Raylas stumbled out of the small armory. Luckily his armor was still in good condition since he didn’t find anything which fit him, but the weapons on the first level were atrocious even by his standards. The wood felt brittle beneath his hands and the blades were dulled from age. The worst thing was there were no good polearms, only pathetic spears.

How could one fight with a knife at the end of a long pole? You need a proper blade to make it work.

And what kind of armory doesn’t have a halberd?

He grumbled as he strapped the knives to his belt to replace the ones he lost during the zombie fight. A blade was hung on the loop that once held the chain, and he heft up the pathetic spear. He was ready to go fight the Dryad… and most likely die.

If he was going to die he would do it on his terms, though. Luckily he was breathing well now, but his body had numerous aches and pains. It was like he had gone through a sparring match with the guys and lost every round. He could move but it wasn’t fun.

Not like it will be fun to fight for your life while breaking free from the grasps of nature, but at least he wouldn’t be mocked for weeks on end if he lost against the Dryad. He would just be dead.

Simple and easy, just as he liked it.

He finished climbing the final set of stairs and was back on the rise. The light above his head slowly flew up with the rest of them, but when Raylas looked back the floating boxes didn’t leave the first floor. The three remained by the books, lighting it up like a beacon becoming him. There was still more written there but there was no time to read it now.

He tore his gaze away and looked at the door leading out. It was now or never. Live or die.

He strode across the floor, his heart pounding in anticipation. He had only a split second to react once he left to break his bindings. Then he would have to run like there is no tomorrow. Run even faster than he fled from the town.

It was now or never…

He gulped then shook himself to release his nerves. He took a hold of the nob and turned.

The world warped like usual. He swung the spear with all his might to break the bindings and hopefully use the tip to puncture something. At the same time he pumped his legs to try and get some leverage to get free.

Then the world stabilized and his head slammed into a hard surface.

He swore as his helmet twisted on his head and covered his vision. The spear struck something and got caught. He tried to yank it back but it hit a solid object again as it moved backward. He released it and rolled away from it to avoid any creeping vines but he hit another blockade.

It was like he was in a cocoon of some kind. He pulled a dagger with one hand and pulled the helmet back and peered around him.

It was a small cavern like space. There were roots hanging from the ceiling and the ground was mainly dirt and old fur. If he had to guess this was a long abandoned den from some larger animal, like a bear. Around the room were a few glowing creatures, watching him and giggling.

The fairies were back? He recognized one who glowed green and had reflective eyes. She was sitting on his spear and watching him carefully. Her eyes were especially watching his dagger, a hit of worry on her face.

Raylas quickly sheathed the weapon and watched the creature breathe a sigh of relief. She flew toward him and sat on his extended hand, putting her finger to her lips and giving a shushing motion.

Raylas nodded and unrolled from his curled form to sit down. Before he could get comfortable a pitch black blade burst through the ceiling and sliced it open. The roof slightly caved in, dust and snow flying around causing him to cough.

“You think this pathetic spot will hide you?” a deep voice rumbled.

Raylas gulped and pulled his knife again. The fairy leapt into motion and flew around the entrance trying to fill it in again. Their arms glowed with brown and the fallen dirt slowly rose up, only to be cut down again by another swift blade swipe.

The fairy on his hand leapt up waving to stop the blade. She screamed in a silent voice, putting her hands on her head to mimic ears and pretending to howl.

Raylas’ eyes widened and he rushed to the hole as the blade lifted out again. He popped out and gasped seeing the Knight standing over the hole holding a large scythe.

“You’ve regained consciousness,” he said. “Good. We move now before the maiden arrives.” He held out his hand to help Raylas out of the hole.

Raylas shook his head. “No, you need to come down here now.”

“Why?” The Knight growled as he leaned down and grabbed his shoulder.

“Wolves.”

The large man turned and looked around the area. Raylas popped back down into the dirt to see three brown fairies working on the dirt to quickly patch the hole. He paused and gave them a smile.

“Wanna do something fun?” he asked.

The fairies paused and leaned in. The mirrored eyed one also leaned in close and Raylas whispered his thoughts to the group. They all giggled by the end and two of them deeper into the hole.

He popped back out to see the Knight looking down at him.

“We can’t outrun them, so it's best to hide,” he said to the large man.

Vodi snorted and his weapon appeared to melt into an axe. Raylas wanted to watch in fascination but he broke his gaze to stare at the large man.

“We kill any who find us,” he growled. “But we are returning to the village. This area in the woods is too dangerous.” He swat at a fairy who flew close to him.

“Do not do that!” Raylas hissed. Vodi paused his swing and peered at him. “Those are creatures of nature. Disrespecting them is like disrespecting the woods themselves.”

“They are the eyes of the Dryad,” he snorted.

“Since when do fairies care about trees?” Raylas dismissed. “They care about fun and games. Practical jokes.” He looked down and saw the mirrored eyed fairy give him an ‘okay’ gesture. He smiled. “Like this.”

Vodi opened his mouth to say something but the ground beneath him collapsed. Raylas quickly dipped into the hole to see the man had landed on his back and was stunned. He gestured to the brown fairies and they quickly waved a section of dirt to fly over them and fill in the hole. Right before the gaps were sealed Raylas saw a few blue fairies pop out of the snow and make a wave of white powder.

Then darkness filled the den. Or as close as dark as can be with a small group of glowing creatures and a man with extremely shiny armor. He released a curse as he sat up and hit his head on the ceiling.

Raylas rushed over and placed his finger on his lips and mimicked the fairy.

“Please forgive me for being rude, but stay silent for the time being… right?” he turned to the fairy who nodded enthusiastically.

Raylas couldn’t see clearly but he felt chills from the Knight’s gaze. He was probably really upset that a lowly person like him was telling him what to do, but one shouldn’t ignore a fairy. They helped those they liked and messed with those they disliked.

Luckily, from what Raylas could tell, the small creatures seemed to like him. The itch in his mind was saying to listen to what they said and stay quiet. The hard part was to keep the Knight quiet as well, since the fairies were slowly trying to bury the man in dirt.

He shifted his position causing the dirt to fall off, as well as a clang of metal as his armor clinked together. Raylas froze and quickly set his hand on the Knight to stop him from moving, his senses telling him to freeze and stay still.

The knight opened his mouth to say something but froze as well when pounding sounded from above. He heard a muffled panting and rushing of many feet as what sounded like a stampede erupted around them. A few dirt particles fell all around them but the brown fairies were constantly moving more dirt to repair the roof. The mirrored fairy sat on Raylas’ shoulder, constantly giving him the shushing expression.

The stampede continued for a short time when it quieted down. But Raylas didn’t feel at ease. He strained his hearing and heard the light tapping of paws above him, then a few more solid stamps.

There was a creaking sound followed by barks. A wolf growled back but the crackling voice repeated. Sniffing then sounded as the sound of multiple paws drummed above.

Then there was the sound of a shrill voice of some other creature. It sounded familiar to Raylas but its high pitched guttural words didn’t bring any animal to mind. Perhaps a monster? The best guesses would be an imp or a goblin, though from the sound of the conversation between it and the creaking voice they were arguing with each other.

Raylas closed his eyes and took in a steady breath trying to calm his heart. The Knight was also appearing to be deep in concentration, in a meditation or straining to hear Raylas couldn’t tell. But his fists were slowly opening and closing with a black ooze swirling between his fingertips.

A cool breeze blew past making Raylas jump, a shiver going down his spine. He turned around and saw the blue fairies looking up above. Then there was a howl, followed by another and then another. The arguing creatures quieted down and then there was a cheer of multiple voices. Each one shrill and barbaric like the first.

Another stampede resounded, this one sounding much larger than the previous. The army of creatures rushed over their hiding spot and then disappeared into the distance. Raylas could hear a few heavy creatures thumping past, shaking the entire ceiling and then growing more and more quiet as they moved into the distance.

The two humans stood still for a long time after the search party left, and after what felt like a half hour the Knight finally shifted his position. He was nearly half buried under dirt at that point and a series of silent protests erupted as he destroyed the fairy’s hard work by moving.

Raylas gave the small mirror fairy a smile and held out his hands. She leapt off his shoulder and crossed her legs on them as he lowered her down to the ground.

“Thank you, little one,” he said.

“Thanking a monster?” the Knight muttered.

“Thanking our savior,” Raylas countered. He turned to the fairies who had expectant expressions. He sighed and gave them a sad smile. “I am sorry but I do not have any berries right now.”

They seemed to pout, but Raylas held up his hand to keep their attention.

“I do not have them… right now,” he emphasized.

The fairies tilted their heads, almost as one then they all smiled. A few even danced together and the brown fairies took a hold of the ceiling and pealed it downward creating a ramp for them to leave.

“Berries?” Vodi asked as they both crawled outside into the light.

“Snow berries,” Raylas answered. “They have seemed to like them.”

“You feed the monsters?”

“I feed sweets to the children of the woods.” Raylas smiled and nodded his head to his shoulder. The green fairy with mirrored eyes laughed and flew to sit down on it, swinging her feet back and forth in pleasure. A couple other fairies flew out of the hole with the spear at hand. Raylas scowled at it but gave them a grateful smile and took it.

They then started swinging and climbing on his armor like he was some sort of playground. He smiled and looked around. The snow was compacted by a great number of creatures. He could see the footprints of what could only be a bear, though its size made him worry it was something larger and more dangerous.

There were wolf tracks as well all round him, but then there was another strange trail. It seemed to slither like a snake but much larger. Raylas guessed it was vines, though it did not move like the vegetation did earlier. Another form for the Dryad?

He hoped to not see it if it was.

“Children of the woods?” the Knight scoffed. “I agree they may have helped us here, but what else could those pests do?”

“The same thing any child could do,” Raylas chuckled. “Find all the secret spots of the woods for us to exploit… for fun.”

The green fairy pointed them in a direction, not quite the same path of horde but slightly to the side.

“And when children are good, you reward them,” he laughed as he started forward in the fairy’s direction.

He didn’t get far before he heard the Knight start to follow him. He turned to watch the old man and smiled as he saw a number of fairies giving him rude gestures. Despite that, though, a group of blue fairies flew behind them all and filled in their tracks like they did with him earlier.

A chill breeze hit him again but this time he smiled. The cold wind felt good.

It felt good to still be alive.

He smiled and started to peek at every bush looking for the best berries to give his little helpers.