[THE ELDERWOOD GROVE]
[Two Days Later]
It was once home to the Verdant Wall, the living cathedral of green towering trees that reached the heavens.
They had stood tall like undefeated silent guardians of bark and wood, like ancient pillars thick and tall as if holding up the sky itself.
As Arthos and Kay approached the site, they witnessed a different reality.
It looked like a giant eraser had swept through and removed all traces of what once was…like a giant paint brush dipped in gray had brushed over everything that once stood there.
The trees were the first thing they noticed, or rather, the absence of them.
Over a year ago, Arthos had witnessed the fall of the giant wall.
It had crumbled like a house of playing cards after the dungeon was cleared.
He expected to find piles of dead trees, like corpses left behind after a brutal battle.
What remained were trunk stubs cut close to the ground, snapped branches resembling brittle bones, and tangled heaps of dried vines.
The ground was parched and cracked with fire and ash.
Every step sent up a faint gray puff of ash that danced lazily in the air like dandelions.
Arthos knelled and touched the ground…no trace of life remained.
Voices and figures moved in the distance, one came running toward Arthos and Kay.
In response, Kay readied his bow with rounds of arrows.
“Wait!
It’s just a miner.” Arthos whispered as he rose his right hand as if to stop the stream of arrows.
A stocky man with a thick red beard approached carrying an axe.
“Hey fellas!
You came too late; this area has been stripped clean!
Our group is taking care of what’s left,” he said panting from the exertion.
He continued saying, “If you are looking for wood, go west about a mile that way.
No one has claimed that section…but you best hurry, other miners will be here soon.”
What happened to the trees?” Arthos asked.
“We picked them clean!” The miner said with a cheerful smile as he took deep breaths to steady his pulse.
“You took the fallen trees?” Arthos asked in clarification.
“Yes!
Everybody’s been harvesting them!
Turns out the trees are stronger than steel.
They can be forged into weapons, axes, pickaxes, and a number of useful tools….and the best part is that they are free!
Just need to haul them away.”
“I see, thank you for the information.
We will be on our way now.” Arthos said as he prepared to depart.
“Wait!
You are not here to mine, are you?
You don’t have a single axe, horse, or wagon…so why are you here?” The miner asked curiously as he eyed the two strangers.
“We received reports of roaming magic beasts…red orcs.
Tall like this.” Arthos said as he stretched his hands toward the sky.
The miner’s eyes grew wide with fear.
“Red…red orcs?” The miner mumbled.
“Yes, but don’t worry…we came to take care of them.
We are part of mining team security.
Let us know if you see anything suspicious.” Arthos said as he and Kay departed.
“Thank you!
The ground crunched softly as Arthos and Kay ventured deeper into what once was the Verdant Wall.
Here and there they found traces of what the wall once was, remnants of giant trees, patches of moss turned brittle and gray, leaves preserved in the ash like an ancient fossil.
The two walked silently for two miles until they reached the inner border of what once was the Verdant Wall.
It was like witnessing day-and-night come together.
On the other side stood the Elderwood Grove, a beautiful and tranquil forest filled with flowers, trees, and colorful plants.
The sharp contrast was striking and eerie to the beholder.
Kay looked around, nothing seemed to stand out.
It looked like a normal forest.
“Where do we go from here?” Kay asked.
“This way, the tree we are looking for is hidden in plain sight…but I remember how to get there.” Arthos said as he led the way through the tranquil garden.
The two encountered no other players as they marched silently for an hour.
The two heroes reached a clearing, a large area where few trees and flowers grew.
It stretched out a similar distance to a football field.
At the center was an ordinary looking tree.
At first glance, it seemed perfectly ordinary…but on closer inspection it looked purposely planted there, like a silent guardian overlooking the garden.
To Arthos, the tree looked like a ghost…a memory he wished to bury.
“We are here.” Arthos said as the two stopped midway through the clearing.
Oddly, the last steps always seem the hardest.
Arthos had faced warlords, monsters, and countless abominations.
None of them made his hands shake the way they did now.
He had avoided coming here for a reason.
Now it was time to face the truth.