Ulmir’s Garden, Third day of the Great Hunt. At the foot of the Tree of Life, before Cane’s fight against the Queen.

‘The monsters should be an easy task,’ Zedd thought. ‘I need to observe their routine then decide when to strike.’ While he had his eyes closed, Zedd sent his Little Fairies to do some reconnaissance. Through his connection with the fairies, Zedd could see through their eyes. ‘The man with the strange helmet, get on his shoulder. I want a better look.’

The fairy Zedd spoke to, approached the man then settled behind his shoulder blades. ‘Good, stay there. Zedd extended his soul into the Fairy. This allowed him to be present with his soul. The only vulnerability would be if the fairy died, Zedd would die as well unless he pulls off his soul before impact.

Fairies were respected in the lands of Kozag. Most people believed them to be the spirits of dear dead ones. They believe the fairies come to them to pay them a visit, and express their love. Nobody would dare kill a fairy in the Desert. In Ulmir’s Garden, the contestants took them for dead warriors who were stuck in the Garden with no way out. Luckily for Zedd, he was able to find a secluded spot from which he spied on other teams.

“Halvard!” a warrior with a rough voice shouted.

“What?!” the man named Halvard shouted back from under his helmet. His voice was also rough, almost cracked. He was the man the fairy had landed in.

“We should stop, take a break. The others’re tired.”

“If we stop we die Rufus. There’s no water to drink ‘ere

“The plants ‘ere are toxic, don’t you see? We must stop, and think. We must find a way out of this hell, before we all die.”

Halvard seemed to think a while. Zedd ordered the fairy to move closer towards Halvard’s shoulder. He wanted to have a better look at the man called Rufus. ‘I think I’ve heard this voice before. Rufus, that rings a bell but I don’t seem to remember.’

As the fairy climbed on top of Halvard’s shoulders, Zedd remembered. Rufus, also nicknamed the Mad Strangler was a mercenary. Zedd encountered him once in a tavern on his way to Yanoku.

‘I can sense evil powers controlling that man’s fate,’ Zedd thought as he observed the Mad Strangler. ‘But how will they get out of here? Even if they get out, they have inhaled enough spores already.’

“We’ll stop. But we can’t stop for long. The air ‘ere is heavy. I can hear m’lungs screaming,” Halvard finally said.

Zedd willed his soul to come back to him. The fairy had also had spores attached to its body. He dreaded to think what beast it could become. ‘If I draw the other teams towards this one, things might end up in slaughter.’

Zedd called all his fairies back then opened his eyes. “Let’s see. I have a corrupted team. Then I have two others that are fighting each other. The remaining teams are as lost as the others.” Zedd was thinking out loud as he devised his plan of attack. “The corrupted ones were near the man eating mushroom area. They’ll probably go berserk there. In the meantime,” Zedd let out a wide smile. “I’ll try and leave some hope for the worthy. If they survive, then it’s fated.”

Zedd got out of the cave then ran towards the Antenna Monsters’ area. From afar, he could see a team of six warriors approaching. The darkness that enveloped the forest didn’t hinder his eyesight. With his internal eyelids closed, Zedd could see better in darkness. He could detect life forms from the spiritual energy they exuded. If the sunlight was bright, the radiated energy wouldn’t be clearly visible.

Other people had to use a spell, or drink some strong potions in order to activate this type of sight. And even if one were to activate it, it would only be for a limited time. Zedd on the other hand had the Seer’s eyes. He could see the flow of spiritual energy in the air without the need for potions or spells.

Six people approached the area on which many small fruit trees were scattered. Tall Trees provided a good hiding spot for Zedd as he observed the warriors’ curious looks towards the antennae that looked like trees. ‘Go on, take one,’ Zedd mentally urged.

“Looks like we can eat those,” one of them said.

“How can you trust these plants? After all we’ve seen here in this Garden? Oi, One Eye, what d’you say?” Everyone’s eyes turned towards the man named One Eye.

“I can’t see with this fucking darkness in ‘ere. But they look like good ol’ normal plants to me. Hell, I’m starving.”

“One eye said it,” one of the men spoke. Zedd could see that the speaker had the better armor. ‘That one looks like the leader,’ he thought.

“If One Eye says we can eat it,” the leader continued. “Then it’ll probably kill us.”

“We’ll die starving anyway brother,” One Eyed said. “At least we’ll die with our bellies full.”

“No you won’t,” Zedd said loud enough for everyone to hear.

“Who goes there?” the leader asked.

“Someone with your best interest at heart,” Zedd answered.

“What d’ya want?”

“I want you to kill someone for me,” Zedd said, “Or something”, he corrected. His voice rang across the forest. It was too dark to see farther than three paces. The six warriors found each other and formed a defensive circle. They all looked around trying to find the mysterious man who spoke to them.

“What do we gain from it?” asked the leader.

“I’ll give you food, and water. I’ve got plenty of it.”

“Forgive me friend,” the leader started. “But how can we trust yer word?”

“I didn’t let you to touch that plant, did I? Now I’m warning you that you’re standing on a monster’s head.”

All the warriors scattered from where they stood. They had seen too many scary things in the forest. The stranger’s words didn’t surprise them. “Watch that insect approaching the plant,” Zedd’s voice rang through the forest again. All the warriors turned towards the plan they had just escaped from. A glowing insect was indeed flying towards it.

As soon as the poor creature made contact with the plant, earth cracked. In an instant, a giant head charged out from beneath the ground. It immediately opened and closed its mouth at surprising speed. The beast bit only the air though. The insect was killed by the monster. But since it didn’t feel like it devoured a prey, the monster looked around frustrated.

“It might have made it angry, sorry fellas,” Zedd said.

“Oi, what are you playing at?” the team leader shouted, angry and exasperated.

“Brother, we gotta get outa here!” One Eye urged the leader.

The moment the beast stayed above ground, the situation had turned hopeless for the team. The monstrous head emerged from the ground then the rest of its body followed. It was at least thirty feet tall. Its entire body was devoid of all flesh. It had paws instead of hands, but the beast stood on two hind legs. It looked like it was all but bone.

Its face, or rather skull, was hideous. It had many eyes on its entire forehead, peeping from behind pentagonal holes. Its forehead looked like a honey comb. From each pore peeped an eye, moving in all directions.

From its mouth protruded sharp fangs. When it opened it, one could see that it had several rows of teeth. The monster looked like a ghastly apparition, save for the colorful tree like antenna that grew on top of its head. The beast shouted, a sharp screech came out. Everyone in a three miles radius heard the sound of the infuriated beast.

The monster saw the first human then caught him with astounding speed. The voice of their brother in arms, shouting as the beast bit on his flesh, sent chills down everyone’s spines. Zedd had disappeared by then, leaving the warriors to their fate.

“Aella have mercy,” the leader whispered. “Listen Men! We got in ‘ere to fight. We’ll fight for our Gods, and for the glory of meeting them. Fight well! Don’t let no monsters scare ye. We’re here to hunt, and this ‘ere is our prey.”

The other warriors shouted in unison then charged at the monster. Annoyed at the interruption, the strange beast threw what remained of the fallen comrade on the approaching attackers. Blood and sinew covered those who were hit by the body. Sharp fangs tore through two warriors before they could even swing their swords.

The beast stopped then stood on all fours. Its numerous eyes turned in all directions. It swung its arm to the left and hit a warrior who was trying to sneak attack it. The warrior was flung back. His body slammed hard against a tree trunk. The monster didn’t stop at that, but it jumped on the warrior as he slammed against the tree.

The beast landed on all fours on the trunk, crushing the poor soul beneath its sharp claws. The beast used the momentum to jump to the opposite side where One Eye was trying to escape. The beast’s claws dismembered the one eyed warrior.

The leader of the band had given his speech to motivate his comrades. What he also desired was to send them like lambs to the slaughter as he ran away. ‘That fucker did it on purpose,’ he thought as he blindly ran through the trees. The Antenna Lure area had the highest density of tall trees. Because of how tall and ancient the trees were, their roots had emerged above ground. They were sometimes as large and tall as hills.

Antenna Lure monsters hide beneath the roots. Unwary travellers might touch them by mistake if, say, they were running away from some monster. The leader accidentally happened to be one of those unwary travellers. While one Antenna Lure was eating his comrades, another split him in two with one bite.

Zedd proceeded towards the Man-Eating Mushroom area. He had another surprise planned for the teams that were bound to meet there. ‘Cane make it quick friend. We’ve only got one more day to go,’ he thought as he reached the Man-Eating Mushroom area. There were three teams camping in there. For most people who entered Ulmir’s Domain through the Garden, the Man-Eating Mushrooms felt like the easiest prey.

The Mushrooms were as tall as normal trees. They were mainly carnivores. Humans were their favorite meal. But humans had learned how to kill them long ago. That was why three teams were stationed in the area. Mushrooms had no defense. They were strong and fast. But they could easily get injured. A sharp sword could cut through their bodies like butter.

The hardest part was to capture then kill them. Ulmir didn’t take well to beasts missing limbs. The offering had to be perfect. Zedd had additional data on the mushrooms though. If the toxic spores reached them, they go berserk. At the moment he arrived to the area, the contaminated team was closing in on his location.

Zedd walked towards the first unsuspecting team. They were preparing their traps and logistics. Three hunters had climbed a tall tree to cut their branches. ‘They mean to use the branches to facilitate Mushroom transportation to the Altar. They’re the ones that have to go first.’

“Hello travelers,” Zedd announced his presence to the three hunters who remained on the ground.

“Who goes there?” one of the hunters shouted. The other two unsheathed their weapons and looked at their visitor.

“I’m not here to fight,” Zedd announced.

“Bullshit! Everyone’s here to fight,” one of the hunters shouted at him.

“Well, I’m not everyone. I’m just here to warn you.”

“Warn us of what?” a fourth hunter appeared from behind a tall tree.

‘The Seventh member of the team and the leader,’ Zedd thought. “There’s another team on its way here. Competition is about to get fierce.”

“Why would you tell us?” the leader asked.

“Just to get your hunters down here, they’re in bigger danger,” Zedd replied.

“They’re up there. Nothing can touch ‘em.”

“I tried,” Zedd commented as he made to move away from the area.

“Don’t you make another move!” One of the hunters warned. He had his bow nocked and ready to shoot.

“Why don’t you join us friend?” the leader asked. “You’ve taken the trouble of warning us. Let’s have something to eat. We’ve got plenty of food ‘ere.”

“Not interested. Now if you’ll excuse me.” Zedd turned his back to the hunters and started walking.

“Wrong choice,” the leader said as the archer loosened his arrow.

Zedd moved to the side, the arrow whistled in the air. With a thump, the arrow lodged itself into a mushroom’s stomach.

“Looks like you’ll have your hands full friends,” Zedd announced to the four hunters. “I’ll take my leave now. Good luck and all!”

Zedd vanished into thin air, leaving the angry mushroom to fight against the hunters. ‘So Cane arrived eh?’ he thought after receiving a mental message from Silver. ‘It’s about time. The Queen will soon wake up.’

In the area Zedd had just left, Mushrooms were fighting the hunters. The dangerous thing about the Man-Eating Mushrooms was that they attacked in groups. If one of them is heard screaming, then everyone should evacuate the area.

The beasts were easy to defeat. But against a large number of them, death was the certain outcome. The group of hunters Zedd visited had a surprise for the Mushrooms though. Their teammates who had climbed the tall trees heard the commotion down below. They started raining broken logs at the beasts while their comrades attempted to scale the trees. Against a swarm of Mushrooms, the only way out for them was to climb.

Unfortunately for the fleeing hunters, the corrupted team had joined them. Attracted by the sound of screaming Mushrooms, they quickly reached the battleground. “What in Aella’s name is this?” the leader of the hunters asked.

What the hunters saw wasn’t a group of hostile warriors. They saw a group of decaying corpses heading their way. There were strange plants growing from every orifice the hunters had. The plants wiggled and emitted strange noises, akin to a newborn baby squealing for the first time. With each squeal, the plant would emit toxic spores that spread in the air.

“Men!” the leader shouted. “Run for your lives. Do what you can to reach the Altar. We’ll improvise something once we get there.” Sensing danger, the leader could only urge his teammates to escape. There was no way for them to beat the mushrooms and the approaching infected hunters.

Misfortune had struck the poor bastards, and it struck them hard. The infected hunters had already spread the spores in the air. The Mushrooms got affected and went completely out of control. The tall tree was shaken heavily. The hunters could no longer keep their strong grip over the tree branches. The ones who had been high enough fell to their untimely death. The ones who attempted the climb fell to the Mushrooms mouths.

That day, infuriated Man-Eating Mushrooms had a feast of human meat. Zedd had managed to rid himself of the competing teams in Ulmir’s Garden. By the time the Mushrooms had finished their slaughter, Zedd was already back at the Tree of Life.