The smell hit the group long before they walked into the clearing. A lingering sense of death, thankfully stifled due to the dead being sealed underground, but it seemed like the smell of scorched, rotting meat had seeped into the very fibers of the nearby trees.

The area was still devoid of wildlife, any creatures that had called it home, now put off by the mass grave lying before the group.

“You said Arledge began the instructions from the center of the clearing and to head east from there?” Beth asked, Iarkspur’s instructions and direction fleeing her body when she caught sight of the graves she had watched Arledge toil over for hours.

“Yes, those were the words. Then we’d have to look for like fifty crosses at the bases of trees until going northward.” Jadon was perched over Guy’s shoulder, leaning on a makeshift perch made out of a couple backpacks tied together.

Beth jogged out into the clearing, avoiding the graves, until she stood as close to the center as she could get. Looking up at the sun, she pivoted where she stood, pointed out a tree to herself and walked in that direction, weaving between the graves but keeping her eyes fixed on the tree. Once she stood by it, she waved the others over.

Ephin purposefully walked between Iarkspur and the clearing, keeping an eye on her face to try and monitor her emotions.

Once everyone was by the tree Beth had pointed out, Iarkspur, Ephin and Beth rooted among the grass to try and find the first carved out cross.

“When I found Davistone, he wasn’t that close to the clearing and wasn’t headed directly eastward. Hopefully he didn’t know the right directions to whatever he wanted to find,” Iarkspur said, keeping her eyes averted from the clearing.

They were looking for a while before Ephin called out from the other side of a tree, pointing down at a cross that could also be interpreted as a downward facing sword. It did not look too old, however Arledge could have kept the carving fresh as part of his duties, considering he knew the path.

The group moved steadily eastward, weaving between tree trunks and keeping count of the crosses, sometimes double-backing to make sure they didn’t miss any. A good couple hours passed due to the slow pace of their travel before they found the tree with two crosses on it, side by side as if ready to duel.

It was almost midday by the time the group reached the river. It had cut through the ground, almost a trickle of a stream, but with deep banks on both sides. Everyone slid down the southern bank and began to splash downstream, trying to make use of the few larger stones to keep out of the water.

Jadon couldn’t help but be a little glad at the fact his feet weren’t soaked through by the point the group reached the roots of the large tree that towered above the burrow. A nondescript hole wedged between two of the larger roots, bending down and out of sight, into the dirt and darkness beyond.

“I’d love to go, but I don’t think I can carry Jadon down at the same time and that would mean it would be twice as hard getting him back up,” Guy said, propping Jadon up on one of the roots and taking a perch on another one.

“I’m going to have to agree with him,” Jadon said, “thankfully it didn’t sound too difficult. Simply look for a branch in the underground orchard that doesn’t look like a real branch and that bears especially good fruit. Like, the best fruit.”

“What’s the best fruit?” Ephin asked.

“No idea, but maybe it’ll be a bit more obvious down there? I didn’t even know trees could grow underground,” Jadon said, shrugging.

“We’ll be back up before you know it,” Beth said, “hopefully with whatever is hidden down there.” She then ducked down and inched herself down the muddy hole, the river water splashing at her back and over her shoulders as she descended. There was a short pause as everyone listened to her make her way down, followed by a light splash. She called back up to others that it was safe to go down and Iarkspur went down next, followed by Ephin. Jadon and Guy looked at each other awkwardly, unsure about what to discuss. The water flowed between them and the sounds of it made for better conversation than they were prepared to begin.

Underground, Beth had her everflame up and lighting the way as the three crouched and at some points crawled along the tunnel. It sloped downwards ever so slightly, the river thankfully running off in a separate direction shortly after the initial drop into the tunnel.

After possibly three large trees’ worth of crawling, the tunnel opened up into a chamber, dirt floor and walls, however there was a dense collection of trees planted underground. Beth shone a light over the closest ones. The leaves were translucent a pale, not green at all. The trees still looked healthy besides the leaves, but it was clear they hadn’t received much if any light down here.

“Time to look for a fake branch in an orchard of weird looking trees,” Beth mumbled, the quiet carrying her voice.

There were collections of different looking trees, each providing abundant helpings of different fruits. Instead of red or green apples, purple apples had been offered from one batch of trees and completely spherical pears were hanging from the branches of another. Everything looked correct, apart from one or two details every time.

“I think I found it,” Iarkspur said from a far corner of the chamber. “I am pretty good with plants and this I the only branch that hasn’t bent to my will even a little.”

“Nice one,” Ephin said, walking quickly over to look, “try to break it off from the tree.”

The branch had a little give, but snapped from the tree cleanly, unlike snapping off a normal branch from a living tree, even if the tree was grown underground and grew bananas shaped like stars.

“What does it do?” Beth asked.

“What even is it?” Ephin pushed more.

Iarkspur looked over it. It was straight and thin, like a wand perhaps? She held it up and gave it a wave, hoping to let loose some of its arcane ability, however nothing happened. As she held it aloft, something fell and hit her in the head, only lightly. It landed on the floor and Beth picked it up, unfurling it and brushing off the dirt. Iarkspur could now see a thin hole within the center of the stick.

Beth read aloud to the other two what was written on the paper. Holding it open with both hands whilst her gloves lit the page. Faded black ink wrote:

Deep where ice and might abide,

Does the path you tread collide,

Hidden from those who hid it,

Search further and be frostbit,

The knowledge to connect realm to realm,

Or to lead our doom at the helm.

“Well, that isn’t ominous,” Ephin said.

“What does it even mean?” Iarkspur asked.

“It means what we’re looking for isn’t here,” Beth said, “but it is also a safe bet that Davistone never found this spot.”

Jadon chipped off yet another chunk of bark and threw it in the stream, both he and Guy watching it float and ride the water into the dark hole.

“Thank you,” Jadon mumbled.

“What was that?” Guy asked, turning to look at Jadon.

“I said what I said and you heard it.”

Guy sighed and turned back around, leaning back against the large root.

“Why do you have such a problem with me?” He asked.

“You aren’t actually serious, right?”

“Of course, I am,” Guy said, “All the others have been fairly nice but you’re still as icy as the lagoon.”

“Well, first off, we met you because you were trying to arrest us.”

“It’s my job.”

“When you choose orders over morals, that’s something I can’t agree with,” Jadon said.

“When you choose to break rules for your own gain, that’s something I can’t agree with.”

“I don’t have a choice and anyway, you were chasing us and we hadn’t even broken any laws.”

“You always have a choice.”

“Easy thing to say when everything comes on a silver platter.”

“It isn’t that easy, you know,” Guy said.

“I don’t care. All I know is whatever friendship alliance rubbish we’re striking up here, you’re going to turn us all into the guard as soon as we set foot in High Morr.”

“The others, likely not. You? More than likely,” Guy continued over Jadon’s scoffing, “you’re a criminal. You haven’t done anything to prove otherwise or absolve yourself of your crimes.”

“So, you’re a judge, too?” Jadon laughed.

“When I have to be.”

“You have to realize there is no chance I’m returning to that cell,” Jadon said.

“We can discuss that after this mess of an attempt to save the realm.”

“Right.”

“Not like you could run away anyway.”

“I’ll get them back. I have plans.”

“You literally can’t walk. If those were actual hags hags, you will never walk again,” Guy said, hopping down into the river to look Jadon in the eye as he said it.

“I only made a deal for my legs. I can have new ones made to replace them.”

“You think that’s going to work?”

“No harm in trying. I lost them to help the group you know.”

“Oh, I know, I’ve only been feeling the weight of your decision for the past couple days.”

“As I was trying to say. Thanks for that. Now can we-”

Jadon’s voice faltered as he pointed down at Guy’s feet. Guy looked down, following Jadon’s gaze and jumped back also, losing his footing and falling into the water. It wasn’t deep, barely up to his ankles when standing, so it splashed against his lower back as he sat in the water, watching the water by his feet rise up unnaturally before him. He reached out to touch it with one hand and the rising water fell back down.

Guy suddenly remembered the cold water at his back and jumped to his feet, looking back and seeing strands of floating water, hanging in the air between his back and where he had been lying in the water. He waved his arm down and the water fell once more.

Curious, Guy held out his hand and attempted to will the water to rise up to meet it. At first, there was no change, and then, drop by drop, the water fell upwards, hitting his hand and resting there. Guy continued until he was holding a small cup’s worth of water upside down in his hands.

A shout from down the tunnel sent the water falling back into the river. Guy looked up, still trying to process what was going on until a rope hit him in the face.

“Let them back up, dummy,” Jadon said, having thrown the coil of rope at Guy, who shook himself out of the trance and sent down the rope before bracing himself against one of the larger roots.

“You can climb up now,” Guy called down the tunnel.

Iarkspur, followed by Ephin and finally Beth all pulled themselves up by the wet rope, the water causing issues with their footing as they climbed. Once all of them had reached the top of the river again, severely muddied and soaking wet, Beth smiled at the two that had waited.

“Good news is that Davistone probably hasn’t been here. Bad news is that whatever we were looking for isn’t here either. Extra good news is we have a clue to figure out where it is. As long as Davistone doesn’t have this, we will be between him and completing whatever weird ritual he wants to unleash on the realm.”

“Well, we have news too,” Jadon said. “This tin can of a soldier somehow got the power to control water on this trip and all I got was the inability to walk.” When everyone stood slightly awkwardly at Jadon’s comment, he continued, “that was a joke.”

Guy lifted up a small strand of water into his hands to show the others that Jadon, whilst trying to be funny, was also completely serious.

“That will definitely need to be addressed,” Beth said, “first of all, anyone know where ice and might meet, or where we might get frostbitten easily?”

“I feel like if I answer, you’re going to feel really stupid,” Jadon said, laughing to himself.

“Just go on,” Ephin said.

“We need to go to High Morr,” said Jadon. “Or rather, we need to go south of High Morr, to Vernox.”