A motley group was assembled on the path that led to the Baron’s manor. The gathering consisted of all the sprites, two archeologists, one wizard, and the River and Forest spirits. Nearby, a hulking dragon watched from the trees with blazing yellow eyes. Tyr attempted to brood in the shadows of the forest, but he shifted uneasily as the scrupulous Melvin and Fern sketched him in their notebooks.

Breaking Tyr out of his prison had been a simple enough ordeal, though it generated enough smoke to make it seem like a volcano had erupted on Matt’s farm. Cassandra had helped them place dynamite in several critical locations throughout the cave system, and the resulting explosion had caused a full-scale collapse down to the lowest level. Woods had tried to warn the Cave Spirit, but he was nowhere to be found. It was like he had up and vanished—which was a troubling thought, but not one Woods had time to consider at that moment. Tyr emerged from the depths and seemed like he’d wanted to fly away at that very moment and set the whole forest ablaze, but Melvin’s spell had kept the creature bound to their cause.

The sun was close to setting, now. Woods cleared his throat and addressed them all. “We’re going to do this in two groups,” he began. “Reed, Finn, Skye, and Melvin are coming with me. Alder, Rock, and Ivy will go with the Forest and River spirits. We can’t do what you all did last time and go underground. The Cave Spirit is… unavailable.”

Some of the sprites glanced around, as if noticing for the first time that the Cave Spirit wasn’t among them.

“The rest of the sprites will stay here with Merrick and Cassandra. You’ll all take care of things until we return with Matt—hopefully by tonight.” Woods looked around at the group, making meaningful eye contact with everybody. “We leave in fifteen minutes, so prepare yourselves accordingly.”

The group split, everyone running off to grab things before departure. Tyr turned away from them, slinking deeper into the forest to get away from the assessing eyes of Melvin and Fern. Clay and Finn lingered behind, staying by Woods.

“Can I come with your group, Woods? I’ve been to the Baron’s dungeon before, I can help—"

“No, Clay. I’m sorry.” Woods’ eyes lingered on Clay’s arm, still in a bandage. “Last time you were down there—last time I was down there….” Woods trailed off, trying to find the rights words. He finally settled on, “I need you to stay back at the farm so I know you’ll be safe.”

“But I’ll be safe with you! I promise I won’t get in the way—”

“No, Clay,” Woods said with finality. Clay’s shoulders slumped, and Woods’ heart sank. He put his hand on the youngest sprite, his voice softening. “I need you to look after the others that are staying behind. Maple, Holly, Flint, Fern and Coal… they need you to be here with them.”

Clay’s eyebrows rose. “Do you mean… I get to be in charge?”

Woods chuckled. “Sure. Just this one time, though. It’s your job to keep the others in line while I’m away, all right?”

Clay nodded eagerly and left for the barn, following the archeologists.

“That’s a good call,” Finn said at length. “Last time we were there, you almost killed all of us.”

Woods sighed, nodding. It was the right call, but it didn’t make it any easier. “Corruption will be there, and there’s no telling what effect that will have on me.” He turned to his brother, his voice now tinged with uncharacteristic worry. “Finn, if it happens again, if for some reason I go back to that corrupt state, I’ve arranged for the dragon to kill me.”

Finn studied his brother in silence for a few long seconds. “I’m not going to let that happen, Woods. Do you know what I went through to bring you back?” A shudder ran through him. “You’ll be fine. All we need to do is break in, get the farmer, and get out. Easy.”

Woods nodded. The plan was simple enough but riddled with obstacles and possibilities for it to go awry. The plan was to have Woods’ group break in through the front, and Alder’s group to break in through the back. They had no knowledge of Corruption’s forces, so whichever group made it to the dungeon first would save Matt. If he’s still alive, Woods thought. He glanced at the dragon a few paces away in the forest. The beast was a good asset, but Woods wondered if the wizard’s oath they’d both taken would be enough to keep Tyr on their team once Corruption got involved.

The two groups formed over the next ten minutes, embarking on the northern trail and heading toward the Baron’s mansion.

***

“I wish I could’ve gone with them to the dungeon,” Clay groaned. He was sitting next to Merrick, watching with little interest as the archaeologist fumbled awkwardly with the task of milking Bessie, the farm’s only cow.

“Why would you want to go there? It seems a terrible place.”

“It’s not so bad, I’ve been there before. It’s just like any other dungeon. And you’re doing this all wrong. Matt doesn’t do it like that.” Clay didn’t bother to explain the right technique—mostly because he had no idea what it was.

Merrick sighed, and Bessie mooed, as if in agreement with Clay. “I’m sure they wanted you to stay behind to protect you.” Merrick cast a side-long glance at Clay’s missing limb. “By the way, is it common for sprites to only have one arm?”

“No. I lost my arm… during a battle… in a dungeon. But that doesn’t mean I’m not a good fighter anymore.” Clay grabbed his staff from his back and twirled it in one hand.

After only a few short seconds, Clay dropped the staff. It clattered loudly across the barn floor. Silence lingered between the two before Merrick spoke up, changing the subject. “So, do all sprites like to live on farms?”

Clay shook his head. “No. Only the lucky ones get to. Most humans don’t like sprites, but Matt isn’t from here, so he doesn’t care that we’re magical. He just needed some friends, so we showed up.”

Merrick nodded. “Do you think you’ll stay on this farm?”

“I think so. We all really like it here. The other sprites like it here so much they want to stay, too. The ones from the south.”

Both Merrick and Clay looked up as Flint entered the barn. “Hi, Clay,” Flint greeted before stopping, his eyes narrowing at Merrick, “and hello, Merrick.”

“I’m sorry for trapping you earlier,” Merrick said sheepishly as his face flushed with embarrassment.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Flint eyed the archeologist before answering. “It’s all right. I’ll forgive you this time.” He paused, giving Merrick a pointed look. “But I never forget.”

Merrick cleared his throat uncomfortably as Flint continued. “Have you two finished milking Bessie?”

Merrick and Clay both shook their heads.

“I’m having a hard time with this. I’ve never milked a cow before. Where’s Cassandra, I feel like she’d be more suited to this task than me. I mean, she is a woman, maybe she could figure this out.”

“Why would it matter if she’s a woman? Matt has no problem milking Bessie, and he’s a man,” Flint said. Merrick’s face deepened to a rosier hue as Flint continued, “Anyway, Cassandra’s busy helping the other sprites water the crops.”

“Can we switch?” Merrick asked, his voice hopeful.

Flint shook his head, narrowing his eyes at Merrick again.

“So… is it common for sprites to wear glasses?” Merrick asked Flint after a few seconds.

Flint shrugged. “I don’t think so. Only Fern and I wear them, and Fern only got hers recently.”

“Interesting. You really are just like people, then.” Merrick turned back to Bessie with renewed determination. “Flint, do you know anything about milking a cow?”

“No, but I’ve seen Matt do it a few times. It looks like you’re doing it wrong.”

***

Woods, Finn, Reed, and Melvin watched curiously as a familiar wagon rolled down the road toward Sagewood. The other group had continued onward to the Baron’s manor, following closely behind Tyr, who had to crawl on his belly through the trees to avoid detection—a difficult task considering the creature’s size. The only reason Woods’ group had stopped at all was because this particular wagon had a very familiar driver.

“I recognize her,” Finn said at length. “That’s the elf that Matt was in love with, right? I tried to get them to kiss once.”

Woods and Reed exchanged a quick sidelong glance, but neither asked Finn to elaborate.

“Yes. That’s Leia.” Woods turned his attention back to the approaching wagon. “Why is she coming back? And travelling alone? Seems dangerous.”

Melvin cleared his throat, trying to draw the attention of the sprites. “Shall we continue, gentlemen? I’m sure Matt would appreciate—”

“Wait, do you sense that?” Reed cut off Melvin’s words.

Woods and Finn turned their attention to the twisted, albeit weak cluster of auras trailing behind the wagon.

“Feels like corrupt monsters,” Woods said, and Reed and Finn nodded.

“Maybe they’ll leave her alone?” Finn offered. Just then, the horse pulling the wagon came to a stop, tossing its head in agitation as if sensing the approaching danger.

“We should probably help her, don’t you think?” Melvin said, wringing his hands. “Damsel in distress, and whatnot.”

Reed snorted dryly. “She broke Matt’s heart. I say we leave her to the wolves.”

“You don’t mean that,” Woods said, keeping his eyes on the wagon.

Reed crossed his arms and frowned.

“Even though she treated Matt poorly, she still means a lot to him,” Woods continued, turning back to Reed. “Once we save Matt, I don’t want to be the one to tell him we let the love of his life get eaten by corrupt monsters.”

Melvin paled at Woods’ words, while Finn added, “You mean if we save Matt.”

Woods rolled his eyes at Finn’s words and turned back to the wagon and the approaching monsters.

Reed sighed loudly and uncrossed his arms. “Well, what do we do, then?”

“Finn and Reed, you two attack the monsters head on,” Woods directed. “I’ll stay back and use my bow.”

Reed and Finn quickly agreed, shifting into their animal forms. Each animal took a separate direction, Reed's form moving more quickly through the forest than Finn's.

“Melvin, do you know any spells that would be particularly useful against corrupt monsters?” Woods drew an arrow and nocked it to the bowstring.

“I can create a very large fireball,” Melvin answered, his voice a mix of nervousness and excitement.

Woods glanced around at the dense trees, some of them dry enough to make good tinder. “Let’s hold off on that for now. Just hang back and try not to get hurt.”

Melvin nodded, pulling out his notebook with a scholarly glint in his eye. Woods followed the path through the trees Reed had taken. He could sense the corrupt monsters better now. They felt disturbingly familiar, which made him shudder. He knew he wasn’t actually familiar with them, but their corrupt nature somehow bonded him to them. He despised the unwelcome sense of camaraderie.

Woods climbed a nearby tree, giving him a clear vantage point of both the wagon and the encroaching pack of corrupted wolves. The wagon remained stopped on the path, the horse showing clear signs of distress. Leia, obviously confused, looked around the clear path ahead, unaware of the imminent danger behind her.

Woods let out a sigh. If it were any other elf, he might have chosen to stay away. However, it wasn’t just any elf—it was her. Matt’s elf. While Woods didn’t know the entire story of their relationship and its sudden end, he understood that Matt cared deeply enough about her to not leave her to the wolves. Literally.

The air filled with howls, drawing Woods’ attention to the approaching wolf pack. Reed had already taken down one wolf and moved on to another, while Finn emerged from the brush, seizing one by its hind leg and causing it to yelp in pain.

Woods watched anxiously as some of the wolves continued toward the stationary wagon. They were seconds away. He swiftly drew the arrow to his cheek and released at an advancing wolf, but narrowly missed. “Aim is still a little off,” he muttered. His aim had been off since losing his original eye, and the addition of his new one hadn’t made it any better.

Quickly, Woods readied another arrow, aiming it at the same wolf. This time, it hit true, lodging deep into the wolf’s skull and killing it instantly. Two monsters remained, and were set upon the wagon. Reed and Finn had dealt with the rest of the pack but wouldn’t reach the remaining wolves before they reached Leia.

Woods groaned, leaping from his branch to a lower one on a different tree. If he acted quickly, he could divert the wolves’ attention from the wagon back to Reed and Finn.

He released another arrow, striking the flank of a wolf and causing it to snarl in pain. The horse began to panic, and Leia tried to urge it forward, but it reared in fear. The wagon teetered violently. Woods launched another arrow, this time hitting the wounded wolf in its other leg, incapacitating it. Reed or Finn would have to finish it off.

Moving to another branch along the tree line right next to Leia’s wagon, Woods anticipated the wolf’s leap toward the elf. He loosed another arrow, and this one lodged between its ribs. Growling in fury, the wolf, consumed by madness, attacked, disregarding any instinct of self-preservation. Leia screamed, and Woods shot another arrow, cursing as it missed.

In a split second, Woods leaped from the branch, landing atop the corrupt wolf. It snarled and thrashed, its vicious teeth dangerously close, but Woods was out of time and options. Discarding his bow, he took the final arrow and drove it deep into the animal’s eye. The ordeal ended swiftly, but it didn’t make it any less awful. Reed arrived moments later, tearing apart the final downed wolf.

“Sprites?” Leia asked, her voice shaky. The corrupt bodies were quickly disintegrating into inky black dust.

Finn showed up seconds later, looking winded. “This kind of terrain isn’t well suited for my animal form.”

“Don’t you mean your animal form isn’t well-suited for this very normal terrain?” Reed asked, a hint of a smile on his lips. “We can’t all live on sandy beaches, Finn.”

Woods, who was fighting fistfuls of fur to get out from under the slowly disintegrating wolf, grumbled in annoyance under his breath. Not exactly the most dignified of rescues, but a rescue, nonetheless.

Leia hopped off her seat on the driver’s bench and crouched next to the sprites. “You saved me… thank you,” Leia said, lowering her voice.

“Well, we couldn’t exactly let you die out here,” Woods said gruffly as he stood, dusting himself off. “Why are you out here alone anyway? I thought you moved to the city.”

“I’m coming back. To Sagewood, that is. I—I just—I missed my home.” There was a silence before she quietly added, “And I missed Matt as well.”

The sprites all exchanged sidelong glances.

“Aren’t you glad we saved her now?” Woods asked Reed under his breath.

“What?” Leia asked, but before anyone could elaborate, Melvin burst from the tree line, scribbling furiously in his notebook. “That was incredible, just incredible—Oh, hello there.”

“Melvin, we’ve got to get going.” Woods turned to Leia. “Well… it was nice to see you again. Safe travels.”

With that, the sprites left, continuing their way toward the Baron’s manor. Melvin did an awkward half bow, half curtsy, and ran to follow the sprites, leaving a very perplexed elf behind.