“This is the trail we have to follow. The Voice said so,” I stated. The confirmation was unnecessary, in my opinion, as it couldn’t be any more obvious than tracks in stone. I followed it a little further, seeing the tracks go from obvious to minor indents. A claw point here, a scrape of stone there. To me, it was clear as day, better even than I thought I should see. The Voice hadn’t been kidding when it said my tracking skill was amazing, and it was way better than at home.

  We waited for Harper to return. As Jerseil and Druzzik tried to see past where it was obvious. I watched, amused, as they constantly lost the trail. “How do you do that, Finn? You’re not a Ranger,” Jerseil asked, perturbed.

  “What does that have to do with anything? I just started out with excellent stats. And though the Voice denied it, I bet the fact that I had tracking skills before I came here had some bearing on it being one of my skills here. I can track a mouse through a forest, per the Voice.”

  That was the moment Harper returned from her impromptu scout.

  “You can track that well? Damn. I trained for an entire year to get my tracking skill to the point it was useful,” she said, impressed.

  “So, ah, anything interesting out there? Like breaking my leg again interesting? Because that was a lot of fun.”

  “Nope,” she replied. “I followed the beaten path and didn’t see any sign of traps or anything else.”

  “Okay. Well, I found the trail of the beast. And it’s a big one. But I’ll need to convince it to come with us or capture it. And Druzzik doesn’t know what it is, right Druzzik?”

  “Not seen yet. New to me. Curious,” the kobold agreed. “Finn find it, yes?”

  “We have no choice but to follow these tracks to its lair, little buddy,” I replied. “We ready to go?”

  This time, I took the lead, being the only one who could follow the almost imperceptible tracks of the massive creature. I wished I had spent more time learning about mythical beasts and other creatures, so I could identify it by the tracks. What I knew was that this creature was a quadruped with a high likelihood of being a predator.

  The impressions left by the feet and claws implied that. But the shape of the feet ruled out it being a cat or bear, let alone a canine. More than anything, I was reminded of both a lizard and a bird because of the shape. It could be an amalgamation of the two, as it leaned more lizard like, yet had a spur like a chicken. There was nothing in my background that truly explained all the features.

  Between my thoughts and following the tracks, I was not really aware of my surroundings, as I should have been. Which is why I missed the glimpse of several blackened scaly heads disappearing behind some rocks ahead of us. If I had noticed, I likely would have been annoyed with not only the upcoming ambush, but the insane amount of rocks scattered all willy-nilly about the cavern. There were too many!

  Fortunately, I didn’t need to pay as much attention to my surroundings with my friends watching my back. Harper tapped me on the shoulder, causing me to look up.

  “We got some trouble up ahead, behind those rocks. So watch your step,” she said.

  I nodded. “Hostile Kobolds? Druzzik?”

  The kobold looked thoughtful. “Know tribe. Blackscales. Think rightful rulers. Fanatics. Not bright. Very hostile, Finn.”

  “Wait,” Jerseil said. “How many tribes are down here?”

  Druzzik counted on his claws. “Blackscales, Emberfang, Shattermaw, Rusttalon, Cinderclaw, Hollowfang. Druzzik’s tribe, Emberveil. Seven?”

  “And we have to get past all of them. Were the first ones we ran into Blackscale too?” Harper asked our guide.

  “Not Blackscales. Emberfang. Hate Uncle’s way.”

  This is just getting better. Another terrible war, just contained down here. “Should we keep moving? I don’t think our welcoming committee will be happy if they have to wait,” I said.

  “I have questions. So many more questions,” Jerseil muttered.

  Harper checked her rapier in its scabbard. “There will be time for questions later, Jerseil. Finn’s right. Hate to be late to a party!”

  The Blackscale kobolds weren’t prepared to deal with us, not really. The moment they rushed us, I hit them with a surged Chain Lightning, frying all but one. In a really dark way, it was funny to see the only Blackscale cringing from the bright electricity flowing around him and hitting all his fellows. When he stopped cowering and looked at his fellow tribe members blackened further and twitching on the ground, the look of shock on his face was only compounded by his looking at me, my hand raised and head cocked, and realizing that I had just done that with little effort. He dropped the spear he was holding and fell to his knees, terrified.

  “Great Wizard, Vrakthir sorry. Vrakthir worm. No kill?” the stunned kobold said.

  “Why shouldn’t I kill you, Vrakthir? Weren’t you and your friends going to kill me?”

  The kobold puzzled over this for a moment. “Vrakthir important. Next Scale-lord. Offer tribute to Great Wizard.”

  I looked to Druzzik, “What’s a Scale lord?”

  “Scale-lord what Blackscales call leader. Think they are highest among tribes,” he replied.

  “Okay. What kind of tribute are we talking, Vrakthir?” I asked.

  “Finn,” Harper chided. “Is that really necessary?”

  I grinned at her. “No, but maybe I can get us through their area without having to kill too many more of them.”

  Harper sighed and nodded her head, which I took to be her assent. Grudging assent. I looked at what I was thinking of as the prince of the Blackscales. “I think safe passage through your tribe’s lands would be sufficient. But I’m not a wizard, Vrakthir.”

  “Vrakthir no understand. Not Great Wizard?” the confused kobold asked.

  “Nope,” I said with a wry grin. “I’m a Mage.”

  ***************************

  The reaction from Vrakthir was everything I had hoped for in this exchange. The horrors of the past mages were known down here and the Blackscale prince pulled off an amulet of bone and literal black scales and tossed it at my feet before prostrating himself and sobbing.

  I kneeled, picking up the amulet. “And what will this do, Vrakthir?” I asked the distraught kobold.

  “Please, Great Lord! Forgive Vrakthir,” the creature begged between fearful weeping. “Gives safe passage. Please.”

  “Then we have a deal. Go on, let your tribe know,” I said.

  Still sobbing, the kobold kissed the ground. He got up and bowed, walking backwards before fleeing into the darkness.

  Jerseil laughed. “That was quite the show, my friend. Well done!”

  “Well, I figured the mages’ reputation might come in handy,” I said. Then I saw Druzzik. Cowering away from me. “Druzzik, what’s wrong?”

  “Finn truly Mage?”

  My heart dropped. “Yes, but not like previous mages. I’m not a bad one. Druzzik, please believe me. I’m your friend, remember? We have each other’s backs?”

  “Not bad Mage? Not hurt Druzzik?” he looked from me to Harper and Jerseil. “True? Finn good?”

  Harper nodded, smiling. “Yes, Druzzik, Finn never went bad. I’ve known him for a while now, and ever since he showed up, he’s been a good guy.”

  “I’ll second that!” Jerseil added. “Though not the best singer.”

  The kobold sagged with relief, but then started laughing. “Blackscales not bright. Might worship Finn now!”

  It was rather horrifying. And funny. But not having the full context, I doubted it was as funny to me as it was to Druzzik.

  The dead kobolds didn’t have much in the way of loot, just some food that our kobold guide was happy to take, and 20 gold pieces. I gave those to Jerseil to reduce my debt to him. It wasn’t much, but it was the best thing to do with it. We left quickly, back to my following the tracks and everyone else following me.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  A few hours later, the tracks led into an offshoot tunnel. Being hungry and tired, we stopped for dinner. As we ate, we discussed the layout of the cavern we were still in.

  “So there are only three tribes in this cavern? That’s still seems like a lot,” Jerseil commented.

  “Only three. Emberfang, Blackscales, Shattermaw. Two caves south, Rusttalon, Hollowfangs.” Druzzik confirmed.

  “What about the direction we’re going in? Is there anything we need to worry about?” Harper asked.

  “Cinderclaw. Mole People,” he replied, frowning. “Dangerous.” He looked down the tunnel we were going to enter after our short rest to eat. “Very Dangerous.”

  I wondered at that. The kobolds we had faced so far were not out of my level range, much lower leveled than what was in the mountains. But the ambush by the Emberfangs had almost resulted in my death because of the traps. If the Cinderclaws were stronger and more clever, then we would have a hard time. I doubted my impromptu ploy with Vrakthir of the Blackscales would work as well with the Cinderclaws if they were smarter.

  “So, the Cinderclaws are going to be a problem?” Harper asked.

  “Maybe. Prefer fight Mole People. Better challenge. Better than kobold,” he said, scratching the side of his snout. “Move fast, safest. Avoid both.”

  “I agree. If possible, we need to avoid engaging in most fights. What’s the problem with the Mole People?” Harper asked.

  “Mole People want eggs. Great Dragon eggs. Cinderclaws protected clutch. Failed once. Now want kill all Mole People.” The kobold shook with anger. “Eating young evil.”

  Our plans made, I mentally prepared myself for what was going to be an exhausting leg of this journey. Granted, I was already feeling the strain of being deep underground and on the move almost constantly. But I had no choice. I had to find the beast and do whatever I had to. Capture or convince.

  That choice limited what I could do. And it meant I and my friends would have to protect what likely was a very dangerous creature from all comers. This is not going to be easy. The creature had to be as big as 3 elephants based on the size of its feet and the length of its stride. There was no way we could just hide the damned thing.

  But that might be immaterial. The ‘convince’ part had me thinking it was a sapient creature, and possibly it had some tricks up its sleeve. Maybe some sort of camouflage to help it blend in. I mean, it is a predator… Still, this was just speculation. Just something to distract from the coming chaos.

  “Earth to Finn, you in there?” asked Harper.

  “Sorry, just thinking about what this beast could do and how we are going to keep it safe.”

  “I need you here and present, Finn. How are you on potions and potion sensitivity?”

  “I’m good on both, I think. My mana pool is full, too.”

  Harper smiled. “You’re getting better at this. I think Juan…” she paused and cleared her throat. “… I think he would be proud of you.”

  “I. yeah. I hope so. Fuck, Harper. I wish he was here,” I said, gruffly.

  “Me too. You know—”

  “Hey, you two ready?” Jerseil interrupted. “We should head out.”

  We moved quickly down the tunnel; me keeping half an eye on the beast’s tracks. The tunnel was definitely big enough for the size of the beast. It was reassuring that I was likely correct in my assessment of the creature.

  We didn’t encounter any resistance as the tunnel opened up into yet another cavern, where I couldn’t see the edges or the roof. The pace we set, a fast walk, was not an issue for me to see the tracks. I was surprised to see a slight glow to them, which eased my strain. Maybe I had gotten better at this, like the skill leveled up or something.

  “Company ahead!” snapped Druzzik. A squad of heavily armored kobolds blocked our way, waiting for us to approach. I couldn’t tell by their stances whether they were hostile or indifferent. The second one concerned me more.

  “Identify!” ordered the closest kobold.

  These kobolds were not only better equipped, but bigger in stature than any other kobold we had encountered.

  Druzzik spoke up first. “Druzzik of Emberveil Tribe. Heretic. Friends of Tribe. Adventurers.”

  The Cinderclaw nodded slowly, almost nonchalantly, as if the information was of little concern. “Emberveil, not enemy. Not friend. Adventurers on quest?”

  “Important quest. Druzzik on quest, too. Searching for Great Dragon.”

  “Heard of Druzzik. You mad. Great dragon gone. Clutch gone. Only vengeance. Mole People must pay for destroying clutch!” All four of the Cinderclaw kobolds shook their weapons in the air and let out this horrifying, guttural, hissing noise.

  “Adventurers and Heretic may pass. Kill mole people. Bring proof to leave.”

  Druzzik bowed and they let us pass. It was one of the weirdest things I had seen, but it made a certain amount of sense. They didn’t care about anything but killing the Mole people at any cost. Even letting anyone in who would willingly kill for them. I didn’t want to think about having to fight them on the way out.

  The tracks led us in a meandering path through the massive space of the cavern, like it was searching for something. Then it led us to the cavern wall, where another tunnel opened up into the cavern we were in. There was a stench emanating from the tunnel, an earthy smell of musk, unwashed fur, feces, and urine. It was a stronger smell than the rodent or ferret cages in a pet store mixed with that of an animal barn full of pigs unable to move around or clean themselves.

  “Finn, are you sure the trail leads in there? Please tell me you were just a little curious about the smell. I get it, it’s really awful, and you really had to know what the hells it was,” Jerseil said. He did not look anymore comfortable than Druzzik, who was rubbing his nose fiercely.

  “Sorry guys, this is it. I wish it wasn’t.” I replied apologetically. “It really is bad.”

  “Get over it. It’s just a smell,” Harper barked. “I’ve had to crawl through worse.”

  And she was right. The longer we stood there, the easier it got. No way I’m going to let any of these mole people get close to me, though. Fuck that!

  The smell worsened as we entered the cave beyond the tunnel. It was kind of a cul-de-sac opening up into a larger area. There were bones and other offal everywhere here, and I stepped carefully over and around as much of it as possible. But it didn’t enter into the main area. Like the Mole People had made piles of it to discourage entrance into their area.

  “Huh, I think the smell is coming from those piles. Maybe it isn’t the Mole Pe—” I stopped, watching the piles move and get up. What I thought was piles of trash were the monsters we had wanted to avoid. There was no time wasted with talk or intimidation. They just attacked us.

  Harper, who had been bringing up the rear, was in the middle of them. Her rapier moved quickly, slicing and stabbing the creatures with a look of distaste on her face, giving lie to her earlier stoicism. Druzzik bashed the skull of one of them and threw up at facing the owner of such a powerful stench. I couldn’t attempt to use my Chain Lightning spell with the two of them so close to the Mole People.

  I cast Poisonous Shot. Fifty of the glowing green bolts orientated on the remaining Mole People before launching themselves towards their targets. I still wasn’t sure what the mechanism was for how they chose targets independently, but it was a glorious sight to see the creatures sprout the green bolts and get thrown back from me. Harper barely dodged one, but sliced it open from throat to crotch. It hit the wall, howling in pain, and feebly attempted to push its guts back into its abdomen. It almost succeeded before dying.

  That’s when I noticed the hacking cough of someone throwing up next to me. Jerseil, bent over, had emptied his stomach and looked a paler green than usual.

  The Mole People dead except for one, stank worse than before. The one still hanging on to life gave a keening cry before slumping over. Similar cries sounded in the distance.

  “We have to go!” I yelled, grabbing the no-longer vomiting Jerseil by the upper arm. Harper helped Druzzik, and we left at a run. I was glad the tracks of the beast were glowing now, because I had to watch ahead. That glow didn’t disappear even though I wasn’t focusing on it. Ahead, the sound of bare, clawed feet increased in volume. Five more Mole people were coming at us. I drank down a mana potion and hit them with my Chain Lightning spell, killing all five.

  I’m loving these lower-level enemies. Like I’m actually able to do something! We ran on. The glowing tracks led us more towards the right, and into another group of alert and agitated Mole People. This time, knives flew past Jerseil and I. The lead mole people fell as more knives flew into their fellows behind them.

  “Keep going, don’t stop!” yelled Harper.

  On we ran, me in the lead with Jerseil, now more accustomed to the smell, running beside me. Druzzik and Harper brought up the rear. We heard more keening in the distance, but not coming toward us. It didn’t seem like we were being followed. Yet.

  That worry stopped when we came to an opening in the wall. This one was different. There was a glimmering boundary covering the entrance, similar to a soap bubble. I could see the tracks entering, and thousands of tracks of mole people going up to the barrier and moving back and forth in front of it. Like they had continually tested it for years.

  “We have to go in there,” I said. “And I don’t know if we can cross that barrier.”

  “Does it look like the Mole fuckers can go in there?” Jerseil asked, face still pale.

  “No, they can’t get through,” I replied.

  He stepped forward. “Then I’m going in there, even if it kills me.”

  The barrier seemed to push back against Jerseil, not letting him through. “Fuck! I just want free of this horrible smell!” he cried out.

  “Maybe Finn needs to go in first, as the quest holder.” Harper said. “Finn, go ahead.”

  I stepped up to the barrier and put my hand out to touch it. My hand went right through, like there was nothing there. Well, isn’t that something? I stepped through into the cave beyond. More of an antechamber. The air was clean and free of the stench.

  The rest tried to follow, but the barrier stopped them. Them, the stench, and any sound. I stepped back through and almost gagged. “Oh, goddamn it! Grab onto me.”

  They each grabbed onto me, Harper and Jerseil an arm each, poor Druzzik my left leg. I started moving through the barrier, feeling resistance for the first time. I pushed through, pulling my friends with me. We collapsed onto the floor in a pile and just breathed in the air.

  “How did you know that would work?” asked Jerseil. He breathed deeply of the fresh air.

  “I don’t know. After I stepped through, I just… sort of guessed.”

  “You fucking guessed? Finn, you beautiful bastard. I thought I would die from the stench alone!” Jerseil exclaimed. “I would kiss you, but I’m pretty sure you need a bath.”

  Harper laughed, soon joined by the rest of us. “Let’s not do that again if we can avoid it.”

  I got up, looking around the small cave, preceding a tunnel into what I assumed was a larger cave. The barrier looked the same, and I hoped it would continue to hold the Mole People out. My face fell as I remembered that we would have to go back out there, needing proof of our kills to pass by the Cinderclaws. I think I’ll keep that to myself for a bit. Don’t want to ruin the moment.

  There were some carvings on the walls in a language I couldn’t read. I stepped up closer to get a closer look. “Druzzik, are you familiar with this language?” I asked.

  He came over and looked at it, his eyes widening. “Yes, Finn. Is familiar.”

  “Can you tell me what it says?”

  “Never learned. Sorry. But Uncle might,” he said.

  “Well, I doubt he’d come here anytime soon. Anyone have paper and charcoal?”

  “Oddly enough, I do,” Jerseil said. “What do you need it for?”

  “Just to get a rubbing of these carved words. Druzzik’s uncle might be able to translate them.” I answered.

  “Sure, you can borrow some.”

  I took a rubbing, Druzzik watching fascinated as the strange words appeared on the paper with my rubbing the charcoal on the paper, pressed to the wall. It took me eight sheets to get all of it and I numbered each one, with some overlap so I could put it back together.

  “I don’t know if this will help, but I’m pretty sure it’s a clue. To what, I’m not sure. But I would like to know more about this place and what happened,” I said.

  “It is probably a recipe. For Mole burgers or something,” Harper muttered. “Though the barrier should hold, I don’t want the Mole people to see us in here and block our way out.”

  I nodded and carefully put the rubbings in my backpack. “Right. I’m ready to find the lair of the beast.”

  “And I, for one, am ready for a nap!” said Jerseil, followed by an enormous yawn.

  “Druzzik think sleep good. Find beast first. Finish Finn’s Quest. Finnish Druzzik’s quest. Then home and feast!”

  We entered the bigger cave. Something crunched ominously under my boot.