Mason froze as he watched the flaming missiles strike the tree's heart. It was like seeing someone drop a glass, or slip on some ice. You knew where things were likely headed, but still hoped it was otherwise.

It didn't explode, or rip apart, at least. Instead a chunk of the beautiful green flesh darkened, and a noise like a strong wind through a woods rattled in the air. The heart 'closed' like a flower, covering itself in a thick layer of dark flesh almost like a walnut.

It all happened very fast. Seamus too just stood there as if wondering what would happen next. He didn’t have to wonder long.

The room shook. A deep groan again like a ship creaking in the waves followed, then something emerged from the wooden wall. That something had a face. An angry face, followed by limbs and a body the size of a large truck.

It ripped and squeezed from the cavern like a thing being born, eyes locked squarely on Seamus.

The fire wizard didn't waste time. He fired another series of fiery blasts at the creature, which seemed largely to shrug the magic off. It was slick with moisture, flesh green and far too new to burn properly.

"Shit."

Seamus kept shooting as he started to run around the room, and Mason and the others just stood watching. Phuong and Alex crossed their arms as they waited for instruction.

The green giant lumbered on, chasing Seamus slowly around the room, occasionally shooting some kind of thorn that burned up on the wizard's shield.

"Come on, mate, you've gotta help me!"

"I don't have to do a God damn thing," Mason said, pretty bloody pissed and obviously not the target of the creature's wrath. "Frankly you're lucky I don't help it kill you."

"Aw come on!" Seamus loosed another series of blasts, almost waiting too long as the walking tree practically swiped his head off. But it missed, and the Irishman ran on.

Mason shook his head, not sure what he wanted to do.

Nassau was desperately in need of casters. The man had tricked him but he understood why. System quests weren't the kind of thing most people could just ignore. Which made him wonder what the hell the game had in store for him in the future in terms of player betrayal and cross purposes.

"You'll agree to serve me and my settlement," he said after a little while. “With no conditions.”

"What?" Seamus ducked another murderous swing and fled. "Are you bloody blackmailing me?"

"Yes. And you'd better stop wasting time. You'll sign a contract, whatever the fuck I say. For one year. And after I save you, there's no more burning the tree, or I'll kill you myself. Or," he shrugged, "you can stop this thing on your own."

Seamus loosed yet another fire blast, with about as much result as the first one. He tried shooting the 'walnut', which did exactly nothing. He was pale and sweating now, already tired with obviously no idea what to do.

"Fuck's sake!," he shouted. "My friend is dead. I'm a person and this is just a fucking game! You've gotta help me!"

"One year,” Mason said again. “Agree and we'll sort out the details later. I'll take you at your word. Better hurry, or I'll make it longer."

Mason could see Phuong grinning now and supposed it was a little funny. The Irishman clearly didn't have the greatest physical stats, and by his wheezing breaths he’d probably been smoking most of his life.

"Christ Jesus!" The man tripped and nearly got stomped to death before leaping and scrambling away. "OK! Whatever you say! Just help me God damnit!"

Mason put a hand to the wall and closed his eyes, activating Speak with Nature.

[I won't let him hurt you again. Call off the guard, and I'll still cleanse you as I promised.]

The same burning warmth touched his hand, full of regret and maybe...apology? With the same overarching feel of helplessness.

Mason understood. It couldn't call off the guard. It was too weak to control such things anymore. They just happened. Mason was going to have to stop it himself.

He shook his head, angry again. He knew the thing was alive, probably little different than the 'defender' he'd made with the nymphs. He tried to tell himself this was all just a nonsense invented by some god-like AI. It wasn’t ‘real’. But he found he couldn't quite believe that anymore.

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"Alright." He summoned his Claws and looked to Alex and Phuong. "We have to put it down."

* * *

Mason dropped three snaring traps, walked behind the thing, then started with a Crippling Strike. It roared in outrage, spinning instantly to clobber Mason before he leapt away.

"Oh thank Jesus." Seamus basically collapsed a little ways away, and as if sensing vulnerability the tree-man turned and lurched towards him. He shrieked like a little girl and rolled to his feet to run, but Mason's Crippling Strike had done its work, and the creature could barely move.

Phuong and Streak took two new angles—the swordsman slashing at the defender's arms as the wolf chomped at its 'knee' and pulled. Mason held his ground and kept slicing with Predator's Strike on cooldown, trying to hold its attention.

Instead, the creature drew into itself and seemed to stop fighting.

"Watch out!" Mason shouted, activating his Shield gem.

The thing somewhat unsurprisingly erupted in thorns. Mason activated Shared Pain just in case, and felt a couple spikes dig as phantom wounds into his side. He heard Alex's shields sizzling and assumed the others were safe.

Then he charged back in and started slashing. Phuong did the same. Streak threw his increasingly heavy weight into the tree and damn near knocked it over on his own.

Huge trunk-like arms waved back and forth at them angrily, but they were too fast and too many. Bits and pieces of branch and plant flesh dropped to the floor as the thing got smaller and smaller. But it also seemed to get faster.

Finally it managed to grab Mason with a brutally strong grip, face twisting in an expression of betrayal as it squeezed.

[Duality of strength activated.]

Mason hacked at its arm but it was still too thick to cut. Then he unsummoned his swords and grabbed its 'hand'.

The hard wood was trying to crush his whole neck, but the harder the thing squeezed, the less afraid Mason felt. It was like lightning coursed through his body, focusing on his neck and pushing his muscles out like an inflated balloon.

Mason pried the creature's fingers apart, a hand on each side pushing the fingers off his waist. The tree-man's face blanked in obvious confusion, then anger as it brought in its other arm, ignoring the damage caused by the others to its back.

It put both hands to Mason, and crushed.

And failed.

Mason growled and pushed it back, finding every moment it squeezed the resistance got easier. And easier.

When holding the thing's hands away became almost simple, he forced them away, then leapt forward and re-summoned his Claws.

With a brutal stroke, he slashed a Predator's Strike at the tree-man's neck, smashing as much as cutting the blade all the way to the hilt. He used it to climb onto the creature's shoulder, grabbed its head, and started pulling.

Like roots ripping from the soil, he yanked the thing's head inch by inch from its neck, getting underneath and pushing with his body until he had it six feet in the air. Then he pulled his sword, and sliced the last few tendrils holding it together. The treeman collapsed.

[Killed Great Tree Guardian. Group experience awarded.]

Mason stood and dusted himself off. He walked to the creature's separated head and closed its 'eyes' with a sigh. He knew he would dream of that look of betrayal etched across the treeman’s face, and it would not be a pleasant dream.

He looked at Seamus, whose gaze went back and forth between Mason and the treeman's head like he couldn't quite understand what he was looking at.

"That innocent creature’s death is on you," Mason said. "It was just trying to protect life. Protect this great tree that does nothing but spread life."

"It's not...real," Seamus said. "It's just a game, mate."

Mason was on him in a blink. He lifted the scrawny little Irishman with one hand on his throat, working hard not to squeeze.

"Shut the fuck up and listen. If this..." he gestured at the walls. "If nothing means anything, if this is all just some sick twisted world, then the only thing that matters, the only thing we can control, is what we do.” He set the man down and took a breath. “Don't let it turn you into a puppet. Or a monster. Don't burn something good because it says so. Because that's on you."

"Alright, mate, Jesus," Seamus rubbed his neck and stepped away. "Whatever you say."

Mason shook his head and walked to the 'walnut', putting his hands on the hardened flesh. "It's alright," he said, activating Speak with Nature. "Open. No one will hurt you now."

The protective coating slowly receded, and Mason put his hands gently on the green heart and turned on Blessing of Gaia.

Then he gasped as the corruption struck him. It was like being back in the red pool in the first great tree, but far, far worse. Something sucked at his mana, at his strength, his energy, his life.

He heard himself moan and soon fell to his knees, repeating again and again in his mind that he could take it, he could last.

"Mason..." Phuong was saying behind him, obviously concerned though Mason had no idea what he was seeing.

"I'm alright," he said, not sure that was true. "Just a little more. Then I’ll…"

Through the link in the tree he could feel the despair. The concern. The hopelessness.

"Stop that," Mason whispered. "You'll make it. We both will. We go together. Keep drawing more."

The draining pressure increased and Mason gasped as something cold spread through his limbs.

"Streak," he whispered. "I need you."

The wolf came to Mason's side, and he stared into his friend's eyes. He activated Shared Pain, and Streak growled and whimpered as it buried its face in Mason's chest.

A little warmth came back, spreading like water from Streak's nose down his body. He shivered and reminded himself he needed to live for Blake, for Nassau, for the girls.

Then it was done. The connection with the heart was gone, and he lifted his hands and sat beside it taking long, deep breaths.

[Objective complete. Cleanse the Great Plains tree. Experience awarded.]

[System Message: There is one more tree to cleanse to complete {Objective: Cleanse the holy trees of the Great Forest. Earn reward: Wyrdwalking.}]

[Dungeon completed. Experience awarded. You have earned enough experience to level to sixteen!]

[Please select a new power to enhance. As a patron, you have twenty-four hours.]

"Oh shite it finished my quest. Ha! Guess I just had to 'cleanse' it, not necessarily 'burn' it."

The Irishman grinned like they were all good friends again, the trouble he'd caused no big deal. Mason found he couldn't do anything but stare at the man.

Then he heard a sizzle as Phuong waved his sword in a figure eight, and the Irishman's eyes rolled back as he dropped, very stunned, unceremoniously to the floor.

"That felt good," said the older man, sheathing his blade and rolling Seamus roughly with his foot. "But I leveled too. Thank you for bringing us to the dungeon, Patron. That was very…interesting."

Mason lay back with Streak and grinned.