It took a few more full days of excavation, during which time I unlocked the lovely new skill ‘Dig’ which I hoped never to use again after my quest was complete and I left the caverns. That assumed I was going to survive of course, but I found any assumptions to the contrary counterproductive. I wasn’t sure of exactly where I would go, as I didn’t really know what was out there, but talking with Elle I’d found out that there were a number of human cities clustered around each other that the dwarven caravans would touch on occasion. I was enjoying the novelty of interacting with dwarves and living in a massive cave system, but it was also starting to wear thin. I longed to see open skies and a field of plant life that didn’t look like an alien landscape. Beyond that I also just wanted to explore. I was in a new world after all, I didn’t intend on just staying in one place now that I was here. I was also fairly certain whatever jobs I’d receive from the system or my patron would likely not allow me to stay in the same place for too long.

The one new thing I was able to really explore was my new ability. I tested holding different weapons in my right hand and jabbing, casting spells, or throwing bombs with my left. The thirty percent increase was more than significant. I tried wielding weapons in my left hand and the ability ceased working, in spite of the fact that I was ambidextrous. After some experimenting I found that I only needed my hand to rest on the hilt of my sword. That allowed me a mean sucker punch if I needed one.

On the fourth day of excavation we finally broke into the chamber that Elle had theorized was there. I had a peek inside as they were widening the tunnel to allow people in. It was an incredible sight. The tunnel looked out onto a massive underground lake. It stretched out so far that I couldn’t see the end of it. Almost out of sight was what looked like a stone island, on which I could just make out some small structures, but their finer details were obscured by a forest of what looked to be crystalline trees. I could smell salt water, and I thought, just the slightest coppery scent of blood.

Once the tunnels were widened, the dwarves and kobolds began lowering small boats constructed from massive mushroom caps. It had taken me a bit of time to explain the concept of a boat, but with their ingenuity the dwarves and kobolds managed to figure it out, though the Kobold’s insisted that they were actually called ‘floaters’ and they were originally their idea.

By the middle of the day we had around twenty able bodied dwarves and eleven kobolds loaded up and ready to hunt the creature. The majority of the dwarves were stonemen, but there were at least five mushroom dwarves along too, led by Galgrum, who’d been looking more like a proper warrior every day. I’d found him sparring with stonemen and leading guard patrols since the battle. I heard from Elle, that he was hoping to attain a combat class when he reached tenth level. Apparently that was the point at which you were offered new class choices determined by what you’d done so far.

The water was relatively calm with only a slight current pushing and pulling us. I could see small silver fish swimming leisurely around and even nibbling at the edges of the boats as we moved. We rowed through the currents, and before long we reached the island. I was the first off the boat, along with Zevrack. Elle had wanted to come along to explore the new area and learn more about whatever creature it was, but when she’d been reminded of the fact that she could die, by me, then Zevrack, and finally, the council, she eventually relented. She went back and forth a few times, her curiosity overwhelming her self preservation and vice versa, but I was glad she’d stayed back and safe.

Zevrack knelt down and dragged his claw gently across the ground of the island. “Good territory. The Buried Claw shall use it well. Chief will be very happy.”

I watched everyone else file out of the boats, and once we were all together we headed straight for the stone buildings we’d seen earlier. The plan was to head for the center first, then fan out. It was possible it wasn’t actually on the island, but from what Elle could glean from all the information she gathered she seemed certain that was where we’d find it.

The island felt strange. It was almost silent, no rats or bats skittering about like there had been throughout the rest of the caverns. I took a closer look at one of the crystal trees I’d seen earlier, and placing my hand on it, I could feel a kind of pulsing with it, just beneath the surface. Tog went to one and placed his hand on it as well, he shuddered and drew it away quickly.

“That ain't natural crystal. It feels like it doesn’t belong,” he said, wiping his hand on his pants like that would remove the sensation of it.

We all grouped up and began walking toward the center of the island where we’d seen the stone structures. I had a feeling that I was being watched, and could feel my hairs standing on end, and a kind of skittering nervousness like I was a small mammal being watched by a large snake.

In the center of the island were six stone pillars. Each was a little taller than me and they were arranged in what looked to be a semicircle. They had veins of the same crystalline substance the trees were made of worked through them like spiderwebs made of glass.

I touched one of them and suddenly felt an incredible amount of energy fill me from them. My fear evaporated and senses seemed to sharpen and strengthen. I felt filled with power. I removed my hand and the feeling was gone. I watched as Tog touched it as well, but all I saw was the same shudder as when he’d touched one of the crystalline trees.

I looked over the group. Everyone was on edge, and twitchy. They clutched their weapons tightly and their eyes darted side to side quickly. I noticed very quickly that each of the groups had separated into their respective races. The rapid darting of their eyes not only focused on the forest, but on each other as well, as if the thing they had to fear was each other, rather than whatever it was we were hunting. Something else was wrong too. I looked out over them, and gestured to Galgrum who made his way over to me.

“Can you do a quick head count for me?” I asked.

He nodded, and began looking across the group muttering to himself. He blinked rapidly, shook his head, and started counting again. I saw the blood drain from his face. “We’re missing two.”

I started to yell for everyone to close in, but before anyone could react, the screaming began. It was coming from what sounded like the opposite end of the island. We all formed up and started heading in that direction. It took us all a bit of time to locate the exact source, but we found it toward the edge of the island. One of the stonemen had been impaled on a crystalline tree. His screaming had stopped just before we’d reached him, and he hung there limp and dead

We’d come here to hunt and though we were prepared, we were encountering something more dangerous than we’d expected. I looked over the group. I could tell immediately that we were missing even more people. I strained my ears, trying to hear whatever was stalking us.

“Move back toward the stones. Walk slowly and keep yer eyes on the warrior next to you!” yelled Tog.

We started making our way more slowly and deliberately back toward the stones. The crystal trees around us were starting to be filled with a pale light and the stones ahead of us were glowing a bright piercing blue. I took the rear, trying to use my elf hearing to hear any attack. Unfortunately, it was of little use

Hands gripped my ankles, and pulled my feet down through the ground below me which gave way easily.. There was a horrible moment of weightlessness and then I was suddenly being dragged across hard rock by the leg. I strained to see what had a grasp of me, but the speed at which I was being dragged, and the dark didn’t allow me the luxury of seeing it.

I was thrown, hard, into a wall and suddenly felt a shooting pain in my stomach. I looked down to find what looked like another branch of a crystalline tree sticking out of my stomach. I screamed, but a hand was suddenly over my mouth.

“Shhhhhh, that won’t do. Just let it go,” came a voice in a soft whisper, a hum of magic weaving its way between the words.

I looked up at the thing that had one of its hands on my mouth. It was hard to get a clear picture of it, even as close as it was. Its skin was like a shifting shadow. It seemed to be made up of arms and eyes that moved and rearranged second by second. I strained against the crystal in my stomach, but couldn’t move. I felt the blood pouring out of me, and watched as my hit points slowly ticked down.

I found a bit of grit left in me and bit down, causing the creature to retrieve its hand, its many eyes scrunching in a wince.

Its eyes looked confused. “There is no reason to fight my compulsion. Foolish. Futile gesture. You only cause yourself pain.”

I coughed blood and spat some at him.

“Good. Your blood is last of what is needed,” he skittered away and I got a full view of the room I was in. It was large, with five pillars I could see, along with the one I assumed I was now pinned too. They had the same spiderweb like veins as the pillars on the surface and I realized they were the same, I was just at the bottom end of them. My blood was draining down my legs and onto the ground into a massive, intricate carving. I looked at the other pillars and saw the rotting bodies of dwarves and kobolds hanging limp from each of them.

As my blood was drained I could feel power building in the center of the pool. The creature that had taken me was talking in multiple voices at once as he circled around it.

“Yes. I will saaave you. The stonemen were saved while we were left behind. I made it through through through though… I made it through.” It was walking in a circle, and I could see what looked like immaterial hands, reaching out to touch him as he walked by.

“What are you doing?” I managed to ask, my voice strained and quiet, continuing to watch my blood drain.

The creature skittered over to me until one of its eyes was less than an inch from my face. “We were not saved from our world. We had eaten and taken all that was there. This world chose to save the filthy dwarves instead of us. It did not want us. It does not matter what it wants though. We will have this world in spite of its wishes. Once the gate has opened, we can stop feasting on each other, and start eating those races this world thinks are so much more worthy.” It moved over to the center of the room, and placed the majority of his hands down, all of his eyes focused downward. The crystal that surrounded us began to glow, and the hands reaching out for the creature became more solid and substantial.

Power suffused the very air around us and I was overtaken with an odd, detached feeling. Like I was in two places at once. Suddenly, my hit points stopped going down. I felt that same rush of energy I’d felt touching the pillar on the surface. I cast flash step, transporting myself off the jagged crystal branch I’d been impaled on. I clutched my stomach trying to hold my innards.

“NO!” yelled the creature, realizing I’d moved. “STAY!” its words were once again suffused with power, but they didn’t affect me. When he realized that he charged me, reaching out with a half dozen arms at once.

I cast grease on myself and as his hands attempted to push and grab me, they instead slid off. I kicked him as hard as I could, and was surprised as he was launched backwards, and slammed into the wall. I looked down at my wound, and found that it had knitted itself closed. My HP that had been refilling, was now starting to overfill, and I felt stronger and more vital than I ever had before.

The creature pushed itself off the wall and let out a horrifying wail. Small balls of blackness formed in his hands and he began throwing them at me. I drew my shortsword, lighting the room with it, and started dodging them. I was light on my feet, but was forced to block the last one which hit my sword with such force I was nearly disarmed.

The creature moved closer, dozens of sharp blades made of pure void forming in its hands. It unleashed a flurry of strikes from dozens of directions at once.

Just before it reached me, I threw a spice bomb at it, grateful for the increased speed of my left hand. The creature howled, its dozens of eyes going red immediately on being hit. I used that moment to grab a bident and threw it directly at the monster. It struck true, stabbing hard into its side.

It cried out, and charged at me, I lifted my sword to react, but at that moment the hands that surrounded us started to grab at me. They weren’t able to get a solid hold on me, but rather they would manage a tight grip for only a moment before they passed through me. It threw me off balance, and I was forced to dodge into the wall to avoid the blades. I pushed off and rolled into the center of the room, dropping into a stance with my sword. The creature charged again, and the fight became a rapid exchange of blows. I dodged, blocked, and deflected with my sword and fist, taking any opportunity I had to strike. My sword felt lighter and lighter, while the creature seemed to slow more and more, as I covered him in cuts. Finally, I grabbed one of the creature’s hands and pulled him toward me, ramming my sword deep into its amorphous body. I felt it shudder and all of its eyes gloss over.

I pushed him off my blade and kicked his body across the floor. I could feel the energy that had gathered draining from both the room and me simultaneously. I looked down at the floor and could see the hands that had swarmed around us get smaller as what I was viewing started to zoom out. It went from showing hands, to a writhing mass of monsters like the ones I’d killed, to the ruins of a city that wouldn’t have looked out of place on Earth, to a continent covered in smog and blackness, to a world with dried out oceans and massive deserts, then nothing.