Grigor was so much slower than the rest of them that Devin had to carry him, although neither of them enjoyed it. It took less than an hour to reach the Compass point. The sun was rising above the forest when they arrived.

  A lone hill poked from a small stretch of semi-flat land. It was bordered on the east by Pineleaf Forest and on the west by more hills. The open land was less than a kilometer wide here, though it widened further north.

  They could see the roof of the forest cabin from the hill. Anyone riding through the pass would be visible from the hill long before they could be a problem. The ground was so rocky that no sane calvary would try a charge through it. It was a great place for an ambush.

  Devin – Asha, what do you know about the cabin?

  Asha – It’s been empty as long as I can remember. They say a hunter used to live there.

  Devin – Who is they? How long has it been empty?

  Asha – Hmm. I’m not sure. It seems like something I heard. It’s strange, but I can’t remember where I heard it.

  Milo – Nodes do all sorts of trickery to stay hidden, including altering people’s memories. The only reason you can think about it now is because you are in a party with a node affinity.

  Devin – OK. Asha, I want you and Grigor to stay here and keep watch, so no one sneaks up on us.

  Asha – I can help. I used to live here, remember?

  Devin – I don’t want to leave Grigor unprotected. You stay with him.

  Grigor – I can take care of myself.

  Devin – Not against an enhanced assassin, you can’t.

  Casey has invited Devin and Milo to a Private Chat.

  Casey – I doubt any enhanced assassins will show up here, but I have a feeling you know that. Why don’t you want her to go with us?

  Devin – She’s only Copper level. All the node guardians have been Silver. Milo, you’re the one who told me that Coppers have no business fighting Silvers.

  Milo – While that’s true, we’ve already decided to include Coppers in this fight. How are they supposed to reach Silver if we never let them endanger themselves?

  Devin – We'll include them when we have to. Right now, we don’t. We’ve already beaten two of these guardians, and we can beat this one.

  Milo - I know I said Coppers shouldn’t fight Silvers, but that’s not what this is. This is Silvers going against a Silver with a Copper’s support. It’s an excellent opportunity for her to gain experience. And she may very well bring value to the fight.

  Devin – I’m the party leader, and I’m done talking about this. She stays out of the fight.

  Casey – Devin, that’s not an ideal way to make this decision.

  Devin – If she gets killed now, she’s useless to us.

  Casey – What if we tell her to stay here until we contact her through the Party Chat? That way she’ll be safe but available if we need her.

  Devin – That’s not … OK, fine. Nobody calls on her to help except me, though. Got it?

  Casey – If that’s how you want it, I guess that’s we’re doing.

  Devin has ended the Private Chat.

  Devin – All right, change of plans. Asha, you’re our reserve. You wait here and I’ll call you if we need you.

  Asha – Can I wait at the edge of the forest, at least?

  Devin – Whatever. Just don’t come rushing in unless we call.

  Asha – Yes, sir, boss. I won’t let you down, boss.

  They approached the cabin as quietly as they could with weapons drawn. Nothing jumped out at them and no trees animated. The roof of the old hunter’s cabin had collapsed. The walls survived, but they were covered with vines.

  “What now?” Devin said.

  “I don’t know,” Milo said.

  Devin looked at the cabin and shouted, “We’re here for the node, come out and give it up, or we’ll come in after you!”

  The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  “Well, that’s direct enough,” Milo said. His ears twitched. “Something’s moving in there.”

  A thudding sound came from inside the cabin, like someone had dropped a heavy object. A series of smaller thumps moved across the floor towards the door.

  “Get ready,” Devin said.

  The door opened and a hunched old man leaned out.

  “Well, well,” the old man said. “I ain’t had no visitors in a long while. I don’t want any trouble, now.”

  Casey stepped forward.

  “Sorry to bother you, good sir,” she said. “We’re ...”

  “What’d you say?” the man said. He cupped a hand over his ear.

  “I said, we’re here for the …”

  “Sorry, girl,” the man said. “My old ears don’t work like they used to. Why don’t you come inside my cabin and we’ll talk over a plate of yew squash.”

  “What the hell is yew squash?” Devin said.

  Devin heard creaking and a snap from behind him. He threw himself to the side an instant before a 20-meter-tall tree smashed down where he’d been standing.

  “Squash yew!” the old man said. He howled with laughter.

  “Trees and stupid puns?” Devin said. “You’ve got to be kidding me!”

  The old man laughed like a hyena on Adderall. His back straightened, and he stood two meters tall. He was no longer wrinkled – in fact, his skin looked like tree bark. His fingers morphed into tiny branches, and thorns sprouted from all over his body.

  Roots curled up from underneath Casey and grabbed her ankles. A potion appeared in her hand, and she poured a black liquid all over her legs. The roots slipped away, unable to get a grip.

  Casey uses Frictionless Oil (Silver) – This potion causes an area in a 2-square-meter radius to become frictionless. The alchemist is unaffected by the oil. Will not work on Silver-level clothing and armor.

  Devin charged the man, but had stop as a row of roots rose up between them. They waved at him like tentacles. He cursed and slashed at one with his knife. The others wound around him and latched onto his arms and legs.

  Devin’s Ability ‘Identify Opponent’ identified Summoned Roots.

  Summoned Roots (Enslaved Plants, Silver, hostile)

  Don’t blame the roots. They’d rather be soaking up water and nutrients for their trees right now. Unfortunately, they’re being controlled by some crazy old man. Whatever he’s doing to them, it’s also making them highly resistant to your pitiful weapons.

  Warning: These entities possess Silver-level magical damage resistance. Your current weapon can barely damage them. Oh, well!

  Milo raced in only to be swarmed by roots. He bit through one, but there was a sea of them separating him from Devin and the old man.

  “All my lovelies, come out and play!” the man shouted. “Intruders are in the forest, and your prince needs you!”

  “Careful!” Casey said. “He’s using a Life ability!”

  She flung a potion at the man, but he caught it with one of his root tentacles and tossed it aside.

  “Nice try!” the man shouted. “I’m rooting for you.”

  “Who the hell is this guy?” Devin said, dodging a root that tried to stab him in the eye.

  “It’s a what, not a who,” Milo said from underneath the pile of roots. He seemed unconcerned about his predicament. “This is some sort of evil spirit.”

  “I’m not evil!” the old man screamed. More roots piled onto Milo. “I’m a prince of the forest! You’re the usurpers, attacking an old man just because he has something you want. That’s evil!”

  Devin tuned him out.

  Devin – This is not going well. Anyone got any ideas?

  Asha – What are you fighting?

  Devin – Some crazy old man with bad puns and control over trees.

  Milo – It's an evil spirit of some kind.

  Asha – It might be the spirit of a druid who betrayed their oaths to this forest.

  Devin’s interface popped up a combat alert.

  Devin’s Ability ‘Identify Opponent’ identified Depraved Druid Spirit.

  Depraved Druid Spirit (Magical Creation, Silver, hostile)

  Ever met an evil druid? Well, this is worse. This is the ghost of an evil druid. This creature was once charged with protecting the Pineleaf Forest, but it failed so badly in its task that it was not only killed but returned as a hostile entity. Its goal of protecting the forest has shifted to killing any enhanced with node affinity who dare to approach. This guy isn’t a particularly strong fighter, but he’s hard to kill. Also, pretty much every plant within 20 meters or so is willing to die to protect him.

  Time really isn’t on your side here, so I’d suggest going for a quick kill. Good luck!

  Warning: This creature is incorporeal and cannot be harmed by normal weapons.

  Asha - You should be able to hurt him with uncorrupted wood, but to kill him, you need to find and destroy his phylactery. It’ll be in the form of a large seed or maybe even a living plant. It’ll be hidden and well protected, but close to the spirit.

  Devin – There's plenty of wood around.

  Asha – That'll all be corrupted. You need some from beyond its area of corruption.

  “My baby!” the druid screamed. “Where’s my baby? Come to papa!’

  An enormous crash shook the clearing as something massive pushed over trees on its way to the fight.

  “What the hell is that?” Devin said.

  “He used a dark Life ability to summon something,” Casey said. The expression on her face wasn’t pleasant to see.

  “Another one of those corrupted trees?” Devin said.

  “Allow me,” Milo said. Violet light flickered around him, then a party-wide combat alert appeared.

  Milo casts the spell ‘Detect Magic.’

  Druid Spirit’s Boost ‘Rotting Companion’ summoned an unknown plant-based minion.

  An enormous mass of vines and leaves flowed into the clearing like some kind of vegetative slug. It was cube-shaped, about three meters to a side, and moved on a layer of roots. Thorny vines sprouted from every side. Green goop dripped off the creature, and a slimy green trail reached behind it.

  “And they said my baby would never a-mound to anything!” the druid shouted.

  “Holy crap,” Devin said. “The puns are worse than the fight.”

  Devin’s Ability ‘Identify Opponent’ identified Undead Creeping Mound.

  Undead Creeping Mound (Unliving Plants, Silver, Hostile)

  Imagine spending all day pruning your yard only to have it all come to life and eat you. Well, you don’t have to imagine it anymore, because it’s happening to you! Its sap is acidic, its thorns are diseased, and if it swallows you, it will drain you dry. Consider yourself warned.

  Note: This entity is undead.

  “This entity is all mine!” Casey yelled. She charged at the mound, her hands flashing with light.

  Devin cursed. “Wait!” he shouted. He took a step after her.

  A root wrapped around his ankle and yanked. Devin crashed to the ground face-first. Before he could get up, the other roots had trussed him up like a caterpillar.

  The roots dragged him to the doorway and closed the way behind him. His friends would never be able to get to him now. They may as well have been on the moon. Devin struggled as the druid leered down at him.

  “You’re the one with the affinity, eh?” the druid said. “You’re a tasty little morsel. Once I’ve eaten you up, your friends won’t be able to touch me.”

  He reached down and grabbed Devin’s shoulder. A cold spread through him where the spirit touched him – a feeling like he’d never be warm again. He screamed.

  You are being life-drained by an evil spirit! I’d suggest that you do something about this quickly.

  Devin flailed around but got tangled up more as he grew weaker. This can’t be happening, he thought.