The days came and went. Before James knew it, six months had passed. Freedom had become the 8th most powerful guild in Yggdrasil. Freedom had taken in a two dozen new players among its ranks in that time, ¾ of them heteromorphs but the remaining players were a mixed bunch.

This he had taken in were all different races and builds, some were builders, a few were role-players and there were even some people he knew were Pkers. Though he taught those people a lesson or two before he considered accepting them.

James had taken some time to edit some of his equipment. He combined the helm he had gotten from slaying Igris with his helm named Heimdall. Next, he turned his staff into a duel ended spear, it would be much easier for him to get kills with it now.

Hel, in these short months had stumbled upon an area that under the noon sun became a gate. That gate had led them to the realm of Muspelheim.

When they had arrived, they were greeted by a burning world. The desolate wasteland that greeted their arrival was blackened by fire untold. There was not a single thing to be seen, be it tree or blade of grass, all things had burned. Even the sky had been scorched black, filled with all the smoke of this burning world. All that remained of what seemed to have once been rolling hills and grassland.

James turned back to see the gate they had stepped through. It was a purple oval, 10-feet tall and about 6 feet wide, all embedded into the flat face of a huge rock. It appeared much the same as the other side, save that the rock was scorched black like the rest of the land.

The gate had closed behind them only two minutes after they had passed through it. This would have been a major bother if James did not have the capability to cast the gate spell. James in his several months of play had managed to reach level 65, only five levels away from super tier spells.

James occasionally had to spend his P.T.O in order to grind for levels with his shadow soldiers. The number of shadows he could now bring to bear was 93. James had restrained himself from grabbing just any thing he killed to be one of his shadows. For now, he focused on the strongest creatures that he faced, occasionally having to clear out weaker mobs to make room for ones with higher base stats.

James spoke, “Come forth.” James’ shadow seemed to distend and expand, unnaturally so. Clawed hands and the occasional paw began emerging from his shadow. When all was said and done 93 shadow soldiers knelt before him awaiting orders. He addressed all of them save one, “Go forth and slaughter, except you.” He said as he pointed to Igris, quick as wind they were gone, leaving only James, Igris and his friends by the closed doorway.

James mostly spend his time grinding in this world while his friends made occasional trips back and forth to their guild base. This went on for several weeks, and when even James was beginning to grow a bit bored, he found a forest of dead trees.

To James this place screamed secret, it lured him in with the mystery. He recalled his shadows and messaged his friends to get the party together, and so they explored the Forest of Death, as Hel had dubbed it.

James had flown up to get a better view of the forest, but no sooner had he done so did a great fog begin to roll on. Oddly, the fog started at the edges of this semicircular forest and worked its way inward towards the center.

There in the center before it was obscured by the fog James saw a single large cottage. The cottage must have been on stilts as it resided in the middle of an open area of swamp the seemed to make up the heart of this forest.

James rejoined his friends on the ground where the dead tree line began, and they marched onward into the fog. James had gotten them to tie themselves together with rope so they would not become separated in the fog.

Onward James and his friends marched single file through the Forest of Death. James had Igris by his side to serve as extra protection, a move he was thanked for by the damage dealers in the party.

Hel was the first to notice it, though at the time most of them had thought he was just scared as his teeth were chattering. It was all to soon however that they realized he was right. They knew there was something there when the trees began to move, though there was no wind.

James told his companions, “Ill leave Igris here with you guys as a bodyguard, you could use the EXP. I’ll go on ahead.” Some of the newer members to the guild looked at him in shock, while the more veteran of them simply nodded and smiled, appreciating the gesture.

As James untied himself, he handed the rope to Sasha his second in command who was the person behind him in the line. She simply took the rope with a smile, untied her own, and with a great and terrible roar she transformed into her mighty werewolf form. James flew up as the trees began to uproot themselves and attack his party down below.

James simply hovered above the rest of his party out of the range of the seemingly undead tree ents melee. He watched over his party passing out heals as needed. It was twenty minutes before they could continue on their way.