Night had fully fallen, and the woods had grown dark. Nessalir held Huunang's reins in one hand and a flickering torch in her other. The flames cast a dancing glow across the trunks and branches that surrounded her, and she and her steed followed close behind the Green Man as he led them deeper into the forest.

  He walked with the sure pace of a man who knew precisely where he was going. His feet avoided roots and other debris that Nessalir found herself tripping over. He carried no torch, and gave no indication that the darkness was any hindrance to him whatsoever.

  "These are ancient woods," said the Green Man, "and I have been their guardian since before humanity first encroached upon it. In all that time, the Heart Beasts have ever made their home here, and bestowed their blessing upon the land. But with these hunters about, they begin to wonder if perhaps the time has come to leave these woods."

  "What would happen if they did?" asked Nessalir.

  The Green Man ducked beneath a low-hanging branch, and for a moment he was gone from Nessalir's sight, swallowed by darkness and shadow, but soon enough her torchlight revealed him once more. He replied: "If the Heart Beasts left, they would take with them their blessing. The verdant life of these woods would begin to fade, and my own powers would greatly diminish. In time, if they did not return, I would fall into a deep sleep, and my body would be consumed by the earth from whence it came, and these lands would have a guardian no more."

  Nessalir frowned. "The unicorns give you life?"

  "It is by their blessing that I live, that someone might exist to fulfill my sacred duty."

  "So the unicorns are the lords of these woodlands," said Nessalir. "It is under their protection."

  "If you would put mortal words to it, then yes," said the Green Man.

  The drakkowar contemplated this in silence as she followed the guardian deeper into the wilderness.

  In time, they came across a grove, in the center of which stood a gnarled and twisted tree, as wide as six trees together. Its roots raised it above the earth, and parted to reveal the mouth of a cavern. The Green Man bade Nessalir tie her horse to the tree, and then he led her into that cavern, down stairs formed naturally of root and soil, into a cave far beneath the forest floor.

  "I apologize for the darkness," the Green Man told her. "I have never had any need of light."

  "It is no matter," said Nessalir. She held her torch high, and let its glow wash over whatever it could. The cave she now stood within was vast, and pitch black greeted her beyond her halo of torchlight. Her chest ached, for Nessalir had expended much energy summoning forth breaths of fire in her duel with the Green Man, but she pushed aside the pain and focused her golden eyes on the darkness, and the suggestions of shapes she thought she spied within.

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  "It matters a great deal," said the Green Man. "You are a guest of the forest, and as such it is the duty of the forest to provide, or has mortalkind now forgotten the tenets of hospitality?" He stood at the edge of her torchlight and raised his hand, and all around them the cave began to fill with a green glow.

  At first Nessalir could see no source of that glow. She thought perhaps the cave was lit by crystals such as those used by the dwarves in their great subterranean citadels. But she soon recognized small motes of light flying lazily in the air, shining in pulses that grew as the lights around them faded, and faded as the lights around them grew.

  "Are those insects?" asked Nessalir.

  "They are," said the Green Man, "and they make for you the light which you require."

  She watched as the small bugs flew about the cavern, bodies pulsating with green light. She saw the dirt walls around her, and the roots which hung from above. There was a stone platform near her, covered in moss—a bed. And in the corner of the cavern was a pool of clear crystal water.

  "This is your home?" asked Nessalir.

  "It is my den," said the Green Man. "It is where I rest when my body requires it." He sat down upon the bed of moss and stone.

  Something shifted and creaked beside her, and Nessalir looked down to see roots emerging from the ground, twisting about each other and reaching out toward her before pausing, almost expectantly, in a manner which reminded her of an outstretched hand.

  Comprehension swiftly dawned, and Nessalir handed her torch to the waiting roots. They enclosed around the haft, and remained there as a stand, holding the torch as its flames continued to burn.

  "So we have come here to rest then?" Nessalir asked.

  "When dawn comes, our hunt shall begin," said the Green Man. "The poachers are clever. They have mortal tricks. I shall rely on your knowledge of such things to hunt them down."

  Nessalir nodded. "And I shall rely on your knowledge of the forest."

  "Then let us rest." The Green Man began removing his wooden armor, then paused. "I fear I do not have much in the way of accommodations. If you wish to return to your horse and retrieve your bedroll…"

  "If that is what you wish," said Nessalir. But she had already begun to discard her own clothing. Her tail flicked about excitedly as her eyes drank in his bare chest. "But I would not object to sharing a bed with you, guardian."

  The Green Man's dark eyes regarded her, and she saw hunger in his gaze. He said nothing.

  Nessalir approached him. She ran her hands over his firm body. "You are strong, guardian," she said. "The way you moved when we fought…" Even with him sitting down, they were of even height.

  "Your strength as well, I admire," said the Green Man. He reached out, caressed her, traced his fingers up her side, danced his fingertips across her breasts.

  "What say you to another duel?" asked Nessalir, leaning toward him. His scent, the sweetness of berries, filled her nostrils. She felt his hot breath upon her lips.

  "Another show of strength?" the Green Man asked.

  "Of vigor," corrected the drakkowar.

  He did not respond with words. A rough hand gripped her hair. He kissed her, pulled her down onto the bed, and fell atop her. Nessalir wrapped her legs around him as he entered her, and together they indulged in passion befitting of those wild lands.