Mature Content Warning: None

Author's Notes: So, we are slowly creeping up on something resembling a plot...

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Chapter 25.1: Charybyssal Worm Pit

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Dirt, dust, and tumbleweeds are common sights in any desert plain. The scrub grass gives way to cracked, dry, earth. Soon dirt and dust is the only thing that can be seen for miles on end. Yet, even in such a barren wasteland there is life.

Scott looked down at the tracks that his group had been following for the last few hours. Tracking a flying creature on foot would normally be difficult, but Hawkline had a tendency to walk when they were not in a hurry. All they had to do was find one set of tracks leading away from civilization. When that set of tracks disappeared, they would then fan out and search for another set of tracks.

That method of tracking could heave ended badly, but it was all that they had. Flying vehicles were rare in the area, most likely due to the inordinate amount of flight capable Crystallim. If Scott were not currently on an assignment he would take the time to properly bond and train his recently acquired Hawkline, but he could not trust his life and his team with someone completely new while on mission.

Pirouette used the binoculars to check distant things, her superior vision made the best use of the device and she could see several times farther than any of the other girls.

“Still nothing?” asked Scott.

“I am not certain... There is a small dust cloud several miles ahead, but it’s still too far away to tell if it is what we are looking for.” said Pirouette.

Scott nodded to her. “We’ll keep moving then. There should be a nest around here somewhere. Most of the tracks lead this direction if they aren’t heading to town.”

“What if there is more than one?” asked Flora.

“I don’t know. It’s possible, but I would think that there would be a lot more Hawkline around than there are.” said Scott.

The trio continued forward until the tracks ended, then fanned out to search for more. The search required several long minutes before the next set of tracks that led away from town could be found. They led in the direction of the dust cloud that Pirouette had seen. Scott took it as a sign that the dust cloud was a worthy destination.

After walking for another two hours Pirouette signaled that she could finally see something. She turned to Scott and said, “I think there’s a drop-off up ahead.”

“Drop-off?” asked Scott.

“A cliff, maybe a hill? Seems like the land ends at one spot then picks up again further away. Still hard to tell, though.” said Pirouette.

They continued onward but after another hour or so of walking through the wasteland they needed to take a break. Scott pulled out a sun-shade, basically a large umbrella, from his MISS and they sat in the shade while they ate lunch.

“Do you think there will be a lot of Hawkline?” asked Flora.

“If it’s a nest then it is likely. It’s probably been here a while too, so probably a large number maybe even a few hundred of them.” said Scott.

“A few hundred! We can’t take down that many.” said Flora. She had limited combat ability and Pirouette was strong, but she was nowhere near strong enough to take down that many opponents.

“We just need to verify that this is where the nest is located. If we can do that we can slowly whittle the numbers down by hunting around the area.”

“I wonder why we haven’t seen any Hawkline yet.” said Pirouette.

“Good point. You would think that the place would be crawling with them.” said Scott. They obviously moved in this direction frequently, but the lack of visible sign of their current occupation of the area was unnerving.

After lunch they continued onward toward their possible destiny. The Hawkline were still nowhere in sight by the time that Pirouette could easily see what waited ahead. She immediately reached out and snagged Scott’s arm.

“Yeah?” asked the man.

“We need to go back.” said Pirouette.

“What’s wrong? What did you see?” he asked.

“That’s no Hawkline nest.” said Pirouette.

Scott looked askance at her. “What is it then?”

“I’m almost positive that it’s a Charybyssal Worm pit.” said the dark elf.

Scott stared at her. “You’re kidding?”

She shook her head. “All the signs are there.”

“Well, that explains the lack of Hawkline, but what is one of them doing in this area? This isn’t the deep desert.” asked Scott rhetorically. He had no expectation that Pirouette would have an answer, but he did feel the need to voice his confusion.

“What’s a Charybyssal Worm pit?” asked Flora. She had never heard of it, though admittedly she had also never been far from a major city.

Pirouette answered her. “It’s one of the few native non-crystallim life forms of this world. Basically, it’s a giant worm that sits in one place and lures in the unwary. They eat Nightmares.”

“Eat them... wouldn’t that mean that the thing is lined with lots of Crystallim cores?” asked Flora.

“True, there would be a massive number of cores built up inside of it. Though, most of them would be inert now.” said Pirouette.

“The worm eats the Hawkline, and it craps out dead cores. The ADF would love to hear about this place if they don’t know about it already.” said Scott.

“Why is that?” asked Flora.

“Dead cores are often called failed Crystallim. The ADF and a few researchers can take them and revive the cores so that they can become custom made Crystallim. One of the team members who will be joining us in a couple of months was created from such a thing.” said Scott.

“So, these worm pits will be considered a major find then?” asked Flora.

“Absolutely. That also means that here is definitely a nest somewhat nearby. That worm would starve to death if there was not a steady supply of food.” said Scott.

“There is something worrying, though.” said Pirouette.

“Yeah?” asked Scott.

“How can the thing’s reach extend so far? We’ve been walking all day. This worm should only be able to draw in nightmares from a few miles away at most.” said Pirouette.

“Good point. There has to be more to it than this. Let’s head back to town. I’ll send in a report to the American council to see what they want to do.” said Scott.

“Couldn’t we just go check out the worm?” asked Flora.

“Nah, you won’t see much unless you’re sliding down its gullet. They’ll check it out and bring special digging tools to mine the area. We’ll get a finder’s fee at least, probably a percentage of whatever is discovered as well.” said Scott.

“More money always sounds nice.” said Flora with a sweet smile.

Scott leaned over and wrapped his arm around her waist. “Buy me something pretty when you’re rich, alright?”

Flora laughed a little then kissed him on the cheek. “Silly master.”

Pirouette smiled at them gently then searched the area with the binoculars. There was nothing for miles around. Little about the situation made sense, but at least one mysterious piece of the puzzle had been located.