The world around Elwin changed completely as he stepped towards the Labyrinth Entrance. A bottomless, endless black, utterly dark like an image from a dream. The black veil was torn away after just a moment, leaving Elwin standing on a dirt path amidst familiar towering trees on a spring evening. The dear scent brought tears to Elwin’s eyes.

Home.

But the night would soon fall. He needed to find shelter.

I’m not sure what kind of plan ADAM has for me, but I can’t imagine it involves me being eaten by hungry bearwolves.

The Ellenian looked to the skies, searching for the shade of the Prime Moontree. He easily found it, the countless green leaves being tickled by wisps of white clouds in the blue sky. Setting his course, Elwin made to follow it home, where the elven city had been built around its roots. He travelled along familiar dirt paths, heading westward. Though he tried to look through the thick forest canopy to the eastern sky behind him, he could find no trace of the Intercessor. Elwin recalled that it had been shot down by some attack from Tenebria Coronum. Did that mean that ADAM had simply placed Elwin back home? For what purpose? Was an unpleasant surprise awaiting him there?

No matter his wondering, it yielded no answers.

He continued on his homeward journey, stopping along the way to gather useful herbs and enchantment materials, replacing what he had used or given to Blue to use as a magical reagent along his long journey.

Walking through Ellenia’s forest of oaks and birch reminded him of the start of his adventure, of how they escaped from Rhaspalaka and Lucina’s Angels, and how they had stumbled into Blue’s temple.

Elwin sighed as he reminisced. “…Kari. I hope you’re at peace now.”

The wood around the elf rustled and groaned as a stiff breeze blew through, carrying leaves, branches, and other debris… along with the noise of distant shouting.

Elwin’s pointed ears twitched. What was that?

A strange feeling settled over Elwin, like an itchy blanket setting him on edge. His feet turned on their own, taking him a step in the direction of the disturbance before he could even think it through.

The enchanter paused. He could be stepping into danger.

Most likely, it was a traveller with their ankle caught in a lonely willow root. If one did not know how to properly tickle and tease the bulb of the plant, the tough wood could hold an unprepared wanderer for hours.

But, it was also possible that it was something more dangerous. Perhaps a hungry bear that had wandered from the north after a long hibernation? Or even a harpy from the mountains to the west? If such things were causing the disturbance, would Elwin even be able to help?

Clenching his fist, he set off in haste. Had such ideas ever stopped him before? And after his pilgrimage to ADAM’s Labyrinth, Elwin had some confidence in his ability to handle whatever challenge he might face.

Elwin sprinted along the winding forest path, which had been made to avoid the dense groves of thick-trunked moontrees. The sound of shouting grew dramatically louder, mixed in with the sounds of clanging metal and splintering bark. Through the slightest gaps in the trees, Elwin could see someone standing in the road, metal flashing about them as they fought off some unseen assailant.

“What is going on?” Elwin wondered as he slipped into the treeline, away from the path where he could be a more obvious target. Finding his way over the dense network of tree roots hidden by shrubs and bush would be treacherous if not for the uncanny ‘sight’ given to Elwin by his gift. Instead, the elf nimbly leapt on, around and over the wood, precisely avoiding patches of mushroom, moss and lichen that might cause him to slip and lose his footing.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

It wasn’t long before Elwin drew close to the disturbance, near enough to see the long blonde hair peeking out from under the helmet of the person standing in the forest path. The blonde-haired person appeared to be a woman, a female knight wielding a sword.

That wouldn’t be Lumie, would it? No, that’s impossible. She’s meant to be in Al Dherjza right now.

Upon taking a better look, Elwin saw that the knight’s livery was silver, rather than the dark blue of King Rolynd’s banner, and so he let himself relax somewhat. It was a small relief, however, as the knight was surrounded by five assailants who leapt about unnaturally, whether by the power of a Gift or enchanted artefacts. They circled the knight like rabid dogs, darting and pouncing, looking for an opening in their victim’s defences. Based on their worn armour…

Bandits! Here? So close to the city?

But it was not the time to be wondering why a pack of cutthroats had been allowed to assail a traveller on what were meant to be safe roads. Although the chipped swords and daggers of the bandits were unable to penetrate the knight’s heavy armour, their repeated attempts to find an opening was wearing down her strength.

Elwin took a deep breath. Once upon a time, he may have been one to panic faced with such a crisis, but now, his mind raced to thought. He needed some way to stop the fighting. The only real tool he had was his Gift, and although it could be used to shape wood, he had never used that skill to harm another person.

But he had to do something. Even if he fashioned armour or weapons from wood, Elwin did not think that his underdeveloped skills would be any match for the bandits who had the confidence to take on a fully trained knight.

No, there’s more than just my Gift.

The knight was unable to effectively fight back while also defending herself, but perhaps Elwin could use her strength to his advantage.

While remaining hidden as best he could behind trunk and branch, Elwin approached as the others fought, drawing within range of his Gift. He spied on the bandits carefully, watching the footwork of their scuffed leather boots as they fought. The knight blocked one sword and dragged it with her crossguard to catch a second blow. She then twisted, sending the two bandits reeling, and managed to deflect a sword blow from behind with her heavy pauldrons in the process. She moving far more nimbly than one might expect beneath such bulk.

“You fucking wench!” One of the bandits, a particularly ugly fellow, roared as he grasped his aching wrist. “Just you wait until we’ve stripped that armour off you, whore!”

“Come and try me you filthy animal!”

With an enraged roar, the taunted bandit rushed in with reckless abandon. Elwin seized the opportunity to pull a root up through the topsoil of the forest trail, catching the man’s ankle. The bandit tripped, to his own surprise and to the surprise of his enemy.

One of the bandits behind the knight moved to strike in an attempt to cover for his ally’s weakness, but Elwin was ready for that, too. The earth beneath the wretch’s foot as he leapt forward, sending him pitching into the dirt.

The knight took her opportunity to strike and ran the man through the back. He barely made a sound, just a weak grunt. Dark red blood dripped from the tip of the knight’s pale blade.

To Elwin’s horror, it didn’t end there. While getting to his feet, the ugly bandit roared at the sight of his companion’s blood. His roaring was cut short as the knight skilfully slashed his defenceless throat wide open, sending shocking amounts of sticky crimson liquid pouring into the dirt.

At the sight of their dead comrade’s body collapsing into a pool of its own blood, the remaining bandits turned tail and fled into the forest.

The knight quickly pulled a knife from the belt of the deceased at her feet and flung it after the retreating men.

“NO!” Elwin shouted, bending the thrown dagger off-course by applying his Gift to the wood of the weapon’s hilt. The blade sank into the bark of a tree in the distance, narrowly missing its target.

The knight turned to look at Elwin.

“What do you think you’re doing?!” she demanded.

“Helping you! What do you think I’m doing?” Elwin said.

“That’s no reason to interfere. I had that last one dead to rights with that throw.”

The knight took one last glance into the forest that the bandits had fled into. Deciding that they would pose no further threat, they removed their helmet.

Elwin gasped.

“Lumie?! Are you okay? What are you doing here?” he asked, a completely mystified expression on his face.

Lumie was equally taken aback. “Who are you? How do you know my name?”

Elwin didn’t know how to respond. Seeing the tip of Lumie’s blade turn to point at him, he felt an eerie chill run down his neck.

“You don’t remember me?”

“I’ve never met you once in my life, elf.” Lumie spat. “You better start talking quick.”