For a moment, Feyrith was frozen in place, barely able to breathe as the full reality of the situation hit him. He knew he needed to get moving. The sooner he did, the sooner he could try to look for either Ayd or the rest of their group, but Feyrith simply couldn't get himself to.

At least not until the voice spoke to him again.

Turn right. Go now.

Feyrith swallowed, finally managing to move his shaking limbs. But despite that, he barely felt in control as he climbed onto his quasir's back once more and did as he was told, making his mount start walking as quickly as possible in the instructed direction.

"Where am I going?" he asked out loud without meaning to say it. His voice was barely a whisper, and yet he felt foolish for speaking to someone not even close enough to hear him. It could attract the attention of whatever beast might be lying in wait even more than the quasir's steps.

Your friend.

Feyrith wished the voice was a little less vague about which friend it was leading him to, but he couldn't bring himself to care as much as he should. It was probably Ayd, anyway, given that the voice had said friend, and not friends.

Filled with new energy at the prospect of reuniting with at least someone, Feyrith nudged his quasir to go quicker, despite the thick undergrowth the animal had to navigate. The quasir let out an upset caw but did as it was told, flattening ferns and ripping through vines as it went.

It stumbled a little the last few steps before they reached a part of the jungle that was less overtaken by plant life. There were no shrubs or vines on the ground here, and while the ferns remained, those were not difficult to get through, which meant the quasir could go faster. And it did without Feyrith even having to tell it to. His mount was clearly as interested in getting away from here as much as he was, especially after their adventure in the desert that Feyrith still didn't understand on any level. He couldn't help but feel pity for the poor animal, but the quasir itself didn't seem terrified, only annoyed, so Feyrith supposed at least there was that.

He couldn't even look around for danger, too afraid of seeing some. He knew it was completely illogical, and yet his body refused to cooperate, too panicked to obey him. And so he just focused on getting to Ayd as quickly as possible, letting the quasir do most of the navigating. The voice was silent, which Feyrith assumed meant that he was still heading the right way, but he wished it talked more. He wouldn't feel quite so lost and alone if it did.

Once some time had passed and still nothing bad had happened, Feyrith managed to calm down just enough to take a proper look at his surroundings, noting how much darker everything was in this part of the jungle. Not only was there less light, but the plants themselves seemed to have darker leaves, the tree trunks surrounding him thicker and taller. Feyrith stretched his hand to some kind of ivy growing on one of them, ripping off an almost black leaf to inspect it, frowning when he noticed it had a purple sheen.

He had no idea what that could signify, but he did know that he'd never heard of anything quite like this before. It must have been something to do with the jungle itself. Feyrith wondered how deep within it he was, but now he was rapidly realizing that he could be anywhere completely. He could be on the other side of it, for all he knew. And yes, he was heading to find Ayd, but once they reunited, how were they going to find the rest of their party? Hopefully, they weren't too far away, but they could very well be, and Feyrith didn't think they could survive out here on their own without magic.

No, Feyrith refused to think about this. First, he needed to find Ayd, then they could figure the rest out together. Perhaps Ayd would offer a different perspective. He usually seemed to, given his Curse, much like Edwyr had, except unlike Edwyr, he didn't hate Feyrith.

Making his quasir go a bit faster, Feyrith tried to swallow down some of his building fear. He wouldn't survive here if he panicked, so he needed to avoid doing it as much as possible. At least there didn't seem to be anything other than them alive in this place, not even insects from what he could see as the quasir zipped past the trees. The fact that the place seemed to be completely devoid of life, save for the plants, was somewhat disturbing, but Feyrith was just happy that there was no imminent threat waiting to end his life. He truly hoped the voice would warn him if something was near him.

Feyrith kept going in the same direction, keeping the quasir steady even when it wanted to go far around a few trees or bushes to make the path easier for itself. He was just afraid of losing his sense of direction if he strayed for even a second. But finally, after what felt like an eternity, the voice spoke again.

Cave. Close to you.

A cave? Somehow Feyrith hadn't thought of there being any in the jungle, but it was so vast that he supposed there was no reason to think there wouldn't be. And it would make sense for Ayd to take shelter in it since it would give him at least some protection against the jungle beasts, assuming there were none in the cave itself. Still, the idea of entering a cave in the jungle terrified him as much as it fascinated him.

It seemed dangerous, but he'd just be even more cautious. He certainly wouldn't ride in on his quasir. The beast might slip and fall, depending on what the cavern floor is like, and Feyrith would hate for it to come to any harm. He should let it graze, though, it hadn't eaten in quite a while, and he was sure it was thirsty as well.

Feyrith slowed the quasir down a little as he squinted into the darkness between the trees, trying to spot any sign of the cave.

Continue. Close.

It truly only took a few dozen more steps for Feyrith to finally spot a very steep wall of rock suddenly cutting off his path up ahead, and a little to the left the jagged opening within it. He couldn't see inside it, all of it obscured by impenetrable darkness, but Feyrith was sure this was the place the voice had meant.

His heart somehow found a way to pound harder as he approached the entrance, trying to resist calling out to Ayd. He truly wanted to, just to hear a confirmation that he was truly there, but it would just call attention to himself. He'd made it this far unscathed, but he was sure that wouldn't be the case any longer if he started yelling.

His quasir stopped in front of the entrance, sticking its head inside and sniffing while Feyrith climbed off it, looking in as well as he took the quasir's reins in his hand. The cave smelled of the earth and something sweet that he couldn't quite place.

Inside. Go.

The voice sounded louder now, clearer, and yet still just as unidentifiable as before. But that wasn't what made Feyrith pause. No, it was the almost frantic tone that accompanied those words.

"Did something happen?" Feyrith said softly, not even certain if he was trying to talk to the voice or if he was simply thinking aloud. But the voice answered anyway.

Yes. Injured. Go quickly.

Feyrith's eyes grew wide. Without thinking, he rushed inside the cave, running down the inside of it, barely managing now to trip and fall on the wet, slimy surface of rock and moss.

Only when he took a second to wonder why it might be wet did Feyrith realize he'd left his quasir by the cave entrance, but when he looked back up, he could barely see the exit anymore. He considered running back up to get the quasir, but then he shook his head. No, it would be fine for a moment. He needed to find and help Ayd before it was too late.

Darting off again, Feyrith ventured deeper, looking around frantically as he tried to spot Ayd anywhere. He once again wanted to call out to him, but the way his footsteps echoed was more than loud enough for the elf to notice if Ayd was conscious. And if he wasn't then he wouldn't answer even if Feyrith screamed his name at the top of his lungs.

Gasping in surprise, he suddenly tripped over something on the ground, falling to the ground with a cry. What had he fallen over? He groaned, his forearms burning. He must have scuffed them on the rock. He tried to raise himself, pushing his hands against the slimy surface beneath him and getting up onto his knees. But that was as far as he got before he felt something wrap around his ankle.

Crying out again, he grabbed at the thing, but his fingers slipped immediately, the vine or whatever it was too slimy to get a good grip on.

Finally, the voice boomed in Feyrith's head loudly, distracting him just long enough for a second vine to slither around his other ankle. And before Feyrith knew it he was falling down as both of them yanked back, sending him back to the ground with a yelp. He had barely managed to catch himself with his hands in time.

More vines, as black as the cave, wrapped themselves tightly around his wrists, forcing his arms behind his back and holding them there. And Feyrith was left trapped, unable to resist as more vines joined in, thicker and stronger, wrapping around his chest and legs and dragging him up and deeper into the cave.

"Help!" Feyrith yelled, desperately trying to wiggle free, but the more he fought back the more vines wrapped around him until all he could do was hang there, being dragged the Goddess knew where. And once he managed to fight through his overwhelming panic and think for a moment, he realized that this must have been a trap all along. The voice had led him here under false pretenses. What else it saying finally could mean?

Oh, he'd been such a fool. Ayd had told him he shouldn't blindly trust the voice, and yet he had, with very little convincing. All he had to be told was that Ayd was in trouble, and Feyrith had left behind all of his caution. And now it was too late. The vines weren't even bothering gagging him because whatever creature the voice belonged to must have known he had no magic he could use to get out of this, that he was harmless.

His eyes stung at his crushing failure, but he refused to let any tears fall. He wouldn't sink that low.

The farther he was pulled in the more vines there were all over the cave, spreading out across not only the ground but also the walls and ceiling. Feyrith was terrified of what kind of creature there might be at the end of the cave, but whatever it was he was about to meet it.

"Yes, come to me, little elf," thundered a voice, echoing through the entire cave. Feyrith almost yelped in surprise and fear, feeling his insides quake. That voice. It was different but just similar enough for him to immediately know this was the same voice that had been talking to him. Except it was talking in full sentences now.

And soon enough, as he was pulled inside a bigger, dimly lit, rounded part of the cave, his eyes finally found the voice's owner. Feyrith had no words to react to the sight in front of him. The creature seemed humanoid, a figure one might confuse for a human or elf in the night, but on closer inspection, it became clear there was nothing humanoid about it.

It was made of those same vines that were holding him captive. In fact, those same vines, and the other ones all around them were growing out of the creature, acting as some horrifying facsimile of arms and hands for it.

Feyrith almost whimpered at the sight. There was something...wrong with this creature. He had no idea what this thing was, but he was completely at its mercy. And yet his terrified mind couldn't help but try to make sense of this anyway. The only thing similar to something like this Feyrith could think of was an indari. The way this creature was made of black, slimy vines was similar to how the wooden tigers were made of twisting branches, but indari were not more intelligent than animals. This creature was much above that level.

"I have waited so long for someone like you to come to me," said the creature, its voice now softer as it strolled over to him, the vines it was made of twisting constantly. The sight made Feyrith dizzy. And unnerved. Something about the unnatural movement, the swirling of the vines, it was all making him want to run as if the situation itself wasn't enough for that.

He wished there was no light in this part of the cave either. He could now see that there was a crack in the ceiling, sending some of the dim jungle light inside, but he would have been happier not knowing what the creature looks like.

"W-what do you want with me?" he forced out, his voice shaking. His whole body was shaking, but it could barely do even that with how tightly he was restrained.

"I require a vessel," the creature said, stopping right in front of Feyrith, close enough to let him see that it didn't have a face. Its head was just a tangle of vines in the shape of a head. He had no idea how the creature managed to talk without a mouth, but Feyrith didn't dare think about it. "This body will not allow me to leave the central regions of the jungle, let alone venture outside of it."

Feyrith frowned, confusion replacing his fear for a split second before his eyes went wide with horror. Oh no, this creature was planning on somehow taking his body for itself. Was that what this all had been for? Building his trust only to lead him here to use him like this? Someone had already taken his magic, he would not let this creature take his body, too.

And yet, what could he do to stop this? He had no magic to defend himself, and how could he hope to reason with this creature when it had gone through all this trouble to get him here? It wouldn't let him go, of that Feyrith was certain.

And yet his desperation got the better of him. "Please. Don't."

The creature took a long look at him before turning around, the vines leading out from it slithering around as it started to walk around. "I understand that this will not be pleasant for you. But I have waited millennia for an elf without magic to come here. You were simply unfortunate enough to be that elf."

So it was his current lack of magic that this creature had been after? As if not having magic wasn't a curse enough by itself. Feyrith's only solace was that at least Ayd wasn't the one who would be put through this because the same fate could have befallen him as well if this creature was to be believed.

Feyrith took a shuddering breath, a single tear falling from his eye. He had always known he might die in the jungle, but he had never imagined the true nature of his death would be quite so horrific. Or would he even die? Perhaps he would still be in his body with the creature in full control of his actions instead.

Feyrith shuddered, swallowing down another whimper. That would be a fate worse than death. Surely, it wouldn't be this way. He wouldn't be able to bear that.

"A human body cannot house my consciousness," the creature explained as it used its vines to move large rocks around on the cave floor. Feyrith was barely paying attention though, too busy trying to keep the waves of hopelessness at bay. "An elven body can, but the magic in its veins acts as a shield against me. An elf like you must be the answer."

Feyrith certainly had no magic to help him, he thought to himself bitterly, that was for certain. He hung his head as the creature busied itself with something, just hanging in the air held in place by the vines. They hadn't slacked even slightly, their firm grip on him as tight as ever, though at no point was it painful. Not that that fact helped Feyrith feel better.

"I have some preparations to do before we can begin the ritual," the creature said, not looking Feyrith's way as it continued moving rocks around. Feyrith only then realized they were very large precious stones. He had no idea what that had to do with magic, but it must have been important somehow. "I can answer some of your questions if you have any."

The fact that this creature who wanted to steal his body was offering to explain itself to Feyrith was ridiculous. It was almost insulting, though Feyrith wasn't completely certain why it felt that way. At least the creature didn't wish to torment him before possessing him, he supposed, but that thought brought little comfort to him.

Still, despite his horror and helplessness, a question did make it past his lips after a moment of silence. "What are you?"

The creature paused, turning what would be its face to him if it had one. "I am...not quite certain."

Its voice was so strange, neither male nor female, with shifting pitch. It had sounded that way when it had been talking to him in his head, except it had been more garbled then, harder to understand. Feyrith shut his eyes as they started to sting with the tears of humiliation. He had been so stupid to come here, to assume a voice only he could hear would have good intentions. He deserved this if he was to be honest with himself.

"The desert you ventured into, that illusion, I think that used to be my home," the creature continued, continuing its work. Feyrith forced himself to focus on its words rather than anything else, but it was difficult to pay attention with the whirlwind of self-deprecating thoughts in his head. "Then I remember an explosion."

"A-an explosion?" Feyrith repeated in a whisper, frowning. An explosion of what? He had seen a magical explosion once, though it was quite small and contained within the enchanted training rooms on Aendor.

Feyrith sighed at the memory. He was never going to see Aendor again. That had likely been true even prior to now given how difficult it would be to find those rogue elves and get them to give him his magic back, not to mention the Council likely not accepting him back even then, but his end at the hands—or vines—of this creature truly solidified it.

"Then I was here. Little more than a spirit, somehow bound to this forest, this jungle. I cannot remember who I used to be before this existence, but I cannot bear it no longer."

So this creature likely used to be an elf? It would make sense given that it had said a human body could not hold it. But how could an elf become a spirit? He wasn't even certain what to imagine a spirit to be. He was somewhat sure that humans believed in some kind of spirits because he had heard Lanna and Arbane joking around about haunting each depending on who died first. The conversation had seemed very gruesome to him then, and it still did now, and he hadn't asked for any details then, so he had no idea what the humans believed.

The important thing was that the elves didn't share these beliefs, and that there were no records of anything like a spirit actually existing. Until now, at least.

If Feyrith could be more afraid, he would be now.

"It's been so loud lately. So loud."

The vines shuddered, making Feyrith's stomach turn at the feeling of them moving around him. But he didn't let that distract him from what the creature had said.

"Loud? Do you mean...the earthquakes?"

The creature brought its arms to where its ears would have been, as if it could hear something right now. "She comes and disturbs the river. Over and over."

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

The creature was talking as if those earthquakes, or whatever they were, were causing it actual pain, but perhaps that was the case. It had said it was bound to the jungle, and whatever was going on, the jungle beasts were being driven out by it. Maybe that was why he hadn't gotten attacked at all when he came here. Perhaps there were no beasts left in these parts.

"Who is she? What river?"

But the creature didn't answer, only shaking its head and continuing its work. "I will find a way to kill her."

Feyrith swallowed. It didn't need to specify that it would use his body to do so. But it seemed he had been right. Someone was causing the earthquakes, which meant they could put an end to them, and hopefully, the beasts would return to the jungle on their own given enough time.

If only he could somehow let his companions know before this creature took over his body. But at least it seemed intent on stopping the earthquakes as much as he had been, even if it were for a completely different reason. Perhaps at least that would be taken care of.

He flinched when the vines started to drag him to the center of the circle of rocks with no warning, the creature silently watching with its featureless face as he moved. This must have been it. Feyrith shut his eyes, praying to the Goddess for a quick death if nothing else, the tears he'd been holding at bay this whole time finally leaking from his eyes and running down his cheeks.

But then, suddenly, the creature let out an ear-piercing scream, and his eyes flew open again.

There was fire. The creature was on fire, its vines twisting as it continued screaming, its hold on Feyrith slipping until he was falling to the ground.

"Fey!"

Feyrith craned his head only to see Ayd running to him. He almost didn't want to believe he'd actually come to rescue him, too afraid that this was simply some hallucination his desperate mind had come up with to make his death easier to bear, and yet new hope surged within him. He wriggled, trying to get out of the mass of vines still wrapped around him as Ayd reached him, cutting the vines off one by one with expert movements. The creature was still screaming, having lost its shape and being little more than a ball of vines rolling around the cave floor, but Feyrith could barely pay any attention to it.

"Come on!" Ayd yelled, staring at the creature with wide eyes. He looked afraid and for good reason. Feyrith jumped to his feet, no matter how much his legs felt like jelly, and with Ayd's hand on his shoulder, they ran out of the cave, the screaming of the burning creature following them as they went.

They didn't stop once they were outside, both climbing onto their mounts and running off in the opposite direction, neither of them daring to say anything until the cave was far behind them and out of sight. Only then did Ayd slow down his quasir, Feyrith doing the same.

His heart was still hammering in his chest, and his hands were shaking. He couldn't believe Ayd had managed to find him just in time.

"Are you okay, Fey?" Ayd asked now that they could talk, looking Feyrith over with worry clear in his frown. "What was that thing?"

Feyrith nodded, looking down at himself. He was covered in slime and his limbs felt cramped from being tied up by the vines, but otherwise, he was unscathed. Unsurprisingly, the creature had wanted to use his body as its own. "Yes, I am okay. I...I'm not quite certain what the creature was. It called itself a spirit."

Ayd raised an eyebrow, looking skeptical. Feyrith couldn't blame him for that, though. He had heard it say this, and he himself was also still a little unsure if it was possible or not.

"It was the...." Feyrith sighed, his shoulders sinking. "The voice I was hearing."

He was sure Ayd was going to give him a lecture for this. An I told you so. And why wouldn't he? He had every right. He had been correct not to trust the voice, and Feyrith should have done the same.

"Bastard," Ayd cursed. Feyrith flinched, thinking Ayd was talking to him, but then he noticed the other elf was looking behind them, presumably to where the cave was, even though it wasn't visible anymore. "This damned jungle is even worse than I thought."

"How did you find me?"

Ayd's angry scowl disappeared, replaced by a small smile. "I tracked you. That portal spat me out not that far from you, but before I managed to catch up.... Well, you know."

Feyrith sighed. So if he had waited, perhaps this could all have been avoided. Or perhaps the creature would have gotten two elves it could use for its purposes instead of one.

"I sort of panicked when I saw that creature, so I threw my torch at it. I wasn't sure if it would work."

Oh, so Ayd had set the creature on fire using a torch he'd presumably made before venturing into the cave, likely wrapped in cloth, or some other flammable material. Feyrith was willing to bet that it had come from his sleeve, as it was partly ripped off, and he didn't think that had been the case before. Feyrith had no idea how Ayd had managed to set the torch on fire without magic, but he probably knew very well how to make a spark, being Cursed all his life.

"Thank you for rescuing me."

Ayd's gaze softened as he reached over to pat Feyrith's shoulder. "Of course. I care about you. I wouldn't leave you behind."

Feyrith frowned, having no idea what to do with this. Was Ayd saying that they were friends? He would quite like that, though he had no idea what he'd done to deserve Ayd caring about him. "You do?"

Ayd shook his head, muttering something about Aendor under his breath. "Yeah, you think I'd go to this place of nightmares if you weren't going?"

That shocked Feyrith so much that he pulled on his quasir's reins, stopping it in its tracks. He had no idea why he'd done that, but he felt like a pause would help. He truly hoped that there truly were no beasts left in these parts. Then again, if there were any, they would have likely already attacked given the fact that he and Ayd were having a conversation out here.

"You went...because of me?" Feyrith didn't know how to feel about this. Except for guilty. Yes, he felt guilty now and personally responsible. "I thought it was to protect the human settlements."

"Both can be true, Fey," Ayd replied, turning his quasir around so they could face each other. He heaved a sigh, brushing his hair away from his forehead. "Yes, sure, I wanted to help protect everyone, but you going here alone was what really pushed me to join in. I like you, so I didn't want you to die. I thought if I could help protect you somehow, it would be worth it. And it was."

Then he shrugged, as if what he'd just said was something casual, something unimportant. But it was earthshattering to Feyrith. He wasn't used to anyone thinking of him like this, let alone an elf, albeit a Cursed one who had been living with the humans for many years. It was such a forbidden way of thinking, and it made him feel good that he mattered to Ayd, even though he didn't understand why Ayd cared.

But Feyrith pushed away the thoughts telling him he was being selfish for enjoying this. He had just almost died. All the rules that had been hammered into his head on Aendor seemed so pointless and unimportant right now.

"I like you, as well."

Ayd let out a little laugh, grinning at Feyrith. That grin quickly disappeared, though, turning into a concerned frown. "So you are okay? What did that thing even want with you?"

Feyrith sighed, looking around just to make sure nothing was about to attack them. There were no glowing eyes in the dark, nor any suspicious shadows, though. "It wanted to possess my body. To escape the jungle."

Ayd's face paled, his eyes growing wide. "I'm glad I showed up when I did."

Feyrith nodded readily, in complete agreement with that sentiment. He'd been so scared, felt so hopeless, it was horrible. And yet he couldn't help the pang of sadness for the creature. It hadn't wished to harm him, it had simply wished to escape its existence, something he could very well understand.

"Come on, we'd better go before we become tiger food. Or whatever else might be crawling around this place."

Feyrith nodded, following Ayd as the elf turned his quasir around and nudged it to start moving. "The creature talked about the earthquakes as if they hurt it. And I have not seen a single beast so far. I think they might have been driven out of this area."

Ayd looked over his shoulder, raising an eyebrow. "Then let's hope you're right."

+++++++++++++

It seemed this part of the jungle truly was completely abandoned by the beasts. Feyrith and Ayd had been wandering through it for quite some time until setting up camp, finally having found a small alcove in the same wall of rock the cave had been inside of, except much farther away from it.

It was wonderful that this area was, as far as they knew, safe, but the problem was that they had no way to figure out which way to go. They had no idea where they were, which meant that trying to retrace their steps was impossible. There was no way to even figure out where north and south were in this place, so the hope of rejoining the rest of their group was almost nonexistent.

"I believe what we should do is wait for another earthquake, then follow its source. Surely the others are doing the same."

Ayd nodded, chewing on a piece of bread thoughtfully. It was clear he wasn't very happy with the situation, but how could he be? They were lost. Feyrith was still incredibly impressed that Ayd had managed to track him down to the cave. The Goddess truly must have been on their side for Ayd to be transported near enough into the jungle to still be able to find him.

Though given that she had also made Ayd Cursed, Feyrith wasn't sure what to think about that. He just knew that not saying any of this out loud was the correct approach.

"We should be close if the beasts have been driven out of the area like this."

Ayd nodded a bit absently, staring down at the ground. It was clear he was thinking about something, but Feyrith wasn't sure if it would be appropriate to pry. Though just a moment later Ayd spoke, saving Feyrith the trouble of asking.

"You said that creature told you about a she who's doing all of this."

Feyrith nodded, not sure what to add. He himself still wasn't sure what to make of that comment. He had theorized that the rogue elves might be behind this, and while he still somewhat assumed he was simply biased and trying to connect things, he couldn't help but wonder if one of those elves was doing this.

Surely it had to be an elf, however. How would a human even begin to cause such devastation? Feyrith wasn't even sure how an elf would be capable of this, but it was more likely than a human, certainly.

"And something about a river?" Feyrith once again nodded, frowning at Ayd's bewildered expression. "So magic, I'm assuming?"

"I don't think that is new information."

Ayd's face fell a little as he cleared his throat. "Yeah, of course, I'm just...trying to make sense of things."

Feyrith grimaced, realizing what he'd done. He hadn't meant to imply that what Ayd was saying was useless, simply that this had been the conclusion even before they'd left. But before he could try to clear up the confusion, Ayd spoke again.

"I wonder what river it meant. There are no rivers in this place."

Feyrith's eyebrows rose. He hadn't thought to think about that yet. "How do you know?"

"Rivers always flow to the ocean, and no rivers flow through the center of the jungle."

That...was true. Feyrith had never realized that. There was one river cutting through the jungle, but it ran through it in the south, not going very deep. But here they were dealing with magic. Surely a regular river would not cause earthquakes, no matter what, so perhaps the creature calling it a river was simply metaphorical or inaccurate. In any case, Feyrith was morbidly curious what it could be.

"If there were, we wouldn't have to worry about water." Ayd sighed, taking his waterskin off his belt and taking a drink. The water and food situation was also making Feyrith a bit nervous. They had enough for a couple of days between them, but if they didn't come across the rest of their group until then, they would have a major problem on their hands. The food wasn't nearly as much of a problem as the water, though.

That thought left his head, though, as his hands flew to his ears, covering them against the sudden assault of far too loud rumbling. It made the earth shake violently, and yet it didn't, nothing falling or breaking through its force. Feyrith just sat there, teeth gritted as the thunderous boom came to an end, and the shaking stopped. And just like that, everything was the same as ever.

Feyrith blinked, jumping to his feet as he looked around. There truly was nothing out of place, but how was that possible? He'd thought it was an earthquake because it felt and sounded that way, and yet it seemed to have shaken something inside of him rather than the ground. He felt so strange, so cold. The feeling lasted only for a moment, and yet he could still feel a ghost of it inside of him.

"I think that is our cue," said Ayd, looking on the opposite way Feyrith was. Yes, right, they wanted to follow the earthquake. He wasn't sure why he'd completely forgotten to pay attention to where the noise had come from, but now he felt ashamed. It didn't matter what these earthquakes were, they just needed to stop them.

"We must be close." The noise had been so loud. Feyrith truly hoped that the rest of their party wasn't too far away. If he and Ayd came upon the person doing all of this on their own, he was certain they would perish. That elf back in Urzikal had defeated him without even trying, and he'd had magic then.

"Let's hope so."

Despite his words, Ayd didn't seem very thrilled, having likely very similar thoughts to Feyrith. But neither of them said anything else as they mounted their quasir and began heading in the direction of the noise.

The jungle was as eerily silent as always, but Feyrith hadn't been tense up until this point. It truly was empty, which his stressed mind had clung onto almost desperately, eager to get some relief after almost constant terror. But now he was tense because they were getting close. Because they could very well die very quickly. He doubted the elf behind this was unaware of what they were doing. He didn't think the point of this was to chase the beasts out of the jungle, but that didn't mean they cared about it. They surely would have stopped. There was no way not to notice what their actions were causing, even if one stayed in the center of the jungle. So they clearly didn't care. Which meant that they would be difficult to reason with, if it would be possible at all.

As they kept going, though, Feyrith's ears picked up on a noise. At first, he'd thought it was made by their mounts' claws against the undergrowth, but the more he listened to the soft rustling, the more he was sure it was coming from around them. He'd assume it was simply wind blowing at the leaves of the trees all around them, but no, there was no wind here at all.

But then what—

He cried out when his quasir suddenly stumbled over something, making Feyrith fly forward in his saddle. He almost fell off, but managed to catch himself at the last moment, grabbing onto the front of the saddled just to stay in place. But before he could get over his shock and investigate what had happened, he heard Ayd let out an alarmed cry. And before he could look at him, Feyrith felt something wrap itself around his ankle and pull.

He came flying off his saddle with a shout, gritting his teeth when he hit the ground hard stomach first, but he pushed past the momentary pain to take in the situation as quickly as possible. Because this all felt incredibly familiar.

Instead of slimy, dark vines, there was some kind of deep purple ivy moving all around him, trying to wrap itself around more than just one of his ankles, but the ivy was too slow, so much slower than the vines had been. Maybe there was a chance this time.

His heart hammering away, Feyrith fumbled for his dagger, making quick work of the ivy still wrapping up his ankle, and the moment it snapped in two, Feyrith jumped up and looked around as quickly as he could, immediately finding Ayd, who was currently struggling against a strand wrapped around his wrists, preventing him from cutting them off.

Feyrith rushed to him, doing it for him, but even as he was cutting away the first strand, he could feel more of it wrapping around his leg. They needed to get out of here and fast before the creature could gain the upper hand.

"We need to go!" he said, but even as he spoke, he noticed Ayd's quasir, its legs immobilized by ivy. The animal was trying to snap them in two with its mighty beak, cawing as it did, but it was simply not managing to do so quickly enough. It seemed the creature was focusing on disabling their mounts first, so they didn't do exactly what Feyrith had had in mind.

"Free your squawker, I'll free mine!" Ayd said, immediately running to his mount and helping it fight off the ivy. Feyrith did the same, doing his best to cut away all the strands the quasir wouldn't be able to reach easily, such as those wrapped around its hind legs, but thankfully it seemed like the rate at which new strands of ivy appeared was much lower than at which he and the quasir managed to get rid of them because soon enough, his quasir was free, and Feyrith was climbing into its saddle.

"This way!" shouted Ayd, also having finished with the ivy. Feyrith followed as Ayd barreled past, his quasir galloping through the tall ferns and past thick trees. He didn't question where Ayd was going, all that was important was that they were getting away from here.

But even as they ran at maximum speed through the jungle, a very dangerous idea given the terrain, Feyrith could see plants moving in unnatural ways, vines hanging from the trees following them, the ferns snagging on both quasirs' legs, the roots moving.... Even the trees themselves seemed to bend toward them somehow. It was difficult to see at the speed they were going, but Feyrith could hear the creaking of wood all around them.

Just as Feyrith thought they were getting away, though, something exploded out of the earth in front of them, making his quasir stop dead in its tracks as it led out a loud, terrified squawk. Feyrith fell out of the saddle this time, falling to the ground with a pained gasp as he landed on his arm.

But as he dragged himself to his knees, intent on getting up again and continuing to run, he finally took in what had spooked his quasir so much. And for a moment he couldn't breathe, his blood running cold.

Just twenty or so feet away from him towered a figure, at least three times as tall as him, made up of plants. Its legs were the roots of the nearby trees, with the rest of its body made up of ivy and vines, leading out from it to the trees and ground from where they'd come. And like that, Feyrith's fears were confirmed. This was the creature once more. Because aside from the terrifying size and lack of those black vines, it looked the same.

"I will not let you leave me here," the creature roared, its voice so loud it almost hurt to hear. But it didn't sound angry. This was utter desperation. If Feyrith weren't so terrified of the giant in front of him, he might feel pity for it. It was clearly suffering by being here. But he wouldn't sacrifice himself to let the creature walk out of here, certainly not willingly. Aside from not wanting to die, the Goddess only knew what kind of havoc this creature could wreak if it was let out of its prison.

Feyrith was brought out of his trance of horror when more vines tried to tie themselves around him, but either the creature had less control than before or it was not at full power after Ayd had set it on fire because the vines weren't very strong.

He didn't hesitate and jumped to his feet, cutting off a strand of ivy that was starting to wrap itself around his wrist. He took a sweeping glance of their surroundings, intent on running back the way they'd come as the creature was blocking their original direction, but he felt a chill run down his spine when he realized they were trapped.

The gaps between the trees—they were all covered in vines and ivy, all the plant life around them, with the branches and roots of trees creating impenetrable barriers at the top and bottom. There was no way to escape. No matter how relatively easy it was to fight off the creature's attacks, if they couldn't escape, then it was only a matter of time before they grew too weary to fight back. And then the creature would take one of them as a host to house its consciousness.

Feyrith felt panic threatening to overwhelm him, but somehow he pushed it down, focusing on slashing at the vines attempting to restrain him.

"I cannot bear this existence anymore," the creature practically sobbed out, bringing its arms up to touch its head, as if in pain. "One of you will be my salvation. Whether you cooperate or not."

Feyrith threw a desperate look at Ayd, but the other elf didn't seem deterred, only throwing a glare at the creature towering over them before cutting off more vines with his knife. But Feyrith felt an overwhelming desire to just give up. What was the point? The creature would win eventually. Maybe if he let himself be taken, the creature would at least spare Ayd and—

No, no, what in the Goddess' name was he thinking? They were so close. He couldn't just give up. Not now.

Slashing at a tangle of vine and ivy that were about to grab at him like a tentacle, he ran to the nearest blocked-off exit, hacking at it with his dagger. He wished he had brought a larger blade, perhaps a sword, but he hadn't wanted to carry such heavy, cumbersome weapons, and it had been the right decision at the time, so he couldn't bring himself to be too annoyed.

Grunting as his arm was yanked to the side by a branch that shot out from the tree on his right, he gritted his teeth, pulling back as hard as he could until the branch snapped. He could feel his wrist stinging, his skin having probably been cut by the wood, but he didn't care at the moment, continuing his work even as all the plant life that made up the blockade tried to stop him. Once he finally managed to cut through enough to create an exit, more branches kept slithering in, however, trying to close up the opening he'd just made.

"Ayd!" Feyrith cried, throwing a look over his shoulder only to see the other elf slashing at the plants trying to get to Feyrith. He'd been defending him the whole time. Though now Feyrith felt a little stupid. Of course Ayd had been protecting him. How else would he have been given the time to cut through the branches and roots? Feyrith had just not given that any thought in the rush of things.

"I made an exit. We need to go!"

But just as he said this, the branches and roots shot into the air, grabbing both of them and dragging them to the trunks, binding them to them. Feyrith cried out, dropping his dagger on impact. He tried to fight back, to wriggle out of the hold of the branches, but they were thick, immovable wood. He wasn't nearly strong enough to break out of that.

He shot a frantic look at Ayd, his heart sinking when he saw he was in a similar situation, as were their mounts, tied down on the ground with vines all over them. The creature was taking no chances with them anymore, it seemed. Feyrith was still using all the strength he had left to get free, though, his desperation to get free building as the creature began to shrink down and move toward them.

It extended its arm to him as it advanced, almost reaching him, its wooden fingers just a few inches from his face. Feyrith swallowed down the scared whimper threatening to escape him, squeezing his eyes shut and sending a last prayer to the Goddess, even as he heard Ayd yell at the creature to leave him alone.

But the creature never touched him. Instead, a burst of fire opposite him appeared. Feyrith knew it by the sound even before opening his eyes, but it took him actually seeing the burning trees to believe it. And as the creature jerked away, whirling around to survey the situation, Ralis rode in on her quasir, her staff raised.

Feyrith almost didn't want to believe that someone had come to his rescue yet again, but he didn't have the will to question it, only sinking in his branch restraints in relief as Ralis summoned fire at the creature without hesitation.

The effect was immediate. Instead of burning, the vines, branches, ivy, and everything else the creature had used to make its form out of fell apart before it could even catch fire, disappearing as if it had never been there in the first place. The branches binding Feyrith and Ayd to the trees didn't move, however, and neither did everything blocking the spaces between the trees.

You win.

Feyrith almost flinched at the voice in his head. He'd not been expecting it at all. Despite everything, he felt pity for the creature and its defeated tone. But he just hoped that it would leave them alone now. He couldn't do this again.

"Fey!" came Lanna's voice as the woman rushed to him, running past Enaryl and Ralis. "I'm so glad you two are alive!"

She started cutting at the branches holding him in place as soon, doing so with such fervor that Feyrith had to wonder just how she hadn't cut him yet. And as soon as he was breaking free, Lanna threw her arms around him, pulling him close.

Still shaking from what he'd just experienced, Feyrith didn't have the energy to feel awkward about the gesture, hesitantly embracing her back. It felt very good after everything that had happened. It was so good to see her again, to see any of them.

But...wait, was that another elf with them, walking up to him and Lanna? Where would they—

Feyrith's eyes grew wide when he realized that this was no stranger. No matter the dark, ashy skin or long, pointed ears, when Feyrith looked properly he recognized the man—that was Arbane. But how was this possible? How would Arbane be an elf? He was a human. Nothing about him had ever seemed as though he wasn't.

Before he could ask any of this, though, Lanna let go and patted his shoulder instead, drawing his attention to her instead. "We have a lot to catch up on."