Ilis stared at the woman, her mind still moving slowly. “What have you done?” she whispered.

The leader just smiled. “We’ve made things simpler for you. You can either join us, or fight against two factions.”

Her stomach plummeted, and she clenched her fists. “You…”

The woman was smug. “Contact Silver again with the stone he gave you. We’ll be-”

Ilis fist blurred across the space between them and crunched into her face, before exploding. The woman was launched backwards, and she followed, ignoring the cries behind her. Her entire mind was bent onto the flying form. Her chest was heaving like bellows, pumping heat throughout her body. She caught up with another explosion from her feet, glaring down at the woman's blackened face and ruined eyes. With a roar that scraped her throat, she swung down and punched through her head, sending it crashing into the snow with a wave of melting fire.

‘Ding’ You have-

She ignored the notification, and landed with a thud. She heaved a few breaths, before falling to her knees. Fuck…

She heard the crunch of footsteps behind her, and she looked back to see Brand and the rest of the group. The man had a furious expression, and the representative looked like he’d heard his death sentence, which she supposed, wasn’t far off.

“Where are the Grasping Hand ritualists?”

“We let them go.”

Ilis closed her eyes. The statement felt like a stab to her heart. Fuck…

They began to walk back in silence, and they didn’t speak for the rest of the way. Ilis’ thoughts were all on what they should do next, and she couldn’t come up with anything. She rubbed her face. Her thoughts kept returning to them leaving. In her eyes, there was nothing else they could do here. Even if they beat the Grasping Hand back, the Holy Will – no, the Arch-Angels wouldn’t forget their involvement. They'd probably just wreck everything. However, they had time now, that was the point of all this afterall. They could get the fuck out of here.

They finally came over the hill to see Grenion, and its new addition? Ilis squinted at the newly sprung grove. The trees looked very familiar to her… “Brand, do you recognise that?”

The man frowned. “Yeah…weren’t they in the dungeon?”

Ilis scrunched her brow. Yeah, it was…What’s going on? They quickened their pace, reaching the city within an hour. Yena was already outside the walls, and was startled by their appearance. “You’re back! Oh thank Bretae, how did it go?” Her expression fell, when she saw their matching grim faces. “The deal-”

“Five Arch-Angels found us.”

The simple sentence had a curious effect on her. At first, she just blinked, and tilted her head. But then, her face became completely drained of colour. “No…” She swayed, and the representative jumped to catch her. Ilis shook her head, and continued to some of the guards who watched warily.

“What's with the trees?”

They shrugged. “We don’t know. Sent a few people to investigate, and we’re still waiting for them to come back. Some adventurers went too, including your Elf friend actually.”

Ilis frowned. Falan? Why… A sudden premonition settled on her, and she turned to stare at the expanding forest. “Brand!” The man looked up from where he was standing by Yena, and gave her a simple nod. They both started to run, the wind blowing and pushing them forward. They ran into the woods, and started jumping over the expanding stone roots; their hands swinging from chiselled branches with crystalline leaves that glowed green. While they headed further in, the stone become more and more prominent, but that wasn’t the only thing though; life pushed through the snow, flowers, berries, and normal tree sapling grew at a prodigious rate, and it only became thicker as they got closer to what seemed to be the source of all the strangeness.

After continuous running, a breeze carrying a voice brought them staggering to a halt. “Falisty…” She and Brand shared a panicked look, and rushed toward the direction of the wind. They blurred past the strange life around them, eventually arriving at their destination. Falan was kneeling by a strange willowy tree. Its branches were low hanging, sparkling their gem leaves, and its trunk was curved – like a person…

They slowly walked over, and around to the other side of the tree. They stared at the bundles of ripped clothes at its base, and then their gazes moved up the carved naked body, to the sleeping face of their friend.

Silence.

It was broken by the sound of Brand grinding his teeth. She looked over to see him covering his eyes, smearing water across his cheeks. A familiar feeling of hollowness ached in her heart; this was not the first time they had experienced this.

‘Ding’ [Lystal Dryad, Heart of the Stone Grove Lv 150]

She stared at her old teammate, and then knelt down beside Falan; Brand plopped on his arse a moment later, and they sat there quietly.

Eventually, she was brought out of her stupor by a rustling behind her, and her fists started to smoulder. She heard footsteps, which then stopped, before carrying on. She slowly stood up, and turned around. A knight, in pale smooth armour, and a ghostly visor stood there, staring at them. “Leave,” she whispered. The knight’s gaze travelled to her, and then their helmet started to recede. Her eyes widened as she saw a solemn man revealed. “Jason?”

He shrugged. “That’s me,” he said with little humour in his voice.

She regarded him for a bit longer – he looked different. She sighed, and turned around to Falan. “We need to tell you what’s happened.”

—---

Jason sat in the… Scandy Singer? Who would call their inn that? His eyes landed on the blonde sitting next to Ilis. Her, I guess… The place was quiet, and the few people who were there, had passed out long ago. Brand leaned forward, his eyes holding an intensity that hadn’t been there last he saw them. Ilis seemed weary, her usual casual demeanour nowhere to be found – only stress. And Falan? His eyes were empty, and staring into nothing.

Brand began to speak quietly. “We made a deal with the Grasping Hand to help them delay the Holy Will in a ritual. It worked…except that the Holy Will saw us. Their high-levelled members are there right now, in the fog, trapped…they said the council would pay for what they’ve done…”

“What do they mean with that?” he asked, causing the man to look at him, except it was Ilis who answered.

“We don’t know for sure, but I think they’ll probably just destroy us all along with the land.”

Jason felt goosebumps rise, yet he breathed slowly, and asked, “Great. So, what does this mean?”

Ilis spoke up. “It means that we should get out of here, unless we want to join the Grasping Hand.”

Falan jumped, and blinked, his eyes regaining a bit of life. “No…we can’t leave her here.”

No one could say anything to that.

Juliet sighed. “I knew this whole situation was suspicious. I think you may be right, Ilis. It’s over, people need to start evacuating…maybe we could hire Adventurers to protect us in the Wildlands? The fog covers most of the edges of the territory, correct? But it can’t cover all of it. If we keep heading south, we could make it to The Kingdom of Rhevit.”

“We can’t leave her!” Falan hissed at them, before anyone else could say anything.

Jason tilted his head. “Falan, what was she trying to do with the Gem Dryads heart anyway?”

The elf slowly turned to him. “Heart?”

Jason blinked as he realised that every eye was on him. “Yes? The Heart from the dryads in the dungeon. I saw it just before I left.”

The elf put his forehead in his hands. “You knew? You weren’t here and only you knew?” Ilis quickly jumped and gripped his shoulder.

“Falan, that won’t help. Does it mean anything to you?”

The elf closed his eyes, wallowing for a moment, before saying, “It must have been her solution to the barnacle problem, that was all she talked about.”

Jason’s lips pressed together, as Ilis sat back in her chair. “Of course… Was it working? I didn’t notice…wait, it was…it was making life.”

Falan just nodded, and Jason sighed. “Well, that’s great. How does this help us make a decision?”

Brand took a deep breath. “I haven’t got any ideas, but I know what I want to do.” He regarded them all seriously. “We were tricked, our friend has been taken, and the Holy Will is coming with their faith. I want to stop each one.” His proclamation made Jason aghast.

“Brand…how are we going to-”

The man held up a hand. “What can we do? We can get back at the Hand, we can find a way to save our friend, and maybe, convince the Holy Will to spare the people, otherwise we help them run.”

Jason and Ilis shared a concerned look, but Falan had perked up. “Wait…The Grasping Hand! They had details on the Dungeon’s Class! If we could get it…maybe we could…?”

Brand beamed, and pointed at the elf. “There we go! That sounds like the beginning of a plan to me. Hit the Hand back, while getting that book. What else?”

No one said anything, not that Falan seemed to notice. Brand shrugged. “It’s a start,” and stood up, but was held back by the Fiery Enhancer.

“Brand I think you should help the people run…” Ilis said.

“What? No, what about Falisty?” He asked, shocked.

Falan shook himself out of his thoughts, his eyes finally sharp again. He pushed his spectacles up. “Brand…I believe Ilis may be correct. Your Class is perfect for evacuating people.”

Jason frowned, and peered at the bear-like man.

‘Ding’ [Bastion of the People! Lv 150]

What?

He shook his confusion off; there would be time for questions later. Meanwhile, Brand had been grimacing. “I…suppose? But…no, you’re right. That might be the most important thing.”

Falan stood up. “We should alert the Council members of our plan, and I suppose of Falisty’s predicament.”

Everyone nodded. Juliet spoke up again. “I’ll start spreading the word about leaving with you Brand, and I’ll see if any Adventurers would be willing to come.”

Jason opened his mouth to speak, but then hesitated; Ilis noticed. “What’s up Jason?”

They turned to him. He sighed. “I should be the one to hit the Grasping Hand, my abilities are perfect for it, and for stealing shit. But…” He grimaced, his eyes flitting between them.

“...I’d rather not do it alone?”

Instantly, their faces became compassionate. Ilis patted his shoulder. “Yeah, I’ll be coming with you. I think us together will be more than enough.”

He nodded without saying a word, and they followed Falan out of the Inn. They started heading for the centre of town, and when they arrived, headed towards a stately building. They stepped up to the door and rang the iron bell. There was no reaction, until he suddenly heard the sounds of crashing. He glanced at the others, but they seemed unconcerned. The door slowly opened, revealing a dishevelled woman, with a bottle in her hand. She blinked at them, shading her eyes from the glare of the rising sun. “Archivists' Response? What are you…?”

Falan stepped back, hand over his nose. Jason sniffed. I can’t smell anything… He smelt himself. I can’t smell anything on me either…that’s not a good sign. The elf began to speak. “Miss Yena…we have some important information.”

The woman stared at him, and then groaned. “What now?”

“We’re making plans to evacuate people. Brand here, is perfect for protecting them in the Wildlands. However, we will not be leaving so soon. We have discovered that our teammate is the reason for the new stone forest. It was her solution to the barnacle problem, and it is working. We are planning to strike the Grasping Hand, for information about it, so we can save her, and for justice.”

Yena’s brow furrowed, as she processed the information, until her eyes widened, and she dropped her bottle with a shatter. “Your friend is dealing with the parasites?!”

They all leaned back at her sudden exclamation. Falan stuttered a bit. “Uh, yes, that is correct…”

She leaned against the doorframe. “Then we have something to bargain with…” She smiled. “Thank you, with this, we can get the Grasping Hand to make concessions… or, we could get the Holy Will to forgive us!”

Jason felt a pit in his stomach, and Falan seemed to be upset. “Miss Yena, that is our teammate we’re talking about, we need to save her…”

The woman was startled out of her thoughts. “No, you can’t stop the process now! The land will be doomed!”

Falan’s face started to redden. “I don’t give a shit about the land! That is my-” Brand’s hand clapped on his shoulder, and the elf turned quickly, looking as if he were about to explode.

“Let’s see if there is a way to save her first, yeah?”

The words struck the elf, making him tense, before deflating. He didn’t respond.

Brand grimly regarded Yena. “Use whatever you can to help yourself. We’ll be evacuating anyone who wants to leave anyway, but I will prioritise saving our friend.” The words seemed painful for him to say, and the ever-present presence that Jason only just now noticed, wavered behind him. “What I mean to say is that we will help everyone as best we can…” he amended, stabilising himself again.

What was that?

None of the others seemed to notice, and the council woman’s sigh drew his attention back. “Fine, but I hope for all of our sakes that you won’t find anything.”

They all stared at her incredulously. She began to shift on the spot, and bobbed her head, before closing the door.

“What are you going to do Falan?”

The elf sighed. “I will spend my time looking for ways to help Falisty, and…oh gosh, I must defend her too! If the Grasping Hand finds out…”

They all gave grunts of agreement. Ilis turned to Jason. “So, any idea where we should start?”

Images of Silver and his imprisonment flashed in his mind. “Actually…yeah, I do.”