The three of them trudged their way back to the city gates. Plageiorath’s senses still took offense to the situation, yet Sanj and Morgue had gotten accustomed to the filth of the town. It was obvious that they very much disliked it, but they had already come to terms with the fact that there was nothing they could do at the moment. The same guard that greeted them as they entered the town was the one who dealt them their goodbyes. He had a questioning look on his face aimed at Sanj Harbillier, who was leaving along with the party, until Morgue spoke up and settled his curiosity.

“If you’re wondering why this former thief is with us, it’s because I paid his bail,” Morgue said.

“Why would you do a thing like that?” the guard asked, his curiosity turning to surprise.

“I figured I could at least give the kid a shot at a non-criminal way of life,” Morgue replied, “Besides, if my ideas of reforming him work out his skills may prove useful in the future.”

“That makes sense I guess,” the guard said, “Anyways thanks for stopping by our town. I know it isn’t nearly as great as the other cities of the empire, but we hope you all come back and visit soon.”

“We’ll be sure to stop by if we’re in the area again,” Morgue said. After that they all left the gates of Dregwood, each planning never to return. Once clear of the city and a good bit within the tree line, Plageiorath and Morgue decided to get a little better acquainted with their new friend. Morgue began with the first question, “So how did you end up in the jail, kid?”

“Nothing too big, it was a small detail of the score I told you about,” Sanj answered.

“So there really was some money buried on the other side of some river? I thought you just made that up so that Morgue wouldn’t hurt you,” Plageiorath said.

“There is! Well, it’s not exactly money…,” Sanj said.

“Then what is it?” Morgue asked, actually interested in what Sanj stole now.

“A couple of strange items from a rich guy that passed through town. I couldn’t identify what they exactly were, but they looked expensive to me. I took them right off the back of his carriage as it was leaving town,” Sanj answered.

“I was going to suggest that we get as far away from this town that is obviously forsaken by the gods, but it seems we have a slight change of plans. We’re going to retrieve those items,” Morgue said.

“Why would we do that?” Plageiorath asked.

“Yeah. I know that the gear could be worth a bit, but we all have our freedom now. Should we really risk getting caught for a couple of items that I ditched?” Sanj asked, hoping for a good answer.

“We will probably need some gold in order to get you guys some better gear. You can’t hunt criminals with no armor and just a couple of daggers, right?” Morgue replied.

“I guess that’s true,” Plageiorath said.

“That still doesn’t answer my question. If we get caught they’ll probably hang us! They won’t even allow us a trial!” Sanj exclaimed, trying to get both of his new companions to continue their way into the forest.

“Don’t worry. As long as you both stick with me there’s no chance of us getting arrested,” Morgue said, dismissing Sanj’s concerns with a wave of his hand. Morgue started moving to the West and the river that was about a mile away from the town. Plageiorath followed as soon as he started, while Sanj hesitated for a moment. He absolutely loathed the idea of staying in close proximity to Dregwood for any longer than they had to.

“Damnit,” Sanj muttered and let out a sigh before following halfheartedly. At least it would be safer to stay by Morgue and Plageiorath than to wander through the forest alone. If it didn’t take long to retrieve the gear, then they may even make it out of the land patrolled by the guards of Dregwood before sundown. After a few minutes of walking they came across the river. It was pitch black and about ten feet wide, with the water rushing rapidly towards the South.

“That’s strange,” Sanj said, “I don’t remember the water ever looking like that!”

“It is quite peculiar,” Morgue said while nodding in agreement, “I didn’t think the corruption would spread this far North so quickly.”

“What corruption?” Plageiorath asked.

“The water has been polluted with black ichor,” Morgue replied.

“Which means…?” Plageiorath asked.

“That a demon or devil bled further upstream somewhere,” Morgue answered.

“So we should probably move downstream as fast as we can? Alright. Let’s go!” Sanj said already moving South, only stopping when nobody turned to follow him. “Are you two coming?” Sanj asked when they both just stood there observing the river.

“It will get worse as you go farther South,” Morgue said, “Look at the trees surrounding the river in that direction.” That’s when Plageiorath woke from his thoughts and was able to tear his eyes away from the black water. When he looked towards Sanj he could immediately see what Morgue meant. The trees along the river were all rotted and diseased, their condition getting worse the further South they were. Infernal blood had corrupted them so much that even their shadows deepened, and some in the distance even appeared to have slight movement.

It was almost as if the shadows were… breathing. Plageiorath turned away from the scene, putting the thought out of his mind for now since it had to be an illusion. Shadows certainly can’t breathe now, can they? “How are we going to get across the river?” he asked Morgue, “It doesn’t seem wise to touch the river.”

“Easy,” Morgue replied and jumped across the river to the other side. He then walked a little ways away from the river, searching for a nice healthy tree that was large enough for their needs. When he found one that was about five feet in diameter, he wrapped his arms around it and attempted to wrench it out of the ground. After a few minutes of hard work, the strain on the roots became too much and the bigger ones snapped from the pressure. The tree came up with no problems after that, and Morgue walked back to where the boys were standing with the tree held firmly on his right shoulder.

“Just how strong are you!?” Plageiorath shouted at Morgue when they saw him coming back on the other side of the river. By this time Sanj was standing to his left watching for Morgue as well.

“Are you sure he isn’t the demon that infected the river?” Sanj whispered to Plageiorath. Plageiorath just shrugged in reply and they laughed it off, but Sanj’s laugh was filled with more nervousness than humour. Soon after that Morgue reached the edge of the river and laid the tree across it, letting out a sigh of exhaustion after setting it down. The tree was large enough to cover the gap with a few extra feet on either side. 

“Phew,” Morgue said while wiping the back of his hand across the forehead of his mask, “That was a bit heavier than expected. You two should be able to get across now. Just be careful not to fall in, because if you do I’m not wading in after you.” After hearing this, Plageiorath and Sanj clambered across the tree to the other side.

Plageiorath took special care not to slip as he went first and got across fairly easily. He only suffered a few minor scrapes from the branches. Sanj was much faster than Plageiorath yet a lot more reckless. He nearly fell into the river three times, making both Plageiorath and Morgue tense up the entire time that Sanj was rushing across. Although they both expected Sanj to fall in, he didn’t and made it through with the same amount of injury as Plageiorath. Except for tripping on a root at the end and falling face-first into the grass below.

“Ouch,” was all that Sanj said as his face was still smushed into the ground, which made the others laugh. After a couple of minutes they realized the Sanj had already turned over onto his back and was trying to wrench his leg free from the root that had so violently captured him. Watching his futile attempts for a few seconds was quite amusing, but Plageiorath decided to go over and cut him loose with his dagger. The dagger cut through the branches as if they were butter, a lot easier than the mushrooms for some reason. Sanj stood up and looked at the two of them angrily for laughing at him.

Morgue and Plageiorath ignored the looks for now. Instead of trying to anger him further Morgue said “So, where did you stash this valuable gear you love talking so much about?” At the mention of retrieving his treasure, Sanj appeared to lighten up quite a bit. He started leading them into the Northern forests, pointing out markers along the way. The path took a couple of hours to travel, with many twists and turns until they came to a small clearing.

The clearing wasn’t exactly clear though, as there was a massive goldish-brown tree in the center of it. “What is this?” Morgue and Plageiorath asked at the same time.

“It’s a Dreg tree,” Sanj said, “One of the few that remain.”

“What’s so different about it?” Plageiorath asked.

“It’s filled to the brim with magical energy,” Morgue replied, walking towards the tree and staring up at it with awe. The tree’s golden glow illuminated the cold, hard features of his mask and gave it a soft, warm look. 

“Yeah,” Sanj said, “How do you know? Are you a mage? Is that why you’re so strong?”

“I’m something of a mage,” Morgue answered, “And no, my strength does not come from a magical source.”

Sanj gave a confused look and then continued speaking, “I once read a book that told a legend of how the Dreg trees were created. It said that the god of magic once spilled his cup and this entire region was covered in his magical elixir. Some of the trees absorbed the flood of magical drink and became the first Dreg trees. They haven’t had any recorded offspring since they became Dreg trees and when we came, we harvested them for ourselves. They’re so rare now that people who can find one are said to have been guided by the gods.”

“That’s a lot of information to take in,” Plageiorath said.

“You’re right,” Sanj said, “Let’s go grab my stuff.” So the two of them walked over to the roots on the right side of the tree while Morgue continued to just stand there staring at it. Under one of the roots was a small hole. Sanj reached in and pulled out a sack full of items. “Got it!” he exclaimed, and led the way back to Morgue.

Morgue didn’t take his eyes off of the tree until Sanj and Plageiorath began to leave. Then he hurried to catch up to them. Having completed what they came to do, they set up camp in the forest close to the river and Morgue cooked lunch for the three of them. Nobody spoke until they finished eating. Morgue began with, “So what are we going to do now?”

Sanj said, “I’m all for leaving this place behind.”

“What!?” Plageiorath said with a look of surprise on his face, “If we just found one of the last remaining Dreg trees, shouldn’t we protect it?”

“No way,” Sanj replied, “Dreg trees only bring trouble, and have you forgotten that there’s a demon out here somewhere?”

“He has a good point,” Morgue jumped in, “Magic does tend to attract evil, and infernal creatures are no joke.”

“You’re taking his side?” Plageiorath said, “You were more amazed by the tree than any of us!”

“I’m not saying we can’t protect the tree,” Morgue said, “Actually I am saying that, but we can help it to protect itself.”

“How do we do that?” Sanj and Plageiorath asked with quizzical expressions.

“By destroying the most immediate threats,” Morgue replied, “There is only one threat to the tree that it can’t handle.”

“What threat?” Plageiorath asked hopefully.

“Do you mean the demon?” Sanj asked fearfully.

“Yes, I mean the demon,” Morgue replied.

“No. No, no, no,” Sanj said, getting up and backing away from them with his arms raised, “No way am I fighting a demon! You just said that they weren’t a joke. There is no way we could handle that!”

“Calm down,” Morgue said, “We aren’t going to fight the thing right now, so get back over here and sit down.”