"What was that?" I asked under my breath.

A dark shape crept around in the distance, but there wasn't enough light to see it clearly, even with my low-light vision.

"Strange creatures showed up before the southern outpost was built," said Kebi. "Great beasts with wings stretching from side to side. They stand tall while on the ground, but while in the air will swoop you up."

I glanced over my shoulder at Lenna. "Fliers…"

She nodded, her eyebrows drawn close together. "They must have come through the rift, leading the Forgers to our planet."

I faced the towering forest, the dark creature becoming clear as the sky brightened, though it moved away from us. A beak pointed to the sky, but I got a good enough look for Insight to trigger.

[Quetzalcoatlus, Spear thrust, Level 102, Predator, Tasty.]

Hopefully, it'd be gone by the time we headed out. Though it was strange being higher up than the flier.

"Is anything following us?" asked Cekta, keeping his voice low.

I turned away from my viewpoint, then twisted back as the flier's wings flapped and it took off, flying upward toward the canopy far above.

Shaking my head, I crawled closer to the others, taking a seat next to Lenna.

"No, the people from Needlecrest are heading to the summer village, and nothing has triggered my senses since then…"

"What?" snapped Cekta, his eyes wide. "I told them that it was overrun with Harvesters, and Forgers were setting up a site at the lake."

"We must help them." Shelli jerked forward. "We can't let them walk into a trap like that! Who'd you warn?"

"One of the elders," said Cekta. His eyes met Kabi's, who shook his head. "They have a traitor among them."

"It happens," muttered Kabi, rubbing his neck. His eyes closed for several seconds. "This isn't up to just us."

Then all three of them looked at Lenna and me.

I shrugged and turned to Lenna. "My goal is to get Lenna home and level up. If I can help people doing that, I don't mind."

"My bond with Dengu is still there, so he lives," she glanced down at her hands before they tightened into fists. "The Forgers are the threat my people faced before. They almost destroyed us, but we won once, and we can win again."

"You know of the Forgers?" asked Kabi, his eyes going hard.

"They kidnapped our people and enslaved them. The stories my elders tell are of when we destroyed the portal they found to our lands…" She glanced at me. "Alex destroyed the second. She will be sung about for ages."

"So what about my village?" asked Shelli, with a pleading look. "We can't let what's left of them be taken."

"We saved them once," replied Kabi. "At some point, they need to figure out how to survive like the rest of us."

Shelli slammed her fist into the mushroom under us. "You are a warrior! Who do you follow? Who holds your honor?!"

"Hush," whispered Cekta. "We don't want to draw attention to ourselves. The runes only push away glances, and getting ambushed here helps no one."

"I should have stayed." Shelli flung herself back against the tree trunk, leaning her head back and closing her eyes. Tears dripped down her cheeks.

"Is it out of our way?" I asked, after glancing at Lenna who nodded.

"The lake is in between here and the Rustlands, but to the west where we dared not go because of the Forger camp on the lake's edge." Cekta kept his voice low as he explained.

"Lenna?"

"We can't just let them get themselves recaptured, but after that, where do they go that's safe?"

"Steadfell is the only safe city left," said Kabi.

"That's not true," whispered Shelli, drawing the brother's attention. "The water clan is safe."

Kabi shook his head. "The water clan cut off contact with everyone as soon as the Forgers appeared. They warned us, and we didn't listen. Now they won't help."

An eerie sound drifted through the trees and everyone froze.

I triple checked my senses, but felt nothing close. Still, whatever it was sounded closer than it should have been. I slowly pulled out my spear from the inventory slot I'd been keeping it in.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Lenna screamed as something passed right through her, destroying the mushroom underneath her.

Light flooded the area as the mushroom over us went flying, along with parts of it under us. The runes shattered, and suddenly I fell.

My back slammed into another mushroom, slowing my descent and knocking the air out of me as I took in the enemies.

[Harvester, Invisible Presence, Level 75, Predator, Chicken.]

[Harvester, Whispering Trap, Level 80, Predator, Chicken.]

[Alpha Harvester, Prey sense, Level 100, Predator, Chicken.]

The level 75 chased after Lenna, but she somehow danced away from it, striking it with her knife when it should have taken her out.

I rolled toward the edge of the mushroom I was now lying on, but dug in with my spear tip, pulling myself up. A shadow warned me just before a sharp talon from the Level 80 Harvester tried to spear me on its leg.

My spear remained in the mushroom as I rolled away from the edge, trying to get my back toward the trunk. Claws grew from my left hand, and I swiped at the next leg that tried to stab me. The tip of the leg broke off as four glowing lines cut into it.

The creature jerked back, but I pressed forward, aiming for my spear. My fingers wrapped around the metal and I yanked it out just in time to swipe at another leg.

It missed, but I felt better with my spear in my hands.

The Harvester crawled up the trunk with its talons, fleeing now that its prey was armed.

"No, you don't!" I stabbed with my spear, which suddenly grew an extra three feet, slamming into its back and glowing a bright red.

The Harvester screamed, and the other two turned in our direction.

Everyone else in the group used the moment well. Lenna got her bow out and fired bright white arrows while leaping away from the one near her. Kebi attacked with his sword, while Cekta did something I couldn't see. Shelli crawled down one of the mushrooms to a lower level, clearly trying to get out of range.

My harvester tried to flee again, but I funneled pure cold energy into my weapon. Again it screeched, and the noise echoed through the trees.

Panic crept up my neck as I put even more effort behind my spear. I didn't know how much I had, and if it didn't die before I ran out of energy, I'd be dead.

"Die, already!" I growled.

I swiped at a leg that stabbed in my direction with the claws on my left hand. They sliced deep, but didn't cut it off completely.

The Harvester struggled to try to get away from my spear, but I shoved the butt again. Another crunch came from inside the creature as the glowing red tip burst out the underside and thudded into the tree trunk.

[You have gained bonus experience from combat for surviving against a level 80 Harvestor.]

[You have gained a level.]

Three of its legs were stuck in the tree trunk, so I yanked my spear out of it, and a bunch of gook went flying. I shivered at the sight of the creature still attached to the tree before twisting to see how the others were doing.

Lenna's creature was done, but Kabi still fought the Alpha on a mushroom disc to my left. A bright white arrow slammed into the side of it from Lenna, and I leaped, aiming for its back.

Kabi stabbed at its giant mouth, but missed.

I didn't.

The Alpha Harvester's legs shuddered as I slammed into the top of it, jabbing it with my spear. I burned a hole into its armor next to the glowing arrow from Lenna. It lifted two legs to stab at me, and Kabi struck.

His sword buried itself into the creature's left eye, and it slumped to the ground.

[You have gained bonus experience from combat for surviving against a level 100 Harvester.]

[You have gained a level.]

[You have gained a level.]

"We must run!" growled Kabi. "That call will have been heard for leagues."

Cekta already scrambled on a lower mushroom, along with Shelli, trying to get to the ground as quickly as possible.

Kabi jumped to a lower mushroom, without waiting for an answer.

My stomach growled, but I yanked my spear out and leaped after him. I shoved a piece of gopher in my mouth and swallowed before I leaped to the next mushroom.

Lenna met us on the ground with the others, and I took off through the trees, leading the way. I didn't have a clue if I was moving in the correct direction, but I aimed away from where I thought Needlecrest was.

My heart pounded as I focused on only going as fast as Kabi could follow, keeping my mind on my senses and following the unseen path on the forest floor. I kept us to the shadows from the bright sun overhead by sticking close to the mushroom-covered trunks.

Cekta and Shelli started lagging behind, so I found a mushroom close to a tree to take a rest. Kabi joined me and Cekta followed after a few moments, nearly dragging Shelli.

Both were breathing too hard. They wouldn't be able to continue for much longer at the pace I'd been setting.

"I covered our trail," gasped Cekta, as he leaned against the trunk. His face appeared a light blue instead of his normal darker color. "I don't think anything can follow our scent or path."

Lenna drifted out from behind a bush. Her eyes met mine and she nodded. "I think we're clear."

Nothing moved in the direction we'd come from, or in the circle I monitored around us.

"How did it find us?" I asked, quietly.

"We were too loud," said Cekta, blushing. His breathing was already much more under control. "My magic can only cover so much sound."

"Does anyone know where we are?" My question hung in the air.

Shelli answered, "You brought us closer to the lake. The mushrooms are a yellower color, since we are closer to the water."

"We should help the people from Needlecrest," said Lenna, drawing everyone's attention. Her voice stayed low, but she took a moment to look each of us in the eyes. "It is the right thing to do."

"Are you sure?"I asked, whispering. "The sooner you get home…"

"My priority isn't going home."

I snapped my mouth shut to listen.

"I've been trying to talk to you since you woke up, but you've been on a mission." She let out a deep breath. "These people need our help, and we can make a difference. My people have been hiding from the Forgers for ages. It's time we take the fight to them."

Shelli's eyes shown with gratitude, while Kabi's lips narrowed into a grim line. Cekta nodded his head lightly.

"I'm with you," I said, scratching the back of my neck. I knew she'd wanted to talk, but we hadn't really had the time. "Let's take a quick rest, then get a move on."

Lenna tilted her head away from the others and I followed. My stomach growled again.

Food. I needed food badly, and a couple of pieces of meat wasn't going to cover it.

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