"It was the Harrowed Hand?" Bree said.

  Nathan nodded, distracted. He was still trying to figure out what had happened.

  It hadn’t been the Wanderers.

  It had been the Harrowed Hand.

  But… how? If the Harrowed Hand was behind everything, that meant they knew about what his sister looked like. But how? Were they cooporating with the Wanderers?

  None of this made any sense…

  "There's something I need to tell you, Bree," Nathan said.

  Bree perked up. "What?"

  "Back in the fight earlier, when we encountered Silas, he made me an offer."

  "What kind of offer?"

  "He said he would help me find my sister if I went to work with them."

  She stared at him. "You didn't accept, did you?"

  "Of course not.”

  “But you left the offer on the table.”

  Nathan was silent.

  She grunted.

  "So that's what all this was about. They wanted you to turn against me and join their organization." She shook her head. "Why didn't you tell me?"

  "I didn't know if you'd be unbiased or not."

  "Dumbass."

  Nathan winced. The tone of her statement wasn't malicious or angry—just disappointed.

  She stood up and shook her head. "You wouldn't have had to come to me. You could've asked anybody who's been with me. You could've asked anybody, period. They all would've told you what you already know. The Harrowed Hand isn’t a group you can trust."

  “They said that you attacked a food shipment.”

  “Food shipment? They were moving humans around. Not food. People for their brainwashing facilities. And you could’ve known this if you’d just… talked to me.”

  Nathan was about to respond when they heard the sound of someone running toward them.

  He turned around to face the newcomer. It was one of the scouts. Nathan groaned; he already knew where this was going.

  "The third!" the scout shouted. “The third dungeon’s been found!”

  Nathan folded his head into his hands. Bree's left eye twitched.

  I've rewritten the scene to make the flower less sapient and talkative, while removing direct references to "Lily" from Nathan's dialogue. Here's the revised version:

  As per Bree's usual policy, everyone was gathered within a matter of hours. They briefly went over what the scouts had found—hedges that started rising when they got closer—and potential strategies. Everyone agreed to stick close together when they got close enough.

  Great plan.

  Soon enough, Nathan found himself walking beside Chad, back on the road again.

  "Hey, I heard something about a fight—" Chad started.

  "Don't want to talk about it."

  "But what happened—"

  "I will beat you over the head with a stick if you bring this up again."

  Chad held his hands up. "Okay, okay! Geez, man."

  Nathan felt something poke him.

  He turned around sharply and looked behind him. Nothing.

  "Nathan?" Chad said.

  "Sorry, I thought I felt something touch me."

  Chad raised an eyebrow. "There's nobody behind us, buddy."

  Nathan shook his head. "I know."

  The stress was obviously getting to him. He turned back around and continued walking.

  Then he felt another poke.

  His neck snapped back, and he glared into the empty air.

  "If this is some sort of prank, it's not funny," he muttered.

  He turned forward again, took a single step, and then— Another poke.

  He froze. There was something… drilling into his mind.

  He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists tightly. It was like someone was hammering at his forehead.

  "Nathan?" Chad stopped and turned back. "Nathan, are you okay?"

  Flickers of… something assaulted his senses. There was something trying to pry its way inside him—something huge, beyond his comprehension.

  Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

  "Nathan, come on, speak to me."

  Droplets of sweat rolled down Nathan's forehead.

  "H-help," Nathan managed to whisper.

  As soon as he said the word, he felt something shift on his left arm. Something moved, and the foreign presence was immediately ejected from his body.

  A faint pulse of satisfaction emanated from his plant arm.

  Nathan fell to his knees. "Thanks..." he whispered to his arm.

  "Thanks? Who are you thanking?" Chad said. "What just happened?"

  "I'll tell you about it later…" Nathan pushed himself back to his feet. "I'm good now."

  Nathan furrowed his eyebrows.

  "Hey, Chad," Nathan said. "Have you ever heard of something called B32?"

  Chad shook his head. "Nope. Why do you ask?"

  "It's weird… The name just came to my mind. Out of nowhere."

  "Unusual..."

  "Yeah, weird."

  They continued walking as if nothing had happened. In the back of his mind, he felt a vague impression from the flower: Danger. It’ll return.

  "Let's hope not," he muttered.

  Nathan felt something shift in the wind. It was a subtle thing, so subtle he wouldn't have noticed if he hadn't just been mentally assaulted by some mysterious force.

  He felt the ground rumble and looked down. A moment later, leaves burst out of the ground, separating him from the rest of the group. Based on how loud it was, he could only assume that the entire group had been absorbed into this… whatever this was.

  He opened his main quest menu and took a look.

  The Thorned Labyrinth—A shifting hedge maze that actively hates you. The walls move, the plants scream, and the deeper you go, the more the maze remembers you. Oh, and the exit? It only appears when it feels like it. Buried at its core is the Sanguine Briar, a blood-red thorn that drinks the life of those who hold it. Should be fine.

  Nathan stared around himself.

  He was in a giant hedge maze.

  Yay.

  Nathan looked up. The open blue sky greeted him. How difficult would it be to just... jump up? He decided to test this theory. He squatted down and leapt into the air—

  Instantly, dozens of vines appeared out of the hedges and grabbed him before he could move any higher. He grunted and pulled, shattering the vines and ripping them out of the hedge. Before he could do anything, dozens more appeared and dragged him back down. He flopped to the ground and rubbed the back of his head.

  Could he force his way through? He probably could... But for now, maybe it would be better to just play along? Trigger the trap and drive out whatever was doing this? It seemed as good a plan as any.

  He stepped forward, running his hand alongside the hedge maze. "Chad? Bree?"

  No response. Where were they? He put his hands in his pockets.

  A faint impression brushed his mind: Different sound.

  Nathan glanced at his arm and rolled up his sleeve, allowing the rose to poke through.

  "What do you mean?" Nathan asked.

  Green ones... hum, came the vague sense rather than words. Home ones... whisper.

  "When you talk about home, do you mean my soulbound town?"

  The flower's vines shifted slightly, a single leaf unfurling and then curling back in what seemed like a gesture of affirmation. Another impression formed: Mushroom people. Wolf people. Others.

  "Well, I'm pretty sure this hedge maze is out to kill us all, whereas the plants back at home are just... Plants." Nathan tilted his head. "Do they really talk to you?"

  Talk to all. Humans just forget. The impression was simple but carried weight.

  “What do you talk about?”

  Flickering vision the ground, and worms, and the sun came to Nathan’s mind.

  "I would guess that plants would talk about that."

  Was like them, came the faint impression. Slow thoughts.

  "You're a bit different now, though," Nathan said.

  The flower remained still for a moment. Words... heavy. Fast.

  "Do you regret it? Do you wish you were more like them?"

  The vines on his shoulder wavered, and then formed what looked like a crude shrug. A confused mix of impressions followed: brightness, pain, colors, wonder.

  Nathan grimaced. It was very discomforting to realize that he had brought something into the world that he really wasn't equipped to handle.

  Not your fault, came the simple feeling from the flower.

  Nathan gave a half-smile and shook his head.

  "Let's leave it alone for now."

  The flower went quiet, its vines mimicking the pattern of the hedge beside them. Nathan continued to walk through the hedge maze, nothing but the sound of his own breathing filling the air.

  "I'm beginning to think we've been here before," he said.

  Three times, came the simple response. Same soil.

  "I don't suppose you have some way for us to get out?"

  The flower seemed to perk up slightly. Ask them. Be friends.

  Nathan raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? Is that something you can do?"

  A feeling of uncertain confidence radiated from the flower.

  Nathan shrugged back and put his plant arm against the ground. Roots burst from his fingers and dug into the soil. After about a minute, Nathan spoke.

  "Any luck?"

  Resisting, came the frustrated impression. Almost yes... then snap back.

  "It's some kind of spell," Nathan muttered. "I'm pretty sure that's what it is."

  Break it? The question carried an undercurrent of excitement.

  "Well... you have to try. Hell, I think you have more power than me. It's probably good for something, right?"

  The flower was quiet, its vines twisting into what looked like a thinking pose.

  "Okay," Nathan said. "I want you to kinda... reach into the center of your being?"

  Confusion radiated from the flower.

  "It's... sort of hard to describe."

  The flower remained silent.

  "Kinda just... shut your eyes. And then feel around with your gut."

  No eyes. No gut. The impressions were simple, factual.

  "Then, use your other senses. You know? Like, whatever it is you're using to feel the roots or to listen to me. Shut all of that down."

  Like sleep? Before he could answer, the flower went quiet. Nathan waited patiently.

  Works! The sudden impression carried childlike wonder. Maze ticklish!

  Nathan's eyebrows raised. He looked around, anticipating that something would change. He tilted his head when nothing happened.

  "That was uneventful—"

  And then the hedge maze started to shake. Roots exploded forward, aiming for Nathan's head. He tilted his neck at the last second, barely dodging the attack.

  "Wait, what did you do!?" Nathan shouted.

  Play game! The impression was excited, oblivious to danger. Forever-friends!

  Nathan broke into a sprint. Behind him was the roaring sound of thousands of roots trying to entangle him and drag him into the hedge maze.

  "Why are they attacking me!?" Nathan shouted.

  Not attack. Join. The simple impression failed to convey any sense of danger. Like ants in ground. Never leave!

  Nathan ducked underneath a root aimed for his head. "Can you tell them to stop!?"

  Need touch roots, came the suggestion.

  Nathan slid underneath a bunch of roots, then smashed his way through a wall of them that appeared in front of him. "Never mind, not happening!"

  Nathan's mind began to race. I need to get out of here—I need to get some perspective! His eyes darted up toward the open sky. They're not in control like they were before. These things are just going crazy right now. Maybe I can jump for it now!

  He squatted down and jumped into the air. Like before, the roots went for his legs, but this time they were too slow. He soared into the air, getting a brief glimpse of the entire hedge maze. It seemed like everyone else was fine—the only interesting thing that was happening was where he'd been. There were dozens of destroyed roots, vines, and plant residue scattered all over the ground.

  And then he spotted it—a bright red thorn directly at the center, surrounded by a ring of mist-like water.

  Wind burst from behind him, and he flew forward toward it.

  He crashed into the ground, stood up, grabbed the thorn, and stuffed it into his inventory.

  He breathed hard.

  Friends gone? A simple, almost disappointed impression came from the flower.

  The hedges ripped apart with a screech. It was high-pitched, so loud that it burned Nathan's ears. The hedges grew, and grew, and grew until they blotted out the sun itself.

  "Well, crap."