From then on we were even more tense and watchful then before. Gib and his squad had dealt with that single skinwalker quite efficiently. It had hardly seemed a threat. That was mostly due to the fact that they had been expecting it. They had been prepared and they hadn't hesitated to deal with it with extreme prejudice. They hadn't taken any chances and they hadn't held anything back. I could see though, how even a single one could spell doom for a community that wasn't prepared or even aware. I didn't even want to imagine the damage one could cause were it to somehow get into a city.

We kept moving away from the city though, towards the colonnade, the place Gib had mentioned after the fight with the skinwalker. I was a little curious about a place bearing a name like that, especially here deep underground. I was weary as well though. Caution made us move more slowly as well. We kept our eyes open and our ears to the ground. If Gib's assumptions were to be trusted, and I had no reason not to, there was something out there that had already gotten one squad. None of us wanted to share that fate.

We quietly passed the spot where the narrow byway the thing had used branched off from the main cavern we followed. Supposedly that narrow crawlspace was a shortcut but we couldn't use it due to our size. Gib wouldn't have wanted to use it anyway as even the forgeborn in his squad would have had a hard time squeezing through. Soon after we came across a gruesome sight though. It was the spot where the eldritch terror must have gotten the goblin it impersonated. At least what little was left of the goblin in question suggested as much. It mostly was just a pile of bones but even these had suffered. It wasn't a pretty sight for sure.

What was more important was the trail of blood leading up to that very spot. It looked like the goblin woman had been wounded, and not just lightly either, before the thing got her. Gib ran his fingers through his beard as he followed the trail with his eyes. “She came in from the colonnade as expected and she was wounded and alone. She wouldn't have been alone unless something else happened to her comrades.” He gestured for everyone to gather around him. “Keep your guard up no matter what we find. If you notice something, no matter how minor, raise an alarm or strike first and hard.”

Then her turned to address me and Gash'zur specifically. “The place we will reach shortly, the colonnade, is pretty spacious but it has a confusing layout. Lots of rock columns blocking yer view. The lighting in there is confusing as well. Don't get separated from the group.” He grinned. The grin didn't reach his dead serious eyes though. “At least ye will have plenty of room to use yer weapons.”

As he spoke everyone else checked their weapons. I readied mine as well. The giantess at my side hefted her warhammer, a new one she had acquired in Hearth Forge, as well. It was a heavy, murderous thing but she was able to swing it with surprising ease.

Once everyone was ready we got moving again, keeping a tight formation this time around with the squad healer in between me and the giantess. As we reached the place in question I got to understand what Gib had meant with confusing layout and lighting.

It was a large cavern with a lot of rock columns. Some of those contained large crystals shedding light all around. Despite the above average brightness it was near impossible to keep an eye one the rest of the cavern as we made our way in. There seemed to be always one column or another blocking part of our view. Worse were the shadows our own movement painted everywhere. These shadows had me twitching more than once and even the goblins and forgeborn who were more familiar with the effect weren't immune either. What slowed us down even further was the need to watch our own backs. More so than before at least.

It took us a while to make our way into the labyrinth of rock pillars following the trail of dried blood splatters. In the end we did find what was left of that other scout squad. Which is to say, we didn't find a whole lot. Not of the actual scouts anyway. What we happened upon was mostly twisted, torn and bloody gear strewn about. There was some rubble mixed in as well. The fighting that had taken place here had taken its toll on the surrounding rock formations as well. What was disconcerting though was the utter and total lack of bodies.

“Whatever it was, it probably was not more skinwalkers, wasn't it?” That statement came from the giantess at my side. She kept her voice low though, as if not to attract the attention of whatever had gone berserk here.

It was Xue, still keeping in between us, who answered. “Right. Skinwalkers wouldn't have left the gear. Not all of it anyway. They aren't the brightest candles on the chandelier but they understand the principle of clothing somehow and that they would be suspicious without it. Whatever went on a rampage here was probably bigger.”

Something bigger? How big could it be if it made its way around the Deep Dark? Gash'zur and I had managed so far but there had been on occasion passageways we hadn't been able to use. Or was the opponent we were looking for some kind of ambush predator that didn't even need to leave the place? If it were the latter it might actually be pretty big as this cavern was in general spacious. Something that could just about squeeze through in between some of the rock pillars might could be easily two or three times my size, depending on how flexible it was.

My eyebrow started twitching as I thought about that again. An ambush predator wouldn't need to squeeze through any openings. It would in all likelihood be well camouflaged and it would be sitting very still as well, just waiting for its prey to enter the kill zone. That one rock pillar right there at the center of the piles of mangled gear was the only one that wasn't pock marked by the recent fighting. It just sat there as if not a single blow had hit it. I grasped the shaft of my weapon tighter.

I decided to voice my suspicion, just as Gib had instructed us to. “That rock pillar in the middle of where the fight must have happened. Do you see how it appears untouched although all the others all around have been marked by the fighting?”

Everyone else froze as I spoke. By the looks on their faces alone I could tell that I must have been on to something.

Gib spoke up before anyone else could say or do anything. “Lady Keza? Could you and your companion lead the attack? If ye are right it might just happen that the rest of us are ill equipped to face this opponent.” The rest of the squad fell back a little as he spoke.

Could the thing that lay in ambush here understand us? Or was it afraid that its latest prey might be getting away? There was no way to tell. Either way, the next moment the jig was up as what had looked like a rock pillar started moving.

At first bits and pieces started shifting about ever so slightly, revealing eyes and a maw that would allow it to easily swallow any of us whole. Except it probably wouldn't. There just were too many teeth for that to happen. Then it opened its eyes. Oh, Maidens! There were so many of them! All around its circumference! And all of them locked their baleful gaze onto one or another of us.

For just a moment I was distracted, no, almost captivated, by the things merciless gaze. As a result I almost missed the long tentacles unfurling themselves from around it. These tentacles were easily long enough to still reach us, as I belatedly realized. Even as that realization hit home they were already lashing out in our direction.

“Move!” My voice echoed back from all around us. I didn't wait to see if anyone reacted. Instead I got moving myself. Even as I took the first step though, I realized that I wouldn't be able to evade the tentacle that was aimed at me. The thing was impossible fast!

I brought my shield up to either deflect it or push myself out of the way. I barely managed to do the former. That tentacle wasn't just impossible fast. It was massive and heavy as well! For a moment it came close enough that I could see the rocky outer shell as well as the weirdly rubbery flesh on the inside. I got a glimpse of the many suckers with their serrated, not so little teeth as well. As I deflected the appendage it crashed into one of the actual, nearby rock pillars, tearing a deep groove into it in the process.

My shield arm ached. I had only barely been able to stand my ground. “Gash'zur! Hit it with all you have got!” I didn't wait to see if she could follow through on my command though. Instead I went on the offensive myself. Thanks to my glaive my reach was superior to anyone else in our group. That allowed me to get into striking distance while none of the others so far had managed to get close enough yet. I aimed for one of the eyes. The blade of my weapon tore into it with ease, bursting it like a nasty boil with weird purple blood splattering everywhere.

The loss of one eye didn't slow it down or impair it in any other way though as I quickly found out. It didn't even scream or make any utterance for that matter. No, the tentacled terror just kept fighting in utter silence.

I had to dodge the next moment as not one but two tentacles came crashing down with considerably force where I had stood. Just as well. My attack had not gone entirely unnoticed after all.

One of the other tentacles had managed to grab onto Gib. Out of the corner of my eye I could see the monster dragging him towards its toothy maw. He was trying to cut himself free but even as he cut deep enough into one tentacle to make it let go another already had grabbed on.

I dodged past another flailing appendage and brought my glaive down on the tentacle that now held him. Just in time before it could drag him into its maw.

As he got back onto his feet Gib didn't retreat though. Instead he cast a spell. The same one I had already seen him use against the skinwalker. “Burning Hands!” At point blank range he unleashed a flaming inferno right into the very mouth of the monster we were facing. This time it did screech in pain!

I whirled around, not wasting any time either, and stabbed my weapon deep into another eye. This one too popped and spread nasty glibber everywhere. The stuff was disgusting!

Then Gash'zur struck. She brougth her weapon down in a heavy two handed wing. Her warhammer, wreathed in flame, struck like a meteor, cracking the rocky outer shell of the terror from the depth. Again the thing screeched.

Crossbow bolts flew true and burst more eyes. The weapons would take time to reload though.

I had no intention to wait. Gash'zur had struck from one side. I brought my weapon around in a swing that was no less impressive and struck from the other. The impossibly sharp blade cut through the rock armor and the rubbery flesh under it with equal ease. I didn't get a chance to celebrate though as I had to dodge out of the way of more flailing tentacles the next moment.

I could hear cries of pain from somewhere. Not the screeching of the monster but cries of one of our comrades. I could not let it distract me though. I had to stay focused on the enemy. Each time I dodged I brought my glaive around for another powerful chop. I struck time and again.

So did Gash'zur. Her hammer left large smoldering craters wherever it struck. She couldn't strike as often as I would have liked though as she had a tougher time evading the tentacles.

Gib wasn't done yet either. Instead of retreating he moved in close. He moved in close enough that the abomination couldn't bring any of its tentacles to bear without risking injury to itself. The brave little goblin in turn cast his fire spell time and again, liberally dousing our opponent in fire.

None of the wounds we inflicted seemed lethal though. Sure enough it bled but that didn't seem to slow it. I cut off some tentacles but there always seemed to be another one waiting to take its place. We struck and we dodged. Then finally, just in time to keep me from resorting to desperate measures, a shudder went through it after one last, especially powerful blow from the giantess. Then it fell still.

I drove the blade of my weapon into it one more time for good measure before taking the chance to catch my breath. “Everyone back!” Then I gathered as much Mana as I could to channel it into the same spell Gib had been using. Fire had seemed effective enough after all. When I finally triggered the spell it turned the body of the beast into a raging inferno and I staggered back as well.