“And the plan has gone awry already,” Breanne scolded as Heather stared down Umtha.

“You can’t bring thirty goblins with,” Heather insisted. “We are trying not to draw attention.”

“Need escort!” Umtha insisted with hands on hips. “What if dangerous?”

Heather threw her head back in frustration. The sun was up, the group was ready, and Umtha arrived with half her village armed for war. Now she was insistent they bring her warriors with to help protect the egg from unspecified dangers. There was no way they were going to be able to travel with a horde of goblins unnoticed.

“It will be dangerous if players notice a small army of goblins and decide to start attacking them,” Heather countered. “Our best bet is to travel as players and slip through unnoticed.”

“Goblins help kill monsters,” Umtha insisted.

“This is going nowhere fast,” Legeis said as he leaned down from his armor. Frank and Quinny stood beside him, hidden in their outfits looking perplexed.

“Why is she becoming bossier?” Frank asked. “Ever since Heather found that crown Umtha has acted like Heather owes her something.”

Quinny shrugged, the mask hiding the expression underneath. “Maybe she does. Remember the magic tapestry that moves when they sing?

Frank considered it for a moment, trying to think back to what they saw. “I do remember,” he said at last.

“Think about the ending, where Hathlisora was badly wounded, and a goblin found her and helped her. Didn't we think that goblin looked like Umtha?”

“We did,” he agreed. “And Umtha said her dress was a gift from Hathlisora.”

“So maybe Umtha feels Heather has some responsibility to them. They even said they watch the spawns for the necromancers, and Heather is one.”

Frank sighed and wondered how much more of this fake life would come back to haunt Heather. She was finally open to exploring the world and having fun, but her connection to Hathlisora wouldn't allow it. One way or another, Heather was going to be pushed to follow the trail, and Umtha was the force behind that push.

“We don't even know if there will be monsters,” Heather argued. “For all we know, the path will be clear, and we can put the egg back in some giant bird's nest and leave.”

“This isn’t a cartoon,” Breanne remarked as Heather and Umtha stared one another down.

“Hmm, take stalkers only,” Umtha said.

Heather blinked, not sure what that meant. She was surprised when Umtha turned to address the goblins and told them to go home. They filed away with a strange chatter leaving Umtha alone with a smug smile on her face.

“Did I win?” Heather asked, looking to Breanne, who looked just as confused.

“Stalkers go with,” Umtha insisted with a firmly set jaw.

Heather looked around and wondered how long it would take the stalkers to get here. “We need to leave right away,” she insisted. “We don’t have time to wait for your stalkers.”

“Stalkers already here,” Umtha replied with a nod.

“Ummmm,” Heather began as she looked around. “Where?” She turned as Frank and Quinny began to snicker, her expression changing to one of disapproval. “Are you laughing at me?”

“You can’t see them,” Frank said. “They are all around us but using a form of stealth to remain hidden.”

Heather looked about, trying to spot the elusive goblins but had to admit she saw nothing. “How are you two seeing them?”

“I can see them too,” Breanne said. “It's the undead sight. We can see their living aura.”

“Oh,” Heather replied with a nod. She had a similar effect when she used the guise of undeath spell. “But why couldn’t we see Nightrage when he was in stealth? Or that rogue in the alley in the city?”

“Higher-level stealth can defeat our undead sight, and magical invisibility is hidden from everything, but magical sight spells like divine gaze or all sight,” Frank replied.

“Some undead can even enter the ether and see into this world,” Breanne said. “Only divine gaze or divination can detect you then.”

“Wait? What?” Heather said as a new term came out. “What in the world is the ether?”

Breanne looked stern for a moment, and Heather assumed she was trying to think of a good way to explain it.

“It’s like a parallel dimension,” Frank said. “Sort of a second existence where ghosts and other spectral things can enter.”

“Technically, it's how I pass through walls,” Breanne added. “I enter the ether just enough to be solid their, and immaterial here.”

Heather felt dizzy as they tried to explain it all, adding yet another level of complexity to the already complicated world. She looked to Umtha and asked her to reveal the goblins to set her mind at ease. Umtha turned about and barked something in her strange language. One by one, shadows moved as two dozen goblins in mottled cloaks appeared in plain sight.

“So they were here the whole time?” Heather asked, looking around at the goblins.

“They are using a type of camouflage,” Frank replied. “They can even more while hidden.”

“Fine,” Heather relented. “So long as nobody sees them, they can come.”

Umtha nodded and barked some kind of order to the goblins who faded away right before her eyes. Heather shook her head and turned to the palanquin lifting Webster to place him inside before climbing in with Breanne and Umtha.

“Let's get this over with,” Breanne said as she reclined on a pillow. “It's up to you now.”

Heather nodded and held up her arm to reveal the green gem bracelet that twinkled in the light. She took a deep breath and spoke clearly and firmly, her gaze fixed on the stones.

“Show me the egg’s home.” None of them were surprised when one of the stones began to glow with a soft light. What did make them annoyed was the fact it pointed into the mountains.

“Of course!” Heather groaned. “We are going to have to walk all the way around the mountains.”

“No,” Umtha countered. “Go goblin village. We have path.”

“Your village is on a ledge, isn't it?” Heather asked as Umtha nodded and pointed to the east.

“Go, we have path.”

Heather leaned out the side to see Frank and the others waiting for direction. She explained they were going to the goblin village to find a path through the mountains. She then ordered the dozen covered skeletons to lift the palanquin and follow Umtha's directions. Legeis picked up his hand cart and walked behind while Frank and Quinny stood beside him talking. The last member of their party was the heavy hooded giant that walked beside the palanquin. It was her bone champion, concealed inside a full robe with a dark hood designed to conceal every part of him except the black metal sword and the shield that looked as if it was made of metal plates and bones. Hopefully, nobody would get a good look at him, and the plan was to claim he was a bone golem if they did.

At a brisk pace, they marched down the road, the swamp flanking their right as they made their way around the rim. They reached the ramp to the village in just an hour and began the climb into the mountain. Heather was amazed to see the goblins had carved cave tunnels to get through outcroppings and cleared a wide path that went on for another hour of walking. Eventually, they crested the ramp to find a village made of rough stone and logs spread out over a large flat plateau on the side of the mountain. The air was crisp and cool as it blew down from the mountain on the sunny village that seemed almost surreal. They were now busy carving buildings into the rock itself, creating an almost monastery like feel.

“They did all this in the short time they have been here?” Frank asked as they paused a moment to stare.

“Goblins work hard,” Umtha insisted. “We dig. Make strong defenses.”

“You made this as fast as Frank did his lair,” Heather remarked. “And why does it seem like you have several hundred goblins now?” Breanne and the others looked about and realized Heather was right, the goblins were far more numerous, and a few were exceptionally large.

“Her village has leveled up,” Breanne said as she glanced at Heather. “But that would mean she is a player.”

Heather turned her gaze on Umtha, who held a flat expression that showed nothing.

“Umtha, be honest with us,” Heather began as she leaned closer to the goblin woman. “Are you a player?”

“Umtha, goblin queen.”

“I know you’re the goblin queen, but are you the queen because you’re a player who picked goblin, shaman, and a village building class?”

“Umtha not playing,” she replied. “Not game.”

Heather closed her eyes and let out a deep sigh. She knew if they pressed it, Umtha would start repeating herself, which is exactly what an NPC would do. She sat back and looked at Breanne, who had a firm glare on the goblin woman.

“She has to be a player,” Breanne said in a whisper. “Only players level up.”

“But she talks like an NPC,” Heather whispered back as they started to move again.

“It must be an act. Something meant to confuse us,” Breanne said. “I wonder if we can trust her.”

Heather hadn’t considered that before but also had trouble believing Umtha was trying to trick them. After all, Umtha had worked to protect Heather on several occasions, even coming to her rescue when she was a prisoner.

“That can’t be it,” Heather said. “She is a complex NPC, but no more so than Monica.”

“Monica doesn’t choose to move her kitchen and upgrade it on her own,” Breanne pointed out. “Only a player can do that.”

Heather looked at Umtha again as the goblin woman sat on the far side of the Palanquin, paying them no attention. Her focus seemed to be on the acorn that contained the egg as she leaned over it, running a hand over the wooden cap. Could she really be a player? If so, then why did she respond like an NPC and never break character? What did she have to gain by keeping it a secret? Wasn’t Umtha the one Frank suspected of being the tool the visitors were using to keep her on this crazy adventure? Maybe that gave her special privileges that normal NPC’s didn’t have? She could only assume that there was more to Umtha than just being an NPC, but there was no way to investigate it now. Maybe something would reveal itself as they traveled that would shed more insight.

The Palanquin moved on, heading along an upper cliff but far enough from the edge that she felt no danger. To her right was a wall of stone that rose up and turned white with snow. Ahead of them was a valley where two mountain peaks met, providing a broad passage through.

An hour into the trip, they encountered their first danger, a giant that stood five meters tall and wore crude metal rings for armor. It carried a long pole with a hooked ax as it spoke something in a language none of them understood. The meaning was clear however is it raised the weapon and ran for the palanquin.

Heather had to contain her spells, never sure where the goblins were as the beast closed on them. Her bone knight intercepted it, slamming into the monster's legs with his shield before belching a green line of fire into its chest. Goblins appeared on its back, hacking, and stabbing as the giant wailed and twisted about, trying to fling them off. Frank and Quinny were there a moment late as Breanne, Heather, and Umtha created a firing line, hurling spells that tore chunks away. Legeis was the last to the fight, but it was already clear who was going to win as the giant began to stumble under the sheer weight of attacks. It managed to swing its weapon once to knock Frank and Quinny over but failed to do any real harm as it crumpled.

A quick search revealed little in the way of usefulness, so they pressed on as Quinny tried to convince them it probably had a hidden lair nearby full of loot. Heather wasn't interested in loot, only following the bracelet's glow that she frequently checked to ensure they were going the right way.

The next danger was a flock of creatures Frank called Harpies. They had the upper torso of a woman but the arms and lower legs of a bird. They also had wicked claws on their feet as they dived on the group, shrieking and calling like a flock of angry crows. Legeis shined here, with an assortment of ranged weapons as he filled the air with explosions. Breanne used some spells but eventually resorted to her bow as Heather hurled rotting bolts. Umtha called on the winds and created towering little tornadoes that raced out and hurled down any harpy unfortunate enough to get caught.

These turned out to have a minor assortment of coins and even a ring or two they wore on their toes. Once again, Quinny pointed up to high ledges insisting they probably had nests full of loot, but nobody wanted to climb up and get it.

The mountain pass twisted on, eventually entering a narrow canyon. When questioned, Umtha admitted she didn't know anything about this area, saying her goblins hadn't explored this far yet. Heather thought that was strange considering how insistent she was they could get through the mountains this way. If Umtha hadn't explored this far, then for all they knew, this pass could come to an abrupt end, forcing them to turn around and go back to the swamps. The whole of the day would have been wasted, and everyone would be unhappy.

However, luck was on their side as the canyon widened out and opened into a shallow slope down, leading deeper into the mountains. Here they encountered a strange armored lizard with a long spiked tail it lashed like a whip. It was twice the size of a horse, but alone it was little match for the hidden army of goblins, much less the constant hail of spells. This monster had a lair, and since it was visible from where they stood, Heather paused to inspect it.

It was full of old bones, some of which looked human. Most were cracked and broken, but there were two intact skulls, one of which Heather picked up and held out.

“What are you doing?” Quinny asked as Heather held the skull out with two hands.

“I got a spell a while back I never use because it requires a skull as a component,” she replied before rubbing open her panel. A few taps later, she read over the spell, nodding as she resumed holding the skull out.

“Pyros, nectra vadamos!” she called and thrust the skull forward. Even as her arms started to move, an orange light burst from the skull's eyes and mouth. Once fully extended, the skull raced out, wailing with a laughing cackle as it flew from her hands in a straight line trailing fire as it went. It collided with the far wall in a flaming explosion that sent small chips of stone flying back in their direction.

“Was that necessary?” Breanne asked as she lowered the arm she used to shield her eyes.

“I wanted to see what it did,” Heather remarked. “I might bring the other skull just in case we need it.”

“You waste skull,” Umtha insisted as Heather turned on her.

“Don’t you start that,” she said with a pointed finger. “I already have a surrogate mother and father, and I don’t need a grouchy aunt.”

“Hmmph!” Umtha said, folding her arms. “Still waste skull.”

Heather sighed and moved closer to see Frank and Quinny picking out a small amount of coins and an old boot.

“Speaking of your mother,” Frank said as Heather glared at him. “She offered to send a coach to carry you.”

“A coach?” Heather repeated and began to dream of some big fancy royal coach drawn by a dozen white horses. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

It was Quinny who answered as she dug out a rusty metal hammer. “We didn’t think you would want it.”

“Why wouldn’t I want to travel in a royal coach?” she asked, shocked by their assumption.

“It couldn't travel overland like your palanquin can, and we didn't know for sure where we were going,” Frank replied.

Heather saw the logic but still liked the idea of traveling like a princess. She smiled and went back to the task of gathering the other skull, tucking it into a bag before climbing back into the palanquin.

An hour later, she was bored, nibbling on a cookie as Breanne talked about her life in the real world. She raised a family and had grandchildren, one of which now had a great-grandchild. Her life sounded full, yet Breanne seemed unhappy about it. She didn't like how life just seemed to go on, slowly fading away as medical problems mounted. Her husband had died, and she rarely saw her children. She was living in a retirement community, but it felt more like a prison for the elderly. To her, the visitor's offer was a dream come true, but it wasn't seen that way by most.

“When you get that old, you stop trying to embrace new things,” she said. “I think a lot of the people there couldn't believe it was a way to be reborn as something new.”

“I suppose it's a wonderful option for some people,” Heather agreed as she considered all the people who, for one reason or another, had a reduced quality of life. She let out a sigh and leaned against a post considering her own life.

“You’re still upset about being here,” Breanne said with a gentle gaze.

“Not upset, well not like I was,” Heather admitted. “I guess I am aware of what a blessing being chosen is, and when I consider what a wonderful experience this place is for so many people, I feel guilty for wanting out.”

“You were abducted. You needed time to adjust,” Breanne encouraged. “You are also very young and independent. You don’t like people making choices for you.”

“I suppose I don't,” Heather replied and looked out the side to see her bone knight marching like some grim monk in his robe. “I am a brat, and I know it. I have always gotten what I wanted one way or another, and I never give up on my dreams. Then I wake up one day, and somebody gave up on my dreams for me and told me to make new ones. I knew the visitors were there and that new Eden was a thing, but what did I care? I had plans of my own that didn't involve them, and I wasn't going to enter. Maybe years later, when I was old and sick, I would have reconsidered but, they didn't give me a choice. All I could think of was I don't want to be here, and I won't play your game.” Her words struck her as she looked to the front of the palanquin where Umtha sat quietly looking ahead. Hadn't she said just those words a few hours ago?

When night fell, Heather curled up in the back while Breanne took her banshee form to prowl ahead. They were still in the mountains, working their way down a twisting ledge to what looked like a valley. The bracelet said they needed to go more to the right, but the path wouldn't cooperate. All they could do was follow and hope there was a way to correct ahead, or even get free of the mountains altogether. She drifted off to sleep, replaying her words with Umtha and Breanne as her mind tried to make a link. Maybe Umtha wasn't playing their game either.

Heather hadn’t noticed the sunrise and slept well into the morning, rocking gently as the palanquin moved on. Only Webster was in the space with her, curled into a ball as he watched out the side, the landscape passing by at a walking pace.

“Did I oversleep?” she asked, trying to remember her dreams. “I didn't have any nightmares.”

The spider made a squeak and jumped to her side, tapping at her with a fuzzy arm as she started to pet him.

“Oh, you can go outside,” Heather said as he continued to tap at her. “What do you mean they told you to stay inside?” She looked up and leaned to the doorway, poking her head out to see they were in a pine forest of towering trees. Above and on every side, the mountains soared up, forming a ridge of walls on every side.

“Frank?” she called when she noticed him ahead. “Frank, why did you tell Webster to stay inside?”

He turned to look at her and said something to Quinny before falling back to walk beside the palanquin.

“There is something in this valley,” he said and looked around. “We found tracks that are hard to explain.”

“Why did you let me sleep then?” Heather asked as she too looked around, convinced something horrible was about to leap out at them.

“Why wake you if there was no immediate danger?” he replied. “Breanne scouted ahead in ghost form and said there is a narrow canyon on the far side with a shallow stream leading out. We're headed that way now.”

“Where is Umtha?” Heather asked as she tried to spot the goblin woman.

“Walking ahead,” Frank said. “She got very upset about the tracks and insisted on spreading her goblins out and looking ahead for us. She was angry you hadn’t let her bring all her warriors.”

“Great, now I have to feel guilty,” Heather sighed and looked around again. “How long ago did you see the tracks?”

“Over two hours ago. So far, nothing has so much as moved in this valley, but that's the strange part.”

Heather was confused until he explained that nothing moved. There were no birds, deer, small animals, nothing. It was deadly quiet with only the sound of the wind blowing in the treetops.

“That is strange,” Heather agreed and looked to Webster. “Maybe you should stay inside.”

The spider let out a low groan and turned away to pout as Heather let out a deep sigh. “Fine, you can go outside but stay on the palanquin. You can climb around on the roof if you want.”

He hoped a little bit and crawled past her, slowly making his way up as she looked back to Frank.

“What do you think it is?” she asked as he looked around again.

“I don't know, but it leaves strange tracks and doesn't seem to be bothered by the trees. It has to be large, but it passes through them without breaking any.”

“So maybe you're wrong, and it's small?” she offered, looking for any sign of encouragement.

Frank shook his head. “The tracks are too big, and it looks like it has a lot of legs like a spider.”

Heather didn't like the idea of being eaten by a spider, so she nodded and retreated inside. She felt vulnerable now; the thin curtains would be little protection of something large came running out of the foliage. Still, she had a bone champion and twelve heavily armed skeletons. What could possibly be a danger to them?

There was a loud snap, and all eyes turned to the side, looking into a wall of tree trunks. She noticed the bone champion staring into the green maze, his dead gaze fixed on something she didn't see. She felt like calling her scythe but needed to get out first. Slowly she crawled to the other side and started to climb down when something made a low bark-like noise. Quinny drew her sword slowly and quietly as Heather froze, goosebumps rising on her skin. Everything came to a halt and stood motionless as they listened for danger.

“Do you see anything?” Quinny whispered as Frank dared a step closer.

Frank shook his head and took a couple of steps closer, standing at the side of a shallow bank. Only now did Heather realize they were walking in a dry stream bed, following it to get through the dense trees. Another strange cracking noise to the side drew her attention back as she started to shake and forced herself to climb out of the Palanquin.

“Put that down,” she ordered the skeletons to get them ready for battle. They complied, setting the device on the ground as she raised a hand and brought up her scythe. There was a series of crunching steps, and Heather caught sight of a branch no more than twenty meters away swaying as if recently disturbed.

“I don’t see anything,” Heather whispered.

“I don’t either, but there is definitely something there,” Frank replied as he tensed his arms, the metal claws on his hand flexing with his fingers.

“Where are Breanne and Umtha?” Heather asked, noting both were missing.

“They are well ahead,” Quinny replied without looking at Heather. “They will probably come back if they hear us fighting.”

Heather wondered if they might already be dead, eaten by the invisible stalker in the trees. She was reminded of that movie with the soldiers and the alien that could blend in like it was wearing mirrors. Then a thought came to mind, and she quickly cast a spell as her skin went pale and the colors of the world washed away. To her undead eyes, there was still nothing to see as Frank looked back and reminded her that he would have seen it already.

“What if it's just outside your range?” Heather said and looked back to the palanquin where Webster sat on the roof watching the trees. “Didn't you say I could see through my familiar's eyes?”

Frank looked back and shrugged. “You can in a lot of games, and I heard it worked that way here.”

Heather nodded and concentrated her thoughts on Webster, allowing him to hear her. He bobbed and leaped, flying to the nearest tree before climbing high and leaping to another.

“What is he doing?” Frank whispered.

“Giving me a better point of view,” Heather replied and closed her eyes. She felt strangely vulnerable to have her eyes shut, but as she focused, another sort of vision came to her. It was like looking at eight televisions at once; all focused on the same place with a fisheye lens effect. Webster leaped to another tree further in, climbing around the log to look down like a mobile security camera.

“There you are,” Heather said with a smile as a glow came into view. It was covered in leaves and moss, or at least that's what it looked like from here. If not for the aura, she probably wouldn't have noticed it the camouflage was so good. It did resemble a spider but had even more legs, ten by her count, each ending in a sort of hooked sucker. The body was roughly spider-shaped with a large flat disc for a midsection and more a tail of vines for a rear. She watched as the creature twisting a long thin tentacle crowned by three eyes, pressing it firmly against a trunk to hide it as it peered back at them. Its two front limbs were long, mottled ropes that it was slowly twisting through the growth. She realized in alarm that it was stretching them their way, secretly preparing to attack.

With a cry of alarm, she broke the sight and yelled a warning to watch their feet. One of the skeletons went down and was rapidly dragged away before a limb burst out and wrapped around her legs.

“Frank!” Heather cried as her head hit the ground, and she was dragged rapidly through the growth. By a miracle, she swung her scythe and hooked a tree, breaking the momentum for just a moment. As the blade began to slip, she saw Frank barreling through the growth, making a line for her. The bone knight was close behind, and Legeis was coming up the flank. She screamed as the blade slipped and the dragging resumed, Frank and the others rapidly fading away.

She tried in vain to sink the blade in the ground but only managed to cut a trail in the plants. Her hip hit a trunk violently, and the scythe fell from her grasp as she clawed desperately to recover it, only to lose it as she was dragged off. She realized the distance she had gone was much greater than the creature was from them. It must be running away, dragging its prey through the forest behind it. It was an effective strategy as she collided with trunks and rocks, slowly becoming battered and bruised as she flailed to use a spell. The jarring momentum prevented her from working the gestures, and the constant impacts kept breaking her chants. Tears came to her eyes as she realized that by the time this thing stopped running, nearly every bone in her body would be broken. A sudden turn, and she hit a trunk so hard her left arm snapped.

“Frank!” she screamed as her arm dragged behind her uselessly. Tears flooded her eyes as the hopelessness of the situation sank in. She couldn't twist her legs free or cast a spell. She could summon her scythe back, but she was being flung about so much she couldn't use it. With only one arm, she could do little but claw at the ground hopelessly until she remembered the pouch at her waist. She floundered to try and reach her side, desperate to grab the crow statue. She collided with a log on the ground as some of her ribs cracked but fought the pain to get her one last hope. She didn't even pull it out of the pouch as her fingers curled around it, calling out the single command, and poof, she was free.

If the trees looked tall before, now they looked gigantic. She fluttered on the ground for a second, trying to right herself, and went to spread her wings only to discover one of them was broken.

“Oh no!” she cried in her head as something snapped behind her. She looked back as the dark shape descended on her, and she was helplessly wrapped in some kind of sticky resin. She squawked in panic as she was lifted and stuck to Webster's back a moment before the forest on the other side exploded in motion. Green limbs with a dozen joints raced out of the trees with sucker-like tips full of little hooks. Webster raced off, running at a speed she had never seen him use before. As a limb crashed down to crush him, he leaped, sailing through the air with Heather webbed to his back to land on a tree trunk. No sooner was he there than he leaped again as the trunk exploded in a hail of bark, the forest horror hungry to catch him.

“Run Webster!” Heather screamed in his head as the spider darted around trees and leaped over obstacles. The beast was chasing after them, eager to reclaim its meal, and Heather got a better look at what lurked under that flat disc shape body. It looked like one big mouth with rings of bloody teeth around a central pulsing organ of blue. Nothing in her nightmares compared to the thought of that thing settling over her broken body to digest her slowly, and she implored the spider to run for his life.

The creature gave up all pretense of stealth as it rushed in pursuit, the strange body seeming to flow around the trees as it contorted and twisted, the spider-like limbs sometimes running on the ground, other times gripping the trees themselves as it passed. A dozen times, it lashed one of those suckers at Webster, but he leaped and scurried, darting like a rabbit through the brush. One of the long ropes burst out, and Webster had to jump away, but the beast gained ground, and now limbs were coming at him from all directions as Heather could do nothing but watch in horror.

Just as another rope burst out of the ground, Webster darted into a hollow log, running down the length as the beast smashed it behind him. He leaped out the back and over a small ledge, spreading his legs wide to catch the air as he fell. He hit the ground and leaped away, a sucker impacting just behind him, and the chase resumed.

He rounded a large trunk, but the monster ropes were waiting, lashing out to try and grab him as he leaped back and scurried up the trunk instead. The ropes went after him as the beast latched on to the trunk, pushing as the tree started to wobble.

“What are you doing?” Heather asked as Webster climbed higher, going to where the branches became thin. For a brief moment, there was sunshine as Webster neared the top and was above the forest, the madness of the creature far below. Then something loud cracked, and their perch began to lean to the side, and Heather knew they were falling. Before the trunk hit the ground, Webster leaped, desperate to gain some ground, but the monster was already after them, and Heather saw the suckers closing in.

“I'm sorry, Webster,” she said, closing her eyes so as not to see the inevitable. Something burst through the trees ahead of them, and a shrill war cry made her look as a black blade glowing with green fire cut the suckers from the creature's limbs.

Webster darted through the legs of the bone champion as it let loose a howl of green fire, scorching the monster and sending up a wailing cry that echoed in the valley. Behind him came the skeletons with swords raised and tendril plant arms flinging barbs as they rushed in.

“I told you they would lead us right to her!” she heard Frank yell as Webster continued to run. She heard explosions and the unmistakable metal thump of Legeis's armor as tears of joy came to her eyes.

“Watch out for the legs!” Quinny cried from someplace behind her, but Webster wasn't interested in staying. He ran all the way back to the palanquin and then hid underneath before carefully removing Heather and setting her aside. She lay in a webbed ball under the palanquin as Webster looked down on her with those big black eyes. She could see he was trembling and looked back in rapid jerks whenever a loud noise or explosion echoed in the distant trees. He Looked like he might grab her and run again when a familiar voice was heard outside.

“Where are they?” Breanne called as the battle raged on someplace in the distance.

She heard Umtha barking something in goblin, and the sound of hoots and howls as the goblin stalkers ran into the forest. Webster quickly picked her up and dragged her outside, running right up to Breanne to tap her on the leg. Breanne jumped with a cry before looking down to see Webster holding up a broken blackbird.

“What do you have? Oh my god! Is that Heather?”

Webster set her down and tapped at her as Breanne leaned over and saw the twisted lump of Feathers.

“Heather?” Breanne called. “Heather, can you move?”

All she could do was shake one leg as Breanne stood up and screamed for Umtha.

“Umtha! She's over here, and she's hurt!” She turned back to Heather and looked all around in a panic. “Where is the statue?”

Heather had no idea where the statue was. She dropped it the moment she changed and left it behind when Webster ran off with her. She struggled to lift her one good leg and squawk out the summoning, needing five attempts to get it right. Umtha arrived to lean over her as she finally brought the statue to her side, and Webster pushed it to her grasp. With a final word, she changed back, crying out in pain as her arm hung uselessly at her side, and she bled from a dozen deep bruises.

“What happened?” Breanne said in alarm as Heather twisted in pain, her ribs cracking for the effort.

Umtha knelt down and quickly put a hand to Heather's shoulder, falling into a spell as she waved her other hand over her body. Golden dust fell from her fingers, settling to her skin and seeming to melt in as the pain melted away with it. A shrill howl echoed from the forest, and Breanne nearly jumped back as an explosion shook the ground.

“What are they fighting? How did you get here?” Breanne asked.

“Webster!” Heather cried between sobs. “He dragged me back!”

Umtha grabbed her broken arm and tried to straighten it as Heather screamed in pain. Settling for slightly bent, she began another healing spell, sprinkling more golden dust over the arm as it cracked and popped. The pain was exquisite but quickly subsided as the healing took hold and the bone straightened out. A moment later, she could flex her fingers and promptly cast her pulsing heal on herself.

She lay motionless on the stream bed in her soiled, and tattered yellow dress as the last of her wounds began to melt away. She described what happened to Breanne and how the creature ran through the trees, beating her against them as it went.

A minute later and Frank came out of the forest limping and carrying Quinny. Legeis had a goblin in each arm, which brought Umtha running to heal them.

“Breanne! We can’t find Heather!” he called.

“She’s right here!” Breanne shouted back as he looked up in alarm.

“Frank!” Heather cried as she struggled to get up, running to his side as he set Quinny down. She was a broken mess, and he explained how the beast latched on to her with a sucker, stamping her into the ground a dozen times. Quinny was awake but just as severely broken as Heather had been. She fell into mend the dead, and when one spell hardly helped, she used another, and then another. When Quinny finally told her to stop, she turned to Frank, who said he was only bruised where it threw him into a tree. Her bone knight arrived looking relatively healthy as only eight of the original twelve skeletons followed him.

Frank explained how they lost sight of her, but the skeletons could follow her because of the link they have. So he and the others followed them. He also explained how Webster ran past them right away, darting into the trees after her. She filled in the rest, how she managed to take the bird form and break its grip, but her broken arm transferred over, and she couldn't fly. Webster took advantage of her size and webbed her to his back, and ran like the wind. She thought about Webster and realized he was back under the palanquin hiding. Wiping her eyes, she bent down and urged him to come out, sweeping him up into her arms to hug him firmly.

“Thank you for saving me,” she said with a broken voice and then held him up to look in his eyes. “See, I told you you could carry me.” He squeaked, and she resumed her hug with a smile. “Fine, I won't ask you to carry me, but I hope you will save me again if I need it.” Together they shivered, the terror of the encounter fresh on their minds as renewed tears of panic fell from her eyes.

“Let's get you inside and change that outfit,” Breanne said as she looked around. “Get this thing up and moving; we need to be away from this place,” she added, looking to Umtha, who nodded and took command of the skeletons, getting them back in place and the whole procession marching.

Heather struggled to relax, but every time she closed her eyes, she saw that horrible mouth and felt the sensation of being helpless. She knew her death wouldn't be the end, but that didn't make it any easier. With Breanne's help, she changed into a soft blue dress and curled up into a ball in the corner; Webster nestled tightly to her side as they both relived the terrifying escape. For now, they were safe, but for how long? What other dangers lurked in this world, and how many of them would they have to face to bring the egg home?