Reuben Frost

While crossing a field of prairie flowers, Zariah’s party encountered Soren’s. They had been hiking at two different altitudes, but suddenly seeing another group of humans was a striking sight on a monster-infested floor. Their subsequent meeting was oddly jubilant. It had only been half a day since everyone had been together. Yet, that put no damper on anyone’s smile. Something was life-validating about traversing hard and dangerous terrain and then finding your own again.

Reuben smiled over the whole preceding. Standing aside as each group told their stories. More anecdotes than anything to labor over, but each party tried to outdo the other. A great and friendly competition. Though no winner was announced there were victories claimable by both sides.

Eventually, they fell into planning their next step. The time to return was approaching and the consensus came down to departing together. Night would likely fall before returning if they were to continue circling separately. If they instead went together, cutting closer to the center was safely possible and that would reduce their travel time immensely.

There was some back and forth about this exit strategy. A concern that it would leave some locations unseen, but Reuben stepped in to wave the concern away. It was the first day, no one expected every inch to be cataloged. What was seen today would be enough to devise a plan for tomorrow.

It was settled shortly after that. They would head home together

Since it was the opposite side, more or less, to the entrance, the two parties decided to do one last task before leaving. Everyone would spread out in twos and take a closer look around. The entrances and exits had been pretty consistent so far. Didn’t hurt to be a little more thorough here just in case. No one was to get too close to any hot springs in case of the crabs. Just a look around.

With Francisco dogging his tail, Reuben took an upwards direction, off-center on the right. There was a cleft in the border wall that had caught his eye. Such deviations weren’t unique, but rare enough to be worth checking out. The two of them loped through the flowers and entered the forest on a direct run for the cleft. He didn’t expect to see anything interesting on the way.

The trees came to an abrupt end about a hundred feet from the border wall, though only around the cleft. At the center of the clearing and cleft, there was a tall piece of rough carved granite. Shaped like a spearhead and the part facing them was polished smoother than the edges. There were words thickly carved upon it.

The sight gave Reuben a chill. Ever since waking in the Hall, the grandiose sight unsettled him. He imagined whispers of prophetic doom in his ears.

However, no matter how reluctant the scout was, the clue needed to be read.

As written by the Great Scholar Thoth,

“The world is ancient, every Eon but a blink to that which preceded it.

Before the gods descended, the world was old and the elder a faded memory.

I have wandered far and wide, seeking any scrap of those forgotten souls.

To the eye looking, the signs are everywhere.

Some buried, some drowned, some only weathered or burned.

Across the One Land, I traveled and recorded the remnants of those that came long before.

In the Era Before the Great Divide, I came across a most extraordinary discovery.

On the most ancient maps, copies and copies of far older ones, there is a land called Kor.

There are only fairy tales left of this land.

Of a great city, and the monsters that dwelled in its ruins.

On those papers, and in those tales, it is a flat plain between the mountains.

Kor remained lost until I proved it to have drastically changed, the key being a story of fire unleashed.

In a sunken valley of volcanic springs, I found the hint of this most ancient people.

Though most of the ruins were buried and drowned, some remained above ground.

Sealed, and hopefully untouched.

My greatest worries in those days was not a lack of discovery, but the storied adversaries.

Monstrous crabs rose from the volcanic waters, harassing my servants and me.

Their attentions were constant, and the fear of them dedicated our everyday lives.

Despite our gathered might there was no way to falter their assaults.

Their dead did not warrant any fright in them.

For that alone, I was willing to accept the fairy tale conclusion that the crabs were mindless monsters.

Yet, despite the relentless attacks, the dead did matter to them in some regard.

That haunting thought plus a lucky find resulted in a terrible conclusion.

A dry cave was found with a partial structure within the stone.

There was little within that animals had not already ruined, except for the carvings.

Those were abundant and clear.

I wept then for the crabs, for what greater horror is there than to see intelligence wane?

Degeneration is a terrible fate for any species, but especially for one of civilization.

This sad revelation opened up exploring the ruins to us.

Blood, no matter the eons, is like a memory never forgotten.

Some of the Kor Crabs were a better source than others, but they had the power to open the seal.

Their queens proved to have the purest blood and unsurprisingly the most intelligence.

I tell myself the pain inflicted was necessary.

Without the blood, I could not bring their history back to the light.

It was, and still is, a poor patch for my guilt, yet knowledge has more value than my sins.

Blood in hand, I plunged the depths to every ruin I could find.

Some were earned by sword and sorcery, as not all the structures were isolated from the outside.

Each gave me a piece of their history, me and mine are still pouring over it all.

Yet, I already have a picture of their ancient society.

More in kin with Humanity than the Great Races, born of Mother rather than the gods.

A matriarchal society that began as ocean dwellers and became, over time, amphibious.

Their story is then the story of all great civilizations, rising and falling until IT pushes them too far.

It seems every good historian is doomed to support the cause of the Breakers and their Braves.

We see and read about too many great peoples and civilizations devoured by the Scrios.

There is no need to wonder why the Singers joined in when their memory is longer than any other.

If you would ignore the plight of every Eon, then read first the history of Kor.

Read and see that eventually, Scrios will push us past the brink and there will be no new Eon for us.

We must kill Agebreaker or we shall be, one eon soon, left as apes in our own ruins.”

Reuben stepped back, wordless and thoughtful. There were many hints in those words. A helpful carving, in the end, not promising doom. At least not right now. He walked around the standing stone and took a look around the cleft. There was only rubble within the triangular space. Nothing that might be a hidden entrance or ancient ruins.

Though there would be ancient ruins somewhere, accessible. Or the appearance of such.

“Not here though,” muttered Rueben before he wandered back to the front of the standing stone. A little shifting about and there was a good seat to take. The scout took out a pen and a notebook.

Francisco appeared beside him. “Are you really going to copy the whole thing?”

“Every word. Any part of it could be useful. Plus then I can just hand the copy over and be asked a lot less questions.”

“Ahh, that makes sense.” A laugh.

Reuben looked up and saw that his fellow scout was antsy. Smiling, he gave his friend an out. “Hey, go back to the rendezvous and let them know what’s up. I’ll be along eventually.”

“But, then you’ll be alone. I shouldn’t”

He rolled his eyes and cloaked. “Go, nothing’s gonna see me.”

Finally, the other man nodded and disappeared himself.

“Geez, would have taken forever with him staring over my shoulder the whole time…”

The scout got back to copying with a chuckle.

Clarissa Evans

Half up the ridge she made a stop to set up her ambush. The first one. There was a thick area of new growth, that would make wonderful terrain. The crabs would be forced to bunch up on the game trail running through it. Even if they took the time to de-tree the hillside.

Up into a large tree, the redhead went, having picked one out downslope.

Another benefit of the location was the dearth of volcanic breaches. Clarissa had begun to suspect that the monsters didn’t just resist the heat, but relied on it. If so, their body functions would be slowed by the distance from hot spots. That would explain their reluctance to stray far from the hot springs and such. There was no way the crabs were afraid of predators, between their numbers and size, that was a laughable notion. At least until she showed up.

The redhead grinned and smothered a laugh.

She was looking forward to taking on the monsters alone. There hadn’t been a lot of opportunities for her to go off lone gunman. Being social and partying up was all fine and dandy, but Clarissa needed some alone time too. Soak in the wildness of life.

Being able to show off to herself was also nice. At least a dozen crabs and a big one were going to be here soon. She wasn’t the holding the line sort, but Clarissa had no doubts about how this fight was going to go.

At the first tumbled tree, her bow came up. Green light humming to life.

At the same time, she saw the shadowed shape of the big crab before the first crab came into view. It scuttled down the game trial while those behind it joined in a line or tore at plant life at the side, slowly widening the path. Her first arrow struck through the face of the leading monster. Green Mana exploded from within and the monster fell over. Blue blood ran thickly out of the entry wound.

The crabs howled and began to rush forward. The next arrow was shot into the air, curving downwards to strike from the opposite direction. She did this several times, hitting from different directions. Flashy attacks that did little more than add to the confusion. The monsters were shifting about in confusion, trying to line up against every direction. A frantic edge began to show among them, splintering further when Clarissa switched to another sniper shot.

She was whittling down the numbers when the big crab finally acted. The smaller ones had been trying to clear a path quietly at first, but that strategy was apparently dropped. The bulky monstrosity roared forward. Trees snapped or fell over as it charged forward. Revealing that size did mean smarter, the big crab aimed straight for her tree.

The redhead fired one empowered shot into the big one’s face and leaped from the tree. Even as the arrow penetrated, the giant claw didn’t hesitate a second. No flinch as it crushed the trunk and flung the tree’s top half. The monster howled at her and the little crabs swarmed out from under the legs. They race straight for her. Clarissa rapidly fired scatter shots to slow them. A few splinters in the face forced them to fall back into a shield wall.

As soon as their formation was in place, she booked it again.

A grin snapped into place at the chorus of howls that followed after her. It might be in her head, but she was certain the monsters were ticked off. Two hundred meters down the ridge was her next chosen ground. Another tree to climb.

The advantage of this terrain was a dry creek bed that had opened a corridor of emptiness in the middle of the forest. Anything exiting the treeline would be in direct line of sight, but only after pushing through a truly thick undergrowth. The big one would be slowed, somewhat.

Two crabs broke into the clearing and two arrows slumped them to the ground. More followed, howling their displeasure. She took out another three when the crowd slipped down the old banks of the creek. Their rage making them rush off the edge without looking. Clarissa abandoned the last opportunity when the big one burst into the clearing. It was large enough the bank would pose absolutely no issues. Not a second slowed.

Out of the tree and running a second later.

For this part, the redhead left the game trail. This side of the dry creek was all old growth, the size of the trunks enlarging with every step deeper into the woods. She dipped and zigged through the trees. Forcing her pursuers to do the same or spread out. Every few feet, Clarissa would turn back to fire on the isolated crabs. The big one was having trouble following through the bigger trees. It still relentlessly tried, but the little ones were leaving it behind.

By the time she broke free of the forest where her party was waiting, the big crab was alone. Clarissa ran past Julia and Malachi. Giving them a thumbs up as the monster roared itself free of the trees. Wood splintered like thunder and the spiky monstrosity was facing them. It scanned the humans, but clearly noted her taking position behind the others. She shot the monster in the eye as an encouragement to get started already.

That was all either side needed to start the battle.

The shieldmaiden and the battlemage rushed forward to meet the charging monster. It looked ready to run them over, but they made their opposite intent clear. A big claw came down to sweep them aside and met an immovable blue shield. Power flared, sending the claw back into the crab and robbing its momentum. A sudden, ungraceful stop. A sword of ice struck the right legs in a flash of frost. Ice formed to hold the monster in place.

From the sky came a rain of violet stars. They fell not as bombs, but as testing daggers. Slamming into no one place more than once. The stream was continuous, though ineffective to the hardened chitin of the big crab. It shrieked in protest and a waterspout of boiling water gushed over the melee fighters. A flash of royal blue was the only indicator that they were safe. For the moment. Still spraying, both claws raised to come crashing down.

Clarissa had been charging a single shot the entire time. A star herself, green and blinding. The air cracked as the arrow flew. Empowering Mana wrapped was around an actual arrow this time. Like a beam, it cut through the crab and denoted on the hillside behind.

“Shit, too much torque there,” grumbled the redhead. She began to charge another.

Though the attack had the intended effect in the end. The gush of water turned off and the crab stumbled away from the trapped party members. Malachi moved first, diving to the left while casting Barrier: Manacles. Translucent chains appeared around the claw and bound it to the ground. Damien's shower grew in strength as the caster tested for the minimum strength needed. There was no reason to sweat the light touch when two violet orbs waited in the wings. She could see them hovering above the monsters.

Harken was suddenly at her side and raised his staff. White light formed at the ready. “The old one, two?”

Nodding her acceptance, the priestly man fired a beam of holy light. It struck the crab and stilled it for a moment in the midst of Julia pummeling the monster. The redhead fired a breath later to take advantage of the stunned second, aiming carefully for the vitals. Another of the eight eyes was lost and the arrow exploded inside this time. The crab groaned.

It was staggering when they went in for the kill. Julia removed the other claw and Malachi unleashed lighting into the blood-soaked face. Clarissa made a few more holes. For good measure, Damien brought down one of the orbs as a spear to shear through and impale the ground beneath. The big crab fell with a gurgling cry. A sad two-note farewell.

In the distance, towards the central lake, another wave of crabs were coming. Big crabs in the mix this time. Things were getting hotter now. The party began to regroup when a whistle caught her attention as a red flare rose from further ahead. Warner’s party was retreating and a second later Molly’s on the other side signaled the same. She checked the time, there was no surprise there. It had been a long day already.

“Ok, that’s our wings pulling out,” frowned Malachi. “Looks like it's time to call it a day and head back.”

“Certainly a good note to end it on,” agreed Julia.

The redhead snarked, “It is, though the big ones are kinda pushovers. Strong, but everything dies when you shoot it in the face. Enough times at least.”

“Fair,” smirked the battlemage. “I know I'm wasting my breath here, but don’t be so cocky. Our whole party versus one big one was never going to be a fair fight. These monsters are the group tactics sort. Backed by the little ones, the situation will be different.”

“Sure, sure. Not like I didn’t eliminate all the little ones on my own or anything. I’ll totally be more careful.”

“As I said, wasted breath.”

Julia glared at both of them, but said nothing.

They took one last look at the approaching horde, then started heading back. Malachi jumped on the speaking stones announcing officially the day was over and seeing what the latest was. The news was all-around good. No deaths, no dire portends.

Clarissa stretched and announced, “Today is an ice cream sundae day.”

“Would be nice to cool off that way,” murmured Julia. “Nothing too rich I think, something mellow after tasting sulfur all day. Maybe just vanilla and hot fudge.”

“Strawberry and fudge is my thought,” smiled the redhead.

Harken added, “For cooling off, I can think of no better flavor than mint chocolate chip.”

“Ick, mint ice cream never seemed right to me,” admitted Malachi. “Just make mine double, triple chocolate.”

She turned to Damien, “Hey, what ice cream do you want?”

“Oreo creme with sprinkles,” answered the obsidian thaumaturgist immediately.

“I can dig that. Alright, let’s go go go! I got ice cream on the brain now!”

There were a few amused looks, but no one argued about picking up the pace.