Within was a cave that stretched downward, guarded by Bewitched warriors that got in Kenji's forces way. They fought with bitter slowness, eventually making their way passed mounds of bodies and to an iron door.
Breaking it down, Kenji entered to find a blazing green pentagram, a shifting spring green orb with golden cracks along with it, and a Witch with a beaklike nose and knobbly fingers.
"You chose poorly, in coming down here," she cackled, whipping horrid green energy through the air. The Iron door rose off the ground and refit itself to the wall, while with another flick bright green symbols flitted across the floors.
"Try me, and see what happens," she whispered, raising a thick green shield in the air before returning to her ceremony. The Bearfolk attacked immediately, Kenji's cry not halting them as they charged onto the symbols and were struck with a barrage of green light.
When the ligth faded, the Bearfolk's own eyes now glowed green, as they turned slowly to stare at Kenji and those Bearfolk arriving behind him.
"They've been bewitched," Kragg grumbled. "Blast it!"
No one else got a word in as the bewitched Bearfolk charged, their Thorn Spears now turned on their allies to devastating effect. Kenji knew to fight them was pointless, and so with a blast of air flittered above the battlefield and headed straight for the Witch herself.
Wind blades and steel knives crashed into the thick shield, leaving only small cracks.
"Give up dearie, just let this happen," the Witch laughed again, the pentagram widening as a whirling dark appeared from within. "Let me do this, it's for this world's own good."
"I'm of the 18," Kenji hissed, hoping this was one as well. "Daario sent me, he says to stand down."
"We're long past pretending, dear," the Witch replied as another series of windblades crashed into her shield, and a dribble of sweat running down her beaklike nose as her fingers began to tremble, "if that were so you would have come with the rest. You would have spoken up earlier. You would have stated your name, and waited."
That was a lot of excuses for something that shouldn't matter.
"Daario will have your head on a spike," Kenji hissed, the Witch twitched. Turning her hagged head she stared at him.
"So bold. What will your lies earn you, I wonder?"
The darkness began to envelop her pentagram, cracks appearing in reality, something else looking back through at him.
"The werewolves are gone if that's what you wanted, and killing me would earn you nothing. Not now that I have succeeded," with a snap of her fingers the entire room burst with green, as a great rush of life energy funnelled through the caves to slam into her pentagram.
When the light faded, the Witch's shield broke. She didn't struggle as Kenji slit her throat, merely continued to build up a little ball in her hands. Kenji realised what she had done too late, and threw himself back as the Witch exploded into a ball of green flames.
She hadn't looked at all frightened, merely content.
The cracks began to spread, and through the dark kenji made out a burning aura that made him naseus. Whatever it was, it was endless in strength and primordial in nature.
[Level up] announced in Kenji's head, twin banners displaying in his mind.
To the left were an additional two [Forbidden Slots] and considerable more internal storage, while to his right was an upgrade to his existing [Forbidden Slots] that would increase their conversion of stats up to %80.
Kenji chose the left and exited the Witch's cave in a daze. Behind him followed the Bearfolk freed from the Witch's clutches, and stared with sorrow to find a wasteland of dead dirt and blackened leaves.
Everything was dead, the Witch having spent the power within Forest's Heart to deliver a mortal wound on the earth. In the sky, the cracks in reality were repeated as if reality had been broken like a plate.
"The heart is no more," Kenji announced with great sorrow, as he added both the Witch's best apprentice and Grankash to his internal storage while filling his two new [Forbidden Slots] with the Satyr Warleader and the Furbolg Grandfather.
They would search all day and come up empty. The werewolves really were gone, Tenko too.
Searching the Witch Apprentice's memory she remembered only that the people who had taken the cages were thugs with spider tatoos, and had headed into the Kingdom's heartland with the werewolves in cages, Tenko amongst them. They could be in any number of villages, towns or cities by now. The area to search was far too vast for Kenji to head there himself, he'd need help.
"Kragg, your people, I'll find them," Kenji said through the torrent of dead leaves that continued to fall from the wounded sky.
"How? Do you know where they are? Kragg's people are great trackers, but we need to know where to track and what."
"They were thugs with spider tatoos, and they were heading into the Kingdom's heartland. Send those werewolves who can turn into convincing humans to start tracking, if you find them, any word at all, send for me and I'll come right away."
"And what of you? I had thought Kenji cared for the High Priestess, what will you be doing?"
"I'll be in Tariak, sending out adventurers to every damn settlement in Alandria if that's what it takes," Kenji took out the key he had received as a bonus reward after the Siege of Tariak, "and in the meantime, I'll be training. When you do find Tenko and the others, I'll have a Raid Party able to crack even the toughest dungeon."
Kenji understood now, he could not do this himself. Things had gone poorly because of how he insisted he does things himself. If there had been several others he could have trusted, of high level, geared and with the correct training...
"Things will go differently in future, send those with me who cannot be trusted to hunt. The forest of Essenark is no longer habitable. The same goes for you Arti, those Furbolgs who did not want to become Bearfolk should come with me as well."
"Your not...Grandfather, are you?" Arti said, sizing Kenji up after having managed to return to his Furbolg form. Kenji was impressed, he knew firsthand the willpower required to pull away from the sweet bloodlust the Queen of Thorns pumped them full of, and even now dozens of Furbolg remained stuck in their Bearfolk state, unable to exit the powerful bezerker mode.
"I'm not, and I apologize sincerely for tricking you. I was tricked in turn by the Witch and was forced to adapt my plans to try and save as many lives as possible. I beg of you to forgive me, and assure you that no matter what you decide to do, I'll do my best to aid you and your people in future."
"My...people," Arti whispered, staring at the larger Furbolgs with some realization. The way the small Furbolg's first thoughts went to his countrymen made Kenji smile, seeing in Arti the same kindness and wisdom he felt within Grandfather. "We will come with you, and hold you accountable should this deception not prove worth it. We cannot stay here at least, and I believe that while you were our enemy, that is not the case anymore."
Offering a clawed hand, Kenji clapsed it in his elvish own and shook.
With a heavy heart, he started organising their return to Tariak. Defeated, yet not broken. They WOULD find out where the werewolves were taken, and Kenji swore he would have his elite team ready to break them free the moment the news came in.
"Just wait a little longer Tenko. I'm coming, I promise."