Report of the Anatolian Waterlands situation #79, by [Veteran Captain] Lucile Garmotosh of the 13th Battalion ‘Sly Staffs’.

Beginning Report: Dear [General] Le’port, the situation is looking unpleasant but not dire. Troll raids have decreased in frequency this past year. With the death of [Great King] Triarsh of the Trolls, the race has been abandoning its fronts even in the province of Anato. My men and I lead a decapitating strike on the local Troll tribe, slaying the [Chieftain] Tureg and her children. The already turbulent leadership amongst the Trolls has dissolved into further turbulence as a result, and much of the raider tribe plaguing this province has dissolved. Escaping into the abandoned tunnel system or heading past the shore.

Into the Uncharted Waters.

We have followed basic protocol and reserved from any chases on the escaping Trolls after they cross the boundary. Legion flyers were also forbidden to attempt to track the vessels carrying these Trolls as soon as they left the demarcated boundary, as of the time this report reaches you, dozens of wayward ships, as much as they don’t deserve the name. Have crossed the boundary. The waves after this exodus were halted however with the aforementioned raid on [Chieftain] Tureg’s village. 

Several villages have reported missing livestock, and at least one filed a missing person’s case. All have been proven as attacks by isolated & wounded Trolls, as of right now, only the killer of the missing family has yet to meet their ends.

As soon as you receive this report sir. I humbly request that you withdraw my Battalion from the province, the summer waves are only a few weeks upon us at the time of writing. And my men have neither the strength of will nor the strength of stomach to spend but a few more days on this damnable floating fortress.

The only other thing to note is the disappearance of a foreign mining company by the name of Locked Picks. A search & rescue party has already been sent out to recover the group after one of the workers' spouses found their wounded pet barking at their door. A group of Selkie have also arrived bearing with them the bodies of a local [Fisherman] couple that disappeared several months ago, they also brought a new beverage they call ‘coffee’ in the Selkie tongue, and by damnable Wukong is it the best thing these saltwater bastards have ever harvested.

We’ll continue to watch over the border between the Uncharted Waters to make sure no more Trolls escape our extermination teams. And to keep Trolls who have survived those waters out at all costs.

Ending Report:

With a slurp, the creature sucked down the still twitching corpse of the [Guard] with a wet smack. It quickly began slowly crunching on the morale of tender meat & metal, feeling the wet pops of damaged organs splatter the inside of its first mouth, the crunch of bones and good Mon steel was like a firecracker on the silent wet roads of the main Anatolian highways. Any [Keen Eared Hunter] would’ve picked it up immediately were it not for the [Cone of Silence] erected around the site of the ambush.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Dozens of insectile figures moved around with silent steps, careful not to bump into the larger forms of their cousins, the smaller figures stepped around the dismembered corpses the [Warrior Caste] had left in their wake, one of the figures stepped in an eye. The wet popping sound as the sensory organ burst into slime and built up gas was ignored by the figure as it searched through one the [Messengers] remains. Finding a letter stamped with the seal of two aqua blue spears crossed over a verdant rushing river that foamed as it leapt out of the waterfall. The figure quickly got up, heading to a cloaked creature at the center of the [Cone of Silence].

One would only be able to see the two ocean blue arms that exited out of the dull green cloak, everything else obscured by shade except for two tiny silver pupils. Which dilated in amusement as the figure, a light blue five foot tall insectile creature of the Xrnite [Worker Caste] rushed over and tripped right over the leftover femur of a dead [Soldier]. The worker got up, shook its tiny foot a bit, dislodging the femur which its foot had sunk into, before running to the cloaked figure.

The figure ignored the splattered gray matter at the edge of the paper, instead quickly parsing through its contents before folding the paper delicately as it disappeared into the figure's cloak. It quickly turned & yelled at the other Xrnites, an ear splitting sonic splatter of a language made up of clicks, crinkles, and even some random chirps. The Xrnites quickly finished what they were doing, the Wyrms finished eating the corpses of the dead caravan as the workers pushed the wagons into several pits a few dozen feet by the side of the road, barely at the edge of the [Cone of Silence].

Within several minutes, the corpses had all been eaten, with any goop left set to fade into dark brown and vaguely muddy roads. The figure quickly walked into the forest the moment the Xrnites were done, the rest of the lesser caste following them and leaving the road at speed. As the figure marched on it began to think, its mind spinning at what it learned, and more importantly, how to break it to the [Queen]. The Trolls had been killed, their people broken, and the only major military force that could halt them was just weeks away from leaving the province altogether. Or it would’ve been, had the letter arrived on time.

No matter, the Xrnites could keep the already moving pieces on track, contacts in the city could be arranged. Gold exchanged, [Silence Bought & Kept] if need be. Yes, it would, the Xrnites had waited long enough for their time. Its [Queen] had waited long enough for her time.

And so as it sunk into what was believed to be a dead end cave, the soggy half stone melting away as the Xrnite raiding party sunk through it, the figure in the cloak didn’t hear the faint crack of one of the two Wyrms that had been brought to quickly dispose of the bodies. A glowing green stone one of the dead [Merchants] had been keeping on them, strong enough to survive the [Rending Blows] of the [Warrior Caste] and the slow crunching first teeth of the Wyrm cracked as it was pulled into the second layer. The much stronger chompers left little time for any imaginary worry in the stone to build up before quickly breaking it into several pieces. Then into dozens, and then into hundreds.

As the Xrnites sunk into uncharted depths, two heard a voice.

[Class Gained! Dancer level 3 Obtained]

[Skill–Adept Wiggle Obtained!]

[Skill–Enhanced Dexterity Obtained!]

[Skill–One Foot Behind The Other Obtained!]

[Skill–Invigorating Rush Obtained!]

[Commander of Silence Level 33!]

[Skill–The Dance of the Silent Obtained!]

[Skill–Raid:Before Sound Stepped Obtained!]

Uncharted depths indeed.