Wolverine and Spider-Man RPG Isekai Chapter 14: Midsummer Part 2, a Marvel + Dungeons and Dragons Crossover fanfic

WOLVERINE AND SPIDER-MAN RPG ISEKAI EPISODE 14 : MIDSUMMER PART 2

Not too far from the street of Boar Bramble, a large teepee stood within the forest. It wasn't made from hide or cloth, but instead, was living. A grove of young trees had been willed to grow together into a cone shaped hut, trunks twisting, roots rising to fill the gaps. Their branches and leaves spread up and out from the twisted center like flowers in a vase.

"THAT RANK OLD TUTILLIVER!" exclaimed a shrill female voice.

A flock of birds was sent scattering.

The full party of adventurers: Wyn, Boksee, Wolverine, Spider-man, and Nih were sat within the druid's treepee.

Spider-man turned to Wyn. He had never bothered to put his mask back on so he could give her a proper deadpanned expression.

"I have no idea what you just shouted," he said. "But I understood the energy."

"Loud," said Logan rubbing an ear.

"An entire village of beast folk? Here?" she continued indignantly grabbing a handful of her long lavender hair. "In backwards nowhere Boar Bramble? This entire time?"

"And comprised of all different sorts and breeds. How incredibly interesting," said Nih. "Mushroom?" He asked aiming a large raw fungus at her. She cringed and tried to politely decline. He offered it to the rest of the party who followed suit.

"And our brilliant guild master never bothered to tell anyone?" asked Wyn getting back on track.

"The beast folk don't want anyone who isn't a beast person to know about them," said Boksee. "Let alone enter their village. He was just honoring their wishes."

"Well why does he know about them?"

"They have some history. That's not what's really important here, is it?"

The paladin scoffed.

Wolverine and Spider-man gave each other a look.

"Look," said Spider-man jumping in. "We're already kind of jerks for going behind everyone's backs and telling you guys. Believe me, I'm all for keeping secrets," he said at Boksee specifically. "But sometimes what we want and what we need don't line up. I know the beast people want to stay totally hidden, but they clearly need more help than we can give them. Last night was a disaster."

Logan grunted in agreement.

"You assume you understand the wants and needs of a community better than they do," said Nih plainly.

"I know their needs because they told me their needs!" retorted Spider-man offended.

"Well what are their needs?" asked Wyn. "You still haven't told us. Why did they come looking for help? What's going on out there?"

Spider-man sighed and even Wolverine looked more bitter than usual.

"We should have gone for help from the beginning, but we let your dad talk us out of it," said Logan to Boksee. "And we sure fucked it up."

Wolverine and Spider-man went on to fill the rest of the team in. They explained the situation, the beast folk, the missing children, the fae attack.

"…we ran back to the warren as fast as we could," recounted Spider-man as the party listened intently. "But when we got there it wasn't the fauns. It was the centaur. When we found her, they had cut her open and stolen her baby."

Their team mates were shocked.

"By the divine," said Wyn.

"I've never heard of fae stealing the unborn," said Boksee. "Have you?" she asked turning to Nih.

He was deep in thought.

"I didn't even realize she was pregnant," said Spider-man. "About to give birth even. We didn't even think she might need protecting."

"How could you have known?" asked Boksee.

"I guess I still have a lot to learn about horse anatomy."

"Centaur," corrected Wyn. "It's extremely rude to refer to a centaur as a horse."

"No but I meant like, the horse parts."

"Centaur parts. They're all centaur parts."

"You know what I mean! But yah, that's when we realized we were way over our heads and tried to come back for help. Hey, but at least Midsummer's over. You all were completely right. I feel like I've been misled my entire life about fairy tales."

"What have you been told?" asked Boksee utterly puzzled.

"Actually," interrupted Wyn. "Today is Midsummer. Last night was Midsummer's Eve."

"Oh, oh right."

"But last night was definitely the worst of it," added Boksee.

"Speaking of," said Wyn. "I understand how the boys ended up in the thick of the forest on Midsummer's Eve. Now I would like to know how you ended up out there," she asked the ranger.

"When Dad didn't come back before dark, I got worried and went out to look for them," she answered stiffly. "We all had one hell of a night."

"You could have asked us for help. I can't believe you went out there alone."

Boksee raspberried.

"Nih was off helping the kids find a magic flower and you were drunk off your ass. What help would you have been?"

Wyn huffed, her cheeks going red as the two started bickering.

"What do you think about this?" asked Wolverine to Nih ignoring them. "You're supposed to be the one that knows about this stuff, right?"

Nih nodded.

"As a druid of the land, one of my duties is to learn, hold, and pass on the stories and histories. That said, I know of only one other changeling fall."

The rest of the party quieted down and turned to him.

"A changeling fall?" asked Wyn.

"Is that when there's a lot of changelings all at once?" asked Spider-man.

"Yes. In a land to the east, hundreds of years even before my time, a kingdom ravaged by war began summoning devils and demons to besiege their enemies. There were many consequences, some unseen, many expected. One of these consequences is what was called the changeling fall. Across the land, among ally and enemy alike, children were replaced by fae. The ones who remember say this finally pushed the kingdom over the edge. It was an all-encompassing plague of derangement, of accusation and murder. Mother killed child. Father killed mother. Who was fae? Who could say? A blade would sort the matter."

"Well, I'd say that's already well on its way in the warren," said Wolverine. "That centaur guy weren't too pleased about what happened to his wife and kids. He stomped that changeling child straight to death."

Wyn gasped and pulled out her holy symbol. She started muttering something quietly.

"Killing changelings once discovered is not uncommon," said Nih unperturbed. "Of course, it's often used as an excuse to kill the malformed," he continued plainly.

"How many real kids are left?" asserted Boksee. "Do they know?"

Wolverine and Spider-man were about to answer, but Wyn spoke up.

"Well, none obviously," she said. "If the fae have resorted to cleaving open expectant mothers, there can't be any born children left now can there?"

"Oh right," said Boksee.

"No," said Spider-man. "No that's not right. There is a child left. Giles. We were guarding him remember?"

"Oh yah," said Boksee swayed in the other direction. "Wait what?"

"How?" asked Wyn. "That makes no sense. Why would they bypass Giles?"

"Well, we did leave Boksee Sr. to guard him. Maybe they thought the centaur would be easier?" said Spider-man.

"Have any of the parents guarding their children stopped them?" asked Wyn. "This is clearly an organized operation. No offence to your father," she said at Boksee. "But do you really think a one-armed retired adventurer could stop them? Would it really be easier to carve open a centaur with her husband by her side, than it would be to distract away a man and a few fauns?"

"Maybe," said Boksee shrugging.

"No, I'm not buying it. Something's not adding up here."

"It has to be. What other reason would they have for ignoring Giles and going after an unborn baby?" asked Spider-man. "I mean, a kid's a kid right? If they're collecting them all, I mean."

"Maybe a kid's not a kid," said Nih taking a bite of mushroom.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I'm just speculating," he said throwing around a hand and leaking spores everywhere. "But are you certain Giles himself wasn't a changeling?" he asked in his usual plain demeanor.

The adventurers went quiet. They looked at each other, confusion then concern playing out across their faces.

Spider-man and Wolverine looked to each other.

"B-But They would know, right?" asked Boksee. "They figured out all the other ones. I mean, Giles talked right? He was old enough."

Wolverine and Spider-man quickly searched their memories. They both came to the same conclusion.

Logan let out a long grimace putting his head in his hand.

Spider-man bit his lip.

"Oh crap."

"Not all changelings are the same," said Nih as Boksee led the party back through the towering forest. The air was dry and an unusual number of fallen branches crunched beneath their feet. "Most are fae children exchanged to mortal mothers, but some are grown fae. Those may be capable of speech."

"So why are they exchanged?" asked Spider-man.

Nih stopped. He was looking around in thought. His ear twitched as he stepped on a branch.

"Nih?"

"Oh, I apologize. The magical energies, they seem…strange here. Anyway, it's difficult to say. There are as many fae as flowers, each flower having its own nature."

"You could'a just said you don't know," grumped Logan.

"I did. Regardless, a grown fae may be able to provide us with an explanation, especially one clever enough to evade detection for so long."

"Maybe the parents are just in denial," said Wyn.

The team carried on.

"So, what exactly is the plan here?" asked Spider-man hopping from a large rock. "Are we supposed to just waltz up and say, hey, nice weather huh? Also, are you sure your child hasn't been kidnapped?"

"Essentially," grunted Logan.

"Oh yah, I'm sure that'll go over well," he scoffed.

"Just ask calmly but with confidence," coached Wyn. "Command the room but with benevolence. People respond to perceived authority."

"Easy for you to say. You don't have to do it."

"We could. Are you sure the beast men wouldn't be able to stand the presence of just one non-beast man?"

"Are you kidding?" exclaimed Spider-man. "They can barely stand us! They'd raise the town and salt the ground if they caught wind of you three."

"But they're ok with Boksee Sr." argued Wyn.

"Like I said paladin, they've got history," said Boksee.

"Well, if you don't want us to come, then I'm afraid you'll have to do it on your own," said Wyn.

"It's not that I don't want you to, you can't. Don't put this on me!"

As the group continued, Spider-man covertly pulled Boksee back, letting the team pass on ahead.

"So I guess we're not mentioning the whole were-boar thing?" he whispered.

Wolverine hung back as well.

"I would very much appreciate it. Dad doesn't like it getting around."

"But why? No one cares that Wolverine's supposedly a werewolf," said Spider-man.

"Or that Spider-man is an actual spider man," added Logan with sass.

"Right, but sometimes you just don't want people in your private business. He finds it shameful. No one wants the street to know you have to be locked in a cellar three nights a month, you know?"

"Three nights," grunted Logan. "I thought it was the full moon."

"Yah, the full moon lasts three nights. Full enough anyway."

"Ah."

"Yah, it's fine. I get it," said Spider-man. "I mean, it kind of sounds like a medical condition to me, and I know I'm not one to greet the neighbors with the results of my latest screening, not that I actually get those."

Wolverine raised an eyebrow.

"Right," said Boksee unsure. "A-anyway, can we just keep this between us?"

"Sure thing," said Spider-man unphased. "Oddly enough, I do have experience keeping the secret of a one-armed man who turns into a rampaging animal."

They both gave him a look.

"That is extremely specific."

"Idn't it?"

"Who is it?" asked Wolverine.

"My…hey!"

The two chuckled.

"Hey! What are you three doing?" called Wyn ahead.

Eventually the team reached the shallow river. There seemed to be an exceptional amount of debris in it today. Small branches, dead leaves and all manner of refuse floated down the copper water. The team took notice.

Wolverine gave the air a sniff. Nih was concentrating again.

"Something's wrong here," said Boksee puzzled. "Nehfar isn't behaving like herself."

The group turned to her.

"Listen. Where are the birds?"

The group went quiet and listened. It was strangely silent.

"The energies are so strange here," said Nih. "It should feel like blood surging through the body, but they're so weak here and… aimless."

"Do you think it was Midsummer?" asked Spider-man.

"How?" asked Boksee.

"I don't know. Maybe it's all the rotten trees."

"Rotten trees?" asked Nih.

"Yah, oh, I'll show you. There were some on the other side here I think."

Spider-man once again casually leapt across the river, leaving everyone else to ford the shin deep water.

"Seriously?" snapped Logan. "Am I gonna have to kick your ass again?"

Spider-man, having just landed, turned back to look at him.

"I'm sorry, but I have no idea what you're referring to," he snidely remarked. "I'm pretty sure the last time we were here you started taking swipes at me for no reason like an arthritic cow and failed to land a single blow."

"You cocky shit!"

Wolverine splashed through the water and lunged at him. Spider-man laughed as he leapt over the attack and smacked him on the back of the head as he went. The rest of the party just watched from the opposite bank as the mutant tried and failed to chase the other man down.

"Is it common for men to play fight this much?" asked Nih. "Is this bonding? Is this how male men bond?"

"Actually yes," said Wyn. "But usually when they're younger. This seems a bit excessive for their age."

Boksee was watching the tussle with a gleam in her eye.

"If Logan didn't want to get wet, he only had to wait a moment," said Nih shrugging.

The druid threw his hand at the river and the water was pushed away leaving a small opening of dry land.

"Ah, a cantrip I presume?" asked Wyn pleased.

"Yes. I am skilled in the ability to shape water, though like my ability to shape the ground, it's very limited. Shall we?"

The women joined him as he casually cleared the way for them to cross.

Wolverine and Spider-man were still horsing around when the rest of the team reached the other bank. As Spider-man vaulted over his opponent, Wolverine finally managed to snag him around the ankles.

"Uh oh,"

Instead of going down, Spider-man landed on his hands and flung Logan over his head. The mutant flew into a tree with a loud thunk and crack, and was laughed at when he slid down and landed on his shoulders.

Spider sense.

"Uh oh! Wolvie move!"

Wolverine rolled out of the way just as the tree spun on its broken trunk and fell forward with a thunderous crash.

"You alright?" asked Spider-man hopping over.

"Yah, no thanks to…"

"HYAAHH!"

Boksee landed on Wolverine's back knocking the breath out of him.

"OOF!"

The rest of the team caught up as Wolverine and Boksee started wrestling across the forest floor.

"You just said there were rotten trees!" scolded Wyn after seeing everyone was safe.

"Sorry, got carried away," said Spider-man. He watched as Logan and Boksee rolled by growling and laughing. "Wolverine brings out the worst in me."

Wyn shook her head, then she and Nih followed him over to examine the fallen tree. It was on the smaller side so they were able to see the bright green leaves still adorning its branches. Its trunk was a dust filled hollow shell.

"What?" asked Nih utterly baffled.

"Yah. Have you seen this before?" asked Spider-man. "None of us ever have."

Wolverine and Boksee rolled to a stop.

"Alright darlin', enough fun. Got work to do."

"Yah, just when you started losing."

Logan let out a husky chuckle and ruffled her hair.

"Hey!"

The two got up and joined the group.

"How wide spread is this?" asked Nih bending down to get a better look.

"It's all over the place," said Spider-man.

Wyn found a nearby fern. She gave it a yank and the bright green plant all but disintegrated in her grasp. The team looked on in confusion.

Boksee joined Nih to examine the rotten tree.

"Blow me down," she said. "I've never seen anything quite like this either, not on a tree with green leaves. Of course, if the elf druid doesn't know a matter of plants what hope would I have?"

Boksee aimed her hand at the downed tree and started muttering under her breath.

"What are you doing?" asked Wyn.

"Well, I was detecting for disease until you interrupted."

"Oh, sorry. Continue."

Boksee rolled her eyes and resumed. She held out her hand, concentrating and speaking under her breath.

Nothing happened.

"What?"

She tried again, concentrating harder and longer, but again, nothing happened. Her hair didn't flutter around her in wisps, nor did her hand begin to glow. There wasn't anything.

"I…I can't do magic," she said looking down at her hands.

"Can that happen?" asked Spider-man.

"How is that possible?" demanded Wyn with much more urgency.

Nih quickly spoke an elvish chant and waved his hand over the trunk.

Just like the ranger, nothing happened.

"What‽"

He gasped and tried again. Again, nothing.

"Are you also unable?" asked Wyn.

"By the eternal light of the sun, by the waxing light of the moon, by the fragile light of the firefly, may I too be given sight," he said forcefully and flicked a hand. Instead of summoning the druid's usual orb of red light, a bright flash, like a flashbang, was sent scattering through the trees.

The party let out a cry and were momentarily blinded.

"You guys can't do magic?" asked Wolverine rubbing his eyes as his sight cleared.

"But you were just doing it," said Wyn.

Nih walked back over to the river bank and threw his hand at the water. It rippled but nothing else.

With new found determination, the druid pulled up his robes and stomped into the water.

"Nih what are you doing?"

He reached the other side of the river and threw his hand. Water was sent exploding in all directions.

The team stood confused.

"Did you all know this was something that could happen?" asked Spider-man again. "Your powers going wonky?"

"Do you expect to suddenly not be able to use a bow?" asked Boksee indignant. "To pull the string and fire and for the arrow to fall to the ground?"

Wyn considered her teammates, then looked thoughtfully to the downed tree. She picked up a sturdy stick and started knocking it against the surrounding trunks. They all sounded as hollow as the tree they had felled until, some feet away, she hit one that thunked solid.

"Here. Boksee, come over here. Try to cast."

The ranger hurried over, threw her palm against the bark and muttered. Just as it should, her hand began to glow and her hair began to whip in a magical breeze.

Nih made his way back over just as a ribbon of cinnamon light shot up the tree and out the top. It streaked high into the air and erupted like a firework sending down a rain of crackles

"Flare?" asked Logan.

"Yah," replied Boksee. "Always good for someone in the woods."

"Can't argue there."

They looked to Nih who was back by the fallen tree. He tried and once again failed to cast any spells.

The team wandered back over to him.

"It's just here," said Boksee bewildered looking around at the hollowed trees. "Just…here?"

"Is this some sort of magical dead-zone or something?" asked Spider-man.

"I've never heard of such a thing," said Boksee. "But it sure does seem that way. Magic doesn't work here."

Nih was feeling through the air.

"I can't even feel the magical energies," he said distraught. "There's nothing."

"But how could that be?" asked Wyn. "You can't have places without magic."

"You can't?" asked Spider-man.

"Of course not. That's like having a place without air. It can't just be empty."

"What?" asked Spider-man. "Of course you can have places without air."

"Well yes, obviously you can have places without air but it's filled with stone, or sand, or water. I'm saying you can't have a place with nothing."

"No. You can have a place with nothing. Look," said Spider-man. "I don't know about magic, but you can have places completely devoid of everything, air included. They're called vacuums."

"But how can you have a place with nothing?" asked Boksee. "If you breathe, something has to go in, right?"

"You can't breathe in a vacuum. Your lungs stop working. Lungs need air to work."

"That would apply to spell casting as well," interjected Nih drawing their attention. "The amount of mana spent is only the catalyst of the greater magical expression. To cast a spell is like casting a stone into water. You may provide the action but it is the water that makes the wave."

"Right!" said Spider-man. "So if there's no water here your magic can't work. Not the way it's supposed to. You're just throwing a rock onto dry land."

"I've never encountered a place with no magic, but that is the only explanation that makes any sense to me."

"But what does that have to do with rottin' trees?" asked Logan. "They're linked right? The rot and the magic dead-zone line up."

"The magical energies of the world, of every land, of every forest, of every sea, of every plant and creature is integral in its existence," answered Nih. "We are not only of flesh and dirt but of spirit and magic. I have never seen a place devoid of magic but I have seen what an overabundance of magic can do. You all have. In the Warrark forest the heart tree was ill, drained of its mana and so had become weak. It was so weak it could no longer soak up the magical energies the way it needed to, and so the forest grew flooded and ran wild."

"Is that what happened?" asked Boksee.

Nih nodded.

"Huh," said Wolverine. "And we know who caused that, now don't we?"

"You think this was caused by one of the seasons?" asked Wyn.

"Who else? You said it yourself elf boy. The only other changeling fall you know of was caused by magic users fuckin' around with shit they shouldn't, summoning demons or whatever. We already know one of the seasons was nearby and looky that, both the ones we already met were magic users fuckin' around with shit."

"You do make quite the compelling argument," said Wyn thinking. "If one lacking in a certain refinement. Druid, do you believe a magical dead-zone like this could be affecting the fae?"

"I don't see how it couldn't be. The fae are completely reliant on the magical energies of nature. They are not of the material plane."

"If the dead zones are what's rotting everything then there are way more of these things than this one," said Spider-man. "We hit patches of rot all over the place."

"Then this seems like a strong clue. If the fae are in distress in someway, that might explain why they've become so aggressive," concluded the paladin.

"But what are we supposed to do about it then?" asked Boksee.

Wyn looked at the fallen tree one last time. She shrugged.

"We should keep moving."

It was midday by the time Wolverine brought everyone to a stop. He gave the air a hard sniff.

"Alright, this is as far as you lot can come. Any closer and someone will probably catch whiff of ya' if the wind changes."

The remaining adventurers nodded.

"Remember," said Wyn. "Firm, confident, but benevolent."

"You must out the changeling in front of the parents," said Nih. "Follow the plan, and follow through. Don't be deterred."

"Right," sighed Spider-man.

"Alright, ready to do this web head?" asked Wolverine.

"Ready as I'll ever be."

"Hey," said Boksee. "Don't forget. We still might be wrong."

"I'm not sure if that would actually make anything better," replied Spider-man.

As the two meta humans made their way toward the warren, they were met with a new thick tangle of plants and fungi.

"Huh, pretty sure there was an entire pile of fae corpses here last night," said Spider-man.

Logan sniffed the air as Spider-man dug around through the tall new foliage.

"Here it is," he said finding his lost dagger. "So, I guess dead fae turn into plants?"

"Or fertilizer," said Logan.

"Magic fertilizer. Do you think if we kill a bunch of fae in the magic holes it will fill them back in?" asked Spider-man. "That was a joke," he added quickly.

"Doesn't sound like a half bad plan," said Logan shrugging.

Pushing their way through the thick new foliage, they continued down toward the warren. Along with the thatched roofs and winding trails, the men spotted a large crowd gathered at the center of the village, at least a hundred strong.

"What's going on?"

They hurried down the rest of the way.

The lizardman was at the center of the crowd. She had an entire clutch of hatchlings strewn before her, undoubtably changelings.

"Why not‽" she demanded. "The centaur got his vengeance. Why shouldn't I kill the beasts that took my children‽"

"Woah!" exclaimed Spider-man as he and Wolverine ran to join the congregation. Everyone was too distracted to notice them.

The hatchlings cowered.

The entire warren had circled around them.

One tried to take off running but the lizardman kicked it back into place.

Spider-man jerked but Wolverine grabbed him around the bicep.

"Don't do anything stupid," he hissed.

They spotted the fauns in the crowd. Giles was squirming and fitting about in his mother's arms.

Wolverine focused in on them.

"Take him inside," said the oldest faun to his family.

"We can't," said the lionman standing opposite the lizardman. He was diplomatic but was beginning to strain. "Who knows what wrath the fae could unleash on us?"

"So are we expected to care for these monstrosities forever?" the lizardman snapped in return. "To feed and dress the creatures that took our children as they wear their skin‽"

Several in the crowd began to voice their support.

"We can't keep them forever!" shouted a bipedal rabbit.

"Leave them to die!" cried a woman with the body of a snake.

"Let the fae take them!"

"Giles! Giles! Calm down!" cried his mother as the tiny faun flailed and she tried to carry him back into a hut.

"He doesn't need to see this," said his father as he tried to usher them all away and the crowd grew more restless.

"But what about Spider-man and Wolverine," asked a timid voice.

It hadn't been louder than any other, but it cut through the crowd like a knife. The warren hushed to whispers and turned to see Vro emerging from her hut. She raised herself tall on her long spindly legs towering over the rest.

"They said they would rescue our children. If we act rashly now we could ruin everything."

"Our children‽" barked the lizardman causing Vro to flinch. "You have no children drider! Who are you to stand there and say what I do with the creatures that killed my babies‽"

"Hey!" snapped Spider-man angrily but he was barely heard as more and more voices joined in.

"What chance would the outsiders have to save our children‽"

"They certainly aided the centaur!"

"Of course the drider would side with some spider man she's never met over her own village!"

Vro lowered herself to the ground and slunk back into her hut as the arguing continued.

"I agree with her!" shouted another voice. "They are adventurers. They're our best chance."

"Oh! An even bigger surprise," answered another. "Of course a minotaur would side with men dwellers. Your kind long to be bred like common heifers!"

"WHAT‽" exclaimed the minotaur. More villagers jumped to her defense.

"This is getting out of hand," hissed Logan.

"ENOUGH OF THIS!" shouted a voice over the roaring crowd. "I've done my waiting!"

The lizardman grabbed a hatchling by the tail and dragged it into the air. It let out an inhuman shriek as it flailed.

"My children deserve their vengeance!"

She unsheathed her massive teeth and moved to plunge them into the small lizardman.

"NO!"

Before Wolverine could stop him, Spider-man threw a web line and flung himself over the crowd. He slammed into the lizardman sending her flopping to the dirt and caught the changeling before it hit the ground.

The tiny lizard curled its tail around his wrist as he held it, its heart beating a thousand miles an hour under his fingers.

The warren went silent. All eyes landed on the outsider standing in the center of the crowd holding a changeling. He froze.

Wolverine dashed in.

"We have to keep them alive!" he declared joining Spider-man in the center. "You got every right to want blood, but they're our only bargaining chip."

"You mean you want us to keep them alive!" shouted a voice.

Half the crowd sounded their displeasure.

"Please, we're still working on it. Just give us a chance to…" started Spider-man.

"We gave you a chance!" exclaimed another. "The centaur!"

Logan grit his teeth.

"We need more time. Please, give us that."

"How much longer?" demanded the lizardman pushing herself from the ground. "How much longer before the mockery of my children's memory can be done away?"

"You can't expect us to give you a time frame!" cried Spider-man.

The crowd roared.

"THAT. IS. ENOUGH!"

A large shadow flew over the men. As silent as a ghost, an elderly owlin fluttered down from the trees and landed before them. The fever pitch of the crowd began to fall as he pulled in his wings and raised himself with authority. It quieted completely as his owl-like head swiveled atop his neck, bringing his large eyes to gaze over every face. Suddenly it snapped back and landed on Wolverine and Spider-man.

"My name is Mazhar," he said giving them a small nod.

"Nice to meet you," blurted Spider-man awkwardly.

The owl gave them a look, then turned to the beast men.

"This community was forged in the fire of war and internment," he began with a calm dignity. "I was there. I watched you, your parents, grandparents, and great grandparents through prison bars and tear-stained eyes. We were hammered by countless miles and long years. Through enemy territory, and mountains and marshes we endured and were refined. We forsook all others, our own kinds, to cling to each other, looking past our differences, and we have thrived."

The old owl paused.

"This… is the greatest calamity to happen to our people since we began, but it will not be our undoing."

He ruffled his feathers.

"That said, compromise must be made."

He turned to Wolverine and Spider-man.

"Half of my people don't want anything to do with you. Half ask for your help. I'd say a time frame seems… reasonable."

"What‽" the men snapped in unison. "You asked for our help!" "We're doin' this for you!" they shouted over each other.

"And we thank you, truly. But we cannot entertain fruitless endeavors forever."

Wolverine clenched his jaw, his blood rising in anger. Members of the crowd voiced agreement and objection.

"Settle down," called the owlin.

"It would be unwise to aggress the fae any further on Midsummer," he pronounced. "So we will keep the changelings alive until tomorrow night."

"Not even two days?" exclaimed Spider-man in disbelief.

"We have no power over you. Do as you will for as long as you please, but you cannot ask us to care for the changelings any longer."

Wolverine practically growled, but eventually spat out a word.

"Fine."

The owl nodded.

With some tension resolving, the crowd began to disperse. The changelings, including the one Spider-man was holding, were wrangled up and taken back into the large hut. The two men spotted the fauns as they headed into their home, Haylee still comforting her small son.

"Well," grunted Logan. "Done with the easy part."

"I want to check on Vro," said Spider-man as the beast men left them to their own devices. "Make sure she's ok."

"Who?" asked Logan.

"The drider. You know, the spider lady I was telling you about."

"Oh. No time. We're working against the clock now."

Making his way through the village and its dispersing beast men, Wolverine moved to knock on the door of the fauns. Spider-man calmly stopped him.

"Wolvie wait."

"What?"

"We still have a chance to turn around. Even if we're right, which is an if, is this really the best way to go about things?"

"What other lead do we have?"

"This could be making things a hundred times worse. I know Nih said to reveal him with no room for doubt, but maybe we can try to figure it out for sure beforehand, you know, covertly, incase we're wrong."

"Kid, as soon as he knows we know we give him the advantage. I rather be wrong on the offensive than right on the defensive. No more tricks."

"But…"

Logan thumped on the door, much to Spider-man's displeasure.

It opened.

"I cannot begin to apologize for the behavior of my fellow villagers," said Nikos.

The family of fauns had gathered in their home and welcomed the two men inside.

"I knew many did not think it was a good idea to ask for your help, but I never imagined their true anger."

"Thank you for continuing to try to help us," said Haylee bouncing her son. "We can't tell you what it means to us."

Spider-man and even Wolverine internally cringed.

"You might not be thankin' us for long," gruffed Logan uncomfortably.

The family of fauns looked at them concerned. Ears fell. They pulled themselves inward, slightly guarded. Even Giles' small cherubim face seemed to drop into unease.

"What do you mean?" asked Thaddeus.

"I think we should just be upfront with ya'," continued Logan. "No tricks. We gotta ask you a question."

The fauns waited.

Wolverine gave Spider-man a nudge prompting him to speak.

"H-how do you know," he started. "How do you know that Giles is Giles?"

The fauns were shocked.

Haylee clutched the child to her and both males moved in front of her.

"What are you talking about?" demanded Nikos.

"Are you sure Giles isn't a changeling?" he reiterated. "Has he been talking? At all? He's old enough, isn't he?"

They saw a flicker of terror dance across the fauns' eyes, but just a flicker.

"G-Giles has always been a quiet kid," said Haylee.

"But has he said anything?" demanded Wolverine.

"He answers to his name," asserted Thaddeus. "No changeling does that. Giles."

The tiny fawn whipped toward his grandfather.

"See?"

The family breathed a sigh of relief but the men weren't convinced.

Spider-man pulled his little yellow wort charm from his belt.

"This is just a faeward charm. Can you have him hold this? We just need to make sure."

Fear again lit in the fauns' eyes.

"You think I can't tell my own son?" exclaimed Haylee standing. "He knows his name! Changelings don't know their names!"

"Then what's the harm?" asked Spider-man honestly.

"No. That's enough of this. I think it's time you fellows leave," said Thaddeus. "Thank you for your dedication and hard work. We pray you are successful." He stepped forward pressuring them toward the door while Nikos and Haylee backed away.

"Sorry," cringed Spider-man. He tossed the charm in the air and sniped it with a web bullet shooting it directly at the kid.

The web stuck the braid of yellow flowers right between his eyes. He let out a scream but it was the scream of no child. The cry of a grown man erupted from his small mouth.

Haylee shrieked and dropped the toddler.

He hit the ground and ripped the web off his face, leaving a few flower-shaped burn marks across the bridge of his nose, and bolted for the door.

"No you don't!"

Logan lunged and grabbed him off the floor.

"Alright, gigs up. What the fuck are you? What do you want?"

Giles clenched his jaw shut as the family were too shocked to intervene.

Wolverine ejected his claws and moved them toward the child's soft neck.

"What do you want‽" snapped the voice of an elderly man.

"I want to know why you're takin' their kids!" snapped Logan. "What do we have to do to get them back?"

The changeling glared but didn't answer.

"Talk!"

"Who even are you?" asked Spider-man less aggressively. "Why are you different from the others?"

The changeling looked him over.

"I am a trow," he answered stiffly. "I was the very first exchanged."

Haylee let out a strangled sob.

"Show your real face," demanded Logan.

The faun kid disappeared in a flash of green light, revealing a small old man with grey skin and pointed ears.

"I was sent to ensure the safety of the fae children," he continued.

"And a bang-up job you're doin'," snapped Logan. "You were there. There gonna start killin' 'em if they don't get their real kids back. What's your plan now?" he asked practically shaking him.

"Logan!" scolded Spider-man. "Look," he said to the trow. "We don't want your kids to die. Just tell us why the fae are doing this."

Again, the trow looked him over.

"You," he said. "You saved the fae child." The trow paused. "Very well, you two, and only you two, you may meet with the court of the fae. They can give you answers."

"Where?" demanded Logan.

The trow bristled.

"Where‽"

"In the hawthorn lea! Meet with the court in the hawthorn lea and bring no harm onto the fae children."

"Fine."

The trow bit Wolverine on the hand with razor sharp teeth. He let out a cry and dropped it in surprise. Before either man had a chance to decide to pursue the fae or not, it had escaped out the door and vanished.

Wolverine hissed, shaking his bleeding hand as it started to heal.

The rest of the room was left eerily quiet. Then, the true weight of the moment came crashing down upon them.

Haylee's face and body twisted. Shrieks and sobs howled from her throat, a young mother whose child, who had been there well and safe only a minute ago, was lost. It was a noise from the bowels of hell. Nikos clung to her, his own face clamping shut as he began to shout and weep. The two fell to the floor inconsolable. Thaddeus clutched them both trying to keep the remainder of his family from utterly crumbling.

With nothing more to do, Wolverine and Spider-man took their leave.

The rest of the party perked as they heard the men approaching.

"So, how'd it go?" asked Wyn.

"The hawthorn lea," said Wolverine. "You know it?"

"Sure," said Boksee. "Is that where we're going?"

He nodded.

Wyn piped up again.

"But how did it g…"

"We're going to the hawthorn lea," he barked shutting her down.

The party baulked. Wyn huffed, rightfully offended, and moved to rebuke him but stopped when she saw the look on the man's face. They all noticed. Spider-man too. He wouldn't even look at them.

Boksee cleared her throat.

"Well, then we better get a move on. It's a bit of a walk."

Logan nodded.

The lea was a vast open field. Waves of dark grass rustled under a deep indigo sky, the wind having picked up the coolness of evening. The trees surrounded the lea on all sides, but seemed to have agreed amongst themselves to halt at its edge. The one tree that didn't get the memo, a lone hawthorn standing in its center.

As Wolverine peered out at it from the shelter of the forest, a flower garland was thrown over his head.

He raised an eyebrow and turned back to the group.

Nih was beside himself, pacing back and forth fretfully. He finished a second garland and tossed it at Spider-man without looking. It whacked him in the face in a poof of flowers.

He spat one out.

"Is this necessary?" he asked Nih.

"A court," muttered the druid without answering. "You're meeting with an entire court!"

"Is that bad?"

"Are you certain, absolutely certain, that the trow said it could only be you two?"

"That's what he said."

Nih threw his hands and went back to pacing.

"What's troubling you elf?" asked Wyn.

"Meeting with a fae court is the work of high-ranking druids," he explained pointedly. "People with decades of experience and learning in these matters."

"Oh ok," said Spider-man. "Um, could you maybe just give us a list of no-nos then?"

"A list! How do you compress decades of knowledge into a list‽"

The druid muttered and went back to pacing.

"Alright!" he exclaimed in a floof of robes and hair. "Remember this about fae. Don't ask for their true names. Don't give them yours. Never lie to them. Even if the truth will put you in danger, lying will be far worse. In return fae cannot lie to you. They will try to deceive you, they are very good at it and eager to do so, but they cannot tell a plain lie."

"Ok," said Spider-man taking diligent mental notes.

"If you strike a deal, follow it. Never, ever break it in any way. The fae will do the same."

"Is that it?" asked Wolverine.

"Of course not!" exclaimed Nih. "Decades of knowledge!"

"It'll have to do. We need to open communications. Come on kid."

He and Spider-man moved to enter the lea.

"When you see them," said Nih. "Announce yourselves. Introduce yourselves clearly and with confidence, not your true names though, remember."

"Easy enough," said Spider-man. "We've got like fourteen alter egos between us."

"Good luck men," said Boksee.

And with that they stepped between the towering tree trunks and out onto the open field.

There was nothing. Just a vast lake of grass.

As the men made their way across it, they felt utterly exposed. There were no trees to hide between, nothing to web onto and escape. The only sound was the rustling of the wind and their own obnoxious breathing. It was just the two men, the long field, and the lone tree.

"Cheery place," said Spider-man.

"Don't let your guard down."

Eventually they reached the hawthorn. It was probably the biggest hawthorn either of them had ever seen. Crooked and bent, it cast its long shadow over them in the evening sun.

They looked around.

"Now what?" asked Spider-man.

On his cue, a storm of silver petals exploded around them. Suddenly they were standing at the center of a dense maze of young hawthorns, spindly branches and thorny spines.

"And suddenly I miss the field."

From the trees emerged fae, hundreds of them - swarms of tiny pixies and lumbering feytrolls, fairy wings and devil horns. Shadows slunk across the ground and colorful sparkles flittered through the air. There were beasts of unearthly natures, and men and women of unnatural beauty. They circled around them, not a one fully visible for the trees.

"Um. Hello!" pronounced Spider-man. "I am the Spider-man, and this is The Wolverine. Um, we came to talk to you."

They saw movement in their peripheral.

The men turned to see a tall fae stepping toward them. It had the body of a man, but instead of a face, a top its neck sat the skull of a deer. Its antlers rose high like a crown of stakes and despite its empty sockets, the men could feel the fae's gaze upon them.

"I am The Stag," it announced, its jaws spreading open. "I will speak for this court."

"How do you do," blurted Spider-man.

Logan gave him a look.

"The trow said you would come," The Stag continued. "What business do you have here?"

"We want to know why you're stealing children," said Spider-man.

"We aren't."

"What?"

"We are not stealing children," repeated The Stag plainly.

"What? But…"

Wolverine thought.

"We want to know why you're exchanging children," he said instead.

"Our children are sick," answered The Stag.

"Sick? Does it have something to do with the rot in the forest?" asked Spider-man.

"Yes. It is no longer hospitable to the young ones here. We've traded our children to mortal mothers so they may be nursed and nurtured."

"Can't you take care of your own kids?" asked Wolverine.

The Stag didn't answer.

The myriad of fae around them flitted and loomed. They surrounded them with hushed whispers and peering eyes.

"Ok. Your kids are getting sick," reasoned Spider-man. "So, you're trading them with beast children. What can we do to get our children back?" he asked slowly with overexaggerated hand gestures.

The surrounding fae burst into laughter.

"Did we say somethin' funny?" asked Wolverine unamused.

"What could you do?" asked a trilling female voice.

They turned to see a beautiful young woman with long floating hair and the cyanic complexion of a drowning victim.

"What could you do indeed," she repeated. "What could a snake do to convince a rabbit to lend him her kits? Our children are sick and men made of metal and poison come asking what they can do?"

The crowd of fae burst into hisses and shouts.

"You are the very problem," she accosted. "You men who bring rot."

"So a man did start the rot?" asked Wolverine. "Some magic user?"

"Yes," answered The Stag. "A witch wielding unnatural powers traveled through our land. She brandished it like a child with a torch setting this forest ablaze where ever she went. The air is burning. Monsters were unchained from the deep."

"If a man caused it," said Spider-man. "Maybe we can fix it. If we fix the forest will you give us back the beast children?" he asked The Stag.

The fae court practically erupted into screams causing the men to jump.

Another fae, a large green wolf with snarling teeth and blazing yellow eyes began to speak.

"Can you fix it?" it asked. "Can poison heal?" It looked Spider-man right in the eye. "Can it then, floricidist?"

"What?"

"You killed the fern flower," it reiterated. "Poison man, bane blood!" it barked. "You're very existence is violence against us!"

Spider-man wilted under the denouncement.

"And you, man of metal, you are no better. What has man done to itself? Is this the practice now, for men to cleave themselves apart and fill their very bones with their weapons? If our problems are to be solved, mark my words, it will not be by the likes of you."

The court joined in to hiss and mock them.

"Noted," replied Wolverine flatly.

The fae quieted at his apathy.

"Look," said Wolverine. "I don't give a shit what you think of us. It don't change the fact you're all in between a rock and a hard place. Your forest's rotten and the beast men ain't exactly been nurturin' now have they? I'm sure that trow let you know it was all we could do to keep them from guttin' them right then and there. Your kids can't live in the forest and they sure aren't gonna be safe in the warren."

For once, the court didn't reply or scorn.

"So if I were you," continued Logan. "And a third party was comin' in askin' what they can do to fix it all for me, I'd start fuckin' playin' ball."

He looked around at the hoard of alien faces.

"So," he reiterated pointedly. "What can we do to get our kids back?"

An uneasy quietness filled the court.

"You've already come to the answer," replied The Stag.

The men perked.

"Heal the forest. Heal the forest, make it safe for our children again and we will return yours."

"Great. Want to give us a clue how to do that?" asked Logan.

With that, the court let out a chorus of impish laughter and retreated between the trees.

"Any‽" called Wolverine.

As even The Stag disappeared into the maze, the thorny hawthorns faded like mist until only the one lone tree and the empty field remained.

Crunching back through the underbrush, the two super humans met back up with the rest of the team.

"Well, it seems the negotiations went as well as they could have," said Nih pleased.

"You don't even know what they said," said Spider-man.

"But you came back alive and healthy."

"Ugh."

"What did they say?" asked Wyn.

"They said they're taking children because theirs are sick."

"The fae are sick?" asked Boksee.

"We were right," said Logan. "They said the forest ain't hospitable for them no more, and if we want our kids back, we've got to fix it."

"They expect us to fix a forest of rotten trees?" asked Boksee skeptically.

"That ain't the only thing we were right about either," continued Wolverine. "They said the rot was caused by another human, a witch. That sound familiar?"

"Definitely sounds like our guy," said Wyn. "Did they say how she caused the rot, or how they expect us to fix it?"

"Not a bit," said Spider-man. "Honestly, they laughed when we asked. Hurt my feelings," he joked.

"Suck it up," snarked Logan.

"Well, it sounds like they probably didn't expect you to be able to do it," said Boksee. "Fae are infamous for giving impossible tasks, things like bring me a flower pressed between the pages one and two," she said putting on a voice.

"Or heal with poison?" asked Spider-man bitterly.

"Yah exactly."

"But we've done it before, haven't we?" he asked. "That's what the whole thing about saving that tree in the Warrark forest was about, right? We fixed that forest."

"True, but those were very different circumstances," said Nih. "I had already diagnosed the cause and only needed help with the execution. We don't know what has caused these magical dead-zones, not really, nor have I ever encountered such an occurrence."

"Right," said Spider-man rubbing the back of his head.

"That said, I have been thinking on it in my frantic pacing, and I believe I have an idea."

"Wha- really?" asked Boksee.

"Yes."

The rest of the party looked at each other.

"What is it?"

The team pushed their way deeper and darker into the dense forest. The trees, which seemed to be in a healthy spot, grew thick. Moss carpeted every surface but even in this healthy spot it was looking dry and brittle.

"Although we still don't know what exactly caused it," said Nih leading the team. "We understand well enough what they are, empty spaces. And how do you fix an empty space? You fill it back up."

"And how do you do that?" asked Wyn.

"Do we have to kill a bunch of fae?" asked Wolverine.

"No. I'm sure you remember that there are items in the world that store mana, such as the crystal mana vessel Summer used in his fire spire."

"Yah."

"Well, there are similar items that occur naturally, items that are filled with natural magics, though they are rare. I only know of one that might contain enough magic and would be available to us. An exceptional fruit."

"A fruit?" asked Logan skeptically.

"Yes. One of the rarest in the world."

"If it's so rare, how do we have some?"

"Every forest, woods, jungle, anywhere that is a land of trees has one. Only one. But it is almost guaranteed to be there, if the forest is matured."

"So, we've just got to find this super rare fruit?" asked Spider-man.

"It may be a bit more complicated than that. But first, I'll need to ask for help from the fae folk."

"What‽" asked Wyn. "You want to ask the fae for help? They're the ones causing the problem!"

"Fae are hardly a monolith," replied Nih.

He continued to lead the party down into a dense thicket, dark with large leaves and mushrooms.

"Ah, this could do," he said closing his eyes and feeling the air.

"Oh, he's been looking for a good spot," said Boksee out the side of her mouth.

"That is correct."

Drawing himself up, the druid held out his hands and began chanting in elvish. A gentle red aura began to glow around him and his long silken hair flowed in the breeze. A few flowers bloomed.

As he finished and his magic faded, the group was left standing. Nothing seemed to have happened.

Spider-man felt something furry brush against his leg. He looked down to see a familiar cat with antlers.

"Oh hey," he said happily.

The group looked over and saw it.

"Ah, a feystag," said Nih pleased.

"I thought the other guy was the feystag," said Wolverine.

"No, he's just The Stag," said Spider-man.

"But he's fae."

"That's not a stag that's a cat," asserted Wyn.

"He can hear you, you know," said Nih with a smirk as the cat trotted past them and sat before the elf. "One couldn't ask for a better guide. Thank you for responding to my request noble feystag," said Nih giving it a little bow. The cat nodded back. "A feystag is an expert of his local land and are keenly interested in magical items," he explained to his team. "I suspect I may be able to make a trade."

Nih rummaged under his cloaks, presumably opening satchels and pockets, until he eventually pulled out a small vial of glowing teal liquid.

"This is a spirit of nirnroot. It's quite rare and indeed magical," he said flicking it, causing the liquid to ring like a chime. "Feystag, would you accept this spirit in exchange for guiding us to the forest treant?"

"A treant?" asked Wyn and Boksee in surprised unison.

The cat nodded.

Nih bent down and held out his tribute. The cat reared up on its hind legs and the vial disappeared between its paws. It then dropped back to all fours and trotted into the underbrush.

"Come," said Nih.

The teamed followed the feystag.

"How do you know we can trust it?" asked Logan quietly watching the cat strut on before them. "Ain't like these things didn't lead us into trap after trap last night."

"I met this one before," said Spider-man. "He didn't trick me."

"You met with it before?"

"Feystag are very trustworthy, if not self-interested," said Nih. "Furthermore, our deal was quite clear and simple. It would be difficult to outright break, which is against the nature of fae."

"Hm."

After some time, they were led back to the shallow river. The feystag easily hopped across on breaching stones and fallen logs, leaving the rest of the adventurers, except Spider-man, to get wet. A third fight between him and Logan was avoided.

More time and night was beginning to near.

Spider-man yawned.

"Do we know how much further? I feel like I've been walking in circles. Back and forth and back and forth for days now."

"Quit your whinin'," scolded Wolverine.

"That's right. You two have been on the move since yesterday morning. And you're not far behind are you Boksee?" asked Wyn.

She shrugged.

"Have you two even had anything to eat?"

"I offered mushrooms," said Nih.

"Elf, to put it nicely, I rather eat the sole of my boot before I eat one of your nasty raw fungi."

Nih raised his eyebrows.

"Well, I'm glad that's settled," he said with thick sarcasm.

"Alright, sounds like we're all getting a little testy," said Wyn.

"No kidding. My head's starting to pound," said Spider-man.

"Oh, I have something for tha…wait," said Nih.

The feystag had come to a stop. It was sitting before them in front of a pair of arching trees.

"Are we here?" asked Spider-man.

"Don't see anything," grumped Logan.

"The dwellings of treants are not knowable but for a few," said Nih.

"Well, that explains why I don't know about it," noted Boksee bitterly. "Nothing here but a knot of blackberries."

Ignoring her, Nih walked toward the pair of trees and chanted. Between their arch the landscape changed. It morphed from the view of the forest up ahead into a tunnel of solid vines and bushes.

The feystag casually entered.

Nih motioned them forward.

"Shall we?"

The team emerged from the tunnel into a clearing. It was a glen filled with beautiful flowers of every size and shape. They grew beneath the open sky, their colors only matched by the brilliant pinks and marigolds of the sunset. Black flocks of birds and bats schooled above the horizon. Like the hawthorn lea, the entire glen seemed to have been grown around a singular, large tree.

"Is this the realm of the fae?" asked Wyn keeping her guard up.

"No," said Nih. "We haven't even left the forest. This place is just meant to be hidden. He turned to the feystag and gave it a bow. "Thank you for fulfilling our request."

The cat gave a little bow back, gave Spider-man in particular one final look, then hopped away into the underbrush.

"Alright, we're here," grunted Wolverine looking around. "Where's the fruit? The tree?"

"All will be made clear," answered Nih. "Now, everyone, stay behind me and allow me to do the talking," he said leading them forward. "If I bow, you bow. We need to show the treant ultimate respect."

The party reached the base of the mighty trunk. It was a large tree, though not quite the redwoods that seemed typical of Nehfar, and they could see tiny little houses built along its branches. It was like a whole little village.

"Trees," muttered Logan. "If it ain't horses, it's trees around here."

"Be quiet!" hissed the druid. "Don't speak."

The intensity of the usually calm elf made Logan zip his lips.

Nih recomposed himself and calmly looked up to the tree.

"Great elder of the forest," he called. "I am the druid Nihlael, a child of the underdark of Sorishy and a practitioner of the terran circle. I humbly request an audience."

The team watched as the tree shuttered, then began to twist. Birds were sent flying into the darkening sky as the massive plant unwound itself. Two branchy arms raised from the body, and a bark covered face revealed itself just below the leafy crown. The treant, a colossus of the forest, bent its gnarled trunk like a massive serpent and leaned down to speak to them.

"Oh," mouthed Spider-man silently.

Nih bowed deep to the tree creature. The rest of the adventurers quickly followed.

The treant gave the tiniest bow back and looked the elf down.

"Welcome druid," it said in its low, slow, husky voice. "What brings you… young one… to my glen?"

"My companions and I seek to plant your fruit. We wish to make arrangements to acquire it," he said point blank.

"And what… reason… do you have… to plant my fruit?"

"The magic of your forest is failing. I believe the planting of your fruit will revitalize it."

"I see…" said the treant even more slowly, as if mulling it over. "A reasonable conclusion… but you are… mistaken."

They saw surprise flicker across Nih's stoic face.

"You see…" continued the treant. "A rot grows in the forest… You cannot heal it… while what brings it… roams free."

"Roams free? Does that mean the season's still here?" muttered Logan.

"Shh!"

"You will not be permitted… to plant my fruit… while the rot spreads."

"I see," said Nih. "So, am I correct in assuming if we remove the source of the rot, you will entrust us with your fruit?"

"I'm… afraid not. Even if the ground were fertile… I would not so willingly hand over my fruit."

The treant's wet, amber eyes drifted across the party. "I see there is one male among you," it said looking at Spider-man's tights, "and one female," it said shifting its eyes to Boksee's chest. The two adventures, mortified, shifted under the scrutiny. "But I am afraid I am unable… to sex the remainder. Tell me druid… how many males are amongst you?"

Nih, unphased, answered.

"There are three males here, ancient one."

"Ah. Good… Yes…" said the treant stroking its leafy beard. The flock of birds that had tried to re-roost were sent fluttering from its chin. "I believe we may be able… to make an exchange," he finally concluded.

The treant moved a massive arm through the air and motioned to the tiny village in its crown.

"You see… I am quite fond of my sprites," it said motioning to small winged fae fluttering about in its branches. "And it is extremely rare for elves, or men, or the like to visit my glen. Tonight is the last night… that my grove of esprit will be in bloom… Fruit for fruit. In exchange for my fruit… you… and your companions… will fertilize my grove of esprit."

A smile spread on the elf's face.

He bowed and the rest followed.

"It will be our honor."

With a wave of the treant's massive twisting fingers, a collection of sprites flew into the air.

"Guide them… to the esprit grove."

The fae zipped down and flitted back in forth in front of only the males' faces. They were smaller even then the fairies, but seemed, by far, the most human, for a lack of a better word. They lacked the alien features or unworldy auras of the other humanoid fae. They did glow but, somehow, it wasn't the same. Looking one in the eye was exactly like looking into the eye of a tiny man, or rather, into the eye of a tiny androgenous, ageless human.

They stared the males down like a horde of fathers assessing their daughters' potential suitors. Nih was perfectly calm while Wolverine and Spider-man flinched and bobbed and had to try hard not to swat at them. Finally seeming satisfied, the sprites zipped forward and ushered them toward the grove.

Night was beginning to truly settle as the party followed the sprites deep into the glen. The forest cast long shadows and shown in dulled colors.

"So…" said Spider-man. "What did you just sign us up for?" he asked with suspicion.

The sprites glowed like lights on the water as they flew ahead.

"We've been given a very high honor," said Nih pleased.

Other fae flickered and scuttled in the corners of their eyes, peering at them from amongst the thick undergrowth, but vanishing as soon as noticed.

"Quite the important task, we males anyway," Nih continued. "It is our job to begin a new generation of sprites.

The group came to a stop.

"People can create new fae?" asked Wyn astonished.

"Some yes, primarily sprites."

"But how can that be?" asked Spider-man. "People and fae are opposites aren't they? That's why our stuff, our metal, hurts them?"

"Wouldn't that be like starting a fire with a pail of water?" asked Boksee.

"Opposites," mulled Nih. "Perhaps, but even the furthest stretching branches of the tree meet at the trunk."

"Alright?" said Wolverine thoroughly unimpressed.

"What I mean to say is, there are many creatures that straddle the lines between the species. The lines themselves are not as clear as we would like to believe. Sprites are a union of fae and our kind, neither wholly, but wholly something new."

"Ok, but what do we need to do?" asked Spider-man rubbing a temple.

"We'll need to spend tonight fertilizing the grove of esprit plants."

"Fertilize some plants? Really?" asked Spider-man skeptically.

"Yes."

"That's it?"

"Yes."

"So, we have to go find some, like, compost? That's kind of gross," he said yawning.

"Don't give darlin' an excuse to put her hands in shit," grumbled Logan rubbing his face.

The sprites, annoyed that the party had come to a stop, fluttered and sat to wait amongst the trees.

"Oh, no," answered Nih. "There's been a misunderstanding. Perhaps you're more familiar with the term 'pollinate'?"

"Alright, so we're taking pollen from one plant and moving it to another?" clarified Spider-man.

"Don't got bees in the woods?" asked Logan.

"No, esprit plants do not produce pollen. Their flowers are only female. We are the males," explained Nih. "We need to provide the pollen."

A long and awkward silence followed.

"W-what?" asked Wyn.

"Sprites are the union of our kind and fae. Esprit plants are the females and we are the males. We need to provide them our pollen."

The party was staring at him with looks ranging from shock to disgust.

Spider-man clamped his hands over his face.

"Wait, wait, wait. Are you saying…"

"He's sayin' we gotta go fuck a flower," said Wolverine.

"WHAT‽"

"Hmm, it's more like sowing seeds in a field," said Nih unconcerned. "But essentially."

"Oh my gosh!"

Wyn had her face in her hand.

Boksee shrugged.

"Makes sense to me," she said. "How else would you make new creatures?"

"We can't spend an entire night doing…that!" exclaimed Spider-man. "The warren plans on killing the changelings tomorrow!"

"Tomorrow night," added Wolverine. "You got a better idea?"

"Do I need one‽ Can't we just agree jerking off in a flower bed is a bad one‽"

"That's what the treant wants, and this is our only night to do it. It is Midsummer after all," argued Boksee.

"Easy for you to say. You didn't get agreed to go birth something."

"I think that would require a fair bit more than a night of my time."

"I think it's a good idea," declared Wyn, much to the party's surprise.

"Really?" asked Spider-man in disbelief.

"It will give everyone a break. You three didn't get any sleep last night at all, and you two have been trekking back and forth through the woods since yesterday morning."

"No big deal." "I've been through worse," Wolverine and Spider-man answered in unison.

"Adventuring is often an endurance run, not a sprint," said Wyn. "We may be able to save the beast children even if the changelings are killed. We won't if we get ourselves killed through self-neglect. Let's fulfill the treant's first request and bed down for the night. Whatever is causing the rot, we'll tackle it in the morning."

"What a morning," said Spider-man.

"Are we agreed?"

The party, some more begrudgingly than others, nodded.

The sprites led them to a shallow ravine. It was barely more than a wide ditch with a small stream running through its center, but it was beautiful. The land was lush and the ravine was filled with a singular type of plant, a grove of densely packed shrubs, each one about waist high and covered in fat pink buds.

The sprites zipped forward, glowing bright, and raining shimmering light across their leaves.

"We've arrived," said Nih.

As the sun fell below the far-off horizon, the final full moon of Midsummer began to rise through the trees.

The glen lit with life. Luminescent mushrooms began to glow and tiny firefly-like fae floated into the air. Night in the glen was actually brighter than the evening that had preceded it. The plants too stirred.

Their folded pink buds unfurled, filling the entire ravine with plush pink flowers.

"Oh goodie," said Spider-man facetiously. "They're suggestive."

They were indeed. Plump petals spread themselves wide, their color growing from a delicate pink around the edges to a deep crimson in the gaping center.

"Now those are some horny plants," grunted Logan. "I could use a smoke."

Spider-man face palmed.

Wyn was debating whether she should cover her eyes.

"Well, I suppose this is where we part ways," said Boksee. "We'll, um, we'll just leave you boys to your…uh…fecundation."

"What did you just call me?" asked Logan.

"We'll give you fellows some privacy," said Wyn. "Holler if you need us."

The two women hurried off to find someplace to sleep for the night. The rest of the party was left standing at the edge of the flowering ravine.

An uncomfortably long pause ensued. The stream burbled, fae buzzed.

"Welp," said Wolverine with heft and breaking the silence. He put his thumbs in his belt. "I always knew I'd end up a stud. Come on then. Show me where to aim elf boy and I'll see if I can keep it up with you two grunting around."

Wolverine started lumbering into the grove.

"Shall we," asked Nih to Spider-man. He was far too pleasant and casual.

"What‽ Now? No! You can't expect me to… just no! I did NOT consent to this!"

"Well hey there ladies," they heard Logan say some feet away. "Elf boy! You didn't say there'd be hot hallucinations!" he called.

"Of course. All flowers provide their pollinators with incentive."

"Hey now, aren't you a big fella'," they heard Wolverine continue to his hallucinations. "You come to watch?"

"Logan shut up you're nasty!" shouted Spider-man.

Nih chuckled.

"Alright, come on my snail ears," he said pushing Spider-man in the right direction. "Time to fulfill your male's duty."

Spider-man literally stuck to the ground as Nih tried to shove him into the ravine.

"Oh come now, really."

"I'm not up for this level of male bonding!" started Spider-man, but then he stopped. Far in the ravine, he saw a group of astoundingly beautiful women. He could tell they weren't really there, but they were there, standing nude, smiling, and inviting him in none the less.

It got Spider-man's attention.

"Hrm," he said his resolve slipping. "They aren't real people. They're just there to help get the job done, right?"

"Correct."

"Can I… can I ask them to do stuff then?" he asked a blush rising on his face. "Maybe to each other?"

"They're your hallucinations."

"Mmmm. Fine. But I'm going into this far off corner. You two aren't allowed anywhere near me."

"Oh, very well my snail ears."

"You're just lucky I've been dry as a bone since I got here," Spider-man muttered entering the ravine.

"Ha! Bone!" shouted Logan.

"Don't listen! Ew!"

As Spider-man went off to find his spot, Nih chuckled and looked up to see his own collection of gorgeous elves looking back at him.

"Yes. Quite the honor," he said as he joined them.

Morning began to creep into the treant's glen. It didn't announce itself with rays of sunlight or a chorus of birds, instead the world slowly and softly filled with dark greys, then muted blues, then bashful colors.

A drop of dew slipped down a leaf and landed on Wyn's cheek.

The two women pulled themselves from their makeshift bedding.

"Do you ever take that thing off?" asked Boksee floofing the dirt and dew out of her cloak. Wyn was readjusting her armor. It had twisted a bit out of place while she slept.

"Obviously. You've seen it."

"I mean like, during missions. It can't be good for you to wear full metal armor all the time. That stuff's heavy."

"What am I supposed to do with it, carry it around on my back?"

"Maybe leave it at home? It's just not practical all the time."

Wyn raised an eyebrow.

"Well obviously that's not going to happen."

Boksee sighed as Wyn relatched a piece with a hard clank.

After stuffing down a few biscuits, the pair headed off.

Through clouds of morning mist, they made their way back down to the ravine. They found all the flowers gone. The plants had shed them, filling the grove with silky pink petals that fluttered under foot and flowed down the gurgling stream.

Boksee took a deep breath enjoying the quiet beauty.

"MEN! NIH! ARE YOU HERE‽" bellowed Wyn making her jump.

"Blow me down paladin!" she scolded. "Can't you recognize a place of forest tranquility when you find one?"

"Oh sorry."

"Come on then. I think I heard some grunting this way."

The two entered the ravine. Instead of flowers, many of the plants were now adorned with plump red fruit. They carefully pushed their way through to find their males. It didn't take long.

With his long white hair laying around him, Nih was lying face down in a carpet of pink petals, buck naked.

He took a deep breath and sleepily pushed himself onto his elbows.

"Oh, good morning ladies."

Wyn covered her eyes and shrieked.

"WHAT‽" barked a groggy voice.

Wolverine popped out of the bushes some yards away, also naked, claws splayed with petals stuck in his hair.

"What is it‽ What's wrong‽"

"Ugghh…what's with all the yelling?" moaned Spider-man as he too levered his naked body to standing.

"Well, you three look like you had a productive night," said Boksee.

"It was productive alright," grumbled Logan whacking the petals off his head. The bushes thankfully covered him and Spider-man from full view.

"Please everyone, cover yourselves," said Wyn shielding her sight from Nih. Her face went scarlet as she saw him stand in front of her in her peripheral. "By the divine, Wolverine, you really are an incredibly hairy man."

"I'm telling you, he's got a pelt," said Spider-man starting to dig around for his clothes.

"And proud of it."

Boksee was looking at Nih.

"Blow me down druid. I don't think I've ever seen a naked elf before. That's a surprise."

"For heaven's sake have some decorum," hissed Wyn making Boksee laugh. The ranger moved on to look at the fruit.

"Are these where the sprites will come from?" she asked leaning in to examine one.

"Quite," answered Nih.

Sprites zipped down from the trees and started tending to it. They hovered about the plants as if assessing the next fledgling generation.

"When will they be born?"

"They're not born so much as emerge," said Nih pulling on his robes. "As this is Midsummer, I do believe they will emerge on the first night of the harvest moon."

"Wait," said Spider-man latching his armor. "Does this mean… am I a dad?"

"Doubt it," said Logan.

"Maybe," said Boksee shrugging. "If you consider unripe sprites children."

As the rest of the team got ready to leave, Spider-man looked to his fruit. He stopped.

"Now everyone make sure to get something to eat, and drink plenty of water," nagged Wyn as Logan took a swig from his water skin. "Keep your studs hydrated, that's what my father used to say."

"What was your father doing?" asked Boksee.

Petals were crunching beneath his feet. Unlike everywhere else, where the petals were simply shed, the ones around Spider-man were shriveled and dried. His fruit was different as well. Unlike the other two, who's fruit was a deep bloody red, Spider-man's were a putrid purple, smaller and wrinkled.

The sprites who had come to tend them were utterly perplexed. They prodded at the malformed fruit and gave Spider-man perturbed looks.

"Kid! You comin'?" shouted Wolverine.

"Quiet down!" hissed Boksee and Nih in unison.

"Oh sorry."

Spider-man gave his fruit one last dismal look, then followed.

"Well done," said the treant as they reached it. "My sprites tell me it will yield a fine harvest."

Spider-man saw the treant's eyes graze over him.

He glanced away.

"Great elder," said Nih. "We have fulfilled your request. Before we depart, will you tell us more about the being who plagues your forest?"

"I cannot… speak its name," answered the treant. "It is a being of wasting and drought. Its breath brings disease, its presence… brings famine. It is one of the foulest beings of nature."

"But it is of nature?" asked Nih.

"Yes."

"Does that mean it's not a season," asked Wyn in her best attempted whisper.

The rest of the party shushed her.

"Was it not a man who brought this rot?" asked Nih.

"A man…? Yes…" said the treant, its brow bristling. "A man… through magics of great destruction… weakened the forest… and in doing so…invited cataclysm. There are beasts… beasts that dwell beneath the film of our world. They look up… forever hunting… seeking an opening. One has found one. It is called… the fae demon."

"The fae demon?" repeated the druid.

"What's it look like?" muttered Logan quietly to Nih. He shot him a death glare.

"No one has seen its true form," answered the treant, much to their surprise. "But upon the land it fashions itself… as a mighty rider held aloft… upon a great, monstrous steed."

Wolverine and Spider-man both jumped at the description.

The treant seemed to notice.

"Return when it is felled…" it said taking its leave. "Fair thee well… young druid." It gave the smallest of nods then began to twist itself, creaking and groaning, back into a large lone tree.

As soon as the treant was out of sight, Wolverine and Spider-man all but ran the team through the vining tunnel and back into the regular forest.

"We saw it!" exclaimed Spider-man.

"What?" asked the rest of the party practically in unison.

"The fae demon! We saw it! The night before last on Midsummer's Eve!"

"If that thing is what we're going up against we might have taken on more than we bargained," gruffed Logan concerned.

"What was it like?" asked Boksee.

"Just like the treant said," answered Spider-man. "It was an enormous horse and rider, except they were like one entity. The rider didn't have legs, it just went straight into the back of the horse. It was enormous and skinless! It was just bare muscle! It set off my spider sense so badly I thought I was going to pass out!"

"I'm not familiar with this creature," said Wyn. "And I am studied in demons and devils."

"Nor am I," said Nih. "And I know many fae."

"But I don't understand. How could a fae be killing the forest?" asked Spider-man. "How is it making the other fae sick? Fae are nature, right? Why would nature be killing itself?"

"Well, it's also a demon," said Boksee.

"Perhaps," said Nih. "Perhaps not, not in the literal sense anyway. Nature is not a monolith. It is a constant dance of forces and interests. Plague, disaster, death itself are all natural. The fire that burns the forest is no less of nature than the forest itself."

"Unless someone else started the fire," said Wolverine.

"That does seem to be the predicament," said Wyn.

"Then it's up to us to put it out."

"Do you two have any idea where you saw it?"

"Yep. Down river," said Spider-man.

"Let's move."

The ranger picked up their tracks from Midsummer's Eve and led them by the water. Eventually she brought the party to a stop.

"Well, webs landed on the ground here," she said pointing at the river bank. "Flat on his back by the look of it. Is that relevant?"

"How could you possibly know that?" asked Spider-man.

"Look at the skidding, and the little heel indents there, and that's an elbow."

"How do you know it was my elbow?" he asked impishly.

"Because the heel prints are soft and round as if they were barefoot, you know, since you don't wear shoes, not the sharp edge of a boot. Also, the length between the heel and the elbow looks a little long to be Logan's."

"Darn you're good," said Spider-man putting a fist to his chin.

"You've just got a lot to learn junior ranger."

"I told you I wasn't doing that."

The two laughed.

"I wouldn't be laughin'," said Logan. He pointed across the river.

The trees were rotten, but not in the way they had seen before. It was like a spot had been melted out of the forest, a match held to wax. The trees were twisted and black, and the smaller plants had rotted into the ground. Corpses from rodents to deer lay festering in puddles of their own evaporating liquid.

The team tried to shield their noses and mouths as they stepped out into the ravaged land. Their only grace was the unusually hot and dry air.

"This is new," coughed Spider-man, his mouth behind his hands.

Even the flies that had come to feast were spotted lying dead on the sticky corpses.

"Is this a magic hole?" asked Wyn.

Nih cast his light spell and an orb floated up beside him.

"Nope," said Logan. "This is somethin' different."

"The work of the fae demon, no doubt," concluded Wyn.

"You men weren't kidding," said Boksee looking up at the smashed branches. "This thing is massive. Do we have a plan?"

"If it's fae, we've got our metal," said Wyn. "If it's demon, my weaponry is blessed and I do carry a bottle of holy water. It's equine in structure, yes? Sounds to me, we take out its legs, and go for the head."

The team nodded as they continued to examine the area.

"Well, it didn't leave tracks," said Boksee.

"Do you need them?" asked Wolverine noting the path of destruction.

"What I'm saying is fae don't leave tracks. No wait," said Boksee crouching down. She spotted some scuffing in the chalky dirt.

Nih also spotted something. He leaned down to grab it.

"I think someone else was here," said Boksee. "Really recently."

Nih had something in his hand. He brought it back to the group and showed them a tiny fae, no bigger than a firefly, lying dead in his palm.

"I guess their kids really are getting sick," said Spider-man.

"This is an adult," said Nih. "A grave sign. Fae do not die. They are only killed."

He went to find some place away from the rot.

"We should keep moving," said Wyn. "A blind man could follow this trail. We'll want to meet it before sunset."

"No kidding," said Spider-man.

Nih placed the dead fae on the ground and it dissolved in a soft light. A single mushroom grew in its place.

As he moved to stand, he was rammed by another body sending him flailing backwards.

"Nih!"

His attacker landed on him punching and clawing at his eyes. The party leapt to his defense. Logan slugged the attacker in the muzzle and tackled them. He landed his knee in their gut and threw his blades against their leathery green throat. He found himself snarling down into a familiar reptilian face.

"Kill me then!" shouted the lizardman, blood spilling from her nostrils. "The others will find me. They'll know what you did!"

Wolverine growled.

"We're on your side!" exclaimed Spider-man as Nih hopped back to his feet, his own mouth bleeding. Wyn already had her mace in hand and Boksee was clutching her falchion.

"You brought elves and men into our woods!" shouted the lizard. "I knew you were liars! You've exposed us!"

There was shouting and running.

The adventures turned to see more beast men drawn in by the commotion. Their eyes landed on the armed outsiders, then landed on Wolverine pinning their companion to the ground.

The entire party stood in the warren. They stood before the crowd of beast men. Their shock, and anger, and rage, and despair palpable and electric in the air.

"Look! Look!" shouted the lizardman. "Look what they've done! We were tracking the rot and we find men and elves brought to our home."

"We were nowhere near here. You were the ones who walked us back here," said Spider-man.

The lizard whipped around and hissed at him.

"And look, we did. We came back here, like you wanted, in good faith. We're on your side."

"We are not dumb beasts!" she snapped. "You were found in our woods with warriors while seeking our children. You told them everything, don't deny!"

"Alright then," said Wolverine. "We won't."

The crowd hissed and stirred.

"We needed help," he said calmly. "This is our party, and they're the best adventurers for fifty miles."

"Will you let this stand‽" exclaimed the lizardman turning to Mazhar.

The old owlin shook his head.

"You have proven yourselves extremely untrustworthy," he said. "You have shamed me."

"Oh fuck you. You shame yourselves," said Wolverine causing his entire team to try to shush him. "No, I mean it. What's more important here? Your kids' lives or your petty grudge against everyone without a scrap of fur?"

"Petty‽" shouted a crowd member, some sort of turtle man. "You have been nothing but trouble! Everything's getting worse. The fae attacked a grown centaur. Our last child gone! Now the very forest is rotting from beneath our feet!"

"You're blaming us for that?" exclaimed Spider-man.

Many villagers sounded their agreement. They didn't even see the fauns.

"It's not us!" he argued. "There's a monster in the woods! A fae demon! We were out trying to kill it! It's probably a miracle it hasn't found you all yet."

"Of course it's you!" snapped the lizardman. "We just wanted to be left alone, but you elves, and dwarves, and especially men. You spread like a disease to every corner of this world, burning, and pillaging, and subjugating. You people slaughtered my kin like animals!"

"Hey!" snapped Boksee stomping up to the lizard twice her size. "I don't know what people you're talking about, but MY people, this country, this land, fought against the Ternion if you can't remember! My grandpa fought for seven years in The War of the Brush to keep this land out of their clutches. My father found you this land you call your village!"

The crowd exploded into angry shouting. They shouted at the party. They shouted at each other. The party shouted back. The party shouted at each other.

"YOU CAME TO US FOR HELP!"

"NO WE DIDN'T!"

"YES WE DID!"

"QUIET!"

Mazhar flapped his enormous wings rising above the crowd.

"QUIET! ENOUGH! Now that is quite enough! Calm down!"

The riot hushed and the owl landed.

"You lot," he said to the party. "In honor of your efforts we will allow you to live, but you are no longer welcome here. Leave and never return. We will kill any outsider who enters our domain."

His enormous, spherical eyes landed on Boksee.

"Tell your father he is also no longer welcomed."

The hafling's face went blood red.

Wolverine put a hand to her shoulder. He took a sharp breath and smirked.

"Now, you listen here owl man," he said concerningly calm. "Let's get one thing straight. You lot wouldn't even be able to take me," he hissed ejecting his claws causing the crowd to startle back. "So, you ain't lettin' us do anything."

"You are no beast man," declared the lizard. "You're some abomination of man. A creature sewn together from discarded pieces. A mockery of our likeness. You disgust me! Your existence is an insult!"

"An insult?" said a weak female voice.

The crowd froze. The lizardman's eyes went wide as the adventurers saw her cold blood drain from her face.

The crowd split in half as Vro, held high aloft on her large spindly legs stepped toward the lizard. Her petite face was stone, but she was shaking with rage.

Nih gasped.

"Discarded pieces?" she repeated in her deep, hollow voice. "An abomination? Is that how you view those not born of beast men?"

"No, drider! I wasn't referring to you!" exclaimed the lizard.

"I was an elf. My mother and father and sisters, were all elves, or do you not recall? Can you not even be bothered to remember what I am before condemning the entire race?" she snarled through a strained throat and running tears.

"I…"

"AHHHHH!"

Vro let out a scream and lunged at the lizard sending her crashing into a hut wall.

Nih of all people leapt forward and ensnared the drider with a vine around the wrist.

"Nih stop!" shouted Spider-man.

"You were never my people!" screamed Vro rampaging through the village. "I was there! I was there in that prison! You said we were one people! You said blood was thicker than water!" she screamed as she raised huts to the ground.

Villagers leapt forward trying to calm and restrain her without fighting. Many more went running.

"I didn't ask to be this way! Discarded pieces! An abomination!" she snarled kicking them away. "I didn't ask to be this! I didn't ask to be a MONSTER!"

She screamed at the top of her lungs then let out a long, loud sob. Her legs collapsed beneath her and the drider threw her face into the dirt, weeping hysterically. "I didn't," she repeated over and over. "…I didn't."

The beast men, the men, the mutant, the elf, everyone stood stunned beneath the calm midday sun, watching as the massive spider languished. Eventually a lone figure stepped forward. It walked unobstructive between the silent factions and took a knee beside her. As a hand was gently placed on her shoulder, Vro jerked up to see who had dared. Wolverine was at her side.

"I know darlin'," he said. "I know."

"What do you know‽" she barked through tears and fangs.

"I know what kind of hurt you're feelin'. Why you're so angry. You didn't ask for any of this. It ain't right, to be taken away, forced to do things, to be things you were never meant to. Believe me, I know," he said holding up his ejected claws.

She stared down at the shimmering metal.

"I know it's a special kind of horrible," he continued. "A horrible you can't even describe, to have people chain you up, hold you down, root around inside you, twist you up inside. This body, it's all we got, all we'll ever have, and to have someone else change it forever, without your say, against your will, there ain't anything else like it."

Vro, Spider-man, the party, and the entire warren stood in stunned silence.

"Like I said, I can't even put it into words, what that feels like, but I know. I can't tell you where to put all the hurt, all the anger, but I can tell you this. Don't you ever put it back on yourself."

Retracting his claws, Logan gave her a few pats on the back then walked back to his party.

"We're going," he declared. "But we ain't gonna stop 'til we get those kids, and not for you lot," he added with indignation. "But because no kid should ever have to suffer for the fuckery of their parents!"

The warren didn't respond.

"Come on everyone."

"Wait!"

They turned to see Vro push herself to her feet and scramble toward them.

"I want to come with you. Clearly my kind are not found here," she said giving the warren a disdainful look. "You two," she said turning to Wolverine and Spider-man. "You are my people."

"Vro wait…" started Spider-man, but she looked down at him with ragged hair and wet cheeks. He couldn't bring himself to turn her away. "Y-you, are you ok?"

She nodded.

"We should get going then," said Wyn quietly and the team concurred.

The lionman helped the lizard out of the rubble and to her feet.

She and the rest of the warren watched as the adventurers and drider disappeared into the woods, leaving the rest of them in the ruins of their village.

"Do you think they'll kill the changelings?" asked Wyn as the party plus one stomped through the underbrush. They were all wired from the scene in the warren.

"Don't know. Don't care," said Boksee. "Those senseless, ungrateful, bobolyne, shit eating, cox-combs!" she shouted in a string of uncoherent insults. "I say we let them dig their own grave. Let them kill the changelings. What is it our concern if they suffer the wrath of the fae‽"

"Do you even hear yourself?" asked Spider-man. "Those changelings are children. They didn't ask for this, and neither did the beast children! You'd let them all die just for spite?"

"No. Fine! I don't mean it. Can't you let a girl speak in anger for a minute? Blow me down man, you're more uptight than the paladin."

Spider-man stuck his tongue out at her and she slugged him in the arm.

"Wait wait wait," said Wyn bringing the troop to a halt. "Now hang on. Boksee might have a point."

"What?" asked Wolverine.

"What do you mean?" asked Spider-man.

"Look, we haven't even seen these children. The fae may be treating them well for all we know. We are clearly not wanted. If we're here because they asked for help and now they don't want it, what obligation do we have to complete the quest?"

"What obligation?" asked Wolverine astounded. "The obligation is that there are children who have been kidnapped! I don't care if they were kidnapped by the queen of England and given silver spoons. There's a village of people on their last leg about to rip each other's throats out because their kids are missing, their home is rotting to the ground and what, it's not our business?"

"They don't want us," said Boksee. "They hate us!"

"So they don't want our help, called us some mean names, boo fuckin' hoo. I don't turn my back on people because they're shit heads. You know I'm a shit head, and you better believe I've pushed people away, called 'em names, spit on 'em. The people who come back anyway…" he said.

Spider-man saw him glance at him and quickly look away.

"Well, it's more than I deserve." He cleared his throat and rolled a shoulder. "A-anyway, thankless or not, sometimes you just gotta pay that shit forward."

Wyn sighed.

"No, you're right," she said humbly. "A good deed is its own reward. We're here now and we know what to do. We just need to get it done."

Boksee, seeming a little ashamed of herself, nodded.

Vro was silent.

"I want to fix the forest regardless," said Nih.

The group chuckled.

"Hey, um, can I talk to you for a second," said Spider-man grabbing Wolverine. "Hang on guys, we'll be right back."

A bit to the rest's confusion, Spider-man dragged Logan some yards away and into the underbrush.

"What?" asked Wolverine.

"Are you sure about this?"

"About what?"

"About continuing to push this thing through?"

"Are you serious‽' snapped Logan. "You of all people are turnin' tail? You rescued a slaving mass murderer and you don't want to help out a group of kids?"

"No! I do want to help! But what if we can't? What if they're right? What if we're just making everything worse?"

"That's just group hysteria."

"No, really. We don't understand how all this works, the magic, or the history, or how everything slots together. We are literally outsiders to this entire world. How could we help them more than they could help themselves?"

Logan exhaled.

"Alright," he said honestly. "Kid, I see where your comin' from, I really do. Plenty of times people with no business in a problem come in and think they can solve everything, wreck everything in the process, but not always. Sometimes only people on the outside can solve it. They come in seein' the problem from above, not down in the weeds, and can come in with reinforcements, new tools and resources. You better believe I've seen 'em both play out. The best we can do is try to help these people the best we can, and if that means backin' off, we back off, but I don't think we're there yet."

"What on earth does 'there' look like?"

"When we actually fuck it all up."

The younger man sighed.

"It's not just that," he said with a new air of shame. "Maybe what the fae are upset about, what's causing the rot, we really are accelerating it."

"There ain't no way."

"No, it's possible. And I know it's possible because I did it."

"Did what?"

"I rotted things!" he said struggling for words. "I found some magical fairy flower and I killed it! I didn't mean to. It was beautiful and magical and mystical and me just being there, bleeding a bit, killed it. They called you discarded pieces? No, I'm discarded pieces. I'm not even a mutant. I'm just some unaccounted lab variables. The fae call us poison because we are the exact antithesis of them. Everything that separates man from nature, his creations, his pollution and weapons. That's what we are."

"Well they got in your head," snorted Logan. "The people kidnappin' kids say we're a problem, so you want to give up and let them? You really that pathetic?"

"It's not that simple and you know it," Spider-man barked through clenched teeth. "We could just be the wrong people to solve this problem. I would never, NEVER abandon people that need help, NEVER, but if I'm hurting them and not helping them then maybe I should stop!"

Wolverine shrugged.

"The way I see it, there ain't no wrong person to solve a problem, just that it gets solved. And as for hurtin' people. Yah, if we were hurtin' and not helpin' we should stop, but like I said, I ain't convinced we're their yet. Let me ask this, who would you rather come in here and help then us? Name 'em. If the warren had any other options, we wouldn't have been here in the first place."

Spider-man took a long moment to think, then lamely lowered his head.

"Yah, that's what I thought."

Wolverine's attention suddenly snapped to the side causing Spider-man to look as well.

They both watched as Nih pushed himself through the underbrush.

"You fuckin' eavesdroppin' elf boy?" demanded Wolverine annoyed.

"No. I also wish to speak in private."

Logan settled into a cranky arm cross.

"Men, are you certain you wish to keep the drider among us?"

"What?" asked Spider-man surprised.

"You got a problem with…uh, what is she again?"

"A drider," answered Spider-man.

Nih gave them a look like they were dense.

"Yes," he said plainly.

Both men baulked but Nih continued before they could reply.

"Driders are the work of an unspeakable horror from the darkest pit of the eternal abyss. They are her punished servants. They are traitors and exiles of my people."

"Oh," said Spider-man in realization. "Driders used to be dark elves, like you."

"Yes, but unlike me they sacrificed themselves to a demon."

"Vro said she was kidnapped," said Spider-man. "She didn't ask for this."

"And you believe her? A drider? Really?"

"Yah I do," he said offended.

Wolverine was about to join in but was interrupted by the sound of crunches and clonking. They turned to see Wyn push herself through the brush.

"You too tuts?"

"I also wanted to speak in private."

"It's not exactly private anymore," said Spider-man.

"I'm also concerned about the drider. She's clearly unstable."

"Driders always are," agreed Nih.

"Beyond that she's a civilian," said Wyn. "We can't walk her around with us. It will put her, and us, in danger."

"You saw what she did to the village," said Spider-man.

"Sheer strength in a manic frenzy does not make a capable warrior. We're going to need to find a place for her."

Wolverine and Nih both heard a noise and turned. Spider-man and Wyn joined them to see Boksee poke her head out.

"Seriously?"

"Hey, um, are we done with the private meeting, because the drider looks like she's either going to pass out or eat me if some beast man doesn't come back out here."

"What? Oh you mean us," said Spider-man.

The party made their way back to the drider.

"Sorry about that Vro," he said.

"It's alright," she said meekly. "You all have much to discuss."

"Much to discuss, and much to do," said Boksee. "If we're gonna get those kids back, I suppose we gotta go pick up the fae demon's trail again. Blow me, I wish it would save us the trouble and just come to us."

The world went silent.

The adventurers felt a dread fall over them as tangible as the cold before a storm. They looked to each other, each seeing that the others had felt it.

"Um, what was…"

A scream shrieked across the forest. It was ungodly, as loud as a hurricane but unmistakably made from flesh.

The team jumped. A wave of air so dry and salty it stung their throats rushed through the trees. Sharp adrenaline surged and hearts raced as they closed ranks and drew weapons.

"Be careful what you wish for darlin'," muttered Wolverine.

"What?" gasped Boksee.

"Shit!" realized Wyn. "It's a demon. You've called it to us!"

Trees crashed and thundered in the far distance.

"I'm so sorry!"

"No, it's alright. We wanted this. Hold your ground!" said Wyn pulling her shield from her back. "We face it now!"

Spider-man grabbed his head.

"GAH! AH!"

"Webs, what's…"

"IT'S COMING!"

The sound of destruction sped toward them as loud as a landslide, as unstoppable and inevitable as an oncoming tornado.

In an explosion of towering redwoods, the fae demon threw its arm through the trees and revealed itself in all its perverse glory.

It was a massive creature, just as large as it had been Midsummer's Eve, rising stories above them, and yet even more grotesque in the stark daylight. Its skinless red muscle shimmered wet and moist in the sun. It smelled of salt and rot, with pulsating black veins. The human head was laying listless, its unblinking, lidless eyes locking onto them. The skull of the horse turned, the one eye in the middle of its face growing wide.

"Spider-man take…"

The horse charged forward. The rider swung its hideously long arms toward them causing the adventurers to leap for their lives. Spider-man sprung straight into the air exploding strings of webbing. His aim was off but long clumsy strands looped around the demon's legs. He gasped as they burned away in a familiar green fire.

"SHIT!" he screamed hitting the ground and stumbling.

"Bring it down!" shouted Wyn.

"Get out of here!" shouted Wolverine to Vro.

The drider, petrified in fear, managed to break away and took off running.

"By the soil that builds form and the water that brings life," shouted Nih getting his feet back under him. "May these plants bend and grow! Grow!"

Roots erupted from the ground stretching and twisting toward the monster. It stomped and kicked them away. Any root that managed to touch it shriveled and collapsed.

Spider-man was screaming, clutching his head trying to fight, but his spider sense wouldn't let him. He was overcome with the need to flee and his refusal to do so.

Every step the creature took as it lunged and stomped caused the plants around its hooves to die. Nih was losing his ammo.

Boksee rolled out of the way and let off a volley of arrows. Each one found their mark, their iron heads sinking deep into the exposed flesh.

The demon let out a noise, an unearthly howl from the horse and human sounding together with shredded vocal cords and monstrous size. The team covered their ears.

The metal burned and sizzled dark rings into the monster's body, but to their horror, the arrows were pushed back out, falling lamely to the ground one by one, and the dark rings healed.

"CLAWS WITH ME!" shouted Wyn.

Wyn and Wolverine bolted toward the demon's back legs and sent their weapons slicing and smashing into the exposed sinew of its ankles.

Flesh splattered. The monster howled and so did Wyn and Wolverine. They both fell back from the trampling hooves, their arms covered in its black blood. Wyn dropped to her knees and screamed. Wolverine landed on his back. He felt like he had been plunged into boiling tar. He wailed as he watched his skin swell, grow purple, then grey, then black.

The deep sizzling claw marks Wolverine had left in the monster's body, and even the massive hunk of flesh taken by Wyn's mace, quickly filled themselves back in.

"Claws!" shouted Wyn trying to get her feet back under her.

Boksee cursed as her entire quiver of arrows was spent and the rampaging monster was no worse for it. She pulled her falchion and charged.

"NO!" screamed Wolverine. "DON'T TOUCH IT!" he screamed through his agony. "DON'T GET NEAR IT!"

"WHAT‽"

An arm reached out to ensnare her. The ranger flailed to a stop and just barely managed to dodge as long fingers shoveled through the dirt. The ground festered under her feet.

Spider-man was on his knees. He couldn't see! Couldn't hear! His head was going to rupture! He started throwing up.

Wyn, Wolverine, Boksee, and Nih were dodging and fleeing for their lives.

Finding an ejected arrow, Boksee snatched it up and let it loose. In a lucky shot, it landed directly in the horse's one large eye. The fae demon screeched again, rearing on its hind legs and sending the adventurers reeling. They were knocked off their feet as it brought its hooves slamming back down, and branches crashing around them.

The monster steadied then readied itself. Its naked bony tail flicked as its eye healed and its human head rolled. Then it opened its mouth. Both chests swelled as air was sucked down its gaping throat.

Spider-man let out a final scream before collapsing unconscious.

The rest of the adventurers watched as the horse's mouth opened and a dark cloud began spilling between its lipless teeth. It rained like a black fog toward them.

Nih jumped forward.

"By the gusts of the plains. By the winds of the storm, by the gale of the hurricane. Blow!" he thundered.

A surge of wind hurtled through the trees. All four adventurers were thrown forward and the black fog was sent flying backwards. Everything behind the demon melted and crumbled, the black breath all but dissolving the life it touched. The demon was unmoved. Its breath was still spilling from its mouth. In a declaration of intent, it reared on its hind legs and screamed.

"RETREAT!" shouted Wyn.

The adventurers took off.

"Wait! No! Spider-man!" shouted Wolverine skidding to a stop. He turned to see the man unconscious in the path of the colossus.

Before the demon trampled him under foot or touched him with its breath, a figure sprinted out of the forest right for them. It was Vro. She snagged Spider-man with a web and threw him on her back, taking off running with the adventurers.

"MOVE MOVE MOVE!" shouted Wyn.

The party fled through the forest tripping and stumbling over the uneven ground. They picked and pulled and dragged each other to their feet as the black breath spilled over the land like a rapid flood. The thundering hooves, crashing trees, and demonic screaming was nearly deafening! The dense forest was the only thing keeping them ahead of it, but it was no match for the pursuing horseman.

"We can't outrun it!" screamed Boksee.

Through the trees, a shimmer caught Wolverine's eye. It was the river.

The river.

The river!

"The river!" he shouted. "Everyone get across the river!"

The team turned, some stumbling but catching themselves as they bolted toward the water.

Logan hoped the fuck he was right.

He was the first one in. His feet splashed and the river bed crunched beneath his boot. He tripped on a rock and fell face first into the shallow water but practically bounced back onto his feet.

The rest of the team were only steps behind, each one fleeing into the water as the fae demon burst through the trees.

Vro had lagged behind. She gasped and panted, running as fast as her many legs could carry her. A massive skinless hand moved to come down on her and Spider-man.

"NO!" screamed Wyn.

The paladin turned on a heel and launched her bottle of holy water. It shattered against the monster's knuckle sending it screaming and startling backwards. Vro escaped beneath its hand and splashed into the river.

The fae demon skid to a halt on the opposite bank. Just as it did on Midsummer's Eve, it stomped and neighed annoyed. The rider kept its eyes on them, but the horse refused to take one more step.

"It's water!" shouted Wolverine in realization. "That's it's weakness! Its water!"

He ran forward and threw a rock into the river sending a splash onto the opposite bank. The fae demon recoiled in fear. Wyn and Boksee ran up and joined him chucking rocks, but Nih dashed forward. With his weight behind it, he threw a hand at the river and sent a spout of water flying toward the monster. It splashed against its skinless flesh sending it screaming and flailing.

"That's it elf boy!"

"Don't let up!"

Throwing his hands with more force, body with more weight, the druid sent water leaping in streams and spouts.

The demon shrieked and wailed as it tried to dodge but hit after hit splashed against it.

With a shout, Nih leapt into the river launching a fat wave right into the horse's skull. It let out a scream so horrific the adventurers' vision darkened and their heads spun. They fell to their knees but saw the fae demon turning tail. It abandoned the chase and took off running back into the desecrated forest. Its earth-shaking hoof steps were felt long after it was out of sight but eventually, they too faded.

The team was left standing on the other side of the river dumbstruck, gasping, but alive.

Wyn snarled and strained as Nih unlatched the armor from her arms. The gauntlets, cleaned in the river, were gently pulled away.

Boksee clamped her hand over her nose. Wyn didn't dare to look.

The metal was coated with pink pus. Sticky liquid was seeping through her sleeves. She let out a cry as Nih pushed them back revealing raw weeping flesh.

"This will likely need more than one session," he said bitterly calm.

"That's fine," grunted Wyn.

The druid began performing his healing chant, his hands glowing red.

The team was gathered on the safe side of the river, nursing their wounds and battered egos.

Wolverine was sitting on a fallen log, shaking, and watching his own arms slowly heal. He had gotten the worst of it, but that was probably for the best.

Nih finished up with Wyn then turned to the rest of the party.

"I'm running low on mana. Does anyone else need help? Wolverine are you…"

"I'm fine. Work with someone else."

Nih looked at Wolverine's mutilated arms but saw them healing. He nodded.

Spider-man was sat against Vro. He was doubled over, eyes buried in his hand.

"Spider-man, where are you injured," asked Nih coming over.

He shook his head.

"I'm sorry. I don't understand."

"He ain't hurt. It's his spider sense thing," answered Wolverine. "That thing completely overwhelms it. That right?"

Spider-man nodded.

"He ain't hurt. He's overstimulated."

"Why did you think you could fight it then?" demanded Boksee flabbergasted.

"I thought…" gargled Spider-man. "Maybe a fluke… Midsummer's Eve… if I could push through…" he rambled incoherently grabbing a hand through his hair.

"No, it's alright. Here," said Nih.

The druid rummaged through his satchel and pulled out a bottle. He poured a dose of it into a small vial and handed it to him.

"I've been meaning to give you this. I take it for daylight headaches. It may help."

"Oh, I get those," said Vro.

Nih didn't acknowledge her.

He placed the vial in Spider-man's hand and coaxed him to drink. It took a minute, but eventually Spider-man let out a harsh breath and looked up.

"Better?" asked Nih.

"Y-yah. A lot better. Thanks Nih," he said handing back the vial. Nih refilled it and gave it back. "Keep one for the road."

Spider-man nodded. He looked behind him.

"Vro. Thank you," he said putting a hand to her leg.

She smiled and gave him a little nod.

"So, what do we do now?" asked Boksee disheartened.

"That thing is an abomination," said Wyn latching her armor back around her bandaged arms. "An affront to the divine. We aren't leaving this forest until it's slain."

"So what? We just call it back and jump in to round two‽ You have a death wish paladin?"

"We know its weakness now. We just need to regroup and come up with a new plan."

"I'm out of arrows!"

"And I'm running very low on mana," said Nih. "At the very least I will need to meditate before I will be of much use."

"It's alright," said Wyn. "We're safe on this side of the river. We've got some time. Nih, why don't you go ahead and regather your mana. We'll yell if we need you."

The elf nodded and went to find a good place to meditate.

"Here," Wyn continued, pulling a tube off her back and throwing it at Boksee. "Use my quiver. I doubt they're as good as yours but it's better than nothing."

Boksee pulled out an arrow and gave it a look over.

"Egh, they'll do. Good thing you're a walking armory."

"Drider," she said turning to Vro. "Thank you for saving Spider-man. Now allow us to save you. We need to find some place to keep you safe while we finish the quest."

"Where?" she asked.

"Spider-man," said Wyn instead. "The fae demon, it hurts you. Its very presence overwhelms your senses to the point of unconsciousness. Is that correct?"

"What‽" exclaimed Spider-man. "What does that have to do with…"

"Is that correct?" she reiterated firmly.

Reluctantly, Spider-man nodded.

"Then it seems clear to me. You and Vro should travel back to the treant's glen. There you can collect the fruit as soon as we kill the fae demon and meet back with us to plant it. It'll save all of us some time."

"WHAT‽" shouted Spider-man jumping to his feet. "That's a pity job! You can't expect me to just sit aside and let you all go fight that thing on your own!"

"And you writhing around unable to throw a punch helps us how?" asked Wolverine.

Spider-man whipped to him with a fury.

Logan let out a sigh.

"Look kid. You know what we were talkin' about earlier? About how there might be wrong people to solve certain problems? I still don't think that's true, but there are people who can't solve certain problems. Ain't no slight against ya'. No one can go up against everything. It'll be safer for everyone if you sit this one out."

Spider-man clenched his jaw. He turned to Boksee.

"And you agree too?" he demanded quietly.

Boksee baulked at the look on his face. She had never seen him angry, never seen his piercing hazel eyes without their usual warmth. She didn't like it.

Regardless, she summoned her resolve and nodded.

Spider-man gripped a hard fist and looked away.

"Fine," he muttered.

"We need to force it into the water," said Wolverine. The team was still getting their wits back and formulating their next move. Spider-man and Vro hadn't left yet and Nih was meditating.

"Any lakes or deeper rivers nearby?" continued Logan.

"Unfortunately not," said Boksee. "There's only a decent sized pond on the far south side of the Nehfar, and there's no other river before Boar Bramble."

"Sounds like we're stuck with what we've got then."

"It should be easy enough to call it back to us," said Wyn. "It responds to provocation, but then what? We have no way of pulling it in. We can't restrain it, and we can't take out its legs."

"We've got to slide it," said Logan.

"How?" asked Boksee. "The land's flat. And even if we do, how do we keep it there? For all we know it could jump out of the river and heal itself."

"What if instead of trying to get the demon in the water," said Wyn. "We get the water in the demon?"

"Hm?"

"We see that it has blood, unique for a fae as I understand, so it has a body not too unlike our own. It has a mouth, two of them even. There's no hope of escaping a poison if it's within your own body. If we can get it to swallow a good amount of water, maybe it will kill it."

Wolverine and Boksee looked at each other.

"That actually sounds like it might work," said Boksee.

"If we can get it to the river and open its mouth, either one, elf boy might be able to shoot some inside," said Wolverine. "He was pulling off some pretty precise hits."

"We've also got our water skins," added Boksee. "If we gouged some small holes in them we may be able to toss 'em down its gullet before the water spills out. It'll be a slow burn."

"That would take some mighty good aim and you'd only get one shot."

"I'm just throwing out suggestions paladin."

"This is where we part ways," said Wyn.

The party was readying themselves.

"How am I even supposed to get back into the treant's glen without a chanting druid?" argued Spider-man.

"That's simple," said Nih coming up behind him. "You've already seen the way so it's open to you. Unless the treant closes you out of course."

"I don't even remember where it is."

Nih turned to the trees.

"Good sprites. Would you mind guiding this man back to the treant? It will help us fulfill his request."

A small troop of sprites zipped out of the branches and hovered by Spider-man.

"What? How long have they been here?"

"They've been keeping a close eye on us since we first left the glen," said Nih. "I suspect the treant wants to stay up to date on our progress."

The sprites nodded.

"Better hurry along now. It would be rude to keep them waiting."

Vro walked over to join Spider-man as the sprites buzzed.

He looked at them both. Then he looked to his teammates one last time, silently asking them to reconsider. They held firm.

"Ok," he breathed utterly dejected. "Good luck everyone. Lead the way, I guess," he said somberly turning to the sprites.

They took off into the underbrush and the spiders moved to follow.

"Keep an eye on the sky," said Wyn. "We'll send up a flare when it's done."

Spider-man didn't respond. He and Vro made their way into the forest.

"And mind your manners snail ears!" shouted Nih. "Ultimate respect to the treant remember! Don't blow this for us!"

The remaining adventurers watched Spider-man and Vro walk out of sight.

Wolverine huffed.

"Give him a good and long head start."

The forest was quiet. There were no birds, or insects, or rustling wind. A stagnant dry air seemed to hold Nehfar in suspended animation. The pair of spiders made their way beneath the deceptively green canopy and across the chalky forest floor. Only the crunch of their feet and the buzzing sprites broke the silence.

"I'm sorry for keeping you from your team," said Vro meekly.

"What? No," said Spider-man taken off guard. "No Vro. It wasn't your fault. You didn't do anything. You saved me. The problem was I needed saving."

He sighed.

"No. They'd be sending me on this errand whether you were here or not."

The two continued on again in silence.

Eventually their trek came to an end as Spider-man spotted the familiar vine tunnel. He let out a relieved breath. For some reason, he had this nagging fear that it might have been closed, but no, he was still ok as far as the treant was concerned.

The meta human stepped between the two arching trees and into the tunnel

"What‽ Spider-man? Peter? Where did you go?" exclaimed Vro from the outside.

"Oh! Here." He reached out and took her by the hand, guiding her inside. As she entered, she looked around now able to see the tunnel.

"There we go," said Spider-man.

The pair stepped into the treant's glen. Spider-man breathed easy. There was a freshness and breeze in the air. Not only that, but sweetness. The field of flowers swayed in waves of color. Vro's eyes lit.

"I know these flowers," she said excitedly stepping forward, her monstrous black spider body so utterly out of place among the sweet pastels. "This is star flower, and bougainvillea. Oh! And this is a ghost orchid. They are all so rare."

She turned to Spider-man giving him a wide smile. The innocent joy on her gentle face, the way she pushed the hair out of her eyes, that, that was very in place here.

"So we're here to gather fruit?" asked Vro as they neared the mighty trunk of the dormant treant.

"Yah. The treant's fruit," he said pointing up into the tree. "He won't give it to us until we kill the fae demon."

"Wow, a treant. I've never met one," said Vro. "Wait. Why do you say he if it's baring fruit?"

Spider-man let out a laugh.

"Oh, good point. Well, it is a tree, I think, so I guess it's technically hermaphroditic."

The two jumped as the treant tree began to twist and shift into its active form.

"Oh jeeze, I hope he didn't hear that."

Spider-man quickly ran up and bowed to it, and Vro followed.

The forest elder's barky face emerged and its wet eyes drifted over the pair. It hummed in puzzlement.

"MMmmmm… druid companion…," it said. "The fae demon still roams…I cannot yet… give you my fruit."

"I understand, uh… sir?" said Spider-man. "We were sent to gather the fruit as soon as the rest of the team kills it."

"You… did not join them?"

"No sir. I wasn't useful. They, uh, sent me away."

The treant squinted in confusion.

"Hmmmmm…" it mulled. "That is… acceptable. I will entrust you… with my fruit… when the fae demon is slayed."

Spider-man and Vro bowed and the treant took its leave.

A wet boot slogged up onto the bank.

Wolverine, Wyn, and Boksee stood on the far side of the river beneath the shadow of the shattered redwoods.

Nih, dressed down to his undergarments, readied himself behind them in the shallow water.

Hearts pulsed and fluttered. Sweaty palms gripped weapons tightly.

"Is everyone ready?" asked Wyn. "This is your last chance."

"Just shut up and do it already," barked Wolverine. The other two agreed.

The paladin pulled her massive shield from her back and stood it before her. She claimed her mace and held it aloft.

"Fae demon that plagues these woods," she bellowed loud and clear into the silence. "You wretched anathema. Come! Face us! So you may be plunged back into the hellish pit from whence you emerged!"

One heartbeat, and a familiar, horrifying scream thundered across the tree tops. What birds were left in Nehfar fled into the air as the team was slammed by a parched gale. They coughed their dry throats. Boksee's nose began to bleed.

Wyn bounced on her heels.

"Open the mouth, take the shot," she muttered maybe more to herself than anyone.

The ground shook and the river splashed as trees cracked and fell in the distance. Like a train ramming through the forest, the cataclysm sped toward them just slow enough for their apprehension to peak.

All four hooves launching off the ground, the towering fae demon leapt over the fallen trees. It sprung toward them sending the adventurers scattering for their lives, landing with so much force that the river shot into the air like a fountain and the men were tossed from the ground.

Boksee wasted no time. Landing in a roll, she sent an arrow flying. She aimed for the horse's singular large eye but missed, her arrow plunging instead into the beast's brow. It shouted its hideous scream regardless and threw its arms toward her.

Nih launched a stream toward the open mouth but it was too fast. The demon twisted its head taking an ear full of water instead.

It squealed and reared in fear.

"Don't scare it off! Wait for a better shot!" shouted Wolverine.

The druid nodded.

"Ranger, go far!" shouted Wyn. "Hey! Over here!" she shouted at the demon.

Wyn and Wolverine drew its attention in the opposite direction while Boksee ran up river. Her short legs raced across the ground, spun on a heal, then braced for her next shot.

"Turn it!" she shouted.

Wyn and Wolverine charged forward between the fae demon's hooves and under the equine body, much to the rider's frustration.

It reached a long arm clean under the horse only for a dagger to be thrown into its palm. The resulting flinch gave the adventurers enough time to outrun it.

The colossal horse struggled to turn itself as the pair escaped from beneath it. Just as it succeeded, an arrow flew through the air. It was early, landing in the side of its head.

"Fuck!" cursed Boksee.

"Steady ranger!" shouted Wyn.

Turning to the thorn in its side, the fae demon spotted the halfling and charged.

She took off, Wyn and Wolverine chasing after them both, but they were too slow. In three steps the monster was upon her slamming its skinless hands into the dirt. Boksee screamed as she dodged and threw herself under the trunk of a felled redwood.

Nih ran up the river. He was slower in the water and over the unsteady river bed but his range was far greater. He stomped a foot and threw a hand to fire a stream. Instead, the water only rippled.

"Wha- Oh no! It's a magic hole!"

The fae demon's powers seemed to be even stronger here. The plants and life had no magic of their own to resist its rot and went up like flash paper. Boksee screamed as the tree crumbled around her.

"Darlin', the river!" shouted Wolverine as he and Wyn sprinted toward her.

She was pinned down! The fae demon dug its massive hands beneath the rotting trunk and began levering it up.

"By the eternal light of the sun," chanted Nih rapidly. "By the waxing light of the moon, by the fragile light of the firefly, may I too be given sight! Cover your eyes!"

Nih threw his light ball in the magic hole and, just as before, it went off like a flashbang. Boksee buried her head in the dirt and Wyn and Wolverine shielded their faces, their feet still in a full sprint. The fae demon, with its lidless eyes, screeched as it was blinded.

As the monster wailed and clawed at its own fleshy face, Boksee fled from beneath her tree and dove into the water.

"Bring it back down!" shouted Nih to Wyn and Wolverine. "Back down river!"

The pair nodded. Hearts pounding, gasping for air, they skid to a stop and looked to the screeching monster.

"Hey! Back here!" shouted Wolverine. He grabbed up a rock and chucked it at it.

It was in a blind rage. With a blood curdling snap, the rider broke its own spine to twist itself around and throw its arm hurtling toward him.

It took the pair completely off guard. Wyn threw up her shield just in time to take the hit for them. She was rammed sideways into Wolverine as they were both sent flying.

"Guys!"

Nih and Boksee chased after their team. The ranger ran back onto the bank while the druid kept his post in the water. The river bed was so uneven, slippery, and shifting. His foot snagged on a large rock, and he reflexively threw his hands commanding the water to raise and catch him. It obeyed but it wasn't enough. He hit the jagged river bed on his wrist with a loud pop.

"GAHH!"

Wolverine smashed into the trunk of a downed redwood, taking not only his own weight but Wyn's as her armor plated body smashed into him.

The pair fell to the ground in a pile of gasping and reeling.

Blood spilled from the mutant's mouth and into Wyn's hair.

"Tuts‽" he gasped.

His attention shot up. The fae demon's rider, hanging limply on its broken spine had its bulging eyes locked onto him. Never breaking its stare, its body slowly snapping and cracking back into its proper position, its horse turned to face them.

"Oh fu…"

It bolted toward them.

Suddenly a makeshift shotput of faeward flowers exploded against the fae demon's skinless flesh. It startled to a stop, howling its unearthly cry as the confetti of petals burned it. Logan watched in astonishment as a fleet of flying beast men, owlins and eaglemen, fell from the sky, swarming around the demon's head and bombarding it with more floral projectiles.

"Wha…"

A clawed hand grabbed his shoulder. Wolverine was turned to see a familiar reptilian face staring down at him.

"You‽"

"On your feet!" shouted the lizardman grabbing him and pulling him upwards.

Wolverine looked to see dozens of beast men running out of the wreckage and joining the fight.

Rabbit folk and centaurs sped around the demon's hooves. Nikos, catmen, and others not so quick kept their distance, chucking coins and scraps of metal. A minotaur launched an entire javelin into its ankle.

Wolverine balked at the lizardman.

"What are you doin' here? Wha…"

"This is our home!" she shouted over the chaos. "These are our children. We fight with you!"

Nikos ran up and helped Wyn to her feet, splashing her face with water.

She gasped, then gasped again at the scene but quickly found her voice.

"Don't touch it!" she shouted into the battle field. "Don't get near it! You'll die!"

An owlin who had been about to dive bomb the demon's eyes veered out of the way, just barely missing it with its talons. It swooped toward them and landed.

It was Mazhar.

"What's the plan?" he asked with urgency.

"Its weakness is water," explained Wyn. "We've got to open its mouth so our druid can shoot it down its throat."

"FLEE TO THE WATER IF YOU'RE OVERWHELMED!" shouted the old owl to his people.

"That should kill it," said Wolverine.

The owl nodded.

Nih pulled himself back to his feet, clutching his broken wrist to his chest.

Boksee took the grace given to her by the beast mens' distraction and ran to find a good vantage point.

She threw herself up onto a half-fallen redwood, running its slanted trunk high, high into the air. She skid to a stop, overlooking the chaos, and pulled her bow.

"HEY! FAE DEMON!" she shouted at the top of her voice. Both gargantuan, skinless faces snapped to focus on her, meeting her at eye level.

"Made you look," she said with a smirk.

She loosed an arrow. It shot straight across the sky and directly into the horse's pupil. Black blood gushed into the air. Beast men screamed and ran as a mist of rot rained down on them. The demon reared on its hind legs, limbs flailing, and mouths squealing in pain and rage.

Before it even landed, the rider clenched its fists and started sucking in air in a long, loud breath.

"RUN!" bellowed Wyn. "ACROSS THE RIVER!"

She led the beast men fleeing into the water. Boksee ran down her tree and threw herself into the crowd. Wolverine pushed and forwarded villagers, waiting until the very last one was in front of him before joining the retreat. He bolted into the water.

The demon's grotesque chests now swelled with air, the monstrous horse landed with a thunderous quake and opened its boney jaw.

"NIH! TAKE THE SHOT!" shouted Wolverine.

The druid leapt forward with all his strength and launched a geyser directly into the beast's mouth. It exploded in a splash, water pouring between its teeth, spilling over its tongue, and directly down its gaping throat.

The fae demon let out a scream so ungodly several beast men dropped unconscious. The rest, adventurers included, dropped to their knees clutching their bleeding ears and fighting against their blackening vision.

Wolverine dropped mid river. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Nih beside him lose his battle and collapse into the water.

"No you don't!"

He splashed toward him.

It caught the monster's attention. It was in a manic rage, rearing and bucking. Just as he grabbed the elf, it threw its arm over the river and backhanded him, sending them both flying. Wolverine's skin erupted into agony. He hit another tree, this time bringing it down with him as he careened into its trunk.

He fell to the ground on the safe side of the river, his mouth screaming of its own accord as his back rotted. Nih was beside him, awake and also screaming.

Villagers who had stayed conscious dragged their fellow beast men out of the water.

Wyn and Boksee froze.

As his healing factor went into overdrive, Wolverine turned his head to see something that made his blood run cold.

The fae demon landed, made some hacking noises and shook itself off. It turned to them, its lidless eyes blazing with a new found fury. Then, to Logan's absolute horror, it took its first tentative step into the river.

It hadn't worked.

Spider-man and Vro sat in the shadow of the treant tree. The breeze blew. Birds and insects chirped. It was peaceful.

Spider-man was still nursing a headache. He was scrunched up, chest between his knees, bitterly twisting and snapping stray twigs and leaves.

Vro broke the silence.

"Please excuse me," she said in her soft voice. "I'm very hungry. I'm going to go find something to eat."

"Where are you going?"

"I won't go far."

Vro's many legs pushed her off the ground and carried her off into the trees.

Spider-man was left alone. He fidgeted and huffed absolutely despising his situation.

He watched as his angry hands continued to tear and twiddle with debris. Then they slowed. The back of his right glove was still torn, ripped from a fairy's blade. He stared at the healed skin below, then he turned, looking up into the wide branches of the dormant treant looming over him.

Checking to make sure he was alone, Spider-man hopped to his feet and looked to the forest elder.

"Um, excuse me, Mr. Treant sir," he called.

Twisting and snapping, the treant revealed itself. It leaned over to speak to him.

"Yes?"

"I wanted to ask you, um, you know about my, uh, my sprites, right?"

"I…am aware."

"So you know they didn't come out right, the fruit that is. Are you ok with that?"

The treant took a long moment to think.

"It is true…" it answered. "That even in my lifetime… I have never seen fruit of this nature. You, small one…young one, carry unique… properties. You have brought… newness… to my forest. Newness… is not bad."

"But is it always good? I mean, are they even going to grow? They don't look right. If I had known I wouldn't…"

Before he could finish, Vro re-emerged out of the undergrowth. He quickly shut up and glanced back to see the treant becoming dormant once more.

Vro scuttled over, a young dead boar in her hand. Spider-man wasn't sure she was supposed to be doing that, but no one seemed to care. She came up and sat herself down beside him, and he watched in morbid fascination as she plunged a pair of fangs into the neck of the thing and sucked out its fluids.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said noticing him. "Would you like some?"

"No, I'm fine. Thanks."

Spider-man resigned himself and flopped down beside her.

"You seem troubled."

"Troubled? Yah, I'm troubled. My friends are out there fighting some gigantic demon monster and I'm just sitting here."

"I'm just sitting here," she offered.

"Yah, but you're not supposed to be fighting. You aren't an adventurer or a warrior or whatever. I mean, you're not, right?'

"No. I don't remember what I did before," she said then stared out into the distance. "It involved the smell of dirt, I believe, the air of the morning. I went above ground."

"A farmer?"

"No. I was in the forests and on the mountains. I traveled far from home."

"Mm," said Spider-man not having anything to add.

"Did you do something before?"

"Before what?"

"Before… you know. Before you became what you are."

"Oh, huh, not really. Mine happened really early in my life, hopefully. I didn't lose anything, well, except maybe my grade point average. I just gained new responsibilities."

Spider-man noticed the back of his hand again. It was coincidental, but the cut fabric perfectly exposed two tiny dots on his skin. They were so small and faint, smaller than a pair of freckles, that he doubted anyone would ever notice them. But he knew what they were, and why they were there, the itsy-bitsy scars of one singular spider bite.

"Or maybe I did lose some things," he said focusing on it. "They're just things I've gotten used to, things I don't think about, things I never realized."

He let out a breath.

"I think I'm like this forest," he continued. "I think I look alright on the outside but I'm all rotten on the inside. I can't bleed in the woods here without killing something apparently. I could probably torch this whole place if I wanted to. But I don't want to. I try to make good decisions Vro. I really do, decisions to help people but it's so hard, and I always seem to screw it up somehow. My entire life is devoted to trying to help people, but I guess it's like the court said, how can poison heal?"

"Poison to heal…" Vro repeated.

"Sorry, I'm ranting," said Spider-man. He sighed, leaning on his raised knees. "I guess us messed up spider folk at least have each other though, right?"

"I… was a forager," said Vro.

"Huh? Oh, you remember? What's that?"

"I would forage the land and underdark for ingredients," she explained. "My sisters and I understood the land, knew when and where plants would grow. How to find them. How to harvest. I could recognize thousands of plants and fungi, animals and stones. I enjoyed traveling, and it took skill," she said with an air of regret. "It was good work."

"I'm sorry."

She nodded.

"I knew what those ingredients were used for. So many of the ones I gathered were very poisonous, had to be handled with great care, but they were sold to make medicine."

Spider-man looked up with surprise.

"A leaf of hemlock will kill you," the drider continued. "But a crumble can aid failing lungs. A bite of serpent's venom will kill you, but a drop can ease a straining heart. Things with power can always harm, it is the nature of power, but things without power can never heal. That is the nature of inertness," she recited with a smile.

Spider-man's eyes went wide.

"Even radiation."

"What's that?"

"Especially radiation! You're right! So much of medicine is derived from poisonous compounds. Poisons kill, that's their purpose in nature, but we can separate from nature. It's our whole schtick. We can take a natural resource like radiation, refine it into a tool, and use it to kill natural diseases like cancer. And that's what that thing is!" he said leaping to his feet. "The fae demon, its nature killing itself. It's cancer. Vro. Thank you."

"You're welcome?"

There was a thunderous crash through the forest.

Sprites zipped through the air and toward the treant. It unfirled itself, its eyes going wide as it looked into the distance.

"Oh…" said the treant as the sprites spoke to him. "The fae demon… has breached the river."

"The plan failed!" shouted Spider-man. "They need help!"

"But you can't get near it!" exclaimed Vro.

"I can't," he said looking at a hand. "At least not all of me."

Spider-man pulled his water skin from his hip.

"How much do you think this holds? A liter?"

He started pouring it out.

"What are you doing?"

"My blood is poisonous to fae. It burns them. Heck, it nukes them. I think it's time to introduce the fae demon to a little something called radiation therapy."

"But what are you doing?" she repeated. "You can't go near it and they're miles away!"

Spider-man stopped.

"Good point."

He huffed hard and angrily thought.

A cat meowed.

He whipped around to see a familiar cat with antlers sitting behind him.

"A fae?" asked Vro.

"Oh, hey friend. Oh! OH! You could help us! You need that thing killed off too, right?"

The feystag nodded.

"But I don't have anything magical to give you."

The cat motioned to the water skin.

"Huh? Oh! That's why you've been trailing around me isn't it? You want some rare other-worldy radioactive spider blood."

The cat nodded.

"But I need this for the team. Oh! What about this?" Spider-man pulled out the small vial of headache relief Nih gave him. "Would this be enough blood?

Another nod.

"Alright, let's do this. Vro, I need you to help me. I want you to bite me."

Vro finished pulling webbing tight around Spider-man's fang pierced arm. He in turn firmly closed the water skin, now completely filled with his blood.

"Here we go," he said. "Take this to the rest of my party, the man with metal bones. They're fighting the fae demon," he said handing it to the feystag. It took it in its mouth, most of it dragging the ground. "In exchange this vial is yours."

Spider-man presented Nih's vial, also filled with blood, to the fae. It reached out a paw and it vanished. With no more words exchanged, the cat took off galloping into the tunnel.

"Do you really believe it will help?" asked Vro.

"I don't know," said Spider-man. "But it's all I could do."

He tried to stand but collapsed into the drider.

"Sorry, a little light headed."

Suddenly a twisting, branchy hand slid under him, and he was lifted into the air, much to his surprise. The treant placed him back at the base of its trunk.

"Well done. Rest now…little pollinator. You'll need to gather your strength… to deliver my fruit."

Vro came to sit beside him and a few sprites gave her a flower, much to her delight.

"You think they'll beat it now?" asked Spider-man.

"Now…" said the treant. "It is possible."

"It didn't work. How could it not work‽" exclaimed Boksee. The monstrous demon stood at the edge of the river, reveling in its perverse glory more than ever.

It was almost of two minds. The horse fitted and fretted as its hooves took to the water, but the rider's eyes were locked onto its prey. The rider won out and the horse started across the river.

"Because the water doesn't hurt it!" exclaimed Wyn in realization. "It's just afraid of it!"

"What‽" exclaimed Boksee.

"What do we do‽" cried the lizardman.

"Run! Flee! The forest is lost!"

"We have to get back to Boar Bramble!" said Boksee. "They're in danger!"

"But this is our home!" shouted the lizardman.

"Our families are still out there!" exclaimed Nikos.

Wolverine groaned and snarled as his body worked in overtime to recover. He was covered in rots and burns as he laid beside Nih and the tree they had crashed through. His mind raced. What could they do? How could they stop it? Something had to kill this thing? Right? Right‽

Beast men screamed as the fae demon continued across the river. Wyn and Boksee leapt forward throwing rocks. Many beast men followed throwing stones and whatever they had left. The demon snorted and fitted as water splashed around it, but its hatred continued to move it forward.

"Guess some fires just grow outta our control," thought Wolverine with a defeated, Nihilistic chuckle. "Oh fuck."

He let his head fall to the dirt.

A cat meowed.

Wolverine snapped his head up to see the feystag standing in front of him. It quickly dragged over a heavy water skin and dropped it in front of his face.

"What's this?" he groaned. "Water don't work."

The cat motioned to the skin aggressively then ran back into the forest.

Confused, Wolverine grabbed it as he painfully levered himself to his knees. He popped the stopper and gave it a whiff only to gag. Adrenaline coursed through him. It was all blood! Human blood! He recognized it instantly. It was Spider-man's blood. A ton of it!

"What the fuck‽ Why would…"

Then it clicked.

Spider-man rotted things. That's what he said. He said the fae had called his blood poison, fae poison. It was fae poison! And now, Logan had a whole bag of the stuff.

He sprung to his feet, still reeling, and ran through the crowd of beast men.

"Owlman!" he shouted spotting Mazhar. "Owlman! Give me a lift! I need to get near its head!"

Without question, Mazhar leapt from the ground and latched his massive talons around Wolverine's arms. With hard and heavy flaps he pulled him into the air.

"You know," thought Logan. "That thing about people, what Spider-man said, what really sets us apart from nature, it's not just that we make things, better than anything else anyway. That's only half of it."

The owl flew Logan over the river and right toward the fae demon.

"Nah, what sets us apart, really, is that we can work against our own instincts. We're smart enough, and willed enough to make the stupidest decisions, and whether hell or high water, we stick to 'em."

"Aim me toward the horse head! Toss me in!"

"You'll die!" gasped the owl.

"No I won't! Do it!"

"And just often enough," he thought. "They're the right ones."

In a flail of wings and limbs Wolverine was thrown toward the face of the beast.

"YOU WANT US SO BAD? WELL YOU CAN HAVE IT! EAT THIS!"

The demon snapped him out of the air, its massive jaws crunching around him. Pain exploded through the mutant as his body began to melt. Before he lost all function, he wrenched the top off the blood bag and chucked it down its cavernous throat, the still warm liquid spilling across its massive tongue.

The fae demon screeched, and Wolverine managed to roll his mutilated being out of the open maw, splattering onto a river rock below.

What was left of his face pulled in a smile as he saw the monster above him. He couldn't hear, which is probably how he was still conscious, but he could see through polluted eyes that the demon was in an absolute fit. It was screeching and thundering and trampling, grotesque arms flailing, both heads devoured by fear. Putrid rot was dripping from its stomach as the radioactive blood burned through its gut. All at once, the belly gave way and a mountain of entrails fell into the river.

Despite its digestive system falling out of its body, and dragging behind it as the beast rampaged, the poison had already found its way into its bloodstream. Its black veins turned red, carrying the rot across its body like a wildfire. Its body burned, and sizzled, and melted away, those blazing lidless eyes dissolving into its skull.

Its skeleton, still articulated by sinew and cartilage, collapsed under its own weight and crumpled into the river. Astoundingly, the water had remained clean. The putrid carcass disappeared like sugar in the gentle current until all that remained of the fae demon, was the memory.

It was as if the entire forest took a fresh breath. Spider-man's headache vanished. He and Vro looked up.

Before its sprites had even returned to it, the treant spoke.

"The fae demon… is dead," it said.

A bright cinnamon light erupted across the canopy like a firework.

Spider-man leapt to his feet.

"They did it!" he cheered before having to settle down due to blood loss.

"Well done," congratulated the treant. "Well done indeed! Now… I will bestow this… upon you."

The treant reached up into its leafy crown and revealed a singular large fruit. Taking it tenderly in its twisting fingers, it plucked it from its head. The fruit was huge, the size of a toddler and green and fleshy like a walnut.

"Plant it… on the other side of the river."

"Yes sir," said Spider-man.

Before he gave it to him, the treant hesitated.

"May I suggest…" it said. "Let the drider carry it. Her hands are strong… but her soul… is soft as down."

"Sure."

A wide smile spread across Vro's face as the treant handed down its fruit. She took it, cradling it like a child, for she understood the true value of this most rare ingredient.

"Take it to the druid… He will know… what to do."

The beast men had gathered around, looking down at him like an open casket. They weren't important though. Wyn and Boksee were at his side.

They were horrified.

Logan couldn't see himself, couldn't even lift his head, but it must have been bad. It didn't hurt. That was a very bad sign.

Wyn was stone faced. She wasn't flitting around trying to shove health potions or healing at him. She was just there. Boksee was beside herself. The longer she stared at him, the more her hands grabbed around her face, never able to decide where to land.

Logan tried to say something to her. Their eyes locked and the remnants of his mouth fell open. He couldn't get his tongue or lips to work, if he had any, and all that came out was a guttural growl from the depths of his throat.

Boksee screamed and bolted out of sight.

The lizardman ran up and fell to her knees beside him.

"It can't do any good," said Nikos, but she disregarded him.

"By the flesh that gives us form," she chanted over Wolverine. "By the blood that gives us life, by the air that gives us breath, may this creature's wounds begin to heal. Heal!"

Her clawed hands glowed the same color as her reptilian eyes, and the mutant felt her mana course through him.

It accelerated his healing factor to a ludicrous degree. The crowd watched as the melted mass of flesh, metal, and entrails somehow filled itself back in. Logan let out a scream as his nerve endings grew back and recognized their predicament. To everyone's astonishment, in under a minute, the complete and normal form of Wolverine pushed himself from the ground.

"Uuhghghgh," he groaned. "Well, that hurt."

"You temerarious fool!" shouted Wyn. "One of these days you're going to throw yourself into something not even you can heal from!"

"No doubt," he replied rubbing the soft new skin of his face with a toothy grin.

The paladin raspberried then tackled him in a hug. The beast men cheered.

"So, you're a healer," said Wolverine to the lizardman.

"I know some healing spells. My family always has."

"Will you help out our friend there, the elf. He took a bad hit."

She nodded and hurried over to Nih.

Wolverine noticed Boksee still huddled over by herself, distraught.

"Darlin' I'm alright," he called.

She peeked a bloodshot eye and came back over.

After putting a hand to his face, as if unconvinced it was real, she let out a sigh of relief.

"Well, that was a sight that will haunt me to my grave. "She threw her forehead against his chest. "Blow me down barbarian."

Wolverine chuckled.

"So," said Mazhar walking up. "Now what? How do we rescue the children?"

The women helped Logan to his feet.

"Now we need the fruit," said Nih as the lizardman helped him over. "Spider-man and the drider should be inbound with it now."

"Nih, are you ok?" asked Boksee.

"I'll recover. Thank you," he said to the lizardman.

They heard a rustling and looked to see Vro carrying a large fruit in her arms and Spider-man on her back. She galloped out of the forest in a swarm of sprites.

"We're here," she panted covered in sweat.

"Woah," said Spider-man seeing all the beast folk.

"That was fast!" said Boksee.

"You did it!" Spider-man exclaimed hopping off and running over. "I can't believe you did it!"

The short run left him as breathless as Vro as he fell against Wolverine.

"Thanks to you you nut," said Logan shoving him in the head with a smile. "Didn't we just get you out'a the sick bed? Tryin' to put yourself back in it?"

"Like you have any room to talk?" asked Wyn astounded.

Wolverine laughed.

Vro saw the collection of beast men. Her face clenched.

"No, drider," said the lizardman hurrying over.

Vro took a step away but the lizard lowered her head.

"I wanted to apologize. I was far out of line. You have always been one of us. Our people were made by choice, not birth. Not only that, you're a founding mother. You've been in the warren since the very beginning, far longer than I have, and will continue to be long after I'm gone. I'm sorry."

Many beast men came over to voice their agreement.

Vro, her face wide in astonishment, wiped her eye and nodded.

Spider-man smiled at her.

"Oh, hey Nih. You don't have any juice left do you?" he asked noticing him. "I kinda lost a lot of blood."

"I'm sorry," replied the druid. "I need to save my remaining mana. She might be able to."

The lizard nodded and went to tend the man, much to Spider-man's surprise.

Nih, instead, walked up to the drider. He looked up to her face and then down to the fruit in her arms.

"The treant said I should carry it," said Vro meekly.

Nih's eyebrows shot up.

"Did he really?" he asked with bite.

"Yes."

It took him a moment.

"A treant will only surrender his fruit to the most trustworthy hands," he said maybe more to himself than anyone. "And they are not easily fooled," he concluded.

The dark elf gave the drider a small bow.

"Will you follow me please?" He turned to the group. "Everyone!"

The adventurers and beast men crossed the river one last time. The land beyond was ruined. Rot and broken trees littered the area. It was like the remnants of a natural disaster.

Under the druid's direction, they found a sheltered cove amongst the destruction. Under the freshly opened sky, they dug out a deep hole and buried the fruit within.

"Now everyone, with me. Lend me your mana. The more the better."

Nih fell to his knees and placed his good hand to the ground. The lizardman was the first to join him, putting her hands on his. The adventurers followed suit grabbing him wherever they could, then the beast men followed them, grabbing ahold of the adventurers.

Nih started chanting in elvish, his voice cool and silky and lyrical but quickly growing in strength. His hand started glowing a brilliant white and everyone was caught in a magical breeze. Hair, and fur, and feathers blew wildly.

Fae emerged from the wreckage around them. Sprites, and pixies, and even fairies filled the air while small sylvans and fanciful animals gathered on the ground. They were drawn to the event, and their magic joined the congregation's. The elf's chant reached a crescendo.

"ORISA!"

A blinding white light erupted from Nih's hand. It shot into the ground like the crash of lightning and a wave was sent rolling through the forest in all directions.

All around them, for as far as the eye could see, plants began to grow. The old and lost wasn't healed, instead, new life rapidly grew to fill the empty spaces. Vines lassoed and pulled themselves up broken trunks. Saplings sprung from the ground and pushed toward the sky. Bushes, and flowers, and ferns, and grass moved to carpet the barren soil. And from beneath Nih's hand, a sprout pushed through the dirt.

He leaned back as it twisted itself upwards, spreading its first leaves and reaching for the sun. It grew slower than all the other plants, only making it a few feet off the ground before the magical growth spurt slowed and eventually stopped. It was enough.

The little plant untwisted itself revealing a tiny green face and spindly arms. The crowd gasped and smiled. Nih was overjoyed.

"Truly the greatest honor a druid can perform. Welcome to the world," he said to the new born treant.

Sprites descended to start looking over it.

Nih carefully felt the air.

"The magical energies are stabilizing. The tattered web is resewn."

"Does that mean we fixed the magic holes?" asked Boksee.

"I believe so, and even if they remain, the forest has healed around them, like a scar. They won't weaken it anymore."

The druid gaze down at the new treant, then stood

"From one frail, to two strong," he declared to the crowd. "Each forest can only have one treant. With the birth of a new treant is the birth of a new forest. Here beyond the shallow river, it will grow on its own path now."

"It needs a name," said Wyn catching on.

"Things do need names," agreed Spider-man.

"Well, I'd say it's obvious," said Boksee. "To the victors go the spoils," she said looking at the beast men. "I think the Warren Woods has a good ring."

The beast men voiced their excitement.

"We won't say why it's called that of course."

"Well, that's all swell, but what about the kids?" asked Wolverine looking around. The crowd agreed. "We did what they wanted didn't we? Where…"

Spider-man elbowed him and pointed. Logan looked to see that far in the distance stood The Stag. The fae that had gathered bowed to it as they returned into the newly grown forest. It stood silently, its black cloaks unmoving in the breeze. He and the two men stared at each other. Then The Stag nodded its bony face.

In a storm of silver petals, a grove of hawthorns appeared in front of him, much to the crowd's surprise. And from between the thorny trees, a tiny faun cautiously stepped forth.

"Giles!" screamed Nikos.

"Pa!"

The two ran at each other, the grown faun scooping the kid into the air and burying his face in his son.

More children emerged, from fuzzy calves, to fluffy owlets, to scaly snakelets.

Screams of joy rang across the forest. A centaur colt was holding the hand of a tiny newborn foal as she wobbled beside him. Dirt flew in the air as their father charged at them, picking them both clean off the ground. The lizardman fell to her knees as an entire clutch of hatchlings leapt into her arms.

The adventurers were in the warren. Everywhere they looked families were reunited. A pair of snakemen sobbed with their brood, the minotaur tossed her twin calves in the air, and the lionman sat with his united pride. The fauns were clutched around each other. Nikos, and Haylee, and Thaddeus, and Giles were all together once more.

"We knew it!" cried Haylee. "We knew as soon as the changelings disappeared… we knew it," she said falling into an embrace with her son.

"Beckett!"

The centaur, still carrying his foals, ran them toward their mother as she limped out to meet them.

Vro hadn't returned to her hut. She was sitting with Spider-man in the center of the warren as villagers spoke and laughed and cried. Even Wyn, Boksee, and Nih were mingling about as gratitude and retellings of battle were spread.

Logan stood overlooking it all on the bank.

"You were right," said Mazhar standing beside him. "We did shame ourselves. I shamed us. We turned away goodwill based on nothing but the face that carried it."

The old owl ruffled his feathers.

"Hatred spreads like disease, I think. It's carried on swords, and it does not care whether its hilt is taken by a new hand, or its blade is plunged into a new chest. It spreads the same. I am ashamed to say, we were touched by an evil so painful, we almost became the very beasts they told us we were."

Wolverine shrugged.

"Eh, don't beat yourself up," he said nonchalantly. "I get it. Where I come from, people can be pretty unfriendly-like toward my type too," he said ejecting his claws. "People can get inside you, root around, twist you up inside. You came around in the end."

"You were willing to die for us. I cannot express our thanks. We have nothing to reward you with."

"Just pay it forward owl man."

He nodded.

"We still don't want to be revealed to the larger population. We still wish to keep separate from the goings on of homoforms."

"Homoforms?"

"Non beast folk."

"Huh."

"But we will never forget this."

"You will come back to visit?" asked Vro as the adventurers moved to depart.

"You're sure you're ok here?" asked Spider-man.

"Yes. Much blood was shed, and I think it was all bad blood," she said as villagers gathered around her. A lizard hatchling was crawling up her leg, much to her amusement. "I wouldn't be at home among men, and I think these are my people after all."

"We'll make sure of it," said the lizardman.

The flowers, once strung across the thatch huts to ward away the fae, blew in the breeze as the adventurers were waved off.

The waning moon peeked over the distant trees of Nehfar. The party was back between the wattle homes and cobble street of Boar Bramble. Boksee, Wolverine, and Spider-man waited outside for Wyn and Nih to finish with the healers.

"Well, we saved the town," said Boksee with a laugh. "And no one even knows about it," she said gazing into the dark windows.

"That's the way it should be," said Spider-man. "Normal people don't need to know how close they always are to the end of the world. Let them live their lives. Heck, I don't need to know how close we are. I've got enough problems."

"Amen," chuckled Wolverine.

A warm orange light shone onto the dark street as the door opened and the rest of the party stepped out.

"So, how are you feeling?" asked Boksee.

"Much better," said Wyn showing them her still raw-looking, but otherwise healthy arms. "I think the only real wound I'll carry with me is the dressing down I got from the sisters," she said cringing.

The group laughed.

"I'll need a few days to recover," said Nih motioning to his arm in a sling.

"A few days to heal a broken wrist? I wish we had healthcare like that where we're from," said Spider-man.

"What are the nuns doing where you're from?" asked Wyn affronted.

Spider-man laughed.

"I don't even know how to answer that."

"Well, anyway," she continued. "Magnificent job today adventurers. I say we all well-earned our ranks. That said, let's make sure the next quests we take actually pay something," she added light heartedly.

"Wow! Getting paid. That's such a novel concept," joked Spider-man.

"There they are!" boomed a voice.

The adventurers turned to see a familiar pair walking up the dark street.

"Dad, Ma!" said Boksee running up and giving them a hug.

"Our proud and victorious heroes!" exclaimed Boksee Sr. with pride.

"Hello Boksee. You're looking on the mend," said Wyn.

"I'm a bit worse for wear. A lot better tonight, I'll tell you that. Now, you must tell us the entire story! Every detail!"

"I don't think you want every detail," said Wolverine smugly putting his thumbs in his belt.

"Oh heavens no," said Wyn.

"You lot must be absolutely famished," added Nona.

"No kidding," said Spider-man. "Now that lives aren't at stake and my blood pressure has returned to normal, the past few days are catching up to me with a vengeance. I'm starved!"

"Come, you'll eat at my table," said Boksee Sr. "You can regale us with your tale there."

The party started down the street but Wyn spoke up.

"Inviting a party to your home? Isn't that favoritism guild master?" she asked.

"Shhh! Wyn!" scolded Spider-man. "Never turn down free food!"

"Never?" asked Boksee Jr.

"Never! I've accepted food from my worst enemies!"

Boksee snorted a surprised laugh and Logan gave him a look.

"You serious? You really that pitiful?"

"What you call pitiful, I call opportunistic. Hm, and oddly enough, it's usually Italian," he said reminiscing. "Man, I miss pizza."

"What's pizza?" asked Nih pleasantly.

"Alright, alright enough you lot. You're eating at my place. That's an order as your guild master."

The team laughed and continued.

"I don't think that's how orders work," muttered the paladin.

Dinner with the Boksees was warm and jolly as the adventurers shared their tales. Ale, mead, wine, and all manner of drink was shared freely. Nona's pantry was packed to the gills with summer spoils and she offered it up to her guests without question. No one left hungry.

"Well, I think it's about time for me to be off," said Spider-man.

"Agreed," said Logan standing and stretching.

"Oh fine. I guess our beast men want to quit the party early," teased Boksee Jr. a bit tipsy.

"Beast men?" thought Spider-man quietly.

"Now Junior," said Boksee Sr. even more inebriated. "You can't call Logan that anymore. He's not a lycanthrooop, 'member?"

"I don't care what he is. There's something feral in there. You can quote me."

"If his amount of fruit was any indication," added Nih.

The table laughed as the pair of men said their thanks and goodbyes and headed off.

Spider-man sat on top of the inn. He was tired but he wasn't ready to sleep yet. The waning moon had climbed high in the sky and thunder sounded in the distance. It wasn't loud and violent like crashing trees or chasing hooves. It was soft, a deep purr, and had brought with it a cool breeze and the smell of rain. It was welcomed.

Spider-man heard grunting. He turned to see Wolverine climbing up onto the roof with him.

"Ah," exclaimed the mutant obnoxiously cheerful as he plopped down beside him. "Enjoyin' your moment of solitary respite?"

"You know, funnily enough, I was."

"Good. Now you can know what it feels like to have someone barge in and ruin it."

Spider-man rolled his eyes.

There was a light click and Spider-man turned to see Logan breathing life into a tiny fire. He pulled out a brown tube.

"Is that a cigar?"

"Uh huh," he said lighting it over the tiny flame. The mutant took a solid drag, savoring it, before exhaling a soft cloud of smoke. "Gift from guild man. Said there's a merchant who brings 'em up every few weeks."

"Great, so now you can give yourself lung cancer across dimensions."

Logan gave him a look, then blew smoke in his face.

"Egh! Come on," said Spider-man waving it away. Logan grinned.

The two men shared some company. The older man smoked his cigar while the younger watched the moon fall behind the clouds.

"Hey Wolvie,"

"Hm?"

"You ever wonder what we are?"

"Oh no, don't you get all philosophical on me. I've had plenty well enough of that."

"No, really. I mean literally. Like when we first got here, we told Wyn we were men, right, that we were human? That's how I think of myself, but that's not really true is it? Not really. Mutates aren't."

Logan didn't respond.

"I never thought of myself as a beast person, but I guess, that's what I'd be considered here, technically, even though I think you're a lot more in touch with your wild side than me. You're not even a beast man though. You're not a hybrid. You're just a mutant."

Spider-man was looking at his hand again.

"But you're not just a mutant, are you? You're artificial, at least partially, just like me."

Wolverine looked down at his own hand, then ejected his claws. They glistened under the moonlight.

"I'd say…" he said calmly moving them against Spider-man's throat. "It matters a lot more what you do, than what you are."

"But that doesn't mean it doesn't matter at all."

At the man's plain statement, Logan sighed and sheathed himself. He took a long drag of his smoke, sending out a thick plume.

"Ya know kid, this whole thing got me thinkin'."

"You think?"

Logan didn't take the bait.

"I think it's important to have a place," he said unperturbed. "People need a place. Ya know, like the warren. Someplace to come back to at the end of the day, to spread out. Maybe not even a place, just a space. Just a space that's yours."

"I guess?"

Logan took another long drag.

"Yah," he said mulling it over.

The two men sat quietly, looking over the empty street as it began to drizzle.

"Hey Wolvie,"

"Hm?"

"I know it's a bit late but, uh, happy Midsummer."

The mutant chuckled.

"Happy Midsummer kid."

The End.