The Guardians, joined by Festelda, congregated near the Landing Room the following morning. Spring was in full swing, and the Designer had deemed the group prepared to embark on their journey. Brenloru had apologized profusely to Festelda for his harsh words during their assembly with the Designer; regarding the fate of the badger. She was quick to forgive the moose, as she now had bigger issues than insubordination clouding her mind.

Reblex stood near a corner wearing a grim expression. While Brenloru had Dahj distracted in consultation regarding various combinations of medicinal herbs, Festelda approached the troubled ram.

“You know we need to do this,” she said lowly.

Reblex nodded, holding his tongue as he watched the moose fumble for flora within his pouch. Brenloru had months to perfect his craft, yet none of the residents trusted him to properly patch up a mere laceration.

“I know your judgement is clouded by what we discovered on that mountain,” Festelda mumbled to the ram. “But this is could dictate the future of herbivores.”

“Which is exactly why I’m participating…” Reblex muttered in return. “As if I have anything else to occupy my time.”

“Just… Watch the anger, okay? Unless absolutely necessary, it doesn’t help our cause,” Festelda said.

Dahj handed a handful of mixed plants back to Brenloru with a nod that lacked assurance. He turned to the pair and beckoned them towards the Landing room.

Dahj stumbled on damp soil after using the root transportation system to leave the Cedar Homestead. After spending months underground, dawn’s sunlight made him squint immediately. Fresh mountain air bit the insides of his nostrils and filled his lungs as he took a deep breath and straightened his posture. It felt wonderful after the musty, stale cave air.

Scanning the tree-littered valley below filled him with mixed emotions. What had once home now felt like dangerous territory to roam. He felt like prey constantly exuding a potent scent of blood throughout the very fields he had spent most his life. It was an odd experience to be traversing this land without a herd in tow. Despite his improved physical form, and blessings of the land, he felt powerless, and thus vulnerable.

The moment everyone had exited the tree, the party ducked their heads and moved east as quickly and quietly as possible, headed for the nearest tree line and brush cover. Reblex tailed behind, over-embellishing difficulties with his new posture; fearing it would be obvious to Brenloru and Dahj that this was not his first time leaving the Cedar Homestead.

“So, what’s first?” Reblex asked awkwardly after stumbling over rocks and roots, feigning an attempt to gain reliable control over his footing.

“Well, the plan is to head directly towards the area of fables the Designer described. We should be able to check a few places off our list there,” Dahj whispered back, keeping his posture low. His hunched back almost felt more comfortable in this position. A posture more familiar to him.

Brenloru led, frantically scanning the horizon with vibrant blue eyes for any signs of movement from a predator. Inhaling deeply through his long snout, he analyzed scents traveling downwind, but didn’t detect anything. He, too, was still getting used to the exposure of fresh forest air. The pleasure of it was slightly intoxicating, distracting him from the task at hand.

“The cave I suggested is a little out of the way,” Brenloru said over his shoulder. “We will visit it last, on our way back home.”

Dahj made eye contact and nodded in agreement.

Exposed granite rocks streaked in white jutted out of the soil, surrounded by rigid sagebrush. The first wave of blue, white, purple and yellow wildflowers was triumphantly scattered throughout the gradual hillside, solidifying the feeling of spring. Festelda quickly picked a forget-me-not and tucked it behind her ear as she scurried behind the Guardians.

***

Traveling south east as quickly, and inconspicuously as possible during daylight hours, the Guardians covered as much ground as their bodies would allow, infrequently communicating and seldomly taking breaks. Eventually, the sky burned red as the sun set behind the western mountain range. Brenloru declared they would stop in the current forest as their first resting place. Dahj grazed briefly, never looking directly down at his food. Even while chewing, his eyes darted back and forth, covering one hundred and eighty degrees in front of him.

Festelda carried a handful of nuts and seeds, popping one in her mouth at a time as she casually inspected the base of the trees surrounding them, forget-me-not drooping near her forehead. Many of the trees had patches of mosses soaked in rainwater climbing up their rough bark. Beads of water collected at the end of tiny sprouts within the moss before dripping to the soil below. Lichen spotted various large rocks. Although colorful, the plant resembled a patchy skin infection – quickly spreading with the intention of blanketing the boulders entirely.

Festelda stopped dead in her tracks when a series of thin vines that sprawled across the forest floor caught her attention. The vines climbed the bark of surrounding trees and wove over rocks. Leaves in groups of threes sprouted along the sprawling vines.

“Guys, here. Check this out,” Festelda said. “This, is poison ivy.”

The three Guardians approached the tree, Dahj still occasionally glancing over his shoulder.

“It’s what I use for my paralysis potion,” she continued, using a long branch to delicately lift one of the leaves from a safe distance. “Oils excreted from the leaves cause extreme irritation to the skin, even in small doses. However, when concentrated, it can completely debilitate a large animal on contact, or even kill if consumed.”

“Great, so, you wanna grab some before we move on tomorrow?” Reblex asked dismissively.

“I mean, sure, but…” her lower jaw fell open as she looked around. The dominating presence of the vine over the forest floor filled her with dread.

“I had no idea it was spreading this quickly,” Festelda continued, feeling paralyzed without even touching the plant. “This is an invasive species, created by the queen of the carnivores. It was a malicious project of hers after she and the Designer went their separate ways. It is meant to spread quickly, blanketing and strangling native species. I thought I would be able to harvest and utilize small patches of it I found on our journey, but I am shocked to find that it has managed to spread on this scale.”

“So, how do we get rid of the stuff?” Dahj inquired.

“Well, experimenting with various oils and leaves I have collected over time, I have developed a counter toxin.” She rummaged through a pouch at her side. “However, I haven’t been able to test it on such an intricate vine network yet. If I can locate the roots…” Tiptoeing to safe areas between the woven vines, she followed the largest ones to multiple locations of main roots. Keeping her eyes fixed on the exact spot, she procured a small vial from her waist pouch made of woven, dried grasses.

“This should do it,” she said, sprinkling a fine powder over vines that led to a root mass.

Almost instantaneously, the leaves of the toxic plant withered, and the vines retreated from their encroachment up the nearest tree. Leaves curled and turned black before disintegrating into the ground the network had spread across. Returning to the earth, the plant’s resources were recycled back into the soil to be used for something more deserving of life.

“It will take a little time to finish it off, but I’m glad to see positive results. These strangling plants have no place here,” Festelda claimed as the vines withered and died with a light rustle.

Secretly, she too was surprised by the results, but showed only confidence as she tucked the vials containing the counter toxin back into her hip pouches.

Reblex kicked dead, shriveled vines to the side, exposing moist soil below that had not seen the light of day in some time.

Dahj, Brenloru, and Reblex each picked different places against rocks or trees to bed for the night, allowing leaves and roots to blanket them. They each blended in with their surroundings as they were covered completely. Festelda took advantage of a separate ivy plant to harvest oils from before scurrying up a tree to sleep for the night.