Vodianus swat the pests away. The glowing fairies flew in front of him, trying to hinder him on his quest to find the thief.

He interrogated the women who claimed they traveled to see the monster and learned that it lived in the ruins of an abandoned city. They foolishly believe the tree person would defend them in exchange for food or scraps to help nourish the trees? Such nonsense.

Monsters could never be dealt with, and any idea of a deal you make with them would be misunderstood. Monsters think differently, and hold different values. They may follow the contract initially but then something small would change which they decide to break the deal. Then you have a massacre, wasted human life which could have been solved by hiring a knight to purge the world of another beast.

To make a deal with a Dryad of all things, as well? How ignorant were these peasants?

He rushed through the forest, the snow and cold barely touching him. He followed the directions the woman spat at him, searching for any other clue that would lead him to his target.

He eventually noticed something unusual. A steady spacing between the trees, and a ground that is mostly flat. There were shrubs and small growths covering the space but overall it was clear of most vegetation.

He ran over and paused, looking back and forth. The trail extended both ways past what he could see. It appeared to be an old trail of some sort. A hunting trail? Probably not as the growth was too far away, almost like it was purposefully cleared. Maybe an old road? The Dryad was supposed to live in the abandoned city.

He gave a twisted smile and swatted away a fairy who tried to cover his head in snow. With a deep breath of the brisk air he launched himself forward, speeding down the ancient road.

It didn’t take long to prove this was the road to the city as he spotted a pillar in the brush. The stones were clean cut and stacked with unnatural precision, a marker to inform the traveler something. The mileage they traveled or the name of the city they were approaching didn't matter anymore as the sign was long decomposed.

He laughed and picked up his pace. The snow blew like a storm behind him as the trees flew past him, faster than some horses could run. It was good to be healthy, even at his age.

Eventually he skid to a halt to admire the destroyed gate. It didn’t rise past his head due to the ages of wear and destruction, but they were wide. Easily able to let in four or more wagons at once. This place potentially rivaled the Kasan’s Royal Capital when it was alive.

He started through the gate, admiring the thickness of the walls, then he smiled as he glanced around the destroyed roads. A number of the fountains were still flowing with water. An engineering marvel which, while he knew nothing of the trade, was impressive beyond belief. The buildings were crowded together like the usual lively part of a city, the heartbeat of the common folk. The foundations of the shops and houses were littered everywhere, covered in vines and other growth.

He saw old canals, the bridge’s sole footnote a stone pier poking out from the flowing water. Towers and marketplaces. He eventually arrived at a second gate which, while smaller than the first, was just as impressive. He went through it and smiled at a familiar sight.

Huge fields of a variety of plants littered the area broken by the occasional enormous building. If he wasn’t familiar with the neighborhoods of the nobility he would assume he just left the town and was entering farmland. The weeds, trees, and other plant life of the forest have long taken over the once well tended gardens.

If the bastards who once lived here saw this they would leap back into the afterlife. He thought with a chuckle.

He looked around and noticed something in the distance. There was an unusual color peeking from the tops of the trees. He moved closer, and as it came into view his eyes widened in awe.

A Moonwood. Somehow, during some forgotten era, someone planted a Moonwood tree in this city. During the ages of the Elven Empires, meaning this was a pre-cataclysm city.

Was there a dungeon here?

He felt a twinge of excitement at the thought. Who knows what treasures he could gather and bring home to the family. His sister would love to rip apart another ancient enchantment to learn how it was created, and his brother would admonish her wanting to hoard it all for his private collection. A ‘museum’, he would call it.

Then he heard the cracking of stone and wood.

Vodianus, Retired Knight of the Kasan Kingdom, opened his hand and felt his weapon slither under his armor. The black metal formed a rod in his hand and slowly built itself up into a familiar two handed sword which appeared to suck in the light around him.

He loved his sister’s skills.

He planted his feet and launched himself toward the sound. He saw a dust of snow fly into the air, close to the Moonwood, and angled toward it. As he got closer he noticed a familiar figure.

It was the white haired man from the inn… Raylas. He was wrapped in what appeared to be a cocoon of wood. Vines, sticks, and a multitude of other vegetation were wrapped around him, holding him in place. He was speaking to a Dryad, who for some reason had revealed her natural form.

Did this man actually defeat the drones? He did not appear that skilled when he saw him in town. No, the girl seemed more dangerous to him but he didn’t see her blue hair at all. In fact, nobody had seen her in some time, according to the tavern woman.

His thoughts were interrupted when the man burst out laughing and shouted a phrase. It was in a language which sounded spidery, like a web trying to stick to you yet at the same time slipping away from your understanding. It was no Language of the Magi, but something else.

He raised his eyebrow, his curiosity of the thief growing further. A human from a different age appearing like one of the great Monsters who spoke words which have not been heard for an era or two. Was there some higher power pushing this? Have the gods returned to the world to rekindle the war or has something else made a move?

Vodi made a note to plan a trip to meet… Him again. Out of anyone He would know.

The wood continued to grow around the would-be ‘hero’. His neck was encased in it and it was slowly climbing over his head. He was a daring one to challenge a tree spirit. Unfortunately his equipment was nowhere near the quality needed to kill a monster of the woods like her. Vodi glanced behind the two and saw the size of the tree.

It was enormous. The unique wood screamed it was not a native to this land, meaning the Dryad who mimicked the colors was brought here on purpose. The question was: was she planted when the city was alive or did some other being plant her after the city fell into ruin? If the latter, then the possibility of a dungeon was all the more possible.

Vodi chuckled at the thought and did a quick glance around to see if he could see anywhere that might hide the entrance. He shook his head and glanced at the fight again. He needed to focus. There was a useful tool about to be killed, so getting greedy would do neither of them any help.

If the age of the tree was what he thought then even he would struggle to kill the monster. Centuries of growth meant her roots would have expanded into who knows how far into the woods. From the little show he was seeing she also was not unfamiliar with dealing with threats to her glen. He would have to do a tactical retreat for now and call assistance.

As for the man… Vodi hated to leave behind a useful tool.

He leapt forward, the ground beneath him giving away to the power of his legs. A small crater formed as he was launched into the air. The world turned into a blur, but his target remained clear.

The Dryad barely had time to look up when he swung his sword in a wide arch. The vines imprisoning the thief were severed and the creature screamed. Black liquid oozed from the stumps, hissing in the air. A few clung to his sword but instead of burning into the hard metal they were slowly absorbed. Vodi smiled as a small spurt of energy entered his arms, removing the small bit of fatigue which he gained rushing through the woods.

A shriek sounded and wood rushed toward him. The forest seemed to move as one to crush him but Vodi laughed as he swung his sword again. The blade changed its form again into a large axe and wrapped around one of his arms up to his elbow. He chopped the trees and vines which rushed to grab him, the liquid weapon reshaping itself to hit every target effortlessly.

The man fell into his now free arm and he bent his knees. He leapt up into the air, angling back the way he came. An explosion of earth erupted on the ground and the plant life was forced back. He flew into the air and laughed at the monster.

He flew into the air, dozens of feet above the trees and soared over the ruins. Beneath him, trees uprooted themselves and slowly started to pull the foundation blocks of the city from the ground and launch it at him.

The ground slithered with vines which started to climb on each other to reach him. The bushes twisted and pulled large splinters from the ground and gave them to the trees who started to throw them like javelins. Leaves flew through the air and whistled past Vodi’s ears like blades.

The drones of the dryad, shaped to look like human women, were whisking around with their green eyes blazing with fury. In their hands were whips of thorny vines covered in the black liquid. Then there was the Dryad, who was now standing far away. She had her hands close together, and in them was what appeared to be an orb. An orb which pulsed between green, blue, and black. A thrill of excitement went through him as he felt the thrill of danger for the first time in years.

He reached the peak of his arc and started down toward the earth again. The plantlife rushed to meet him as he closed in on the ground and the Dryad and drones phased between trees to shorten the distance.

This is what it meant to be alive!

But he couldn’t fight the monster. Not yet. The limp body of the man was flung back and forth as he dodged the boulders, or smacked them aside with his void axe. He would have to return to kill her after he stashed his useful tool away and found help. Would he need a ranger or a priest for this creature? From the look of her wood it was a purple/blue color, so possible necrotic magics could be involved. She might even be the cause of the undead wandering around.

A priest was the best conclusion.

Vodi wrapped his cloak around him and whispered the phrase his sister taught him. The cloak seemed to expand and envelope both him and the thief. The fabric closed in and embraced both of them, squeezing them to be impossibly thin and the world bent. The next moment it let go and unwound.

They appeared in an open plain a good distance from the ruins. The axe melted away and slithered back into his armor as he threw his passenger over his shoulder and started to run. He had to make some space between the Dryad and her minions now before her eyes found them, otherwise he would have to fight while defending someone. That was not his expertise.

He peered at the limp man bouncing on his shoulder.

Did the man actually go out on his own to fight the monster? The ruins were very far off the trail, so why would he have left the main road? For him to have traveled through the snow and cold for no reason was not very plausible for an experienced warrior. Maybe a novice who got lost, but for a person of this man’s caliber he should have been able to keep a proper path, or at least been able to backtrack properly.

Vodi gave the man glances as he ran. He had an otherworldly atmosphere around him. If he was from the past, like he theorized earlier, then he would have just learned of the Inquisition. While he might not know what their purpose was, the reactions of the townsfolk could give him all the hints he needed to figure out the basics of how they acted. So, if he was a hero like Vodi originally thought then these actions fit the bill. Saving the town from a mistake of their own making, by killing the monster that both held their lives in its hands as well as held the blade of the Inquisition to their throats.

This Raylas was something interesting which Vodi wanted to get to know better once he woke up.

Or… maybe he should let the man do what he wanted. He was able to find the monster before Vodi could, so why not let him go out and be a hero?

Vodi sighed. There was too much to do and he was getting too old to keep running like this. He would have to teach his grandson fast or this might actually be the death of him.

Plus, once he got a full picture of the situation he could go back and fight the tree. If he was to die it might as well be against the very power of nature itself. Anything less and his siblings would never let him live it down, even in the afterlife.

There were standards in the family, after all. He should know since all three of them set the bar when they killed a demi-god.

He chuckled at the nostalgic memory and pushed off. The forest turned into a blur and as he rushed past the trees, avoiding even small branches with unnatural dexterity. He twisted and turned until he paused, a slew of glowing figures before him.

Fairies.

Did she already find them? He glanced around but the woods stayed still, but the fairies started to move around. A storm of dust and debris flew toward him and he dropped to the ground, rolling away.

When he got back to his feet he held a dagger in his hand, but he froze seeing the figure of Raylas lying a distance away. The snow itself rippled like waves pulling him away. He jumped forward and snatched his ankle.

Then he was face to face with a small creature with eyes like mirrors. It punched his eye making his yelp in pain. He clutched his face and glared at the swarm of colorful monsters. He clutched the dagger and stepped forward, ready to take back his target even if he had to burn down the damn forest if he had to.

Then the ground split open and three tiny brown fairies leapt out. A few blue fairies waved their hands and the snow shifted, pushing against his ankles and pushing the thief toward the opening of a freshly revealed cave.

He was Sir Vodianus Malix, retired knight and slayer of legends. He would not be thwarted by pathetic pests, much less a talking tree.

Gods… What he would do for a good drink right now.