"Oh no..." She whispered, rushing forward and helping the girl stand. She quickly wrapped the Dryad's arm around her shoulder, carrying some of her weight. "Where is it?" She asks quickly, looking down at the girl.

She sagged against Claire, her head lolling back on her shoulders. "Hey," Puck said, shaking her a little by the shoulders. "Stay with me now. Wheres your tree? Did someone cut it down?"

The dryad gasped for air. "P-poisoned," she whispered before her eyes rolled up and her body turned to wood in Claire's arms. With the sound of snapping twigs, the dryad curled in on herself until she resembled little more than a bundle of dry branches. Puck sighed, bowing his head, and gathered the lifeless dryad into his arms. She was thin and brittle now, fragile as spun glass, but not one twig snapped or broke off as he carried her away. With utmost care, he laid the body at the foot of a giant tree, murmured a few words and stepped back.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, huge roots unfurled from the ground, wrapping around the dryad to draw her down into the earth. In seconds, she had disappeared.

"Who would want to poison a tree?" She questioned, staring at where the pile of branches disappeared.

Puck shook himself, giving her a humorless grin. "Let's find out." They didn't have to search far. Only a few minutes into the wyldwood, the trees curled away, and they stumbled onto a familiar patch of dead ground in the middle of the forest. An entire swath of forest was sickened and dying, trees twisted into strange metal parodies. Metal lampposts grew out of the ground, bent over and flickering erratically. Wires crawled over roots and trunks, choking trees and vegetation like red and black creeper vines. The air smelled of copper and decay.

"No..." She whispered, her eyes looking over each tree with sorrow. "Why?"

"It's spreading," Puck muttered, holding his sleeve to his face as the metallic breeze ruffled Claire's hair and clothes. "This wasn't here a few months ago." He turned to her. "I thought you said you killed the Iron King."

"I thought we did..." She mutters, glancing around.

(Brb, dinner)

(Kk)

Pucks eyes narrowed. "Another one? You sort of failed to mention that before." Shaking his head, he scanned the wasted area and sighed. "Another Iron King. Dammit, how many of them are we going to have to kill? Are they going to keep popping up like rats?"

"That's it! His brother!" She snapped, pacing. "Would he actually do this though? I mean... I don't really know him... He seemed respectable though..." She mutters, looking at the ground as she turns and turns. She freezes, looking up at him. "If it is him... He's following in his brother's footsteps..." She mutters, narrowing her eyes shaking her head. "I don't understand."

Puck was completely lost. "What? We can't do anything about it now. Let's get you home.