Loch stood in a tunnel formed from tightly woven tree branches. They came down from above, forming the uneven walls. There were spots of green leaves visible through some of the gaps, some areas open that let light in. Onyx in hand, he moved cautiously down the hall.

He knew this was a Resource Dungeon, there had been no notification like other Dungeons. No objectives to perform to clear it. That there had been no sample of what the Resource was, not outside at least, was a surprise.

The tunnel wasn’t long, ending in a large room with multiple other tunnels off it. All of it was formed by tree branches creating the walls and arched roof. Nothing was even about it, the shape strange, some parts of the roof lower. Light leaked through gaps in the branches. Vines snaked across the grassy uneven ground.

A strange plant grew in the middle of the space. Walking toward it, Loch could see smaller plants growing along the walls with a couple of spots where thicker branches grew out from the wall. They all felt like nodes. He reached out to the large plant. It stood about six feet tall but was very skinny, only leaves at the bottom, the rest a thin green stem with little yellow buds all over for the top two feet. It vaguely looked like the strange plants that had grown in their backyard during the summer, dying by fall and then regrowing in a new location. He’d never figured out what it was. The smaller ones were a wide variety of colors. Greens and purple leaves. Red, yellow and blue flowers. He was tempted to pick them but didn’t have the right harvesting Skill and didn’t want to risk ruining them, or setting off some kind of trap. Cerie had said that some Resource nodes, if not harvested right, could harm the person trying to claim them. He stepped away from the plant, looking around the room again. It was like a cavern, just made of vines.

It was some kind of plant Resource Dungeon. He didn’t see any monsters and didn’t feel like exploring deeper. He wanted to. Killing monsters in a Dungeon would let him release some of his anger. It would be somewhat productive, but would take time he didn’t have. Loch had just wanted to get an idea of what the Dungeon was and how valuable it would be.

Most likely the Silver Bark had entered as well. Since Loch had been able to, that meant the Silver Bark hadn’t cleared it, most likely doing the same thing he had. The elves were a worse threat than the gaunts had been. Those had just been mindless attackers. The Silver Bark were far more dangerous. They had grown up in the Connection. They had experience. The Levels might be capped, but as the Night Crone had shown, that didn’t mean they were less dangerous.

They didn’t have the numbers compared to Clan Brady, but that didn’t matter when each member of the Silver Bark’s invasion force was higher Leveled or had years, maybe decades, more experience. There had to be a way to fight the Silver Bark. Facing off with them directly wouldn’t work. Clan Brady would be slaughtered.

But something had to be done. The Silver Bark could not be allowed to run through Clan Brady lands unchecked. That would just lead to the Silver Bark killing off all the survivors, wiping out the fledgling Clan and seizing all the land.

The only thing that would save Clan Brady was if the Silver Bark feared them. Right now, it was obvious the elves did not.

Loch had to change that.

But how?

Power was everything in the Connection and compared to the Silver Bark, his Clan had none. They had to change. They had to gain that power.

If he couldn’t defeat the Silver Bark, he had to convince them to move on and leave Clan Brady alone.

Taking a last look around, Loch returned to the portal.

He stepped out to a bunch of angry faces. Harper and Piper stood too close when he stepped out, not backing away. Both of his daughters glared at him.

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“Dad,” Harper growled, the harshest tone he’d ever heard from her.

Piper had tears in her eyes. He hadn’t been gone that long but to the girls it had been long enough. Looking around he saw the others facing the forest but stealing annoyed glances at him.

“Sorry,” he said, holding up his hands. “I just wanted a look inside.”

Cerie floated over, hovering in front of his face.

“It could have been a Challenge Dungeon,” she said. “And you would have been trapped inside.”

“It wasn’t,” Loch said. “It didn’t feel like it. Had the same feel as the mine. It was a Resource Dungeon.”

The girls stepped back, but didn’t soften their glares. Loch reached over, putting an arm around Piper and drawing her in close. She resisted at first, but relented. He looked at Harper, who just shook her head, walking off. Loch cursed. He hadn’t meant to scare the girls, and that was what he had done. They weren’t angry, they were scared, afraid he had gotten trapped alone in a Dungeon.

It had been stupid to just walk in. He hadn’t even verified his sense of the Dungeon with Cerie. Being angry at the Silver Bark was no excuse. And he had left his people out there without him. The Silver Bark could have come back. They might have been able to hold out, or even defeat them, but what if a stronger Clanmember had come? Loch had acted rashly. He’d been stupid.

He sighed.

“Sorry,” he said again. “That was dumb of me.”

No one argued or even bothered to reply. Piper did squeeze him tighter.

He stopped at the bodies. They had been covered in a blanket. Releasing Piper, he walked further from the portal, stopping in the middle of the road. Turning Loch searched the forest on either side, looking as deep as he could.

“Elora,” he called out, louder than he needed to be. She didn’t turn but shifted so he knew she had heard. “Are they out there?”

“Yes Lord Lochlan,” she replied, just as loud, pointing to her right.

“I think there’s one over there,” Harper said, pointing in the opposite direction.

Loch looked to where Elora had pointed. He couldn’t see anything. Neither could he in Harper’s direction. But it didn’t matter. If the two said they saw or sensed observers, that was good enough.

“What is the name of the Silver Bark leader?,” he asked.

“Hoskia,” Elora replied, making sure the unseen watchers could hear the lack of a title.

Loch summoned Onyx, expanding it to its largest size. He Activated Bulwark, the green energy shield appearing on his left arm. Activating Breaker’s Banner, the green energy flag appeared just behind him. He could feel the buffs through his body.

“I am Lochlan Brady, Chief of the Brady Clan. This Dungeon is in my territory. Your people have violated my lands and killed my people. That is not acceptable. Tell Hoskia that we are not afraid. We will defend our lands from any invaders and he is an invader.” Loch fell silent, letting his words flow through the woods, finding the ears he knew were listening. The watchers didn’t stir. “The Silver Bark can leave and we will let them. But if you remain, it will tell us that you accept your place as invaders and will be dealt with as such.”

Loch released his Abilities, the banner fading. He felt the extra power leave.

He turned to face one of the watching elves, the one Harper had pointed at. Loch wasn’t sure if he was facing the exact spot. It didn’t matter, as long as he was close. Onyx pointed in that direction, the axehead crackling with energy.

Pulling his arm back, the axe shrinking, he shot his arm forward, releasing Onyx. It spun end over end, streaking across the space, slamming into a large oak. Crackling bolts of lightning danced across the surface of the tree. Two feet away, behind another oak, an elf appeared.

Dressed in leathers, sword at his waist and bow across his back, long green hair flowing in the wind, the elf looked at the axe as it disappeared, leaving burn marks across the bark. He turned and looked back at Loch.

The axe was back in Loch’s hand, back to full size, and pointing right at the elf.

“I suggest you leave,” Loch said.