Survivors
"What are you talking about? There's nothing out here," Jay said.
"It's always watching. Get inside before it attacks again," The man said.
"I think you're a bit paranoid, my man," James added, looking at the man with concern.
"Look, we've been the ones surviving out here for months. I think we know what we're talking about. Now get inside before it sees you!" the man insisted.
James, Jay, Frank, Lacey, Mark, and Susie all hurried inside despite their reservations that something was waiting to pounce on them. The man looked relieved they were willing to comply and watched out the door as he closed it. Once they were all inside, he turned to them and leaned back against the door heavily.
"Thank god. Sorry for treating you that way, but we've been harassed by that creature for several months now. Just going out to get food and water has been so dangerous. We've lost several people in the process," the man said, breathing a sigh of relief. "Oh! Where are my manners? I'm Caleb. I'm the leader of the Watchdogs guild.
"I'm James, this is Jay, the big guy is Frank, that's Mark, Susie, Lacey, and the nutbag there is Jay."
"Hey!"
"Well, it's true."
"It's nice to see people in such good spirits. We've been barely scraping by here. Morale is pretty much in the toilet," Caleb said, chuckling at their banter.
"How many of you are here?" Jay asked.
"When this all started, there were twenty-four of us. Now..." Caleb had to pause as he remembered their horrors. "Now, there's only ten of us. The minimum to keep our guild standing."
"Ten?! Out of twenty-four? That's horrible," Lacey blurted out.
"We've done what we can, but it's a hellscape out there. Especially since it showed up,"
"It?" Mark asked.
"Yeah. It. It's called a Crust Walker. Nasty beast," Caleb explained.
"Can you tell us about it?" Jay asked.
"It has the ability to move through the ground the same way a fish moves through water. When it emerges, it's usually to swallow something whole. It has the head of a shark and the body of a hybrid between a shark for when it swims through the ground and legs like a spider for walking on the surface," Caleb explained.
"Well, Mark here should be able to blast that thing to smithereens with a fireball or two," James said proudly, clapping Mark on the back and almost making him stumble.
"I forgot to add that its body appears to be made of lava. And it breathes fire," Caleb said. "We tried fire damage, and it healed the creature."
"Well...shit," James said.
"Do you all have a way to get out of here?" Jay asked.
"We have all the RVs in the park. Some of the owners left the keys here so that they could be started from time to time and not sit idle the entire time they are stored. But the last time we tried to take one to escape, the Crust Walker attacked us. It was like it could sense the vibrations through the ground. It struck the vehicle and killed five people before we got back inside," Caleb explained. "We haven't tried again since then."
"That does seem like a problem. Whelp...nothing to do but find it," Jay said, no hint of fear in his voice.
"What? You're just gonna go out there looking for it?" Caleb said incredulously. "That's suicide!"
"How else do you plan to leave? Your plan is just to sit here until you all die. My plan is to kill the fucker and get the hell outta here. Which one sounds better to you?" Jay asked.
"I mean, yours sounds better. Mine sounds survivable," Caleb replied.
"We'll see. Come on, guys. We need to take down Mr. Sharky. Caleb, get your team ready, and we'll meet you by the RVs when we finish."
Jay walked out the door after that, and James simply shrugged at Caleb before following him out.
"You really wanna just fight this thing?" Mark asked, fear evident in his tone.
"What choice do we have? We need to get them out of here. Plus, I suspect now that we drove up, we won't be leaving so easily either," Jay replied.
"But I'm useless against it. You heard him. Fire damage heals it!" Mark argued.
"You really can't use any spells that aren't fire magic?" Jay asked.
"Well, I have a few, but they are either pretty weak or completely useless in battle," Mark replied.
"Go inside, see if they have a vending machine. Get something useful. A water spell preferably," Jay ordered.
Mark looked at him for a moment, then ran back inside.
"Alright, we need to make some noise to get this thing's attention. Frank, can you do a little smashy-smash on the ground to see if we can get it to focus on us?" Jay asked.
"I think we should move somewhere else. Too close to the RVs they want to escape in and the building," Susie offered.
"Good thinking. That's why you're the brains of this outfit," Jay praised her. "Now, let's go find a spot to fight in."
Mark burst out of the door, waving a scroll in the air as they were about to leave.
"I got one!" He called after them.
"Good, you're just in time to join us for a hunt for a good battleground,"
The team walked past the gate and out into the street. Looking in both directions, Jay pointed out a large parking lot near an abandoned Walmart about a quarter of a mile away. Having no arguments with the location, though there were still some about fighting the monster, the team took off toward the site.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
As they walked, Mark read the scroll and learned the new spell.
"You know this is using up one of my spell slots that I could be using for another strong fire spell, right?" Mark complained.
"Yes, but if you can't be a more rounded fighter, you'll just get killed by fire creatures. You should at least have one spell that can help out in those situations," Susie countered.
"The only spell I could find that would do well enough against a creature that can attack an RV is mana heavy enough that I can really only use it once without needing a mana potion," Mark said.
"Well, then you better have some on hand," Jay said, stopping and looking back at him.
Mark stood there for a moment, made an angry face, then turned and ran back to the building.
"Really? A mage without enough mana potions?" Susie facepalmed.
"Give him a break. This is one of his first real missions. He'll get the hang of it," James replied.
Turning back to the road, the rest of the team continued walking down the road toward the parking lot. Mark caught up to them about ten minutes later, completely out of breath.
"You guys couldn't have waited for me?" Mark said, wheezing slightly.
"You'd have caught up to us. And you knew where we were going," Jay replied without turning around this time.
"What was the name of the spell you learned?" Lacey asked.
"Hydrostorm," Mark replied. "It makes a whirlwind of water around the creature, then blasts a beam of water at it from above."
"That does sound expensive to cast, but I think it's good you have it," Lacey smiled at him.
"Agreed. Let's begin with distracting it while you cast that spell on it. I'm guessing it's a long cast time?" Jay asked.
"Ten seconds," Mark replied.
"Oho! That's gonna be a good one. Tom has a spell with that long of a cast time, and it's a doozy. Alright, you stay back with Lacey, who will cover you with barrier spells if needed until you can cast it," Jay said excitedly.
"Seems like a plan to me," James said cheerfully.
Once the team reached the parking lot, Jay looked at Frank and said, "Alright, it's time to send some vibrations out to attract our prey."
"And try not to become prey," Mark added nervously, fidgeting with his hands as he looked around the area.
"That should have gone without saying. Mark, think of yourself as the hunter, not someone who will be killed. Confidence is key here. Without it, you'll freeze, and that's how you die," Jay explained as he nodded for Frank to begin.
Frank equipped his maul and hefted it high over his head before bringing it down on the pavement with a large thud. Asphalt and concrete cracked, fragmented, and flew in every direction. Raising it again, he hit the ground in a different spot. Again and again, Frank hammered the pavement, walking around to hit where he hadn't destroyed the ground already. They moved in circles around the parking lot for about fifteen minutes before they felt the first rumble.
"What was that?" Lacey asked as Frank raised his maul again.
Pausing mid-swing, Frank halted the pounding. Everyone looked around to see if anything seemed out of place. The trembling picked up again, and they could feel it getting stronger through their feet.
"It's coming," James said with a malicious grin.
"And you're going to hit it with that peashooter?" Susie said, gesturing to his handgun.
"You're right. This calls for something....bigger," James said, storing the gun in his inventory and pulling out a rocket launcher.
"Where the hell did you get that?!" Susie exclaimed as she recoiled from him.
"Military base. Figured they wouldn't miss one and some ammo. I'd like you all to meet Jemma," James said, petting the weapon's side.
"There!" Mark called, pointing to the other side of the parking lot.
The rumbling hit a crescendo as a fin stuck up from the ground, parting the pavement like water as it streaked straight toward them. As it got closer, they could see a second, smaller fin right behind the first one.
"Are there two of them?!" Mark asked in a panic.
"Too close together. It must have two dorsal fins," Jay replied, pulling weapons, and readying himself. "Frank, be ready to step to the side and try to smash that thing between the fins! We need it above ground! Everyone else, stay out of the path until we can see it!"
Frank readied his maul and took a wide stance. As the fins drew closer, he pulled his hammer above his head, ready to strike.
He stood right in the path of the fins and shouted, "Come on, you giant sushi platter!"
Just as it looked as though the creature would run over him, Frank moved his right foot back and around, turning him sideways, facing the passing fins. He brought his hammer down with all the force he could muster just as the first fin passed.
The hammer landed right between the fins, causing them to angle towards each other. As this happened, the monster's head erupted from the ground in a long, loud growl of pain and rage. Jay took a moment to use Identify on the creature.
Crust Walker
Born in lava pits far beneath the planet's surface, these abomination-level creatures are bred for one thing: hunting. These creatures are formidable enough with a streamlined body, head as hard as steel, and teeth that can rip and tear through solid rock. Add in that they have eight thick spider-like legs, and you have a true predator. Instead of blood, these creatures have fire in their veins, which causes their skin to crack as it flows through them. Beware of their vibration sensors that tell them where their prey is hiding on the surface above them.
HP:
8,400/8,400
MP:
1,200/1,200
SP:
5,500/5,500
Attacks:
Fire Breath, Bite, Thrash, Eruption
Frank leaped back to get away from the creature, which began thrashing in the ground and trying to bite him. Once he was clear of the area, the team watched in horror as the monster began to rise from the ground on long thick legs that extended out to lift it onto the surface.
"Holy shit," Mark said, staring at it in utter terror.
"Start casting, you dumbass! Lacey, stay with him and use shields when you need to. Everyone else, take out legs! Bring it down!" Jay shouted at everyone.
With a single sweep of its long tail, it swept the entire team off their feet before they could move. As they rose to their feet, Mark saw the creature had launched itself into the air and was diving headfirst toward them with its jaws open wide.