The sun hung high in the sky after the merchant’s departure, its radiance fell on the forest floor as it cast light through the canopy above. After the merchant had left all four of us had set off in the direction of the tar lake. Our usual routine had evolved into catching monsters as they spawned from the substance as in their newly born state they were easy pickings. We’d discovered that newly spawned monsters were sluggish and disoriented, they were sitting ducks if we could locate and attack them quickly enough.

With each monster I slew I found myself growing stronger. Perhaps if someone had thought of doing this before I’d been born I would have had no chance to explore this world. The corpses lying near the lake were a testament to how lucky I’d been. After killing the third tardog for the day our party went out to take a lunch break and forage for food. We had made it a habit of always traveling together in case we encountered anything more difficult to fight than a tardog.

We’d found that the forest was filled with all different types of food. Berry bushes grew in huge colonies while edible roots and plants peppered the undergrowth. Orion even returned to his normal self for a while and happily chatted with us about the productivity of the forest.

A consensus was made that for whatever reason, the expansion of the tar lake was the cause of the increased productivity. Whether it fertilized the land through natural means or it was magically enhancing the soil we could not tell, but the effects were staggering nonetheless. After gathering for only a few hours the four of us had procured enough food to last us a few days at the least.

Orion seemed to be quite proficient at gathering local roots and edible plants while Shiza excelled at berry picking. Even Argu contributed to the haul by hunting down a few squirrel-like mammals that chattered on the branches above.

On the return trip Orion confided in me that he hadn’t been able to fully let go of the past events yet. We walked for a while before I was able to think of a suitable response, “I understand why you feel that way. I know how hard it is to trust someone.” I was getting slightly better at remembering how to empathize, though, I couldn’t tell if what I was feeling was actual empathy or just a copy of what I used to feel. I pushed the thought aside as I concentrated on Orion, “You lost everything you’ve ever known after meeting me and you don’t know who to blame. First you blamed yourself, when you figured out you couldn’t have done anything you blamed me. You and Shiza come from a different world than I’m used to. You both brush things off that I find horrible and unjust, you subconsciously already know how shit this world is. You need to consciously come to that realization now, blame this world for the sacrifices you’ve had to make and help me make it better.”

Orion stopped and stared at me as I continued to walk forward. When I stopped to turn around he was standing there with tears streaming down his face. With a small sniffle his hand came up to wipe the snot away from his nose. He regained his composure and jogged to catch up, “You’re right. I’m sorry I blamed you. If you really want to change this world and prevent more stories like mine then I’ll follow you to the ends of Patriam.” I smiled at him as we fell back in stride as we made our way back to camp.

When we had finished storing the supplies we’d headed back to the tar lake. Upon arriving we set up for our afternoon shifts. Each of us would take turns watching the lake for any bubbles that would indicate a monster spawning. Late into Shiza’s shift, right before we’d planned to head back for the night, Shiza roused us and directed our gaze towards the opposite side of the reservoir. A tardog had just been spawned and was slowly crawling its way out of the muck. We quickly hustled over to the new monster, our weapons drawn and ready to fight. As we entered the clearing where the tardog had escaped the tar an unusual scene met our gaze. The new tardog was dragging the corpse of a tardog we’d slain earlier in the day back towards the lake. We watched as the creature struggled to move the body as it inched closer and closer to the black liquid.

When the monster finally had the corpse submerged halfway into the tar a horrible scene unfolded in front of us. The snapping of bones and cartilage could be heard throughout the area as the corpse merged with the still living monster. A gruesome scratch emanated across the lake as the corpse’s black skin peeled away and melted onto the mass of tar that used to be the tardog. Bone fragments sharpened to points and migrated themselves deeper into the swirling twitching mass as they continued to crack and break apart.

Slowly, the black mass started to take shape. Five appendages protruded from the undulating mass as a head and eye socket began to form. Four legs and a tail were carved from the tar as the blob slowly melted away, steaming like hot rocks in a sauna. Razor sharp teeth were revealed as the mouth was assembled by the rapidly deteriorating tar. The entire scene took barely any time at all even though it seemed to last hours. Before us stood a fully formed alpha tardog, its growl threatening us as its jaw snapped open and shut repeatedly.

“Did you guys just see that?” Orion held his spear tightly, the tip extending towards the monster’s throat.

I nodded slowly, taking care to keep my eyes on the alpha as I positioned myself in front of Shiza and Argu. I locked myself into a combat stance, my shield raised and my sword at the ready, prepared for the attack that was likely to follow.

The stare off was intense, both parties standing there and waiting for the other to make a move. Then suddenly, the alpha took off towards the edge of the woods. Caught off guard I was slow to react and after realizing what was happening, I took off in pursuit. We couldn’t let that alpha get into the forest where it would have an advantage.

A wall of flames burst from the ground in front of the alpha and it skidded to a stop yelping as its face was burned. I could hear Argu collapse off of Shiza’s shoulder behind me as his mana was spent, smart little drake.

The alpha spun around as Orion and I cornered it, the flames still burning behind it. It let out a vicious roar as it lunged at Orion. He’d gotten faster, easily sidestepping the lunge and bringing his spear across the monster’s front left leg, severing completely in the process. The alpha screeched in pain as it face-planted onto the ground, quickly getting up on its remaining three legs before once again trying to escape. I was on it in a flash, my shield bashing the creature in the face and knocking it down again. My sword came down aimed at its neck, barely missing its target as the monster rolled out of the way. I thrusted my sword forward and managed to cut a large gash through the alpha’s hindquarters.

The alpha spun around to attack me but before it could a spear came flying out of nowhere and embedded itself into the monster’s neck. It gave a yelp of surprise and staggered sideways as blood gushed from the wound. This temporary distraction was all I needed as my sword moved sideways across the creatures face. The iron cut deep slicing through the creature's cheek, separating the lower jaw from the rest of the skull as the tip lacerated the back of the monster's throat.

The alpha staggered backwards, gurgling as it tried to breath through the blood that was gushing into its esophagus. It tried in vain to escape one last time, making it only a few steps before it ran out of oxygen and its legs collapsed out from under it.

I sheath my sword after wiping the blood off of it. We’d been able to defeat an alpha in a straight up fight. I looked at Orion as he walked over and dislodged his spear from the creature's neck, “Well that’s going to be a useful skill to have.” He said, walking back over to where I stood.

Orion had unlocked the “Spear Throw” skill and I’d unlocked “Shield Bash”, both fantastic additions to our quite small pool of skills. Whatever Argu had done at the beginning of the engagement had completely depleted his mana, it was definitely a useful skill though. Argu was finally being roused by Shiza, his consciousness slowly returning as his mana regenerated.

I signaled Orion towards the other corpses, it would behove us to dispose of the other slain monsters. If the consumption of living things caused lower leveled monsters to transform into stronger ones then we needed to get rid of any corpses we created.

As I dragged each corpse away from the tar lake and threw them in a pile, Orion carefully cut an ear off of each tardog corpse to turn into the guild. In order to get paid by the guild we would still have to venture to the city every once in a while to confirm our kills. By this point Argu was up and moving again, I walked over to where he was sitting on a nearby log next to Shiza, “He really is an amazing little lizard isn’t he?”

Shiza’s expression was soft as she looked at the cobalt blue drake, “Yeah, he is pretty amazing. It makes me wonder why they’re so rare.”

I looked at Argu his neck stretched up to look at Shiza as she spoke. I had to laugh, “He fits in nicely with our party doesn’t he? If only he could light those corpses on fire for us. It looks like Orion is having trouble getting a fire started.”

We both looked at Orion as he struggled to get the sparks from his striker to light the dry grass in front of him. We both chuckled before the pile started to glow. Surprised, we looked on as the faint glow quickly burst into flames, lapping at the tar covered skin and fur of the corpses.

I looked down in shock at the small drake sitting next to us, “Did you just understand us?!”

Argu simply looked up at me and chirped twice.

Argu

Drake (Level 2)

70/200 Experience

30/30 Health ----

20/20 Stamina ------

10/10 Mana --

10/10 Spirit ---

‘0’ Stat Points Available

Racial Abilities - Flight and Unavailable

Skills: (Fire Magic G) (Elemental Shift) (Fire Magic Cost Reduction)

Spells: Sear, Illuminate, Flare Wall