Team NPCS, along with Iron Ma’am and a local villager serving as their guide, pressed onward through the swamp to search for the last part of the quest: the shraal’s nest. The thick, swampy terrain made for slow progress. Fallen trees and tangled roots crisscrossed their path, and with each step, their boots sank into the mud with a squelch.
Ulmenglanz, the dryad healer, led the way, holding a vial of shraal blood in her hands, concentrating intensely. It was as if she were listening to something only she could hear, occasionally changing direction. She moved with a grace none of the others could match, her presence almost ghostly as she wove through the swamp like she was part of it. Every so often, she would pause to touch a tree, silently communing with the land in ways no one else understood. Their villager guide, on the other hand, seemed a little miffed since he was feeling rather useless.
After nearly an hour of trudging, they arrived at an overgrown hill. At the top was a mound of mud and debris forming the base of the shraal nest, woven together with swamp grasses and reeds. In the center lay several large, leathery eggs, each about the size of a barrel, mottled with shades of green and brown.
Iron Ma’am and Trulda circled the hill, ensuring no other monsters were lurking nearby. Weylan seemed annoyed to stand back, but he admitted to himself that it was logical to send the ones ahead, who could potentially return from the dead.
When they signaled the all-clear, he and Ulmenglanz approached the nest. Trulda, Selvara, and Skorr remained on watch, scanning the surrounding area for any threats.
The nest showed signs of past violence. Trees on one side bore deep claw marks, and the ground was furrowed, though new growth had begun to creep over the damage. Evidence of a struggle, but not recent.
The eggs appeared undisturbed, except for one—smaller and shriveled up, pushed to the edge of the nest. Ulmenglanz touched each egg in turn, her eyes closed as she reached out with her magic. Meanwhile, Weylan inspected the shriveled egg. A narrow cut marred its leathery surface, about two fingers in length. He waited for Ulmenglanz to join him. She touched the egg and shook her head: “The others are all fine, but this one has been dead for weeks.”
Weylan took out a knife and carefully cut open the leathery shell. "Strange," he muttered. "No sign of rot, and the parents didn’t remove it, they just pushed it aside."
Inside was the dried husk of a hatchling, with a stab wound that matched the cut in the shell. The tiny six-limbed creature looked mummified; its body unnaturally shriveled.
Ulmenglanz touched the hatchling directly and frowned. "The stab didn’t kill it. It was drained of life and blood. A vampiric weapon, most likely. One of those swords the necromancer commanders always favored. Nasty business."
Weylan began to investigate the surrounding area. He found a half-buried shield, bent chainmail links embedded in a nearby tree stump, and two arrows lodged high in a tree—at the height of a shraal’s head. When he returned to the nest, he flipped the egg over to look for hidden clues and discovered three short orange hairs stuck to the underside. He called Trulda over and showed her the evidence.
“Remind you of anyone?” Weylan asked.
Trulda scowled. “That crazy murder-hobo who tried to kill your father? Could be. There are other players with orange hair, but working with a necromancer and craven enough to target monster babies? Sounds just like OrcSlayer.”
Ulmenglanz, having searched the area, spoke up. "He killed one of the eggs by draining it of life. But before he could continue with the other eggs, he was disturbed.” She flinched as Weylan’s forehead briefly glowed with red light.
He sifted through his logs, then nodded. “The timing lines up with when the quest was updated, and its level increased. The male shraal must’ve returned to its mate. I’d guess OrcSlayer’s goons distracted the female while he sneaked into the nest. He surely didn’t expect the male to come back. Seems like the gods don't favor him.”
The dryad shrugged. "Trying to feed high-level monster hatchlings to his vampiric sword to enhance its powers? I’m not sure which god he annoyed most. My bet is on Pallandur for using quest information to find prey without actually taking the quest. He didn’t even intend to kill the parent and complete the quest since why would he sneak up on the nest first otherwise? That would have resulted in an even more enraged shraal running completely amok.”
Trulda hefted her bloodied axe, retrieved after the battle. “Well, let’s finish this and head back to the village.”
Weylan held her arm. "Wait. I’m not sure that’s necessary."
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Trulda frowned. "The quest was to protect the village from the shraal nest."
Ulmenglanz nodded thoughtfully. “Shraal don’t normally attack people. These were only aggressive because their nest was attacked, and one of their hatchlings was killed. They’re too primal for diplomacy, but the remaining hatchlings are just animals. Dangerous, yes, but they won’t seek out humans.”
Trulda still looked unsure. "But won’t they die anyway?"
The dryad shook her head. "These aren’t bird eggs. You don’t need to sit on them to keep them warm. They are also almost ready to hatch.”
Weylan glanced around. "What about other predators? Won’t they just get eaten?"
Ulmenglanz considered. "Most animals wouldn’t dare come near a shraal nest. Their scent alone wards off potential threats. But still, it’s a valid concern." She turned to the villager. "Does your village have any beast tamers?"
The man shook his head. "No, but Rondwig turned sixteen last week. He hasn’t chosen a class yet. He’s still torn between hunter and carpenter. And a few other classes he’s never gonna get. He has a cat and a dog, and sometimes a raven follows him around. If he tends to these eggs, I’d bet he’ll unlock the Beast Tamer class."
The group exchanged glances, nodding in agreement. Only Skorr seemed uncertain. "I hope it works. Beast tamers can’t fully control those kinds of monsters; he’s going to form a loose cooperation at most.”
Weylan shrugged. "Even if he just keeps them in the area without attacking villagers, it’ll be a win. They’ll drive off other threats without needing any troublesome revenants.”
The villager nodded eagerly: “We won’t forget their parent’s onslaught any time soon, but no one died, thanks to our fair heroine and you, of course. I think we should try it.”
Trulda snapped her fingers as she had a thought, then pulled Weylan a bit to the side to talk privately: “Shouldn’t we keep one of the eggs for Malvorik’s monster-building experiments?”
Weylan grinned: “I asked him about that just before we left. Shraal are already magical monsters. He can’t use them for chimeras. He would, however, like us to bring some normal alligators or giant snakes if we find them.”
As the group turned to leave, a message flashed before their eyes:
You have successfully completed the quest:
"Swamp Village in Peril”
Objective: Protect the Village of Marshend from a nearby Shraal Nest.
Reward: High XP for lowest-level members (Trulda and Ulmenglanz).
Gold: 100 coins per member.
All wounds healed.
Mana is fully restored.
Additional group reward:
Teleportation and Access token to the dungeon:
“The Smoking Menagerie of Alchemical Wonders”
Weylan smiled. He would’ve liked some XP for himself, but considering their goal of getting all team members to an equal level, he was content. Both Trulda and Ulmenglanz confirmed they had enough to reach the next level.
He took a look at his own logs:
Skill increased Acrobatic Dodge (Layman VII)
Skill increased Climbing (Apprentice V)
Skill increased Sneak attack (Apprentice VII)
Skill increased Sword Staff (Apprentice IX)
Skill increased Stealth (Journeyman I)
Choose a Journeyman skill feat: …
He grinned. Finally, his second skill crossed the line to Journeyman tier. He skimmed the list of possible skill feats: Many were just specializations that made him stealthier in a specific environment like desert, wood, underwater, dungeon, swamp and many others. Nothing he really cared about.
Then there were some more interesting choices:
Evasion Mastery: When an enemy detects you, you can quickly react to escape notice, dodging away or retreating into shadows.
Silent Step: You move extremely quietly, making you harder to detect. This reduces the sound of your footsteps and other actions.
Shadebound Agility: You become extraordinarily nimble while sneaking, allowing you to make quick, agile movements without compromising your stealth. You do not trigger traps or pressure plates while moving stealthily.
Shadowmeld: You can blend into shadows, gaining a significant bonus to Stealth checks when in dim light or darkness. When stationary, you become nearly invisible to enemies.
Umbral Cloak: You gain the ability to bend shadows around yourself, making you harder to detect even when there are no natural places to hide.
He grinned when reading the last two. They were quite similar and he was sure he could create both effects with his shadow magic. They would have some synergy with his magic, but he could not be sure how much. He did not need Silent Step with his magic assassin boots. Evasion Mastery was tempting, but he would soon get Acrobatic Dodge to the next tier and was sure to get a similar feat from it. That left Shadebound Agility. The ability not to trigger traps while sneaking was invaluable. He chose the feat, then looked around at what the others did.
Selvara performed a flying happy dance at the thought of visiting the famous dungeon and meeting the dungeon fairy there, which seemed to be a fairy celebrity.
Weylan turned to ask Iron Ma’am what she’d gained from the quest, but before he could speak, her armor started to glow.
The light intensified, turning from a soft golden hue to a radiant, molten glow. Her once battered and dirt-caked armor shimmered, the metal flowing like liquid as if it were being reforged by unseen hands. Runes, previously dulled and barely visible, now blazed across her chest plate and gauntlets. The glowing blue gem on the center of her chest doubled in volume.
The group paused, watching in awe.