As I trudged down the dirt path leading to my farm, I couldn’t shake the feeling of disappointment that hung over me like a dark cloud. My date with Emily hadn’t gone well. While she was everything a man could ask for in a woman—beautiful, funny, talented, and charming—something had felt off.

For some reason, I still couldn’t stop thinking about Leia.

I cursed myself for not being able to move on, for still being hung up on the woman who had left me all those months ago. I knew it was unfair to Emily, who had done nothing but treat me with kindness, but I couldn’t help it.

I was obsessed.

As my farmhouse came into view, I kicked a stone and muttered under my breath. I had spent the entire evening lost in thought, barely able to hold a conversation with Emily. I knew I’d been distant, and I could see the hurt in her eyes when I had told her I had to leave early, even though it was still light outside. I berated myself for my foolishness, for letting my heart hold onto something that was long gone. I knew I needed to move on, to give someone else a chance, but the thought of being with someone else filled me with despair.

I sighed heavily as I walked toward the porch of my farmhouse, knowing I had a long night ahead of me. I would spend it alone, with nothing but my thoughts and regrets to keep me company.

Pausing momentarily, I noticed a familiar wagon parked in front of my farmhouse, but I couldn’t immediately pinpoint why it was familiar. The driver slid off the bench and waved to me furiously.

“Matt! Matt Miller! Hello!” Merrick, the archaeologist from last year, called exuberantly.

I returned his wave, mustering a smile for the overly enthusiastic scholar. The carriage’s door swung open, revealing his partner in research, Cassandra. She gave me a demure smile. I stepped over to the wagon, curious why the duo had decided to visit my farm, especially with the approaching evening.

Merrick produced a velvet sack, which looked to be heavily weighed down. He offered it to me, a grin splitting his face. “Here is your share of the proceeds of our findings from your cave. The museum had planned to deliver it through your dropbox, but we happened to be heading this way and thought we’d pay you a visit.”

I took the bag, unable to hide my surprise when I opened it. There were probably over five thousand etherchips in there. I cinched it closed and shoved the entire thing into my bag, turning my attention back to the archeologists.

Even though she was taller than me, Cassandra managed to peer at me through her dark lashes by tilting her head down slightly. “Someone is about to become a very sought-after farmer.”

I repressed a snort, acutely aware of how miserably my date had gone just an hour earlier. She swept her long, golden hair behind her shoulder, and I suddenly remembered why Cassandra had always made me feel uncomfortable. Had her blouses always been that…revealing? I tried to avert my gaze but struggled to find something else to look at in the waning light.

She leaned in a few inches closer to me, and I caught a whiff of her musky perfume. “For the record, I liked you before you were rich.” She winked at me.

For the few fleeting seconds that my primal brain took over, I considered asking the archeologist out on a date, but dismissed the thought just as quickly. Yes, Cassandra was gorgeous. Yes, I had ogled her every time she’d stepped onto my farm—I’m only human. But I’d seen how she’d treated Merrick, and with how often she made me feel uncomfortable even in everyday interactions, and I couldn’t will myself to go on a date with her. I wasn’t that desperate. Not yet anyway.

Merrick cleared his throat, and I turned my attention to him, grateful to have my gaze forcefully pulled away.

“Matt, we were hoping you might grant us access to your cave one more time. We’ve studied the stone slab that sealed the cave’s entrance, and we think there might be more treasures just waiting to be discovered.”

I swallowed hard. The cave was filled with treasures. Among glittering gems and glinting ores was a Goddess statue, the river and cave stones, and hundreds of monsters. There was also a guardian somewhere in the cave, and the rumblings had only gotten stronger since I’d retrieved the cave stone. My mouth went dry as I repressed the memory of the last time I’d gone down there. We’d had to deal with booby traps and skeleton key riddles. I didn’t want Merrick and Cassandra to get hurt while they were there.

“I’m not sure, I’m kind of busy with spring projects,” I began, wracking my brain for a better excuse.

Merrick raised his hands placatingly. “No need to give us an answer right away. We’re going to be in Sagewood for a few weeks before we return to the city. Think it over, we could even have another contract drawn up, if you’d like.”

With that, Merrick climbed back onto the driver’s bench. Cassandra cast me another sly smile before stepping into the carriage, waving at me as they departed.

I shook my head to forcefully clear it of lingering notes of Cassandra’s perfume. Every time that woman came around, my mind got all cloudy, and not in a pleasant way.

“I was wondering what happened to them.”

I yelped and turned to see Woods standing on my porch.

“Woods! We need to get you a bell or something—”

"I have a feeling if you asked that archaeologist woman on a date, she might just say yes. It could lead to an interesting evening for you.,” Woods said the words casually.

I gave him a flat look. “Too many red flags with that one, I think.”

After a few seconds, he nodded in agreement. “Well, are you going to give them access to the cave again?”

I shook my head, recalling that Woods had been gone for most of the cave exploration that had taken place last season. “There’s some sort of guardian on level five. Something big.”

Woods’ eyebrows slightly raised, but other than that, he didn’t react, as if he’d been expecting something like this. “The Cave Spirit could seal off the lower levels, just as he did before.”

I stared at Woods. “You’re not concerned about the guardian?”

“Not particularly.”

“You weren’t there, it’s massive—I didn’t get a good look, but Rock said he thinks it’s a dragon.”

Woods shrugged. “As long as it remains sealed underground, it won’t be an issue. A dragon that can’t fly is a dragon that can’t burn any villages.”

I stared at him for a long moment before responding. “I suppose you have a point.”

“If it hasn’t come out of the cave yet, it probably never will,” Woods continued. “I think it’s a good idea to have the archeologists come back and excavate. You’re too busy to be doing that now anyway.” His features darkened slightly. “But there’s something more pressing than dragons we need to talk about.”

For the first time, I noticed that Woods was wearing his eyepatch again, something I hadn’t registered since it was so familiar to see him with it on. What was odd though, was he wore it over his good eye—his green one. I also noticed that the sprites with him weren’t his usual comrades. Finn and Skye were gone, and they were replaced with the two male southern sprites, Coal and Alder. They stood a little way off, just out of ear shot.

“Is everything all right, Woods?” As I looked past Woods to the others, Alder, the southern sprite leader, caught my eye. Even in the waning light, he looked like a ghost of himself, with a haunted expression on his face.

With a flick of his hand, Woods flipped up his eyepatch, revealing his green eye, which seemed to be perfectly fine. Why wear the eyepatch over a perfectly good eye? Did he miss it or something? “Everything’s fine for the time being. Finn went to get Melvin from the Sagewood Inn. They should be here soon.”

I narrowed my eyes, sensing that something was off. “Did something happen?”

Woods nodded, his face grim. “Matt, do you remember last summer, when there was a spawn point for corrupt monsters somewhere deep in the forest?”

“I remember."

“Well, there’s more out in the forest,” Woods said gravely, his words heavy with the weight of the situation. “At least three, just northwest of here.”

Dread washed over me as I recalled the Lovecraftian horrors that had plagued my farm and the surrounding forest last summer. I had been forced to burn down my entire farm and a significant portion of the trees to save Sagewood from them during the Harvest Festival. “How do you know?”

Woods lowered his gaze as well as his voice. “I’m not sure why, but I can sense, or rather see, these portals of corrupt magic out in the forest.” He lifted his gaze back up to me and pointed to his purple eye. “A side effect of my corruption sickness, it seems.”

“Well, that’s… handy. As far as side effects go, I mean. What do we do about these portals?”

“I managed to close one of them, but it wasn’t easy. I couldn’t close the others. We’ll have to station Reed and Rock to keep watch, just in case any more monsters come through.”

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

I focused on my friend for a few seconds, his full name and condition appearing before me.

Elwood

Corrupt Sprite

I cleared my throat, unsure how to broach the subject. “Woods, my magical sensing perk labels you as a corrupted sprite. Should I be worried about that?” I kept my voice low, mindful of the southern sprites on my porch. Alder was probably still looking for any excuse to condemn Woods.

Woods stiffened, his eyes drifting toward the ground. “Yes, Matt,” he replied somberly. “I think both of us should be worried. What Finn and Melvin did saved my life, but it didn’t fully uncorrupt me.” He kept his eyes on the ground as he continued. “But for some reason, the darkness in me can see the darkness out in the forest. For now, my corrupt state is useful… but I don’t know what it might mean for the future.”

He met my gaze, and I detected a foreign emotion lurking within his eyes. Fear, perhaps? It was an unfamiliar sight on the stoic sprite, and it rattled me.

“I don’t know how this will affect the safety of the others,” Woods admitted. “I know that I’m still corrupted. I’m...” He trailed off, his gaze drifting to the lit windows of my farmhouse, where the other sprites could be heard within, laughing and talking amongst themselves. “I just don’t want to hurt anyone else.”

I nodded. He didn’t need to say anything more. I knew exactly what he was talking about. A silence settled between us before it was shattered by the familiar voice of Melvin the wizard.

“Matt! Woods!” The wizard appeared with Finn from the path I’d just come from, with Melvin gasping for air and collapsing onto my porch steps. He pulled a small pouch of something from thin air, opened it, and took a large snuff of whatever was inside. I looked on in concern as he shook his head, whatever he’d just taken giving him a jolt of energy.

“Start talking, tell me everything,” Melvin wheezed, his chest still heaving.

Woods recounted everything that he had revealed to me, including the admission of his ongoing corruption.

Melvin pulled his worn notebook out and jotted down some chicken scratch notes before clearing his throat. He looked from Woods to me, a serious expression on his face. “Matt. Woods.” Melvin’s voice was grave, and his expression mirrored his tone. “As your friend, I am deeply disturbed by this news. It is an absolute travesty—you could lose everything, from the farm to your very lives.” Then, a small smile twitched at the corner of his lips, and his eyes lit up with his familiar, excited glint. “As a scholar, however, this is incredibly fascinating. Woods, you’re probably the only being in existence to be corrupted but still have control over your mind and actions.” Melvin leaned toward the sprite, his pen and notebook at the ready. “How does that make you feel?”

Woods sighed and scrubbed a hand through his hair. “Fine. I mean, not great, I’d much rather not be corrupted, but if it helps us to defeat Corruption…” he trailed off, shaking his head sadly before continuing. “We must come up with a plan to retrieve the forest stone as soon as possible. The only thing we can do now is revive the Goddess and hope that she can defeat Corruption.” Woods met my gaze and held it for a long moment. “Although… I’m not sure how we’ll place the forest stone with your new levelling condition. The farm has to be level ten before it can be placed, right?”

At the mention of levelling the farm, my shoulders sank. My date with Emily surfaced in my mind, and I remembered how poorly the date had gone, all because of me.

I sighed and nodded. “Yes. It has to be level ten, which requires me to… get past that levelling condition.” I couldn’t bring myself to say the words ‘happily married,’ and I felt my shoulders sink just a little lower as I continued. “I don’t think that’s very likely at this point.” I was running out of women to court in Sagewood. Plus, I worried that I was gaining a reputation as a serial first dater, someone who couldn’t nail the first date enough to get to the second. It had been the same story back on Earth, but Phoenix had a much larger dating pool than Sagewood.

“I’m guessing your date with the nurse didn’t go well then?” Melvin asked. I shot him a confused glance, before he hastily added, “Dr. Night mentioned you two had plans.”

“No, Melvin. It did not go well.” I suddenly felt apprehensive. What did Melvin know about dating? He was a withered old man who lived alone in an abandoned lighthouse by the sea. I felt my eyebrows raise. It actually sounded like quite a peaceful life.

“What about Martha, the innkeeper’s daughter?” Melvin offered after a moment. “She’s a pretty thing, and a quarter elf, if I recall.”

Woods gave me a knowing look. Apparently, I had a type—and that type happened to have pointed ears.

I could feel my cheeks reddening, and I avoided his gaze. “I don’t think I’ve ever met Martha. Is she new in town?”

“She was born here, but went to attend school in Crimsonshores,” Melvin explained. “I remember when she was just a sprout, always clinging to her mother’s apron strings. But she’s since developed into a lovely young woman. She might be a good match for you.”

I rubbed the back of my neck, awkwardly. I didn’t know that Harvey and Cindy had a daughter. But if Martha looked anything like her mother, then she was bound to be beautiful. “I guess I could ask her out,” I said. “You know… when I find the time.”

Melvin laughed and tugged on his beard. “That’s the spirit! And if I might add, I think the two of you would make quite the pair. Elves and humans both have admirable qualities, and when combined, their offspring are some of the brightest creatures in all Etheria! Of course, your offspring would only be a quarter elf. But even so, I’m sure plenty of worthy traits will be passed on by both of you. Genetics, and all of that.”

My blush deepened, and I hurriedly changed the subject. “Yeah, sure. At any rate, I’m pretty tired. I think I’m going to turn in early tonight.” I glanced at Woods. “Why don’t you stay in the farmhouse with everyone? I’m sure the other sprites would love it.”

Woods shook his head adamantly. “No,” he said, clearing his throat before continuing, “Thank you, though. I don’t want to put anyone in danger. Just in case."

Finn snickered and put his hand on his brother’s shoulder. “Woods just doesn’t want anyone to see his forty-step skincare routine.”

Melvin perked up at this. “You have a skincare routine?” His notebook appeared again in his hands as he looked expectantly at Woods.

Woods let out a mirthless laugh, breathing out through his nostrils and flashing a brief, but authentic grin. “I don’t think I’m going to get into that tonight.” He paused, his eyes glinting mischievously. “But I will say this: you don’t get to be over five hundred years old and look this youthful unless you have a solid routine in place.”

***

Despite my body being drained, pushed to the brink of exhaustion from preparing the large and small fields for another round of planting, I remained awake late into the night. A multitude of thoughts burdened my mind, each pressing and heavy, yet I couldn’t focus on any one in particular. The events of the day replayed in my thoughts: the botched date with Emily, the unexpected arrival of archaeologists, and Woods informing me about spawn points around my farm. It was all too overwhelming. I didn’t sign up for this when I became a farmer. I smiled, quietly chuckling at the irony—I hadn’t even signed up to be a farmer in the first place.

I reluctantly pulled myself from my warm bed and tugged on my work boots. If sleep eluded me, I reasoned, I might as well tackle some other tasks around the farm. There wasn’t much farming to be done this late at night, and the animals were probably all asleep. But there was one task I’d been putting off—and it was a big one. The archaeologists were back in town, and they wanted to excavate the deep recesses of the cave. The only problem was the guardian lurking below. The cave rumblings had increased since placing the cave stone in the goddess statue, and I certainly didn’t want Merrick or Cassandra to meet the dragon before I did. The thought of confronting a real life dragon sent a thrill through my entire body, and although I was certainly scared, I couldn’t deny that the prospect was also a little exciting. Of course, it would be dangerous. I didn’t need to slay the beast tonight, but I did need to go down there and do some reconnaissance, learn whether it had any weaknesses and formulate a plan. But to do that, I would need to bring the right sprites to help me.

“Pssst. Rock.” I gently shook the largest sprite awake. I always found it amusing that he started the night on my bed with the others but ended up on the floor by morning. He blinked groggily as he woke.

“Rock?” he mumbled.

“Will you come to the cave with me to check out the last level?”

The sprite inhaled deeply, scrubbing the sleep from his eyes before nodding.

I looked around my bedroom at the other slumbering sprites. “Who else do you think should come?”

Rock stepped over to Ivy, shaking her awake. I rolled my eyes. Rarely did those two do anything without each other.

“Rock? What’s going on?” Ivy whispered, and I held my finger up to my lips, signaling for Ivy to stay quiet.

Rock also woke up Reed, who gave me a sleepy, questioning look as I motioned for everyone to follow me outside.

“What’s this about?” Reed asked, his voice gravelly from sleep.

I closed the farmhouse door behind me before answering, so as not to wake the slumbering sprites left behind.

“I want to go check out the last level of the cave, but I can’t do it alone.”

Reed looked around at the farm, covered in a velvety nighttime blanket, before meeting my gaze again. “And this has to be done now? In the middle of the night?”

“I know, I’m sorry. It’s just—I’m going through a lot right now, and I don’t have time to go into the cave during the day because I’m prepping the fields for replanting… I could really use your help right now.”

Reed, Rock and Ivy exchanged glances before Reed sighed.

“Fine. Let’s go. But let’s take at least one more sprite with us.”

“Rock?” Rock suggested.

“No, not Holly, she’d tell Flint and Clay and make them feel left out.”

“What about Woods?” Ivy suggested.

“I think he’s probably too tired to go into the cave,” I said. It was true, Woods was tired, but I also didn’t want to wake him up because he’d point out how stupid this plan actually was.

“Rock?” Rock suggested.

Reed turned and smiled at Rock’s suggestion. “Yes. He’d be perfect.”

“No, he’s a bad influence,” Ivy said, shaking her head adamantly.

“Just because he’s fun doesn’t make him a bad influence,” Reed said, turning again and walking southward.

“He tried to convince Maple to put muddle-leaf into some brownies she was making.”

Reed paused again, turning back, surprised. “Did she? I didn’t get one.”

Ivy punched Reed hard on the arm. “Of course not.”

“Rock.”

“Rock’s right,” Reed said, cradling his arm where Ivy had hit him, “he’s got one of the most powerful animal forms, he’ll be useful in the cave. Isn’t there a dragon or something down there?”

“Are you talking about Finn?” I asked, trying to repress a chuckle at the sprite bickering. I would have to ask about ‘muddle-leaf’ sometime, though, knowing Finn, I already knew what it would do if consumed in brownie form. All three sprites nodded.

“Rock,” Rock said, branching off into the forest. I assumed he was going to find Finn. Reed, Ivy and I waited outside the cave until we were joined by the two other sprites.

Finn appeared drowsy as he and Rock approached. “What is it that we’re doing?” he asked.

“I need to examine the last level of the cave. I want to have some archeologists excavate it, but there’s… something on the bottom floor that keeps shaking the ground.”

Finn’s eyes widened, and he blinked them several times, as if trying to process my words in his sleepy state. “So that’s what’s been causing all those tremors!”

“It’ll be a good time, I promise. Going into the cave always is.”

Ivy and Rock muttered something to each other, but I ignored them. I stepped inside the cave’s entrance. As we walked past the Goddess statue, I noticed the sprites bow their heads in reverence, but Finn just shoved his hands into his pockets. He shrugged when I gave him a questioning look.

“I don’t actually believe there’s a way to bring her back. And if there was, I don’t think she’d solve every problem like Woods says she will.”

We descended to level four, which consisted of a long hallway filled with booby traps. The walls had retracted, and at the end was an open door—the skeleton key still in place where I’d hastily shoved it last time we were down here.

“Just a heads-up, Finn, there’s a dragon down here. You might need to use your animal form,” I said, turning to him. “But don’t worry, this is just a reconnaissance mission. We’ll make sure to keep a low profile.”

Finn looked alarmed. “That probably would’ve been good information to know ten minutes ago.” He glanced at Rock. “Did you know about the dragon when you woke me up?”

Rock nodded.

“And you just happened to leave that part out?”

Rock nodded again, a small smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

Finn sighed, turning back to me. “You are the strangest farmer I have ever met.”

We walked together through the hall, stepping into the room filled with scattered bones.

I drew my sword out of my bag, my heart speeding up as the walls of the cave began to tremble.