If a warrior sheds his blood, few shed a tear. It is the task for which the warrior was given purpose. Conflict is inherent in any part of the world, and warriors are those employed by everyone else to stand as the wall between them and the aggressors. It is typically those closest to the warrior, however, who suffer when that warrior’s blood is shed.

So what happens when a warrior gives his blood in the name of blood magic to heal someone who may or may not be suited for battle, and whose own blood would serve the purpose well enough? What happens when the warrior is naive to why it matters, inadvertently cursing himself to be bound to the blood magic practitioner in ways disadvantageous to him?

Lykha the fairy stares at the crimson line of dried blood staining a gauze dressing on a warrior’s hand as he ignores her previous question to tend to the injuries of their companion, a teenage ‘techromancer’ named Coco.

Lykha asks again, more sternly this time, “Mury, what have you done?”

The warrior answers without looking at her, “I cut my hand. It’s fine.”

“WHY!?”

“Things happen…”

“MY BLOOD WOULD HAVE HEALED ME! THAT’S WHAT I MEANT!”

“Okay.”

“DON’T JUST SAY ‘OKAY’! THIS IS SERIOUS!”

“You’re healed. What else matters?”

“You cursed yourself! Don’t you get it!? You bound yourself to me! If I feel pain, you feel pain!”

Still showing very little interest, Mury dabs Coco’s forehead as the teen watches them nervously. “That’s inconvenient.”

“It’s more than that! I don’t know when it’ll wear off! And, if something bad happens…”

“Let’s hope it doesn’t.”

“STOP BEING SO CASUAL ABOUT IT!”

“Lesson learned. Now I’m informed.”

The fairy stammers in flabbergasted disbelief. She’s still furious, but she doesn’t know what else to say. He clearly isn’t concerned with the bigger issue.

“It can twist your mind…”

“So does everything else, in the end. Gyrryth, thank you for the assistance. I… don’t have an abundance of coin right now…”

Lykha huffs in frustration at him forcefully changing subject, while the lizardman holds his hand up, saying, “No need. Alone, I might have fallen into the trap myself. I’m glad you’re okay, Miss Coco.”

The teen coughs, retorting sarcastically, “Gla’ I coul’ be o’ ‘ssistance.”

Once Coco is stitched satisfactorily, Mury helps her up to her feet and puts his gloves back on, remarking, “It’s interesting though…”

The girls both ask curiously, “What is?”

Gyrryth is the one to answer, “How the solaghoul is taking entire villages, but not the wildlife, hm?”

The warrior nods. “Exactly. Dartwings are desert hunters and scavengers, which means they should be running into this thing and being thinned out by it.”

“Unless they can outrun it.”

Coco adds, “But, if these monstys can ou’run the solaghoul, don’e make sense how it hidin’ from so many monsty slayas.”

“Indeed,” confirms Gyrryth.

Lykha asks, “An… actual ghoul, then? What about something that simply flies?”

Gyrryth explains, “Flying monsters especially go and hunt where they please. But, when they attack, they leave a lot more signs of their presence.”

Mury adds, “There’s no such thing as ghouls, either. It’s the one thing the Holy Order is good at and pursued to an end; necromancy. If it’s ethereal, they would have detected it and deployed an army already.”

Gyrryth smiles, adding, “I like your party, Murtoa. You see a bigger picture than these other bounty chasers.”

Coco states, “You shoul’ spit yer tricks wit’ us!”

Mury explains, “Hunters that want to join up post requests in town. On a job…”

“I agree,” states Lykha. “If you’re willing, Gyrryth. I’d be grateful if you could teach me more about magic, if you can.”

Coco adds, “Yeah! And ‘Bando is good, bu’ he’s one warrior, an’ he don’e watch his own tur’cutta too well.”

Mury states a little defensively, “I was doing fine alone.”

Lykha retorts, “By some miracle…”

Gyrryth remarks knowingly, “At a much slower pace, I imagine.”

The two girls look at the human warrior, who nods.

The lizardman scratches his chin, saying, “Truth told, I have not searched for a party myself, for I favor smaller beasts; easier to hunt.” The lizard man walks to the male dartwing, asking, “Do you mind?”

Mury states, “Help yourself.”

Gyrryth nods, and he kneels to begin carving the monster. Coco grimaces and gags, hiding herself behind Mury. Lykha has to look away as well. The lizardman carves meat from the deceased creature, explaining, “In fact, where I specifically grew up, we do not trade in coins. If anything, we trade in meat and weapons to hunt meat.”

Coco whines, “Murrryyyyy…”

“You two asked him if he wants to join us.”

Lykha flies up to his head level, having to look slightly away when she realizes his visor is reflective and shows the lizardman’s deed. She says, “Don’t you think he’d be an asset, Mury?”

“It’s his call what he does. I don’t command anyone. I-...”

Both Coco and Lykha mock him in unison, “‘I slay monsters. Nothing else matters.’” They snicker together.

Gyrryth chuckles, saying as he stands up and wraps his prizes carefully in salt and leather, “I won’t say I’ll join your party, but our paths can align for the time being.”

“No’ so sure anymore…” murmurs Coco with a little nausea.

The lizardman chuckles, saying, “Why let our prey go to waste, Fiery One?”

“I ge’ tha’... But, t-tell me nex’ time…”

He smiles and nods.

Lykha says with a smile, “You made it sound like this nest would be difficult, Mury. Other than the snare weed, that went kinda smoothly I think.”

Mury nods, “Easier with help. Never denied that.”

Coco gasps, “My shocka!” She jogs over to where she thinks she dropped it, finding the small device and returning it to her gear bag. “This li’l machen prob’ly my bes’ invention!”

The four make their way outside, where the sun is completely set. There’s a flash of lightning to the south, but there’s a cool, humid breeze across them too.

“Rain,” states Gyrryth.

Lykha scoffs, joking, “We should probably cover our sand rail. It’s gonna get eaten by solaghoul mud…”

An idea hits her. “THAT’S IT!”

The other three look at her, and Mury asks, “What’s ‘it’?”

She grips the sides of his helmet, saying excitedly, “I know how we can find the solaghoul!”

After a brief pause, Coco blurts out bluntly, “Well, don’ hol’ your gab, Bae! Tell us!”

“The mud! If we get it wet and follow it, since it seems to want to go somewhere, it should lead us to the monster, right?”

Mury replies, “That doesn’t make sense. A residue wouldn’t return to the monster. It’s likely a chemical effect that caused it to creep upwards. I told you, I’m not a…”

“No! I think this is it! Trust me!”

Mury looks at Gyrryth, who shrugs. “Never heard of anything like it.”

He looks at Coco, and she crosses her arms, saying sassily, “I be the firs’ yappin’ that Bae don’e know anythin’, but… seems a penny for a go.”

Mury nods. “Let’s try it.”

The four regroup at their vehicles, and Gyrryth provides a glass jar to put the mud in. They then add water and close the jar, watching intently.

Sure enough, the residue starts to fizz, and it slowly slides across the bottom of the jar. All four watch with interest. The mud doesn’t spread to just any side, it heads toward the south. Mury turns the jar, testing Lykha’s hypothesis.

And, the mud slides back across the bottom, concentrating on the south side of the jar. It doesn’t climb the wall continuously. It just concentrates like a compass made of mud.

Gyrryth muses, “Interesting…”

Mury says dryly, “I’m telling you, there’s an explanation for this. We’re gonna drive halfway across the desert and find a sorcerer’s stone or a magnetic rock…”

The lizardman says confidently, “I’m intrigued to see where this thread leads.”

Mury offers the jar to the lizardman, but Coco says sternly, “‘Ey! We goin’.”

“Do what you want.”

“Well, it’s MY ‘rizon chasuh, so don’ go expectin’ to be drivin’ it if you goin’ elseways!”

“I won’t.” Mury starts to walk away, and the girls gasp in surprise.

Lykha flies in front of him, asking more softly, “Why do you wake up and hunt monsters? What keeps you going?”

“Nothing.”

“That’s not true. Answer me, Mury. Tell me a story. Please.”

“What does it matter?”

“It matters because I want to know why you don’t want to hunt this monster specifically.”

“Not this one specifically. I can do more good hunting what I know exists.”

“This monster clearly exists. Is it that you don’t know how to defeat it?”

“I’ve chased fictional monsters before. People will go to great lengths to make fools of monster slayers. Especially ones they think are wealthy.”

He suddenly sighs, saying, “If I’m right, will you trust me more?”

She smiles, “I trust you when it matters, Mury. But, what’s the harm in chasing a lead? Don’t you want to be the one to defeat this thing?”

“No. I want to see it defeated, but I don’t need it to be me.” He turns to Coco and Gyrryth, saying, “Let’s go. This is a waste of time, but there’s not much business in the region otherwise.”

Everyone smiles and nods in agreement.

Their makeshift ‘mud compass’ leads them south, straight into the direction of the storm. By the time they reach it, though, the storm has passed, and they make camp for the rest of the night. The next morning, they discover they got off course a little, apparently, and follow the new south by southwest heading.

They reach the village where Bailiff Kolaya issued the bounty and stop for a break. As the four walk into town, something just happens to catch Lykha’s eye.

When she looks, it appears to be a person sitting on their knees next to a glass bottle half full of liquid.

The bottle is nearly as tall as she is. A fairy!? Here!?

She darts to Mury’s level and taps his shoulder, whispering, “Mury! Mury, look!”

He looks to where she tries to subtly gesture. He doesn’t say anything.

Coco whispers, “‘Nother fairy?”

“I knew it!” Lykha flies quickly to the woman kneeling on the ground, who appears to be asleep. It’s when Lykha is closer that the bliss starts to fade.

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This fairy has tattoos, as well as a circular burn scar on her shoulder. Her clothes are almost as skimpy as they could possibly get, and her hair is messy.

And, her wings are missing sections and lack all luster.

“H-Hello?” asks Lykha nervously.

The woman doesn’t look up, and she steps cautiously closer. “Excuse me?”

Lykha gingerly touches the fairy’s shoulder, and the woman finally looks up slowly. She stinks of alcohol, and has a semi-dazed look in her eyes. She asks wearily, “Huh? Oh… Lookin’ to satisfy a need, babe?”

The fairy slowly tries to stand up and show off her body. She’s admittedly far more endowed than Lykha is, but her legs wobble as she sips a straw from her bottle quickly. She coughs a fresh breath of liquor, and Lykha coughs as well.

Lykha’s heart aches for this woman though. She’s absolutely retched, and she looks up at Mury. The warrior says nothing, but he’s standing nearby, with Coco and Gyrryth just behind him.

The fairy says drunkenly, “Parties fine, bu’, I’mm’a need you to go slow, babes.” She stumbles.

Lykha takes her shoulders to steady her, saying, “No! No, that’s… what happened to you?”

The woman blinks her eyes unevenly, trying to focus. She finally realizes that the person touching her is the same height as her, almost. She says coyly, “Ooooohhhh, a fae like me, ey? Been a good tick tock since I seen one of me.” She stumbles into Lykha, poking her face and saying, “Say; you ain’t a mirror, are ya? Can’t tell ya how many times I make that mistake.” She laughs goofily, letting her head fall onto Lykha’s shoulder.

The younger fairy asks, “What’s wrong with her?”

Coco retorts, “She’s sauced, spiced, and shaken, looks li’e.”

Mury states, “She’s drunk.”

The drunk fairy says defensively with a dopey grin on her face, “Ey! Boys are the only ones with that issue, you know.”

Gyrryth states plainly, “She also appears to be a lady of the night.” He grunts when Mury elbows him, shaking his head. But, the damage is done.

The drunk fairy hiccups, adding, “Day, night, don’ matter. Coin’s coin. Ten silv’s, an’ I’m yours.”

She stumbles into Lykha, and this time, the younger fairy can see the elder’s back. There is no glow to her spine. It sinks in quickly, and her stomach twists.

“You used your wish…” murmurs Lykha.

The drunken fairy is silent for a moment. She asks grimly, “You’re not here for a bounce, are you?”

The younger fairy replies gently, “No… Sorry…”

“I see…” The drunken fairy straightens a little, still wobbling precariously. She says, “Guess it beats throwin’ rocks at me.”

Lykha’s eyes are watering, and she says, “Wait one second.” She flies up to Mury and turns him around. She holds out her hand to him silently with a pleading expression.

There’s a pause, and she pleads, “Please don’t make me ask…”

The warrior sighs, taking out a gold coin from one of the two pouches. Lykha knows they’re not high on funds, but he squeaks by inexpensively anyways. Still, a gold coin is quite valuable, typically worth fifty to one hundred times a single silver coin’s value, depending on region. He says softly as he hands it to the young fairy, “It won’t change anything.”

“I know… but,...” He releases it, and she nods with a thankful smile. She wraps the coin in the small blanket from his pouch, saying, “Take this out of my funds, please.”

She hands the blanket to the other fairy with a smile, saying, “Please accept this in exchange for your name.”

The drunken fairy wobbles a bit, but she says softly, “Maerin.”

“Maerin,” repeats Lykha tenderly. “I’m Lykha. I’ll come visit again, Maerin.”

Maerin says bluntly, maybe intending to have whispered, “They’ll use you and leave you, Lykha. Doe’n’t matter what you think now…”

Lykha looks at Mury specifically. It’s only been a few weeks so far, but…

She replies softly, “I don’t think I agree. But, I’ll be careful.”

Maerin nods wearily, and tenses when Lykha hugs her. “You matter, Maerin. I know what the elders say, but… you matter.”

Maerin sniffles, and she lays her head on the younger fairy’s shoulder for a moment.

After a tender moment, they part ways with the drunken fairy, and she watches them leave, waving at Coco and Lykha, who travel backwards to wave at her. Just as they’re disappearing out of sight, Lykha hears the tell-tale pings of a metal coin tapping the ground, and she glimpses Maerin cover her mouth.

The young fairy travels with a warm feeling in her heart, hovering next to Coco as the warrior and the spellshot lead toward the pub.

However, next, they find Kolaya. And, despite her fairly officious status and noble personality, she’s not much better off than the fairy they just encountered. She’s sitting against the well in the center of town, laying her head against the concrete well head with her eyes closed.

She looks up when she hears them approaching with a grim expression. She says coldly, “Let me guess. You found a clue and you want a part of the reward.”

Mury replies fastest and bluntly, “We found a clue-...”

“MURY!” hisses Lykha. She quickly flies in front, saying, “We did find a clue, but it comes at no charge. Right?”

The warrior nods in agreement.

Kolaya sighs, saying as she lays her head back and closes her eyes, “Fine. Hit me.”

Gyrryth approaches with the ‘compass’, saying politely, “It appears our adversary produces a residue that is trying to go somewhere.”

The woman opens one eye, studying the jar for a moment. She reaches up, and Gyrryth hands it to her.

Coco says, “Te’nically, I discove’d it.”

Gyrryth remarks warmly, “Indeed. And our mage concocted this idea to use that to our advantage.”

Kolaya asks skeptically, “You believe this is pointed towards the creature?” She turns the mud in the jar, watching as it relentlessly moves itself to continue pointing southwards.

Lykha explains, “It’s our working theory for now.”

The bailiff sighs, saying as she hands the jar back, “I guess it fits… We lost another village. None of it makes sense, though. The one you mentioned, and now Prackton to the south.” She puts her head back, covering her eyes with a gloved hand. “Why…? Why did I have to be the one the others chose?”

There’s a pause, and Mury states bluntly, “You were foolish enough to do it.”

The women all glare at him, but she scoffs after a moment. She starts laughing, mainly at herself, and her posture slumps in total defeat. “Yeah… You’re probably right.”

Lykha hisses, “Doesn’t mean you have to say it.”

Kolaya then looks up at them, saying, “I thought you said you weren’t going to hunt the solaghoul.”

“I’m not. We stumbled on a clue, and I’m following. Brought us here, so we thought we’d mention it.”

Coco grins. “He bluffin’, Machen. He’s jus’ as brain’cited as we are!”

Kolaya insists softly, “I will pay… if we can destroy this thing. I just… I realize now… how foolish this whole thing was. It’s been two days, and I’ve already had three separate claims that they’ve found and killed it. Four tried the ‘clue’ thing. They think there’s a pot of gold hidden in my office.” She nods, and the four look.

Indeed, the building she gestures at looks like it’s been ransacked. She adds, “I’m not a complete fool, but… Please… someone just tell me it can be killed…”

Coco states confidently, “O’ course! We gonna slay this monsty good!”

Lykha nods, “We’re trying to help.”

Gyrryth says nothing, but Mury says what encourages the bailiff most; “Everything can die.” They look at him, and he says calmly, “I’ll ask about the reward when it’s dead. Until then, we’ll be going.”

“Wait! What are you doing?”

“First, replenishing water and food, and then pursuing our lead. I’m still skeptical, but I agreed to follow it.”

He starts toward the pub, and Coco grins, saying, “Yeah! Monsty’s good as stone!” She jogs after him, and the drakyk spellshot bows, following after them. Lykha is the last to leave, and she says softly, “I never know what to think of him.”

Kolaya replies, “I never know what to think of mercenaries. They’re full spectrum.”

The fairy smiles softly, “He’s a kind person. I can just never peg whether he cares about the deed or just killing the monsters.” She hovers after her friends.

True to his word, Mury follows the makeshift compass back out into the desert, with Gyrryth following alongside in his single-seater sand rail. Coco tinkers with parts, while Lykha leans on the shoulder of the front seat, watching what Mury sees.

“HEY!” A woman’s voice calls to them from the opposite side of Gyrryth. It’s Kolaya, and she has a few others with her. She asks loudly over the noise, “Mind if we join you?”

Lykha shouts back, “Mury has one answer! Do what you want!” She smiles at Kolaya, who nods.

The enlarged party of five vehicles cruises across the desert, burning much of the midday sun. As the sun begins to set, Mury’s gaze seems to be focused on driving towards the town. Lykha’s eyes are heavy from the sun exhausting her, more than anything, but she keeps staring ahead as well.

When she glances at the mud compass, though, it’s pointed to the right. “Mury! The compass!”

The warrior looks down suddenly and slows the vehicle. The other vehicles slow and turn inwards so the drivers can look at the human warrior. Kolaya asks, “What’s wrong?”

Mury states, “Compass is pointing west now. It was straight south a minute ago, though.”

Lykha asks softly, “Are you sure you didn’t get hypnotised by the desert? You’ve been driving all day.”

“No, I’ve been checking.”

Kolaya urges, “Well, we are hunting a monster. It may be moving. Let’s catch up and determine if it’s a digger or a flier.”

Mury nods, driving towards the west now. Lykha notices the sand cruiser following them is a brilliant blue, and is decked out with all kinds of equipment. It can only be Murtoa of Lakia’s sand cruiser, and she takes interest. She may be friends with an imposter, but she would be curious to at least talk to the real Murtoa.

Coco pops up, saying, “Mury! Check it ou’! I made another shocker, just for you!”

She yelps when she nearly falls over the front seat into his lap as he comes to a stop. Now, the compass is pointing a little north of east. He calls out, “It’s somewhere here!”

The warriors all dismount carefully, scanning the sky and the ground alertly.

Unless it’s flying far higher than any other known colossus can fly, or is actually invisible, it’s not in the sky.

However, one of the drakyk warriors says loudly, “Nothing here.”

A hooded mage with a staff states after meditating a brief moment, “I’m not detecting anything either.”

Someone with electronic devices puts a cone to the ground, apparently listening. He shakes his head.

Murtoa approaches Mury and his group, asking, “You’re the one following the clue?”

Mury nods, gesturing to the compass on the sand rail. Murtoa approaches it and lifts it, inspecting the mud inside. He makes the same simple gestures that everyone else has, verifying that the mud does in fact indicate a direction. He asks, “Red! What’cha make of this?” Murtoa shows it to a red-haired woman that approaches. She has vials of powders and liquids on a bandolier, as well as in her shoulder bag. She retorts with a smirk, though, “I’ve asked you repeatedly to call me by my name, idiot.”

Murtoa smirks, saying, “My lady, my how your mouth never softens. Very well, Lady Vielall, would you kindly identify this substance?”

She scoffs, looking over the mud in the jar with intent eyes. Her hand glows faintly, and she jostles the jar.

“I’m not detecting any magic. Not sure what could be pulling it, though. Just seems to be some sandy mud with acidic properties.”

Gyrryth remarks, “Ahh, an alchemist. Always a pleasure to see magic and science come together.”

Vielall smiles and nods, saying, “Likewise. Not many spellshots floating around anymore.”

The drakyk jokes, “Indeed, regular firearms are much easier to obtain than enchanted ones.”

“I feel you there.”

She hands the jar back to Mury, and he places it back on the sand rail. She says to them, as well as Kolaya, who has since approached, “Don’t know what to tell ya. Just muddy goo to me. Like normal residues.”

Murtoa states calmly, “Let’s see, then. It doesn’t fly, and we’re not hearing it underground. We should be standing right on top of it. It produces a goo that tries to move on its own, and still no one’s seen the creature itself and lived.”

Lykha feels a little sad. That’s not totally true, but then, Vorsch wasn’t able to say much about what he saw.

Gyrryth offers, “It also doesn’t seem to be hunting smaller monsters at all.”

Vielall adds, “Acidity is half of what a silveryourd can muster. Definitely not that.”

Kolaya says distantly, “I don’t understand… It’s attacked three villages in less than a month. Two in about a week. How can it keep doing this and vanishing without any real trace?”

One of the other hunters asks, “Hate to be ‘that guy’, but should we start considering something ethereal?”

There’s a dark cloud that hangs over the gathered group of monster hunters.

Mury is the only one who says, “Of course not.”

Another hunter complains, “Come on man, at some point, we can’t believe the Holy Order is as powerful as it once was.”

“He’s probably a church-goer himself.”

Mury says nothing further, and Murtoa says diplomatically, “In any case, we need to help the villages. One of our parties NEEDS to lay eyes on this thing and see it in action. If anyone else accepts, I propose we camp out outside different towns and try to catch it in the act.” He calls out, “Yathu! Can you bring the flares?”

A young man nods from the blue sand cruiser and jogs inside. He soon jogs to the leaders with a box. Murtoa hands out clay sticks with a string and an arrow head. He explains, “Point the arrow up and pull the string. Simple. If any of us spot the solaghoul, we fire off a flare, and the rest of us will know where it is. Won’t be able to help same day, but we’ll know to regroup. Sound fair?”

Several of the groups take it without question. Mury doesn’t take one, so Lykha takes it for him, saying, “Thank you, Murtoa.”

He smiles, “My reputation precedes me, I see. Who might you be?”

“Mury, Coco, Gyrryth, and I’m Lykha. Nice to meet you.”

“Same here. You met Vielall and Yathu. That’s Jops over there, and our technomancer is Frixet.”

“How did you get knighted, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“I suppose we have a moment. My entire regiment got wiped out during the war, but I had a position to hold. So, I lured a colossus into a trap, and brought it down on top of the enemy with a rockslide. Killed the entire invading force and the colossus in one go. Stopped the invasion in its tracks, and gave our main force enough time to establish a full artillery position. When I made it back to base camp, though, they tried to execute me at first.”

Vielall chuckles and teases, “We obviously weren’t so lucky.”

He smiles and laughs, replying, “It was a fair assumption, I suppose. I was the only survivor.”

Yathu says elegantly, “‘And then, they realized I was a hero, and I was knighted for my bravery.’”

Murtoa’s group chuckles, as well as Lykha and Coco.

Kolaya says softly, “I can appreciate building camaraderie with stories, but if everyone’s ready, I ask that we make haste. There’s no telling when this thing will show up for certain.”

Murtoa says confidently, “The lady is right. Let us part ways here, everyone. If you find it, fire off a flare, and we’ll regroup where we met Lady Kolaya, here. Agreed?”

Everyone nods, “Agreed.”

As the groups part, Kolaya says softly to Mury’s party, “I’m thankful to have someone like him helping us. Almost none of the hunters that showed up go after colossi. Let alone a mystery one.”

Mury states calmly, “We don’t know it is, yet. Could still be a small class. Then, it’s a matter of figuring out how it behaves.”

She nods, “True.”

Coco adds proudly, “‘Sides; we the real colossee monsty slayas anyways! Leave offin’ the big goobs to us!”

Lykha teases warmly, “Yeah, we’re so professional, we pronounce technomancer wrong.”

Coco glares at the fairy, but Gyrryth pats the teen’s head gently, saying, “Doesn’t matter, Fiery One. We still have the best.”

Mury says calmly, “I’m sorry this was a waste of time.”

“No, you tried. Your team’s found two real clues so far. We just don’t know how to use them yet.”

“‘Tried’ saves no one,” states Mury coldly, and he heads towards their sand rail. Just as he’s getting close, he halts suddenly. He turns around. “It’s been raining a lot recently, hasn’t it?”

The four glance at each other, and then back to him. Lykha’s eyes widen. She has noticed rain clouds several times in the last week or so.

Mury takes the ‘compass’ off of the sand rail again, opening the jar. He pours it on the side of the vehicle, and Coco barks, “HEY!”

“Watch…”

The mud slides down the sand rail and then flops in one globule to the sand. Within seconds, it sinks into the sand.

Coco states, “That don’ make one nick o’ coin! No one heard it. How can it be below us?”

Mury states, “It must be sleeping. Grydukes and joroothys breathe pretty heavily, and they don’t dig very deep. If it’s smaller than either of them, it might dig deeper, slower, and have a lower heart and breathe rate.”

Kolaya asks cautiously, “How… do we get it out in the open?”

The warrior sighs, crossing his arms. “We don’t.”

Coco says, “We follow it ‘till the nex’ wa’er fall, right?”

Lykha nods, and Gyrryth replies, “Makes the most sense. If this one shows itself in the rain, perhaps it’s related to the great snails.”

Kolaya says, “This is great. Thank you, truly. I-... I have hope for once.”

Mury stays serious, though, saying, “Don’t get ahead of yourself. One thing that still bothers me; how and why does it pull its residue back to itself?”

The four are quiet, deep in thought. Kolaya asks innocently, but understanding the seriousness, “Should… that matter?”

“Absolutely. If it can control its own residue to such a degree, but isn’t detectable by an alchemist, this could be far worse than a simple monster.”

“What do we do then?”

Mury sighs. He says as he turns to prepare another sample of the mud in the jar, “Don’t be ridiculous.”

Lykha smiles with a warm pride in her friend. She says confidently, “Nothing’s changed. We wait for it and deal with it when it appears.”

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