“So you mean to tell me that you can awaken an ancient weapon hidden deep in the forest?”

Leonov was watching Falynn with an expression of awe. He nearly tripped over an exposed root, he was watching her so closely. “That’s impressive, you know. I thought it was only Master druids that could use magic handed down by the God of Nature.”

“I am a Master of natural magicks,” she said. Then, as Roni gave a quiet snort, she retracted her statement. “Well, maybe not a master. But I can do a lot of Longfang’s natural magicks. You saw me woodshape, didn’t you?”

“What other kind of magic can you do?” Taiki asked, their eyes also wide with interest.

Falynn felt her face heating up at the overt interest that Taiki was showing but turned away so that he couldn’t see her cheeks flushing. Normally, she would vehemently object to demonstrating her skills in the open, either for respect or demonstration. But now, she felt an inexplicable urge to show off. Just a little bit, she thought. It couldn’t hurt.

“Well,” she said slowly, lifting one hand. “I can do something like this.”

A vine shot down from high above their heads, right into her hand and around her arm, then yanked her away from the ground. She flew gracefully in one long arch. Before she even began to fall, another vine appeared, and she swung like a spider ahead of them, covering a lot of ground rather quickly. Leonov let out a quiet whistle, impressed. In no time at all, Falynn was lost from sight and sound until a few seconds later, when she appeared to their right, swinging back into their midst.

“That's definitely one of my favorites,” she said with a laugh as the last vine gently but quickly lowered her to the ground. “It’s faster if it’s me, though, because the trees can reply to me.”

“You mean you can do that to other people?” Taiki asked, remembering the sight of the vine shooting out of the ground to grapple that man back in the clearing. When it had been revealed that Grimr had been the cause of the spell, they’d just assumed that it was one of the god’s unique magicks.

“Sure I can,” Falynn said easily, her shoulders lifting an inch or two. “All druids learn how to do it as children.”

They were all suitably impressed. Well, all of them except Roni. As she’d lived her life in the Dagorra Forest, this all had to hold no surprise for her. She kept to the head of the group, using her advantage in woodcraft and observational skills to keep watch on their chosen path. With reports of rampant beasts in the area, she wanted to ensure she saw the danger before it found them.

“How hard was it to learn your magic?” Taiki asked. Their interest in magic was obvious, and Falynn found herself wondering if he had some potential to his name. There were plenty of muscle-bound warriors who also possessed some measure of harnessing mana in their own right. They were especially common in druid communes, where using magic to harmonize with the forest around them was just expected.

“The basics are easy,” Falynn answered, scrunching up her brow as she thought about her early days studying magic. “But some of the harder types of magic are… well, harder.”

That earned another snort from Roni. Falynn sent the girl a well-deserved glare but didn’t comment. “Anyway, you don’t know that nature magic is right for you unless you try.”

To her surprise, Taiki was already shaking their head. “I know that I won’t study nature magic. I already have my chosen kind of magic.”

That piqued the interest of the others. A heavily martial type like Taiki expressing an interest in magic? It wasn’t unheard of in civilization, but it was still rare. Even Roni paused for a second or two in her sweeping to peer back at the tall warrior. It was Falynn, of course, who asked the question. “What kind of magic do you want to study?”

“Anti-magic,” Taiki said promptly. They noticed the awkward look on the other's faces and frowned. “What?”

“Anti-magic is… Well, it’s complicated,” Leonov said. “I once overheard a member of the Mage Divisions saying that his studies of counterspells was the most exhausting thing he’d ever done. He gave up on it, as a matter of fact. Went back to the simple life of a warrior.”

Taiki only shrugged at that. “I’m a hard worker, and I’m smarter than I think.”

“We’re not calling you dumb,” Falynn said quickly. Perhaps a bit too quick. “It’s just a really obscure branch of magic, and it’s exclusive. Not everybody can learn it, you know.”

Taiki knew all too well the goals they had to meet to even begin learning the subject. “I know. I have to get permission from a Master who teaches it.”

“Are there a lot of masters that teach it?” Roni asked, still looking supremely uninterested in the conversation.

“Just three that I know,” Taiki replied. “But I know who I want to teach me. I want to learn from a student of Lord Bragg.”

Leonov whistled again, but not out of a sense of awe. It was an awkward, anxious noise. Only then did all four of them remember what they’d learned during their last visit to Shallow Brook. It was the news that had hit them the hardest. In the initial stage of the attack on Milagre, when the palace had exploded out over the city, the Archmage had been killed. Apparently, a former student had found his body and carried it to safety.

Taiki cleared their throat uncomfortably, seeming to realize their blunder. “Anyway, yeah. I’m going to learn anti-magic.”

They nodded but without any real conviction. The sudden introduction of the tragic topic had soured their moods quickly. The fear, anxiety, and stress of the nation’s condition sat with them like a great ugly imp, threatening to crush them under its weight. Try as they might to forget, it would not be shifted aside. The specter of fear was with them like a shroud.

“I’m hungry,” Leonov said, taking a brave stab at trying to break up the awkward silence. “Are there any good sources of food nearby?”

Falynn thought about it but had to shrug. “I’m not sure. I’m not this far north in the forest that often. But I can grow any kind of plant if you’re hungry for something specific.”

Roni snorted for the third time, but before Falynn could react, she said, “There’s also packs of deer that roam through the area. I saw the sign of one half an hour ago. We can eat well if we want.”

“Are you from this area of the forest?” Leonov asked her. “Is that why you know the way so well?”

“I know the way because I can see the game trail,” Roni said, gesturing down at the ground. Leonov couldn’t see what she was talking about. This stretch of the forest floor seemed much the same as anywhere else they’d walked. “But yes, my mentor and I lived nearby.”

“I’m sorry for your loss,” Leonov said at once. When Roni looked back at him with a confused sort of glare, he continued, “The death of a mentor is always rough to bear.”

“She’s not dead,” Roni quipped. “She just moved home once I was able to hunt on my own. She wasn’t from here.”

His mouth formed a small ‘o’ of surprise and nodded belatedly. The silence after this exchange stretched for a while, as none of them could think of anything else to say or ask. Leonov and Taiki entertained themselves by studying the forest around them. They tried to pick out the minute signs of a game trail that Roni had mentioned, but try as they might, nothing stood out to mark any kind of special ground. Either no animals had been heavy enough to permanently disturb the ground, or Roni could see something that normal eyes couldn’t pick out. Perhaps it was an elven gift, they reasoned.

As they traveled on, the light around them began to dim, and Taiki and Leonov found it harder and harder to make out any meaningful detail in the trees around them. Roni and Falynn were undaunted as ever, but their eyes were different. Elves could see in dim lighting much better than humans, so what their friends saw as a blurry gray landscape was a clear picture to them. But Falynn was used to the humans that would visit Shallow Brook, and, after Taiki stumbled on a root, seemed to realize what was going on.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said. With a flick of her hand, her staff began to emit a soft, golden light that stretched for several dozen yards. It wasn’t blinding, but the light it provided seemed to stretch much further than was natural. It was only after a few minutes that they noticed trees around them seeming to respond to the presence of the staff. Tiny little blossoms of some golden flowers grew out of the tough bark of the trees around them and on the side of their path, adding to the overall light. This was why they could see so far.

“The forest is always so pretty this time of night,” Falynn said with a soft sigh, looking up at the sky. In the reflection of her dark eyes, they could see the moon above. It wasn’t directly over their head and, therefore, couldn’t provide much light, but it was still enough to cast a gray, ghostly edge over everything. The trees seemed oddly lifeless, even bathed in the golden glow of the blossoms and Falynn’s staff.

Roni stopped without warning, dropping to a low crouch so that she was almost swallowed by the clump of bushes she’d halted beside. The others stopped a second later, tense and worried, wondering what had caused the ranger to be on edge. She had her bow raised, and an arrow nocked but hadn’t yet drawn.

“What is it?” Leonov asked, in what he thought was a whisper but what registered as loud as a bellow in Roni’s ears.

“Shh!” She hissed, half-turning to throw him an impatient glare. “Be quiet, idiot! They’ll hear us!”

“Who is it?” He asked, completely ignoring her order to remain silent. But he did pitch his voice lower.

“It’s a pack of wolves,” Roni said. Her eyes were reduced almost to slits as she peered into the darkness ahead of them. “But they’re moving strangely. I think…”

“What?” Falynn asked, her interest piqued.

“I think they’re not normal,” Roni explained. Something about the scene had her hackles raised, and she seemed to be leaning away. “I don’t know what’s wrong with them, but something’s wrong.”

“Let me look,” Falynn muttered and put a hand to the base of a nearby tree. Closing her eyes, she sent a pulse of magic through the trees, feeling and searching ahead. Taiki and Leonov stared at her intently, waiting for news. They saw a powerful and very fast series of emotions run over her face. First pain, as her entire body tensed, quickly followed by anger, and finally settling into an expression of profound grief. A tear escaped her eye as she returned to her senses, and she let it fall as if not noticing that it was there.

“They’re corrupted,” she said, breathing heavily in an attempt to reign her emotions in. “They’re long gone.”