Lizzy tears apart the enemy in front of her and then takes a glance behind her tail. When she sees the stream of crystals she lets out a snort of annoyance. Once the beasts currently attacking us are all dead I take the egg from Lizzy's saddlebag and set it on the ground.

Once the egg has absorbed all the crystals I pick it back up, that's when I notice it has gotten bigger and heavier. As I am putting the egg back in Lizzy's saddlebag I see more beasts heading our way. It looks like the range they can sense the egg from has increased as well.

For the next several hours we continue moving slowly towards the river. I quickly lose track of how many shadow beasts we have killed, but it has to be in the hundreds already. Every few groups I stop and let the egg absorb all the crystals, it gets heavier every time.

When we finally reach the river we are fighting almost non-stop, the beasts just keep coming. While Lizzy and Bones watch my back I take the egg and set it down next to the river. I don't want to touch the liquid myself and I'm curious if the egg will attract the liquid like it does the crystals.

Just as I had hoped, a small stream of liquid comes out of the river and gets absorbed by the egg. After a minute the stream stops but by then the egg has started glowing. The glow is pulsing in the same rhythm that the warmth is, what I assume is a heartbeat.

Even though Lizzy and Bones are still killing beasts as they come at us I notice the crystals are not moving. It would seem that thanks to the river the egg no longer needs them, at least right now. Since it might want them later I quickly gather them up and put them in my pouch.

As I reach down and pick up the egg a mouth suddenly launches out of the water at me. To be precise the mouth is aiming for the egg, but since I am holding the egg it feels the same. I step back to avoid the jaws, but I didn't need to, before the jaws can reach me Lizzy is there.

She grabs the creature by the neck and drags it out of the river, it looks like a crocodile but with flippers instead of feet. Whatever it is, once it is on the ground Lizzy and Bones make short work of it. It is all over so fast that I don't even get a chance to swing at the thing.

Now that the egg has had its drink or whatever, the next task is to cross the river. While I am curious about the liquid, touching it just doesn't feel like a good idea. I can fly and carry Bones with me easily enough, but I can't carry Lizzy.

'Lizzy, can you think of a way to get across the river? If not I will leave you here for a minute and summon you once I fly over.'

Lizzy 'Do that. Swimming doesn't feel safe to me.'

'Alright, give me a minute.'

With the egg in one arm, I grab Bones with the other, and take off flying over the river. Several times something jumps out of the water at us but fails to reach. Ignoring them, I start looking for a safe place to land, or at least an area with less beasts.

As I do I spot a clear area, it looks to have been cleared by some figures in armor. At first I think they are shadow demons, but the more I look at them the less certain I am. Their armor is made of purple metal and covers them completely, but something in how they move makes me think they are humans.

As I watch them I realize they are cutting their way towards the river. I also spot them bending down to pick up the crystals from the beasts they kill. Dropping down in the middle of them seems like a bad idea, but I would like to try talking to them.

Looking at their path I decide to fly past them and land beyond the majority of the shadow beasts. Of course some come running because of the egg but I let Bones deal with them. My hope is that the ones in armor will come back the same way and pass nearby.

'Summon Mount!'

Once Lizzy joins us it is a simple matter to clear the area of shadow beasts. Now I just have to wait and see if those guys will come back this way and if they will be willing to talk to me. After waiting about a half hour I do see the same armored figures heading this way.

The difference now is they are all protecting one guy, and he is carrying two buckets. It would seem they were after the shadow liquid, just like all the shadow beasts. It isn't too surprising, after all there doesn't seem to be anything else of value in the valley.

"Hello there!"

Zandon says "Keep your distance or we will kill you!"

"Don't worry, I'm not after the shadow liquid. I just want to ask where I am!"

Xand says "What? How can you not know where you are?!"

"Well, there were shadow demons, a magical ritual, and then an explosion."

Dakon says "You really don't know where you are?"

"Nope. I mean I figured out that this is the shadow plane, but other than that I don't have a clue!"

Xand says "Well, I suppose it's alright for you to follow us."

Zandon says "If you try anything we won't hesitate to kill you."

Dakon says "Come on, let's move before more beasts arrive!"

"Sure, no problem. Can I ask where you are going?"

Xand says "To Shade, the only neutral city on this plane."

The rest of the group has already moved on, the three run to catch up and take the rear guard. As I follow with Lizzy and Bones they keep a close eye on me, but I don't blame them. Anytime a beast comes anywhere near us Lizzy runs off and kills it then brings me its crystal.

Bones is getting fairly frustrated, Lizzy is so fast that he has no chance of joining the fights. We end up following the group for about two hours before the city comes into sight. Other than the fact that the stones and everything else is all some shade of purple it looks like a normal city.

75 Rank 1 Shadow Beasts defeated! 75,000 Exp gained!

21 Rank 2 Shadow Beasts defeated! 42,000 Exp gained!

8 Rank 3 Shadow Beasts defeated! 24,000 Exp gained!

As we get closer the differences become more apparent, like the people. For some reason I was expecting more humans, but other than the group I am following I don't see any. Instead I see just about everything else, from what looks like beastmen and lizardmen to orcs and goblins.

The odd thing is that all the different races are all some color of purple. When we reach the city gates I am able to follow the group inside without a problem. In fact I don't even see anyone who looks like a city guard, it seems the city is open to all.

Xand says "Welcome to Shade! If you have more questions, you can come ask our boss."

"Sure, thank you!"

Since I have a lot of questions I want to ask, it is as good an offer as I am likely to get. So I follow them through the crowded streets until we come to what looks like an inn. It seems fairly run down but when we enter I find other humans, although they also have purple skin.