Adventure of & 1

The forest edge shudders under sawdust and ozone. & hovers above a mat of bracken, small wings flashing, as a black and yellow construct grinds through the first line of ancient trunks.

Panic scatters the wild things. Deer crash left. A fox streaks beneath the roots. Birds burst from the canopy in a frantic cloud.

The machine bites again, its whirling saws chewing wood into neat boards. Chips fly like sparks across the clearing.

A figure in a soot-stained green coat scrambles over a fallen log, one hand raised against the flying debris. He stares at & and then at the machine, as if choosing which danger is worse.

The construct lurches forward again, saws screaming, and a fresh trunk begins to split. The Woodcutter backs away, eyes fixed on &, waiting for her answer.

& lifts her wand, and the air around the machine tightens like a held breath.

Green vines spear up from the torn bracken, thickening in a heartbeat as they whip around the construct’s legs and torso.

The whirling saws jerk sideways, biting only bark and air, as the binding twists hard and pins the frame.

Sap and sawdust spill from the nearest trunk while the machine strains against the living coils, its advance halted.

The Woodcutter lowers his arm at last, staring at & and the trapped construct, waiting to see whether the spell holds.