I stared at the large blue beetle sitting atop a broad emerald green leaf in the miniature clearing ahead. The many shades of blue that made up the creature's thorax glimmered in a shaft of light that broke through the dense canopy overhead. The beetle beckoned, daring me to step from the safety of the damp swamp and yet I hesitated.

This was the first bug I’d found and it had been an easy thing to do. Not far from the muddy clearing where we’d met the scary clown, we’d come across a large track. Whether it had been made by humans or a large animal I didn’t know but it had led us directly here. The whole thing filled me with unease and for the fourth time, I activated my Blindsense skill.

Like every time before the skill showed me no danger. Even the bug itself didn’t produce any sort of glow meaning it was neither friend nor foe. The lack of any sign of danger did not soothe the discomfort. It was all too easy. The bug was lit by the sun so perfectly. All that was missing was a bunch of surprisingly handy health potions and intensifying music and this would feel like a real game.

Boopzy quietly slipped his tentacles around my throat, pressing close to me as the same trepidation that filled me washed over onto him. I squinted my eyes, the tip of the chunk of charcoal hovering over the page of my notebook that now depicted a near-perfect replica of the bug. I was missing something and I hated it.

“What do you think, Boopzy?” I asked the Tentarat in little more than a whisper.

Boopzy’s tiny rounded ears folded back over his head as he pressed harder against me, making it difficult to see him. The fact that he did not make a sound was answer enough for me though. I loaded a poisoned dart into my crossbow before drawing my sword and slowly backing into the shadow-darkened safety of the deeper swamp.

I was too tired for this. I had the task now and it did not have a timer so there was no need to rush into this. I had at least as long as it would take the Witch of Evermore to finish her concoction. I would head back to the witch’s cabin, settle into my hammock, have a snooze, and come back. Then the danger of collecting these things wouldn’t be so bad. I couldn’t help but smile at my plan right up until I walked face-first into a shimmering wall.

I swore and dropped my sword as I clutched at my bloodied nose. Boopzy squeaked angrily on my shoulder, his tentacles tightening uncomfortably around my throat. With eyes that swam with unwanted dampness, I shoved a finger under his rope-like limbs and yanked. It took three such tugs to get the small beasty to let go.

I pressed my hands against the invisible wall, leaving behind bloody smears from the stream still dripping from my nose. Beyond the wall the clown danced into view, his mouth opened much too wide in a vicious grin as he danced from foot to foot. I snarled as I watched the moronic idiot pause his dance to mime being stuck behind a wall.

I banged my fist on the wall, too angry to flinch at the drum-like boom the action made, and yelled, “You’re a clown, not a mime! You can’t be both. Pick one.”

The clown beamed again, spreading his hands like pretend antlers and waggling them in line with the movement of his exposed tongue. I wanted to punch the idiot in the face but before I could even begin to build a plan the damn clown danced off dragging the chest behind him. Watching him go it occurred to me that the path I had followed to get here was probably one of his.

I waited for the wall to disappear as I gingerly poked at my swollen nose but it never did. It appeared the clown NPC placed here by the Shadow Walkers would not accept me delaying his quest. Did an NPC even have that kind of power? Surely the damn clown wasn’t one of those Forerunners I’d heard so much, or rather so little, about.

Turning back I dipped to retrieve my fallen sword and forced myself to sneak through the bushes rather than stomping out my anger the way I wanted to. Boopzy was trembling on my shoulder. I couldn’t tell if the idea of chasing after lightning bugs was what was frightening him or my righteous anger at the damn clown.

I crept into the place I had been before, using my Blindsense unsuccessfully all over again. The bug still sat atop the leaf, turning in little circles and occasionally spreading the hard casings along its back to flitter its iridescent wings.

I glanced at my crossbow, wishing that the thing would fire a net instead of a bolt. I sighed and scrubbed at my slowly expanding bald patch. No doubt the constant rubbing wasn’t helping that situation but without access to any other vice it was all I had.

“Right, let's do this thing,” I said to Boopzy before rising to my full height with my sword in hand.

The Tentarat shuddered and turned liquid, sliding into my chest pocket with an effortless grace. I just shook my head.

Part of me wanted to just rush on in there and face the unknown danger. It took effort to remind myself that I was a thief and as such should do things a little more sneakily than charging in head first. Not for the first time and certainly not for the last I lamented being forced into a thieving class rather than a warrior one. The Guardians were dicks and I was sure they’d done it on purpose just to make my life, if this could be called that, harder than it needed to be.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

I fingered the amulet dangling around my neck and activated the power it held within. My magicka pool began to drain at an alarming speed. I dashed into the clearing, dodging away from the wavering plants that marked my entrance spot in case the attack I knew was coming aimed in that direction.

Aside from the bug turning in place to waggle its antennae in the direction I had been mere moments before nothing happened. Surely the task couldn’t be this easy?

I crept around the insect and with swift invisible hands, I snatched it from the leaf.

The first warning I got was a crackle that filled the air. The second warming was the intense tingling running up my arms that had every hair standing on end. I Blinked but it wasn’t fast enough so instead of escaping I got to watch the fiasco unfold at a snail's pace. Fun times for me, right?

The crackle turned into a loud pop and from the bug's rear end a bolt of lightning as brilliant and frighteningly powerful as one of Sob’s launched, seeking out a path to the ground. I just wish it hadn’t chosen me.

If it weren't for the resistance I’d built up being constantly shocked by my own damn horse the bolt would have fried my brain. Instead, it brought me to my knees as every muscle I had from my forehead to my toes convulsed. The agony of it centered on my back, traveling along the delicate column with a wild fury that threatened to tear me apart. I wanted so badly to scream just to release some of the pain but my jaw was clamped tight, letting only bubbling spittle pass through my teeth. The gross mess dribbled down my chin and yet I couldn’t feel it. I couldn’t scream. I couldn’t even close my eyes as I stared up at the brilliant beam of sunlight. It was beautiful and serene and yet it stabbed at my eyes like millions of tiny daggers.

When my Blink skill exhausted itself I collapsed face-first onto the ground, my hands refused to unclench and my jaw refused to relax. Breathing was difficult and my heart beat erratically, trying desperately to return to its natural rhythm. The cool mud coating the swamp floor was a soothing balm against my feverish and sweat-soaked skin. I would have laid there forever if it weren’t for the enormous lump on my left-hand side stopping me from lying flat.

I groaned and in short, jolting movements I managed to roll onto my side.

The sound of tearing filled my ears followed by Boopzy’s familiar cry.

Screee!

The best I could do was groan in response. I should have known. I’d sensed the danger and still, despite my attempt at playing the thief, I’d failed to prepare properly. The name of the insect should have given me a decent clue about what it could do. Some scout I was.

I lay for so long the shaft of sunlight abandoned the leaf and crept further away until it was swallowed by the canopy and I was cast again into the shadows. Some might hate the midday darkness but to me, it was as soothing as the mud I lay in. The shadows called to me, welcoming me home. It was a reward from my Goddess, I was sure. The shadows invigorated me and finally, I was able to sit up. I scraped some mud from my stubbled chin before working my jaw, trying to loosen the hard knots that had formed there. I stopped at my task when the stench of roasted flesh filled my nose.

Jerking my arm away I inspected the damage. My convulsing hands had crushed the bug between my fingers. Half in one hand and the rest in the other. My gloves had been torn to shreds, exposing my blackened skin. My eyes flicked upward, seeking out my health bar at the height of my field of vision. Even with my magic resistance and my armor, the bug had chewed up half of the red line. One tiny little bug had done all that with a bolt of lightning from its ass. I shuddered at the thought.

Hissing at the pain in my hands I shoved the pieces of lightning bug into my bum bag, hoping a torn apart insect still counted. Words floated in front of my eyes but despite squinting at them they refused to form a readable pattern. It was just a bunch of lines and curves. I groaned again and let my aching head drop until my chin pressed against my chest.

A cool tentacle wound its way under my chin, giving it a soft upward tug. My movements were sluggish and painful but there was no resisting the Tentarat’s ridiculous strength.

Boopzy rolled around in the mud at my feet. His movements splattered my boots and pants in the oddly fragrant goop. Only his many tentacles kept him from rolling downhill. His body was swollen with the magic trapped inside him. Little flickers of lightning danced between his whiskers. I could only stare at him as the implications slowly crept their way into the puddle that was my brain.

The only reason the bug hadn’t killed me, was because Boopzy had absorbed so much of its power.

“You… you saved me,” I said.

Screee!

I smiled and scooped him up, cuddling the creature to my chest. He flailed and screeched, trying to get away but I held him regardless, forcing my appreciation on him. It didn’t take long for him to give up and stop fighting. I would have held him for even longer if he hadn’t opened his mouth and let out a familiar crackling noise. I dropped him in the mud and scurried away, my breath coming in desperate gasps as I waited for the pain to return. Instead, Boopzy closed his mouth, holding on to his magical treasure.

“Not funny,” I managed.

Boopzy chittered and pushed off with his tentacles, letting the gentle curve of the swamp floor carry him back into the dense shrubbery of the swamp. I followed, first on my knees and then, with the help of a squat tree, on my feet.

I opened my quest menu, forcing my brain to eye the numbers at the bottom of the script of lines and curves. Whatever the words that had flashed up in front of my eyes had tried to say, it was not a quest update. The count remained at zero.

“None down,” I mumbled to myself as I stumbled deeper into the swamp. “Twenty to go.”

In the peripheries of my vision, I saw the clown bent with silent laughter as he pointed a finger in my direction and danced about. When I jerked my head in his direction he was gone, disappearing like a ghost into the shadows.