FROM: Gideon Fleetwood

  Maybe. Chloe, how do we get out of this one?

  FROM: Chloe

  You’ve got fire, right?

  FROM: Talbot Cardamen

  No! I’d highly advise against that. You don’t want to piss these guys off.

  FROM: Chloe

  I thought you were doing reconnaissance.

  [Talbot Cardamen is typing {…}]

  Chloe waited a minute for Talbot to finish his message. The little ellipsis danced every few seconds to indicate someone was creating a message.

  Another minute passed. Chloe took a deep breath. If there was one thing she hated on instant messaging systems, it was the three-dot feature. She couldn’t count the number of times she had hung on and waited for a boy to message her back while she just stared at those three little dots.

  One time, she had waited for over fifteen minutes before messaging the guy back and telling him to hurry up. He replied with a brief message saying that he had gotten distracted by the football game and hadn’t meant to leave her hanging, but now knowing that she had no chill, he was no longer interested.

  Another minute passed. Chloe’s frustration built.

  FROM: Chloe

  Talbot! Are you even typing anymore?

  [Talbot Cardamen is typing {…}]

  There was no reply. Just that same little ellipses.

  FROM: Gideon Fleetwood

  I don’t think he’s paying attention anymore.

  FROM: Chloe

  That’s not a good sign.

  FROM: Gideon Fleetwood

  So, what do we do? Do I use fire? It’s wood, after all.

  FROM: Chloe

  Nah, Talbot’s right. Remember, you’re in wood right now. Did you get the rest buff?

  FROM: Gideon Fleetwood

  Hell, yeah! A nice little bonus for being attacked by a friggin’ mushroom and then...well, whatever this is.

  [Talbot Cardamen is typing {…}]

  Chloe was about to reply when she saw the shapes pass again. Moving as quietly as she could on top of the crunching straw, she made her way to the end of the bed, peeking between the tiny gaps.

  She could see a few of them now, roaming around. A fire crackling not too far from her illuminated a beast so ripped and tall that she couldn’t quite believe what she was looking at.

  “Minotaurs,” she breathed.

  She used her Creature Identification to confirm what she thought she was seeing.

  Creature: Heartwood Minotaur (Lv 10)

  HP: 592

  Resistances: Ice, Dark, Close-range attacks

  Weaknesses: Fire, Light, Ranged attacks

  Chloe scanned through her notifications, unused to the amount of information she had just been given by her identification skill.

  Skill increased: Creature Identification (Lv 5)

  Congratulations on reaching level 5 in this skill. You’ll now be able to access the basic strengths and weaknesses of your foes, as well as additional nuggets of information that might be of use to you.

  Bonuses: +7 intelligence

  (NOTE: Increases in skill override any previous bonuses gained from the skill).

  She had seen minotaurs in Obsidian already, with Gideon having befriended one in Nauriel during their travel to the city created from the roots of an enormous enchanted tree. But these were different. Larger. More muscular. Their hair was dark, and their horns were decorated with a series of gold rings.

  The one nearest to her snorted and gave out a strange pulsing moo that sounded almost like laughter as it kicked a thick branch into the fire, causing the flame to dance,

  KF, what do you know about minotaurs?

  I know that if you want to see the whole town, you’ll want to consider taking the grand tour instead.

  Chloe took a moment to process this, not quite understanding what had just come out of KieraFreya’s mouth. Did you just make a joke?

  If you have to ask, I’ve failed.

  You don’t joke. Do you?

  I’m the Goddess of Retribution. I can do a lot of things. Don’t judge me by your standards.

  Chloe shrugged, a small snort of laughter coming from her nose. Fair enough.

  She waited in her crouched position for some time, studying the strange creatures as they roamed casually about. There seemed to be some kind of hierarchy to their world, but Chloe couldn’t quite figure it out, not being able to understand a single word that was said.

  A few times, she saw minotaurs emerge from the shadows with large piles of dry wood in their hands, which they placed near the fire to keep it burning. Chloe saw several minotaur women on the edges of the darkness, with small children who seemed to prefer running on all fours to standing up tall like their parents.

  All the while, Chloe checked her messages, chuckling to herself as Tag and Ben took it in turns to come back online, waking up in the same positions as Chloe and Gideon and catching up with the chat.

  FROM: Benjamin Summers

  We can take them, right? They’re not that big.

  FROM: Chloe

  By all means, if you want to try, then go ahead. We have no idea how many of them there even are.

  FROM: Benjamin Summers

  We have additional buffs! Might as well use them.

  FROM: Chloe

  Well, when you die and respawn miles from here, back in the Narlathian Desert, just know we won’t be waiting patiently for you here when you return.

  FROM: Gideon

  Damn. That’s a point. Not a whole lot of respawn points on this side of Obsidian, are there?

  FROM: Benjamin Summers

  Shit.

  FROM: Tag Murphy

  Any word from Jessie since the last?

  FROM: Benjamin Summers

  You’re kidding, right? What a stupid question. You’d be able to see the damn dialogue.

  FROM: Tag Murphy

  Good point. Could somebody please tell Talbot to finish his friggin’ message though, please?

  [Talbot Cardamen is typing {…}]

  Chloe laughed at Tag’s frustration, but her own returned when she saw the ellipsis again.

  She tried to distract herself by looking for an escape. If she had somehow made her way inside the tree, there had to be a way out. She had a sudden brainwave, remembering the one person they hadn’t heard from yet.

  Decaru? she thought. Decaru? Where the hell are you?

  A second later, she saw a faint glimmer of light from the back of her cocoon. Nothing more than the twinkling of a star.

  You’re incognito? She asked.

  I thought you’d appreciate someone watching over you.

  I’m more surprised that you’re not out there befriending the minotaurs.

  They are a strange breed, Decaru said. And their language is an interesting one to decipher.

  You can understand them? Chloe asked.

  You can understand anyone with a little patience. Body language is universal.

  Chloe’s eyebrows raised. But they have different bodies than us.

  But the heart is still the same.

  Can you tell me what they’re saying? Chloe wondered, crawling back to the little gaps in the tree. Three minotaurs stood beside each other around the fire, arms folded. They snorted and mooed at each other, taking it in turns as if they were in normal conversation.

  Interesting… Decaru said in Chloe’s head.

  What?

  It seems that you all will be seeing the shrine soon enough.

  Chloe gulped. What does that mean?

  KieraFreya butted in. Can we do less of the cryptic please, and more of the direct? In case you didn’t notice, we’re on a mission here. I’m sick of your beating around the bush when you could just give us the answer.

  And deny you the pleasure of the self-discovered journey? the shaman replied. Why would I do that?

  Chloe heard KieraFreya growl in frustration. She threw up her arm and batted toward the light, which immediately extinguished.

  Great job, Chloe said. You scared him off.

  It’ll take more than that to scare me off, Decaru thought, appearing again in front of Chloe’s face. Just remember, when the time comes, the knowledge you seek will be inside you all along. You have the beginnings of a powerful battle mage, Chloe, and the gods are in your favor. Just make sure your passion for your friend KieraFreya shrines through.

  Chloe rolled her eyes. Did you just make a pun?

  Decaru didn’t reply.

  Chloe sat staring through the cocoon, wondering what exactly the shaman meant, and how in the hell she was ever going to find a shrine in this ancient forest.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chloe was so deep into her thoughts when the minotaur appeared at her cocoon that at first, she didn’t notice. It wasn’t until the roots of the tree began to slide away, shrinking into the soil as if called back by its mama, that she turned and saw him standing there.

  “Hi,” she said simply, unsure what else to do.

  The minotaur crouched, its gigantic body filling the space where the roots had been. It looked at Chloe with dark, glimmering eyes for a minute before snorting and signaling with its head for Chloe to move.

  Chloe crawled out uncertainly. There were a few more of them now. The minotaurs watched in stillness as she clambered to her feet. Their shadows danced in the flames.

  Around her, she could see the wide trunks of the ancient trees, with walkways spiraling up to higher levels in their boughs. Along the walkways, more minotaurs stood and watched in utter stillness.

  Someone wheezed to her left. She turned and saw Gideon being led by a minotaur of his own. He looked disheveled and completely out of sorts.

  “Hey! Gid!” Chloe called, waving a hand, ignoring the strange look she got from the minotaur. She wasn’t sure why, but she felt like they wouldn’t hurt her.

  And she was right.

  The minotaur watched as its neighbor led Gideon along, then encouraged Chloe to follow them. All the while, the ones on the walkway watched in silence.

  They traveled into the thick darkness, the only visible light the glow of the mushrooms that had sent Chloe to sleep. Despite the uncertainty, she felt energized, her buff still showing a one-hour active window until the effects wore off.

  What a waste, she thought.

  The mushrooms glowed an electric blue, with small insects hovering around the ethereal light. Chloe began to wonder if the mushrooms that had put her to sleep were just coincidence, or if they were a bigger part of the minotaurs’ plan. Protection from enemies who might enter the forest.

  “Where are we going?” Chloe tried asking the minotaur, her Dark Vision helping her avoid tangles of roots and weeds below them. Gideon, however, was not so lucky, a couple of times falling onto his face and yelping as a bug found its way onto his skin.

  The minotaur ignored her.

  A little farther, and Chloe noticed that the mushrooms were growing closer together, lining up almost as if to direct them toward where they wanted to go. She could hear a faint humming and began to wonder what it could be, distracted momentarily as two more minotaurs emerged from the darkness with two more hostages in tow.

  Ben’s eyes lit up when he saw Chloe, a smile appearing on his face.

  Tag kept his head down, clearly miserable at the idea of being a captive and having to walk all this way.

  They rounded a corner, and Chloe heard more animal grunts. She squinted through the darkness and could make out the shapes of what looked like moss-covered boulders, only they were moving about slowly, waddling through the undergrowth.

  Although Chloe was sure that they would be beyond her field of power, she cast Creature Identification, excited to see information appear.

  Creature: Buffalorock (Lv 8)

  HP: 780

  Resistances: Fire, Dark, Close-range attacks, Ranged attacks

  Weaknesses: Ice, Light

  Chloe looked at the stats, unable to believe a level 8 creature could have such a large number of health points. She wondered what the buffalorocks were good for, and whether they were a part of this community. They seemed like gentle giants from afar, but what would happen if they got aggravated?

  Somewhere in the distance, she heard horses whinny and began to wonder what had happened to her party’s.

  Ben waved at Chloe. She shrugged her shoulders in a “what” gesture. Ben mimed texting on a phone.

  Chloe understood, pulling up her messages quickly, hoping she wouldn’t trip up as she multi-tasked.

  FROM: Benjamin Summers

  Where the hell are we going?

  FROM: Chloe

  Your guess is as good as mine.

  As she went to close her menu, she saw an unread message from the doc. She debated opening it now, then caught her foot and stumbled a few feet forward, almost finding her way into the minotaur’s back.

  The minotaur turned its head and growled at her.

  Chloe apologized. The humming was growing louder now. She thought she could pick out words among the noise, a strange song of guttural syllables and nasal exhales.

  And then they made it through the trees to where a bright green light filled a clearing in the forest.

  Chloe’s heart leaped as she saw that familiar green glow, the one that always preceded the acquisition of a piece of armor for KieraFreya. Her heart jumped into her throat.

  What are you getting so excited about? KieraFreya asked.

  Are you kidding me? Don’t you see that?

  KieraFreya sighed. Did you see this forest as a location on your map? There are other things in the world that glow green besides my armor, as much as I wish it were true.

  Chloe glowed red, feeling a little stupid at her assumption.

  So, what is it, then?

  Her question was answered as she approached the clearing. Dozens upon dozens of minotaurs in tribal paint sat in a perfect circle around a pot that glowed a luminous green in the center of the clearing. Steam billowed from the glowing liquid inside, which bubbled angrily. The minotaurs hummed and sang, the melody rhythmic, repetitive, and hypnotic.

  A little way beyond them, Chloe could just see a large canopied entrance leading into a hollow dug out of one of the ancient trees.

  “Great,” Chloe said. “A tribal ritual. Just what we needed.”

  The minotaur ignored her, all four of them coming together now, with the adventurers in tow.

  Gideon and Tag found their way to either side of Chloe, Ben on the other side of Gid.

  “Evening, gentlemen. Beautiful day for a reunion, huh?”

  Ben chuckled. “I always knew it would be us four, living and dying together. Notice how the other two have deserted us? Disgusting.”

  Tag glared at Ben. “Jessie won’t abandon us. You watch.”

  “What about Talbot?” Gid asked.

  Tag waved a hand. “Ah, he’s new. Screw him.” He looked around the clearing at all the minotaurs. “What do you think, KieraSlayers? Can we take them?”

  “As much as I appreciate your buy-in to my name.” Chloe side-glanced at Ben and enjoyed the wave of frustration that crossed his face, “these guys have some serious strength behind them. We need to think this through.”

  Gideon looked at them all incredulously. “Are you kidding me? You’re talking about this as though they’re not here.”

  “They can’t understand us,” Chloe said, speaking slowly and clearly toward her minotaur companion, now, “Can. You. Boo?”

  The minotaur ignored her, chanting alongside the others, its attention now on the pot in the center of the ring.

  Chloe tried to catch the minotaur’s eye and realized that none of them were watching their captives now. All of their attention had been taken by the song.

  Chloe cautiously spun on her heel. “Should we just...y’know, run?”

  Ben shrugged, turning too. Tag joined them. Gideon was slower on the uptake.

  I wouldn’t do that if I were you…

  Chloe clapped her hands to her ears. The voice that spoke was most unlike KieraFreya’s or the shaman’s. She twisted a finger in her ear, feeling as though she were hearing things. Having two voices in her head was bad enough, let alone if another was added.

  Chloe took a step, and the voice returned. I’m warning you, human.

  You don’t scare me, Chloe thought, gritting her teeth and beginning to sprint.

  Before she could take two steps, a powerful hand landed on her shoulder. She was picked up off the floor and cradled in the arms of her minotaur. Despite the situation, she found him surprisingly comfortable to lie on.

  He carried her back to the circle, placing her down in front of him, the boiling pot now just a few feet away. Chloe could feel its heat pulsing in waves.

  That’s better, don’t you think?

  Chloe looked around for the voice. The others must have heard it, too. She looked at the crowd of blank faces and could see nothing. When she saw movement coming from the hollow of the tree, she froze.

  An old woman…

  Well, hardly an old woman. Though she was only a quarter of the size of the minotaurs, she still sported the horns on her head, her face the shape of a cow’s. She walked with a gnarled tree branch in her hand, with a strange collection of gleaming balls decorating its tip. Wrinkles covered her face and body, right down to her hooves.

  She took her place in front of the pot and stared at its contents.

  You...you can talk to us? Chloe thought, sending her words to the woman.

  I can talk to you, she replied. The life force of the etheric contains many mysteries, and those among us who can harness its power can produce all sorts of magic. You think your destructive abilities are all there is in this life? Think of the armor you are wearing. The wisp that follows you. All of it is tied into the wondrous fabric of the etheric.

  Chloe was speechless. She hadn’t even opened her mouth, and this woman knew a thousand things about her. Chloe wondered who else out of the people she had encountered could work the magic of the etheric? How many other people knew her secrets without her knowing theirs?

  What do you want with us? Chloe asked, her eyes sliding to her comrades, who watched the old woman nervously.