The heads and limbs of undead snapped loose from torsos with revolting ease. Giblets cracked and slurried underfoot. Rolling dodges and stance-primed strikes sullied boots and armor. As stray corpses became terrain pitfalls, Rell began to wonder about the source of this vast squadron of undead.

"Two on your right, Rell! Five o'clock!"

The guardian heel-spun at the word of his asura spotter and t-boned a zombie with the brunt of his shield. The frail corpse split and tumbled into its nearby undead compatriot, knocking it to the ground. Rell scalped the pair before they could shamble to their feet. If haircuts involved decapitations, the past hour had made the cleric a master barber.

A hollow gasp spilled down the back of Rell's neck. The guardian whirled around to find a decayed human mere inches from his face, leaned in to bite. Its decrepit breath set his eyes wide and slithered heavy down his throat. A sizable stone suddenly clocked the aberration in the temple and it flew to the ground at the cleric's feet. Rell wheeled about towards Kleppa. The asura stood there in planted stance huffing breaths.

"Kleppa! Just tell me where they are!"

"I wanted to get at least one!" she retorted. "Besides, it looks like they're aren't anymore left."

Not yet finished, the dazed undead worked itself to its feet. Kleppa's projectile dropped from its skull with a thud. Rell kicked the abberation to finish it. His boot ripped straight through its chest; he wasn't exactly expecting that. Worse yet, the zombie only moaned angrily. Despite screaming a bit, the cleric managed to cleave its skull off and shake the double-dead corpse from his leg. Kleppa couldn't keep a laugh from sputtering out.

"All able bodies take up positions at the gates!" a piercing voice rang out from some distance away. "We aren't done here yet!"

Rell and Kleppa gathered themselves and joined a party of volunteers at the outpost's northernmost entrance. The group froze still in vigil, listening to the air. A woman among the group ran glances up and down those gathered around her, assessing the party. She wore thick, cloth robes dyed dark like moonlit clouds with sky-blue lines patterning down and across her form. She was human and a member of the Priory of Durmand. The woman locked frantic stares on other priory uniforms.

"I heard that these monsters attack in waves," she whispered. "There are theories to suggest that there might still be more, right?"

"Quiet down," a rather old asura—also garbed in the priory robes—piped up from behind Rell. "You'll demoralize our conscripts."

The sinking sun yawned dark across the horizon. Stray animals in the brush became creeping corpses. Gust-rustled grasslands were undead rasping rally calls. Bullets, arrows and shouts shot from all exits at unnatural intervals. Before the situation devolved into further panic, a norn in priory garb rambled atop a watchtower and roared victory for the defenders.

In unsettled quiet, the able-bodied populace gathered near the outpost's main plaza. Several blue robes remained stationed at the gates to watch for further assaults. The bar—being one of the larger buildings in the outpost—was transformed into a makeshift hospital. Outside, a bonfire was lit to abate night's fast-approaching chill. Circling around the light and warmth, worried murmurs rose about what had just transpired. Trust and calm were the bonfire embers: thin sails that caught hot air and escaped into the night sky.

A loud, heavy clunk startled most everyone. The norn who had directed everyone into the center from atop the outpost watchtower had appeared and set several large crates down on the ground nearby the fire. He slapped the box's wooden side, threw back his robe's hood and ran a hand from the cusp of his mighty, braided beard up to the crown of his bald, tattooed head.

"Now then! Who's hungry?"

Before anyone could muster words, Rell and Kleppa's hunger shouted for them with immobilizing growls that stampeded up their abdomens at volumes that drew the attention of much of the nearby crowd.

Sounds like a few of us have worked up quite the appetite!" the norn guffawed.

"Yes!" the pair answered frantically—and simultaneously—with their next meal in mind.

"Hoho, both soldiers and a comedy troupe too?" the giant chuckled.

"No!" Kleppa and Rell responded in sync once again.

"That's some timing you two got there!" a voice from the crowd shouted. "You two practice that together?"

The two whirled towards the voice. "We don't!" Another perfect sync. "I mean—!" It didn't cease. They looked at each other. "You! Sto—! Nhh!" They turned back to the norn with the supplies. "Can we just have our food now?!"

A laugh went up from the crowd paired with scattered applause. In the limelight, Rell and Kleppa received their first meals in nearly a day. As several priory members occupied themselves with distributing rations to the wounded and hungry volunteers, the guardian and elementalist angrily gobbled down what they were offered in a manner that left the a few crowd-goers cheering them on towards the end. Much to their chagrin, even their eating had become subject of the group's entertainment.

"Bear's hide, friend, you look like you could still use some more!" the priory norn who had brought out the rations cackled deep and extended a large roll of bread to Rell. The cleric graciously accepted it. "I saw you out there. Took down quite a few of those beasties! Figured you had at least earned another loaf!"

Before the cleric could even finish thanking him, Kleppa snatched the roll from Rell's hands and shoved as much of it as she could fit into her jaws, much to the amusement of the pair's gathering audience. Before she could swallow the whole bread ball, Rell dug his fingers into what remained protruding from her mouth. With a swift rip and a complaint, he recovered what he could and downed it in an instant amid further cheers, taunts and bets on who would claim the next roll tossed in their direction.

"Attention, please!"

An asura—another priory associate—puffed himself up atop one of the ration crates and reigned in the crowd with exaggerated gestures. Rell recognized him: one of the priory mages that stood with him at the northern gate not long ago. He was up in his years. Brown, spotted ears sagged out from slits cut into his uniform's hood. Water-drop ripples of tired skin cradled his eyes and his voice came out raspy. With quiet restored, he spoke again.

"Since the couple that can't control themselves while eating over there is finally finished," a soft chuckle went up from the crowd, "I'd like to discuss with the priory members present here about what has just transpired. If anyone here should seek further assistance, please refer to our quartermaster for aid." Sure enough, the bald, rations-toting norn with the mighty beard waved happily to the crowd. "Yes. He'll be stationed by the bar where we are currently housing some wounded. Feel free to seek lodging where you can. We will accommodate you. And thank you for your help in these past hours."

The asura left his post and several robed bodies of all races and sizes rose from their seats in unison. The only noise in the entire settlement following the curt announcement was a door clapping shut behind a line of priory that had funneled into a nearby house. As lamplight gradually blossomed across the two-story dwelling's windows, once curious eyes turned back towards each other and the din of speech again filled the outpost. Rell and Kleppa exchanged gazes for a moment. Pupils glimmering in the late evening firelight, the two exchanged sly smiles that both suggested that they knew exactly what each other was about to say.

"I'm going to ask that quartermaster if he has seconds," Rell said.

"No, you dolt!"

"What?"

"You're supposed to say, 'Let's go spy on that meeting!'" Kleppa's voice was a whispered shout.

"What? Why? I can't imagine they're talking about anything that important to us. Also, I'm still starving."

"You can eat later! I'm sure the quatermaster will be there all night. C'mon. Something tells me that someone here might be able to help me with my hex."

Despite his hunger, Rell agreed with himself that fixing Kleppa was more important than filling his stomach to the brim. According to Kleppa's impromptu plan, he went to distract the quatermaster by asking for help in taking off his heavy cleric's armor. Meanwhile, the diminutive elementalist slipped off of her seat and skulked between distracted bodies and makeshift seating until safely beneath shadow's veil next to the house full of arcane scholars and explorers. The voices were muffled, but she felt that she could make them out. The asura placed her ear against a curtained side window and closed her eyes.

"Of course!" The quartermaster slapped Rell on his back at the simple request. "You two have been such a great help that I couldn't refuse you."

Rell turned around and raised his arms, allowing the norn to work at undoing the straps that tied his armor in place. "Well, we only did what everyone else did," the cleric responded. "It's not like we were the only ones putting ourselves in danger out there."

"Well, surely. But I wasn't talking about that," the norn spoke quietly with a smile. "Look at those people over there."

Rell took a glance over the crowd around the bonfire. Laughter and lively conversation gusted through channels of wild gestures. People were recounting the past few hours as if they had been nothing but a game; bragging and lauding each other happily in-between mouthfuls of combat rations.

"There are so many fighters in this world," the norn began again, "it's just what you must do to survive. There are far fewer people around that can turn the mood from what it was moments ago to what it is right now like you and that asura did." Rell's armor slipped off at last. "You two are treasures."

The cleric chuckled in embarrassment, "We were just hungry."

"Then you're hungry treasures!" the norn's voice rose up again with a laugh. "Now then, why don't we give these people even more to cheer about, eh?"

"What do you mean by that?"

The norn tossed a wooden training sword at the cleric who fumbled to catch it in time. "Everyone!" the quartermaster shouted, "this little cub wants to put on another comedy routine for you!"

Rell seized up. "I told you, I'm not part of some troupe!" The crowd chuckled and applauded.

"Oh? So then you must be a soldier given how you fight!" the norn retorted. More cheering rose up from around the bonfire.

"I'm a guardian!"

"A soldier indeed!" the norn shouted. "But I'm still not convinced. Maybe you'd like to prove it to me and the good people gathered here?"

"Prove it, yeah!" jovial yells rose up from masses.

The faces at the bonfire had all turned to face the norn and human holding carved blades. Cheers, claps and bets billowed the air and painted the outpost's ambiance a jolly buzz.

"You're a clever one, aren't you," Rell addressed the norn quietly.

"Raven did her best with me, I suppose," the priory quartermaster chuckled, grabbing a training sword of his own from the stockpile.

"That moron, what did he get himself into?" Kleppa muttered, eyes drawn open by the clacking connects between wooden swords and the crowd's raucous outbursts.

"Seems like you're into something deeper, yourself," a soft voice fell down from over the ausra's head.

Before Kleppa could look up, an arrow pierced her arm. Her body cracked into stillness—petrified by rare basilisk venom running through her veins. A robe ruffled overhead. A skirt bloomed open from above and a strike snapped across the asura's neck, knocking her out.

Kleppa's head rocked wildly from side to side. Opening an eye, she saw the old asura researcher who had lead the priory members into the house earlier—his fingers painfully woven into the elementalist's hair.

"Finally awake," he said, releasing her curls. Kleppa tried to lash out at him, but her body was tied to the chair in which she sat.

"Nnnah! I've had enough of being caught today!" the elementalist shouted.

"I figured someone like you would be used to it," the old asura said, "given your poor abilities as an eavesdropper. Though, I am surprised you've lived this long if you're only smart enough to place your ear against a window when trying to steal information." Kleppa had only a low growl in response. "But now," he leaned in up close, "who are you exactly—and what to do with you now that we've caught you?"

The door burst open. Happy cries of the crowd around the bonfire chased the tails of two bruised bodies that staggered through the threshold. Rell and the norn quartermaster—liquor blushing pink over the smiles on their faces—stood before the disjointedly sombre scene.

"Hey!" the norn quartermaster greeted the priory members and their hostage with shamelessly inappropriate gusto. "My friend here is looking for a little asura! You guys seen—?"

"Bjarn, you imbecile!"

"Rell!"

"K-Kleppa?!"

The old asura wheeled around and threw out his hand at Rell. A signet ring on his finger crackled bright and the guardian felt his body freeze as if turned to stone. The stiff, half-drunk cleric clattered to the floor.

"Hey, hey now, Duuf, that's too much," the aled-up norn quartermaster casually objected.

"What did you do?!" Rell demanded.

"Tie him up too," the old asura scholar commanded. "And hurry before the effect wears off."

A few blue robes rushed to bind the guardian's wrists and ankles with tangible bonds. In a matter of seconds he was face down next to Kleppa's chair with his arms behind his back.

"Na' wait just a moment—how do ya' know that this was the asura he was lookin' fer—and, a-an—wait—why do you even have an asura tied to a chair in here anyway?" Bjarn's thoughts tripped over his lips on the way out.

"They said each other's names, you drunken buffoon," Duuf snapped. "If you're not going to sober up any time soon, head back outside. Somebody go with him to cover up why the human didn't follow him back out."

"Not a chance!" the norn objected. "This one's a good guy! I'm sticking around to see this out for him."

"You're naïve, Bjarn," Duuf remarked. He then turned to Rell lying on the ground, "And you're in much more trouble than you imagine, human."

"What did we even do?" Rell asked, "I mean, besides help save your town."

"You'll watch your tongue if you want to stay conscious, Inquest interloper."

"Inquest?!" the hostages cried out immediately in exasperated disbelief.

"That's terrible acting, honestly," Duuf said.

"I'm beyond my patience for being accused of Inquest-related deeds in one day!" Kleppa shouted. "Once was quite enough! Can't I just leave?! I swear, this unreasonable paranoia is why I chose to live in the middle nowhere!"

"Once?" Duff cautiously inquired.

"I was jumped by a ranger and a mesmer on my way here earlier today! Those morons accused me of being Inquest as well!

"I can vouch for that," Rell interjected quietly.

"Can't you people at least be a little more reasonable than highwaymen?!" Kleppa shouted.

"Well, you were trying to eavesdrop on our clearly private conversation through a window," Duff retorted plainly.

"Ah, well—eh, you have a point there," the elementalist admitted.

"Furthermore, it is true that as of late nobody with good reason should trust an asura around these parts," the priory scholar pressed. "Reported instances of Inquest scouting and threatening operations have seen an alarming expansion within the past several weeks. One cannot be too careful. Which is why you'll remain tied to your chair for now."

"Hey!"

"And your friend as well."

"I don't even get a chair," Rell objected half-heartedly. "And why do you think I'm in with the Inquest anyway? I'm a human."

"Anyone can hunger for power, boy. And even the Inquest are not below conscripting other races in its pursuit so long as goals and gains align." Duuf turned around to face at last the crowd of priory members. "Now then, seeing as our regular meeting place has been temporarily compromised, I suggest we find a new location in which to review our plans to secure the western Shattered Henge region tomorrow." The door clacked open and he began ushering the mass of scholars out of the house.

Kleppa jumped in her chair. "Shattered Henge! Wait! You have to take us with you!"

Duuf stopped near the threshold, saw out the last few priory members, shut the door and turned around with an accomplished grin. "Humor me. Why would I even consider that?"

The elementalist bit her lip and spoke with reluctant urgency, "Because I have a theory to what is causing the anomalies that you're researching there."

Duuf perked an eyebrow. "A presumptuous statement on all accounts."

"You're priory. What else would do you do here other than explore, document and research?"

"I don't need to—"

"Dragon energies," Kleppa muttered.

Rell's head snapped in the elementalist's direction. "Dragon—?"

"Undead have appeared in the vicinity," she continued. "That's one tell that an elder dragon's power is at work here."

"Of course, but that won't convince me to bring you anywhere but a more secure prison," Duuf said.

"Then hear me out first. Are you familiar with the spell—the mesmer spell—Power Block?"

The priory scholar huffed. "Of course I know of it."

"Well, someone hexed me with something that appears—"

"Hexed!" Duff laughed. "Hah! That skill is but a simple daze—a distraction! Anyone with tight pants and pink sprinkles can affect a Power Lock! Mesmers are nothing more than parlor magicians and crooked entertainers. I don't need—"

"No—!," Kleppa shook her head. "Not "lock." Block! And... it still hasn't worn off."

"What?" For once Duuf seemed genuinely concerned.

"Whatever that person did to me, it blocked my ability to connect to the elements. I can't cast spells. This chair might be a pile of ashes if it weren't for that fact." Kleppa paused and took time to stare down her captor who had taken in her last comments with scrutiny. "Out of a myriad of texts that I've scoured in my research, I've discovered only a handful of spells that have existed throughout recorded history capable of such effects. Now, do you know about the spell Power Block?"

Duuf turned around and put his fist to his chin. "I'm vaguely familiar with the family of spells to which it would belong," he spoke over his shoulder, "but spell usage of that magnitude has not been documented for... nearly two centuries now."

"Which seems to coincide with two prevailing theories out of Rata Sum regarding the elder dragon's consumption of magical energies throughout Tyria," Kleppa concluded.

The old asura scholar wheeled slowly around back to face his captor. Making a pass, he circled her like a starving scavenger. "What are you on about?" he finally spoke.

"If magic truly is a finite resource," the elementalist began, "as the theories of several prominent asuran researchers would suggest, and there also existed a documented class of powerful spells that has not seen mainstream usage in roughly two-hundred years, then it would seem to imply that that magical supply is at levels too low to invoke and maintain those magical effects—otherwise, why would they not be still used today? That said, if suddenly, I've been effected by a spell that seems to correspond with that class of powerful spells, it would also imply that there must be some sort of power source in the area that far surpasses the current average level of ambient magic in Tyria and allows for the casting of said spells."

Kleppa took a breath. "For the past seven months I've been investigating the magical anomalies of the Shattered Henge documented over the past several decades. Most of the contention surrounding the phenomena and the area itself related to whether or not it could be harnessed and turned into directed energy for practical use. Before the past day, I had not yet seen that possibility. But if I have had the same magical block applied to me not once but twice within the same day—the second time coming directly from a mage—I believe that that is enough proof to consider my theory that someone, somewhere has found a way to control at least a bit of the ambient magical energy in the swamp!"

Duuf and Rell stared at Kleppa in stunned silence. The thesis wobbled a bit, but when spoken with the such passion and proper diction, it had corked even the head of the region's priory explorers. Duuf forced a cough to bring the room's atmosphere back into focus.

"W-well, your logic seems sound despite your lack of substantial scientific proof," he said.

"It's a Bloodstone, isn't it?" Kleppa asked.

Duuf nearly spat. "B-bloodstone?!"

The door to the house cracked from its hinges and crashed to the floor. "Bloodstone?!" Bjarn—still quite inebriated—tumbled through the threshold followed by a dense pack of priory members.

"You eavesdropping morons!" Duuf exploded. "Get back to our secondary meeting area!" The crowd bumbled upright and scurried off. "Bjarn!" The norn staggered to a halt. "You stay here." The priory leader turned his attention back to his hostages. "You two! I had already planned on taking you back to your little swamp hideout. Come now, surely you didn't think that you wouldn't be noticed there having camped out in one spot for so long out in the open? Yes, we'll take you back and you, little miss, are going to share with us all of your findings in the past seven months of your investigations." The diminutive scholar picked up the lantern that had lit the room, marched out of the house and pointed at his towering underling. "Now fix that door!"

Bjarn hiccuped and picked the door up, laying it fairly likewise to its original position amid Kleppa barking complaints regarding her being left tied to a chair. More shouting followed. Duuf shouting. Apparently, a massive blob of blue robes trying to hear a conversation through a single door while standing out in public draws a crowd. Duuf had his hands full dispersing the curious bonfire-goers but eventually the outpost's center grew quiet. With the populace ushered indoors and the priory elsewhere in a meeting, the tied-up guardian and elementalist sat alone in a dark room.

"He left us," Kleppa finally said.

"I didn't exactly expect much less," Rell replied, sitting up.

"So he expects me to somehow sleep in this chair?"

"What's a Bloodstone?" Rell's question dried the air.

Kleppa sighed. "It was mostly a bait," she slouched within her bonds. "Ancient accounts refer to the original being created the last time the dragons awoke from their slumber. It contained nigh unquantifiable amounts of magical energy—so much so that it was broken up to prevent wars caused with its power."

"And you think that there's a piece of it in the Shattered Henge?"

"I have no idea," Kleppa hung her head. "But the prospect excites me... and in any case, there's something strange about the Henge."

"Well the idea seemed to spook the mist straight out of that old asura," Rell smiled.

"I suppose I can take solace in that," the elementalist chuckled. "Quite the note on which for us to end that conversation."

"I'm not sure we really got the last laugh," the cleric struggled against the ropes around his wrists and ankles.

"How does he expect me to fall asleep like this?!" Kleppa roared, suddenly reminded of her predicament.

"Let me try something."

Rell sat upright and closed his eyes. Focusing his spiritual energies while muttering a spell, a hot, blue mist embered off of his shoulders and sculpted a sword in midair. The blade slowly levitated towards Kleppa.

"Wha-wha-wait!"

Carefully, the sword teethed through the first few strands that lassoed her torso to the chair's back.

"As you are!"

Moonlight jumped off of a dagger shoved near Rell's face. The mystic sword backed off from its task. The guardian found himself at the mercy of a lithe woman dressed in a drab, hooded robe. Whether she was priory or not, he couldn't tell.

"We're just trying to get more comfortable," Rell said.

"You must think I'm stupid," the woman retorted.

"You must think I'm used to sleeping tied to a chair!" Kleppa barked, still unable to free herself.

"Neither of you will be leaving this room until dawn," the figure drew a pistol from her robe with her free hand. "I'll be sure of that."

"So no need for ropes, then?" Rell asked.

"Another word and I'll hogtie you further!"

"Look," Rell's tone flattened, "we're tired; we're hungry; we're very invested in this expedition to the Shattered Henge tomorrow. We're not going to run off on this chance to return home." The hovering sword flicked to his side and slit the ropes that bound his limbs.

"Hey!"

Grabbing for Rell's neck, the woman instead clutched a cool mist. The ropes around Kleppa dropped from her body. Finished untying his partner, the cleric put himself between the thief and elementalist while a soothing energy rippled outward from his body. The spiritual sword at his side evaporated into harmless whisps. Gently, the guardian raised his hands in the air in a gesture of surrender.

"All she wanted was a bed. You can tie me up again, but at least grant us that."

The woman slipped into a defensive stance.

"Upstairs there are cots," she said. "I'm watching." Cloth flap, smoke puff, wind snap and the thief blinked out of sight before Rell and Kleppa's eyes.

An illusion of privacy. The elementalist hopped from her chair, stretched herself and broke the uneasy silence.

"So, let's find those beds."

The pair moved stiffly up the stairs. At the top was a large, open room lined with rows of spartan sleeping arrangements. Each quickly picked a cot and settled in for a night's sleep under surveillance.

"Rell," Kleppa interrupted the quiet. "I know I was complaining, but you didn't have to go that far back there."

"No, he didn't."

About to answer for himself, Rell nearly jumped from his bed when the thief appeared once again in their presence—right at the foot of the guardian's cot.

"But he did regardless, and even when threatened with harm," the mysterious woman continued. She walked towards Rell's head, and her gloved hands pulled back at her hood. A sylvari. Small, goldenrod flower buds sprouted from her skull of bark and leafy tissue in a bouquet of curled petal hair that blossomed out from her crown. Her features were sharp, smooth and petite with cheeks of hardened wood, a rounded chin and almond eyes the color of bright tree sap. She bent over in close to Rell's face.

"You were... s-so impressive!" Kleppa's mouth hung open in surprise. Rell only held a silent, rigid pose in response; face contorted in confusion. The sylvari gasped and snapped back upright. "B-but that does not mean that I won't let my guard down. You're in this room for the rest of the night! Don't do anything suspicious! I'll be watching you!"

With another whisper of wind, the sylvari had vanished in stealth. The human and asura merely looked at each other, knowing that whatever they had to say about what had just happened—which would have been quite a bit—would undoubtedly be heard by their interloping observer. Rell shrugged his shoulders. Kleppa puffed out her cheeks in a huff. The two laid back down on their cots and closed their eyes, thoughts on tomorrow: a journey home and hopefully answers to questions that could shape the future of the entire Maguuma Jungle—if not all of Kryta.

NOTE: So I told myself (and curious others) that I would have the next chapter done hopefully in about 2 weeks. And here we are... what? Five weeks later? Life has been busy. I am still working on this and I just wanted to let anyone who felt invested—even remotely—in the story to expect more. I will try to be making updates every 3-4 weeks if not sooner.

But, hey, at least the chapters seem to be getting longer. That's not a good excuse. I also feel like this one sort of ran on too much, but whatever. Feel free to comment on that if you wish. In any case: on to Chapter Five!