The elf tamer who had so passionately and intensely challenged Meebur for the role of guild leader, stood before us like a statue. One that radiated as much hatred as it did when masked to appear like the tamer known as Lock.

  Whatever that mask was, it lay on the floor of the dungeon by Leif’s feet spreading a feeling of grotesque power. I didn’t dare get any closer to it. However, the longer the mask was off of Leif’s face, the more I noticed her aura change. It was not just that she no longer looked and moved like Lock, but the feeling and energy that exuded from her was different. Where before there was an almost singular focus on fighting towards her goal, like the bloodlust of a predator such as the Harrowhawk, now she was a bit more like herself again. The intense and dedicated elf tamer whose dream it was to become the guild leader of Artemis. No longer the carnivorous animal who would claw their way through anything to get where they needed to go.

  Her eyes still have an emptiness in them though…like something is holding the real Leif back.

  But even so, I didn’t let my guard down. I felt as though the mask, whatever it was, had been the source of Leif’s unending power. Nothing was certain, though. All I had were questions.

  I coiled up, ready to pounce should I need to. But Frey placed his hatchling egg within the makeshift nest of my coiled up body, and walked slowly towards Leif. He held his hands out, showing they were free of weapons and ill will, and wrapped them around her in an embrace. Initially, she struggled against it, still prepared to fight her way out of this.

  What remained of Leif’s anger and intensity began to fade away, and she started quietly crying in Frey’s arms.

  “It’s ok,” he said, “you don’t have to fight anymore. Let it out. It’s all ok. Clear your mind. Clear…”

  Whatever had been plaguing Leif’s mind, whether it was the magical mask or something else, I could feel Frey’s embrace snap her back to reality. It was like a dark shadow faded from her, and all the damage and intensity of her experience hit her at once. Leif’s entire body seemed to seize up as her eyes went blank and she fainted into Frey’s arms.

  * * * *

  Frey laid Leif down on his bedroll, hastily bandaged her damaged hand, and tried to get her to drink some water. She was unconscious, but didn’t lay still for even a moment. For almost an hour she remained tense and twitching on the bedroll, sweating profusely and sporadically shrieking at an invisible enemy.

  Whatever had happened to her, it took time for it to fade away. When she finally opened her eyes, they looked bright again. Like there was life behind them once more.

  Frey quickly moved down to lift her up, and took the opportunity to get more water into her. She moved on instinct and emptied Frey’s canteen. After several deep breaths, I could see her slowly returning to her old self. Leif opened her eyes fully and looked up at Frey. He smiled down at her, and she…pushed him away.

  “What are you doing? I don’t know you! Get off!” She immediately winced in pain and grabbed her bandaged wrist. However, even through the pain, she was blushing. Leif crawled back against the wall.

  “Sorry! I was just trying to get you to, well, not die.” Frey said. “Which is pretty nice of me considering you almost killed us.”

  Leif went to say something, but stopped abruptly. Whatever embarrassment she felt from being held was quickly replaced with guilt for what had happened.

  “Did I…did I attack you?” Leif said, not looking at either of us. “Was that real?”

  Frey knelt fully down to be eye level with Leif and nodded his head. Then both he and I turned to look at the mask that still lay on the dungeon floor. Neither Frey nor I wanted to touch it.

  Someone could have easily walked right by it and not even notice it was there. It was a thin mask that looked to be made of the same material as the white walls of the dungeon. The only thing that made its presence known were the faint markings on it. Ones I had seen before on my bulk brace, and on the pack used by Nanna’s monster.

  Another stellar raiment? I thought and looked down at my bulk brace. It was also partially made of the pale fabric seen only in dungeons. How did she get something like that?

  Frey was looking between the mask and my brace as well.

  “I think there’s a few pieces to this story we’re missing…” he said and walked over to the mask. “Leif…what happened?”

  * * * *

  Leif, Frey, and I sat within the empty hallway and took a moment for her to explain what had allowed her to be here as Lock. Frey let her drink some more water from his spare canteen, we all took a few bites of fullfeed, and he checked in on his egg as well. I took the time to look at my stats, noting just how much energy it had taken to get to this point.

  Current HP = 989/1250

  Current EP = 325/780

  It was disheartening to see my EP get lower and not recover. The short break in the hallway made me feel better, but the long trek and lack of sleep had taken their toll. I wouldn’t begin recovering energy until I had a proper night’s sleep.

  Before Leif spoke, Frey took the mask and hid it in his bag. He wrapped it in a piece of cloth, not really wanting to touch it. Leif couldn’t even bear to look at it, knowing the dark power it had given her. And what she had done with it. How she had used Hodi to ambush Astrid, and attacked both her and later Violet relentlessly. We didn’t know anything about this mask, but it seemed to have given Leif the power to not just look like the tamer Lock, but to overpower others in their name. It was terrifying what she had done with it, and what more could have been done had Frey and I not stopped her.

  “Meebur will know what to do with it.” Frey said, all of us feeling a bit better now that it was packed away in his bag.

  “I barely remember getting it…” Leif said, but her voice trailed off.

  Though Frey had a million questions to ask about the mask (and I was grateful for that, as I wished I could ask Leif a bunch too), she initially only wanted to know what had happened to the others.

  “Are Astrid and Violet alright? What about Hodi? He’s just a kid, I didn’t mean to get him involved. But I just couldn’t help myself…like I had no choice in the matter.”

  Frey told her not to worry about Astrid, Violet, and the others. Thanks to their escape buttons, they were out of the dungeon. Gregory was likely looking after them right now.

  “I’m sure that, as we speak, they’re on their way up here to help us.” Frey said, and Leif started to relax a little more.

  Finally, after a long, deep breath, Leif felt ready to explain how all of this happened.

  “It all started when you came to this dungeon the first time.”

  “With Meebur and Astrid?” Frey asked.

  “Yes. You see, since I’m not a citizen of Olympia and I don’t technically have permission to be here, I’ve been camping outside Artemis for a long time now. Training and challenging Meebur sporadically when I can. All so I could become the guild leader one day.”

  “Why not try to find a way to join the guild and move up from within?” Frey asked.

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  “Because I want nothing to do with that guild!” She said and clenched her fist. “I only care about what’s within Artemis. I want…the tree.”

  “The…tree? At the center of the city?”

  “Yes! I wouldn’t expect a human to know this, but that is one of the daughter trees. My people worship them. And humans have no right to be anywhere near one! As guild leader, I could organize the effort to have that tree returned to the Country of Elves, where it belongs. Somehow. I don’t know how…I just…had to try something. Something so they would let me return too…I’ve been away from home for so long…”

  Leif went silent at the mention of her homeland. Frey didn’t ask anything further about it, and even if I could speak I wouldn’t have either. Her goal sounded impossible. However, she worked towards it with the desperation of someone who had no other choice. What painful path led her to this plan was clearly very personal and emotional. And none of our business.

  “So, what happened next?” Frey asked after a few quiet moments.

  “Well, I saw you and Meebur heading to the dungeon along the road. I thought it would be a good chance to challenge him again. When he might be weak and tired after an adventure. So, I followed you, very stealthily, and-”

  “We knew you were there actually.”

  “...what?”

  “Yeah, Meebur and I noticed you the first day and he said not to worry about it. That you were no threat.”

  Upon hearing this, I saw Leif become a shade of red I had only ever seen from a tomato.

  “No threat? Who does he think he is?!” Leif stood up and turned to look towards the boss room door nearby, where Meebur was on the other side waiting to fight the tamer who made it there. “Warden and I would have beaten you last time, but then you went and found a DEITY monster! How could I have predicted that? You got lucky, old man!”

  After yelling at the door to the boss room for a few more minutes, Leif finally calmed down and sat next to us again.

  “Anyway…when you left the dungeon, I aimed to ambush you on the return journey to Artemis. But that’s when someone approached me in the woods by the road. I didn’t even hear them coming. One minute I was preparing for battle next to the road, and the next minute I was surrounded by a grey and green cloak. Not long after, you all arrived to see me and my captor.”

  “Shiv.” Frey said, and I hissed under my breath at the mention of their name.

  “Yes. I never imagined the guild leader of Zephyr would appear. Let alone capture me as part of some plot to mess with Meebur. It was humiliating. To not only be used by Shiv, but also to have Meebur deny my challenge.”

  “That was shocking to all of us as well.”

  “Well, after that I just couldn’t stand to be near any of you for another minute. I ran into the woods. And that’s when things start to get confusing for me…”

  “Take your time. We’ll figure this out. From my perspective, I ran after you right away and found you curled up on the ground holding that…thing.” Frey nodded towards the mask that now sat wrapped in cloth in his bag. “Do you remember me approaching you?”

  “Yes…sort of. Everything is hazy at that point. I could kind of see everything that was happening, but it was like I no longer had control over my body. I remember someone had given me the mask, but not much else. The only thing that was crystal clear in my mind was the mission they gave me: use the mask to infiltrate the Artemis Guild and destroy it from within.”

  “Do you remember who it was?” Frey asked, sweating and rubbing his arm. I couldn’t blame him for being concerned.

  “No…I can’t remember their face. I can’t remember much of anything. But it must have been Shiv.”

  “You sound very certain of that.” Frey said.

  “Who else could it have been? They used me on the road to taunt Meebur, so why wouldn’t they use me again to destroy his guild? It had to have been Shiv.”

  While Frey and Leif spoke, discussing who could have been behind what happened to Leif, I found myself focusing on two things:

  One, how the white mask that was now in Frey’s bag reminded me of the very mask worn by the mysterious figure who had saved me from the Harrowhawk so long ago.

  And two, how Leif’s look of emptiness and lack of control reminded me of that dark lesson Gregory had taught us. About forced taming.

  I couldn’t communicate this to Frey or Leif, but my heart told me that she hadn’t just been given a dangerous stellar raiment. Leif had been forcibly tamed. And then made to act against her will. Lucky for us, she had somehow freed herself after I knocked the mask off and Frey spoke to her. She didn’t have the same empty and dark aura as before.

  This makes me that much more suspicious of Shiv. They had “joked” about forcibly taming Meebur after the guild leader meeting. What if they did exactly that to Leif? Was Shiv behind all of this? As a part of some plan to ruin Meeber and to get at me? But if Leif was tamed, then how was she able to free herself? I thought that was impossible?

  “I don’t understand how this was all put in motion. Or exactly what happened to you.” Frey said. “But I hope it doesn’t weigh on your heart too much. I understand going to great lengths to try and make things right in your life.”

  “Oh, please. There’s no way you could understand what I’ve been through!” Leif ripped off the damaged white cloak she was still wearing, revealing her leather armor below, and tried to hold back tears. “This was probably all my fault. I’ve been desperate to defeat Meebur and become the leader of this guild. All for my ridiculous plan. I know it’s crazy. How the hell would I move that tree? I can’t even win a monster battle! They told me I couldn’t come back without it though. Now I fear they gave me an impossible goal on purpose…just to keep me away. Still, I would have done anything to accomplish it…so I bet I was easy to manipulate. I don’t need to explain anything to you but…this was the only way I could get home. What would you know about losing your home?!”

  Frey sat silently for a moment, before putting a hand on Leif’s arm. She recoiled, gritting her teeth, and slapped Frey hard. But he didn’t budge, or flinch. He remained by her side, and once again placed a hand on her arm.

  “I do know. My parents were killed nearly ten years ago. I think about them all the time. If they were still alive, what would I be like? Where would I be? What would we be doing as a family? I’ll never get the answers to those questions.”

  Though neither Frey or Leif knew it, I also understood what it was like to lose your home. Thinking of the unknown life I had before coming here, and seeing the emotions on their faces, I wondered about those in my last life who I had yet to remember. Were there people who missed me? Would I ever see them again? The thought was powerful, and I realized I would do far worse things than Leif had done to get the answers to those questions

  As we all sat on the dungeon floor, overcome with grief, Frey seemed to realize the effect his words had had on us. He lifted me up onto his shoulders, and helped Leif to her feet. He smiled at us both.

  “You don’t have to tell me anything more. I know you need to be here, Leif. In Artemis. As much as Nid and I do. I came here hoping to find some piece of what I lost and…make things right.” Frey said, and Leif seemed to perk up ever so slightly. “You know what? There’s nothing in the rules that says we can’t challenge Meebur together. Let’s head into the boss room, and both defeat him and become apprentices!”

  “Are you serious?” She asked.

  “Sure, why not? Whatever spell that person put on you is gone now, and the mask is safely tucked away. Everyone else is probably fine with Gregory, and we need to get in there to tell Meebur everything anyway. Why don’t we surprise him with a joint attack! Then together, as apprentices, we can start making things right!”

  “You’re crazy…after all I’ve done, you want to help me?” Leif laughed to herself. “Ok, let’s do it!”

  I eagerly nodded on Frey’s shoulders, ecstatic that we would be moving forward together!

  Frey, Leif, and I prepped ourselves as best we could, and walked towards the nearby entrance to the boss room. With all of the other tamers out of the dungeon, and no golem in sight, this was the last challenge remaining.

  We stood in front of the boss room door, ready to challenge Meebur and win!

  Frey and Leif both placed their hands on the door, and swung it open with newfound vigor and determination. This was the moment that would change the rest of our lives. Whether Meebur had intended this to happen when he began these trials or not, it was the best outcome we could have hoped for under the circumstances. Whether he knew about the power Leif had been given, and set this up as a way to help her, I couldn’t say. But the trust I had in him felt as renewed as my desire to kick his butt!

  Together we would defeat my tamer, and take the next step towards building a new home!

  Frey stared into the room, seeing the familiar pale pink torches lighting up the white walls, and exclaimed, “Meebur, I hope you’re ready-”

  But the boss room was empty.

  There were no golems, no raiments, no sign of a struggle, nothing.

  If Meebur had been here, there was no evidence of it.

  I couldn’t communicate directly with Frey or Leif, but my worried expression told them all they needed to know.

  Something was very wrong.

  “Do you know anything about this?” Frey asked Leif. “Meebur was supposed to be here.”

  “No! Nothing. Although my memory is foggy, I’m certain I never reached the inside of this room before. This wasn’t my doing.”

  “We have to get out of here, and tell Gregory.” Frey said, and Leif nodded. In a series of odd and terrible situations, this was one too far.

  I tried to sense my tamer, to feel where he was and if he was ok. Though I couldn’t communicate with him directly, or see him on my Map, there had always been some kind of connection. Something that tugged at my mind when things were off. But as hard as I tried, I couldn’t feel a single fragment of Meebur.

  “You can’t sense anything, can you Nid?” Frey asked, and I shook my head. “No choice then. Let’s get out of here.”

  We wasted no time and used our escape buttons. Frey and Leif both had one, and there was no reason to delay for even a minute. Once we returned to the exterior of the dungeon and informed Gregory of Meebur’s disappearance, we could figure out what to do. Together, with the other apprentice candidates who had used their buttons to escape, we could rally and begin searching for our guild leader.

  Leif, Frey, and I burst into white light.

  We felt ourselves pulled to a new location. It wasn’t painful or uncomfortable, but was instead like jumping from one spot to another.

  I was thinking immediately of how to explain everything to Astrid quick enough for us to act, but felt confident Gregory and the others could help. If anything, they might already know more than we did.

  But when the white light dissipated, we didn’t appear outside the dungeon.

  We weren’t amongst friends and allies.

  We didn’t see the road that led back to our home in Artemis.

  The three of us appeared in the last place I ever wanted to be again.

  We were in…the forest of death.

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