"What was that?" Tanner mutters.

  Moments ago there was a strange popping noise. It sounded like it came from all around us, and since then the forest has grown eerily quiet. The sound of bugs chirping and buzzing has vanished. It must be the work of whatever devil created this place.

  "Something bad. Let's not stick around and find out."

  Billy and Tanner follow me deeper into the forested section of Green Valley. The trees here look a bit like oak, but their gnarled shapes aren't familiar to any of us. Thick twisting roots grow in tangled knots on the forest floor. The canopy of branches above us is dense enough that light has trouble getting through. The air is humid and ripe with the smell of decaying greenery.

  Without Henry, I fear this forest will get us quite lost. We're lucky the dungeon isn't very big. I can't imagine what we would do if the forest here was anywhere near the size of the forests around Daywark.

  "Are those spider webs?"

  I glance over at Tanner to see he's looking up above us. There's a thick layer of webbing covering the trees here. I didn't even notice it until Tanner pointed it out. Am I losing my edge?

  "Let's keep moving. We don't want to find out what made those webs."

  "Yes, Captain Dirk!"

  With the two boys in tow, I trek deeper into the forest. The scent of decaying plant matter is thicker as we walk. The spider webs grow more numerous at times, then recede without any notable pattern. Multiple times I swear I see movement in the trees--but I can never say for certain what might be up there.

  My boot hits solid stone rather than soft soil as I step forward. My brows furrow in confusion as I look down to see stone tiles mixed into the dirt here. Tanner and Billy notice I've stopped.

  "What is it, Captain?"

  "There's something here. Look around for anything artificial."

  We spread out. Tanner looks toward the edges of the webbed canopy. My own path has me trailing those tiles sticking up out of the mud. Billy wanders off behind a particularly wide tree. There's odd divots in the mud--four little indentations, in small groups. I'm not sure what kind of animal leaves a foot print like this.

  "Captain, I found something!" Billy shouts.

  I leave behind the strange footprints and move around the tree to find Billy standing in front of an eerily familiar door. The thing is just as big as the door we entered to get into the dungeon, and made of the same grey stone. This door is closed, and its mural is different.

  Carved into this door is a forest. The trees look massive, tiny four legged animals resembling deer are carved into the picture to help show the scale of the forest. Little buildings are attached to some of the trees’ upper branches. Some trees have faces, their branches resembling arms.

  "Is this what we were looking for, Captain Dirk?"

  I'm not sure what to think. This door is a lot like the one we entered to get into the dungeon, so does that mean this door is the same? I don't see any obvious way to open it. No handles, no seams, nothing. Maybe if we brought tools we could break it open to see what's beyond it.

  "Captain! H-Help!"

  Tanner's voice sounds farther away than it should be. Billy and I both sprint toward the sound. We hop over roots and duck under branches. Tanner is much farther away than he should be--and I can hear him screaming.

  The sounds of struggle are suddenly behind us. Billy nearly falls flat on his face, but I simply turn around and start looking for the source of the noise. Then I see it--above us. Two spiders the size of Billy are holding Tanner like he's a chew toy. They're fighting over him, one tugging on his thigh with its fangs while the other has ahold of his arm. Tanner has passed out.

  "Shit! Billy, hand me the crossbow!"

  "Yes Captain!"

  Billy quickly gives me the crossbow and bolts. I load the thing as fast as I can, but I'm not as adept with it as Henry was. Once loaded I aim up at the spider with a hold on Tanner's arm. I fire, and the bolt lands true. The spider's eye is stabbed clean through--and it drops Tanner.

  The arachnid raises its arms and I hear a scraping hissing sound, the thing's face bleeds as it postures down at me. I start loading another crossbow bolt.

  "C-Captain, there are more of them!"

  A quick glance over my shoulder confirms Billy's warning. There aren't just a few more coming, and unlike the hawks and toads these things are all coming at us at once. These things are in the double digits.

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  I toss the crossbow to the ground before drawing my blade. We can't possibly rescue Tanner without getting overrun by these swarmers. Billy is a bit slower to get his weapon held at the ready, but he manages it before the first of the spiders are on us.

  The first spiders to attack descend on Billy as a group of three. I witness him cut one’s leg, before the other two make him stumble back. There are more on the way--I can't help him, not when I have three of the eight legged things preying on me already.

  One spider leaps at me with its fangs bared, but I'm quick to slash at its face. Unfortunately the stubborn thing flinches back before I can cut it too deeply. The other two join their injured friend to form a circle around me. They take turns attempting to bite at me. Each time I cut and stab, my blade moving fluidly around my body.

  This is a battle of endurance, and we're too outnumbered to win.

  "Retreat! We can't beat them!"

  I'm not sure if my orders reach Billy's ears or not. There's no time to check, as I have to make my escape. One spider to my rear dives for me. I take the opening, and slice it across the belly. With the gap in the encirclement I take my chance and run for it.

  The forest' gnarled trees are far more sinister when you're in a hurry. My shins often impact knotted root clusters as I stumble my way forward. Branches scratch at my clothes and skin like grasping claws. The shaded woods are disorienting, my sense of direction completely failing me.

  Eventually my stamina runs out. I trip over a root and fall onto my hands and knees, dirt staining my body. The forest around me is quiet. My wheezing breaths are the only sound. I've managed to get away from those spiders, somehow.

  A few minutes go by as I drag myself into a sitting position. I see no sign of Billy, nor Tanner.

  ~

  Carter roars like a beast as the first of the great hawks swoop down to attack. His sword moves through the air like a club, and two birds are turned to a bloody pulp from the attack. The third bird manages to slip through. The hawk's talons scrape harmlessly off Carter's armor.

  "Hah! Stupid birds are hardly a challenge!"

  I doubt Carter would be so confident if it wasn't for his armor. I for one, would be shredded to ribbons if one of those big birds went for me. Lyric is holding his own despite having light leather armor--he's dodging the birds like he's dancing. It's a bit mesmerizing to watch him bend and duck just in the nick of time.

  "You shouldn't be so harsh, Carter--These birds resemble you in many ways."

  "What's that supposed to mean, Lyric?!"

  Another screeching hawk strikes at Carter's armored head. He grunts from the suddenness of the blow, but is unscathed. He catches another bird with the flat side of his sword as it tries to replicate the attack. Carter's brute strength means that the flat of his blade is just as dangerous as the edges.

  While Carter bludgeons his foes, Lyric uses his finesse to cull them. His bowstring twangs noisily as he fires arrow after arrow up at the birds who just failed to strike him. All of his arrows strike true, knocking the great hawks out of the sky.

  "It means you're quite dull yourself, my friend!" Lyric taunts.

  "You're lucky we're on the same side!"

  The screech of a hawk catches my attention. Not because it's unusual--there are dozens such shrieks around us--but because it's far closer sounding than the others. I glance up furtively, and much to my horror there's a particularly viscous pair of talons flying right at my face.

  Then the bird goes flying to the side with a sickening crunch. Chandra is standing beside me, shaking the tension out of her hand. I manage to smile gratefully despite almost getting my facial features rearranged.

  "Stay close to me, Petra."

  "R-Right!"

  I stick beside Chandra for the remainder of the battle. It doesn't last too long, as Carter and Lyric are running circles around the birds. When all is said and done there's a pile of dead hawks littering the field. I count a total of twenty six of them, all similar in shape and size.

  Carter is leaning on his sword as he pants. The fight took a good bit out of him. Lyric is breathing heavily too, but he's acting as if he isn't affected by the encounter. Chandra and I walk over to join the two men as they recuperate from the battle.

  "They were not joking- Ha- About these birds!" Carter remarks.

  My lips form a slight frown as I look around us. The smell of blood is thick in the air, and the population of these creatures likely won't be stable for some time after this massacre. Lyric strolls over to a particular corpse, and leans down to take a dead rabbit from it. It's the same rabbit he caught alive--the bird's talons sliced it to death.

  Then I realize something. We might have instigated this battle in the first place.

  "Lyric, did any of the great hawks attack us before you shot that one?"

  Tilting his head slightly, Lyric glances down at the dead bird. He leans back slightly for a moment. I can tell he's starting to connect the dots I've laid out for him. He shakes his head slowly as he admits that it didn't hurt him.

  "No. They only started trying to kill us after I shot this one."

  Carter scoffs "What's it matter? They were gonna attack us anyway!"

  "Actually, Carter, I think they wouldn't have bothered us."

  Carter squints at me like I've grown a second head. I guess he never considered the possibility of the great hawks being anything but mindless killing machines. Lyric and Chandra both seem to be taking me seriously, and look like they aren't sure how to feel about it.

  "If that's true, then why did the soldiers get attacked?"

  Chandra is asking the right questions. From what Rebecca told us, the reports mentioned the soldiers were assaulted by the great hawks after they approached the cliffs. Could there be a reason for that?

  "Let's check out the cliffs. I have a hunch."

  "Hm, I'll humor you."

  With that, Lyric starts moving toward the edge of the valley. The rest of us follow him as if he's the leader. Such a thing was never discussed. We just naturally followed Lyric's directives. I suppose that makes him our leader, doesn't it?

  The rocky valley's edge is quite imposing. Looking up, I catch sight of some twigs and branches arranged into dense woven baskets. Ah hah! That's why the soldiers were attacked, they were too close to the great hawk's nesting grounds!

  Wait, if they were attacked because they got too close to the nests... then doesn't that mean-

  "More birds incoming!" Chandra warns.

  "Really? I thought they'd learn their lesson by now."

  Lyric slots a new arrow into place. Looks like we aren't done killing great hawks just yet.