Redjaw had already disappeared behind the briars ahead, but following him was not difficult. The wolf was larger than some horses and had stopped caring about subtlety somewhere around the creek.
Branches snapped ahead. Behind Ren, someone shouted his name again. Closer this time.
He looked back. Three players had come through the briars behind him.
One of the Rangers who had stopped to kill him near the creek was among them. More people were moving between the trees farther south.
The hunting horn sounded again. Ren ignored them and faced forward.
Twenty MP. No potion. Excellent time to become popular.
Something crashed ahead.
Redjaw.
Ren pushed between two trees and nearly ran into the Guardian. The man stepped out from behind a wall of black briars with his shield raised.
Ren stopped before testing whether Self-Defense applied to accidental collisions.
The Guardian lowered his shield.
"You’re alive."
"So far."
The Mage and Ranger were behind him. Both looked worse than they had near the creek. Mud covered the Mage’s robe to the knees, and one side of the Ranger’s leather armor had been cut open.
The Guardian glanced behind Ren.
"They following you?"
"Some of them have developed an interest."
An arrow struck a tree several feet behind him.
The Guardian looked at the arrow.
"Apparently."
The curved-sword Swordsman came through the trees from the north. Her longbow partner followed a few steps behind her.
"Redjaw reached the Hollow."
Ren looked past her.
"Inside?"
"Almost."
The longbow player raised his bow toward the trees behind Ren.
"Then move."
Nobody argued. They ran.
The briars thickened around them. Ren recognized the route immediately. Black vines covered entire trunks. Red leaves appeared between the thorns.
Briarheart Hollow was close.
Another player shouted behind them.
"That fucker’s here!"
The Guardian turned while running.
"How many?"
Ren heard branches breaking in several places.
"Too many for my liking."
"Useful."
"Happy to contribute."
The first bounty hunter charged after them. The longbow player stopped, drew and fired in one movement. The arrow struck the man’s shoulder and jerked him sideways.
The curved-sword woman kept running.
"Don’t stop."
The Guardian didn’t. Neither did Ren.
The bounty hunter shouted after them.
"Vagrant’s not alone. They’re all protecting Redjaw!"
That’s going to simplify future diplomacy.
More voices answered. Ren could hear the crowd spreading through the trees instead of following one path.
The trees opened.
Briarheart Hollow sat between the three low ridges exactly as Ren remembered it. Black briars covered the slopes. Red leaves crowded their upper branches.
The split dead tree was at the center, and Redjaw was twenty steps from it. The ridges and briars narrowed the approaches to the nest. The bounty hunters couldn’t surround Redjaw as easily here.
The wolf staggered. Ren had not noticed how bad the injuries looked while everyone was running.
Blood covered Redjaw’s shoulder and one side of his chest. Several arrows still stuck out of his coat. The red veins inside his crown were brighter now, running through almost every black thorn around his neck and skull.
The Ranger beside the Guardian exhaled.
"Come on."
Redjaw took another step. Then roots burst from the ground and wrapped around his front leg.
The Mage beside the Guardian stared at the spell.
"Not mine."
A second Mage stood on the southern ridge. Three bounty hunters were with him.
"Hold it!"
Redjaw pulled. The roots stretched but didn’t break.
The Guardian swore. The curved-sword woman was already running toward the ridge. Her partner fired over her shoulder.
The bounty Mage ducked behind a tree.
Ren looked at Redjaw, then at the distance between them. He could Burrow, but it would cost five of his remaining twenty MP.
The wolf pulled again. One root snapped. Two remained.
Fine.
Ren activated Burrow.
MP: 15/50
The ground swallowed him. He moved beneath the briars and surfaced beside Redjaw’s trapped leg.
The wolf noticed him immediately.
"Still helping."
Redjaw growled.
"Wonderful."
Ren drove the spearhead into the first root and split it. An arrow passed over his shoulder as he cut the second.
Redjaw ripped his leg free and lunged forward. Ren threw himself away before one enormous paw crushed his foot.
Redjaw crossed the last few steps and entered the Hollow.
A system chime sounded.
Ren stopped. So did the other hidden-quest holders.
Redjaw had reached the split tree. For several seconds, the wolf only stood there breathing hard. Then he stepped between the roots and lowered himself into the dark depression beneath the trunk.
The black briars surrounding the nest moved against his crown as he settled into them. The red veins through his thorns brightened.
A notification opened.
The Briar Crown - Stage III Complete
Redjaw reached Briarheart Hollow alive.
Rewards
+700 XP
+4 Silver
Aldern Hunters Reputation +35
Level 4 - 1,394/1,500 XP
Ren smiled. They had done it.
One hundred and six XP short of Level Five. Annoying.
An arrow hit Redjaw’s flank.
"Of course."
Ren’s smile disappeared.
The bounty hunters were coming down the ridge. The Mage who had rooted Redjaw had three people with him. More appeared behind them.
"Two Gold!" someone shouted. "Kill it before it changes!"
That got everyone’s attention.
The Guardian planted himself between Redjaw and the ridge. His Ranger moved beside him. The Mage raised her staff. The curved-sword woman looked at Ren.
"Truce isn’t over yet."
Ren looked at Redjaw.
The first holder to break it would be helping the bounty hunters more than himself.
"Apparently our paperwork is delayed."
The curved-sword woman stared at him for half a second.
"Just kill them."
"That also works."
The first bounty Swordsman came down the slope.
The Guardian met him. Shield struck sword. The Swordsman tried to move around him, but roots curled around his ankle. He fell. The Guardian stepped over him and hit the next player with the center of his shield.
The curved-sword woman moved past both.
She didn’t attack the man on the ground. She went straight for the Mage.
Good choice.
Another Ranger appeared between the briars and aimed toward Redjaw.
Ren ran into his line of sight. The Ranger shifted his aim toward him and fired.
"You! Not again!"
Ren ducked behind the split tree and the arrow struck dead wood.
The Ranger cursed and nocked another.
Ren looked down at his spear. Burrow was equipped. Firebolt was not. Ten seconds. Not happening here.
He stepped out again.
"Sorry. I’m against animal abuse."
The Ranger fired instantly.
Ren ducked beneath the arrow and ran toward him.
The man backed up.
That was enough. He stopped aiming at Redjaw.
Ren slowed too.
"Thank you."
"What?"
"For becoming my problem instead."
The Ranger raised his bow again.
Ren moved behind a thick patch of briars before he could fire. No reason to win every fight. He only needed everyone shooting at him instead of the wolf.
More bounty hunters reached the ridge, shouting as they came. Ren counted seven before they started moving between the trees and ruined his effort. More were behind them.
The longbow player fired from beside the split tree now. His arrow struck one hunter, then he immediately changed targets.
The Guardian’s Ranger was doing the same.
Six hidden-quest holders still cooperating. Ren almost laughed.
The system chimed again. Every one of them went still as a new window appeared.
The Briar Crown
Final Stage Unlocked.
Ren read the next line.
Crown Claim
Only one eligible holder may complete the final stage of The Briar Crown.
Silence lasted approximately one second. Then someone on the ridge shouted:
"THE WOLF’S CHANGING!"
The Guardian raised his shield and deflected an arrow flying into the hollow.
The curved-sword woman glared at Ren.
Ren looked at her sword, then at the Guardian’s shield, then at the other three holders. They were watching each other too.
The trio had numbers. The duo had coordination. Ren had a forest full of bounty hunters who didn’t care about their competition.
Wonderful.
He tightened his grip on the spear.
"Well."
The Ranger beside the Guardian glanced at him.
"Don’t get any ideas."
Ren looked at the Crown Claim window again.
"Too late."
Only one claim.
That was going to be inconvenient.