The Crew had stopped at the edge of the druids’ grove. The grove was leaping up from the March’s otherwise boundless grasslands quite suddenly some way northeast of the sprawling city of Crossroads. In fact, it had probably been three or four days since any of them had last seen more than a lone tree amidst the tall grasses, much less one as high as the trees of the grove.

  “Why’d you stop, Kait?” Jack said, looking concerned.

  The sudden emotion was too much, and gave Kait pause. As she approached the grove, all she felt was sorrow. And not the self-indulgent sadness that would cause a rainstorm, or the explosive despair that would whip up a tornado. This was deep, scarring, pervasive sorrow that had the elements continuing their business as usual. A sort of sorrow that not only begged the question of what went wrong, but also what if it had gone right?

  “There’s something wrong,” Kait responded, doing her best to keep from allowing the sorrow into her own heart.

  “Is this not the right place? Matt asked in a way that made it clear he expected a certain answer. “We are four days out of Crossroads with two days of food. Is this not the right place?”

  “It is, Matt,” Kait assured him. “It just isn’t the same as I remember.”

  “Well, forests change a lot,” Sarah offered. Kait could tell she was uncomfortable, as was Benji. The two were shifting nervously and looking at one another and the shady grove at random intervals. Kaitlyn was sure she was not emoting too flagrantly with the growing sadness of the grove, but her friends were feeling something.

  “Well, let’s pick up the pace. Unless you want to starve,” Matt muttered as he started walking forward. Jack looked at Kait with worry, but ultimately followed. The others slowly slogged behind.

  The sorrow of the land did not grow, but it did not shrink either. It remained a chronic, throbbing presence in the base of Kait’s stomach. She probed the dirt underfoot, as well as the stones that littered the roadside, but they each recoiled from her presence. A shaman had not come this way in years, it seemed. Not since whatever broke the heart of the land, at least.

  The path was extremely well kept for a road that went into a Verdant Grove. Kait remembered some of the groves allowed their walkways to become lush with carpets of grass, but she also remembered this one in particular was kept tame for the visitors from the trade mecca of Crossroad to feel welcome. But the cleanliness of the path changed once the Crew crossed the tree line.

  Weeds burst from the dirt road as soon as the shade of the forest began. The undergrowth grew taller and more wild the deeper into the forest the road went. Not far ahead, the way forward would completely disappear.

  “Is this strange? The road just ends,” Benji asked.

  “A little,” Kait replied, her neck muscles straining to keep her voice from shuddering under the weight of the sorrow. “This place used to be really welcoming.”

  “When did you come last?” Matt asked.

  “I don’t even remember, to be honest. Years ago.”

  Matt’s silence was almost accusing. Luckily, the awkward quiet was broken by the sound of footfalls in the undergrowth.

  “Hush!” Jack hissed, noticing a shadowy shape between the nearby trees. The group watched as a large creature, silhouetted by filtered sunlight, glided along. The shadow was on four, stilt-like legs. Its long, snouted head was crowned by an impressive rack of antlers.

  “It must be a healthy boy to have antlers that big,” Sarah whispered.

  “And delicious,” Jack said, his tongue flicking playfully across his fangs. “Venison anyone?”

  “I’m not sure,” Kait said quietly. The land did not respond in any way to Jack’s suggestion. Not that it normally would. A hunt or death of one animal was hardly enough to upset something as eternal as the earth or the ocean. But holy sites such as this one deserved more respect.

  “What do you mean, Kait?” Matt asked. “Days from the nearest city with nowhere near enough food, and I still haven’t seen any of these helpful druids.”

  Kait looked into Matt’s eyes, which seemed more frightened than truly angry. He kept looking off to the left, in the direction of the deer. And just as Kait noticed, she felt something. The thought-equivalent of the breath someone takes when they are just about to begin speaking, but suddenly stop themselves. Strangely, it did not seem to be her own thought. She felt the urge to look in the direction of the deer herself, but shook her head and the thoughts and urges were gone.

  “We need the food, and this is just too good of an opportunity,” Jack said decidedly as he began to move toward the deer. The animal looked deeper in the woods and started to move and Jack followed. “I’ll meet you all back on the road in a couple of hours.”

  The Crew watched the fanged folk disappear into the green shadows of the forest, and Kait could not help but wonder why she let him go. It immediately seemed like a bad decision, but there was nothing to be done now.

  “We should go further in,” she suggested. “There will be a sanctuary in the middle and the druids should be there.”

  “Let me lead,” Benji offered before shambling forward and pushing into the weeds and saplings blocking the path. The rest of the Crew continued pushing forward, but it was slow going. And all the while, the sorrow of the land was there.

  Kait could feel the emotions wearing her down. Many times, whenever they had to work around a mossy boulder or shuffler over a lichenous log, she wanted so badly to just turn around and give up. But something was cheering her on.

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  As the Crew came across a particularly large fallen trunk, Kait sighed to herself. Lying down, the trunk was almost nearly as tall as Benji, cutting off at his shoulder height. The tree had become a nurse tree for a handful of other mostly-grown trees just as large as their fallen mother. Mud, pebbles, moss, and weeds prevented the group from crawling beneath the rotting tree, and so the team was forced to climb over.

  “Kait, let me boost you up,” Benji said. “Then it will be your turn, Sarah.” He intertwined his fingers and held them down as a stepping point for Kait’s boots. She grumbled, but masked it with a strained grunt as she tried to begin climbing.

  Once again, the sorrow tried to drive her to give up, but once again came the cheer.

  You can do it! The words were so clear, it surprised her. Just a little bit more! Come on, missy!

  Kait came over the top of the trunk and gasped. A man was standing on the other side, offering a hand to help her down. He was strikingly handsome, with sharp features and high cheekbones. His amber-colored eyes were twinkling brightly and gave a magical spark to his smile. His layered cotton clothes were semi-formal, but faded and dirty. In his left hand, he carried a shillelagh as a walking stick. But out of all of his features, his pointed ears gave him away. She had found the druid.

  “You were speaking to my mind?” Kaitlyn asked, almost offended now that she knew the source of the cheering.

  “My apologies, miss,” he said with a smile. His accent was lilting, with soft consonants, but harsh vowels. Something she had never heard in her life. “I just wanted to make sure you made it to the druids.” The man looked sad for a moment. “Well, druid.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Let’s get you down from up there and I’ll explain it all to ya,” the man said, smiling again. “My name is Gideon, by the way.”

  “Kaitlyn,” she said, apprehensively reaching for his hand. When her hand grabbed his, Gideon nodded and suddenly, vines burst from the loam at the druid’s feet, creating sturdy steps for Kaitlyn to step down from. “Thank you,” she said, grinning to show she was impressed.

  “Who’s he?” Sarah asked harshly, having scrambled to the top of the trunk.

  The druid laughed out loud at Sarah’s crude curiosity. “My name is Gideon, dear. Come on down and we’ll help the gents get up and over.”

  Once the Crew was on the other end of the trunk and introductions were made, Matt was all about business.

  “We are here to find the druids, Gideon. We are dealing with an enchantment.”

  “Of what kind?” Gideon asked.

  “A lock blessed by the Church of the Will,” Sarah added.

  “Oh, that is just plain easy. Come along with me to the sanctuary and I will find you something,” Gideon said, turning deeper into the grove. Ahead of the group, the undergrowth began to shrink away to make the path. “Is there anyone else we are waiting’ for?”

  “No, not right now,” Matt said.

  “Well,” Benji said quietly. “We had another. A fanged folk. He went to hunt a deer.”

  “Oh.” Gideon stopped walking and looked down sadly. “That is… That is a problem.”

  “Why?” Kait asked, looking concerned.

  “The grove is not safe anymore. Hence why I covered the path. Your friend is out on his own? He is in danger right now.”

  “We have to help him, then,” Sarah said, turning to go back, but the stairs of vines were gone, and the undergrowth behind them had grown even higher.

  “Well, let’s not be rash, dear,” Gideon said gently. “Exposing all of us to danger for one man with a rumbling tummy is not quite the decision I would come to. I will take you all to the sanctuary and that will be the start of our little search. Meanwhile, I’ll get you what you’ll be needin’ for that lock. Two birds with one stone, eh?”

  Kait did not like the idea of leaving Jack alone but something else made her more nervous than that. “Why not just have the forest find him for us?”

  Gideon frowned. “The grove won’t be doing anything like that.”

  “Why not?” Benji asked. “I don’t know too much about the Verdant, but I know druids can commune with the forests.”

  “Well that’s the rub right there, ain’t it? This ain’t the Verdant’s grove anymore.”

  “I came here a lot when I was younger,” Kaitlyn said. “I remembered there being more druids. And it wasn’t so dark. So sad.”

  “Oh!” Gideon said, brightening. “Are you a Red Magic user?”

  “I am,” Kait said with a nod. “And this place was not so dour.”

  “Aye, it wasn’t,” Gideon said, shaking his head. “So, what is nomad life like? Roaming wherever you will?”

  “It was tiresome. I enjoyed getting the chance to settle down,” Kait said. She was getting upset that he changed the subject, but maybe he was just lonely? “What happened to the grove, Gideon?”

  “In a single word?” The druid turned his head, lifting his shillelagh close to his chest. “The Overgrowth.”

  “The what?” Matt asked.

  “To put it plainly, just like there are humans in the world who wouldn’t blink at choppin’ down the trees all over Kraagheim, there are trees who wouldn’t drop a leaf to help humanity survive. That side of nature is called the Overgrowth.”

  “This grove wants to kill us?” Sarah asked loudly, her temper beginning to flair. “And Jack is out there? By himself? Matt. We need to find him.”

  Matt looked from Sarah to Gideon as they continued to walk, and then stopped to think.

  “Trust me,” Gideon said, continuing to walk without the group. “You do not want to go looking without me.”

  The Crew looked down as the weeds and grass were already beginning to grow. Kaitlyn yelped as a vine sprouted and began to twist and climb her leg.

  “You! Druid!” Benji shouted. “Stop. My friend is out there and I need to find him!”

  Gideon stopped and sighed. “Look, friends. I’m going to be frank. I did not want to be frank because I understand this will be a sensitive conversation. But look here, no choices now, huh? Unavoidable.”

  “Out with it, Gideon!” Benji barked.

  “Jack is in grave danger. It’s just a matter of finding him. How about we get ourselves to the one damn tree that let’s me commune with her and we’ll find out where your friend has bounced off to. Does that sound agreeable? Or would you rather plan a group funeral over breaking that lock of yours?”

  The Crew was stunned. Was this a joke? The matter of fact tone Gideon took made it hard to take his word, but the lack of contrary evidence unsettled them all. And while they stood, Kaitlyn still felt the gnawing sadness.

  “Where are the druids, Gideon?”

  “They’re dead, dear,” he said, just as plainly. “Now let’s get back on the path before those vines get to your brains, yeh? The sanctuary is just up here. I’ll start chatting with the mother tree there to find Jack.” Gideon held out his hand again to the Crew.

  Matt looked at the other two, as Sarah and Benji began to tear up. It was clear they did not appreciate their powerless situation. Kait wanted to express her sadness and fear, too, but she was afraid of what would happen if the sorrow of the land beneath her got a foothold in her heart.

  “Come on, guys,” she whispered. “Come on.” She pulled her foot out of the tangle of plants and walked to where Gideon was waiting.