Cracking… the sound of tree after tree tumbling and being trampled upon. It was as if he was seeing a scene from a bizarre action flick. Passing by atop of the slope they’d just escaped from, a quadrupedal monster that was multiple stories tall swayed a ginormous barbed tail back and forth as its stumpy head scanned the premises.

Between its glowing red eyes of pure bloodlust and the ax-shaped blade that hugged its head, allowing it to fell all the trees in its vicinity, Herring couldn’t determine what was most intimidating about the beast. But, as it toppled another tree that was as large as a sturdy redwood in one fluid motion, he’d found his answer. It was the ax. Definitely the ax.

“It’s… it’s after you two!” Katie stammered, jogging in place while panicking. “Please, get up! We really have to get mov—”

Before she could even finish talking, Herring was already up and by her side… and then in front of her. With tear riddled eyes of pure fear, he practically threw himself down the next slope, yelling “No shit we have to get moving! C’mon!”

At this point, crashing was an inevitability for Herring. All he wanted to do was get as far away as quickly as possible. So, he allowed himself to barrel into a tree once more before immediately rectifying himself and staring back up at the others.

They were already on their way down, Redlette just in front of Katie, likely due to realizing that he’d flee in such a manner. Unlike him, they slid down effortlessly. Then, in a wake of mud, they joined him in looking upwards towards the beast, but only for a moment before taking off running towards the next slope.

For a second, the monster had been confused. It must’ve seemed like they were dropping off of the face of the jungle only to reappear further down. However, as soon as it caught on, it was furious.

In a final bellow that shook leaves from the trees, showering them down onto the trio from its faraway position, its sleek black body finally took off running straight towards them, ignoring the steepness of the slopes. Its heavy feet quaked the ground as it stomped forward with sharp claws that gripped it to the loose earth below.

As it charged, it took down tree after tree as if it was doing it for fun, haphazardly clearing a path for its massive frame to make its way towards them. Luckily, due to the momentum built from sliding on the slopes, they were able to keep pace with the beast. No ground was made or lost by either party.

This didn’t keep Herring’s heart beating from out of his chest. Barely slipping around a rock that would’ve almost certainly wrecked him for good, he could feel his throat grow hoarse as fear and dread set in. As he was pushed away from a bramble of thorns by a much more deft Redlette, Herring used the remaining strength in his throat to wail to his friend. “You were meant to be a deity that managed the world’s difficulty, right?!”

“Huh?!” Redlette skidded to a halt as they reached the next shelf of the jungle, catching Herring as he came crashing towards her and straightening him before he could slip and fall. Then, following another bone-shaking roar, she took off running again, this time with Herring’s hand in her own. Katie simply continued onward, now leading the group as she expertly traversed the terrain as if she’d always used the slopes to slide in such a way.

As her hair fluttered against her eyes and mouth, Redlette called back to Herring in a muffled shout. “Yup, I was supposed to be! Why, wassup?”

Being spun around a trunk by Redlette who was now guiding him like they were a pair of tag team figure skaters, Herring freed himself of her grasp and instead put his hands on her shoulders to better balance himself. “Well… I was just thinking! They really needed you! This is one hell of an early game encounter!”

The slope they were on was longer than the others, and just over the beast’s thundering stomps and the sloshing of kicked up mud, waves could now be heard in the distance. It was clear, they were reaching the ground level.

Touching down one last time, there was no apparent shelf to be found ahead. The jungle was now barren, and though there were still patches of life here and there, foliage was scarce and trees even more so. Instead of these things, countless car sized footprints were left in a desolate landscape of felled logs, mossy stumps, and eroded land.

“D’aww that’s rather sweet of you to say, man.” Redlette chortled as they landed, whipping her head around to get sight of Katie as Herring struggled to momentarily catch his breath within her arms.

As soon as they’d reached the ground, Katie had taken off diagonally towards their left, stumbling as though her life depended on it. Even though it didn’t, considering the beast seemed deadset on taking down Herring and Redlette exclusively, its predatory gaze never breaking sight of them.

“We… We don’t have the advantage of the… slopes anymore. We gotta… run. There’s no time to slow down…!” Between pants of breath, Herring turned away from Redlette and got ready to start running again. It was now upon them. What was once just distant roars and trampling was now the beast’s looming shadow growing ever larger as it rushed down the slope they’d just landed from.

Trying to break free from Redlette, Herring took off after Katie who was just out of sight. She was bolting towards a horizon of skyscraper-sized trees—the only canopy of trees in the skyline. That was likely their destination.

Before he could get too far from her, Redlette dashed past Herring, once more taking hold of his hand and practically tugging him along behind her. “You’re not quick enough to outrun that thing, you ninny! I’ll drag you along if I have to, so stick with me.”

Dodging around deeply entrenched footsteps, Redlette forced the stumbling Herring to keep pace with her. Even if he struggled to breathe, even if he was unable to keep balance, he’d follow her. She’d make him.

Her ears were flicking wildly, causing Herring to hazard a glance behind him. He’d been trying to push it to the back of his mind and tell himself that the monster was still far away, but where they’d only ran a few dozens yards from the slope, it’d already touched down at it. He could now feel the intense heat of the monster’s breath sweeping across the barren jungle. Its stench penetrated the air with the distinct scent of sawdust and blood, and its thundering steps sounded, quaking the earth each time Redlette landed one of her own, much smaller, steps.

It was approaching, ever closer. The horizon of canopies was now more distinguishable, and Katie had all but disappeared from their sight into its direction. It’d be close, but if they maneuvered themselves correctly, they’d make it. They had to.

“R… Redlette! Listen to me!” Herring’s voice cracked, almost unable to speak. “Take a left! Run towards… that patch of trees over there.”

Towards their right was one of many untouched areas of jungle that, presumably, the beast hadn’t cleared yet. Herring could hear the monster’s snout puff as it chased after them, its shadow once more upon them. This time it wasn’t being cast from a great height, though. Proximity was what caused the shadow to loom over them. Herring knew they had no chance to hide from the beast. He knew they’d have to come up with some other plan.

Trusting Herring’s words, Redlette suddenly broke to the right, dashing towards what appeared to be a lush oasis in a blur of red. The small outcrop of trees would conceal them, if only for a second. They’d have to juke it and make one final break for safety. That was their only hope.

Reaching down at the area a mere dozen seconds before the beast, the two leaned up against a tree, both now at a loss of breath. Taking the moment to collect his thoughts, Herring looked up while assessing the situation, becoming entrenched within the labyrinth of his mind.

“It attacks indiscriminately and, when it does, it slows down only for a second.” Herring spoke hushedly, unsure if the beast could hear him. Its bus-sized head was now low to the ground, intensely scanning the area as its nose puffed small gales, trying to pick up on their scent.

“Yeah, we’re kinda seeming boned here, sorry—” In the understatement of the century, Redlette chuckled mildly to herself with a defeated look. However, Herring wasn’t having it.

“We’ll wait for it to cut down this tree. Afterwards, we’ll dodge out of the way, weave ourselves underneath it, and try to make it to the treeline. If we take advantage of its confusion, we might make it.” Herring was solemn in his words and found himself in a deeply contemplative look. “You think you can do that, Redlette? Sorry, I’m kinda useless here.”

Redlette blinked, unsure of how to respond. Her eyes dashed between the skyscraper of a monster and Herring’s own equally unsure face. He’d just said something that he thought seemed smart. There was no guarantee it’d work. They both knew that, but they’d have to try it. “Nothing risked, nothing gained and whatnot!”

“So, that’s the plan?”

“For sure. What could go wrong?”

The two waited with bated breath, watching as the beast raised on its hindlegs and brought its ax down time after time. 20 seconds— that was its recovery period. They’d have to make it as far as they could in that short amount of time. The treeline still looked about a half-mile off, but it’d have to work. They’d just have to rely on Redlette’s speed.

Before Herring could fully steel his nerves, it was time. The beast had finally got to their tree, and they had to awkwardly shuffle around the trunk to avoid being spotted or smelt. Fortunately for them, it didn’t appear that precision was its snouts forte. It likely only had a far range of effect.

Rearing up one more time on its hindlegs, the force from its standing nearly blew Herring away as it stripped off next to all of the leaves from the surrounding trees, showering them into a nearby pond. It was a beast that caused so much damage without even meaning to. Not like it mattered— the tree would be gone before long.

Just as it began to slam its ax downwards on the tree in a splendor of silver, Herring called out, “Now!” Then, the two took off, sliding under its vast belly and out the other side of the monster, barely avoiding getting crushed as it stomped back down in recoil.

When they emerged from underneath the monster, Redlette yanked Herring by the hood, having missed his hand, and dragged him as he desperately skelped behind her. Together, the two continued to bound over logs, stumps, and footprints, working hard not to sink into the mud when they landed. But it wasn’t enough.

The beast had already recovered from felling the tree and was once again upon them. Its trampling truck-like feet were just a meter away from them, and they were well within range of its ax-head. It was no surprise that it’d caught up with them, it was the size of a building, after all. If it wanted to, it could simply take a leap and end them in an instant. There’d be nothing they could do.

Yet it didn’t. Instead of attempting to squash them with its feet, it had raised its head back into the air and began to bear its ax down on them. A mistake. Where they couldn’t stop it from stepping on them, they could easily dodge this. Herring knew they could. Since the ax attack had a charge-up period, they could predict and avoid it, using the required momentum to their advantage. “Redlette! Stop!”

Following the command, Redlette immediately halted her running in such a sudden manner that it caused her to tumble onto the ground with Herring. Just as they ducked beneath the beast, its ax slashed the mud where they would’ve been, gouging it multiple meters deep and wide. It’d hit nothing but air—but they couldn’t rest easy quite yet.

As if predicting their retreat as a possibility, it’d raised its barbed tail high into the air, intending to skewer them as they stopped. Since they were on the ground they were vulnerable. So it brought its tail end down like a stinger towards the earth and the stumbling Herring and Redlette below.

It was only by a few milliseconds that Redlette narrowly rolled them out of the way in a desperate burst of energy, allowing the monster’s tail to submerge two-thirds of itself into the mud with a distinct fwang sound. That didn’t mean their troubles were over, though. Just like its tail, they found themselves half submerged in mud on one side each. Still, Redlette breathed a bit easier, if only for a moment. “Phew! That was close.”

“C’mon, let’s get up already! That thing’s gonna recover!” Not willing to bask in their near escape, Herring urged his friend to get back into running stance. Struggling against the earth’s boggish grasp, Redlette slowly rose, shook off the mud, and took off with Herring in tow, sprinting just past the beast as its tail scraped itself out of the earth.

This is bad, Herring thought to himself as he tried to keep up, We can only move a few yards before it’s able to attack us again. On top of that, if it starts trying to just run us over, then we’re really over. It was beginning to seem hopeless. Already the beast was on them again, its blade’s edge within striking distance of their bodies. Between his wheezing pants, peaking exhaustion, and the duality of the beast’s attacking method, Herring felt hopeless. It was only their first monster encounter, and they were already screwed.

Still, he wouldn’t give up without a fight. He’d fight to survive until he was unable to move any longer—a limit that was fast approaching. He understood that he was an encumbrance. If it came down to it… he’d make sure at least Redlette made it. He knew, if she was on her own, she could outrun the beast, or at least she’d be able to get farther between dodges.

But until then, he’d fight. With her. That was only a worst-case scenario. For now… he was weirdly having fun. In this intense, life-or-death situation, it finally hit him that he was on a proper adventure.

“Stop!” “Dodge!” “Run!” “Stop!” “Dodge” “Run!” It was like they were playing a shitty mobile game with Herring operating Redlette through voice commands. There were only three options for surviving, and if they missed the timing of a single one, it meant their demise. On top of that, they were hitting the wall for the distance they could reach with their current loadout. Without a character upgrade, they soon wouldn’t be able to make any further progress.

Yet they were so close. They were almost under the jungle’s canopy again and the sky was now growing darker. Just a little more. Just a little further and they’d make it to their destination. Surely they’d be fine when they were there. They had to be. Katie lived her life here, so there must’ve been some form of shelter from the thing, dismal as it may end up being.

Wait… Katie…? Where is she?! Herring realized that somewhere along the way, he’d lost sight of her. Looking up in a start just as he and Redlette returned in front of the beast, Herring scanned the vicinity as best he could through the dimming eventide, and that’s when he saw her.

Hiding nearby in one of the beast’s old footprints was Katie, who must’ve just returned to them. Where there was once a bowl of fruit, a warped, two-handed, wooden staff was clutched tightly within her grasp as she trembled, attempting to find her resolve. She hadn’t abandoned them! She was going to try and save them. All they had to do was hold out one last time.

“R-Redlette…” Herring gasped.

“Yeah…?”

“This next… This next dodge… Use up all your energy… and leap forward!” Realizing that if they fell back, they’d likely miss the opportunity for escape that Katie was intending to supply, Herring mustered his resolve as well. It’d be an all-or-nothing bet. Katie either had some method to save them, or they’d die. There was no use thinking about it any further. They just had to go for it!

Like a saber of solar rays, the beast’s edge was raised in the air one last time. Light enveloping it as it whirred with a visceral energy it’d never had before, a great aura emanated from the blade. This was it. It was done playing around and attempting to finish them off in a final gambit, too. It was one final standoff.

Energy spilled forward in streams of light, billowing and refracting in all directions. Strobing, it flashed as the beast rose to the peak of its head’s height, bringing with it a trail of light. The red of its eyes and the aqua of the light mingled together in a manner that was wholly unnatural before combining not into purple, but a pulsating gold color.

If there was any indicator it was about to strike, such a spectacle would be it. So, putting faith in his intuition built upon many years of observing people and patterns from afar, Herring gave one final command to Redlette. “3…” The monster raised its front legs. “2…” Its blade pointed downwards, ready to slash. “1…” A great heat flamed forth from the energy-filled ax. “Now! Go, go, go!”

“Desperate Gambit!”

Herring and Redlette bounded forward in a foray of exhaustion just as Katie shouted something. Their faces were painted with starkly contrasting expressions— Herring pathetically panicking and Redlette grinning in a display of pure confidence in her friend’s intuition. As they touched down in the mud just ahead of the beast, a rainbow colored orb of light struck its lowering head moments before its ax slashed through what was once the earth.

As soon as the ball hit the beast, its blade shined even brighter, like an ax forged from the stars, and it became hard to even glance at for everyone in its vicinity, including the beast. Its attack struck the ground in an arch of pure gold which erupted into blades of light that ricocheted in all directions, leaving a crater where it’d slashed. From its impact jagged stones were tectonically pushed up from the ground and spiked forward towards Herring and Redlette, seeking to impale them as they surged forward like stairs of skewers.

Between those and the light blades, there was no chance they could avoid the attack on their own. Luckily they didn’t need to, though. Before anything could strike them, two fruit-sized seeds flew above them and burst open into girthy, root-like, green vines, the likes of which only existed in worlds of fantasy. Just as a spike was about to impale them and a blade of light threatened to split them in two, the vines wrapped around Herring and Redlette like a belt and yanked them through the air until they were suspended just beside an incredibly relieved Katie.

“I-It worked! It actually worked!” Katie squealed to herself, a relieved yet proud look apparent on her face. She was trembling like a leaf in the wind, but she was holding herself high. Then, as the relief finally broke through the dam, she fell to her knees. “I’m… I’m so glad you’re okay!”

“Uh…” Redlette looked awkwardly towards Herring who was in a childish awe at having been pulled through the air in such an outlandish, fantastical manner. Seeing that he was a lost cause, Redlette nudged him as she offered Katie the brightest smile she could. “Yup, we’re okay! Thanks, man!”

“Oh, yeah… thanks.” Herring glanced back at the beast, seeing it scan the premises with its nose. Their reprieve was once again only temporary. But even so, there was something lingering in his mind that took priority over escape. “May I ask… Why’d you come back for us? I mean, you coulda just fled and been alright.”

“Herring!” This time Redlette’s nudge was much harsher—more of an elbow. “Not everyone has an ulterior motive. Some people help just to be helpful.”

In response to Redlette’s proclamation of her positive ethos, Katie flustered and began stammering to herself. There was a weird tension as she averted her eyes, unable to look Redlette in the face. “Well…”

“Eh?” Redlette cocked her head.

“There’s a lot of reasons why I wanted to help you out, and simply wanting to is definitely one…” Katie started, letting her gaze flicker back and forth between a worn out Herring and the quickly recovering beast. Then, in a final breath, she shuttered as she burst out an explanation. “But if I were to say a single one… I… I just didn’t want Herring to yell at me again!”

“Eh?!” This time both Herring and Redlette responded in unison, blinking in bewilderment. Then, as if the dam of their shock broke, Herring chuckled to himself and Redlette broke out into a hearty guffaw, causing Katie to grow flush and stammer once more. In the midst of chaos, they found a single moment of solidarity… at Katie’s expense. Her innocence had lifted their

“A-Anyways, I think we should probably get going!” Katie desperately searched for a means to change the conversation away from her. “It’s almost recovered. We really need to run!”

“Pffft… pffft…” Redlette’s mouth sputtered as she tried to bite back her laughing, “ Yup… Yup you’re right. We needa get out of here.”

“Mhm.” Herring nodded along. “But still, are you sure we can?”

“Just leave it to me! I’ll get you two to safety, I swear.” Shaking off her embarrassment, Katie firmly grasped onto her staff, a renewed confidence apparent in the way she stood.

However, deep within the depths of her confidence, was a false expression. Herring could tell as someone who frequently lied to himself. She wasn’t sure she could really help them, and as she spoke, he caught her determined grin slip into a trembling lip and anxiously clenched teeth. She was just as nervous as he was, despite it not being her own life on the line. Herring would just have trust that she could save them.

Following Katie’s lead, the three leapt out of the hole, immediately garnering the beast’s attention. In a bellow that shattered the rocky spike it’d created from its earlier attack, the beast kicked its back legs, getting ready to charge at them.

“Fleet-footed… Fleet-footed… Fleet-footed…!” In this moment, Katie muttered something under her breath. As if responding to her, a pastel yellow light circled everyone’s feet, spiraling up their legs before dissipating.

Not able to wait and see what she’d done, Redlette and Herring took off together again. This time they appeared to be speeding along somewhat faster. Even without help, Herring was dashing forward at the speed that Redlette could on her own. So, of course, Redlette was moving even quicker as she grabbed hold of him once more and tugged him behind her.

Working to catch up to them, Katie readied her staff once more, this time shouting a spell between gasps of breath and desperate stumbles. Nearly drowned out by another roar from the soon encroaching beast, she chanted, “Lighthearted! Lighthearted! Lighthearted…!”

Waves of pastel pink light emerged from a shake of the staff, cresting and flowing as they permeated the air like an aurora before surrounding Herring and Redlette in a pink aura and bursting into a shower of opal sparkles. Then, once it disappeared from around them, the same aura made contact with Katie as she was now caught up with them.

At the spell’s conclusion, they found themselves lighter on their feet, as if the literal weight of the world was lifted from them. Only able to follow after Redlette, Herring wracked his mind. Fleet-footed must be a speed increasing spell— given its name, it may only be for running away from things. That other one she called out, “Lighthearted…” Perhaps it’s something that diminishes the effect of gravity on people, decreasing the amount of wear we’d get from running and further improving our stride. Either way, they both seem to be support spells to help us run away from things… Actual spells…

They were now nearly keeping pace with the beast as they ran. It was almost as if it was moving more sluggishly as they sped around quicker than they had been. It was still gaining on them, though slowly, but at the very least they’d make it to the treeline without trouble. After that, it was anyone’s game. They’d just have to hope there was some sort of grand plan Katie had to keep them alive.

“For someone so wishy-washy…” Herring whispered under his breath, now speaking out loud as he ran away as if it was second nature. In this one day, he’d nearly tripled the amount he’d sprinted in over two years. Adrenaline was a remarkable thing… and so was Redlette.

Her keen ears picking up on Herring’s inner monologue, Redlette looked back at him with an inquiring glance. “You say something?”

“Hm?” As they bounded over what was a larger than average gap of two footprints—a gap they couldn’t have cleared if it wasn’t for Katie’s spell—Herring exhaled, realizing he’d begun thinking out loud. “I was just thinking… Katie’s surprisingly reliable.”

“Ain’t she?” Redlette nodded in agreement midair as she skidded to the ground, now just before the treeline. “We really lucked out, huh?

“Guess we did…!” Herring’s gaze trailed on Katie’s figure as she ran into the dense jungle before them. If it wasn’t for her, they would’ve been majorly screwed. It was only in the heat of the moment that Herring had come to appreciate this. She’d certainly redeemed herself from ditching them earlier.

Dashing into the jungle, the canopy now covered them as the beast’s monstrous footsteps rattled their bones with its close proximity. It was hot on their heels. Sure enough, right as they’d reached the once more jungle-covered area, the beast had caught up to them. However, this time they had stuff to maneuver around.

Actually… As Herring ran he thought to himself, realizing that the surrounding jungle was different than previous. Namely, it was more massive and its trees were as thick as multiple buildings. While the others may have been comparable to redwoods, there were no trees as huge as these back on Earth. It was something that existed solely in the worlds of fantasy, typically as a… Is this the city?!

Herring broke his gaze from watching his step, trusting Redlette to guide him along, and looked up in the air as they weaved around a tree to dodge one of the beast’s strikes. Katie wasn’t running alongside them, but instead standing and waving where they were meant to be going.

Far above Herring, he made out what looked to be an intricate network of vines, wooden aqueducts, bright balls of light, and swaying bridges that spanned between what appeared to be treetop patios. Around the patios more bulbous bell-bellied birds flew in a frenzy, ringing out like a warning to those in the area. This had to be it. The half-elven capital that Katie called Beloveil Canopy. After one hell of a long day, they’d finally made it, just as it was nearing the edge of night.

Now all they had to do was escape.

Dodging around tree after tree, Herring and Redlette chased after Katie as she led them to point after point like a guide post for them to follow. It was after several minutes of intensive dodging that they reached what could only be their destination.

Before them was a tree larger and thicker than any other. It towered far into the air as the hub for all the vines, aqueducts, and bridges that populated the city. This must’ve been the main tree.

As soon as Katie had arrived there, she grabbed onto a firm, green vine that was dangling down from a pulley on the tree. In an instant, the vine retracted and she was sent flying up into the air until she reached a large patio above them.

I see… so that’s how you get up. Herring thought to himself, drawing his conclusions as he and Redlette arrived by the tree. They rushed towards its trunk only to realize that there were no remaining vines, and worse yet, the beast was directly upon them. “Shit! Is it one at a time?!”

Herring came to this realization as the beast swung its massive tail towards them. Redlette swiftly forced him to duck, allowing it to strike the tree trunk in a shower of splinters. It was clear by how gashed up the trunk was already that this wasn’t the first time the beast had been there.

“Welp, that was close!” Redlette mused while crouching in the mud, unperturbed. To her, this was as much of a game as it was life or death— whereas for Herring it was definitely leaning towards the latter side of the scale.

When the beast withdrew its tail and raised its head, it squared off against them. Now they were eye to eye, finally facing each other for the first time. Its beating red pupils shot between both Herring and Redlette as it licked its jaw before bringing it down on them. Thanks to its slower movements than before, Redlette was easily able to tug Herring along as she sprinted under the beast, reappearing at the end of its tail.

“Alright, this is it!” She declared, a daring grin emerging on her face.

“This is what, exactly?”

“All or nothing! Hold on for dear life, my friend! Because we’re going up!”