Here is chapter 4, enjoy!

For those of you wondering about the length of the story, most of the chapters will be in the 1,000-2,000 word length, due to the fact that this fic is based on two quests in Etrian Odyssey Untold: TMG.

I would also like to thank Terron145 for his support.

Without further ado, here is chapter 4.


Chapter 4: Trees of Stone

A flash of white light overcame his vision as soon as he touched the Geomagnetic Pole, once the light faded away, the view of a lively green field was replaced with the view of a desolate, lifeless barren. True to its appearance, the Fourth Stratum of the Yggdrasil Labyrinth was named the Sandy Barrens by the citizens and explorers of Etria, the area was infamously known for its complex terrain, devious puzzles, and, most importantly, for being the home of the Forest Folk.

Micah walked out of the Geomagnetic Pole's area, walked towards the nearby staircase in order to use it as a starting point, and began walking to the location indicated by the one-armed ex-explorer. He did not bring the map along with him, said decision was both a wise and unwise choice. Wise because he would attract less suspicion from his guildmates, unwise because he would be walking though the labyrinth without any way of tracking his location. He was also venturing though the labyrinth without any backup, which meant he had to be careful in choosing which battles to fight and which to run away from, these many factors made this objective of his all the more risky.

He was carried through a sand current, walked for a short while through the path, and soon found the hidden passage way that the man was talking about. He walked through the gap, and was soon met with a wide room, a wide room filled with petrified trees.

"Medusa Trees…" He thought to himself. "I need to be careful…" He reminded himself of the dangerous powers of the trees in question, among their abilities was the capability to instantly petrify their victim, an experience that deserved a stronger description than "unpleasant".

Petrification could only be described as a state of physical death, with the exception of being mentally alive, and aware of your surroundings. Micah remembered the first time he was petrified as he walked through the maze of trees.

-.-.-.-.-

He was in agony, he had looked directly into the eyes of the tree and paid dearly for it, for his body was petrified in an instant. He tried to move, but could not move his limbs. He tried to scream, but could not move his mouth.

-.-.-.-.-

One of the trees next to him suddenly sprang to life, Micah reacted out of instinct, and moved out of its line of sight. The tree remained immobile, but it watched the Troubadour, waiting for him to come close.

-.-.-.-.-

He watched as Carran and Lionel engaged the tree, he wanted to help them, but it was all for naught. He was nothing but a mere statue of stone, able to think, but unable to act.

-.-.-.-.-

He kept walking through the miniature maze of trees, the F.O.E.s kept popping up as he walked, and he maneuvered around them as they appeared.

-.-.-.-.-

He saw Amelie rush through his line of sight to help him, he knew he was being cured, but did not feel anything. He was in pain, he was panicking, and he was agonizing.

-.-.-.-.-

He was near the exit of the maze when he heard the sound of paws pounding the sand, he turned around, and was met with a group of two Flamerats.

-.-.-.-.-

A familiar sensation of warmth overcame part of his body, within a matter of seconds, he could once again move his arm.

-.-.-.-.-

The first of the two Flamerats bared its fangs and charged towards the Troubadour, who responded by rolling out of the way, and prepared for an attack of his own. The Grimoire Stone in his pocket began to emanate power, said power coursed through Micah's body as he unsheathed his sword, and delivered his attack.

-.-.-.-.-

Agony was replaced by relief as he regained control over his body, he however, did not rest. He picked up his lyre and began to play a song.

He rushed at raging speeds towards his aggressor and sliced the creature across the chest, the rat fell limp onto the sand with a thud, which was partially suppressed by the surface of the terrain.

-.-.-.-.-

Filled with vigor, he played the Warriors Song, the tune of his lyre inspiring his comrades to bring the F.O.E. down.

-.-.-.-.-

The second Flamerat bared its fangs as well, but unlike its fallen brother, had his fangs covered in flame and charged at Micah. The Troubadour did not manage to dodge the attack, and was dealt a burning blow to the right arm, tearing off the sleeve of his clothes and piercing his skin.

-.-.-.-.-

Lionel shot a Fire Formula at the tree, striking it straight in the eyes, causing it to stagger.

-.-.-.-.-

He retaliated at the rat by bringing his sword downwards in a diagonal slash, the strike connected with the Flamerat, bringing it down along with its partner.

-.-.-.-.-

Carran threw his axe at the tree, striking it dead center, dealing the killing blow as the F.O.E. fell to the ground.

-.-.-.-.-

He did not collect anything from the oversized rodents, instead, he decided to exit the maze of trees.

Once he was at the end of the maze, he was met with the staircase to the Azure Rainforest, and walked up to the floor above.


Lionel sensed something was wrong, he was checking the storage cellar for materials to refine his formulas, and noticed that a plated vest was missing.

He originally deduced that Carran took one of the vests during the night shift and forgot to return it, he was proven wrong when he replied that he indeed took a vest, but placed it back in the chest before returning to bed.

He soon decided that it was pointless to pursue the issue at that time, carried the materials to a table in the same cellar, and began to experiment.

Shortly afterwards, he heard voices upstairs. "Where is Lionel?!" "Oh hey Roxanne, what's up?" "I said, where is Lionel?!" "H-He is probably downstairs in the cellar… H-Hey where are you dragging me?!"

The cellar door burst open to reveal an angry Roxanne dragging a helpless Carran by the arm, standing behind them was Lynne, with her usual stoic expression on her face.

"I thought I gave you two the day off." said Lionel, slightly confused at what was happening.

"Forget about that, we have a problem!" answered Roxanne impatiently. "A problem that will haunt us for the rest of our lives if we don't do something about it!"

Carran, who was not understanding the situation, spoke up. "You gave them the day off?"

Multiple death glares were directed at him for his comment.


Like always, review and point out any errors.

This is Vardan, signing out!