A vast desert on a vast world full of ferocious monsters of all sizes, from dog-sized scavengers to colossal titans that shake the ground with every step. Many monster hunters make a living on the ones in between, protecting villages or extorting them, serving cities for material needs, or just plain killing the nightmares of their own.
Mury the human warrior, Lykha the fairy, Coco the teenage ‘techromancer’, Gyrryth the drakyk spellshot, and the village bailiff Kolaya, have all made camp on the suspected location of a subterranean colossus known tentatively as the ‘solaghoul’ after a legendary phantom known for stealing entire populations of towns and villages overnight.
Unfortunately, the monster doesn’t seem to dig the same way other subterranean colossi move underground. It also leaves behind an acidic residue that is highly hydrophilic, becoming slimy mud that is attracted to what is believed to be the monster itself.
Of course, this particular monster has never been seen by any of the dozens of monster hunters wandering the desert region. Everything being speculated currently is new based on the few observations that have been made.
And, the monster is not following any normal conventions.
The group is awakened by Mury, who is always the first one awake. He says plainly, “Wake up. Time to move.”
The warrior is already packing gear back up as the others wake up slowly. Gyrryth is partially buried in the sand in a sleeping bag, which he claims helps keep him warm. Coco and Lykha were sharing a blanket and pillow, and Kolaya, who isn’t actually part of their group specifically, is sleeping in a small tent.
Coco sneezes as she wakes up, complaining softly, “I wish we had a blankie house.”
Mury approaches and offers her a hand, “Aside from the bailiff, you have more money than the rest of us.”
“Ye ne’er take me pas’ the thrif’lanes in the bundles, Love!”
Gyrryth rises to his full height, stretching. He says warmly, “You should sleep in the sand, Fiery One. Nothing more comfortable.”
Kolaya, knowing she has the most complex setup, is hasty about collapsing her tent and packing it up, while Lykha helps Coco fold their blanket. She asks, “What’s going on, Mury?”
The warrior answers, “Target moved on us. If you want to eat, you’ll have to eat while we’re driving. Let’s move.”
Gyrryth remarks warmly, “At least he woke us up.”
Coco and Lykha nod in agreement.
Mury remarks as he climbs into the driver seat of the two seater sand rail, “You make me out to be anti-social.”
Lykha says sourly, “A loner that wanders through the desert killing monsters is… kinda the epitome.”
“And yet, here we are.”
The fairy flies next to his head level, gingerly putting her hand on his helmet with a smile. “And, I’m thankful we are.”
Coco says as she climbs into the back seat, “I’m marryin’ ‘Bando, so ‘course I’m conten’ as a boul’er in the sun.”
Kolaya climbs into her own sand rail, stating, “Lead the way, Mury.”
“It’s headed north.”
The bailiff pales at this news. Her own town, Solace, is directly north of them. “We have to hurry!”
“Stay calm. We have time.”
The group takes off north in the desert-running vehicles, driving as quickly and safely as they can. Lykha watches the compass closely. After a couple hours, the mud starts to sink more directly to the bottom. She calls out, “Mury! It’s here!”
“I know. It’s not likely to surface here. We need to get to Solace and prepare.”
“What if it passes Solace?”
“Why worry about that? Either way, we need the rain.”
They drive on. The air is dry, and the fairy scans the horizon for storm clouds. There doesn’t appear to be any, but judging by the speed the solaghoul must be moving, there are quite a few hours left.
Mury’s first question once they get to the town of Solace is “Any of the warriors that accepted this hunt capable of weather magic?”
Kolaya admits as she aims her flare up, “I… don’t know. I didn’t ask.” She pulls the string, and a bright, flickering red star shoots up into the sky.
“Hmm…”
Coco asks curiously, “If monsty’s comin’ for us, why we nee’ ta wait on sky gremlins? We can jus’ put blasties and blade-swattas on every roof, ready for its last first dance!”
“If we can help it, it’d be better to stop it from destroying the town. Solace is pretty central to the desert, and it’s large enough to stabilize other towns. Especially with fewer large ones left.” He looks at Lykha, “Any chance ‘create water’ is one of your spells?”
“I-it is… but, I can basically only pull enough water out of the air to fill a glass. A-...” She blushes and looks down, admitting, “A fairy’s glass.”
Mury is unfazed. “It’s fine. We’ll have to keep thinking. Bailiff; start evacuating the town. We’ll keep brainstorming.”
She reluctantly says, “Right.” She’s determined to help her town, but she’s still not fully certain Mury knows what he’s doing, especially when his current party could be helping evacuate.
Gyrryth asks without any real condescension in his tone, “Do you have a plan to defeat it once it’s at the surface?”
“No. That’s why I want to get it to the surface sooner. We need to know what we’re dealing with.” His helmet scans all around, with the warrior thinking as he speaks. His gaze comes to rest on the well head in the center of town. He adds as his thoughts swirl, “One way or another, it’s coming up here.”
The others follow his gaze to the well, and Lykha asks, “Are any of you thinking what I’m thinking?”
Coco cries out, “AH! I was ONE tick from spoutin’ it!”
Gyrryth chuckles. “Indeed. I believe we all have a similar idea in mind.”
“Good.” Mury pulls out his water bottle and hands it to Coco, saying, “Coco, Lykha, tell the bailiff to have the evacuees fill their water one last time before leaving. Gyrryth, mind helping me find and run out as many big hoses as we can?”
The big lizardman stretches and flexes his arms, saying proudly, “I would have it no other way, my friend.”
Lykha asks nervously, though, “How much water do you intend to use?”
“As much as it takes. All of it if we have to. The oasis will fill back up, and the monster is probably travelling near the water table if it likes water so heavily. If we can get enough moisture to its level in time, it might think it’s raining and surface.”
The four set to their tasks, and Gyrryth follows the girls only to shortcut by asking where any and all hoses for the well pump would be. Mury starts with the one present at the wellhead, stretching it out as far as it’ll reach. He latches it onto the pump station’s bleed off valve, cracking the valve to ensure it lets water out. Sure enough, in spite of the rusty state of the valve, it opens, and water sprays out of the hose briefly.
Gyrryth returns with two more hoses. “Will these be enough?”
“They’ll have to be.”
Lykha watches Mury work for a moment as Coco explains to Kolaya. As with all things, he doesn’t have an aspiring determination to him. He has a sort of passive focus; not a need to accomplish a task, but a simple drive, like gravity pulling him to the ground. He moves forward like a river, always on task, but never seeming concerned.
He and Gyrryth check all of their connections. “Alright, seems solid enough. For this to work, though, we should probably start.”
“I am ready, my friend.”
Mury nods. “I’ll do either task, and we’ll likely need to swap anyways, but would you mind starting on this end? Your strength should keep the hose on target better than mine. As soon as the valve’s open, I’ll be right behind you.”
“It would be my honor to stand as the strongest, Mury. Let us draw this beast out into the open and do what we do best.”
Mury chuckles and pats his shoulder, jogging back to the pump head. He calls out, “Ready!?”
“Ready!” calls back the lizard. But, the warrior is looking at Lykha, Coco, and Kolaya.
Kolaya takes one last look around as her villagers shuffle out of town, scared and worried, with bags full of their most precious belongings. No one wants to leave their home unguarded, let alone what possessions they have left.
The bailiff sighs, whispering, “I know it’s ‘listen to him or everyone gets eaten’… but it’s hard.”
Lykha says softly, “He knows what he’s doing. And, he wouldn’t dare touch their homes if he can help it.”
Kolaya nods. She shouts back, “Ready!”
Mury nods, and he opens the valve. The hose quickly pressurizes, flopping on the ground as the body fills with water at over a hundred pounds of pressure. Gyrryth stumbles with the sudden force of the hose, and a jet of water launches towards the sky, arcing a short distance out of town and falling onto the sand. The human warrior sprints to take hold of the hose, taking some of the force off of the lizard man as the water continuously rockets past them.
Coco and Lykha return to them, but Mury quickly shouts, “No! Get to cover behind one of the buildings. If we lose control of this, it’ll pummel everyone in its vicinity. We’ll be fine.”
Coco shouts, “I can help!”
“If we ask for it, bring us water, please. Otherwise, stay safe. Actually, while I’m thinking of it, might not be a bad idea to move the sand rail north of town and bring the compass back here.”
Coco nods, “I’m on it!” She turns to Lykha, “Keep ‘Bando from thirstin’ Bae.” The teen runs under the water stream, laughing as she enjoys the cool rain falling on her.
Mury says to the fairy, “Keep an eye on her.”
“What if…”
“It’s only going to take her a minute. Just make sure no one hostile approaches her.”
The fairy smiles and nods.
Coco starts the sand rail, and Lykha hovers down into the front with her. “I don’ nee’ a-”
“I’m here to ride through the water with you, dummy. You think I WANT to follow you around?”
The teen glares at her skeptically, but drives the sand rail forward, intentionally riding through the muddy sand and water raining down on them from the fire hose. Of course, this far from the hose, more of the high pressure water is coming down now, and so the droplets sting a little. Regardless, it is a refreshing chill to the water, unlike anything Lykha has known since leaving her village. And, even with the light sting of some of the droplets, both girls laugh joyously as the vehicle slings mud around, including into the driver’s seat and all over both of them. They scream as they bounce over a small hump in the sand, suddenly, and then laugh as Coco drives around the village. It’s a moment of much-needed levity for the two young women before a fight with something terrifying starts.
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Time passes slowly from there, as Mury and Gyrryth unyieldingly hold the large hose in place, spraying water for minutes, extending soon enough into hours.
A large blue-painted sand cruiser is the first vehicle to appear, racing towards town much faster than sand rails can handle. Its big sail-like fins suspended behind it help soften its landings immensely, allowing it to make humongous jumps over dunes without worry.
Lykha tips Coco’s water skin for Gyrryth and then Mury to drink from as the two hold the hose, making small talk with each other to pass the time. Though, the small talk mostly amounts to Gyrryth asking Mury questions.
Murtoa’s party jogs closer to investigate, asking Kolaya, “What’s going on? How can we help?”
The bailiff looks at Mury. “They’re soaking the desert to draw it out. Best plan we have for the moment.”
“Ah! I see! That’s quite clever. But, I must ask, what makes us so certain it is headed here?”
“We woke up to find it moving north from Prackton. It’s headed here. Not sure if it’ll pass under the village if it doesn’t rain, or if it’ll lie in wait, but we -uh, HE- believes it’ll rise to the surface if enough water is present. So,... we’re essentially tricking it, I guess.”
“Very good, very good. Then, allow my party to begin setting traps and preparing attacks.”
She nods, and his group jogs back to their cruiser. They return with a cannon, barrels, and what looks to be a ballista -a gigantic crossbow-like weapon- that they begin staging at different positions around the town. The weapons look fit to take on moderate-sized monsters with ease, but Lykha can’t help but wonder if they would have been very effective against the sand gryduke or the nightenmael. The nightenmael, specifically, can move extremely quickly, making cannons particularly tricky to plan.
But, they’d have to work, right? Why would a professional monster slayer like Murtoa of Lakia have them to hunt just any kind of monster? Mury manages, and he has a sharpened stick and some tiny bombs.
Of course, the solaghoul, as it’s being called for now, is a complete unknown for all of them. They’ve come together and strategized the best way just to see it, let alone fight it.
Murtoa’s party stages the cannon and ballistae on the rooftop of one of the buildings with a fairly clear view of the small section of desert being hosed down by Mury and Gyrryth.
Murtoa operates very differently than Mury. He talks with everyone, gives orders to his party and has a clear and concise plan for hitting the monster and routing it towards their melee fighters. His alchemist, Vielall, is preparing her ingredients to brew spell-enhanced mixtures on the spot to make specialized elemental attacks. She also reviews her notebook, likely with mixtures for specific uses.
Murtoa’s weapon also seems to be enhanced by magical runes, which typically give it the ability to resist dulling, apply elemental damages with every attack, or other abilities not available for a normal weapon.
Mury has to sharpen his pointy stick after battles.
Lykha still doesn’t regret joining Mury, nor does the thought of asking to join Murtoa even cross her mind. Mury isn’t the perfect human being, but she’s seen time and again how far he will go to succeed and protect those whom he seems to care about.
Kolaya approaches Coco and Lykha in the shade of an awning. Coco states warmly, “Hey, Boss-machen! Enjoyin’ the show?” She snickers as they watch Mury and Gyrryth, which is honestly boring.
Kolaya smiles and nods, saying more to Lykha, “Evacuation is going alright. I’m sending everyone north. If this doesn’t go our way,...”
“It will,” says Lykha gently. “Mury won’t give up.” She smiles tenderly as she watches Gyrryth laugh at something Mury must’ve said.
“Even so,... We’ll try to keep out of reach. But,... Folks like us don’t have a lot of options. The cities don’t like free villagers.”
“Someday, I’d like to know more.”
Kolaya nods, but adds gently, “Don’t get me wrong, though. I’m terribly grateful to all of you for trying to help. No matter how this ends, you’re all heroes to me.”
Coco says sternly, “Don’ go gettin’ no ideas, though, machen. ‘Bando is mine. Alrea’y got enough rivals.” She smirks coyly at the fairy.
Kolaya smiles and scoffs. “I’m certain I don’t know the character of your friend well enough to want to challenge you.” She looks at Murtoa’s group as they arm the cannon. “I’m more surprised Murtoa of Lakia showed up. I’ve heard the legends.”
Coco scoffs, saying dryly, “That goob’s shiny, fer sure, but a brigh’ ligh’ attra’ts a swarm.”
Lykha says in an admiring tone, “He seems much more real than I imagined. I thought a legendary knight would be pretentious and arrogant.”
“Right? It’s definitely refreshing.”
Coco waves her hand, saying, “You lot can ‘ave ‘im.”
The lizardman spellshot roars suddenly in a big, playful groan. He shouts to no one in particular, “Why can’t this monster just show itself already?”
Mury replies barely audibly, “It didn’t make it far. It’ll probably take hours.”
“Remind we why we started so soon.”
“We need the moisture to reach low enough for it to come up.”
Coco jogs over with water, offering it to them.
“They’re so calm. I don’t know how they do it.”
Lykha scoffs. “Try being inside of a sand gryduke. You’ll understand.”
Kolaya chuckles. “I’ll take your word on that one.”
Shortly after they arrived and staged their weapons, Murtoa’s large warrior companion, Jops, and the young man Yathu both join Mury and Gyrryth, giving them a break. One of the other parties shows up as well, and Murtoa and Vielall join them in helping evacuees get organized and begin their trek north.
Kolaya asks, “Do you really think we have a shot?”
Lykha smiles. “Don’t be ridiculous. We’re going to win.”
A lie of confidence. Lykha doesn’t know how this battle is going to turn out, but she watches hope empower the bailiff. And, with enough hope, maybe they actually will win.
Maybe that’s why Mury uses the name Murtoa. Hope in his ability to defeat the colossi makes life easier for those who need to rely on a total stranger. And, as even he has said, she’s never seen him use it to profit. He only says his name when asked.
The hours tick by slowly and tensely. Each second that passes is a moment closer the solaghoul is getting. It could explode out of the ground anywhere at any time. It could completely throw off their strategy if it comes up behind the defensive line.
The other problem is energy. The hose Mury and Gyrryth have been holding steady for hours straight, aided for only a few of those hours, is launching gallons of water a minute dozens of feet away from them, which takes a lot of pressure. Gyrryth has tried to entertain himself with talking, but he’s noticeably losing steam. And, he’s a ranged fighter. The melee fighters like Mury and Jops will need their strength. And yet, Mury is the anchor. He is at the front and center of this whole plan. He is the least concerned and most focused.
A tangy smell reaches Lykha’s nose; one that reminds her of her mother’s cooking. Her eyes widen, and she asks loudly, “Anyone else smell that?”
Gyrryth nods. “Vinegar.”
The fairy calls out, “That’s it! It’s close!”
Mury doesn’t panic or look around frantically like the others. He simply holds the hose on target, waiting for the others to call out. He is Lykha’s rock in the unknowable sea.
And, he is the last to look when Vielall calls out from the rooftop, “LOOK!”
It’s evening time now. The sun is still up, but the heat is already starting to relent. The sand looks like a small lagoon to the immediate south of the village. The water is muddy and not very deep, but the pool of water extended pretty far south, in spite of the sand allowing it to sink rather quickly.
What Vielall calls out is hard to identify at first. It’s slow moving and blends in with the scenery. Rising out of the mud at the extreme end of the spray wash seems to be a mound of mud. And, with it, rises a faint cloud of smoke with a tangy smell.
Murtoa calls out from the ground, “Yathu! Man the east ballista! Jops! Get ready to reload the cannon! Vie! Give it time to show more of itself before firing!”
Mury says to Gyrryth, “I got this. Close the valve.”
“Are you certain-...?”
“Go!”
The lizardman nods and eases himself loose of the hose so it doesn’t catch Mury off guard. He then runs to the valve feeding the hose, shutting it down quickly.
Once free of the hose, Mury’s group regroups at the human warrior. He flexes his shoulders as he watches the monster rising as a mound of sandy mud.
Lykha asks, “The mud’s sticking to it. Will that hurt anything?”
“No more than a shell might. Wouldn’t count on fire or electrical elements.”
Gyrryth says informatively, “If it is related to the great snails, it is likely resistant to both of those to begin with. We’ll need either pure magic or hope our alchemist acquaintance has proper poison effects.”
Coco scoffs, retorting, “Don’ nee’ a monsty slaya for tha’. Ge’ the table rocks out an’ star’ shakin’!”
“The great snails produce a mucus that protects them from salt.” The lizardman adjusts his broad hat, “Likely to be an issue with this creature as well.”
Lykha asks skeptically, “How… do you know that about the great snails?”
The lizardman grins toothily, but Mury says, “None of that matters. You two, hold back until we know how it dispenses acid. Gyrryth, you’re obviously free to do what you need to.”
“You’re going near it?” asks the fairy.
He nods, “Need to see what it is still. Listen for a heartbeat, look for weaknesses. Figure out where we need to strike if the cannon doesn't hurt it.”
“Figure out a way inside?” asks the young fairy skeptically.
He nods, “If need be.”
Mury walks calmly towards the monster slowly rising as an apparent blob of sandy mud, and Lykha can’t help but watch. She now knows some amount of her feelings -if not all- are because of what he did in regards to the blood magic. But,... is that all there is to it?
Gyrryth says to the two young women, “Be ready to fight, young ones. The real fight is about to begin.”
Coco says proudly, “Tha’ jus’ meanin’ the bes’ techromancer in the world nee’ to watch yer itch-makuhs, ey?”
The lizardman pats her head gently, saying, “I’m counting on it, Fiery One.”
He starts after Mury, following in a jog.
And still, Mury walks. Murtoa jogs forward with his sword drawn, alongside the other melee fighters of the other parties that returned to Solace after the flare was sent up. They roar and cheer, ready to fight. Mury says nothing. He doesn’t even draw his weapon yet. He is the same man that started planning. He is the same man that refused to take this mission.
He is the same man whose blood makes Lykha’s heart flutter.
Murtoa leads the charge, shouting over his shoulder, “FIRE!”
The ballistas both fire. Humongous arrows over six feet long spear into the monster, disappearing through the sloppy mud. Still, the monster seems to keep growing out of the ground.
Vielall lights the fuse, and the cannon fires a blast of fire. The cannon ball slams into the mud, but also disappears into the mud.
Not many monsters can manipulate elements. But, it’s maintained as plausible to all of the scholars of the world because it’s not unheard of entirely. If this monster is manipulating the mud to be a very thick shell for itself, it could be buried much deeper within.
Likely realizing this, Murtoa calls back, “Vie! Get down here and do something about this mud for us!”
“On my way!” The woman turns over the torch for the cannon to Jops, who reloads quickly as Yathu fires the ballista again. Another arrow seems to do nothing. The monster doesn’t even make any noise in protest. It simply continues to emerge from the sand, growing larger and larger by the second.
Vielall quickly brews magic-enhanced potions in a jar as she kneels on the sand next to Murtoa. She hands it up to him, and he throws it, easily reaching the monster. The position flashes white, and a large chunk of the solaghoul’s mud turns white with crackling noises, frozen in an instant to ice. She calls out, “Frixit! Your turn!”
Murtoa’s technomancer, Frixit, jogs closer to the monster, reaching with a long rod to touch the ice. It whines briefly, and then pops, and the ice shatters to pieces, revealing a hole through the mud. He darts low out of the way.
Murtoa calls out, “Ballistae! Fire!”
Jops and Yathu fire their ballistas, and arrows travel through the hole. Still, no monster within makes a sound.
And, liquid oozes through the ice, swallowing it quickly. The giant creature advances forward without a single thought.
Mury and Gyrryth are standing off to the side, though the lizardman has a pair of his pistols drawn and empowered by spells, ready to fire.
Murtoa growls, shouting, “Cannon!”
Jops fires the cannon again, though the frozen section is once again muddy liquid. The same result as before.
One of the other warriors shouts, “Enough of this! Charge!”
Two of the other groups charge forward with their melee weapons of all kinds, and Mury tries to call out, “Wait!” No one listens, though, and Murtoa calls his group forward as well. It’s easy enough to keep out of reach of the monster’s mud while slashing at it. The elemental weapons of the fighters stand out, as they flash and spark with the elements discharging, and the mud takes noticeable damage, especially as it dries out and chips away. Still, though, the creature inches forward.
Lykha spots it first, though. She calls out, “MURY! TO YOUR LEFT!” The warrior looks without hesitating, pulling Gyrryth back. The fairy flies closer to them. It looks to be a miniature copy of the big monster creeping into the town. Mury draws his polearm, slashing the gooey being clean through.
And his cut passes just as cleanly through.
However, it is not just mud. The blade of his polearm starts to sizzle and hiss, coated in acid. He hums as he thinks.
Meanwhile, the miniature solaghoul reforms itself in the same shape, revealing its innards to only possess two separate shades; the muddy sand color, and a much lighter color deep within the middle.
Lykha cries out, “WHAT IS THAT!?”
Gyrryth, however, is intent on dealing with the issue first. He says, “Give it room and allow me.”
All three move away from the miniature one, and Gyrryth fires one of his pistols in front of it. The shot explodes in a fiery blast, and it splashes the mud away.
Which seems to be the whole creature…
The lizardman remarks, “It must be some of its controlled acid, like our compass. I wonder if our target is deep within a shell of its elemental attack.”
Mury watches the bits of goo, which slowly move back towards themselves. Slowly, the same miniature solaghoul forms, and it’s then that they see the small army of similar blobs creeping towards them from all around the main monster.
The human warrior says to Gyrryth, “Fire an electrical shot as deep into the main body as you can.”
The drakyk hesitates only a moment, but he swaps the fired pistol for an electric one, and he charges it with the spell. He then aims and states, “Depth over power.” The color of the runes changes, and the pistol fires. The shot zips deep into the inside of the main monster.
Lykha can hear the tiny, muffled pop, but little else other than a brief glow from the monster.
Gyrryth states, “It doesn’t seem to have any concept of pain. Even a vintersnape would feel a shock.”
Mury states distantly, “It’s immune to elements.”
“Immune to elements!?” snaps Lykha. “Not even dragons are immune to elements! R-Right? W-when they were supposedly alive. They’re dead though, right? Wait, this isn’t a dragon, is it?”
“It’s not a dragon.”
The fairy relaxes only long enough for Mury to state, “Dragon’s have skeletons.”
Lykha and Gyrryth both frown. The fairy asks in surprise, “Come again?”
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