The shimmering light from the portal wrapped around his form like water. He closed his eyes as he stepped through the portal out of habit. It acted like water so he treated it like water in his mind. The mountain pass had been shadowy, with misted peaks leading to cool and humid air. As he stepped through the gateway he was almost cool enough to feel cold. In just a few short moments his skin was being warmed by the sun. The sweet sounds of songbirds chirping rang throughout the forest. Wind could be heard whistling through the trees, finding openings between massive trunks and through leaves which rustled at its passing. Behind his closed eyelids, a blue screen popped up:

You have advanced to level 3! Welcome to the Forest

Saul’s eyes opened, and a smile blossomed across his face. Tall grasses swayed gently in the breeze, crowding around those tree trunks that were large enough in diameter that any car could drive through them. Those trunks were a variety of colors, from deep browns to soft, burnt reds that seemed to match what he’d seen in pictures of the redwoods. As Saul looked up the trunk of one of those trees, his neck began to ache before he laid eyes on the canopy. Colorful mushrooms grew out of the bark, large enough that it seemed as though they could be used as handholds to climb the great trees.

He drew in a deep breath, filling his nose with the scents of the forest around him. It smelled like life - Cool and refreshing. He could smell the lush greenery, a soft scent of mint drifting off of many of the ferns. The trees themselves had a different aroma, earthy and musky with pleasant hints of needles, almost like a pine. The air itself smelled like power. Saul could feel from that first breath that the Qi flowing in the forest was greater than it had been in the mountains. It wasn’t anywhere near the level of the deeps, but it was certainly much more concentrated than in the rest of Level II.

On the forest floor, wide open spaces between those massive trees seemed to be the domain of ferns, growing in abundance. Downed trees could be seen here or there and the ferns and mosses were busy claiming those trees, too, as their domain. The landscape rolled like the gentlest wave. Leading away from the gate was a dirt path. Judging from the deep brown soil that contrasted against the ferns, it seemed to be a regularly maintained trail.

‘It’s beautiful…’ Saul thought to himself. He heard a gasp just beside him and smiled. ‘Ishan must have just seen the same thing I did.’ He turned to look at his current party member. The look of wonderment on the man’s face was worth a thousand words. He’d probably had a similar expression on his face when he first opened his eyes. Next to Ishan, he noticed a brown placard that read:

Efnelion: 5 km

Sylethanas: 14 km

He was lucky that everything thus far had been in English. Suddenly a thought occurred to him, ‘I wonder if these signs are really in English, or if the Dungeon translates things for me automatically… Does everyone here see and hear in their native language?’ He looked over at Ishan, wondering where the man was from. He certainly seemed exotic in style and appearance, but that could just be him acting to the best of his idea of ‘Medieval fantasy’.

“Hey, would you like to keep travelling together for now? I haven’t been here before and I kind of doubt you have.” Ishan jumped at Saul’s words, as if disturbed from the middle of a pleasant daydream.

His gaze fell upon Saul, the man’s amber eyes focusing as he gave a nod, “Seems prudent to stick together for now. Who knows what kind of place this forest is?”

They set out, the dirt of the trail soft enough to feel as though they were walking on pillows. The way seemed straightforward, but every now and again there would be a turn. After perhaps a kilometer the sound of rain filled the air, but no drops fell to the ground. Saul looked up, but through the dense canopy he couldn’t see any signs of clouds in the sky. As they continued further along the trail the sound grew louder and louder, like they were walking into a more intense storm, but still no drops fell to the ground. At last they rounded a soft curve and came across the source of the noise.

To their right about 400 meters away, a stunning wall of stone jutted up from the softly rolling hills of the forest, an island to itself. It seemed to tower above the trees, but their growth was so persistent that Saul couldn’t rightly say where the top was. At the base of the massive stone glacier was a lake that was being filled continuously by a large waterfall that thundered down from heights unseen. The water fell at least 100 meters, totally uninterrupted, before it splashed onto a large cluster of boulders, from there it spilled free in many directions in a large number of tiny waterfalls. At the edge of the lake, large majestic creatures that appeared similar to moose but possibly even larger were drinking from the clear water.

It was the type of majestic scene that could serve as the inspiration for a thousand paintings and songs. The two companions turned to one another as if hoping to verify the sights before them were real, expressions of total wonderment visible on their faces. Saul looked down at Basi, and noted that even the lizard seemed to appreciate the beauty before him, though Saul wondered if he wasn’t just imagining getting a bite of those moose. ‘This place is amazing. I don’t think I’ve seen anything like it before, even in pictures,’ Saul thought to himself. As if afraid that their words would disrupt the scene, both men just stood there and soaked in the sight for a few minutes, before finally turning away and continuing onward.

Eventually they came across another sign indicating they were doing well on the trail:

Efnelion: 1.3 km

Sylethanas: 10.3 km

“Ishan, I’ve been wondering… Do you think these signs appear to everyone in English? Is that part of the Dungeon’s interface, making sure we can read these?”

The man’s eyebrows were raised as he turned to look at Saul, his hand pointing towards the sign, “You mean you’re not reading Arabic? You’re not -speaking- Arabic?” He put particular emphasis on the speaking part. ‘He must not understand English…’

Saul responded, “No, I’ve been speaking English this whole time. How curious. I guess that answers that question. Let’s continue on, we’re nearly to Efnelion.”

A few minutes later, they arrived at Efnelion, and the sight elicited a gasp from Saul. Looking out, he saw a ravine in the middle of the town, with three or four particularly massive trees clustered close to that rift. At the very edge of what he could see, a small waterfall seemed to fall down into the ravine with several bridges criss-crossing the scar in the land. Soft, misty clouds seemed to float in suspension around the waterfall, the light shining just perfectly from above to create a waterfall there.

The trees themselves had hundreds of branches, each one as massive and sturdy as some of the other trees they’d seen. They were so regularly spaced that they almost looked like a spiral staircase moving up the trunks. On each of those branches at least one building could be spotted, expertly crafted and all but blending into the tree itself if not for lights that shone from windows on those buildings. “It’s like a fairy tale…” He breathed. After a few moments spent drinking in the details, Saul began to move ahead. ‘Who could live in such a wondrous place?’

Ishan fell into step beside him, the two of them following the trail to its stopping point at the base of one of the trees. “Who goes there?” rang out from the closest branch, melodic enough to seem from a song. Saul looked up but was unable to spot the speaker.

Nevertheless, he responded, “My friend and I are weary adventurers. We’ve just come from the Dwarven Mountain and we’re looking to explore this land. We mean you no harm!” He looked at Ishan, ‘At least, I think he means no harm. For all I know this guy is some crazy evil wizard. He seems nice, though.’

The voice that had questioned them seemed to take a few moments to consider. A vine fell from the branch, and just a moment later an Elf in light armor slid down, his armor glowing softly in the shade of the trees. He was well equipped, two scimitars hanging from sheaths at his hips. He looked dangerous despite his slender build.

“Well met, friend. My name is Saul and this is Ishan. As I said, we’ve just arrived in the Forest and we were looking to explore for a while. I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind telling us a little about this place?”

The scout’s face showed an expression of surprise, one eyebrow raised, “You really did just arrive, then. We haven’t had many travelers from the gate yet. I’ve heard there have been rumblings of something dark brewing in the Forest, but we haven’t sent any parties out. We’ve been having our own issues.” At that, Saul bid the elf to continue, ‘Sounds like a quest or two.’

The elf decided to elaborate, “To make things more clear, we’ve heard that many people are being attacked between the gate from the Mountains and our village. We haven’t had the manpower to investigate because we’ve been dealing with raids from the elves of Sylethanas. We’ve had a friendly relationship with them for millennia, but lately there has been something wrong with them. They’ve been acting hostile in negotiations, their leadership seems to have been overtaken by sinister thoughts. We sent a group to negotiate, but we haven’t heard back from them.”

“How horrible!” Saul’s face distorted in concern as he considered their position. He felt like he had to help. ‘Why do I have to be the guy that always makes sure his characters are 100% good in video games?’ He asked himself with a sigh. “Tell me more, I’d like to help if possible.” A glance to his side showed Ishan was somewhat interested as well. Perhaps the man would accompany him to investigate the situation.

The elf turned and began to stride off, calling over his shoulder, “Follow me, I’ll show you the way to Sylethanas.” Saul and Ishan both sprang into motion to catch up, the elf speaking as if they were right behind him, “Historically, our villages have been strong allies. We’ve had small disagreements from time to time, but we have always had a friendly relationship. We’ve combined forces many times to defend our homelands from foreign threats.”

They continued on, reaching the edge of the clearing. “In the past few months, something has been off with their leaders. As I said, they began to grow hostile and distant. Then they ceased communications entirely. After that, the attacks began on our scouting parties. We’ve lost a few scouts, but we’ve been hesitant to escalate things further. That’s caused us to cease almost all patrols.” He paused for a moment, looking to Saul and Ishan, "I won't lie to you. The leadership of Sylethanas has been corrupted. They must be stopped. If you're able to help us, we will reward you very handsomely." He put a great deal of emphasis on 'very'.

'I'm not sure about all of this... I think I'll go take a look for myself.' Saul and Ishan met eyes. Understanding seemed to pass between them. "We'll look into this for you."

The elf smiled and pointed off into the distance, indicating the path just past him, “This way leads to Sylethanas. Be careful on your way. The forest is full of aggressive and monstrous beasts. Our patrols usually keep their numbers down, but we haven’t been out in force lately. Good luck!”

With that, the elf faded into shadows before their very eyes. Saul and Ishan shared a look, “Talkative fellow…” Saul finally said, and the two of them shared a laugh. “So, what do you think?”

Ishan’s head tilted to the side as if considering before he said, “I think we should check it out. It sounds like a threat worthy of heroic adventurers!” The man’s eyes practically shone as his lips turned up in a quirky grin. ‘Corny. I’d say the same thing, though.’

They set off at a quick pace down the pathway, both of them staying on their toes, wary of any possible attack from the beasts the elf had mentioned. Saul paid close attention to the noise of the forest, figuring if they heard silence it was possible a large predator was nearby. ‘Maybe that’s something I saw on Planet Earth.’ Beside him, Basi padded along quietly, the lizard highly adaptable to all the environments they’d come across so far. ‘Stay alert, bud’ He sent down to the beast.

Based on the distances on the signs, they’d made it about halfway to Sylethanas before trouble finally struck. The first sign of trouble was a crashing sound somewhere to the left of the trail. Another one echoed through the forest just a moment later, this sound louder than the first. Before long, there was another loud crash as what looked like a log appeared in the midst of some saplings.

Another thud. Another log appeared just to the right of the first. Another thud. Saul’s bow appeared in hand and he drew an arrow, quickly willing his power into it. He placed it against his bowstring and continued pushing his will into the arrow.

At that moment, what appeared to be a living tree burst through the trees, its yellow eyes tinged red. There was a gap roughly a meter below its eyes, with a few vaguely teeth shaped pieces carved. A strange roar emerged from that maw as the beast began to charge them. ‘You will pierce the enemy.’ He told the arrow. As more of his energy entered the arrow, it seemed to resonate with his intent.

‘I hope this works…’ He thought, considering trying to use his spear against the massive beast. If the wood was as hard as it seemed, he couldn’t imagine something other than an axe hurting it. Ishan’s magic seemed like it would work well, but the wizard wouldn’t have time to cast any spells if Saul couldn’t distract it.

He drew in a breath and let fly, his arrow soaring to thud against the beast’s eye. A health bar appeared overhead, reading:

Ent. Level 9

Its health bar showed that the arrow had some effect, reducing the Ent’s health by a sixth. It didn’t do anywhere near the amount of damage Saul expected. He dismissed his bow and summoned his spear. ‘I’ll just have to stay out of range and hit it until it’s dead… No big deal…’ The Ent seemed to focus on him after he shot it, so he jumped backwards and tried to draw it away from Ishan. ‘Basi, stay out of this one, I don’t think you’re suited for this.’ He felt dissatisfaction through their bond, but the lizard seemed to agree.

Saul stayed close enough to the Ent to jab at it with his spear here and there, his Qi infused strikes needling a small amount of health with each attack. He tried to focus on the same spot, hoping that he might be able to break through its trunk. The strikes didn’t seem very effective, with the Ent’s overall health reduced by just over 22% after several strikes.

Finally a red light shone around the Ent’s form, this attack obviously that same devastating technique Ishan had used previously. Saul danced out of the way, moving towards the wizard in case the Ent wasn’t defeated by the blow. The Ent had just enough time to turn around before the light seemed to solidify and the air itself seemed to warp, a devastating wave of energy eating away at its bark.

Its health bar reflected the damage, a huge chunk fading away. It seemed to have about a third left. Unfortunately, when he looked back at Ishan he saw what he expected - The wizard was huffing and puffing in an attempt to catch his breath. “Get behind something sturdy!” Saul called back to him.

He’d handle it from here. The Ent’s bark seemed to be degraded in some way. He stepped forward, just close enough to stab forward with his spear, and found it sank deep into the wood that time as if he were stabbing a decaying log. The damage was more what he expected this time, the Ent’s health bar showing about a fifth remaining.

Saul delivered one more powerful strike and the light seemed to fade from the tree’s eyes, the massive creature slumping forward. Saul dismissed his spear to ensure it wasn’t snapped by the falling tree. The resulting thud was so loud it seemed to echo for miles and miles, the sound deafening to his ears.

Exp Gained: 900! Your share: 450 Exp!

Saul didn’t see any signs of drops. He turned to face Ishan, huffing and puffing from his own exertion, and moved to take a seat against the tree trunk the man had ducked behind. “Let’s take a few minutes here… I’m not ready for anything else like that, yet.” When the wizard agreed, they both settled down, breath coming in short supply following that fierce battle.

They weren’t aware that the trials that awaited them would be significantly more challenging than this battle.