"Got your pack?"

"Yes Walker."

"Knife?"

"Yes."

"Backup knife?"

"Yes."

"What about," Walker started again, but he was cut off.

"Walker! Yes! I got everything!" Hunter yelled, exasperated. He counted off on his fingers in a rather sassy manner, "Food, water, medicine, weapons, supplies."

Hunter shrugged, "This isn't the first time I've had to hoof it home."

"No," Walker said, "But it is the first time you've done it with cargo."

"She isn't cargo. She's my friend. And by all accounts she's just as well trained as I am. Maybe moreso."

"Also you've never hoofed it home this far through Wild Territory."

"We're going to stick to the roads, I'll keep an eye out. What's the worst that can happen?"

"You both die and your Galdorstone is never recovered."

Hunter opened his mouth to retort but found that the words were lacking. He shut his mouth with an audible click of the teeth.

Walker sighed, put his hands on his hips and head down. "Skipper thinks you're ready for something like this, and the Lord Regent requested you both personally, so I guess I can't stop it."

He reached out and tussled Hunter's hair, "Doesn't mean I can't worry though."

"I get it, big brother."

"Keep yourself safe, little brother."

And with that Walker turned around and treaded back into the camp. Hunter turned as well and began to fiddle with his bag on the ground. He was ready, he knew it. He had to be.

"What was that all about?" Luz's voice came from over his shoulder.

Hunter looked up to find Luz, garbed in the uniform of the Grey Guards, her old clothes having been torn and dirtied from her first night in the Wild Woods.

"Nothing, just Walker being a worrywart like he always is when it comes to us younger ones."

"He seems to really care about you."

"He does. We all do. We're family. But he's especially caring."

Luz made a noise of confirmation. "So when do we head out?"

"Whenever you're ready," Hunter said, making one final tug on a strap on his pack. "I'm good to go."

"I'm good too," Luz shrugged her shoulder, showing the pack slung over one shoulder.

"Ah," Hunter said, "Ok. Well, I'll let Sgt. Grimm know and then we'll set off."

"How far to the Heart?"

"Only about 2-3 days depending on weather. Our cloaks are Witch's Wool so the Boiling Rain shouldn't be too bad if we get caught out in it."

"The boiling what?" Luz asked.

"Oh yeah I forget you're not from here," he said putting on his pack, "I'll explain later."

X

An hour later and Luz and Hunter had made it probably about a mile and half from the encampment, down a trail through and into the woods. The trail was sparse, roughly traveled and Luz and Hunter had to stay vigilant that they would not accidentally wander off and get lost.

Luz was accustomed to hiking. Her Young Marine's platoon regularly went camping and hiking on weekends, so far this wasn't much different. But there was danger there too, familiarity. Familiarity bred complacency. And complacency can get you killed.

The woods were alive, full of noise. The sound of buzzing insects, crawling beasts, the occasional roar or cry of some distant beast. Or at least Luz hoped that they were distant, if they were close, she did not want to run into it. She'd been chased by enough wild animals to last her a lifetime.

Her mind drifted somewhat, and she contemplated that animal. Belos. Former Emperor of the Boiling Isles, now regarded as some kind of savage animal, someone who has been degraded so much that most of the Grimwalkers seemed to consider their mission to be a mercy mission. To either find and kill him or drive him off a cliff into the Boiling sea and get rid of him that way.

Luz prayed that nothing like that would ever happen to her here. Your mind is one of the only things you truly have. It would be an awful thing to lose it.

X

Another few hours and the trail gave way to a well-trodden path and eventually it broadened into what could be considered a road. Dirt and riveted with the footpaths of the thousands to traverse it before Luz and Hunter.

"So how're you liking the scenery?" Hunter asked, hoping to break the long silence now that they were out of the woods and into relative safety.

"It's beautiful," Luz started, "Really different from home though."

"How so?" Hunter asked

"Well for one our trees are green."

"Green?"

"Green."

"I can't even imagine. That just sounds wrong."

There was another silence. Damn it, Hunter thought, now it's awkward.

"So, is there anything I need to know about the Heart before I get there?"

"Huh?" Hunter asked stupidly, "Oh, oh yeah, sure, plenty of stuff."

There was another pregnant pause.

"Like?" Luz asked as gently as she could, but some irritation came through.

"Oh," Hunter again said, "Yeah, um, like the Council. They kind of run the day to day minutiae of government. All the Coven Heads are there, each responsible for a certain part of the government."

Hunter began to explain the intricacies of the politics of the Boiling Isles Imperium but one look at Luz told him she was trying to follow and understand but the glazed over eyes gave away that she found it all to be monumentally boring.

Too bad, Hunter found politics fascinating.

"There's also the military," he said hopefully.

Luz perked up at that, and if she had been a Witchling, her ears would've pricked up too he bet.

"Well, there's us Grey Guards. The Grimwalkers. We kinda are a scout force though. We usually stick to the borders of our territory. Occasionally we venture into other territories, Wild Territories."

Luz paid rapt attention.

"And there's the Common Guard, they kind of police the inner territory. They're led by Warden Wrath. You might see him at the Heart, he's Bayaez's de facto bodyguard, even though he has the Golden Guards. Golden Guards are the elite of the elite, led by-"

Luz held up a hand and stopped, peering around.

"What?" Hunter asked looking around, straining his ears.

"I dunno," Luz said. "Just kinda felt like we were being watched."

Hunter summoned his staff. He gripped it hard, white knuckled under his thick gloves. Wild Territory was Owl Lady Territory. Her and her legion of disciples. Any direction could hold a a whole host of wild witches.

The trees brushed and moved against each other, dancing in the wind.

Luz watched carefully, trying to gauge for any movement.

Just trees.

Something occurred to her. Something horrifying.

"Do trees have eyes on the Boiling Isles?" Luz asked in a hushed voice.

"What?" Hunter asked, eyes wide, prepared to fight to the death, or run if need be.

"Eyes. Can they see?"

"No of course not," Hunter said, but then, "Unless it's…"

It all happened in the flash of an eye, a thousand vines, wooden and sharp, each filled with thousands of thorns of varying length tore through the tree line at the edge of the road and roared at them, at their necks.

Luz's reflexes were just sharp enough to avoid her neck, but she felt the thorns tear into her scalp in several places. She found herself on her stomach and rolled trying to regain footing.

"Hunter!" Luz yelled, looking around frantically trying to find her friend.

"Luz!" Hunter's voice came from above her, and she looked up to see Hunter floating on his staff.

In a flash he seemingly teleported next to her, then Luz felt him grip her waist and pull.

Luz would describe the feeling next as a sidestep, moving sideways, but at the speed of light. It was nauseating and Luz fought the urge to vomit.

"Don't throw up!" Hunter yelled.

Luz looked around and found herself several tens of meters above the ground.

More wood, vines, a whole fucking tree came up from the ground at blistering speed. Hunter sidestepped on the staff again, and they moved almost instantly several meters to the left, narrowly avoiding the second onslaught.

"What is it?" Luz screamed over the wind.

"Plant Witch! One of the Owl Lady's followers!"

In Wild Witch territory flying was unwise. A single wild witch could decimate a squad of Grey Guards in the air. The Guards knew this and always fought smart when they had to. One of the things they teach you in training is when in doubt, when you are out maneuvered or out armed or out manned, beat feet.

And by beat feet they meant,

"Run!" Hunter screamed as he flew to the north, towards the heart and hopefully out of range of the feared Plant Witch, Willow Park.