After thinking about her situation for a bit, Quinn decided it was best not to remain passive. First thing first: food. The way she saw it, she actually wasn't out of luck here. There were a couple of places she could look, but her best bet was to go fishing or head to the half-flooded citadel. Fishing was an obvious issue since she wasn't sure what was below the dark depths. And she didn't have a fishing pole. The citadel was an issue for a similar reason. Anything could be settled in its dark hallways. That being said, the citadel was still better since it potentially offered a wide variety of tools and supplies. Another issue arose, however. She was an incredibly poor swimmer. The chances of her getting over there in a speedy manner were about as low as her chances of surviving an attack from some deep-sea horror.
Quinn shook herself and limped out onto the black sand beach. As her bandage-coated foot sank into the sand, she realized two things. One, walking on sand with just a bandage wrap was highly uncomfortable. Two, walking around a place without careful observation was a terrible idea, no matter the circumstances. For instance, she should’ve noticed the small mound of sand right in front of her. A mound that should’ve been smoothed out by the constant tide.
Immediately a burst of dark sand sprayed into the air as a creature blasted out of the ground. She barely had enough time to see it was some kind of dark crab before she launched her body out of the way in a tight roll, causing a gasp of breath to leave her as her previous partially healed wounds tensed. The initial plan was to roll across the ground and then spring back up, but rolling on the sand was difficult even with a working foot. Instead, her body just flopped off to the side and she got half up onto her knees.
Quinn was quick, or at least as fast as she could go, standing up and facing the crab. The long moments her botched dodge took, however, allowed the crab to stead itself and turn to face her. For a moment, there was peace as the two sides watched each other. It was the calm before the storm, at least externally. Internally, her insides were quivering with adrenaline as it poured through her body in droves.
The crab was entirely black and about the size of a large dog. Nasty-looking claws were held aloft in front of the creature as if to protect itself. They were covered in sharp knobs and large enough to twist someone’s head off. Almost the entirety of its oval body was covered in dark, spiky chitin except for the small gaps for its joints and a slot where its eyes sat. The light, although faint this far from the vines, reflected off its beady eyes as it stared her down. It seemed to be in a similar situation of assessing her.
The lost adventurer steadied her breathing and tried to think up a plan. She tried to think of the runes to cast Wind Blade, but the exact runes eluded her. The adrenaline hit her brain, causing it to hyperfocus as she tried to figure out what to do. At best, she could remember her tier-one spells. Maybe she could-
The crab broke the stalemate as it pounced forward with one massive claw as if to spear her through. Its eyes radiated pure malice and hunger as it thrust forward toward her. The dim light gleamed off of its chitinous shell as its entire body moved with the attack. It followed along the momentum with several steps toward her.
Quinn squealed and dodged once more. This time, however, she wasn’t fast enough and took a glancing blow from the beast. One of the knobs on its pincher caught her side. The impact didn’t cut her thanks to her shirt, but it did knock her off course and smack her side hard enough to bruise. She tumbled to the side, barely managing to keep upright as she backed up and restabilized her footing on the loose sand.
After a quick analysis, she realized there was little chance of her beating the creature. She had little actual combat experience outside of dodging. The only thing she had going for her was the adrenaline hyperfocusing her mind. Logically she knew to stab at its eyes, its only apparent weak point. The chances of her piercing its thick shell were not exactly high. The creature also seemed to understand this logic and held one claw in front of its face even as it took another swipe.
Since she was further away, she had more time to dodge the blow. She ignored the throbbing in her ankle as it tensed up, instead focusing on her movement as she half jumped to the side of the claw. It was a movement she had learned from Willa. Although it was a rough dodge compared to the quiet woman's graceful one, it worked. The claw sailed through empty air as the dark crab took a couple of steps into the black sand.
Quinn took a chance and stabbed with the knife in the general direction of its face. She had no hope of actually making a large impact with her strike. Any attack was better than none though. She knew if she didn’t try something she would end up dead, and that was bad for obvious reasons. There wasn’t a single part of her brain that thought she could survive a battle of endurance with the multi-legged creature.
The attack looked good in her eyes as she put all of her muscle into the stab. A moment of triumph passed through her as she watched the knife fly smoothly towards the crab’s face. That moment was too soon as the crab moved its other claw like a shield. Her knife slid off the side of the chitinous limb and jarred her arm as a chink radiated through the air.
She pulled back, trying to move once more. Her recovery speed was lacking as it hit her squarely in the chest with a backhanded swipe. Her breath was lost immediately as the impact sent her back a foot. She pulled back with a gasp as she tried to refill her lungs. That was definitely going to bruise. She figured it wasn't all bad though. At least the blow had been evenly distributed across her entire chest rather than centralized on one spot.
It couldn’t go on like this. Quinn was bound to lose if she allowed herself to be whittled down by the crab’s attacks. She had very few options, and none of them were particularly good. Her best bet was to use magic, but that opened up a whole nother can of worms. Her brain went into overdrive as she desperately tried to make a plan. And then an idea clicked into her head. It was devious, and it lacked 'honor' but anything was better than dying.
The crab didn't give her a second to question the plan as it punched toward her. She barely managed to dodge and immediately began to cast Breez’s Edge on her knife. The runes formed quickly in a matter of seconds as her weighty mana poured into the ring. Since wind was her attribute, the mana flowed much smoother and quicker than when she tried to cast Sparks on her way down. The magic took effect and her dagger began to shine with the faintest of shimmers.
Quinn then cast Gale. Though not in the normal sense. She cast it on the black sand in front of the crab while dodging backward as it swiped once more. The pounding of her heart caused the runes to shake unstably for the briefest of moments before the magic cast. At the same time as it cast and while the crab was recovering from its attempted attack, she feinted towards its face once more with her dagger. She moved her entire body to sell the act as she lunged forward.
It worked and the crab raised its other claw defensively. She pulled back slightly just in time for Gale to go off. An invisible burst of wind impacted the ground directly in front of the crab. Before the crab could react to the attack, the wind sent a wave of sand all over its face, covering its eyes.
The creature immediately took a step back, but it was too late. Quinn was already close to the beast thanks to her fake attack from earlier. She didn’t even hesitate as she shakily brought forth her dagger and sunk it into the crab’s eye cavity. She felt a squirt of something warm all over her hand and tried not to think about what it was as she twisted the knife deeper in.
A screech erupted from the dark crab’s mouth as it flailed in the moments of its death. Its claw slammed upwards, the blunt side impacting her wrist where she was holding the knife. This had two effects. One, it snapped Quinn’s wrist like a twig, and a hoarse scream escaped her lips. Two, it wrenched the knife embedded into its eye and partly into its brain upward, cutting more into its internals.
The crab collapsed after a bit more flailing, leaving Quinn a whimpering mess as she cradled her broken wrist. She did it. She did it! Her thoughts were going a mile a minute as a thrill of excitement, a thrill similar to a successful hunt, arced through her like a bolt of lightning. It supercharged her thought process as an ecstatic feeling coursed through her addled brain.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Her excitement was brought down as her wrist throbbed in pain. It was a subtle reminder to be more aware of her surroundings, which she did as she leaned closer to the crab. it was better to move first than get caught out by something else. She wasted no time grabbing her blood-soaked knife. She tried not to think too much as she stuck her hand into the squished eye matter nor about the gray chunks coating the business end of her knife.
She initially wanted to immediately bail, but she was just so hungry. And the thing smelled so good. Before she realized it, she had hacked off two massive crab legs. She wanted to cut more bits of it off and grab more. She stopped, however, as a near-silent skittering sound came from further down the dim beach. She didn't stick around to find out what it was and raced off toward the cave.
Her vision cut off once more to the faded and drab way of seeing things as she walked away from the faint light. She spent a solid chunk of time looking up and down the cave before she spotted what she was looking for. About her head height a hundred feet up the cave, a small burrow sat. She carefully peeked into the crawlspace, noting the buildup of cobwebs and dust. Whatever originally used it was long gone. Hopefully.
She tossed her prized possessions up into the small area and then scampered up behind them. A horrifying moment passed through her as she realized she wouldn't be able to climb in thanks to her broken wrist. That moment passed as her foot caught a rock jutting out and she forced herself in. The place was small, just barely large enough for her to sit curled into a ball. She hit the entire area with Cleanse to remove her scent. Once she was safely inside of it, she moved her sagen to block up the entrance with its mottled gray look. It wasn’t ideal, but hopefully the enchantment would convince any wayward creature that nothing was there.
In the hours that followed, Quinn went over the previous fight with the crab over a dozen times as she tried to figure out what could’ve gone better. Of course, she also devoured the crab legs. Raw. It was oddly tasty. Raw meat had never appealed to her before outside of sushi, but she just couldn’t find it in herself to hate the flavor as it burst into her mouth. That, and she was starved from rationing her last couple of pieces of jerky for however long it took to heal the last time.
She cast Compass for the first time since she was dragged down. The ball symbolizing the sun was just rising. It was dawn on the surface, though that mattered little in the depths where the beams of light would never reach. The decision to use the time-keeping magic was intentional, even if it seemed useless. She wanted a concrete idea of her healing capabilities, and Compass would allow her to keep track of how long it took for her wrist to mend itself. This knowledge was of the utmost importance.
The wait was as tortuous as it was boring. And tiring to boot. She didn’t allow herself to sleep as she would lose track of time. Instead, she sat patiently in the little space, keeping her occasional whimpers when an injury throbbed to a minimum as she passed time by thinking about what she should do if a similar situation were to arise. She also tried to decide on more efficient ways of using her mana. Unfortunately, all her ideas were in theory and she wouldn't be able to test them in her small abode.
That was only put on hold twice during her stint in the shallow burrow. Both times occurred when something passed by the blocked-off entrance into her hidey-hole. The first passed with no incident as whatever it was rushed down the tunnel and out onto the beach, according to its heavy footfalls. She had heard it lumbering from way up the cave, so she was prepared and silent when it raced down through the tunnel.
The second was a near thing. She hadn’t even heard something approach and let loose a small groan as she messed with the bandages covering her injuries. In an instant, her sagen was shifting with the breath of some creature. Quinn had gone dead silent in horror as the fabric shifted about. A nauseating scent of unwashed mouth and half-rotted meat flowed into her small space. Bile was beginning to rise and she was sure death was upon her but she was saved by a screech from further down the tunnel. Whatever stood outside her spot disappeared in an instant, leaving her to stoop in fear.
Although it was a long wait, it wasn’t fruitless. Estimating based on Compass, sixteen hours had slowly passed before her wrist completely healed up. At that time, her mana hadn't regenerated at all, which was worrying. She panicked before realizing the weighty substance had flowed directly to her injured wrist and other hurt areas instead of into her heart. Once it arrived it did... something and her body healed at a rapid rate. Quinn wasn’t sure why this was happening, but she was thankful nonetheless. Whatever was causing her mana to heal was a great boon to her, especially considering her current location.
After she was almost all healed up - her ankle still twitched in annoyance on occasion though she thought it was a phantom pain - she took a long sleep. Or at least as long as she could in the cramped conditions. It wasn't the most comfortable bed, but at least she was mostly safe.
Quinn awoke in a shuddering mess as phantom pains wracked her body. In. Out. She forced her breathing to slow down as her heart began to follow along. Once she was calm, or as calm as she could be given the current situation, she packed up her belongings. Carefully peeking out of her spot, she looked up and down the tunnel. Seeing that nothing was around, the ex-scientist hobbled out of her hole. She was hesitant about going back to the ocean area, but it was without a doubt her best chance of escape. Or at least she would have room to attempt to run away there.
And there was that citadel. Maybe someone still lived there and could help her out? It was highly doubtful, but on the off chance there was an escape route… In the end, she slowly walked down the tunnel. She cautiously looked around between every step and kept her eyes peeled even as she walked onto the dimly lit beach. She didn't want to get caught out like last time. She was recovered, physically, but what if something even more dangerous approached?
The crab was gone, which was within her expectations. It had probably been scavenged by some other underground monstrosity. Or maybe the tide snatched the crab’s body. It mattered little to Quinn as she ambled along the beach. She was careful to avoid the slightly raised areas of black sand. She only saw a couple as she walked what felt like a mile around the ocean, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
Nearly nothing of note sat along the black sands other than the mounds and some other, smaller critters that scampered off when they noticed her. The only other mildly interesting objects were a large mass of bones that washed in with the tide. This reinforced the idea swimming would be a bad time After stalking the beach, careful to remain in the hidden embrace of her sagen, she came to a few conclusions. The cavern she inhabited was truly gargantuan. Even walking a mile she saw no end in sight. Surprisingly, looking out across the ocean revealed no end to the monolithic space. Her vision just cut off with the faint foggy air radiating upwards.
She spotted a couple more islands and thick stone pillars supporting the roof, but nothing more intriguing than the half-submerged keep. And no other potential way out. Sure she saw plenty of other caves; the majority of which were noticeably angled further below. The few that looked as though they might lead back up showed signs of recent passage. Namely, fresh blood stains and prints.
It would be rather wise to not get in a fight considering her lack of experience. Though, there was something to be said about learning by doing. Still, killing creatures and critters wasn’t exactly her idea of a fun time, aside from that slight thrill in the air that came with a successful hunt. Surely most people would feel that way though, right? It was like winning a challenging game or something.
Quinn shook those morbid thoughts out of her head as she snuck back to her original cave. The way she saw it, she needed to get to that citadel. The problem lay in the deep waters that surrounded it. Without a doubt, there was some kind of monstrous fish or something living in there. Even if there wasn’t, she still didn’t want to swim over. The constant fog promised a high chance of hyperthermia before she even reached the black stones.
There was just something about deep, dark water that made fear course up and down her spine. She would have to find another way. Her mind churned like the tide until she came up with two potential solutions. The first, fashion a raft of sorts to get over there. The problem with this idea was evident. She had no materials nor any practice in building a boat. The second was marginally better; use magic to cross the dark waters. This also had plenty of problems, though she had an idea.
Her books had shown her a couple of water magics that might come in handy. The first was a spell that forced water to become a platform, allowing a Water Mage to easily stand upon its surface. It was a low-level spell since the mage would have to cast it again to move about. The second was something like a water jet that allowed one to flow through the water like a fish. Both were handy, but she hadn't learned them since she figured she wouldn't be near any large bodies of water.
The biggest issue was her lack of light. This, however, was proved to not be a major problem as she plucked a glowing fruit from one of the many vines stretching down the walls and roof. She was half tempted to eat one, but her more intelligent side decided it was a poor idea. The chances were high the fruit was poisonous considering it was within easy reach and yet nothing had grabbed it off the vine.
She wrapped the fruit tightly in her sagen and then returned to her burrow. Once there, she set up her sagen in a way to block off any chance of light escaping and settled down for a long stint of reading.