I awoke to the feeling of sand underneath me, and with a sigh I sat up, glancing at the void, “Damn it all… right as I was beating some sense into them! Fuck am I easy to kill… eternal really doesn’t mean jack shit, besides being able to come back eventually, huh?”

  The darkness that swirled around the island didn’t respond, but as it simply continued to spin around aggressively, I could have sworn I saw an amused twist in it. I considered it for a moment before standing up with a groan and looking around. It was almost the same as the sandy island I had originally woken up on, complete with the odd thrones that Verdant and Grim had appeared on. Though this time they weren’t here, probably off doing god duties or whatever.

  I shrugged and walked around the island curiously peering down at the sand. It was darkened, almost as if the void swirling around had tinged it. Though when I stuck my hand in it and picked some up, it did move and feel like normal sand. I hummed to myself and cautiously walked up to the edge of the sand island, looking up at the wall of swirling void.

  Something told me that I would thoroughly regret touching it, but I still struggled not to. It just seemed so… exciting! Just a quick poke wouldn’t hurt… right? I stretched out my arm towards the swirling void, but right as I was about to touch it, the void suddenly churned.

  I yelped and leapt back, watching as it vibrated aggressively and coalesced into the shape of a massive arm and hand. It shot out towards me, slamming into me with so much force that I felt my entire body crumple. My bones shattered, blood filled my mouth, and as I was reduced to nothing but a human pancake, I blacked out.

  “Oh get up already you big cry baby, you’re acting like you just gave your life heroically or something. You know Sprig is a healer right?”

  I groaned and opened my eyes, my body still crying out at me even as I laid there. I guess touching the void really was a bad idea… I hadn’t even been able to get close to it before it had punched me into oblivion! Damn that had hurt…

  I sighed and refocused my eyes, grinning as I looked up at the annoyed face of Spyr, “Oh hey there Spyr… Sorry about throwing you off earlier. It’s just that when I saw them… well… I couldn’t hold myself back, you know?”

  She rolled her eyes and punched me in the shoulder before laughing and offering her hand, “Yeah, yeah, yeah… Nah I get it Will. That was your catch really, and that’s on me for jumping the line. Though, I won’t mind it if you bought me a round back at the guild, eh?”

  I laughed and took her offered hand, wincing as she pulled so hard that I felt my arm almost get pulled out of my socket, “Thanks for the hand and understanding! It’s really no problem Spyr, though you’ll have to wait until after I get my payout before getting you that round if that’s cool. Knowing you, I doubt I have near enough money to cover just one round of drinks for you!”

  Sprig, who had been waiting nearby, yelped and rushed forward, picking me up like I was nothing but a bag of potatoes and setting me back on the ground, “Oh! You and Spyr both are maniacs! Don’t you know that you aren’t supposed to move that much when you have holes in your body!? Agh!”

  Bandages and ointments appeared out of nowhere and she flashed forward, applying them, cleaning me off, and wrapping me up. After a moment she shot me a glare and then started chanting, holding her hands out over me. I eyed her, but let her work, turning my attention to the others, who were all covered in bandages and ointments of their own.

  I raised an eyebrow and laughed as Sprig began fussing over my arm, “Hey everyone! What’s up? We got that bitch ass archer, right? Cause I swear to every god, goddess, and eldritch being, if we didn’t get them… ohhhh ho ho…”

  Darnell laughed and shook his head, “You are a riot Will! Haha! Nah, she wasn't able to get away. You made sure of that haha! After the beating you gave her, it was pretty easy to capture her. She’s right over here if you wanted to take a look yourself.”

  I frowned and leaned to the side, straining to see around him, but something about what he had said was bugging me, and I blinked at him in confusion, “Did you say she?”

  Spyr kicked me in the back and Sprig punched me in the side, shooting me a glare, growling at me, “The hell do you mean by that Will?”

  I grunted and shot them a return glare, rubbing my side, “Oi! I didn’t mean anything by that! I was just curious! Based on their super lithe build, I had figured it might have just been one of those thinner looking adventurer’s I had seen in the guild or around town. Thing is, I don’t think any of them were women, and none of the women there matched the size of this archer. They were all massive tanks!”

  Sprig huffed, but nodded her head and went back to fussing over my arm. Spyr didn’t apologize, but she gave me a solid punch on the arm and a wink. Honestly, as if I would ever think that way about anyone!

  Either way, I hadn’t been expecting it to be a she… I had really hoped it was going to be one of the people I had seen around or in the guild. It would have just made sense honestly. They would have been able to overhear our conversation about leaving to the dungeon, and would have been able to find easy marks from there too. But every female adventurer I had seen in the town had been massive, the entirely wrong anatomy, or much smaller than the archer had been. I guess it could be one of the ones out doing quests or other things, but… Ughhhhh… Well, I guess the Richter’s might know who it is, but I had been hoping to figure it out, sort of like a mystery.

  Sprig patted my knee and I gave her a thankful nod, and stood up, appreciative of how nice my wounds felt, “Alright, well I appreciate you waiting for me to get patched up, but did you want to unmask her now? I’d love to get an eye on the bastard that has been fucking with me for the last six hours!!!”

  Darnell pursed his lips, and exchanged a look with Kwamp, “Ah, well, I know you want to see who it is, but it’s probably best that we unveil it back at the guild. Even if we were to unmask her here, if she managed to break out on our way back to the guild, no one would really believe us if we told them. No, it’ll be better if we can unveil them in front of the whole guild. That way, we seem as surprised as everyone else, and there’s less of an issue of backlash. That work for you?”

  I let out a long sigh, but nodded my head, “Eh, unveiling her here, there, or in their coffin doesn’t mean that much to me I guess. As long as I get paid and get to see their stupid face eventually, I’ll be happy with whatever happens. By the way, how much does her contract end up paying out for? It sounded like it was quite a lot based on your reaction earlier.”

  Darnell laughed and turned to the archer, his hand balling into fists, “Oh yeah, you can say that again. This little shit has been a thorn in the guild's side for a long time. They’ve been hunting down adventurer’s for as long as the guild’s been around. They’ve actually been the cause of several different adventurer groups being eradicated, crippled, or being forced to disband.” He shot a glare at the still figure of the archer, “Yeah, the reward for this one is pretty insane. We’ll be eating well for a long time. Drinks are on me when we get back!”

  Everyone cheered at that, raising their fists in the air and grinning at each other. I laughed and cheered as well, but I couldn’t help but feel like something was off. I narrowed my eyes at the archer. They hadn’t moved in a while…

  I flinched as I felt Darnell’s hand on my shoulder, startling me, “Hey, Will, what do you say we make camp here for the night, eh? We only have a few hours until nightfall, and the monsters and beasts that make this part of the woods their home are especially active at night. Normally it’s not an issue, but at this point in the day, I’m not sure if we’ll actually be able to make it back in time.” Darnell sighed and folded their arms, “No, it’ll be better to do it in the light of day, when we can see any beasts that appear.” He chuckled and nodded at the others, making a sign with his hand before he turned back to me, “You did all the real work earlier, so you can just relax Will. The rest of us will make camp for the night and chain up this one…”

  I stretched out and yawned, “Yeah, that makes sense Darnell. Thanks for the offer, but I’m gonna just swing up and pass out in one of these trees. I don’t know why, but I just sleep better up high in the trees ya know? Never have liked sleeping on the ground.”

  Darnell laughed and waved at me, “Oh you’re fine man! I’ll see you at daybreak, eh?”

  I gave him a smile, and cast one last look at the archer, “Yeah… yeah, I’ll see you all at daybreak. We will have quite the reward to collect when we get back, right?”

  He gave me another smile and headed on over to the others, who had already broken out their beddings and tents. I smirked and let out a sigh. I would have to head back and grab my stuff from where I had stashed it around the entrance to the dungeon. After all, I still had to sell that pelt and the horn and items I got from the goblins

  Though, if I was able to get the large payout from the archers bounty, all my immediate issues would be solved! Haha! What luck! I really shouldn’t have too much to worry about in the money department from here on out! I let out a laugh and activated leap, shooting up into the tree and snagging the highest branch I could. I strained my muscles and swung, shooting from branch to branch as I flew towards the top of the trees, searching for the best place to set up my own camp. I had quite the day ahead of me once I awoke!

  As the light of the day flashed over my eyes, I groaned and dragged my claws down the tree's bark, “Ugh, is it really that time already? Fuck… Time for another breakfast of leaves and berries…”

  I stretched out on the branch I had found last night and grinned. Ah fuck breakfast, it was time for my favorite part of the morning… my wake up routine! I let out a loud laugh and rolled off the edge of the branch, grinning as I felt the branches and leaves smack into me as I dropped through the trees, my entire body being torn to shreds at the pure force. It was exhilarating, and within moments my body and heart raced with energy and liveliness as I watched the ground get closer and closer. Then with a roar, I lashed out my claws, digging them into the trees and forcefully slowing myself down so I didn’t absolutely shatter my legs on impact.

  Still, as I slammed into the ground, I let out a loud whoop as I felt the joins in my legs groan and creak. Gods was that exhilarating! It hurt for sure, but the dragon bones were strong enough that they held together easily enough. Though, my joints were an entirely different matter… I grunted as I shook out my legs, wincing at the stabbing pains that shook up them. Hopefully that got better with time, but for now, it was time to go and get paid!

  I hummed to myself as I made my way through the forest, heading over to where I had left the others last night. I could hear the chirping morning creatures, the wind blowing through the trees, and… hmm… something else. Something that wasn’t like the other sounds… I narrowed my eyes, and cocked my head to the side. No… no no no… I ground my teeth together and activated sprint, dashing forward just in time to miss a giant axe that sweeped at chest height, a flight of darts, a vat of acid, a series of explosions, and last, but definitely not least, a huge explosion of poisoned spikes. I spun around a tree, but at the last second my senses screamed at me as an arrow slammed into my side, pinning me to the trunk.

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  I roared in agony, and glared into the forest, where I heard that telltale haunting giggle once again, “Nice shot you coward! So, when did you get out huh? As soon as I left? Just this morning? Pretty shitty trap set up you fucking asshole! Definitely not your best work!” The giggle stopped and I smirked, and gripped the end of the arrow before I ripped it out with another roar of pain, “I had a feeling that you weren’t gonna be stuck in those bindings for long, but damn I didn’t realize how quickly you could break out!”

  The giggles resumed and I ducked and rolled, trying my best to dodge the incoming arrows. There were not too many traps that were going off, but at the same time there were not that many. Definitely a rush job on their part, but still… Fuck was this annoying to deal with again!

  I growled as a particularly aggressive arrow barrage slammed into the ground near me, and I shot up into the air, snagging onto a branch and then catapulting backwards, “So… you damned archer… what did you… do… to the… rest… of… them…!?”

  The giggling paused again, and the siege of arrows momentarily ceased, the only sound being the fires from the set off traps and the bubbling pools of acid. I landed on the balls of my feet and crouched, sending another glare into the forest. It was quiet for a long moment, but then I felt the change, the slight cry of my senses, and the twinge of my instincts. I tensed my muscles and braced to dart out of the way of another volley, but something about it made me pause. I could sense the arrow flying through the air, but… it wasn’t aimed at me like before. No… it was… My eyes dashed to the left as a solid arrow slammed into the ground, about 5 feet away. Then another slammed into the ground five feet away from that one, and then another, and another, creating a line that led off into the forest.

  I sighed, and then untensed, sending another glare at the forest. I guess there was no harm in following them, they did seem to be quite the fun time if nothing else. I cracked my neck and began following the evergrowing trail of arrows, my senses still on edge for the slightest hint of danger.

  I cast a glare at the forest as one thumped particularly close to me, but walked forward anyway. Well, hadn’t this just taken quite the turn? Though, if I was just going to be led to the rest of the Richters, I shouldn’t be that worried about them, right? They had been rather strong… Nah, the archer must have just slipped out of their bonds and gone for revenge.

  I sighed and ducked around a large tree, a small frown creeping up on my face as I thought about things more. If the archer was free… and had set up all of those traps, as rushed as they were, they would have had to have been able to get free as soon as I had left them… but those chains and bindings? No… There was something else going on here.

  I narrowed my eyes as I walked around a tree, noticing that the trail of arrows had finally stopped in a semi- familiar clearing. I sighed as I recognized it as the same place I had left the Richters last night. It was almost the exact same, down to the arrows and ice, but in stark comparison to last night, there was no sign of the Richter’s, or their tents. Hell, there was not even a sign of a fireplace that had been left behind.

  I growled and clenched my fists, shaking with the unbridled rage that was surging within me now. What the fuck was this shit! I had thought it odd that they were all so ready to sleep, but really!? They just left me behind to die just like that!? No wonder Darnell had seemed so invested in sleeping the night away, this must have been planned!

  I turned to the forest and bowed, just as an arrow thumped into the tree directly behind me and grazed the flesh of my back. The giggle echoed through the forest and I rolled my eyes. Oh what a pompous fuck, no wonder they had shown me. Probably assumed that I’d be shattered by the sight and knowledge that the Richter’s had stabbed me in the back and had left me behind. For most, it would have been a rather demoralizing realization, but I couldn’t help but laugh as I had looked around the empty clearing.

  I grinned and stood up with a flourish, winking at the forest as I flexed my claws, “Nice try, you coward! Are you ready to fight like you have a backbone!? Or are you gonna just run away again like a coward!?”

  The giggle sounded once more, but instead of the familiar twang of a bowstring, I heard a resounding roar. My spatial awareness screamed at me that I was in danger, but I couldn’t see anything at all. I narrowed my eyes and whipped around, searching for the source of the noise. I scanned the trees, but saw nothing, and the trees didn’t give me any signs either.

  My spatial awareness screamed at me, and I leaped backwards, whipping around and slashing my claws through the air while cursing aloud, “Oh what the fuck-”

  A huge tendril smashed down, crushing and cracking the ground where I had been just a moment ago. My claws slashed into its thick flesh, barely even managing to slice into the muscular flesh. The tendril recoiled and bunched up, dark brown blood pouring from the cut as another roar echoed through the forest powerfully. I dashed backwards, half expecting another tendril or arrow, but the only sound that broke the silence was a heavy thud. Then another and another as the trees were forced apart and a massive form forced its way into the clearing.

  My eyes widened as I took in the impressive beast that was towering in front of me, easily being fifteen feet tall. It stood on six thickly muscled legs, the ends of each limb morphing from the thick muscle to a mass of tentacles. It had a thick dark green carapace that was covered in vines, earth, and mushrooms, and an odd green ooze seeped from beneath it. The parts of the beast that weren’t covered, glinted from the light that was shining through the trees, almost as if it was made of metal. Its eyeless head was mostly just a mass of horns that grew out in various crazy and wild ways, with some curling forward, some spiking upwards, some spiraling, and others simply curving down and to the sides. Its jaw was crazy as well, and the bottom jaw split into three separate maws that curled backwards in a reverse spiral, and were covered in viciously hooked teeth. Then, just to make it even more horrific, a dark green drool dripped down from the gaping maws, sizzling as each drop hit the ground.

  The giggle echoed through the forest again, and out walked the archer, their hood pulled back from their face this time. I hadn’t had the chance to really get a good look at them back then, but even when they were tied up, I could feel the power spiraling off of them. Now though? When they were free to move around freely? I could feel the pressure of their bemused strength crashing down on me, threatening to force me to my knees.

  I shook my head hard and flexed my claws once more, bringing myself back and refocusing on the archer. There was no time to get lost in how strong they were or anything stupid like that… I had better things to think about.

  I looked the archer up and down again, still slightly impressed by the power that oozed from them. They were an ethereal gray blue, with two small horns protruding from their forehead. Their hair gleamed a silver blonde, the ends extending past their waist. They had four arms, with each having six delicate fingers. Two of the arms gripped the handle of a dark brown and green bow, while the other two were propped up on their hip. Two strong, thick tails agilely flicked back and forth behind them, wrapping around branches and grazing the ground. They were lean, wiry, and each step they took was soft and silent, their feet being two padded paws. They giggled that same laugh again and stroked the side of the beast, which thrummed and drooled even more of that green acid. Then, for the first time since they had started chasing me through the forest, she spoke.

  It was a light, airy voice, enchanting as well as being amused at the same time, “And so we really meet, quick one. Your… friends, haha… left you as soon as you went to your bed. All it took was a monetary bribe and they were all ready to leave you behind! They didn’t even need to free me from my bindings, because they never even locked me up in the first place! Now, the two of us stand here, eye to eye, claw to claw and tooth to tooth, as the mother intended. You have insulted me, dodged me, attacked me, and with the help of others, even captured me, albeit for the briefest of moments.” She flung her hair around, causing it to create a glimmering circle, and stabbed her finger at me angrily, “You have earned my ire, and in so doing, have earned my respect. You have laid the challenge, and so I am here to answer it. If you can survive my einha, I will accept defeat and leave this forest as your prisoner. Do you agree, quick one?”

  I narrowed my eyes and pursed my lips, but nodded after a moment. I was never going to catch her, especially without the help of the Richters. Fucking rat fuckers as they were, they had been incredibly helpful, and far stronger than me… I’d have to beat it out of them later why they had left me behind with this fuck. Once I had dragged them in, and gotten far stronger.

  I bowed and grinned, “I gladly accept your challenge coward! I just need to survive against this beast, huh? I’ll do you one better, how about I kill this fuck? You wouldn’t mind too much if I did that?”

  The archer narrowed her eyes and bared her dagger teeth, “Ha! You are an overconfident little one! I doubt you could kill it even if you wanted to, but I invite you to try nonetheless! I, Lahtzi, as the only priestess within hearing, and the strongest woman of my tribe, accept your terms quick one!” With a swirl of her arms, she procured an arrow out of thin air and set it on the bow, pulling it back and aiming it up in the air. “When the bolt hits the ground, the challenge begins! My beast will stay here till then, so you may prepare yourself in any way you deem fit. Now! Let us see the true strength of your mettle!”

  With a flourish and a high pitched shrill, she pulled the arrow back and released, sending the arrow skyrocketing through the air. She looked down at me, a twisted smile on her face, and excitement in her eyes. She knew that I was going to die… or at least thought she knew.

  I gave them a smirk and folded my arm. I couldn’t wait to prove her wrong and tear apart that damned einha of hers!

  I eyed the einha and grinned. Oh yeah, this next part was gonna suck, but I had a plan. It turned to me, somehow knowing where I was even though they had no eyes. I blew it a kiss and turned back to the archer, who was still smiling at me.

  Then I heard it, and I laughed aloud, “Ha! Get ready, because you're gonna be stuck in a jail cell for the next… ahhh… well, until the guard lets you out! Make sure to give the hooded one my regards!”

  She raised an eyebrow in confusion, but then the arrow shot down, slamming into the ground with a loud thud. The archer screeched and leaped backwards, giggling as a loud thrum shook the air. The einha roared, and charged at me, its jaw stretching wide. Its thudding run shook the ground, but I stayed still, glaring at the archer as they flew backwards through the air. Only at the last possible second did I finally turn, and when I did I grinned, spreading my arms wide and laughing.

  That of course, infuriated the beast even more. It screeched, and the tendrils that had been tearing the ground apart as it charged towards me, lashed out at me, spearing through the air almost like weapons. I grunted at the sudden change up, but continued to grin and stand there, patiently waiting for the exact moment I wanted. It tore through the space towards me, filling my vision, and the sound of the archers giggles were replaced by the sound of the einha’s roars and loud panting. It caused my heart to shiver and shake, but still I stood there with my arms spread wide, and a fake grin plastered on my face.

  Then, at the very last second, right as my spatial awareness became a booming roar, and every part of me screamed at me to do something, I dropped. My body ducked underneath its vicious tentacled paws that lashed out at me, somehow not even being skimmed by each of them as the beast sailed over me. I roared and leaped off of the ground, crashing into the underside of the einha and latching on, my claws tearing into the underbelly and causing a small explosion of dark green blood to pour down my arms and body.

  It roared, and stood on its hind legs, shaking itself back and forth viciously and sending my body back and forth as well. I responded by latching on harder, and clawing at the beast's belly even more, desperately trying to hold on. The einha screeched and reared back on its four hind legs, and then its two front legs twisted and wriggled, turning inwards in order to attack me.

  I bared my teeth and activated bite, digging my teeth into the einha’s underbelly, doing barely little to harm the massive creature. The tendrils reached out for me, but paused, right before actually grabbing me. It took a moment to do anything, but then it thrummed, seemingly laughing at my attempts at harming it. It lashed at me again, emboldened by my feeble attack, and easily being able to crush and bruise my muscles. The force of the strike made me let go, and I dropped, rolling underneath and away from it, making sure to slash at its exposed flesh as it stomped and lashed at me. The einha roared and slammed down on me, the mass of tentacles forcing me to change tactics once again.

  I activated sprint and dashed around the beast, forcing it to turn in order to follow me. I leaped and laughed, but as my feet landed on the tree, the bark turned to putty, and I sank all the way to my shin. I yelped in surprise and lashed out with my claws, hoping to catch onto the surrounding bark in order to pull myself out, but it was just putty as well, and my hands slapped around in the bark as if it was just water.

  I struggled to move, and right as I felt like I was making a little bit of headway, suddenly, there was nothing. I was just flying through the air, my limbs freed from the tree’s trunk as it crashed down. My spatial awareness screamed out again, and I laughed and spun in the air, my claws slashing out as I attacked the tendrils that had been flying up behind me. They recoiled away from me, but not before they pushed me hard and sent me crashing into the ground.

  My breath was knocked from me, and I soundlessly screamed in agony, feeling my bones pierce my lungs and fill me with blood. I groaned and tried to get to my feet, but felt my torn apart legs scream in protest as the pieces of shattered bark and wood ground into my exposed flesh.

  I turned and coughed blood, the loud thrumming of the beast sounding from behind me. Ah fuck me… I had assumed that I’d last a little longer against the beast, but I guess it was time for plan B now. Fuck… well here goes.

  The beast roared in victory and charged at me, its heavy legs smashing into the ground and dragging itself forward towards me. I screamed in agony as I dragged myself to my feet, my body crying out as it barely had begun to heal itself. It hurt… Oh by the gods it hurt… But as the ground shook, I knew that I needed to be standing if I wanted this next plan to work.

  I turned to the einha, but I didn’t activate claw or bite or anything. Instead, I stretched my arms to either side and grinned. My actions confused it, but it was far too late to do anything as it crashed into me, tearing me apart in seconds. Its horns gored and skewered me, its teeth ripped into me, and I roared as the pain doubled and then tripled. I wriggled, trying to free myself as darkness slowly began to creep up in my vision, but the einha didn’t even give me a chance to think.

  It shook its head viciously, and then I was flying through the air again. I could barely see, but as I looked down, I watched as the einha reared up on its four hind legs and swung its front two legs at me, a wall of tendrils filling my vision. I couldn’t even move before they latched onto me, gripping every available surface and pulling. I felt my skin get ripped from my muscles, and I screamed as I felt my eyes get ripped and torn out of their sockets. My vision went dark, but my mind did not descend into darkness. Instead I was aware as my skin was literally torn from my body, and I exploded outwards in a shower of blood and viscera. A part of me realized that I was still screaming, and another part of me heard the giggling of the archer as the einha slammed me into the ground, and stomped on my body, grinding my bones into oblivion.

  Pain was all I knew, but the beast wasn’t done. It gathered my destroyed remains and lifted me with its tendrils, bringing me to its triple split underjaw and throwing me in. It chewed and tore, and my screams went silent as I felt my life sizzle out and vanish, the sweet relief of death finally grasping me and dragging me into its very own maw.