Heavy Metal

Teral's hands began to shake as he stared at the seal pressed into the wax. For a long moment, he said nothing. Rusty tilted his helmet slightly.

"Well?"

Teral slowly took the letter. His eyes moved across the page, but it was clear he did not need to read it. The moment he saw the crest, he already knew.

"…Yes."

His voice was quiet, but the anger behind it was unmistakable.

"I know this noble house. These are the people who killed my family."

Rusty had not been there when his summoner interrogated the mercenaries, but now he also understood who the culprit was. He was not sure if the nobles here were the same as the ones he had seen back in Ferndale, but they could certainly hire a lot of people. The humans here were not as strong as the Black Hounds, so perhaps they weren't on the same level, at least not for now.

"Are you alright?"

Teral's hands trembled. Rusty placed a hand on his shoulder. At that moment, he had returned to his regular, smaller form. The touch seemed to ground his summoner, and he shook his head slightly.

"Ah… my apologies. I seem to have lost my wits."

"It is fine. We will get your revenge. And look, there is more here."

Rusty pointed to a stack of papers, steering the conversation.

"These are… maps and records?"

"It appears so. With these, it will be easier to locate the other elves and to anticipate where the humans might move next."

"If we know where they will go next, we could prevent another tragedy from happening."

Teral spread the maps across the small wooden table inside the tent. Rusty leaned over them, the metal of his helmet reflecting the faint orange candlelight. Several points had been marked with crude ink circles and small notes written in the human language.

"These are patrol routes."

Rusty said after a moment, and Teral nodded slowly.

"Yes. And these symbols here could mark capture sites, while these indicate the ones that have already been carried out."

The young elf pointed to a red cross in several places, and his mind drifted again.

"This is where my village was. That means all of these… have already fallen."

Most of the map was already crossed out, with only a few sites unmarked. The circles were scattered across a wide portion of the forest. Some had dates beside them, others symbols. Neither Rusty nor Teral knew what the symbols meant, so for now they decided to take all the maps back to their hideout.

"I'm sure Elder Eldrin will be able to figure out this code. For now, let's head back."

Teral looked to Rusty for guidance, as if he were the one in charge.

"Sure, let's do that."

After the young elf took all the important pages, Rusty grabbed the remaining candles and tossed them into the tent. It caught fire immediately. Outside, the camp was already burning as the other elves followed suit.

Most of them looked tired and unhappy. Some gathered around the pile of elven corpses, while others tended to the captured elves, offering them food and potions that had been left behind.

"We need to move."

Teral shouted to the others as he and Rusty finally stepped out of the tent.

"But what about the bodies? Are we really going to leave them here?"

Lethira objected, pointing toward the fallen elves. It seemed that, like other humanoids, these people had their own rituals for honoring the dead. Some buried their dead, others burned them, but for elves, it was something different.

Rusty followed Lethira's gaze to the pile. Even in the dim firelight, the sight was grim. Limbs were twisted unnaturally, clothes torn open, and pale faces stared silently toward the dark sky. The other elves had formed a loose circle around them. No one spoke for a long moment.

"We cannot leave them like this."

Teral mumbled in a meek tone.

"Why don't we take them with us? Though someone might track the trail back to our hideout."

Rusty pointed toward a carriage and the cart it was pulling. It was a generic vehicle, probably used for transporting slaves. Horses were still tied to it, and if they wanted, they could use it.

The suggestion drew several glances. The cart stood near the edge of the camp, half loaded with crates and iron cages. Two horses stamped nervously as the smell of blood and smoke filled the clearing.

"The spirit says that we could transport them with the carriage…"

Teral, as always, translated what Rusty was saying.

"If we bring the bodies with us, we honor them properly. But the spirit is right. The tracks would lead straight to our refuge."

Lethira frowned as she spoke.

"So we just leave them? After what the humans did to them?"

Another elf shouted, and the group began to debate their next move. Rusty did not care much either way, but he knew it was important to decide quickly. Smoke from the burning camp could attract more humans.

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"Do elves bury their dead like humans?"

Rusty asked Teral, who also looked uncertain.

"No, we return them to the forest. Their bodies are placed in sacred groves where the roots of the great trees consume them. Our life returns to the forest so it can bless us in return."

This seemed to be how the wood elves buried their dead, feeding them to the trees the elder had mentioned before.

This complicated things, but it was something they would have to do sooner or later. If they wanted to perform the ritual for the elves, they first needed to secure one of those great trees. While there was some danger in their operation, they still held the advantage of surprise for the moment. First, they had to study the map to locate any remaining trees and make their way there. Once they arrived, they would have to establish a proper encampment and train the new elven militia.

It was a lot of work, more than Rusty had expected for what was supposed to be a simple summoning mission. Previously, he had never stayed involved in summoning for much more than a week. Perhaps it would even be possible to attack the Baron with their current forces and his own power. The enemies here were relatively weak, and the mission had not been marked as overly difficult. Still, Rusty was not in a rush. The longer he worked with the summoner, the more coins he would earn, and that was reason enough to keep preparing carefully rather than acting hastily.

"Let's just take the bodies. It should still take some time for them to track us, and I heard there are ways to distort these trails, right?"

He spoke to Teral, who also wanted to take the bodies of their fallen comrades.

"You would allow it?"

"Allow it? I think you are misunderstanding something. I'm just your summon. The choice of what to do has always been yours, Teral."

"The choice is mine to make?"

The young man had not yet fully adjusted to his new role. Rusty could see the other elves looking to him for guidance because he was able to command a seemingly powerful metal spirit. To them, Teral was a kind of savior, and it was clear they were relying on his strength.

"I…"

Teral lowered his head and nodded, as if a decision had formed in his mind. Then he turned to address everyone present. As if a switch had been flipped, his voice carried a new resolve.

"We will take the bodies of our people in the carriage and burn the rest of this human camp to the ground."

For a moment, the elves simply stared. The hesitation that had filled the clearing earlier seemed to vanish as Teral's voice echoed through the camp.

"No one who falls to these monsters will be left behind. Not while we still breathe."

Lethira gave a small nod, the tension in her shoulders easing slightly.

"Then let us move quickly. I should be able to do something about the tracks. It should be enough to keep those humans guessing."

Teral nodded at Lethira, and soon the elves sprang into motion. The hesitation from earlier had been replaced by a quiet resolve. Several moved toward the pile of fallen elves while others began pulling the cart closer. The horses whinnied nervously as the flames from the burning tents crackled and spread through the camp.

Rusty watched from the side as his summoner grew before him, not in levels, but in confidence. He stumbled less and less, and the determination in his eyes was unmistakable. Yet this was only the beginning. There was still much to do to bring everything together.

The human camp burned to the ground in a controlled blaze that stopped short of the forest. The flames died slowly, leaving behind blackened beams and smoldering embers. By the time the fire consumed the last tent, the elves were already gone.

The cart creaked softly as it rolled along the narrow forest path. Rusty walked beside it, keeping everyone safe. This was his first mission with the elves, and he knew they required a lot of guidance. He had read a few books in the library about warfare, but nothing in-depth. It would take time, yet he was convinced that in a few weeks, these people could become something formidable.

Their journey was slow as they used techniques like moving down a shallow stream to eliminate their scent. Eventually, they arrived at the hidden bandit hideout, where the new elves could finally rest. Eldrin took all the maps and documentation to analyze them. Thanks to his efforts, they realized how little time remained.

"There is only one Great Tree left?"

"Yes. These humans have been working fast. Fortunately, this one is near an old village that was abandoned."

The old man's words set their next destination: the area around the remaining Great Tree. Along the way, they passed multiple old settlements that had already been ransacked and some where elven captives were still held. There was no time to linger. Soon, the group was back on the move, and Rusty noticed something he had not seen before in the elves: hope.

There was still much work to do. Rusty continued assisting his summoner. Teral had become nearly obsessed, sleeping little as they moved from one human camp to another, each time rescuing a few elves who continued to travel with them.

Days passed, and they repeatedly clashed with human forces. Even though the elves used his puppet armor to assist them, they were gradually gaining the confidence to fight for themselves and earn the levels required to grow stronger.

More and more elven members joined their cause, and eventually they reached their new permanent home, the abandoned village of Aetherfalls. Old wooden structures stood half-swallowed by the forest. Roofs had collapsed under years of rain, and moss crawled along the walls in every crevice. The wooden palisade that once encircled the village leaned outward in several places, yet enough remained to form a rough defensive ring. At the far end of the clearing, towering above everything else, stood the Great Tree.

Even Rusty had to tilt his head back to take in the crown. Its trunk was enormous, wider than several houses combined, and its bark shimmered faintly with streaks of pale green light that pulsed slowly. Thick roots spread across the ground like the limbs of some ancient beast, vanishing into the earth beneath the ruined village.

Yet despite their arrival after days of battle, something felt wrong. The tree dominated the ruined village, but its leaves were dull. They hung limply instead of reaching proudly toward the sky. Many had turned a sickly yellow, and some had already fallen, forming a thin carpet around the roots.

"That tree doesn't look healthy. Can we really use it?"

Eldrin, the old elf, noticed Rusty had turned his helmet toward Teral and, without waiting for an explanation, spoke.

"Is the spirit concerned about the Great Tree's vitality?"

"Yes. He says the tree is sick."

Teral nodded as the group approached what was to be their new home and sanctuary from the humans.

"Worry not. Once the ritual is performed, even this Elder Great Tree will be reborn, just like everyone else here."

Eldrin's confidence in his craft was evident, and Rusty would soon understand why. Along their journey, they had gathered many elven bodies, bodies that did not rot but instead brimmed with magical energy. This was how the trees survived. Once the energy from the fallen elves seeped back into the ground, the Great Tree would thrive again.

The elven bodies were arranged around the tree within a circle, and Rusty watched from a distance as the strange ritual unfolded before his metallic visor.

'Interesting… they're forming some type of mana formation.'

With his mana sense, he could feel the density of magic rising in the area and a strange connection forming with the massive tree. The bodies had not been laid out randomly. Eldrin and several older elves directed their placement with meticulous care. Each fallen elf was positioned so that their head faced the trunk while their feet pointed outward toward the forest.

Lines were drawn in the sand and filled with a special powder that resembled magical runes. Soon, the elder began chanting in a language Rusty did not understand, and that was when it all came together.

Particles of mana became visible to the naked eye, and the other elves sank to their knees before the phenomenon. They joined hands, forming a larger circle around the tree. That was when it happened. The tree began to react to the ritual, its roots shifting beneath the earth.

From the ground, small vine-like tendrils crept outward, glowing faintly with the same pale green light as the bark. They wrapped gently around the fallen elves' bodies, slowly enveloping them and covering them entirely in green.

Sparks of light danced across the clearing as the entire tree pulsed with magical energy. The small roots flickered as well, drawing mana from the deceased and transferring it into the giant tree. Leaves that had once been yellow or brown were revitalized, and gradually the great tree regained its vitality.

The first step toward victory had been achieved. The tree was restored, and with it, the elves could finally change their classes and become true warriors of the forest. The time for the counteroffensive was approaching, and Rusty would make sure that they were victorious.