Burt met his five companions for his newest task. He did not like working with new people, as they always treated him like an idiot. The men in the squad he had been part of for the last decade valued his experience and expertise and did not take notice of his way of speaking. It was certainly not Burt’s fault that he had been born and raised in the northern reaches of the kingdom, nor that he had never received the typical education that most youths received from the local priest or priestess. The settlement Burt had grown up in had not had so much as a shrine, let alone a minor temple or anything more.

In fact, Burt had only seen his first priest after joining the army. Needless to say, seeing the man perform a bit of magic had triggered more than a few of the powerful superstitions Burt had been raised with.

Still, that had occurred more than two decades before, and Burt had long since become accustomed to working with mage priests, even if he still tried to keep his distance as much as possible.

For their current task, Burt was going to have to work very closely with two mages; a priest and a priestess. Overall, the veteran scout was more comfortable with working with priests. It was not any sort of prejudice towards women, but simply the fact that of the three major temples in Farun, only the temple of Yur accepted priestesses, and Yur was the goddess of the earth, bounty, and fertility. By extension, most of her priests and priestesses were healers, which the other two gods worshiped in Farun lacked.

However, Burt had heard from General Simon himself that this Priestess Hild had been ordered to participate in the excursion by the king himself.

Burt had no idea what a woodsman like him was doing with this group.

Burt was a capable scout and a peerless hunter, both of game and men, but he was not an exceptional fighter. Sure, he could pick a man off with an arrow from fifty paces, but if that same man got within ten paces of Burt, he would likely be doomed. His preferred knives did not do much to defend him from the standard weapons used by most soldiers, such as spears, halberds, and swords.

The other members of the team consisted of two massive men, Theo and Ackley, who used shields and short swords. Bastard swords or longer blades were near worthless in close-quarter combat, and so none had been brought along.

The fourth of the warriors was Edgar, a lithe man who seemed to have been born with the spear he wielded. The long weapon never left the man’s body, as when it was not in his hand, it was strapped to his back. Burt had met such soldiers before, and these men typically even slept while holding their weapons. They were also frequently the men who relived the horrors of the battlefield in their dreams, something Burt had been blessed to have only briefly dealt with throughout his long career as a soldier.

Burt intended to stay as silent as possible, as it was clear that the priest and Theo were the two who were trying to be the leader of the small team. Burt had absolutely no desire to get dragged into such stupidity.

Surprisingly, it was Hild who put an end to things. “Enough. Harold, you might be the senior member of this group, but you have absolutely no experience in dealing with similar situations, so step back this time, or I will be sure to report you to Patrick. Understood?

“Good. Now, why don’t you four gentlemen share your names with me and give us all an idea of your experience. I’ll be honest, I have no idea what arrangement to use when we start moving, and I also don’t know which position is best to keep everyone informed and alert to dangers.

“You, archer, come over here and join us. What’s your name?”

Burt was a bit taken aback by the firm and authoritative tone the priestess adopted. It was clear that she was not expecting any arguments from any of the men, and that she would firmly put down any attempt to rebuff her. Little did Burt or the other soldiers know that Hild was the king’s niece, which was why she was able to shut Harold down so quickly, despite his senior status.

Burt walked right over, doffing his helmet as he approached in order to be polite to the brusque woman. “Burt, ma’am.”

“What’s your background, Burt? Also, I’m still an unmarried priestess, so no need for the ‘ma’am.’ You can call me Hild or priestess.”

“Um… Well, I’m a soldier, ma’am. Been one ‘bout twenty years now. I’m part o’ the Shadow Guard; been their chief scout for four years, o’ there ‘bouts.”

“The Shadow Guard? Hmm… Alright, then. What about the rest of you?”

Everyone looked at Burt with a bit more respect after he introduced himself. The Shadow Guard were known as the king’s knife in the dark, and with four years as that group’s lead scout, there was no way that Burt had not seen his fair share of activity and espionage. Surviving for two decades in the military was already enough to prove that a soldier was highly competent, but to not only join the Shadow Guard, but become their chief scout, it was clear that Burt was more capable than his rumpled appearance suggested.

Theo, one of the sword and shield warriors, spoke up next. “Theo. Captain, second brigade. Served under General Hiram before his death.”

General Hiram had been the general who had led the open war against Tamar in recent years, while Simon had directed the unseen war. This meant that Theo had seen a tremendous number of battlefields, and had survived them all intact. While not as impressive as being a member of the Shadow Guard, Theo was clearly a capable warrior.

Theo did not step back, as he introduced the other sword and shield warrior. “This is Ackley, but he doesn’t speak. Had his throat ripped out a few years back during the Battle of Balor. He’s been my right hand for the last six years, and he’s learned to get his point across without words.”

The second large man just stared at everyone and nodded when Theo had finished speaking. Burt had met other war survivors who had lived through similarly impossible injuries. There had even been Dan, who had walked around for two weeks with an arrow through his eye stabbing into his head. Man had eventually died of an infection, though no one could understand how he had even survived the arrow to begin with. Still, it was clear that just about anything was possible.

Attention shifted over to the spearman, who seemed reluctant to speak up at all. “I’m Edgar. I’ve been tossed from one place to another in the army over the last few years, but most recently, I was sent to the Shadow Guard as a trainer.”

That raised more than a few eyebrows. Anyone who qualified to train the Shadow Guard had to be a true expert in their field. It seemed quite clear what Edgar was a master of.

The old priest cleared his throat, openly displaying his agitation at being pushed off for so long. “My name is Harold, and I am a high priest of Hidde. I lead the temple in Balor. The king summoned me back to participate in this-”

“Alright, we get it. Harold is an earth mage, which is the important part to the rest of us, rather than how impressively important he is.” Hild quickly cut Harold off. It had felt like the man had only started introducing himself in a rather wordy manner, so Burt was happy to see the man interrupted.

Hild continued, “As I’ve already said, I’m Hild, and I’m a priestess of Yur, as well as a life affinity mage. If you haven’t been around a life affinity mage before, I can cure your wounds and put you back together after a fight. I’m sure it sounds great for you soldiers, but you need to understand that my work is slow and very mana intensive. I won’t be able to do almost anything during any actual combat, but I can care for any wounded and make sure that they are healed afterwards. While it will put me on bedrest for a few days, I can put an arm or leg back on, if I can get to it fast enough, but please don’t do that to me or you, alright?

“Given the information you’ve all provided, I think it’s pretty clear that Burt here has the most experience in situations like this, so I’d suggest we listen to him about how we proceed.”

Hild then blatantly ignored everyone and looked at Burt with eager and expectant eyes, much to his great discomfort.

Surprisingly enough to Burt, none of the men objected to Hild’s “suggestion.” The woodsman awkwardly scratched his head, not sure of just what they were expecting from him. He was a scout, not a captain. He was used to being the eyes of his squad, not its brain.

That thought gave Burt an idea. “Well, there needs to be one person callin’ the shots, but they don’t need to be the one at the front or the back. Seein’ what we got ‘ere, I’d say we put Theo an’ Ackley at the front, as they got the shields and short swords. Edgar’s spear’s got some range to it, so he can get in where he needs. I can use a bow pretty good, and I’m a’right with my knives, but I ain’t no warrior. I’m best as a scout and yer eyes. As for Ma’am Hild and Master Harold, they should always be behind the shields, but not at the very back, jus’ in case we get snuck up on.”

Stolen story; please report.

Burt felt quite proud of himself for being so articulate, though he could see that Harold looked to be rather confused. Old man’s mind must have started failing him. Pity.

Hild, Theo, and Ackley had been listening and nodding along as Burt had spoken, and Edgar just stared off into space. Burt turned to the priest, as there was a question he wanted to ask. “Master Harold, beggin’ yer pardon, but could you make sure I got this right? I was there when the last hole were found, and Master Aaron said somethin’ ‘bout not bein’ able to move mana through the ground too well. Is this cave like that, too? Master Aaron said he couldn’t move anything deep, or near the hole, and could only grab a bit at the top. Jus’ wanna know if this’ll be effectin’ yer magic and such.”

Harold just stared at Burt for a moment. It seemed the old man’s mind had faded worse than Burt had understood. This might be a problem. Finally, Hild spoke up, “Harold, is there mana interference in the ground, and will it affect your spells?”

“What? Oh. Oh! I did speak with Aaron about that, and he said that sufficient brute force can break through the resistance. Given what they faced last time with High Priest Avery, it should not be a problem for me, though I will check before we enter, just to confirm.”

“Alright, good. So, with the writing we can see here on the entrance to the cave, it looks like there’s a person behind this, which means we might face more than just the beasts that attacked the last time something similar was found. In the time that it took all of us to get here, I was informed that someone did confirm that nothing could be sensed nearby underground, so we’re going to have to go in. We’ve been provided with torches, food, water, and some other supplies, and our orders are to return within two days, regardless of what we find. I think Burt has the right setup for us, so let’s get Theo and Ackley to the front and we’ll start heading in as soon as we get some torches lit.”

“Um, ma’am? With there bein’ six o’ us, we should only be usin’ three torches, that way at least some o’ us will ‘ave hands free for weapons and such.”

Hild nodded even as she handed out the torches. She kept one for herself, and then handed two others to Theo and Burt.

The soldiers shouldered the rest of the supplies, long since accustomed to dealing with long treks while hauling everything they needed. The six then turned to the black abyss of the cave, firmed their resolve, and started forward.

Burt was towards the back so that he could use his bow while being protected by the shields, but he kept his eyes in the front of Theo and Ackley. This was not Burt’s first time going into a cave or a tunnel, but something about this one just raised his hackles worse than he had ever experienced before.

The first stretch of the cave was dark, but surprisingly had a flat floor and was relatively free of debris. However, Burt also noticed that there were absolutely no tool marks to be seen anywhere at all. Somehow the cave seemed both natural and the most unnatural thing he had ever seen.

“Hol’ up! You see that?” Burt whispered fiercely after they had gone about a hundred paces into the cave and had gone around a slight bend that caused the entrance to disappear from sight.

The others froze, and weapons were instantly in the hands of the warriors. Unnoticed by Burt, Harold’s eyes had closed and his lips were moving rapidly as he also prepared for any surprises. Hild turned back to Burt. “What is it? I don’t see anything.”

“There’s light up ahead,” Theo answered for Burt.

Hild whipped around to stare up ahead and Harold’s eyes snapped open. Six pairs of eyes focused on the darkness up ahead of them. Sure enough, they caught a glimmer before them. It did not flicker like a torch, nor did it have the warmth of sunlight. It was a steady, dim, cold light.

Burt doused his torch, and Theo did the same as Burt motioned for Hild to follow suit. The woman was reluctant to eliminate their only light source, but Burt very quietly explained, “We can’t let ‘em know we’re here.”

Understanding that the torches would give their location away to any potential enemies, Hild quickly doused her torch as well.

Burt moved to the front of the group, automatically taking on the role of a scout. Theo and Ackley shifted slightly to either side to allow the smaller woodman to slip by without a sound. Swords were out and shields were up as the two men lowered themselves into a crouch while they waited for their scout to return and give a report.

Burt crept forward across the relatively smooth floor of the cave. There were few loose stones for him to worry about, but given the oddness of their situation, he moved as though he was sneaking through an enemy camp.

The cave curved slightly here and there, and after moving a few hundred paces forward, Burt was able to see that the cave opened back up, and it was from that opening that the light was coming from.

He moved forward slower than ever, creeping up to the edge of the opening. When he peeked out, he nearly fell, he was so stunned by what he was seeing.

Stretched out before him was a forest, much like the one he had just left outside the cave. Burt had not been surprised to find that the cave had opened back up to the forest, as that would not be anything surprising at all. No, what had shocked Burt so badly was the fact that there was a glowing ceiling up above the forest.

There was a forest inside the cave!

Burt stumbled backwards, barely maintaining the presence of mind to try to maintain some level of stealth as he fled the lit up cavern.

Theo and Ackley both heard Burt coming back, and they prepared their weapons. Scouts did not make unintentional noise unless they were being chased.

Burt stopped just behind the shields, and took a moment to catch his breath. He simply shook his head at the other warriors to inform them that there was no pursuit, but that only confused the other three men more than ever. Burt was clearly one of the most experienced scouts in all of Farun, so what other than pursuing enemies could have rattled the man so badly?

“There’s, um. There’s a forest up ahead, but it ain’t right.”

Theo and Ackley glanced back in a questioning manner, and Harold did his best to suppress his irritation as he asked, “Would you care to elaborate a bit further than that?”

“Well, I’ll try to explain, but it won’t mean nothin’ until you get up there ‘n see it fer yourselves.

“It’s a forest, but there’s no sky. The roof’s all bright and lit up somehow, and there’s trees ‘n grass ‘n bushes ‘n all growing in a big ol’ cavern I can’t see across. Never hear o’ nothin’ that big underground, ‘n I’m pretty sure I saw somethin’ movin’ around out there. Think we found the critters.”

At this point, even Edgar had started to frown and focus on the scout. Before anyone could ask more questions, Hild raised a hand to cut them off. “Burt, just answer me this: did you see anything dangerous in there? We need to deliver a report in the event that we fail, so can we proceed further, or do we need to retreat?”

Hild’s question brought a well needed bit of clarity to the situation, and Burt took a deep breath as he shook his head. “There weren’t nothin’ dangerous I could see, just unnatural. If we want to keep goin’, we’re gonna need to use a woodland setup. Uh, Theo, Ackley, and Edgar should understand, but fer you and Master Harold, ma’am, it means me out front checkin’ on things, and the three o’ them surroundin’ you ‘n keepin’ you safe from every direction. We won’t be workin’ in a straight line out there.”

Hild glanced around, and while Harold just shrugged, the other three simply looked forward.

Onward it would be.

The team moved forward, but this time, Burt remained in front of everyone else, setting the pace. Six people moved slowly through the cave, approaching the end of the tunnel. Their pace slowed even further as the light grew brighter.

Despite their evident reluctance, they soon arrived at the end of the tunnel. Burt kept careful watch both in front and behind the small team, as he expected the other five people to be completely distracted by the underground forest that stretched out before them.

Nothing could be seen scurrying about in the darkness behind them, but this time, Burt caught sight of a few birds flying about the trees, and movement that betrayed other animals hidden in both the canopies and in the undergrowth. The forest looked rather old, as most of the trees looked to be several hundred years old. They towered fifty to a hundred meters into the sky, and the foliage looked to be thick and healthy.

Burt remained on high alert, even as he heard some of the men start to mutter as they stared in disbelief. After all, there was no denying that the forest was underground, as the ceiling of the cavern was easily seen far overhead. It was riddled with glowing mushrooms that lit the entire cavern up brightly with the most unnatural shade of light Burt had ever seen.

The place looked either cursed, or like it was the home of some god, which was essentially the same thing.

After a few minutes of staring, Hild waved everyone back away from the edge of the tunnel. They retreated around the first bend, and then circled up, though the soldiers all kept wary eyes on their surroundings.

“So, the first question is, does this forest change anything for our mission? We were sent here to investigate and hopefully destroy the source of the pure mana. I think it’s pretty clear that what we’re dealing with is not the same as an overgrown ant nest like what was found before, but at this point, we’ve barely even entered the cave, and we don’t really have anything solid to report. I’m of the opinion that we should continue, at least into the forest. We should get some information for that part, and see if this cave continues deeper or not. After that, we can decide depending on what we find.

“What do the rest of you think?”

Theo glanced at Burt and gave a slight nod. The soldiers had already established an unspoken hierarchy among themselves, and with that, they would all follow Burt’s decisions and orders.

“Fact is, ma’am, we were given a job t’ do, and we ‘ntend to see it through. We ain’t seen nothin’ t’ change that. We’ll keep on ‘ntil the end, or til we see somethin’ that changes things. ‘Sides, that forest’s too thick to send a larger group through.”

As for Harold, he was clearly uncomfortable, but he kept himself to a grimace and a short nod when Burt finished speaking.

“Then we continue. Are there any preparations any of you need to see to before we proceed into this forest?”

Everyone gave short shakes of their heads.

Everyone gathered their thoughts and courage as they turned to once more face the bizarre forest, this time with the intention of entering it.

Burt just hoped they would be able to handle whatever surprises were in store for them.