It's been a week since our arrival in the valley, four days since we slapped together Kes Mud, the unofficial title of our dirt territory. During a suprise attack by the flock of Vulture Harpies I saw in Alima's vision, I lost Blue and nearly lost one of the children that was playing close to her. Being a vibrant, blue Stalker, and a glaring example of their favorite prey, both were snatched in the middle of the afternoon and I had to choose which one to save. Honestly, it wasn't even a choice to be made, but it did put the squeeze on my heart as I watched the blood red talons gripping tighter around my arcane friend. The only solace I got, was that there was no body for the flying bitch to eat and that it would go hungry that much longer.

After the attack, we constructed a second, taller tower and always had someone in both. My emotions numbed to a moderate level of disappointment and frustration, so I started taking it out in the dungeon.

With at least five levels that we know of from the Quest, Dawn decided on our third day to just use an all-player team to gather information about the place and to see how far we could go before reaching too much resistance. The answer to "how far?" ended up being "the very first floor and five chambers in."

Limestone walls that glittered with purple specks and rivulets of trickling water, small patches of the red fungus we first encountered in Denagrin, and love seat sized purple crystalline crabs that breathed fire awaited us inside. Before anyone could do anything else, I named them "Purple Crystaceans" and giggled like mad at their groans. Richter, as always, had my back in my attempts at humor. The Crystaceans started at level 34 and only got stronger the further we ventured. The fourth chamber was the size of a warehouse with an olympic sized pool in the center of it and a Tier 1 Boss crab to match. We barely survived slaying the giant creature, but thinking that the next chamber would contain some kind of way to the lower floors, we pressed forward. Instead, we only found more Crystaceans. Already sick of the little crabbies, we headed back to the surface.

The good news was, the mini-boss didn't respawn. The bad news was, of course, the other Crystaceans did. Richter died for the first time ever, torn to shreds by a handful of them as we were trying to pass through the second chamber. He didn't make a sound as he was ambushed from behind. We didn't even know what was happening until it was too late. We brought his Life Crystal back to him, but he did lose a chunk of XP. He was fortunate that it was after we had already leveled up.

When Blue died, I used the excuse of trying to learn some Crystacean Abilities to go back in and grind as many of them as I could to take out my frustrations. The only thing I learned was that they were susceptible to water attacks. I mean, they had a fire breath attack, so it should have been obvious, but they were crabs in a watery environment so my gamer instincts were thrown for a loop. I guess that was what Alima meant by not judging them by their looks.

I never did Adapt anything from the crabs, although I did Distill one. Strategically, it was for the best. Blue was half the level of the monsters in the beginning of the dungeon. Maybe someday I'll hunt for another, stronger Stalker and christen it with the same moniker. Until then, the scuttling, wide bodied creature will do. Maybe I can use it as a tank?

For a couple days after we used the first few chambers to train and level up the Kobolds as well. Once we got them to level 23, Dawn sent them out into the valley to hunt in Kobold-only groups. I sliver of me was afraid for my squad, but I believed that they were more than capable. I gave Tamu, the most level headed one of the group, my Hedge Mage's Ring. Haru got the Simple Ring of Power I received as a reward for the Fairy Dragon Quest. And I wondered if I would regret giving Dilla my spare Apprentice Storage Ring. Would she just fill it with snacks? That would be something.

Currently, we're nine chambers in, and we finally find a wide, decline that switched back and forth lower into the dungeon. The body of a second boss crab is already pixelating and loot sack inside the Rucksack of Holding I hold on to. Dawn turns to the three of us and whispers, "Next level?" We all nod enthusiastically and she leads the way. Richter's Dancing Lights float near enough so we can see each step we take and the walls of the pathway. The specks of purple stuff catch some of the light and shimmer like stars. Dawn stops us on the first landing and points at something new on the wall.

"That looks like a vein of iron, but--" She tilts her head from side to side, trying to get a better look at it, "-- its been affected by the ether. How's the ambient mana been for you, Ard?"

[Adequate ambient mana: no effects]

"That's weird. Says it's pretty Goldilocks in here." I glance about like I'm searching for any puddles of ether laying around. A few tentative steps and an outstretched hand towards Dawn's funny iron vain and my internal Mana Counter twitches.

[Slight Increase in ambient mana: +7MP Regen.]

"It's like the metal's been irradiated with mana or something." I move away and my MP Regen returns to normal. When I notice that I've been moving back and forth, messing with my Mana Regen several times, it's too late. The others have already been giggling at my impromptu dance for a while. "Yeah, yeah. Let's get going."

"You should multiclass with Sonny," Richter says as he waltzes with one of the floating orbs, casting long shadows down the path and across the walls.

Rachel stomps around, poorly imitating my Distracting Footwork on purpose, "You can, like, teach each other some cool moves."

I summon Shelly, my new Crystacean, behind the two distracted Rogues just long enough to nip their behinds and return her back to her core. Rachel's shriek and Richter's yowl echo in the hall at the landing of the second floor. Dawn turns to give us a reprimandingly raised eyebrow, but it's too late for her to say anything.

Chittering and groaning beckon us deeper into the adjoining chamber. Richter summons four more Dancing Lights and sends them as far as they can go in the spacious cavern. It's a good thing he did that first since the light revealed an abruptly dropping ledge a couple steps from where we're standing. The drop is only six feet, but it would've been a twisted ankle at least. The orbs of light pass by pillars of limestone, broken stalactites, and more veins of the magic iron running across the walls on their way to illuminate the rest of the deep cavern. Something on the ceiling catches their light and I only have a moment to cath a glimpse of something large and crystaline. Crap, are there crabs on the ceiling now?

I don't sense any magical side effects in the air, but a pulse of cold fear runs through me seeing the kind of creatures that would make such familiar and haunting sounds. Before us shambles the half rotten, zombie-like Tlancalli dungeon party, and they are not pleased to see us. An eerie, violet glow in the angry eyes reminds me of the irradiated iron and my bad feeling gets worse the more we take in their appearances.

Black blood from massive wounds under shattered armor tells tales of how each one met their fate, but not what had killed them. Exposed bones, oozing flesh, and the eye watering stench of decay in a place with ample moisture makes my skin crawl. We ready our weapons and my claws, while Dawn's outstretched hand glows blue as she readies a Spell.

At first we thought they were undead, but when Dawn casts Sanctuary the Spell didn't affect them adversely like it should. With aggro pulled, they move toward us as their eyes and wounds illuminate brighter with arcane energy. From our ledge, we focus on ranged attacks, but my first volley of bolts stops me in my tracks and I make a noise of disapproval when I observe their gruesome wounds knitting together and black blood creeping back inside their orifices. Three sets of the same notification appear and I grunt in annoyance.

[You heal Tlancalli Reanimate for 118HP!]

[Blessing of Sekhmena heals you for 11HP!]

When I voice what happened Dawn looks back at me in confusion, casts Divine Flash, and eyes her battle log. I watch radiant energy burst from within one of the Tlancalli and it groans louder.

"Regular amount of damage. They're not undead, they must be something else," she proclaims, casting and recasting her Spell while hurling her Thunderstruck repeatedly. The same realization washes over Richter and Rachel, forcing them to stop and think for a moment. Apparently, most of their Abilities add damage or alter damage to arcane and they were doing the same thing as I was. Well, it's not like arcane is the only damage I can deal.

I launch a bowling ball of ice in the center of the crowd and am rewarded with several damage entries. None of the attacks look particularly dampened by a Resistance, but thirty percent of my Arcane isn't going to make this fight go any quicker. The arcane zombies are closing in on us and I turn to Dawn for the plan. Our ledge is not fortified, nor is it out of the reach of their tails, which they wave in the air menacingly.

"Let's play four square, there's space." She looks over at the three Blink Steppers and we catch her drift, calling out our corners. "I'm going to target Reposition in the center. Just use the Agi boost until we actually have to all be in the same spot. Ardy, Roar as soon as you reappear. It'll be like shooting zombie fish in a rock pool."

We give the encroaching horde another volley before teleporting to our respective zones. I get the far corner of our diamond shape, opposite from the ledge and I belt out a vicious yell. The sound reverberates off the walls and I add Lesser Dragon Force to my list of Buffs. The Tlancalli are slow to turn and pay for their sluggish movement with showers of arrows and daggers; torrents of fire, lightning, and water; and incredible blows from Dawn's Thunderstruck which is puttin on a spectacular light show.

Her weapon shines as bright as the Dancing Lights and each strike sends sparks and motes of radiant energy flying as if she's hammering metal on an anvil. Rachel's hands and shortswords glow yellow as she fights with killer speed and instinct. Richter fires arrows with unerring speed and precision, striking vital spots, but that kind of thing matters little to these undead creatures. With his bow stowed, he draws out a rapier for one hand, a short wand in the other, and activates a Stance that I've seen Sonny use. He must have learned it during training. I think it was called Flurry.

The creatures don't know which way to turn or who to attack first. We're not used to a force this sluggishband we have to actively slow ourselves down so we don't trip over our own feet killing them. This isn't easy. It's TOO easy. And in a few moments, the battle is over. We look around at the devastation and something seems off.

It's taking too long for the system's clean up to do its job and after a quick check of our battle logs, we notice the lack of death notices. And then, someone flipped the lights on.

The dimmer switch in the cavern flies all the way up and a searing, violet light saturates our vision. The light fades to white and I fall flat among the gore. Every muscle fiber in my body has locked up and the only thing I can see is the whiteout and some notifications.

[Fatally High ambient mana: Regen rates will now work in reverse until moved at least 50feet from area of Fatally High ambient mana. Incapacitated Debuff until moved at least 50feet from area of Fatally High ambient mana.]

[Dawn Nobel heals you for 101HP!]

I can feel someone small hefting me onto their shoulder like a sack of potatoes and Dawn's voice rings next to me, "Ric, Rach, aim for the crystal up top, it's got a rainbow bar and it looks like it's bringing the zombies back. I'll move Ard until he can come around and we'll cover you." Her steps are hurried, but steady as she tries not to bounce me around.

[Adequate ambient mana: no effects]

It takes a moment for me to come around, like waiting for a body part that fell asleep. Tiny pins and needles prick at my skin as the mana in my body recedes to a normal level. My vision flutters back and Dawn sets me on my feet. Behind us, a dome of purple light pulls the body parts together, uncaring of which part belongs where or to whom. A string of the same purple energy drops from the ceiling, connecting the dome with an eight foot wide rectangular crystal.

"Hey there, sleepy head. We gotta pull the mobs away from the others. Come on, let's go."

I respond with a groan, but we both rush into the horde as soon as the dome fades out and the Reanimates start to shamble. We position ourselves back to back and shift our way towards the center of the crowd. With Reposition still in effect, the moment we reached the marker the two of us receive a bonus to Dexterity, which in turn gave me a bonus to damage. I resummon Shelly and command her to protect our Rogues so they can focus on their target. Not wanting to accidentally heal any of them with my arcane weapons or Mana Shield, I stick with my claws to attack and deflect their attacks. If I outright dodge, they'll strike Dawn from behind and the chaos of the melee makes it hard to cast anything.

With just the two of us surrounded by a sea of bloody, glowing, aggressive limbs, I take this moment as the perfect time to ask Dawn a few questions that have been weighing on my mind.

"Do you think it'd be weird if I marry Vic?"

"Honestly?" Dawn blocks a trio of stingers with her shield and that sound like hail hitting a tin roof. "I do, but not by much. Wouldn't it be such a Mary Jane move if you did? Either her or Sonny."

"I had my money on Dawn!" Richter's voice echoes across the cavern, making it clear that mine travels just as far and just as clearly.

"I thought it was gonna be Kona!" Rachel says with a giggle. Instead of being annoyed, I include the two of them in the conversation.

"Come on, guys," I groan with exasperation. A face made out of mascerated hands lunges forward for a bite, I think, and a Roundhouse Kick sends all the pieces flying. "Why wouldn't it have been Victoria? I'm with her all the time, for crying out loud. How could I resist someone like her? No offense, Dawn."

"Offense taken," she says roguishly, intentionally bumping me with an elbow.

"I mean, you wouldn't be the first guy to marry an NPC, bro. Remember the case that was in the news a year ago?" Richter asks, finishing off a Mana Potion and tossing them bottle back into storage.

"You mean Grimes v RayzorVision? Didn't he drop the case?" A part of me drifts off to the details of the news piece that I saw at the bar where I used to work. We had a bunch of TVs for sports and what not, but that story was on every network for a while.

[Tlancalli Reanimate bludgeons you for 87 damage!]

"Dammit." My revenge on the creature is less satisfying knowing that I'm not causing it any pain and that if I did manage to out it down it might come back as something more horrible.

"Cuz they found out he, like, killed his NPC wife just to obtain the right to the throne of her small country?" Rachel gasps loudly and we all turn our attention to her. "Vic is royalty! Ardacen Winters! Are you planning on--"

"No! What? Come on! I'm kinda being serious, guys!" My pleading voice only causes everyone to continue razzing me.

"If you're serious--" Dawn begins, slamming her shining weapon down on the head of a twisted body, "--then it shouldn't matter what we think."

"Well, I care about what you guys think. I… I don't have many friends. Or any other friends…" My somber words are interrupted by a warning shriek from Rachel and a command from Richter.

"Move, Ardy!"

I Blink Step without hesitation as far as I can go and a foot away from my face glows the bright purple dome. There are still two standing bodies ready to fight, but they're frozen mid-attack. Dawn joins me outside the magic light and we clink Mana Bottles before downing them.

"Sorry, bro. We finally cracked the crystal, but then it started to give off purple sparks. Looks like a Hail Mary move."

We watch the dome rise from the ground into a floating, purple sphere. Within it, the body parts swirl around, slamming into each other with wet slapping and metal clanging sounds. Each collision causes the parts to stick until the sphere dissapates and a deep cracking sound precedes the complete shattering of the ceiling crystal. The monstrous figure hits the floor as a shower of glittering purple flakes follow it. Each flake that comes into contact with the monster sticks to it and those that don't turn to pixel dust on the ground.

"Shit. Glitter, the herpes of the crafting world." I give a slight chuckle, but Dawn face palms.

"Don't think the discussion is over just because we're in a boss fight, Winters." Dawn shoots me a sideways glance and sly grin to which I simply nod. We both activate our respective Buff Abilities and her last one, Consecrate Weapon, causes her Thunderstruck to shine brightly again. So that's what it was. I activate Shadow Claw and cast Shadow Toxin, coating my hands up to mid forearm in radiant darkness. Her eyes flash blue and shares the monster's basic information.

[Tlancalli Arcane Abomination. Tier 2 Boss. Level 45

[14917/9917HP, 399/99MP, 958/658SP]

"What the hell, Dawn? Is something, like, wrong with your Scan?" Rachel asks.

"I think its Temporary HP, kiddo. Must be from the crystal glitter." My clarification is enough satisfy everyone and we refocus on the Abomination. Its final form ends up being a kind of mismatched Tria using the various broken and bloody parts to fit together like a horrible puzzle. A tumorous growth bulges at the front and the magic slides the parts into the shape of a humanoid torso. The perverse version of what a Tlancalli would look like in the hands of a deranged necromancer sways on its eight legs and lifts its two tails, each one tipped with several of the actual stingers. The two legs in front lift themselves forward and hinge awkwardly at the knee.

"Oh, those are supposed to be claws. This thing's all kinds of fucked up, Dawn. Got a plan?"

"How big are your shoes?"

"Big enough for a Valkyrie." Richter barks a quick laugh, but a backhanded slap from Dawn shifts my attention back to the task at hand. "Right, well, not big enough to squish this bug. "

"And we're not dropping the ceiling, we kinda need it. So then," Dawn asks, gripping her weapon tighter, "Heads or tails? On second thought, legs. I always figured you to be a leg man, Ardy."

"Yeah," I give her my best Woody Allen impression, "But I kinda have this thing about being underneath giant arachnids. I kinda, you know, die." I shrug while I talk with my hands in front of me. She grabs one and swings me in the creature's direction. My screaming aerial act gets its attention and the torso watches me fly right at it. It opens its arms to catch me, but I Blink Step under it. I focus all three torrents of Trinity Stream at a single leg, making sure to spray the whole thing from tip to hip. All of the damage is spot on and I move on to my next order of business. Dancing.

With Richter firing wildly at the Abomination from a safe distance and Rachel slashing at the tails, I command my arcane crab to stay with lone ranged attacker. Besides, it won't do if her attacks heal the boss as we try to kill it. The range of Dawn's throw is limited, so she only gets as close as she needs to while blocking and dodging claw attacks. The heads all over the body, or what's left of them, continue to groan as we work it over. I manage to slash off two legs, but where the first one was extensively damaged and laying limp on the ground, the first continues flopping and kicking. A sudden blow to my chest from it sends me skidding across the floor and crashing into a stalagmite, like a river rock.

[Tlancalli Abomination bludgeons you for 57 damage!]

[The ground bludgeons you for 49 damage!]

I groan as I flop over on my hands and knees, slapping a Fey Touch to my chest. The comforting warmth gives me just enough motivation to hop up on my feet. I let out a deep breath and survey the battle.

Richter draws his arrows from his near bottomless quiver and every so often it leaves a short trail of static. He must be using his Spells sparingly to conserve his MP. Rachel is still using Spindle's Shortswords. Nothing wrong with that since damage scales as we level, but I'm sure we can cook up something better for her. Dawn is doing the most damage by far with her new buff Spell. Her movements are sharp, intuitive, and well timed. Its like watching two completely different teams competing to kill the boss first and even outnumbered two to one, Dawn is way in the lead.

The leg has somehow reattached itself to the wrong spot, but for this creature it doesn't matter as long as it's whole. Well, it won't be for long, that's for sure.

I Blink Step my way underneath it again, tearing through the belly with Critial Stabs and Echo Strikes. Air Cutter, as well as many of my Spells, might hit Rachel who is fighting above me, so I limit myself to these two attacks as well as Shadow Claw. Shadow Toxin landed earlier, but the effects seem to stick to the body that made up one of the legs and went away the moment it fell off.

"I got one, I got one! I--" Rachel's triumphant yelling is cut short. I duck out from under the creature to see one tail shriveled and flailing limply out of sync with the rest of it, while the other has driven itself through my friend's stomach. Black, poison tendrils spread from the gorey wound. There's no time to worry about healing the Abomination on accident and I cast Healing Breeze on her. I teleport right beside her, trying to stabilize the Poison and healing her while I try to pull her off the stinger. I shout for help from Dawn, but the boss found a way to smother her with an avalanche of limbs, covering her weapon arm up to her collar bone. She fends off attacks with her shield while shooting her Hellfire bolts from her mouth, dealing her level in fire damage with each burst.

Richter's too far to help. By the time he gets here it'll be too late.

Rachel screams as the tail refuses to release her, spreading the Tlancalli stingers like a morbid grappling hook and digging them into her back. She slashes at the tail, but in her flailing she only manages to scratch at the rusted armor left on the body parts. I bring my claws up to do the same, but a leg made of arms binds me. Before anything else can be done, the room goes deathly silent except for a distinct ringing.

There should be more sound. There should be shrieking or pleading or crying. There should be the sound of tearing flesh and armor. Of blood, bones, and viscera splashing with nauseating clatter. There should at least be the sound of my own, furious wailing at what I am being forced to witness. The arms squeeze me tighter as the dripping tail aims at me, looking to repeat what it had just done to Rachel.

The stingers strike the leg behind me, unable to hit my smokey form. I think I have a plan, but it's blurry around the edges. Floating past the writhing appendages and reforming below, my plan becomes clearer. Then, I realize it's not a plan at all, just a word. A single word with a whole lot of intention behind it. The world can turn on a single word with enough intention driving it, but I don't care about that. I cared about Rachel and she's not here, so what's left for me to care about?

Fuck this world. Fuck this creature. Fuck this pain throbbing in my chest and behind my eyes.

I withdraw Dread Influence from my inventory. The black cloak is so dark that I can't see the shadows cast on it, just the silhouette of fabric in my hands absorbing all of the light that touches it. I pull it on and it embraces my whole body from the neck down in an icy numbness. No longer needing to worry about damage for a moment, I carry on with my one word mission.

Scourge.

A word so perfect you can say it while gritting your teeth until they crack under the pressure. You let it boil in your throat with the bile and fury for a second or two, before squeezing out into your preferred form of violence. Season liberally with your choice of hate filled words and voila, you got yourself a spicy meatball.

A moment of clarity shows the vision of my arms elbow deep in the monster's body above me, gripping onto something inside as something tries to pull me by the ankles. I open my mouth for a scream, but out come a trio of magical bubbles. With no room to float, they pop with great force. The concussive wave tears through our bodies, but I only feel a minimal amount of discomfort. Whatever was wrapped around my feet released me immediately and I Blink Step back on top of the pile parts. I squat on instinct to keep from slipping and return to my work. The world blurs in what I assume is due to my speed, but my vision darkens as I slam into the Abomination. I conclude that I'm blacking out again.

Damn. My thoughts are sluggish, lurching from word to word as if my mental self is weighed down with heavy chains and sandbags tied to my feet. Why does it have to be like this? What did I do? Oh, that's right. Rachel got torn to shreds in front of my eyes. Why didn't I go crazy when Richter died? Was it because I didn't see it happen? Is this going to trigger every time?

I don't completely go under, but it does take a while for me to come back. When I finally open my eyes of my own volition, I can see the jagged teeth of the ceiling reaching down for me and I flinch hard. After the sudden movement, Richter and I become aware of each other's presence.

"Dude! Welcome back," he says in a soothing tone and places a hand on my shoulder. He can see my eyes darting around, "She respawned at the settlement. She's okay, bro. Dawn's scouting ahead. I don't have more than twenty regenerating arrows left and zero of the regular ones, so I stayed here with you."

He hails Dawn over the Whisper Cuff while I sit up and take in the surroundings. The game already cleaned up the mess, but the stalactites and stalagmites that broke remain that way. It takes a moment, but I notice I no longer have Dread Influence equipped. I shoot Richter a look and he placates me with a wave of his hands.

"Whoa, chill dude. Its over here." Using his Mage Hands, he pulls the black cloak from out of a crevice in a nearby wall. Had he not announced his intentions before hand, I would have thought he pulled a shadow from the rocks. "It was draining your HP fast and I didn't want it anywhere near us. You totally looked like a tiny wraith in it, bro. You even had the red eyes all over your arms and legs."

"Well, I had to-- Wait. Really? Gross." Our conversation gives up its ghost in the silence and I have to clear the air along with my throat, "I lost it. Again. Didn't I?"

Richter puts one of the Mage Hands on my shoulder, "It's okay bro. I couldn't see what happened from where I was, but Dawn gave me the nitty-gritty of what she saw..." He simply shakes his head and helps me on my feet. "Well, I don't think anyone should see anything like that, least of all someone as susceptible to the effects as you are."

"I don't have black fire coming out of my hat, do I?"

"Nah, bro. I don't think it has anything to do with these episodes of yours. Maybe it's a bug? We are supposed to be beta testing."

When she arrives, the first thing I ask Dawn is if she remembered seeing the black flames during my blackout in Kes Solomas or after I killed Ren.

"That's a negative in the city and everything was moving so fast at the end of the raid. Maybe? I don't wanna give you inaccurate information." She motions with her head for us to leave.

"Damn. It'd be some luck to have a buggy character. If I can just find out the trigger and what it means exactly…"

Back in the vardo I give Rachel a big hug as soon as I see her, much to her surprise, and hold her by her shoulders at arms length to get a good look at her.

"Oh! Ardy! Um, I'm happy to see you too." She looks over at Lydia who has been accompanying her since she felt well enough to walk, probably because she's the only other Avian Faunus in Linqs. She shrugs, not knowing how odd this situation really is for us.

"I'm so, so sorry, Rach. I let you die and--"

"It's okay, Ardy. I'm okay, really. It's not the first time I died." I release her and give her the most perplexed look I could muster. "Oh em gee, I totally meant IRL. Technically, I was dead for three minutes in the ambulance, but the paramedics brought me back."

"I--" I couldn't handle such a sharp turn in this roller-coaster conversation and froze up. A dainty finger presses into my chest, over my heart, and snaps me back into the moment.

"I'm still alive, dummy, and I'm alive here too." With a somber smile she let's out a sigh, "Dawn told me what happened after I died over the Ear Cuff. It wasn't your fault, Ard. I hope you know I'm just as willing to die for everyone as you are. If you promise not to make a habit of it, I'll do the same?"

She holds out her pinky and playfully sticks out the tip of her tongue. This girl is a walking emoji, trivia library, and a real sweetheart. I agree to her terms and we shake.

Dinner was delicious, as usual. I'm still thinking about it while sitting idle atop the roof of the vardo's retractable cabin. Conner's team, now known as Squad Gold, had hunted down some Blue Elk that made their way into the valley. They managed to take three down, but they also captured several of them using poison extracted from the neon green jub lub tree. Mika was the most pleased with the results and her cackling could be heard throughout the valley.

Sonny's Squad Mythril escorted a handful of Foragers to an area by a bend in the river. There, they had found a veritable Garden of Eden, filled with several dozen unique fruits and vegetables we've never seen before, not including the various herbs and plants used for Alchemy. Unfortunately, they were only able to skirt around the edges of this grove, picking what they could and being forced to scramble away from a gigantic, Tier Two Boss snake. From the sliding belly to the top of its body, it was about five feet tall and gods knew how long. It had prowled through the trees, but it never tried to attack anyone unless they were within the grove's natural perimeter created by a two foot tall slope, as if the garden raised itself just above the valley's floor.

As I sit and ponder when we're going to take care of the creature, my squad of Kobolds, Squad Electrum, catches my attention. From my perch I pull the hood of my tunic over my head to hide my flames and lie flat, so as not to attract too much attention against the starry night sky. My exhales create wispy trails of vapor and I pull a bed fur over me. A glance below at our makeshift bed shows an exhausted Victoria, sleeping off a day of laborious monotony. I still haven't made the decision regarding popping the question.

Just outside the walls, my Kobolds finish up some formation drills. The pale yellow squad leader commands her green bracelet back onto her wrist, leading the rest back into the settlement. Milli praises their efforts in practice and congratulates them on the today's valuable find. Although teams Gold and Mythril were so named out of reverance to the metals, and because Dawn didn't want to use alpha, beta, and so on, my little lizard friends earned their name by the massive vein they found. A labyrinthine pass cutting up and into the mountain eventually lead the group to a space "like many vardo inside put together." There, they said that the electrum vein looks painted on with the broad strokes of a wide brush. Tomorrow, Dawn and I will be joining them since she's the only one with the Miner Artisan class and I'm technically their sergeant. I slip inside the cabin, close the shutters, and crawl into bed. Tonight, I'm the little spoon.