I hurried across the barren expanse with renewed vigour; at last we had a real plan of action. Soon we would no longer struggle just to survive against the tide of darkness, instead we would take the fight to them. Or at least, our allies would do so. Which might be even better, given that we wouldn’t have to do the actual fighting.

I found Miusin and the ogres where we’d left them, not far from Lord Yueryurn’s dwelling. Somehow the beasts had acquired themselves a hearty meal, which they were currently in the process of devouring, and I was happy to remain ignorant of how it had come about.

After our reunion and we’d exchanged greetings, I got down to business. “There’s been a change of plans, you three need to head back to Biustarn.”

Miusin’s eyes widened in alarm. “What happened to the deal with Lord Yueryurn? Did it fall through?”

“No, he’s still willing to help us. But we realized we need a lot more aid than he or any of the other demon lords around here can provide, so we’re in the process of acquiring more allies.”

“Then you’re going to the capital?”

“No, Elmidath was adamant that none of the other demons would help us. We plan to bring this matter to Soarister.”

“That awful creature? You must be joking.”

“I know it must seem strange, but he’s the only one who might be willing and able to help us against the darkness.”

Sighing, Miusin looked off in the direction of her home. “My father will not be happy about this. I wouldn’t be surprised if he broke off the alliance entirely, do you truly want to risk that? And for what? Some mad scheme?”

“As much as we appreciate your father’s help, it’s simply not enough for what we need to do.”

“Fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Though she wasn’t happy about the decision, Miusin didn’t seem inclined to argue further so I turned to the ogres. “I haven’t heard anything out of you two, are you really okay with going back?”

The towering lumps shared a look, and Gurk shrugged. “It is of no significance to us who you choose to beg. I assume Lord Biustarn will continue to meet our needs in your stead?”

“I’m sure he will.”

I was less than sure, but if he really wanted to break our alliance then he could be the one to explain that to the ogres. Maybe he’d get rid of them for us and we wouldn’t have to worry about them anymore.

“Then we have nothing further to discuss.”

The ogres went right back to eating, as if nothing had happened and I gave Miusin a strained smile. “For what it’s worth, I would prefer if we could continue working with you and your father, but I understand if it doesn’t end up working out that way.”

I hadn’t liked Miusin when I’d first met her. Now that I’d gotten to know her a little better, she seemed surprisingly decent. At least for a demon.

“I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other again. Though it remains to be seen under what circumstances that might be. We could very well end up enemies in the future.”

“Hopefully it doesn’t come to that.”

“I hope so too. Unfortunately, our hopes don’t count for all that much. Goodbye then, and good luck.”

“You too.”

Once the ogres had ambled off, with Miusin under their dubious protection, I willed myself back to Elmidath. She stopped midstride and frowned at me. “You should really tell me before you do that.”

“I know, sorry.”

“How’d it go?”

“Fine. How’s the trip been? Run into any trouble?”

“It’s been smooth going so far, relatively speaking.”

“And you’ve been watching out for Tertiums?”

“Of course I have, do you think I’m stupid?”

Elmidath snapping at me over something so trivial was unusual enough to concern me. “Is something wrong?”

I glanced back at Tagath, who was still catching up to Elmidath.

“I’m just a bit on edge. There’s not much to look forward to with Soarister, and I’m not sure we can trust Tagath.”

“Why not? He’s always been perfectly helpful.”

“Right, but before he was serving me out of respect for my father. Who knows what’s motivating him now?”

She had a point, though next to everything else we had to worry about it seemed relatively minor. While Tagath’s experiences may have changed him somewhat, he seemed more or less the same still.

“I’ll let you keep an eye on him then, that way I can focus on Soarister.”

“Fine, that’s probably for the best anyway. I doubt you’d have much insight into his behaviour, you barely know him after all.”

I was pretty sure I had a better understanding of Tagath than she was giving me credit for; he wasn’t exactly that complicated. Though it was hardly worth arguing about, especially when she was already wound up.

“Stay with him then, I’ll scout ahead.”

We travelled like that for the better part of three days without encountering anything. Whatever the Oritsfel were doing in Biustarn must be taking up enough of their attention that they’d stopped coming after us for now. Reaching the edge of the forest, I paused before the gangly trees covered in sharp edges and choking foliage. “So, how exactly should we contact them?”

Elmidath shrugged. “Didn’t you know one of Soarister’s subjects? That seems like the best place to start.”

The last time I’d met that leaf person, or whatever they were, they’d said I only needed to call out to them, but how was I meant to do that? I didn’t even know their name.

“I think it would be easiest if we just went inside, she found me pretty quickly last time.”

“Are you sure about that? They’re not too fond of trespassers.”

“We won’t go far, it’ll be fine.”

If we were too scared to even enter, then we were never going to get anywhere with Soarister. Besides, if they were just going to kill us on sight then I rather doubted they’d help us anyway. I’m sure knowing we’d been doomed to fail would serve as great consolation when we were dead.

Not at all worried about what might happen to us, I bravely ventured forth into the dense forest. I took care to avoid brushing against any of the tree’s razor-sharp branches and trod upon the mossy floor. It was soft beneath my feet, almost like a carpet.

Elmidath hesitated, then followed me in with Tagath bringing up the rear. A few paces in, I looked back. The barren wasteland I’d come to know all too well was gone, hidden from view by the tangled web of plant life that surrounded us. Even the climate was different amongst the trees, warmer and more humid.

The comforting smell of damp earth was interspersed with the oddly sweet smell of the rotting alien vegetation. It made for an experience that was both nostalgic and deeply unfamiliar. It was almost enough to make me feel like I was back on Earth, but I knew that lowering my guard could be fatal.

After we’d walked for a few minutes, I stopped in a relatively sparsely vegetated area. This was probably far enough, and it seemed as good a place to wait as any. Elmidath pulled a stray leaf from her hair and dropped it to the floor. “Now what?”

“Now we wait for them to find us. It should only be a matter of time.”

“Well, at least that should be well within our capabilities. We’ve certainly gotten a lot of practice lately.”

“We’re lucky if anything, this sure beats trekking around underground waiting for whatever horrible surprises the Ortisfel are going to spring on us.”

Tagath smiled. “I can only apologise for my presence. It wasn’t my intent to surprise you. As a matter of fact, I was just as surprised as you were to find you down there.”

“Who did you expect to run into then?”

“To be honest, I have no idea. That’s a large part of why I was investigating in the first place. I’ve always been at the mercy of my own curiosity, though this time it worked out in my favour. Hopefully it will turn out to be in all our favour.”

Elmidath gave him a kindly look. “However things turn out, I’m still glad we got to meet again.”

While it was nice to see the old demon again, I was going to withhold judgement until things had actually played out. We continued our conversation for a time, until I heard movement in the trees and quieted the others.

Rather than the animated leaves I’d been expecting, a mass of living timber formed into a vaguely humanoid shape shambled out of the forest and turned its blind, wooden head towards us. A hole opened around where a mouth would be, followed by a crackling sound like the breaking of twigs that formed words. “Interlopers, you are not welcome here. Leave at once, or suffer the wrath of Soarister.”

As expected, they hadn’t attacked us on sight, though this didn’t bode too well so far. “Hello, we’ve come seeking an audience with Soarister regarding a matter of grave importance.”

“The great Soarister has no desire to speak with lesser beings such as yourselves. Leave now, your presence will not be tolerated within his realm.”

“Please, we really do need to speak with him. And I’ve spoken with his servants before. Previously I met with, um, a leaf girl?”

It was far from the most precise description, but it was all I had and I desperately hoped it would be enough. The creature’s mouth disappeared and I unslung my sword, waiting for it to attack. Instead it just stood there motionless for some time before finally retreating back into the trees. Unsure of what to make of that, I kept my guard up.

Elmidath licked her lips nervously. “Are you sure we shouldn’t leave?”

“I think we’re making progress.” While I wasn’t certain what the wooden effigy’s reaction meant, it didn’t seem overly hostile. Other than when it told us to leave immediately. “Though I suppose we can always wait for our answer outside the forest, just to be safe.”

“Good idea. Which way did we come from again?”

“Um.” Looking around all the trees seemed much the same and there were no paths to be seen. I turned so that I was opposite where I’d just been facing. “I think it’s this way.”

I wasn’t quite convinced, but it was as good a direction as any and we should probably get moving. We’d already been told to leave in no uncertain terms, and I doubted going any deeper would make things worse if we were going the wrong way.