It was then he remembered more. This part of the gate. The Root Maze Ruins.
Before they could venture further, more bark guards surfaced from the forest behind them.
They emerged from the woods they had just escaped as though they were only just arriving, but their movements had changed.
They rushed the humans with a newfound, aggression, their wooden limbs snapping and creaking as they sprinted toward the rear of the group.
Several incarnations halted.
They didn't show panic; instead, they faced the charging guards with a measured, grim confidence.
"We'll handle them. You all should go on ahead," the raid party leader said.
He had about seven incarnations in his party who stopped alongside him, readying themselves.
Albert halted for a moment. Consulting the papers before him, he looked the raid party over.
"Ansa," he muttered, looking at the raid party that had just stopped.
"They might not be enough. I can tell those new spawns will be trouble. Leone!"
