ã€ŠOrion&#x27;s Ballad - A LitRPG Adventure [Book 2 Ongoing]ã€‹


 1 - Nothing Ever Changes

    The harpy''s razor talons crunched into Abram¡¯s shoulder pauldron, slicing through the metal like flesh and yanking him off his feet. The rush of air from the harpy''s beating wings punched into him even through the already vicious winds of the blizzard, the rocky ledge below him grew smaller as it faded from view in the violent snowy skies. Killing the harpy now would mean plunging to his certain death, and being carried to its nest would mean being torn apart and eaten alive by it''s young. A pang of grief shot through his chest as he remembered his fallen sword, sent clattering over the edge into the snowy abyss mere moments before.

    A chunk of mountain came into view to his left, just barely, through the chaotic haze of the snow storm. Abram reached over his clutched shoulder with the same arm and grabbed a tight hold of the harpy''s leg, with his other arm he drew a dagger and stabbed it into the creature''s calf. The harpy shrieked in fury and released its talons, dropping Abram to dangle by the grip of his hands. He kept the knife plunged deep and used it as a handhold, while the harpy swerved hard to the left from the sudden lopsided weight. It flapped its wings furiously and shrieked in panic and pain as they hurdled towards the mountain.

    Armor crunched as Abram slammed into the rock face. The harpy''s leg was pulled from his grip as it toppled forward over the ledge. He scrambled to find purchase, punching through the snow to find the rock below, barely clinging to the ledge as snow fell away around him. He pulled himself up and over the ledge with an angry snarl. He didn''t rise to his feet, fearing the strong winds of the storm. Instead he crawled forward through the snow, pulling himself towards the harpy where it lay writhing and shrieking. Before he could reach it, the harpy began to stand. The snowy silhouette of a broken wing popped awkwardly in and out of place, twisted and mangled too badly to fold. The harpy rose to tower over him, the blizzard only partially obscuring the grotesque facsimile of a woman''s body on the nearly nine foot tall frame.

    The harpy shrieked, reaching for Abram¡¯s head with four gleaming talons on its foot. He rolled to dodge, brought himself to his hands and feet and then launched forward, tackling the harpy to the ground. He heard snapping bones and more pain filled screams as they landed. He reached down and yanked his knife free from the creature''s leg, then wrestled his way up the harpy''s body until he sat on its chest. He thrust the dagger towards the harpy''s neck--

    Iris Orion''s eyes shot up from the page as the bell above the entrance chimed. She sighed disheartened, and flipped the magazine closed -- the cover reading "Sir Abram Brant''s Wild Adventures." She watched the customers filter in. They were out-of-towners, like most customers at Quell''s Adventure Emporium -- named so despite barely selling any real adventuring gear and not being, by any means, an emporium.

    There were two couples, likely stocking up for a hike up the mountain at the tip of the valley. The mountains along the edge could be peaked in a day¡¯s hike, but at the tip where the two ridges met was a slightly larger mountain that most climbers camped for the evening before descending. Considering most of the geography for hundreds of miles outside the valley was open plains and farmland, tourists traveled a long way to climb the isolated peaks. Iris had never been impressed by it, however. Compared to the mountains Sir Abram Brant climbed, the mountains here weren''t even hills.

    The shop stocked all manner of gear. Clothes, climbing equipment, camping supplies, rations, even some cheaply made potions. Most of it wasn''t very good quality, of course, and there was precious little actual adventuring gear since no real adventurers ever came to this town. The shop didn''t even have any adventure journals, the quintessential item that every adventurer should have. It was more of an aspiring hobbyist''s introductory emporium than a true adventurer''s shop, Iris reasoned.

    She sat at the counter, chin resting in her hand, as she idly watched the shoppers debate over how many rations they would need and which flavors they should get. She could probably get away with reading her magazine while they were shopping, but didn''t want to risk another snitch reporting her to the owner.

    Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    Phineas Quell was the worst kind of boss, the kind that expected you to look busy when you weren''t and never take time to rest. Even the stool that she sat in was normally against the rules, but last time Mr. Quell tried to take it from her she''d gotten Mrs. Rousey -- the town herbalist -- to vouch that Iris needed the stool for undisclosed medical reasons. Mr. Quell had begrudgingly surrendered that battle, mostly because the whole town knew not to come between Mrs. Rousey and her patients. Of course, at the time Iris only needed the stool for a few days while she rested a twisted ankle, but Mrs. Rousey neglected to mention that timeframe to Mr. Quell.

    An eternity later, when the customers had finally chosen their items and approached the counter, Iris smiled and conversed with them while she tallied up their items. In all they spent 50 gold pieces, more than Iris made in an entire month. She held in her sigh of contempt as she counted the coins.

    "All here," she said with a fake smile, sweeping the coins off the counter and into a bucket. She hoped the customers didn''t notice her eye twitch at the thought of sitting beside literal buckets of coin while she struggled to pay rent, "y''all have a good one and be safe out there!"

    That last part was genuine, she really did hope these customers knew what they were getting into. The mountain might be nothing compared to the mountains Abram Brant climbed, but the customers were also nothing compared to Abram Brant. As the customers departed, Iris''s coworker Ada entered.

    "Hello!" she said cheerily, trailing the word extravagantly.

    "Evening, Ada," Iris said with a faint but genuine smile.

    "Another long day?" Ada made an empathetic frown.

    "The usual," Iris sighed, "are you here early?" her tone shifting to curious as she noticed the short shadows outside.

    "Always am," Ada said with a smile, "but yes I''m a little extra early today. I finished my chores early so I thought I''d just come right in."

    "Ada, you are one of a kind," Iris said, envying Ada''s seemingly limitless capacity for menial labor.

    "Oh shut up," Ada said playfully, "now go on, get out of here. Don''t you have some rocks to throw at trees or something?"

    "Actually," Iris perked up, "I do."

    The sound of the ringing bell was abruptly muffled as the door to the shop closed behind Iris. She stepped out onto the packed-dirt road and took in a deep breath of fresh air. She already felt better, but that didn''t stop her shoulders from slumping as she breathed out. Something about that place just seemed to drain her. She cut through town on the shortest path towards the woods at the western edge of the village.

    As she hurried through town, eager to escape into the wilderness where she could recharge her mind, she passed the town bulletin board in the central square. When she was young, she used to read the job postings there and fantasize about them as if she were a valiant adventurer completing grand and elaborate quests. In reality, every job posted on the board in a town like this was guaranteed to be something mundane like finding a lost pet or lifting something heavy. As pleasant as it was to live in the safest parts of the world deep within the empire''s territory, no danger meant no real quests, and no real quests meant no real adventurers. She sighed, wishing for the ten thousandth time that she''d been born somewhere else.

    She recalled one of the only eventful things to happen in this town in her lifetime -- which, to be fair, was only 18 years. It had been a particularly harrowing time for the town, a monster -- an honest to the gods magically entangled monster -- had been preying on people and livestock in the valley. It was shaped mostly like a bear, but had grown much larger than any ordinary bear ever should. On top of its size, it was said to have had a ravenous, insatiable hunger. The town mayor hadn''t bothered posting a job for it on the bulletin board, instead sending a request to the regional lord to send someone to slay it. Iris had looked forward to watching the battle, but had to miss it because she was scheduled to work the shop the day the adventurer arrived and hadn''t been allowed to close up to go watch. She had never forgiven Mr. Quell for that. She had spent the next week asking every customer who came in what they knew about it, eventually collecting a dozen variations of the story.

    She carried on towards the forest, her mind filled with swirling fantasies of epic feats, magic powers and giant beasts.

 2 - Inexplicable Happenings

    The next day went much like the last. Iris arrived shortly after dawn to open the store, sat for hours at the counter reading adventure magazines, and internally groaned each time the bell chimed. Ada again arrived early, and was once again overflowing with cheer. Iris took the same route through town that she took every day.

    At the edge of town there was a beaten path, wide enough for a carriage though seldom traveled by one, which led towards a cluster of cottages not far from town. That was where Iris lived, in a small rented room on the second floor of a cottage that she shared with three other villagers. The owner of the cottage was, grossly, Phineas Quell. There was something particularly sickening about paying over half her meager wages back to the same man who paid them to her, but it was that or live in the woods.

    As she dodged the path, instead veering onto a foot trail barely visible from the road, her mind wandered to fantasies of building elaborate tree houses and renovating caves. She insisted to herself that she would have done it by now, if not for the lord''s guard that would likely come remove her once she was discovered. In the empire, all land was owned by someone -- if not by a property holder then by the lord of the region. These woods were owned by the lord, and permission had been given to villagers and tourists to travel through them and even camp overnight, but permanent dwellings were strictly prohibited. Iris scoffed to herself at the audacity of lords to lay claim to nature, as she had done many times before.

    She dreamed of escape, of a magic portal erupting open on the trail before her and gleefully leaping into it to a place far away, beyond the empire''s edge where true freedom could be found. Of course, she likely wouldn''t survive long without any magic, but she always had magic powers in her fantasies.

    She followed the trail, dodging spider webs, stopping to say excuse me to a passing frog, hopping over a small creek and stepping over prickly vines. Soon the encroaching understory beneath the forest canopy faded to patches of grass fighting to grow in the dirt that quickly gave way to a sandy beach. She reveled in the fresh breeze blowing over the pond and brushing past her face. She found her favorite sitting spot at the base of a tree that had stubbornly grown on the very fringes of the forest, like it had bullied its way into the beach''s territory. Her favorite walking stick leaned against one side of the tree, where she always left it. She dropped her bag, pulled off her sandals, and delighted in the cool, crunching sand between her toes. After a moment of savoring the feeling, she took a seat on the ground and leaned her back against the tree.

    On most days she was too brain dead after a day of work to do anything but sit at home and wait for the day to be over. Some days that was all she did in the woods, too, but often she''d pass the time by practicing her rock throwing, tree climbing, or some other survival skill. For now, though, she felt like reading. She pulled the Glacial Mountains issue of Sir Abram Brant''s Wild Adventures from her bag and picked up where she''d left off at the end of her shift today.

    After slaying the harpy and fashioning a glider from its wings, Sir Abram Brant had waited out the blizzard and sailed through the air around the mountain in search of his sword. Catching a glint of sunlight beneath him, he had swooped down and landed on a ledge nearby. The glider would serve him no good in going back up, however, and he had next began his treacherous ascent back up the mountain. Iris picked up in the middle of his lengthy description of the dangers of climbing in the region, the differences between scaling rock and scaling ice, and the various perils in the ascent and descent of both.

    Unlike at the store, out here the only interruptions were her own errant fantasies of undergoing the same harrowing survival situations as the author. She imagined soaring through a blizzard, crunching into thick snow to retrieve her gleaming sword, then steeling her resolve to climb the seemingly insurmountable mountain before her. Her eyelids grew heavy as her fantasy began to get away from her, and she slowly drifted off to sleep as she imagined the small, cozy mountains around her were actually the icy behemoths of the Glacial Mountains.

    "Holy fuck!" Iris shouted as a loud, deep tearing sound woke her. The sun had completely set and the familiar lazuli moon in the sky bathed the beach in an eerie blue light. She caught her breath, glancing around for the source of the sound. She checked her magazine, her clothes, then her bag, but everything was intact. Stowing the magazine in her bag, she quickly donned her sandals and stood to hurry home. Then, she stopped.

    Iris was no stranger to having internal arguments with herself. Sometimes her mind simply pulled her in two directions, and in this case one direction told her to flee for the safety of her home, while the other yearned for adventure. Of course she should go home, she had no idea what time it was and had no business being in the woods after dark. Besides, even if she didn¡¯t have work tomorrow, she still needed to preserve her sleeping schedule. That was before even considering what might have made that strange, inexplicable sound that had woken her. But then, strange and inexplicable things didn''t happen to Iris often. In fact, she couldn''t even remember the last time one did.

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    Her head turned towards the woods behind her tree, far from any of the foot trails she knew of, and she pondered what might have made the sound. Her memory of it was already fleeting like a dream, and for a second she struggled with the thought that it probably had just been a dream. Still, she pressed herself to remember any details she could. It had sounded like something ripping and tearing, certainly, but had also sounded distorted and warped somehow, almost like it was underwater. She turned and looked into the dark, gentle waters of the pond. A few ideas popped into her mind as she remembered various different aquatic monsters that Sir Brant had encountered around the world, but she shook them out of her head. The pond was too small to have any monsters in it without someone having noticed by now. She was also pretty certain the sound had come from behind her, from the woods.

    The canopy blocked out most of the moonlight, leaving the forest dark and foreboding. Peering past the first few trees felt like staring into an empty void. She noticed a glint of moonlight breaking through the trees in the distance, however, and decided it was as good a lead as any. She grabbed her walking stick from where it leaned against the tree, inspecting it briefly with a tap against the tree to check it was still solid. Satisfied, she turned and set off into the trees, using the stick to push aside errant branches and brace herself during sketchy footwork.

    The glint of light soon grew into rays that cast between the tree trunks as she grew closer. If the brightness hadn''t been enough to reveal it wasn''t moonlight, the shimmering and flickering that she noticed next certainly was. Her heart thumped in her chest as she realized she might have actually stumbled across something genuinely weird. Suddenly, her indulgence of childish fantasies turned into uneasy trepidation. She pressed on, deliberately placing each step through the twisted roots and bramble vines that tried to trip her. She tried to be quiet, but found it nearly impossible in the thick brush. That didn''t matter for long, because as she grew nearer to the light her head was filled with a forceful humming metronome that emanated from the light source.

    She came upon the source much faster than she anticipated, rounding a tree and finding herself just a few feet away from it. She was staring at what could only be described as a hovering ripple in space. It looked like someone had torn a jagged wound through reality itself, and the forest had warped around it. Iris couldn''t even form thoughts in the moment, let alone theorize about what she might be looking at. Instead she stared at it slack jawed as she circled around it.

    She could see now that it wasn''t the forest itself that had been warped, but the image of it. From all angles, the space around the edges of the tear seemed to suck in the forest as if she was viewing it through some strange, warped glass. The tear itself was impossible to perceive -- literally, Iris tried to discern what she was looking at but it was as if her mind was incapable of converting the sight into something comprehensible. It felt like the moment during an optical illusion before the mind realized what the eyes were seeing, but that realization never came.

    A memory flashed through her scattered mind. A sketch she''d seen in a magazine called the Magic of Adventuring. The artist had explained that he was doing his best to capture what he described as an uncapturable sight, and now Iris realized exactly what the artist had meant. If she was right -- if she was truly seeing what she thought she was seeing -- then Iris had just found the first step on the path to becoming an adventurer, the source of all magic and might in the empire. She had found a Thread of Power.

    Iris reached out towards the ripple in reality. As her hand drew closer, her mind drew closer to comprehension. She couldn''t feel her heart anymore, its beat drowned out by the deafening, all-encompassing rhythmic hum of the pulsating apparition. The world around her was sucked into a vortex, leaving Iris floating alone in a black void.

    For a moment she thought she was falling and flailed helplessly in an attempt to right herself. But there was no air rushing past her face, and her clothes weren''t flapping in the wind. She looked down at herself in confusion, and saw nothing.

    She blinked -- or at least felt like she was blinking -- while her brain tried to catch up. She was in total darkness. She started hyperventilating, only to catch the breath in her throat as she realized she couldn''t hear herself breathing ¨C and didn¡¯t feel any air rushing into her lungs. Whipping her head around, she frantically searched for anything. She called out with silent yells, tried to swim in the invisible, intangible fluid in which she thought she must be suspended. She felt another presence in the void.

    Crashing in from all sides faster than a blink of her eyes, reality returned to her. It popped into place around her after the same warped stretching as when it sucked her into the vortex, as if it shrunk back down around her from somewhere beyond.

    She felt her heart pounding, her ragged breaths tearing at her throat, the tears welling in her eyes. She was alone in the forest, and it was dark.

 3 - Power

    Faint trickles of moonlight filtered through the leaves and dotted the forest floor with speckles of faint blue light. She heard crickets, the gentle breeze rustling the leaves, and the occasional tweet or hoot of a night bird.

    She was on the ground, positioned like she''d been on her back before propping herself up with her hands. She slowly gained control of her breath, transitioning from ragged gasps to deep, labored breaths. Her chest burned from the thumping of her heart, her arms and legs ached desperately for the blood that had rushed to her core.

    Iris sat there for some time, gazing up at the canopy and imagining the gaps between the leaves as stars in the sky. Her breath slowed throughout the next few minutes, and her heart rate followed. Cautiously, keeping both hands on the ground to steady herself, she rose up and got a foot beneath her. Feeling balanced, she pushed up off the ground and onto her feet. The act was surprisingly easy, and she stood so fast she expected to dizzy herself. She scanned the ground for her walking stick, but couldn''t find it. Then she looked around her and saw forest in all directions.

    "No, no, no" she whispered quickly, "I am not getting lost."

    She peered intensely through the trees, slowly spinning in a circle as she searched for any sign of the way she''d came. She started to panic, and felt her heart beginning to beat faster again, and then froze as she spotted a gap in the trees just wide enough to see the faintly illuminated sandy beach beyond. She sighed with a relieved laugh, and kept her gaze intently locked on the beach. She felt all of reality shrink out of existence again.

    Reality wrapped back around her as fast as it had been ripped away, and she was now standing on the beach. She whirled around in a panic, stabbing pains pierced her head and the world spun as she collapsed into the sand clutching her head.

    She groaned as she sat back up, not sure how long it had taken for the pain to fade. It was a dull ache now, occasionally throbbing. She stumbled to her feet and looked around for her sitting tree. Spotting it about twelve feet away, she took a step towards it.

    Reality shrunk away again before collapsing back into form around her. A shattering headache struck her, the pain extending down into her neck like tendrils of fire. She cried out and fell forward, clutching her face with one hand as she caught herself on the tree with the other. Then, she puked and blacked out.

    Iris awoke with a groan, the morning sun pestering her eyelids. She propped herself up on an elbow, recoiling at the stench of vomit in the sand beside her. She looked around for a moment, confused as to why she had fallen asleep by the pond. She looked out over the sand, her errant gaze resting on an arbitrary point as she tried to think. A familiar sensation crept up on her.

    "No! Absolutely not!" She yelled, clamping her eyes shut, "stop it."

    She sat there feeling stupid for a moment, before hesitantly cracking open her eyes. The sensation was still there, but it wasn''t encroaching further. It sat just on the periphery of her senses, waiting to be called upon.

    She climbed to her feet, hoping this would be the last time she had to do that for a while, and dusted sand from her clothes. Taking a deep, frustrated breath, she talked herself through it.

    "Okay, strange magical anomaly, incomprehensible extradimensional experiences, and skull splitting headaches. Totally fine, whatever. Everything''s fine."

    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    She didn''t feel fine.

    "It''s okay, Iris," she said to herself, holding her hands out as if trying to calm and a scared animal, "you just got magic powers. This is good. You''ve always wanted those."

    She let out a meek, uncertain laugh. This had not gone any of the ways she had imagined it. The urge to spiral into panic about whether or not any of this was real knocked on the door of her mind, but she did her best to ignore it.

    "Books," she said, "you have books about this."

    She turned around to look for her knapsack which held several of her books and adventure magazines at any given time. Instead there was a small, old-fashioned drawstring sack on the ground. It was made of a royal purple canvas fabric with a brown leather drawstring, the ends of which were capped with pieces of silver. The bag was about the size of a small melon. She looked around, but saw no one. The only tracks in the sand in any direction were her own.

    She stood there for a moment, peering down at the strange bag. She had read about this before, when someone absorbed their first Thread of Power they didn''t just gain a regular power associated with that particular thread, but also something extra. Scholars had a fancier name for it that she couldn''t remember, but adventurers usually called them Special Abilities. She had read at least a few examples of Special Abilities manifesting as personal magical items. Was this bag her Special Ability? As soon as she wondered, she knew intuitively that it was.

    "Huh," she said to herself, crouching down to get a closer look at the bag.

    She picked up a twig and poked it. Nothing happened. Cautiously, she reached out and poked it with a finger. Nothing happened. She carefully tugged the drawstring, and it effortlessly loosened to open the maw of the bag. Inside was vastness. No other word could describe it, though all she could physically see inside was a formless black void, she still somehow perceived the infinite contained within. And somewhere, deep in the void beyond reality, there was something in the dark.

    She grabbed either end of the drawstring and cinched the bag shut. Whatever that was, today wasn''t the day. She glanced around, this time spotting her bag -- the normal, non-reality bending anomaly one -- resting against the trunk on the other side of the tree. She stood and picked up the normal bag, slinging the strap over her head and across her chest eager to go home. Then she stopped, and stared at the drawstring sack again.

    She couldn''t just leave it, could she? It was hers, after all. Unless it was some sort of extradimensional entity pretending to be her Special Ability, somehow tricking her mind with weird incomprehensible magic. She stopped herself there, there was no point in driving herself mad contemplating possibilities like that, if that''s what was happening then she was probably already screwed anyway. With a sigh, she picked up the bag and tried to tie the drawstring around her belt loop. Before she could, the ends of the drawstring reached out and wrapped themselves around her belt, cinching itself tight and giving her the sensation that it had grasped onto her tightly and wouldn''t be letting go anytime soon.

    "Sure," she let out another exasperated breath, "why not."

    She perked up, looking out across the beach. She picked a spot about 10 feet away, stared at it for a moment, and then invited the strange sensation lingering in her periphery. Reality shrunk and popped, her feet crunching into the sand as she appeared where she''d looked. She spun around to see the tree, now 10 feet away.

    She let out a curt laugh, then did it again. She appeared next to the tree, standing in her own vomit. She groaned, scraping her sandals into the clean sand beside her mess. Then she chuckled at herself, then broke into laughter of joy and wonder and excitement. She blinked back and forth across the beach, popping in and out of reality. She soon learned that as long as she kept the distance short enough, roughly 12 feet, she could seemingly do it indefinitely. If she went over 12 feet, however, she started to feel the strain. Once she passed that threshold, the strain seemed to linger, and even short distances exacerbated it.

    Soon, long before the novelty of teleportation had even come close to wearing off, Iris was reminded of the outside world. A pang of fear struck through her as she worried she was late for work before remembering it was her day off. Then she felt silly, what did she care about work? She had freaking magic powers!

    Gleefully, she blinked across the beach towards the path back home. She ran down the path, hopping over roots and stones and blink teleporting across short distances every few seconds. Her echoing joyous laughter shared the morning ambience of the forest with song birds.

 4 - Reach Into the Void

    Iris hurried up the stairs of the two story cottage towards the room she rented. She unlocked the door with haste but gently shut it behind her. The moment it latched she whirled around, tossing her knapsack on the bed and rushing over to open the drawer of her nightstand.

    Rifling through the items, she pulled out anything she might need and tossed it on the bed. First she got a few inches of thin rope with frayed ends, not strong enough to hold a person''s weight, but still, every proper adventurer needed rope in their bag. Next was an old, rusty dagger she had found in the woods last year, she immediately nodded and tossed it onto the bed beside the rope. Wedged diagonally in the drawer with barely enough space to fit was an arrow with bent fletching and a missing arrowhead. It was basically just a stick, and Iris didn''t even know how to shoot a bow, but she tossed it in the pile anyway.

    Then she rushed over to her dresser and dug through the piles of unfolded clothes overflowing from several open drawers. She picked out the best adventuring outfit she could put together. She chose a pair of black fitted trousers, a white button shirt, and a black vest. From the floor beside the dresser, she also grabbed a mismatched pair of slightly worn socks and her only pair of boots -- also black, to match most of her wardrobe.

    She tossed her old clothes onto the ground as she changed. She moved in front of her mirror to tie back her dark black hair into a bun, not bothering to catch the loose strands that fell beside her face. After dressing, she moved to her bed to pack her bag. On her bed was the weird drawstring sack. She froze, then slowly turned to look at the pile of clothes on the floor which she had just been wearing. She didn''t remember noticing the bag when she unbuckled her belt or took off her pants, and she didn''t remember taking it off her belt or placing it on the bed at any point either. She turned back and eyed the bag wearily.

    "Are you evil?" She asked it, surprising herself by almost expecting a response. The bag, however, said nothing.

    Iris inched closer, reaching out to tug on the string. The bag loosened and opened up on its own. She leaned over and peered into the endless emptiness within. Picking up the rope, she dangled the end of it over the bag, slowly lowering it into the void. The rope was suddenly pulled taut and her outstretched hand dipped down as something tugged on the rope. She yelped and let go, stumbling backwards as the full length of rope was sucked into the bag like a slurping noodle.

    "Uuuhh," she stammered, "can I... have that back?"

    The bag said nothing.

    "Okay, this is fine," she assured herself, ignoring the fear in her voice.

    She approached the bag again, this time grabbing the arrow shaft. She tossed it at the bag awkwardly and it landed horizontally on top of the bag, far too long to fit into the opening. Her eyes widened as either end of the drawstring began to move on its own, wrapping around one end of the stick and pulling it away from the bag, so that the other end of the stick would slide into the opening. The drawstring released its grip, and the stick tipped over and fell lengthwise into the bag.

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    Iris immediately crouched, closely inspecting the height of the bag. It was only a few inches tall, absolutely not enough room to fit the length of an arrow. She got down on her hands and knees, lifting the dangling sheets and blanket to look under her bed, where there was no sign of the arrow.

    She popped back up, eyes locking onto the bag. The only other thing left to do now was figure out how to get the items back out, a proposition she was not thrilled by. With a groan, she reached towards the opening. At first she watched the void closely, but after feeling a strange unease of being watched from within she averted her gaze. Slowly, her hand dipped into the empty.

    The sensation immediately reminded her of floating in the void in the forest, something she hadn''t remembered happening until now. Calling it a sensation almost wasn''t accurate; it was more like a total absence of sensation. The void had no temperature, no texture, no anything. It was simply empty, somehow emptier than air.

    Taking short, curt breaths as she tried to calm her nerves, she reached deeper into the bag. She couldn''t feel around for items like she expected to, and she got the sense that even space itself didn''t exist in the void. Instead, she instinctively understood that she was grasping, in a manner of speaking, whatever item she searched for. She focused her thoughts on the stick, and pulled out her hand.

    What came out was not the arrow shaft, but her walking stick, thhe same walking stick that she lost somewhere in the woods the night before. She stopped pulling after recognizing it, holding about six inches of the walking stick above the opening to the bag, the rest extending down into the darkness. She angled the stick so it wouldn''t hit the low hanging roof, and then pulled it hand over hand the rest of the way out of the void.

    She placed the foot of the stick on the ground, inspecting it fondly, "did you pick this up for me?" she asked.

    The bag said nothing.

    "Well, thanks," she said awkwardly.

    She reached back in, this time thinking about the rope, and was able to pull it out of the void in much the same fashion. Shrugging, she started tossing the items she had collected on the bed into the bag. Then, she grabbed her knapsack, unbuckled the flap, and dumped it upside down over the drawstring sack. Books, magazines, ration bars, hair ties, trinkets, loose coins she didn''t know she had and various other odds and ends tumbled out of the knapsack and fell into the bag. The largest of the books landed flat atop the bag much like the arrow shaft had, and she watched as the drawstring gently nudged it until one end slipped inside the bag and the whole book fell into the void.

    With a smile, she picked up the bag in both hands, pleased to find that it didn''t seem to weigh any more than it had before. She brought it closer, peering intently at it, "you are fascinating," she whispered.

    The bag said nothing.

    She brought it down beside her belt, and just as before the ends of the drawstring reached out to wrap themselves around her belt. They wove around it in such a way that they returned to continue the loop around the rim of the bag, leaving the two ends dangling together beside it. She was beginning to suspect that the length of the string was whatever the bag wanted it to be.

    She took one more look around her room, deciding if there was anything else she wanted to bring. Her gaze rested on her small bookshelf, both shelves were stocked full and more books where stacked up in front of it. For a moment she chastised herself for considering it, but then again, knowledge was an adventurer''s best friend after all. At least she was pretty sure she''d read that somewhere.

 5 - Hometown Quests

    Iris stood in front of the bulletin board in the town square, reading over all the postings as she had often done as a child. This time was different, though. Either this was all a really good dream, or she had actually caught her big break. She had powers -- real, actual magic powers. The longer she dwelled on the thought the more she felt like she should be asking more questions, but what was she going to do? Give them back? Who would she even ask for answers?

    Her best bets in this town were books and adventure magazines, no one living in a place like this had any actual useful knowledge about magic. Everything she knew had come from things she''d read, and even most of those books came from out of town. She purchased as many as she could afford every time a traveling trader passed through. She had already read them all by now, anyway, or had at least read some of all of them.

    Shaking her head and deciding to worry about finding answers later, she returned her attention to the bulletin board. There were five notices pinned haphazardly to the corkboard in no particular order or layout. Each note was on a different kind of paper, all handwritten with varying degrees of legibility. Four of the notes had "Lvl 0" stamped in the top right, while the fifth had a "Lvl 1-5" stamp. Each note also had a "Return To:" stamp at the bottom with a handwritten name of the poster beside it, and below that was the listed reward. The higher level one interested Iris the most, but she forced herself to review the lower level quests first.

    She recognized the name on the first note as her neighbor in the room across the hall from her own. Mrs. Breardy was a kind old lady who enjoyed baking, and would often have Iris taste test her desserts for feedback -- though she was pretty sure that was just a ruse to share with her, since Mrs. Breardy knew she had always felt bad accepting gifts from people. The note briefly explained that squirrels had been coming in through the open windows and eating her desserts as they cooled on the counter. Iris was skeptical, she walked by the kitchen on her way out of the house every day and had never seen a squirrel in there before. More likely, it was one of their roommates sneaking bites of pie. The reward was only one gold, but Iris would help Mrs. Breardy for free any time.

    Next was a quest to search for a lost pocket watch on one of the mountain trails. This felt a little more like something a real adventurer would do, even if Iris was unlikely to encounter any dangerous monsters on the relatively peaceful hike up the small mountain. She didn''t recognize the name at the bottom, but this one had a reward of three gold, and she eagerly plucked it off the board as well.

    The last two level 0 quests were a lot less desirable. One of them was a farmer requesting help erecting scarecrows in his fields, that wouldn''t be a big deal if it weren''t for the name at the bottom of the note, which read "the weird farmer at the edge of the valley" in jagged, messy handwriting. Iris sighed, knowing exactly which farmer it was referring to and that he had certainly written that name himself. The guy had always had a fascination with maintaining a reputation as the weirdo of the town, despite not really ever doing anything weird besides trying to convince people that he was, and having a weird looking house. He was generally regarded by everyone as a giant pain in the ass to deal with. Though, he did always wear a sick wizard hat around town, which Iris admired. With preemptive regret, she took that notice as well.

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    The final level 0 quest was from her boss, Phineas Quell. It offered a reward for anyone who procured three rosewart, a type of mushroom with healing properties which grew in the caves up in the mountains. Iris particularly did not want to complete this one, largely because she was pretty sure that if she did, next time Mr. Quell would just send her up there as part of her regular job instead of posting a quest for it -- no doubt without any extra pay. Then again, she was probably going to quit tomorrow anyway, and was already going up the mountain for another quest. She grabbed it off the board, frowning when she saw the reward. Two gold, that was less than what Mr. Quell sold a single rosewart for in the shop. She scoffed and shook her head before finally inspecting the last quest on the board.

    "Wanted: Exterminator. Infestation of basement slimes. White house east edge of the prairie. Urgent response appreciated."

    The name at the bottom was signed as an elaborate signature which Iris couldn''t decipher, but she was pretty sure the house in question belonged to the previous mayor of the town. She knew from her magazines that every good adventurer made sure to make friends in high places, and this seemed like a great place to start. Also, the listed reward was 10 gold, which was enough for Iris to take just about any job. She snatched it off the board a little too eagerly, almost dropping the pin that held it in place.

    Iris looked over the quests in her hand one more time. She decided she would help Mrs. Breardy when she got home this evening, and then turn in the quests to the town clerk tomorrow morning. Besides that, she would save the basement slimes for last, she wasn''t exactly sure what basement slimes actually were but she wasn''t about to do that one first and risk being covered in slime the whole day. That left the two quests up the mountain, and the weird farmer at the edge of the valley. Based on the area specified on the notice to find the lost pocket watch, she was pretty sure she could take the trail just south of the lake up the mountain, stop by a cave she had visited a few times before and grab some rosewart, and then follow another trail back down that should take her right through the area of the lost watch before finally depositing her back in the valley not far from the weird farmer''s farm. With her plan made, she stuffed the stack of notes into her magic bag and set off on her first adventure.

 6 - This is definitely going to be a trend

    Iris laughed and cheered as she blinked through the trees. She practiced sprinting through the forest, kicking off of large roots or the trunks of trees and then teleporting forward to the next clear patch of ground. Consciously, she reminded herself not to push too hard, but she had never been very good at consciously controlling herself and frequently had to slow down as she felt the mana pains encroaching.

    On the way out of the village, where she dared not show her powers yet, she had walked with her head down as she skimmed over every mention of mana that she could recall throughout the collection of books and magazines now in her bottomless bag. It proved to be a surprisingly easy topic to comprehend, and she was helped by her intuitive understanding of the sensations she felt when using it.

    Each time she used her teleport power, she expended a small amount of mana. These individual uses were barely perceptible and easy to miss, but longer distance teleports seemed to use exponentially more mana. Whenever she blinked further than twelve feet, or blinked multiple times in rapid succession, the sudden drop of mana demanded to be noticed. It was like feeling physically tired after exercise, or mentally tired after thinking or socializing too much, except it was a distinct third kind of tired that she had never felt before. The sensation fit right in with the way she was already used to naturally monitoring her body''s energy levels, finding a spot somewhere between physical and mental energy like it had always belonged there.

    The main difference was capacity and recovery time. Short breaks could help to ease the exertion of her mental energy, but did little to renew it, and only prolonged rest could truly restore it. Meanwhile, short breaks did wonders for physical stamina, with long rests or sleep only being needed after extended periods or for topping off a full charge. Mana, though, was much more volatile. If she was careless, she could easily burn through all of it in seconds, but the flip side to that was it would also begin to rapidly recharge after only a moment or two of rest, returning to its maximum in only a few minutes. She also noted that she could feel her mana recharge even while she exerted herself mentally or physically, but it recharged faster when she was completely at rest. Prolonged rest only seemed necessary to recover from severe cases of mana drain, which left her with lingering headaches and a sharp pain that permeated her veins.

    Iris soon reached the small lake at the base of the mountain, where the short stretch of beach and her favorite sitting tree were. The open expanse of the beach was too tempting to ignore. She deliberated a moment about the distances she''d tried so far, and how much mana drain she remembered feeling. While she thought, she consciously noticed her mana charging back up. When she felt it was full, she picked a spot about twenty feet away. She took a step forward and blinked out of existence before her foot hit the sand, then reappeared as her step landed in the spot she had chosen. The mana drain was significant, but didn''t cause a headache from a full charge. She stood for a moment to be certain she wasn''t dizzy -- another symptom of low mana -- and then walked a short distance while her mana recharged before trying it again, this time at a slightly shorter distance.

    It wasn''t long before she ran out of beach and found herself at the tree line on the southern edge of the lake. A small trail started into the forest, but quickly veered to the right and lead up the mountain. She skipped the forest part entirely, blinking from sand under her feet to the gravely path at the base of the mountain. Her feet landed on the loose rocks and slipped out from under her, driving her chin into the rocks on which she had just appeared.

    She groaned and climbed back to her feet, leaned on the cliff face to steady herself and silently hoping that taking falls like this wasn''t going to be a trend in her adventuring career. Standing and walking on the gravel was somewhat energy intensive, at least compared to a flat trail, but it wasn''t normally difficult. She guessed that something about suddenly appearing on the gravel, or the sudden transition between two very different surfaces, had caused her to slip. She checked her chin for blood, her fingers coming back with a few blotches of red. She laughed aloud at herself for her first blood as an adventurer coming from an embarrassing fall, and promised to mention it in the adventurer magazines she planned to write one day.

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    She tugged the drawstring on her bottomless bag, letting it loosen and open itself, and reached in to retrieve her walking stick. Every time she did this, she was amused by pulling the entire length of the staff, hand over hand, out of the tiny shallow bag. She jabbed the stick into the gravel in triumph, congratulating herself for being prepared. Sir Abram Brant''s mantra ran through her mind, she had read it a dozen times in every issue of his survival guides. "Prepare for anything, because you can''t prepare for everything."

    Iris trudged up the path, digging her walking stick into the gravel with each step. When she teleported, she jabbed the stick down to steady herself. Soon she reached a portion of the trail with less gravel, which unfortunately meant more brush had ground up around the trail. She blinked past a spiderweb that spanned between the small trees that stubbornly tried to grow on the edges of the mountain path, then past some crawling vines with gnarly spikes which had laid themselves across the trail. With her next blink, she found herself staring downwards at dirt and rocks crumbling under her feet and tumbling down into a ravine.

    She hurriedly stepped back and cursed under her breath. She had hiked this trail before and knew there was a bend with a ravine coming up, but she hadn''t expected to come upon it so soon. She made a note to stay conscious that travel times would be very different with a teleport power. The trail curved sharply to the right, following a sharp inward curve of the mountain before curving back out again to continue in roughly the same direction on the other side of the short ravine. Over the edge was a nearly sheer drop dozens of feet down onto jagged piles of rocks.

    While she waited for her heart to stop racing from the close call, she panned her gaze across the horizon. She was high enough now that she was looking out over her village below, on the other side of a thick band of woods between the village and the mountain. Past the village, directly across from the mountain where she stood now, was another vein of small mountains that ran almost parallel until the valley began to narrow in the north and close up beneath a peak of the two colliding rows of mountain peaks. Where the valley narrowed at the base of the mountains, a beautiful prairie of wild grass and flowers spanned from edge to edge of the valley, interrupted only by a few large and expensive looking houses and the roads that lead to them.

    She looked back at the ravine, and the curving trail. Across the ravine, the trail continued almost directly ahead as if it hadn''t been interrupted at all. She eyed the other side of the ravine intently, looking for reasons to talk herself out of her idea. She could simply follow the trail as it hugged the mountain and encircled the ravine, it was narrow but not so much that it was unsafe. If she was careful, there was no reason that sticking to the beaten path would pose her any risk. Iris, however, had just become an adventurer, and she couldn''t help herself.

    She took a few steps back and crouched down for a launching start. She kicked off, sprinting towards the ledge. When her foot left the last inch of ground she leapt. She soared through the air and for a moment it felt like flight. Then the still distant edge of the cliff on the other side began to rise -- or rather, she began to fall. Just as the surface over the edge of the cliff was about to leave her view, she teleported.

    She popped into existence over the path, still hurtling forward with arms and legs flailing. She landed awkwardly, quickly losing her battle for balance and tumbling onto the ground with a poorly executed roll that did little to stop the air being pushed from her lungs.

    Iris lay on her back, wheezing and groaning, "this is definitely going to be a trend," she said aloud to herself.

 7 - A Pocket Watch and Rosewart

    Iris approached the mouth of the cave with caution. It didn''t connect to the footpath, but was more like an opening in the side of the cliff lightly obstructed by loose stones that had tumbled down from higher up the mountain. Last time she''d come to this cave she''d been assaulted by a small swarm of bats, so her walking stick was poised for a swing if needed. Of course, the bats had actually just flown past her harmlessly, but still, the memory was traumatizing and she wasn''t taking any chances. She eased her way, step by step, into the cave. Immediately she realized -- despite her drive to be prepared -- that she had forgotten to bring a torch.

    "Idiot," she murmured. Torches were essential adventurer gear, the shop even had a whole barrel of pre-made torches right by the door with a perpetual "3 for 2" special. They were absurdly priced, of course, but she should have at least thought about it before coming out here.

    She gazed around the dark cave, searching for her prize in the dim light that filtered in from the outside. She glanced up at the ceiling to check for bats, but couldn''t even make out the roof of the cave in the darkness. She sighed, and climbed over the rubble into the cave. Peering at the top of the cave once more, she still saw only darkness. She ventured a few steps further, waiting impatiently for her eyes to adjust as she tried to make out more detail. A faint echo of dripping water came from what sounded like a distant cavern, though she couldn''t make out any openings or tunnels that might lead to it.

    After a few more moments of standing awkwardly in the darkness, and a few more hesitant steps deeper into the cave, she saw what might be the opening to a tunnel that tugged on her memory. She couldn''t be sure after so long, but she thought she might remember it being in that spot based on the angle from the cave opening. She reached to either side of herself with her walking stick, using the light from the cave opening to keep her bearings as best she could. She shuffled over until she felt the stick tap the wall of the cave, then took note of where she thought she saw the tunnel opening from where she stood. She followed the length of her walking stick until she could touch the wall of the cave with her hand.

    As she reached the wall, something crunched under her foot. Crouching down, she inspected what she had stepped on, and groaned. Mushrooms, great. She picked up the mass of crushed mushrooms and turned herself towards the light, illuminating the bright rep cap with a swirling pattern of darker red streaks, positively identifying them as rosewart. She sighed, and searched around her feet for more. To her relief, she found two more intact mushrooms, one of them actually sprouting a second, smaller mushroom from its stem, branching off and forming its own small red cap. She stood and cradled the mushrooms in her hand as she made her way back out of the cave.

    She had four mushrooms total, two of them crushed. Squinting from the outside light, she scanned the cave one more time, now able to make out some faint detail of its shape with her adjusted eyes. She couldn''t see any more mushrooms around the base of the cave wall on any side, though she couldn''t be sure they''d be visible in the dim light. She looked back at the mushrooms in her hand, already knowing that Mr. Quell would reject the crushed mushrooms and -- at best -- halve the reward. She thought for a moment, placed the mushrooms gently on the ground and pulled the quest slip out of her bag. It didn''t say anything about the size of the rosewart, just three rosewart. Stuffing the slip of paper back into her bag, she looked down at the mushroom with two caps and gently plucked the small cap from the larger stem. She laid them all out and inspected them.

    "Looks like three rosewart to me," she said, picking them up again and gently tumbling them into the opening of her bag.

    She paused for a moment to consider if they''d be safe in there, but she was pretty certain at this point that space itself didn''t exist within the bag and that it was pretty unlikely they would be crushed by anything in there. She looked back at the area where she thought she''d seen the opening to a tunnel, promising to herself that she''d come back and explore it one day. She had never been brave enough to go that deep, in this cave or any of the others that could be found on the mountainsides, but she was an adventurer now, and she intended to brave all her fears.

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    After leaving the cave Iris continued along the trail. She soon came upon a fork in the path, with the right hand path leading further up the mountain, while the left hand path sloped down back towards the valley. She took the left path, and stopped teleporting. She had entered the area where the pocket watch had been lost, so she walked slowly and scanned the ground as she went. She periodically peeked into bushes and peered over the edge of the trail, sometimes teleporting atop a large rock to look over into the crevices behind it. The sun was still high in the sky and fully lighting the path, the few trees that grew this far up on the mountain were too sparse and thin to provide any semblance of a canopy. She hoped the watch she was searching for was polished enough to shine.

    Iris continued on like this for a while, growing tired and annoyed at her agonizing pace. It was becoming harder and harder to resist the urge to teleport ahead, but she stubbornly held herself back, knowing she needed to be as thorough as possible if she wanted any chance at finding a pocket watch on a mountainside. Briefly she considered teleporting back the way she had come, then back again, just to get it out of her system. As she was pondering how ridiculous that would be, she noticed a glint in the branches of a tree. She brought her hand over her brow to shield from the sun and squinted at the tree.

    "You''re kidding," she said, making out the shape of a pocket watch dangling by its chain from a branch.

    Angrily, she pulled the quest slip for the lost watch from her bag and read it over, "must have dropped it while I was walking" she read aloud, glancing back up at the tree, "right."

    She stuffed the paper back into the bag and stood there staring at the tree, one arm outstretched balancing her walking stick on the ground, the other shielding her eyes from the sun. The tree grew from somewhere further down a steep slope just past the edge of the trail, growing tall and reaching at least fifteen feet over the ground she stood on, and the pocket watch was near the top.

    "Alright," she sighed, knowing her only play. She held open her bag and dropped the walking stick into it, then stepped off the trail up to the edge of the slope. Pebbles and small stones kicked loose from her feet tumbled down the slope, and her eyes followed them as they bounced over rocks, between the trunks of trees and then over another ledge into the unknown -- likely dropping somewhere into the forest below. She looked back at the dangling watch. "Alright," she said one more time.

    She appeared in the air beside the branch, her hand outstretched. Her fingers wrapped around the branch as tightly as they could but quickly slipped loose from her weight. She clutched her other hand around the chain of the watch, snatching it down as she fell past it. She looked down just in time to slam her face against another branch as smaller branches and twigs snapped all around her. The impact sent her rolling backwards in the air, turning horizontal until she faced the sky, unknowingly racing towards a thick branch below. She snapped her eyes to the side and caught the last possible glimpse of the trail before it left her view. Her back slammed into packed dirt and loose gravel of the trail just before her head met the same fate. She sucked in a harsh, painful gasp, clutching her chest with one hand and the pocket watch with the other.

    After several minutes of ragged breathing and a pounding heart, she finally rose to a seated position. She inspected the pocket watch, it looked to be made of silver and was covered in scratches. The glass was cracked and the watch hands behind it were motionless. The sun was still high in the middle of the sky, while the watch showed a time either in the early morning or late evening. She lay back onto the dirt, glad she hadn''t been the one to break it.

    She winced as she straightened out, her shoulders screamed in pain and her neck felt stiff. She could feel the stinging cuts on her face and the warm swelling that was forming around her jaw. Her head rolled sideways to look back at the tree as she groaned her words, "fucking hell."

 8 - The Weird Farmer at the Edge of the Valley

    The sun meandered away from its peak and the midday shadows slowly stretched into the afternoon. Iris looked over the vast fields of corn and wheat as she limped down the final stretch of the mountain path. She had given her teleport power a rest since the pocket watch incident, letting the intensity of what happened slowly settle in her mind. She dwelled on what-ifs and could-haves, but deftly dodged thoughts about whether or not she had almost died today. It was her first day questing, her first day as a real adventurer, and she refused to entertain the idea that she had almost died over a pocket watch.

    Her eyes turned towards a cottage in the distance. There were several cottages, homes and barns scattered throughout the valley farmland, but only one of them had an elaborate, haphazardly constructed wooden tower jutting up over the fields. A multitude of chimneys each billowed different colors of smoke, and several broken down carts and carriages littered the yard around it. Iris stood up straight, trying not to wince from the pain that splintered and pulsed through most of her body.

    As the trail''s descent finally met the valley floor, it continued straight along the side of the mountain. A field of tall wheat grew to her left and obscured her view as it boxed in the narrow path against the sheer cliff face to her right. She teleported a few times to cover distance, and soon the field of wheat gave way to a field of corn and she veered off the trail between the rows of stalks.

    Annoyingly, the angles of the rows seemed to change direction wildly and unpredictably, rather than being planted in straight rows along the entire length of the field like most farmers did in the valley. Her teleport power was of little use here, as she couldn''t see more than a few feet through the corn in any direction. She kept herself oriented with the glimpses of chimney smoke she could catch in the sky.

    After several rapid changes in the rows of corn, Iris looked up and realized she could no longer see the smoke. She saw the wind rustling the tops of the corn stalks and cursed it. An idea occurred to her, followed by a pang of anxiety and a flashing memory of the pocket watch incident, but she ignored those and focused on the idea. Her neck craned up towards the sky, she disappeared from the corn field and appeared twelve feet in the air above. Her limbs flailed awkwardly as she screamed and yelled an involuntary "oh shit!" that got lost in the fields of corn.

    She whipped her head around until she caught a glimpse of the cottage, then looked down and teleported back to the ground before she began falling too fast. She landed with a thud and stumbled forward, but kept her balance. She kept trudging forward in the direction of the cottage, cutting a straight line through the mismatched angles of the corn rows. She repeated this process two more times before finally escaping the corn. She took a deep breath as she passed through the last wall of corn, pushing through them like breaking out of a cage. Her head hit something metal and her vision went black.

    Iris groaned as she awoke, feeling grass in her fingers and the sun beating down on her. Her eyes cracked open to see an aging man wearing colorful, mismatched clothes and a tattered long coat with multiple square patches of similarly mismatched colors. On his head was a raggedy grey hat with a wide brim and a misshapen cone that tapered to a floppy tip, also with a few colorful patches and some messy stitching. He was standing over her with a short-handled shovel in one hand.

    "You cheated," the man accused.

    "What?" Iris tried to respond, but it came out more like groaning mumble.

    The man pointed his shovel at the cornfield, "you''re supposed to follow the lines. The misdirection doesn''t work if you don''t follow the lines."

    Iris craned her neck from where she lay to look back at the cornfield, then back at the man, "that''s on purpose?" she croaked.

    "Of course it''s on purpose! Did you think I planted them all willy-nilly for nothing?"

    Iris chose not to answer, instead propping herself up on her elbows -- which hurt tremendously, "look, I''ve had a long day."

    "I can tell, you look like shit!" the man exclaimed, "and what was with that jumping? You got frog legs or something?" he reached down and poked Iris''s leg with the tip of his shovel, "nah, look like human legs to me. Shame."

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    "I''m an adventurer," she groaned, rolling her shoulder.

    The man erupted into cackling laughter, stumbling back and grasping his chest.

    "Hey!" Iris shouted, standing to her feet in anger quicker than she probably should have, "it''s true! I have powers!"

    The man contained his laughter enough to speak, but erupted again before he did.

    "Do you want help with your scarecrows or not?" Iris demanded.

    The man sharply pulled himself together and spoke in a deadly serious tone, "what do you know about the scarecrows?"

    "Just what it says on the note," she replied, suddenly weary of his demeanor.

    "Ah," the man said before a long pause, "girl, I''ve seen chickens more adventurer than you, but I suppose you''ll do. Come along."

    Before Iris could express her anger, the man turned and briskly walked towards the cottage, leaving her to limp after him.

    "I''ll introduce you to Gertrude first, she''ll be delighted to meet someone else with powers."

    That caught Iris'' attention. She had never, in her entire life, known anyone else in the valley to have powers. She had also never heard of anyone named Gertrude.

    "Wait," Iris barely croaked out as she limped after him as fast as she could, but the man didn''t slow.

    Eventually she caught up to him around the back of the cottage, where a fence enclosed a small yard surrounding a chicken coup. As she reached the fence, he proudly pointed to a spot near the center of the yard with his shovel, "adventurer, meet Gertrude. Gertrude, this one''s here for the scarecrows, don''t eat her."

    Iris looked where the man was pointing and saw nothing. Seeing the look on her face, the man looked where he was pointing as well, then frowned.

    He slammed his shovel on the fence post, making a rather pitiful banging sound as the wood dulled the impact of the metal, "dammit Gertrude! We have a guest!"

    A strangely human sounding "bawk" came from the empty spot where the farmer had pointed. Iris could have sworn it sounded apologetic. Then, a hen appeared. She was larger than any hen Iris had ever seen, easily the size of a large dog, with striking red-brown feathers and a blackened beak and eyes. She cocked her head at Iris, then looked back at the farmer and squawked in a way that sounded demanding.

    "Was really looking forward to eatin'' this one," the farmer said with resignation, "then she went and got tangled up in one of them reality quilt strings and got herself all fancy. Can''t kill and eat a fancy chicken, you know?"

    "Threads," Iris absent-mindedly corrected him as she stared at Gertrude, "they''re called Threads, of the Fabric of Reality."

    The farmer arched an eyebrow at her, "you been to college, girl?"

    "It''s Iris, and no. I, uh," she hesitated, "I read a lot of these adventure magazines--"

    The farmer erupted into laughter again, "so that''s where you got this idea in your head! Alright, well, let''s see what you got, adventurer."

    The man turned and started walking away, leaving Iris still staring at the chicken, confused. Just as Iris was about to figure out what questions she even needed to ask, the farmer called back over his shoulder.

    "Fair warning," he shouted, "she ain''t ate yet today and she usually does the opposite of what I tell her."

    The chicken growled, and then disappeared. Iris''s eyes went wide, struggling to process the absurdity of a growling chicken, let alone an invisible one. She took a few steps back, then turned and quickly teleported to catch up to the farmer. She tripped slightly in the hurry as she reappeared, but kept her balance.

    "Oh!" The farmer exclaimed as she appeared beside him, "there you are, frog legs."

    "I don''t have frog legs--" she started.

    "Doesn''t matter, don''t care. You see that bad boy right there?" The farmer pointed his shovel at a scarecrow posted in the middle of the yard, "he keeps moving."

    "What?" Iris asked.

    "I said, he keeps moving," the man sounded annoyed, "every day I move him back to the field, and every day he''s right back here in the yard."

    Iris glanced around and noticed patches of dirt where small holes had been recently dug throughout the yard. The scarecrow looked firmly planted in the ground with healthy grass surrounding the post.

    "You know what," Iris said, "I think I need to see the herbalist. My head isn''t right today."

    The man stuck out a hand in front of her, not bothering to look over at her. He was offering her a flask, which she stared at blankly.

    "It''s a potion, kid," he said, giving her an annoyed look, "you''ll need it for what comes next."

    "No, really," Iris said, backing away, "I-I think I''m gonna sit this one out. I''m not sure I''m thinking properly right now."

    "Well, you''re certainly not thinking like an adventurer," the man said, taking back his flask, popping the cork with his thumb and taking a swig, "do me a favor and put the note back on the board for me. Maybe a real adventurer will come along to help."

    "I just got my powers yesterday!" Iris exclaimed, stammering into an angry rant, "I almost fell to my death today for a pocket watch! My whole body''s sore. You''re offering me a strange flask and talking about moving scarecrows! A-and the chicken! What the fuck? You hit me with a shovel like five minutes ago!"

    "Twenty."

    "What?" her outrage was interrupted by confusion.

    "You were out for a while, I started to worry."

    "I''m leaving," Iris turned and stomped off towards the main road. As she left, she heard the farmer mumbling to himself, and possibly to the scarecrow.

 9 - The Herbalist

    Iris sat in the waiting room of a small clinic -- which was really just the living room of Mrs. Rousey''s home, the two spare bedrooms being the actual clinic rooms. A young boy and his mother came down the hall, trailed by Mrs. Rousey, who was giving them instructions for taking the medicine she placed in the mother''s hand.

    "And remember," she said, as she showed them out the door, "don''t eat anymore weird flowers without showing them to me first. I know everything that grows in this valley."

    The son looked annoyed and the mother embarrassed as she graciously thanked Mrs. Rousey and hurried her son outside. Muffled scolding from outside could be heard as soon as the door latched closed.

    "Iris!" Mrs. Rousey exclaimed as she turned back from the door and noticed her sitting there, "it''s been so long! I didn''t hear you come in," she paused as she got a better look at her, "and what in this great world happened to you, young lady? Have you been getting into fights?"

    "No ma''am," Iris said sheepishly, "I was just helping some people today and had a few accidents."

    "A few accidents?" Mrs. Rousey said incredulously, then shook her head, "you always were a risk taker."

    Iris started to object, then thought about it for a moment, "wait, was I?"

    Mrs. Rousey laughed, waving her towards the hallway and leading her into one of the clinic rooms, "I remember that time you tried to fight Ol'' Henkin''s hog because you thought it ate another girl''s toy. What were you, seven?"

    "Oh yeah, I think I was eight." Iris said as she thought back, "and Barrel did eat Ada''s toy. I know he did," she added firmly.

    Mrs. Rousey didn''t argue, instead she continued recounting stories of Iris''s previous visits to her clinic as she inspected her current wounds. She sometimes interrupted herself to exclaim how it looked like Iris had slid down the side of a mountain, or slammed her face into the wheel of a cart, but she graciously avoided asking her any direct questions about what happened. That was always her policy, patients only had to tell her what she needed to know in order to treat them and nothing more. However, she had no qualms about making her curiosity known.

    After nearly an hour, Iris''s back was smeared with ointment and patched with a dozen small bandages, parts of her head were covered in a strange jelly that felt cold to the touch and a bandage was wrapped around her head like a bandana to cover it. She internally groaned at the thought of cleaning the jelly out of her hair later, but would make that trade if it would keep the swelling down.

    Iris sat on the bed as Mrs. Rousey cleaned her hands in a basin across the room. She stretched her muscles and rolled her joints as much as she could to work out the tension, but the aches and pains all over her body would turn into sharp, overwhelming pain if she moved too quickly or in the wrong way. After Mrs. Rousey dried her hands, she took a few pieces of some kind of candy from a drawer and handed them to Iris, "when the pain gets too bad, suck on one of these until it dissolves. Wait at least two hours between each candy though."

    Iris''s eyes lit up at the sight of the candies. She remembered them from when she was a kid, they tasted like strawberries and the medicine taste was barely even noticeable. She chuckled to herself as she remembered the time she ate five of them back to back and had to come back to get treated for the nausea.

    Sometime later, Iris¡¯s was sitting at the dining table as Mrs. Rousey brewed a concoction of medicinal teas.

    "So," Mrs. Rousey said, her back to Iris as she cleaned the cutting board where she had chopped some of the ingredients for the tea, "are you going to tell me what actually happened today?"

    Iris stayed quiet.

    "That''s alright," she said, putting down the rag and turning to face her, "just promise me you''re being safe out there, alright?"

    Iris winced, recalling her earliest memories of making that promise every time she left the house.

    "Been a while since you promised that to someone, hasn''t it?" Mrs. Rousey asked, solemnly.

    "Yeah," Iris whispered.

    "Well, you''ve got to promise someone," she said, "it doesn''t have to be me, at least go see her and promise it to her again, if nothing else. I''m sure she would love to hear it."

    Iris looked down at the floor in silence, lost in thought for some time. She looked up suddenly when the tea kettle screamed. Mrs. Rousey quickly pulled the kettle off the flame and filled a mug with the fresh, steaming tea.

    "Here, drink this while it''s still hot. It won''t burn you, I promise."

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    Iris took the mug and gave her a concerned look, but sipped the tea without argument. To her surprise, it really didn''t burn, even as the steam billowing from the mug washed over her face. It tasted like mint and cinnamon mixed with a healthy amount of dirt, and Iris'' face contorted to match. Mrs. Rousey pulled a glass bottle from a cabinet, filled it with the remainder of the tea, and then stopped it with a cork and set it on the table beside Iris.

    "You know she always knew your fingers were crossed?" Mrs. Rousey asked.

    "She did?" Iris asked quickly, the fear of a child caught in the act flashing across her face.

    "Yep, and after you ran off she''d always complain that you were just like her."

    Iris smiled proudly.

    "You can take the bandages off in the morning," Mrs. Rousey said, "the bruises will linger but the ointment should close up the cuts and scrapes overnight, and the swelling on your head should subside by then. Take this tea with you and drink half before bed and half in the morning, it''ll heal you just as good cold but it''ll taste even worse if you don''t heat it up."

    "Thank you," Iris said, standing to hug Mrs. Rousey.

    "Any time, dear," Mrs. Rousey held on to Iris''s shoulders as she pulled away from the hug, "Mary was the best friend I''ve ever had, my door will always be open for you."

    Iris nodded quietly.

    "Oh, speaking of your mother," Mrs. Rousey said, "I reckon it''s time that I give you something."

    Iris looked up in curious surprise.

    "I thought you''d be a little bit older," Mrs. Rousey said, leading Iris down the hall and into her bedroom, where she unlocked a cabinet on a large vanity and retrieved a small, leather bound book, "I should have known better, your mother started at eighteen too."

    Iris was frozen in place, her heart racing and her eyes locked on the book.

    "Breathe, child," Mrs. Rousey smiled, holding the book out for Iris.

    Iris released a breath she hadn''t realized she was holding as she took the book in her hands.

    "I don''t know how she knew," Mrs. Rousey said, her eyes lost in old memories, "but your mother always said power comes to those who are meant to have it. She left this to me, with instructions to pass it on when power came to you."

    "I don''t--" she choked, "I don''t understand."

    Mrs. Rousey smiled, "it''s the bag," she nodded at the drawstring bag tied to Iris'' belt, "I don''t know what that thing is, but it''s not from this realm. You¡¯ve gone and really gotten yourself into something this time, dear."

    Mrs. Rousey was always a woman of secrets. Though she appeared to be a simple herbalist in quaint old village, Iris knew she had only moved here shortly before Iris was born, and that she had known her mother in whatever life they both lived before coming here. Neither Mrs. Rousey nor her mother had ever answered her questions about that time, and as she grew older she learned not to ask at all. It was unexpected that Mrs. Rousey could sense something about the bag that Iris could not, but it wasn''t wholly surprising.

    "As for how your mother knew this would happen one day," Mrs. Rousey continued, "all I know is that when that woman said something was true, it either was or would come to be. Annoyed the crap out of me."

    The two laughed together for a moment, then Iris looked back at the book in her hands.

    "You know what that is, right?" Mrs. Rousey asked.

    "It''s my mother''s adventure journal," Iris said wistfully.

    "Indeed. Have any of those magazines you read taught you how to use one?"

    "Yes, sort of," Iris nodded, still staring at the journal, "I never knew you had this. I thought it was lost when she--" Iris stopped.

    "She left it with me a few weeks before she passed," Mrs. Rousey said sadly, "it didn''t make sense to me at the time, but I had long since grown used to Mary knowing things no one else did."

    The bell above the front door rang from down the hall.

    "Sounds like it''s time for me to get back to work," Mrs. Rousey sighed, before repeating the same words she had always said to Iris as a kid "you run along now, Iris."

    "Wait--" Iris said hurriedly, then paused, "I have so many questions."

    "So do I," Mrs. Rousey chuckled, "I want to know everything, but something tells me there''s more adventure waiting for you out there than even you could ever dream of. Best not keep it waiting."

    <hr>

    The sun was getting low in the sky, and would soon dip behind the mountains. Iris had abandoned her plans for the night, deciding to pick up where she left off in the morning. For now, she sat cross-legged in front of her mother''s grave. It was a simple headstone, square on the sides and rounded in an arc at the top. The engraving read "Mary Orion 950 - 986. May adventure await in her beyond." She held her mother''s journal close to her chest as tears trickled down her cheeks.

    She looked down at the book in her hands, taking in the sight as she steeled herself to finally open it. The first page read "Property of Mary Orion. If you''ve found this journal, then you are meant to have it. Safe travels and love." Hand drawn hearts surrounded the text.

    After a few blank pages, the journal began. Large portions on each page were just jumbled lines, like someone had chopped up the letters and scattered the pieces. Iris knew this would be the case, as with any adventure journal separated from its adventurer. Only the first two pages of writing had any legible text at all, each a single paragraph. The first was a short paragraph serving as the first entry of the journal, detailing how Mary had gained her first Thread of Power.

    Iris had never known anything about her mother''s life as an adventurer, only that she had been one before Iris was born. She was shocked to read that her mother had found her first Thread of Power in much the same way as Iris, by total happenstance while out in the woods. Though the details of why her mother had been in the woods at the time were left out, the way it was written indicated they weren''t the happiest of reasons. Her first thread had been the Thread of Time, which shocked Iris even further. The Thread of Time was extremely rare, and known to be quite powerful.

    The next block of legible text was on the second page, and -- to Iris'' amazement -- was addressed to her.

    Dear Iris,

    I do not know who you are yet. I do not even know how I know what little I do. I know the time will come when I will be gone, and this book will be yours. I know you will have a heart like mine, and you will finish the work that I have yet to even start. Finally, I know power comes to those who are meant to have it.

    Travel safely,

    - Mary Orion, 968

    The last rays of sunlight blinked out as the edge of the sun sank behind the mountains, leaving Iris alone in the twilight.

    "I promise I''ll be safe," she whispered, her fingers crossed behind her back.

 10 - What the F--k

    Iris walked home in the dark. She didn''t use her teleport even though no one was around to see it, instead she walked slowly back to town and enjoyed the cool night air while lost in thought. She hadn''t bonded with the adventure journal yet. She hoped that when she did more of her mother''s entries might be revealed, though her hopes weren''t high. More likely, she thought, her mother''s pages might turn blank entirely, wiped clean for the journal''s new owner. She very much hoped that wasn''t the case, but tonight wasn''t the night she would take the risk to find out.

    Still, she knew she shouldn''t wait long. Once she bonded with the journal, it would read her magical aura, convert the knowledge into readable text, and display it on the pages for her. The information provided by an adventure journal was invaluable, so much so that it was widely considered the first item any adventurer should buy. She would need it if she wanted to be a serious adventurer, and she wouldn''t find another one for sale anywhere in this town, and wouldn''t be able to afford it if she could.

    A large boom shocked through the sky, birds cawed and scattered from their nests just before the shockwave that followed swayed the branches back like a strong gust of wind. She whipped around to the source, a plume of dark smoke rising into the sky in the direction of the Weird Farmer''s farm.

    "Son of a bitch," she whispered to herself, teleporting towards it.

    Several smaller booms rung out as Iris raced towards the farm, sprinting as fast she could maintain and teleporting as often and as far as her mana reserves would allow. By the time Iris appeared in the path leading up to the farmer''s house, smoke had completely filled the air and the barn fire had spread to the surrounding grass. A field of overgrown wheat covered the space to her left, while the haphazard maze of corn covered the right, neither of which seemed to have caught fire yet.

    Iris hunched over and gasped for breath. Her cuts and scrapes stung under their bandages, her head throbbed in pain, and her joints ached with every movement. Another boom rang out, this time close enough to ring her ears. Through the ringing she heard an unfortunately familiar voice shout out, "they''ve found us Gertrude, save yourself!"

    Iris squinted her eyes through the smoke, where she could barely make out the shape of the Weird Farmer backing away from a fiery hole blasted in the side of his barn. He whirled a staff through the air in a motion towards the hole, and another blast rang out from within the barn -- sending splinters and scraps of wood flying off as the pressure of the blast threatened to pop the barn like a bubble. The farmer let out a scratchy scream -- which sounded like he was literally screaming "ah" as loud and drawn out as he could -- as he turned to sprint in Iris'' direction. Iris teleported closer, appearing shortly in front of the farmer, who skidded to a stop and interrupted his scream with another, more genuine sounding scream.

    "Erin!" the farmer shouted, "you came back!"

    "It''s Iris, what''s happening?"

    "What do you think is happening, girl?" the farmer pointed across his yard to an empty patch of grass.

    Iris looked where he pointed, then back at him.

    "Scarecrows! You idiot, the scarecrows!"

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    "Alright, Mr. --" she paused for a moment, "Mr. Valley, let''s get you to Mrs. Rousey. I think you--"

    Iris turned her head as someone walked out of the corn field in her periphery. A pair of straw-stuffed overalls shambled from between the stalks, its blank face of bundled straw supporting a weathered farmer''s hat. In the figure''s hand was a piece of the post that had presumably held it up, the end of which was sharpened to a point to stake into the ground. A chorus of clucking and fluttering feathers whizzed past Iris, leaving a Gertrude-sized wake in the smoke.

    "There''s nothing to be done, girl!" the farmer shouted, "we have to burn the fields! Just think about fire and hope it''ll work!" He shoved his staff into her hands, then took the tattered hat from his head and plopped it down on hers, "and take care of my hat for me."

    Iris stood there dumbfounded. The farmer stepped away and turned to face the approaching scarecrow.

    "Alright, Jack," the farmer said to the scarecrow, rolling up his sleeves.

    "Uh," Iris tried to interrupt.

    "I guess you get what you wanted," the farmer finished, charging forward and tackling the scarecrow off its feet and back into the corn.

    "Uuuuuhhhh" Iris said again, as smaller blasts of fire erupted one after another from within the cornfield.

    She looked down at the staff in her hands and backed away from the corn. She looked towards the barn but couldn''t see inside through the smoke, flames around the edge were beginning to spread upwards and outwards to engulf the barn. She turned and looked back the way she came, then at the wheat field. She stared at it with uncertainty for a moment, until she saw the silhouettes of multiple scarecrows stumbling out of the field in her direction.

    In a panic, she awkwardly pointed the staff at the scarecrows, closed her eyes, and thought about fire. Mana was sucked from her body gradually and then all at once, pouring into the staff and draining her completely. The staff kicked back as a fireball erupted from the end of the staff, sending her falling backwards onto the ground with a skull splitting mana headache. The fireball slammed into a scarecrow, instantly engulfing it in flames and collapsing it to the ground. The flames whipped around in all directions, quickly catching fire to the wheat field.

    Iris groaned and clutched her head, her vision swimming and her sense of balance betraying her as it felt like she tumbled in all directions. Heat from the growing fires crept in around her, the smoke growing denser.

    "Is that good enough?" She yelled out, not sure if the farmer would even hear her, "the field''s definitely on fire!"

    She turned on the ground, looking all around in the smoke as she began hacking and coughing.

    "Farmer?" she called out to no reply, her eyes squinting shut from the smoke, "Mr. Valley? I can''t see!"

    Iris felt straw scratch the back of her neck as something gripped her by the collar and started dragging her backwards. She wiggled and squirmed as she gripped the staff in both hands and swung it over her head as hard as she could. She felt it hit something soft and recklessly swung it several more times. She felt the grip on her collar release, and immediately pushed herself forward and scrambled onto her feet. She barely dodged out of the way as she caught a glimpse of a pitchfork stabbing towards her, but she lost her footing and tumbled back to the ground.

    "Why did you give them hands?" She yelled out angrily, regretting it as another coughing fit took over.

    A scarecrow grabbed her ankle, another one approached from the side with a pitchfork pulled back to stab down at her. A third one grabbed a hold of the staff and tried to yank it away from her.

    She felt the sensation of teleporting. Something she didn¡¯t usually feel, always disappearing and reappearing without perceiving the instant between. This time, however, it lasted for nearly a second. It wasn''t so much a sensation as much as a total lack of one, a moment in the void where space did not exist, like when she had first absorbed the Thread of Power. She felt reality completely abandon her, then return again.

    She appeared on a slab of rock, warm against her back. Her eyes still squinted, not from smoke but instead from the bright sun beating down on her. She held up a hand to block the sun from her eyes and tried to stand, but quickly collapsed back onto the ground and slipped into unconsciousness.

 11 - A New Night Sky

    Iris awoke to a night sky blanketed with brilliant stars and nebula clouds. Her body shouted in pain as she tried to move, and she let out a miserable groan as she scooted upright against a boulder. Slow swirling hues of rich purple and orange cream from the moons above faintly illuminated a rocky desert landscape that sprawled in all directions. Short, hardy shrubbery dotted the land in sparse patches, and in the distance she could see veins of shallow rocky cliffs. She kept waiting for her thoughts to return to her, but all she could think about was her agonizing headache.

    Almost absent-mindedly, she reached into her bottomless bag and pulled out the bottle of tea Mrs. Rousey had given her. To her surprise, it was still warm. It was about that time that she realized how cold she was, instinctively curling her knees to her chest and bringing her arms close. She sipped at the warm tea, happy to drink something even as she cringed at the dirt taste. After a moment her myriad of pains began to ease.

    Next she pulled out a ration bar, ripped off the paper wrapping and started eating. She knew she would need her energy for whatever came next. The bar was a soft, mushy texture, like it would have been gooey had it not been intentionally dried for preservation. It mostly tasted like chalk, but there were hints of nuts and berries. Officially Mr. Quell had a strict policy against employees taking anything home from the store, even if it would otherwise be thrown out, but she always saved the expired ration bars and smuggled them out instead of throwing them away. The taste tended to get worse and worse beyond their recommended shelf life, but they were safe to eat for months beyond that. She liked them because they were free, and also because they made her feel like an adventurer.

    Despite the comforting familiarity of the ration bar, it was a labor to keep her breathing calm. With every second that passed her situation settled in deeper. The purple and orange moon in the sky wouldn''t be visible in the valley for several months, and the familiar lazuli blue moon that lingered perpetually over her homeland was nowhere to be seen. Iris didn''t know much about the cycles of the moons, but she knew this meant she was very, very far from home. It was said the fastest dragons could encircle the world in one month''s time. No one Iris had ever met had ever even seen a dragon, let alone knew how fast they could fly, so she generally interpreted that to mean that the world was very big. To this day she still occasionally learned of new nations, new lands, and even once a completely new continent. She found it hard to believe that any one person could possibly know all the lands of the world. That meant that not only did she have no idea where she was, but might now be in lands she didn''t even know existed.

    She remembered the unfinished quest slips in her bag, the pocket watch that was now further from its owner than it had probably ever been, the still aching wounds that Mrs. Rousey had treated, and finally the events at the Weird Farmer''s farm. Living scarecrows? A giant, invisible chicken? She touched the hat on her head, then felt the bandages beneath it. At least some of what she remembered must have really happened, but she found herself seriously considering how much of a role head trauma had played. A sick feeling broiled in her stomach as she thought about her village, the raging fires, and the murderous scarecrows. She reasoned that the village guards shouldn''t have much trouble dispatching the scarecrows, but how many people would they hurt before they were all dealt with? How many even were there? Was every scarecrow in the valley secretly evil? That was to say nothing of the fires, which could spread across the farmland, into the forest and possibly even the village itself. The village had dealt with fires before and wouldn''t be unprepared, but that didn''t guarantee they could stop this one.

    She had wanted to leave that valley for as long as she could remember. It represented everything about the world that kept her trapped in a boring, meaningless existence that she longed every day to escape. Still, as she sat huddled in the cold, dark desert, tears streamed down her cheeks.

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    <hr>

    The tree trunk legs of a tyrannosaur stomped through the rocks and shrubbery of the desert floor, its jaws gnashing out at the tail feathers of the flying griffin it chased. Eli clenched his legs tight around the saddle, digging his feet into the stirrups as he leaned to his left. The griffin intuitively followed his lead, diving to the left and sweeping around the side of the tyrannosaur as Eli leveled his staff to his shoulder and took aim down its length. The runes engraved into the staff began to glow, rapidly illuminating to an almost blinding light before discharging their power towards the tip of the staff. A deep red bolt of pure magic erupted from the tip and fired forwards, leaving a quickly dissipating trail of red wisps in its wake.

    The bolt of magic landed on the left side of the beast''s face, obliterating its left eye in an instant and leaving a charred wound emanating dark smoke. It roared in anger and ducked to its right, twisting and swinging its tail towards the sky. The tail, as big around as the griffin was wide, slammed into the griffin''s side and swatted it from the sky. Eli was hurled off, his long blonde hair knocked loose from its ties and violently whipping around his face. His vision blurred as he rapidly spiraled, unable to see the ground or the sky for more than a fraction of second as he struggled to discern which way was up.

    He heard the screech of his companion as it deftly recovered and swooped towards him, but the ground was rapidly approaching. He released a steady blast of magic from one hand, the runes on his gauntlet illuminating like the runes of his staff. He then added a blast from the other hand to stabilize himself. He was still falling quickly, but the force of his blasts steadied him in the air and slowed his descent from deadly to dangerous. He gauged his angle of descent and picked out his likely landing spot, and saw the tyrannosaur stomping towards it with a gaping maw outstretched.

    A bolt of blinding white light slammed into Eli from the side, blasting sideways just before the beast''s jaws clamped down where he had been. The impact pushed the air from his lungs, yet he felt a brief flash of rejuvenation before abruptly slapping against the hard stone of a cliff face. Pain exploded throughout his body as bones cracked and sharp edges cut into his flesh. Another bolt of light -- this one larger and faster -- crashed into his chest and pressed him against the wall for a second longer before he slipped off and dropped to the ground below. He landed on his feet and fell into a crouch, his bones already healing as if they''d never cracked while the gnarly gashes under the shredded leather armor on his back were closing shut with a searing pain. He looked up to his party''s healer, Titus, who had turned his attention to the towering beast and summoned an erratic shimmering spear of the same blinding white light that had just saved his teammate. Eli cracked a smile at the healer''s ridiculous maneuver, then scanned the battlefield for his staff.

    A deep, guttural scream came from overhead. A figure clad in a suit of armor molded from the rocky terrain itself was hurdling off the cliff above and plummeting towards the giant beast''s head, a giant stone battle-axe clasped with both hands was raised overhead and ready to strike. The axe trailed streaks and globs of molten rock as its wielder flew through the air. The tyrannosaur jerked its head just before the attacker struck, causing the attacker to miss its target but still land a hit. The battle-axe carved a deep gash through the side of the beast''s neck, sending gallons of blood gushing out onto the ground below. The beast roared in pain and fury as the figure crashed down in a kneeling stance, shattering the ground beneath the impact. The figure rose to their feet and let out a passionate, angry scream as the axe arced up from the an underhand swing that sent a geyser of magma spewing up the ground and into the beast''s chest, further fueling it''s panicked roars as it stumbled back with melting scales across its chest.

    <hr>

    Iris stood atop a tall rock jutting from the ground, wiping the tears from her face as she watched the light show of red, white and orange glows erupting in the distance. The roars of the beast echoed through the quiet desert air even as its distant form was only faintly and periodically illuminated by the bursts of light from the battle. In the rare glances she got of the figures fighting the monster, they appeared like flies buzzing around an elephant.

    She might not know where she was, or exactly how she got here, but she knew adventurers fighting a monster when she saw them. She briefly found herself captivated by the thought of how beautiful the image would look illustrated on a page of an adventurer''s magazine. Then, with a quick stretch to loosen her tense, aching muscles, she teleported into the darkness between her and the battle.

 12 - Small Town Hero

    Victoria sat cross-legged on a small ledge, in the shadows of a rocky overhang above. In the shallow canyon before her, a battle raged between her teammates and a furious tyrannosaur -- but her eyes did not linger on the battle. Instead they glazed over with a white-grey mucus, as her outstretched hands cradled swirling clouds and tendrils of blue and purple magic. Within the field of magic above her hands were two floating tarot cards, each depicting a different scene.

    The first card was the Hanged-Man, which she targeted on the beast her party was fighting. While channeling her power through this card and onto a target, the Hanged-Man imposed a looming, imminent surrender to the inevitable and represented a futile, unsustainable effort to continue on. It was a card that broke the targets morale and weakened their resolve. It was a hope crushing curse that she disdained to use unless necessary. The second card, the High Priestess, was targeted on Eli. This card bolstered an individual''s intuition and subconscious, providing them with heightened instincts, increased reaction time and spiritual connection to self.

    From behind her glazed over eyes, Victoria observed the battlefield from an out-of-body perspective high above the battlefield. Each living being within her birds-eye field of view was cloaked in a colorful glowing aura. To an untrained eye these auras held little information, but to Victoria they revealed intimate insight into a being''s magical power, life force, and emotions. The tyrannosaur was surrounded by a powerful, deep red storm of aura that represented its immense strength and unbridled rage. Tendrils of dark purple encroached in on it from all sides, tainting the aura with fear and hopelessness imposed by Victoria''s Hanged-Man curse.

    She watched with panic as Titus conjured a spear of vibrating life force and launched himself with a powerful leap towards the tyrannosaur. Even while roaring in pain from Autumn''s devastating axe blow to the neck, the beast whipped around and slapped Titus from the air with a swipe of its tail. The strike sent Titus rocketing into the ground, where he bounced and tumbled in clouds of dust before coming to an abrupt stop against the base of the canyon wall.

    His aura was weak and fading. Quickly, she summoned another card. This was the Six of Cups, a card that brought peace and healing to its target. She focused it on Titus, whose aura was now wrapped in tendrils of pale blue magic that came from within him before twisting back around him like a loving embrace. She knew it wouldn''t get him back on his feet, but it would keep him alive.

    Outside her out-of-body perspective, an observer could have seen her eyes widen as another aura appeared next to Titus. This one so faint it was almost drowned out even by Titus'' waning aura, but the mark of an entangled soul was unmistakable. A new adventurer had just entered the battle. The strength of Titus'' aura grew slightly and the deep red blots of pain and injury within it faded slightly as the stranger placed something in his mouth just before the new aura disappeared.

    <hr>

    Eli winced as the beast whipped Titus across the canyon with its tail, then again as he watched one of its massive feet crash down on and crush his fallen staff to splinters. He allowed himself only an instant of regret, and then refocused. The griffin swooped down and landed for only a few steps, long enough to tuck its wings and let Eli swing himself onto its back before taking flight again with a whoosh.

    He had the griffin bring him close to the beast, orbiting around it in a tight circle. He held himself in the saddle with his legs as he outstretched both arms, pointing his index and middle fingers from both hands at the beast. The runes on his gauntlets lit up once more, and a barrage of small red streaks of magic blasted out from his finger tips on either hand to pepper the beast''s scales. The small blasts did little more than annoy and distract it, but that was enough to keep its attention off of the now incapacitated Titus.

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    "Hi!" A cheery voice spoke in Eli''s ear.

    He jolted, almost falling from the saddle before the griffin tilted to keep him upright in response. A hand was on his shoulder and the mouth at his ear continued talking.

    "Don''t freak out!" she said hurriedly, reaching past him with her free hand to hold out a gnarled wood staff, "try this, it shoots fire."

    His hand grasped the staff before he formed a response, and then the girl was gone. Watching as the tyrannosaur barreled towards Autumn with a roar, he had no time to dwell on the stranger. The traditional shape of the staff prevented him from shouldering it like he would his own, so instead he tucked it beneath his armpit and pointed the head of the staff towards the beast before dumping magic into it.

    Autumn scurried across the rocky desert floor, slipping and catching herself multiple times as she scrambled away from the charging monster. Her stone battleaxe lay on the ground behind her, tossed aside in the flurry. The canyon briefly illuminated in an orange, fiery light as a heavy shockwave knocked her to the side and a wave of heat washed over her. She glanced up to see Eli encircling the tyrannosaur on his mount, a thick trail of smoke ripping off his staff in the wind.

    She climbed back to her feet as the tyrannosaur staggered to keep its footing, its head hung low and now marred by scorched black scales along one side. It seemed dizzy from the impact of the blast but quickly recovered its balance and settled its angry gaze on Autumn.

    "Hi, I''m Iris," a girl said, suddenly standing beside her.

    Autumn yelped in surprise and stumbled back.

    "Don''t freak out, why does everyone keep freaking out?" the stranger said.

    "Who the fu--"

    "There''s no time, you got another big attack in you? I''ll make it vulnerable."

    Autumn blinked and looked around for the stranger who she had just been staring at.

    The tyrannosaur lost interest in Autumn, instead gnashing its teeth and shaking its head as if annoyed by gnats around its face. Another fireball from Eli''s staff slammed into its hind quarters, an echoing crack of bone filled the canyon followed by a pitiful, desperate roar. In the light from the fireball and its lingering flames she saw the strange girl from before rapidly disappearing and reappearing at different points on the beast''s head, which reared back either from pain from the fireball or annoyance at the stranger''s antics.

    Autumn smiled and held out a hand. A shard of rock erupted from the ground, placing a handle shaped formation in her hand. Magma poured down its length even as she clinched her fist and pulled the conjured greatsword from the ground. She brought it to bear in both hands, leveling the magma-dripping tip towards her target.

    A surge of power filled her body, the familiar sensation of Victoria stacking multiple buff cards on her aura, and her smile widened. Eli erupted another fireball on the side of the beast''s gut which sent it into a stumble, and then she charged.

    With a superhuman leap faster and higher than even Titus could manage, she hurled herself towards the beast''s exposed throat as it gnashed about and roared towards the sky. Her momentum suddenly slowed as the blade impacted the thick scales, but the glowing hot tip of the sword still pierced and burned its way through. She buried the full length of the greatsword into the beast''s neck, clinging to the handle and bracing her feet against the beast to hold her place as she put her full upper body strength into twisting the sword in its wound.

    The roars of agony gave way to gurgled gasps and groans as the tyrannosaur swayed, stumbled, and finally collapsed. Its massive body slammed into the ground like a landslide, sending an echoing boom through the suddenly quiet desert.

 13 - Level One Stranger

    The wings of the griffin kicked up dust from the desert floor as it landed. Eli nearly leapt from his saddle, marching up to Iris with the farmer''s fireball staff leveled at her face. The griffin squawked and flapped its wings behind him, drawing closer and eyeing Iris like a snack.

    "Who are you?" He demanded.

    Iris peered at him with curious eyes. In the moonlight, she could make out that he was wearing leather armor over dark pants and a green tunic. She suspected that the waterfall of bright blonde hair that covered all but the front of his face would gleam in the sunlight. His skin was pale and soft, while his features formed a face that was a strange mix of chiseled and childish.

    "I said--" he began with a yell before Autumn interrupted.

    "That was so cool!" She exclaimed, running up to Iris.

    She stood less than five feet tall with a wide and stocky build. She had tanned skin dotted with freckles and short but shaggy red hair that was unkempt and unevenly cut, with the longest strands of her bangs resting just above her eyes. She stood so close that she craned her neck to look up at Iris, despite only being a foot shorter. Her clothes were assorted browns and tans, and mostly covered in dirt.

    "I''m Autumn, nice to meet you!" She held up a hand to shake.

    Iris happily shook her hand, but her eyes shifted back to the man pointing a staff at her.

    "Autumn, she''s a stranger," Eli scolded.

    "Yeah, yeah," Autumn waved him off without looking back at him, "a stranger that can freakin'' teleport and totally just wrecked that tyrannosaur."

    "I really didn''t do a lot," Iris said sheepishly.

    "Are you kidding? You lined up that shot for me perfectly. It was so clean, did you see the way I plunged into it? Best kill I''ve had all year."

    "Who are you?" Eli repeated, keeping the staff leveled at her while he used one hand to move Autumn aside, "I''m not going to ask again."

    A cloud of mist drifted past, settling next to Eli and taking on a humanoid shape before solidifying into the body of a woman. Black hair was pulled back into a messy bun that left short pointed ears peeking out from the strands. She had similarly sharp and youthful features as Eli with matching pale skin, but was a few inches shorter and stood just slightly taller than Iris. She wore a dark purple sleeveless robe cinched tight over an off-white undershirt and grey trousers, and at her waist was a thin short sword in an ornate sheath.

    "I believe she''s a friend," she said, placing a hand on Eli''s staff to lower it, "she''s certainly acted like one." Her gaze turned to where Titus lay nearby, "please try not to kill her while I tend to Titus."

    Eli looked at her with a creased brow, but kept his staff pointed at the ground.

    "I''m Victoria, nice to meet you," the woman said as she moved past Iris and towards Titus, "we''ll have to make proper introductions later."

    Iris stood there looking from one person to the next. As the dust from the battle settled, she became acutely aware of her appearance. Her clothes were tattered and torn, and most of her visible skin was caked in blood and ash. The myriad of bandages around her body and head didn''t help, and she reasoned she must look like a runaway hospital patient. She felt embarrassed and vulnerable.

    Eli''s expression softened, "I''m sorry."

    Autumn looked surprised at the apology, but quickly steeled herself and nodded sternly, "good, you should be." She positioned herself next to Iris and turned to face Eli with crossed arms and an upset expression.

    "I need to check on Titus, thanks for letting me borrow the staff--"

    "Iris," she offered, "my name is Iris Orion."

    "Thank you, Iris Orion," he held out the staff for her to take.

    "Hang on to it," she said, "you know how to use it better than I do."

    He twisted to staff to look at it in his hand, "if you leave this with me for long, I''m going to start making modifications."

    "Help yourself," Iris said, "I can barely use it, and something tells me I won''t be getting it back to its original owner anyway."

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    Iris could see on his face that this remark had given him even more questions, but for now he kept them to himself. She hoped that giving him the staff would buy her a little bit a favor and ¨C if she was lucky ¨C protection.

    "Right," he said, "Autumn, keep an eye on her. No offense, Ms. Orion."

    "Just Iris," she said with an awkward smile and nod.

    Eli nodded back and rushed over to where Victoria was crouched down over the unconscious healer. The griffin stayed, standing tall and glaring down at Iris for a moment before seeming to lose interest. It wandered over to some nearby shrubs, where it sniffed around and pecked in the dirt.

    Iris let out a deep, stressed breath as her shoulders slumped.

    "Long day?" Autumn asked, now chewing on a piece of jerky she had produced from a small pouch, which she held out for Iris.

    "You have no idea," Iris said in exasperation, taking a piece of the jerky with an appreciative nod.

    <hr>

    Sometime later, the party was sitting around a campfire over which roasted a large chunk of tyrannosaur. Smaller strips were laid out on top of rocks that encircled the fire, with several more strips hanging down from the spit to be smoked.

    "The trick is to cook a whole bunch of meat in a whole bunch of ways," Autumn said, "you always want variety. Stuff you can eat now, stuff you can eat later, stuff you can mix into soups. If you''re just chucking a slab of meat over a fire you''ll be full for the night but hungry tomorrow."

    Iris nodded, feigning more attention than she could actually give to the cooking tutorial she hadn''t asked for. She had eaten several pieces of the painkilling candy Mrs. Rousey had provided her, but dull aches still simmered throughout her body. Titus, who was now awake and sitting propped up against a large rock near the fire, had attempted to heal her wounds as soon he awoke but was told by Victoria that he needed to regain his strength first. She had given Iris an apologetic look, but Iris understood and didn''t argue.

    "Now, you can salt most meats for some extra time but jerky is a snack, not a meal. It makes a great addition to ration packs, sure, but--"

    "Autumn," Eli interrupted, "I need to talk business with our new friend."

    "Ugh," she groaned dramatically, "fine. Remind me where we left off later, Iris. I''ll tell you about wrapping, it''s one of the most important parts of meat preparation and longevity that always gets neglected."

    Iris nodded, then turned her attention to Eli.

    "I had Vic take a look at you," Eli said, "she says based on your aura, you''re pretty low level." There was a tone of accusation in his voice.

    "Yeah," Iris said shyly, "level one. I just recently got my powers."

    "How did you get here? We''re a week''s travel from Giantrock, and further from any of the border settlements. If you''re traveling alone you should be dead by now."

    "I am alone," Iris said, "but I didn''t exactly travel here. I mean I guess in a manner of speaking, but..." she trailed off, unsure how much she should reveal.

    "I respect the need for secrets," Eli said, "but I have a team to protect. I''m gonna need answers if you plan to stay with us for the night."

    She glanced at Autumn, who nodded encouragingly.

    "I''m not from around here. I''m from a small village very far from here, actually. I got here... well I''m not really sure how, exactly. I have a teleport power and it kind of just brought me here."

    "A teleport power?" Victoria said, looking up from a wound she was dressing on Titus'' arm, "at level one? That''s lucky."

    "Is it?" Iris asked, "I wouldn''t know. I''ve read a lot of books but I''ve only actually been an adventurer for like, a day."

    "A day?" Autumn exclaimed, "a day and you''ve already slain a tyrannosaur? You''re not wasting any time, huh?"

    "I didn''t slay it," Iris insisted, "that was all you guys. I just distracted it."

    "Give yourself more credit," Victoria said, "things were starting to look pretty bad before you showed up."

    "Everything usually goes tits up when you lose your healer," Autumn added.

    "Sorry," Titus mumbled.

    "One way or another," Eli took back control of the conversation, "you helped, and for that we''re thankful."

    Iris nodded, but felt too awkward to say anything.

    Autumn began removing meat from the fire with metal tongs, starting with the sizzling strips on the outer rocks. She piled the strips on a small plate she produced from her backpack and walked over to hold it out for Titus, "you get first pick because you''re the most hurt."

    Titus nodded and took a few strips of meat with his free hand. This was the first time Iris really paused to take a good look at him. He wore white and grey robes under a heavy platemail chest piece, matching plates were fastened to his thighs above grey trousers but underneath the drapes of his robe. His skin was dark, his eyes a brilliant gold, and his face had strong, handsome features underneath slightly chubby cheeks. His hair was in long, thick dreads that he had pulled back into a ponytail. When he was done with the plate, Autumn offered it to Iris, "you''re next."

    Iris hesitantly took the plate, unsure if it would be more rude to accept or decline. In either case, her stomach was rumbling and her mouth was watering, and she wasn''t sure she could bring herself to decline even if it was the polite thing to do. She took two slices, and passed the plate back to Autumn, who handed it to Eli.

    "I''m tired," Eli admitted, holding the plate without taking any meat yet. The stern expression he had held since they met was replaced with one of weariness and exhaustion, "we''re three weeks into this expedition and have at least another week to go. Truthfully, we could use the extra person, even if you are a level one stranger. We can talk details tomorrow, but if you''re interested -- and you can prove yourself trustworthy -- you can travel with us until we reach Giantrock."

    The looks Eli received from the others told Iris this was uncharacteristic of him, and she got the sense that he was taking more pity on her than he was letting on. Unsure of what to say, she nodded silently and took a bite of the meat.

    "You''ll have to tell me a lot more detail about where you''re from and how you got here, though," Eli clarified before putting a strip of meat between his teeth, taking a few more from the plate and handing the rest to Victoria, "tomorrow, after we''ve rested."

    "I can do that," Iris said.

    "Hell yeah! New recruit!" Autumn shouted, receiving a harsh look from Eli for her volume, "sorry.¡±

 14 - Character Sheet

    Iris awoke to the sounds of the others stirring in the late morning. The smell of cooking meat filled the air and she could faintly hear it sizzling over the fire. Each of the others had contributed their extra blankets to help her form a makeshift bedroll, and combined with the fire she had been able to sleep comfortably through the night.

    When she cracked open her eyes, she saw Victoria packing up her bedroll and miscellaneous items. Eli was in the distance behind her, loading up packs onto the griffin''s saddle. Iris yawned and stretched as she sat up before rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She recoiled at the stench of herself, catching a strong whiff from her underarms. She looked around at the bandages across her body, which had grown damp and gross.

    "Yeah, you do kind of reek," Autumn said from behind her.

    "Sorry," Iris said sheepishly, "I don''t guess there''s a creek nearby or something?"

    "Good luck with that, we''re deep in the wastes," Titus said, walking up and crouching down next to her, "I''ve treated people who smelled a lot worse, don''t worry."

    She paused when she looked up at him. He looked perfectly healthy and moved effortlessly. She looked down at herself, noticing all the aches and pains throughout her body, glancing at the various scabs and bruises that lined and dotted her skin.

    Titus laughed, a deep and rich sound. "Leveling up comes with perks," he reached out and gently tapped her on the head with his fingertips.

    She took a deep, instinctive breath as the magic washed through her. First it filled her with agony, like the pain of each and every wound had been highlighted and intensified. In seconds, the pain faded, and she watched the bruises fade and the wounds heal over. She looked up at him in wonder.

    "I can''t help with the head trauma," he said, looking at her forehead like he was staring right through her, "that''ll have to heal on its own. That should have taken care of all the surface level injuries though. Your muscles will be pretty tight for a few hours, they tend to have the hardest time coping with healing magic."

    "Thanks," she muttered, rolling her shoulders and stretching her back, "I already feel great," she said in surprise, rising to her feet without even a grunt.

    "It''s not all thanks to me," Titus said, rising to his feet and towering over her, "you probably leveled up a few times from that fight."

    "Really?" Excitement filled her voice.

    "Yeah, your life force is off the charts compared to last night. Check your journal."

    "Uh, yeah. I haven''t bonded with it yet."

    "Victoria can help you do that before we move out, right?" He turned to look at Victoria.

    "Yeah," she said, "it won''t take long. Just let me finish packing up."

    Iris started packing up her own bedding, unceremoniously shoving the unfolded blankets into the opening of her bottomless bag. This got her a few curious glances from the others, but it was Eli who approached and spoke up.

    "Where did a first day adventurer get a dimensional bag?"

    "Would you believe I found it on the ground?" she asked.

    "Nope."

    Iris laughed awkwardly, "well, I did. It just showed up after I got my powers, I think it might be my Special Ability."

    "Let''s start with that," Eli said, "how did you get your Thread of Power?"

    "Not yet," Victoria interjected, "let''s get her setup with her journal and get on the move first. You can interrogate while we walk."

    Eli glared at Victoria but said nothing, while Iris gave her an appreciative look.

    Sometime later, Iris and Victoria were sitting cross legged on the edge of camp. Victoria was holding the adventurer''s journal and inspecting it closely with glazed over eyes.

    "It shouldn''t be a problem," she said, handing it back to her as her eyes returned to normal with a blink, "the residual aura closely resembles your own, this belonged to a family member?"

    "Yeah, my mother."

    Victoria nodded, "it''ll work fine then. The original information should remain after you bond with it, but most of it probably won''t be legible until you level up further. That''s pretty standard for heirloom journals."

    "How..." Iris hesitated, "how exactly do I bond with it?"

    Victoria laughed, "it''s pretty simple." She held the book flat in one hand, then placed the other hand over the front cover, "just hold it like this, take a deep breath, and reach out to it like you''re activating a power. You should feel what to do from there."

    This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

    She handed the book back to Iris, who held it as she instructed. After an uncertain glance at Victoria, she closed her eyes and took a breath. True to Victoria''s words, the sensation felt much like reaching out to her teleport power as it lingered on the edge of her periphery senses. She felt the book reaching back to her, eager to accept. The formation of the bond felt like a rapid mutual exchange of energy, with her own flooding into the book from her upper hand and then returning to her body through her lower hand, now mixed with a trickle of energy from the book. Indecipherable information swirled through her mind, glimpses of powers flashed before her eyes but faded like a dream before she could commit them to memory. She saw a portal, swirling colors piercing through the veil of reality and reaching out to worlds beyond. She saw herself, or maybe her mother? The portal called to her. She gasped and dropped the book, breathing heavily as she stared at it in fear.

    "You okay?" Victoria asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.

    "Yeah," Iris said faintly even as she clenched shut her eyes and shook her head.

    Titus approached and looked over Iris with a careful gaze, "I can''t see anything wrong, can you?" he asked Victoria.

    "No, her aura looks fine. Shaken, but fine."

    "I''m okay," Iris said, opening her eyes and gazing at the book, "I think I saw my mother."

    "Mmm, that would make sense. I''ve heard of heirloom journals holding residual memories. As long as you feel alright, it should be nothing to worry about."

    Iris cautiously picked up the book, flipping it open to the first page. The pages then flipped by themselves, as if pushed by a nonexistent breeze, until it landed on blank pages somewhere near the middle of the book. Markings began to appear on the page, then words and numbers.

    IRIS ORION

    Hero Rank, Level 3

    Experience Points: 255 / 6350

    Progress to next level: 4.01%

    Abilities:

    - Spatial Distortion

    Pending abilities and evolutions : 0

    Special Abilities:

    - Extra-dimensional Familiar, unknown

    Attribute Scores:

    - Vitality : 14

    - Strength : 14

    - Speed : 14

    - Intellect : 14

    - Spirit : 14

    Unspent attribute points : 10

    "How many levels did you get?" Autumn shouted from over by the fire, where she was gathering up finished skewers of meat and veggies.

    "Just two, I''m level 3 now," Iris called back.

    "Aaaayy!" Autumn celebrated, "moving up in the world!"

    "You should spend your attribute points before we get moving," Victoria suggested, "it''s almost noon though, you can read up on the details of your abilities when we take our first rest break."

    Iris nodded, then realized she had no idea how to spend attribute points.

    Victoria saw the uncertainty on her face, "just focus on the book and think about your decision, it''s pretty intuitive."

    Victoria and Titus went to finish cleaning up camp, while Iris sat and looked at the page for some time. She contemplated the collective knowledge she''d gained from books and magazines over the years, realizing that most authors had spent very little time on the finer mechanics of being an adventurer, if they acknowledged them at all. She could take some guesses at what she should do, but was worried about making the wrong choices and messing herself up for the future. Finally, she got up and took the journal over to Eli, who was grooming his griffin''s feathers and fur.

    "Uh, Eli," she began awkwardly.

    "Yeah?"

    "Can you help me? I don''t know what I should spend my points on."

    Eli moved to stand beside her and read over the page, then glanced at Iris with consideration, "it really depends on what kind of adventurer you want to be. You''ll need to decide what kind of weapons you''ll want to use and what kind of role you want to play in battle. You don''t get a lot of say in what abilities you gain, though, so it''s best to work with what you get. Don''t make the mistake of being too stubborn and trying to fight against the aspects you can''t control," his eyes flickered in Titus'' direction for a moment as he spoke.

    "Okay, well... I don''t know any of that yet."

    Eli laughed, "fair enough. Your spirit attribute will increase your mana and its regeneration, that''ll be useful for making the most out of your teleport power until you have a better idea of where you want to go from there. You also can''t go wrong with Vitality, that''s the stuff that keeps you alive."

    Iris thought it over for a moment, "how does Intellect work? Will that literally make me smarter?"

    "It''ll make your mind quicker, and help you figure things out that you otherwise wouldn''t. It won''t give you any knowledge you don''t already have, though. Usually journals have a page that describes all that in detail somewhere."

    "Hmm," Iris looked at the page for a moment longer before placing her hand over the numbers, closing her eyes, and making a decision. When she opened her eyes, she saw the updated attributes.

    Attribute Scores:

    - Vitality : 18

    - Strength : 16

    - Speed : 14

    - Intellect : 14

    - Spirit : 18

    Unspent attribute points : 0

    "Good choices," Eli said as he read over the updated page, "what made you go for strength?"

    "I figured a few points can''t hurt in general. Besides, maybe I''ll want to fight with a sledgehammer or something."

    Eli laughed, "that''d be something, a swinging sledgehammer appearing out of nowhere would be quite the technique."

    Iris smiled at the thought and thanked him for his help before closing up the book and shoving it in her bag.

    "Alright team," Eli spoke up, "wrap it up, we have ground to cover."

 15 - The Adventurer Experience

    Titus trudged forward in the lead, hauling the largest pack of everyone, holding not just his own supplies but also any additional weight too heavy for his companions to carry. He pushed through the thickening brush as the desert wastes gave way to craggy terrain with thick foliage thriving in the shallow ravines that splintered the land. It was one of these ravines that they traversed, eagerly accepting whatever reprieve from the desert sun they could get.

    The space was only wide enough to travel single file after the brush was accounted for, and on either side of the line of adventurers were seven foot tall miniature cliffs. Though the walls of the ravine and surface of the cracked plateau above were hard stone, the ground beneath their feet was a sandy, at some points gravely soil. The temperature in the ravines was significantly lower than that of the plateau, which Eli had explained would be dangerously hot even for adventurers of their level, and a day¡¯s travel above would be almost certainly fatal for a low level like Iris.

    For her part, Iris fared rather well. She exploited her teleport power to hop from shadow to shadow of the small trees that tenaciously grew in the ravines, and the significantly decreased need for physical exertion helped tremendously in surviving the harsh conditions. That was before even considering that she carried essentially no weight beyond the clothes she wore and her faithful walking stick. She felt pity for the others, even at their higher levels, as she watched them huff and sweat their way through the hike. She had offered to carry some of their things in her bag but Eli had immediately forbidden it, citing that it would be irresponsible to trust someone they just met with their belongings. That hadn''t stopped Autumn from sneaking a few pots and pans to Iris to stash in her bag.

    Autumn, despite having offloaded some on Iris, still clinked and clanked as she hiked. The worst offender was a spatula tied to the outside of her bag that consistently banged against a pot hanging from her waist. Even as she poured sweat and frequently cursed the difficult obstacles in their path, she powered through the journey and kept pace close behind Titus. Victoria spent long periods of the journey in mist form, eerily drifting through the ravine and often scouting up ahead for dangers or forks in the path. She had an easier time than the others, but even she expressed jealousy at Iris''s ease of travel.

    Eli held up the rear, making a point to stay ever vigilant. Iris often looked back to see him walking backwards, poised to aim his staff at any threat that might be following them. More than once he halted the formation to inspect an errant sound or rustling in the brush, which more than once had been a harmless lizard. The griffin flew overhead in wide circles, its shadow occasionally passing over them. The journey continued like this for much of the day, until the walls of the ravines began to widen and slope until they were more like small, narrow valleys.

    "We''ll be losing our shade soon," Eli said, "let''s find a spot to break for lunch."

    "Hell yeah!" Autumn exclaimed, immediately slipping off her backpack to start preparing her cooking equipment.

    "Sure," Eli said in a defeated tone, "I guess right here is the spot. Iris, you''re on patrol with me."

    "Already?" Iris asked, "we just stopped."

    "Yeah, and any--"

    "potential threats just starting preparing their ambush," Victoria finished for him, giving a satisfied smirk.

    "So he''s always like this?" Iris asked Victoria.

    "Oh yeah," she said, "you probably won''t get used to it."

    "You can thank me when we reach Giantrock City alive," Eli said, "let''s go."

    Eli deftly scrambled up the slope to the surface above, where he found Iris already waiting for him.

    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

    "That really should make some kind of sound," he said, "it''s weird when you just show up like that."

    "Ooh something like a cool whoosh, maybe?" Iris pondered, "or a little ''blip.''"

    "A blip would be nice."

    Eli had already taken Iris on a breakaway patrol earlier in the hike to familiarize her with their travel tactics, so she somewhat knew what to expect. The main difference was that rather than traveling in tandem with the party while they patrolled in a crisscross pattern, this time they performed a circular spiral pattern, which they then reversed on their way back.

    Above the veins of shallow valleys, the short desert plateau was indeed a barren wasteland. In fact, the lines cut through it resembled the cracks of mud drying in the sunlight. Iris couldn''t fathom what kind of timescale it took for terrain like this to form. Though they could see far in all directions, that didn''t help them when it was likely any threats would be in the ravines or valleys like they had been. This meant that most of the patrol was peering over edges into the ravines below to inspect for signs of large creatures or other travelers. Iris''s ability made this a simple task, she would teleport down into the ravine, then do a few more teleports down its length, and pop back up to give Eli the all clear.

    As Eli leaned forward and pointed his staff down into a ravine while he scanned, he heard Iris behind him.

    "Blip."

    "What?"

    "I said blip. You know, for the teleport."

    "Don''t do that."

    "What? You said it should make a sound. I kind of like it, actually."

    "It''s horrible for stealth."

    Iris twisted to look around them, where they stood out as the only two figures atop the plateau as far as she could see in either direction.

    "Fair point," he conceded.

    The pair finished their patrol without issue, returning to find a large picnic blanket spread out with an assortment of food options, including leftover skewers from breakfast, multiple types of jerky, and a strange congealed substance that Autumn insisted was "travel soup" and "didn''t taste as bad as it looks." Iris happily tried it, eager for the true adventurer experience, and found it surprisingly pleasant.

    While she ate, Iris flipped through her journal. Only one block of text from her mother''s pages had unscrambled itself since she bonded with it and leveled up. It was scribbled in her mother''s handwriting.

    Adventurer''s log, day 3

    Big few days, so much going on. Will explain later, but suffice it to say that as far as adventuring goes, I''ve hit the ground running.

    She smiled at the shared experience, even as her heart ached and her mind was desperate to know more. She double checked for similar log entries for days one and two, but if she found them, the text was still scrambled.

    She turned to a page near the middle of the book, mentally reached out and thought about her stat page. The pages flipped on their own until they landed on it, still the same as this morning. She read over the name of her ability, Spatial Distortion, and mentally requested more information. The pages flipped again, landing on her abilities page.

    IRIS ORION

    ABILITIES

    <u>Spatial Distortion</u>

    Source : Thread of Power (Void)

    Cooldown : N/A

    Mana cost : Low, varies

    Description :

    Lapse into the void behind reality and reappear a short distance away, in an unobstructed location of your choosing. Mana cost increases exponentially with distance traveled.

    Special Use : Emergency Exit

    Cooldown : 30 days (unavailable)

    Mana cost : All

    Description :

    In the event of imminent death, lapse into the void behind reality and reappear an extreme distance away. Activates automatically, location cannot be chosen.

    Available Evolutions : 0

    Iris was relieved to find an answer to how she''d gotten here, but taken aback by the exorbitant cooldown time. Then again, if she was facing imminent death more than once a month she probably needed to reevaluate her adventuring strategy in the first place. She was a little concerned about the automatic activation, however. Would she find herself once again sucked through the void into lands unknown, whether or not she''d like to stay and attempt avoiding her fate? She closed the book, tucking that worry away for another day.

 16 - Catching Up

    As the party moved on, the terrain continued softening until it opened into a relatively flat desert plain with veins of small ridges protruding up from the ground. The afternoon sky put the sun at their backs, and though the heat was sweltering their heavy packs kept most of the sun from their skin. All except for Iris, who found precious little shade to teleport between and was soon sweating profusely and breathing raggedly.

    She had removed all the bandages from Mrs. Rousey except for the one on her head, having no desire to reveal the dried, formerly goopy mess of the ointment until she had access to enough water for bathing. Now the sweat dampened the bandage again, which she was sure would make whatever stench was kept hidden beneath it even worse. She kept her wizard hat pulled down over the bandages as much as she could, also thankful that the wide brim that kept the sun off her neck.

    While they walked, the others would occasionally ask her questions about where she came from and the days leading up to her arrival in the Giantrock region. She gave them the highlights of finding her Thread of Power, the first quests she had taken, and the mayhem of at the Weird Farmer''s farm at the edge of the valley. In truth, she would have been delighted to bore them with every last detail, but the punishing heat made conversation a luxury that couldn''t always be afforded.

    Finally, the sun began to creep close to the horizon behind them, and the desert plains began to cool. Eli insisted they keep traveling until sundown, which earned groans from Autumn and Titus and a judgmental but silent look from Victoria. The easier weather -- plus the promise of relief and rest -- renewed conversation, however, and this time Iris lead with the questions.

    "So," she said, "I''ve told you guys all about me. What are you doing in this desert?"

    Eli and Victoria exchanged glances, and she gave him a nod. Hesitantly, Eli answered, "we''re here for a competition."

    "Okaaaayyy," Iris said, rolling her eyes under the brim of her hat, "tell me about the competition."

    "It''s called the Big Monster Hunt," Autumn said, "adventurers come from all over the world to see who can kill the biggest, baddest monsters in the whole region. Eli says we shouldn''t expect to win but I think he''s just insecure."

    "That''s all mostly accurate," Victoria said.

    "It''s called the Grand Hunt," Eli corrected, glaring at Victoria, "and I''m not insecure. We''re underleveled for this, our goal is to tag along and get stronger, not to kill the biggest monster."

    "and baddest," Autumn corrected.

    "No way," Iris said, "I''ve heard of this, it''s in one of my magazines."

    She reached into her bottomless bag and pulled out a stack of adventure magazines, most of them authored by Sir Abram Brant. She flipped through the selection before picking out issue 32 of "General Guides to Adventuring." After another moment of flipping through the pages, she found what she was looking for; a passage about the Grand Hunt of the Giantrock region.

    Far into the uncharted lands of the distant continents, monsters roam free. Unlike the civilized world, the brave and bold Kingsmen are rare to find, and there simply aren''t enough adventurers to make up for their absence. Left unchecked, these monsters grow powerful and -- often in conjunction -- massive. The self-proclaimed guardians of the Frontier, the Adventuring Corps, take on the responsibility of managing these monsters. Their members track and study the great beasts, and roughly once a decade stage a culling that they call the Grand Hunt. Adventurers from levels 30 through 60 are encouraged to make a pilgrimage to the Giantrock region to participate in this hunt, where the prizes are reportedly as grand as the beasts.

    The excerpt was featured below an illustration of a giant two-headed serpent being assailed by a dozen adventurers.

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    "What level are you guys, exactly?" She asked, looking up from the magazine.

    "Mid-twenties," Victoria answered, "we''re hoping to reach the soft cap at level 29 before the end of the hunt, if we''re lucky we might even find someone''s second Thread of Power."

    Iris was familiar enough with the leveling system to know that adventurers would find themselves unable to progress beyond Level 29 until absorbing their second Thread of Power. Adventurers before this point were often categorized as "Heroes" while adventurers beyond Level 30 but before the higher tiers were categorized as "Champions."

    "Wow," Iris said, "I am really out of my league."

    "So are we," Eli said, "lucky you got stuck with us, huh?"

    Iris was glad to have found herself with kind companions so quickly, but in a land of challenges she was unprepared to face she would have liked if her companions were at least prepared to face them.

    "That''s all this book says about Giantrock," Iris continued, "and I don''t remember reading the name anywhere else. Where exactly are we?"

    "We''re in the southwestern portion of the region," Eli said, "as you can see it''s mostly desert. Soon we''ll be reaching the plains though, and after that it''s just another day''s travel or so until we reach the Redwood Forest, at which point we''re basically almost there."

    "Okay," Iris said, pausing to absorb the information, "but where exactly is the Giantrock region?"

    Looks were exchanged once again, and Iris found herself getting frustrated at how often everyone seemed confused at her ignorance.

    "I mean, it sort of just is," Autumn offered, unhelpfully.

    "What she means," Titus added, "is that the Giantrock region is the whole continent, basically. Coast to coast, it''s all untamed wilderness."

    "There are settlements," Victoria explained, "the biggest is Giantrock City, which is where we''re headed now. But the settlements here are nothing like the cities you''d find in the colonized world."

    "The colonized world?" Iris asked.

    "Where you''re from. Mostly the Emerald Empire, but the smaller independent human kingdoms too. Your books probably call it ''the civilized world'' or something similarly reductive."

    "No politics on the trail," Eli scolded.

    Victoria looked away, but Iris stifled a giggle as she caught a glimpse of Victoria rolling her eyes.

    "You''ll have to tell me about that later," Iris said, "I have a feeling it''s going to have something to do with the gross feeling I always get when I read stuff written and published within the empire," she held up the issue of General Guides to Adventuring as an example, "that''s why I like Sir Abram Brant, he''s always out the field getting his hands dirty, not sitting in a tower somewhere dictating third hand accounts."

    "You read Brant?" Victoria asked, "you should compare issues with Eli, he''s a huge a fan."

    "I am not a huge fan," Eli quickly refuted, "there''s just a lot of good information in there, that''s all."

    "Have you read the Glacial Mountains issue?" Iris asked excitedly, "I''m close to the end, and I think he''s about to fight a--"

    "It''s okay!" Eli nearly shouted, "you don''t have to tell me, I''ll find out when I read it."

    "Oh, sorry. Usually people who just read Brant for the information don''t care about spoilers."

    Victoria giggled, and Eli found himself unsure which one of them to glare at.

    <hr>

    Beautiful streaks of orange light stretched across the plains, broken by the long shadows cast as the sun dipped into the horizon. The terrain had leveled out to rolling hills, and the rocky red sand was replaced by loose patches of silt and soil where stubborn grasses grew. In the distance, they could see the edge of the vast grassland plains Eli had told them to expect. They stopped under a small, lone tree growing in one such patch of soil.

    "We''ll camp here," Eli said, "the grasslands aren''t safe at night. The less we camp there the better."

    Eli whistled to the sky, and moments later the massive griffin touched down next to him with a gust of wind. He immediately began petting it, reaching his arms up and around its neck like a hug to scratch where the feathers transitioned to fur.

    Iris approached cautiously, stopping several feet away until she caught Eli''s attention.

    "You haven''t been properly introduced," he said, "Iris, this is Glimmer. She''s my faithful companion for this journey."

    Glimmer chirped at the mention of her name, if you could call it a chirp. The sound was deep and loud, proportionate to her size. Iris noticed the single shiny talon on her front paw that stood out against the dark coloration of the others and almost smiled at the name, but apprehension kept her expression wary.

    Eli laughed, "she won''t hurt you. She might nip at your hat though, so I''d be careful of that. Do you want to pet her?"

    Iris was not about to miss the opportunity to pet a griffin, even if she was terrified. She edged closer, cautiously extending a hand. Glimmer took a small step forward and extended her neck to sniff Iris'' hand, before slowly opening her beak to take a bite.

    Iris snatched her hand back and blipped away from a laughing Eli.

    "She''s just messing with you!" He called out to Iris, who had decided to go see what Autumn was up to instead.

 17 - No Rest for the Weary

    The campfire flickered as the lone source of light for miles in any direction, casting long, shaky shadows of the tall grass and the tree near which they camped. Iris was some distance away, atop a large pillar of rock. There were other rock formations like this scattered throughout the plains, tall and oblong shapes that awkwardly jutted out of the ground at almost vertical angles. Eli had instructed her not to go far, but she couldn''t resist the urge to teleport up to the top of the nearest pillar.

    The plains expanded in all directions around her, giving way to the boundless fields of tall grass to the east and the craggy desert from whence they''d come to the west. Purple and orange light from the moon overhead faintly illuminated the plains, but barely enough to make out even the looming shapes of the other pillars in the distance. She sat cross legged on the tip of the pillar, gazing up at the sky full of stars.

    Her mind wandered through disjointed memories of the last few days. Some came like vivid flashes, others as faint recollections of events. She pulled the broken pocket watch from her bag and stared at it in the moonlight, thinking how silly it was that a stranger''s broken watch was one of her strongest reminders of the last day of her old life. That thought sent a stroke of pain through her chest as she realized that''s what all this really meant. The power that had brought her here wouldn''t come off cooldown for an entire month, and then she''d need to almost die in order to activate it without even having a way to point it back home. If she could travel home the old fashioned way, how long would that take? How would the journey change her, and what would be waiting for her when she returned? Her old life was gone, and there was little to do about it but mourn.

    She looked back across the plains at the campfire in the distance, wondering what kind of life she might build. She could see herself spending quite some time with her new companions, which was a good thing considering she didn''t have much of a choice right now, but would they even want to keep her around after they reached the city? Would they want her to compete in the Grand Hunt with them? Could she even survive something like that at her level?

    Movement caught her eye. So faint in the dark that she struggled to discern if she''d imagined it. Then another shape moved, something large and hulking creeping along the perimeter of the campfire''s light. In one motion she rose to her feet, leapt from the stone pillar and teleported to the ground below. She landed in a crouch, adrenaline flooding her veins, and yelled out as she rapidly blipped towards the fire.

    <hr>

    "Look out!" Iris''s yell echoed across the quiet plains.

    Eli shot to his feet, staff in hand. Victoria fell in close beside him with grey mucus-slicked eyes while Titus summoned six floating spears of shimmering light evenly spaced in the air around the camp. Autumn groaned and rolled off her mat and onto her feet, pulling a summoned stone hand axe from beneath the ground.

    The spears of light brightly illuminated a large radius around the camp, revealing two large, four-legged figures prowling in the dark. The first one pounced, two giant paws the size of a person''s head lined with sharp claws came around either side of Titus as it landed. He reacted with a burst of crackling light that sent the beast flying back the way it had come. Before it landed he was already rushing after it.

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    "Stay close!" Eli shouted, just before he loosed a blast of fire towards the second creature. The ball of flames erupted on impact with the ground as the beast deftly leapt aside, setting fire to patches of dry grass. He kept his aim, panning the staff across the shadowy edge of the light where the creature crept.

    "Two degrees left," Victoria said, seemingly staring into the distance at nothing.

    Eli pivoted his aim almost imperceptibly and released another blast. A deep whine could be heard as the fireball hit the creature in its hindquarters, the burst of light revealing its form.

    "Panthers!" Eli shouted, using his massive mana pool to release several more consecutive blasts as he followed the dark form of the creature sprinting through the night as it encircled their camp.

    Autumn had already dropped her small hand axe, instead summoning a round stone shield and a matching mace. She sprinted to Titus, who was standing directly under one of his floating spears of light and twisting in place to search for the beast he had chased. Autumn took her place at his back, peering over her shield with her mace poised to swing.

    The light above audibly crackled, and a quick bolt of light shot out into the darkness like miniature lightning. Titus summoned another spear of light in his hand and hurled it at that direction. The instant the spear left his hand it jolted forward along its trajectory and exploded into splinters of crackling light. He had missed the creature but was confident he had at least thwarted an attack.

    Autumn stomped her foot towards the edge of the light, erupting a jagged wall of stone from the ground several feet away just as the panther leapt towards her from the darkness. It effortlessly twisted in the air to kick off the wall, sprinting back into the grass just outside of the light before circling back immediately for another pounce. Autumn ducked behind her shield as she blocked a swiping paw that left deep gouges in the stone shield. Another paw swiped, aimed for her head.

    Titus spun and wrapped himself around Autumn, presenting his heavily armored back to the attack. The claws sheered through the metal like cloth and ripped through the skin of his back as he bit back a scream of pain. He continued his spin, picking up Autumn and swinging her towards the beast. Her mace crunched into its jaw as it tried to bite, the momentum of the strike sent it tumbling to the ground. Titus placed Autumn on her feet and summoned a light spear in his hands, this time leveling it at the creature as it climbed back to its feet.

    The other panther charged at Eli and Victoria, dodging side to side to avoid each blast of fire that Eli released. Just before it leapt to pounce, a shrill screech filled the night air as the griffin swooped low and dug her talons into the panther''s body, hoisting it off the ground before kicking downwards to throw it into the dirt with a thump. Victoria quickly targeted it with three separate negative effect cards as Eli charged a blast strong enough that it threatened to explode the staff into splinters. The fireball hit the panther square in its torso, pushing it back and engulfing it in flames. The sick smell of burning fur filled the air alongside the horrific cries of the panther.

    Autumn''s mace slammed into her opponent''s face again, this time one of its paws reached past the shield, curved around and raked sharp claws down the length of her upper arm. She screamed out, dropping the shield as she fell to one knee. The panther twisted back for another swipe. Titus reached his hands to the sky and jerked them towards the ground, bringing the light spear hovering above them down to impale straight through the beast''s body, but this did not stop the swiping claws aimed for Autumn''s face.

    Instead the paw stopped just short of its target, the claws only an inch from Autumn''s eyes as they gleamed erratically in the flickering light. Between Autumn and the panther''s outstretched leg was Iris, holding up Autumn''s stone shield against the attack. Iris stared into the dying eyes of the creature as its mouth of huge, jagged fangs hung open inches from her face. The spear of light impaling the creature disappeared, and it slumped to the ground.

 18 - Aftermath

    Iris stared at the ground in front of her. Deep ruts were driven into the dirt where her she had dug her boots in deep and still the force of the panther''s attack had slid her back almost a foot. She turned, wide-eyed and shaking, to Autumn.

    "Hey," Autumn said gently even as she clutched the wounds on her arm that poured blood between her fingers, "hey, it''s okay. Everything''s okay."

    Tears welled in Iris''s eyes.

    "Check her first," she heard Autumn say, her voice sounding muffled and further away.

    Titus stood over her, a bright light shone and moved across her body. Titus said something she couldn''t hear. Another flash, this one deep red and further away. Iris looked to see Eli striding towards them, away from the smoldering corpse of the other panther. Red smoke drifted from two outstretched finger tips held by his side.

    Eli placed a hand on her shoulder and pointed her back towards the fire. She tried to nod, but her head only trembled. As she turned away from the corpse of the second panther, she heard a muffled boom accompanying another red flash from just behind her. The air was thick with the stench of burning flesh.

    She approached Victoria, who welcomed her into a deep hug. Behind her, Victoria held out a hand that cupped swirls of magic encircling two floating cards, and Iris felt peace wash over her.

    "I almost wasn''t strong enough," Iris said flatly.

    "It''s okay," Victoria whispered, "everything''s okay."

    Victoria sat Iris on a log by the fire, and released the hovering cards to float in a circle around her where she sat, "you''re okay." she said.

    Victoria stepped away to meet Eli as he returned. She could hear them exchange words but couldn''t comprehend them. Her mind was haunted by the visage of the panther''s dying eyes and images of what almost was.

    Eli crouched down in front of her, "we need to move," he said with an apologetic tone, "it won''t be safe here now."

    She looked up at him, not noticing the tears streaming down her face, and managed a nod.

    "You did good," he said, his face illuminated by the purple swirls of magic trailing one of the cards orbiting around her.

    She nodded again, then pulled the bottomless bag from her belt and handed it to him.

    "Good thinking," he said, taking the bag and rising to bark orders at the others.

    Soon the camp supplies had been stuffed into the bag, the fire was snuffed out, and they were on the move. They traveled north along the border of the grasslands, keeping a healthy distance between themselves and the edge of the tall grass. Victoria collected the cards hovering around Iris, who insisted she didn''t need them anymore. They traveled in the dark, trusting Victoria''s supernatural vision to guide the way.

    Autumn¡¯s arm was already thoroughly healed thanks to Titus. He had healed his own wounds next, and as they walked Iris''s eyes lingered on the large gashes in the metal armor on his back. She could see the scars that had already formed, and below the plate fresh stains marked where blood had leaked out.

    A chorus of howls and animalistic cackling echoed from where they''d come, and Eli quickened his pace to which the others matched.

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    "Jackals," Autumn whispered, trudging along beside Iris, "they''re scavengers, we''ll be fine," she did not sound confident.

    After an hour''s travel they stopped at the base of one of the large stone pillars.

    "We rest here until sunrise," Eli said, "no fire, double watch."

    No one argued or complained.

    "I''ll take first watch," Iris said, wishing her voice wasn''t shaky.

    "Me too," Victoria said, holding up a hand to stop Eli before he could speak.

    "Up top?" She asked Iris.

    "Yeah," she said flatly before looking up and teleporting to the top of the pillar. The distance drained most of her mana and threatened a headache, but she kept her balance as she reappeared. Soon, a cloud of mist drifted up and around the pillar, settling beside Iris and reforming into Victoria.

    "Are you sure you''re good?" Victoria asked.

    "Yeah, sorry. That was," Iris hesitated, "a lot. I mean, the tyrannosaur was scary, but I had time to think, you know? And I never felt like it was actually going to get me, I had a pretty good idea from the start that I¡¯d be able to teleport around fast enough not to get eaten. Back there, though-- I just had to make a decision, and that decision almost got me killed."

    ¡°But it saved Autumn,¡± Victoria said, ¡°probably not her life, I¡¯m sure she would have survived, but it wouldn¡¯t have been pretty. You made a choice, this time it was the right one, next time it might not be. That¡¯s adventuring.¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Iris said, taking a seat and curling her knees to her chest, ¡°you¡¯re right. I keep going from one crazy thing to the next without time to process any of it. I think I just need time for it all to settle.¡±

    Victoria didn¡¯t hide the sympathy on her face, ¡°would you believe me if I said you get used to it?¡±

    Iris gave her a critical look, ¡°Which part?¡±

    ¡°Most of it,¡± Victoria said, ¡°almost dying gets old after a while. Eventually you have so many crazy days in a row that you stop noticing until you have a boring one. About the only thing you don¡¯t get used to is your friends getting hurt.¡± Her tone turned somber on the last words.

    ¡°Does it happen a lot?¡± Iris asked.

    ¡°All the time.¡±

    Iris sat with that answer in silence for a while, gazing out over the plains.

    <hr>

    Iris awoke in a panic as the sun peeked over the eastern horizon. She shot upright and hurriedly glanced around, searching for the others.

    "It''s okay," Victoria said, "Eli and Titus took over watch before you fell asleep. You seemed comfortable, so I didn''t want to wake you."

    Iris looked around the pillar, realizing she had been resting her head in Victoria''s lap. Victoria smirked, "like I said, you seemed comfortable."

    A whistle came from below.

    "That''s Eli," Victoria said, "time to move."

    She leapt from the pillar, landing softly on her feet on the ground below. Iris followed, leaping off before teleporting to the ground halfway through her fall. Even with the teleport she landed harder than Victoria.

    "Check in," Eli said.

    "All good," Victoria said.

    "Fine," Titus said.

    "I¡¯m good," Autumn said.

    "Uh," Iris said, "shaken. Very shaken. But I''m good."

    The griffin squawked.

    "Alright, let''s move. We need to be on the other side of that grass by sundown. Stay close, don''t lose sight of the person in front of you. If you get separated, stop where you are and call out. Glimmer will be overhead, if you hear a screech it means there''s danger."

    "Hang on," Iris said, pulling the journal from her bag.

    IRIS ORION

    Hero Rank, Level 4

    Experience Points: 107 / 6510

    Progress to next level: 1.64%

    Abilities:

    - Spatial Distortion

    Pending abilities and evolutions : 0

    Special Abilities:

    - Extra-dimensional Familiar, unknown

    Attribute Scores:

    - Vitality : 20

    - Strength : 18

    - Speed : 16

    - Intellect : 16

    - Spirit : 20

    Unspent attribute points : 5

    Iris closed her eyes and dumped all her points into strength. She opened her eyes, snapped the book shut, and nodded to Eli.

 19 - Rest Stop

    The tall grass stood higher than even Titus, the tallest among the group. They traveled single file, with Eli in the lead, followed by Titus, Autumn, Iris and then Victoria. They each followed closely behind the person in front, keeping them in sight at all times. Pushing through the grass reminded Iris of the Weird Farmer''s obtusely planted cornfields, and her mind traveled back and wandered through thoughts about her village and the events of that day. She felt the brim of her hat, hoping the Weird Farmer had survived. She wasn''t in a hurry to give the hat back or anything, she was pretty fond of it, but she hoped one day she would be able to.

    "Ooh!" Autumn shouted, abruptly crouching down in front of Iris, "berries!"

    Iris had to peer closely at the matted, overlapping grass blades on the ground between the towering stalks before she could pick out the small, orange berries. Once she spotted them, she noticed them hiding everywhere just below the layer of fallen grass. Autumn was already stuffing a pouch with as many as she could grab.

    "Keep moving," Eli said, "there''s no time for foraging."

    "What''s the big deal, anyway?" Iris asked, "it''s just grass."

    "Can you see me right now?" Eli called back.

    "Uh, no," Iris said, "I guess not."

    "Then you can''t see the predators either."

    Iris looked around her, realizing that any number of things could be lurking in the grass just a few feet away from her while going completely unnoticed. She suddenly felt pressed in and surrounded by unknown threats, and tensed up as she imagined a scarecrow lurching out of the grass and grabbing her.

    She nudged the crouching Autumn with her leg, "let''s keep going."

    "Uggh," Autumn groaned, "please don''t start taking his side." Still, she rose to her feet, cramming berries into her pockets as she did, and kept walking.

    The next few hours of travel were uneventful, until Victoria called out.

    "There''s a structure up ahead, looks like ruins."

    Iris stood on her toes and tried to spot the structure, but saw only grass and sky. She turned to see Victoria gazing into nothing with glazed over eyes.

    "We need a break," Titus said, "if we push through the whole day we''ll be vulnerable when we stop for camp."

    "We''ll be more vulnerable if we''re stuck out here in the dark," Eli said, then sighed, "but you''re right. Vic, can you get us there?"

    "Twelve degrees left, then straight."

    Eli adjusted course, and the others followed suit. Soon the dense grass deposited them one by one onto stone steps that led up a small stone ziggurat. Moss and vines grew up and around the ancient brickwork, while the tall grass crowded around the base of the structure right up until the brick and stone blocked its path.

    "I thought these lands were unsettled," Iris said.

    "Unexplored," Victoria corrected, "by your people, at least."

    "This world is old," Eli said, taking the first few steps up the ziggurat, "there''s ruins of ancient civilizations in every corner of every continent. We''re just the ones who are here now."

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    "And not always the only ones," Victoria said eerily.

    "Well, this place looks pretty abandoned," Autumn said, "lets make ourselves at home!"

    She brought out a small pot and began dumping berries into it.

    "No fires," Eli said," the last thing we need is the grass catching a stray spark."

    Autumn seemed unbothered, instead she began smashing and grinding the berries in the pot with a pestle. She sprinkled in leaves, nuts and even some grass that she had harvested at some point as well. Victoria and Eli climbed to the top of the ziggurat, where a stone roof covered a small square platform large enough to make sitting room for everyone. Soon Titus, Iris, and Autumn -- still stirring her pot as she walked up the steps -- joined them on the platform. Steps like the ones they climbed were on all four sides. From here they could see out over the grasslands, the stone pillars they had encountered earlier were now shrunken in the distance. It shocked Iris to see how far they had traveled in only half a day. In the other direction, far across the grasslands, was the edge of a forest.

    "We''ll never make it before dark," Victoria observed.

    "What do you mean?" Iris asked, "it doesn''t look much further than we''ve already traveled."

    "Those trees are a lot bigger and a lot further away than you''re thinking," Eli said.

    Looking again, Iris struggled to discern a sense of distance or scale, ultimately finding it impossible.

    "What do we do?" Titus asked.

    "Rest, for now. If nothing else you were right about that. We''ll figure out what to do next before we move out."

    Everyone settled in comfortably, assuming that the odds of them setting off back into the grass today were dwindling by the moment. Eli and Victoria discussed strategy, exploring ideas like Eli riding Glimmer to scout ahead for another stopping point in the grasslands, or waiting out the day here and setting out at first light to make the rest of the way tomorrow. More than once Iris glanced over to the maps that Eli looked over as they planned, growing increasingly certain that they had been ripped from an Abraham Brant magazine.

    Soon Autumn was passing around a bowl of what she called Grassland Salad. The orange berries had been crushed into a paste, mixed with the other ingredients plus some spices, and stirred. Though it didn''t look especially good, the taste was tart and pleasant and the small portions they each had were surprisingly filling when combined with the pieces of jerky she passed around as well. Titus took some time to see to Autumn''s wound, casting another round of healing magic on it before bandaging it up again. Victoria offered to redress Titus''s wounds, but he declined. Soon Titus and Autumn had nodded off into a nap, while Eli and Victoria kept a passive, restful watch over the grasslands around them. Left to her own devices, Iris started looking around.

    There wasn''t much to see at first, until she noticed the remnants of writing on the bricks. Weathered by untold years and grown over by moss and vines, it was easy to miss at first inspection. Looking closely, however, she could tell it wasn''t any form of writing she had ever seen before. She ran her hand across it, marveling in the stories it must tell to those who can read it. She followed a particular trail of symbols up one of the corner pillars until one of the bricks gave way under the light pressure of her touch. It pushed inward, then continued sliding in as she withdrew her hand. Grinding stones began to rumble, far too loud to come from the single brick, and she started to panic.

    "Uuuuhh, guys?"

    Eli and Victoria were already inspecting the source of the noise, with Eli leveling his staff at a slab of stone in the center of the platform that was lowering into the floor.

    "Secret passage!" Autumn exclaimed, leaping to her feet beside a confused and groggy Titus.

    "Absolutely not," Eli said.

    "Why not?" Autumn demanded, "aren''t we here for adventure?"

    "We do have some extra time," Victoria acknowledged.

    "We don''t even know if it''s a--" Eli cut himself short as the slab split into sections, some coming to a stop while the others continued further down before settling into a staircase that lead to a dark, cramped opening. He sighed.

    "Three of you, no more, no less," he massaged his temples with one hand as he spoke, "ten minutes, then report back."

    "Titus, Iris, that means you two," Autumn said.

    With a wide smile, Iris pulled her walking stick from her bottomless bag and lined up beside Autumn next to the stairs. Titus yawned, fell in beside them, and held out his hand to conjure a small sliver of shimmering light. He held the light out over Autumn''s head as she lead the way down the stairs and into the ziggurat.

    "You''re really going to let them go?" Victoria said quietly.

    "It''s more about being too tired to argue," he admitted.

 20 - The Sounds of Cackling

    "Guys?" Eli called out into the darkness, to no reply, "Vic, how long has it been?"

    "Hang on, let me check my sundial," Victoria glanced around as if looking for something she had just misplaced.

    "I''m going in," Eli said, ignoring her jab.

    "Oh leave them be," Victoria said, "I can still see their auras, they''re fine."

    "Wait, you can see auras through walls?"

    "Yeah?" Victoria said, as if that should have been obvious.

    Glimmer''s screech echoed across the sky.

    "Fuck," they said together.

    <hr>

    The shadows cast from Titus''s light flickered and danced, matching the ever shifting and shaking beam of light that hovered over his hand. More writing covered the walls, less worn than the bricks above. Rows of symbols formed sentences in the space between large pictographs, all bordered in elaborate designs that, upon further inspection, seemed to include symbols of their own.

    The stairs continued down into the ziggurat, abruptly turning at hard angles that spaced further and further out as they descended. They followed an endless trail of iconography and pictograms with each step. The ancient writings weren''t just carvings in the stone, protruding ridges were integrated seamlessly with the designs, and both the carvings and ridges alike had varying depths and heights. It appeared as a strangely three-dimensional, continuous artwork that almost seemed to dance and move in the flickering lights.

    "We should check back with the others," Titus said, stopping on the landing to yet another flight of stairs that descended into a dark abyss beyond the edge of his light.

    "No!" Autumn said quickly, then softened, "we have to be close, just look," she pointed down the stairs, "how much further can this thing go?"

    "Close to what?"

    "I don''t know, whatever''s down there!"

    Titus turned to Iris, which startled her. Not only was she distracted by the strange illusions of the script on the walls, she was surprised that her input would even be considered.

    "Uh," she stalled for time, "it does seem like we''ve walked down a lot of stairs."

    They both looked at her for a moment.

    "That answers nothing," Autumn said.

    "Yeah, I was hoping you''d be the tiebreaker," Titus said.

    "I''m the new girl, don''t put that on me," Iris said stubbornly.

    The three stood there for a moment. Then, after gazing down the dark steps, Titus extended his hand. The light floated away from his hand and drifted slowly down the steps. They watched, half mystified, as the art on the walls seemed to ripple and dance in the light. Viewed from a distance down the angle of the steps, Iris realized that portions of it seemed to depict some kind of story. She could only put together pieces, great battles against magical foes that appeared from lightning strikes, grand rituals that spanned generations with the casters aging and being replaced by youth, and the inexplicable appearance of a large, dark red dragon at several points.

    "That''s as far as I can send it," Titus said.

    They were now completely shrouded in darkness, and Iris could only make out his silhouette as it blocked her view of a portion of the walls. Below, where the flickering light floated to a stop, there were still only stairs.

    Autumn sighed, "okay, you were right. Let''s go back."

    The light disappeared, plunging them into complete darkness that -- for an instant -- made Iris think she had returned to the void. Then the light reappeared in Titus''s hand, returning them to some semblance of whatever normalcy there could be in this place. A bright blue light flashed from the darkness somewhere far down the steps.

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    "Did you see that?" Autumn asked.

    Titus nodded and Iris croaked a frightened "yes."

    "There''s something down there," Autumn said matter-of-factly.

    Even in her boundless thirst for adventure, Iris realized she had really been hoping there was nothing down there. "We need to go back," she said, "tell Eli what we saw."

    "She''s right," Titus said.

    The blue light flashed again.

    <hr>

    The grass rustled all around them, the heavy tips of the tallest stalks drooped and swung around as the grass stirred. Hideous, whining howls that mimicked the sounds of cackling came from all directions.

    "How deep are they?" Eli asked, following rustles in the grass as best he could with two pointed fingers on either outstretched hand. His staff was slung over his back by a strap he had fastened to either end of it the night before, and the runes on his gauntlets grew hot with red magic that yearned to escape.

    "Deep," she replied.

    "Can you tell me anything about the air?"

    Victoria turned her mucus-glazed eyes towards the dark staircase, "not much, stale, stagnant," she sniffed, "shouldn''t explode."

    "Get ready."

    He pointed one hand down the stairs and released a single bolt of magic, it landed like a small blast with a loud crack as it slapped it into the wall at the first turn of the stairs. A vicious barrage of red bolts spewed from his other hand towards the first jackals that pounced.

    <hr>

    "That''s Eli," Titus said. They were too deep and around too many bends for even a flash of red light to reach them through the twists and turns of the stairs, but the loud crack echoed past them and deeper into the depths. "You should go ahead," Titus said to Iris.

    "What?"

    "You can get there faster, there''s no time, go."

    "But I-- I don''t know how to teleport in the dark."

    "Hey!" Autumn said, grabbing Iris by the arm, "Eli wouldn''t do that unless it was bad, go. You got this."

    Iris stammered, shaking her head in overwhelmed disbelief. She didn''t even know if it was possible to teleport in the dark. What if she had to see where she teleported? She was only level four! She clenched her eyes to recall the description in her journal, but could only remember pieces. She tried to explore the intrinsic connection she felt with her ability, almost questioning it. After a moment, she gave up.

    "Ugh!" she groaned, "fuck it!"

    She looked up the stairs and into the dark. She stared into the blackness but did not attempt to focus on a spot with her eyes. Instead she mentally envisioned the space around her, the stairs and their incline, the width of the walls, and an approximate distance. Everything went dark. She turned, her footsteps echoing, and saw the flicker of Titus''s light down a flight of stairs.

    "I did it!" she said with glee, "see you soon!"

    With a deep breath, she stared at the darkness beyond the first few steps faintly illuminated by bouncing light, and tried to do it again.

    <hr>

    Eli and Victoria were back to back. Eli released long bursts of rapid firing blasts from his fingertips, repeatedly driving off the charging and pouncing jackals that took vicious nips at him with jagged fanged jowls each time they got close. He spun and twisted, his arms moving independently to split his endless barrage at whatever threats were closest. As he moved, Victoria moved with him, keeping pace and following his lead like a dance, she ducked and leaned and pivoted on heels and toes to keep her back to his. The grey mucus that glazed her eyes had splintered and bulging veins that throbbed as the eyes shifted around from focus to focus. Her hands were outstretched and cradling three hovering cards, which she deftly swapped out as she moved.

    "More coming," she said, ducking under a swinging arm, "different pack, fight is starting."

    "Fuck," Eli said, not knowing if that was good or bad, "Glimmer?"

    "Staying high."

    The talking stopped, the trained adventurers carefully managing their breath as a long chain of jackals made their charges. Eli interrupted the barrage of blasts from one hand to quickly charge a powerful bolt that thumped into the chest of a leaping jackal and sent it rolling back down the stairs and into the grass. Victoria briefly swiped all three cards away, replacing them with a new spread of triple debuffs, which she levied on one jackal after the next. Some tripped and stumbled, others lashed out to bite but missed, while at least one seemed driven mad and stood cackling in place until Eli put it down.

    "We¡¯re drawing more attention," Victoria said, "bigger things in the grass, birds in the sky."

    "This is getting weird," he shouted wearily.

    An agile jackal leapt the length of the stairs, leaping again as he touched down and then kicking off a pillar to launch himself past Eli with a gnarly maw aimed at his throat.

    Iris made a sound like a grunting gasp when her shoulder slammed into the jackal, her momentum transferred and it flew backwards to roll down the steps with a string of yelps. Eli Charged two strong blasts and fired them into the tumbling creature, then unleashed a double barrage on it where it lay for as long as he dared before twisting to catch up on encroaching threats.

    Three jackals were on the platform now, prowling around them to pounce. The first one leapt, Eli dove to the side as Victoria drew a sword underhanded from her waist, tossed it to Iris, and burst into mist where the jackal landed.

    Iris clumsily caught the sword, then her eyes locked with the jackal. It leapt again, she plunged into the void. She appeared beside the jackal and slid the blade along its abdomen as it bolted through the air. Her wrist was limp and the blow glanced, but a splatter of blood still coated her face. She spat and sputtered and the jackal thudded but stirred.

    Eli came out of his dive roll face to face with a jackal, immediately jamming his fingertips on both hands into its neck and releasing popping blasts into its neck. The creature slumped and Eli rose from his crouch. "Fuck it," he pulled the fire staff from his back and took aim at the grass.

 21 - What Did We Do

    Eli charged a fireball aimed at the tall grass surrounding the ziggurat.

    "No!" Iris called out, appearing on the steps beneath him and shoving his staff upwards.

    The fireball roared out into the sky and exploded with a shockwave. The circling birds began to caw and screech, the chorus of cackling jackals briefly turned into fearful whines and yelps.

    Eli and Iris felt an unshakable sense of doom. Iris wanted to run. Her eyes darted to a spot far out in the grass. Eli grabbed her arm. Her heart pounded with a reverberating pulse in the air.

    "Stay," he locked eyes and commanded.

    The jackals scattered, sprinting off in all directions through the tall grass, yelping and whining and barking. The cloud of circling birds above formed a dense ring encircling the ziggurat but didn''t fly overhead. Victoria stood on the peak of the ziggurat, her eyes wide and the grey veins around them bulging. A strong aura of magic surrounded her as she held her hands to the sky, presenting three orbiting cards. She gasped and lurched forward, swaying on the small square platform peak of the ziggurat. The cards she summoned dropped onto the rooftop, the winds that caught them stoked the purple hued singes that encroached on their edges. Still, a pulse ran through her eyes as she dutifully surveyed the land. "They''re still running," her head swiveled as she spoke aloud, and she noticed a large patch of grass in the middle distance swaying wide and splitting down the middle, "not just from us, there''s something big on the way."

    On that platform below, Eli helped Iris to her feet with a clasp, then called back to Victoria, "how long?"

    "I- I don''t know."

    "Vic?" He worried.

    "This is bad Eli," her voice barely carried below, "the magic. It''s all wrong."

    "What do you see?" He dashed to the edge of the platform and starting climbing a pillar. Iris watched him go, then glanced to dead jackals around her, and to the trail of blood where the jackal she slashed had fled, leading down the steps and into the grass.

    Autumn came rocketing out of the dark opening in the platform, screaming a battle cry as she landed with a thud and ripped two battle axes from the brickwork of the ziggurat. They were a dark grey stone, the sides of the blades were worn with natural patterns of aged brick, and the handles were straight and stout but carved down into a curve in the middle as if from centuries of use.

    Titus followed after her, taking the steps three at a time and instantly summoning a light spear in his hands when he emerged. His eyes darted around looking for the others.

    Autumn rose out of her battle posture and stood straight, slouching her shoulders, "where''s the fight?"

    "Uh," Iris blinked, "they left. But there''s something big coming." She pointed up.

    Titus clapped her on the shoulder as he walked towards the outer steps, "we''ll work on your briefing skills."

    Titus took the first few steps down from the ziggurat platform, then turned and craned back to see up the slope of the roof with a hand over his brow, "why are you guys always on top of things?"

    "Vantage point," They said simultaneously.

    "We need a plan," Eli added, low enough so only Victoria could hear him.

    "I know. No ideas yet."

    "So, are you guys hurt?" Titus called out.

    Eli looked down at the bloody bites on both arms and the deep stain of red at his ankle. He quickly looked away.

    "Big one''s here in 5 minutes," Victoria said, "get healed."

    Eli nodded, and eased himself down the slope much more cautiously than he had scrambled up it. A pained grunt escaped with each step of his bloody leg.

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    "No, no," Titus said, "stop moving, I''m coming to you."

    "Titus it''s fin--"

    "Absolutely not," he said.

    Titus began climbing his way up the pillar. Awkwardly jamming his hands into too-small handholds between the bricks, grunting heavily as he lifted his own weight, and slipping a foot more than once.

    "So," Autumn said to Iris, both still on the platform, "any of these yours?" she nodded at a dead jackal.

    "No," Iris said, sickened by the sight of death even as she fought a strange yearning she had never felt before, "mine got away."

    "Friend," Autumn said with an incredulous smile, "don''t let the great nemesis from your past be a jackal." Iris cracked first, then they both laughed.

    Back above, Victoria slid down the roof past Eli, who dangled a leg over the edge for Titus to inspect as he healed at a distance from the steps below. She landed lightly beside him.

    "How bad is it?" he asked her gravely.

    "We have less than 4 minutes until a big one gets here and neither of us have a plan."

    "Oh," he said. He turned his attention sternly back on the task of healing Eli''s leg, "stop moving."

    "Girls," Victoria said, walking onto the platform where the two quickly stifled their laughter. She reached out to take her sword as Iris promptly offered it back, "it''s a bad outlook. Autumn, what did you see down there?"

    "Mostly stairs, and a bright blue flash. There''s something down there."

    "Yeah," she said, "its magic is everywhere now."

    "That''s what riled up the critters?" Autumn asked.

    "I think so," Victoria said, "think we can hole up in there?"

    "It''s stairs as far down as we went and further, but probably."

    Eli hopped down from the roof and landed off to the side of them, Titus immediately began tending to the wounds on his arms, waving a glowing white hand back and forth across them. Eli hissed and tensed with pain on the first pass of each wound.

    Iris looked at the blood that poured down Eli''s arms and caked the surfaces of his gauntlets, running further down to stain even his fingertips with red. His healer still had the gnarled gashes in the backplate of his armor, and still wore the red-stained undershirt that shared the same slashes beneath it. Victoria had largely avoided the blood, but dark purple veins inexplicably encroached on the skin around her eyes.

    "Things are really bad, aren''t they?" She asked with a worried voice.

    Everyone glanced or looked her way, but Autumn spoke first, "we''ve had worse."

    "The tyrannosaur," Eli added, "that was our worse."

    "Right, so this is only the second worst thing we''ve ever dealt with," Autumn said matter-of-factly, "we got this."

    "Well," Iris said, holding back her fear to even her own surprise, "I showed up for that and saved the day, so good thing I''m here now."

    With an extremely fragile smile, she sat on the ground and placed her bottomless bag in front of her, then reached in a hand. She tried to feel around for different things in the bag, but she kept feeling herself grasp her adventure journal. Annoyed, she pulled it out and tossed on the ground beside the bag, then reached back inside.

    The book flipped open and fluttered to a blank page, which then filled with text.

    IRIS ORION

    INVENTORY - EXTRA-DIMENSIONAL FAMILIAR

    - Favorite Walking Stick

    - Thin rope, short

    - Rusty Dagger

    - Damaged Arrow Shaft

    - Empty Rucksack

    - Rosewart, Medium x2

    - Rosewart, small, x1

    - Broken Pocket Watch

    - Mrs. Rousey''s Painkilling Candies x3

    - Mrs. Rousey''s Medicinal Tea, almost empty

    - Autumn''s Mystery Meat Jerky x2

    - Various books, see next page

    - Various stones, see the page after

    "Neat," she whispered with a smile as she read over the page.

    She pulled out one of Mrs. Rousey''s candies and tossed it to Eli, "eat this for the pain." Without looking up, she reached back into her bag and started pulling out handfuls of rocks, which she dropped into a pile. "Whichever way it''s coming from, pile these up on the top steps." She continued pulling out handfuls of rocks until there was a pile nearly a foot high, including some rocks that most regular people would need two hands to lift. She started to get a little self-conscious about just how many rocks she had collected in the short time she''d had a bottomless, weightless bag. Autumn set to work piling up the rocks where Victoria directed her.

    "We''re getting in deep shit real quick here," Eli said, "any more ideas in that bag?"

    Iris looked down into the void within the bag, then at the inventory list in her journal. Her shoulders slumped, "unless we have time for a study break, that''s all I got."

    "Hey, it''s more than we''d have without you," he said.

    The lumbering mass in the grasses continued towards them. Heavy winds were building, moving like waves across the grasslands, whipping around the pillars of the ziggurat and flapping their clothes. In the distance, the skies darkened.

    "What the fuck did we do?" Autumn asked.

 22 - Something Big

    Eli, Autumn and Titus stood shoulder to shoulder at the top of the steps. Iris and Victoria stood behind them. The lumbering beast pushed through the grass just ahead, the huge round shell on its back now visible just below the tops of the parting grass.

    "Maybe it''s friendly?" Autumn asked.

    "Don''t count on it," Eli replied.

    The creature''s head pushed out of the grass. It had a skull like a giant snapping turtle, complete with a vicious spike pointing down in front of its maw. Its eyes were large and fierce, darting from one adventurer to the next as it took its first steps onto the stairs. Eli raised his staff towards it, but Victoria placed a hand on his shoulder. He held his aim without charging a blast.

    "There''s hostility in his aura," she explained, "but it''s not for us."

    "Does that help us?" Iris asked.

    "Not sure," Eli answered.

    The tortoise took another step, slow and deliberate. Then it stopped and stretched out its neck and craned its head around to sniff the air.

    "You are not wizards," the tortoise spoke in a deep, booming voice that Iris could feel in her chest, "why are you here?"

    No one replied. Iris nudged Eli in the back, "you''re the leader," she whispered.

    "Uh," Eli stammered, "we''re just passing through."

    "Ah," the tortoise said, "you know not what you have disturbed."

    "Yeah," Eli said, lowering his staff, "we''re picking up on that."

    "Talking turtle!" Autumn whispered in awe, catching a side eye from Eli.

    "Hmph," the tortoise snorted, "typical."

    Eli glanced around at the others for input. Titus offered nothing but a shrug, while Iris gave him an exasperated, overwhelmed look of confusion. It was Victoria who spoke next, stepping up between Eli and Autumn, "there are few great beasts that keep their wits."

    "Aye," the tortoise boomed, a tinge of amusement hidden in its voice, "power begets madness."

    "It''s an honor to be in your presence," Victoria kept her composure but her voice still wavered as she spoke, "we seek passage to the Great Forest beyond the plains."

    "This is not my territory," the tortoise said, "my domain is to the south. The serpent is the one you seek."

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    Eli and Victoria exchanged a worried glance at the mention of a serpent.

    "No way!" Autumn said, "does it talk too?"

    Eli shushed her, but the tortoise replied.

    "It does not. At least, not usually to its prey."

    Autumn gulped.

    The tortoise craned its head to the sky, "go now, and move quickly. The creatures of the plains will be preoccupied for a time."

    "You''re letting us go?" Eli asked.

    "As I said, this is not my domain. I am here to await the wizards, should they arrive."

    "Who are these wizards?" Victoria asked.

    "That is not your concern."

    "Should I push the rocks?" Autumn whispered.

    "What? No." Eli said, "t-thank you, great one."

    The tortoise sniffed in derision, "leave these lands." It began lumbering up the steps.

    Everyone looked to Eli.

    "You heard him," he said, "Iris, grab everything. Victoria, chart us towards the forest."

    Autumn helped Iris hurriedly stash their loose supplies and items into her bottomless bag, while Victoria moved to the steps on another side of the ziggurat and surveyed the lands between them and the distant tree line. Titus stood on the steps above the tortoise with Eli, both watching wearily as it climbed the steps.

    "Backpacks too, if they''ll fit," Eli said, dropping his small pack on the ground behind him.

    Iris jammed Eli''s pack into the bottomless bag. The larger backpacks carried by Autumn and Titus were initially too large for the opening, but the bag stretched and widened to envelope them.

    "Shit!" Autumn shouted as she tried to carry one too many items in her arms across the platform to Iris. A bottle dropped and rolled away, bouncing off the pile of rocks at the top of the stairs. A few rocks budged and tumbled down the steps and under the tortoise''s step. Its foot slipped out from under it and the large, reptilian head slammed into the stone steps.

    "Shit!" She repeated, "sorry!"

    The tortoise released an angry breath, then looked up and locked eyes with Eli.

    "Run," Eli said.

    Everything was still for a moment, then the party dashed towards the stairs facing the forest. The tortoise lunged with remarkable speed, its round shell carving deep ruts in the pillars on either side as it slammed into them. Its neck extended and the vicious maw snapped around the open platform. Eli and Titus barely managed to dodge, while the others were able to escape cleanly.

    "Pests!" The tortoise yelled, slamming the edges of its shell into the pillars again, breaking off more chunks of brick.

    They escaped into to the tall grass with a sprint.

    "Stay close," Eli called out from somewhere.

    "I can''t see anyone!" Autumn said.

    Titus reached down and hoisted her up onto his shoulders, "never mind," she called out, enjoying the view over the tops of the grass.

    Iris quickly teleported into the air and then back down into the grass, catching a glimpse of Autumn peeking out above it and heading in that direction, she repeatedly this periodically to stay on course. Victoria kept her eyes glazed over, scanning her allies'' auras through the grass to keep close. Eli charged ahead, peering up at the sky to find Glimmer. He whistled a series of sounds like a songbird''s call, which Glimmer understood as instructions to lead them to the trees.

    "It''s grassland as far as I could see," Victoria said, "no visible structures, any wild auras left are fleeing."

    With all their packs in Iris''s bag, they moved lightly and quickly. Even after Victoria looked back and confirmed the tortoise wasn''t following them they only slowed slightly.

    "Is it always like this?" Iris said through panted breathes, "one thing after another?"

    "Yeah," Eli said from somewhere in the grass.

    "This is just normal week for us," Autumn said, twisted from her perch on Titus''s shoulders to look back towards Iris.

    "No it''s not," Victoria said, "this is an extremely weird week."

 23 - Redwoods

    The party burst out of the tall grass as it ended abruptly. It was a not straight edge, but a curved and winding one that matched with the uneven canopy of the massive trees that towered above them. The sun was setting far behind them to the west, and beautiful gold light illuminated the trunks and leaves on the edge of the forest. They had held pace throughout the hike, their calves ached and their lungs burned.

    Iris stretched her head back as far as she could, staring up at the impossibly tall trees. They were bigger around at the base than the cottage she had lived in, and stood taller than the mountains that surrounded her valley. She grew dizzy and disoriented and swayed in place.

    "Whoa," Autumn said in wonder.

    "The Great Forest," Eli said, "the literature says to be wary of wolves and birds of prey, so stay on your toes."

    "My toes are too sore," Autumn said, "can''t we rest?"

    "Not yet," Eli said, "we''re still too close to the grass."

    "It''ll be dark in there," Victoria observed, "the moonlight won''t do much through that canopy."

    The canopy of leaves was multilayered, the tiers formed by branches of the same trees that split together in clusters at varying heights. From below, it was impossible to even discern the tops of any of the trees. Their roots rolled and snaked through the ground, in some places protruding high enough to form walls and channels in the forest floor. Smaller trees -- that would be large in other environments -- grew like shrubs on the forest floor, and thick patches of moss covered large swaths of ground and bark.

    "What choice do we have?" Eli asked.

    "We set up camp just ahead, make a perimeter and keep eyes on the grass at all times. We''ll see something coming before it''s too late," Victoria said.

    Eli nodded, "okay, we follow you on this one." Victoria could see the exhaustion in his eyes and aura.

    The sun had already dipped below the horizon, and they were losing light quickly. Victoria moved ahead, picking a spot between the roots of a redwood, "here, we can use the roots as cover but still keep the grass in view. No fire, it''s too dry here."

    Titus, Autumn and Eli moved to the spot and collapsed onto the ground against one of the large roots. Iris pulled their packs from her bottomless bag and sat them down next to their respective owners, then collapsed with them.

    "I''ll take first watch," Victoria said, sitting cross legged on the root above them, several feet over their heads.

    "Wake me up for second," Eli said, holding his staff at the ready in his lap as he closed his eyes.

    <hr>

    Iris lay awake in the night, listening to the chorus of bugs that reminded her of home. The sounds were deeper here, and louder, which Iris hoped didn''t mean the bugs were bigger. She occasionally jolted at the sound of distant wolf howls, or the hoot of an owl that sounded a little too close, and a little too human.

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    Autumn lay nearby, sprawled out on top of her bedroll with her arms and feet outstretched in the dirt. She snored loudly, a sound Iris had found frustrating the first few nights but now found strangely soothing. It was nice to have the sound of a friend joining the discordant song of the forest, even if her snores did sort of sound like two rocks grinding together.

    Glimmer had joined them not long after they stopped, and was now curled up in front of Eli. The large roots on either side of them, over 5 feet tall at their thickest points, formed a V-shape widening out from the base of the tree. Glimmer lay between the roots, on the outer edge, posted like a slumbering guard.

    Iris wanted desperately to read something, but the moonlight that poured in from the edge of the forest was too dim to make out any words. She fidgeted and rolled as she lay there, feeling the scrapes and cuts across her body that itched as they healed. The stench from the bandages on her head was growing stronger, and each time she caught a whiff of it her stomach sank as she hoped it wasn''t infected. It was a long night before she finally drifted off to sleep.

    <hr>

    The party awoke one-by-one, each of them groggy and sore. Glimmer stretched out her wings and let out a short, peeping squawk as she climbed to her feet. She folded her wings in tight and wandered off, inspecting the ground for food and delightfully devouring the first large grub that she found.

    Autumn groaned as she sat up, then dutifully got to work preparing breakfast. She used the last of the berries she had gathered from the grasslands, mixed with some crushed nuts dropped by some of the small trees nearby along with the leaves of a few bushes, and she even scraped some thin shavings from the redwood roots which she claimed would add seasoning. Finally, she broke up some of her last pieces of jerky and mixed the crumbles in with the salad.

    "It''s not much," she said to Iris, who was once again being subjected to an unsolicited culinary class, "the desert really bled us dry. Just give me a day in this forest though and we''ll be eating good, I promise."

    "These''ll help," Eli said, walking up beside them with a rabbit the size of a small dog slung over his shoulder, which he dumped on the ground next to Autumn, "go ahead and start a fire, we need the meat. Just be careful."

    Victoria looked on disapprovingly, but didn''t argue.

    "I''ll gather sticks!" Iris said, shooting to her feet. She was excited for fresh meat, but more than that she was excited to prove her usefulness. The last few days had left her feeling weak and burdensome, and though they hadn''t spoken about it yet, she was certain that whatever happened at the ziggurat had been her fault for opening the passageway.

    "Don''t go far," Eli said, as Iris teleported away.

    Eli took a seat beside Autumn, and beckoned the others over.

    "What do you guys think?" Eli asked as they gathered.

    "Personally I think you should cut it," Autumn said, peering at Eli''s hair.

    "About Iris," he said sternly.

    "Oh, yeah, she''s cool."

    "I like her," Titus said, "she''s never afraid to put herself between danger and others. She¡¯ll keep me busy trying to keep her alive, though."

    "She''s reckless," Victoria said, "but we''re a reckless crew. She fits right in. Besides, she needs us, too."

    "Her powers are useful," Eli added, "she could be a good permanent member."

    "She''ll need training," Victoria said.

    "I can handle that," Eli replied.

    Victoria shook her head, "that''s a terrible idea. I''ll train her."

    "Hey!" Autumn said, "I think I should train her, think of all the ingredients she can gather!"

    "I think I have a thing or two I could teach her," Titus said.

    "Alright then," Eli sighed, "so we all train her. We''ll have to do a lot of fighting to get her leveled up, but something tells me we''ll be doing a lot of that anyway."

    "I accept!" Iris exclaimed, appearing next to them and dropping a bundle of sticks onto the ground.

    "Already?" Autumn asked incredulously, looking at the fire''s worth of sticks in front of her.

    "You were eavesdropping?" Eli said, critically.

    "Well, you said stay close," Iris said, "and it looked like you guys were having a team meeting, since I''m sort of part of the team I was sort of attending," her confidence in her defense trailed off as she spoke.

    Eli laughed, "why do I only recruit people that get on my nerves?"

    "Hey!" Autumn and Victoria exclaimed together, while Titus shrugged.

 24 - Delivery Girl

    Gentle breezes swept between the trunks of the redwoods and carried off the occasional fallen leaf. In the shade of the outer redwoods the air was cool and crisp, while the breezes coming in brought cozy warmth from the grasslands and desert beyond. From afar, the adventurers would look like inch-tall miniatures next to the sprawling basal structures of the monumental redwoods, just specks along the vast line of forest edge that stretched past the horizon in either direction.

    For breakfast they ate freshly fried rabbit, battered in dough made from grain of the grasses and seeds that stuffed Autumn''s pockets, served with a side of Autumn''s wild salad mix and a pile of large seeds that tasted dark and sweet. Eli had given everyone permission to take the morning off and recuperate, so Autumn took extra care and time to plate portions, which she handed off to Iris to teleport around the camp to everyone.

    First Iris appeared beside Eli, who was standing atop a large root just beyond the edge of camp and staring deeper into the forest. He''d been standing there for almost an hour.

    "You gonna spend the whole morning out here?" Iris asked, startling him, "oh, sorry! Blip!"

    He sighed.

    She looked out into the forest and saw a wall of redwoods that morphed and rolled as she moved her head. She swayed, and Eli held out a hand to catch her shoulder and steady her.

    "Yeah," he said, "it''s a strange effect. The trees are much further apart than they look, but with so many, going so far..."

    Iris looked away from the strange illusion, "does this place make you dizzy?"

    He laughed, "no, but I know what you mean. It''s like I can''t figure out big they are, even though I''m standing on one. It almost made me sway when we first came out of the grass."

    "I''m glad it''s not just me," she said, giving one more look to the forest beyond, "anyway, this is yours," she held out the plate.

    "Oh," he said, taking the plate with a look of surprise, "thanks."

    Iris leapt off the root in the direction of camp, blipping away in the air. She reappeared on another root, then another, coming out of each teleport with a small amount of momentum and transferring it into the next with a leap.

    "Order up!" Autumn said, as she placed the final garnish on a plate of food and set it down on it a rock which she had flattened into a countertop.

    Iris appeared a second later to take the plate.

    "That one''s for Titus," Autumn said, just before Iris disappeared again.

    Titus was in a small clearing between the dense roots of the redwoods and the edge of the grasslands. He stepped and danced as he moved through the motions of a two-handed sword form, but instead of a sword he swung a fallen branch longer than he was tall and wider than his biceps. His chest armor lay in a heap nearby, and sweat soaked through his white undershirt and mixed with the stains of blood. As he turned, Iris could see glimpses of his wounds on his back through the cuts in his shirt. They were already scarred over, but still swollen and reddened.

    She cleared her throat, but he didn''t respond. She cleared it louder.

    "Hang on," he grunted.

    He finished out the form, ending with a heavy and extravagant overhead swing that he brought to stop just inches above the ground. Then he dropped the branch and walked over to Iris.

    She held out the plate, which included a double serving of meat and extra greens, "you must be her favorite."

    Titus laughed, "no, she just wants to make sure I stay strong so I can keep her alive. Her own words."

    Iris laughed, "aren''t we supposed to be on break?" she nodded towards the branch.

    "Didn''t you hear me?" He said, taking the plate and picking up a rabbit leg. He placed the plate on a nearby log and took a bite of the leg as he turned back towards his training circle, "I gotta stay strong to keep you guys alive."

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    Iris blipped back to camp, appearing just as Autumn laid out the next plate. This one had a small portion of meat, but a double helping of salad with extra berries. Autumn pointed up.

    Iris craned her neck upwards, where she could faintly see the silhouette of Victoria on the branches high above. She sighed and rolled her head back. Still, she took the plate and placed another over it like a lid, then started scanning the trunks of the nearby trees.

    Even the smallest of branches were as thick as a small tree, and more than a few trees had large splits not far up along with dried nubs where old branches had fallen. It was a challenge, to be sure, but she plotted out a course. There would be a few blips that pushed the boundaries of her mana, and several that would require momentum between blips to carry her over gaps too wide to teleport.

    She decided to sit the plate down and pull the rope from her bag. Using her admittedly amateur knot tying skills, she fashioned a four way cinch to hold the two plates tightly together. After a satisfied nod at her handy work, she scooped up the package, looked over her route one more time, then teleported away.

    The first blips were easy, she could have done them walking but chose a light jog instead. The fourth blip was the first scary one, and she appeared in the air a few feet short of her next spot with momentum carrying her forward. She landed, rocked forward on her feet and kicked off as hard as she could into the next blip. She spiraled and criss-crossed over the camp, blipping in and out as she darted from tree to tree.

    Victoria came into view with her second-to-last teleport. She stepped off a branch with one foot and blipped again, appearing doubled over and panting beside Victoria. "You''re," she gasped, "a hard woman to get to."

    Victoria laughed, "you could have called me down."

    Iris clutched the package of food in one hand while she held herself up on her knee with the other. She stood there panting, and did not respond.

    "That''s impressive," Victoria said, looking down at the camp below, "you did all that with just your teleport?"

    "It''s all in the speed," she said, finally catching her breath and standing upright. She held out the package for Victoria.

    She took it with a curious look, and delicately untied the ropes to remove the lid. The sweet seeds, salad and thin strip of meat had all been thoroughly mixed together, leaving no trace of Autumn''s delicate arrangement.

    "Sorry," Iris said, awkwardly motioning to the trees she had just teleported up.

    Victoria laughed, "it''s perfectly fine. Where''s yours?"

    Iris, hands on her hips, bent at the waist to look over the edge at the camp below, "uh."

    Victoria laughed again, "next time bring yours too, there''s usually no one that can keep me company in high up places."

    "Are you lookout then?" Iris asked.

    "Hmm," Victoria deliberated, "I think Glimmer deserves that title these days. I just give an additional bird''s eye view." She tapped the side of her head and glazed her eyes over, "it helps to see the magic, too."

    Iris followed her gaze away from camp, towards the inner forest. They looked out over the first layer of canopy, with huge bushes of leaves looking like green clouds clinging to the trees. The trunks were thinner up here, though not by much. Combined with the patches of leaves and the golden sun rays that passed through the upper layers of the canopy, the visage wasn''t quite as disorienting as the one below.

    "What do you see with those eyes, anyway?" Iris asked.

    "I see the souls of every creature for a half mile, and the invisible strands of magic that connect all things. I even see the waves of energy that reverberate through it all."

    "Whoa," Iris said in genuine amazement, "that sounds amazing."

    Victoria blinked and her eyes returned to normal, "it''s the kind of thing I''d have to write poetry to describe." She dropped a berry into her mouth and savored the taste, "tell Autumn she''s wonderful."

    "Will do," Iris said, before looking over the edge and dreading the descent.

    Soon she appeared back at camp, where Autumn was loading up scraps of meat and left over salad into the biggest bowl she carried.

    "What''s that for?" Iris asked, only partially out of breath, as she had taken her time on the way down.

    "Glimmer," Autumn said, pointing at the griffin who was preening her feathers nearby.

    "Nope," Iris said, "no way."

    "You said you''d be the delivery girl!"

    "What if she bites me?"

    "She''s not going to bite you."

    Iris looked at Glimmer''s sharp, hooked beak.

    "If you feed her it''ll make her like you more," Autumn said.

    "Fine," Iris said, begrudgingly taking the bowl.

    She appeared a dozen feet away from the griffin, and spoke as she inched closer, "uh, hey girl."

    Glimmer looked up at her and squawked.

    "I brought breakfast?" She said with caution, crouching down and reaching out to place the bowl closer to Glimmer without getting close herself.

    Glimmer chirped and stomped over, nudging the bowl with her beak. Iris fell backwards and stared wide eyed at her.

    She reached into the bowl with her beak and deftly picked out a piece of rabbit, which she immediately turned her head up to gulp down. She chirped in a tone that Iris thought sounded happy, and then buried her face in the bowl.

    "Right, good," Iris climbed to her feet, "glad we''re friends." She blipped away.

    With a sigh, Iris finally collapsed onto a log next to Autumn''s impromptu cooking station. Autumn placed her foot on the side of the flattened rock and shoved, sliding it rather effortlessly across the ground until it was in front of Iris. She placed a plate of food on the rock, it had the largest berries of any of the plates and the meat was still steaming hot.

    "You are wonderful," Iris said.

 25 - An Easy Journey

    The journey into the redwood forest was graciously peaceful. Most of the party walked on the forest floor, winding and turning through the roots as needed. There was space between the trees for Glimmer to fly short, straight distances but it was too cramped for her to circle above, so she trailed behind them and deftly leapt around or over obstacles -- reminding Iris that she was as much a big cat as she was a big bird. The journey was made all the easier by nearly all of the party''s heaviest supplies being stored in Iris''s bottomless bag.

    Eli stubbornly insisted on clambering over many of the roots, always seeking to maintain a visual on what was up ahead. Iris, for her part, easily blipped around on the tops of the roots, maintaining excellent positions for over watch and scouting which she didn''t have the training or experience to make use of. Still, sometimes she would call out to Autumn if she saw a plant that sort of matched one of the many descriptions Autumn had provided her of good tasting forageables.

    Shielded from the harsh sun by the massive multi-layer canopy, the forest floor was comfortable and cool. The breeze didn''t penetrate far into the forest, so the air was largely still, but the rich smell of the soil and plants filled the space. The party encountered countless creatures, mostly forest critters that were squirrel or rabbit like, except much larger. At one point they had all drawn their weapons, conjured magic or -- in Iris'' case -- blipped away as a wolf-sized rabbit sprinted past them, tearing up dirt in its wake. Thankfully, none of the oversized animals had been hostile.

    Iris took the easy travel time to berate the party, mostly Eli, with questions.

    "Tell me everything I should know about the Grand Hunt," she said, appearing beside Eli atop a root above the others.

    "That''s a long conversation," he replied, his eyes pointed forward.

    Iris motioned at the endless expanse of forest ahead of them, "now''s a good time then."

    Eli sighed, "What do you want to know?"

    "Everything," Iris said, then thought for a moment, "will they let me compete? I mean, as a low level."

    "You might not be able to officially register as part of our team, which means you''ll be left out of potential rewards and we''d have to split our shares with you. The books say regulations are lax on the front though, so you might get signed up anyway, and if you don¡¯t we shouldn''t have a problem bringing you along if you''re ready."

    "What does it take to be ready?"

    Eli took a leap to the next root as the party below winded around the trailing edge of the one he and Iris had been standing on. Iris blipped after him.

    "We need to figure out your role," Eli said, "then we need to train you to do it. Of course we''ll need to spend a lot of time on the basics, too. You''ll want to reach Level 5 at least, to get your next ability. That''s almost guaranteed by the time we reach Giantrock City. Level 10 would be ideal, but we''ll have to train hard to get you there before the hunt."

    Eli slid down the curved edge of the root and landed deftly on the ground below before moving forward to climb up the next one. The aged roots had various cracks and bumps in their surface that he used as holds while he climbed, but it would be a much more difficult task without the physical enhancements that came with levels. Iris lingered behind for a moment, pulling out her journal to check her experience points.

    Stolen story; please report.

    IRIS ORION

    Hero Rank, Level 4

    Experience Points: 987 / 6510

    Progress to next level: 15.61%

    She popped the book closed and blipped ahead, catching up to Eli just as he rose to his feet on the next root. This one twisted and turned as it sprawled in the direction they were traveling, so they walked along it for a moment.

    "You''d make a good scout," Eli suggested, "and it''d keep you further from the danger."

    "You guys already have two scouts," Iris said, "besides, I didn''t become an adventurer to stay out of danger."

    Eli seemed annoyed by her reductive summary of a scout''s role, but didn''t argue, "what did you become an adventurer for?"

    "Well," Iris thought for a moment, "adventure, I guess. I want to climb the highest mountains and fight the scariest monsters."

    Eli laughed, "wait until you meet a few scary monsters, you might change your mind."

    Iris stopped and stared at him, "dude, in the past three days I''ve fought murderous sentient scarecrows, a dinosaur, razor-fanged panthers and a pack of magically rabid jackals."

    "Yeah, those aren''t the scary ones," he said matter-of-factly, "wait, the scarecrows really happened?"

    "Of course they did! That''s how I got here. Weren''t you paying attention when I explained that?"

    "I''m always paying attention. I just thought you had hit your head a little too hard."

    "Yeah," Iris admitted, "that happened a few times, too."

    The trees were spaced further apart for the next short stretch, so the two followed their root down to its end and rejoined the others on the ground.

    "I was thinking maybe a big sword," Iris continued, "like you said, appearing out of nowhere with a giant weapon, the element of surprise combined with overwhelming force. I think that''d be pretty cool."

    Eli looked her up and down, "you don''t exactly look like the giant sword type."

    "Yeah, that''s part of the surprise."

    "Got me there. Alright then," He slapped her on the shoulder, "let''s give it a try. Titus, wake Iris up first thing in the morning to train with you. She wants to use heavy weapons."

    "First thing?" her face dropped.

    "Oh!" Autumn perked up, "can I train too?" She crouched down, drove her hands into the dirt, and hoisted out a giant two-handed battle axe made from stone.

    Titus laughed, "anyone''s welcome."

    "As long as you still make breakfast," Eli added.

    In the late afternoon Eli instructed everyone to keep an eye out for good camping spots, deciding they would make camp early tonight so there would be time to focus on temporary fortifications to get through the night. Autumn nudged Iris with an elbow and bet that he actually just wanted to give her time to cook a nice dinner.

    Not long after, the party came upon the most beautiful sight Iris felt like she had ever seen, water. It was a large pond, cradled in the roots of the surrounding trees and dotted with lily pads. Various water grasses sprouted up from the surface, and more than a few dragonflies with foot wide wingspans buzzed around to snatch up the other insects in the air. Iris immediately blipped up to the edge of the water and sighed in relief.

    "Wait!" Eli called after her.

    She instantly blipped back to him in a panic, "what is it? Monster?"

    "Always inspect water before you get that close, you never know what''s in it."

    Victoria walked ahead and surveyed the water with her mucus vision, as Iris had started calling it in her head. After a moment, she spoke, "it''s clear. Some freakishly large tadpoles and a few fish, but nothing big."

    Eli approached next, crouching down to dip his fingers into the water and the mud beneath it. He sniffed his fingers, then tapped his tongue with one.

    "Don''t drink it," he said, "it needs to be boiled first. Should be safe to swim."

    Iris dropped her bottomless bag on the ground, her walking stick clattering to the ground beside it as she blipped away and re-appeared out over the water. She crashed into it in a ball and then delightedly shot her head back out with an infectious laugh.

    "Hell yeah, CANNON BALL!" Autumn ran forward, leaping with all the might of her strength attribute and crashing into the water with an even bigger splash than Iris.

    Eli sighed, "sometimes I think we''d have been better off recruiting actual children."

    "Yep," Victoria said, slipping off her shoes and outer layers, "you''re on first watch." She patted him on the shoulder as she walked by him to join the others in the water.

 26 - Early Morning Training

    Iris awoke softly the next morning. She rubbed her eyes as she sat upright, gazing out over the pond covered in a pillow of fog. She wore plain trousers and a tunic borrowed from Victoria, who was closest to her in size. Her long black hair was freshly washed and finally free of the bandages Mrs. Rousey had wrapped her head in. Her clothes hung on a small branch above her, and her hat rested on a rock nearby, a stick placed inside it propped up the peak of the hat to dry.

    "Just in time!" Autumn said as she approached, "let''s go swing some swords."

    "What?" Iris asked groggily, then let out a tiny yell when Autumn grabbed her hand and yanked her to her feet.

    "Come on, Titus is waiting!"

    Autumn ran off away from camp, and after a second of confusion, Iris blipped after her. They arrived in a small clearing on the far side of the pond, where Titus was in his workout clothes doing stretches.

    "What are we starting with?" Autumn asked excitedly.

    "Stretching," Titus said, "do as I do."

    Autumn groaned, but Iris was glad to start with something easy. Titus lead them through a series of stretches designed to loosen up the muscles they would be using the most, primarily upper body, arms, and legs. Iris was shocked to find that Titus, despite his large frame, was significantly more flexible than both of them. After the stretches, Titus directed Autumn to summon them three training swords.

    Autumn approached the trunk of a redwood, scrambling on top of bulging roots to reach the true trunk above it. She placed her hands on the trunk, breathed deeply, then with one hand she began pulling a handle from the tree as it pushed its way past bulging bark. She gripped the handle and slowly pulled out the wood sword from the trunk as if it was being constructed as it was unsheathed.

    Iris looked on in wonder, "I thought you could only do that with rocks?"

    "Rocks and dirt are my specialty," Autumn replied, then smiled deviously, "but I''m a Matter Witch, give me time and I can work with anything."

    Titus took the sword she produced. It was made entirely of exposed-grain wood, finely shaped to mimic a claymore sword, and seemed to be finished with an oil coating that was somehow already dried into the wood. Titus balanced the sword on one hand and nodded approvingly, before tossing it to Iris.

    She caught it with both arms outstretched, like catching a log tossed into her chest. It was shockingly heavy, and she crouched down to one knee as she let it tumble onto the ground in front of her.

    As Autumn pulled a second sword from the trunk, Titus gripped the handle and swung it around to point at Iris, just an inch from her throat, "first death, never drop your sword."

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    Iris creased her brow at him, then stubbornly grabbed the handle with both hands and stood to her feet as she hoisted up the heavy sword. She knew from reading that regular swords weighed much less than this, even large claymore-style swords, but she also knew that adventurers didn''t use regular weapons. Any weapon worth using for a high level adventurer would be made of exotic materials that weighed much more than plain steel, so she did not complain.

    As it was, she could hold up the weight of the sword with effort, and the balance just a few inches from the cross guard made it mostly wieldable. Clumsily, she angled the blade towards Titus, who laughed.

    "Good, keep that energy," he said, deftly twirling his sword in one hand to plant the tip of it into the ground by his feet. He watched Autumn pull the final wooden sword from the trunk, and then instructed the two of them to line up behind him.

    He took them through a series of simple sword forms, designed to familiarize them with the weight distribution of the sword and the basic wrist and foot motions they would be building on as a foundation. Autumn was already familiar with the basics, and appeared bored and dissatisfied with the training. More than once, Titus caught her getting ahead and attempting extra flourishes or fancy moves, which he quickly shut down. Meanwhile, Iris focused diligently on the training, watching Titus closely and mimicking his movements as best she could.

    Soon sweat dripped off her face in the humid morning air, and the muscles in her arms and core began to ache. Still, she continued. After the rigid structure of the first half, the rest of the lesson consisted of Titus watching while Autumn and Iris were given free rein to practice any of the moves they had gone over. Autumn favored wide, reckless swings, which kept Titus busy trying to point out and help plug the gaps she left open in her defense. Iris took a liking to a particular move that involved swinging the sword up and backwards in an arc, then tucking the blade close to the body as she swung it forward in an upward slash. The length of the sword made the move difficult, requiring her to twist her torso and raise her two-handed grip close in front of her face to keep the tip of the sword from hitting the ground during the upper cut. She practiced this move over and over until she was able to perform it well enough that she felt a feeling of power and accomplishment that made her smile wide.

    "That''s enough," Titus said eventually, at which point Iris immediately dropped the sword and stretched her shoulders. He brought the blade of his sword up to her neck. "Second death."

    <hr>

    Iris, Autumn and Titus washed their faces in the pond, then set about their respective tasks. Titus began packing up camp, while Autumn collected some last minute ingredients for breakfast. Iris blipped back to her bedroll and checked her clothes to see if they were dry. Satisfied, she took them down, grabbed her hat -- which was still kind of wet -- and blipped away to privacy to change.

    She returned to camp far more put together than anyone there had seen her before. Her hair was shiny black, tied into a low but tight ponytail at the back of her neck. Wisps of hair escaped from the brim of her wizard hat in front of her ears and framed her face. Her clothes were as clean as they could be, and though they were still stained with blood and mud in some places the black fabric did wonders to hide it.

    Eli turned from where he was brushing Glimmer''s fur and tending to her feathers, but Autumn was the first to speak.

    "Alright!" She said, marching up and placing her hands on her hips to inspect Iris, "now you''re lookin'' like an adventurer."

    "A bit evil, though," Titus observed.

    "I look evil?" Iris''s face dropped.

    "Yeah!" Autumn said with excitement, "like an evil wizard here to raise an army of the dead or something!"

    "You look fine," Eli said, getting back to his task.

    Iris looked towards Victoria, who held up two fingers pinched close together.

 27 - The Healer and the Chef

    The next day''s travel was relatively leisurely. Even Eli, ever vigilant, began to relax somewhat. Though no one was bold enough to speak it out loud, they all felt a sense of relief and hope that their string of harrowing encounters seemed to be broken for now. By now, the party was settling into the idea of Iris carrying most of their gear in her bottomless bag, and only Autumn bothered to wear her backpack at all. This was mostly so she could fill it to the brim with ingredients and cool rocks -- which Iris was delighted to find Autumn shared an interest in. They talked as they walked, and at one point the others began recounting for Iris how they had all met and formed a team.

    "Me and Titus were both hanging out in this little town called Tinton looking for a crew. We didn''t know each other yet though."

    "Tinton is a border settlement on the coast, just at the southwestern edge of the Giantrock desert," Eli added, "it''s where most adventurers around our level launch from when they set off into Giantrock."

    "Eli and I had sailed there together from Everveil, looking to put together an expedition party," Victoria said, "we were lucky to find these two before they got snatched up by another group."

    "We found that one working as an unpaid intern in a seafood restaurant," Eli pointed at Autumn.

    "They had so many exotic fish to work with! Best three days of my life, honestly."

    "And they found me about to get my ass kicked," Titus said.

    Eli laughed, "yeah, what was it again? You insulted their powers or something?"

    "I insulted the way they use their powers," Titus corrected, "nothing wrong with the powers themselves."

    Iris blipped up beside Titus and gave him a curious look.

    "It was this group of clerics in a tavern," he explained, "they spat on my boots for being a battle healer, so I pointed out that at least my patients aren''t corpses by the time I treat them."

    "Wait, aren''t you a cleric? Shouldn''t you guys get along?"

    Titus''s face fell slightly, "I''m no cleric. That''s a story for another day. The part that matters is that they believe a healer''s place is off the battlefield, trying to salvage life from casualties after they''ve suffered and bled out long enough to be evacuated -- if they even are."

    "You disagree?" Iris asked.

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    "Absolutely. I want to be in there where action is, saving lives when it matters most."

    "Isn''t that the same line that got you backed into a corner with a lightning bolt in your hand, surrounded by five guys in holy gear?" Eli asked, "it wasn''t the best look."

    "But you recruited him anyway?" Iris asked.

    "I''ll take a guy who can kick ass and cure my wounds over a guy who just does the last part, any day."

    "So, how did it go?" Iris asked both of them eagerly, "how did you beat the clerics?"

    "It was just a scuffle," Titus said sheepishly.

    "He put someone''s head through a table," Victoria said.

    "I took out another guy''s legs from behind and Titus broke a barstool on his chest," Eli said.

    "They''re exaggerating," Titus insisted, "let''s talk about Autumn."

    "Oh! Gladly!" Autumn piped up, "so there I was, pan-searing a fillet of the elusive white-tailed lantern eel, every second counts as I carefully maintain temperature at just the right level to neutralize the fatal toxins in the flesh,"

    Autumn continued on for quite some time, describing the harrowing once-in-a-lifetime experience of cooking a rare fish while filling in for a chef who was out sick following a bad trip on pufferfish gas. Finally, she got to the point where the others arrived.

    "and boom!" she spread her hands wide in emphasis, the smoke erupts, that''s how you know it''s ready. That''s when Eli barged in," she gave him a side eye.

    "I thought there had been an accident in the kitchen," he explained innocently.

    "It was too late after that," Autumn said solemnly, "after the puff of smoke you have two, maybe three seconds to get it out of the pan. Any longer and the charred flesh turns to ash. I looked up at Eli, then down at the pan, and it was ruined."

    Iris felt genuinely bad for Autumn, realizing how upsetting that had been and still was for her. She still had to fight back a smile creeping up on her face at how ridiculous the whole scenario was.

    "So, that''s the story of how Eli got me fired. I told him he owed me a job, so he offered me one. Now we''re here."

    "I still don''t think you can call it being fired if you weren''t even getting paid," Eli defended. It was clear to Iris that the ensuing argument was a continuation of one that had come up many times before, but it was all in good spirit and full of laughter.

    The party continued on, traveling through miles of forest that all looked much the same. Soon the extra-large nature of the plants and animals started to become almost normal. Temperatures remained relatively stable, they were cool and crisp in the morning but quickly warmed to a comfortable mild heat and then slowly cooled as it grew darker. For Iris, it started to feel more like an extended hiking and camping trip with friends than a grand adventure, and after the week she''d had so far, she was more than happy with that for now.

    Autumn decided it would be a good night for a slow-roasted stew, and Eli decided they would set up camp somewhere ideal for concealing a fire. They made camp in the first good place they found, a ring of trees that was particularly overgrown with brush -- which was itself as dense and tall as a small patch of regular forest. Inside the outer ring of brush, however, was a clearing large enough for a somewhat spacious campsite.

    Eli approached Iris as she lay out her bedroll, "I''ll be taking first watch again tonight, you''re up second."

    "Okay," she said cheerily, then paused for a moment, "by myself?"

    "Can you handle it?"

    "Yeah," she nodded with determination.

    "Then I''ll wake you up when it''s your turn."

 28 - Night Watch

    There were many sounds in the forest at night. The underbrush rustled from the scurrying of rodents of unusual size, the occasional deep hoot of unseen owls echoed through the canopy, and a background chorus of bug sounds blended together until each individual chirp, click or buzz was indiscernible.

    Iris sat in the dark atop a branch in the lowest layer of the middle canopies. She watched over the campsite far below, faintly lit by the remains of the fire. She was mostly undisturbed here, though occasionally a large bug would zoom past with a thunderous buzz that was gone as fast as it came. She jumped the first time, and the second, but soon grew used to it.

    She had spent the past few days running through scenarios in her head, recounting the wisdom Eli had imparted during their watches and patrols, and building plans on how she would respond to any number of threats or problems. What she hadn''t prepared for, however, was how boring night watch by herself would be. She resisted the urge to sit by the fire and read, knowing she would be too absorbed in anything she read to properly keep watch, and she spent most of her time outside the fire''s light anyway to keep her eyes adjusted to the dark. The most she had done so far, over an hour into her watch, was occasionally tend the fire to keep it burning.

    A familiar feeling crept on her, one that she had kept at bay over the recent days by staying active and busy. It was these moments of quiet when the feeling returned, a sense of disbelief, wonder, and exasperation at her circumstances. Just a week ago she had been in the small forest just outside of her quaint village in the valley, listening to the familiar sounds she''d heard her entire life and dreaming of lands unknown. Now, she was here, deep within those lands, hearing the songs of a forest that echoed memories of her own while still being wholly alien to her ears.

    She had seen more of the world in the past few days than she had seen in all her life before this, and faced more dangers and mysteries than all her life before as well. She thought back to the strange ziggurat in the plains, the mysterious tunnel that lead into the depths, and the light that flashed in the dark. Something about that mattered, she was certain of it. Images of the carvings on the walls flashed through her mind, lingering on the visage of the recurring red dragon that seemed to appear following the greatest battles.

    Her mood shifted, and a smile crept across her face, soon growing into an involuntary laugh. She was really here, she was having the adventures she had always wanted. Years of preparation for a life that it had felt like would never come, countless hours of reading adventure magazines, running through the woods, and dreaming of great magical beasts. Then, all at once, it had come true. This was only the beginning, and she was going to be a great adventurer.

    Movement caught her eye. Autumn''s backpack, which had been beside her where she slept, was being dragged into the brush at the edge of the clearing. She stood quickly and peered intently at the motion. It was inconsistent, a series of forceful tugs like a dog pulling on a rope toy. She disappeared from her perch.

    After a short string of teleports, she reappeared further in the brush in the direction the backpack was moving. A large, rounded shape shook and convulsed as it yanked on the backpack, its long spindly tail flicking around behind it. Iris pulled her bottomless bag from her waist, reached into it to grab the hilt of her wooden claymore, and then pulled the bag away from her hand and let it slide down the length of the wooden blade until it fell off the tip and landed softly on the ground.

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    The rodent didn''t seem to notice. She deliberately coughed, and it froze in place for a second before whipping around to face her. It was as large, if not larger than the jackals they had fought in the grasslands, with dark black orbs for eyes and a mouth of vicious, crooked teeth which it bared with a hiss. It arched its back like a cat to look bigger and postured defensively.

    "You can''t have that," she nodded towards the backpack behind it, "sorry."

    The rodent leapt forward with a vicious bite, flying through the air where Iris had just been. She reappeared off the side, and spoke again.

    "This isn''t gonna work out for you, little guy," she said to the creature that was at least her size.

    It hissed again and scurried towards her, stopping to look around in confusion as she disappeared again. She watched it with amusement, unable to deny that it was kind of cute as it angrily sniffed the air.

    Something slammed into her. She hit the ground with a thud as her training sword clattered across the ground. She instinctively held back the gnarly maw with an arm against the creature''s neck. She blipped away, reappearing beside her fallen sword. She grabbed it as she scrambled to her feet and squared up with the two rodents, both now eying her eagerly. She held the sword with both hands, waving the long blade in front of her back and forth between the creatures. She dared to dart her eyes around to check for more rodents, and one of them leapt.

    Its teeth sunk into the wooden blade as she blocked while the other rodent charged towards her. With a panicked grunt, she twisted her weight and swung the sword -- giant heavy rat attached. Its bite slipped and it was flung off by the momentum, slapping into its ally and turning its charge into a sideways tumble. Iris heard more rustling in the bushes.

    "Alright," she said, trying to keep herself calm, "let''s try going for a run."

    She grabbed her bag from the ground and placed it near her waist where it tied itself to her belt. As the rodents recovered, she blipped past them. They turned to face her again, and she waved before taking off into the brush.

    The rodents followed as she darted through the forest floor. She kicked off roots and rocks, blipping forward every second or two as the rodents clambered after her. She heard more join the chase, and soon the chittering, hissing and scritch-scratching of their feet built into an ominous soundtrack to the chase.

    Up ahead, some birds flew from their nests and lizards scurried away. As she reappeared from a blip, a rodent leapt out towards her from the side. She turned and smacked it with the sword, knocking it aside in the air. She spun in place, quickly scanning her surroundings where more rodents came from all directions. She looked up to a branch high above and teleported, placing a hand on the trunk when she appeared to steady herself from the mana drain.

    Back down below, the small horde of rats hissed angrily, some digging and burrowing around through the brush in search while others broke out into fights with each other. Others still climbed up the trunks of the nearby trees, scurrying up towards the canopy. She counted a rough two dozen total before she started blipping from branch to branch across the canopy.

    She didn''t go back to camp, but instead stayed close to the horde while being sure to stay outside of reach. She couldn''t risk them finding their way back to camp, and she couldn''t fight them herself. She needed a plan.

    She landed on another branch after a leaping teleport, and turned to survey the woods around her. The trees were moving. She glanced down at the darkness below, the trunks descending into the shadowy floor of the forest, each one appearing to move in the same direction. With horror, her eyes shifted to the branch beneath her feet. It was striped with a ragged grey and brown pattern, unusually round, and undulating.

 29 - The Snake

    Iris leapt, acting on instinct that hadn''t caught up to having powers yet. She heard a quick, deafening hiss and then a dreadful sound like spitting as the snake struck. A rat whimpered as it died. She was falling too fast now, using her teleport to skip distance to the ground wouldn''t save her from slamming into it. The forest floor was rapidly approaching.

    She looked up and blinked. She appeared in the air. In her practice, she had learned that momentum carried over not in the direction she had originally been moving, but in the direction that she teleported. Her plummet to the ground now launched her into the air as she reappeared. As she reached the peak of her vertical launch, she glanced around for a place to land and instead saw the lunging maw of a giant snake.

    She blipped downwards as far she could, just as she hung suspended for a moment at the peak. She blipped two more times nearly instantly, rapidly closing the distance to the ground before she could pick up too much speed again. She came out of the last blip and landed harshly with a grunt and a crouch. Her head ached from mana loss and her heart threatened to pop with each beat.

    The rats were nowhere to be seen, but the snake slithered its way down the trunk of a redwood in a winding path.

    "Fuck, fuck, fuck," Iris whispered to herself, sliding the wooden sword into her bag and glancing around. She had lost her bearings, and the dark forest looked the same on all sides. The snake was shockingly fast for its size. She had to move.

    She picked a direction and ran, quickly maxing out the pace of both her sprint and teleport, and lunging forward to throw momentum into her teleports whenever practical. The snake reached the forest floor behind her, and its speed doubled. It effortlessly winded its way over and between the massive roots, shooting through the forest at a frightening pace and rustling the understory trees like bushes in its wake.

    Iris kept her mana just above the threshold of dizziness, still taking on a growing headache from keeping it as low as she was. She glanced behind her, the snake was gaining. Soon her leg muscles screamed and threatened to give out, and a sharp side-stitch cramp stabbed through her torso. She began timing her teleports with her breath, breathing in just before and breathing out just after. She settled into a rhythm, pushing through the pains, keeping her teleports level on the tops of the roots to make the most of her range, and kicking off harder with every teleport. There was still no camp in sight, and dread crept in. Then she caught a flash of glowing red flying through the shadows.

    The bolt of magic slammed into the snake''s head, knocking it off course. It moved with the blow, dipping to the side and behind a large tree. Iris caught the shadow of a griffin through the air, it''s wings tucked close but its talons outstretched -- and a rider on its back. Another bolt flashed behind a tree in the direction they landed, critters of all kinds scurried from their nests and hiding spots as the shock wave rang through the forest.

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    Iris rushed forward, teleporting beyond the tree and into the fight. The red glow of the freshly carved runes on Eli''s staff illuminated a grave, determined face. He was mounted on Glimmer, who dug the eagle talons extending from her lion paws into the scales atop the snake''s head. One paw swatted repeatedly at an eye.

    Eli aimed his staff over the side of his saddle, pointing at the exposed scales under glimmer. His aim was jostled by the thrashing of the snake, his attention turned to keeping balance on the griffin''s back as the two were violently slung around. Even still, he kept trying to aim a shot.

    Eli felt the weight of another person on the saddle, pressed against his back.

    "What do I do?" Iris shouted.

    "I need it to sit still!" Eli shouted back.

    "Sure," Iris said incredulously, "yeah, sure, that''s easy," she disappeared.

    A whirling slideshow of the forest played out in front of Eli as the snake twisted, coiled and reared in attempts to shake off Glimmer, who had now began pecking at an eye. The snake¡¯s jaw was now unhinged and stretched out wide as it writhed in pain, leaving Glimmer and Eli clinging to the snake from the side rather than sitting on top

    Iris appeared crouched on a branch and paused for a few seconds to look on, genuinely wondering what she was supposed to do. She spotted a bulge in the snake''s body from the rat -- or rats -- it had eaten. She thought back to watching snakes in the woods back home, she had once seen one puke up its dinner.

    She appeared on the saddle behind Eli again, "I have a plan, be ready," and then she was gone. Eli charged his staff.

    Standing on a tree root in the path just behind the snake, she drew her wooden sword out of her bag hand-over-hand. She held it in a reverse grip with both hands, and tucked it by the side like it was sheathed. She ran after the snake, teleporting at upward angles to run along and kick off the tree trunks. The snake moved slowly and erratically now, and she quickly appeared above it.

    When she reached a satisfying height, she angled her teleport down, kicking off hard to add momentum. She appeared far from the snake, rocketing towards it, then disappeared again.

    She appeared close to the snake, feet first except for the blunt sword tip extending past them. She landed just at the base of the bulge, on the side further down the snake''s body. The wooden sword couldn''t pierce the scales, but it held solid. The impact was hard, and her feet followed just after it to deliver the rest of her energy.

    Nothing happened, Then the snake convulsed under her feet. The bulge began to move, pushed forward by muscles undulating beneath the scales. The snake outstretched, depositing a slimy lump of giant rodent on the ground. Its movement slowed for a moment as it withdrew, and a giant red bolt of magic blew through its head and thumped into the ground below.

    The snake''s head slumped to the ground, and everything was still. After a moment, Glimmer retracted her talons from the snake''s scales, and Eli took a deep breath. Iris appeared, standing on the snake beside glimmer.

    "Well," she gasped, "that wasn''t so bad."

    She couldn''t make out Eli''s face in the darkness, but she assumed it was a tired glare.

 30 - Dangerous Waters

    The morning sun glistened on the waters, and the shores of a massive bay lined the far horizon. The huge five-mast ship crashed through unnatural waves as water soaked the upper deck and poured down the steps into the decks below. Crewmembers held their stations with discipline, acting on every word barked by the first mate.

    A dark, hulking mass rushed beneath the surface of the water ahead of the ship, leaving a massive, rippled wake that created the artificial waves. Six harpoon lines were held taut and extended out from the bow of the ship, connecting the ship to the beast that dragged it forward faster than it could have traveled with its sails unfurled. Between the lines, at the center of the bow, extended a disproportionately large ivory horn, mounted firmly to the ship and pointing out like a sharpened battering ram.

    "We''re in the bay now, Captain," the first mate spoke. Her hair was black, and her skin a pale blue.

    "Drop the sails and slow us down," the captain replied, hands of smooth grey-blue scales constricting around the helm.

    The first mate turned to the deck and barked booming orders to the crew. Masts turned and soon sails unfurled, acting not to propel the ship but instead as windbreaks to slow it down. The sails bulged back as they caught the wind, the ship lurching and creaking as it rapidly slowed.

    A harpoon cable snapped, flying back and whipping into a crewmember. He was thrown back by the massive cable, slamming into a mast before falling to the deck. Orders were shouted, and soon the man was being carried below deck to the healer''s cabin. No sooner was a new harpoon loaded and fired, traveling impossibly far and arcing through the air before fins at its base flared and abruptly turned it downwards. It shot into the water with a splash, and a moment later a giant serpent-like head erupted from the water and roared in pain.

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    "Hit!" The harpooner called out.

    The call was echoed down by crew members down the length of the ship until it reached the captain, who snarled in approval. The ship groaned and lurched as the head dove below water and the beast pulled ahead even harder.

    "Captain," the first mate began hesitantly.

    "She can take it," he replied sharply.

    "You said that last time," she said bravely and with a defiant stare.

    The captain turned his beady black eyes on her, squinting the blue, scaly skin around them as his snarl revealed rows of triangular teeth.

    "You don''t scare me," she said, pointing beyond the bow, "that thing does."

    He glared for a second longer, and then erupted into laughter. His large shark maw was agape and all his teeth on display as his bellowed his deep, guttural laugh. As he regained his composure, he looked ahead to the bow of the ship.

    "One of these days, Meredith," he said, before raising his voice to boom orders across the deck, "slack the lines and furl the sails, let her think she''s escaped."

    Harpooners released levers on their harpoons, and the spools of cable spun as they rapidly unwound. Ropes were pulled, and the sails began to furl closed again as distance grew between the ship and its quarry.

    "Take the helm," the captain said to his first mate.

    He stepped aside and removed his deep blue, gold trimmed coat, dropping it to the deck. From a distance he might look every bit a man with a shark''s head on his shoulders, but up close it was revealed that his whole body was covered in the smooth scales of sharkskin. His chest, inner arms and chin were all creamy white and grey, while his pointed snout, head, outer arms and back where a light blue. His body was crisscrossed with scars, with several large gashes across his chest most prominent.

    "Captain?" His first mate inquired as the Shark Titan stepped onto the railing of the ship.

    "The beast may not stop before it reaches the shore, I''ll need to be there if she gets feisty. The ship is yours until I return."

    Without waiting, he dove into the water.

 31 - The Next Day

    The events of the night before didn''t save Iris from being awakened for training. Autumn questioned her about the bite marks on her training sword, but was quickly told by Titus to save it for after training. Their lesson today was on where and how to hold the sword between strikes, and how to transition between stances. Iris was extremely thankful that it was a slow and easy lesson as she began to feel the aches and pains of last night''s exertion on top of the exhaustion she already felt.

    Titus cooked breakfast that morning, simple omelets made from eggs that Autumn had foraged the day before. This freed up Autumn to go with Eli to harvest from the giant snake. Iris caught up with them soon after to dump the slabs of meat wrapped in snakeskin, along with the carefully wrapped fangs of the creature, into her bottomless bag. At breakfast, Victoria, Eli and Iris each explained their parts of the story.

    "What do you mean you don''t sleep?" Autumn quizzed Victoria almost immediately after she began.

    "I said it''s not exactly sleep," Victoria corrected, "it''s more like a meditation. The point is, I can still sense auras while I''m asleep if they¡¯re strong enough, like a giant snake chasing an extremely scared new girl."

    "I wasn''t that scared," Iris defended weakly, "it was just intense, that''s all."

    "She actually did hold it together pretty well," Eli said, "I mean, she was terrified, but she held it together."

    Iris was very glad to hear the praise, especially from Eli, who she expected to be the most critical of her performance.

    "Do you guys think that was the serpent the turtle mentioned?" Autumn asked.

    "No," Victoria said, "he was referring to a great beast, a Titan. Let''s hope we don''t meet that one."

    "Agreed," Eli said.

    "So," Victoria continued, "Iris lead the snake just close enough to camp for me to catch a sense of the aura and wake up. Once I recognized her aura, I woke Eli to go after her."

    "Why not me and Autumn too?" Titus asked.

    "I''ve worked with Eli long enough to know that he could handle it, and you two take forever to wake up."

    That comment sparked a back and forth between Victoria, Autumn and Titus. With Autumn turning on Titus and claiming he was worse than she was, to which he claimed that he''s awake before her every morning. Victoria jumped in to point out that he also goes to bed before everyone else, so that doesn''t really count. Eventually Eli cut them off to continue the story. Once he got to the part where he arrived at Iris and the snake, they took turns telling the story of the battle in tandem.

    Mercifully, Eli saved his lecture until they started traveling for the day. He and Iris lagged behind the others, while he quietly explained what she should have done at various points.

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    "For starters, leading the rats away from camp wasn''t a bad idea. It''s going so far from camp, especially in a place where it''s difficult to find your way back, that was your big mistake. Not fighting the snake was another good choice, but you didn''t make the best use of the terrain to slow it down like you could have. Snakes are faster than you''d think, but they''re slowest when they''re climbing. With powers like yours in a forest like this, I''d suggest sticking to the smallest, weakest branches you can find, and focus on crossing large gaps. It would have struggled with the gaps, and if you were lucky a branch might have broken under it."

    Iris paid close attention, committing the advice to memory. She was silently thankful that Eli preferred constructive criticism over harsh admonishment.

    "The most important thing," he continued, "is that you don''t leave camp unguarded. If you have to flee camp while on watch, it should be a priority to wake someone up to cover watch while you''re gone. Even if that means screaming and shouting while you run away."

    The gang traveled for much of the day, as usual. They set up camp inside of a hollowed stump of a long fallen redwood. It was open at the top for the smoke of their fire to escape, but contained the light to all but the naturally occurring V shaped entrance in the base. The space inside was large enough for all of their bedrolls, while Glimmer found a spot to curl up under a large bush that grew just beside the entrance.

    While Autumn cooked dinner, Victoria pulled Iris aside.

    "I''ve been watching you train with Titus," she said, "you seem to be taking it pretty seriously."

    "I don''t want to be a liability to you guys," Iris replied, "I wanna be able to pull my own weight. Besides, being trained by real adventurers is literally a dream come true."

    "Think you could handle even more training, then?"

    "Absolutely!" Iris answered in a hurry, "what are you going to teach me? Meditation? How to see auras?"

    "Slow down," Victoria laughed, "yes, there will be some meditation. I can''t teach you to see auras, you need the right ability for that, but I can teach you to sense them. More importantly, I can teach you to better control your own."

    "So people don''t know when I''m terrified?"

    "Exactly."

    "I''m in, when do we start?"

    Victoria glanced at Autumn, who was grinding up spices next to the fire where a pot of water had just begun to boil, "we still have a while before dinner''s ready, why not now?"

    "Okay!" Iris was resisting the urge to jump with excitement.

    Victoria looked upwards, then back at Iris, "race you to the top?"

    She faded into a foggy mist, which immediately began drifting upwards.

    Iris was caught off guard, but immediately began plotting a teleport route up the many branches of the trees. Once she had the first half planned out, she started teleporting. She blipped through the first few stops quickly, appearing next to trunks and kicking off before blipping away and appearing near another to do it again. Once she reached the first layer of large branches she stopped to plan the next portion of her course while her mana recharged.

    The slow moving cloud that was Victoria had the luxury of moving in a straight line, and was still ahead of her. With a huff, she launched off the branch and continued the race. Iris arrived at one of the top most branches of one of the tallest trees just seconds after Victoria began rematerializing on it.

    "My feet," she huffed as she doubled over to lean on her knees, "they touched first."

    Victoria looked down at her legs, still reforming from the cloudy mist as she hovered above the branch.

    "Oh, is that how it is?" She asked.

    "Yep," Iris said, still regaining her breath.

    "Alright, you can have this one. Next time though, I''m actually going to hurry."

    Iris looked up at her incredulously.

    "This is the perfect chance to start your lesson," Victoria said, "slow breaths, in your nose and out your mouth. One after the other."

    Iris got her breathing under control and straightened upright with one particularly large breath.

    "Good, now take a seat."

 32 - Aura Training

    While the forest below was already enveloped in darkness, the sun was still setting above the redwood canopy. From their perch at the top of the forest, Iris and Victoria looked out across a sea of leaves bathed in warm, orange light. With the sun to their backs, the dimming sky ahead revealed an early glimpse at the orange-purple moon. The pair sat cross-legged on the branch, eyes closed and taking slow, measured breaths.

    "Everyone can sense auras, even those without powers," Victoria explained, keeping her eyes closed as she spoke, "the higher your spirit attribute, however, the more sensitive you''ll be to them."

    "I don''t feel like I''m sensing anything," Iris said, also keeping her eyes closed.

    "You are, you just aren''t noticing it. Auras are all around us, bombarding us from all directions at all times. Every living thing has one. If you sensed them all the time, and without the proper training, it would probably drive you mad."

    There was silence for a while as the two focused on their breathing.

    "Have you ever noticed how things feel calmer in the winter?" Victoria asked, "not just quieter, but somehow slower, more still?"

    "Yeah, winters are always slower. That''s because there''s less animals around, right?"

    "Yes, and fewer plants, too. It doesn''t just feel calmer because it''s quieter. It feels that way, in part, because there are fewer auras, and the life that remains is often less active. Pay attention to the life of this forest, imagine how it might feel different in the winter. In that difference lies the auras you''re looking for."

    Several moments passed before Iris spoke again.

    "It''s like a pressure," Iris said, "like the air itself is thick."

    "Yes, that''s the feeling. It''s not the air that''s thick, though. It''s the ever-swirling soup of auras all around you. Focus on that, get familiar with it."

    Iris did her best to do as she was instructed, but the feeling she was trying to focus on wasn''t really even a feeling. It just sort of felt like something she knew, something she was aware of without actually feeling it at all. It reminded her of how it felt when she used her teleport power, though different in key ways. This awareness was distinctly external, and much more discrete. It blended seamlessly with her other senses, sometimes leaving her to wonder if she was actually aware of anything at all. The warmth of the sun on her back, the humidity of the air around her, the distant audible hum of a lively forest below, these were all things that she consistently mistook for the aura soup, only to then notice they were coming from her other senses.

    She sighed suddenly, "I don''t think this is working."

    "You''re doing great," Victoria assured her, "it''ll get easier as you level up, especially as your Spirit attribute rises, but you''ll be better off having started now. Keep breathing."

    The two sat in silence for quite some time, until the sun had set behind them and the breeze had chilled. Then the faint scent of a different kind of soup caught Iris''s attention.

    "Do you smell that?" she asked, opening her eyes to look at Victoria.

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    "Snake soup," she replied, meeting her gaze.

    "Race you to the bottom?" Iris asked

    With a nod, Victoria began disintegrating into fog that fell down and around the branch towards the forest''s floor. Iris rolled backwards, letting herself fall from the branch and tumble in the air on her way down.

    She teleported side to side to dodge branches on her way down, falling faster and faster as the ground below raced upwards. When the ground grew close, she spun in the air and blipped a short distance upwards, reversing her momentum. Her stomach lurched at the peak of her arc in the air, and in that moment of stillness she blipped to the ground, landing lightly on her feet just outside of the tree trunk camp. Even as her heart raced in her chest from the thrill, she smirked at Victoria''s cloud form trailing behind her.

    The camp was lively upon their return. Autumn was tossing pieces of snake meat into the air for Glimmer to gleefully catch, Titus was carrying branches and leaning them up against the tree trunk to provide more cover for the entrance, and Eli was carving even more runes into his staff.

    "It''s about time!" Autumn said, as Iris approached, "grab a bowl!"

    Everyone took seats around the campfire within the trunk, forming a circle that was becoming quite familiar to Iris. Autumn usually sat to her right, and beyond sat Titus. To her left, also as usual, was Victoria, and beyond her was Eli. As they each filled their bowls, Autumn told them every detail of how she had prepared the meal, spending quite some time on the intricacies of snake meat and how the temperature and cooking times vary compared to other meats.

    Titus asked Iris about her aura training, and Iris explained the parts she struggled with while excitedly exclaiming that she was still glad to be doing it, and couldn''t wait to learn more. Titus insisted that she promise it wouldn''t overshadow her martial training, which she did.

    Eli was the first to finish his bowl, and soon after he started a more serious conversation.

    "We''ll likely see nothing but forest again tomorrow," he started, "but the following day we should reach the shore of the lake. The good news is that we''ll only be a day out from Giantrock at that point, the bad news is that we should expect to start running into other adventurers. We''re lucky we haven''t yet."

    "I still don''t understand why that''s such a big deal," Iris said, having heard Eli mention other adventurers in an ominous tone several times now.

    "We haven''t had any trouble yet," Eli said, "before you showed up we came across a few old camps, at one point we saw another party in the distance, but our paths didn''t cross. I''ve heard stories worth being wary of, though."

    "What kind of stories?" Iris asked.

    "Robberies, disappearances, blatant murder sometimes. One guy in Tinton told me about a team a few Hunts back that would kidnap stragglers from other teams and use them as bait for monsters."

    "Adventurers wouldn''t do that," Iris replied, almost angrily.

    "You''re in the wilderness now," Eli said, "this isn''t a magazine, and reality is uglier than you think."

    "Nah," Iris said, suddenly dismissive, "I like to think reality is actually a lot prettier than people think. And sillier."

    Eli laughed, half earnestly and half with pity, "check back in with me in a month or two, let me know if you still think that."

    "Will do, captain."

    "Don''t call me captain."

    <hr>

    Iris had first watch that night. As the others settled down to sleep, she sat outside, on the edge of the cone of light spilling of from the entrance to the tree trunk in which they camped. Turning so the light would catch the pages, she opened her Adventurer Journal. It flipped to the usual page, and the words began restructuring as the information was updated.

    IRIS ORION

    Hero Rank, Level 4

    Experience Points: 5904 / 6510

    Progress to next level: 90.69%

    Iris was shocked at the progress she had made, but more so she was overwhelmed with excitement. She remembered she could expect a new ability at level 5, and instantly her mind started racing about what it might be. With only one ability to base it off of, however, she found her ideas quickly getting away from her. Still, she couldn''t help but daydream. Before she lost herself in her fantasies, she decided to ask the others tomorrow about her sudden progress, and what she could do to reach Level 5 as soon as possible.

 33 - Glimpses of Friends and Foes

    The first sightings of other parties began early the next day. First, during a routine scan of their surroundings with her aura vision, Victoria saw the auras of another group traveling parallel to them some distance away. The forest blocked the line of sight many times over, and she guessed that the other group wasn''t aware of them yet. Eli had the gang divert course away from the strangers, traveling more at an angle towards the edge of the forest than a straight line as they had previously.

    At another point, Eli instructed the rest of the gang to stop and wait while he and Victoria scouted ahead. They were gone for several minutes, during which time Autumn foraged around for nuts and berries on the forest floor. They returned as Autumn was dumping handfuls into Iris''s bag.

    "Another group," Eli reported, "Giantrock is a big region, but we''re all heading to the same city. It was only a matter of time before we started converging on each other."

    "Yeah, converging," Autumn said sarcastically, "this definitely isn''t happening because you kept mentioning it."

    "We''ve been over this Autumn," Eli said, "there''s no scholarly evidence for the law of attraction."

    "Eh," Victoria doubted, giving Eli an apologetic look.

    "Don''t start," he said with a pointed finger.

    "So what do we do?" Titus asked.

    "We keep going," Eli said, "we''ll keep avoiding contact as much as we can, but running into other groups is inevitable at this point."

    "What if we tried to make friends?" Iris suggested.

    "There''ll be time for that when we''re safe in the city," Eli said, "well, relatively safe, anyway. Giantrock City isn''t known for its law and order."

    "You make this place sound pretty rough," Iris said.

    "It has rough edges," Victoria said, "but it''s not that bad. He just likes to worry."

    "I don''t like to worry--" Eli cut himself off, raising his staff to aim between the trees, "someone''s here."

    "Finally!" Autumn said, crouching to conjure two axes from the dirt.

    "Their auras are weak," Victoria said, the veins around her eyes bulging as they turned grey. She spun in place to quickly scan their surroundings, "three, maybe four. Can''t pin them all down."

    The foliage around them was rustling, and more than a few branches broke under heavy footsteps. A hulking figure leapt out from behind a tree and landed in a battle stance. His loose fitting platemail clanked with each movement, he wielded a large zweihander-style sword and stared down Titus. An archer slipped out from behind a tree opposite him, drawing an arrow leveled at Eli. A small woman in mismatched leather armor dropped from a branch above, landing amongst the group and placing a dagger against Iris''s neck.

    "What are we thinking?" Titus asked, his eyes still locked with those of the man in platemail.

    "I''m not worried," Eli said, giving Iris a knowing glance.

    Titus nodded, but didn''t move.

    "You should be," a voice spoke from somewhere in the trees, "wouldn''t want anything to happen to your tag-along."

    The woman holding a knife to Iris''s throat smiled devilishly. For Iris''s part, she seemed unbothered, giving a little wave from where she kept her hands held high and visible.

    "Drop your bags," the disembodied voice said, "then back away."

    Eli slowly pivoted his aim towards the trunk of a tree.

    "We''re not wearing any bags," Autumn said, "seriously did you guys do any recon?"

    "What?" the voice said, breaking his ominous character, "wait, where are your bags?"

    Eli coughed.

    Iris blipped away. Titus lunged forward, deftly grabbing his opponent''s sword with his gloved hands, twisting it aside and slamming a knee into his abdomen before ripping the sword from his grasp and slamming the pommel into his head. The loose helmet spun from the blow, leaving the man staring at the inside of his sideways helmet as he doubled over. Iris appeared on his back, kicking downwards and driving him into the ground before blipping away again.

    An arrow flew, racing towards Eli but knocked aside by a sweep of Glimmer''s wing, who turned and screeched in the direction it had come. Eli''s staff charged and released a pinpoint bolt of magic that blasted chunks from the tree he had been aiming for. A startled yelp could be heard, then a thin, finely dressed man with shaggy black hair revealed himself as he scrambled across the ground away from the blast.

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    Autumn caught the rogue woman off guard as she spun around looking for Iris. She twisted her hand axe around and struck with the blunt surface behind the blade. A single blow to the back of her head knocked the rogue out.

    "You guys suck at this," she said, nudging the woman with her foot.

    The archer had dipped back into the trees, but Victoria''s gaze was now locked on and followed her effortlessly with her aura vision. She placed a hand behind her back and conjured a single card, the Empress Reversed. She watched as the archer''s aura was filled with anxiety and distraction.

    Titus crouched down beside the armored man, grabbing his arm and twisting it behind his back to hold him in place. Eli closed in on the finely dressed man scrambling across the forest floor, his staff humming and glowing with the charge of a powerful blast as he kept it locked on the man. An arrow whizzed through the air and thunked into a tree nearby.

    "Hey!" A feminine voice shouted from where it had come.

    A second later, Iris reappeared beside Autumn holding up a prize, "I got her bow!"

    "You little shit!" Two throwing knives flew out of a bush, both landing in the dirt beside Iris and Autumn.

    Victoria conjured a second card, the Chariot Reversed. The archer''s aura filled with the dark colors of failure and defeat, "it''s over," Victoria spoke in an uncharacteristically commanding tone, "surrender."

    "Don''t listen to her!" The finely dressed man yelled.

    Eli placed a boot on his back and shoved him into the ground, "shut up."

    Victoria turned her gaze on the man, shifting the power of the Chariot onto him, and speaking in a deeper, angrier voice that reverberated in the air, "surrender."

    "Okay, okay!" The man''s voice trembled with fear, "We... We... Everyone run!"

    After the man shouted, he exploded into glitter.

    Eli stumbled forward as the man disappeared from beneath his feet. Victoria felt the archer''s aura grow distant as she fled. Autumn yelped as the rogue on the ground yanked her feet out from under her, then darted into the brush. With a grunt, the armored man rolled and threw Titus aside, then scrambled to his feet to run but stumbled after his first step.

    "Let them go," Eli commanded, groaning as he dusted the glitter from his boots, "they''re not worth the trouble."

    "You''re just going to let them disrespect us like that?" Autumn demanded.

    "Yes," Eli said simply, "chasing respect will get you killed. The best course of action is whatever gets the best results, and right now that''s letting those fools get away."

    Autumn groaned like a teenager being lectured.

    "It''s not like you to leave threats in the wind," Victoria said, glancing at Eli while she watched the last man scurry climb back to his feet, pick up his sword and finish scurrying away, "what if they come back?"

    "Then we kick their asses again," Eli said, "we shouldn''t let them distract us from the real threats."

    "Do you think the real threats explode into glitter too?" Iris asked.

    "Don''t let this color your perception, there are dangerous people in these woods--"

    "I''m just saying, that whole encounter was very silly."

    Autumn said, "I know you like to be right, Eli, but this was definitely a point towards Iris."

    "It was not a point towards--ugh," Eli gave up, "let''s keep moving. Iris, I want you in the trees, stay close but don''t stay still. Vic, keep your eyes up, I want constant updates on nearby auras. Autumn, no distractions."

    Eli climbed onto Glimmer''s back, leading the way as the griffin leapt onto a large root. Iris did as instructed, and blipped her way up into the trees. Even the lowest branches kept her high above her friends, giving a wide view of their surroundings. Though she mostly kept her eyes on them, she stole frequent nervous glances to her own surroundings to check for snakes. Eli took them at a faster pace than they had been accustomed to, eager to get out of the forest and into the open. They traveled for several hours without event, then Iris saw something up ahead.

    Iris appeared beside Eli and spoke, then interrupted herself as he jolted in surprise, "there''s something-- do you want me to say blip or not?"

    "It''s fine, what is it?" He asked urgently.

    "There''s a structure up ahead," she continued, "it looks like the ziggurat we saw in the plains."

    "Which way?"

    Iris pointed in the direction she''d seen the structure, though it couldn''t be seen from the ground.

    Eli promptly shifted course to the left of that direction.

    "Wait," Iris said, "aren''t we going to check it out?"

    "After what happened last time? Absolutely not."

    Iris opened her mouth to argue, but stopped. Last time had been kind of a disaster.

    "Hey," he said hesitantly, "you did good back there. With those bandits, I mean."

    "Yeah?" Iris said, almost rising to her toes with excitement, "did you see how I kicked off that guy''s back? Did it look cool?"

    "Being an adventurer isn''t about looking cool."

    Iris eyed his matching leathers, fine shirt and carefully pinned hair. Then his now ornately carved staff with runes that matched those on his silver gauntlets. Then she shifted her eyes over the griffin that he rode atop of.

    "I didn''t say we''re not allowed to look cool," he defended, "it''s just not what it''s about."

    "I''m just gonna go ask Autumn," Iris said, blipping away.

    "Don''t stay on the ground too long," he called out after her.

    They finished out the day''s travel without further incident. That night they camped in an unassuming spot between the roots of two especially thick trees. Iris settled in early, as she would have the morning watch. Before she closed her eyes to sleep, she peeked at her journal.

    IRIS ORION

    Hero Rank, Level 4

    Experience Points: 6302 / 6510

    Progress to next level: 96.80%

    She closed the book with a sigh. Victoria had explained earlier in the day that her recent experience gain was likely due to the training she had been doing, both with herself and Titus as well as the independent practice Iris had been doing with her teleport ability. Combined with her encounter with the rats and the snake, she was on a fast track to leveling up. It certainly didn''t feel like a fast track to Iris, though. She was desperate to gain more power and become a real adventurer, and no amount of reminding herself she was having real adventures already seemed to appease that desire. She drifted off to sleep with her hand on the journal and familiar fantasies on the mind.

 34 - Not A Beach Day

    A few hours into the next day''s travel, as Eli had projected, they reached the edge of the redwood forest. The roots of the massive trees held up a tall embankment on the edge of a white-sand beach. The sun glistened off the gentle waves that lapped the shore, and the waters stretched out past the distant horizon. A single ship rested on the waves far off shore. The light breeze from over the water was a welcome break from the oppressive, stagnant humidity of the forest.

    Though none of the adventurers would have any trouble reaching the beach below, Eli quickly forbade it. "This isn''t a beach day, we''d be far too exposed down there. Look," he pointed out towards the beach, "there''s already tracks, other groups have passed since the last tide. We stick to the forest''s edge until we reach the city."

    "You really do hate fun, don''t you?" Autumn asked with a deadpan look.

    "I''m with Eli this time," Victoria said, her grey eyes scanning the lake beyond, "there''s something big out there."

    Eli''s attention snapped to the water to search for threats. His eyes lingered on a ship in the distance. "What can you tell me?" he asked.

    "Not much," she replied, "but whatever it is, it''s really, really big. About halfway between us and that ship. It doesn''t seem interested in us, it might not even know we''re here. Still, I wouldn''t want to go near that water."

    They continued along the embankment. Even as they watched the forest and beach move along on either side of them, the ship remained a constant fixture in the distance. Only Eli and Victoria had the keen sight necessary to make out the ship''s flag, a black rectangle with a crude sketch of a shark''s serrated maw.

    "You know it?" Victoria asked quietly enough that the others, who were in conversation with each other, didn''t notice.

    "No," Eli replied, "but back in Tinton I heard some rumors about the Titans that might attend the Hunt. There''s a man they call the Shark Titan."

    Victoria eyed the ship wearily, "pirate?"

    "Yeah," Eli said gravely, "at least from what I hear, though, he''s more of the ''code of honor'' kind of pirate than the ''pillage and burn'' kind of pirate. Rumors are rumors, though, best we steer clear enough not to find out the truth."

    "Agreed."

    As the party rounded a patch of land that jutted out into the water, Autumn shouted out, "There it is! Look!" She rushed ahead, Titus jogged after her and Iris blipped close behind her where she stopped.

    In the cradle of a massive bay sat an incomprehensibly large shard of rock jutted out over the lake. It looked as if a tall, skinny mountain had been slammed down on the shore, then tipped over until it was almost horizontal. Even at such an angle, the peak of the rock still rose above the tips of all but the tallest redwoods.

    On the rock''s back was a city of wood and rope. Buildings of all shapes and sizes were crammed together atop it, seemingly held together with ropes and scaffolds that filled every crack. From this distance Iris couldn''t make out many of the smaller individual buildings, but several large structures could clearly be seen. Rising from the mass of haphazardly placed buildings were towers, spires, and what looked to be a small castle. Ropes and structures hung over the side of the rock, draping down towards the massive docks that filled the space below and around it on the shore.

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    Several groups of people dotted the beach between them and the city, and small boats filled the water of the bay. Some looked to be traveling adventurers making their way to the city, while others were fishing, swimming, or even partying. More than a few groups were laid out on towels enjoying the warm afternoon sun.

    Autumn turned to Eli and opened her mouth, but he spoke first.

    "It''s still not a beach day," he insisted, "we can all take leave soon, we''ve earned it, but today is about business."

    Autumn looked annoyed and disappointed, but didn''t argue.

    "It''s incredible," Iris said, her eyes wide and jaw agape.

    "Some call it the Jewel of the Frontier. There''s not a city like it in the world," Eli said, gazing out across the water as well, "everything so far was just the journey to get here, but this," he gestured with wide arms at the city and the bay beyond, "this is where the adventures really begin."

    "Come on!" Autumn said, hurrying ahead, "the sooner we get to the city the sooner we can eat! And sleep in actual beds!"

    "And get some new clothes," Victoria added wearily, looking down at her dirty garments.

    "I just hope there''s some decent armorers in this city," Titus added. His backplate still had the gashes sliced through it from the panther attack.

    "I''ll catch up," Eli said, notably more relaxed now that they were close to the city, "Iris, can you hang back for a second?"

    "Sure, what''s up?" she asked while the others went on ahead.

    "I need to take what''s left of Glimmer''s packs, and her saddle, and put them in your bag."

    "How come?" Iris asked with a worried look, "she''s not staying here, is she?"

    "I''m sure I could find stables for her in the city, but it wouldn''t be fair to her. We''ll be here a while, and I hate to think about her cramped in a little box with a bunch of other animals." He stroked the feathers on her neck and looked up at her with admiration as he spoke, "she''s a smart one, she''ll be alright out here, she can rejoin us when we set out for the hunt."

    Iris still wasn''t completely at ease with the creature, but for the most part she was comfortable around her and had even started to grow fond of her. "I''ll miss you, girl," Iris said, petting the soft fur around her saddle as she undid the straps. Glimmer responded with a trilling chirp and a soft nudge with her head.

    The remaining packs and saddle fit effortlessly into the bottomless bag as its opening stretched impossibly wide to accommodate them, then instantly shrunk back to size and cinched itself shut. Iris returned the bag to its usual place at her waist, said one final goodbye to Glimmer, then blipped away to leave Eli to say his goodbyes alone.

    <hr>

    Iris soon caught up to the others, who were moving at a leisurely pace along the beach. She glanced around in wonder at the variety of people on the beach. She had heard of the many different races that inhabited the world, but in her part of the empire it was rare to meet anyone who wasn''t human. She had met a few elves, there was a halfling merchant that would visit her valley once every few years, and on one occasion as a child she had seen a dwarf from across the street during a rare visit to the city. On this beach alone, she saw countless elves, halflings, and dwarves, not to mention several orcs, a few people with crystalline skin and feathered wings, and at least one man who appeared to have skin made of stone. There were many different clothing styles on display, as well. Not just in regional fashion, but in purpose as well. There were people in full armor, bloodied and scarred, walking past others in robes and swimwear. A moment later the same person might walk by someone wearing an animal-skin loincloth or a fine silk cloak.

    Regardless of their origin, clothing, or purpose on the beach that day, every head turned when screams echoed across the beach as several large somethings rose from the waters of the lake.

 35 - Head Start

    Team leaders shouted commands as adventuring parties rapidly mobilized. Booms of explosions, roars of rushing wind, and a chorus of magical emanations joined the loud splashing waves as countless adventurers along the beach employed their powers and abilities in a sudden rally.

    Three huge, serpentine necks had risen from the waters just offshore, each lined with blue-white scales and ending in heads with ferocious teeth and backward facing spikes on either side of the jaws.

    A massive wall of sand rose between Iris and the water, shielding her and countless others as one of the heads struck out towards them like a snake. It crashed through the sand and slammed into the beach, slowly rising back up, apparently dazed from the impact.

    Titus stepped up beside Iris, conjuring his floating spears of light in a row stretching out along the length of the extended neck. He called them down instantly, penetrating through the creature and leaving blackened spots where they struck. A large, lion-like man ran from the side and swung a massive hammer into the creature''s head, whipping it to the side like a powerful punch. The sand wall rose up again, this time enveloping a portion of the creature''s neck and compacting down into sandstone to hold it tightly in place.

    Iris looked back and saw Victoria retreating towards the forest.

    "Go!" Victoria shouted, "this fight''s too big for us!"

    Iris looked around the beach, she saw countless people tripping in the sand as they fled. She realized not everyone on the beach was an adventurer, and even many who were weren''t high enough level for a fight like this, and none were prepared for a sudden dire battle.

    "I''m gonna help!" She shouted back, blipping across the beach to assist someone who had tripped. She helped them to their feet, oriented them towards the forest and pointed, then blipped away again.

    Further up the beach, Eli charged his staff and released the most powerful shot he could. Red magic streaked through the air and struck an outstretched serpent, scorching the scales but causing no apparent damage. He swore, then charged another shot.

    Victoria reached the embankment and deftly leapt from root to root until she reached the forest above, where she engaged her vision power and scanned the beach. Horror crossed her face as she realized it wasn''t several creatures they were fighting, but one large, multi-headed body lurking beneath the water.

    Just then, an adventurer with obsidian skin and angelic wings flew past one of the heads with a giant greatsword, slicing through it and sending a decapitated head crashing into the water. A fountain of shining blue blood spurted from the neck as it twisted and recoiled, whipping around violently as the flesh began to bulge and morph. The wound began to split at the stump until the neck ripped apart down the middle, fresh scales quickly growing to seal over the wounds as two new heads rapidly grew from the ends. The resulting heads were smaller and the necks were thinner, but the new teeth were just as sharp as the old.

    Autumn stood on the beach, a hardened glass pickaxe in either hand, both formed from beach sand. She stared up at a hydra head intently, waiting for her chance. It slammed the length of its neck into the beach, sending adventurers diving out of the way from the crushing force. She ran, leapt, and screamed. She landed on the creature and drove her picks between the scales, clinging to it like a mountain climber as it rose back into the air.

    One after the other, Autumn removed a pick and drove it back in, slowly climbing her way up the length of the neck as the creature whipped and whirled around. Countless attacks glanced off of it all around it, spikes of stone, bolts of fire, and arrows of all sizes. Still, she climbed. When she reached the creature''s head, she waited for it to level out long enough for her next move. As soon its movement slowed, she clenched tight with her legs and ripped out both pickaxes, holding them together over her head and transmuting them into one long glass spike, which she drove into the creature''s skull with all her strength. The spike stopped just a few inches deep, her eyes going wide as the head reared back with a roar. The creature''s bulk shielded her from a hail of arrows that pelted it as it reared.

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    A hulking mass of a man crashed into the creature from the side, clinging to the spikey growths on the side of its jaw. He had the head of a shark and a ferocious grin.

    "Jump," he commanded.

    Autumn froze for an instant, then let go of the glass spike and kicked off. As she fell towards the water below, she saw the man grab the top and bottom of the creature''s jaw and wrench it open, climbing inside to push the jaw further open than it was meant to go.

    Everything went dark as she crashed into the water. She whirled around, trying to orient herself to swim but unable to figure out which way was up. Large shapes loomed in the water, and vicious currents whipped her in all directions.

    Something hit her and knocked the air from her lungs. Instinctively she sucked in a breath, instead getting only water. She caught a glimpse of one of the creature''s necks slamming into the water, apparently lifeless. Then a figure darted towards her impossibly fast, leaving a wake of bubbles as it swam. It hit hard, scooping her up with an arm and continuing at speed.

    She gasped and coughed as they rocketed out of the water at a wild speed. Her whole body lurched as her rescuer''s feet crashed into the beach before roughly laying her out on the ground.

    "Healer!" He shouted, his beady shark eyes giving one look down at Autumn before he turned and leapt back into the battle.

    Titus slid into a crouch as he approached, screaming Autumn''s name. She smiled up at him, coughing up a jet of water as she raised a hand to give a meek thumbs up and closed her eyes.

    Iris appeared next to a panicked adventurer, handing her the crossbow she had dropped elsewhere on the beach a moment before, "here, get to the trees!"

    Iris turned in time to stare in awe as the Shark Titan leapt fifty feet in the air, meeting the jaws of a hydra head as it struck downwards at the beach. He caught the creature by the mouth and twisted in the air, twisting the neck of the creature and snapping the bottom jaw of out socket. He kicked off it, rising even further into the air before coming down with a boom like he''d been fired from a cannon, sending him rocketing into the creature and pummeling it into the water.

    Even in the turbulent waters of the battle, she saw the streak of bubbles as the titan rocketed through the water just below the surface. He collided with a hydra''s neck below the water, causing the whole neck above the surface to recoil from the blow and soon retreat back below the surface.

    Soon seven jets of water exploded upwards, forming a row of pillars just in front of the beach. The remaining hydra heads -- of which there were now several -- recoiled back from the jets. The heads roared and hissed, and a few tried to dart between the pillars to reach the beach beyond. Each one that tried was met with smaller, horizontal jets that shot out from the pillars on either side. One unlucky head got caught between the pillars as the horizontal jets shot out, they effortlessly sliced through its flesh and decapitated it.

    Several more heads lashed out even as the neck of the severed head split and regrew. More pillars rose, forming a half circle around the hydra and blocking it off from the beach entirely. In the relative calm of the stalemate, many adventurers on the beach noticed the distant ship was now looming scarily close to the beach. Its massive sails fully unfurled, and a large black flag whipping in the wind. It turned and moved parallel to the beach on the other side of the hydra. Cannons boomed, a hailstorm of cannonballs enveloped the heads of the hydra, exploding flesh wherever they landed. The ones that missed flew over the beach and crashed into the trees of the forest beyond.

    The remaining heads of the hydra roared in rage, and one by one they sunk into the depths. A massive, bulging wave moved on the surface of the water as the creature swam towards the ship. The wave crashed into the ship and rocked it heavily, but the ship held fast as the creature passed below it and rushed out further into the lake. Immediately, the ship was turning and starting a pursuit.

    The Shark Titan rose out of the lake on a jet of water, landing hard on the beach as the wall of pillars came down into the lake behind him. Though he landed on sand, the ensuing waves soon enveloped him, washing violently across most of the beach before receding back again. He effortlessly marched forward, unmoved by the coming and going of the massive wave. As the water receded, he addressed the beach in a booming voice.

    "You have fought valiantly, but today is not the day. All who join the hunt are welcome to fight by my side and bring this marvelous creature to heel."

    The Shark Titan turned and leapt into the water, darting off after his ship.

 36 - City Gates

    In the moments following the Shark Titan''s departure, the beach was still. Adventurers helped comrades to their feet while healers kneeled and tended to the wounded. Blood stained the sand and coastal waters, though much of it was mercifully that of the hydra. Soon a contingent of city and Adventuring Corps officials arrived and began forming a coordinated response.

    A coalition of healers was quickly formed of volunteers, of which Titus had been one of the first. A middle-aged human man, wearing a brown leather cuirass over dark green linen that appeared to be a uniform amongst many of the officials, stepped up to an area of the beach that had been cleared of people. An adventurer approached and spoke to the man briefly, then dropped to one knee and slammed his fist into the ground, sending pulsating shockwaves through the sand. As the shockwaves settled, a large radius of sand surrounding him was now a smooth, circular slab of sandstone. The healers gathered here to treat the wounded in what quickly became a make-shift medical camp.

    "I''m fine," Autumn insisted, as an elf woman in white and coral robes waved a hand glowing with blue magic over her body. Titus, despite initially treating Autumn after the battle ended, had been conscripted to treat patients in more dire conditions.

    "I understand that you think that," the woman responded patiently, "but it''s standard procedure to check."

    The woman, despite her strong nerves as a healer, was startled as Iris suddenly appeared and exclaimed beside her.

    "There are you! Come on, Eli says we gotta make it into the city while everyone''s distracted so we can beat the registration lines."

    "Excuse me," the elf woman said, standing to face Iris. She was much taller than Iris, and her black hair was pulled tight behind her long, pointed ears into a long ponytail, "who let you through? Only patients and healers should be here--"

    The elf blinked, then looked around. Iris had disappeared right before her eyes. The woman sighed, shaking her head. When she turned back to her patient, she saw Autumn swiftly making her way out of the camp.

    "Smooth escape," Iris said, appearing beside Autumn, "but Eli and Victoria are the other way."

    Autumn looked over her shoulder to see the woman glaring after them, "we''ll loop around," she said.

    After taking the long way around the perimeter of the camp, the two met up with Eli and Victoria. Eli looked at Iris expectedly as they approached. She closed the gap with a superfluous blip, speaking as soon as appeared in front of Eli.

    "Titus insisted that he''s not being held captive, and that he''s staying here to help until he''s dismissed," she reported dutifully.

    Eli sighed and rubbed his temples with a thumb and forefinger, "of course he is. Alright, we go without him then. This could take hours. Tell him I''ll meet him at the city gate at sunset if we don''t run into him before then."

    Iris disappeared, startling a few adventurers further along the beach before immediately teleporting again. The relatively short range of her teleport power meant that, for the second time, she was briefly appearing and disappearing at various points within the camp searching for her friend. After a moment, a small commotion broke out in the healer''s camp, and shouting could be heard.

    "It''s that girl again!"

    "Patients and healers only!"

    "Someone get a guard!"

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    Moments later, Iris reappeared beside the others, dizzy from low mana, "I think we should go, those guys do not like me."

    The party, sans Titus, set off along the beach towards the gates of Giantrock City. They followed the beach until they approached the first of many docks jutting out from the elevated ground behind the beach, there they veered left and up a wide dirt footpath between the roots of two redwoods. The path brought them to an even broader dirt road designed for multiple lanes of wagon traffic that wound through dozens of small buildings constructed in an impressively sized clearing.

    They passed stables, cargo yards and warehouses as they followed the road towards the city. As they rounded a bend, the gates came into view. Either side was framed by two full-width redwood trunks, cut and embedded into the ground like giant posts. The gates themselves were made of vertical redwood planks nearly half a foot thick and several feet wide, generously braced by an abundance of horizontal and diagonal planks on either side. Four guards stood in front of the gate, wielding spears and wearing the brown and green uniform they had seen on some officials at the beach.

    Massive Giantrock City flags, a silhouette representation of the rock itself jutting out from the redwood forest, hung from the walls on either side of the gate. The walls were of even sturdier construction, with not only vertical trunks built into the design but horizontal trunks along the midpoint as well.

    "Wow," Iris said slowly, "is everything here giant?"

    "Wait until you meet the locals," Victoria said, "though there probably won''t be any in the city."

    Before Iris could ask any of the dozen questions she immediately wanted to, a finely dressed man walking away from the gates interrupted.

    "Don''t bother," he said grumpily, "they''re not letting anyone in."

    The whole party immediately recognized him.

    "Nice to see you again," Eli said without a smile.

    "Oh!" the man laughed sheepishly as he looked up, "uh, hi. Sorry, where did we meet again?"

    "Dude," Autumn said, "you tried to rob us yesterday."

    "Ooooohhhhh," he feigned realization, "that was you guys! Crazy, small world, gotta go!"

    Victoria held up a hand and conjured a spread of three cards, instilling fear, dread and hopelessness into the man''s aura. He stopped in his tracks, staring at her with wide eyes.

    "Who are you?" Eli demanded.

    A guard by the gate shouted at them with an unnaturally loud voice, "no powers within sightline of the city gate!"

    Victoria swiftly closed her hand, dismissing the conjured cards. The man gasped a single breath, then quickly recovered.

    "I''ll be happy to inform you of my identity the moment it becomes your business," he smiled and straightened his coat, "good day, then."

    Eli glared at the man as he passed them, but didn''t make a move. The party approached the gates, which were opened only wide enough for one person to enter at a time. Two guards stood on either side of the opening, close enough together that it was obviously a bad idea to attempt walking between them. They each wore brass badges on the chest piece of their leather cuirass, one of them had a slightly larger, fancier badge than the others.

    "No entry at this time," the man with the fancier badge spoke, "order of the Commander."

    "We''re here for the hunt," Eli said.

    "No. Entry." The guard repeated.

    "We''ve come a long way," Victoria interjected.

    Any remaining professionalism dropped from the guard''s face, "so has every other bloke and broad that''s tried to enter in the past half hour. The city is closed. It doesn''t matter how far you''ve come to find that out. The gates will reopen once the Commander gives the order."

    Iris leaned to the side, peering past the guards and between the gates to the city beyond. Autumn nudged her with an elbow and shook her head.

    "When will that be?" Eli asked.

    "Oh for fuck''s sake," the guard said, "if I knew when that would be, don''t you think I would have told you instead of being ominous and vague and making my job even more miserable and annoying than it already is? That''s literally all I know. If I knew more than that, I wouldn''t be posted at the gate talking to you, now would I?"

    "I heard it was ''cause the hydra attack," another guard said, "some secret orders by shady government types that wanna investiga--."

    The guard with the fancier badge turned on his subordinate with a withering glare. The subordinate shrunk back and lowered his head, "sorry corporal."

    The corporal turned back to the party, rubbed his forehead, and sighed. "Look, just get somewhere. If you come back and the gates are open, then the gates have been opened. Otherwise, leave me alone or I''ll have you arrested."

    "Yes sir," Eli said, hurrying his party away.

    "What now?" Iris asked as they walked away from the gates.

    "Please don''t say we''re going back into the woods," Autumn groaned.

    "No," Eli said, "there''s another way into the city we can try."

 37 - The Underbelly

    The Giantrock City docks were bustling with activity. Dockworkers unloaded boats of barrels of fish and pallets of lumber. Some pulled handcarts and wheelbarrows to and from the docks, while others shouted prices as they peddled goods right from the dock as they were unloaded directly into shop stands.

    The docks were of sturdy construction but haphazardly designed, with more than few a dead end paths of irregular shapes and sizes. Boats were quickly coming and going, and the chaotic operation moved with surprising efficiency. The main thoroughfare was crowded by workers, adventurers and drunkards, and the party struggled to stay together as they muscled their way through. The crowded walkway led them past countless piers, and towards the expansive shadow of the giant rock looming overhead.

    Just before they reached the shadow''s edge, Eli pulled them to the side of the foot traffic and spoke as quietly as he could while still being heard over the raucous noise. "If you''ve got anything valuable in your pockets, put it Iris''s bag. I''m told pickpocketing is damn near a profession down here."

    Victoria deposited a few coins and a ring, Eli a small coin purse and a few folded pamphlets, and Autumn a handful of nuts and berries. They continued on into the shadows.

    The atmosphere changed quickly, with the bright afternoon sun being replaced by flickering flames of lanterns and the warm air growing noticeably cooler. The single thoroughfare became two main avenues as the wooden docks acted like city streets through a cramped, ramshackle town. Music roared out of open tavern doors, countless street vendors peddled goods ranging from questionable food items to jewelry of dubious origins, and somewhere in the distance a blacksmith hammered away at steel.

    "Where are heading?" Victoria asked, almost shouting over the noise.

    "Not sure," Eli said, keeping his eyes on the crowd ahead as he slipped between and around people, "there''s supposed to be elevating platforms that lead to an upper deck, then into the city."

    After a while of aimlessly wandering, Autumn nudged Iris with an elbow and handed her a skewer of meat.

    "Always keep some spending money for food," she said in response to Iris''s quizzical look, as if that answered all of her questions. She spoke around the large bite of mystery meat she was already chewing.

    Wearily, Iris accepted the skewer and took a hesitant bite. To her surprise, it was quite good.

    "Shouldn''t we get them some?" she asked.

    "They''re too square for snacks," Autumn said, "look at them, they''re on a mission."

    Sure enough, Eli and Victoria seemed completely focused on leading the way through the crowd. The busy, overbearing atmosphere made the journey feel stressful and rushed, but in truth they moved at an agonizing pace as they fought the flow of the crowd. Finally, after what felt like an hour, Victoria spotted an arrangement of heavy duty ropes extending up to a deck affixed to the underside of the rock far above.

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    "There!" she pointed, as her gaze followed the ropes down to their origin, "they''re coming from that tavern."

    "Let''s go," Eli said, picking up the pace as he pushed through the crowd.

    Soon they were standing in front of a tavern with a large sign of carved wood depicting a fat, flopping fish.

    "Do you think it''s called the Flopping Fish?" Autumn asked without an answer.

    Unlike most of the buildings here, this one had a wide porch lined with rocking chairs, complete with a seemingly unnecessary wooden awning. The door and all the shutters were closed and no one was going in or out. Eli climbed the steps and knocked. There was no answer, so he knocked again. After a moment, he hesitantly pushed on the door, and it opened.

    The interior looked typical of a closed up tavern with upturned chairs on the tables and theme-appropriate wall fixtures like mounted fish skeletons and maps of various seas and oceans. On the far side of the tavern, an old, skinny human man in tattered grey robes and an equally tattered grey wizard hat was yelling.

    "I been fishing since before this city was built! You think I don''t know a fake when I see it?"

    The target of his yelling was a small man in garishly colored clothes, his skin was green, his bald head was disproportionately large for his body, and his ears resembled those of an elf if they had been stretched out until the tips flopped over. Next to him stood a tall man with an athletic build, shiny golden skin and fine, soft brown hair that formed waves in front of his shoulders. He wore an unassuming white blouse tucked into pressed black trousers.

    "Who the fuck are you calling a liar?" the green man demanded, "speaking of fish, I oughta gut you like one right here!"

    "Father, please do not threaten violence," the tall man said in a calm, monotonous voice.

    "I should hang you on my wall like a trophy!" The old man shouted back.

    The green man pulled a dagger from his belt.

    "Whoa, whoa!" Eli interjected, walking forward with his hands up as a gesture of peace, "let''s all just calm down a bit."

    The two angry men responded in unison, "who the fuck are you?"

    "My name''s Eli. I''m looking for a drink."

    "Bar''s closed," the old man responded, assuming a stance with his hands held out ready to counter an attack from the green man.

    Victoria stepped into the tavern behind Eli. In a hand behind her back, she conjured two copies of the same card, injecting peace and calm into the auras of the two men.

    "Your magic won''t work on me, girl!" the old man snorted.

    "What magic?" The green man turned to look, his eyes settling on Victoria, "what are you doing? Why don''t I want to stab that guy anymore?"

    "Father," the tall man spoke again, "perhaps we should take this opportunity to find someone else to swindle."

    "Ahah!" The old man pointed a finger, "you admit it!"

    The green man mumbled under his breath, "it''s no fun if I don''t even want to stab anyone." He snatched a yellow, sickly looking fish from the counter and turned to leave.

    The pair crossed the bar and exited as Eli and Victoria stepped aside. Victoria could sense the instability of the green man''s aura, the thin veneer of calm threatened to fracture with any further provocation. As they passed Iris and Autumn on the porch, the green man looked at Autumn and barked "the fuck are you looking at?"

    Victoria shot a look at Eli, who quickly responded, "I got her."

    Eli swiftly followed the two men out onto the porch, quickly stepping in front of Autumn -- who was already fuming and turning red in the face -- and grabbed her by the shoulders to usher her inside. Iris gave a little wave to the tall man as he passed, who nodded respectfully. Then, she blipped inside the bar and closed the door behind her.

 38 - The Fish Wizard

    "You should have let me kick his ass," Autumn insisted.

    "I had dibs," the old man said, "little fucker tried to scam me." Even now that he wasn''t yelling, his voice was still scratchy and angry.

    "Either way, it''s settled now," Eli said, taking an upturned stool from the counter, placing it on the floor and taking a seat.

    "I told you, bar''s closed," the old man waved them away dismissively and started heading towards the back.

    "We''re not actually here to drink," Eli said, "we were hoping to use that lift of yours. Though I wouldn''t turn down a drink, too."

    "The lift, eh? What for?"

    "Adventurer business."

    "Aye," the old man sized them up, "you look like the lot. Don''t suppose you''re interested in a quest?"

    "Depends on the quest," Eli said, "and the reward."

    The old man made his way behind the counter, grabbed a bottle and a glass, and poured a drink which he placed in front of Eli. Eli held it up to inspect, then smelled it wearily, before taking a sip and immediately wincing. The old man left the bottle on the counter and placed three more glasses beside it.

    "Help yourselves," he said to the others.

    Autumn, Iris and Victoria took stools from the bar and sat on either side of Eli. Only Autumn poured herself a drink. Unlike Eli, she seemed to enjoy the bitter taste.

    The old man eyed the floppy wizard hat on Iris''s head, just as she was eying his.

    "Nice hat," the man said.

    "Same to you!" Iris said with a wide smile.

    The man placed his hands on the bar across from Eli and leaned forward a little too close, speaking in a conspiratorial tone as if others might be listening in, "here''s the deal, there''s this fish I''ve been looking for. Now, I''m a damn good fisherman, but problem is this one got smart. Little bastard knows I''m coming, senses my aura and takes off every time. So I need some intrepid young adventurers to catch him by surprise and bring him back to me."

    "A specific fish?" Eli questioned, trying to pretend he wasn''t overwhelmed by the thick scent of seafood coming from the man, "in the lake?"

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    "Aye."

    "The lake so big it has waves like an ocean? The one that has an aggressive hydra in it?"

    "Aye."

    "How exactly do you expect us to find and catch it? And without getting eaten by the hydra, on top of that."

    "That''s what I''m paying you to figure out. There''s a certain reef he likes to hang out near, that should make it easier, waters are too shallow for the hydra to get close, so I wouldn''t worry about that. This fish''s got an aura that can''t be missed if you know how to look. Once you lay eyes on him you''ll know, glistening golden scales all over his body, only one in the lake. Can''t miss him."

    "That still sounds like a tall order," Eli said, grimacing slightly after taking another sip, "we''ll need an appropriate reward."

    "I ain''t got gold," the old man said, "bar''s been closed for months. Blown every last bit of my wealth trying to catch this damn fish. But I can give you unrestricted access to my lift, if that''s what you''re after. You''ll have to make it look like commerce business though, else the guards are gonna come asking questions."

    Eli swirled his drink while he thought for a moment, "you got rooms?"

    "Aye, six of ''em. No service though, laid off all my staff way back."

    "You plan on keeping this place closed for the hunt? You''re missing out on a lot of coin."

    The man spat on the floor behind the counter, "I don''t care about coin, even if I had what I needed to reopen, wouldn''t be worth dealing with adventurers."

    "Tell you what, how about you deal with just five of us? Access to your lift plus rooms for me and my companions for the duration of the hunt ¨C the full three months. We get the whole place to ourselves, you get your fish."

    "And we get to use the kitchen," Autumn added.

    "Hmm," the old man thought for a moment, "deal."

    "Deal." Eli stood, reached across the bar and shook the man''s hand. It was wet.

    "Go through the Underbelly until it spits you out on the north docks, from there follow the beach until the gravel turns to rocks. When you start needing to climb over boulders to continue, the reef will be just off shore. If you see rainbow coral, you''re in the right spot."

    "Should we bring fishing poles? or nets?" Autumn asked.

    "Don''t bother," the old man said, "he''s too smart for hooks and has torn his way through every net I''ve thrown at him. You''ll have to catch him with your hands. And don''t mess up the scales!"

    "So no spear fishing, no fishing poles, and no nets," Victoria said, "I''m sure this won''t be impossible at all."

    "Great, now get the fuck out of my bar. And don''t come back without my fish!"

    The others pushed back their stools and rose to follow Eli as he made for the door, then he turned back and spoke again.

    "Don''t you want to know our names?" he asked, "or tell us yours?"

    "I don''t care what your names are," the old man said, "but people call me the Fish Wizard."

    "The Fish Wizard," Iris whispered to herself in awe. As they exited the bar, she spoke aloud to the others, "I think I need a wizard name."

    "What?" Eli asked.

    "The guy I got this hat from, he called himself the Weird Farmer at the Edge of the Valley, and that guy''s called the Fish Wizard. If I''m gonna wear the hat, I think I need a cool name to go with it."

    "The Blip Wizard?" Autumn suggested.

    "That sounds ridiculous," Eli said.

    "Hmm," Iris thought it over, "maybe it''s just the right amount of ridiculous though. I''ll have to think on it."

    "You need robes too," Victoria suggested, "every proper wizard wears robes."

    "Yeah!" Iris said with excitement, "we should go shopping when we get in the city."

    "Hell yeah," Autumn said, "shopping day!"

    "One thing at a time," Eli said, "right now we have a golden fish to catch."

 39 - Wild Fish Chase

    "This is stupid," Autumn said, kicking a rock across the sand.

    "Anything?" Eli asked, rolling his head lazily to look towards Victoria.

    "Nope."

    They were sitting on the beach on the other side of Giantrock City from where the hydra had attacked. The sand here was more like gravel, and the beach was dotted with rocks and boulders. They had stopped just short of the point where the beach transitioned almost entirely to jagged rocks, and they could see the rainbow coral reef not far off shore. They were close enough for Victoria to scan for auras with her aura vision, which she had been doing frequently for the past hour.

    "Maybe we need bait?" Iris suggested, "anyone know what golden fish eat?"

    "No idea," Eli said.

    "Maybe the gates are open now," Victoria said, "we could just give up."

    "Absolutely not," Eli insisted, "we took a quest and we''re going to see it through." He took note of the position of the sun in the sky, then added, "for at least another hour."

    Giantrock City dominated their view to the right, punching out of the redwood forest and casting a long, deep shadow over the waters beneath it. Iris gazed up at the monolith and the city on its back, picking out individual buildings and scaffolds and ropes. Occasionally she''d catch a glimpse of someone walking across a rope bridge or one of the wooden walkways that crisscrossed the exterior of many of the buildings. She longed to see inside, not because she was starved for civilization like the others, but because she was full of excitement and wonder at what awaited. She was still staring with a glint in her eye when Victoria spoke.

    "It''s here!" she hissed, holding out a hand to keep the others still. Veins bulged around her grey-mucus eyes as they stayed locked onto the aura. Cautiously, she raised a hand to point at a spot about sixty feet off shore.

    "How sure?" Eli asked.

    "Strongest aura so far, by a long shot," she said, "if it''s not our fish, then it''s at least something special."

    "Autumn," Eli said, "are we a go?"

    "I''m ready to give it a shot," she said, "that''s the best I''ve got."

    "Iris?" he asked.

    "Ready," she replied.

    "On your mark, Victoria," he said.

    Victoria moved her pointed finger to a spot in the water beyond the fish, and conjured a burst of illusory aura in that spot. To those with aura senses, it was like a small explosion going off beneath the water. Instantly, the surrounding fish scattered. The one they were after was driven further towards the shore as it fled from the aura blast. It veered to the left, so she followed up with another blast to keep it on track, though it responded less severely this time.

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    "Now!" Victoria shouted, pointing to exactly where the fish was at that moment, only about fifteen feet from shore.

    Autumn lunged forward, leaping and landing with a splash in the gentle lapping waves. She came down with both hands as she landed, driving them into the sand beneath the water. She had never tried making a sand wall before, but she''d gotten the idea from an adventurer in the hydra fight and was pretty confident she could recreate a small version of it. The fish was directly in front of her, about ten feet ahead, and she could see the golden glint of its scales.

    "I see it!" She called out, just as the first section of her sand wall rose on the other side of it. It was only about a foot wide, but quickly grew as more muddy sand rose up from beneath the water and extended the wall on either side. The two ends of the wall rushed outwards in a curve, soon forming a half circle around the fish before connecting with the shore to close it in completely.

    The fish swam around frantically for a moment, searching for a way out before quickly discerning that it was trapped. Iris, perched atop a nearby rock on the beach, blipped into the water. She appeared with a splash, wrapping both arms around the fish like a bear hug and squeezing tightly. It was easily as large as she was, and she would barely be able to hold it even if it wasn''t struggling. It effortlessly wiggled free of her grasp, slapping her in the face with its tailfin as it did. The impact felt like a punch, and her vision blurred.

    She stood up in the waist-deep water, clutching her head with one hand and swaying. She heard someone call out her name, then the fish leapt out of the water and slapped her with its tailfin again, this time in the chest. The force sent her tumbling back into the water with a splash.

    "It''s getting away!" Autumn yelled, as the fish leapt out of the water and over the short sand wall.

    Victoria conjured three cards, all negative effects which she placed on the fish. It became disoriented, lethargic, and confused. It slowed but did not stop, its dart towards freedom turning into a winding meander.

    Iris climbed back to her feet, spitting water from her mouth with a stubborn glare as her eyes located and locked onto the golden fish.

    "Vic," Iris called out with an uncharacteristically stern voice, "I need full strength."

    Victoria glanced at her with a concerned, uncertain look, then at Eli, who looked unsure as well but nodded.

    All at once, she dropped the cards on the fish and summoned three new ones on Iris. This left her with precious little mana remaining, and a buzzing in her head. The cards she chose were Strength, The Chariot, and Queen of Swords.

    Iris felt the power rush through her and confidence overwhelm her. She blipped forward, appearing above the water but instantly blipped again, and then again. Next she appeared neck deep in the water directly in the path of the fish. It veered to her right to swim around her, and she twisted to wrap an arm around the bulk of its body. She pinned it to her hip as she reached under its belly with her other hand to grab her own arm and cinch her grip tight. The fish convulsed and struggled, but couldn''t break free. She glanced up with a fierce look, eying the far away beach. Without knowing if any of it would work, she blipped.

    She appeared on the beach a dozen feet from shore. Dripping wet with soggy hair draped over her face, she collapsed. She hit the gravel sand hard, completely unconscious from depleted mana. The golden fish flopped hopelessly on the beach beside her.

 40 - Hereâ€™s Your Stupid Fish

    Iris awoke with a groan. She raised a hand to block out the sun as she squinted open her eyes, groggily taking in her surroundings.

    "Welcome back," Eli said, "I was starting to think we''d need to carry you to Titus."

    Iris groaned again as she sat up on her elbows, "how long was I out?"

    "Only about five minutes," Autumn said, "you know how easy he worries."

    Autumn was sitting cross-legged on the beach, peering into a fishbowl large enough for a person. Though recognizable as a fishbowl from its contents, it was crudely shaped, the glass was glazed and discolored in spots, and a large chunk of wood firmly corked the opening. Inside was water from the lake, and the golden fish.

    "What do you think?" Autumn asked, looking over her shoulder at Iris, "made it myself from the sand."

    "Not bad," Iris replied, "I didn''t realize we were taking it back alive."

    "Neither did we," Eli said.

    "It turns out none of us could bring ourselves to kill it," Victoria said.

    Iris glanced at Eli. She had personally seen him put down several wild beasts without hesitation.

    "He was just flopping! There was something not right about it," Eli insisted.

    "Hey, I''m not judging," Iris held up her hands in mock surrender, then leaned in to get a closer look at the fish, "I''m glad you didn''t kill him, he''s kind of cute when he''s not trying to break my ribs."

    The fish was chubby and round, the size of a small person, and true to the tales had a full body of shiny golden scales -- not simply orange, but genuinely glistening gold like they were cast from the metal itself. In most respects other than the shining scales and impressive size, it kind of did just look like a regular goldfish.

    "His name is Johnny," Autumn said.

    "Don''t name it," Eli groaned, exasperated.

    <hr>

    Sometime later, the four of them entered the Flopping Fish. The Fish Wizard appeared from the back with a smile that instantly turned sour when he saw them.

    "Did you seriously come back without my fish?" He asked, deadpan.

    "Nope!" Iris said, plopping her bottomless bag upside down on the table. The drawstring loosened and the mouth stretched as she tugged up on the bottom of the bag. Soon the bag expanded wide to slip around the circumference of the fishbowl. As the top of the bowl slipped out, the bag quickly snapped back to size and cinched itself shut. The fish was wide-eyed with fear, floating motionless in the water.

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    "Fancy bag!" The Fish Wizard exclaimed, then moved in close to examine the fish, "alive! Very interesting, wasn''t expecting that. Hmm."

    He pulled a magnifying glass from an unseen pocket of his robes, peering closely at the fish from various angles.

    "Poor thing is absolutely terrified," he observed, "better than dead, though! Hah! Hahahaha!" he broke out into uncontrolled cackling, pointing a furious finger at the fish, "AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! You''re mine, and you''re alive to see it! HAHAHA!"

    He uncorked the fishbowl, then grabbed a staff from where it leaned against a nearby wall. He waved it in a circle, conjuring a horizontal portal that floated waist high in the air. Inside the portal were the dark waters of ocean depths. He reached out with his staff and swiped the fishbowl off the table and into the portal with a splash.

    "Couple hundred years in there oughtta do it!" he yelled into the portal, before slamming his staff on the ground to close it. "Well then," he continued, propping his staff up against the table and adjusting his robes. He didn''t move to catch the staff as it quickly slid off to the side and clattered to the floor, "deal''s a deal, just like we said. My quarters are in the basement, don''t bother me. Lift is out back, take some empty crates with you so it looks legit."

    The Fish Wizard promptly turned and disappeared into the kitchen behind the bar.

    "Did he say the basement?" Autumn asked, "isn''t this whole place built on a pier?"

    "It''s probably better we don''t ask questions," Eli said, "we just secured ourselves private housing and our own backdoor entrance to the city." His pride in their accomplishment was evident all across his face.

    "Not bad, team lead," Victoria said, "though I think Iris shares some of the glory."

    "We all contributed," Iris said, "I just got mad because I got beat up by a fish, that''s all."

    A small child dressed in ragged clothes pushed open the door to the bar and peaked inside, "here you are mister! Just like I said!"

    The door opened wider, and an exhausted looking Titus stepped in. He flipped a gold coin to the kid, who quickly stashed it in a pocket and hurried off. "You guys weren''t easy to find, that''s the third street kid I''ve bribed."

    <hr>

    Sometime later, the party sat in a booth at a noodle shop in the Underbelly, just a few doors down from their new temporary home. As they exchanged stories about their day, Titus explained that he had spent most of the day healing major wounds that required immediate care, which he had no complaints about.

    "Then we start losing a guy," he said, "he''s dying, quick. He''s not my patient, but the guys working on him don''t know what to do. They keep saying they can''t heal him as fast as he''s dying, no shit. So I stepped up to heal him, and they tried to stop me! They said my methods were too crude, that this was a case for the experts. Meanwhile, the guy is dying, right there in front of the experts!"

    He paused to take a swig of his drink, then continued, "so, naturally, I shove the most pompous asshole of the three out of my way, and slam a bolt of healing into the guy''s chest. It left a gnarly scar, but he sucked in a breath and kept breathing after that."

    "Hell yeah!" Autumn shouted, "what did the pompous assholes do next?"

    "They,..." Titus started, sheepishly, "they kicked me out of the camp."

    "What?" Autumn yelled, "that''s bullshit! You saved that guy''s life!"

    "It''s fine," he said, "I mean it''s not, and if I get the chance I''m going to kick all of their asses, but it''s fine. That was the last patient in critical condition, if they want to let me off work early for my trouble then I won''t complain."

    "You did good," Eli said, "you were saving lives while we were staring at empty waters waiting for a fish."

    Despite the efforts they had gone through to gain access to the lift, Eli made the call that they should wait until the next morning before heading into the city, as they were all exhausted and dirty. This got no complaints from the others.

 41 - Its The Little Things

    Iris sighed deeply as the warm water of the shower hit her back. Even back home she wasn''t used to showers, and had only ever used them during rare visits to the city. The thought that a dingy, closed down tavern underneath a frontier town like Giantrock had better amenities than her apartment made her laugh.

    She did need to occasionally pump mana into the shower for it to continue working, which hadn''t been the case for those she had used at inns back in the empire. She supposed she might not be able to use the shower at all if she didn''t have powers, and was delighted for the one thousandth time that she did, in fact, have magic powers.

    The towels weren''t exactly fresh, they actually smelled vaguely mildew-y, but considering she''d been sleeping on the ground and bathing in stagnant ponds for the past week or so, she didn''t really care. She relished the soft fabric on her face, and delighted in taking an extra towel to tie up her hair.

    "Ugh," she heard Autumn from outside, banging on the door to the washroom, "hurry up!"

    "Sorry!" Iris squeaked, hurrying to gather her clothes and scurry out of the washroom. She gave Autumn an apologetic wince as she passed her, then hurried down the hall to her room.

    She sighed once more as she stepped into her room and closed the door behind her. She had really, really missed having her own space. She had grown accustomed to it over the years, having her own personal sanctum where no one else was allowed unless she invited them in -- which she rarely did. Her bedroom had been a place to retreat from the whole world and just exist for a while. She was more than happy to trade that for a life of adventure, but she could already tell that she would cherish moments like these when she got to have some semblance of that feeling again.

    She unceremoniously dropped her dirty clothes on the floor, and pulled some clean clothes out of her bag. They were more borrowed items from Victoria, which meant they were slightly oversized for her, but she was wearing them as pajamas, so that was okay. She hoped that by this time tomorrow they would have gone shopping in the city and she''d have a whole wardrobe of her own stuffed into her bag.

    Happily, she plopped onto the bed. The mattress wasn''t exactly soft, but it was a hell of a lot better than the rocky floor of a forest or desert. She snuggled up to the pillow with the blanket pulled over her shoulder until it almost covered her face, and was ready to drift off to sleep.

    Then her eyes shot open as she remembered. She kicked off the blanket and launched herself out of bed to grab her bag from the floor. She reached in and pulled out her journal which promptly flicked itself a mostly blank page with a bold announcement near the top.

    IRIS ORION

    Hero Rank, Level 5

    Experience Points: 492 / 6680

    Progress to next level: 7.36%

    Recent Accomplishments

    Quest Complete : The Golden Fish

    Reward: 700 EXP

    Abilities:

    - Spatial Distortion

    - Send and Retrieve

    Pending abilities and evolutions : 0

    Special Abilities:

    - Extra-dimensional Familiar, unknown

    Attribute Scores:

    - Vitality : 22

    - Strength : 25

    - Speed : 18

    - Intellect : 18

    Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    - Spirit : 22

    Unspent attribute points : 5

    "Yes!" She shouted allowed, clutching the book with one hand as she punched the air with the other. In the next room over, Titus knocked gently but pointedly on the wall. "Sorry!" she said, trying to contain her excitement.

    She flipped to the next page, where her skill breakdowns where.

    IRIS ORION

    ABILITIES

    Spatial Distortion

    Source : Thread of Power (Void)

    Cooldown : N/A

    Mana cost : Low, varies

    Description :

    Lapse into the void behind reality and reappear a short distance away, in an unobstructed location of your choosing. Mana cost increases exponentially with distance traveled.

    Discovered trait : other beings can be brought through the void with you, however this results in extremely high mana cost.

    Special Use : Emergency Exit

    Cooldown : 30 days

    Mana cost : All

    Description:

    In the event of imminent death, lapse into the void behind reality and reappear an extreme distance away. Activates automatically, location cannot be chosen.

    Available Evolutions : 0

    Send and Retrieve

    Source : Thread of Power (Void)

    Cooldown : N/A

    Mana cost : Low, varies

    Description :

    Temporarily lapse an object into the void, reappearing a short distance away in a location of your choosing, with a velocity and direction of your choosing. Max velocity is approximately the speed at which user could throw the affected item. Cannot be used on items too large or heavy to be lifted by the user. Cannot be used on items worn or held by others.

    Available Evolutions : 0

    She immediately eyed the dresser across the room, where she spotted a small, dusty candle. She held out her hand and instinctively activated the power. The candle disappeared from its place on the shelf and reappeared in her hand with a surprising amount of force, as if she caught it after it was thrown towards her. Smiling at her new power, she looked back at the shelf and sent the candle back. It appeared near the circle of missing dust where it had originally sat, except it flew past it and slammed into the wall, cracking the glass.

    That was, thankfully, the exterior wall of the building, and no angry knocks came from the other side. She suppressed a cackle of excitement even as she tried to chastise herself for being reckless. Satisfied for the time being, she climbed back into bed and sat cross-legged as she returned her attention to the book. She took note of the additional information added under her Spatial Distortion skill, the phrasing seemed to imply that she could discover additional details and mechanics of her powers, and they would be documented here. She decided to experiment with this more in the future.

    Next, she flipped back to her stat page. She had five attribute points to spend, which she carefully deliberated. She figured that if she wanted a well-rounded distribution she should probably put those points into speed and intellect, but she wasn''t certain that she wanted to be well-rounded. Despite it being her highest stat, so far the attribute that she was most consistently disappointed with had been strength. After a minute or so of trying and failing to think of reasons she shouldn''t, she placed four points into strength and one point into vitality.

    Attribute Scores:

    - Vitality : 23

    - Strength : 29

    - Speed : 18

    - Intellect : 18

    - Spirit : 22

    Unspent attribute points : 0

    Finally, with a deep breath, she flipped the pages of the book towards the beginning of the journal, hoping to find a new message revealed from her mother. The journal soon took over, flipping its own pages independently until it settled on one of the first. As with all the pages belonging to her mother most of the text on the page was jumbled and illegible, though this one included another short, handwritten portion that was now readable.

    Dear Iris,

    Strange things are happening. Already, so much in my life has changed. I remember things that haven''t happened yet, I forget things that happened yesterday. All my life I dreamt of power, but I never knew it would come at such a cost.

    Tomorrow we ride for The Shining Peaks, to the towers of the Great Wizards. It''s there that I hope to a cure for my mind, and if not a cure, then at least answers. I promise to explain more in my next entry, for now I fear I can''t make sense enough of my visions and thoughts to know what to write.

    Travel safely, stranger,

    - Mary Orion, 968

    Iris stared at the page for some time. She cycled through countless fantasies of what her mother must have been going through. Had something gone wrong with her powers? Had she been driven mad by their effects? If she had, it must have been temporary, her mother had never seemed particularly mad in her childhood. These same thoughts continued to swirl in her head even as she closed the book, blew out the candle on her nightstand, and curled up under her blanket.

 42 - Going Up

    Iris rubbed her eyes as she stepped out into the hall. The scent of fresh sausage filled her senses, and she took in a deep, savoring breath before rushing down the hall. The hall ended in stairs, which turned ninety degrees after the first landing. She skipped the stairs entirely, blipping down to the landing and then again until she was standing in the tavern below. The sounds of sizzling meat could be heard from the kitchen off to her right, Eli and Victoria were already sitting at a table to her left.

    She took a seat at the table with them and poured herself a glass of water from a pitcher and a stack of glasses which were set out on the table. They both nodded to acknowledge her, but continued their conversation without interruption.

    "Today we''ll get the shopping out of the way," Eli said, "without paying for rooms, we have a lot more to work with than we expected. I''m sure the good gear is going quick, so the sooner we get what we''re looking for the better."

    "Agreed," Victoria said, "did you find out when the next orientation is?"

    Eli pulled a stack of pamphlets, flyers and scrap paper from inside his vest and laid them out on the table, "three days from now, it''s the last one. Then the Hunt begins three days after that."

    Victoria frowned, shifting through the pamphlets and picking out one to look over, "we''re behind schedule."

    "Yeah," Eli said, "but we have good lodging and an extra member, I''d say it balances out."

    "Well," Victoria said, stretching back in her seat, "if you''re not stressed, I''m not stressed."

    "I think this is the first time I''ve seen you not stressed," Iris said to Eli, "are you feeling okay? Do you have a fever? ''Cause--"

    "I''m fine," Eli interjected, side-eying a smirking Victoria, "I know you''ve been through a lot, don''t get me wrong, but I don''t think you fully grasp the pressure of a journey through the wilderness like we''ve been on."

    "Yeah," Iris frowned, "the last week has been a whirlwind for me, but I guess for you guys it was more like a marathon."

    "A very, very dangerous marathon," Eli replied, "and I know it looks like we''re all good friends, but you have to understand, Vic and I had only just met Titus and Autumn when we started our journey. Being responsible for the lives of two strangers who put their trust in you comes with quite a lot of stress."

    "Have you noticed how powerful many of the other adventurers are around here?" Victoria asked, "we''re not the only level 20-somethings here, but we''re certainly in the minority. You won''t find a reputable source in the world that suggests anyone under level 30 even travels to Giantrock, let alone participates in the Hunt. We''re intentionally going out of our league here, and that''s not something to take lightly."

    "What''s the reason for that, anyway? Faster advancement?" Iris asked.

    "That''s part of it," Eli said, "tougher fights means more experience, but that''s not all. Participating in the hunts gives a chance to get in front of some very important eyes, make a lot of money, and maybe even find someone''s second Thread of Power. If we do good here, we''ll enter Champion rank with a huge head start over our peers."

    "You''ll benefit too," Victoria said to Iris, "you''re still a long way away from Champion, but at Hero rank the dynamic changes significantly as you climb in levels and unlock your abilities. A level 20 Hero is a whole different class from a Level 5, and I wouldn''t be surprised if you come out of the Hunt well on your way to level 20."

    "If you work for it," Eli added.

    Autumn stepped out of the kitchen balancing a large tray of steaming hot food in either hand, which she promptly placed on the table in front of them.

    "Iris," she said, "can you grab the plates and stuff from the kitchen?"

    Iris nodded, blipping away from her seat and into the kitchen behind the bar. Autumn opened a door beside the stairs, which led to a narrow outdoor corridor and then to a patio behind the tavern. She poked her head out and shouted.

    "Titus! Breakfast!"

    A moment later, Titus entered through the door. He was shirtless and sweaty, carrying a wooden beam that looked suspiciously similar to the rafters of the tavern. He propped the beam up beside the door and promptly sat down at the table.

    In the kitchen, Iris peered through the wide window counter in the wall that separated the bar from the kitchen. Her smile mixed deviousness and glee as she held a plate in her hands. She eyed a spot in front of Autumn and concentrated. The plate disappeared from her hands and appeared a few inches above the table, landing with a loud ceramic clatter. Thankfully, it didn''t break. All eyes turned towards her.

    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    "Hang on!" She shouted, "New power, I''ll get the hang of it!"

    Another plate appeared above Titus, slapping him atop the head as it fell. Eli deftly caught it before it hit the floor.

    "You almost took me out!" Titus said loudly.

    "Sorry!" She shouted.

    Another plate appeared, this time landing gently on the table in front of Victoria. Then another landed gently in Eli''s lap.

    "Alright, now for the forks," she shouted from the kitchen.

    "NO!" Everyone shouted in unison, Titus even rising from his seat to back away from the table.

    "Okay, okay," Iris said, appearing next to the table with two handfuls of utensils, "that''s fair."

    <hr>

    After breakfast, everyone took a moment to get dressed and ready for the day. No one wore their armor, though Titus did place his gouged back plate in Iris''s bag so he could have an armorer look at it. He was wearing fitted dark brown trousers and a stark white shirt, of which he left the top two buttons undone. His dreads hung loose and framed his face, and his golden eyes were softer and more relaxed than she had ever seen them.

    Autumn wore rough, undyed tan trousers and a sloppily tucked in grey blouse. Her shaggy red hair had grown out enough that her bangs dangled in front of her eyes if left unkempt, so for once her hair was actually brushed and the bangs pushed to either side with a small amount of oil applied to hold them in place.

    Victoria wore her usual dark purple robe cinched with a belt, but with the noticeable addition of bracelets, rings and a necklace. Her hair was pulled into a bun as it usually was, but it was obviously done with more care and attention as there were no loose strands besides the ones in front of either of her pointed ears that seemed deliberately placed.

    Eli wore a brown leather vest over a green tunic and dark brown, almost black trousers. His hair was pulled back into a ponytail, slightly loose above the ears so that the hair drooped down to sweep over the tips of his ears. For a moment Iris started to wonder if she''d ever actually seen his ears.

    Besides maybe Autumn, Iris looked the least put together. She wore black pants borrowed from Eli and a purple blouse borrowed from Victoria. The clothes weren''t bad, they just didn''t quite fit her and left her looking somewhat frumpy. Her hair was in a messy bun because that''s how she liked it, and her bottomless bag was tied to her waist as it always was. She wasn''t wearing her wizard hat today because it really needed a wash.

    They took the back door out of the tavern into the small patio space behind it. It was walled in on all sides with a wooden plank fence, dimly lit by a few lanterns. Even though they were outdoors and it was late morning, no sunlight reached this far into the shadow of the rock up above. Like most of the Underbelly, nearly every surface was perpetually damp from the combination of darkness, humidity and cramped space. Lichen, moss and algae grew on much of the wood, and the planks beneath their feet were slick and slightly warped.

    In front of the door was a space that Titus had cleared for training, and off to the right was the lift that would take them to the upper deck of the Underbelly. It was a square wooden platform large enough to fit a dozen people crammed together, with a simple wooden railing around three sides and a wide, swinging gate on the front. Two small stacks of crates were on either side of the platform, leaving an open area in the middle for the party to stand. Multiple thick ropes attached to pulley systems on each of the four corners, reaching high above into the darkness. With her neck fully craned Iris couldn''t make out the bottom of the rock above, but she saw twinkles of torchlight dotted about.

    "How''s this work?" Iris asked, eying the contraption wearily as they all stepped aboard.

    "The wizard was less than helpful about that," Eli said.

    "I can operate it," Titus said, "I took a look earlier while loading the crates, it''s similar to some lifts we had at the academy," he walked over to a metal box affixed to the railing near the front of the platform, set into the metal was a dark blue crystal, and beside the box was a small lever, "you just pull the lever to release the lock and pump mana into this."

    He placed the palm of his hand on the surface of the box, covering the crystal, and then pulled the lever. The platform slightly lurched as the locks released, then the crystal began to glow beneath his palm as the platform began to rise.

    As the platform rose, one rope on each corner remained looped around pulleys on the ground below, while another looped around pulleys affixed to the platform itself. The process was slow but steady, and they were soon rising above the roof of the tavern.

    Soon the Underbelly came into view from a new perspective. The tallest buildings were only three stories, and soon Iris could see over all of them. Crowds of people were just beginning to fill the piers and thoroughfares, and the first of many merchants were beginning to shout about their goods to passersby. Across the rows of ramshackle buildings, the piers and docks extended out over the water, beyond the shadows and into the sunlight that glistened off the gentle waves.

    Autumn sat down, placing her head in her hands to cover her eyes.

    "You alright?" Titus asked, kneeling beside her.

    "Mhm," Autumn mumbled, sounding like she might puke.

    "Wait, do you have a problem with heights?" Victoria asked, "I''ve seen you hurl yourself off cliffs."

    "I watched you ride a hydra like a horse yesterday," Iris added.

    "That''s different," Autumn mumbled, not looking up.

    "We''re halfway there," Eli said, "just try not to throw up."

    As the Underbelly shrunk away beneath them, the upper deck slowly came into view. Darkness still shrouded most of it, but more detail could be made out around the lanterns. It appeared to be a jumbled maze of catwalks somehow affixed to the rock ceiling above, most were wide enough for a handcart while some were so thin that you couldn''t pass another person. There were several small buildings hanging from the ceiling as well, though they were mostly unmarked and their purpose was unclear. In the distance, a few other lifts could be seen rising up across the Underbelly, carrying crates and workers.

    Their heads soon rose above a walkway, revealing their destination. As the floor of the platform aligned roughly with the walkway, the pulleys stopped and several somethings latched loudly into place. Titus swung the gate open and stepped out onto the walkway.

 43 - Giantrock City

    After wandering down the walkways for a short time and asking for directions more than once, they soon found themselves inside a wooden building intended for foot traffic into the city. Autumn had to close her eyes more than once as she glanced down and saw the void below through the cracks between the planks of the floor.

    A counter lined one wall, and at the far end from the entrance was a set of stairs that led upwards. Eli stopped at the counter to state their business, claiming to be a worker from The Flopping Fish here to procure supplies. The man behind the counter, a rather small man with tiny pointed ears and round features whom Iris guessed was a gnome, seemed unconcerned and waved them through. Eli turned back to the others, shrugged, and led them up the stairs.

    "You''d think security would be tighter after how the guards at the front gate acted," Autumn said.

    "Never complain about someone not doing their job if it benefits you," Victoria said.

    The wood stairs soon transitioned to stone, as did the walls. The stairway doubled back on itself multiple times as they crisscrossed their way up the crudely carved stairs through the rock. For most of them, their level 20-something stats made it a rather easy trek, while Iris skipped most of the stairs with her teleport ability. Finally, they rounded a corner and saw sunlight at the top of the next flight of stairs. The others picked up their pace in anticipation, while Iris blipped past them and rushed to the top with glee.

    She appeared on a busy wooden sidewalk, with people pushing past her in both directions and scowling or shouting as they bumped into her. She broke free of the crowd and stepped out into a stone road with two lanes of wheel ruts. She quickly blipped out of the way of an oncoming cart pulled by a pair of mules, but found herself in front of another one. She blipped again, apologizing profusely as she appeared on the sidewalk and startled several people.

    With exasperated breath, she looked around for an empty place to go. She spotted a flat, wooden awning above a storefront, and blipped to it. She sighed heavily as she gazed down at the business below. The road was heavily slanted with the tilt of the rock on which the city rested, and she could see the city descend down to her right and rise up to her left. The sidewalks were level wooden platforms, which stepped down after almost every building to keep up with the slant of the road.

    There was a clear delineation between the ground buildings, which looked much like you''d expect from city construction besides being somewhat poorly built and made of characteristically reddish wood, and the buildings which had clearly been constructed atop them after the fact. These were much more haphazard in design and placement, with more than a few being supported by awkward beams that pierced the roof of the building below or jutted down into the sidewalk. Some were larger than the buildings below them, extending out over the sidewalk and neighboring buildings. Down the length of the road, countless rope bridges connected upper level buildings across the gap.

    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

    Iris spotted the rest of her group emerging onto the crowded sidewalk, their faces filled with as much wonder as her own. She blipped down beside them, once again apologizing when an unsuspecting passerby bumped into her as she appeared.

    "This place is incredible!" She said, almost shouting so they could hear her over the ruckus of the busy street.

    "It''s certainly unique," Victoria said.

    "Oh, we can get into a lot of trouble here," Autumn said with a smile, to which Iris smiled back.

    Eli ignored them, pulling out a pamphlet which he unfolded into a map.

    "Where do we go from here?" Titus asked.

    "Somewhere less crowded. We should be somewhere in the market district," Eli said, scanning the map, "there''s a courtyard nearby, I think it''s that way."

    He nodded down the sloping street.

    "I''ll check it out," Iris said, "you guys catch up."

    Eli started to say something, but she was already gone.

    Iris blipped up to one of the rope bridges, which swayed beneath her as she appeared.

    "Whoa," she said, grabbing the ropes to steady herself.

    She spotted the next rope bridge, waited until it was empty, then blipped again. It was stop and go, but still much faster than navigating the hectic sidewalks below. Soon she saw a wide alleyway between two buildings, with a sign above that depicted a fountain surrounded by trees, and an arrow pointing down the alley.

    She turned to spot her party in the crowd below, then waited until they grew near. A stranger walked across the bridge where she waited, and she nodded awkwardly as they passed. The stranger gave her an odd look, but nodded back. As the party approached below her, she called out and pointed.

    "It''s this way!"

    Titus noticed her and held up a thumb, then directed the others in that direction. They waited for an opportunity to cross the road, quickly darted across, and then finally broke out of the crowds as they left the main sidewalk. Iris blipped down beside them in the alley.

    Calling it an alley was a bit of a misnomer, Iris thought, it was almost as wide as the road itself, but was entirely dedicated to foot traffic. Instead of cramped sidewalks with tightly packed streams of people, here there were fewer people with more space. The ground beneath them was actually a wooden deck, built level like the sidewalks. Most of the buildings on either side were open air storefronts or cafes with outdoor seating. Hanging plants adorned many of the buildings, a few islands of dirt were spaced out to house large shrubs and bushes. Music spilled out from one of the cafes and filled the air with whimsy.

    "I love it here," Iris said, "there''s so much going on!"

    "There''s too much going on," Eli said, with a grumpy look on his face.

    "Lighten up," Victoria said, "we''re in the city! There''s supposed to be too much going on."

    "Let''s go in there!" Autumn pointed to a shop that seemed to sell almost exclusively crystals and rocks.

    "Oooohh," Victoria cooed as she spotted it.

    Eli sighed, "okay, the courtyard is just up there," he pointed down the walkway, "that''s where we''ll meet up. Take an hour or two to explore but don''t spend all your money. We can meet up in the courtyard and get an early lunch, by then I''ll have a plan of business for the rest of the day."

    "Yes sir," Autumn said sternly with an exaggerated salute, before running off.

    Victoria gave him a slightly guilty look, then rushed off after her. He sighed again.

    "Okay, Iris--" he stopped as he turned around and saw that she was gone. He looked at Titus, who shrugged.

 44 - Shopping Day

    Iris casually perused the racks of clothing in the open air shop, taking time to soak in the ambience of the shopping district and the cool breeze that brushed past her. There was distant chatter, ever present music, and people of all kinds walking about. For a moment she was a child back in the empire, shopping in the city with her mother.

    Her hands felt the fabric of a dark blue robe. It was soft like silk on the inside, but coarse like scales on the outside. Strands of silver lined the cuffs and the collar, which extended down the chest and overlapped like a warm coat. A matching brown leather belt hung with it, tall and wide and designed to cinch over the top of the robe. She curiously felt around, and was delighted to find pockets on either side, as well as a third pocket inside the left breast of the robe. A small paper tag was tied to it with a thin string, fifteen gold.

    Iris didn''t actually have any money of her own, she hadn''t brought it with her when she left her home for her first day of adventuring because she hadn''t expected to need it -- or to find herself on the other side of the world the next morning. Eli had given her fifty gold, more money than she''d ever had at once, as her share of the loot he expected to sell that day. She had the sinking suspicion that to him fifty gold wasn''t even a lot, which made her wonder how expensive things on the frontier must be. This robe was by far one of the most expensive items in the shop, however, with most of the shirts and trousers costing only five silver, half of a gold piece. In fact, from what she¡¯d seen so far, it didn¡¯t seem like the economy here was similar to the one back home at all.

    A while later she was approaching the counter with an armful of clothes. She had several pairs of heavy duty trousers and blouses for adventuring, several more pairs of soft leggings and baggy shirts for leisure, and the carefully folded blue and silver robe balanced atop them all. Stuffed somewhere inside the pile of clothes were socks and undergarments, and a pair of plain brown boots dangled by the strings looped around her fingers.

    She waited patiently behind the two strangers at the counter in front of her. As they spoke, she tilted her head to peer over the clothes in her arms, then to the side to peer around them. It was the two men from the Flopping Fish, the small green one and the tall golden one. The man behind the counter was similarly small in stature and green in color as the smaller man, but stood on a raised platform which brought him eye-to-eye with the taller man, and looking down on the smaller one.

    "Grell please," the shopkeeper pleaded, "I have customers, don''t make this a scene."

    "Don''t make a scene?" the small man demanded, "my own flesh and blood charging full price and I''m making a scene?"

    "Father, it''s alright--" the tall man started.

    "It isn''t!" Grell insisted, keeping his ire focused on the shopkeeper, "Fal, my boy Adan must wear the finest clothes, you know that. Can you even imagine, this beautiful creation mistaken for common rabble! All because you wouldn''t--"

    The shopkeeper sighed as the rant continued, placing his elbows on the counter and his head in his hands. He peeked up at Iris with an apologetic look.

    "Fine, I''ll take off ten gold," Fal sighed, "if you never come back here again."

    Grell was smiling when the sentence began and scowling when it ended, "you would ban me? Your own brother? Disgraceful, disdainful! What would mother think? You sick fuck."

    "Final offer."

    "Fine!" Grell yelled, then spoke softly, "Adan, pay the bastard."

    The tall golden man reached into a pocket, carefully counted some coins and handed them to Fal as Grell pulled the pile of clothes down from the counter and struggled not to drop anything.

    "Father, let me help," Adan said calmly.

    "I got it," Grell insisted, dropping a sock on the ground as he turned to leave.

    Adan quietly picked up the sock and followed his father.

    "And if you come back I''m stabbing you," Fal said, "I mean it, simple as that."

    "Yeah, yeah!" Grell shouted over his shoulder as he left the shop.

    "Sorry about that," Fal said, as Iris approached and placed her items on the counter.

    "It''s alright," she said with a reassuring smile, "I''m a shopkeeper back home, I know how it is."

    "For your sake," he said, "I hope you don''t know what it''s like to have a brother like that."

    "No, I don''t," she said, "I can''t believe he treats you that way."

    "Eh," Fal said as he tallied up the items, "I barely know the guy."

    Iris gave him a curious look.

    "Ah, right, human," Fal said, "you''re normally close with your siblings, right? It''s different for goblins. I have sixty-four brothers and thirty sisters, can''t even name them all. Based on what I know about human families, you could consider Grell more like my distant cousin."

    "That''s a lot of siblings," Iris said, astonished.

    "Actually we''re still a young family," Fal said as he attentively folded the clothes into a neat stack, "most families have something in the hundreds."

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    "Do you all live in the city?" she asked.

    "Goodness no," Fal laughed, "just of a few of us, most still live back home in the Den. It''s in the mountains to the east, you should visit if you get the chance, it''s quite nice. Next month is the Ancestral Festival, nothing but music, theater and bar fights fueled by the finest whiskey on the continent for thirty straight days. That''ll be twenty-seven gold even."

    "I''ll keep it in mind," Iris said as she paid the shopkeeper, "do you mind if I use the dressing room to change?"

    "Of course not, help yourself."

    A short while later she emerged from the dressing room wearing the new pair of boots, dark brown trousers, and a white blouse underneath the fine blue robe. She breathed a fresh breath of air and sighed in the relief of finally wearing her own clothes again.

    "Thanks!" She waved as she left the shop.

    "Don''t forget the rest of your clothes!" Fal shouted.

    "Don''t worry, they''re all in here!" She patted the small bag tied to the large brown belt, and Fal raised a curious eyebrow.

    Iris was nearly skipping down the street with glee at her new clothes. When it came to her appearance she had felt quite pitiful since waking up in the Giantrock Region, though she''d rarely had a chance to see her reflection before they arrived in the city she was sure she looked ragged and pathetic. Now, she was one major step towards putting her life back together.

    With time left to waste, she got lost in her mind as she wandered through the streets, taking errant turns whenever she felt the urge. Slim alleyways cut between buildings and lead to side streets with yet more shops, restaurants and townhomes. It was in one of these alleys that she suddenly remembered Eli''s warnings about the lawlessness of Giantrock.

    There were four figures at the far end of the alley, dressed in rough clothing and leaning against walls or crouched on the ground. They all stood to attention when they noticed her, obnoxiously spreading out to block the alley.

    "Are you guys going to rob me?" she called out down the alley, "if you''re gonna rob me I can just go another way." She turned, and saw two more thugs step into the alley behind her to block the way she''d come, "of course," she sighed.

    She''d only practiced aura sensing a few times so she couldn''t be certain in her readings, but she was pretty sure she wasn''t sensing any power from these guys whatsoever.

    "Do you guys even have abilities?" She asked, her voice faltering despite her efforts to remain brave.

    "Shut up," one of the men barked as they closed in on her, "drop the bag and everything in your pockets."

    "Yep, alright," she said, holding her hands up, then slowly reaching down with one to remove the bag from her waist, "are you sure you want it?" she asked the man who had spoken.

    "Shut up and do what you''re told."

    "Alright then," she tossed the bag towards him and disappeared.

    "Blip," she said, appearing behind him and yanking down his trousers. He twisted to swing at her and tripped over his own trousers, falling and slamming his head into the wall.

    "Oof," she winced, "sorry."

    The other thugs were rushing towards her as she scooped up her bag and withdrew her large wooden training sword. She tossed the bag into the face of an oncoming attacker, who yelped as the loose drawstrings wrapped around his head and held tight. Iris cocked her head to the side curiously, watching as the man desperately failed to pull the bag from his face.

    A weight slammed into her from behind as she was lifted off the ground into a bear hug. She tried to blip away, but felt her ability push back against her as her mana drained. She grunted and twisted, but was unable to escape. Her captor twisted his body and threw her like a doll. She bounced limply off the wall and slapped into the ground with a groan.

    She looked up in time to see a kick coming for her face, and blipped away down the alley behind the rest of the attackers. She popped to her feet and dusted her robes with a curt breath, "you guys are assholes."

    She ran towards them, leapt up and kicked off the wall, blipping past the first thug in her way and reappearing behind him to crash a fist into the face of another. He spun from the blow and fell to the ground motionless. She looked at her own fist in surprise, then ducked and whirled around as the man behind her twisted and aimed a high kick for her face. His foot whipped over her as she ducked, then she darted forward and wrapped herself around his planted leg, toppling him to the ground.

    She blipped away again, this time appearing on the other side of the alley. At this point the thugs were in complete disarray, shouting disorganized commands at each other as they whirled around in desperate attempts to keep eyes on her. There were six in total, two were knocked out, one was still flailing around with her bag clinging to his face -- though his movements were slowing and she was pretty sure he couldn''t breathe -- and three remained as the man she toppled climbed back to his feet. Her sword was on the ground in front of them, and they were all turning to face her.

    She reached out for her sword, and it disappeared from the ground and reappeared in her outstretched hand. She frowned, realizing she was holding it by the blade.

    "Good thing this is wood," she cracked with a laugh, but the thugs were not amused. They ran towards her, shoving their suffocating friend to the side.

    She flipped the sword in the air and caught it by the handle, "let''s try this out."

    She ran towards them and leapt into the air, blipping past them and twisting as she reappeared. She brought the sword overhead even as her momentum carried her away from the thugs, then released it. It disappeared, then reappeared toppling end-over-end with ferocious speed. As she landed in a crouch, the pommel of the sword conked against a skull and dropped a thug to the ground. She laughed.

    The thug with the bag stuck on his face leaned against a wall and slid to the ground, his arms falling limply beside him. A second later, one end of the string untangled from the man and shot out to wrap around the ankle of one of the men as he ran towards Iris. His stride yanked the bag and jerked his unconscious friend by the head as he tripped. The tripping man fell harshly, slamming his face chin into the ground.

    The last man charged forward with rage in his eyes. He was the biggest one, and his fists here clenched tight as he gritted his teeth. Iris stood casually as he barreled towards her. The man stuck out a shoulder to slam into her. Just before they collided, she blipped slightly to the side, extending a foot to trip him. He tumbled forward into a roll, quickly coming back to his feet and twisting to face her again.

    She blipped backwards to gain distance and reached out behind her towards her sword. As it disappeared, she brought her hand forward and thrust it in the direction of the man -- who was already charging at her again. The sword reappeared, flung forward at full speed by her ability, and hit the man in the thigh. Though the tip of the wooden blade didn''t pierce deep, it did hit hard and lodge itself awkwardly beside a bone. The man tripped forward, falling onto the sword with all his weight as the pommel struck the ground. He toppled awkwardly to the side and screamed in pain.

    As the man writhed in pain, Iris glanced around at the others. No one was getting up. She reached out and called her sword back to her hand. She reached down and picked up her bottomless bag, she held up to her eyes and stared at it suspiciously.

    "Since when can you attack people?"

    The bag said nothing.

    <hr>

    IRIS ORION

    Hero Rank, Level 5

    Experience Points: 692 / 6680

    Progress to next level: 10.35%

 45 - Down To Business

    In a quaint leatherworker''s shop, Eli let out an awkward yelp as Iris appeared beside him.

    "Blip," she said, stifling a giggle.

    Eli sighed, "there you are, I''ve been looking for you."

    "In a leather shop?" She asked incredulously, "if you can''t tell, I''m not exactly the leather type." She held her arms out to display her new robe.

    "I like it, you look like a real adventurer in that. Don''t run off," he added quickly, "the shopkeeper here wants to buy some of the hides we''ve collected."

    Eli led her to the counter, behind which a late middle-aged man in spectacles was perched atop a stool. "This is that friend I was telling you about," Eli said.

    "Aye!" The man said, "the wizard with the bottomless bag! She doesn''t look disheveled though."

    Eli quickly glanced at Iris in horror, but she looked amused rather than offended, "no, he''s right, I¡¯m usually disheveled."

    Iris pulled the bottomless bag from her waist, placed it on the counter, and reached in shoulder deep to start pulling out materials. There was snakeskin, panther hide, and the pelts of several woodland creatures they''d eaten for dinner.

    The shopkeeper offered a pittance for the small pelts, a decent price for the panther hide, and an exorbitant price for the snakeskin, which accounted for the bulk of their takeaway. In all, he paid 150 gold. Eli had Iris show him the fangs of both the snake and the panthers, but wasn''t satisfied with the price he offered, so they kept those to sell somewhere else.

    Their next stop was a specialty weapon''s shop. Rather than weapons forged of metal, everything here was crafted with strange and exotic parts. There was a whip lined with vertebrae, countless swords and clubs carved from gigantic bones, bows with spider silk strings and a few daggers with crystalline blades. The shop had no organizational structure, and amongst the items on display were baskets and shelves piled with equally odd and unique -- if less fantastic -- items.

    It surprised neither of them to find Autumn there, gleefully digging through baskets in search of cool finds. She looked up long enough to nod at them before returning to her search. The shopkeeper was a thin elf with extra-large ears, white hair and midnight black skin. He eagerly purchased the fangs from them for 30 gold. Iris also offered several cool sticks she had found and picked up in the redwood forest, which she suggested would make fine handles for weapons. He bought them all for 15 gold, which she was more than happy with.

    Autumn purchased a slingshot carved from rigid petrified wood and specially treated sinew that snapped back sharply after stretching, then followed Iris and Eli out of the shop. The sun was high in the sky, and it was time to meet the others in the park.

    The main thoroughfare of the shopping district, which they had first stepped onto from the street when they''d arrived in the city, crossed the entire midsection of the city. It extended to both of the two broadways that ran the length of the city on either side, and in its center was a large open space that formed a sort of park.

    The wooden platform that made up the ground gave the whole place a boardwalk feeling, though there were many large, old trees and thick bushes planted in large, half crescent-shaped planters that cradled the center of the park. In the open space between the greenery were countless circular tables where people sat and ate or conversed under the dappled shade of the trees. The park was a perfect circle, and the buildings around the rim curved to match it. They were almost all restaurants, and nearly any kind of food could be found. As the party gathered around a table, they each had different styles of food from different restaurants.

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    "I love how much food this city has!" Autumn said, through half chewed shrimp and rice.

    "I''ve missed having options," Victoria nodded, stirring a salad with what looked to be a dozen ingredients.

    Titus ate a roasted Giant Rabbit drumstick, while Eli ate some sort of stir fry. Iris was mildly embarrassed when she appeared at the table with a plate of pastries, pie, and pudding. She had really, really missed sweets. It was a good thing she overestimated herself and got more than she could eat, because the others were quickly asking her to share after they finished their meals.

    "Alright," Eli said, after they''d all stuffed themselves full, "let''s talk business."

    Autumn groaned, leaning back in her chair with droopy eyes, "Titus, fill me in later."

    "No," Eli insisted, "everyone needs to listen. It''s about our plan going forward."

    Begrudgingly, Autumn sat up and opened her eyes. Iris was feeling equally as sluggish, and was more excited about getting back to the tavern and taking a nap than talking plans and business. Eli continued, however.

    "The next orientation for the Grand Hunt is in three days. We all need to be registered before then, it''s best we don''t try to do it day-of so we don''t end up waiting in line with everyone else who waited until the last minute. Each hunt is different so the literature can only prepare us so much, but the orientation will tell us most of what we need to know. After that, we''ll have the following three days to collect our final supplies and accept quests before the Hunt begins in six days time.¡±

    "I''ve managed to gather some information in advance," he continued, "it''s not much and it''s mostly rumors, but it might help us prepare. The Titans overseeing the Hunt are the Shark Titan -- as you might have guessed, the Dreamweaver, and an unknown Hunter titan."

    "The Dreamweaver''s here?" Victoria sat up in her chair, "she''s a legend."

    "I thought you might be excited about that," Eli said, "rumor is she''ll be overseeing an extermination quest in the forest. Most people seem to think it''ll be something called the Matriarch Spider."

    "That makes sense," Victoria said, "I''ve seen warnings about spiders in the forest with hallucinogenic venom."

    "What exactly does ''overseeing'' mean here?" Iris asked.

    "The exact format of the Hunt varies each time," Eli said, "but generally, the main events are a few primary targets that the city wants to take down. Usually they''re Titan level threats. Typically, there''s one Titan assigned to oversee the hunt of each target."

    "If they''re Titan level threats, why don''t the Titan''s just take them down?" Iris asked.

    "It''s not necessarily that easy," Victoria said, "even when it is, the titans themselves are in high demand and usually have their own goals to attend to. Giantrock would go broke if they hired as many titans as they needed to keep the region secure."

    "Instead," Eli picked up, "they host the Grand Hunt. The titans show up of their own volition, not only to take down the targets, but to recruit apprentices and staff from the best of the best that show up for the hunt."

    "So, they''re just going to watch while a bunch of lower levels take down the big monsters?" Iris asked.

    "Basically, yeah," Eli said.

    "They do sometimes step in," Victoria added, "it depends on the Titan. It''s also not uncommon for them to have some other interest in mind as well, which they''ll take steps to protect."

    "Like the Shark Titan," Eli said, "word on the docks is that he wants to capture the hydra. All the city cares about is getting rid of it, they could care less if it''s dead or gone, so that works out."

    "What do we know about the third guy?" Titus asked.

    "Not a lot," Eli said, "but his target is something big. Way out of our league, whatever it is, so we won''t have to concern ourselves with it."

    "So what''s the plan for the week?" Autumn asked, clearly ready to get the meeting over with.

    "Consider the rest of today free time," Eli said, "tomorrow morning we go together to register for the Hunt, then I''ll have an assignment for each of you. Just basic preparations to make, you''ll have most of the day to yourself otherwise. The day after, we attend the orientation and then reconvene to plan the last days leading up to Hunt."

 46 - A Rowdy Guest

    "You were mugged?!" Eli nearly shouted.

    "It was only attempted!" Iris defended, "they didn''t even have knives!"

    "You still could have been hurt! I don''t want you going off alone anymore.

    "You can''t do that!" Iris insisted.

    They were gathered around a table in the tavern, eating fish sandwiches they''d picked up from a small place in the Underbelly. Autumn and Titus kept their eyes on their food or the table, while Victoria observed Iris with a respecting smirk.

    "You actually can''t, you know," Victoria said to Eli, "she''s not a child, you can''t ground her."

    "She''s level 5," Eli countered.

    "Yeah," Iris said, "and an adult. And clearly I can handle myself."

    Eli sighed, propping his forehead up on his hand, "these aren''t monsters, Iris, they''re people. Monsters are dangerous but people are a whole different thing. What if those guys are in a gang? What if they come back for round two, and actually do bring knives this time?"

    "Then I''ll embarrass them again, take their knives and sell them at a shop."

    "Hell yeah!" Autumn said, half-way pumping a fist in the air.

    Titus leaned over towards Eli, but didn''t bother to actually whisper, "I don''t think you''re winning this one, boss."

    Eli sighed again. Before he spoke they were interrupted by a knock at the tavern''s door.

    "I''ll get it!" Iris nearly jumped from her seat, happy for an escape.

    She blipped across the tavern, opened the door, and curtly screamed. She stepped backwards, then turned and blipped twice back to the table. "It''s the shark guy," she said hurriedly, "I''ll, uh, be in the kitchen." She blipped out of sight.

    A large silhouette blocked the faint torchlight from outside. His shoulders were broader than the opening, and his beady eyes hovered just below the top of the doorframe. Eli rose sharply from his seat, then froze. The others didn''t move.

    The Shark Titan ducked and twisted through the doorway, gently closing the door behind him. He shrugged off his long royal blue captain''s coat and hung it on a hook near the door, then made his way to the bar. Now bare chested, the scattered candle light of the tavern cast shadows over the scars that covered his body. He pushed two stools together to accommodate his size, and sat down.

    After a moment of silence, he looked over his shoulder at the stunned adventurers and spoke in a deep, gravely voice, "the bar is open, right?"

    No one wanted to be the one to tell the superpowered bodybuilder with a shark head he couldn''t have a drink, but Eli didn''t want to ignore him, either.

    "None of us work here," Eli said, "sir."

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    The Titan stood and leaned forward over the counter, reaching clear across the gap and grabbing a bottle of dark liquor from the back shelf with one hand, while dropping a few gold coins on the counter with his other. He popped the cork with his razer teeth, turned his head back, and poured the liquor into his open maw. He glanced at the bottle with admiration before placing it on the bar in front of him.

    "I''m here to see the proprietor," he said without turning around.

    "He''s, uh," Eli stammered, "I actually don''t know if he''s here." None of them had actually seen the Fish Wizard since not long after they''d brought him the golden fish. Eli looked hopefully at the others, "does anyone know where the door to his quarters is?"

    "There''s a hatch in the kitchen floor," Autumn suggested, "usually surrounded in puddles."

    "Uh, Iris," Eli called out, "can you knock on the hatch back there? See if the Fish Wizard''s in his... basement?"

    Iris was between two supply racks near the back of the kitchen, watching the Titan through the shelves and service window. She would normally be excited to meet a Titan, each one of them was a legendary adventurer in their own right, but she would have liked time to prepare herself before being face to face with a musclebound shark pirate in a dark, empty tavern.

    She looked at the wooden hatch on the floor between the shelves, tucked away and almost out of sight from most of the kitchen. It was reinforced with steel bands that created obnoxious tripping hazards. "Found it," she called out.

    She knelt down and knocked on the hatch. No response. She knocked again, still no response. She moved to lift open the hatch, but it popped open before she could. She stared blankly at the sight before her. The Fish Wizard was submerged up to his neck in dark, uneasy water just a few feet below the hatch, and he was peering up at her angrily.

    "Our deal was you leave me alone!"

    "Do you..." she trailed off, "is your bedroom underwater?"

    "What do you want?"

    "I want to hear all about how that works," she said, "but more importantly, there''s a shark man here to see you."

    Worry fell over the wizard''s face, "I''ll be right out."

    Iris walked to the kitchen doorway, then blipped across the tavern to the table. The shark titan glanced in her direction, but didn''t acknowledge her. After a few angry grunts and a slamming hatch, a soaking wet Fish Wizard trudged out of the kitchen, leaving a trail of puddles behind him. Eli gave Iris a concerned, questioning look and jerked his head towards the wizard. She shrugged.

    "Clements!" The Fish Wizard exclaimed with mock joy, spreading his dripping arms wide in a welcoming gesture, "what brings you to my very much closed establishment?"

    "It''s just Clement," the Shark Titan responded, "Captain Clement, to you. I want Gerald."

    "Ah," the Fish Wizard responded awkwardly, "no."

    "By Code of the Sea, he must stand trial for his crimes aboard The Gale''s Embrace. As Captain --"

    "We''re not at sea, Clements," the wizard interrupted, "we''re... at lake. There''s no code of the lake. If there was, I would''ve wrote it, and the first rule would be ''get fucked and get outta my tavern.''"

    The wizard turned towards the kitchen to leave, but froze when the Shark Titan rocketed to his feet, slammed his hands on the bar and bared his rows of teeth. The Fish Wizard held out his hand towards the kitchen, where the hatch could be heard popping open and slamming closed again. His staff - waterlogged and dripping -- flew into his hand.

    "We''re doing it here, then?" The Fish Wizard asked with a dangerous look.

    The Shark Titan let out of a slow breath that rumbled in his throat like a growl.

    "No," he spoke lowly, "but the day approaches."

    The Shark Titan swiveled his head towards the others, who were all sitting petrified at their table. He spoke through a toothy grin, "I apologize for my behavior, you''ve been most accommodating." His eyes stopped on Autumn when he recognized her, then he nodded at her. Confused and intimidated, she nodded back. He turned to leave, stomping slowly across the tavern and snatching his coat from the hook.

    "I swear to the gods, Clement," the Fish Wizard called after him, "one day I''ll mount your head in this tavern!"

    He stopped and spoke in a quiet tone, "you''d best make good on that promise soon, wizard, before it''s me you''re swearing to."

    He slammed the door behind him, and the Fish Wizard let out a strained breath.

    "Who''s Gerald?" Autumn asked.

 47 - A Raven in the Night

    The purple-orange moon cast a slow swirling multi-colored glow across tall grass that waved gently in the midnight breeze. A figure in a tightly fitted dark blue robe stood on the steps to the ziggurat, his face hidden by a brass mask depicting a deep frown and a single tear drop under the left eye. His gaze followed the cracks in the steps down to a wide trail of crushed flat grass that cut through the plains to the north.

    "This is definitely it," a man said behind him, from the shadows of the ziggurat''s roof. He was identically dressed, only distinguishable by the teardrop under his right eye, rather than the left, "the source of the pulse is beneath this structure."

    Even now, the strength of the aura reverberated in their flesh with each pulse. To those with weak aura sense it was imperceptible, but to those who could sense it -- who could feel it -- it was unending. It called to them like a monotonous drumbeat of war.

    "Seal it," said the man with the left-eye tear.

    His partner nodded and set upon his task. The strands of magic that weaved through the stones would be invisible to most, but he saw them laid out like the intricate workings of a machine that he could decipher and manipulate. Meanwhile, the man on the steps held out an arm. In a puff of black smoke, a raven appeared perched on his wrist.

    "Report to command," he said to the raven, "we''ve found the source. Site three. Securing location and awaiting orders."

    The raven cawed and took flight in a flurry, quickly rising to soaring height towards Giantrock City.

    <hr>

    Eli had scouted out the least busy registration booths in advance the day before. It was a short walk through the crowded city that ultimately took them down a walkway on the northern edge. The walkway clung tightly to the backside of buildings, hanging over the side of the rock with a hundred feet of open air between them and the rocky beach below. They were on the lowest of many such walkways that winded around the outer edges of the city.

    The morning sun rose into the sky ahead of them, casting brilliant golden light on the beach far below and across the redwood trunks beyond the shore that rose even higher than where they walked.

    After stopping a few times for Autumn to steady herself, they eventually entered a small door that lead into a cramped waiting room. An old, angry looking man was hunched over paperwork at a desk behind the counter. He didn''t look up when the bell above the door chimed as they entered.

    "You''re early, hope that means a light load," he said.

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    "We''re here to register for the Hunt," Eli said.

    The man turned in surprise, "you came all the way out here to register? How did you even find this place?"

    "Pamphlets," Eli said with a smile, flashing the pair of pamphlets in his hand.

    The man snorted, then stood and began rooting around various stacks of papers. He seemed to find what he was looking for, dropping a small stack of forms on the counter.

    "Fill out one of these, each of ya," he said, "don''t skip any boxes."

    Eli took a few sheets from the stack and handed one out to each of them. An inkwell and several tattered quills sat on the counter. The form was relatively simple, requiring simple information about the adventurer such as their name, place of origin, and rank.

    The man placed a stack of small index cards on the counter as well, each one had its own small form on it, "after that, write your name and rank on one of these."

    After they each handed over their forms and cards, the man sat aside the forms without checking them and stamped each of the cards with a simple ink seal. He handed the stack of cards to Eli.

    "All done," the man said, returning to the paperwork at his desk.

    "Uh," Eli said, "isn''t there supposed to be more?"

    "I''m sorry," the man said snidely, "did you want to do the entire process? I didn''t plan on falling six hours behind on my actual job today but who cares about me, right?"

    "Isn''t it protocol--"

    "That''s alright," Victoria interrupted, giving Eli a criticizing look, "we''re happy to expedite things so long as you are."

    As they stepped back out onto the walkway, Eli inspected his card. "He didn''t even give us the questionnaire."

    "Eli," Victoria said.

    "Yeah?"

    "Remember that time you reminded Teacher Mira that it was test day?"

    An offended expression took over his face, "this is nothing like that."

    "Oh it''s everything like that," she said, "take the win, stop complaining."

    As they turned into the thin alleyway that led them back to the city proper, they stopped and stepped back to make way for a young man carrying a heavy box with another stacked on top, visibly stuffed with papers. He curtly smiled at them as he passed. Before they continued, Eli began going over assignments.

    "Autumn, you''re on food," he said, "we''ll be out there for a while, and we''ll save a lot of time if we''re not hunting for food along the way. We''re pretty sure nothing spoils in your bag, right Iris?"

    "Seems that way," Iris shrugged, "I''ve got an old mushroom in there that still looks the same as the day I picked it. Usually they get all slimy."

    "Good," he said, "Autumn, get a shipment of ingredients sent to the Flopping Fish. This pouch is your budget."

    Autumn accepted the pouch of coins with a stunned expression, like a child just given the toy they''d always asked for. "Yes sir," she said, with an exaggerated salute, "we''re gonna eat like royalty."

    "Titus, you''re on medical," Eli continued, "we can¡¯t afford potions, but I trust you to get what we need on a budget."

    Titus nodded, accepting a pouch of coins as well.

    "Victoria," Eli hesitated, "you know your assignment."

    "Yep," she said.

    "What about me?" Iris blurted out, still eager to pull her weight in the team and panicked that she might have been overlooked.

    "You like reading, right?" Eli said. He was clearly anticipating excitement from Iris, who nodded eagerly.

    Eli handed her a slip of paper with a short list of names and topics, and a pamphlet that contained a map of the city.

    "There''s a Library somewhere near the north end, see what you can find out."

    She smiled wide, barely resisting the urge to blip away immediately.

 48 - Giantrock City Library

    Passersby crisscrossed around Iris where she stood on the sidewalk and gazed up at the slender, three story library sandwiched between two other buildings across the street. Unlike its neighbors, the library wasn''t constructed of the typical raw redwood planks, instead its walls were stained a dark brown and framed with the trunks of smaller pines that grew in the forest''s understory. Where most buildings in the city had open air windows, or simply no windows at all, the library had tall glass windows that spanned all three stories, revealing the open atrium and spiraling staircases inside. The next instant Iris had appeared across the street and was strolling through the doors. She took in a deep breath of the calm, cool air to savor the scent of aging books. She closed the door gently behind her, then stood for a moment to marvel.

    There was an open area in front with chairs, cushions and tables, with tall shelves covering the walls that were interrupted only by matching spiral staircases on either side. Beyond the sitting area, to the left just past the staircase, was a counter where a middle-aged woman sat and sorted through a stack of books. Beyond the counter were rows of shelves perpendicular to the back wall. The second and third floors repeated the pattern of wall shelves at the front, accessible by thin catwalks, and rows of shelves at the back. A large chandelier hung down in the center of the atrium, holding warm-hued crystals that emitted a magical light.

    Iris approached the counter and waited quietly for the woman to finish her task. She was a middle-aged human with gracefully greying blonde hair and gentle laugh-lines that wrinkled her face. After a moment, the woman looked up and jumped slightly in surprise.

    "I didn''t see you, dear! Why didn''t you say anything?"

    Iris laughed awkwardly, "I didn''t want to interrupt."

    "The work of a good librarian never stops," she said with a gentle smile, setting a final book aside and turning her attention towards Iris, "you''d have been waiting forever, and we can''t have that. How can I help you?"

    "I have this list," Iris said, unsure if she was about to ask for too much as she hesitantly handed over the slip of paper, "I was hoping you could point me towards some of it? It''s okay if you don''t have time--"

    "Not to worry," the librarian said, grabbing a quill and dipping it in ink, "alright if I write on this?"

    Iris nodded.

    The librarian scribbled beside the entries on the list, noting the floor and shelf where each topic could be found. She paused only once to let out a quiet "hmm" and wiggle the quill between her fingers before continuing.

    "Here you go, dear," she said, handing back the paper, "we may not have material on the specific people you''re looking for, but I''ve marked the sections where you might look. We do keep an archive of the Badger, but we don''t have every issue."

    "The Badger?" Iris asked.

    "The Giantrock City Badger," the librarian replied. Seeing the confusion on Iris''s face, she clarified with a faint smile, "that''s the newspaper, dear."

    "Oooh," Iris said, "I didn''t think about checking the newspaper. My village is pretty small, no one really reads our paper."

    "Well there''s always something to read about happening in Giantrock, especially during the Hunt."

    "I can imagine," Iris replied, "um, one more thing. Where did you get all these books? Isn''t Giantrock City kind of really far from... basically everything?"

    The librarian laughed, "yes, we are. It''s taken a certain tenacity to acquire this collection, but it helps that most people leave the city with fewer books than they arrive with. It''s a long walk back to the rest of the world, and everyone''s looking to lighten their packs. We have quite a few local writers, too, by the way. There are books in this library you won''t find anywhere else."

    "Really?" Iris asked with wide eyes.

    "Yes, best go see if you can find them, eh?" the librarian smiled.

    Iris nodded eagerly, then blipped away towards the depths of the library.

    "Oh, no powers in the library, dear!" the librarian called after her.

    "Sorry!" she called back.

    Sometime later, when the shadows had shifted from the sun moving in the sky, Iris was seated at a small table on the third floor with three stacks of books, a few newspapers, and two scrolls. In front of her was her adventurer''s journal opened to blank pages near the back, where she had been taking notes on each of the topics Eli requested, and more than a few that he hadn''t.

    She had learned a few details about the Shark Titan and the Dreamweaver, as while as compiled a short list of who the unnamed third Titan might be. She had been quite interested to find references to the Titans going back decades that implied they were quite old, and that this was far from their first Grand Hunt. She even found one mention of the Shark Titan, or rather J. Clement as he was named in the old Badger article, as a promising up-and-coming Champion in one of the earliest Grand Hunts.

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    She had also skimmed several books about the Giantrock Region and the subregions surrounding the city. The areas were given practical designations, such as the swamp, the redwood forest, the mountains, and a place where the mountains met the desert called the crags. She mostly noted potential hazards, common beasts and their traits, and preparation advice for adventurers venturing into those areas.

    During one of her outings from the table she had made basecamp, Iris was hunting down a book she had glanced at earlier but had returned to the shelf. Having changed her mind, she was now frustrated that she couldn''t find it again. A conspicuous peek down a few of the rows revealed no other patrons, and a peek over the railing showed the librarian shelving books down below in the atrium. With a few more guilty glances, she began blipping up and down the rows and quickly scanning the shelves.

    In the fourth row, someone bumped into her as she appeared. Books clattered to the floor as he bounced off her and fell back backwards. Iris stumbled back but stayed on her feet. The man had short and curly dirty-blonde hair, circular glasses and rounded features.

    "Sorry!" she said immediately.

    "I''m so sorry," he said hurriedly in a soft voice, "I didn''t see you. I-I should have been looking where I walked--"

    "No no, trust me," Iris interrupted, "that was definitely not your fault."

    "But I wasn''t--"

    Iris blipped to a crouch beside him, "I was breaking the rules," she said in a hushed tone, "it was my fault."

    She picked up the dropped books, tucked them under her arm, then stood and held out a hand to help him up. He pushed up his glasses with a knuckle, then took her hand and climbed to his feet.

    "I''m Iris," she said, handing him the books, "sorry again. Please don''t tell the librarian."

    "I''m Milo," he said, "was that a teleport power?"

    Iris shrugged, "I usually call it blipping."

    "That''s awesome!" Milo said, then looked embarrassed, "sorry, you probably hear that a lot."

    "Actually, not as much as I thought I would," Iris said, "hey, have you seen a book about regional weather patterns? I swear it was on this floor."

    Milo thought for a moment, "probably in the natural phenomena section, that way, second row from the end."

    "Thanks," Iris said, "see you around, Milo." She blipped away through the shelves.

    After eventually finding her target, she returned to her desk and took general notes about the seasons and more detailed notes about the upcoming weather they could expect for this time of year in each of the subregions. With that, she marked off the last of her to-do list. After moving on to personal interests she spent the largest amount of time reading thirty pages of a large book titled "The Intricate Mechanisms of Magic and Reality, Volume 1." It was clearly not meant to be an introductory work, and Iris couldn''t understand many of the concepts casually referenced throughout it, but she was fascinated by every page nonetheless.

    Another, more accessible book that she had been delighted to find was titled "A Layman''s Introduction to Wizards, Witches and Threadbearers." She was surprised to learn that threadbearers -- the term the book used for those like herself who gained their powers from Threads of Power -- were far from the only kind of magic users in the world. After a moment of panic, she was relieved to learn that threadbearers could still be classified as wizards, so long as they met the prerequisites of having an "endless thirst for discovery and furtherance of magical knowledge, with adherence to the general scholarly rules of experimentation and documentation," as the book put it.

    A while later, as the sunlight through the windows dimmed, she separated the books she wanted to check out from the rest. Each floor had a small rolling cart with a sign that read "please return books here" and she did her best to return each book to the cart on the same floor from where she''d found it. Finally, she made her way down the spiral stairs to the librarian''s counter, where Milo was checking out books. She waited patiently in line behind him. After the librarian took note of his books on a long card, stamped it and set it aside, Iris stepped up and placed her stack of books on the counter.

    "I''d like to check these out, please."

    The librarian looked at her apologetically, "oh, I''m sorry dear. Only city residents can check out books. They go missing if we let adventurers run off with them. So many of you leave the city and don''t come back, is all."

    Iris slumped her shoulders, trying not to look too disappointed.

    "Uh, what if I checked them out?" Milo asked, still lingering in the atrium, "I mean, not for her, that would defeat the purpose of the rule I guess. I meant," he took a breath, "if she can''t check them out, then I want to."

    The librarian gave Milo a skeptical look, who responded with pleading eyes.

    "These books don''t leave the city, understand?" the librarian said sternly, shifting her eyes between the two of them.

    "Yes ma''am," Milo said, while Iris nodded nervously.

    Slowly, as if she might change her mind, the librarian slid the stack of books closer and starting noting them down on Milo''s card, which she then stamped again and slipped into a filing box full of identical cards.

    "Milo," the librarian said, "you''re responsible for the safe return of these books, understand? Two weeks."

    "Yes ma''am," he repeated.

    After an awkward silent moment, Iris stirred, "I''ll, uh, just help him carry these out," she said, sliding the stack of books off the counter and into her arms. As the two hurried out of the library, Iris called back to the librarian, "thank you!"

    The sidewalk outside had darkened in the oncoming dusk. The crowds had thinned, though many people still moved in all directions. The two of them stood close to the door to avoid obstructing the sidewalk.

    "There''s a drop box in the library," Milo said, "you can just drop them off there when you''re done, they don''t check your name or anything when you return them. You probably know how libraries work, never mind."

    "It''s good to know," Iris laughed, "thank you."

    "If you want to, I mean if you can''t make it back to the library, you can come find me at the Badger and I''ll return them for you."

    "You work at the newspaper?" Iris asked.

    "Yeah, mostly I just keep the machines running but every now and then I get to write something. If you catch me on the right day I could even show you how the machines work, they''re fascinating."

    "You know what Milo," she smiled, "I think I might."

 49 - Orientation

    Roughly centered at the base of Giantrock City, in the only section built upon dirt rather than rock, was a large clearing called the Old Town Square. The buildings that surrounded this clearing were the oldest in the city, their construction was sturdier and more spacious than most but their wood had long ago begun to grey and weather. The square itself was a large courtyard consisting mostly of beaten dirt with a few patches of worn grass. The morning sun had just peeked over the tip of the rock, casting long shadows down the length of the city and across the courtyard.

    Hundreds of adventurers gathered in the yard, with dozens more crammed into the streets and alleys between the buildings along the perimeter. Though previous orientations had been held in the weeks leading up to the Grand Hunt, many questions were still left unanswered and the mysterious third Titan had yet to be revealed. Because of this, nearly every adventurer participating in the Hunt was present for the final orientation.

    Iris and her party were packed tightly together in the crowd near the back of the courtyard. A roar of voices filled the air as the raucous crowd grew more and more impatient. Eli, Titus and Autumn seemed unbothered by the crowd compared to Iris and Victoria, who were both visibly uncomfortable. They were all facing towards a large wooden stage on the northern edge of the courtyard.

    When the sun had risen so that the shadows had retracted across much of the courtyard, a man climbed the steps of the stage. He was wearing the brown leather and green fabric uniform of the Adventuring Corps under a dark grey cloak, with a large golden badge acting as a clasp for the cloak.

    "Thank you all for coming," his voice boomed unnaturally across the courtyard, and the crowd of voices quickly hushed, "I am Stanford Clint, Mayor General of Giantrock City, and I welcome each and every one to my fine city."

    The crowd remained mostly silent, though a few isolated pockets gave mild cheers and claps.

    "I know why most of you here," he continued, "so I''ll bore you with only a little history. This city was founded one hundred and fifty-seven years ago as the flagship of the frontier, a shining beacon of civilization''s great reach into the unknown."

    Victoria snorted derision at that remark.

    "Since this city''s founding," the Mayor General went on, "we''ve faced many dangers. The brave settlers of the frontier and our valiant soldiers of the Adventuring Corps have fought off most of these threats, but these untamed lands are filled with some of the greatest beasts yet discovered. Beasts so large, so powerful, that it takes an army to bring them down. And so, every decade or so, we hold the Grand Hunt. It''s an opportunity for adventurers like yourself to come from across the world to wet your feet against the strongest foes the frontiers have to offer and slay them dead, lest they overrun this city and slow the Emerald Empire¡¯s eternal quest for progress."

    The Mayor General laughed, "I see you growing bored as I speak, so I''ll get on with it. The structure of this year''s Hunt is simple. Following today''s orientation, roughly four hundred quests will become available at the Questing Hall. They will be assigned at random based on the cumulative rank of the party in question. Rewards for these quests will be double the usual rate and additional prizes will be awarded to the highest performing parties and individuals, based on quest completion rate. In addition, any quests offered by citizens of Giantrock City -- so long as they meet the appropriate criteria -- will be honored under this arrangement with rewards matched by the city, provided you bring a mark of completion to a Grand Hunt functionary for authentication."

    "Beyond the quests, we have the three Priority Targets. These are the Titan level threats to which the Grand Hunt owes its fame. Do not be foolish enough to think you or your party will take these beasts down yourself, you will die." The Mayor General paused to let his warning linger, "these battles will be group efforts, each one coordinated and overseen by a Titan. I''ll hand the stage off now to the first of these Titans."

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    The Mayor General stepped aside and made way for a woman in fine white and grey robes. She appeared middle-aged, had dark skin, long flowing black hair and a confident stride. She stepped up to the front center of the stage, and spoke with the same booming volume of the Mayor General.

    "Welcome," she said with a smile, spreading her arms wide to greet the audience, "I am the Dreamweaver. For those who do not know me, I originally hail from the capital, though I have spent the last several decades exploring the frontiers." Her voice was soft and calming despite its volume. She spoke clearly and quickly, leaving no room for fanfare.

    "I will be leading the battle against the Matriarch Spider, deep within the Redwood Forest. Of the three targets you''ll hear about today, this is the weakest, all Heroes and lower rank Champions are highly encouraged to choose this target over the others. Do not let that mislead, however, the Matriarch is still a highly dangerous foe. Were she to appear in this courtyard now, her bulk would be larger than this stage, and her legs would extend across the yard. Her venom, and that of her offspring, is highly hallucinogenic and deadly in high doses. If bitten by her offspring, you will likely be out of the battle at best, and an active danger to your fellow adventurers at worst. If bitten by the Matriarch, most of you would die. This is a simple extermination mission. Our mission is to kill the Matriarch, plain and simple. Further instructions will be provided at base camp for those who wish to participate in this battle. Following this orientation, you''ll find a map in the questing hall with the location of base camp. The battle begins five days following the start of the Hunt. Thank you, and stay safe."

    The Dreamweaver quickly exited the stage, and the crowd filled with quiet murmurs and whispers. This talk was quickly overwhelmed by a wave of cheers as the Shark Titan took the stage. His boots clunked heavily across the wooden platform as he made his way to the front.

    "Quiet, fools!" he roared across the courtyard, "have some dignity."

    The crowd hushed in an instant.

    "You all know who I am. By now, most of you know why I''m here. My target is the Hydra that lurks in the lake. What many of you saw on the beach was the lashing out of an irritated beast, the true battle will be a lot bloodier. If you''re not Champion rank, I suggest you don''t join this fight, I won''t have time to save you, but all are welcome if you make peace with your fate. This is a capture mission, we''ll weaken the beast until it can''t fight or regenerate, then restrain it with chains and magic. I doubt any of you are strong enough to kill it outright, but I want it known: if the Hydra dies, so do those responsible for its death. Are we clear?"

    Members of the audience glanced around awkwardly, unsure if they were intended to respond. A few people shouted "aye," followed by the bulk of the crowd.

    "Good. We meet on the southern beach just outside the city on the first day of the Hunt. Come prepared."

    The Shark Titan made his exit. No one immediately replaced him, and conversation began to spread across the crowd as the stage remained empty. After several moments, the next Titan arrived on stage. He was wearing dark leather armor beneath a brown hide trench coat with a fur collar. His hair was short and black with greying fringes, and his face was marked with a scar that led from his hairline down between his eyes, across his cheek and down his neck until it disappeared under his clothes. He was of regular stature and strode quietly across the stage.

    "I am Commander Bridge of the Night''s Brigade," he spoke in a monotonous, gravelly voice. Murmurs quickly spread throughout the crowd at the mention of the Night''s Brigade.

    "I will be leading the mission to exterminate a Desert Wyvern, last seen in the Craggs to the north. Intel indicates the Wyvern is likely nursing an egg, in which case, retrieving this egg intact is of equal priority to taking down the Wyvern. Let me be clear, this mission is only open to Level 50 Champions and higher. If you came here for the big one, this is it. Provide proof of rank to Grand Hunt functionaries in the questing hall for the location of base camp and mission timeframe."

    As he finished speaking, Commander Bridge turned and left the stage without hesitation. The Mayor General stepped up to take his place.

    "Well then," he said to the crowd, "those are our Titans, and those are the missions!"

    The crowd was alive with murmurs that were quickly growing to full volume conversations. Many of the adventurers were already making their way out of the courtyard and streaming up the streets towards the question hall. The Mayor General continued talking, but was offering little more information that Eli hadn''t already gathered, so he turned to face the party.

    "I guess we''re going after the spider, then."

 50 - Training Day

    The party stepped out from between two giant redwood trunks and into a large oval field. Glimmer shrieked from above and dove to the ground, landing with a puff of dust just in front of them and trotting up to Eli to nuzzle her head against his chest.

    "I missed you too, girl," he said softly as he scratched her head.

    It was late morning, dew rested on every surface and the air was still crisp. They were all dressed in their adventuring gear and, with the exception of Iris and Autumn who still groggily trudged along, looked ready for battle. Titus''s chest piece was noticeably missing from his armor, having been left behind with a blacksmith in the city for repairs.

    "Alright," Eli said, giving Glimmer a pat on the head before turning to the others, "Titus and I will go first. Remember, the name of the game today is breaking out of habits. We''ve all gotten comfortable with what works, but comfort is a trap, and we need to practice everything. Titus, we need you in the habit of using your shield ability, you consistently forget to use it in battle. I want that to be your focus today, but try out your new ability while we¡¯re at it."

    For Eli, this meant handing his staff off to Victoria before stepping out into the field. Titus reviewed his journal for a moment, looking over the description of the newest ability one last time. He''d gained it just a few days prior, after reaching Level 25 following the healing he''d done in the aftermath of the hydra attack. Eli and Titus made their way to the center of the clearing, facing each other roughly thirty yards apart.

    "Vic, start of us off," Eli called out.

    "Students ready!" Victoria shouted out, mimicking the instructors who had trained her, "Final call," she paused, "begin!"

    Eli activated his Attribute Boost ability to increase his speed and darted forward in a blur. Titus stood poised but still, tracking Eli with his eyes as he veered to loop around and attack from the side. Eli leapt from his sprint, switching his boost from speed to strength and conjuring red swirls of magic around his fist as he struck towards Titus''s head. Titus raised his hand and conjured a translucent shield that flashed white and crackled with lightning under the impact of the strike, a blast of red magic blew back against Eli as the strike landed. Titus swung his foot around to twist his body, allowing Eli''s remaining momentum to carry him forward and beyond Titus.

    Eli was slowed from the lingering trade off of his of his boost ability but the strength boost still remained for a few seconds, which allowed him to take the square punch to the chest from Titus without staggering. Eli shifted his weight and slid his feet, dancing around Titus before he could land another blow. Titus whirled, swinging a hammer fist that flew over Eli''s head as he ducked before delivering a magically charged punch to Titus''s unarmored abdomen with the last second of his boosted strength. This time the blast of magic erupted into Titus''s body, reverberating through his abdomen and sending him stumbling backwards.

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    Eli felt his speed return to normal, and darted off to the side to wait for his strength to do the same. After a second to recover, Titus spun in place to keep track of Eli. Still clutching his abdomen with one hand, he held up his other -- keeping it pointed at Eli as he nearly completed a circle around Titus -- and activated his new ability.

    A ball of white magic sparks crackled in his palm for an instant, then erupted into a powerful continuous beam that rocketed towards Eli. Eli stopped in his tracks, facing the beam head on and holding out his own palm to meet it. He caught the beam in his palm, then pointed his other hand out to the side. With his Magic Redirect ability, he absorbed the beam into his palm, channeled it through his body and released it out of the other. While the beam he absorbed was pure white in color, the beam he ejected was a deep red. Where the red beam hit the ground chunks of dirt and rock exploded outwards as a crater several inches deep was dug out by the blast.

    Titus held the beam and watched Eli tense and grit his teeth under the pressure. Titus could feel his mana depleting, but knew that Eli had smaller reserves, so he held the beam still. Eli felt the magic begin to burn along the path it took through his body as his mana drained to critical levels. He collapsed to one knee, still catching and redirecting the constant beam of magic as he glared up to meet eyes with Titus.

    With a wince, Eli swung his redirecting arm towards Titus, digging a trench in the ground as the red beam swung wildly towards Titus. With wide eyes Titus conjured another shield. There was a flash of red and white as an explosion of dust and debris enshrouded Titus. Eli climbed to his feet and smirked. As the dust settled, Titus was on his back, clutching a searing wound across his chest.

    "Cease battle!" Victoria shouted, as she, Iris and Autumn rushed onto the field.

    Eli was already crouching beside Titus when they arrived, inspecting the damage done. Though he didn''t look worried, he was withholding his urge to gloat until he knew Titus was okay.

    "I was this close," Titus groaned, holding up two fingers pinched together.

    "Not close enough," Eli said, "this is why you need to use the shield more often."

    "That was sick!" Autumn shouted.

    After a moment to recharge his mana, Titus pressed his hand flat against the wound and healed himself. He did so slowly, both to reduce the pain and to avoid a scar. When he was fully healed, Eli helped him to his feet.

    "Can you use that beam on me next?" Autumn asked with excitement, "I already know how to counter it."

    Titus laughed, "wanna bet? Loser eats bread for dinner."

    Autumn looked aghast at the suggestion.

    "Another time," Eli said, "Autumn, you''re up against Iris next."

    Iris and Autumn looked at each other in surprise at first, then settled into eager glares.

 51 - A Friendly Bout

    "Since when can you do that?" Victoria asked Eli as Iris and Autumn made their way onto the field.

    "Level 20," Eli replied, "haven''t had a chance to use it yet though. Not many animals shoot magic."

    "As the team medic," Titus stepped up beside Eli, "I don''t condone sending her out there to get her ass kicked."

    "She might surprise you," Eli said, watching Iris blip across the field, "she''s a squirrely one."

    Iris''s anticipation faltered as she took her place across from Autumn on the battlefield. Autumn''s eyes gleamed and an excited smile covered her face.

    "You''re gonna take it easy on me, right?" Iris asked nervously.

    "Sure," Autumn replied before cracking her neck.

    "Keep the pressure on her, Autumn," Eli shouted from the sidelines, "she needs the practice."

    "Hey!" Iris shouted, "don''t tell her that--"

    "Students ready!" Victoria shouted.

    Autumn dropped into a crouch, placing her hands flat on the ground.

    "No, no--" Iris stammered, frantically reaching into her bag for her training sword and accidentally pulling out her walking stick again, "hold on!"

    "Final call!"

    Iris swore and tossed the stick aside, then turned towards Autumn in panic.

    "Begin!"

    Iris blipped. Small rocks jutted out of the ground in two jagged lines that spread out from Autumn''s hands, moving out to either side before wrapping around towards Iris, who hopped and twisted in panic to avoid tripping as she appeared over one of the lines. She blipped again, appearing nearby and breaking into a sprint. She ducked down as she ran to scoop up a rock. She spun and hurled it, it blipped across the gap between them and reappeared in front of Autumn, who smacked it aside with her hand.

    "Really?" Autumn asked incredulously.

    Autumn used her high strength to launch herself into the air towards Iris, who blipped away just before Autumn crashed into the ground with a crater. A rock hit Autumn in the back of the head. She grunted and spun around to an empty field. Iris appeared beside her and slammed a fist into her cheek, which did nothing.

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    Iris stepped back and clutched her hand before looking up in fear at a very angry Autumn. She blipped away as Autumn stomped the ground and a large rock jutted out of the ground where she had just been. She appeared far behind Autumn and lobbed another rock.

    "This might go on for a while," Victoria observed from the sidelines.

    "Good," Eli said, "either Autumn figures out how to do more than throw herself at the problem, or Iris figures out she can''t win fights by running away."

    "Oooh," Titus winced as Iris came out of a blip in full sprint into a rock pillar that rose up in her path, "that''s probably broken ribs."

    Iris stumbled, blipping backwards to gain distance while she wheezed. Even as she gasped for breath Autumn came crashing down above her. She blipped away again, this time feeling the pressure of a mana headache.

    "Stop running!" Autumn shouted, slamming hammer fists into the ground to send a zigzagging line of jutting rocks towards Iris, who blipped away.

    She reappeared in a forward stumble, head spinning from low mana. She tripped over one of the many small rocks jutting out of the ground across the field and landed hard in the dirt. She coughed and gasped as she climbed to her hands and knees in time to see a shadow growing around her.

    She threw herself to the side, rolling away as Autumn landed with a powerful stomp. The ground bulged around her landing and launched Iris into a rolling tumble. She came to a stop on her back and groaned, staring up at the sky in a daze.

    Autumn approached, blocking the sun as she loomed over Iris, "surrender."

    Iris managed a meek smile, with her arm resting on her chest she opened her palm towards Autumn.

    "What are you gonna do? Blast me?" Autumn mocked, "I already know both your powers, dork."

    The walking stick clunked into the back of Autumns head, who stumbled forward. Iris rolled into Autumn''s feet and tripped her. Autumn crashed into the ground awkwardly but quickly recovered, climbing to her feet to see Iris sprinting away.

    "You little shit," Autumn grumbled, then shouted indignantly, "fine! The hard way, then!"

    Iris dared a glance over her shoulder, unsure if she should be more or less afraid that Autumn wasn''t chasing her. Still, she ran, gaining distance while her mana recharged. The ground rumbled beneath her feet, and rocks began to rise out of the ground around her and float into the air over head.

    "Here we go," Eli said eagerly.

    "I''m gonna need a mana potion to heal this," Titus said in disappointment.

    Autumn grunted and clenched her outstretched fists as dozens of rocks rose into the sky. Even as veins bulged in her arms from the strain, she activated another power. Her mana rapidly drained as one by one the rocks began to glow red with heat. Soon they were floating globs of magma suspended above the battlefield.

    "Titus, be ready," Eli said.

    Autumn screamed and swung her fists downwards. The globs of magma began to rain down, splashing outwards as they crashed hard into the ground. Iris yelped as she hopped to the side to dodge droplets of magma from a nearby impact, then blipped as she glanced up to see one heading straight for her. The fire storm continued even as she reappeared, and she awkwardly spun as she ran to sidestep a puddle of cooling magma.

    "SURRENDER!" Autumn shouted.

    Iris blipped again and again, trying as hard to protect her robe from singes as she did herself from burns. Her head spun from the exertion, both mana and physical. She blipped past a glob that landed in front of her.

    Autumn collapsed to her knees as the final magma globs landed. Her vision blurred as the last of her mana emptied. The last thing she saw before blacking out was an exhausted Iris collapsing to the ground in the distance.

 52 - Venture Into the Depths

    "So you didn''t learn anything?" Eli asked, incredulously, "neither of you, seriously?"

    "I learned she''s a squirmy little shit," Autumn huffed.

    "I learned not to piss her off," Iris said.

    Eli put his head in his hands and groaned. They were back at the Flopping Fish, sitting at their usual table while they waited for Titus to return with their take-out dinner. After Iris and Autumn recovered from their sparring match the party had stayed in the clearing for several more hours to practice and train, but Eli had instructed the two of them to think over their experience until they got home to discuss it.

    "Vic?" Eli said with a hint of desperation.

    "He wanted you to learn to be creative, strategic," she picked up the lecture, "Autumn, you have to stop thinking you can solve every problem by throwing yourself at it harder. Iris was already tiring, instead of exhausting yourself on your big attack you could have kept up a steady pressure and waited for her to drop or slip up."

    Autumn avoided eye contact and kept her arms folded, but seemed receptive to the lesson.

    "And Iris," Victoria continued, "you''re 20 levels lower, you were never meant to win. Honestly, it''s amazing you managed a tie. The thing is, you were landing hits. You might not have been doing much damage, but you had the mana to keep it up. Instead you chose to run away and put yourself at a disadvantage that ultimately exhausted you."

    "I get it," Iris said, "in my defense, running away seemed smart at the time."

    Victoria laughed, "if you''re ever in a real fight with Autumn it probably will be the smart choice."

    <hr>

    The sun crept below the horizon as Commander Bridge soared over the redwood forest with black and silver grey feathered wings. He banked to the right to catch a strong wind from the south that carried him out into the plains and towards the ziggurat. His aura vision revealed a broad wave of blue energy exploding outwards from the structure with each aura pulse.

    He came in fast but landed softly after a powerful beat of his wings sent a gust of wind through the open air platform at the top of the ziggurat. As his feet hit the steps, the wings shrunk and disappeared into his back. He adjusted his coat and climbed the final steps to the platform.

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    He was greeted by his lieutenant, a young Champion in dark leather armor much like his own. Behind him two others in gear like his were standing guard in the center of the structure, while two brass-masked Agents of Morose kept their distance on the edge of the platform. Several bedrolls had been laid out along the sides of the platform, and an unlit fire was crammed into a corner.

    "Commander," the lieutenant acknowledged. He was usually professional and stoic, but Bridge could see unease in his eyes and aura.

    "What are we dealing with, lieutenant?"

    "The aura pulse is originating deep beneath this structure. The agents determined a way to close the entrance, but it was open when they got here. While the structure is sealed the pulse seems to be dampened to below detectable levels."

    "I can still feel it," the commander said, "whatever it was must have been dormant until the structure was opened or we''d have detected it sooner. Any attempts to enter?"

    "We tried, sir, but the pulse gets stronger the deeper we go. None of us here have been able to handle it."

    The commander nodded, then stepped away to look out over the plains while he thought. He turned towards one of the agents and spoke without addressing them.

    "Open it."

    The teary eyed brass mask stared back at him for a moment, then turned to the other agent and nodded. One of them pressed a brick into the wall and the stone slab in the center of the platform began to lower into the floor and split into steps that lead to a deeper stairway.

    "Seriously? That''s all it takes to open?" The commander scoffed, "some stupid kids on their way the Hunt probably opened this place."

    The next pulse came. With the structure unsealed the force of the aura alone was enough to vibrate his bones.

    "It''s steadily growing stronger," one of the masked men said.

    "Let''s hope they didn''t stick around," Bridge said grimly, stepping half way into the darkness before speaking to his lieutenant, "if I''m not back in twenty minutes something is very, very wrong. Your orders if I don''t return are to contact the Mayor General immediately and have him call a Council of Titans."

    He continued into the darkness, trailing his hand along the wall as he went. His darksight effortlessly pierced the darkness, though all color faded. As he walked he closely observed the carvings on the walls and followed along with the story they told of a recurring battle, an ever-present enemy, and the visits of a dragon in the aftermath of each battle. All the while the enemy cast an unending ritual spanning ages with untold effects.

    For the first two flights of stairs the aura pulse reverberated through him harmlessly. By the end of the third flight he was staggering, and by the fourth he leaned on the wall as he felt each pulse as a punch to his heart. He had no doubt that any Champion that ventured this deep would be dropped dead by a single pulse. He pressed on, and soon he found himself on a flight of stairs that continued straight down far deeper into the depths.

    A few hundred feet down this flight of stairs an unnatural darkness obscured his vision. Only powerful magic could override his darksight, yet a bright blue flash briefly pierced the pitch black veil. The next aura pulse followed like a shockwave and cast an ache through his bones. For the first time in decades, the Titan felt fear.

 53 - Stuff to do

    There were two more days until the hunt. Iris woke early to the sounds of crates being lowered onto the back patio and unloaded from the lift by Autumn, Titus, and the worker who delivered them. That would be the ingredients and cooking supplies Autumn procured, so she tried not to be annoyed as she rolled over in her bed and pulled the covers tight.

    As the sound of dropping crates continued, Iris eventually groaned and rolled out of bed. Rather than try to sleep through the racket, she decided to get an early start on her day. With great regret, she changed from her soft, warm pajamas into fresh underclothes beneath her dark blue robe. After cinching the belt she held up her bottomless bag and let it reach out with its strings like tendrils to grab hold of the belt and pull itself tight.

    Finally, she picked up the tattered grey wizard hat. She had stayed up late last night cleaning it with damp cloths and a small vial of hat cleaning mixture she had bought in town. Though it was still floppy and literally rough around its edges, the hat now carried its age proudly instead of pitifully. For a moment before donning the hat she questioned if it would be disrespectful to the Weird Farmer if she dyed it blue to match her robes. She decided to think on it.

    Victoria and Eli had already left the tavern earlier that morning, having taken the lift up to the city before the delivery arrived. As Iris came down the stairs, Autumn and Titus were cataloging the supplies and comparing them to a list.

    "5 piece pot set?" Titus asked, running down the list on a clipboard with a quill.

    "Here, not dented," Autumn said.

    "12 piece set of mugs?"

    "Here, kinda dented," Autumn replied, holding up a mug that had a slight dent around the top rim.

    The crates were small but numerous and scattered across three different tables, only the table where the two of them were working had any opened or unpacked crates. Soon after Autumn noticed Iris she was put to work shoveling cataloged items into her bottomless bag. She half expected the bag to spit something out or close itself up at some point, with a new discovered trait showing up in her journal with the bag''s max capacity. She was surprised, however, when they finished the last of the supplies about an hour later and her bag still seemed every bit as bottomless. After dropping in the item -- a bundle of spices -- and returning the bag to her belt, she patted it gently and smiled.

    After the unpacking and repacking was done Iris made her way to the city proper. Rather than call the lift back down and take it up, she chose to go through the Underbelly and pick up a breakfast kebab from a sketchy food stand. From there she took the path up and around to the gates, which had opened a few days prior, and strolled into the city.

    Her mission today was simple. She had written a list of items that she wanted to obtain to store in her bag. They were mostly cheap, mundane things like rope, gourds of water and a shovel, but the list grew more and more odd as it went on. Her hopes were that by taking advantage of her storage space she could have a variety of solutions to mundane problems that others wouldn''t sacrifice the space and weight to be prepared for.

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    Her shopping list took her through a variety of shops and stalls in the market district, and a few more scattered across the rest of the city. She stopped by to see Fal the shopkeeper at the clothing store, who held-up a lengthy one-sided conversation about the newest fabrics he had received and their respective origins. She completed her shopping trip as noon drew near. All her items had been placed in her bag, and she reviewed the "New Items" list that helpfully populated itself in her adventurer journal.

    - Strong Rope, ~50ft

    - Iron Shovel

    - Gourd of Water x5

    - Wooden Bucket x2

    - Snaprocks x10

    - Crude Plank Shield

    - Dice set

    - Woven basket

    - Portable Candle Holder

    - Writing Quill x5

    - Ink Well x2

    With her list checked off it was time to meet the others at the Questing Hall to retrieve their quests and final information for the Grand Hunt.

    <hr>

    Eli and Victoria sat on a bench in the Questing Hall''s front courtyard, which was lined with smaller versions of the wooden garden planters they''d seen in the market district. They spoke low but casually, and paused if anyone walked by.

    "Who are they?" Eli asked.

    "I can''t be sure," Victoria said, "whoever these people are, they''re way out of my league. There''s a lot of people that could be, but it''s not the city guard and it''s not the Night''s Brigade. Every time I think I see one of them I can''t even be sure, I start convincing myself I''m imagining it. I think I only noticed them at the orientation because there were so many."

    "Do we know who they might be?" Eli asked.

    "That''s what scares me. In most cities there would be a lot of groups it could be, but in a city this far away from anything else the options that make sense start dropping. There''s one group I keep coming back to though, the Morose."

    "As in the God?" Eli asked, a worried look crossing his face.

    "Yeah," Victoria said, trying to stay matter of fact, "a group of their followers known for being the elite of the elites with an emphasis on stealth. They work under the jurisdiction of the Adventuring Corps, so that might be why they would be here."

    Eli sat for a moment in the warm summer breeze while he thought. He noticed Titus and Autumn approaching on the sidewalk from a distance.

    "I don''t like being anywhere that a god is taking interest," he said eventually.

    "Agreed," Victoria said, "if we''re lucky I''m wrong, or whatever they''re here for it''s too far over our heads for us to even find out what it is."

    "And if we''re unlucky," he said, "it''s going to be a very interesting Hunt."

    The conversation trailed off as Autumn and Titus approached the bench. They filled in Eli on the arrival, cataloging and packing of the supplies earlier that morning, and confirmed his worries that they had no idea where Iris had been since then. They waited around and chatted until Iris briefly appeared up the sidewalk, then appeared again amongst the group.

    Eli made a faint but exasperated gesture with his arms, "how does a teleporter show up late?"

 54 - Giantrock City Quests

    The Questing Hall was a considerably large building for being in the densely packed upper end of Giantrock City, which made it a cramped size compared to equivalent buildings in most cities. It was built with young redwood trunks as pillars and wide old growth planks for walls. The building itself was roughly shaped like a sword, with the main entrance being at the bottom of the hilt where it jutted into the courtyard.

    The inside had exposed beams and tall ceilings with open skylights. Along the walls were tents of various factions, organizations and unions. It looked not unlike a small trade hall with quest vendors for shops. Eli was relieved to see several small Adventuring Corps tents spread through the hall rather than one centralized tent with a long line. Still, a large number of adventurers were crammed into a space not quite designed for that many.

    "We''re just here for a look at the map and the 5 random assignments," Eli turned his head towards his party and spoke loudly to break through the noise of the crowd, "don''t let any of the quest peddlers rope you in to anything." He looked pointedly at Autumn, and then at Iris.

    They squeezed their way through the crowd towards the nearest Adventuring Corps booth. As they passed by a booth belonging to the local Fishermen''s Union, a gruff looking human man behind the table spoke loudly to the crowd, "50 gold for six bullfish dead!" As a well adorned party of Champions passed by a booth ahead of them, the lavishly dressed merchant behind it announced "ten thousand for wyvern meat!" while waving a quest slip in his hand.

    Iris caught glimpses of some of the quest slips displayed on boards, walls and desks at various booths. They seemed to be the lower paying -- and thus lower level -- quests. One slip offered 30 gold for retrieving a bulk supply of a certain fruit from the forest, another slip at a dingier booth offered 10 gold for 20 rat skins. At the Trade Association''s booth, there was a prominently displayed slip offering 100 gold for the slaying of a wooly bipedal monster depicted attacking a caravan. Iris wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of her day in the hall looking over and accepting quests.

    There was a short line when they reached the Adventuring Corps'' booth, but the process seemed swift and the line moved quickly. While they were in line, Eli pointed out the large map hanging above the booth, it depicted the central Giantrock Region, with the city and lake in the bottom right corner and the redwood forest filling much of the middle. Grasslands filled the northwestern corner, and craggy ravines filled much of the northern edge. A spider emblem marked the location of the base camp for their target, deep in the forest to the north of the city. Eli unfolded a pamphlet and marked the location on a map.

    As the line shortened in front of them, Eli instructed everyone to have their registration cards ready. When they reached the front of the line, a dwarf with a hefty mustache looked over them. Eli held up his registration card and the others followed suit.

    "Sorry," the dwarf said with a rough voice, "we''re out of quests up to level 30."

    "Already?" Eli''s shoulders slumped.

    "Lots more Heroes than usual this year," the dwarf shrugged. He waited a very short moment for Eli to reply, then announced "next!"

    They were shuffled aside by the group behind them pressing forward to take their spot. Reluctantly, Eli made way and the others followed. They tried three more Adventuring Corps booths, all of which were also out of low level quests, before Eli finally stopped and pulled the group aside.

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    "Okay," he sighed, "the officially assigned quests would have been the most vetted and reliable, but it looks like we''ll have to make due. We''ll split up and each choose a quest." The whole party perked up at that. "Keep it Level 25 or under and make sure it''s more-or-less on our way to base camp. Let''s all go with something personally challenging for ourselves, but nothing that separates us from the team. Autumn, nothing deadly."

    Autumn frowned.

    "Iris," Eli continued, "you should stick with one of us -- not Autumn -- so we can give advice on quests before you commit to one."

    "Why not me?" Autumn asked with offense.

    Titus stifled laughter with a cough, "there was the eel incident."

    "How was I supposed to--" Autumn''s retort was cut off by Eli.

    "Not now," he said sternly, "let''s get moving. One hour max, meet in the courtyard when you''re done."

    Iris decided to go with Titus, guessing that his advice would give her the best balance of keeping her alive and actually letting her adventure. Their first stop was a booth belonging to a local guild, but they found that most of the quests here were auxiliary support roles for higher level guild teams and moved on.

    Their next stop was the Leatherworker''s Union, where Titus turned down a few retrieval quests. When they stopped at the Trade Association booth and perused the various quest boards, Iris nudged Titus and pointed at the one with the wooly monster she''d seen early. Titus leaned down to inspect the quest, respecting the multiple signs requesting that no one pull slips from the board.

    "What can you tell me about this one?" Titus asked the elf behind the booth as he pointed at the quest.

    "Ah, those things attack caravans throughout the region from time to time. One in particular, or maybe a few, has been especially active in the forest to the north. The contract''s just to kill the one, if you find extra then we''ll add your reward over again for each head."

    The quest was rated at Level 25, and Titus seemed satisfied. He accepted the quest from the elf, who unpinned it from the board to reveal two copies. He stamped them with a Trade Association seal and wrote Titus''s name on both, before handing one to Titus and placing the other in a pile.

    "Good to go," the elf said, shifting his eyes to the adventurer''s behind them.

    Titus looked to Iris to see if she was finished, and she shrugged. They checked several more booths with no luck for Iris, she found several quests at almost every booth that interested her, but most seemed either too dangerous or were too far away. There was only one quest that Iris tried to argue for but was ultimately vetoed by Titus, on the grounds that he "couldn''t drink enough mana potions" to heal the whole party after fighting a giant magic scorpion.

    Finally, they came across a booth belonging to the Giantrock City Badger. These quests almost exclusively entailed investigating reported monster sightings or unexplored locations and bringing back information for the Badger to publish. Iris was drawn to a quest that called for locating and exploring a decrepit shrine that had been sighted in the forest by a passing adventurer party.

    The slip described a large circle of stones with a central fountain, which had all been overgrown with plants. The drawing was a zoomed in, crudely drawn map of the area northwest of the city, with a circle drawn around the general area of the reported sighting. It was marked Level 15, and the reward ranged from 10 gold to 50 gold based on quality and quantity of information.

    "What about this one?" She asked Titus with excitement.

    Titus studied it for a moment, "you have to be careful about vague reward ranges, sometimes you''ll actually get the lowest amount no matter what you bring back. Otherwise, it looks good. Depends on how much you trust the Badger, really."

    "I''m sure they''re trustworthy," she said, "worst case scenario, I know a guy."

    She accepted the quest from the rather plain looking human girl behind the booth, getting a stamped copy like Titus had.

    "Written notes are best," the girl said as she handed it over, "if you can draw, even a sketch is highly appreciated."

    Iris nodded and thanked the girl, then she and Titus set about making their way out of the hall.

 55 - Late Night Rooftops

    The purple-orange moon hung high in the sky, just beginning to wane. Only a few clouds drifted by slowly, and the city''s rooftops were bathed in colorful, slow-swirling moonlight. Iris was perched atop a wooden awning near a hanging street lantern, reading A Layman''s Introduction to Wizards, Witches and Threadbearers

    The streets were quiet, but not quite empty. Most passers-by were alone and moved quickly, while the occasional groups only spoke in hushed tones. Even still, a distant, muffled raucous could still be heard from the western-most edge of the city, where adventurers in the bar district partied leading up to the Grand Hunt. Iris was too absorbed by the chapter on sorcerers to be distracted by the distant sounds.

    "Almost every sorcerer bears either the Arcane or Matter thread, commonly both. An Arcane Sorcerer typically amplifies and condenses mana, life force or another energy into a physical medium to be molded. A Matter Sorcerer instead uses an existing source of matter as their medium, these sources can range from abundantly available resources like stone to rare material like crystal, and the sorcerers tend to specialize in one or two substances. Sorcerers tend to have a pragmatic dedication to pursuing mastery over their medium, and wield it with a precision and deadliness that rivals that of swordsmen.

    Like many of the designations in this book, sorcery is ultimately a doctrine of how to approach abilities, training, and goals. Sorcery principles are frequently borrowed or shared by other doctrines, and principles from other doctrines are frequently mixed with sorcery--"

    The lantern went out. Iris peered at it through the sudden darkness, a thin smoke trail from the extinguished lantern swirled around a lamplighter''s pole as it retracted from the lantern and closed the hatch behind it. On the handle-side of the pole was a tall, lanky man in a long dark coat, and behind him was a trail of extinguished lanterns.

    "Hey!" Iris called out.

    The lamplighter looked up in her general direction, "Sorry miss, gotta save oil." He continued on to the next lantern.

    Iris sighed and stuffed the book into her bag. She could find another place to read, but guessed that as it got later she''d have to move further and further towards the bar district for light. Instead she blipped atop the building across the street and looked out across the moonlit rooftops as her eyes adjusted to the dark. She spotted a spire in the distance, far from the highest point in the city but still towering above its neighbors.

    She jogged across the rooftop until she reached the gap above a walkway and blipped across. Gentle gusts of cool wind were moving in from the north, and fewer people were on the streets. Her boots clunked on the shingled rooftops as she ran, leapt and blipped.

    She appeared on the rooftop of a long rectangular building, at the far end of which was a square, two-floor tower with a sharply angled roof that finished in a tall metal spire. Around the base of the angled roof below the spire was a wooden ledge just wide enough for a person to sit.

    She plotted a course up the tower as her mana recharged. She started with a window sill, then handholds on a decorative trim, and another window sill before finally making the last blip to the ledge. She played it out in her mind and pictured each step of the process again and again.

    With a chain of blips that zigzagged across the tower, she appeared on the ledge with precarious balance. She wobbled on her toes with arms outstretched as a less than gentle breeze caught her robe. She fell back first against the angled roof, planted her feet on the ledge and slid down until she was sitting with her knees at her chest. After a moment to breathe, she laughed at herself.

    Her eyes wandered over the rooftops as the wind blew loose hairs around her face. Like many parties, Iris and her teammates were going to leave the city tomorrow, the day before the Hunt officially began. This would give them a chance to break off from other teams and cover ground to their first quests, saving time and trouble on the first day. It also meant this was their last night in the city for a while.

    Iris didn''t mind it, in fact she was eager to get started, and adventuring was all she wanted to think or care about right now. That was the problem, though, as she was supposed to meet Milo at the Badger before she left. If she woke up early tomorrow there would technically be time, as her party wouldn''t depart until the afternoon, but she couldn''t lie to herself anymore. She was overwhelmed and stressed out, if she wanted her head in the game she would need to wake up tomorrow wholly focused on adventuring, and more than anything her mind needed a long night out on the rooftops to decompress for that.

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    She sighed, and looked down at the purple drawstring sack at her waist, "what do you think?"

    The bag said nothing.

    Her suspicions that it was more than just a bag had been growing even before it had aided her in the alleyway fight, when it moved it was with purpose and intention, and sometimes with attitude. It was capable of problem solving and seemed to understand on some level that humans need to breathe. When she stopped and focused on the void inside she could feel the same quiet presence she''d noticed on her first day with powers, like something in the dark looking back at her. She smiled at the thought that maybe the bag was alive, but was just shy.

    "I wish you could have spent more time in the valley, you know" she said to the bag as she looked up at the sky, "it was boring, but it was home. I would have liked for you to get to know it."

    The bag said nothing. Her mind wandered to thoughts of home, to the sun cresting over the mountains and light cascading across the wheat fields, glimmering off the pond and flickering through leaves. Faces of friends crossed her mind, the details beginning to fade.

    After a while, she sighed. "You''re really not much for conversation," she said, rising to her feet, "I''ve made up my mind, I''ll drop the books off, leave a note, and come see Milo when we return. Sound good?"

    The bag said nothing.

    Iris leapt from the ledge, plummeting briefly before blipping and landing with her hands and feet on a rooftop. She launched into a sprint, leapt and blipped again.

    She slowed to a walk as she neared the Badger. She hadn''t seen it in person yet, but had seen illustrations of it and knew what to look for. She scanned the buildings along the street until she found a narrow, three story building with a badger carved into a sign above the door. All the lights were off, and the streets were empty. Taking a seat on the roof, she pulled out a slip of paper, a quill and some ink to scribble a quick note in the moonlight.

    "Sorry I missed you, adventuring gets busy. I''ll come see you when we get back, thanks for the books!"

    "Iris?" an incredulous voice called out over the rooftops.

    She quickly glanced around, but saw no one until a lantern flickered to life on the third floor balcony of the Badger. She stood and squinted her eyes, but could only make out the shape of a small human.

    Milo yelped and stumbled back, almost dropping the lantern, as Iris appeared on the balcony beside him.

    "Sorry!" she said, reaching out awkwardly in case she needed to catch him.

    "It''s okay," Milo huffed, holding his chest as he caught his breath, "what are you doing here?"

    "Returning the books you checked out for me," she replied, "what are you doing here?"

    "Stargazing," he said simply, pointing at the small telescope standing beside him.

    "Whoa," Iris said, moving in to inspect the telescope, "I''ve only seen these in magazines, how did you get this?"

    "I saved up for months," he said, emphasizing the last word, "I had to replace the lens myself, too, that took another month."

    Iris turned and shifted her eyes around the building, "do you live at the newspaper?"

    "No," Milo laughed, "I can''t really see the sky from my apartment, so I come out here when I want to see the stars. Perks of the job." He hesitated, "how did you know I would be here?"

    Iris was quiet for a moment, "I didn''t," she admitted, "time got away from me, and we''re leaving for the Hunt tomorrow, I was just gonna leave the books," she trailed off.

    "Oh," Milo said, shoulders dropping, "I mean that''s okay, I''m sure being an adventurer is a busy life."

    "Yeah," Iris said, feeling a pang of guilt in her chest, "but listen, we''ll be back in a week and I''ll absolutely come visit, and you can show me that machinery you talked about, deal?"

    Milo thought it over for a moment, "and I can buy you dinner?"

    Iris laughed, "sure."

    "Deal," he held out a hand, which she shook.

    She pointed at the telescope, "can I try it?"

    Milo excitedly pointed the telescope at the purple-orange moon, adjusted a dial, and stepped aside with a motion for Iris to take his spot, "just look through."

    She leaned over and pressed her eye against the eyepiece. The moon filled her view, revealing the ridges of mountains and shadows of valleys along the rocky orange moon, obstructed only by the squirming veins of purple light that hung above its surface like clouds.

    "Whoa," Iris whispered, "what is that stuff?"

    "Magic," Milo said, "that''s about all we know. At least, that''s all the books in the library know, maybe someone''s figured it out somewhere."

    "It looks so close," she observed, then stepped back from the telescope and thought for a moment, "I guess I never really thought about how far away the moons are."

    "Most people don''t," Milo said, "they just see a glowing rock in the sky and stop there. There is so much to know though, and so much more to discover. Did you know some scholars theorize there are whole other worlds out there? Some even think that this moon is actually a chunk of a world that broke off and got trapped in the wake of our own. And the stars might actually be--" He paused, "sorry, I could talk about the night sky for hours."

    Iris leaned against the railing and smiled, "I''ll make time."

 56 - Late For Work

    Iris groaned and rolled over, but the knocks on the door continued.

    "Hurry up!" Autumn shouted, "Eli says we''re gonna leave without you!"

    Iris swung herself upright and wiped the sleep from her eyes, "almost ready!" she croaked.

    She blipped across the room, opened her bottomless bag, and started sliding everything atop the dresser into it. She blipped back to the bed, and did the same with everything on the nightstand. After a few more blips to collect dirty clothes from around the room, she got dressed in her wizard robe and hat. She had to look around for her second boot before spotting it in front of the door.

    She stood in the doorway for a moment before stepping out, partially to make sure she hadn''t left anything but also out of sentimentality. It wasn''t the last time she''d see this room, they''d be back in a week or two, but it still felt like a meaningful moment to her. She was an adventurer now, and this was the first of many rooms she''d call home for a time before moving on to the next adventure, the next city, and the next temporary home. It had served her well, though she did hope the next one had a better view.

    "See you soon," she said, smiling faintly.

    "I''m docking your grade for this!" Eli''s voice called from downstairs.

    He gasped and jumped back as she appeared beside him and spoke, "you''re grading me?"

    "I am now," Eli said, "and you''re failing."

    She gave him a skeptical look and walked away. Everyone was gathered in the dining area of the tavern. Autumn was stretched out across a table with her arms dangling to the sides and a bored expression on her face, while Titus and Victoria were checking their bags and fastening pockets.

    "What time is it?" Iris asked.

    "After lunch," Eli said, clearly still annoyed.

    "I tried to wake you up for breakfast but you just groaned," Autumn said.

    "I tried at lunch," Titus added, "you threw something at the door."

    Iris grimaced sheepishly, "sorry, I was out late."

    Autumn shot upright, "did you go out partying without us?"

    Eli turned a stern glare at Iris. He had strictly forbidden any of them from going out drinking the night before. After Victoria reminded him they were adults and not his children, he had changed it to a very strong suggestion.

    "No!" She almost shouted, "no, I was just-- I went to see a friend."

    "Ooooh," Autumn said with an obnoxious wink.

    "Not like that!" Iris''s face was reddening, "can we just go?"

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    They left through the Underbelly. It was busier than usual with many groups of adventurers carrying heavy backpacks stuffed with gear. With all their packs stowed in Iris''s bag, the party was able to slip through the crowds easier than most. Iris stopped at a food stand to grab a meat skewer, then blipped to catch up to the others.

    They took the side path up towards the city gates, then traveled along the main road for a time. The wide road wasn''t crowded, but there were groups of adventurers ahead and behind them making the same trek. Iris blipped up beside Eli, who was leading the group.

    "So, what''s the plan?" she asked.

    "We went over that at breakfast," he said without looking at her.

    "Are you still mad about that?"

    "Are you still tired?" he retorted.

    She didn''t have a reply to that. She was still tired, not to mention she had completely ruined her plan of waking up focused on adventuring. She desperately wished she could go back to sleep and try this all again tomorrow, which is the exact opposite of how she wanted to feel today.

    "Okay," she said eventually, "point taken. I was irresponsible."

    She looked at Eli questioningly when he didn''t say anything.

    "Uh, and I''m sorry," she added, "and I''ll try not to let it happen again?"

    He sighed, "I know you''re having fun being an adventurer, and don''t get me wrong, it is fun sometimes. We all still have fun too. But sooner or later reality is going to set in that fun is a only part of the job. You have to put in the work to earn the fun, or you''ll end up broke, dead, or both," he paused, "I didn''t understand that at your level either, but I wasn''t deep in the Giantrock Region. I''d like to keep you alive until you have a chance to realize it for yourself."

    Her expression relaxed and she started feeling guilty, "you take this pretty serious."

    "If I don''t, people die," he kept his eyes ahead of him as they talked.

    "Alright," she said with a sigh, "give me some kind of punishment then. Double watch duty, or I have to pack up the whole camp in the morning. Or--"

    "I guess I could put you on half rations," he pondered.

    "Please don''t," she pleaded genuinely.

    He laughed, and they both relaxed slightly.

    "Tell you what," he said, "you''re on Autumn duty until we get to basecamp."

    "Autumn duty?"

    "Make sure she''s not scavenging for berries when she should be paying attention, or picking fights with something or someone she shouldn''t, or doing something dangerous because it looks cool."

    Iris glanced back at Autumn, then at Eli with panic, "but that''s everything she does."

    Eli laughed again and clapped her on the back, "good luck."

    After a while they broke off the main road and began hiking through the redwood forest. They were in a completely different part of the forest from what they''d traversed on the way to the city, though it looked pretty much the same. The only difference came from the season shifting ever-so-slightly during their week in the city, with the first of the late summer flowers coming into bloom. Most were of ordinary size, but some were giant flower buds larger than Autumn atop drooping stalks as tall as Titus. They were just beginning to creep open to reveal huge yellow-orange petals stashed away inside.

    A short while after they left the road, a familiar screech echoed through the redwoods. Glimmer swooped over them, landing the side of a redwood and quickly folding her wings before kicking off like a cat and landing in front of Eli. He dutifully scratched her head and looked her over for injuries before they continued.

    They set up an early camp between two fallen redwoods that provided ample cover on either side. While Eli fitted Glimmer with her saddle and Autumn prepared dinner, Titus filled Iris in on the plan.

    "We''re cutting across the forest until we hit a trade route where my monster''s been sighted, we''ll travel along that route for a half day before taking a detour through the woods, then we''ll get back on the route and follow it until we cross a bridge. After that it''s back into the forest, heading towards the ruins you''re looking for," he was reading from his journal, where he''d scribbled notes that were nearly illegible to Iris, "oh, and be on the lookout for giant red wasps, elk, and an octopus."

    "An Octopus? she questioned.

    He shrugged, "I don''t think we''ll find one either, but Autumn says they''re out here."

    "In the forest?" Iris asked incredulously, "wait, whose idea were the giant wasps?"

 57 - Not The Waaaassppps

    "WHY?" Iris shouted, appearing briefly beside Eli as he fired off a barrage of magic bolts from his rune gauntlets at the giant wasps zipping around them.

    She disappeared again before he could reply, appearing in the air with her feet planted on the back of a wasp. She grasped its fragile wings in either hand and grunted as she ripped backwards, tearing them from its body and sending them both tumbling towards the ground. She blipped again and landed in a crouch.

    "Are you fucking kidding me?" She slumped her shoulders and complained, watching the wingless wasp right itself and start scurrying across the ground towards Eli.

    Only Autumn''s eyes were visible beneath the full suit of rock armor, which itself was only half visible beneath the swarm of wasps that crawled around her and cracked at the stone with their dagger-sized stingers. Instead of hands, her armor had long spikes at the end of each arm which she used to skewer wasps or swat them out of the air.

    She leaned back until she stumbled, rapidly stepping to keep her balance until she slammed into the trunk of a redwood and splattered several wasps on her back. She briefly morphed the stone helmet to reveal her mouth and shouted Eli''s name, then morphed it again to cover her entire face, eyes included. She leaned forward and charged towards Eli with heavy stomps.

    Eli whipped around and unslung his staff from the holster on his back. He charged a powerful blast and leveled his aim at Autumn''s chest plate, completely obscured by angry wasps. Iris blipped behind him and kicked the crawling wasp away before it reached his ankles, then she stomped on it repeatedly as Eli released the blast.

    Autumn felt the blast hit her like a charging bull. Momentum carried her feet forward while the force of the blast stopped her upper body in place, sending her careening backwards and into the ground. The armor crumbled around her as she stood with a groan and stretched her neck, surrounded by chunks of stone coated in wasp innards.

    Victoria chained carefully spaced aura bursts to lure wasps into clumps and move them around the battlefield. She led a pack of them in a wide circle around the surrounding trees, then funneled them into a crevice between two large roots where Titus was staged and waiting. He summoned three spears of light in the air above him and thrust his hands forward, sending the spears flying towards the wasps. The wasps hit by the spears were ripped apart in a gory, goopy mess.

    He held out both palms, fingers half-curled and tensed as he conjured healing bolts and fired them towards the remaining wasps. Though the energy was meant for healing, he overcharged these bolts far beyond what the weak bodies of the wasps could handle. The first bolt hit and was absorbed into the wasp''s body, the wasp briefly glowed white from within before rapidly bloating and popping violently. The next two bolts missed, then the next three hit and finished the last of that group.

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    Iris stomped until the wingless wasp was paste beneath her boot. She sneered at the goop covering the bottom edges of her robe and stomped one more time out of spite. She turned and saw a wasp racing towards her. It swung its abdomen forward, a long glimmering stinger outstretched. The stinger plunged into her shoulder as she blipped. She reappeared, stumbling from the mana loss from her unexpected passenger. The wasp clung to her with its legs, its hideous mandibled face staring back at her as it pushed the stinger deeper until it ripped out the other side. The arm hung limp at her side.

    She reached into her bag with her good arm and pulled out a rusty dagger. Screaming in the wasp''s face, she reached around and plunged the knife into the wasp''s head. Then again into its thorax, then again and again. When the wasp went limp, she dropped the knife and squeezed her good arm between herself and the wasp, shoving forward with a grunt until the stinger was pulled from her shoulder and the wasp fell to the ground at her feet. She swayed and stumbled, then collapsed to a knee. Her lungs constricted and she wheezed horrendously as she fruitlessly tried to gasp for breath. She heard her name and more words she couldn''t register as her vision closed in around her.

    Autumn, now wearing a new set of armor equipped with small wrecking balls for fists, swung and splattered wasps out of the air as she shouted to Titus, "Iris is hit!"

    Eli and Autumn closed in on Iris and cleared the wasps in the area. Victoria sprinted between them and slid to a stop near Iris, releasing a wide aura burst centered on Iris that scattered and confused the remaining wasps.

    "It''s bad!" Victoria shouted.

    "Move!" Titus shouted, bringing his full sprint to an abrupt stop and charging a pair of life bolts.

    Victoria stepped aside, and the first bolt hit Iris in the back, shoving her forwards and sprawling her out on the ground. The next one hit her in the side of the shoulder that had been stung with enough force to roll her over on her side. She was motionless, then gasped a strong, ragged breath.

    Titus resumed his sprint while Victoria stood over her to body-block any incoming wasps. They were recovering from the disorientation now, and had begun swarming in a circle around the group. Victoria counted roughly a dozen left.

    "Magma?" Autumn asked aloud.

    "No!" Eli said quickly, "Vic, can you get them in one spot?"

    "I can try," Victoria replied.

    Titus arrived at the group, sliding the last few feet on his knees and coming to a stop beside Iris, "she''s still fading!" he shouted, rolling her onto her back and checking her pulse.

    Eli charged his staff. Victoria released a series of small aura bursts above and below the circling wasps, constricting them into a narrow band. Then she released a stronger burst on the ground ten yards in front of Eli, doing her best to mimic an angry and aggressive aura. She sustained the burst as long as she could, as the band of wasps flew over it they swooped down to swarm and sting that spot on the ground.

    Eli released the bolt from his staff, it ripped forward and exploded with a deafening boom at the center of the wasps. Chunks of wasp and splatters of goop burst outwards and coated the group, followed by a short rain of the pieces that had flown upwards thumping and splatting on the ground.

    Autumn stomped over to a few straggling wasps, crippled from the blast but still clinging to life as they crawled aimlessly. One by one, she stomped them into goop-splatters with her heavy stone boots.

    "She''ll live," Titus said before Eli could ask, still kneeling beside Iris and pumping healing energy into her, "she''s gonna feel like shit when she wakes up, though."

 58 - Large Feet

    The Shark Titan barked orders as he strode down the beach, observing the adventurers assembling ballistae in the sand, "dig those anchor stakes deep! There''ll be waves!"

    His ship loomed just off shore, where his trusted first mate was preparing the crew and a select few Champions he''d personally vetted for the battle. A large, limbless carcass was being hoisted by ropes and cranes over the deck of the ship to be dropped as bait. The titan frowned as he saw a winged-silhouette in the sky above, swooping down to land a dozen yards ahead.

    "You''re in the wrong place," he called out at the approaching figure.

    "I''m on a tight schedule," Commander Bridge said curtly as he quickly closed the distance on foot, "we need to talk."

    The Shark Titan grimaced, then noticed distracted looks from nearby adventurers and shouted, "back to work!"

    <hr>

    The party rested by a babbling creek that cut through the forest. Everyone but Iris had changed into fresh clothes, and all but Autumn were now washing their armor in the creek. Autumn, having no armor to wash, was instead fire roasting fist sized nuts she''d harvested from the base of a few giant shrubs. Beside her were several jars filled with honey, and Titus and Eli were notably washing not just goop, but also honey from their armor.

    "I didn''t even know wasps made honey," she said errantly, spinning the spit over the fire to roast the nuts evenly.

    Iris was propped up against a rock beside her, clutching her shoulder, "no deadly quests," Iris mumbled in a bad impression of Eli.

    "Hey," Eli called out, standing upright from he was leaning over barefoot in the creek scrubbing his armor, "there weren''t supposed to be that many wasps, I said I was sorry."

    "How did you even hear that?" Iris called back with an attitude, then winced in pain.

    "Must be the elf ears," Autumn whispered.

    "Is that racist?" Iris asked, curiously.

    Autumn paused, then made an unhappy face, "shit, I hope not."

    The puncture wound through Iris''s shoulder had been fully healed, but it was extra sore from all the healing magic it had taken, and the hole in her robe still remained. Titus wasn''t able to remove the venom from her blood, however, and every muscle still ached when she moved. He had explained that it would take days to fully work itself out of her body, and recommended she drink plenty of water in the meantime. Breathing wasn''t difficult now, but each breath hurt like she''d done a thousand abdominal crunches the day before. She still had two of Mrs. Rousey''s painkilling candies in her bag, but couldn''t bring herself to eat one of her last reminders of home.

    Titus waded through the slow flowing river carrying a washcloth and his now shining chest plate. He stepped up beside Eli where he was crouched in the water, furiously scrubbed a submerged leather greave still coated in a layer of wasp goop.

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    "You good?" Titus asked quietly.

    "Yeah," Eli replied without looking up, "I already told you I didn''t get stung."

    Titus crouched down beside him, "you know that''s not what I''m asking."

    Eli dropped his hands and sighed, "I don''t need a pep talk, Titus."

    Titus paused for a moment, then spoke somberly, "I stopped keeping count of how many lives I''ve saved a long time ago, but I still remember every time someone got hurt because of my mistakes. Most nights it''s the last thing I think about before I sleep. When being stoic stops working, come talk."

    Titus clapped Eli on the shoulder, then stood and walked away.

    The party gathered around the fire as the first batch of nuts finished roasting. One by one, Autumn placed them in a thick stone bowl and lightly smashed them with a rock until they were broken into knuckle sized chunks. She then transferred the chunks to a wooden bowl and passed it out before moving on to the next nut. She gave Iris the first bowl, uncorking a jar of honey and placing it beside her.

    "Thanks," Iris said, balancing the bowl in her lap as she used her good arm to dip a chunk into the honey. She moaned as she chewed the first bite, not waiting to finish before she spoke again, "this is almost worth it."

    "Just make sure we save three jars for the quest," Eli said, accepting a bowl from Autumn after uncorking another jar.

    After the snack, Iris climbed to her feet with a groan and trudged down to the creek, where she washed her boots and did her best to scrub the goop from the trails of her robe while the other''s packed up. She made a mental note to herself, buy more than one robe. She frowned at the hole in the shoulder of the robe and added a sewing kit to the list.

    Another half-day''s travel brought them out of the forest and onto the trade route. It was a simple, muddy road just wide enough for one cart to pull aside while another cart passed. The route wound through the trunks of the giant redwoods, and either side was crowded with dense foliage of extra-large bushes and regular sized trees. They traveled along the road for the rest of the day and started looking for places to camp as the light waned.

    "Titus, look at this," Eli said, stopping to point at a large footprint in the muddy road.

    Titus crouched beside Eli to inspect the foot print. It was vaguely human shaped, with five toes and a notable heel indent. He placed his hand flat against the ground inside it, with his thumb and pinky spread out they only barely brushed the edges of the print.

    "This is it," he said, rising to his feet and looking around, "see anymore?"

    "Cart tracks have covered them up," Eli said, scanning the area as well, "looks like it was crossing, heading that way." He nodded towards the brush to the north.

    "Can we camp nearby?" Titus said, "I''ll take first watch, maybe it''ll show itself."

    "Dibs on not being the bait," Autumn said, raising a hand.

    "No one''s gonna be bait," Eli said.

    "Doesn''t that mean we''re all kind of bait?" Victoria asked.

    "No-- there''s no bait," Eli struggled.

    "I''ll be bait," Iris volunteered, wincing as she tried to raise her hand, "actually, maybe next time."

    They found a small outcropping in the brush just down the road, where a fallen redwood had held back the bulk of the crowding plant life and frequent campers had stomped away the most ambitious of the plants, evidenced by a smattering of boot prints and the remnants of countless fires in a well-established fire pit.

    At Titus''s request, Iris pulled out a few large metal claw traps from her bag, which he had procured specifically for this quest. He spaced them out in a perimeter around the camp, with some advice from Eli about where they should be placed. Afterwards, Eli showed him how to set up a snare trap just outside of camp, and then watched and critiqued as Titus placed another one on the other side of camp.

    As promised, Titus took the first watch, ensuring Eli he''d wake him for the second watch. Iris and Autumn slept closest to the fire, most wary of being snatched away by a monster in the dark. Before she closed her eyes to sleep, Iris reviewed her journal.

    IRIS ORION

    Hero Rank, Level 5

    Experience Points: 1057 / 6680

    Progress to next level: 15.82%

 59 - Bump In the Night

    Titus stood alert on the edge of camp, looking out into the trees beyond. The forest was oppressively dark, lit only by occasional rays of purple or orange moonlight that slipped through cracks in the multistoried canopy. Towering trunks appeared like black monoliths between the rays, and a myriad of skittering critters and chirping crickets echoed from all around, occasionally punctuated by distant hoots or howls.

    He snapped his head to the left at an unfamiliar sound. It sounded not unlike a dog''s howl, but quicker and repetitive like a sequence of chirps from a bird. His skin grew bumps and a shiver overcame him as he realized it sounded almost like a human imitating animals.

    He shifted in place and his armor clinked quietly. The noises stopped. He scanned the dark woods nervously, but saw nothing. He took a step back and the noises returned, this time reminiscent of a hyena''s laugh.

    "Eli!" he hissed over his shoulder, trying to keep his eyes on the forest, "Eli! Wake up!"

    He bent down and picked up a rock, stealing a glance over his shoulder to toss it at Eli''s bedroll before snapping his attention back to the forest. He heard Eli grunt, then stir to action. Seconds later Eli was by his side, staff in hand.

    "What is it?" Eli asked, now scanning the forest with him. The sounds had stopped.

    "There''s something weird out there," Titus whispered wearily.

    Eli glanced at Titus with concern, "we should wake Vic, she''ll see more than we can."

    A branch cracked nearby. Eli''s hand shot up to still Titus, then slowly moved to his staff as he brought it to his shoulder and took aim in the direction of the sound. They stood motionless and silent for several moments, but no movement or sounds followed.

    Eli nodded behind him over his shoulder, then slowly crept backwards with his staff at the ready. Titus followed suit, and the pair slowly slinked back into camp. The fire was merely smoldering embers, and the others slept soundly. Metal clanked as one of the traps slammed shut. Eli spun around and the runes on his staff lit up red, but the trap was empty. A snare trap snapped through leaves as it triggered, Titus conjured three shimmering, humming spears of light in the air above camp and the laughing started again.

    Autumn snored quietly by the fire, while Iris sat up straight and shielded her eyes from the glow of the spears. Glimmer stirred and stretched, then climbed to her feet and took her place beside Eli, following his gaze and staring intently into the darkness. Victoria was already on her feet, veins pulsing around her eyes as a grey film overtook them. She scanned their surroundings with a frown.

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    "I can''t see it," she said, even as the laughing continued.

    "Fuck," Eli whispered.

    "It''s playing with us," Titus said angrily.

    Iris screamed and blipped away. The second snare trap activated. Autumn woke in an furious panic as a hairy hand around her foot dragged her from camp and into the brush. Glimmer whirled around and screeched as she leapt into the brush in pursuit.

    "Autumn!" Eli shouted, sprinting after Glimmer.

    Titus and Victoria followed, chasing the sounds of cracking branches and Autumn''s yells.

    "Let go you fucking creep!" she shouted, grasping desperately and fruitlessly for rocks to transmute into a weapon.

    Iris whirled around in the darkness until she caught a glimpse of Titus''s light spears trailing behind him. She blipped after them, tripping in the darkness but staying on her feet.

    Sleeping birds woke and scattered as Eli fired a blast from his staff. It exploded against the trunk of a tree as a spear of light shot past and hit another. The beast weaved between them, dragging Autumn over the rough terrain at terrifying speed. She twisted onto her stomach and grabbed hold of a large rock as they passed, it broke free from the dirt and did little to slow her attacker but she held onto it like a lifeline all the same.

    Even as her abdomen scraped across something sharp, she transmuted the rock into a small hatchet. She twisted around and hurled the hatchet at the hulking silhouette that dragged her. It landed with a dull thunk, and the beast whined like an injured dog. Its grip faltered, and she yanked back her foot to break free. The beast left her behind and continued sprinting through the trees.

    Two spears of light whizzed past her, momentarily lighting the forest in a white glow followed by a bolt from Eli''s staff that replaced it with a deep red hue, then the darkness returned. Glimmer leapt over her and chased after the beast. She heard her friends approach and surround her before she could see them. She grabbed a hand that reached out to hoist her on her feet, recognizing Titus by his stature.

    "Are you hurt?" he asked.

    "Yeah," she winced as she spoke, "nothing serious."

    Eli whistled after Glimmer, then lit the runes on his staff to illuminate his friends in an eerie red glow.

    "Are we all here?" he asked, then spun around in a panic, "where''s Iris?"

    "Here!" she said from behind Eli, in the direction he had just been looking.

    Glimmer sprinted back to them and slid to a stop, turning to restlessly stare in the direction of the escaping beast.

    "Everyone stay close," he ordered, "Vic, lead us back to camp."

    "There''s a blood trail," Titus said, crouching down to inspect a dark puddle in the dirt.

    "Leave it for morning," Eli said, "we need to regroup."

    Titus didn''t argue, and they all followed Victoria back to camp with weary eyes on their surroundings. They returned to a mess, embers were scattered across the ground and their bedrolls had been ripped and torn. Autumn''s cooking spit was knocked over and bent out of shape. The traps they''d set were now piled near the center of camp, disassembled in a heap.

    "There''s more than one," Titus said gravely, "and they''re sending us a message."

    Autumn and Iris pushed the coals back into the fire pit and started up the fire again while Titus, Eli and Victoria discussed strategy. They settled on finishing out the night and going after the trail at first light. They kept the fire lit for the rest of the night and slept in pairs atop torn bedrolls, keeping a triple watch until morning. Occasional laughing could be heard in the distance throughout the night.

 60 - A Gouge in the Forest

    The first morning sunlight to trickle through the canopies painted the dim forest floor with specks of light. Dew drops glinted where the light found them, and the earliest birds were singing.

    "Time to move," Eli announced to the camp, nudging a sleeping Autumn with his foot.

    Iris groaned and blipped a pillow at Eli, which he avoided with a quick lean. She lay her head down on the uneven ground beneath her thin bedroll and groaned again.

    Eli stooped down beside the still snoring Autumn and grabbed the lower corner of her bedroll, pulling it with him as he stood upright. Autumn rolled beneath the bedding and shouted obscenities as she tumbled into the dirt.

    "We''ve got four unfinished quests and four days to make it to base camp," he said loudly, "let''s go."

    The forest grew gradually brighter as they packed camp and searched for the blood trail. It was late-morning when they came across a trail of wide footprints marked with splotches of trickled blood. They followed the trail through the forest floor as it winded around trunks and roots until it brought them to a ravine which cut through the forest like a wound.

    The ravine was 150 feet wide and 50 feet deep, redwood roots erupted from the cliff faces and crossed the gap and grew back into the ground, forming an entangled mess of natural bridges that gave the appearance of the trees stitching the forest back together. Hanging moss grew from the roots and draped down towards a small river that rushed between two narrow shores of mud and gravel.

    "Wait," Victoria whispered quickly, "Shut up. No one move."

    Everyone froze in place, including Victoria. Iris and Autumn tried not to turn their heads as they exchanged curious eye contact, then Autumn glanced at Titus, who gave a clueless shrug.

    Victoria stared across the ravine with her auravision, then released the power and returned her eyes to normal. She slowly pointed between two trunks across the ravine, where the front half of an elk was barely visible behind brush. Victoria slowly and carefully pulled a small notebook and a straight piece of charcoal wrapped in linen from her pocket. She made crude marks on the page with the coal, noting the approximate height, number of antler points, and any unique identifying marks.

    "Do we kill it?" Iris asked quietly.

    "No!" Victoria hissed, "it''s for a wildlife survey."

    "Oh," Iris said, "that''s nice. We do kind of a lot of killing."

    "Yeeaahh," Autumn agreed.

    Eli gave them a quiet shush while Victoria finished her notes. After a moment, the elk snapped his head as a sound from elsewhere in the forest alerted his attention, seconds later he dashed into the forest with loud, thumping hoof steps.

    "That was good," Victoria said, her casual tone was a signal for the others to relax the tension in their bodies and breath, "I even got most of a sketch done. Iris, can you do me a favor?"

    Iris blipped the short distance between them to arrive in front of Victoria, looking expectantly.

    Victoria handed her the charcoal, "can you go mark that spot with a quick drawing of antlers?"

    Iris nodded and blipped a short distance to the edge of the ravine. After a moment to plan her path she blipped to appear on a root-bridge. She ran for a few steps, then leapt off and blipped again onto another root. She continued this through a long chain of blips, moving upwards as she went until she arrived atop the cliff on the other side at the base of the root she was to mark.

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    As Iris stepped up to draw, Victoria shouted from across the way, "A little to the left!"

    Iris looked back at Victoria, then blipped a few feet to her left and waited.

    "Perfect!" Victoria shouted.

    Iris drew the basic outline of antlers, stepped back to observe it, then made a few additions. She stepped back to inspect it again, then stepped up to make adjustments.

    "I think that''s good enough," Eli shouted from across the gap.

    "Just a minute!" She shouted over her shoulder, finishing the final shaping on a side-profile silhouette of the Elk''s head and neck beneath the antlers. She gave her work a satisfied nod, then turned back towards her companions and stepped up to the edge of the ravine, and paused.

    "Uh, guys," she said wearily, "you should see this."

    The party unknowingly stood atop a shallow overhang supported by a pair of entwined roots several feet below the surface. At the bottom of the ravine, beside the river and beneath the overhang, was a battered and overturned carriage. All but one wheel was missing from the axles, the doors had been ripped off and the frame was crushed and shattered in multiple places. The only sign of the horses that had pulled it were loose harnesses still tied to the remnants of the carriage.

    Iris blipped her way down to the bottom of the ravine, then blipped across the river to the carriage. Victoria used her mist form to meet Iris at the bottom while the others struggled to climb their way down. The pair of them looked up at their companions in amusement, then concern. They winced as Titus stepped on a thin root that broke free from the dirt, causing him to slip and almost fall before catching a lucky handhold. Eli told Glimmer to stay, then made his way down more elegantly, taking short leaps between root-bridges until he landed softly beside Victoria.

    Autumn was the slowest to descend, still near the top as Eli landed at the bottom. "Fuck this," she grumbled, looking over her shoulder to shout, "incoming!"

    "Don''t--" Eli began, but gave up as Autumn released her grip and kicked off the wall of dirt.

    She landed with a splat in the mud, sending mud splashing in all directions. Iris blipped away just in time to dodge a clump of mud that was now destined for Eli, splattering across his chest and the lower half of his face. Smaller clumps of mud splattered across Victoria, while Titus was just out of reach as he finished his climb down.

    Iris appeared behind a very angry Eli turning to glare at her. She burst into laughter when she saw him. Titus''s boots hit the ground as he finished the climb, and an instant later he was laughing with her. Autumn, who was covered in mud herself, was frozen in a fearful expression that was quickly cracking with amusement.

    Eli wiped the mud from his chin as he spoke to Victoria in a transparent attempt to keep himself calm, "It''s good. It''s good that they''re in high spirits. Morale is important."

    "My supply of clean clothes is important," she said flatly.

    "At least we''re already next to a river," Autumn said confidently.

    Victoria took a step towards Autumn, who looked aghast. Eli stopped Victoria with an outstretched arm.

    "Pull it together," he said to the party, "we''ve got work to do."

    Victoria relaxed, but gave a threatening glare to Autumn, who sneered in return. Titus was smiling to himself and lightly shaking his head as he turned away from the party and approached the destroyed carriage. Eli soon stepped up beside him, glancing back over his shoulder for a moment to make sure the girls weren''t fighting.

    "Look at this," Titus pointed at a section of the frame around the door that had been crushed into splinters, "does that look like a handprint?"

    Eli nodded grimly, "from a very big hand. The wood hasn''t started rotting yet, this hasn''t been here long."

    Titus stepped up on the rumble to peer down through the doorway into the carriage, "stripped clean. No blood."

    "So either someone else found this and emptied it, or whatever did this was smart enough to want the valuables."

    "The things we''re after mostly target caravans and trade wagons," Titus said, "stolen goods are part of their pattern. We''re a long way from the road, though, did they drag this thing all the way out here?"

    "That wouldn''t make sense," Eli pondered. He turned and looked up out of the ravine, then pointed, "there''s a gap between the roots wide enough for this carriage, we should check for tracks up top."

    ¡°Blip!¡± Eli and Titus jumped slightly as Iris appeared between them and spoke, "I''ll take a look!" Then she was gone.

    Iris blipped across the river on the root-bridges just above it, then zig-zagged a series of blips between roots to climb out of the ravine before disappearing over the top edge of the cliff. She returned the way she''d gone shortly after, "one pair of cart tracks, and several pairs of big footprints."

    "I think the road''s about a half mile in that direction,¡± Eli said.

    "Maybe they were being chased?" Titus asked, "could they make it that far through the forest?"

    "If they were desperate and lucky enough, maybe," Eli said.

    Titus grimaced, "If they survived the fall, this is a bad spot to be surrounded."

    "Kind of weird that we ended up in the same spot," Iris wondered aloud.

    Titus and Eli looked at Iris, then locked eyes.

    "Vic," Eli''s voice wavered, "perimeter check."

 61 - Mud and Blood

    "Vic," Eli''s voice wavered, "perimeter check."

    Victoria''s eyes slicked over with mucus and veins bulged around them. Her perspective zoomed out of her head, rising into the air to look down on the ravine from above with colorless spectral sight. The colored auras of her companions at the base of the ravine stood out against the grey environment, and on the ledge above she saw the aura of Glimmer. The griffin pounced towards something with no aura to be seen, it blended seamlessly into the foliage as it dodged and dashed towards the ravine.

    "They''re here!" Victoria shouted, returning to her normal vision and glancing upwards.

    Three hulking figures dropped from above and landed in the muddy ravine with heavy, squelching thumps. They walked upright and stood eight feet tall, thick with muscle and covered head to toe in long, dense hair that draped from their frame. Their faces were vaguely human, but with black eyes and large, sharp teeth. Two were dark brown in color, while the third was a dark shade of grey and a head taller than the others.

    The first beast landed behind Victoria and swiped its arm, catching her on the shoulder with a bone crunching impact that sent her flying across the narrow river and onto the muddy shore across it where she rolled to a limp stop. The next two, including the larger grey one, landed in front of Eli, Titus and Iris, boxing them in against the wall of the ravine.

    Autumn was positioned between her companions and the river and face to face with the beast that had attacked Victoria. She crouched and reached deep into the mud at her feet until her hands found stones, which she gripped tightly and heaved out of the thick mud as the beast that stood almost twice her height charged at her. It swung an arm, she dived forward and rolled under the strike, rising to her feet behind it as the stones in her hands were molded to encase her hands and form a short, wide spike on other hand.

    Titus glared between the beasts and eyed Victoria''s limp frame across the ravine. With no clear shot to send a healing bolt, he charged forward and met the smaller of the two beasts with a gauntleted fist to its jaw. Its head rolled with the blow but it stood firm in its place, responding with a huge hand that clenched around Titus''s shoulder and held him in place while it struck with a punch towards Titus''s chest from its other hand. The impact crunched his armor with enough force to kill a normal person outright. Titus snarled and gripped the beast around the waist, heaving and groaning as he planted his feet and used leverage to twist the beast off its feet and barely manage to slam it into the mud, tumbling with it to the ground.

    Iris stared up frozen in horror at the grey-haired beast as it snarled and lumbered towards her. As its shadow eclipsed her frame, she saw red light from behind her illuminating its body. She blipped away, and Eli released a fully charged blast of red magic into its chest. In the confined space, the explosive blast splattered mud in all directions and knocked pebbles loose from the wall of the ravine that stretched out above them. The beast took a stumbled step backwards, smoke wafting from the now singed-black hair on its chest.

    In a messy struggle, Titus climbed atop the beast he fought and sat on its chest, raining blows down on it as he leaned and dodged to avoid the outstretched arms that grabbed at him. He pounded the beast''s skull into the mud until it got its arms free enough to wrap around Titus in a bear hug and pull him tight. The beast squeezed and rolled, trapping Titus beneath its astounding weight as it gained the advantage. Titus summoned four spears of light in the air just above them and immediately called them down. They pierced through the beast without breaking skin, burning away at its organs from the inside.

    Though its arms were long, Autumn''s opponent stood nearly twice her height, making it relatively easy to duck and dodge its lumbering swings as she circled around it. It stepped awkwardly in the mud as it twisted and turned to keep track of her, like it was trying to squash a rat running between its feet.

    She rushed in towards it, stabbing at its thigh. The hand-spike caught in the beast''s thick, matted hair, but she torqued her shoulder with all her strength to drive it through and into the soft flesh beneath. The beast howled like an injured dog as she continued pushing, forcing the spike deep into muscle and then into bone. She broke off the stone, freeing her hand and leaving the stone embedded. The beast reached down and gripped the back of her neck, hoisting her off the ground and tossing her away as it stumbled.

    Iris watched from a perch on a bridge-like root just above the battle. She saw Victoria, still unmoving across the ravine, and Titus, pinned to the ground beneath a beast with the tips of light spears poking out of its back. The grey-haired beast had Eli backed against the ravine wall, he was standing atop the destroyed carriage -- which brought him eye to eye with the monster as he barely dodged a fist that slammed into the dirt behind him.

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    "Eli!" Iris shouted, "get Titus to Vic!"

    She leapt off the root and blipped, appearing beside the grey-haired beast''s head and landing an awkward kick to its face. She blipped again and landed crouched in the mud behind the beast as it shook its head, more in confusion than pain. It looked over its shoulder to see her smirking up at it, and growled. She grabbed a fistful of mud and slung it towards the beast, it held out a thick arm to block but the clump of mud blipped and reappeared behind the arm, slapping into the creature''s face. It spread its arms wide and released a deafening roar of fury that sent spit flying towards Iris.

    "That''s it," she smiled, rising to her feet and slowly stepping back.

    "Iris, don''t!" Eli shouted from behind the beast.

    Iris turned as if to run, but then blipped and once-more appeared in the air in front of the beast. She kicked off its face and blipped away again as it tried to swat her away. It roared again and stomped its foot before charging towards Iris as she reappeared a dozen feet away. She blipped again, and again, deftly traversing the muddy, uneven terrain of the ravine as the grey-haired charged after her, swiping away and snapping or uprooting small, spindly trees that stood in its way.

    "Fuck," Eli hissed, watching the beast chase Iris away before turning and leveling his staff and charging a shot at the beast that Titus still wrestled. In his periphery, he saw Autumn leaping through the air with a sharply pointed broken branch aimed for a beast''s chest.

    Glimmer spotted the grey-haired beast sprinting through the ravine from above. She leapt from root-bridge to root-bridge as she joined the chase. Iris sprinted and blipped, pushing her pace as fast she could manage as the beast took long strides behind her. She stumbled and twisted as she moved, each time she would have fallen she blipped forward instead. Explosions and yells rung out from the battle behind her and echoed down the length of the ravine.

    Her mana was running low, and her breath was burning in her throat. There was a clearing up ahead, where the narrow river briefly pooled in a small pond interspersed with arching roots and patches of mud that rose just above the water. Twisting deadwood trees surrounded the pond, some fallen over into it with branches reaching out of the water like drowning spikes.

    She crossed the pond with two blips and came to a rest on a thick, angled trunk of a fallen tree. She gasped for breath as she turned to face her pursuer, now wading waist-deep through the water and almost half-way across the pond. She wouldn''t have enough time for her mana to recharge.

    Glimmer leapt from a root-bridge above, briefly unfurling her wings to guide her descent. She tucked the wings in tight as she landed on the beast''s back, digging talons into its shoulders and raking cat-like claws across its lower back. The beast fell forward under the sudden weight and awkwardly splashed into the water.

    "Hell yeah!" Iris cheered.

    Glimmer screeched and pecked at the creature with her sharp beak as it flailed in the water beneath her. Soon it broke free from her grip, twisting and grabbing her by the paws, pulling her deeper into the water. The beast was now completely submerged, with Glimmer thrashing about and flapping her wings to escape as a long arm reached up out of the water, wrapped around the back of her neck and pulled her head towards the water.

    Iris felt her mana reach its cap, and leapt from the tree. She blipped to a root in the water, pulled the rusty dagger from her bottomless bag in stride, then leapt and hoped her next idea would work. She took a deep breath and blipped into the water.

    The sensation was different than blipping in air, and the pressure of the water around her was briefly crushing before returning to normal. She could barely see in the cloudy pond, instead grasping out desperately until her hand clasped onto thick hair. She pulled herself towards it, finding the beast''s abdomen with her feet to wrap around it. She brought the dagger to the beast''s lower back and braced the pommel against her waist, with her feet hook around the beast''s abdomen she was able to pull herself tight against the beast, using her legs to press the dagger through the thick hair and into the beast''s flesh. The pommel dug hard into her hip bone, and the pain shouted for her to stop, but she squeezed tighter until the dagger slipped into flesh.

    The beast let out a muffled roar, releasing a torrent of bumbles into the water. The water grew brighter as Glimmer broke free and rose into the air away from them, her shadow receding. Iris let go of the beast as it flailed, bringing her feet to its lower back and clenching the dagger with both hands. She pushed off with her feet and yanked the dagger free, then tried to blip away.

    Her mana drained but the ability failed as a large, hairy hand grabbed her foot. She was running out of air, her lungs begged to breathe and a pressure was building in her head. She frantically tried to shake her leg free, but it was hopeless. The other hand found her neck and pulled her towards the creature until she saw its furious face just inches from hers in the murky water.

    The air escaped her lungs and bumbles filled the small gap between their faces. She tried to stab the dagger into the beast''s neck, but didn''t have the strength to pierce the soaked and matted hair. Water filled her lungs and her visions began to blacken, the beast smiled at her with gnarly teeth.

    Dagger still pressed to the beast''s chin, she blipped it an inch further. The creature''s eyes went wide as the hair got pushed aside by the reappearing dagger and the tip touched its skin. With her last motion she rammed her hand against the pommel to shove the dagger deep.

 62 - Constantly Almost Dying

    "Iris!" Eli shouted, taking a long stride over a puddle of muddy water before ducking under bramble.

    He heard a short chirp from Glimmer further down the ravine, and quickened his pace.

    On a small patch of solid ground on the far end of the pond, Glimmer gripped an unconscious Iris by the torso with an eagle foot. The talons were carefully wrapped around from her back to cradle her ribcage without puncturing flesh, and the griffon gently beat her wings to rise into the air and lift Iris from the ground. From a few feet above the ground, Glimmer kicked down and released her grip, throwing Iris chest first into the ground. Iris landed limply and didn''t move.

    She screeched at Iris, and then picked her up and tried again. When Iris slapped into the ground the second time, water shot from her mouth with gurgles and coughs. She convulsed with desperate coughs as she tried and failed to push herself off the ground. The rounded top of Glimmer''s large, hooked beak nudged her on the side, gently at first but more aggressively until she managed to roll Iris over onto her back. The griffin looked down at her, curiously. For the next several minutes, fits of pitiful coughing interrupted labored breathing. The massive eagle head stared down at her, occasionally tilting or turning to get a different look at her.

    "Thanks," Iris croaked, which kicked off another coughing fit that sent her into a convulsive roll to the side. Glimmer chirped.

    "Iris!" She heard Eli shout. Glimmer anxiously flapped her wings and let out a short screech as he approached.

    He waded through knee deep mud around the edge of the pond until he reached the patch of ground where she lay. After breaking free from the mud, he ran up to her and dropped to a crouch.

    "Where are you hurt?" He asked quickly.

    Iris answered his question with a cough.

    He looked her over carefully. The blue of her robe was barely visible beneath the mud that covered her body, and he spotted deep purple bruising around her collar bone and neck. He glanced out across the pond and saw the floating corpse of the grey-haired beast, still pouring blood into the pond from a wound to its throat. Iris¡¯s hat floated in the water next to it.

    "Don''t tell Autumn," he said, "but you might be the bravest idiot I know."

    Iris laughed, then coughed.

    "Are the others--" she croaked.

    "They''re okay," he said, then his expression grew serious, "Vic is hurt, but she''ll make it."

    Iris felt her breath returning to her, and sat up with her elbows propped behind her. Eli offered her a hand and pulled her up to a sitting position on the ground.

    "Are you tired of waking up almost dead yet?" He asked, his voice lacking the humor it had a moment ago.

    "It''s kind of a trend," she groaned, massaging the back of her neck.

    Eli looked back to the floating corpse with a glare, "Right. Let''s get back to the others."

    He rose to his feet, offered his hand again and pulled Iris to her feet. He insisted that she climb atop Glimmer for the trek back to the others. Iris tried to protest, but gave in after trying to blip and coming out of it stumbling into the mud and coughing. Eli strapped her into the saddle and Glimmer slowly rose out of the ravine through the clearing over the pond with powerful beats of her wings.

    Glimmer landed on a wide root-bridge near the top of the ravine, and Iris held on tightly as the griffon leapt to the next root, and then the next, before breaking out into a reserved sprint. They soon arrived above the others, still at the bottom of the ravine.

    "You can drop me off here, girl," Iris said with a scratchy voice, as Glimmer leapt out of the ravine and onto the ledge where they had originally arrived. After unbuckling herself and climbing out of the saddle, Iris limped over the edge of the ravine and planned a careful blip route down to the bottom.

    She stumbled with each blip and arrived at the bottom with a mana headache. She wrapped her arms around herself and trudged over to where Victoria was propped up against the ravine wall. Titus had placed her arm in a sling and was now wrapping the upper arm and shoulder to her body.

    "You can''t heal her?" Iris asked with concern.

    "The bones are completely shattered," he grimaced, not taking his eyes off his work, "it''ll take someone a lot more precise than me to fix this properly."

    "We''ll find someone at base camp, don''t worry," Victoria assured her, clearly pushing through pain to speak.

    A short time later, Eli emerged from the bramble. He spoke with Victoria and Titus first, then pulled Iris aside.

    He took a deep breath before speaking, "we need to talk."

    Iris felt a pit growing in her stomach, and preemptively defended herself, "I was helping." Her voice was still hoarse from coughing, her clothes still dripped pond water and she shivered from either cold or nerves.

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    "There are other ways to help," Eli said sternly, "you could have died."

    "Okay, but I didn''t--"

    "I think we should take you back to the city," he said abruptly, dropping his eyes to the ground as he spoke, "it was stupid of me to bring you along, you''re not ready."

    "Where is this coming from?" She asked incredulously, "we''re adventurers, every day is dangerous."

    "Not this kind of dangerous," his voice began to rise, but he caught himself, "Iris, a normal day for adventurers is maybe getting beaten up or sometimes breaking a bone. A normal day is not deadly. You''re not having normal days, you''re constantly almost dying."

    "If I''m a burden on the team then just say that," her voice cracked.

    "That''s not what I''m saying--"

    "No, it''s fine," Iris began to yell, "I''ll go back to the city and just give up on being an adventurer because it''s scary or a little too hard or, gods forbid, I might get hurt. Maybe I''ll get another job as a shopkeeper and have a terrible, boring life again, because obviously, I''m either too naive or too stupid to weigh the odds and make my own decisions, and I need you to do that for me."

    "You''re only alive because you haven''t been unlucky yet!" he yelled, "you keep tempting fate like you''re special and you''re not. Sooner or later the luck runs and you fucking die, and I don''t want to be responsible for that!"

    "You''re not my dad, Eli," Iris exaggerated the words to emphasize how ridiculous she felt saying them at all, "I''m trying to carry my weight around here, and I know what I signed up for. Either figure out how to put up with me or just kick me off the team!"

    She stomped off through the mud for a few steps, then blipped away.

    Eli''s arms dropped to his side and his expression fell as he shook his head and cursed.

    <hr>

    Sometime later, Iris was sitting on a root-bridge near the middle of the ravine''s depth, watching from a distance as Eli, Titus and Autumn climbed their way out of the ravine. The rest of them had waited here while Titus and Eli went back to retrieve the ears of the beast floating the pond, which Titus needed as proof for his kill. He also brought back Iris¡¯s hat, which she hadn¡¯t noticed was missing yet. While they were gone, she had washed the mud off in the river, changed into plain clothes from her bag and draped a blanket over herself. Her robe was sprawled out beside her to dry, and her adventurer journal was open in her lap.

    IRIS ORION

    Hero Rank, Level 5

    Experience Points: 5204 / 6680

    Progress to next level: 77.90%

    She had gained over 60% of the experience towards her next level from that one encounter, an absolutely massive amount compared to the pittances of experience she''d received from recent fights. Keeping up at the pace she''d been moving, it would take her weeks to level up even once, and months to reach Level 10 and get her next power, but if she gained 60% from every fight she''d be leveling up twice a week. She didn''t have to wonder why she''d gained so much experience, as the journal spelled it out for her beneath the experience tracker.

    Recent Accomplishments:

    Powerful foe slain, 3500 bonus experience awarded.

    If she wanted to stay with this team she would need to level up, and if she couldn''t stay with them then she needed to level up even faster. No matter what Eli or anyone else thought about it, she didn''t have time to waste as a low level adventurer, and her path forward was clear.

    A gentle mist wafted through the air and settled on the root beside her, then slowly solidified into Victoria.

    "Should you be doing that?" Iris asked, nodding towards Victoria''s arm.

    "It won''t make it any worse," she shrugged with her good shoulder.

    They were silent for a moment before Iris spoke, "did Eli send you?"

    "He tried, but I scolded him for it. Told him to come talk to you himself or not say anything all," Victoria said. Iris gave her an appreciative smile as she spoke. Victoria returned the smile and continued, "I''m here to talk to you as me, if that''s alright."

    "Go for it," Iris said, closing the journal and stuffing it into her bag.

    Victoria was quiet for a moment, then asked, "what makes you keep trying? A lot of people quit the first time they get hurt or almost die."

    Iris thought for a long while, then spoke hesitantly while she still considered it, "I grew up in a little valley nestled between the only two mountains for a few month''s travel. I watched year after year as people came from all directions to gawk at our little town and climb our little mountains like it was the time of their life. You know what that told me? It wasn''t just my town that was boring, everything for hundreds of miles in all directions was so boring, that those people actually came to my boring town to have fun."

    Iris stopped herself as the resentment rose in her voice, then continued, "I spent my whole life pretending I wouldn''t grow old and die in that valley. Now I finally get the chance not to. If constantly almost dying is the price I have to pay to enjoy living, I''m here for it."

    Victoria nodded, "I guess that makes sense. You risk your life for a lot more than just that, though."

    Iris gave her a curious look.

    "Titus told me what happened," Victoria said, "he said you didn''t even hesitate to take on the biggest beast there because I was hurt. It''s not the first time you''ve thrown yourself into danger for one of us, either."

    Iris looked away, "I''m probably just reckless."

    Victoria laughed, "oh you''re definitely reckless, I just think you might have a tiny little hero complex."

    "No I don''t," Iris defended, "wait, is it that hard to believe I care about you guys?"

    "No, but are you telling me you don''t imagine yourself as the main character of your own adventure magazine?"

    "I do not-- there''s nothing wrong with day dreaming," Iris stammered, "I feel like these personal attacks are undermining the moment we were having."

    Victoria laughed, "actually, I''m trying to loop the moment back around," she nodded across the ravine towards Eli, "he''s the same way, always has been. He''s got a short list of nickname ideas for himself when he makes Titan one day."

    "You can''t pick your own nickname," Iris said, "that''s not how it works."

    "He thinks he can do it if he just convinces a few people to get it started for him," Victoria rolled her eyes, "the point is, you two have a lot in common. He sees himself as the hero of the story too, and I think on some level he''s aware of that and how dangerous of a role it is to take on. You can imagine that if you combine knowing you two have that in common with a deeply rooted sense of responsibility to keep everyone else alive, you make him nervous."

    "So I should forgive him?" Iris grimaced.

    "I''m not saying that," Victoria said, holding her hands up, "he was kind of an asshole about it, but he''s coming from a good place. I think you should talk to him."

    Iris rolled her head back and groaned, "fine, but I''m letting him feel guilty for a while first."

    Victoria laughed, "I guess that''s fair," she nodded towards the others, "they''re almost to the top, should we meet them?"

    "Yeah," Iris said with resignation.

 63 - Elsewhere in Giantrock

    Commander Bridge approached a pair of large wooden doors and knocked. The wood itself was nothing fancy in appearance, but he knew it to be constructed of the hardest wood of the region, harvested from wyvernthorn trees in the northwestern desert. Either door was bound and braced in woven steel bands that must have been precisely crafted by either an exceptional master blacksmith or a skilled matter manipulator.

    He heard a muffled shout from inside that sounded like "come in!"

    "Mayor General," Commander Bridge greeted loudly as he entered the office of Mayor General Stanford Clint.

    The square office was large by Giantrock City standards, and was one of the few rooms in the city that didn''t make the commander feel like the walls were closing in around him. Bookshelves that sparsely held books lined the left and right walls, instead filled with trinkets, trophies and oddities gathered from the region, including various skulls, expensive looking rocks and crystals, and artifacts of previous civilizations. One of the most prominent items on display was a silver-and-bone Orc Chieftain war hammer resting atop a mantel.

    Near the center of the room, slightly offset towards the back, was a broad hardwood desk. The front was adorned with carved and painted emblems on either side, the Adventuring Corps emblem on the left and the Emerald Empire emblem on the right. The wall beyond the desk was comprised predominantly of rather extravagant glass-paned double doors, which were swung all the way open to a wide balcony and the open sky beyond. Distant yells, cannon fire and the shrill screams of countless hydra heads could be heard through the doorway. The mayor was leaning against the balcony railing, observing the battle. He turned at the commander''s greeting and waved him over.

    "I was surprised to hear you''d called," the mayor said as Commander Bridge took a spot on the railing to his left, "I thought you would be preoccupied preparing for battle."

    The mayor''s office was on one of the highest floors of the massive Giantrock Governmental Complex, situated at the very tip of the jutting rock upon which the city was built. The balcony hung over the edge of the city itself, overlooking the expanse of lake beyond. Only a slight turn of their heads to the right gave them a premium view of the hydra battle, which had begun only moments prior.

    "I''m afraid I might be preparing for more battles than the wyvern, Mayor General," the commander said gravely.

    The mayor tore his gaze away from the battle to meet the commander''s eyes, his face stricken with sudden concern, "what do you mean?"

    "You should have received word by now that the source of the aura burst has been located, an ancient construction in the western plains. Several nights ago I entered the structure to investigate. What I found concerns me."

    They paused as their attention shifted back to the battle, where a direct hit by a cannonball exploded a hydra head into a shower of shining blue blood, and the Shark Titan''s roaring laughing boomed and echoed across the water.

    "It''s an ancient power," the commander continued, "I wish I could tell you more than that, but even I''m not strong enough to bear its strength. It''s buried deep beneath the structure, and I believe we''d need a demi-god to reach it alive."

    "A demi-god?" The mayor guffawed, turning his back to the battle to face the commander, "what exactly are we dealing with here, commander? Is this why the Morose are here?"

    "I don''t know, and I can''t be sure," the commander replied, "Right now my hopeful theory is that this is an isolated incident caused by rambunctious adventurers, but that''s not based on much. I can''t get anything out of the agents of Morose. Bastards won''t even tell me their call signs. I can only say that whatever it is, they''re interested. Even now, they refuse to hand over the scene, two of them remain posted alongside my men as we speak, and they won''t tell me by whose orders."

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    The mayor thought for a moment, "don''t leave them alone with it. Keep your men on site indefinitely."

    "Agreed."

    "Should we--" the mayor hesitated, "do you consider it wise to continue with the hunt?"

    The commander grimaced, "you couldn''t have stopped Clement if you''d tried, you damn sure can''t stop him now that he''s underway. He''ll be at it for days now, at least. And our window for the wyvern is closing, the egg could hatch inside of a month. I don''t think we have a choice but to proceed."

    The mayor sighed, then stepped into his office and pulled open a drawer on his desk. He withdrew a case of cigars, a bottle of whiskey and a glass. Still hunched over, he raised up a second glass towards the commander with a questioning expression.

    "Just a cigar, thanks," the commander said.

    The mayor nodded, poured himself a full glass, then returned to the balcony. He took a swig of his drink and placed it on the railing. A massive sand wall formed along the length of the beach below, guarding the shore-side adventurers from a huge wave kicked up by the hydra''s tail as it spun to face its heads towards the ship that boxed it in against the beach. A broadside volley of cannon fire blasted through several necks, sending heads crashing into the water. The cannonballs continued on, soaring over the heads of the adventurers on the beach and into the forest.

    The mayor clipped the ends of the cigars, then pulled a finely crafted lighter from his coat pocket, which he open with a flick of his wrist. After a moment of breathing and puffing to light his own cigar, he passed the lighter and the second cigar to Commander Bridge.

    "I''ve had every scholar on our payroll scouring records since I learned of the source," the mayor said between pufs, "we have records of the structure and others like it, but nothing about godly powers buried beneath them."

    The commander replied after his cigar was lit, "I''m aware of the other sites. I''ve spent the last few days checking each one of them, so far they''re all undisturbed. We don''t have men to guard them all, though, and there''s probably more."

    "I''ll have troops dispatched to the sites nearest the city," the mayor said, "I can''t spare many, though."

    "It''ll help," the commander said, then sighed, "I can feel the shit storm coming, sir. I just hope it won''t get here ''til we''ve finished the Hunt."

    "Aye," the mayor said, "whether it''s the reason they came here or not, if agents of Morose are interested, that''s not a good sign."

    "No, it is not," the commander concurred.

    They watched the battle in silence as the hydra struck out towards the ship like a snake, three heads in a row. Each time, the Shark Titan swept his hand and raised a blistering fast blade of water from the lake, slinging it towards the hydra head. Each blade passed cleanly through flesh and skull and exploded out the other side as rapidly expanding steam. The necks squirmed and withdrew as they began to rip themselves apart and regenerate 6 more heads.

    "That thing''s been here a long time," Commander Bridge told the Mayor General what he already knew, half-heartedly gesturing towards the hydra with his cigar-holding hand, "Back when I was a Champion, my companions and I once took turns taunting it from the shoreline, it must have been half this size back then. I''ll almost be sad to see it go."

    <hr>

    A half mile into the Redwood Forest from the south-western shore of Giantrock Lake, a party of adventurers were climbing old stone steps overgrown with vines and encircled by redwood roots. The archer moved cautiously with an arrow knocked in her bow, while a small rogue made her way around the perimeter to approach up the stairs on the side. The warrior clanked in his oversized armor as he climbed up the steps behind the archer.

    "This is definitely it," Jacquie said, following behind the warrior as he reviewed the crudely drawn map on the back of a quest slip he and his gang had stolen two days prior. Despite their trek through the forest, his fine robes remained immaculate.

    "This was a waste of time," Synn, the archer, said as she reached the platform at the top of the stairs, "there''s nothing here."

    Defiance crossed Jacquie''s face, "there''s always something, we just have to find it."

    "I''m telling you, there''s nothing--" Synn paused with an incredulous look, as the rogue curiously pressed on a brick in a corner pillar of the platform''s roof, and stone began to grind beneath them.

 64 - Remnants of the Ancients

    The party traveled onward in an awkward silence, with Eli leading the pack and Iris trailing behind it. She wanted desperately to blip into the canopy and stay out of sight while following from above, but her muscles ached and her breathing was still sometimes labored. Instead, she practiced navigation with Victoria. They were traveling towards Iris''s quest to investigate ruins, so Victoria invited her to take the lead on navigation and only made adjustments when they veered off course. Mercifully, Victoria announced adjustments to the group, so Iris could remain silent. Navigation in the forest mostly involved staring up at the canopy until she could make out the direction of the sun, and identifying unique trees, rocks or other landmarks to maintain their direction. Other than that, she spent a lot of time staring at the map as if it would help.

    Several hours into their journey, as evening encroached, dark grey clouds moved in and further dimmed what little light still broke through the layered canopy. Soon rain was falling onto treetops and trickling down through the canopy. While much of the rain got caught in the leaves, gusts of wind overhead cut through the canopy and sent water splashing down in sudden bursts.

    "This is unusual," Eli observed, "it''s the dry season."

    "There''s magic in the air," Victoria said ominously, peering upwards with her auravision.

    "What does that even mean?" Autumn asked.

    "The wind and clouds have an aura," Victoria said, "more so than usual. Other than that, I don''t know."

    "We should find shelter," Eli said.

    Iris blipped to the front of the group, speaking for the first time in hours, "we''re almost to the ruins, I say we tough it out and take shelter there."

    Eli gave her a flat look, then nodded.

    Victoria began periodically scanning ahead of them with her disembodied auravision. Though it bathed everything besides auras in grey, the forest was alive with auras all around. As she adjusted her vision to full sensitivity, not unlike dilating her eyes to absorb more light, the trunks glowed a dull green, the leaves with shades of bright pink and yellow, and even the dirt shifted with a rainbow hue from the ecosystem of bugs, bacteria and fungi which thrived just below the surface.

    The rain thickened and occasional showers of droplets turned into countless small, steady streams which poured from the canopy above and carved out puddles in the ground. The adventurers simply stepped around most of these streams, but the gusts of wind now brought thick showers of rain that soon soaked through their clothes as their boots splashed through mud. Finally, Victoria spotted something. A large section of forest that was grey and lifeless, save for vines that grew over it and a few critters sheltering beneath stones from the rain.

    "We''re almost there," Victoria said, speaking loudly through the chorus of streaming and splashing water, "veer slightly left."

    Soon they came upon a clearing between the trunks, not large enough to create a gap in the canopy above. The clearing was bordered by redwood roots that bulged over the edges of an ancient brickwork platform that filled the clearing like a patio. Remnants of pillars and walls obstructed most of the platform, except for a central path which ran from the edge of the platform, curved around either side of the decrepit remains of a fountain, and met the steps of the only building that still stood in the clearing. The large brick walls of the structure were overgrown with moss, and thick vines wrapped around pillars that upheld a stone roof that extended out above two large stone doors, one of which was slightly ajar.

    Victoria scanned the area one more time with her auravision, "it looks clear. Some wildlife, but nothing big."

    Iris and Autumn, who had been gawking at the structure, exchanged excited looks before dashing onto the platform. Autumn scrambled over brick piles and decaying stonework, while Iris blipped through the ruins ahead of her.

    Eli stared at the structure with an unhappy look.

    Victoria stepped up beside him and spoke quietly, "what is it?"

    "Nothing," he said, "I don''t like it, but we can''t sleep in the rain."

    Iris was the first to reach the doors, the overhanging roof offering precious relief from the growing downpour. She kept her distance and leaned to the side to peer through the crack of the slightly open door, but saw only darkness. She resisted the urge to go in alone, instead impatiently waiting for others to arrive. When Autumn and Titus had climbed the stairs and reached the entrance, Eli and Victoria were still lagging behind, while Glimmer hopped across the rubble behind them. Titus made eye contact with Autumn, then subtly nodded his head towards the doors. Autumn grinned, and ran over to push the open door the rest of the way. Stone grinded on stone as the door slowly swung open, echoing around the brick-walled chamber inside.

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    Titus conjured five small spears of light and dispersed them to float towards the four corners of the room, with the fifth hanging over the center. The pale, flickering lights illuminated walls ornately carved with depictions of war and destruction. Bolts of lightning struck castle towers, cities burned while citizens fled, and crowns sat lopsided on skulls. In each of the battles, a Great Beast was taken by the enemy, abducted in a flash of lightning that cracked the ground like a quake. The back wall of the temple depicted an array of scenes, each containing dragons. Some had tall mountains, others deep caverns, and one a craggy desert. In each scene, the dragons fell before the enemies that appeared in hordes from sudden lightning storms.

    The floor of the room was empty of furniture, small piles of debris from a crumbling ceiling were scattered about. The floor stepped down in concentric circles, on the lowest level in the center of the room was a large circular stone set in the floor.

    "Whoa," Autumn said, errantly.

    "I recognize this," Iris said, her voice quiet and wistful as her eyes drifted across the walls, "these match the carvings from the ziggurat."

    Titus inspected the mural more closely, "this one," he pointed at the central scene, where a red dragon stood his ground against an army of enemies, "that dragon was in the carvings."

    "Yeah," Iris said quietly, "he appeared after every battle, always too late."

    Iris stepped closer to the wall, inspecting a carving that depicted the corpse of a slain dragon, "I didn''t know it was possible to kill a dragon."

    Eli and Victoria entered the temple. They both paused to look around in awe, and in Eli''s case, concern. Victoria approached the stone in the center, it bulged from the ground and was somewhat flat on the top, almost forming a table. The top was carved with ruts that formed concentric circles, at various points along the ruts were divots. The divots seemed to be randomly placed, save the largest one in the very center of the stone. She lightly touched the top of the stone with an outstretched hand, and two of the divots filled with a pale blue light. The light spread out down the ruts to the sides, fading before reaching any other divots.

    "No one touch anything," Eli said, quickly stepping up to the stone beside Victoria, "what are we dealing with?"

    "It''s a ritual circle," she said with awe.

    The others approached and encircled the stone. Victoria carefully withdrew her hand, then slowly activated her auravision. She stared at the stone for a long moment, then slowly moved her gaze along the floor and towards the ground outside.

    "This is only part of it," she said, fearfully, then glanced back to the center of the stone, "we''re at the center. There''s magic running beneath us."

    "What are these lights?" He asked.

    "I-I don''t know," she released her auravision and shook her head as if shaking away unwanted thoughts.

    "There''s something here," Iris said, crouching beside the stone. There were three stone orbs on the side of the stone, each set inside a spherical hole so it could be rolled in place.

    Titus knelt down beside her, "I took a class on ritual structures, these are control dials. We don''t build them like this anymore, but this is how the ancients did it."

    "What do they do?" Autumn asked, curiously looking over his shoulder while conveniently hiding behind him.

    "I can''t read the markings," he said, "if best practices go back that far, the one on the left should be a kill switch for the ritual. The other two are probably for fine tuning frequencies.¡±

    "Is it on?" Eli asked.

    "I''m guessing so," he looked closer at the orbs. While the others were coated in a thick layer of dust, the left-most orb had marks in the dust that would line up with clutching fingertips, "in fact, it might have been turned on recently."

    Eli gazed out the doors to the sheets of rain pouring through the canopy, "No one. Touch. Anything. We leave at first light, rain or not. Iris, take notes, don''t forget you''re here for a quest."

    Iris jumped when he said her name, then nodded at his advice. She took her journal from her bag and began scribbling information. She roughly sketched the ruts on the stone, marking twinkling stars for the illuminated divots, then moved on to the walls, where she wrote a brief description of each scene.

    While Iris worked, the others changed into dry clothes and made their beds. Eli took first watch, posting up beside Glimmer under the overhang outside. As Eli''s lights began to flicker out, Autumn lit three torches and placed them in old iron sconces on the walls. Eventually Iris tore herself away from her journal and finally changed into dry clothes, she jammed the wet clothes she had been wearing into her bag, but laid her robe out beneath a torch to continue drying. She made her bed in front of the back wall and sat sketching the red dragon, perched atop a mountain and breathing fire down on the enemies that encroached around it, until her eyes grew heavy. Eventually, she slumped over and crawled into her bedroll, quickly drifting into sleep.

    She saw a battlefield expanding around her, soldiers and adventurers dying in droves against wizards that landed amongst the army''s ranks in bolts of lightning. In the distance, a tree taller than a castle tower stomped across the battlefield on trunk-like legs, just beneath its canopy there was a face in the bark, full of sorrow. Lightning struck all around and deposited wizards in a circle surrounding it. The wizards outstretched their hands and lightning arced between them, then into the sky, caging the tree.

    Her attention shifted to a woman standing in the battlefield with her back to Iris, she wore silver robes and her long black hair billowed in the wind. Far beyond the woman, the lightning cage pulsed, then exploded. When the dust settled, the tree and its assailants were gone. Lightning struck across the battlefield, plucking the attackers from the battle and pulling them into the beyond.

    Iris awoke with a gasp and heavy breathing. She shot up and frantically looked around, but the others were asleep. She lowered herself back to the bedroll as her breath began to slow, and found herself wishing desperately that the woman had turned around.

 65 - Midnight Talks

    Titus awoke from his sleep. The torches had burnt out and a faint glow of light spread into the temple from a slightly ajar door. There was no sound or motion that woke him, just the natural rhythm of sleep that every adventurer develops eventually. It was impossible not to, after enough nights of being awakened for watch -- and being accidentally awakened by your teammates changing watch -- the body learned to wake itself on roughly the same schedule.

    He was sitting upright against the wall in the front left corner of the temple, fully suited in his armor. It wasn''t unusual for him to sleep in his armor when he was assigned to second watch, it was only for a few hours and it spared his companions from the noise of donning it for his watch, which was an exchange he was happy to make. At the end of his watch, he would find a quiet spot to remove the bulkiest pieces to sleep more comfortably through the rest of the night.

    After a moment to collect his thoughts and fully wake, Titus slowly and carefully rose to his feet. Some faint clinking was inevitable, but he managed to stay quiet enough to not wake any of his companions. The door to the temple had been pushed most of the way closed by Autumn as the night began, but she had made sure to leave a gap large enough for Titus to squeeze through quietly.

    He stepped outside to see Eli leaning against a pillar and staring out over the ruins. Rain still poured through the canopy and puddled in the ruins. Titus stepped up beside him and surveyed what little of the area he could make out through the darkness and rain.

    "I think you''re early again," Eli observed, quietly enough that his voice wouldn''t drift inside.

    "Good," Titus said, matching his volume, "do you feel like talking yet?"

    Eli shook his head, "I''ve gotten more than enough advice from Victoria lately."

    "Not about Iris," Titus looked towards him, "about you."

    Eli gave him a side glance, but hesitated to speak.

    While Eli was effectively the party''s leader, Titus was the older of the two men by several years. They had both had formal schooling, but Titus had left his and begun adventuring at an earlier age, giving him even more experience than Eli. He avoided leadership roles, however, and was more than happy to let Eli take on the responsibility. The mismatched seniority combined with the lack of serious conversations that had been shared between them made Eli unsure how to respond.

    Titus looked back to the ruins and took a breath before speaking again, "one thing that every healer has to struggle with is knowing that people get hurt. That''s why we''re here, why we''re needed, but you can ask any of us -- we''d much rather not be needed. Every single time one of you gets hurt, I wish it had been me. I wish I could have stopped it. But people get hurt, that never stops."

    He gave Eli room to speak, but he didn''t, so Titus continued, "It shouldn''t be that way. Every fiber of my being screams that it shouldn''t be that way, but it is. Being the healer means hoping no one gets hurt and healing them when they do, it means keeping them alive despite the constant fear that I''ll fail, despite the knowledge there might be nothing I can do at all. In a lot of ways, giving orders isn''t all that different."

    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    They were both quiet for a while, then Eli spoke, "so what do you do?"

    "I do my job," Titus said, "someone has to, it might as well be me."

    Eli looked at the man in contemplative silence for a moment before he replied, "then how do you cope?"

    "Truthfully?" Titus asked with a breath, "I don''t. I feel the fear and the dread and the horror in every battle, and I go on anyway. The people I protect will fight with or without me, the only choice I have is whether or not I''m there to help. So if you ask me, the best response to those feelings is to accept that I have them and do the job anyway."

    "So I should get over it?" Eli asked.

    Titus snorted a quiet laugh, "if you figure out how to get over it, please let me know. I''m just saying, think about what matters to you, figure out what is and isn''t in your power to change, and reconcile the two as best you can."

    Eli nodded, and thought for a moment. Then he snorted and shook his head, "If that girl lives long enough, she''ll be the death of me."

    <hr>

    The rain poured down on the canvas roof of the command tent. The main section was large enough to accommodate a six chaired oval table, narrow sets of drawers along both side walls, and a compact bar cabinet in the back. Also at the back of the tent, on either side of the bar cabinet, were smaller offshoot sections. The left side was obscured by a curtain and presumably served as the sleeping chamber, while the right side had the curtain open and was being used as storage for supplies stashed in crates and barrels.

    "Smart choice bringing tents," Commander Bridge leaned back against the table and crossed his ankles as his voice turned fretful, "my men are getting soaked right about now."

    "One day you''ll learn to travel with comfort." The Dreamweaver poured a glass of dark liquor from the cabinet and held it out towards the commander. He instinctively held up his hand to decline, until he saw the familiar label on the bottle. At the same moment, he remembered the aching tension in his shoulders. He sighed, and accepted the drink.

    The Dreamweaver turned back to the bar to mix a drink for herself, consisting of a clear liquor, a hefty drop of blue liquid from a small vial, and a few purple berries that she split with a pinch before dropping into the drink. As she worked, she spoke over her shoulder to Commander Bridge.

    "Why is this only happening now?" She asked.

    "I don''t know," he replied.

    "Who even built these things? What are they for?"

    "I don''t know," he repeated.

    "Where do the Agents of Morose come into it all?"

    "I don''t know, Angela," he sighed, "I''ve already told you everything."

    She mixed her drink with a small spoon, absently tapping it on the edge of the glass before setting it aside and turning to face the commander with a wondering expression, "you really think adventurers caused this?"

    The commander shrugged, "it''s all I''ve got. Unless Morose is behind it, and I don''t even want to think about that."

    "A press of a brick?" She jumped back to earlier in the conversation, "seriously? Damn near every adventurer on the planet runs around touching everything they see hoping to find a secret passage. There has to be more to this, or it would have happened before."

    "I know," he took a long, contemplative sip of his drink, "they have to be related, the Agents of Morose and the structures. I don''t like it, but no two happenings this strange ever happen separately."

    After a moment of thinking and a sip of her drink, the Dreamweaver half-shrugged, "then either they''re here to do something about it and it''s not our concern, or they''re behind it, and it''s really not our concern."

    The commander shook his head, "I wish I saw it that way, but you know as well as I do that if something big happens, it''ll become our concern."

 66 - Attitude Problem

    Victoria''s morning watch came to a close as faint sunlight began to cut through the canopy. The rain had thinned, but not stopped. Victoria sat perfectly still as an elk and her calf grazed near the edge of the ruins. Carefully, she pulled out her notebook and began slowly scribbling. She activated her auravision and evaluated the auras of the elks, still scribbling messy notes without looking at the paper.

    After she''d gotten everything she could, she watched a while longer, then released a faint aura burst out in the ruins. The mother elk snapped her head towards the burst, then leapt away with her calf following close behind. Victoria added one more note about their ability to sense auras, then pulled out a stick of charcoal. There''d be no dry spot to mark where they''d been grazing, so instead she made a mark on a pillar with an arrow pointed towards the spot she''d seen them.

    Soon the others had stirred, and Eli was giving orders, "pack it up quickly, the sooner we''re out of this temple the better. Autumn, think you can scavenge up a breakfast on the hike?"

    "Trail breakfast?" She groaned.

    Iris was the last to wake, groggy eyed and disoriented. The first thing her eyes saw was the red dragon''s fire breath, and for a moment it captivated her.

    "Iris," Eli said from across the room, "get moving."

    Iris nodded and climbed out of her bedroll. It was harder than it should have been, as she''d apparently stuck a leg through one of the rips while she slept. After packing in her bedroll she checked her robe, and was disappointed to find it still damp. She supposed it didn''t matter anyway, they were in for a long trek through rain, so she found a corner behind some rubble to change. They were on the move and trudging through mud in less than an hour. Large frogs croaked in the distance, and songbirds sang as they ventured from their nests despite the rain.

    "We''ll reach base camp by nightfall," Eli said, "be extra vigilant for bodies of water, we still need to find an octopus for Autumn."

    Victoria hid a laugh as Iris glanced at her and smirked.

    "It''s real!" Autumn insisted, noticing her teammate''s amusement, "all the things we''ve seen in this region, is an octopus really that hard to believe?"

    "Now, I dropped out of school," Titus said, "but I think, typically, octopuses are in the ocean."

    "Or at least the lake," Victoria said, "I mean if it has a hydra it might have an octopus."

    "I''m telling you, the quest says there''s octopuses in the forest," Autumn argued.

    "No one''s allowed to say octopus again unless they see one," Eli commanded.

    Iris, Victoria and Autumn all groaned in annoyance.

    Iris, feeling somewhat better than the day before, took to the canopy to scout. She leapt and blipped between branches, careful to stay above her companions as they trekked through the muddy forest below. A few hours into their journey, she spotted a small pond recessed between a rim of redwood roots. With a few quick blips down to the ground, she informed the others and they veered towards it.

    The heavy rainfall had filled the pond until it began to spill out over the lowest points in the roots that surrounded it, creating several streams that ran off into the forest. Victoria scanned the pond with her auravision, "nothing but tadpoles."

    They continued on towards basecamp, with Iris returning to the canopy. They stopped at two more similar ponds, but still found no results. In the afternoon they found the largest pond yet. It was two hundred feet across at its widest, and had eroded soil on its edges until it carved out hollows beneath roots and trunks. Some time ago a redwood had fallen across it, and a large section of the trunk now rotted in the water, partially submerged but suspended across the deeper center of the pond by either end resting on the shallow edges.

    "We can rest here for a while," Eli said, taking a seat on a rock to dump the water from his boots.

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    Victoria absentmindedly scanned the water, while Iris blipped out to the center of the pond on the rotting trunk.

    Victoria''s eyes widened, "actually, there''s something in there."

    Eli shoved his boot back on and rose to his feet, "Iris, get back here."

    A tentacle shot out of the water and reached out towards Iris, who blipped away just in time. She briefly appeared over the water, then blipped again to solid ground.

    "I fucking told you!" Autumn shouted, reaching both hands into the ground in front of her. She pulled the full length of a stone broadsword from the ground, and charged out across the fallen trunk.

    Three more tentacles rose around her, and she swung the sword with an exaggerated spin, slicing a tentacle in half with sheer force of impact from the almost blunt blade. Eli held up his staff to charge a blast, but Titus lowered the staff with a hand.

    "She''s been looking forward to this," Titus said, "let her have it unless she needs help."

    Iris appeared beside the others, joining as they watched Autumn fight. She''d slashed two tentacles and cut through another before her leg was grabbed. Eli was poised to intervene, but Autumn deftly twisted around and sliced through the tentacle that held her.

    Four of the remaining tentacles wrapped around the rotting trunk and squeezed. It snapped and splintered near the middle, where Autumn now stood. She lost her balance and stumbled back, sliding down the slippery trunk towards the water. She caught a handhold in the bark, but it broke off and she dropped into the pond and disappeared beneath the surface.

    Eli dropped his staff and ran to the water''s edge, stripping off his boots and socks. Before he could dive into the pond, large stone spikes erupted throughout the pond. One pierced a tentacle and pinned it in place as the remaining length flailed helplessly. The pond soon turned a dark black, and Autumn remained unseen. Eli hesitated, unsure if more spikes would come.

    After an agonizing moment, Autumn popped up out of the water. With her feet and one hand she climbed onto the lowest point of the trunk, her other hand clenched around a tentacle. When she found steady footing, she laughed maniacally and held the tentacle up over her head.

    She crossed the length of the trunk, pulling the tentacle and dragging along something big beneath the water. When she reached the shore, she gripped the tentacle with both hands and pulled like a game of tug-o-war. Titus joined in to help, and soon the deflated, lifeless corpse of an octopus the size of a carriage was dragged ashore.

    Autumn, stained with black ink and blue octopus blood, placed a foot against the creature''s body as she held up her arms and flexed, shouting "get fucked!" at the corpse.

    The next hour was spent butchering the octopus, including the chunks of dismembered tentacles that Autumn went back to fish out of the pond. Autumn had included a hefty supply of wax paper in the provisions she''d ordered, so the finished product was well wrapped morsels of octopus meat.

    When it came time to store the meat in the bottomless bag, Iris frowned. She repeatedly shoved a morsel of meat against the top of the bag, but it didn''t open. She placed the meat aside and removed the bag from her waist, manually prying open the drawstring portal. When she moved the meat towards the opening, the bag cinched shut.

    "What''s your problem?" Iris asked, indignantly.

    The bag said nothing.

    She pulled it open again, and it cinched closed again.

    "What''s going on?" Eli asked, walking up to Iris.

    "I don''t know," she tried again to shove the morsel at the bag, "it doesn''t want the meat."

    "Is it full?" Autumn asked, looking up from the tentacle she was chopping with an axe.

    "It shouldn''t be," Iris frowned. She picked up a rock and offered it to the bag, it opened and let her drop the rock into the void, "nope."

    "Maybe it''s got a seafood allergy," Autumn offered, slamming the axe down again and splattering herself with more octopus blood.

    "You need the meat for your quest, right?" Eli asked Autumn, "it won''t keep until we get back to the city. Not unless we find a fuck ton of salt."

    "There''s plenty of salt in the provisions," Autumn said, "the real problem would be carrying it all."

    "Everyone just, hang on," Iris said, "give me a second."

    She took her bag and blipped away behind a tree, kneeling down and whispering to it, "what are you doing? This is really embarrassing."

    The bag said nothing.

    "Okay, look, I get it. You don''t want octopus meat inside you. Totally fair. But I reaaaally need you to carry it, please?"

    The bag said nothing.

    Iris groaned. She sat for a moment until she had an idea, "well, if there''s things you don''t like, does that mean there''s things you do like?"

    The drawstring loosened slightly.

    "Yeah?" Iris perked up, "okay, tell you what. If you carry this octopus until we get to the city, we''ll figure out some way for you to tell me what you like, and we''ll get you some of that. Maybe I can even take you shopping?"

    Nothing happened for a moment, then one end of the drawstring rose up and extended towards Iris. She frowned at it for a moment, then apprehensively reached out and shook it like a tiny hand.

    "Okay," Iris said, bewildered, "good, thanks."

    She blipped back to her companions and tried again. This time the bag accepted the morsel of meat, though it did cross its strings like an upset child crossing their arms.

    "How''d you fix it?" Autumn asked.

    "I, uh," she thought back to a word she''d read in a library book, "I recalibrated it."

 67 - Making Camp

    By late afternoon the rain had stopped, but grey clouds still loomed above and the forest canopy held water that still dripped down like a light, inconsistent drizzle. As they traveled, the trees grew smaller and denser, and the segmented layers of the canopy began to merge into one thick layer of smaller branches. Soon, rather than running along and blipping between large outstretched branches high above the forest floor, Iris found herself navigating a dense bramble-like canopy of tangled branches and twigs only fifty feet above the ground. After tripping on an expected branch and tumbling through the branches with a string of vulgarities, Iris appeared out of a blip just above the ground, landing hard on her back with a grunt. After that, Iris gave up and traveled on the ground with the rest of the party.

    In the early evening, Victoria spoke up, "activity ahead, lots of auras."

    "That would be base camp," Eli said, "take us towards it."

    Victoria led the party in the direction of camp, while Eli repeated a lecture he''d already given.

    "Everyone needs to be on their best behavior," he said, "this isn''t like the city, it''s a serious operation and the people we interact with at camp will be the same people fighting by our side against the Matriarch. Make friends if you can, and keep to yourself if you can''t."

    Autumn exchanged a look with Iris, as if to say they both knew that wouldn''t happen.

    It wasn''t long before they came upon the edges of base camp. Some tents were scattered around, but adventurers mostly took shelter under suspended tarps or in hollow crevices of tree trunks. A few groups had sawed branches to construct makeshift lean-to shelters with whatever cloth, hide or leathers they had to spare.

    They received a mixed reaction as they walked through the camp. A party of humans gave them skeptical up-and-down looks as they passed, while a pair of orcs clad in heavy armor eyed Titus''s shining armor, nodding respectfully when he met eyes with them. A group of halflings looked at Autumn and whispered amongst themselves, to which Autumn responded with a crinkled sneer and questioning gesture.

    Glimmer caught the most attention, causing a few heads to turn and a few people to hurry out of the party''s way, though she was far from the only beast present. Iris saw a frog the size of a wheelbarrow sitting around a fire like a member of the team, a red-haired hog with metal armor digging around in the mud with its snout, and snake that stretched out lazily across a party''s campsite with a noticeable bulge the size of a rabbit about halfway down its length. Some of the animals responded restlessly as Glimmer passed by, but their tamers were nearby and quickly calmed or distracted them.

    The numbers of tents grew as they went deeper into camp, as did the quality of gear worn by the adventurers. Iris couldn''t be certain, but she guessed the average level of the adventurers went up as well. They stopped at a small canvas awning where a man at a small wooden table took down their names and informed them of tomorrow morning''s mission briefing, the rules of basecamp set by the Dreamweaver, and that the watch schedule was currently covered, but they could still be called upon for supplemental watch duty if necessary.

    They moved on in search of a place to make camp. Victoria pointed out that the northeastern edge of base camp, the side which was deepest into the dense forest and closest to the Matriarch''s web, consisted exclusively of Champions. Meanwhile, the opposite edge of camp, where they had first entered, was where most of the Hero rank adventurers camped. After Eli observed that it was probably due to the heightened risk of attack or danger on the northwestern edge, the party quickly agreed to camp with the Heroes.

    Though many parties made up the base camp, the huge forest provided more than enough space to accommodate them, and the nature of the tall, bulging redwood roots created natural crevices and alcoves which provided a measure of privacy for the campers. They selected one such spot between two redwood roots reaching out in a V-shape from a trunk. From most points in the space they could only see the flickering glows of other camps on the dark canopy overhead, though they could hear the activity and conversation of other adventurers from most directions around them.

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    Before they began unpacking camp, Autumn backtracked to a boulder she had picked out while they were searching for a spot. It stuck out nearly three feet above the ground and was about the length of autumn''s arm span at its widest. She had chosen this one both for its size and because it had less moss growing on it than most others she had considered.

    Autumn squatted, wrapped her arms around the boulder, and used her mold matter ability to carve deep, comfortable and perfectly spaced handholds into the rock. With a grunt, she lifted the boulder out of the ground, dripping clumps of muddy forest litter into the small crater left behind. With her arms stretched wide around the boulder, she carried it awkwardly with a wide, stomping gait, her feet sinking deep into the mud with each step.

    She grunted loudly as she tossed the boulder down in the middle of their soon-to-be campsite. Next, she found a few young trees that were only a few inches in diameter. She snapped them off at the base, then used a stone axe to chop off their branches. She held two trunks under each arm and carried them back to the campsite. She drove the trunks into the ground like posts, each one requiring a single motion to stick deep into the mud.

    After a moment to stretch, she slapped both hands against the boulder and began to mold it. The boulder sliced several times horizontally, forming thick sheets of stone which Autumn then slid off the stack one-by-one in each direction, each one slapping into the mud with a splash. Once she was left with only the bottom sheet of stone, she stepped atop it, crouched down and touched two other sheets beside it. The stone melded together and smoothed flat like invisible hands molding clay. She repeated the process until the whole campsite was a flat, dry surface that raised roughly an inch above the muddy forest floor, with the wooden posts held firmly in place by the stone.

    While Autumn constructed the campsite, Eli approached a few well equipped parties and offered to buy an extra canvas tarp off of them. It took a few tries, but he was eventually able to acquire one. When he returned to the campsite, he and Titus got to work draping and securing the tarp over the wooden posts.

    A short while later, the party was seated around a campfire, over which was an elaborate. two-tiered iron cooking rack. Autumn seared a fat cross section of tentacle in a pan on the top rack, while chunks of rabbit boiled in a flame-licked pot on the bottom rack. She had put Iris in charge of chopping vegetables and herbs and dropping them into the pot, while Titus was on the edge of camp cleaning up after butchering the rabbit.

    "You''re actually going to eat that?" Victoria asked Autumn, giving the tentacle steak a dirty look.

    "Not if it''s disgusting," Autumn replied, quickly rocking the pan to flip the tentacle. It landed with a slap, then a sizzle.

    Eli looked sick, and turned his head.

    "How can you call yourselves adventurers if you don''t try new things?" Autumn asked, "that''s the opposite of adventuring. Right Iris?"

    Iris nodded.

    "See, Iris will try it," Autumn argued.

    "Oh--" Iris said, "I didn''t-- I mean I might."

    Autumn''s shoulders slumped as she looked at Iris with an expression of hurt and disappointment.

    When the tentacle steak was done, Autumn slid it onto a wooden cutting board and sliced it into strips. Beneath the seasoned and seared surface of the steak was tender, fluffy white meat all the way through.

    "Titus, c''mere!" she hollered.

    Titus walked up, he still wore his boots and armor on his legs, but from the waist up he wore only a sweaty white tank top smeared in a few places with blood. Autumn poked a strip of tentacle steak on a skewer and held it up for Titus.

    He took the meat off the skewer with a pinch, sniffed it, and frowned, "it actually looks really good," he said.

    Autumn took a large bite from another strip, and immediately closed her eyes, rolled back her head and moaned. Titus raised his eyebrows at Autumn, then took a small bite. His eyes went wide, and he nodded in confirmation as he chewed.

    "I''m not falling for that," Eli said flatly.

    Titus and Autumn interrupted their exaggerated savoring to gave him offended looks.

    "It''s like the scorpion again, isn''t it?" Victoria interrogated.

    "That''s absurd," Autumn said through another mouthful of tentacle steak, "I''d never do the same bit twice."

    "Yes you would," Eli said incredulously, offended that she would even attempt a lie so brazen.

    "I''m telling you," Titus said, speaking in a manner that sounded rehearsed after swallowing his first bite, "it''s actually great."

    Iris swapped between the two pairs of adventurers with an amused but skeptical expression. She hadn''t heard the scorpion story, but she was starving, and the tentacle steak did smell pretty good. As the back and forth continued, Iris blipped a strip of meat from the cutting board into her hand. She sniffed it cautiously, smelling the intense aroma of seasonings Autumn had dressed it with, then shrugged and took a bite. To her partial surprise, it actually was delicious. It was juicy and impossibly tender with a sweet taste that paired phenomenally with Autumn''s choice of seasonings. She quickly chewed the first bite and excitedly took another.

    Victoria''s eyes locked onto Iris from across the campfire. She leaned towards Eli and spoke in a grave, urgent voice, "she''s in on it too."

 68 - Sharing Fears

    Late in the evening, after they''d all cleaned up from dinner, Iris impatiently stared at her robe as it hung over a branch suspended between two makeshift tripods beside the fire. Various other garments hung from the branch, including her grey hat that hung from the stub that remained from a broken off twig. Only the occasional drop of water still fell from the leaves above to land on the tarp over their campsite.

    It was getting late, and many adventurers across base camp were already settling in to sleep, including Titus and Autumn. Eli was on the edge of their site brushing Glimmer, who purred softly from somewhere below where her eagle-feathered neck transitioned to soft feline fur. Victoria was somewhere up above, having turned to mist and risen into the canopy to meditate.

    Iris impatiently grabbed at her robe, feeling the dry warmth like meeting an old friend after years apart. She hurriedly, yet quietly, changed into her robe and hat, then blipped atop one of the roots that bordered their site. She looked back to make sure Eli hadn''t noticed, then blipped again.

    Once she was out of Eli''s line of sight, she blipped to the ground and strolled casually through camp, nodding and smiling whenever she met eyes with other adventurers. She didn''t know if it was necessary to sneak away from their campsite, she was simply going for a late night walk after all, but she didn''t want to give Eli any extra chances to tell her what not to do.

    She absentmindedly wandered through the camp, taking in all the sights and smells. Dozens of different meats and stews and other meals had been prepared all throughout the camp, some parties had even pooled their resources into massive potluck boils over bonfires, the aromas of which still lingered throughout the camp. The almost crowded ambiance from earlier had now dulled to the occasional quiet conversation that faded in and out as she walked by, sometimes an interjecting laugh echoed from somewhere across camp.

    Sometime later, she found herself approaching the edge of the dense forest beyond base camp. The twisted, entangled canopy hung oppressively low to the ground, in stark contrast to the wide open gap between canopy and ground she had grown accustomed to. The trees were shorter and thinner, though still larger than any other species of tree she had seen before, and were triple in number compared to the larger redwoods.

    The redwood forest in general had a feeling of being not-quite-outdoors, feeling more like an impossibly large terrarium with redwood walls all around and precious few scraps of sky to see, but here the feeling was so much worse. The roots of the crowded trees climbed over each other in a desperate battle for space that threatened to erase every inch of ground, and not far above them the dense canopy blocked out all light and stifled winds to a crawl. Iris imagined the sensations the dense woods gave her would not be dissimilar to an ancient dungeon labyrinth.

    She imagined that somewhere out in the darkness was a spider the size of a townhouse, lurking silently in the trees waiting to feast on anything unlucky enough to encounter its web. She imagined a cluster of hateful red eyes, and massive fangs that dripped with venom. She thought back to the giant turtle they had encountered in the grasslands. She hadn''t known what she was sensing at the time, but the power that her fledgling aura sense had felt emanating from that beast was the same power she later felt from the Hydra when it attacked the beach. It was a power older than anything she''d ever known, it was primordial and unknowable. Chills ran through her as she imagined the Matriarch would have that same power.

    Fear crept up on her, knocking at a door deep within her mind, behind which she had banished it. It wasn''t only fear of the Matriarch, or the Hydra, it was the fear of every challenge she had faced so far, and every challenge she would face in the future. Her heart rate quickened, and her arms tensed. She closed her eyes and tried to keep her breathing steady.

    "Keep it together," she hissed at herself through gritted teeth.

    She had no other option. This was her life now, and it was the life she had always wanted. She had always considered herself brave, but that had been against the mundane dangers of her quaint little valley. She wasn''t brave enough to conquer the fears she faced now, and she knew it, so her only choice was to not let herself feel the fear at all. Eyes still closed, she settled into a rhythm of deep breaths, and her fists unclenched at her sides.

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    "We should talk."

    Iris yelped and blipped away, leaving a confused Eli standing alone in the dark, twisting around to search for her. She reappeared in front of him a moment later, slamming hammer fists into his chest.

    "You dick!" she shouted.

    "Whoa, whoa" he said, pushing away her strikes until she calmed, "I''m sorry, I didn''t mean to sneak up on you."

    Iris huffed, her breath once again heavy and panicked, "what do you want?"

    "I told you," Eli turned to look out into the dark woods, "I want to talk."

    "Alright," Iris said errantly, shaking the adrenaline out of her hands while her voice was still stressed, "go for it."

    Eli gave Iris a moment to finish collecting herself, using the time to sort through his thoughts.

    "I''m not going to kick you off the team," he began, "that was never the idea. It always would have been a vote if it came down to it, a vote that you probably would have won. But even that wasn''t the idea. I just wanted to broach the topic with you -- of reconsidering if this is really what you want."

    Iris side-eyed him, but didn''t feel especially angry yet, "why?" she asked wearily, expecting his answer to change that.

    He sighed, "because I''m scared."

    Iris blinked. That wasn''t the answer she had expected.

    "My father was an adventurer," he began with a new breath, "and he was a leader. From the day I was born he raised me to be the same. I grew up on the road with him, stashed away at camp while he went out to slay monsters. His team was like a family to me, they might as well have been my aunts and uncles," his voice grew quiet and grave, "I was seven when they died in battle."

    Iris''s face fell, she spoke softly and hesitantly, "your father, too?"

    "He lived," Eli said, his body was present but his mind was elsewhere, "he took me to Everveil, he said I would be safe there. He stayed for a while, helped me start my training with old friends of his, taught me what to expect from life and how to face the world. I''ll always be grateful for those last few months with him, but--" He paused, swallowing a lump in his throat and steeling himself, "I saw what losing his party did to him. It was like someone reached in and crushed his soul with a fist. He would sit for hours, sometimes days, just staring at nothing. He was lost somewhere in his own mind. I think he was trying to figure out what he could have done differently, how he could have saved them."

    They were both quiet for several long moments. Then Eli drew a sharp breath and shook away his memories, "I saw what that kind of guilt does to a man, and I don''t want it to happen to me."

    "I''m sorry," Iris said, "for everything you''ve been through, and for only thinking of myself."

    "You''re young, and you found yourself in a hell of a situation, I get it."

    "That doesn''t make it okay," Iris shook her head, "I''m scared too. I''ve spent my whole life dreaming of fighting monsters, but the thing about daydreams is that I''m always in control, I always live. Now that the monsters are real, I-- I don''t know how else to face them except by believing I''ll make it out alive. I guess if I don''t, then it''s not my problem anymore, you know? I never stopped to consider whose problem it would become."

    "Autumn lives in that kind of world, too," Eli said, "it''s how a lot of adventurers cope with danger. I guess the difference is that I''ve never questioned if Autumn can handle herself. But you-- I''m sorry, I just meant--"

    "It''s okay," Iris said, "I''m brand new and level 5, I get it."

    "Can you just-- can you be a little less reckless?"

    "Look, if I¡¯m going to make it as an adventurer I need to get stronger,¡± Iris said, ¡°a lot stronger, and I need to do it fast. The best way for me to do that is to win fights out of my league, and I can¡¯t do that without taking risks. I can be less reckless about it, but I still have to prioritize my growth. I need you to understand that."

    Eli was quiet for a moment, then drew in a breath and nodded, "okay, just promise me you¡¯ll be careful. "

    A pang of grief shot through Iris, and a pained smile crossed her face, ¡°only if you can be a little less controlling."

    Eli sighed and nodded, "that''s gonna be tough, but I can try."

    They were quiet for a moment, then Iris tilted her head, "how did you find me?"

    "I followed your boot prints, it wasn''t hard."

    Iris looked back, for a short distance the only two pairs of prints were Eli''s and her own, but the muddy paths that wound through camp were paved with layer after layer of overlapping tracks and footprints.

    Iris gave Eli a suspicious, appraising look, "you''re kind of scary, you know."

 69 - Briefing

    Eli woke the party early the next morning, much to their chagrin. It was rare to get a night''s sleep in the field that wasn''t interrupted for watch duty, and none were excited for it to end. Even Titus, usually one of the first to wake and start the day, lingered in his bedroll for a moment. Eli didn''t admit it as he unapologetically roused them for the day, but he had given them an extra fifteen minutes. Autumn prepared a quick but filling breakfast from their provisions, consisting of scrambled eggs, sausage and bread rolls. They were all dressed and ready to move within an hour of waking, with the final order of business being to stash anything worth stealing from the campsite in Iris''s bag.

    They made their way to the center of base camp, joining the steady flow of adventurers from across camp who were doing the same. The adventurers crowded around a small clearing in front of a large war tent and talked amongst themselves while they waited. Iris spotted a pair of familiar faces in the crowd.

    "I''ll fucking stab you!" Grell the goblin shouted at another goblin who was dressed in healer''s robes.

    "Geez, I''m sorry," the other goblin held up his hands and backed away, "I didn''t know our families hated each other."

    "You''re damn right they do! I should--"

    "Father," Adan said softly, placing a hand on the much shorter man''s shoulder, "I believe that man over there just gave you a dirty look."

    "Where?" Grell shouted, glancing around and then storming off in the direction Adan pointed.

    Adan smiled apologetically at the other goblin, who nodded in appreciation.

    Sometime later, a hush spread over the crowd as the Dreamweaver pushed aside a curtain of her war tent and stepped out into the clearing. Her long black hair was now in tight braids that clung to her head, and she wore a sleeveless white robe beneath a dark metal chest plate with matching bracers on her forearms. After a moment to let the last whispered conversations die, she addressed the crowd.

    "Welcome all, your presence is appreciated. I''ll make this as quick as I can, I expect you''ll maintain your attention in return. We make our first excursion into the Deep Woods at tomorrow''s dawn, you should be in your assigned locations and ready to move before the first birds sing. The purpose of our first excursion is to scout for, and ideally locate, the Matriarch''s web. It should cover quite a large portion of the woods, so it''s only a matter of time until we encounter it. As soon as the web is located, we regroup and return to base camp. Do not enter the web."

    She scanned a fierce look over the crowd, "Do not. Enter. The Web. Is that understood?"

    A few adventurers mumbled "yes ma''am," followed by many more.

    "Good. We''re going with a classic trio role structure, scouts, fighters and healers. I trust you all to accurately assign yourself. We need more fighters than scouts, so if you''re somewhere in between, consider yourself a fighter."

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    She motioned to a man standing behind her. He was of unremarkable stature and shrouded in the shadow of a hood that revealed only a stubbled chin. Both the hood and his cloak bore a pattern of dark green and brown splotches that resembled overlapping paint splatters of various shades. Had it not been for the back drop of the war tent behind him, he would blend in with the forest''s foliage at first glance.

    "This is Lieutenant Kerrick, scouts please report to him after this briefing for further instructions."

    She gestured towards a tall orc woman in a full suit of greenish metal armor. A pole-armed war hammer was resting head down in the mud beside her feet, her hand resting casually atop the hilt.

    "Fighters, report to Lieutenant Ash Druga. And Healers, report to Lieutenant Reesh."

    Finally, she nodded towards a grizzled, grey-bearded man in drab, dark grey robes. He had a haggard face and tired eyes.

    "As you''ve probably guessed, you won''t be spending much of this expedition with your complete party. Multiple members of the same party in the same role may group up so long as their lieutenant sees fit. We understand that party members will naturally gravitate towards each other, and we don''t discourage overlap between roles where it occurs, but practicality and mission effectiveness must always come first."

    "The basic structure of our first excursion is as follows. Fighters will push into the Deep Woods, moving northeast in a V-formation. Scouts will expand out beyond the formation and frequently report back findings to their assigned leaders. Healers will divide into two groups, the most powerful will remain here at base camp and establish triage and trauma care operations, while the lower levels bring up the rear of the formation to mend minor wounds and facilitate casualty transport back to camp. Further details for each role will be provided by your lieutenants."

    She paused, once again panning her gaze over the crowd, "some of you are going to die." She let the words linger in the air for a moment before speaking again, "no one here below Level 45 will survive a direct injury from the Matriarch. If she bites you, you''ll consider this a mercy. Her brood will not be so kind to murder you outright, if you''re bitten and survive to feel the venom you will suffer nightmares more real than life itself. The only advice I can give in this event is to cling to the truth that nothing you see is real, and pray to whichever gods you venerate."

    "Fellow adventurers who have been affected by the venom should be treated as incapacitated for the purposes of the mission, and if circumstances allow they should be subdued or physically restrained and passed on to the healers as living casualties. Some of the affected may become violent and attack their own allies, in this case, I ask that you show the afflicted the same mercy you would desire if and when you are bitten."

    She sighed, then clapped her hands, "you are released to your lieutenants. Good luck to you all."

    "Sheesh," Autumn said, "does she want us to change our minds and leave?"

    "Probably," Eli leaned over and replied, "anyone she just scared away shouldn''t be here in the first place."

    The party found an open spot away from the stirring crowd to discuss their next steps.

    "You and I should definitely report as scouts," Victoria said to Iris, who nodded in agreement.

    "Agreed," Eli said, "they''ll prefer me as a fighter, by the sound of things, so I''ll go with Autumn. Titus?"

    Titus wore a concerned, distracted look on his face and took a moment to respond, "I''m a healer before anything else, it would be disrespectful to Lieutenant Reesh and the Dreamweaver if I reported as a fighter without permission. I''ll go to him first, with any luck I''ll be catching up with you two."

    Eli nodded, then glanced around at the distinct groups forming around lieutenants on different edges of the clearing, "let''s get moving then."

 70 - Prove It Then

    Titus approached the growing crowd of healers gathering on the northern edge of the clearing. The majority were elven or human and all but a few wore robes of various styles, and the few who had armor wore only chest plates and bracers over robes or fine clothes. Aside from muddy boots and occasional blood stains, most of the clothing was spotless, and all the armor was pristine. He recognized more than a few faces from the aftermath of the Hydra attack, and remembered the names of some.

    Titus politely made his way through the crowd until he spotted Lieutenant Reesh conversing with another healer away from the gathering. He approached but stopped at a short distance and waited his turn to speak with the lieutenant.

    After a moment, the other healer turned and spoke, "can we help you?"

    Titus looked him up and down, recognizing him from the beach. He was one of the clerics Titus had shoved aside to rescue a dying patient. He was human, pale skinned and bulky. He was one of those in partial armor, and his armor plates were trimmed with fine engravings that indicated enchantments and wealth. An impractically large sword was strapped to his back in a manner that would be inconvenient, if not impossible, to unsheathe in a hurry. His large frame dwarfed the frail old lieutenant standing with him.

    "Apologies," Titus said, "I didn''t mean to interrupt. I''m waiting for an opportunity to speak with the lieutenant."

    "Find me after I conduct my brief, Horace," Lieutenant Reesh said to the other man, "we can finish our conversation then."

    Horace looked like he might object, but nodded to the lieutenant and walked away. He stopped to mingle with a nearby group of adventurers, casting a brief side eye towards Titus.

    "How can I help you, young man?" Lieutenant Reesh said, shaking Titus''s hand.

    "My name is Titus, sir," Titus stood upright with his shoulders back, looking straight ahead and avoiding eye contact rather than looking down at the shorter man, "I have the Thread of Life, and possess predominantly healing abilities, but I can fight too. I seek your permission to report as a fighter."

    Lieutenant Reesh inspected him for a moment, "you certainly look the part. Why ask permission?"

    "Respect, sir."

    The old man nodded appreciatively, "where did you study?"

    Titus was surprised the lieutenant had assumed he was a studied healer, most did not.

    "The Grand Clerical Academy at the Four Cities, sir. I studied for two years before I was expelled," he nervously added an explanation, "my methods were at odds with their teachings."

    The old man''s expression turned sour, "the ways of the Cleric have been refined over millennia, and none teach it better than the Grand Clerical Academies. Do you think you know better than thousands of years of elders?"

    Titus hesitated, "I think all disciplines have room for improvement, sir."

    The lieutenant looked like he wanted to spit on Titus''s boots, "I don''t care where you report, but it''s not here. There''s no place for arrogant heretics in my ranks."

    Titus maintained his composure and nodded, "thank you for your time, sir."

    He took the lieutenant''s statement as a dismissal, and quickly walked away. Soon he joined Eli and Autumn across the clearing, amongst a gathering of fighters of various races and sizes, wearing a wide variety of distinct armors and weapons. The conversation of the crowd was dying down as they anticipated Lieutenant Ash Druga''s speech.

    "How''d it go?" Eli whispered to Titus.

    "Could have gone better, but I''m here."

    "Warriors!" Ash Druga shouted suddenly, raising her hands in the air. The crowd responded with cheers and yells, which Autumn happily joined in on. The lieutenant continued before the cheers could finish, "Yes! That''s the energy I was hoping for. It''ll be a pleasure to bloody our weapons together!" More cheers followed.

    Ash Druga''s briefing was energetic throughout and focused as much on building hype and morale as it did informing her troops. Between grand declarations of imminent victory and gratuitous glorifications of violence, she described the mission priorities, rules of engagement, and introduced several sergeants she had chosen from the crowd to serve as her immediate subordinates. She closed out the briefing with a passionate call to action, shouting as she held her hammer over her head, to which the crowd responded by holding up their own weapons and shouting with her.

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    "I think I love her," Autumn said after Ash Druga''s briefing, as they distanced themselves from the still rowdy crowd of fighters.

    Titus gave her a skeptical look, "all she did was yell about killing things."

    "Exactly!" Autumn said, "truly, a woman after my heart."

    "Truly a woman trying to get us killed," Eli said bitterly, "not a minute spent on strategy, formations, emergency protocol-- she basically told us when and what we''re allowed to kill, then shouted at us for ten minutes."

    "I don''t see what the problem is,'' Autumn said.

    A passerby slammed his shoulder into Titus, who spun with the blow and continued his stride backwards for a few steps as he turned to face the man. It was Horace, with an arrogant smile and entourage of clerics.

    "Is that what we''re doing?" Titus asked, holding his hands out to the side in a questioning gesture.

    "Leave it alone," Eli said, placing a hand on Titus''s arm. Titus shrugged him off.

    The smile dropped from Horace''s face when Titus didn''t back down. He stepped closer and locked eyes with Titus, "where I come from we respect our betters."

    "I couldn''t tell," Titus said sharply.

    Horace shoved him, and Titus stumbled several steps back.

    "So you actually do think you''re better than us, heretic?" Horace demanded, "is that why you choose to be with the brutes and savages? Really?"

    "These ''brutes and savages'' are our patients," Titus said, stepping up to Horace and pointing a finger at him, "they''re the people I''d fucking die to protect while you''re back at camp playing dress up as a hero. Have you ever even used that sword?"

    Horace slapped Titus''s hand away, "I''m ten times the hero you''ll ever be."

    "Titus," Eli cautioned.

    "Prove it, then," Titus said, standing tall and staring down Horace.

    "Alright, let''s go," Horace said loudly, indicating to the growing number of onlookers that they would be getting a show.

    Eli grabbed Titus by the upper arm and pulled him in close, "let it go," he ordered.

    "Not this one, Eli," Titus said.

    Eli stared back at the determined glare in his eyes, " fine. We have your back if it anything fucked up happens."

    Titus nodded his appreciation, then stepped up across from Horace in the middle of a ring of adventurers that was forming around them in anticipation. Coins were already being passed around into betting pools.

    "Hand-to-hand only, no killing or maiming," Eli proclaimed, "otherwise, classic duel."

    "Acceptable," one of the clerics belonging to Horace''s entourage shouted.

    "If I win," Horace smiled sadistically, "you kiss my boot and apologize for being a heretic."

    "If I win, I''m taking your sword."

    Horace scoffed, "this sword is worth more than everything you own."

    "Worried about losing it?" Titus asked.

    Horace spat at the ground between them, then pointed at a random member of the crowd, "start the duel!"

    The onlooker flinched at the sudden attention, looked around for help, then stammered, "uh, ready,... duel!"

    A fist already swung at Titus''s head. He ducked and stepped under it, grabbing Horace by the belt with one hand while the other reached around to grab the back strap of his chest plate. Titus hoisted Horace from the ground, then twisted and slammed him into the mud. Titus took a few steps away and spread his arms out wide at Horace in a taunt.

    Horace growled and climbed to his feet, wiping mud splatters from his face with a forearm. He stepped forward with his leading foot, popping out a quick jab which Titus leaned back to avoid. Titus stepped in with his trailing foot and swung a hook towards his opponent''s abdomen. He missed his target of exposed cloth, instead clanging his gauntlet on Horace''s chest plate.

    Horace slammed an elbow into Titus''s head, ringing his ears and blurring his vision. Titus stumbled from the blow, then felt a boot plant against his hip and shove him to the ground. Horace kicked Titus in the ribs as he landed, then again in the back as he rolled.

    Autumn stepped forward, but Eli held her back.

    Titus rose to his hands and knees, and Horace kicked him in the ribs again, sending him back into the mud. Titus rolled as he landed, gaining distance between them. He came out of the roll and rose to his feet in a fluid motion, hands already up to block an incoming punch.

    They exchanged rapid blows. A gauntlet caught Horace on the chin, and another elbow grazed Titus''s brow, and several more strikes were dodged or blocked. Titus stepped in close and grabbed Horace by the collar, raked his boot down the length of Horace''s shin, then slammed his head into Horace''s face.

    Horace stumbled back, clutching a bloody nose.

    "Let me heal that for you," Titus said, conjuring healing magic in his fist and popping Horace in the nose, rocking his head back.

    Horace hissed in pain as he stumbled further, his nose burning as it rapidly healed from the multiple breaks. Titus punched him in the face again with another healing blow, breaking and healing the bones and cartilage again.

    "Hand-to-hand only!" A member of Horace''s entourage yelled, "that''s a forfeit!"

    "It''s healing magic you dumb fuck, not an attack," Autumn yelled back, ignoring that most of Titus''s healing magic could also function as attacks.

    "No foul, no forfeit," Eli stated flatly but loudly. The objecting cleric scowled, but accepted the rebuttal.

    Titus landed the fourth consecutive healing blow to Horace''s face, the dizzy and dazed cleric flailed weak and desperate punches before finally tripping and falling awkwardly on his ass in the mud. Titus swung a casual straight-legged kick into Horace''s face, laying him out flat. This time the fractures didn''t heal.

    Titus kneeled beside his opponent and lightly slapped him on the cheek, his head wobbled limply and his eyes stayed drooped. Titus grabbed Horace by the wrist and raised it into the air, then released it. As the limp arm splashed back into the mud, the crowd erupted. Some had won big in the bets and shouted the loudest, others were just happy to see a fight and cheered along, and several swore and complained at the money they''d lost.

    Titus rolled the unconscious Horace on his side, careful to keep his face out of the mud as he unstrapped the sheathed sword on his back.

    Two of the clerics moved to stop him, but Eli blocked their way and outstretched his hand, "we all saw a fair victory, don''t make this messy."

    The clerics exchanged deliberative looks, but before they could speak Titus was slinging the muddy sword over his shoulder by the sheath''s harness and barging past them.

    "You should probably heal that guy," he pointed a thumb over his shoulder.

 71 - Ranger Kerrick

    In a secluded area just outside the main clearing, Lieutenant Kerrick stood behind a mess of bushes and vines, leaning against the broad trunk of a stunted redwood. His hood was pulled low over his face and his head was down. Many of the gathering scouts had yet to notice him as his patterned robes blended in with the twigs and leaves of the brush.

    When Victoria and Iris arrived and found no Lieutenant Kerrick in sight, and a crowd of confused adventurers looking around or even outright searching, Victoria quickly guessed what the game was. She activated her auravision and inspected the area, but found nothing. After a moment of observing the other adventurers, however, she picked out a few who were no longer searching and were now talking quietly amongst themselves. She followed their discrete glances to where she assumed he must be hiding, and activated her auravision again. After a moment of close inspection she identified traces of his aura blended into the aura of the surrounding plants like mixing paint of similar shades.

    "Can you see him?" Victoria asked Iris, leading her through the area.

    Iris scanned her surroundings with an inquisitive eye as they walked, shaking her head when she saw nothing. A hand unseen by her periphery landed softly on her shoulder.

    "Oh fuck!" she shouted, and blipped away.

    Lieutenant Kerrick released a hearty roar of a laugh and emerged from the brush. He let the laugh trail off into chuckles without composing himself, then threw back his hood and addressed the staring crowd.

    "I''m Ranger Kerrick," he announced in a deep, confident voice, "the Dreamweaver would prefer you call me lieutenant for the duration of this expedition, but ranger is the title I''ve earned,'' he stopped and looked up into the trees, "you can come down now."

    Iris blipped to the ground behind Victoria, sheepishly avoiding eye contact with the ranger.

    He laughed again, "it''s all in good fun, young one. If you scream like that in the field you''ll probably die, though."

    Iris she said nothing as her cheeks reddened.

    "Alright," the ranger clapped his hands, "let''s get started."

    The briefing that followed was an intimate and in depth conversation about tactics and search patterns. Ranger Kerrick actively engaged with questions from the crowd, and placed jokes throughout to lighten the mood and keep attention. Iris found his casual, friendly demeanor a striking surprise compared to her initial expectations of a quiet, stone faced rogue.

    "What if we locate the web but are unable to return and report?" an adventurer asked.

    "That is the one and only circumstance where it is acceptable to signal, but only if you''re in imminent danger. I would still caution against it, the last thing you want if you''re stuck or injured is to draw more attention. If you''re stuck in the web, however, you can trust the spiders are already on the way. My sergeants or I will respond swiftly to anything that appears to be a signal or a sign of trouble."

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    After a few more questions, the ranger began his closing statement, "I cannot stress this enough, it''s up to us to look out for each other if one of us gets into trouble. The fighters will be too far away to help, if they even know you''re in danger at all. Spreading out is key to covering ground, but you should always know where at least two other scouts are at all times, if not, you''re too isolated. Is that understood?"

    The adventurers nodded and quietly confirmed.

    "Good. I''ll see you all early in the morning, right here, one hour before sunrise," he returned his hood to his head and stepped backwards into the brush as he continued, "if anyone asks, all I did was stare at you in silence for an hour, I have appearances to keep up." A moment later, he had disappeared into the forest.

    "Is he what you expected?" Iris asked Victoria after he was gone.

    "Not even remotely."

    On their way back to their campsite, they stopped by the healer''s tent. It had sparsely been necessary so far, but many healers were bustling around to prepare for the expected influx of patients when the expedition began in earnest. They spotted a muddy and angry clerical sitting on a cot, then both winced as another cleric broke the man''s nose and immediately began healing it again.

    "Hmm, still not right," the cleric observed.

    "How many fucking times--" the injured man shouted in a hoarse, nasally voice.

    "How many times did he break it in the duel?" the cleric asked.

    "Like, five or six?"

    "Then probably three or four more times, if you ever want the shape back," the cleric broke the man''s nose again, causing an angry scream.

    After a few moments of waiting, another cleric approached them and eyed Victoria''s slung and bandaged arm. He nodded, then led them to an empty cot. He grimaced as he unwrapped the bandages to reveal bruised and swollen purple flesh.

    "When did this happen?" he asked,

    "two days ago," Victoria answered.

    The cleric gave her a shocked and annoyed guffaw, "you should have come sooner. Way sooner."

    "I''ve had worse, and we got busy," Victoria said, even as the unraveling bandages revealed a horrific scene.

    For the next hour, the cleric carefully and delicately tended to her injury with precisely placed bursts of healing and manual repositioning of bones that made Iris dizzy and nauseous to even see. Victoria remained stoic throughout the procedure, only occasionally wincing or snarling. The cleric finished with a broad application of continuous healing along the shoulder and upper arm, and a thorough lecture on the importance of timely healing.

    As they left the tent, Iris gave Victoria a concerned look, "how did you do that? That looked really painful. Has it been hurting this whole time?"

    "It really didn''t start getting bad until this morning," she said, "Titus''s healing held me over even though he couldn''t fix the bone."

    Iris was still concerned, but left it alone.

    They returned to their campsite to find Autumn preparing lunch.

    "How''s the arm?" Titus asked as they approached.

    "Mostly better, still sore," Victoria replied.

    "The clerics didn''t give you any trouble, did they?"

    "No, why would they--" Victoria gave Titus a flat look, "did you break that guy''s nose?"

    "He had it coming!" Autumn interjected.

    "You know they''re still trying to fix him, right?" Victoria lectured.

    "Really?" Titus asked in excitement, then tried to look serious, "I mean that''s awful, whoever did that to him should feel terrible."

    Victoria turned her glare to Eli, who had a guilty look in his eye as he hid a tightly clenched smile behind a fist.

    "They had to keep breaking it over and over again to get the shape right," Victoria said in the tone of an angry parent.

    Both men erupted into laughter.

    Eli forcefully composed himself, "no, this is serious," he briefly cracked a smile before reigning it back in, "that was very irresponsible of you Titus, you disobeyed my direct order. As the team leader I do not encourage this kind of behavior."

    "You''re right," Titus took on a solemn, guilty expression, "I shouldn''t have broken it the sixth time."

    Eli cracked into laughter again.

 72 - Wyvern Preparations

    Commander Bridge stood on the edge of a rocky desert ravine, peering down at the Champions working below. They drove long iron spikes deep into the rocky ravine walls, a trivial feat for adventurers of their level. Others followed behind them, securely fastening expertly crafted steel cables to the spikes, the ends of which were woven into modified ballistae that pointed vertically out of the ravine. The Wyvern was intelligent, and traps needed to be disguised or hidden if they were to work.

    The commander was annoyed at the sun''s low position in the sky, the light in his eyes didn''t bother or threaten him but his crews needed more time. The whole operation needed more time. His subordinate officers had done their best to maintain operations during his absence, but without the Titan''s dominating presence there had been dissent and squabbles amongst the ranks. Time and time again he considered delaying the battle, but the potential cons of that decision were too severe to risk.

    "Sir," a woman called out behind him.

    He turned to face three adventurers, each standing at attention several yards away. The one who had spoken was a bronze-skinned, blonde-haired human in tan and khaki combat robes with an exotic bow in her hand, a quiver at her waist and another over her shoulder. To her left was an elf with ash grey skin and dark grey hair hidden under the hood of black robes, which he wore beneath a silver chest plate and bracers. To her right was an orc with white and black face paint covering his dark green skin, he wore heavy armor of dark green metal and rested a pole-armed battle-axe on his shoulder.

    "You''re the affliction specialists?" The commander inquired.

    "Yes sir," the human replied, "I am Kal-"

    "Names don''t matter," the commander interrupted, "tell me what you can do."

    The woman looked taken aback but quickly composed herself, "long range attacks, incremental afflictions that build exponentially, primarily poison and fatigue, sir."

    The commander nodded, then looked to the elf.

    "Curses," the man spoke in a raspy voice, "the kind that make flesh rot and blood boil. I can cast at range, but laying on hands is ideal. Getting in and out won''t be a problem for me."

    "And you?" the commander asked the orc.

    "I make things bleed a lot of blood," he grinned. His smile faded under the commander''s annoyed glare, and he awkwardly continued, "I can get close if it flies over me."

    "Good, you''ll do," the commander said, "report to Sergeant Wale, he''ll get you into position," he turned to the human and elf, "you two should familiarize yourselves with the battle plan and choose your own positions. The three of you are a pillar of our strategy, I want each of you solely focused on applying as many afflictions as possible for the entire duration of the battle. Is that understood?"

    "Yes sir," the human woman said, followed by the other two Champions.

    The commander''s eyes flashed towards an approaching figure, the silhouette wavered in the heat coming off the sun-scorched rock. The late evening sun glinted off a mask over the figure''s face.

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    "You''re dismissed," he said, walking towards the figure without another glance at the adventurers.

    He stopped a few yards short of meeting the Agent of Morose halfway, and the agent did the same. The commander waited for the agent to speak first, having learned that speaking first only gave the agents control of the conversation.

    "I come with information," the agent said from behind the brass mask, which featured sharp oval eyes, a severe frown, and a teardrop on either cheek.

    The commander withheld a scowl, anticipating only a crumb of information that he should have received days prior, "go on."

    "More beacons have been activated. Four since sunrise. Two agents were found dead at one of the sites."

    The commander forgot his anger and concern crossed his face, "do we have control of this?"

    The agent remained silent.

    "Speak to me, dammit," the commander barked, "what the fuck is going on?"

    "The situation is dire," the agent admitted, shocking the commander, "we may need your assistance."

    "Fucking hell," the commander''s confrontational demeanor was replaced by slightly slumped shoulders and a hint of exhaustion in his voice, "what more will you tell me?"

    "Armageddon nears. Morose observes."

    The figure flickered rapidly and disappeared, leaving only the simmering heat haze in his wake.

    The commander''s outburst echoed across the Craggs, "What the fuck does that mean?"

    <hr>

    A while after lunch, Titus called Iris out to a muddy clearing in front of their campsite. A moment later she appeared in front of him, looking up inquisitively from an open book she held one-handed.

    "We''ve been slacking on your training ever since we got to the city," he said, "that''s my mistake, we all needed a break after the journey, but I should have found time for more training before the Hunt. I''m sorry."

    Iris looked surprised and unsure, "it''s okay, I kind of thought it was my fault," she admitted.

    Titus laughed, "you certainly never complained about sleeping in."

    "So we both messed up, deal."

    "Deal," he smiled, "I do still have something for you, though."

    "No way," her eyes widened, "did you get me a sword?"

    "Ugh!" Autumn groaned, trudging out to them with a sheathed great sword in her arms, "we had a whole reveal planned."

    "How did you--" Titus began.

    Iris stuffed the book in her bag and blipped over to Autumn, gazing at the sword with joy filled eyes and an open-mouthed smile.

    "Whoa, whoa," Titus said quickly, hurrying around Iris to put an arm between her and the sword, "you''re not ready yet, but I thought it''d be better for you to have it than not. Only use it if you absolutely need to, do you understand? You''ll be as much danger to yourself as you are to the other guy."

    Iris half-listened while she took in the details of the sword. Dark leather spiraled elegantly around the hilt, and the pommel was a rounded-diamond of polished bronze which matched the stubby, wing-shaped cross guard. The long, wide blade disappeared into a high quality scabbard.

    "It came with a harness, too," Titus added, "but putting a sword this big in a scabbard is already pretty silly, wearing it is even sillier. Wielding a greatsword effectively is a commitment to lugging the thing around in your hands if you actually plan on using it in a sudden fight."

    "Already got that covered," Iris said, blipping a few yards back.

    She grabbed a hold of her bottomless bag with one hand and reached into it with the other, she ripped it backwards away from her belt while her reaching hand thrust forward out of the bag grasping a wooden hilt. The bag flung backwards down the length of the blade as Iris drew the wooden greatsword, when the tip of the blade emerged from the void the bag quickly dropped and zipped itself back to her waist. She brought the sword in front of her in the same motion, taking it both hands before demonstrating a sequence of strikes Titus had taught her with impressive form.

    "I have done a little practice," she admitted with a smile.

    Titus laughed, "flashy, but we''re still about to fit in a hefty training session before you hold that sword."

    Iris was too excited to be upset, and was eager to train.

 73 - The Expedition Begins

    The party shared a brief breakfast of berries and dried meats in the early hours of the morning. Iris and Victoria were the first to depart from the campsite, and said their goodbyes and well wishes to the others before setting off into the dark. Iris took a moment to say goodbye to Glimmer specifically, knowing that Eli would be leaving her behind for today''s expedition. They cut straight through the woods, rather than following the winding campfire-lit paths of the camp. Crickets chirped and owls hooted, and countless unseen critters scurried about. Victoria had little trouble navigating the dark with her auravision, but Iris carried a torch to avoid tripping on the muddy, obstacle-laden ground.

    They arrived at the meeting place long before sunrise, as instructed. Most of the other scouts were already in an adventuring mindset, and were perched on branches, lurking in the brush or tucked away behind roots and trunks. Iris supposed that the natural state of an idle scout would be discrete, and felt a bit awkward as the only one carrying a light source. She quietly hoped one of her next abilities would be a perception power of some kind.

    It wasn''t long before Ranger Kerrick revealed himself from a patch of foliage, leaving it uncertain how long he had been there. He kept the hood over his head, and spoke without the casual merriment he had revealed the day before.

    "The fighters will be forming up one hundred yards East, Ash Druga and most of her leadership are already present. Spread out around that vicinity and be prepared to move when they start marching," he paused for a moment, then spoke in a kinder tone, "be safe out there. You''re dismissed."

    Though they individually moved quietly, the sudden flurry of two dozen scouts departing at once rustled leaves and stirred the air. Iris stood awkwardly for a moment, then blipped away after the others, passing Victoria as she dissolved into mist. She kept her blips short, limited by the range of her torchlight. The orange glow flickered in and out like fireflies blinking in a winding path through the woods.

    Iris stopped when she saw the glow of standing torches illuminating the meeting place of the fighters. She spotted a few scouts settling into place amongst the woods, and picked out an unoccupied branch close to the clearing, the silhouette of which was outlined against the glow of the standing torches beyond. She extinguished her own torch and returned it to her bag, then blipped to the branch, crouching down to observe the first gathering fighters.

    "Dude," the voice of a stranger spoke from the darkness, "this is my spot."

    Iris shot to her feet and glanced around, but saw no one.

    "Uh, sorry," she said sheepishly, then blipped away.

    A mist wafted past her in the dark when she appeared, tickling her cheeks like a faint sea spray. She looked in the direction it traveled, and soon saw a silhouette forming on a branch nearby. She blipped up to it, beside a half-formed Victoria.

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    "I think I''m out of my league," Iris whispered.

    "You are," Victoria said quietly as the rest of her body came into being, "it''ll get easier when the sun''s up, but not very. Just take it easy, consider yourself here to learn more than help."

    Iris didn''t like that. She liked the learning part, sure, but she wanted to pull her weight and contribute as she''d done in her party. Still, though, she imagined herself face planting in the mud in front of the other adventurers and decided to heed Victoria''s advice.

    She wanted to ask Victoria''s opinion as to why Ranger Kerrick made them meet so early just to sit and watch the fighters trickle in for an hour, but she got the impression that it was frowned upon to make small talk while scouting. Instead she kept quiet and waited, exploring her own thoughts on the matter. At first she guessed it was some kind of military quirk, guessing that Kerrick must be an active member of the Adventuring Corps. As she observed the fighters, however, she began to form a different theory.

    Even just passively observing while distracted by her thoughts, she gradually grew familiar with the faces, voices, and even personalities of the fighters. She picked out which ones were party members based on interactions, and made guesses at what level each fighter was based on their appearance and demeanor. Just through observing at a distance, she was able to discern a rough outline of the command hierarchy, identifying several adventurers as probably sergeants or probably subordinates below them. Though she imagined the higher level adventurers could sense the crowd of scouts dispersed throughout the darkness on the edge of the clearing, the crowd at large seemed blissfully unaware of their presence.

    She reasoned that the role of a scout in an expedition must be about more than just spotting dangers and evaluating terrain. When she scouted for her own party, communication and strategy were natural, she had gotten to know her team and they had gotten to know her. She knew who to inform, how they would react and what she should do next. In this scenario, however, she would be working with strangers who communicated differently, whose powers and abilities she didn''t know, and whose relative competence she had little gauge of. It made sense to her that gleaning whatever information she could about the fighters she would be scouting for would be useful later, and assumed that to be the reason for their early arrival.

    After that realization, Iris did her best to avoid distracting thoughts, instead focusing on the adventurers below. She watched as healers gathered in the back of the clearing in their own distinct crowd, then spotted the other members of her party making their way towards the middle of the fighters. She kept a loose head count throughout, estimating about sixty fighters after the bulk had gathered, though stragglers still trickled in.

    Eventually, as the sky that peaked through cracks in the canopy began to lighten with the rising sun, Lieutenant Ash Druga addressed the fighters. She instructed them to form up with the highest level adventurers at the point of a triangle and the lower levels fanned out at the back. Various sergeants and subordinates dispersed throughout the crowd while Ash Druga repeated the rules of engagement and priorities of the day''s operation. As clouds parted above and the first rays of sunlight cut through the canopy, Ash Druga loudly declared the expedition to be underway, and the fighters hiked forward into the woods.

 74 - A Voice In the Woods

    Eli, Autumn and Titus managed to stick together on the western front as the crowd of fighters dispersed throughout the trees. They had been given the general rule to keep two trunks between themselves and their neighboring fighters, which allowed them to spread out and cover quite some distance while still maintaining frequent visuals on their nearest allies. Sergeants were spaced out along the edge of the formation, and among their responsibilities were maintaining its shape. More than once they startled at an explosion, yell or other loud noise, but each time it was followed by a shout of "all clear!" or "false alarm!" shortly after.

    "This is a waste of time," Autumn groaned loudly, after a few hours of walking, "we should be back at camp while the scouts handle this."

    "It''s only a waste if nothing happens," Eli called back from up ahead, scanning the woods with his staff at a low ready.

    "The best fights are the ones you don''t get into," Titus added from her left.

    As they traveled, the redwoods grew shorter and wider yet, while the roots bulged against each other and fought for space. The dirt ground dwindled into isolated stretches and patches, leaving no direct path without climbing atop and traversing over the massive roots. After a short distance of jumping from root to root, they grew so densely overlapped that the ground was rarely seen at all, and the adventurers were left walking atop a twisted, gnarled and knotted surface of bark.

    The sunlight that filtered through the canopy did so in speckles of light which rarely found a direct path, and a faint, inconsistent glow from the light which had first bounced around the canopy before reaching the adventurers. There was no open ground for understory foliage to grow, which left only empty terrain and stunted redwood trunks to be seen in all directions, and there were fewer bugs and animals, which made the forest eerily still and quiet.

    The three party members grouped closer together without acknowledging it, and each of them grew more alert. Though they could see further and hear more, the ominous atmosphere left them disturbed and uneasy. Eli whipped his staff around at the ready as a figure landed amongst them.

    "Whoa," the man laughed, holding up both his hands, "I''m with you guys."

    He wore a sandy brown tunic crossed with a leather bandolier lined with pouches. His belt held yet more pouches and two small waterskins, and he wore no visible weapons. He had a tan complexion, shaggy, dirty-blonde hair that grew just beyond his ears, and a friendly expression.

    Eli lowered his staff and acknowledged the man with an upwards nod, "Eli Silverwood."

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    "Cameron Cole," the man replied, lowering his hands, "uh, Sergeant Cameron Cole, I guess."

    "You guess?" Autumn asked with a hint of her interrogation voice.

    "Yeah," the man laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck, "I just came here to kill stuff, the sergeant thing kind of happened to me. Never mind that, I''m here to give an update."

    The man waited for interruptions, but the others simply exchanged glances.

    "Right," Cameron continued, "there''s been an incident near the point, our champions were forced to engage a very pissed off owl. They managed to slay it, but one was injured and is on his way back to camp."

    "Injured by an owl?" Autumn questioned.

    "It was a big owl," Cameron said, "let''s keep moving while we talk."

    As they walked, Cameron continued, "that''s not why I''m here, though. The big issue is that we''ve lost touch with several scouts northwest of here, including a sergeant. We have scouts searching for them as we speak, but your path is going to bring you near the area where they were last contacted, so remain vigilant and report anything you find."

    "Understood," Eli nodded.

    "Great," Cameron distanced himself from the others as both his hands reached into pouches on either side of his belt, "see you around."

    Before they could see what he pulled from the pouches, Cameron spread his hands out towards the ground beside him and leapt. Explosions blasted from his palms and launched him high into the canopy overhead. The blasts were strangely muted, sounding more like dull pops than explosions.

    <hr>

    Elsewhere in the woods, Iris rapidly blipped between the trees. She stopped to evaluate her surroundings closely as her mana recharged, but she saw more of the same and soon continued. She couldn''t see Victoria, who was wafting through the canopy in mist-form, but she trusted that Victoria could see her with her heightened senses. Despite this, she felt alone in the forest.

    She heard a voice call out from afar, "hello?"

    Her attention shot towards the voice, and she blipped after it.

    "Is anyone there?" the voice repeated.

    She quickened her pace, sprinting between each blip.

    "Please, help me!" the voice cried.

    Iris stopped on the edge of a small area of exposed dirt amongst the expansive root-floor of the dense woods. The ground was nearly eight feet below the thick, overlapping roots, forming a crater-like pit. Plant life had taken full advantage of the isolated opportunity, and the space bulged with trees and bushes. She expected to hear chirping bugs or rustling critters within the oasis, but it was still and silent.

    "Uh, hello?" she called out.

    "Please, help me!" the voice repeated from within the thick foliage. It was soft and androgynous, with an unchanging cadence.

    Hair rose on her arms and bumps covered her skin, and an inexplicable sense of vulnerability overtook her. She glanced around, peering across the woods where there were gaps in the trees, but saw no other scouts. She edged closer.

    "What''s wrong?" She asked.

    "Hello?" the voice asked.

    "Fuck," she said under her breath, fighting back the fear she couldn''t explain, "fuck, fuck."

    "Please, I need your help!"

    "Fuck, fine!" Iris shouted, "I''m coming in."

    She looked around for a place to blip, but saw nothing through the thick foliage. With a final swear, she stepped up to the edge of the roots and dropped down into the oasis.

 75 - Please Help Me

    The plant life pressed against Iris on all sides, the only light was a precious glow from above that didn''t reach the ground. It was eerily quiet, the only sound was her own breath. She took the wizard hat from her head and stuffed it into her bottomless bag, then pushed aside leaves and branches and pulled vines that ripped and tore leaves in their wake. Thorns left slices on her hands and tugged on her robes.

    The pleading voice was replaced by a quiet whimper, which Iris used as a guide. She climbed through several feet of the brush before coming upon a small open space, not wide enough for a person to spread their arms out. She lingered on the edge and cautiously pulled aside a branch to peer into the dark clearing. Thick foliage still covered the ground and the canopy overhead remained dense, a dark mass rested on the ground off to the side.

    She watched it for a moment, trying to spot the rise and fall of breath. The whimpering had stopped. She felt dread and terror, her breathing stopped and her heart thumped. Her eyes stuck fixated on the shape in the darkness. She realized the fear was coming from a direction.

    She blipped blindly, reappearing somewhere in the clearing and tripping over something heavy. She fell to the ground, half-sinking into the crawling vines that covered the surface. Scrambling back, she saw the lump on the ground was the shredded and bloody remains of a man. She then witnessed a tall, emaciated figure releasing its clutches on the leaves and branches where she had just been.

    It turned towards her, and with the same soft, androgynous voice, it spoke, "hello?"

    She kicked off the ground to scoot away at the same time as she rolled to her hands and knees. She pushed herself to her feet with unsteady balance, and blipped again. The creature had already crossed the clearing and lunged for her, barreling into the brush as she disappeared.

    She reappeared somewhere in the thicket, immediately pushing and pulling her way through the mess of intertwining and overlapping plants. She could hear the rustlings of the creature behind her.

    "Please, help me!" it cried.

    Panic was overtaking her. She gasped desperately, her eyes darted all around and her pulse thumped in her wrists and neck.

    "Hello?" It was closer.

    She looked up and blipped, appearing amongst leaves and branches. She blipped again, appearing in the air over the thicket. She was too far from the edge. Her final blip brought her to the root-ground beyond the thicket, where she landed with a crouch and a hideous headache as she fought to cling onto consciousness. Her back was to the thicket, but she felt the fear rising behind her.

    She turned in horror as the creature climbed over the edge of the roots with long, skinny arms. It hoisted a knee high into the air to place a foot over the edge and swiftly stand tall. Taut, pale grey skin stretched across bulging ribs and boney limbs. The tight skin revealed the shape of its skull, human-like aside from the rounded plate where its eyes and nose should be. A sickeningly wide mouth stretched across its jaw, slowly contorting into a smile that bared sharp teeth.

    Its head snapped to the side, a burst of aura catching its attention. Iris felt a warmth in her chest, and a force of bravery pushing back against the oppressive aura of fear projected by the creature. She rose to her feet, breath still unsteady, and blipped away.

    The creature whirled towards where she had been. Iris reappeared behind a tree several yards away, and soon felt the creature''s focus again as the fear closed in on her. The creature darted forward, briefly dropping to all fours to sprint. It rose to its feet as it reached the tree, reaching out with one hand against the trunk to sling itself around. Iris was already gone.

    It snapped its head up, towards where she now stood a dozen yards away, in the open. Her mana hadn''t reached capacity since she left the thicket, but now an external source bolstered her recovery and a surge of mana filled her body. She fought the urge to spare a glance in search of Victoria, instead keeping her gaze locked on the creature before her.

    She grabbed her bottomless bag and threw it backwards as she withdrew the greatsword Titus had given her. Just as she''d practiced, the bag flew back until it dropped over the tip of the blade, then zipped itself back towards its spot on her waist. The creature was sprinting now, and she blipped.

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    She brought the sword to bear as she reappeared behind the creature and it swiped the air where she came from. Its moves were sudden and swift, and fast enough to catch her. She gritted her teeth and steeled her resolve, waiting for the next move.

    It turned to face her, rising from a hunch to its full, terrifying height. It took a slow step forward, then another, then lunged. Iris blipped, but not away from it. She appeared beside it as it lunged, swinging the heavy sword in an awkward, upward arc that sliced through its shoulder. She let the momentum of the sword carry it around her, blipping again to the other side of the creature and pushing through the downswing of the arc to slice through its thigh.

    The creature stumbled, but her grip had been weak and the blows were glancing. Thick, white blood oozed from the cuts as it recovered and spun around, swiping a clawed hand towards Iris. She angled the blade to block, and the creature grabbed it tight and pulled it from her grasp. The sword was tossed aside as the creature''s other hand shot forward and reached for her throat. She reflexively threw herself backwards even as she blipped, and reappeared falling on her ass.

    She gasped for breath, and she felt the bravery fade as instead her stamina surged. She nodded in acceptance, and rose to face the fear as the creature flashed towards her. She blipped to the air behind it, kicking out at the back of its head. Her strike connected, and a hand swung around and slapped her boot as she blipped away just before it could grasp.

    She stumbled as she reappeared, and the creature was already upon her. Long, spindly fingers wrapped around her forearm, slender claws biting into her flesh as the grip threatened to crush bones. The creature''s mouth opened tall as its jaw unhinged. With her free hand, she pulled a headless arrow shaft from her bag and shoved it fletching-first into the creature''s gullet.

    It gagged and recoiled, but held its grip on her arm. She reached out towards her sword and called it forth, blipping it through the air and into her hand. She brought it out of the blip with a clumsy one-handed swing, aiming to decapitate her foe but instead bashing it in the head with the flat of the blade. Its grip held tight.

    "Fuck!" she shouted, fruitlessly tugging back her arm.

    Soon the creature dislodged the stick from its throat and tossed it aside. Its free hand then grasped her other shoulder, holding her in place before it as the maw stretched open once more. She tried to raise the sword between them, but there wasn''t space. The maw lunged for her face.

    An explosion shattered her eardrums and burnt her face. She dropped to the ground with blurry, one-eyed vision. Her ears rang, and her balance swirled. She saw a man land between her and the creature, several more explosions popped off around the creature as he outstretched his hand.

    "Wait!" Iris yelled, her own voice coming back distorted through her damaged ears.

    The man halted, even as he had the creature on the back foot, and turned towards her.

    "Let me," she groaned, rising to her feet with a grunt and a sway.

    The man said something, but it was muffled and distorted. She blipped the sword from the ground into her hand, and waved him aside with the other. With a confused and uncertain expression, he stepped aside.

    She staggered and swayed as she stepped towards the creature, which was now recovering from a few blasts that had seared patches of its skin into a bubbling mess. Its attention faltered as it focused on her, then the man. She blipped forward, appearing in a sprint with the hilt of the sword tucked low as the blade stretched out in front of her. The creature dodged to the left, and she clenched the hilt tightly as she appeared beside it with a strong downwards swing that severed an arm.

    Globs of white blood dripped to the ground as it whirled around and swiped with its remaining arm. The claws raked across her chest, shredding through cloth and flesh before she blipped. She reappeared with a strained yell as she swung the sword horizontally, burying it in the creature''s side just below the ribs. She reached out with a kick against its hip as she pulled her sword free and staggered backwards.

    She half grunted, half yelled as she brought the sword overhead in a heavy swing. The creature raised its remaining hand towards the blade to grasp it, but it disappeared. Iris and the sword reappeared behind the creature, and she brought the strike down into its hunched back. Her head split as the creature let out a pitiful cry and collapsed to its knees, tugging the sword down with it.

    She heaved and slipped the blade free from the creature''s spine, then whirled the sword around to a reverse grip as she blipped into the air above the creature. She came down with all her weight on the tip of the sword against its upper back, and even still the blade caught only a few inches deep. She continued down, applying all her strength to push the sword down as she landed. Something gave way, and the sword burst from the creature''s chest as she plunged it deep.

    Her head swam as the creature''s wail stabbed her ears like daggers, her vision blurred from pain, tears and blood. She sighed and half-yelled with each gasp for breath, her chest heaving as her hands still clenched the hilt of the sword buried in the slumped over creature. The wail faded and the creature stilled. With a decisive nod to herself, she placed a foot on its lower back and groaned as she slid the blade free from the corpse. Instantly, she blipped to the side and brought the sword down in a quick swipe, decapitating her foe before its chest hit the ground.

 76 - A Quick Recovery

    Iris swayed in place, chest still heaving. The tip of her sword rested on the root-ground in front of her, while her hands limply held the hilt.

    "Not bad," the man said, hands stuffed in his pockets as he inspected the corpse. His voice crashed against her ears like a muffled roar.

    Victoria formed from a cloud of mist even as it wafted quickly towards Iris. Her feet were still mist when her hands clasp Iris by the shoulders, and she gasped when she got a good look at Iris''s face. Victoria whirled around at the man and started yelling, causing Iris to drop her sword and cover her ears with a wince. The man held up his hands defensively while pointing at Iris, and soon Victoria transitioned to a quiet scolding.

    Iris felt blood dripping out of her ears, and the right side of her face felt sticky. She tried extremely hard not to think about why, or what pain might be waiting for her when she fully realized her injuries. The blood pouring down the front of her robe from the gashes just below her collar bone was harder to ignore.

    After more arguing the man let out an exasperated groan and handed Victoria a large corked vial of bright red liquid, which he produced from a pocket which should have been too shallow to contain it. He held onto it tightly for a moment before relinquishing his grip and letting Victoria take it.

    "If you had any idea how expensive these are--" the man started.

    "I do," Victoria interjected, then turned her full attention to Iris and uncorked the vial, "drink this, all at once if you can."

    Trusting her companion, Iris took the vial and turned it up without hesitation. The liquid was thin and ran freely, and tasted like flowers. She shook the last few drops into her mouth and handed the vial back to Victoria, then groaned and collapsed to her knees. Searing pain covered the right half of her face and pierced her ears, the gashes in her chest burned like fire and the countless tiny cuts on her hands stung like bee stings. She gasped for breath but couldn''t draw air, and then she could. She breathed freely, the pain receded, and her vision cleared and widened as her wounds closed beneath the bloodstains.

    "Holy shit," she said, looking up at Victoria with wide eyes, "I feel great!"

    "Moonrose tonic," the man said, darting a glare towards Victoria, "they''re supposed to be for emergencies."

    "It was an emergency!" Victoria whirled on him again, eager to yell again now that Iris''s ears were healed, "you took out her eye!"

    "She could have made it to a healer--"

    "You nearly burned off her face!"

    "It was about to eat her--"

    "Guys," Iris said, climbing to her feet, "it''s fine, I''m okay. Just drop it." She cracked her neck and stretched her arms, "thanks for the help, both of you."

    They both looked at her for a moment, then Victoria turned back to the man, "who are you?"

    "Sergeant Cameron Cole," he replied, returning his hands to his pockets and composing himself, "I''m out passing along intel and stumbled across this little fight just in time."

    Iris almost scoffed, nothing about it had felt little to her.

    "We appreciate your help," Victoria said unconvincingly, "we''ll take that intel now."

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    Sergeant Cameron relayed the information about the owl attack, and then the missing scouts.

    "There''s a body in the thicket," Iris remembered in horror, "I didn''t get a good look, but I think he was an adventurer."

    Cameron grimaced at the monster corpse at their feet, a thick puddle of white ooze had formed beneath it, "maybe this is our culprit, then. Or one of them."

    "It called out to me like a person who needed help," Iris said, shivering as she recalled it, "it didn''t feel right, but-- I mean, how do you ignore cries for help?"

    Cameron nodded, then handed Iris a small notebook and a finely sharpened piece of charcoal, "write down everything you remember. I''ll get the body," he nodded at Victoria, "keep watch."

    Victoria followed his orders despite her lingering anger, recognizing his superior rank both in level and expedition authority, "there''s no other auras coming from the thicket, it should be safe," she said flatly.

    A short while later, Cameron hoisted the body above his head and pushed it out onto the root-ground on the edge of the thicket, then climbed out of the pit himself. Iris kept her distance from the corpse, waiting for Cameron to approach her and Victoria.

    "It''s one of our scouts," he said gravely, "I don''t know him, but he looks the part and hasn''t been dead for long."

    "Any other bodies?" Victoria asked.

    Cameron shook his head.

    "Then there might be more of these things," she said.

    Cameron nodded, accepting the notebook back from Iris, "I''ll pass on the location, we''ll recover his body on the way back to camp. For now, I need to get this information back to command, and I need you two to pass on a warning about this creature to all scouts in the area."

    Iris and Victoria nodded as the man returned the notebook and charcoal to a pocket, then pulled something from pouches at his waist and cradled them in either hand. He looked to Iris, "you did good, kid." Then he leapt, and quiet explosions blasted out from his palms and launched him into the canopy.

    "I don''t think I like that guy," Iris said passively, after he had gone.

    "I definitely don''t," Victoria replied, "let''s get moving."

    "Just a second," Iris said, pulling her journal from the bottomless bag.

    IRIS ORION

    Hero Rank, Level 6

    Experience Points: 3376 / 6850

    Progress to next level: 49.28%

    Recent Accomplishments:

    Powerful foe slain, 3500 bonus experience awarded.

    Attribute Scores:

    - Vitality : 25

    - Strength : 31

    - Speed : 20

    - Intellect : 20

    - Spirit : 24

    Unspent attribute points : 5

    She smiled wide, "I leveled up!"

    "Congratulations," Victoria said, "seems like these near-death experiences keep working out for you."

    Iris made a quick decision on allocating her attribute points based on the many hours of thought she''d given it since her last level. She wanted slightly more Strength to make wielding her greatsword easier, but mana had been her bottleneck recently so she put four points into Spirit to increase her total mana and mana recovery.

    Attribute Scores:

    - Vitality : 25

    - Strength : 32

    - Speed : 20

    - Intellect : 20

    - Spirit : 28

    Unspent attribute points : 0

    When she was finished, Victoria took the lead, trailing through the woods in mist-form while Iris slowed her blip pace to follow. Occasionally, Victoria reformed to scan with her auravision, then pointed out the location of scouts to Iris. The increase in her Spirit attribute also came with an increased sensitivity to auras, which helped her to spot the stealthy scouts, though she still would have been hopeless to locate most of them without Victoria''s help. She startled more than a few of them when she suddenly appeared beside them and introduced herself.

 77 - Scurrying Jaws

    Autumn slapped a mosquito as it pierced her arm, "I hate it here."

    Titus flicked her arm as he walked past, imparting a trickle of healing into the tiny wound.

    "Ow!" she complained.

    "It could be worse," Eli said, "at least it''s quiet."

    Another half hour passed, and the woods grew darker. Rare glimpses through the canopy revealed a sky darkening with broiling storm clouds.

    "Looks like another downpour on the way," Eli observed, staring up through the canopy.

    "I really fucking hate it here," Autumn replied.

    A disembodied voice echoed off a tree, "incoming."

    Eli whipped his staff towards the tree, then panned it across the woods. Something big scurried across the roots with scratching claws, it was on a collision course with the group.

    "Contact!" Eli shouted, charging and releasing a blast from his staff.

    The creature leapt to the side and kicked off a tree, landing at an angle and flanking around to his right. Eli caught a clear glimpse of its long, slender body and short, fluttering legs. It was the size of two men, and moved at unnatural speeds.

    "It''s a lizard!" He shouted between blasts.

    The creature dodged each bolt of magic, leaving them to scorch roots and trunks. It alternated between straight dashes and zigzagging maneuvers, using trunks and bulging roots as cover as it closed the distance between itself and the adventurers.

    "Keep it busy!" Autumn yelled, dropping to a knee and planting her palms on the roots beneath her. Tendrils of wood soon slowly swirled up and around her hands, creeping up and wrapping around her arms as they grew in size. Titus encircled her to keep himself between her and the lizard as it scurried behind the trunks around them.

    Eli slung his staff over his shoulder and pointed two fingers from either hand, beginning a rapid barrage of smaller, faster magic bolts that trailed after the lizard as it ran. Finally, he struck a leg and the creature''s stride faltered. He aimed his hands on its hind legs and pumped more magic into his gauntlets, slowing his rate of fire but increasing the size and damage of the bolts. He landed several more shots before the lizard quickly limped behind a trunk.

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    "I think I hurt it," he said, aiming one hand at either side of the trunk and waiting for it to reappear.

    The leaves overhead shook, and the lizard leapt from the canopy towards Eli. Autumn met it in the air, now half-clad in bulky wooden armor that twisted and curled around her body. One arm wielded a thick wooden shield, while the other extended out into a long, sharp spear that pierced through the creature''s abdomen as it sunk its teeth deep into the armor on her shoulder.

    They tumbled to the ground in a mess, rolling and twisting as they both struggled for dominance. Autumn came out on top, straddling the lizard''s back and driving her spear through its chest just beside its right front leg. It shot forward despite the wound, jerking Autumn as it dashed. She brought the shield down repeatedly against the back of its head as it carried her forward.

    "Two more," the voice of the unseen scout echoed through the woods.

    Titus spotted one of the incoming lizards and conjured six lightning spears. He grabbed one from the air and hurled it towards the lizard, instead striking a trunk. The lizard veered to the left, climbed up and around a trunk and then leapt at Titus. He grabbed spears with both hands and hurled them forward, piercing the creature''s torso as it flailed in the air. Both spears exploded from within, showering him with guts and blood as chunks of lizard clattered around him.

    The third lizard rounded a tree and sprinted towards Eli, who quickly drew his staff and leveled a charging blast at the creature''s open mouth. The magic bolt erupted from his staff with a boom and flashed across the short gap between them, traveling down the creature''s throat and briefly illuminating it with a red glow from within. The bolt tore out of the hind quarters of the lizard, which slumped and tumbled forward.

    With a frustrated yell, Autumn shed the armor from her arms, dropping the shield to her side and breaking off the spear in the lizard''s body. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around its neck, then twisted to the right. The creature veered with the twist and slammed head first into a trunk. Autumn was flung from its back and thrown against the tree, landed awkwardly in a heap beside the dazed lizard.

    She placed her hands on the roots beneath her and began to transmute them. As the lizard swayed and shook its head, wooden tendrils crawled out of the roots and wrapped around its feet. It regained enough sense to spot her on the ground beside it, and whipped a toothy mouth in her direction. Its strike came up short as a trapped foot yanked it to a stop. It snapped its jaws and tried to lunge again, helplessly tugging as the tendrils climbed further up its legs.

    Eli dodged its whipping tail and ran up the length of its back, stopping to aim his glowing staff at its head. Autumn shot to her feet just long enough to dive to the side as the bolt of magic exploded the lizard''s head. Eli rode the creature''s corpse as it collapsed to the ground, then hopped off to land beside Autumn and offer a hand to help her up.

    "I totally had that one," she said defensively as she took his hand and climbed to her feet.

    "I believe you," he said.

    "You''ll get ''em next time, kiddo," Titus said, placing a hand on her shoulder to heal her bruises, earning a snarling look from Autumn.

    Eli called out at the woods around them, "is that it?"

    "I think so," the echoing voice responded from further away, "no promises!"

    "Thanks, nice to meet you too!" Titus called out after the voice, which didn''t respond.

    Thunder cracked, muffled and spread in all directions by the canopy. Eli felt the first drops of rain begin to filter through and splash off his skin.

 78 - Chasing a Squirrel

    As the afternoon rolled on, so did the unseen storm beyond the canopy. The downpour still hadn''t come, but the canopy was still left dripping from a steady rain and occasional thunder still rumbled in the skies.

    After warning the nearby scouts about the monster they had encountered in the thicket, which Iris had taken to calling the crybaby, Iris and Victoria had split up to cover more ground and warn as many fighters as they could find. The fighters were much easier to locate than scouts, usually walking on the ground in full view and often making plenty of unnecessary noise, so Iris was able to rapidly locate stragglers before eventually finding the main group and making her way up the chain of somewhat evenly spaced adventurers.

    She noticed along the way that many adventurers seemed to have completely disregarded the Dreamweaver''s instructions and rules, and had broken ranks with their respective categories to reform their parties. Some still stayed within the expedition''s formation, while others broke off entirely and pushed out into the woods on their own. She guessed this had to do with the pursuit of glory or pride in being the first to discover the web or slay a dangerous monster, but she considered that pursuit misguided and dangerous.

    She stopped warning adventurers when she encountered multiple fighters in a row who had already been warned by another scout, and then returned to her general area of responsibility within the formation to continue the search. It was difficult to keep with the formation perfectly, as all parts were in constant movement and there were precious few landmarks in the dense woods, so instead she relied on general approximations of distance and using familiar faces as mobile landmarks to orient and place herself in the formation. She didn''t immediately seek to reconnect with Victoria, however, instead feeling confident enough to go on her own for a while.

    As she ran and blipped through the woods, she briefly landed on a root that tensed and twisted beneath her foot as she kicked off. She blipped extra far, then spun around to investigate. It was fair to call it a giant snake, as it was still the second largest snake she had ever seen, but it was much smaller than the one she had fought with Eli on her first night watch shift. It was certainly large enough to swallow her whole, but perhaps only barely, and she imagined it would struggle with broader shouldered prey like Titus. Its scales were brown with a repeating dark green triangular pattern along its length, and it quickly slithered up a trunk towards the canopy.

    Iris watched it curiously for a moment with a hand on her hip, "alright, I guess I don''t want trouble if you don''t."

    She blipped away. Another chunk of time went by, and she began to worry about how long the day''s operation was meant to go on. At this rate, if they didn''t turn back soon they''d end finishing at least part of the trek home in the dark, for which she was still woefully unprepared. She reasoned that stealth wouldn''t be as important on the way back, and it wouldn''t be that big of a deal if she lit a torch at that point, but then worried that would embarrass her in front of the other scouts.

    There was a gust of wind as someone flew past her from the left, kicking off trunks and roots to fling themselves through the woods in a blur. She stopped to call out a complaint that they almost ran into her, but they were already gone before she could. While she was looking out after them, she noticed a squirrel running across the branches overhead -- a squirrel wearing tiny leather armor. She tilted her head in curiosity, then blipped after it.

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    The squirrel was fast, and kept Iris at a healthy distance even as she ran and blipped. She perhaps could have caught up if she''d sprinted and approached the limits of her mana, but she wasn''t actually trying to catch the squirrel. She just wanted to know where everyone was heading in such a hurry -- and more importantly, to keep up if they were running from something.

    After several minutes of the high-speed pace, the squirrel stopped on a branch. Every breath that Iris let out at this point was heavy, but her next one sounded more like a sigh than the others. She blipped three more times and landed on the branch beside the squirrel with critically low mana and burning lungs. The squirrel looked at her like she''d just barged into a quiet tavern, crying and shouting.

    "Sorry," Iris heaved, "still working-- on the cardio--"

    With a puff of smoke, the squirrel transformed into a woman. She was a pale-skinned human, had a large amount of thick brown hair rolled and pinned into a messy bun, and wore black robes beneath a full-sized, human version of the squirrel''s armor. The expression she gave Iris was critical, but not unkind.

    "Are you alright?" the woman asked. Her voice was low and husky, and her demeanor casual.

    "Yeah," Iris said with a final gasp for air before trying to play it cool. She held out a hand for the other girl to shake, "I''m Iris."

    She hesitantly shook Iris''s hand, "I''m Whirl."

    Iris laughed, "your name''s Whirl and you--" she stopped at the tired, unhappy expression that was already crossing Whirl''s face, "what''s everyone running towards?" she asked instead.

    Whirl turned her head to look in the direction they''d been moving, and Iris followed suit. Her eyes widened as they fell on the dense, white webs that stretched out from the darkness and clung to trunks like horizontal pillars. Connecting the pillars were dense walls of finer web that spanned between the trees at haphazard angles, often twisting and overlapping each other in a frantic, senseless manner. The webs spread from the root-covered ground to the dense canopy overhead, and continued on in either direction for as far as Iris could see between the trunks. The webs were glistening with captured droplets of water, and the gaps between the webs were filled with a deep, eerie darkness like caves pockmarking the face of a cliff.

    "Whoa," Iris said errantly.

    "Yep," Whirl said.

    Iris watched as a few figures gathered on the ground just on the edge of the wall of webs, craning their necks like they were looking up at a fortress wall they intended to scale. Then, one of them dashed away in a blur -- through a gap in the webs and into the darkness beyond.

    "Where are they going?" Iris asked in a panic, instinctively jolting like she might chase after the stranger.

    "They''re going for glory," Whirl said, standing up straight and stretching an arm overhead, "they say there''s always a few. Not our problem."

    "Should we tell someone?" Iris asked, looking out with worry as another scout entered the webs.

    "I''m sure someone will snitch to Ranger Kerrick," Whirl replied, stretching her other arm, "but no, it shouldn''t be either of us. It won''t matter anyway, we''re not going after them."

    "What do you mean? We can''t just let them go in there alone! They''ll die!"

    "Yeah, well," Whirl dusted her hands together casually, "rules exist for a reason and all that. If you wanna help them, say a prayer."

    Whirl disappeared into a cloud of smoke, and out of it came an armored squirrel that skittered between Iris''s feet and further up into the canopy. Iris tried to keep her eyes on the squirrel, but quickly lost track of it. She surveyed her surroundings, taking note of multiple other scouts spread throughout the woods around her, most were people she had encountered before who were easier to spot now that she knew their gimmicks. It quickly became clear that all the scouts -- at least on this side of the expedition -- were converging, and Iris decided she''d best find Victoria.

 79 - Ambush

    The expedition''s loose formation collapsed into a steady stream of adventurers rushing towards the western front, where the Matriarch''s web had been discovered. Scouts and fighters filled the canopy and root covered ground alike, most kept a healthy distance of two or three trunks between themselves and the web, while the highest level and bravest mid-level adventurers stood closer. Many torches and lanterns were lit across the gathering, creating a large, red-orange glow deep within the dark, damp woods.

    There was no delineation between the untouched woods and the dense labyrinth of webs as far as the trees were concerned. They were thick and dense regardless, having grown to maturity long before the web was formed. If one wasn''t careful and traveled too quickly through the woods, they could quickly find themselves surrounded by webs in less than a breath.

    A somber silence hung over the collective as eyes lingered wearily on the mega structure of web, voids of darkness within threatening to swallow minds and bodies alike. A wild scream cut through the quiet. An adventurer sprinted out from beneath the webs, gasping and screaming like a frantic animal, trailing loose webs behind him. He tripped on the uneven roots, but was caught in a soft embrace.

    "Shh," the Dreamweaver whispered to the wide-eyed adventurer, "it''s okay now."

    The adventurer''s gaze locked with hers, and his face softened.

    "Show me the nightmares," she said hypnotically, pressing into his consciousness with her own. She saw distorted visions of hideous monsters ravaging the strewn bodies of adventurers, each face was frozen in an expression of overwhelming horror as the blood was sucked from their web-wrapped corpse.

    "Forget what you''ve seen," she whispered, "it wasn''t real. Sleep now."

    The adventurer nodded as his eyes drooped closed and he drifted off to sleep. The Dreamweaver supported his weight down to the ground, where she laid him gently and gave him a pitied look. She had told him a lie. When she rose to her feet, lieutenants Kerrick and Ash Druga were waiting before her.

    She pointed at a small group of adventurers that looked competent, "get this one to the healers."

    As the adventurers rushed to follow her order, she began walking along the border of the Matriarch''s web, her lieutenants falling in beside her.

    "Update me," she said simply.

    "Should we discuss this out in the open, ma''am?" Kerrick asked.

    The Dreamweaver looked out over the assembled adventurers watching them wearily, all unaware of the subtle spell she had them under, "they''ll hear only gibberish, and see only murmuring lips. Continue."

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    "My warriors are tired and hungry, ma''am," Ash Druga said before Kerrick could speak, "but they stand ready for your command. We''ve suffered minimal casualties, and morale is high."

    "I wish I''d been so lucky," Kerrick said, "I''ve lost several scouts to the wildlife, and several more have disappeared into the web. None have reported back yet, and our senses can''t penetrate far inside, we still have no idea what''s going on in there. We''re still at operational numbers, however."

    "It''s not pretty," the Dreamweaver grimaced, "it wasn''t venom that drove that boy mad."

    Kerrick''s face was shrouded beneath his hood, but the Dreamweaver felt the hollowness in his aura where he suppressed his pain.

    "There''s no purpose in going in now," the Dreamweaver said after a quiet moment, "I''ll give the order for the expedition to return to base camp. We''ll regroup here tomorrow and begin establishing a forward outpost and staging an assault. Any complaints?"

    "No ma''am," Ash Druga replied quickly.

    Kerrick took a moment longer to reply, "no ma''am."

    The Dreamweaver stopped and turned to face the bulk of the adventurers, her eyes lingering on those perched in the trees, and then those standing in small groups on the ground or leaning against trunks. Many of them were already bloody, some had crudely bandaged injuries, and a few had torn clothes or armor above now healed wounds.

    She closed her eyes and reached out with her power, feeling each mind come into her awareness as her consciousness washed over the adventurers in a slow wave. Soon the bulk of the adventurers were within her range, but she pushed further still to reach the scattered stragglers of the back line, those who lingered in the darkness behind their allies rather than move nearer to the web. As her consciousness reached the last few adventurers, she prepared to send them each the same illusion, providing their next command. Then she felt a mind that shouldn''t be there.

    Her eyes cracked open, and she peered into darkness beyond the torchlight of the gathering. She saw nothing, sensed no auras, yet the mind was there, vast, intelligent, alien -- and hungry.  In her moment of shock, she faltered. Her fear rushed out to the minds she had tethered to her own, in an instant every adventurer felt her surprise and horror as if it was their own.

    The Matriarch scurried from the darkness like a hunting spider scurrying through blades of grass. A sharp, hairy leg impaled an adventurer against a trunk like a javelin as the spider sprinted a hundred feet in an instant. The light from beneath the behemoth cast a broad, flickering shadow across the canopy above and revealed the deep purple ink splotch of a marking on its dark black, bulging abdomen. Its jaws pierced the plate armor of a fighter like a pointed can-opener, sinking deep into flesh beneath to an orchestra of screams and yells from all around.

    Ash Druga leapt into the air towards the spider with her hammer ready. The Dreamweaver held tight to her mental connections and flooded her own consciousness with sensations of strength, glory and valor, which poured out into the minds of the expedition. The screams of terror turned to battle cries, and soon arrows lodged in the spider''s abdomen and bolts of magic flew towards its jaws as heavy swords and hammers were swung at its legs.

    "They''re behind us!" Kerrick shouted, slinging a knife into the eyes of a torso-sized spider sprinting towards them from the webs.

    Scouts and fighters alike fell in around him, forming a front against the swarming horde of young spiders crawling out of the webs and infesting the forest.

 80 - Chaos in the Redwoods

    There was nowhere safe to blip. The Matriarch spider moved so fast it filled Iris with a nauseating sense of wrongness -- something the size of a building shouldn''t move like a spider the size of her thumb. Its brood were no different, crossing ground, canopy and web in blurry shapes the size of large dogs. They leapt from shadows and dropped from branches, sinking teeth and sharp legs into their prey.

    The woods were alight with flashing explosions, bolts of magic, and unattended torches that merely seared the fire-resistant roots they had fallen on. Screams, booms and shouts echoed in odd directions off the bare redwood trunks, sometimes joined by thunder growing near.

    Iris reappeared from a blip in time to get thrown aside from an errant blast. She slammed into a trunk and landed hard on the root-ground. She coughed and heaved as she pushed herself up to her hands and knees. A spider lunged at her face, and she blipped behind it. It landed deftly in the empty space she left, immediately scurrying forward after the next target it spotted. She panned around the battlefield in a daze, searching desperately for signs of her friends.

    Elsewhere, Titus held a strong stance as he slowly moved a constant beam of light across a wave of oncoming spiders spilling from the webs. The beam lingered on each spider for only a second before they swelled and popped into a splash of purple guts. Beside him, Eli charged and released half-second blasts from his staff, each one just strong enough to punch through a spider''s head and explode at the front of its abdomen, leaving the gored corpses to awkwardly tumble and roll.

    To their left, an adventurer shot steady flows of rolling flames from either hand, panning them back and forth in front of him. To their right, another adventurer was crouched with both hands planted on the roots beneath him, conjuring spikes up ahead that impaled the charging spiders. Arrows, javelins and colorful bolts of magic flew overhead to slow the flood of spiders in the canopy, raining spider corpses all around them.

    Ash Druga led a charge through the front line, flanked by a dozen high-level fighters and supported by several scouts. The orc whirled her hammer elegantly in an uninterrupted flow of movements, crumbling legs and smashing abdomens of every spider in her wake. The fighters by her side wielded swords, spears and axes, and cut down the spiders that passed outside of her reach.

    Iris spotted the forward charge towards the web, and then the beam of light accompanied by flashes of red. She blipped through the battlefield, dodging leaping spiders, thrown weapons and explosions. One blip''s distance away from her friends, she saw a spider sprinting towards Titus from behind -- he didn''t see it. She snarled as she drew the rusty dagger from her bag and blipped again, appearing atop the spider''s back and driving the dagger down into its head. The dagger stuck in the spider as it slumped and crumbled into the ground, tossing her forward into a heap between Titus and Eli.

    "Glad you could join us!" Titus shouted as his beam petered out. He conjured a dozen crackling spears of light in the air around them, plucking one and hurling it forward to pierce through several spiders, which exploded in sequence an instant later.

    "Watch your mana!" Eli shouted at Titus.

    Iris climbed to her feet and threw her bag behind her, drawing the greatsword in a hurried, slightly awkward rendition of her practiced technique. At the sight of Iris''s sword, Eli stepped aside and swiftly ducked behind her, reappearing on the other side of Titus.

    "Hey!" She shouted, offended.

    "Focus!" Eli replied, not taking his eyes off his targets.

    Iris harrumphed, then surveyed the front. Pools of spider guts were forming in the crevices of the roots as the bodies piled up, but the unending flood was unimpeded. Spiders climbed effortlessly over the corpses of their allies and charged forward into death. The gap between the front lines of the adventurers and the bulk of the spiders was dwindling, and behind them the Matriarch still terrorized the rest of the battlefield.

    Iris settled on a target, a stray that had broken through between gaps in the spikes that were still jutting up out of the roots. She brought the hilt of her sword to her waist and held the long blade out ahead of her, then dashed and blipped. She reappeared just in front of the unsuspecting spider, thrusting forward as the spider''s momentum carried it into the blade. The sword sunk into the spider until the hilt slammed against its fangs and pinned them back against its face. She awkwardly stumbled back as she pulled the sword free from the now limp creature, the blade coated in slick purple fluid, then she blipped back beside her friends.

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    A spider fell from above and landed on Titus''s back, dripping fangs poised to sink into his neck.

    "Shield!" Eli shouted.

    Titus responded by hunching his shoulders and conjuring a translucent shield of magic across his back between him and the spider, the fangs glancing awkwardly off of it. The shield flared slightly from the strike, then flared brightly when Iris swung her blade at Titus''s neck, slicing through the spider and bouncing off the shield as it shattered into quickly fading shards of light. Titus looked at her in incredulous shock.

    She blinked as if she was as surprised at her actions as he was, then changed the subject by shouting, "focus!"

    Titus cut his eyes towards the oncoming spiders, plucked another spear of light from the air and threw it, "we''re gonna talk about that!" he said with a finger briefly pointed at Iris before grabbing another spear.

    Iris repeated her technique from before to take down stragglers that slipped through the front line''s efforts, while Titus''s spears dwindled faster than he could conjure new ones and the gaps between Eli''s blasts grew longer. They were running out of mana and the flood of spiders showed no signs of slowing. The bulk of the horde grew closer, with most spiders coming within a dozen yards of the trio before being cut down.

    A line of explosions popped off amongst the horde, blasting in sequence from left to right and sending chunks of spider flailing through the air. Cameron Cole landed in front of them. He uncorked a waterskin and slung it in an arc, spewing a stream of orange sand. He kicked off the ground and leapt backwards, extending a hand towards the sand as he did so. The sand erupted into roaring green flames, driving a wedge into the oncoming horde that forced the spiders to split and crowd on either side of the arc of flames.

    Before Cameron landed, a hulking brute of a man in mismatched armor came down to the left of the flames with a heavy hammer strike. The spiders immediately surrounding the hammer were crushed with a blast of force that surrounded the hammer head, and those behind were shredded and blown away by an abrupt shock wave that shot forward from the impact.

    To the right of the flames, Iris watched as a squirrel scampered towards the horde, then seamlessly morphed into a giant brown bear that ripped apart several spiders with a swipe of a paw, then beat another into a pulp with two rapid double hammer fist strikes. The bear continued in a frenzy, lifting a spider from the ground and shoving it into its mouth to crush it with powerful jaws, then falling forward and crushing several more spiders with its body. The spiders crawled around it, sinking fangs into its fur on its back and shoulders. The bear roared and rose back to its feet, ripping them off one by one, throwing some to the ground in splatters and ripping others in half.

    Cameron slung more sand on the flames, erupting them into a fresh blaze, then shouted over his shoulder at Iris, Eli and Titus, "we''ll hold this section, reinforce to your left!"

    They darted to the left, sprinting behind the wall of adventurers that held back the horde until they found a break in the front. A group of low level fighters were being overtaken by spiders, several had already fallen and several more were screaming in delirium and swinging their weapons wildly at nothing.

    Iris blipped into the air and brought her sword down against an adventurer''s wooden shield, slicing through the spider that clung to it and slightly sinking the blade into the wood. She made eye contact with the adventurer behind it as she placed her foot on the shield, he nodded and braced himself as she pushed against the shield to yank her sword free.

    A blast of red magic from Eli''s staff exploded behind her, showering her with spider guts. She whirled around in time to catch another spider leaping towards her with a clumsy swing of her blade, half cutting it and half swatting it from the air. She blipped over to Eli, glanced at his staff and shouted.

    "Can that still shoot fireballs?"

    "Probably," he shouted back, "why?"

    She pointed at the webs from which the horde poured. He nodded and leveled the staff at a gap between the webs. As he dumped the bulk of his mana into the staff, the runes along its length didn''t glow red as usual. Instead, most of the runes remained dim, while a few glowed intensely with a fiery orange. The runes at the end glowed the brightest, turning to a blinding white hot light.

    He was thrown back as the staff kicked and the blast fired forward. It resembled his usual bolts of magic, except bright orange and white instead of red, and several times the size of his strongest charge. The blast streaked through the air and punched into the darkness behind the front most webs, then exploded in a blinding white flash that cast long shadows behind the trunks.

 81 - Confronting the Spider Queen

    There was a flash of white, then a bright glow of orange. The webs burned hot and fast as the fire front spread. The trees were only stained by soot and otherwise unscathed until the fire reached the canopy, where leaves caught fire and burned into embers that drifted down like fiery snow. The fire moved onwards, burning all it could in its wake and leaving behind only smoke, soot, and still charging spiders that soon succumbed to their burns.

    Autumn paid the fire no mind. She sprinted through the woods behind the front line, taking every opportunity she could to rip bark off a tree and slap it somewhere on her body, where it quickly molded into an armor plate. Both her arms were covered up to her shoulders, a large chunk of bark covered her upper back and the back of her neck, and her right thigh was partially armored by a thin strip. In whichever hand wasn''t ripping off bark she held a full sized axe roughly molded from a chunk of wood and a mostly unaltered branch, she had used whatever small rocks she found in her pockets to make sharp spikes, which she had embedded into the striking edge of the axe head.

    She dropped low and slid on her back across the roots, now slick with rain, to dodge a leaping spider. She caught it from underneath with a crunching impact from her axe, the sharp spikes shredded the spider''s abdomen and dumped purple guts just behind her. She abruptly planted her feet and used the last of her slide''s momentum to swing herself back upright, she immediately carried through with a downward strike of her axe, crunching into a spider just before it could leap onto another adventurer.

    With the oncoming horde slowed by the fire, many adventurers holding the front line soon turned their attention to the rest of the battlefield. It was in disarray, loose spiders attacking from all directions, adventurers screaming and sobbing from venom induced hallucinations, and the Matriarch still running rampant. The reinforcements helped, the battle turned from desperate to harrowing, and for the first time a serious offense was mounting against the Matriarch.

    Ash Druga, and whichever adventurers she recruited or joined her on their own, were surrounding the giant foe. Ropes, chains and magical tethers grabbed hold of its legs one by one, while ranged attackers focused fire on its eyes. There were eight of the huge black orbs, varying in size and placement atop the spider''s head. They were abnormally durable, and the spider queen crouched low to shield and obstruct its head with its front legs. Only two eyes had been successfully blinded so far.

    Autumn watched in awe as Ash Druga leapt from the canopy, bringing down a glowing hammer strike on top of the creature''s head. The strike exploded with yellow-white light on impact, sending the spider''s front half rocketing downwards and slamming into the ground. Ash Druga had followed the strike through to the ground, and now stood with her hammer still pressed against the spider''s head. There was a moment of stillness as she slowly lifted her hammer, then the Matriarch struck.

    Fangs the size of swords pierced Ash Druga''s armor and impaled her chest. She roared and brought her hammer down for strike against the creature''s rear-most eyes, squishing one of them like a grape. The Matriarch twisted its body and whipped its head, throwing Ash Druga away like scraps. She bounced off the tree harshly, but landed on the ground in a crouch. Onlookers watched in shock as her wounds healed with a radiant white light. Self healing abilities were coveted, but not altogether uncommon -- it was surviving such an injury long enough to heal in the first place that was impressive.

    The reverence and respect in the eyes of onlookers soon turned to abject fear as Ash Druga''s dull gaze turned furious. She lunged at the nearest adventurer, grabbing him by the shoulder and slamming him chest down into her knee strike, crunching his armor and ribs. She pushed him aside and charged towards her next victim.

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    Several darts flew silently from the canopy, each one piercing Ash Druga between the plates of her armor. They slowed her slightly, but she still reached the next adventurer and broke his arm before the toxins brought her to her knees. Kerrick dropped down in front of her, holding out his hands as if trying to calm a wild animal.

    "Easy there, Ash," he said.

    She lunged for him. He stepped aside and let her move past him, casually tripping her with a lifted foot. He caught her from behind and guided as softly as he could to the ground, where she soon lost consciousness. He''d come stocked with tranquilizing darts for exactly such a purpose, and after dragging Ash Druga behind a nearby trunk where she''d hopefully be undisturbed, he moved on to find more delirious adventurers to subdue.

    Meanwhile, the Matriarch thrashed and shook violently. It reached out with its free legs like multi-jointed spears while it tugged and twisted its captive legs against their restraints. Several adventurers were now on its back, slicing and stabbing away at its abdomen. One adventurer, wielding a flaming sword, charged the Matriarch head on and aimed for its head. The spider easily caught the adventurer by the waist with its fangs, then jerked its head to throw him downwards. He bounced limply off the ground.

    A mage wearing long, flowy blue robes and a dark hood landed on the spider''s abdomen. His boots glowed purple around the tread, adhering him securely to the convulsing creature. He wielded a small wand that sustained a thin beam of concentrated magic, which he used to carve an intricate series of concentric sigils into the spider''s exoskeleton. It had broken two legs free, and was now able to twist around and attempt to free its other legs. The other adventurers bailed as the spider contorted and twisted its body upside down in an elaborate maneuver, but the mage''s boots held him in place as he finished his inscription.

    Autumn had joined the adventurers on the ground putting everything they had into crippling or severing the Matriarch''s legs. The exoskeleton was thick and tough like a strong hide on most of its body, but around the legs it was stronger and rigid like metal plates. Like lumberjacks felling a tree, Autumn and another adventurer took turns driving full-forced axe strikes into a leg held captive by a series of robes wrapped around a joint and anchored into the roots with spikes. They were finally cracking through to the purple goo inside when the Matriarch twisted and contorted until it was on its back, hunched upwards and striking with its front legs at the adventurers that attacked its rear legs.

    There were several screams as adventurers caught off guard were impaled and slung aside. Autumn released a battle cry and doubled her efforts, to which her partner responded by doing the same. Finally, on their third next pair of strikes, the exoskeleton caved in and gave way to purple goo that spewed outwards like water under pressure. The leg went limp, and the Matriarch stabbed at them with two other legs.

    They dove opposite directions, both lucky enough to dodge the strikes, but more attacks followed. They scattered and ran for cover behind trees as the Matriarch repeatedly stabbed the ground around them with blurry fast strikes. A leg spike hit Autumn in the back at an awkward angle and glanced off her bark armor, but even the force of a glancing blow was enough to shove her hard into the ground mid-sprint. She landed with a pained, wheezing groan, but wasted no time in scrambling forward. She expected another strike to come before she made it to safety, but it never did. She rounded a tree and threw herself into a crevice at its base, desperate for a moment of safety.

    The Matriarch broke its final legs free, still moving deftly through its natural terrain even with one limp and useless leg. It gave up on attacking, instead it darted through the trees back towards its web. The flames had long since succumbed to the heavy rains that now punched through the burned away canopy. The fire had left a wide swath of darkened trees that showed no trace of the now disintegrated webs. Despite the size of the fire, however, it had only made a dent in the massive labyrinthine lair of the Matriarch, and she sprinted onwards towards her sanctum.

 82 - Besieging a Wyvern

    Hideous storm clouds broiled in the skies and the heavy rain was blown sideways by the constant winds. Commander Bridge flew low through the storm on his feathered wings, keeping a close eye on the wyvern far to his right. It was merely a faint silhouette in the storm, but still loomed large and menacing. Several champions with flight powers flew with him, dispersed around the wyvern in a careful formation. It was aware of their presence, but if they were careful it wouldn''t suspect an attack until they had it in position.

    The rest of the formation followed subtle shifts in the commander''s flight path. The wyvern, likely trying to avoid conflict and return to its nest to weather the storm, would shift its own heading to avoid converging with any of the adventurers in the sky around it. They had to use the technique subtly and sparingly, and could only manage small adjustments to the wyvern''s path, but with heavy rains blocking out visibility to the ground below they were able to drive the creature further and further off track without it realizing.

    Commander bridge was grateful for the boon the unseasonal storm had been so far, but deeply worried about what more it had to bring. Even now, the words of the Agent of Morose echoed in his mind.

    "Armageddon nears. Morose observes."

    He snapped out of his thoughts when he saw a bright light piercing the rains from the ground below. That was the cue. He banked hard towards the wyvern, flapping his wings to climb higher. The adventurer in his same position on the opposite side of the formation did the same, and they both converged on and just above the wyvern. The wyvern interpreted this as an attack, and dove down to avoid them. They dove after it, chasing it towards the unseen ground.

    As the ground came into view through the rain, the wyvern sharply leveled out and flew parallel to the ground. Harpoons launched out of a dark ravine and fired high into the air. The wyvern banked left and right to dodge the strikes as they punched past it. Another volley launched from a second ravine, and the wyvern rolled hard to the right to dodge. It lost altitude in the maneuver, bringing it dangerously close to the ground and directly over the third ravine. Most harpoons fired too early or too late, but two harpoons hit their target -- each piercing either wing.

    The wyvern released a deep, guttural screech and desperately flapped to gain altitude, but the harpoons were soon reeling it in. It pulled hard against them, using all its strength to flap its wings despite the tethers. One of the ballista came dislodged from the rock and rapidly unspooled its line, causing the wyvern in swing a wide, lopsided arc as one wing was still pulled by a reeling line.

    The beast screeched again as it lost control and plummeted to the ground. It landed hard but on its feet, slipping on the slick clay mud and still trying to yank its wing free of the line. It saw silhouettes land one-by-one all around it, and stepped back in apprehension. It eyed the silhouette of Commander Bridge, sensing his power to be the strongest amongst the gathered warriors. The wyvern took another two steps back, rumbling a low growl in its throat as it briefly pointed its head towards the ground, indicating it didn''t want a fight.

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    To most the beast was a dark grey silhouette hulking in a sea of not-quite-as-dark grey rain. To the commander''s superior perception, however, the wyvern was mostly visible. It stood on two thick, muscular legs that supported a slender, aerodynamic body covered in brown and tan scales. Instead of front legs or arms it had wide, membranous wings supported by long, boney fingers. It had a short serpentine neck, and pointed, angular head framed by boney ridges and swept-back spikes. To a layman, the beast might as well have been a dragon.

    Commander Bridge whistled sharply, and a javelin pierced the wyvern''s neck.

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    An adventurer cowered beneath a tree in the woods with shaking arms curled tight around his legs and his face buried behind his knees. His left arm was slick with blood from the puncture wounds of a spider bite, and his cloak was soaked through with rain. He jolted and screamed as a figure approached him, holding out his hands in a futile attempt to shield himself from harm.

    "No! No!" the adventurer screamed, "I won''t go with you! Leave me alone!"

    "Shhhh," the Dreamweaver said softly as she approached, her voice louder and clearer than any of the sounds of battle, "you are in safe hands."

    "Get away!" the adventurer frantically pulled a dagger from his waist and held it out towards her with a quivering arm.

    She knelt in front of him, effortlessly reaching around the knife to gently grab his wrist and move his arm aside, "no one wants to hurt you."

    His eyes locked with hers, and he saw the ocean. He felt a cool breeze drift past him, and heard the sounds of gentle crashing waves and distant sea gulls. He dropped the dagger and his quivering slowed.

    "What do you fear?" She asked as he gazed into her eyes.

    "Bandits," he said with a tremor, "they took the village, I hid-- they''ve found me. If they catch me they''ll--"

    "Calm," the Dreamweaver spoke the word as a command, but it felt like a loving embrace, "there are no bandits here. Look," she pointed to his left, where adventurers fought against the remaining horde of spiders, "can you see the monsters?"

    The adventurer stared in that direction for a moment, then shakily nodded his head, "y-yes. Spiders, they''re everywhere, they''re attacking the bandits!"

    "Those aren''t bandits, those are your friends, your family, the other villagers. Do you want to protect your village?"

    "Yes!" The adventurer snapped his attention back to her eyes and nodded vigorously, "then go. Do not fear the villagers, you must slay the monsters to protect them."

    "Yes," the adventurer nodded, picking up his dagger and pushing himself to his feet, "I must."

    "Good," the Dreamweaver smiled, "go now."

    She watched for a moment as the adventurer charged off to battle. She couldn''t cure him of the venom that filled his veins, but overpowering the hallucinations with illusions of her own was a trivial task.

    Lieutenant Kerrick sprinted up to her, deftly sliding to a stop on the slippery roots, "Ma''am, Ash Druga''s been bitten by the Matriarch."

    "Fuck," she hissed. This would not be as trivial.

 83 - The Expedition Regroups

    Streams formed through the crevices in the uneven roots that covered the ground, fed by the thin waterfalls that formed as the heavy rains filtered through the canopy. The forest was darker than a moonlit night now, save for the patches lit by torches, lanterns and magical abilities. The woods resembled a massive cave more than ever before, one threatening to flood as water poured in from the surface.

    The final remnants of the initial horde were being systematically mopped up by the remaining expedition forces. Recovery efforts for wounded and delirious adventurers were forming, along with defensive lines that formed a jagged, disjointed perimeter around the quickly growing rendezvous point. The location had been chosen arbitrarily by mob vote, with the only real consideration given to balancing distance from the web with proximity to the wounded. Several campfires had been started to provide warmth and light, though the redwood branches burned slowly and billowed thick streams of smoke that filled the canopy overhead with a haze.

    Titus made his way to the rendezvous in a zigzagging pattern, stopping to heal wounds and help adventurers to their feet. He could do nothing to cure delirium, but he healed the bites of those who would let him close enough. Bites were far from the only injury, however, the spiked legs of the spiders had pierced and impaled as many or more adventurers as had been bitten, and more than a few had been injured by friendly fire in the chaos.

    By the time Titus arrived at the rendezvous, his reputation had already spread. Fighters on the defensive line quickly ushered him towards a growing crowd of wounded survivors, where he spotted Victoria conjuring cards on delirious adventurers too exhausted to fight or run.

    "Playing healer?" He asked as he crouched down beside her current patient to inspect the bite on his lower leg.

    "Doing my best," she grimaced, adding a third card to the two that already slowly orbited around the dead-eyed adventurer on wistful trails of purple magic, "all I can really do is slow their heart to stop the shock from killing them."

    "So all you can do is save their life?" he looked up at her inquisitively.

    She let out a tired chuckle, "yeah, I guess that''s one way to see it."

    "Get ready," he said, placing a hand on the adventurer''s leg, "this is going to excite him."

    Titus''s hand glowed for an instant, and a pulse of white light left his palm and entered the patient''s wounds. His eyes shot wide open and he gasped for breath. Each consecutive breath slowed until he returned to his catatonic state. The wounds on his leg closed and sealed themselves, leaving gnarly scars beneath the blood that covered his skin. Titus stood and placed a hand on the patient''s neck for a moment.

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    "Good," he said, "he hasn''t lost too much blood. Can you put him to sleep?"

    "Yeah," Victoria nodded, "it''ll take a moment though."

    Titus surveyed the two dozen battered and bleeding adventurers huddled on the ground around them. Most were sitting upright and leaning against trunks or back-to-back with one another, while others laid on the ground, clutching wounds or clinging to consciousness. Others were being carried in by fighters and scouts, many of whom were pushing through their own, less severe wounds. His eyes lingered for a moment Lieutenant Ash Druga, unconscious with two large holes in her chest plate.

    Titus stepped away from Victoria''s patient and addressed the crowd, "I need everyone with a healing ability to report immediately. The rest of you, if you have potions or healing ointments, pool them here in the middle."

    There were murmurings and glances amongst the adventurers, but no one stirred to action.

    "You heard the man!" the Dreamweaver shouted, storming into the rendezvous with Lieutenant Kerrick in tow.

    Her words were followed by bustling movement as adventurers began depositing their medical supplies into a pile. A few scouts and a single warrior approached Titus as he stooped down to heal a piercing wound through an adventurer''s chest.

    Titus wasted no time on introductions or formalities. "Identify the most critically wounded and do what you can. If you can''t stabilize them, call for me immediately. Save the potions for those none of us can heal."

    He turned and locked eyes with Lieutenant Kerrick and spoke without patience for rank or authority, "we need a scout on their way to base camp immediately with instructions to send a contingent of healers to our location."

    "On my authority," the Dreamweaver added.

    The ranger nodded and dashed away to locate one of his quickest scouts. The Dreamweaver made her way to Ash Druga, crouching down to inspect the condition of her lieutenant. She had no physical wounds to speak of, but her bloodstained skin was visible through the jagged punctures in her armor. She was unconscious, but stirred occasionally in fits of twitching convulsions, her face contorting into an angry snarl with each fit.

    The Dreamweaver briefly surveyed her surroundings. The recovery efforts were still in the early stages of organization, but the adventurers were on the right track. She decided they could get by without her guidance for a while longer, and took a seat beside Ash Druga. She took the orc''s hand in her own, and closed her eyes to enter her mind.

    Iris blipped beside Titus as he pumped multiple healing bursts into a mangled and disfigured adventurer, "what can I do?" she asked.

    "Nothing here," he said, "find Eli and ask him."

    Iris blipped away, flashing across the rendezvous in a series of blips until she found Eli posted up in a row of other ranged fighters standing guard.

    "Anything I can do here?" she asked.

    "We have this side covered," Eli said, "I hear Autumn''s building cots for the wounded, maybe she could use your help."

    Iris huffed and blipped away to find Autumn. She found her working alongside several other adventurers with matter manipulation abilities. An adventurer who specialized in plant was carving large sheets of wood from a redwood trunk and dropping them into a pile beside the tree, where Autumn hefted them up and spread them out across the ground.

    "Can I help?" Iris asked, blipping beside Autumn and causing her to drop a sheet of wood in surprise.

    "Yep!" Autumn said, placing the wood on the ground and tossing Iris a stone. It was rounded and smooth on one side, and flat and rough on the other, "get to sanding."

    Iris groaned, but got to work.

 84 - Taking Stock

    The Dreamweaver awoke from Ash Druga''s mind with a jolt and a gasp. Kerrick was leaning against a nearby tree, and promptly strode over to her.

    "Ma''am," he said simply.

    The Dreamweaver looked over at Ash Druga with pity, "the Matriarch''s venom is too powerful. Physically she''s healthy, but mentally-- it''s a mess in there."

    "Anything we can do?" the ranger asked.

    "She''s quite literally battling demons in there," the Dreamweaver rose to her feet, "best we can do is to keep her sedated so she doesn''t start fighting us, and hope her body works out the venom naturally. Wouldn''t hurt to have a cleric look her over, though."

    "They''ve just arrived, ma''am, I''ll get someone on it."

    The Dreamweaver nodded, "who''s taken charge in Druga''s place?"

    "Sergeant Cole, Ma''am."

    "Have him find me."

    A short while later, the Dreamweaver stood just outside of the rendezvous camp with her hands clasp behind her back. She stared out into the dark woods towards the Matriarch''s web, just barely visible between the rows of redwood trunks. Her thoughts lingered on what she had witnessed within Ash Druga''s mind. She recalled the scene as a perfect vivid memory, as if it were playing out before her again.

    A peaceful Orc city in faraway mountains had been transformed into a nightmarish realm with magenta skies and blood red moons. Blood rained from the cloudless sky and ran like streams through the city streets. Horned creatures with onyx skin, bat-like wings and clawed hands rampaged through the city, killing everything in their wake in grotesque and gratuitous displays of violence. Ash Druga fought in a frenzied rage, ripping the creatures limb from limb with her bare hands, crushing skulls beneath her feet and tearing off chunks of flesh with her sharp tusks and teeth. Any semblance of sentience was gone, and within her eyes was only rage.

    Cameron Cole stepped up behind the Dreamweaver and announced himself.

    "You asked for me, ma''am?"

    "Yes," she replied suddenly, then paused for a short moment to bring herself back to reality, "I need a briefing on our situation. We have time for the details."

    Cameron stepped up beside her and looked out in the same direction, assuming a similar posture, "we have twenty-five still incapacitated, twelve deceased, six unaccounted for. The arrival of the healer contingent is promising, however, and we''re expecting most of those incapacitated to be at fighting strength by the morning. The Matriarch fled into her webs, as you know, but one of our scouts was able to place a tracking ritual on her during the battle, he claims he can lead us right to her. Reports from the last to see her indicate she has a crippled leg and is blinded in half of her eyes."

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    "We''re in for a hell of a battle if we fight her in her own web," the Dreamweaver observed.

    "Haven''t we already been through a hell of a battle, ma''am?"

    The Dreamweaver gave him a pitying glance, but didn''t answer, "what are your thoughts on how we should proceed?"

    Cameron looked taken aback that she would ask his opinion, but quickly recovered. He mulled it over for a moment before replying, "we could burn our way through, that seems to be effective. Though the rains might make progress slow. No chance at a stealth mission, assuming she can sense disturbances in her web. If we try to hack our way through, we''ll just be subjecting ourselves to one long, unending ambush. Maybe we could draw her back out?"

    The Dreamweaver shook her head, "do you know how beasts like the Matriarch come to be?"

    Cameron started to answer as if it was obvious, then stopped himself and thought for a moment, "actually, I guess I don''t."

    "The dreamweaver spider is a naturally occurring creature native to the Giantrock region" she noticed his raised eyebrows and chuckled, "yes, that''s where my name comes from. Usually, though, they don''t get much larger than a fingertip. Their bites cause some intense hallucinations, but they''re manageable without treatment and wear off after a few hours. Some people even use their venom recreationally. The Matriarch is an example of what can happen when a relatively harmless creature stumbles across a Thread of Power."

    Understanding crossed Cameron''s face, "the Matriarch is a threadbearer."

    "Mhm," the Dreamweaver said, dropping some of her professional demeanor as the conversation moved, "a lot of different things can happen when an animal becomes a threadbearer, but the most notable is longevity. A regular dreamweaver spider might live for a few years, but a Thread of Power can turn that into decades. The thing is, some spiders never stop growing. They''ll grow and molt and grow some more, over and over until they die. Typically, the bigger and older an animal gets, the smarter it gets."

    The Dreamweaver turned to look at Cameron, who had a subtle but growing expression of horror. She felt the trepidation in his aura like ripples in a pond.

    "You''re saying it''s intelligent?" he asked quietly.

    The Dreamweaver nodded, "what we just experienced was a coordinated attack. The Matriarch had her brood lying in wait while she flanked and ambushed us. She attacked the moment I noticed her, and her brood followed suit. She underestimated us, sure, but now she knows what she''s up against. She''s smart enough to wait us out, I doubt we''ll see her outside of the web again. If we go in after her, it''ll be a game of tactics, and she''ll have the field advantage."

    Cameron was silent for a while, then spoke up, "what about her offspring? They can''t all be threadbearers, can they?"

    The Dreamweaver shook her head, "she''s passing on some of her power to them. It''s exceedingly rare, but similar abilities have been documented in people. We''re getting off topic, though. The question is, what do we do?"

    Cameron sighed, "honestly, ma''am? I don''t know, I didn''t even want to be a sergeant, let alone acting lieutenant. I''m not cut out for strategy, I''m just trying to fill the role I''ve been given."

    The Dreamweaver laughed, "I appreciate the honesty. You''re doing a fine job, and I don''t expect you to have the answer, don''t worry. Go see to your troops, and send Lieutenant Kerrick my way if he''s done attending to Ash Druga."

    Cameron Cole nodded and hurried off, obviously eager to escape the situation. It was a shame he wasn''t more taken to leadership, she thought to herself, he was a good fit. She turned her attention back to the woods, savoring the relative peace of the moment for as long as she could before her thoughts found their bearings. In truth, she had hoped that the young sergeant somehow would have the answer to her dilemma. As best she could reason, the only way to continue to the mission was to send her expedition into a massacre.

 85 - Elk For Dinner

    As the hours went on without an attack, tensions at the survivor''s camp calmed. The unending rain kept the expedition members perpetually soaked, and few even bothered to seek what little shelter could be found. Thick streams and shallow pools covered more of the root-ground than not, so even places to sit were at a premium. The wet gloom, encroaching hunger, and adventurer casualties smothered the camp in a somber misery, and as the sun fell, so did morale.

    The efforts of a dozen adventurers, including Autumn and Cameron Cole, poured into constructing a bonfire that could survive the rains. It required a raised platform of stone, molded from boulders one of the champions retrieved from the outskirts of the dense woods where exposed ground was still visible. A slanted awning of overlapping logs was constructed above it to shield it from the rain, and it took several adventurers with fire conjuring abilities to produce temperatures high enough to get the wet redwood to burn steady. Eventually, the large fire was burning intensely hot and dumping a thick cloud of smoke into the canopy overhead.

    Scouts returned to camp with whatever small game they were able to hunt, mostly squirrels and frogs, which were added to the mostly make-shift cooking spits spaced around the perimeter of the bonfire. A few fighters traveled to the southwest, back towards the open redwood forest, and returned after a few hours with a large hog to feed the camp. Portions were small, and the meat was charred on the outside and undercooked on the inside, but few complained.

    Sleep was rough, and many didn''t sleep at all. Iris found that there was something about being soaked to the bone that seemed to tell her body not to sleep, even though the summer night was warm enough that she didn''t fear succumbing to the elements. Still, she found a relatively dry branch beneath a thick patch of leaves, settled in with her back against the trunk, and did her best to sleep. The rain continued through the night, and Iris dreamed of a warm bed and cozy fireplace.

    In the later hours of the following morning, scattered whoops and cheers greeted the healer''s contingent as they arrived at the survivor''s camp. There were a dozen healers, mostly in cleric''s robes, and a dozen scouts and fighters who had previously returned to basecamp for injuries before the Matriarch encounter. They were now healed and refreshed, and were a welcome sight to their fellow party members and the expedition as a whole. They brought with them as many supplies as they could carry, including fresh water, rations, and tents.

    Most of the tents were commandeered for the wounded, while water and rations were passed out equally amongst the adventurers. The healers got to work quickly, some treating the wounded survivors immediately while others recruited fighters and scouts to assist with construction efforts. Throughout the morning and early afternoon, the dingy survivor''s camp evolved into a surprisingly sophisticated healer''s outpost, complete with a triage tent, intensive care tent, and recovery tent.

    As lunchtime approached, the adventurer Iris had seen fighting with a warhammer alongside Whirl and Cameron Cole stomped into camp carrying an elk over his shoulders. Iris now knew the man to be a champion, and he had one of the largest statures she had ever seen, but the elk draped across both his shoulders still made him look like a child carrying a deer. He unceremoniously dropped it to the ground near the bonfire, to the applause of many, and then took a seat nearby to rest. Autumn was one of the first adventurers to descend upon the elk, but was soon joined by a small crowd that got to work on the great task of skinning it.

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    Iris had seldom left her dry branch, not willing to risk losing the spot to someone else unless absolutely necessary. She had, however, been joined by Victoria, who sat cross-legged on the branch unconcerned with balance.

    "Does that count?" Iris asked.

    "Hmm?" Victoria said, having been lost in thought.

    "The elk," Iris nodded towards the bonfire, "does that count for your quest?"

    Victoria thought it over for a moment, "I guess it does. The quest did specify not to kill any of them, but since I didn''t, I suppose it would be valuable to document their internal anatomy."

    "And what they taste like," Iris added, "I think Autumn would be pissed if she found out you didn''t include that in your report."

    Victoria laughed slightly, "you''re probably right."

    Iris handed Victoria her notebook, which she''d been keeping in the bottomless bag so it wouldn''t get wet. They didn''t have the clearest view of the skinning from their vantage point, but it went without saying that Victoria didn''t want to re-enter the downpour just to get a better look, so instead she used her disembodied vision ability to watch from afar, still scribbling notes without seeing the pages.

    Lunchtime came and went as the elk was being prepared, but there were enough rations and small game to satiate most of the camp throughout the afternoon. The massive chunks of elk meat were finished cooking early in the evening, and Cameron Cole alongside Ranger Kerrick oversaw the rationing to ensure everyone got a fair amount. There were a few squabbles over shares, but they ended at shoves and harsh words. After each adventurer received a hefty carving of meat, portions were set aside for the unconscious casualties should any of them awake soon, and there was still enough left over for a round of seconds.

    The meat was prepared much more delicately than the hog had been the night before, with no one involved in cooking it wanting to waste premium game on subpar cooking. It was only faintly seasoned, but it was tender and juicy, and tasted smoky and sweet. Iris stashed her second portion in her bag for later, but most adventurers had no way of storing or preserving the meat and instead ate as much as they could force down. The camp grew calm and still again after dinner as the bloated adventurers rested from their hearty meal.

    The Dreamweaver took advantage of this time to step up in front of the bonfire -- which had become the center of camp around which most people gathered -- and address the adventurers. She spoke softer and more casually than her previous addresses, letting her exhaustion show rather than hide it. She began by thanking everyone, commending their teamwork and efforts, and assuring them that she believed they all had what it would take to see this mission through.

    She carried that same tone as she moved into strategy and orders. The healers were to stay and establish a semi-permanent forward outpost for the expedition, and receive further reinforcements from basecamp. Wounded adventurers who were safe to travel but would be unable to fight any time soon would return to basecamp for further treatment and rest, while those who recovered would gather here and reinforce the front in groups. A small contingent of able-bodied adventurers would remain at the outpost for security and protection, while the bulk of the expedition''s forces would push forward into the web and pursue the Matriarch.

    The Dreamweaver didn''t mince words when she reached this topic, "more of you will die. I wish I could tell you otherwise, but the mission must be completed, and there is only one path forward."

    She went on to explain the plan. They would burn their way through the webs as much as possible, knowing full well that the storm would drastically hinder their progress. Behind the wall of flames would be a tight formation with melee fighters and defenders on the perimeter and ranged attackers at the center. She expected heavy resistance from the Matriarch''s brood, but didn''t expect to encounter the spider queen herself until they chased her down or cornered her. She ended her speech by encouraging everyone to spend the rest of the night with their parties, and to pray to their gods before they slept tonight.

 86 - Into the Web

    The wet and weary adventurers gathered on the outskirts of the web. The puddles beneath their feet were stained black from soot washed from the trees by the relentless rain. Blackened remains of crispy, curled up spiders were sparsely scattered about, and the air smelled of petrichor and death.

    Victoria took to the center of the formation, Eli moved to the front, while Iris, Autumn and Titus stood together on one side of the perimeter. Iris hadn''t been certain where she belonged in the formation, and briefly considered blipping in and out from the inside, but ultimately decided that her huge sword would pose too much of a danger to the adventurers around her. She instead chose to stay just behind the outermost edge of the formation, where she would have more space to wield her weapon.

    The mage who had drawn the tracking sigil onto the Matriarch stood ahead of the formation, beside the Dreamweaver. His sigil gave him intrinsic knowledge of the Matriarch''s position up to a range of several miles. The Dreamweaver entered his mind to access that knowledge, providing herself with the same understanding of the Matriarch''s position. Then, she reached out to the minds of the gathered adventurers and implanted an illusion into each of them. There were faint murmurings and discussions amongst the adventurers as a small floating marker in the form of an upside down triangle appeared in their vision, indicating the Matriarch''s distant position.

    Iris briefly experimented with the marker. While looking in the general direction of the marker it was opaque and impossible to ignore, but if she looked away it would fade and linger almost unnoticed at the periphery of her vision.

    "That marker is the Matriarch," the Dreamweaver announced, "the first goal of our mission today is to survive, the second goal is to slay our target. Any questions?"

    There were headshakes and murmurs throughout the crowd. The Dreamweaver turned to Lieutenant Kerrick and Sergeant Cole, and nodded.

    "Move out!" Sergeant Cole announced, and the march into the web began.

    The chaotic, crisscrossed webs stretched between the giant trunks from forest floor to canopy, where they wrapped around and consumed branches whole in a thick, seemingly impenetrable wall.

    As they approached the first webs, Cole gave the order to the row of fire conjurers. Eli charged and released a fireball that punched through several layers of web before exploding and engulfing several trunks in flames, the magic of the attack briefly sustained the fires before the rains began to suppress them. On the ground, two adventurers sprayed streams of fire from their palms, igniting and burning away the webs directly in front of the formation. Cole reached into the same pouches from which he''d pulled flammable sand in the prior battle, this time he retrieved small clumps of clay instead. He tossed them into the fires ahead, briefly flashing them green with renewed strength and heat.

    The fires quickly faded from the rain or flickered out as the webs that sustained them burned away. The flame throwing adventurers stepped aside as their mana drained, and a high level Hero in red and orange robes stepped up between them. She drew in a deep breath, held it for a moment, and released a breath of flame that spewed outwards in a cone. As the fires did their work, strands of web severed and fell limp, hanging from trunks and branches as the expedition bored a tunnel towards the Matriarch.

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    The adventurers continued their cycle of burning magic as the expedition marched slowly onwards. Soon the air was hot and humid, thick with steam from the evaporated rains that condensed into beads on the remaining webs overhead.

    Titus''s attention was caught by a brief flash of movement in the webs to the side of the expedition, but he did not act. Instead he pointed it out to the adventurers around him, who renewed their weary attention on their surroundings. Autumn looked to Iris, who was breathing deliberate, regulated breaths and darting her eyes around the dark woods that surrounded them.

    "You good?" she asked Iris.

    "Yeah," Iris said errantly without looking at her.

    Autumn frowned, but said nothing else.

    In truth, it took most of Iris''s efforts not to tremble, and the rest to keep her heart from beating out of her chest. There could be no more hiding from her fears now, they knocked loudly and steadily on the door in her mind she kept them locked behind. Her body screamed that if she continued onwards, she would die, and the only choice she found was to ignore the screams.

    I will live, she thought to herself, I will fight and I will live.

    The first skirmish came when a spider leapt from the webs on the opposite flank of the formation. There were sudden shouts and a quick explosion as the spider was killed. The fire line at the front continued on, while Sergeant Cole observed the situation from afar. The formation faltered slightly as some adventurers stopped to look in that direction, and those near to it paused to take up defensive postures.

    "We march on!" Cole shouted, and so they did.

    Throughout the next hour, a few more spiders attacked the slow moving expedition. One dropped from above and landed on an adventurer''s shoulders, but was saved by a comrade before he was bitten. Soon there were two or three spiders attacking at once, and the time between attacks grew shorter.

    As the attacks progressed to a constant threat, the Dreamweaver extended her awareness across the expedition and out into the dark webs around them. She detected the mind of each adventurer, but ignored them, instead searching beyond the expedition for the minds of the spiders. She passed silent, telepathic updates to Kerrick and Cole about mass movements of spiders she detected beyond anyone''s vision, but quickly learned she couldn''t easily detect the spiders'' minds when they were stationary. This meant they could prepare for attacks from some directions as the spiders moved into position, but would still be surprised by spiders that were in position before they were close enough for her to detect their movement.

    Kerrick took the role of managing the fire line, while Cole assumed responsibilities of issuing commands and information to the formation at large. Kerrick adjusted their trajectory to avoid the largest clumps of spiders, and Cole informed the defenders of incoming assaults.

    The Dreamweaver traveled absent-mindedly, letting the flow of the crowd direct her as she focused on scanning the woods for minds. She tracked wave after wave of spiders from either side, alerting Kerrick to their positions so he could steer the formation around them. She soon discerned a pattern in their behavior, there were alternating waves and attacks on either side, but they heavily favored one side over the other, causing their path to steer further and further from their desired trajectory.

    Cole was caught off guard by the panic he felt with a sudden telepathic message from the Dreamweaver, "they''re steering us," her voice played in his mind and her emotions mixed with his, "we''re going where they want us to."

    He turned to look at her, she was several yards away with several adventurers between them, and was staring absently at the ground.

    "We''re being set up," he thought, knowing she could hear him, "do we stop? Turn back?"

    There was an explosion behind her as another attack was thwarted. In the moment the blast rang out and the flash illuminated the webs around them, she felt the faintest flickers of activity in the darkness. Her eyes widened as she met Cole''s gaze, "it''s too late."

    "Battle ready!" Cameron shouted loudly.

 87 - Fracture

    The webs reverberated with the weight of a thousand spiders erupting from crevices and shadows and diffusing across the webs like a rapidly spreading blight. Several adventurers fell in the first second of the Ambush, collapsing with fangs sunk into their necks or spider legs impaling their chests. The fire line at the front quickly shifted targets and spread fire to the webs on either flank of the formation. The defensive perimeter closed in tight around the inner core, pushed back by the black sea of spiders scurrying towards them while the ranged attackers behind them released an endless volley of arrows and spells at the spiders overhead.

    Titus flashed his translucent magic shield to block a pouncing spider, then punched it down out of the air with a sparkling fist of flickering white magic. The spider swelled rapidly, popping when it smacked the ground. Titus didn''t watch, instead looking up to conjure and throw a lightning spear into the oncoming horde. Autumn still wore her wooden armor, now further reinforced and nearly completed. A spider leapt at her and sank its fangs into her vambrace, sticking snugly long before reaching flesh.

    "Heads up!" She shouted to the adventurer beside her, who wielded a large metal tower shield. He angled the shield towards her, and she swung her arm to crush and splatter the spider against it.

    Behind them, Iris stood frozen. She clenched the hilt of her sword, the oversized blade outstretched ahead and quivering before her. Her thoughts couldn''t find purchase in her mind, she failed to discern a single enemy from the horde, and the sounds of battle were muffled as if water plugged her ears. She noticed her ragged breathing and slowly brought it to heel in slow, deliberate breaths. Her balance swayed, then settled. Her darting eyes found targets on which to briefly linger, she watched as Titus''s energy beam cut through the horde, saw black smoke drifting overhead, and witnessed a glowing white arrow zig and zag mid-flight to pierce several spiders. It was time to fight.

    With a large breath, Iris blipped. She landed beyond the formation''s perimeter, amongst the horde and atop the back of a charging spider. She kicked off, swinging the sword in a downward arc to strike below her. She felt the blade slice into her target, then blipped again as she twisted in the air. She landed with both feet on the side of a spider''s abdomen, holding the blade low to her side with an upwards swing to cleave off the spider''s head as her momentum carried her past it. She leap to the next spider without blipping, quickly puncturing its abdomen before yanking the blade free and blipping away.

    She conserved mana by keeping her blips short and tap dancing across the spiders where there was room to do so instead of blipping. The spiders rarely stood a chance to notice her before she struck, and those that did bit into only air as she blipped away. The larger threat was from the attacks of her allies, who hurled knives, arrows, spells and bombs into the horde with reckless desperation. After nearly catching a magic spectral throwing hammer to the head, she blipped along until she found several melee defenders fighting together in a row. Amongst them were the hammer guy who''d hunted the elk for dinner, and a huge, cow-like creature with a comically large horn erupting from the front of its face, which Iris assumed to be a transformed Whirl.

    She found her niche in the battlefield several yards ahead of the melee fighters, comfortably beyond reach of the hammer guy''s explosive strikes but still within blipping distance of the front line. Even as her heart beat ferociously in her chest, and her feet dangled within inches of death between blips, she found herself laughing. It was incredulous laughter as she struggled to believe what she was doing, but there was joy within it as well. She whipped and whirled the blade, experimenting with the momentum of her blips and strikes beyond the rigid moves she had practiced with Titus.

    Victoria stood near the very center of the formation, eyes glazed over grey and arms limp at her sides and she swayed and shuffled with the movements of the crowd. She watched the battlefield from overhead with disembodied auravision, zooming in close to inspect different portions of the battle. A smile cracked across her face as she zoomed in on Iris, cackling like a madwoman as she blipped back and forth across the horde chaotically twirling a giant blade slick with spider guts. Victoria lifted a hand and conjured a floating card -- The Magician -- which depicted a man in a white tunic and red shawl wielding a wand above a table of arcane artifacts. This card granted self-confidence, dexterity, will-power and skill, which she bestowed onto Iris before zooming out.

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    From the shadows on all sides, a new variant of spider emerged. Each with a abdomen larger than a carriage and with sharp, rigid plates along the length of each leg below the last joint. Their bodies were a dark shade of brown instead of black, and in place of the purple ink splotch marking was a streak of red like a jagged wound. The Dreamweaver recognized them as mutated versions of the males of the dreamweaver species.

    The male spiders tore through the ranks of the formation, all but two charged straight through the defensive lines and wreaked havoc amongst the less armored adventurers at the center. Legs pierced adventurers from above and pinned them to the ground, fangs punctured armor and sunk deep into torsos. The new spiders viciously hissed and spat between attacks, adding a new layer of horrific ambiance to the battlefield.

    Iris watched in horror as one of the males stuck two legs deep into the horned beast. She dashed forward, stepping atop a spider from behind and leaping off of it with a spin into a blip. She reappeared beneath the giant creature''s dripping fangs, flying forward in a spinning attack aimed just above the rigid plate on leg buried in the horned beast''s flank. The exoskeleton crunched under the force of her attack, but didn''t slice through. Her momentum carried her forward, scrunching her outstretched arms close to her chest as the blade stopped in place. She hooked her feet backwards to kick off the spider''s leg as she shoved her arms forward with a breathy grunt, forcing the blade through the crumpled exoskeleton and into the soft goo beneath.

    The leg folded and her sword slid free, dropping her to the ground as the spider hissed and awkwardly lunged for her, held back by its leg still stuck in front hip of the horned beast. The beast twisted and ducked its head, hooking its horn under the spider''s leg and yanking forward with a sharp, torqueing motion. The spider''s leg violently ruptured free from the beast, and for an instant the now seven-legged monstrosity stumbled from the awkward, opposing motions.

    The hammer guy took this opportunity to come down on one of the spider''s middle legs with an explosive blow that sent shatters of the hardened leg plate shooting into the ground like shrapnel. The spider teetered left to right, dancing between its six remaining legs to regain its footing and balance even as its fangs rushed towards Iris. She blipped, and the fangs closed around an empty space just above the ground where she had stood. The horned beast charged forward, driving its long horn into the spider''s abdomen while it was low to the ground. The beast continued its charge, pushing a long gash through the spider that spilled purple guts across the ground. For good measure, Iris appeared from above and drove a downward stab into the spider''s head, pinning it to the ground as the last hiss escaped between its fangs.

    She wasted no time in yanking the sword free and blipping again, slicing a smaller spider that clung to the side of the horned beast. She landed in the purple guts and slipped, awkwardly flailing and twisting for a moment before crashing chest first into the ground. The horned beast stomped as it turned around to face her, huffing a gust of warm air from its nose that Iris interpreted as laughter. She groaned in embarrassment and climbed to her feet, blipped a short distance to the left to dodge an incoming pounce from a spider.

    Elsewhere, Titus cut a long scar along the length of a male spider''s abdomen with his energy beam, while Autumn and two other adventurers leapt onto its back to drive spikes and swords into its abdomen. Nearby, Eli contributed to a barrage of spell attacks against a third male, which writhed and twisted amongst the flames that licked its belly.

    The formation had scattered in the chaos, and the horde picked off isolated adventurers while the males trampled and hissed across the battlefield. Spiders began to drip from the webs above, dropping down into the fray like a hideous black rain. A divide formed, separating the expedition into two distinct groups that were driven apart by the growing horde amongst them. Six more males arrived, charging from the depths of the web into the heat of battle without hesitation and further dividing and scattering adventurers.

    "Fall back!" the hammer guy shouted to those around him.

    The horned beast galloped past him, and several nearby adventurers followed suit. Iris glanced back at the chaos, the black rift of the spider horde growing wider as the males towered over the battle as harbingers of death. Adventurers succumbed to the horde before her as it encroached ever closer. She searched desperately for her friends, but only a glimpse of what might have been Titus''s beam in the distance. She clenched her eyes shut and tore herself away from the battle, blipping after the horned beast.

 88 - Shelter in the Storm

    The horned beast charged through the thick webs, stretching and tearing them free from their anchors to the trunks and roots. Strands clung the beast''s body and draped from its horn, flowing behind it as it ran. The beast''s hooves splashed through puddles of storm water as thunder cracked somewhere above. Following closely were the Hammer Guy, Iris, a green-robed mage, and two heavily armored fighters wielding shields and swords. The others that retreated with them had either splintered off or succumbed to the spiders, and the sounds of battle and flickering flashes of flame grew distant behind them.

    The horned beast stumbled, tumbling forward into a heavy, awkward roll. It transformed into a bloodied Whirl, still wrapped in webs, who bounced off the roots before rolling to a clumsy stop. The Hammer Guy swooped down and picked her up with a single arm, not pausing his stride. In his other hand he swung his hammer, cutting down webs in his way. The strands wrapped around his hammer and arm, some breaking free from their anchors while others stretched but held firm. His swings slowed as he fought a losing battle of strength against the webs.

    Iris blipped beside him, swinging her sword to cut through some of the webs that held back his hammer. She was short of breath, drenched to the bone and had panicked eyes. She glanced back at the pair of fighters at the rear of their group as they slayed the last of the spiders chasing them.

    "I think we''re free," she said quickly between breaths.

    The Hammer Guy nodded, "find us shelter."

    Iris blipped away, skipping past walls of web to whatever small gaps she could see between them. Up ahead and to the right, she spotted a formation of roots that reached up and out of the ground, winding around each other in the air to form a low arch. Beneath them were the rotted remnants of an old fallen redwood, now rotted away and reduced to a thin layer of soft debris. She blipped back to the group and directed the Hammer Guy towards the natural shelter, joined by the two fighters who helped to hack through the webs like vines in a jungle.

    The Hammer Guy stumbled forward as he swung through the final webs in their way. He ducked through the opening and used the last of his energy to lay Whirl down beneath the arching roots as gently as he could before collapsing beside her. Iris appeared beneath the roots and crouched to check on him.

    "Ignore me," he said, "check on her."

    Iris turned her attention to the limp and unconscious Whirl. She pulled the webs away to uncover her face to ensure she could breathe, then tore them away from her body to reveal her injuries. She had two large punctures, one on her left shoulder and another just above her left hip. Several smaller marks covered her body, resembling spider bites.

    "She''s losing a lot of blood," Iris said, struggling to keep calm, "and she''s been bitten."

    The mage and two fighters accompanying them ducked into the shelter behind her, all eying Whirl in concern.

    "She''s resistant to the venom," the Hammer Guy said through labored breaths as he propped himself up against the roots, "she should have a Moonrose potion on her somewhere, pour it in her wounds."

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    Iris quickly searched through Whirl''s pockets, but found nothing.

    "Check her left leg, just above and behind the knee," the Hammer Guy grunted.

    Iris patted around until she felt something beneath the fabric of Whirl''s pants, after a little more searching she found a hidden pocket, and pulled out a corked vial of red liquid like one the Cameron Cole had given her. She carefully uncorked the vial with shaking hands, and poured almost half into either of the two large wounds. She saved a small amount in the vial, and waited nervously. The wounds began to heal before her eyes, the flesh stretching and reaching across the openings to crudely fuse itself back together. Whirl''s eyes cracked open, and she groaned.

    "Drink this," Iris said, pressing the vial to Whirl''s lips and tipping it up.

    Whirl drank the last of the Moonrose Tonic, then spoke in a ragged voice, "did we make it?"

    "We''re safe for now," Iris assured her, though she did not know for how long.

    She inspected the arching roots overhead. Though there were gaps that let in streams of water that soaked through the rotting mulch beneath them, the roots at least provided some shelter from the downpour. The far end of the arch curved down towards the ground, leaving a gap only large enough to crawl through and creating a kind of wooden cave. Back the way they came, a sheet of water poured down over the opening, beyond which thick webs crisscrossed the woods outside.

    She sighed, backing up to drop herself against the wall of the arch across from Whirl. She tried to release the tension in her muscles, but her body refused to relax. Her chest rose and fell quickly, and her pulse throbbed throughout her body. She was cold -- she hadn''t noticed that until now. Loose strands of hair clung to her skin, and the brim of her hat drooped limply and dripped water past her face. She tried not to think of her friends, or what fate they might have faced.

    <hr>

    The Wyvern''s flesh was riddled with arrows and javelins. Large gashes streaked down its belly, and countless smaller wounds pockmarked the scales across its body. Still, it roared and stomped, snapping out with its razor-toothed maw and swiping away adventurers with its powerful tail. The rain beat down like bullets and the wind crashed like ocean waves, yet still the wyvern took flight to flee.

    "Let it fly!" Commander Bridge boomed his voice across the Craggs, raindrops reverberating from the pressure of the soundwaves.

    For all their hours of battle, and all the wounds on its body, the Wyvern seemed barely scathed. That was the nature of beasts this powerful, it would take dismemberment to slow it down, and nothing short of destroying its heart or brain to kill it. Commander Bridge watched as the Wyvern''s silhouette faded into the rains, confident that the poisons and curses the affliction specialists had applied would be doing exactly that.

    "Regroup!" he boomed to his expedition, "we follow her to the nest, and then we finish this."

    As his subordinates scurried and stomped around him in the rain, gathering dropped weapons and helping comrades to their feet, he frowned at the sky. Their expectations had been that the Wyvern''s nest would be in the higher elevations of the Craggs, to the northeast. Instead, the beast flew southwest, towards the Spine -- a ridge of vertebra-like rock formations that separated the Great Forest from the Craggs. The intel never ruled out the Spine as a nesting location, but it was far down on the list of probability.

    His expedition had prepared for canyoneering and rock climbing in clear weather, instead they were faced with a long hike across the craggy plateau amidst a supernatural storm unlike any he''d ever seen in the region. They would make it, of course, everyone here was a mid-level Champion or higher, but the grueling trek would take its toll on stamina and morale. He hoped they would find a withered and decrepit Wyvern, huddled in its nest as it succumbed to its afflictions, rather than a repeat of the battle they had just fought.

    Long streaks of lightning cut through the storm clouds overhead. In them, he felt the reverberating aura of the ancient, buried beacons which now silently boomed all across the central Giantrock region.

 89 - New Acquaintances

    Iris and the other survivors sat in a long, weary silence underpinned by the dull cacophony of rain striking leaves, roots, webs and puddles. The Hammer Guy had regained his stamina, and was now crouched in front of the opening, peering out into the woods to keep watch. The Moonrose tonic had brought Whirl back from the brink of death but couldn''t replenish the blood she had lost, leaving her eyes dull and her skin pale.

    Iris sat huddled with her knees to her chest, shivering cold. Starting a fire was out of the question, not only would it potentially draw spiders or other creatures to their hovel, but there was no dry wood or kindling to speak of. She had considered changing into dry clothes, but quickly realized they would be soaked too soon to even make a difference.

    "I''m sorry for asking," the mage spoke up towards Iris, "but what level are you?"

    She had noticed she was the only one suffering from the cold, but was disappointed to learn that others had noticed too, "six," she replied quietly.

    The Hammer Guy looked back over his shoulder, "did you just say you''re level six? What are you even doing here?"

    "T-That''s a long story," Iris replied, her chattering teeth betraying her.

    The Hammer Guy sighed, "as if it wasn''t going to be hard enough keeping you all alive in the first place."

    "I can keep m-myself alive!" Iris snapped, instantly regretting her outburst

    The Hammer Guy snorted in doubt.

    Iris''s eyebrows raised with an idea, "in fact, I m-might be able to help keep all of us alive."

    She reached around inside her bottomless bag for a moment before withdrawing the last rosewart in her bag, and offering it to Whirl, "this is a healing mushroom from my village, maybe it will h-help."

    Whirl accepted the rosewart in a frail hand, and began cautiously nibbling on it. She nodded weakly in appreciation.

    "And," Iris continued, reaching back into her bag with both hands, "this should help all of us."

    She pulled out her second serving of elk roast from the night before, still steaming hot after nearly a day in the timeless void of her bag. The others all perked up at the sight and smell, and all eyes locked onto the meat. Iris tore off a chunk and passed it to Whirl, then tore another chunk off for herself before passing the meat to one of the fighters. Soon they were each savoring their small portion of meat, except for the Hammer Guy, who devoured his quickly and returned his attention to watch. Iris closed her eyes and savored the warm snack. It wasn''t enough to stop her legs from shaking, but her cold hands delighted in the warmth and the first bite relaxed her chattering teeth.

    "What are your names, anyway?" Iris asked through a half-chewed bite, "I''m Iris, and I know Whirl, but I don''t know what to call you three."

    "I''m Galt," the Hammer Guy said simply.

    "I''m Lenny," said one of the fighters, then nodded to his partner, "that''s Raoul." Raoul nodded upwards at the mention of his name.

    "Michael," the mage added.

    "Well, Galt, Lenny, Raoul and Michael," Iris recited their names slowly to commit them to memory, "it''s nice to meet you."

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    "Likewise," Michael said, "it seems like we have time, Iris, I really would like to know how a level six found herself in the depths of the Great Forest."

    Iris took a big breath before she replied, "well, it kind of started with these scarecrows--"

    "I''d rather us talk strategy," Galt interrupted.

    Iris paused, then clamped her mouth shut, glad for an excuse not to tell the whole story for once, "yeah, let''s do that."

    Galt turned away from the opening and sat cross-legged, facing the others, "You all can still see the Matriarch''s marker, right? That means the Dreamweaver hasn''t called off the mission. There''s likely still a large group somewhere. We need to reconnect with other survivors before we travel far, though, the six of us don''t stand a chance against a horde."

    "The only reason we got away in the first place was because of all the commotion behind us," Lenny said, "if we try moving through webs while it''s quiet the spiders will be on us instantly."

    Michael shook his head, "not in this storm. The rain is hitting the webs everywhere, all the time, that''ll mask small disturbances. If we go tearing our way through or get tangled up in it, though, I imagine they''ll find us pretty quickly."

    "I''ve thought about that," Galt said, "I wish I had a solution. Normally I''d send Whirl to scout for others as a first move, but she''s in no condition for that."

    Whirl nodded in agreement, still slowly eating her elk meat and mushroom.

    "The other idea is that we try moving slow and careful," Galt continued, "but if we get into a fight -- even a small one -- we''ll end up bringing the whole horde down on us in the commotion."

    "I could go," Iris offered, uncertainty plain in her voice.

    "Absolutely not," Galt said.

    "I''m serious," Iris straightened her posture and did her best to steel her voice, "I''ve been in the Giantrock Region for weeks, I''ve fought more monsters than I can remember right now, and my blip ability is perfect for skipping past webs without touching them. Whirl, you saw me back there, tell them how I fight."

    "She''s not bad," Whirl said, "reckless and clumsy, but she''s a good match against the spiders."

    Iris frowned at the reckless and clumsy remark, but didn''t argue.

    "What the hell is a blip?" Galt asked.

    "It''s like teleporting," Iris said, "well, it is teleporting."

    "That''s helpful," Galt replied, "but you have, what, one other power? Can you ever see out there? Can you find your way back if you get lost?"

    Iris opened her mouth to argue, then stopped, and spoke quietly, "no, probably not."

    "I''d be sending you out there to get lost and die," he said, sounding annoyingly like Eli, "it''s out of the question."

    "What if I go with her?" Whirl offered, continuing before Galt could argue, "I''m too weak to move on my own, but I can still shapeshift and my senses still work. If she can carry me, I can navigate"

    Galt thought for a moment, then looked to Iris, "is that possible?"

    "If she''s something small, I think so," Iris said, "it takes a lot of mana to teleport other beings, but the smaller they are the less it takes."

    "I know a small rodent that can smell like a dog and see like an owl," Whirl said, "that should do the trick."

    Galt nodded while he deliberated, but confirmed nothing.

    "So then what?" Lenny asked, "what''s the actual goal here?"

    "We need to find and make contact with other survivors and establish a rendezvous," Galt said, "even better if we can find the main group that''s presumably out there somewhere. How we manage to meet up without attracting a horde is something we can figure out after we''ve made contact."

    "A zigzag pattern," Raoul spoke for the first time, "moving at a trajectory aimed between the Matriarch marker and our last battle. That''ll maximize chances of encountering other adventurers."

    "You can take these," Michael said, reaching into his robe and pulling out three small, pearl-like stones, "disposable sending stones. Activate them with a small trickle of mana, and any words spoken into one will be heard from the others. Each one can only transmit five messages, and they crumble after the last message, so use them sparingly."

    "We''ll keep one here," Galt said, taking one of the stones, "if you find another group, leave a stone with them, but keep one for yourself in case of emergency."

    Iris nodded, taking the last two stones and dropping them into her bottomless bag.

    "I mean it," Galt said sternly, "hang on to one of those stones," he spoke to Iris, but his eyes lingered on Whirl, "if we can''t find you, we can''t rescue you."

    "We won''t need rescuing," Whirl rolled her eyes, then turned to Iris, "he thinks he''s everyone''s big brother."

    Iris laughed, "I know how you feel, my party''s got a guy who thinks he''s everyone''s dad."

 90 - Wishful Thinking

    Iris kept a serious, determined demeanor as she and Whirl methodically traversed the web-strewn woods. This was a life or death mission, she reminded herself, not just for her and Whirl but for the others waiting back in the shelter, and possibly for the other adventurers they hoped to encounter. She hadn''t thought about any of this before she volunteered, but she told herself it wouldn''t have mattered anyway, she was the only one fit for the job, which meant she was the one who would do it.

    The tufted-eared mouse perched on her shoulder double-tapped a small paw on her neck, then pointed at a patch of webs. Iris craned forward and squinted, shifting her head in circles as she struggled to spot the next blip point beyond the webs. Iris wasn''t sure what time it was, but she was pretty sure the sun shouldn''t have gone down yet, it was the storm clouds and heavy rain that darkened the forest to a faint, eerie glow. The webs were easy to discern, they were thick, bright patches of white striking out amidst the dull red-brown of the trunks and roots, but discerning any particular patch of wood from the darkness itself was a struggle.

    The mouse double-tapped her again, and pointed more aggressively.

    "I know!" Iris hissed, "I''m working on it, give me a second. Damn."

    Iris peered at the spot for a while longer until she was mostly confident, then blipped. She appeared in the air just behind and below a branch, her hands slipped off the wet bark as she grabbed for it. The mouse made a high-pitched squealing noise and clung to the collar of her robe for its life. After a fraction of a second, Iris blipped again, appearing above the branch and dropping onto it in a crouch. The mouse pounded two tiny fists against her neck, which tickled.

    Iris fought back a twitch and a giggle as she spoke, "I''m sorry, I''m doing my best."

    Her smile faded into a grimace as the ache in her head throbbed. Two blips in a row was pushing it with a passenger, even one as small as the mouse. She consciously checked her balance and shifted her feet slightly, she didn''t want to risk getting dizzy from low mana and falling out of the tree.

    The mouse triple-tapped and pointed into the darkness. The signal for danger.

    Iris froze, then slowly hunched her shoulders to shrink her silhouette as much as she could. She followed the mouse''s point and stared intently at the darkness. The grey, chaotic glaze of down pouring rain obscured the movement, but she noticed it after a moment, something was spinning in the dark. Webs? Or something wrapped in webs. Something else moved too, something dark, only briefly visible when in front of the white backdrop of the moving webs. Though the scene was still unclear to her, Iris grew confident she was watching a spider wrap up its prey.

    She carefully checked around herself for webs, taking note of all the closest strands to be sure she wasn''t touching any. The downpour was loud, like constant crashing thunder, so she didn''t worry about the spider hearing her. The only concern left was sight, and she had to assume the spider could see better than her in the dark, so she moved slowly and as little as possible.

    "Are there others?" she said just loud enough for Whirl to hear over the rain.

    One tap from the mouse, that meant no.

    "I''m going in," Iris said.

    She waited a moment for an objection from Whirl, but none came. She kept her eyes focused on the movement of the spider and its would-be meal while she slowly moved her hands towards her bottomless bag. Her right hand slipped into the pouch, while the left hand grabbed the outside firmly. She felt Whirl grab a tight hold of her robe, then leapt and blipped.

    She reappeared a dozen feet from the spider, its full form now visible to her where it hung suspended from twisting strands of web dangling from the canopy. It clung to a long, cocoon-like bundle of web that hung from the same strand. She twisted in the air as she pulled the greatsword from her bag, bringing the hilt around to her right side so the blade extended out in front of her like a spear braced against her hip. She held it with both hands as she collided with the spider, driving the blade clean through its abdomen.

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    The spider ripped apart in an explosion of goo, freeing Iris''s sword as she bounced off the bundle of web and tumbled to the ground below. She landed with a hard thump and a splash, her sword clattering on the roots beside her. After a dazed moment, she rose to her hands and frantically glanced around for Whirl.

    She released a desperate sigh of relief when she saw the mouse on the ground beside her, glaring up with an unmistakable expression of anger.

    "Thank the gods," Iris let out a stressed laugh, "I thought I squished you."

    She held out a hand to the mouse, who scurried her arm and took its place on her shoulder. She then climbed to her feet, rolling and stretching her shoulder before picking up her sword. She looked up at the bundle of web, which now swung softly like a slightly disturbed pendulum.

    "Do you think it''s a person?" Iris asked.

    After a short pause, the mouse tapped her twice for yes.

    "Maybe it''s not too late," Iris said, daring to hope.

    She leaned her sword against a nearby trunk, then blipped up to the stub of a broken-off branch near the path of the bundle''s swing. She held onto ridges in the trunk''s bark to steady herself, waited for it to swing close, then reached out and grabbed at it. Her hands sunk easily into the web, which stuck to her skin like glue. The weight of the bundle trying to swing away nearly pulled her from her perch, but she managed to hold tight. She pulled her weight back firmly over her perch, and pulled the bundle in close.

    With her free hand, she grabbed and tore at the layers of web. Individual strands broke easily, but clumps of intertwined strands quickly multiplied in strength until they were as strong as thick ropes. Discarding the webs was difficult as they clung to her skin and robes, but the rain helped to wash them away and the bark of the tree helped to scrape them off. Soon, she pulled aside a large enough clump of web to expose the body within.

    It was the gaunt, lifeless face of an adventurer. She thought she recognized him, if only from her time observing the expedition members on the first day. His eyes were grey and hollow, and an open wound on his neck no longer bled. Iris grunted in anger, then shoved the bundled corpse away to continue its swing. She looked down at her shoulder as she felt the soft touch of a mouse''s paw on her skin. She was pretty sure she saw sympathy in Whirl''s beady eyes.

    "We should cut him down," Iris said, somberly.

    The mouse nodded.

    Iris reached out towards her sword, which blipped and reappeared blade-down in her hand. She twisted it into a standard grip, then lightly swung it horizontally with one hand. It blipped out of her hand, reappearing up ahead in a spin. It sliced through the strands of web holding up the bundle before sinking a few inches into the trunk of a redwood on the other side. Iris got nauseous when she heard the thump of the body hitting the ground below.

    "Think you can make it to the ground on your own?" She asked Whirl.

    A quick squeak came from the mouse before it ran behind her neck, along the length of her supporting arm and onto the trunk of the tree. It scurried down effortlessly, digging its tiny claws into the bark like a squirrel. Iris leapt from the perch and blipped to her sword, landing her with her feet braced against the trunk as she grabbed hold of the hilt. She pushed with her feet and pulled with her hands until the sword yanked free, then flipped and twirled not-so-gracefully in the air before blipping down to the ground.

    She met Whirl by the corpse, the mouse climbed up her robes and onto her shoulder. Iris started to tell her not to, fearing her tiny claws would pull threads loose from her robe, but she quickly realized that was the least of her robe''s concerns. It was ripped from shoulder to shoulder near her collar-bone, barely held together at the top by the collar. She was thankful the fit of the robe kept it from revealing more than flat skin just below her neck. There was another cut on the left shoulder, revealing more of her skin. It was stained dark brown from her own blood around the cuts and down most of the torso, and stained dark purple all around from spider guts. Somewhere beneath those were mud stains, yellow wasp goop, and more of her own blood. It all ran together in the rain.

    Her brief moment of distraction was interrupted when her gaze noticed the web-wrapped corpse at her feet again. *How privileged I am to have these problems,* she thought to herself, certain the adventurer before her would much rather be in her place than his. She crouched down and gently closed his eyelids, then watched over him for a somber moment of silence.

    The mouse double-tapped, and pointed at a branch above.

    "Right," Iris said, quietly, "guess we should get going."

 91 - Ghosts and Specters

    Iris and Whirl continued their slow pace through the woods. They followed a somewhat zigzagged path as Raoul had suggested, but in practice it was more of a jagged, back-and-forth wave. They came across another corpse wrapped in web and cut it open like the last, but this time it was only a giant rat. Iris did feel bad for the animal when she saw its face was frozen in a shriek of terror, but she was glad not to find another dead adventurer so soon after the first.

    An hour into their journey they had still yet to find any signs of survivors, and Iris began bouncing ideas off of Whirl, who could only respond with yes, no, or facial expressions which were very animated for a mouse.

    "Maybe we should head towards the site of the battle, there could still be people there," Iris offered while her mana recharged after a blip.

    A single tap for no, followed by a double-tap and point at the next blip spot.

    "We could head towards the Matriarch," she said after the next blip, "maybe the others are going that way--"

    Another tap for no.

    "Well, I''m all ears if you have any ideas."

    Double tap and point.

    Iris groaned and blipped again. She froze in place when she landed as her brain took a moment to process what she saw. Up ahead, perched on a branch free of webs, was a woman in silver robes, with black hair pinned in a tight bun atop her head. It was too dark and she was too far for Iris to make out her face, but she knew it was the woman from her dream that night in the temple. The woman motioned for her to follow, then leapt off the branch and out of sight.

    Iris instantly blipped to where the woman had been and called out, "hello?"

    Whirl double-tapped and pointed up ahead, where Iris caught a glimpse of the woman on another branch before she leapt out of sight again. Iris blipped after her as fast as her mana reserves would allow, only waiting for Whirl''s direction when she didn''t see a clear spot to blip to.

    "Slow down!" Iris called out, followed by a sharp tap from the mouse on her shoulder. She glanced down to see the mouse holding a small paw in front of its mouth, as if shushing her.

    They continued in the direction the woman had gone, a sharp deviation from their original path. After several more blips, the mouse tapped Iris four times -- the signal for adventurers -- and pointed to the ground up ahead. Between the trunks and past the webs, Iris saw the tell-tale signs of a flickering fire. They quickly blipped towards it, and a few moments later Iris landed on the ground amongst a group of survivors.

    They were crammed in a too-small area cleared of webs, scorch marks on the trees showed where they had been burned away. There were at least a dozen survivors, and at the center was a small campfire shielded from the rain by a large, propped up log. Iris spotted Cameron Cole, and more importantly, the man he was speaking to. She blipped, appearing beside Eli and launching into a hug that nearly tackled him. He stumbled back, arms awkwardly spread out to keep his balance.

    "Iris!" he said in shock, "thank the gods."

    She pushed him away and wagged a finger at him, "where were you?"

    "Whoa, wait," he said, holding his hands in defense before wagging a finger back at her, "where were you?"

    "I was fighting, and then everything went to shit, and we had to run--"

    "That''s about what we went through, as well," Cameron Cole interjected, "Eli was just trying to convince me we should send out a rescue party, but I guess you beat us to it."

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    "Not really, it''s just the two of us," Iris said, "more of a recon duo than a rescue party. There are others waiting for us, though."

    "Two of you?" Cole glanced around, then spotted the mouse on Iris''s shoulder.

    "Whirl!" He almost shouted, reaching out with one hand and grabbing the mouse to hold up in front of him. Whirl squirmed and beat on his hand with her tiny mouse paws.

    "Where''s Galt? Is he okay?" Cole asked.

    "Wait, you all know each other?" Iris asked.

    "We''re party-mates," he said, placing the angry mouse down on the ground.

    As soon as she was free from his grasp, Whirl transformed back into her normal self. She still looked weary and pale from the blood loss.

    "Do not ever pick me up like that again," she said flatly, then added, "Galt''s fine, he''s back with the others."

    "How many are there?" Cole asked, resuming his casual tone.

    "Six, counting us and Galt," Whirl answered, "they''re huddled under some roots not far from here, but travel without disturbing the webs is slow," she glanced at the fire, "aren''t you worried that''ll attract spiders?"

    "They''ve developed a healthy fear of fire," Eli said, "if anything, we think it keeps them away."

    Whirl looked up and scanned the woods around them wearily. They were surrounded on all sides by thick webs, from the forest floor to the canopy overhead.

    "I hope you have scouts watching the webs," she said.

    "We do," Cole said, "we''re not amateurs."

    "Debatable," she said.

    "Here!" Iris said suddenly, remembering the sending stones and fishing them out of her bag. She handed one to Cole before explaining, "you can use this to talk to Galt. It can only send five messages though."

    Cole took the stone. He was seemingly familiar with the concept as he immediately held it up to his lips and spoke into it, "Galt, this is Cole. Whirl and Iris are here with me. I have a small camp of sixteen survivors not far from your location. Would you like to rendezvous?"

    A short moment passed, then Galt''s voice returned from the stone, "No. We were attacked a moment ago, we''re alive but our mage was bitten and is showing signs of delirium. We can''t travel with him in this condition."

    A mist wafted up beside them and formed into Victoria, "if you take me to him, I should be able to calm the delirium long enough to get him back here."

    "Vic?" Iris asked in surprise. Eli looked annoyed that she called her that.

    Cole nodded at Victoria, then looked Whirl up and down to appraise her condition, "can you travel?"

    Whirl shook her head, "not unless someone carries me."

    "I can''t take passengers," Victoria said, apologetically.

    Cole turned to Iris, "can you show her the way?" he asked.

    She wanted to say yes. She wanted to volunteer to be helpful in any way she could. But she knew better.

    "No," Iris said shamefully, "I couldn''t have made it here without Whirl."

    Cole thought for a moment, then spoke into the stone, "we have someone who can help with the delirium, but Whirl''s in no condition to lead her back to you. I need to figure out what to do next, but I''ll send someone as soon as I can."

    A moment later, Galt''s voice came through the stone, noticeably stressed, "the mage keeps saying to use the stone. He''s going on about auras and tangled hair. I have no idea what he''s talking about but he''s insisting."

    Cole furrowed his brow at the stone, then Victoria reached for it, "let me see that."

    Reluctantly, Cole handed over the stone. Victoria held it for a moment and closed her eyes. After a few seconds, they shot open wide, now slicked over with grey mucus. She turned to pan her gaze around the camp.

    "I can see the other stone," she said, stopping and staring at something unseen to the rest of them.

    "That''s the way," Whirl said, "I wouldn''t just point and send you blindly, but I''m confident the others are in that direction."

    Victoria released her auravision and her eyes returned to normal, "I''ll get moving. It shouldn''t take me long to get there, but it''ll be slow going to get back."

    Iris pulled the third stone from her bag, "I have one more stone, we''ll hold onto it here so you can follow the aura back."

    "Where''s Marc?" Cole asked, looking around the camp.

    "Here," said a skinny man clad in dark black armor, standing beside Iris.

    Iris yelped and jumped back, "where the fuck--?"

    "See!" Eli said gleefully, pointing and laughing at Iris, "sucks doesn''t it?"

    Cole gave him a confused, critical glance. Eli quickly composed himself and looked down at his feet in shame at his unprofessional outburst.

    "Go with Victoria," Cole said to Marc, "get them back safe."

    Marc nodded, and Iris looked at him like he was a freak as he stepped around her and into the shadow she cast from the fire. He then sank into the ground like a specter, leaving a shocked and confused Iris trying to step away from her own shadow. At the same time, Victoria faded into mist that drifted off in the direction of the other stone.

    "Shouldn''t you have briefed him?" Eli asked.

    "Marc?" Cole responded, "nah, he''s always listening."

 92 - Tensions Rise

    The adventurers gathered around the campfire for what little warmth and comfort it could offer. Iris crouched down the closest to it and outstretched her hands for warmth, drops of rain that made it through or around the crude awning sizzled when they landed on hot coals and ash. The activity of getting here had fought off the cold for a while, but now it crept back into her bones like a terrible ache. The light of the fire made it hard to tell, but she suspected that the sun was setting beyond the canopy and clouds. She passively listened to the others converse as she searched the faces of the other survivors around camp.

    "One of our scouts made contact with a group led by Ranger Kerrick," Cameron was explaining, "and Kerrick''s in contact with another group, led by the Dreamweaver. They''re working out the details of how and where for us all to rendezvous without attracting a horde. Until then, current orders are to hunker down and survive the night."

    "This whole mission''s gone to shit," Whirl said, "we should be retreating. Getting the fuck out of this web before it kills us all."

    "You''re not the only one thinking that way," Cameron said, "but mutiny wouldn''t help anyone right now."

    "The way I see it," Eli said, "we all knew what we were signing up for. I don''t like the way things are going any more than anyone else, but it is what it is."

    Whirl scoffed, "it''ll be a lot harder to say that when you''re bleeding out."

    "Don''t talk like that," Iris snapped.

    "You don''t talk to me like that, at your level you''re lucky you''ve even lived this long," Whirl replied.

    Iris stood to face Whirl as sudden anger boiled in her blood, "which one of us almost died today? Because I''m pretty sure I remember feeding you a potion and carrying you here--"

    "You''d be lost and dying alone in the dark without me," Whirl bowed up at her.

    "And without me you''d be useless and waiting to die!"

    "That''s enough," Cameron said, stepping between them.

    Eli placed a hand on Iris''s shoulder and gently pulled her back.

    "Take a walk," Cameron said to Whirl.

    "Me? I''m injured, she--"

    "Now," he commanded.

    Whirl spat on the ground and glared at Iris for a moment, then slowly limped away.

    Cameron turned back to Eli, "make sure this doesn''t happen again."

    "Yes sir," Eli nodded.

    "Why are you telling him?" Iris asked, "I''m right here, he''s not my babysitter."

    Cameron pointed a finger at Iris and almost raised his voice, "until you''re about twenty levels higher and a few years older, yes, he is. There''s not a soul on this expedition outside your party that would have voted for you to tag along if they knew your level, and since he brought you here, you''re his responsibility."

    "Let it go, Iris," Eli said sternly, his hand firm on her shoulder.

    Iris huffed and stormed off. Eli and Cameron exchanged unhappy looks, then Eli followed after Iris.

    "I can''t believe you told him my level," Iris said over her shoulder to Eli as he followed her to the edge of camp.

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    "I was trying to convince him to send a rescue party--"

    "Because there''s no way I could handle myself out there, right?" She spun around at him.

    She waited for his response, already preparing her next retort, but he said nothing. His shoulders slumped, and he rubbed his temples wearily. The rain ran off his face in sheets, and his soaked through clothes clung to his skin like glue.

    "Let''s not do this," he said softly after a moment, "you''re capable and strong, I know that, and you know that you''re way out of your depth here. We don''t have to go over it again."

    Iris looked perplexed for a moment, then relaxed the tension in her body and voice, "yeah, you''re right. Sorry. Whirl just really pissed me off back there."

    Eli accepted her apology with a nod, then spoke after a moment, "do you-- do you know anything about Titus or Autumn?"

    "No," she said somberly, concern quickly overtaking her anger, "last I saw them was in the battle before we got split up, they were holding their own, but I don''t know what happened to them."

    "Me either," Eli said, "I''m trying to find out if they''re with one of the other groups, but no luck yet. Messages are at a premium right now, and we''re not the only ones looking for our friends."

    "They''ll be alright," Iris said, "they''re both tough as it is, and they''re tougher together."

    "Yeah," Eli said errantly.

    "Hey," Iris said, changing the subject for both their sakes, "do you know that girl in silver robes? I''ve been looking for her since we got here, but haven''t seen her. She''s the only reason me and Whirl even found you guys."

    "I don''t know anyone in silver robes," Eli said, curious, " Cameron might, but I''m pretty sure besides Vic and that shadow guy, this is everyone."

    "I am not about to go talk to him right now," Iris said, almost laughing.

    "Good call," Eli said with a half smile.

    There was rustling in the leaves, and blurs darker than shadows darted amongst the webs. Eli grabbed Iris by the arm and pulled her further into camp, then unslung his staff and took aim at the dark woods. The noise of the rain muffled the sounds of scurrying, but soon others around camp began to notice the movements all around them. Adventurers stirred quickly into action, drawing swords, knocking arrows, and charging spells as their eyes darted back and forth at the movements.

    "Hold fire!" Cameron shouted just loud enough for his voice to carry through the rain, but not echo through the woods.

    They waited nervously as the spiders flooded all around them, parting like a river current around a boulder. This continued for nearly a minute, which felt like an eternity to the tense adventurers, but no attacks came. Eventually, the scurrying petered out until just a few stragglers were sprinting past, and then the only motion and sound was the splashing of rain.

    "Stand down," Cameron announced, uncertainty clear in his voice. A few weapons were sheathed and a few arrows were lowered, but most stayed in a half-ready stance.

    "Stay here," Eli told Iris, then jogged over to meet Cameron near the center of camp.

    "What the fuck was that?" Eli asked.

    "I have no idea," Cameron said, staring off in the direction the spiders had gone, "but they''re heading towards the Matriarch."

    Eli followed his gaze to the floating marker the Dreamweaver had placed in their minds and vision, "that can''t be good," he said flatly.

    Iris eyed Eli and Cameron from afar, but couldn''t make out what they were saying. She scrambled to fish the sending stone from her pocket as she noticed a muffled voice. Victoria and the shadow guy must have made good time, thanks to moving unimpeded in a straight line towards their destination.

    "--the mage is under control," Victoria''s voice was coming through the stone, "he has no idea where he is, but he''s cooperative for now. There was a flurry of activity in the webs a moment ago, dozens, maybe hundreds of spiders heading northeast, but they didn''t attack. We''ll be ready to begin the return trip shortly, please advise."

    Iris sighed, wishing she''d handed off the stone to Cameron so she wouldn''t have to speak to him right now, then blipped over beside him and Eli. She repeated Victoria''s message as close to verbatim as she could, then gave him the stone.

    "The spiders passed us too," he spoke into the stone, "move quickly, there may be other waves still to come. They''re clearly moving towards the Matriarch, I''d wager with a purpose, if we''re lucky that gives us some leeway with disturbing the webs. I''ll assume you''re on your way shortly, save your remaining messages for emergencies."

    Cameron pocketed the stone and nodded appreciatively at Iris. She could hear the seriousness in his voice, and the gravity of the situation far outweighed any petty feelings she felt towards him at the moment.

    "We''ll need to make contact with Kerrick about this," Cameron spoke, half to Eli and half to himself, "maybe he''ll know more about what''s going on."

    "That was enough spiders to swallow this camp whole," Eli observed, "if they''d attacked, most of us would already be dead."

    "I know," Cameron replied, "that''s what has me worried. The Dreamweaver told me these spiders are smart, and we''ve seen that in their ambush tactics. If an army of them ignored us for something else, then that something else is important."

 93 - Thoughts About Wizards

    Commander Bridge soared through the sheets of rain, flanked by the other adventurers from his expedition who could fly. They chased after the Wyvern as it flew beyond the Craggs, crossing over the ridge of small, vertebra-shaped mountains that divided the Craggs from the Redwood Forest. Bridge swore in his mind, and if there were anyone he could speak to right now he would be swearing at them. Nothing about their intel indicated the Wyvern was nesting beyond the Spine.

    The distance was greyed out in all directions by the rain. He could see only the faint silhouette of the fleeing Wyvern, and the tops of the trees a hundred feet directly below him. He knew the region, however, and up ahead would be a series of plateaus that jutted up and out of the forest, and it was there that the Wyvern must have been nesting. Soon enough, one of those plateaus came into view, and the Wyvern began to circle it for a landing.

    Lightning struck. A thick, powerful bolt that pierced the sky like a fracture in reality. The flash blinded the commander for only a second, when he regained his vision he saw the Wyvern falling. One of its wings was ripped in half and fluttering limply in the wind, while the other flapped desperately but only drove it into a spiral. The Wyvern punched through the canopy of the forest, crashing down somewhere below.

    <hr>

    Victoria and the other survivors returned late in the evening, unscathed from their transit. The mage, Michael, was half-asleep on his feet as he walked, with three of Victoria''s summoned cards floating around his head to keep his mind subdued. It wasn''t a cage or prison, she explained, but a comforting blanket that staved off the hallucinations and delusions of the venom before they could take hold. It was a technique she had only developed over the past few days while treating other bite victims and this was the first time she had put it to the test, but mercifully, it worked.

    The mage was laid to bed, and Victoria stayed by his side while she put him into a deep sleep. After he slipped from consciousness, she removed two of the cards to conserve mana and replaced the third with a card to help keep him from waking. Even in his sleep, he twitched and whined occasionally, and Galt stood guard in case he woke in a frenzy.

    Soon after their arrival, as many of the adventurers were daring to allow themselves restless sleep of their own, a messenger from Ranger Kerrick''s party arrived, conveying news and instructions from the Dreamweaver. All groups were reporting that the forest was quiet, and seemingly all spiders had moved to the northeast, one group even reported that a small horde of spiders suddenly fled in the midst of an ambush against them. Additionally, there was a wave of reinforcements from the healer''s outpost on the way, and the current plan was for all groups to rendezvous with the Dreamweaver in the early morning.

    The rain hadn''t stopped. For most of them, it had become a constant and undeniable fact of life. For a few, it remained a dreadful nuisance that threatened their sanity. In Iris''s case, it was a mix of the two. So far she had barely cared about the rain, having plenty of other concerns to keep her mind occupied, and only in rare moments had she been present enough in her surroundings to truly feel the fatigue of unending rain. Now, as the realization settled that there truly was no end in sight, and perhaps the rest of this expedition would be spent in the storm, she began to question just how much she could handle.

    It didn''t help that her sleeping bag was still ripped and torn from the beastmen highway robbers they had encountered the prior week. Sewing equipment -- and sewing lessons, she imagined -- had earned themselves a top spot on her list of things to buy when she got back to the city; if she had actually written the list down they would be underlined and circled. Still, though, she did the best with what she had in the moment, and awkwardly twisted and contorted the tatters to at least cover her face with whatever solid scrap of fabric she could, while still angling an opening towards the campfire for a small amount of flickering light.

    There, in the relative peace from the rain, she pulled out her adventurer''s journal -- something she hadn''t dared to do for days in the rain. Carefully, to not disturb the covers that shielded her from the rain, she cracked open the book and angled it towards the fire. The pages flipped quickly to her main stat sheet.

    IRIS ORION

    Hero Rank, Level 7

    Experience Points: 256 / 7030

    Progress to next level: 3.64%

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    Recent Accomplishments:

    Powerful foe slain, partial bonus experience 2750 awarded.

    Attribute Scores:

    - Vitality : 27

    - Strength : 34

    - Speed : 22

    - Intellect : 22

    - Spirit : 30

    Unspent attribute points : 5

    She smiled to herself. She had been hoping the large male spider she had helped kill would count as slaying a powerful foe. She guessed the reason she only received a partial bonus was due to not causing the bulk of the damage against it, and that delivering the killing blow was what caused it to count in the first place. She decided she would test this thoroughly in the future.

    Then came the matter of her attribute points. She still wanted to be stronger, not just more powerful but physically stronger. The thought of being overpowered and restrained made her squirm, and without any high impact abilities she felt driven to compensate with raw, undeniable strength. If she could appear behind an enemy on the battlefield and ruthlessly overpower him, she would be a force to reckon with. Almost with mourning, however, her attention shifted to her Spirit attribute. Mana had been a constant concern lately, and she had spent entirely too much time teetering on the edge of debilitating mana sickness in the midst of battles. If she didn''t see to that issue soon, it was likely a short matter of time before she pushed herself too far and blacked out in a fight.

    She briefly considered Vitality, as well. She had a habit of getting horrible wounds that took days to fully recover from even after magic healing, but she reasoned that at her level, against the kinds of foes that the Giantrock Region had to offer, no amount of points she could put into Vitality would make a meaningful difference. The way she saw it, her best bet was to get hit less often in the first place, not try to make the hits hurt less or heal faster.

    With that thought, she had her answer. She wanted Strength to be a priority, but ultimately it did very little to help her avoid getting hit. Her best tool for that was her blip, and the best way she could buff her blip right now was with more mana. She nodded to herself as she made the decision, and then closed her eyes to focus. When she reopened them, the numbers on the page rewrote themselves to reflect her decision to put all five points into Spirit, making it her highest stat by one point.

    Satisfied, she briefly thought to herself, *have any entries from my mom to show me?* To her surprise, the journal responded. It flipped a few pages over, revealing a newly unscrambled page.

    Thoughts About Wizards

    We reached the Shining Peaks several days ago, mostly unharmed. Darren took a bad snake bite to the leg, but being Darren, he caught the snake and brought it along with us to the Towers. The wizards here were able to concoct a simple antivenom, and he''s making a good recovery.

    The wizards are fascinating and annoying. Each and every one of them is extremely peculiar in their own way, and the knowledge locked away in each of their libraries rivals that of nations. I''m certain there are secrets in those tomes that have been forgotten for centuries. Unfortunately, all the wizards seem absolutely convinced that I''m here to be their apprentice, and refuse to talk to me about my business here because they''re ''not currently accepting apprenticeship applications.'' I am not anyone''s apprentice, and I''m not trying to be. I''m here to obtain the means to charge the Stone of Forgotten Woes so we can enter the Veiled Catacombs, that''s why we''re all here, that''s why we walked here all the way from fucking Calderan, and if one more wizard treats me like a fangirl I''m going to explode their ugly fucking tower off the mountain.

    I hate them. I love their books, and I wouldn''t mind having even a scrap of their unparalleled magical power for myself, but they are infuriating. Yesterday one of them asked for my blood! For an experiment! Word of advice to anyone reading this, if you''re thinking about visiting the Great Wizards in the fabled Shining Peaks, don''t. They''re going to piss you off and probably won''t even help you.

    - Mary Orion, 969

    Iris read the journal entry with a wide smile and more than a few giggles. She relived memories of being a young child, fascinated by tales of powerful wizards and desperate to learn more about magic, while her mother insisted that "you never want to meet a wizard, everything goes wrong when there''s a wizard around" and "you can''t trust wizards, not because they''ll lie to you, but because they''ll forget what they promised you," and, on a rare occasion when she accidentally swore in front of Iris, "every single one of them is an annoying, useless bastard." Still, though, she had always ultimately relented and read Iris the tales as many times over as she asked.

    Iris had never heard of the Stone of Forgotten Woes or the Veiled Catacombs, but was immediately jealous of her mom''s seemingly grand adventures. Calderan rang a bell, she was pretty sure that it was a city far to the north of her valley. She had read plenty about the Shining Peaks, and the assortment of spires and towers that jutted out from between them where the oldest and wisest wizards of the Emerald Empire resided. She had always wanted to visit, despite her mother''s assurances that she really didn''t, and she wanted to go there now more than ever for the chance to speak to anyone who might have met her mother.

    Her eyes were growing heavy, as was the journal. She slipped it into her bottomless bag, cinched it tight, and then held it close as she fell into a slumber with a faint smile on her face.

 94 - Reunions and Losses

    Though the trees were densely packed for their size, the gaps between the massive redwoods still left space for the Wyvern when its wings were tucked. Commander Bridge sprinted and leapt through the woods at inhuman speeds, somewhere behind him were whatever subordinates had kept up this far. He followed a trail of blood, smashed bark and broken branches. The Wyvern was stumbling, barreling through the woods blindly. The blood smelled rancid, and was discolored with trails of black like slightly mixed paint. The afflictions were working.

    <hr>

    In the early hours of the morning, the Dreamweaver stared warily into the forest, a habit she''d developed during any amount of down time. Cold rain pelted her face, but she ignored it. Her hands were clutched behind her back, and her foot tapped impatiently. She watched the Matriarch''s marker twitch and shake, they were close, and it was active. Was it fighting something? Constructing more webs? She briefly allowed herself to hope it was writhing in pain as it died.

    She sensed the arrival of Lieutenant Kerrick and his group of survivors. Hugs and cheers were exchanged amongst many of the adventurers as they were reunited, while others stood quiet and hopefully searched the crowd for any of their lost companions. Kerrick moved straight to the Dreamweaver and began his briefing without pleasantries.

    "Ash Druga is awake and leading the reinforcements, they will have made contact with Cameron Cole''s survivors by now, and should be en route," he said, "there are several smaller bands of survivors converging on our position as we speak. Travel is quick without the spiders, we should be fully regrouped within two hours."

    "Do we have a headcount?" She asked.

    "Not yet, a few dozen probably."

    "It''ll have to do," she replied simply.

    "What''s our next move?"

    She nodded towards the twitching marker, "something''s going on, I''m not sure what. My best guess is the Matriarch called its brood close to establish a defensive position. We''ll go in with everything we have, as soon as we can, and hopefully catch it before it''s ready for us."

    "Ash Druga will be glad to hear that," he remarked.

    "You''re not?"

    "With respect, ma''am," Kerrick hesitated, "I think it''s stupid. I think we should withdraw from the web entirely, and come back when we can burn the whole thing down."

    The Dreamweaver shook her head, "our small army is dwindling by the hour, but at least we have one. If we leave and come back, how many do you actually think will rejoin us? Half of them have already lost a teammate, and I''ve already had to put down talk of a mutiny. If we withdraw, we come back with a fraction of the men."

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    "So instead we lead them to their death?" he challenged.

    "They signed up for this," the Dreamweaver said sharply, "if adventurers never died, nothing would get done."

    Kerrick held his jaw tight and said nothing.

    The Dreamweaver sighed, "that''s all, lieutenant."

    He nodded and hurried away.

    <hr>

    Iris ran and blipped to keep up with the other adventurers. They were faster, more athletic, and more experienced, which meant a sustainable pace for them was a struggle for her even with the benefit of her blip. Many ran on the ground, dodging side to side and leaping over webs to avoid getting caught in them. Others darted through the canopy, slicing through the webs in their way, while some kicked off trunks to leap between them in a zig zagging pattern. Ash Druga led them with fervor, frequently shouting crude encouragements that often included calling them grunts and dogs.

    The survivor''s camp had stirred in the dark hours of the morning when the reinforcements arrived. There was a brief exchange, adventurers now healed and ready for battle taking the place of the sick and wounded, who would be taken back to the outpost for treatment. This included the delirious mage and several others. A cleric had attempted to take Whirl as well, but she vehemently declined, and was instead given a blessing to regenerate lost blood. It wouldn''t be enough to get her back to normal, but it would get her back in the fight.

    The moment the exchange was completed, Ash Druga had addressed the crowd, thoroughly riled them up, and led the charge. She looked every bit her normal self, except for the dark bags below her eyes. The goal was to reach the other survivors as quickly as possible while circumstances were still in their favor, and that meant a distance run through the web-strewn woods.

    A few adventurers tripped, a few others got caught in webs and had to be cut free, but they faced no other obstacles as they raced towards the Dreamweaver, directed by scouts who knew the way. When they finally arrived, Iris was panting and heaving, and immediately doubled over to rest her hands on her knees.

    "Keep your head up," Eli said, "it helps with the dizziness."

    "I think--" she gasped, "I''m gonna pass out."

    He laughed, "you''re fine, just catch your breath."

    All around them, adventurers were greeting each other. Some parties accepted their friends with heckling and warm embraces, while others shared quiet hugs and tears. Iris looked up sharply, glancing around the crowd. She smiled wide as she saw the tall, bulky healer politely cutting through the crowd, while a short, stocky redhead charged forward and shoved people out of the way.

    As Autumn reached them, she reached out to either side and pulled both of them into a tight hug. Victoria materialized beside them from mist unnoticeable in the rain, and patted Autumn on the head. Just as Autumn began to release her hold on Iris and Eli, Titus reached the group and wrapped his long arms around everyone, hooking Victoria and pulling her into the group hug.

    "I knew you guys were okay," Autumn said, hurriedly wiping away tears from her eyes as the hug parted, "Titus was so worried, but I told him you were okay."

    "That''s not--" Titus began.

    "Seriously, you would be so mad if you knew how little faith he had in you--"

    "You literally spent last night crying about all the ways Iris probably got eaten!" he defended.

    Iris scoffed dramatically, "I can''t believe you, Autumn."

    "He''s lying," Autumn said dismissively to Iris, ignoring Titus''s continuing rant about how she kept saying Eli probably tripped and hit his head.

    "That''s enough greetings," they all heard the Dreamweaver''s voice in their mind, and the crowd fell silent, "gather around for briefing."

 95 - Finally a Fair Fight

    The Dreamweaver''s expedition crept through the rainswept woods, fanning out into a few long ranks that stretched far to either side. Scouts took to the trees overhead, directing spotters below with hand signs to maintain formation as they approached their target. On the ground, adventurers ducked around and under webs, moving as swiftly as they could without announcing their presence beyond the thunderous rain.

    At the center of the long ranks was Lieutenant Ash Druga. The punctures in her chest plate had been crudely repaired by a matter manipulating ability, the jagged welded seams still visible. She was flanked by many of the expedition''s strongest melee fighters, forming a wall of armor, blades and mauls. To the far right was Lieutenant Kerrick, and to the far left was Sergeant Cameron Cole; both led a mixture of scouts and ranged fighters, which included archers, mages, and a few less conventional adventurers. The Dreamweaver followed behind the formation, near the center but several yards removed from the front lines, where she maintained awareness of the field and mental contact with her subordinates.

    Titus and Autumn followed behind Ash Druga, in the third and rearmost rank of the formation, a half dozen bodies off center. The front most line was reserved for the strongest, highest level fighters, decreasing in level to the rear and the sides. Eli, Victoria and Iris and joined Cameron Cole, near the far northwestern edge of the formation. Cameron had requested Eli by his side, while Victoria traveled above in mist-form. Iris blipped along amongst the ranks, unsure of exactly where she should be.

    The floating marker which indicated the Matriarch grew larger as they approached, still twitching and skittering with activity. Mental messages from the Dreamweaver sent to her lieutenants announced it was time for phase two of the formation.

    "We''re near the edge of the web," her voice spoke in their minds, "the Matriarch has nowhere to go, and we''re still undetected. Begin flanking maneuver."

    At the signals from their respective lieutenants, Ash Druga''s fighters slowed their pace, while Cameron and Kerrick''s groups quickened theirs. The straight line of ranks curved into a C-Shape, surrounding the Matriarch from three sides as they moved ever closer.

    The woods were beginning to thin, and rare glimpses of the stormy sky above grew larger and more common. Through one of these cracks in the canopy, Iris saw a large cliff face, jutting up high above the tree tops and disappearing into the grey haze of rain. It was off to their left, just beyond their formation. A few steps later, her view was obscured by branches and webs.

    An arrow thunked into a tree trunk just up ahead, and all nearby eyes snapped towards it. The corpse of a spider was pinned by the arrow, spilling purple blood down the trunk. All around Iris, adventurers gripped their weapons tighter and tensed their postures for battle, but they didn''t break ranks. A few yards and moments later an adventurer was tackled to the ground by a spider lunging from the shadows, but was quickly rescued by a brawler who swiftly grabbed hold of the spider''s head before it could bite, ripping it backwards and tearing it roughly from the abdomen. The now purple-blood soaked adventurer was helped to his feet, and the formation continued on.

    Elsewhere, there was an explosion, somewhere near the center of the formation, Iris guessed. A few arrows found targets in the webs nearby, and the red-glow of Eli''s staff illuminated the woods to her right. One-by-one she saw black blurs emerging from within webs and behind trees, until almost all at once they became a horde. Ash Druga''s battle cry overpowered the torrential rains and echoed through the woods as Eli''s staff released a blast that splattered several spiders and Cameron tossed small lobs of clay which exploded into directional shrapnel that shredded spiders in their wake.

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    Arrows flew overhead, bolts of blue, green and red magic flashed and exploded against spiders and trunks while beams cut arcs through the canopy. Iris ducked and blipped behind the rear lines where she could get her bearings without dodging friendly fire. She drew her sword from her bottomless bag and leveled it in front of her, eyes darting around for targets. A large male spider emerged from the trees, spearing an unfortunate scout through the chest with its leg. Iris felt the now familiar sensation of Victoria''s cards giving her confidence and strength, and blipped.

    Iris appeared beside Eli and shouted, "hit the big one!" then blipped again.

    With a blast already charged, Eli swung his staff around to release a powerful bolt that slapped into the male spider where a leg met its abdomen. The blast ripped through, severing the leg to slap wetly onto the ground below. The spider stumbled, arrows pierced its eyes, and a green beam of magic sliced through two more legs. Iris appeared above it, kicking off a trunk and blipping again. She appeared again just above its head, sword held tip-down as she plummeted. The blade pierced through the creature''s head, the tip glimmering out from the underside.

    She held the hilt tight, clutching the creature''s head with her legs as if riding a mount. It fell quickly and gracelessly. The thump rocked Iris forward, driving the pommel of her sword into her stomach as the blade was pushed up by the tough roots beneath the spider. She fruitlessly gasped as she tumbled forward, over the sword and onto the ground. She rose to her feet with grunts and a groan, staring down the lifeless jaws of the dead spider. She smirked at the experience points she knew she had gained, then blipped back atop its head, yanked her sword the rest of the way free, and searched for her next target.

    Across the battlefield, Ash Druga twirled her hammer overhead and brought it down against the leg of a large male spider. The hammer cracked through the thick plating and crippled the leg, but she didn''t stop. She continued with her momentum, spinning and slamming the hammer into the next leg as it stepped closer to balance. The spider stumbled, leaned and fell. It only touched the ground for an instant before Ash Druga''s hammer found its head, crushing it into paste.

    Behind her, three fighters took out the legs of another male. As it collapsed, Galt leapt through the air and brought down an overhead hammer strike. It exploded on contact, popping the spider''s abdomen and showering everything around it in spider guts. Ash Druga turned in time for guts to splatter across her face, she released a quick, hysterical laugh, then held her hammer high and screamed a deep rallying cry.

    Nearby, Titus intermixed spears of light between healing bolts. As his spear pierced through spiders and left them popping in its wake, his bolts found injured fighters and healed their wounds even as they battled. Autumn was just ahead of him, fully armored in molded bark with spear-pointed axe heads encasing either hand, molded from rocks she had been collecting since the last battle -- including a hefty donation from Iris''s bottomless bag. Only her eyes were visible through a narrow slit in the helmet as she chopped and skewered spiders that came near Titus.

    At the southeastern edge of the formation, Lieutenant Kerrick''s forces had the highest concentration of archers, sword-and-board fighters, and dagger wielding rogues. There were few bursts of magic as spider fangs bounced off shields and blades sliced through legs. Arrows rained constantly, and rogues darted between targets sinking knives into heads and slicing open abdomens. Kerrick blended with the environment, invisible to the battlefield, throwing well placed knives from bushes and shadows to take down any spider that was about to get a lucky bite.

    A male spider erupted from the shadows and scattered a row of archers. It was met with a flurry of arrows from other archers, peppering its body like needles. Kerrick dashed from his hiding place and ran up the side of a trunk as if it were ground. He kicked off, spinning in the air and releasing a hailstorm of knives as he flew over the spider''s abdomen. The knives suddenly flashed red and shot downwards at triple the speed, piercing straight through the spider''s abdomen and embedding into the roots below. The spider staggered as guts dripped and poured from its underside, then it collapsed. Kerrick landed deftly on a branch, taking only an instant to observe his work before refocusing on living threats.

    From the northeast, a dreadful roar echoed through the woods.

 96 - Chaos Rains

    The Wyvern roared as it clumsily stomped through the woods. Black ooze seeped from its eyes as one wing dangled limply and poured tainted blood. It stumbled to the side, slamming into a trunk, further crushing its injured wing and roaring again. Momentum carried it forward as it blindly stumbled back into a sprint.

    Immense weight and unparalleled strength carried it through the first of the webs, ripping them from branches and trunks. The loose webs wrapped around its legs and clung tightly to its scales. As it barreled through thicker and thicker webs, their combined strength began to slow its stride. It thrashed around, flapping its good wing and swinging its tail to pull free from the webs, but slowly it was succumbing.

    The Matriarch crossed a hundred yards in an instant, emerging from the shadows and leaping onto the Wyvern''s back before it could even sense the spider. Venom dripping fangs sunk deep beneath the sandy-brown scales, and this time the Wyvern''s roar was a ragged, stretched out croak. The Matriarch''s spear-like legs didn''t pierce the scales, but clung tight as the Wyvern still stomped forward, blindly pushing deeper into the webs that entangled it.

    There was an explosion up ahead to the Wyvern''s left, it instinctively veered to the right. Smaller spiders were now crawling across its body and biting wherever scales were exposed, barely leaving marks. Another explosion, closer this time, sent it stumbling to the left. Whatever vision it still had was marred with hallucinations and visions from the Matriarch''s venom, causing it to dodge obstacles that weren''t there and lash out vicious bites at nothing.

    Explosions. Screams. Adventurers dove out of the way as a male spider was ripped apart by the impact of the charging Wyvern. The resulting explosion of goo and dangling legs stuck to the webs wrapped around the Wyvern and added to the horrific mess it had become. As the Wyvern charged into another wall of web, its stride was finally halted, and it thrashed and roared as the Matriarch rapidly encircled it to encase it in a permanent cocoon of web.

    Iris appeared on a branch overlooking the battlefield. Their ranks were broken, adventurers were scattering and clamoring to get out of the way of the clashing monsters. Still, arrows bounced off the scales of the Wyvern or stuck loosely in the webs strewn about its body and bolts of magic slapped into the Matriarch with limited effect. Some small spiders were still attacking adventurers, though many joined the swarm on the Wyvern.

    The Wyvern rolled off its feet and onto its back, using its weight to pull itself down from the webs. The Matriarch quickly scurried from the Wyvern''s back to its front to avoid being crushed, and the Wyvern landed with a booming thud. A clenching jaw found the upper joint of one the Matriarch''s legs and instantly crushed it. The Wyvern held its jaws tight as it flailed a moment longer to loosen the webs, then wrapped its wing around the Matriarch as it rolled back to a crouch, imprisoning the giant spider beneath its body. The Wyvern tore off the Matriarch''s leg with ease, then gnashed out towards another one.

    Iris was frozen in place, still crouched on the branch. Her eyes were wide with horror and awe at the sight before her. She felt her chest reverberate with the roar of the Wyvern, so powerful that it shook the leaves and even the rain as it fell. Below and above her, adventurers saw the turning tides of the battle and began to flee. The spiders did not chase them, instead turning their attention towards swarming the Wyvern.

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    Commander Bridge dashed across the battlefield, landing on the Wyvern''s back wielding a glimmering silver shortsword. He ran along the length of the wyvern''s back, dragging the blade along by his feet and leaving a slash through the Wyvern''s scales that glowed a blinding white light. As he leapt off, the glowing wound exploded with a flash, sending spurts of blood into the air along its length. He didn''t care to save the Matriarch, but that didn''t mean he was done fighting the Wyvern.

    The Wyvern roared and snapped out towards the commander as he soared over its head. The Matriarch sunk another bite into the Wyvern''s neck, cutting off the roar into a pitiful whimper. The Wyvern rose from the ground, reaching out with its wing to brace against a trunk and balance while one of its large clawed feet reached up between its belly and the Matriarch''s abdomen. The foot pushed down, ripping the clinging spider from the Wyvern''s torso, its sharp legs scraping superficially across scales while the fangs were ripped free from the Wyvern''s neck, leaving jagged punctures in their wake.

    The Wyvern pinned the thrashing Matriarch to the ground with its weight and ignored the spiders swarming around its body. Storm rains poured off his face, mixing with blood and rot along the way. Thunder crashed overhead. The Wyvern reared back and stretched its mouth wide. It snapped forward, crunching the Matriarch''s head between its jaws. The frantic legs slowed to lifeless twitches as purple goo poured out between Wyvern''s teeth. Even as more spiders swarmed its body, the Wyvern gulped down the mouthful, raised its head high, and roared in victory.

    The thunder didn''t stop. The woods were lit with rapid flashes of lightning unnaturally weaving between the trees to strike the ground. Booms echoed in all directions, bouncing off the trees and overlapping with each other. The adventurers clutched their heads, some doubled over and others stumbled to the ground. From each strike of lightning appeared a wizard in black robes with silver trims, many of whom were adorned in silver armor and wielded gleaming weapons.

    The dark wizards cast spells of chain lightning that eviscerated the spiders in their wake, stray bolts caught adventurers and dropped them to the ground, paralyzed or dead. Commander Bridge was already engaged, his sword buried in the chest of a wizard before the first spells struck. The Dreamweaver arrived, flanked by Lieutenant Ash Druga and Lieutenant Kerrick. She outstretched a hand towards a wizard and closed her eyes, forcefully invading his mind. The wizard screamed in horror and agony, blood poured from around his eyes and out of his ears, he clutched his head as his scream cut-off and he collapsed in a lifeless heap.

    Ash Druga was struck by a bolt of lightning erupting from the hand of a wizard, but it didn''t stop her stride. Her hammer slammed into him, caving in his silver armor and his chest behind it. Kerrick dashed behind trees, flinging red-glowing knives at whichever wizard was in his line of sight. A stray bolt caught him as he dashed between cover, and he dropped to the ground out of sight.

    The Wyvern ignored the chaos, content to devour its meal. Commander Bridge became locked in combat with a Titan ranked wizard in gold-trimmed robes who wielded a long metal staff, while the Dreamweaver was swarmed by as many wizards as she could incapacitate with her mind. They stood around her, frozen in place as she had frozen their minds, while Ash Druga wiped the out with hammer strikes.

    Another gold-trimmed wizard appeared from a bolt of lightning, directly behind the feasting Wyvern. He held his arms up and wide and began chanting in an ancient language. More lightning struck around him as other wizards appeared and joined his chant. Arcs of lightning reached out from their hands, connecting each of the wizards into a ritual circle that surrounded the Wyvern.

 97 - Morose Observes

    Atop a plateau, high above the forest, three bolts of lightning struck. From each emerged a wizard, two with silver-trimmed robes and the third with gold.

    The plateau was a haven for the smaller plants and animals that struggled to compete in the supersized forest below, and was populated by grass, small trees and flowering bushes. A single redwood grew near the northern edge, its thick roots wrapped around the plateau like a protective but clinging embrace. Between the roots, shielded from the storm at the base of the tree, was a huge nest built from hefty stones and a few branches.

    The wizards approached the nest, but stopped short.

    "Reveal yourselves," the gold-trimmed wizard commanded.

    Three Agents of Morose, each wearing dark robes and brass masks with tearful, frowning faces, shimmered into view between the wizards and the nest.

    "This egg is not yours to take," said the agent with a black tear drop on either cheek of his mask.

    "Morose observes," the wizard countered, "they don''t interfere on the battlefield."

    "They do, however, manage affairs," the agent replied, "and a series of deals for this egg have already been brokered."

    "Morose would not be the first demigod The Mandate has put in their place," the wizard snarled, "step aside."

    "Demigod?" the agent asked, though his face was hidden, his amused smile could be heard through his voice, "I''m afraid you''ll regret calling them that."

    The wizard thrust his hand forward, three bolts of lightning erupted from his fingertips and flashing towards the Agents of Morose. Each one struck, and their dark robes dropped to the ground as if the bodies inside -- and the masks they were wearing -- had evaporated. A short, deep giggle echoed from the air around them.

    "Bastard tricksters," the wizard spat on the ground after he spoke, then stormed towards the tree.

    He climbed onto one of the roots to peer down into the nest. Nestled inside it was a sandy-brown egg with a texture like scales, it was easily the size of a large man''s torso. He dropped down into the nest, one of his companions following behind him while the other stood guard on the root overhead.

    The wizard smiled as he reached out to touch the egg. As his finger touched the scaly surface, the egg exploded. The shell ruptured like shrapnel, the wizard in gold-trimmed robes was thrown backwards against the roots by the blast while his lower rank companion beside him was shredded and instantly killed by the shrapnel.

    "Perhaps," a merry, disembodied voice spoke from all around, "Morose sometimes meddles."

    The gold-trimmed wizard screamed in rage as loud as his Titan lungs allowed, the echoes cracking through the skies like thunder. When he finished, he sat there in a bloody heap, heaving for breath. The shrapnel had shredded muscles across his body, while the blast had shattered bones. It would take him days to heal these wounds.

    "Find the egg," he hissed through gritted teeth.

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    The silver-trimmed wizard atop the roots steeled his expression of horror and nodded, "yes, master."

    <hr>

    Iris was frozen in shock and fear. She watched as a large wizard grabbed Ash Druga by the throat with a hand that crackled with lightning, he lifted her from the ground while her body convulsed and her hammer clattered to the ground. She saw the Dreamweaver overrun by wizards, countless bolts of lightning struck her yet she stood strong. Each time she reached out a hand towards a wizard, they bled from their eyes and collapsed.

    Iris jolted as Victoria half-materialized on the branch beside her and spoke, "we need to move!"

    "It''s them!" Iris said, "The wizards from--"

    Victoria had already dematerialized back into mist, and was drifting away from the battle. Iris gave one more horrified look at the scene, then blipped after her. She soon spotted other adventurers moving in the same direction as they fled to the north. Progress was at first slowed by a stretch of freshly woven webs, but it wasn''t long before she reached the edge of the Matriarch''s domain. The dark, oppressive woods felt like an open field compared to the web, and Iris relished in the freedom to run faster and blip freely.

    She stopped on a branch when her path brought her to the base of a cliff that rose abruptly from the forest floor, the roots of redwoods bunching up against it and even punching into the stone. She glanced to either side to consider which way she should go, and found herself alone. The storm still raged, thunder still roared from the sky and from within the woods themselves, and Iris truly had no idea where she was. For the moment, though, she had time to breathe and think.

    She gazed up at the cliff face between a crack in the canopy. The grey stone wall extended up and disappeared into the heavy rains. She frowned at a dark grey shape appearing in the rain, just in front of the cliff. Something was falling. Eyes grew wider as the shape grew larger, and she blipped back to dodge it. A large ovoid stone fell through the canopy, cracking small branches before bouncing off a larger one. It bounced off two more branches before landing in the groove between two smooshed-together roots, then rolled along their length until they spit. It landed gently on the ground, where it rolled a short ways further, then wobbled for a moment before coming to rest.

    Iris stared at it. It was a very strange looking rock; large, roughly textured, and perfectly shaped like an egg. She looked back up towards the cliff face, then back to the egg, as she recalled the Wyvern''s egg was an important goal of that gruff looking Commander''s expedition.

    "Surely not," she said quietly to herself.

    The bottomless bag at her waist loosened itself until its mouth drooped open.

    "There''s no way that thing is what it looks like," she looked down to respond to the bag.

    The bag said nothing.

    After a moment of hesitation, she blipped closer, then to the ground beside the object. It was larger than her torso, and the sandy-brown surface was textured like scales. Cautiously, she reached out to feel it. The shell felt thick and strong, which explained how it survived the fall -- that, and the ridiculous amount of luck it must have needed not to plummet directly into the ground. The egg was warm to the touch, and after a moment of focusing she could faintly sense a powerful aura within it. She imagined that to someone with more practiced senses, the aura would be obvious.

    She was certain the lightning wizards were here to take the Wyvern, like they''d taken the giant walking tree in her dream. It stood to reason that if the egg were really so important to the commander, then the wizards would probably want it too. Self preservation told her to leave it where it was and pretend she had never seen it, but something else -- that same nagging urge in her brain that told her to take leaps she might not make and fight battles she might not win -- that something told her to take the egg and run.

    "If you ever meet a wizard, best stay out of their business," her mother had once paused a story book to advise a young Iris, "nothing good ever comes from wizard business."

    Iris looked down at her bottomless bag, both ends of the draw string were desperately reaching for the egg like a child grabbing at a toy. She closed her eyes, slumped her shoulders and threw her head back, letting the rain hit her face instead of the brim of her hat.

    "Why do I never make good decisions?" she asked no one.

 98 - Blood in the Rain

    "Alright," Iris huffed, "you''re up."

    She was crouched low, holding the surprisingly heavy egg upright as she placed her bottomless bag upside down atop it. The mouth of the bag stretched open impossibly far, but still struggled to wholly envelope the egg. When the bag got stuck at the thickest part of the egg, Iris grunted as she shifted weight to her other foot and balanced the egg against her knees. She grabbed the edge of the bag on either side of the egg and gently tugged it down.

    Thunder nearly deafened her. She jolted, falling forward and incidentally pulling the bag the rest of the way down, disappearing the egg entirely into the void. She turned and scrambled back from the dark robed wizard who had appeared from the lightning a dozen yards behind her. He was much taller than her, and adorned with a silver chest plate, pauldrons, greaves and gauntlets that all gleamed despite the lack of sun. A hood was pulled over his head, trimmed in silver, and he wielded a tall polearm with a short sword''s blade on the end.

    Iris hastily grabbed her bag and held it to her waist, where it tied itself tightly, "I was just going," she said.

    "I saw the egg," the wizard''s voice was deep and foreboding.

    "You can have it!" Iris blurted out, "I don''t even want it that bad! I''ll put it down and--"

    "Sorry kid," he said, with a slight half-shake of his head, "every bit of experience counts."

    He hefted up his polearm and flipped it into a throwing grip. Iris blipped as the polearm left his hand. It crackled with sparks, then morphed into a bolt of lightning that shot forwards, striking a trunk behind where she''d been with a boom, exploding away chunks of bark and leaving the polearm embedded in the wood. The wizard darted after it, briefly transforming into a bolt of lightning and closing the distance in a flash. He yanked the pole arm free, spun, and threw it at Iris again before she knew whether to run or fight.

    She blipped to the right and the lightning cracked past her. This time she still stood between the wizard and his weapon. She gripped her bag and reached in with her other hand, and he bolted towards her in a flash of lightning. She blipped into the air behind him as he reformed, drawing the greatsword from her bag and spinning around to swing it at his neck. He leaned away, the tip of her blade caught the flesh just above his pauldron..

    His arm went limp from the damage to his shoulder. She blipped in front of him and drove her sword deep into his abdomen, just below the chest plate. She stepped forward as she pushed the sword deeper until the hilt clanked against his chest plate, looking at him with a horrified gasp at what she''d done.

    With his good hand, the wizard grabbed her by the throat and lifted her from the ground. Sparks crackled around his gauntlet, and Iris felt the mana draining from her body. When she was empty, he tossed her aside to tumble harshly across the ground. Her hat flew off and landed in a puddle between them. She looked with blurry tunnel vision, watching as he pulled the sword from his body, stopping midway to move his grip to the blade and pull it the rest of the way free. He threw it aside, staggering forward as blood poured from his stomach.

    He reached behind his chest plate and pulled out a small metal flask. He flicked off the cap and downed the contents before tossing it aside as well. She couldn''t see through the haze and the rain, but she could tell he had healed as he stood upright and rolled his shoulder.

    "That''s what I get for being careless with a trickster," he grunted as he stretched.

    He held out his hand towards his polearm, sparks crackled around both his gauntlet and the weapon for a long second, then a bolt of lightning stretched out from his hand to the hilt of the polearm, yanking it back towards him and into his grip. He stalked towards Iris, stepping on her hat as he passed it.

    When he stepped within striking distance, he flipped the polearm into a reverse grip and stabbed down at Iris. With all of the mana she had regained, she reached out and blipped her greatsword into her hand. She launched off the ground to meet his strike, knocking it aside and swinging the sword at his face. He stepped back and leaned to dodge the strike, choked up his grip on the polearm and whipped the blade towards her abdomen. She stepped back, but the blade still sliced her robe and skin. She spun and ducked, whirling the blade in a low arc towards his thigh. He raised his leg to block the strike with the armor on his shin, then whipped Iris in the temple with the hilt of his polearm.

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    She stumbled and stars filled her vision, but still managed to swing her sword. He grabbed the blade with his gauntlet and tried to pull it away, but her grip held firm. He snarled, then yanked harder, she released her grip and let him throw himself off balance. She kicked hard at his knee, managing to overextend but not quite break it, then blipped away as far as her remaining mana could take her.

    Her blip couldn''t quite carry her to cover, and she appeared exposed and vulnerable a few yards away. Each beat of her heart sent a pulse of agony through her skull, and the sight of blood leaking from her stomach made her nauseous. She swayed on her feet, about to collapse. She had no mana to retrieve her sword or to blip again. The nearest cover was too far to dash towards.

    "I''m fucking sick of you!" the wizard barked, hoisting his polearm for a throw.

    An idea sparked in her mind. She ripped the bottomless bag from her waist with both hands and held it open in front of her as the wizard''s polearm bolted through the air. The lightning bolt sunk harmlessly into the void, and no explosion came. The bag -- usually plump as if it were filled -- lost its volume and went limp in her hands. The drawstring dangled with no signs of life.

    Fear and regret filled her chest, but there was no time. The wizard stormed towards her with lightning crackling in a hand extended out towards her greatsword. Her eyes went wide with horror as the hilt of her greatsword crackled, and was then yanked into his grip by a lightning bolt. He cracked a wicked smile as he closed in on her.

    Enough mana had recharged for a blip. She reappeared out of sight behind a random trunk, leaning back on the trunk to stay on her feet as the pain in her skull doubled. She waited for ideas, but no more thoughts could form in her head beyond hoping the roar of the storm was enough to cover the sounds of her ragged breath.

    She glanced up in shock. It was the woman in silver robes. She saw her face -- her own face. No, not quite. Was it--?

    "Here!" the woman said in a voice of dissonant echoes, shoving a short staff into Iris''s hands.

    "What do I do with this?" Iris blurted out, but the woman was gone. "What?!" she asked no one.

    She held the staff in one hand as she tried to stick the bottomless bag to her waist, but the drawstring didn''t grab hold of her belt. With a pang of guilt, she dropped the bag at her feet and gripped the staff with both hands. Then her face contorted in offense and disbelief as she realized it was just a walking stick.

    "Are you fucking--" she was cut off as the a lightning bolt zipped past the tree and deposited the wizard in front of her.

    "Found you!" He shouted, swinging the greatsword at her neck.

    She flinched and held up the staff to block. To her shock and the wizard''s disbelief, the blow landed softly against the stick, merely pushing slightly against it. He pulled the sword back and brought it down in a powerful overhead strike, which Iris blocked in turn. Again, the sword landed softly against the staff.

    She felt the staff request her mana, and gave it everything she had. A force erupted from the staff with a gust of wind and a soft whomph! The sword was thrown back, pulling the wizard''s hands over his head. He quickly recovered and swung down again, but Iris slipped around the trunk of the tree and his strike found only bark.

    Her head still swam and her lungs still burned, but Iris pushed through. She ran through the densest cluster of trunks she could find, zig-zagging to break line of sight at every opportunity. The wizard chased behind her, occasionally zapping forward in a bolt of lightning. As she ran, she slapped the staff against every trunk she passed. With each impact, she felt the staff grow hungrier for mana.

    She heard the crack and saw the flash of the wizard zapping just behind her. She ran a few steps up a trunk, then kicked off and blipped. The wizard brought the sword high to block, but she appeared low to the ground and slammed the staff into his chest with almost all her mana. The erupting force threw the wizard off his feet and sent him slamming into a trunk, where he bounced and fell harshly on his hands and knees. Her sword was knocked from his grasp and sent flying out of sight.

    "You," the wizard growled through blood-filled spit as he climbed to his feet, "annoying piece of shit."

    Iris staggered towards him and swung the staff again. He caught it, but she gave it the remainder of her mana and threw him back against the tree again. This time his hood was thrown back, his head was slammed hard into the bark, and he collapsed to his knees.

    She looked down at him, out of ideas and out of mana. His head was bald and covered in faint white tattoos. His face was scarred with burns and his eyes were a striking icey blue. He was worn down too, or he would have stood up again by now, but she knew he would recover faster than she would. Her eyes snapped to the drawstring of her bottomless bag, realizing the wizard had crudely stuffed the bag behind his chest plate. The string was waving at her. She lunged for it.

    He reared back and caught her arm, but not before she pulled the bag free. With a drop of mana, she blipped the bag to her other hand and raised it high out of his reach. She dangled the bag upside down over his head, hesitating for only an instant before she dropping it.

    The bag opened wide and dropped over the man''s head, swallowing it whole. It cinched itself tight around his neck, quickly tying its draw strings into a knot. The man clawed and pulled desperately at the bag, then the strings around his neck, but it was to no avail. Iris stepped back, watching with a bleak, remorseful expression. Tears joined the raindrops on her cheeks.

    "It''s you or me," she said in a wavering voice, "that was your choice, not mine -- and I made a promise to be safe."

    The man''s flailing arms suddenly went limp, and he fell forward. His chest slammed hard into the ground, where he lay motionless.

 99 - The Heavens Part

    Iris knelt beside her fallen foe and pulled the bottomless bag from his head. Her stomach turned over at the sight, his head was twisted around backwards and his lifeless eyes stared back at her in permanent horror. His face and head were marked with deep red circles, and his neck was ringed with marks from the bag''s constriction. She looked down at the bag in her hand, both thankful for its help and more wary of its nature than ever.

    Thoughts were beginning to swirl in her mind. She was a murderer -- an executioner. It had been self defense. It wasn''t what she wanted. Could she have avoided it? She shifted her weight, and a pulse of pain cleared her mind. She was still bleeding. The bag was reaching out towards the corpse with its drawstrings. She grimaced, unable to deny that it made sense to loot the body, at least for potions.

    "Okay," she whispered to the bag, gently placing it on the ground before twisting and taking a seat beside the corpse.

    Each movement hurt more than the last, and she was certain she was making the blood loss worse. With a grunt, she pushed the body onto its back, unstrapped the chest plate and set it aside. The bag immediately began trying to devour the armor piece, but she was in no condition to help it. Patting around the man''s chest, she felt another flask and a pang of hope shot through her. Quickly, she popped off the lid and took a swig. She tasted whiskey, and spat it out.

    "Fuck," she whispered, replacing the cap and tossing it near the bag.

    She continued searching, but found no more flasks. There was a small pouch of coins tucked into a pocket, which she added to the pile, and a few folded papers with the ink thoroughly washed away by the rain, which she tossed aside. Giving up the search for potions, she began ripping off long shreds of the man''s robes. her face contorting into indignant snarls as she worked. With a handful a cloth strips, she rose to her feet and wrapped them around her abdomen, stuffing smaller scraps into the wound before cinching them tight with the longer strips.

    As she looked down at the man, his twisted head hiding his face from view, she felt resentment -- anger. She was mad that he would kill her for experience points, but furious that he made her kill for his greed. She felt indignation that even in death he spited her, that she had to desecrate him to bandage her wounds, that this would be a moment she would remember.

    She crouched down and stripped the gauntlets from his hands, then the pauldrons from his shoulders and the greaves from his legs, crying freely and yelling as she yanked off each piece. She tried to don each of them, testing their fit against her limbs in hopes to recoup at least some advantage from her actions, to somehow justify it or make it worth it -- like a hunter using every part of their kill. It was all far too large to fit her, and got tossed to the bag. She picked up her staff and stood, looking down upon the corpse as emotions roiled in her body -- fleeting, unfulfilled satisfaction perverted by abundant guilt, sorrow and frustration.

    The bag finally managed to pull the chest plate into its mouth, which shrunk to regular size as the last of the plate slipped into the void. Then it turned on the collection of smaller items Iris had scattered around it, using either end of the draw string like tendrils to eagerly grab and shovel in each of the items. Iris leaned on her staff while it swallowed the loot, allowing herself a brief respite to smile softly at the hungry little bag. When it was finished, she reached down a hand for the bag to grab hold of.

    "Come on, lil'' guy."

    The bag hopped. It bounced once, then twice, then leapt from the ground up to Iris''s waist, where it grabbed hold of her belt and cinched itself tight. Iris looked down at it with raised eyebrows.

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    "You are just full of surprises, aren''t you?"

    The bag said nothing.

    Iris kept much of her weight on the staff as she trudged back the way she had come. She found her sword and sheathed it into the bag, then soon found her wizard hat crumpled and drowning in a puddle. After doing her best to dump the water from its folds and push it back into shape, she placed it firmly on her head and continued on. It occurred to her that she didn''t actually know where she was continuing to, but that didn''t matter much. Right now she just wanted distance between herself and the man she had killed.

    A burst of lightning struck high above somewhere behind her, she guessed atop the cliff from which the egg had fallen. She quickened her pace and started blipping. A gust of wind blew through the trees, forcing her to hold down her hat and take cover in the crevice of a trunk. The next gust was stronger, the wind whistled and roared as it ripped leaves from their branches and threw forest litter like debris from an explosion. The rain was blown away, and the clouds above parted before it could return. For the first time in days, Iris saw raw sunlight piercing through the canopy. Then something else blocked it, plunging the forest into darkness once more, and an impact shook the ground so hard it hurt her bones. Her hearing left before she registered the sound that shattered her ear drums. Her vision went black and she collapsed.

    <hr>

    The Shark Titan leaned on the starboard railing. The splatters of slick blue blood of the Hydra mixed with the scarlet red of adventurers across his skin. His deep blue captain''s coat, now saltwater soaked and badly torn, flapped in the wind. Distant lightning flashed in the dark skies which loomed above.

    The still remains of adventurers and countless chunks of hydra floated in the waters like buoys and the mixing bloods stained the waves an ominous purple. Thunder rumbled, and yet more lightning struck in the distance. Ahead of him, the last seven heads of the Hydra hissed and gnashed, whirling and whipping around in the rain, illuminated by flames, explosions and the flashing colors of magic.

    These were the smallest heads yet, with slender, agile necks and narrow, snappy jaws. Rows of razor teeth sliced through leather and flesh without effort, while those in heavy armor were thrown or dragged below the surface to drown. The long-ranged adventurers had served as artillery from the beach, but the battlefield had grown smaller alongside the Hydra, and any further attacks would be danger close. The only adventurers still directly engaging with the Hydra were highly skilled, highly mobile Champions who could sustain a fight in or on the water.

    One adventurer dashed around kicking off air, twisting to dodge a near-instantaneous strike from the Hydra, then slicing at its neck with thin silver blades. Other Champions flew with wings of various types, circling and swooping for strikes. Some walked on the water itself and weathered the waves like ever-shifting terrain. One adventurer had no flight or water powers at all, yet darted around suspended above the dark waves by kicking off and running along the hydra necks, wherever she intersected with the hydra she left splashes of blood in her wake.

    More lightning. This time a cluster of strikes hitting one after another somewhere near the Spine that separated the deep forest from the Craggs. This caught the Shark Titan''s attention, firmly drawing his gaze away from the battle for the first time in hours. Each strike sent waves of aura reverberating across the lands, an aura that matched the beacons Commander Bridge had warned him of. This was the second such burst to occur, and the Shark Titan was forced to acknowledge it might be something of his concern. He leapt from the deck, a jet of water rising up from beside the ship and surrounding his legs to carry him high. He was launched far above the deck and landed in the crow''s nest with a splash. From his new vantage he looked out across the redwoods to the horizon.

    For a moment, nothing happened. Then the storm clouds parted where the last of the lightning struck. Rays of sunlight cut through like the heavens themselves had ripped open above the forest. From the tear in the clouds came a sight that plunged the Titan''s soul into depths of terror he had never known. The dragon landed amongst the forest, crushing redwoods like weeds beneath its feet, its wings spread wide and the skies rumbling like thunder in their wake. Its long neck curled as it looked down upon one of the plateaus that jutted up from the horizon.

    A deep voice swept across the lands like an announcement from the gods, each syllable cracking through the skies carrying stronger winds than any storm had ever offered, "fin-al-ly!"

 100 - Past and Present

    The wizards gathered atop the plateau, deposited one after the other by strikes of lightning. They approached their injured titan leader, who had climbed out of the Wyvern''s nest and now sat leaned against the roots of the singular redwood that crowned the plateau.

    "The Wyvern has been retrieved," one of the arriving wizards said, visibly concerned about his leader''s condition.

    "Did you find the egg?" The Titan asked.

    "No, master, we thought you--"

    The wizard cut himself off as all eyes turned to the sky. The clouds parted and the sun spilled out. Descending from the heavens was a mountainous dragon, brilliant red scales lit by the gleaming sun. The redwoods below bent and cracked beneath the force of the winds from its wings, and the ground quaked like a cataclysm beneath its feet. Its head loomed high above them, staring down with a fearsome, righteous gaze.

    "Fin-al-ly!"

    The voice boomed louder than any thunder, and the weaker of the wizards collapsed to their knees clutching their reverberating skulls. Those still standing flung lightning at the dragon, each strike landing amongst the scales like harmless static shocks. Their leader climbed to his feet but did not strike, knowing their hopes of escape had left with the clouds and the ground on which they stood would soon be glass.

    "How?" he shouted as loud as he could, even his booming titan voice was small compared to the dragon''s.

    "Your ritual betrays you," the dragon spoke in a rumbling growl that rolled through the skies, "the fate of the Millennium Mandate turns dark today."

    "You''re too late!" the Titan shouted back, "our task here is complete, our deaths will mean nothing!"

    "Correct," the thin, scaled lips of the dragon''s mouth twisted into an animalistic smile, "but I have observed, and for the first time in centuries, I have a lead to follow."

    The Titan faltered for an instant -- fear filling his eyes. Then his face contorted to a snarl.

    "Then you die with us!" The Titan turned his head to the skies and shouted with all his power, "Emmanuel! Grant me strength!"

    He held his arms wide, reaching out to the now distant storm clouds to either side. Bolts of lightning shot out of the clouds, connecting with bolts that reached out from the Titan''s hands. His eyes glowed white and crackled with sparks as his veins illuminated a bright blue. His flesh began to turn black and boil, and he spoke with the overlapping voices of a dozen souls.

    "DIE BY THE POWER OF THE INEVITABLE LORD!"

    A deep laugh escaped the dragon''s mouth, the reverberations caused even the Titan''s heart to skip a beat out of sync. From the laugh came a broiling flame that rolled out of the dragon''s mouth. The dragon looked down on the plateau once more, opening its jaws wide and pushing aside the rolling flames with a beam of dragon fire. The Titan clapped his hands together, channeling a concentrated blast of otherworldly lightning that reached out to meet the dragon''s beam. The energies collided in the air and erupted in a blast of fire and lightning that sent shockwaves as far as Giantrock City.

    The lightning reached the dragon''s mouth, crackling down its throat even as the fire spewed forth. The beam punched through the explosion and hit the plateau like a comet, sending splintering cracks through the cliffs. All life in its wake was eradicated in an instant, but the beam didn''t stop. The rocks glowed red and melted, dripping over the edges like a boiling pot. With the last of the beam came a hideous shriek from the dragon that echoed across the forest and into the grasslands and desert beyond.

    When the beam of fire finally stopped, the remains of the plateau were left as brightly glowing magma. The dragon''s scales were marked with jagged black lines that splintered out from its throat and smoldered with dark black smoke. With a powerful beat of its wings, the dragon launched and took flight. It soared over the forest, then the Craggs, climbing higher to disappear beyond the peaks of distant mountains. The clouds closed in over the forest once more, but the storm''s strength was a fraction of what it had been. No more lightning struck, and no more thunder rolled.

    <hr>

    Iris awoke with a groan. The once dark woods were now illuminated with the pale glow of an overcast sky peeking through every crack in the canopy. The rain was gone, and the leaves weren''t dripping as much as she would expect after a heavy storm. The forest was quiet besides some birds that had begun to sing, though they sounded quiet and distant.

    With more grunts and groans, she pushed herself up against a tree trunk. Blood had soaked through her bandages, but the fact that she was awake was a good sign that the bleeding had slowed. Every inch of her body ached, and she discovered trickles of blood from her ears that had now dried on her skin. She realized then that the singing birds weren''t quiet, but that her ears were once again damaged. She slumped her head back against the trunk in exasperation, immediately regretting it when pain reverberated through her head.

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    She didn''t want to move yet. She wasn''t sure she even could move yet. The last thing she remembered was the sun, and then a gust of wind. Before that, she had battled the lightning wizard. Her eyes shot open at that realization, and she quickly scrambled to pull her journal from the bottomless bag.

    IRIS ORION

    Hero Rank, Level 9

    Experience Points: 112 / 7390

    Progress to next level: 1.51%

    Recent Accomplishments:

    Powerful foe slain: partial bonus experience 2750 awarded.

    Champion slain: bonus experience 10,000 awarded. Feat awarded.

    "Holy shit!" Iris exclaimed as she read the last number.

    For all her fretting over the purposeless killing, that number almost made it feel worth it. Then her stomach twisted at the thought that she was no different than the man she had killed. She pushed down the complicated mix of emotions and moved on to the newly added section at the bottom of her stat sheet.

    Feats:

    Fearless Resolve

    Your fearless resolve in the face of a much more powerful foe has granted you the following benefits:

    - +5 permanent bonus to Spirit

    - Reduced fear response to perceived threats

    She had come across references to feats in her reading, but never an explanation of what exactly they were or how they worked. The journal didn''t elaborate further on the reduced fear response effect, and she decided to withhold judgement on the reduced fear effect until she had an opportunity to test it out -- which she hoped wouldn''t be soon. The bonus to Spirit was already reflected in her Attribute Scores, and she had 10 points to spend. She took her time reflecting on her last battle and deliberating what would have helped her the most.

    While it was still true that Vitality would make little difference in the short term -- given the caliber of threats she was facing -- all the small wounds were certainly adding up, and it felt like she rarely entered the next battle fully recovered from the last. She was slow, too, and knew all-too-well she didn''t stand a chance at keeping pace in battle without her blips. For the first time, though, the Intellect attribute caught her attention. From what she understood about Intellect, it would likely help her think faster on the fly and more effectively under pressure, which would have been immensely valuable against the wizard. Ultimately, she decided to add one point to strength, and split the remainder evenly amongst Vitality, Speed and Intellect.

    Attribute Scores:

    - Vitality : 34

    - Strength : 39

    - Speed : 29

    - Intellect : 29

    - Spirit : 44

    Unspent attribute points : 0

    With her level ups out of the way, she flipped through a few random pages, trusting the journal to know what she was looking for. Sure enough, the journal landed on a newly revealed entry from her mother.

    Dear Iris,

    I''ve become more certain that these entries will be of great importance to you. I realize I''ve been quite unhelpful with my information so far, so allow me to clear up what I can.

    I know the things I know because of my first ability, Inexplicable Knowledge. I learned that pretty early on, once I figured out how to actually activate this journal and not just write in it. The knowledge is overwhelming at times, and rarely makes any sense, but that''s only part of the problem.

    I''m sick. It started the day I got my powers, and it''s only worsened since. It''s not a sickness of the body, or the mind as I had suspected, but a sickness of the soul. The wizards here, for what little help they''ve been, have told me that my soul is not wholly present -- that it''s here, with me, but also somehow somewhere else. Any attempts to get further explanations on how exactly that works have been frustrating and fruitless. This journal calls my Special Ability "Temporal Division," it doesn''t elaborate further, but it seems too much of a coincidence for it not to be the cause of my apparently divided soul. I''ve spent many days in the libraries here and still haven''t found answers, but I plan to keep looking for as long as we''re here.

    We have at least made headway in our quest for the prophecies -- that''s what we''re looking for in the Veiled Catacombs, some ancient prophecies that are apparently important. Don''t get me wrong, it''s exciting to be a part of some grand important quest, but I''m not even level 10 yet. For the God''s sakes, I''m Eighteen! Not to mention something''s wrong with my soul, and it''d be nice if I got a chance to figure one thing out at a time. Anyway, the quest''s going well, and we''ll be departing from the Shining Peaks for the catacombs sometime in the coming week. I''ll update you again soon.

    Mary Orion, 969

    P.S. I have a gift for you. I''m not sure how I''m supposed to give it to you yet, but I know you''re supposed to have it. It''s served me well on my journey so far and even saved my life a few times, it''s definitely the best walking stick I''ve ever had.

    "Yes!" Iris shouted, launching upright from her slouched posture, "It was you!"

    Her heart raced and blood flushed her skin. Tears flowed freely and dripped past a full faced smile, "it was you!"

 101 - The Dragon Seared Plateau

    "You never should have let her out of your sight," Eli said.

    The party was gathered on a large branch that had been ripped from a redwood from the wind of the dragon''s wings, one of many that now littered much of the northern forest. They were situated at the edge of a large, newly formed clearing. The thick layer of roots that covered the ground had splintered and compacted under the weight of the dragon, while the redwoods themselves had been mostly obliterated and crushed into mounds of splinters, bark and leaves. The sun peaked through parting clouds, and the humid air was growing warm.

    For hours, as adventurers trickled into the latest rendezvous point of the expedition, they had waited for Iris to appear. Now, as new arrivals slowed to a stop and discussions of when to move out began among leadership, patience was waning.

    "Don''t do that," Titus said before Victoria could respond, "that doesn''t help anyone."

    "He''s right, though," Victoria said solemnly, "I should have been watching her aura. If I''d been paying attention--"

    "Then what?" Titus asked, "we don''t know what happened, or where she is, so we don''t know what could have happened either. You can sit there and imagine a thousand scenarios to feel bad for and none of them will be what really happened, and none of them will help Iris."

    "What if you talk to Cole again?" Autumn said, leaning forward to look past Titus to Eli, "convince him to put together a search party--"

    "He''s made it clear that Iris is our responsibility," Eli said, "that''s a dead end."

    "Let''s do it ourselves then," Victoria said, "we don''t have to search the whole forest, we can trace a line back to the last place I saw her--"

    "Our orders are--" Eli began.

    "Fuck the orders!" Victoria yelled, standing from the branch and turning on him, "you act like you care so much about Iris and now you wanna talk about orders? Is this about Cole? Because--"

    "No," Eli rose to face her, "it has nothing to do with that. I don''t know if you noticed, but there''s some fucked up shit happening in these woods. That was a dragon. We''re standing in the footprint of a fucking dragon, Vic. Shock wizards dropped from the sky and attacked us, we watched a giant spider fight a wyvern-- it''s fucked up out there. This is about you, and Titus, and Autumn. If I lose Iris I''ll never forgive myself. But if I lose you three, too, I-- I can''t. I can''t take that risk."

    Victoria and Eli shared locked gazes, exchanging as much information through their eyes as they had with their words. Eli''s face was stern but fragile, while empathy slowly broke through Victoria''s fierce expression.

    Autumn rose from the branch and dusted off her trousers, speaking in a casual tone to break the tension, "well, dear leader, unfortunately it''s not just your risk to take."

    "She''s right," Titus stood up beside Autumn, "if we''re voting, then I say we go find our friend."

    Eli glared at the two of them, then looked back to Victoria, "Vic?"

    "You first," her voice wavered slightly, but her eyes were stern.

    Eli stared back at her, his face shifting from anger, to pain, to weakness, and then to determination, "let''s go find her," he said quietly.

    A smile cracked across Victoria''s face, "alright, we have about four hours of daylight left and a lot of ground to cover. We''ll split up but stay within earshot--"

    "You guys are gonna think this is hilarious," Iris said from her seat on the branch.

    "Iris!" Autumn yelled, dashing over. She was short enough to pull Iris into a hug where she sat.

    "You''re fucking kidding me," Eli said, "how long did you sit there and let us argue?"

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    "Not long," Iris grunted under the pressure of Autumn''s hug, taking a deep breath when she finally let go.

    "Yeah, actually I''m kind of mad too," Victoria said, placing a hand on her hip.

    "I thought you''d notice me," Iris defended, "I even coughed at one point."

    "This is why you need to make a noise when you blip," Eli said, pointing a finger at her.

    "We could get her a bell," Titus suggested.

    "I am not wearing a bell!" Iris said.

    "Where were you?" Eli interrogated, "what happened?"

    "That''s a long story," Iris said, "and every time someone talks it hurts," she pointed at the dried blood trails under her ears.

    This prompted the others to inspect her further, and notice the blood soaked, poorly bandaged wound on her stomach, her misshapen hat, and the needle-like redwood leaves stuck in her messy hair that spilled out from under it. These were just the newest additions to her appearance, added to the now familiar gash in her robe just below her collarbone, the puncture near her shoulder from the wasp sting, and the mud stains from the battle in the ravine. That was to say nothing of the various kinds of blood that stained her all over, and the countless scratches that covered her skin.

    "Wow, you look like shit," Autumn observed.

    Iris cracked a weak smile as Titus moved in to examine her. He crouched beside her, first tapping her on either side of the head with a glowing finger to heal her ears. She winced and hissed in pain, but it was thankfully over quickly.

    "I''ll need you to lie down for this one," Titus said, peering at the bloody bandages on her stomach.

    Iris nodded and stretched out across the branch. While Titus tended to her wound, Eli picked up a piece of the discarded bandages he tossed aside, noting the distinctive silver trim that lined some of the scraps.

    "Are these from a shock wizard''s robes?"

    "Uh, yeah," Iris said, then stalled with an awkward, forced laugh, "it''s a crazy story, really--" she cut herself off with a hiss as Titus sealed the wound.

    "Did you fight one of them?" Eli asked, "What were you think--" he stopped himself, looked down at the scrap of robe, then back at Iris, "did you win?"

    "Yeah," Iris smiled.

    Eli smiled back, nodded more to himself than her, then dropped the scrap back into the pile, "Good job, I''m proud of you."

    "Really?" She asked.

    "Yeah," he said softly, "I''m glad you lived. How''d you pull it off?"

    "That''s a whole story," she replied, sitting upright after Titus finished healing her, "I''m still kind of processing it."

    "There''s no rush," Victoria said, sensing the upheaval in her aura and giving Eli a warning glance to drop it, "you can tell us when you''re ready."

    "What do we do now?" Iris asked.

    "We wait for orders," Eli said, "and hope those orders are to go home."

    <hr>

    "This is a clusterfuck," Commander Bridge said.

    He was perched on a patch of recently cooled obsidian on the outer edge of the dragon seared plateau. It had been carved into a bowl shape as the beam formed a crater in the middle, with long, drooping rock formations spilling over the sides from the overflowing magma. The highest points along the ridge of the bowl had cooled quickly in the wind, but much of the inner surface was a thin layer of soft, half-solid rock covering still hot magma, and the deepest parts of the center still glowed red.

    "I think I''d rather deal with gods than dragons," the Dreamweaver said, standing on her own patch of obsidian.

    "At least gods can be reasoned with, sometimes," the Commander nodded, "I guess we should just be glad we weren''t in the way."

    "You know, I rarely get tired of being a Titan, but it''s times like these when I wish I was one of them," she turned to look down on the forest, to the distant clearing where her expedition regrouped, "you know we''ll have to call a council over this."

    "You can''t outrun the responsibility of power," the Commander said with resignation.

    Her eyes still lingered on the footprint of the dragon, "all the weight that comes with being us, and we''re still small enough to be stepped on."

    An Agent of Morose shimmered into view opposite the Commander, his mask marked by a tear under either eye, "there''s an issue."

    The Commander released a sudden laugh, "Really? I guess Morose does observe."

    He imagined a glare coming from behind the dark pits for eyes of the agent''s mask.

    "The Wyvern''s egg is missing," the agent said dryly, "we have reason to believe it wasn''t taken by the Mandate."

    The dragon''s words had been heard by all for a hundred miles, and both the Titans recognized that name.

    "You want to tell us what the Millennium Mandate is?" the Dreamweaver asked, "or why you even care about our business?"

    "Don''t bother," the Commander scoffed, "you''d be better off asking the rocks."

    "Your business overlaps with that of Morose," the agent said, "it is within their interests for you to recover the egg as planned. We''ve swept the forest for the egg''s aura, it is nowhere to be found."

    "Probably obliterated by the dragon fire," the Commander said bitterly, "I''m really finding it hard to keep giving a damn."

    "It was not," the agent said, "investigate your subordinates. I will be in attendance to the council, and you will report your findings."

    "We''re not taking orders from you," the Commander shook his head tiredly.

    "These are the orders of Morose," the agent said, "defy a God if you wish."

    The agent shimmered away. There was a silent moment as clouds moved in front of the sun and a cool breeze drifted past.

    "Drinks when we get back to the city?" The Dreamweaver asked.

    "Yeah," the Commander sighed.

 102 - Debriefing

    Not long after Iris''s return, the Dreamweaver arrived in the clearing and met with the current main leadership of the expedition, consisting of Lieutenant Kerrick, an injured but capable Lieutenant Ash Druga, and Sergeant Cameron Cole. They gathered near the heel of the dragon''s footprint, standing atop the trunk of an overturned redwood with an overhead view of the entire clearing, and a decision was reached to return to base camp before nightfall.

    They moved out in a loose formation, and traveled around the Matriarch''s webs rather than through them, and arrived at base camp shortly after sunset. The return to the normal forest was welcome by all, finally putting solid ground beneath their feet instead of gnarled, overlapping roots. The dense canopy opened back up to a towering, multi-layered ceiling with stars twinkling between leaves.

    The camp was populated mostly by healers and injured or recovering adventurers. The arriving expedition contingent was met with scattered cheers and greetings, and the occasional emotional reunion. Iris''s party made their way to their campsite, the tarp roof they had constructed still holding strong. As Iris unpacked some of their camping supplies from her bag, Eli whistled.

    A bird-like screech echoed through the trees, and an excited Glimmer kicked off trunks and roots as she bounded towards them. The griffin slid to a stop as she barreled into Eli, knocking him to the ground and rubbing her head against him.

    "Hey girl," he laughed as he ruffled the feathers atop her head and scratched the fur on her neck, "I missed you too."

    She squawked, then looked up at the other party members and squawked again, then trotted over to them. Autumn received a few curious sniffs, Titus got a thump on his armor from her beak, and she overlooked Victoria entirely. When she reached Iris, the griffin sniffed her and recoiled back like she''d been attacked, her beak hanging open in an aghast expression.

    "I''ve been through a lot, okay?" Iris defended herself.

    Glimmer sneezed and shook her head, then returned to continue nuzzling Eli.

    There was little energy for conversation or activity, and once their bedrolls were prepared, the party welcomed comfortable sleep like an old friend. When morning came, they ate a quick, quiet breakfast cooked from ingredients in Iris''s bag before attending a debriefing scheduled by the Dreamweaver.

    The camp gathered around the command tent much as they had the first day of the expedition. The crowd chattered loudly about the events of the day before, discussing theories about wizards and dragons and arguing over bombastic claims of heroics.

    "Why is everyone talking about a dragon?" Iris asked.

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    The others exchanged looks.

    "Because there was one?" Autumn offered.

    "I think I would have noticed--" Iris began.

    The crowd hushed as the Dreamweaver ducked under the flap of her tent and addressed them.

    "Thank you all," the Dreamweaver began, "you each knew this mission would be difficult and dangerous, whether for experience, glory, or your duty to Giantrock, your choice to participate is appreciated. Still, none of you could have known just how dangerous it would become. I''m sure you all have a list of questions about what''s happened, let me put them to rest now: we do not know. We do not know why the dragon appeared, who the lightning wizards were or their purposes with the Wyvern they abducted. I suspect more will be revealed with time, but for now, we know nothing."

    Murmurs spread throughout the crowd.

    "What I do know," the Dreamweaver continued, "is that our mission is over. The Matriarch is dead. Her off spring still infest the forest, but with her death their territory will shrink. They will become just another hazard of the forest, and I suspect the city will be posting extermination quests to cull their population to manageable numbers."

    The Dreamweaver went on to explain that the healer''s outpost would be converted to a semi-permanent search and rescue outpost to be staffed by volunteers incentivized by a healthy fee out of her own pocket, and after the last recoveries were made the outpost would be turned over to the City''s control. Base camp would be phased out and dismantled over the coming days, though adventurers were invited to remain at their current campsites for as long as they wanted.

    The speech continued with an acknowledgement of the accomplishments of a few particular adventurers, mostly higher levels who were in close proximity to leadership throughout the expedition. Cameron Cole received an acknowledgement for his leadership during Ash Druga''s absence, which he responded to with a sheepish wave before sinking into the crowd. The speech ended with a brief mention of the dead, and an offer of condolences from the Dreamweaver to all those who had lost someone. Her words fell flat with the crowd, however, as many complaints about her leadership had already begun circulating.

    When the Dreamweaver returned to her tent, Ash Druga took her place and addressed the crowd with a raised hammer and a roaring victory cry. The crowd reciprocated, holding fists and weapons high as they echoed her yell. What followed was a brief but energetic celebration of battle, victory and heroics.

    Iris''s party slipped away from the crowd while the yelling continued.

    "An actual dragon? Here?" Iris asked in disbelief.

    "I literally don''t know how you missed it," Eli said, "where did you think that clearing came from? Did you not hear it speaking?"

    "It spoke?!" Iris asked, distraught.

    "And breathed fire," Autumn added.

    "Ugh! Seeing a dragon is like, top of my list of adventurer experiences to have. This is the worst thing that''s ever happened to me."

    "Don''t feel bad," Titus said, placing a hand on her shoulder, "most adventurers never even get the chance to see a dragon."

    Iris groaned and rolled her head back.

    "What?" Titus asked with surprise and guilt.

    "You basically just said she''ll never get another chance," Eli said.

    "No!" Titus said, "I mean, I''m sure you''ll get to see a dragon one day, Iris. Once in a lifetime opportunities can happen twice, sometimes!"

    Iris covered her ears and stomped off.

    The party stuck around base camp for an early lunch, over which they explained in detail to Iris everything she had missed while unconscious. When they were finished with lunch, they packed their gear and set out on the journey back to Giantrock City.

 103 - Same Old Underbelly

    "and then, WHOOSH!" Autumn spread her arms wide in emphasis, "and when he landed, it felt like the whole world was shaking. Then he spoke, and it was like an explosion that didn''t stop! I got dizzy, some people even passed out."

    "That must have been what got me," Iris said, "I remember the first gust of wind, then it got dark again and the ground shook so hard it hurt, and then I woke up."

    "You must have been right under it!" Autumn said, "I bet you were closer than anyone."

    "That''s something, right?" Titus said.

    "Yeah," Iris replied, still dejected she hadn''t actually seen it.

    None of them were eager to spend another night in the forest, and they had each completed their respective quests before the Matriarch expedition, so their journey back to the city had been swift and steady. They stuck to established trade routes as much as possible, taking only sparing detours through the forest. For much of the way, Eli flew on Glimmer''s back, Victoria rode the wind in mist form, and Iris blipped along happily with what was becoming a decent well of mana. Meanwhile, Titus and Autumn put their long distance athleticism to the test, jogging most of the way. Now, as they approached the city gates down the main, muddy thoroughfare, they slowed to walk together as a group and converse.

    "I think we''re in for a treat," Victoria said, momentarily lapsing into her remote aura vision.

    "Oh yeah?" Eli asked over his shoulder, then he stopped as the bay came into view between the trees.

    Iris blipped up beside him, and Autumn closed the short gap with a jog. Through a gap in the trunks, the Giantrock Bay glistened. The waters were discolored and littered with debris, and the Shark Titan''s ship stood tall above the waves. Anchored in the bay just off shore, the ship''s true size was put on grand display. It had several rows of canons, and multiple rows of port holes above them. Five huge masts towered hundreds of feet above the deck, and a giant black flag depicting a shark''s open maw flapped proudly in the wind.

    The lower rear of the ship was folded open like a drawbridge, allowing the waters of the lake to flow into it. Massive metal chains marked with glowing runes were wrapped around a silvery-blue mass. Unseen gears turned within, ratcheting the chains and dragging the captive Hydra into the ship.

    "Whoa," Iris and Autumn said in unison.

    "So that''s where the Shark Titan''s gonna put it," Eli said, "I''ve been wondering about that."

    "Me too," Victoria said, stepping up beside him, "I still don''t understand what he plans to do now, though."

    "When I was reading about the Shark Titan in old newspapers," Iris said, "I read that he''s made a big name for himself in the Shining Blue Sea. Maybe he''s taking the Hydra back with him?"

    Eli shook his head, "I''ve seen maps, there''s no rivers big enough for that ship. The Great White would take him about half way, but there''s some narrow passages and it splits into hundreds of smaller rivers when it reaches the southeastern swamps."

    "Well how''d the ship get here in the first place?" Autumn asked, clearly doubting Eli''s knowledge.

    "It looks like it was made from redwood," Eli said, "I guess it was built here."

    "That''s his vacation ship then?" Titus asked with a look of surprise.

    "I guess," Eli shrugged.

    "You won''t find many titans who aren''t disgustingly rich," Victoria said, "power buys money."

    After a observing for a while longer, they moved on, taking the branching path off the main road that led down between and under redwood roots to the Giantrock City Docks and the Underbelly beyond. As the path deposited them on the docks, they got a clearer view of the waters. The debris scattered throughout the water was the remains of the battle, a destroyed dock littered the nearby waters with splintered wood, and there were floating scraps of armor and clothes dotted between massive floating chunks of hydra. One neck had washed ashore and had clearly been harvested for meat and scales, exposing the slender skeletal structure within. At one end, the gaping, lifeless hydra maw lay still as bugs swarmed around its eyes. Large swathes of water were stained red or blue, mixing at the borders into a dark, tainted purple. On the beach were rows of bodies draped in cloth, and a small, organized group of adventurers and city officials who seemed to be facilitating the identification and retrieval of remains by the party members of the fallen.

    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

    The smell was sickening, like the dredges of the lake had mixed with the bloody soil of a battlefield massacre. The party pinched their noses or covered their faces with their clothes as they traveled down the docks, only daring to breathe deeply when they reached the damp, tight boardwalks of the Underbelly, where the air was dominated by the characteristic pungent smell of mildew and sweat mixed with fresh cooking food at street vendor stalls.

    "I never thought I''d be happy to smell this place," Titus remarked.

    "I''ll be happy when I''m clean," Iris groaned, self conscious of walking by so many people in her current state.

    They were far from the only adventurers to have returned, but the Underbelly was much less crowded than it had been in the days leading up to the beginning of the Hunt. Street vendors still peddled their meals, seemingly oblivious to the massacre just beyond. A few vendors had makeshift signs proudly announcing they were serving fresh hydra meat. Autumn nudged Iris and gently slapped Titus on the arm, jerking her head towards one of the vendors selling Hydra on a Stick.

    "Hey, we''re gonna stop for a bite to eat," Iris called out to Eli and Victoria.

    "What are you doing?" Autumn hissed.

    "Alright," Eli waved over his shoulder without looking back, "see you at the tavern."

    Autumn stopped and tilted her head at Eli as he walked away.

    "See, that wasn''t that hard," Iris said, clapping Autumn on the shoulder as she led the way to the vendor.

    "When did he lighten up?" Autumn asked, chasing after Iris and Titus, "did I miss something?"

    "He''s as tired as the rest of us," Titus said as they took a place in line, "he probably figures we can''t get into too much trouble here, compared to what we''ve been through."

    "Pfft," Autumn retorted, "I think it''s her fault. She broke Eli."

    "Me?" Iris said, turning around and gasping in mock offense.

    "Yeah you," Autumn poked her on the shoulder with an exaggerated frown, "he''s thought you died so many times he''s gotten used to it! Next he''ll be letting us stay up late and eat sweets after dark!"

    "Oh nooooo," Iris mocked, waggling her hangs dramatically.

    "She''s got a point though," Titus said, "I think your antics really have started to wear him down."

    "Antics?" Iris asked, this time with a hint of genuine offense.

    "Next!" The vendor shouted.

    The three adventurers stepped up to the tiny stall.

    "Three hydra sticks, please!" Autumn said, plopping a few coins on the counter.

    The vendor swiped the coins and grabbed three skewers from the grill behind him. As he handed them out, he looked Iris up and down with a rude expression, "you smell like shit."

    Autumn and Titus stifled laughs.

    "Thanks, I know," Iris said with an aggressively fake smile, roughly taking the hydra stick from him, "I''ve kinda been through a lot."

    "It shows," the vendor said, "next!"

    "Do I really smell that bad?" Iris asked as they were shuffled away by the next group in line.

    "Oh yeah," Autumn said through a mouthful of charred hydra, "you smell as bad as you look, and you look like--"

    "I get it," Iris interrupted, "dibs on first shower then."

    Autumn shrugged.

    "No complaints here," Titus said.

    Iris bit into the hydra meat, instantly moaning when the taste hit her tongue, "this is fantastic, it''s like chicken."

    "It''s better than chicken," Autumn said, "wait for it."

    "Wait for wh- ah, AH!" Iris spat out the bite she was chewing and stuck out her tongue, ineffectually waving on it with her hand, "why is it spicy?!"

    Autumn laughed, seemingly impervious to the heat, "it''s the best part!"

    "It''s horrible!" Iris said, tears welling in her eyes.

    "It''s a little hot," Titus acknowledged, clearly trying to hold back his reaction to it.

    Iris nibbled a few more small bites of the hydra meat, because it did actually taste pretty good before the spiciness hit, but eventually she gave up and offered the remainder to Autumn, who happily accepted. Not long after, they arrived at the Flopping Fish, which looked wholly unchanged from the last time they were there.

    Iris was first through the door, eager to finally get clean and comfortably relax for the first time in what felt like ages. She spotted Victoria lounging in a chair at one of the tables, her head was draped over the back of the chair and her eyes were closed.

    "Where''s Eli?" Iris asked.

    "Shower," Victoria responded simply.

    "So that''s why he let us stop!" Autumn exclaimed.

    "That bitch," Iris hissed.

 104 - Coming Clean

    Iris savored the warm embrace of the shower as it washed away the stains of adventure. A dark, multicolored whirlpool swirled around the drain at her feet, while warm steam drifted up past her face. She couldn''t count all the places she was sore, nor even remember all the injuries she had sustained. For the moment, she preferred not to think about them at all, and placed a hand on the small crystal inset into the wall below the spout, pumping mana into it to increase the pressure and warmth of the water.

    When she finally pulled aside the curtain and stepped out onto the wooden floor of the small, dingy washroom lit by a hanging lantern, her eyes lingered on her reflection. A column of three wide scars stretched across her chest, just below her collarbone. A shorter, angled scar crossed her abdomen, and a jagged, almost star-like scar on her shoulder marked where a wasp had stung her. She approached the mirror, leaning on the counter as she turned her head to inspect her face. When she looked closely, she could see small, speckled scarring around her right eye, faint enough to be invisible when she stepped back from the mirror.

    The next thing to catch her attention was her muscle definition. She was still average in frame, with a healthy amount of pudge on her bones, but her arms seemed thicker than she had ever noticed before. With a curious expression, she flexed her right arm and saw the muscle bulge, earning a smile. From what she understood about attributes, her Strength stat was merely a modifier of her preexisting physical strength and didn''t actually augment the muscles themselves, meaning she had earned this muscle the old fashioned way -- if swinging an oversized sword could be considered an old fashioned workout.

    She thought back to Eli''s words after the battle in the ravine. He had said she was only alive because she hadn''t been unlucky yet, and the scars felt like proof of that much. But how much of it had been luck, she wondered? How much of her own survival could she attribute to her own power and skills? For every moment she would have died without help or luck, she could count a dozen more that she survived by her own accord. Every moment of every battle was spent on the edge of life and death, and time and time again she dodged and danced along that edge like its where she belonged. Even now, as she savored the peace and comfort she had been longing for, part of her yearned battle -- for the thrill of tempting death and laughing in its face.

    She caught her own gaze in the mirror, and her eyes lingered on themselves. She saw the eyes of a young girl longing for adventure, then the eyes of her mother -- full of love and worry, and then the eyes of a killer, indifferent to the blood on her hands. The corpse of the man she had killed flashed into her mind like an invading force, like a presence demanding to be known. Her face was stern and brave, but the bravery only felt like malice. Her stomach twisted, the thirst for thrill and adventure that normally swelled within her now shrunk away, tainted by the price of seeking it. A knock on the door jolted her out of her thoughts, sucking her back to reality.

    "Hurry up!" Victoria called the hallway.

    "Almost done!" Iris shouted back, quickly drying off and dressing in fresh, casual clothes from her bag.

    <hr>

    Later that night, the party was gathered at a table in the tavern, enjoying fresh hydra steaks with sides of vegetables and wild berries.

    "The guy said they cook these way slower," Autumn said around a mouthful, "most of the spiciness seeps out that way, but it really brings out the savoriness."

    "These are huge," Eli observed, "how much were they?"

    "Very expensive," Autumn remarked with a short laugh.

    "You''ve barely touched your plate," Victoria said to Iris, who was twirling the berries around her plate with a fork.

    Iris looked up, seemingly surprised to be noticed.

    "I bet she still can''t handle the heat," Autumn smirked.

    "It''s not that," Iris said quietly.

    Victoria slightly raised a hand towards Autumn before she could reply, "is everything alright?" she asked.

    "Have any of you ever killed someone?" Iris asked, staring down at the table.

    A few utensils gently clanked on plates, and Autumn and Titus glanced around at the others as they slowly and awkwardly finished chewing their bites.

    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    "Is it the wizard?" Victoria asked carefully, "did you have to--"

    "Yeah," Iris said quickly, "I''m sorry, I shouldn''t have brought it up at dinner."

    She moved to rise from her seat, but Victoria held out her hand, "it''s okay, stay. Eli?"

    There was another quiet moment.

    "I thought I did, once," Eli finally spoke up, "when Vic and I were training in Everveil. There was another student there, he-- he fell in with the wrong crowd. They told him to complete his initiation he would have to kill us."

    Eli paused, momentarily grappling with his own memories of guilt.

    "What did you do?" Iris asked, looking up at him.

    "I put a bolt of magic through his head," Eli said coldly, not meeting her eyes, "I-- I didn''t even hesitate. I wish I could say I did."

    "Everveil has powerful healers," Victoria explained, "they were able to keep him alive, and it took months, but eventually he woke up."

    "I spent months believing I''d killed him -- that it was just a matter of time before the healers gave up," Eli continued, "even now, I still have to live with knowing I made the decision to do it."

    "How did it feel?" Iris asked hesitantly.

    "Like I wanted to crawl out of my skin just to get away from the hands that had done it."

    "Does it go away?" she asked, hopefully.

    "Not really. It fades over time, I guess, but it doesn''t leave you."

    Iris looked back down at the table without actually seeing anything on it, sitting with the words and emotions floating around in her mind. The others looked on in silence.

    "I tried not to fight him," she said, "he wanted the egg, and I tried to give it to him but just said ''every bit of experience counts.'' Can you believe he actually apologized before he tried to kill me?"

    Eli and Victoria exchanged a glance when she mentioned the egg, but said nothing.

    "I knew I guy like that once," Titus said, "we were young, as far as I know he had never killed a person, but he''d brag about killing innocent animals just for the modicum of experience he''d get for it. He said if you kill enough of them, it adds up. Still makes me sick to think about."

    "Does it--" Iris hesitated, "I killed him to save myself, but I got a lot of experience for it. Does it make me a bad person if I got excited about that?"

    Titus thought for a moment, "is that why you killed him?"

    "Of course not," Iris replied quickly, "he was faster than me, and I was hurt--"

    "Then no," Titus interrupted, "it doesn''t make you a bad person."

    "You did what you had to do," Victoria said, "in a situation that you didn''t choose to be in. It''s not your fault."

    Iris nodded absently, poking her hydra steak with her fork.

    "Are we gonna ask about the egg?" Autumn asked.

    "No, Autumn, we''re not," Eli said, "not right now."

    "It''s fine," Iris said with a tired smile, "I, uh, think I sort of found a wyvern egg?"

    Jaws dropped around the table.

    "As in, the wyvern egg?" Eli asked.

    "Yeah," Iris said, cringing under the looks she was getting, "it was an accident! I was blipping along and it just-- fell out of the sky? And it fit in my bag, so--"

    "You stole a wyvern egg?" Autumn exclaimed, "that''s so cool!"

    "I didn''t steal it!" Iris insisted, "I just, secretly recovered it."

    "We have to turn it in," Eli declared.

    "I was planning to," Iris said, "probably."

    "Well," Victoria said, immediately getting a glare from Eli, "I mean, there are other options."

    "Are you serious?" Eli asked a deadpan stare.

    "Look, I don''t trust Commander Bridge," Victoria said, "no one gets that high in the Adventuring Corps without being shady. Whatever he has planned for it definitely isn''t good."

    "What he has planned for it is none of our business," Eli said, "what matters is that he''s a government official and he''s laid claim to it through the proper channels, which makes not giving it to him stealing."

    Victoria scoffed, "Laid claim to it? Listen to yourself, It''s not even our government! you might as well go find the newest Corps official and kiss their boots. "

    "Really, Vic?"

    "I think we should cook it," Autumn chimed in.

    "We are not going to cook it!" Eli shouted.

    "Guys!" Iris yelled, "shut up for a second."

    Everyone turned to look at her, and she shrank slightly under their stares.

    "Look, I found it. That makes it my responsibility, right? So just, everyone calm down and let me figure out what to do with it."

    "That means if someone comes looking for it, you take all the heat," Eli said.

    "Okay, deal," Iris said.

    "No--" Eli started

    "You offered the deal," Victoria shrugged.

    "Yep, them''s the rules," Iris smiled, then took a bite of her food.

    Eli put his head in his hands and groaned, "you''re all ruining my life."

    <hr>

    The Dreamweaver dropped from the canopy onto the gnarled roots of the web strewn woods. Before her was the half eaten corpse of the Matriarch, the head was gone and the thick exoskeleton of its thorax was cracked open like an egg in a puddle of innards. Mangled legs were splayed awkwardly around it, and the once swollen abdomen now lay trampled and deflated. She walked around to the largest opening in the exoskeleton, where the Wyvern had buried its maw to feast. With a grimace, she climbed into the spider queen''s corpse and trudged through the now thick goop.

    Her aura senses quickly located what she sought. She pushed her way through the remaining innards, reaching deep until her hand clasped the prize. She pulled against the strings of sinew-like flesh that suspended it within the thorax. With a grunt, she ripped it free of the final strings, and climbed back out of the corpse.

    She held the tall, slender crystal high. It appeared almost black in the darkness, but she saw the hints of brilliant purple hiding within. Though the power was locked away inside, she could sense the very essence of the Matriarch''s soul against her flesh.

 105 - Filling In

    Though not as crowded as their previous visit, the Questing Hall was already quite busy by the time the party arrived in the late morning. Rather than peddling quests to passersby, the stall attendants were instead busy handing out rewards and stamping quest slips with approval. There was a heavy presence of Adventuring Corps guards throughout the building, usually standing near the large chests of coins from which rewards were withdrawn.

    Before the party split up to turn in their quests, Iris retrieved three jars of wasp honey from her bag and handed them over to Eli. Next, with a grimace, she withdrew a small drawstring sack -- which was soaked through with blood -- and held it out towards Titus by the strings. These were the ears of the creatures they had slain in the ravine, to serve as proof of kills. Next, she followed Autumn to the booth for her quest, where she promptly unloaded stacks of Forest Octopus meat, being sure to leave some in the bag as Autumn had instructed.

    Iris left Autumn behind to finish the paperwork of her quest and made her way through the crowd, irritably resisting the urge to blip past anyone who momentarily blocked her way. She didn''t know for sure that powers weren''t allowed in the Questing Hall, but didn''t want to risk getting yelled at or arrested. When she neared the Giantrock City Badger''s booth, she saw a small crowd of visibly annoyed adventurers surrounding it.

    "Is this your first day?" One person asked.

    "Just stamp the paper and give us the money," another said.

    "One at a time, please! I''m doing my best!" a familiar voice pleaded.

    Iris cocked her head to the side, then made her way around the crowd to the side of the booth, where she saw Milo the printing press mechanic struggling with a handful of quest slips and a stamp that was dripping ink. She smiled, and stepped up beside him behind the counter.

    "Hey! She can''t do that!" an adventurer shouted.

    "I''m with the Badger," she said confidently, "I''m here to speed things up."

    "Iris?" Milo said in surprise.

    She nudged him with an elbow and whispered, "what do I do?"

    "Uhh," he stammered, then handed her the stamp, "here, clean this."

    She held the stamp away from herself to avoid the dripping ink while she searched for something to clean it with, but all she found was papers that looked important. She reached into her bag with her free hand and fished out a scrap of her tattered sleeping bag, shrugged, and used it to wipe the excess ink from the stamp.

    "Here, stamp this one," Milo said, placing a slip on the counter, "20 gold to the one with blue hair."

    Iris stamped the slip and blipped the coins from the open chest under the counter into her hand before placing them atop the slip and sliding it towards the roguish adventurer with blue hair.

    "What are you doing here?" Milo asked, handing her another slip, "50 gold, guy with all the knives."

    "I feel like I should ask you that," she said, taking the next slip and repeating the process.

    "The usual guy is out sick, and the guy who was supposed to fill in quit last week, so I guess they thought ''Why not make Milo do it? It''s not like he''s never done it before and has no idea what he''s doing, it''ll be fine'' and it has absolutely not been fine."

    Iris laughed, taking a stack of paper from one of the adventurers in line. It was a series of descriptions and drawings of various scenes, including the construction of a ballista inset into a cliff side, a sketched portrait of the Commander, and a ground view of the Wyvern flying overhead.

    "How''re these?" she asked, spreading out the drawings for Milo to view.

    "Good enough," he said with a glance, "standard rate on the slip."

    Iris stashed the papers under the desk, stamped the quest slip, and gave the adventurer the amount listed on the slip.

    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    A short while later, the last reward was handed out and the crowd had finally cleared. Milo let out a deep sigh and plopped onto a crate at the back of the stall.

    "Thanks," he said, still catching his breath.

    "No worries," she said, leaning back against the counter, "don''t suppose you could stamp mine for me?"

    She held out her quest slip, notes and the sketches she had taken of the ancient temple in the forest, "I''d do it myself, but that seems like it''d be against the rules."

    "Honestly," Milo said, taking the papers and adjusting his glasses, "everything you just did was probably against the rules."

    "I won''t tell if you won''t," she shrugged.

    Milo skimmed over the papers, then furrowed his brow as he inspected them more diligently. His eyes went wide when he saw the sketch of the dragon mural and read the note below it.

    "This dragon was red? Like that one that landed in the forest?"

    "Yep," Iris said, "there were wizards in the murals too, we''re pretty sure there''s some connections between it all. That''s way above our rank, though."

    "Oh, the editor is going to love this," Milo said with a smile, then stamped the quest slip and handed it back to Iris, nodding towards the chest of coins, "you can take double the standard rate, they won''t complain when they see this."

    Iris smiled with pride and blipped the coins from the chest into her hand, dropping them into her bag, then her eyes went wide with panic, "wait, they''re not going to print those sketches, are they?"

    Milo laughed, "no, we''ll have one of our artists redraw them into something presentable. I mean-- not that these are bad-- I just meant--"

    "Relax," Iris laughed, "I''m not offended."

    Milo gave a stressed smile and nodded, "it''s been a long day."

    "It''s not even lunch time," she pointed out.

    He groaned.

    "Listen, I have to get going, my friends are probably waiting on me," she pushed herself off the counter and stepped around to the outside, "it was good seeing you."

    "Yeah, you too!" Milo said, hesitating for a second before continuing, "hey, do you want to hang out later?"

    Iris was already walking away, but spun around to walk backwards for a few steps, "that sounds nice, come find me at the library when you get off."

    Milo smiled and watched Iris disappear into the crowd.

    "Finally," Autumn said as Iris blipped up to the group in the courtyard.

    "Please tell me you weren''t getting into trouble," Eli groaned.

    "Nope," Iris said, "I was just... helping someone out."

    "Please don''t sound suspicious on purpose," Eli said, "I''d much rather not have to ask."

    "Then don''t," she said simply, "what''s next?"

    "Well, the Adventuring Corps Giantrock headquarters is just up the road," Eli said, "if you want to give them the--"

    "Nope!" Iris interjected.

    "Alright," Eli sighed, "then I guess it''s lunch time."

    <hr>

    Iris was seated at a table on the upmost mezzanine of the Giantrock City Library. Before her were two stacks of books, a few old newspapers, and a few more books splayed open. In her hands was her open journal, and just in front of her was a spread out map of the Emerald Empire.

    She had meticulously reviewed the details of each of her mother''s journal entries and pulled any and all material from the library that she thought might be relevant, and was currently plotting out the stops along her mother''s journey. The Veiled Catacombs were a total loss, nowhere to be found on the map and so far nowhere even mentioned in the literature. The Towers of the Great Wizards weren''t marked on the map, but she did easily locate the Shining Peaks where she knew the towers to be. Across the plains to the west of the Peaks she found the city of Calderan in the northwest corner of the Empire. Frustratingly, that was all there was from her mother''s journal to find right now.

    She took a moment instead to find her valley on the map. It was far south from Calderan and the Shining Peaks, near the center of the Empire''s territory yet still somehow in the middle of nowhere. Her village wasn''t marked on the map, but she recognized the shape of the mountains and the names of the closest cities. That little valley, the sum of her entire life until just a few weeks ago, was only a tiny, unlabeled blip on a massive map that was, itself, just a slice of the world. For eighteen years she had been just a speck scurrying around between two small rocks that no one had bothered to name.

    She lingered with her thoughts for a moment, then moved on from the map to the one of the large tomes she hadn''t gotten to yet, this one was about burial practices throughout the world. She hoped she would find some reference to the Veiled Catacombs, but after finding nothing in the table of contents she resorted to quickly scanning page by page. Her head was beginning to hurt and she was struggling to digest the words she read when she was startled by a chair being pulled out beside her. Milo plopped down into it and peered over the mess of books and parchment before her.

    "What''s all this?" He asked.

    "A headache," Iris admitted, "I''m trying to find my mother."

    "Is she famous or something?" Milo asked as he scooted up his chair and picked up one of the books to inspect the cover.

    "Not exactly," Iris replied, "actually, I don''t know. Maybe? She did undertake a grand quest when she was younger. I don''t really expect to find anything about her here, though, that was on a whole other continent. I''m just trying to retrace her steps."

    "Am I interrupting?" he asked, a worried look crossing his face.

    "Yes," Iris said, "but that''s exactly what I invited you to do. Good timing, too, because I think I''m forgetting how to read."

    Milo laughed, "want to get out of here, then?"

    "Definitely," she replied with a smile.

    After closing up all the books and placing everything on the return carts for the various floors, Iris and Milo set off into the city to find dinner.

 106 - Council of Titans

    The titans were seated at a large round table in a room built of redwood planks, lit by a candle chandelier that cast shadows on the walls and left the corners dark. The attendants included the Dreamweaver, the Shark Titan, Commander Bridge, Mayor General Clint, and an ancient looking man with a hunched back covered by a raggedy, dark green robe. There were two empty seats at the table, and the room was quiet.

    "How''d it go with the spider?" The Shark Titan broke the silence, leaning slightly towards the Dreamweaver.

    "I got what I needed," the Dreamweaver said, her body language showing she wasn''t interested in starting a conversation.

    "That''s good," the Shark Titan nodded awkwardly, "what''s next for you?"

    "A bunch of shit I didn''t sign up for, probably," the Dreamweaver sighed.

    The double doors at the front of the room swung open, and the Fish Wizard entered. His raggedy grey hat and robes weren''t dripping wet as usual, but were still visibly damp. He carried his staff in one hand, and a mug of dark liquid in the other.

    The Shark Titan planted his hands on the table and rose sharply from his seat, "why are you here?"

    "By all means, pretend I''m not," the Fish Wizard said dismissively, taking the empty seat furthest from the Shark Titan.

    "He''s required to be here, just as you are, Captain," the Mayor General said.

    The Shark Titan glanced at the mayor, then glared at the Fish Wizard a while longer before hesitantly retaking his seat.

    "Let''s get this over with," the Fish Wizard said, "who fucked up what?"

    "We''re waiting on one more," the Mayor General said.

    "We may begin," the Agent of Morose with the two-teared mask said as he shimmered into view in the final empty chair.

    "Yes, we may," the Mayor General said, masking his annoyance with a diplomatic tone, "as you all should know, five days ago, two expeditions were interrupted by an attack at the hands of unknown wizards who abducted the Wyvern before it could be killed. Following this, a Dragon appeared and seemingly killed several of the wizards. These events appear to be the culmination of a situation we''ve been following for some weeks now -- powerful aura beacons have been activating below ancient structures throughout the surrounding area, and an unseasonal magic storm followed. Commander, what new information do you bring?"

    "The beacon pulses seem to have ended with the storm," Commander Bridge said, "I''ve entered several of the ziggurat structures since. Without the pulses, the passageways beneath the structures are safe to traverse until you reach a certain depth, then there''s some sort of wall of aura. I could cross it if I tried, but I think I''d probably die. The source of the pulses appears to be somewhere beyond this wall in each of the structures I''ve entered. At all locations with guards present, they had been slain, most appear to have been electrocuted."

    The Mayor General grimaced and nodded, "What did you learn from the structure interiors?"

    "Not much," the Commander continued, "but they''re definitely part of all this. Each has intricate murals carved into the walls, several of them depict a chain of events not unlike our own. A storm appears, usually amidst a battle of some kind, then wizards appear from lightning strikes, abduct a titan rank beast, and abscond. In each of the murals, a red dragon appears shortly after the wizards depart."

    "Why would the dragon appear early this time?" The Dreamweaver wondered aloud.

    "Sounds like the storm was early too, that''ll be related," the Shark Titan said, "I''d bet on it."

    "What else do we know about the ziggurats?" The Mayor General asked the table, "there''s been nothing found in our records other than passing acknowledgements and references, they go back to the early days of the exploration in the region but don''t tell us anything useful."

    "They''re easy to open," the Commander said, "so easy that just about any curious adventurer probably would. One of my running theories is that something must have changed, something that unlocked them somehow, or there would have been incidents before now."

    "I think you might be right," the Mayor General reached out towards a single newspaper page on the table in front of him and slid it towards the Commander, "the editor of the Badger brought me this yesterday, it would have been front page, but I instructed him to withhold publication. It''s based on a quest report an adventurer completed sometime between the beginning of the Grand Hunt and the beginning of the Matriarch expedition. It details a large temple in the forest, known to our records but not thoroughly documented. Included are several sketches of the interior that depict murals with dragons and lightning wizards, and what appears to be a ritual control altar. The report further indicates that there were fingerprints in the dust on one of the dial stones when the adventurer arrived."

    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    "So someone activated this altar," the Dreamweaver said, "that either unlocks the ziggurats or activates the beacons, maybe both, and then curious adventures start opening them? Or wizards, moving ahead of their allies?"

    The Mayor General shook his head, "there were no reports of isolated storms or out-of-place lightning strikes leading up the first beacons, however, I suppose it''s possible they simply walked to the ziggurats."

    "It was adventurers," the hunched old man said in a raspy, labored voice, speaking for the first time since a polite greeting upon his arrival, "at least on one occasion -- the first, beacon, I believe."

    "You can verify this?" the Mayor General asked.

    "''Caught them in the act," the old man said with glee, his body shaking with a croaking laugh, "scared them right for it, too."

    "I''m thinking the beacons caused the storm," the Commander suggested, "that would explain why it trickled in at first, when the first few ziggurats were opened by adventurers. Then the wizards appear at the remaining sites, kill the guards if there are any, and activate the rest of the beacons. The storm begins in earnest, and they wait for their moment to strike."

    "That might explain the dragon showing up early, too," the Dreamweaver said, "he was alerted either by the early beacons or the beginnings of the storm."

    "This all fits together," the Commander said, "but we still don''t know who activated the altar, or who the wizards are," he finished his sentence staring at the Agent of Morose.

    "Morose permits me to reveal the following," the agent said in a deadpan voice, "the wizards belong to an ancient order known today as the Millennium Mandate. Their origins are before history, though their goals are in the near future."

    "What else can you tell us about the Millennium Mandate?" the Mayor General asked, "what are their goals?"

    The agent was silent.

    The mayor''s voice grew less polite, "I''ll remind you that your contingent is allowed to operate in this region at the courtesy of the Emerald Empire, which I have authority to rescind."

    "My god''s agreement with your empire does not dictate what information must be revealed," the agent said, "and I will not entertain political bluffs."

    The room was silent and tense for a moment.

    The Shark Titan was next to speak, "what now? The wizards and dragon are gone, wyvern''s dead, beacons are shut off. Is this still our problem?"

    "It was never mine," the Fish Wizard grumbled, but was ignored.

    "I don''t know, it may well be over our heads," the Mayor General sighed, leaning back in his seat, "Commander Bridge, I want you working on this full time, follow up on each of your leads and bring me twice-weekly reports."

    "Yes sir," the Commander said.

    "Angela, Captain Clement, I''ll have to request you remain in the area for the near future, at least until we know more about what we''re dealing with."

    "I have a lot to do," the Dreamweaver said, "but I can do it here. As long as you''re not demanding too much of my time, we won''t have a problem."

    "I''m certain you''ll manage to balance your personal pursuits with your duties," the Mayor General said flatly, then turned to the Shark Titan, "Captain?"

    Captain Clement was absently tapping a finger on the table while he thought, "The Maw needs repairs, and it gives me time to recruit. Two months, no longer."

    The Mayor General''s displeasure at their attitudes was freely displayed on his face, "I hope it goes without saying -- to all of you -- that if the dragon returns and we''re in the line of fire, it would be an existential threat to this city. If you''re needed here, I will exercise my authority to see it so."

    The Shark Titan snorted, "that would be a show to see."

    "Does the table have anything else?" The Mayor General asked curtly, still staring down the Shark Titan.

    "There is a remaining matter," the Agent of Morose said, "that of the wyvern egg."

    "Right," the Mayor General let out a breath and relaxed his posture, "I understand it was lost during the attack. That''s disappointing, the city will miss out on a very lucrative deal we had arranged, but we have larger issues to be concerned with now."

    "Morose has interest in that deal, and those that would follow," the agent said, "two of your titans were instructed to investigate."

    "You have no authority over anyone in this room," the Mayor General pointed out.

    "Gods have authority over every mortal," the agent replied, turning his head to meet the mayor''s eyes with the empty black holes of his mask.

    "We are investigating the matter," the Dreamweaver said, then clarified, "for our own interests. I''m looking into a few adventurers from my expedition who are known to have been close to the plateau before the dragon''s arrival, but none of the leads are promising."

    "None of my subordinates were anywhere near the plateau until long after the dragon destroyed it," the Commander said, addressing the Mayor General rather than the agent, "so I will be following up on those same leads as well."

    "Good," the Mayor General spoke before the agent could, "keep me updated on that, as well, but don''t let it take precedence over the larger concerns. And you," the mayor looked towards the agent, "whether Morose has interest in the deals that follow our own is none of our concern, I''d appreciate it if they treated the matter until then as none of theirs."

    The agent stared back at the Mayor General from within his mask and said nothing. After several silent seconds, the agent shimmered away.

 107 - The End of the Beginning

    The ringing bell was muffled as the shop door closed behind Iris, and she stepped out into the bustling streets of Giantrock City. After a few days of shopping around, she had finally found a skinny little shop crammed between two other buildings, called Dudley''s Duds, which offered premium, adventure-grade garments and robes. The higher quality would hopefully mean enough durability to survive her next adventures. To her delight, they also sold hats.

    The clothes she had walked in wearing were now stashed in her bottomless bag, and instead she wore her newly acquired attire. The outfit consisted of a robe, hat, and dark brown boots which matched the wide leather belt she had carried over from her previous robe. The fabric of the new robe was a thick, canvas-like material on the outside and a soft, silky material on the inside. The robe came in several colors, but she had chosen the black option with purple accents. Her new wizard hat matched the robes, all black except for the long, purple ribbon that banded the base of the cone and tied into a bow on one side with both ends of the extra-long ribbon hanging over the brim. The cone was sewn and intentionally creased into an arc that tapered to a tip, which held rigid as the hat moved about. Mr. Dudley had assured her that this was standard for brand new wizard hats, and that it would settle into a characteristic floppiness as she broke it in.

    She hadn''t gotten rid of her previous hat, the one which once belonged to the Weird Farmer back home, but had decided it had finally been through enough. It was less characteristically floppy at this point, and more so struggling to keep any shape at all. It was now put away in her bag as a backup hat, should she ever need it. Along with it were her stained and tattered robes, which she had thoroughly cleaned but ultimately been unable to save. In the end, she decided to hold onto them as a keepsake.

    As Iris strolled through the city, she kept her head tilted so the brim of her hat would cast a shadow across her face. It was a hot summer day, and the city seemed to trap heat like a blanket. Soon she felt the sun warming her robe, and groaned. She had already planned to buy more robes than just this one, and made a note to herself to consider lighter colors for the others. She peered to the roof tops, where the occasional wind vane or small flag shook in the breeze that didn''t reach the streets. She glanced around, ducked into an alleyway, then blipped to the rooftops.

    She sprinted and leapt between the buildings, blipping across the larger gaps and sometimes reaching up to hold her hat in place as her robe fluttered like a flag. Her landings were harsh and thumped against the shingles of the roofs, but she didn''t stick around long enough to know if she pissed anyone off. She smiled as she darted across the city with the wind in her face.

    She reached the final rooftop, somewhere along the northern edge of the city. Below her was vast open air above the lake, walled off by the massive redwoods that bordered the shores. Also below her, though much closer, were haphazard balconies and forgotten scaffolding that decorated the outer walls of buildings on the city''s edge. In the mood for exploring, she stepped off the roof and blipped down to a balcony.

    "Hey!" Someone called from the other side of a windowed door.

    "Whoops," Iris said, smiling and waving awkwardly at the building''s inhabitants before blipping away.

    She traveled along the various platforms and balconies until she rounded the city and found herself on the very tip, somewhere below the governmental complex that crowned the city''s peak. There were no balconies here, just a solid brickwork foundation that supported the large buildings above, and the network of decrepit scaffolding that lined that foundation. She blipped along a little further until she found a nice, shaded scaffold platform where she would be out of sight and safe from the sun.

    Sitting cross-legged, she removed her journal from the bottomless bag and flipped it open to a random page. The journal settled on her character sheet, which she briefly reviewed. Only one thing has changed since she last looked. At the bottom of the description for her Spatial Distortion ability was the description for its Special Use.

    Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

    Special Use : Emergency Exit

    Cooldown : 30 days (available)

    Mana cost : All

    Description:

    In the event of imminent death, lapse into the void behind reality and reappear an extreme distance away. Activates automatically, location cannot be chosen.

    "Available?" she asked aloud.

    Had it been that long? Had it *only* been that long? That night she woke up alone in the desert somehow felt like a lifetime ago and a week ago, and not at all like a month ago. She wondered where she would go next if the power activated again, would it take her back home? Or to some other continent she had never seen? Maybe she''d awake in the Glacial Mountains, or the ash lakes of the Barren Wastes, or some place wholly new altogether that she had never even read about. She supposed there was no way to know.

    "I guess I have the whole world in front of me now," she spoke to the wind, wishing her mother were there to listen.

    She flipped to her mother''s entries, which now included her own notes scribbled into the margins with arrows pointing to different lines of the entries.

    "Where are you, mom?" she asked the wind.

    She hadn''t told anyone about seeing her mother yet, and she wasn''t sure she would at all. How would she even go about explaining it? She wasn''t sure if she''d ever even told any of her friends that her mother was dead. Was she really actually alive? She had looked so young when Iris saw her, and hadn''t looked at her the way her mother always had. She looked at her like a stranger. But it was definitely her. It had to be.

    Iris watched the sun sparkle off the surface of the gentle waves, and flocks of birds fly in the distance. Fishing boats were coming and going from the docks below, and pillowy clouds drifted across the bright blue sky above. After a few deep breaths to savor the fresh summer air, she flipped the journal to a blank page and pulled a quill and ink from her bag, deciding it was finally time to write an entry of her own.

    Dear Whomever,

    My name is Iris Orion, daughter of Mary. I don''t know who might read this, but whoever you are, I''m glad you''re here. I am a Level 9 adventurer, writing to you from Giantrock City. I''ve only been an adventurer for a month, but I''ve already seen so much. I''ve slept under the stars in the Giantrock desert, climbed to the top of the tallest trees I''ve ever seen, and stood beneath a dragon. I''ve fought giant rats, snakes and spiders and won. I''ve fought beasts like hairy men in the mud of a trench, and stood my own against a wizard that rode down lightning from the sky, and survived to write about it now. I don''t think that''s half bad for my first month, but I''m just getting started.

    Iris Orion, 997

    She dotted the ''I''s in her name with a smile, then remembered something.

    P.S. I have a wyvern egg now? More on that later.

    She clapped the book shut and shoved it in her bag. She lingered for a moment with the bag stretched open, curiosity slowly overcoming her. She glanced around to make sure she was alone, then picked up the open bag and turned it upside, picturing the wyvern egg as she did so.

    Nothing came out. She frowned, and shook the bag. Something small dropped out and clattered onto the wooden scaffold like a rock. She shook it again, and more fragments fell out.

    "No, nonono," she started to panic, shaking the bag more aggressively, "please don''t say you ate it."

    A large fragment dropped out of the bag, clearly a piece of the egg''s shell. She was mortified, frozen in place with her jaw hanging open. Then something else fell out, landing in a small heap amongst the eggshells. The creature was the size of a small cat, and looked like a lizard with wings for front legs and fang-like teeth lining its jaws. Iris stared at it in shock as it awkwardly stumbled to its feet, then released the tiniest screech in her direction. An ominous sound, like a distant, distorted roar poured out of the still upturned bag. A purple tentacle reached out the opening, gently wrapped around the baby wyvern, and pulled it back into the void.

    "What?" Iris asked, twisting the bag to peer inside of it, "WHAT?"

    <hr><hr>

    THE END

    Iris Orion will return in Book 2: Journey to the Shining Blue

 BOOK 1 - Credits and Announcements

    And with that, book 1 of Orion''s Ballad comes to a close! Thanks so much for reading, rating, reviewing and commenting. Your feedback is what keeps me going, and helps make Orion''s Ballad better than it could ever be without you. If you want a chance to directly affect book 2, you can complete this short google survey: https://forms.gle/5vW2yKEr21CCC8pT6</a>

    Announcements

    When is book 2 coming?

    Book 2 will begin on August 19th, 2024. There will be a release blitz of at least 7 chapters a week for two weeks following launch, then releases will settle into a regular schedule. I''ll have more information about what that schedule will be at a later date, but for now I can say that it will definitely be a minimum of 3 chapters a week, but hopefully more. I''m currently planning for the standard chapter lengths of Book 2 to be 1500 - 2500 words, but this may change depending on the feedback survey.

    I''m planning to make a big push with the launch of Book 2 to make Orion''s Ballad profitable enough that I can write full time. I know it won''t happen overnight, but the more growth we get the better. If you like the story so far, please consider sharing it with friends or on the internet and leaving ratings/reviews here on Royal Road. This leads me to the next two sections:

    Early Reviewer Credits

    A while back I decided to include the first 10 reviewers of Orion''s Ballad in the credits of each book, here on Royal Road and in all future publications/editions. I''ve decided to expand this to anyone who reviews the book before the launch of Book 2 in August. You''ll be added to the credits regardless of what scores you give or what you say in your review, and the score you give won''t be included in the credits. You can also ask not to be included in these credits if you don''t want to be, either in your review itself or in a DM to me here on RR.

    Patreon

    Alongside the second book, I''ll be launching a Patreon with early access chapters. Exact tiers and how far ahead the chapters will be for each tier isn''t settled yet, but I''m hoping to give you guys a good beefy backlog. I''ll have more information about this later. I also have plans for additional rewards for Patrons, but none of those are set in stone yet, and there''s a section in the feedback survey to give suggestions if you have any.

    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    Book 1 Revision

    I''m currently undergoing a chapter-by-chapter revision of Book 1. As it stands right now, I''m very proud of what I''ve written, but it''s not polished enough for me to be satisfied with leaving it the way it is. This revision will not alter the plot in any way, and it won''t be necessary for anyone who has already read Book 1 to go back and read it again, it will simply make Book 1 a better experience for future readers. When the revision is complete, I''ll post another update like this one with a change log. For now, here''s the basics of what to expect:

    - Grammar and spelling corrections

    - Improvements to prose

    - Implementation of feedback from commenters, such as fixing inconsistencies and better explaining things.

    - Standardization of names and terms (ex: throughout the book, the Redwood Forest is sometimes referred to as The Great Forest. In the revision, it will always be referred to by the same name.)

    - Additional scenery descriptions may be added to some chapters

    - I have a handful of minor scenes in mind that I may add at different points throughout the book. If I do, they won''t affect the plot and they''ll be plainly mentioned and linked to in the change-log for anyone that wants to read them.

    - The utility of the adventure journal may be expanded on to include displaying status effects and current quests. I''ll still be keeping the character sheet sections short and sparse, though. Any changes to adventure journal functionality will carry over to the second book and be clearly noted in the change log.

    Credits

    Creative Contributions

    Orion''s Ballad wouldn''t exist in its current form without my friend Atari Astro. They invented the characters of Grell and Adan and allowed me to use them in Orion''s Ballad, they were instrumental in the design and characterization of the Agents of Morose, contributed to the creation of the Dreamweaver, and offered countless suggestions and personal headcanons/theories throughout the writing process.

    Early Reviewers

    Reviews mean so much to authors and make a huge impact on a story''s success. Thanks so much to the early reviewers that helped Orion''s Ballad get as many readers as it has today.

    - Cynical Witch

    - Czaja

    - Bobgongo

    - your daddy laozi

    - Blahitz

    - Ghostdraconi

    - TheHornedOne

    - TeeJay3000

    - Janxius

    - HansGuckIndLuft

    Prolific Commenters

    Comments are important too! They help authors see that people are enjoying and engaging with the story in a way that statistics and numbers can''t. I wanted to give a special shout out to some of the most prolific commenters throughout book 1, sorry if I missed anyone!

    - Evren

    - F24Valentine

    - Drachier

    - TheHornedOne

    - DLX

    - Ghostdraconi

    - ConFusion112358

    - Jaricvenn

    Prolific Editors

    A lot of people have left edit suggestions, but these are the few who provided a lot. This community proofreading is immensely valuable, as I''m a long way from being able to afford my own editor and no matter how many times you read over your own chapter, you always miss stuff.

    - LitRPG_fan

    - Bobgongo

    - Scregg5757

    - Pitrel

    - J. Davis

    - dtape467

    - Pacifax

    - YawonNoway

 BOOK 1 - Revision Change Log

    Hi everyone! I''ve just finished the revision of Book 1. I ended up making a lot fewer changes than I originally anticipated, but I think that''s okay. I''m satisfied with the final product, and I think future readers will be too.

    Here are the changes you should know about if you read Book 1 pre-revision:

    - Chapter 35: Removed the Shark Titan telling Autumn he would be in touch after the Hydra battle. I''m not removing the plot line this was setting up, it just doesn''t fit with the exact way I''m going about it.

    - Chapter 44: Fal the Shopkeeper originally says his family''s den is in the mountains to the west, this has been corrected to the mountains in the east.

    - Chapter 49: Changed the original founding date of Giantrock City from 257 years ago to 157 years ago, and changed frequency of Grand Hunts from "every few years" to "once a decade."

    - Removed all references to "category rankings" for monsters, as I decided to go a different direction about halfway through the book. Instead, it''s standard practice to refer to a monster as a "champion level threat," "Titan level threat," etc.

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.- Specified that aching veins is sometimes a symptom of severe mana depletion.

    - Changed Sir Abraham Brant''s name to Abram Brant.

    - Standardized the name of the redwoods as "The Great Forest"

    Here are the changes that aren''t important to know about:

    Specific changes:

    - Adjusted various prices/quest rewards so the economy makes slightly more sense

    - Renamed Chapter 4 to "Reach Into the Void"

    - Removed character sheets for party members because I ended up decided not to go in that direction

    - Moved Chapter 61 - Elsewhere in Giantrock to Chapter 63 in the order, shifting chapters 62 and 63 backwards to 61 and 62 to accommodate.

    Miscellaneous changes:

    - General prose improvements throughout the book

    - Typos/grammar corrections throughout the book

    - Minor adjustments to some dialog to make things more clear/make more sense/improve the flow.

    <hr><hr>

    I probably shouldn''t admit this publicly, but I have to say, the first ~30 chapters of this book were in rough shape. Like, wow, the number of typos was WAY beyond acceptable. I had no idea it was bad until I started this revision. I''m happy to report that these chapters are in much better condition, and I wanted to thank all of you for putting up with it to continue reading. I''ll make sure Book 2 is polished to a much higher standard at release, I promise. Speaking of, I''m off to go write!

 Book One Recap & Book Two Pre-Launch Announcements

    Book One Recap

    In Book One of Orion''s Ballad we met Iris Orion during her finals days as a shopkeeper in a small village in an unmarked valley deep in the heart of humanity''s crowning achievement, the Emerald Empire. During an otherwise normal walk in the woods, her life was changed forever when she stumbled across a rip in the fabric of reality itself called a Thread of Power. Be becoming entangled in this thread Iris became a Threadbearer, gained the first of many magic powers, and began her career as an adventurer. During an unexpected battle with a gang of sentient, murderous scarecrows, Iris came within an inch of death and an unknown effect of her first ability activated to save her life by sucking her into the void and spitting her back out somewhere far, far away.

    Iris awoke on a continent on the far side of the planet, in the western deserts of the Giantrock Wilderness Region near the frontier of the Emerald Empire''s exploration of the unknown world. Finding herself in a high level region while she herself was only level 1, Iris stood no chance at survival on her own but was lucky to find a party of ambitious young adventurers who took her in, trained her, and soon became her friends. She joined them on their journey to Giantrock City, where they participated in the Grand Hunt.

    The Grand Hunt kicked off with three expeditions, each tasked with taking down a titan level threat in the region. Our party joined an expedition spearheaded by a Titan with powerful telepathic abilities called the Dreamweaver to exterminate a giant magically mutated spider called the Matriarch. Things went wrong when another expedition, led by a high ranking member of the Adventuring Corps named Commander Bridge, chased a Wyvern into the Matriarch''s territory and the two expeditions collided. The expeditions were further complicated by an unseasonal storm that moved in and settled over the region, the presence of a mysterious, cult-like organization known as the Agents of Morose, and ultimately the arrival of a contingent of shock wizards who descended on lightning strikes, attacked the expeditions, and abducted the Wyvern before it could be killed.

    Lost and alone in the Great Forest after fleeing the epicenter of clashing forces beyond her understanding, Iris found herself in possession of a wyvern egg and at the wrong end of a spear belonging to a very angry shock wizard. Through cunning, luck, and the unexpected help of her mother she believed to be dead, Iris managed to slay the wizard and escape with her life. The complications didn''t end there, however, as the egg soon hatched and her bottomless bag revealed itself to be an extra-dimensional entity.

    Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

    Book Two begins a few weeks after the final events of Book One, picking up in the final stretch of the Grand Hunt, during which time adventurers are mopping up the remaining quests and bounties offered by the city. Meanwhile, our party turns their attention to where they''ll go next.

    <hr>

    Hi everyone! Book two begins Monday! I have some quick announcements to go through first.

    Book Two Information

    First up, we have a new cover!

    The official title of book two is Orion''s Ballad 2: Journey to the Shining Blue. Book one has been retroactively given the official title of Orion''s Ballad: Expedition Giantrock.

    Details about book two:

    - You can expect chapters in book two to be between 1400 and 2200 words.

    - The permanent release schedule for book two will be 5 chapters per week, released Monday thru Friday between 10am and 12pm Eastern.

    - From launch day thru September 1st there will be two chapters released each day, weekends including. One chapter will be released in the regular 10am - 12pm time slot, while the other will be released at a different time each day. (I''ll be dropping both chapters back-to-back on launch day, though).

    The Patreon

    The Orion''s Ballad Patreon will officially launch on September 2nd. At launch the tiers will be:

    $1/month

    - Support the author and gain my undying gratitude

    - Your name in the credits of Book 2

    - More perks in the future

    $10/month

    - Read 15 chapters ahead of what''s available on Royal Road

    - Opportunities to suggest names for side characters, ideas for monsters, and places/environments you''d like to see the party visit.

    - Your name in the credits of Book 2 (in bold)

    I have plans for more tiers and more perks for the existing tiers, but I need to get familiar with using Patreon before I implement them. I''ll also be looking at creating a discord in the future.

    Thanks for reading! Each and every one of you is helping my dream come true, and you''ll never know how much I appreciate you for that. I hope you enjoy book two!

 108 - Bad Influences

    Iris darted through the lower canopy of the redwood forest, leaping off branches and blipping across gaps. She wore dark green and brown robes cinched tight with a brown leather belt. On her head was the newest wizard hat she had added to her growing collection, it was dark green with a brown band to match her robes. In one hand she held the enchanted walking stick her mother had given her, which she occasionally jabbed down at a branch as she kicked off to release a blast of kinetic force that launched her forward.

    Over her robes she wore a leather cuirass and matching leather bracers, a condition Eli had insisted on when she broached the topic of going out into the forest on her own. The cuirass pressed too tightly against her chest and the edges sometimes rubbed her underarm as she moved -- and that was to say nothing of the sweat that gathered beneath it. The bracers were less bothersome, but they still caused sweat to soak the sleeves of her robe underneath. She had tried to argue against wearing the armor, anticipating exactly these annoyances, but she had quickly lost the argument when Eli started listing injuries she had sustained which armor might have mitigated.

    It had been a few weeks since the death of the Matriarch, the capture of the Hydra, and the abduction of the Wyvern. These events marked the end of the major expeditions, but the Grand Hunt continued even in the wake of the wizard attack and subsequent appearance of a dragon. Now, attention turned towards many smaller, yet still quite dangerous threats scattered across Central Giantrock. Iris and her party had yet to take on any of these threats for themselves, instead taking leave from daily adventuring to focus on personal endeavors. That hadn''t stopped Iris from training and finding trouble where she could, however, and she was now on the verge of crossing over into Level 10, with the hopes that her current quest would be the final push she needed.

    Up ahead she spotted a small crevice in the forest floor, and glimpsed the creek running through it. The end of her stick hit the next branch before her feet, absorbing her momentum and storing it in the stick, which slowed her to a gentle stop over the course of only a second and allowed her feet to lightly touch down on the branch. Daring to lean forward, she looked down past the branch to the ground below and traced the path of the creek with her eyes. To her left, it babbled between trunks and carved tunnels under roots until it deposited into the glistening Giantrock Lake, glimpses of which were visible through the trees. To her right, the creek extended deeper into the forest from an unknown source. After a moment she felt her mana pool top off, and leapt from the branch. She blipped across the creek and kicked off a trunk, orienting herself upstream and continuing her journey through the trees.

    A short while later she came upon a small pool cradled between twisting and curving roots that acted as the walls of a basin, interrupting the stream like a dam until it overflowed and continued onwards. It was one such pool she was searching for, but after a few moments of observation, she discerned this wasn''t the one and blipped onwards. Further upstream she came across another pool, this one with a deposit of gravel on one side that resembled a small, rocky beach. The inhabitants of that small beach made this pool instantly recognizable as the one she sought.

    On the miniature shore were three blobs of translucent blue goop. They were distinctly not puddles, as one might expect of goop, but were instead formed into distinct, almost spherical shapes that bulged and sagged from their own weight like large bubbles of water that refused to pop. Leaves, twigs, and small rocks clung to their sticky underside, and various larger objects were suspended inside the blobs. These were the slimes she was looking for, but where was her target?

    She dropped from the branch, blipping across much of the gap between herself and the forest floor. When she reappeared behind a tree and just above the ground, she reached down with the stick to arrest her momentum and once again come to a slow, gentle landing. Another blip brought her next to a root slightly shorter than she was, which she peered over to observe the slimes more closely. The slimes failed to notice her, despite the cone of her wizard hat poking high above the root.

    The three slimes were about two feet in diameter and undulated gently as they appeared to rest beside the pool. They were facing away from her, towards the water, which Iris could only discern because through their translucent bodies she could see the silhouettes of various objects -- mostly sticks and rocks -- that floated near the surface of their bubble-like bodies in the shape of crudely drawn faces. From what she could find in the library, no one actually knew why slimes tended to have faces, the most obvious answer to Iris was that they simply enjoyed having faces and made them on purpose. Scholars seemed particularly heated about applying the concept of sentience to the strange little creatures, however, and the consensus seemed to be that they were for some reason crudely mirroring the appearance of creatures around them by unintentional, automatic means -- no actual reason was agreed upon, only that it wasn''t caused by sentience, which Iris found ridiculous.

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    Another hole in the understanding of slimes was how they perceived the world around them. Most agreed it was unlikely the faces actually had anything to do with it, as there was no reason rocks that held the place of eyes would actually function as eyes in any way. Some suggested that slimes could see by sensing vibrations in the ground and even the air around them, which made sense given that they had been observed reacting to nearby movement in all directions but seemed oblivious to movement further away regardless of direction. However the creatures perceived the world, it clearly worked for them, as Iris observed one of the slimes stretch and shoot out a portion of its body into the water with a splash, snatching up a small fish and absorbing it into the goop before retracting back to its bloblike shape. After a moment, the slime convulsed and ejected a splash of water in a process not unlike a burp.

    As fascinating as it was to watch the creatures, they weren''t actually the slimes she was here for. The quest was simple, recover a runaway pet slime named Bell. Bell belonged to a nice old woman Iris had met in the city after blipping across her balcony and accidentally knocking over a potted plant. After Iris profusely apologized, the woman -- Miss Beal -- had laughed it off and offered Iris tea. As they spoke, Iris learned about Miss Beal''s missing pet, and agreed to find him for her to make up for the damaged plant.

    According to Miss Beal, Bell the Slime was about the size of the bottomless bag on Iris''s waist, vibrant green in color, and had a distinctive bell suspended in his goop just above his left eye. Miss Beal had gone on to explain that Bell had always been well behaved growing up, but had recently reached the dreaded rebellious stage that she claimed all slimes eventually went through, and had since fallen in with a bad crowd of mana slimes that hung out by the creek just outside the city. Apparently the woman had hiked out here herself a week prior in an effort to bring Bell back home, but hadn''t been able to convince the slime to come home before she was chased off by the angry mana slimes. Iris had found the old woman''s characterization of the slimes amusing and absolutely charming, and was more than happy to help her recover a pet she clearly cared a lot about.

    Iris waited and watched for quite some time, long enough for two more fish to drop into the pool from upstream and get gobbled up by the slimes, but there was no sign of Bell. A pit of worry was growing in her stomach, until the sun had shifted just enough that the rays cutting through the canopy glinted off something under a pile of twigs and branches on the back edge of the tiny shore. With a squint, she could barely make out glimpses of bright green beneath the litter.

    Assuming she was looking at Bell beneath those branches, she would have to do a decent amount of work to get him out of there, which would without question alert the nearby slimes by the water. She could perhaps coax him into coming out on his own, but that still presented the same problem. If the slimes wanted a fight, then she really only had one option, but she didn''t feel right sucker punching them before she knew for sure they would attack. So, despite how stupid she felt for doing it, she blipped atop the root, hopped down and slowly approached the mana slimes.

    "Uh, hello," she said with a sheepish smile and wave.

    The largest of the slimes twisted around to stare at her with eyes made of two small white rocks, a straight twig for a mouth, and redwood leaves for eyebrows. At first it was expressionless -- or perhaps slightly shocked, Iris couldn''t tell -- then the leaves angled into an undeniably negative expression, and the slime twisted back towards the water.

    "Okaaay," Iris said, inching closer to the pile of branches, "I''m just gonna mess with some stuff over here, then."

    She reached the pile without any further attention from the mana slimes, and crouched down to inspect the glimpses of bright green while careful to keep the mana slimes in her peripheral. After moving a few twigs and dried leaves aside, she saw the delightful face of a small green slime staring back at her. He had two black pebbles for eyes, both slightly misshapen, a W-shaped twig for a mouth, and a bell floating above and behind his left eye. He was squished back into a crevice and Iris got the impression he was hiding.

    "Aw, what''s the matter little guy?" she said softly, then whispered, "new friends turn out not so nice?"

    The slime inched towards her, then quickly slinked back into his hidey-hole. At the same time, Iris saw movement in her periphery and blipped. As she reappeared, one of the large blue slimes crashed down where she had just been standing, and was now undulating angrily as it turned to face her.

    "Whoa, guys," Iris held up her hands, still holding her stick in one of them, "we don''t have to fight."

    The other two slimes were now facing her, too. One of them scrunched up as if trying to squeeze itself into a smaller shape and began to undulate aggressively. Iris watched with a disgusted and confused expression. After a few seconds, there was a flash of light from within the slime, and a small bolt of zigzagging magic shot out and zapped Iris on the hand.

    "Ow!" she yelped, shaking her hand that now bore a blackened scorch mark between the thumb and forefinger.

    The slimes began to inch closer to her.

    "Okay," she sighed, "so we''re doing this."

 109 - A Sticky Situation

    The middle slime bulged outwards as it compressed towards the ground, then extended rapidly and launched up and forward in a flash of speed. The walking stick slapped wetly against the creature, then released a blast of force that exploded the slime into a violent splatter of goop. Iris reached to wipe the slime from her eyes with her sleeve, and slapped herself with the bracer. She grunted in frustration, then shifted her face to the crook of her arm to smudge away the slime. Before she could see, something slammed into her chest and knocked the wind from her lungs. After recovering from a stumble, Iris opened her half-cleaned eyes to see the slime with eyebrows retracting from a lunge with a large, spiked piece of driftwood half sticking out of its body. There wasn''t time to check her armor, the slime by the creek was charging another magic zap.

    The slime with eyebrows shrunk back for another lunge, and Iris blipped. She reappeared near the shore beside the spellcasting slime. Her feet slid on gravel and carried her into her strike, a strong overhand swing of the stick with a blast of force that blew straight through the slime as it flashed brightly with magic. The zap shot out and struck her cuirass, searing the leather and leaving the flesh behind it badly stinging. The goop of the exploded slime landed in scattered splashes in the pool near the downstream outlet where they were soon swept away.

    Iris recovered from the exchange with panting breaths and an indignant scowl, then turned to face the remaining slime, expecting it be upon her. Instead, it hadn''t moved closer at all, and between them were four smaller slimes, each about the size of an apple, with two more in the process of forming from the scattered goop of the first exploded slime. These new slimes had no false eyes or faces, but Iris still found the small, featureless blobs kind of adorable -- if vaguely threatening.

    The walking stick wasn''t tugging on her mana, so she knew the last strike must have expended the last of the force stored within it. She considered her sword, but quickly imagined what a mistake chopping up slimes would be. Her next thought seemed like something, so she reached out towards one of the tiny slimes. She had never tried using her Send and Retrieve ability on living creatures, but she could blip others with her personal teleport ability at a significantly higher mana cost, so she tried it. The tiny slime blipped into her hand like a ball of viscous mud. An instinctual response from Iris flicked the sticky creature from her hands and sent it careening into the water. The mana cost had been surprisingly low, but was still too much to be sustainable for the number of small slimes that remained, and wouldn''t help at all with the big one. She steadied her breath as the tiny slimes began to bouncing towards her, and the slime with eyebrows took a menacing hop behind them. Her brain raced while her mana recharged.

    "Let''s try something fancy," she said under her breath, then looked to the towering tree trunks above her.

    The instant her mana maxed out, she entered a chain of blips and kicked off a trunk after each one, depositing her high above the forest floor. She angled the last kick so she''d launch mostly upwards, and she arched before beginning to fall. On the way down she blipped once to correct her aim and tucked her feet so the walking stick would impact first. As expected, it absorbed her momentum and brought her to a soft landing just behind the slime with eyebrows.

    Her mana was now low again, and the walking stick wanted it all. She angled the strike towards the water and gave the stick the rest of her mana, but the slime twisted to block her attack with the driftwood spike. The force released by the stick exploded the driftwood into splinters that embedded themselves in the slime and the ground behind it, an unlucky tiny slime was obliterated by the shrapnel. Pain shot through Iris''s head and veins as her mana well emptied, and she stumbled back against the pile of branches clutching her head. The slime with eyebrows was undulating towards her.

    A flash of green caught her eye, and she noticed the little green slime was near her foot, just beneath a few small branches. His lifeless pebble eyes stared up at her with a perpetually cute expression. He was almost reachable, and she had an idea. She watched the slime with eyebrows warily while dropping the walking stick into her bag. With one hand clutching the exterior of the bag and another reaching into the void, she waited until she had just enough mana for two blips.

    The first one brought her into the air over the slime with eyebrows, where she threw the bag backwards away from her waist while her other hand pulled her two-handed greatsword from the void. The second blip brought her just behind her foe, where she dropped the sword down the middle of the blob. The two distinct blobs fell to either side, each sharing one eye, one eyebrow, and half a mouth. After a moment, they righted themselves and began to move separately. Iris was already spinning, absently stomping a tiny slime beneath her boot as she swung a wide horizontal swipe that cleaved both newly formed slimes in half again. The chunks that fell to the ground soon began to move again and bounced towards each other to reform, giving Iris the time she needed.

    After running in a half circle around the reforming slime, she ducked down and moved the last branches. Bell the Slime was shaking, apparently quaking in fear, but she didn''t hesitate to scoop him up in her hand even as he tried to pull away. Quickly and rather rudely, she dumped him into her bottomless bag.

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    She spoke quickly and in a single breath, "you''ll be safe in there, sorry!" and then blipped away to make her escape.

    <hr>

    Iris landed gently on the beaten dirt road and strolled towards to the Giantrock City gates. Plucking Bell the slime from her bottomless bag, she held him up in front of her face as she walked. He tried to slink away from her, pressing his squishy body into her grasping fingers. He jiggled slightly, as if shaking in fear.

    "It''s okay, little guy," she said kindly, "you''re almost home."

    He seemed to somewhat relax, but his posture -- if you could call it posture -- was still tense.

    "Here," she held the slime up to her left shoulder, "how about you ride on my shoulder, instead?"

    The slime half stretched and half rolled to reach out towards her shoulder and cling to the fabric of her robe, then suddenly unstuck from her hand and finished the roll. After a few seconds, the pebbles and stick that made up his face reoriented to an upright, forward facing position. He seemed to calm, and Iris smiled at him fondly.

    The gates to the city were spread wide, and several people were coming and go as she entered. A guard was posted on either side of the gate, and she briefly worried they might try to stop her from bringing a slime into the city. However, one guard was staring off towards the beach, while the other was preoccupied hassling another adventurer about the flaming sword he carried, insisting that the adventurer would have to wait for the flame spell to expire before bringing the sword inside the city.

    It was a short walk from the gates to Miss Beal''s apartment, which was situated in the southwestern quarter of the city. Iris traveled most of the way on foot, wary of running or blipping while the slime rode on her shoulder, until she reached the building Miss Beal lived on. At that point, she reached across to place a hand on the slime and hold him in place while she blipped up to Miss Beal''s balcony. This consumed extra mana because she was carrying the slime, but not enough to make a problem out of a single blip.

    Iris gently knocked on the sliding balcony door, and Miss Beal soon slid it open and gasped. Instantly, the woman scooped Bell the slime off Iris''s shoulder and brought him into a tight hug, squeezing the slime so tight that he bulged out above and below her arms like he might pop.

    "Thank you!" Miss Beal gushed as she released her choke hold on the slime and tears welled in her eyes, "my boy''s home again!"

    She held the slime out at arm''s length to inspect him, then brought him close again and cradled him like a baby, "how was he? Did he give you any problems?"

    "No," Iris laughed, "he was good. I found him hiding under some debris near the other slimes, I think they were bullying him."

    "Typical hooligans," Miss Beal scoffed, then looked down at the slime in her arms, "I hope you didn''t pick up any bad habits out there, Bell."

    The slime said nothing.

    "Thank you again, Iris," Miss Beal said, "if there''s anything I can do to repay you, just name it."

    "Nope," Iris said with a shake of her head, "I''m the one repaying you for the pot I broke."

    Iris felt a strange sensation of pressure overcome her. The air felt thick and the walls felt like an enclosing cage. She squeezed her eyes shut and took a step back.

    "Is something wrong?" Miss Beal asked.

    "Uh, no," Iris said laboriously, "I better get going."

    She turned and blipped off the balcony as Miss Beal called out a final thank you. First Iris landed one of the rope bridges that crisscrossed the upper levels of the street, but quickly felt as if the ground below was a bubbling cauldron that she precariously dangled over. Her vision narrowed, and the sounds of the city morphed together into a deafening cacophony. With a desperate blip, she landed on a roof top and felt a measure of relief, but it wasn''t enough, so she blipped again to the peak of the roof.

    The wind caught her robes and her sleeves flapped in its wake, but she didn''t just feel the wind against her body -- she felt it everywhere. She sensed the currents of wind parting around her, swirling and morphing, splitting and combining. Even with her eyes squeezed shut, she felt the shape of the building on which she stood, and knew the exact fluttering of her robes and dangling of the drawstring on her bag. It was a pressure. A weight exerted on reality by an invading force of things that did not belong. Presence where there should be empty, matter where there should be void.

    After carefully and deliberating catching her breath, Iris slowly peeked open her eyes. The combined sensations of seeing the faraway buildings but feeling the air itself stretching out before her was almost sickening. She averted her eyes to the shingled roof beneath her, where she found peace when her eyes and her strange new sense agreed that it should be there. Cautiously, Iris lowered herself into a seated position on the angled rooftop, and opened her adventure journal.

    IRIS ORION

    Hero Rank, Level 10

    Experience Points: 56 / 7580

    Progress to next level: 0.73%

    Recent Accomplishments:

    Quest Complete: Rescue and return Bell the Slime. 200 experience awarded.

    She skipped over her attributes for now, instead flipping straight to her new ability.

    Awareness of Matter

    Source : Thread of Power (Void)

    Cooldown : N/A

    Mana cost : None

    Description :

    Sense the exerted pressure of matter onto the void. Range scales with Spirit Attribute. Perceived detail scales with Intellect Attribute.

    Available Evolutions : 0

 110 - Autumn Has a Plan

    After nearly an hour, Iris finally felt comfortable enough with the bombardment of sensations from her ability to get moving again. Still avoiding the narrow, crowded streets below, she blipped across roof tops for as long as possible before reaching the edge of the city, where she blipped down to an alleyway just out of view of the city gates. She hurried out onto the road and through the gates, cringing when anyone passed too close.

    The world felt suffocating. She could feel that every person, every object, and even the air itself pushed against the void, stretching it beyond its natural state of rest with a demand to exist. It felt wrong, as if the presence of matter itself was a denial of the way things were meant to be. The feeling had already somewhat faded from the intensity at which it had begun, but she still couldn''t imagine bearing the busy boardwalks of the Underbelly in her current state, so instead she took a detour through the forest.

    As she walked beneath the towering redwoods, she felt the presence of every bug that flew by and noticed every breeze before it reached her skin. Though each tree was a massive affront to the void, the space between them was proportional and created more open air than the city, and the comparatively light pressure of the air served as a much needed reprieve from oppressive weight of solid matter. Iris meandered through the forest for quite some time, slowly but surely growing familiar with the new sensations as the associated feeling of wrongness faded but never quite dissipated.

    When she finally felt ready, Iris looped back towards the beach, blipped atop the docks, and made her way into the Underbelly. The densely packed boardwalk was as miserable and overwhelming as she had expected, but she kept her head down and focused on putting one foot in front of the next. Once, and only once, she allowed herself a glance upwards at the massive rock that jutted out over the bay and sheltered the Underbelly in shadows. It was too far away for her to sense it, but the mere thought of an object that large defying the void made her stomach churn, and she quickly averted her gaze back to the boardwalk below her feet. She could feel the thickness of the planks beneath her feet and the gap of air between them and the ever-sloshing water beneath. For a moment her mind blissfully wandered towards a distracting thought as she recalled the Fish Wizard''s hatch back in the tavern. How did it open up to water just below the floor of the Flopping Fish if the lake''s surface was further below? What did he do down there anyway? Did he have some sort of underwater house down there? Potential answers to these silly questions occupied her mind for the rest of her journey, and offered reprieve that she greatly appreciated.

    After an eternity too long, she finally found herself approaching the door to the Flopping Fish. Stepping inside and leaning against the door as it closed behind her, she closed her eyes and breathed a deep sigh of relief. Then her eyes snapped open when she sensed something barreling towards her.

    "Iris!" Autumn exclaimed, stopping just short of slamming into her, "I need your help."

    "Does it have to be right now?" Iris asked tiredly.

    Autumn was already grabbing her by the arm and pulling her towards a table where Titus sat with his arms crossed, looking down at a piece of parchment. She instructed Iris to sit, and she complied while trying not to be bothered by the existence of the chunk of matter that was a support beam just behind where Autumn seated her.

    "Look at this," Autumn said with excitement, twisting and sliding the parchment over to Iris.

    Iris inspected it for a moment, having to force herself to ignore the pressure of the large wooden table squeezing its way into reality before she could actually read the poster. It included a drawing of the Shark Titan''s five mast ship that currently loomed in the waters just beyond the city. The header was written in bold font at the top of the poster, while beneath the ship was a block of smaller text.

    CHEF WANTED ABOARD

    THE GAPING MAW

    Experienced chef wanted for a journey to the Shining Blue and beyond.

    Contact Quartermaster Luo at dock 12 before the Grand Hunt closes.

    Only Champion rank or higher will be considered.

    "I tried applying and the quartermaster turned me away when he realized I''m not a Champion," Autumn continued without waiting for Iris to respond, "but I have a plan. I''m not just going to get the job, we''re going to get this whole party a spot on the boat."

    Iris opened her mouth to respond, but hesitated to speak. She looked to Titus for hint at how she should respond, but he simply shrugged.

    "That''s great," she eventually said, not quite convincingly, "why do we want that?"

    "For adventure!" Autumn said too loudly, "you love adventure, just imagine it. We''re on the frontier, everything east of the lake is untouched and unexplored by the empire! Who knows what we might find out there!"

    "That does sound pretty cool," Iris admitted.

    "It''s not completely unexplored," Titus corrected, "there''s basic maps of the lands that were surveyed from the sky, and some explorers have gone east by land and come back with stories, too. I heard there''s a city of giants out there."

    "Giants?" Iris''s eyes widened.

    "And a swamp bigger than the Great Forest!" Autumn exclaimed, "they say there''s an elf city there."

    Iris''s mind filled with ideas. Within seconds, she was already imagining what great wonders awaited them to the east, and the pages of an adventure magazine she could fill with them. Her skepticism wasn''t completely overwhelmed, however, and Autumn could see as much on her face.

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    "Think about it," Autumn said, "the five of us sailing across Giantrock on a pirate ship with a freaking shark for a captain. We''ll see so many cool things that hardly anyone''s ever seen before, maybe fight monsters that haven''t even been discovered yet. Can you think of a better adventure than that?"

    Iris couldn''t contain her excitement anymore, "you got me, I''m in."

    "Hell yeah!" Autumn shouted, pumping a fist in the air before sliding into a seat at the table, "alright, here''s the plan so far. They won''t consider me for the job because I''m not a Champion yet. I''m still only level 27 so ranking up in time is out of the question, but I can convince the Shark Titan I''m the one he wants for the job. I just need a chance to cook a full course meal for the Shark Titan himself," she grinned wide and beamed confidence as she drove the point of her finger into the poster, "once he tries my best meals I''ll have him hooked for my pitch, and after he hears what I have to say, I''ve got ''em!"

    "How are you going to get an opportunity like that?" Iris asked.

    "Easy, I''m going to lure the Shark Titan here to the tavern under false pretenses, then pack him full of the best food he''s ever eaten before he has a chance to get mad about it."

    Iris blinked at her, "that''s a terrible idea."

    "It''s early stages, don''t worry about it," Autumn dismissed her with a hand wave, "now that you''re on board, that just leaves Victoria. When''s she coming back from the outpost?"

    Iris seemed surprised that Autumn would ask her, and instead looked to Titus.

    "Three days, I think?" Titus said.

    "Okay," Autumn nodded, "you two get to brainstorming, I have an idea for how to get the Shark Titan here, but we still need to get Eli out of the tavern for a night -- he absolutely cannot know about the plan, he''d never go along with it. We''ll have a formal meeting and lay out plans when Victoria gets back, and in the mean time I''ll get to work figuring out how to get her on board with the plan."

    "Won''t we have to tell him?" Iris asked, "I mean, if this works and we get on the ship?"

    "We''ll already be done with the parts he''ll have a problem with, there''ll be nothing he can do," Autumn said, "and even he won''t say no to the opportunity when it''s right in front of him."

    Iris humored Autumn for a little longer before retiring to her room. In truth, she was growing pretty excited about the whole idea. Sailing on the Shark Titan''s ship would certainly be a memorable tale full of fantastic adventures. On the other hand, though, right now she was exhausted. When the door to her room shut behind her, she quickly stripped from her clothes and donned pajamas before limply collapsing onto her bed. Even while a piece of her mind still complained about the existence of matter, she was eternally thankful for the existence of soft blankets.

    She heard a quiet thumping sound from the floor of her room and groggily lifted her head to glance over the edge of her bed. Her bottomless bag lay open on the floor, and a baby wyvern was upside down in a heap beside it. The wyvern clumsily rolled and climbed to his feet, then screeched at Iris.

    "Shhh!" she hissed, shooting out of bed and crouching down beside the wyvern to console it, "right, I almost forgot. Are you hungry little guy?"

    The wyvern perked up and flapped his wings. Iris smiled and took a seat on the floor, then reached into the bag and withdrew a small ceramic bowl and placed it on the ground. The wyvern immediately stuck his snout in the bowl, looking up with an angry glare when he found it empty.

    "Hang on," Iris laughed, "give me a second."

    She fished a small chunk of roasted boar from her bag, held it out of the reach of the little wyvern''s snapping jaws while she unwrapped it, then dropped into the bowl. The wyvern dived after it, immediately grabbing hold of it with needle-sharp teeth and violently shaking his head to rip it apart. Iris smiled proudly as she watched. She was thankful that the wyvern didn''t seem to be able to eat anything while inside the bag, or he probably would''ve eaten his way through all of their supplies by now.

    "You''re gonna need a name soon, you know," Iris said to the wyvern.

    A soft sound like a distantly echoing chorus of harmonizing tones came from the opening of the bottomless bag. The overlapping tones sounded like musical notes that were somehow organic, as if made by a singing creature rather than an instrument. Iris hadn''t quite learned how to understand the bag''s noises yet, but she had been working under the assumption that harmonizing tones were affirmative, and discordant roars were negative.

    "How about," Iris thought for a moment, "Derrick?"

    The bag released a sound like a faraway roar of deep and aggressive clashing musical notes, seemingly very displeased. The wyvern only seemed to care about his meal.

    "Okay," Iris said, pondering, "what about something intimidating like Ragon The Devourer?"

    The bag roared discordantly again, this time twisting slightly as if it shaking its head.

    "Hmm," Iris said, thinking as she watched the wyvern tear into the meat in its dish, leaving tiny puncture marks in the flesh each time it let go to get a better grip, "how about Littletooth?"

    The bag was quiet for a moment, then released a soft harmony of gentle tones. The wyvern finished his meal and started sniffing the air for more.

    "What do you think?" She asked the wyvern, patting him on the head, "do you want to be called Littletooth?"

    He didn''t seem to complain, so Iris nodded in satisfaction, "Littletooth it is, then."

    Iris reached into the bag and pulled out a small plush elk toy she had bought from the market and tossed it across the room. Littletooth spread his wings wide and stomped after it, when he reached his target he bit it by the neck and shook it violently.

    The bag roared discordantly, and a purple tentacle rose out of the void, curled around, and pointed at the bag.

    "Do you want to play, too?" Iris asked, surprised.

    The bag roared.

    Iris gave the bag a weird look, then it occurred to her, "oh! Do you want a name, too?"

    The bag chimed softly.

    "Hmm," Iris thought for a moment, "can you hand me my journal?"

    The tentacle withdrew into the void, then returned a short moment later wrapped around Iris''s adventure journal. She took the journal from the tentacle and opened it to her abilities page. Unlike her regular abilities, for which the journal included descriptions, the special ability from which the bag originated only had a title listed. Until recently, that titled had read simply "Extra-dimensional Familiar, unknown," but since the bag had revealed a tentacle and begun to make sounds, that title had expanded. It now read "Extra-dimensional Familiar: Void Aberration." Iris had no idea what a Void Aberration was, but she assumed her bag ¨C or the entity inside of it, at least -- was one. After a moment of thought, she had an idea.

    "How about Abby?"

    The bag said nothing for a moment, then let out a gentle harmony that reminded Iris of waves on a beach.

    "Alright then," Iris smiled and held out a hand, "pleasure to meet you, Abby."

    The tentacle wrapped firmly around her hand, but seemed unsure of what to do next. Iris made a point to demonstrate an exaggerated handshake, "that''s called a handshake. It''s how we greet new people, and how we show that we agree on something."

    The bag released harmonizing tones.

    Iris peered at her open journal and the unallocated attribute points waiting for her. Fatigue bore down on her eyelids and shoulders, and she decided to deal with those tomorrow. She clapped the book shut, handed it to Abby''s tentacle to return to the bag, and rose to her feet.

    "Abby, can you look after the little one?"

    The bag agreed.

    "Thanks," Iris smiled faintly, then climbed into bed and promptly fell asleep with the bedside candle still burning.

 111 - Modern Machinery

    Iris awoke the next morning with a weight on her chest. Peeking open an eye, she saw Littletooth curled into a ball on top of her, sound asleep, with Abby just off to the side. She smiled, then gently woke the wyvern with a head scratch.

    "Hungry?" she asked in a croaky morning voice.

    The baby wyvern shot up, stumbled to his feet and leapt off the bed with wings outstretched. He landed with a thud and a tumble, followed by skittering on the wooden floors as he staggered back to his feet. Iris laughed loudly, and quickly prepared the wyvern''s breakfast. While Littletooth ate, Iris picked up her journal and began reviewing her attribute points.

    Attribute Scores:

    - Vitality : 36

    - Strength : 41

    - Speed : 31

    - Intellect : 31

    - Spirit : 46

    Unspent attribute points : 5

    She had felt confident in her balance of attributes lately. Though she often pushed her mana to the limit, she was certain she''d do that no matter how much she had. She considered it more of a question of if her current mana capacity was getting the job done or not, and lately, it was. With the acquisition of her newest ability, she now had a concrete reason to invest in Spirit other than mana, but the last thing she wanted at the moment was to expand the range of the new ability and inundate herself with even more overwhelming pressure from all directions.

    Intellect was the other attribute her new ability called for. After increasing her Intellect following the battle with the shock wizard, she had grown confident that it did in fact help her analyze and plan in the midst of battle, which was something she greatly valued. As she thought about it, she remembered she had also struggled for a moment to come up with strategies at one point during the slime battle, and decided that Intellect was definitely her most lacking area right now. Plus, with any luck, increasing the detail she could discern from her new ability might serve to decrease the disarray it caused amongst her other senses. She hadn''t let go of her desire to be an unstoppable powerhouse, however, so her final decision was to put one point into Strength, and four into Intellect. Next, she flipped to see if there were any new entries from her mother, and was delighted to find one.

    Dear Iris

    My companions and I will be departing from the Shining Peaks tomorrow. The Stone of Forgotten Woes has been charged and we¡¯ve gotten all we can from the Wizards. Our next destination is the Veiled Catacombs, in the Crooked Woods to the north beyond the plains. It feels like time is moving so fast, I swear sometimes I can''t even remember yesterday.

    I''ve had little luck in the libraries, but I''m thankful to have struck at least one lead. In a book listing each of the kings of a long dead kingdom, I found reference to a King Xear, who is said to have experienced "concurrent lifetimes." It''s a long shot, but it''s the only condition similar to my own that I''ve found reference to. If things go well in the catacombs, our next stop will be capitol, and if there''s anywhere I should be able to find more information about ancient kings, it''s there.

    I hope your adventures are going well, Iris. I often wish you could write back to me about them. I hope one day when we meet, you''ll tell me all about them.

    Mary Orion, 969

    Iris was delighted to see new locations referenced in this entry, it would give her something to map out in the library and uncover just a little bit more about her mother''s story. With a smile, she began her own journal entry.

    Dear mom,

    I wish I could tell you about my adventures, too. My magical bag is alive, I have a baby wyvern that lives inside it, and my friends and I just decided to hatch a plot to earn our place on a pirate ship captained by a shark man. Adventuring is everything I hoped it would be, and I hope I get to tell you about it one day.

    Iris Orion, 997

    After snapping the book closed, Iris got dressed for the day. She decided on her black robes and hat because she thought it was the outfit she looked best in -- and it was the most clean. She decidedly did not wear her leather armor, instead tossing it in her bag in case she needed it later. Extra care was put into making sure just the right strands of hair dangled out of the hat and fell around her face just the right way.

    When she was ready to go, Iris held out the open bag to Littletooth and tried to usher him in, but he refused. With a sigh, she grabbed his elk plush and tossed it into the void, which he happily chased after. He tripped on the edge of the bag and tumbled in awkwardly, disappearing into the emptiness.

    After a quick breakfast, Iris blipped her way through the Underbelly, around to the city gates, and over the rooftops of Giantrock City. She was blissfully free of the overwhelming pressure she had felt the day before, and could now properly enjoy the benefits of heightened spatial awareness. The most noticeable advantage for blipping was that as she ran, leapt and blipped across rooftops, she could feel if every step would land ahead of time and without looking down, freeing up her eyes to scan ahead for blipping locations.

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    She came out of a blip and landed on a balcony, striking her walking stick into the deck to absorb her momentum. The door was open, and the sounds of hissing air and clanking metal could be heard from within. She checked her hair in the reflection on the widow, then confidently strode inside.

    "Hey!" She said with a cheery wave.

    "Oh!" Milo shouted, shooting up from the machine he was working on and almost hitting his head on a metal beam.

    "Sorry," she apologized sheepishly.

    "It''s okay!" Milo said, climbing out of a recess in the floor beside the printing press.

    The machine was a marvelous sight, and captivated Iris every time she saw it in action. It was massive, taking up one full half of the room, which itself was quite large and double the height of what Iris imagined to be a normal floor for the building. Large chunks of metal hoisted and slammed, sometimes extruding steam from exhaust pipes. One-by-one, the machine moved large sheets of paper under a broad, flat press, which slammed down on the pages, radiating a strange green light before retracted while the next page was moved into place.

    "I must have lost track of time," Milo said with an apologetic laugh. He was carrying a large wrench and wearing tan overalls with a white undershirt which were both stained with either ink or grease.

    "Problems with the machine?" Iris asked, nodding towards the behemoth.

    "Yeah," Milo put a hand on his hip and turned to face it, "it''s printing off-center, and I haven''t found the culprit yet. The copies are still good enough, we can use them, but I just can''t stand the way it looks."

    "Well, you still owe me a look around this thing," Iris said, "maybe I can help."

    "Are you sure?" Milo asked quickly, "I mean, alright. If you really want to."

    Iris took off her hat and placed it on a table, which was overflowing with stacks of paper on the corners and littered with mechanical bits in the middle, and then rolled up her sleeves.

    "Let''s get to it," she said with a smile.

    Milo smiled back and nodded in response, then turned his attention to the machine, "the problem''s gotta be somewhere in the back. The belt and the press are in perfect alignment, so that must mean the pages are getting offset somewhere up in the machine, probably the alignment sticks."

    He walked to the far end of the machine and yanked down a large metal lever, and the printing machine began to slow. It printed one more sheet, then the press meandered its way back to its starting position and the machine went still and the room went quiet.

    "Now," Milo said, "there''s not enough room to climb straight through behind the press, we''ll have to go in through the top, climb down between the pistons, and squeeze between a couple gears to get to the sticks. Are you sure you''re up for it?"

    Iris crouched and peered beneath the press. There was just enough room for her to squeeze between the printing press and the belt, but the support bars on the back side of it were far too close to the beltway for her to fit through. While Milo was retrieving a ladder, Iris approached the machine, closed her eyes, and focused on her newly acquired senses. She felt the bulk of the machine at first as a single mass, but as she honed in her focus she began to discern some of the larger distinct parts, and then began to notice the gaps between them.

    Milo turned around with the ladder held straight up, awkwardly balancing a few steps before he was near enough to prop it against the machine. He then got to work carefully positioning it so the posts of the ladder weren''t resting against any uneven or movable parts. He eyed the ladder with trepidation, trying not to look at the assorted pipes, beams and pistons he could hit on the way down if he fell.

    "You mean these sticks?" Iris''s voice echoed from somewhere in the machine, "two spindly things, kind of make a triangle?"

    "How did you--" Milo ducked to peer under the press, where he spotted Iris near the back of the beltway, "yeah, that''s them. Did you blip back there?"

    "Yep!" Iris called back, "what do I do with these things?"

    "Are they symmetrical?"

    "Looks like it," Iris trailed off as she inspected the sticks more closely, "actually, this one''s a little bent."

    "Must have been damaged in the jam yesterday. Hang on a minute, don''t move."

    Milo came back to the machine with an armful of tools and a spare alignment stick, which was really just a thin brass bar with squared edges and a precisely molded socket to attach to the machine. He dumped them down on the belt in front of the press and began to climb on top of it to carry the tools hopefully far enough for Iris to reach them. Before he got his second knee on the belt, the items started disappearing before his eyes.

    "Uh, is that you?" he asked.

    "Yep! More magic powers!" Iris called out from the machine, "what do I do with these, by the way?"

    After repairing the machine, Iris and Milo spent much of the day together. They went out for the lunch as originally planned, then caught an afternoon play at the closest thing Giantrock City had to a theater, and finished off with window shopping in the richest area of town. Iris had since walked Milo home, and was now strolling through the city in the late evening. She chose to walk rather than blip because it wasn''t as hot as it had been most days that week, and she found peace in the casual stroll after a busy day.

    She stopped when she detected something on the sidewalk -- something that wasn''t there. She turned and peered at the spot, seeing only the wooden wall of a closed storefront, but her Awareness of Matter ability was telling her something was there. Then, as fast as she had noticed it, it was gone. The sensation was pleasant, like a blissful relief that existing matter had -- for once -- stopped existing. She stared at the spot with a peculiar expression for a while longer, then moved on.

    The sun was setting over the tops of the redwoods when Iris entered the Underbelly and soon arrived home at the Flopping Fish. Inside, she found Eli and Cameron sitting at a table with a pitcher of beer.

    "I bought it from a metal crafter in town," Cameron was saying, "high level Champion, he crafts everything with his abilities."

    "That must have cost a fortune. You''re hoping it''ll pair well with your bomb jump trick, aren''t you?"

    Iris waved as she walked by, noticing a strange, seemingly handheld contraption on the table. It looked like a small crossbow with large hooks on the end of the projectile, which itself was connected to a metal cable that wrapped around a spool affixed to the side of the device. The two men nodded at her in greeting without skipping a beat of their discussion. For a moment she thought it would be fun to pick on them for the amount of time they''d spent together recently, than realized she had just returned from her second date with Milo this week and was in no position to talk.

 112 - A Day In The Forest

    Early in the morning, Iris departed the Flopping Fish and headed for the forest. She was wearing her green robes and leather armor, which still bore a scar and scorch mark from the slime battle a few days before. She wasn''t off on a quest this time, instead her goal was to find somewhere to train her new ability. It didn''t take long for her to find the perfect place, a small clearing between a rough ring of redwoods which blocked all but the thinnest rays of sunlight. Several bushes dotted the clearing, each of them blooming with dozens of small yellow flowers, and a few strikingly large butterflies floated around and occasionally landed on a bush.

    After taking a moment to enjoy the scene and inspect the layout of the clearing, she pulled a blindfold out of her bag and cinched it tight over her eyes, tying it off just below the brim of her hat. With a deep, centering breath, Iris opened up her awareness to the reality around her. She felt the solid ground beneath her and the flowing air around her, and the fuzzy presence of the nearest bushes. She sensed a butterfly flapping past her a few feet away, and what she guessed to be a lizard scurrying across the ground.

    She sensed a small, almost round object on the ground nearby, and guessed it to be a rock. She reached out towards it and tried to blip it into her hand, letting out a surprised laugh when it actually worked. It made sense, she guessed, she didn''t need to see objects to blip them, just know where they were at. Still, it seemed almost too easy to be true, not to mention it made her feel really cool. As she rolled the object around in her hand, she guessed it to instead be a large tree nut. She walked a short distance until she detected a bush on the very edge of her senses -- which seemed to extend about fifteen feet in any direction -- and tossed the nut at the bush. The leaves of the bush rustled as the nut pasted between them, and she felt the disturbance through her senses.

    Growing confident, she graduated to blindfolded blipping, using her senses to discern empty spots between the bushes. It came so naturally that she was soon blipping circles around the clearing, and caught herself beginning to map it out in her mind. The new awareness was quickly becoming as natural as seeing, and if it weren''t for the limited range, would actually be preferably to sight. She felt everything, all at once, all around her. The weirdest part was realizing that she also felt the whole object, as opposed to seeing only the side that was facing her. In a way, she wasn''t just feeling everything in every direction, but also from every direction.

    She moved on to practicing blindfolded strikes, wielding her wooden training sword and using the bushes as targets. She didn''t actually want to harm any of the bushes or flowers though, so rather than striking them, she made it her challenge to swing the sword as close as possible without actually touching them. Moving from bush to bush, she swung the sword in practiced swings that led one into another as she took deliberate steps and occasionally threw in an awkward twirl or lunge. Iris had read plenty of times that an experienced swordsman would move like a dancer, and she supposed she kind of was -- just not like a very good dancer. Navigating and targeting with her awareness ability soon became so easy that she found herself focusing more on improving her footwork than deciphering her senses. It was as if she was always meant to have this ability, and now that she finally did it was taking its rightful place amongst her senses.

    Something leapt into her field of perception and slammed into the side of her head, knocking the hat off her head and sending her into a stumble that caused her to flail and drop her sword. As she recovered, she ripped the blindfold off and found the creature that had attacked her. It was a very angry squirrel, twice the size of any back home but of normal size for Giantrock. It was crouched low to the ground, and growling at her.

    "Why does everything in this forest growl?" Iris asked incredulously.

    The squirrel leapt at her with aggressive speed, managing to snag her robe with a set of claws before she blipped. The blip dragged the squirrel with her and severely depleted her mana, and the squirrel immediately climbed up and tried to claw at her face.

    "Aah! AAH!" Iris shouted as she fought to pull the squirrel away from her face.

    When she caught a good grip on the squirrel''s scruff, she pulled it away and wound her hand back before throwing the squirrel as hard as she could against a tree trunk, where it landed deftly and immediately shot back towards her. Blipping the fallen training sword into her hand, she brought it up to block just in time to catch the squirrel''s outstretched claws. It clung to the wooden blade as she whipped it around in failed attempts to dislodge it, then leapt at her face again.

    Iris quickly twisted the sword and leaned away, which changed the squirrels trajectory enough for her to dodge the leap and blip away to gain distance. The squirrel was now scurrying through bushes which rustled in its wake. Iris followed the squirrel''s movements through the bushes, based half on sound and half on her awareness ability, and kept her sword ready to block a sudden lunge.

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    When the squirrel finally leapt out at her, she harshly whacked it with the flat of the blade. aA small wheeze came from the creature as it was knocked to the side and sent tumbling across the ground. Iris reared back with her sword threateningly, but when the squirrel recovered it seemed to have learned its lesson and quickly scurried away up a tree. Iris blew the hair out of her face as she watched the squirrel escape, wishing she could think of something cool to yell after it.

    <hr>

    Deep in the Great Forest, where the redwoods crowded together and covered the forest floor in a layer of thick, overlapping roots and the canopy blocked out all but the faintest glow of sunlight, was the forward command outpost. It had first formed as a ragtag regrouping of adventurers during the Matriarch expedition before being converted to a healer''s outpost. Now, weeks later, it served as the base of operations for casualty recovery and spider extermination.

    Most of the clerics had moved out and were primarily replaced by adventurers and parties who specialized in battle and sought to rake in bounties from the city for culling the population of Matriarch offspring in the area. Though smaller in number, another significant portion of the adventurers now populating the outpost were scouts, who were there to find and recover the bodies of adventurers who had fallen in the expedition. The rewards for body recovery were substantially lower than the extermination bounties, with only a small pittance offered by the city and the occasional bonus offered by the fallen adventurer¡¯s party members. This meant that many who contributed to the search did so more out of a sense of duty than pursuit of profits.

    Victoria was among these scouts. In the weeks following the Matriarch expedition, she had dedicated no small amount of her time to the efforts. The largest number of recoveries was made in the days immediately following the expedition, after which many of the scouts had moved on to other ventures. Victoria and a few others had stuck around seeking to recover the bodies of the remaining fifteen adventurers who were unaccounted for. They had since successfully gotten that number down to six, and were now hopefully about to make it five.

    Victoria floated through the dark and claustrophobic woods as a cloud of mist that effortlessly wound between the redwood trunks. She was following a large spectral hound, a summoned familiar of one of the other scouts, as it aggressively pursued a scent trail. When it stopped and began sniffing erratically in crisscrossing patterns, Victoria materialized on a branch overhead. Her eyes glazed over with grey mucus and veins bulged around them, revealing the auras of all living things around her. She honed her focus to a particular spectrum of auras, those commonly associated with rot and decay. In truth, they were the actually the auras of the insects, fungi and other tiny life forms that devoured and decomposed bodies, together forming a hideous cacophony of auras which caused most auraseers to recoil in much the same way as the stench of death.

    The body was in the webs overhead, suspended in a web cocoon affixed between two branches. To her senses, the auras appeared as a mass of black, green and purple bubbles that undulated, swelled, and popped like a boiling mass of death. The spectral hound dissipated into wafts of drifting magic swirls and Marc, a skinny adventurer clad in dark black armor, appeared from a shadow at the base of the branch beside Victoria. He followed her gaze into the darkness and soon spotted the mass of webs at which she stared.

    He disappeared back into the shadows, soon appearing on a branch beside the body. He sliced his sword through the air three times, each slash releasing a spectral blade of energy that shot out beyond the range of his sword and cut through the webs that suspended the cocoon, freeing it to drop to the ground below. Victoria winced at the sickening sound of the landing, then turned to mist and drifting over to it.

    Marc was already there, crouched beside it and using a hooked dagger to cut away the webs and reveal the corpse within. As he pulled away the severed webs, the clothing of the body within revealed its identity without need to see the face. The dead man was wearing the silver-trimmed robes and silver armor of a shock wizard. Marc stopped removing webs, rested his arms on his knees and looked up at Victoria, who was inspecting the body with her auravision.

    "Still six more to go, then," she said gravely.

    "Go inform Kerrick," Marc said, rising to his feet, "I''ll stay with the body."

    There was a third contingent of adventurers operating out of the command outpost, referred to colloquially by the rest of the outpost as the investigation. It was comprised primarily of Champion rank members of the Adventuring Corps on loan from Commander Bridge and currently serving under the command of the Dreamweaver. With them was Ranger Kerrick, who also doubled as the head of recovery efforts. All anyone knew about the investigation was that it related to the wizards who had attacked the expeditions, and everyone operating out of the outpost had been given explicit orders to report any remnants of shock wizard activity to a member of the investigation immediately.

    A while after Victoria departed, Kerrick landed quietly beside Marc, with Victoria arriving and rematerializing from mist form shortly afterwards. Kerrick crouched and wordlessly inspected the body, then glanced around the surroundings.

    "Did you find anything else?" He asked.

    "No sir," Victoria said, "just the body. I can tell you something odd about it, though."

    "Oh?" Kerrick asked, looking up at her curiously.

    She glazed over eyes once more and observed the body with auravision, "there was no venom in his body when he died. I''ve learned that victims who died with venom circulating in their blood have a distinctly more chaotic and active death aura. This one has a local agitation in his lower abdomen, but the venom never spread, implying he was dead before he was bitten."

    "You can see all that through the webs?" Marc asked.

    Victoria''s eyes flicked back to normal, "clear as day."

    "Good work," Kerrick said with a nod, then rose to his feet, "the investigation will take it from here. You''re both free to go."

 113 - Hatching A Plot

    Near the end of the week, after Victoria had returned from her latest tour at the command outpost, the party gathered around a table in the Flopping Fish. The only absence was Eli, who wasn''t expected back for several hours. The sconces which usually lit the first floor of the tavern had been extinguished, and the only light in the room was the dim candles Autumn had haphazardly placed across the table where they gathered.

    "Is the darkness really necessary?" Victoria asked, looking around the room.

    "Absolutely," Autumn said, "you can''t hatch a good plot in a well-lit room."

    Victoria shrugged, taking a small pastry from a plate in the middle of the table stacked high with treats and speaking briefly before taking a bite, "alright, let''s hear it."

    It hadn''t take much to get Victoria to the table, her only demands were that she get time to take a shower first, and that there were snacks. Now, Autumn faced the hard part, actually getting her on board with the plot.

    "What would you say if I told you I could get us a ride out of Giantrock?" Autumn asked.

    "I''d ask how," Victoria said around a small bite of pastry.

    "Okay," Autumn pivoted, "well what if I told you it was on a boat?"

    "You have idea what kind of things grasp my interest, do you?" Victoria asked flatly.

    "She wants to get us all spots the Shark Titan''s ship," Titus said, "by luring him into a full course dinner that''s so good he can''t say no."

    Victoria choked on a sudden laugh, "and you''re going along with this?"

    "Tentatively," he replied.

    "Tentatively?" Autumn nearly shouted.

    "I think it sounds fun," Iris said, blipping a pastry into her hand.

    "Look," Autumn turned back to Victoria, "he''s hiring a chef for a journey across the continent. I don''t meet the rank requirement to apply, but I know if I can cook him a meal I can win him over. Once I do that, I can negotiate spots for the rest of you. I''ll halve my salary for it, if I have to."

    "You''re going to negotiate with the Shark Titan?" Victoria laughed again, "have you considered that he might just eat you, instead of your meal?"

    Autumn froze for a moment while she seemed to consider that outcome for the first time.

    "We''ll just make sure he''s too full from dinner to eat anyone," Iris suggested.

    "Y-yeah!" Autumn agreed, "we''ll do that. I''ll add another course to the dinner."

    "Do you even know what happened to the last chef?" Victoria asked.

    "Well, no--" Autumn started.

    "Do you know if there''s room on the ship for all of us?"

    "I mean, it''s a big ship--"

    "Look, I''ll help," Victoria sighed, then held up a hand before Autumn could celebrate, "but only if you promise to actually think this through before you attempt anything. I don''t want to come home and find out you got your head bitten off. Also, I have a few ground rules. Number one, I''m not going to be here when the Shark Titan is. Number two, keep my role small, I''m putting most of my energy into the recovery efforts at the outpost. And number three, do not, under any circumstances, tell Eli I helped you."

    "Deal!" Autumn said, holding out a hand for Victoria to shake.

    Victoria apprehensively shook it, and then Autumn launched into planning mode.

    "Alright, here''s the agenda. We have three tasks, we need to get there Shark Titan here on a specific night, make sure Eli isn''t here that night, and convince the Fish Wizard to meet with the Shark Titan."

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    "I''ll take care of Eli," Victoria suggested, "I already have a pretty good idea how to keep him busy for the weekend without taking up much of my time. I''ll be back at the outpost by then, though, so it''ll up to you guys to make sure he''s actually gone"

    "Great!" Autumn shouted, "leave the Shark Titan to me, I know just what will get him here. Titus, I''ll need you to deliver a letter to his quartermaster for me. He, uh, kind of banned me from their dock after I said a few things about his mother."

    "Alright," Titus shrugged.

    "Iris," Autumn said, turning to a surprised Iris who had just taken a huge bite of a pastry, "I''ll need you to convince the Fish Wizard."

    Iris hastily chewed her food and swallowed harshly, "how am I supposed to do that? Last time they saw each other the Fish Wizard threatened to mount his head on the wall."

    "I don''t know, just talk to him. You''re both wizards, that''s something."

    "I''m not really a wizard yet," Iris admitted, "I mean I have the hat, and a staff now too I guess, but I haven''t actually done any research or anything--"

    "None of that matters," Autumn interrupted, "just talk to him wizard to wizard, trust me. Also, lie to him."

    "Okay," Iris said with a deep sigh, "don''t get mad at me if it doesn''t work though."

    "Also," Autumn added, "I''ll need your help with dinner preparations. We''ll need a lot of ingredients, some cookware, and some decorations."

    "As long as you''re paying for it all," Iris said, "I spent most of my gold on robes and hats."

    The door to the tavern flew open and Eli barged in. He marched up to the table, the evident fury on his face momentarily interrupted by confusion at the sight of the four of them huddled around a table in the dark.

    "I need to speak to Iris alone," he said flatly.

    The others exchanged quick glances and silently rose from the table, awkwardly but quickly heading for different exits. Autumn left out the front, while Titus went out the back and Victoria went up upstairs. When they were gone, Eli took a seat across from a very intimidated Iris.

    "Can we, uh, light some of the sconces," she asked.

    Eli ignored her question, "I learned something interesting from Cameron today."

    A pit was growing in her stomach as she grew more certain she knew what this was about.

    "He mentioned the Titans are still looking for the missing wyvern egg," he paused for a moment to see if she would respond, "I found that interesting, considering you told me two weeks ago you''d turned it in."

    "If we''re going to talk about this, it''s not going to be an interrogation," Iris said firmly.

    Eli drummed his fingers on the table impatiently, "when we agreed to practice better communication, I assumed that meant we wouldn''t be lying to each other."

    "I was just trying to buy time, okay," Iris said, "things-- things got more complicated."

    "What does that mean?" Eli pleaded, "I need answers, Iris. There are some really powerful people looking for you right now and sooner or later they''re going to catch up. You''re putting yourself and potentially this entire team in danger."

    "Just, promise not to get mad right away," Iris squirmed in her seat, "it really wasn''t my fault. It happened just a few days after I picked up the egg, there was nothing I could do."

    "Tell me what''s going on, Iris," Eli said, half stern and half concerned.

    Iris sighed, grabbed a candle, and rose from her seat. She blipped around the room and lit several sconces with the candle before returning to the table without taking a seat. With trembling hands and a racing heart, she took the bag from her waist and set it down on the table. She tugged on the drawstring, but the bag didn''t open. She tugged again, and it was still cinched tight.

    "It''s okay, Abby," she said, "he won''t hurt him."

    Eli flicked his eyes between Iris and the magical bag as he put the pieces together in his mind. The bag loosened and drooped open.

    "Come on out, Littletooth," Iris said with trepidation.

    After a short delay, a small wyvern head poked out of the bag. Littletooth looked around the room, cocked his head at Eli, and then climbed the rest of the way out of the bag and tumbled onto the table. Iris clenched her jaw and scrunched her eyes as she awaited an outburst from Eli, but it never came. Instead, he stared slack jawed at the creature.

    "You''ve got to be fucking kidding me," he said.

    "It was an accident!" Iris pleaded, the words spilling out of her mouth faster than she could keep up with them, "I don''t know, I was just trying to wrap my head around everything that happened before I decided what to do, I didn''t know it was about to hatch. I didn''t even know it could hatch in the bag. I did some research on wyverns at the library and read about imprinting, apparently they think the first thing they see is their mom, so now that he''s hatched it didn''t feel right to just give him up to strangers."

    "He thinks you''re his mom?" Eli asked incredulously.

    The expression of a stern disciplinarian leader was cracking, and Iris saw glimpses of a young adventurer just as out of his depth and overwhelmed as she was.

    She half smiled, half grimaced, "well, actually, I''m pretty sure he thinks Abby is."

    Eli followed her glance to the bag, then placed his elbows on the table and buried his face in his hands. After a long moment, he wiped his hands down his face and took a breath. When he looked up, Littletooth had stepped closer and was cocking his head to side to side inspecting Eli.

    "There''s a lot of things I want to say right now," he said, his voice cold and flat, "but I think it''s best if we talk about this another day."

    Iris guessed he must be really, really mad, and doing his best to contain the anger. She reached across the table and scooped up Littletooth, cradling him in one arm against her chest while she grabbed the bag off the table with the other. She paused to speak, but wasn''t sure what to say, so instead she blipped away and retreated upstairs.

 114 - Camping Trip

    "Oof, that bad?" Victoria winced.

    "Yeah," Iris said solemnly, "I don''t think I''ve seen him like that before."

    They were seated cross legged on the bed in Victoria''s room, which shared the same layout as Iris''s except it included a window that overlooked the boardwalk. Victoria had decorated the room in her own style, adding purple drapes to the window, a large circular rug in the middle of the floor, and an alter on the dresser which included multiple candles and a stick of incense which burned with a wispy trail of smoke. Between the two women was Littletooth, who was tumbling around on the bed in a vicious battle against his rapidly deteriorating elk plushy.

    Iris had confided in Victoria about the wyvern just a few days after he hatched when the pressure of the secret got too big to bear on her own. Victoria had strongly urged Iris to come clean to the rest of the party about it, but promised not to tell anyone and instead leave it up to Iris. Now, she was gracious enough not to rub in her face that it would have been better to tell Eli sooner rather than lie to him.

    "Believe it or not, it''s a good sign," Victoria said, "he''s been trying to be a more amicable leader, and while it does sound like he''s pretty mad, he''s at least not mad enough that he''s giving up on that goal."

    "Yeah, I guess you''re right. Part of me wishes he''d just get it out of the way though, you know?"

    "You don''t want that," Victoria said, "and neither does he. A cohesive team needs to respect amongst its members and if he keeps yelling at you for everything it''s only going to cause more problems. Let him cool down so he can address this with a level head, it''ll be better for everyone that way. The flip side, though, is that you really need to get your act together and stop giving him reasons to yell at you in the first place."

    Iris opened her mouth to argue, but Victoria held up a hand and continued, "I know it¡¯s not always fair, and sometimes not your fault, but be real with me here. We both know you were way out of line with this one."

    Iris was still for a moment, then sighed, "so how do I make it right?"

    "When he''s ready to talk, be honest with him. And in the future-- honestly? Make better choices."

    Iris laughed a little, but nodded in agreement, "yeah, that would probably be a good start."

    Victoria picked up the elk plushy and dangled it over Littletooth''s head, who hopped and flapped his wings in futile attempts to grab it with his jaws, "he is pretty damn adorable, though. He¡¯ll be quite the killer when he¡¯s older."

    She tossed the toy across the room. Littletooth immediately darted after it, fearlessly leaping off the bed and crashing into the floor before stumbling back to his feet and chasing after it. The two women laughed together at the sight, and watched as the wyvern caught up to the plushy and began shaking it around violently, sending puffs of stuffing flying out of the many holes he''d already torn in the toy.

    "Hey," Iris said after a moment, "do you want to go on a quest tomorrow?"

    "What kind of quest?" Victoria asked.

    "I don''t know yet, I just need to get out of this tavern for a while," Iris replied, "oh! I got a new ability the other day, it''s this weird spatial awareness thing where I can feel everything around me even if I can''t see it. Maybe I can find something in the questing hall that''ll be good practice for that."

    "A perception ability?" Victoria said with appreciation, "that''s a great get, a good perception ability is a cornerstone of almost any good power set."

    "I''m just glad I finally have a way to get around in the dark," Iris admitted.

    "Hmm, I have some errands to run in the morning," Victoria contemplated, "but I should be free in the afternoon and evening. Why don''t you pick up a quest and meet me at the gates around midday?"

    "That works for me," Iris shrugged, then grew more serious, "thank you."

    "Of course," Victoria smiled softly.

    Littletooth accidentally tossed the plushy across the room while shaking it around, and chased after it with tiny pitter-patter stomps. He failed to stop in time when he reached it and instead bumped head first into the wall. He fell away dramatically and looked back at the wall scornfully and shocked as if it had attacked him.

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    <hr>

    As planned, Iris met Victoria just outside the Giantrock City gates. Victoria greeted her with a nod, and Iris replied with a wave as she crossed the distance between them on foot instead of blipping, internally cursing the "no abilities around the gates" rule.

    "So, where are we heading?" Victoria asked as Iris reached her.

    "A ways southwest," Iris responded, "we''re looking for iridescent beetles. The quest calls for ten intact beetle shards. That''s what they call the hard parts of the beetle''s shell that protect the wings when it¡¯s not flying, apparently."

    The two women started walking, following the main road out of the city but keeping to the edges where they found the most consistent shade from the warm summer sun.

    "What do we know about them?"

    "Well, about that," Iris said sheepishly, "they''re nocturnal."

    Victoria stopped and gave her a flat look, "you realize I have a limited number of nights in my bed before I''m due back at the outpost, right?"

    "Yes, and it''s totally fine if you want to back out," Iris said hurriedly, "but these things turn invisible. They''re the perfect way to try out my new ability. Just one night, I promise, if we don''t find any than we can call it in the morning."

    Victoria didn''t respond.

    "Please?" Iris asked earnestly, with perhaps slightly exaggerated puppy eyes.

    "Fine," Victoria rolled her eyes, "the things I do for you people."

    Iris smiled and blipped ahead, "we''re taking the first left, wanna race?"

    Victoria smirked, already dematerializing into mist. Iris blipped again as the cloud of mist drifted after her. Iris held a strong lead that only grew, outpacing Victoria as she blipped in and out of a sprint, leaving Victoria''s mist looking like a meandering cloud behind her. Iris turned left onto the smaller, less traveled side path about the time she began to tire. Though her mana constantly recharged between blips, it wasn''t enough to keep up with how much she was using, and she soon found herself close to burning out with each blip. Her athleticism had significantly increased both through exercise and leveling up, but even still she found herself on the verge of being out breath.

    As her sprint slowed to a jog and her blips grew further apart, the trailing cloud began to close to the gap. Soon it was meandering past her, drifting just over her shoulder and tingling her ears with mist. She grunted and forced a blip, causing a brief spike of a headache but placing her several feet ahead of the cloud. It soon passed her again, this time floating directly over her head. Iris came out of her next blip swearing and clutching her head from the mana drain, almost stumbling on the loose rocks that littered the path. The cloud drifted past her again.

    "Alright," Iris gasped, stopping to double over and lean on her knees, "you win."

    The cloud slowly drifted towards the ground up ahead and rematerialized into Victoria, who looked back at Iris with a satisfied smile. After a moment, Iris stood upright and started walking towards her.

    "Does that not," Iris paused for a breath, "use any mana?"

    "Only to transform and turn back," Victoria said proudly.

    "That''s so unfair," Iris sighed with indignation.

    The side path grew more and more overgrown and unkempt as they traveled, and after an hour they were forced to battle their way through grass and weeds that threatened to overtake it. They decided that was a good time to split off into the woods, and Iris transitioned to blipping across the tall roots of the redwoods while Victoria drifted through the forest in mist form.

    By early evening, they found themselves further south in the redwood forest than either of them had ever gone. The trees were much the same as they were used to, however there seemed to be a much higher concentration of standing pools of water and temporary creeks, which likely contributed to the much higher numbers of insects they began to encounter. There were dragonflies the size of cats that zipped through the forest with thunderous zooms, roaches the size of boots that scurried beneath overgrown brush, and dark clouds of gnats that moved like single entities. Along with the extra insects, there was no shortage of predators to feed on them. The deep bellows of large toads joined the ambience of the forest, and the occasional bird of prey swooped down to snatch up an oversized bug in its talons.

    "Camping out here is gonna suck," Victoria remarked.

    "Actually," Iris smiled, "Eli just splurged some of our party funds on a brand new tent."

    The quest rewards the party had received since arriving in Giantrock City had been modest on their own, but living rent free in the Flopping Fish had substantially cut down on their expenses compared to most other parties. After adding in the Grand Hunt bonuses from the city for each quest, they had found themselves with a rather comfortable horde of coins. After experiencing miserable rain throughout the Matriarch expedition, the party was quick to agree with Eli when he suggested they use a portion of their funds on a tent.

    "And you got his permission to use it, right?" Victoria asked with a suspicious look.

    "Obviously," Iris said, unconvincingly.

    Victoria laughed, "remember what I said yesterday about making better choices? You suck at that."

    "No I don''t, I''m just not making them yet. The better choices start tomorrow."

    Once they''d traveled a decent ways into the bug infested area, they found a dry, relatively flat spot to set up camp. The tent, which Iris withdrew piece-by-piece from her bottomless bag, was built to fit three people comfortably, and up to six with less comfort. A consequence of that, it turned out, was that it seemed to be designed with the expectation that at least three people would be present to pitch it. After no small amount of struggling, ingenuity, and luck, they finally managed to get it properly erected and staked.

    Though the tent wasn''t tall enough to stand upright in, there was ample floor space inside with just the two of them, which Iris promptly filled with extra pillows and blankets that she seemed to pull endlessly out of her bottomless bag. Soon, the tent was beginning to look like the lavish bedroom of a spoiled princess. Victoria watched her with a bemused expression as she spread out the blankets as padding on the floor and propped up the pillows in an arrangement around the edges of the tent.

    "I borrowed a lot of these from the tavern," Iris explained, "did you know there''s a whole closet full of bedding?"

 115 â€“ Formidable Beetles

    Iris and Victoria enjoyed a dinner of sandwiches and trail mix which had been graciously prepared and packed by Autumn that morning, and they spent much of the evening resting in the tent to avoid the bugs and conserve energy for the night to come. When the forest began to darken and the sounds of crickets began to overtake the ambiance, the two adventurers made their way outside. It wasn''t so dark that Iris couldn''t see yet, but it was quickly becoming difficult to discern detail and exact shapes in the dimming twilight.

    They made their way to a tree branch over their camp, where they sat together and began their stakeout. Soon the forest was all but black, with only the shimmering, ever shifting glimpses of purple and orange moonlight peeking through the canopy providing any light. Seldom were gaps in the leaves large enough to allow enough light that it would reach the ground below, but where they did the moonlight cast long rays which pierced through the darkness and were alive with fluttering moths. Had Iris not experienced the true void herself, she might have compared this vast, rarely interrupted darkness to the concept.

    After what felt like an hour but had really only been about twenty minutes, the girls found themselves growing restless. Though the forest was active, and many critters scurried in the dark and caught their attention, there were no signs of any iridescent or invisible beetles -- even with Victoria''s auravision to search for them.

    "Split up and look around?" Victoria asked.

    Iris nodded, and Victoria turned to mist and drifted away to the west. Iris went east, blipping to the ground and traveling by foot. With conscious effort, she shifted from relying on sight to relying on her Awareness of Matter ability. The shift itself was quite easy, as the sensations from her ability were already present, but adjusting to the different limitations was a challenge on its own. The limited range of the ability made for a somewhat tense atmosphere, yet relatively easy short range navigation, as if she were carrying a lantern that only reached out as far as her ability. She stepped over rocks and small roots without effort, sensing their shapes bulging out from the ground long before she might trip on them, and easily dodged the occasional bugs that buzzed towards her with reckless abandon, but frequently found herself walled in by large redwood trunks and roots that forced her to double back.

    She walked slowly through the sea of blackness, veering and turning when she sensed the solid shapes of large roots or the fuzzy outlines of bushes in her path. She meandered her around, zigzagging to cover more ground but careful to never stray too far from camp. She still wasn''t having any luck on her hunt, but was quite enjoying the casual stroll through the forest which was still serving as good practice for her ability.

    A thunderous buzzing like a thousand clapping hands whizzed past her, fanning her with a breeze and registering to her senses as a huge, oblong mass that entered and exited her range in less than a second. She instinctively ducked low and shielded herself with her arms and walking stick, but it was already gone.

    The buzzing continued for a moment before stopping somewhere on the other side of a large redwood root. She blipped atop the root, waited for a moment but sensed no movement, then blipped to the ground up ahead. When she reappeared, she instantly sensed the creature on the very edge of her range. It was the size of a small dog, but with six stubby legs and a bulbous, oblong body. Sticking out from its tiny head were two long antennae, accompanied by two jagged shapes that Iris hoped weren''t the pincers they seemed to be. She followed the creature with her senses until it crawled into a ray of moonlight, but there was nothing there. Even as she felt each of its legs and the shape of its body with her senses, she saw nothing but moonlit dirt where it should be.

    Got you, she thought to herself, readying her stick for a strike.

    Just when she was prepared to blip and swing, she remembered the shards of its carapace were her ultimate goal, and it wouldn''t do her any good to obliterate them. She paused for a moment, holding her stick poised to strike, while she thought of a plan of attack. After a few seconds, she blipped.

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    She reappeared in the moonlight, hooked the toe of her boot underneath the beetle and kicked upwards. The beetle was heavy, and she grunted from the weight, but it was nothing her Strength stat couldn''t handle. It was lifted from the ground and flipped into a roll in the air. Even as her eyes believed she was swinging at nothing, Iris struck out where she felt the beetle to be and released a small burst of force from the stick. What followed was a sickening crack, then two thumps. Her strike had thrown the beetle into the trunk of a tree, where it had then fallen to the ground motionless. After a moment, the beetle became visible, its vibrant silver shell reflecting brilliant glimmers of moonlight.

    The process of removing the shards was less than pleasant. Though Iris was strong enough that she didn''t struggle to rip them off, the cracking and snapping which she both heard and felt were almost enough to make her nauseous, and were definitely enough to make her feel a little bad. Still, though, she had successfully secured two intact shards, and quickly stashed them away in her bag.

    The next beetle came a little while later, as she was whacking her way through dense brush with her stick. She sensed the bulbous mass scurrying at her from under a bush and blipped backwards, but it immediately launched into flight and shot after her. She yelped and held up her arms to block. Something grabbed hold of her bracer and clamped it tight against her arm, pulling and twisting it up over her shoulder as she felt a heavy weight land on her back and three pairs of legs wrap around her torso.

    "AAH!" She screamed, desperately trying to yank her arm free from the beetle''s pincers.

    The giant bug clamped down tighter, refusing to let go of her arm, then gripped tighter with its legs too. Iris heard the buzz of its wings once more, and before realization and horror could fully set in, she felt her legs dangling as she sensed the ground moving away from her feet.

    With her stick still in her free hand, she twisted it around and slotted it between the pincers, just in front of the beetles mouth and just behind her arm. She pushed the other end of the stick away from her body, using it as a lever to pry the pincers apart enough to slip her arm free. The beetle tried to clamp down on the stick, but she yanked it free before it could, and its rigid body made it impossible for it to reach to pinch anything else so long as she kept her arms clear of its range. She sensed branches moving past her, and could feel the cooler, breezier air of the canopy on her face.

    "Abby!" She shouted, "wanna help?"

    A single tentacle snaked its way out of the bag at her waist and slithered up to the beetle on her back. It slid between the beetle''s fluttering wings and wrapped around the base of one of the shards sticking out to either side. With a sharp yank, the tentacle ripped the shard off the beetle''s body and pulled it down into the bag, clipping and partially damaging the beetle¡¯s wing in the process.

    The beetle veered sharply and suddenly to the left, causing Iris to flail and scream as she was jerked around in the air. Even as they spun erratically and barreled through the forest, narrowly missing branch after branch, Abby''s tentacle reached up and ripped off the other carapace shard and pulled it into the void, clipping the other wing as well. This only made the uncontrolled flight even more unpredictable and erratic. Iris sensed it all with her ability, and now knew that, if nothing else, the beetle''s shards were safely collected.

    "Okay," she gasped to herself as she prepared for what came next.

    She whirled her staff around until she held one end aimed just above her shoulder, leaned her head to the side and jabbed it backwards into the beetle''s face. A burst of force exploded the beetle''s head and ripped it off her back, leaving her suddenly falling into the abyss. She pointed the stick downwards to absorb her impact, but didn''t have time to properly orient herself for the landing, and came down softly face first in the dirt.

    After rolling onto her back and sitting upright, she glanced down at her bag, "we''re gonna have a conversation about your definition of help."

    Even though she had only collected four shards, Iris returned to the campsite after her harrowing experience with the second beetle. She needed a breather, and it wouldn''t hurt to check in with Victoria if she had the chance. There was still the rest of the night to search for bugs, after all. When she got to camp, she found Victoria tending to a campfire. She looked calm and put together, like she hadn''t even left the campsite.

    "When did you make that?" Iris asked.

    "About ten minutes ago?" Victoria estimated.

    "What about the beetles?"

    Victoria casually pointed over her shoulder towards a pile of beetle shards, "I found three, that makes six shards for more than my half of the quest."

    Iris, visibly disheveled and still somewhat short of breath, looked at Victoria incredulously.

 116 - The Wyvern In the Room

    A few days after Iris and Victoria completed their beetle quest, Eli called a team meeting. The whole party was in attendance, gathered around a table in the tavern. Eli had specifically requested Autumn not provide snacks for the meeting so they could focus wholly on the issue at hand, much to the disdain of all the others. Only Eli, Iris and Victoria knew what the meeting was about, while Autumn and Titus had been left in the dark and didn''t know what to expect.

    "Alright," Eli said, after everyone had taken the seats, "I hate to have to call this meeting, but there''s an issue that needs to be handled, and this seems like the best way to do it," he paused and looked around the table to make sure everyone was paying attention, "Iris, would you explain to everyone why we''re here?"

    Iris blinked in surprise, and scooted upright in her chair, "uh, well, I''m guessing it¡¯s about the wyvern egg," she trailed off.

    Eli nodded and motioned for her to continue.

    "Okay, so," she forced a labored smile shifted to turn towards the others, "you know how I said I turned in the wyvern egg a few weeks ago? I, uh-- didn''t."

    She waited for someone to say something, but no one did. Titus and Autumn exchanged glances, while Victoria simply observed.

    "I said that because something happened," Iris continued, "something completely unexpected and out of my control, by the way. Seriously, there was nothing I could do."

    "Booo!" Autumn jeered in jest, "get on with it!"

    "No booing," Eli chastised.

    Iris sighed and pulled her bag from her waist and placed it on the table, "Abby, release Littletooth."

    After a second, the bag loosened and fell open, and out tumbled the baby wyvern.

    "What the fuck?" Titus asked under his breath.

    "Oh, he''s so cute!" Autumn said in a pitiful voice, her usual rough demeanor instantly melting away, "is it a he?"

    "I don''t actually know, really," Iris answered Autumn, "that''s what I''ve been assuming, though."

    "Hey little guy," Autumn smiled, pulling a piece of jerky out of her pocket and holding it out towards Littletooth, who stomped towards it and snatched it from her hand.

    "Oh-" Iris started, holding up a cautionary hand, "try not to hand feed him, he''s still learning fingers aren''t food."

    "Oh I don''t even care if he eats my fingers," Autumn said, speaking in a cutesy voice while she stared at Littletooth, "he''s so cute it I wouldn''t even be mad."

    "This seems like a really bad idea," Titus said.

    Eli gestured with his hands as if to say, that''s what I said.

    "It wasn''t an idea," Iris insisted, "a few days after we got back from the expedition, when I was still trying to decide what to do, I tried to dump the egg out of my bag to look at it. Instead, a broken shell fell out, and then this guy."

    "I vote we keep him," Autumn said, tossing a piece of jerky into the air for Littletooth to catch. He leapt and successfully caught it, but landed in a jumbled heap.

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    "We''re not voting yet," Eli said, "there''s a lot to consider here."

    "Before we get to that," Iris interjected, "I just want to say I''m sorry. I should have turned the egg in right away, I shouldn''t have even waited until we got back to the city. At the time I just honestly didn''t even want to think about it, so much had happened and I really just wanted a chance to breathe and relax before the next thing. That was a mistake, and I''m sorry."

    Iris looked around the table, lingering for a moment on Victoria, who gave her an approving nod. Eli, meanwhile, shot her a less than favorable glance.

    "And I''m sorry for lying," she added, addressing Eli specifically, "nothing I can say would be an excuse for that."

    His expression softened and he nodded in acceptance, "there''s still the matter of what do with it."

    "We train him to fight, obviously," Autumn said.

    Titus shook his head, ¡°we should put him back in the forest where Iris found him.¡±

    "I have to agree with Titus," Eli added.

    "Oh come on! You get Glimmer, why can''t anyone else have a pet?" Autumn complained.

    "Glimmer''s not a pet," Eli said sharply, "she''s a bonded familiar, she''s a lot more intelligent than a normal animal and helping people is what she does. That thing," he pointed at Littletooth, "is a wild beast just waiting to be large enough to eat us."

    Littletooth chose that moment to dash across the length of the table to chase down an empty mug on the other end, failing to come to a stop after tackling it end and instead tumbling off the edge and crashing to the floor with a thump and a skitter.

    "Yeah, he''s terrifying," Victoria said with half a smile.

    "He''s just a little guy!" Autumn said to Eli, gesturing towards Littletooth as he explored the tavern floor.

    "What about when he''s not little?" Titus asked, "you know I can''t regrow your limbs, right? Maybe -- and I mean maybe -- I could reattach an arm, but definitely not if it''s been eaten."

    "We all saw that wyvern in the forest," Eli said, "that was this thing''s mother, before you know it it''ll be that big and that angry."

    "Actually," Iris said, "I looked up wyverns in the library. They go through growth spurts in their first few years, but then they really slow down after reaching about the size of a horse. After that, it takes decades for them to grow into maturity and get as big as the one we saw."

    "A horse sized wyvern sounds big enough to eat one of us," Titus said, ¡°at least Autumn.¡±

    "Look, that''s not even the most pressing problem we have here," Eli said, "what about the fact that the Commander and the Adventuring Corps are still looking for the egg? What happens when they catch up to you, and when they find out it hatched? You -- all of us -- could get in big trouble."

    "How would they find out it was me?" Iris asked, "there was no one else there but me and the shock wizard, and I killed him. The only other people who know are you four. As long as none of us tell anyone, there''s no way for them to find out."

    Eli was visibly frustrated, but tried to keep calm, "why do you want to keep this thing so badly?"

    "He''s not a thing," Iris defended, "and, because, look at him. He''s adorable, and he''s all alone and he doesn''t even understand that his mother is gone. He needs someone to look after him."

    "And conveniently, that someone is you," Eli said.

    "What do you want me to say?" Iris asked, "that I think it''d be cool to have a pet wyvern? That I hope one day I get to ride on his back and soar through the skies like you do on Glimmer? Because yeah, of course I do. Who wouldn''t? But if that''s all this was about, I wouldn''t be fighting for it, I''d have let it go a long time ago now."

    Eli stared at Iris for some time, his face shifting through a series of emotions before finally landing somewhere between softness, irritation and exasperation, "you really think you can take care of this thi-- of him?"

    "Yes," Iris said sternly.

    "And you promise to take full responsibility, for him, for anything he does, and for any trouble that comes out of keeping him?"

    "Yes."

    Eli glanced at the others around the table, "does anyone have anything else to add before we vote?"

    Victoria shook her head, while Autumn was preoccupied watching Littletooth stomp across the tavern floor.

    Titus sighed, ¡°If I have to heal any wyvern related injuries, I¡¯m gonna say I told you so.¡±

    "Alright then," Eli said, "all in favor of keeping the wyvern?"

    Victoria, Autumn and Iris all raised their hands. The bag raised a drawstring.

    "Three to two, I guess that''s that," Eli said, rising from his seat.

    "Eli, wait," Iris said, standing with him.

    "It''s fine, Iris," Eli said, "the matter''s settled, let''s put it behind us. Don''t let him eat anybody, okay?"

    "I promise," Iris said.

    He nodded and left the tavern.

    "Yes!" Iris shouted the moment the door latched behind him, "we''ve got a wyvern!"

    "Hell yeah!" Autumn cheered with her, "does he know any tricks?"

 117 - Glimmers Day Off

    Glimmer shifted her weight to her back feet and reached out far with her front legs to stretch. The waves glistened and the sands sparkled as the morning sun climbed higher in the sky. The people had already begun to crowd the waters with their boats, and the skies were already alive with birds and bugs. Her master had told her he wouldn''t be leaving the city today, which meant she had the whole day to do as she pleased, and the first thing to cross her mind was food.

    A short trot turned into a gallop, and then she leapt off the edge the embankment and unfurled her wings, flapping strongly to catch flight over the beach, startling unsuspecting people below who gasped and shouted as she passed just overhead. Her wings cut through an incoming breeze, lifting her higher as she soared out over the waters. Her shadow shrunk below her as she climbed higher and higher, basking in the warm sun and fresh morning air.

    She flew out far over the lake, leaving the sandy shore and the city on the giant rock shrinking behind her as she raced to outrun the small boats that scared away all the biggest fish. The winds were generous this morning and carried her far with minimal flapping. As distance grew between herself and the furthest boats, she focused on the waters below in search of prey.

    It wasn''t long before she spotted the distant dancing silhouettes of a school of small fish just below the surface. Though the smaller fish wouldn''t be her prey, they would be her hunting grounds. With a tilt of her wings she banked to the right and began to circle over the school of fish, careful to keep her shadow far away from them. As expected, a larger silhouette soon materialized, and the smaller fish began to scatter. She dived, pointing herself downwards and tucking her wings to plummet towards the lake below with furious speed.

    She unfurled her wings just above the water, sharply curving into low a flyover that dipped her legs into the water. No sooner had the larger fish clamped its jaws around its prey, than Glimmer sank her talons into its back. With more strong flaps of her wings, she hoisted the beast of a fish from the water and climbed back into the sky. Her catch tried to squirm free of her grasp, but the four sets of talons clenched tighter, sinking deep into its flesh and dooming any hope of escape. She carried the fish to the nearest shore, one of her regular spots, and dropped it far from the water so it couldn''t flop back to in. After devouring her meal, Glimmer paced around on the shore until she found just the right spot for an after-breakfast nap. She spun in place a few times, then collapsed and curled into a cozy ball.

    It was midday when something woke her -- the sounds of whispering people. She peeked open an eye and saw only the lapping waves on the shore. There was a quiet clank, like metal armor, and she rose her head to look around. The whispering stopped, and all was still as she scanned the foliage along the edge of the beach. Her panning gaze stopped when the distinctive glint of armor caught her eyes between the leaves of bushes. Climbing to her feet, she cocked her head to the side at the poorly hidden human.

    There was a shout. Two arrows launched from somewhere overhead, splitting away from each other and trailing a rope between them. Both arrows landed and wedged into the gravel on either side of Glimmer, stretching the rope across the top of her neck and pulling her head down slightly. She kicked off and flapped her wings, launching off the ground and effortlessly pulling up the arrows from the ground.

    The man in armor charged out of the bushes leapt to grab hold of her ankle, his weight instantly pulling her down even as she furiously flapped her wings. She looked down on him with fierce eyes and watched his cocky expression turn to fear as she outstretched her talons, tucked her wings, and collapsed her weight on top of him. Her talons pierced through his armor, spilling brilliant red blood onto the gravel as she crunched him into it. She screeched at the other, yet unseen attackers, a warning that they would be next.

    Three more arrows flew out of the forest, each landing on the edge of the beach in front of Glimmer before exploding in blinding flashes of light. As she blinked and shook her head, a flashing silhouette darted out of the forest and passed her on the left. An instant later, she felt searing pain from a half dozen wounds along her flank. She screeched again, kicking off from the ground once more to take flight. More arrows with ropes, this time they shot past either side of her feet and wrapped around them until the arrows met and tangled either end of the rope together, binding her legs. She flapped furiously, but her wings were moving slowly and couldn''t sustain her weight. Her eyes began to close against her will, and her angry screeches came out labored and weak. Unable to keep herself aloft, she landed on her bound feet, quickly tucking a wing to protect it as she toppled to the side. The last thing she saw was a man in colorful clothing standing over her with a wicked grin.

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    <hr>

    Ropes pulled tight against Glimmer''s body, the ground beneath her rocked and jolted. There was talking, clanking of armor, and the distinctive ambiance of the forest. Her eyes crept open as she fought against the urge to fall back asleep, and she saw the forest moving around her. Soon it registered that she was tied to a flat wooden cart that was being wheeled through the woods by the armored man, who stood behind a wooden bar and pulled the cart not unlike she had seen animals do. The armor on his shoulder had been removed, and bandages now covered her handiwork.

    Her captors seemed to be arguing, and the armored man was getting the worst of it. The colorful man walked in front of the group, while two women flanked him. One carried a bow, and the other had daggers at her waist. They were traveling along a path that was worn but not quite a road, and the bumps she felt were from rocks and roots as the cart wheeled over them.

    She feigned unconsciousness for quite some time, waiting for the drowsiness to fully fade before acting. While she waited, she plotted. Her captors had made the mistake of tying her down with her head facing forwards, which all but eliminated the armored man as a threat. She could dispatch him with a single, well placed peck before he saw it coming. They had each made the additional mistake of walking in front of the cart, giving her their back, and the group¡¯s final mistake was positioning her with her talons towards the ropes that wrapped over her body and around the edge of the cart.

    Carefully and quietly, she stretched out her legs until each foot had at least one talon hooked onto a rope. There were six ropes in total -- at least they had been thorough in that regard -- but she would handle the extra two quickly enough. With her talons in place, she slowly arched her head until her beak was pointed at the armored man in front of her. The argument started up again, prompted by complaints from the armored man. The colorful man whirled around and pointed a finger at him, and in response he dropped the handle of the cart and moved to duck under it at about the same time as the colorful man''s eyes went wide when they locked with Glimmer¡¯s.

    She curled her talons, slicing through the ropes which snapped away from broken tension. Her beak shot out, hooking behind the top of the armored man''s chest plate and yanking him back against the cart. As she furiously kicked her feet to catch and slice the remaining ropes, she drove her beak downwards into the man''s exposed shoulder, splashing her face with blood. Now free from the ropes, she climbed to her feet and leapt forward at the colorful man. He exploded into multi-colored sparkles just as her pounce would have landed, leaving her rearing back and inspecting the ground in confusion.

    The smaller woman flashed towards Glimmer, but she kicked off the ground and flapped her wings once to gain distance. She could feel that she was still too weak to fly, but felt ready for the fight to come. The next dash from the smaller woman came quickly, and Glimmer dodged towards the woman with the bow as she nocked several arrows. A powerful swipe of her claws ripped the bow from the woman''s hands, but not before she loosed the arrows. One missed, another clipped her wing, and one embedded in her chest near her front shoulder. Glimmer grabbed the woman''s leather armor with her beak, hoisted her off the ground and flung her against a tree, spinning in the same motion to swing outstretched talons at the woman with the daggers as she dashed towards her yet again. The woman abandoned her strikes, ducked and slid underneath Glimmer''s talons.

    The woman''s slide deposited her on Glimmer''s exposed flank, and she launched forward with an outstretched dagger. Glimmer continued her spin, swinging her rear legs between herself and the pouncing woman and kicking backwards like a horse. Her kick landed solidly on the woman''s chest, using her own momentum against her to crush her ribs on impact and send her flying back. Glimmer clenched her talons as the impact landed, slicing through leather armor and grazing skin as the woman was flung away. She then spotted the archer running towards her bow, and leapt forward with a flap of her wings to land on top of it and crush it beneath her feet. She stood tall, looking down on the woman with the fierce eyes of a furious eagle. The woman stopped in her tracks and quivered in place before taking a few stumbling steps backwards. Glimmer stretched her head out close and screeched as loudly as she could, fluttering the woman''s hair with a gust of breath. She screamed, turned and ran.

    Glimmered snapped her head around to inspect the area, ensuring none of her attackers were climbing back to their feet. Satisfied, she reached down and grabbed the arrow in her chest with her peak, delicately pulling it out and tossing it aside. Then, she made her way to the cart she had been tied to, promptly flipping it over without regard for the armored man who still leaned against it. He screamed, tumbled forward and tried to scurry away, but she ignored him. Instead, she strolled past him, stretching her wings as she left the scene.

    <hr>

    Sometime later, after enough of the lingering poison had faded for her to fly again, Glimmer landed on the beach beside the docks. Some passersby seemed bothered by her presence, though those with armor and weapons seemed unbothered if they ever took note of her at all, and the regular dock workers had grown more than accustomed to her presence each evening. She sat on the beach and preened her feathers while she waited.

    A short while later, one of her master''s companions -- the short one, with hair like fire -- arrived on the nearby pier. Glimmer trotted over and eyed the short one expectantly. She laughed and said something, then tossed a large chunk of meat off the pier. Glimmer leapt up to snatch it out of the air with her claws, screeching in appreciation as she took flight to carry it away.

 118 - Making Dinner Plans

    Titus squeezed his way through the crowds of the Underbelly piers. He had left his armor at home, instead wearing a dirty pair of brown trousers and a casual grey blouse with an open collar. His dreads were hanging freely around his face, adorned with beads and cheap gemstones, and around his neck was a necklace he had borrowed from Victoria. The outfit hadn¡¯t been his idea, but rather some concoction of Autumn and Iris, who insisted it would help him look the part of a swashbuckling sailor. He wasn''t convinced it worked, but he certainly blended in better with the crowds than he would have in his gleaming armor.

    He made his way down to the furthest dock on the pier, positioned just under the very tip of the giant rock. There were fewer buildings in this section, and the seedy city broadway feel gave way to an industrial fishing and shipping operation with a panoramic view of the Giantrock Bay. The few buildings that did exist were more like small shacks, usually built on the docks themselves rather than along the main thoroughfare.

    The last dock in the row had only one boat present, a small schooner positioned perpendicular at the end of the dock, flying the same flag as the Shark Titan''s ship. There were notably few people coming and going from this dock compared to the others, and Titus felt apprehensive about stepping onto it. He expected someone to stop him and ask his business, and ran through the scripts he had prepared in his head for just such an occurrence, but it never came. He passed a building on his left that took up half the space of the wide dock, its purpose unclear, and then made his way down the final stretch of the dock towards an awning with a large desk beneath it, and a line leading up to it. He took a place in line, trying to act casual and look as if he belonged while nervously glancing around at the rough looking folk around him. At the front of the line, a man with a colorful bird on his shoulder and a stereotypical pirate''s hat was getting scolded by the man behind the desk, who was obstructed from Titus''s view.

    "Can you breathe like a fish, boy?" The man behind the desk asked loudly, "because play pretend like that on the Maw, and you''ll be swimming with them. What is it you think we do, exactly?"

    The man with the bird and hat mumbled a response that Titus couldn''t hear, and the man behind the desk laughed, "I''d ask if you learned about pirates from storybooks, if I thought you could read! The only good you''d serve on the Maw is as the captain''s dinner."

    Titus saw the man behind the desk gesture towards a pair of pirates off to the side, who promptly step towards the man in the hat and instructed him to leave before they threw him into the water. As the man scurried away back up the dock, the line stepped up and the next applicant approached desk. Titus watched as, one after another, the applicants were similarly derided and sent packing, until finally it was his turn. There were applicants for all manner of position, from general labor to cannoneer or carpenter, but the quartermaster seemed displeased with nearly all of them.

    Titus got his first good look at Quartermaster Luo as he stepped up to the desk for his turn. He was thin with a tanned complexion, and had shaggy black hair and a short but unkempt beard that poorly hid several scars around his chin and mouth. His eyes were dark and harbored a sharp glare, which he leveled on Titus as he approached.

    "You ever been to sea?" the quartermaster asked with a curious look.

    "No sir," Titus said simply.

    "Of course not," the quartermaster sighed, "for a second I almost thought you looked the part. Get on with it then, tell me why we should hire you."

    "Actually, I have a letter for the Shark Titan."

    "Ball it up and throw it in the water," the quartermaster said curtly, motioning for his guards to move in on Titus, "the captain doesn''t have time for your love letters."

    "It''s about a man named Gerald," Titus added.

    The quartermaster held up a hand to halt his guards and narrowed his eyes at Titus, "what do you know about Gerald?"

    "Nothing, sir," Titus replied, holding out the letter, "only that the Shark Titan has an interest in the man, and that you''ll agree he should see this letter once you''ve read it."

    The quartermaster reached out and snatched the letter from Titus''s hand, frowning as he read over it, "very well, I''ll deliver this to the captain. For your sake, you should hope you''re not wasting his time."

    Titus nodded, and quickly hurried off the dock.

    <hr>

    It was late afternoon when Victoria returned to the outpost. She shared greetings with the other regulars she had gotten to know there, and checked in with Marc to find out the current status of the recovery efforts. They had found the remains of another adventurer in her absence, bringing the count down to five missing. She was about to agree to go join a search party that was getting ready to depart when Cameron Cole walked up and greeted the both of them.

    "Victoria, you''re wanted in the Dreamweaver''s tent," he said after pleasantries.

    She was surprised to hear that, and couldn''t imagine what it would be about, but welcomed any face time she could get with the titan, "I''m guessing this is a ''right away'' kind of invitation?"

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    Cameron nodded, "I was told to escort you when you arrived."

    "Oh, an escort?" Victoria mocked as she turned to walk towards the center of the outpost, where the Dreamweaver had set up her extravagant command tent, "I feel like royalty."

    Cameron ignored her remarks and walked beside her towards the tent.

    "Actually, I''m glad you''re here," Victoria said, "there''s something I wanted to talk to you about?"

    "Me?" Cameron asked, his turn to be surprised.

    "Yeah, it''s about Eli. He''s been... tense, lately."

    "I thought he was always like that?" Cameron asked.

    "Well, yeah," Victoria conceded, carefully crafting her demeanor as she steered the conversation, "but more so than usual. I think he''s getting antsy with the whole party kind of scattered and doing our own thing recently, and being cooped up in the city at the same time isn''t helping matters."

    "What''s this got to do with me?" Cameron asked, doing a poor job of playing dumb about the time he had been spending with Eli lately.

    "I was thinking what he really needs right now is a good quest, something that''ll take a few days and really get him back out there in the wilderness. Normally I''d take him, but my schedule''s full here."

    "You think I should?" Cameron asked, "I mean, do you think he''d want to?"

    "Definitely," Victoria said, feeling her fish take the bait, "you''ll be off this weekend, right? That''s the perfect opportunity."

    Cameron thought about it for a moment, "I''d feel weird asking out of nowhere."

    "Trust me," Victoria said, stopping in front of the command tent and turning to face Cameron, "he''ll say yes. Just ask."

    Cameron stammered, "okay-- I mean, I''ll think about it. If I''m feeling up to it."

    Victoria held back the smile that threatened to creep across her face. She always loved it when someone had no idea she was reading them like a book, "thanks, you''re really doing me a favor here."

    She didn''t wait for a reply before ducking into the Dreamweaver''s tent. Her demeanor shifted instantly as she entered, changing from friendly acquaintance with a hidden agenda to a professional young adventurer in the presence of her betters. The Dreamweaver was leaning against a small bar at the back of the tent, Kerrick stood nearby, and a mage whom Victoria recognized from the Matriarch Expedition was seated casually at a small round table in the middle of the tent, his chair half turned to face the others. In the shadowy back corner of the tent stood a man in dark robes, wearing a brass mask with a black painted carving of a frowning face with a single tear drop under the left eye.

    "Victoria," Kerrick greeted, "thank you for joining us. Have you been properly introduced to the Dreamweaver?"

    "Not yet," the Dreamweaver answered for Victoria, pushing off the bar, making her way around the table and extending a hand towards her, "I''ve heard some good things about you."

    Victoria tentatively shook the titan''s hand while she struggled to find words to respond with, "I-- I''ve read a lot about you."

    The Dreamweaver laughed, "please, forget everything you''ve read, most of it isn¡¯t accurate. Kerrick tells me you''re an auraseer?"

    "Yes ma''am," Victoria nodded.

    "Thread of Arcane?" The Dreamweaver inquired.

    "No ma''am, Thread of Dreams. Like you."

    "Really?" the Dreamweaver seemed pleasantly surprised, "that''s even better. I think you''ll do nicely."

    "If I may ask, ma''am," Victoria hesitated, "do nicely for what?"

    The Dreamweaver made her way back to the bar and picked up her drink, swirling it around and taking a sip before answering, "as I''m sure you''ve noticed, we''re conducting an investigation here in these woods. Our goal is to determine anything and everything we can about the wizards who attacked the expedition, and what exactly the dragon has to do with it all," she motioned towards the mage, "Kieren has an idea, but he tells me we need an auraseer to make it work."

    Kieren seemed surprised that the Dreamweaver was handing the explanation over to him, but quickly took it up. "yes, that''s correct. The basic idea is to use the physical remnants of the wizards'' apparitions to collect residual auras, which we can hopefully reconstruct into echoes and -- if we''re lucky -- trace them back to their source. We have the perfect material for this, a kind of fulgurite that formed from superheated wood beneath each of the lightning strikes. The problem is, the only ritual I know for the process was designed with an auraseer in mind, as the echoes are too weak to detect with regular aurasenses alone."

    "Think you can help with something like that?" The Dreamweaver asked.

    "Absolutely," Victoria said, eager for a chance to work alongside the titan, "when do we start?"

    <hr>

    Iris was slumped over in her seat, resting her head heavily atop her crossed arms on the table and snoring ever-so-slightly. Her wizard hat had tumbled off her head and fallen sideways on the table, inside it was a curled up Littletooth napping peacefully alongside her. The door to the tavern creaked loudly before slamming shut.

    "Huh?" she asked, sitting upright and blinking until her vision unblurred.

    The Fish Wizard stopped in his tracks and spoke in his usual rude tone, "you people are still here?"

    Iris glanced over and saw Littletooth in her hat. In a panic, she swept the hat off the table out of sight and onto her bottomless bag which rested on the chair beside her. A tentacle reached out and grabbed the confused and flailing baby wyvern, pulling him into the void as the hat landed upright atop the bag.

    "Why wouldn''t we be?" Iris asked casually.

    "Grand Hunt''s over, go home," the wizard said, moving towards the kitchen.

    "Actually," Iris stood and blipped in front of him to block his path, "it doesn''t end for a few more weeks, the big targets are finished but there''s still lots of other quests to do."

    The wizard harrumphed, "whatever, get out of my way."

    He effortlessly pushed her aside and strolled into the kitchen, but she blipped in front of him again, "I need to talk to you about something."

    "No."

    He strolled past her again.

    "It''s about the Shark Titan."

    He stopped with a step still lingering in the air, then turned to give her an angry look, "what about him?"

    "He wants to meet with you about Gerald."

    "Absolutely not," he said flatly.

    "Autumn has agreed to cater the meeting to keep him happy and well fed so he won''t try to eat anyone."

    "I said no," he turned to walk away again.

    "Well, he''s coming here either way. The meeting is scheduled for dinner time in two days."

    "He''s-- coming here?" the wizard said nervously.

    "Yep," Iris said, "and he''s expecting you to be here too."

    The wizard spun around with a nervous smile, "right, okay. Tell him I''ll be here." As he spoke, the wizard stepped backwards until he stood near the hatch in the floor.

    "Wait, really?" Iris asked, surprised.

    "Yep," he stomped his staff into the floor and the hatch popped open, "trust me, wizards always keep their word," he hopped through the open hatch and disappeared into the dark water below.

    "No they don''t," Iris said skeptically to the empty room.

 119 - Final Preparations

    "I''ll only be gone for a day," Eli was explaining to Iris and Autumn, "Titus is in charge until I get back. No shenanigans while I''m gone, understood?"

    "Yes sir," Autumn said with an exaggerated salute.

    "Absolutely no shenanigans, got it," Iris confirmed.

    He gave them both critical looks, "and if you do get up to shenanigans, try to have the mess cleaned up before I get back."

    "Won''t even be necessary," Autumn said, "in fact, we probably won''t even leave the tavern while you''re gone. Right Iris?"

    "Yep, we''ll be right here, not getting into any trouble."

    He shifted his gaze between them a few more times, then picked up his pack and hoisted it over his shoulder. Just as he turned for the door, Littletooth sprinted out from under a table and collapsed onto his foot, as if trying to pin it to the floor. Eli gave Iris a confused, slightly annoyed look.

    "I think he wants you to say goodbye," Iris guessed.

    "How does he even understand I''m going somewhere?" Eli asked, to which Iris shrugged.

    He sighed, crouched down, and hesitantly patted the baby wyvern on the head, "I''ll uh, be back soon, dude."

    Littletooth looked up at him and screeched, then ran a circle around his feet before stomping away. Eli watched in confusion as the wyvern ran off, and then gave a final wave to Iris and Autumn before stepping out of the tavern. After the door had closed behind them, they stood perfectly still and silent in case he popped back in. After a moment of waiting, they sprang into action.

    "Alright, I need the slow cooker wheeled in from out back," Autumn commanded, "all the ingredients unloaded in the kitchen, and each of the stoves started."

    "On it," Iris blipped into the kitchen, blipped a torch from the wall and started lighting the fires under each of the stoves.

    Next she pulled her bottomless bag from her waist and placed it upside down on the food preparation counter, "alright, just like we practiced," she said to the bag before grabbing it from the bottom and pulling it along the length of the counter. As she dragged the bag along, it deposited all the ingredients in long row. Mixed in were a few random objects, like rocks, books, and a coil of rope, which she blipped into her hand and dumped back into the bag one by one.

    When she blipped to the back door to retrieve the slow cooker, she nearly bumped into Titus who was already wheeling it in. It was a large pot suspended above a basin that held a simmering fire. They had kept it out back so that Autumn could start the process of cooking the elk roast the night before without alerting Eli to the smell, which surely would have filled the tavern. As Titus wheeled the slow cooker into the kitchen, Autumn barked more orders at Iris.

    "Get started on the decorations," she called through the service window to the kitchen as she unwrapped ingredients and organized them on the counter, "Titus, when you''re done with that, move all the extra tables to the back of the room."

    Iris retrieved a fine purple tablecloth from her bag and placed it lengthwise along one of the long tables. Next she placed several silver candlesticks along the tablecloth, and a large silver platter near either end. They had opted to use one of the long tables rather than a round one so they could seat the Shark Titan and Fish Wizard at opposite ends, in the hopes that distance would decrease the odds of violence. The final touches were red cloths draped over the back of either chair, two sets of carefully placed cutlery, and large goblets to be filled with wine throughout the dinner. Iris blipped away from the table and placed her hands on her hips, admiring her handiwork.

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    "Iris, check the time," Autumn ordered.

    Iris nodded and blipped out of the tavern, appearing on the other side of the door without opening it. She blipped through the Underbelly and down the length of the nearest dock, where she could get a clear view of the sky and the position of the late afternoon sun, then blipped back to the Flopping Fish.

    "Two more hours, I''d say," she told Autumn as she blipped into the kitchen.

    "Good, we''re on schedule, cut these," Autumn handed Iris a knife and pointed to a row of fillets cut from a giant snake, "about a quarter inch, too thick is better than too thin."

    Iris carefully sliced the first fillet, only accidentally tearing a few pieces. As she moved down the row, she grew more confident, and began to cut faster. Meanwhile, Titus checked the roast in the slow cooker, and then Autumn put him to work butchering a giant rabbit that was currently hanging on a hook out back of the tavern. The next two hours were a fast paced, nonstop cooking operation. When Iris caught Littletooth sneaking into the kitchen and trying to climb into the trashcan for scraps, she scooped him up and dropped him in her bag. As they worked, Autumn explained the purpose and philosophy behind many of the steps they took.

    "It''s important we have as much prepared in advance as possible," she said at one point, while chopping rabbit meat into cubes, "and we have to get everything cooking at just the right time so each part is ready exactly when it needs to be."

    The next task given to Iris was to mix batter for dumplings, then drop scoops of batter into the hydra soup cooking on one of the stoves. Once Autumn instructed her she had added enough dumplings to the soup, she moved on to battering dough sticks that would be fried later for desert. After a while, Autumn sent Iris for another time check. This time the sun was lower in the sky, about half way between midday and sunset. She hurriedly blipped back to the tavern and alerted Autumn.

    "It''s almost time."

    "I can handle the rest here," Autumn replied, "get out there and keep watch. Let me know as soon you see the Shark Titan."

    Iris nodded and blipped away, making her way to one of the taller buildings in the Underbelly, which gave her a clear view of all the docks. She perched atop it, carefully choosing her angle to make sure she could see the most of the Underbelly. It seemed most likely the Shark Titan would arrive at his dock at the far end of the Underbelly, but Titus had made a good point that he might swim rather than take a boat, and could show up from anywhere.

    After a while of watching the dock workers repeat the same tasks over and over, Iris leapt to her feet when something large shot out of the water and landed on the pier below with a splash. The Shark Titan stood tall, wearing a brilliant blue captain''s coat and clenching a large, gold trimmed pirate¡¯s hat in his hand. The crowds quickly dispersed around him, with more than a few people shouting as they hurried away. He placed the hat on his head and began a quick, confident stride through the Underbelly, the crowds parting before him like a school of fish avoiding a predator.

    Iris leapt from the rooftop, blipping across the thoroughfare to a building on the other side. After running along it for a moment, she blipped to the next one. When she grew near to the Flopping Fish, the front door was already within the Shark Titan''s sight. She blipped to the roof of the tavern, then down to the courtyard behind it, and entered through the back door.

    "Shark Titan incoming!" she shouted, "any minute!"

    "Titus, get the door!" Autumn shouted as the utensils she dropped clanged on the counter, "Iris, plate the first round of appetizers! Be ready to pour the wine!"

    Titus, now dressed in formal black pants and a white ruffled blouse, took his place in front of the door to the tavern. He steeled his resolve and listened carefully. When he heard the thump of heavy boots on the wood planks outside, he opened the door with a tense smile to greet the Shark Titan.

 120 - Operation: Feed the Shark

    "Right this way, captain," Titus said, holding up the door and gesturing inside with an arm.

    The Shark Titan gave him an indecipherable look, then ducked and squeezed through the too-small doorway. His coat still dripped water, leaving a trail of puddles in the wake of his heavy footsteps. He stopped short of the table, which had been moved to the center of the room, and glanced around.

    "What''s this? Where is the wizard?" he asked.

    "He will be joining you shortly, captain," Titus said, drawing on his time at the cleric''s academy when formal speech and respect for superiors had been a requirement, "tonight''s meeting will be catered, and I believe the first dish will be out shortly. Please, have a seat."

    The captain turned a beady gaze on Titus, his emotions still unreadable. He inhaled deeply, no doubt taking in the enticing smells wafting from the kitchen, and seemed to relax. Without another word, he took a seat at the end of the table closest to the door. His massive frame filled up even the largest chair they had been able to find, and with the head of a shark and a body covered in smooth blue and white scales marred with scars, his presence was wholly incongruent with the surroundings.

    In the kitchen, Autumn handed Iris a platter piled high with deep fried snake strips, "take these, we need to get him eating before the Fish Wizard comes out."

    Iris took the tray and nodded dutifully, then blipped to the entrance of the kitchen and walked the rest of the way to the table. Though the Shark Titan''s presence was every bit as intimidating as the last time he had been in the tavern, she felt only a fraction of the fear swelling in her stomach thanks to the Fearless Resolve feat she had developed after defeating the shock wizard in the forest. As she approached the table, the titan paid her no mind directly, but his eyes lingered on the platter of food in her hand.

    "Fried strips of giant snake, hunted here in the Great Forest," Iris said, her voice only tremoring slightly as she placed the platter on the table, "the first of three courses will be Octopus Steak with a side of a cubed rabbit."

    The Shark Titan said nothing in response, instead grabbing a handful of the snake strips from the plate and raising them over his head to drop them into his mouth. Iris tried not to stare at his rows of triangular teeth as his maw stretched open, and flinched when they snapped closed around the appetizer. He swallowed the strips without chewing and showed little reaction. After a short pause, he lifted the platter from the table, stretched open his maw once more, poured the rest of the strips into his mouth, and then handed the empty platter back to Iris.

    "Right, uh," Iris shot a surprised glance at Titus, "I''ll be back shortly with the first course."

    Titus stepped up to the table as Iris blipped away, holding a large bottle from behind the bar, "wine?"

    The Shark Titan nodded without looking at him. Titus filled the large goblet before the titan with wine, and then took a large step back. The titan grabbed the goblet and poured the entire contents into his mouth before placing it back on the table and motioning for more. Titus quickly moved to refill it.

    "Tell the wizard I don''t like waiting," the titan''s words were simple, but his tone conveyed the threat plainly.

    "Of course, captain," Titus said as he finished filling the goblet, then quickly departed for the kitchen.

    "Where''s the Fish Wizard?" Titus whispered as he entered the kitchen, "he''s already getting angry."

    "I don''t know," Autumn hissed back, "he won''t come out."

    In the back of the kitchen between two shelves, Iris was crouched down and knocking on a hatch in the floor, "uh, Fish Wizard, it''s time for the meeting."

    There was no response. Autumn and Titus soon crowded behind her.

    "How many times have you knocked?" Titus asked.

    "Three," Autumn answered for her, "I think the bastard''s trying to bail on us. Iris, open it."

    "Are you sure--" Iris began.

    "Would you rather deal with a pissed off wizard or a pissed off shark?" Autumn interrupted.

    Iris couldn''t argue with that, and cautiously hoisted open the hatch. Beneath it were the same dark waters as the last time she''d seen inside, but the Fish Wizard was nowhere to be found. Nailed to the underside of the hatch was a soggy letter, with poorly scrawled words which read "gone fishing."

    "You gotta be fucking kidding me," Autumn said.

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    "What do we do?" Titus asked.

    "We need to get the first course out, quickly," Autumn said in a hurry, "Iris, help me in the kitchen, Titus, go buy us time."

    Titus spread his arms in a questioning gesture, but Autumn ignored him as she got to work plating the first course. Iris blipped past Titus, turning to give him an apologetic shrug before joining Autumn in her tasks. Titus raced through ideas as he walked from the kitchen to the Shark Titan''s table, discarding most as quickly as they came to him. When he found himself standing beside the table, the Shark Titan''s beady eyes were staring at him.

    "More wine, captain?" Titus said, fear evident in his voice.

    "Where is the bastard wizard?" the Shark Titan demanded, slamming a fist on the table that bounced the cutlery and candles and nearly toppled the once again empty goblet.

    Titus flinched, but recovered quickly, "perhaps something stronger--"

    The Shark Titan sent the chair toppling behind him as he shot to his feet, "Bring. Me. The wizard."

    Before Titus could formulate a reaction, Autumn and Iris exited the kitchen both carrying large platters in their hands. Iris carried two small platters of cubed rabbit dressed with gravy and garnished with fresh herbs, while Autumn carried a single, wide platter that contained a length of octopus tentacle. It had been chopped into thick, steak-like pieces, which had each been cooked separately before being delicately arranged back into place, giving the appearance that the tentacle had been cooked and sliced in place on the platter.

    Iris placed one platter of cubed rabbit on the side of the table closest to the kitchen, then blipped to the other side and placed the other while Autumn filled the space left in the middle with the octopus platter. As she did so, Titus righted the fallen chair and moved it back into place behind the Titan.

    "Pan seared octopus steak," Autumn said with pride, "slain by yours truly in the Great Forest and seasoned with herbs and spices gathered from throughout the western and central Giantrock regions. Served with a side of cubed Giant Rabbit, also locally harvested."

    The Shark Titan shifted his glare from Autumn to the octopus platter, which he appraised for a moment as he slowly lowered himself back into his chair, "more wine," he said with a guttural tone.

    Titus quickly obliged, and then the trio made their way back to the kitchen as calmly as they could manage. Once out of sight, they huddled in the back corner of the kitchen and exchanged stressed whispers.

    "I''m not gonna be the one tell him about the wizard," Titus said firmly.

    "Not it," Iris added.

    "I''ll do it, it''s fine," Autumn hissed, "first we need to get him through the second course, hopefully he''ll be feeling fat and happy by then. I''ll time it so you guys can bring out the final course right after I tell him. Iris, how are we on time?"

    Iris blipped across the kitchen to peek out the window, then blipped back to the others, "he''s already eaten half the octopus."

    "Fuck," Autumn said, "you two get the crab puffs ready, just pile them all on a single platter. I''ll work on the soup and we''ll follow up back-to-back to keep him eating through the second course."

    The trio moved in a frenzy, and only moments later Iris was blipping out to the table with a small mountain of crab puffs while Titus followed behind her with a large bowl of dip. They reached the titan just as he was tossing the last chunk of octopus steak into his mouth, and seamlessly swapped the empty platters in front of him with the next appetizer.

    The shark titan bared his razer teeth and bellowed a surprised laugh, "you kids know how to keep a pirate happy."

    Iris smiled and nodded nervously while Titus poured the titan yet more wine. When the bottle ran dry at a half-filled goblet, Iris quickly blipped another bottle from behind the counter, uncorked it, and picked up where Titus left off. The titan immediately downed the contents of the goblet, and Iris refilled it once more as he tossed a handful of crab puffs into his mouth. Titus lingered near the table to continue filling his wine, while Iris blipped back to the kitchen where she found Autumn taste testing the next course. She frowned, added a small cup of dried and crushed spices, and stirred frantically.

    "I think it''s working," Iris whispered, "he''s actually in a good mood right now."

    "Grab me that bowl," Autumn said, pointing at a wide, shallow metal bowl across the kitchen.

    Only a few moments later, the two rushed out of the kitchen with the next course. The titan spotted them coming, and quickly devoured the remaining crab puffs to make room for the incoming dish.

    "Hydra and dumplings," Autumn said as she placed the large bowl of chunky soup on the table, "seasoned with local ingredients and served with freshly baked bread rolls made from grain sourced from the western grasslands."

    "I remember you," the titan said, "you''re that ambitious Hero I dragged out of the water after you tried riding a hydra head."

    "Yes sir," Autumn nodded.

    "Hmm," the shark titan picked up the bowl with one hand and tipped it into an open gullet, not minding the broth that clung to the edge of the bowl and missed his mouth to pour down his chest, "hah! You came out on top of that encounter in the end, lass. This is the best hydra I''ve eaten."

    "Thank you," she lowered her head in a small bow.

    "Tell me," the shark titan said, the mirth leaving his tone as he leveled a beady gaze on Autumn, "the Fish Wizard isn''t here, is he?"

    Autumn''s eyes went wide, and Iris and Titus inched away.

    "No sir," she said, "I mean-- captain. He agreed to be here, but the coward left a note backing out."

    "Agreed?" The shark titan questioned, "the letter said this was his idea."

    Autumn froze, silently chastising herself for her mistake, "right, well--"

    "Do not lie to me, girl," the captain said in a deep, threatening tone.

    Autumn gulped, then looked up at the titan with the bravest face she could muster, "this meeting was my idea, captain. It was a plan to lure you here so I could prepare you a dinner that would convince you to hire me as your chef aboard the Gaping Maw."

    The titan was quiet. He stared at her with dark, emotionless eyes for an agonizing moment, and then shouted, "the balls on this one!" he erupted into raucous, booming laughter that filled the room.

    Autumn stared in surprise as he laughed, while Iris and Titus took the opportunity to disappear into the kitchen.

    When the Shark Titan''s laughter finally subsided, he spoke casually, "tell you what, normally I''d eat you for a trick like this, but I like your spirit ¨C and I like this meal even more. Bring me the final course, and afterwards we''ll talk about that job."

 121 - Tracing Lightning

    The labyrinthian webs of the Matriarch spider¡¯s domain had begun to decay since her demise. Though portions were still maintained by her surviving brood, much was left to fall apart and fade away, leaving strands of webs drooping from branches like a ghostly white hanging moss. One such neglected area was the site of the wyvern''s abduction, where the dried husk of the Matriarch''s body still loomed menacingly in the dark woods, her remaining legs were curled and hung rigid above her upturned corpse.

    Victoria watched as Kieren the mage traced lines with colored chalk across the matted redwood roots that served as the ground in this part of the forest. He was connecting a series of sigils he had already drawn, each one centered around a charred mark in the roots where the abducting wizards had stood when the lightning strikes carried them, and their captive wyvern, away. The Dreamweaver observed the process from nearby, while Kerrick lingered somewhere unseen in the tangled canopy overhead.

    "We''re almost ready," Kieren said as he connected the final sigil to the ritual array, "all that''s left is to incorporate you two."

    Victoria and the Dreamweaver joined him in the center of the circle, each holding out upturned palms. He took ink and a quill from his pockets, and gently held Victoria''s hand as he drew elaborate swirling patterns in her palm and a short distance up her inner forearm before moving on to her other hand. The Dreamweaver''s role in the ritual would be to lend the vast well of power of a titan to boost the ritual''s effectiveness, while Victoria would serve as the eyes of the ritual, visually tracing the route it would draw that only she could perceive.

    "Alright, that''s it," Kieren said when he finished the final markings on the Dreamweaver''s hands. He stepped outside of the array and looked over his sigils on the ground one more time, "when you''re ready, both of you place your palms on the sigil in the middle, and the ritual will begin."

    Though Victoria''s face was expressionless and stoic, the Dreamweaver saw right through her. The titan gave her a reassuring smile, and spoke softly, "it will be alright, this is perfectly safe."

    Victoria forced a faint smile and nodded softly. The Dreamweaver knelt near the center of the ritual circle on one side of the central sigil, and Victoria knelt directly across from her on the other side.

    "Ready?" the titan asked.

    Victoria nodded again.

    They placed their palms on the ground, and for a moment nothing happened. Then the central sigil began to glow a pale purple, and the glow spread along the lines connecting it the outer array. Soon each of the lines and sigils were glowing, and strands of magic reached up from each of the charred spots in the wood. The markings on hands and arms likewise glowed, stinging as if they were searing the flesh. Victoria locked eyes with the Dreamweaver, who smiled kindly at her.

    Victoria''s eyes flashed a bright purple, and bulging veins around them began to glow a similar color. Her head shot back and her eyes looked to the unseen sky above. Pillars of bright purple light shot up through the canopy at an angle, and her vision followed them. Her disembodied gaze shot through the branches and leaves until it erupted out into a wide view of the brilliant sky. The pillars carried her up into the expanse, racing higher and higher past meandering clouds and towards the stars. No -- towards the purple-orange moon, where it lingered faintly in the late evening sky.

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    She gasped sharply, falling back onto the ground as she returned to her body below. The glow of the ritual was fading, and the pillars of light split into disjointed beams that quickly blinked out of existence. The Dreamweaver moved to check on her, placing a hand on her head and whispering softly.

    "Calm now, child," her voice was like a lullaby, "all is well."

    Victoria felt tranquility wash over her. She was at absolute peace, all was right in the universe, and there was nothing in the world to fear. The feeling lingered as the Dreamweaver withdrew her hand, but soon began to fade, and she felt herself clinging to it, longing for it to last forever, and already dreading its absence.

    "Was it a success?" the Dreamweaver asked Kieren.

    "I don''t know," the mage admitted, "it depends on what she saw."

    Victoria pushed herself up on her elbows, forcing her thoughts away from the yearning of that fleeting peaceful sensation, "I saw lights pointing to the sky, reaching up and beyond the clouds towards the expanse beyond. I think I saw--" she trailed off.

    "It''s okay," the Dreamweaver said, "tell us what you saw."

    Victoria''s eyes filled with fear, though she didn''t know why she was afraid, "I saw them touch the moon."

    <hr>

    The final course was an elk roast the size the Shark Titan¡¯s torso, slow cooked until the meat would effortlessly fall apart in hand, and served with a side of deep fried dough sticks glazed in Red Wasp honey. The shark titan leaned forward in his seat and chomped down on the roast, ripping straight through it without regard for the bones inside. After gulping down the massive bite, he chased it with another full goblet of wine. Autumn waited silently beside the table, hands clasped behind her back and head pointed at the floor.

    "Pull up a chair," the Shark Titan ordered.

    Autumn did as she was told, lifting the chair from the other end of the table and placing it midway down the length of the table. She took the seat with trepidation, feeling as if a job interview had just begun.

    "The food was phenomenal," the titan began, "but you prepared it with the full resources of Giantrock City at your disposal. The Gaping Maw travels far, and opportunities to restock in major cities will be rare. You¡¯ll have to feed an entire crew off the lands, how do I know you''re up for the challenge?"

    "I gathered many of the ingredients for tonight''s dinner myself, captain," Autumn explained confidently, "the octopus I killed myself, the honey was harvested from the nests of wasps my party and I raided, and the majority of the spices used were picked by my own hand. I pride myself in keeping my team well fed, no matter where we find ourselves, and I''ve never found a patch of wilderness where I couldn''t scrounge up a good meal."

    "You''ll have a whole ship to feed," the titan said, "that''ll mean often instructing others to gather what you need. Can you handle that kind of leadership?"

    "It''ll be a new challenge, captain, but I''m confident I can rise to it."

    He bellowed a curt laugh, then tossed a dough stick into his mouth while he thought. "What of your companions?" he asked.

    "We''re a package deal," she said firmly, "I understand that I may not be in a position to negotiate, but if there''s not room for them on the ship, there''s not room for me."

    "Hmm," the shark titan thought for a moment, "tell you what, you''ve earned a place on my ship, but your companions have not. There is a way they still can, however."

    Autumn leaned forward in her seat.

    "The Fish Wizard trusts you, or at least has dropped his guard around you. There¡¯s a man named Gerald, you were the last time I spoke to the wizard about him. He is currently in the wizard¡¯s custody, bring him to me and I''ll find room on the Gaping Maw for your companions."

    "We''ll do it," Autumn blurted out without thinking.

    "Excellent," the Shark Titan grinned, "bring him to my quartermaster on the docks within two week''s time."

    The Shark Titan began to rise from his seat, and Autumn quickly added a question, "wait, what can you tell us about Gerald?"

    "He''s the biggest coward I''ve ever met," the Shark Titan said as he made his way to the door, "and last I heard, he''d been turned into a fish."

    As the door closed behind the Shark Titan, gears clicked in place in Autumn''s head, and she spoke to herself in disbelief as she realized which fish it must be, "son of a bitch."

 122 - Friend of a Titan

    "It''s the golden fish," Autumn said, pacing back and forth in front of the bar, "it has to be. What other significant fish do we know about?"

    It was late the following morning. The trio had been up late the night before doing most of the clean up until they all finally called it quits and went to bed. They had very begrudgingly woken up early to finish the job, and were now discussing their next steps as they completed the final touches.

    "He''s literally called the Fish Wizard," Titus said, pausing to shove a table across the floor back to its usual spot, "he probably has dozens of significant fish."

    "I think she might be on to something," Iris said, scrubbing the last few bits of spilled soup from a table, "the Shark Titan was here in Giantrock for a while before we got to the city, right? But he didn''t confront the Fish Wizard about Gerald until right after we brought him the golden fish. That seems like too much of a coincidence."

    "And think about how excited the Fish Wizard was about finally getting that fish," Autumn added, still pacing rather than doing any work, "the only other time we''ve seen him that passionate was when he argued with the Shark Titan when he showed up here looking for Gerald."

    "Okay, so say that''s our fish," Titus said, "last we saw, the Fish Wizard dumped him in a magic portal. Where do we even start with that?"

    "I''ve been thinking about that," Iris said, "the wizard said something about the fish spending a couple hundred years ''in there.'' Like the portal led somewhere he would be trapped, but inside all we could see was water."

    "You think he''s got a giant fish tank somewhere?" Autumn asked.

    "Maybe," Iris replied, "but actually, I''m thinking it might be a pocket dimension. I''ve--"

    "Read about them in the library," Autumn and Titus recited in unison with Iris.

    She blinked, and glanced from one of them to the other, "what was that?"

    "Nevermind, go on," Autumn said, spinning her hand in a hurrying motion.

    "Do I say that a lot?"

    "Almost every time we talk about anything," Titus said with a half-hearted apologetic look.

    Before Iris could respond, the door to the tavern opened, and Eli and Cameron strolled in. They were clearly in high spirits, both wearing smiles on their faces and laughing about an unheard joke.

    "Welcome back!" Autumn said, completely failing to act casual as she gave sharp glances to the others in an unnecessary attempt to warn them to shut up about the fish, "how was your quest?"

    "Incredible," Eli said, dropping his pack on a table a plopping onto a stool at the bar, "we bagged a Razorwind Owl."

    "It was way out of our league," Cameron said, leaning back against the bar beside Eli, "how many times would you say we almost died?"

    "Two or three times? Each?" Eli pondered, "we never could have taken it down without Cameron''s bombs."

    "They wouldn''t have helped with your traps," Cameron added.

    "Are you kidding me?" Iris asked.

    "What?" Eli said, his smile dropping as he turned to her.

    "Nope," she held up her hands in surrender, "never mind."

    "What?" Eli repeatedly, looking to Autumn and Titus for answers.

    "I mean, ''be more careful'' is basically your catchphrase," Autumn said.

    "Oh-- well, I didn''t mean we literally almost died--"

    "Hey, you know what," Iris interrupted, "that just means you''re not allowed to complain the next three times that I almost die."

    "How often do you plan on almost dying?" Cameron asked with concern.

    "Three times will probably take her about a month," Autumn said matter-of-factly.

    "Give or take a week," Titus added.

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    "Still think that party quest is a good idea?" Cameron asked Eli, who had his elbows on the bar and his head in his hands.

    "Party quest?" Autumn asked.

    "Yeah," Eli said, looking up from his hands, "before Iris reminded me how gleefully she anticipates near death opportunities, I was considering taking the party out on a good quest. The hunting trip with Cameron made me realize that''s what we''ve been missing lately, some good quality adventuring time together as a team."

    "We kind of have other plans--" Titus was interrupted by a sharp elbow to the gut from Autumn.

    "No we don''t," Autumn said, "I mean, nothing important anyway. Tell us about this quest, Eli."

    "Am I going to regret it if I ask what those plans were?" Eli asked.

    "Yep," Autumn answered.

    <hr>

    Victoria was packing up her gear to leave the outpost for the final time. There were still three missing adventurers yet to be found, but with the investigation''s work in the area complete, the city was officially pulling support from the outpost operations. The news had come abruptly, first thing in the morning, which led to speculation that the decision to withdrawal support from the outpost when the investigation was deemed complete had already been made in advance. The site would likely still serve as an unofficial waystation for adventurers completing extermination quests, but there would be no more rewards given for corpse recovery. That in itself wasn''t enough to deter most of the adventurers working recovery operations, as they hadn''t been in it for the money to begin with, but withdrawal of the city''s support meant no more supply shipments or stationed clerics at the outpost.

    Talks amongst the adventurers of continuing the operations independently quickly grew negative, largely fueled by a sense of bitterness at the abrupt withdrawal of support and feelings of pessimism that they would ever find the remaining corpses. A few adventurers in the discussion had been placed on the fact that, by now, they were definitely corpses, and their efforts wouldn''t serve to actually save anyone. One adventurer pointed out that there might not even be corpses left to find anymore, as there was a good chance they¡¯d been eaten by one creature or another. In the end most of the adventurers chose to pursue other ventures rather than stay, and though Victoria had fought to keep the operation alive, she ultimately gave in when she realized she would essentially be alone.

    She glanced up from her gear when she noticed Commander Bridge and the Dreamweaver exiting the command tent. He had arrived not long ago and promptly met with the Dreamweaver in private, presumably about last night''s discoveries. Now, as he effortlessly leapt into the canopy and departed the camp, Victoria was surprised to see the Dreamweaver walking towards her. She finished packing her bag while the Dreamweaver approached, and then stood attentively as she grew near.

    "Sorry to interrupt," the Dreamweaver said casually.

    "It''s not a problem," Victoria replied with a veneer of friendliness she was certain the titan could see through, "what can I do for you?"

    "I wanted to thank you again for your assistance with the tracking ritual. I''d be lying if I said we couldn''t have done it without you, but who knows how long it would have taken us to track down another seer to assist."

    "Maybe I shouldn''t have helped then," Victoria said, "maybe that would have given us the time we needed to find the last missing adventurers."

    The Dreamweaver pursed her lips for a moment before speaking, "perhaps. The decision to close the outpost wasn''t mine, if that means anything. You have the Mayor General to thank for that."

    "You could have warned us."

    "I could have," the Dreamweaver admitted, "and what would that have done to morale? Maybe you all would have rallied and doubled your efforts in a race against the clock, but considering how quickly the operation crumbled at the first sign of bad news, I doubt it."

    "Do you care?" Victoria challenged, a warm anger rising in her chest, "do you care at all about the corpses of adventurers who died under your command rotting somewhere out there in this forest?" She stopped herself short of asking if the titan cared about their deaths at all.

    "When you get to my rank, the world begins to have certain demands. Matters important enough that they far outweigh the concerns you may once have held highest. Yes, I do care, but I have greater responsibilities."

    Victoria stared back at her with rage in her aura, but said nothing.

    "This conversation isn''t going the way I had hoped," the Dreamweaver admitted, "I actually came here to ask for your help with a personal matter."

    "Which your greater responsibilities still allow time for, apparently," Victoria said bitterly.

    "There are challenges ahead, and little is known about them. I seek to complete a ritual that would make me stronger to be better prepared for those challenges. I''d appreciate the benefit of a doubt when I say my motivations are not wholly selfish." Though the titan remained calm, the softness left her voice on the final words.

    Victoria looked up at the taller woman, her anger subsiding only slightly, "why me?"

    "You have the Thread of Dreams, which means you surely have aura manipulation abilities. During the ritual I will be --" the titan chose her next words carefully, "unable to regulate myself. I''ll need someone there who can keep me in check while the process unfolds."

    "I''m only a Hero," Victoria said, "I couldn''t influence your aura if I tried."

    "Only a hero for now, but you''re on the verge of Champion. I can feel it in your aura. My aura will be malleable during the ritual, and once you cross the threshold your power will suffice." The Dreamweaver pulled a folded piece of paper from her robe and handed it Victoria.

    "What''s this?" Victoria asked.

    "A map. Follow it and you''ll find a Thread of Power for your ascension. Consider it a gift between friends."

    Victoria knew that being called a friend by a titan was no small gesture, but was not foolish enough to believe a gift of something as coveted as a Thread of Power would come without strings attached, "I haven''t agreed to anything."

    "Not yet, but you will. I''ll be staying in an inn called the Slumbering Mare for the next few weeks, come find me when you''re ready."

    The Dreamweaver walked away before Victoria replied, leaving her looking down at the paper in her hands with mixed emotions of lingering anger, suspicious disbelief, and bewilderment.

 123 - Tales of Ghostly Fire

    The warm summer sun beat down on the waters of Giantrock Lake, reflecting brightly off gentle waves and bearing down harshly on the band of adventurers crowded in a small wooden sail boat. Fish could be seen leaping from the waters in the distance, birds crowded the cloudless sky, and a healthy breeze carried the boat forward. Their guide, a scraggly old man with a wiry build, steered the boat with a short pole attached to the rudder and controlled the sails with a horizontal beam attached the single mast, taking up much of the space at the stern of the boat and leaving the passengers to cram together near the bow.  They were occasionally forced to duck when the guide whipped the sails to catch the changing wind.

    Upon returning to the city, Victoria had confided in Eli about the map she had received to a Thread of Power, which only cemented his plans to take the party out on a quest. Even just one of the party''s members reaching Champion rank would be a massive increase in their collective power and grant them access to more opportunities, and opportunities for threads were rare to come across. With Victoria already at level 29, and simply needing to max out her experience to reach the threshold, they had decided together to combine the quest and search for the thread into a single journey.

    The thread was located on a triangular peninsula at the convergence of two rivers east of the city and north of the lake, which the combined rivers eventually fed into. The peninsula was most commonly called Black River Point. The Spine, a mountain range that marked the northern edge of the Great Forest and separated it from the Craggs beyond, served as a natural border that cut off Black River Point from the greater landmass beyond it, leaving it isolated on all sides by either rivers or mountains. They had been lucky enough to obtain a quest also located there, which called for investigating a logging operation that had missed its last two scheduled shipments of lumber to the city. The quest had been deemed urgent enough to be approved for Grand Hunt incentives, meaning the party would get a nice bonus from the city on top of the normal pay out for completing the quest.

    Eli was reading over the quest slip for the dozenth time when he glanced up and spoke to the guide, "what can tell you us about Grantworth Lodge?"

    "Pay''s good, from what I hear," the guide said, not looking away from the lake as he spoke, "still not worth it to work on Black River Point, if you ask me."

    "Why''s that?" Titus asked.

    The guide took his eyes off the lake to look at the adventurers for the first time since they set sail, "you kids''ve heard the stories, haven''t ya?"

    "We traveled here for the Grand Hunt," Eli explained, "we don''t know much about the region that''s not in the pamphlets."

    The guide laughed, "you really oughta ask the locals before traipsin'' off into the wilderness. I happen to be a local, so how ¡®bout it? You kids wanna hear a ghost story?¡±

    Eli leaned forward interest and Autumn nodded in excitement. Victoria seemed disinterested, while Iris and Titus exchanged a worried look.

    ¡°The story goes that two-hundred years ago, when Giantrock City was just Giantrock Camp, Black River Point was filled with ancient trees just like the rest of the Great Forest. They say that somewhere in those woods lived an ancient titan who yearned for godhood, and would abduct wayward frontiersmen for experiments of untold horror. It¡¯s said the river would carry their screams out onto the lake, where they echoed for miles."

    "That sounds ridiculous," Autumn interrupted.

    Eli sharped shushed her, and nodded for the guide to continue his tale.

    "Well, late one night, the frontiersmen on the beach below the rock heard a boom all the way from the point that shook trees clear across the lake, and saw a bright flash that drowned out the stars. For weeks afterward, the point blazed with a ghostly white fire that consumed every livin'' thing it could, stoppin'' only when it reached the rivers'' edge. You should know, redwoods don''t burn easy to a normal flame, but this fire was somethin'' different, I guess. Consumed the woods all across the point, covering the ground in a layer of ash that stained the rivers black for years. The titan who lived out there was never seen again, but folks steered clear for a long time regardless. Nowadays the woods have started growin'' back and the young trees are easy loggin'', but people come back from there with tales of screams in the night and an uneasy feelin'' that the ground itself don''t want them there."

    "We could turn back," Iris suggested.

    "Yeah, I''m sure there''s some other quests--" Titus began.

    "We''re going," Eli said sternly, then turned his attention back to the guide, "thanks for the history, but can you tell us anything about the lodge itself? Or what kind of wildlife we should expect?"

    "Well, seein'' as how I can''t sail upriver, I''ll be dropping you off on the shore near the river''s mouth. You''ll have to trek north and cross Big Beaver Dam to cross the river. Now, those guys look intimidating, but they''ll let you pass so long as you behave. Just don''t look ''em in the eyes, and don''t touch anything. When you make it ''cross the dam, you''ll go back south along the water until you find Grantworth Lodge just north of where the rivers meet. Can''t tell you much about what''s in those woods, though.¡±

    The guide turned his attention to sailing the changing winds carried them closer to sandbars along the northern shore of the lake, while Eli''s attention returned to the quest slip in his hands.

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    "Screams in the night, mysterious backstory, sounds like you really picked out a good one," Victoria said, restraining a smirk.

    "Hey, we both agreed on this quest," Eli defended.

    "I had nothing to do with this," Victoria held up her hands as she declared her innocence.

    "We''re literally here for your--" Eli stopped himself with a glance towards the guide, then fumed silently as Victoria smiled.

    "Personally, I''m up for the challenge," Autumns said, "but it does kind of sound Eli''s trying to get us haunted."

    "Wait," Iris said, her eyes growing slightly wider, "you don''t think there''s actually ghosts there, right?"

    <hr>

    It proved to be an especially hot day in Giantrock as the region entered the depths of summer. Iris had spent all her life in a mild climate, where the coldest days rarely brought snow and the warmest days were uncomfortable at worst. In Giantrock, however, the weather was more extreme. The breeze had kept them cool on the lake, but now as they trudged through the forest in the late afternoon the air was hot and stuffy, and the rays of sunlight that cut through the canopy left mirages of quivering air in their wake.

    She was reminded of her first days in the region, when minimizing exertion and sticking to shadows wherever possible had been the only way she survived the otherwise deadly heat of the western desert. That had only been the spring temperatures in the desert, and she couldn¡¯t imagine how hot it must be there now. As it stood, in the densely vegetated area cooled by the lake¡¯s winds and with the greater endurance that came with being level 10, she found the summer heat potentially dangerous but not life-threatening so long as she stuck to the shadows and blipped more than she hiked. To her higher level companions, the heat wasn''t dangerous at all, but it still certainly wasn''t comfortable. This was made worse by the constant uphill incline they traversed, along with Titus insisting they all wear their packs on their backs, rather than storing them in Iris''s bottomless bag, lest they get soft and spoiled by the convenience. Victoria and Autumn had complained, but Eli sided with Titus. Iris was blissfully exempt from this, as she had no pack to carry.

    Oversized mosquitoes buzzed through the forest with sharp, rapier-like proboscises. Titus and Eli took on the responsibility of mosquito duty, blasting the bugs apart with ranged magic attacks whenever they flew too close. Accompanying the giant mosquitoes were equally oversized dragonflies that hunted them, large bees that lingered on the flowers the size of human heads, and an assortment of enormous bugs. At one point, they were forced to detour around a trail of dog-sized ants that systematically disassembled the carcass of an elk and carried the chunks back to their colony elsewhere in the forest.

    By late afternoon they found themselves standing on the edge of a ravine just downriver of Big Beaver Dam. It was a towering structure built of redwood branches and logs, standing a hundred feet tall from the wall-to-wall river at the bottom of the ravine, up to the rocky cliff edges of the forest. At the bottom of the dam was an opening, which gushed a constant roar of water that fed the downstream river at the bottom of the ravine. They watched as a pair of beavers -- their size incomprehensible at such a distance -- swam effortlessly in the rushing waters below until they reached the base of the dam, where they each grabbed hold of a thick redwood log on either side of the opening and pulled them back, enlarging the hole and widening the outflow of water.

    A short while later they reached the dam, which appeared from the top as a broad bridge built haphazardly of driftwood and raw lumber. As they approached the entrance to the bridge, they found it guarded by two bipedal beavers the size of large bears, each wearing armor carved from wood and wielding long wooden spears. Their wide, flat tails were augmented with solid chunks of wood that had been carved into rows of spikes on their outward face, held in place to the tails with crude but thick leather straps.

    "Kys t''ou my veg!," one of the beaver''s spoke in a rough, yet sing-song language.

    The party stopped in their tracks, as even the more experienced adventurers were taken aback by the giant talking warrior beavers. Autumn and Iris stared with mouths agape, Titus positioned himself between the beavers and his party as if ready to fight them hand-to-hand if necessary, and Victoria nudged Eli to say something.

    "We seek passage to Black River Point," Eli said, uncertain if the beavers would understand him.

    The beaver turned to his fellow guard, "Veagh cair?"

    "Cre gys?" the second beaver seemed to ask the party.

    "Uh," Eli stalled, looking to the others for help.

    "He''s probably asking why we want to cross," Autumn said, muscling her way past Eli and Titus to speak to the beavers, "we''re here to check on the Grantworth lodge."

    "Abber eh, beggan boirey," the beaver nodded, and then turned to his companion, "veagh cair."

    The two beavers stepped aside, and motioned the adventurers forward. With great wariness, they shuffled between the two imposing giants and onto the Big Beaver Dam. To their right was the long, sheer drop of the dam down to the ravine far below, while to the left was the upstream river, which filled the ravine nearly to the top and not far below the edge of the dam.

    "Remember, don''t touch anything," Eli said.

    The passage was rough and uneven, comprised of many overlapping logs with the gaps formed by the curve of the logs packed with smaller branches. Each step risked a twisted ankle, and there many gaps smaller enough to swallow a foot. As they crossed, they came upon a beaver carrying a section of thick redwood branch gnawed to a point on either end. They followed at a healthy distance until the beaver moved to the edge of the dam and lowered the branch onto the bridge. He grabbed hold of the splintered remains of a damaged branch on the upriver side of the dam, ripped it free and effortlessly tossed it across the dam into the ravine, then got to work positioning the replacement.

    As they crossed the dam, they saw the tiny silhouette of Glimmer soaring high above, her shadow briefly swooping across the dam not far ahead of them. The view to the south was gorgeous, revealing the true magnitude and depth of the ravine as it carved through the land. From the side they had come were ancient and towering redwoods that crowded around the edge of the ravine, their roots intertwining with each other to stay upright on the edge of the eroding cliff. In front of them, a wide expanse of younger redwoods populated Black River Point, rather than dense and multilayered canopies, the trees instead had conical shapes with no real canopy to speak of. Their dark green needled leaves and rich red bark, however, still gave them away as redwoods. Those few similarities alone weren¡¯t enough to dissuade the feeling that they were entering an entirely new forest than the one they¡¯d grown accustomed to.

 124 - Black River Point

    The rich black soil of Black River Point was soft underfoot, and easily held impressions of animal tracks and the adventurers¡¯ footprints. The roots of the young redwoods bulged slightly out from the ground, forming curving and twirling patterns through the forest floor. The trunks were much more crowded than their larger ancestors of the old growth forest, but their smaller size still allowed for ample space in the young forest. The bugs here were smaller, though Iris found that somehow made them worse, as they had turned from monsters she could fight to pests that could evade her swipes and swats.

    "No one''s taken this path in a while," Eli observed as they followed a trail south from the dam, which led into the woods at an angle away from the cliff''s edge.

    "Makes sense," Victoria said, "the quest giver said we''re the first ones they''ve sent to check on the lodge, and there''s not much more to come here for unless you know what you''re looking for."

    "Speaking of that," Iris said, blipping up beside Victoria, "you two keep talking cryptically like you know some we don''t. What''s up?"

    Autumn perked up at the question and jogged up beside them to eagerly await an answer with Iris.

    Victoria looked towards Eli, who replied after a sigh, "might as well tell them, we don''t have to worry much about word getting around all the way out here."

    "We''re not just here for a quest," Victoria said, "there''s a Thread of Power here."

    "Seriously?" Iris asked.

    "Whoa," Autumn whispered.

    Titus looked their way with sudden interest.

    "How do you know?" Iris asked, "are we going there now?"

    "Not yet," Victoria said, "I plan to absorb it when I''m ready, but I''m just shy of the threshold. Hopefully, completing this quest will get me there."

    Iris fished around in her bottomless bag -- she wasn''t actually filtering through items, or even touching anything at all, but the motion helped her think while she tried to recall the exact item she was looking for. Finally, she pulled out an adventurer magazine that had seen much better days. Dirt smeared the cover and all the corners were bent. She generally tried to take better care of her literature, but this one had spent a lot of time in her old backpack before she got her bottomless bag familiar.

    "Do you know what kind?" she asked as she flipped through the pages.

    "No," Victoria said, "it''s a gamble. It might not be one that I want, but threads are rare, so there aren¡¯t many I¡¯d pass up."

    "Worst case scenario," Eli said, "we keep it a secret and come back for it when I reach the threshold myself."

    "You''d like that, I''m sure," Victoria rolled her eyes.

    Iris finally found the page she was looking for and waved gnats away from her face as she read through it to refresh her memory. It described how when an adventurer reached the experience necessary to cross over from Level 29 to Level 30, their progress would stall and they wouldn''t actually level up. It provided a brief explanation that experience points were a measurement of magical potential, and that a Threadbearer''s body could only contain so much potential with the power of only one thread. When scholars had first developed the leveling system to track magical potential, they designed it so that each level would coincide with the distinct incremental increases in power that Threadbearer''s naturally experienced as their potential grew. It just so happened that the upper limit of the 29th increment coincided with the point at which an adventurer would need to absorb a second thread in order to reach the next increment of power, thus marking the threshold between the first and second tiers of power: Hero, and Champion.

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    "We''re going to have a champion on our team," Autumn said while Iris was reading, "that''s so badass. We''re gonna be unstoppable."

    "Even if we were all champions," Eli said, "we would still be out of our league in Giantrock. Don''t forget that."

    "Yeah, yeah," Autumn dismissed him with a wave, "you always have to be a kill joy, we know."

    Eli didn''t take the bait for an argument, instead he kept his attention on following the trail through the woods. Ambitious shrubbery sprouts combined with the winding nature of the rarely used path made it sometimes hard to tell it apart from the unkempt forest around it. This was made worse by the fact that animals had clearly been using the trail as well, along with frequent off shooting paths that first appeared to be the main trail before sharp turns or lower branches overhead gave away that they were animal paths.

    The sun was getting low in the sky and evening was fast approaching, so the party cut off their conversation and increased their pace. Camping in the wilderness was an option, if needed, but they had all agreed they''d much rather reach the lodge before nightfall if possible. There may not be space there for them to sleep indoors, but even pitching their tent on the lodge''s grounds would be safer and more comfortable than an arbitrary point in the forest.

    The first sign that they were growing close to the lodge was the appearance of redwood stumps which had clearly been cut with saws, and soon afterwards the path became wider and noticeably more worn. Long ruts cut through the soft ground where logs had presumably been dragged away, and for the first time the boot prints of strangers were visible in the soil. As the ground became more and more disturbed and the number of stumps increased, the lodge soon came into view further down the long dirt boulevard.

    The entrance was framed by two tall logs posted in the ground with a thinner horizontal log nailed and bound in place near the top. A simple wooden sign hung from the horizontal log by short, frayed ropes, and read GRANTWORTH in hand carved letters. There was no fence on either side of the entrance, but several rows of trees had been kept as a natural border around the camp. As the party approached the entranceway, they noticed wood debris scattered across the ground just inside the camp.

    "What happened here?" Victoria wondered aloud, inspecting the shattered remains of planks still nailed to the vertical posts of the entranceway.

    Eli crouched and picked through a few pieces of debris, "A smashed barricade, maybe? What would they be trying to keep out that couldn''t just go through the trees?"

    "Look at this," Titus said, holding up a plank that was splintered from a break on one end, just past a black handprint.

    "Is that dirt?" Eli asked, eying the handprint.

    "Yep," Autumn said, standing beside Titus and looking up to inspect the plank.

    Eli turned back towards the camp, from where they stood they could see two buildings. Straight ahead was a long, low roofed building with many windows and an outhouse placed just behind it, he guessed that to be the logger''s barracks. To the left, in front of and a little closer than the barracks, was the back and side of a two story building of slightly better construction, with fewer but larger windows and an angled roof. The front of the building wasn''t visible from this angle, nor were much of the grounds at the center of camp and to the east. Even if they were done with work for the day, he expected signs of loggers by now, the smoke from a fire, the sounds of conversation or laughter, something. But the camp seemed quiet and still.

    "Keep your heads up and get serious," he said, "I don''t like this."

    They slowly made their way deeper into the camp and the main courtyard came into view as they rounded the large building. The dirt here was beaten and disturbed from frequent traffic, with crisscrossing and overlapping footprints and cart tracks covering every inch of ground. The two story building had a large roofed porch extending out around its front door, which was slightly ajar. Near the center of the yard was a large, uncovered cart, which faced toward the barracks as if were driven into camp from the east. Beyond it, on the southeastern corner of the camp, was a large platform with a tall awning roof, presumably the sawmill.

    "See anything?" Eli asked Victoria.

    Her eyes were glazed over as she panned her gaze around the camp, "seems empty."

    "Hello?" Eli called out, his voice echoing slightly.

    It was still quiet. The sun was below the treetops, but the sky still glowed with its rapidly waning light. Eli inspected the cart in the courtyard, it was designed to be pulled by an animal but the harness had been cut. The tracks behind it were messy and inconsistent, as if the cart had entered the camp at such high speeds that it was bouncing behind the animal that pulled it.

    "We need to secure the camp before it¡¯s too dark, whatever happened here might not be over," Eli said, "let''s split up. Iris, Autumn, check the barracks. Titus, sawmill. Vic, you''re with me."

    The adventurers nodded their understanding, split into their groups and dispersed throughout the camp.

 125 - The Mystery of Grantworth Lodge

    Eli and Victoria entered the large, two story building. The ground floor was a mess hall with rows of wooden tables and bench seats. There were no torches lit inside, and the waning sun provided little light through the windows, but neither of them had any trouble seeing in the dark.

    "Still no auras," Victoria said.

    Eli made his way to one of the tables, "there''s still food in the bowls, I''d guess dinner by the looks of it. It''s too cold to be from tonight."

    Victoria shifted through the frequencies of her auravision until a trail along the floor began to glow. She crouched to inspect it and found it was dirt. Even dirt was full of life which emanated auras, but the glow was unusually bright for dirt. This soil was packed full of organisms. Looking back, she noticed the trail led out the door they had entered.

    "I''ve got something," she said as she followed the trail.

    It led around the back of the serving counter, into the alley kitchen behind it. There were utensils and pots scattered on the floor, and the trail thickened into piles of soil. At the far end of the alley kitchen was a door that had been burst through, leaving a large splintered hole big enough for a person. Beyond the splintered door was a storage closet with yet more piles of dirt and fallen debris, including a wooden shelving unit that had toppled over. She looked back over the trail of dirt, noting the lines cut through it from what she guessed to be from the heels of someone being dragged away.

    "I think someone tried to hide in here, and got dragged out."

    "What''s with all the dirt?" Eli asked, leaning to peer over the serving counter.

    "I don''t know," Victoria replied.

    There were clear, corked bottles of sauce on the serving counter, and Victoria looked around the kitchen until she found an empty one. She used a small spoon from the floor to scoop some of the soil into the bottle, and then corked it shut.

    <hr>

    Titus stepped up onto the elevated platform of the lumber mill. It was a simple setup, two wooden platforms on either side of a central channel that bisected the structure. The floor of the channel had protruding wooden gears with angled hooks for teeth to pull logs along through the tall vertical sawblade near one end of the channel, which appeared to be rigged to reciprocate when the mill was in operation. Since the mill had no access to running water for a watermill, there was instead a horizontal wheel beside the mill with spokes to harness animals to turn the wheel and operate the mill. All the straps of the harness had been cut, and the only sign of the animals were deep huff prints in the soil leading off into the woods.

    Titus crouched and peered into the channel, but found nothing of interest. There was a rack on one side of the platform he where assumed tools were normally stored, but it was empty besides a pair of long-handled hooks he guessed where used to position logs in the channel. He moved to the edge of the platform and looked out over the grounds.

    The most obvious feature of the grounds were the wheel ruts driven into the soil by the cart now abandoned in the middle of camp. It had driven straight over the camp''s fire, scattering coals across the ground in its wake. The ruts came from the east, where a wide channel of stumps cut through the woods. He looked around for footprints surrounding the mill, but couldn''t discern any one set from another in the layers crisscrossing tracks.

    <hr>

    Autumn had to push hard to open the door to the barracks, the edge of the door scraped against the frame as it came unstuck. Iris pulled a lit lantern from her bottomless bag as she and Autumn entered. After much experimentation, she had determined the flame would stay lit when placed inside the bag, and no oil would be used while it was stored in the void. The inside of the barracks looked entirely as they would expect, rows of narrow beds on either side of a long, rectangular room. Beside each bed was a small square nightstand with a drawer and a cubby space at the bottom.

    "What are we looking for?" Iris asked.

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    "No idea," Autumn said, "the others usually just kind of look around and point out random details, maybe we do that?"

    "Hmm," Iris pondered as she followed Autumn down the narrow aisle between the beds down the center of the building, "there''s no boots by any of the beds?" she suggested.

    "Hmm, yes," Autumn concurred, "and the beds aren''t made."

    "I feel like loggers probably don''t make their beds," Iris said.

    "Good point, I bet you''re right."

    Iris made her way between two of the beds and pulled open the drawer of a nightstand. Inside she found a small waterskin, a crude drawing of a man, woman and a child, and a pair of socks. She blipped a few beds down -- rapidly shifting the shadows cast around the room by her lantern -- and opened another drawer at random. This time she found a knife, multiple pairs of socks, a few coins, and another waterskin.

    "There''s not much here," she said.

    Autumn was leaning out the side door of the barracks, which was at the back of the building beyond the rows of beds. Outside she could see a well-worn path to the outhouse, but nothing else of note. She ducked back inside and closed the door.

    "Nope," she agreed.

    Iris blipped behind her and held up the lantern, "there''s a note."

    "What?" she asked, turning back to the door. She looked up and saw a small note nailed to the door, she hadn''t noticed it because it was placed at eye-level for most people, which was well above her head.

    "It says ''don''t go alone,'' what do you think that''s about?" Iris asked.

    "I guess they need help holding it, I don''t know," Autumn shrugged.

    They startled as the front door to the barracks cracked open, but were relieved to see it was Eli, Victoria and Titus entering the barracks.

    "Find anything?" Eli asked.

    "There''s no boots," Iris explained, "the beds aren''t made but we''re pretty sure that''s normal for loggers, and there''s this weird note on the back door to the outhouse."

    Eli made his way to the back door and inspected the note, "this door probably gets used a lot and the paper''s not worn, it must have been put up recently."

    "See?" Autumn looked at Iris, "who notices stuff like that?"

    Iris shrugged.

    "It''s getting pretty dark out there," Eli announced, turning to face the room, "we''ll stay in here tonight. You can look around for clues but we''re uninvited guests, don''t disrespect anyone''s belongings."

    Autumn dropped her pack and plopped onto the bed furthest back in the barracks and opposite the backdoor, "Titus, you take that one," pointing to the bed across from her beside the door.

    "Why?" He asked, clearly annoyed at the command.

    "Biggest guy between me and the nearest door," Autumn said, placing her hands behind her head and wiggling a comfortable crevice into the straw mattress.

    "Why don''t you just sleep further from the door?" He asked.

    "Second closest bed to the outhouse," she answered simply with her eyes closed.

    After everyone chose a bed and stowed their packs, Iris pulled a series of sandwiches from her bottomless bag. Each one was wrapped in a clean tan cloth with a name written on a small paper tag secured with string. Autumn had prepared them in the tavern''s kitchen the night before they left the city, each one made to the specifications of a different party member.

    "Titus," Iris said, reading a name on one of the sandwiches before looking up and blipping it across the room.

    Titus was sitting on his bed beside the back door and removing some of his extraneous armor pieces when he glanced up at his name. Before he registered what was happening, the sandwich bounced off his chest plate. He gasped, dropping the metal bracer in his hands to clatter onto the floor as he lunged forward to catch the sandwich with a scrambling grasp. He grabbed the sandwich with one hand, then quickly grabbed it with the other to hold it secure, finally sighing in relief when he was sure the sandwich was safe. The look he gave Iris was seething.

    "Sorry," she gave a wincing smile.

    Autumn still lay in her bed, and held an arm straight up into the air, "hit me," she said, then squineted open an eye as she quickly added an afterthought, "not literally."

    Iris looked through the sandwiches until she found Autumn''s, then blipped it across the room and straight into Autumn''s waiting hand. After passing out the rest of the sandwiches, she sat on the bed and happily unwrapped her own. Her stomach rumbled and her mouth watered at the sight, a fish salad sandwich with a thick layer of greens and glimpses at juicy bright red slices of fruit just beneath the top bun. Just she as she was preparing to take the first bite, she remembered Littletooth, and groaned.

    She looked over at her bottomless bag where it rested at the foot of her bed, and had an idea, "hey Abby, can you feed Littletooth for me?"

    The bag said nothing at first, then loosened its drawstring and slipped open to release a harmony of deep, otherworldly tones that Iris interpreted as acquiescence. A moment later, a curled tentacle raised up out of the bag, uncurling to lift Littletooth''s bowl out of the void and place it on the bed.

    "Wait," Iris said, "not on the bed."

    The bag released discordant, annoyed tones, and then dropped the bowl back into the void. The tentacle then wrapped around the corner post at the foot of the bed and pulled the bag over the edge to drop onto the ground. Abby pulled the bowl out again, placed it on the floor, and was soon depositing leftover rabbit chunks into it. The tentacle retreated, and the bag released two back-to-back, high pitch harmonies that sounded almost like a whistle. A second later, Littletooth came tumbling out of the bag and rushed towards the bowl. Iris looked up and noticed everyone else looking at her strangely, mouths agape with sandwiches still in hand.

    "When the fuck did you get a tentacle monster?" Autumn asked.

 126 - A Disquiet Night

    After dinner, the party settled into quiet pass times before bed. Titus was polishing his chest plate, Autumn was doing an inventory of herbs she had gathered on the journey to the lodge, and Iris was reading a book. Eli was watching curiously as Victoria held up the bottle of soil and inspected it closely with her auravision.

    "What are you hoping to find?" he asked.

    "I think I''ve already found it," she answered, not taking her grey mucus covered eyes off the bottle, "I''m hoping to prove myself wrong."

    "What did you find then, exactly?"

    Victoria''s eyes returned to normal as she lowered the bottle, "do you know why dead bodies rot?"

    Eli blinked in surprise at the question, "without a soul there''s nothing to hold them together, so they begin to break down, right?"

    Victoria shook her head, "that''s what scholars believed for a long time, but we know better now. The real culprits are thousands, maybe millions, of tiny little life forms too small for the eyes to see. They move into the body and start breaking it down from the inside out, they leave behind waste that yet more life forms move in to eat, and even more life forms move in to hunt and eat the ones already living there. A whole ecosystem sprouts up, an explosion a life with the ultimate goal of consuming everything but bone. When a body rots, it''s actually being eaten."

    "That''s disgusting," Eli remarked, "but what''s it have to do with the dirt?"

    "This soil is exploding with life forms. The same life forms that devour corpses."

    Eli contemplated for a moment while he stared at the bottle in her hands, "what does that mean?"

    "I don''t know," she sighed, placing the bottle gently on the table beside her bed, "nothing good, I imagine."

    Iris closed her book. It was one she had already read several times before and she found herself growing bored, but she wasn''t ready to sleep yet. She considered playing with Littletooth until she felt tired, but he was already curled up at the foot of the bed, snuggling his now raggedy elk plushy and snoozing comfortably. Glancing around the room for something to do, she decided to start checking drawers for clues they might have missed. The first few had nothing of interest, but the fourth one she blipped to contained a small pocket journal, which she curiously cracked open.

    It seemed to be a pretty regular journal, the handwriting and spelling weren''t the best but it was at least legible. Some of the early pages described the daily tasks of working at the lodge, some of the later pages were dedicated to venting the writer''s feelings about some of the other loggers in the camp, and a few pages detailed his longing to return to his family at the end of his six month stint at the camp. Some of the last entries mentioned other loggers going missing, and the foreman not taking the loggers'' concerns seriously. The last entry stood out amongst the rest, having been hastily scrawled in large, messy letters. It read "THE SOIL ISN''T SAFE!"

    Iris tensed, and immediately blipped to Victoria, "I found a logger''s journal, this is the last entry."

    Victoria took the journal and frowned at the page, then looked warily to the bottle on her bedside table. Eli took the journal from her and read the page for himself.

    "That confirms it then," he announced, "whatever happened here, the dirt has something to do with it. Did you find anything else useful in this journal?"

    "Just that," Iris shook her head, "there''s some entries near the end that mention loggers going missing over the past few weeks, but no clues about what happened to them."

    "Keep this in your bag," he picked up the bottle of soil and handed it to her, "if it''s dangerous, it shouldn''t be able to hurt anyone in there."

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    Iris nodded, taking the bottle and blipping back to her bed to drop it into the bottomless bag beside Littletooth. The party soon settled down to sleep, with Victoria staying awake for first watch.

    <hr>

    After Victoria, it was Autumn''s turn to watch. She had awakened with an annoyed groan, but didn''t complain about taking over. Victoria was now sleeping in her bed, having drifted off quickly using a meditative technique, while Autumn sat bored on her own bed snacking on rabbit jerky. It was dark in the barracks, the only sources of light were faint glows of purple and orange moonlight through the numerous windows. A loud chorus of crickets, frogs, and other noisy night time critters rang constantly outside, sounding like the downpour of a discordant musical rainstorm.

    After a while, Autumn needed a trip to the outhouse. She climbed out of bed as quietly as she could manage and gently crossed the creaky wooden floor to the backdoor of the barracks, which she opened slowly and quietly just enough to slip through to the outside. The songs of late night nature were louder and sharper without the walls of the barrack to stave them off, and she wondered how anyone could handle sleeping in these woods every night for months. The soft soil compressed under her feet, rebounding slightly as each footstep lifted up.

    When she exited the outhouse sometime later, she at first took a few steps towards the barracks before freezing firmly in place. Her eyes were locked on the silhouette of a figure standing beyond the barracks, in the middle of camp near the abandoned cart. It was taking lumbering steps towards the barracks, dragging one foot along as it walked. Only the glow of moonlight on the ground behind it exposed its silhouette, leaving its features shrouded in darkness.

    Autumn took a few slow, quiet steps towards the back door of the barracks, then bolted inside and quickly shut the door behind her. She grabbed the underside edge of Titus''s bed and sharply pulled it in front of the door, toppling Titus onto the floor with a loud thump.

    "What the hell?" he shouted as he fought to free himself from the entangling blanket.

    Eli shot up in his bed and grabbed his staff where it leaned against his nightstand. He held it ready against his shoulder even as he used one hand to move aside his blanket so he could stand. Iris sat up groggily, rubbing sleep from her eyes as she tried to make sense of what was happening in the dark. From her bed near the front of the barracks, the range of her detection ability was too short to sense what was happening in the back of the barracks, but she could sense Victoria standing in front of the window beside the front door. The faint moonlight coming through the window revealed the ridges of bulging veins around her empty grey eyes.

    "There''s someone outside," Victoria said, having sensed the aura in her sleep and rushed to the window to inspect it.

    Eli darted to the window and posted himself against the wall beside it, holding his staff low as he leaned and twisted to peer through the glass, "what can you tell me?"

    Victoria was silent for a moment, then spoke with not-quite contained unease in her voice, "it has the aura of a corpse."

    Eli watched Victoria hoping for a hint at what they should do, but she only stared at the figure outside as it slowly dragged itself closer. At the back of the barracks, Autumn was helping Titus don his armor as quickly as the two could manage, meanwhile Iris had stepped up behind Victoria and Eli to peer between them at the mysterious figure.

    "It knows we''re here," Eli said, "we need a plan."

    "Actually, I don''t think it does," Victoria said, "look at the trail of its dragging foot, its angled away from us. It¡¯s moving closer, but not straight for us."

    "Any suggestions, then?" he asked.

    Victoria shook her head, "there''s more to it than just the aura on the surface," she observed, the veins shifting slightly beneath her skin as she squinted her eyes, "underneath it, there''s a regular aura. A person, human probably, no powers. He might still be alive."

    "That could be one of our loggers," Eli added, "we should take him alive."

    "Let me go out there," Iris said, earning immediate looks from both Victoria and Eli, "I can blip out away from the barracks so he doesn''t know where I came from, I can get a better look, maybe try to talk to him. If anything happens I can blip right back."

    Eli thought for a moment, and she expected him to veto the idea, but then he nodded, "alright, but not yet. I want everyone ready to back you up."

    Titus approached behind them, fastening the final straps on his chest plate, "I''m ready."

    "Iris," Autumn said, hurrying behind Titus to keep up with his long strides, "drop me some rocks before you go."

    Iris nodded and blipped over to one of the unused beds, blipping her bottomless bag from her bed where Littletooth was using it as a pillow. He let out a croaking whine as his head suddenly dropped to the bed, waking him from his slumber. She turned the bag upside down over the bed, and three large chunks of stone fell out of the bag onto the lumpy mattress. Then, she blipped over to her own bed, and gentled urged Littletooth into the open mouth of the bag. He protested with a quiet screech, but in his grogginess he failed to escape before Iris pushed him into the void. She grabbed her wizard hat from the nightstand and donned it despite still wearing her pajamas, and blipped back in front of the window.

    "Ready?" she asked.

    Eli nodded, and she blipped out into the moonlight.

 127 - The Soil Isnt Safe

    Iris appeared in the moonlight a dozen yards from the figure. It didn''t react to her presence, and simply continued moving along its path. It was closer than the cart now, and at its current trajectory would pass just by the corner of the barracks and continue towards the edge of camp beyond. The light of the moon was behind it and its face was shrouded in shadows, but in the silhouette she could make out what looked like clumps of dirt clinging to a shaggy head of hair.

    "Hello?" Iris said a little quieter than she meant to, but the figure still didn''t react. She swallowed, and spoke louder, "excuse me, are you alright?"

    The figure stopped and stood motionless, then its head turned towards her. She took an involuntary step back under its sudden gaze. Though it was too dark to see its eyes, she could sense intent from its aura. It wasn''t surprised by her presence, it felt threatened, but not afraid. Sensing these details was a new sensation for Iris, she had continued her infrequent aura training with Victoria over recent weeks, but was nowhere near the level of sensing passive emotions or intentions. She had only ever felt them when Victoria had deliberately conveyed them with her aura -- did that mean the figure was communicating?

    "Hi," she took a wary step forward, "my name''s Iris. I''m here to check on the camp. Is everything alright?"

    She sensed contemplation in the figure''s aura.

    "Do you need help?" she took another cautious step forward.

    The figure''s aura conveyed aggression. Anger. Iris was filled with an overwhelming sensation of being a trespasser on land that did not belong to her -- on land that belonged to it. The figure shifted, and took a step towards her, then another, not just with its good leg but with the one it had been dragging before. The figure fell forward into a sprint, radiating an aura of fury and violent intent. Iris threw her bag back from her waist with one hand as she withdrew her greatsword with the other, then blipped to meet the figure. She appeared beside it for only a fraction of a second, her sword slicing through its thigh and severing a leg before she blipped again and appeared several yards beyond it.

    After collapsing to the ground with a soft thump, the figure turned with its hands to face her and began to crawl. With the moonlight now shining on its face, she could see the empty sockets where eyes had been, and the pale, lifeless flesh of its sagging face. Equally pale, almost skeletal hands reached out towards her and buried gaunt, dirty fingers in the soil as it dragged itself forward.

    "Wait!" Victoria shouted as Titus burst out of the barracks with Eli and Autumn close behind.

    ¡°You were supposed to blip back inside!¡± Eli shouted at Iris.

    The soil behind the crawling man bulged and fell away as something massive rose from beneath it. At first it appeared as a rising mound of dirt, but it soon split apart into the fingers of a large, fleshless hand that slammed down onto the crawler and pulled him back into the ground. His body disappeared beneath the surface of the upturned soil, but before his pale outstretched hand could disappear, something larger began to rise.

    Iris saw the featureless lump of soil that formed the head, then the shoulders, torso and arms, and finally the trunk-like legs as a mass of soil the shape of a rounded, hulking person as it climbed out of the ground. Embedded in its torso was the crawler, his body and half his face buried in the soil as one gaunt arm stretched out towards her. Across the soil golem''s body were more like him, arms jutted out at awkward angles and grasped at empty air, and eyeless faces bulged from the soil often with mouths agape in permanent silent screams. The golem stood as tall as three men, and was disproportionately wide for its height.

    The golem charged at Iris, but she didn''t blip yet. She saw the glow of white and red magic from in front of the barracks, and held the golem''s attention until the blasts rung out. First a bolt of red magic slapped into the golem''s head, blasting it away and sending a shower of dirt off to the side, but that didn''t slow its gait. Three spears of blinding white light embedded deep in its torso, then exploded in an eruption of dirt and rotting flesh that revealed the interlocked bodies within that held the golem together in a poor, misshapen imitation of a skeleton. Still, the golem charged forward.

    She blipped into the air behind it and brought her sword down through its left shoulder, slicing through soft dirt and the hard bone of the corpses beneath it. The arm began to fall away, but it was caught by the outstretched arms of corpses within the golem, which pulled the arm back into place as the soil moved to reconnect. The swiping arm of the golem that had been meant for Iris instead only met the ground, where it scooped up a large handful of soil and slammed it into its own chest where it quickly filled the gaps left by Titus''s attack.

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    Iris landed in a crouch behind the golem, glaring up at it while it slowly turned to look down upon her. She had seen Autumn charging forward before her last blip and knew what was coming, so she stayed in place to hold the golem''s attention. A large arm dropped clumps of dirt as it swung over the golem''s head and down towards Iris, where she waited until the last instant to blip away. Just as the strike landed on empty soil, Autumn was came flying from a running leap. Now clad in stone armor, she swung a long two-handed hammer in an underhand strike that hit the golem just below where its head would be while she flew over its shoulder. The hammer ripped through the golem and exploded out its back, bringing with it a disembodied hand that clung tight to the upper handle of the hammer.

    Autumn tucked the polearm of the hammer close to her chest so she could land with a roll, then recoiled back and held the hammer at arm''s length when she stood and saw the clinging arm. In her moment of distraction, the golem whirled around with a low swinging arm that caught Autumn from behind, knocking the breath from her lungs and flinging her forward against the trunk of a tree. It stomped after her and reached out with a massive hand to grab her, ignoring the red and white explosions blowing chunks off its torso from behind.

    Iris appeared from a blip just below its arm with momentum that carried her slash upwards, cutting clean through the arm just before the wrist. She blipped again, reappearing from the side and using her remaining momentum to carry her feet first into the severed hand so she could kick it away before it had a chance to reattach to the golem. The hand landed a few yards away, with Iris dropping to her feet just in front of her opponent. The golem''s other hand crashed into her back, large fingers wrapping around her shoulders and torso and lifting her from the ground. A blast of red magic exploded at the golem''s shoulder, but it wasn''t enough to disable the arm. Iris was thrown hard into the ground, pain shooting through her abdomen as ribs were cracked.

    The golem released her and pulled back its arm, turning to swipe Autumn out of the air as she leapt towards it for another strike. She too was driven into the ground, and this time the golem stepped forward and crushed her beneath its foot. Titus stepped out into the clearing and outstretched both his hands, which glowed with a blinding white light before erupting into a continuous beam of crackling white magic that cast long, dark shadows through the night. The beam appeared to stop where it contacted the golem''s shoulder, but soon dug its way through the soil and rotting flesh to erupt out the other side. Titus moved the beam in a slow, deliberate line across the golem''s chest, attempting to cut it in half. The golem raised its stumped arm to block the beam, but that was only enough to momentarily interrupt it before the arm disintegrated and the beam once again punched into the golem''s chest.

    Titus abruptly stopped his beam attack before his mana emptied, and flicked his hands forward to flash two quick bolts of light, one each striking Iris and Autumn where they lay on the ground. They both released sharp groans of pain as their injuries healed, but to Titus that was a pleasant sound to hear -- it meant they were alive, and that the healing had worked. Quickly following his healing bolts was a red bolt from Eli''s staff that exploded on contact with the golem''s torso, sending it stumbling back.

    Behind Eli, Victoria emerged from the shadowy doorway of the barracks. Her eyes were glazed over and framed by bulging, twitching veins that had begun to glow purple, her outstretched hands cradled three floating tarot cards, each upside down. They depicted a man in a chariot, a robed skeletal figure wielding a scythe atop a corpse-like steed, and a towering spire struck by fire and lightning. She walked past Eli without acknowledgement, her supernatural gaze locked on the half dismembered golem, and strolled past an exhausted Titus gasping for breath as his mana recharged. The golem, even without its head, seemed to stare her down as she crossed the clearing. It lumbered forward to meet her, ignoring Iris and Autumn as they climbed to their feet. Victoria stopped as the golem approached, preparing her next move.

    "Slow it down!" she shouted.

    Iris and Autumn met each other''s eyes and nodded. Iris blipped forward and sliced through the golem''s leg just above the knee, just as Autumn slammed her shoulder into the lower leg to knock it away before it could reattach to the golem. Autumn came out of the tackle in a roll, while Iris blipped a healthy distance away. The golem collapsed into a crouch on its stumped leg, still wholly focused on Victoria.

    An aura emanated from the golem and washed over the clearing. It conveyed vague but intense sensations defiance, fury, and ownership. Purple trails of magic swirled in the air between Victoria''s hands and the floating cards, the intensity of their glow steadily and quickly rising. Two of the cards abruptly burnt away with purple flames, while the remaining card -- the tower -- rotated upright. Two new upside down cards replaced the others, one depicting the sun with a face, and the other a winged figure pouring water from one chalice to another. Accompanying the new combination of cards was a bright flash of light from the glowing purple swirls of magic and a powerful burst of aura that erupted out from Victoria and hit the golem like a powerful gust of wind. It stumbled one step back, then crumbled into a pile of lifeless soil and corpses. Victoria collapsed to her knees, her arms and shoulders hanging limp as she breathed deep and laboriously.

 128 - A Bad Case of the Curse

    "That was awesome!" Autumn exclaimed, "you looked so cool! What''d you even do to that thing?"

    Victoria was sitting on her bed, eyes closed with her back and head against the wall behind it. She winced at Autumn''s volume, "I severed its connection to the thing controlling it."

    "Golem''s don''t have minds of their own," Titus added, glancing at Victoria in case she corrected his hazy memories of that one class he''d taken in college about magical constructs, "they''re held together and controlled by an outside source. If they lose their connection to that source, they crumble."

    "Do we need to worry about it getting back up?" Eli asked, "or another one showing up?"

    "Maybe," Victoria said, still in visible pain from her overexertion of mana, "golems take a long time to form, so we don''t have to worry about that one coming back any time soon, but there could be more out there."

    "What about the thing controlling it?" Eli asked, "what are we dealing with, exactly?"

    "I don''t know," Victoria replied, "something strong, but distant, based on the aura. That''s what I was sensing in the walking corpse, not a person but-- I don''t know, maybe people? I''m still making sense of it. Whatever it is, it''s definitely related to the strange auras in the soil."

    Eli nodded, then looked to Titus, "how''s Iris doing?"

    "I''m alright," Iris mumbled from her bed across the room. She was huddled up in her blankets and shivering slightly.

    "She''s not alright," Titus corrected, "she''s sick. Very sick."

    "Can you help her?" Eli asked.

    "If we had a healing potion, maybe. But my specialty is injuries, not illnesses. I can probably keep her alive if it comes to it, but she needs medicine."

    "Probably?" Eli asked with concern.

    "Yeah, probably," Titus said gravely.

    Victoria rocked her head forward, cracked open her eyes and activated her auravision. The act sent pain shooting through her veins, which had been thoroughly burned by her exorbitant expense of mana to banish the golem. She held the vision as long as she could, looking across the room at Iris with as much focus as she could muster so soon after complete mana exhaustion.

    "Medicine won''t help," she grunted as she relaxed her eyes and dropped her head back against the wall, "it''s the soil."

    "What do you mean?" Eli asked hurriedly.

    "Best guess? She''s been cursed, and whatever happened to those poor loggers outside is happening to her."

    "What about me?" Autumn said, "I got thrown in the dirt just as much as she did, and I''m fine."

    "You''re a lot higher level," Titus explained, "I wouldn''t be so sure you''re not cursed, too. You might just handling it better because of your rank."

    Autumn''s face had already been full of worry at the sight of her sick friend, but a distinctly new layer of uncertain fear filled her eyes.

    "I''ll call Glimmer and fly Iris back to the city," Eli said decidedly, "I''ll find someone there who can help her, and bring them back for Autumn."

    "We shouldn''t take the risk," Victoria said, "we don''t know what we''re dealing with, and curses can be contagious. Going back to the city now could cause an outbreak."

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    "Then I''ll go find someone and bring them back," Eli insisted.

    Titus shook his head, "for we all know, we could all be infected."

    "What do we do, then?" Eli''s voice rose an octave, "you sound like you''re advocating for letting her die!"

    "Of course not," Titus hissed quietly, throwing a glance towards Iris, "we don''t even know if it''ll get that bad. Until we know more, let''s not convince our patient she''s going to die."

    "I''ll make soup," Autumn suggested, earning confused looks from the others, "it might not cure her, but I know a few of the plants I''ve seen growing around here. Some of them help fight off colds, maybe they''ll help with this."

    "No one''s going outside until sunrise," Eli declared, "but you can get on that first thing in the morning. We need a better plan than just that, though."

    "We need to find the source of all this," Victoria said, "if I''m right that it''s a curse, killing the thing that cast it should clear it up, as long as we get it done before she''s too far gone."

    "Then we get to work tracking it down tomorrow," Eli said, "we find it, kill it, and get the hell out of here."

    Only Victoria and Iris slept through the rest of the night. Titus stayed awake to monitor Iris while Eli spent much of the night anxiously pacing up and down the rows of beds. Autumn nodded off for short naps here and there, but mostly she stood guard in front of windows to watch for signs of danger. When the sky began to lighten with the gracious glow of the rising sun, Titus and Autumn went out to forage plants for the soup while Eli and Victoria stayed back to watch Iris.

    "I''m fine, really," Iris said, pushing herself up in the bed to lean against the wall, "it''s just a bad cold."

    "A few hours ago you were healthy," Eli said, "now you can''t stop shivering. You''re not fine."

    "I can see it in your aura now," Victoria said, "you''re definitely cursed."

    Iris let out a pitiful laugh, "cursed, great. Now I''m really living the adventurer experience."

    Autumn returned a short while later with the herbs she needed for the medicinal soup, and the party moved as group from the barracks to the mess hall. Titus insisted that he could carry Iris if needed, but she insisted in turn that she could walk on her own. After stumbling through her first few steps out the door, they settled for a compromise of her leaning on his arm for support as they walked.

    Autumn prepared the soup in the ransacked kitchen, salvaging what little clean cookware she could find and complaining about the conditions the whole way through. She made enough soup for everyone, ensuring the others that medicinal or not, it would still be a good breakfast even for healthy adventurers. Iris slowly regained the color in her skin as she ate, and soon the shivering stopped as well. Dark bags still hung below her eyes, however, and her hands still trembled slightly as she lifted her spoon. A short while after eating she was able to walk steadily, and insisted she would go with the others to track down the source of all the weirdness.

    The party left camp to the east, this time stowing their packs in Iris''s bag to travel light in case they had to fight. They followed the path of destruction the loggers had cut through the fledgling forest. They found few clues as they weaved their way through the stumps that dotted the ground, only a few discarded tools and some scraps of clothing. After walking for nearly a mile, they came upon a stump unlike any of the others. As opposed to the young trees of the new growth forest, this one was easily the width of a mature redwood trunk that would be found elsewhere in the region. The bark was singed black, and rather than a clean cut like the others, the upper ridges were lumpy and uneven. As they approached, the discovered the inside of the stump was hollow, and inside it a vertical tunnel just wide enough for a person to squeeze through dug down into the rich black soil.

    "This must be a remnant of the old forest," Eli guessed.

    "Where are the roots?" Iris asked, looking around at the relatively flat ground that lacked any of the large, bulging roots of the old growth forest.

    Victoria crouched beside the trunk and activated her aura vision, "there''s handprints here. They''re hard to see against the blackened bark, but they''re marked in soil." Her eyes followed the bark down to the dirt, then the veins around her eyes shifted as she panned her gaze across the ground, "the roots are underground, most of the remaining trunk has been buried."

    "Should we," Autumn hesitated as she peered over the edge of the stump into the tunnel, "go inside?"

    "Not here," Victoria shook her head, "I have a feeling what we''re looking for is going to be underground, but this isn''t the spot. I''ve found a trail to follow, though. This tree''s not quite dead, and an aura that matches the golem is running through the roots. I think we''ll find what we''re looking for if we follow it."

    "Sounds like a plan," Eli said, "Autumn, plug this up."

    Autumn nodded and looked around until she found an appropriately sized boulder. She hoisted it over her head and marched it over the burnt out stump, where she dropped it into the opening to the tunnel. Not satisfied, she climbed onto the edge of the stump -- prompting Titus to stand behind her with arms raised to catch her if she started to fall in -- and molded the boulder into a mostly flat plate of stone that spanned from wall to wall of the hollow stump.

 129 - Cold On the Trail

    "What exactly is a curse?" Iris asked.

    The party was making their way through the forest of Black River Point, led by Victoria as she followed intertwining roots of the old forest, long since buried by ash and soil but still detectable to her from the distinctive, unnatural aura they shared with the golem from the night before. Iris still felt cold despite the warm and humid summer afternoon, but not quite in the way that a typical fever might make one feel cold. She was cold to the touch, as if her body now eradicated warmth rather than harboring it.

    "You can think of it as a sickness of the soul," Victoria explained, "it''s usually caused by a spell or some kind, or more rarely, a haunting."

    "A haunting?" Iris asked with panic in her voice, "is my soul haunted?"

    "Maybe-- probably not," Victoria tried to think of words to calm her, but failed, "I wouldn''t think about it too much, if I were you."

    "I''m absolutely going to think about it!" Iris said erratically, "is there a ghost in my soul right now or not? That''s the kind of thing a girl wants to know!"

    "Not in your soul," Victoria said, "more like clinging onto the side of it, if anything."

    "Well get it off!" Iris shouted.

    "It''s not that easy," Titus said, "I left school before I learned much about curses, but they''re notoriously stubborn things. Cutting off the source of the curse is our best bet by far at ending it."

    "What about the soup? Autumn can make more, I''ll eat a whole cauldron of it!"

    Titus shook his head apologetically, "that''s only helping alleviate the symptoms of your body trying in vain to fight off the curse, and maybe distracting somewhat from the symptoms of the curse itself, but it''s not doing anything to actually cure it."

    "Can''t you just pump me full of healing magic?" Iris pleaded.

    "I don''t have anything that can cure curses, Iris. I''m sorry."

    "How did I even get cursed? Shouldn''t there have to be some dark and scary wizard casting a spell or something?"

    Victoria pursed her lips rather than answering, prompting Iris to blip in front of her and block her way.

    "I know that look," Iris accused, "answer the question."

    Victoria sighed, "do you really want to hear it?"

    "Yes!" Iris insisted.

    "I have a theory, but it''s just a theory. I can''t confirm anything, but--" she hesitated for a moment, "did you get any dirt in your mouth while fighting the golem? Or maybe in a wound?"

    "I spat out some chunks after he threw me into the ground, why?"

    Victoria grimaced, "the soil... I think it''s full of ghosts.¡±

    Iris''s mouth dropped agape in horror.

    "Once it got into your body--" Victoria began, but was interrupted.

    "I''M POSSESSED?" Iris shouted, "BY MULTIPLE GHOSTS?"

    "More like fragments of dozens of ghosts, and not strictly possessed as much as--"

    "I''m fucked," Iris threw her hands up in exasperation, her voice cracking from stress, "I''m gonna die. Ghosts are going to eat my soul and I''m gonna die."

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    Victoria started to speak, then stopped herself. After a second she started again, then stopped again.

    "''let''s not convince our patient she''s going to die''" Eli mocked.

    "Shut up!" Victoria and Titus both said simultaneously as they both wheeled on Eli.

    "You try calming her down, then," Victoria added.

    Eli stepped in front of a pacing Iris and grabbed her firmly by both shoulders, "Iris, look at me."

    Iris froze in place and met his glare.

    "We''re going to save you, do you understand?"

    Iris didn''t respond.

    "Say yes."

    "Yes," Iris said, obviously unconvinced.

    "We''re going to cure the curse and save you. Snap out of it and get serious so you can help us do that, or I''ll strap you to Glimmer and have her fly you in circles until we do."

    "You can''t do that, I''d escape--"

    "Shut up," Eli commanded, "repeat after me. We''re going to cure this curse."

    Iris sighed, then mumbled, "we''re going to cure this curse."

    "Louder."

    "We''re going to cure this curse," Iris groaned.

    "Good," Eli said, withdrawing his hands from her shoulders, "go scout ahead and report back if you see anything that looks important."

    Iris nodded hesitantly, then blipped away.

    "Are you sure sending her off alone is a good idea?" Victoria asked.

    "She needs a task to keep her busy," Eli answered, "keep an eye out for her aura, though."

    For the next few hours of travel, Iris occasionally blipped back to the party to let them know they were approaching another hollow stump. She wasn''t truly contributing much, as the trail of underground auras would inevitably lead them to each of the stumps anyway, but it kept her busy. On one occasion she reported back with scratches on her leather armor and a tear in the sleeve of her robe, explaining that she had gotten into a minor altercation with a medium sized squirrel but had handled the problem. Each time the party reached another hollow stump, their direction of travel changed as Victoria followed the root with the strongest aura, which led them slowly closer and closer to the source of it all.

    "Can I see the map the Dreamweaver gave you?" Eli asked quietly as they departed from the fourth stump.

    "I noticed it too," Victoria said, not bothering to hand him the map as she confirmed his suspicions, "the roots are leading us towards the thread."

    "Do you think it''s related?"

    "I hope not, but I doubt we''d be so lucky," Victoria said, "I''ve been putting pieces together over and over in my head, and any way it goes none of the options that make sense are comforting. On the bright side, taking down the golem put me at the threshold of Champion. If the thread''s still there, I''ll be ready for it."

    The next time Iris returned, she was noticeably more sluggish than when the day''s journey had begun. The bags under her eyes were growing darker, her posture was slumped, and the shivering was beginning to return. After seeing her current state, Eli instructed her to stay with the party and Autumn started handing her handfuls.

    "Chew these, then keep ''em in your cheeks for five minutes," Autumn said, "don''t swallow, spit them out when you''re done."

    "What''ll they do?" Iris asked before shoving the herbs in her mouth.

    "They''ll help with your energy, make you feel less sluggish."

    Iris nodded as she chewed the herbs. They tasted terrible, but she didn''t complain.

    A short while after midday, they reached the largest stump they had found so far, it was ten feet tall and situated against a small rocky cliff that jutted up out of the landscape like a shelf of rock. It was one of several such rock shelves breaking up the otherwise grassy meadow full of flowers and dotted with bushes. This stump was blackened and charred like the others, but rather than simply being hollow inside, this one was also split down the middle of the outer ring. Through the split in the stump was the mouth of a cave draped with a curtain of hanging roots and lined with carpets of moss.

    "We''re here," Victoria announced, pulling the map from her pocket and looking over it, "this is where the aura is strongest, roots from all around are converging on this spot. It''s also exactly where the Thread of Power is marked on this map."

    "Listen up, team," Eli said, "whatever we''re dealing with just a lot more complicated. We weren''t expecting the thread to be involved with this quest at all, and odds are whatever big bad we''re about to fight is powered up with it. We need to be at the top of our game for this one."

    "I don''t like it here," Titus announced, "it feels awful. I don''t know how else to explain it."

    Autumn nodded in agreement, "it feels like a graveyard."

    "It''ll be worse inside," Victoria said grimly.

    "Well, let''s get it over with before the curse gets me over with," Iris said, stepping up to the edge of the stump.

    "That barely made sense," Autumn said.

    "Yeah, I''m feeling a little out of it," Iris admitted.

    "You should stay out here," Eli said, "let us handle this."

    "Not a chance," Iris said with a burst of vigor, "there''s no way I''m missing out on seeing Victoria absorb a Thread of Power, and I''m definitely not sitting out on a big fight with a mysterious monster in a cave. Days like this are why I became an adventurer," she paused to lean on the wall of the stump for support, "I think I might just stay out of the way when the fighting starts, though."

 130 - Dark Water

    Titus floated a small sliver of crackling white light above his outstretched palm as he pushed aside the hanging roots and vines to enter the cave. The floor was a root of the old stump that led down into the cave and wound around the crooked corridor as it descended into darkness. Victoria followed behind him, inspecting every inch of the cave with her auravision as they slowly moved deeper. Behind her was Autumn, who leaned side-to-side to peer around her companions and get a look at what was up ahead. Next was Iris, trudging along with a hand on the wall for support, and at the rear was Eli, watching Iris carefully in case she stumbled and he needed to catch her.

    The cave was narrow, and the humid air hung still disturbed only by their passage and the occasional drips of water from the ceiling. Much of the cave walls and ceiling consisted of hard stone, but patches of soft black soil frequently interrupted it. After a short distance, the root veered to the side and borrowed through one of those patches of soil, forcing the party to continue on across a floor of loose, jagged rocks. Besides the large root they had walked along as they entered, the cave also contained the smaller roots of many other plants of trees, which dangled from the ceiling like organic stalactites and often needed to be pushed aside or ducked under.

    They moved at an agonizing pace as they navigated the uneven rocks. After nearly twenty minutes of painstaking traversal they came across a sudden drop in the cave floor. It was a vaguely circular opening in the floor of the passageway that led to blackness below. Though the passageway they had been following opened up slightly around the border of the opening, it was otherwise a dead end.

    Titus side-stepped part way around the opening and planted his heels on the minimal space available between the walls and the edge the drop off. This made room for Victoria and Autumn to filter in and do the same on the other side, leaving Iris and Eli to huddle in the passageway to compete for angles to see into the opening. Titus held out his hand and gently twisted it over to drop the floating light into the hole. It slowly drifted down, temporarily plunging the party in almost-darkness as it passed into the space below. For a moment, all that was revealed was a glossy black and completely flat surface, then the light dipped into the surface. The bright white light was immediately dimmed to a faint, muted glow barely able to puncture the blackness of the water.

    "Are we sure about this?" Titus asked as he floated the light back up to his hand.

    "At this point, we''re committed," Eli said, "I don''t like it either."

    "Alright, you first then," Titus said, pointing at the hole.

    "You should go first," Eli said, "you have the light."

    "No, I should go last," Titus countered, "the light''s more important up here so everyone can see where the hole is."

    "The hole is the whole floor--"

    "Guys!" Autumn hissed, then gestured to Iris, "Iris is cursed."

    Eli twisted in the cramped space to give an apologetic to Iris, who was standing right beside him. She looked unbothered, and then disappeared. There was a splash, followed by sounds of sloshing water.

    "It''s not so bad down here," Iris said, "the water''s fine."

    Eli angrily rolled his eyes at her recklessness, and then jumped down the hole after her. His boots splashed into the water, and he continued sinking until it was above his knees. He let out a series of high pitched screams and gasps as he shuffled around in the darkness, looking in vain for somewhere he could climb out of the water.

    "It''s not fine!" he shouted back at the others, "it''s freezing."

    "Oh, sorry," Iris smiled apologetically in the direction of Eli even though it was too dark to see him, "feels fine to me, must be the curse."

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    Autumn dropped down next, sucking in a sharp, ragged breath as she was submerged past her waist in the chilly water. Victoria drifted down through the hole in mist form and did not rematerialize her body, instead opting to hover over the water like a fog. When Titus dropped down, he held a stern, stoic expression for as long as he could until he finally cracked and sucked in a short, quivering breath.

    "That''s," he faltered as he fought to control his breathing, "really cold."

    They were in another narrow tunnel, except this one was filled wall-to-wall with calm, almost still water, though they could see faint signs of a current where the water met the wall, and could fill a slight push from the slowly moving water now when they stood still. The submerged portions of their bodies completely disappeared from view only an inch or two below the surface of the water, even with the bright magical light penetrating it. The walls of the tunnel were stained black about a foot above the waterline, implying the water level was sometimes higher than it currently was. The tunnel continued in either direction until the light faded into blackness, and there were no discernible differences to the naked eye between either direction.

    "Well, now which way?" Titus asked.

    The mist of Victoria drifted in front of Titus, catching the attention of everyone looking towards him, then twisted around him and weaved through the group, ensuring that everyone saw her before she began drifting away down the tunnel.

    "Alright, that way I guess," Titus said.

    Progress was once again agonizingly slow. The adventurers were plenty strong enough that wading through the water wasn''t all that difficult at first, but the icy temperature bit at their muscles and unstable rocks often slipped and rolled beneath their feet. After another twenty minutes of trudging through the tunnel, they were all developing aches and desperate for relief.

    "Aw man," Autumn groaned suddenly.

    "What is it?" Eli asked attentively.

    "I just realized we''re probably all cursed now," she replied.

    "What do you mean?" Titus asked.

    "The water''s pitch black. I bet it''s full of that haunted soil, it''s probably cursed all of us by now."

    "Calm down," Eli dismissed her, "we''re fine. The water''s only black because it''s stained with ash from the great fire. There''s probably a whole layer of the stuff beneath the ground somewhere."

    "Oh," Autumn said, sighing with relief. Then her eyes widened, "what if the ash is where the ghosts come from?"

    Eli stopped and looked back at her, then looked away for a moment while he thought about it, "don''t think about it, let''s keep moving."

    After nearly half an hour of trudging through water, the cramped tunnel opened up into a wide room with a twenty foot tall ceiling. They finally found respite in the form of a beach of grey sand on one side of the slow moving cave river, backed by an enormous pile of crumbled stone which appeared to have fallen from the ceiling above some time ago. The sand of the beach was fine like dust and sparkled under Titus''s light, and the beach was dotted with rocks that had tumbled down from the rock pile behind it.

    The party members each collapsed unceremoniously on the beach, sprawling out limply and breathing heavily as they dripped onto the sand. Victoria rematerialized from the cloud of mist, completely dry and appearing much better off the rest of them, and started inspecting their surroundings.

    "Iris," Eli called out without looking over, "how we doing?"

    "That sucked," she replied.

    Eli let out a curt laugh, "I meant the curse."

    "Oh," Iris said, "does anyone else hear whispers?"

    No one said anything for a moment, and Titus and Autumn exchanged a glance.

    "No," Titus said hesitantly.

    "Yeah, me neither," Autumn added, propping herself up on her elbows to look over at Iris.

    "Good, okay," Iris said, the nervousness obvious in her voice, "well, I do. I''d say that sums up about how I''m doing."

    Eli solemnly climbed to his feet, not eager to end his rest so soon but not willing to prolong it while Iris''s curse progressed, "Vic, how close are we?"

    "Not far," she replied, scanning the top of the rock pile with her auravision, "there''s an opening behind those rocks, near the top, we should be able to dig it out pretty easily. We''re almost there, I can feel the aura stronger than ever."

    "Can you tell what it is yet?" he asked.

    "It''s--" she hesitated, "it feels like a lot of things. I don''t want to speculate."

    "I get it, but it kind of feels like the rest of us are going in blind."

    "I''d rather that than me tell you a guess that turns out wrong, and you go in with the completely wrong idea."

    A small rock tumbled down from the top of the pile, picking up speed as it bounced and rolled until it ultimately tumbled down the beach and splashed into the water. All eyes turned towards the rock pile, and a larger rock moved aside and rolled down onto the beach, revealing a small, dark opening to a passageway beyond. An arm reached out of the darkness.

 131 - The Cave of Living Souls

    The first zombie to crawl through the opening slipped on loose rocks and tumbled down the rock pile towards Titus, who deftly stepped aside to let it land in the sand. He conjured a spear of light in his hand and drove it down into the zombie''s chest, where it exploded and ripped the corpse in half. Eli released a blast of magic from his staff at two more zombies emerging from the opening, but the explosion knocked loose a large rock that tumbled down and quickly cascaded into a rock slide.

    Iris blipped to the far end of the underground beach out of reach of the worst of the rock slide while Victoria transformed into mist just before the first rocks reached her. Eli dove to the ground behind Titus, who turned his back to the rocks and hunkered down for the impact. Autumn stepped up between Titus and the rock slide, standing strong and smiling arrogantly with her hands outstretched. She caught the first large rock to bounce towards her and shaped it into a shield to block the next incoming rock. When the rock struck the shield it exploded into small pieces that were morphed and absorbed into the shield to make it thicker and wider. Each rock that struck the shield added to it, until it was large enough to protect Autumn and her crouching companions behind her even as she shaped the base of the shield into a spike and drove it into the sand. The weight of the piling rocks on the other side of the shield was immense, but with the shield anchored in the ground combined with Autumn''s heightened strength, she held strong.

    When the rock slide finally slowed, rocks spilled around the shield and piled on either side of the three adventurers. Autumn released a held breath while Titus helped Eli to his feet. There were four zombies on the beach now, each climbing to their feet after riding the rockslide down, and Eli swiftly dispatched one with a blast from his staff. Autumn pulled rocks from the pile to shape them into an axe, which she tossed overhead with both hands to bury it in the back of a zombie shuffling towards Iris.

    "Hey!" Iris shouted with her sword in hand, "I had that one!"

    "Sucks to suck!" Autumn yelled back.

    Titus conjured a spear of light in either hand and threw them both simultaneously at the two remaining zombies. Both spears struck their marks and buried halfway into the zombies before exploding and showering the beach with rotting flesh. Eli stepped up beside him and pointed his staff at the ground to explode the head of a disemboweled torso as it crawled towards him with skeletal hands, then moved on to finish off the remains of the others.

    "I thought zombies would be worse than that," Autumn remarked casually.

    "They are," Victoria said, rematerializing from her mist form, "but their strength is in numbers, imagine how quickly we could have been overrun if there were a few more of them. Without powers, we wouldn¡¯t stand a chance."

    "Think these are our loggers?" Titus asked Eli.

    "I''d guess so, judging by their clothes," Eli replied as he inspected the remains of a headless corpse. If the curse actually is contagious, it''s a good thing we''re handling this, can you imagine a zombie outbreak in the city?"

    Titus grimaced at the thought.

    "Oh no," Iris''s voice quivered as her eyes opened wide in terror, "I''m going to turn into a zombie."

    "No," Eli said immediately, "no you''re not, don''t panic--"

    "It''s a zombie curse," Iris panicked, "I''ve been zombie cursed!"

    The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    Autumn walked over to iris, reached to grab her by the shoulders and began shaking her violently, "snap out of it woman! Don''t you have a feat that makes you brave?"

    "That''s for monsters and giant shark men, not for ghosts eating my soul and turning me into a zombie!"

    "Okay," Victoria said, motioning Autumn away as she stepped in front of Iris, "you seriously have no idea how any of this works. There''s no use in getting yourself worked up over things you''re basically making up--"

    "Making up?!" Iris shouted, "you said yourself there''s ghosts in my soul! And look what happened to the loggers! I''m gonna die and turn into a zombie and start eating all of you--"

    Victoria sighed as her patience wore out. She conjured two floating cards in front of Iris, who blinked rapidly as her words began to slur.

    "Hey," she mumbled, "what are you doing to me...."

    Iris swayed in place as she trailed off, and then collapsed into the waiting arms of Autumn, who promptly tossed her over her shoulder like a sack of dead weight. "It¡¯s kind of scary how well that worked," she remarked to Victoria.

    "She''s a low rank," Victoria shrugged.

    "Titus," Autumn called out, "c''mere and let me strap this one to your back."

    Titus closed his eyes and rocked his head back while he restrained his urge to complain about Autumn''s commands, then walked over and crouched down on a knee. Autumn plopped Iris against his back and draped her arms over his shoulders, then held out a hand to the open air.

    "Iris, rope-- oh yeah," she frowned and looked down at the bag on Iris''s waist, "Titus, reach in there and--"

    "Nope," Titus shook his head defiantly, "I am not sticking my hand in there."

    "Ugh, fine," Autumn groaned, "Uh, Abby, right? Can you hand me some rope? It''s to help Iris."

    The bag loosened and a tentacle rose up out of the void holding a bundle of rope.

    "Hell yeah," Autumn said, taking the rope and proceeding to tie Iris to Titus''s back.

    "I feel like I should have stopped this plan before it got this far," Eli said quietly to Victoria.

    "Yeah," Victoria agreed, "I didn''t really anticipate the whole ¡®tying her to his back¡¯ part, I thought we''d just wait here until she woke up and was hopefully calm."

    After Iris was secure, Autumn set about the relatively simple task of molding crude stairs out of the rock pile. The opening at the top was now plenty wide enough for even Titus to fit through, though he did have to crouch low to avoid both his and Iris''s heads from hitting the top of the opening. They were soon on their way down yet another dark and cramped tunnel, the walls of this one were made almost entirely of soil with only a few patches of exposed rock, so Autumn chose to mold herself a suit of armor and a pair of hand axes from the rock pile before they continued.

    "Do the rest of you feel that?" Eli asked after a while.

    "A sense of unending dread warning us to turn back now if we value our lives?" Autumn asked, "yeah, I thought it was just me."

    "It''s just a fear spell," Victoria said, "it''s not unlike the effects of some of the cards I can summon, just power through it."

    Besides exchanging a few uncertain glances, the party didn''t object, and continued following Victoria deeper into the cave. Autumn yelped in surprise and cleaved an axe down against the wall, slicing through the outstretched zombie arm as it reached towards her from within the wall.

    "They''re in the walls!" Eli shouted.

    "Everyone stay calm," Victoria said sharply, "the cave''s opening up, just stay close and watch your back."

    True to her words, the tunnel soon grew larger, providing them enough space to stay out of arm''s reach of the walls. That didn''t stop a countless arms from reaching out of the walls like tendrils and grabbing towards them with skeletal hands.

    "How many are there?" Autumn asked with disgust and horror, "where did they even come from?"

    "I have a feeling this forest has been collecting corpses for a long, long time," Eli answered, "my question is why aren''t they crawling out of the walls to swarm us?"

    "Because the arms are all that''s left," Victoria answered, "their bodies have already been digested. The arms are just extensions of the living soil now. We should stop here and wake up Iris, we''re almost there."

    "Almost where, exactly?" Eli asked, "and what do you mean by ''the living soil?''"

    Victoria stared down the tunnel, past the grasping arms and into the darkness beyond, "I believe we''ll all get answers soon."

    Eli was visibly annoyed at Victoria''s vague response, but before he could argue further he was interrupted by a loud slap.

    "OW!" Iris shouted at Autumn, "what the fuck!"

    "Shh!" Victoria hissed.

    Iris squirmed against the ropes that held her tight to Titus''s back, "why am I tied up? Where are we-- ARE THOSE ARMS?"

 132 - The Living Soil

    After Iris calmed down enough for Autumn to risk untying her, the party took turns interrogating her to discern her mental state.

    "Are you sure you''re okay?" Eli asked, "you freaked out pretty bad back there."

    "I''m fine," Iris insisted, "just pissed off and cold. Would you shut up!" she whirled around on the pestering voice, then froze when she saw she was yelling at nothing.

    "Uh, Iris?" Autumn said, "there''s no one there."

    "I know!" Iris said angrily, then squinted her eyes shut and rubbed her temples with a thumb and forefinger, "these ghosts are really getting to me."

    "Come on," Victoria said softly, "we''re almost there. This is all about to be over."

    Iris nodded and moved to follow Victoria. Eli hung back and shared a silent exchange with Titus, expressing their mutual worries before following the others. The sense of impending doom grew ever stronger as they traversed the final stretch of cave, and finally culminated as an overpowering, soul crushing fear when they stepped into a large chamber with dark soil walls held up by tangled webs of roots and mycelium.

    The back wall of the cave was a mess of overgrown roots, from within which a dim, ominous white light shone and slowly pulsated, casting long and dark shadows of the roots that encased it. There were fewer arms on the walls here, instead replaced by a dozen disembodied faces bulging out of the soil on the walls and ceiling. They were still, their eyes were closed, and their flesh was grey and slack on their skulls.

    Eli, Titus and Autumn found themselves locked in place from utter fear, unable to take another step forward. Iris could move, perhaps thanks to her Fearless Resolve feat, but she wasn''t sure she wanted to. It was Victoria who stepped away from the party and into the middle of the cave, where she stood and greeted the light.

    The mouths of the faces in the walls cracked open and spoke in unison with ragged, raspy voices of the people they used to be, "trespasser."

    "You''ve been down here a long time, haven''t you?" Her voice was somber and empathetic.

    "We are as old as the soil is deep. Leave now, or join us.""

    "What are you?" she asked.

    "We are the forest," the faces rasped, "we are the lands. We permeate all, and enable all to exist. We will permeate you, with time."

    Victoria nodded in understanding, "you''re a fungus."

    "We are merely fungus, if you yourself are merely flesh."

    "Of course, you have souls. Not just one, like me, but dozens. Maybe hundreds? How many have you claimed?" She took a step closer to the light.

    "We are many."

    "Aren''t you tired?" another step closer, "you''ve been down here so long, all alone."

    The light flickered, and for an instant between the flashes the hollow eyes of the faces flashed open.

    "We are not alone. We are many. We are¡ªremnants,¡± a face to her face briefly became the loudest voice in the symphony, ¡°we-- are-- in agony. "

    "The first among you, were you trapped here by the ghost fire?" she was close enough to lunge at the light now, were the roots not in her way.

    "We were," the faces contorted into expressions of pain and sorrow, "our souls were sundered by the flame, we were made unwhole."

    "So you couldn''t pass on," she said said somberly.

    "We wandered the ashlands. We searched for salvation. We found the light, and the soil found us."

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    Victoria grimaced as the final pieces fell into place, "this isn''t the light you were looking for."

    "The light brings us power. It brings us purpose. It brings us-- life."

    "No," she whispered, "you''ve been caught like moths to a lantern. I''m sorry to extinguish it."

    She lunged forward, slamming herself against the roots and reaching between them with an arm outstretched towards the light. She was so close she could feel the warping of reality around her finger tips. The faces in the walls screamed, and glowing spectral tendrils erupted from their throats, spilling out and manifesting into floating spirits that flew around the cave in a flurry before swooping down at Victoria. The specters grabbed at her legs with icy grips that passed through her flesh and clutched her bones. The spirits worked to pull her back as she squeezed her shoulders between the outermost roots. She grabbed hold of the inner roots and pulled as hard as she could, barely inching forward as she only just overpowered the pull of the specters while they bellowed shrill, rage-filled screams.

    "WE WILL NOT DIE!" several spirits yelled in unison, while a few faces in the wall rasped, ¡°please let us die.¡±

    The cave went dark. Victoria sucked in an endless gasp as she floated in the air where the light had been. Her arms were outstretched and her back arched, her eyes wide and glowing as veins bulged around them. She flickered in and out between a physical state and a translucent spectral form as air rushed through the cave and into her lungs. She saw the face of every trapped soul, felt their emotions and witnessed flashes of their memory. There was another presence ¨C not a soul, but a consciousness ¨C lingering one each of their souls like a mold. As a lives and emotions flashed before her, the ancient, lingering mind dwelled only on bitterness and anger. Finally, her breath slowed to a stop, the light faded from her eyes, and she dropped limply to the floor.

    Her companions -- at first stunned from fear of the living soil and then forced to recoil away from Victoria''s reaction to the Thread of Power -- were now able to react. They each rushed towards the roots that now imprisoned her, and Autumn immediately began hacking away with her axes to free her. Iris blipped to the other side of the roots and crouched down beside her unconscious friend.

    "She''s breathing," Iris announced, prompting sighs of relief from Eli and Titus, "hang on, I think I can get her out of here."

    Iris half lifted Victoria from the ground and held her in her arms as she blipped. It took an immense amount of mana and she was instantly struck with a headache, but it worked, and she and Victoria reappeared on the other side of the roots. Titus promptly crouched beside them to assess Victoria''s condition.

    "No signs of physical injuries," he said after a moment, "it¡¯s hard to say about anything else, but her aura feels strong and there¡¯s still mana in her veins. I think she''ll be okay."

    Iris withdrew a pillow from her bag and placed it under Victoria''s head while they waited for her to wake. The faces in the walls were now truly lifeless, as were the arms which now hung limp and motionless. The cave felt quiet, still, and dead. After a short while, Victoria cracked open her eyes and sat up from where she lay.

    "That sucked," she said nonchalantly.

    "How are you feeling?" Eli rushed over to ask.

    "Did it work? Are you badass now?" Autumn pestered.

    Victoria waved them off as she climbed to her feet, "I''m fine. And yes, it worked."

    "What''s it like?" Iris asked.

    "It feels¡ªpowerful, like I''m more than I was before in every way."

    "Whoa," Iris and Autumn said slowly in unison.

    "Nice," Autumn added at the end.

    "What kind of thread was it?" Eli asked.

    Victoria averted her gaze, "we can talk more about it later. Right now, let''s get out of this cave."

    "Wait!" Iris said hurriedly, "I still feel cursed. I thought beating the bad guy was supposed to fix it? What do we do now? I don¡¯t want to be a zombie--"

    Victoria tapped Iris harshly on the forehead with two stiff fingers, and Iris felt a strange sensation of something not-quite like mana rushing up from her heart, through her throat and face, and out of her forehead into Victoria''s fingers. Immediately, her warmth returned, her eyes felt less heavy, and the whispering voices finally stopped.

    "Whoa," she said quietly, "what was that?"

    "You''re cured," Victoria said curtly, then looked over each of the others, "none of you are cursed, we''re good to go."

    "Just like that?" Eli asked, "how do you--"

    "No more questions," Victoria interrupted.

    They made their way out of the cave back the way they came. The process was long and arduous, but no more difficult than it had been on the way in. When they reached the underground river, Victoria stopped short of the water and sighed.

    "What is it?" Eli asked.

    "No questions about the thread or my powers until we''re outside, I mean it," she said firmly.

    "Okay," Eli said, confused, "guys?"

    "Yeah, of course," Autumn said, as Iris and Titus nodded their agreement.

    Victoria took a breath, then transformed into a spectral form of herself. She was partly translucent and uniformly colored in a pale purple hue. A faint glow emanated all around her, and where her legs should be was instead a swirling trail of spectral energy. Without a word, she floated over the water down the tunnel at a much faster pace than her mist form had ever allowed.

    "Hell yeah!" Autumn shouted, "we''ve got a ghost on our team!

    "I''m not a ghost!" Victoria''s voice echoed from further down the tunnel, sounding distinctly ghostly.

    As the party made their way down the flooded tunnel, a raspy voice too quiet for them to hear came from the darkness they left behind.

 133 - I Am Not a Necromancer

    It was early evening by the time the party climbed out of the cave. The sun felt like the embrace of an old friend, the gentle breeze brought their first breaths of fresh air in hours, and the beautiful meadow was a welcome relief from the dark and depressing cave. Titus was the first to collapse into a seat on the ground, his armor clanking as he let his weight fall. Iris promptly followed, and Victoria shrugged and joined them in their rest. Autumn was about to join as well, before seeming to change her mind and run off into the grass to forage.

    "We should really head back to the lodge," Eli said, "we don''t know what else might be in this forest at night."

    "Not a chance," Titus said, "we''ve earned this rest."

    "Yep," Iris agreed, stretched out across the ground with her hands behind her head.

    Eli sighed, but took a seat on the ground with them. He couldn''t argue that a break was long overdue.

    "Hey Iris, can I get my pack out of your bag?" Victoria asked.

    "Go for it," Iris said without opening her eyes, "Abby, be nice."

    The drawstring sack untied itself from Iris''s belt and loosened itself open. A single tentacle rose out of the void, stretched out and plopped down on the ground. Abby shifted her weight onto the tentacle and hoisted the bag up above it, arcing over and plopping onto the ground about a foot closer to Victoria. She watched with amusement as the bag repeated the process several more times until it arrived beside her, where the tentacle positioned the bag upright before withdrawing back into the void.

    "Do I just reach in?"

    "Yep," Iris said, "think about grabbing hold of the item you want, and then just pull it out."

    Victoria hesitantly stuck her hand into the void, frowning at the strange sensation of nothingness. After a moment, she pulled out her hand with a firm grasp on the strap of her backpack. As she continued pulling, the opening of the bag stretched impossibly wide to accommodate the large pack she was withdrawing from it. When the pack was free of the void, she placed it on the ground in front of her and smiled at the bottomless bag.

    "Thanks, Abby."

    Faint harmonious tones emanated from the void, and then the tentacle slithered out and began the arduous process of returning to Iris. Victoria opened a pouch on her backpack and withdrew her adventure journal, which she cracked open to her character sheet.

    VICTORIA LOREMERE

    Champion Rank, Level 30

    Experience Points: 458 / 56,620

    Progress to next level: 0.80%

    Recent Accomplishments:

    Absorbed Thread of Souls and ascended to Champion Tier.

    You have gained a new ability.

    An evolution of Special Ability: Mist Form is available.

    You have accepted evolution of Special Ability: Mist Form. Special Ability: Mist Form has evolved into Special Ability: Spectral Form

    New Special Ability: Spectral form:

    Transform into an incorporeal spectral form. This form has the innate abilities of specters, but these abilities must be discovered by the user.

    New Ability: Soul Cage

    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.Source : Thread of Power (Souls)

    Cooldown : N/A

    Mana cost : High

    Description :

    You have formed a soul cage within your spirit. Absorb souls, soul fragments, or soul-like entities via direct physical or incorporeal contact to store them within your soul cage. Powerful souls may resist this ability. Stored souls can be converted to mana, used to supercharge other abilities, or deposited into appropriate soul repositories.

    Current soul count: 78

    Maximum soul capacity: 100

    Victoria stared at the description of the Soul Cage ability. It confirmed what she had feared, she hadn''t just cut off the Living Soil¡¯s power source by absorbing the thread, but had also absorbed some or all of the lost souls that it was using as fuel. After absorbing the thread she had known intuitively that she could cure the curse on Iris, and this description confirmed how she had done it; by absorbing the ghosts attacking her soul.

    She could feel them now, the soul cage came with a sensation of its own not unlike a her well of mana, it was something she could simply feel and understand by focusing on it. The souls were dormant, but not yet stripped of their individuality, and she suspected that if she pried deeper it would be possible to identify each of the souls and fragments of who they were when they were alive. That was something she very much had no interest in doing.

    "So," Autumn said, starting Victoria as she plopped down beside her and held out a handful of berries, "tell us about your new powers."

    Victoria silently took a berry and popped it into her mouth, chewing it slowly to stall for time. Iris sat upright and propped herself up on her elbows, clearly eagerly awaiting her response. Titus and Eli were looking her direction too. She sighed.

    "It was a Thread of Souls," she said flatly.

    Autumn blinked, while Titus and Eli exchanged a concerned look.

    "Is that bad?" Iris asked.

    "Not necessarily," Victoria answered, "it depends on what powers I get. So far, nothing awful, but I''m not sure I like the direction it looks to be heading."

    "The Thread of Souls can be extremely powerful in the right pairing," Titus said, "it''s high on my list of preferences, actually. When combined with my Thread of Life it would likely give me at least one powerful true resurrection ability."

    "But when combined with other threads," Eli added, "it can be-- dark."

    Victoria nodded with a grim expression, "a Thread of Souls with a Thread of Arcane, for example, usually results in necromancy abilities."

    "Whoa, does that mean you''re a necromancer now?" Autumn asked.

    "I am not a necromancer!" Victoria snapped, "I will never be a necromancer!"

    Autumn scooted away from her with a fearful expression.

    Victoria''s angry snarl cracked and faded to a regretful frown, "I''m sorry. I didn''t mean to yell. My first thread was the Thread of Dreams, that can go a lot of ways when combined with a Thread of Souls. Necromancy abilities--" she faltered, then looked away with shame, "they''re not completely off the table."

    "Hey, if you get them that''s not your fault," Eli said, "worst case scenario, you just don''t use them, right?"

    "Yeah," Victoria said quietly.

    Autumn looked down at the berries in her hand, then at the awkward and solemn expressions of her friends. She shot to her feet, forcefully handed the berries to Titus, and spoke in an overly excited voice.

    "How about a meal?" she asked with a smile and hands on her hips.

    Even Victoria perked up at the suggestion, and Autumn nodded in acknowledgement, "alright, Iris, start pulling cookware out of your bag. I need a flat pan, a grilling rack, and the entire spice rack. Oh, and all the fish we have..."

    Autumn continued listing off cookware and ingredients to Iris while she cleared a space in the grass to make a fire. She made a point to keep talking whenever no one else was, so no one had a chance to dwell on bad thoughts in silence. It wasn''t long before she was giving an entire impromptu cooking lesson to her captive audience, but judging by the look on Victoria''s face, it was a welcome distraction.

    After heating a full meal, the party packed up and started off back to the lodge. Their heavy stomachs resulted in a slow pace, but the long days of summer provided the time they needed to make it back before dark. The grounds were exactly as they had left them, except the pile of dirt and corpse parts left behind by the golem had spent the day baking in the sun. A foul stench of decay now filled in the grounds and permeated the buildings, causing the party to cover their noses when they drew close to the grounds.

    "On second thought," Eli said, "maybe we should camp in the wilderness."

    "Ugh," Autumn groaned, "why do nice things never last?"

    "Look at the bright side," Eli slapped Autumn on the back, "we can use our new tent for the first time."

    A short while later, when the sun was dipping below the trees, the party was setting up camp in one of the fields of stumps east of the lodge.

    "That''s weird," Eli said as he observed Iris pulling the tent bundled pieces from the bag, "I could have sworn it came better packed than this,"

    As the party was still full from their meal only a few hours before, Autumn instead prepared desert. She made a tart sauce from foraged berries and spread it across buttered and grilled sweet bread before topping it off with some whole berries and a few spices that paired well with sweets. Throughout the evening, they avoided conversation about the quest or the Victoria''s new powers. Iris eventually caught on to Autumn''s attempts to keep morale high, and joined in to provide improvised sound effects when Autumn began telling stories from her early adventuring days.

 134 - The Final Specter

    "So then I had no choice," Autumn said in a performative grim voice as she told her story lit by the flickering campfire, "I grabbed him by the suspenders and threw him in the moat!"

    Iris made crude splashing sounds from beside Autumn.

    "What about the alligators?" Titus gasped.

    "His fate was of his own making," Autumn said solemnly, slowly shaking her head.

    "They ate him?" Iris asked in shock.

    "Unfortunately," Autumn sighed, "no. He rode on the back of one of them until someone threw him a rope, it was actually really cool. I hate that guy."

    There were a few more laughs and a few more questions, but the joyous atmosphere soon calmed to a comfortable silence. After a few minutes, Victoria spoke up.

    "I have a story," she said.

    "Oh?" Autumn asked, "let''s hear it!"

    "It''s from when I was growing up in Everveil. This was before I ever met Eli, and before I even had my first thread. I''d only been through a few years of training at that point, but I had been invited on a monster hunt to observe. Everveil has regions of wilderness that are closely monitored and managed, so it''s usually pretty safe to take trainees out there as long you stick to certain parts. Anyway, two of the adventurers with us were low level Heroes, both had only had their powers for a few months, and one of them bet the other that he could take down a wooly hog with his bare hands."

    "Oh, I remember this story," Eli smiled fondly as he recalled the details.

    "Shh," Autumn said, shoving him slightly.

    "Wooly hogs about what you¡¯d expect from the name; big, hairy wild pigs. The instructor knew it wasn¡¯t going to go well, of course," Victoria continued, "but when the two boys actually manage to track down a wooly hog, he looks over at me and whispers ''sometimes it''s better to let lessons teach themselves.'' So we sit back and watch. One kid''s on a tree branch while the other, this scrawny level 3 or 4, marches out in front of a wooly hog twice his size. He stomps and drags his feet in the dirt, and baits the hog into a charge. Of course, as soon as the hog actually charges he immediately panics, turns away and tries to run."

    Victoria struggled to contain her smile as she approached the end of the story, "the hog catches up and headbutts him right in the ass. The kid gets picked up and thrown into the air, where he slams right into his friend in the tree and knocks him off the branch. On the way down they both get tangled in vines and stuck hanging upside down. The best part is that we were gonna help them down, but we were laughing so hard the wooly hog turned and started charging at us, so we had to leave them there while we--"

    The words froze on Victoria''s lips. Her eyes glazed over and she shot to her feet, whipping around to scan the forest''s edge beyond the clearing.

    "What is it?" Eli asked, grabbing his staff and standing quickly.

    Before Victoria could answer, they all saw it. A glowing pale blue specter floated out of the trees. His long flowing robes trailed off into swirling tendrils, as did the long beard that hung from his face. His eyes were glowing an intense white, and long nails extended from his fingertips like claws. He outstretched a hand and pointed at the party.

    "Vic," Eli said fearfully, "what is that?"

    "I-- I don''t know," she stammered, "I mean, it''s a specter, but I thought I got them all--"

    "You!" a ragged and raspy voice carried across the clearing like a gust of cold wind that extinguished the fire, "you ruined everything!"

    "Titus, get a perimeter of spears around us," Eli commanded, "be prepared to blow them if the specter charges us."

    Titus nodded and spawned six vertical floating spears of light evenly spaced around the party.

    "It''s after me," Victoria turned pale purple and translucent as she spoke, her final words echoing like several voices layered over one another, "I''ll be back."

    "Wait!" Eli shouted, he reached out to grab her but his hand passed through her shoulder as if she wasn''t there.

    The specter screamed a hideous sound that echoed through the woods, scattering wildlife for a mile and forcing everyone but Victoria to clamp their ears as they winced in pain. Victoria moved instantly, punching off towards the trees away from the specter at an angle that wouldn''t draw it near her party. Her spectral form was incorporeal not just to solid matter, but to air as well, and she flew silently through the night without causing so much as a breeze. The specter gave chase.

    The ground zoomed by beneath her in a blur and she reached the trees in seconds, she instinctively weaved through the trunks and branches even as the specter gained ground on her. It required a deliberate effort to force herself into a straight line and fly through the trunks rather than around. Her mind screamed at her to avoid them each time, even though she understood she would pass right through. She glanced over her shoulder, the specter was still gaining.

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    Back at the camp, Eli was barking orders, "there''s no use going after them, we''ll never catch up. Titus, keep the spears up. Autumn, Iris, we need a plan to kill that thing if they come back this way. Magic and silver are the only ways."

    "I''ve got nothing that can hurt a ghost," Autumn said.

    "Me either," Iris said, and then remember something, "wait!"

    She reached into her bottomless bag and grasp the handle of a weapon, pulling it out hand over hand until she reached the blade. It was the glaive a shock wizard had tried to kill her with, the silver blade glimmered in the moonlight. It was unnaturally heavy and her skin tingled where her hands touched the handle.

    "I took this from the shock wizard I killed," it was the first time she had said she killed someone so matter-of-factly, and she quickly pushed down the thoughts and emotions that came with that realization, "it''s hard to even hold, I don''t think I can wield it."

    Eli reached out and grasp the polearm handle with a single hand and frowned at the sensation, "that''s a Champion''s weapon, none of us will be able to use it."

    "But Victoria can," Autumn suggested.

    Eli nodded, taking the glaive from Iris. He flipped it upside down and drove the blade into the dirt, "you two need to hide, Titus and I will wait here and be ready to fight."

    Victoria veered to the left in hopes of shaking her pursuer, but it only served to help him reach her. The specter crashed into her, their incorporeal bodies colliding as if they were physical. They tumbled and rolled through the air, passing through trees and rocks as they grappled. Victoria gripped the wrists of the specter and struggled to hold them back as her attacker reached out with his long, sharp nails. His scream was unending, his face locked in a permanent contortion of rage. His nails grew closer to her throat.

    She activated her Soul Cage ability and pulled on the specter''s soul even as she desperately held his hands at bay. His scream intensified and his eyes grew even wider. There was no hope of capturing his soul like this, he was too powerful and she was far too weak. The closest nails were about to brush against her.

    His scream paused only long enough for him to rasp a few words, "you took my godhood!"

    She shifted back to her physical form, instantly slipping free of the specter''s grasp as his hands and arms passed through her flesh. A chill shot through her veins and she felt half her mana drain in an instant from the specter¡¯s touch. The momentum of her spectral form carried over to her physical body, but without flight she quickly arced towards the ground. He grabbed at bones, but she fell out of reach before he found purchase. She twisted in the air to land in a backwards sliding crouch, but her foot caught on a root and tripped her into an awkward backwards roll. She soon salvaged the unplanned tumble and landed once again in a crouch, just as the specter completed a circle overhead and swooped low to charge her.

    If it touched her again, it would take the last of her mana. It might even possess her. She knew she had to time this perfectly. She stared down the specter as it rocketed towards her with arms outstretched and still maintaining a perpetual scream. A last second shift to her spectral form dropped her beneath the surface just as the specter would have reached her. Its screech became muffled and her vision went black.

    She activated her auravision and the pitch blackness of the soil she phased through was replaced with glowing auras of the tiny organisms, insects, fungi and plant life within it. Stronger, individual auras flew by in blurs as she moved at speed, while crossing large swaths of collective auras was like flying through clouds. She moved through the frequencies of her auravision and scanned until she saw the distant but unmistakable glow of her companions'' auras, then oriented herself towards them. A glance behind her revealed the specter''s aura chasing after her and quickly gaining.

    "There!" Titus shouted as he spotted Victoria''s spectral form rise out of the ground in the distance.

    Just behind her was the specter, the volume of his scream suddenly increasing as he rose from the ground. They flew in a wide arc around the camp, circling the clearing as the specter closed the gap between them.

    "Now!" Eli shouted.

    Titus outstretched an open palm towards the specter and the floating spears of light were flung forward into horizontal flight. Titus spun in place with his hand outstretched as the spears joined the circle to chase the specter, while the specter in turn chased Victoria. Eli tracked ahead of Victoria with his staff, charged a blast of red magic and released it into the night sky. The magic bolt bathed the space around it in an ominous red light as it streaked across the clearing. The bolt passed between Victoria and the Specter, just a few feet ahead of its target, and slapped into a tree in the distance.

    One of the flying spears of light grew near to the specter and exploded in a blast like pure white lightning, blowing the specter off his trajectory from force alone as large sparks of light reached out from the explosion to strike at him. He dodged the strikes, further losing ground on Victoria. Eli released another blast, this time catching the slowed specter in the head. The resulting explosion was dominated by red hues from the bolt, with undertones of pale blue as the specter''s head erupted into wisps of magic. The headless specter tumbled through the air momentarily, but did not stop. It recovered quickly and banked to fly towards Eli and Titus. Rather than give chase with the remaining spears of light and risk skewering himself or an ally, Titus diverted them into the ground and conjured a new one in his hands.

    Eli didn''t have a visual on Victoria, but he hoped she was paying attention. He pulled the glaive from the ground and hoisted the heavy weapon awkwardly over his head, holding the blade out towards the specter as it closed in on him. When the specter was only feet away, Victoria shot past over his head, shifting from spectral to physical form just as her hands reached out to grasp the handle of the polearm. Her momentum carried her forward, ripping the glaive from Eli''s loose grip as she met the specter in the air and buried the blade in his chest.

    The spectral form turned to cold, solid flesh where the silver blade touched it. The colliding momentums of the combatants pushed the blade through the tough flesh to erupt out the specter''s back. In an instant the specter''s entire torso had turned to flesh, and slid down the length of the polearm to slam into Victoria. With their momentum canceled out, the two dropped to the ground. Victoria landed on her feet and moved her grip to the rear of the handle to move the headless corpse away from her. It was now fully flesh, and its hands gripped tight around the polearm as it died for good.

 135 - Home Sweet Home

    "I still don''t understand who the hell that was," Autumn said.

    It was early morning, and the party was making their way north through Black River Point towards Big Beaver Dam. It was a particularly hot day, and Titus and Eli had reinstated the rule that personal packs must be carried. In practice, however, this only affected themselves and Autumn, as Iris only had her bottomless bag and Victoria spent much of the journey in spectral form, her now translucent backpack weightless like the rest of her in that form. She had been capable of traveling long distances in mist form before, but the inability to speak and low reaction time made it not worth the down sides. Now that those were no longer problems, she intended to spend quite a lot of time as a specter.

    "He was just a fragment," Victoria said, "a single shard of a much more powerful soul. I felt when it when I tried to absorb him."

    "Absorb?" Autumn asked.

    Titus reached down and slapped her shoulder. She gave him a shocked and affronted look at first, then realized he was reminding her of the newly agreed upon rule not to ask Victoria any questions about her new powers.

    "Oh, right," she said, "sorry."

    "It''s okay," Victoria said, twisting around to float backwards through the air as she spoke to the party, "the point is, that wasn''t the whole guy. If it had been, he would have been a lot stronger and we would be dead. During the fight, he told me something. He said I took his godhood."

    "It was the Titan!" Eli''s eyes went wide despite him having been pretending he wasn''t interested in the conversation.

    "A piece of him, at least," Victoria nodded, "the remnants left behind after the explosion of ghost fire all those years ago. My guess is he was wrapped up in the hive mind of souls caught in the allure of the Thread of Power, and managed to escape when I absorbed it. Gone mad from all the years as a fragmented soul, he lashed out and blamed me for his failures. He was just part of all this, though, the real big bad was the fungus.¡±

    ¡°So I¡¯m not crazy,¡± Autumn said, ¡°you were talking to those ghosts down there about mushrooms!¡±

    Victoria laughed, ¡°not mushrooms, fungus. Mushrooms are just the part of fungus that sticks out of the ground, the actual creature is below ground, in the soil.¡±

    ¡°Creature? I thought mushrooms were plants?¡± Titus asked with a curious look.

    ¡°Nope,¡± Autumn said, ¡°I don¡¯t know what the hell they are, but they don¡¯t cook like plants, that¡¯s for sure.¡±

    ¡°Calling them creatures might not be accurate,¡± Victoria said, ¡°but they¡¯re certainly more similar to animals than they are plants. Not similar enough to absorb a Thread of Power, it seems, but similar enough to draw power from one.¡±

    ¡°So the golem and the zombies,¡± Eli wondered aloud, ¡°they were being controlled by mushrooms?¡±

    ¡°Fungus. Ancient, sentience, magically entangled fungus,¡± Victoria explained, and then added, ¡°powered up by souls.¡±

    ¡°Damn,¡± Autumn said quietly.

    That''s all just a guess though," Victoria stretched and yawned, placing her hands behind her head and closing her eyes as she drifted along beside the party, "could have been anything, really."

    "You seem relaxed," Eli observed, ¡°all things considered.¡±

    "Why wouldn''t I be?" she cracked open an eye and looked over at him, "I feel great."

    Even in her ghostly form, Eli could clearly see the facade she had built to hide her worries.

    <hr>

    As the ghostly Victoria leisurely floated along the trail, Eli, Titus and Autumn were hiking up hill in the scorching heat. Sweat was dripping from their faces, and in Titus''s case, even dripping out of his armor. Even Iris, who mostly stood in place and blipped between patches of shade, was beginning to sweat through her robes. They each gave her disgruntled looks.

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    When they reached Big Beaver Dam, there was a single giant beaver guarding the bridge on the Black River Point side of the dam. He wore a leather kilt with a single suspender strap that crossed his chest and over one shoulder, and he wielded a large club that had been gnawed into shape. He held out his hammer to block the way as he looked the party up and down. After a moment, he picked up a large wooden slate with a roughly polished surface, on which were crude carvings that loosely resembled the party.

    The beaver grunted and held the slate up for the others to see, tapping his with hammer before pointing it at Victoria. She shifted back to her physical form and casually dropped to the ground. The beaver looked back at the slate, then back at the party, and nodded with a grunt before motioning them through.

    They crossed the dam without incident, and on the other side they found the same two beavers that had greeted them on their first crossing. At least, they were all pretty sure these were the same two beavers.

    "Tar er-ash!" the friendly one said, turning to greet the party as they approached the end of the bridge, "aighar?"

    "Shouldn''t have any more trouble," Autumn said proudly, "we took care of it like it was nothing."

    "Naight vie!" the beaver replied.

    "Please, no need to thank us," Autumn gave a slight bow as they passed, "it''s what we do."

    The less than friendly beaver huffed, while the friendly one waved them off as they entered the old growth forest once more, leaving Black River Point and the Big Beaver Dam behind them.

    "How did you know he was thanking us?" Eli asked.

    "Oh, I have no idea what he was saying," Autumn said, "I was just guessing."

    They reached the coast of Giantrock lake not long before noon and enjoyed a light lunch of foraged salad and berries. As planned, the same boat and guide that had dropped them off arrived around midday to ferry them back to the city. During the ride, they all agreed to put off turning in the quest until tomorrow. Not only were they all exhausted, but the final report still needed to be written. Victoria agreed to write it, as she understood the most of what had transpired, with Eli agreeing to proofread it for her before they turned it.

    "So," the boat guide said, "what happened over there? You guys find the loggers you were lookin'' for?"

    "Would you believe dozens of lost souls culminating in a ghost fungus that was puppeteering corpses and creating dirt golems?" Victoria asked.

    The boat guide thought about it for a moment, "aye, for Black River Point, I could believe that. Let me guess, the loggers cut too deep into the forest and pissed the thing off?"

    "Seems that way," she said, "no one deserves what happened to them, but it''s definitely a lesson about messing with nature."

    "Can you really call it nature?" Eli asked, "I mean, the whole thing was caused by a mad titan trying to become a god, right?"

    "Every titan tries to become a god," Victoria said, "that sounds like nature to me."

    <hr>

    The stagnant air of the Flopping Fish perpetually smelled of mildew and lake water, but that didn''t stop the sighs of relief from each adventurer as they finally returned home. They filtered through the front door one after the other, each dropping their packs unceremoniously atop the nearest table.

    "First one upstairs gets the first shower?" Victoria proposed.

    "Deal," Eli said, immediately darting towards the stairs.

    Victoria smirked, shifted into spectral form and drifted up through the ceiling.

    "Oh, come on!" Eli complained as he sprinted up the stairs in vain.

    While Iris blipped around the room to light sconces, Autumn nudged Titus with an elbow and nodded towards the kitchen. He nodded back, and they made their way to the kitchen with Iris blipping after them a moment later. Titus crouched beside the hatch in the back of the room and swiped his fingers through a thin line of sand he had placed on the hatch before they departed for their quest.

    "Hasn''t been used," he observed.

    Autumn paced around the room with her hand on her chin, "what does that tell us? Is he staying gone to avoid the Shark Titan?"

    "Maybe," Titus said, "but if our theory about this hatch leading to the same place as the portal he dumped Gerald the Fish into turns out true, it doesn''t rule out that he''s been coming and going with his portal."

    "I didn''t notice any wet spots around the tavern," Iris said, "so I guess we at least know he hasn''t stepped out of his portal in the tavern for a little while, maybe a day?"

    "We still need to know if he''s in there or not before we can make a plan," Titus said.

    "We have six days before the deadline to get the fish," Autumn said, "we don''t have a choice but to start planning now."

    "There''s a lot to do," Iris agreed, "where do we start?"

    "We need to know everything about this hatch and where it leads to," Autumn said, pausing momentarily to think before continuing, "getting inside is only step one of the heist, everything else happens after that, so until we know what''s on the other side we''re just guessing and not planning."

    "Vic mentioned a ritualist she knows who might be able to help us with that," Iris said, ¡°sounds like that should be our next step.¡±

    "Good," Autumn nodded, "if we''re lucky, it''ll just be empty water with our fish swimming around for us to catch."

    "And if we''re not lucky?" Titus asked.

    Autumn looked up at him with a grin, "then we''re going to need a crew."

 136 - Putting Together a Crew

    On the upper end of the Giantrock City commerce district was a street dedicated to administrative headquarters for the various companies and factions that operated out of the city. One such headquarters was located in a particularly large standalone building constructed of the finest mature redwood planks and framed by young redwood logs with the bark still attached. Above the door hung a sign that read "Grantworth Logging Co."

    In a large office on the second floor, an elderly gnome sat behind a desk and held his chin as he read through the final page of the report, "hmmm, you truly couldn''t save anyone?"

    Victoria shook her head solemnly, "they were already dead by the time we arrived."

    "And you''re certain the spirits responsible have been dealt with?"

    "All the ones I sensed," she replied, "but if you''re planning on reopening your operation there, I''d suggest conducting a thorough sweep and safety assessment first."

    The gnome gave her a skeptical look over the rim of his glasses, "and I suppose you lot will be wanting that job, as well?"

    "Not at all. You''ll need wide area specialists for a task like that, we''re not qualified for that."

    The gnome placed the stack of papers down and drummed his fingers on the desk for a moment before finally speaking again, "very well, I¡¯ll consider the quest completed." He pulled open a drawer on his desk and retrieved a small wooden box, which he hefted onto the desk and shoved towards the party, " Keep the box."

    Titus cracked open the box and nodded at the neatly stacked coins inside, then closed it and held it up in front of Iris. She pulled the bottomless bag from her waist, stretched it open and held it out beneath the box, which Titus promptly dropped into the void.

    "If that''s all--" the gnome began.

    "One more thing," Eli said, sliding a piece of paper across the desk, "this quest was approved for a Grand Hunt bonus, we''ll need you sign this so we can redeem it with the city."

    The man seemed annoyed, but didn''t complain. After briefly reading over the page, he signed his name at the bottom, handed it back to Eli, and waved them away. A few moments later they were stepping out of the Grantworth headquarters onto the wooden sidewalk of Giantrock City.

    "Now we just have to visit the questing hall to collect our bonus," Eli said, "and then we''re done for the day."

    "Why don''t you go ahead," Victoria said, "I have something to take care of."

    "This was a group quest," Eli protested, "we''re supposed to stick together until it''s over."

    "Technically, it is over now," Victoria said as she walked away.

    Iris glanced up at the position of the sun in the sky, "yeah, I appreciate the tradition and everything, but I have somewhere to be too."

    "And I have some things to pick up from the shop," Autumn added.

    Eli looked hopefully at Titus, who clapped him on the shoulder and spoke as he walked past, "see you back at the tavern."

    Eli was left standing alone on the sidewalk. He slumped his shoulders and sighed.

    <hr>

    Victoria looked up at the Slumbering Mare from the sidewalk. It was a massive three story inn with a shingled roof that twisted out into a slight curl at the corners. Balconies lined the exterior of the upper floors, and large double doors stood open to the lobby atop a wide flight of stairs. She made her way inside and approached a finely dressed elf woman behind the front counter.

    "I''m here to see the Dreamweaver," she said.

    The woman looked her skeptically, "name?"

    "Victoria Loremere."

    The woman grabbed a large book from a shelf behind the counter and flipped through it until she came across the page she was looking for. After a moment of tracing her finger down the page in search of Victoria''s name, she slammed the book closed and returned it to its shelf.

    "Top floor, suite seven."

    Victoria stepped into the wooden lift at the back of the lobby. Though the walls were painted an off-white cream and trimmed with ornate molding, in practice it was little more than a wooden box with an accordion metal gate in place of one of the walls. Embedded in wood just to the side of the gate were four vertically aligned green crystals, the second crystal from the bottom was glowing with a faint twinkle. Given the stairs she had to climb to reach the lobby, she guessed there was a basement beneath the lobby represented by the bottom-most crystal, with each of the other crystals corresponding to the numbered floors. She reached out and tapped the top crystal, and the gate slid shut. A second later, the small room gently lurched upwards.

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    The gate slid open shortly after the elevator reached the top floor, depositing her into a wide hallway that was finely carpeted and trimmed with ornate molding that matched that of the elevator. A few moments later she was knocking nervously on the door to the Dreamweaver''s suite.

    "Come in," the Dreamweaver''s elegant voice called out.

    Victoria hesitantly cracked open the door and stepped inside. To say the room was lavish would have been an understatement. It had even more expensive looking carpet than the hallway outside, a full set of comfortable looking lounge furniture, and no small number of paintings and tapestries hanging on the walls. An archway in the wall to the right was shrouded with a curtain, from which the Dreamweaver soon emerged. She was wearing a white flowing gown that starkly contrasted her skin tone and revealed more than would be considered modest. She carried a small glass in one hand, and motioned to a bar across the room with another.

    "Help yourself to a drink," she offered.

    "I''d rather not," Victoria said flatly.

    "Oh," the Dreamweaver said with a slight pouting expression, "are you upset with me again?"

    "I never stopped being upset, now I''m pissed off."

    The titan took a seat in a cushioned armchair, motioning for Victoria to sit on the couch across from her, "how I have disappointed you this time?"

    Victoria didn''t move from where she stood, "did you know it was a Thread of Souls?"

    The Dreamweaver swished a swig of her drink around for a moment before swallowing and answering, "I thought it might be, given that area¡¯s history. I never got close enough myself to confirm it though."

    Victoria clenched a fist to keep herself calm, "and you didn''t tell me."

    "Why would I? So you could trap yourself with indecision instead of seizing the power you''d been offered? So you could stagnant and waste your potential, instead of becoming what I know you can?"

    "My potential is my business, not yours. I don''t know where you got this idea that you have any say over me, but I don''t want to be a part of your games, and I don''t want to be necromancer."

    The titan laughed, "relax, child. You won''t become a necromancer. An adventurer''s second thread doesn''t redefine them, it simply steers their development in a particular direction. Think of it like a choice of paths, as a Hero you only had one path down which to walk, and the threshold of Champion is a fork in the road where each path is a different Thread of Power. I can say with confidence that, for a Hero who begins with a Thread of Dreams, the Thread of Souls does not lead down a path to necromancy."

    Victoria relaxed her fist, "how can you be sure?"

    "Because it was my second thread, as well."

    That made Victoria''s stomach twist, "you''re trying to make me like you, then? Shouldn''t I get a say in this? Or have you decided for yourself that I''ll be your little pet project?"

    The Dreamweaver''s expression turned flat and her voice foreboding, "if I had decided that, my dear, you''d find yourself with a lot less free will and a much different attitude." She let her words linger for a moment before smiling and speaking again, once more with a soft and elegant tone, "have a seat, let''s discuss the path down which your powers might take you."

    <hr>

    "I-I don''t really see how I can help with all this," Milo said, nervously.

    He was leaning against the railing of the balcony outside his shop in the Giantrock City Badger building, looking over at Iris who sat on the balcony railing with her feet dangling precariously over the edge.

    ¡°Autumn says we need all the help we can get, and you have all sorts of talents."

    "I do?" he asked, surprised.

    "Of course!" Iris said, "you know how to work on machines, you''re a great writer, and you made your own telescope."

    "Do you think writing will help with your heist?" He asked skeptically.

    "Well, no, probably not. But I''m sure the other two might."

    Milo looked away for a moment, "I don''t know, I''ve never done anything like this before."

    Iris twisted and hopped off the railing to stand beside Milo, "how many times have you told me you wish you could have adventures like I do?"

    "I don''t know, a lot probably," he mumbled.

    "Exactly. This is a chance to have one of those adventures!"

    "What if I get hurt? What if I can''t even help and I just get in the way?"

    "I won''t let you get hurt," she insisted, "and if we don''t end up needing your help, that''s fine. What matters is that you''re there in case we do."

    A gentle breeze tasseled their hair as it offered a short reprieve from the summer heat.

    Milo looked up at her with an uncertain gaze, "what''s the point in doing this anyway? Robbing your landlord seems like a bad idea."

    Iris laughed, "oh, it definitely is. We''re doing it for Autumn, though. She has a chance to become the Shark Titan''s chef aboard his ship, and this is the final piece."

    Her stomach twisted at the lie, even as she tried to reason with herself that it was more like an adjustment of the truth. If everything went to plan, she would be on that ship too, and she''d have to tell Milo she was leaving. That was a conversation she hadn''t figured out how to have yet, and she couldn''t afford the distraction until after the job at hand was done. Part of her almost hoped they didn''t succeed at their quest so she didn''t have to have the conversation at all, but she knew that was naive. Sooner or later she would leave Giantrock City, that much was certain, the only question was if it would be in a few weeks or a while longer. She hoped that Milo knew that as much as she did, even if he wasn''t aware of the possible timeframes.

    After thinking about it for a moment, Milo nodded, "alright, I''m in. I don''t know Autumn that well, but any friend of yours is a friend of mine."

    <hr>

    Cameron Cole sat alone at a bar in a tavern called The Redwood Keg. It was early evening, and he was only drinking water as he awaited the arrival of his drinking companion. When the stool beside him slid out from the bar, he was shocked to see a mop of bright red hair only a head higher than the stool itself. Autumn grunted as she hoisted herself up onto the stool and settled in beside him.

    "You''re not Eli," he said, annoyed.

    "And I thank several gods for that every day," Autumn replied.

    Cameron twisted to look around the tavern, "is he here?"

    "Not yet, but the guy hates being late, so we don''t have much time."

    "Time for what?" he asked.

    "I heard a rumor that you''ve got a spot on the Shark Titan''s ship."

    Cameron''s eyes widened, "how did you--? I haven''t even told Eli about that."

    "I have my sources," Autumn said, laying on her best conspiratorial voice, "tell me, how would you like to secure Eli a spot on that boat, too?"

 137 - A Meeting of Thieves

    In the late hours of the night, Milo''s workshop at the Giantrock City Badger served as an impromptu meeting location for the assembling crew. They had chosen neutral ground over the Flopping Fish both to avoid revealing too much to potential crew members who might back out, and to avoid potentially being discovered by the Fish Wizard while they planned. None of the adventurers who had been invited had any trouble reaching the balcony from the exterior of the building, so the rest of the building remained locked down and empty for the night.

    One of Milo''s work tables had been cleared of clutter and debris and moved to the middle of the open floor. Curtains were drawn closed on all the windows, and the only light came from small candles placed on the table and around the perimeter of the room. Eight adventurers were gathered there, some leaning on the table while others lingered in the corners of the room.

    Autumn introduced herself as the mastermind behind the plot and muscle of the crew, and then made her way around the table to introduce her companions, "Iris is our in-and-out expert, she''s good at quick escapes and grabbing items, and she''s tussled with our target once before. Titus is our healer and back-up muscle, he¡¯ll keep you alive and take his best shot at the thing trying to kill you. And that''s Victoria, the ghost."

    "I''m not a ghost," Victoria said flatly, then looked to the mage she had recruited, "that''s Kieren, he''s a ritualist I''ve worked with once before, he can get us into the pocket dimension."

    Autumn motioned towards Cameron.

    "I''m Cameron Cole, explosives expert."

    Iris nudged Milo with an elbow. He looked surprised, and then stammered through an introduction, "uh, I''m Milo. I''m good with machines, and I can write. If we need anything written, for some reason."

    "And I''m Jacquie Panton," a finely dressed man with shaggy black hair and an obnoxious amount of jewelry stepped dramatically out of the shadows, "thief extraordinaire and leader of the infamous Panton Gang." He looked over the members of the party he had once tried to rob in the forest and smiled, "pleased to finally make your acquaintance properly."

    "Who invited the douchebag?" Victoria asked.

    "I did," Titus answered, shrugging under Victoria''s judgmental glare, "Autumn said to recruit help for the job, who better than a thief?"

    "I''ve never heard of the Panton Gang before," Cameron said, "what exactly do you guys do?"

    "We liberate valuables," Jacquie said, "you haven''t heard of us because we''ve never been caught."

    "Right," Cameron said sarcastically.

    "Let''s be up front about this," Autumn took control of the conversation, "we''re going to be robbing a titan. At least, we''re pretty sure he''s a titan, either that he''s just stupid enough to pick a fight with a titan, but that''s not the point. Whatever he is, we think he''s probably strong. The job is dangerous, full of unknowns, and doesn''t have a lot guarantees. You all should have gotten one version or another of this speech already, but now''s your last chance. You''re either in or you¡¯re out."

    "The healer said I can keep anything I can carry out of the pocket dimension," Jacquie said, "as long as that''s still true, I''m in."

    "Sure," Autumn waved dismissively, "is anyone backing out?"

    Looks were exchanged around the room, but no one spoke up.

    "Good," Autumn said, "then let''s get started."

    "Actually," Cameron held up a hand, "we''re waiting on one more person."

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    "Is that my cue?" Eli asked, stepped into the room from the dark balcony.

    Autumn gave Cameron an affronted gasp, "you snitched?"

    "Of course I snitched," Cameron looked offended that she had assumed he wouldn''t, "lucky for you, he wants in."

    "You do?" Autumn turned to Eli with a shocked expression.

    "Yep," Eli crossed the room and leaned against the table beside Cameron, "you are absolutely getting a lecture for this later, by the way. But Cameron told me why we''re doing this in the first place, and I''m in."

    "Is this some kind of trick?" Iris asked with a suspicious tone.

    Eli looked around at the strangers in the room, wary of what he said aloud for them to hear, "like I said, I know why we''re doing this, and I like the idea. Let''s get on with it."

    Though uncertainty still crossed her face, Autumn nodded, and then motioned to the mage, "Kieren, take it away."

    The mage stepped up the table and began drawing out a ritual diagram in the center. Victoria had brought him along to inspect the Fish Wizard''s hatch alongside herself and Iris, which proved to be the right decision as he had gathered the most valuable information the crew had so far. When he finished drawing the diagram, he slapped a palm on the table and pumped mana into it, causing the diagram to glow and the ritual to activate. A partially translucent, three dimensional projection shimmered into view above the table, depicting the ruins of an elaborate castle atop a huge coral reef.

    "What you''re seeing here is the interior of the dimensional space. I was able to map it without entering thanks to a ritual typically used for terrain surveys modified with a little bit of dimensional magic. We can''t see inside the castle, unfortunately, but I may be able to see more once we get the gate open."

    "The gate?" Cameron asked.

    "Not a literal gate," Kieren explained, "a magical gate. The portal is located just below a hatch in the floor, we believe this is one of two ways to enter the dimensional space, the other being a staff which acquiring is out of the question. Between this hatch and the portal is an invisible magical gate. It''s a tough one, but I can crack it. Once that''s done you''ll be free to enter the dimensional space through the portal."

    "What are those weird, colorful rocks around the castle?" Milo asked.

    "That''s coral," Autumn explained, "it grows in oceans. You can''t see it in this projection, but this whole castle is underwater. The whole pocket dimension is."

    "You expect us to break into an underwater castle?" Cameron asked.

    "Yep," Autumn replied, nodding towards Iris.

    Iris turned her bottomless bag sideways on the table, reached in and slid out a small wooden crate built with dividers to hold bottles. Inside were six glass bottles containing a sparkling blue liquid.

    "Water breathing potions," Autumn continued, "they last for one hour."

    "How did you afford those?" Eli asked in horror.

    "And there''s only six," Cameron observed.

    "Don''t ask," Autumn said curtly to Eli before turning to Cameron, "Victoria won''t need one in her ghost form, and Kieren''s not going in with us. That left one for each of us before Eli made his dramatic entrance."

    "He can have mine," Jacquie said, holding a medallion on one of the various necklaces he wore, "Medallion of the Depths, I lifted it off one of those pirates on the docks. Very angry fellow, let me tell you."

    "Great," Autumn said, "I was going to give him yours anyway, I''m glad you have a backup plan."

    Jacquie looked appalled at the betrayal.

    "Iris," Autumn said, "tell us about our target."

    Iris withdrew a sheet of paper from her bag and handed it out to be passed around the table. It contained a drawing of a large, mostly round fish, beside which was a stick figure wearing a wizard hat for scale.

    "Meet Gerald the fish," Iris said, "we''re not really sure how he became a fish, but we know he wasn''t always. We also know he''s a notorious criminal and coward. He''s being held somewhere in this pocket dimension, and it''s our job to get him out."

    "You didn''t tell me this was a jailbreak," Cameron said, looking at Autumn unhappily.

    "It''s not," Autumn said firmly, "it''s a change of custody. Our client wants to see this fish face proper justice for his crimes, and we''re making that happen. Iris, go on."

    "He has powerful aura senses and is a lot stronger than he looks, other than that we don''t know much about him."

    "Can he turn back into a person?" Jacquie asked.

    "Not sure," Autumn answered, "the sh-- our client implied he was turned into a fish against his will, but we can''t confirm that. So, probably not, but maybe."

    "Do we know where he''s at in the castle?" Milo asked.

    "We don''t even know if he''s in the castle," Autumn admitted, "we just know he''s somewhere in the pocket dimension."

    "I can figure that out pretty fast once we''re inside," Victoria said, "I remember his aura, I''ll find him."

    "This could be a simple in-and-out mission," Autumn said, "if we get lucky. If we don''t, and the target is somewhere deep in the castle, then that''s where the plans we''re about to lay out will come in."

    "And if we specifically get unlucky?" Jacquie asked curiously.

    "Then everything goes tits up, and we figure it out as we go."

 138 - The Ocean in the Lake

    In the kitchen of the Flopping Fish, dark waters broiled gently below the open hatch in the floor. The crew was spread around the kitchen, some observing as Kieren drew the ritual diagram on the floor surrounding the hatch while others leaned casually against counters and walls.

    "Are we sure the titan''s not in there?" Cameron asked.

    "As sure as we can be," Victoria said, "Kieren''s already checked with a smaller ritual and didn''t find him, but there''s no guarantees."

    "If he is, that''s where the contingency plans come in," Autumn said.

    In a distant corner of the kitchen, Iris was reassuring Milo, "listen, I might have to blip around a lot in there, so stay close to Autumn and Titus, they''ll keep you safe. No one''s expecting you to fight, just stay out of the way until we need you and everything will be okay."

    "I don''t know about this," he admitted, "I don''t think I should be here."

    "You can leave if you want, or just stay out here with Kieren, but I promise this is an adventure you''ll be glad you had."

    "What if I''m not built for adventure like you?" he asked.

    Iris laughed, "I''m not built for adventure either, do you have any idea how many times I''ve almost died?"

    His eyes went wide.

    "Nevermind," she said hurriedly, "don''t think about that." She took his hands in hers and looked him in the eyes, "I won''t let anything happen to you, I promise."

    He nodded, but said nothing.

    "Iris," Autumn called out, "are we a go on contingency plan F?"

    "Yep!" Iris called back, patting the bottomless bag on her waist, "it''s all here."

    "We''re almost ready," Kieren announced.

    The crew gathered around the hatch as Autumn spoke, "alright, everyone grab a potion. Remember, we''ll be underwater the whole time, so only Victoria and Jacquie will be able to talk while we''re in there. While we''re inside Victoria will be in charge, but she won''t always be with us so it''s up to us to remember our roles and placements. Does everyone remember the hand signs?"

    Everyone nodded or murmured yes.

    "Kieren will keep the portal open as long as we need, but remember these potions only last an hour. Victoria will be keeping time and will alert us when we need to go."

    Pocket watches weren''t cheap or easy to come by, so Iris had offered up the broken pocket watch from one of her first quests for the mission. It was useless in that state, but after working late the prior evening Milo had managed to repair it -- though not without quite a lot of complaints about how he doesn''t usually work with such small machinery. When Autumn said her name, Victoria pulled out the pocket watch to ensure it was still functioning, and nodded affirmatively.

    "Any questions?" Autumn asked. When no one replied, she looked towards Iris, "drop me some rocks."

    Iris turned her bottomless bag upside down and shook it, dropping several large stones onto the floor. Autumn picked them up one by one and placed them against various parts of her body, morphing them into pieces of stone armor and a long stone spear with a barbed tip. Next, she grabbed her potion from the crate and held it up to the others. The assemblage of adventurers shared awkward glances, then hesitantly held up their potions to join her silent cheers.

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    "Ready," Kieren said as the ritual diagram began to glow.

    Autumn downed her potion, and the others followed suit. It was salty and gritty, like salt water mixed with sand, and they each responded with grimaces. A few seconds after drinking her potion, Iris felt a stinging sensation on either side of her neck. She reached up to feel the skin and found what felt like open wounds, but before she could panic she saw the same wounds opening on the necks of her companions and recognized them as gills. Meanwhile, Victoria shifted into her spectral form, and Jacquie grabbed hold of his necklace and activated it, causing a bubble to expand from the medallion and float up to envelope his head with a soft ¡°pop.¡±

    "Here we go," Autumn said, taking the first leap into the open hatch and disappearing into the dark water.

    Titus followed her without hesitation. Cameron and Eli held back, eyeing Jacquie intently. Sensing their distrust, he held a hand to his chest in mock offense, then leapt into the portal. Iris took the hat from her head and stuffed it in her bag with one hand, holding Milo''s hand with the other right up until her turn to enter. She squeezed tightly before letting go, and then jumped into the water.

    It felt like jumping feet first into a lake. The water enveloped her body and worked its way into her ears as she instinctively squeezed her eyes shut. The weight of the water was firm and heavy, but not crushing. To the senses of her Awareness of Matter ability, however, it was overwhelming. There was no semblance of emptiness anywhere within reach, every inch of space was cramped with the pressure of thick matter squeezing away the void far beyond her senses and her mind screamed that this was unacceptable. She squeezed her eyes tighter and clenched her fists as she tried to ignore her magical sense and force away the dreadful sensation that came with it.

    Hands clasped her shoulders, and she heard garbled, unintelligible words. She opened her eyes to see bubbles floating up from Milo''s mouth, his eyes wide with concern. She released a sigh to calm her nerves, and watched her own bubbles float up between their faces. A smile crossed her face and she was about to laugh when Milo clamped a hand over her mouth and shook his head quickly. Right, she thought to herself, gills or not it was probably not a good idea to fill her lungs with water.

    The hatch had deposited them in a small wooden shack with a single door. She could see Jacquie just outside the doorway, and Cameron soon dropped into the shack from the portal in its ceiling. Iris and Milo swam their way outside to make room for the others, where they marveled at their surroundings.

    They were in what appeared to be an undersea garden amidst a vast expanse of impossibly clear water. Rows of coral took the place of bushes, swaying towers of seaweed replaced the trees, and all manners of barnacles and sponges clung to rocks that lined the winding paths of the garden. In the first few moments alone, Iris spotted a dozen types of fish and crustaceans navigating the garden, including a striped black and white fish with fins that resembled flowing hair and what looked like a tiny shark with the front half of its body replaced with the head and claws of a lobster. She smiled at the thought of calling it a sharbster.

    Beyond the edge of the garden was a soaring castle that would look straight out of the picture books her mother read to her as a child, were it not dilapidated and crumbling and underwater. It had four towers which framed a massive block of a central structure, which itself had several shorter and smaller towers jutting out of it in seemingly random places. Beyond the castle was the would-be sky, the distant surface of the water illuminated by a bright light that she could only imagine must be a sun.

    Her captivation was interrupted by a glimpse of Autumn in her periphery, waving her hands wildly to get everyone''s attention. She and Titus were weighed down by their armor and able to walk on the seafloor, while the others in the crew could swim freely. Cameron and Eli soon emerged from the shack and swam towards Autumn and Titus, followed by Victoria moving quickly through the water in her spectral form. Iris nodded at Milo to go ahead while she hung back for a moment longer to take in the amazing view.

    After Titus joined Autumn in frantic waving, and Iris accepted that no amount of gazing up at the undersea castle would ever be enough, she blipped towards them. There was a loud boom, and when she reappeared the water pressed against her like crashing stones falling on every inch of her body, her muscles and bones alike ached and her head felt like it might collapse in on itself. After an instant the sensation passed, and she opened her eyes to see the shocked and bewildered faces of her companions. She twisted in the water to look behind her, and saw nothing. She looked back to the others with a confused expression.

    "Iris," Victoria said in her ghostly voice, "you just exploded."

    "What?" Iris garbled, the last of the air in her lungs bubbling out of her mouth.

 139 - Jellyfish and Barnacles

    After testing her blip a few more times, Iris elected to avoid using it as much as possible. Not only was the intense pressure of each reappearance taking a significant toll on her body and threatening to cause her to black out each time, but she consistently caused an underwater explosion in her wake with every blip. As the water crashed in to fill the void she left behind, it released a flash of light and a powerful shockwave that was strong enough to briefly knock fish in the vicinity unconscious, and much to Iris''s dismay and regret it even outright killed a few smaller fish. What''s more, rather than pushing things away like a normal explosion, these ones seemed to suck things in. Neither Iris, nor Victoria or Jacquie, had any idea why it was happening. Cameron seemed to understand, however, and tried to explain by spreading his hands wide, then clapping them together before spreading his fingers as if they held a small explosion. Iris couldn''t quite decipher what he was trying to say, but once he''d become thoroughly frustrated she gave up and simply nodded as if she understood.

    "Now that that''s over with," Jacquie said with annoyance dripping from his tone, "shall we go loot the castle?"

    Autumn shook her head vehemently and pointed at a ghostly Victoria gliding towards them from the castle.

    When Victoria reached them she explained what she''d found while scouting ahead, "I flew through much of the ground floor, there''s lots of hazards inside but no sign of our target. I found the entrance to what looks like a dungeon, but the walls are warded and I can''t move through them. We''ll have to break in the old fashioned way."

    Autumn made two hand signs, the first meaning "stick together" and the second meaning "let''s move."

    Autumn and Titus walked across the seafloor through the winding paths of the garden while the others swam and Victoria hovered above in a fashion indistinguishable from how she floated in air. When they reached the castle wall, they found a large wooden door banded in rusted iron. It was clearly not the main entrance to the castle, and presumably served as simple garden access. There was an old fashioned keyhole on the door, and no other visible mechanism to open it.

    Victoria poked her head through the solid door for a moment, then withdrew and shook her head, "there''s no way to unlock it from inside."

    Cameron repeated the hand sign for "fall back" several times, then moved up to the door. He reached into a pouch on his waist and withdrew a glob of a squishy, clay-like putty, which he stuffed firmly into the keyhole. Next he withdrew a thin metal cylinder, about an inch long and not much wider than a large needle, and pressed it into the putty. As soon as the piece of metal was in place, he twisted and kicked off the door to swim away as fast as he could manage. Only a few seconds later a shockwave shot out from the door, kicking up dust from the seafloor that mixed and swirled in the water. When the dust parted enough to reveal the door, the party saw that only a splintered hole remained where the keyhole had once been, and the door was now slightly ajar.

    "Move straight down this hallway until we reach the throne room," Victoria instructed.

    The hallway was narrow and built of old stone bricks overgrown with algae and barnacles. Amongst the barnacles were small coral structures that resembled roses of various colors, each one glowed with a faint luminosity that lit the hallway in dim, multi-colored light. As they swam, they passed several doorways to other rooms, including a storage room with garden tools both mundane and exotic lining the walls and a room that appeared to be some manner of underwater cellar for storing harvests from the garden. The castle looked thoroughly disused and neglected, and debris from the slowly crumbling walls had begun to pile on the floor of nearly every room.

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    At the end of the hall they passed through another door -- this one unlocked -- into a huge chamber with stone pillars holding up several mezzanine floors between the ground floor and the tall ceiling. The hallway deposited them beneath the overhang of a mezzanine above, and the large chamber was likewise lit by scattered coral flowers glowing various colors. At the far end of the room to their right were huge double doors of wood and iron, and to the far left was an elevated throne carved from stone and overgrown with coral. Above the throne floated the ripped and shredded remains of two banners, their emblems long since lost.

    "Be cautious in here, there are creatures," Victoria alerted, pointing towards a floating blob-like creature with translucent flesh and dangling tentacles.

    The creatures were alien to Iris, but Autumn seemed to recognize them. It made sense, as she had the most experience out everyone with ocean life -- even if it was in the context of preparing them as meals. Autumn held out a hand with dangling fingers to imitate the tentacles of the creatures, then moved her other hand to lightly touch one of the dangling fingers. The moment the finger touched her skin she yanked her hand back, shaking it and wincing in mock pain. Then, she made the hand sign for "understand?"

    The others nodded.

    Autumn looked around for a moment, and then an angry expression crossed her face. She pointed at each them, one by one, then held up her hands with seven fingers extended. Iris glanced around at all the faces surrounding her, Jacquie was missing.

    Victoria sighed, "I knew he wasn¡¯t worth bringing. I''ll go find him. Cross the room, third door from the throne on the other side will lead you to a stairway. Take a left at the fork and you''ll find the entrance to the dungeon. We''ll catch up."

    Victoria floated off down the hallway they''d come from, repeatedly calling out Jacquie''s name and occasionally replacing it with douchebag or dumbass. The others made their way into the center of the throne room, watching the dangling tentacles of the floating creatures overhead with great unease. They all froze in place when a loud thud reverberated through the water. Slowly, and with great apprehension, they all turned towards the source of the noise -- the giant double doors to the throne room. Milo moved close behind Iris to take cover while the others exchanged nervous and uncertain glances. They waited for several moments, but nothing happened and no additional sounds followed.

    Autumn signed "let''s move" in the direction Victoria had told them to go.

    Milo and Iris were eager to follow after her, while Cameron, Titus and Eli hung back for a moment with gazes lingering on the doors. The looks they exchanged told everything, none of them liked that sound, and all of them expected a fight from it. They glanced up at the tentacled creatures floating overhead, but they seemed to have had no response to the noise. After another few moments with no other sounds or movement, the trio reluctantly turned and followed after the others.

    The door Victoria had instructed them to use didn''t seem to be locked, but rather jammed shut by the abundance of barnacles growing around the frame. Autumn threw her body against it shoulder first, and it budged slightly but didn''t open. She grunted and tried again, but still no luck. Iris had no doubt that the stout woman be able to knock the whole door off its hinges if the water weren''t slowing her down. Titus stepped up and placed a hand on her shoulder, moved her slightly to the side to make room for him to join in. She nodded and held up three fingers, counting down one by one until she clenched the hand into a fist and they both slammed theirs shoulders into the door. It burst open, sending loose barnacles tumbling and swirling through the waters.

    The hallway on the other side of the doorway was much darker due to fewer glowing corals. The water seemed stagnant, with suspended particles of dust floating almost stationary down much of the hall. Autumn looked behind her to ensure everyone she expected to be present actually was, and then moved down the hall. The hallway forked as Victoria said it would, and at the end of the left passage they found a staircase that turned away from the hallway at a ninety degree angle. It went down about a floor, then angled ninety degrees again and descended out of sight. There were no more glowing corals visible beyond this point, and the waters quickly grew dark as the stairs descended.

    Autumn looked back at the others and once again signed "let''s go."

 140 - A Cowardly Thief

    While the weight of Titus and Autumn''s armor allowed them to descend the steps of the stairway on foot, the others descended by half swimming, half propelling themselves off the walls. Suspended particles in the stagnant water were highlighted by the shimmering white streak of light that floated above Titus''s upturned palm. Even the bright magical light struggled to penetrate far through the murky water, and Iris felt a strange sensation in her gills that somehow reminded her of breathing dusty air, despite feeling wholly different.

    The third flight of stairs deposited the party into a mostly empty chamber with grey, rough brick walls. The only furniture was an old wooden desk off to one side, which had long since begun to rot and decay. On the back wall of the room, opposite the entrance from the stairs, was a thick iron door with an external mechanical lock. A small, barred window in the door revealed a narrow hallway with cells on either side.

    Autumn grabbed hold of the exposed lock in preparation for ripping the door off its hinges, but Milo quickly swam up and frantically waved for her to stop. He pointed at the rusted metal of the mechanism, and made a motion with his hands like snapping a twig. Realization crossed Autumn''s face, and she withdrew from the door. She turned and looked to Cameron, who shook his head. He knocked against the metal of the door, then held his hands across from each other to convey that it was too thick.

    Iris swam over to the desk and slid open each of the drawers, disturbing clouds of dirt and rust as she yanked them open. One of the drawers ripped apart in her hands, the soft, rotted wood squishing beneath her fingers. Her search ultimately found only an old, rusty pair of handcuffs and a keyring. The handcuffs were far too disintegrated to be useful, but the keys were in decent shape. She swam over to the door and began comparing each of the keys to the mechanical lock, finding that they were all much too small to fit into the unusually large key hole of the mechanism.

    Milo positioned himself in front of the door and made a "give me" motion towards Iris, who tried to hand him the keys. He shook his head and pointed at her bag, and she realized he was asking for his tools. She pulled out a small folding leather case, within which were his smaller, more delicate tools, and handed it to him before pulling out larger tools like a crow bar, wrench and hammer which she leaned against the wall beside the door.

    A faint boom emanated from somewhere in the castle above, and all eyes momentarily turned towards the stairs. Autumn motioned for Milo to move quickly, so he got to work. Though the body of the mechanism was mounted exposed on the front of the door, the internals were shrouded by an iron case which he first had to remove. Any screws which may have been visible had long since rusted over, but it was easy enough for him to pry the face plate off with the crow bar. Inside he found a relatively simple mechanism of gears, levers and pulleys, and a series of stacked metal discs with shaped grooves on their edges that acted as the tumblers for the lock.

    Milo didn''t have any experience with locks, but the stacked discs were similar to a much larger mechanism used to regulate the sequence in which different pieces of the printing press in his workshop were able to move, so he was able to work out the exact mechanics of the lock pretty quickly. The most difficult part would be manipulating the fragile rusted pieces without breaking them, so he worked with a delicate hand as he manipulated the discs into place one-by-one. Once the discs were properly aligned, the lock was in the same state it would be if a key were inserted but not yet twisted, and the next part was the one that worried him the most. He had one hand shoved into the mechanism with each finger holding a different disc into place, and with his other hand he inserted the straighter end of the crowbar into the large keyhole. With a nervous pit in his stomach, he applied delicate pressure to the crowbar and the mechanism began to twist. There was a loud snap as rusted metal buckled, causing him to flinch and let go of the discs. His stomach sank as he thought he''d failed, but when Autumn tugged on the door it cracked open.

    There was another boom above them.

    Autumn hurried through the door and looked through the bars of each cell while Milo packed up his tools. She found several skeletons, each either hanging from shackles bolted to the wall or crumbled in a heap below said shackles. There was no sign of the fish they were looking for, or any fresh bodies that might have been his human form. She shook her head back at the others.

    Another boom came, this time shaking the walls around them like a quake.

    <hr>

    It only took Victoria a moment to locate Jacquie''s aura through the walls of the castle. She watched the glowing outline of his aura through the walls as he swam up through a collapsed ceiling and into a room on the second floor. He was moving quickly, probably fleeing from her after she called out his name and a few obscenities, but Victoria didn''t chase him down and reveal herself yet. Instead she trailed him, always keeping at least one wall between herself and the annoying thief, waiting for him to do something worth confronting.

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    Victoria was less than pleased about his inclusion from the start, but hadn''t argued because -- much to her chagrin -- it did make since to have a professional thief on the crew. The problem was with this particular thief. He''d probably like people to believe his fine clothes and all his jewelry were stolen, but his clothes were tailored and too many of the jewels matched perfectly. The worst part was the way he spoke with the unmistakable cadence of a spoiled rich brat. Every time he opened his mouth, she became more and more convinced he wasn''t just a thief, but a poser. She trusted him less than she did most thieves, so she simply followed and observed, waiting to catch him doing something that proved she was right about him.

    When he stopped in a room for some time, Victoria risked poking her head through ceiling to see what he was up to. The room small, lit with natural light through a small window, and filled wall to wall with silver plates, bowls, goblets and utensils, of which he was attempting to carry entirely too many. She sighed, knowing she''d wasted too much time on her petty grudge already. Breaking away from the group to loot was annoying and decidedly not part of the plan, but it was hardly enough of a transgression to justify distracting herself from the mission as well. She drifted through the ceiling and lowered down into the room behind Jacquie, crossing her arms and coughing.

    "Oh fu--" his arms released the collection of silverware he was holding, which flailed about in the sudden current as he kicked and spun around in the water to face her, "Vic, hi, I was just looking for fish bowls--"

    Victoria flew forward, her ghostly form not so much as disturbing the water as she passed through a twirling plate to place her translucent face an inch from his, "do not call me Vic."

    "Y-yes ma''am," Jacquie stammered as he struggled to free the breath stuck in his lungs.

    Victoria''s eyes flicked away from his to inspect the bubble that surrounding his head and allowed him to breathe, "can that bubble pop?"

    "I don''t-- no, definitely not."

    Victoria glanced at a fork floating nearby, "are you sure?"

    "Yes! It''s impenetrable! Not even worth testing!"

    If the look on his face wasn''t already enough to know he was lying, the stress she could see in his aura definitely was, "you''re here to do a job. I don''t care if you pick up stuff along the way, but the job comes first. Go find the others or we''ll find out what happens when I stab that bubble."

    "Yes ma''am," Jacquie gulped.

    Victoria backed away and gave the man room to kick and sputter his way into swimming. She smirked to herself as he fled, and then her eyes went wide when she saw an aura in her periphery. Her head snapped towards the outer wall, a huge aura grew closer as something blocked out the light filtering through the window. She flew towards Jacquie, shifting to her physical form to collide with him and push him through the doorway and into a hallway.

    There was a loud crash and a crack split through the ceiling of the hallway as a bright red lobster claw the size of a carriage smashed through the outer wall and thrashed about in the room they had just fled. Victoria shifted back to her spectral form and shouted at Jacquie as the lobster claw withdrew from the room.

    "Run! Swim! Just-- GO!"

    Jacquie was gasping for breath and flailing his arms. He was too panicked too swim. Another loud crash, more cracks in the ceiling, the outer wall caved in and the lobster claw reached deeper into the castle to slam against the interior wall that separated the room from the hallway. It bulged slightly under the impact and a few bricks fell loose. Victoria swore and shifted back to her physical form, grabbing Jacquie by the collar as she kicked off and swam as hard as she could. The screaming thief smacked her in the face with a flailing as he tried to worm free of her grip. The lobster claw returned again with another boom, this time shattering the interior hall and bursting into the hallway just behind the pair.

    It wasn''t working, there was no way she could swim fast and strong enough for the both of them while he was screaming and struggling, especially without any way to breathe. She held out a hand and conjured two cards, the Queen of Pentacles and the Knight of Swords, and placed both effects on the panicking thief. His gasping breath caught in his throat and his flailing stopped. He turned to her in anger and swatted her hands away.

    "What did you do to me, witch?"

    Another crash. The outer wall completely gave way and both lobster claws crashed through the inner walls and into the hallway as the ceiling began to crumble above them. Victoria left the cards to float circles around Jacquie, shifted back to spectral form and flew down the hallway towards the throne room.

    "Swim!" She shouted over her shoulder, not bothering to look long enough to see if Jacquie was following.

    <hr>

    Eli pointed at the second floor mezzanine on the far end of the throne room from where they had just emerged from the dungeon. The giant jellyfish that floated overhead were quickly fleeing the area, and a slow moving dust cloud was rolling out over the edge of the mezzanine as the loud crashing continued. Victoria''s ghostly form flew out of the dust cloud without disturbing and into the open space beneath the throne room''s vaulted ceiling. A few seconds later, Jacquie erupted out of the dust swimming over the mezzanine railing as fast as he could. An instant later the mezzanine collapsed and a pair of giant, bright red lobster claws emerged from the dust.

 141 - Bright Red Claws

    The water was quickly growing thick and murky from the cascades of dust and debris sinking to the ground as an entire wing of the second floor collapsed onto the first. Iris caught only a glimpse at the creature before the swirling rush of incoming cloudy water obscured her vision -- the back of its body was that of a giant shark with red scales and too many fins, while the front was a massive lobster''s head and claws. Even now she heard crashing as it slammed against the walls of the throne room, knocking loose bricks from the ceiling that sank quickly enough to be dangerous debris.

    The grit of the dirty water bit into her eyes, forcing her to squeeze them shut. The water all around her overwhelmed her awareness ability, filling her extra sense with an all-encompassing sensation. A hand grabbed hers -- Milo. She clenched tight, focusing her attention on his hand, the arm attached to it, and then his body until she learned to distinguish his flesh from the water. Explosions erupted from elsewhere in the throne room and sent shockwaves through the water that made Iris''s heart skip beats. Milo''s hand tugged on hers, and she followed.

    Seconds later they entering a hallway, she sensed Milo pushing shut a door behind them. She forced her eyes open, finding the water less cloudy but still full of grit. Only a few glowing coral flowers lit the hallway, giving an eerie glow to the water and illuminating Milo''s terrified face. He was wearing goggles, she''d seen him use them before while working on the printing press, and she smiled at his quick thinking. She wanted to reassure him, to comfort him, but she couldn''t speak. Instead she squeezed his hand tight, gave him the best reassuring look she could manage, and let go to move towards the door.

    He lunged after her, grabbing her hand once more and shaking his head in panic. An empathetic look crossed her face as she turned back to him. She couldn''t stay here, she had to help the others. She pulled him close, his normal, nonmagical strength no match for her attributes, and planted a kiss on his lips. As they kissed, she pried his hand from hers and shoved him backwards. He flailed in the water, reaching out towards her to no avail. In the instant he realized what she was about to do, he ripped the goggles from his head and flung them towards her. They didn''t travel far in the water, but she blipped them into her hand and nodded, then blipped away.

    Somewhere in the Throne Room, Titus clung to the lobster shark''s carapace just behind its eyes. One hand fit between the plates of the carapace while the other clenched a spear of light which he drove deep into the lobster''s head. The spear left black burn marks in the shell where it passed through without piercing, and he channeled an enormous amount of mana into the spear to force it to burn brighter and hotter as he hoped to cook the lobster from within.

    An explosion in the distance launched Cameron through the cloudy water, between the lobster''s snapping claws, and directly in front of its mouth. Cameron placed a foot on either side of the creature''s grotesque mincing jaws, holding himself back even as the smaller limbs around the mouth acted as hands to try pulling him. Forcing his eyes to stay open in the gritty cloud, he snatched a pouch off his belt and prepared to throw it into the lobster''s mouth, but was knocked loose from his perch as the creature slammed against a wall. Still holding his pouch, he tumbled and twisted in the water as the creature thrashed and spun about.

    Eli used his staff for propulsion, releasing a blast of red magic behind him that propelled him forward towards the thrashing lobster shark. He landed with a thud against its scaly shark body and grabbed hold of a fin. His grip slipped at first, and then a tarot card appeared above his head and gave him the strength he needed to hold on. Even as the beast shook and thrashed, he choked up his grip on his staff and placed the tip against the scales where the fin met the body. The runes began to glow bright red, soon burning into the flesh of his hand and bubbling the water around the staff as a short but constant beam of magic erupted from the tip of the staff and carved through the scales. He sneered and grunted as he pulled the staff down the length of the fin, sheering it off the creature''s body. With the fin went his handhold, and he was soon thrown away into the dust. As he was flung away the creature, he passed by Iris and watched as she blipped and left an implosion in her wake.

    Iris appeared beside the lobster shark, great sword in hand, with an abundance of momentum that carried her the opposite direction of the creature. The opposing speeds helped her blade slice into the scales and bury deep into its body, leaving a long, smooth gash down its length before the blade eventually slowed to a stop. She twisted around and planted her feet against the creature to hoist the sword free, kick off and blip away.

    Elsewhere, a claw collided with Autumn and shattered her stone chest plate. The strike sent her backwards to collide hard against a wall on the second floor mezzanine, where she instantly reformed a new chest plate from the brick along with a long, jagged harpoon that she pulled from the wall as it formed into shape. A strong kick from both legs launched her from the wall and back towards the shark lobster, harpoon reared back to strike. Two magically conjured tarot cards formed around her from wisps of purple magic, orbiting her body and imbuing her with focus and agility. Her lunge carried her into the creature''s underbelly, where she struck out with the harpoon and pierced its scales just behind the carapace. Using the harpoon for leverage, she brought her body around to plant her feet against the scales and sharply twist the harpoon, releasing a gush of blood into the water.

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    Cameron arrested his tumble against a pillar somewhere near the third floor mezzanine, looking down at the dense cloud of dust that filled the bottom half of the room. He could track the glow of Titus''s light through the dust, and thus the creature''s head, but with no idea where his companions were in the dust he had no way to safely attack without going back in. The appearance of Iris in the distance above the dust caught his attention. She soon disappeared, leaving an implosion in her wake before reappearing a short distance away with momentum that carried her towards him.

    She reached out with hands and feet to land against the wall, and then made a motion with her hands mimicking an explosion. He looked at her curiously, and she rolled her eyes. She pointed at the pouches on his belt, then made the motion again, this time more larger and exaggerated. He glanced at the pouch of explosive clay he still clutched his hand, then back at the strange girl. She noticed the pouch too and nodded furiously as she held out her hand. Cameron simply shook his head. Besides maybe Autumn, she was the last person he wanted to have a bomb.

    Iris threw her head back in frustration just as the lobster shark erupted from the cloud below and slammed into the ceiling, crushing Titus against the brick and finally knocking him loose from the creature''s back. Several jellyfish were squished against the ceiling as well, their tentacles zapping against the scales and carapace of the shark lobster. An errant tentacle grazed Titus on the shoulder and sent crackles of electricity through his arm, stunning him as he drifted back into the clouds of dust. As the shark lobster spun towards Iris and Cameron, Iris frantically pointed towards it and repeated the hand motions along with several additional gestures. Cameron quickly glanced between the girl and the creature, then released bubbles from his mouth as he attempted to swear. He reached out with the pouch and she snatched with one hand while the other pulled a full length walking stick from the small bag at her waist. She kicked off the wall, jabbing the stick against the brick and sending shock waves through the water as an unseen force launched her forward.

    Iris twisted in the water to dodge sinking debris and fleeing jellyfish as she rocketed towards the lobster shark. It had noticed her too, and its claws were open and poised to intercept. Just before entering their range, she blipped. The explosion in her wake caused the claws to recoil back in shock, distracting the lobster shark as she appeared just in front of its mouth, too close for the creature to see her over its own carapace. Inches from the weirdly mechanical mincing motion of the otherworldly maw, she dropped the pouch in front of her and blipped away.

    The pouch ignited from the implosion she left behind and erupted in a devastating blast that flung Iris back as she reappeared. The lobster shark reared back, its face completely unrecognizable as anything other than a gaping wound. One claw was ripped off entirely and drifted away while the other thrashed and snapped around wildly. The creature swam forward but had been blinded by the explosion and soon slammed into the wall below Cameron. Eli was across the room and charging a powerful blast, the bolt of magic erupted from the staff and ripped through the water leaving a wake of bubbles before piercing the scales on the creature''s side, erupting just below the surface, and releasing a jet of viscera from the wound.

    The beast recoiled from the blast, only adding to its disarray. It tumbled and twisted upside down as it began to sink, revealing Autumn still clinging to its underside. She had converted every piece of her armor into spikes, spears and harpoons that were now embedded in the creature''s scales, even forming a few from passing chunks of debris she had been able to grab. Now, she glanced up at the ceiling, and formed the plan for her final strike. She kicked off as hard as she could, using every last ounce of her augmented strength to shove the creature downwards and launch herself upwards. The kick was so powerful it caused a shockwave of its own and briefly depressed a wide area of the shark-like abdomen. The shark lobster¡¯s momentum pushed away the clouds of dust as it was flung downwards and bounced off the castle floor.

    Autumn hit the ceiling with great force, knocking loose a huge chunk of it that was already threatening to collapse. She used her matter molding abilities to fuse the bricks on impact and hold the chunk together as a solid object. At first she lifted the chunk, rising just above the ceiling of the throne room to the open water above before the mass of the chunk quickly slowed her to a stop. The chunk began to sink, only growing in speed as Autumn twisted it around to point lengthwise at the castle floor while she molded the tip of the debris into a sharp spike. As the spike sank she climbed her way to the top of it and kicked off with all her strength once again. The spike shot downwards and impaled the shark lobster through the carapace, piercing through the floor beneath and pinning the creature in place before the throne.

 142 - The Kings Chambers

    Dust doesn''t settle the same way underwater as it does in air. Though it was slowly growing easier to see through the cloudy water, much of the dust stubbornly lingered above the floor and moving too quickly through the water would cause dust that had settled to swirl back up and just make things worse. Amidst the dust clouds were the occasional sparkle of pink or blue confetti that went unnoticed by the adventurers as they assembled between the throne and the impaled corpse of the lobster shark.

    "Status report," Victoria ordered, floating just above the floor in spectral form.

    Autumn, once again clad in stone armor to weigh herself down against the floor, held out a flat hand and waved it slightly in either direction. Titus stood next to her, clutching his neck as he titled his head to stretch. Much of his armor was dented and misshapen, and the beginnings of bruises were visible on the back of his neck. None of that stopped him from raising up a weak thumb in response, however. Cameron and Eli both nodded that they were fine, and Iris soon emerged from a hallway with a very frazzled looking Milo, giving a thumbs up that they were both okay.

    "Good, at least that''s everyone that matters," Victoria said, "has anyone seen--"

    Her brow furrowed at the conspicuously drifting pieces of confetti. At first she was confused by their presence, then by the way they were all slowly but surely converging on the same location. She blinked and activated her auravision, noticing the faint but distinctive aura that each piece shared. The adventurers watched as the confetti pieces began to meet and swirl around each other until they formed a vortex of sparkling particles that soon formed into the silhouette of a person. Seconds later, the silhouette solidified into Jacquie. He immediately began to talk, but water quickly rushed to fill his mouth instead.

    Instinctively attempting to hack and cough, he grabbed the medallion hanging around his neck and activated it. A bubble expanded and covered his head as it had before, and he coughed out the water before immediately continuing his words, "-- that''s why I think we all did a wonderful job. Great work, team."

    Victoria glared at him for a moment, but decided not to respond. Instead she pulled out the pocket watch to check the time, "we''ve already been in here for over twenty minutes, there''s no time to dwell. Did you find anything in the dungeon?"

    Autumn shook her head.

    "Then the rest of you should stay here while I scout the towers, they¡¯re the next logical place to look."

    Autumn waved her hands to stop Victoria, then pointed towards the throne. Next, she placed her hands together next to ear and tilted her head.

    "You... want to take a nap on the throne?" Victoria asked.

    Autumn shook her head in frustration, then repeated the motion.

    "I think she means the king''s chambers," Jacquie offered.

    "I don''t need your help," she snapped at him.

    "Apparently you do,..." he trailed off.

    Victoria ignored him, "that makes sense, Autumn. This whole castle seems abandoned, but if there''s one place the Fish Wizard probably uses I''m betting it''s the king''s quarters, maybe he has Gerald chained up in there."

    "Can you chain up a fish?" Jacquie asked, curiously.

    "Would you shut the fuck up?" Victoria shouted, "fuck, I wish someone else could talk instead."

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    The others looked on with various expressions ranging from awkwardness to empathy.

    "Alright, you guys stay here, I''ll go scout for the king''s quarters."

    "Actually, I think I can handle this one," Jacquie said.

    "I''m gonna--" Victoria wheeled on him.

    "I''ve seen the inside of many castles," Jacquie continued quickly to catch her intrigue before she started hurting him, "this one''s a bit fairy tale-esque, like a peasant child''s idea of a castle, but a few things are the way they should be. I''d guess the king''s chambers are somewhere on the third floor, away from any other chambers and likely sharing a wall with the great hall for eavesdropping."

    "Eavesdropping?" Victoria asked.

    "Kings like to think they hear every conversation that happens in their castles, though in truth that usually only really extends to the great hall-- that''s this room, if you couldn''t tell -- the sound is carried up by the shape of the walls and the ceiling, towards a small hole in the wall of the king''s chambers where he can listen to what his lords and servants have to say in his absence."

    "For a low level thief, you know an awful lot about kings and castles," Victoria narrowed her eyes as she launched the accusation.

    "For a ghost you know a lot about being a bitc--"

    Victoria flashed towards Jacquie and shifted into her human form with hands outstretched for his neck. Titus and Autumn intercepted her as swiftly as possible underwater, holding her back as she reached for the thief. She shifted back into spectral form to pass through them and close in on her target

    "Okay, okay! I''m sorry!" Jacquie leaned away and shielded his face with his arms.

    "Shut up and take us to the king''s chambers," she snarled, stopping inches from his face.

    "Fine, okay," he straightened up and dusted off his clothes, a pointless gesture in the water, "I wouldn''t have said anything if I''d known you''d overreact like that."

    Victoria started towards him again, but Eli held out his staff in front of her. She could, of course, pass straight through the staff, but she stopped anyway and met his gaze. They''d known each other long enough to not need words for her to understand what he was trying to tell her. She was letting this man get under her skin, and he was doing it on purpose. She knew that, but that didn''t mean it wasn''t working, and Eli was cautioning her to tighten up and get her shit together. She nodded silently, and he nodded back.

    Eli swam up to Jacquie and motioned for him to lead the way, intentionally placing himself between Victoria and the thief. They bypassed the stairways and second floor entirely, instead swimming up towards the top of the large room and onto the third floor mezzanine. From there, they swam to the back wall, behind the throne, where a nondescript but sturdy door led them into a narrow hallway that abruptly turned left. They followed the hallway to another sturdy door, this one iron. Victoria drifted through the door and unlocked it from the other side, letting in the rest of the crew.

    To everyone''s surprise, the room wasn''t full of water, and when the door opened, it didn''t flood. Instead the wall stayed suspended in place as if held back by an invisible barrier, and one by one they stepped out of the water into their first breaths of air in almost half an hour. Each one of them instinctively gasped for air, repeatedly filling their lungs with as much as they could get. Magic gills or not, their bodies merely understood that they couldn''t use their lungs before, and now they could.

    "Fucking finally," Autumn gasped, "I never want to go that long without talking again."

    "That was the most frustrating half hour of my life," Cameron sighed.

    "Focus on the mission," Eli ordered.

    The interior of the room was nothing short of lavish. Shaggy red carpet covered the floor and elaborate, ornate molding trimmed the walls. A massive bed with crimson sheets and an abundance of pillows took up a large portion of the room, and above it hung an expertly painted portrait of the Fish Wizard wearing a shining golden crown. The far wall of the room had large curtains drawn closed with shimmering light spilling around the edges.

    "Well, this is definitely his bedroom," Autumn said as she looked up at the portrait.

    Jacquie immediately opened the doors to a wardrobe and began searching through the contents while Victoria watched him like a hawk. Iris found a small hole in the wall, which -- when she stood on her toes -- she could peek through. It angled down through the bricks, providing a pinhole view of the throne room below. Eli crossed the room to the curtains and pulled a string to draw them open. Light filled the room as a huge glass wall was revealed. Behind it was a large fish tank filled with rocks, glowing coral, and a scale model of the castle in which they stood. Eli stared into the fish tank, and staring back him was a huge golden fish.

 143 - A Fish With A Grudge

    Eli blinked. The fish blinked back.

    "This is so fucked up," Autumn said.

    "Keeping him in a fish tank under an ocean is diabolical," Cameron agreed.

    Eli absently tapped the glass with a finger as he spoke, "any ideas how we should get him out?"

    "I got it," Autumn morphed the stone bracer on her arm into a small hammer and reared back to strike.

    Eli reached out an arm to block her, but it was too late. When the hammer struck, a web of previously invisible ritual markings across the glass flashed with light and Autumn was flung across the room by an unseen force. Jacquie ducked just in time to dodge as she slammed into the wardrobe, crunching through the wood to impact the bricks behind it. She bounced slightly off the wall and crashed to the floor atop a heap of clothes and splintered wood, groaning for a moment before raising a feeble thumb.

    "I was going to say we should hear all the suggestions before we start smashing stuff," Eli said, "but okay."

    Victoria, now in her physical form, stepped up to the glass and inspected it with auravision, "it''s not a complicated ward, but it''s a powerful one. Obviously protects against physical damage, but I''d guess it blocks intangibility and teleportation too."

    She briefly shifted to her spectral form and tried to pass her hand through the glass. The invisible markings once again began to glow and her hand pressed against the glass as if her hand were flesh rather than spectral. Meanwhile, Milo was closely inspecting the edges of the glass where it met seamlessly with the bricks around it.

    "I don''t see any kind of mechanism," he said.

    "Think you can blow it open, Cam?" Eli asked.

    "Maybe," Cameron replied, "but probably not without enough force to bring the ceiling down."

    Eli frowned and turned his attention back to the fish. It was still just floating there, staring back at the room with empty eyes. "Are we sure this is our fish? He looks kind of... dead inside."

    "Wouldn''t you?" Cameron asked, "poor guy''s locked in a box in a pocket dimension."

    "Yeah, but I think I''d be excited if a bunch of people showed up to free me."

    Iris stepped up to the glass, and the fish immediately angled itself in her direction. It glared at her with a fury in its eyes that left little doubt in her mind that it blamed her for every moment it had spent in this prison.

    "This is definitely our guy," Iris said, "he remembers me, and he''s very unhappy to see me."

    "What are you talking about?" Eli asked, "his expression hasn''t changed.¡±

    "Seriously?" She looked at Eli while motioning at the fish, "look at him, he''s brimming with rage."

    "Hmm," Cameron leaned closer to the glass, "I don''t see it."

    Iris rolled her eyes, "nevermind. Listen, I think I have a plan. Someone correct me if I''m wrong, but I read once that teleportation is actually more like traveling really, really fast."

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    "That''s about right," Titus said, "the body sort of disintegrates, kind of like Victoria''s old mist ability but into even smaller parts -- so small that they can pass right through most other objects -- then those small parts travel really fast to their destination and reform into back into the person. We had to learn about it in the academy because the process can cause a serious mess if it happens during a reconstructive healing spell."

    "So this ward works by blocking those tiny parts, then?" Iris asked.

    "Basically, yeah," Victoria answered.

    "Great," Iris smiled, "that''s not how my teleport powers work at all, so I bet this''ll work."

    Iris moved over to the bed, faced the fish tank, and backed up until the backs of her legs touched the mattress. Then she removed her bottomless bag and tossed it to Eli.

    "Autumn, wake up," she called over her shoulder, "I need you ready to wrestle a fish."

    Autumn groaned, but climbed to her feet.

    "What exactly are you about to do?" Eli asked.

    "See, I don''t think it''s fair to call what I do teleporting at all, actually. It''s more like I slip between the cracks of reality and pop out somewhere else -- or make something else do that. If we''re lucky, that''ll bypass the ward like it''s not even there."

    "You''re going in there?" Milo asked with a hint of worry.

    "No," Iris said, "he''s coming to me. I''ll probably get dizzy from using so much mana though, and I have a feeling he''s gonna try to kill me. That''s where you come in, Autumn, you gotta wrestle the fish into the bag. Eli, just hold the bag up towards the fish, Abby will open when it¡¯s time.¡±

    "Ready when you are," Autumn said.

    "Maybe we should--" Eli began.

    "Three, two, one," Iris counted down quickly, then blipped the fish out of the tank.

    Iris knew immediately that she had, in fact, not bypassed the ward. The sensation she felt was like tendrils of magic erupting out of the all sides of the tank to reach out and grab the fish and hold it back from the void. Her eyes widened as her mana continued to drain, fueling her Send and Retrieve ability as it fought to suck the fish into the void. She tried to stop it, but it didn''t listen to her commands. Pain shot through her veins and her head felt like it might split into fragments. The last thing she felt before passing out was a sudden weight against her chest.

    "I got it!" Autumn shouted as she hoisted the fish off of Iris with a bear hug.

    She had lifted it upside down, and it now flopped wildly and slapped her in the head with its tail hard enough to daze her after the third strike. She stumbled back, tripping over debris from the shattered wardrobe and losing her grip on the fish. It smacked wetly onto the ground, convulsing frantically as it pushed off the ground and launched itself towards the nearest person.

    Jacquie screamed at the incoming fish and exploded into glitter. Milo dove onto the bed to shield Iris with his body. The fish landed against the wall and launched off of it with a well-timed flop, launching itself at Titus. The healer planted his feet and spread his arms, catching the fish as it slammed against his chest plate. The impact rocked him backwards but a quick step saved his balance. Eli moved in, holding Iris''s bottomless bag out towards the still struggling fish with trepidation as Titus released his bear hug and shoved the fish forward. A tentacle erupted out of the bag, extending three times the length even Iris had seen before, and wrapped around the fish in the air before constricting and pulling the fish into the void.

    <hr>

    Kieren sat patiently on a barstool beside the open hatch and the watery portal below. A lit candle he had placed on a shelf nearby indicated the time that had passed since the adventurers entered the portal -- roughly half an hour. He had paid in advance and didn''t know any of them beside Victoria, who he only had a passing working relationship with, so he wasn¡¯t particularly concerned with their success or survival on a personal level. He would, at least, prefer that a bunch of strangers weren''t doomed to the unfortunate fate of drowning in a pocket dimension, but only enough to hope for their survival. He had no interest in heroics or sacrifice if they didn''t return before their potions ran out.

    His posture straightened when the floor creaked behind him.

    "And just who the fuck are you?" a scratchy voice yelled.

    Kieren twisted in his seat to see a frail looking old man in tattered grey robes and matching wizard hat wielding a crooked staff. Kieren shot to his feet in a panic, tumbling the barstool into the portal.

    "I-- I''m--" he stammered.

    The wizard growled and glanced down at the open hatch.

 144 - An Inevitable and Predictable Betrayal

    Iris opened her eyes to see a very nervous Milo leaning over her.

    "She''s awake!" he shouted.

    "I''m okay," she groaned, sitting upright from where she''d fallen back on the bed. She saw in his eyes that Milo didn''t believe her, "it''s just mana sickness, it happens."

    He frowned, but relaxed slightly.

    She looked around at the ransacked room, "did we get him?"

    "Yeah," Eli said, tossing her the bottomless bag, "now let''s get out of here."

    The glitter spread around the room collected itself into a swirling vortex like a small tornado before reforming into Jacquie, "not so fast, I haven''t even found any good loot yet."

    "Correct me if I''m wrong, Autumn," Eli said, "but his payment was anything he could carry out of here, right?"

    "Yep," Autumn said.

    "And so far the only help he''s offered was telling us where to go, when we probably could have found it ourselves?"

    "Yep," Victoria said.

    "In that case Mr. Panton," Eli addressed the thief, "I suggest you start picking things up. We''re leaving."

    Without waiting for a response, Eli stepped out of the room, through the wall of water and into the submerged hallway outside. Cameron followed immediately, and after a moment so did Victoria, Titus and Autumn. Iris gave Jacquie an apologetic grimace as her and Milo made their way out of the room as well.

    Jacquie clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. For all his efforts and risks the only valuables he''d collected where a handful of silver forks and spoons stuffed into his pockets. In a flurry, he ripped open the drawer to the bedside table, toppling it over when he found nothing of value. He dropped to the floor and searched under the bed, and again found nothing. He heard a whooshing sound, and the distinctive sound of bare feet slapping against stone. When he shot to his feet, he saw a man he could only assume was the Fish Wizard standing before a rapidly shrinking portal -- with a very angry look on his face.

    "W-wait!" Jacquie preemptively cowered, "I''ll tell you everything!"

    ___

    The party crossed the devastated throne room towards the hallway they had originally entered from. It had been thoroughly collapsed in the destruction caused by the shark lobster, and they recalled no other exits that led directly to the garden. Victoria passed through walls and rubble to scout for other paths, and returned a few moments later.

    "There''s a path through the rubble you all should be able to swim through, but we''ll have to swim around the outside of the castle to reach the garden. Follow me."

    Before the adventurers could start swimming after her, the wall high above the throne exploded. The Fish Wizard came rocketing out of the hole with staff outstretched, leaving a furious trail of bubbles in his wake.

    "YOU RAT FUCKS!" The wizard shouted unimpeded by the water, "GIVE ME BACK MY FISH!"

    Bubbles and garbled words escaped the mouths of several adventurers as they involuntarily swore in surprise and fear.

    "This way!" Victoria shouted, leading the party towards the front of the castle.

    When they reached the last hallway before the front exterior wall of the castle, they hurriedly ducked inside. Cameron paused just inside the hallway and waited or the last person to enter. He waited a second longer for Jacquie in case he appeared, but the thief was nowhere to be seen. Removing a pouch from his waist, he left it to float to near the ceiling just in front of the door and swam after the others. A few seconds later the pouch exploded and brought the ceiling and a portion of the walls down in a pile of rubble that thoroughly blocked the path behind them.

    They swam as fast they could down the hallway, banked left into the remnants of a destroy stairwell, and swam up through the skeleton of the mostly destroyed section of castle. Autumn crumbled the stone armor she wore and let it fall away, freeing her up to swim, while Titus kicked off the ground to launch himself and reached out to handholds to continue pulling himself upwards. When they reached the third floor they entered a room full of collapsed rubble and were forced to squeeze through tight gaps to cross it. A hole in the wall led to the next room, which had an open door to the hallway.

    As the entered the hallway the castle shook around them and they heard unintelligible yells from the Fish Wizard. Chunks of the floor began to fall out from below them, sinking rapidly to add to the piles of debris far below on the ground floor. The Fish Wizard erupted through the floor of the hallway behind them with a furious shout and swirled his staff in a circle. A horizontal whirlpool began to form down the length of the hallway, sucking the water backwards and the adventurers with it.

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    "It''s right here!" Victoria shouted from a doorway just ahead of them, her spectral form unaffected by the draw of the whirlpool.

    Eli was in the front of the group and desperately reached out to grab hold of the door way, but he had already been pulled too far back. Autumn was at the rear, closest to the wizard, and quickly formed a spike from the wall beside her to grab hold of. She reached out and caught the outstretched hand of Titus as he was sucked past her. Iris blipped ahead of the others, inadvertently knocking Milo unconscious with the implosion caused by her blip, and grabbed hold of the doorway. Next she ripped the bottomless bag from her waist and stretched out towards Eli as far she could. Abby''s tentacle erupted from the bag and closed the gap between the two adventurers to wrap tightly around Eli''s arm.

    Behind him, Cameron grabbed hold of Eli''s leg. Titus moved his grip from Autumn''s hand to her legs and caught the unconscious Milo with his free arm as he was sucked past by the vortex. Autumn formed another handhold just ahead of her current one and began the arduous process of climbing closer and closer to the others, dragging along the weight of both Titus and Milo behind her. Cameron pulled his last full pouch of explosive clay from his waist and dropped it into the vortex, when it reached the Fish Wizard it exploded spectacularly and disrupted the vortex. The pause allowed Autumn to hoist herself forward quickly and close the gap enough to grab hold of Cameron''s feet.

    The Fish Wizard laughed maniacally as the bubbles and dust from the explosion dissipated. His staff had apparently been splintered in two by the explosion, but he began his vortex once more with a spinning motion of both arms. Iris strained under the combined weight of her companions, squeezing her eyes closed as her muscles screamed for her to let go. She refused her body''s pleas, and instead began to flex. Beginning at an agonizing pace, she pulled her companions closer to the doorway inch by inch. Abby''s tentacle contracted as well, coiling and pulling the adventurers closer. Victoria summoned all three of her cards on Iris, bolstering her strength, endurance and perseverance, and then shifted to physical form with her feet planted on the inside of the doorway where she grabbed hold of Iris''s hand and added her strength to the tug-o-war.

    Bubbles burst from Iris''s mouth as she screamed and pulled as hard as she could. She could feel the bag slipping from her grip, but the ends of the draw string quickly wrapped around her wrist to hold on. With eyes closed and mouth agape with no more air left to scream, she pushed herself further than she thought possible, finding new strength somewhere deep beneath the surface and pulled her hand all the way to her chest. Relief came suddenly, like a wave of peace and comfort, when Eli was finally pulled close enough to grab the doorway with the hand of his tentacle-wrapped arm. Abby quickly released him and reached down to wrap around Cameron''s chest to pull him closer. When Cameron reached the doorway he ushered Iris inside and took her place beside Eli. The pair soon pulled Autumn close enough to grab hold of the doorframe, where she was quickly able to hoist Titus and Milo inside.

    The Fish Wizard released a roar that reverberated through the water. He abandoned the vortex and shot forward after them. When he appeared in the doorway, Autumn was waiting for him. She slapped her hands against the doorframe on either side, erupting stone spikes from the brickwork that impaled the wizard and pinned him to the wall behind. Blood escaped from the wounds and mixed with water in cloudy swirls, but the wizard wasn''t dead. He snarled and yanked a shoulder forward, snapping the spike that impaled it.

    "Let''s go!" Victoria shouted, waving the adventurers through a hole in the collapsed outer wall.

    Victoria conjured cards on Milo to wake him and imbue him with strength and speed. Iris grabbed his hand and pulled him away from Titus. Unsure of what was happening, Milo followed her lead and began to swim. Most of the party rushed out of the hole and into the open water in front of the castle, swimming as fast as they could towards the corner tower around which was the garden and the portal that would be their escape. Titus lingered in the opening, looking down at the long drop to the seafloor below. He wouldn''t be able to swim like the others in his armor, the drop wouldn''t hurt him but he would surely be too slow to escape the wizard''s wrath -- who was quickly breaking away more spikes just behind him.

    Cameron looked back and saw Titus frozen in place. He pulled the grappling crossbow from his waist and shot the bolt towards side of the castle. The water quickly slowed the roped projectile, but a small but persistent blast from a pinch of explosive clay behind the tip propelled it the rest of the way to embed deeply in bricks. He held onto the device as he swam back towards Titus and motioned quickly for him to grab hold. Titus wrapped his arms around Cameron, who used his free hand to pull a handful of powder from a waterproof pouch. Bits of powder escaped his clenched fist and mixed with the water, but it wasn''t enough to matter. As the fish wizard broke free from his final spikes and poised to shoot towards them, Cameron reached out and opened his hand. The powder exploded outwards, not with enough force to do any damage to the titan or the structure, but with enough to rapidly propel the two adventurers away from castle as they both kicked off the bricks. The grappling hook acted as a pivot that carried their momentum in a wide arc, wrapping around the rounded tower at the corner and flinging them high above the garden as Cameron pressed a button to sever the rope.

    The pair sank quickly, aided by another blast of powder directed upwards, and soon Titus''s feet planted into the seafloor inside the garden. The Fish Wizard was already rounding the castle overhead, shooting forward in front of a wake of bubbles in a wide arc. When Titus and Cameron reached the others, they began quickly filtering into the shack one by one. Milo was the first into the portal, with Iris following quickly behind him.

    The Fish Wizard stopped in the water above and spread his arms wide, conjuring a dozen thin, pointed vortices that shot forward like bolts from ballistae and rained down on the garden below, exploding into craters where they landed amongst the coral and sponges. The projectiles continued to spawn overhead and crash all around the remaining adventurers as they hurried into the shack.

 145 - The Gaping Maw

    Victoria was the last to emerge from the portal. She floated in the air above her companions for a moment, counting to make sure they were all there. Then she sighed in relief, lowered herself towards the ground, and shifted to her physical form. The others were all sprawled out on the floor, soaking wet and gasping for air. She looked down at the hatch, the usually active water had settled, and its dark coloration cleared to reveal the wooden floor an inch or two below the surface.

    Iris rolled her head to the side to look at Milo, he looked back at her with wide eyes. They broke into nervous laughter, and one-by-one the others joined in, both in celebration and in disbelief. Eli was the only one not laughing, instead quickly climbing to his feet and evaluating their situation. He quickly noticed the difference in the water, and looked around for the kitchen for the mage.

    Victoria found him first after scanning for his aura. She opened the door to a large cabinet, revealing Kieren bound and gagged tightly in seaweed. Eli quickly cut him free, and he fell to his hands and knees gasping.

    "You owe me," he gasped, "a bonus."

    "Deal," Victoria agreed instantly, "but we need your opinion the portal. Is it closed?"

    Kieren climbed to his feet and stumbled over to the hatch to inspect the portal, "definitely. What did you do?"

    "We didn''t do anything," she said, "but I''m pretty sure the Fish Wizard destroyed the other end as we escaped."

    Kieren nodded, "that would do it, but we''re not safe here. He can come and go with his staff."

    "His staff is destroyed," Cameron said proudly.

    "Does that mean he''s trapped in there?" Eli asked.

    "Maybe," Kieren answered, "I wouldn''t count on it though, just to be on the safe side. If that concludes my job here, I''m leaving."

    "Yeah," Eli sighed, glancing around the kitchen, "so are we."

    Contingency plan F was simple. Before the heist had begun, the members of the core party had gathered their every last belonging in the tavern and stored it all in Iris''s bottomless bag. They knew from the start there was a major risk that the Fish Wizard would catch them in the act, and had planned accordingly. Kieren left quickly after collecting his bonus from Victoria, and Milo and Cameron followed him outside.

    The party stopped in the main room of the tavern on their way out, pausing to turn around and take in one last look of the tavern they''d called home for nearly two months. Besides a few tables shuffled around and noticeably emptier bottles behind the bar, it didn''t look all that different from the first day they''d walked in.

    "Just like that, then?" Iris asked, "we''re really moving on?"

    "Yeah," Eli said, "that''s the adventurer life for you."

    She smiled with a tinge of sadness, recalling all the dinners they''d shared in this room, gathered around their favorite table laughing and arguing over their plates.

    "I''m really going to miss that kitchen," Autumn sighed.

    "I''m gonna miss the shower," Victoria said.

    The others nodded their heads somberly in agreement.

    Eli took a deep breath before speaking with stoic authority, "alright, time to go."

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    Iris was the last to leave, lingering for a moment longer in the empty tavern. This was the first home she''d ever known outside of her valley. It was the first home she''d ever come back to after an adventure. She knew that for decades, centuries if she grew powerful enough to live that long, this would be the place she remembered first when recalling her earliest days as an adventurer. Her eyes lingered on their favorite table as she closed the door with a smile.

    ___

    Milo and Cameron broke away from the party shortly after they departed the tavern, with Cameron promising to ensure Milo made it back home safely. There wasn''t much concern of the Fish Wizard tracking them down as he''d never met either of them before and likely didn''t catch a good look at them in the pocket dimension. It was the main party members who had the most to worry about, and their priority at that moment was to turn Gerald in to the Shark Titan and officially earn their positions on his crew, thus falling under his protection.

    When they reached the end of the Shark Titan''s dock they were glad to see there wasn''t a line to speak with Quartermaster Luo. They approached his desk under the awning as a group, and he looked up at them skeptically. It occurred to Iris that they were all still soaked to the bone and probably looked exhausted.

    "We''re here to turn in a quest to the Shark Titan," Eli announced.

    The quartermaster laughed, not recognizing Titus as the man who had brought him the note about Gerald in the first place, "what quest would the captain have given the likes of you?"

    Iris stepped up and placed her bottomless bag on the desk. The quartermaster raised an eyebrow as the bag opened itself to reveal the empty void within. After a moment, the head of a giant golden fish poked out of the void, held back by a purple tentacle wrapped tightly around it. The fish blinked at the quartermaster, then its eyes widened in fear. Abby pulled the fish back into the void and the bag cinched tight.

    "I see," the quartermaster said with surprise, then turned to one of his guards, "prepare a schooner for our friends here. They have business aboard the Gaping Maw."

    A short while later they were sailing across the Giantrock Bay on a small boat bound for the Shark Titan''s ship. The heist had begun in the late morning, and it was now midday and their clothes were beginning to dry in the warm sun and heavy breeze. The Gaping Maw loomed in the distance, its true scale slowly revealing as they drew nearer. The ship was larger than any singular building in Giantrock City except for perhaps the governmental complex, and the masts shot into the sky like impossible towers. The black flag that fluttered at the top of the tallest mast depicted a white outline of a shark''s serrated mouth and must have been bigger than a carriage to be visible from such great height.

    The gentle waves of the lake sloshed against the hull of the ship as they approached. Their helmsman brought them right up beside the ship, where the waves rocked their small boat back and forth. He used a pole with a hook on it to reach out and grab hold of a metal ring bound to the ship''s hull and hold the smaller boat steady. He was clearly a champion, as the effort of holding the boat back from colliding the ship barely seemed like a chore.

    The helmsman nodded to the rope ladder hanging down the side of the ship and dangling beside them, "up you go."

    After exchanging looks of trepidation, the adventurers began their climb. The rope ladder swayed with the occasional gust of wind, causing Iris''s stomach to churn as she moved up one rung after the other. The ship''s deck seemed impossibly far away, and she began to feel like she was scaling a small mountain.

    Eli looked down from his position in the lead and called out, "Autumn, how are you doing?"

    Autumn''s response wasn''t words, but rather a few slurred syllables mixed with groans. They had unanimously agreed she would have to be the last to climb the ladder in case she puked from the heights. Still, even with her eyes clenched shut and a pained grimace across her face, she pulled herself up the ladder with determination.

    It was hard to gauge how long it took to climb the ladder, but it felt like an eternity. Even with her strengthened muscles and endurance, Iris''s body was burning by the time they neared the deck. She was certain there was no chance she could have made this climb at level 1 without her body completely giving out and dropping her back into the lake below. When they finally reached the top and climbed over the railing, Iris collapsed onto the deck with a groan. Autumn stumbled onto the deck with her eyes still closed, leaned back against the railing, and slid down until she was sitting. Her face was still contorted into a nauseous expression when she buried it in her hands.

    After waiting to ensure Autumn made it over the railing, a ghostly Victoria drifted up and shifted into her physical form to land lightly on the deck, "c''mon, it wasn¡¯t that bad."

    Autumn and Iris shot her angry glares, to which she responded with a faint smile.

    A shadow passed over the winded adventurers, and all heads turned to see the Shark Titan looming over them. He grinned wickedly before he spoke, "welcome aboard the Gaping Maw."

 146 - Gargoyle in the Galley

    The Shark Titan threw his head back and released a roaring laugh that echoed across the lake. Before him, Gerald the Fish flopped helplessly on the deck. Then, without warning, he cut his laugh short and snapped his head towards a deckhand.

    "Take him to the tank in my quarters," he barked.

    "Aye captain!" the deckhand shouted, moving in to wrestle the fish into his arms.

    "And you," the Shark Titan turned an ominous glare onto Autumn before breaking into a wide grin and clapping her on the shoulder, "you actually did it."

    Autumn stumbled from the impact and smiled sheepishly, "it was nothing, really."

    "Report to me this evening, you''ll tell me all about it. In the meantime, my first mate, Meredith, will show you around."

    "Aye Captain," Autumn said with a wide smile.

    The Shark Titan walked away, and a stern looking woman with pale blue skin and pointed ears took his place. Her hair was as black as the night sky, and her eyes were a striking silver. She wore a tan ruffled blouse beneath a blue sleeveless coat and tucked into loose, billowing pants. Her expression was hard and her voice commanding.

    "You will address me as First Mate Meredith or ma''am, nothing else. Is that understood?"

    The adventurers nodded nervously. Her commanding presence and status as the first mate on a ship of champions left little doubt that she was more powerful than all of the party combined.

    "Good," she said curtly, "you''ll follow me to the galley."

    Autumn beamed with excitement as she followed the first mate, spinning on her heels to walk backwards and shake her fists at her party members in glee. As the party followed after them, Iris took in the sights. The main deck of the ship was nothing short of massive, easily wider than the tavern and several times as long. It was built of redwood planks several feet wide, with occasional crystals inset into grooves in the wood. Countless ropes extended up from the sides of the ship to the massive sails and masts that cast shadows across the deck, and when she looked straight up past the many folded canvas sails she could catch glimpses of the pirate flag fluttering in the wind.

    They were on the starboard side -- Iris had read up on ship terminology in the library in preparation -- and the first mate was leading them towards the stern, where the deck was a full floor higher. Narrow, curved stairs led up to the raised stern on either side, just beside them towards the middle of the ship were stairs that descended to the lower decks. Between the staircases was what almost looked like the front entrance to a building, with wide windows on either side of a large wooden door with a rounded top. It was this door that the Shark Titan entered shortly after leaving them with the first mate, leading Iris to believe it to be the captain''s quarters.

    First Mate Meredith led them down one of the descending stairways. The stairs led into a cramped stairwell with a doorway that led to the second deck. It was lit by spreading rays of light that trickled in through the crystals in the main deck, and Iris could see rows of cannons and countless crates of barrels that lined much of this deck. The stairs doubled back on themselves to lead down to the third deck, where the first mate was taking them. The third deck was lit with lanterns which contained glowing yellow stones spaced sparingly along the ceiling, giving the whole room a dim, unpleasant hue. The deck was packed with rows of hammocks, each row two hammocks tall. Two aisles separated the rows on either wall from another pair of rows down the middle. In a few spaces throughout the deck the hammocks were replaced with tables and stools, and she spotted more than few dart boards nailed to the walls. There were no crewmembers on the deck at the time, and Iris assumed they were all either working throughout the ship or were somewhere ashore.

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    The first mate pointed down the length of the ship towards the bow, "at the far end is the infirmary, as I understand it one of you is a healer, that''s where you''ll be put to work. As for the chef," she turned and pointed at a door between the two stairwells that lead off to a walled off section of the deck under the stern, "this is the galley. I suggest you get yourself acquainted, as the Captain expects you to prepare him nightly dinners beginning tomorrow."

    "Tomorrow?" Autumn asked in surprise.

    "If you have what it takes to make it aboard this ship, that won''t be a problem."

    Autumn replaced her shocked expression with a look of determination, "yes ma''am."

    "The ship will be departing in roughly two week¡¯s time, after which you''ll be expected to provide three meals a day for the entire crew. You have until then to procure the supplies you''ll need."

    "How does that work?" Autumn asked, "like with the budget and everything? Is there someone I can ask about that kind of stuff? I assume you don''t want to be bothered--"

    "Enough," the first mate interrupted, "talk to Killup in the galley, he''ll take it from here." Without another word, Meredith departed up the stairs.

    Autumn watched the first mate go with an annoyed expression.

    "Well," Iris said impatiently, "are we checking out this galley or not?"

    "Right," Autumn nodded, taking a deep breath before pushing open the door to the galley.

    It was lit by a single glow stone lantern hanging from the ceiling over a wooden island counter top. More counters lined the sides and back wall with wooden cabinets hanging over them, save for a cut out in the counters and cabinets for a single door in the back right of the room. The space on the walls between the counters and the cabinets were lined with pans and cooking utensils. The walls on either side of the entrance were lined with racks and shelves full of ingredients and pots too large to hang from the walls. Inset into the counter on one side was a basin, and hanging above it in place of cabinets were two large barrels of presumably water. In the same place on the opposite side of the galley were a pair of large wood stoves, and cut into the central island countertop was a large metal basin with high walls, based on the charcoal at the bottom and the large pot hanging above it, it was clearly designed to hold an open fire while protecting the surrounding wood from the flame.

    Autumn placed her hands on her hips as she surveyed the kitchen, "it needs some work, better lighting and some ventilation for sure, but it''ll do."

    The door in the back opened, and a person scampered out. At least, Iris was pretty sure it was a person. Their skin was a light grey and there was no hair on their head, their ears were longer and pointier than an elf''s and they stood about as tall as Autumn -- though it was hard to tell exactly with their hunched posture and legs which weren''t fully extended at rest. They hopped onto the central counter top, paying no mind to the hanging pots they bumped into as they did so, and angled their head at the adventurers. Iris noticed for the first time that the creature had wings not unlike a bat, which they untucked slightly to assist with balance as they perched on the counter.

    "Hi!" they spoke, "I''m Killup. Like Phillip, but more murderous. Is one of you the new chef?"

    "That''s me!" Autumn said.

    Killup leapt from the counter, not caring that he knocked an empty onto the floor, and scampered over to Autumn. His resting state was a crouch, with his legs bent and at least one hand on the floor in front of him.

    "What, uh -- sorry, that''s rude," Autumn said, "I''ve just never seen anyone -- like you, before?"

    "No worries!" Killup said, rising to his feet to hold out a hand for her to shake, "I''m a gargoyle. Oh, and assistant chef."

    "Nice to meet you, Killup. I''m Autumn Brett, half-halfling, and chef."

    "Half-halfing?" he cocked his head curiously.

    "Yeah, half human, half halfling."

    "Aren''t halflings already half human?" he wondered.

    "That''s a misconception, actually. But in my case, I guess so, yeah."

    "Ooooohh," Killup nodded along.

    "Wait!" Iris shouted, "you''re not human? I thought you were just short!"

    Eli, Titus and Victoria all turned to look at her.

    "Seriously?" Victoria asked.

    "Yeah! Are you telling me you guys knew?"

    "We thought you did too," Titus said, "haven''t you ever seen how hairy her feet are?"

    "Well-- yeah-- I just thought she was hairy, too! Are there any more secrets about you people I should know about?"

    "Not that I think I can think of," Titus said after thinking about it for a moment.

    "No, that''s basically it," Eli agreed.

    "Unbelievable," Iris muttered under her breath.

    Killup snapped his head between each of the adventurers as they spoke, not really following along with the commotion, "anyway, I''m glad to meet you all. It''s been real lonely since Chef died."

    "Wait, he died?" Autumn asked in surprise.

    "Yeah, real bad accident with a knife, somehow stabbed himself seven times! Chef always was clumsy. Sorry, I should call him Old Chef, I guess. You''re Chef now."

 147 - Were All Just Kids

    Victoria found Eli leaning against the portside railing of the ship, gazing out at the setting sun across the glimmering waters of the lake. He glanced at her briefly when she took a spot beside him at the railing, but didn''t speak.

    "What''s on your mind?" she asked softly.

    "A few things," he replied.

    "Talk to me."

    He sighed, "do you think this was the right decision? Going against the Fish Wizard, signing up to be on this ship? I still don''t even have the full story, I barely even know how we got here. I feel like I''ve been losing my grasp on this party''s direction since we found Iris in the desert, maybe even earlier."

    Victoria laughed, "you recruited Titus straight out of a bar fight, and you can''t tell me you honestly believed for a second after meeting Autumn that she was anything less than uncontrollable. Then a girl falls out of the sky with an attitude like every life or death experience is just another fun story to tell and you bring her along--"

    "Hey, we voted on that," Eli defended.

    Victoria rolled her eyes, "how often do our party votes go against the way you hoped they would?"

    "All the time!" Eli looked flabbergasted, "the wyvern--"

    "Oh," Victoria smirked in disbelief, "so you were seriously going to make her get rid of it if that''s what we voted for?"

    "Of course I was!"

    "Okay," she laughed again, obviously not believing him, "look, my point is, I know you care about this team a lot, we all do, and I know you take your role as leader and the responsibilities that come with it very seriously -- but look at the hand you dealt yourself. You¡¯ve collected misfit after misfit, and not a single person in this party besides you or I even has formal training. And don¡¯t say Titus, we both know he got kicked out before he finished. ¡°

    ¡°So it¡¯s my fault for recruiting a bad team,¡± Eli nodded solemnly in understanding.

    ¡°No! You idiot, my point is that none of this is your fault,¡± she sighed, ¡°look, you¡¯ve put together a team that fights well together and actually gets along, that¡¯s no easy feat, but we''re all just kids, and kids are notoriously hard to control and constantly doing stupid things.¡±

    "I''m twenty-two," he argued.

    Victoria twisted so her back was to the railing and her head was tilted back at the sky, "and how long do you think you''ll live? Even if you stop at Champion, that''s a few centuries before your body gives out, at least. And hell, there''s titans kicking around in this world older than Everveil. Any way you look at it, we''re just kids."

    Eli was quiet for a moment, then spoke in a low, guilty voice, "I put all of you in danger today."

    Victoria barked a loud laugh, "oh, come on, are we still doing this? We were deep enough in this crazy scheme that it was happening with or without you, and you couldn''t have stopped us if you tried. You can''t make this one your fault, Eli."

    "I still should have tried to stop it, but I didn''t. We got lucky, again, but one of these days--"

    "One of these days our luck will run out," Victoria said in a tired and sarcastic tone, then straightened up and spread her arms at their surroundings, "look where we are! Think about where we''re going! Do you have any idea how many adventurers would kill to be in this position? I think you do, and I think you know how great of an opportunity this is for us and that shooting our shot for it was the only course of action that made any sense. Why don¡¯t you tell me what''s really bothering you?"

    He averted his eyes back to the lake and was quiet for a moment before he spoke again, "you''re right. I knew that this would be good for us -- a hell of a lot better than trekking back across the desert to Tinton or braving the eastern wilds on our own would have been. But--" he paused.

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    "Spit it out."

    "I didn''t do it because of that. Maybe if I had then I wouldn''t feel so shitty about it."

    "Then what was the reason?" She leaned against the railing with one arm, facing him with a comforting and patient expression.

    "Cameron," he said, full of shame, "he has a job on the ship, too. The quartermaster thinks his abilities will come in handy with the cannons, maybe even make them more effective. When he told me, my first thought was how I wished I could go with him."

    "And then you got your chance," Victoria nodded in understanding.

    "Yeah," he sighed, "and instead of thinking about my friends -- instead of trying to stop you all from attempting what is, without a doubt, the dumbest and most dangerous plan I''ve ever heard -- I was just thinking about him."

    Victoria twisted to look out at the water and smiled softly, "so you feel selfish."

    "Yeah."

    "Well, I have good news for you, you''re not selfish. You''re just stupid."

    Eli''s eyebrows shot up.

    "and so are the rest of us, but you know what? Most of the strongest and most successful people I''ve ever met were just idiots who got lucky. The way I see it, if you want to do great things in life, first you have to do a whole lot of stupid things and hope they work they out."

    He chuckled at her words, but the smile soon faded, "would you have blamed me if someone had gotten hurt?"

    "Nope," she replied instantly, "maybe Autumn, the whole thing was her idea. But honestly, I don''t think I would have blamed anyone -- except for Jacquie, fuck that guy. We all make our own decisions and take our own risks, though, and everyone knew what they were signing up for before we got started."

    Eli sighed, "then why do I still feel like shit?"

    "Because you''re obsessed with doing everything correctly! Like I¡¯ve told a thousand times! Look, you know what I told Iris recently? I told her she needs to stop making stupid decisions and start thinking things through, because that''s her problem. She sees danger and the first question she asks herself is how fun it might turn out to be, and she''s constantly causing problems because of it. I''m telling you the opposite, you need to do more stupid things, because your problem is the opposite. You''re so obsessed with being perfect that half the time you cause more problems than you solve. You finally took a step in the right direction and took a risk worth taking, and now you¡¯re doubling down on your old habits by beating yourself up over it. Just take a breath and relax a little, man. Enjoy the life we''re living, enjoy the spoils of our success, and for the sake of every god, get the fuck over yourself."

    He laughed earnestly and loudly, and then nodded in acceptance. After a moment, he spoke again, "what do you think happened to Jacquie, anyway? I kind of feel bad leaving him behind."

    "I don''t, the guy''s a dirt bag coward. I owe Titus a solid thump on the head for recruiting him in the first place.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s your deal with him?¡± Eli asked, ¡°he¡¯s not exactly likable, I get that, but you really, really don¡¯t like him.¡±

    ¡°Haven¡¯t you picked up on it?¡± She asked, ¡°that guy¡¯s not some street urchin that picked up robbery to survive, he¡¯s nobility. I¡¯m sure of it, and I¡¯m willing to bet most of that jewelry he wears came from his own collection and not from marks. There¡¯s nothing worse than a person who already has everything they need and keeps stealing anyway.¡±

    ¡°Why would a noble run around pretending to be a lowly thief?¡±

    ¡°Same reason you see lords pretending to be farmers while peasants do the actual work, because nobles love playing pretend as the people they look down on.¡±

    Eli shrugged, ¡°fair enough. I still feel like we shouldn¡¯t have left him behind.¡±

    ¡°I wouldn''t worry about him if I were you. People like that always seem to squirm their way out of consequences."

    ___

    The waters were calm In the Fish Wizard''s pocket dimension. The pseudo-sun was setting and darkness was enveloping the domain. The wizard climbed out of the cavity left behind from the stone spike he''d removed from the shark lobster''s carapace -- or sharbster, as he preferred to call it. He swam up to hover just above the creature, inspecting the bright red crystal in his hand.

    "You''ll be swimming again soon, lil'' buddy," he said somberly before stashing the crystal in a pocket of his robes.

    He swam up towards the ceiling of the throne room and through the massive hold he''d blown through his own wall. That would be a bitch to rebuild, but it was nothing compared to the damage those damned kids had caused to the rest of his castle. He gritted his teeth in anger at the thought of them, once again swearing his revenge for what must have been the thirtieth time.

    He looked around at the mess of his bedroom. It was now flooded from the hole in the wall, and bits of wood from his shattered wardrobe floated around and tumbled slowly in the water. It would be the easiest mess to clean up, at least, but it filled him with the most anger. He barely used the rest of the castle, but this room was his home -- his sanctum. He resolved himself to prioritize security during the rebuilding process, and perhaps invest some time into raising more guard sharbsters.

    "And you!" he spun around and pointed a shaky finger at one of the jellyfish floating passively above the remains of his throne room, "you did nothing! You''re useless!"

    The jellyfish said nothing.

    He sighed, and then swam over to the wall. He tapped the glass of the fish tank that once held his most cherished prisoner, but now held only his consolation prize. The scattered particles of confetti began to swirl, soon coalescing into a shape before solidifying into flesh. The wizard forced a bitter-sweet smile at the large, rainbow-scaled fish that stared back at him.

    "Don''t worry, Sparkles," he said, gently stroking the glass, "your friends will be joining you soon enough."

 148 - Making An Example

    As the evening wore on, more and more crew mates aboard the Gaping Maw retired to the crew quarters, soon filling it with raucous conversation and laughter as they took seats on barrels, crates and stools or simply hung over the side of their hammocks to converse with their neighbors. Topics ranged from recounting the trouble they''d gotten up to in the city that day, to the quests they''d just returned from, to hushed rumors about the state of the hydra that was currently locked away somewhere in the belly of the ship. More than a few games of dice and cards were ongoing at the scattered tables, most of which included the clanking of coins as bets were made.

    The crew of the ship was the most diverse crowd Iris had ever encountered. Only a handful were human, with the majority being either halflings, orcs, or green-skinned elves that Iris suspected might be from the elven city in the swamp she had heard about -- though, so worried that assumption might be offensive, so she kept it to herself. Regardless of their species, nearly every pirate aboard wore similar garb of off-white canvas tunics and bloused trousers tucked into boots, though they each had their own individual flares. Many wore distinguished hats, colorful sashes, belts lined with pouches and bandoliers filled with knives. That was to say nothing of the weapons, of which everyone seemed to carry at least two or three. There were curved swords of countless different types of metal, chunks of metal that looked like one-handed crossbows minus the bow, and various styles of throwing knives, rope darts, and other exotic weapons.

    There were more than a few pets on board, too. Iris had already spotted a large rat wearing a bandana around its neck scurrying beneath the hammocks, a few colorful birds that occasionally squawked or fluttered down the length of the crew quarters, and at least two different species of lizard -- one of which changed color to match its surroundings. She considered letting Littletooth loose to mingle with the other animals, but quickly decided against it as she had no idea how he would behave and certainly didn''t want to advertise that she was carrying around a baby wyvern while the titans were still searching for a missing wyvern egg.

    She attempted to spend the evening reading in her hammock but found the noise too distracting, so instead she mostly daydreamed while she held open the book in front of her to hopefully discourage anyone from bothering her. Killup had helped them each find unclaimed hammocks, but there hadn''t been any available next to each other so they were all spread out. Iris ended up in a hammock in the back corner of the deck, near the door to the infirmary. The other members of her body had taken hammocks scattered throughout the deck, and she only vaguely recalled the general areas of each of them. She was pretty sure Autumn was the only member of her body on the third deck at the moment, though, and she knew if she stepped foot in the galley right now she¡¯d be quickly put to work rearranging the entire place. She sighed, accepting her fate to rot in her hammock for the rest of the evening.

    "You can''t sleep there," a gruff, masculine voice said from aisle at the end of her hammock.

    Iris lowered her book to see a large orc -- or maybe he was regular sized for an orc, she wasn''t sure -- standing at the end of her hammock. He was bald-headed and wearing a light brown tunic with the collar open to expose a hairy chest, one of his ears bore a deep, disfiguring scar while the other had several silver hoops pierced through it. His expression was something between annoyance and anger.

    "Why not?" she asked casually.

    "Because that one''s mine," he pointed at the hammock below her, "and I don¡¯t like people sleeping above me."

    Iris guessed that she should be afraid in a situation like this, as the orc was not only physically larger than her but without question a much higher level. She had the feeling, however, that he wasn''t expecting her to be as difficult to handle as she knew she could be. It hadn''t been lost on her that as the new kid on the ship, who was not only a young woman but also dramatically underleveled for the environment, she would probably face some difficulty from the existing crew. Better to make an example out of someone early, rather than late, she reckoned.

    "I''m not going anywhere," she said loudly enough for other nearby pirates to hear, then raised the book once more to block her view of the orc while keeping the attention of her awareness ability focused on his on every move.

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    The orc growled and grabbed hold of the hammock to flip Iris onto the floor, but the hammock was suddenly empty. He blinked in surprise just before a pair of boots slammed into the back of his head. Iris kicked off of him and flipped backwards into a landing, despite putting all of her strength into the blow and catching him off guard the orc barely stumbled. He released a deep, rumbling growl as he slowly turned around to face her, the general commotion of the crew quarters growing quiet as others noticed the confrontation.

    "I''m going to drown you for that," the orc growled.

    "Hm, no," Iris shook her head curtly, "I don''t think you will."

    Coins started passing hands and getting tossed into piles throughout the deck as bets were made on who would win. The orc lunged for her with outstretched hands, and she blipped out of the way. The orc anticipated this and preemptively spun around to catch her next incoming kick right out of the air. Iris gasped as the orc hoisted her up the by the foot until they were almost eye-to-eye.

    "Arrogant little shit," the orc snarled, "what will you do now, runt?"

    Iris didn''t answer, instead waiting for the orc to notice her next trick. His eyes slowly moved from hers to the purple drawstring bag dangling from her waist -- and the tentacle extending out from it. He followed the tentacle upwards, where it reached up over his head and twisted around the hilt of a great sword with the tip of the blade lingering less than an inch from his face, pointed right between his eyes.

    "That''s Abby," Iris smiled, "if you try to mess with me in my sleep, by the way, she''ll cut you in half."

    The audience of pirates jeered and yelled at the fight as Iris wiggled her foot free of her boot to drop out of the orc''s grasp and immediately blip behind him. Abby''s tentacle rapidly twisted in the air, swinging the sword haphazardly around until it found its new resting position just beneath the orc''s chin. She wanted to threateningly whisper in his ear, but he was far too tall for that, so instead she settled for standing on her toes and speaking somewhat quietly.

    "Is that enough, or do I need to make my point with blood?" she had stolen that line from a book, but she guessed the pirate probably hadn''t read it.

    The orc shoved an elbow backwards, driving it into Iris¡¯s chest at the same time as he was reached up and grabbed the blade of her sword. Abby yanked the sword back, slicing open the orc''s hand but dealing only superficial damage. He released his grip but shot out his other hand to grab the handle of the blade, clamping his large fingers over the tentacle that held it.

    "That''s enough!" Autumn shouted, banging too large pans together as she stepped out of the galley. With her was Killup, watching warily from where he cowered behind her.

    The orc paused. Iris was wheezing at his feet and his outstretched hand clung to a great sword held by a long tentacle that wrapped around the air of his immediate surroundings before ultimately terminating in the bag on Iris''s waist. He stared down the length at the deck at the interruption.

    "My name is Autumn Brett," she addressed the quarters at large, "I''ll be your chef for the duration of the upcoming journey. Now, I generally like to think that tampering with food is an affront to the gods -- it''s the singular worst, most depraved and reprehensible action a person can take, to turn life''s greatest pleasure into a weapon."

    She paused her speech as she stomped her way down the aisle between the bunks. It was a long walk, especially with her stubby legs, but the silence held and the orc remained still until she arrived before him. He was well over twice her height, but she looked up at him with the same disrespect as she would if she were the tall one looking down.

    "That," she pointed at Iris where she lay on the floor, "is my friend. And if you hurt my friend, you''ll meet the most depraved and reprehensible person in the world -- me, when I''m pissed the fuck off. Poisoning you will be the first thing I do, and if that doesn''t work," she turned and motioned across the crew quarters, "then I''ll just have to stop feeding all these fine people, and make sure everyone on board understands it''s your fault."

    For the first time since the altercation began, fear entered the orc''s eyes. Murmurings amongst the crew quickly turned to shouts and jeers aimed in his directions

    "Cut it out Dorragth!"

    "We''ll you eat if we gotta!"

    "Stop fucking everything up, you idiot!"

    Dorragth snarled, but released his grip on the sword. Abby lingered for a moment, twisting the sword around to wave the tip past his face, then rapidly withdrew both the tentacle and the sword into the bag. Iris climbed to her feet and dusted herself off. He looked down on her with disdain and fury.

    "I could squash you in a fair fight," he growled quietly.

    "Yeah," Iris said with an attitude, "that''s why I don''t fight fair."

    Dorragth growled one more time, then stomped past her and headed for the stairs. Iris smirked and held a fist out towards Autumn, who bumped it with her own.

 149 - The First Disciple of a Fledgling God

    In the late hours of the night, when Victoria was certain her neighboring bunkmates had fallen asleep, she turned incorporeal and slipped through her hammock and passed the plank floor. While briefly passing through the unlit storage deck below, she angled her flight outwards through the hull of the ship and her ghostly form was soon drifting peacefully through the air above Giantrock Lake. The moon was bright in the sky, cascading purple and orange light onto the never-quite-still waters. She gazed up at it for moment, allowing herself to wonder what was up there until she felt the creeping sensation of inexplicable dread rising in her gut. She had felt it every night since the tracking ritual in the forest, each time she looked at that moon she was reminded of the fear that struck her when she saw the shock wizards'' lightning had reached out towards it. She shook her head to discard the thoughts, and then increased her speed as she flew over the lake towards the forest beyond.

    Long distance travel was effortless as a specter. The wind didn''t bite against her skin, obstacles of were no concern, and she could fly high above the ground where nothing could reach her. Her speed was, quite simply, remarkable. It cost her mana to accelerate, but without wind resistance to slow her down it cost nothing to continue at pace once she achieved it. She wasn''t yet sure if there was a maximum speed that she could fly, but found that at a certain point the ground rapidly passing by below her became nauseating to look at. Instead she kept her eyes on the tree tops in the distance, and the towering plateaus that jutted up between them.

    Her flight brought her over the dense woods northwest of the lake, where the Matriarch Expedition and subsequent corpse recovery operations had unfolded. Finding the exact location she was looking for from above would have been nearly impossible in the expansive forest, were it not for the white-hot aura of a titan visible to her from a mile out. She slowed her flight and drifted down through the canopy as she approached, shifting to her physical form just above the root-covered ground to land softly before the Dreamweaver.

    "And so you return, despite all your insistence that you would not," the titan smirked as she turned to face Victoria. Behind her was the corpse of the Matriarch Spider, still rigid and decaying.

    "Another successful prediction on your part," Victoria said flatly.

    "I don''t predict, dear. I understand."

    Victoria rolled her eyes. Her patience had grown increasingly thin with the titan. She was arrogant, selfish, and seemed to believe that the lives of others were her playthings to toy with as she pleased. These were all traits that Victoria despised in a person. Yet, she offered Victoria something she never knew she wanted so badly -- power. Even now, she felt as if she was betraying herself by admitting she desired it.

    "Let''s get this over with," Victoria said.

    "You''re certain, then?" The Dreamweaver asked, "you''ve made peace with all the strands of web that come attached?"

    In their last meeting, the Dreamweaver had admitted the true nature of the ritual with which she requested Victoria''s assistance. It wasn''t simply the final step for the titan to unlock new power, but was the first step on a path of ascension. A path that would lead the Dreamweaver beyond the upper reaches of mortality towards godhood. It would be years still before the titan could even begin to call herself a demigod, but this first step would make the beginning changes of that transition. As an active participate in the ascension, it would be the first step on a new path for Victoria as well -- the path to becoming a disciple of a new god.

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    "You''re nothing like what I hoped you would be," Victoria said bluntly, "but what you have to offer me is everything I hoped for and more."

    The titan smiled, "you may see this as a transaction right now, but in time you will come to see it for what it is -- a partnership."

    The Dreamweaver leapt into the air and landed atop the corpse of the Matriarch with a sickening crunch. Victoria now noticed that nearly every inch of the creature''s body had been marked with fine, intricate ritual sigils, each connected with spiraling lines to a large ritual circle surrounding where the titan now stood. Victoria was certain the markings had been drawn in blood.

    "As we discussed," the titan said, "there will be a battle between souls for dominance, and you will use your powers to tip the scales of this battle in my favor. Be careful that you yourself do not enter the crossfire."

    Victoria nodded in understanding. Though she outwardly remained calm, and inwardly sedated her thoughts with meditative techniques, her heart rate rose and her muscles tensed. The titan crouched and withdrew a dark crystal from her robes and placed it atop the spider corpse, and then stood high, held up her arms and began reciting a long and intricate chant in a long dead language. A gentle breeze passed through the trees, rustling leaves and hair. The Dreamweaver''s voice grew deep and layered, as if another soul had joined the chant. The skin beneath her collarbone in the center of her chest began to bulge, and then tear, before a purple crystal emerged from the flesh. It slowly traveled outwards, held back by strands of sinew, muscle and veins that wrapped around it, until it floated motionless in the restless air before her.

    The chanting continued. The dark crystal resting atop the spider''s corpse rose into the air to float before the titan as well. A shockwave shot through the forest, nearly knocking Victoria from her feet. Spectral spider legs erupted from the dark crystal and stabbed into the titan''s crystal, from within which a spectral hand erupted to grab hold of the spider¡¯s crystal. Victoria''s auravision activated against her will, and the true scene was unveiled. The aura of the Matriarch loomed over that of the titan, taking the form of its physical body. Its legs were impaling the body of the Dreamweaver, though the damage they caused was not to the flesh but the aura within.

    Victoria acted without thinking. She conjured three cards, the Empress, the Sun, and Judgement, and placed their effects on the Dreamweaver. Her effect was minimal, but the power of the two souls was equal, and she turned the tides of battle ever-so-slightly against the Matriarch. The wind blew heavy and howled, fluttering Victoria''s robes and hair as leaves began to rip from branches. Beams of moonlight pierced the canopy, illuminating the once dark forest in hues of purple and orange. The chanting continued.

    Something within Victoria told her she could handle more, that she could offer more of her strength and break the stalemate unfolding before her. She conjured a fourth card, the Tower, and then a fifth, the Devil. Placing the effects of both cards upon the Matriarch''s soul was enough for the Dreamweaver to go on the offensive. Her aura pulsed and pushed out the piercing legs of the spider before washing over the woods like a queen asserting her authority on the land. The wind howled so loudly it consumed Victoria''s thoughts. Her vision blurred and the cards floating before her began to burn at the edges with purple flames. Her knees buckled, and she collapsed.

    Her auravision failed and her eyes fell shut. The next moment was only blackness, followed by a glimpse of the Dreamweaver collapsing. The chanting had stopped. Blackness again, then a nightmarish visage of the Matriarch''s corpse dissolving into blood. An eternity of darkness from which Victoria was unsure she''d ever wake, and then a glimpse of light. A crystal was floating above the massive pool of blood, shining brightly as the moonlight glinted off its surface. The Dreamweaver''s bloodied body emerged from the pool, the head and arms were limp as she rose higher and higher. Where her legs should be, something else formed. A large, bulbous shape. Then something else -- the legs of a spider.

    Victoria forced her head off the ground to look up at the monstrosity rising before her. The legs of the spider extended, raising its body high into the air. Atop it was the Dreamweaver, identical from the waist up to as she had been before, but now merged from the waist down into the thorax of the giant spider''s body. The titan''s eyes cracked open and a smile crossed her face as she raised her hands to the sky and cackled a wicked laugh.

 150 - Abby Goes Shopping

    Two horrific realities of life on a pirate ship occurred Iris on the first morning she awoke in the crew quarters. The first was that sleeping in wasn''t an option, from the moment the first sunlight peaked through the portholes the pirates began their day. The second -- and much more horrifying -- was that there was nowhere private to change her clothes. As she sat up in her hammock and looked around, she saw pirates stripping and changing clothes liberally as if privacy weren''t a concern at all. This hadn''t been a problem the night before because she''d simply gone to sleep in her robes, mostly because a hammock on a pirate ship felt more akin to camping in the woods during an adventure than it did a restful evening at home. Now, as she awoke to start her day and it began to settle in that this was her new life, she realized she would need to get creative if she wanted any kind of comfort.

    Wearing the same robes for another day was simply out of the question. They had thoroughly dried from the previous day''s trip into the underwater realm before she had gone to bed, but they still smelled strongly of seawater and the stench her own sweat was beginning to break through as well. There was also the matter of Littletooth, who would be expecting breakfast soon. She supposed she could wait for the other pirates to leave for the day, but that would require missing the morning boats to the city and would only be a viable strategy until the Gaping Maw departed for its voyage. No, she needed a long term, viable plan to handle these inconveniences.

    Looking around the third deck brought no inspiration, there was really nothing but hammocks, gambling tables, and various kinds of chests, cabinets, crates and barrels for storing belongings and supplies. Her hammock was right next to the wall that separated the crew quarters from the infirmary that took up the bow portion of the deck, but the double doors that led into it were usually kept open, so that wouldn''t help her much. The galley was on the far side of the quarters, which itself wasn''t a massive inconvenience, but she couldn''t expect to get away with using the ship''s kitchen as a changing room and a place to feed her wyvern every morning -- even if her friend was the chef. She pursed her lips as she thought, then an idea so obvious came to mind that it made her feel stupid for not considering it sooner.

    She closed her eyes and focused on the senses of her awareness ability. First she felt her own hammock, and the thick hull of the ship just behind it, then her still snoring bunkmate in his hammock just below her. Next came the floor of the deck built from thick redwood planks, and then a gap. She reached further until she felt the outlines of what she assumed to be crates and barrels stacked atop each other, filling a vast space just below the crew quarters. She smiled and lay back in her hammock, pulling up the sides to hide herself from view and waiting until she sensed that no nearby pirates were facing in her direction. Then, she blipped.

    She landed with a thud atop a large crate on the dark deck below the quarters. There were no portholes letting in light or glow stone lanterns hanging from the ceiling. She pulled out her lantern for light and glanced around quickly, but saw no one. She thought to herself that this would do rather nicely, and blipped around until she found a nice nook behind a large stacks of crates near the bow, far away from the stairs at the stern which seemed to be the only entrance to the cargo hold. First she set out food and water for Littletooth before giving Abby the go-ahead to release him from the void. While he ate, she laid out a few different outfits to choose from, ultimately choosing the dark purple robes with a black wizard hat around which she tied a matching purple ribbon. After playing with Littletooth for a little while, she packed everything back up into her bottomless bag and blipped back to her hammock on the deck above.

    Dorragth shouted and stumbled back from where he''d been stretching beside the hammocks, "where did you come from?"

    Iris popped up out of the hammock and gave him a confused look, "I was here all night, did you already forget? We had a whole fight about it."

    He growled and stomped away.

    A short while later Iris was standing on the crowded top deck amongst all the other crewmembers awaiting the schooners that arrived each morning from the docks to ferry pirates to the Underbelly. Not everyone waited for the boats, however, with more than a few using flight or water surfing abilities to cross the lake themselves. Some of them just leapt off the ship into the water and outright swam to shore -- a feat that Iris was sure she couldn''t accomplish even with her level 10 stats. The more she looked around, the more faces she recognized. No small number of the adventurers she''d seen during her time in the region had apparently either been pirates all along, or had found their own way onto the Shark Titan''s crew.

    Her first priority upon reaching the docks was getting out of the Underbelly as quickly as possible. Though she could always play the "I''m on the Shark Titan''s crew now, if you hurt me he''ll eat you" card if the Fish Wizard found and confronted her, there was no guarantee that would work or that she would even have time to speak at all before he killed her or banished her to the ocean realm. The Fish Wizard had always been anything but a morning person, so she wasn''t overly concerned with encountering him this early, but she certainly didn''t want to increase the odds of it happening any more than necessary. She stuck to the boardwalks rather than blipping across roof tops to avoid drawing attention to herself, but still used the occasional blip to skip past thick crowds that blocked her path or open gaps where she''d be plainly visible. It wasn''t long before she was strolling through the gates of the city proper, chewing a bite from a fish skewer she had picked up from a food stand on the way.

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    Her mission today was simple, she had a long overdue promise to keep. Thanks to her share of the rewards from the Grantworth Lodge quest, she could finally to make a good on a commitment she''d previously failed to before spending all of her money on robes and hats -- it was finally time to take Abby shopping. First, however, she met up with Milo at the circular park in the shopping district as they had previously arranged.

    "Iris!" He shouted over the crowds when he saw, sprinting the distance between them to envelope her in a hug, "I was worried all night that the Fish Wizard was going to hunt you down! Or hunt me down, or hunt us both down. How are you? What''s the pirate ship like? I think yesterday was the most fun I''ve ever had, is adventuring always like that?"

    Iris laughed, "slow down, Milo. One question at a time."

    "Right," his cheeks flushed red, "sorry."

    As they walked, Iris explained what life on the ship was like while delicately dodging his questions about how long she would be staying the ship. Guilt ate her each time it came up, and she knew that sooner or later she''d need to tell him the truth, that she would be aboard the ship when it departed. She sighed, knowing it was probably better to do it sooner.

    "Iris?" he asked when he realized she wasn''t listening, "are you okay?"

    "Yeah, sorry," she smiled faintly, "just got lost in thought for a second."

    "Still trying to figure out what a tentacle monster from the void beyond reality would even want to buy?"

    "Yeah. It''d be way easier if she could talk."

    "I guess we could just kind of, hold her up towards different stores and see what kind of sounds she makes? Wait, can Abby see?"

    "I think?" Iris wondered, "I mean, she definitely knows where things are around her, but I still haven''t figured out exactly how. Maybe it works the way my awareness ability does."

    "Well, let''s experiment!" Milo grabbed her hand and pulled her along as he ran towards the nearest shop.

    They slowed to a stop in front of the leatherworker''s shop and Iris held the bottomless bag out and up towards the sign with both hands. The bag said nothing. Milo frowned, but Iris shrugged.

    "Let''s just take her in and see what happens," Iris suggested.

    It was the same shop from which Iris had purchased her leather armor pieces, at the recommendation of Eli. The shop stayed well stocked with various sizes of basic leather armor, holsters to hold various different kinds of sheaths across all different parts of the body, and "one-size-fits-most" adjustable saddles that promised to accommodate any four-legged mount. Iris remembered Eli mentioning that the saddles were serviceable, but that any adventurer worth their salt would want to invest in a custom molded saddle for their particular creature as soon as they could afford it.

    As they perused the aisles, Abby occasionally reached out with a tentacle to pick up a piece of gear, sometimes twisting it around and other times shaking it violently. She seemed to have a slight preference for the pieces with extraneous straps that flapped around as she twisted it, but one after another, she put the pieces back. After a while Iris sighed, and decided they should try a different shop. Abby showed no interest at all in the any of the clothing shops, only bothering once or twice to reach out and feel the fabric before retreating back to the void. She was much more excited by the wares of the specialty weapons shop, but seemed most interested in the objects that were hardly weapons at all, and after a half hour of perusing she ultimately selected nothing.

    "I have an idea," Milo said, "follow me."

    Milo led them to a small little shop on the second floor of a building, situated above a much more popular archery shop on the ground floor. This shop contained all sorts of tools and trinkets, from simple hammers to handheld puzzle boxes, scattered in loosely organized piles across the shelves. The moment Iris approached one of the shelves, Abby reached out and started sorting through the items. Most she discarded immediately, but she lingered on the puzzle boxes as she twisted the tip of her tentacle around to toy with the mechanisms. When they walked past what looked like a small telescope, the tentacle shot out, wrapped around it and pulled it into the void.

    "Abby, wait!" Iris hissed, "we have to pay for stuff!"

    She looked up sheepishly at the shopkeeper, who was eying her with an unhappy expression.

    "Sorry," she said with a forced smile, "how much is that?"

    "Five hundred gold," the shopkeeper said flatly.

    Iris''s eyes went wide, and she turned to whisper frantically at the bag on her waist, "Abby you have to put that back, we can''t afford it."

    Discordant roars emanated from the bag.

    "I''m serious, I literally don''t have enough gold to pay for that."

    The shopkeeper cleared his throat.

    "Just a minute!" Iris called over her shoulder, "don''t make me take it from you."

    Iris scoffed at the fluctuating tones which came from the void, "are you laughing at me?" she demanded.

    "How about a trade?" Milo suggested to the bag, holding out a small mechanical cube with a glass center.

    He demonstrated when the edges of the cube were twisted the glass lenses in the center were rotated and shifted, changing the sparkling pattern that projected out of it when light was shone through one side. Contemplative noises emanated from the void, and then a tentacle slowly returned the small telescope to the shelf before whipping to the side and snatching the cube from Milo''s hand.

    "That''ll be thirty gold," the shopkeeper piped up.

    Iris sighed. That was nearly all of her money.

 151 - New Mistakes and Old Consequences

    Iris and Milo enjoyed a leisurely lunch in the park. While they ate, Abby''s tentacle held up the lens cube to the sunlight and experimented with the different effects it could make. After lunch they spent the bulk of the day at Milo''s apartment, where Littletooth was released to roam free. It was a quaint place, tucked away in a narrow building with windows on only one side and just wide enough to accommodate a desk, a couch, and a bed in the back corner. It made sense to Iris that he spent most of his time in his shop at work rather than at home, but their intent had been to go somewhere Littletooth could run around and play and the machinery at the Badger seemed like a bad idea in that regard.

    As the sun grew low in the sky outside the window, Iris sighed.

    Milo looked up from her shoulder, where he leaned against her on the couch, "feel like telling me what''s wrong yet?"

    "I''m leaving soon," she said somberly.

    "That''s fine," Milo replied, "we''ll be seeing each other again in a few days, right?"

    Iris let out a long, deep breath, "No, I mean, I''m leaving the city. When the Shark Titan''s ship departs in a few weeks, I''ll be on board."

    "Oh," Milo''s voice was tinged with shock as he straightened up and pulled away from her, "you''re-- leaving."

    "Yeah," she almost whispered.

    "Why?"

    "Because that''s what adventurers do," she looked at him with genuine sadness in her eyes, "there''s too much out there to see, too much to do. I can''t stay in one place forever."

    "Yeah," he looked away, "of course."

    "Milo --" she hesitated, "surely you knew. You had to have known that I would leave one day."

    "Of course I knew," there was bitterness in his voice, "you never even meant to come here, of course you¡¯d leave. I just thought we''d have more time. I thought we had months, not weeks. Why did you wait so long to tell me?"

    "Because I didn''t know for sure yet," she said, "and-- because I was afraid to say it. I''ve been dreading this conversation since the moment it became a possibility. Even longer, really. Since the day we met I knew I''d have to leave."

    "It''s not fair!" Milo shot to his feet, "I''ve spent my whole life locked away in this city! I can''t even leave the walls without fear that something out there might kill and eat me. I walk the same streets every day, I slave away at my job, and I come home to this empty apartment and I wait for the next day to come. That''s been my whole life, Iris. Finally something good happens to me and in the blink of an eye it''s all going to sail away on a ship to never be seen again!"

    "You don''t know that--"

    "So you''re telling me you''ll come back?" He argued, "to this shitty town in the middle of an empty continent? Even if that''s true, how long will that be? Years? Decades?"

    Iris didn''t know what to say.

    Milo clenched his fists and turned away to hide the tears in his eyes, "just leave."

    "Milo--"

    "Go!" he shouted, "go have your adventures, that''s all you care about anyway."

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    She wiped the tears away from her eyes but more fell quickly after them, "fine," she whispered.

    She scooped Littletooth and Abby off the floor and blipped to the window, "I''ll-- I''ll come see you again before I go."

    Without waiting for a reply, she climbed out the window and blipped away.

    _____

    The evening winds were heavy and cool, and errant clouds passed leisurely in the darkening sky overhead. Iris ran across the roof tops as fast as she could, leaping and blipping across gaps as the wind wicked tears from her face. She was running away, even if nothing was chasing her. When she finally grew too tired to run she had crossed the entire city, and now found herself standing on the furthest roof top along the southeastern edge staring out across the moonlit lake. The Shark Titan''s ship rested far out on the waters, and she saw the last schooners of the evening sailing towards it. She didn''t care, in that moment it didn''t matter to her where she slept that night, only that she had outrun her problems as far she was able.

    It was her own fault, she knew that. She could have been more honest with Milo from the start, but it never felt like the right time to bring it up and she hadn¡¯t wanted to worry him about something that wasn''t even certain yet. It all had seemed like such a fanciful idea that she herself had trouble imagining it would actually work out, and that she would actually be sailing away on a pirate ship in just a few short weeks. Memories of old story books came to mind, the lives of the characters she grew up idolizing never seemed to change slowly. Things were always the same, until all almost at once they were different. So far, her life as an adventurer was going much the same way, and she knew she would somehow have to learn how to live a life that changes with the wind without hurting those around her.

    She sighed, deciding she would apologize to Milo in the morning. She could do it now, but she didn''t want to show up and apologize before immediately asking if she could sleep there because she missed the boats. No, she''d find a roof top somewhere to sleep on and find Milo in the morning, she deserved that much punishment, at least. Not now, though, she needed a walk. Not a blip across rooftops, but a real, regular walk, like she used to take back home. A blip brought her to the side walk below. She was in a residential part of town, and the streets were already quiet and empty. She walked slowly and solemnly, lost in thought and emotion. Her senses noticed someone on the sidewalk ahead of her, but she kept her head down and kept walking. It was only when she passed them that she looked up to see that no one was there. Errant glances around the street revealed nothing, and the shape she detected disappeared.

    She kept walking and turned down an alleyway to cut towards the center of the city. Maybe she''d make her way to the bar district and spend her last few coins on a drink, she mused. There were others in the alley. Her eyes shot up to see four shadowy figures standing in a line, blocking her path. She recalled the first time the thugs of this city had tried to rob her, and how thoroughly she had handled the situation even then. She was a lot stronger now, and a smile crossed her face. A fight might just be exactly what she needed.

    "I hope you brought knives this time," she called out, "I''m in the right mood for danger."

    She highly doubted it was the same thugs as last time, but she didn''t care. A good line was a good line.

    Two of the figures disappeared. Her eyes went wide when she realized they had powers. Shapes materialized behind her, and she whipped around as she drew her great sword. The shadow she aimed for stepped away and leaned back, narrowly dodging the swipe as a glint of moonlight reflected off a rounded brass mask. She blipped behind him and struck forward with the tip of her blade, but the shadow twisted and a swipe of its arm pushed her blade aside. Abby''s tentacle erupted from the bag and wrapped around the neck the second shadow, choking it tightly as she pulled it down to its knees. The robes of the figure collapsed under the crushing force of the tentacle as the person within disappeared.

    A kick from behind caught her wrist and knocked the sword from her grasp. Cold metal clasped tightly around her other wrist, which was soon grabbed and contorted behind her back along with her other arm, which was soon clasped as well. Someone kicked the back of her leg and knocked her to her knees. Her wizard hat was ripped from her hand and a dark hood was shoved down over her face to replace it.

    It was as if time didn''t pass until the hood was removed, and an instant later Iris was kneeling in a dark, featureless room. Before her were four figures, she couldn''t see them in the dark but she could feel them with her senses. Behind them and to the left a bird cage hung from the ceiling and in it was her bottomless bag. The figures kept a wide berth from the cage as Abby''s tentacle reached through the bars, whipping around frantically in futile attempts to reach them.

    "Iris Orion," one of the figures spoke, "you have something that Morose desires."

 152 - Others of the Void

    One of the men approached and crouched in front of Iris, tilting his head at her like a curious dog. It was too dark for her to see him even now, but her awareness told her where he was and how he moved. She could sense his robes and the flesh beneath them, and the metal mask with a carved frown and empty eye sockets. The space behind his mask, however, felt empty. Her awareness detected no flesh or even air where his head should be, instead she felt only his neck as it extended upwards into nothingness -- into void.

    "You''re not as afraid as I expected," the man observed in a monotonous voice.

    "I have a dysfunctional sense of danger," Iris said nonchalantly.

    "How about your sense of pain?"

    He moved fast. Her instincts tried to blip but the handcuffs anchored her to physical reality and her mana drained for nothing as the man''s fist crashed into her jaw and knocked her to the ground. He stood and kicked her in the gut, forcing a wheezing grunt from her lungs. Abby''s birdcage rattled as the flailing of her tentacle grew more violent. Iris braced for the next strike, but it didn''t come.

    "Where is the wyvern egg?" the man asked as he used the toe of his boot to push her over onto her back.

    It filled her with momentary panic to learn this was about Littletooth, launching her mind into a battle between worries and logical thoughts. The good news was that the man''s strength told her he couldn''t be more than a low level champion, and she tried to push away the thoughts of what might happen to Littletooth if she couldn''t escape to instead focus on thoughts about how she was going to fight back.

    "We know you have the egg," he kicked her again, and she was pretty sure a rib cracked, "Morose demands their property."

    Iris said nothing as the shrouded man loomed over her. She wanted to reply with a quip or somehow stall for time, but her thoughts were racing too quickly to compile a plan.

    He crouched over her, "this is your last chance to produce the egg."

    "Or what?" she spat. An idea occurred to her -- not quite a plan, but at least an action.

    He half-glanced over his shoulder to speak to one of the other men, "cut your way through the aberration and search the bag."

    The figure closest to Abby''s cage drew a dagger so long it was almost a short sword, and turned his attention to the flailing tentacle.

    "Wait!" she shouted, "you heard the man, Abby. Hit him with an egg."

    The tentacle paused for a moment, then rapidly withdrew into the void. A second later it returned clutching a medium sized egg, one of many that Autumn had Iris keep in stock for omelets, and threw it at the crouched man''s head. He reached back and caught it, but it shattered on impact and splattered him with goop. Iris twisted on the floor until her cuffed hands were facing Abby. As she hoped, the handcuffs kept her anchored and unable to enter the void, but didn''t stop her from blipping other objects or entities. The bottomless bag blipped out of the cage and appeared amongst the trio of men at the back of the room. The tentacle whipped around and struck one of the men in the face, staggering him backwards as the bag dropped to the floor. Abby swept her tentacle across the floor and knocked his feet out from under him, toppling him to his back.

    The man closest to Iris, presumably the leader, reached out for her neck. She rolled away and twisted onto her feet, stumbling back until she hit the wall behind her. He was already upon her, fist reared back to strike. The wooden wall buckled under the strike as she ducked under it and dove forward, kicking off the wall for extra force. Her shoulder caught the man hard in the center of his abdomen, but he responded by reaching down to grab her by the throat and shove her back against the wall.

    "Stick!" she wheezed as loud as she could.

    The tentacle withdrew into the bag as two of the men converged on it. It returned wielding Iris''s enchanted walking stick, which it whipped around and slapped against the mask of the dagger wielding man. An eruption of force exploded from the stick and flung the man backwards, driving him head first into a wall that splintered from the impact. The dagger flew from his hand and landed within reach of the tentacle. Abby tossed the walking stick into the air and reached out to curl her tentacle around the handle of the dagger.

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    Iris twisted just enough extend her cuffed hands around the small of her back and blip the stick into her grasp. She had no leverage for an attack on the man who was choking her, but she didn''t need it. A careful positioning of the staff pointed one end at the chain connecting her cuffs, and a pump of mana exploded force from it that shattered the chain and shoved her forward. The pressure of being pushed against the man''s hand threatened to crush her throat, but he faltered in shock and his elbow buckled. She was thrown forward into him and they both toppled to the ground.

    Abby''s tentacle whipped around with the dagger and sliced the calf muscle of the man she had tripped just as he climbed to his feet, instantly dropping him back to the ground as his leg gave out beneath him. The last man on his feet reached out and caught the tentacle as it drove the dagger towards him, and then both he and Abby disappeared. Iris sensed the disappearance of matter looked up in shock to search for Abby even though she could see nothing in the darkness, distracting her from the assailant she wrestled on the floor.

    "Abby!" she shouted.

    The man she struggled to pin to the floor grabbed her by the hair and forced her to face him. She saw nothing, but she sensed the once hollow sockets in his mask where now small, floating spheres appeared within the void behind the mask. Her eyes refused to close, they were locked with the eyes of the man in the darkness, and a horrible sensation of helplessness washed over her.

    "You will obey," he instructed.

    The man Abby had thrown against a wall was recovering consciousness, he glanced around the room and shouted something at the crippled man clutching his bloody leg. The only words Iris could make out from the response were "the fool took it to the void!" The two men vanished, leaving only Iris and the assailant who now held her mind in his grasp.

    "Stand," he instructed.

    She climbed off of him and rose to her feet, her eyes maintaining contact with his throughout the motion. She fought with every ounce of her willpower to look away, or to raise a hand to strike, but she could do nothing. Her mind still worked, however, and questions raced through her mind. Where was Abby? Were the other men chasing after her? Why hadn''t this one used his hypnotism from the start? There must be a reason.

    "You will answer my questions," the man said.

    That command felt different than the others.

    "Does your aberration possess the egg?"

    "Oooohh," Iris said, her voice monotonous as the usual mannerisms were absent from her motionless face, "so that''s the catch. You can control how I move, but can''t force me to answer your questions."

    He grabbed her by the throat once more, "you''ll find I can very much force you to answer."

    "Can you, though?" she croaked as his hand clenched.

    There was a flash of matter -- for only an instant, Iris sensed the room was full of tentacles originating from a bulbous mass. One of the cloaked men was slammed against the wall, while another was constricted at the waist until his bones crunched. The third man was held by a tentacle wrapped around his head, his body limp as he was whipped around. Then it all disappeared again.

    "I don''t think--" Iris forced out the words, "fighting Abby in the void-- was a good idea," she would smile if she had control of her own face.

    The man squeezed tighter. It felt as if he might rip her throat from her neck with only his fingers.

    Another flash of matter. The man with a bloody leg was slammed into the floor, crushing the planks into a crater. The man with a crushed torso was tossed aside limply, and the final man was suspended in the air with his arms and legs held by tentacles, as another tentacle rapidly drove the long dagger in and out of his gut. The corpses of the two men on the floor were left behind when the tentacles disappeared again with their remaining victim.

    The man in front of Iris snapped his head towards the bodies of his allies in surprise, freeing Iris from his spell. She reached out and blipped the walking stick into her hand, pressed the tip against his extended elbow, and released as much force as she could. He shouted in agony as his bones buckled under the force, his hand releasing her neck as the mangled arm twisted limply from the blast. She hadn''t even realized he was holding her off the ground, but she now dropped to her feet and blipped across the room.

    The tentacles appeared again. The bloodied corpse of the man Abby had stabbed was thrown into the last man standing, knocking him back against the wall. The tentacles disappeared again, and then the bottomless bag appeared on the ground before Iris. There was no time to question it, she blipped the bag into her hand and placed it at her waist, dropped her walking stick into the void, and focused her awareness on the other side of the wall. She felt moving air -- wind. Just before she blipped to the other side, something large and fast entered her awareness and she instead blipped to the side to dodge it.

    A man crashed through the thick plank walls as if they were twigs and moonlight spilled in from the outside as wind howled past the gap in the wall. They were high in a tower, higher than any building in the city other than one. What were they doing here, she wondered for an instant. The man landed deftly on his feet, folding large feathery wings behind his back. Iris recognized the distinctive scar on his face -- it was Commander Bridge, of the Adventuring Corps.

 153 - The Strength of a Titan

    The last remaining Agent of Morose stepped up to face the titan. His posture was unreadable and his face unseen behind the frowning mask. Commander Bridge, however, let his emotions clearly show.

    "Your demigod will answer before the Empire for this," he growled, "you''ve interfered for the last time."

    "Morose answers to none," the agent replied.

    The titan moved. In a flash, his was standing inches from the man with his hand clasp around the mask. He ripped the mask away, revealing a man with downward arcs tattooed on either side of his mouth in a permanent frown. The commander stared into the agent''s eyes as he clenched his fist and shattered the mask. The agent flinched, but said nothing.

    "Tell your boss -- and your demigod -- I''ll fight them both if we cross paths again."

    The commander slammed a palm into the agent''s chest, flinging him back against the wall where he collapsed into an unconscious heap on the floor. The titan then turned to face Iris, who was lingering by the opening in the wall.

    "This isn''t how I planned on starting this conversation," he said, "but you and I need to talk."

    Iris absent-mindedly stepped up to the edge of the opening. Her Fearless Resolve feat only went so far, and right now every fiber of her being was screaming for her to run.

    "Don''t do that," the commander said with a tired voice.

    Iris blipped into the open air, plummeting past the countless floors of the Giantrock Governmental Complex as the city below raced towards her. When she grew close to the rooftops, she blipped again, redirecting her momentum horizontally to fling herself out over the city. Her landing was harsh and fast, but she rolled through and broke out into a sprint across the shingled rooftop. Blip after blip carried her across the city faster than ever before even as she sucked in desperate, ragged breaths through her bruised throat. Enough time passed that a feeling of security began to creep up on her, and she started to wonder if she had really escaped.

    A winged shadow passed over her and across the rooftop that stretched out in front of her. She whipped her head around to see the commander, carried by his giant feathered wings, swooping down at her. She blipped, but a slight twitch of his wings adjusted the commander''s flight to meet her. His outstretched hand grabbed her by the back of her collar and a flap of his wings lifted her feet from the rooftop. The seams of her robes bit into her flesh was she was hoisted into the air, and she frantically reached up to grab hold of his arm -- not to attempt to break free, but support some of her weight as he carried her off into the distance.

    Her stomach churned as he angled his wings and dipped down over the edge of the city, swooping over the bay and bringing her low enough that her feet almost dragged across the water. He released her as they approached the beach, dropping her into a painful tumble across the sands. She finished her tumble and frantically scrambled to her feet at about the same time the titan completed a tight circle overhead and landed on the beach with a crunch of sand.

    He tucked his wings behind his back as he spoke, "don''t try to teleport, it won''t take you far enough."

    Her heart was racing in her chest. Too much was happening too fast. Her eyes locked on the Gaping Maw in the distance behind the titan, and hope fluttered in her chest.

    Commander Bridge followed her gaze, then looked back at her and shook his head slightly, "the Shark Titan won''t be helping you. My business with you supersedes his right to defend his crew."

    "What do you want?" she asked with a cracking voice.

    "I want the egg. I know you have it."

    "Y-You''re wrong! I got rid of it!"

    "Where?"

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    "I sold it!" she grasped at a cover story, "to a guy in the underbelly. The Fish Wizard!"

    The commander shook his head and chuckled, "no you didn''t. He''s foolish enough for something like that, but he''d have no interest in a wyvern."

    She swore internally, wondering if all titans knew each other.

    The commander took a meandering step towards her, "I generally consider myself one of the good guys, but I''ve had a really long month or two."

    Iris took an involuntary step back, the threat behind his words not lost on her. She reached for her bag, and suddenly he was upon her and his hand was grasping her wrist. He didn''t squeeze tightly, but his grip was unmovable. She tried to pull away but it was as if she were being held by a statue.

    "You should cooperate. I can crush you with less effort than it takes to speak."

    Iris swallowed her fear, but that only left room for helplessness to settle in. She was squirrely enough to play ball with champions, even if the odds were always stacked against her, but it was obvious she stood no chance against a titan. Tears had already formed in her eyes and were soon dripping down her cheeks. Littletooth wasn''t just a pet, he was her responsibility -- and her friend. She couldn''t just let him go.

    The titan moved her arm out of the way and reached for the bag with his other hand. She tried to stop him, but her strength was nothing compared to his. He pulled the bag from her waist, the stretching drawstrings clinging to her belt until they were finally ripped free and snapped back to their normal length. He continued holding her arm in place as he brought the bag up towards his face to inspect it. Iris guessed Abby knew better than to attack him, as the bag remained shut with the tentacle tucked away in the void.

    He glanced at the fear and worry on her face, "it''s in here, isn''t it? I could tear it open and find out."

    "Stop!" she screamed, then broke into a sob. After a few seconds she collected herself with a deep, sputtering breath, "just stop. I''ll tell you everything."

    He dropped her arm and stepped back, still clutching the bottomless bag as he watched her expectedly. Her shoulders slumped, and she sobbed some more before she could speak again.

    "The egg hatched," she almost whispered, "Abby and I-- Abby''s the bag. We''ve been caring for the baby."

    "Show me," the titan commanded.

    Iris looked up in fear, but soon accepted the inevitable, "Abby, go ahead. Let him out."

    The bag didn''t react for moment, then slowly loosened itself open. A chorus of loud, discordant roars escaped from the void like cries of agony, and a tentacle rose up from the void wrapped around a struggling Littletooth. The baby wyvern froze when he saw the titan, and then looked around in confusion at his surroundings. When he saw Iris, he started flapping his wings and peddling his feet as if trying to move towards her. Abby quickly withdrew the wyvern back into the void and cinched herself tightly closed.

    "This--" the titan sighed, "this is unfortunate."

    "What are you going to do to him?" Iris asked through tears.

    "An imprinted wyvern is worthless," he said, his intimidating tone replaced with tired apathy. He tossed the bag into her chest, and she caught it in both arms with a shocked expression. He shook his head and rubbed his temples, "separating it from you now would only create a feral pain in the ass."

    "What--" she faltered, "then what are you going to do to me?"

    "I never should have come back to this place," he rolled his head back to sky and sighed again as he placed his hands in his pockets, "nothing good ever happens to me in Giantrock."

    Iris was confused by the shift in his demeanor. He had turned from a shocking, unfathomable force to just a tired, disappointed man lost in his own thoughts. It seemed better not to interrupt him, so she simply stayed quiet.

    He absent-mindedly paced across the sand for a moment, then pointed at Iris without looking at her, "you owe me a debt that a person of your rank cannot possibly repay. I''ve pissed off a god -- or a demigod, at least -- to get my hands on that egg."

    "What''s all this about?" she dared to ask, "why is this wyvern so important?"

    "It''s not about the wyvern. It''s about the deals that were in place for the egg. A very rich, very powerful person wanted it, and they hired me to retrieve it. A lot of powerful forces were counting on this deal going through -- myself, the Mayor General, Morose for reasons only they know. And now because of you, we''re all shit out of luck."

    Iris gulped, "how do I fix this?"

    "You don''t," the commander looked at her with what she almost thought was pity, "in my case, I''ll come calling when you''re stronger -- if you live that long. You''ll be repay me when you''re able. The Mayor General, and by extension the Empire, has more pressing concerns right now."

    "And Morose?" she asked, "that''s the demigod you keep talking about, right?"

    The commander nodded, "yeah, good luck with that one." He unfurled his wings.

    "Wait!" Iris shouted, "you can''t just leave! What if more of those guys come after me?"

    He shrugged and kicked off the sand, his flapping wings carrying him into the night sky.

    "You bastard!" she shouted, "you can''t just-- UGH!"

    The bag loosened in her arms, and Littletooth poked his head out curiously. Iris looked down at him, and despite her circumstances, she smiled.

    "We''ve really dug a hole for ourselves this time, haven''t we?" she asked.

    Littletooth chirped quizzically, and somber but harmonizing tones emanated from the void.

 154 - My Mother Named Me

    Iris was nestled between two large redwood roots, sitting on the ground and leaning against the trunk of the tree. Her chest and throat hurt with every breath, and her wrists were growing sore from the remains of the broken cuffs that still clung to either wrist. Her eyes were deeply bloodshot, and her hair was a tangled mess. She was without her sword, and had lost one of her hats as well, but kept reminding herself to just be glad she still had Littletooth and that she was even still alive.

    There was no way to reach the Gaping Maw on her own, she would have to wait until the schooners arrived at the docks in the morning. In the meantime, the Underbelly was anything but a safe place for her to be with the lingering threat of the Fish Wizard and what she imagined must be his vengeful wrath. For the same reason, she stayed clear of the lake or other water sources, having no desire to encounter him near his home turf. The city proper was also out of the question, as she imagined no small chance of encountering more shadowy followers of Morose if she returned so soon. There was, of course, always the possibility that either of these threats would come looking for her in the forest, but for now this was the best plan she had.

    She wasn''t sure why she was still crying. The pain was bad, but she had been through much worse. The threat of losing Littletooth, and maybe even Abby in the process, had thoroughly destroyed her nerves, but that threat had at least subsided for the moment. There were concerning questions about Abby and the void swirling around the back of her mind that she would want answers to soon, but they were far from the most pressing issues at the moment. Then there was Milo, and how thoroughly she had fucked things up with him.

    Her head hit the trunk of the tree a little too hard as she tossed it back in frustration and regret as she whispered to herself, "you''re a fucking idiot, Iris."

    That was the reason she was crying, it was obvious now. The guilt of being a fool -- of making mistake after mistake that were all so clear in hindsight, yet she kept failing to avoid. She knew she had no right to have made it this far, to have survived so many times when the odds were in favor of her death -- to have fucked up so many things and keep getting away with it. For the first time in her life, she considered that maybe she would have been better off if she had stayed trapped in her village as a regular nobody. What was the point of being an adventurer if she was so bad at it?

    She thumped her head back against the tree multiple times as she chastised herself aloud, "grow the fuck up, Iris."

    "You shouldn''t be so hard on yourself," a familiar voice spoke, "I''ve always thought growing up was overrated."

    Iris''s eyes shot open, and pain shot through her body as she moved too quickly in an attempt to stand. She clutched her chest where her ribs had been cracked, winced in agony and slumped back against the tree. With an involuntary groan, she forced open her eyes and looked at her visitor. It was her mother, clad in silver robes and wielding a tall wizard''s staff with a pearlescent orb at the top.

    "Mom?" Iris asked in a daze.

    The woman laughed, "I''m afraid not, I have a feeling you''re a long way from your mother right now. My name is Mary Orion, it''s nice to finally meet you, Iris."

    "You--" Iris faltered as she inspected the woman more closely. Her features were softer and rounder than Iris remembered, and the skin was smooth on her left brow where there had always been a scar. Iris remembered it vividly, as her mother had made up a different fantastical story to explain it each time a young Iris had asked how she got it. She had guessed the reason for the discrepancies by now, but still needed to hear it out loud,  "what year is it?"

    "For you? I''m not sure," Mary said, "maybe you should stop hitting your head on that tree, I think you''ve been through enough tonight."

    "No, what year is it for you?"

    "971."

    It was year 997. This wasn''t her mother -- not yet -- but it was woman would become her mother one day. The last journal entry Iris had read from her mother was from the year 969, placing this version of her mom two years later, but still eight years before Iris would be born. A pit of mourning grew in her stomach that her mother wasn¡¯t truly still alive, but she ignored it in favor of the joy of having a chance to speak to her again at all ¨C no matter the details.

    "Did you ever make it to the Veiled Catacombs?" Iris croaked, her voice cracking from the damage to her throat.

    "So you''ve been reading my journal entries, after all," Mary laughed again, and shook her head absently as she recalled old memories, "Wow, that feels like so long ago now. But yeah, I did. "

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    "What happened? What''s your quest about anyway? I want to know everything--"

    Mary smiled apologetically, "if you don''t know yet, it means you don''t have those pages yet, and you''ll never catch me spoiling the end of a good book."

    Iris smiled back weakly, those were the same words her mother always said when she would ask how a storybook ends before it was over. She nodded in acceptance, "why are you here? Why now?"

    She shrugged and laughed, "I wish I knew, I don''t get to control these things though. I just kind of show up places and react to what''s happening."

    "I know the feeling," Iris said, wincing a little as she laughed.

    "Oh!" Mary almost shouted, "here, let me get that."

    With a proud smile and exaggerated flourish, Mary reached down with the wizard staff and tapped Iris on the shoulder with the orb. Healing energy rushed throughout her body, and the pain of her injuries dulled. The sensations were astronomically more gentle than Titus''s healing magic.

    "I just got the Thread of Life," Mary beamed proudly, "I wouldn''t move yet, if I were you. It''ll take about ten minutes for everything to reverse."

    "Reverse?" Iris asked.

    "Yep. That little ability is called Reverse Injury. It isolates the parts of your body that are damaged and reverses them through time until it''s like they never happened."

    "That''s so cool," Iris replied, "that''s how threads of Time and Life combine? What else can you do? Can you make people age in reverse? Is that why you look so young?"

    "Hey!" Mary replied in mock offense, "I''m pretty sure I''m older than you, thank you. And no-- that''s the only Life ability I''ve gotten so far, other than the evolved Special Ability that''s allowing me to be here this long in the first place."

    "Oh! Tell me how that one works!"

    Mary chuckled and shook her head, "I''m afraid there''s not enough time for that. I can linger much longer than I could before, but our time is still running short."

    "You can''t leave!" Iris shouted a little too loudly, "I''ve waited so long to talk to you!"

    Mary crouched in front of her and smiled apologetically, "this won''t be the last time we speak, I promise. For now, though, I have a gift for you -- speaking of gifts, how''s that walking stick serving you?"

    "It''s already saved my life more times than I can count," Iris said.

    "Good, I''m glad it''s getting good use. Here," Mary pulled out a necklace and held it by the chain as she dropped the locket to dangle below her hand, "I''ve been dabbling in enchantment recently, and something tells me this will come in handy."

    Iris slowly reached out for the necklace, accepting it as her mother gently lowered it into her hand.

    "Once a year, you can use this locket to revert time by ten minutes."

    "Whoa," Iris whispered as she stared at the locket in wonder.

    "It only has three uses," Mary said as she rose to her feet, "and you have to leave it out in the moonlight on the winter solstice to recharge it. With any luck, though, it''ll come in handy when you need it most."

    "I wish I had this sooner, I have a habit of making bad decisions," Iris said quietly, averting her eyes.

    "Let me guess, you''ve been sitting here beating yourself up because you made a few mistakes and think you''re the worst adventurer there''s ever been?"

    "Yeah, basically," Iris admitted.

    "Who''s the best adventurer you know? Don''t ask questions, just answer."

    "Eli, easily," Iris replied, "he''s the leader of my party, and he always knows what to do."

    "He''s a fuck up."

    "What?" Iris was taken aback.

    "Yeah, he''s a fuck up. Guaranteed, he''s constantly making mistakes. That''s the trick, everyone, everywhere, all the time, is always fucking up. There''s always a better way that every single thing could have been done, and people who think they''re actually getting stuff right? They''re just fuck ups who don''t know any better yet. " Mary pointed an accusing finger at Iris, "and you have the audacity to blame yourself for doing the same thing that everyone else is doing. You think you''re special enough that you shouldn''t be allowed to fuck up, that you should be perfect or not be anything at all. Am I barking up the right tree?"

    "Y-yeah," Iris said, not even sure what emotions she should feel.

    Mary offered a gentle smile, "I thought so. You remind me a lot of myself. That speech isn''t mine, I stole it from a friend of mine. He gave it to me when I needed to hear it most -- when I was sitting alone in the dark hating myself just like you are now. And you know what he told me next?"

    "What?"

    "Get over yourself, kid. We''ve got shit to do."

    The tension broke when Iris burst into laughter. Mary joined in with a laugh that sounded just the same, and for a moment as the laughter faded, they shared the same smile.

    Mary grew somber as the wind blew, turning her head as if looking at something Iris couldn''t see, "there are dark days on the horizon, Iris, for you and me both. You¡¯ll need to get a lot stronger to handle what¡¯s coming. We¡¯re just small cogs in a much larger machine, but we have our roles to play.¡±

    ¡°What do you mean? What¡¯s going to happen?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s all I can say for now. It''s time for me to go."

    "Wait!" Iris shouted, grunting as she climbed to climb to her feet.

    "You shouldn''t move--" Mary''s words were cut short by Iris slamming into her and wrapping her in a tight hug. She was caught off guard by the hug, but smiled and hesitantly returned it.

    "I''ll miss you," Iris whispered through tears.

    Mary smirked curiously as she withdrew from the hug, "you''re a weird one, Iris."

    Iris noticed she could now see through her mother''s body as if it were translucent, not unlike Victoria''s spectral form but without the wisps of magic around the edges. She was rapidly fading away, and Iris quickly guessed they only had seconds left.

    "It¡¯s Iris Orion," Iris smiled, "my mother named me Iris Orion."

    Mary''s eyes went wide, "wait--"

    She was gone.

 155 - Once Again Awaking in the Forest

    Iris cracked open her eyes with a groan and a stretch. She lay awkwardly sprawled at the base of a redwood, and hints of the morning sun peeked through the canopy. She noticed the first reddening leaves, and a gentle breeze carried a few loose ones in their wake. She smiled sadly that she would miss her chance to see the forest in its full fall colors ¨C all the more reason to visit again one day, she thought. Pushing herself up on into a sitting position, she scooted back against the trunk and started pulling things out of her bag. First was Littletooth''s bowls, then food and water which she placed into them, and finally Littletooth himself who readily set upon devouring his breakfast.

    Iris rolled her shoulders, took a few deep breaths, and gently massaged her throat. There was no semblance of injuries from the night before, though the memories still flashed through her mind with more intensity than she would have liked. The memories speaking to her mother came next, however, and brought a smile to her lips as her hand drifted to the enchanted locket she now wore around her neck. Another almost-death added to the list in exchange for a conversation with her mother she never thought she''d get to have was a worthy trade.

    Iris pulled her journal from bag and immediately checked for a newly revealed entry from her mother. She was slightly disappointed not to find one, but was more than satisfied with the interaction she had gotten. Next she checked her stats, and found that she had leveled up.

    IRIS ORION

    Hero Rank, Level 11

    Experience Points: 3100 / 9420

    Progress to next level: 32.90%

    Recent Accomplishments:

    Champion Slain: bonus experience 7,500 awarded

    Champion Slain: bonus experience 5,000 awarded

    Champion Slain: bonus experience 2,500 awarded

    So Abby had killed those three shadowy figures, after all. She angled a wary glance at the innocuous purple bag resting on the ground beside her. The bag had held secrets from the day she first found it -- or the day it first found her, Iris wasn''t certain anymore -- but the more Abby revealed of herself, the more questions Iris had. She could only assume, at this point, that Abby was a creature of the void, but that flew in the face of everything she thought she knew about the void. There shouldn''t be anything there, that just wasn''t how the void was supposed to work. It wasn''t like she had any proper educated on the matter, as the Giantrock Library had precious little reference to the void at all, but her knowledge came first hand, from personal experience with the void and how it felt. Her Thread of the Void had granted her intuitive understanding of the void as a realm so empty that emptiness itself did not exist, and yet the same source of that power had seemingly bestowed upon her a creature which defied that very nature.

    "Can I-- can I trust you?" she asked abruptly.

    Littletooth didn''t look away from his food bowl. Abby was still for an instant, then twisted in place as if to turn to Iris in surprise. A gentle harmony like a soft wind matching ocean waves emanated from the void within the bag.

    Iris nodded, "those men that you killed, they tried to fight you in the void?"

    Another affirmative harmony came from the void, though this one was tainted with anger.

    "How does that even work?" Iris asked, "how does anything work in the void?"

    Abby was still for a moment, then raised her drawstrings in a shrug.

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    Iris laughed a little at the gesture, then grew more serious, "you''re a lot more powerful than I first guessed, aren''t you?"

    Abby released another affirmative harmony, this one vaguely foreboding as if it carried with it a warning.

    "I guess I''m glad you''re on my side, then."

    The drawstrings reached out towards Iris, grabbed hold of her belt, and pulled Abby close.

    Iris drifted her attention back towards the journal. Another matter that plagued her thoughts and worries was the men who had attacked her -- followers of Morose, she assumed. Their powers had something to do with the void, that much was certain, but it raised many questions. Did every follower of Morose have void powers? Or had they simply sent those who did after her? Cuffs still bound her wrists, even though the chain was snapped in two, and they had completely negated her Spatial Distortion ability. Would they do the same to the Emergency Exit trait of the ability, that would suck her away from danger in the event of imminent death? In either case, she suspected these weren''t the only cuffs of their nature in existence, and noted that she would need to be more careful not to be bound in a similar way again.

    There was also the matter of the decreasing bonus experience she had received for each subsequent killing of a Champion. Even the highest bonus had been significantly less than the bonus she had received upon defeating the shock wizard. She assumed the trend would continue, if she received any more bonuses for slaying champions at all after this point, but she didn''t find herself that upset by the development. More experience was always good, but the less incentivized she was to go around killing people, the better she would feel.

    Though her mind and body were full of many emotions, both fresh and lingering and all hard to make sense of, one sensation was glaring. Powerlessness, weakness, the absolute immobility and loss of autonomy she had felt when a titan had simply clasped his fingers around her wrist. She never wanted to feel that way again, so with great certainty she committed all five of her available attribute points to Strength and resolved to return her focus to the stat going forward.

    Attribute Scores:

    - Vitality : 38

    - Strength : 49

    - Speed : 33

    - Intellect : 37

    - Spirit : 48

    Unspent attribute points : 0

    Iris and Littletooth both snapped their heads up to meet the sounds of claws scratching against bark overhead. High above, a giant squirrel was sprinting through the canopy, running along branches and leaping across gaps. Hot on its heels was a griffin, digging talons into trunks as she kicked off with the agility of a cat in pursuit of its prey.

    "Glimmer!" Iris shouted as she shot to her feet and waved.

    The griffin lingered for a second longer upon her next landed, twisting her eagle-like head down to spot Iris. She kicked off, but this time not in the direction of her prey. Instead, she leapt in Iris''s general direction, spread her wings and glided down to land heavily a few yards away. She trotted over and greeted Iris by nuzzling her head into Iris''s chest.

    "Hey girl," Iris smiled, "fancy seeing you out here."

    Glimmer pulled back slightly and chirped happily, then twisted her head abruptly as she noticed the baby wyvern cowering and quivering behind Iris''s ankles.

    "Oh right," Iris said, "I guess you haven''t met."

    She crouched down and scooped up the wyvern into her arms, holding him up for Glimmer to inspect, "Glimmer, this is Littletooth. Littletooth, Glimmer."

    Littletooth wanted no part in the introductions, and did his best to hide his face amongst the folds of Iris''s robe. Glimmer sniffed at the wyvern curiously, then gently opened her beak.

    "No!" Iris scolded, "not food! Friend!"

    Glimmer snapped her beak closed and looked away in either disappointment or shame, and for a moment she longingly looked after the squirrel she had been chasing. Iris took the opportunity to stuff Littletooth back into her bottomless bag, then picked up her things scattered around and did the same with those.

    "Hey," she asked, "think you could take me to the Gaping Maw?"

    Glimmer twisted around and angled her head at Iris in confusion.

    "The big boat?" she pointed through the woods in the direction of the lake, "where Eli is?"

    Glimmer chirped in what Iris hoped was understanding, and promptly angled herself for Iris to climb on. She wasn''t wearing a saddle or any kind of reins, and Iris had also never properly ridden her before, but none of that frightened her. With a blip, she appeared on Glimmer''s back.

    "Okay, I''m new to this, so take it slo- AAHHH!"

    Glimmer launched forward with a pounce that led into a sprint as Iris threw herself forward to wrap her arms around Glimmer''s neck. She couldn''t reach around far enough for her hands to meet, so instead she squeezed her arms tightly against the griffin and buried her face in feathers to muffle her screams. After a few moments of a truly terrifying, tumultuous ride through the forest, her weight was pressed down into Glimmer as the griffin leapt high into the air. Wings unfurled and flapped, and Iris opened her eyes to see the beach shrinking away below her. She looked out past Glimmer''s outstretched beak and saw the fluttering flag of the Gaping Maw in the distance.

 156 - Panic Catches Up

    The arrival of an unexpected griffin clattering her talons across the deck of the Gaping Maw was not a welcome one. Pirates across the main deck drew their weapons, more flooded up from the lower decks, and the Shark Titan stepped out of his quarters with a few heavy stomps. Iris blipped off of Glimmer''s back and appeared on the deck on her hands and knees, fighting the urge to throw up as she desperately held up a hand to assure the pirates it was okay. It hadn''t been the height that had turned her stomach, but the superfluous rolling maneuver Glimmer had pulled during her descent towards the ship.

    "She''s with us!" Eli shouted as he ran along the length of the deck, "it¡¯s okay! Don''t shoot!"

    The pirates parted with judgmental expressions as Eli pushed through them and stopped in front of Iris and Glimmer, "Iris, what the hell?" he said as he caught his breath.

    "Back to your business!" The captain shouted in an annoyed tone before stepping back into his quarters.

    Eli glanced over his shoulder at the captain, then crouched to help Iris to her feet, "what this is about? I told you we''re not supposed to be making scenes here, first the fight and now thi-- Iris?" He noticed her bloodshot eyes as she looked up at him, "Iris, what''s wrong?"

    She was fighting back sudden tears that she hadn''t expected, "I need to tell you some things."

    "Okay," Eli said softly, glancing around at the other pirates on the deck as they prepared to board the morning ferries to the docks, "go find Autumn in the galley, I''ll see Glimmer off and then come straight down."

    Iris nodded and hurried off towards the stern, keeping her eyes on her feet to avoid the stares of pirates. She blipped down the stairs and ducked into the galley as quickly as possible, taking a quivering breath as she shut the door behind her. She was full of fear that came from nowhere, her veins felt hollow and her chest felt heavy. Somehow her situation felt more real than ever, while the world around her felt distant and cold. Reality returned to her, along with a gracious relief from the sourceless panic, when she noticed the commotion in the galley.

    "but food doesn''t touch the counter," Killup the Gargoyle was protesting something, "food goes in the bowls and pans and pots, Killup''s feet go on the counter, not in the bowls and pans and pots."

    "It''s still unsanitary," Autumn said in a more frustrating tone than Iris had ever heard from her, "look, what is this, right here?" she pointed at a spot on the counter.

    "Wood?" Killup asked.

    "No!" Autumn shouted, "that! Right there! It''s a dirty footprint!"

    "Oh, yes," Killup nodded, raising up a foot to inspect it for a moment, "looks like mine."

    "Because it-- ARG!"

    "Hey, now you sound like a pirate!" Killup praised her sudden progress.

    "Iris, thank every god," Autumn said with a sigh, "I can''t take it anymore. I can''t work with this guy."

    Iris gave her a tired, critical look, "it''s been like, two days." There were still tears on Iris''s cheeks, but Autumn didn''t seem to notice.

    "Two days of absolute chaos and destruction," Autumn threw her hands in the air before bringing them down heavy on a countertop. She was a bit too short to actually lean over the counter, so it looked more like she was leaning against a wall, "how did the old chef put up with this?"

    "Old chef never had a problem with dirt," Killup said, "he always said it adds texture."

    "It does not--" Autumn almost screamed, but halted when Eli entered the galley. He had a way of letting the whole room knew he was in a serious mood the moment he entered.

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    "Autumn," he said flatly, "is there any work you and Killup can do somewhere else?"

    Autumn started to argue, but Killup was already knocking over pots as he leapt off the counter, "come, come," he motioned for Autumn to follow, "to the grain storage, I''ll introduce you to the rats."

    "The rats?!" Autumn shouted in horror as she chased Killup out of the galley.

    Eli closed the door behind them, then looked to the teary eyed Iris, "what''s going on?"

    "I--" she struggled to form words, "you were right. About everything, I guess."

    Eli found a pair of stools along the wall and carried them over to the central counter top. He took a seat, motioned for Iris to do the same, and waited until she settled in before he spoke again.

    "That''s nice to hear, don''t get me wrong, but what exactly is this about?"

    Iris told him everything, starting with her argument with Milo and then the kidnapping, the fight that followed, and her conversation with the titan. He stopped her before she could get to the part about her mother appearing in the forest.

    "I told you it would catch up to you," he said in a dark tone.

    "I knew," Iris sniffled, "I''m so sorry. I should have listened to you."

    He sighed, and his demeanor shifted, "and I shouldn''t say I told you so. Let''s just focus on what all this means, okay?"

    Iris nodded.

    "It sounds like you don''t have to worry about the Commander anymore, at least for now, that''s a good thing. The cloaked guys, those sound like Agents of Morose. Vic knows a little about them, more than me at least, but they''re a secretive group. They''ve been here since the start of the hunt, Vic thinks their presence has something to do with the shock wizards and the dragon showing up, but we''re not sure. That stuff is all way above our rank, not the kind of stuff I like to meddle in."

    "Eli," her voice cracked, "I''m scared."

    "It''s okay," he said softly, reached across to pull her into a hug from where he sat. It wasn''t the most comforting hug, it was stiff, unpracticed, and Iris guessed he didn''t spend much time comforting people, but it was a hug all the same, and that''s what she needed right now.

    "I did fine last night," she insisted as she pulled away, "I kept my cool and held it all together. I don''t know why I''m freaking out now."

    "You want to know a secret?" Eli asked, "you can''t tell anyone."

    "Sure," she sniffled.

    "Sometimes I freak out after a dangerous fight too," he admitted, "it all catches up to me all once, and I just kind of-- I just fall apart."

    Iris looked at him blankly, "that doesn''t seem like you."

    "I know," he shrugged, "but it is. Keeping your wits about you while you''re danger is critical, but no amount of training can ever really get rid of the natural emotions of battle. They''ll always be there, somewhere, waiting to pop back up and show themselves."

    Iris was quiet for a moment. It did bring some comfort to know that she wasn''t the only one who felt like this sometimes, but it was still overwhelming.

    "Honestly, I''m surprised it''s taken this long for you to have a breakdown."

    "What''s that supposed to mean?" She asked.

    He laughed softly, "it''s not an insult. I just mean that you''ve been through a lot in the past few months, and it''s pretty impressive you kept it together this long."

    "I''ve had some bad moments," she admitted, "you¡¯ve seen a few. This-- this is all just a lot. Like, really, a lot."

    "Yeah," he said in an understanding tone.

    After a few minutes of silence, Iris spoke up again, "so what do we do now?"

    "Well, the Commander''s not after you anymore, that''s good. And it sounds like the mayor general won''t be either. But we know for sure that the Agents of Morose are, and that''s the problem we need to figure out."

    "We should be safe here, right?" she asked hopefully, "on the ship?"

    Eli looked around the galley as if surveying the whole ship, "I don''t know. I''d like to hope so, but followers of gods have a habit of not respecting any authority but that of the god they follow. For now, let''s just keep our heads low and stay on the ship as much as possible. Hopefully they¡¯ll catch word that the egg is already hatched and lose interest too, and if not maybe they at least won¡¯t follow us when the ship departs from the city. I don''t want you leaving the ship on your own again, either."

    She nodded in acceptance. Under different circumstances, or even if he''d said it more like an instruction than a preference, she might have argued. At the moment, however, all she really wanted was to feel safe.

    "I need to talk to Milo again soon," she remembered.

    "The closing ceremony of the Grand Hunt is in a few days, we''ll be attending as a team. We''ll find time for you to speak to Milo while we''re out, and wrap up any other business we have in the city while we''re at it."

    "Thanks," she said quietly.

    <hr>

    In the bowels of the third deck, Killup held up a glow stone lantern to cast dim yellow-orange light across the stacked barrels of grain. One of the barrels had an obvious hole gnawed into it near the top, and Killup knocked gently on the wood beside it. A rat poked its nose out of the shadowy hole and sniffed the air, then poked its head the rest of the way out to inspect Killup and Autumn. It was wearing a little hat sewn from a scrap of a canvas sack with just a few stitches.

    "Roger, this is Autumn," Killup introduced, "new chef."

    Roger squeaked.

    "Oh, what the fuck?" Autumn asked in exasperation.

 157 - An Evening Aboard

    Sequestered on the Gaping Maw with nothing worthwhile to pass the time, Iris resorted to casually exploring the ship to pass the time. Her first stop had been the gun deck, situated just below the main deck and just above the crew quarters. She lingered on the stairs as she observed a handful of crewmates, including Cameron Cole and Quartermaster Luo, wheeling around and inspecting a few of the cannons. The quartermaster seemed to be explaining to Cameron each of the different models of cannon they had aboard, and the basics of their capabilities and limitations. Iris found the conversation disinteresting and hard to follow, so she continued upwards to the main deck.

    There was a decent amount of activity on the main deck as members of the crew specializing in maintenance worked to complete last minute repairs and run through checklists in preparation for the ship''s upcoming journey. At some points along the railing, small teams of pirates gathered to lower themselves down the side of the ship with ropes to patch damage to the outer hull. Leaning over the railing to look down at them almost made Iris dizzy, and a thought occurred to her as her eyes followed the hull of the ship down to the choppy waters below -- just how many decks did this ship have? Counting portholes gave her an answer of at least four, but the ship''s hull continued down much further beyond where the portholes stopped. She decided to descend into the depths of the ship soon and find out what exactly was down there, but today was all about the main deck.

    She turned her back to the water and leaned against the railing, surveying the ship for her next point of interest. She found it in a tall, muscular green-skinned elf woman who was hefting around large barrels full of dirt, moving them around between different positions while occasionally stopping to evaluate the layout. She yelped when Iris appeared beside her.

    "Iris Orion," Iris held out a hand for her to shake, "what''cha up to?"

    The woman composed herself while looking mildly embarrassed, and then shook Iris''s hand, "I¡¯m Misty. The new chef wants to grow food on board, and I got stuck with the job." Her voice was deep and husky, and though her frame still betrayed the characteristic slimness of elves, the muscle built upon it was nothing short of remarkable.

    "They expect you to grow food in barrels?" Iris asked.

    Misty grabbed a barrel by the rim with both hands and tilted it, rolling it to a new spot as she replied, "oh, I can do that easy. The hard part is finding a place to put the damn things that won''t be in the way."

    Iris watched as she rolled the barrel against the railing in a gap between the rigging mounts spaced along the railing, then dusted her hands and placed them on her hips while she stepped back to inspect.

    "What do you think?" Misty asked.

    "Seems like a good spot to me," Iris shrugged.

    "Fuck it, then," Misty shrugged back. She placed her hand in the exposed soil that filled the barrel almost to the brim, and green light began to emanate from her fingertips. A moment later, little green sprouts formed around the perimeter of the soil closest to the railing. Within seconds, the spindly sprouts grew tall enough to topple over towards the railing, where they wrapped themselves around the rail like tiny climbing vines.

    "Whoa," Iris said in wonder.

    "Give those about a week or two," Misty said, "and they''ll have grown strong enough to hold the barrel in place through waves. Those are just the straps, though, this is the real prize." Misty pulled a small root vegetable from her pocket, it was pale brown in color and about the size of a large berry or nut, "it''s called a sunchoke. These babies will grow wild in a bucket of sand if you let them."

    Misty took the sunchoke and buried it a few inches deep in the barrel, then placed her hand atop the soil once more and imparted more glowing green magic. A few seconds later, a small sprout climbed out of the soil where she had buried it.

    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

    "It''s so cool to watch them grow so fast, where did you get plant powers?" Iris asked.

    "Anyone with a thread of life can work with plants if they read the right books," Misty explained, "in my case, though, it just kind of came natural. I was hoping for life stealing abilities, but with Threads of Power, sometimes you have to take the specialty you get. When my second thread ended up being a Thread of Matter, the plant specific abilities only got more advanced."

    "What all can you do?" Iris asked, "can you grow trees? Could you grow one the shape of a house? Does it work on mushrooms--"

    "Easy, kid," Misty held up a hand, "didn''t anyone teach you that it''s rude to go around asking specifics about people''s powers?"

    "Oh, sorry," Iris shrunk away sheepishly, "I just got excited. And, uh, no, actually. No one taught me that. I''m still kind of new to having powers."

    Misty laughed as she grabbed hold of the next barrel, "right, new to having powers and you''re on the crew of the Gaping Maw. Okay."

    "I''m serious!" Iris insisted, but Misty seemed disinterested as she returned her focus to her work.

    Iris harrumphed, and began looking around for her next target. The folded sails caught her attention, and then the massive masts which must have originated as solid redwood trunks. They towered into the air over the ship, draped in all manner of sails and rigging and ropes. When she shielded her eyes from the sun and squinted, she could make out what looked to be a structure like a small room built into the top of the tallest mast, just below the fluttering black flag at the peak. Sure, she thought to herself, why not go for a climb?

    She tucked her hat into her bottomless bag, lest the wind carry it away. On either side of every past was a net-like structure of large, interwoven ropes that attached to the railing and narrowed as they reached up to attach to a mast high above. She spotted a few pirates using these rope structures for climbing as they conducted repairs, and decided on the first part of her path. She blipped to one of the rope structures, appearing on the underside hanging from her hands and feet with her back facing the deck below. She climbed up a few rungs of rope that way, but found it quite slow and uncomfortable, so she blipped to the other side of the rope and instead scrambled up the incline like a hill full of holes.

    Several minutes of climbing and blipping brought her to the peak of this particular rope structure, where it narrowed to a point and was secured tightly to the mainmast just below a narrow platform of planks. She was about half way up the mast now, the main deck appeared as far away from her now as the water had from the railing, and she was thoroughly winded. She elected to take a break on the platform, and made herself at home as she pulled a wrapped sandwich from her bottomless bag alongside a waterskin filled with ice cold tea.

    As she ate, Iris stared out over the vast lake beyond the bay. Even at this height, the distant shores were beyond the horizon, and if she didn''t already know it was a lake Iris might have assumed she was looking out to sea. If this is how big a lake can be, she wondered, just how big is an ocean? She thought back to the mountains around her village, and the rare occasion in which she had climbed atop the ridge. There had been flat farmlands and grassy plains extending out as far as the eye could see, and in the distance the nearest city to her village had been only a grey speck on the horizon. She imagined all of that were suddenly water, and found new appreciation for the vastness of the lake.

    She jolted as a loud boom cracked through the skies, knocking her waterskin off the platform and almost falling off herself. She reached down and blipped the waterskin back into her hand before it fell out of range, and then looked out to the water where she watched a cannonball land with a splash. Another boom followed soon after, this time the cannonball traveled much faster, and landed much further away. There didn''t appear to be anything out there worth shooting out, and no one down below on the main deck was panicking, so she guessed Cameron and the other pirates messing with the cannons must have moved on to testing them.

    Iris still wanted to reach the crow''s nest atop the mainmast, but it was settling in how severely she had underestimated the climb. She could make it, she thought, but wasn''t sure she''d still have the energy afterwards to climb back down -- leaping down and attempting to blip to a safe landed amongst all the rigging and sails was not something she had any interest in trying. Another option was relying more heavily on blipping to climb faster and easier, but that was not such a trivial thing as in the redwood forest. Though the height of the mast from the main deck was comparable to that of a redwood, the ropes and sails were must less inviting terrain to navigate than the sprawling branches of the forest. In the meantime, though, the heavy breeze was a calm kind of exhilarating, and the ambiance of squawking birds, distant sloshing waters, and the occasional cannon fire left little to be desired. She packed up the remains of her lunch, stretched out across the narrow platform, and settled in to watch the slowly approaching sunset.

 158 - Finally a Beach Day

    After blipping down to the storage deck to get dressed for the day and take care of Littletooth, Iris blipped back into the crew quarters to find almost everyone gone. She spotted Eli at his hammock across the deck and promptly blipped over beside him.

    "Where is everyone?" she asked.

    "You know, I''m not sure," he said, "must be something going on in the city today."

    Her eyes narrowed.

    "Hey, I think Autumn wanted to see you in the kitch--"

    Iris blipped straight up to gun the deck, then again to the main deck. The main deck was crowded, but that was nothing compared to the hull of the ship. Dozens of pirates had climbed over the railing and were descending the hull of the ship like expert cliff climbers. More still followed after them, while some cheered or shouted as they ran and leapt overboard. Iris blipped to the railing and looked out, the beach was closer than it had been the day before -- or rather, the ship was closer to the beach, she supposed -- and the pirates were swimming to shore in droves. She turned frantically to the nearest crewmate, he was a shirtless, spindly fellow in baggy pants.

    "What''s happening?" she shouted.

    "Beach day!" he shook a fist in the air as he yelled his answer, then leapt over the railing and dove to the distance waters below. Cheers of "beach day!" echoed from the remaining pirates on the deck.

    Iris blipped straight down through the gun deck and back to the crew quarters, where she tried her best to slow the words that spewed from her mouth at Eli, "it''s a pirate beach day! Please can we go, please--"

    Eli was already laughing and holding up a staying hand. He said nothing, but nodded behind her. Iris turned to see Killup holding open the door to the galley as Autumn hobbled out with an arm full of wrapped sandwiches.

    "You going to help me carry these, or not?" her voice came from somewhere behind the sandwiches.

    Iris looked back to Eli with wide eyes, noticing that he was now wearing shorts and a thin fish net shirt. Titus approached beside them, wearing the pirate''s disguise they had bought him during the early stages of what became the fish heist. His hair was down and his posture was unusually relaxed.

    Cameron, shirtless and also wearing shorts, jogged halfway down the stairs and poked his head out, "you guys almost ready?"

    "We''re going?" Iris smiled.

    "Better get dressed," Eli smiled back.

    Iris disappeared, and they heard a few thumps and a tumble from the deck below. A minute later she reappeared wearing a swimsuit and an impossibly wide smile. Abby''s drawstring stretched to wrap around her waist, hanging at an angle from one hip like a loose belt.

    "What about Vic?" she asked hurriedly, "is she coming?"

    A ghostly Victoria peeked her head through the hull of the ship, "waiting on you guys."

    A few moments later, Iris was blipping onto the railing of the ship and holding a rope for balance as she looked out towards the beach. Victoria floated in the air just beyond the railing, arms crossed impatiently, as the rest of the party -- and Killup -- gathered behind Iris.

    "Think I can survive this fall?" she asked Victoria over the wind.

    "Please don''t try," Eli said from behind her.

    "As long as you do that blipping trick, it''s probably fine," Titus shrugged.

    As Eli turned to scold Titus, Iris leapt. The rushing air whipped her hair and pulled tears from her eyes, the hull of the ship whizzed by in a blur, and she laughed joyously as she plummeted towards the lake. At the last moment, she blipped, redirecting her momentum to launch her out away from the ship and across the water. She had intended to gracefully arc downwards and dive into the water, but in her excitement she hadn''t quite accurately calculated her speed or trajectory. She slapped into the water with a bounce and a tumble, skipping off the surface two more times before finally sinking with a splash.

    After a few quiet seconds, she popped her head up out of the water and cheered.

    <hr>

    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

    The pirate beach day was everything Iris could have imagined it to be. A few crewmates played drums and stringed instruments and the wind carried their music down the beach. A swimming competition was quickly organizing at the shore, and from the looks of it Titus was planning to participate. Iris was just finishing up the process of laying out towels for each of them -- one of which Victoria was already sunbathing on despite still being in her spectral form.

    "What''s the point of sunbathing if you''re doing it as a ghost?" Iris asked.

    "This way I don''t get a tan," Victoria answered without opening her eyes, "but I can still feel the warmth."

    Autumn kicked up sand with every step as she ran towards them, "Iris! Come help me with the sand castle!" Killup galloped after her on all fours, his wings tucked tight but his tail flicking around as he ran.

    Iris was about to agree, but when she looked up at Autumn she noticed someone in the distance. She faltered and hesitated, then gave an apologetic smile to Autumn, "maybe in a minute, there''s someone I have to talk to."

    Autumn''s shoulders slumped, "but I ran all the way here! The other team''s getting a head start!"

    "I''ll catch up," Iris assured her, "besides, you''re you. You got this."

    Autumn perked up, "don''t take too long!" she turned to sprint back towards the sand castle building zone. Killup ran up to Iris a second later, looked around to see that Autumn had already turned back, and galloped after her.

    Iris blipped along the beach until she appeared near a rather nervous looking Milo as he glanced around the beach. "I hope you''re looking for me," she smiled anxiously.

    "Iris!" Milo shouted, then collected himself and cooled his demeanor, "I mean, uh, yeah. I was hoping you''d be here."

    "Want to go somewhere and talk?" she asked softly.

    "Yeah."

    A short while later, Iris and Milo were sitting on a branch that hung relatively low over the beach, their feet dangling over the sand a few dozen feet below. The ambiance of the beach party mixed with the chirping birds and bugs of the forest and the gentle howling of the winds as they passed between the redwood trunks. Iris had held Milo close as she blipped him up here, spending most of her mana in the process. At first he had been extremely uneasy with the height, but had now mostly calmed down.

    "So, that''s basically it," she finished her recounting of the night she was kidnapped.

    "This whole time I thought you were avoiding me," he said solemnly, "I even tried to come see you on the boat, but the men on the docks just laughed at me."

    "You went to the Underbelly by yourself?" Iris raised her eyebrows.

    "Yeah, managed not to get pickpocketed though!" he smiled.

    Iris laughed, but her smile faded quickly, "I''m sorry, Milo. Not just because I''ve been stuck on the ship for the past few days, but for not telling I''d be leaving soon. You deserved to know it was a possibility as soon as I did, and you absolutely deserved to know before I asked you to help me make it happen."

    Milo nodded, "yeah, you should have told me."

    They sat in silence for a moment, then Milo sighed, "I''m gonna be mad about that for a while, but we don''t have a lot of time left. I''d rather not spend it arguing." He looked over at Iris.

    Iris smiled and met his gaze, "me neither."

    They shared a lingering kiss that Iris felt she didn''t deserve.

    Milo looked out across the beach towards the two sand castles taking shape in the distance. One seemed focused on height, and was already a head taller than even the tallest pirates working on it, while the other was wide and square and resembled a scale model of the Fish Wizard''s castle.

    "Should we stop her from building that?" Milo wondered.

    Iris shrugged, and then nodded towards the ship anchored just off shore, "the captain''s watching, I don''t think the Fish Wizard is dumb enough to show up here."

    "Then, should we go help?" he asked.

    Iris smiled, "absolutely."

    <hr>

    Autumn''s castle came in at a final size of about four carriages, wider than it was tall save for the few towers that jutted from the roof. The castle the opposing team had built was nearly three times as tall but less than half as wide. The most notable difference between the two castles, besides their shape, was that Autumn''s castle had an interior -- though it was only really large enough for Autumn and Killup to enter and only included the throne room, it was finely detailed including the pillars, mezzanines, and the corpse of the shark lobster impaled by a stake of driftwood. Along with the interior details, the castle also included all the external damage the team had caused during their heist.

    Titus was still dripping when he stomped up to the front of the sandcastle. He had placed 17th out of 20 in the race, but that wasn''t bad for a Hero competing against Champions. Beside him, Eli and Cameron placed their hands on their hips in identical fashions, and Cameron whistled in appreciation of the castle.

    "Looks just like the real thing," he said, "they even made the sharbster."

    Iris appeared from a blip beside them, splashing her immediate surroundings with loose sand falling from her skin. She, too, placed her hands on her hips and looked up to appreciate the castle.

    "So, who judges?" Eli asked.

    A looming shadow crept over the opposing team as the boots of the Shark Titan crunched in the sand. Even his long term crew members tended to shrink away and avert their eyes when he approached, and even the lighthearted beach day was no exception. Only Autumn, Iris, and the opposing team''s leader stood tall and looked in the captain''s direction as he silently inspected the castles. He spent much longer on the opposing team''s castle, admiring the fine details of the architecture and the impressive stability of the thin towers. Iris heard the other team''s leader introduce it as the capitol building of an empire she had never heard of.

    When it was Autumn''s turn, she introduced the castle with a proud smirk, "behold, captain, Castle Fish Wizard, just as we left it after procuring Gerald the Fish."

    The towering titan leaned to peer through the hole in the roof at the sculpted corpse of the sharbster inside. He erupted into laughter and stumbled back to avoid damaging the castle. His rows of teeth gnashed as he clutched his chest and cackled towards the sky.

    "This one!" he spoke between spurts of laughter and pointed at Autumn''s castle, "this one wins!"

    Autumn, her entire party, and many of the gathered onlookers erupted into cheers.

 159 - The End of the Hunt

    The closing ceremony for the Grand Hunt took place in the same broad courtyard where it had all begun with the orientation a few months prior. The crowd was much smaller this time, with many adventurers having already departed the city for their next great adventures or simply skipping the ceremony out of disinterest. Some absences weren''t by choice, however, as shown by the large wall of a building on the edge of the courtyard decorated with wreathes of flowers, hand drawn portraits, swords and daggers stabbed into the brickwork, and in some cases simply a scrap of bloody cloth or a name scribbled on the brick. Each contribution to the wall was a party or companion''s way of commemorating someone they had lost in the hunt. During his opening speech, the Mayor General paused to lead a moment of silence to reflect on those losses. Most eyes were on the ground throughout the somber moment, but Iris found herself glancing at her party members with overwhelming appreciation that they had all made it through.

    As the Mayor General moved on to continue his speech, Iris occupied her thoughts by scanning the faces in the crowd. Most of them looked vaguely familiar, at this point, but there were a few that stood out more memorably than others. She spotted the tall metal man with wonderful hair and the angry goblin that called him son, they were impossible to miss with the sun gleaming off the man while the goblin -- Grell, she was pretty sure his name had been Grell -- was engaged in a rapidly escalating shoving match with another audience member. There was also Whirl and Galt, members of Cameron Cole''s party who stood with him nearby. Kieren the mage was present, but he had walked right by the party as if he didn''t know them -- and Iris didn''t blame him. She kept an eye out for the Fish Wizard as she searched the crowd, but thankfully he was nowhere to be found.

    "And for excellent leadership in a time of crisis," the Mayor General was reading from a long list on a scroll he held outstretched, "the Dreamweaver would like to thank Cameron Cole."

    As with every commendation the mayor had read, scattered applause echoed throughout the audience.

    The mayor listed a few more names, and then said, "now, this is usually the part where I''d bring out on stage each of the adventurers who landed killing blows on our primary targets. This year, however, there aren''t any of those. I''ve already conveyed Captain Clement''s commendations for those he credits with the capture of the hydra, but in the case of the Matriarch spider and the desert wyvern, considering the unusual events that have transpired, I''m afraid we have no one to thank. I''d like to call our titans on stage instead, but they, uh, were each unable to attend today''s ceremony.¡± He cleared his throat with a rough cough, ¡°instead, I''d like to welcome a representative of the demi--" his eyes flickered nervously to somewhere off stage, "a representative of the God of Masquerades, Morose, to speak on these events."

    Quiet murmurings worked their way through the crowd, tapering off into a hush as more and more people noticed the agent of Morose had already appeared on stage. He wore nondescript black robes and a shining brass mask with a permanent frown and a tear drop under each eye, through the holes in the mask only a black void was visible. He spoke in a calm, monotonous voice that came from all around.

    "Public appearances are unusual for the agents of Morose," the figure said, "however, my god deems it appropriate to give you all this message. They invite you to share this message in your travels, with any and all you might meet."

    Hushed whispers traveled through the crowd.

    "There exists a prophecy known as the Millennium Mandate, written almost one thousand years ago, at the beginning of this age. The text of that prophecy has been lost to time, but one fragment remains. It reads that on the last day of the 1000th year of this age, the sky will shatter, and a God Above All will be crowned."

    The full attention of the crowd had been captured, and all eyes were on the agent as he spoke.

    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

    "My god says this: cast away your faith in man, your allegiance to guilds, and your loyalty to kings--"

    "Okay!" the Mayor General interrupted, "that''s a fine speech, thank y--"

    The mayor choked on his words as the masked man drove a dagger into his heart. He released his grip on the knife and the mayor stumbled back with the dagger still protruding from his chest. The agent continued speaking as the crowd gasped and shouted.

    "for in three year''s time, there will be only one authority--"

    The mayor ripped the knife from his chest and lunged towards the agent, but three more masked figures appeared and dragged him back, each driving more daggers in and out of his chest.

    "Morose will rise above all and win the crown of gods, and the world will submit to their rightful god."

    The mayor dropped to his knees with blood gurgling in his mouth before a final blade slid across his throat. The figures disappeared, and the crowd erupted into chaos.

    "We have to go!" Eli shouted, "back to the ship, now!"

    ___

    "That''s a new look," Commander Bridge said to the Dreamweaver, admiring her flowing purple dress.

    "My new disciple quite likes purple," the Dreamweaver said swirling her drink before taking a sip, "she says it''s my color."

    They were in the Dreamweaver''s lavish tent, tucked away in the depths of the Matriarch''s former domain in the dark woods, where it was unlikely anyone would stumble across it.

    "How did your other new look turn out?" the Commander asked.

    The Dreamweaver giggled gleefully, "phenomenal. When I say you haven''t felt real power until you consume a soul for yourself -- ugh, I wish I could experience it all over again. And the body is exquisite, I''d spend all day in it if I wasn''t afraid of getting stuck that way like Clement."

    "Eh," the Commander waved away her concerns, "don''t listen to him. He can still turn back, he just doesn''t want to."

    The Dreamweaver downed the rest of her drink before pouring another, "the coup should be starting soon, you sure you don''t want to do anything about that? Your emperor won''t be pleased."

    "Fuck the emperor," the Commander sighed, "fuck the whole bloody empire. I''m thinking it''s about time I go my own way again."

    "Oh?" Going off to chase down another shot at your transformation? It''s a pity what happened to your wyvern."

    The Commander took her place at the minibar as she stepped aside, refilling his own drink as he spoke, "I''m over it. I was settling, anyway. Scales aren''t really my style."

    "I hear there''s a storm bird in the Northeast, that seems like you."

    The Commander propped himself up on the minibar with one arm as he sipped his drink, "a storm bird, huh? I do like the sound of that."

    "Or there''s the phoenix in the Smoldering Rift--"

    "Now it just sounds like you''re trying to get me killed."

    The Dreamweaver laughed, "friends only get harder and harder to come by at our age, I can''t go around killing the few that I have left."

    The Commander stared at his drink as he absent-mindedly swirled it around the glass.

    "What''s bothering you?" the Dreamweaver asked.

    "Stan deserves better," he didn''t look up from his glass, "I should have warned him."

    "The mayor? That guy''s a clown, no one''s going to miss him."

    "Still-- Angela, we practically grew up in Giantrock. Are we really going to let Morose just take it?"

    "Don''t look at me," she half-heartedly through her hands up in a defensive gesture while still daintily holding her glass, "not getting involved was your idea. Besides, what are we going to do, anyway? You said it yourself, Morose has more agents in that city than there are rats in the Underbelly. Sure, we can take a titan or two, but what if there''s three? Four? They knew we''d be here, I doubt they came unprepared to deal with us."

    The Commander sighed and placed his drink down on the bar, "maybe I could have convinced Clement to fight with us. The three of us could have handled it."

    "You''d have had better luck convincing him to skip dinner," the Dreamweaver rolled her eyes, "look, I have a loose end to tie up with my disciple, then I''m getting out of here. I''ll be following the forests eastward, through the mountains where that storm bird nests, and probably heading north from there. I''m leaving all this behind me, the Grand Hunt, the Frontier, I''ve had enough of it all. This place was never much of a home to me as a kid, and that''s so long ago now that I barely even remember it anyway -- how about you come with me? We''d be a lot safer together than alone."

    The Commander laughed, "think your liquor cabinet can handle the both of us?"

    "Hmm," the Dreamweaver stared at the minibar as she wondered, "maybe I should have restocked before the coup."

 160 - The Sun Sets on Giantrock

    Giantrock City never had a large of number of city guards, now -- there were none. Most had been slain quietly in the instant following the first blade entering the Mayor General''s chest, some had fought and died moments later, and the remaining few had removed their armor and insignia and dispersed into crowds in the hopes they would be overlooked or spared.

    The town square had been a bomb primed to explode -- hundreds of battle hardened adventurers more than willing to turn their arrows, blades and spells upon a newfound enemy with the slightest prompting. The first fireballs erupted on stage only an instant after the agents of Morose disappeared, and already thick black smoke billowed into the sky as the fire spread.

    Silas, the agent with the two-teared mask and leader of the Morose contingent within the city, had anticipated this. That was why he and his agents, after dispatching the mayor and his guards, retreated to the governmental complex at the peak of the city. It was here that they disposed of Emerald Empire loyalists and informed the rest of the mayor''s staff of their new employer. Silas stood on a small balcony which overlooked the city, his hands clasped casually behind his back as the warm glow of the evening sky and the spreading fire reflected off his mask.

    "Sir," a middle-aged functionary with disheveled hair and a crack in his glasses spoke nervously behind the titan, "your office is ready."

    "That will be all," Silas said flatly.

    "Yes sir," the functionary half nodded, half bowed before quickly retreating.

    The wind that fluttered his robes slowed to a stop, and the commotion of the city in chaos dulled to a distant, muffled roar. A voice which only he could hear spoke from all around, both quiet and loud, calm and terrifying.

    "You have done well, disciple."

    "Thank you, my god," Silas bowed his head as he spoke.

    "Consolidate my power in the region, and then appoint your replacement. Greater tasks await you."

    "Yes, my god."

    His robe began to flutter again and the sounds of the city returned.

    <hr>

    Iris and her party fled through the streets towards the city gates, joined by Cameron, Whirl and Galt. Other fleeing adventurers braved the roof tops or took flight over the city walls, many ducked inside buildings or into the carved stairwells that led down through the rock into the Underbelly below, and others still stayed behind to fight the growing fire or hunt for agents of Morose to fight.

    Despite the initial chaos, the city was already growing calmer. Those searching for fights found no foes, and those fleeing for their lives soon discovered they weren''t being chased. Whirl and Galt slowed to a stop as the city gates came into view, and the party soon stopped with them.

    "This is the end of the line for us, Cam," Galt said.

    "You''re staying in the city?" Cameron asked in shock.

    Galt glanced over his shoulder at the tower of smoke behind him, "if Morose wanted to kill us all, they''d be doing it now. Someone has to put the fire out."

    "And we have nowhere else to go," Whirl added, "unless you expect the Shark Titan to be taking refugees."

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    A somber expression crossed Cameron''s face, but he didn''t argue, "this is goodbye, then."

    "Yeah," Galt said gravely.

    Cameron crossed the distance between them in a few long steps, and pulled both his allies into a hug, "it''s been a pleasure adventuring with you. Take care of yourselves."

    "You too, friend," Galt said as Cameron withdrew from the hug.

    "See you around," Whirl said, "one day."

    Cameron nodded, and then steeled himself. He took one last look at his companions, and then turned to the others and started towards the gate, "let''s move."

    "Why can''t we stay?" Iris asked as they picked up their sprint, "Galt has a good point about them not killing us."

    "Of all people," Eli said, "you shouldn''t want to be in a city held by Morose."

    Cameron shot a glance towards Iris, and then Eli, "what do you mean by that?"

    "There''s no time," Eli said, "there might be a lockdown coming. Move faster."

    As they passed under the redwood beams of the gateway, they stepped over the slaughtered corpses of the guardsmen who had posted there. A sharp turn brought them onto the descending path towards the docks, where already many boats and small ships were setting sail. In the distance, the black flag of the Gaping Maw fluttered in the wind.

    It was a long trek through the disarray of the Underbelly, and the business of the streets forced the adventuring party to the rooftops as they fled for the furthest dock. Victoria was the fastest amongst them, unobstructed by terrain or crowds in her spectral form, and raced ahead in hopes of stalling for her party in case the schooners might depart without them. Iris slammed her boots into the flat wooden rooftops of the Underbelly as she leapt and blipped across the gaps. Fights were breaking out below as boats were commandeered, shop stalls were toppled and looted, and unlucky people were shoved over the edge of the docks in the chaos.

    They reached the furthest dock as Victoria was pleading with the helmsman of the last schooner. He was untying the ropes and using a pole to push off from the docks as she floated beside the boat and begged for him to wait. The boat rocked slightly as Iris blipped onto it. Cameron launched himself into the air with an explosion and landed harshly beside her, rocking the boat harder. Autumn, Titus and Eli sprinted as fast as they could down the docks, leaping one after the other and barely clearing the gap to cling onto the stern of the boat and pull themselves aboard.

    "You fools are trying to sink us!" the helmsman yelled, followed by shouted agreements from the other pirates aboard.

    "And you were trying to leave us," Eli said, climbing to his feet and looking down at the shorter helmsman with a dangerous glare, "let''s call it even."

    The helmsman glanced around. He and the other pirates were certainly a more formidable force than the cocky band of adventurers, but they were nearly evenly numbered on a small and overcrowded boat. He calculated the odds, and huffed as he turned his attention towards steering the boat. Eli stepped back and took a seat near the stern, and the adventurers rode in silence across the uneasy waters.

    Iris looked back as they left the long, late evening shadow of the city. She wasn''t sure if this was goodbye to the city itself, but one thing was certain -- Milo was still in there, somewhere, and no force in the world would be stopping her from saying a proper goodbye to him. She only hoped he was safe.

    "Guys," Autumn nudged Titus with an elbow and slapped Eli on the shoulder before pointed at the water behind them, "look."

    The sky was rapidly growing darker, and it took a moment for Iris to spot what she was pointing at. There, in the distant wake of their boat, was a head poking out of the water. Messy grey hair clung to the face, and a tattered wizard hat sat atop it. It was the Fish Wizard.

    "Oh no," Eli whispered.

    The head dipped below the water with a tiny splash, and the adventurers nervously peered over the edge of the boat into the dark waters.

    "Almost there, boys!" the helmsman shouted, oblivious to the threat below the waves, "we''re coming in hot!"

    A few moments later the schooner crashed against the side of the Gaping Maw. The weaker wood of the schooner splintered against the undamaged hull of the ship, and pirates immediately began departing the small boat to climb the hull towards the main deck. The party wasted no time in joining them, knowing the ship was their greatest shield against the stalking Fish Wizard.

    The sun set on Giantrock Lake as the pirates climbed aboard the Gaping Maw, and the city grew dark as the raging fire at its heart was slowly quenched. The Shark Titan observed from the quarterdeck, staring up towards the governmental complex where the usual evening lights had yet to be lit.

    "Will they come for us?" his first mate asked beside him.

    "Only if they''re fools."

 161 - The Quietest Night

    The night following the coup was a quiet and eerie one. From a distance, the city remained dark and unassuming throughout the night, giving no indication that anything out of the ordinary had happened once the final wisps of smoke dissipated from the extinguished fire. Double guard duties were posted across the main deck of the Gaping Maw, and the crew was informed before turning in for the night that full time duty would resume at first light.

    There were various small but open spaces spread about the crew quarters that served as gathering areas and recreational spaces. Once such space was beside Eli''s hammock, where it appeared two pairs of extra hammocks had been removed to make room for a few buckets to sit around a clearing on the floor, likely for rolling dice. Iris and her party -- plus Cameron and Killup -- were gathered here, discussing the events that had transpired.

    "Does anyone else feel like they don''t know what the fuck is going on anymore?" Eli asked from his seat on a bucket, after wiping his hands down his face and curling them into fists to prop up his chin.

    "I''ve been adventuring for about three years," Cameron said, "that feeling''s been around for most of it. There''s always powers beyond our understanding playing games we can''t even see, it''s nothing new."

    "It feels awfully new," Victoria remarked, "Morose is supposed to be the kind of god you don''t even know is involved in something until long after it''s already happened."

    "Encountering their agents at all is rare, I''ll give you that," Cameron''s eyes lingered on Iris as he spoke, "in any case, it''s good that we''re getting out of this mess before it escalates even more."

    Autumn nodded, "word around the ship is that we¡¯ll be spending tomorrow preparing to sail. The captain plans to address the crew at dawn, and we''ll spend one more night in the bay after that before departing."

    "Anyone else get their assignments yet?" Eli asked, "I was told I''ll be posted in the crow''s nest for lookout training."

    "The cannons will be my main focus," Cameron said, "but my matter abilities can do more than just make things explode, I imagine I''ll be drafted to help with last minute repairs and ship maintenance."

    "I''ll probably stay busy in the infirmary," Titus said, "these guys get hurt a lot. The average recklessness of a pirate on this ship is somewhere between an Iris and an Autumn."

    "Hey!" Iris and Autumn said in unison.

    "Vic?" Eli asked, cutting off an argument before it could start.

    "No idea," she shook her head, "no one''s said anything yet, so I was planning to just float around and figure out where I can help."

    "Same here," Iris said, "hopefully they don''t make me swab the decks."

    "What is swabbing, anyway?" Autumn asked.

    "I dunno," Iris shrugged.

    The crew quarters were growing quiet as more and more of the crew settled in to their hammocks. Spirits were low after everyone finished sharing stories and rumors about the day''s events, and there was little appetite left for gambling or fighting compared to most nights aboard the Gaping Maw. The loudest sounds -- save for the occasional snoring -- were the ever creaking boards of the ship and the perpetual sloshing of the distant waves below.

    "We should turn in for the night," Eli said, "it sounds like a big day tomorrow."

    The others murmured agreement, and said their goodnights as they rose from their seats.

    Iris lingered as the others departed for their hammocks, "Eli, Vic, can I talk to you for a second?"

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    "What''s up?" Victoria asked, pausing to lean against a hammock post.

    "I know I shouldn''t go back into the city, but I need to say goodbye to Milo before we leave."

    Eli''s expression was hard to read, but he crossed his arms and leaned against the inner hull before replying, "you leaving this ship is out of the question, we have no idea if Morose''s agents are still after you. I''m open to other ideas, though."

    "Can we bring him here?" she asked, "I know it''s way too dangerous for him to come with us, but a few minutes,..." she trailed off for a moment to hold back her emotions, "whatever I can get, as long as I can say goodbye."

    "We could fly him here on Glimmer?" Victoria suggested to Eli.

    "I don''t think the captain would like that," Eli sighed, "but it''s the only option I can see. Autumn''s the only one of us who can get close to the captain, maybe she can swing it somehow."

    "We''ll say it''s a last minute delivery of spices," Iris suggested with excitement, "I bet he won''t think anything of it."

    "So we''re lying to the captain before we even set sail?" Eli criticized.

    "To be fair," Victoria said, "lying to the captain is kind of how we got on this boat in the first place."

    Eli eye''s brow rose slightly as he glanced at Victoria, and Iris realized no one had completely explained to him the first half their scheme to get aboard the ship.

    "Nevermind that," Iris said hurriedly, "it sounds like we have a plan. We just need to get word to Milo somehow."

    "I''ll take care of that," Victoria said, "I don''t expect trouble I can¡¯t handle if I float through the city, and I have some business to take care of tonight anyway."

    "Business?" Eli asked.

    "I''ll fill you in later."

    Eli looked unhappy, but nodded. Victoria stepped up to the hull beside him, glanced around to make sure no one was paying attention, and shifted into her spectral form and slipped through the solid planks of the hull.

    "How come no one ever calls her reckless?" Iris complained.

    "Because she''s good," Eli countered.

    Iris harrumphed and started to leave.

    "I''m proud of you," Eli said suddenly, causing Iris to stop in her tracks, "for coming to us about this instead of running off in the middle of the night or something."

    "My options for getting to shore are pretty limited," Iris admitted with a shrug, feeling awkward about the topic, "but I-- I am trying to do better."

    "Good," Eli nodded.

    She nodded back, and blipped away.

    <hr>

    The Gaping Maw shrunk away behind Victoria as she raced through the sky towards the city. She didn''t know where Milo lived, and hadn''t bothered to ask because it had slipped her mind, but that wasn''t a concern. Even in crisis, a city''s newspaper could be counted on to keep running day after day, and she had been to the Giantrock City Badger building before.

    The city was quiet and still, even the bar district on the far side appeared dark and empty from a distance. As she floated high above the streets, she saw the occasional faint and barely discernible aura of an invisible agent of Morose on a rooftop, but otherwise their presence in the city was as discrete as ever. She guessed they had probably maintained a constant presence on the rooftops all along, and simply avoided her perception amongst the usually bustling city.

    She floated down and through the roof of the Giantrock City Badger and into Milo''s workshop on the upper floors. Every table was a mess of papers, tools and mechanical parts, but she found one table with a chair pulled up to it in front of a slightly less messy area. She foraged for a blank scrap of paper and a quill, and jotted down a simple note for Milo to find.

    After departing the Badger she drifted out over the walls of the city towards the forest. She looked back and spotted two agents of Morose stationed in front of the almost-closed gates to the city. It was unclear if they were allowing passage in and out of the gates, but they either didn''t notice or didn''t care that she was flying over the walls.

    A short while later, she approached a lone tent pitched in the dark, spider infested woods. It was shrouded by thick trunks from most angles, and dense webbing hid it from view at every other angle. To the naked eye, the webbing was indiscernible from that of the many spiders that called the area home, but Victoria could see the faint glow of aura flowing through them. These webs were spun by the Dreamweaver herself, and would stick to and bind her even in her spectral form, so she dropped to the ground in her physical form and approached the tent on foot. She knew there to be a narrow, winding passage through the walls of web, which she delicately traversed until she stepped out into the clearing within.

    The dense woods felt like a cavern, with their oppressively thick canopy and barren, root covered floor. This little pocket within the webs felt more like a small cave, and though the aura that permeated it would be foreboding and threatening to most, it was welcoming and comforting to Victoria. Despite the dark and dreary atmosphere, it almost felt to her like she was stepping into the garden of a cozy forest cottage.

    The Dreamweaver was waiting for her inside, wearing a thin purple gown and lounging in a padded chair as she sipped dark liquor from a small glass.

    "Welcome back, disciple," she smiled.

 162 - Saying Goodbyes

    The early morning sky was only just beginning to brighten as the crew of the Gaping Maw gathered on the main deck. The full crew was in attendance, forming a dense crowd even on the oversized ship. Some even hung from ropes or precariously sat atop the railings to escape the crowd. Amongst the crew, Iris noticed a pair of familiar faces, and blipped over to meet them.

    "Hi!" She said as she appeared.

    The crotchety goblin man screamed in surprise, while the tall man with metallic skin seemed unbothered.

    "It''s Grell, right?" she asked, then looked to the tall man with a studious expression, "and-- Adam? I''m Iris, I''ve seen you guys around."

    "Adan," the metallic man corrected with a slight bow, "it''s a pleasure to meet you properly." He spoke in a slightly peculiar manner, placing curt pauses at unusual points in his sentences and often not emphasizing any particular syllable of his words.

    "Who the hell are you?" Grell asked, looking up at her with an offended look.

    "Uh-- Iris. I''m Iris. I said that."

    "Yeah, well," Grell grumbled, "we''re just two crew mates on the ship, minding our business."

    "Yes, we are," Adan agreed, "my father is a cleaner, and I am assistant chef."

    "Right," Iris said, smiling to hide from the awkwardness of the conversation, "we already have an assistant chef, but I''m sure Autumn will be glad to have the extra help."

    "Autumn is the chef?" Adan asked with no emotion.

    "Yep, she''s a friend of mine. She''s nice if you agree with her on stuff."

    "I should meet her," Adan stated.

    "Probably," Iris nodded, growing more confused by the second, "where, uh, where are you guys from?"

    "Stop asking questions!" Grell nearly shouted.

    "That''s literally the first question--" Iris started

    "You asked our names! That''s two questions too many!"

    "I was just--"

    "My apologies, ma''am," Adan said, "my father prefers secrecy."

    Grell was letting his son speak, but still glared up at Iris with an animated scowl.

    "He''s also like that," Adan said, glancing down at his father.

    "Oh," Iris turned abruptly and looked across the crowd, "I just heard a friend calling me, I''ll see you guys around!"

    Iris waved with a smile and blipped away, sighing in relief when she reappeared behind her party across the deck. She was eager to make friends with the other crew, as she would be spending an awfully lot of time with them in the coming months, but she thought to herself that perhaps those two weren¡¯t the ones she wanted to hang around.

    Only a few moments later, the door to the captain''s quarters creaked open, and the Shark Titan stepped out. He towered over even the tallest of the crew, and stared down anyone in the crowd that met his gaze. Eventually, he spoke in his characteristic guttural, booming voice.

    "While you are on my crew, you will call me Captain Clement."

    Those who had long been members of his crew shouted "aye!" in unison.

    "While you are on my crew, you will work hard."

    "Aye!" This time many of the newcomers joined in.

    "And while you are on my crew, you will answer to no god but the sea!"

    "Aye!" This time nearly everyone shouted, though Iris noticed that Victoria did not.

    "Morose has taken Giantrock City," the captain continued, "and the Gaping Maw is no longer welcome in these waters. Tomorrow at dawn, we sail for the Shining Blue, where a great bounty awaits us. It will be a long and deadly journey. You will pull your weight without complaint or you''ll be left behind. There''s a lot of work to be done before the morning, get to it!"

    "Aye!" the crew shouted.

    The captain stepped back into his quarters and slammed the door behind him.

    "You heard the captain!" Quartermaster Luo shouted, "get to work you swabs!"

    What followed was a flurry of activity that extended through much of the day. Carpenters worked double-time to repair the remaining damage to the ship, riggers checked and double checked every rope, sail and knot. Sailors formed a chain of bodies leading down the steps to the storage deck, passing along boxes and barrels from one person to the next to fully stock the gun deck.

    Victoria found work with the carpenters, using her spectral flight to inspect the hull of the ship from both outside and within and report back with her findings for each section. Shortly following the captain''s address, Eli had begun the long climb to the crow''s nest with his staff slung over his back. During the flurry of hasty work, no small number of injuries were had, and Titus patrolled the main deck to heal pirates on the go rather than wait for them to come to him.

    Iris spent a while carefully blipping around to avoid the gaze of the ever-grumpy quartermaster as he stalked the deck searching for slackers to shout at. Eventually, though, she found work with the riggers. She didn''t know much about knots or sails, but her blip ability came in handy for quickly checking the hard to reach places on the sails and masts. The pirates weren''t exactly patient with her, but they were at least gracious enough to show her what each knot should look like once before sending her off to inspect.

    While the crew worked, Giantrock City loomed in the distance. Activity had resumed on the docks, and a few boats even came and went from the Gaping Maw -- though the first mate and quartermaster had made it clear that strictly no one was to arrive or depart without the captain''s approval. Smoke rose from the city once more, but it was the familiar pillars of chimney smoke that indicated the craftsmen and kitchens were back to work. It seemed, at least from the outside, that normalcy had quickly returned to the city despite its new government.

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    Iris made an effort to place herself near the rope pulleys that lifted up cargo from the arriving boats, hoping to overhear gossip or rumors from within the city. She picked up precious little information after the bustling of the crew, but was at least relieved not to hear that any more killing had happened.

    Work slowed as the evening passed, and when the sun grew near to the western horizon of redwoods, a bell rung out across the deck to signal the end of the work day. The crew cheered, but few immediately stopped. Each task had matters to wrap up first. Tools were stored away, important knots were checked one last time and loose ropes were tied off out of the way, and carpenters quickly finished up their current repairs rather than leave them half complete.

    Iris nervously watched the setting sun, even as she assisted the riggers with their final checks. She hadn''t yet heard from Autumn about their plan to convince the captain, and Eli had yet to descend from the crow''s nest. Despite her best efforts to refrain from irresponsible plotting, she began to form a backup plan to steal a boat and return to shore herself if necessary.

    Her attention shot towards Autumn as she stepped out of the captain''s quarters, and she blipped across the deck to meet her, "what did he say?"

    "We''re in business," Autumn smiled, "it''s a good thing too, the rats are holding most of the ship''s spices for ransom. Having my own supply will really take away their bargaining power."

    "What are you-- nevermind," Iris blipped away. She didn''t know what that rat business was about, but if she had managed to arrange an actual shipment of spices somehow that would only add legitimacy to the cover story.

    She spotted Eli descending the crisscrossing ropes attached the main mast, and promptly chained a few blips to meet him half way. He startled and nearly lost his grip when she appeared on the ropes beside him.

    "Please stop trying to kill me," he pleaded.

    "Autumn said we''re good to go," Iris said in a hurry, "but I think she expects you to actually pick up spices while you''re out."

    A short while later, Eli departed on Glimmer''s back while Victoria drifted through the air above them. They were taking no chances on this mission, no matter how simple it was, and they were both clad in their full adventuring gear.

    Iris waited on the quarterdeck, gazing out towards the city as the sun crept below the horizon. The distant clouds were still lit with hues of pink of blue when Glimmer screeched and clattered to a landing on the quarterdeck.

    "Iris!" Milo shouted as he poised to leap off of Glimmer''s back.

    "Whoa there," Eli held out a hand to stop him.

    Glimmer lowered into a comfortable crouch, tucking her legs beneath her until she was lying on the deck. Only then did Eli withdraw his arm and allow Milo to climb down off the griffin.

    "He treats me like I''m a fragile child," Milo complained.

    Iris greeted him with a tight hug that squeezed the air from his lungs. Without letting go, she spoke quietly, "I wasn''t sure I''d see you again."

    "Killing-- me--" Milo wheezed.

    Iris released her grip and held away from her by the shoulders, "I''m sorry! Are you okay?"

    "Yeah," Milo groaned, "you''re really strong."

    "Would you believe I don''t even work out?" she asked with a smirk.

    "Honestly? No."

    They laughed, then settled into a comfortable silence as they shared a gaze into each other''s eyes. The moment was broken when Milo remembered something.

    "Oh! I made you something!" he said, ruffling around in his satchel for a second before pulling out a shining cylinder of brass. He continued speaking as he handed the object to Iris, "I''ve been working on it since I found out you were leaving, and I stayed up all night last night to finish it. It''s not much, but I had some extra telescope parts lying around, and I thought you should have something like this if you''re going to be a real pirate."

    It was a collapsible spyglass, like Iris had only seen in adventurer magazines and illustrated storybooks. She immediately slid it open, even as Milo talked, and reveled in the satisfying ticking sounds it made as each segment extended into place. Holding it up to her eye, she could spot fine details on the distant buildings of the city.

    "I hope you like it--" Milo was saying when Iris wrapped him in another crushing hug.

    "It''s incredible," she said as she pulled away, "you really made this?"

    "Yep! With my own hands."

    "You are the coolest person I''ve ever met," she smiled, and Milo''s cheeks turned red.

    Behind him, Autumn was deliberately unloading spices from Glimmer''s saddle bags as slowly as she could, taking time to verify each tiny bottle against a written list.

    "That''s not all," Milo said. He rushed over to Glimmer, retrieved something from a saddlebag, and rushed back, "the librarian said she wanted you to have these."

    They were three of Iris''s favorite books from the library. She had pulled them from the shelves with almost every visit.

    "She said you''re the only one who''s even taken them off the shelf in years, and she''d rather they be with someone who will read them."

    "Tell her she is amazing," Iris beamed.

    "I will," Milo smiled, "and I wish I could say I have a third thing for you, but unfortunately I don''t. I went looking for your sword and couldn''t find it anywhere, I tried to convince a few shopkeepers and blacksmiths to let me put one on a tab and they all just laughed at me. Sorry."

    "Don''t be, you''ve already done a lot. I''ll just have to make use of the ol'' whacking stick for a while. I wish I had something to give you in return, though."

    "How about you do me a favor, instead?" he asked, handing her a stack of papers wrapped in a loose leather binding, "this is a collection of my best articles. Most of them never even got published in the badger, it''s a lot of technical stuff but there''s some good stories in there too. Can you take them with you, and wherever you end up, try to get them in the hands of publishers? I''m hoping this work will get me off this continent one day."

    "You got it," Iris smiled, stashing the papers safely in her bag along with the books and spyglass, "I''ll sing your praises while I''m at it to really make sure they get printed."

    "Tell them I''m tall and handsome," he said, "and buff."

    They laughed.

    "That''s about half of it," Autumn said at conspicuous volume as she moved to the other side of Glimmer to unload the remaining saddlebags.

    "I guess we''re running out of time," Iris said with a sad smile.

    "We''ve been running out of time since the day we met," Milo said softly.

    "I''m--" Iris choked back sudden tears, "I''m sorry I hurt you."

    Milo stepped closer and placed a hand on her cheek. The sky was dark now, and the wind was growing cold. "Look at me," he said firmly, "you''re the best thing that''s ever happened to me. Don''t ever feel bad for that."

    Iris nodded in acceptance, even as tears fell down her face, "I don''t want to leave you."

    "It''s not too late to stow me away somewhere," he offered with a smile.

    Iris released a sudden laugh, "no offense, but I''m not sure you''d last a week out there without powers."

    "Yeah, I know," his voice grew somber, but when he spoke again it was stern and serious, "but I am coming after you, you know. Whether it takes money, power, or both, I''m gonna get what I need to survive the journey out of this place and I''m going to come find you, wherever you end up."

    "It''s a big world to search," Iris warned.

    "and you''re worth searching for."

    Their tears mixed as they kissed under the moonlight, and they held each other close for as long as they could. Inevitably, though, Autumn soon ran out of ways to stall, and announced quietly that she was finished. Iris and Milo heard her, but didn''t yet end their embrace.

    "Time to go," Eli said with a stern but apologetic tone.

    Iris and Milo shared one last kiss that turned into two, and then three. Finally, when he could stall no longer, Milo tore himself away and smiled through his tears.

    "I''ll miss you, Iris Orion," he said as before climbing atop the griffin.

    "And I''ll miss you, paper boy," she smiled.

    "Hey! I told you not to call m--" Milo''s shout was cut off by the lurch of Glimmer leaping into the air and taking flight.

    Iris laughed loudly and genuinely, even as the tears kept flowing.

 163 - The New Normal

    As dawn once again crept over the horizon of Giantrock Lake, masts creaked and sails unfurled while shouted commands echoed across the ship and waters beyond. Captain Clement stood at the helm, customarily steering the ship for the start of its next journey. The sails bulged as they caught the wind, and soon a wake was forming behind the ship as it sailed towards the rising run.

    Iris blipped around the main deck to stay out of the way. She didn''t dare touch the ropes, sails or masts while they in such frequent motion, and she wholly avoided the quarterdeck where the captain stood. Instead she lingered mostly around the port side railing, blipping along it whenever she found herself about to be in someone''s way. Ostensible she was supposed to be observing to learn the ways of sailing, but she stopped wherever she could for a moment to watch Giantrock City ¨C her home for the past two months, and the only one she had ever known beyond the valley she was born in -- shrink away behind them. The first tinges of red were striking the understory foliage of the forest, hinting at a red border that would soon envelope much of the shore. She promised herself she¡¯d come back one day to see these lands in the true fall, and perhaps even winter.

    High above the main deck, Eli was completing his morning climb to the crow''s nest. He had been on ships before, and the crow''s nests had been shaped simply as large buckets one could stand in with relatively low risk of falling out. On the supersized Gaping Maw, however, the crow''s next was appropriately large as well. It was built around the wide central mast with walls and a ceiling, resembling something of a treehouse with a trunk through its center. All four walls included wide open air windows, and the only doorway faced the stern in front of a thin post that extended out beyond the crow''s nest a short distance like a gangplank. Eli used the post as handhold as he hoisted himself up and through the doorway to the crow''s nest. Inside, his new mentor, Hedley, was waiting for him.

    "You''re late," the man spoke in a high pitched voice from a short, curved beak.

    Until the previous day, Eli had never met a man like this. He had a short and frail frame covered from the head to approximately the knees in feathers that were various whites, greys and browns. His face was that of a fierce bird of prey, perhaps a hawk or eagle, his feet were shoeless and wielded large, curved talons and his arms were wings that ended with long, feathery fingers. Propped against the wall in its usual corner was the man''s staff, a particularly gnarled branch of wood with unusual bends and crooks. It was modified in much the same way as Eli''s, having a concave curve carved into the non-shooting end to serve as a butt stuck for shouldering the staff like a crossbow, along with intricate patterns of sigils carved along much of its length for regulating its output.

    "I''ll start the climb even earlier tomorrow," Eli promised.

    Hedley squawked in a manner that Eli interpreted as annoyance. He''d spent a lot of time with Glimmer, and assumed he was more practiced in interpreting bird sounds than perhaps most people would be.

    "What are we on the lookout for today?" Eli asked.

    Their task the day before had been simple, use the pair of large spyglasses mounted on tripods to closely inspect any approaching boat and keep a close eye on the docks to ensure no agents of Morose were approaching the ship. In one corner of the crow''s nest was a small desk with a large log book open atop it, where they documented anything of note that they witnessed as well as significant events that occurred aboard the ship. It had been a slow, methodical day, during which Eli felt like he had learned very little.

    "Much the same as yesterday," Hedley said, "except in all directions. You take stern and starboard, tell me everything you see that ain''t water or the land we''re leaving. In fact -- keep a close on the water, we had some trouble with mermaids on the way in."

    Down below on the third deck, Autumn was fast at work in the kitchen alongside her assistants Killup the gargoyle and the surprise addition of Adan the metal man. They had finished serving breakfast to the crew about an hour prior, during which they had wheeled a large pot of soup out into the crew quarters and allowed the crew to fill up their bowls to their heart''s content. Rationing would be important in the long term, but it was the first of many meals on their journey, and she believed it should be a hearty one.

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    Much to Autumn''s relief, the crew were responsible for maintaining their own bowls and cutlery, which meant there was much less dish washing to be done in the kitchen than there otherwise might have been. There were still dishes to wash, however, and Killup was currently balancing on the thin edge of the basin with his feet and using his extended leathery wings and tail for balance as he hunched over and scrubbed away at a large pot. Meanwhile, Adan was precisely placing each clean dish exactly where he deemed to be the most optimal position. Autumn found this to be a delightful contrast to Killup''s haphazard approach of placing objects wherever he could balance them. Adan moved to hang a ladle from a high up peg on the wall, then paused to look at Autumn for a moment, and moved it a few pegs down where she would be able to reach it.

    "We have a whole of bunch clams to get rid of before they go bad,¡± Autumn thought aloud as she tended to the central firepit of the galley, ¡°I''m thinking a chowder for lunch."

    "That sounds like an appropriate choice, ma''am," Adan said.

    Killup made a gagging "blegh!" sound and shook his head.

    "What''s wrong with chowder?" Autumn griped.

    "Slimey, soft, and gross," Killup complained, "shells get thrown away. That''s all wrong. Shells are the best part."

    Autumn was speechless, and merely stared at the back of the gargoyle''s head in disbelief.

    Across the crew quarters, Titus was seeing to a short line of injured of crew members. His current patient had severe rope burns along much of his right arm, accompanied by a dislocated shoulder and a sprained elbow.

    "Did we learn anything?" Titus asked.

    "Wear sleeves next time?" the pirate suggested.

    Titus sighed, gripped the wrist and upper arm with other hand, and pumped healing magic into the limb. The pirate gritted his teeth and scowled as the pain rushed through him, but smirked when he saw the rope burns heal.

    "Thanks doc," the pirate nodded.

    "One more thing," Titus said before promptly twisting to position the arm and jamming his open palm against the pirate''s shoulder to reseat the bones.

    The pirate shouted a grunt and scowled again, but nodded in appreciation as he rolled and stretched his shoulder.

    The next pirate stepped up, this one with the hilt of a knife extending from his upper chest a few inches from his heart. Titus looked up at him from his stool with a tired expression.

    "I fell on it," the pirate lied.

    Victoria poked her ghostly head through the exterior wall of the infirmary, "Titus, did you know you had a crack in the hull out here?"

    Titus glanced at the small porthole window beside Victoria, which offered only a narrow view of the distant waters, "how would I know about that?"

    "Just making sure, you have to report those things, you know. We''ll be working out here for a while to get this patched, don''t mind the noise."

    She retreated back through the hull without a goodbye.

    In the evening, after the sun met the horizon and the long day''s shift finally ended, the party gathered beside Eli''s bunk on a ring of upturned buckets. It was quickly becoming their new equivalent to sitting around a campfire, though with the added additions of Cameron and Killup. Autumn had invited Adan to join them, but he had insisted it was best he didn''t leave his father alone during off time lest he get bored and find trouble.

    "He''s a bird?" Autumn gawked.

    "Yep," Eli said, "wings, beak and all. Never seen anyone like him."

    "He might be a Koa," Victoria said, "one passed through Everveil when I was young, before you came along Eli. They''re a reclusive bunch, and most don''t leave their homeland."

    "Wait," Autumn said, turning to Eli, "I thought you were born in Everveil?"

    "Nope," Eli shook his head, "my father and I moved there when I was young. Before that we just traveled. Come to think of it, I don''t actually know where I was born. Nevermind that, though, how was your day, Iris?"

    Iris narrowed her eyes at Eli, "you are still keeping secrets from us, aren''t you?"

    Eli looked appalled, "what? Why would you think that? You literally already knew I wasn''t born in Everveil"

    "No, she''s right," Autumn accused, "you''ve got mysterious backstory written all over you."

    Eli dropped his shoulders and rolled his eyes, "there''s nothing mysterious about me."

    "Oh yeah?" Autumn asked, "then why did you try to change the subject?"

    "I just thought--"

    "You basically never talk about your childhood before Everveil," Titus observed.

    "That''s because--"

    "Yeah," Iris jeered, "and why do you always hide your ears behind your hair?"

    "Okay!" Eli said loudly as he slapped his knees and stood from his bucket, "I''m taking a walk around the ship before bed. Goodnight everyone."

    Iris, Autumn and Titus eyed Eli suspiciously as he walked away.

    "That man''s not telling us something," Autumn said in an exaggerated conspiratorial tone.

 164 - Heads in the Water

    The next few days of sailing were much like the first. Shifts stretched on from sunrise to sunset and paused only for meals, leaving precious little time for leisure. Iris fell into the habit of waking up before most of the crew and discretely blipping down to the cargo hold on the deck below to feed Littletooth and get dressed for the day. She repeated the same process at the end of the day, though finding opportunities to blip in and out without being seen was more difficult when everyone was awake. It worked well enough, however, and soon became a daily routine.

    The northern shore of Giantrock Lake had remained visible throughout the second day, though when Iris stepped onto the main deck on the third morning she found that the ship had sailed far enough south in the night that now not even the northern shore was visible, and her eyes found nothing in all directions but open water. It was a humbling experience to realize that even the massive ship she stood aboard was but a speck in the vastness of the lake.

    Glimmer had followed the ship from the skies above for much of the first and second days, and could frequently be seen in the distance diving down to scoop prey from the water. She only split away from the ship at night, when she return to shore to find somewhere to rest before catching back up to the ship again in the morning. She was nowhere to be seen on the third day, however, and when Iris later asked, Eli explained that she would likely stick to the shoreline for much of the journey and rejoin them when they departed the lake for the river. He seemed wholly unconcerned about her finding her way back to them, and spoke as if it were a given.

    On the fourth day, the work load finally began to dwindle. Even most minor repairs had been completed by then, and the carpentry teams broke down into just enough people to keep up with the constant maintenance of a ship underway. With the ship''s current rigging now thoroughly tested over the prior days of sailing, much fewer bodies were needed to monitor and maintain it. Other than the basic manning of the ship, which required no less than two dozen sailors during simple maneuvers and navigation, cleaning and similar chores became one the heaviest work load aboard the ship -- chamber pots needed to be dumped overboard, decks needed to be swabbed, emptied barrels needed to be returned to the hold and replaced with full ones, and pests needed to be exterminated.

    The work day graciously ended early in the evening of the fourth day, and the crew celebrated the end of their initial mad dash away from the city by filling tankards with beer and filling the main deck with dancing feet. There were quite a few instruments on board, and more than a few musicians of various levels of talent. The jaunts most commonly played consisted of whatever stringed instruments people happened to be playing at the time, occasionally joined by the occasional pair of small drums.

    A short while after sunset, as the celebrations raged on, Eli found Iris leaning on the quarterdeck railing at the stern of the ship as she looked out across the water.

    "Is pirate life everything you hoped it would be?" he asked as he leaned against the railing beside her.

    "So far, yes," she said, "I''ve read enough books to know that sailing is mostly boring until very suddenly it''s not. It''s been, what, four days? We should be due for some excitement soon."

    Eli laughed, "based on your story books?"

    "Yep," Iris said, "everyone knows stuff always happens the way it does in the books."

    "Right," he said skeptically, "what about the others? Do you think they''re settling in?"

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    "Shouldn''t you be asking them?"

    "I did," he said, "and I also asked each of them about the rest of you, now answer the question."

    "I guess so," Iris shrugged, "I was a little worried about Killup driving Autumn mad, but I think Adan''s balanced that out a little bit -- and all the meals have been on time and tasty, so things must be going well in there. Titus is bored, that''s for sure, but he says all the healing has been good for grinding experience. I hardly even see Vic, if I''m honest."

    "Yeah, once she showed her usefulness in scouting for hull damage it kind of became of her full time job -- there aren''t exactly a lot of sailors who can casually float straight through the bottom of the ship and inspect it from the outside. Between you and me though, I think she spends most of her time relaxing somewhere no one can find her."

    "What about you?" Iris asked, "how are you settling in?"

    "Pretty good," Eli said, "Hedley''s not much for talking, but he''s a good teacher. I''ll start working shifts in the crow''s nest by myself pretty soon. Not sure why, it¡¯s not like that guy ever even leaves. He¡¯ll probably sleep up there while I keep watch."

    "Must be nice sitting in a box all day."

    "You''d think that," he sighed, "but don''t forget I have to climb all the way up every morning. I also can''t fall asleep while I''m on post, and at the end of a long day I still have to climb all the way down before I can relax -- what was that?"

    "What was what?" Iris asked.

    He pointed out across the dark waters, "something was poking out of the water, then it sank as soon as I noticed it."

    "Hmm," Iris pulled the spyglass from her bottomless bag, extended it half way for a partial zoom, and placed it to her eye. She panned her gaze across the waters, "I''m not seeing anyth-- wait."

    "What is it? Let me see!"

    Iris passed him the spyglass, "like you said, I saw something poking out of the water, maybe a head -- then it disappeared."

    Eli searched the waters with the spyglass with a frown, "I''m not seeing it now."

    "It must be the Fish Wizard, right?" she asked, "this is exactly what he did before."

    "I don''t know, maybe," Eli lowered the spyglass with a grimace and handed it back to her, "but we''ll need to inform the captain."

    "You''ll need to," Iris corrected hopefully.

    "Nope, come on," he said as he turned and walked towards the stairs to the main deck.

    Iris swore under her breath, but blipped after him.

    A moment later, Eli was hesitantly knocking on the door to the captain''s quarters. The first mate''s voice called out from within for them to enter, and Eli cautiously pushed open the door.

    The inside of the captain''s quarters was large, but quaint. The furniture looked as if it had been salvaged from a shipwreck, with warped planks and unpolished edges. Cubby-hole shelves lined the portside wall, filled with rolled maps and charts. There was a closed wardrobe in the back right corner, and a large bed in the back left. The starboard wall was mostly empty, save for a few large wooden chests pushed against it. The most notable feature of the starboard wall was the large rectangular fish tank that had been mounting atop a wooden table, which itself was secured tightly to the wall. In that tank was Gerald the fish, who Iris would have sworn began immediately scowling as Eli and Iris entered.

    Near the middle of the room was a large table surrounded by stools. Spread out across the table was a large map of Central Giantrock, the bulk of which was consumed by the lake. Captain Clement and First Mate Meredith were leaning over the table, apparently charting their course across the lake.

    "What is it?" the first mate barked.

    "We spotted something in the water, ma''am, behind the ship and off to the starboard side," Eli said.

    "Go on," the captain instructed.

    "They looked like heads, sir, poking out of the water and dropping below the surface once we noticed them. We only ever saw one at a time, though. We think it might have been the Fish Wizard."

    The captain released a low, rumbling growl.

    "It makes sense he would come after us," the first mate observed to the captain.

    "You''re dismissed," the captain said to Iris and Eli, who both promptly exited.

    "You''re not convinced?" the first mate asked.

    "It could very well be the wizard," the captain said, "but I''d bet my cargo it''s the damned mermaids again."

    "They couldn''t stop us last time, they learned that lesson the hard way. Why would they try again now?"

    "This''ll be their last chance to free the hydra. Odds against them or not, I reckon they''ll take it."

 165 - A Mysterious Mechanism

    On the fifth day, Iris was drafted onto a team of riggers for a special assignment. Rather than working with the ropes and sails of the main deck, they were descending the steep stairs into the bowels of the ship, to the fifth deck located immediately below the cargo hold. There were no portholes on this deck, but one of the pirates informed Iris they were just above the waterline now. The only light came from glow stone lanterns held by a few of the pirates, and as they entered the fifth deck the dim yellow glow illuminated folded sails rigged to large, mostly wooden machinery.

    "The captain wants a report by end of day, get to work," Nelson the boatswain ordered. He was a tall, thin-framed orc who wore a pair of round glasses.

    "Aye," a few of the pirates ordered as they got to work inspecting machinery, ropes and sails.

    Iris blipped up beside the boatswain and spoke hesitantly, "uh, sir, what should I be doing?"

    "Follow me, you''ll be good for getting into the hard to reach spots."

    Iris followed after the boatswain as he made his way down the length of the deck, ducking and dodging beams and ropes that obstructed his path. As he walked, his head was on a constant swivel to inspect his surroundings.

    "Here," he stopped suddenly and held a lantern up to a small gap between two large wooden beams, "there''s a space on the other side that should be big enough for you."

    Iris blipped to the other side of the beams, where she found herself balancing on a thinner beam with sails bound to it with an array of familiar knots.

    "What exactly is all this?" she asked, "aren''t sails usually on the outside of the ship?"

    "Questions later," Nelson replied curtly, holding the lantern up to the gap to provide light, "how are the ropes?"

    Iris took a moment to inspect the rigging of the sails beneath her feet, "loose, and most of them are frayed. This one is snapped completely."

    Nelson hung the lantern from the end of the nearest available beam, and scribbled down notes in a small notebook, "follow," he instructed simply as he moved further along the deck.

    The next several hours consisted of much the same work. Nelson would point out a tight space or precarious ledge, and Iris would blip over to inspect the rigging or cogs and belts and report back for him to notate. It was hard for her to get a sense of the actual structure or purpose of all the sails and machinery, as she only ever saw small sections of it at a time in the dim lantern light. From what little she could discern, it seemed the machinery served as a kind of unfolding mechanism for the sails -- but where exactly they would unfold to in the cramped lower deck of the ship, she wasn''t sure.

    While they worked, she occasionally passed by other riggers at work. Some performed similar duties, while others were dismantling machinery and setting aside damaged ropes or sails. Several beams were smashed, splintered, or outright broken, and more than a few of the sails had long gashes cut through them. Each time she and the boatswain moved between locations, she took the opportunity to pester him with questions which he refused to answer. After a while, she began to suspect that he was quietly enjoying keeping her in the dark about the purpose of their work.

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    They broke briefly for a quick lunch shortly after midday before promptly returning to work. Their tasks carried on for several more hours, and by the time dinner was approaching they had finally reached the bow. Massive exposed beams molded the inside of the ship''s hull, revealing the extreme amount of support the ship needed to hold together. There were fewer sails at this end of the deck, the machinery instead consisting mostly of pivot points and long, thin beams that seemed intended to swing outwards.

    Iris stole glances towards the hull of the ship whenever she could between tasks. She noticed there were seams in some of the support beams, and large metal pegs seated within them that appeared to be pivots. Looking further, she saw more seams in the hull itself, something she would have assumed you would never want in a ship. Answers still eluded her, however, as she was frequently interrupted by yet more instructions from the boatswain.

    By the time the work was finally done for the day and the team climbed the stairs to the crew quarters for dinner, the sun was already setting outside the portholes and Iris realized she hadn''t even seen the open sky yet that day. She was tired, sweaty, and irritable. An intense longing for the shower in the Flopping Fish tavern overwhelmed her, rivaled only by her longing for the bed she also left behind. She thought briefly about hunting down the boatswain to finally answer her questions, but decided against it when she guessed he would simply blow her off again.

    <hr>

    "The damage is as bad as we feared, captain," Nelson the boatswain reported to the captain in his quarters, "we can attempt repairs, but without the experts at Gellorn Keep, I''m not confident we can restore functionality."

    "How long?" The captain asked.

    "Sir?" Nelson asked nervously. The Shark Titan was known to have a short temper when asked to clarify himself.

    "If you fix it, how long will it take?"

    Nelson blinked at the expectation that the crew would somehow be able to fix it despite his previous statement, "weeks, probably. And again, there''s no gaurantees--"

    The captain swore and slammed a fist down onto the table, "that''s not fast enough."

    "Captain," the first mate said, "this is a dead end. If the mermaids make a move, it''ll be before we reach Gellorn Keep or the crew can repair the mechanism. We need a different plan."

    "I know, Meredith!" the captain spun around and shouted in the face of his first mate. She responded with an unbothered stare.

    The captain sighed, "you''re dismissed, Nelson."

    Nelson nodded and quickly exited the cabin.

    "What do you suggest?" the captain asked Meredith.

    "We beat them once, we''ll do it again."

    "And if our fears are true?"

    "Then it''ll be a slightly harder fight," she answered simply, "it''s not like you to complain about that."

    "My life''s work is the belly of this ship, Meredith. If I lose the hydra, the past two years -- the past decade, even -- will have been for nothing."

    "We have a few new tricks up our sleeves this time," she assured him, "the mermaids will be a minor obstacle."

    <hr>

    The Gaping Maw was a beacon of light on the dark and expansive surface of the lake, visible for miles in all directions as it ambled across the waters. Just beyond the reaches of its light and just below the surface of the water, three figures floated, their features obscured by the darkness.

    "We should strike now," a woman spoke, unobstructed by the water, "before they grow to suspect us."

    "No," another said, "our reinforcements must be in position."

    "Fuck you reinforcements," the Fish Wizard said, "I''ll handle the shark myself."

    "Yes, you will," the second woman spoke again, "after our reinforcements arrive."

    "It''ll be daylight by then," the Fish Wizard complained, "you expect me to wait until night fall again? When they''re right here in our clutches?"

    "Yes," she replied, turning her head back towards the ship, "they have nowhere to go but deeper into my domain."

 166 - Experiments in Wizardry

    The sixth day of travel began as a quiet one. For the first time since the Gaping Maw set sail across the lake, Iris had the day off. Technically, she still had to perform routine checks on a few of the sails, but she made quick work of it with the use of her blips. With her only tasks completed before midday, Iris blipped down to the cargo hold, set up a lantern, and turned her attention towards the books the librarian had given her. While she read, Littletooth scampered around the cargo hold, occasionally bumping into or bumbling off of crates.

    The first of the books was The Intricate Mechanisms of Magic and Reality, Volume 1, which contained dense and hard to decipher knowledge of the finer workings of reality and beyond. She was quite fond of this one, as she frequently imagined herself secluded in a tower one day investigating the deepest secrets of existence. This was perhaps the most valuable addition to her book collection so far, and she had no doubt it would serve her well for years to come. For now, however, it remained too advanced for her to truly understand most of what she read, so she placed it aside.

    The next book was titled Reality for Fools, which included extremely simplified interpretations of some of the same knowledge to be found in the previous book. It was a good starting part for the average person to learn interesting factoids about more esoteric and complex topics than they would otherwise be exposed to, but the author had made a point to emphasis that many liberties had to be taken during the process of translating the knowledge of ancient scholars into language that a normal person could understand. It didn''t necessarily serve as a precursor to more advanced books, as it focused primarily on disconnected but intriguing topics rather than foundational knowledge.

    The last book was the one she was most excited for in the moment, A Layman''s Introduction to Wizards, Witches, and Threadbearers. Quickly deciding this was the one she wanted to read, she returned the others to her bag, took a seat against a large wooden crate, and cracked it open.

    The distinction between witches and wizards is often argued to great length in scholarly circles, primarily amongst wizards themselves -- who often find it necessary to insist upon their distinctions from other classes of magic. Witches, for their part, are typically less concerned with such distinctions, having perhaps a greater concern for their work rather than how it is perceived.

    The most common argument for the distinction between the two classes is made by highlighting the differences in ultimate goals, and the pursuit (or lack thereof) of greater, more intricate knowledge of invisible mechanisms. Witches tend to focus primarily on practical results, notating which herbs when mixed under what conditions create which particular effects. A wizard, on the other hand, is more likely to be concerned with why those herbs, mixed under those conditions, create those effects. While a witch mixes herbs to discern useful new combinations, a wizard mixes herbs to discern to the true and undeniable nature of said herbs -- and perhaps stumbles upon some useful effects along the way.

    More broadly speaking, a trait that often distinguishes wizardry from other classes of magic is an unquenchable desire to push boundaries. While a witch may be content to master the spells and potions of their lineage, or a sorcerer may dedicate decades to the mastery of their skills and abilities in their intended use, a wizard relentlessly pursues creative application of their skills through the stretching and bending of perceived limitations and capabilities. It is said that a wizard left to their own devices with a single ability, which an adventure journal may interpret as having only a single effect, will soon discern a thousand ways to use it. A common piece of wisdom amongst wizards is that the only known limit to the depth of an ability is the user''s dedication to discovery.

    Iris attempted to keep reading, but the previous paragraph lingered too loudly in her consciousness. She had experimented somewhat with her abilities so far, and even discovered a few traits that weren''t previously noted by her adventure journal, but life had moved far too quickly for her to truly dedicate substantial time to the effort.

    "Fuck it," she said to herself, clapping the book shut and deciding that now was as good a time as any. She pulled out her adventure journal instead, and briefly reviewed her ability descriptions.

    Spatial Distortion

    Source : Thread of Power (Void)

    Cooldown : N/A

    Mana cost : Low, varies

    Description :

    Lapse into the void behind reality and reappear a short distance away, in an unobstructed location of your choosing. Mana cost increases exponentially with distance traveled.

    Discovered trait : other beings can brought through the void with you, however this results in extremely high mana cost.

    Special Use : Emergency Exit

    Cooldown : 30 days

    Mana cost : All

    Description:

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    In the event of imminent death, lapse into the void behind reality and reappear an extreme distance away. Activates automatically, location cannot be chosen.

    Available Evolutions : 0

    Send and Retrieve

    Source : Thread of Power (Void)

    Cooldown : N/A

    Mana cost : Low, varies

    Description :

    Temporarily lapse an object into the void, reappearing a short distance away in a location of your choosing, with a velocity and direction of your choosing. Max velocity is approximately the speed at which user could throw the affected item. Cannot be used on items that too large or heavy to be lifted by the user. Cannot be used on items worn or held by others.

    Discovered trait : can be used on other living beings at extremely high mana costs. Mana cost is dependent on physical makeup of the target being.

    Available Evolutions : 0

    Awareness of Matter

    Source : Thread of Power (Void)

    Cooldown : N/A

    Mana cost : None

    Description :

    Sense the pressure which matter exerts on the void. Range scales with Spirit Attribute. Perceived detail scales with Intellect Attribute.

    Available Evolutions : 0

    Being the most recently acquired, Awareness of Matter was currently her least explored ability, and seemed like a good place to start. She brainstormed for a while about how she might experiment with it, and felt kind of stupid when a solution finally came to her. It had -- quite literally -- been all around her the entire time: crates. She was surrounded by crates, each of which contained unknown contents which she could, in theory, discern with her ability.

    Placing aside her journal, she reached out with both hands towards a small crate nearby and blipped it into her arms. She shook it gently, then placed her ear against it and rocked it side to side like a child trying to guess the content of a present before opening it. She heard what sounded like many small balls tumbling around, and then quickly chastised herself for cheating, reminding herself that the goal was to use her ability, not simply to guess what was inside.

    Closing her eyes to focus, she held the crate in her lap as she reached out with her ability. At first she felt only the outer boundaries of the crate, followed by the thickness of the wood, and finally the empty gaps within. She titled the box and many of the tiny spheres within tumbled to one side, movement which she sensed as clearly as she heard. She continued this process for a while longer, focusing as closely on her ability as possible until she was able to discern the movement of an individual sphere, and eventually several at a time. It seemed to be a good exercise, and she guessed that if she made a habit of it she would eventually develop a detailed sense of dozens of spheres at once. She decided she would do this again some time, but at the moment curiosity about what exactly the tiny spheres were was gnawing at her.

    The crate made a solid thunk as she placed on the floor in front of her and shooed away a curious Littletooth sniffing at the corner. Though the crate was nailed shut, that was no obstacle for her Strength attribute, and she promptly pried off the lid with her hands. The inside was lined with a scrap of burlap, and filled about three quarters full with small, dark grey metal spheres. She picked one up between two finger tips and inspected it closely. It looked not unlike a tiny cannonball. Unable to discern its purpose from appearance alone, she used her ability to search for the depths of the spheres for any scrap of paper that might be a note, and found nothing. Finally, she thought to check all the sides of the crate for a label, which she found on the underside -- or what might have actually been the top, she wasn''t sure -- as she held the open crate over her head and craned her neck upwards. It read "BULLETS" in large, stenciled lettering.

    "What''s a bullet?" she asked the nearby Littletooth as if he would know. He angled his head curiously before stomping over for chin scratches.

    After scratching Littletooth for a moment, Iris shrugged and returned the lid to the crate -- sliding the nails into their previous holes and hammering it down with a fist until it felt secure. She returned the crate to its rightful spot, and then meandered around until she settled in front of a large, flat crate leaning against a stack of even larger, cube-shaped crates. It only took a moment for her to confidently guess the contents as sails, as she had grown quite familiar with their texture throughout her work on the ship.

    That thought caught her attention -- she could discern the texture of the sails within the crate, which was a feature of objects she didn''t usually sense. She focused on this as she experimented with a few other crates and found that she couldn''t sense the texture of most objects. One small crate in particular, however, she was pretty certain contained stacks of paper. Her assumption was based in no small part on the texture of the paper, which she could sense almost as clearly as if touching it with her own hands. Curiously, she blipped over to her adventure journal and reviewed the ability description again. She watched in delight as new markings appeared on the page, and slowly shifted to form the letters of a newly discovered trait.

    Awareness of Matter

    Source : Thread of Power (Void)

    Cooldown : N/A

    Mana cost : None

    Description :

    Sense the pressure which matter exerts on the void. Range scales with Spirit Attribute. Perceived detail scales with Intellect Attribute.

    Discovered trait : Greater detail can be discerned on material familiar to the user.

    Available Evolutions : 0

    It was a small discovery, and not immediately all that useful, but it was a discovery all the same, and she pumped a fist in the air with a triumphant smile. She imagined dedicating countless hours to experimentation and study and filling pages of her journal with discovered traits. In her excitement, she almost missed another promising development -- her experience points had gone up slightly. This wasn''t necessarily surprising, as training was known to be a way to gain experience, and the gain in this case had been miniscule at best, but seeing as she was trapped on a boat without any monsters to fight, she found the promise of an alternate avenue to advancement quite encouraging.

 167 - Late Night Snacks

    Scaly blue hands rose from the waters, and webbed fingers sunk sharp, claw-like fingernails into the planks of the Gaping Maw''s hull. The first of the mermaids hauled herself out of the water, the purple-orange moonlight glistening off the scales of a large fish-like tail which dangled in place of legs. She was joined by two more mermaids on the starboard side as three others began their climb on the port side. The Fish Wizard lingered in the waters some distance away, waiting for his moment.

    As the mermaids climbed, the bones in their tails began crack, shift and contort. Scales bulged and undulated as the pieces moved into place, and soon flesh began to rip and tear. The tails split from the end up their length to the mermaid''s lower waist, muscles writhing as bones popped into place. Before they reached the first portholes, the transformation was complete, and in place of their tails were powerful scaly legs ending with wide webbed feet which shared the same sharp claws as their hands. The mermaids transitioned their climbing style seamlessly to include their newly formed feet, and their speed nearly doubled. As they reached the upper decks, they slow their pace only slightly as they weaved between the portholes and were careful not to make a sound.

    Iris''s eyes snapped open. In her nightmare, she had felt something moving behind her head -- but that was impossible, her head was only inches from the inner hull of the ship. She glanced nervously around the deck, but saw only slumbering masses in their hammocks. With a quiet sigh, she lay her head back and closed her eyes to return to sleep. She felt it again -- something was crawling on the outside of the ship.

    A blip brought her to the floor, where she hurriedly jammed her feet into boots. Fire shot through her veins and a breath lodged in her throat as a hulking hand gripped her upper arm.

    "You''re up to something," Dorragth, the orc with an attitude problem who slept on the hammock below her, growled quietly as he clenched tighter on her arm.

    "Yeah, usually," Iris admitted in a panic, "but that''s not what this is. There''s something climbing the ship."

    Dorragth paused where he sat in his hammock and glanced towards the nearest porthole. He sniffed the air, and his face contorted into the ugliest snarl Iris had ever seen. He released his grip and swiftly climbed out of his hammock, reaching across to the nearest sleeping pirate and lifting his hammock to drop him onto the floor.

    "MERMAIDS!" He spewed spit as he shouted in a booming growl.

    Pirates stirred in their hammocks, some toppling out into heaps on the floor while others deftly climbed to their feet and picked up weapons. The alarm was echoed down the length of the deck by other pirates to ensure that it was heard by all, and within seconds the first of the pirates were storming up the stairs.

    The first three of the mermaids had crossed over the railing and stepped foot upon the main deck when the shouts rung out from below. The first mermaid aboard and leader of the mission froze in place for only a second before shouting.

    "Fall ba--" her command was interrupted by a boom.

    There was a shower of splinters as a door exploded outwards, followed by only a flash of pale blue before the Shark Titan was upon her. Her last glimpse of the world was a fleshy throat beyond rows of triangular teeth. Blood squirted and splattered in a jagged halo as the captain''s ring of teeth shredded through her abdomen. He grabbed one of the legs that jutted from his mouth and promptly jerked it away, ripping the lower half of the mermaid''s body from his jaws and tossing it aside as he swallowed the rest.

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    Iris blipped to the main deck in time to see and hear the half-corpse slap onto the deck. She froze in horror, but was quickly jostled and shoved aside by other pirates rushing past with weapons drawn. In her daze, she spotted a monstrous, fish-like woman baring sharp teeth and claws as she charged towards the front line of pirates. Almost casually, each of them pulled the strange, bowless metal crossbows from their waists and leveled them towards the oncoming creature. Her eyes went wide and her weight shifted to abort the attack, and then a discordant chorus of booms echoed through the night. Black smoke drifted in the wind as the bloodied creature convulsed with each boom before lifelessly collapsing to the deck.

    Another fish-like woman attempted to flee, but was quickly surrounded by a ring of pirate sabers. First her legs were slashed and she collapsed to her knees, then two swipes severed either of her clawed hands as they lashed out towards her nearest attackers. She hissed upwards in defiance as the final swipe cleaved off her head.

    Iris stepped back out of the way of the stairwell and leaned against the front wall of the quarterdeck. She wasn''t panicked, her breath and heart were only slightly quickened -- yet she was stunned, unable to process the events as quickly as they happened.

    "The rest are fleeing!" someone shouted.

    "Cannons down to the waves with explosive shot!" the captain barked, "I want every fish for a mile floating dead!"

    Many of the pirates who had just rushed past Iris to the main deck now rushed back, filling the stairwell as they rapidly stomped down to the gun deck. She heard cannons roll as orders were shouted, and less than a minute later the first shots were fired. Almost absent-mindedly, Iris blipped to the railing and leaned over to watch the shots land. As commanded, they were aimed at the lake with the sharpest angles the cannons could accommodate. The cannon balls splashed into the water with little effect, shortly before exploding with muffled booms that briefly flashed brightly and bulged the surface of the water. The pirates fired three rounds from all cannons on either side before the captain called for them to halt.

    Iris tore her gaze away from the water and slowly turned her head towards the Shark Titan. He was without his usual coat and occasional hat, and his scarred chest heaved with heavy, angry breathes as he stared out at something in the dark.

    "Ship''s secure, captain," Meredith spoke as she stepped up beside him.

    "You''re in command," the captain said with the measured but wavering tone of a man with a barely caged temper.

    "Absolutely not," Meredith said flatly.

    The Shark Titan was briefly stunned out of his rage by her response, and looked at her with a slightly agape jaw. Blood adorned his face and chest, and was dripping onto the deck at his feet.

    "Sorry, but that''s not the right call," the first mate shrugged.

    "But Meredith-- he''s out there! The bastard''s working with the mermaids like we feared!"

    Meredith turned her head to look at at the darkness, "and let me guess, he''s lingering just inside the range at which you can smell him?"

    "He''s taunting me!" The captain growled, his muscles bulging as his stepped towards Meredith.

    "He''s baiting you!" she shouted, "you''re a damn fool if you don''t see that. I guarantee there''s a legion beneath us right now just waiting for you to go off chasing the wizard so they can overrun and slaughter us. Fuck the hydra, I guess, ''cause you''re trying to give them the whole damn ship!"

    Each breath the captain released came out as a growl, but he said nothing.

    "You''ll feel better if you eat," she said with a sigh, "I''ll find the chef and have her bring you something."

    The captain shook his head and waved her off, "don''t bother. I''ll eat the leftovers."

    He stomped over to the beheaded corpse, grabbed it by the leg and slowly lifted it to dangle over his open jaw. With a quick bite and jerk of his head, he ripped off the first of the dangling arms and swallowed it. He did the same with the other arm, and then lowered the torso into his gaping mouth and chomped through it. As he had done with his last meal, he ripped the legs free from his teeth and tossed them aside.

    The first mate looked past the Shark Titan as he ate and spotted Iris, whose body went tense under her gaze. She flinched when the first mate shouted, "what are you looking at? Get somewhere!"

    Iris nodded in a panic and blipped below deck.

 168 - The Gaping Maw Prepares for Battle

    The orders came only moments after the assault on the Gaping Maw ended. First came a headcount, where all crew were instructed to stay in place while first the quartermaster, followed shortly by the first mate, walked through to count each of them. They found that two crew members were missing, and after reviewing the night watch logs the missing pirates were confirmed to have been posted on the main deck during the attack. Rumors spread quickly that they had been abducted, eaten, or simply thrown overboard by the mermaids.

    Immediately following the headcount and identification of the missing, the remaining crew was given assignments. The strongest and bulkiest of the crew were sent to the cargo hold, where they retrieved several medium sized crates and hefted them up to the main deck. Inside the crates were wooden poles tipped with sharp metal spikes like short, crude spears.

    Along with a few other crew members, Iris was given a hammer and a sack of nails and set upon the task of nailing the spike poles onto the support beams of the railing, so that they would jut out and downwards from the main deck to impede climbing assailants. More hammering echoed from the second and third decks where planks were secured over each of the portholes, while the most skilled carpenters on the ship were tasked with installing a new door on the captain''s quarters. Apparently, the captain''s door was destroyed often enough to warrant having a replacement on standby in the cargo hold.

    They worked by lantern light, the ominous night time waters serving as an ever present abyss harboring unknown threats. The captain had now donned his coat and hat, and stood at the helm of the ship as the first mate echoed his commands across the main deck. They were dropping sails and moving full speed on a course for a large island in the southeastern corner of the lake, the closest land mass to their current position. The captain had no disillusions that the assault had been only the beginning -- an attempt to accomplish their goal the quiet way, if possible -- and he was certain a larger force was gathering somewhere deep below the ship for a more direct attack. Despite his thirst for blood, he had concluded it best not to undergo that attack on open water.

    As the first rays of sunlight cut across the lake, tensions calmed amongst the crew. It was expected that the mermaids wouldn''t attack again until night fall, and though they were tired and wary, the relative sense of security was welcomed. Most wouldn''t have admitted it, however, instead most of the pirates boasted about how eager they were to slay their enemies, and that they wished the mermaids would just attack and get it over with.

    Iris had made her way down much of the starboard railing, having long since lost count of how many spikes she had placed, when her path began to converge with another pirate completing the same task as her but in the opposite direction. It was Grell the angry goblin man, hammering away as if he held a personal grudge towards the nails. More than once, Iris heard him release a string of obscenities when he accidentally smashed his fingers. While she had worked thoroughly and intentionally to place most of her spikes at a uniform angle, Grell''s spikes were haphazardly oriented and formed a jagged, uneven obstruction.

    "Fucking piece of shit," Grell growled as he slapped the hammer against the main deck planks as if punishing it for hitting for him.

    Iris slumped her shoulders and sighed, the repetitive work was tiring enough, but the awkward angles at which she had to hold the spikes and hammer the nails was straining muscles she didn''t often use, and they had begun to ache about twenty spikes ago. After a precious moment of a rest, the first mate barked from somewhere on deck.

    "Back to work!"

    She was pretty sure it wasn''t directed only at her, as the order came from afar and echoed across the deck, but nevertheless she searched for resolve to keep going and picked up her hammer once more.

    On the gun deck, Cameron, the quartermaster, and a handful of cannoneers were gathered around a barrel of explosive cannonballs. Cameron held up one of the heavy projectiles and pointed with his finger to illustrate his suggestion.

    "If we bore a small hole here, I can insert a small detonation charge that will activate the explosive payload when disturbed by another blast. Then we just cork the hole and drop it overboard to let it sink, and the next blast we set off in the water will start a chain reaction of explosions."

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    "We have some crew with abilities that can mold metal, they can make quick work of that," the quartermaster nodded, "how many can you make in twelve hours?"

    Cameron took a moment to think before replying, "if someone else is making the holes for me, at least a barrel''s worth."

    "I''ll find you your metal workers, then," the quartermaster said, and then looked at the surrounding cannoneers, "you three, you work for Cameron today, get him whatever he needs. Get to work."

    Cameron nodded and returned the cannonball to its barrel. He grabbed a nearby crate and slid it over near to the barrel, and started removing pouches from his belt and pockets and spreading them out across the crate.

    "You," he pointed at one the pirates, "you know which hammock is mine?"

    "Aye," the pirate said, clearly annoyed to be taking orders from the new guy.

    "There''s a small backpack in my locker, bring it to me. Be extremely careful, there''s volatile compounds and fragile equipment in there."

    When the pirate returned with the backpack, Cameron immediately began setting out and arranging tools. He prepared a mortar and pestle, a few vials of thickening agents and accelerants, and a small metal basin designed to hold a small but very hot flame to heat the contents of a glass bowl that rested atop it. Alongside the equipment were various small tools, including tweezers, stirring sticks, and small strips of specialized color changing paper which he would dip into solutions to test various qualities. He paused when the metal workers arrived to instruct them on exactly where and how large to make the holes, and warned them to be mindful of the explosive powder already present in the ammunition. As they got to work, he returned to his impromptu workbench and began the process of synthesizing a large batch of a carefully calculated explosive mixture.

    High above the main deck, in the crow''s nest, Eli was finally convincing Hedley the birdman to show him the modifications he had made to his staff.

    "The first trick is to shape the staff to your desires before you etch and engrave," he explained, "the shape of the wood affects the flow of the magic before the runes ever get a chance, so you the form the staff first, and then apply runes to work best with the flow you already have."

    He twisted the staff in his hands and pointed to a knot in the wood about a quarter of the staff''s length from the shoulder stock, "it''s always best to work with what you''ve got, rather than try to mold it into exactly what you want. I used a few runes in conjunction with this knot here as a natural well to collect the magic as I charge the staff. The trick with long ranged shots is that you want a small but very dense bolt, so there''s runes for limiting and concentrating the magic surrounding the well."

    Eli was quite pleasantly surprised to see how excited the man was talk about his staff. It had been quite difficult to get this point, as Hedley rarely wanted to make small talk at all and had rebuffed any of Eli''s attempts to learn more about his staff until now. It seemed, however, that once he got talking, he just kept going.

    "The next big secret is this part here," he twisted the staff around to a plug a feathered finger into a narrow bore drilled down the center of the staff, "you can think of this like the barrel of a cannon. It runs down the length of the staff all the way back to the well, providing a path of least resistance for the magic to travel."

    "Magic prefers to travel through solid objects before it does air," Eli pointed out.

    "Aye," Hedley wagged a finger, "unless you etch channel runes on the interior of the bore. Not only does that create an easy path for the magic, but it allows you to further shape and manipulate the magic as it exits the staff."

    "Channel runes?" Eli asked.

    "Hoh boy," Hedley sighed, "alright, grab me a scrap of paper, lad. It''s time for a lesson."

    <hr>

    In the late morning, the quartermaster gathered a select contingent of pirates on the main deck. Amongst them was Titus in rare form, as he wore his shining metal armor for the first time since the Gaping Maw had set sail. It was generally a bad idea to wear heavy armor aboard a ship, especially while it was underway, as dexterity was a constant necessity and the threat of going overboard was never quite zero. He had donned it today, however, given the likelihood of a battle in the near future. Notable, he wasn''t wearing the full set, having opted to go without the bulky shoulder pauldrons and shin guards to at least somewhat reduce weight.

    "On the Gaping Maw, everyone fights," the quartermaster was saying, "you lot, however, will be a squad with a particular goal. You will defend chokepoints on the stairwells, blocking the mermaid''s paths to the lower decks. You''ll set up here, in front of the quarterdeck, and have fall back points prepared along the stairs just before each deck below. I expect you to spend today fortifying these positions with barricades, traps and necessary supplies. Understood?"

    "Aye!" the squad shouted.

    "Then get to work."

 169 - Race to the Cove

    It was midday when land appeared on the horizon. With full sails and favorable wind, the densely wooded island was fast approaching. The captain manned the helm while a full crew manned the sails and the first mate stalked the deck and shouted at anyone who worked too slowly or made a mistake. The goal was simple: to reach the relative safety of the island as quickly as possible. The execution, however, required leveraging the collective expertise of all the experienced sailors aboard.

    As the island grew nearer, a slow, flickering flare of red magic flew from the crow¡¯s nest and over the port side of the ship, indicating an enemy had been sighted. The captain snapped his head to his left, quickly locating the large webbed spine that jutted out of the distant waters, surrounded by a cascading wake as it raced the ship.

    "Prepare port side cannons!" the captain shouted.

    "They''re baiting us," Meredith said as she quickly climbed the steps to the quarterdeck.

    "We''ve got plenty of ammunition," the captain replied flatly, "take the helm."

    Instinctively, the first mate reached for the wheel. The instant her hand clasped the helm, regret crossed her face. The captain had already tossed aside his hat and dropped his coat, and within a second his foot was on the port side rail.

    "Fire at will!" he yelled as he leapt overboard and dived for the water far below.

    Meredith took only a moment to swear under her breath before turning her full attention to the task of steering and commanding the ship. The first shots rang out seconds later, cannonballs raced across the sky with blinding speed but splashed down short of their distant target, exploding just below the surface. The shots that followed were aimed higher, and fell close enough that the spiny fin began to weave through the water to dodge the explosions. Another flare shot from the crow''s nest, this one flying over the starboard side. Meredith soon spotted the reason why, another fin cutting through the water on the other side of the ship.

    With a frustrated slump of her shoulders, she barked an order, "prepare starboard cannons!"

    She was new to these waters, but she had studied the map well. Their destination was a sheltered cove on the northern shore of the island, and she angled the ship''s approach in anticipation of the maneuver she would have to pull off to enter it at speed.

    The port side cannons fired again, and the creature they targeted was cut off by the explosions and forced to veer away from the ship. Seconds later, the creature began to thrash, and its splashing wake was stained red. The fin dipped below the surface before rising again, this time revealing a glimpse at a scaly, serpentine body. Standing atop it was the Shark Titan, gulping down a chunk of bloodied scaly flesh.

    Meredith ripped her attention away from the sight to check on the starboard side, and found the other creature was moving in closer -- just as she had hoped.

    "Starboard cannons -- standby!" She waited a few long breaths for the creature to venture further into range, and then give the order, "fire!"

    Half the cannons fired instantly, the remaining cannons waited for the splashes and quickly adjusted their aim before firing as well. The shots rained down around the creature, exploding in rapid succession on all sides. The creature was shoved back and forth by the shockwaves until one of the final shots struck a lucky hit and exploded against the creature''s body. The resulting spray of viscera was unpleasant to witness even at a distance, but the creature''s pursuit quickly ended and cheers echoed from the gun deck.

    To the port side, the captain was finishing off his target in a thrashing, lopsided battle just beneath the waves. He was quickly falling behind the speeding ship, but Meredith had no concerns about him catching up.

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    She spotted the next fins before the flares could even be fired. They were rising out of the water ahead of the ship, two on either side. The island was to their starboard side now, and it was time to swing the ship. Meredith shouted commands to reposition the sails, waiting no longer than necessary before rapidly spinning the wheel. With a sickening lurch and a great number of creaks, the ship angled sharply towards the island and away from the creatures ahead.

    Piloting a ship the size of the Gaping Maw was not as simple a task as pointing the bow in the direction you wanted to go, but Meredith was no stranger to sailing -- or to this ship and crew. She timed every command and every adjustment of the wheel so that everything was in place exactly when she needed it, and soon the ship was sailing crookedly towards the quickly approaching mouth of the cove.

    She barked orders to raise some of the sails, and placed a hand on a long metal lever beside the wheel. It led to a mechanism tucked beneath the planks of the quarterdeck, which itself was connected to a system of pulleys that ran through the walls of the captain''s quarters and deeper down into the lower decks of the ship where it ultimately connected to a mechanism on the mechanical deck.

    It was perhaps one of the simplest mechanisms installed on the ship, but it required great strength to activate. With a snarled face and bulging biceps, the first mate cranked the lever backwards. The front ends of planks along the hull just below the waterline began to bulge outwards against the crushing pressure of the quickly passing waters as their back ends depressed into the hull of the ship. When the planks twisted outwards enough to catch the water on their inner flat side, they were abruptly slammed back by the pressure, locking into place and rapidly braking the ship''s speed. With deft handling of the wheel and a series of rapid commands to her sailors, the first mate soon had the gaping maw angled towards the cove and sailing true.

    Behind the ship, the Shark Titan was racing just below the surface of the water at blistering speed to intercept the newly arrived creatures as they circled around to converge on the ship. He opted not to attack them, however, and instead veered after the ship and followed it towards the mouth of the cove.

    The trees of the island were wholly unlike the redwoods of the Great Forest. These appeared equally as old, but were much smaller in size with elaborately twisting and winding branches that intertwined and overlapped with those of their neighbors. The leaves were wide vaguely star-shaped, and combined with the understory foliage to create a dense wall of green that extended to the very edge of the shore on either side of the narrow channel that led to the cove.

    Once the ship had fully entered the channel, the Shark Titan erupted into the air riding a constant jet of water that propelled and suspended him above the lake. He raised his outstretched hands to conjure eight pillars of water that erupted out of the lake and soared into the sky. They didn¡¯t merely originate from the surface, but dredged up the deepest waters of the lake and rocketed them into the air at immense speeds. The pillars created a whirlpool-like wake at their base, threatening to suck in anything that veered too close.

    The finned creatures rapidly aborted their chase, thoroughly cut off from the cove by the pillars. They carved jagged but ultimately circling paths just out of range of the whirlpools, their frustration and blood thirst evident in their erratic movements. The Shark Titan stopped the jet of water that suspended him and dropped back into the lake, leaving the pillars still active as he swam after his ship.

    The crew cheered as they saw their assailants cut off by their captain''s magic. The ship had slowed to a manageable pace, and now almost meandered into the sheltered cove wrapped by a ring of dense, wild forest. The captain launched out of the water, propelled high into the air by another jet of water, and landed just behind the helm with a splash and a crunch of planks. Meredith slowly twisted around to glare at him.

    The Shark Titan looked down at his feet in confusion, "I thought we strengthened those?"

    Before Meredith could respond, a series of three rapid flares erupted from the crow''s nest towards the bow of the ship. The captain snarled and stomped forward, bypassing the stairs and leaping off the quarterdeck onto the main deck below. He crossed the length of the deck in seconds with a barreling charge that brought him to the front-most railing of the ship, where he soon spotted the reason for the flares.

    Ahead of the ship, standing atop the surface of the water as if it were solid ground, was a woman with skin of brilliant shimmering scales clad in gleaming golden armor. A tri-pointed crown adorned her head, resting just above the spined-fins that connected her long ears to her head. She casually held an enormous golden trident with one hand off to her side, its base resting atop the water beside her feet.

    "Captain Clement," her voice echoed effortlessly through the cove, "I request a parley."

 170 - A Parley Between Titans

    Iris peered through a porthole in the crew quarters as the ship slowly maneuvered so that its starboard side faced inwards into the cove. This also meant that the port side was facing out towards the channel the ship had entered through, but Iris was more interested in getting of a view of the supposed mermaid queen she had heard others of the crew whispering about.

    The narrow porthole provided a less than ideal field of view, and she had to stand on her toes to get a high enough viewing angle to actually see the relatively close queen so far below. Once she did, however, she pulled the spyglass from her bottomless bag, extended it to its full length, and stuck it through the port hole. She was greeted with an up close view of the mermaid queen -- she wasn''t actually sure if the woman was a queen, but the crew seemed to think so, and that was the impression the crown gave off at least.

    "Whoa," she whispered, "this lady looks freaky."

    "I wanna see!" Autumn complained from behind her.

    Iris briefly pulled her eye away from the spyglass to look down at the shorter woman, "pull up a bucket to a port hole and let me know when you can see her, I''ll blip you the spyglass -- but only for a minute!"

    Autumn rushed off to navigate around the hammocks to the nearest port hole, where she stood atop an upturned bucket to peer out. She groaned in frustration a second later, and climbed down to stack another bucket on top of the first.

    As the ship''s twisting maneuver slowed to a stop, Iris saw the captain plummet past the port holes and splash into the calms waters. She quickly placed the spyglass back to her eyes and shortened the extension to adjust the zoom until she could see a wide area around the mermaid queen. A few seconds later, the captain rose out of the water a few yards in front of the queen, standing on a submerged waterjet that violently bubbled the surface of the water below his feet.

    "I see them!" Autumn called out, "give it here!"

    "Hang on!" Iris called back, zooming in to get a closer view of the queen''s face, "I think they''re talking."

    "Let me seeeee!" Autumn complained.

    Iris sighed and collapsed the spyglass, then blipped it past several hammocks into Autumn''s waiting hand, "don''t drop it!"

    "Damn, she is a freak," Autumn remarked a moment later.

    "I''m gonna go up top," Iris said, "come get if anything interesting happens."

    Autumn ignored her.

    Iris rolled her eyes and blipped to the stairs, then blipped past the sandbags and crates that had been placed as impromptu barricades. She could have teleported directly upwards through the decks, but decided against the risk of surprising other crew members while they were on edge.

    She stopped briefly to look in on the gun deck, but nothing interesting was happening. The cannoneers were simply on peering through the cannon holes while they waited for orders. She was surprised, however, not to see Cameron amongst them. At the top of the stairs, where they opened to the main deck, she was met with the backs of several pirates blocking the exit. One of them was in shining metal armor, and she knocked on his back like a door.

    Titus jumped and spun around, causing several other pirates to do the same. When he saw Iris standing there, he let out a quick but tired breath, "Iris, now''s not the time blip behind people like that."

    "I walked up the stairs like a normal person," she shrugged, "not my fault you weren''t paying attention."

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    Apparently, she thought to herself, surprising people was her thing.

    "I was paying attention," Titus argued, "to these guys. It''s my job to keep them alive right now."

    Iris stood on her toes and leaned to either side to look through the wall of pirates, "doesn''t seem very dangerous up here."

    "It will be soon," the pirate to Titus''s left said ominously.

    In the distance, she caught a glimpse of Cameron and several other crewmates tossing cannonballs over the port side railing. With their champion tier Strength, they easily threw them hundreds of feet beyond the ship.

    "What are those guys up to?" Iris asked.

    "You should get back below deck," Titus said, "you''re not ready for the kind of fight that''s about to happen up here."

    Iris crossed her arms and looked up at Titus with judgement in her eyes, "seriously? You sound like Eli."

    "Yeah, well sometimes he''s right," when Iris didn''t budge, he tried a different approach, "alright then, how about you go find Autumn and tell her to get up here. She definitely is ready for this kind of fight, and we could use her."

    "Fine," Iris rolled her eyes and blipped away.

    <hr>

    "Typically," the mermaid queen flicked her eyes towards the Gaping Maw as she spoke, "parley doesn''t involve a few dozen cannons pointing directly at the participants."

    "Get over it," the Shark Titan replied.

    "What''s your plan? A dramatic last stand? You''ve literally cornered yourself for us, we barely had to do anything."

    The captain snorted, "if you were that confident, you would be fighting instead of talking."

    "My goal''s not to kill you, Clement. It''s to negotiate the release of the hydra."

    "By killing two of my men in the night?" he countered.

    "Perhaps a few of my women got a little -- overzealous. I blame the impatient wizard."

    The captain snarled, "and where is that coward?"

    "Outside the cove, with the warfish," she answered casually, "he''s very cross with you, you know."

    "Cut the shit, Niran. You''re not getting my hydra."

    "I don''t want her, and she isn''t yours. You have no right to take her from her home."

    "She belongs to the sea!" the captain barked, "or do you forget that''s where she was first taken from?"

    "Ah yes, the ascension quest. That''s what this is really about, right?"

    Surprise crossed the Shark Titan''s face, "how do you know about that?"

    Queen Niran laughed, "I know you think of us as remote savages, but I promise you the god''s still speak to us. Even all the way out here."

    The captain said nothing, instead only snarling.

    "They speak of other things, too," Niran said, her tone growing darker, "a dragon to the east, wizards from the sky -- a forgotten prophecy coming to bear." Her face grew softer and almost worrisome, "our little spat aside, what''s going on out there, Clement?"

    "Dark things," he said in a quiet tone, his snarl somewhat relaxing, "powers beyond us moving pieces in the great game."

    "The gods seem--" she hesitated, "uneasy. They''re acting out of character."

    "Aye," he said calmly, "Morose has taken Giantrock City for themself."

    It was the queen''s turn to be surprised, "seriously? That isn''t like them at all."

    "No," the captain grimaced, ¡°it is not.¡±

    "Perhaps we should set this conflict aside," the queen suggested, "focus our efforts instead on what''s to come."

    "I would like that," the captain said, "but be ready for the coming troubles, I must return the hydra to the sea. It''s the final piece."

    "You''ve already returned the other two?" her eyes widened, "the Spiral neglected to mention that."

    "She may tell you secrets, but you are as much her pawn as I."

    The queen frowned, "very well, I¡¯m not so arrogant to think that I can change your mind while godhood is within your grasp. I suppose we''ll play this out. Do you have terms?"

    The captain thought for a moment before speaking, "You, me, and the wizard keep it to the lake. Let our forces battle it out in the cove."

    "Acceptable," the queen nodded thoughtfully, "in return, you''ll instruct your crew to surrender in the case of your demise. If they do so, we will release the hydra and cause no further harm."

    "Acceptable."

    They were silent for moment. It was the kind of calm, gentle silence that spoke volumes without a word.

    "I wish our reunion could have been on friendlier terms," the queen broke the silence with a sad smile, "it would have been nice to reminisce."

    "Aye," the captain said somberly, "the fates can be cruel."

    "Until we meet in battle, Clement," the queen bowed slightly.

    The captain dipped his head silently in response.

    The mermaid queen abruptly dropped into the water, rapidly descending into the depths until she faded from view. The Shark Titan turned towards his ship, looming like a giant amongst the calm waters of the cove and the dense, wild forest surrounding it. He lingered for a moment to savor the view, knowing it would soon see great damage and no small amount of blood.

 171 - Siege of the Gaping Maw

    The captain''s pillars of water that blocked the entrance to the cove had long since subsided as the sun grew low in the sky, but the mermaid''s attack had yet to come. The final portholes were boarded shut, and Iris found herself nearly alone in the crew quarters. Her only company was Killup the gargoyle, who had taken to following her around in the absence of his boss, Autumn. He was currently perched atop the foot post of her hammock, where she lay staring at the planks above in boredom.

    "Chef''s a good fighter?" Killup asked abruptly.

    "Yeah," Iris answered unenthusiastically.

    "Good, I like this chef."

    Iris sighed and placed her pillow over her head.

    "What''s that?"

    "What?" Iris asked, muffled by the pillow.

    "The fluffy thing on your face."

    Iris withdrew the pillow and looked at Killup in confusion, "you don''t know what a pillo--"

    Cannons boomed on the deck above, their wheels rolled loudly across the planks and muffled shouting echoed down the stairs. Iris tossed the pillow aside and blipped out of her hammock, rushing to a nearby porthole to peer through the cracks between the boards.

    Seconds later more cannons fired. The fins of warfish entering the cove weaved and dipped to avoid the explosions that followed seconds later. Some cannons appeared to be firing shrapnel that peppered the water with splashes and shredded the flesh of warfish.

    More projectiles joined the barrage, mostly bolts of magic and arrows that Iris assumed were flung from the decks above. Every few seconds, a blindingly bright streak of white would shoot down from somewhere high above, blowing holes through warfish with every shot. She lost count of the number of fins racing through the waters somewhere after a dozen.

    An overwhelming urge to do something overwhelmed her. She wanted to rush to the main deck and join the fight, but she had no projectile abilities or weapons, and with great disdain she heeded the warnings from Titus and others that she wouldn''t be prepared for the fight that was coming to the ship.

    "I''m going to check the lower decks," she said as she donned her wizard hat and pulled the magic walking stick from her bag. Before Killup could reply, she disappeared.

    The storage deck was dark and still as usual, so she blipped down again. She appeared amidst the intricate mess of machinery on the mechanical deck, and again found nothing of note -- that was, until she noticed vibrations in the hull. After blipped up to the hull, she placed an ear against the planks. It was a long, drown out hum that faded slightly before ending abruptly. It reminded her of a trumpet or horn.

    She then sensed the bodies of mermaids scaling the outside of the ship, rapidly climbing towards the upper decks. A chorus of dull booms from below reverberated through the hull as the ship rocked slightly, and the unmistakable overlapping roars of the hydra followed from the depths of the ship.

    <hr>

    "They''re below us!" someone shouted on the gun deck.

    "Blow the charges!" Cameron called out in response.

    Designated cannons were angled down as low as they could aim and fired explosive cannonballs deep below the surface near the ship. The fuses had been made extra-long, and it was several long seconds before they exploded in the depths. A chain reaction explosions propagated across the previously sunken charges, emanating from the activating shots and converging towards the ship. The sunken charges were too low to damage the hull, but with any luck would kill or at least disorient the mermaids no doubt converging on the ship as well. From the surface, the distinct explosions were indiscernible besides faint flashes of light, but the overlapping shockwaves combined with the wakes of the swarming warfish soon formed choppy waves throughout the cove.

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    Up above, shouts echoed across the main deck warning of the mermaids climbing the hull. Pirates leaned over the railings and fired projectiles downwards. The mermaids far below were obstructed by the curvature of the ship, while those who had reached the higher decks had fully formed their legs and deftly angled their climbs side-to-side dodge the incoming attacks.

    Cannon fire continued to bombard the cove to the port side, slowing the charge of mermaids and warfish through the channel. To the starboard side was the inner cove, where the cannons were instead pulled back from the hull so more pirates could fire guns, bows and magic through the cannon holes down at the climbing mermaids.

    One pirate was skewered through the neck by the short trident of a mermaid through a cannon hole, and soon a wave of climbing mermaids were crowding around the holes and stabbing blades or shooting jets of water into the gun deck. The pirates withdrew behind the cannons and promptly lit them, the resulting barrage exploded torsos and blew off limbs of the mermaids outside. A few blasts hit the hull, punching through the planks and exploding out in clouds of shrapnel.

    The first mermaids reached the main deck, but fought an uphill battle below the strongly defended railings until jets of water began to bombard the main deck from afar, piercing through pirates like javelins. Those that missed hit the deck and splintered planks, or blasted chunks off of masts and shredded sails. The jets shot up out of the water and arced through the air towards the ship, increasing in number until dozens landed every minute.

    <hr>

    In the open waters of the lake beyond the cove, the Shark Titan shot through the depths at blinding speed. On his heels was the mermaid queen, chasing after him with trident outstretched. Ahead, the fish wizard floated in the depths and raised his hands dramatically. Dozens of warfish rose from the darkness below, racing upwards and gnashing razor teeth at the Shark Titan who twisted and rolled to dodge as he honed in on the Fish Wizard.

    The mermaid queen''s trident shot forwards, quickly closing the gap and catching up to the Shark Titan. He felt it coming a second too late, and as he rolled aside the left-most point of the trident pierced his forearm. His speed slowed as he snarled and ripped the trident free and threw it down deeper into the water.

    A warfish bit down on his abdomen, the large mouth nearly stretched across the width of the hulking titan but even the razor sharp teeth struggled to pierce his scales. He reached out and grabbed the warfish behind its head, driving his fingers through the scales with sheer strength and wrenching its thrashing body towards his mouth. With a single, slicing chomp, he bit through the creature''s spine and its body went limp. As he pried the jaws from his abdomen, the mermaid queen hit him like a cannonball.

    The pair tumbled through the water as they wrestled, the queen''s sharp claws slicing across his scales while his gnashing jaws chomped for her head. Seconds later, the queen pushed away from him and spun around to slap him with her tail. The dizzying impact sent him spiraling through the water. As he found his bearings, he saw the Fish Wizard transforming.

    The tattered grey cloak was shredded by bulging, scaly flesh. His arms transformed into fins as his legs merged together in a long, thin tailfin and his head shrunk into his neck. Within seconds his human form was unrecognizable as a wide, frowning mouth with jagged teeth ripped open across the scaly mass and a long, antennae like structure grew out his now beady white eyes until a blinding light formed at the dangling tip. The giant anglerfish moved towards the captain at shocking speed as the transformation completed.

    <hr>

    Iris blipped down to the sixth deck of the ship, below the waterline and lower than she had ever gone. This deck was lit with dim glow stone lanterns and divided into various rooms branching off a narrow central hallway. One section appeared to be a brig with a pair of iron bar cells.

    Another section was blocked by a thick iron bar gate, through which appeared to be an armory. Countless swords, buckler shields, spears and more adorned the walls. She saw a row of the metal not-crossbows hanging on the wall above crates labeled "bullets." The thought crossed her mind to take one, but she had no idea how to even begin to use them. She did blip inside, however, to look around for a great sword. To her dismay, there wasn''t a single two-handed sword to be found.

    She was preparing to blip down to the next deck, but stopped herself when she sensed something strange. She crouched to extend the range of her awareness ability deeper into the deck below, and paused for a moment to figure out why the air felt thick. Then she recognized it -- water. The next deck was full of water.

    At first she panicked, wondering if the ship was sinking. She quickly blipped up to the machinery deck and over to the hull, where she sensed the waterline on the other side to be in approximately the same position it had been during her shift inspecting the mechanisms. With relief, she blipped by down to the narrow hallway of the sixth deck, and searched for a door or stairwell that might lead deeper.

 172 - Bloody Clashes

    Clad in stone armor formed from rocks Iris had provided from the bottomless bag and wielding a long stone spear made from the same, Autumn stood like a statue amongst the pirates who formed a wall in front of the port side stairwell. Across the main deck, guns fired, magic flared and swords clashed with claws as the mermaids swarmed over the railings on all sides.

    Though their tails had split into legs, their skin remained covered in scales in hues of blue and green. Their shape was human, but they had the faces of snarling, hissing monstrosities. Most wore emerald or lazuli armor that sparkled in the sunlight, but the most heavily armored amongst them wore plates made from the bumpy, scaly hide of some unknown creature.

    An unlucky pirate was shot through the leg by a spear of water launched from the palm of a mermaid, dropping him to a knee. The mermaid followed up by leaping atop him with her hands and feet, collapsing him back against the mast as she swiped a set of claws across his throat and leapt away.

    "They''re not like you, they can all do that" Adan said beside her, standing tall and gleaming like a statue of his own.

    A second later, a blast of white, crackling magic from Titus at the starboard side stairwell landed squarely in the injured pirate''s chest and quickly healed his wounds. A scream escaped his throat after the rips in his flesh closed up, even as he climbed to his feet and picked up his sword to charge at the nearest enemy.

    "Not like me?" Autumn asked, adjusting her grip and stance in anticipation of battle.

    Every few seconds another pirate fell, and another blast of magic from Titus picked them up. The mermaids began to turn their attention towards him.

    "Any of you. They have no threads, only innate magic," Adan said, "what you see one do, they can all do."

    Autumn watched the metal-skinned man curiously, his eyes were intently focused on the battle even as he spoke, flicking rapidly to different targets across the deck.

    "They often crouch to dodge," he said, "get ready."

    Autumn returned her gaze forward, seeing only small shifts in the battle before them. Beside her, Adan clinched his fists and ever-so-slightly lowered his stance. To their right, several mermaids abruptly disengaged their conflicts and swarmed towards the starboard stairwell. The front row of pirates fired their guns before slipping between the ranks of the second row, which stepped forward with weapons drawn to clash with the mermaids.

    Several pirates in front of Autumn and Adan shifted towards the starboard side to join the fight and flank the swarm. This quickly turned the tide of the clash at the starboard stairwell, but left the port stairwell less defended. Autumn stepped up into the front line to fill a gap, while Adan stood tall behind her.

    "They''ll attack from the left and above," Adan said quickly, "I''ll take above."

    "How do you--" Autumn abandoned her question when a scaly torso emerged over the railing to her left.

    She twisted and drove her spear past the pirate to her immediate left, between the posts of the railing and into the chest of the climbing mermaid. The barbed tip hooked into the mermaid''s back as she withdrew the spear, pulling the mermaid forward and skewering it onto the spikes nailed to the railing. The pirate to her left swiped a sword and cleanly decapitated the mermaid, but more were already appearing.

    Behind her, Adan leapt up and backwards, arcing sharply over a creeping mermaid as it stealthily crawled to the edge of the quarterdeck above. He landed with a foot on the mermaid''s back and grabbed either side of its head as it instinctively glanced up at the movement. With a swift, almost mechanical twist of his hands and torque of his body, he snapped the mermaid''s neck.

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    Without pause, he spun and launched a swinging kick at a mermaid who approached from behind with short trident aimed towards him. His leg was longer, and his heel struck the mermaid in the jaw. She was spun to the side and staggered, and in a flash Adan followed up with rapid, surgical punches to the gaps in her armor that flowed effortlessly into a complex maneuver that bound and twisted her arm, which he promptly snapped. The mermaid was screaming in pain and more were surrounding him. Without an expression or reaction Adan disengaged and kicked her over the quarterdeck railing for someone below to finish off as he reoriented to face his new attackers.

    Just below, Autumn was in a nasty brawl. Claws left deep grooves in her armor and tridents sparked when they glanced off of it. Her spear was too long for such close range, so she dropped reformed it into fist and elbow spikes attached to her armor. She dodged a swipe towards her head with a lean and drove a spike in and out of the gap below an emerald chest plate. A falling, screaming mermaid landed atop the one she had just impaled and was promptly decapitated by a pirate¡¯s twirling sword. Claws grabbed her other arm, and she jerked away briefly before shoving back against it to drive the elbow spike into a throat. A leaping mermaid aimed a trident at her neck, but was shot from the air by an unseen gun and landed atop one of its allies in a heap.

    The starboard stairwell fared well with the backup from the port stairwell and the unending healing of Titus. while injured mermaids often leapt overboard to return to the water, the would-be slain pirates stood up again and again and rejoined the fight. The tide of battle across the deck soon shifted to a full assault against the stairwells, particularly the starboard side towards the well-guarded healer.

    This sandwiched the attackers between the fortified stairwells and the pirates racing after them from the stern -- but it was only a moment before more mermaid reinforcements climbed onto the front of the ship and joined the fight, creating a multi-fronted battle.

    All the while cannons fired. The port side cannons held back the endless of stream of reinforcements entering the cove from the lake, while the starboard cannons suppressed the unseen source of the water jet artillery from the depths of the cove. Cannons blasted and rolled, they were reloaded with rapid, practiced movements and promptly rolled back into place to fire again.

    The sky was growing dark, and the forest around them became a still, eerie wall around the chaotic waters of the cove. The pirates of the gun deck soon saw only darkness beyond the hull, but they continued the perpetual cycle of firing, reloading and firing again.

    <hr>

    The Shark Titan held back the clamping jaws of the giant anglerfish with bulging arms and a snarl. He pulled his feet close to his chest and out of the creature''s mouth, placed them onto teeth, and kicked off. The force launched him away and shattered the teeth. He quickly twisted and bolted away, his speed being as valuable in this fight as his strength.

    He dodged the constant harassment of warfish and searched the waters for the mermaid queen -- he knew that if he couldn''t see her, she was working on something. Behind him, the pursuing wizard turned anglerfish opened his gaping jaws and began to suck in water, quickly forming a massive underwater whirlpool that slowed the captain''s escape to stop, and soon began to pull him backwards.

    The Shark Titan twisted around, preparing for another clash with the creature''s teeth, when the pressure of the water increased -- but not from above. He glanced below and his eyes went wide. Something large was rising from the depths. Facing one problem at a time, he returned his attention to the anglerfish, flipped around and swam into the force of the whirlpool towards the waiting jaws.

    <hr>

    Iris found a short stairwell that lead to a door just below the floor of the sixth deck. It was chained, bolted, and barred shut. A crude carving of a multi-headed hydra was cut into the wood, surrounded by several small skulls. Despite the call of adventure begging her to blip past the door, she hesitated at the sight of the skulls. She could sense there was air on the other side, rather than water, and all four walls of the room were within range of her awareness ability, so she knew the room to be too small to contain a hydra -- but warnings existed for a reason, no matter how much she wanted to pretend otherwise.

    Another not-quite-trumpet sound reverberated through the hull, followed by dull but powerful thuds and another set of overlapping roars from the hydra. It sounded weak and desperate, and Iris swore she detected a hint of longing or begging in the tone. Whatever was happening, it was making the hydra restless, and was surely part of the mermaid''s plan.

    She could go find help -- but based on the constant, distant booms of cannon fire, those above deck were busy enough. She could back away, pretend she never came down here and never heard the sounds -- but no, she was a member of this crew, and she had her own weight to pull in the struggles of the Gaping Maw.

    With a deep breath and an excited heart, she blipped past the door.

 173 - Rocking the Boat

    Iris appeared in a dark room. Though she could see nothing, she could sense her surroundings well enough to discern the layout. Three of the four walls were flat and seemed to be made of the same thick wooden planks as much of the ship, while the wall opposite the door was angled at 45 degrees, the bottom jutting out to take up much of the room''s floor space. It seemed to be made of a smoother material than the other walls, though she couldn''t quite place it. Beyond the smooth, angled wall were large crossing bars that formed a cage, the gaps were large enough for a person to swim though and the bars were absurdly thick as if to stop something big and powerful.

    In the center of the room was wooden podium, and beside it a tall lever with a locking handle that extended down into the floor. Iris blipped to the podium and gently moved her hands across its surface, finding a series of small stones set into the wood, which she chose not to turn.

    Hesitantly, she pulled the lantern from her bottomless bag. Warm orange light bathed the small room, revealing it to be as barren and empty as she had sensed. The smooth, angled wall was glass -- a window looking out into blackness. The bars beyond it were made of a polished metal that gleamed under the lantern light.

    She stepped up to the angled window and held her lantern out over it, its flickering light wholly unable to penetrate the darkness. Beyond the glass and cage, there was only water to the edge of her awareness ability''s range, but she still sensed something. It was an aura strong enough for an amateur to feel without even looking for it -- a powerful, vicious aura that seethed in the darkness beyond -- and it knew she was there.

    A scaly snout slowly came into view, then a second and third on either side of it. The lantern light gleamed off rows of long, dagger-like teeth before soon reflecting off the fierce, predatory eyes of the hydra heads. They were much smaller than the hydra heads Iris had seen at the beach months before, and they loomed silently on the edge of the darkness, looking in at a dumbstruck Iris.

    "Hey there, gal," she said nervously, "just-- doing checks."

    The hydra didn''t react to her words. The trumpet-like tone she had heard before returned, this time louder and clearer. The sound seemed to travel effortlessly through the water, and reverberated loudly through the glass.

    The hydra heads twisted away back into the darkness, and Iris caught glimpses of its body and fins as it seemed to whirl around and swim away. A moment later, a dull thud echoed through the bones of the ship. The hydra was ramming the hull.

    Panic took hold of Iris as she began to rack her brain for ideas. It crossed her mind that they must be feeding the creature, and that perhaps food would calm it down, but then she considered that a meal might just make it stronger. She tried to reason to herself that surely the ship was reinforced to withstand the creature''s best efforts to escape, perhaps the thick cage extended all around the interior of this submerged deck.

    The horn sounded again, and the another heavy, dull thud followed. This one was on the opposite side from the last, and Iris felt the floor tip slightly under her feet. A few seconds later, another horn, and another dull, this time back on the other side. The floor tilted slightly more.

    "Hey! HEY!" Iris leaned forward and pounded desperately on the glass, "stop that!"

    Another horn, and another thud.

    She sighed and began to pace, "of course, why would it listen, Iris?"

    The next thud rocked the ship enough that Iris staggered back against the podium to catch her balance. With a rapidly escalated problem and not much else to go on, she moved behind the podium and held the lantern out to her side.

    "Abby, give me a hand?" she asked.

    A tentacle rose up out of the bottomless bag at her waist and grabbed hold of the lantern''s handle, holding it near the podium as Iris inspected the controls. The stone dials looked similar to those they had found an ancient temple in the forest, which she recalled her teammates had explained were controls of a large ritual. These dials were much smaller, however, and a series of deep grooves carved into the wood connected them to a larger carved diagram at the top of the podium, from which several grooves extended around the top edge and down the back of the podium and into the floor.

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    Looking closely, she found small etchings on each of the dials. One appeared to be a crude drawing of a lantern, while the second and third were both three wavy lines that Iris interpreted to mean water. One of the water symbols had a tiny plus sign beside it, while the other had a minus sign.

    Cautiously, she twisted the dial with the lantern symbol. Glow stone lanterns in the corners of the room lit up a dim yellow. She twisted it more, and glow stones outside of the room began to light up. As she continued twisting the dial, glow stones along the length of the interior hull sprung to life, and soon a band of faint yellow lights illuminated a ring around the hydra''s prison. The collective light was still too weak to penetrate the darkness in the middle of the space, but she caught glimpses of the hydra''s form each time it slammed into the side of the hull.

    She was distraught to see that the cage did not extend beyond the glass, at least in the areas the glow stones illuminated. The hull appeared to be faring well under the assault, however, with no visible cracks or holes within the glow stones'' light -- though they were placed much higher than where the hydra was ramming.

    "Come on," she groaned, "there''s something I can do. There has to be something."

    <hr>

    In the crow''s nest, Eli was jolted forward against the half-wall of the structure and brought precariously close to falling out. A feathery hand grasped him by the collar and pulled him back, then shoved him aside as Hedley took his place and shouldered his staff. He released a powerful streak of white magic that punched through the air down to the main deck far below, where it erupted through the chest of a leaping mermaid.

    "Find your legs, kid," Hedley said, pre-emptively leaning into the next tilt as the ship rocked back in the other direction.

    Eli fell back against the central pillar of the crow''s nest, which was the tip of the main mast. He held his staff tight in one hand while he wrapped the other arm around the broad mast for balance.

    "What''s causing this?" he shouted.

    "No idea," Hedley replied, letting off another blast of magic towards the bow, "not our problem."

    The next tilt sent Eli stumbling forward, flailing his arms for balance which he barely regained in time to avoid being flung out of the crow''s nest. He spoke after a heaving breath, "it sure feels like our problem."

    "Nothing we can do up here," Hedley said between shots, "find your legs, and get back to shooting."

    <hr>

    The first mate was a force to reckon with on the battlefield. From a distance, her path down the main deck almost looked like a casual stroll -- even her frequent ducks and leans to dodge attacks seemed effortless and casual. All the while, her face was stern and stoic, and her twin cutlass swords sliced and stabbed through countless foes even as she surveyed the broader strokes of the battle and shouted orders to her crew.

    "Consolidate at the stairwells!" she shouted as she sliced a throat.

    She spun and threw a sword through the air, embedding it in a hissing mermaid''s throat. In the same spinning motion, she drew a pistol from her waist and put a bullet through the chest plate of another, then used the barrel of the weapon to parry a jab from a trident and cut down the attacker with her remaining sword. She tucked the pistol back into its holster just before the next tilt of the ship brought the previously impaled mermaid stumbling towards her, and with outstretched hand she caught the handle of the sword extending from the mermaid''s throat and ripped it free.

    The deck was now slick with blood, and her crew was beginning to slip and slide across the rocking ship. The mermaids fared much better in the conditions, the grip of their scaly feet keeping them upright more often than not, and their heightened agility quickly bringing them back to their feet when necessary.

    She found herself at the center of the deck, nonchalantly dancing around the main mast towards the stern as she cut her way to the quarterdeck. She watched helplessly as a pirate in her periphery was flung over the starboard railing by the motion of the ship, and glanced up at the swaying masts in concern. She felt each thud that reverberated through the hull, and had no doubt the hydra -- and ultimately the mermaids -- were responsible. Her knowledge of this ship included just how much it would take to capsize it, and though the rocking motion was a long way off, it was increasing with every swing.

    <hr>

    In the waters below the ship, a mermaid carried one of the pirate''s unexploded depth charges and swam as fast as she could towards the hull of the ship. At the last possible moment, she angled her body upwards into a flip and released the cannonball. With a twist and strong waves of her body and tail, she rapidly swam away as the cannonball drifted towards the ship and lightly bounced off its hull. A jet stream shot through the water and struck the cannonball, exploding it against the hull.

 174 - Bloody Waters

    Iris saw of a flash of light somewhere in the darkness at the bottom of the hydra''s chamber. Unsure of what to expect, she waited with bated breath while her mind still raced for solutions. Her thoughts paused abruptly when a new form came into view in the darkness beyond the glass -- a mermaid with blue scaly skin clad in gleaming emerald armor and wielding a tall trident. Her tail flicked slowly as she hovered in the water, staring at Iris through the glass.

    Iris was preparing to blip to the deck above when she noticed the mermaid''s eyes flick to the podium in front of her, and then the lever beside it. The likely purpose of the lever donned on Iris, as did the importance of defending it. The mermaid swam away, and another took her place, rapidly approaching the glass with a cannonball in hand.

    A lot of details clicked into place for Iris all at once. The mermaid released the cannonball and twisted away. It bounced off the glass with a thunk, and a jet of water followed behind it. The cannonball exploded, the glass fractured -- and then collapsed.

    Water filled the room, the force of it ripping away the podium and slamming into Iris. The glow stones went dark. The air was forced from her lungs as she impacted the back wall. She only managed to gasp a single breath before the water enveloped her head.

    She sensed a trident racing towards her neck, and blipped forward. She appeared behind a mermaid as it swam into the implosion left behind from her blip. The tips of the trident sunk deep into wall as the shockwave dazed the mermaid, causing it to swim head first into the wall and further stun itself.

    Tentacles erupted from the bottomless bag and wrapped around the mermaid, constricting until bones snapped. Another trident came for her head, this time with no mermaid attached. She blipped out of its path and blipped the trident into her hand. A bigger implosion erupted -- encompassing not only the space where she had been, but the space where Abby''s tentacles had been as well.

    She angled the trident towards the next motion she sensed -- the mermaid who had tossed it was now racing towards her. Iris stabbed the trident forward but the mermaid rolled to the side and dodged, grabbing hold of the trident and pulling as she whipped her tail around to slap Iris in the head.

    A tentacle blocked the tail and promptly wrapped around it, and Iris pulled back on the trident. The mermaid snarled and tried jerking the trident from Iris''s hands, but Iris held tight. A smiled crossed Iris''s face as she wrestled over the weapon -- she was stronger than the mermaid.

    Iris twisted and jerked the trident away from the mermaid, then kicked off the wall and shoved the weapon forward. The mermaid twisted to dodge, but Abby pulled it into the strike. The sharp tips of the trident glanced off the mermaid''s chest plate, but slid down and impaled it at the waist. Iris shoved the trident deeper, then blipped behind the mermaid.

    The wound and ensuing implosion stunned the mermaid, and Iris followed up with a kick to the back of its head. The mermaid was flung forward, landing head first against the wall with a sickening crack that was dulled by the water.

    Two more mermaids appeared within the range of her senses. Abby intercepted one, but it was prepared for the tentacles and deftly twisted and rolled to slip free of Abby¡¯s grasps before they could constrict. The other mermaid swam straight for iris and swiped claws at her throat. Iris blipped, once again the implosions left behind stunned her adversaries -- but another was charging at her from beyond the shattered window.

    She sensed her enchanted walking stick floating nearby when she reappeared, and blipped it into her hands. She swung the stick as hard she could against the resistance of the water, but the mermaid angled just below the swing and colliding with Iris at the waist -- wrapped its arms around her and driving her back against a wall.

    Abby''s tentacles were busy intercepting the other two mermaids as they recovered from their daze. Iris was feeling weak, and her lungs were burning for air. She twisted the stick around in her hands and brought the tip down on the mermaid''s spine, releasing a powerful blast of kinetic energy from the staff that shattered vertebrae. The mermaid''s grip relaxed, and Iris blipped up to the deck above, landing with a splash on her hands and knees as she gasped for air.

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    She lay there for a while, relishing briefly in the calm with quick, heaving breaths, before turning her mind towards the situation. She knew she should leave. The smart thing to do would be to go find someone stronger to solve this problem, she''d learned this by now -- but she was pretty sure the mermaids were going to release the hydra, and that only a few locks on the lever were in their way. Iris had witnessed the fresh carnage of a battle against a hydra, and vividly recalled the beach and the Underbelly reeking of death for weeks. This time the crew would be trapped on the Gaping Maw, in a dark cove, with a pissed off and hungry hydra -- it would be a nightmare. She''d have to act now, there wasn''t time to ruminate on risks.

    "We gotta do something," she said between breaths.

    The tentacles loomed all around her, and a few suddenly grabbed hold of the iron bars that gated the armory room. Iris glanced over at the gate. She blipped into the armory and Abby''s tentacles promptly whipped around in a flurry as they each collected weapons. Iris looked around at the tentacles, now wielding swords and daggers. Her hat had been knocked off in the fight, and her wet hair clung to her face, her dripping robes weighed her down, and her breaths were still heavy. Still -- she smiled.

    "Let''s see what we can do about this," she said, her voice quivering nervously.

    Loud, affirmative tones emanated from the bottomless bag.

    A few seconds later, Iris took a deep breath and blipped back to the room below.

    A mermaid was attempting to pull the lever -- it had been snapped in half by the initial rush of water, but multiple fail safe locking mechanisms kept it in place. As the mermaid jammed a trident against a padlock at the base of the lever, Iris delivered a powerful kick to the back of its head.

    The mermaid was shoved forward by the strike, but rolled into the motion and flicked its tail back to thump into Iris''s chest. This pushed Iris back as well, but she promptly twisted and blipped. Using the moment the mermaid had given her, she appeared in front to and to the side of it, swinging her stick towards the mermaid''s chest. The strike landed against lazuli armor that cracked under the strike but held strong. Even with the armor absorbing the blast, the force was enough to throw the mermaid into an involuntary roll. Tentacles quickly converged on the tumbling mermaid and drove blades through every exposed portion of its flesh.

    Something struck Iris from behind. She instinctively glanced down, but could see nothing in the darkness. Instead she sensed it -- the three prongs of a trident were extending out of her abdomen. Her mind twisted and contorted, a sickening sensation of wrongness overtaking her. The prongs withdrew, and raced forward again aimed at her heart.

    It''s okay, she told herself in her mind, we have options.

    She blipped and swung her stick, but this time without expending the energy stored within. Instead she swung it through the gap between two prongs of the trident, letting the staff absorb the combined energy of her swing and the mermaid''s forceful stab. The trident and stick both came to an amicable stop, and Iris blipped again.

    As she reappeared, tentacles found the mermaid who had stabbed her. Blades sliced at scales and punctured flesh. An unarmed tentacle grabbed the mermaid''s tail and whipped the mermaid around to slam against the thick metal bars of the window cage, bouncing it off one after another before finally slamming it into the floor and pinning it down with blades.

    Iris shoved the walking stick down into the crevice at the base of the broken lever. Her head was still spinning, her body wanted to vomit and her fingers were going numb. She pumped mana into the staff and blasted force from the tip, shattering the mechanism beneath the lever and exploding the floor around it into splinters.

    Mermaids were converging on her. She looked up and blipped. Her lungs sucked in a breath of their own accord, but something was wrong. Her heart was racing. The breaths weren''t working. Pain finally found its way to her mind, and a sharp burning sensation spread across her chest with every attempted breath. With what little strength remained, she clutched the enchanted locket hanging from her neck.

    She blipped again, appearing on the mechanical deck, splashing blood and water at her feet. Another blip brought her to the storage deck, another to the crew quarters, and with the last of her mana she appeared on the gun deck and collapsed.

    Her vision was fading, but she could hear the fighting. Her head limply rolled to the side, where she could barely see a cluster of pirates desperately holding back a tide of mermaids fighting their way down the stairs.

    "Iris!" Titus yelled, appearing in her vision a second later as he dropped to his knees beside her, ¡°what happened?¡±

    Iris, still clutching her locket, wheezed out her words, "can you save me?"

    Titus''s face was filled with panic as he inspected her wounds. The seconds felt like an eternity as she watched his face contort through several emotions.

    "Can-- you--" she croaked.

    "Yes!" he shouted suddenly, "it''s going to hurt."

    Iris nodded, and let go of the locket. Her hand dropped limply to the floor, and her eyes drifted shut.

 175 - Taking Back the Helm

    Victoria had spent much of the battle as she spent most battles, lingering out of view and out of reach of the combatants as she covertly and strategically applied positive and negative effects with her summoned tarot cards. Her spectral form aided in this endeavor significantly, allowing her to escalate from her usual strategy of staying in one place to instead quickly and quietly navigate the battlefield and apply effects where they were most needed.

    As the crew conceded the main deck to the mermaids and retreated to defend the chokepoints on the stairwells to the gun deck, Victoria stayed above and harassed the attackers with negative effects and distractions. They fired jets of water and even threw tridents at her whenever she was seen, but they were no risk to her spectral form. Accompanying her harassment campaign were Eli and Hedley, who fired a continuous barrage of magic bolts at the mermaids on the deck from the crow¡¯s nest.

    When the mermaids began climbing the main mast towards the crow''s nest, Victoria adjusted her strategy to run interference and delay their climb. Her powers worked well in the vertical battlefield of the masts and sails, allowing her to hide behind sails and pass through them to surprise the climbing assailants. Though her spectral form had little in the way of effective attacks, she quickly devised a strategy that involved flying towards an enemy, shifting into her physical form to tackle the enemy off the ropes, and shift back to her spectral form to avoid falling herself.

    The strategy was effective, but it became harder and harder for the snipers in the crow''s nest to support her efforts as the mermaids used the sails and important rigging as cover for their climb. Though she consistently slowed their ascent, the mermaids were growing closer to the crow''s nest.

    ______

    The gun deck was a bloody scene. Piles of bodies both mermaid and pirate clogged the stairwells. The mermaids shifted their approach from pushing down the stairs to climbing back over the side of the ship and attempting to enter through the gun ports. The gunners still operated cannons as fast as they could even as the assault was underway and countless pirates crowded their deck, though they were beginning to worry about the amount of ammunition they were using.

    Few noticed when Iris appeared, and the frantic scurrying and shouting continued around her as Titus clenched a fist and clasped his other hand over top it. Bright, crackling white light began to shine between his fingers and wrap around his fist as he raised his hands over his head and slammed them down on Iris''s chest.

    The impact itself was traumatic and damaging, but that was his intent. Her heart rate was slowing, the blood was barely moving through her body and her lungs were barely expanding at all. The massive jolt of magic and blunt physical force was harmful to her body in the short term, but it triggered the response he was hoping for. Her heart increased speed and she began gasping for air again, both critical functions for distributing his healing magic throughout her body. If she was stable -- if he had more time -- he could have done things the softer way, but without it, he simply gritted his teeth and raised his hands for another hit.

    Behind him, the first mate had seen Iris appear and connected the dots on her own. She shouted orders to the crew, "I need ten sailors to the lower decks! Mermaids have breached the hull!"

    Loose cannonballs rolled across the deck as the ship tilted far to one side, followed by boots stomping down the stairs.

    Victoria phased through the hull of the ship and drifted up to the first mate, speaking in the echoing overlapping voices of her spectral form, "mermaids are climbing the masts, they''ll reach the crow''s nest soon."

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    The first mate growled in frustration, "how concentrated are they on the stairs?"

    "Not very," Victoria replied, "they''re split between the stairwells, the gun ports, and climbing towards the crow''s nest."

    The first mate nodded and shouted across the gun deck, "Luo! We''re taking back the main deck!"

    The quartermaster withdrew his saber from the body of a mermaid who had been attempting to climb through a gun port, "aye!" despite his affirmative response, he turned away to drive his sword through another mermaid.

    ¡°You,¡± the first mate said to Victoria, ¡°support the sailors on the lower decks, find out what the mermaids are doing down there.¡±

    Victoria nodded and dropped through the floor.

    With his last target dispatched, the quartermaster joined the first mate in rallying pirates for the counter assault. Though clearing the bodies from the stairs was a difficult task for the upstairs attackers, from beneath it was a relatively quick process. Pirates grabbed hold of limbs and pulled them down the stairs, dragging the bodies across the deck and away from the stairs. This further crowded the gun deck, and made the operation of a few cannons immediately on either side of the corpses much more difficult, but it quickly cleared the path upwards.

    Quartermaster Luo led the charge up the starboard stairwell, while First Mate Meredith led the port side. The pirates yelled, growled and cheered as they stormed up the stairs and quickly overwhelmed the thinned forces in their path. An unfortunately timed tilt of the ship slammed them against the walls of the stairwell and momentarily halted their assault, but they quickly recovered and continued their ascent.

    Mermaids who had just begun their climb up the masts -- or who had started over again after being knocked away into the water by Victoria -- quickly abandoned their efforts to join the fight for the main deck, while other mermaids diverted their attention from the gun ports to climb back over the railings. Even as the mermaids converged once more, it was clear their numbers were finally fading, with fewer and fewer reinforcements coming from the water.

    "This is it boys!" Luo shouted with a wicked grin, "they''re on the back foot!"

    Cheers and shouts echoed in response even as the fight continued. Soon they had established a small perimeter around the base of the quarterdeck, and pirates were spilling out of the stairwells onto the main deck.

    "With me!" the first mate shouted, "we''re taking back the helm!"

    A large contingent of the pirate forces split off to fight their way up the stairs to the quarterdeck. The first mate quickly cut a path to the helm, where her crew surrounded her to form a perimeter. Within minutes, the mermaids had been push back over the railings and the quarterdeck was secured.

    The first mate looked up the masts, spotting the distant mermaids climbing like ants. They were close to the crow''s nest now.

    "Luo!" she shouted, "I need hands working the sails!"

    "Aye!" Luo shouted.

    Soon pirates were dispersing across the main deck. The rocking of the ship was slow, but it was wide, and with the peak of each tilt pirates slipped and slid across the deck. The first mate swore to herself, hoping the pirates she had sent to the lower decks would be able to do something about it if her own plan didn''t work.

    The ship had drifted in the choppy waters, twisting slightly so that the bow of the ship faced slightly towards the channel out of the cove. Through the channel and out in the lake, she could see moonlit glinting off distant waves abruptly rising, and the occasional flash of a strange, bouncing light that sometimes crested out of the water. She glanced up again towards the crow''s nest, the flag was flapping viciously in the wind.

    She diverted her eyes back to the deck, where she saw the crew taking their places amongst the ropes and ties, awaiting her command. She timed her orders with the sway of the ship, ordering sails dropped and turned to catch the strong winds. Creaks and groans rumbled throughout the ship as the force of the winds fought against the swaying motion of the ship. The strain on the masts was severe, but she was confident in the ship''s construction. For the first time since the rocking had begun, the peak of the next tilt was less than the one prior.

    She continued barking rapid orders across the deck, spinning the wheel quickly as sails swung away from the wind. Forward momentum was inevitable with wind catching the sails even briefly, but she captured it as rotation to further counteract the rocking and angle the ship towards the channel.

 176 - Crater in the Lake

    Hedley shoved the tip of his staff against a mermaid as she climbed into the crow''s nest, a single blast blowing a hole the size of a cannonball through her torso and sending the corpse plummeting towards the deck below.

    "Time to fly, kid," he announced.

    Eli''s first thought was Glimmer, but she was far too distant to hear his calls. His next thought was throwing a rope out of the crow''s nest and sliding down it, but they had no ropes even close to long enough to reach the deck. The realization that he didn''t have a plan for his current situation was sudden and unexpected, and he looked to Hedley with surprise and worry.

    "Relax," Hedley said, tossing his staff to Eli, "sling this on your back, will you?"

    Like Eli, Hedley kept a strap fastened to his staff for quickly slinging it over a shoulder, or across the back when extra security was needed. In this case, Eli hurriedly slung both staves over his head and across his back, where they would hopefully stay put for whatever was about to happen.

    Hedley turned his back to Eli and lifted one of his bird-like feet onto the half-wall of the crow''s nest, clutching the wood with his talons, "hop on."

    "What?" Eli asked, perplexed.

    "I can handle your weight, kid. Get on."

    Eli shook away his shock at the peculiar instruction and stepped up behind Hedley. With trepidation and trust he felt was perhaps unearned, he wrapped his arms over Hedley''s shoulders and gripped tight across his feathered chest like a child riding on his parents'' back.

    "This feels weir--" Eli bit off his words as Hedley lunged forward and kicked out of the crow''s nest.

    What followed, despite Eli''s best efforts and familiarity with flight, was an unbridled scream of terror as he and Hedley launched outwards from the crow''s nest before quickly entering a dive bomb towards the far below deck. Blasts of water from the mermaids they left behind barely registered in his periphery as he watched the ship¡¯s deck rapidly approach.

    Hedley spread his arms -- or rather, wings -- wide to either side. The wind caught his feathers and their descent curved out into an almost horizontal flight as they cut a tight circle around the ship.

    "Quarterdeck looks clear!" Hedley shouted casually, "be ready to land."

    "Ready how?" Eli shouted back.

    Without a response, Hedley further banked their flight as they rounded the bow and brought them around towards the quarterdeck at intimidating speeds. He squawked loudly as they approached, apparently signaling the pirates on the quarterdeck to clear a landing space, as they looked his direction and stepped away from the middle of the quarterdeck.

    The landing was fast -- and Eli wasn''t sure how to brace himself. Hedley''s outstretched legs absorbed much of the impact on first contact, though he still finished out his landing with several hurried steps that deposited him at the far side of the quarterdeck. He turned around to see Eli stumbling after him and tripping, falling face first into the deck.

    Hedley''s eyes shot towards the main deck, where he spotted an ongoing clash of mermaids and pirates about halfway to the bow. He saw Misty the swamp elf conjuring vines from the various planter barrels nearby to trip and bind an assault of mermaids spilling over the railing, while a very angry goblin man shouted obscenities and aggressively lashed out with a dagger.

    "Staff!" He shouted to Eli without looking away from the skirmish.

    Despite his headache and bewilderment, Eli dutifully responded to the order. He climbed to one knee, pulled Hedley''s staff from his back and tossed it to him. Hedley caught the staff without looking, and a blast began charging within the wood the instant he touched it. He quickly shouldered the staff and took aim, blasting a streak of white magic through a mermaid that was preparing a trident strike behind Misty.

    "Hedley," the first mate shouted from the helm, "what can you tell me about the titans?"

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    "Didn''t have much chance to keep up with ''em, my eyes were mostly on mermaids," Hedley said, pausing to take another shot before continuing his answer, "they''re getting rowdy, don''t know who''s winning."

    ______

    Far below, on the bottom-most deck before the hydra''s chamber, a group of pirates were gathered before the reinforced door to the control room of the chamber. The door held strong, but water spewed out from the cracks with surprising force.

    Among the group was the boatswain, Nelson, who quickly sized up the problem, "that kind of pressure would only happen if the control room and the hull were both breached."

    Victoria, who had drifted down through the upper decks and quietly joined the group, poked her ghostly head through the door before withdrawing a few seconds later.

    "Yep, that whole room is completely flooded. There''s mermaids inside messing with a hole in the floor."

    "Beside a podium?" Nelson asked.

    She poked her head back through for a second before returning and answering, "beside where a podium used to be, maybe? There''s brackets still bolted down, and a lot of wood debris floating around."

    "That''s what''s left of the lever then," Nelson said with concern, "it''s just as we feared, they''re trying to open the maw."

    "Then let''s stop them!" A pirate shouted, grabbing the hilt of his sword.

    Nelson quickly shook his head, "we can''t open the door when it''s flooded, idiot. Ghost girl, anything you can do to stop them?"

    "I''m not a ghost," Victoria said flatly, "but no, not really. I can distract them, maybe, but if they''re stubborn then the best I can do is be a pest."

    Nelson rubbed a hand across his face and sighed, "alright, we''ll have to disable the mechanism from the mechanical deck. Let''s move."

    The door to the control room was inset into the floor at the bottom of a short set of stairs, which could be sealed with a large wooden panel kept nearby. Nelson ordered six of the pirates to stay behind and seal it, while the rest of them sprinted up the steep and narrow stairs to the mechanical deck. There, Nelson led them to the bow and began pulling planks out of the floor to reveal a complex system of chains and pulleys.

    "Wish we had the wizard for this," he sighed, then looked up at Victoria, "guess you''ll have to do." He used a wrench from his belt to reach beyond the top most chains and point at a pulley beneath them, "see that pulley? We need it inoperable, however you can. It''s extremely important you don''t disrupt any other machinery, if you can help it."

    Victoria drifted down through the floor so that she was eye level with the pulley, her ghostly body overlapping with much of the machinery around her. It would be a tight squeeze, but she was able to figure out a way to contort herself so that she could shift back to her physical form without finding out what happens if something was intersecting her body while she did.

    "Give me a moment," she said, as she worked out the final details of her plan.

    ______

    The Shark Titan''s deep, rumbling cackle sounded more like a roar as he stood atop the giant anglerfish while it launched out of the water. His hands clenched the stalk that extended from the anglerfish''s head as he pulled it back and swung the dangling light at the end into his waiting jaws. With a decisive chomp, he severed the light from the stalk and swallowed it whole.

    The anglerfish roared a raspy, pain stricken scream as it dove back beneath the waves. An instant later, a massive body collided with them both, slamming into the side of the anglerfish and sending the captain careening away. As he reoriented in the water, his gaze settled on the enormous creature circling around to barrel towards him once more.

    It was long, almost serpentine save for its thick, rigid body. Its skull was shrouded with a thick, bone-like structure clearly designed for ramming and crushing. The structure covered the space where its eyes would have been, but a wide, closed mouth was still visible below it. Atop the creature''s head, clinging to ridges in the boney structure, was the mermaid queen.

    The now severely injured anglerfish was rapidly descending into the depths, and the captain presumed the Fish Wizard was finally out of this fight. With only the queen and her mount remaining, he decided on a plan.

    First he conjured a wall of current between himself and his opponent, the water abruptly rushing towards the surface and erupting through the waves. The wall forced the creature to divert its charge. Next, he swam as fast as he could towards the surface, conjuring a jet of water beneath him to launch him high into the air and far above the waves.

    Even through the dark, tumultuous waters his heightened predatory vision could see the giant creature circling just beneath the waves. Three more jets of water shot up around him, soaring even higher before curving around and angling back down towards him. He ended the jet beneath his feet and curled his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around his legs. When the downward jets hit his back, they exploded with force that fired him downwards like a cannonball.

    The impact was immense. The choppy waters were instantly depressed into a massive crater on the surface of the lake that formed giant waves in a circle around him. A shockwave shot through the waters as if a massive bomb had detonated on the surface. The shockwave swept the mermaid queen from the back of her creature and flung her spiraling through the water.

    The captain shot out of the bottom of the crater, swimming at full speed as the rebounding waves rushed in to fill the gap above. He swung around until he located the mermaid queen floating limply in the darkness. He caught her with one arm at full speed, punching through the lake towards the shore of the island.

 177 - Song of Surrender

    The Shark Titan punched out of the lake and arced through the air towards the shore. The sands of the beach crunched beneath his feet as he followed his landing through into a full speed charge. His hand held the mermaid queen by the neck, and he cranked his arm back behind him as he ran. With a roar, he threw the queen with all of his strength.

    The first and second trees exploded into splinters upon impact, the queen punching straight through as if the gnarled trunks were merely parchment. She hit the third tree with a thud, but it still buckled beneath her, and ultimately her limp body slammed against the fourth tree -- leaving behind a crater in the bark as she fell to the ground.

    She woke enough to catch herself on her hands. Her tail hadn''t had a chance to change into legs, and flapped helplessly against the ground. The Shark Titan barreled through the debris behind her, hoisted off her off the ground by her neck without halting his charge and slammed her into the tree at full speed. He held her against the splintering trunk by her neck and opened his mouth wide to roar, placing his rows of razor teeth inches from her face.

    "Real sharks don''t roar," she sputtered.

    The captain growled and pulled her away from the tree, and then repeatedly slammed her against it until the trunk gave way and crumbled. The tree twisted and fell to the side as he spun and threw her hard into the ground. He stood over her for a moment, heaving with each breath, and then picked her up again and once more threw her into the ground with all of his force.

    She looked up at him with a defiant smile.

    "Surrender!" he shouted, stomping her tail into the ground and grinding the bones apart.

    She screamed in agony, but leaned forward and reached out to claw at his leg.

    He placed all of his weight on her tail, stepped forward to place his other heel against her throat and stomped her back down into the ground, "I''ll eat you!"

    "Will you?" she croaked, using both her hands and all of her strength to hold back the pressure against her throat.

    The shark titan threw his head back and roared so loud it echoed across the island and the lake beyond. He stepped off her and hoisted her off the ground, pinning her arms on either side with his massive hands as he opened his jaw wide and brought her head between his teeth.

    He paused, his deep, warm breath washing across her face as one final warning.

    "Fine!" she gasped.

    He pulled her away from his jaws and threw her into the ground once more.

    "Call off your warriors!" the captain ordered.

    After a few labored breaths, the queen began to sing. It was croaky and labored at first, but soon settled into a calm melody that effortlessly traveled through the trees and permeated the island and its cove. The words she sang were of an ancient language, and the song lasted only a moment, but it carried her orders to all of her warriors -- stand down, the battle is lost.

    <hr>

    "Got it," Victoria said as she finally managed to kick a chain loose from the pulley.

    Nelson sighed in relief, "they won''t be getting the maw open now."

    A second later, melodic singing echoed through the hull of the ship.

    "What is that?" someone asked.

    "Cover your ears!" Nelson shouted.

    Despite their best efforts, the song still invaded their ears and reverberated through their bodies -- bouncing around in their skull like water sloshing in a jug. The headache was agonizing, and their vision began to blur. Just as consciousness threatened to fade, the song finished abruptly.

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    "What the fuck was what?" Victoria asked.

    "Mermaid song," Nelson groaned, "nasty shit."

    "Why haven''t they used it sooner? Why did it stop so fast?" Victoria asked.

    Nelson slowly shook his head and waved her off, "stop asking why things aren''t worse. Inform the first mate of our progress."

    Victoria nodded and rapidly flew up through the decks towards until she rose out of the quarterdeck and found the first mate at the helm.

    "We''ve disabled the maw mechanism, ma''am," she reported quickly.

    "Good work, but I''m afraid it was for nothing," Meredith replied.

    "For nothing?" concern crossed Victoria''s face.

    The first mate simply pointed beyond the railing of the ship. Victoria drifted over to look down over the side, where mermaids were dropping off the hull and returning to the water. She glanced upwards, and saw them leaping from the sails and masts and diving into the cove.

    "Did we do it?" she asked, "did we win?"

    "I believe so," the first mate sighed, allowing herself the first moment of peace since the battle began.

    <hr>

    Iris awoke with a gasp and blipped across the room. Agony shot through her abdomen and she collapsed to the ground with a thud.

    "Whoa," Titus said, suddenly rising from his seat to crouch beside her, "it''s okay, you''re safe."

    Iris groaned and rolled over onto her back, "what happened?"

    Titus looked at her with worry, "you came closer to death than ever before."

    "My ability --" she paused to wince from pain, "it didn''t activate. It should have saved me."

    "Worry about that later, right now you need to rest," Titus helped her to her feet and half-carried her back to the bed, where she collapsed into the mattress and sighed.

    "Where am I?"

    "The infirmary."

    "This bed is nice," she said slowly as she drifted back to sleep.

    She awoke again some time later, this time much calmer. The infirmary was dark, lit only a single glow stone lantern in the corner and the faint moonlight through a single porthole -- the rest were covered. With a grunt, she pushed herself up to lean back against the wall at the head of the bed, and looked around. There were two other pirates in beds just like hers, both thoroughly bandaged and apparently unconscious. Titus sat on a stool in the corner, his arms crossed and his head hanging low as he slept.

    Iris cautiously stretched, pausing when the pain became too intense. Bandages wrapped all the way around her abdomen, which she found confusing. A tentative poke against the bandages shot pain through her entire torso, revealing that her wounds were still far from fully healed. She wondered why that was, but didn''t want to wake Titus just to ask him. Instead, she looked around for Abby, finding the bottomless bag in the bed beside her.

    "How''re you doing, Abby?" she whispered.

    Quiet, affirmative tones emanated from the bag.

    "Good," she smiled faintly and nodded, "can you hand me my journal?"

    The bag slipped open and a tentacle rose from the void, wrapped around her adventure journal. Iris took it and cracked it open, waiting for the fluttering pages to settle where they''d like. It wasn''t easy to read in the dim light, but with some effort she could make out the words.

    IRIS ORION

    Hero Rank, Level 11

    Experience Points: 9021 / 9420

    Progress to next level: 95.76%

    "Seriously?" she complained with a groan.

    The only other change she found to her journal was the addition of a new discovered trait in the Special Use of her blip ability.

    Special Use : Emergency Exit

    Cooldown : 30 days

    Mana cost : All

    Description:

    In the event of imminent death, lapse into the void behind reality and reappear an extreme distance away. Activates automatically, location cannot be chosen.

    Discovered trait : deadly attacks must be anticipated in order for this Special Use to activate.

    "Good to know," she sighed, closing the book and tossing it aside on the bed.

    <hr>

    Captain Clement stood in his quarters, seething -- before him was shattered glass and the scattered contents of the fish tank which had contained his prisoner.

    "How did this happen?" he asked.

    "We were pushed below deck at one point," Meredith answered, "the mermaids may have gained access to your quarters during that time."

    "The door wasn''t damaged," he observed.

    "No, captain. And it was locked the entire time."

    The captain thought for a moment, "how long do you reckon a man turned into a fish can live outside of water?"

    "Maybe as long as a regular fish? Maybe longer? I really don''t know."

    The captain turned and panned his glare across the room.

    "Get me that ghost girl," he said, "I want every crack of this ship searched for that little rat Gerald."

 178 - The Intricacies of Healing

    When morning came and Titus roused, Iris was shocked to learn she had been asleep for nearly three days -- save for the one occasion when she had awoken, blipped, and promptly collapsed. The Gaping Maw was once again sailing across Giantrock Lake, even as repairs from the battle were still underway. According to Titus, the crew was still on high alert for further conflict with the mermaids, but opinions were varied about whether or not they would attack again.

    Interestingly, there was an open bounty on Gerald the fish, who had apparently escaped during the battle. The captain was convinced he was still aboard the ship, for reasons that eluded everyone, and had promised double wages to the person who found and recaptured him. Iris was somewhat surprised to learn that the rest of the crew was getting paid wages while she was only getting room and board, but soon supposed that made sense. Most of the crew were, after all, skilled and experienced sailors ¨C or at least had otherwise valuable skills. Apparently Victoria had been assigned to Gerald duty, and spent most of her days floating up and down through the ship in search of him.

    After catching Iris up on the goings-on around the ship, Titus explained her physical condition.

    "Simply put, you lost all your blood."

    "All of it?" Iris''s jaw fell open.

    "Not literally all of it," Titus corrected, "but a lot. Like, really, a lot. Healing magic works wonders to close wounds and keep people alive, but it causes all kinds of other damage in the process -- burned veins, overstressed muscles, that kind of thing. The worse the wound, the worse the damage. Your body then has to heal that damage on its own, but blood is a pretty important part of that process, so your body has to replenish your blood before it can really get to work healing. That''s why you''ve been asleep so long, your body is focusing on repairing itself instead."

    "I guess that makes sense, why the bandages though?"

    "Well, that''s where it gets kind of tricky," Titus sighed, "without going into a lecture about it, several of your organs were damaged, and they don''t heal the same way that regular flesh does. Not only do they take a lot more magic, they also don''t heal instantly. They soak up a bunch of the magic, and then take their time using it to heal. That''s fine, as long as they''re full of magic they''ll typically keep working while they heal. The problem is that when they''re severely damaged, they can''t hold as much magic as they need to heal, so as the process unfolds and the magic inside an organ gets used up, it starts sucking in magic from the surrounding tissue."

    Titus paused to make sure Iris seemed to be following him, and then continued, "basically, even though magic heals surface wounds instantly, it''s kind of temporary. The body still has to do a lot of the fine work of repairing the wound on its own, the magic just holds it together and keeps your blood inside while that happens. That part has a lot to do with why magically healed wounds will remain sore and swollen for a while afterwards, it''s because your body''s still doing work in the area. But, if you take that magic out before the body''s done, the wound can reopen. So, in your case, your organs are using up the magic I put in them, then soaking up the magic from your flesh, and causing the wounds the reopen."

    "Wait," Iris interjected, "does that mean if you healed someone, you could pull the magic back out of them to undo the healing?"

    "I can''t, no. Some people can, though. I''ve seen some mana draining abilities cause that if used on freshly healed wounds. It''s a popular torture technique, actually ¨C it¡¯s pretty gruesome stuff."

    "Yeah," Iris agreed, "why can''t you just keep adding more magic though?"

    "I have been, but there are limits on what your body can handle. Not to mention that you''re not my only patient, and there''s not exactly a bell that rings when it happens. Now that you''re awake you can let me know if you feel the wounds reopen -- and trust me, you''ll feel it -- but while you slept, the bandages gave me some peace of mind that you at least wouldn''t bleed out if I looked away for a minute."

    "Or nodded off for a few hours?" she asked with a smirk.

    Titus chuckled slightly, and then sighed, "it''s been a long few days."

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    "Speaking of, how much longer am I bedridden?" Iris asked.

    "Oh, I''d say two or three weeks."

    "Weeks?!" she shouted.

    Titus held up his hands defensively, "I''m kidding! You''ll be good to start walking around tomorrow, but I''m not clearing you for crew duties for at least another few days."

    "I guess that''s not so bad," Iris sighed, "it''ll give me some time to read."

    For much of the day, Iris did exactly that. She started some of the manuscripts Milo had given her and requested she pass on to someone important. Several of the articles were story pieces about local events in Giantrock City, such as the time the questing hall developed a slime infestation that grew so severe, so quickly, that the whole building was boarded up while adventurers went in to exterminate. The slimes, however, had other ideas, and responded to the adventurers'' attack not by fighting back, but by oozing through the cracks of the building and out onto the city streets to flee into nearby homes and businesses ¨C leading to a week-long, city-wide slime crisis. Iris wondered if that''s how that nice old lady she met had ended up with a pet slime.

    Another story told of the arrival of mysterious masked agents in the city, occasionally spotted accompanying high ranking city and Adventuring Corps officials at closed door government meetings. It was a rather short story, citing a tip from an anonymous source, and ending with the question of "who are these strange figures, and what are their intentions with our city?" The story was dated just a few weeks before Iris and her party had arrived in the city, and made no mention of Morose. There was also a handwritten note scrawled in the margins, which read "barred from publication by order of the Mayor General. What don''t they want us to know?"

    Though Iris quite enjoyed the unique insights to the city''s recent history, the articles she found the most impressive were quite different. Rather than short stories about current events, these were long -- often several pages -- and discussed things such as the intricate mechanisms of the printing press and the history of its construction, or the movements and patterns of the stars and moons in the sky.

    Of these, the one that Iris found the most intriguing was an article titled "The Moving Stars: Actually other worlds?" and described a few stars that seemed to meander and wander across the night sky relative to their firmly stationary relatives. Iris had spent quite some time in her life stargazing, and had noticed a few of these moving stars herself, but never thought much about it. According to Milo''s article, however, the motions of the stars was not only predictable, but remarkable consistent, citing several scholarly papers throughout the centuries that documented repeated movements that can still be observed today. The article went on to explain that these movements, when thoroughly mapped out, revealed a pattern that could be best explained by distant worlds somehow moving in a complex dance with their own through something called ¡°the aether.¡±

    Eventually, Iris grew tired of reading -- something that only happened on the most boring of days, when she had more time than she knew what to do with. She moved on to practicing her abilities instead, hoping to squeeze out the final experience points she needed to level up. Her options were limited, however, as Titus had made it explicitly clear she wasn''t to leave her bed until he approved it. She settled for pulling a small pebble from her bag and blipping it across the room, attempting to quickly blip it back into her hand before it hit a wall or dropped to the floor.

    She soon graduated to two pebbles, confirming that she could in fact blip multiple objects at once. It only took a few tries -- and a few dropped pebbles -- to get the hang of it, but when she added a third pebble it became sufficiently difficult to pose a challenge. Blipping all three pebbles from her hand was trivial, but getting them all to appear in the same place was much more difficult. The pebbles often scattered in all directions, allowing her to only "catch" one or two before the others hit a wall or fell to the floor. It was certainly easier to blip the pebbles back into her hand the closer they were together, though she sensed there was progress to be made in both getting them to appear closer together, and in blipping them back with greater distance between them.

    It soon evolved into a little game that she played for herself, with a scoring system of her own design. After a little bit of coaching, she managed to teach Abby how to write tally marks on a page of her journal with a tentacle wrapped around a quill like a toddler''s fist when they''re first learning to write, and after a while longer Abby learned to properly interpret the scores based on how many pebbles Iris successfully retrieved. Surprisingly to Iris, Abby seemed remarkably capable of understanding not just addition, but multiplication, which allowed a rule that multiplied the score by the number of pebbles blipped. This game occupied the rest of her day, and by the evening she had only seen a miniscule gain of experience points, but she was thankful that it occupied her mind enough to keep her thoughts off of her injuries.

    IRIS ORION

    Hero Rank, Level 11

    Experience Points: 9055 / 9420

    Progress to next level: 96.12%

 179 - Escape Attempt

    Iris lay awake in the night, unsure if she couldn''t sleep because she wasn''t tired, or because of the thoughts swirling around her head. Despite having come closer to dying than ever before, that fact itself didn''t really affect her that badly -- not only could she have used the necklace from her mother if Titus had said he couldn''t save her, but she was growing numb to near death experiences all around.

    Rather, it was the memory of the moment she looked down and saw the trident puncturing her chest, and the stomach twisting sensation that accompanied it, that truly haunted her. Grievous wounds always came with a sickening sense of wrongness, but none had ever been quite as extreme as this one. The image would occasionally flash through her mind and the sensation would return, each time feeling as if her whole body was screaming "it shouldn''t be like this."

    On top of that was the realization that her main fail safe ability, the Special Use of her Spatial Distortion ability that would teleport her far away should she face imminent death, wouldn''t activate unless she knew the deadly attack was coming. All things considered, she was lucky to have as many shields against death as she did, and really didn''t feel like she was in any position to complain -- but still, it was frightening to learn that she was more vulnerable than she previously believed.

    And then there were the mermaids. It had all happened so fast, and just like that they were moving on. That was the nature of living on a pirate ship, she supposed, but she felt like she didn''t truly even know what had happened. She had so many unanswered questions, and so many things felt unresolved. Not to mention their journey had just begun -- they hadn''t even reached the far side of the lake yet, and already they''d faced and conquered an existential threat. What more awaited them in their journey across the continent?

    A quiet, pitiful cry took her out of her thoughts. Littletooth was poking his head out of the bottomless bag and looking at her with the saddest eyes she had ever seen. Panic shot through her as she realized she didn''t know if he had eaten the whole time she had been asleep and recovering. To her relief, Abby responded by reaching out of the bag with a pair of tentacles that placed food and water bowls on the bed and promptly filled them. Littletooth dived into the food with his usual ferocity.

    "You''ve been taking care of him, then?" Iris asked.

    Harmonious tones emanated from the bag.

    "Good," she smiled.

    She glanced nervously at the other pirates in the infirmary. They, too, had woken through the day and were on their way to recovery, but for now they were sleeping and snoring loudly.

    "What do you think, Abby?" she asked, "are we ready for the challenges up ahead?"

    A mixture of harmonious and discordant tones overlapped each other, like two musicians playing opposing songs.

    "Does that mean you don''t know?"

    Harmonious tones.

    "Well, that fills me with confidence," she sighed.

    The tentacles withdrew into the bag, and returned a moment later wielding daggers. Abby stabbed repeatedly at the air, as if fighting off a foe, and then harmonious tones emanated from the bag.

    Iris laughed quietly, "you''re right, we''ll stab our way through it all, if that''s what it takes."

    Littletooth finished eating and lapped up an absurd amount of water, than hopped off the bed with a few flaps of his wings. Iris shot forward to catch him, but halted when pain shot through her abdomen. The baby wyvern landed somewhat gracefully and stomped off across the room.

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    "Littletooth! Wait!" she hissed, but it was too late. She watched in horror as Littletooth nuzzled open the cracked door to the infirmary and slipped out into the crew quarters. "You little shit," she whispered under her breath.

    As hastily as she dared, she climbed out of bed. She was wearing a simple shirt and plain trousers, with no socks or shoes. She was decent, at least, but it wasn''t how she''d prefer to run through the ship chasing after a wyvern. She stumbled across the room and caught herself on the doorframe without falling, peeking out into the crew quarters to see Littletooth scurrying under hammocks and across the deck. She blipped Abby into an outstretched and held her by her waist, without a belt to latch onto with her drawstrings Abby instead wrapped a tentacle around her waist to hold on.

    Iris risked a blip, coming out of it dizzy but still standing as she appeared amongst the hammocks filled with snoring pirates. One of Abby''s tentacles swooped down to grab Littletooth, but he hopped to the side to dodge and then darted under a hammock. Iris sighed and blipped again. This time Abby''s tentacle managed to wrap around the baby wyvern, but he slipped most of the way free before it could constrict around his torso. Instead, Abby caught him by the leg, causing him to trip and thump onto the floor. He twisted around and sunk his tiny, needle-like teeth into the tentacle, causing Abby to release her grip and recoil back as she emanated angry, discordant sounds.

    "Shh!" Iris hissed, blipping again to chase after the fleeing wyvern.

    He was sprinting at full speed now, and after thwarting a few more capture attempts he soon crossed the entire deck and started climbing the stairs. Iris blipped ahead of him onto the stairwell landing, allowing herself to fall against the wall to catch her balance as the dizziness began to overwhelm her.

    "What now?" she smirked at him.

    Littletooth looked up at her and cocked his head to the side. He had only managed to awkwardly climb a few steps, and stood no chance of slipping past Iris and Abby while trying to climb the rest. Instead, he glanced upwards, and disappeared.

    "What?" Iris asked.

    Worried sounds emanated from the bag.

    Iris pushed off the wall and blipped up to the gun deck above, swaying and stumbling as her sense of balance began to spin and the pain in her abdomen ramped up even further. She spotted Littletooth curiously sniffing a cannon, before looking back and noticing her. He disappeared again. She groaned in frustrated and blipped up to the main deck, catching herself on the outer wall of the quarterdeck. Littletooth was happily sprinting across the wide, relatively open space towards the bow.

    "You are so grounded!" she half whispered, half shouted.

    Her next blip brought her right in front of him, forcing him to scramble and skid to a stop as he desperately tried to turn back -- but it was too late, Abby''s tentacles converged all around him and held him tightly, hoisting him up into the air as he whined.

    "You can''t run off like that!" Iris chastised, "what if someone saw you?"

    Angry but affirmative tones emanated from the bag.

    Littletooth whined and struggled against his restraints, but Abby kept her tentacles well clear of his gnashing jaws. After a moment, he froze, and his eyes went wide at the sight of something behind Iris.

    Iris stared nervously at the shadow that was cast over her, Abby and Littletooth, and across the deck before them. She turned around to see the Shark Titan standing silently over her, blocking out the moonlight.

    "C-Captain-- I-- This isn''t--"

    The titan erupted into uproarious laughter that bellowed through the night. He clutched his chest and even stumbled back, completely overwhelmed with laughter. Iris, Abby and Littletooth were all frozen in place while he slowly regained some composure.

    "It was you?" he shouted in absolute disbelief, pointing a finger at Iris, "you stole the wyvern egg?"

    He launched into another bout of laughter before speaking again, "what are you, level ten?"

    "Eleven-- sir," she answered nervously.

    He laughed again, "I''d sell my ship to see Bridge''s face when he finds out." The Shark Titan clapped her on the shoulder so hard she stumbled to the side, "good work, girl! You might just be a pirate after all!"

    The captain stepped around her and continued his patrol of the deck, laughing and shaking his head. After a moment, he shouted again, "Meredith! Where are you? You won''t believe this!"

    Iris looked over at Littletooth, still held suspended in the air by Abby''s tentacles. She would have exchanged looks of disbelief with Abby if she had a face, but instead she just looked at the bewildered little wyvern.

    Questioning tones came from the bag.

    "I-- I genuinely don''t know, Abby," Iris said, glancing down at the bag, "I guess we''re good, though?"

    Littletooth once more started squirming against the restraining tentacles.

    "Ooohh no!" Iris shifted into her best angry mother voice as she wagged a finger in his face, "this does not mean you get to run free. You are grounded, young man. AND SINCE WHEN CAN YOU BLIP?"

 180 - What Comes Next

    "So he just started blipping, out of nowhere?" Victoria asked.

    She and Iris were on the storage deck, sitting on the floor of a small open area between crates where Littletooth viciously chased after the toy that Victoria tossed around. Iris had been cleared to move freely about the ship, so long as she checked in with Titus at several points throughout the day for a check up and a top up on healing magic.

    "Yep," Iris sighed, "he did it twice, right in front of me. He hasn''t done it since, thankfully, but I''m scared to let him out of my sight now."

    "That''s weird, does Abby know anything?"

    Iris shook her head, "I think she was surprised as I was."

    Victoria dangled the toy -- a plush rabbit with one ear torn off -- just outside Littletooth''s reach in an attempt to prompt him into flying. He kicked off the floor and desperately flapped his wings as he leapt, but failed to get any significant lift to catch the toy when Victoria raised it higher than he could jump. When he landed, he blew air out of his nose and angrily shook his head.

    "It must have something to do with the void," she said after a moment of thinking, "I can''t think of any reason he could inherit powers from you, maybe if he was a familiar -- but I''ve never heard of it happening with a regular animal before. I don''t know how it would even would."

    "My journal calls Abby a ''void aberration,''" Iris explained, "I haven''t found any reference to anything by that name in any books, but I''ve been working on a theory about it. It''s hard to really put into words, but things work differently in the void. Like, everything. I''m pretty sure time doesn''t even really exist there, at least not the way it does normally. Most things I put in come out completely unchanged."

    "Most things?" Victoria asked.

    "Yeah, everything but Littletooth. He always comes out hungry, even if he''s been in the void since the last time he ate. At the same time, though, he''s not really growing much, and I think that also has something to do with the void."

    "Hmm," Victoria pondered, "we could really use an expert for this. I don''t think we''ll be finding one on this ship, though."

    "Then I''ll just have to become the expert," Iris said with excitement and determination, "it''s time to start doing some experiments."

    "I''m interested," Victoria said curiously.

    "Experiment number one is simple, I just need to let Littletooth spend more time outside of the void and see what happens. Now that the captain knows about him, there''s not as much pressure to keep him hidden. I''m sure the crew members on night watch saw me chase him down on the main deck anyway, so word''s probably already going around. It''s just a matter of keeping the little guy out of trouble."

    "I can help with that," Victoria said, "don''t tell anyone, but I really don''t do very much work around here. Lately I just pretend to look for Gerald."

    Iris laughed, "yeah, we figured. And thanks, your help will really make a difference. The real excitement comes with the second experiment I''m thinking of, though."

    Victoria leaned forward with interest, "go on."

    "I think it''s time I explored inside the bag."

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    Victoria blinked, "you mean like, going in there yourself?"

    Iris nodded, "I need to know if it differs from the regular void, and it also wouldn''t hurt to learn more about the void in general. My blip ability technically takes me through the void, but it''s really quick and that''s kind of the wrong way to describe it anyway. It''s more like I stop existing for an instant, and then come back somewhere else."

    "But that can''t be what''s happening to Littletooth, because he''s still digesting food and getting hungry again while he''s in there."

    "Right, but he''s also not growing, so maybe he kind of exists when he''s in there, and kind of doesn''t?"

    Victoria leaned back against a crate and thought it over for a moment, "you could be on to something. Are you sure it''s safe to go in there, though?"

    "No idea," Iris shrugged, "but it seems safe enough for Littletooth, and I put a slime in there once too and he came out fine. Not to mention, Abby just straight up lives in there."

    "If we''re going to do this, let''s do it right," Victoria said, "we''ll tie a rope around you in case we need to pull you out, and it probably wouldn''t hurt to have Titus around in case you get hurt somehow."

    Iris nodded, "good ideas. I''ll wait until I''m fully healed first, too. Oh, and we gotta invite Autumn too, she''ll be furious if she misses out on something fun like this."

    "Oh, definitely," Victoria agreed, then pivoted the conversation, "Littletooth aside, how have you been?"

    Iris sighed and leaned back until she lay across the floor, "stressed. That whole mermaid thing really took it out of me."

    The curl of Abby''s tentacle rose out of the bag, the end of it wrapped around a fluffy pillow that momentarily got stuck in the opening of the bag as Abby pulled it out. She offered it to Iris, who smiled and placed it under her head. Abby then withdrew another pillow, this one round like a seat cushion, and offered it to Victoria.

    "Tell me about it," Victoria said, taking the pillow from Abby and placing it underneath her, "the crew''s acting like it''s no big, like they deal with these sorts of things all the time. Makes me wonder if that''s how we sound to regular people."

    "Probably," Iris said, adjusting her head to look over at Victoria, "even before I got powers, people always seemed surprised that I considered running off barefoot into the woods a casual pass time. I guess to us, fighting off feral mermaids as they overrun the ship seems like a pretty weird pass time, too. Think we''ll get used to it?"

    "Oh definitely," Victoria said, "just like we got used to trekking across the wilderness, and just like we got used to fighting giant, hallucinogenic spiders, we''ll get used to this too."

    "You''re probably right," Iris said, averting her gaze towards the ceiling. Though it was generally quiet in the storage deck, it wasn''t uncommon to hear the footsteps of pirates in the crew quarter''s overhead. "I''m dying to know what''s coming next, though."

    "I think I can give you a hint on that one," Victoria said.

    Iris propped herself up on her elbows and looked to Victoria attentively.

    Victoria laughed before elaborating, "word around the ship is that our next stop is a place called Gellorn Keep, one of the last great giant cities."

    "I heard the boatswain say that name! Wait, is it a giant city, or is it a city where giants live?"

    "The second one, which I guess also means it''s literally a giant city too."

    "How big are they? Are they friendly?" Iris sat fully upright as she launched her barrage, "do you think the captain will let us off the ship? How long are we staying?"

    Victoria laughed and motioned with her hands for Iris to calm down, "I don''t know the answer to any of that, but I do know a few more details."

    Iris hurriedly nodded for Victoria to continue.

    "For starters, it''s not just the giants that lives there, too. I overheard some crew talking about the ''little guys'' who are going to work on the ship, apparently they''re also residents of Gellorn Keep, and have some pretty important repairs to make on the mechanical deck."

    "Yeah!" Iris said with excitement, "I know a little about that. The bulk of the mechanical deck is taken up by this big mechanism that somehow involves a bunch of sails, I''m not really sure how it works or what it does. But it''s really hard to work in there, it''s incredibly cramped, it makes sense that smaller people would have an easier time working in there. What do you think they are? Gnomes? Halflings?"

    Victoria shrugged, "no idea. Apparently, though, they''re experts at whatever it is they do."

    Iris fell back on her pillow, smiling when Littletooth stomped over, spun around a few times, and then collapsed into a cozy ball up against her shoulder, "a city of giants," she said wistfully, "this''ll definitely be one to write about in the journal."

 181 - The Great White River

    The following day, Iris ventured onto the main deck for the first time in a while besides her brief excursion to catch Littletooth two nights prior. Since her injury she had avoided the main deck, especially during the day, due to Titus''s insistence. According to him, she would just be a liability amongst the highly active crew as they manned the sails and conducted repairs. Now that she felt more comfortable moving around and blipping, however, she was back to her old ways.

    "Sorry!" she shouted as she stepped aside to dodge a pirate carrying a large crate in her arms, before blipping past a particularly busy area of construction where the deck planks had been splintered and cracked from some kind impact.

    "This is why we don''t use powers on the ship," she overheard Nelson the boatswain say as he shook his head.

    She quickly blipped again to gain distance, not wanting to reveal her recovery progress to her de-facto boss just yet -- besides, she reasoned to herself, she was still sore and shouldn''t be working anyway. She passed by Grell, grumbling angrily to himself as he used one of his raggedy little daggers to pry off the same spike posts they had both nailed to the railing a several days prior. She felt mildly bad for not helping, but was also quite glad not to be stuck with him.

    Even while the ship was underway, some repairs were still being made to sails that had been ripped or torn during the battle. Of the five masts, the one between the central main mast and the furthest forward mast -- Iris couldn''t remember the names for any of them besides the main one -- was not in use. Instead, all its sails were fully closed, and one entire roll of sail was in the process of being removed so another could be affixed in its place. She watched diligently as she walked past, wondering if she would graduate to doing that kind of work during her time aboard the ship.

    Next she came upon Misty, who was walking alongside Autumn as they inspected the various planter barrels placed around the deck. Iris blipped up behind them with the intention joining their conversation, but didn''t announce herself when they failed to notice her arrival.

    "I had to use a lot of the nutrients from the soil to grow vines for the battle," Misty was explaining, "we''ll need to amend it with fertilizer or the crops will struggle. At least half the starboard barrels, and a few port side too."

    "Can''t you just pump some mana into them?" Autumn asked.

    Misty shook her head, "I can use mana to make stuff grow faster, and as a less-than-perfect replacement for sunlight, but the nutrients and water still have to be in the soil for it to work."

    Autumn sighed, "I''ll add fertilizer to the list."

    Already bored, Iris blipped away without ever being noticed. She soon reached the bow, where she blipped to the very peak of the deck and looked out into the distance. To her delight, there was land on the horizon. Two shores converged towards either side of a wide river, both sides populated with familiar redwood forest. Those were all the details she could discern at this distance, and it wasn''t exactly anything new quite yet, but it still filled her with excitement to see what more the Giantrock region had to offer in its eastern lands.

    She found a comfortable place to sit not far below the railing, on one of a pair of thin platforms that wrapped around either side of the bow -- presumably for easy maintenance access ¨C before stopping on either side just before the large ivory bow fixture itself. She sat on the starboard side platform with her back resting against the hull and her feet dangling over the open air between her and the water far below. The wind was less than gentle as the ship cut through it, but she enjoyed the breeze on what would otherwise be a rather hot afternoon, and relaxed as she watched the land approach and let the day pass by.

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    Eventually, more detail came into view. While the lands on both sides of the river were covered in redwood forest, the shores still presented quite differently. The southern shore was a rocky gravel beach while the shore to the northwest was a crumbling cliff side held up by the roots of the forest that wrapped over the edge of the cliff and hung downwards before doubling back and borrowing into the rock.

    The river was plenty wide even for the massive ship, and flowed out of the lake to the southeast. It amazed Iris that so much water could flow out of the lake, yet it still remained full. She recalled the beaver dam along one of the tributary rivers to the northeast, and imagined the giant beavers might use the dams to regulate water levels of the lake.

    She opened her journal and thought back to some notes she had taken, and the journal flipped through pages on its own until it landed on the section she had dedicated to handwritten notes. She couldn''t ever be sure they were actually the same pages she had written on, however, as it always took a moment for shifting lines and shapes on the page to converge into the words she had written.

    After a short while of perusing her notes, she found was she was looking for. The Great White, that''s what Eli had once called this river. She glanced up from her journal towards the river, and quickly discerned why it was called that. As the waters of the lake converged towards the river and picked up speed, a strange white foam formed on the surface and drifted along with the currents. The foam was a brilliant white that almost glinted in the sunlight, and it caught on branches and rocks along the shore where it collected in patches. That explained the ¡®white¡¯ part of the name, and the sheer size of the river explained the ¡®great.¡¯

    It wasn''t long before the ship was truly departing the lake and entering the river. As the shores grew nearer on either side, many commands were shouted across the main deck and masts creaked as ropes were pulled and sails were adjusted in response. Though many sails were furled, the ship''s forward speed didn''t slow, the flowing river pulling it along in place of the lost wind.

    The river seemed massive before, but now that the Gaping Maw sailed through it, it almost seemed small. With her back to the ship, it was almost easy to forget just how massive it truly was, and the towering redwoods and expansive river began to look much smaller. It was only when she blipped back to the main deck and was reminded of the enormity of the Gaping Maw that her mind seemed to half remember, half realize that the lake and surrounding forest were as equally magnificent in size.

    ______

    Victoria lay still in her hammock, her eyes were gently closed and her hands were folded softly across her chest. Underneath her still demeanor, however, a nightmare was brewing.

    She found herself standing in an empty deck of the gaping maw on a dark and quiet night. It appeared to be the crew quarters, though all the hammocks, furniture and crew members were nowhere to be found. No glow stones were lit, and only faint starlight filtered through the port holes.

    She stared out through a porthole at the flat, open expanse of water beyond. She knew this wasn''t where the ship had been when she last looked, she knew there were no empty decks on the ship, and slowly it donned on her that she was dreaming.

    She turned her back to the porthole and gasped, stumbling back against the hull. Before her loomed the Dreamweaver in her now true form, her torso melding into the thorax of a giant spider that crouched and spread its legs wide to fit within the ship. Thick webs now covered the deck, stretching from end to end and thoroughly trapping her where she stood.

    "Pleasure to see you again so soon, my darling," the Dreamweaver said in a sultry voice.

    Victoria straightened her expression into a stern glare, "I''m not your darling."

    "Are you sure?" the Dreamweaver asked coyly as she twirled a finger in the air towards Victoria. Glowing purple lines began to shine through Victoria''s skin, following the paths of her arteries and ultimately emanating from the center of her chest, "my mark says otherwise."

    "What do you want?" Victoria asked flatly.

    "You''ll be meeting the giants, soon," the Dreamweaver said, cutting off her sultry attitude for a matter-of-fact explanation, "Clement will speak with their council, and the events of this summer will no doubt be discussed. Find your way into the chamber -- it shouldn''t be hard for you -- and take note of everything the giants say. I will visit you again in the coming weeks for your report."

    "Why do you care?" Victoria asked, "I thought you were running away from all this?"

    The Dreamweaver laughed, "running is precisely what I''m doing, darling." her demeanor abruptly grew darker, "that doesn''t mean the responsibilities won''t chase me."

    Victoria''s eyes opened. She was back in her hammock, amidst the ambience of snoring pirates and a creaking ship.

 182 - The Not-Quite Void

    "Are we ready?" Iris asked.

    "Hang on!" Autumn said as she walked over and cinched the rope around Iris''s waist tighter, "that should do it.¡±

    Iris was pretty sure that had it not been for her hipbones, the rope would have squished her hard enough to put her back in the infirmary.

    "You''re going to cut off the circulation," Titus chastised, crouching down to loosen the rope slightly while Iris awkwardly held her arms out to the side.

    The whole party was gathered on the storage deck, even Eli had made his way down from the crow''s nest for the occasion and currently stood off to the side with a carefully restrained but anxious look in his eyes. While Iris and Victoria had an easy time reaching the depths of the storage deck by blipping and ghosting through the floor above, the others had to climb over a jungle of crates and barrels to reach the small clearing where the experiment was being conducted.

    Victoria held Littletooth in her arms -- despite his occasional struggles to escape -- while Iris placed the bottomless bag on the floor in the center of the clearing. The drawstrings loosened on their own, revealing the seemingly infinite void within. Iris stood over the bag and looked down into the void as she took a deep breath.

    "Don''t worry, guys, this''ll be fine," she said, sounding more like she was trying to convince herself.

    Affirmative tones emanated from the bag. Iris still hesitated.

    "It''s not too late to back out," Eli suggested.

    "Nope," Iris shook her head decidedly, "I''m doing this."

    She clenched and unclenched her fists a few times, and then shook her arms and bounced on her toes. Then, she jumped into the void.

    It was like jumping into a pond. The void swallowed her like water as reality was left behind somewhere above. The familiar lack of sensation washed over her, and the feeling of falling was soon replaced with effortless floating. She saw nothing, heard nothing, and felt nothing. She was alone in the infinite and empty void.

    And then she wasn''t. A presence entered her perception, not quite a physical presence -- but not an aura, either. It reminded her of the way she sensed things with her Awareness of Matter ability, except this presence was far too distant for her ability to detect, and somehow not wholly physical. Instead, it was if this presence was announcing itself to her, projecting its strange existence across the void for her to sense.

    "Abby?" she asked, but no sound came from her mouth.

    Though she could see nothing, she sensed the presence grow closer. It was amorphous and blurry until it entered the range of her awareness ability. First the tentacles entered her range, writhing and wriggling in the empty -- and then something large and bulbous loomed just inside of her range.

    A tentacle rose up from below, wrapped around the handle of a lantern that appeared from nowhere and spread light across Iris and Abby. The surprise of seeing light in the void was washed away by the shock of what It revealed before her. The collection of tentacles converged on a huge, round mass of purple flesh that enveloped a single, gigantic eye. The eye blinked, making a slight squishing sound as it did so. There was sound in the void now, too, Iris noticed.

    "It''s nice to meet you eye-to-eye," Iris said with a smile.

    Fluctuating tones came from all around, as if the void itself was laughing.

    "How can I see you right now?" Iris asked, "how can I even hear you?"

    Abby''s response was a mixture of affirmative, harmonious sounds and negative, discordant sounds, indicating she didn''t know the answer.

    Iris felt another strange sensation -- she was falling again, though quite slowly. In her previous experience, even the concepts of up and down had been alien to the void. Soon, her feet touched down onto a surface, causing her to jolt in shock and yank her feet away. The slow fall continued until it deposited her on the unseen surface in a crouching position.

    "What''s going on?" she looked around warily.

    Another uncertain mixture of sounds.

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    Cautiously, Iris stood up and spun around. Other than Abby and her tentacles, there was still only empty void in all directions, even beneath her. Somehow she stood on something, however unseen it was. Abby waved a tentacle to get her attention, and when Iris looked her way, the tentacle reached out and pulled an item from the emptiness. It was the spyglass Milo had given Iris. Abby brought the spyglass up to the center of her giant eye and aimed it at Iris.

    Iris laughed, "I guess this is your first real look at me too, huh?"

    Affirmative tones.

    Curiously, Iris reached out to the void as well, and imagined she was reaching for her walking stick just as she would when reaching into her bag. To her delight, the stick appeared in her hand as if she had plucked it from the void.

    "Neat," she said with a smile.

    Abby''s tentacles began a flurry of movement, reaching out to the void and grabbing items at random and releasing them to reach back for me. Books, rocks, and weapons soon were all floating around her, the heaviest items slowly drifted to the floor while lighter items seemed to float indefinitely and drift in whatever direction they were last pushed. It seemed like Abby was excited to demonstrate what was possible here.

    Iris spotted several items she had forgotten she even had, including her Grand Hunt registration card, a shovel, and the bow she had once taken from a member of Jacquie''s gang of thieves when they had first tried to rob her party in the forest. Next she spotted the last of Mrs. Rousey''s painkilling candies drifting by, not far away from the now repaired pocket watch she had recovered as part of one her earliest quests. The memories brought a reminiscent smile to her face.

    <hr>

    "Hey-- okay--just calm down!" Victoria stammered as she struggled to contain the writhing baby wyvern in her arms.

    Littletooth managed to squirm free enough from her grip to kick off her chest and launch himself away from her. She lunged after him with a grab that should have caught him, but her arms closed around nothing as he blipped to the bottomless bag.

    "You little shi--"

    Littletooth scrambled headfirst into the bag and tumbled into the void. A few seconds later he found himself landing atop a hat, where he attempted to take a seat and look around for Iris. Instead, two hands appeared from below and grabbed him, lifting him off the hat as he squirmed and whined in complaint.

    Iris brought the baby wyvern down over the brim of her hat and held him out before her, giving him a critical look, "you okay, dude?"

    It was hard to describe how wyverns looked when they were happy. They didn''t smile -- in fact, if they looked like they were smiling, it was probably because they were showing off the teeth they planned to eat you with -- but instead they adopted a rather relaxed, expressionless face. That''s the look that came over Littletooth when he saw Iris and promptly stopped struggling.

    Iris placed him on the floor -- or whatever it was, anyway -- beside her feet, and he immediately began scampering around and leaping up in attempts to catch the floating objects. He didn''t seem surprised at all that the floor existed, so Iris guessed it must be somewhat normal.

    While Abby''s tentacles corralled Littletooth away from anything dangerous or delicate, Iris turned her attention to the rope tied around her waist. The slack of the rope extended up a few feet before disappearing into the void. Looking up, she had no sense of where the entrance might be, but it seemed like it would be much higher than where the rope disappeared.

    "Any idea how I get out of here?" Iris asked.

    Abby made affirmative tones.

    It occurred to Iris that Abby couldn''t actually explain how, even if she knew. A thought came to her, however, and she focused on the process of choosing a location to blip and activating the ability. It certainly felt different in the void, but the ability was still there and didn''t seem to be pushing against her in anyway. The main difference was that it felt like things were out of order -- usually she chose a location, blipped into the void, and reappeared. Instead, she was already in the void, and her intuitive understanding of her ability told her that if she only chose a location, she would appear there.

    The problem was that she couldn''t sense any locations to appear in. It had to be somewhere in physical reality, but she was surrounded by only void. After a moment of focusing her awareness ability upwards, however, she finally sensed something. There was a faint disturbance in the void, almost like a small hole in a quilt. She chose that location to reappear, and instantly left the void behind.

    Her head was poking out of the bag, looking up at a circle of her friends who had been looking down at the bag, and were now jumping back from her surprise appearance. She reached her arms out of the bag and placed her hands on the floor to either side, lifting herself up out of the void and back into reality like climbing out of a hole.

    "So?" Autumn nearly shouted, "how did it go?"

    Iris couldn''t help but laugh in excitement as she answered, "that was the coolest thing I''ve ever done."

    <hr>

    IRIS ORION

    Recent Accomplishments:

    New sub-ability discovered: Void Pocket

    Void Pocket:

    Source : Thread of Power (Void, Special Ability)

    Description :

    Your extra-dimensional familiar has corrupted a pocket within the void with its presence. This pocket is neither fully void, nor fully physical, and the rules by which this space is governed may fluctuate between elements of the two. You may enter or exit this space at will, and may safely exist within this space indefinitely.

    Discovered Trait : living beings which spend extended periods in this pocket may develop a latent affinity for the void.

 183 - The Green-Gold Sea

    Autumn stood in the captain''s chamber, before the large wooden table near the middle of the room. Captain Clement leaned over the table propped on his hands, while First Mate Meredith stood quietly off to his side.

    "What do you know of chimeras?" the captain asked.

    "Not much, captain," Autumn admitted, "just that they''re nasty beasts to encounter."

    "Aye," the captain said, "they''re abominations of mismatched pieces of other beasts. All kinds of meat stitched together into a twisted monstrosity -- which makes a man wonder," the titan trailed off.

    "What do they taste like?" Autumn finished with an excited smile.

    The captain bellowed a short laugh and pointed at Autumn, "yes, exactly! See Meredith, I told you she was a good hire."

    Meredith rolled her eyes, but didn''t respond to him. Instead she turned to Autumn, "we''ll be reaching the grasslands by tomorrow morning, we have it on reliable word that there''s a loose chimera near the border of the Great Forest --" she darted a passive-aggressive glance towards Captain Clement, "the captain wants to send out a hunting party for it."

    "I''m in!" Autumn said, "but I¡¯m gonna need my team."

    "Of course," the captain said, "Meredith, send out a few good fighters with them too, I want that chimera by sunset tomorrow."

    ______

    As the morning sun rose over the lands, the redwood forest gave way to the rocky cliffs of a short mountain range on the northern shore of the river, while the southern shore transitioned to open plains of lush grass, dotted with large patches of stout, broad-leafed trees. Much of the grass appeared golden at the top, creating large bands and swathes of gold that waved through the sea of grass. From the deck, Iris could see for miles across the gently rolling hills of the grasslands before they finally met the vast blue sky at the distant horizon.

    "It just keeps going," Iris marveled.

    "You could travel on foot for weeks and not find the edge," Misty said from nearby, "where I come from, we call it the green-gold sea."

    The hunting party was gathered on the starboard side of the main deck as they prepared to depart. Besides Iris''s main team, Killup and Adan joined them -- as the ultimate goal of the mission was to acquire the meat of the beast for dinner, the captain had insisted that the full kitchen staff participate to ensure the best cuts were harvested. The other additions were Cameron, Misty the swamp elf, and Dorragth the orc, who Iris was less than pleased to be stuck on a mission with.

    While Cameron, Titus and Dorragth prepared a dinghy to ride to shore, the ship was carefully brought to a slow crawl with the help of extended brake paddles from the mechanical deck and the large sails of the main mast catching headwinds.

    "Clear to depart!" Meredith shouted from the helm, "we''ll keep her slow and meet you down river!"

    The hunting party crowded into the dinghy as it hung from ropes over the side of the ship, and pirates on the deck lowered them down with a pulley system until they splashed down into the choppy wake of the ship. A hard shove off the hull from Autumn, Dorragth, and Misty pushed the dinghy away from the ship, and an angled down-stream course brought them to the sandy gravel shore.

    There was one extra pirate on the dinghy, who stayed behind while the others shoved the small boat back into the river where it could return to the ship. Iris watched the dinghy leave for only a second, quickly accepting the sudden reality that they were on their own now, and turning her attention to the vast plains before them.

    The beach was thin and mostly sandy gravel, with a few small rocks scattered around. Immediately behind the beach was a thick wall of tall grass that reminded Iris of crop fields. Large swatches of the grass were topped with tiny, brilliant golden flowers that clumped along the top few inches of the plants they grew from, creating the illusion of golden waves Iris had seen from above.  Only the tallest amongst them, Titus, Dorragth and Misty, could see over the tops of the grass now, however.

    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    "We''re looking for tracks, animal corpses, or droppings," Cameron said, "keep an eye out for animal trails and paths too."

    "This river is dangerous to drink from," Misty said, "the current''s too strong and the foam is toxic in large quantities. The animals around here mostly drink from small watering holes scattered around the plains, those will be good places to start."

    "You know the area?" Cameron asked.

    Misty nodded, "it''s a common training ground for young champions from Fale Nalore."

    "Is that where you''re from?" Iris asked.

    Misty nodded again, but didn''t elaborate, "that doesn''t mean I can navigate for us, though. I''ve spent time in these plains, but it would take a life time to fully explore them. I know a few landmarks I can call out if we''re close to them, but right now, I have no idea where we are."

    "Let''s go," Dorragth said impatiently, barging off into the grass.

    "Guess we''re moving, then," Eli said. He looked to the sky and whistled loudly, then unslung his staff and moved to follow after Dorragth.

    Dorragth''s large frame pushed a path through the grass and made it easier for others to follow, and one-by-one each member of the hunting party followed after him. Iris, Autumn and Killup stuck to the middle, as the smallest of the group -- and in Iris''s case, the weakest -- they had no desire to risk getting picked off from the rest of the party. Titus and Adan brought up the rear, while Victoria floated overhead in her ghostly form.

    The grass was a dense mixture of various kinds of plants, and home to no small number of bugs and critters. Some of the plants had nasty stickers in the form of spike balls that clung to clothes or thin blade-like flowers that effortlessly slid into skin when touched. Iris''s ropes and armor protected her for the most part, but she earned quite a few scrapes and cuts on her hands and face as they pushed through the thicket.

    The further they got from the river, the thinner and shorter the grass became. After a short while of suffering the tall grass, they finally broke out into a wide, expansive meadow dotted with various pink, yellow and white flowers. The wind pushed ripples across the grass and flowers, creating beautiful traveling waves as sun glinted off the last of the morning dew.

    "This doesn''t feel like the place we''d find a twisted monstrosity," Iris observed.

    "The chimera''s prey likely thinks the same before it dies," Adan said.

    "He''s right," Eli said, "keep your wits, even beautiful places can be dangerous."

    Dorragth was already charging off across the meadow, trampling flowers in his wake as he cut a straight line towards a glistening pond in the distance.

    "Or we can just sprint off into the unknown, I guess," Eli sighed.

    A screech came from overhead, and every member of the hunting party who wasn''t a member of Eli''s team immediately took combat stances as their eyes scanned the sky. Those that were a part of Eli''s team simply looked up with fondness as they quickly spotted Glimmer the griffin circling above. She landed with a trot and hurried over to Eli, who greeted her with a hug and ear scratches.

    "Wait," Autumn said, "does Glimmer count as a chimera?"

    Glimmer screeched in Autumn''s direction as if she were upset.

    "Definitely not," Eli said, "griffins are natural creatures. They hatch, grow and reproduce in the wild. Chimeras are created."

    "Created by what?" Iris asked.

    "Flesh crafters, mostly," Misty said casually.

    "What the fuck is a flesh crafter?" Iris asked in horror.

    Titus took on a grim, angry expression, "imagine a necromancer that works with living flesh. Flesh crafters are an affront to the Thread of Life and everything it stands for."

    "Not all flesh crafters are evil--" misty began, but stopped with Titus shot her an intense glare.

    "Let''s focus on the mission," Eli said, "our intel is that this chimera has been living wild for years, we won''t be dealing with whoever made it."

    "We should catch up to Dorragth," Misty said, taking the lead across the meadow towards Dorragth.

    The pond was modest, and there was a muddy shore were it had visibly shrank since the last rain. A few small deer with tiny straight antlers were drinking on the far side, but scattered when the hunting party approached. The mud surrounding the pond was trampling with countless overlaying animal tracks.

    Dorragth was already crouching to inspect tracks, and was soon joined by Cameron and Eli. There was short argument as the three men disagreed about which tracks belonged what creature, but eventually they settled their attention on a set of tracks that seemed to include two different kinds of feet ¨C which caused another small argument about whether or not the two different prints actually did belong to the same set of tracks. After the trackers finally came to an agreement, the hunting party followed the tracks away from the pond and down an animal trail that cut through the meadow, towards a cluster of trees.

 184 - Chimera in the Meadows

    "Are we gonna talk about how big these tracks are?" Autumn asked as the party approached the thicket.

    The tracks they followed were of a four-legged creature, seemingly with a pair of cloven feet like a goat or sheep and a pair of padded feet like a large cat. The prints were larger than those of Glimmer, who herself was as massive as an especially large horse.

    "We can handle it," Dorragth said from the front of the line.

    "Easy to say for the biggest person here," Autumn said, "some of us have to worry about getting picked up and carried away."

    Dorragth snorted, but didn''t respond.

    The thicket of trees offered shelter from the warm sun overhead, but gave little in the way of concealment from the ground as the tree trunks were thin and the foliage was well below eye level for most of the party. The sunlit meadow on the other side of the thicket was visible in cracks and slivers between the trees from almost any angle, and there was no concern of the creature they searched for hiding within. While Glimmer took to the skies and circled over the thicket, the hunting party followed the tracks through the trees until they came across the mostly-devoured corpse of a deer.

    "It''s still fresh," Eli said as he crouched beside it, "the flies have just gotten to it. Whatever killed it is close."

    The adventurers warily scanned their surroundings in response.

    Cameron joined Eli beside the corpse and inspected the marks on its bones and what little flesh remained, "two different tooth profiles, one reptilian and one feline. That''s our target."

    "It went this way," Dorragth said, already stomping off towards the edge of the thicket.

    A panicked screech rang out from the sky, followed by a lion''s roar.

    Dorragth broke into a sprint towards the meadow, followed an instant later by Eli, Cameron and Titus, and a second later by the others -- all accept for Killup, who leapt off the ground and flapped his wings to lift him into the canopy, where he hid amongst the leaves.

    Despite the head start of some others, Adan was the first to reach the thicket''s edge. His gleaming skin caught the sunlight as he burst out into the meadow and shot his gaze towards the sky, where he immediately located the target.

    The chimera was one-and-a-half the size of Glimmer and flew on large, leathery wings as it chased the griffin through the air just a few dozen feet above the ground. It had three heads, a thick-maned lion on the left, a red-scaled reptile on the right, and a large black ram with thick, curling horns in the center. Its body mostly resembled that of a lion with short sandy-brown fur, except for the hindquarters that resembled a goat with shaggy black fur and rear legs that ended in hooves.

    Dorragth charged out of the thicket with a coarse battle cry, picking up a large rock from the ground and chucking it at the creature with such force that the grass around him fluttered in the wake. The rock shot through the air as fast as a bolt of magic and slammed into the chimera''s side, crunching into bone and even partially embedding in the flesh.

    The chimera''s heads roared and screamed and its flight faltered, buying Glimmer enough time for a banking maneuver that brought her circling around behind the creature as it struggled to stay aloft. Eli stepped up beside Adan and fired a blast from his staff that flew straight and fast, piercing through both of the chimera''s wings as they flapped upwards. An instant later, Glimmer swooped down and landed atop the chimera, digging her talons deep into its flesh and pecking her sharp beak against the back of its lion head.

    The lion head roared and the ram head screamed, while the reptilian head twisted around and cracked its jaws wide. A glow began in its throat, and a long second later fire erupted from its mouth and bathed the meadows in a long, curving swath of flame.

    "Fire drake!" Misty called out.

    She dropped to her knees and buried her hands in the dirt with forceful strikes. Her eyes lit up a vibrant green as an explosion of plant growth erupted from the ground in a line shooting out from her hands. The line split to either side when it reached the edge of the flames as thick, leafy vines rose in and out of the ground as they lengthened, weaving themselves through the air and the soil.

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    Iris appeared beside her, "won''t that just give the fire more fuel?"

    "The plants are full of water from the ground," misty said, "they''ll burn slow and halt the spread."

    As the drake head''s fire breath petered out, the chimera twisted abruptly in the air. The maneuver flung Glimmer loose, tossing her out to the side where she quickly recovered. The chimera was not so agile, however, and came out of the spin on a collision course for the ground. With a few desperate flaps it salvaged the crash into a rough landing which it carried into a full sprint.

    Its legs moved in a blur as it ran impossibly fast in a circle around the gathering attackers. It dived low to dodge a blast from Eli''s staff, and leapt high to jump over its own trail of fire, and then abruptly shifted course in a straight charge towards Misty and Iris.

    "I got it," Iris said before Misty could pull her hands from the soil.

    The elf snapped her head towards the strange wizard girl, only to see she wasn''t there. She looked back at the charging chimera as Iris appeared in the air in front of and just above it. The girl delivered a full body downward swing with what looked like an ordinary walking stick, arcing in front of the creature and impacting the ram head between its horns with looked like it would be immense force. The strike, however, did no apparent damage to the creature -- instead, it was as if all momentum was drained from the creatures charge, and it slowed to a confused trot as the ram head looked around in confusion and the other heads lashed about in search of the attacker.

    Iris appeared beside Misty again, "I''m not done, but I thought I should get out of the way for--"

    Something like a horizontal landslide had raced through the swath of fire and was now barreling across the meadow. It was a massive, curving wall of dirt, stone and plants that left a deep gouge in the land behind it as it shot forward with twice the speed of a galloping horse.

    The wall slammed into the chimera so hard that its feet left the ground and it was flung away into a rolling tumble. Dorragth erupted through the remnants of the wall, lifting a huge rock over his head with both hands and leaping into the air. The drake head met him with a throat full of flame, but he brought the rock down on its snout before the fire could escape. With the chimera not yet back on its feet, the force of the strike drove the drake head into the ground and clamped the jaws shut, and a second later the drake''s neck began to bulge and glow brightly.

    Dorragth shifted a foot onto the drake''s mouth to hold it closed while he swung the rock into the ram head as it attempted to bash him with its horns. He blocked the attack, but did little damage to the creature''s horns. There was a pop and a flash of flame by his feet, just before the lion head snuck under the ram''s neck, sank teeth into his arm and viciously jerked him aside.

    With jaws firmly locked onto the orcs arm, the lion head slung him onto the ground and placed a large paw on his chest to pin him, embedding sharp, hooking claws into his flesh. Adan appeared from a streaking flash of movement and delivered a spinning kick to the lion head, pushing it away from the pinned orc. The motion ripped flesh from Dorragth''s bones, but his only acknowledgement was a roar as he immediately began prying the creature''s claws out of his chest with both hands. Adan flashed away as quickly as he had appeared.

    Three blasts of magic shot out. The first was a streak of red that pierced the chimera''s chest and exploded beneath the flesh, the next two were streaks of white that impacted Dorragth where he lay. He growled through the pain as his missing flesh reformed and he pushed the creature''s paw off his chest.

    "Now''s probably a good time," Iris shrugged beside Misty before disappearing again.

    She appeared on the ground beside Dorragth, just in front of the chimera, and swung her stick in a wide arc with all her strength and most of her mana. The stick impacted the side of the ram head, and all the force it had absorbed from the chimera''s charge joined Iris''s strength. The impact cracked the skull and snapped the ram head to the side, slamming a horn into the lion''s head. The chimera swiped out with a lion''s paw towards Iris, but she was already gone.

    Dorragth took the opportunity to roll away, twist into a crouch and conjure a wall of dirt and rock between himself and the creature. Two more bolts of white magic hit him in the back, prompting muted grunts as the healing magic entered his system and continued work on his wounds. The chimera reared back as the lion head roared in fury. Beside it, the ram head hung limply, while all that remained of the drake head was a gory mess.

    Despite Misty''s best efforts, the fire was spreading across the meadow and growing close to the thicket. "I can''t hold back the flames! It''s about to be real bad here!" she shouted as she withdrew her hands from the dirt and put distance between herself and the fire.

    With a deep breath, Dorragth vaulted over his makeshift cover and charged towards the chimera. The creature planted its feet and poised to meet him, but Adan flashed beside it again and delivered another powerful kick to the lion''s head, knocking it aside and dazing the creature. It kicked off the ground and desperately flapped its wings in an attempt to take flight, but was interrupted by Autumn crashing down on its back and driving a stone spear past its spine.

    The chimera still tried to take flight, but it was out of time. Dorragth leapt into the air and met the lion head with a foot on the inside of its lower jaw between its two bottom fangs, and a hand on either side of its upper jaw just behind its upper fangs. He pushed down with his foot as he hoisted up with his hips and arms. There was a loud crack, followed by a pitiful whine. Dorragth leaned forward and wrapped his arms around the lion''s head like a bear hug, squeezed tight, and twisted his torso. A series of cracks followed, and the chimera fell limp to the ground.

 185 - Chimera for Dinner

    Thick clouds of smoke rolled over the meadows, blown far westward by the long winds. The fire raged as an intense wall of orange flame, traveling slow enough to walk away from but fast enough that its progress would catch a person off guard if they looked away for too long.

    Dorragth charged forward, pushing another large, curving wall of dirt and rock across the ground to dig a trench between the rapidly spreading grass fire and the chimera''s corpse. Though he clearly possessed a Thread of Matter and specialized in earth working, much like Autumn, his applications seemed drastically different than hers. While most might consider Autumn''s manipulation of rock to be rough and crude, Dorragth made her look like an artisan. On the other hand, the raw power of his manipulation was vastly greater than anything Autumn could manage, and he exerted it with almost casual effort.

    While Dorragth worked on the fire trench, Eli and Cameron took up defensive positions around the corpse, while Killup, Adan and Autumn got to work harvesting meat. The trio of chefs moved quickly, with Autumn dividing up the work. Killup was put in charge of skinning and removing undesirable organs, a task which he seemed completely unbothered by. Meanwhile, Autumn followed behind him and carefully cut the best cuts of meat she could, leaning on her experience butchering a variety of beasts in the field alongside Adan''s analytical advice on the creature''s anatomy which he somehow gleaned purely from observation.

    "Dammit Eli," Autumn called out when she reached the chest of the creature where Eli''s magic bolt had exploded within the flesh, "you ruined a whole cut of brisket!"

    "I was trying to hit its heart!" Eli defended, taken aback by the sudden assault.

    "Well you missed!"

    "I think you did a great job, Eli," Cameron called out, the sarcasm in his voice faint but detectable.

    "Hey, I didn''t see you doing anything to help!" Eli retorted.

    "If I''d helped," Cameron said casually, "there wouldn''t be any good meat left to eat."

    Iris and Victoria joined Misty in observing the fire from a safe distance -- though they could still feel the warmth it put off.

    "Should we put that out?" Iris asked.

    Misty shook her head, "I already convinced Dorragth to encircle the whole thing with a trench, it''ll burn itself out. Wild fires sweep through the meadows from time to time anyway, the environment here is adapted to it. Whatever burns will grow back stronger next year. Good job with the ram, by the way, that''s some scary strength for a wizard."

    Iris shrugged, "my stick did most of the work."

    "Did it?" Victoria asked, "because from where I was floating, it looked like you slapped the fuck out of it the second time."

    "I mean, I gave it my all, but I''m not that strong yet."

    Misty and Victoria gave her critical looks.

    "I''m serious!" Iris said, "the stick really did do most of the work."

    She leaned the walking stick forward to show it off in emphasis. By all means, it genuinely just looked like a conveniently straight stick she might have picked up from the woods while on a walk.

    "Didn''t you also just survive a horrific deadly wound?" Misty asked.

    Iris''s heart skipped, and her stomach twisted. Her expression tightened, but she tried to look normal, "it really wasn''t that bad."

    "If you say so," Misty said, unconvinced, before returning her attention to the fire.

    Iris opened her mouth to argue further, and then paused to question what the point was. If people believed she was stronger than she really was, wasn''t that a good thing? She decided to leave it be, even if she did feel slightly guilty for taking more credit than was due.

    Iris felt a rustling at her waist, and looked down in time to see Littletooth slip out of the bottomless bag and drop to the ground. The nearly knee-high grass would have almost completely obscured him, were it not for the tell-tale wiggle of the blades as he sprinted through it. Iris started to swear, but let it go with a sigh when the saw the trail of wiggling grass heading straight for the chimera.

    "Autumn, incoming," she called out with the indifference of a tired mother.

    "Huh?" Autumn called back, quickly followed by a surprised shout, "Littletooth, no!"This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    A truly enormous pile of meat emerged over the next few hours, placed atop a clean canvas tarp Autumn had placed in Iris''s bag for just such a purpose. While carving, Autumn encountered three distinctly different consistencies of meat, seemingly coinciding with the three heads of the chimera. Her processing was crude and quick, and no small amount of usable meat was wasted in the process, but she managed to preserve most of the specific cuts she was hoping to and collect more than enough scrap meat to feed the crew a filling dinner. A comparatively small amount of meat was sacrificed to Littletooth to keep him out of Autumn¡¯s way, but him it was an endless buffet to gorge himself on until he was too full to move. In the end, Iris had to pick him up and return him to the void.

    Eventually the others joined in to wrap the meat once it had been cut, and once wrapped each piece was tossed towards Abby, who caught it with her tentacles and pulled it into the void. When the tired and thoroughly blood-splattered Autumn finally stood up and wiped her hands on her clothes as she inspected the finished job before her, the sun had crossed the sky and the warm afternoon was giving way to chilly evening winds.

    "It''ll get cold out here at night," Misty observed, "much colder than you think it would. We should move."

    "I can live with the cold," Autumn said, "but the captain wants a platter of chimera in his hands before sun down and I don''t know who he''ll eat if we''re late, so let''s catch that boat."

    They hiked back across the meadow until the river was visible to the north, but avoided entering or crossing the tall grass alongside it and instead continuing trekking east across the more traversable meadow. While their pace was impressive, it wasn''t quite superhuman, merely matching the peak performance that could have been expected of non-magical humans. Where they really made up time was the lack of breaks, with each of them besides Iris being high enough level that the several hours of non-stop hiking was trivial to them. In Iris''s case, she did as she always did, blip as much as possible to cut down the amount of walking she actually did to a small fraction of the total distance.

    <hr>

    The crew quarters were ablaze with activity as the crew celebrated their first fancy meal of the journey. Autumn had learned from Killup and a few other crew members that these meals were quite significant, as they offered a break from the repetitive, long shelf life ingredients which most of their meals consisted of. It was the difference between eating for sustenance and eating for joy, and was traditionally accompanied by gambling, drinking, and fighting.

    While Adan and Killup served the crew their portions of ram stew, ground lion and fried drake, Autumn delivered the captain''s meal to his quarters. It was a ridiculously large platter that took both her fully extended arms to hold, so she recruited Iris to come open the door for her.

    The sky was growing darker, but she had arrived just before sunset with the meal. Atop the platter was an entire ram''s leg, several lion steaks cooked rare, and a specially prepared fire sack -- an organ belonging to the fire drake, which she cooked similarly to a liver after draining the gooey flammable substance inside into bottles.

    Iris waited outside while Autumn entered the cabin, gently closing the door behind her while avoiding being seen. She wasn''t much afraid of the Shark Titan at this point, but still, she didn''t want to be in the room if he didn''t like his meal. Even through the thick walls of the ship, however, she could soon hear him shouting and laughing in excitement about the meal.

    Iris decided there wasn''t much point in waiting for Autumn, and blipped across the deck to find a nice place to sit. She settled for her newest favorite place, the small maintenance platform at the bow, and had Abby hold a lantern for her while she cracked open her journal. She had felt herself level up during the Chimera battle, so it was no surprise when the journal reflected that. She summarily dumped all 5 of her new stat points into Strength.

    IRIS ORION

    Hero Rank, Level 12

    Experience Points: 1132 / 11,340

    Progress to next level: 9.98%

    Attribute Scores:

    - Vitality : 40

    - Strength : 56

    - Speed : 35

    - Intellect : 39

    - Spirit : 50

    Unspent attribute points : 0

    Next, she flipped to what she really cared about -- a new journal entry from her mother.

    Dear Iris,

    I''m sorry for the gap in my entries, a lot has happened.

    My companions and I were traveling across the plains beyond the Shining Peaks when something changed. I don''t really know how to explain it, even now. One moment they were there, the air was warm and the sun was shining. Then they were gone. The grass was dry and drooping, the air was cold against my skin, and a storm was brewing in the distance.

    There had been a singular landmark in the plains, and it still remained. A lone tree jutting up out of the grass in the distance, though now its branches were bare. I traveled to it, hoping my companions would meet me there, but they never came.

    It''s been a week since then. I''ve waited for the seasons to change back, for my companions to return, but I''ve had no choice but to keep traveling. I still possess the stone and the veiled catacombs still await. Darren made it clear from the beginning, if something were to happen to him or the others, I am to continue the quest.

    The storm came and went in the distance, accompanied by great lightning that behaved in ways I''ve never seen before. It came in waves, dozens of bolts striking down in the same second. There was a fight in the storm, as well, against something quite large judging by the roars that rumbled across the plains not unlike the thunder. My curiosity still burns, but I can''t afford the detour right now. My quest still remains.

    I do not know if you hold any gods in high regard, Iris, but if you do, please pray to them for me.

    Mary Orion, 969

 186 - Arrival at Gellorn Keep

    Sooner than she wished, Iris was put back to work. While the morning air was still crisp and cool and the sun still lingered over the horizon, she was drafted to check and retie knots across the front-most mast of the ship. It was an easy enough job, as the sails were furled closed and tied stationary while the current of the river and the half open sails of the main mast did the work of moving the ship.

    She paused when the sails of the main mast were abruptly furled closed, and a fresh breeze washed over her. At first she looked towards the mast with curiosity, but quickly followed the gazes and pointing fingers of crew members on the deck below. Across the ship, heads turned one after the other towards something beyond the bow. Iris blipped to the other side of some ropes for a better view, and soon saw the cause of the commotion.

    The ship was rounding a bend, and on the shores of the river up ahead, rows of gigantic statues were coming into view. There were six on either side of the river, in alternate colors of black and white marble. They were roughly the shape of humans, but their features were crude and basic. They wore no clothes, and had no obscene parts to speak of, but each wielded large silver shields and tall spears. As the ship grew nearer, it became clear that the shoulders of the giants were approximately level with the main deck of the ship, meaning they were of extremely impressive size.

    Then some of the statues moved. Three from either side stepped down into the waters, moving in slow, methodical motions. They stabbed their spears into the riverbed, and hung their shields atop them, continuing to walk into the river even as they did so. Most of their bodies were quickly submerged beneath the water, and despite currents strong enough to carry the Gaping Maw they moved as if the water exerted negligible force on them.

    As the giants converged near the center of the river, only their heads and shoulders now visible above the water, the Shark Titan took the helm. He steered the meandering ship down the very center of the lake, clearly aiming for the space between the giants. Iris slowly swiveled her head as they sailed past the first of the giants, wholly mesmerized and refusing to take her eyes off of it. Its face looked like an unfinished statue, with flat features and straight edges. Within what appeared to be crude carvings of eye sockets were silver orbs with black marble centers.

    As the bow of the ship passed the furthest giants, they all abruptly converged on the hull and twisted to face forwards. The ship creaked and lurched as it suddenly rose higher. Iris blipped down to the deck and nearly threw herself overboard as she leaned over the railing for a better view. Far below, the giants were lifting the ship and raising it onto their shoulders. Water washed off the hull and poured back into the river as the giants wrapped their arms under the ship to support its weight.

    The giants began to walk, carrying the ship forward as they slowly angled towards the southern shore and the grasslands beyond. The crew got to work tying down the various moving parts of the ship as if preparing to dock, and Iris was soon drafted to join them. As she worked, she stole as many glances as possible down at the moving statues that carried the ship, hoping they weren''t going to drop it.

    Based on the commands shouted by the first mate and the boatswain, and the general demeanor of the crew, Iris could tell that this was an expected occurrence -- otherwise they would have no doubt engaged in battle by now. The giants soon neared the shore, and the ship began to rise higher and higher as the giants slowly climbed out of the water and onto land. Without pause or hesitation, they continued on across the grasslands.

    When Iris finished her work, her heart skipped a beat as she remembered the hole in the bottom of the ship. It hadn''t been a problem before now, as the only portion of the ship it could flood was the hydra''s chamber, which was already filled with water. Now that the ship itself was out of the water, however, that meant the hole would cause the hydra''s chamber to drain. She blipped to the port side railing and looked down over the side, searching for a torrent of water jetting from the hull. What she saw instead was a giant''s hand placed over the hole, holding back the water within seemingly with ease.

    She sighed and smiled to herself, acknowledging that it would have been pretty weird if she were the only one to consider that problem. She had, after all, told anyone who would listen about the damage she had witnessed the mermaids inflict to the hull. Surely the captain must have anticipated it, and further anticipated that the giants would think to plug the hole when they lifted the ship.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    The next hour was surprisingly boring. Though the novelty of being atop a giant ship which itself was atop the shoulders of stone giants and being carried across beautiful meadows showed no signs of wearing off, in practice it wasn''t all that different from sailing. The biggest change, other than the scenery, was that there wasn''t much for the crew to do without the need to actually sail the ship. Instead, many gathered on the deck to savor the view and stare over the railing at the giants below. Most crew members that Iris had come to recognize as long time veterans of the Gaping Maw seemed disinterested, however, and in the absence of work to do they made their way below deck.

    Iris eventually grew tired of staring out at grass and flowers, and blipped down to the dangling anchor on the port side of the bow. It was something she had always wanted to try, but had been too afraid to over open water of the powerful river. Now was her chance -- worst case scenario if she fell was that she would blip safely to the ground, with the help of her momentum-absorbing walking stick if necessary, and ask a giant for help getting back up. They seemed friendly, after all.

    The maneuver to get down to the anchor was only slightly risky, involving a leap off the maintenance platform she often sat on, a short free fall, and a carefully placed blip onto the anchor itself. The anchor was attached to an enormous chain of which only a few links were visible before it disappeared into a hole rimmed with iron. Based on the height from the main deck, Iris guessed that the chain was coiled on the third deck, somewhere behind the infirmary. That made sense, as it accommodated for unexplained space between the infirmary and the bow, and lined up with the anchor wheel on the main deck.

    She settled into a somewhat comfortable position on one of the anchor''s hooks, and briefly enjoyed the expanded view the vantage point gave her of the plains and the giants. After a moment, she reached for her bag, but before she could reach into it a tentacle came out of the void and offered her the book she had been reading most recently. She smiled at Abby and took the book, giving an appreciative nod.

    After a while of reading her book, she noticed the giants -- and by extension the ship -- were about to crest a steep hill. She eagerly looked up from her book, wondering what new sights awaited her. She wasn''t disappointed, as the first thing she saw appeared to be the peak of a mountain. As they summited the hill, the whole mountain slowly came into view.

    It was strangely out of place, isolated in the vast expanse of grassy hills in all directions was the monolith of a mountain made of brilliant white marble. In fact -- she realized as she squinted -- it wasn''t actually a mountain, at least not a natural one. It seemed to have been built of giant marble slabs, many of which were weathered and worn smooth at the corners, but many still appeared new and freshly cut from the ground.

    Long, wide dirt paths extended out from the mountain in four directions, cutting their way across the grasslands and splintering off into smaller paths in the distance. Along these paths walked giants of various sizes, all quite impossible to gauge at such a distance. All she could be sure of was that they were all huge, but some towered over others as if they were giants among giants.

    Surrounding the mountain and spaced between the paths were towering obelisks of black marble, she counted at least a dozen before she gave up. They were built of tall blocks stacked side-by-side and atop of each other, decreasing in thickness near the peaks of the towers.

    The giants carrying the ship soon met up with one of the large dirt paths, and followed it towards the artificial mountain. Soon the ship was passing by the obelisks, they were so tall that they soared above the main mast even while the ship rested on the shoulders of giants.

    The sheer scale of what Iris was witnessing dizzied her. The Gaping Maw was already the single largest object she had ever seen, even bigger than all but a few buildings she had come across in her life. The redwoods of the Great Forest were the largest trees she had ever seen, and having sailed across a lake so large it felt like an ocean still baffled her mind. Now, even all those felt small compared to what she witnessed with her own eyes. She looked down at the path below, it looked not unlike an ordinary footpath one might expect to develop after years of travel, but perhaps her whole valley could have fit within its edges. Her home -- even the largest buildings of her village -- would have been like small rocks beneath the feet of these giants.

    Something moved in her chest -- and then she puked. There had been just enough warning for her to lean forward and miss her dangling legs, and thankfully the nearest giant was too far behind to get hit with any splatter. She groaned as she accepted a handkerchief from a waiting tentacle and wiped her mouth.

    "I think I should go inside," Iris said, still groaning.

    Affirmative tones emanated from the bag.

 187 - The Cardinal Monuments

    The quiet solace Iris had hoped to find in the crew quarters was instead quite a commotion, as nearly every crew member packed their belongings into bags as if preparing to evacuate the ship. Iris blipped up beside Eli, who was doing so himself.

    "What''s going on?" Iris asked.

    "The crew members who have been around a while are saying we''ll have to disembark the ship when we reach the mountain," Eli answered without pausing his packing, "apparently it might be a while before we''re allowed back on board, so you''d better pack whatever you need."

    Iris shrugged, "I''m always packed. Wanna throw anything in my bag?"

    Eli placed the last of his delicately rolled shirts into his tightly packed bag and closed it before holding it out by the trap towards Iris, "if you don''t mind."

    Eli stumbled back as tentacles erupted from the bag and wrapped around the backpack, accompanied by guttural harmonies that gave the unmistakable impression of a ravenous appetite. The opening of the bag stretched open wide to accept the backpack like a snake''s jaw unhinging to swallow a meal. An instant later the tentacles had retreated into the void and the bag was cinched tightly shut.

    "She''s uh," Eli stammered, "not as a shy as she used to be."

    "Yep," Iris smiled proudly, "she''s really coming out of her shell."

    Iris heard a clanging of metal and looked over to see Autumn attempting to drag a cooking pot large enough to fit three of herself through the definitely-too-small doorway to the galley.

    "How did they even get this thing in here?" Autumn was complaining loudly between grunts as she tried to yank it through.

    "What is she doing?" Eli asked with a tired voice and slumping shoulders.

    "I got it," Iris sighed and blipped away.

    ______

    The path down which the giants carried the ship joined another, even wider path, which acted as one of the four boulevards extending out from each side of the mountain. It led all the way to the base of the mountain, where it transitioned to a massive marble tunnel. In order to accommodate the towering masts of the Gaping Maw, the giants lowered the ship from their shoulders and instead help it with a low, hooking hand as they entered the tunnel.

    The change was noticed immediately, even by those within the ship''s lower decks, as the ship briefly jostled. Only those new to sailing stumbled, while the rest deftly shifted their weight and reached out for support holds to keep their footing. A moment later, a wave of darkness traveled down the length of the ship as the bright sunlight filtering through the portholes was blocked by the tunnel.

    Peeking through a porthole, Iris could see the various halls and archways branching off from the tunnel they traveled though. The walls were all built of the same white and black marble slabs, and comprised mostly of flat, polished surfaces. There were many cracks cutting through the marble, showing its age. She saw marble giants moving through the halls, many so large that their heads were above her even while the ship was carried by giants. Others were much smaller, reaching up only to the knees of the largest giants.

    Soon the tunnel ended, and the ship was brought into a large chamber at the center of the artificial mountain. Iris quickly blipped up to the main deck for a better view, and quite soon regretted it. The ceiling was so far above that she struggled to comprehend that it was, in fact, a ceiling -- her mind''s first assumption was that, somehow, the sky itself must have been replaced with marble. She swayed in place, and quickly blipped next to a mast to lean against for balance as her gaze spun around the room.

    Four tunnels, each equally large, led from the central chamber in a straight line out to the grasslands, meeting at a raised square platform in the center of the room with large, giant sized stairs in the middle of each side and stairs of varying smaller sizes on the corners. In each of the four corners of the chamber were mind-bogglingly large statues, each seated in enormous marble thrones. Iris grew even dizzier when one of the statues leaned forward in his seat and clasped his hands together. The movement washed a large but gentle breeze over the ship, and the interlocking figures echoed the low, rumbling sound of grinding stone.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    The ship heaved up and down as the giants carried it up the steps to the center of the raised platform, where they crouched to their knees and settled into place as unmoving statues once more, the Gaping Maw resting on their shoulders.

    "Welcome!" the enormous giant with clasped hands spoke, his excited voice carrying a reverberating force through the chamber like most would only witness from dragons and gods. There were no lips on his face to part as he spoke, the words simply emanated from his head.

    "I''m honored to be before the Monuments once more," Captain Clement shouted from the helm, his loud, booming voice struggling to reach the edges of the massive room.

    Iris was shocked to hear the Shark Titan speak so cordially, and even more surprised to see him crouch to a knee and lower his head.

    "Rise, captain," another monument spoke, "I take it you''ve come for repairs?"

    "Aye," the captain answered, somewhat returning to his usual manner of speech, "the Maw has seen much better days."

    "And what do you bring the mountain, in return?"

    "For the creators, I bring gold. For the Monuments, I bring knowledge."

    There was a quiet moment, as each of the four monuments sat still and silent. Finally, one of them spoke.

    "Acceptable."

    "I have an additional request," the captain shouted, "I carry a hydra in the belly of my ship. She is starved and weakened, and now only a portion of her former size, however --"

    "This can be accommodated," a monument interrupted, "she will be secured."

    "Thank you," the captain bowed his head respectfully.

    "Return to us when these arrangements are complete."

    "Yes, Monument South," the captain answered.

    The ship was jostled again as the giants rose to their feet and began to carry the ship down the steps of the platform. Though they did a good job of keeping the ship mostly level throughout the descent, the, the motion combined with the already dizzying sights before her immediately turned her stomach. She quickly squeezed her eyes shut and blipped below deck to escape at least the visual sensations.

    "You okay?" Victoria asked, half worried and half critically.

    "What?" Iris mumbled as she opened her eyes, still struggling avoid vomiting, "oh, yeah. That''s all just kind of a lot." She lazily motioned above her shoulder towards the main deck.

    Victoria laughed, "yeah, it''s pretty cool. Just think, pretty soon we might be walking those giant halls ourselves."

    That sent Iris over the edge, and she quickly blipped the nearest bucket into her hands.

    ______

    The ship was brought down a branching path from the main halls and carried deep into the mountain. The first stop was what appeared to be a giant''s bathhouse, with marble pillars holding up the vaulted roof of a large rectangular chamber which housed a pool of water large enough to accommodate at least two dozen large giants. The ship''s bearers brought it to the edge of the pool and knelt down onto their knees, lowering the bow of the ship near to the pool''s waters.

    "Damn mermaids broke the lever," the captain called out casually over the railing near the bow, as if speaking to an equal, "you''re gonna have to pull it open."

    After a silent moment, the front-most giants on either side of the ship reached up and wrapped marble fingers around the large, ivory bow stem.

    "Tell them to pull gently," Meredith said from behind the captain.

    "Meredith says pull gent--"

    The giants began pulling down on the bow stem. Wood creaked all around, and somewhere far below thick metal chains tensioned and snapped, slamming hard into the housings and machinery around them. The bow of the Gaping Maw folded downwards as water gushed from the cracks on either side, pouring out into the giant pool. The giants brought the bow down until the water poured freely like milk from a jug, and a moment later the hydra washed out and splashed into the pool.

    It swam out at blinding speed, diverted when it reached a wall, and swam along the wall until it reached a corner, where it quickly turned again. The captain smirked at the thought that it very much looked like a goldfish in a bathhouse -- and then he saw the tiny glinting speck of a fat golden fish washing into the pool with the last of the water.

    "He''s there!" the Shark Titan climbed onto the railing to leap.

    Meredith grabbed his arm to stop him. Her strength was no match for his, but his reflex was to pause when she grabbed him. He looked back at her with a fierce gaze from his beady black eyes.

    "We''re on business, captain," Meredith said.

    The captain pointed to the water, "But Gerald--"

    "Think about it first," she said patiently.

    After a second, his shoulders slumped, "the Monuments are waiting."

    The captain sighed and stepped off the railing, shrugging off Meredith''s grasp. He gave her a frustrated look, then looked back over the water -- a sea to the goldfish, but a pond to the hungry the hydra. However, the fish had somehow managed to survive at least some period of time in the Maw''s belly. The captain breathed a low, rumbling breath.

    "Captain?" Meredith asked.

    "The little shit¡¯s working with the hydra."

 188 - Ants in a Workshop

    The giants held the now thoroughly broken maw of the ship closed as they carried it down another series of halls and ultimately into what appeared to be a workshop. Solid cuts of marble served as worktables that lined the walls and were lightly covered with scraps of wood and stone, while shelves carved directly into the walls held giant sized hand tools for wood and stone carving. Like most of the mountain, the room was lit with giant glow stone crystals set into the ceiling, bathing the room in a warm yellowish light that almost mimicked sunlight.

    If the workshop had been built to size for humans, then the relative size of the Gaping Maw would be equivalent to a large wheelbarrow. Far too big to be placed on any of the worktables, it was instead settled onto two sawhorse-like structures with deep divots down the center for carefully cradling the ship along its curvature. It seemed, by all means, that the giants had been expecting their arrival ¨C and had perhaps even worked on the ship before.

    With the Gaping Maw in place, the giants allowed the broken bow to fold down and rest atop a block of marble one of them slid into place below it. After which, they moved a few wooden tables -- about a quarter of the height of the marble worktables, far too short for any but the smallest giants to use effectively -- against the hull of the ship on either side and at the stern. The surfaces of the tables came up to approximately the waterline of the ship, and on them was what appeared to be approximately human-scale ladders, except that they were absurdly tall. Then, the giants wordlessly made their exit. The crew gathered conspicuously on the main deck, some patiently waiting for the opportunity to disembark, while the newer members seemed confused and unsure of what to expect.

    After the giants had cleared the room, movement scurried on the walls. Dozens of tiny creatures -- at least, tiny from a giant''s perspective -- scampered out of cracks in the marble, clinging to the walls like ants before launching off and gliding with bat-like wings. As they grew nearer, they became recognizable as gargoyles, like Killup.

    The vast majority of the gargoyles landed on the tables surrounding the Gaping Maw and began lifting the ladders to prop up against the hull. A small contingent, however, consisting of only six gargoyles, landed on the quarterdeck before Captain Clement. Unlike Killup, who had adopted the characteristic fashion of a pirate or sailor besides his propensity for not wearing shoes or a shirt, these gargoyles wore rough, layered cuts of cloth in various shades of grey. In addition, they each wore tool belts weighted down with various carpentry and stone working tools. Like Killup, however, they also didn¡¯t wear shoes and the cloths draped over one shoulder couldn¡¯t adequately be described as shirts. One of them, who appeared the oldest based on the grey tufts of hair growing out of his pointy and elongated ears, was wearing a bright yellow-orange sash.

    From the main deck, Iris observed the gargoyle with a sash approach the captain, but the first ladders had reached the railing and the crowd was quickly funneling her towards them as the crew climbed overboard and down the ladders. She stuck with her party until they reached the ladders, at which point she instead stepped over the railing and dropped over the edge.

    The foot of her walking stick landed first, absorbing enough momentum for her to land safely in a crouch. That was a bit nerve wracking, as she had intended for it to absorb all of her momentum so she could land lightly on her feet. It quickly occurred to her that she hadn''t accommodated for the stick''s maximum capacity of energy, and mentally noted that she should be careful to make sure it was completely empty before using it to land large falls in the future.

    Surrounding her on the table -- which, from her perspective, was a wide open platform suspended several deadly falls above the floor -- were dozens of gargoyles already setting upon the task of repairing the ship. They carried over supplies such planks and nails before flying back for more, while others set up work stations with parchment schematics of the ship and various blank sheets for planning and notes. The gargoyles mostly ignored the crew, save for a cheery few who happily greeted them and directed them towards the ladders affixed to the legs of the table at every corner, which led the rest of the way down to the marble floor.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

    Iris was still struggling with nausea and dizziness from the mindboggling scales, and leaned on her stick for balance while she waited for her party before descending further. Eli and Titus made the dissent without issue, and Victoria simply floated down in her spectral form, but Autumn ¨C who was afraid of heights -- struggled. Autumn had avoided looking over the railing, or even outright acknowledging the height of the ship, as much as possible during their journey. Now, she was forced not only to face the terrifying descent down the height of the Gaping Maw once more, but to do it with the added height from being suspended on the giant sawhorses.

    With quite a bit of help from Victoria, both in the form of calming effects from summoned cards and kind words of encouragement as she flew back up and lingered beside Autumn as she descended, Autumn finally reached the table. She promptly sought out the middle of the platform, the furthest possible point she could find from any edge, and doubled over to catch her breath.

    "I fucking hate it here," she gasped.

    "We''re not done yet," Eli said, "there''s still another ladder to go."

    Autumn groaned and almost turned green.

    Titus nudged Eli with a sharp elbow, giving him a scolding expression.

    "What Eli means," Victoria took over, "is that the hard part¡¯s over. The next ladder down is way more sturdy, and it''s not as far down."

    It was, actually, approximately the same distance from the table to the floor as from the main deck to the table, but Autumn didn''t need to know that.

    "Clear the table please!" A gargoyle shouted from across the platform, "work to do!"

    Autumn sucked in a big breath and stood upright, "alright, I''m ready, let¡¯s do it."

    "Are you sure--" Victoria was cut off.

    "I''m getting it over with!" Autumn insisted as she marched towards the corner of the table.

    Iris peered over the edge of the platform as Eli took the lead climbing down the ladder, followed by Titus and then a nervous but committed Autumn. She could stick the landing if her stick was emptied of all energy before she leapt, but there wasn''t anything around that she could get away with smashing to pieces. She guessed that she could probably just dispense the energy into the air, maybe creating a gust of wind or something, but she wasn''t certain how much commotion that would cause and wasn''t about to risk distracting anyone during their precarious descent down the towering ladders. Instead, she opted to take the fall the old fashioned way.

    "Just think of it like jumping off cliff onto a monster," Victoria was saying to Autumn.

    "That would be easy!" Autumn yelled, "jumping is easy, you''re only up high for a second!"

    Iris dropped past them, plummeting towards the floor below.

    "Like that!" Autumn shouted.

    Iris kept plenty of space between herself and the floor when she first blipped upwards to reverse her momentum. When she reached the peak of her upwards arc and her momentum zeroed out, she quickly blipped three times in quick succession to bring herself just a few feet above the floor, where she landed comfortably.

    The marble floor was quite regular, all things considered. The square slabs it was built from were impossibly wide to be anything regular sized folk could have built, and the gaps between slabs were sometimes as wide as inches, forcing intimidating steps across dark gaps every few hundred feet, but still, Iris found the solid floor beneath her to be a comforting dose of normalcy.

    Looking up and around the workshop was a different story. She very much felt like an ant on the floor of a house, and it genuinely felt like her mind wasn''t equipped to comprehend such scales ¨C not just as far as perceiving them, it felt like even knowing something so huge existed was somehow knowledge her mind would prefer not having. Looking up at the Gaping Maw was particularly strange, as she could have never imagined she would see the ship propped up like a hobbyist''s scale model.

    Killup''s feet pitter-pattered across the marble as he flew down and landed in a jog that brought him just before Iris.

    "Pretty neat?" he asked.

    "Terrifying," she corrected.

    "You probably get used to it," Killup shrugged and began to walk off, "tell chef I''m taking family leave."

    "You guys get family leave?" she asked.

    "Not if you ask for it!" Killup called back before breaking into a quadrupedal sprint across the floor, towards the gap between two giant marble block worktables.

    A while later, the party was finally gathered on the floor beneath the Gaping Maw, waiting on Autumn to shake off the last of her nausea. The many adventurers who had descended from the Gaping Maw by that point were being funneled by gargoyles towards the same gap between tables that Killup had scurried into. With no other direction, the party joined the slowly moving crowd.

 189 - An Audience with Monuments

    The gap between the massive marble worktables of the giant''s workshop was wide enough for adventurers to walk five abreast, and felt like a strange mix of an alleyway and a tunnel. There was an opening far above, where warm glow stone light shone brightly, but it felt more like a distant light at the end of a cave than true open air to the alleyway. As they neared the end of the alleyway, they approached a large vertical crack in the marble walls behind the worktables.

    The walls of the crack were rough and uneven, and splintered off down multiple paths. It felt even more like stepping into a very tall cave than the alleyway they had just traversed, and the sparsely placed glow stone fragments that dimly lit the passage added to the effect. Gargoyles clinging to and deftly traversing the walls overhead directed the adventurers down the correct branches of the passage, and after a short while of agonizingly slow travel through the cracks, the crowd filtered out into something like a cavern.

    Under normal circumstances, Iris would have considered the artificial cavern to be quite large, but by her recently skewed standards it was actually quite small. The ceiling was only a few dozen feet high, and the roughly rectangular room was only about half the size of Giantrock City''s Underbelly. It was, however, absolutely packed with buildings. On the ground floor, all but a few were constructed of rough cut marble bricks, while the second and occasional third floors were primarily of ramshackle wooden construction.

    The marble walls were a strange mix of flat, polished surfaces and roughly carved, almost cave-like surfaces. Along the exposed walls were a dozen or more structures carved directly into the marble, most were faced with either a wooden or marble brick wall, as if a large cavity had been hollowed out and a single front-facing wall had been built to close them off. There were no foot paths leading to most of these dwellings, they were evidently unnecessary for the gargoyles who could both climb walls and fly.

    When the last of the crew had crammed into the cavern, a few gargoyles stacked bricks and planks into a makeshift platform near the center, in what was effectively a town square. Meredith stepped up onto the platform and addressed the crew.

    "Listen up, dogs," Meredith projected her voice throughout the cavern, "we''re guests here, and if you can''t already tell, the Gaping Maw is at the mercy of our hosts. While we''re here, minor infractions will be met with swift and harsh punishment at the hands of myself and the captain. Anyone who commits a major infraction will be handed over to the Monuments to face customary local punishment -- a few of you will remember what that looks like."

    Murmurings spread through the crowd, and Iris overheard someone mention "the pit."

    "Our hosts have been kind enough to mark a few of the tunnels for us," Meredith continued, "the tunnel behind me marked with an X will take you to the chamber where we''ll be setting up camp, the tunnel to my left marked with a circle will take you to the market, and the tunnel marked with a square will take you to the mines. We''ll be here for a while, so feel free to take up work if you can find it. Any questions?"

    "What counts as an infraction?" someone shouted.

    Meredith sighed, "if you wouldn''t do something on the Gaping Maw, definitely don''t do it here. Better yet -- if you wouldn''t do it in the captain''s quarters, don''t do it here. Act right, stay out of trouble, and don''t get stepped on."

    "When do we get to pillage something?" another voice called out.

    "When the captain says so," Meredith replied sharply, clearly stressed by the task of keeping the crew out of trouble, "we all know that pillaging is on hold until the hydra is returned to sea, get over it. If you really need to blow off steam, I''m told the mines have a monster problem, go down there and kill something."

    "What about--"

    "No more questions," Meredith cut them off, "get somewhere, all of you."A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    "I don''t think she likes her job very much," Autumn observed.

    "I think it''s the crew she doesn''t like," Eli said.

    It didn''t take long for the crowd to start moving. Most headed for the crack in the wall marked with a large black X, apparently marked with charcoal, towards their camp site.

    "Alright," Eli clapped his hands to get the party''s attention, "let''s go claim a good spot for camp-- where''s Iris?"

    "Wait for me!" Autumn shouted, already hurrying after Iris towards the passage to the markets.

    "Guys--" Eli started to call out, then stopped and sighed.

    "I''ll ensure the chef stays out of trouble," Adan said.

    Eli almost startled at the words. Adan stood so still and silent that Eli often forgot he was even there.

    "Do me a favor and look after the other one, too?" he asked.

    "Of course," Adan nodded before heading after Autumn and Iris.

    "I guess we''ll--" Eli began.

    "Actually," Victoria interrupted, "I left something back at the ship, I''ll catch up."

    She shifted into her spectral form and floated back in the direction of the Gaping Maw.

    "Why do they always run off like that?" Eli asked Titus, who shrugged.

    ______

    Victoria floated through the thick marble walls until she reached the giant''s workshop. Hovering mostly submerged within the wall, only the ghostly form of her face peaked out at the Gaping Maw. Gargoyles swarmed it like ants to a candy, and major work was already underway. With the captain nowhere in sight, she sunk back into the wall and reemerged in the huge hall down which the ship had been carried by giants.

    She retraced the path the ship had taken through the halls, staying hidden in the ceiling and using her auravision to navigate. It was easy enough -- the giants had bright, powerful auras emanating from their chests and heads, which made it trivial to follow them the paths of the halls while her normal sight saw only darkness within the marble she passed through.

    She soon reached the chamber of the monuments, where large round cuts of marble had been rolled into place to block the four entranceways. She stayed within the walls and flew to the ceiling of the chamber, where she poked her face out just enough to see and hear. Far below, only a tiny speck on the central platform of the chamber, was the Shark Titan.

    Victoria was able to recognize Monument South from the earlier conversation she had witnessed, and from there could infer the names of the others. Monument West was the one who leaned forward with his hands clasped, apparently quite interested in the Shark Titan, while Monument East sat casually, almost sprawled across his throne. North and South both sat upright, maintaining the posture one would expect of a statue.

    "This is the first word we''ve gotten of the little city''s fall," Monument West said, "an outright coup is unprecedented behavior for Morose. What do you suspect are their intentions?"

    "The agent leading the coup spoke of the Millennium Mandate, and a war for the crown of gods," the captain had more to say, but was interrupted by the grinding of stone as Monument west abruptly sat upright in his throne.

    "They intend to see the prophecy through," Monument North spoke, a hint of astonishment in his voice, "they''re making a play for power at a time like this?"

    "The hypocrisy and hubris of demi-gods knows no bounds," Monument South said.

    The monuments were still and silent for a moment, and then Monument East spoke, "perhaps there is more at play than the folly of aspiring gods. A dragon visiting the lands should tell us all we need to know about the severity of our situation."

    "Indeed," Monument West said, returning to his contemplative posture, "I fear fulfillment of the prophecy is imminent, with or without the help of the gods."

    "What is this crown of gods?" the Shark Titan asked.

    A quiet moment passed before Monument West answered, "it is as it sounds. The god who holds the crown is the god above all."

    "It has not been held for millennia," Monument North added, "it was lost in the War of Rebeginning, eons ago, before even we sat upon our thrones."

    "How does one obtain this crown?" The Shark Titan asked.

    "Do not pursue the crown," Monument West instructed fiercely, "you will die like all the rest."

    "Except for the one who gets it," the captain countered.

    "Convince yourself if you must," Monument West waved a hand that sent a breeze across the room, "I will mourn your passing for a moment. I will not, however, assist you with this great mistake."

    "Tell us more of the dragon," Monument North changed the subject, "what is his role in this?"

    Victoria listened as the captain told his perspective of the dragon''s arrival in the Great Forest, and described the knowledge he and his fellow titans were able to stitch together following the incident. The conversation continued on for over an hour, circling back to earlier topics as the monuments relentlessly mulled over the situation, and occasionally disagreed on how concerned they should be, or if any action on their part should be taken. Though no singular moment stood out to her as the information the Dreamweaver hoped to obtain from the meeting, she committed as much as she could to memory with the intent of relaying it all back to the Dreamweaver.

 190 - Exploring Gellorn

    Navigating the crack passageways of Gellorn Keep was a challenge at times. They weren''t only smaller than most of the crew, but Gargoyles could traverse the rough inner walls of the passageways as easily they could walk. This access to a third dimension meant that even if the floor of a passageway was difficult to pass, there was often an easy path available simply by climbing the walls over it. Meanwhile, the visiting pirates were left behind to squeeze their way through tight gaps and step across uneven piles of rock.

    Iris was struggling with one such passageway, with rough marble scraping across the leather chest piece she had donned for the task, when she finally saw an opening up ahead. Without thinking, she blipped.

    She looked up with wonder and nausea at the impossibly huge hallway she now stood in.  At this scale, the crack she had emerged from was only a feint blemish on the wall that probably went completely unnoticed by the giants. The floor stretched out before her while the ceiling towered so far overhead she was surprised to not see clouds. She stumbled slightly as the ground rumbled, and she backed against the wall for balance and safety as a pair of giants walked by. Each step reverberated through her body to the point of almost hurting, but they had thankfully soon passed.

    Beside her, the base of the crack abruptly expanded to twice its width, and Autumn stepped out.

    "Did you really just widen the whole passage?" Iris asked.

    "Just the tight parts at the bottom," Autumn shrugged.

    "What if the gargoyles get mad?"

    "Why would they get mad? I''m doing free labor for them. Now come on, let''s go!"

    Autumn took off across the giant hallway, angled towards a crack in the wall across that would serve as their next passageway. Iris panicked and quickly snapped her head side-to-side to check for approaching giants, but seeing they were quite far away, Iris blipped after Autumn.

    Crossing the hallway reminded Iris of crossing frozen lakes -- she had never actually seen a frozen lake in person, but she had seen several illustrations -- the wide, impossibly flat expanse of polished marble reflected light like smooth ice, yet no small number of imperfections pock-marked the surface. Iris imagined that, to the giants, these imperfections were too small to notice, or perhaps even see. As they crossed the vast expanse, Iris stopped to watch a giant approaching in the distance. After deciding he was far enough away not to worry about, Iris caught up to Autumn with a blip.

    "So what are you after, anyway?" Iris asked, "looking to try some gargoyle food?"

    "Absolutely not," Autumn said, "I''ve seen what Killup likes to eat. Did you know he likes his spices unground? Says he likes how it feels on his teeth!"

    "What the fuck?" Iris made an appalled expression.

    "Right?" Autumn asked, "anyway, no. I actually tagged along to talk to you."

    Iris was surprised, "What about?"

    Autumn leveled a lingering gaze on Iris for a moment before speaking again, "how are you doing?"

    "I''m fine," Iris shrugged, "why?"

    Autumn sighed and shook her head, "Iris, what happened a week ago?"

    Iris thought about it for a moment, retracing the memories of the week before. Before the giants had picked the ship out of the water they had fought a Chimera, and before that she had explored her bag, which she had to wait to do because she was injured -- a vivid memory of a trident extending from her chest flashed through her mind. She snapped her eyes shut for a second, then spoke casually.

    "Oh, the mermaid fight? Yeah, I''m good. You saw me whack that chimera, I''m back at it like nothing ever happened."

    Autumn once again lingered on an expression before speaking again, this time a grimace, "I see what you''re doing, and I don''t recommend it."

    "What do you mean?" Iris was starting to grow defensive.

    Autumn sighed, "you can''t just not think about the stuff that bothers you. It works for a while, but not forever. Do you think I haven''t noticed how often you keep checking over your shoulder?"

    Iris hadn''t realized she was doing that a lot, but immediately felt the pull to glance behind her. She felt a wall going up in her mind.

    "I''m fine," she insisted.

    "Alright," Autumn held her hands in defeat, "I won''t push it. Just -- consider talking to Titus about it. He knows the effects that repeated near-death experiences can have on people."

    They walked in silence for a while, the only sounds were the clomping of their boots and the clacking of Iris''s walking stick on the marble.

    "Has Eli said anything about it?" Iris asked.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

    Autumn let out a laugh before she could stifle it, "Eli doesn''t even know what to say at this point."

    "I was safe!" Iris defended, "I calculated the risk and I took it, and everything worked out. I didn''t even need my last resort!"

    "That''s what Titus told him,"

    "Can people start taking me seriously, already?" Iris was beginning to shout, "I mean, I''m pretty sure I saved the whole ship by stalling the mermaids, I don''t see anyone thanking me for that. No, it all has to be about how reckless I am."

    "I don''t care if you''re reckless," Autumn stopped and turned on Iris, "Eli might, but I don''t. And you¡¯re right ¨C you do deserve a thank you. But what I care about is that you''re pretending you''re okay when you''re not."

    Iris locked up for a moment, saying nothing as she stared at Autumn. Finally, she spoke, "you said you wouldn''t push it. I knew what I was doing, and I survived like I expected. That should be enough."

    Autumn sighed, "okay, I''m sorry. Let''s just drop it."

    Iris nodded and blipped ahead to take the lead.

    When they reached the far wall of the hallway, they paused as a voice called out from the way they''d come.

    "Chef Autumn! Please wait!"

    Adan had just emerged from their last passageway, and after seeing them turn towards his shout he broke into a sprint. He lunged one leg in front of the other and swayed his arms in perfect sync as he raced across the gap. He moved so quickly and methodically that he almost seemed to glide over the floor, and his pace held throughout the entire sprint. He arrived before Iris and Autumn with an abrupt stop, immediately transitioning to a still, upright posture. There were no signs that he had just sprinted hundreds of feet, his chest wasn''t even heaving from breaths.

    "What''s wrong?" Autumn asked hurriedly.

    "Nothing is wrong," Adan said.

    "Then why did you shout and run after us?"

    "You were very far ahead of me," he answered.

    The girls looked at him with confusion for a moment, and then chose to let it go.

    "Well, come on," Autumn said, "we have shopping to do."

    The next passageway started off much like the last, but didn''t continue level with the floor. Instead the base of the crack steeply rose upwards. Iris blipped between ledges while Adan deftly climbed, and Autumn molded herself foot and handholds in the marble. After a short climb, the crack leveled out again, and they continued following the ravine-like passage now at a higher elevation.

    Soon, they stepped out of the crack onto a large block of marble extending a few hundred feet in both directions. Countless structures of both marble and wood lined a long path that stretched down the lengthwise center of the block, essentially creating a market street. A shorter path, also lined with shops, led from the opening of the crack and connected to the main street a few dozen feet ahead. Other marble blocks made up three walls and the ceiling, while open air took the place of the fourth wall. Behind the edge of the blocks, Iris saw another giant hallway, and the lower legs of giants passing by.

    "I love it here," Iris remarked.

    "It is quite unique," Adan agreed.

    Gargoyles scampered all about. They stood in line at stalls, hurried in and out of buildings, and climbed on roofs. Most seemed to come and go through a few passageways within the walls, but occasionally a brave gargoyle would take a running leap over the edge and fly off into the hallway -- though she noticed they never did this while a giant was near.

    They first shop that caught their attention was stood out distinctly from the gargoyle architecture. It was built from raw lumber with the bark still attached, which was used as poles and beams to hold an elaborate web of red and gold cloth to create a partially open-air tent and awning. Inside was a collection of mismatched shelves containing arrays of completely uncategorized items, from every day tools to weird weapons and even fresh jerky.

    Manning the shop were three goblins. One had grey skin, another had burgundy, and the third had green. They each wore fine clothes made with brilliantly dyed fabrics, and carried friendly expressions on their face.

    "Welcome to Goblin Wonders Trading Company!" The green one announced as the trio stepped into the tent.

    "Gellorn outpost," the grey one added, not looking up from the coins he was counting.

    "Right," the green one gave an annoyed glance to the grey one, "as our guests might have guessed, being in Gellorn Keep, after all."

    "Do you have free samples of jerky?" Autumn asked.

    "Treg, do we have free samples?" the green one asked the burgundy one, apparently named Treg.

    "Half piece per customer, self-serve," Treg answered.

    Autumn quickly picked up a piece of jerky from a bowl and broke it in half, shoving one piece into her mouth as she offered the other to Adan, who politely declined with a raised hand and a headshake. She shrugged, and ate his piece too.

    "Bit dry, good spice though,..." Autumn observed, deliberating if she wanted to buy more.

    Iris stepped up to the green-skinned goblin and offered a hand, "hi, I''m Iris."

    The goblin shook her hand with a firm grasp of spindly fingers, "I''m Don, pleasure to meet you. You folks come from that ship the giants carried past earlier?"

    "Yep! All the way from Giantrock City."

    "Oh! I have a brother who sells clothes in the city."

    "Wait, is his name Fal?" Iris asked.

    "Yeah! That''s the one! Good guy, Fal. Really knows his way around pigments."

    "I bought some clothes from him a couple times. He was definitely a nice guy. He was surprisingly patient with Grell, too--"

    "You met Grell?" Don looked nervous at the mention of the name, "please don''t let him color your impressions of our family, he''s always been a bit -- wrong."

    "Please don''t insult my father," Adan asked politely from across the tent, where he was methodically picking up and inspecting items one-by-one.

    "Kid, I don''t even know who your father--" Don''s eyes shot open wide, "y-you''re that creation of his--" Don grabbed Iris by the shoulders and stared fearfully into her eyes, "is he here? Is Grell here?"

    "Yeah," Iris said, confused, "he came on the ship with us--"

    Don spun on his heels, grabbed a knapsack from behind a counter, and started tossing his things into it, "Treg, Roy, I''m going into hiding."

    "Come on," Treg dropped his shoulders and complained, "we have a huge traveler rush coming!"

    "Nope, can''t do it," Don shook his head, "I am not dealing with that motherfucker."

    Don was out of the tent before anyone else could speak, hurrying off through the market to a passage on the far side.

    "Great job," Roy looked up from his coins and spoke flatly to Iris.

    "Hey! How is this my fault?"

    Roy ignored her.

    "There she is!" someone hissed a whisper from just outside the tent.

    Iris instinctively tensed, her mind immediately running down a list of who might be looking for her. She whirled around to find a trio of gargoyles standing just outside the tent, one of them was pointing at her.

    "Oh great wizard!" one of the gargoyles threw himself onto the floor before her, "please, help us!"

    Iris''s face froze in a look of shocked uncertainty as she looked to Adan and Autumn for help or explanations.

 191 - The Tinkerers of Gellorn

    Iris looked down at the gargoyle bowing at her feet with as much concern as uncertainty, "I think you''ve got the wrong girl."

    "Nonsense," one of the two standing gargoyles said as he stepped up closer to Iris. He wore a pair of goggles on his forehead, and had a thick layer of dust over most of his skin. "Hat, robes, staff," he pointed at each object as he spoke, ending on her walking stick, "you''re the wizard that came from the boat."

    "Ah, well," Iris stammered as she began to feel self-conscious, "I''m more of an aspiring wizard, really." She held up her walking stick, "this isn''t even a real wizard staff, it''s just a stick."

    The third gargoyle stepped up, "I saw it with my own eyes, you leapt off the ship and landed on that staff like you''d only hopped off a small ledge."

    "I mean, it''s a special stick, yeah--"

    "Hat, robes, special stick," the third gargoyle said, pointed at each of them as the second gargoyle had, "wizard."

    Iris sighed. Normally she¡¯d be delighted to be mistaken as a real wizard, but she wasn¡¯t keen on being expected to solve problems like one, "okay, yeah, I''m a wizard -- I guess. I''m still new, but if you really need a wizard and can''t find anyone else, I guess I can try to help."

    The gargoyle on the floor finally rose to his feet. He reached out and grasped her hand, shaking it vigorously, "thank you, kind wizard! Follow me!"

    The gargoyle twisted in place and scampered off on all fours, soon followed by his two companions.

    Iris looked to Autumn and Adan, "well, you guys up for an adventure?"

    "Hell yeah!" Autumn exclaimed, slapping some coins down on the counter as she scooped up a handful of jerky and hurried after the gargoyles.

    The trio of gargoyles made little effort to wait for the adventurers, instead they bounded off across the street, climbed on the roofs of buildings to leap and glide between them as they raced down the length of the market. Iris blipped onto the roof tops and chased after them, soon joined by Adan as he sprinted across roofs and leapt over gaps. Autumn followed on the ground below, shoving her way through the shoppers on the street.

    Iris finally caught up to the gargoyles as they reached the far wall and paused in front of a small crack. Unlike most of the other cracks in the marble blocks which served as passageways, this one was only a few feet tall before it grew far too thin for anyone to fit though. The gargoyles had no issue crawling into the small space, since they were as comfortable on all fours as they were on just their feet. For Iris, Autumn and Adan, however, it proved to be a tight squeeze and a rather uncomfortable crawl.

    The crack opened up on the other side of the giant marble block into what appeared to be a gap between two other blocks. It was only a few feet wide, but was a few dozen feet tall, and shaped like a long, tall hallway with a dead end on either side -- which provided ample vertical space to the gargoyles that used the gap as a passageway connecting several cracks in the blocks.

    "Come on," the gargoyle with the goggles said as he climbed the wall of the gap towards another crack in the upper corner,

    "How are we supposed to follow you?" Iris called out, already exasperated.

    "I got it," Autumn said, reaching out and digging her hands into the marble, which molded into handholds at her touch, "this marble''s easy to work with, just follow me."If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    Autumn formed handholds one after the other as she scaled the marble wall, joined by Iris and Adan following after her. After a few minutes, they reached the top of the wall, where they followed the gargoyles down yet another cramped crawl-space crack in the wall.

    When they exited this crack, they found themselves in another alcove of a missing brick, with one side open to the giant''s hallway. The biggest difference was that while the market had been built in place of a completely missing brick in the marble walls of the tunnels, only about ten percent of this brick was missing, making space substantially smaller. One of the three walls of the platform was made of the remaining portion of this brick, and was rough and sloped from where it had been broken off.

    Though the available space was smaller, it was thoroughly packed with structures and equipment. Various contraptions made of wood, stone and ropes dotted the space, their purposes unclear at a glance, while a long wooden building built near the edge of the platform overlooked the giant''s hallway beyond.

    "In here!" one of the gargoyles called out waved before ducking inside of the building.

    The adventurers hurriedly crossed the alcove and entered the wooden building. Inside were yet more esoteric machines, various half-finished projects -- one of which appeared to be a small cannon made from marble next to a pile of marble cannonballs -- and more than a few weapons and tools also made from marble. The projects and products were scattered about and cluttered the space, and there was no clear indication of which ones were currently being worked on.

    "Alright," Autumn sighed as she caught her breath, "who the hell are you people, and what do you want?"

    "I''m Cronur," the one with the goggles said.

    "Juvu!" the one who had bowed to Iris raised his hand.

    "Call me Ferum," the third one said.

    A fourth gargoyle, standing in a small clearing amidst the junk-filled room and clutching a hefty piece of shining glow stone with both hands, introduced himself with a stammer, "I-I''m Kigo. Are you here to help?"

    "Absolutely," Iris said, blipping just in front of Kigo.

    All four of the gargoyles screamed, and then froze in place.

    "Nobody move," Cronur said, "just-- stay perfectly still--"

    "Why?" Iris turned to look at him.

    The gargoyles screamed again.

    "Stop!" Cronur shouted, pointing a shaking finger at the glow stone chunk held by Kigo, "that''s a bomb."

    "What?!" Autumn shouted.

    "Oh dear," Adan sighed.

    Iris slowly turned her head to look back at the chunk of glow stone. The stone was glowing intensely, sure, but that alone didn''t imply it would explode. As she focused on it, however, her Awareness of Matter ability picked up on something her vision could not -- the stone was vibrating. The motion was too feint to be seen by the naked eye, but the speed was quite intense. To the senses of her ability, it actually felt like the exact boundaries of the stone''s position in reality were blurred. Meanwhile, Kigo looked well and truly terrified, and Iris guessed that gargoyles must not sweat or else Kigo would have surely been drenched from nervousness.

    "What did you do it?" she asked the room.

    "Not much to work with in Gellorn," Cronur began to explain, "lots of marble, lots of glow stone, some silver, but--"

    "Okay, but what did you do?" Autumn asked, making the annoyance and urgency in her voice easy to hear.

    "Well-- the mine boss wants to dig with bombs," Cronur skipped ahead, "we have lots of glow stone, so we try to make glow stone bombs."

    "How, exactly?" Iris asked, still being careful not to move.

    "We start by shaking it a whole bunch," Ferum said, "that didn''t work, so then we spin it really fast. Then we do both, really fast, for a whole day -- the rocks start shaking all on their own, and that''s how you get boomrocks."

    "How do you know it''ll blow up?" Autumn asked.

    "Well, our small scale tests were very successful, lots of tiny boomrocks," Cronur said, "safe enough to throw at the ground by your feet. Then we figure out that gently clanging a boomrock against a chunk of glow stone turns the whole stone into another boomrock. That''s-- uh-- how we got here."

    All eyes lingered on the huge glowing boomrock held by Kigo.

    "The bigger the boomrock," Juvu said, "the bigger the boom -- but also, the more sensitive it gets. We think if Kigo even puts it down the change in temperature and pressure could make it boom."

    ¡°Why the fuck did you¡ª¡° Autumn was cut off by Adan.

    "Approximately how large is the anticipated explosion?" Adan asked.

    "Um--" Cronur looked nervous, "for that chunk? It would probably double the size of this alcove."

    "And destroy everything and everyone within it?" Autumn added.

    "Yes," Cronur answered simply.

    "I see why you wanted a wizard," Iris said, a pit rapidly growing in her stomach even as the first ideas formed in her head, "I guess let''s see what we can do."

 192 - Reversing Boomrocks

    "Ma''am, perhaps you should place the boomrock into your bag," Adan suggested.

    "What good does that do?" Cronur asked.

    "It''s a special bag," Iris said quickly to Cronur before addressing Adan, "don''t call me ma''am."

    "I apologize," Adan said.

    "No, it''s fine--" Iris started

    "Can we focus on the bomb?" Autumn asked impatiently.

    "Right," Iris said, turning her attention back to the large glowing rock, "putting it in my bag is the way to go, I think, but can we get it in there before it explodes?"

    "Could blow the instant Kigo lets go," Cronur pointed out.

    "What about Abby and Littletooth?" Autumn asked, "what if it we get it in the bag, and it blows up anyway? Would it hurt them in there?"

    Iris thought back to what she had learned about the void within her bottomless bag. It wasn''t the true void ¨C or at least, it was a corrupted version of it where things like light and sound could exist. If those could exist within the bag, why not things like temperature and vibration? The more she thought about it, the less confident she felt in her initial assumption that it would be a safe method of disposal. If it did work, then there was still the problem having a massive volatile bomb floating around in there -- she wasn''t exactly sure how that might present itself, but couldn''t imagine it would be good.

    "Okay, new plan, maybe I blip it."

    "Blip it where?" Autumn asked.

    Iris looked carefully around the room. There were no windows, but there was a door on the back wall of the room. With her Awareness of Matter ability, she was able to detect the shape of a ramshackle balcony on the edge of the alcove, overlooking the giant''s hall beyond.

    "Out into the hallway," she answered, "if I place it in the open air, the explosion shouldn''t even reach the walls."

    "Do you have that kind of range?" Autumn asked.

    "It''s more about if I have the mana. There''s no hard limit on how far I can send stuff, but it costs more mana the further I go."

    "What is a blip?" Ferum asked.

    "It''s like a teleport," Iris answered, "but not exactly."

    "I don''t like this plan," Cronur said, "maybe it doesn''t blow in the air, and hits the ground. Giants would be very unhappy with us."

    "Got any other ideas?" Iris asked.

    Cronur thought for a moment, "maybe we spin it the other way ''round."

    Iris blinked, "would that work?"

    Cronur shrugged, "probably."

    "What about me?" Kigo asked nervously, "I don''t want to spin."

    "This does not seem like a practical plan," Adan pointed out, "far too many opportunities for it to go wrong."The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    "Wait!" Iris said suddenly, "you said that touching a glow stone with a boomrock turns it into a boomrock, right?"

    "Yeah," Cronur answered while the two gargoyles beside him nodded.

    "And you think spinning a boomrock in the opposite direction might turn it back into a glow stone. What if we spin a regular glow stone in the opposite direction?"

    "Hmm," Cronur thought about it.

    "Doesn''t work," Juvu said, "tried it. Just makes vibrating non-boom rock."

    "That''s perfect!" Iris shouted, pointing an excited finger at Juvu. Her sudden movement caused everyone in the room to gasp and stare at the boomrock in Kigo''s hands, "let''s make a non-boom rock, and touch it to a boomrock, and see what happens."

    Cronur''s face lit up, "you''re a genius!"

    "Nope," Iris said proudly, "I''m a wizard, remember? Now, how do we do this?"

    "Spin machine''s outside," Juvu said.

    "You probably shouldn''t move," Cronur advised Iris, "even a teleport that close to the boomrock might make it boom."

    Iris slumped her shoulders slightly in disappointment, "yeah, you''re probably right."

    The others carefully filtered out of the room, leaving Iris and Kigo behind. When the door shut, Iris looked to the nervous gargoyle and smiled calmly.

    "How are you holding up?" she asked.

    "Not well," Kigo said, his voice quivering slightly.

    Iris grimaced and nodded, "I''m sure. Listen to me, though. We''re going to get you out of this, okay? I promise."

    "I believe you," Kigo said, "they say wizards can solve anything."

    Iris was filled with dread and anxiety that she wasn''t a real wizard, and couldn''t actually solve this problem, but she pushed it down and put on a brave face, "yep, they say that because it''s true."

    Outside of the tinkerer''s shack, the trio of gargoyles led Autumn and Adan towards one of the many strange machines scattered around the alcove. It was a large contraption made of carved marble gears and several rope pulleys, and was somewhat encased in a wooden frame. At the center of the contraption was something that resembled a three-dimensional vice, with six total points of contact at the end of silver cylinders that could be manually moved back and forth with the use of small knobs. The vice was mounted on the end of a long shaft that extended up into the framing of the contraption, presumably connecting into the gears. Beside the contraption was a horizontal wheel with long handles extending off of it, not unlike the wheel used to lift an anchor on a ship.

    "Put the glow stone in like this," Juvu demonstrated as he placed a small chunk of marble into the vice and adjusted each of the cylinders until it was held in place, "then we push the wheel to spin it."

    "What about the vibration?" Adan asked.

    "Vibrations come from imperfections," Ferum explained, "whole thing kind of rattles."

    "That''s on purpose, right?" Autumn asked.

    "Of course," Ferum said simply.

    Juvu swapped out the example marble chunk with a small piece of glow stone, and then the three gargoyles took up their positions at the wheel. They each grabbed a peg and began to push. The largest wheels began to turn slowly, causing the smaller wheels to turn even faster, and eventually began spinning the vice. After a minute the contraption seemed to reach its max speed and began to shake rather violently. Another minute later, the gargoyles slowed down, and the machine soon slowed to a stop as well. The glow stone in the vice was now glowing intensely, like the larger one that Kigo held.

    "Smaller rocks more stable," Juvu said as he delicately plucked the small boom rock from the machine and placed it gently on a nearby table.

    They waited a few minutes while Ferum made the necessary adjustments to the machine for it to operate in reverse, and then completed the process. It unfolded much as it had the first time, with one noticeable distinction. Rather than developing an intense orange-yellow glow, this time the tiny glow stone turned a soft blue color, putting off a slightly dimmer light than its counterpart.

    Juvu removed the blue stone from the machine and handed it to Cronur, who attempted to hand it to Autumn, "go touch that one and see what happens."

    "Why me?" Autumn asked.

    Cronur shrugged, "wizard''s apprentice."

    "I am not her apprentice!" Autumn snapped.

    Adan reached out, took the blow stone from Cronur, and casually walked over to the table which held the small boomrock. "If something happens to me, find my father. He can fix me."

    Without waiting for a reply, Adan reached out and tapped the boomrock with the blue stone. There was a snap of energy between to the two rocks, not unlike a tiny lightning strike, and the stone and the table was sent spinning and bouncing away. Everyone but Adan turned to shield themselves from an anticipated blast as the stone fell off the table, but all that came was the sounds of clattering.

    As they looked up, they each saw that both stones had returned to their normal dim yellow light, and neither had exploded.

    "It works!" Cronur leapt off the ground in excitement, then pointed to Juvu, "spin it up again, bigger stone this time."

 193 - Not Quite as Planned

    Iris''s eyes wandered the room while she and Kigo waited for the others to return. The more she looked, the more it appeared that most of the projects scattered about were attempts to replicate existing inventions with the materials that were available to the gargoyles in abundance. The small marble cannon was one example, but based on the cracks splintering down its barrel, it hadn''t been successful. Various tools lay about with similar cracks, and there were even a few musical instruments carved from marble such as a flute and a horn that seemed to hold up much better.

    Something particular caught her eye, stashed away in a corner beside a table piled high with discarded wooden prototypes and a stack of marble rubble was the unmistakable hilt of a weapon leaning against the wall. The handle was long enough for two hands and lacked any sort of wrapping that one might expect, and instead was just exposed white marble. The guard separating the handle from the blade was cast in silver, and was rounded and bulbous rather than the usual perpendicular cross bar. She could only see an inch or so beyond the cross guard, but the blade appeared to be wide and the height of the hilt relative to the floor implied it was quite long.

    The others entered the shack with cheerful expressions, but were still careful not to move too quickly or approach Kigo and Iris. Autumn carried a large blue anti-boomrock approximately the size of the yellow-orange boomrock held by Kigo.

    "It took some doing," Autumn explained, "but the experiments were a success. This oughtta take the boom right out of that boomrock."

    "How do we use it?" Iris asked, still standing in the same place they had left her, just in front of the nervous Kigo.

    "Just tap that rock with this rock," Cronur said confidently, "problem solved."

    "Alright, hand it here," Iris said.

    The others exchanged glances, and Autumn passed the anti-boomrock to Adan. One by one, everyone but Adan made their way back out the door they had just come through.

    "We''ll just wait out here," Autumn said as she stepped through the doorway, "we don''t want to distract you or anything."

    "Wow," Iris replied flatly.

    "Ignore them," Adan said, "we have tested this numerous times."

    "Why can''t you just touch the stones?" Iris asked.

    "Best not to crowd around the boomrock," Adan said, "we wouldn''t want to risk disturbing it."

    Iris gave him a critical look, but didn''t argue. At her request, a single tentacle delicately rose out of the bottomless bag at her waist and wrapped around her walking stick to hold it while she reached out towards Adan. He took slow, deliberate steps forward until he was able to hold the anti-boomrock within Iris''s reach, and she gently took it into her hands.

    Slowly and carefully, she turned back towards Kigo with the best smile she could muster, "we''re almost out of this, are you ready?"

    "Mhm," Kigo said, ever-so-slightly nodding his head.

    "Okay," Iris let out a breath, "here we go."

    She held the anti-boomrock with both hands and slowly reached it out towards the boomrock in Kigo''s hands. The two stones gently clacked together, and nothing happened. Then a spark of crackling energy shot between then, and the stone in Kigo''s hands turned blue.

    "We did it!" Iris shouted.

    Autumn and the other gargoyles poked their heads in, immediately spotted the two blue stones, and erupted into cheers as they rushed into the shack. They crowded around Iris and Kigo, cheering and laughing as Kigo finally released a long-needed sigh of a relief. Everyone froze when another crackling spark shot between the stones, and both turned yellow-orange.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    "STOP!" Cronur said, extending his arms out to hold the others back from the stones.

    "What just happened?" Iris asked.

    "Don''t know," Cronur answered hurriedly, "the tests didn''t do this."

    "Everyone stay completely still," Adan said, "the energy within the stones appears to be fluctuating."

    "How do you know?" Autumn asked.

    "My father made me very observant," Adan said, "please, wait a few seconds."

    All breath in the room was held as the seconds passed at an agonizing pace. Then, both stones shifted back to blue. They stayed that way only long enough for everyone but Adan to sigh, and then another spark shifted the stones back to yellow-orange.

    "What do we do?" Cronur asked in a panic.

    "I can''t take this," Kigo said.

    "I have a plan," Iris said, "Adan, do you think they''ll turn blue again?"

    "It is likely," Adan said, "I believe the opposing energies are vying for control."

    "Bigger always wins," Cronur said, "everything works that way."

    Autumn shot him an unhappy glance, while everyone else glanced at Iris''s rock, and then to Kigo''s. They were close in size, but from most angles Kigo''s appeared to be slightly larger.

    "It doesn''t matter which one wins," Iris said, "we just need them to turn blue again. Autumn, you''re on Littletooth duty. Abby, be ready to pull him out and open the bag wide when I say so. Kigo, when the rocks turn blue, you''re going to drop your rock into my bag, understood?"

    Kigo nodded anxiously. The rocks turned blue.

    "Now!" Iris said.

    A tentacle erupted out of the bag holding a squirming Littletooth, who was promptly shoved into Autumn''s arms. At the same time, the opening of the bag stretched wide and Iris twisted her waist to point the bag towards Kigo, who quickly dropped his stone into the void. Abby dropped Iris''s walking stick and all the tentacles swiftly shrunk back into the bag just before it cinched itself tight and the draw string tied itself into a tight knot.

    "Wait," Iris said, "no one move."

    The room was still for several moments, and all eyes were on the blue stone in Iris''s hands. Minutes past, and nothing changed.

    "I think--" Iris hesitated in case the stone had an attitude, and only continued after a few more seconds of the stone not changing, "we''re good."

    The group shared a collective sigh, and Kigo promptly collapsed onto the floor and thumped his back against the wall.

    "Cronur," Kigo said flatly with his eyes closed, "I quit."

    "Understandable," Cronur nodded.

    Iris blipped across the room and gently placed the anti-boomrock on a table, "I don''t know what you guys should do with this one, but it''s not going in my bag."

    "That is smart," Adan said, "we should keep the stones apart, and dispose of both separately."

    Cronur, Ferum and Juvu stepped up to Iris and bowed deeply. Cronur held his bow as the others rose, and spoke sincerely and formally, "you are truly a fantastic wizard, Iris, and you have talented assistants--"

    "We''re not assistants!" Autumn argued.

    "We will repay you and your assistants in whatever way you wish," Cronur continued, finally rising from his bow, "we have materials, inventions, gold--"

    Iris reached out towards the corner and blipped an object into her hands. The sudden disappearance caused a small avalanche of collapsing junk, but Cronur ignored it. The handle appeared in her hand, and a long, wide marble blade extended out several feet in the direction she was reaching. It was made of black marble, with a splintering pattern of white streaks down its entire length. Joining the pattern were cracks in the marble, which had been filled with streaks of gleaming silver that joined together with a thick silver band along the outside of the blade which formed the cutting edge. It was hefty, and she soon brought her other hand to the hilt to support its weight.

    The widest grin possible spread across her face, "how about this?"

    "Of course!" Cronur answered quickly, "it is yours."

    "I''ll be right back," she said, disappearing.

    She reappeared outside the shack, where she launched into a series of swings, jabs and parries with the blade. The weight was immense, and her muscles ached as she slowed each strike to a stop, but that was exactly what she wanted. She imagined swinging the sword full force into a target, allowing all the weight to slam home and drive the blade through. Iris laughed with joy, and brought the blade flat in front of her to inspect its beautiful patterns.

    "I think you''ll do nicely," she said to the sword.

    She turned as Autumn and Adan exited the shack. Autumn was carrying a stack of black marble tall enough to obstruct her view, while Littletooth sat atop the stack. Adan had picked up Iris''s walking stick in one hand and was holding a chunk of regular glow stone in the other.

    "What are you gonna do with all that?" Iris called out.

    "I''m gonna make some sick armor!" Autumn yelled out from behind the marble.

    Adan held up the glow stone, "I''m gonna add this to my hands."

    "What does that even mean?" Autumn asked.

    "I am not sure how to make my statement more clear," Adan answered.

 194 - Camping Below Gellorn

    Iris, Autumn and Adan were traveling back the way they came and heading towards the chamber where Eli and the other crew would be making camp. The passageway to get there was a relatively easy one compared to many others in the mountain, but it was a steep decline for much of the journey. When the natural crack in the marble ran out, the passageway transitioned to a narrow, winding stairway crudely carved into the raw marble beneath the constructed floor of the artificial mountain. The passage continued down an indiscernible distance before leveling out into a short tunnel that soon opened up into a natural cave.

    The cave was brightly lit by long, writhing tendrils of natural glow stone exposed in a raw marble ceiling worn into tall, waving ridges by eons of flowing water. The warm light of the glow stones sparkled off the river that calmly flowed around columns of rough marble of wildly varying widths and shapes. The reflected light then bounced up and off the white marble ceiling, giving the whole cave a brilliant gold glow.

    A wide shore of solid marble bordered the river, and already very much looked like a pirate camp. Though large crates and barrels were impossible to carry through the narrow passageway, that hadn''t stopped a few pirates with dimensional storage items or abilities from bringing some down anyway. The rest carried supplies in their packs and hands, and already there were gambling pits, a well-stocked drinking tent, and a sparring circle. There were some personal tents set up as well, though most of the crew simply laid their mats out on the stone.

    "Whoa," Iris and Autumn said together.

    "Please excuse me, chef," Adan said, "I should find my father."

    "Yeah, of course," Autumn said, her attention still lingering on the beautiful cave, "find me later for dinner prep."

    After they finished gawking, Iris and Autumn find Eli sitting on a chunk of marble sketching runes in a notebook. To their surprise, there was no camp set up around him, not even his own bedroll.

    "Where''s camp?" Autumn asked.

    Eli looked up from his notebook with an annoyed glare, "waiting for you to unpack it."

    Iris and Autumn exchanged guilty looks.

    "Sorry," Iris said, "there was this thing with a bomb--"

    "We were really needed," Autumn jumped in, "it was a really good thing we were there, because--"

    "Camp now and explanations later, please," Eli sighed.

    Iris got to work unloading their camping supplies from her bottomless bag. With the help of Abby''s tentacles, the process went remarkably fast. Autumn considered leveling out a flat space of marble for the tent, but decided in favor of preserving the natural beauty of the cave. Instead they found the flattest space that was still available, situated near the far wall of the cave but pleasantly close to the river. They wouldn''t need shelter from the elements, of course, but it would be a nice option to escape the light of the cave while trying to sleep. While they worked, Titus arrived and joined in on the efforts, and a short while later Victoria joined Eli in supervising.

    After their camp was built, the party spent a few hours relaxing and catching up. Autumn and Iris told the whole story of their brief adventure, slowly convincing Eli it was true and not just an excuse for taking so long at the market. At the end, Iris showed off her new sword, earning respectful nods from Eli and Titus.

    "That''s a pretty sword," Victoria observed, "but it looks heavy."

    "That''s the best part," Iris said, leaning back for balance as she hefted the sword up with both hands, "it''s absolutely not balanced properly at all, but it''s a big chunk of marble and silver. It''ll be like hitting someone with a sword and hammer at the same time."

    "I guess if you can''t cut through something, might as well crush it," Eli said.

    "I don''t know if I like that," Titus said, rubbing his chin, "I''m no purist, but the lopsided weight is going to ruin your form."

    "I''ll just make a new form, then," Iris shrugged, "one ''specially designed for obnoxiously heavy swords."This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.

    After their rest and storytelling, Autumn recruited Iris to help her and Adan set up a cooking site using the large pot Autumn had insisted on bringing. Getting it into the void had been a significant test of the bottomless bag''s capabilities, and Iris had confirmed that the bag did in fact have a limit on the size of objects it could accommodate. In the end, they had managed to get it in with a combination of the bag stretching as wide it could, and Autumn jumping up and down on top of the pot to jam it in.

    In order to get it back out, Iris first had Abby wrap her tentacles around one of the natural columns of the cave, and then she and Autumn both reached in and grabbed the rim of the pot and pulled. The bag stretched wide, but the pot still stuck stubbornly with most of its mass still inside the void.

    Autumn relaxed her pull, giving slack to the previously taut tentacles that held the bag in place as they tried to remove the pot, "this isn''t working."

    Iris relaxed as well, and they lowered the pot -- and by extension, the bottomless bag -- onto the cave floor.

    "I have an idea," Iris said, "I haven''t tried it yet, but-- here, just hang on a second."

    Iris stepped away from the bottomless bag, took a deep breath and reached out towards it with her hands. She focused not on the bag itself, but the exposed rim of the pot still sticking out of the void, particularly on the space within reality that its matter occupied. She then closed her eyes and envisioned the portion of the pot that was still inside the void, imagining pulling it out of the void in much the same way she had done by hand while inside the bag. Her Send and Retrieve ability pushed back against her efforts, as if complaining that it wasn''t meant to be used this way, but she continued trying to use it until something gave way, and the pot appeared in her arms.

    Iris could handle the weight, but its size was far too awkward to hold up with outstretched arms on her own. She began to tip forward, and the bottom of the pot raced towards the marble floor. Autumn dove and slid under it, stretching out her hands to catch it just before it hit the ground. She was joined by Adan, who appeared in a flash and added his hands to support the pot.

    "How''d you do that?" Autumn asked after gently lowering the pot to the floor and climbing onto her feet.

    "I don''t know," Iris shrugged, "it just felt like something I could probably do."

    "Maybe I should start experimenting with my abilities, too," Autumn said.

    After unpacking the rest of the supplies they would need, Iris wandered off to explore the cave while Autumn and Adan worked on setting up an awning and a series of pipes to carry the smoke up from a fire up into the cracks of the ceiling, well above camp.

    Iris found a nice place to sit by the river. It flowed slowly, meandering its way through the cave with an almost imperceptible current. The water itself was pristine, appearing completely clear aside from the sparkling flakes that drifted through it. If Iris didn''t know any better, she would assume they were flakes of gold.

    She opened up her adventure journal and briefly looked over her stats. In addition to a decent experience gain, presumably from her accomplishment in resolving the boomrock problem, she also saw a new discovered trait had been added to her Send and Retrieve ability.

    Experience Points: 2172 / 11,340

    Progress to next level: 19.15%

    Send and Retrieve

    Source : Thread of Power (Void)

    Cooldown : N/A

    Mana cost : Low, varies

    Discovered trait : can be used to withdraw items directly from your Void Pocket, or return items directly to it. Mana usage is increased when used in this way.

    After taking a moment to enjoy satisfaction in her progress, Iris flipped to a blank page and began to write a journal entry. She had been working on developing a habit of weekly entries since leaving Giantrock City, but hadn''t written one since the battle in the cove.

    Dear Mom,

    I''m in a place called Gellorn Keep. It may be hard to believe without seeing it for yourself, but actual giants carried our ship across the plains to their mountain. This place is like nothing I''ve ever seen, even looking at the ceiling of the giants'' chambers makes me dizzy. We''ll be here for a while, at least until the gargoyles finish work on the ship. Oh -- there''s a whole society of gargoyles here, too, they live in the cracks of the marble. I wish you could see it, it''s the most fascinating place I''ve ever been.

    I got mistaken for a wizard today! They thought the stick you gave me (thanks again, by the way) was a wizard staff, and asked me to help them with a problem that needed a wizard. I don''t really feel like I did much, but we did end up solving the problem, so I guess that makes me an actual wizard now? I feel like I don''t really get to call myself that until I''ve actually done more wizard stuff, but I guess everyone has to start somewhere, right? I hope you won''t be too disappointed in me for it, I promise I''ll be a better wizard than any you''ve ever met.

    I almost died again. I also did really a good of making sure I didn''t die, though. I''m not really sure how to feel about it. Maybe I''ll write more about this later, but I wish you were here to talk to about it instead.

    I can''t wait to read your next entry, and I hope I see you again soon.

    Iris Orion, 997

 195 - A Restless Stroll

    Iris chose to sleep outside the tent that night. The cave was a cool, comfortable temperature, but the light of the glow stone veins overhead made it hard to fall asleep. Still, she had chosen to sleep outside the tent for the sake of her companions, who she didn''t want to wake in the night.

    She hadn''t slept soundly since she had awoken from her injuries several days prior, and she frequently snapped awake with a racing heart and gasping breaths. The fits only lasted for a few moments, and she quickly calmed down each time, but the vivid image of three prongs erupting from her chest still lingered in her mind as she closed her eyes to return to sleep. The fourth time she awoke that night, she climbed out of her bedroll with a frustrated groan -- prompting grumpy whines from Littletooth as she moved her arm out from underneath his resting chin.

    "Sorry little guy," she whispered, "wanna go for a walk?"

    Littletooth yawned and stretched, then briefly shook his body like a dog shaking off water before walking in a circle around her feet. She took that as a yes. With nowhere private to change, she had gone to bed in her robes, and only had to don her hat and boots before walking off quietly across camp. She occasionally had to hiss angry whispers at Littletooth as he curiously ventured near sleeping pirates, but managed to reach the edge of the cavern without incident.

    There was another passage out of camp besides the carved stairwell. It was a natural tunnel marked with a square, like the one in the chamber above, which the first mate had said led to the mines. She guessed this one must lead there too, and decided to follow it. There was less exposed glow stone along the tunnel, but still enough to bathe it in warm light. Once out of ear shot of the camp, and after rubbing her eyes clear of gunk, Iris began to speak.

    "This is so stupid," she said to no one, "why can''t I just sleep?"

    A complex mixture of tones emanated from the bottomless bag. It was beyond the yes, no and maybe she had learned to interpret from Abby''s sounds, and she couldn''t guess what it meant.

    "I''m fine," she insisted more to herself than Abby, "I lived, again, like I always do. I''m actually really hard to kill, and that''s just the truth. I''m fine," she sighed, "so why can''t I sleep?"

    More complex tones came from the bag.

    "I did everything right-- and I helped. I did help, right?"

    Affirmative tones from the bag.

    "Then why do I feel like I fucked up?"

    Abby was quiet for a moment, and then emanated a confused melody.

    Littletooth spotted a small striped lizard up ahead, and darted off after it. A tentacle rose out of the bag in preparation to grab him if necessary, but neither Iris nor Abby moved to stop him. Instead, Iris watched as he chased the lizard to the wall of the tunnel, where it scurried into a crack in the marble. Littletooth chased after it at full speed, snapping out at its tail and missing it by less than an inch before running snout first into the wall. Iris laughed and cheery tones came from the bag. Littletooth crouched low in front of the crack and twisted his snout to point one of his eyes down the crack like a dragon looking into a cave, poised and waiting for his opportunity to strike.

    "I don''t think he''s coming back out," Iris said as she caught up to him and passed by. Littletooth didn''t react, so she tapped her hand on her leg to get his attention, "come on."This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    Littletooth looked to Iris, then back to the crack in the wall, and blew out air out of his nose before bounding after her to catch up.

    "It''s just-- I don''t know," she continued talking to Abby, "I shouldn''t keep getting hurt, right? I should be able to fight and pull my weight and walk away from it on my own."

    Frustrated tones come from the bag, and a tentacle rose out the void holding her journal. Rather than hand the journal to Iris, Abby used another tentacle to flip open the book. When it landed on Iris''s stat sheet, Abby heavily tapped the page beside her level.

    Iris laughed a little, "I know, I know. But that doesn''t really matter, does it? I''m in the situation I''m in, whether I''m ready for it or not. I can''t use my level as an excuse, it''s my responsibility to rise to the occasion."

    Decidedly negative tones came from the bag, and Abby withdrew the journal back into the void. More complex tones followed, which Iris still couldn''t understand.

    "How long until the others get sick of me?" she asked, dragging her feet across the ground as she walked, "I''m a liability, they should just leave me behind somewhere-- OW!"

    Abby had slapped her on the back of her head with a tentacle.

    "What was that for?" she yelled.

    Abby slapped her on top of the head two more times, crumpling her hat.

    "Ow! Stop it!" Iris waved her arms to fight off the tentacle.

    The tentacle leveled out in front of her face, like an angry finger pointing at a misbehaving child, and negative tones came from the bag.

    "Fine," Iris sighed, "you''re probably right. I shouldn''t talk like that."

    Affirmative tones came from the bag, and the tentacle once again withdrew into the void.

    Iris walked in silence for a while, still struggling with negative thoughts and frustrating emotions. As she walked, Littletooth spotted another lizard and this time managed to catch it in his jaws, killing it in an instant as his sharp teeth easily pierced its thin scales. Iris wasn''t pleased to watch the innocent creature die, but she supposed it was good for Littletooth to hone his hunting instinct and learn to catch his own food. She knew she wouldn''t be able to get by feeding him scraps of meat forever.

    He walked alongside her with the lizard hanging limply from his jaws for a few moments, before eventually turning up his head and opening his jaws wide to drop the lizard into his gullet and attempt to swallow it whole. It seemed slightly too large, and he struggled especially to get the full length of the flopping tail in his mouth, but he had soon devoured it.

    A while later she came upon a split in the tunnel. One path was lit by glow stone, while the other was dark. She guessed the lit path would be the one that led to the mines, but there was something about the darker path that appealed to her.

    Slow, negative tones came from the bag as Iris stared into the darkness, as if warning against the potentially more dangerous path.

    "It''s fine," she said, "I''ll just use the lantern."

    When she reached for the bag, she found it cinched tight and refusing to open.

    "Oh come on," she complained.

    The bag opened ever-so-slightly to release negative tones.

    Iris squinted her eyes at the bag in ire, and then held out her hand. She closed her eyes and thought about the void within her bag and the items floating around within it. She envisioned her lantern, its flickering flame casting warm light out into the endless void, and gently pulled on it with her Send and Retrieve ability. After some complaint from her ability, the lantern popped into reality with the handle in the palm of her outstretched hand.

    She smirked at her victory, but it proved to be premature, as a tentacle erupted from the bag and shot after the lantern. Iris yelped and yanked it away, extending her arm as far away from the bag while her other hand fought to push back against Abby. Another tentacle snuck out of the bag and moved around her back, reaching up and around to wrap around the lantern and yank it from her grasp. Iris twisted around in an attempt to chase it, but with the bag attached her waist Abby simply spun with her.

    After a full the first full spin she realized the problem, and felt rather dumb. While she plotted how to steal the lantern back, a pebble of marble gently bounced out of the darkness and across the cave floor. Iris and Abby stood still, while Littletooth crouched low and glared at the pebble. The sounds of another pebble bouncing across the floor echoed from further down the dark tunnel. Abby held the lantern over Iris''s shoulder with one tentacle, while another removed her new great sword from the void and held it hilt first towards Iris.

    "Good idea," she whispered, taking the sword in her hands and leveling it towards the darkness, "grab Little-- NO!"

    Littletooth blipped out reach of a swooping tentacle and stomped off into the darkness.

 196 - Echoes in the Dark

    "Littletooth!" Iris''s sharp voice echoed through the caves.

    She could still hear the slapping of his feet against the marble, and could sense him just within the range of her awareness ability. Abby used a tentacle to hold the lantern out in front of Iris, but it was of little use in the twisting and winding caves. She ran with the flat of the great sword''s blade balanced on her shoulder, as it was the only way she could manage the weight while sprinting. Abby kept a tentacle wrapped around the hilt just above her hand for extra support, to ensure the blade didn''t accidentally slip against Iris''s neck while she ran. After a few turns down narrow tunnels, Iris found herself and Abby standing in something that was not quite a tunnel, but not quite a cavern.

    It seemed several -- perhaps dozens -- of tunnels ran parallel alongside one another, forming deep trenches that waved and wiggled together along their length. Ancient waters had long since carved away the walls that once separated the tunnels, but the remnants of those walls still persisted in the form of well-worn columns that were thin in the middle and broad where they met ridges along the top and bottom of the cave, outlining the boundaries that had been there long ago.

    The formations created countless rounded windows into the caves beyond, each layer growing dimmer until the final windows she could see opened only into darkness. The ceiling above was nearly twelve feet high, and the bottom ridges of marble that lined the trenches came up to her abdomen and left much unseen to either side.

    "Littletooth!" she called out again, her voice echoing several times over across the darkness, punctuating the great distances the cavern reached beyond the light.

    Abby pointed a tentacle to her left, and Iris didn''t hesitate to follow it. She blipped onto a ridge and peered into the next trench over before blipping across it and repeating the process. She crossed several trenches before she sensed Littletooth in the next one over, thrashing about with something in his mouth as if playing with a toy.

    She blipped into the trench beside Littletooth''s, crouched low and stayed quiet while she counted down from five on her fingers and pinpointed Littletooth''s exact location on the other side of the ridge. When her last finger folded, she blipped behind Littletooth and a mass of tentacles descended upon him. He was scooped up despite his gnashing and whining, the tattered cloak he was ripping apart drifted to the ground, and he was promptly dumped into the void.

    Grumbling tones emanated from the bag as it cinched itself shut, leaving Iris alone in the darkness. She thought she sensed something move, but it was faint and blurry like a gentle breeze. A few seconds later, the bag opened just enough for a single tentacle to rise out of the void with the lantern and once again bathe her surroundings in light.

    "We gotta do something about this running away habit," Iris said to the tentacle now hovering overhead, "before he gets himself hurt."

    Affirmative sounds came from the bag.

    With the sword still balanced on her shoulder, Iris crouched down to pick up the cloak he had been playing with, only to find it wasn''t there. She stood and spun around, but it was nowhere to be seen, and she was certain it had dropped the ground when Abby picked up Littletooth.

    "Did you grab that cloak?" she asked.

    Negative sounds came from the bag, and the tentacle reached out to pan the lantern around in search of it.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    "It was right here," Iris said, staring a spot on the ground, "I felt a breeze while you were in the bag, but it wasn''t strong enough to carry away a whole cloak."

    Confused sounds came from the bag.

    "Yeah, it doesn''t matter," she agreed, even as she continued looking around for it, "let''s get back to camp."

    Iris blipped back across the approximate number of trenches she remembered blipping across, and stopped in the trench she hoped was the one she had entered through. When she looked to either side, however, she saw nothing but more cavernous formations, and not the solid tunnel she had emerged from.

    "Uh, Abby?" she asked, "any idea how to get back?"

    The tip of the tentacle which held the lantern pointed out in a direction, then curled back as if uncertain. The tentacle swung around and pointed again, but once again withdrew a second later. The lantern swung a few more times before Abby gave up and emanated negative tones from the bag.

    Iris sighed, "okay, so we''re lost in a cave. What''s another classic Iris fuck up, right?"

    Abby brought the base of the lantern down to conk on top of Iris''s head, further crinkling her hat.

    "Hey!" she yelled, waving her free hand to bat away the tentacle while her other carefully balanced the sword on her shoulder.

    With no other directions to follow, Iris began walking down the trench. If nothing else, she was rather certain she hadn''t gotten turned around, and was at least walking back in the direction they had originally emerged. Sooner or later, even if she wasn''t in the exact right trench, she would find the edge of the cavern.

    After only a few minutes of walking, however, she was quickly losing her confidence. Each section of cave was indistinguishable from the last, and she couldn''t shake the feeling that she wasn''t moving at all. Soon she began to question if she had chosen the right direction after all, and if she should turn around and go the other way instead. Frustrated, she decided to take a break.

    "I''m starting to think we''re in a bad situation," she sighed, resting the great sword against a ridge before sitting on the ground beside it and leaning back against the ridge herself.

    Abby said nothing.

    As she sat there, she surveyed her surroundings. It was all still just cave, with no identifiable landmarks or indicators of direction to speak of. She doubted she would even be able to orient herself in the same direction again if she closed her eyes and spun around. Searching her mind of solutions proved fruitless, and she began to worry she would need to be rescued.

    "Don''t think bad thoughts, Iris," she said to herself, taking off her hat so she could gently thump her head against the marble. Memories of her past mistakes prowled on the edges of her mind like wolves howling outside a cottage at night.

    Somewhere in the cavern, a pebble bounced across the floor of the cave. Iris shot her eyes towards Abby''s tentacle, which twisted towards her as if looking back. Then they both looked in the direction of the pebble.

    "Got any other ideas?" she asked.

    Negative tones came from the bag.

    Iris nodded silently, returned her wizard hat to her head, and climbed to her feet. With the great sword balanced on her shoulder, she set off in the direction she had heard the pebble drop. The caves were eerily quiet, the only sounds were her boots on the marble and the only movement was shifting shadows cast by her lantern''s light across the columns.

    Something moved in the trench to her left -- faint and breezy, like before. Iris kept walking, pretending she hadn''t noticed it. It passed by again, this time in the trench to her right, and she brought her other hand to the hilt of her sword. More tentacles slowly squirmed their way out of the bag, careful not to leave any space for Littletooth to squeeze out, and soon hovered all around her as she walked.

    A pebble flew towards them from the darkness, but Iris sensed it coming. She reached out with her off hand and blipped it into her palm, rolling it between two fingers and holding it up to the light. It seemed, by all means, to be a simple marble pebble. Another pebble emerged from the darkness, aimed directly at the lantern, but Abby quickly jerked away to dodge and it instead bounced off the ridge to their right.

    Iris tossed the pebble aside and spoke loudly, "if this is a joke, it isn''t funny."

    Silence.

    "Stop playing and show yourself."

    Further down the trench, at the very edge of the lantern''s light, a figure emerged from the darkness -- shrouded in the cloak Littletooth had found, and wielding a large slab of marble in the vague shape of a great sword which it balanced on its shoulder.

 197 - Of Course Its You

    The face under the hood was hidden by impenetrable shadows, and the hands that grasped the psuedo-sword were as black as the void. Iris held her sword with the hilt low and the long silver and marble blade extending up and out towards the cloaked figure. Abby''s tentacles squirmed in the air all around her, forming a defensive barrier. The cloaked figure moved its psuedo-sword to match Iris''s posture, and black tendrils extended out from the folds of the cloak in mimicry of Abby.

    Iris grinned with child-like glee, "Abby! It''s like the story books!"

    Confused noises came from the bag.

    Iris shifted her feet into position and adjusted her grip on the hilt of her sword, "a hero''s greatest struggle is always themself, and in a moment of doubt they have to fight their shadow to overcome it."

    Concerned sounds came from the bag.

    "Can you talk?" Iris called out.

    The shadow said nothing.

    "Do you know who I am, or do you just copy what you see?"

    The shadow stepped forward. Iris blipped, appearing behind it with tentacles flared around her as her great sword swung wide for its neck. The shadow dissipated, and she felt its semi-corporeal form appear behind her. The psuedo-sword was caught mid-swing by Abby''s tentacles and ripped free of the shadow''s hands. Abby twirled the psuedo-sword around and slammed it into the marble floor beneath where the shadow had just been, crumbling the chunk of marble and sending splintering cracks across the floor.

    The shadow appeared in front of Iris, its dark tendrils clashing with Abby''s tentacles as Iris thrust her sword forward. The blade slipped between the folds of the rope and sliced through the other side, but the unbothered shadow reached out with a void-black hand toward Iris''s throat.

    She tried to blip, but was held in place by Abby''s tentacles entangled with the tendrils. The hand grasped her throat and she felt mana rapidly siphoning from her body. A hard swipe of a tentacle slammed into the cloak, folding it and flinging it aside as it were empty -- the shadow dissipating just before the strike. Free from the tendrils, Iris gained distance with a blip to let her mana recharge. The shadow reformed in the cloak before it touched the ground. Iris aimed her sword towards it as she caught her breath.

    "What do you even want?" Iris called out.

    The shadow spoke in a echoing, raspy voice, "life."

    "Sorry, I only have one of those," Iris said.

    The cloak fluttered and the darkness within rippled as the shadow quickly flashed to the edge of the trench. It placed a hand on the marble, and Iris instinctively blipped upwards. Spikes of marble shot out from the wall, extending across the trench and slamming into the far wall causing splintered cracks. Iris landed in a crouch atop one of the horizontal beams formed by the spikes, her sword outstretched to one side.

    "That''s not fair! I can''t even do that!"

    The shadow crouched and placed both hands on the ground, and Iris blipped again. Vertical spikes shot up from the ground where she had just been as she reappeared beside the crouching shadow with a downward swing from overhead. The shadow rippled again as it flashed away, and Iris blipped just before her sword slammed into the cave floor.

    She reappeared in the air behind the shadow, following through her swing towards its head. The shadow whirled around and tendrils reached out to catch the blade, but they were intercepted by Abby''s tentacles and the blade struck its target. The cloak collapsed beneath the strike as Iris blipped beside it and caught the falling cloak with a swing of her sword just as the shadow tried to reform within it. The cloak folded over the blade, the shadow dissipating again before it could even form.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    Iris swung her sword wildly in an attempt to fling off the cloak, but the fabric clung to the sword as black tendrils crawled out from beneath it and began to envelope her sword. Abby''s tentacles converged on the sword, wrapped around the cloak and attempting to slide it down and off the blade -- but the tendrils held strong as they wrapped around the guard and inched toward Iris¡¯s hands.

    Her eyes flicked to the lantern hovering overhead. "Abby, let go!"

    Abby''s tentacles withdrew from the sword, and Iris swung it towards the lantern. The glass shattered and oil spilled across the blade. The cloak erupted into flames, and Iris dropped the sword before blipping away.

    She watched from a distance as the sword clattered to the floor and the fire raged. Slowly, the burning cloak unwrapped from the blade and rose into the air, the shadow figure reforming within even as it burned. A tendril lifted the sword into the shadow''s hands, and the flaming shadow flashed towards her.

    She blipped to dodge a swipe from the sword, yelling as she reappeared, "that doesn''t happen in the books!"

    The shadow was quickly upon her again, and another blipped saved her from a downward strike. She cringed as her sword was slammed hard into the floor.

    "I just got that, you bitch!"

    She thought of her staff and blipped it directly out of the bag into her hands as she sprinted towards the still burning cloak. The shadow flashed forward to meet her with a thrust of the sword.

    Abby swung a tentacle against the flat of the blade, knocking it aside just enough to miss Iris by an inch as she drove the point of her staff into the shadow''s chest. The cloak gave way beneath the strike, allowing the staff to enter the shadow itself. She squeezed her eyes closed and tipped her head forward before dumping mana into the staff and releasing a powerful blast of force.

    The brim of her hat blocked much of the flames as the cloak erupted from within, ripping at seams and tearing along burns. Abby''s tentacles caught the sword as it fell, and Iris blipped behind the remnants of the cloak. She swung her staff wide and released force as she did so, causing a swiping gust of wind that scattered the burning scraps of cloth.

    She blipped backwards twice, putting great distance between herself and what was left of the cloak. Standing in the darkness, she watched the final flickers of flame fade away into embers, and then into nothing.

    Between heavy breaths, she spoke, "did we do it?"

    Uncertain sounds came from the bag.

    With no light to speak of in the cave, Iris closed her eyes and focused on her senses of the surroundings. The air was still, and the marble was solid. There was no fluttering of a cloak or breeze-like drifting of shadows. She wasn''t sure how long she stood that way, but it was long enough for her breath to grow calm and her heartbeat to slow.

    "Iris?"

    She screamed and opened her eyes. Abby frantically swung the great sword side to side, slicing back and forth to ward off an incorporeal Victoria who had been all but invisible to her awareness ability. The usually faint purple glow of her ghostly form now seemed quite bright as the only source of light illuminating the cave. As Iris realized who she was, so did Abby, and the frantic swinging slowed to a stop.

    "You better be careful with that," Victoria said to the tentacles, "that''s silver, it can actually hurt me."

    Sad sounds came from the bag, almost seeming like an apology.

    "What are you doing here?" Iris asked, still catching her breath from the fright.

    "Looking for you. You always find trouble when you go off alone at night. What was it tonight?"

    Iris led Victoria to the scene of the battle, where a few pieces of brown-grey cloth still littered the cave floor.

    "It looked like me," Iris explained, "it even had tentacles and a sword, kind of."

    Victoria returned to her physical form, momentarily returning the cave to darkness as she crouched to pick up a scrap of cloth. With her mucus covered eyes, she inspected it closely.

    "Mimic Wraith," she grimaced, dropping the cloth and returning to her spectral form, "it was probably bound to the cloak. They''re what happens sometimes when a ghost gets so old they forget who they are. Without knowing who they are, they can''t know what needs to be done to move on, so they get stuck wandering the world in search of an identity to replace their own."

    "I am so sick of ghosts," Iris shouted indignantly, "I thought I was really gonna get to fight myself."

    "Why would you want to fight yourself?" Victoria gave her a critical look.

    "Doesn''t everyone?"

 198 - Secrets and Nightmares

    After a surprisingly sound, albeit short night''s sleep, Iris awoke to the aroma of fresh soup filling the cave. When she groaned and rolled over in search of the source, she spotted Autumn and Adan preparing break in the large cooking pot across camp. She groggily climbed to her feet and meandered her way over to the chefs, hoping she''d be lucky enough to get one of the first servings.

    "I thought all your ingredients were in my bag?" she asked as she approached Autumn, who was standing atop a stack of flat stones and stirring the huge pot with a comically long ladle.

    "They are," Autumn said without looking away from her work, "now add the salt."

    Adan lifted a paper bag of salt over the edge of the pot and dumped it into the mixture. Before Iris could ask for clarification, Autumn spoke again.

    "Abby got them out for me while you were sleeping."

    Iris looked down at the bag tied to her waist, then back to Autumn, "I didn''t realize she trusted you that much."

    "What? We''re besties, right Abby?"

    Uncertain but positive sounding tones emanated from the bag.

    "See?"

    Iris shrugged, "when''s breakfast ready?"

    Autumn withdrew the ladle and gently took a sip of the broth, "about five minutes."

    A short while later, Iris and her party were gathered outside their tent sitting on whatever buckets, crates or rocks they could muster. Adan had been gracious enough to offer to handle serving the rest of the crew so that Autumn could eat with her party, and they were all glad to enjoy a meal together -- an occurrence that had grown increasingly rare since setting sail on the Gaping Maw.

    "So how was the fight?" Eli asked abruptly.

    Iris''s eyes shot up from her bowl and towards Victoria, who shrugged, "don''t look at me."

    Eli pointed at her robes, which were singed from flames, "the other option is that you fell in the fire, but considering I haven''t heard any screams around camp--"

    "I went for a walk last night," Iris said, lowering her bowl and straightening her shoulders in preparation for an argument, "I ran into a ghost, it wasn''t a big a deal."

    Eli nodded calmly, "good thing you have that silver-edged sword, then."

    "Actually it didn''t help much, I ended up having to use my stick," she said, relieved that Eli didn''t seem to be upset.

    "What do you mean it didn''t help much?" Victoria asked.

    "I don''t know, it didn''t really seem to do a lot? I stabbed right through it, and it didn''t even react."

    Victoria placed her bowl on the ground and reached out towards Iris, "let me see your sword."

    With a skeptical expression, Iris gently tapped the bag at her waist. A tentacle rose out of the bag, doubled back on itself and reached into the void. A second later it pulled out the silver and marble great sword, which it carefully twisted around to avoid hitting anyone before reaching out and orienting the hilt towards Victoria.

    Victoria shifted into her spectral form, drifted over and lightly placed her fingers on one of the silver bands that splintered through the blade. The tips of her fingers instantly turned to flesh, and shortly after began to sizzle. She snatched her hand away, shifted back to her physical form, and held her hand out towards Titus without looking. He reached out a glowing white hand and gently tapped her palm to heal the burns on her fingers, then returned to his soup.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    "That wasn''t a mimic wraith," Victoria said flatly.

    "What?" Iris asked.

    "If it was a wraith it would have reacted to the silver."

    "Then what did I fight?" Iris was growing nervous.

    Victoria thought for a moment while she returned to her seat and picked up her bowl, and then shrugged, "I don''t know."

    Iris leaned forward, "what do you mean you don''t know? What if I didn''t kill it?" she quickly glanced over either shoulder, "what if it''s still after me?"

    "I wouldn''t worry," Victoria said, "unless you start having nightmares."

    Iris''s eyes went wide, "why? What would that mean?"

    "That would mean the thing you fought might be a nightmare. Not like, the dreams themselves, but a creature called a nightmare that causes them."

    "What else do they do? Where do they come from and how do I get rid of them?" Iris was speaking quickly and about to rise from her seat.

    Victoria seemed surprised by how worried she was, "it''s very unlikely it''s a nightmare, they only show up after particularly traumatic experiences, usually after someone has almost--" she stopped abruptly and glanced towards Eli.

    "Almost what?" Iris asked, finally shooting to her feet.

    "almost died," Eli finished.

    "I forget--" Victoria stammered, "I mean, it happens to you so often I kind of just got used to it."

    "Am I haunted again?" Iris demanded.

    Victoria and Eli exchanged glances, while Titus set aside his soup and looked to his frequent patient with concern.

    "If it is a nightmare," Victoria said, "which we don''t know it is -- then no, not exactly. Nightmares aren''t ghosts, they''re living creatures made of mana."

    "Oh good," Iris scoffed, "so I''m not haunted, I''m just being stalked by a shadow person."

    "We don''t know that--" Eli started.

    "How do I get rid of it?" Iris interrupted.

    "You have to vanquish it in battle," Victoria explained, "but not in the real world -- in your dreams."

    Iris collapsed back into her seat and put her face in her hands, "how am I even supposed to do that?"

    "I''m not sure," Victoria said with an apologetic tone, "Eli?"

    Eli shook his head, "I don''t know anything about nightmares that you don''t."

    "How urgent is this?" Titus asked.

    "Well," Victoria took a breath, "not extremely. Nightmares work slow, they deprive victims of sleep, assault them with traumatic visions, and in rare cases cause hallucinations. Their goal isn''t usually to kill the victim, but to slowly drive them mad until they kill themselves. They only attack directly when the victim is alone in the dark, so as long as Iris avoids that, we have time."

    All eyes turned towards Iris.

    "What?" she asked.

    "We need to figure out something quick," Titus said.

    "Agreed," Eli said.

    "It''s not like I go running off into the dark every night," Iris seemed offended, and the others seemed unconvinced. Seeing the skepticism in their eyes, she shifted her approach, "okay then, fine. I''d rather solve this problem sooner rather than later, anyway. What do we do?"

    No one spoke for a moment, and then Victoria sighed, "I know someone who might be able to help -- or at least tell me how to help."

    Eli shot a glance towards Victoria, "tell me you didn''t."

    Victoria looked back at him with a blank expression. It would be unreadable to anyone else, but Eli saw through her.

    "Dammit, Vic!" Eli shot to his feet and stormed away, but promptly paced back and pointed a finger at her, "it''s way too soon, you knew that!"

    Autumn and Titus exchanged uncomfortable looks, while Iris looked back and forth between Victoria and Eli with confusion, "what''s going on?"

    "She made a pact with the Dreamweaver!" Eli nearly shouted.

    "You don''t have to tell the whole camp," Victoria said, rising to her feet to confront him.

    "And you didn''t have to sell your soul, but here we are!"

    "I didn''t sell it. I made a deal that benefits me--"

    "Benefits you?" Eli asked incredulously, "you saw her out there, Vic. She doesn''t care about anyone but herself, she''ll put you in danger and let you die like all the others -- or did you already forget how many people we lost under her command?"

    Victoria stepped up to Eli and put her face an inch from his, speaking quietly but sternly, "I dragged their bodies out of the webs myself, and I remember each of their lifeless faces. Don''t ever accuse me of forgetting them."

    Eli looked angry for a moment, but then his expression softened and he took a step back, "Vic, I-- you''re right. I''m sorry."

    "You don''t have to like my decisions but you don''t get to tell me how to make them."

    "I just wish you''d talked to me first--"

    "I did," Victoria said sternly, "I considered your advice, and then I made my own decision."

    Eli wiped a hand down his face, "okay. I''m going for a walk."

    He turned and walked away towards the entrance to the cavern.

    "I''m sorry, Vic," Iris said, "I didn''t mean to--"

    "It''s not your fault," she interrupted, "he was going to find out sooner or later. The Dreamweaver should be contacting me in the coming nights, I''ll let you know when I learn something."

    Iris wanted to say more, but simply nodded. Victoria shifted into her spectral form and sunk into the stone, out of sight.

    "How long has that been brewing?" Autumn asked.

    "Since we left the city, I guess," Titus said.

    "Whelp," Autumn said, shooting to her feet with an empty bowl, "not my problem. Anyone else want seconds?"

 199 - The Goings On in Gellorn

    The Shark Titan stood on the edge of the giant pool which currently housed the Hydra. The cavernous room extended far beyond in all directions, and the pillars which supported the ceiling stood broader and taller than even the largest of redwoods in the Great Forest. He was joined by his first mate, Meredith, and his quartermaster, Luo, and behind the trio stood one of the giant sentries assigned to guard the pool.

    The water had initially been clear and clean, but the addition of the lake water stored within the Gaping Maw combined with the waste produced by the Hydra had turned it a sickly greenish-brown. The large glow stones suspended from the ceiling high above bathed the chamber in perpetual light akin to an overcast afternoon, and the dark shadow of the hydra could still be seen lurking in the pool.

    "How many?" the captain asked.

    "Three, we think," Luo answered, "we don''t know who they were yet. No one important, though. They snuck in late last night, the giants tried to intervene but were afraid of squishing them."

    "I''ve informed the crew that the prize offer for capturing the fish has been rescinded," Meredith said, "to discourage any more idiots getting themselves eaten. Then again, I''m pretty certain they were doing it for glory rather than extra portions, so that may not stop anyone."

    The captain was only half listening as he stared out at the water longingly, "Meredith, are you sure I shouldn''t--"

    "You and I both know damn well you''ll get baited into a fight with the hydra if you go in," Meredith said, "at its current strength you''re likely to kill it before you can subdue it. Which do you value more, a fish or your ascension quest?"

    The captain let out a slow, unhappy breath, "then how do we get him out?"

    It was quiet for a moment before Luo offered a suggestion, "we could try fishing?"

    The captain and first mate both turned judgmental glances onto the quartermaster.

    "Maybe if we toss some nets--"

    "Shut up Luo," Meredith ordered, despite not necessarily outranking the quartermaster.

    "No, Luo may be onto something," the captain said, "he must be getting hungry by now. He''s smart enough to not bite a hook or swim into a net, but maybe he''s desperate enough to go after bait."

    "You''re thinking we lure him to the shallow end, furthest from the hydra?" Meredith asked.

    "Aye," the captain said, "and then I grab him."

    "What about those killed by the hydra last night," Luo asked, "he could have eaten the scraps."

    "Even Gerald wouldn''t resort to cannibalism," the captain said, "probably."

    "Then we''ll need bait that he''s willing to eat, and that the hydra won''t be interested in," Meredith said.

    "Aye," the captain nodded, "consult the chef, find out what she can whip up."

    ______

    With an ever growing list of things to distract herself from, and a new mandate that she wasn''t allowed to go off alone in the dark, Iris chose to instead wander the well-lit chambers of the mountain. Her first stop was the workshop where the ship was being repaired.

    As she stepped out of the narrow gap between two giant marble tables, she saw giants delicately removing planks from the hull of the ship and placing them on tables. Through the gaps in the hull were the innards of the mechanical deck, and though they were too small and too distant to make out what they were doing, she could see gargoyles scurrying around inside.

    After blipping a few times across the expansive floor to get a viewing angle that wasn''t mostly blocked by the platform pushed up against the ship, she pulled the spyglass from her bottomless bag, fully extended it, and looked through it. The gargoyles now came into view rather clearly, and she could see that they were crawling through the gaps in the machinery and rather crudely ripping out ropes, chains, sails and gears. Many were tossed aside, most of them landing on the platform while the occasional piece took a long fall into the marble floor.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

    Much to her disappointment, she still couldn''t figure out what the mechanism was for. Her best guess so far was that the sails were intended to fold outwards somehow in order to provide more propulsion for the ship, but that didn''t make sense with how close the mechanical deck was to the waterline of the hull. With a sigh, she collapsed the spyglass and returned it to her bag.

    Meanwhile at the front of the ship, a pair of giants was holding up the folded-down bow piece while a third held a large chain in place on one side. With her spyglass, she could see gargoyles climbing down the length of the chain until they reached the bow piece, where they got to work affixing the chain to the bow. Iris watched a while as they worked, until a tentacle tapped on her shoulder.

    She withdrew her eye from the spyglass to look curiously at the tentacle, which motioned for her to hand over the spyglass. With an uncertain expression, she did as Abby requested. The tentacle wrapped around the spyglass and brought it down to the bag, sticking the eyepiece into the void while angling the lens towards the ship. Positive sounds emanated from the bag.

    "You know," Iris began cautiously, "you could probably see way better if you came out of there."

    A series of overlapping and very clearly negative roars came from the void, and the tentacle withdrew back inside with the spyglass.

    "Oh, come on!" Iris complained, "you''re such a baby. What''s the worst that could happen?"

    Abby reached out with four tentacles, three of which were holding knives and short swords. The unarmed tentacle flailed in mock peril as the other three mimed stabs and slashes towards it.

    Iris rolled her eyes, "you''re not going to get killed by an angry mob."

    Abby made affirmative sounds, and then the unarmed tentacle quickly disarmed the other three and turned one of the knives back on them. The now disarmed tentacles mimicked dramatic deaths, swaying back and forth before falling limp beside the bag.

    "You''re not gonna have to kill an angry mob, either."

    The tentacles returned to the bag, and uncertain noises came from the void.

    "Fine, whatever," Iris sighed.

    ______

    "You''re telling me you can make this explode?" Cameron said, holding up a small chunk of glow stone.

    He was standing on the side of the main path that led through the gargoyle market, speaking to Cronur, the gargoyle tinkerer.

    "Yes, yes," Cronur nodded his head eagerly, "shake and spin it really fast, just the right way, and it becomes a boomrock."

    "That''s," Cameron hesitated as he stared at the glow stone and thought about it, "definitely not how that should work."

    "It''s true!" Cronur insisted, "then you take one boomrock and touch a glow stone, and get two boomrocks!"

    Cameron looked him skeptically, "show me."

    "Come!" Cronur dashed off on all fours, looking back only to wave Cameron along.

    Cameron was soon crawling out of a crack in the marble and into the tinkerer''s alcove, where Cronur was sprinting up to two other gargoyles and shouting in excitement, "we got a buyer!"

    "I''m not buying anything yet," Cameron called out, "I''m just here to look."

    He watched skeptically as the gargoyles prepped the spinning machine and placed a glow stone inside of the six-way vice. They wasted no time in spinning up the machine, and soon the glow stone began to emit an intense yellow-orange light.

    "There! See!" Cronur pointed at the stone in the contraption.

    Cameron stepped up and delicately removed the stone, holding it with two fingers while he inspected it. His Elemental Understanding ability allowed him to perceive the infinitely small and otherwise imperceptible differences from regular glow stone. The fundamental components of the crystalline structure had been rearranged in such a way as to create a volatile instability, which he imagined could -- if sufficiently disturbed -- rapidly release the total energy of the glow stone in a single instant.

    "How do I activate it?" he asked.

    "Smash it, burn it," Juvu said, "maybe yell at it, we''re still testing that though."

    Cameron looked away and picked a spot on the wall, where he threw the stone. The instant the stone connected with the marble it exploded with a rather impressive blast that blew off small chunks of marble and left a small crate in the wall.

    "Not bad," though his words were nonchalant, his expression betrayed his bewilderment at the reaction. "Let me see a regular glow stone," he held out a hand while still inspecting the damage of the blast.

    Ferum handed him a small chunk of glow stone, which he held away from his palms with the tips of his fingers and held out at arm''s length. Activating his ability named Fundamental Restructure, he began to slowly rearrange the fundamental components into the arrangement of the boomrock. After a few seconds, the glow stone began to emit the same intense light as the boomrock had.

    "Whoa," the trio of gargoyles said in unison.

    Cameron let out a tired breath. The work had taken an immense amount of mana and concentration, it certainly wasn''t something he would be able to do frequently or on the fly at his current level.

    "What''s the idea, guy?" Cronur demanded, "you taking our invention instead of buying?"

    "Not at all," Cameron shook his head, "I just wanted to see if I could do it."

    He handed the newly created boomrock to Juvu, who promptly but delicately placed it on a nearby table.

    "I can imagine quite a few applications for this," Cameron said, "but not in its current state. Have you had any luck stabilizing it into a less volatile form? Ideally something that requires another, smaller explosion to activate?"

    Cronur shook his head, "early days, lots to discover."

    Cameron thought for a moment, "as the lead of innovation, I have a certain budget at my discretion. Would you be interested in selling your research documentation and machinery schematics?"

    "Yes!" Cronur shouted.

    "If we all agree to it," Ferum reminded Cronur.

    "Right," Cronur corrected himself, "if we all agree, yes. Do we agree?"

    "We must discuss," Ferum said, "come back tomorrow. Bring gold."

    "Will do," Cameron smiled.

 200 - The Truth About Gerald

    "I think he killed somebody," Autumn said.

    "Nah, he definitely led a mutiny," Titus countered.

    The party was on their way to the giant''s bathhouse, where the hydra -- and apparently Gerald the golden fish -- was currently being housed. Autumn''s expertise had been requested to assist in capturing the fish, and the others had agreed to tag along out of boredom and curiosity. It was a long walk down the vast hallways of the mountain, and felt not unlike trekking across a flat and desolate wasteland. They traveled along one of the walls, staying well clear of the middle where lumbering giants occasionally passed by.

    "You guys aren''t imaginative enough," Iris said, "you gotta think big. My guess is that he was involved in a messy love triangle that ultimately culminated an unfortunate death of his would-be lover. It wasn''t his fault, but it looks like it was, so he''s been on the run ever since."

    "If that''s the case," Eli said, "then the lover is definitely still alive somehow, and will make a dramatic reappearance when it matters most."

    Victoria squinted at Eli, "that sounds suspiciously like the ending to a romance story."

    The pair seemed to have settled their argument in the hours that had passed since that morning, or at least seemed to be ignoring it.

    Eli shrugged, "maybe I should write one."

    Autumn honed in on the subtle accusation like a predator smelling blood, "aren''t there usually romance stories in the backs of those magazines you like?"

    "Now I think about it," Eli said casually, "I think there are."

    "So the truth comes out!" Autumn pointed a finger at him, "he pretends to read magazines for the practical information in the front, but it''s really all about the romance in the back!"

    Eli shrugged, "even if that were true, there''s nothing wrong with liking romance--"

    "I bet he prefers the werewolf stories," Victoria said.

    "I do not!" Eli quickly snapped, his voice echoing off the distant wall of the hallway.

    "People write romance about werewolves?" Iris asked.

    "Oh yeah," Autumns emphasized, "tons of it. You wouldn''t believe the kind of stuff people like Eli are into--"

    "Can we get back to Gerald?" Eli pleaded.

    "Absolutely not--" Autumn began.

    "I''ll bet you ten gold it wasn''t murder," he interrupted.

    "Deal!" she shouted.

    After nearly an hour of travel, the party finally reached the bathhouse. It took another five minutes of walking just to reach the edge of the pool, let alone the far end where the captain, first mate and quartermaster were barely more than dots in the distance. They kept a wide birth between themselves and the murky water, wary of the hydra lurking somewhere within.

    When they finally approached the captain, he turned and welcomed Autumn with a mirthful voice, "What do you have for us, chef?"

    The bottomless bag at Iris''s waist loosened and stretched open, and a pair of tentacles rose out of the void holding a lidded metal pot, which they handed to Autumn. She took the pot and walked up to the captain, removing the lid to reveal the wafting steam of a hot soup.

    "I call it miscellaneous soup," Autumn said, "to be honest, it''s usually made with whatever undesirable scraps I have left from other meals. In this case there''s some chimera gristle, a little bit of elk fat, and a whole lot of rabbit organs."This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    "Sounds like stuff a hydra would eat," Meredith said skeptically.

    "Yes," Autumn acknowledged, "but that''s where my secret weapon comes in -- spices. Most people don''t know it, but snakes hate spices because they have such strong senses of smell. Hydras are kind of like a bunch of snakes attached to the same body, so I''m betting it''ll hate them too. I''ve loaded these leftovers with as much spice as I can spare, but not so much that it wouldn''t be appetizing to a desperate and hungry man turned into a fish."

    "She''s right," the captain said, "hydras have a stronger nose than sharks -- and quite a few of them, too. Very smart."

    Autumn beamed with pride as she handed the pot of soup off to the quartermaster.

    Titus nudged Iris with an elbow and leaned over slightly to whisper to her, "leftovers?" is that what she''s been feeding us?"

    "I-- I think so," Iris hesitated, her face stricken with horror.

    "Uh, captain--" Autumn said warily, "permission to ask a question?"

    "Granted," the captain said, suspicious of her uncharacteristic caution.

    "What exactly did Gerald do to deserve all this?"

    Meredith glanced at the Shark Titan with concern as the cheer left his face. He turned to face the water and stepped up to the very edge before speaking.

    "There was once a ship called the Gale''s Embrace," he spoke without emotion, "she was a sister ship of the Gaping Maw in the Spiral Fleet. Gerald''s selfish actions resulted in her destruction and the death of most of her crew."

    "Was there murder?" she asked, "like, intentionally?"

    "Intentions don''t matter at sea," he said gravely, "only consequences.¡±

    ¡°What about a love triangle?¡± Iris asked bravely.

    ¡°No more questions. Luo, pour the soup."

    Luo seemed happy for the subject to change, and quickly stepped up beside the captain to pour the soup into the water. Before the last of the chunks had splashed into the pool, the hydra roared.

    "Step back!" The captain ordered.

    Luo quickly threw the last of the soup out of the bucket and joined the others in retreating far from the water''s edge. Only the captain remained, eyeing the hulking shadow which quickly raced across the pool. When the hydra grew near to the soup, the hydra roared again and quickly diverted course to swing back around and return to the deeper end. The captain turned his attention to the chunks of soup floating in the water.

    "He won''t come if you''re standing there," Meredith called out.

    "Yes he will," the captain replied, "he''s arrogant enough."

    Several moments passed while nothing happened -- and then the captain saw a chunk of meat that had drifted away from the edge bob below water and disappear. With near instantaneous movement, he leaned forward and kicked off the edge into a dive which transitioned directly into a full speed swim.

    From the surface, the others saw nothing after that until the captain erupted from the water on the far side of the pool a few moments later.  He angled his jaw upwards, opened it wide and reached in with a single hand to withdraw the fat golden fish from behind his teeth -- all but unscathed besides a single torn fin. The captain didn''t bother to close his mouth again before erupting into booming laughter as he held up a desperately flopping Gerald by his tailfin.

    "You''re mine again, you worthless son of a--"

    "Captain!" Meredith shouted, but the Shark Titan had already noticed the shadow racing towards him.

    He leapt six feet into the air and two dozen feet away from the water in a single swift movement, narrowly dodging a hydra head as its wide open jaws slammed into the marble floor like a snake trying to bite a wall. He landed and immediately leapt again as another set of jaws slammed down, and again to dodge the third. The Hydra heads quickly slinked back to the water, but lingered above the surface to furiously hiss in his direction before finally disappearing back into the pool.

    He turned to look at Gerald, "you conniving coward!"

    Gerald continued desperately convulsing in a vain attempt to escape.

    "Meredith!" he shouted across the pool, "this bastard tried to set me up!"

    Meredith sighed and placed a hand over her face and didn¡¯t bother to speak loud enough for him to hear, "I tried to tell him that might happen."

    Autumn and the party were soon dismissed by Meredith, with the explanation that the chef''s services were no longer needed. On the walk back, the argument about Gerald''s story soon picked up again.

    "You heard the captain! A whole crew died!" Autumn insisted.

    "Most of a crew," Eli corrected, "and he clearly dodged your question about intent because it was an accident. Accidents can''t be murder."

    "Bullshit! He dodged the question because he couldn''t stomach to admit the depths of Gerald''s atrocities!"

    "He eats people, Autumn!" Eli was damn near pleading for her to hear his point, "why would he get sick at the topic of murder?"

    Autumn snarled -- and Iris was pretty sure she even growled a little -- but she had no retort. Finally, she released an angry sigh and grumbled her response, "this isn''t over, werewolf fucker."

    "I don''t fuck werewolves!" Eli''s shocked and exasperated shout rung out down the halls.

 201 - A Fathers Perfect Creation

    The party ate a late dinner that night, choosing to receive the last servings so Autumn could join them for dinner -- she would still have to go clean up afterwards, but for now she didn''t complain. It was soup again, though she had adjusted the ratios of miscellaneous meats and used different spices so it would at least seem like a different meal. Eli and Victoria were continuing to behave as if they hadn''t had a blowout argument that morning, and Iris guessed the two had known each other and adventured together long enough that they were practiced at setting aside conflict between them when it wouldn''t be productive.

    The party was joined by a few extra faces, as well. Cameron sat beside Eli, his bowl of soup growing cold on the ground beside him as he looked through a stack of papers which had seen much better days. Adan and Grell were there, too, though Grell had already eaten his portions by the time he joined the circle of adventurers, and Adan never seemed to eat at all. Despite Grell''s disdain for the audience, Adan had convinced his father to allow his friends to watch as the glow stones were added to his hands.

    It began with Grell unfolding a wrapped cloth filled with small tools, which seemed to be an eclectic mixture of watchmaker''s tools, pieces from a lockpicking kit, and a few crudely made and oddly shaped tiny metal scraps of metal with indiscernible purpose. Adan sat on an upturned bucket with an outstretched palm, and the others watched with intrigue as Grell crouched before him and began to prod at his hand with the tools.

    It only took a moment for the first piece to pop off -- a molded sheet of metal which covered the bottom of Adan''s palm. The upper piece soon followed, and the innards of Adan''s hand were fully revealed. In place of veins and flesh were tiny mechanical mechanisms and a series of thin cables, which seemed to pass through the palm and into each of his fingers.

    "I don''t know son," Grell said, "I gotta move a lot of stuff around in here to make it fit. We''ll need to route the cables around the stone, for starters."

    "Is it feasible?" Adan asked.

    "Of course it''s feasible!" Grell said, "I made the damn hand, I can fit a rock into it." A shadow was cast over Grell, and his twisted his head to give a disdainful look at Autumn as she leaned over him for a view at Adan''s hand, "what do you want?"

    "Uh--" she hesitated, "what the hell is that?" she pointed at Adan''s hand.

    "It is my hand," Adan seemed confused.

    "Why is it like that? Where''s all the blood?"

    Iris blipped over to Grell''s other side and leaned in for a better look, "whoa, it''s like a clock in there."

    "My son is not a clock!" Grell shouted, "he is a supreme creation born of unparalleled skill and knowledge. Now let me work!"

    "Please provide my father some space," Adan asked politely.

    "Right, sorry," Iris said sheepishly after blipping back to her seat.

    "Sorry," Autumn grumbled as she sulked away.

    A loud grunt of frustration came from Cameron as he shoved the papers from his lap to scatter on the ground in front of him. He placed his head in his hands and sighed deeply, "I can''t read any of this shit."

    Iris curiously picked up one of the papers. It was a crude charcoal drawing on a brown, rough-edged sheet of parchment. It looked like schematics, based on the ones she had seen in Milo''s workshop and during her duties working for the boatswain, but this one was incredibly poorly drawn and lacked critical details such as measurements and angles. It looked familiar, though she couldn¡¯t quite figure out what it was supposed to depict.

    "What''s this for?"

    Cameron looked up from his hands with the expression of a man who had given up, "it''s supposed to be schematics for a ''spinning machine,'' but it looks like it was drawn by children."

    Iris and Autumn exchanged a worried glance.

    "Did you get these from a guy named Cronur?"This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    "Yeah, he and his partners have figured out how to turn glow stone into an explosive. I thought it might have some valuable applications, but I can''t work with this stuff. I mean, look at this," he picked up a piece of paper and held it up for the others to see. It was a page filled with words from edge to edge, with no punctuation or paragraph breaks, "this is supposed to be research data. There''s not even numbers on here!"

    ¡°Yeeaah,¡± Iris said as she placed the paper back on the ground, ¡°those guys aren¡¯t exactly experts.¡±

    "I may be able to help you decipher those," Adan said, "I find it easy to interpret a wide variety written language."

    "He''s been to the best schools," Grell said while delicately pulling aside one of the cables in Adan''s palm and placing a small piece of brass to divert it away from the center of the palm, "only a few days at each, but my boy learns fast. I didn''t even mean to make him that way, he¡¯s just that good."

    "What exactly do you mean when you say things like that?" Autumn asked, "that you made him?"

    Grell sighed, but continued working and didn''t turn to look at her, "you see all this?" he briefly motioned to Adan''s entire body.

    "Yeah," Autumn answered.

    "I made that."

    "O-kaaay," she said, still obviously confused.

    "He''s a construct?" Cameron asked.

    Grell scoffed, "as if a construct could be this magnificent. No, my boy has a soul. He''s as alive as you and me."

    "It is fair to assume I am construct," Adan said, "I was built in much the same fashion as one, though with much greater care and detail. As my father says, however, I have a soul, and thus am alive."

    "I''ve never heard of a construct with a soul before," Titus said, "how''s that work?"

    ¡°And where did you get it?¡± Victoria added.

    "Enough questions!" Grell shouted over his shoulder before looking up at Adan, "I told you letting them watch was a bad idea."

    "They are simply curious, father. That is exactly why I wanted them to watch."

    Grell grumbled a few unintelligible words, and then held up a glow stone to Adan''s palm. He frowned when he discerned it was much too large for even the largest cavity he was able to create in the palm.

    "You!" he pointed at Autumn with one hand and tossed her the glow stone with the other, "make that smaller for me."

    "Uh," Autumn stammered, "why me?"

    "You do the thing with rocks," Grell pointed at the glow stone, "that''s a rock. I need it half that size."

    Autumn frowned, "I never thought about messing with glow stone. It''s actually a crystal, you know, but I guess crystals are kind of rocks."

    Curiously, she held the crystal in both hands and imagined pulling it apart like she might a regular stone. Instead of smoothly molding in a clay-like manner as a regular stone would have, the crystal fractured in half down the middle, leaving a rough and even surface on the new face of either piece.

    "Huh," she said in surprised acknowledgement.

    "That''ll work, gimme," Grell held out a hand and made a repeated grabbing motion with his fingers until Autumn leaned forward and gave him one half of the stone.

    He placed it in the center of Adan''s palm, and then placed a ring of brass around it which clicked into place with other components within Adan''s hand. The ring held the stone in place as Adan raised his hand and flexed his fingers.

    "Digital dexterity is slightly reduced," he observed, "it is manageable."

    "Well go on, give it a try," Grell encouraged.

    Adan pointed his outstretched palm at the ground, and a second later the glow stone flickered a few times before settling into a bright, constant glow.

    "Ahah!" Grell shouted, "the mechanical mastermind succeeds again!"

    Adan turned his hand around to inspect the new installation in his palm, "this will do nicely, thank you father."

    "Yeah, yeah," Grell grumbled, "gimme your other hand, we''ll put the plates on once they''re both working."

    Expressions around the circle ranged from bewildered amazement in the case of Autumn and Iris, to the casual curiosity of Eli and Cameron, and untrusting glances from Victoria and Titus.

    ______

    In the captain''s cabin of the Gaping Maw, a pair of gargoyles were desperately attempting to pull a steel chain through a too-small gap in the floor. The Shark Titan ignored them as they griped over whether or not they should cut the whole larger, instead staring proudly at the newly installed prison for Gerald. It was another glass tank, much like the last, though the difference this time was the overlapping metal bars that covered all sides of the tank. They were thin but rigid, and the square gaps between them were far too small for Gerald to ever fit through.

    "Break the glass if you want," the captain said to the fish floating within the cage, "you''ll only suffocate in your cage."

    The fish stared back with an apparently blank expression, which the Shark Titan knew was in fact conveying unbridled rage.

    "You do it," a gargoyle just outside of the open door said to another.

    "No you," another gargoyle said, just before shoving his coworker into the room and slamming the door.

    "Can I help you?" the captain said casually, turning to look down at the cowering gargoyle."

    "Y-yes sir-- your honor-- captain!" the gargoyle stammered with a fear-filled gaze.

    "Spit it out," the captain ordered.

    "Yes, I mean-- aye. R-repairs are on schedule, sir. Ship w-will be ready in days."

    The captain looked down on the gargoyle with curious amusement -- which, on the face of a shark, wasn''t all that discernible from wrathful ire, "why were you afraid to give me good news?"

    "I-I don''t know, sir," the gargoyle looked away sheepishly, "m-maybe you''re hungry."

    The captain''s booming laugh startled the other two gargoyles in the room, causing them to drop the chain which was promptly pulled back through the hole in the floor by an unseen weight.

    "I don''t eat gargoyles," the captain said as he stepped past him and approached the door, "way too brittle."

 202 - Killing Things to Feel Better

    Victoria was standing in a vast cavern. Glow stone veins navigated the uneven ceiling far above, though their characteristic warm glow was replaced with a faint purple hue which didn''t reach the walls or floor of the cavern. Her auravision refused to activate, and the oppressive darkness loomed all around her. She slowly spun in place for a moment, searching for any landmark with which to orient herself, but found nothing.

    On her final spin, she turned to see the body of a massive spider descending from the ceiling on a thick strand of web -- visible despite the darkness as if lit by an unseen light, and bearing the upper half of the Dreamweaver''s human body on the top of its thorax. Despite the spider''s body facing the floor, the Dreamweaver contorted so that her human torso was almost vertical as she looked down on her disciple.

    "What have you brought me?" she asked.

    Victoria recounted her memory of the Shark Titan''s meeting with the giants, sparing no details as she was uncertain of what exactly the Dreamweaver wanted to hear.

    "I see," the Dreamweaver said, lowering her spider body to the floor and disconnecting the strand of web which had held her, "the fool really is going to go after the crown, isn''t he? That¡¯s a shame, he''ll get himself killed doing that."

    "Will you pursue it, as well?" Victoria asked.

    The Dreamweaver laughed, "absolutely not. Slow and steady is the path to godhood, child, chasing shortcuts brings only ruin."

    Victoria nodded, "I am sorry I couldn''t bring you more information.¡±

    "Don''t be," the Dreamweaver dismissed her concerns with a wave, "I wasn''t expect much from Clement, anyway. All he did was repeat what others said in our meetings, which is what I thought he''d do. My real curiosity was what he plans to do after completing his ascension quest, and that has been answered."

    "In that case, I request a favor."

    The legs of the spider shuffled as the Dreamweaver abruptly drew nearer, "oh? You only get so many of those, you know."

    "It''s important. My friend, Iris -- I believe she''s become the target of a nightmare."

    "Oooh," the titan tapping the tips of her fingers together as if stumbling across a delightful treat, "those are quite delicious."

    "She isn''t ready for something like this," Victoria continued, "and I don''t know how to help her. I was hoping you could do something."

    The Dreamweaver appeared to think about it for a moment, "no."

    "No?" Victoria grew angry, "what do you mean, no?"

    "I mean, no," the Dreamweaver twisted her head and gave her disciple an intense glare, "I cannot help."

    "What''s the point in having this pact if you won''t even help me when I ask?"

    "It''s a bond, dear, not a pact. Please remember that -- and I didn''t say I wouldn''t help, I said I cannot. It would be trivial, of course, but I would need to be there physically. Your dreams are the only ones I can enter from such a distance."

    "Then tell me how to help her," Victoria pleaded, "I have a Thread of Dreams, I should be able to do something."

    "You can''t," the Dreamweaver said, seemingly growing bored with the conversation, "you''ll need abilities you don''t have yet, and knowledge you''re not ready for. I suspect your friend will be fine, however."

    "Based on what?" Victoria stepped up as if she might challenge her patron.

    "I''ve seen that little one at work," the Dreamweaver said, "in the forest, during the expedition. She is... tenacious. I wouldn''t worry."

    "I need more than that!" Victoria shouted.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    "No. You don''t."

    Victoria awoke with a racing heart and heavy breath. Her companions were still asleep, and she guessed it must still be late at night.

    ______

    "You''re up early," Eli remarked as he exited the tent.

    "Didn''t sleep," Iris explained from her seat on a barrel. She kicked her feet where they dangled off the side, and on the ground nearby Littletooth was tearing into his bowl of breakfast.

    "The nightmare?" he asked with a grimace.

    "I dunno," she shrugged, "maybe. Or maybe I''m just too scared to sleep now that I know about it."

    "Maybe Vic had some luck," he suggested.

    "I didn''t," Victoria said angrily as her ghostly form drifted through the walls of the tent, "she was useless, offered me nothing." Her expression softened and her voice turned apologetic as she spoke to Iris, "we''re on our own with this one, I''m sorry."

    "It''s fine," Iris lied, "I''ve made it through worse things than a few bad dreams."

    Victoria forced a faint smile, and then sighed, "does anyone else feel like killing something?"

    "Definitely," Eli said.

    "Please," Iris groaned.

    "I heard there''s a spider problem in the mines," Eli suggested.

    "I''m in," Victoria answered quickly, "killing spiders would be perfect right now."

    After breakfast, and when Autumn had finished cleaning up her cooking station, the party plus Adan set off towards the mines. They decided not to take the path through the caves, instead returning through the cracked passageway in the marble to the large chamber which housed many of the gargoyles, and from there they made their way down another cracked passageway which led them to another series of caves. These were clearly well traveled, with glow stone lanterns bolted into the stone to provide light where natural glow stone veins were absent.

    The caves eventually deposited them into a large cavern, well lit by large chunks of glow stone which lay about leaning against walls or stacked in piles. On the far side of the cavern was the mouth of a large tunnel lined with metal tracks, which bore large stone carts that delivered freshly mined ores to the cavern. The ores were then separated by gargoyles into three major piles -- glow stone, silver ore, and plain marble rocks.

    The silver ore was then processed on site. It was first melted in large crucibles, and then separated from the slag and once again melted to repeat the process and purify the metal. Finally, it was cast into ingots within large stone molds, which were then left to cool before being stacked in a large, pyramid-shaped pile.

    It only took a little bit of asking around before the party was introduced to the foreman, who promptly gave them a quest to clear out a particularly infested series of tunnels. They accompanied a team of gargoyle miners down into the mines until they grew near to the infested area. At that point, the miners held back while the adventurers went in to do the dirty work.

    The cave spiders were large, their bodies were roughly the size of a gargoyle''s torso while their legs extended out several feet in either direction. They lacked any sort of venom significant to the adventurers, however, and the physical damage of their bites was dangerous if untreated but also trivial for Titus to heal. The foreman had explained that the spiders'' venom was particularly adapted to gargoyles, their prey of choice, but would be harmless to most other creatures.

    The party spent several hours in the caves, cutting down spiders, waiting for more to flood into the cave, and then cutting down more. Whenever the flow of spiders ceased for more than a few moments, they informed the miners it was save to move in, and moved on to the next tunnel or chamber. Adan''s new palm lights proved useful for navigating through dark tunnels, though were of little use in combat as his hands were too busy fighting.

    Victoria took an uncharacteristic approach to combat, drawing her rarely used sword and using her spectral form to flank unsuspecting spiders before shifting to her physical form and promptly delivering critical blows. Autumn -- clad in dark marble armor that molded smoothly to the shape of her body and allowed much greater movement than her usual stone armors -- joined Titus in the front lines, where they smashed and tore through the swarming spiders whose bites were too weak to penetrate their armor.

    Eli stayed behind the group, picking off spiders from the ceiling and far walls with bolts from his staff, while Adan flashed around the room and punched through spider heads or stomped them into the ground.

    Iris perhaps had the most fun out of all of them, as her new great sword effortlessly crushed the soft bodies of the spiders. She blipped around the cave, whirling in circles as the heavy sword threatened to take on a mind of its own. Soon, however, she had gotten used to it, and was letting the nearly unmanageable weight carry her into her next movements and attacks. Despite her efforts to keep track, she quickly lost count of how many spiders she killed, and finished each encounter with a spinning head and wavering stance.

    After a few hours, they finally reached a dead end and ran out of spiders to kill. All but Victoria and Eli were covered in blue-ish purple spider guts, and their goop-filled boots squished with each step as the tired party trudged back to the foreman for their reward.

    In the end, they gained a pittance of coin that ¨C after splitting six ways -- was barely worth the washing they would need to do, but the battles had been fun and spirits were high. Iris was particularly filled with excitement, as the gratuitous murder combined with the completion of a quest had offered her a significant chunk of experience.

    IRIS ORION

    Hero Rank, Level 12

    Experience Points: 8402 / 11,340

    Progress to next level: 74.09%

 203 - A Tour of the Mountain

    With the added help of her exhaustion from fighting spiders for most of the day, Iris was finally able to get some sleep. She was still plagued with nightmares, but she was able to sleep through most of them and quickly fall back asleep after the rest. The recurring flashbacks to her most recent mortal injury affected her less and less, and more so than causing fear or panic they had begun to simply annoy her. The nightmares quickly took a turn for the esoteric after that, with twisted sceneries and grotesque monsters, as if her mind were testing out approaches in search of something that might torment her.

    The morning was groggy and slow -- and her eyes ached with complaints about the perpetual light of the cavern -- but she at least felt rested, and began to regain her cheer throughout breakfast. It was soup, again, and most of the party complained to Autumn when she finally joined them. She explained it was all she could do with what she had on hand right now, but assured them that solid meals would be coming as soon as they were back on the ship and she once again had access to her full array of ingredients and cookware in the galley.

    After breakfast, the party made their way to the gargoyle living chamber between the crew''s cavern camp and the workshop where the Gaping Maw was still undergoing repairs. There they met up with Killup, who had promised to give them a proper tour of the mountain at the first chance he had to peel away from his family.

    "Last time I''ll be home for a while," he was saying as he lead them through a series of cracks in the walls, "can barely get the nephews off me."

    "The Gaping Maw must take you pretty far from here," Iris said.

    "Very, very far," his voice grew sad for a moment, but then his energy abruptly rebounded, "but today, friends see the mountain!"

    "Yeah!" Autumn said with excitement, "what''s up first?"

    The crack opened up into one of the giant''s hallways, which they continued down right up against the wall. A giant lumbered past soon after they entered the hallway, the ground shaking with each of his footfalls.

    "First, the steps," he spread his hands wide across the air as if illustrating a grand and impressive sight.

    "Ooh! What are the steps?" Autumn asked with barely contained glee.

    "Right up here!" Killup darted forward on all fours.

    Iris and Autumn immediately chased after him. Victoria floated after them slightly faster than she had been before, while Eli and Titus sighed and sped up to a light jog.

    Killup soon came to a stop as he reached a corner, and Autumn nearly ran into him when she caught up. Iris blipped beside them, and the others followed close behind.

    "Behold, the steps!" Killup gestured beyond the corner.

    Autumn instantly deflated, "these are stairs."

    Before them were massive stairs, each forming a sheer cliff face that rose about twenty feet above the step below. They seemed to be built from long rectangular blocks of marble, and were clearly once polished smooth but now bore the scuffs and pock marks of use.

    "I''m not climbing that," Eli said flatly.

    "No need! Come!" Killup bounded off towards the first of the steps and disappeared into a small tunnel where the cliff of the first step met the wall.

    Most of the party had to hunch over to fit into the tunnel, while Autumn strolled through with only a passing caution not to scrape the top of her head on the lowest portions and Victoria merely sank her ghostly form into the floor so she could float down the tunnel at a similar height to Autumn.

    After a few hundred feet, the tunnel opened into a small cave that had clearly been mined out of the marble with pickaxes. At the center of the chamber was a ramshackle wooden platform attached to ropes and a pulley system, which led up into a vertical tunnel mined through the marble.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

    "There''s no way we''re going to fit on that," Titus remarked.

    "It''s fine!" Killup assured them, clearly excited to show them what was at the other end, "I''ll climb, that one flies," he pointed at Victoria, "the rest of you, stand here."

    After sharing cautious glances, Iris, Autumn, Titus and Eli squeezed onto the small wooden platform. There were no rails or walls, and it would be precariously easy to fall off. Killup began the climb up the shaft, and looked back only to call out instructions.

    "Ring the bell!"

    The group looked around until Iris located a dangling rope attached to a bell suspended from a wooden beam affixed to the wall of the chamber. She blipped over, yanked on the rope to ring the bell, and then blipped back to the platform. A few seconds later, the lift lurched into motion. The ropes and pulleys groaned and the platform creaked, and Autumn retched like she was about to puke.

    "Nope," Titus said, promptly wrapping a hand around her eyes so she couldn''t see down and a hand around her mouth so she couldn''t puke. Muffled complaints came from beneath his hand, but the platform shook when Autumn resisted, so she gave up.

    The platform moved slowly, but after a short while it lurched to a stop in another small chamber much like the last. Titus kept a hand over Autumn''s eyes and hoisted her over the small gap between the platform and the floor, while Iris blipped past it and Eli simply stepped across. Victoria and Killup were waiting for them.

    "We don''t use that much," Killup said, "glad it worked."

    "How did it work?" Iris asked, "I thought there''d be someone up here pulling a rope or something. What was the bell for?"

    Killup shrugged and bounded off down another passageway.

    They followed him until the passageway opened up onto one of the steps in the stairwell. They had traveled hundreds of feet upwards and bypassed much of the stairwell, but there were still several more cliffs between them and the top of the stairs. They followed Killup down the length of the giant step, to a wooden door with a rounded top set into the cliff face of the next step.

    "This," he paused as he grabbed hold of the large metal knocker hanging from the door and banged it several times, "is the Keghold."

    The door creaked as it swung open, and on the other side a gargoyle holding a ridiculously oversized mug welcomed Killup with a disgruntled expression which was quickly replaced with a joyous grin.

    "Kill! Everyone, Kill''s back!"

    A chorus of cheers erupted from within as Killup and the party filtered in. It was -- by all means -- a tavern. There round tables scattered around a wide room lit by glow stone sconces, a gargoyle-and-autumn sized bar with rows of stools, and a back wall behind it lined with dozens horizontal barrels. Some were carved from marble, while others were traditional wooden barrels, and many had taps ready to pour.

    There were about a dozen gargoyles scattered around the tavern, not counting the pair of barkeeps behind the bar, and all of them were cheering at the sight of Killup. Several ran up to greet him with hugs, shoulder claps and high fives. The celebrations escalated until he was hoisted off his feet by four gargoyles and carried to the bar, where he was promptly placed onto a stool and immediately served with a freshly filled mug.

    "Good to have you, Kill," the barkeep smiled, "heard you were around the mountain somewhere."

    "Just for a little while," Killup said, nodding in appreciation at the drink "round for my friends?"

    The barkeep eyed the adventurers with a skeptical expression, but eventually nodded and began filling mugs. "Visitor''s special," he said as he placed the first mug down in front of Autumn.

    She eyed the drink for a second, then shrugged and threw it back. She managed to swallow the gulp she took, but then erupted into coughing. "That is terrible!"

    "Autumn," Eli hissed, nudging her with an elbow as he took a seat beside her on the too-small stool.

    The barkeep, however, didn''t seem offended. He instead laughed, and was joined by the patrons surrounding Killup, "gargoyle mead hits hard," he said proudly.

    The others took tentative sips of their mugs, not wanting to be rude when offered free drinks, but none of them liked it. Iris thought it tasted like rocks, a suspicion that was soon confirmed when she noticed there were several stones rolling around beneath the mead at the bottom of the mug.

    She leaned over to whisper to Titus, "why are there rocks in it?"

    "Just smile and pretend to drink," he whispered back.

    They ended up staying at the Keghold for multiple rounds of drinks, having no choice but to actually drink them as time wore on because there was nowhere to discretely pour them out. Iris considered dumping hers into her bag a few times, but ultimately decided there was no way she could pull it off without being seen.

    Throughout their stay, Killup caught up with the barkeeps and the other patrons, retelling some of the highlights of his adventures. He told of a massive battle in the depths of a swamp with a sea serpent which they ultimately captured, and the wrangling of a kraken in the northern seas which they bound with chains and drug across the oceans back to the Shining Blue. Eventually he got around to properly introducing Autumn, explaining that she was way better than his previous chef, and much less likely to fall onto her own knife.

    After a few hours, they stumbled out of the bar and back out onto the giant step.

    "Next stop," Killup swayed slightly as he spoke, "the growing chambers."

    "The what?" Autumn asked after an involuntary burp.

    "Where giants are born!" Killup raced off towards the nearest wall, where he disappeared into another crack.

    Eli groaned, "does he ever slow down?"

 204 - Dinner With Gargoyles

    After countless passageways, a few steep inclines and several more raggedy wooden lifts, the party finally reached their next destination. They stepped out of a crack and onto a polished marble surface that extended out from the wall and curved downwards after a few dozen feet. Similar curving shapes were present to either side and above, as well. It soon became clear -- based on the band of artwork encircling the walls of the chamber before them, that they were standing within the crevices of giant stone carvings. That, however, was the least impressive part.

    The massive chamber was circular, with a thick central pillar of marble bricks, sharing a similar band of carved artwork as the outer walls. Lining the outer walls were what -- at first glance -- appeared to be jagged rock formations. Surrounding the central pillar were several flat slabs of marble, on one of those slabs was one of the jagged formations, and it looked almost like a kneeling giant. Distant sounds like chisels on stone echoed around the chamber.

    Killup shushed them before whispering an explanation, "the carving is sacred, stay quiet."

    After a few moments, a large chunk of jagged marble slid off of the kneeling formation, taking a long fall to the floor before shattering into several smaller pieces with a loud, echoing boom. With the loss of the chunk, the shape of a shoulder and neck was beginning to emerge from the formation.

    "Giants grow from the mountain itself," Killup whispered, "then we carve them into shape."

    Iris peered through her spyglass and spotted at least a dozen gargoyles crawling around the kneeling giant with pickaxes and chisels, picking away at the excess marble. After a moment she handed the spyglass to whoever was standing next to her, not bothering to take her eyes off the sight before her to see who it was.

    "Whoa, you guys make the giants?" Autumn asked.

    "No, no," Killup answered hurriedly, "the mountain makes them. We only shape them. It''s a partnership millennia old."

    Another large chunk of marble fell from the giant''s back and crashed into the floor with a boom.

    "How long does it take them to grow?" Eli asked as he brought the spyglass down from his eye and handed it to Titus.

    "Decades for some, others centuries," Killup said, "quite lucky to visit during a carving."

    They stayed and observed the carving in silence for quite some time, watching as the giant slowly took the shape they would expect. At the pace which the gargoyles worked, it seemed as if simply removing all the excess stone would take days, if not weeks. Based on the roughness of the defined areas, finely shaping and polishing the giant''s body would take even longer.

    Eventually, Killup motioned to the party that it was time to leave, and led them back through the passageway from which they had emerged. They retraced much of their steps, but diverted from their previous path somewhere between the growth chamber and the giant steps which housed the Keghold.

    "Where are we headed now?" Autumn asked as they walking down a hallway between passages.

    "Back to family," Killup answered, "promised to introduce you. Few more stops along the way, though."

    This was news to the party. They were all quite tired and looking forward to the chance to crash into their bedrolls. The prospect of a meet and greet with Killup''s family was less than appealing at the moment.

    During the long journey back down through the innards of the mountain, Killup brought them to a large octagonal chamber where several rows of kneeling giants encircled a central pillar of glow stone. He explained that this chamber was directly above the Cardinal Council, and was where the giants came to commune with the mountain. He seemed unsure of exactly how their religion worked, but explained that nearly half of every giant''s life with spent conducting this communion.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    After the communion chamber, he brought them through a long series of passages that emerged onto the outside of the mountain. The marble stacked marble pillars which made up the mountain were of various lengths and spaced with no discernible pattern, creating the illusion of a natural mountain from a distance but a strange maze of enormous square pillars up close.

    Killup explained that the outside of the mountain was frequently traversed by gargoyles, but would prove much too difficult for the party to navigate. He did, however, lead them down an only somewhat difficult path to the top of one of the outermost pillars, providing a beautiful panoramic view of the grasslands and rolling hills which surrounded the mountain. Giants could be seen walking down paths in the distance, almost creating the illusion that they were not-so-distant regular sized people. Iris wasn''t quite sure how to put it into words, but as she gazed out across the grasslands the bright blue and sparsely clouded sky seemed bigger than usual.

    Next they reached another gargoyle living chamber, this one was built into the walls of a large crevasse that split down the middle of a particularly large marble block a hallway floor. Though the crevasse was lit by glow stone lanterns, much of the light came from the much larger glow stones which lit the hall way above, and the crevasse would occasionally be plunged into darkness as a giant passed by overhead. The crevasse was bustling with activity as gargoyles scurried across the walls and ground, and even took flight to glide between buildings on either side.

    "Here we are!" Killup announced, "my home."

    "It''s incredible," Iris said.

    "Thanks! Follow!" Killup bounded off down the crevasse.

    The party followed, making their way through the crowd of gargoyles as politely as they could. They eventually caught up with Killup outside of one of the ground level buildings, a multistory shack built against the wall of the crevasse. Cheerful children playing outside greeted him with excitement, a few even jumped onto his shoulders and into his arms. He waved the party to follow as he carried the children through the door.

    As they entered the shack, it became clear it was much larger than it appeared. The small wooden exterior was little more than a facade in front of much larger chambers carved into the marble. There was quite a lot of furniture inside, including various tables, large standing cabinets, an open kitchen and a several benches, all either built from wood or carved from marble. Rather than stairs leading to the upper floors, there was simply an opening in the ceiling in the back corner of the room, through which gargoyles freely climbed up and down.

    "This is them!" a seemingly elderly gargoyle woman shouted as she spread her arms in excitement. She rushed towards the party and immediately wrapped Eli in a hug.

    Eli was taken aback by the sudden hug, but awkwardly returned it. The woman soon let go and moved on to hug Titus. One by one, she hugged each of the party members, greeting them with a beaming smile.

    "I''m so glad my boy found an adventuring party," she said sincerely as she released Autumn from a tight hug.

    Eli shot Killup a critical glance, who responded with a sheepish and apologetic grin.

    "Yeaahh," Eli said, "we''re glad to have him."

    "Come, have a seat," the woman said, "tell me all about my son''s adventures."

    "Mother," Killup groaned.

    "Shush, go finish up dinner for the guests."

    The party did their best to retell their limited adventures with Killup as if they had traveled together for quite some time. It didn''t take long for a large crowd of nieces and nephews, and few adult cousins, brothers and sisters, to surround them and eagerly listen to the stories. Autumn, Iris and Victoria were particularly willing to embellish details to make him seem brave and strong, while Eli and Titus kept to basic, mostly true details to fill in the gaps.

    When dinner was served, it consisted of pan-seared fillets of a strange mystery meat, a pile of what could only be describe as unidentifiable slop, and what appeared to be several small marbles. Killup popped one of the marbles into his mouth and crunched into with his teeth, demonstrating that the insides contained a sweet, gooey filling. No one but Autumn was brave enough to attempt to bite into the marbles, and even she discretely used her stone molding abilities to soften them to protect her teeth.

    "What exactly is this?" Titus asked as he held up a cut of his fillet on the end of a fork.

    "Cave centipede," Killup answered.

    Iris, who was half way through chewing a mouthful of her fillet, nearly choked.

 205 - Departure From Gellorn

    The next day, the crew got word from First Mate Meredith that they would be departing Gellorn Keep the following morning. Many of the pirates spent the last day questing in the mines, eager to get as much fighting in as they could before once more being sequestered to the ship for the remainder of the long journey ahead.

    Iris and her party joined them and enjoyed the opportunity to join a hunting party that brought down a particularly large and troublesome cave centipede. Iris much preferred seeing beasts before eating them, and in this case found it very unpleasant to discover what last night''s dinner looked like when still alive. She had to get create her own opportunities to contribute to the fight, but with ample use of her blip ability she was able to deliver a few slashing blows to the creature and gain a modest amount of experience from the encounter. As part of the reward for slaying the beast, the gargoyles offered the meat from the creature to the crew, and even taught Autumn and Adan how to best harvest it.

    IRIS ORION

    Hero Rank, Level 12

    Experience Points: 9788 / 11,340

    Progress to next level: 86.31%

    After the centipede hunt, many pirates moved on to whatever quest the gargoyles had for them next, as there was no shortage of stuff to kill in the depths and the gargoyles were more than willing to capitalize on the rare opportunity to hire so many powerful threadbearers for the task. Iris and her party, however, retired early and returned to camp, where they began to pack their things into the bottomless bag.

    In the early evening, they returned to the workshop which housed the Gaping Maw. The repairs were all but finished, with only a few gargoyles remaining aboard to conduct final checks on the mechanisms in the mechanical deck. The pieces of the hull which had been removed were now back in place, the maw at the bow had been repaired and was now holding itself shut properly again, and the only signs of damage sustained during the battle with the mermaids were freshly installed railings and planks yet to be weathered by travel.

    Though the climb up the ladders to return the ship was quite unpleasant for Autumn, she did eventually make it. As Iris leaned on the railing of the main deck waiting her to climb the final rungs, she gazed out across the impossibly oversized workshop before her. She marveled at how quickly her mind had grown accustomed to the truly reality bending scale of Gellorn Keep, and wondered if the rest of the world might feel small to her now.

    The gargoyle society had proven to be quite charming, and though she still had many questions about the nature of the giants, she wasn''t exactly begging to repeat the long and arduous trek through the mountain to see more. In less than a day''s time, Gellorn would become yet another place she glimpsed but left behind too soon. There was a strange sadness about it, like a nostalgia for a place she barely knew, and soon it would be just another place described in her journal. She found solace in the thought that, at least this time, there weren''t any painful goodbyes to be made.

    They spent the night aboard the ship in half empty crew quarters, as the rest of the crew had elected to instead spend the final night in the cavern and rush to pack up and return to the ship in the morning before it departed. None of the pirates who slept in the hammocks immediately surrounding her own were aboard that night, so Iris tied some string around a small chunk of glow stone she had picked up in the mines and hung it from a nail that happened to be sticking out of the wood above her hammock. It wasn''t overly bright, but she trusted that it would ward off the nightmare. She wasn''t quite sure what she would do for the following nights, assuming that her neighbors wouldn''t take "it keeps the bad dreams away" as an excuse for making them sleep in the light.

    The following morning, the rest of the crew filled the ship. Morale was high, though many of them were exhausted from a late night adventuring in the mines and early morning spent packing and hauling their things back to the ship. Autumn had breakfast waiting for them, she had dipped into her supply of various eggs purchased from Giantrock City to make dozens upon dozens of what she called "everything omelets," explaining that the "everything" referred to both spices and the types of eggs mixed together to make them.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    The time to leave came in the early afternoon, and Killup was one of the last of the crew to return to the ship. Much of his family followed him all the way to the platform beside the ship, and he hugged each of them one by one. A few of the youngsters actually left their place in line after hugging him to rush to the end in hopes of getting another one.

    Meredith made her rounds through the nearby chambers to issue a final call for returning crew, and followed up behind a few disgruntled and hungover pirates who she angrily ushered aboard the ship. Then the giants entered and pulled away the platforms on either side of the ship, crouched below it and hoisted it up onto their shoulders as they had done before.

    They carried the ship through the halls of the mountain until they reached the bathhouse where the hydra was being held, there they paused a healthy distance from the water and awaited instructions.

    "So," the first mate said as she stepped up beside the captain at the bow, "what''s this mystery plan of yours to get the hydra back into the ship?"

    The captain was silent as he looked out at the water with his hands clasped behind his back.

    Meredith sighed, "you don''t have a plan, do you?"

    "I was hoping one would come to me," he admitted.

    Meredith placed a hand on her face and rubbed her eyes, "perhaps the giants can help?"

    The captain thought about it for a moment, and then leaned over the railing to shout at the giants holding the ship, "do you boys think you can wrestle that hydra while I wrap some chains around it?"

    The two giants at the front leaned their heads forward to peer at each other around the bow, and then one of them looked up at the captain, "the Monuments instructed us to help however we are needed."

    The captain laughed, "Grand! Set as down in the shallow side, then, and get in there!"

    The giants did as he requested, walking down steps into the shallow end and delicately lowering the Gaping Maw into the waters. Though it was much more shallow than the deep end, it was still plenty deep to accommodate the enormous size of the ship. The shadow of the hydra was soon approaching, however the giants wasted no time in stepping in front of the ship to intercept it.

    Three heads shot out of the water in rapid succession and struck out at the giants, but their razor teeth merely glanced off the polish marble bodies. The giants moved with surprising swiftness to wrap their massive hands around the necks of the hydra, forcing each of them into tight headlocks while the hydra''s unseen body thrashed about beneath the surface, creating great waves that sloshed water over the edges of the pool.

    The Shark Titan called for the crew to open the maw, and leapt from the bow. The maw soon crashed into the water with an immense splash, adding to the tumultuous waves. Much of the crew watched from the deck as the captain grabbed hold of a massive chain from the open maw and darted through the water to entangle the beast. As he did so, the chamber at the bottom of the hull filled with water, and the height of the ship decreased as it sunk lower and lower into the pool.

    Though it put up a strong fight, and the heads momentarily escaped their captors on more than one occasion, the captain had soon applied three separate chains to the creature''s body, firmly binding it. After recapturing the loose heads, the giants held them in place as the chains began to retract and slowly pull the creature into the belly of the ship. The heads viciously lashed out when the giants released them at the last possible moment, but their attacks were in vein as they were soon pulled too far into the far to strike at anything but the inner hull.

    After the hydra was recaptured, the maw was pulled closed, the captain jetted out of the water and landed with a splash on the deck, and the nonplussed giants once against hoisted the ship onto their shoulders to continue the journey out of the mountain.

    "That actually worked well," the captain remarked to Meredith, "why didn''t you think to ask for their help when catching Gerald?"

    "Why didn''t you, captain?" she asked with a critical glance.

    "Hmm," he wondered for a moment with an unhappy expression, and then walked off.

    The trip across the grasslands was as beautiful and wondrous as last time, and Iris found that the novelty still hadn''t outstayed its welcome. She watched from the quarterdeck for a while as the mountain grew distant until it finally disappeared over the crest of a hill. Then she returned to her new favorite spot on the anchor, where she sat and enjoyed the view on the journey back to the river. She found the scale of things to hardly be disorienting at all anymore, so long as she avoided thoughts about how small her village would be if it were on the ground below the stomping giants.

    Sooner than she wished, the giants reached the river. She blipped back onto the deck as the giants stepped into the river and finally returned the ship to water. The current wasted no time in carrying the ship forward the moment the giants released it, and the sails soon unfurled to gather even more speed as the Gaping Maw sailed towards its next adventure.

 206 - Those From Before Tell of Whats To Come

    Iris stood in a burning village. A thick smog of dark smoke blanketed the sky, backlit by the pale blue glow of the world''s smaller moon. One hand grasped the hilt of a broken sword, while the other clenched a bloodied scrap of cloth. A mage in black robes trimmed with gold stood before her, his face shrouded by an impossible shadow pierced only by the silver glow of his eyes.

    "We will come for you," he said in a sickly, raspy voice.

    Iris tried to lift her sword, but even with a broken blade it was too heavy to raise. The mage''s form fluttered and warped, and his place was taken by an Agent of Morose -- the pale moonlight gleaming off his mask as if the clouds of smoke weren''t there.

    "We will come for all that you know," the agent said in the same rough voice.

    Tears streamed down her cheeks -- she didn''t know why. The figure shifted again, now appearing as a bloodied, snarling mermaid hidden within the same black robes.

    "You can never run far enough."

    Iris dropped her sword and the bloodied cloth. A bloodcurdling scream erupted from her throat, cut short by her sudden disappearance and abruptly resuming as she appeared before the once again fluttering and warping figure. Her hand shot out and a found a neck amongst the reconfiguring matter, and her fingers clenched tight with the intent to puncture as her scream still pierced through the night. The convulsing, incomprehensible figure laughed with the booming volume of a god.

    She was upright before she awoke. Her whole body heaved with every breath, and a confused Littletooth looked up at her from his disturbed slumber. She was half tangled in her bedroll, which was strewn out across the floor of the cargo hold in a small clearing between several large crates. The area was littered with lanterns and glow stones, bathing her in bright, warm light. The flame of the lantern nearest to her was extinguished, and the faintest shadow of the crate she slept up against was cast across her bedroll.

    Victoria slept soundly atop a crate across the clearing. She was there so Iris wouldn''t be alone, and though Iris panned a wary gaze across the darkness beyond the edges of the lights, the fact that Victoria still slumbered assured her there was no dangerous presence in that darkness.

    After sitting for several moments to calm herself, she shuffled a few lights around to eliminate the shadow, and moved her bedroll into the center of the clearing for good measure. Victoria stirred at the movement, and sat up to observe.

    "You okay?" she asked softly.

    "Yeah," Iris said dismissively, "another bad dream."

    "Do you need anything?"

    "I''m fine," Iris insisted, "I just need to clear my mind before I try to sleep again. I''ll try to be quiet."

    "Do whatever you need," Victoria said before rolling over into her blankets.

    Iris picked up a lantern in either hand and blipped atop a nearby crate. She placed the lanterns around to expand the border of the light around her, and then drew her silver and marble great sword the bottomless bag. Paying particular attention to her breath and footwork, she moved slowly through the most basic of sword forms Titus had taught her. Each step was deliberately placed within the confined space of the crate, and every motion of her arms was drawn out and meticulous. The absurd weight of the sword fought against her and her muscles soon began to ache, but she welcomed the pain.

    ______

    The Shark Titan sat alone at the war table in his cabin. The only light in the room was the lantern that lit the maps and scrolls before him. Meredith slept soundly in the bed across the room, and her faint breath joined the creaking of the ship to create a soothing ambiance that did little to calm his nerves.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

    The map stretched out before him depicted the eastern coast of the continent and the great expanse of the Shining Blue. Though inland maps were still scarce and largely imprecise, those who called the Shining Blue home had long ago precisely mapped the coast, from the icelands in the north to the tropical island chains in the south. Of particular interest to him at the moment were the several blue spirals in the ocean he had personally drawn throughout the years, each one marking an appearance of Petresca the Spiral.

    She was, ostensibly, his commander. As goddess of the Shining Blue, all ships within its waters ultimately bore fealty to her will, though in his youth the captain had taken a step further. He had joined the Spiral Fleet, and swore fealty to the goddess not by virtue of sailing her waters, but by blood and oath. It was this loyalty that ultimately gained him his status as a captain, and facilitated the rapid explosion of power that propelled to him into becoming one of the strongest titans in her domain. Even the Gaping Maw, for all its beauty, would not have come to be without her influence.

    It was this pact with the Spiral that he now sought to break. Without something to replace her power within him, his soul would fracture with his oath, but as described in the scrolls before him, the power he needed was within his reach. Each one told the same cryptic story in varying manners and of inconsistent trustworthiness. They described the criteria of feats necessary to ascend beyond the barrier of mortality, to access the gated powers which enabled the gods.

    He had read them each a thousand times -- and had Meredith read them aloud to him a hundred times more. Though the criteria for the feats were the same for all, the manifestation of those feats was unique to each individual. After decades of study, and the advice of every wise and experienced elder across the Shining Blue and all its coasts, he had determined what his quest must be. He would return each remaining great beast -- whether they had been stolen, had fled their hunters, or had simply left in search of a different home -- to the Shining Blue. This act would return the Shining Blue to its once great glory as a sea of monsters, before the great cleansing of millennia past by the Petresca herself, and bring him to the gates of power he so desperately sought.

    He released a heavy sigh and placed his head in his hands. Certainty in one''s quest was impossible, that was what every elder and scholar had told him in their own words. One could not truly know if the quest they undertook would satisfy the criteria for ascension until it was complete -- yet he still spent countless nights studying the same scripts in search of that certainty.

    He returned his attention to the matters of which he did have hope to control -- where and when he would release the hydra into the Shining Blue. Though Petresca had expressed her blessing upon his pursuit of ascension, and even the undoing of her own work, he was no fool. The legends of her reign had scraped from history, but remnants still remained in the corners of the worlds -- and each told a similar story of her disciples who pursued godhood for themselves. She spoke of valuing free will and self-determination, of encouraging her followers to forge their own path even if it must conflict with her interests ¨C yet all who had approached the gates of power within the Shining Blue had been cut down in the final hour by Petresca herself. The selfish god was unwilling to let any threat to her sovereignty form. He had no doubt she would attempt the same to him, and had no intention of letting her succeed.

    He traced a line with his finger from a point along the southern coast, inland across the swamps of southeastern Giantrock, to a point just outside the border of the map. That would be the location of Fale Nalore, the last city at which the Gaping Maw would dock before returning to the Shining Blue. It was there that his ship would first touch the edge of Petresca''s domain, where inland rivers mixed with the furthest inlets of ocean. From the moment that happened, the clock would begin to tick.

    He got to work plotting, revising, and plotting again the course he would take through the swamps between Fale Nalore and the eastern coast. This would be where she sought to strike, but the spiral could only form in certain areas of the open sea -- even gods, in all their power, were still in some way beholden to the winds and the waves. In most scenarios, the Gaping Maw would reach open water well before a spiral could intercept, though there was one particular spiral marking on the map which worried him.

    Only a few hundred miles from the southeastern coast, in a gulf rimmed along its western and southern edges by chains of islands said to be formed long ago by the goddess herself, was the only spiral on his map not drawn by himself. An ancient spiritualist, self-sequestered high in the mountains of one of those islands, had drawn the mark with the grimace of a long haunted man.

    "Few survived to tell of it," he had said in a solemn, croaking voice, "and now only I survive to remember it. It was this spiral that tore across the lands and brought an empire to its knees. With this divine act of creation and destruction, Petresca told the world her reach extended far beyond the waves."

 207 - Guts of the Gaping Maw

    Over the next week of travel, Iris spent her mornings and afternoons blipping around the masts and sails of the Gaping Maw monotonously checking and retying knots. The job itself was rather boring, but the views were unmatched, the wind in her face never got any less exhilarating, and it provided an excellent training ground for daring blips and acrobatic maneuvers. At the end of each shift she would review her journal and find a small but satisfying increase in experience, proving it to be worthwhile beyond just serving as exercise.

    After her shifts she would retreat below deck to the cargo hold, where she continued her training. She would always begin by exploring the limits of her powers, practicing blipping items in and out of her bottomless bag or tossing a handful of pebbles into the air and testing how many she could blip back into her hands before they hit the floor. During this training, she occasionally experimented with blipping herself in and out of the bottomless bag, but so far had no positive results. The sword work was saved for last, and she would practice forms until exhaustion so that when she finally collapsed into bed she could fall quickly to sleep. This meant she awoke every morning with sore muscles, but it was a small price to pay for grinding out experience, increasing her strength, and actually getting restful sleep.

    Her crew duties occasionally required her to delve into the lower decks of the ship, either to retrieve something from the cargo hull or perform routine checks of the many knots in the mechanical deck. She wasn''t exactly sure why she had to check those knots, as it seemed none of the mechanisms were actually in use and she couldn''t imagine how any of the knots would work themselves loose, but the boatswain had made it abundantly clear that it was crucial the mechanisms were in top shape and ready to deploy at a moment''s notice.

    In order to be certain she was never alone in the dark during these trips below deck, she had taken to wearing several pieces of glow stone on her body at all times. This included a necklace that hung slightly lower than the locket her mother had given her, several small pieces woven into thin rope bracelets on either wrist, and a hefty chunk hanging from her belt beside the bottomless bag in a leather sack which Eli had helped her fashion. Out of an abundance of caution, Abby would also carry a pair of lanterns overhead whenever Iris entered a dark part of the ship.

    One afternoon, she found herself finished with her rounds in the mechanical deck much sooner than usual. Nelson, her boss, would certainly expect her to return to the main deck and find additional duties to undertake until her shift was over, but she had something else in mind. She decided to take a look around the mechanical deck beyond her usual areas in search of answers to the question that burned in her mind every time she came down here -- what was all this for?

    At first her search seemed fruitless, as she found nothing she hadn''t seen before -- or at least nothing that looked any different from what she had already seen. After a series of blips through tight and otherwise unreachable spaces carried her deep into the maze of beams, sails and ropes, however, she finally found something intriguing. A plank of flooring hadn''t been nailed down, and gave slightly beneath her step.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    As Abby wormed her tentacles through the machinery to bring a lantern close to the floor, Iris dropped to her hands and knees and hefted the plank out of its slot. Beneath it, she found what appeared to be the side of a very large and heavy duty barrel. She focused her awareness ability on the contents of the barrel and was able to discern that it contained a liquid. It was significantly thicker than water and seemed quite dense. After a moment of searching through her memories, she identified where she had found a liquid like this before -- in dozens of barrels in the cargo hold, each labeled "oil."

    Ignoring the additional questions this raised for now, she returned her focus to her awareness ability and discerned that there were metal pipes connected to what would be the top and bottom of the barrel were it upright. It took a bit of work and a lot of backtracking, but she was eventually able to track the pipe through the floorboards and out into one of the walkable sections of the mechanical deck, where she found an exposed vertical pipe sealed with a metal twist cap. The exterior of the pipe was stained with the black cruddy remains of spilled oil, and on the floor beside it was a wooden funnel caked in old oil with a crack splitting down its side.

    With her curiosity thoroughly enflamed, she returned to the open gap in the floor where the large barrel was housed and traced the pipe in the other direction. This proved even more difficult, as the machinery only grew denser and more entangled the further towards the stern she traveled. Eventually, however, she found the end. In the very back starboard corner of the ship, the pipe finally connected to something. It was a massive cylinder half inset into the floor, even with only its top half exposed it still took up almost the full height of the deck. The body of the cylinder was made from a strange blue-grey metal she didn''t recognize, but thick iron bands stretched around it as reinforcement. After a few difficult blips, she found an identical cylinder in the opposite corner of the deck.

    She stood there in a tight gap between several beams and pipes for quite a long time, impatiently tapping her foot as she struggled to imagine what the purpose of any of this might be. Finally, she sighed.

    "What do you think, Abby?"

    Uncertain noises came from the bag.

    "Yeah, I''ve got no clue either."

    As she was making her way back through the entangled mess of machinery, she heard the voice of Nelson calling out for her. After swearing under her breath, she increased her pace and soon blipped up beside him.

    "Yes sir?" she reported dutifully.

    He gave her a critical, almost scornful look, "were you slacking off?"

    "No sir," she answered hurriedly, "I saw a rat and thought it might chew on the sails, so I was trying to catch it."

    "Did you?"

    "Uh-- well, I was about to, but then I then heard you call my name, so--"

    "Convenient," he grumbled, "get back to the main deck and run checks on the main mast."

    "I already did," she protested, before quickly adding "sir" at the end.

    "Then do it again," Nelson said with an annoyed tone, as if that were the obvious conclusion she should come to.

    She fought the urge to roll her eyes, and blipped away.

 208 - The Rat Kings Rebellion

    "Autumn!" Titus banged a fist on the door to the galley with one hand while holding a bowl of soup in the other, "can I at least have some seasoning? This is ridiculous!"

    "We''re on lockdown!" Autumn shouted back, sounding like she was on the other side of several walls.

    "What do you mean, lockdown?" he called back.

    After a few seconds of no reply, he scoffed and turned to walk away. As he did, he passed Iris and Victoria, both angrily approaching the galley with their own bowls.

    "It''s no use," Titus shook his head solemnly, "she''s on ''lockdown'' apparently."

    "We''ll handle this," Victoria assured him with a grave tone.

    Iris blipped to the other side of the door as Victoria shifted into her ghostly form and glided through the wall beside it. Iris reappeared in what would usually be an empty space in front of the door, but instead her back was against a large rack of shelves and her feet were tangled in piles of rope, upturned buckets and other clutter. She tripped forward and barely managed to save herself from falling with a blip, but her bowl of soup was not so lucky. It was launched from her hand and clattered across the floor splashing plain, unseasoned soup all around.

    "What the fuck is that about?" she threw a hand towards the barricaded door.

    "And what the fuck is this?" Victoria said, returning to her physical form and shoving her bowl of soup towards Autumn.

    The chef was clad in full body armor constructed of predominantly black marble with artistic white marble trim. Large shoulder spikes extended from either pauldron, and both legs were wrapped in rings of smaller spikes from the ankle to the knee. Behind her, Killup was standing on the counter and hunched over the sink scrubbing dishes, while Adan methodically opened one mostly-empty cupboard after another, cataloging what was inside each of them on a piece of paper.

    "It''s lunch," she answered.

    "It''s miscellaneous soup," Victoria corrected, "without any of the miscellaneous."

    "It''s basically broth," Iris agreed, "the whole crew is pissed."

    That was a lie. Even Autumn''s most basic gruel was better than most meals the crew was used to eating under the previous chef, and only her party and the other new recruits from Giantrock City were especially bothered by the disappointing soup.

    "I''m doing the best I can right now," Autumn said grimly, "consider these war time rations."

    "War time--?" Victoria faltered, "who can you possibly be at war with?"

    Autumn tilted her head forward, loose bangs dropped in front of her face and a dark shadow fell over her eyes, "the rats."

    Iris and Victoria gave her confused looks.

    "Overreacting," Killup waved a dismissive hand, splashing soapy water across the counter as he did so, "rats do this sometimes."

    Autumn moved to a nearby table -- one that was specifically lower than all the counter tops so she could actually work on it without reaching over her shoulders -- and slapped her hands down on it like a tired general at her war table, "they''ve taken over the supplies in the cargo hold and are refusing to negotiate."

    "What about the stuff in my bag?" Iris asked, "and all the stock in the galley?"

    "We''ve exhausted all of it," Autumn admitted, "this has been going on since we left the mountain. They''ve refused to negotiate."

    "That isn''t strictly true," Adan said, momentarily turning away from his inventory of the cabinets, "we''ve attempted negotiations multiple times, Autumn and the Rat King haven''t found common ground, however."

    "Common ground?" Autumn whirled on him, "they''re asking for half of everything!"

    "Well," Adan said cautiously, "currently they have all of everything."

    Autumn harrumphed, "might as well be on their side."

    "I would never betray my chef," Adan said matter-of-factly, "I am merely acknowledging the reality of our situation."You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    "Guys, they''re just rats," Victoria said, "it can''t be that big of a deal."

    "Did you say they have a king?" Iris asked.

    Autumn looked at them with pity, "you have no idea what we''re up against."

    Iris and Victoria shared a disgruntled glance.

    "Fine," Victoria said, "we''ll go handle this. Be ready to cook an early dinner, because we''re coming back with the supplies."

    Iris nodded dutifully and blipped straight down to the deck below, and was soon followed by a ghostly Victoria sinking through the floor. The glow stones Iris wore abruptly lit up the cargo hold as she appeared amidst the darkness. It was quite a significant distance from her usual spots, which were much closer to the bow rather than near the stern where she appeared now.

    "I don''t even see any rats," Iris said.

    "They see us," Victoria said ominously.

    A chorus of tiny pitter-patters filled the hold as dozens of rats sprinted out from between crates, barrels and sacks. They ran on all fours, but rose to their hind legs when they came to a stop. Each of them carried large splinters of wood which they wielded like spears and swords, and a few even drew shield-like chunks from their backs which they held up against the pair of adventurers as they surrounded them.

    "What the fuck?" Iris whispered.

    "I have no idea," Victoria answered.

    Sounds of tumbling debris and scraping wood came from above, followed by a slamming door and heavy stomps down the nearby stairs. Killup was the first to emerge from the stairwell, kicking off the wall and fluttering his wings in a brief flight before landing beside Iris and Victoria with a kitchen knife in either hand. Adan emerged a few seconds later, casually stepped over the perimeter of rat soldiers to take his place with the group.

    "We have come to assist," he said simply.

    "And murder," Killup added.

    "Only if necessary," Adan corrected.

    "Who''s taking the lead?" Victoria asked.

    Iris felt her stomach rumble and a determined fury rise from her gut, "I got this."

    She blipped the walking stick directly from her bottomless bag into her hand, stepped up towards the ranks of rat soldiers, and slammed the end of the stick into the floor with a quick but powerful release of force. The effect was like a giant knocking on a door, and many of the rats took involuntary steps backward while a few actually scattered for cover.

    "Take me to your king," Iris demanded.

    The rats began to mimic her motion, slamming the ends of their splinters into the floor in an eerie -- if kind of adorable -- war drum. Their little heads turned towards the back of the cargo hold, where something stirred in the darkness. As the war drum chorus continued, a wooden bucket slowly bobbed out of the shadows and into the light. It was filled to the brim with rice, and atop the pile stood an otherwise normal looking rat with a scrap of brown canvas cloth as a cape and a crown fashioned from splinters and twine.

    The bucket was carried by over a dozen rats who walked on their hind legs as their arms extended over their heads to support it. They came to a stop several feet in front of Iris, and the war drum ceased. The Rat King extended his arms out and over his head, and the ranks of rat soldiers bowed in unison.

    "He expects us to bow," Adan explained.

    Victoria scoffed.

    Iris almost snarled, and pointed a finger towards the Rat King, "listen here you little shit, you''re going to surrender the goods you''ve claimed or my friends and I are going to wipe this freaky little civilization of yours off the floor!"

    "Not my job," Killup interjected, "just here for murder."

    Iris faltered as she glanced back at him for a moment, "right. Adan''s dad is going to wipe you off the floor -- we''re just going to put you there. With murder."

    The Rat King released a series of furious squeaks, waving his hands all about as he did so.

    "I believe he''s inviting you to try," Adan explained, "and saying something about having the greatest army ever known to rat kind."

    "Can we stop for a moment?" Victoria asked, "are you trying to tell me that rat is actually speaking? What the actual fuck is going on?"

    "Years ago," Killup explained, "strange artifact was found in a temple, brought aboard the ship, and forgotten. Rats found it -- unlocked its power."

    "Oh great," Iris said, exasperated, "haunted rats."

    "Not every strange power is ghosts," Victoria sighed.

    The Rat King shouted an angry squeak, and his soldiers rose from their bows and returned to a readied position.

    "Hey! You shut the fuck up!" Iris pointed at him again, taking a sudden step forward.

    The Rat King squeaked loudly, and the rat soldiers stepped forward to tighten their perimeter as they raised their weapons towards the adventurers.

    "Oh yeah? " Iris asked, extending her empty hand towards the Rat King.

    He was blipped from his throne of rice and appeared in her hand, dangling by his cape. With desperate squirms and squeaks, the Rat King ripped the crown from his head and threw it towards the nearest soldiers. The first rat to reach it quickly donned the crown and sprinted towards the bucket of rice, where it climbed to the top and claimed the throne. A triumphant squeak came from the rat dangling from Iris¡¯s grasp.

    The new Rat King shouted an unmistakable war squeak, and dozens of rats revealed themselves atop the surrounding crates and barrels carrying splinters which they threw like javelins. A cloud of tiny splinters soared through the air towards the adventurers from every angle. They passed harmlessly through Victoria''s ghost form, Adan was unbothered as they bounced off his metal skin, and Killup shouted in surprise and shielded himself with his wings -- his thick, stone-like skin guarding effortlessly against the attack. It was Iris who received the worst of it, the thick splinters pierced her robe and poked into her skin -- not enough to do any real damage, but enough to draw trickles of blood.

    She blipped atop a distant barrel and snarled as her stomach once again rumbled, "fine," she said ominously as she tossed the rat aside.

    Her leather armor blipped out of her bag and directly onto her body and several tentacles reached out of the void to pull the various straps tight.

    "You want a war?" she shouted, "Abby, release the wyvern!"

 209 - The Battle of Cargo Hold

    The winged-beast descended on the soldiers like the shadow of death, the gusts from his wings threatened to blow them away while the stomps of his feet reverberated through the floor beneath them. Some held ground and launched their crooked javelins only to see them bounce off his scales without a mark, while others dropped their weapons, collapsed to their little pink feet and sprinted desperately for cover in a chorus of shrill and horrified squeaks.

    In the corner where two crates met, shielded by the bulk of a large barrel, were four rats who had momentarily escaped the beast''s wrath. Three huddled together -- all now weaponless -- with their tails wrapped around each other. The fourth stood guard alone, clutching a jagged shield and a crooked maul as he stared out through the gap to the battlefield beyond. The giants stepped without concern for who was beneath their feet, soldiers disappeared from the battlefield without reason, great blades rained down across the land, and ranks of soldiers collapsed motionless as a ghastly cloud passed through them -- all while the winged-beast screeched and roared, chasing after anyone that ran.

    The beast passed by in a blur -- and then skidded to a stop. The rat''s heart doubled its pace. The beast stepped backwards until its huge, predatory eye aligned with the gap between the barrel and crate -- staring down at the rat with wicked delight. He relaxed his grip on his weapon, drew in a deep breath, and released it slowly.

    The beast pounced, his head slipping through the crack and his jaws gnashing closed mere inches from the rat as its wings jammed in the crevice -- if he lived, he would tell his descendants he hadn''t flinched. The beast''s breath washed over him like a sickly wind as the jaws gnashed again and again and it''s feet desperately clawed at the ground in search of enough purchase to push through and reach his meal.

    The rat stared down the beast with as much bravery as he could muster as he tossed his shield aside and resigned to what he must do. He turned to the huddling rats behind him and nodded silently, one let out a desperate squeak, but he didn''t allow himself to listen. The moment the beast''s jaws snapped closed again, he sprinted forward and leapt onto its head.

    With a shrill battle cry, he gripped whatever purchase he could find on the creature''s ridged skull and brought his maul down with all of his strength. The beast shook violently, and then swung his head far to either side. Though the rat''s feet were flung out from under him and only one hand held him on, he never ceased swinging his maul over and over into the beast as the giants roared above.

    ______

    Iris held up an arm to block a volley of tiny javelins, "I said knock it off!"

    Victoria''s ghostly form washed over the rats as they picked up their next round of javelins, instantly draining what tiny amount of mana they each had and abruptly pushing all of them into unconsciousness. They tumbled to the ground with tiny thumps, building a long pile of sleeping rats.

    Killup sprinted across the floor on all fours -- except instead of his hands landing on the planks, it was the tips of kitchen knives which he drove into the wood over and over as he tried and failed to skewer the fleeing rats. A particularly brave and determined band of rat soldiers grouped into a shield wall formation and attempted to hold their ground against him, but he barreled through them without concern or pause.

    Adan casually walked through the cargo hold as javelins harmlessly bounced off his metal skin. One hand held a sack he had picked up from nearby, and the other reached out and picked up rats one by one to drop into the sack. The sack was already growing quite full, and convulsed violently as only muffled squeak escaped it.

    "Perhaps we should call on Autumn--" he suggested.

    "No!" Victoria and Iris shouted in unison.

    "She''ll burn the whole ship down!" Victoria added.

    Adan paused his rat collecting to think about it for a moment, "yes, you are correct. Nevermind."

    Iris blipped through another cloud of javelins and appeared atop a crate behind the rats who had thrown them. With a grim smile, she swung her stick down the length of their line and flung them away in a pile that bounced off the wall. She spotted a rat shouting orders in an attempt to rally his troops, and reached out towards him. He appeared in her hand mid-shout, which quickly turned to screeching orders as he pointed his would-be sword at her throat. The rats he command sprinted forward and converged upon Iris, quickly and effortless scaling the crate she stood atop. Iris sighed, and then blipped to another crate.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    "We''re getting nowhere!" she shouted in frustration as she tossed the rat aside.

    "Speak for yourself," Victoria, dropping another two dozen rats into a slumber.

    "I nearly need another sack," Adan observed.

    Iris groaned, annoyed that she was the only one who seemed to be having a bad time. Then she spotted Littletooth, frantically stumbling backwards and shaking his head as a rat repeatedly bonked him with a particularly large splinter. She frowned and blipped over next to him in a crouch, where she reached out and picked up the heroic rat by the scruff of his neck.

    Littletooth backed up a few more steps and fell into a sit as he shook off his dizziness, and then leapt up at the captured rat with snapping jaws. Iris hoisted the rat higher to evade Littletooth''s chomp, and promptly scolded him.

    "No! We don''t eat prisoners!"

    Littletooth leapt again in a vain attempt to catch the dangling prey, landing in an awkward heap as he crashed back down.

    Iris looked at the little rat in her hand. His chest thumped rapidly with his tiny heart, she could see fear on his face but only grim determination in his eyes. Even now he still clenched his weapon, and stared at her is if she were a giant he intended to slay for the good of his people. Her gaze panned across the battlefield and the hundreds of rats -- some fleeing for their lives, others frozen in place, while more still fought valiantly to pretend their kingdom.

    "Stop!" she shouted, "everyone stop! You too, Littletooth."

    The little wyvern whined, but obeyed. Victoria diverted from her sweeping paths through the cargo hold and floated nearby, while Adan paused with a rat in hand just before placing it into the sack. Killup continuing stabbed for a few more seconds, then finally rolled into a seated position against a crate to catch his breath. The rats mostly scurried out of sight as the battle paused, though some still grouped into defensive formations and marked out sections of the battlefield as their own.

    Iris looked at the brave rat in her hand, "you want this to end?"

    He squeaked.

    "I believe that was a yes," Adan said.

    Iris nodded at the rat, and blipped across the battlefield to stand before the rice bucket throne. A tentacle held her walking stick to free up her other hand, which blipped the current Rat King into her grasp. She delicately placed the brave rat down atop the rice, and then removed the tiny splinter crown from the other rat and placed it atop the brim of her hat.

    "I am now King Rat," she declared, "command your soldiers to stand down."

    The brave rat seemed confused for a moment, but then nodded. He squeaked loudly to the rat forces, who slowly but surely seemed to accept the orders. Weapons were dropped to the ground, formations were relaxed, and a few wary heads poked out of hiding places.

    "Good," she nodded, placing the former rat king down nearby where he quickly became just another rat.

    Next she stepped up to the rice bucket throne and knelt over it on one knee. With one hand extended flat, she pinched a few grains of rice with the other and dropped them into her palm. After delicately counting out nineteen pieces of rice in a pile, she pointed at it.

    "Ours," next, she pointed to a singular grain of rice off to the side, "yours."

    The brave rat furiously shook his head, leapt onto her outstretched hand and began moving the pieces of rice. He moved six from her pile to his and stomped his foot onto her palm as if to emphasis his demand.

    Iris sighed, "Vic?"

    "Yeah?" Victoria answered as she floated over.

    "Have you seen any sign of the artifact Killup was talking about?"

    "Oh, yeah," she floated away for a moment, and then walked back in human form holding a large blue gem shaped like an egg and polished smooth, "based the matching auras, I''m pretty sure it''s this."

    "Yes, yes," Killup confirmed, "the Sapphire of Knowing, from -- uh-- some temple."

    Iris lowered her hand onto the rice pile and gently pushed the brave rat out of her palm, and then stood tall and took her walking stick from a waiting tentacle. After a brief twirl, she jammed the end of the stick against a crate -- which promptly exploded inwards and spilled flour from the ruptured bags within. Many rats squeaked in terror, but the brave rat only stared up at her in defiance. She twirled the stick again, this time placing the end of it against the large sapphire in Victoria''s hands.

    "You will take the deal I give you, and I will crown you King Rat in return -- or I will destroy what makes you strong."

    "Iris--" Victoria began, "maybe we shouldn''t--"

    "Do you accept?" Iris shouted at the brave rat.

    He reached down picked up his maul from the rice at his feet, standing tall and staring back at her defiantly. Then he panned his gaze across the many rats assembled before him, and the insurmountable forces they faced. With slumping posture and a dejected expression, the brave rat bowed to Iris.

    "Good," Iris said flatly, "the treaty is decided. I suggest you honor it."

    The brave rat did not yet rise from the bow. As agreed, Iris removed the tiny crown from her hat and lowered it onto the brave rat''s head.

    "You are now king. We look forward to a long and prosperous peace between the Rat Kingdom and the-- uh--" she struggled to think of what to call herself and her friends.

    "Lords of the Galley," Killup suggested.

    "Between the Rat Kingdom and the Lords of the Galley!" Iris finished her proclamation.

    The adventurers promptly made their exit -- a pair of Abby''s tentacles scooping up Littletooth before he could get himself worked up into another rampage -- and began the climb up the stairs to the deck above, leaving the confused and shaken rats to lick their wounds.

    "That was kind of fucked up," Victoria observed, "you basically just colonized their kingdom."

    "Yeah, well, they pissed me off," Iris defended, "and I''m starving."

 210 - Over the Edge

    The Gaping Maw occasionally creaked, but the night was otherwise silent. Iris stared up at the ceiling from her bedroll, begrudgingly indulging her wandering thoughts while finding it nearly impossible to fall asleep. Though she had gone to great lengths to tire herself physically and mentally -- as she had done every day since leaving Gellorn Keep -- her mind still refused to rest. The two theories she had come up with so far were that either she had developed an instinctual fear of sleep over recent weeks, or it had simply taken so long to fall asleep that now she was too bored to have any hope of it happening at all.

    Eventually she sighed and rose from her bedroll. Littletooth was sound asleep beside her pillow, cuddling with the bottomless bag and a single tentacle that wrapped around him like a protective arm. Beside them was her adventuring journal, which she quietly picked up.

    "I''m going for a walk," she whispered to Abby, "you can stay here with Littletooth."

    Quiet, dissatisfied tones came from the bag.

    "It''s okay, I''ll stay out of the dark."

    After a moment, slightly less dissatisfied tones came from the bag.

    Iris smiled at her familiar''s concern, and then rapidly blipped upwards through the ship -- appearing only for an instant on each level before reaching the main deck. The air was cool and humid, the purple-orange moon was blocked by clouds, and a strong tail wind filled the sails. By all means, the ship was traveling quite fast, but the river had spread wide over recent days as it collected tributaries along their journey and the extra space gave the impression that the ship was meandering along at a casual pace.

    Guided and protected by the light of her various glow stones, Iris casually strolled down the length of the deck. Though it remained much quieter than during the day, the main deck was more active than a normal night. She counted double the usual number of crew manning the sails, though most weren''t actively working and instead appeared to be on standby. She guessed there must be a fork in the river coming up soon.

    At the end of her stroll, Iris blipped to her usual spot on the small platform that wrapped around either side of the bow. It was rare for her to go anywhere without Abby and Littletooth, and as much as she had grown to love them she reveled in the sensation of being truly alone. The glow stone necklace lit the pages of her journal as she flipped it open and reread the most recent journal entry from her mother.

    The entry told of strange happenings. Mary''s companions had abruptly disappeared, and the seasons appeared to have inexplicably changed. A storm had brewed in the distance which seemed far too reminiscent of the unnatural storm Iris had experienced a few months prior to be unrelated. Iris would be quite concerned were she not already certain that her mother survived whatever threats must have faced her at this point in her journey. Instead she was filled with curiosity -- and in that precise moment, abruptly reminded of a dream.

    It was a night spent in an ancient, abandoned temple deep within the Great Forest, not long before the Matriarch expedition had begun. Iris had fallen asleep while sketching a dragon from a mural on the temple wall -- quite possibly the same dragon which had appeared from the parting of the storm clouds not long after. She had dreamed that night of wizards caging a creature in lightning and abducting it, just as they had done with Littletooth¡¯s mother, and in that dream she had seen a woman with long dark hair wearing silver robes -- just like her mother wore.

    Iris didn''t know how exactly how any of it made sense -- but she was suddenly certain that it was all connected. She hadn''t realized it until now, but that woman in the dream had been her mother, and it wasn''t the first unnatural storm she had witnessed. All these years later Iris had found herself in one of those storms as well, and her mother had been there to guide her through it. She recalled a line from her mother''s earliest entry in the journal and frantically flipped through the pages to find it.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    *Dear Iris,*

    *I do not know who you are yet. I do not even know how I know what little I do. I know the time will come when I will be gone, and this book will be yours. I know you will have a heart like mine, and you will finish the work that I have yet to begin. Finally, I know power comes to those who are meant to have it.*

    *Travel safely,*

    *- Mary Orion, 968*

    "You will finish the work that I have yet to begin," she repeated to herself in a quiet whisper.

    Mrs. Rousey the herbalist, Mary''s oldest friend and the closest thing Iris ever had to a mother after her death, had told her that Mary had a way of knowing things to be true before they happened -- and that she had known before her death that Iris would one day gain power of her own.

    There was a plan at work, she was quickly growing certain of that. It was something set in motion from the earliest days of her mother''s life as an adventurer, and it carried through to this very moment and beyond. The work her mother spoke of in that first entry had something to do with the lightning wizards, which meant it had something to do with the Agents of Morose and the prophecy they had proclaimed to the masses on the day of their coup ¨C which meant it had something to do with a lot of things she had thought were far too big to be of her concern.

    Iris removed her hat and leaned back against the hull of the ship, tilting her head up to the sky, "do I really have a part to play in all this?"

    Hope filled her chest that her mother might appear beside her -- or somehow whisper to her on the wind -- but she heard only the gently creaking ship and a distant roar of rushing water.

    She abruptly leaned forward and stared out across the river. There wasn''t much to be seen in the night, only the water stretching out into darkness and the black silhouette of trees on either of the distant shores. The roaring water was growing louder -- closer. What little light reached the river was only barely enough to highlight the mounds of white foam that perpetually drifted with the currents -- and they were speeding up.

    Her eyes went wide as realization dawned. She snatched her hat from the platform and blipped to the main deck where she shouted as loud as she could, "waterfall!" maybe she was wrong, but she¡¯d rather be embarrassed than dead.

    Several consecutive blips brought her to the quarterdeck in only seconds. She was surprised to see not only the first mate on the quarterdeck, but the captain at the helm.

    "Waterfall!" she gasped, "there''s a-- waterfall!"

    Meredith looked at her with a mixture of criticism and pity, "has no one told you?"

    "About the waterfall?!" she asked in a flabbergasted panic.

    The captain bellowed a brief laugh, "best hold on to something, lass!"

    "How is that going to help with a waterfall?" she was growing indignant.

    "Full sails!" the captain called out with glee.

    The crew immediately set to work, and soon the sails across all five masts were fully unfurled and fueled by the generous tailwind.

    "What are you-- we need to slow down!" she shouted, then blipped to the quarterdeck railing behind the helm and wrapped her arms tightly around the beams, "you''re insane!"

    The captain laughed louder as he wrapped a chain around his hand and clenched his fist. The chain came from a hole in the quarterdeck just beside the helm. The roaring waters grew loud enough to hear even at the back of the ship, and mist began to fill the air.

    "Now''s probably a good time," Meredith observed.

    The captain pulled the chain taut, "almost."

    "Definitely now," Meredith said with slight concern.

    "Almost," he repeated.

    "Captain--" she faltered, then shouted in panic, "pull it now!"

    The captain yanked hard on the chain and rumbling clunks of machinery echoed through the hull. The first mate and captain swayed forwards as Iris was slammed against the railing -- the ship was tipping forwards. The distant silhouettes of trees dropped away as mist and water rushed past the deck in a flurry and the wind abruptly flipped directions.

    "You waited too long!" Meredith shouted over the roaring waterfall, while the Shark Titan cackled maniacally.

    Iris felt herself rising from the deck as if falling upwards, only her death grip on the railing held her down. Before she clenched her eyes tightly closed she glimpsed Meredith clinging to the captain who held tight to the helm and the chain. If Iris was screaming, she couldn''t hear herself.

    After a few eternal seconds of panic, Iris landed with a thud. She gasped desperately for breath and shot to her feet, "what the fuck was that?!"

    "See for yourself," the captain motioned towards the rear railing of the ship.

    Iris blipped to it. The clouds had parted and moonlight now gleamed and sparkled off the mist of a massive waterfall draping over a mind-boggling tall cliff which extended for miles in either direction. The waterfall ultimately terminated in a large reservoir impossibly far below. Open air extended out below and behind the Gaping Maw -- they were flying.

 211 - A Sea Ship That Flies

    The sails of the Gaping Maw twisted far beyond their usual angles until they aligned with the length of the ship. Iris blipped to the starboard railing and looked down to see three enormous canvas wings ribbed with spines and stretched out along long, curved frames. Each wing twisted as they raised and lowered in a wave-like pattern.

    "No fucking way," she whispered to herself, and then blipped to the port side just to confirm what she was seeing -- the same arrangement of wings were swimming through the air on that side as well. Abandoning any sense of decorum, she called back to the captain at the helm, "how is this happening?"

    "You think this ship sails without a little magic?" he called out, "throw in some wings, and you''ve got a sky ship."

    Iris blipped up beside him, causing him to recoil ever-so-slightly at her sudden appearance, "what about the big barrels of oil down there? What are they for?"

    A gleeful smile snapped across the Shark Titan''s face as he removed a different chain from a small hook on the helm and prepared to pull it, "that''s my favor--"

    Meredith quickly pulled the chain from his hand and wrapped it back around its hook, "emergencies only, captain."

    "Just a little test fire--"

    "Absolutely not, you''ll panic the whole crew."

    The Shark Titan sighed, and then seemed surprised to look over and still see Iris standing there, "well, get to work!"

    Iris nodded dutifully and blipped off to join the crew managing the sails. It didn''t seem smart to argue with the captain about how she technically works the day shift, but she didn''t particularly care to anyway. She was far too excited to even consider sleep now, and quite eager to learn how to work the sails in their new configuration.

    She found her boss, Nelson the Boatswain, leading the crew in their operations of the sails and blipped beside him.

    "How can I help?"

    "AAH!--" he screamed curtly, then placed a tired hand on his head, "dammit, Iris."

    "Sorry, I really gotta start saying blip," she said.

    "What? Nevermind," he pointed about half way up the nearest mast, "we had to untie all sorts of knots to reorient the sails, get up there and tie them back."

    Iris groaned, "I''m volunteering for overtime here, can I at least learn something new?"

    Nelson turned a shocked and critical glare in her direction, causing her to abruptly straighten her demeanor.

    "Right away, boss."

    "Yeah," Nelson said cautiously, as if still deliberating whether or not to reprimand her.

    Having grown quite adept at blipping her way up and down the masts, Iris soon appeared on the first major cross beam of the mizzenmast, where she surveyed the truly pathetic state of affairs. Ropes hung loose and fluttered in the wind, the cross beam was off center from the mast, and the sails were flapping wildly. It was also quite disorienting to be up there with the sails turned to such a degree -- she was, of course, used to working on them as they twisted in various ways to catch the wind, but the new orientation had them completely in line with the ship as if to slice through the air rather than catch it. Iris didn''t know much about flight -- or sailing, for that matter -- so she decided to just assume it made sense to do it that way.

    As her gaze wandered beyond the flapping sails and dangling ropes, her thoughts faded away into a mesmerized stare. The lands below stretched out further than she had ever seen before. Large swaths were cast in the shadows of clouds, while isolated rays of purple and orange moonlight danced across tree tops. At this height, it was impossible to discern anything about the land other than it was densely wooded and infinitely vast, like an ocean of trees.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    With the sails in line with the ship, only a slight lean allowed Iris to look straight past them all towards the bow of the ship and beyond. The wooden ocean continued beyond the horizon, but something even more incredible caught her attention. Spaced throughout the lands were enormous towering trees with long, winding branches that supported crowns almost as wide as the trees were tall.

    Even at great distance, it was clear these trees were wholly unlike the redwoods of the Great Forest, which had stood like posts as crowded together as resources allowed. Instead, each of these enormous trees stood alone and spread themselves wide, and they reminded Iris more of the tall plateaus which jutted up out of the trees along the northern edge of the Great Forest. From the best that she could tell, they were comparable in size to the plateaus as well. The Gaping Maw now soared at a height far above even the tallest of the redwoods Iris had seen, yet the trees in the distance appeared to extend even higher than the ship''s masts.

    "Stop gawking and get to work!" Nelson called out from below.

    "Yes sir!" she called back, snapping her eyes towards the many tasks that awaited her.

    Hours later, the morning sun peeked over the horizon of the now distant cliff face behind them. Warm light was cast across the lands below, glinting off pockets of water now visible through gaps in the canopy that revealed the trees didn''t belong to a forest, but a vast swamp. The ship was approaching the first of the enormous trees, and the sails had been ever-so-slightly angled to steer them just north of it. As they approached, Iris saw that the tree was draped in vines and moss that hung what must have been hundreds of feet below the branches they grew from. What''s more, she saw movement within the branches -- what looked like a cross between a lion-sized squirrel and an actual lion was climbing and sprinting through the crown in pursuit of a bird nearly equal in size as it twisted and winded through the leaves.

    Having finished the duties assigned to her, and finding herself quite exhausted, Iris retired to the deck below where she found the boatswain and requested a break to sleep. He agreed, but insisted she be back in a few hours for the last half of her normal shift. Iris was too tired to argue, so she simply nodded and blipped below deck. Her first stop was the galley, where she hoped to find breakfast while she could still keep her eyes open.

    She found Autumn dutifully frying thin strips of meat, which she left cooking as she crossed the galley to remove several loaves of bread from an oven, before making a quick stop to stir the big cooking pot on her way back to flip the frying meat strips.

    "Where''s your help?" Iris asked.

    "They went up to the main deck to see something," Autumn answered without interrupting her work.

    "Oh! You should go look too! You won''t believe it, the ship is fly--"

    "Nope!" Autumn dropped her spatula onto the grill to cover her ears, "no it isn''t, shut up!"

    "I''m pretty sure it--"

    "Get out of my kitchen!" Autumn shouted.

    Iris paused for a moment to consider her next move, and then quickly reached out with both her hands. She blipped a fresh loaf of bread into one, and several strips of cooked meat from a plate beside the grill into the other.

    "Hey!" Autumn yelled, but Iris was already gone.

    ______

    A few moments after Iris had disappeared from the main deck, most of her party emerged from the stairs to get their first look at the ship in flight. Killup was extremely excited to for them to see it, and led the way with a bounding charge up the steps.

    "Look how high!" he exclaimed, "better than flying with my own wings!"

    "I''ve seen sky ships before," Victoria said as she moved to the railing, "but never a sea ship that can fly."

    "Yes! Gargoyles only!" Killup was actually jumping up and down with glee, "no one else can make!"

    Eli cautiously peered over the railing, "those wings don''t look like enough to keep this thing in the air."

    "They probably aren''t!" Killup said gleefully.

    "Then how are we flying?" Titus asked.

    "No one knows, it just works!"

    The party exchanged concerned glances.

    "Is like the boomrock thing?" Cameron asked, "just trying shit until something works, and not even figuring out how?"

    "Yes," Killup nodded, "science."

    Cameron moved through a rapid series of facial expressions as he nearly stammered from the sheer incorrectness of Killup¡¯s statement, "that''s not at all what science is."

    "Then how are we flying?" Killup countered.

    "Well, if you knew, that would be science."

    Killup waved a dismissive hand, "extra steps. Unnecessary."

    "It''s really actually very necessary--" Cameron went on, trying his best to remain civil while growing increasingly flustered at what was apparently the prevailing approach to discovery for gargoyles.

    Eli ignored the argument, instead turning his eyes towards the crow''s nest high above and letting out a small sigh, "that climb''s going to feel ever taller, now."

 212 - Monstrous Developments

    After only a few short hours of slumber and another shift of work, Iris took a seat on a cross beam with her back against the mast. She would have preferred to blip down to her favorite platform on the bow, but didn¡¯t dare risk that while the ship was barely lower than the clouds. As if to punctuate a point, a strong gust of wind came from the starboard side and slightly tipped the ship, and Iris almost had to blip to avoid falling. One factor of flying she hadn¡¯t expected was that the ship would be less stable than when it was sailing.

    The ship had traveled far enough now that the cliff face it took flight from had disappeared beyond the horizon, and now all that was visible in any direction were clouds and the seemingly infinite vastness of the swamp. It felt almost as much like being out to sea as traveling cross the mostly empty expanse of Giantrock Lake, but at least the enormous trees they occasionally past felt like islands in the ocean.

    There was a creature flying in the distance, little more than a dot and the silhouette of wings ¡ª yet, Iris was pretty sure she recognized that dot. After zooming in with her spyglass, she grinned at the confirmation. It was Glimmer, still faithfully following Eli wherever he went. They hadn¡¯t seen much of the griffin lately, though Iris had recently learned that every evening Autumn would throw some food into the air for her to swoop by and snatch up.

    Still smiling, Iris returned the spyglass to her bottomless bag and pulled out her journal to write an entry. The journal didn¡¯t open to a blank page like she had wanted, however, and instead landed on her character sheet, where she was pleasantly surprised to see she had leveled up.

    IRIS ORION

    Hero Rank, Level 13

    Experience Points: 125 / 13,330

    Progress to next level: 00.93%

    Attribute Scores:

    - Vitality : 42

    - Strength : 58

    - Speed : 37

    - Intellect : 41

    - Spirit : 52

    Unspent attribute points : 5

    Iris had known she was close to leveling up, but still hadn¡¯t expected it to happen today. She guessed that she must have gained slightly extra than the usually small trickle of experience she gained from each day¡¯s work, probably due to the novel differences in her duties now that the ship was in flight.

    She knew she wanted to put more points into strength to help with the weight of her new sword, but felt like that wasn¡¯t the only stat that needed attention. The more she paid attention to those around her in combat, the more obvious it was becoming that ¡ª her blip ability notwithstanding ¡ª she was woefully slower than all of them. Much of that could be explained by the level gap, of course, but she felt it was time she stopped ignoring the Speed stat. Ultimately, she decided on placing three points into Strength and two into Speed.

    After finding no new journal entry from her mother, Iris tried to close the book. The journal had other plans, however, as it forced itself back open in her hands and landed on the page that listed her abilities. She wasn¡¯t expecting a new ability until Level 15, so she diligently read through the page in search of what the journal wanted her to see ¡ª and it didn¡¯t take long to find.

    Send and Retrieve

    Source : Thread of Power (Void)

    Cooldown : N/A

    Mana cost : Low, varies

    Description :

    Temporarily lapse an object into the void, reappearing a short distance away in a location of your choosing with a velocity and direction of your choosing. Max velocity is approximately the speed at which user can throw the affected item. Cannot be used on items that too large or heavy to be lifted by the user. Cannot be used on items worn or held by others.

    Discovered trait : can be used on other living beings at extremely high mana costs. Mana cost is dependent on physical makeup of the target creature.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

    Discovered trait : can be used to withdraw items directly from your Void Pocket, or return items directly to it. Mana usage is increased when used in this way.

    Available Evolutions : 1

    Her eyes widened in surprise. For the first time, one of her abilities had an available evolution. She wasn¡¯t even sure how ability evolutions even worked, let alone when to expect them or how they were obtained. The journal flipped through pages on its own, landing on a page full of incoherent scribbles that drifted and merged until they formed into words.

    Send and Retrieve

    Available Evolution : Mouth of the Void

    Description :

    Source : Thread of Power (Void)

    Cooldown : N/A

    Mana cost : Low, varies

    Temporarily lapse small objects into the void. Objects may either be deposited in your Void Pocket or directly into your grasp. Cannot be used on items which are too large or heavy to be lifted by the user. Cannot be used on items worn or held by others. Can be used on living creatures at a substantially higher mana cost dependent on the creature¡¯s physical characteristics and size.

    Tear open a window to the void in the palm of the user¡¯s hand. This window connects directly to the user¡¯s Void Pocket. Objects can be ejected from the void at a chosen velocity, maximum is approximately twice the velocity of which the user is able to throw the object.

    Iris clapped the book closed and blipped it into her bottomless void before launching into an ascent up the mast with a series of blips, jumps, and a somewhat superfluous rope swing. When she reached the top of the mast she kicked off of it and blipped across the gap to the main mast, which she then scaled until she soon blipped into the crow¡¯s nest. Eli was facing away from her, leaning on the edge of the half-wall and peering out across the sky.

    Realizing he hadn¡¯t noticed her, she politely announced herself, ¡°blip.¡±

    ¡°Fuck!¡± Eli shouted as he spun around, ¡°what is your problem?¡± he demanded in an exasperated tone.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you people want from me,¡± Iris complained, I literally made a noise like you¡¯ve asked me to.¡±

    Eli tiredly rubbed his temples.

    ¡°Anyway, I need your help,¡± Iris blipped the journal into her hand, opened it to the ability evolution page, and handed it to Eli.

    He took and read through the page, nodding in appreciation, ¡°it¡¯s pretty early to get your first evolution, good job.¡±

    ¡°Thanks. I¡¯m not exactly sure what I did to get it, though.¡±

    Eli handed the journal back to her, ¡°you¡¯ve been experimenting with your powers a lot lately, right? I¡¯ve heard that increases your chances of getting an evolution. The other way is by just using an ability enough times to brute force it, most people get their first evolution around level 20 that way with whichever ability they use the most.¡±

    ¡°Well, should I accept it?¡±

    Eli tapped a foot while he thought for a moment, ¡°I guess that depends on if you like the sound of it. Evolutions are usually positive in nature, but they also mess with the way an ability works. You might find new quirks, or discover that old tricks don¡¯t quite work anymore while new ones have become possible. You can¡¯t go back once you¡¯ve accepted it, though, and I¡¯ve heard that if you sit on it too long without accepting the evolution will disappear altogether.¡±

    ¡°It does sound pretty cool. I mean, a hole to the void in the palm of my hand? That¡¯s gotta open up some possibilities. I¡¯m not sure what any of them are yet, but I¡¯m sure there are plenty.¡±

    ¡°Then go for it,¡± Eli shrugged.

    ¡°Alright then, I guess I am,¡± Iris held the book out with the spine resting in the palm of her hand and took a deep breath as she mentally focused on accepting the evolution in a similar manner to how she allocated stat points.

    At first nothing happened, and she didn¡¯t feel any different. Then the text on the page updated to include ¡°Evolution accepted.¡± A loud tearing sound came from beneath the journal, and then it warped and shrank as it was sucked into a jagged tear in the skin of her palm extending from the knuckle of her index finger down to edge of her wrist opposite her thumb. Inside the tear was only empty black void.

    ¡°Whoa,¡± she whispered.

    ¡°That¡¯s pretty freaky,¡± Eli said, cautiously leaning forward to peek at her upturned palm.

    The tear abruptly closed at Iris¡¯s mental command, and then ripped open again the instant she wanted it to. She picked the first item that came to mind and tried to eject it from the tear. A pebble of marble shot out of her palm and slammed hard into the ceiling before clattering to the floor.

    Iris laughed, ¡°yeah, I think I like this.¡±

    She blipped to the half-wall of the crow¡¯s nest and extended her hand out to the sky, summoning another pebble and ejecting it at full speed. The pebble shot from her palm with shocking speed and soared in a straight line through the air until it grew too far to see. Iris looked at her palm in surprise.

    ¡°You¡¯re getting pretty strong, and it did say it could shoot things twice as fast as you can throw them,¡± Eli observed, ¡°might want to be careful where you point that thing.¡±

    Affirmative tones emanated from the tear in her palm.

    ¡°Abby?¡± she blinked in surprise before quickly realizing that it made sense. The tear was connected to the void pocket within her bottomless bag, which meant Abby was as much inside her palm as she was inside of the bag.

    ¡°Wait, hang on,¡± she said, turning her palm towards Eli, ¡°tell me how freaky this looks.¡±

    ¡°Whoa,¡± Eli ducked out of the direct line of fire of her palm, ¡°I just said to watch where you point that.¡±

    ¡°Oh, calm down, I¡¯m not going to shoot you,¡± Iris rolled her eyes, ¡°give it a try, Abby.¡±

    Vicious roaring tones emanated from her palm as three tentacles squeezed their way out of the tear and writhed around like an angry monster emerging from the darkness. Eli took a step back and held up a defensive hand, his face half intrigued and half stricken with horror.

    ¡°That¡¯s terrifying,¡± he said, ¡°and disgusting.¡±

    Sad tones came from the tear as the tentacles shrank back inside.

    ¡°Eli!¡± Iris chastised, ¡°you hurt her feelings!¡±

    ¡°Wha¡ª I didn¡¯t mean¡ª she¡¯s a tentacle monster, I didn¡¯t even know she had feelings!¡±

    Iris scoffed, ¡°of course she has feelings!¡± She gripped the corner post of the crow¡¯s nest and stepped up onto the half wall, ¡°unbelievable.¡±

    ¡°Iris¡ª¡± Eli started, giving up with a sigh when she blipped away.

 213 - Trouble in the Distance

    Though the vast swamp stretched from horizon to horizon, the flight of the Gaping Maw was not without occasional sights in the distance. On the fourth day in the air, a large temple of seemingly ancient construction came into view in the middle-distance. Hundreds of steps approached the peak from all four faces of the pyramidal structure, which was topped with a large square platform rimmed with obelisks. The weathered gray bricks were overgrown with plants, and the whole temple appeared crooked as if one side were sinking into the swamp.

    On the fifth day, the ship detoured around a hideous gouge in the surface that descended down into a shadowy abyss. The ravine was miles long and hundreds of feet wide, and lined with waterfalls and hanging plants spilling over the edge from the surrounding swamp. As the day¡¯s travel drew on, more such ravines could be seen in the distance ¡ª each as dark and foreboding as the first.

    When Hedley came to assume his post in the crow¡¯s nest, Eli wanted desperately to ask him about the temple and the ravines, but he had learned by now that Hedley would rarely discuss two separate topics in the same interaction. The man seemed to either avoid conversation altogether, or apply himself wholeheartedly to a single topic until he was too burnt out to speak of anything else. Eli had something else he wanted to discuss with him, so he begrudgingly suppressed his curiosity about the landscape for.

    The birdman landed on the post that extended out from the stern-side edge of the crow¡¯s nest and greeted Eli with a curt nod. Eli returned the silent nod and began nonchalantly gathering his things in an attempt to pretend that his incoming question wasn¡¯t premeditated. When he picked up his open notebook, he pretended to be reminded of something from the content of the page.

    ¡°Oh, would you mind taking a look at this for me? It¡¯s the rune set I¡¯m thinking of using for my new staff.¡±

    As Hedley propped up his staff in the corner, he twisted his head and leaned over to peer at the notebook in Eli¡¯s outstretched hand. He initially seemed disinterested, but Eli saw the attention growing in the man¡¯s eyes as he looked over the page. There was a basic drawing of a staff in the middle of the page with various lines extending away from different sections, each one leading to a pattern of runes elsewhere on the page. Eli knew he had hooked his fish when Hedley abruptly squinted ¡ª he had seen the error Eli had intentionally placed.

    ¡°You¡¯ll blow the damn thing up on the first shot,¡± Hedley observed.

    ¡°What?¡± Eli feigned concern and shock, twisting the notebook back around to look over it with his mouth slightly agape.

    ¡°Give me that,¡± Hedley snatched the notebook from his hands, removed a small vile of ink from a pocket, and took a seat at the basic wooden table in the corner. After a moment of twisting his head around to inspect his own shoulder, he plucked a slightly damaged feather and dipped it into the ink.

    ¡°You¡¯ll need at least another set of constriction runes,¡± the birdman said as he began scrawling runes on the page, ¡°and this¡ª what is this? Your amplification runes should be spaced out at least twice as far.¡±

    Eli had of course known he would need more constriction runes, but the point about the amplification runes was new to him. That was exactly the kind of guidance he was hoping to eek out of the old man before he caught on to the act.

    Hedley grumbled as he continued crossing out runes and etching his own, ¡°listen, kid, if you try channeling this much power with Elven runes you¡¯re either going to get a dud or a bomb. I¡¯m partial to my own ancestral runes, of course, but even Grand Clerical runes would be better at handling the power than Elven runes.¡±The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    ¡°The Grand Clerical alphabet has channeling runes?¡± Eli asked curiously. He knew it did, he just hadn¡¯t had the opportunity to learn them.

    Hedley sighed, ¡°yes, I guess I¡¯ll write those down for you too. Can¡¯t have you going and killing yourself on the first test fire.¡±

    Hedley abruptly stopped and shot his eyes to the sky outside the crow¡¯s nest. He dropped the quill and shoved himself out of the chair before rushing to lean over the half-wall and stare intently into the distance.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Eli asked, his demeanor instantly shifting to serious as he picked up the long spyglass from the corner and placed it to his eye, attempting to follow the birdman¡¯s gaze.

    Hedley swiped the spyglass from him with one hand as he extended his other beyond the half-wall and launched a flickering flare of red magic into the air, ¡°get below deck!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± Eli asked.

    ¡°Go!¡± Hedley shouted as he readied his staff.

    Eli sensed fear in his voice and promptly made his way to begin climbing out of the crow¡¯s nest.

    ¡°Stop!¡± Hedley shouted at his eyes snapped towards the bow, ¡°it¡¯s already too late, you won¡¯t make it in time.¡±

    ¡°In time for what?¡±

    ¡°Shut up, get your staff ready, and stand back from the edges.¡±

    ______

    Meredith was manning the helm out of habit more than anything. The ship¡¯s rudder did nothing to steer it in flight, the sails took care of that now. Someone still had to issue orders to the deck crew, however, and it just felt right to grip the wheel as she did so. The bright red flare caught her attention immediately as it soared from the crow¡¯s nest towards the stern of the ship. Within seconds of snapping her head around to look behind the ship she had spotted the approaching threats.

    The first mate drew in a quick but deep breath before bellowing as loudly as she could, ¡°BALROGS!¡±

    The deck crew immediately began tying down ropes and securing sails. Those without urgent tasks to complete were already sprinting towards the stairwells, while the rest followed after the instant their emergency duties were complete. The Shark Titan burst through the door of his cabin and spun around to face the first mate on the quarterdeck above him.

    ¡°They¡¯re coming from behind,¡± she shouted as she drew her swords.

    ¡°Bastard monkeys!¡± the captain growled, then turned on a panicked pirate sprinting past him towards the stairs, ¡°you! Wake the quartermaster, and slap him sober if he¡¯s drunk!¡±

    ¡°Aye captain!¡± the pirate shouted without slowing his sprint.

    The captain leapt from the main deck to the quarterdeck in a single bound and stepped up beside his first mate. He eyed the fast approaching flock of balrogs ¡ª their thickly muscled bodies hanging limply from the flapping leathery wings that carried them through the sky.

    ¡°Is this a good enough emergency?¡± the captain asked genuinely.

    The first mate rolled her eyes as she answered harshly, ¡°pull the damn chain!¡±

    The Shark Titan smiled and stomped over to the helm, where he unwrapped a chain from its post and yanked it hard. At the rear of the ship, at what would normally be the waterline, the hull began to segment and move. Sections slid out of place on either side, turning on tracks to move around the corners of the stern and reveal the hollow ends of two large metal cylinders. Small flames lit within the dark cylinders ¡ª and a second late erupted into infernos. The ship lurched forward as powerful jets of fire launched from the cylinders, propelling it faster through the air.

    The captain cackled over the thunderous roar of the engines, ¡°I love this ship!¡±

    Another flare launched from the crow¡¯s nest ¡ª this one towards the starboard bow.

    ______

    Iris was sitting on a crate in the cargo hold reading one of her books from the Giantrock Library when she heard mechanical stirring from deeper within the ship. Looking up from her book, she cocked her head in curiosity as she listened closer ¡ª and was then abruptly flung backwards and sent tumbling to the floor. She landed in a heap and climbed to her feet with an angry sigh.

    ¡°What was that?¡±

    A tear ripped open in her palm, and confused tones came the void within. Iris picked up her book with the torn palm and sucked it into the void, then blipped to the crew quarters above. Thoroughly rattled pirates were sprinting down the steps in droves and spilling out into the deck.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± she asked one of them as they sprinted by.

    ¡°Balrogs!¡± he shouted, his voice trembling in fear as he stumbled and nearly fell.

    ¡°What the fuck¡¯s a balrog?¡± she called after him.

 214 - Not A Heros Fight

    Iris blipped to the gun deck ¡ª orders were barked across the deck as pirates were in a frantic but organized rush throughout the deck. She stayed clear of the main walk ways where cannonballs and powder were passed one-to-another down a chain of pirates and handed to cannoneers to be loaded. When she spotted Cameron loading a cannon with powder from one of his pouches, she blipped over to him.

    ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡±

    ¡°Not now, Iris,¡± he said without taking his eyes off his works, ¡°you¡¯re not ready for¡ª¡±

    ¡°I am so sick of hearing that!¡± she snapped, ¡°how many times do I have to prove myself to you people?¡±

    Cameron stopped and shot her a fierce glare that reminded of her Eli, ¡°every hero rank on this ship should be cowering in the dark right now. What¡¯s coming is really, really bad.¡±

    Her demeanor shifted from indignant to concerned, but she wasn¡¯t sure what to say.

    ¡°The only people braving the main deck right now are the captain and his officers, everyone down here¡ª¡± he motioned across the gun deck, ¡°we¡¯d die in seconds up there. The best thing you can do is find the rest of the party and get somewhere safe.¡± His glare lingered for only a moment before he returned to work.

    Iris stood speechless for a moment, but soon found herself in the way of a pirate rushing up with a cannonball. A blip brought her to a clear spot she could stand out of the way, where she began frantically scanning her surroundings for her party members.

    Thunderous roars overlapped each other from outside the ship, and Iris felt fear growing in her chest. It was held back by the Fearless Resolve feat which reduced her fear response, but not wholly eliminated. The pirates around her grew more panicked in their movements, and more than a few tripped or dropped what they were carrying.

    A huge, hairy fist punched through a cannon port further down the deck, crushing the chest of a pirate and flinging him across the deck and into a support beam that splintered from the impact. The arm reached several feet through the port as the hairy body of the beast on the other side blocked out the sky. Its fist opened into a thick, three-fingered paw that swung around and grasped a pirate around the torso an instant before slamming him into the floor with a grotesque splat.

    Fleeing pirates were shoved aside by Dorragth, who screamed a battle cry as he brought down a crudely shaped marble great-axe into the flesh of the arm. The blade caught in only the first inch of hair and skin for an instant before the head of the axe exploded downwards and shot thick chunks of shrapnel out the bottom side of the arm. Autumn ¡ª clad in a full body suit of black marble armor ¡ª appeared from behind Dorragth and repeated the move, and though the effects were much lesser, a spike of marble still erupted from the balrog¡¯s arm.

    The arm retracted from the cannon port, but another soon replaced it. The fist hit Dorragth¡¯s crossed arms, but pushed them into his chest and flung him across the deck. A blind swing from the balrog¡¯s arm caught Autumn in the chest and sent her flying backwards, she landed on her back and slid several feet across the deck towards Iris. The ship rocked and shuttered as more balrogs crashed into the hull and began reaching into the gun deck, and the first cannons finally fired.

    A blip brought Iris to a crouch over Autumn. The marble across her chest was shattered and falling away, but the only otherwise visible flesh beneath the suit of armor were her eyes ¡ª which were wide and full of shock.

    ¡°Fuck,¡± she wheezed, her voice muffled by the marble face plate, ¡°that hit hard.¡±

    ¡°We need to go,¡± Iris said hurriedly, ¡°this isn¡¯t our fight.¡±

    Autumn choked a laugh, ¡°coming from you¡ª I believe it,¡± fear abruptly filled Autumn¡¯s eyes, ¡°I don¡¯t think I can move.¡±

    Iris grimaced, ¡°get ready.¡±

    ¡°For wha-¡±

    Iris blipped Autumn through the deck to the crew quarters directly below. She had never blipped a person before, and it drained her mana to critical levels. The headache struck instantly, and the burning veins came a second later. Were she not already crouching, she would have collapsed.

    Smoke was filling the deck as cannon after cannon fired off. Screams, shouts and roars filled the momentary gaps between blasts. All bets seemed off as far as powers on the ship were concerned, and eruptions of magic were flashing various colors across the deck. Some pirates imbued their weapons with elements, one pirate grew to nearly twice her original size and attempted to wrestle against a balrog¡¯s arm, while another flashed down the length of the deck at impossible speed trailed by lingering tendrils of green energy that reached out and wrapped around the balrogs¡¯ arms and constricted around their flesh.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

    Something exploded and a shower of large splinters flew towards Iris. There was no time or mana for her to blip away. A flurry of tentacles erupted from her bag and whipped around like a writhing shield, intercepting most of the splinters ¡ª each of which embedded themselves deeply in her purple flesh. A few made it through the defense and stabbed into Iris like daggers, but none hit critical areas.

    ¡°Almost¡ª there¡ª¡± she grunted.

    The tentacles grabbed a nearby barrel of cannonballs and heaved them into the air, swinging it into a nearby balrog fist that was slamming its way across the deck in the direction of Iris. The attack did only superficial damage, but it caused the arm to recoil away and bought crucial seconds for Iris.

    A few cannons down from Iris, the hull was ripped open. Air rushed in for a second before the gap was clogged by the body of a balrog. It was vaguely human-shaped but with absurdly muscled proportions and covered in thick brown hair. Its head looked like a skull with black horns. That was all Iris could see before a pulse of mana aches caused her to squeeze her eyes closed and drop her head to weather the pain.

    The intruding balrog wreaked havoc on the gun deck, hunching down and tearing away debris to fit into the ship as it lashed out at pirates with its three-fingered paws. Cameron began steering the most recent cannon he had loaded to face the balrog, but the cannons weren¡¯t built to turn and he lacked the strength to maneuver it quickly. Dorragth shoved him aside, lit the fuse, and hoisted the cannon from the deck. He held it under an arm wrapped around it while the other supported it from underneath.

    The cannon fired, a blast of smoke and fire erupted from the barrel and flooded the deck as a cannonball trailing streaks of crackling orange energy punched into the chest of the balrog. Ribs cracked and flesh deformed, but the cannonball buried itself only half-way into the beast¡¯s chest ¡ª then it began to glow, and crackling orange energy spread across the balrog¡¯s body, and it appeared momentarily stunned.

    Dorragth charged forward and completed a full spin before launching the cannon forward with all of his strength. The huge chunk of metal slammed into the balrog and pushed it backwards towards the opening it had entered through as the cannon bounced off and crashed into the floor. From her cover behind a nearby beam, Misty called down vines from the barrel planters on the deck above. They quickly worked their way down the exterior hull and into the gun deck, where they wrapped around the stunned balrog¡¯s limbs and pulled it the rest of the way out of the ship.

    Iris felt enough mana for a blip, and braced herself for the incoming pain. She hit the floor of the crew quarters hard ¡ª there hadn¡¯t been enough mana to blip the full distance to avoid appearing in the air. Her skull felt like it might split, and her neck and chest like there was a fire beneath her flesh.

    Victoria appeared beside her, shifting back to her physical form to kneel beside Iris and place a hand to her neck, ¡°she¡¯s alive!¡±

    ¡°Get her here!¡± Titus shouted from across the deck.

    Victoria moved to lift Iris, but was waved off by a tentacle and negative otherworldly tones from the bottomless bag.

    ¡°I¡¯m okay¡ª¡± Iris croaked, ¡°just¡ª mana sickness.¡±

    Victoria relayed the information to Titus, who refocused his attention on the more severely wounded pirates he was treating on the open floor of the deck by the stairwells. Victoria shifted back to her ghostly form and floated off but returned a few moments later to check on Iris, who was now sitting upright and clutching her head.

    ¡°You good?¡± Victoria asked.

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Iris groaned, ¡°I just need a few minutes. How¡¯s Autumn?¡±

    ¡°Fucked up, but alive. I¡¯ve got work to do, find better cover somewhere when you can.¡±

    Victoria didn¡¯t wait for a reply before gliding off towards Titus. The healer directed her to a pair of patients, over whom she quickly conjured floating cards to assist with their healing before shooting upwards through the ceiling.

    After a few more minutes of recovery, Iris staggered over to Titus as he was kneeling over an unconscious patient. The last of her mana was returning, though the aches would linger. Large chunks of hull still stuck out of her shoulder and thigh, but she was ignoring those. Autumn was resting nearby, the armor around her torso was removed and her chest was rising and falling slowly with unsteady breaths. Iris didn¡¯t want to interrupt a healer at work, but needed to know about the rest of her friends.

    ¡°Where are the others?¡± she asked.

    Titus briefly glanced up at her, ¡°pull those out,¡± he pointed to the shrapnel in her thigh before placing both hands on his patient¡¯s chest and pushing down with a burst of force as crackling white energy traveled from his palms deep into the patient¡¯s torso.

    Iris did as he ordered, grimacing as she ripped out the shrapnel.

    ¡°No time for the easy way,¡± he said curtly, pointing a hand at her and firing a blast of white magic that thumped into her chest and staggered her backwards.

    She grunted, but didn¡¯t complain. The open wounds stung harshly as they closed, leaving only holes and blood stains in her robes.

    ¡°Where are the others?¡± she repeated.

    ¡°Killup¡¯s in the Galley, Adan¡¯s helping wounded down the stairs.¡±

    ¡°And Eli?¡±

    Titus looked up at her with knowing concern, and Iris realized the only place Eli would be at this time of day.

    ¡°Vic¡¯s already on it¡ª¡± Titus began, but Iris was already gone.

 215 - Dodging Balrogs

    The thrusters at the stern still vomited flames and trailed thick black smoke as the Gaping Maw rocketed through the sky. With no crew on deck to control the sails, the runaway ship was locked into a straight-ahead course as a dozen balrogs descended upon it.

    Meredith danced around the main deck on the tips of her feet, light jumps carried her several feet while smoothly integrated leans and stoops dodged the reckless attacks of the balrog that pursued her. The twin swords hung from her hands by her side as her arms swayed for balance ¡ª the blades would serve no use blocking attacks, their only purpose so far had been swipe at the beast whenever possible, leaving only superficial wounds on extremities.

    The sunlight glinted off the dark red eyes within the balrog¡¯s primate-like head, half hidden beneath a helmet carved from the bleached white skull of a drake, which was flanked on either side by the balrog¡¯s black, hook-shaped horns. A perpetual snarl exposed large square teeth and four elongated fangs as it stomped across the deck with cloven hoofs and swung a club that was little more than some giant creature¡¯s femur half-wrapped in leather.

    Dust shot through the cracks between planks in the deck as a cannon erupted within the ship below. It was the largest of many blasts to be heard from the lower deck, and frequent flashes of magic could be seen through the cracks or flying out from the cannon ports.

    ¡°The fools are gonna blow up the ship!¡± Luo called out as kicked off a mast to dodge his own balrog.

    Meredith crouched low to avoid a horizontal swing of the femur and dashed between the balrog¡¯s legs, leaving glancing cuts on the inside of either leg as she emerged behind it, ¡°maybe we let loose ourselves?¡± she shouted.

    On the quarter deck, the Shark Titan wrestled with the largest of the balrogs ¡ª easily two feet taller than even the captain himself. His bone helmet was made from the skull of an even larger balrog, complete with an extra set of horns to join his own. The balrog had begun the fight with a two-handed axe, but had abandoned it the moment the captain had closed the distance between them and made it useless. The two titans now fought hand-to-hand, slamming punches cracked the air like bombs as they struck sharkskin and hair and frequent clashes led to stalemates of strength as either behemoth struggled for dominance.

    In one such clash, the balrog opened his mouth wide and a sphere of flame swirled within its jaws ¡ª erupting out as a beam of fire that the captain barely ducked below. With a forward lunge, the Shark Titan clamped his jaws down on the balrog¡¯s thigh and shredding through flesh. His movement didn¡¯t pause, and he ripped his jaws away as he passed beneath the balrog¡¯s swinging arm and swallowed the flesh in a gulp.

    His foe didn¡¯t pause at the wound, and instead spun around with a bone-armored elbow that cracked into the captain¡¯s chest and knocked him to the ground. The balrog stepped up to loom over the captain, releasing a deep and foreboding chuckle as blood still poured from his thigh.

    The captain answered with a dark cackle of his own as his body absorbed power from the flesh. Stealing powers was an ability he rarely had an opportunity to use ¡ª but always cherished.

    The snarl returned to the balrog¡¯s face as he lifted a hoof to stomp down on the captain, but it was caught by the captain¡¯s hands as his jaws opened wide and a sphere of flame formed behind the rows of razor teeth. The balrog froze for only an instant to gawk before leaning to the side to dodge ¡ª but with his foot caught in the shark titan¡¯s grasp, he couldn¡¯t move far enough. The beam of fire shot out and punched through the balrog¡¯s shoulder, slicing through flesh and severing the arm as the shark titan yanked him to the side by his leg. The beam kept going, igniting sails and cutting through wood on its way into the sky beyond, sending flaming debris crashing to the deck below.

    Meredith threw herself to the ground to dodge the falling debris, but the lumbering balrog that chased her lacked the speed to abort his mad dash and a large beam of wood crashed down on his head, cracking his helmet as a shroud of flaming sails draped around him.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    ¡°Guess the captain agrees!¡± Luo shouted.

    Meredith growled as she quickly climbed into a kneeling crouch and stabbed her swords into the deck. A dark red liquid began to seep from the planks as if the ship itself was bleeding, and then the wood began to warp. The creaking of twisting and curling planks began to sound like the deep groans of a giant creature in agony as the wood rose up and wrapped around the legs of the balrog ¡ª revealing the joists between the two layers of planks that comprised the deck. As the balrog ripped away the burning sails, he found his hooves had been trapped by the bleeding wood.

    Across the deck, Luo was activating his own destructive powers. His fleshed bulged and wriggled, as if squirming parasites traveled beneath. Even as he continued to dodge the relentless assault of the balrog, he grew taller and wider as his muscles not just wriggled, but grew in size. Clothes ripped to reveal his flesh turning to sickly hues of purple, yellow and blue as if bruised all over. Long, hook-shaped claws grew out to replace his fingernails and his boots disintegrated into shreds to reveal bruised and bulging feet with matching claws.

    As the transformation completed, the quartermaster dodged one last swing of a bone axe before launching into his offensive. His kick off the deck shattered planks beneath him as he shot forward in a blur, his hooked claws effortlessly sinking through hair and flesh and catching on bone to swing him around to the balrog¡¯s back, which he climbed onto and began slashing away with animalistic swings of his claws.

    As the battle raged on, Iris appeared for on the main deck ¡ª unnoticed by any combatants in the instant between blips. Though her body still complained about each expenditure of mana, her well was full and she put it to use. With expert application of leaps and blips she rapidly ascended the main mast towards the crow¡¯s nest above. There was a single balrog clinging to the exterior of the crow¡¯s nest, but she had witnessed only moments ago that a lone balrog could be a deadly threat to several adventurers.

    As she neared the peak of the mast, she paused for only a few seconds to let her mana somewhat recharge before entering the crow¡¯s nest above. From where she rested, the balrog was hidden by the structure but its position was easy to pinpoint from the roars and sounds of splintering wood,. Blood splattered away from the structure and rained down in a burst following a streak of white magic that shot out into the sky. With a racing heart and panicked breath, she completed the final blip into the crow¡¯s nest.

    Victoria floated in a corner opposite the balrog, which was reaching into the crow¡¯s nest with a two-headed bone axe and swinging it back and forth in wide arcs. In the other corner were Eli and Hedley, spaced a few feet apart with staffs aimed at the balrog. They charged and released shot after shot, each of Hedley¡¯s shots pierced flesh and shot out the other side while each of Eli¡¯s buried a few inches into muscle before flashing with a subdued and muffled pop. Iris peered around the large central pillar of the structure at the balrog, which seemed completely unbothered by the attacks.

    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± Eli shouted.

    The balrog grabbed hold of a corner post and swung around to another face of the structure, swinging its axe towards Hedley and Eli. Iris blipped behind the swing and reached out with a void-torn palm. Tentacles launched from the void and wrapped around the handle of the axe as she twisted her wrist and grabbed hold them in a clenching grip. Iris and Abby combined their strength to pull back on the weapon ¡ª Iris was flung forward onto the floor by the force of the swing, but she slowed it enough for Eli and Hedley to dodge and move out of its reach before the axe buried in the corner post.

    She blipped beside them as the tentacles retreated back into her hand like noodles being slurped, ¡°I¡¯m saving you.¡±

    Eli released a stressed laugh, ¡°we only needed it because you were distracting us.¡±

    The balrog dipped its head to peer into the crow¡¯s nest with dark red eyes and a perpetual snarl. Its helmet was the skull of an unrecognizable creature with an angled face and a forward facing horn. Hedley didn¡¯t waste a second, and released a charged blast from his shouldered staff towards the balrog¡¯s head. The streak of magic impacted hard enough to knock the balrog¡¯s head to the side, but ultimately glanced off the angled skull and shot off into the distance.

    ¡°Shut up and fight!¡± Hedley scolded, ¡°we need all the help we can get!¡±

    The balrog withdrew its head from view and with a reaching swing embedded its axe into the central pillar. Then, it withdrew completely from the windows and climbed onto the roof of the crow¡¯s nest.

    ¡°What¡¯s it doing?¡± Eli asked.

    Thick, hairy fingers curled around the edge of the structure¡¯s roof, plainly visible in the long windowed above the half-wall. Wood began to creak and splinter.

 216 - An Unplanned Detour

    The grotesque, bulging and bruised form of Quartermaster Luo sprinted across the deck on all fours, leaving behind the shredded corpse of a balrog. He passed by Meredith, where she slowly constricted living, bleeding planks of malleable wood around the neck of her own opponent. On the quarterdeck, the Shark Titan still traded blows with the largest of the balrogs, which had picked up its own severed arm and began wielding it like a club against the captain even as blood still poured from the stump.

    Luo leapt forward and grabbed hold of the starboard railing to swing around and launch himself downwards at an unsuspecting balrog as it pulled at the hull between two cannon ports. His landing on the beast¡¯s shoulders had enough force to serve as an attack in itself, and a lucky strike with his hooked claws ripped through the balrog¡¯s throat. It was far from dead, but the wound would ultimately kill it, so Luo quickly kicked off of it to grab hold of the dangling leg of another balrog which he clawed his way up, leaving behind hideous gashes as he reached for the creature¡¯s wings.

    Chaos still reigned inside the gun deck. A fire was burning towards the bow, but spread slowly and ineffectually thanks to the fire resistant properties of the redwood planks the ship was built from. Though the smoke was unpleasant to breathe, it helped the pirates more than it hurt as it shrouded them from view of the balrogs, whose hulking bodies back lit by sunlight were still visible through the haze. Near the middle of the ship blood had begun to drip from the main deck above, but went mostly unnoticed amidst the carnage.

    Battered and bloodied pirates were dragged to the stairs and carried below to the crew quarters for healing. Cameron and Dorragth had formed an effective duo, with Cameron overloading cannons with his explosive concoctions and Dorragth lifting and aiming them at priority targets. No single shot killed a balrog, but when joined by the efforts of other pirates several had been driven back out of the ship or knocked off from where they clung to the hull with wings too injured to return.

    In the crow¡¯s nest, Eli, Victoria, Iris and Hedley braced for the worst as the balrog that besieged them began ripping the roof from the structure. Iris blipped over to the huge bone axe it had left embedded in the central pillar and aimed a void-torn palm against the bottom of its hilt. She was dangerously close to the balrog itself, but was betting on it being too focused on its task to notice her. Tentacles shot out of her palm and wrapped around the axe as her other hand gripped the hilt, and together she and Abby heaved the axe free from the wood. The axe head crashed down to the floor and cracked through the single layer of planks, but soon began to warp and shrink as it was sucked into the void within Iris¡¯s palm. She briefly worried what might happen when the double-bladed axe head reached her palm, imagining it might slice through her hand and hideously main her ¡ª but she was relieved when the axe-head twisted and contorted down to size to fit within the mouth of the void.

    Sunlight spilled over her as the roof overhead was torn away, revealing the full and terrifying form of their assailant. She blipped away as the beast reached down for his axe and his hand found only air. The balrog grunted and cocked his head in confusion, and Hedley took advantage of the moment to fire another blast at his head. The white strike of magic punched forward perfectly on target for an eye socket in the skull helmet, but the balrog jerked its head to the side in time for the blast to glance off the bone almost harmlessly.

    ¡°I need that helmet gone!¡± Hedley shouted as he charged another blast.

    ¡°On it!¡± Victoria shouted in her overlapping ghostly voices.

    She quickly descended through the floor as the balrog dropped its feet to the floor of the crow¡¯s nest and hunched over the hole in the roof it had formed. It drew in a deep breath and released a heavy, furious roar at the remaining three adventurers. Hedley and Eli dived in opposite directions and Iris blipped across the room as a hairy three-fingered hand reached out to grab at them. As they recovered, they spotted Victoria floating up behind the beast.

    Victoria shifted to her physical form and dropped onto the shoulders of the beast, instantly wrapping her arms around his head to grasp and pull at the helmet ¡ª but it didn¡¯t budge. The balrog reached over its shoulder to grab at her, so she shifted back to her ghost form and floated away from it, prompting a series of furious swats

    ¡°It¡¯s on too tight!¡± she shouted as she dodged the balrog¡¯s swipes. She knew the balrog couldn¡¯t touch her in her ghostly form, but was happy to not let it know that yet.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

    ¡°Keep it busy!¡± Iris yelled back.

    ¡°Don¡¯t!¡± Eli called out to Iris.

    Iris appeared in the air behind the balrog with her hands reaching over her head as the blade of her great sword shot out of her palm. When the hilt emerged, she caught it with a tight grasp from both hands and swung downwards. The blade landed in the center of the helmet, sending a zigzagging crack down its length. The balrog whirled around and swung an arm at her, but she was appearing behind it again by the time it had completed its spin. Another swing of her sword brought the blade down at an angle, chipping off a chunk of the helmet on the left side of the balrog¡¯s face. Her next blip returned her to the crow¡¯s nest, where she caught her breath and let her mana recharge.

    The balrog twisted around in search of her until his eyes fell on Victoria once more. He swatted at her too fast for her to dodge, but his paw merely passed straight through her. With an angry growl, wisps of dark red magic began to swirl around his arm as it shot out towards Victoria once more, this time his fingers wrapped around her ghostly form as it were flesh and squeezed tightly.

    ¡°Vic!¡± Eli shouted as he landed a blast near the beast¡¯s outstretched elbow, popping the flesh but failing to hinder its grip.

    Hedley was carefully aiming a shot at the creature¡¯s face, his staff swaying around as he tracked the balrog¡¯s movement and slowly honed in his aim. Victoria was forced back to her physical form as the beast¡¯s paw squeezed at her waist and threatened to crunch her bones at any second.

    ¡°Take the shot!¡± Eli shouted at Hedley.

    Hedley waited for one more instant, than fired the blast. It hit its target at an angle, blasting through a chunk of the balrog¡¯s face and obliterating an eye, but missing the brain that Hedley had hoped to explode. The beast roared and its grip on Victoria faltered enough for her to squeeze herself out and shift back to her ghostly form before flying away to relative safety.

    The balrog was already turning its attention towards Hedley, even as one paw clutched the bloody crater where his eye used to be. He punched forward with his other paw, forcing Hedley to toss aside his staff and dive out of the crow¡¯s nest to avoid the strike. His winged arms spread wide and he took flight in a wide arc around the mast, and the balrog turned to track him with wings spread as if he might give chase.

    ¡°Distract it,¡± Iris said, ¡°but try not to shoot me.¡±

    Eli groaned, not even bothering with an attempt to stop her as he brought his staff to his shoulder and took aim at the beast.

    Iris appeared behind the balrog once more. Her great sword was in a reverse grip in one hand while the other reached out with a void-torn palm. Tentacles shot out from the palm and wrapped around the beast¡¯s shoulders and neck, pulling Iris in until her feet were planted firmly between the wings and the tip of the great sword was pressed against fur and flesh. The long tentacles winded around the balrog and then reached back towards Iris, where they joined her in grasping the hilt of the great sword and began pulling it towards the balrog. With Iris pushing and Abby pulling, the great sword pierced the tough hide and began slowly sinking into flesh.

    The balrog roared and reached for Iris, but struggled to reach her where she now crouched between his wings. He occasionally came close, but a slight lean to either side kept her free of his grasp. The beast¡¯s attention was split between Iris and Eli as he was peppered by blasts from Eli¡¯s staff. Hedley appeared from the corner of her vision as he flew back towards the crow¡¯s nest, but the balrog caught him with a swinging fist that snapped a wing and sent him tumbling across the floor.

    The blade was now several inches deep into the beast¡¯s thick torso, but still sinking at an agonizing pace. Iris had aimed for where she expected its heart to be, and hoped that any second now the blade would puncture it.

    Everything lurched as the balrog leapt from the crow¡¯s nest and flapped its wings, taking desperate flight above the main mast to escape Eli¡¯s bombardment. The balrog twisted and flailed in the air, his wings slamming into Iris from either side on every upswing. Iris braved a glance downwards, and was shocked to be looking down at the quarterdeck far below. The main mast had already raced ahead of them as the ship threatened to leave them behind.

    In a panic, she began to pull instead of push. Abby soon picked up on her intentions and joined her in trying to pull the sword free from the flesh in which it was buried. They were beyond the stern of the ship now, but Iris would have enough mana to catch up if they escaped quickly.

    The sword came free. Iris fell away from the balrog as the tentacles released their grasp on it. For an instant she was floating in air, surrounded by trailing splatters of blood and flailing tentacles. The edge of a hairy fist glanced off her head ¡ª but even a glancing blow from a balrog was enough to send her into the depths of unconsciousness.

    <hr>

    Eli and Victoria watched helplessly from the crow¡¯s nest as Iris and the balrog plummeted towards the swamp far below. Eli glanced towards Hedley, but was instantly sure the birdman couldn¡¯t fly. Instead he placed his fingers to his lips to whistle, but Victoria quickly pulled the hand away from his mouth.

    ¡°There¡¯s too many of them left to call Glimmer,¡± she said hurriedly, ¡°Iris can survive the fall.¡±

    ¡°So we just leave her?¡± he demanded.

    ¡°Keep yourself and Hedley safe,¡± Victoria answered sternly, ¡°I¡¯ll find her, I promise.¡±

    Victoria shifted to her ghostly form and shot off towards the stern of the ship and beyond.

 217 - Pretend Its an Adventure

    The surrounding world slowly came into awareness ¡ª before her eyes were open, before her ears registered sound, Iris felt the leaves and the vines through the pressure their matter exerted on the void. The air was still and dense, and filled with tiny buzzing bugs ¡ª those were the first sounds she heard, the incessant buzzing of gnats bouncing off her face and ears.

    Her eyes cracked open with great complaint, revealing the dense green canopy of old and gnarled trees. Hanging moss dangled from the branches, and purple vines ¡ª no, they were tentacles. She was suspended in the air by tentacles originating from her bottomless bag, they gently cradle her legs, torso and neck and wrapped around the branches above her. With a cautious turn of her head, she saw stagnant water about twenty feet below and extending in all directions, that would explain the foul smell that permeated the air.

    Disgruntled tones emanated from the bottomless bag as it stirred at her waist, and Littletooth squeezed out between the tentacles and climbed onto Iris¡¯s stomach. He walked up onto her chest, his two tiny feet pressing into her with all his weight like slow little punches.

    Iris groaned, ¡°you shouldn¡¯t be out right now.¡±

    The wyvern¡¯s eyes locked onto a target about the time Iris heard an intense buzzing on the approach. A large fly zipped by in front of her face, and Littletooth gnashed out to catch it into his jaws. He seemed offended by the aggressive buzzing of the insect in his mouth as he awkwardly struggled to crunch it between his jaws.

    Iris gave up, she didn¡¯t have the energy to fight with him right now. She let her head relax against the tentacle that cradled it as her eyes slowly closed. Her head was aching, but it wasn¡¯t the mana headache she was used to. With a slow, groggy check of the back of her head, she felt half-dried blood matting her hair. Her hat was gone, too, but she didn¡¯t care right now.

    ¡°Did you get my sword?¡± she asked without opening her eyes.

    Affirmative tones came from the bag.

    Littletooth curled up and lay down on her chest, and she decided to hang there for a while. It wasn¡¯t all that uncomfortable, really, it felt almost like a hammock. The memories of how she got here came back easily enough, the balrog attack and the battle in the crow¡¯s nest were surprisingly clear in her mind. She recalled tangling with the balrog as the ship left them behind, and remembered trying to disengage, but that was her last memory before waking up here.

    ¡°Ship kept flying?¡± she asked.

    Affirmative tones.

    ¡°Figures,¡± she sighed, ¡°that¡¯ll be our biggest problem, I guess.¡±

    Iris ran through the check list she had learned from adventure magazines. Food wasn¡¯t a problem, much of Autumn¡¯s plentiful stores were kept in her bottomless bag. With Abby¡¯s help she could probably put together the party¡¯s tent, as well, so that took care of shelter so long as she could find a solid patch of ground to put it up. Water would be tight, she kept a decent amount in her bag for emergencies and for Littletooth but it would maybe be enough to last her a day or two if she drank as much as she should ¡ª and she didn¡¯t need to inspect the swamp water to know it wasn¡¯t potable.

    ¡°All thing¡¯s considered, we¡¯re not looking too bad.¡±

    A few silent moments passed, and then birds scattered from the trees as a familiar roar echoed in the distance.

    ¡°Oh good,¡± she her voice was dripping with sarcasm and disdain, ¡°the balrog lived too.¡±

    At least it was far enough away not to be an immediate concern. Still, it was a reminder that she couldn¡¯t stay here long. She allowed herself a final moment of relative peace before opening her eyes and inspecting her surroundings more thoroughly. There was a patch of muddy land close enough to blip to, that seemed like a good first step. Iris wrapped an arm around Littletooth, then spoke to Abby.

    ¡°Let go of my belt for a second.¡±

    Abby obliged and unwrapped the bag¡¯s drawstring from her belt. Once the bag was detached, Iris blipped above the patch of ground and twisted in the air to land on her feet. Her boots slapped wetly into the mud, immediately splattering the bottom of her robe. She let out a sigh, accepting that this robe probably wouldn¡¯t survive the next few days anyway.

    ¡°Alright, you can let go. I¡¯ll catch you.¡±The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    Abby released her tentacles from the branches and slurped them back into the void, letting the bag fall freely towards the water. Iris blipped it into her hand and returned it to her waist where the drawstrings once again wrapped around her belt. A thought occurred to her.

    ¡°Abby, what do you think would happen if I blipped the bag into the void?¡±

    What could be only described as several intensely angry and overlapping roars came from the bag.

    ¡°Something bad, got it.¡±

    While Littletooth scurried up to sit on her shoulder, Iris took a moment to inspect herself. All of her glow stones had survived the fall, that was good news as she wasn¡¯t looking forward to the fresh nightmares her unwelcome hitchhiker might cook up in these new circumstances. Her robe had a few superficial cuts, she guessed those happened during the fall through the canopy. The leather chest plate and bracers were in good shape, but she didn¡¯t remember putting those on before the balrog fight.

    ¡°Did you put these on me?¡± she asked.

    Affirmative tones.

    ¡°Huh, thanks,¡± Iris was constantly impressed by the void monster¡¯s care-taking nature, ¡°alright, I guess we need to make up as much ground as possible. I doubt the ship will slow down for us.¡±

    Concerned tones.

    Iris let out a tired breath, ¡°yeah, I don¡¯t have a lot of hope we¡¯ll catch up either, but we need a goal and that¡¯s the best one I¡¯ve got right now. Did the sun set while I was asleep?¡±

    Negative tones.

    The sky was seldom visible through the canopy, but the position of the sun was obvious by the rays it cast through the leaves. It was somewhat low in the sky, that meant it was late afternoon or early evening. She twisted to position it behind her, orienting herself to the east, then turned slightly to face vaguely southeast.

    ¡°Next time we¡¯re in a shop, make me buy a compass.¡±

    Affirmative tones.

    Iris tilted her head and looked over at Littletooth perched happily on her shoulder, he returned her gaze with a titled head of his own. She knew that she really ought to put him away in the void, but his presence made it a little bit easier to pretend this was a fun jaunt through the swamp with her familiars rather than the harrowing, life-threatening situation it really was. Plus, she really didn¡¯t want the trouble of trying to catch him right now.

    ¡°Are you gonna behave?¡±

    He cocked his head to the other side.

    ¡°No running off, no starting fights, and absolutely no chasing anything. Is that understood?¡±

    He cracked open his jaws and released a tiny screech.

    ¡°I¡¯m gonna pretend that was a yes. Abby, grab him if he does anything stupid.¡±

    Affirmative tones.

    Iris held her palm up towards the sky and ripped open a window to the void. Her walking stick slowly rose up out of her palm, only beginning to tip when the last of its length emerged from the void. A twist of her palm let the staff slip down between her loose grasp, which tightened near the top as she planted it into the mud.

    ¡°Nothing else to do but get going, I guess. Hang on tight, little guy.¡±

    She leaned forward and kicked off the ground into a leap, releasing a blast of force from the end of her walking stick that propelled her forward. A blip brought her to a tree trunk, which she kicked off of before blipping again.

    ¡°Ow!¡± she shouted, quickly blipped to the nearest patch of mud as she moved to pry Littletooth¡¯s claws out of the flesh of her shoulder.

    The wyvern let out an apologetic whine.

    ¡°It¡¯s not your fault,¡± Iris sighed, ¡°that really hurt, though. We need to come up with something better.¡±

    A tentacle rose up behind Iris from the bottomless bag and began gently nudging the wyvern forward. At first, Littletooth flapped his wings in annoyance and nipped towards the tentacles as a warning, but Abby pushed harder. With a complaining whine, Littletooth launched off Iris¡¯s shoulder and flapped his wings in a half-flight, half-glide to land on a half-submerged log nearby. He turned back towards Iris and hissed angrily at Abby.

    ¡°No, your mother¡¯s right, Littletooth. It¡¯s about time you started flying.¡±

    Littletooth let out a sound that wasn¡¯t quite a screech but was a little too shrill to be a roar, and blipped. Iris sensed him appear in the air above her other shoulder, and quickly blipped to the log. Littletooth awkwardly flapped his wings to slow his descent towards the ground. His feet soon splashed down into the mud, and he released a pathetic whine.

    ¡°It¡¯s this or the void,¡± Iris shrugged.

    Littletooth let out another almost-roar, and then took flight with a running start. He flew past Iris in the direction she had been traveling, and she blipped after him. She made sure to blip slightly ahead of him, both to lead the way in the right direction and to make it clear that he was following her, rather than the other way around. He couldn¡¯t quite maintain altitude in sustained flight, but could rise quickly in short bursts and made occasional stops on logs or low hanging branches to kick off and gain height like large, clumsy bird fluttering between perches.

    Pretty soon the pair had a reached a pace that almost matched what Iris could have managed without him, and she found herself smiling wide and even laughing as she watched him learn how to fly in real time. Simply staying aloft seemed to come naturally, and rather quickly, but maneuvering around obstacles was very much a work in progress. More than once he simply barreled through a small sapling or a patch of hanging moss rather than avoid it, and at one point he let out an adorable shriek of terror when he found himself fast approaching a tree which he only narrowly dodged.

    Though Iris doubted they could ever match the speed of the Gaping Maw, their pace was nothing to scoff at. She guessed they were easily traveling faster than a carriage, maybe even as fast as a cantering horse, which was quite the speed to sustain in the swampy terrain. If nothing else, she was enjoying the journey and felt a sense of accomplishment that she was at least doing something. For now, she would simply have to hope that the Gaping Maw would have to stop for repairs after the battle, giving her a chance to catch up.

 218 - Hope in the Darkness

    An endless cacophony of chirping insects and frogs filled the swampland as the glimpses of sky grew dark and the last rays of sunlight trickled away. A yellow-orange glow bobbed through the trees and glinted off the waters, periodically flashing blinking out and reappearing across distances. A balrog occasionally roared in the distance, momentarily quieting the chorus of wildlife.

    Iris finally slowed to stop when she came across a stretch of semi-solid ground. As her feet touched soil, she stumbled forward with slumped shoulders and leaned against a tree with one hand, and on her walking stick with the other. The muscles in her legs burned, and though she had avoided any single over-expenditure of mana, the sheer amount she had used and recharged throughout the day had caused a faint but swelling pressure in her skull.

    While there had been no major fights during her journey so far, there had been several torso-sized bugs that required swatting and a particularly vicious gecko that spat acid when it hissed. While Littletooth had gleefully attacked the insects, he thankfully had the sense to hide from the gecko while Iris and Abby dispatched it. The only wound Iris sustained was a gnarly burn on her forearm ¡ª which she earned by not taking the gecko seriously at first ¡ª but the exhaustion that was now overwhelming her felt like an injury in itself.

    With an almost guilty hope, Iris looked up at speckles of sky through tiny gaps in the leaves. It was silly to expect to see the Gaping Maw floating overhead, but she had to imagine it was possible. Otherwise, what future did she dare imagine? What hope was there that her friends would find her in a swamp that stretched for thousands of miles? How long would it take her to reach civilization, especially when her supplies ran dry and her time had to be spent on survival more than travel?

    Littletooth apparently wasn¡¯t satisfied having gorged himself on over-sized insects and a gecko almost twice his size, as he was currently trying to shove his head between two gnarled roots to reach a cowering frog in the crevice beneath them. Iris removed the bottomless bag from her waist and placed it on the ground near Littletooth.

    ¡°Keep an eye on him, I¡¯m going to check the sky.¡±

    Affirmative tones emanated from the bag.

    A few blips and leaps brought Iris to the upper branches of the tallest tree nearby, where she could gaze out through gaps in the branches. The crowns of trees rolled like hills as far as the eye could see beneath a cloudless star-filled sky. The only structures to break the form were the towering giant trees, of which she could currently see four. One such tree was roughly in-line with the trajectory of her journey, and she withdrew her spyglass from a tear in her palm to get a better look. Even with the spyglass fully extended, she could make out little more than a silhouette in the darkness. It was hard to judge, but she guessed it would take two days of travel to reach it.

    Besides pure curiosity, there were other reasons the giant trees interested her. There had been plenty of time to think during travel, and most of the half-baked plans she deemed even worth considering further involved those trees in one way or another. For starters, she imagined each tree must house a biome distinct from that of the ground-level swamp, which might mean opportunity to hunt for food that wasn¡¯t a bug or something with scales, and just maybe there would be a source of fresh water to be found. It also made since to her that if anyone actually lived out here in the swamp, they would probably live in the upper reaches of those trees where the air was fresh and didn¡¯t smell of noxious gasses. Finally, if she were to hunker down and erect some sort of signal to help would-be rescuers find her, that would be the best place to do it. After a final panning of her spyglass across the horizon in a fruitless search for the silhouette of the Gaping Maw, Iris sighed and returned the spyglass to the void.

    When she returned to the ground, Littletooth was still struggling to reach the frog beneath the roots. Iris blipped the helpless creature into her hand ¡ª which prompted Littletooth to hurriedly glance around in confusion ¡ª and then tossed it towards him. He leapt and snapped it out of the air, chomping only twice before swallowing it whole. The act struck her as strangely callous, after-the-fact. It didn¡¯t seem fair to the frog that it had a perfectly good shelter to shield it from its predator and yet she had simply yanked it out with powers far beyond its comprehension and thrown it to certain death.

    Iris collapsed onto the ground and slumped her back against a tree, bringing up her knees to bury her face as she wrapped her arms around her head. Even with her eyes closed, the glow stone necklace washed her eyes in warm orange light. It was taking everything she had to keep it together, but she was losing ground. Occasionally, when she was feeling particularly disheartened and hopeless, it became frighteningly easy to believe she would go mad in this swamp.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.

    An unexpected laugh escaped her lungs, and she tossed her head back against the tree, ¡°I¡¯ll become a crazy bog witch.¡±

    Confused tones emanated from the bag nearby.

    ¡°That¡¯s my eighth plan, if all the others fall through. I¡¯ll go mad and live in this swamp, and become a crazy bog witch.¡±

    Disapproving tones came from the bag.

    ¡°Oh come on, it doesn¡¯t sound so bad,¡± she insisted, ¡°we can build a hut on stilts, and make soups from frogs and bugs. Littletooth will grow up to be a big, strong swamp wyvern, and before you know we¡¯ll be ruling the whole place.¡±

    ¡°I think it sounds like a great idea,¡± someone said.

    A wave of goosebumps crawled across Iris¡¯s skin. A dark figure stood beyond the edge of the light. Her instincts told her to fight ¡ª to summon her sword and lunge forward with a deadly strike ¡ª but she recognized that voice.

    ¡°Mom?¡± she whispered.

    A tentacle rose from the bottomless bag clutching the handle of a lantern, which Abby held out at length to illuminate the figure. It was Mary, her silver robe had been replaced with a black one and a hood was drawn over her head.

    ¡°Mom!¡± Iris shouted.

    Warning tones came from the bag as Iris launched to her feet and sprinted forward, enveloping the woman in a bone-crushing hug.

    Mary laughed and placed a gentle hand on her head, ¡°it¡¯s good to see you, Iris.¡±

    Iris withdrew only half-way from the hug, ¡°when is this for you? I mean, what year are you from?¡±

    Her face was still partially obscured by the hood, but she looked older than Iris had last seen.

    ¡°That¡¯s not important right now,¡± Mary said, ¡°what matters, is what you are going to do next.¡±

    ¡°I-I don¡¯t know,¡± Iris admitted, stepping back and lowering her head in shame, ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking of solutions all day, but they¡¯re all missing details. I don¡¯t know what to do.¡±

    Mary lowered her head and spoke somberly, ¡°you¡¯re not going to make it out of this swamp, Iris.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Iris almost whimpered.

    ¡°I have foreseen it. I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    ¡°No, that can¡¯t be right! What about your unfinished quest? I¡¯m supposed to help you! You said so in the journal!¡±

    Mary shook her head, still looking to the ground, ¡°I was young and naive when I wrote that, Iris. I didn¡¯t even know who you were yet. I¡¯m sorry I misled you, but this is where your journey is.¡±

    Iris¡¯s face contorted into an amalgamation of disbelief, disgust, and dismay as her voice faded to a desperate whisper, ¡°you¡¯re wrong.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve come to say goodbye, Iris. Please don¡¯t make it difficult.¡±

    The goosebumps returned, and Iris shook her head in a terrified stupor, ¡°she wouldn¡¯t say that.¡±

    The light from her glow stones had faded away, she only now realized as she took a staggered step backwards and the glow of her necklace faintly returned.

    ¡°Y-you¡¯re not¡ª¡± Iris stumbled back a few more steps.

    A wicked grin eased across the woman¡¯s face, ¡°did you really think she would come to visit you?¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡±

    ¡°Why would she want to see you?¡± the woman laughed faintly, ¡°She left for a reason, you know.¡±

    The great sword erupted from Iris¡¯s palm as she lunged forward with a furious scream and a wild swing. The woman stepped back and leaned away to dodge the swipe, causing Iris to over-extend. As the heavy great sword threw off her balance, her feet slipped in the mud and she fell forward. The woman laughed. Something wrapped around Iris¡¯s feet and yanked her back, slamming her face into the muddy ground as she was dragged back away from the woman.

    More tentacles than Iris had ever seen erupted from the bottomless bag as it stretched wider than ever before. A bulbous mass emerged from the void, appearing as a thin layer of bumpy purple flesh wrapped around a singular giant eye. It was the epicenter of a writhing mass of tentacles that whipped and whirled around it. The eye abruptly split horizontally across the middle, revealing rows of triangular teeth before an endless black void. The roar that exploded from within was deafening and cacophonous, like a chorus of a thousand otherworldly monstrosities screaming in the purest rage to ever exist.

    The nightmare staggered backwards, its uncanny facsimile of Mary¡¯s face crossed with abject terror. Tentacles collapsed all around it with murderous speed, slamming into the mud with wet thumps and splatters as the nightmare exploded into shadowy wisps. A disdainful groan came from Abby, unmistakably conveying her desire to remove the nightmare from reality. The mouth closed and the eye seamlessly reformed before Abby turned to Iris, where she still lay on her chest looking up in a tearful shock.

    Comforting tones came from the aberration as a tentacle slowly reached out to gently wipe a tear from Iris¡¯s cheek. A pair of tentacles parted the opening to the bottomless bag ¡ª which now lay limp and deflated on the ground ¡ª as Abby crawled back inside it. Once she had returned, the bag regained its usual plump shape.

    Iris breathed heavily as she pushed herself up from the mud and onto her feet. A wary gaze panned across the darkness that surrounded her, and she yelped as something pushed against her leg. She looked down to see Littletooth whimpering and nuzzling his head against her, and she laughed a little despite herself.

    After scooping Littletooth into her arms and cradling him closely, Iris stepped up to the bottomless bag, ¡°c-can you open it for me?¡±

    Any consideration of pitching a tent and sleeping in the swamp was now gone. The thought of spending her nights in the void had occurred to her earlier in the day, but there had been too many uncertainties to commit to it. Now, it was the only place she wanted to be. Abby obliged, and the tips of three tentacles reach out to hold open the mouth of the bag and reveal the void within. After wiping fresh tears on her shoulder, Iris hopped into the bag and disappeared into the void.

 219 - Kind of Friendly Faces

    The bottomless bag sat mostly undisturbed in the swamp throughout the night, only bothered by the occasional curious animal who sniffed or nudged it. On one occasion, an animal which looked like a scaly lizard-squirrel took a particular interest in the bag and tried to drag it off, but a quick wallop from Abby¡¯s tentacle scared it off. Inside the bag, a small campfire burned atop a nonexistent floor within the infinite blackness, and beside it lay Iris and Littletooth. Abby¡¯s enormous eye and ever-writhing tentacles loomed nearby, diligently watching over the pair as they slept.

    Though an unnerving, never ending emptiness and a total lack of sensation were typically characteristic of the void, on this night Iris found it to be a comforting embrace. The distinction between the void pocket within the bottomless bag and the true void beyond allowed for at least some sense of up-and-down, the presence of light and sound, and even the propagation of warmth from the fire. It felt safe, like her own little fortress beyond reality where only those she trusted and allowed could ever enter.

    Abby knew differently, however. She could sense the nightmare clinging to Iris¡¯s soul like a vile tick. By entering the void, Iris had brought it with her. That was why the monster stood guard throughout her rest, ready to vanquish any apparition of the reprehensible creature that haunted her human. Mercifully, however, the nightmare made no appearance, and Iris only occasionally stirred softly through the night.

    After she awoke, Iris lingered in the void for a while. She and Littletooth ate breakfast ¡ª meat scraps for Littletooth, and light salad for Iris which she prepared from Autumn¡¯s ingredients ¡ª and she even tried to offer food to Abby, having learned the night prior that she had a mouth. After experimentally poking at the offerings with a tentacle, Abby vehemently refused, though she did watch curiously as Iris ate.

    After breakfast, Iris wrote a journal entry addressed to her mother. After explaining her current situation and frustrating lack of a definite plan, Iris described the nightmare¡¯s appearance the night prior, detailing the hope that filled her when she thought Mary had arrived, and the dreadful agony that replaced it as the nightmare revealed itself. In the entry, Iris assured her mother that she didn¡¯t believe anything the nightmare had said, and still believed her mother¡¯s other appearances to be genuine. As always, she signed off by saying she wished Mary were there with her, and that she hoped to see her again soon.

    When Iris finally poked her head out of the bottomless bag, she found the swamp to be surprisingly pleasant in the early morning. The air was humid but cool, and felt much less stagnant than it had the day before. The constant buzzing and humming of insects was largely replaced by the chirping of birds, and the fresh rays of sunlight cutting through the canopy illuminated particles in the air like drifting sparkles of glitter.

    After emerging from the bag, Iris wasted little time in getting on the move ¡ª though she did pause to don one of her wizard hats, feeling it necessary to fully savor the whimsy of the environment. Littletooth stayed behind in the void, unwilling to rouse from his comfortable slumber, so she started off the day at a breakneck pace. Pushing her limits was a surefire way to gain experience from even the must mundane of tasks, and judging by the experience she gained each day from her job tending to the sails aboard the Gaping Maw, she expected to earn a decent amount from her navigation of the swamp.

    Only a few hours into the day¡¯s journey, she came upon something unexpected. After pushing off a trunk with her enchanted walking stick and launching herself forward into a blip, she reappeared only a few dozen feet from an ongoing battle. It was flabbergasting, at first, to see four foot tall frogmen in loincloths and sashes wielding makeshift spears against a creature almost beyond description. At first glance, she almost thought it was the balrog, but she quickly realized it was something else entirely.

    The beast was only slightly taller than her, and had no symmetry to speak of. Gnarled and twisted horns of various lengths extended from all parts of its head in all directions, while two rows of crooked and often overlapping teeth lined a slanted mouth that somehow seemed wider than its already quite thick and square skull. Its body was mostly covered in long, matted fur, but more horns extended out from a bony plate on its chest that served as natural armor. Its legs were inverted, with the knees pointed backwards, and ended in wide flat feet that appeared to have webbed toes. One arm was longer and wielded a jagged knife, while the shorter arm was bulky and wielded a crude wooden club.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    The frogmen seemed to be in a harrowing fight for their lives as they were slapped around and pummeled by the beast. Iris hadn¡¯t been noticed yet, and she considered taking advantage of that fact to simply blip away. She didn¡¯t have time to waste, and joining in on fights she could avoid seemed like a bad idea. On the other hand, these frogmen were the first sign of any kind of civilization she had seen so far, even if it seemed like it might be generous to call them civilized ¡ª and she did kind of feel bad at the thought of leaving them to potentially die when she could easily help. Finally, there was the consideration of the experience she stood to gain from the encounter.

    Iris casually flicked her hand out to the side, extending the great sword from a void tear in her palm in a now practiced motion. One of the frog men, probably the leader based on the slightly ornate wooden helmet he wore, shouted orders to his soldiers in an incomprehensible language that sounded like a mixture of belching and gurgling. The frog soldiers responded by falling back from the beast and forming a half-perimeter around it with spears extended.

    She took that as her opportunity to join the fight, and blipped into the air beside the beast. The assembled frog men echoed shocked gasps that sounded more like inverted burps. A swing of her sword sliced through fur and flesh above the bulkier arm, which went limp and dropped the club. The creature spun around in a fury, but Iris was already gone.

    Iris reappeared again, this time in a crouch behind the creature, and twisted on her feet into a wide swing that sliced both of the beast¡¯s calves. It spun around once more, this time much more clumsily, and drove its knife into the mud where she had just been. With her final blip, Iris appeared above the hunching creature and drove a downward stab into the its back, effortlessly sinking the blade through its chest until the tip impacted the inside of the bony plate on its chest. Iris rode the creature¡¯s back as it released a death groan and collapsed to the ground in a muddy splash that splattered the stunned frogmen surrounding it.

    ¡°I wish balrogs were that easy to kill,¡± she mumbled as she yanked her sword free from the felled best, and then turned to face the baffled frogmen, ¡°Iris Orion, nice to meet you.¡±

    The frogmen¡¯s spears had fallen slightly in their stupor, but now rose to attention to face her. The frog captain ¡ª as she decided to call him ¡ª stepped up in front of his soldiers and kind-of pointed a finger at her. His webbed hands made it impossible for him to truly point, but the intention seemed clear as he launched into a long, incomprehensible diatribe aimed in her direction. Though she couldn¡¯t understand a word of the strange frog language, the frog was obviously telling her off with a quite intense passion.

    She looked down at the beast beneath her feet with concern, ¡°did you guys not want me to kill that?¡±

    The frogman somehow grew even more infuriated at her interruption, and began aggressively pointed at the ground in front of him. She guessed he was commanding her to get down, so she shrugged and obliged. When she reappeared from her blip only a few feet in front of the frog captain, he recoiled back with a shriek as another round of burp-like gasps came from the soldiers.

    ¡°Look, I don¡¯t know what I did wrong, but I¡¯m just trying to get back to my friends¡ª¡±

    The frog captain shouted orders while pointing at Iris, and the soldiers moved in to surround her.

    She sighed, ¡°I¡¯m kind of in a hurry¡ª OW!¡±

    One of the frog men had slightly poked her with his spear, drawing a trickle of blood from her shoulder. He gaped and stumbled back under the intensity of the angry glare she shot at him.

    The frog captain was still shouting, but now pointed away from the group. Iris guessed he wanted her to walk in that direction, and was about to just blip away and be done with it all. A quick glance towards the sky, however, revealed that he was pointing in the same direction she wanted to travel anyway.

    Despite all the captain¡¯s yelling, the frogmen were actually kind of adorable and didn¡¯t actually look all that dangerous, and in a strange way it was comforting to at least be around creatures who could speak even if she couldn¡¯t understand them.

    ¡°Alright,¡± she shrugged, ¡°try to keep up.¡±

    She blipped out of the circle of soldiers and darted in the direction the frog captain was pointing, though she made a point not to leave their line of sight. They weren¡¯t particularly threatening, and so long as she could keep her her pace in the meantime, she was curious where this encounter might lead.

 220 - Unusual Allies

    With the aid of her walking stick, Iris came to a gentle landing on the outskirts of a small village. The wooden hovels were nestled among the trees of the swamp, and at first glance the village appeared to be flooded. Vaguely dome-like roofs protruded out of the water, with only a small portion of archway entrances visible above the waterline. The wood was mossy and rotten, and most of the hovels had missing or broken planks. Though some patches of somewhat solid ground were scattered across the village, much of the terrain was submerged in at least a couple feet of water.

    The frogmen that half escorted, half pursued her soon landed behind her. They had given chase by taking quick, long horizontal leaps through the swamp and kicking off trees in much the same way as Iris, but with much greater aptitude. It was only thanks to her blips that she managed to consistently remain ahead of them, otherwise she wouldn¡¯t have had a chance at outpacing them.

    The frogmen didn¡¯t surround her as they had before, however, and instead they formed a line behind her as if to block off one at least direction of escape. She curiously peered at them over her shoulder for a moment, and then turned her attention back to the village. There were ripples in the water coming from the entrance to one of the hovels, which she watched travel some distance before a frogman rose up out of the water. Unlike the others, he wore a half-suit of leather armor, consisting of a chest piece, vambraces, and shoulder pauldrons. He was also noticeably more muscular, and held himself with a level of confidence that the others lacked. Were he not still a head shorter than Iris ¡ª and perhaps if he didn¡¯t have green skin and the face of a frog ¡ª Iris might have found him imposing.

    ¡°Hi,¡± Iris waved lazily, ¡°I¡¯m just passing through, and I guess I pissed off your boys over here. Sorry about that, I was really just trying to help.¡±

    The frogman¡¯s throat swelled and stretched until he released a gurgling croak that didn¡¯t sound very affectionate.

    ¡°Uh, like I said, very sorry for whatever I did. I¡¯ll make myself scarce¡ª oh! You didn¡¯t happen to see a giant sky ship fly overhead recently, did you?¡±

    The frogman twitched. His hand shot forward and a glowing lasso of slime-green magic shot out from his wrist towards Iris as fast as a blink. She only narrowly managed to blip away in time, and immediately another lasso from his opposite hand was shooting towards her. She blipped again, but this time the next lasso met her as she reappeared. It tightly wrapped around her wrist, retracting to remain taut as the frogman leapt towards her. She brought her walking stick up to block his lunge, but his tongue shot out, wrapped around the stick and ripped it from her grasp.

    ¡°Hey!¡± she shouted as she tore open a window to the void in her free hand.

    The frogman landed inches from her, moving with blinding speed and impressive strength to wrap the glowing rope around her other wrist and bind her hands together. Iris aimed her palm at the creature and tried to summon her great sword from the void, but the tear had closed the instant the ropes were in place.

    ¡°Abby!¡± Iris said in a growing panic as she stared down the fierce-eyed frogman.

    The tips of three tentacles rose out of the void, and the frogman¡¯s eyes darted towards the bag the instant they appeared. In a smooth motion, he stepped around to Iris¡¯s side and dropped more glowing rope in a circle around the rim of the bag, yanking it tight and squeezing it shut around the barely exposed tentacles. They squirmed and flailed, but were unable to extend any further from the void. Iris tried to blip, but her power pushed back against her as it had when she was placed in enchanted handcuffs by agents of Morose. Only a second later, the frogman had already tossed glowing rope over her head multiple times and wrapped her arms tight against her torso.

    ¡°Fuck you!¡± Iris spat as she struggled fruitlessly against the ropes, ¡°Don¡¯t make me kill you! I¡¯ve killed frogs before!¡±

    The frogman released a satisfied croak as he knelt down to pick up her walking stick, and then kind-of-pointed in a direction. It was to the north, a hard turn away from the direction Iris intended to travel. When she stubbornly refused to move, the frogman stepped behind her and shoved her forward.

    Iris groaned as she was forced to stumble into water that quickly rose to her waist. Her boots were quickly flooded, and stuck to the soft mud below the water with every step.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°When I get out of these ropes, I¡¯m feeding you to my tentacle monster.¡±

    Negative tones came from the bag, which Iris interpreted to mean Abby didn¡¯t want to eat the frogman.

    ¡°Well don¡¯t tell him that!¡± she complained.

    The frogman escorted Iris through the swamp for nearly an hour. She kept an eye out for opportunities to escape, but he held the end of the rope that bound her in his hand at all times and the only ability she had that still worked was Awareness of Matter, which offered no help in her current dilemma. The only solid idea she had was attempting to kick or headbutt the frog hard enough to injure him and potentially buy her enough time to escape, but she suspected the magic ropes might remained tied even if their caster was momentarily stunned. With no viable options, Iris had no choice but to wade through the swamp at her captor¡¯s discretion and hope an opportunity presented itself.

    ¡°I have a wyvern in this bag, you know,¡± Iris said at one point, ¡°he¡¯s huge, and frogs are his favorite snack.¡±

    The frogman seemed to laugh, and then shoved her forward again.

    ¡°Hey!¡± she complained after almost falling into the water.

    After another bout of silence, Iris tried a different approach, ¡°look, I really don¡¯t know what I did. I thought I was helping by killing that thing, and if I wasn¡¯t, then I already said I¡¯m sorry. Really, I¡¯m just trying to get back to my boat and get out of this swamp.¡±

    The frogman didn¡¯t respond.

    ¡°Can¡¯t I just pay a fine or something?¡±

    The frogman shoved her again.

    ¡°Prick,¡± she mumbled under her breath.

    Finally, they came upon another village. This one was built mostly on solid ground, but the huts were still built atop thick stilts with several feet between the floors and the ground. There were five of them, and each had matching thatched roofs and a small covered porch. The huts were arranged in a half-circle around a small clearing of the driest ground Iris had seen since awaking in the swamp.

    The frogman stopped well outside the boundaries of the village, leaving him and Iris still partially submerged. His throat swelled for a long moment, and then released a booming croak that scattered birds from the trees. Iris had only heard high level champions and titans project their voice that loudly, and suddenly her situation seemed much more dire than it had a moment ago.

    The doors to the huts opened simultaneously, and out of each stepped a woman in green or brown sleeveless robes that ended above the knees. One of them was an orc, two of them were green-skinned swamp elves, and the other two had pinkish-red skin and goat-like horns. They descended the steps of their respective huts in unison, but all but the orc ¡ª who descended from the central hut ¡ª stopped at the bottom step. The orc woman continued in a casual stroll until she stood in the center of the clearing, where she stopped and spoke in an incomprehensible, ancient sounding language.

    The frogman responded in his own language, which the woman seemed to understand. They exchanged tense but seemingly civil words, and after a short back and forth the frogman croaked and the ropes binding Iris dissipated. She instantly blipped away, appearing on the edge of the solid ground about half way between the frogman and the orc woman, then turned around to face the frogman.

    ¡°I want my stick back, too!¡±

    The orc woman shot her a curious glance, and then spoke to the frogman again. He grumbled in a gurgling kind of way, but tossed the stick to Iris. The woman spoke curtly with what was clearly a dismissal, and the frogman panned a wary glare across each of the women before turning and leaping off into the trees.

    ¡°Thanks,¡± Iris said, turning to face the women.

    The orc woman stepped closer and inspected her curiously, ¡°you speak the language of the invaders.¡±

    Iris wasn¡¯t sure what that meant, ¡°so do you, apparently.¡±

    The woman turned her nose up at Iris and looked down at her with apprehension, ¡°I¡¯ve had the displeasure of mingling with humans before.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, well, whatever they did, I had nothing to do it with it. I¡¯m just a traveler passing through.¡±

    The woman laughed grimly, ¡°that¡¯s what they said, too, before they burned our villages and banned our magics.¡±

    ¡°I¡ª I didn¡¯t know about that,¡± Iris wasn¡¯t sure what else to say.

    ¡°You¡¯re a witch?¡± the woman asked abruptly.

    ¡°A wizard, actually.¡±

    One of the pink-skinned women behind the orc feigned a retch as if she might puke, and the orc woman turned a critical glare on her that lingered for a few seconds before she slowly twisted back towards Iris.

    ¡°Yet you carry a witch¡¯s broom, and wear a witch¡¯s hat.¡±

    ¡°This?¡± Iris held up her walking stick, ¡°this is just an enchanted stick,¡± she looked up at the brim of her hat, ¡°and this is definitely a wizard hat.¡±

    ¡°Looks like a witch¡¯s hat to me,¡± the pink-skinned woman from before called out.

    The orc woman sighed, ¡°whatever you call yourself, the frogs think you¡¯re one of us ¡ª and witches always help their own. I suppose it¡¯s up to you whether you want that help or not.¡±

    Hope filled Iris¡¯s eyes, ¡°I¡¯m trying to get back to my boat ¡ª it¡¯s a sky ship, actually ¡ª if you could help me do that, I would give anything in return.¡±

    A few of the women laughed, and one of the elves spoke, ¡°maybe she¡¯s not a witch, after all.¡±

    ¡°Never offer a witch anything she wants,¡± the orc seemed slightly bemused by Iris¡¯s ignorance, ¡°I am Dala, matron of this coven.¡±

    ¡°Iris Orion, adventurer.¡±

    Dala stepped aside and gestured towards the center of the clearing with an arm, ¡°the witches of Evermore Swamp welcome you, Iris Orion.¡±

 221 - The Hard Truths of Bone

    ¡°We have an understanding with the frogs,¡± Dala was saying as she escorted Iris into her home, ¡°they stay out of our way, and we stay out of theirs. It¡¯s the only way we¡¯ve found to maintain peace.¡±

    ¡°But I really was just trying to help them,¡± Iris complained, ¡°some of them probably would have died without me.¡±

    Dala shrugged, ¡°all they saw was a witch meddling in their affairs.¡±

    The home was quaint, but comfortable. A large circular rug stretched across much of the floor, encircled with well worn cushions arranged in a ring around a small bowl of cowl in the center. Various tapestries and banners hung from the walls, and a small chandelier with glow stone lights hung from the ceiling to wash the room in warm orange light. In the far corner was a simple wooden staircase that led to a loft, where Iris could glimpse a bed. There was a simple kitchen beneath the loft with a wood stove, where Dala moved to pour tea.

    ¡°How did you convince him to let me go?¡± Iris asked.

    ¡°You¡¯re not the first trouble we¡¯ve had with the frogs. Anna and Grey, in particular, get a bit too rambunctious from time to time. I offered our usual arrangement, which is a hefty payment of gold in exchange for forgiving transgressions.¡±

    ¡°The frogmen use gold?¡±

    ¡°There are few in this world who don¡¯t value it. Though, who they trade it with, I have no idea.¡±

    Iris looked at the floor to hide the guilt in her eyes, ¡°I guess I owe you, then.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not a concern. As I said, witches always help their own. Besides, it won¡¯t be long before one of the frogs steps out of line and the same gold is given right back to us.¡±

    ¡°You keep saying that, but I¡¯m not really even a witch.¡±

    Dala turned to give Iris a critical look, ¡°and you keep saying that, even though you have all the makings of one ¡ª other than being a threadbearer, that part is unusual for a witch, I¡¯ll admit.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Iris asked as she accepted a cup of lukewarm tea from the witch, ¡°then where you do you get your powers? Wait, you do have powers, right?¡±

    Dala casually twirled her fingers in the air over Iris¡¯s cup. The tea began to swirl, and steam soon began to rise from the cup, ¡°most certainly. Take a seat, young one.¡±

    Iris picked out a cushion on the floor and sat cross-legged. After pouring her own cup of tea, Dala soon joined her on the cushion directly opposite.

    ¡°Threads of Power are a shortcut to meddling with the the tapestry that is reality,¡± Dala paused to sip her tea, the cup gently clinking against her tusks, ¡°they are not, however, a necessity. With the proper instruction, and enough practice, one can learn to pluck at the strands of that tapestry with only their fingertips.¡±

    Iris glanced down at the steaming cup of tea in her hands, ¡°that¡¯s how you heated this tea, then? You just¡ª plucked at reality?¡±

    ¡°If you boil away every drop of nuance, yes.¡±

    A thought occurred to Iris, ¡°how did you know I was a threadbearer?¡±

    Dala laughed, ¡°any witch worth her salt could sense the thread wrapped around you. You¡¯re a walking disturbance of the tapestry, as is every threadbearer ¡ª like the loose thread of a coat that hangs on every splinter or hook.¡±

    ¡°Can you teach me to do what you do?¡±

    Dala shook her head, ¡°that would take years, and you seem to be in a hurry to move on. Tell about that, where is it you are going?¡±

    ¡°Fale Nalore, I guess. The Shining Blue, really. Me and my friends are kind of just along for the ride on the boat that brought us here.¡±

    ¡°Fale Nalore is at least a month¡¯s travel on foot, it¡¯s a good thing you found us.¡±Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    Iris took a sip of her tea, hoping it would calm the growing dread in her gut. It tasted like honey and flours, and warmed her chest on the way down.

    ¡°I can travel faster than most,¡± Iris said after a pause and another sip, ¡°but not fast enough to keep up with the Gaping Maw.¡±

    Dala raised her brow, ¡°you¡¯re a pirate?¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Iris answered hurriedly, ¡°I mean, not exactly. My friends and I just hitched a ride on the Gaping Maw in Giantrock City to save ourselves a trek across the continent. We¡¯ve never actually done any piracy.¡±

    ¡°What do you know of the Shark Titan?¡± Dala¡¯s voice was calculated and emotionless.

    Iris thought for a moment, ¡°not a lot. He¡¯s friendly enough, I guess, he laughs a lot ¡ª but you never really get over the feeling that he might eat you.¡±

    ¡°Listen to me, Iris Orion,¡± Dala leaned forward, ¡°that is a dangerous man. He is a terror on any land he touches. You would do well to find your friends and escape his ship before you learn this lesson for yourself.¡±

    Iris was taken aback by the sudden warning, ¡°he¡¯s scary, but he doesn¡¯t really seem that bad. He wasn¡¯t a terror on Giantrock City, or Gellorn Keep.¡±

    ¡°Giantrock City is a den of thieves, murderers and usurpers, it¡¯s no surprise he fits in there. As for Gellorn, not even he would be arrogant enough to pick a fight with the marble giants. Stick around him long enough and you will see how he treats those who are not kin nor stand above him.¡±

    Iris wasn¡¯t sure what to say, so she took another ship of her tea.

    ¡°Enough talk of the tyrant,¡± Dala said, ¡°you come from Giantrock City, but know very little of these lands and their history. I take it you traveled there for the Grand Hunt?¡±

    ¡°Yes, sort of,¡± Iris nodded, ¡°I didn¡¯t actually mean to, though. I was teleported there from my home in the Emerald Empire by one of my powers, and I joined up with a party of adventurers to stay alive. Those are the friends I told you about.¡±

    ¡°I must be honest, Iris. You are not company I would normally keep.¡±

    Iris looked up at Dala with concern.

    ¡°You participate in the invaders¡¯ cruel rituals of murder, and sail with the tyrant shark. Under most circumstances, I would sooner levy a curse on your bloodline than offer you tea.¡±

    The words were like knives to her heart. Though she had only just met this woman, the contrast of this welcoming coven to the harsh loneliness of the swamp had made her much quicker to grow attached than she otherwise would have been ¡ª not to mention, it was easy to imagine herself fitting in here. The idea of being a guest they regret inviting filled her with guilt and discomfort.

    ¡°Do¡ª do you want me to leave?¡±

    Dala took a sip of her tea before answering, ¡°no, at least not yet. First, we will see what the bones have to say.¡±

    ¡°The bones?¡± It was Iris¡¯s turn to raise her eyebrows in concern.

    The witch placed her tea on the floor and reached into a pocket to withdraw a handful of knuckle bones, ¡°hold out your hands.¡±

    Iris sat aside her tea and did as she was told, leaning forward to take the bones into her cupped-together palms. As she leaned back, Dala twirled a hand to light the coals in the iron bowl between them.

    ¡°You¡¯re familiar with mana control, I would imagine?¡± Dala asked.

    ¡°Yes,¡± Iris nodded.

    ¡°Imbue the bones with your mana, and then cast them into the fire.¡±

    There were a dozen questions Iris could ask, but her presence here was already growing tenuous, and she thought it best not to push her luck. As it stood, finding a way back to her friends hinged on the help this coven may be able to offer. She did as instructed, and dropped the bones onto the coals.

    The flames turned green as the fire abruptly doubled in size before slowly dying down as the flames shifted to purple, and then to white. When the fire returned to its previous size, Dala waved a hand and the flames extinguished as if blown out by a sudden wind. The bones rested atop the coals with black sigils now seared into them.

    Dala leaned forward and silently observed the bones for some time before speaking, ¡°your heart is pure, though your soul is naive.¡±

    ¡°Uh, thanks?¡±

    ¡°Your past has scars, and your future bears many more.¡±

    Iris shifted uncomfortably.

    ¡°Your mother lost to time ¡ª yet tethered to your destiny.¡±

    Iris¡¯s eyes went wide at the mention of her mother, ¡°what else do they say about her?¡±

    Dala held up a hand as her eyes still scanned the bones, ¡°a darkness clutches your soul and haunts your sleep, your life is the prize it seeks.¡±

    Iris¡¯s breath caught in her throat.

    Dala blinked several times as she leaned back away from the coals as if waking from a momentary trance, ¡°well, you are quite the interesting one.¡±

    Iris¡¯s heart was beating fast, ¡°what was the point of that? How did you know those things?¡±

    ¡°The bones told me, and you told them,¡± Dala picked up her tea and took a sip, ¡°and the purpose was to discern if you are truly worthy of our help.¡±

    ¡°Did they tell anything else about my mother?¡± Iris asked desperately.

    Dala shook her head, ¡°the bones know nothing that you do not already, in some respect, know for yourself. In any case, I am satisfied. The darkness on your soul is not your own, and you are not evil at heart ¡ª simply too young to have learned to be careful with your actions.¡±

    Iris scoffed, ¡°all this and you end up using more words to say what everyone else always says. I¡¯m young and dumb, that¡¯s all anyone thinks of me.¡±

    ¡°They think it because it is true,¡± Dala said flatly, ¡°being naive is not shameful, we all once were. That is, unfortunately, a lesson that only comes with wisdom.¡±

    Iris sighed and slumped her shoulders, ¡°I feel like you¡¯re spinning me in circles. Will you help me or not?¡±

    ¡°We will. Or, more truthfully, we will help you help yourself.¡±

    ¡°How?¡±

    Dala smiled, ¡°by teaching you how to fly.¡±

 222 - Flight Training

    ¡°Grab your brooms, girls,¡± Dala shouted as she hurried down the steps of her hut, ¡°we¡¯re going flying.¡±

    ¡°Hell yeah!¡± one of the pink-skinned girls shouted, quickly shooting to her feet and running inside her hut.

    ¡°When did I say about invoking hell, Anna?¡± Dala called out after her.

    Dala carried a large, twisting branch of wood far too thick to serve any purpose as a walking stick. Iris trailed behind her, conjuring her walking stick from her palm with an uncertain expression.

    ¡°I keep telling you it¡¯s not a broom,¡± Iris said, ¡°it doesn¡¯t even have bristles.¡±

    ¡°And neither do any of ours,¡± Dala pointed out.

    A puff of smoke erupted into existence beside Iris, and out of it stepped one of the swamp elves holding her own long, gnarled branch, ¡°there¡¯s actually an interesting story about why they¡¯re called brooms! See, we actually use them to kind of sweep the air¡ª¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re skipping ahead in the lesson,¡± Dala chastised.

    The elf gave an embarrassed smile, ¡°sorry matron!¡± she turned back to Iris and held out a hand, ¡°I¡¯m Ellie, nice to meet you.¡±

    ¡°Iris,¡± she said as she shook the witch¡¯s hand.

    Ellie had a messy bun of black hair, large round glasses which were faintly speckled with mud, and a thick book that was strapped to her waist in a leather contraption that resembled a holster or sheath. Her face was kind and friendly, and she spoke in a sing-song voice. Anna returned quickly with her broom, and was soon followed by the final two witches as they all gathered in the clearing.

    Dala pointed at the other elf, who had short black hair, a scar on her cheek, and was currently giving Iris a nasty look, ¡°that¡¯s Grey.¡± The matron then pointed at the other pink-skinned girl, ¡°and that¡¯s Relena.¡±

    Relena gave Iris a curt by friendly wave and a small smile. She looked almost indistinguishable from Anna, even having a nearly identical ponytail. The only distinguishable features between them were slight variations in clothing, Relena being about an inch taller, and Anna having a few loose strands of hair hanging around her face.

    Iris waved in return, and nodded along as if she was actually going to remember everyone¡¯s name. For now, she decided to at least remember Ellie¡¯s, as she seemed the nicest.

    ¡°Grey, show her how it¡¯s done,¡± Dala said.

    Grey nodded as she tilted her broom and swung a leg over it, pausing to adjust her grip into the grooves of the twisted wood and check her footing. A gust of wind erupted beneath the elf as she kicked off the ground and launched with surprising speed. She shot forward at a low angle, twisting side to side to navigate through the branches until she broke free of the swamp and looped around to fly over the small gap in the canopy over the clearing.

    ¡°Grey makes it look easy,¡± Ellie said, ¡°she¡¯s the best flier we have beside Dala.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s really cool and all,¡± Iris said, ¡°but I keep telling you guys I don¡¯t even have a broom.¡±

    Dala sighed as she walked up to Iris and extended a hand, ¡°may I?¡±

    Iris hesitantly offered her walking stick to the witch as she handed her staff to a waiting Ellie. Dala twisted the stick around in her hands to inspect it, then lightly tossed it a few inches to test its weight. She swung a leg over it and launched into flight as a massive gust of wind splattered mud behind her ¡ª which Iris only narrowly avoided with an almost subconscious blip, reappearing with her mouth agape.

    Through the leaves, Iris watched Dala circle in the air and shoot back through the canopy, hopping off the stick and holding it one hand as she ran across the ground until she slowed to a stop. Her hair was frazzled from the wind, and she had an uncharacteristic energy to her expression.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    ¡°Woo! This one¡¯s got some kick to it!¡± she handed it back to Iris with an excited smile.

    ¡°How did you do that?¡± Iris asked in bewilderment.

    ¡°Hang on,¡± she turned to Anna and Relena, ¡°you two go catch up with Grey and bring her back, she¡¯s trying to bail on the lesson.¡±

    Anna groaned, but the two girls hopped on their brooms and shot off into the sky.

    ¡°Sorry about that,¡± Dala sighed, ¡°sometimes this coven feels like a school for troubled teens. Where did you get this broom?¡±

    ¡°My mother gave it to me,¡± Iris was still staring at the walking stick in her hands, ¡°she wasn¡¯t a witch, though. She said it was an enchanted walking stick.¡±

    ¡°Enchanted to do what?¡± Ellie asked.

    ¡°Um¡ª I guess it¡¯s easier to show you,¡± Iris blipped straight up into the air and bent her knees so the walking stick hit the ground before her feet, demonstrating how it absorbed her momentum and slowed her to a gentle landed, ¡°first it does that, and stores energy inside. And then,¡± Iris blipped a small rock out of a void-tear in her palm and swung the stick, releasing a burst of force as it hit to rock to blast it out into the swamp, ¡°and then I can release the force to hit stuff really hard.¡±

    Ellie and Dala stared at her blankly.

    ¡°You use it to hit stuff?¡± Ellie asked hesitantly, as if she were scared that Iris might not be joking.

    Dala chuckled incredulously, which spiraled into a full on laugh. When she finally collected herself, she placed a hand on Iris¡¯s shoulder, ¡°girl¡ª who trained you?¡±

    ¡°Um, my friends? None of them are witches though, or wizards, and I had to figure out how to use the stick on my own.¡±

    ¡°This here,¡± Dala tapped a finger on the walking stick as she still smiled wide with amusement, ¡°is a witch¡¯s broom. It¡¯s designed to store energy from the wind ¡ª and to recapture it while you descend ¡ª and then use that stored energy for propulsion and lift. Whatever you¡¯re doing with it¡ª I don¡¯t even know what to say about that.¡±

    Iris looked down at the stick, and then to Dala, and then back to stick, ¡°okay, I¡¯m convinced. How do I fly?¡±

    Dala clapped her on the shoulder and stepped away, ¡°Ellie, since Grey¡¯s flown off, why don¡¯t you show her how?¡±

    ¡°Yes matron,¡± Ellie didn¡¯t even try to hide her excitement as she handed Dala back her broom and then stepped up beside Iris, ¡°alright, first thing to worry about is your grip. Usually that¡¯s what the curls and twists help with, but your stick¡¯s pretty straight, so you¡¯re really gonna have to hold on tight.¡±

    ¡°That won¡¯t be a problem,¡± Iris assured her.

    ¡°Next, you want to place the broom just above your knees like this,¡± she demonstrated by swinging a leg over her broom, ¡°you pinch with your knees, and then as you take off, you lean back until you¡¯re sitting on the broom. It¡¯s very important you never stop pinching your knees, or the broom will get away from you.¡±

    Iris mimicked her actions and posture until she was pinching the stick with her legs as Ellie was.

    ¡°Always remember,¡± Dala interjected, ¡°it¡¯s the stick that¡¯s flying, not you. You¡¯re just holding on for the ride.¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Ellie nodded, ¡°you really have to think of it like that or you¡¯ll get thrown all over the place. Now, very gently apply some mana¡ª¡±

    A burst of force erupted from the end of the walking stick and launched it forward, pulling it free from Iris¡¯s legs and stretching her arms as it yanked her forward to fall face first into the mud. She groaned as she climbed back to her feet and tried fruitlessly to wipe the mud from her robe. Dala stifled laughter with a clenched fist.

    ¡°Hey, that¡¯s okay!¡± Ellie assured her, ¡°at least you didn¡¯t let go! Let¡¯s try again.¡±

    Iris walked back over to her spot beside Ellie, inspected her stance once more, and this time paid extra attention to how she placed the stick. Clenching even tighter with her legs than she had before, she trickled a small amount of mana into the stick. It launched forward with a jolt, briefly lifting Iris from the ground before her feet touched down again and she staggered forward awkwardly with the broom bouncing between her knees, ultimately tripping and falling sideways into the mud.

    Iris groaned angrily this time, jamming the stick into the mud once she had climbed to her feet, ¡°I don¡¯t get it!¡±

    ¡°It makes sense,¡± Dala said, ¡°you¡¯re used to releasing a whole bunch of energy all at once. To use it properly, you need to draw out that release.¡± Dala demonstrated by mounting her broom and easing into a slow and steady flight, meandering around the clearing in a tight circle before touching back down, ¡°I¡¯d bet that whole flight took less mana than you¡¯re putting into your broom with just your takeoff.¡±

    Iris nodded and swung her leg over the broom again, settling into a half-crouched posture with a stubbornly dedicated look on her face. She took a deep breath, and then talked herself through it, ¡°okay, just a small, drawn out trickle of man¡ªAAAAHHH!¡±

    Iris shot forward, launching from the ground and twisting in the air like a corkscrew. Her hat was flung from her head, and she only barely missed a straight on collision with a tree. Instead, she glanced off the side of it with a thunk that knocked the wind from her lungs and her grip from the broom, throwing her into the muddy waters of the swamp.

    ¡°Are you okay?¡± Ellie called out with genuine concern.

    Iris once again climbed to her feet, now dripping wet and clutching her side, ¡°I¡¯m really glad the others aren¡¯t here to see this,¡± she groaned.

 223 - Trying Out the Open Skies

    Relena swooped down through the leaves and elegantly hopped off her broom, trotting to a stop near Dala and Ellie where they stood watching Iris preparing to attempt yet another launch, ¡°she¡¯s still not off the ground yet?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯ll get there,¡± Dala said, ¡°did you find Grey?¡±

    ¡°We caught up to her, but instead of coming back she convinced Anna to ditch with her. Said something this new girl being a ¡®waste of time¡¯¡±

    Dala sighed, ¡°where are they going?¡±

    ¡°To fight some monsters in the old temple, probably.¡±

    Iris launched into the air and flew in an almost-straight line for a few dozen feet, but lost her balance while dodging a tree and skipped across the surface of the water.

    ¡°You¡¯re getting it!¡± Ellie shouted from the sidelines, ¡°you missed the tree that time!¡±

    Iris raised a tired thumbs up as she once again climbed to her feet.

    Dala leaned over to Relena, ¡°go join them at the temple, keep them out of trouble the three of you can¡¯t handle.¡±

    Relena blinked in surprise, ¡°you¡¯re not going after them?¡±

    The matron shook her head, ¡°perhaps I will arrive later. For now, I need to get this one flying so she can be on her way sooner rather than later. Once she¡¯s gone, I have urgent business to attend to.¡±

    Relena didn¡¯t hide the curiosity from her expression, but refrained from inquiring further. With a simple nod, she hopped on her broom and flew up above the swamp. Dala waited for Iris to complete her next attempt, which ended with a panicked swerve away from a tree and a stumbling landing. It was the first time Iris had successfully taken off and landed without crashing or falling, and Ellie was jumping up and down with cheers.

    ¡°Good job, Iris,¡± Dala called out, ¡°let¡¯s take a break.¡±

    Iris was too out of breath to speak, so she held up another thumbs up and followed Dala to the steps of her hut.

    ¡°Have a seat,¡± Dala motioned to the steps. They were covered in mud, but so was Iris. ¡°Your biggest problem is still in your mana-control,¡± the matron explained, ¡°but that¡¯s not a skill you can learn overnight, it will take you months of practice to perfect. The good news is that for your current goal, we can sidestep it.¡±

    ¡°How so?¡± Iris asked between gulps from her waterskin.

    ¡°There won¡¯t be any trees to dodge in the open sky, and restricting your speed won¡¯t be a concern. Which means, now that you can get into the air, all you need to learn is how to stay up there.¡±

    Iris took a few deep breaths, ¡°well, I¡¯m ready whenever.¡±

    ¡°You should rest for a while longer.¡±

    ¡°Then can I ask you some questions?¡±

    Dala appeared to think about it for a moment, then nodded. Before Iris could speak, however, the matron looked up to Ellie and called out, ¡°prepare a runway for Iris to reach the sky.¡±

    ¡°Yes Matron!¡± Ellie responded dutifully and immediately set about raising and lowering small sections of the ground. It was a slow, methodical process which unfolded with the simple raising and lowering of Ellie¡¯s hands.

    ¡°How¡¯d this coven come to be?¡± Iris asked after a moment of watching Ellie, ¡°I mean, you¡¯re really far out in the middle of nowhere.¡±

    ¡°Most covens are, it¡¯s partly tradition, partly habit. Historically speaking, witches aren¡¯t particularly welcome in towns and cities. As you might imagine, this way of life often appeals to those who don¡¯t fit in where they come from. That¡¯s how each of these girls ended up in my care.¡±

    Iris quickly swallowed another gulp of water, ¡°why is that? Witches not being welcome, I mean. You all seem very nice.¡±

    ¡°You come from a land of libraries and storybooks, yes? In those stories, how often are witches depicted as the good folk?¡±

    Iris thought about it for a moment, ¡°I guess not very often. They¡¯re not always the bad guys, though.¡±

    Dala nodded as she made her point, ¡°and I¡¯d wager that even when presented morally neutral, we¡¯re still othered as mysterious and unsavory. It¡¯s a tale as old as magic. Even our tensions with the frogs are ultimately born from their legends and folk tales of our kind.¡±The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    Iris furrowed her brow, ¡°where I come from, wizards are esteemed and respected. They¡¯re seen as oddballs, maybe, but most people still like them. They spend their time in grand towers and king¡¯s courts. Why are witches treated so differently?¡±

    ¡°People fear what they cannot understand. Wizards, despite their eccentricities and dramatics, define their respectability by their ability to understand and explain, which eases the minds of governors and noblemen ¡ª it makes them feel like they have some measure of control over magic, even if they themselves do not practice. Witchcraft is much more nebulous, and while a witch can often tell you with a high degree of confidence what will happen, we often cannot tell you how or why it will. This concerns a layman.¡±

    ¡°Then why not just figure out how it works and tell people?¡±

    The matron laughed, ¡°that¡¯s the wizard in you speaking. There is much a witch must learn throughout her life time, wasting it on appeasing others would only stifle our progress. Not mention, there is a fundamental difference in approach between witchcraft and what might be commonly thought of as civilized magic ¡ª one that does not account for the finer details, but seeks to master the broader strokes.¡±

    Iris slumped her shoulders and look away, ¡°it doesn¡¯t seem very fair.¡±

    ¡°This world usually isn¡¯t,¡± the witch acknowledged.

    ¡°All done!¡± Ellie called out. There was now a straight stretch of mostly solid ground leading from the edge of the small village into the central clearing, where a small break in the canopy would hopefully allow Iris to reach the skies.

    ¡°Ready for a real flight?¡± Dala asked.

    Iris nodded and shot to her feet. A short while later she was standing at the start of the runway, which aimed towards Dala¡¯s hut. She waited as the matron took flight and rose up out of the canopy before stepping into place to line herself up for takeoff.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be right behind you,¡± Ellie assured her, ¡°just remember to hold on tight, and only give it as much power as it needs.¡±

    Iris nodded intently as she mounted her broom. Once Dala disappeared beyond the leaves and the way was clear, she gently kicked off the ground and applied a semi-steady trickle of mana into her broom. Air whipped across her face as the ground zoomed by and the steps of Dala¡¯s hut rapidly approached. Iris yanked up on the broom and her world tilted as she shot up through the gap in the canopy and the open sky exploded around her.

    She wavered and wobbled as she struggled to level out her flight, but was soon soaring over a vast expanse of green below a blue, sparsely clouded sky. Daring to look behind and below her, Iris found that the small arrangement of huts was already lost among the trees. Dala came up beside her, effortlessly matching her speed and altitude with masterful control of her own broom.

    ¡°You¡¯re doing great!¡± Ellie¡¯s voice called out over the wind as she rose up on the other side of Iris.

    ¡°T-Terrifying!¡± was the only word Iris could muster as the wind whipped her hair and blistered her eyes.

    Dala and Ellie laughed, and Iris noticed they seemed nearly unaffected by the wind. Despite traveling at the same speed, their hair simply fluttered as if jostled by a gentle breeze, and their voices carried easily across the gaps rather than being ripped away by the wind as Iris¡¯s was.

    Noticing her perplexed expression, Ellie guessed her questioned and promptly answered, ¡°wind control goes a long way when you¡¯re flying, but we don¡¯t have time to teach you that.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a problem you¡¯ll have to solve on your own,¡± Dala said, ¡°for now, see if you can keep up.¡±

    Dala shot off ahead of Iris, and was soon joined by a laughing Ellie. Iris leaned low and forward on her broom, tightened her grip, and pumped in more mana. The already oppressive wind seemed to double in force as the stick lurched forward, threatening to leave Iris behind were it not for her ironclad grasp. She quickly caught up to ¡ª and even passed ¡ª the pair of witches, but they responded by banking low and to the side. Iris tried to replicate their movements, but her arc was wide and sloppy, and the gap between them stretched out as the witches recovered from their tight half-circle to fly off in the opposite direction.

    The game of chase continued for several minutes, and Iris was slowly getting the hang of maneuvering. Though she still felt wholly unprepared to attempt flying between the trees of the swamp, she at least was beginning to feel comfortable in the open air. Only once did she lean too far into a turn and tip over, but with ample space to recover she was able to lean into the spin and complete an entire roll until she was upright once again.

    Just as Iris began to feel like she had at least become a novice at flying, she tried to pull up on her broom and found that nothing happened. The swamp was growing closer, and she was rapidly entering a spiral. Ellie and Dala fell in behind her and one of them shouted something, but Iris didn¡¯t register the words. She was stuck desperately trying to pump more mana into the broom, but no matter how much she offered it refused to respond.

    With only seconds left before she would crash into the trees, it occurred to her ¡ª the enchanted stick was out of force. Several ideas flashed through her mind, and she quickly plucked one almost at random and initiated it without hesitation. Now in a complete free fall, she twisted in the air to place her feet against the stick and kicked it away as hard as she could ¡ª but despite her strength, the stick didn¡¯t go flying. Instead, it absorbed the force of her kick and only lazily tumbled away from her. Iris completed a flip in the air before reaching out with a void-torn palm, shooting out three tentacles which wrapped around the broom and pulled it back into place for Iris to mount it once more. With a sharp upwards pull and a burst of mana, Iris countered her downwards momentum enough to recover into a wobbly flight just above the canopy.

    Dala and Ellie leveled out their flights and trailed behind her, both of them perplexed in their own way. Ellie looked confused but amazed, while Dala eyed the first-day witch with a wary look of apprehension. Iris, however, was wholly oblivious to their stares as she rocketed over the swamp and pumped a fist in the air with excited cheers.

 224 - Trouble At the Dungeon Temple

    Although Iris was able to recharge the energy of her broom without crashing, it was far from a sustainable solution or the intended method of flying. Much of the evening was spent practicing a technique which the witches called sweeping, which involved intentionally banking and rolling through the sky in a ¡°sweeping¡± motion in order to maximize the amount of time spent inside strong headwinds. Rather than slow the witches down, as one might expect, their brooms instead absorbed the force exerted by the headwinds to slowly recharge the broom and allow for long bouts of sustained flight. The same technique also worked with tailwinds, by absorbing the forward pressure that would otherwise held propel a witch faster in the direction of travel, though the returns were lower than with headwinds.

    After a few hours of flying, the witches took a break on a branch of one of the enormous trees scattered throughout the swamp. As they approached, Dala slowed her speed and landed softly on her feet, while Ellie lined herself up lengthwise with the branch to come to a gentle stop with a light jog. Iris didn¡¯t dare attempt a classical landing at all, and instead approached from overhead, climbed off her broom mid-air to arc down towards it and blipped to close the gap. She landed with the end of her broom against the bark to slow her descent into a casual step.

    ¡°You put on your spin on things, that¡¯s certain,¡± the matron said as Iris walked up to her, ¡°but you¡¯re making incredible progress for a beginner.¡±

    ¡°I have a lot of practice flinging myself through the air,¡± Iris said proudly.

    ¡°It helps that you¡¯re so fearless,¡± Ellie added, ¡°when I was first learning, it took me weeks to even work up the courage to leave the ground.¡±

    Iris shrugged before rubbing her eye, ¡°you can¡¯t get very far in life if you¡¯re afraid of getting hurt. I just wish the wind didn¡¯t dry my eyes out so much.¡±

    The branch they stood upon was several feet wide and terribly high above the lumpy, rolling canopy of the swamp below. Iris guessed it would have been about as far as the distance from the tallest tower at the peak of Giantrock City to the lake that lay below it. From this distance it was impossible to tell one tree apart from another, and based on all her experience falling great distances, Iris expected she¡¯d have time to grow bored during the fall to the surface. Despite their great height, however, the swamp still stretched out to the horizon in all directions, only broken by the occasional enormous tree or the few moss-covered, overgrown brick structures that could only be spotted amongst the foliage with a careful eye.

    The branches of the tree were spaced out enough that each had of a partially unobstructed view of the sky, but were still close enough that Iris could have leapt and chained a few blips to travel between them if she wished. Though this one was relatively flat and straight for much of its length, many twisted and turned at odd angles, and some even crossed over each other. The lowest ring of branches had long, trailing curtains of moss that fluttered gently in the wind almost like hanging banners.

    As Iris had expected, the canopy of the tree was alive with an entire ecosystem of its own. Some of the creatures she saw included a myriad of birds, a trail of ants the size of boots that trailed up the trunk and down a nearby branch, and a variation of the lizard-squirrels she hadn¡¯t yet seen that had brown scales and bat-like wings attached their front legs. There were also occasional noises that sounded like a mixture of a hooting owl, a shouting human, and a cackling jackal, which Ellie explained came from furry creatures called monkeys.

    During the break, Ellie explained to Iris that winds near the surface often travel in one, mostly uniform direction over a large swath of land for extended periods, but at higher elevations one could find streams of wind that flowed through the sky like rivers in all directions. For witches, finding these streams and anticipating their directions eventually became second nature. In Iris¡¯s case, however, she would have to settle for grasping the basic principles until she had accrued years upon years of practice.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    The lesson was interrupted when one of the pink-skinned girls ¡ª Iris was pretty sure it was Anna ¡ª came racing towards them, shooting through leaves and twigs and nearly crashing in her hurry to land.

    ¡°There¡¯s a¡ª¡± she gasped a breath as staggered up to Dala, ¡°balrog! Dungeon Temple!¡±

    Dala¡¯s casual expression instantly turned serious, ¡°Ellie, take Iris back to the huts.¡±

    ¡°Yes matron!¡± Ellie answered quickly.

    ¡°Grey and Relena are trapped,¡± Anna explained quickly as Dala mounted her broom.

    The matron was already on her broom about to take off when Iris interjected, ¡°I¡¯m going with you!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s far too dangerous,¡± Dala said curtly as she kicked off and took flight with Anna following close behind.

    Iris crunched her nose in frustration and mounted her broom.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Ellie shouted, ¡°the matron¡¯s right! Balrogs are too strong, you could be killed!¡±

    Iris looked back at her, ¡°if it¡¯s the balrog I think it is, then it¡¯s my leftovers. If anyone¡¯s going to get hurt finishing it off, it¡¯s me.¡±

    Iris was about to take off when a tentacle rose up out of her bag with something dangling from its grasp. Iris looked down in confusion for a second before recognizing the item. It was a pair of goggles that had once belonged to Milo, and in unexpected rush of memories Iris realized she had forgotten to give them back after the battle in the fish wizard¡¯s castle.

    ¡°Good idea,¡± she said with a reminiscent smile, and Abby promptly reached out with two more tentacles to strap the goggles onto her head and across her face.

    Ellie watched hopelessly with an aghast expression as Iris took flight, she wobbled slightly at first but soon settled into a stable balance and shot off after the other witches with a burst of speed. With no idea what else to do, she mounted her broom and followed after Iris.

    Iris leaned low and forward and lifted her feet to hook them over the tail end of the broom, turning herself into a dart that punched through the air as she traded mana for speed. It was only a few moments before she caught up to Dala and Anna and sloppily fell into formation beside them.

    ¡°If you die, it¡¯s not my fault!¡± the matron called out at her arrival.

    ¡°I¡¯m hard to kill!¡± Iris shouted back.

    Ellie soon joined them, but kept her distance from the matron lest she draw her ire. Anna led the way towards the dungeon temple, which was nestled in the swamp and nearly obscured by overgrown trees as much of the ancient ruins were. As they descended towards the canopy, Anna and Ellie peeled away from the formation while Dala shot straight through the leaves towards the mass of mossy bricks hiding behind them. With only a split second to decide, Iris followed the matron.

    There was little time to make sense of the structure as the balrog quickly came into view. It was standing on a platform about halfway up the pyramidal structure, ripping away bricks and tossing them aside as it sought to widen a tunnel-like entrance into the temple. Vines were reaching out from overhanging limbs and wrapping around its arms and shoulders to slow its progress, but snapped with mere tugs from the massive beast. One of its legs had turned to stone, causing it to step as if it had a peg leg, but that too failed to meaningfully slow it down.

    Dala landed near to the beast and held out a hand full of flower petals she had pulled from a pocket. Over her outstretched palm, she clenched her other hand into a tight fist until blood began to drip from within and splash down onto the petals. One-by-one, each petal touched by blood rose into the air and drifted towards the balrog as if carried by the wind. When the petals touched the beast the hair beneath them began to smoke and burn. The flames crept outwards as the petals disintegrated, and soon a half dozen patches of fire were slowly expanding out across the balrog¡¯s body.

    Iris had landed on the opposite side of the balrog, and took advantage of its distraction as it turned to roar at the matron. She blipped inside the tunnel, where she found Relena and Grey with their backs against a stone wall that blocked the way only a few dozen feet into the tunnel. Both had their hands out stretched and appeared intently concentrated on the balrog at the opening of the tunnel, and Iris quickly pieced together that they were focused on the spells they were casting against it.

    ¡°Can I help?¡± she asked hurriedly.

    ¡°Out of the way!¡± Grey almost growled through her tightly clenched jaw.

    ¡°Okay,¡± Iris spun away from the witches on her heel, ¡°guess I¡¯ll go stab it, then.¡±

 225 - The Power of A Coven

    Iris blipped into the air and mounted her broom, launching into flight before she could begin to fall. As she circled the balrog, it became clear it was the same one she had fought before. One of its eyes was now only a bloody, rotting socket, and countless wounds pockmarked its flesh from the magical barrage levied against it by Eli and Hedley during the battle in the crow¡¯s nest. Puncture wounds marked its back and chest where Iris had stabbed it ¡ª this confirmed to her that she pierced all the way through the beast¡¯s body, but had missed its heart. In addition, its wings hung limp from its back, leading Iris to believe she must have damaged critical flight muscles with the wound.

    Dala stood below the balrog on the incline of the pyramid, twisting her fingers into contorted arrangements as she chanted in an ancient language. Boils began to appear across the balrog¡¯s body, rapidly swelling and popping to spew acid that burned through hair and flesh. The furious beast charged towards her, leaping off the platform and crashing into the incline, crumbling and dislodging bricks as it slid towards her. Its stone leg also began to crumble, losing chunks of its hoof and cracking up the shin. The matron reached out towards her broom ¡ª which had tumbled down the incline ¡ª and pulled it into her hand with unseen force. An instant later she had taken flight, leaving the balrog to hopelessly swat at her as its condition rapidly worsened.

    Anna swooped by the beast and lightly tapped the bicep of one of its outstretched arms. The arm instantly dropped limp and slapped heavily into the balrog¡¯s thigh, flapping as the beast whirled around to swing at the already escaping witch. Iris followed up behind her with passing swipe of her sword that briefly hung on the tough hair and flesh before her speed and force was able to overcome the resistance and draw blood. Though the strike landed on the creature¡¯s neck, it did only superficial damage.

    A roar vibrated the air as the balrog¡¯s slide slowed to stop, leaving it now balanced on the accumulation of rubble beneath its feet. The two witches from the tunnel had now stepped out onto the platform where it once stood, maintaining their line of sight as they focused on their respective spells. While Grey maintained her her stone flesh spell, Relena abandoned the vines and cast a new spell. Clouds of gnats, flies and mosquitoes rose up from the surround swamp and swarmed the balrog, attacking its remaining eye and each of the many wounds it now bore.

    While the balrog desperately flailed its single working arm to swat at the swarm, Dala swooped past and lightly touched the back of its neck. Though the fires spreading across its hair had now begun to fade, they left patches of hideous crispy flesh in their wake. At the matron¡¯s touch, these wounds and all its others erupted into profuse bleeding that quickly drenched large swaths of its hair in blood.

    The balrog snapped its head towards the matron and opened its mouth to roar again, but the witch met the beast¡¯s gaze and uttered a few ancient words. Its eyes became locked to hers as its body froze in place and its head swiveled to follow her as she circled around in front of it.

    ¡°Surrender!¡± she hissed in a booming whisper that lingered on the wind.

    The balrog¡¯s jaw gaped open and its shoulders slumped. With a growl and a furious shake of its head, it escaped the trance and leapt towards the matron. Its stone leg slipped as it kicked off, hindering the height and the trajectory of its leap, though it still grew near enough to the flying witch to strike. An outstretched paw caught her on the back, impacting with such force that it spun her several times in the air as it flung her from her broom. The insects scattered as Relena abandoned her spell and once more called upon the vines, this time to catch the falling Dala before she could slam into the structure.

    Bricks crumbled beneath the balrog as it landed back on the pyramid, scrambling with both its legs and its singular working arm to rapidly climb towards the platform where Grey and Relena stood. Foam frothed in the corners of its mouth and its remaining eye was wide and wild. Iris was completing a wide overhead arc around the pyramid, and now raced towards the climbing balrog at a downward angle with her great sword outstretched like a javelin in one hand while her other clutched the broom.

    ¡°Need your help!¡± she shouted to Abby.

    Her hand bulged away from the hilt of her sword as a window to the void ripped open in her palm and several tentacles squirmed out of it to wrap around the hilt. Iris clenched her grip over the tentacles, adding to the pressure on the hilt. More tentacles came from the bottomless bag on her opposite side, reaching across to wrap around the hilt and further stabilize the blade.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    A burst of mana translated to a burst of speed, rocketing her towards the rabid balrog. The impact felt like hitting a stone wall, flinging her forward from her broom to slam into its hairy body as the tip of her blade momentarily stuck in its flesh. The combined force of all her and Abby¡¯s strength with the speed of her attack was enough to soon drive the blade through the flesh, piercing through its lower neck and burrowing downwards into its chest.

    All was still for an instant, and then the balrog began to fall backwards away from the pyramid. Its back crashed hard into the stone bricks, and it began to slide down like a heavy sled as Iris climbed to her feet on top of its chest, still clinging to the hilt of her buried sword with outstretched tentacles from her palm. At the base of the pyramid were densely packed trunks and roots awaiting a gnarly impact, and her eyes shot up to find a suitable place to blip. When she found a place, the tentacles withdrew from the hilt and slurped back into the void an instant before she disappeared.

    ______

    As the stars sparkled over a swamp bathed in darkness, a beacon of light hung high above. Entangled in vines and moss ¡ª some natural, others conjured ¡ª and half resting on a crooked and twisted branch of an enormous tree was the Gaping Maw. Light spilled out from various holes in its upper hull and bobbed from the lanterns carried by working crew on its deck.

    The rearmost mast had collapsed entirely after having snapped a few dozen feet above the deck. The damage to the mast was far beyond what could be repaired in the current circumstance, and the only efforts dedicated to it were spent on removing its debris. The ship would have no choice but to fly without it.

    Between the quarterdeck and the first mast, a large patch of the deck had transformed into a hideous visage of twisted, curling planks soaked in now long-dried blood. Though work had begun on cutting through and removing the warped planks, they still tightly grasped the skeletal remains of a balrog.

    ¡°We finally have a report on the wings, captain,¡± Meredith said as she approached the Shark Titan.

    He was standing at the stern with hands clasped behind his back as he gazed out across the swamp, ¡°how fucked are we?¡±

    ¡°Well, not badly, it turns out. The wings were retracted in time and bore no damage from the crash. They did sustain some damage from the initial battle, but none that we can¡¯t fix.¡±

    The captain released long held tension with a tired breath, ¡°that was nearly the end of this quest.¡±

    ¡°We would have figured something out,¡± Meredith stepped up beside him, ¡°you would have chained the hydra and ridden it out of this swamp if you had to.¡±

    The captain chuckled, ¡°aye, I would have.¡±

    ¡°Plus,¡± Meredith preemptively smirked, ¡°we could have asked the elves for help.¡±

    The captain scoffed, ¡°I¡¯d rather us all die in this swamp!¡±

    ¡°Even me?¡±

    The captain made a dismissive sound and averted his gaze, ¡°how¡¯s Luo?¡±

    ¡°Miserable¡ª still bruised all over. The healer says he¡¯ll be bedridden for a week at least.¡±

    ¡°Damn fool,¡± the captain grumbled, ¡°that ability is gonna kill him one day.¡±A strange, faintly purple light floating out of the swamp and towards the ship caught the captain¡¯s attention, ¡°what¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s the one that turns into a ghost. She¡¯s been out in the swamp looking for the wizard that fell overboard. There¡¯s not much she can offer to help with repairs, so I¡¯ve allowed it.¡±

    ¡°The one with the hat?¡± the captain asked with surprised disappointment, ¡°I liked that one.¡±

    Meredith shrugged, ¡°I thought she was annoying.¡±

    Below deck, Victoria drifted through the hull of the ship and into the crew quarters, where she found her party sitting on upturned buckets in a silent circle. Eli shot to his feet at her arrival.

    ¡°Anything?¡± he asked desperately.

    Victoria¡¯s feet lightly touched down on the planks as she shifted back to her physical form with a gentle, somber shake of her head, ¡°it¡¯s a big swamp. I need to rest tonight, but I¡¯ll go out again in the morning.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll join you with Glimmer,¡± Eli said.

    Victoria shook her head again, ¡°it wouldn¡¯t help, you could fly right over her and not see a glimpse through the canopy.¡±

    ¡°What happens if we don¡¯t find her?¡± Autumn asked with fear in her voice.

    Eli exchanged glances with Victoria and Titus, and silence lingered.

    ¡°We could stay behind and keep trying,¡± Titus suggested halfheartedly, ¡°but then we¡¯ll all be lost in the swamp. Not sure how much good that would do.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t imagine the captain takes kindly to deserters, either¡± Victoria said.

    Spirits were heavy, and voices were low. Each word they spoke carried with it dread and worry. Eli returned to his seat and put his head in his hands.

    ¡°She¡¯s smart, and can move quickly,¡± Eli finally said, ¡°we have a few more days before the ship is in any state to sail again. Either we¡¯ll find her, or she¡¯ll find us.¡±

    The others nodded in agreement, if for no other reason than to reassure themselves.

 226 - Adventures Worth Having

    Iris grunted and heaved as she yanked and twisted the great sword. The balrog¡¯s corpse was in an awkward heap, crunched up between roots with its knees shoved towards its chest and half submerged in thick, murky swamp water. Iris was still covered in mud from the afternoon spent training, and she paid no mind to the inevitable additions to the filth that came from wrestling her sword free of her felled foe.

    Night had settled over the swamp, and it was alive with the infinite buzzing, chirping and croaking of the many nocturnal creatures that inhabited it. Large rays of purple and orange moonlight shined down through gaps in the trees on the ruins of the pyramid behind her, but precious little light reached her where she stood before the densely packed trunks that crowded the base of the pyramid. Instead, her work was lit only by the glow stones she wore on her body and a single lantern held by a tentacle extending up from the bag at her waist.

    ¡°Would you like help with that?¡± Ellie asked, hovering casually on a broom behind her.

    ¡°No!¡± Iris said with a grunt as she placed a foot on either of the balrog¡¯s shoulders and heaved, ¡°I can do it!¡±

    Even with the added support of Abby¡¯s tentacles, however, the sword only gave an inch or two at a time and frequently hung in place entirely. Once ¡ª when she angrily leveraged the sword to one side as she pulled ¡ª blood squirted from the wound and splattered across her robes and face, which she ignored. It was a long, arduous process that required shifting positions and angles various times until finally only the last several inches were still submerged in flesh, and a final pull ripped it free.

    ¡°Aha!¡± Iris shouted, turning to the witches and holding the sword high overhead.

    A wild glow of triumph gleamed in her eyes as she smiled wide. She stood atop the balrog¡¯s crumpled corpse and held the sword with a single grasp clenched around the tentacles that spewed from her palm and wrapped tightly around the hilt. Her once blue robes were thoroughly soaked through with dirty water and caked in mud which also marked her face and matted her hair. Fresh blood from the corpse painted over the mud on her face and half obscured the goggles she still wore.

    ¡°What?¡± Iris asked as she lowered the sword with dejection.

    The witches were gathered around her, some floating on their brooms while others balanced precariously on an entangled mess of roots and crooked bricks where the swamp slowly lay siege to the structure. Their expressions ranged from critical and judgmental to bewildered and appalled.

    ¡°You look like a madwoman,¡± Grey said bluntly.

    Iris caught her breath for a moment while she formulated a response, ¡°I think I kind of am?¡±

    ¡°Never mind appearances,¡± Dala said from her broom, ¡°are you injured?¡±

    ¡°No, but I feel like I should be asking you that,¡± Iris answered.

    ¡°It¡¯s only a few broken bones,¡± the matron said dismissively.

    Iris laughed, ¡°and I¡¯m the madwoman?¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re a witch who thinks she¡¯s a wizard but fights with a great sword,¡± Ellie observed, ¡°and you have a tentacle monster inside your hand.¡±

    Anna chimed in, ¡°and you look like you crawled out of the depths of the swamp and murdered the first several creatures you saw.¡±

    Iris shrugged as she sheathed the blood-slicked great sword into the small purple bag at her waist, careful to avoid cutting into the tentacle that still reached out of it to hold the lantern overhead, ¡°this kind of stuff¡¯s pretty normal to me.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s rather abnormal to us,¡± Dala said, ¡°but it is not our place to judge. Come, we must return home before the worst creatures of the night emerge.¡±

    A helpful tentacle offered Iris her walking stick, which she promptly mounted. She waited for the other witches to take flight and clear the way before blipping into the air beyond the branches overhead and easing mana into the stick to fly. She soon joined the loose formation of witches as they angled towards the sky and rose up from the swamp.

    The cool night air was a refreshing embrace as she followed the witches across the night sky. Clouds meandered across the stars overhead casting shadows like islands in the sea of colorful moonlight that danced across the trees that raced by below. Iris found herself enamored by the scene and captivated by the moment, overwhelmed with the sensation that this was what adventuring was meant to be. Experiences like these were the ones she longed for and dreamed of for so much of her life, and for a precious moment all the troubles and worries she had collected along the way completely disappeared.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    The flight came to an end much sooner than she had hoped, and soon the witches were gathering in the matron¡¯s hut. Ellie placed a cooking spit over the bowl of coals in the center of the room and hung a modest cooking pot from it while Dala lit the coals with a wave of her hand. Relena and Anna entered a moment later with handfuls of vegetables and herbs which they dumped into the pot.

    ¡°Grey,¡± Dala asked, ¡°would you mind cleaning our guest?¡±

    ¡°Uh,¡± Iris darted her eyes between the witches in confusion. She had removed the bloody goggles, but was otherwise still disgusting.

    After rolling her eyes and pushing off the wall she leaned against, Grey not-so-gently thumped Iris on the forehead with two extended fingers.

    ¡°Hey!¡± Iris shouted, and then paused as she felt a fuzzy tingling sensation spreading across her head and down her face. The sensation continued down past her neck and slowly washed over her body, eradicating the blood and filth on both her skin and robes as it traveled. She twisted her outstretched arms and watched with wonder as the cleanse moved down past her elbows, then wrists, and finally to her fingertips ¡ª even cleaning the gunk beneath her nails.

    ¡°You¡¯re welcome,¡± Grey said as she took a seat on one of the cushions surrounding the cooking pot.

    ¡°Can I learn that?¡± Iris asked excitedly.

    Grey scoffed, ¡°if you have about seven years to spare, sure.¡±

    Iris frowned in disappointment and joined the witches around the cooking pot. The only one not seated on a cushion was Relena, who knelt beside the cooking pot and twirled her hand over it in a slow, methodical motion.

    ¡°Girls,¡± the matron said, ¡°tell me about this balrog and it¡¯s arrival.¡±

    ¡°We had just come out of a passage,¡± Grey said, ¡°the dungeon spat us out because we failed a puzzle and it closed the door behind us. When we stepped outside, it was waiting for us.¡±

    ¡°It looked like it had just stumbled out of the woods,¡± Anna said, ¡°it was already injured pretty badly, and was sniffing around like it was looking for something.¡±

    ¡°Curious,¡± Dala absently tapped a finger on her knee as she spoke, ¡°perhaps an outcast? Though I didn¡¯t see a brand on its chest.¡±

    ¡°Do you think the balrogs are expanding territory again?¡± Relena asked with an air of concern in her voice.

    ¡°I certainly hope not,¡± Dala said grimly.

    ¡°Uh, actually,¡± Iris hesitantly raised a hand to interject, ¡°I think it was looking for me.¡±

    All eyes turned towards Iris as the matron inquired further, ¡°why would a balrog be searching for you?¡±

    ¡°They attacked the sky ship I was aboard. That¡¯s how I ended up lost in the swamp in the first place ¡ª I was wrestling with that one when it took flight, and the ship left us behind.¡±

    ¡°You were wrestling a balrog?¡± Anna asked, her mouth briefly hanging agape before she looked to her fellow witches, ¡°who the hell is this girl?¡±

    ¡°Stop invoking hell, or¡ª¡± the matron was cut short by an interruption from Anna.

    ¡°or hell might come knocking,¡± the young witch said while dramatically rolling her eyes.

    Dala briefly looked like she might explode into anger, but then furrowed her brow and rubbed her temples. ¡°You¡¯re all grounded,¡± she eventually said flatly, ¡°I¡¯ll collect your brooms after dinner.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Anna shouted.

    ¡°Good job, Anna,¡± Grey said.

    ¡°What did I even do?¡± Relena asked the matron with offense.

    Dala maintained her demeanor long enough to make eye contact with and speak to Iris, ¡°I¡¯m sorry you have to witness this.¡± Her face then contorted in anger as she pointed at Anna, ¡°you¡¯ve lost your mind if you think I¡¯m going to tolerate this kind of attitude,¡± her finger shifted to Grey, ¡°you were supposed to help teach Iris how to fly, and instead you ran off and nearly got yourself and Relena killed,¡± finally she pointed at Relena, ¡°and you¡ª¡± the matron paused and lowered her finger, ¡°you¡¯re right, actually. You just did what I asked you to, you¡¯re not grounded.¡±

    Relena nodded with satisfaction, while Anna crossed her arms and harrumphed. Ellie¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change, as if she had been certain all along that ¡°you¡¯re all grounded¡± had never included her in the first place.

    ¡°As long as I¡¯m being punished for ditching,¡± Grey said, ¡°and not just because a balrog showed up ¡ª which was in no way my fault ¡ª then I¡¯m not even arguing.¡±

    ¡°I feel bad,¡± Iris interjected, ¡°I mean, I don¡¯t want to be yelled at or anything, but just because I¡¯m a guest doesn¡¯t mean I didn¡¯t anything wrong. I¡¯m pretty sure the balrog showing up was my fault, which means I put all of you in danger, so I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t be sorry for that,¡± Grey said, to Iris¡¯s surprise, ¡°you survived fighting a balrog and then came back to finish it off. If anything you should be boasting.¡±

    ¡°Iris Orion, the Balrog Slayer,¡± Ellie said, panning her hands through the air as if the words hung on a banner before her, ¡°I¡¯d definitely start calling myself that, if I were you.¡±

    Uncomfortable with the unexpected praise, Iris did her best to shift the topic of discussion away from herself by asking questions about the balrogs. Dinner finished cooking surprisingly quickly, which Iris guessed was thanks to some kind spell being cast by Relena, and then each served themselves portions in small wooden bowls as Ellie answered her questions.

    According to her, balrogs lived in the dark depths of chasms spread throughout Evermore Swamp. She summarized legends that told of the chasms first opening many centuries ago, and the beasts spewing forth from the darkness like demon spawn. Dala, however, assured Iris that they were not in fact demons, and that demons were much more dreadful and dangerous foes.

    ¡°Last time we went to the city,¡± Ellie said between spoonfuls of soup, ¡°I read part of a book that theorized the balrogs actually come from an underground jungle far beneath the swamp.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Iris¡¯s eyes went wide with excitement, ¡°that¡¯s definitely going on the list!¡±

    ¡°What list?¡± Anna asked.

    ¡°T list of places I want to explore one day when I¡¯m stronger. I mean, an underground jungle? I bet there¡¯s all kinds of stuff down there.¡±

    ¡°Are the other places on this list also exceedingly deadly?¡± Dala asked with a raised brow.

    Iris thought about it for a moment, then nodded, ¡°yeah, mostly.¡±

 227 - A Necessary Lesson

    Iris prepared her bedroll on the floor of Dala¡¯s hut. It wasn¡¯t the most grand of accommodations, but the witches had trained her, fed her, and now housed her, so she had no complaints to speak of. As she placed several lanterns out around her bedroll ¡ª as had become her nightly ritual ¡ª Dala approached with a curious expression.

    ¡°Afraid of the dark?¡±

    Iris looked up from where she knelt, surprised by Dala¡¯s quiet approach, ¡°what? Oh, no, this is to keep the nightmare away.¡±

    ¡°The nightmare?¡± Dala thought for a moment, ¡°ah, that¡¯s the darkness the bones spoke of.¡±

    Iris nodded, ¡°it¡¯s been haunting me for a while now. There aren¡¯t many options for help with this kind of thing out here, though, so I¡¯ve just been dealing with it. The lights keep it away, mostly, but they don¡¯t stop all the dreams.¡±

    ¡°You must have gone through quite the ordeal to attract a creature like that.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve¡ª yeah, I¡¯ve been through some things,¡± Iris looked away as she answered.

    ¡°I believe I can remove it¡ª¡±

    ¡°You can?¡± Iris replied instantly, snapping her gaze towards the matron.

    ¡°¡ªbut you¡¯re not going to like the process,¡± Dala finished.

    ¡°What do I have to do?¡± Iris shot to her feet.

    Dala was silent for a moment as she seemed to evaluate Iris, ¡°follow me.¡±

    Though the walls of the small hut were thin and offered little dampening of the noisy nighttime swamp, the discordant chorus of animals still grew noticeably louder as the door cracked open. Iris followed Dala without question, eager to finally be rid of the nightmare no matter the cost.

    She was led around and behind the hut, then down a narrow path of raised ground which wound through the swamp like a snake. Though the light of her glow stones and a lantern held out by Abby lit her way, Dala walked ahead in the darkness. The path soon approached a raised brickwork platform of a similar construction to the ancient ruins throughout the swamp, and atop the short steps was a pair stone cellar doors that opened at a wave of the matron¡¯s hand. Inside the doors, steps descended into a dark pit.

    Cautious hope was mixing with growing trepidation in her gut, and with every down into the dark chamber her uncertainty grew. Without surge of doubt, however, was a flash of the nightmare''s torment. The endless nights of torturous dreams crafted from her greatest fears like clay, the reminders of all those she had wronged and all who might one day return to claim their revenge, the sickening mockery of her mother that visited her in the woods -- she shook her head desperately, hoping to dispel the ongoing battle in her anxious mind.

    The room at the bottom of the stairs was small enough that Iris¡¯s light illuminated the four walls, though it seemed to struggle unnaturally to reach the corners. In the center of the room was a ring of bricks upon which Dala took a seat as she motioned for Iris to sit across from her.

    ¡°In order to conduct this ritual, you must accept a truly unpleasant request,¡± Dala spoke as Iris took her seat.

    ¡°Anyth--¡± Iris said quickly, but caught herself, "what is it?"

    A curt chuckle escaped the witch¡¯s lips as she extended her hands across the circle, ¡°first, take my hands¡±

    Iris hesitantly and gently grasped the witch''s hands. The battle between her desperation and her instincts had moved to her gut, which now twisted and broiled like a thunderstorm. Angry, warning tones emanated from the bottomless bag.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine, Abby,¡± Iris looked down at the bag, "let''s just see what this is about."

    Still smiling faintly, the matron continued her instructions, "now close your eyes and take deep breaths."

    Iris did as she was told, relying instead on her awareness ability to observe her surroundings while she struggled to fight back the tremors in her breath. As her breath steadied and slowed, her awareness grew fainter. It slowly disappeared not unlike vision fading to black, and soon the only sensations she felt were within her own body.

    "Find a door," the witch said, "it will be somewhere in the vastness, not quite beyond you -- but on the very edge."This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

    Iris was no stranger to meditation, having spent many training sessions with Victoria learning its intricacies. The silly feeling that had once plagued her -- the one that told her she was just sitting with her eyes closed and imagining things -- was now only a passing sensation which she easily ignored. It didn''t take long to begin her search through the vastness, and only a few moments to find the door.

    "Okay, I''ve found it," she said quietly.

    Something knocked at the door. It was gentle, yet set reverberations through her being.

    "Open it, and let me in," the witch instructed.

    Her heart pounded. Her body pleaded to snatch her hands away, and her mind screamed to barricade the door. The nightmare''s mockery of her mother flashed before her, its face contorted into a twisted smile. All the pain of all the dreams piled onto her, mixing with memories and blurring what had been real and what hadn''t.

    "Don''t," a raspy voice spoke only to her, "she is not what she seems."

    There was a shaky, shadowy figure standing between her and the door, which she knew to be the nightmare.

    "She will claim you for herself," the nightmare hissed, "do not open the door!"

    As it spoke, its face flashed rapidly between all the forms it had taken -- a brass mask, the fish wizard, Jacquie the thief, a lightning wizard, a scarecrow, her mother. Iris screamed and blipped past it, lunging forward and swinging the door open.

    The door and the nightmare disappeared as an icy hand grasped Iris¡¯s heart. Though merely a sensation, rather than a physical occurrence, it felt more visceral than anything she had ever experienced before. She could not see the witch, yet her visage was clearly present in Iris¡¯s mind. Her smile was wicked and her eyes hidden by shadows that didn¡¯t extend past the sockets.

    ¡°You are a fool, Iris Orion,¡± Dala taunted.

    Iris couldn¡¯t feel her heart race, her breath catch or her muscles tense. The overwhelming fear and dread fell on an unresponsive body and a nearly absent mind.

    ¡°Abby,¡± she tried to scream, but it came out as a monotone mumble and had with no response.

    ¡°Your monster cannot help you now,¡± Dala launched into a cruel and wicked cackle, ¡°with your soul in my grasp, your abilities are mine to control ¡ª and without them, the monster has no path to escape the void.¡±

    ¡°Why are you doing this?¡± the words were once again flat and emotionless.

    ¡°To teach you a lesson.¡±

    Iris felt the grip tighten on her heart.

    ¡°Please¡ª¡± she would have gasped the word if she were still breathing.

    ¡°You are too trusting, child,¡± the grip loosened, though it did not release, ¡°with so little promptly you allow a stranger ¡ª a witch, no less ¡ª into the very essence of your being, the capsule which contains all that you are and will ever be. This is a folly few will ever live to make twice.¡±

    The grasp released, the witch shrunk away into the distance and the door reappeared only long enough to slam closed. The light flooded back as Iris gasped for breath and tentacles erupted from the bottomless bag, flailing around the room and smashing through a shimmering image of Dala to pummel the brick upon which she sat into rubble.

    ¡°If I meant you any harm,¡± the shimmering visage spoke as the tentacles continued bombarding it, ¡°I would have already committed it.¡±

    The tentacles didn¡¯t stop their attacks, and Iris let them continue for some time while she caught her breath before finally telling Abby to stand down. Angry, overlapping roars continued to escape the void as the tentacles slowly withdrew into the bag, only stopping when the last one slipped inside and the bag cinched itself closed. The shimmering image of Dala faded, and the witch appeared on the steps.

    ¡°What the fuck was that about?¡± Iris demanded.

    ¡°I told you, it was a lesson. I cannot help you with the nightmare, it is beyond my expertise. I can ¡ª and have ¡ª however, aid you in understanding the risks of this world.¡±

    Iris dizzily climbed to her feet, ¡°by attacking my soul?!¡±

    ¡°Had I attacked it, you would not be standing. What you felt was only a gentle hold, the most minute application possible of the immeasurable power over yourself which you granted me.¡±

    Iris shouted with as much breath as she could muster, ¡°I trusted you!¡±

    ¡°Yes,¡± Dala nodded, ¡°and that was the mistake from which I want you to learn. You trust too freely, Iris, as if you expect everyone in this world to be as good of heart as you. I assure you, most are not.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know me,¡± Iris spat.

    ¡°Don¡¯t I? Who else has touched your soul, but perhaps your own dreams and nightmares themselves?¡±

    Iris blipped past the matron and out into the swamp, where she quickly stomped off back towards the huts without waiting for the matron to follow. When she arrived, she quickly gathered her things from Dala¡¯s hut and shoved them into her bag with the help of Abby¡¯s tentacles.

    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t leave at night,¡± Dala said, having entered the hut without alerting Iris¡¯s awareness ability, ¡°there are things more dangerous than me in this swamp.¡±

    Iris intended to argue, but in truth she was overwhelmed with fatigue and doubted she could actually fly right now if she tried. The last thing she needed was to crash land in the swamp again. Instead, she pivoted to an alternative and pretended it was the plan all along.

    ¡°I¡¯m not leaving,¡± she said as a tentacle placed the last of the lanterns into the void, ¡°but I¡¯m not sleeping under the same roof as you. The message is clear, you¡¯re not to be trusted.¡± Iris blipped past the matron, stomped a few steps forward and skipped the stairs of the porch entirely with another blip.

    ¡°That was not the lesson you were meant to learn,¡± the matron called after her, ¡°though, it is sound advice.¡±

    Iris ignored her and barged up to the door of Ellie¡¯s hut, at first raising her fist to angrily pound before pausing, taking a breath, and knocking gently. She could sense the matron still standing on the porch of her own hut and watching her intently, but Iris did not acknowledge her further.

    A groggy Ellie opened the door while rubbing her eye, ¡°Iris? Is something wrong?¡±

    ¡°Your matron pissed me off, I need a place to sleep.¡±

    Ellie laughed quietly, ¡°yeah, she¡¯ll do that. C¡¯mon,¡± she left the door ajar as she crossed the small, single-story hut and collapsed back into her bed. A hand stretched out to point at nothing in particular, ¡°pick any spot you want, I clean the floor every evening.¡±

 228 - Goodbye For Now

    While dew still lingered on leaves and sparkling mist still filled the air, Iris quietly packed her things and blipped out of Ellie¡¯s hut without waking her. The soft ground sunk beneath her feet like walking on pillows as she stepped up to the runway Ellie had prepared the day prior. Iris paused, closed her eyes and took in a deep breath of the fresh morning air ¡ª it still very much smelled unpleasant, but she wanted to savor it regardless. One-by-one, she recounted the memories of her brief time in the swamp that she would most like to hang on to, taking in all the sounds and smells around her to accompany them. When she opened her eyes, Dala stood before her.

    Iris rudely squinted her eyes and spoke in a curt, unfriendly tone, ¡°how do you hide from my awareness ability?¡±

    ¡°The same way I hide from most, I¡¯d imagine,¡± Dala replied.

    Iris attempted an even ruder expression, ¡°get out of my way.¡±

    ¡°The girls will be sad you left without saying goodbye. Especially Ellie, I think she¡¯s starting to look up to you.¡±

    ¡°Well, she has you to blame.¡±

    Dala smiled faintly and averted her eyes, ¡°perhaps I was a bit aggressive with my teachings.¡±

    ¡°Perhaps?¡± Iris asked loudly, ¡°you attacked my soul!¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t¡ª¡± the matron sighed, ¡°the world is cruel, and not every lesson can be taught with kindness. Allow me a chance to make up for my deceptions.¡±

    ¡°No,¡± Iris answered indignantly, and agreeing roars came from the bottomless bag.

    Dala withdrew a slip of paper from her pocket held it out towards her. When Iris didn¡¯t reach for it, Dala released the paper and it briefly drifted towards her like a leaf carried on the wind. Iris angrily snatched it out of the air just before it floated into her face.

    ¡°This is the name and location of a friend of mine in Fale Nalore,¡± Dala said, ¡°she can help you with your nightmare.¡±

    ¡°So now you want me to trust you?¡± Iris scoffed, ¡°which is it, lady?¡±

    ¡°No, I want you to use your own judgment and discernment to decide if you trust her. I believe, however, that you will take a liking to her quite quickly.¡±

    Iris shoved the note into her bag, ¡°can you get out of my way now?¡±

    The door to Ellie¡¯s hut creaked open, ¡°Iris? Are you leaving?¡± The young witch hurried down her steps without bothering to put on shoes, ¡°you weren¡¯t going to say goodbye?¡±

    Guilt grew in Iris¡¯s gut as she saw the genuine hurt in Ellie¡¯s eyes, ¡°sorry, I thought it best to get a head start this morning and didn¡¯t want to wake any¡ª¡±

    Iris was cut off by a tight hug from Ellie that clenched her arms tight to her side.

    ¡°Uh¡ª right, I¡¯ll miss you too,¡± Iris said awkwardly.

    Ellie quickly pulled away, ¡°sorry! It¡¯s just¡ª we don¡¯t get a lot of visitors out here, and you¡¯re definitely the coolest we¡¯ve had in a long time. I wish you could stay longer.¡±

    Iris smiled sadly, before shooting a quick sideways glance at the matron, ¡°me too, but my friends are out there waiting for me. I¡¯m not done with this swamp though, I have a feeling it¡¯s full of secrets I¡¯d like to discover. One day ¡ª when I¡¯m stronger ¡ª I¡¯ll come back, and I¡¯ll be sure to pay you all a visit when I do.¡±Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

    Ellie nodded, and Iris climbed onto her broom. The matron stepped aside to clear the way as Iris stuffed her hat into the bottomless bag and donned her goggles.

    ¡°Wait!¡± Ellie shouted, ¡°before you go, I wanted to ask you something. I¡¯ve never seen a witch use a sword before. I just¡ª well, I guess you don¡¯t have time to teach me anything now, but can you tell me where I should start?¡±

    Iris blinked in surprise, ¡°you mean start learning to use a great sword? I mean, my friend taught me the basics, but most of it I figured out by myself. It¡¯s all about balancing the weight of the sword with your own, and finding creative ways to use it with your powers.¡±

    Ellie nodded eagerly as if the basic advice was the words of a master, ¡°as soon as I get my hands on a sword like yours, I¡¯m going to start training!¡±

    ¡°Ellie, I really don¡¯t think swords¡ª¡± the matron started, but was interrupted by Iris.

    ¡°Abby, do we still have that old training sword?¡±

    The bottomless bag opened up and a tentacle rose out of the void carrying a wooden great sword. Various dings and scratches marked its blade and hilt, the tip had been blunted, and there were distinctive gnaw marks from an unusually large rat she had once fought. Iris took the sword from Abby and held it out towards a wide-eyed Ellie.

    ¡°Here, this is the sword I trained with. I don¡¯t need it anymore, so it¡¯s all yours.¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Ellie asked as she took the wooden sword into her hands.

    ¡°Yep,¡± Iris nodded, ¡°consider thanks for all your help. Maybe we can spar when I visit again one day.¡±

    Ellie smiled at the challenge, ¡°absolutely!¡±

    Iris laughed, ¡°I need to get going. Tell the others I said goodbye.¡±

    Before anything could keep her any longer, Iris kicked off the ground and launched into flight. Her take-off was wobbly and not quite straight, but she cleared the canopy with only her toes briefly dragging through some leaves. Ellie waved at her from below as the witches¡¯ huts shrank away behind her and she rose above the mist to soar through the sky.

    The crisp morning air bit at her skin as she gathered speed. Soon the trees below whizzed by, and she had to lean low and forward to stop the force of the wind from wrenching her off the broom. After some effort, she eventually found a somewhat steady stream of air that carried her over the swamp to the east.

    About an hour into her journey, a translucent purple ghost rocketed past her. It was so fast she almost thought she imagined it, but then quickly pulled up on her broom and twisted around to slow her speed as she drifted in a wide arc through the sky. It was her first time attempting the maneuver at such speed and it didn¡¯t quite go smoothly, but with nothing to crash into this high up she had plenty of room to recover.

    Soon, the ghost had circled around as well, and flew up beside her, ¡°Iris?!¡±

    ¡°Vic!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re flying!¡±

    ¡°Yeah! Isn¡¯t it cool?¡±

    Iris twisted around to reorient herself back towards the east and flew at a casual enough pace to sit upright on her broom and shout over the wind. Victoria followed beside her, her overlapping ghostly voices having no trouble overcoming the wind.

    ¡°I¡¯ve been looking everywhere for you, I must have covered a hundred miles of swamp. How did you learn to fly? Is that your walking stick?¡±

    ¡°Yeah, turns out it¡¯s a flying broom! A bunch of witches taught me how to use it! They even helped me kill the balrog.¡±

    ¡°This whole time we thought you were dead or dying in the swamp, and you were out here making friends?¡±

    ¡°Yep!¡± Iris, ¡°thanks for worrying about me, though.¡±

    Victoria shook her head, ¡°Eli¡¯s gonna be pissed.¡±

    ¡°Nah, he¡¯ll just be glad I¡¯m alive,¡± Iris didn¡¯t believe herself for a second that he wouldn¡¯t be angry, ¡°how¡¯s the ship?¡±

    ¡°Stuck in a tree and pretty beaten up, but it¡¯ll fly again. We were worried it would leave before we found you.¡±

    ¡°You guys have to start having some faith in me,¡± Iris rolled her eyes.

    Victoria laughed, ¡°after this, I imagine we will. I¡¯ll fly ahead and let everyone know you¡¯re safe, you should check in with Eli in the crow¡¯s nest when you get back. Keep flying this way and you¡¯ll see the ship soon.¡±

    ¡°Wait, wait, wait,¡± Iris said hurriedly, ¡°what makes you think you¡¯re faster then me?¡±

    Victoria gave Iris a surprised glance, ¡°are you challenging me?¡±

    Iris smiled, ¡°I¡¯ll let everyone know you¡¯re on the way.¡±

    Mana siphoned from her hands and poured into the broom, launching her forward as if the speed she was already traveling had been a standstill. After a split second of a baffled stare, Victoria gave chase.

 229 - A Range of Welcomes

    After a back-and-forth race over the swamp, Iris cackled with wild joy as she soared towards the Gaping Maw where it hung perched on an outstretched branch and suspended by vines. Victoria was within sight behind her, having been left behind when Iris came into a particularly advantageous wind stream. They had traded places many times throughout the journey, with Victoria sustaining higher speeds during long stretches but unable to make use of the winds that carried Iris into bursts of speed to frequently retake the lead. That alone hadn¡¯t been enough to earn Iris a victory, but the added benefit of skipping across the sky with her blips made the final difference.

    When she reached the ship, Iris didn¡¯t wait for Victoria to catch up ¡ª there would be plenty of time to gloat later over the dinner the party would certainly be sharing that night. Instead she slowed her speed and circled around to approach the crow¡¯s nest from above. Feeling invigorated and confident from her exciting journey and fresh victory, she hopped off her broom and fell through the air in a downwards arc towards the crow¡¯s nest. Her aim wasn¡¯t perfect and she was on track to fall just short of the structure, but two consecutive blips brought her just above the damaged roof and then onto the floor within. She landed in a crouch as her broom absorbed most of her momentum, and quickly rose and spun around to see a wide-eyed Eli with his jaw agape.

    ¡°Did you just¡ª¡± he trailed off, half pointing upwards.

    ¡°Fall from the sky?¡± Iris asked, shrugging, ¡°yeah, I can fly now.¡±

    ¡°Where were you?¡± he asked, he was tense but didn¡¯t explode into an outburst as she expected.

    ¡°Alone and lost for a while, but I met some friends who took care of me and helped me get back here. I¡¯ll tell you all about it later,¡± her face fell slightly, ¡°I promise I didn¡¯t mean to be gone so long.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not your fault,¡± Eli said, noticeably struggling to find the words he wouldn¡¯t usually say, ¡°I¡¯m just glad you¡¯re back. We were starting to think this was finally the time we lost you.¡±

    ¡°And yet you didn¡¯t come looking for me,¡± Iris said with a smirk.

    ¡°I tried!¡± Eli quickly insisted, ¡°Vic said I wouldn¡¯t be any help!¡±

    Iris faked a scoff, ¡°and you just listened to her? Wow, okay.¡±

    ¡°Iris¡ª¡±

    ¡°Nope, it¡¯s okay, I get it,¡± Iris stepped backwards and threw herself over the half-wall and out of the window.

    Eli ran to the edge to lean over and look down after her, watching her blip her way down the beams and ropes.

    Next, Iris appeared in the infirmary, where a weary looking Titus was tending to several unconscious and severely injured patients, presumably the worst-off survivors of the balrog attack. He only noticed her arrival when he finished pouring healing magic into a patient¡¯s leg and turned to move on to the next.

    ¡°Does Eli know you¡¯re back?¡±

    Iris scrunched her face and spread out her arms, ¡°do you guys care more about Eli than me?¡±

    ¡°I knew you¡¯d find your way back. It was Eli beating himself up too much in the mean time that worried me.¡±

    Iris sighed, ¡°is he still doing that? I really thought he was making progress.¡±

    ¡°He is, but these things take time. Where are you hurt?¡±

    ¡°What?¡±

    Titus leaned to either side as he looked her over, ¡°where are your injuries?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine, I just came to tell you I¡¯m alive.¡±

    The disbelief was evident on his face before he even spoke, ¡°you¡¯re not hurt at all? You were gone for two days.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, I can go two days without getting hurt, you know.¡±

    By that point his expression was overtly skeptical.

    Iris rolled her eyes and blipped out of the infirmary and into the crew quarters, which she chose to walk through rather than blip across. She was on the lookout for familiar faces and also taking a rough head count of those she passed, assessing how bad the balrog attack had really been. Though numbers didn¡¯t seem significantly dwindled, many of the pirates were resting in their hammocks, and more than a few of those up-and-about bore superficial wounds that were only just beginning to heal. She guessed Titus had been too busy keeping people alive to have enough mana or time left over to treat mild injuries.

    ¡°Irene! You made it!¡± a pirate she sort-of recognized from the cannon crew called out.

    ¡°It¡¯s Iris,¡± she looked over and called back, ¡°and yep, I¡¯m still alive!¡±

    The air rushed from her lungs as she slammed into something tall and firm. Iris stumbled back and looked up at an angry looking orc ¡ª it was Dorragth, her less than friendly bunk-mate. He snorted as he looked down at her, while Iris noticed the occasional specks of dried blood that still dotted his skin.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

    ¡°They say you tackled a balrog out of the sky,¡± he stated flatly.

    ¡°Uh, yeah. Something like that.¡±

    He let out a grumbling, contemplative noise before stepping around her and harshly clapping her on the shoulder as he passed, ¡°impressive.¡±

    Iris twisted to look back at him with confusion as he walked away, ¡°thanks? Are we friends now?¡±

    The orc barked a short but loud laugh and didn¡¯t look back.

    A few minutes later, Iris was entering the galley where Autumn, Killup and Adan were rushing around preparing lunch. Adan noticed her first and offered a polite nod which she silently returned as she stood waiting for Autumn to notice her. The chef bounced around the kitchen and completed no less than three tasks for before finally catching a glimpse of Iris and coming to a lurching stop.

    ¡°It¡¯s about fucking time!¡± the small woman was already stomping towards Iris with fury in her eyes.

    ¡°Whoa- Hey!¡± Iris held up her hands to defend herself as Autumn reached up to swing hammer fists at her. Backed against the door with no effective means to block the attacks, Iris promptly blipped across the kitchen and took shelter behind Adan, ¡°what¡¯s her problem?¡±

    ¡°I believe she is angry,¡± Adan answered as he continued chopping vegetables.

    ¡°I am so sick of you doing this!¡± Autumn shouted as she charged across the kitchen, picking up a ladle that she wielded suspiciously like a weapon.

    Killup looked up from the dishes he was washing to watch the action, while Iris waited until Autumn grew near and then once again blipped across the galley.

    Autumn spun on her heels and continued charging towards Iris¡¯s new location, ¡°you run off and get yourself lost, we worry about you for hours ¡ª this time days! ¡ª and then you casually show back up like everything¡¯s fine!¡±

    Iris blipped again, but this time appeared immediately in front of Autumn. The chef looked up at her with shock, but her face was soon buried in fabric as Iris pulled her into a hug.

    ¡°I missed you too,¡± Iris said, ¡°next time I almost die, I¡¯ll try to get back sooner.¡±

    Autumn relaxed for a moment and returned the hug, and then shoved her away. She angled the ladle threateningly at Iris as she spoke, ¡°you better!¡±

    Iris smiled and gave a nod before blipping away. Soon, she reappeared in her usual corner of the quiet cargo hold beneath the crew quarters and released a breath she felt like she had been holding for days. Collapsing on the floor with her back against a crate, she pulled the bottomless bag from her waist and placed it on the floor beside her. Tentacles soon rose out of the void and began placing lanterns, soon followed by food and water for Littletooth who was already attempting to squeeze his way out of the void between the mess of tentacles that crowded the opening of the bag.

    This space had become the closest thing Iris had to a bedroom during her time aboard the Gaping Maw, and returning to it now felt like finally getting home after a long and weary journey. There were a few missing elements, of course, but one in particular nagged at her the most.

    ¡°Abby, do you think we could fit a bed into the bag?¡±

    Contemplative noises came from the bag, followed by affirmative noises.

    ¡°Good, let¡¯s do that when we get the chance,¡± Iris slumped over to the side until she lay on the floor.

    After resting in a less-than-comfortable position for some time, she finally sat upright again and conjured her adventure journal from a tear in her palm. She had intended to check it the night before, but had been left in too bad of a mood after the confrontation with Dala. As she hoped, her recent adventures and battles had earned her another level.

    None of her attributes had felt particularly lacking recently, so she took the opportunity to plan for the future. Conjuring tentacles from her palm was quickly becoming a mainstay of her techniques and seemed particularly helpful in dire situations, but it did require a small amount of mana to open the tear. Were she caught in a bad spot without much mana, she might not be able to conjure the tentacles she needed to save herself. While she technically knew how to fly now, there was also the matter of the continue mana cost of doing so. It wasn¡¯t so bad that she couldn¡¯t sustain unobstructed flight indefinitely, but if she wanted any hope of incorporating it into her battles alongside her abilities then she would definitely need more mana at her disposal.

    In the end, she decided to put four of her five available attribute points into Spirit. This would increase both the maximum size of her mana well and the speed at which it regenerated, and also came with the added benefit of increasing the range of her Awareness of Matter ability. The final point went into strength, which she always desired more of.

    IRIS ORION

    Hero Rank, Level 14

    Experience Points: 375 / 15,400

    Progress to next level: 2.43%

    Attribute Scores:

    - Vitality : 44

    - Strength : 64

    - Speed : 41

    - Intellect : 43

    - Spirit : 58

    Unspent attribute points : 0

    As she always did after assigning points, Iris flipped through pages to search for a new journal entry from her mother. The sight of the newly filled in page felt almost like a warm embrace, even if it was fairly short entry. Where the entries had last left off, Mary had found herself abruptly separated from her companions as the season of the landscape around her had changed in an instant. Unable to reconnect with them, she had chosen to continue on her journey and quest alone.

    Dear Iris,

    I spent most of today in the other season. It was summer again, the forest in the distance was lush and green and the air was warm and thick. I called out for much of the day in search of the others, but heard no replies. I camped for the night among the first of many scattered trees where the plains meet the forest, and when I awoke I had returned to this cold and dreary wasteland where the grass has died and the branches are bare.

    I am quite certain, at this point, that I am jumping between two very distant points in time. It is not only the seasons, but the landscape itself that changes. One of the distant mountain peaks has a different shape in this time than the other, and there is even a star in the sky I have never seen before, interrupting my favorite constellation like a pimple.

    Tomorrow I will enter the crooked woods. I hope to spend some of that journey in the summer, as it is a dangerous place to traverse alone in the winter. Whatever the case, I will press on. I hope your adventures are going better than my own.

    Mary Orion,

    969 / ???

 230 - Picking Flowers and Pilfering Nests

    Iris touched down on the branch with a soft landing, the curving hull of the Gaping Maw looming large behind her. Adan soon landed beside her in a crouch, having leapt from the main deck without concern for the distance. The pair were soon joined by a ghostly Victoria slowly descending from above, and a moment later the swamp elf Misty descended on a vine with Killup clinging to her back and shoulders.

    Iris had expected to be quickly put to work repairing the ship upon her return, but to her surprise she had instead been drafted by Autumn for an expeditionary team tasked with exploring the giant tree and gathering any food it had to offer. So long as the peace deal with the Rat Kingdom held, Autumn had plenty of supplies to feed the crew until the ship could restock at Fale Nalore. This mission was purely for the sake of satisfying the captain¡¯s curiosity about what food might be found in these trees, and he had given Autumn full authority to put together a team of her choosing for the task.

    She had elected not to go along herself, citing that she was ill-suited for navigating the unique terrain ¡ª though Iris suspected her fear of heights had a lot more to do it with. True to her reasoning, however, the members of the team had largely been chosen for their mobility and the likelihood they wouldn¡¯t fall from the tree and die. Additionally, Adan had been chosen as the leader of the team for his quick and analytical thinking, while Misty had been a favored pick for her knowledge of the region.

    Only a few steps into their mission, Misty stopped and pointed out a large white flower growing from a vine. The vine was so tightly wound around the branch that it was visibly embedded within the bark, as if the branch had stubbornly grown around and began to consume the vine that constricted it. The flower itself had five slightly overlapping, triangular petals surrounding a fluffy yellow center. Misty crouched and picked the flower, handing it to Iris to inspect.

    ¡°We¡¯ll want to gather as many of these as we can, they can be used with a few basic ingredients to make a wonderful jelly.¡±

    Iris briefly inspected the flower, memorizing its details before nodding and stuffing it into her bottomless bag.

    ¡°We should be on the lookout for bellfruit, as well,¡± Misty said as they continued making their way down the twisting branch towards the trunk of the massive tree, ¡°as you might imagine, they¡¯re vaguely shaped like bells, and typically yellow or purple in color.¡±

    ¡°Like that one?¡± Iris asked, pointing to a dangling fruit a few dozen feet above and just up ahead.

    ¡°Yes, but¡ª¡± Misty paused as Iris launched into action.

    Driving her broom into the bark beneath her feet, she released a burst of force to launch herself into the air towards the fruit. After closing the rest of the gap with a series of blips, she plucked the fruit from its vine and chained another few blips to land on the branch in front of the team.

    ¡°There will likely be plenty that are easy to reach,¡± Misty finished.

    Iris shrugged and stuffed the fruit in her bag, while Victoria gave her a critical look. As they walked, Iris reached out with tentacles from her palm to delicately pluck the flowers that they passed, while Killup ran along on all fours and snatched up a few of his own which he occasionally sprinted up to Iris to place in her bag.

    When the team reached the trunk, their next objective was to travel around it in an upwards spiral to reach the higher branches. Each adventurer had their own methods of doing so, Iris launched off with her broom and chained blips to close the gaps between branches while Victoria casually floated upwards. Killup climbed on the trunk itself, scurrying across it on all fours not unlike a large, stone-skinned squirrel. Misty commanded vines into her grip and then made them retract to pull her upwards, occasionally using them to swing across gaps.

    Adan paused for a moment and evaluated his options, ultimately deciding the best approach would be to simply leap. It was rare he had an opportunity to really push his agility to its limits, but he was confident he could clear the distance and height necessary to reach the next branch. He fell into a deep crouch until his outstretched hand touched the branch beneath him, and then launched upwards in a flash. The leap carried him in a high arc, his trajectory carefully calculated to ultimately drop him securely in the center of the branch upon which he landed.

    As they climbed, leapt and flew through the tree, Iris occasionally paused to inspect some of the smaller branches and compared to a few sketches on a scrap of paper which Eli had given her before she departed. He had requested that she retrieve as many branches she could find that resembled his specifications, explaining that he was hoping at least one of them would be a good candidate for crafting his new staff. She broke off the ones she was able to, and asked Adan to help with the ones she couldn''t, and dutifully dropped each of them into her bottomless bag.

    After climbing up past several branches, the team stopped for their first objective. It was a large bird¡¯s nest situated at the very end of a long, squiggly branch. Inside the nest, they suspected, would be several large eggs that the captain would quite enjoy. The nest had been spotted from the ship, and retrieving the eggs was a specific goal given to them by Autumn before they departed.Stolen novel; please report.

    The main issue with retrieving the eggs ¡ª other than the fierce looking eagle that currently sat in the nest ¡ª was the abundance of thorny vines that wrapped around the majority of the branch¡¯s length. Like most things in the Giantrock Region, these thorns were supersized and significantly more dangerous than any Iris had seen before. The vines themselves were made of a thick woody material, and were large enough to be considered branches in their own right by the standards of normal sized trees. Every few inches of the vine¡¯s length, the same woody material curved outwards into brutally sharp points at the end of nearly foot long spikes. The thorns were so large, and the branch so inundated with them, that walking or even blipping across wouldn¡¯t be an option.

    Iris withdrew her spyglass from her eye after watching the bird for a while, ¡°it doesn¡¯t seem to have noticed us yet. Hard to tell how big it is from this far away, though.¡±

    ¡°Quite large,¡± Adan said, ¡°I am open to suggestions.¡±

    ¡°I could get over there pretty easily,¡± Victoria suggested, ¡°but I¡¯d need someone to distract the bird.¡±

    ¡°I could probably fly around on my broom and get it to chase me?¡± Iris offered.

    ¡°No,¡± Adan said, remaining silent for several seconds before offering an explanation, ¡°the eagle will be quite dangerous and will certainly be more agile in the air than you, it is best if Victoria distracts it.¡±

    Victoria shrugged, ¡°works for me.¡±

    Iris looked around at the other members of the team, ¡°that leaves me to get the eggs, doesn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°Killup could fly over, I suppose,¡± Adan said, ¡°you would need to lend him your bottomless bag.¡±

    Iris looked down at the bottomless bag, which responded with angry sounds, ¡°she says no.¡±

    ¡°Would probably drop her,¡± Killup nodded, ¡°smart bag.¡±

    Iris stepped up to the edge of the bramble and evaluated her options. There were technically enough small gaps in the thorny coverage that it would be possible to blip through the bramble for at least a portion of the distance, but the gaps were so small and the thorns so large and numerous that it would be an extremely dangerous undertaking. One slip could land her face first in a bed of spikes with no good place to blip to to avoid them. Instead she looked to the air and began gauging the viability of flying over the vines.

    ¡°I think I can do it,¡± she said after a moment, ¡°it¡¯s dangerously likely that I overshoot, but worst case scenario I just loop back around.¡±

    ¡°Then it is a plan,¡± Adan said.

    Once it was confirmed that everyone was ready, Victoria floated off towards the nest and began antagonizing the eagle. At first it hunkered down over its nest, but after enough pestering from the ghost it finally flapped its wings and took flight to chase her, letting out a furious screech as it did so.

    That was her signal, and Iris quickly hopped onto her broom and launched into flight. She stayed low over the branch, aiming in a straight line towards the nest as the thorns zoomed by just below her. She stopped putting mana into her broom and twisted ninety degrees in the air to slow her speed as she approached, but overshot it just as she had feared. The nest whizzed past beneath her, and without the constant lift from her broom she quickly fell below the edge of the nest just beyond the branch.

    Normally she would have simply blipped back above the nest and fallen blindly to her landing, but that would risk crushing the eggs they were here to get. Instead, she resumed her flight and looped around in the open air beyond the edge of the tree¡¯s crown and reoriented for a diving approach towards the nest.

    Something large and fast entered her awareness and she instinctively threw herself to the side to lean out of the way just as a feathery mass and gleaming talons whizzed past her. This caused her broom to swerve and threw her into a horizontal spiral that took several seconds to recover from, and by then the bird was coming in for another attack.

    ¡°Sorry!¡± Victoria shouted as she flew past Iris.

    As Victoria¡¯s ghostly form passed through the body of the eagle, its screech faltered and the beat of its wings was disrupted. The disorientation lasted only a second, but it was enough that the eagle¡¯s dive towards Iris fell several feet short, and allowed Victoria to recapture its attention.

    Iris wrestled for control of her broom, feeling like the wind and the broom itself both had minds of her own and she was fighting against both of them. With a sloppy, wobbly path, she dove towards the nest and locked her eyes on the eggs. There were three of them, closely cradled together in the center of the nest with just enough space around the edge for her to land without crushing them.

    Not even remotely trusting her aim for such a precise landing, she instead opted for a blip. She hopped from her broom, flinging herself through the air towards the nest, and kept her eyes intently locked on the exact location she intended to land. It was only when she grew close that the rapidly incoming problem flashed through her mind.

    With no backup plan, she blipped to the spot with her broom outstretched to absorbed her momentum, but as she feared there was no solid surface for it to impact. Instead, it sunk between the twigs, feathers and hair of the nest and failed to absorb any of her speed. Her feet punched through the nest, then her body, and she erupted out the bottom with debris showering all around her. Tentacles erupted from an outstretched palm and wrapped around the smaller branches that cradled the nest, leaving her suspended and gently swinging above a very long drop to the swamp far below.

    One of the eggs rolled and slipped through the hole Iris had punched in the nest, tumbling past her with no way for her to catch it. Thankfully, Abby was prepared, and tentacles reached out of the bottomless bag and enveloped the egg ¡ª which was approximately as wide as Iris¡¯s torso ¡ª and pulled it into the void.

    ¡°Good catch,¡± Iris gasped.

    After a few more seconds to find her bearings, and to be certain no more eggs were about to fall, Iris gently blipped into the nest. As the tentacles slurped back into the void-tear in her palm, more erupted from the bottomless bag and scooped up the remaining two eggs, promptly depositing them in the void.

    She stood and watched for a second as the eagle effortlessly changed directions mid-flight to chase after the zig-zagging ghost that harassed it, smirking at the silly sight before calling out, ¡°all clear!¡±

 231 - A Fluffy Terror

    Once Victoria had escaped from the eagle and rejoined the party, their first goal was to put distance between themselves and the nest. They all expected the bird would become quite upset once it returned to find its nest half destroyed and its eggs missing, and none of them wanted to be nearby when it did. Though they would certainly be capable of fighting if they had to, the team hadn¡¯t been composed with battle prowess in mind and the unique terrain of the enormous tree was an undesirable battlefield for nearly any adventurer. This was a gathering mission, not a hunting mission, and the more confrontation they could avoid the better.

    Once firmly clear of the eagle¡¯s nest, the party found a relatively sheltered nook in a crooked branch to take a rest while Victoria floated off to scout for their next objective. They would need to find a way inside of the massive trunk, to its hollow center, in order to harvest the inner-bark. Misty assured them that it was considered a delicacy in Fale Nalore, and was both cooked and served on its own as a treat as well as ground into a spice. Victoria couldn¡¯t simply phase through the tree and harvest the bark herself because it was so firmly adhered to the trunk that it would take either great strength or specialized abilities to carve it off.

    While they waited, Iris soaked in the ambiance of the environment. The wind blew harshly this high above the swamp, but the many leaves and branches of the tree broke up the currents into gentle but chaotic breezes that came from all directions. Like the swamp below, many insects chirped and buzzed, though there far fewer of them and most were quite large and their sounds much deeper. It reminded her of the redwood forest in a way, filled with familiar but supersized animals. That wasn¡¯t to say everything was familiar, however, one of the most peculiar sights she saw was an eight legged reptile, about two feet long and vaguely shaped like a lizard, that scurried around almost like a centipede.

    When Victoria returned to the team, she told them of an opening in the trunk a few dozen feet higher and on the opposite side of the trunk. They promptly set off in that direction, but navigating the tree as a collective was at times an arduous process that took some time. As they traversed, Killup and Iris picked all the fruits and flowers they came across. Along the way they were occasionally pestered by bulbous flies the size Iris¡¯s head, and on one occasional a small furry creature with a long, agile tail started flinging twigs and nuts at them.

    ¡°Monkeys,¡± Misty said, ¡°they¡¯re annoying little bastards, but they¡¯re smarter than they look. We¡¯ll need to be careful if we run into a group of them.¡±

    The opening to the inside of the trunk was situated just beside a somewhat small branch only wide enough for the adventurers to stand single-file. The opening itself was similar to some that Iris had seen in trees before, where the bark curved inwards to encircle an inexplicable hole in the tree. The difference with this opening, compared to the others she had seen, was that there were several feet of wood before it reached the hollow center, creating a tunnel-like entrance to the tree. The opening itself was oval-shaped, taller than it was wide, and just large enough for the adventurers to climb through.

    ¡°Misty, Iris, you two go inside and retrieve the bark,¡± Adan said, ¡°Victoria will accompany you while Killup and I keep watch out here.¡±

    Misty and Iris nodded and climbed into the opening. It wasn¡¯t tall enough for them to stand even while hunched, so instead they had to awkwardly crawl and squeeze their way through. The bark was rough against Iris¡¯s hands and knees, and she expected she would at least have a few bruises to show for it when they were done.

    The tunnel opened up into a dark but surprisingly spacious vertical, cylindrical chamber that extended into impenetrable darkness both above and below them. Iris¡¯s glow stones and the natural glow of Victoria¡¯s ghostly form were enough to light the far edges of the chamber, which was about twenty feet in diameter. Natural, web like structures of wood bridged across the gap for its entirety, some creating flat surfaces that could be stood on while others were steeply inclined and would be difficult to even climb. A viscous golden-brown ooze occasionally puddled on these bridges, often hanging over the sides in stretched out strands as in frozen in an eternal drip.

    ¡°Don¡¯t disturb the sap,¡± Misty warned as she climbed out of the tunnel onto a mostly horizontal bridge, ¡°some of it will be dormant sap slimes, which we do not want to deal with.¡±

    Iris nodded from within the tunnel before blipping to a sapless-spot on a nearby bridge. Misty followed her own bridge until it reached the inner wall of the tree, where she placed a hand on the bark and closed her eyes. The bark itself was distinctly different than that of the exterior, having a much smoother surface and a pale white color. After a moment, Misty sighed in frustration and withdrew her hand.

    ¡°I work best with soft plants,¡± she explained, ¡°and this tree feels almost stubborn. I won¡¯t be able to remove the bark with my abilities, so we¡¯ll have to carve it.¡±

    ¡°Leave it to me,¡± Iris said confidently.

    Iris summoned her great sword from her palm, stood on the edge of her wood bridge and angled the blade downwards until the tip cut into the bark below her. Once the tip of the sword was lodged in the bark, she leaned forward and applied her weight to the hilt. The blade abruptly sunk into the bark, peeling a large strip of it a few inches away from the trunk as she lurched forward. Iris was now suspended over the darkness with her feet planted on the natural bridge, her outstretched hands clasped to the hilt of her great sword, and her body strewn out almost horizontally between them.

    ¡°I¡¯m okay!¡± she said nervously while eyeing the sword in case it gave way again, ¡°good news, I think we¡¯ll be able to harvest a lot.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re being reckless,¡± Victoria observed.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Iris grunted as she pushed off the bridge with her toes and pushed the hilt towards the trunk with her body.

    The sword sunk deeper into the bark, further peeling away a large chunk as Iris scrambled to balance her feet on the out-turned bark. Briefly, she hung from the hilt with her chest against the flat of the blade and the strip of bark beneath her feet, and then splintering sounds echoed through the hollow. The bark snapped and her sword broke free, and for an instant she was free falling.

    Tentacles shot from an outstretched hand and grabbed hold of the large chunk of bark, and Iris rapidly blipped upwards until she was over her companions head. She landed beside Misty with the sword in one hand and a chunk of bark thicker and longer than her torso in the other.

    ¡°Is this enough?¡± she asked casually.

    ¡°I imagine that¡¯s plenty,¡± Misty said with an impressed expression, while Victoria looked on with a faint frown.

    As they returned to the outside, they were greeted by a motion from Adan to be quiet. He was scanning the branches above them with a wary gaze, while Killup cowered behind him.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Misty whispered.

    ¡°We¡¯re being stalked,¡± Adan warned.

    ¡°Everyone act natural,¡± Misty quickly instructed, ¡°keep your wits about you, but don¡¯t let on that you know the creature is there.¡±

    After exchanging concerned glances, Iris and Victoria did their best to behave as they would normally. Victoria floated slightly above her teammates, turning her back to the branches knowing that anything that attacked her would simply pass through her incorporeal form. Iris blipped over and picked a nearby flower, watching her surroundings out of the corner of her eye.

    ¡°Do you know what it is?¡± Misty asked Adan.

    ¡°It is perhaps some kind of large cat,¡± Adan said, ¡°but it moves more like a squirrel. It is currently above us.¡±

    ¡°Lion-squirrel,¡± Misty said with a worried look, ¡°we should avoid battle at all costs. We could take it without issue on the ground, but it will effortlessly outmaneuver us in this tree.¡±

    ¡°What plan do you suggested?¡± Adan asked.

    ¡°It¡¯s very important we don¡¯t give away that we know it¡¯s there, or it will likely attack prematurely,¡± Misty explained, ¡°if we act casually and stick close together, we may be able to return to the ship before it sees an ideal opportunity to pounce ¡ª or at least get close enough for backup to come to our aid should we need it.¡±

    ¡°Our goals are complete, that is an acceptable plan.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s get moving then,¡± Misty addressed the group, ¡°remember, stick close together, it will target stragglers. If you think you see it, pretend you don¡¯t and never look right at it. Understood?¡±

    The others nodded silently.

    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s move.¡±

    Misty led the way back towards the ship, swinging on vines to cross gaps and descend to lower branches. Killup flew near her, while Adan timed his leaps and Iris her blips to coincide with Misty¡¯s swings. Victoria was the only one who strayed from the group, still staying close enough so as not to be an irresistible target but always ensuring that she was the most isolated among them, with the intent bait the beast into wasting its first pounce on her should it choose to attack.

    They traveled at a brisk pace, certainly faster than they would have had they not been stalked by a dangerous predator, but Misty led them at a speed that wasn¡¯t so fast that it would seem to the lion-squirrel that they were fleeing. Occasionally, Iris caught a glimpse of something darting between foliage or heard the distinct sounds of claws scratching bark, but each time she resisted the urge to snap her head in that direction.

    Descending was much faster than ascending, and soon they have rounded the trunk nearly two times and descended several dozen feet. The Gaping Maw came into view through the branches, and Iris began to relax. Sparks flew as the lion-squirrel slammed into Adan, its hooked claws scraping against his metal skin as the beast tackled him from the branch.

    Iris blipped and lunged forward, throwing herself onto her chest and reaching out over the edge of the branch with a void-torn palm. Tentacles shot out and wrapped around Adan¡¯s outstretched arm. His sudden weight almost yanked her from the branch, but vines controlled by Misty wrapped around her legs and held her in place. The lion-squirrel had slipped off of Adan as his fall abruptly halted, but spread its legs wide to reveal webbed flaps of skin between its knees and torso that acted almost like wings, allowing it glide safety to the trunk of the tree where it quickly sprinted vertically as effortlessly as it might run across ground. Adan hoisted himself up the tentacles as if he was climbing a rope, and soon grabbed hold of Iris¡¯s arm which pulled him back onto the branch.

    ¡°It¡¯s almost back,¡± Victoria warned.

    ¡°Run for it!¡± Misty shouted as Adan reached his feet.

    Killup leapt from the branch and dove for a dozen feet before spreading his wings and taking flight in a wide arc that brought him far from the tree¡¯s trunk and ultimately swung around towards the Gaping Maw. Misty wrapped vines around Adan and pulled him tight against her as she launched into a daring swing over several branches and towards the ship, while Iris launched off on her broom and followed behind them.

    The lion-squirrel ripped off small chunks of bark as its claws dug deep into the tree and launched it forward with each kick. It ran across the trunk and leapt between branches in a slightly zig-zagging pattern, sometimes briefly gliding to extend its jumps.

    It wasn¡¯t truly a mixture of the two animals, but rather a distinct creature that somewhat resembled both. It was certainly the size of a lion, with powerful muscles and a distinctly four-legged gait. Its fur was dark brown and lightly striped with grey, puffing up around its neck almost like a lion¡¯s mane. Its tail was was distinctly squirrel like, large and fluffy and trailing behind it as it ran, while its face was unlike either creature for which it was named. It was a short, broad snout with a wide mouth of canine-like teeth which it bared as it chased its prey.

    Killup was the first to reach the ship, effortlessly gliding to the deck and sighing in relief as he landed. Misty and Adan landed hard after launching from the apex of their swing, both collapsing into deep crouches as they impacted the deck with great force.

    Iris watched the deck grow nearer and nearer as she desperately swung her body side-to-side to sloppily dodge branches and limbs. She felt the lion-squirrel enter her awareness to her left and abruptly dove down and to the right, feeling the gust of air as the creature¡¯s bulky body soared just above her to land on an opposing branch. It kicked off again, this time not leaving Iris enough time to dodge. Instead she blipped, and the beast¡¯s pounce once again found only air.

    Finally the way was clear, and she poured an immense amount of mana into the broom, launching it forward and out from between her knees to fly ahead of her and yank her arms taut out in front of her as she desperately clung to the speeding broom. It flew through the air uncontrolled, pulling her along with it until finally the ship came within blipping distance. She disappeared from the air and reappeared just above the deck, landing hard and bouncing into a tumbling roll that ultimately ended with her back slamming against a mast as her broom clattered past her across the deck.

    ¡°I¡¯m¡ª¡± she held a single thumb as she wheezed, ¡°¡ªfine.¡±

 232 - Dislodging a Skyship

    The last of over a dozen fruit dropped out of the bottomless bag as Iris held it out and shook it upside down. It dropped onto a sizable pile of fruit, half-crushed flowers, and the large chunk of bark from the inside of the tree. Beside the pile were three cautiously placed eggs, each about the size of Killup without accounting for his wingspan.

    Iris, Adan and Killup stood in the Galley before Autumn¡¯s critical glare as she took slow steps around the pile of goods and thoughtfully rubbed her chin, ¡°acceptable.¡±

    While Killup jumped in excitement and Adan showed no reaction at all, Iris let out a sigh of relief that turned into a wince. As the gargoyle and the metal man got to work finding somewhere to store the new ingredients, Autumn gave Iris an appraising look.

    ¡°You doing okay?¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Iris said, grimacing as she rolled her shoulder, ¡°I took a hard fall on the way back. I¡¯ll be fine.¡±

    ¡°Go see Titus.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s busy¡ª¡±

    Autumn picked up a ladle and brandished it towards her, ¡°go, before I give you a better reason to.¡±

    Iris groaned and rolled her eyes, ¡°fine.¡±

    A few moments later Iris was gently knocking on the door to the infirmary. Titus called out from within for her to enter, which she did so hesitantly.

    ¡°Hey, Titus, you got a minute?¡±

    ¡°Where are you hurt?¡± he asked nonchalantly as he moved between his unconscious patients, still tending to their injuries.

    ¡°Around here,¡± Iris gestured to her entire torso, ¡°harsh landing.¡±

    ¡°Sit down, I¡¯ll be with you in a minute.¡±

    After Titus finished his rounds on his patients, he approached Iris and looked her over. After a moment he placed a hand on her shoulder and leaned her forward slightly, peering at her back with a blank expression.

    ¡°What exactly are you doing, anyway?¡± she asked.

    ¡°Watching your blood flow, mostly.¡±

    ¡°You can see my blood?¡± Iris asked in surprise.

    ¡°Yep,¡± Titus said, removing his hand so she could sit upright again, ¡°it¡¯s part my newest ability evolution. You¡¯re not the only one leveling up out here, you know. Did you even know I reached the threshold for my second thread?¡±

    ¡°Really?¡±

    Titus nodded, ¡°after the balrog attack. All this healing goes a long way towards leveling up. I already had an ability for detecting internal injuries, but seeing blood flow in this fine of detail is invaluable. You have to know what you¡¯re looking for, but with the right knowledge it can tell you all kinds of stuff about a person¡¯s condition. Anyway, your spine¡¯s broken.¡±

    ¡°What?!¡± pain shot through her back and cracked her voice mid-shout.

    ¡°It¡¯s just a few minor fractures,¡± Titus chuckled, ¡°everything¡¯s still where it¡¯s supposed to be, otherwise you wouldn¡¯t be walking. Bones heal slowly, though ¡ª if you have the luxury of time to do it correctly, which we do. I¡¯ll start the process now, you¡¯ll have to rest through the day and night and then see me again in the morning for the final touches.¡±

    Iris groaned, ¡°go ahead, say you told me so.¡±

    ¡°Told you what?¡± Titus said as he slowly passed a glowing hand down the length of her spine.

    Iris winced at the sharp sensation of the healing magic, ¡°that I can¡¯t go more than two days without getting hurt.¡±

    ¡°If I mocked my patients every time I was right, they¡¯d stop coming to me when they¡¯re hurt.¡±Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    Titus repeated a few more passes over her spine before sending her on her way. He called after her as she reached the door way, however, just before she was about to blip away.

    ¡°Was it fun?¡± he asked.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°The landing.¡±

    Iris laughed, ¡°it was a blast until the very last second.¡±

    Titus smiled, ¡°I miss being out there. They never let me leave the ship, and even when the fight comes to us there¡¯s too many injuries for me to even think about jumping in the fray. These pirates ¡ª¡± he shook his head, ¡°literally zero sense of self preservation, I swear.¡±

    Iris smiled apologetically, ¡°think of it this way, when you do finally get a chance to fight again, you get to make up for lost time.¡±

    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m going to.¡±

    They exchanged a cheerful glance before Iris blipped away.

    Iris had expected to be put to work when she returned from the mission, but with the healer¡¯s instructions to take it easy for the evening she didn¡¯t have much to offer. When she checked in with her boss, Nelson, to let him know she¡¯d be out of work until at least tomorrow, he informed her she wouldn¡¯t be needed anyway. Repairs ¡ª at least as many as were needed to set sail again ¡ª were complete.

    The ship itself was in pretty bad shape, at least as it appeared from the outside. Several large breaches in the hull were still open along either side of the gun deck, with only a few planks nailed into place up to shoulder height so no one would could fall out. Several sections of the main deck were still stained deep red with blood, and one large area was still missing several planks from its top layer. That was to say nothing of the broken mast that had been discarded to the swamp below, or the trails of splintered wood that wound their way around the ship as the lingering wake of the mutated quartermaster.

    The final preparations were being made for the ship take flight, and a special team had been put together to facilitate the process. The team consisted of Misty, most of the sail workers, a few cannoneers, a collection of the crew¡¯s physically strongest members, and the Shark Titan himself. It was early evening by the time the plan was set into action.

    The cannoneers fired special projectiles lined with hooked spikes and tethered to heavy chains, launching them over branches in front of the ship where they wrapped around and secured themselves like grappling hooks. The strongest pirates then took these chains in hand and pulled them taut while they waiting for the others to get in position. Misty stood at the bow, commanding as many vines as she could manage to wrap around various points of the ship and pull themselves taut as well. Finally, with the first mate at the helm, the Shark Titan descended to the bowels of the ship.

    With the hydra once again starved and weakened and the future of his quest on the line, the Shark Titan was willing to risk a last resort. Activating a secret panel within the observation deck of the hydra¡¯s chamber opened a hatch in the floor that lead to the chamber itself, which he splashed into.

    The hydra immediately struck with its last remaining head ¡ª which had eaten the other two to conserve energy. The Shark Titan deftly dodged with his unmatched underwater agility, and the ship shook as the hydra slammed into the hull in its pursuit. The captain continued to dodge strikes and charges as he swam towards the bow of the ship, baiting the hydra into a lunge that slammed into the front of the hull.

    Up above, the rest of the team felt the ship lurch forward. That was their cue, and the pirates braced themselves against beams and walls as they pulled hard on their chains at the same time as the vines pulled on the ship. They timed it as one long, hard heave, and then relaxed for a moment until the next lurch came. With each lurch and heave, the ship moved forward a few inches, then a few feet, until finally it tipped forward and began to slide on its own. The last of the vines and ropes that helped support it on its perch snapped under the weight, and the loud scraping of the thick keel against the bark of the tree branch thundered through the air.

    The pirates held tight to their chains and braced their backs against walls while crew mates held onto their limbs and ropes tied around their bodies to lend their strength as they held the chains for as long as they could. It was only a few seconds before the first of the pirates released their grips and their chains escaped, leading to a cascade of others doing the same. Combined with the vines, which held tight to the ship until they snapped from its weight, it was enough to swing the ship forward slightly before it was truly cut loose from any support ¡ª just enough to avoid a vertical nose dive towards the ground.

    Dorragth and the quartermaster ¡ª only half recovered from his transformation and still covered in full body bruises and bandages ¡ª joined the first mate in pulling one of the chains extending from the quarter deck beside the helm. Their combined strength was barely enough to actuate the machinery and launch the ship¡¯s wings, which quickly filled with air and began their wave-like flapping motion.

    The ship still tipped slightly forward and plummeted hundreds of feet in the process, but soon shook and rattled as enough of the downward speed was converted to lift and ultimately forward thrust, leveling it out in the sky less than a mast¡¯s height from the canopy of the swamp.

    Only a few moments into flight the ship had settled into a gentle meander and soon began to climb higher in the sky. Not long after the ship was stable, the captain emerged onto the main deck from a stairwell. He was leaning heavily on the wall and hopping forward as he trailed a thick pool of blood from the stump that remained of his right leg.

    ¡°Oh, captain,¡± the first mate groaned when she saw him.

    ¡°That bastard hydra!¡± his shout cracked through the sky.

 233 - Playing With Boomrocks

    In the days following the Gaping Maw¡¯s return to the sky, Iris had a quick recovery and soon returned to work. With one less mast to share the load of steering the ship through harsh winds, the remaining sails were under an unusual amount of stress, which kept iris busy blipping around and tending to ropes and knots throughout much of the day. She soon fell back into her usual schedule of working, training, eating dinner and training some more before each restless night of sleep.

    One evening, her first round of training was interrupted by a faint boom from the far end of the cargo hold. As she curiously blipped closer, she soon heard someone in the midst of a coughing fit. With the collection of glow stones dangling from various parts of her body flashing in and out as she blipped, Iris was impossible to miss as she approached.

    ¡°Careful,¡± Cameron said as he stifled the last of his coughs, ¡°I¡¯ve got explosives laying out.¡±

    Iris abruptly stopped her approach and dropped to the floor several feet from Cameron. He had moved around barrels and crates to give himself a decently sized clear area to work. A pair of waist-high crates pushed up against each other served as a work bench, and meticulously placed across it were bowls and vials housing various liquids, powders and grains. In the center of the clearing was another waist-high crate, this one thoroughly scorched and marked with soot across its top half. Finally, on the opposite side of the clearing from the work bench, was something Iris recognized as a miniature version of the machine the gargoyle tinkerers used to make boomrocks.

    ¡°Trying to blow yourself up?¡± Iris asked.

    Cameron scoffed as he used a cloth to wipe soot from his face, ¡°something like that. I¡¯m trying to stabilize these damn boomrocks.¡±

    ¡°Well you haven¡¯t blown a hole in the ship, so you must be having some success.¡±

    Cameron leaned over his workbench and shook his head, ¡°I¡¯ve found about six different ways to dampen the explosion, but that¡¯s not what I want. I want the same explosion, just a bit harder to trigger.¡±

    Iris blipped over beside the workbench and started peering over the various notes he had scattered about. Some were presumably handwritten by him, but most were crude charcoal diagrams scribbled on rough parchment. Calling them diagrams felt a bit generous to Iris, as they mostly consisted of basic outlines, stick figures, and exaggerated punctuation marks.

    ¡°There¡¯s your problem,¡± Iris said, ¡°these notes are mostly nonsense.¡±

    Cameron sighed with a slight laugh, ¡°take it up with the gargoyles. I don¡¯t know what most of it is even supposed to say. I mean, look at this!¡±

    Cameron briefly flipped through a few of the notes before selecting one and handing it to Iris. The note included a rough drawing of crystal-like shape, which Iris assumed to represent a boomrock, underneath three stacked, waving lines and above three large dots in a horizontal line, ending with a question mark.

    ¡°What the hell is that?¡± he asked with exasperation.

    ¡°Maybe these lines are supposed to be wind?¡± Iris suggested.

    He shook his head, ¡°then the dots wouldn¡¯t make any sense. A gust of wind is enough to make a boomrock blow, and the tinkerers mark explosions with a bunch of bold lines fanning outwards.¡±

    ¡°Did you try asking Killup to decipher it for you?¡±

    ¡°Absolutely not! I let him help once and it was less than ten minutes before he almost got us both killed.¡±

    ¡°Hm, maybe Adan then? He¡¯s good with language.¡±

    Cameron thought about it for a moment, ¡°he¡¯s got a steady hand and a stable mind, I think I could trust him not to blow me up.¡±

    ¡°Then I¡¯ll be right back,¡± Iris blipped away.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    A few minutes later, Adan came descending down the stairs and deftly climbed over the obstacle course of crates and barrels between him and Cameron, led by the flashing light of a blipping Iris. After a few quiet moments inspecting various gargoyle notes, Adan finally spoke.

    ¡°I believe this is supposed to be water,¡± he pointed to the wave-y lines, and then to the dots at the bottom, ¡°and this means to wait and see what happens. I¡¯d guess this was a plan for an experiment yet to be conducted.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s no use, I¡¯ve tried submerging boomrocks in water, they just start shaking violently like they¡¯re about to blow.¡±

    ¡°Well did you try waiting?¡± Iris asked.

    Cameron looked at her blankly for a second, then silently walked away. He grabbed a nearby barrel by the rim and rolled it into the center of the clearing, popping the lid off to reveal the water still sloshing around inside. He returned to the workbench to retrieve a small wooden box, placed far away from any other items, and delicately carried it over the barrel. Opening the box revealed a small sliver of boomrock glowing brightly. With a gloved hand, he carefully removed the sliver and gently dropped it into the water before kicked off the floor to launch himself backwards in a blur.

    At first nothing happened, then the water started bubble as a bright light shined out from the barrel, bathing the ceiling in dancing, broiling ripples. Iris and Adan followed Cameron¡¯s lead as he took cover behind a crate, and the three waited for several moments until the water calmed and the light dimmed. Cautiously, Cameron came out from his cover and slowly approached the barrel. After a moment of nervously peering over the rim, he held a hand out towards Iris and Adan.

    ¡°Pass me my tongs, will you?¡±

    Iris spotted a long pair of metal tongs with leather wrapped tips atop a shorter crate beside the makeshift workbench and blipped them into her hand, then into Cameron¡¯s. He didn¡¯t seem to notice that they had appeared from the air rather than being placed in his waiting hand. He reached into the barrel, delicately plucked the sliver from the bottom, and cautiously withdrew it from the water. When there no was no reaction upon contact with the air, he held it higher for the others to see. Its glow was now distinctly muted and its characteristic vibration was dulled.

    ¡°I think that did it,¡± Cameron said, almost stunned at the revelation.

    He withdrew a pinch of yellow-brown powder from one of the pouches at his waist and drizzled it into a pile on the testing crate, then gently placed the sliver on top of it. He returned to cover and checked to make sure the others had done the same, and then snapped his fingers. The powder on the crate erupted into flames, but the boomrock didn¡¯t explode.

    Cameron let out an excited laugh and ¡ª perhaps a bit recklessly ¡ª hurried over to the crate. He withdrew a larger pinch of a dark blue powder and drizzled it over the sliver before once again returning to cover.

    ¡°So far so good, if this one sets it off, we¡¯ve found our solution. Ready?¡±

    Iris and Adan nodded, and Cameron snapped his fingers. A boom reverberated off the hull and bounced around the cargo hold, sending a few rats hiding nearby scattering as they desperately held their tiny hats to their heads. Splinters rained down across the clearing, even reaching as far as Cameron¡¯s workbench. Peeking out from cover, Iris saw a large hole had been blown into the crate where the boomrock had been.

    Cameron was now laughing with his whole chest and pumping a fist in the air, ¡°those dumb little ingenious bastards!¡±

    ¡°It seems fitting,¡± Adan observed, ¡°that the solution for stabilizing rocks shaken so thoroughly they explode would be as simple as submerging them in water.¡±

    ¡°Exactly!¡± Cameron nearly shouted, ¡°I think that¡¯s the trick with gargoyle science, you have to think like them to work with it. None of my solutions worked because they weren¡¯t stupid enough!¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t you just call them ingenious?¡± Iris asked.

    ¡°They¡¯re the smartest idiots I¡¯ve ever met!¡± Cameron said as he crossed the clearing and began the process of loading a sliver of glow stone into the rock shaking machine.

    ______

    In the captain¡¯s quarters, a very disgruntled Shark Titan was sitting on his bed, grumbling his displeasure as Meredith fitted a peg leg to his stump, ¡°I haven¡¯t had to use this thing in a decade.¡±

    ¡°At least it wasn¡¯t an arm,¡± she sighed.

    ¡°Bastard nearly got my whole torso, you know,¡± the captain said, ¡°I whacked it on the nose to knock it away, though.¡±

    The peg leg fit firmly over the stump with a fair amount of overlap and secured into place with a series of straps that wrapped around his leg and attached to a belt around his waist. It was thicker than a peg leg would normally be, relative to the size of the captain¡¯s actual legs, and hollow on the inside. The cavity would provide space for the first stages of regrowth to occur mostly unobstructed, but the peg leg would need to be replaced with a different one after a few weeks to make room for the later stages of limb growth.

    ¡°It¡¯ll have gotten a lot of strength from this snack,¡± Meredith observed as she tightened the final straps.

    The captain grumbled unintelligibly as he awkwardly stood, waving away the first mate¡¯s offer for help. The wooden leg clonked hard on the planks as he hobbled back and forth across the room to grow accustomed to it.

    ¡°I look ridiculously,¡± he complained, ¡°when the crew sees me like this I¡¯ll probably have to eat someone to keep their respect.¡±6

 234 - Fale Nalore

    It took a week¡¯s travel before the city of Fale Nalore came into view on the horizon. It first appeared as only an abnormal cluster of enormous trees, sprouting up from the delta of many small rivers that had splintered through the swamp and now rejoined into a massive, sprawling wetland. The smaller trees that made up the bulk of the swamp grew less dense, now divided by wide swathes of water and joined by a new variety that stood in the water on densely packed roots like a mess of stilts.

    Long before any details of the city came into view, the captain ordered the ship¡¯s flag lowered. The black canvas marked with the white drawing of a shark¡¯s open maw was replaced with a blue flag bearing a nondescript crest of a shield and sword. Iris didn¡¯t know the purpose of changing the flag, but she imagined it must be out of desire not to announce themselves as pirates upon their approach.

    As the city grew nearer, it became clear the Gaping Maw wasn¡¯t the only ship in the sky. There were a few crafts that loosely resembled ships, but in place of their sails were large, balloon-like structures above roaring open flames. Another ship, much smaller than the Gaping Maw, rose and fell with the currents of the wind on long, elegant wings that flapped almost like a soaring bird¡¯s.

    The city¡¯s nature as a hub for sky ships soon became clear as ships docked and departed from just beneath the crowns of the enormous trees. Through her spyglass from her perch on the bow, Iris discerned there were two different types of docks, both were affixed high up on the trunks of the trees and suspended by long slanted supporters and chains connecting to the overhead branches. Some were merely flat platforms that extended outwards for the balloon ships to float up next to, while others were deep trench-like structures which the faster, wing driven ships would sail into and somehow slide to a stop before they could slide off the other side.

    Upon closer inspection, Iris began to wonder if the trees that made up the city were actually trees at all. They trunks gleamed brightly in the afternoon, and through her spyglass they appeared to be white marble towers rather than trees. She soon noticed that the white bricks extended up into the canopy, parting only for the branches that spread out to form the crowns, leading her to believe they were truly trees but had been almost completely encased in man-made structures. After a while, many doors, windows, walkways and balconies could be seen crisscrossing the towers with no small number of people moving in and out of them like ants in their tunnels. In all, there were six of these tower-trees, roughly forming a ring.

    The first mate lined the ship up for a sliding-dock on one of the towers. As the ship approached, activity in the tower rapidly increased. People popped in and out of doors as they hurried to descend, while a few people ¡ª merely dots in the distance ¡ª flew from the other towers and the ground below to converge on the dock the first mate had chosen. Bells rung out across all six towers, and cannons boomed in the distance. The first volley flew wide to the port-side, punching through low flying clouds.

    ¡°Captain?¡± the first mate asked casually from the helm.

    ¡°I¡¯m thinking,¡± he grumbled.

    ¡°I told you we needed a backup plan,¡± she sighed.

    ¡°They had no way of expected us! I''ve never even attacked them from this ship before!¡± the captain cut himself off and growled for a moment, ¡°fuck it, bring us in for the landing.¡±

    Meredith paused to shout urgent commands to the crew, who promptly swung the sails to match her orders. The ship tilted hard to one side, veering sharply to dodge the next volley of cannon balls now aimed directly at it.

    ¡°They¡¯ll cut the ropes so we slide right through,¡± she huffed, having seen this manner of dock before.

    The captain thought for a moment, ¡°can you spin us around?¡±

    At Meredith¡¯s orders, the ship dodged another volley. She paused for a moment to stare at the captain blankly. The tower was fast approaching and they both knew there wasn¡¯t time to argue. The captain smiled wide.

    ¡°Prepare starboard broadside!¡± he shouted loud enough for the cannoneers on the deck below to hear him.

    ¡°Full spin port side!¡± Meredith shouted.

    Even her well trained crew was caught off guard by that command, a distraction further exacerbated by the first cannon balls slamming into their hull. Most failed to penetrate past the first layer of thick redwood planks, but a few poked holes in sails as they turned to meet the first mate¡¯s command.

    Iris was nearly thrown from the ship as it groaned and twisted abruptly, only a desperate blip saved her from falling overboard. Already having had enough of the danger, she blipped below deck, appearing for only on instant on the gun deck as cannons were frantically loaded before disappearing again. She arrived in the crew quarters balancing on one foot as the spinning ship did its best to topple her. With nowhere else to go -- and still precariously balancing -- she blipped into the galley.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± Autumn asked as Iris appeared and promptly caught herself on a nearby rack of shelves.

    ¡°We¡¯re under fire,¡± Iris answered hurriedly, ¡°by the city.¡±

    ¡°The city we¡¯re supposed to land at?¡± Autumn gawked.

    ¡°Fale Nalore hates pirates,¡± Killup said casually as he continued scrubbing dishes, "especially shark pirates."

    _____

    From the starboard side cannon ports, the towers of Fale Nalore came into view. Cannons fired in a burst, and Cameron winced with each blast as he balanced against a pillar. In recent days they had done test fires of his newest invention, boomrock-core cannon balls, but this was the first full volley of them to be fired and their first use in combat. He allowed himself a short breath after none of the cannons exploded, but still observed nervously as the cannon balls soared through the sky. Many passed through the branches of the tree harmlessly, but the ones that impacted a solid target exploded into dazzling blasts that shattered stone and obliterated wood. He smiled wide, and nodded to the lead gunner to continue ordering more to be loaded.

    At the helm, the captain and the first mate clung to the quarterdeck railing for balance as the ship completed its spin. Its stern was now facing the tower that it would reach in only moments. The captain stumbled forward awkwardly on his peg leg, reached out and yanked a chain beside the helm, initiating the mechanism to expose the ship¡¯s rearward thrusters while Meredith continued shouting frantic commands to steer the backwards ship towards the dock. The yank of another chain retracted the wings, and the ship momentarily soared through the air aided only by its momentum.

    The first branches passed over the ship, casting shadows across its deck. Flames lit within the thrusters before jets of fire erupted outwards. The ship came down hard in the docking trench, jostling its crew and all its cargo as the wooden keel scraped across the stone trench. The ropes that would normally be strewn across the width of the trench to slow incoming ships had indeed been severed, their remains were quickly incinerated by the perpetual roaring blasts of the thrusters. The ship slowed, but not enough. The far edge of the trench was quickly approaching.

    Vines shot out from the branches overhead and wrapped around the ship¡¯s masts, railings and anything else they could grasp. Many were severed by well placed arrows or bolts of magic from the well guarded dock, while others simply snapped under the tension. The captain was laughing hysterically.

    ¡°Drop anchor!¡± his order boomed between bouts of joyous laughter.

    The anchor fell, crashing into the stone and leaving a crater in its wake. It was quickly pulled along by the sliding ship, but its hooks dragged across the stone with great complaint, carving a deep ruts behind it. More vines wrapped around the ship, and the captain pulled one final chain ¡ª the roar of flames behind the ship doubled in size, belching out thick black smoke and burning the lowest hanging leaves above the dock. The blast was short lived, and the flames soon fluttered out as the last of the oil in their tanks was burned ¡ª but it had been enough, the ship came to a rest with only a few dozen feet between its stern and the edge of the trench.

    The bow of the ship was roughly in line with the docking platform, where the center of the ship would have lined up in an ideal landing. The dock was rectangular, with the broad side lined up with the trench. On either side of the dock were sheer drops with no rails or walls along the edges, while the back side curved around the encased trunk of the tree.

    The captain leapt the length of the ship in a single bound, landing only for an instant near the bow before leaping again towards the platform. It was crowded with armored soldiers and robed mages that stood behind three figures who stood closest to the ship. The Shark Titan cracked stone as he landed among the trio, splitting his jaw wide and enveloping the torso of the closest figure. His teeth crunched down just above the hip bones, instantly severing the man in two.

    Cannons fired from the ship at any angle they could find, barreling through and exploding among the assembled soldiers. Guns fired from pirates crowded on the bow, and streaks of white magic shot down from somewhere in the ship¡¯s sails.

    Arrows, javelins and bolts of magic pelted the captain as he turned his head high and repeatedly chomped his jaw to swallow his meal. Even as he swallowed, he swung a wide arm that slammed into the chest of another of the trio, flinging him a dozen feet away to slide across the dock. The third, a swamp elf woman in gleaming gold armor, drove a spear deep into his gut. He looked down on her in surprise for an instant, and laughed as he reached out and grabbed her by the neck. He lifted her high and continued laughing in her face.

    ¡°These are the titans are Fale Nalore?¡± He roared, ¡°babies! Infants! Yet to even glimpse godhood!¡± he opened his jaws to devour the woman.

    ¡°Enough!¡± the titan he had thrown aside shouted from behind him, speaking in the ancient tongue, ¡°we¡¯ll parley!¡±

    The Shark Titan paused with his teeth looming on either side of the woman¡¯s head, then slowly twisted to face the man as the exchange of fire ceased from other side ¡ª the elves at the titan¡¯s mention of parley, and the pirates at the order of their first mate. The man was a green skinned elf as well, and wore similar armor to the woman in the captain¡¯s grasp. An emblazoned crest adorned his chest plate, depicting a towering tree inside a circle of vines.

    ¡°Theomon!¡± the woman gasped.

    ¡°What choice do I have?¡± the man pleaded with her.

    ¡°To defend our city with honor!¡±

    The captain turned back to the woman, his breath warm on her face as he spoke in the old language, ¡°he has invoked parley, and so we shall.¡±

 235 - Quick Negotiations

    The woman in the Shark Titan¡¯s hand hung limp from his grasp around her neck, though she did not struggle to breathe. The elven soldiers stood uneasy at the sight, anxiously gripping their weapons but heeding their commander¡¯s request for parley. Theomon, the male elf titan, forced his posture into a facsimile of casualness as he loosened the pale brown shirt collar that extended out from his golden chest plate.

    ¡°Please release her,¡± Theomon spoke softly but with tension in his voice.

    The captain looked at the woman for a moment, her spear still half-buried in his gut, then he looked back to Theomon, ¡°no.¡±

    Theomon visibly tensed but held back the wavering in his voice, ¡°how can we parley while you hold one of ours captive?¡±

    He spoke in a tongue so old it had no name, the singular language that once dominated the lands of the Giantrock region. The captain in turn spoke in this same language, though he stumbled over vowels and spat out the words like a poisoned wine.

    ¡°You are pitiful,¡± the Shark Titan seemed disappointed, ¡°I heard the titans of Fale Nalore were weak, but I at least thought you¡¯d fight.¡±

    ¡°Oh, we will¡ª¡± the woman spoke, and the captain tightened his grip.

    ¡°Serella, please,¡± Theomon pleaded, ¡°let me handle this.¡±

    Even as the captain¡¯s grasp constricted her throat, the woman sneered at her ally.

    ¡°I am bored,¡± the captain said flatly, ¡°what do you offer?¡±

    ¡°We will cease all hostilities in exchange for the same, and offer you use of our dock until tomorrow¡¯s sunrise.¡±

    Laughter burst from the captain¡¯s lungs, scattering what few birds had returned to their branches after the cannon fire ceased. The wind was picking up, and Theomon¡¯s diligently held expression had begun to crack.

    ¡°What more do you demand?¡± he asked, revealing a hint of anger in his voice.

    The captain cocked his head to the side as he inspected the man with a bemused smile, ¡°provisions for a week¡¯s travel, materials to repair my ship, and three nights at your dock ¡ª and in return, we don¡¯t take it the hard way.¡±

    The elven soldiers exchanged murmurs and glances at the demands, while the few pirates who spoke the old language cheered from the Gaping Maw. Freshly fallen leaves were drifting through the air, dancing and twirling around the titans on the now aggressive winds. The captain had failed to notice the subtly twirling fingers of Serella.

    ¡°You may as well request a chest of gold!¡± Theomon scoffed.

    The captain thought for a moment, ¡°sure, throw that in too.¡±

    The first leaves touched the captain¡¯s face, slicing through scales and drawing fine lines of blood. The winds doubled in strength and a flurry of leaves assaulted him, cutting through his coat and drawing trickles of blood across his body. He snapped his head around to crunch the woman¡¯s skull, but her feet met his ribs at the same time as a spear skewered his wrist. His gnashing jaws found only air as she torqued the spear and forced open his grip, dropping to the ground and deftly dancing around him in a crouch as she withdrew a sliver of metal from a sheath on her waist that rapidly expanded into another spear.

    ¡°Take the tower!¡± the captain barked to his crew even as the leaves still shredded his flesh.

    Cannons boomed and the battle resumed. Pirates leapt and swung off the ship, diving into a disorganized mess of a battle with no clear fronts. Guns rang off as swords clashed and spells were cast, and the first deaths came in seconds. The pirates and elves alike gave a wide birth to the battling titans near the middle of the dock, where gold glowing spears now hung in the air above a roaring cyclone of leaves that all but obscured the fight within.

    From a tiny porthole in the crew¡¯s quarters of the Gaping Maw, Iris peered out at the battle. She winced at the sight of a beheading, and quickly stepped back from the porthole. The ceiling rumbled as cannons on the next deck up were wheeled back to be reloaded.

    ¡°I need my rocks,¡± Autumn said as she charged up to Iris, holding out a hand as if Iris could dump them all into her palm.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°Are you going out there?¡± Iris almost gasped.

    ¡°Of course I am,¡± she seemed taken aback by the question, ¡°that¡¯s our crew.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡ª¡± Iris hesitated, ¡°doesn¡¯t it seem like the elves are defending themselves?¡±

    Autumn scoffed, ¡°they shot at us!¡±

    ¡°Yeah,¡± Iris said with a grimace, ¡°we¡¯re pirates.¡±

    The two were silent for a moment while Autumn appeared to think about it. Before she responded, Titus approached them with a quick pace and heavy boots. He was wearing his armor, so finely polished that it gleamed even in the dull glow of lanterns.

    ¡°I don¡¯t feel right about this,¡± he acknowledged without prompting, despite his apparent readiness.

    ¡°C¡¯mon, you¡¯re on her side?¡± Autumn asked, ¡°I¡¯ve been listening to you go on about yearning for battle every day for weeks.¡±

    ¡°Not this kind of battle,¡± he said grimly, ¡°we¡¯re invaders.¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re pirates!¡± Autumn said in an almost pleading manner, ¡°this is what we signed up for!¡±

    Her point was punctuated by the latest burst of booming cannons, briefly halting their exchange. In the pause, Iris could feel the disagreement growing, and worried that Autumn might charge off into battle before they could change her mind.

    ¡°We should ask Eli what to do,¡± Iris said quickly when the cannons paused.

    They both looked at her, and for a moment Autumn seemed ready to argue. After a tense moment, however, she softened slightly.

    ¡°Fine, go ask him ¡ª but I want my rocks now.¡±

    Iris turned the bottomless bag upside down in front of Autumn and shook it, dumping a pile of heavy marble chunks onto the floor, ¡°I¡¯ll be back soon, don¡¯t go anywhere.¡±

    Iris blipped straight upwards, appearing on the gun deck and main deck for only brief flashes as her blips carried her up into the sails. From there, she conjured her broom from the palm of her hand and held it tight as she trickled mana into it to propel it upwards, dragging her along with it. When she was close enough, she blipped into the crow¡¯s nest where she found Eli and Victoria already arguing.

    ¡°We¡¯ve come so far, we can¡¯t just throw it away!¡± Eli shouted.

    ¡°We¡¯re not throwing it away, we¡¯re cutting our losses!¡±

    Eli sighed and leaned against the central pillar with both hands.

    ¡°Look, I don¡¯t like it either,¡± Victoria continued, ¡°the situation sucks, we don¡¯t have to argue about that part.¡±

    ¡°Catch me up,¡± Iris said, announcing herself to the two distracted adventurers. They both looked up at her, but only Eli seemed surprised to see her.

    ¡°Vic thinks we should leave the ship,¡± Eli said.

    ¡°If we defect now, maybe the elves will take us in,¡± Victoria insisted.

    ¡°That¡¯s a big decision,¡± Iris pointed out, ¡°downstairs, we¡¯re still arguing about who the bad guys are.¡±

    Eli pushed off the pillar and pointed a finger at Victoria as he spoke to Iris, ¡°she¡¯s been sitting on that plan for a while, ready to spring it on us if something like this happened.¡±

    ¡°Not just in case,¡± Victoria corrected, ¡°I¡¯ve been preparing for when this would inevitably happen. You¡¯re acting like we didn¡¯t literally join a crew of pirates, did you think they wouldn¡¯t pillage?¡±

    ¡°We don¡¯t know if they¡¯re going to pillage,¡± Eli countered, ¡°the soldiers attacked us, maybe they¡¯re just defending the ship.¡±

    Victoria responded with only a critical look. After a fierce moment of eye contact, Eli sighed.

    ¡°We need this ship,¡± he said quietly, ¡°it¡¯s our ticket off the continent.¡±

    ¡°No, you need it to have been the right decision,¡± Victoria said flatly, ¡°going along with the plan, helping us get on this ship in the first place, you need it to have been the right call so you can protect your pride as a leader. Fine, it was the right call, but that doesn¡¯t mean its right to see it all the way through.¡±

    ¡°And if we don¡¯t? If instead we strand ourselves in a swamp with a bunch of elves that are more likely to imprison us than help? Where does that get us?¡±

    ¡°Look at them, Eli,¡± Victoria pointed out the window of the crow¡¯s nest, her expression desperate and full of sadness, ¡°I can see their auras, I can see their emotions. The elves are scared and desperate, they¡¯re recoiling at the bloodshed while the pirates are reveling in it ¡ª feasting on it. That battlefield is filled half way with joy, Eli. They¡¯re going to cut and shoot their way through those soldiers, and then cut and shoot their way through the whole damn tower, and they¡¯ll be laughing and cheering the whole time. This is only the first time it¡¯s happened since we joined because it¡¯s only the first chance they¡¯ve had. They live for this, and as long as we¡¯re a part of this crew they¡¯ll expect us to take part.¡±

    Until that point, Iris hadn¡¯t been truly sure how she felt. Dala¡¯s warning about the tyrant shark echoed in the back of her mind, despite her best efforts to forget everything the woman had ever said to her. Joining the battle was objectively out of the question, the thought of it twisted her stomach, but there was enough plausible deniability about who exactly the aggressors were that she thought maybe she could still cling on to her hopeful ideas about the nature of the Gaping Maw. Victoria¡¯s words about the crew tipped the scales beyond balance, however.

    ¡°This was always kind of a powder keg,¡± Iris admitted somberly, ¡°I¡¯ve been enjoying the adventure of it all, pretending this crew is like the pirate crews from the storybooks ¡ª but the real world isn¡¯t like the books.¡±

    Eli looked mad, but it was clear the target of the anger was his own conflicted feelings. He looked to Victoria with an intense but not unfriendly expression, ¡°you¡¯ve seen the captain''s maps, right?¡±

    ¡°I pass through his chambers when its empty and catch glances, but I never linger.¡±

    ¡°How many more cities between us and the Shining Blue?¡±

    Victoria looked away as she thought for a moment, ¡°none. There¡¯s Farwater on the coast to the north, but we won¡¯t pass near it.¡±

    ¡°I can make a plan with that," he nodded, "we sit this battle out and lay low until we have a chance to talk as a party. Fair?"

    Iris nodded immediately, though Victoria hesitated. Finally, after several seconds, she gave a slight nod and Iris blipped away to inform the others.

 236 - Planning The Escape

    Every member of the party had their own feelings about the pirates that had developed over time since first setting sail, but there had been precious few opportunities to discuss them with each other during their time aboard. There weren¡¯t many places in the ship safe from prying ears, and though the far reaches of the cargo hold offered some quiet solace to Iris, the party could have hardly held meetings there without drawing suspicion. So, each had held their feelings in to fester, and now found them forced to the surface with a demand to be acknowledged.

    They had each watched, from one vantage or another, as the battle on the dock turned to a massacre. The elven soldiers were well armed and well trained, but lacked the spirit for battle and were quickly overrun by the besieging pirates who slaughtered them from every angle. The captain took many blows during his fight with the young elven titans, but they failed to put him down before he devoured them both. The battle ended with their blood gurgling in his mouth as he roared a deep, thunderous cackle.

    In the aftermath, any doubts about the nature of the pirates were put to rest. First they took the few remaining soldiers who begged to surrender to the corners of the dock, where they were pushed over the edge to plummet towards the swamp below. Then, they stalked the battlefield, searching for any wounded survivors and casually executing them on the spot. All the while, morale was high and cruel laughter rung out through the now still air.

    With most of the crew now working their way down the countless floors of the tower outside, the party gathered around their usual dinner spot near Eli¡¯s bunk. There were no other pirates in the crew quarters ¡ª Victoria had checked twice ¡ª and the nearest ears were on the far end of the deck in the infirmary.

    They waited in silence until Titus joined them. He had only bothered to remove a few pieces of his armor while tending the wounded who were brought to him after the initial battle, the rest still clanked as he walked. Blood soaked his white undershirt and crusted on the edges of his greaves and vambraces, and he wiped splatters from his face with a dirty rag as he leaned against a barrel near his companions.

    ¡°I should have gone out there,¡± his voice was haunted by his regret, ¡°two men died in my arms who could have been saved if I¡¯d gotten to them sooner.¡±

    The prevailing opinion, even amongst pirates, was that healers should hang back from the action and heal the wounded brought to them, His absence from the battlefield hadn''t been missed and didn''t rouse any suspicions of his loyalty.

    ¡°Could you have left the elves to die in front of you?¡± Victoria asked as gently as she could, ¡°or would you have healed them too, and given yourself away as a traitor?¡±

    ¡°Is that what we are now?¡± Autumn asked a little too loudly.

    ¡°Keep your voice down,¡± Eli interjected.

    ¡°Just like that, we¡¯re calling ourselves traitors?¡± she continued in a whisper, ¡°am I the only one who actually wants to be a part of this crew?¡±

    ¡°Being a part of this crew means being a pirate,¡± Victoria said, ¡°and being a pirate means killing and looting the innocent. Is that what you want to be?¡±

    Autumn leaned back against the wall behind the upturned bucket she used as a stool, the black marble armor she still wore thunking against the inner hull. Her face showed she was conflicted, but she didn¡¯t answer.

    After several tense, quiet moments, Victoria spoke up again, ¡°we¡¯ve all seen this coming, right? We¡¯ve heard the stories the pirates tell over meals, we¡¯ve seen their callous disregard for death, surely we all knew we couldn¡¯t fit in here forever.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve been letting myself believe we lucked ourselves into something good,¡± Eli admitted as he placed his face in his hand, ¡°ignoring the warning signs, I guess.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t see much locked away in the infirmary,¡± Titus said, ¡°but I haven¡¯t met a single person on this ship I actually get along with, and I¡¯ve treated just about all them. Other than that, it¡¯s been easy enough to ignore that they¡¯re pirates.¡±This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

    ¡°Why¡¯d we even come here, then?¡± Autumn asked, ¡°we knew they pirates from the start. We knew what we were getting into.¡±

    ¡°We saw an opportunity and we took it,¡± Eli said, ¡°let¡¯s not pretend we spent that much time thinking about it.¡±

    ¡°Maybe you didn¡¯t,¡± Autumn accused, ¡°Mr. ¡®Always A Killjoy¡¯ until you saw a chance to sail away with your boyfriend, and then nothing else mattered. Where is he now, by the way?¡±

    ¡°This was never about Cameron,¡± Eli shook his head, ¡°I supported this plan because it was the best option for the party.¡±

    Autumn scoffed and looked away.

    ¡°Guys, do we even know what we¡¯re arguing about?¡± Iris pleaded, ¡°I get it, we¡¯re all on different pages right now, but¡ª seriously, do any of us actually understand where the others are?¡±

    It was quiet for a moment while a few of them shifted uncomfortably and glances were passed around the circle.

    ¡°Alright then,¡± Eli said, ¡°lets go one-by-one and say how we feel.¡±

    Everyone else groaned.

    ¡°You¡¯re talking to us like toddlers again,¡± Victoria pointed out.

    ¡°Well, right now we¡¯re arguing like toddlers, so¡ª¡±

    ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll go first,¡± Autumn interjected, ¡°I like it here. I finally get to put my skills to good use and I¡¯m finally respected for it. I have a whole kitchen, assistant chefs, a whole warehouse worth of ingredients ¡ª it feels good. It¡¯s nice to be a part of something big, even if that something is a pirate crew.¡±

    Eli nodded as she finished, then waited to be sure she was finished before motioning to Iris to go next. She set up straight in surprise, having expected the turns to go around the circle in the other direction.

    ¡°I like it here, I guess,¡± she hesitated, ¡°I mean, it¡¯s nice. It feels like an adventure ¡ª a real, grand adventure that I¡¯ll remember forever. But I don¡¯t like what I saw out there today, and if there¡¯s more of that in the future then I don¡¯t want any part of it.¡±

    Titus went next, ¡°it feels like a job. It¡¯s been tolerable so far, but even if you asked me yesterday I wouldn¡¯t have had any nice things to say about it besides maybe the experience I¡¯ve gained. It¡¯s my job to save people, but¡ª after what they did to the survivors out there, I¡¯m honestly not sure I¡¯d mind if this whole ship sank into the ocean.¡± The last words out of his mouth were said bitterly and with an absent stare.

    Eli sighed and rubbed his hand down his face as he prepared for his turn to speak, ¡°I feel like we¡¯ve all had a chance to grow in our own ways here, and I think it¡¯s been good for us. I¡¯d be lying if I said I didn¡¯t sometimes worry that something like this would end up happening to ruin it all, but I tried not to think about it much. I really wanted this to be a good a thing. I want to stay and make it work, but it feels like the best thing now might be to leave.¡±

    Eli looked to Victoria, who was silent for several moments before she spoke, ¡°this was always about what we could get out of it,¡± she closely guarded her emotions as she spoke, ¡°at least that¡¯s how I saw it. I didn¡¯t come here to be a part of anything or have any grand adventures, I just wanted to catch an easy ride to the next place. I knew that sooner or later, though, pirates would be pirates, and I thought when that happened we¡¯d all agree to jump ship and find the next thing.¡±

    After another round of silence, Eli sighed and clasped his hands, ¡°okay, now what?¡±

    Autumn furrowed her brow, ¡°you¡¯re the leader, you tell us.¡±

    Eli sat up straight and took in a deep breath, ¡°I have a plan, I think it''s a descent one, but and I¡¯m open to suggestions.¡±

    ¡°If we took a vote,¡± Iris gave an apologetic look to Autumn, ¡°I think it¡¯s safe to say it would be to leave, so lets figure out how we do that.¡±

    Autumn stayed mostly silent over the next several minutes as the party discussed their potential exit plans. Victoria was adamant that the best course of action would be to leave now, while the ship was still in Fale Nalore, and try to get their way onto another airship, but there were many flaws in that plan that the others pointed out. The obstacles to getting aboard another ship were largely discarded as irrelevant, as they were all confident they could make it happen one way or another, but there was the problem of how they would be received by the citizens. Even Victoria¡¯s confidence had waned in that regard following the brutal aftermath of the battle on the dock. In the end they all agreed that, in all likelihood, that they would be imprisoned or killed for even having been a part of the Gaping Maw¡¯s crew ¡ª deserters or not. The only other option that left them in Fale Nalore was attempting to go unnoticed or somehow pretend they weren¡¯t from the Gaping Maw, which they all had much less confidence in their ability to pull off for an extended period.

    In the end, Eli¡¯s plan was the one they decided to go with. They would stay aboard the ship until it neared the coast, at which it point they would escape into the night and make their way north to Farwater, where they would hope to catch a ship to a destination to be decided when they got there. The rest of their meeting was spent discussing the specifics of that escape, accounting for both the ship being in the air or in the water at the time, and what each of their roles would be in either case.

 237 - What Color is the Void

    ¡°I don¡¯t like it,¡± Eli said flatly.

    ¡°Neither do I,¡± Iris admitted, staring down at the scrap of paper given to her by Dala.

    Beside them in the crow¡¯s nest stood Victoria. It had become a relatively easy and private meeting place for the trio, as Eli always had a reason to be there and it was easy for Iris and Victoria to reach quickly and discretely. The only limitation was Hedley, though it was easy enough to time their meetings when he was off shift and most likely to be resting.

    Iris had explained the matron witch¡¯s attack on her soul and the supposed lesson it was meant to teach her, as well as her recommendation of a woman in Fale Nalore who could allegedly help Iris finally rid herself of the nightmare. Now she proposed the idea of sneaking into the city to find this woman, even as the pirate crew of the Gaping Maw secured their control over the tower-tree at which the ship was docked.

    ¡°You¡¯ll stand out,¡± Victoria acknowledged, ¡°but I don¡¯t think anyone¡¯s first thought would be pirate.¡±

    It the was the second day docked in Fale Nalore. No one had questioned the party¡¯s decision to stay behind on the ship ¡ª in fact, it seemed to have been expected that they stay behind due to their lower level. Only Victoria, the only member of the party to have reached Champion rank, was at any risk of expectations to participate in the raiding party, but most didn¡¯t even know when she was present, so now none seemed to notice her absence. The last orders to be relayed back to the ship were that no members of the crew were to go beyond the lowest floor of the conquered tower, beyond which was apparently a sprawling ground level city hidden beneath the swamp¡¯s canopy.

    Along with those orders came the information that the soldiers and adventurers of the city had organized a thorough blockade around the base of the tower and weren¡¯t allowing anyone in or out. Iris argued this would ultimately help her if she decided to enter the city, as it would decrease any suspicion that she might be a pirate once she was past the blockade.

    After several moments of thought, Eli spoke again, ¡°how would you get down?¡±

    Iris shrugged, ¡°that¡¯s the easy part, I¡¯ll just jump overboard.¡±

    ¡°That won¡¯t work,¡± he said quickly, ¡°they¡¯ll be watching the ship closely for fliers or slow-fallers attempting to evade the blockade.¡±

    Iris frowned while she tried to think of a better idea.

    ¡°I want Vic to go with you in case anything goes wrong,¡± he continued, ¡°so whatever plan you cook up needs to accommodate her.¡±

    ¡°And before you say it,¡± Victoria interjected, ¡°no, I can¡¯t just float down. They¡¯d see me just as clearly even in my spectral form.¡±

    ¡°What if you flew down inside the tree trunk,¡± Iris suggested, ¡°then underground for a while before popping up in the city somewhere?¡±

    Victoria shook her head, ¡°anyone who can see auras ¡ª or even has particularly good aura senses ¡ª would spot me immediately.¡±

    Iris sighed and froze for a while, then snapped her fingers and pointed at Victoria with a smile, ¡°I know what to do!¡±

    ______

    A short while later, Autumn was casually strolling along the main deck and occasionally stopping to inspect the few planter barrels that had survived the ship¡¯s many troubles. Each was overgrown with a mess of green, leafy stalks that crowded together in the confined space. She had been harvesting the dense, bulbous roots from these stalks for weeks to supplement her ingredient stores, and it wasn¡¯t unusual to see her perusing the barrels during downtime.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

    While checking the barrels on the quarterdeck at the very back of the ship, she discretely glanced over her shoulders to ensure no one was watching her. The barrels were secured with ropes and vines to the railing, beyond which was open sky. Though the keel of the ship had stopped just short of the very edge of the docking trench, the curvature of the ship¡¯s hull left the stern hanging over only air.

    After pretending to peruse while she loosened knots, Autumn stood up on her toes to reach up over the rim of the barrel and stuff her arm down into the soil to fish around for roots worth plucking, but a miscalculation of balance brought her ¡ª and the barrel ¡ª tumbling onto the deck. Though her weight alone wasn''t enough to snap the vines and ropes that still had it, a quick yank of the barrel towards her chest as she fell did the trick. Plant stalks, bulbous roots and chunks of dirt scattered across deck, many spewing between the posts of the railing and tumbling through the air. In the disarray, Autumn pulled the bottomless bag from her belt and slipped it between the posts to join the falling debris.

    To any distant observers, the bag would look like nothing more than a particularly large clump of dirt or plant matter. It was a long, windy fall before the bag finally punched through the canopy and bounced off branches and twigs. It briefly hung in a nook between two branches, but a clump of falling roots soon slapped into it and knocked it loose, dropping it down where it came to to a rest atop mossy flagstone pavers embedded in the soft ground.

    Inside the void, Abby was floating ominously amidst the perpetually floating debris of the bag¡¯s many items. She was holding up a single tentacle as if to say ¡°hold on.¡±

    It had taken Victoria a moment of stunned staring ¡ª and several moments of discrete side-eyeing ¡ª to finally get over Abby¡¯s true visage. Now she stood on the invisible floor, darting her gaze uncomfortably around the infinite void. Littletooth was biting at her robes around her ankle, tugging on them with quiet growls in a doomed attempt to get her attention.

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± she said simply.

    ¡°Me either,¡± Iris replied through a half chewed bite of a sandwich she had found floating around, ¡°which part?¡±

    ¡°The color,¡± Victoria replied absently, visibly entranced by the void even as she activated her auravision and her eyes glazed over with grey mucus, ¡°it should be black, right? If there¡¯s nothing out there?¡±

    Iris stepped up beside her and joined her gaze into the void, ¡°isn¡¯t it?¡±

    Victoria¡¯s eyes returned to normal, ¡°it¡¯s¡ª it¡¯s just nothing. It¡¯s like my eyes are substituting black because they don¡¯t know what else to put there.¡±

    Iris shrugged, ¡°looks black to me. It is the void, though, so ¡®just nothing¡¯ would make sense.¡±

    Victoria squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head as if shaking out unwanted thoughts, ¡°I don¡¯t like it here. Even the sky has an aura if you look at it long enough, but this place is truly empty in a way I¡¯ve never imagined.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s kind of comforting once you get used to it. I¡¯ve started spending more time in here recently. The world outside gets so overwhelming sometimes, so many noises, feelings, voices¡ª it¡¯s nice to get a break from it all. You know?¡±

    She gave Iris a critical look, ¡°I¡¯ll take too much over nothing at all, thanks.¡±

    Iris shrugged again, and Abby grumbled a few overlapping roars. The pair turned to face the otherworldly monster to see she had lowered her cautionary tentacle. That was the signal that it was time to go.

    ______

    An old flagstone path butted up against bulging black soil. The cracks between pavers were filled with moss, and the roots of nearby trees traveling beneath them created occasional bulging humps. Over many years the pavers had shifted and settled, and even along the flat stretches were dips and rises that threatened to trip an inattentive traveler. Atop one of these old pavers was a purple drawstring sack, out of which poked Iris¡¯s head.

    She glanced around the isolated path that wound through the trees. The air was humid but comfortable, and frequent rays of sunlight passed through the canopy to light the path. Late flowers were blooming along the edges of the path and grey-brown hanging moss draped down over the pathway from the branches overhead, below which butterflies fluttered and occasional dragonflies zipped past.

    Iris climbed the rest of the way out of the bag but stopped in a crouch, leaning to reach an arm back into the void. A moment later she withdrew her arm, pulling Victoria far enough out of the void to place her other hand on the ground and finish climbing out on her own. After Victoria withdrew her feet, Littletooth¡¯s head poked up out of the void.

    ¡°Nope,¡± Iris said quickly, pressing down on the wyvern¡¯s head to push him bag into the bag before cinching it shut tight.

    As Iris stood she held the bag to her waist, where the drawstrings promptly secured themselves to her belt. Conjuring Dala¡¯s note from a brief tear in her palm, she read it aloud for Victoria.

    ¡°Clariel Fogborn. Beneath the red-brick temple near the roots of the eldest tree.¡±

    ¡°The northern most tower-tree looked to be the largest from the sky,¡± Victoria said, ¡°maybe it¡¯s the oldest.¡±

    Iris looked up, frowning as she struggled to locate the sun through the leaves, ¡°I really need a compass.¡±

 238 - Finding the Old Tree

    The path wound and circled through the woods, looping around and reconnecting with itself. Based on the frequent benches and intersections with wooden signs marked with distances, Iris guessed the old path to be a scenic walking trail. Though getting lost had been a concern at first, the girls soon found a roofed bulletin board that housed a basic map of the trail, including a few exits marked with which sections of the city they led to. There were words on the map in a script neither of them recognized, and while inspecting it Iris realized that the distances were measured in a unit she didn''t know either.

    They had a brief encounter with a pair of patrolling guards who spoke to them in a language they didn''t know, and then with a thick accent and clumsy words in the language they spoke. Iris and Victoria were young women wearing mage robes and armed only with Victoria''s mostly ornamental saber and Iris''s nondescript walking stick, the guards didn''t suspect for a second that they had come from the Gaping Maw. Instead, they explained that the trails were closed due to the pirate attack while Victoria convincingly feigned shock and ignorance and Iris put on her most convincing confused-and-scared expression. None-the-wiser, the guards directed them towards the exit they had already picked from the map and they were soon on their way again.

    Sounds of laughter and conversation joined the breeze as they neared the end of the trail, which terminated onto a solid stone sidewalk. Instead of a road beyond the sidewalk, however, a short tarnished-silver fence blocked a sheer drop to a canal several feet below. The branches of the trees behind the sidewalk extended out over the canal and no small amount of leaves floated alongside the small boats that traversed it.

    Though the sidewalk they now stood on bordered only the heavily wooded walking trails, the opposite side of the canal was lined with buildings each spaced far enough apart to accommodate large trees and a foot path between them. Most were built of white marble, though some were built from bricks or redwood on marble foundations. The oldest looking buildings were all built on old slabs of formed grey stone, the sides of which had been eroded into concave curves where they met the canals.

    There were as many birds and butterflies in the air and the branches over head as there were people on the sidewalks. Most of those people were green-skinned elves, though there quite a few orcs and the occasional pale-skinned elf among them. Notably, the pair didn''t see any humans, though they often saw one or two people of various other species, including a few gargoyles, a pair of women with pink-skin and horns like two of the witches Iris had met, and a trio of halflings. They didn''t see anyone else using powers and guessed the usual city decorum applied, so they simply walked rather blipping or floating.

    The feature of the city that struck Iris the most wasn''t its gleaming white buildings or crisscrossing canals, but the sheer fact that there were more buildings than trees. At every turn she expected to step into the city proper, were buildings dominated the land and trees were relegated to edges, planters and too-small parks, but it never came. It seemed the entirety of Fale Nalore was built within the swamp, rather than in place of it.

    Victoria smirked slightly when she caught Iris wistfully staring up at the cracks of sunny sky in the canopy, "Everveil''s like this too, every elf city is. It''s a common saying that there should be at least as many trees as people. We don''t have this many canals, though."

    "You''ll have to take me there one day," Iris smiled, "I''ll make sure it''s on my list."

    The girls earned a few odds looks from apparent locals, though not as many as they had expected. For the most part, they seemed to simply blend in with the other travelers from afar. They noticed that in most conversation between orcs and swamp elves the old language was used, while most conversations involving anyone noticeably non-local used the same language as Iris and Victoria.

    After quite a bit of walking, the eldest tree they were looking for -- according to the note Iris had been given -- turned out not to be the tallest tower-tree. Without any other ideas, they resorted to asking strangers for directions. No one seemed to recognize the name Clariel Fogborn so they simply asked about the oldest tree, and the locals certainly knew the answer to that. Since they couldn''t read street signs, they relied on sequential "left-then-right" instructions and sometimes as little as a point in the right direction, so they repeatedly asked passersby along the way for to make sure they hadn''t gotten lost. Each swamp elf they asked seemed surprised and even sometimes delighted that a pair of travelers wanted to see the "the old tree," and happily told them which way to go.

    By the time they finally found it the pair were breathing slightly heavier than usual and sweating heavily -- though Iris wondered if it was actually sweat and not dew settling on her skin from the thick, humid air. She was struck with the sense that her body was overworked, and that her magical attributes were carrying most of the weight instead.

    "Are we out of shape?" Iris gasped as they stopped before the old tree.

    "Yeah," Victoria spoke quickly between breaths, "I''ve been flying too much."

    "I''d done a lot of jumping and running," Iris said, "but I don''t think I''ve just walked this far since the hunt."

    "If Eli finds out about this," Victoria paused for one more breath, "he''s going to make us walk everywhere."Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    Iris groaned at the thought, and the pair turned their attention towards the tree. It was a tall one, certainly, punching through the canopy and high into the air above, but it didn''t seem to be the same species as the enormous trees and didn''t remotely approach their monumental height. Instead, its leaves and bark matched those of the most prominent type of tree in the swamp, though its shape was quite different. Its trunk was a wide as six or seven of its kin and had a wavy shape to it as if actually comprised of many thinner trees fused together. A half-crescent walkway surrounded one side, with a few footpaths leading into the understory of smaller trees that crowded around the trunk. On the opposite side of the tree from the half-crescent was an expanse of dense, seemingly untouched swamp.

    "It''s a pretty nice tree," Iris said earnestly, "I wonder why it''s shaped like that?"

    "I think it''s the vines," Victoria said, "at least, that''s what they told me about the trees back home when I was a kid. When a tree with vines lives long enough, some of the vines grow old with it and grow into thick trunks of their own. Over a long enough time, the tree grows wide enough to envelope those vines, absorbing them into part of itself. Trees like this are said to be connected to the heart of their forest, and some druids even worship them as deities."

    "Whoa," Iris whispered, looking upon the tree in a new light.

    Victoria certainly looked upon the tree with reverence but she wasn''t enamored by it like Iris, who was seeing an ancient tree for the first time. She leaned past Iris to get a better look at something, and then pointed, "there''s our red temple."

    Situated on the sidewalk just beyond the half-crescent surrounding the old tree was a humble temple built of worn and faded bricks. It was on an old stone foundation block, protected from erosion by the much more recently constructed sidewalk but still pockmarked with depressions and channels carved by lifetimes of rain. Though it seemed cared for, the building appeared vacant with no lights, sounds or movement from any of the windows.

    The double doors were built from thick, dark wood and banded in iron, and seemed old but still much newer than the bricks that framed them. They were securely locked with a large padlock that didn''t look often used, and a bronze plaque in the ancient language was embedded in the wall beside them.

    "It must be a historical building," Victoria said, "but this has got to be it, right?"

    Iris blipped onto the sidewalk from atop the short steps of the temple and looked around in every direction, "I don''t see any other brick buildings or temples, but there''s a way down." Iris pointed.

    Victoria joined her on the sidewalk and followed her point towards a set of stairs up against the side of the temple, seemingly carved directly into the foundation. They were steep and narrow, and obscured by shadows of dense foliage.

    "The note said beneath the temple," Victoria shrugged.

    Iris hesitated for a second, "I don''t like it."

    Victoria looked at her with mild surprise, "you sound--"

    "Like Eli, I know, but this witch -- Dala -- she had some idea in her head that it was her place to teach me to be more careful, and seemed willing to do some messed up stuff to do it. I was willing to see this through if we found an active temple full of people who said ''oh yeah, we know Clariel, she''s the best!'' -- but this place doesn''t fill me with confidence that it''s not part of Dala''s scheme."

    Victoria looked back towards the building, or rather below it, with her auravision, "there''s definitely a room down there, but it''s warded somehow. I can''t see through it."

    "It''s a dungeon," Iris''s tone was matter-of-fact but tinged with disappointment, "let''s go."

    She had already blipped and started walking off before Victoria called out with more impatience than urgency, "Iris, wait."

    She kept walking for a moment, but sighed and blipped back when she realized Victoria wasn''t following.

    "You''re right to be cautious--" Victoria began, "I mean, it''s great that you''re being cautious now, keep doing that. Maybe we should think about this a bit more, though?"

    "It really sounds like you''re about to try to convince me not to be cautious," Iris pointed out, "don''t start flip-flopping lectures on me or I''m gonna flip too."

    Iris had made up her mind, ripped the bandage off and fully committed herself to the safe course of action this time. She wasn''t about to walk into a trap and give Dala the satisfaction of being right about her, and the only way she knew how to how to commit to something was with every fiber of her being.

    "Look, sometimes caution has to be budgeted," Victoria began, "I know you think you''re tough enough to get by with a nightmare haunting you, but it hasn''t even gotten bad yet. Whatever you''re going through now is just the start, and it''ll only get worse the longer you''re stuck with that thing. I just think this is a time when a little risk is warranted."

    Iris stared at her flatly. She didn''t necessarily have any problem with Victoria''s words, in fact they were more or less what she had wanted to hear. Every drop of her desire was yearning to go blipping down those stairs and find out what secrets awaited her beneath an old vacant temple in a charming elven city deep in a giant swamp -- but her willpower was firmly allocated in the opposite direction.

    Iris loved to be reckless, but this was a situation so blatantly suspicious that she refused to let herself charge into it, if only to prove that she wasn''t naive -- that she could make the right decision sometimes. Something clicked in her head like a notched lever finally slipping into place with one last push.

    "You know what, no!" Iris shouted, causing Victoria to jolt, "fuck that witch, and fuck her stupid lesson!"

    Victoria slightly twisted her head and furrowed her brow at Iris.

    "I''m so tired of everyone thinking the problem is that I''m stupid!" she shouted before switching to a mocking voice that sounded kind of like Eli, "''why''d you do that Iris, didn''t you know it was dangerous?'' ''of course there was a monster in there Iris, how did you not see that coming?'' I''m sick of it! I''m not an idiot," she stopped to motion dramatically at the temple with both arms, "I can see the danger! It''s right there! I''m not about to walk into it because I''m too young and naive to know it''s there, I''m gonna walk into it because it''ll be fucking cool! Because that''s where the adventures are! Because I fucking want to!"

    Victoria took a breath as she realized Iris wasn''t finished.

    "And you know what?! I''m not going to deny myself that just to satisfy someone else," she let out a quick breath and slowed the pace of her speech, "I don''t care how they want me to live, I''m going to do what I want, and what I want is to go explore that creepy, definitely unsafe temple basement with my friend."

    Victoria allowed Iris a moment to settle, and then smiled faintly, "let''s go then."

    Iris nodded a few times as she took a steadying breath, and then blipped to the stairs.

 239 - The Dragon Priest

    The stone steps beside the temple were steep and worn with moss growing in their corners. They were carved into the foundation block itself, which was not a flat slab of stone but rather a genuine block that went down at least as far as the temple was tall. This was necessary for any kind of basement or cellar structures in the swamp, as the ground itself was far too soft and wet to build into.

    The bottom of the stairs was a simple flat square of stone wedged in the corner of the stone walls surrounding them. On the wall underneath the temple was a small arched wooden door with a tarnished silver knocker hanging from it. Nearly all the metal Iris had seen in the city so far had been silver, and she imagined they must trade with the gargoyles and giants of Gellorn for both the silver and marble they build with.

    "Remember," Iris whispered to Victoria, "if Clariel''s really in here, we don''t trust her. She''s a friend of Dala, and could be in on her tricks."

    "And if Dala''s in there?"

    "We kick her ass and leave."

    Victoria nodded, and Iris knocked on the door. There was no response after several moments, so she knocked again, and then a third time. Finally, just as she was withdrawing her hand from the final knock, the door swung open. An elderly swamp elf woman with white hair in a messy bun stared at them with slightly crazed eyes.

    "You''re lost," the woman said before slamming the door in Iris''s face. She spoke in an accent, and Iris assumed she must have guessed the language they spoke by their out-of-towner appearance.

    "We''re looking for Clariel Fogborn!" she called out into the crack between the door and the stone.

    The door swung open again, and the woman''s eyes were squinted as if suspicious, "how do you know me?"

    Iris held up the note from Dala between her fingers, "a witch named Dala gave me your name, she said you can help with a problem of mine."

    Clariel let out a frustrated sigh, "damn that woman. Curse, ghost or plague?"

    "Uh--" she hesitated, "a nightmare."

    The woman''s face softened slightly. She still certainly seemed annoyed, but Iris could detect a hint of pity in her eyes. Behind her, Iris caught glimpses of filled bookshelves and struggled to contain her excitement until they were actually invited in.

    "Nasty business," Clariel grimaced, "very well, come on."

    Clariel left the door open as she retreated inside. Iris glanced to Victoria, who shrugged in response, and the pair stepped through the threshold. The space was small, and made even more cramped by the rows of tightly packed bookshelves that filled it. The walls and ceiling were the same bare stone of the foundation, though much less weathered than on the outside. Small glow stones hung from strings hung across shelves and from silver hooks secured into the ceiling, giving the room of a warm and pleasant glow. Iris took note of the lighting technique for future use.

    "Is this a library?" Iris asked as she gazed with wonder at the books and scrolls that filled the shelves.

    "Archive," Clariel corrected, "I am the last priest of this temple, and the duty falls on me to preserve its knowledge."

    "Which god is this temple devoted to?" Victoria asked.

    "Not a god," Clariel answered as she began to peruse her bookshelves, "the Red Dragon Veris."

    Iris and Victoria exchanged a quick glance.

    "We saw a red dragon near Giantrock City," Victoria said.

    "Then you are among a truly honored few who have witnessed Veris," she answered, seeming to be aware of that particular appearance.

    "What can you tell us about him?" Iris questioned, her mind immediately jumping to the line of connections from the red dragon, to the lightning wizards, and ultimately to her mother''s quest, "we saw carvings and murals of him in ancient temples, too. What does he have to do with the lightning wizards that attacked?"

    Clariel opened a book, inspected the first few pages, and handed it to Iris, "don''t open this yet." She then returned to looking through the shelves.

    Iris stared at the dusty old book with intrigue. Handing her a book and telling her not to open it might as well have been casting a curse of distraction upon her.

    "Most lands and seas have a god," Clariel began, pausing briefly to retrieve a scroll from a high shelf, "this land, which I imagine you know as Giantrock, instead has a dragon. Veris has watched over this land from shore to shore, from the northern wasteland to the southern jungle, for thousands of years. Many gods have tried to claim the land in that time, but none could outmatch his might. His worshippers have dwindled in the centuries gone by, but his power remains supreme."Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    The woman nodded in satisfaction and rolled the scroll closed before handing it to Iris. She didn''t say not to open it, but Iris guessed that it was implied.

    "And the lightning wizards?" Iris prodded.

    The woman scoffed derisively as she once again returned to searching the shelves, "vile cultists following the crackpot prophecy of a failed god. We will speak no more of them in this temple."

    "There are many powerful people working to stop them," Victoria said, "but they don''t know exactly what it is they''re trying to stop. Your knowledge could be invaluable--"

    Clariel loudly clapped a book shut, "than these powerful people may visit and request my knowledge themselves. Speak no more of it, or I will banish you from the temple."

    Victoria nodded apologetically, and remained silent as Clariel motioned them over to a small round table in the corner. She placed the scroll on the table before taking the book and scroll from Iris''s arms and placing them beside it.

    "Sit and study," Clariel instructed, "any knowledge this temple holds of nightmares will be in these. I''ll make you some tea."

    The woman disappeared through a curtained doorway leading to another chamber. Iris and Victoria slid into their seats and took deep breaths as they prepared to dive into the material. Victoria started with one of the scrolls while Iris cracked open the book. It was an old tome that creaked as it opened to pages darkened from age.

    "How am I supposed to read this?" Iris frowned at the ancient script.

    "I''m having the same problem," Victoria said, twisting the scroll one way and her head the other as she tried to figure out which way was even up. Giving up and placing it back on the table, she continued in a whisper, "how do we feel about her?"

    "She seems fine," Iris whispered back, "but so did Dala. Don''t get comfortable."

    Clariel returned a short while later with a small tray baring three steaming cups of tea. She frowned at the sight of the girls neglecting the texts before them.

    "You can''t read them, can you?" she asked as she placed the tray on the table, clearly disappointed in them.

    Iris grimaced apologetically, "we''re from pretty far away."

    Clariel flicked one of Victoria''s slightly pointed ears, prompting her to flinch and swat her hand away.

    "Where are you from, girl? Everveil?" the woman''s voice took on the tone of an angry teacher, "do they not still teach the old languages there?"

    "Not to everyone," Victoria said, bowing her head as she would when speaking to an elder instructor back home, "the scribes and scholars learn them, but I trained for battle and adventure."

    Clariel shook her head in disappointment as she took a seat at the table, "very well, I suppose I''ll do all the work for you. I expect you have something to write with?"

    Iris nodded quickly and withdrew paper, ink and pair of quills from her bag. For the next hour Iris and Victoria scribbled notes as the priestess rattled off passages from the scrolls and tome. She rushed through much of the information, including descriptions of nightmares and their victims, but slowed to take her time with descriptions of their powers and weaknesses.

    The girls avoided drinking their tea at first out of fear that it might be poisoned, even though the priestess had placed the tray down and only taken her cup after Iris and Victoria had chosen their own . Eventually, Victoria took a curious sip and was visibly surprised at how good it tasted. After several minutes passed and she felt no effects, she took another sip, which signaled to Iris to taste her own.

    Of all the information Clariel provided, the most valuable was a detailed description of a ritual that was said to induce a hypnotic state of half-sleep for its subject -- a state which the scroll explained was the ideal method of confronting the nightmare. While reading from the tome -- which seemed to be a compendium of knowledge on various supernatural and otherworldly creatures -- Clariel emphasized the importance of caution and preparedness. She explained that, according to the tome, a nightmare could only truly be slain while in a place that was not reality, but not quite a dream. This place was described as the doorstep of one''s soul, and the tome warned that a victim''s defeat in this battle would almost certainly grant the nightmare access to their soul -- the meal it ultimately desired.

    By the end of the study session Iris and Victoria had several pages filled with notes. Alongside the instructions for the ritual and a list of weaknesses, strategies and techniques one might employ against a nightmare were lists of herbs, medicines and meditations that would help prepare one for the battle. Also included were various calming techniques meant to help one endure the harassment of a nightmare until such a time that they could complete the ritual and defeat it.

    "You are unfortunate to be afflicted with a nightmare so early in your life," Clariel said as she was returning the scrolls and tome to their shelves, "if you wish to conduct the ritual soon, I will offer you the temple''s ritual room for the purpose. However, I must strongly recommend that you grow stronger before you attempt to slay the creature."

    "Won''t that mean the nightmare has time to grow stronger, too?" Iris asked.

    Clariel sighed, "I hope your friend paid more attention than you, child. No, the nightmare will not grow stronger with time. Its grip on your will grow tighter, and its attacks more vile and desperate, but if you practice the techniques in your notes and are strong of will then you will survive until you''re strong enough. Ultimately, the battle that awaits you will be no harder because you waited."

    "How will I know when I''m ready?"

    Clariel stepped down from a step stool after turning the last scroll to its shelf and turned to face Iris, "I imagine it''s the sort of thing you''ll just know. Or maybe it isn''t. I don''t know."

    "You don''t know?" Iris blinked in surprise at her bluntness.

    "Girl, I''m a priest and a knowledge keeper, not a monster hunter. If the texts don''t have the answers, neither do I."

    Iris sighed, but thanked the woman for all her help. She accepted their thanks with a small smile, but seemed impatient to shoo them out of her temple. It wasn''t long before they were back out on the sidewalk, making their way past the old tree once more and heading towards the center of the city.

    "Huh," Iris said, "I guess it wasn''t a trap. I blew up over nothing back there."

    Victoria laughed, "oh no, I think you needed that."

    Iris chuckled and nodded in agreement.

    "So what''s next on the errands?" Victoria asked.

    "Let''s start with adventuring supplies, we''ll get the stuff Autumn wants tomorrow."

 240 - Poorly Kept Secrets

    High in the crown of the pirate-occupied tower the trunk split outwards into the tree''s highest branches. Between these steeply angled branches was a cradle-like depression at the top of the trunk filled with healthy black soil and a small but flourishing ecosystem of plants and critters. There was even a small pond of surprisingly clear water that seemed to swell up from beneath the soil, within which swam a few small fish. The breeze was a strong and unending force in this tiny forest that sent perpetual ripples across the pond and forced the plants to grow thick and durable stems to withstand it.

    Eli thought of it more like a garden than a forest, as the tallest plants only reached his chest, but it seemed to be wild -- or at least unmanaged -- growth. He supposed it was possible the people of Fale Nalore had carried this dirt up here to intentionally create it, though he leaned towards his theory that over many years the fallen leaves from the overhanging branches had collected in the cradle and decayed into soil.

    It had taken some doing to get here. Though the constructed tower surrounding the trunk had stairs and ladders up to its highest floor, he was still forced to climb no insignificant height beyond to finally reach the top of the tree. His powers weren''t suited for that kind of traversal, but the increased strength and agility of rank combined with the climbing techniques he had learned from Cameron made it a relatively safe, albeit arduous, task.

    A few moments ago the wind had carried away the loudest whistle he could muster, and now he stood on the edge of the bark-covered lip around the garden with his hand over his brow to block the evening sun. He was about to whistle again when his panning gaze caught sight of the dot. It stayed steady in its place, but grew rapidly larger. He smiled at the incoming screech, then was struck a moment of panic and kicked off the bark to land on the soft soil below.

    The griffin landed on the lip only long enough to fold shut her wings and kick off, twisting in the air before landing in the garden and crushing several plants. She charged forward, ripping up roots with her talons and trampling over bushes as she bounded towards Eli, who greet her with a joyous laugh and arms wrapped around her neck in a tight embrace.

    "I missed you too, girl," he spoke into her feathers as she twisted her neck to nuzzle against him.

    He had seen her in the distant sky most days, as she always stayed near to the ship as he flew. Opportunities to actually be near her, however, were rare, and the last one had been when the ship was briefly stranded in a tree out in the wilds.

    Part of him was surprised she had followed him this far despite the circumstances, but that was the nature of bonded familiars. They were creatures who were more intelligent than the others of their species -- perhaps by magic, perhaps by happenstance -- and, for whatever reason, had elected to spend their lives befriending and assisting others. He wasn''t the griffin''s first companion, and was sure he wouldn''t be her last, but for now she had chosen to accompany him in his adventures.

    Though anyone could theoretically call and bond with a familiar through the use of complicated rituals, Eli had an advantage over most. His Special Ability, the unique power he''d received upon absorbing his first Thread of Power, allowed him to call out to unbonded familiars for hundreds of miles and form the bond without a ritual. As long as he could come to an understanding with the creature, and they both wanted to form the bond, it could be done with only a simple touch. That was how he had first found and bonded with Glimmer, only days after stepping off the boat on the western shores of the continent so many months ago.

    Glimmer soon plopped onto the ground and settled into a casual lounging posture, and Eli took his usual seat beside her with his back leaning against her folded wing. She started preening her feathers and checking her lion-like fur for pests, occasionally reaching over to gently poke her beak into his hair as if checking him for pests too.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    "I have good news," he announced, prompting her to twist her head curiously, "it turns out we might not be going to sea after all. We might be getting off the ship near the coast and going on foot from there for a while."

    She chirped happily.

    He chuckled, "yeah, it means we can stay together a while longer."

    She looked upwards and chirped several times in celebration.

    "I hoped that''s what you wanted to tell me," another voice approached through the garden, "because I showed up a little early and just overheard it."

    Glimmer''s head snapped towards Cameron with a critical glare that lingered for a few seconds before she relaxed and chirped in his direction.

    "Does that mean I can get closer?" he asked cautiously.

    "Yes," Eli smirked and rolled his eyes.

    Cameron still hadn''t completely overcome his wariness of the griffin, despite her only occasionally attempting to bite him and Eli''s many assurances that she was only playing. He waited until she looked away to continue grooming herself before taking a step forward, and she immediately snapped her head back towards him and resumed her glare. He froze in place with a foot still hanging in the air while Eli burst into laughter and Glimmer chirped and trilled.

    Cameron dropped his shoulders and sighed, quickly trudging towards them as if he had accepted his fate if she decided to attack. When no attack came, he plopped onto the ground beside her and dropped his head on Eli''s shoulder. They sat like that for a while, simply enjoying each other''s presence and savoring the constant breeze.

    "You never answered my question," Cameron eventually spoke up.

    "Yeah," Eli said softly, "that was what I wanted to tell you. My party and I are planning to bail before the ship sails out to sea."

    Cameron was quiet for several moments. Eli could only his see his face his periphery but didn''t glance down to see his expression, instead giving him this moment to think in relative privacy.

    "I guess I''m coming with you, then."

    "Just like that?" Eli looked down with surprise, "you said this was your dream job."

    Cameron lifted his head and sat upright but stared at the ground as he spoke, "yeah, well, turns out it''s less fun to see your bombs blow people up than it is to make them."

    Eli offered a empathetic grimace in response.

    "Besides," Cameron said before a deep breath, "what''s a dream job compared to a dream man?"

    Eli let out a quick laugh, "oh is that I am? What happened to casual?"

    Cameron looked up and met his gaze, lingering in the moment before speaking, "you just gave me a life changing choice, and it was easy to make. There''s not much point in pretending at that point."

    Eli stared back into his eyes for a moment, then smirked, "you know, I never actually said you could come--"

    "Wow," Cameron said in mock offense as he pushed Eli''s shoulder and scooted away.

    They enjoyed a long laugh before coming back together, this time with Eli''s head on Cameron''s shoulder.

    "So," Cameron said after a while, "fill me in on the details. How badly did you guys argue about this?"

    ______

    In the galley of the Gaping Maw, Autumn and Adan were silently preparing lunch. Despite most of the crew spending the bulk of their time ransacking the tower, most still returned to the ship for their meals. Killup was off somewhere with them, having consistently blown off his duties as assistant chef in favor of joining in on the looting. While Autumn chopped fresh vegetables on the counter, Adan stirred the large cooking pot with a pole-armed ladle. He broke the silence with blunt words and a matter-of-fact tone, not looking away from or pausing his work.

    "I would like for me and my father to leave this ship."

    Autumn paused mid-chop and half-glanced over her shoulder, "that''s probably not something you should say out loud."

    "No one else can currently hear us."

    Autumn didn''t bother asking how he could be certain of that, instead she wrestled with her own conflicted feelings that were rising in her chest. She resuming chopping before speaking again, "I bet there are some others who want to leave too."

    "Yes," Adan said, "I imagine there are. I would like them to know that my father and I would join them, if allowed."

    "Well, I''ll pass it on if I find any of them."

    The two continued working quietly for a moment before Adan spoke again, "thank you."

 241 - The Wonders of Fale Nalore

    Iris and Victoria spent their first evening in Fale Nalore browsing some of the many markets across the city. They weren''t distinct districts, as most cities might have, but were instead long streets lined almost exclusively with shops, diners and taverns. The streets themselves wound through the entirety of the city and were open only to foot traffic. They included no small amount of greenery, each having a broad median of seemingly wild growth down its center. Interestingly, there were periodic bridges that rose up from the sidewalk and arched over strips of greenery that connected the median to the swamp at large. Victoria explained this was a core tenet of Elven cities, nature should be connected to itself -- never isolated.

    Their goal for the evening was to gather a long list of adventuring supplies written up by Eli. It seemed to include everything the man could think of that they might need for an extended trek through the wilderness, even many supplies they could gather along the way.

    "We don''t actually need this much firewood, right?" Iris asked as she reviewed the list, "what is he thinking?"

    "He''s thinking you have a bottomless bag, so he might as well try to fill it," Victoria answered, "this is exactly how he acted when we left Tintin for Giantrock City, except that time he was at least limited by the fact that we had to carry everything back then."

    This time, however, the limiter would be coin. Even pooling their resources together, the party still had a rather tight budget. Thanks to the thriving bartering culture of Fale Nalore this was alleviated somewhat by the array of esoteric items Iris had collected in her bag, but the pair still found it necessary to revise the list as they went to ensure they could acquire the necessities and have enough left for Autumn''s shopping list tomorrow.

    One issue they ran into was that goods in Fale Nalore were, on average, of very high quality. This seemed to have little effect on the price of abundant commodities, but any tools crafted by artisans were significantly more expensive than their lower quality counterparts that could be found in a city like Giantrock. On the bright side, Fale Nalore''s status as an airship hub meant that there was no shortage of imported goods from across the continent, and though most shared the same problem of being only the highest quality, they were eventually able to find cheaper but serviceable options for most supplies.

    Throughout their evening, a tentacle would occasionally reach out of the bag and tap Iris on the arm, reminding her to purchase a compass as she had asked. It took three different shops, each with a failed attempt at bartering, to finally acquire one for a reasonable price. It was of Orcish make with a body of a dark green metal and markings inlayed with silver, and the shopkeeper who sold it to her claimed it was from an Orcish city to the far north with a name she couldn''t pronounce. Despite it''s affordable price, the piece seemed to have been made from quite high quality materials. Iris guessed that, much like in Gellorn and Fale Nalore, the Orcish city enjoyed a surplus of silver that made it a commodity, and further assumed that the green metal was abundant to the orcs as well.

    When the sky began to darken, chunks of glow stone chiseled into fine gem-like shapes and cradled by tarnished silver street lamps flickered to life. Though the light of glow stone was dim and didn''t reach far, the generous number of lamps combined with the oversized stones created a warm, well lit atmosphere to the market streets.

    When the lights came on, so did the music. They had passed a few street musicians during the day, but now it seemed that someone was setting up to sing or play an instrument on every block and at every corner. Many were stringed instruments such as lutes and violins, but there was no shortage of drums, flutes and horns either. Some of the taverns and cafes even housed large pianos that spilled out onto the street through the open windows and doors.

    One might expect it to be a cacophony of songs competing to drown each other out, but what happened instead surprised them both. The scattered musicians joined with the others they could hear, playing together in improvised songs as they followed each other''s leads. Though the musicians at one end of a street couldn''t hear those at the other end, walking between them created no lapse in the melody. One could draw a circle around any particular musician in the city, equal to the distance of the furthest music he could hear, and all within that circle would be playing in symphony.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    A perpetual smile rested on Iris''s face as she walked with eyes full of wonder, "does Everveil have music like this too?"

    "No," Victoria said with wonder of her own, "this is something special."

    They spent that night in a cozy inn above a lively tavern with a window overlooking the bustling market street below, finding that as the hours went on the music slowed into gentle melodies that almost begged for them to drift off to sleep. When they awoke the next morning the music was gone, replaced instead with the songs of conversation and laughter from early risers outside.

    "I love this city," Iris remarked wistfully from her bed.

    "Well it''s our last day here," Victoria replied as she slipped on her boots, "let''s get out there and enjoy it."

    Iris nodded, but closed her eyes to enjoy the gentle morning for a little while longer.

    With only a short list of errands remaining and ample time to spare before the daring escape planned for the next morning, the pair elected to enjoy a sit-down breakfast in a cutesy diner built into the hollow of a huge old log. After breakfast they set aside time to visit the more food-oriented market streets where they could complete Autumn''s shopping list. It wasn''t really as much of a list as a vague guideline to acquire any and all spices, sauces, fruits and vegetables -- the only qualifier being that each ingredient was something neither of them had ever heard of. Autumn''s idea being that if she couldn''t personally tour the city for new ingredients and flavors, then Iris and Victoria could at least bring back what was new and strange to them in the hopes that most of it would be new and strange to her as well.

    They spent much of the afternoon touring the city for interesting sights, visiting a few museums with plaques in the language they didn''t know, marveling at the architecture of ancient structures with origins unknown to them, and even finding time to take a boat ride through the canals. One of their favorite places was a massive garden with ornate silver archways at each of its entrances. A local explained that every plant in the garden, from the smallest shrub to the trailing vines and the trees overhead, was edible down to the roots, bark and leaves. It was a carefully curated collection of every fully edible plant native to the region, cultivated over generations to create the best tasting varieties of each species.

    Visitors were welcome to sample anything from the garden, so long as they never took more than five percent of a plant and only picked as much as they would eat on the spot. They were lucky enough to visit at a time of year when there were many berries, nuts and even full sized fruits ripe and ready to eat -- though that didn''t stop Iris from occasionally sampling leaves, stems and flowers out of curiosity. To her surprise, most of them actually tasted quite good.

    "It''s a shame Autumn isn''t here," Iris said around a mouthful of mixed berries and sweet tasting leaves.

    "I think she''d hate it," Victoria countered.

    Iris gave her a confused look as she continued chewing.

    "She''d be mad that she can''t take any of it home to cook with," Victoria elaborated before taking a casual bite of what looked like a long, woody stem but was in fact a thin and crispy skin wrapped around a soft and juicy interior.

    "Mhm," Iris nodded as she agreed.

    ______

    The winds had shifted, the captain was certain of it. For all his love of violence and recklessness, he was still a sailor with lifetimes of experience -- if there was one detail he always noticed, it was the wind. When the Gaping Maw had arrived in Fale Nalore twisting and dancing currents had collided and swirled around the city, fluttering leaves and shivering branches in all directions. Now, as he stood at the stern of his ship and stared out over the city, early autumn leaves shed from the tower-trees and blew only to the southwest -- even the leaves from other enormous trees in the far distance followed the same pattern. This wind was cooler, humid, and carried the telltale hints of a distant but approaching storm.

    The first mate stood beside him, inspecting his stoic expression with a curious look that slowly grew concerned.

    "Petresca knows we''re here," he said flatly, absent his usual energy, "the spiral brews."

    "We anticipated this might happen, it changes nothing."

    "Yet, it changes everything."

    Even as they spoke pallets of crates, sacks and barrels were hauled onboard by pulleys while hammers and handsaws could be heard all across the ship. The crew''s desperate repairs were well underway, poorly patching holes with mismatched wood and shoring up cracked or splintered beams and masts while torn sails were pulled down and replaced with off-color canvas. The repairs weren''t pretty, but they would suffice -- and most importantly, they would be complete by sunrise.

    "The winds will be too strong to fly far," Meredith said, "but we expected that. The Shining Blue will greet us with spite and fury, but we expected that too. We will endure, and we will succeed. You will succeed."

    The captain lowered his head and sighed as Meredith placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. After a moment, he looked up again with a stern expression and spoke in a confident tone, "I''ve read the texts a thousand times, the hydra needs only to touch the open sea and my quest will be finished, and my grasp on godhood will clench tight. Whatever price the spiral claims will have been worth it."

    "There is no loss a god cannot recoup," she agreed.

 242 - Vague Conversations

    Their second morning in the city, Iris and Victoria awoke before sunrise -- thanks to Victoria''s uncanny knack for awaking exactly when she intends to. Iris cut short her usual waking process of groaning and trying to go back to sleep, instead forcing herself to blip out of bed and promptly get dressed. They both donned their full adventuring gear, with Victoria tucking her hair away tightly while Iris tightened her leather armor. It was only a precaution, but it was best to be ready for anything.

    The pair left silently, blipping and phasing through the ceiling to the roof overhead. The dark hours of the morning were the only hours when Fale Nalore was quiet and still, and they allowed themselves a few moments on the rooftop to enjoy the view until the sky began to brighten. Their next stop was the highest branches of a tree overhead, where the city street below was obscured but they could get a clear line of sight to the Gaping Maw in its dock. Their plan was simple and direct -- wait for the ship to take flight so they didn''t draw any undue attention while it was still docked, and then get aboard.

    "Think anyone will try to stop us?" Iris asked.

    "Probably not," Victoria said, "I don''t imagine they''ll know what to make us at first, and even if they figure it out, leaving is exactly what they want the pirates to do. Worst case scenario, we''ll be gone before getting spotted even matters."

    Iris eyed the ship warily, waiting for any sign of movement as the sky further brightened. She watched through her spyglass as the sails were unfurled and the black shark''s mouth flag was raised. It was just before the first crack of sunlight peeked over the horizon when the rear thrusters of the ship came to life with a blast of fire -- flashing wide at first before refining into a smaller, concentrated jet not yet strong enough to move the ship.

    "Get ready," Victoria said as she shifted into her spectral form.

    Iris put away her spyglass, donned her goggles, and conjured her broom-staff -- that was the name she had finally settled on calling it -- before poising herself to leap from the branch.

    "Loser tells Eli it was their idea not to get everything on his list," Iris said.

    Victoria glanced at her with a smirk, and then the thrusters roared and the jets of fire widened. The ship began to crawl forward, its keel scraping across the docking trench while vines reached out from the branches to pull it along.

    "Not yet," Victoria whispered.

    Both women had their eyes locked on the ship as it slowly picked up speed across the trench. The crawl increased to a slide and the second half of the trench was crossed in a quarter of the time as the first. Finally, when the ship flung over the edge of the suspended dock and its wings snapped open, Victoria shot forward in a ghostly blur while Iris launched off the branch with a great leap and a far blip, mounting her broom-staff midair as she reappeared ahead of Victoria.

    Iris hunkered down over the broom-staff as it abruptly lurched forward, quickly outpacing Victoria -- but only in the short-term. The specter was soon gaining on her, her pace steadier than Iris and unimpeded by the wind resistance. The ship turned in the sky and steered towards the northeast, catching the powerful headwinds beneath its wings and quickly gaining altitude as its thrusters shut off.

    The city of Fale Nalore shrank away behind the girls as they raced after the Gaping Maw. Iris swore to herself at the headwinds she fought against while Victoria effortlessly glided past her. After rising above even the tallest of the tower-trees, the Gaping Maw swung to the east and began rounding the circle of towers. Iris saw her chance and broke off to the right, hoping to meet the ship''s trajectory while Victoria was left chasing behind it -- but Victoria had the same plan and soon banked to the right as well.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

    As the ship passed by the last of the tower-trees, Victoria swung around it with a wide birth. Iris instead chose a direct path, shooting like an arrow just below the lowest branches and just above a docked balloon-ship. There were shouts from below, but Iris barely heard them over the wind.

    As she ducked and dodged leaves and emerged from the crown of the tower-tree, the Gaping Maw returned to view. She was close now, only a few seconds before her feet would touch down on the main deck -- the tension in her body released and she slowed her speed, sitting upright on the broom with her shoulders slumped at the sight of Victoria waving at her from the deck. The ship started getting away from her, traveling faster than she anticipated, so she leaned forward and shot across the final stretch before coming in for a gentle landing near a smirking Victoria.

    ______

    The party gathered on buckets and barrels near Eli''s bunk for dinner. They were joined by Cameron and Adan, and an awkward tension filled the air as the party was careful of what was said in front of them and the many other pirates in the crew''s quarters.

    "Any trouble from the crew when you got back?" Eli asked before taking a bite of his food.

    Iris shrugged, "I think my boss might be mad, but it''s hard to hear what he''s yelling while I''m blipping away."

    Autumn choked on laughter while Eli frowned.

    "You should probably--" he began.

    "I know," Iris rolled her eyes, "I''ll work it out tomorrow."

    He sighed, glancing sideways at Adan before choosing his next words carefully, "did you get everything on the list?"

    Iris abruptly paused with a half chewed bite in her mouth, briefly glancing at a grinning Victoria before finishing her bite and speaking, "actually, it seemed like we didn''t really need everything--"

    "I was very specific with that list--"

    "We had a tight budget!"

    "I accounted for that!"

    The vague bickering went on for a few moments, both of them careful not to reveal what was on the list or why it was written in the first place. Eventually, Cameron cleared his voice and attempted to change the subject.

    "The weather''s looking rough," he said simply, "not the kind of storm I''d want to get caught in on foot."

    Though the sun had set, they had all seen the dark clouds spanning across the horizon in the early evening. Not long after the sky grew dark the heavy rains had begun, coming on all at once as if the ship had passed through a veil. Even now, with the doors to the stairwells shut, water trickled down the steps and collected in the lower decks. All that was visible through the portholes was raindrops on the glass and a dark expanse beyond.

    "Indeed," Adan said, the only one in the group not eating, "it would be quite unfortunate to be on the ground right now."

    Eli and Titus shifted uncomfortably in their seats, while Victoria glanced towards Autumn.

    "You''re smart, right Adan?" Autumn asked.

    Adan hesitated for a moment, "I suppose."

    "And pretty good at figuring things out?" she prodded.

    "Yes, quite good in fact."

    Autumn made eye contact with Eli, who glanced at Adan for a moment before speaking, "I imagine you''re also smart enough to keep most things you figure out to yourself. Probably even from your father, who seems less-- reticent."

    Adan looked at Eli without an expression and nodded silently.

    Eli nodded back, "good. You''re a nice one to have around," he looked towards Cameron, "both of you," he panned his gaze around the party, making eye contact with each of them to be sure the message was received.

    "If I had a camping trip planned," Titus said, "I''d be looking to reschedule."

    Eli thought for a short moment before replying, "sometimes your schedule''s packed, and there''s only one chance to go camping for quite a while."

    "Yeah," Cameron agreed, "if it were me, I''d probably wait until the last minute and hope the weather lets up."

    Eli nodded, and after a moment so did Titus.

    "Is anyone anyone else worried it might be the lightning wizards again?" Iris asked.

    Victoria shook her head, "I don''t think so, this one''s different than the storm back in the forest. There''s no unnatural aura, and the last one didn''t have wind like this either. It also eased in over days, instead of coming on all at once."

    Adan nodded, "the storm over Giantrock City was unseasonal and strange in many ways. We are nearing the ocean, where it is not unusual for great storms to brew in the late summer. I would imagine the source of this one is natural."

    Iris glanced down at Littletooth, who was licking his bowl clean after devouring a second serving of dinner. He was beginning to grow quite large after spending more time out of the bag, his head now almost reaching her knee when he stood tall. She hoped, for his sake and theirs, that this storm wasn''t the lightning wizards coming back for him.

 243 - Ambitions and Yearning

    Dishes clinked together in the sink, a knife chopped rhythmically against the counter, and a constant dull and muffled thunder roared from the heavy rain blown against the hull of the Gaping Maw by raging winds.

    Autumn stood atop a small crate that provided just enough height for her to comfortably reach over the rim of the huge cooking pot. She stared with a somber expression, past the slowly bulging and popping bubbles on the surface and into the swirling, nondescript abyss of the stew. Adan stood at a countertop quickly chopping vegetables, not pausing as he glanced over his shoulder at the chef.

    "Killup," Adan broke the silence as he turned his attention back to his task, "can you get me more carrots from the cargo hold?"

    Killup dropped the bowl he was washing into the sink with a clatter and hopped off the countertop with a grumble, "always me that''s gotta talk to the rats."

    A few moments after the door shut behind Killup, Autumn spoke up, "we don''t have any carrots."

    "He''ll be busy for a while," silence lingered for another short while before Adan continued, "there is something I don''t understand about the plan."

    Autumn kept stirring, her pace quickening slightly, "ask Eli, he''s the details guy."

    "It is not about the details, it is about you."

    It wasn''t like Adan to prod for prompting when he had something to say. In the short time Autumn had known him, he had always said what needed to be said with the same unflinching pragmatism with which he completed tasks. She was all too familiar, however, with the way people spoke when afraid of setting off her often short temper. She sighed and dropped the long-handled ladle to lean against the inside of the pot. Her hands found the edge of the pot and gripped it tightly, the scolding heat of the cast-iron leaving no burns on her skin.

    "Just spit it out, metal boy."

    Adan placed his knife on the counter and turned to face her with an expression of genuine confusion, "why do you seem uncertain if you''ll go with your friends?"

    Her grip on the pot tightened, released, and then tightened again.  She was mad, but it wasn''t at him for asking, or at her friends for leaving, or even at the too-cold iron that refused to sear her skin like it ought to -- like she wanted it to.

    "Perhaps I shouldn''t have asked," Adan said, half turning back to his work before Autumn finally answered.

    "Do you know what''s it like to crawl your way out of the dirt?" Her voice was steady but the tension underneath wasn''t hidden, "to have every detail of your life holding you back, but to claw and punch your way through it all anyway?"

    "No," Adan answered after a second, which to him was worth several minutes of thought, "I don''t suppose I do."

    "I''m not saying I have small ambitions," Autumn spun around on the crate to face him, leaning back against the pot as she continued in a slightly calmer tone, "see the world, try every food, and along the way make my name one worth remembering. I''ve always been asking a lot for a half-halfling from the foothills. Doesn''t change how badly I want it, though."

    "You seem to be doing well in those goals."

    "Yeah," Autumn laughed bitterly and motioned to her surroundings, "thanks to this place. This ship, this job, they''re the ticket to my dreams."

    Adan looked away in thought for almost a moment, "you worry that this is the only chance you''ll get."

    She scoffed, "took you a while to figure that one out."

    Adan returned to chopping his vegetables, "it was a tricky answer to find because I was created to think logically."If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    Autumn started to retort when she realized he was calling her illogical, but hesitated when she became pretty sure that -- in a vague and roundabout way -- he had just said he believed in her. She huffed and returned to stirring the stew.

    "No one asked you," the words didn''t have the bite she wanted them to.

    ______

    Littletooth darted between crates and barrels, sliding around turns and skittering back  up to speed as Iris chased after him. She avoided blipping, at least when he was looking, because that seemed to prompt him to do the same -- and she was very tired of playing "find the wyvern" on a ship big enough to house a village. If she didn''t blip around him, however, he seemed to mostly forget he could even do it.

    The wyvern made his fatal mistake when he aimed for his usual shortcut, a tight gap between two crates with a third stacked on top to form a tunnel too short and too narrow for Iris to pass. It had worked great every other time before, even if recently he had to wiggle and squeeze his way through it. Today was the day he had finally grown too large, however, and found himself firmly wedged in place half-way through the tunnel.

    Iris casually walked around the crates, crouching to peer down the tunnel at him with a smirk, "gotcha."

    Littletooth frantically huffed and scurried backwards to escape the tunnel, but Iris only laughed. She wasn''t concerned with actually physically catching him -- if she was then Abby would have been helping -- chase just seemed like a game he enjoyed, and she knew she could use the exercise.

    She jumped in fright when she rose from the crouch and turned to see Victoria standing only a few inches away.

    "No one will ever love you," Victoria smirked.

    Iris was taken aback but extremely confused, and then the image of Victoria flickered and reappeared as a hazy black silhouette in the shadows. The light of the glow stone hanging from Iris''s neck flickered back to life.

    "What the fuck was that?" she shouted.

    Several tentacles rose out of the bottomless bag to swirl threateningly around Iris, while Littletooth trotted in front of her with his wings spread and his fangs bared.

    "Just seeing what works," the nightmare said, each word coming out as the voice of a different friend or foe of Iris.

    Iris''s face contorted into a mixture of annoyance and disgust while her voice filled with wrath, "why can''t you just leave me alone? What is your fucking problem?"

    The nightmare laughed with the voice of her mother, "you know what I am. You know what I want."

    Iris steeled her expression while clenching her fists, "I''m gonna kill you one day."

    A mouth appeared in the darkness of the silhouette''s otherwise blank face, contorting into a smile that she recognized but couldn''t quite place. It didn''t move as the nightmare spoke, "not if you kill yourself first."

    The silhouette disappeared with a burst of darkness like spores exploding from a mushroom. Her snarl that turned into a scream as she spun around and swung her arm. A window to the void ripped across her palm and her greatsword shot out, slamming through a barrel and pinning it to the crate behind it. Ale gushed out from the puncture and seeped through cracks between the floor planks.

    She stood there heaving rapid breaths that only calmed when a gentle tentacle lay across her shoulder and a small wyvern nuzzled against her leg. Another tentacle retrieved her sword and sheathed it into the bottomless bag, while a third pointed upwards.

    Iris nodded hurriedly, "yeah, good idea."

    Only a moment later Iris was settling into her hammock with Littletooth sprawled out on top of her outstretched legs. The crew''s quarters were bustling with the activity of a pirate crew fresh off their first pillage in a while. Piles of coins slid back and forth across make-shift tables while losers groaned and winners gloated, a few too many pirates sang shanties to poorly played music on plundered instruments they didn''t know how to use, and the occasional fight broke out what loot belonged to who or how the details of a particular story had actually happened. Despite all this, Iris was glad there were at least plenty of lights to keep the nightmare away.

    Trying her hardest to pretend she was alone, Iris cracked open her journal and waited for it to fall on an empty page. A tentacle held out a vial of ink while another passed Iris a quill, and she began to write.

    *Dear mom,*

    *The nightmare is getting worse. It pokes and prods at me like a toy, plucks at threads of my emotions like a lute. I''m so tired, and I think I''m beginning to forget what it felt like before I had it. Did you ever have to deal with something like this? A monster you can''t escape, or thoughts in your mind that aren''t your own? I hope not, but if you had some advice, that''d be nice right about now.*

    *Everything''s about to change again soon, that''s okay though. I think I''m ready for it. Can you believe sailing in the sky across a continent actually gets boring? I don''t even want to think about what sailing across the ocean must be like. Eli says we''ll be catching a boat sooner or later, anyway, but personally I hope we find somewhere else to hang around for a while first.*

    *What I really need is a grand quest like yours, you were so lucky to find one so early. Hopefully your entries actually get around to telling me how that happened soon, and hopefully my big quest comes soon too. Wandering is fun and all, but a little purpose would go a long way, too.*

    *Be safe out there, mom,

    *Iris Orion, 997*

 244 - A Very Bad Time For Consequences

    Iris awoke to the sounds of howling wind and a creaking ship as she rolled across the floor and bumped hard into a crate. Occasional booms echoed through the hull, each accompanied by a rough jolt as if powerful waves were smashing against the ship. She groggily spotted Littletooth squeezing into the bottomless bag where it lay open on the floor. Once he was inside, she blipped it into her hand and climbed to her feet, steadying herself against the crate as the ship continue to rock and shutter.

    A powerful boom filled the cargo hold as a hole the size of a carriage was ripped through the thick hull, revealing a grey wall of torrential rain that rushed into the ship alongside powerful, deafening winds.

    Her first blip brought her to the crew''s quarters, where ankle-deep water pouring down from the stairs sloshed around violently. Her next blip deposited her in the Galley, where Autumn, Grell and Adan were working to secure cabinets flung open by the motion of the ship while all sorts of pans, bowls and utensils slid and bounced across the floor with every sway.

    "What''s going on?" Iris asked hurriedly, still wiping the sleep from her eyes.

    "Real bad!" Killup shouted, standing on a counter and stretching to hold two overhead cabinets closed.

    A distant roar rumbled through the ship -- the call of a restless hydra.

    "Everything''s fucked!" Autumn agreed while chasing one of her favorite pots as it tumbled across the galley.

    "The storm is growing quite powerful," Adan said calmly while tying cabinets shut with a length of yarn, "the boatswain is looking for you, he wants your help with the sails."

    Iris nodded, donned her goggles, and blipped to the gun deck, where sideways rain shot through the cannon ports and flooded the ship. Despite the conditions, gunners were loading cannons for reasons she didn''t have time to guess.

    Blipping to the main deck was like stepping into a different reality. Raindrops slammed into her like tiny arrows, all sound was consumed by the thunderous wind, and grey walls of rain obscured the far ends of the ship.

    Iris picked a mast and got to work. Loose sails were flapping freely in the winds and were well beyond saving, and instead she focused shoring up the sails that were still in place. She had taken to keeping a large amount of spare rope in her bag, which she pulled out from tears in her palms to add extra support to the sails while Abby''s tentacles reached out of the bag and wrapped around beams, masts and ropes to hold her in place. It was dangerous, harrowing work, and she couldn''t go fast enough to outpace the damage dealt by the storm.

    Her attention was stolen by a large, winged silhouette moving through the rain above the ship. Her first thought was Glimmer, but she quickly realized this creature was far too large -- and there was more than one. Their wings were long and pointed, as were their stretched out beaks and thin, dangling legs. She watched in horror as one of the creatures swooped between masts and snatched a pirate from his perch in the sails, carrying him away in its beak.

    Only Abby''s tentacles saved her from being flung off the mast as the ship abruptly tilted to the side, narrowly dodging the branches of an enormous tree that appeared from the wall of rain. Cannons fired off from below, drawing her attention downward where she spotted flashes of white light from the quarterdeck.

    The captain stood before the helm, leaning back with chains wrapped around either arm and gripped tightly in his fists. His peg-leg slid on the slick wood but his other leg picked up the slack and held him in place as he adjusted his pull on either chain to adjust the wings and thrusters in his best attempt to navigate the storm. Meredith wasn''t with him, instead she dared to traverse the chaotic deck and shout orders to the crew while manning the sails herself.

    The flying creatures -- which the captain knew to be Petresca''s pterosaurs -- took turns swooping down to attack him and the others on the quarterdeck. Powerless to defend himself while controlling the ship, he was instead defended by the grotesquely mutated form of Quartermaster Luo, Dorragth the orc, and Titus in his gleaming armor. Shimmering bolts of white lightning shot from the healer''s hands, closing every wound dealt to his allies and piercing through the diving pterosaurs to burn them from the inside.

    A tensioned rope snapped and cracked across the main deck and slammed into a pirate, slicing through leather and flesh to briefly add a splatter of blood to the downpour. Titus sprinted past the captain and stepped up on the quarterdeck railing to send two bolts towards the woman, the first to heal the wound and the second to heal the bones the impact probably broke. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

    He turned to follow a low flying pterosaur with his gaze, conjuring a long spear of crackling light that he pulled back and threw like a javelin -- passing through both of its wings as on their upswing and burning holes through the thin, stretched membranes. Spotting a weakness, he held out his palms and fired several small crackling bolts from both, peppering the pterosaurs wings with holes. It flapped helplessly and began to tumble in the air, twisting and screeching as it fell until it crumbled hard against the hull of the ship.

    A limp and bloody pirate slapped into the deck nearby, dropped by a pterosaur that now moved on to other targets. Titus could see the blood still flowing in the pirate''s veins and sprinted towards him. He dropped into a crouch, sliding across the rain-slick deck to the pirate''s side where he channeled magic into his hands for a powerful surge of healing.

    High above in the crow''s nest, Eli and Hedley took pot shots at the circling pterosaurs. Hedley landed every shot, while many of Eli''s blasts soared off into the storm. Rain poured on them through the hastily repaired roof, and each tilt and rock of the ship sent them stumbling to one side or the other.

    "We can''t keep this up," Eli shouted over the wind, "we should descend!"

    "Coward talk!" Hedley shouted back just before releasing a bolt from his staff.

    A few planks of wood were ripped off the remaining roof by the wind, "easy for the guy with wings to say!"

    Amidst the constant, overpowering winds were even faster, blade-like gusts that sliced through the air with incredible force. The ship swayed and tilted to dodge as best as the captain and crew could manage, but each one that glanced off the hull tore of large chunks. The ship was weakening to the point that smaller pieces were tearing off even without additional impacts from the wind-blades.

    Half-way up one of the foremasts, Iris began to wonder how much longer the ship could last just as the mast she clung to snapped below her, sending her careening to the side. A desperate blip brought her to the nearest intact mast where Abby''s tentacles wrapped around a beam to arrest her fall and help her climb onto the beam. The sail behind her was bulging with wind, but threatened to slam into her if the wind shifted.

    It was rare for Iris to make a hard call for the whole party, she usually left those kinds of decisions up to Eli or Victoria. Now was not one of those times, however. The situation was growing worse by the second, and she decided it was time to get her team out of there. She looked upwards and started plotting a route through the mess of flailing sails and ropes towards the crow''s nest, where she expected to find Eli.

    Just before she leapt into her first blip, a figure appeared on the nearest beam above her -- not just one figure, but three of them. She squinted through the rain, but couldn''t make out any details of the silhouettes. Her awareness ability sensed someone else behind her. Whipping around, she saw the frowning brass mask of an Agent of Morose.

    "My god has a quarrel with you," the agent spoke loudly but monotonously.

    Iris sighed and almost rolled her eyes, "we''re doing this now, really?!"

    The agent shot a hand out towards her and she blipped downwards to dodge, spinning in the air as she fell away to shout back at him, "I have enough going on!"

    She watched as the agents disappeared, and then she twisted around and blipped to the deck. The agents appeared around her as she landed, one of them lashing out with a short sword that she dodged with a quick lean while another approached from behind with a pair of enchanted handcuffs that were slapped away by a tentacle.

    Iris groaned as she conjured her greatsword from her palm and swung it towards the nearest agent, "fuck off!" she blipped mid swing and appeared behind a different target, slicing through his fluttering robe as the form inside dissipated.

    She blipped to the gun deck, then to the crew''s quarters, each time the agents blipped after her. The further she descended into the ship, the more water she found. The cargo hold was thoroughly flooded, with crates and barrels floating in the sloshing waters that slammed them against the interior hull. The mechanical deck was mostly dry, but the tight corridors of the lowest deck were the worst of all. Water rushed through the hallways like a violent river, bursting through doors and invading every crevice.

    With no where left to go but the hydra''s chamber, she reversed her path and blipped back up through the ship. With every blip she lingered for only an instant, yet each time the agents appeared just before she blipped again -- it became obvious she wasn''t getting away from them like this.

    When she passed back through the cargo hold, a ghostly Victoria flew past her and the pair briefly locked eyes before the agents appeared and Iris blipped. They met again in the cargo hold, where Iris shouted quickly before blipping again.

    "Plan E!"

    Victoria flew up through the floor of the crew quarters as Iris appeared, "go get Eli!"

    Iris dodged a dagger thrown by an agent and returned by swinging her sword towards him. He was out of her reach, but her hand released the hilt and flung the sword towards him with a tentacle reaching out from her palm to grab the hilt. The strike was too weak to cut him in two, but managed to cleave off an arm before embedding in his torso. The tentacle yanked the sword back into Iris''s grasp and she blipped to the gundeck where Victoria was already waiting.

    "I''ll tell the others!" she shouted before diving back through the floor.

    Cannons fired as the agents appeared, briefly disorienting them long enough for Iris to drive her sword through one of their chests. She hesitated for the briefest of instants with her sword buried in his flesh, staring into the empty black pits of the mask''s eyeholes, but quickly resolved to think about it later and kicked him off her sword before blipping again.

 245 - The Ire of Petresca

    The remaining Agents of Morose chased after Iris as she ascended the main mast towards the crow''s nest. Her robes were soaked through and her skin was chilled by the rain, her hair had come completely loose from its bun and now fluttered erratically in the wind, and water poured down her face and sputtered around her mouth with each heavy, gasping breath. It felt as much like swimming as it did climbing, her muscles ached and her mana was running low, but if she paused for even a moment the agents would surround her.

    She did her best to always keep enough mana in reserve for at least one desperate blip and otherwise relied on leaping and climbing to traverse as much as possible. Some quick thought was given to the idea of using her broom-staff, but she worried about getting picked out of the air by the flying monsters.

    The stormed disappeared on the port-side as if snatched away by the will of a god. One half of the ship still punched through wind and rain, while the other basked in sunlight shining down an enormous column of open air ringed by the ferocious storm. The ship tilted in response, turning almost horizontal to ride the wall of the storm''s eye like waves of an ocean.

    Crew were thrown overboard and cannons were flung through their ports. Iris hung from the almost-horizontal mast, suspended by tentacles reaching out from her palm to wrap around a flailing rope. The agents pursuing her had a harder time adjusting, some falling away from the mast before blipping back towards it. She glanced towards the crow''s nest, where she spotted Glimmer swooping below it to catch a leaping Eli on her back.

    Beyond the crow''s nest, in the center of the storm''s eye, was a monumental pillar of water suspended in a stable state as if taking that shape was its natural inclination. Inside the pillar was a giant -- not a stone giant from Gellorn, but what appeared to a scaly mermaid several times larger than the Gaping Maw. Her hair floated calmly around her head, while her piercing gaze stared down at the ship like a hawk eying its prey.

    The agents of morose gathered on the horizontal mast above Iris. The rope she was hanging from was attached to one of the beams that now pointed almost straight downwards, quite some distance from the mast upon which they stood. If their goal was to sever the rope and send her falling, that would be a trivial task. However, if their goal was capture her -- as she suspected -- that would pose a much more complex problem. She chose to continue hanging there for now, making the most of the opportunity to let her mana recharge while she thought of a plan.

    A serene voice sang from every direction, "Captain Clement, I genuinely hoped you wouldn''t make it this far."

    The captain now balanced on the posts of the railing behind the helm as if standing on a ladder, still clutching a chain in one hand to balance the wings of the ship that now dipped in and out of the storm almost like oars dipping in and out of water.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

    "Petresca!" he roared across the gap between his ship and the goddess, "you selfish bitch!"

    An amused and shocked scoff escaped the goddess''s mouth, "you call me selfish? While you seek to deprive me of my greatest disciple? Well, one of my greatest--"

    "I seek to stand beside you!" he interrupted, "it''s you who wants to stop me!"

    The pillar of water lurched hundreds of feet forward in a second to bring the goddess close. Her shadow spread across the ship as she loomed over it like a person crouching over a bug, "you seek only my throne, fueled by insolent and ungrateful ambition!"

    "You should be eager to see me ascend!" the Shark Titan called out, "we could stand together in the coming war, I could place the crown of gods upon your head!"

    Petresca laughed, "empty promises from a would-be usurper!"

    "It doesn''t have to be like this!" the captain was almost pleading, "you don''t have to do this!"

    "There will be no god of the Shining Blue but me. If your words are earnest, then abandon your quest and slay the hydra."

    The Shark Titan''s chest heaved with every breath. The chain wrapped around his arm bit into his scales. He glanced across the deck, where Meredith stood on the base of a mast and firmly shook her head before glancing downwards. He followed her gaze to the expanse of churning of waters at the bottom of the eye. They hadn''t reached the sea, not truly, but in her arrogance Petresca had brought the sea to them.

    He cackled a genuine, earnest laugh that boomed like thunder. It carried on and on, and a frown crossed Petresca''s face.

    "What is this?" she asked, "have you gone mad in your final hours?"

    "You''re too late," the captain called out, "you''ve delivered me godhood on a platter!"

    The pillar of water moved away as Petresca withdrew back to the center of the eye with a confident expression, briefly glancing ahead of the ship, "we shall see."

    A massive blade of wind carved a trench through the eyewall as it raced towards the Gaping Maw, impacting it at the bow just off-center and slicing effortlessly through its hull. It carved deep into the ship, passing through it at an angle before erupting from the starboard side and severing the ship in two.

    The mast from which Iris hung splintered into pieces, the Agents of Morose blipping away as she fell away from the ship. She blipped onto a chunk of passing debris, kicking off before blipping again and conjuring her broom-staff to carry her upwards through the remains of the ship that fell all around her. She looked for the stern, where the galley -- and hopefully her friends -- would be, but it had already been swallowed by the storm.

    The front of the ship tumbled away from the eyewall towards the center of the storm. The hydra emerged from the gaping hole and lashed out to devour any living thing it could reach as more heads rapidly grew from its body.

    Iris frantically searched for any sign of any of her friends -- but she saw only wreckage and rain. A glint of gold caught her eye, and an instant later the tailfin of a huge golden fish slammed into her chest and knocked her off the broom-staff.

    Though she plummeted through the air, the debris falling with her gave the impression that she was suspended in place. There was still no glimpse of her friends, not even Eli or Glimmer, and the Gaping Maw was no more.

    There was no option left -- she reached up to her neck and clutched the locket her mother had given her.