Trees rose to the heavens. Crystal approached one and placed a hand on it. The wood was rough, but she could feel a power in it. The tree was as thick as three royal guards and as tall as at least ten. Behind it, many more rose, reaching to the sky. Crystal could not see the end of the forest.

“Be careful in here,” Violet said. “There are gonna be bandits.” Under her breath, she added, “I hope they just don’t bother us.”

Crystal nodded but said nothing. She took a step away from the tree and began down the path. Violet followed behind her, her armor clanking with each step. The trees quickly engulfed them on all sides. Sunlight shone through the cracks in the top of the trees, giving just enough illumination to see. Shadows flickered in and out, and Crystal clenched her fists.

They travelled for several hours. From a hilltop a day away, they had seen the forest. It had stretched for ages to the west. Violet had estimated that it would take them roughly a week to traverse the woods. Crystal was beginning to hope that they might get through quicker.

To their left, a loud crack resonated through the woods. “What was that?” Crystal asked.

“Sounded like an axe hitting a tree,” Violet responded. Crystal gave her a quizzical look, and Violet shrugged. “I’ve hit a lot of trees.”

“Okay,” Crystal said, turning back to the path. “We should get going.”

They took a few paces forward when a loud curse came from the same direction. “What on earth?” Crystal asked.

“I don’t know,” Violet said. “Should we check it out? The lumberjack could be hurt.”

Crystal thought about it for a moment. She met Violet’s eyes and nodded slowly. They stepped off the path and made their way through the forest in the direction of the voice. Another loud crack sounded, and another voice let out a cry of surprise. Violet and Crystal sped up their pace.

In a small clearing, they found a group of large men and women. One man was on the ground holding his head while another was holding his leg. Two men and two women were focused on something they were surrounding. Crystal moved to the side and saw that they were looking at an old man.

A wave of anger washed over Crystal’s body. She felt it burn, forcing her to take a step forward. Violet grabbed Crystal’s arm, but before Violet could do anything, Crystal demanded, “What are you doing?”

The four men and women turned to her as the man holding his head stood up. All six of the vagabonds wore dingy clothing. Three of them, two women and one man, had long hair tied back with loose strands of cloth. Two of them had shaved heads, and one had unkempt hair that did not go down past his neck. All of them were holding short axes except the one still on the ground and one of the men towards Crystal’s left.

“Who are you?” the man with unkempt hair demanded, stepping forward.

“What are you doing to that man?” Crystal demanded in return.

The unkempt man smiled, a crooked smile that made Crystal shiver. “We ain’t doin’ nothin,’ Miss. We just helpin’ him along his way.”

Looking past the men, Crystal could see that the old man was backed up against a tree. An axe had been buried deep in the tree not more than a forearm’s length away from the old man’s head. The old man wore fairly nice traveling garments, but he did not seem shaken. In fact, he looked almost…interested?

“What does that axe have to do with ‘helping him along his way?’” Crystal asked, making eye contact with the unkempt man.

His grin faded away. “Leave us be, girl,” he ordered. “You ain’t wan’ ta see what’s gonna happen.” He smiled again. “Unless you’d like to be my entertainment this evening.”

The fire inside of her nearly erupted, but Crystal maintained her calm. She closed her eyes and felt for her magic. Once again, it seemed to rush in far faster than it had before. It flowed throughout her body, mixing with the heat of her anger and cooling it before reigniting moments later.

“Step away from the old man,” she demanded.

“Wot?” the unkempt man asked. “You want ta foight?”

Crystal directed the magic in her body to her hands. She felt them grow warm, and she pictured her spear. She remembered how it felt in her hands. Grabbing this memory, she forced her power into it. Her spear materialized in her hand, point forward, directed straight at the man’s chest.

“Step away,” Crystal demanded once more.