The forest grew darker. The trees were so thick that no light came through.
Cain and Isolde walked on a path made of giant roots. It was slippery. The air smelled sweet, like rotting fruit.
"I hear something," Isolde said. She stopped walking.
BZZZZZT.
The sound was loud. It sounded like a chainsaw.
"Bugs," Cain said. He did not look worried. "Big ones."
From the shadows, they came.
They were Killer Wasps. Each one was the size of a motorcycle. They had yellow and black stripes, and their stingers were as long as swords. Their wings moved so fast they blurred.
There were fifty of them.
"Run!" Isolde yelled. "We can't fight them all! They fly too fast!"
"I don't run," Cain said.
He stood his ground. The first wasp dived at him. It tried to stab him with its stinger.
Cain stepped to the side. He grabbed the wasp by its leg.
"You are annoying," Cain said.
He slammed the wasp into the ground. CRUNCH. Green slime splattered everywhere.
But two more wasps attacked from behind. They were fast. One cut Cain's shoulder with its leg. It ripped his coat, but did not cut his hard skin.
"Isolde!" Cain shouted. "Use magic!"
"I can't!" Isolde cried. "My fire won't light! The air is too wet!"
"Then don't burn them!" Cain yelled, punching another wasp in the face. "Cut them! Use Wind!"
Isolde froze. She always used fire. Fire was strong. Wind was just for pushing things.
"Cut them..." she whispered.
She looked at the wasps. Their wings were thin.
She raised her staff. She did not try to make a big storm. She tried to make a sharp line. A blade of air.
[Spell: Wind Slicer]
She swung her staff like a sword.
WHOOSH.
A thin line of white wind shot out. It hit three wasps.
SNIP.
The wind cut their wings off. The giant bugs fell out of the sky and crashed into the dirt.
"Nice shot!" Cain said. He stomped on a wasp head.
Isolde smiled. She felt strong. She swung her staff again. WHOOSH. WHOOSH.
More wings were cut. The wasps fell like rain.
Cain grabbed the last wasp in the air. He ripped its stinger off. He used the stinger like a dagger to stab the bug.
SQUISH.
The fight was over. The ground was covered in dead giant bugs and green slime.
Cain wiped his hands on his pants.
"Good job, Princess," Cain said. "You are learning."
Isolde looked at her staff. It was glowing a faint green now. She was adapting to the forest.
"They were guarding something," Isolde said, pointing ahead.
In front of them was a massive wall of thorns. Behind the thorns was a giant temple. It was not made of stone. It was made of living wood, grown into the shape of a skull.
"That is it," Cain said. "The Temple of Earth."
He walked up to the wall of thorns. The thorns were sharp as steel knives.
"Do we knock?" Isolde asked.
Cain reached into his shadow. He pulled out his massive flail, the Earth-Eater (the dragon skull on a chain).
"No," Cain said, swinging the heavy weapon. "We break in."