“You have to see this, bro.”

Elijah didn’t look up from the hunk of wood he’d been whittling. It had yet to take shape, and even though he’d originally set out to carve a facsimile of his old dog, it had turned out looking more like a child’s depiction of a camel. Since leaving Earth, he’d discovered that the carving skills he’d developed had now deserted him. He still knew his way around a knife and a block of wood, but there was no artistry or depth to his creations.

There was no explanation for his regression.

“He ain’t lyin’,” said Kurik.

Finally, Elijah sighed, then tossed the misbegotten creation aside. He looked up to see that both scouts wore the same beleaguered expressions they’d adopted since reaching the summit three days before. In that time, they’d endeavored to explore the entire forested plateau, but they had yet to accomplish that goal. Their failure grated on Elijah’s mind, largely because he knew he could have done a better job.

Probably.

Maybe.

Even if it wasn’t strictly true, he would never know, because he’d resolved not to step on anyone else’s toes. That meant letting the trapper and Witch Hunter do the jobs for which they were best suited. Included in that category was being the party’s primary damage dealers while also functioning as scouts. In addition, Kurik had deployed a host of traps around their camp that would hopefully deter any would be predators from descending upon their place of safety. In addition, Elijah had unpacked his tent, and once it was set up, its enchantment – created by the artificer back in Argos – would dissuade beasts and monsters from straying too close.

That made their camp about as safe as the Nexus.

And in turn, that was why Elijah was so annoyed. Or bored, rather. He could appreciate a little rest and relaxation as much as the next guy, but doing so while others took on a more active role in the completion of their quest was enough to put him on edge. The only solace was that Sadie obviously felt the same way, as evidenced by a recent screaming match between her and Dat. That had happened on the first day, and since then, the two had only communicated when absolutely necessary, and even then, only in terse sentences.

For his part, Elijah wanted nothing to do with their spat. He’d seen enough from the both of them to recognize that they had a bond not unlike a pair of siblings, and his own relationship with his sister told him not to get in between them. He and Alyssa had loved one another, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t fight like cats and dogs. Indeed, some of the worst battles of his life had been with Alyssa.

They always made amends, but it had never been quick or easy.

Regardless, his own feelings mirrored Sadie’s, though he hadn’t gone so far as to berate their teammates over it. It was one of the few times in his life that Elijah had been the reasonable member of a group, and he had to admit that he didn’t like it.

But he knew he needed to be a team player. To that end, Elijah pushed himself to his feet, dusted off his pants, then said, “Fine. Is Sadie coming?”

Dat nodded. “Soon as she finishes her meditation,” he said. The woman had been aghast to discover just how far ahead Elijah was in terms of cultivation, and she’d spent every spare moment working toward remedying that situation. And she had not been happy with her progress. Pointedly, she also refused Elijah’s help.

After a few minutes, the knight emerged from her own tent, already armored and ready for battle. By comparison, Elijah felt entirely undergeared. Though he had to admit that, with all the equipment he’d gotten in various towers, he likely had better gear than the rest of the party combined.

Once Sadie had joined them, Dat and Kurik led the way into the forest. They’d made camp only a few hundred feet from the edge of the plateau, but since their arrival, the two scouts had explored most of the forest. However, they’d yet to find an egg. Or any wildlife, really. The largest animal they’d discovered was something like a squirrel, and even those were fairly rare.

And Elijah was quick to figure out why.

“You know they’re there, don’t you?” he whispered.

“What?” asked Dat.

“About ten feet down, there are thousands of wraiths. Maybe tens of thousands. They’re stacked ten and fifteen deep in places,” he said. Indeed, he had felt the creatures the moment One with Nature brushed against the mass of mottled white-and-blue monsters.

Everyone froze.

“How?”

“Hibernating, just like all the rest,” Elijah said. “It’s not that uncommon. We passed tons of them on our way here. The difference is that down there, they’re in pockets. Clumps, you know? But here? They’re almost literally everywhere. They’re just buried far enough down that it would take something really big to wake them up.”

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“So, we’re not in any danger?” asked Sadie.

“I definitely didn’t say that,” he answered. “This whole place makes my skin crawl.”

“The plateau?” Dat asked.

“No. The planet. It feels so disconnected. I mean, it’s still nature, but it’s not really natural. Like a photograph taken with a fish-eye lens.”

That was the best description Elijah could come up with, but it was still insufficient. He’d felt distinctly uncomfortable since starting the Trial of Primacy, and it had only gotten worse when they’d arrived at the Singing Cliffs. That discomfort had climbed to a new height when they had reached the summit.

“Don’t mind me,” he said, massaging the back of his neck. “I think it’s a Druid thing.”

“No – I feel it too,” Sadie countered. “Maybe not as strongly, but I do feel it.”

The others agreed, but then Kurik asked, “So, what do we do about them wraiths down there?”

“Do? We can’t really do anything,” Elijah said. “If those things wake up, we’re going to die.” He frowned. “Well, probably not me. I’ll fly away. But definitely you three.”

“You would abandon us?” asked Sadie, narrowing her eyes.

Elijah shrugged. “If it was hopeless? Probably. And there are so many of those things piled underneath us that that’s exactly what it would be. Make no mistake, guys – I like you all. I want to be friends, and I want to be successful. But I’m not going to needlessly throw my life away. Nor do I expect any of you to sacrifice yourselves for me.”

Kurik nodded, Dat looked a little confused, and Sadie just looked on impassively. It was a better reaction than he might’ve expected, though he’d never intended to mince words with the group. They weren’t really friends. They were just allies of circumstance. Maybe that would change, but as far as plans went, Elijah fully intended to leave the group once they got back to Nexus. He and Sadie had come to a sort of truce, but they would never really get along. So, it was better that they minimize their exposure to one another, lest they do or say things they’d both regret.

“Are we in immediate danger from the wraiths?” Sadie asked.

Elijah shook his head. “I don’t think so. But there’s a reason we haven’t seen much wildlife up here,” he said. “My guess? They only wake up at certain times. Otherwise, they hibernate.”

“And if we’re here when one of those times comes?”

Elijah fixed Sadie with his most uncompromising stare. “Run. As fast and as far as you can.”

“Very well,” she said. “This changes nothing about our task.” Then, to Dat, she continued, “Lead on.”

No one seemed deterred by Elijah’s revelation, so they continued to follow Dat and Kurik through the forest. As they did, Elijah once again marveled at the differences between the arboreal landscape and the jungle miles below. The trees were well spaced apart, and the undergrowth was minimal. Seeing that, Elijah might’ve thought he was back on Earth in the forests north of Norcastle. However, there were enough differences – a glowing bit of moss, trees he didn’t recognize, and, most of all, a set of ephemeral details he couldn’t quite identify – that he could see the alien terrain for what it was.

So, the trek was easy going, but wrought with enough tension that no one there was able to enjoy it.

Then, a half hour later, Dat signaled for everyone to go silent. After that, they crept forward, moving in the shadows of the enormous oak-like trees. Only a few minutes later, they arrived at their destination.

Predictably, it was a cave.

Or more accurately, a cenote, and via One with Nature, Elijah could feel just how deep it went. More importantly, he could sense an entire nest of aviaks inside. There were hundreds – maybe thousands – of the bird-like humanoids, all nestled in their own cubbies inside the cenote.

Elijah couldn’t sense the bottom of the pit, the opening of which was only around a hundred feet wide and obscured by a layer of vines, but he imagined it was quite deep. He signaled to the others, then shifted into his draconid form before adopting Guise of the Unseen. Once he was camouflaged by his ability, he crept forward, stopping at the edge of the cenote.

Then, he ducked his head through a small gap in the vines.

That’s when he saw their goal. A large, ivory egg the size of an NFL lineman, it glistened with vitality so strong that, for a moment, Elijah didn’t even see its guardian. But when he did, he nearly let out a gasp. The aviak lurking in the shadow of the egg was huge, and unlike its brethren, it wore clothing. Clad in a simple leather kilt, it also wielded a pair of long javelins.

Elijah pulled away slowly, then retreated to his companions’ position. After resuming his human form, he and the others backed away to a safe distance.

“Do you know its level?” Elijah asked Dat.

“What did you see?” asked before Dat could answer.

“Higher than yours, bro. Maybe as high as a hundred,” Dat said. “The others in there aren’t much lower, either. I don’t think we want to pick a fight with them.”

Sadie opened her mouth to ask again what he’d seen, but Elijah preempted the question by explaining everything. “And I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s not the only one down there,” he said. “The big aviak is dangerous, though. I could sense that much from up here.”

“What do you suggest?” she asked.

Elijah shrugged. “Normally, I’d just sneak down there and play it by ear,” he said. “But I don’t think that would work in this situation. You saw how sensitive those aviaks are. The moment we set one foot into their caves, they went nuts. I’d be willing to bet that they’ll do the same if we try to climb down into that cenote.”

“Full frontal assault?” Kurik asked. “The bird-people ain’t that strong. I could rig up some traps that would make getting’ outta that hole mighty hard.”

“I could keep the attention of a few dozen at most,” Sadie offered. “But more than that, and we’d be in trouble.”

Dat shrugged. “I think that’s a bad plan, bro. We need to be smarter.”

“Any suggestions?” she asked her friend.

He shook his head. “You’re the brains of this operation. I’m just here to look cool.”

Elijah chuckled, which earned a glare from Sadie, so he cut it off. “Sorry. Serious face.”

“Did you just say ‘serious face’ out loud?” she asked incredulously.

“Did I? I thought that was in my head.”

“It wasn’t.”

Elijah glanced at Dat, who just shook his head. “Damn. Okay, so my point is that I’m taking this super seriously. And that we need a plan. Mostly the second part, given the way you’re all looking at me.”

Ignoring his rambling, Sadie asked, “Do you have any ideas?”

“I was kind of hoping you would,” he admitted. “I mean, I came up with the plan to make a plan, right? That’s half the battle right there.”

“I thought knowing was half the battle, bro.”

“Really? G.I. Joe?”

“I loved that cartoon when I was little. My uncle had all of the episodes recorded,” Dat said.

“Dat.”

“What, bro?”

“I have a serious question for you.”

“Okay.”

“Did we just become best friends? Because it seems like we just became best friends,” Elijah said.