As far as I knew, the beast was the apex predator of the Blasted Lands. It was the largest predator we had ever seen up to that point. Its strength and pure size were something to be admired by all. Alas, the great tragedy would be that for the safety of the Uchanti and my allies, the beast needed to be put down. I would have loved to use its great size to my advantage, but the animal was far too dangerous and too large to attempt such a thing.

We would spend days doing research on the animal. Yet you would be surprised to know that finding the creature’s home was more difficult than one would assume. Anyone with half a functioning brain would immediately suggest following the massive creature. After all, It was big enough to fight and nearly kill a literal walking fortress. Yet the lair was difficult to get to. The beast made its lair at the center of the caldera where there was a massive lake. The creature was not aquatic, yet when it went under the water, it was just gone.

I began to suspect that the reason for the creature not surfacing was because that, since this was the site of a former volcano, that there are several underground chambers under that lake. The beast must have used one of those chambers as its lair. There was only one way to be sure.

Using my sword, I sharpened a large branch into a sharp spear. I took off most of my armor so I wouldn’t sink. All I had to protect me was my weapon and my undergarments to protect my modesty. I would dive down into the lair once the beast had left. Straden and Mil’Tuk would watch the beast and gather information while I dove down into the depths of the lake to find its lair. I realized I might not have had a lot of time for breath. Yet if I was correct, then there were many air pockets down in the caverns, and I had to rely on those.

Beside me, Cao Tzu gestured her hands upon me as if to bless me. She then signed to me, wishing me good luck. I gave her a swift nod and then dived into the water. The fresh water stung my eyes as I tried to see. Everything was cloudy, but the water was almost clear. At least transparent enough for me to navigate myself. I swam further down into the waters, holding my spear tightly in my hand. A school of fish saw my approach and scattered in all directions at my approach.

As I continued to swim deeper into the massive lake, I could feel my lungs burning. The tightening of my chest and the feeling of imminent doom approaching. If I tried to swim back to the surface, I might not have made it. I continued to fight myself, my willpower keeping me alive. I saw a tunnel and swam towards it. My chest was on fire, tightening as I was getting closer to being out of breath. I could feel my vision fading as I swam harder until at last, I saw an air pocket. I reached for it and took long, gasping breaths. I coughed loudly and took a moment to adjust myself. I breathed the air and it healed my lungs. But even still, I had no choice but to dive into the water again.

I took another deep breath and dove back into the water, swimming through the tunnel. I continued to traverse the dark reaches of the underwater tunnels, unsure of what I would find down there. I might as well have found my own death. I felt around the tunnel as the water began to heat up. I tried to find another air pocket. Luckily, I found one just in time. This pocket was much larger, and might as well have been a room. I decided to climb up into this chamber so that I could rest.

The place was very dimly lit —illuminated only by the glowing traces of magma that still pumped through the dormant volcano like a heart pumping blood— and I tried to find the means to give myself light. Unfortunately, I had nothing save for my spear and the loincloth. I explored my surroundings. I could see that though dim, the place had room enough to rest. I placed my hand on the walls as I traveled to feel my way through the darkness. The walls were warm to the touch. As I continued, I touched something and immediately felt something fall on me. I used my spear to knock it away and prepared for a fight only to see that what had grabbed me was already dead.

A skeleton from a time long forgotten had clung to the wall and now was scattered along the floor. It appeared human enough, though the only thing that might have suggested otherwise was that it was unusually tall. Perhaps I am remembering it wrong or I could not see it clearly since it was so dark, but I could swear that the skeleton was larger than that of a human. I placed my hand on the rib cage of the creature and felt its bones were thicker than a normal mans. I couldn’t tell you how large it was exactly, but I can tell you that I’ve never heard of humanoid bones that large before.

Then a thought occurred in my head. Where did this skeleton come from? I continued to feel around, and sure enough there was a crevasse in the cave. Too small for the skeleton but perhaps it was large enough for myself. I knew the dangers of going down in that place. I could end up getting stuck and end up like my large friend, but then I would be at the mercy of the waters again and have to sink or swim anyway. No matter what I did, I would be in danger. I was in danger standing there in that room. I had to press on. I squeezed myself into that crevasse. I could feel the sharp stones digging into my flesh. As I continued to suck in my gut through the tight walls, I could see some light on the other side. A smile came across my face.

I knew then what it was like to be in a giant mortar and pestle. I felt the stone grinding at my body as I moved forward. I hissed as a bit of gypsum gemstone cut into my abdomen. It felt like a paper cut, but If I was not careful I would suffer a death of a thousand cuts. I pushed myself more, trying to get out of the grip of the earth. The more I pushed, the more I felt myself being squeezed tighter, as if the very stones themselves were pinching me between their fingers like one would crush an ant.

At last, my hand could feel an opening, and I would be able to make it through to the other side. I fell to my knees, exhausted by the ordeal. I looked down and gently rubbed my fingers on my cuts. Some bled more than others. I closed my eyes and tried to ignore the pain. I rose to my feet and could feel the heat had risen in this place. Some small remnants of the ancient volcano who’s corpse I had entered included large pools of magma to the distance. I could feel myself drying off rapidly in no time at all. I explored my surroundings, my spear pointed outward and my nerves alight with anticipation. I had no idea what else lay in those darkened chambers.

In the complete blackness of those chambers, I felt very small. I was an intruder in an alien world that no man in my age had ever seen. As I explored, it felt as if the heat built up.

The cavern I found myself in had a large ceiling. I wished I had a torch and could see much further than I could, but alas I had no means. It was extremely difficult to see in the chamber. I used my spear as a blind man would use a cane and felt around to protect myself from tripping over something. I eventually came across a small area where there was more light thanks to the magma nearby. It was here that I was able to find some sense of my whereabouts. In front of me laid a large pool of water that was cool to the touch and offered relief to the heat. I checked my surroundings before I took a dip. Something immediately caught my attention.

I saw a large collection of rocks that radiated with heat. Not enough to burn to the touch, but warm enough. Inside the circle of stones was something large. Although I had never seen one that size before, I knew without a doubt that it was an egg. It was as large as a full grown man. With a little bit of luck, I managed to find the creature’s lair. Furthermore, I had discovered that the creature was also female and a mother. I could not begin my examination. After all, the best way to learn about someone is how they keep their home.

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I looked around and saw the leftovers of great beasts that fell prey to the creature. Their bones were scattered along the nest. I did not expect to find any remains of the Uchanti in the nest. Surely they would have all been devoured by the creature in one massive gulp. However, I did find some things that the creature may have spat out or vomited up. They reeked of bile and stomach acid. All that I could recognize were the weapons and some jewelry that were unmistakably Uchanti in design.

I paused and gave the remains a moment of silence. However, the quiet was broken by cracking. I jolted with my spear raised and aimed at the cracking. The egg was hatching. I went into the nest and prepared to strike as soon as the creature’s spawn emerged. The egg opened like one would expect a snake’s egg. It was soft and leathery. What was left of the egg membrane spilled out into a goo on the ground as the animal inside breached and took its first breath of fresh air. The thing in front of me was a large creature that was the size of a fully grown man. Unlike its parent which had a dull gray color, this lizard thing seemed to be albino. It was pure white with red eyes.

The infant slithered out of the egg and flicked its forked tongue in my direction. I held my spear at it, ready to stab it with all my might. I refused to be this creature’s first meal. However, it just looked at me for a moment. Its tongue continued to sense me as it eventually came closer. I pulled my weapon, preparing to strike but it just sensed me. It then rubbed its body past my leg as it explored the area. I stood there, watching the creature for a moment before it turned to me and tilted its head expectantly. I was confused. It made some strange chirping noises at me like one would imagine a crocodile hatchling would make if it were scaled up to a ridiculous size.

It brushed up against me again, and I realized what had happened. It imprinted on me. The large reptilian hatchling believed that I was its parent. As amusing as it was, I knew that I couldn’t stay here forever. The creature persisted in following me. I had to think of something quick. I went over to some leftover food the mother had left behind. It was the carcass of another reptilian creature. The standard form of life in the Blasted Lands I had come to find. The meat clung to a rib bone. I snapped the bone off using my strength. Thankfully the battle that ended the meal’s life resulted in a few broken bones.

I threw the meaty bone at the hatchling and it began to devour it. Without any trouble, its serrated teeth ripped into the meat and tore it up. I believed I had learned everything I could from the lair of the beast, so I saw it fit to leave. No doubt the large pool of water was where the mother creature entered her lair. Though as I prepared to swim for my life, I noticed the water begin to rumble. Instantly I realized that the mother had returned. I hid behind the leftover bones and meat as the water ruptured and the mother crawled out of the water. In her mouth she carried a dead animal. A Large rodent like creature whose fur was matted with blood. The mother looked and sensed the area after dropping the corpse.

It looked around and saw that the egg was hatched, yet the baby was nowhere to be seen. Little did I know, the baby had followed me behind the bones. I turned to see it looking at me curiously, as if asking what I was doing. I pressed my fingers against my lips, hoping to keep it quiet. Unfortunately, the hatchling let out another chirp for its parent. The larger beast pulled the bones away from my hiding spot and saw me. There I was, looking up at the monstrous creature. Huge spikes ran down its back in a singular line like an iguanas. It had razor sharp claws and dagger-like teeth. Its yellow eye stared down at me curiously as a smaller reptile would look at an insect.

Immediately it reached down and attempted to stick its tongue out at me so that it could grab me and bite down on me. One bite, and I’d have been dead. So just as the tail was about to grab me, I stabbed it with my spear. The creature let out a loud screech and reeled back. I ran as fast as I could and dove into the water. The creature roared and looked around for me as I swam.

I kicked my feet and stroked my arms as hard as I could, more than I had ever done before as I swam. I had limited time to get out. But the creature dove in after me. It opened its mouth and attempted to bite down on me. I was to be swallowed whole by the creature. Yet just as it was about to chomp down on me, I pointed my spear upward. As it swam. The speed of the creature swimming was great. Its mouth hung open as I held on to the spear for dear life. Water entered the creature’s mouth, and it too had no choice but to get air. It swam up with me barely able to hold on.

I could feel the creature moving faster in the water, trying to save its own life before it could die. I was barely able to hold on, my fingers slipping as the creature shot up the tunnel like an arrow being pointed at the sky. Then at last, the creature breached and spat out water. I had but one chance. Abandoning my spear, I dove into the lake again and swam away while the creature was focused on getting my spear out from the roof of its mouth. I swam hard, the water would thankfully hide my scent as the creature pulled the spear from its maw and then looked around for me. Thankfully I was such a small target for it that it ignored me and dove back into the water to its lair.

I swam to the far banks of the lake, exhausted. I crawled through the mud and sand until I had reached the grass. I was exhausted, trying to control my breathing as I laid back against the trunk of a tree. I watched just in time to see the tail of the beast sink down into the waters. I was visibly shaking. Once again I had been so close to death. I took a note of the scars on my wrists. I had survived worse. I stood up just as Octavian and Straden found me. Straden chuckled at me as Octavian helped me up.

“By the Gods, Hadrian. You sure do know how to make an entrance.”

I arched my back as I could feel the adrenalin leaving me. I would be sore the next day, but it was worth it.

“Ile’Sethak has protected me this long. I don’t know how else I could have survived.”

“Maybe you’re just lucky, Hadrian.” Straden smirked and crossed his arms as he teased me playfully.

Octavian stood me up and put my arm over him. “Come on, my lord. We need to get you back to camp.”

As we were about to leave though, Something popped out of the water. It was the albino hatchling. It saw me and went towards me. Straden pulled out his weapon.

“Here comes a little one! I’ll take care of it quickly!”

“No!” I shouted loudly. Straden paused and the reptilian creature came forward. It looked at me as if I was hurt and showed…affection to me. It attempted to jump up on me. It knocked me and Octavian down. Octavian was about to strike first when I stopped him.

The creature laid its head on me and looked me in the eyes with its own bright red orbs. I’ll admit, there was a connection there. The creature continued to look at me. I reached my hand over to pet it, and it cooed, making the same noise as before. Now that it's true mother was far enough away, the call wouldn’t register, especially under water. I stood up and the hatchling looked up at me in a way that reminded me of a puppy dog.

“Well, little one. You’re very friendly, aren't you?” I said to the hatchling as I pet her head. The reptile made more cooing noises. I smiled and then looked back at the water. It suddenly dawned on me. I had been given a rare gift. I had one of those great reptiles in my possession as an ally. I patted the lizard on the back of its head and smiled. While I would still plan on killing the great lizard, this hatchling would prove to be quite the boon.