The three White Doves didn't know what was stalking them, but they paid it no mind and continued forward. The three soon came across a crumbled castle. From the looks of it, it appears as if it was attacked by a large beast of sorts, a beast of vines and thorns. Axel dismounted and investigated. Axel touched one of the various vines wrapped around the crumbled stones; Axel was poked by a thorn.
"Ouch! A damn thorn got me!" Axel exclaimed. Axel's finger bled. Axel looked at the thorns that covered the vines; the vines retracted into the darkness before a massive plant figure pushed down the cobblestone wall. Axel looked up at the towering beast of vines; it had six vine legs that ended with human feet, six vine arms that ended in human hands and were surrounded by thick brambles, a crown of white feathers on its head, glowing pink eyes that wept streams of what appeared to be a sap, and glowing pink eyes that seemed to absorb all souls that dared to glance into them.
"White Dove, this isn't a place for your kind. We kill White Doves. We kill Xenia. We kill all that is not of the Shadows." Axel looked at the hands of the beast, which began to ensnare him. "I want to see you alive one last time before I reap all the life you have."
"I teleport away from you!" Axel retorted before quickly raising his staff and teleporting back to Lobo. Axel, wasting no time, quickly mounted up. "C'mon, let's keep moving. We have to survey the area!" The three continued onward. The best of thorns turned invisible once again.
After twenty minutes of riding, they came across a massive castle covered in vines that held torches of black fire. The three White Doves stood at the looming, vine-wrapped gate. A beast of high authority opened the gate for the three and allowed them to enter The Stalking Garden. Axel looked around and noticed that the flowers had eyes; everything had eyes, including the very soil they grew in. The eyes followed the three like sentry guns. Serina felt a chill go down her spine when she felt something breathing on the back of her neck. Turning around, Serina saw nothing; it must have been her imagination. After all, being in Shadow territory makes you go bat-shit crazy.
"Axel? I felt something breathe on my neck, and I sure don't like it," Serina said gingerly. Axel sighed.
"You're probably losing your mind," Axel said. "Just breathe, and you'll be fine." Axel looked to his left and saw a White Dove's head stabbed on a pike with its heart encased in thorns. "They must have a thing for us White Doves here."
"Blood sacrifice," Fable replied. "They claim that drinking our blood will give them strength." Axel chuckled in response to that but didn't say anything. Up ahead, there was a flight of stairs that led to the doors of the castle. The three White Doves dismounted and began to ascend the stairs. They reached the top of the stairs, approached the massive castle doors, and knocked on them three times; on the third knock, the gate behind them slammed shut, and thorn-covered vines covered the castle door. A gang of vines grabbed the three White Doves by their feet and hanged them a good seventy feet off the ground.
"Our king needs a sacrifice," Said the owner of the vines as it began to carry them up a large hill behind the castle. Axel began to squirm.
"What are you? Why do your vines ensnare me?" Axel demanded. The beast spoke.
"The highest of the Stalkers, Grassmin," Grassmin rumbled. "Our king needs the tender flesh of a White Dove, three White Doves, in fact."
"Our flesh is not for the taking!" Axel exclaimed as he struggled in the vines. Fable tried to reach for a weapon while Serina could be heard whimpering. The scene became more gruesome by the second. Axel saw two mysterious figures torturing a White Dove with hot irons. Axel cringed at the scene. The air grew hellishly hot as Grassmin reached the top of the hill. Axel's eyes widened when he saw a volcano with pink mist rising from it.
"We have visitors here for you!" Grassmin called out to the dragon that slept below the lava. The ground shook as a giant, hot pink and white dragon with blue eyes rose from the volcano with a roar. Grassmin dropped the three White Doves in front of the dragon, who majestically lowered its head down to them, huffing a thick, black smoke in their face. Axel stood in front of Fable and Serina, holding his staff to his side.
"We do not fear you, beast of the pink mist! We will take you down!" Axel called up to the dragon, who flinched a little when Axel swung his staff close to one of his eyes. The dragon would growl and show his teeth before speaking.
"I do not fear such a tiny, incompetent creature."
"Incompetent?" Axel retorted.
"Very," The dragon replied. The clouds darkened as hordes of Stalkers suddenly appeared around them, their vines snaking toward them like serpents. Axel, Fable, and Serina stood back to back as they came. The dragon rose from the volcano, sat on top of the castle's tower, and roared, reminding everyone in the area of his authority. The thorn-covered vines sunk deep into the flesh of the three struggling White Doves. Axel's teeth clenched when he felt his flesh twist in directions they weren't supposed to go. Axel reached for his Ruby Dagger and stabbed Grassmin in one of his vines; the dagger was swallowed up by snakes of thorns. A chuckle came from the beast of plants.
"Your puny instruments cannot harm me," Grassmin said as he pushed Axel's Ruby Dagger out of his makeshift flesh and made it fall to the ground. Serina attempted to scream, but her mouth was covered by Grassmin's vines, silencing her. The dragon on top of the castle chuckled at Serina's fear. Stalkers began to surround Grassmin, raising their vines up into the air. A yelping was heard.
"Lobo!" Fable cried out. "They have Lobo!" Upon hearing that, Axel growled under his breath. Looking over at the scene, Axel's eyes would narrow. Just then, the castle doors would open, revealing the head honcho, Caldrufini, who stared up at the three White Doves with a smirk on his face.
"You will not take any of us alive!" Axel savagely fought through Grassmin's vines and raised his staff high into the air. The air grew very warm. "Xenia's Judgement falls upon you!" A massive beam came from the tip of the staff that blew a massive hole through Grassmin and a part of Caldrufini's castle. Grassmin was forced to drop the three because half of his body was ripped off. Axel soon fainted from overexertion, leaving him out of commission. Fable would lift Axel onto her shoulders.
"We will lay siege to Xenia's temple and ruin the ecosystem!" Caldrufini said with raised arms. "You puny White Doves have one week to stop us. One week is all. No more, no less. Impress me."
"Piss off!" Fable exclaimed. Fable looked at Serina. "Let's get out of here and come back once we're ready." Fable ran alongside Serina, carrying Axel over her shoulders in a fireman's carry. As the two ladies made their mad dash toward the gate, Caldrufini fired a beam of black magic toward them; luckily, it missed by a few inches. Serina hurled a red spear at Caldrufini to distract him, buying them time to get to the gate. Caldrufini began advancing toward the girls with a hexed amulet in his left hand. Caldrufini swung it in the air like a sword. Fable felt her back burn like a hot iron was taken to it. Serina held Fable up as she picked the lock; a searing pain rushed through Fable as she fumbled with the lock.
"Hurry!" Serina exclaimed. Serina looked over her shoulder and saw that Caldrufini was getting closer. "He's getting closer!"
"I almost have it....got it! C'mon!" Fable ushered Serina forward. Serina and Fable ran through the gate. Serina quickly pushed the gate shut. A mass of Stalker vines snaked through and under the gate, trying to grab Serina as she ran back to Fable. Fable was stopped in her tracks by Lobo getting strangled by a group of Stalkers. Unnerved, Fable slowly turned her head to Serina. "Help Lobo while I get Axel secured." Fable mounted Chelly and placed Axel in her lap before taking him around one hundred feet from the scene.
"Got it!" Serina replied before raising her hand. The group of Stalkers took on a red glow before they were thrown up into the air; then, Serina would summon Red Spears to line the ground. The Stalkers ended up becoming impaled on the spears, killing them within seconds; some survived well after impalement and twitched for a while. Lobo was freed but not without cuts. Serina would mount Lobo. Serina looked at Akari. "Follow me, girl!"
Serina bolted by Fable, who soon followed behind her. The two ladies rode as fast as they could out of there. The two ladies would speed over the border, past Makki's store, and back into the Red Timber Forest. The two ladies slowed down. Fable heard Axel grunt as he slowly rose from unconsciousness.
"Axel? Are you alright?" Fable asked.
"I'm...a little shaken up. Xenia's Judgment is very powerful," Axel replied. "That's why I only use it for emergencies." Axel looked around for Lobo. "Where's Lobo? Is he alright?"
"Lobo is right under me, Axel," Serina replied, pointing downward. Axel sighed with relief.
"Thank Xenia." Axel looked up at Fable. "So, give me a synopsis of what happened."
"Well. After you fainted, we overheard Caldrufini talking about a siege on Xenia's temple. After that, I picked open the lock on the gate, nearly getting hexed in the process. Serina freed Lobo, and we escaped." Fable sighed. "We have to find a way to defeat Caldrufini once and for all. The last siege he did was fifty years ago, and it failed, so who knows what he has in store this time."
"We need to find someone or something that can help us prepare for this siege. A council with Xenia is one way, but we need to think outside the box," Axel said.
"Maybe some of the witches near the Cauldron of the Witch could help us," Serina replied. Axel's eyes widened.
"That is not a bad idea. We should head over there as soon as we can," Axel said. Axel grunted in pain. "Maybe after I recover."
"You need some rest," Fable stated. "You also need to recover some of your magic." Fable saw the Roost. "Good. We're home." Fable would ask Chelly to lower herself to the ground to make it easier for Fable to help Axel down. Serina parked Lobo near his favorite tree before heading to the door and holding it open for Fable.
"Thank you," Fable said as she carried Axel through the door. Serina closed the door behind them and sat down at the table. Fable laid Axel down on his cot. "If you need anything, just tell one of us."
"You guys are the best," Axel stated. "Well, I think I need a nap."
"Alright, rest easy, Axel. Remember, we're right here for you," Fable replied before joining Serina for a game of cards at the table.
As Fable and Serina continued to play cards, their worry about Axel grew stronger.
"What if Axel is seriously injured?" Serina inquired as she moved the cards around in her hand. Fable glanced over at Axel, then back down at her cards.
"I'm sure he's fine. Besides, we are quite resilient," Fable replied before placing a card on the table. "I know Axel well enough that he'll bounce back from this."
"I hope so." Serina placed another card down; hunger began to gnaw at her stomach. "Hey, we should start dinner in a minute here. I'm getting hungry."
"Sounds good to me." Fable laid her cards face down on the table. Fable went to the kitchen counter and began to prepare a meal. Serina decided to join Fable in the kitchen and make herself useful. Serina began to get out the ingredients.
"Maybe the scent of food will perk Axel up," Serina jested. Fable chuckled a little.
"I can see it. After all, who can resist a home-cooked meal using only the finest ingredients?" Fable retorted before she began to mash the ingredients together. Once she was done mixing the ingredients, she put them onto a pan and cranked up the heat.
Soon, the food began to cook, and its wonderful scent wafted through the air. It would be only a matter of time before Axel's scent receptors caught it and woke Axel up.