“Careful now, Volter.” Sylvar says, making sure he descends at the same pace as me.

“Goblins in front, leading the charge.” Eadwald says, conjuring blue and red bolts of energy.

“Wish we had that light...” I say.

“Not yet.” Alayne says.

All five of us, Sylvie included, stay close, ensuring we can help each other if needed. When one moves lower to another group of rocks, the other looks around, making sure that no missiles are being shot towards us. The first wave of goblins starts climbing down but before the Hunters shoot them, a figure jumps down, blade and shield in hand, instantly closing the distance between the top of the hill and us. The lack of armor would have me believe it is simply some sort of goblin that terribly misjudged its decision. The weight of the impact quickly dismisses that notion, however, as a red hobgoblin lands in the middle of the group. Alayne turns his magical attacks to the hobgoblin, only to have the magic disappear along with whatever focus was there, as the hobgoblin swings his sword towards our Leader, sword deflected by the scales. I turn my head around, realizing that what sounds like faint rain is actually the sudden fall of blue scales against rocks. I do not have a clear line for a javelin throw, since Eadwald is between me and the hobgoblin.

“Hunt, Sylvie. Hunt.” Sylvar pats Sylvie, who jumps around as if she was born in a mountain. I noticed it when we were climbing but this is just exceptional. Where the goblins are fast, definitely faster than us… Sylvie instantly leaps around them, pouncing on a goblin before hiding between bushes, getting ready to strike again. The hide of our Blight Dog, combined with the fact that it is dark now… She is practically invisible. Invisible… Travlon… The loud banging of metal against metal snaps me out of my memories. Eadwald was pushed downwards by the hobgoblin, rolling down the hill… Directly towards me. I brace with my hands as the armored elf crashes on me. I wince from the pain, shock running through my arms. Eadwald controlled her fall, managing to avoid landing entirely on me. Instead she grazes past me. I extend my hand towards her, grabbing her armor, trying to keep her in this fight. A sharp pain makes me shout as I feel my feet being dragged down with my… Friend, maybe. Hopefully. I stick the iron dagger in the ground, giving myself as much resistance from falling as I can. My arm snaps, shoulder feeling as if it was being pulled from two different directions.

I scream in pain, unable to keep my composure.

Eadwald quickly recovers, using her legs to push herself sideways, turning her body around and moving towards me.

“Let me see.” Eadwald says, grabbing my shoulder “You are lucky. It is only dislocated.”

“Why is th-” I shout again as she twists my arm and body instantly. “That hurts- Actually, does not hurt anymore. Cool.”

“Move.” Eadwald says, looking up. “Get to safety.”

“No. Sylvar, we hit the goblins. Eadwald, help Alayne. As soon as they reel back, we run.” I say, staying close to Sylvar.

“Now we have a plan. I have your back.” Sylvar says, readying his javelin and knife.

“Zinthera.” Eadwald says, throwing an elongated missile of light towards the hobgoblin.

The hobgoblin is somehow fighting with both hands, not needing to stabilize themselves on this uneven ground. It jumps to the side, which causes Eadwald to nearly shoot Alayne with a spell, passing right next to his head.

“Attack them.” I say, climbing towards the goblins.

What starts as a confident march towards them quickly turns into hiding against their multiple spears being thrown towards us. Sylvar and I take cover behind the same concentration of rocks as spears hit against it and land on the ground. I pull two out of the earth, putting them inside the bag I carry. It feels like one heavy bag right now.

“Just keep them entertained enough for Alayne and Eadwald to get to safety.” Sylvar reminds me.

“Sure. I can do that.” I respond, wincing as another wave of spears starts raining down on us.

“Do not falter now, my friend.” Sylvar says, rousing my spirits.

The spears fall and we rise once more.

“Our turn.” I throw a spear, almost hitting a goblin. Almost…

Turns out, it is way harder to hit someone when they have the height advantage. Good thing Sylvar had me train for this eventuality. I take out another spear, trying to calculate where to throw next. Multiple goblins are looking at us from the top of the cliff line. They ready their bows. Sylvar pulls me back to cover as arrows start flying.

“They have the upper hand.” Sylvar says.

“They were just waiting for archers. That is why they have not attacked this far.” I say.

“The same as that fight in the woods.” Sylvar says.

“Let us not make the same mistakes now. Ready your weird magic spear throw. I have an idea.” I say.

“I trust you. Envelop my arms...”

I take a peek. Two arrows whistle past us. Six goblins move carefully towards us. They know we can hit multiple people from afar so they have joined their shields as one. Good.

“Carry out my will...”

“Aim for the ground above the group of goblins.” I whisper, trying to guide but not distract him.

“By Lethandel’s grace, I now release.” Sylvar gets out of cover, ready to throw his spear, green magical energy surrounding his arms. An arrow flies towards him, which I block with the bag, getting in front of Sylvar, expecting the goblins to react. The arrow pierces through the bag but Blago’s armor is too sturdy against it. I love him. The spear flies above the goblins, the impact sending parts of the ground flying.

It worked. The goblins begin rolling downhill, towards us, while the spear created an eruption of smoke and dust, covering against the sight of the goblins. Sylvie, who was waiting for an opportunity, pounces on two of the goblins who are sent tumbling down, ripping bodies apart with teeth and claws. Sylvar and I quickly stab the rest of the goblins with our spears, impaling them to the ground. Quickly disabling them is more important than making sure they are dead. We pick up spears from the ground once more, looking over at Eadwald and Alayne. The elf has the hobgoblin grappled and is struggling to keep it in check while on the ground and Alayne is mercilessly tearing out the hobgoblin’s insides with his claws.

“We need to move. Now.” I say, descending.

Eadwald throws the hobgoblin away, moving down with Alayne.

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“That was not strong enough. I apologize.” Sylvar says.

“We just needed the smoke. Get ready to do it again.”

“Right away.” Sylvar says, concentrating on his magic once more.

“What are you doing? Our magic is not strong enough.” Alayne says.

“Aim for the high ground with your bolts. Rile up as much ground as you can.” I say, expecting the goblins to start rushing through the smoke.

I was careless. I grab a rock that was not properly planted on the earth, losing my grip and falling down.

“Sylvie.” Sylvar shouts.

I roll down, bringing my hands as tightly close to my head as possible. I hit my chest on some sort of stone surface, instinctively closing my eyes during the fall. Then, I feel a pull from the back side of my armor.

Sylvie.

“Almost there. Get ready to run.” Eadwald says.

“Our magic works properly now.” Alayne says.

I pet Sylvie, then gently push her away from me, knowing we still have a fight.

“Watch out.” Sylvar says, drawing our attention upwards.

The dust settles and the smoke clears, revealing an Ogre that has picked up a tree. It shouts, throwing it towards us. Specifically, at Sylvar.

“Jump.” I say, throwing a rope towards him.

The log hits the side of the cliff, rolling down erratically as Sylvar jumps towards me, extending a hand. He grabs the rope, allowing me to pull him sideways with all my might as he falls down, the momentum being faster than his climbing speed. He barely manages to avoid the falling log on time. I clearly underestimated this task. The rope pulls tight, almost pulling me down with it. Thankfully, Eadwald arrives just in time to lend a hand, grabbing the rope and me.

“Good one.” Eadwald whispers.

Sylvar reaches the bottom first. Alayne is the one further up, making sure he supports us with firepower. I reach the ground as well, followed by the Hunters shortly after. The Ogre decides to throw a large rock this time, one that misses entirely. It does manage to scare us however, the sound of the impact causing us to doubt whether or not our heads could be instantly squashed during this mighty throw.

“Sylvar.” I say, pointing towards the groups of goblins climbing down twice as fast as us.

“Right.” Sylvar says, focusing once more on his magic.

“Nendrale.” Alayne says, conjuring a giant orb of ice right where above one of the enemy groups, almost the size of the rock that Ogre sent towards us. The orb explodes, releasing countless shards of ice, piercing the goblins. The area around the shards suddenly fills with mist, the goblins quickly hiding as a result of this sudden burst of energy. I can feel the wind picking up as rain starts showing its first signs. Before we even have a chance to react, the rain turns into a storm. The sound of the rain’s impact is almost deafening.

“We need to move away, now.” Sylvar says, running towards the village’s general vicinity.

“How did the storm come so fast?” I shout, covering my head with my arms since I gave my cloak to Modesta’s… Arm.

“It is because of the darkness. It makes it harder to detect most weather changes.” Eadwald says “Especially in a fight.”

The rain becomes more intense, turning into a constant barrage of water arrows. The branches of the nearby trees seem to buckle under the weight, constantly moving in reaction to the weather.

“At least we will not be followed. No tracks to discern in this storm.” Alayne says, running next to Sylvar. He sure is fast. I would have guessed that all the scales must be making it harder. He did somehow manage to sit on fickle chairs as if it was nothing. The leader’s arm is bleeding, flaying around, as if he has no control over the use of his forearm. I know that feeling well. As we run away, I can hear a voice whispering to me, somehow getting through the whole interference that nature is causing.

“Come back when you are ready. I can make you stronger.”

Is that the Tree? Varuna… So many things that I do not know. I slip in the fresh mud, my face immediately buried in the ground.

“Up we go. Always mind your surroundings. And… Clean up.” Eadwald says, picking me up effortlessly.

The skies cry out with a thunder, reminding us we should move.

“Thanks...” I spit, trying to clean myself up a bit “Will keep that in mind.”

Sylvie is so happy with our current predicament that she runs some distance ahead, rolls around the mud as fast as possible, then quickly gets back up as soon as we reach her and runs next to us.

“I am not cleaning her.” I shout, clearly trying to make myself louder than… Weather.

“Why would we? Let her be.” Sylvar says, coming closer to me.

The hour passes… Then some more time… We stop some minutes worth of travel before the Village, regrouping under a large tree that has plenty of undergrowth for us to hide in.

“We should say what we have to say fast. Not in the mood to drown under a tree.” I say, looking at the ever rising water that is accumulating. It is just me and Alayne for now, under a tree… Not a generally calming notion.

“I saw what you did there, with the greatsword. Good throw.”

“I- Uh- Thanks… If you could not use magic, why could Modesta do all… That?”

“The tree siphoned our magic, so we focused on keeping it shut. Keeping it ours, in a way. Modesta simply… Used all of his magic at once, not giving a chance at the Tree to siphon it from him.”

“Could you not do that as well? It looks like we needed it.”

“If I had done that, I could have made a pillar of fire all around the… Varuna tree. That would burn everything around us.”

“You still have ice, lightning. Stuff like that.”

The sound of thunder interrupts our talk.

“Eadwald explained magic to you. We have predispositions.”

“Pre- what?”

“If I let go in the same way that Modesta did, I would have to shut my mind off completely, meaning the flames would consume all. Now, enough of your questioning.” Alayne inspects his tied arm, blood soaking his bandages. Even those are barely usable, since the water filled the bag. All of Julie’s medicine is useless.

I think this is a matter of magic control. The Leader did lose focus when the hobgoblin attacked him. Modesta kept fighting even after losing an arm.

“But he did not. He-”

“No goblin sightings. Definitely no Ogres.” Eadwald says, cutting my questions short.

“All is clear for our return.” Sylvar says.

“Then let us proceed.” Alayne says.

“Before that-”

“What is it now, Volter.” Alayne interrupts me.

“What about this.” I point at our friendly Blight Dog.

“You should show more love to Sylvie.” Sylvar says, chuckling “But he does have a point.”

“Do we think the Villagers will like it?” I ask.

“I guess we shall see.” Alayne says.

He certainly let that go fairly easily. What is his plan? What am I talking about… Suspecting the Leader.

“Are there any more secrets we should be aware of?” Eadwald asks.

“The eye, for example?” Sylvar asks.

“Pretty obvious, Sylvar. Thank you.” I chuckle “I do not know what happened. I mean that. I got pushed into the Varuna tree and then… I had both my eyes and I could see magic. Sort of like Eadwald.”

“What? How could that happen?” Alayne asks, almost aggressively.

“There was a voice… Inside the tree. Sounded like it wanted to help. I think it knew I was an Empty One. It said it would gift me some power, which is this I guess. Any more than that, I would die… I think she mentioned that. Hope I am not forgetting anything here.”

I look around, trying to understand what everyone is thinking. Sylvar is deep in thought, probably worried about me. Eadwald and Alayne… They have pure dread written all over their face.

“The tree… Here?” Alayne asks.

“Volter, look at me. Did the entity give you a name? Did they?” Eadwald shakes me as if the answer could fall out of my head.

“No. I asked but got no answer back.”

“Are you sure? Anything? Any indication? Did this happen before? Did it take you anywhere?” Eadwald keeps hitting me with all these questions.

What is happening? Alayne is silent and calm now but I am certain… He was scared a moment ago.

“I was right next to the tree. But, I was alone. No ground, only water and floating roots… And the voice.” I hesitantly answer. What is happening? How can I have even more questions than when I started this outing?

“We will hold a meeting tomorrow. At noon.” Alayne says.

“But… This is impo-”

“Tomorrow.” Alayne interrupts Eadwald “We should look into Modesta’s state. Move.”

Alayne climbs out of the hole we are into and runs ahead. Eadwald leaves us behind, frightened beyond compare.

“I do not know what happened but we should find the sisters, my friend Volter. Do not let their reaction trouble you.”

“Because if the two of the three most knowledgeable people in the Village are frightened… It must be something good.” I say.

“Well… We have Sylvie.” Sylvar says.

Sylvie barks. Both of the heads.

“She keeps proving herself.” I say, petting her.

“Blight Dogs are extremely powerful beings. Especially when they have all their capabilities.” Sylvar responds.

“You are talking about the poison. Somehow, I am glad she does not have that.” I chuckle.

“Let us go.”

“Lead on, my favorite elf.”