for a fight, clutching my sword and spear.

“Fight.” Eadwald says, pouncing on a goblin with her shield, crushing its spine.

I throw my spear… Or javelin. I think Blago explained some sort of difference to me when he gave me these weapons. Everything is made out of wood anyways, who cares. The goblin I targeted raised its shield. Thankfully, it was not prepared, as the spear pushes the shield out of the way and pierces the stomach of the goblin. I have no time to watch its final moments. I make a slash with my sword at the next goblin. It dodges out of the way, then lunges at me. Need to be careful or I could lose my footing. I grab the arm that is holding the weapon, as the goblin hits my chest with its shield. It is the same goblin I threw my dagger at. Another hit. This hurts… A lot. At least I have the metal armor now. I hit back, using the hilt of the blade, then a knee strike. Another goblin lunges at me but before it can reach me, a single green energy projectile crushes its skull. I headbutt the goblin, knowing that Eadwald has my back. As I stun it, I throw it back, then imitate its movement. I lunge at it, thrusting with my sword. It deflects the thrust with its shield, but I manage to grab the knife that is stuck, using it to shove the goblin’s arm, still holding on to its means of protection, towards my left, making it harder for it to hit me with its right hand. It manages to cut my arm but not too bad. I break the knife free of the shield, then throw it at the goblin once more. This time… It hits the metal helmet on the side. Another deflection. The hit appears to have disoriented the goblin, giving me plenty of time to make a final attack with my sword, stabbing it in the lungs. It drops on its knees, gurgling its own blood. I look for my knife, finding it rather fast. Thank my luck. The coughing of the goblin as it attempts to rise up for one last strike reminds me to stomp its head on the ground. If Meuko had done that, bones would start flying everywhere. I just knocked the goblin out, helping it... Drown on its blood.

“Thank you, Eadwald.” I say, looking towards Sylvar’s group. Sylvie is frantically shaking a dead goblin that is trapped inside her mouth. They are fine.

“This is going to take a while.” Meuko says.

“How many left?” I ask Meuko, extending my hand towards her and trying to sound confident.

“Three.”

No progress… This is bad. Reinforcements come out of the tree line. Six goblins. Two hobgoblins, fully armored, as if they were made of metal. At least the metal itself looks poorly made, full of dents and cracks. I look at my left forearm, which is slowly bleeding. It is not a bad hit but I sort of miss those hand guards that Blago gave me. The ground shakes, giving me a horrible sensation in my legs.

“What is that?” I ask, expecting Eadwald or someone from the Hunters to know some sort of answer.

“Ogres.” Alayne says.

“Many?” I say, assuming that it is horrible. I start wondering what that could be when one of the trees gets bent, as large monsters, carrying clubs made from tree trunks, appear out of nowhere. These are the Ogres. Bloated bodies, as tall as the troll we faced but not quite as large, standing on two legs instead of half crawling. Arms are larger but there are no claws. They resemble our hands, nails and all. Two of these Ogres. This is getting worse by the minute. I just lost all my confidence.

“Gather around.” Alayne says.

“Heel, Sylvie.” Sylvar says, hitting a goblin with an arrow. Five goblins, two hobgoblins, two Ogres. Are any more coming?

“I can take one Ogre.” Eadwald says.

“Then I will take the other.” Alayne says.

“I can handle a hobgoblin.” Modesta says.

“Sylvie will handle the goblins.” Sylvar says.

“Then we take the last hobgoblin.” I say.

“My thoughts exactly.” Sylvar says.

“If you start losing ground, delay. We will get to you.” Eadwald says.

“Of course.” I say.

We all look at the problems ahead, readying ourselves for more of them appearing soon. I will have to get through these ones first.

“Shall we?” I chuckle.

“We most definitely shall.” Sylvar says.