When I produced the Sanctuary Key and held it near the Stone Arch, the stones upon the arch began to glow with a blue light. Then, the key shot from my hand to disappear into a crack in the stone. An opening portal looked like a water drain moving in reverse, I decided. When it finished expanding, I felt a tingle from the portal’s mana.

  Sanctuary Grove-Tier II

  By unlocking the path to the hidden Sanctuary Grove, the Tier II Final Encounter has been activated.

  WARNING! Increased awards await those who complete the Forsaken Garden at a greater difficulty level.

  Special Rewards: Silveron Seed, Rare Class Spell

  However, completing Tier II is not necessary to complete Forsaken Garden. The Tier I Challenge is available upon request. Rewards will be reduced if this path is chosen, but difficulty is significantly reduced.

  Rewards: 75 Gold, Belt of Inner Fire

  So, this is the way to the final challenge. The “Moon Willow,” or so Iacansu named it. But I don’t need to do it?

  I needed a moment to think and consider the options.

  I looked around what was left of the Grove where I had fought Tyndonomir, Warden of Doors. Gone was the Winter scene I had encountered before. Now the forest was dead and rotting. A pungent smell carried on the air. It reminded me of the latrine pits I had been forced to help dig in the Czak camp.

  The portal beckoned, but I hesitated. I was afraid. I had used Cauterize Wounds to heal my wounds and the Soothe had helped by reducing my Corruption, but I felt as if a weight was now tied around my soul pulling me down deeper and deeper into a chasm from which I might not ever escape. At the bottom of that chasm? Turning permanently into a Wrath Mage.

  Why did I come here? That’s a stupid question, Davros. You came here to get the Silveron Seed for Madame Krait. I have to take the greater challenge! But, why does she need it for? Does it really matter? It cost you an arm, of course it matters!

  Arguing with myself was getting me nowhere. I couldn’t go back. The only way to escape the dungeon was to complete it and I couldn’t consider my task complete without the Silveron Seed. Igvild was expecting me to emerge so we could move on to the next part of our plan too, but he would be waiting a long time if I was killed.

  Which is our plan anyway? To serve the Graf by killing his sister and half-brother? To find someone to train me further in Pyromancy? The Eye gave me quests to complete, but how am I supposed to do that when I’m even more crippled now than I was before? Is there even any point to this anymore?

  “I want to live.”

  Why?

  “For my friends. Anya…so I can wipe that smirk off Lieutenant Smeeve’s face with a Combustion Bolt!” I started laughing. I laughed long and hard and I didn’t care if the power that governed the Dungeon was offended by it or not. I would find a way to win, no matter the challenge, by any means necessary. Yet, I would remain myself. I would not let Wrath overwhelm me. Imbolc had chosen me. The Serpent that was Wrath might now live inside my soul, but it didn’t own it. I would use Wrath, even as it sought to use me. I would mold it like a piece of liquified metal to my will.

  I felt the fear leave me. I was resolved. I willed my intent to continue into the Tier II Final Challenge. I stepped through the portal and was instantaneously deposited into another section of the Greenhouse. This time, I stood before a massive Weeping Willow tree. Its branches sagged like the spindly arms of old crones. A sickly green light emanated from the base of its trunk.

  I gazed up at the tree. I felt its malevolence wash over me, but it wasn’t just the tree’s power I sensed. There, standing beneath the tree, his passive gaze fixed upon me, was the well dressed Elf I had first encountered upon entering the Dungeon.

  Moon Willow

  Level: ???

  Lord Firos Merovingian

  Level: 29

  My plan had been to rush the boss as soon as I had the range, but seeing the Moon Willow and not being able to identify its level made me to hesitate.

  That’s the Elf I met when I first entered the Dungeon. Damnit! Are there two enemies to fight in the higher challenge? There has to be a way to win. The Dungeon wouldn’t make a challenge impossible to overcome.

  “Normally, you would be correct.” Lord Firos, somehow reading my thoughts, took a step forward, but with his second step he took to the air and flew closer to hover above me. I took a step back, but didn’t retreat. There was nowhere to run to anyway as the portal had closed behind me. “If this were a normal dungeon, you would have a path to possible victory. However, when I first used the Silveron Seed upon the Moon Willow you see behind me, there were some unexpected results.”

  Lord Firos’ feet touched down upon the ground a few paces away, but I didn’t attack. His face wore an unconcerned expression and he turned to look up at the tree, his arms folded behind his back.

  “The Seed sped up the Moon Willow’s growth, as I had intended, but I underestimated the amount of energy the tree would demand.” He turned his expressionless gaze my way. “When I couldn’t provide it with any more mana, the Moon Willow took it from the only resource its roots could find.” He nodded towards the tree. I looked where he indicated.

  It was then I saw the screaming, elven faces merged with the bark of the Moon Willow’s trunk. It looked like some elves had tried to escape their fate, as some still possessed grasping arms that had turned into branches. I stared horrified.

  “Your family.” I put two and two together. I remembered Igvild’s words that some tragedy had occurred wiping out a whole family before the dungeon formed. It seemed Lord Merovingian was responsible. Looking into the Lord’s eyes, I saw nothing. No remorse, sadness or a desire to atone. I shook my head.

  “Why? What does this tree even do?”

  “It was supposed to protect us from the Withering!” Now the Elf’s face grimaced in disgust. “You Awakened destroyed the Gods! This world is dying as a result. I hypothesized that a single Moon Willow sapling had the potential to restore some of the lost mana. To save our own lands at the very least! Bruhle was a young city then and many of my people fled here to escape the wars that broke out amongst the Clans on Elasalia. I would have made this place a haven for my Clan, but I underestimated the Silveron Seed’s power. It was too much for the Moon Willow.”

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  “What is the Silveron Seed?” I still didn’t know! For a moment, it almost seemed like Lord Firos might answer me, but then his face twisted in disgust and he seemed to remember who he was talking to.

  “It doesn’t matter. The deaths of those I betrayed, the magic of the Seed, and the power of the Moon Willow warped to create a Dungeon. Only I have retained my mind and memories, although sometimes I think my children may realize what they have become. Don’t believe you have killed them for long! They will return. Time and again for all eternity, they will return to guard the entrance to this Sanctuary.”

  A breeze stirred the low hanging limbs of the Moon Willow making them sway to and fro. I clutched the Staff of Rot and looked around warily. My motions made Lord Firos smile mirthlessly.

  “You are the first Awakened in a long time to make it this far. Most who enter this dimension never encounter myself or my children. Most who enter the Dungeon only meet a much weaker shadow of the Moon Willow. Some even manage to defeat it! An amusing show to help pass the time.” Lord Firos floated upwards once more, but this time he kept floating higher and higher to disappear into the topmost reaches of the tree. His mocking words carried down to me. “You stand before a sacred Moon Willow, a creation of the Old Gods and held in reverence by all the Clans. Your mana, though fouled by Wrath, will nourish its roots for many centuries to come! Die here and now, Davros the Awakened!”

  A branch of the Moon Willow snaked out and snapped around my neck jerking me from my feet. My hand flew to my throat while I gargled and gasped for air. The branch dragged me quickly upon the ground, drawing me closer to the tree. Through blurry eyes I could see the bark of the Moon Willow was split open in several areas. Viscous black fluid leaked from each of these “wounds” and there, at the base of the trunk, the origin of the sickly green light.

  Silveron Seed

  The seed was within a small alcove, encased in warped, black vines that writhed and pulsed with sickly green light. I was being dragged towards it.

  No…

  I could feel my mana being siphoned from my body the closer I came to the seed. I could sense the Moon Willow’s hunger. It wanted-no-it needed my mana. It wanted to grow, expand the boundaries of the Dungeon further. It wanted Bruhle, it wanted the entire world to feel the extent of its roots!

  My consciousness was slipping away. I raised my hand and pointed it at the vines encircling the Seed. As if sensing my intent, even more vines tightened about the seed while several more willow branches snapped around my torso, legs, and arm. It was trying to force my arm away! I snarled and cast Burning Arms.

  Fire leapt from my palm to splash against the seed’s alcove. A magical shield appeared and directed my flames away.

  “No, I’m afraid not! I saw what you did to my children, Awakened! You won’t destroy the Moon Willow! Though they are merely shadows of whom they once were, my Clan has found eternal sanctuary within this place!” Lord Firos’ voice rang out from somewhere above.

  Why is he hiding from me?

  There was no time to wonder about the Elf’s actual whereabouts or why he wasn’t attacking me himself. The shimmering shield only protected the seed, so I redirected my flames into every other part of the tree starting with the branches around my throat and body. I needed to hold Wrath Shield in reserve. It burned through mana too quickly and I still had to deal with Lord Firos. Moon Willow branches lost their glow, burnt black, then reduced to flaky white ash. I heard Lord Firos cursing me, but I kept up my random flame throwing.

  Everywhere my flames struck, wood burned. I was lacerated and bleeding. My neck was bruised and I was having trouble taking breaths where I had been nearly strangled to death. Smoke surrounded me, but then I heard Lord Firos snarl words I couldn’t understand and rain began to fall in great torrents extinguishing the flames. Breathing hard, I flexed my fingers and allowed drops of rain to fall into my open palm. I had a solution for water as well.

  I cast Steam Aura and every drop of water within a certain radius of my person burst into steam. The scalding fog enveloped me, but did me no harm. I poured more mana into the spell and watched as the steam cloud rose higher and higher into the trees until I heard a satisfying screech of pain.

  “Damn you, Awakened! I won’t let you take them from me!”

  Was he referring to his Clan? Would removing the Seed from the Dungeon free the elven shadows trapped in this dimension? It gave me an idea.

  “Let them go, Firos! Why let your family be trapped here forever? Don’t you care about what they want?”

  “SILENCE!” A great wind pushed me back and I stumbled over a tree root. I groaned when the back of my head struck the hard ground.

  “I know what it feels like to be trapped in a box! It isn’t existing!” I gasped as my hand came away with blood when I checked the back of my head.

  “I told you to be SILENT!” Firos had ceased his rain spell and the wind magic he used blew away a portion of the steam aura. I saw the elf slowly lowering himself while the Moon Willow lashed its branches in agitation. The flames had done a great deal of damage to the tree, but it looked far from done.

  I regained my feet, if a bit wobbly, but as long as I was within the remaining steam cloud, Firos couldn’t pinpoint my location and I could dodge the willow branches. Drawing him out had been my intention all along and I didn’t waste any time when I had him in my sights.

  You cast Blood Boil!

  Firos cried out in surprise as my spell took effect and his face scrunched up in pain. He raised both his hands above his head and started chanting a spell, but I had already begun my second spell the moment I had completed Blood Boil.

  You have summoned a Minor Lunar Fire Elemental!

  “Attack the Moon Willow!” I hissed my command and the Elemental shot out of the steam cloud to reignite the Moon Willow branches with its flames. Even wet, the Tree was no match for Lunar Flames. Firos wailed in despair.

  “This isn’t possible! How do you have such fire? Have the Moons cursed my Clan again? Imbolc! Why do you choose to aid an Awakened after what his kind did to us?”

  I let Steam Aura fade and I faced Lord Merovingian while my Elemental attacked the tree. While the Moon Willow lashed its branches against my summon, each of its attacks only spread the flames further. I was the worst possible match up for this Boss and both the tree and the elf now knew it.

  “Let me take the Seed, Lord Firos! How can you be okay with being trapped in this place forever? Tell me!”

  Lord Firos stared at me, his face a mask of pain, anguish, and indecision. “How can you even begin to understand? The world was beautiful. It was filled with wonder, abundance, and the Awakened took it from us! Their greed, lust for power, and the need to dominate damned us all! I only wanted to preserve a piece of what once was for the ones I cared about!”

  “Tyndonomir was sad, Lord Firos. Iacansu misses her brother. And you. I didn’t want to fight them and I didn’t want to fight you!”

  “And yet, you killed them both!” Lord Firos’ eyes flashed and glowed silver.

  “And how many more times must they die? You said so yourself that they will only return to fight again. Is being a Dungeon Mob truly want you wanted for your children?” I was prepared to hurl as many Combustion Bolts as possible to bring Firos down. My heart was pounding, but I had enough mana to keep fighting. The Moon Willow shuddered and I heard its bark combust and explode as the Elemental continued to attack it. The [Burning] debuff was only hastening its demise.

  “If only you could understand what we lost.” Lord Firos gazed at the burning Willow, but this time the light went out of his eyes. How old was Lord Firos, I wondered? How long had he been trapped in his own box? “I only wanted to preserve a piece of it. When the Moon Willow took the Clan, I blamed myself, but then the Dungeon brought them all back! We are together forever. Forever…” His voice trailed off. A silver tear spilled down his cheek “The Silveron Seed will do you no good. Its power cannot be harnessed by a Child of Wrath.”

  “It isn’t for me. I’m going to give it to Booshka Krait to repay a debt I owe her.”

  “Ah. That one still lives? Of course she would want it. Yes, I understand now.” Lord Firos chuckled and I gasped as the elf’s skin grew so pale that I could see through his skin as if he were made of glass. Only the silver of his eyes remained after a few moments. “Take it then, fool. I only ask that you take some of the Moon Willow’s ashes with you when you leave this place. Bury it someplace where life still exists.”

  “I will,” I promised. The silver eyes disappeared and I heard the Moon Willow groan behind me. I turned around to watch the top half of the tree split, crack, and tumble over into a cloud of smoke. I willed the Fire Elemental to cease its attack and I dismissed it back to its own plane.

  My wounds ached, but I forced myself to the tree, stepping around burning piles of branches until I stood before the alcove holding the Silveron Seed. The vines hung limply, those not reduced to ash, and I inserted my hand into the alcove. I closed my first around the bundle of vines. They cracked and disintegrated into ashes in my hand.

  The Silveron Seed was the size of a peach pit. As its name suggested, it was silver in color and didn’t seem the worse for wear for being burned. I sent it to my Three-Pack Ring. The tree still smoldered in most places and the coals hissed as I walked past them to retreat towards where I saw a new portal had appeared. The way out.

  I was about to kneel down to scoop up a handful of willow ash when I saw something amongst one of the Moon Willow’s exposed roots. This particular root had forced itself out of the ground and formed a circular loop before sticking itself back into the ground. Growing from the root within the loop, was a small sapling that triggered a new window.

  Moon Willow Sapling

  Level: ?

  Consume for permanent +5 Presence, Alchemical Reagent-Epic

  Eyes wide, I gently removed the Moon Willow Sapling by digging away the loose bark around its base. It came away far more easily than expected and the root emerged undamaged. I sent it to my ring.

  So, if I eat it I gain more Presence? I could take more Followers if I increased the attribute by that much! Anya…

  “No.” I couldn’t get the image of Anya and Lieutenant Smeeve out of my head. Plus, Lieutenant Anya had never actually agreed to become my Follower as Valka had. She might not want such an arrangement with me. I could always consume it later. Also, as an Alchemist, it could be that Madame Krait might make an equally compelling offer for an Epic ranked alchemical item.

  My Three-Pack Ring was getting full. I had auto looted several items from the Moon Willow, but I wanted to leave now and decided I would organize things later. I approached the Portal.

  You have enough XP to advance to Level 12! Please exit current *Dungeon [Forsaken Garden] to apply available experience points.

  * Advancing levels within Dungeon zones is not permitted.

  Oh yes. I have to do that too.