The town of Redwood was named that way for a reason. A short stroll out from town saw Rem and Subi surrounded on all sides by seemingly endless scattered plots full of towering redwood trees. The subtle copper color drenched through the thick browns of the bark, while the soft green leaves swirled up towards the canopy. The mulch and low lying vegitation left a dank but fresh scent in the air. Subi's little button nose twiched as even in his human form could sense life nearby.

“Do you think what they said about that Jethro guy is really true? That he can really cook anything and make it taste good?”

"Mhm, I'm sure of it" Rem smiled.

Subi remembered back to television series in his old world, where restuarants were often discovered for having bad practices and serving horrible food while at the same time claiming it was the best around, he hoped Jethro wasn't like that.

"Are we far enough out do you think?" Subi asked as stroking some of his silver blue hair out of his face.

"Yeah I think so"

Subi hopped down from Rem's arms, and morphed into his giant wolf form. His silvery fur glimmered even in what little of the evening light scattered through the tree tops. He lifted his nose into the air and took in a breath. Information rushed in through his senses, drawing a vivid internal painting of the surroundings painted in smells and scents rather than colors, allowing him to map the available prey.

There were several spotted deer close by but Subi realised that they would be far too large for Rem to carry out of the woods on her own. He wanted smaller prey, but not too small as his belly was already rumbling. He turned to the west and pointed his nose and front leg in the direction of what he had found.

Rem followed beside Subi and nocked an arrow. Wind blew gently into their faces, which was the welcome sign, that prey would not smell them coming. Since early on in their time together they had recognised the value of teamwork, while Subi could run down and kill prey rather easily, Rem had learned how to deliver cleaner kills which would allow them to sell the skins for more money. Rem had spent countless hours over the years together learning to shoot every kind of weapon they could get their hands on.

Subi had even made sure to take Rem to watch expert marksmen every week so that she picked up on new techniques to master. It hadn’t been easy but it was all reflected in the composure of her stance and the calmness in her gaze as she pulled back the bow and lined up the shot.

The grunts and squeels of the pigmy boars ahead carried on the wind. Rem's eyes narrowed in on her target as it waggled its tail and dug through the dirt for its truffle prize.

The arrow barely made a sound as her fingers released off the string like a feather blown by the wind. The bow straightened out quickly and the arrow pierced cleanly into its fur hide. The shot was clean and the boar fell down motionless as though falling to sleep.

Subi panted with satisfaction and took much solace in knowing that it was a better death than by his jaws. It had escaped the terror of him running it down, which made him proud of having Rem at his side. He strode over to the downed creature causing the other boar to scatter and transformed back into a toddler. He stood on the boars side and heaved with all his might while clenching tight onto the arrow.

"Nyah!" he grunted as he pulled the arrow loose.

Rem arrived over his shoulder and wiped off the arrowtip with a rag before sliding it back into her quiver.

“You sure you can carry that?” Subi asked with wide eyes, unsure as to whether he should help her carry it to the edge of town.

“Yeah, it doesn’t look too heavy” she replied.

She stumbled a bit as she slung it over her shoulder, it was obviously at least a bit too heavy, but Subi decided not to pay it any mind, trusting Rem's judgement.

“Then lets get back and see what this Jethro can do!”

A bald headed and muscled man in an apron clapped in delight as Rem walked through the kitchen door with the boar on her shoulder and little Subi hanging onto her pant legs. He needed her for balance, but to all the world it looked like a sweet little boy holding onto his mother for comfort.

“Oh ho ho ho yes! I can make use of this! Bring it here!”

Rem slammed the boar on the table.

Jethro inspected the boar, scanning it from head to tail, “This is a clean kill, you are a very skilled hunter, I’m impressed”

“I would have brought something bigger, but I’m afraid this is all I can carry”

“Oh really, you hunt bigger game too? Well if that is the case then tell me next time and I will send a few of the boys out to pick it up for you”

“That sounds great” Rem mumbled as trying to massage out the kink in her shoulder. Subi caught on that she was obviously tired from having carried it all the way.

“As for this, first we skin it and then we mince it, add a few spices and some quality greens and bread and we have ourselves a feast of burgers, hows that sound!”

“Oh really? Wow! I don’t think I’ve ever had a burger before”

“I’m not surprised, they don’t sell them in the food stands around these parts, but that is why I love making them! Variety is the spice of life you know!”

Rem began to drool “Yeah it is!”.

Subi stumbled his way out of the kitchen as Rem and Jethro fussed in the kitchen. The cafeteria seats were too high and his body too frail to climb on them so he instead ducked under them and made his way around them to investigate the mess hall. His keen senses could already smell the fat cooking in the kitchen. He peered out from behind the leg of a chair at some students sharing a meal together.

“Who let that kid in here?”

“What kid?”

“Oh yeah, look, behind the chair”

*Ah crap* Subi thought to himself. He reflexively tried to hide away behind the chair leg but it was too narrow.

“Aw he’s so cute, look at him”

*I’ll show you cute lady when I bare my fangs* he quipped back in his mind.

“Do you think he is lost?”

“I dunno, but who would bring a baby to a school like this?”

Subi began walking back to the kitchen.

“Maybe one of the teachers?”

“Aha! Yeah, either that or one of the students got knocked up!”

The shrill cackling laughter of the boy in the group crawled up Subi’s spine. He stopped and was about to turn and give them a piece of his mind, but held back and gazed over at Rem laughing happily with Jethro as he cooked. He couldn’t spoil it for her by doing anything that would blow their cover and so he kept on walking, knowing in his heart that Rem could become a target of ridicule because of him.

He hoped that Rem's bright eyed optimism could last in a place like this, tainted by the whims of those who didn't understand her or really ever care to learn how. He swallowed down and decided to let Rem decide that fate for herself. He knew that eventually she would have to find her own strength in handling those who would carelessly tear her down. From his experience it didn’t matter what it was that chipped away at your confidence, whether it was as small as a coupon at a store that won't scan, to opening a bank account for a new job, there was always a catch in life. “Accidents” were the nosey little intruders that couldn’t keep from lashing out at people who would otherwise mind their own business and be in peace.

Subi had a side to himself that surfaced in times of stress, a desire to push back, but instead of acting upon it, whether right or wrong, he always made the choice to take a breath and to handle life as it comes. So instead of holding onto his anger he decided to enjoy the sweet flavor of the burgers in the air.

“How many can we make of them!” Rem asked excitedly as she tasted a bite.

“How many do you want, two, or maybe three perhaps?”

“Um… More like twenty three?”

“Twenty three!!!”

Jethro flinched, the corner of his mouth pulling back in shock, “Uhh, sure thing, I guess I could do that”

“Yaaaay!”

Rem stumbled back into her room and placed down a huge platter full of burgers onto the bedside table. She then ran back down the steps to find that Subi had already struggled his way up half of them. She didn't hesitate in picking him up and carrying him the rest of the way. Subi gulped in big gasps of air and whiped sweat from his forhead as he sat on the bedside by the platter of food.

Rem looked at him approvingly, "Go on, dig in"

Subi clapped his hands together, "Thanks for the grub" before pulling off a corner of a burger and taking a bite. "Its so good" he said as the juices burst in his mouth.

"Let me get some" Rem said as leaning over and grabbing one for herself.

The two of them happily ate their fill and chatted into the night like always before preparing themselves for bed after a long day's travel.

Subi transformed into his wolf form and pawwed at a rug Rem retrieved for him after eating and found the right angle to lay down for the night. It wasn't long until his raspy breath filled the room as he slept tight. His lips and nose twitched as he dreamed, while Rem was tightly nestled under her sheets drueling without a care in the world.

The wind blew in softly through the window, carrying scents on the wind, and deep into the night Subi's nose started to twitch. He opened his eyes and quietly stood to his feet to look outside the window. Whatever this strange smell was, he couldn’t see where it was coming from.

He glanced for a moment at Rem who had now kicked off the bed sheets and let one of her legs hang over the side while she murmured giddily in a dreamy state.

He transformed down to his toddler form and pushed a seat over to the desk so he could reach the pen and paper to leave her a note.

GOiNg FoR wALk, DoN’t WoRrY, Be BaCk LaTeR, sUBi

He pushed the chair to the door so he could reach the handle and then awkwardly made his way out into the hallway. He looped a scarf in his little hands and threw it over the door knob and pulled with all his weight until the door clicked shut.

He couldn’t walk that fast in his child form, but he could kind of run if he had a long enough stretch of clear ground in front of him. After making his way down the stairs butt first he ran through the corridors and made his way out back.

“Dammit, what is that smell? Why can’t I make out what it is?”

Once outside he turned into a wolf and used his sense of smell to map the town around him for people who might see him. He then planned a path to run through the streets and made his way towards the outskirts of town.

His large hulking form thudded like a grand stallion as he pelted down the streets and alleys. He leapt up onto the roof of one of the houses and dived over the town wall, splashing down into a pool of mud beyond.

Subi looked down at his now muddy paws, *Grrr, great*.

He then looked back up sharply as he heard rustling noises out within the forest. He cantered out further into the forest until he finally reached a clearing. The sounds all came from behind a rock outcrop nearby, after carefully circling around he saw the culprit. A grave bear gnawed on a pile of human corpses and had even taken down the grand horses they were riding upon. The bodies were clad in the town armor and had obviously been on mounted patrol when they ran into the grave bear. The grave bear when it stood was three times the size of a man, it had matted black fur and large saber teeth that fit within an oversized jaw. It was called a grave bear because it was well known for digging holes to wedge its victims into so it could better use its teeth to eat them.

Subi backed up silently into the forest, his eyes vanishing into the shadows as he slowly walked away.

*Screw fighting that*

The bear twitched and sniffed around, but after a quick inspection returned to digging a hole and slashing its teeth into its victims. Subi probably could have taken it, but he knew better than to take it lightly.

Subi jogged in a wide circle around the grave bear and continued in the same direction. The smell became stronger and stronger, until he reached the source. Subi arrived at the side of a riverbank and washed the mud off his paws before trotting over the shallows to the other side. The scent had come from dungeon dust and not just any ordinary dungeon dust, this dust was from deep in the earth and had mingled with crystals.

A hole in the earth had just broken open, the grave bear had likely come from here and found the town patrol. Subi peeked his head inside to reveal a cave that led to large cavernous hallways. For anyone else it would have been an ominous sight, but Subi could see pretty well in the dark, even if things were only in shades of grey.

As he loomed at the entrance he began to recall the path of learning how to take human form.

*Humanity can be gained by making more human choices and by resisting dark instincts that hide within the wolf’s subconscious. Also I have grown in stages when I have protected and guided Rem*

His command over his humanity was a result of overcoming struggle, and yet, he smelled that same kind of struggle coming from within the cave.

*Why?*

He walked closer to the cave and could smell many monsters in the depth of caverns below.

“... I shouldn't go in there... But what if it could make my human form more useful?”.

He paced back and forth by the entrance of the cave in a fit of worry, he had left Rem alone with nothing but a scribbled letter, and entering this dungeon might take him a long time to work his way through even if he just ran past everything and shoulder charged any groups of enemies. She would have to wake up without him, and go to school all by herself, all while not knowing what was going on or where he was. It seemed a bit heartless of him to step into the dungeon, so instead he sat by the entrance for a while in thought.

“Normally, I shouldn’t enter, especially not to seek power or to get a better human form, but… I am not in this world for others, I will do this for myself”. He took in a big breath and walked into the dungeon.

The walls stank of mould and guano. Large broods of winged creatures hung on the ceiling above. It was a massive cavern, the walls were made of a dark rock that had an appearance much like obsidian but brown and not quite as glassy. It was as if the cavern was carved by a large glacier, but the rocks appeared like they had undergone tremendous heat. No one quite knew how these dungeons formed, but all without exception were dangerous and a source of pestilence and plague in the lands they appeared within. It was doubtful that with the appearance of a dungeon this close to town that it would not cause troubles.

Subi his stealthy footwork skills and sense of smell to sneak past slimer moulds and whiproot thickets within the cavern. Any normal person entering this part of the cave would have done so with a light source, loudly, and without watching their step and as a result would have been swarmed by the venomous craw bats above, surrounded by the slimer moulds that would melt off the walls, and would have been unable to run away due to the whiproot thickets that target all fast movement and grab onto it with their hooked vines.

Subi’s ears were low and his snout was pointed out in front as his eyes looked all around. This room was a chinese finger trap. Likely an evolved ecosystem that caught prey trying to enter and leave the dungeon. Those entering die of ignorance, those leaving die of panic. Subi was well aware that they were two sides of the same coin of not being able to handle discomfort or a disturbing truth. He had always been familiar with both and knew of things even back in his time on earth that were a lot like this cave entrance. He found it disturbing that he would not be able to run out of the cave like originally planned, but he was capable of ascertaining that truth objectively and acting within its constraints.

“I might be better off in my baby form…” he thought as he reached a tunnel that lead deeper into the dungeon. He transformed down in size by the decaying body of a grave bear. Slimer moulds crawled through its corpse, digesting it with their strong acids. He crept deeper into the snaking pathway until he saw a shambling figure up ahead. Subi walked up behind the skeleton, took in a breath to ready himself, and then walked between its feet.

THWACK!

The skeleton suddenly smacked into the ceiling and scattered into pieces, as Subi's form suddenly exploded in size and then back down again.

Subi fist pumped in his baby form. His rapid transform technique had worked like a charm.

Subi continued through into a second cavern, this one was far larger than the one before, maybe even kilometers across. He sniffed the air and could sense the crystals were at the very far end. But what was more, this cavern was absolutely filled with monsters.

The roof and walls were illuminated by Garlshroom and Rawtfungi. Garlshroom was a broad headed mushroom that gave off bright yellow light. Rawtfungi was a blue creeper fungus that reflects only pastel blue light. They were named after two explorers in folklore that were said to have first discovered them, Garl and Rawt. The story as it goes was that Garl ate the mushroom out of hunger, while Rawt licked the fungi out of thirst. It sent them both into madness and they fought and killed each other. The story was told that way so you would never be tempted to eat or lick such shiny things. Subi however could tell from his sense of smell that they were toxic, they probably had evolved that way to protect themselves from all manner of monsters in the dungeon.

The mushroom light filled the cavern like the early morning sun, or particularly bright moonlight. Shadows were everywhere but Subi could make out colors and shapes in the hazey light even in his human form. Down the middle of the cavern was a stream, and reaching out from it were drywoods, leafless trees that drew most of their energy from food sources that they gathered from the ground. They kept the dead in their trunk in a gourd like stomach. Unlike whiproot their roots were slow and took only the bodies that lay untouched for days on the cavern floor.

Razor birds fluttered amidst their branches close to the stream. They were large swallow like creatures with bladed talons and wing edges. Ogres meandered through the trees dragging large branches, while fang monkeys pranced and chased each other through the trees further from the river.

*Hrmm, fast, agile, and strong. These monsters all together are formidable, and make up for each other’s weaknesses… No doubt the humans will have to burn them out by lighting the drywoods on fire*

Subi scoffed and pulled a face as thinking about the slaughter to come for these previously reclusive animals. He turned into his wolf form and strode along the very outskirts. Acting calm and confident so as to not draw too much attention from the fang monkeys playing in the tree tops. He knew they were not all that likely to attack a creature of his size and that the razor birds wouldn’t bother him unless frenzied by a commotion. The ogres however would attack anything, but he could smell them miles off so it was a matter of timing and positioning. He darted past as Ogres turned, and slipped into his human form to hide behind bushes near by, before continuing on in his wolf form.

After making his way he finally reached the end of the second cavern and could see a few cave openings that had been turned into mossy causeways by the flowing water. He could smell the crystals up ahead from within the cavern. A roost of razor birds guarded the entrance so subi transformed down into his human form in order to not spook them. He slowly crawled up one of the causeways, the feel of moss under his fingertips as the cool streams flowed over his hands and knees.

Struggling his way to the top of the causeway his jaw dropped in shock when he saw the diversity of plants in the next room. It was a glade filled with flowers and shrubs that surrounded a glowing pool of water. Every color of the rainbow was represented, from emerald greens, to hues of amber and saffron, it sparkled with magic and looked like something out of a painting. Subi pushed his way through the flowers and shrubs to get to the water’s edge at the center of the cavern.

“Hello little one”

*What? Who is that?* he thought to himself as he quickly turned around.

A green skinned dryad with flower vines coiled around her naked body stared down at him.

*How come I couldn’t smell it? I better get ready to change in case I need to run*

“I have not seen one of your kind in a long time”

“Whadda you means, shrub lady?” Subi finally spoke up.

“Uh, shrub lady? I will have you know I am a dryad”

“Sames things, a shrub lady”

“Oh my, hmph, I suppose you are right, I am a shrub lady, but by that same reasoning you are a little wolf boy”

“I’m nots a wolfs boy”

“Indeed, you are not”

“What you wants shrub lady?”

“Me? I don’t want anything. But, you on the other hand” she paused and looked over at an outcrop of crystals that stood in the end of the lake by the cavern wall, “You came because you heard its call didn’t you?”.

“No lady, wasn’t a call. Was a smell”

“And a simple smell made you brave all the dangers of this dungeon, I think not. No, you know something about that crystal and that is why it draws you. Just like it will draw the humans”

Subi noticed as the dryads lips began to curl as she mentioned humans.

“You no likes humans shrub lady?”

“I do not like them one bit, wolf boy”

“Then why opens the cave?”

“Ah well, the Cardadines came out of hybernation, they are looking for food and to breed”

“Carda what? Oh, you means gwave ber?”

“Yes child, what you call grave bears” the dryad paused in thought, “I wonder, do you know why that crystal calls to you little one?”

“I haves an idea lady”

“It calls to you because of what you are at your core” she squinted, “That disguise doesn’t fool me, Feyr” she snarled.

“Feyr?”

“Nevermind” she chuckled, “Well don’t let me stop you, if you want to go see the crystal go and see it”

“You sures you no try to stops me?”

“Why would I? I am here for the same reason you are”

“And what is that?”

“We are monsters of course” she said matter of fact.

Subi scrunched his brow at her offensive remark and but quickly ignored it in order to go to the crystal. He transformed into his wolf form and swam over the lake and dragged himself out of the water.

As he looked at the crystal, glowing with golden light, he could see his own image reflected on its surface. He morphed down to toddler size and placed his hand on the crystal, closing his eyes to concentrate. A warm buzz came from the crystals core. Within his mind he could see a blue light growing brighter and brighter, and from within the blue light he could sense something akin to spoken words.

“Feyr”

Subi wondered what the hell Feyr meant but had never been one to be bothered by a bit of mystery so quickly dismissed the idea.

*Probably just trying to get in my head, like I am going to trust monsters and some cave crystal anyway. Look crystal, just let me control this stupid toddler body better*

He focused deeper into the crystal until the blue light in his mind opened up all around him like a blue sky. He saw a vision of himself running through a grassy field of flowers as a small child, playing with a small puppy nipping at his heels and chasing him about.

*Thats nice and all but I don’t get it…*

The crystal whispered in a single word the answer it was trying to help him find, “Happiness”.

Subi cringed at the word, his teeth baring from his sneering lip. “Screw off” he said as pulling his hand off the crystal. “I don’t need this psychobabble”.

He gripped his toddler fist in anger and punched hard into the crystal. It hit with a loud thump, which was followed by a loud cracking sound. The crack spread through the crystal and a surge of energy from within exploded in all directions. Some of the broken shards sliced tiny cuts in subis cheeks and drew blood.

“Stupid crystal”

Subi then turned around to see the dryad flying across the lake, her eyes now red with rage, and a dark mist flowing around her form.

“How dare you! The crystal!”

Subi transformed into his wolf form and entered into a ready pouncing position, and waited for the perfect timing. The dryad slashed wildly with its talon like fingernails, but Subi dropped back and spun his body around to kick it hard with his two hind legs. He hit it with such force it was tossed into the wall behind the cave crystal.

He dived into the lake and began paddling as fast as he could to reach the other side. The dryad was woozy from the force of the impact, but regathered itself and lifted its arms calling to all the plants in the surrounding area to rise.

Subi’s eyes began to bulge as he saw the flowers and shrubs begin to tear up from the ground.

*Treeants!*

*No time to stop*

Subi ran as fast as he could, stepping on half emerged treeants and diving over others. He spiralled as surrounded by a group of them and shot out from a small gap in between their legs in toddler form, before landing again as a wolf.

He ran straight for the causeways, and dived into them transforming into his toddler form and sliding down. His toddler body felt different somehow, it was like he could now use some of the physical abilities of his wolf form while human. He was able to use his arm to spring himself up as he shot out of the causeway into the river.

The razor birds began screaming and flapping their wings. Subi wasted no time diving out of the water. He sprinted through the trees in his toddler form at incredible speed. Never before could he move like this. He kicked off a tree with his bare foot and changed direction suddenly as swooping razor birds just barely missed him and sliced large gashes in the deadwood. Fang monkeys started hollering and leaping about in the treetops trying to make their way over to the commotion.

Subi ran out from the trees towards the small clearings where the ogres gathered. “Hey stupid ogre, come hit me!” he yelled out. His voice clear and no longer inhibited by a baby-ish stutter. A giant ogre turned and cleft its tree branch towards him. Subi dived underneath it. The tree branch smashed into a group of fang monkeys and razor birds close behind him. Subi darted between the ogre's legs, causing the razor birds to attack it in a swarm. The ogre growled and swatted back at them with its bare hands.

Subi popped up into his wolf form and shot at full speed towards the first cavern. He knew that the next room was a darn trap for those running so grumbled and thought hard on his next move but didn’t slow down while fang monkeys, ogres, and razor birds all chased close behind.

Subi shot through the opening and transformed into his child form. He smacked into the rotting corpse of the grave bear and came to a stop. He glanced around the room and frowned as he looked at the whiproot.

*I don't have much time, this place is going to turn into chaos as soon as everything down there fills this room. I don't have any choice but to make a run for it*

The ogres burst out from the other cavern roaring and swinging their clubs. Whiproots shot out with their vines and grabbed onto the ogres legs tripping them. Razor birds flew out of the opening to get hit by the whiproots and the ones that took evasive action hit into the venomous craw bats on the ceiling waking them up. As the fang monkeys ran in the craw bats swarmed them, and the slimes started to crawl onto the downed ogres eating away at their flesh with acid.

Subi held tight to the wall as the chaos erupted, and kept low as he made his way quickly to the entrance. He noticed that the whiproot gave off pheromones when they were actively searching for movement, and used it to carefully make his way through.

Subi then transformed into his wolf form and shot out of the cave entrance. The bright morning sun momentarily blinding his eyes.

He sprinted around the river bank and across the shallows, making his way into the woods. He sniffed the air around him to get a grip on where the grave bear from earlier had gone.

*It is further to the west... but that isn't all*

He turned his ear and could hear the sound of armored town guards fighting the beast.

“Press forth”, “Hold the line!”, “Ready arms!”

He took a wide circle and ran up a fallen tree trunk and shot up over the town walls and transformed into his human form mid air to avoid being seen. He flew wildly through the air and broke his fall on the rooftops with a roll.

He stopped and looked back out over the forest. Some of the ogres and fang monkeys had made it out already. The guards in the forest by the sound of it had been quickly overwhelmed and were heading towards the city.

One of the town guards manning the wall sounded an alarm “Ogres!”. A smaller guard ran along the inside of the walls and pulled on a chain to a large bell that signalled an attack. A large plume of craw bats shot out of the cave and darkened the sky.

*Uh… Sorry guys, I didn’t mean to train them all here. I didn't know that dryad would get so pissed*

“Ready yourself men!” the captain of the guard screamed as he drew his sword.

Subi climbed down from the roof and plopped down into the streets.

*I have to find Rem*

He used his now more sensitive nose to map a route through the back streets to get back to the academy. He rushed to Rem's room and knocked on the door. Rem opened it with a worried look on her face.

“Where were you?!”.

“No time to explain now”

“Your voice is different! And you are taller!”

“Yeah nice isn’t it, I don’t have to stutter anymore, and my body is strong too, but never mind that the town is under attack we need to prepare!”

“What is attacking?!”

“Hrmm, well there are ogres heading this way and a giant swarm of craw bats, oh and some monkeys, bears, and maybe a dryad”

“Craw bats and ogres! Wait, and a dryad!”

“Pretty sure the guard can't handle them, we've gotta go”

Rem grabbed a their things and quickly popped on her armor before running down to the lobby.

A teacher in a long black robe stopped her at the front doors, “Leaving already?”

“Yes, um, I heard there are ogres… And um, craw bats heading this way”

The teacher's eyes narrowed, “And how would you know that? Who told you? Or did you use a spell?”

“So um, I think it is best if we get to safety”

“Oh darling there is no safer place than this academy, your teachers are not just dusty old bookworms you know”

The teacher signalled to a dozen other staff members to equip themselves.

“Stay here, we will deal with this”

Subi leapt up onto a couch and watched on through a window as craw bats streamed through town.

The dozen teachers went out into the craw bat swarm and began chanting incantations. The teacher that had stopped Rem erected a giant magical sphere that surrounded the school and the other teachers began different attack magic shooting into the large swarm, with fire, ice, and stone.

Subi’s jaw dropped, “They are really doing a number on those bats, maybe these guys can hold this off”

Thousands of bats thumped down onto the ground in piles like black hail.

“Careful, don’t let them touch you they carry disease” one of the teachers shouted as everyone kept casting spells. The teachers then made their way out of the school grounds and down the main street.

Subi looked up at Rem with dazzling eyes. She quickly scooped him up and ran out into the street.

An ogre towered over the magisters weilding a small tree in its grip. Blood dripped from its roots, and several dead townsfolk lay at its feet. The teachers entered into a scattered formation, and began firing at the ogre. The ogre blocked its face with its massive hand, deflecting as much as it could.

RWOARRR!!!

The ogre tossed its the small tree at the teachers formation, as several more ogres ran down the street to join the fray. Two teachers were hit and badly injured as a dust cloud came up from the impact.

“Rem ready your bow, aim for their eyes, I don’t think we have to abandon town just yet, there is still hope”

Rem pulled the bow and an arrow from her back and slid into action just behind the injured teachers.

FWIP FWIP FWEIP

The arrows sounded as Rem launched a volley of arrows in quick succession.

Students that had already been in the lobby rushed out from the academy following her example.

“Aim for their eyes” she yelled out to them, “Lets buy the teachers some time!”

Rocks, magic missles, and a couple of spears all followed Rem's second volley of shots at the closest ogres face. It staggered back as an arrow drove deep into its eyebrow.

A spear from one of the other students then lodged into its neck, Subi briefly turned to see that a boy with spikey hair and knuckle dusters had thrown the shot.

The black robed teacher swept his arms, and clapped his arms together. An enormous rock spike split through the ogre, slicing it in half.

Rem stepped even closer and drew back another, aiming it at the ogres just behind, she shot and stepped forwards with another arrow and then shot again.

“Keep applying pressure” she yelled at the students behind her.

Guards came rushing in just in time to spear at the legs of the ogres. Several of them came together with tower shields and made a wall in front of the magisters. This bought the magisters time to cast more powerful spells like the ground spike. Ominous levels of magical power began to swirl around them.

Razor birds swooped down, forcing the teachers to duck and cancel their spells, all except one. The teacher in black split the swarm apart with the flick of his free hand. Rem rushed into the space behind him, and looked through the swarm to see an ogre raise its tree branch over the magister's head. She grit her teeth, focused her breath and loosed an arrow. It soared a perfect arch and sunk deep into the ogre's eye. The ogre buckled to one side and the branch slammed down hard next to the magister, causing his cloak to billow in the wind blast it caused.

He smirked and then looked at another ogre to the side of it, he lifted his hand and drove an earth spike up through its jaw. He then leapt forwards and unleashed a flurry of magical spells, causing the main road to erupt with spikes, mincing the remaining ogres into paste.

The remaining teachers behind him, focused their spells into the skies letting off a display of explosive light, as fire, ice and earth all collided. Swarms of razor birds fell from the sky, along with the remaining craw bats.

The guards breathed heavily, clearly exhausted from the fight, but then quickly picked up their shields.

"Secure the walls!" the shouted as they ran off.

Subi whispered to Rem, “Quickly to the walls, there are going to be Treeants”.

Rem echoed his words to the crowd behind her. “Quickly to the walls, Treeants!”

The black robed teacher squinted at Rem and then the child beside her, unsure of what to make of her claim, but turned back to his teachers, "Ready fire spells”

As they made their way to the walls, towns folk were being harassed by stray craw bats, razor birds, and fang monkeys.

“Guards, move those barrels of pitch” the captain of the guard yelled.

“We don’t have enough men!” they yelled back.

Rem yelled to the students following her “Help with the barrels”.

Clive with his golden hair appeared to lend a hand “Right, the barrels! Guys we need to get these outside before the Ents arrive so the magisters can use them to create a firewall”

One of the guards yelled back, “The kid is right, we need these outside right now! Help if you can”.

Dozens of students grabbed barrels in groups of two or three and rolled them out through the broken walls. Each of the students and guards placed a barrel of pitch down thirty paces out from the walls.

“Oh my god…” one of the students cried out as the trees bowed and broke just beyond the treeline.

“Quickly back inside!”

Subi looked up at Rem “There isnt anything you and the students can do now take them back to the academy. This is my part of the fight, there is a dryad”

“No, I won’t let you fight it alone!” she screamed back.

“Look, I won’t do anything I can’t handle. Dryad magic is too fast and too dangerous for you, you need to stay safe. I only plan to slow it down, distract it, and hopefully the teachers can finish it off”

Rem's upper lip quivered for a moment before she raised her voice to the students

“Okay everyone back to the school, we'll only get in the way here”

The students didn't need much encouragement as the treeants burst out from the treeline, their hulking forms and gnarled roots causing the ground to quake as they moved.

“Don’t get hurt okay” Rem said to Subi.

“Don't worry, I got this” he said with a reassuring smile.

He then made his way out of sight, clambered up onto the roof tops and leapt outside of the gates. He landed down in the mud far from where the barrels were lined up and looked up at the Ents as they reached the line.

“Ready. Aim. FIRE!” the black robed teacher shouted as the Treeants breached the barrel line. Wild spiralling tornados of flame shot up amidst the Ents lighting most of them on fire. The teachers summoned up even more flame spells and launched them at the Ents that avoided the first explosion.

The dryad looked on and screamed in a piercing shriek.

RIIIIIIAAAK

The guards fell to their knees paralyzed by the sound waves, while the magisters directed their energy into personal shields to hold off against the attack.

Subi pulled his shoulders back and burst into his enourmous wolf form.

PATTER PATTER PATTER

*Oh no you don’t*

Slashing at the dryad with his paws and tearing at her with his massive teeth, he managed to tackle her to the ground and throw off her concentration on the spell. The magisters shook off the effect, and the guards looked up from their backs in shock. The magisters joined together and erected a wall of flames to hold of the very last of the Ents, cutting the dryad off from reinforcements.

Subi used his jaws grab and bite at the dryad, but her skin was as tough as old leather and as bitter as poison.

“Get off me!” she shouted as a blast of magic threw subi back into the trees. He hit with one of his legs into a tree and was spun around before finding his feet.

*Gah, stupid magic users* he grumbled

He stared back at the dryad, she was obviously injured as she stood up onto her feet, but not even one of his bites had punctured her armored skin.

*Did I break her bones then?* he thought briefly

*Urg no time for that now*

The dryad shrieked and rushed towards him, a twisted wooden dagger materialising in her hand. Subi dived to the side and sprinted around the dryad in a tight circle.

As his paws pounded underneath him he tried to concentrate on a way to beat her.

*What is going to happen here? Is this all I can do? Is it time to run away?*

*No, I need to draw her attacks onto me to give the magisters time. It is okay if I can't damage her enough myself. I just have to keep her busy. And if I can tire her out by draining of spells, maybe I can land another hit*

FWOOSH FWOOSH FWOOSH

Twisted wooden daggers shot past his ears and thudded into trees behind him causing their trunks to splinter and explode from the force.

*What the fuck? How come the daggers explode like that! They'll tear me in half!*

The black robed teacher drew up a mass of magical energy in his hands and spoke loudly over his shoulder to the other magisters, "Prepare the lance of Avarice!”. The magical energy in the air started to turn purple, as beads of sweat formed on the magister's temple.

*It is far too early in the morning for this, I'm really out of practice. And what the hell is that a giant wolf! Which do I fire at?*

The dryad launched several wooden daggers at Subi, causing him to duck and dodge, but then suddenly turned towards the magisters. The black robbed teacher lifted his free hand and pillars of earth burst forth from the ground. The pillars exploded as the daggers made impact.

FWOOSH FWOOSH

The daggers flying behind the first continued soaring through, forcing the magister to spin off to the side. While a lesser magister might have lost the spell he juggled it between hands and gracefully brought it back into his power center before the magical energies could distort beyond his control.

Subi shot in at the dryad.

*An opening*

The magister watched on as the giant wolf smashed at full speed into the dryad with its full weight, “Why are they fighting?”

"Maybe the wolf is defending is territory" one of the other magisters called back.

"There are no giant wolves with territory here" another of the magisters responded.

*Bah who cares, maybe I can get them both*

THWACK!

Subi smashed into the dryad’s body so hard he felt its arms crunch.

Magic swelled around its form forcing him to dive back and continue circling. Giant roots began to spring up from the ground. Subi zigged and zagged as the ground tore up beneath him.

FWOOSH FWOOSH

*More of those daggers! Ahh!*

Subi twisted and ducked out of the way as trees behind him exploded into splinters.

*I need to stay alert, those almost got me*

Subi's face contorted in shock as he felt a grip on his front leg from below, a root quickly spun around his paw and sent him flying over in an arc, before slamming him to the ground. He nawed at the root breaking it free and sending him spilling across the ground.

*I'm at my limit, I just gotta run* he thought to himself as he fought to get back up.

The dryad looked at him with a smirk and shot her intent towards him. Razor like roots shot up from the ground near her and hurtled towards Subi. Slicing blades rotated with the roots like scythes as they shot towards him.

“NOW!”

A spear of condensed flame shot through the air like lightning, the air thundered with a sonic boom as the projectile tore through the dryad. As soon as it had passed through the dryad it lit her on fire from the heat and the pressure wave it created. The water in her body exploded into steam, causing her blood to boil, and the plants on her body to start withering under the flames.

The dryad screeched and convulsed as the hole in its torso dripped with blackish green sap.

Subi rolled to the side as the razor roots shaved past him.

Subi glanced at the burning mess that now was the dryad and shot off into the woodlands.

“Quick after the wolf!” the teacher in black yelled.

“Bah it got away”

The other teachers all fell down in a heap. “I thought we were going to die”, “We are alive, Ahahaha!”, “Its over?”, “No way I’m chasing that thing, I’m done Maestro”.

Maestro's cloak fluttered in the wind as he walked back to the others, “You just helped take down a dryad, not many can say they've done the same, but don’t rest yet this is far from over”.

He looked over his shoulder into the woods, “I hate wolves”