As Mark and Hunter traveled deeper into the forest to hunt, they were being followed. When they first came across the Horned Pegasus, the Mercenary of the Forest and the Researcher of the Forest were spying on them from a distance. Hidden within the dense yet peaceful shrubbery, the two men sat in silence spying on their not-so-enemies from the village. They dressed similarly to the Hunter and the Surveyor, wearing animal hides and wielding handcrafted weapons. Mark and Hunter were clueless about their stalkers as they went about their adventure. They sat in silence as they listened to the duo, determined to figure out what they were doing.

“They aren’t actually considering going further, are they?” The Mercenary asked the Researcher. “I didn’t think they could be this stupid.”

The Researcher nodded his head and almost said something but stopped at the sight of the duo’s next actions. They watched Mark and Hunter trek deeper into the forest, leaving the two stalkers shocked yet unsurprised at the new development. They looked at each other with melancholic looks on their faces.

“They’re going to get themselves killed,” the Researcher finally said. He paused for a second before getting an idea. “Daniel, we could report them to the village, maybe that way the village will finally banish them.” He said excitedly.

“Maybe. All the newbie does is get into trouble, maybe this time we can convince the village that he doesn’t belong with us,” Daniel replied as he watched the duo disappear into the foliage. He paused for a few seconds before speaking again, “We should follow them, and see what mess they get into next.”

“Daniel are you crazy? What if we get killed out there?”

“Xavier we’ll be fine. If something happens we can blame them,” Daniel suggested calmly as he gestured towards the direction Mark and the Hunter left in.

“Alright, it’s your lead,” Xavier replied as they both stood back up.

Xavier and Daniel began to follow Mark and Hunter deeper into the forest ensuring they weren’t spotted. They followed at a small, yet unnoticeable distance away from the two, managing to stay hidden within the foliage. Daniel led as he carefully made sure not to step on any twigs, and silently instructed Xavier to step where he was stepping. They eventually reached the river where they sat and watched Mark and Hunter cross the river to find a better spot to hunt.

“There! They are crossing the river! We can head back to the village and report this,” Xavier whispered loudly to Daniel, pointing at the river in excitement.

“We should continue to follow them, we don’t have any concrete evidence yet. If we reported them now they could still manage to convince the village we were wrong,” Daniel argued in a serious tone, implying that this has happened many times before.

Xavier sighed before replying, “Fine, but you’re going first across the river.” Xavier pushed Daniel forward towards the river, causing him to stumble over. He turned around and looked back at Xavier unenthusiastically.

The two rolled up their clothes and started to cross the river, picking up their pace so they didn’t lose Mark or Hunter. While crossing the river, Daniel slipped on a slick rock and fell face-first into the river. Xavier, who was behind him, suppressed a laugh as Daniel slowly stood back up. Daniel could see Xavier holding in a laugh, and he responded with a very annoyed look on his face. Xavier coughed and acted like nothing had happened.

They continued through the river and quickly caught back up with Mark and Hunter, who had reached the clearing by now. The two hunters crouched down behind some bushes a small distance away from the clearing, as they watched as the duo interact with the creatures entering the clearing.

“How are they able to get the creatures to surround them like that?” Xavier pondered aloud. “They have to have some lure or…” At that moment before Xavier could finish his thought, the creatures scattered and ran towards the two hunters. The creatures started to run past them and some even came close to trampling them. They were startled and became distracted by the onslaught of creatures around them. When their confusion wore off and they looked back up, Mark and Hunter were gone.

“Shit, where did they go?” Daniel said as he scurried into the clearing. Xavier joined him and started to examine the clearing. He noticed the skeleton first but didn’t think much about it. The chaotic mess of tracks from the creatures entering and leaving the clearing made it difficult to discern human footprints. Even still, after looking around for a bit Daniel noticed the trail of footprints that Mark and Hunter had left behind.

Daniel waved Xavier over to get his attention so he could point out the footprints, “Here, they went this way. Let’s go before we lose them.”

They swiftly traveled through the forest, following the trail of footprints. Eventually, they reached the Elemental Province, to which they were taken aback. They reacted similarly to how Mark and Hunter did but kept their curiosity buried so they could find the duo. They snuck through the town, being weary of their surroundings. They stopped abruptly after hearing Mark and Hunter talking just up ahead at the entrance to the Elemental Temple. Xavier and Daniel remained silent as they listened to their conversation. Mark and Hunter walked into the temple while their stalkers watched them. After they had walked in, the two hunters ran closer to the temple and sat just outside of the entrance.

“This place is remarkable! Who knew a civilization of giants existed this far into the forest?” Xavier speculated, still in awe of the ancient overgrown ruins.

“It is a sight to behold, but we should still be careful. The raiders could be nearby,” Daniel responded grimly.

“I wouldn’t count on it, we would see more signs of life here. This place looks like it has been abandoned for quite some time now,” Xavier pointed out.

“That’s true,” Daniel responded, trying to keep an eye on the inside of the temple.

“It’s also been well over a year since the raids took place. The raiders are probably long gone raiding other villages in the area,” Xavier said, waving at Daniel so he could look in his direction as he spoke.

Daniel turned to Xavier to speak, “I’m still convinced that the newbie was in some way responsible for what happened.”

“Oh give it up, when we found him he was beaten up and bruised, there’s no…” Xavier tried to say before he was interrupted by the shockwave. The shockwave pushed its way past the two, knocking them off their feet. They laid on the ground for a second as they were left dazed and confused at what had just happened. Xavier then spoke erratically, “What the hell was that?”

Daniel tried to look back towards the entrance of the temple but was interrupted. Not long after the shockwave had passed the horde of mysterious creatures started flying from within the temple. Xavier and Daniel were caught by a group of creatures emerging. They spoke in the same unknown language that was unknown to Mark and the Elemental Wizard. Xavier started to run, and Daniel started to do the same. However, a group of mysterious creatures quickly snatched up the two and knocked them out before they could run away.

•

Xavier and Daniel were awakened by the sound of a book being slammed against a stone surface. It took them a second to realize what situation they have been put into. They were tied up against a large temple wall. They were located in a temple much smaller than the Elemental Temple, somewhere deeper in the forest. The Soul Taker and his mysterious army had gathered there to discuss their next plan of action. The temple resembled more of a crypt and had already been heavily damaged from the initial invasion many hundreds of years ago. A large stone tablet that was once attached to the wall was now collapsed on the floor of the temple and was being used as a table. The Soul Taker leaned against this table as the Tome of the Forest sprawled open on the cold stone tablet in front of him.

The Soul Taker violently flipped through the pages of the Tome with his long bony fingers. Under his decaying robe showed no signs of life, his bones suspended within the robe itself. The Soul Taker was alive at one point, but his body became too corrupted to be even able to distinguish him as a human. The Soul Taker’s spirit became clouded, and he became obsessed with trying to retrieve his lost power. With the Tome of the Forest in his possession, he desperately continued to search for a way to accomplish his goals. He eventually stopped on a page and examined it deeply.

“Aha! I found it!” The Soul Taker exclaimed as he tapped the page of the Tome.

He tore a piece off of his already dilapidated robe and gently set it in between the pages before he then slammed the Tome of the Forest shut. He placed the Tome in a pocket inside his robe, which was supported by the cloud of disease that surrounded him.

“I know where we are going next.” The Soul Taker told everyone, in a dark and menacing tone. He started to chuckle as a distant chatter rose from the mysterious army that stood in front of him. The Soul Taker’s army was greatly diverse. The throng of corrupted humanoids was a collection of sentient beings of the forest, along with creatures from beyond the mountain. Similar to the Soul Taker, they were all alive at some point during their existence but became corrupted by the actions of their ruler. Their skin was no longer skin, but rather, a cloud of tightly packed disease that covered the bones of the once lively creature.

The Soul Taker looked up at the restless army and noticed the two hunters tied up against the wall to his right. “Bring the prisoners to me.”

Xavier and Daniel heard this and tried to remove themselves from the wall by yanking on the ropes wrapped around them. They became surrounded by the mysterious creatures in an instant, who untied them from the wall and carried them to the Soul Taker. They were dropped to the ground and then immediately met with weapons pointed at their heads.

“Get up.” The Soul Taker told the hunters. They sat up and the Soul taker continues. “Why were you outside of the temple?”

Xavier and Daniel sat in silence, unable to answer the question the Soul Taker had just asked them. In a flash, the Soul Taker turned around pointing the sickle at Xavier’s neck, which caused him to tense up his body. “Answer the question or you lose the ability to breathe.”

“We were… uh… following the Hunter and the Surveyor,” Daniel spurted out, visibly concerned about the state of his friend. “They went into the temple first, we have no idea what they did while they were in there.”

“The Hunter and Surveyor you say,” the Soul Taker thought aloud casually. He took his sickle away from Xavier’s neck and started to pace.

Xavier became relaxed and rubbed the area on his neck that the sickle was next to. Daniel looked over and quietly asked him, “Are you alright?” To which Xavier nodded.

The Soul Taker then stopped pacing and asked, “Why were you following them?”

“Because we aren’t allowed in this part of the forest,” Xavier explained quickly. The Soul Taker turned around and stared at them menacingly. Xavier became startled and finished his explanation, “Our village wouldn’t let us cross the river and delve deeper into the forest. The Hunter and the Surveyor ignored the rule and crossed the river anyways. We followed them to see what they were doing.”

“Why would such a rule exist?” The Soul Taker asked, confused by Xavier’s response.

“Around a year ago our village was attacked by the Raiders, and after many casualties and people going missing, they established the rule to protect us,” Daniel answered, cutting Xavier off before he could answer. Xavier looked at Daniel confused by the intrusion, to which Daniel ignored him.

“The Raiders you say…” the Soul Taker trailed off as he started to pace the room again. After a few seconds, he stopped and looked back at the two hunters. “You may prove useful to me after all.” He commented in a casual, yet grim tone.

The Soul Taker walked over to the tablet being used as a table and reached into his robe for Tome of the Forest. He opened the Tome once again, setting it onto the tablet as he flipped through the pages. After flipping through a few sections of the book, he found the page he was looking for. He smiled, although it couldn’t be seen through his shadowy hood. He chuckled and looked back at the two hunters. Xavier and Daniel looked at each other with concerned looks on their faces, both predicting their fate.

“Now normally, I wouldn’t be able to corrupt you without the Mysterious Crystal. However, there is another way. Though it may be unorthodox and painful, it should still do the trick,” the Soul Taker disclosed in a slightly upbeat tone. He paused, then shut the Tome. “Hold them down.”

Xavier and Daniel started to get up to escape, but the Soul Taker’s army was too fast. Before they knew it they were being held to the ground by a cluster of the mysterious creatures. Struggling to get up, the hunters watched as the Soul Taker stood over them, holding a rusted sword and a rusted axe. The Soul Taker made an enchantment upon the blade of the sword, covering the blade with shadows. He then walked over to Daniel and stabbed him with the sword, deep into his chest.

“No!” Xavier yelped, longing for the chance to escape. Distracted by Daniel’s painful screams, The Soul Taker then cast the same enchantment onto the axe. He then stood over Xavier, who was struggling much more now. The Soul Taker then plunged the axe deep into Xavier’s abdomen. The creatures that held the hunters to the ground backed away, as Xavier and Daniel laid on the cold temple floor.

Not long after the Soul Taker had infected them, their bodies changed. The corruption spread throughout their bodies and they woke up, but not as the hunters they were before. Their diseased bodies were much stronger than they were before. After the transformation was complete, they removed the weapons from their bodies. They looked back at the Soul Taker and then kneeled on the temple floor to honor their new sultan.

•

Mark and Hunter were awakened by the Elemental Wizard as she pulled the lever in their dwelling to illuminate the room. They are startled, and the Hunter fell out of his hammock onto the cold stone floor.

“How did you sleep?” The Wizard asked them kindly.

“Not too bad actu…” Mark started to say.

“Don’t care,” the Wizard interrupted, not desiring their input. She continued in a prompt tone, “Now that you two have had your rest, we need to get a plan set so you two know what you are doing for once.”

Mark and Hunter groaned before begrudgingly grabbing their belongings to follow the Wizard. The Wizard lead them back through the catacombs of the Elemental Temple, using a broken tree branch as a crutch to help her walk. Mark and Hunter went up the stairwell first and helped the Wizard up the stairs as they climbed. After they reached the main chamber of the temple they walked up to the altar, which still had the stone tablet embedded within it.

The Wizard turned to Hunter and pulled a tattered scroll out of her robe. She unrolled the scroll and placed it on the altar. Depicted on the papyrus sprawled against the stone was a map of the forest, just as the Wizard had described it the day before. Scattered across the map were various symbols that depicted the many elemental regions of the forest. Text surrounded the map, most likely describing the various mythical areas of the forest.

The Wizard cleared her throat before speaking in a diligent manner, “The closest elemental region in the forest is where the old Light and Dark city-state was located. When the Soul Taker first attacked us, they came from this area. So chances are they made camp in the ruins.”

“So… we should avoid these areas as much as possible, right?” Mark asked sarcastically.

The Wizard responded, unfazed by Mark’s sarcasm, “Exactly, if you follow the river you can get to the Magical Kingdom, where the magic power tablet is located. I’m not sure if the Corruption has gotten to them first, but it’s our best chance to get another tablet before they do.” The Wizard rolled up the map and handed it to Hunter as she continued, “The tablet will most likely be protected in the castle, tell them the Elemental Wizard sent you, and if that doesn’t work use any means necessary to retrieve it.”

“That’s… promising,” Hunter commented worryingly. “They’re most likely not going to let us just take the tablet if it’s that well protected.”

The Wizard sighed and reached into her robe. She pulled out a vibrant and colorful gem and handed it to Hunter. The Hunter became fascinated by the colorful stone and started to examine it intensely.

“Take this, it’s a powerful gem that contains a gateway to the Elemental Spirit’s power. It will not only protect you but it will help you if you encounter corruption,” The Wizard foreshadowed.

“The Elemental Spirit?” Mark asked out of confusion, trying to catch a glimpse of the gem as Hunter was admiring its beauty.

The Wizard sighed and was visibly annoyed as she spoke, “I’m getting really tired of explaining things to you two.”

The Wizard pointed towards the large stone carving of the Elemental Spirit on the wall behind them. Hunter stopped admiring the gem to listen to the Wizard.

She spoke to the duo in her usual diligent tone, “That is the Elemental Spirit. Not in its physical form of course, but rather a rendition of it. It’s the spirit that gives the forest all of its elemental power. Every creature of the forest falls into its own portion, or slice, of the Elemental Spirit. The two of you resonate with the life powers of the forest. I resonate with the Elemental Spirit as a whole.”

“What about the corruption? Where do they resonate with the Elemental Spirit?” Hunter asked, staring up at the carving.

“They don’t. They are the outside force that’s power lies in a different source, the same source we locked away and the same source they are trying to get back.” The Wizard responded before ending the conversation. “Now enough of the questions. Go to the Magical Kingdom and retrieve their tablet.”

Mark and Hunter said their goodbyes and left the temple promptly, still partially unsure of the adventure that awaited them. As they exited the temple they walked past the remaining temples in the forest. Their understanding of the importance of this mission grew the more they observed the statues.

Once they were out of the temple they stopped and Mark said to Hunter with concern, “We really have no idea what we have gotten ourselves into.”

“True, but this is part of the fun. We may not know what we are doing at all, but we will figure it out.” Hunter responded positively.

Mark smiles and sighed with relief before speaking, “You really have a way of making everything seem a lot more relaxed than it actually is.” Mark paused awkwardly, “But that’s why I insisted we kept you in the village after the raids.”

“If it weren’t for you the village wouldn’t have accepted me and probably would have killed me,” Hunter responded graciously.

“You’re lucky, when we found you out there we assumed you were from another village that was raided,” Mark explained in a relaxed tone. “Although, there were some people who had doubts.”

“You mean Daniel?” Hunter started to rant. “He was so skeptical of me, and he never knew how to take a joke. He was always incredibly serious about everything, and he liked to drag Xavier around everywhere he went.”

“Yeah, he’s definitely someone I won’t miss,” Mark chuckled. He paused for a second before talking again, “We should keep going, we don’t want the Soul Taker to reach the Magical Kingdom before we do.”

“You’re right, the Wizard probably doesn’t trust us as it is, we shouldn’t keep her waiting,” Hunter said in a joking manner.

The two jumped down from the steps of the temple and started working their way out of the Elemental Province. The buildings were still decrepit and overgrown, yet the colors of the buildings shined more vividly than before. As they walked through the town they once again noticed the statues that lined the street, but this time understanding their significance. They exited the town and headed west towards the river. Mark used the map to navigate them through the forest, as Hunter became fascinated with the foliage around him. He picked up a flower and fastened it behind his ear, then noticed another beautiful flower close by. This continued as he started to wander away from Mark. Mark then turned around to ask Hunter something and saw that he is gone.

“Hunter! Where did you go?” Mark yelled irrationally into the depths of the forest. The only response he received was the sounds of the forest. Mark ran back trying to find Hunter. When he eventually did find Hunter, his hair was completely decorated with various colorful flowers. “What the hell are you doing?” Mark asked him in an annoyed tone, startling him in the process.

“Look, the gem is reacting to these flowers!” Hunter exclaimed excitedly. He held up the gem to the various flowers in his hair as it changed colors to match that of the flowers. The roses, violets, and carnations that decorated Hunter’s unkempt hair gave him a wild burst of color to contrast the animal hide he donned. The dainty display portrayed Hunter’s bubbly personality and served as a pleasant distraction from the primal attire he became accustomed to. Mark looked at Hunter with a very unenthusiastic look on his face.

“Are we going to continue on to find the magic region or are we going to play with flowers like children?” Mark told him sternly.

“Come on, lighten up a bit, try to make the best out of everything,” Hunter replied happily. He picked a vivid cerulean flower and handed it to Mark. Mark sighed and smiled at Hunter’s gift. He tied the flower to a notch in his bow and the duo continued their journey.

They reached the edge of the river and started to follow it west. They noticed the place they crossed originally but decided to not pay too much attention to it. They continued to venture forward along the edge of the river, with the Hunter continuously getting distracted by the flowers and foliage around him. As they passed by a wider portion of the river, Hunter heard a noise and looked up to see Mark getting knocked off his feet.

“What the hell?” Mark exclaimed, holding his face. He got back up and a fish jumped out of the water and slapped him in the face again. “Ack!”

One after another fish continued to jump out of the water and slap Mark. Hunter took out the Elemental Gem and pointed it in the direction of Mark. The gem changed color so it was a vibrant cobalt blue as the fish continued to assault Mark.

“Hunter! Don’t just stand there, help get these fish away from me!” Mark cried out in pain.

“The gem changed color when the fish appeared, it’s remarkable!” Hunter replied, distracted by the gem.

“Damnit Hunter put the gem away and use the spear to kill the fish!” Mark grabbed a rotted log to try and shield him from the fish, to which a fish jumped out and crushed the log into splinters. Hunter panicked then swiftly took out the spear and started to jab at the fish as they jumped out of the water. After killing a few the school of fish stopped jumping towards Mark and swam away. Hunter stood proudly as he held the many fish he killed.

“Hungry?” He asked Mark in a snarky tone. Mark, who was laying on the ground with small cuts all over his body, laughed slightly, before relaxing his body on the pebbly shore of the river.

•

Later in the day the two set camp with fish roasting over a fire. Hunter tended to Mark’s wounds, which were much more minor than Mark was implying. “Ouch! That’s way too tight Hunter.” Mark exclaimed as Hunter wrapped a bandage around his arm.

“Would you rather bleed out or deal with a little pain for a couple of days?” Hunter said in a condescending tone as he finished up the bandage.

“You could have helped out earlier you know, instead of being fascinated with a rock,” Mark told him. He sat up as Hunter put the bandages back into his bag.

“It’s not just ‘a rock.’ You and I both know that there is much more to this gem than either of us can understand. The more we learn about it and its properties the better we can use it,” Hunter remarked, slightly annoyed. He walked over to the fire and took two fish from the fire, and gave one to Mark. Mark took a bite from the fish before responding.

“I’m sorry, but the next time something like that happens you should respond quicker than you did,” Mark took another bite from the fish, impressed with Hunter’s cooking. “You really do know how to cook anything incredibly well.”

“Thank you, and I’m sorry too, I will get better at responding to situations like that,” Hunter apologized. He took a bite of the fish himself before he continued in a joking manner, “Also, the fish didn’t hurt as badly as you are implying, you should be fully healed in a few days. And it should take a day or so to reach the Magical Kingdom.”

The two continued to eat their fish and finished setting up camp. They set up hammocks against a couple of trees and laid down to rest for the night.

“I really don’t know what I would do without you, Hunter. Even though you can be difficult at times you can be incredibly kind and helpful to everyone.” Mark told Hunter in a delicate tone.

“I don’t know what I would do without you either, you’re the reason I’m still here and you do a good job at keeping me in check,” Hunter joked. The two smiled and went to sleep knowing their journey together has only just started.