The forest was denser on the other side of the charred fungal plain, and we walked in silence for a while with the massive metallic trees growing so close together that in places we had to squeeze between their trunks. The canopy above blocked so much light the ground was nearly bare, except for steelhusk roots and dead leaves.

  “Fifteen mind gems,” Knut finally said, shaking his head.

  “Unbelievable,” Eryn muttered. “We need more mushroom zones.”

  “Told you it was efficient,” Nabeeh said, grinning.

  I just sighed.

  Before we’d left the grove, Roq had guided us over to a spot where apparently nearly a hundred Glowcaps had been…growing? Sleeping? Chatting? Having tea? Who cared. They’d been bunched and had all died when Nabeeh put the fungal forest on fire. Roq had sensed their remains, and we’d been able to fill our storages with carcasses, including fifteen with mind gems.

  “You’ll be ready for your breakthrough after this quest then,” Nabeeh said to Eryn.

  “Yes. Feels… odd to think about it. How long did it take you to go from scavenger to classed?”

  “About a year. I…” Nabeeh licked her lips. “I had a smooth progression.”

  “Lucky,” Knut said. “Spent three years.”

  “About same as me,” I said.

  “Doesn’t seem right to call it three years when you spend that long getting to level four just to go from there to level ten in two months.”

  “And what would you call it?”

  “Fastest leveler in recorded history! Thanks to yours truly.”

  “Of course. Thanks, Roq. I mean it.”

  Time trudged on endlessly as we continued our trek, and the ground beneath our feet began to change slowly. The hard-packed earth gave way to softer soil, then to mud. The air grew thick with moisture, and strange, whispering sounds seemed to emanate from the vegetation around us.

  "The Whispering Mire," Eryn read from our notes. "Lovely."

  We stood at the edge of a vast swamp. Gnarled trees rose from the murky water, their branches draped with moss. Patches of solid ground were connected by narrow, winding paths that disappeared into the mist. The air was filled with the buzzing of insects and the occasional splash of something moving beneath the water's surface.

  “You sure this is the way?” Nabeeh asked.

  Eryn nodded.

  “Yup. Fits Petra’s description perfectly.”

  Knut stared at the swamp with disgust.

  “Crap,” he grumbled. “See wonders, they said. Fun adventuring. Here mud up to knees." He gestured to his plate armor. “Hours of cleaning."

  "I don't envy him," Roq commented. "Metal and mud don't mix well. At least I have you to clean me."

  "Lucky you.”

  Nabeeh, surprisingly, seemed unbothered.

  "My robes have high fire resistance," she said matter-of-factly. "A gift from... someone." She paused briefly. "When we get back, I’ll put them on the stones and breathe fire on them untill they are clean.”

  "I think this is amazing," Eryn said, looking across the landscape. "A whole new world to explore. My parents would have loved to head Riftside.” Her enthusiasm dimmed slightly as she added, "Though I am a bit worried about diseases. Or poisonous plants. Or snakes. Or leeches."

  "Or all of the above," I added helpfully, earning a playful swat on the arm.

  "Humans and their fear of tiny things," Roq scoffed. "You should be more worried about what might be lurking beneath the surface. Something large. With teeth."

  "Not helping.”

  We began picking our way through the swamp, doing our best to head from solid ground to solid ground, but it was a losing battle. The mud sucked at our boots with each step, making progress slow and exhausting. Strange lights danced in the fog. Insects or something weird, I couldn’t tell.

  The weird whisper grew louder as we ventured deeper, sometimes forming what sounded like words that hung just at the edge of comprehension.

  "Hate this," Knut declared after we'd been slogging through the mire for far too long. "Smells. Death. Rot."

  “Boring," I offered. “Nothing to kill.”

  "I rather like it," Roq commented. "The smell of decay is... invigorating. Reminds me of battlefields after the fighting stops."

  Just then, a dark shape launched itself from the mud, straight towards Eryn.

  I reacted instinctively, swinging Roq in a wide arc, and clipping the snake. Eryn let out a startled cry as the snake flew into the swamp, and started jumping up and down, trying to look everywhere all at once.

  "Snakes!” she cried.

  "Another one! Behind you!"

  I spun, but too late. A second snake had emerged silently from the mud, and its fangs sank into my leg, right where my armoured pants and shoes met.

  Pain shot up my leg, followed immediately by a spreading numbness. I grasped the snake with my off-hand, my shield already stowed in storage, and crushed its head in my fist.

  But the damage was already done. My vision began to swim, and I felt lightheaded.

  "Venom!" Roq warned. "I can feel it. Potent stuff. Let me handle it."

  "Ash!" Eryn said, rushing over, her need to take care of others forcing away her fear. "You've been bitten!"

  Nabeeh cursed and swiped out a small flask.

  "Anti-venom," she said, uncorking it. "Drink this, quickly."

  I waved her off, trying to appear steadier than I really was.

  "I'm fine. It missed me." I quickly stored Roq, and immediately a warmth spread through my body, heading down towards my leg, counteracting the venom. "Just adrenaline, that's all."

  Nabeeh looked skeptical, but put the flask away. "If you say so. But tell me if you start feeling dizzy or nauseous. Poison isn’t a joke."

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  "I will," I promised, knowing I wouldn't need to. Roq's Blood Forge ability, together with my high vitality, had nearly defeated the venom already.

  “Pay better attention,” Roq said as we continued through the swamp. “It will be annoying if you die.”

  “No more pie?”

  “That too. But I’d miss… I mean... you are far from perfect, so don’t fool yourself into thinking anything else, but… you know.”

  “No, I don’t.”

  “Are you going to make me say it?”

  “Yes.”

  “Fine. It would be annoying to train another mount to do my bidding.”

  I sighed. Some things never changed.

  * * *

  By the time we emerged from the Whispering Mire, our clothes were soaked and muddy and even our spirits somewhat dampened. The steelhusk forest on the other side was a welcome sight after the oppressive atmosphere of the swamp and constant lookout for snakes..

  But the forest didn’t last long, and the trees began to thin as we walked, eventually giving way to rolling grasslands. In the distance, rising from the plains like an island, stood a massive mesa—a flat-topped hill with steep, nearly vertical sides.

  "There," Eryn said, pointing to the top of the mesa. "That's where we'll find the Treeshakers. I think. That’s what the papers say."

  I squinted up at the towering formation. It had to be at least two hundred feet tall, with no obvious path to the top.

  "Now I understand why they had us bring rope, and why no one's bothered completing this quest," I said. "It's not just the journey to get here, nor the damn monsters. It's climbing that thing."

  "And fighting," Knut added. "Then down. And back.” He cleared his throat and spat on the ground. “Through mud. Not enough reward if ask me.”

  "We should rest before the climb," Nabeeh suggested and stretched. "Eat something, recover our strength."

  We agreed and then found a suitable spot at the base of the mesa, in the shadow of a lone steelhusk tree.

  After unpacking our lunch of dried meat, hard bread, and some dried fruit which we’d bought on the way Riftside, I noticed Nabeeh staring off into the distance, her expression wistful. The man from earlier came to mind, but I wasn’t sure if I should pry. She was a part of us now, but personal things should remain just that.

  "Thinking of home?" I asked instead.

  She started slightly, then nodded.

  "In a way. The grasslands remind me of the banks outside Labeib, our capital." She gestured to the horizon. "Though our skies are clearer, and the air smells of spice rather than... whatever that smell is."

  "Wet dog and mushrooms," Eryn added helpfully, and the two girls giggled at that. I chuckled, too, as my dear girlfriend had hit the nail right on the head.

  "She's homesick," Roq observed. "Fascinating. I didn't think she had such sentimentality in her. Maybe I was wrong about her and she isn’t so strong after all?"

  “You sure have a way about classifying people, buddy. Maybe leave that for us to decide, huh?”

  Nabeeh smiled.

  "Yes, that. In Azbara, the air is dry and clean. The sun beats down mercilessly during the day, but the nights..." Her voice softened. "The nights are cool and clear, with stars so bright you feel you could reach up and pluck them from the sky."

  “Miss it?” Eryn asked.

  "Every day," Nabeeh admitted. "But I cannot return. Not yet."

  "Because you're an outlaw?" I asked bluntly.

  "Direct. I like it," Roq approved. "No dancing around the issue. Straight for the gut."

  Her eyes snapped to mine, narrowing.

  "Who told you that?"

  "No one had to tell me. You've been dropping hints since we met. And that man at the guild—you practically dragged him outside. Doesn’t exactly scream bag full of white flour, does it?”

  Nabeeh sighed, setting down her food.

  "I suppose I might as well tell you. If we're going to stay a party, you should know what you're getting into."

  “Would be nice," Eryn said. “Since we’re all being honest and stuff.”

  Nabeeh nodded, gathering her thoughts.

  "I was born to nobility. My father was a vizier to the king, and my mother a noble. But me? I always wanted to become an adventurer. It’s a bit unusual back home for nobles to become adventurers, but not quite unheard of."

  “You don’t have to convince us,” I said. “We don’t judge based on background, nor do we really care.”

  She nodded.

  “Force of habit. Have had to convince enough over the years.”

  She traced patterns in the dirt with a stick as she spoke, which only made her look somehow even younger. More fragile than she was letting on.

  “Two years ago it was arranged for me to marry the son of another noble family, the Marechas. Bowroum Marecha was my betrothed. He was handsome, charming, and, disappointingly, utterly ruthless.”

  “Sounds like noble,” Knut said, and I found myself nodding.

  “I’m not like that,” Nabeeh said.

  “You just blew up half a forest. Pretty ruthless if you ask me,” I said, but I smiled, trying to soften it. Hell, I wasn’t trying to hurt her feelings or whatever, it had just been a small jab to lighten the mood.

  “Well… that’s different.”

  “Why?” Eryn asked.

  “Bowroum wasn’t ruthless against monsters and in defence of our home. No. I found evidence he was working to break the contract between the adventuring guild and the Azbara crown."

  “Dumb,” Knut said.

  “Yes, sure, but he wanted power, and that kind of person does everything to get to their goal" Nabeeh said. "If he controlled the adventurers, he controlled the most powerful force in the kingdom besides the royal army. He planned to use that leverage to eventually seize the throne."

  “He sounds fun. We should learn from him.”

  “Wrong lesson, Roq.”

  She pushed the stick into the ground until it snapped. "On our wedding day, instead of speaking my vows, I exposed him. Everyone was there. Noble weddings, you know.”

  “Sure,” I said.

  “I had documents, testimonies, and witnesses spread through the temple. There was enough evidence that it led to a riot right then and there.”

  She swallowed.

  "Bowroum tried to kill me on the spot. I defended myself. He nearly burned to death. His face... well, he won't be considered handsome any time soon."

  "Good," Eryn said firmly.

  "I’ve changed my mind. I like her after all," Roq said admiringly. “Wonder if you and Eryn will have an equally hot wedding.”

  “Shush,” I said, though I nearly chuckled.

  "The king eventually struck down the rebellion, but to avoid an escalating war between the nobles, I was branded a traitor and sentenced to death for 'inciting rebellion against the crown.'"

  "That's ridiculous!" I said.

  "Politics," Nabeeh said bitterly. "The Marechas family has deep connections. I barely escaped with my life, fleeing to Tharungia to become strong enough so I can return one day. I will return sooner or later, and have my revenge on those who wronged me. Tenfold."

  "But you're an adventurer," Eryn said. "Wouldn't the guild protect you?"

  Nabeeh shook her head.

  "Back home, the guild and crown are too tightly intertwined—not separated like here. We fight tightly together against the monsters. So they won’t help. The only protection is through strength. Of myself, of conviction, and… allies."

  "Are we putting ourselves at risk by traveling with you?" Eryn asked. "Are bounty hunters going to come after us?"

  "I'm not wanted here," Nabeeh said. "It's local Azbara politics. I can't imagine they care enough to follow me to Dawnwatch.”

  "What about the husband?"

  “What about Bowroum? And who was that man at the guild? The one you nearly dragged outside? And no, you don't get to say it's nobody—not after telling us you're a wanted criminal. We all have secrets, but ours aren't illegal. Yours are."

  "I am not illegal here," Nabeeh said defensively.

  "Don't let her dodge the question," Roq urged. "I want to know if we'll have to kill someone for her. If it counts, I will happily smash his face in."

  “Tell us,” I pressed.

  She sighed deeply.

  "That was a court trader from Azbara, here to buy steelhusk lumber. He recognized me immediately." A dangerous smile played across her lips. "I told him I'd boil his guts if he told anyone about me. I think he believed me."

  "And Bowroum?" Eryn prompted.

  “First of all, he is not my husband," Nabeeh said firmly. "The ceremony was never completed. And I sure as sand melts didn’t spend a night with him. Last I heard, he's still in Azbara, nursing his burns and his hatred. And when I return, he'll be the first to know."

  The way she said it made me smile, enough so that I had to weigh in.

  “If you stay loyal to the party, we will do everything we can to get you there and even more.”

  "Vengeance," Roq said approvingly. “Good motivation. It's pure."

  “Thank you,” she said, her voice strong and a smile playing on her lips.

  "So your goal is to become powerful enough to return home and clear your name?" I asked.

  Nabeeh laughed, but there was no humor in it.

  "Clear my name? No. My goal is to become strong enough that when I return home I’ll be able to bring down every single person who betrayed me. The Marechas family, the corrupt officials who protected them, the king. They will all pay."

  We sat in silence for a moment, digesting her story.

  "Well," I finally said, “Good to know. If you see or hear anyone coming for you, let us know. Don’t hide things from us that could backfire on the party or on Pa and Ma. We will do everything we can to keep you safe and help you, so don’t think you need to do everything on your own. That said, we should probably start climbing if we want to reach the Treeshakers before dark."

  As we packed up our lunch, Eryn moved closer to Nabeeh.

  "For what it's worth," she said quietly, "It sounds like you did the right thing. I would have done even worse I think. Start with the thing between his legs. End his bloodline then and there."

  Nabeeh looked surprised, then nodded.

  "Thank you. That... means more than you know."

  “End bloodline? Smart. Painful.” Knut laughed. “Fierce ladies in party, Ash. I like.”

  We all laughed at that, as we knew it to be true. Once we were done packing, we made our way to the base of the mesa, staring up at the cliffside.

  "Who first?" Knut said, cracking his knuckles. We all looked to him. “Ahh, monster balls. I go.”