The snow-white dryad got herself to her feet, a harrowing process without arms, after the men had left. Their laughter echoed through the darkened forest. Sticky masses of sap coated the ground and her torso as she stumbled forward, back the way she had come.

  The corners of Elijah’s vision blurred, and he knew immediately that the vision of this memory wanted him to follow her.

  The party followed her for a short distance where she collapsed with her back against a tree. The yellow sap-blood splattered against its bark. Her mouth opened and let forth a low, mournful wail.

  The forest stilled at the sound of the dryad’s cry. Realization dawned on Elijah as soon as the first dryads began appearing from the trees around her. A dryad with the same mottling of white and grey of the keeper was the first to appear. Much smaller, and Elijah guessed much younger.

  This pure-white dryad was the mother.

  Her children rushed to her side. Immediately tending to her wounds by pressing their bark-like flesh against hers. The wounds closed, but the arms did not regrow.

  The Keeper’s mouth opened, her voice different from before, much more like that of her sisters’ voices. “Mother, why did you have us hide? Look what they have done to you. We outnumbered them plenty, we could have won.”

  She shook her head at the young dryad. “No, my child.” Her voice was huskier than the others, and full of sorrow. “I am your mother; it is my responsibility to prevent harm. Not yours.”

  The light from her skin flared and then darkened, once more casting the world into its inky blackness. Then the dark lifted, and the party found themselves once more standing in the clearing. The orange globe still sat on the plinth, though it was dull now.

  Bo walked over to the orb, gently lifting it and wrapping it in his hands. No one spoke a word as he pulled it into his inventory.

  “I need to know more,” he whispered. “Let’s hurry and find the other two memories.”

  He was repressing his emotions, coming off as cold and calculating, but Elijah could hear it in his voice. The memory had evoked the same feelings in Bo that it had in Elijah, and looking around at his friends he could see that they all felt it too.

  “Right hand on right,” Nicholas repeated the directions they’d chosen. “That means we take the eastern exit.”

  Without another word, he headed towards the thicket of vines, his party close on his heels.

  Elijah could hear the muttered curses and pained grunts coming from Nicholas as they moved forward. He had to stop to be healed after only thirty paces, then again only twenty steps later.

  “Nicholas, let me take over. I can handle the pain for a bit,” Elijah suggested, rushing to Nicholas’ side. The man pushed him back and slowly stood to his feet.

  “No. I can handle it.” He pushed forward, grunting in pain with each lash of the vines.

  Elijah rushed forward, grabbing Nicholas by the collar and pulling him back.

  “Enough Nicholas! You don’t have to do this alone. We all saw the memory; we all want to find out what we can do for the mother. If anything.”

  “Elijah, I have to do this. You read the door. A path of hardship and suffering. I have to walk this path; that’s the only way we can complete this.”

  Elijah refused to let up. “Sasha, what are your mana reserves looking like right now?” He could see she was running low, but it was better for her to tell their party leader than for him to.

  She hung her head. “I’m down to twenty-seven mana.”

  Elijah nodded to her and then fixed Nicholas with a withering stare. “She’s got two more casts, three if we are lucky, before she’s drained. The door said: ‘A single tree does not make a forest.’ You can’t expect a single adventurer to make a party either.”

  Sasha put her hand on Nicholas’ shoulder. “It’s actually more effective if we all take a turn and I cast ‘Mass Heal’. It isn’t as strong as ‘Cure Wounds’, but spread out over all of us it’s more health regenerated per mana point spent.”

  “Damn, tactical thinking and math. I can only get so in love with you, Sasha,” Bo joked, stepping closer to the three of them. The laughter in his voice did little to quell the jealousy in Elijah’s heart.

  Sasha glared at him. “So far today I have had to smack both Elijah and Nicholas; don’t add yourself to that list, Bo.”

  Bo backed up with a smile plastered across his face.

  Elijah turned back towards Nicholas. “Let me take the next section until I hit half health. Then Bo, Benjamin, and finally Sasha. Then she can heal us up, and we can go again until we find the next memory.”

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  Nicholas looked over the rest of the party. He expected there to be pushback, for Bo, Benjamin, or even Sasha to argue against the pain. But each of them nodded their heads in agreement to Elijah’s plan.

  “Alright, fine,” Nicholas finally agreed, “But if it gets to be too much for you guys, just say so.”

  Elijah took the first watch. The pain was intense with each step as the vines lashed his skin. Every step was a slog, and he had to breathe deep to push forward.

  He refused to break. He had to stay strong for the party, and for Nicholas.

  There was almost a musical cadence to it as he walked.

  Step.

  Slash.

  Step.

  Repeat.

  He focused on the vision of the Mother. Her almost lyrical voice, playing out in the cadence of his steps. He imagined her screams behind him, and the soft melodic voice as she spoke to her children ahead of him.

  His mind drifted to his own mother. She’d have done the same for him that the dryad’s mother had done. And he’d have been just as ready to fight as the Keeper and her other children had been. His anger at the players who had tortured her wasn’t born of fury or hatred. It was born of love. He could see his own mother there, protecting her children---Elijah and his sisters.

  He almost lost himself in the rhythm. He was startled when someone grabbed his shoulder. His eyes flicked down to the health bar in the corner of his vision.

  Eighteen health points.

  He hadn’t realized how close he was too dying. He looked sheepishly at Bo, who had been the one to grab his shoulder.

  “Good job, Elijah, I’ve got it from here.” Bo’s voice was soft as he looked further down the pathway. Elijah hadn’t noticed while trapped in his own thoughts, but the leaves ahead had a dull purple hue. Like a light was being reflected from further within.

  Bo took a deep breath, steadying himself for what was to come next as he took his first step forward. The vines lashed out at him, and the rogue vanished into the shadows for a moment before reappearing. He’d instinctively activated his ‘Sneak’ skill.

  He turned back to look at the party and gave them a thumbs-up before continuing his trek.

  Elijah watched Bo’s health draining slowly. He had to go slower than either Nicholas or Elijah had gone. Unused to the pain that this game could inflict.

  When he finally dropped to only twenty health, he finally turned back. The purple light was shining clearly now.

  “Sorry, Benny, your turn.”

  The mage took up position at the front of the line. Elijah thought he saw a grin on the man’s face as he passed. Then he set off as fast as he could. His health plummeted, but he kept pressing on. There was a manic energy about him as he finally broke through the final vines and into the next clearing.

  It was a direct copy of the first clearing, except for the orb that floated above the plinth being purple instead of orange. That, and the first clearing didn’t have a dryad standing guard.

  This one, unlike all the dryads they had run into before, did not have the distinctively feminine form. It had broad shoulders and a flat chest.

  Its mouth opened, and it spoke to them in a husky masculine voice. “Welcome adventurers. Please rest and recover. Once you are sufficiently rested, you must challenge me to access the Mother’s next memory.”

  Nicholas moved forward and bowed to the creature, who bowed back in respect. It didn’t have a health bar or enemy tag above its head, but Elijah suspected it would appear once the fight started in earnest.

  “We don’t wish to hurt any of the Mother’s children. We are only here because we were given no choice by your sisters above. Is this to be a fight to the death?”

  The edges of the dryad’s lips curled slightly, but it didn’t close its too-wide mouth. “No, we shall not fight to the death. Merely to first blood.”

  Nicholas nodded his head and turned back to the party. “One versus one? Or does the entire party get involved?”

  “Honor shall dictate. I await the first move.” The creature’s mouth closed, and it nodded its head.

  Walking back over to the party, Nicholas’ face was severe. “I think I should take it one on one.”

  Elijah groaned at him. “Are you serious, Nicholas? Are you trying to get sent for a respawn? You saw the levels of all the other dryads we’ve encountered.”

  “I know, but I can tank a hit from it.” His gaze flickered up to their nametags, where their health was displayed. “It’ll be a bit until Sasha has enough mana to cast more than one or two mass heals. But it is only until first blood. I can tank a single hit from him.”

  Elijah nodded. He didn’t like this; he was the highest level and the party’s secondary tank. He should be the one handling this fight.

  Nicholas grinned at him. “And hey, if I fail, that just means you get to tell me you told me so.”

  Without waiting for a response, Nicholas turned again and drew his sword and shield. He approached the dryad. “What should I call you?”

  The creature’s tag appeared in the air, just as it spoke its name.

  [BOSS INFO]

  Mother’s Guardian (Level 50)

  HP: 250 / 250

  “I am the Mother’s Guardian. Tasked with defending her bones from threats, and those found unworthy. Have you chosen whether you shall fight me one versus one, or as a group?” The Guardian’s voice echoed, louder this time. Its presence commanded respect equal to its level.

  Elijah could see Nicholas’ grip tighten on his sword and shield. “I will face you one on one.”

  The Guardian’s mouth snapped shut, and it grinned. Elijah expected it to rush forward at Nicholas, to get in a quick strike before their fighter could react. Instead, it bowed.

  “You have proven yourself honorable in the eyes of the Mother. Her second memory is open to you now.” The Guardian began slowly descending into the ground, as if the ground were made of water.

  “Be warned,” the Guardian spoke before its head dropped below the surface of the ground. “I will await you at the third memory. When you arrive, I will challenge you again.”

  It vanished beneath the ground, leaving them with that ominous warning.

  “Well then. That went better than I hoped.” Nicholas let out a breath of relief as he approached the plinth.

  “He’s level fifty. That could have been very bad for you,” Bo shouted at him. “And we’re going to wind up having to fight him when we’re even more drained and tired at the third memory.”

  He shrugged his shoulders. “That is true, but it is also an issue for us to deal with later.”

  He reached out and took the purple orb into his hand. Just like last time, the whole world went black.