Chapter 11: Edge of the Woods

“Peace,” Nermit said. There was a fire in his eyes as well, but it was heat of the smoldering of burning coals to Casey and Heather’s inferno. It said a lot about Nermit that he still chose peace and Riley nodded at him in respect.

Casey blew a hair out of her face in a huff, “Whatever.” She disappeared in her own shadow leaving the group in the lurch.

Every gaze turned to stare of Scott who raised his hands defensively. “Don’t look at me, I’m fine with peace.”

“Is this going to be a problem?” Heather asked.

Scott sighed, “No. She just needs some time to cool off, though…” he trailed off as if he had just thought of something. At Heather’s prompting he reluctantly continued. “She’s probably scouting the area to see if any of them are laying in ambush. If they are well…” Scott raised his open palms and shrugged, “she’ll probably come back to say I told you so.”

“And if she doesn’t come back right away?”

“She’ll come back. Definitely come back.” Scott said, though he sounded like he was trying to convince himself.

Heather drew in a large breath and then released it slowly. “We’ll deal with that when it happens then. She was right though, we can’t stay here with them having last scene us in this area.” Heather used the point of her dagger to scratch out a basic map of the area marking the clearing they had spawned in, the Unending Horde to the north, and then the Mushroom forest where they currently were to the west of the Horde. “North or west will both take us as far as we can from the spawn point. But we don’t know where they’ve made camp so we could be walking right into them for all we know.”

Riley looked at the map as he considered. “If we entered the Mushroom forest from the east, then that means that we’re likely on the eastern edge of the forest. With all the monsters converging on our position I don’t believe they would have fled west through the oncoming wave.”

Nermit pointed at the spot on the map marking the Unending Horde and simply said, “water.”

Scott nodded at this, “he’s right. The only place we’ve seen water so far was that small stream near the bunnies. They probably want to camp near a source of water and if they’re not using the store then the bunnies would be a good source of food for them.”

“West it is then,” Heather said seeing nods from all around her.

The group made sure to replace the branches hiding the entrance of the tunnel. It wasn’t the best camouflage, but it didn’t take much effort and would give them a place to retreat to.

Before they had left Riley had tested the door to the trial again but when it opened it there was just a wooden wall beyond. If they went back into the tunnel they would be truly trapped.

The group was more somber as they traveled this time. The previous disagreement weighing on what had been an effortless relationship to start with.

Riley expressed some concern over Casey being unable to find them, but Scott waved him off. He was confident that she would be able to follow them, if she wasn’t already.

They walked with care as they traveled through the forest. The large trees leaving awkward gaps between themselves sometimes giving long sightlines and others feeling chokingly claustrophobic as the giant trees pressed in all around them.

As they got deeper in the forest, they started to see more changes to the forest. Giant mushrooms started appearing at the base of some of the trees and the group took care to avoid them. Sometimes detouring for as long as 10 minutes before they could find a way further west. Monsters appeared as well, their levels fluctuating from the low twenties to the mid-thirties.

Most concerning was a part of the forest which was darker than the rest. The group looked up to find spider’s webbing connecting the canopy of the trees in a dense interweaving tangle. Scott was the one to spot the single spider hidden in the foliage.

Goliath Troll Eater - Level 39

Not wanting anything to do with that the group detoured south. It was shortly after they managed to skirt around the spider infested part of the forest that the group’s westward journey ended. Stretching as far as they could see to either side of them was a shimmering wall of pale blue that curved ever so slightly inward. The wall disappeared a few dozen yards into the air but Riley could see the distinct curve indicating that the wall stretched over their heads as well.

After briefly discussing the phenomenon, the group decided that they had reached the bounds of the dungeon and decided to turn southward keeping the wall to their right as they traveled following its curve.

Riley caught glimpses of Casey watching the group through the trees. Just flashes of her golden hair and then she was gone. But it did a lot to relieve some his worry for her.

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As the trees started to grow shorter and shorter the group realized they had made it through the Mushroom forest and were nearing the next area. The trees cut off abruptly revealing a large open plain of rolling hills before them. Tall grasses swayed in a breeze that Riley saw well before he felt its gentle caress.

It was the complete lack of obstructions which allowed the group to see the pair of Amanita Men on their way back to the mushroom forest. They looked injured, rends in their pristine white flesh showing, but satisfied. They were dragging a struggling body behind them which Riley identified.

Brown Stag - Level 15

The two mushrooms ignored the stags struggles as they dragged it towards what was likely to be an unpleasant fate.

“We should fight them,” Heather said, unexpectedly. Riley would have expected that comment from Scott or Casey before Heather. At Riley’s confused look Heather clarified. “We managed to beat them in the tunnel when we were exhausted and down a man. I think we can manage the two of them now.”

Riley took a second to inspect the Amanita Men getting a level 20 and a level 21. They were well above his level of 9, but Heather was right. They had beaten them, and Riley had been a lower level then too.

“DAQ yeah!” came a voice from Riley’s right. He jumped in surprise not having heard her approach. Standing next to him was Casey with a feral grin on her face. “A fight is exactly what I need.” She didn’t see the small frown on Heather’s face but Riley just caught it out of the corner of his eye. He shook his head at her, and she let the moment pass, not saying anything.

Riley limbered up, grabbing his shield from his hip and drawing his sword from its sheath. That was answer enough for the rest of the group. Scott let out a whoop as he grabbed his bow and knocked an arrow letting it rest on the taunt string of his new bow.

“Dibs on the one on the left,” Riley said, getting into it. He did want to fight, he realized. He was itching to try and reach for the power he had just grasped during his last fight with these guys. He was eager to try again despite the very real risk to his body.

“Ooh, leaving the higher level one for me?” Casey said drawing her daggers. “If I didn’t know any better I’d say you were trying to butter me up.” If Casey had any lingering feelings from the altercation this morning she wasn’t letting any of it show.

“I just didn’t want to make it too easy for you,” Riley fired back. She was eight levels higher than he was, even if he was supposed to be the tank, he wasn’t there yet so he didn’t mind sharing the front line. “What do we do if the stag attacks?” Riley asked as he prepared himself.

“I don’t think it will,” Heather said, “if anything it will attack the Amanita Men. But if it does… I have something for that.” Heather was brimming with confidence, so Riley just nodded.

“Brother, if you would,” Casey said. Scott drew back on his bow aiming up and released the arrow. Riley tracked the arrow’s progress and saw it double as it traveled up. The arrow doubled twice more before it reached the apex of its arc and started to descend back towards the ground. Scott grunted with effort as the arrow continued to fall doubling again and with a final shout doubled a final time just before it hit. A full 32 arrows falling on the Amanita men and the stag.

Riley could hear Scott quietly cheer to himself as Riley stepped forward out of the tree line and ran towards the men. The caps of their heads were riddled with arrows but that seemed to have protected them from the worst of the damage as well. The stag was not so lucky but it still managed to find its feet and run off bounding away to get lost in the rolling hills. The only evidence it had been there was the trail of blood it left behind.

Arrows flew over Riley’s head into the face of the Amanita man on the left and Heather’s blue bolts of force quickly followed focusing down the same target causing the man to stagger. With both of the men focused on him the Amanita men didn’t notice Casey appear behind them. Her dagger flashed finding flesh and the Amanita man on the right bellowed a squeaky roar and turned on her swiping blindly. She was already gone.

Riley grabbed the attention of his monster slashing with his sword in a testing strike. It didn’t take him long to find his rhythm again. With the extra range Riley was able to dance circles around the walking mushroom. Heather and Scott’s attacks were also much more effective without the restriction of the long hallway. The new arrows of wind peppering the mushroom man in a constant barrage. They were both focusing their attacks more on Riley’s target though they did send a few Caseys’ way as well.

Riley let the distractions fall away from him putting his full focus on the monster in front of him. He overextended on an attack and took a glancing blow on his shield. He felt is arm creak from the attack and it felt like his shoulder was on fire, but he had absorbed the blow. A wave of relief washed through Riley and a golden glow covered his arm making it as good as new.

Stepping back into the battle Riley took more risks sometimes trading blow for blow with the Amanita man. He trusted in his healer and his faith was rewarded as his wounds were almost instantly healed back in full. The same could not be said for his enemy though and the mushroom man’s injuries started to accumulate.

Riley lost himself to the fight. He paid attention to every single strike he made focusing on the power within himself. He could feel it flowing from his core as he started his attack. The power stretching, for lack of a better word, with the motion of his arm. As he landed the hit the power snapped back to his center releasing whatever it had grabbed from the enemy to spread into Riley. With his injuries being taken care of by Nermit the energy had nowhere to go and it dissipated.

Feeling inspired Riley focused on that dissipating energy and tried to capture it, to keep it in his core. It was like trying to grab mist and Riley kept felt the power dissipating through his grasp as he had to focus on the fight.

The Amanita Man opened its mouth and Riley jerked back in surprise, he had been too focused on the energy and had forgotten about this ability. A translucent golden half sphere of energy appeared before Riley as the spores exited the Amanita Man’s mouth. The spores crashed into the shield and flowed around it.

Looking back Riley could see Nermit with his hand out, and expression of intense focus on his face. Riley spared a second glance for Casey and saw nothing but a blur. He speed was insane, and she attacked her monster half a dozen times in the half of a second, he glanced her way. Then Riley focused back on his own fight and deflected a blow on his shield.

Riley’s sword came up and nicked the offending arm drawing in power into his core. This time Riley didn’t try and grasp the power, he commanded it. He focused his entire being on keeping the power inside of him and it listened for a moment.

In the corner of his vision Riley could see a blinking notification letting him know he had a message waiting for him. Smiling to himself Riley dove back into the fight, this time giving the poor mushroom man his full, undivided attention.