Luis shoved his oar against a protruding rock as hard as he could, jerking the raft to the side in the same moment as the monstrous claw came crashing down. An enormous fountain of water splashed over them as the attack missed, ploughing into the river beside them instead. His shove had sent them a surprising distance, Luis was still getting used to the enhanced strength that came from his recent level ups.
The near miss was still forceful enough to violently rock the raft, threatening to send them overboard into the turbulent river. He grabbed ahold of Erik, pulling him back before the man toppled over. A moment later, the mist and spray cleared enough for them to get their first good look at the monster.
The creature had a thick, blue-grey shell and a narrow head. Mandibles clacked in front of its mouth, which was surprisingly small for the size of its body. Two large claws flanked its elongated form, preceded by multiple pairs of whiskers that flailed about in all directions. Luis couldn’t see the bottom half of the creature, it was still partially submerged, but he didn't need to.
"Is that a lobster?!" Erik shouted in alarm.
"Yeah, a real fuckin' big one!" Jade shouted back, still trying to paddle them to shore. For all her determination, she lacked the strength to make much progress on her own. She sounded more excited than scared, as if the prospect of being attacked by an enormous crustacean was a grand adventure.
Actually, Luis couldn't entirely disagree with that.
"Keep rowing!" he shouted, dropping his oar and drawing his giant sword. "I'll distract it!"
The giant lobster turned towards them, swimming swiftly through the water in pursuit as the current continued to carry them downstream. The raft bounced off various rocks as they drew near the shore, each one accompanied by an alarming groaning sound that came from the wood under their feet.
The monster didn't bother trying to avoid the rocks, opting to barrel through them as if they weren't there as it closed. Luis swung his sword, launching an arc of crackling force energy that crashed into its armored head and knocked it off course. It floundered, flailing as it tried to right itself.
"Aha!" Luis crowed. "It's not so tough!"
Just then, the raft smashed into a large boulder. The poorly built vessel couldn't take any more abuse. It splintered apart, sending the three of them splashing down into the water. The world suddenly transformed into a chaotic mix of motion, rushing sounds, and bubbles. Luis surfaced with a sputter, clinging onto his sword and trying to get his bearings. They were close to the shore, less than a dozen feet away. He struck out for it, grunting as the current swept him into a rock that banged painfully against his leg.
Fortunately, they'd had the foresight to remove their armor before embarking, so it wasn't too hard to swim the remaining distance to shore, a task that was made all the easier when the rushing water surrounding them suddenly stilled, becoming calm and tranquil.
Luis pulled himself onto the bank with Jade and Erik, the three of them soaked and a little banged up, but otherwise alright. He looked up to see a panting Marie holding out a glowing hand towards the water, channeling a spell. She released it when they were safely out of the water, the current resuming its swift flow in an instant.
"I got my spell to work!" She exclaimed, waving at Erik. "Did you see?!"
"Yeah…" Erik coughed. "Great job."
"We should have brought you with us, too." Luis said, turning to survey the water. The monster had vanished as quickly as it had appeared. "Where'd the lobster go?"
"It went back under the bridge once you were out of the water." Harish said, out of breath from running to keep up with them. He pointed towards the bridge, which was only another fifty yards down the bank.
"Damn." Jade grunted in annoyance, wincing as she got up. "I wanted that experience. I'm close to a level up."
"I just wanted to cook it." Luis said. "Did you see the size of its claws? I bet that thing tastes great."
"How can you be so casual about this?" Erik asked. The young man looked a little shell shocked. "We barely got away!"
Luis and Jade exchanged glances.
"That wasn't so bad."
"We've had it way worse than that, amigo."
"You get used to it." Jade finished.
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Luis wasn't feeling quite as calm as his relaxed demeanor let on. Jade's frontier vigilantism, no matter how justified it had been, had left him troubled. Still, he kept up his usual jokes and good cheer. The group all needed some positivity. So, that's what he gave them.
Following their escape from the killer lobster, the group elected to return to the hut for a mid-afternoon meal, seeing as they had already backtracked almost all the way there. They kept a careful eye on the river in case the beast decided to emerge for a second round, but it seemed content to ignore them now that they were out of the water. They set off again after a short break, this time for the former camp. The journey was uneventful, punctuated by Jade pausing every once in a while to remove the traps that she had set. By the time the sun was starting to drift lower in the sky, they arrived.
Harish, Erik, and Marie all found their starting equipment, plus a few other useful pieces of gear and backups. Harish, it turned out, used a bow, while Erik was happy to get back his saber. He handed Jade back the sword she had lent him with thanks, before moving to help Marie put her armor on.
"I saw the man's body… What happened to him?" Harish asked quietly, finding Luis at the edge of the clearing. He was carefully looking around for any more of the hidden rune traps that Amy had claimed they'd mined their camp site with. They must have begun fading upon her death, however, because few of them were left.
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Before replying to the question, Luis took a few moments to carefully consider an answer. Jade had made it clear that she wanted to conceal her true nature, at least for the moment. He wasn't sure that deceiving potential friends was a good foundation for a relationship, but he would respect her desire.
"Oh, Jade has a drain spell." He said with a casual shrug. "She doesn't use it much, I think it's expensive to cast."
"So, she killed both of them?" he asked, surprised.
"Yeah…" Luis caught sight of Jade and Naomi across the clearing, standing apart from the rest of the group. They were conversing quietly, but it didn't seem to be heated. That made him relax a little.
"She's a little intense, but we're lucky to have her."
"I can see that." He held out his hand to Luis. "I hope we can repay the favor to you, one day. What do you plan to do now?"
Luis shook his hand and shrugged again.
"Probably head to that Labyrinth shop, Jade's been talking about it nonstop since we found the node. After that? Back to making our way to a stairway."
"If it's all the same to you, we'll join you as far as the shop. It can't hurt to stock up on supplies, though I doubt we'll be able to afford much."
"Happy to have you along." He said distractedly, keeping an eye on his two companions.
"We definitely aren’t ready to travel to a more challenging area, though." Harish sighed. "I just hope those kids can adjust."
Across the clearing, Luis watched as Naomi and Jade stepped in close for a hug. He smiled, and this time it was genuine.
"They will. As long as we have each other's backs, things will turn out okay."
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"Jade?"
Jade paused organizing her bag, looking up as Naomi approached. Thinking about finally getting to see what this Labyrinth Shop was all about had put her in a good mood, but now she was on guard. She really wasn't in the mood for a lecture.
"I…" Naomi swallowed. "Wanted to apologize. For earlier."
Jade blinked, unsure of how to respond. That wasn't what she was expecting.
"I was too harsh on you." She continued, clutching her guitar to her chest as if the instrument was giving her courage. "You took all the risk and burden of fighting and… and killing." She managed to get the word out. "I didn't have to do anything, because you handled it all yourself. And even though I knew we didn't have a choice, I still complained about it. You didn't deserve that."
"Naomi…" Jade still didn't know what to say.
"You protected us today. I don't get to benefit from the hard choices you're making and also complain about them." She sighed, her shoulders slumping. "Your powers scare me, Jade. But you're right, we have to use whatever we can to win here. If I feel like you're doing something wrong, I'm going to tell you. But I won't just bitch at you because I'm unhappy with how things turn out."
"If you think I'm making bad decisions, I do want to know." Jade said quietly.
"I can do that." She smiled brightly at her. "Luis and I will help keep your head on straight."
She stepped closer and gave her a hug. Jade accepted it, some of the day's tension bleeding away as she remembered the comfort of friends.
"Thanks." She murmured, surprised to find herself struggling to hold back tears. Jade suddenly felt very vulnerable. She mastered it quickly, composing herself. Naomi didn't rush her, and gave her all the time she needed.
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When they were done gathering everything useful from the camp, including a few hidden pouches of crescent coins that they'd missed earlier, it was time to head out. Much to Jade's dismay, her suggestion of heading directly to the Labyrinth Store was thoroughly outvoted. Everyone was tired and wanted to rest, and the map indicated that the shop was a good couple of hours away on foot.
Instead, they travelled back to the riverside hut, dispatching a small handful of salamander monsters along the way. With seven of them in the group, none of the local monsters posed any real threat, and Jade was content to stay back and let their three temporary companions start getting some battle experience.
Harish and Erik looked to be adapting decently to the trials of the Labyrinth, but Marie still concerned her. The woman simply seemed incapable of harming anything and was utterly terrified of being hurt herself. Fortunately, the low-level spells she possessed were all ranged and support themed, so Jade hoped that she'd be able to grow into a back line role.
They arrived back at the hut as night was falling. In short order the group devised a watch schedule and went to sleep, each of them exhausted from the long day. When the sun rose the next morning, Jade was the first up. She waited impatiently for everyone to get ready, and then led the way towards their destination at the far end of the quadrant.
The Labyrinth Store took several hours of hiking to reach, interspersed with the occasional random monster fight and short breaks. The shop itself turned out to be another freestanding doorway portal, just like the sanctuaries were. Instead of the golden halo that surrounded sanctuary entrances, however, this portal had a shimmering silver border.
Jade reached the door first, opening it to reveal a large room filled with an eclectic mix of item strewn shelves, racks of weapons and armor, and glass cases filled with scrolls and tomes. A light chime sounded as she stepped inside, the floorboards creaking beneath her feet. A pleasant breeze blew in through an open window, refreshing after so many days dealing with the jungle humidity.
She looked around, spotting a counter at the far end of the room that looked like the sort of place a shopkeeper would stand to assist customers. Curious, Jade walked over to it, looking around for any sign of an attendant. Her hand brushed one of the shelves as she squeezed between them, and a purple barrier appeared around the crystals displayed atop it, preventing her from touching them.
"Hello?" She called out, stopping at the unattended counter. An empty chair sat on its other side. There was no response, but she did spy a small door that looked to lead into a back room. A soft 'tink tink' sound was coming from the other side.
"Is anyone there?" Jade called as the rest of the group filtered into the shop, a little louder this time.
A startled grunt from the other room preceded a loud clang, which was followed by a cacophonous crashing noise and heavy WHUMP. Thick, eye watering smoke billowed through the cracked door. Jade stepped away in alarm, covering her mouth as everyone else turned to see what the commotion was.
The door opened to reveal a coughing, sputtering reptilian creature. Its body was covered in blue scales, and it stood on two short legs with a stubby tail that didn't quite reach the ground. Its elongated head turned upward as it regarded Jade with dark, beady eyes.
"Don't distract me when I'm tinkerin'!" The creature yipped in a surprisingly high-pitched voice that didn't at all match its bestial appearance. It waved a tool in her face with a clawed hand, some sort of wrench that was comically large compared to its small frame. "You coulda blown up da shop!"
"Um… Sorry?" Jade said, trying to keep a straight face. She was having a hard time taking the lizard man, his voice sounded masculine, seriously. He was wearing a belt that held several tools equally as large as the wrench, most of which were dragging on the floor behind him as he walked.
"More of da humans from that new world, huh…" He grumbled as he walked over to the counter, climbing up to the chair. They waited while he got situated.
"Where was it…" He grunted, rummaging through a drawer. Jade caught a glimpse of hundreds of folders haphazardly jammed inside. A moment later, the creature pulled out a piece of parchment from a folder simply labelled 'Earth', and held it up, squinting at it. His next words were spoken in a monotone, as he clearly was reading from a script.
"Welcome to da Labyrinth Store. My name is Skraag. What can I help ya with?"
He set down the paper, twisting his toothy mouth into a bizarre, somewhat sinister expression that bared his fangs. For a moment, Jade thought he was threatening them, but then she realized that Skraag was attempting to smile. The expression didn't quite work on his anatomy.
For what felt like the thousandth time, Jade pondered how the hell her life had turned out like this.