The hours dragged on. I wondered if anyone had noticed my absence. Certainly, the sprites would have by now, but would they do about it? I’d never been away for this long, but how could any of them find out what had happened to me?
My mind was stuck in circles of thought, a downward spiral of anxiety. I was also extremely thirsty, and my stomach grumbled. Corruption hadn’t shown his face again, but the dungeon’s shadows sometimes shifted unnaturally, and I wondered if I was truly alone.
I’m going to die here, I thought before shaking my head. No. I’m going to find a way out. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t think of a way to escape. My fingernails were ragged and torn from trying to pull loose stones and dig my way out. My arms were sore from trying to pull the iron bars of my cell apart. But as hunger and thirst wore me down, I found that my strength was waning. Soon, I would only have enough energy to lay down and wait for death to claim me.
Stop being so pessimistic, I thought forcefully. You can’t lose hope. It’s the only thing you’ve got left…
Abruptly, a figure materialized from out of a nearby shadow and phased into the cell with me. I recoiled, a jolt of fear rushing through me like lightning.
“It appears your little friends have arrived to save you,” Corruption announced, a wicked smile splitting his face. “Fools.”
I fought to maintain a neutral expression, although my heart plummeted in my chest. It was obvious now. I was the bait—a pawn in a grand scheme to destroy Sagewood and everyone living in it. My mouth was dry, and I found it hard to swallow.
In that fleeting moment, I wished the sprites hadn’t come. Perhaps it would have been better if I had silently met my end here, and they had stayed safely on the farm. But it wouldn’t have lasted. Glaring up at Corruption, I acknowledged the inevitable—he would’ve found a way to get to them regardless. This was merely a hastier route to the same malevolent destination. He was relentless in his pursuit of control, but I knew my friends weren’t helpless.
“They’ll stop you. They’ve done it before.” I tried to keep the fear from my voice.
Corruption narrowed his eyes at me. “It seems they’ve brought my sisters with them. Do you think your sprite friends capable of taking on a corrupted nature spirit or two?”
My stomach clenched. There wasn’t any way for the sprites to be able to survive that. How has Corruption grown so powerful?
Before I could answer, Corruption melted into the shadows once more, leaving me hopeless. Something felt terribly off about this whole situation, but I was powerless to intervene. I couldn’t even warn my friends that this was the exact thing Corruption had wanted the entire time. All I could do was wait.
***
From the depths of the shadowed hedges, Corruption observed the small group of sprites and nature spirits outside the imposing wrought iron gates. Only three sprites were present, but Corruption wasn’t after the sprites yet. His first target was the Forest Spirit—the one who had betrayed him.
The group hesitated, as if waiting for something, but after a few moments pressed forward once more. The sprites slipped easily through the bars of the fence, as did the River Spirit. The Forest Spirit ascended a nearby tree and gracefully leapt into the courtyard.
It was time to sow a little chaos. Long shadows draped the courtyard, a perfect playground for Corruption’s twisted games. He melded into a shadow, materializing next to the male sprite that was unfamiliar to him. He wasn’t one that was normally on the farm, but that didn’t diminish his enmity. Pulling a shadow tightly across the ground, he sent the sprite stumbling.
“What the?” he exclaimed, colliding with his fellow sprites.
“Alder, what are you—”
Corruption manipulated another shadow, causing this one to wrap around another sprite’s ankle, tugging tightly. The sprite shrieked.
“He’s here,” the Forest Spirit declared, looking around the courtyard.
“Matt?” one of the sprites inquired, hope in her voice.
“Corruption.”
In an instant, two of the sprites transformed into their animal forms, and Corruption was pleased to see that each animal had substantial power—one a lynx and the other a moose. Their strength would make the forthcoming ending of Sagewood all the more efficient.
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The third sprite drew a sword, eyeing the shadows warily. Apparently, it would take a little more effort to make this one change into his animal form. A smile spread across Corruption’s face as he remembered the grizzly bear sprite he’d corrupted. The power of one sprite alone had been enough to cause so much havoc, and Corruption relished every second of it.
The group split, precisely as Corruption desired. The Forest Spirit accompanied the sprite named Alder, while the moose and the lynx partnered with the River Spirit.
He couldn’t have orchestrated a more favorable division himself.
Opting to follow the Forest Spirit first, Corruption trailed within the shadows as they circled the Baron’s mansion, seeking a way inside.
Corruption manipulated the shadows, tickling one of Alder’s legs, prompting him to whip around, sword drawn. The Forest Spirit, a force of considerable power, retaliated with the branches of a nearby tree. However, Corruption had already shifted his focus, entwining a shadow around one of the Forest Spirit’s vine-like hairs. As she lashed out, he redoubled his efforts on bothering the sprite, manipulating a shadow to pull the hat off his head. The Forest Spirit’s attempts to retaliate resulted in tree branches inadvertently swatting at the enraged sprite.
“Apologies,” she said as the male sprite was knocked backwards. He screamed wildly before landing amidst nearby bushes. The spirit glared as she scoured the shadows for Corruption, but he had already moved on to the other group.
Corruption engaged the others using the same tactics, teasing them with shadows in a sinister game of cat and mouse. He provoked them to such an extent that the moose, in a fit of agitation, headbutted the manor’s brick wall, rendering himself unconscious.
It was pathetic how powerless both groups were, even with the aid of his sister spirits.
A whizzing ball of flame streaked through the courtyard, momentarily obliterating all the shadows. Exposed and vulnerable, with no shadows to meld into, fear gripped Corruption. The sprites and the spirits turned on him, finally able to see where their foe was.
Where had the fireball come from?
Before anyone could launch an attack, the fireball fizzled, and Corruption sank back into the shadows. He scanned the courtyard for the source, spotting the culprit perched on the eastern corner of the wrought iron fence—a massive dragon, scanning the scene with an almost bored expression.
A wicked smile spread across Corruption’s face as an idea sparked in his mind. With the help of the dragon and the nature spirits, Matt Miller could meet a demise so terrible, so traumatizing, it would be worse than anything his precious ‘found family’ could imagine. And they’d have no one to blame but themselves.
He stepped out of the shadows, directly into the dragon’s line of sight. The creature’s eyes flared with yellow light, and it unleashed a torrent of flame. Though Corruption had anticipated this and managed to dodge, he was still singed by the dragonfire. Pain radiated his tendrils, but he ignored it, his gaze full of hunger.
As the flames died down and the shadows reappeared, Corruption slipped back out of sight. He moved through the darkness quickly, ready to execute his plan. The courtyard buzzed with tension as spirit, sprite, and dragon searched for him.
He doubled back, reappearing next to the River Spirit. She screamed, drawing the dragon’s attention. The enormous, scaly creature left its post on the fence, powerful wings unfurling as it lifted into the sky. Corruption melted into the shadows on the wall of the manor, ensuring the River Spirit saw exactly where he’d gone.
Meanwhile, the lynx had shifted back into her sprite form and tended to the downed moose, while the other sprite slashed wildly with his sword . The dragon landed nearby, its red scales shimmering, and the River Spirit pointed to where Corruption had disappeared into the shadow on the manor's outside wall.
“He was just there!” the River Spirit called to the dragon.
Without hesitation, the dragon released a torrent of scorching flames, setting the wall ablaze. The fire began to climb up the manor’s wall, and Corruption grinned with satisfaction.
He reappeared a few paces away, still on the wall, moving and disappearing just as quickly. This time, he narrowly avoided the intense heat, scurrying to the opposite wall just before the shadows vanished completely, leaving him exposed. The dragon took to the air again, landing on the manor’s roof with a thunderous crash. The entire building shook, and roof tiles shattered under the dragon’s wicked talons.
Corruption climbed up to the roof, using his shadows to taunt the dragon, pulling at its legs. His goal wasn’t to harm but to annoy, and he had never seen a dragon so enraged. Fire spewed in all directions, igniting the roof.
In just a few moments, the manor was a blazing inferno, and Corruption reveled in the chaos he had orchestrated. The dragon’s fiery wrath was exactly what he had wanted. He watched with glee as sections of the roof began to collapse, and the ignited wall crumbled.
“Are you insane? Matt’s in there!” the female sprite shouted, pointing to the rising flames on the side of the manor. She scolded the River Spirit and dragon, both of whom were several times her size and far stronger. Corruption had to stifle a laugh at the audacity of the small sprite.
Almost sheepishly, the River Spirit began dousing the flames, spraying the manor with great gouts of water. Even so, the dragon’s flames were overpowering, and Corruption doubted even a mighty river could extinguish them. The dragon lifted itself off of the failing roof, his yellow eyes scanning the courtyard for Corruption, who was now safely hidden in the shadows of the manor garden.
The group expanded with the arrival of two other sprites and a wizard. One sprite seemed familiar but carried a different magical aura than the one Corruption had imprisoned a season ago. He counted five sprites in total. If he divided them again, he could corrupt all of them in a single night. But the wizard was a problem. He had to be dealt with first.
Perhaps a test to gauge the wizard’s power.
Manipulating a shadow near the old man’s foot, he caused him to stumble into the moose. Another pull of a shadow, and Corruption tripped one of the newcomer sprites, forcing him to shift into his animal form—a wolf—before colliding with the other sprites, causing them all to tumble away.
“Reveal shadows!” the wizard yelled, and Corruption watched in shock as the shadows in the courtyard were significantly diminished by the spell. He recoiled, not wanting to be revealed in front of the dragon or the wizard. The River Spirit was still working on the flames, and the Forest Spirit was busy helping the sprites.
Gah! Too risky. I’m going to need some backup.