Don's heart banged against his ribs like it was trying to break free. He couldn't do anything but stare at the implacable circle of black water until he nearly jumped out of his skin as a slew of notifications cascaded down in front of him.

AGI: 11 --> 12 END: 13 --> 14 CON: 18 --> 19 Fatigue: 1 --> 3 +6 EXP

Don couldn't care less about any notifications now and dismissed them with a thought but they did manage to unfreeze him. Don crawled over to the tunnel leading out of the entrance chamber. That monster might break its way into this room, but there was no way it could fit through these tunnels. Cel finished coughing up water from all fours and glared at Don.

"A little warning next time would be nice."

Don spun to face her.

And what about you? I thought you knew about this place. Why didn't you tell me about the Giant Freaking Monsters?

"I don't know every specific biome! That would be crazy. I just know how the game works, I'm not some uber-nerd who memorized the map of every world. This place is just a test world anyways. Its details haven't even been made public so how could I know the layout?" Cel squeezed her hair and a couple of shining drops fell to the stone. She tried to flatten it again but didn't put too much effort into it. Her tunic seemed to repel water but the rest of her was soaked and she began to shiver uncontrollably. She followed Don, arms crossed and shoulders hunched against the cold, looking more like a drowned rat than a fairy. 

Cel was back to calling this a game. Don knew one thing, that monster had not been playing around. Don had no doubt that it would have had no trouble tearing him to pieces if he was caught. The memory of those yellowed tusks, spraying spittle as it roared at him made another tremor rack Don's body. Don barely made it a few feet into the tunnel before he had to stop for rest. He shouldn't be this tired. He tapped into his awareness of his Status to see what the problem was. 

HP: 22/95 SP: 4/70 MP: 36/40 (50)

Active Effects:

Sleep Deprivation (Rank 2/5): -20% to Mental Attributes

Fatigue (Rank 3/5): -30% to Physical Attributes

Thirst (Rank 1/5): -20% Mana Regeneration

Don's Fatigue had jumped two full ranks during his desperate flight through the jungle. It was now taking a serious toll on his strength and agility. Cel was right, again. Though the potion had given him the energy to keep moving, it had pretty nasty side effects. Still, Don would have been caught without it so he wasn't about to complain. His thirst and sleep deprivation conspired to stunt his mana regeneration but Don was not about to go back to the water right now. He didn't really need mana at the moment anyway. His Attributes clearly showcased his current weakness.

STR: 9 (13)

CON: 19

INT: 8 (10)

DEX: 10

AGI: 8 (12)

END: 14

WIS: 9 (11)

With his Fatigue, his STR and AGI were lower than he had ever seen them. To make matters worse, his CON had increased. Don now felt more than twice as heavy as normal. At least his CON and END didn't take a hit, meaning that he would still have a decent pool of stamina to draw on. Don was tempted to fall asleep right there in the stone passage but he was still too close to the entrance for comfort.

As Don lay there, in the dark, panting for the umpteenth time, he felt there was something important he was forgetting but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He let the feeling go, he would either remember or he wouldn't.

Even with Cel walking to keep her glow under control, Don was able to see new details about the tunnels. There were carvings along the walls. Parallel lines that curved and swooped in tandem decorated each wall. Patterns rarely repeated but the whole seemed to meld together into a single cohesive piece. Don couldn't see any use for them but they had the feel of an intentional design.

When Don had enough stamina to keep moving he slowly pulled himself along the tunnel until he reached the first intersection. Kat was hunkered down there, Bulbous eyes focused on the tunnel, unblinking. His nose and tail twitched but the rest of him was still as stone. 

"Follow," He said in a grim tone before turning down the left passage without any further ceremony. 

Don obeyed. Kat had probably just saved his life after all. He still needed a few rests to make it to the cooking round but with his improved CON and without a hunger debuff eating at him, Don regenerated an SP every 3.16 seconds. He distracted himself by marveling at his amazing timekeeping accuracy once again but as they got close to their destination, something else distracted him.

The frantic squeaking and scrabbling from dozens of small monsters spilled down Don's tunnel. When he finally arrived, he was greeted by a scene of chaos. Panicked monsters crawled over themselves, alternately huddling together for comfort and spooking each other. They jostled Grey as she worked with the fire pit. This was clearly different from feeding time and Don soon discovered why.

A heavy thud sounded from the Dome above them. Soot and dust rained down on the monsters only increasing their panic. Don heard loud snuffling from the cracks above before a bone-shaking roar and earth-shattering thud. Some of the cracks in the dome grew fractionally and the ColoColo entered a new stage of fevered panic. 

Don cringed and covered his head instinctually but the roof held. Unlike the other ColoColo, Kat was content to crouch in the entrance to the round rather than jumping into the roiling pile of his nestmates. Don stayed with him, it seemed less likely to collapse. Without realizing it, Don even inched back a little. 

The monster pounded on the dome twice more, screaming with blind rage all the while. Each impact sent the scurrying forms into greater and greater conniptions. Grey finally got the fire going and Don shrank back a little further. She calmly coaxed the flame to life while surrounded by panic and rage. She used her staff to pull down a few plants and tossed them into the fire. 

The reaction was immediate and violent. The ColoColo swarmed to the walls of the round in small groups or squeezed, wriggled and scratched their way past Don into the tunnels. The remaining ColoColo huddled together and covered their noses while the fire produced thick gouts of purplish-black smoke. 

The fumes reached Don and he gagged. The reaction of the monster above was even greater. The angry roaring gave way to grunts and whines which faded quickly into the distance. 

Grey doused the flames with a gourd of water after wetting a rag to hold over her face. The round was suddenly very still. The groups of ColoColo that remained in tight huddles only shivered slightly while they used each other's bodies to block out the smell as best they could. Much of the smoke lingered in the round, filling it with a pungent stink that made Don feel light-headed. Just before it could convince Don to find somewhere else to sleep, Kat moved into the dome and signaled Don to follow. He hopped up to Grey but there was no spring in his steps.

Don followed and Grey sat, watching them approach and looking exhausted. 

"What happened?" She squeaked to Kat

"His trail was easy enough to follow but by the time I tracked him down, he was already in a Saween tree," Kat explained. Grey nodded with understanding.

"You did well to bring him back then." She complemented Kat before turning on Don. He didn't see the staff move but it cracked against his skull very hard. "Bad hatchling" she admonished Don while knocking off a couple of his HP. 

"Why did you leave alone and without permission?" She demanded. Don tried to explain how he was chased out by Sik and his exit was completely by accident but Grey was unimpressed.

"Then you should have come back inside." She smacked Don again. "Your actions put the entire nest in danger. You are a hatchling. You are slow, weak, and inexperienced. You need elders to show you the way. Don't even think about going back outside until I give you my express permission."

Despite his embarrassment, Don agreed with her. He had no idea how dangerous it was outside the refuge and there was no denying that the monster attacked the dome because Don had led it straight to the ColoColo. Granted Kat was the one guiding Don but he didn't want to think about what would have happened without his help.

"I am sorry," Don said as sincerely as he could. He lowered his head to the stone. "You healed me, fed me and I've done nothing but cause trouble for you." His eyes were tearing up but that could have easily been due to the lingering smoke. It was clearing away fast but the smell clung to every surface it touched, including the insides of Don's nose.

"I thought I could find food and bring it back here. I did find some actually" Don continued. Grey put up a hand and Don stopped making excuses. 

"Your intentions don't matter now. Only the results matter. Make no mistake, these results were disastrous. I won't be able to keep your involvement a secret. Some of the children were already suspicious of you and this misadventure will not endear you to them." Grey sighed. She looked deflated, worn thin.

"But you scared it off with that smoke." Don pointed out trying to cheer her up.

"Yes, but it will only keep them away for a short time. They are very territorial and do not like sharing their fruit. You delivered the worst possible insult to them. They will hunt you now. I will have to keep burning SkunkWeed every day. Your nestmates are not going to like that. You just gave them another reason to force you out of the refuge." Grey shook her head sadly. Don teetered on the edge of asking his next question but he had to know.

"Why do you want me here?" It was clear that Don was more trouble than he was worth. By all rights, Grey should have exiled him rather than healing him on that first night. She had a duty to her subordinates so why was she letting them suffer on account of a bumbling stranger?

"Hope" Kat squeaked. Don looked to him in confusion. Grey looked at him sternly but Kat met her one good eye. "If he is going to help us he has to know." After a few seconds of the standoff, Grey gave in. She took a few seconds to visibly collect herself before speaking.

"I've already told you that we are the last of the ColoColo and this is just a refuge. What I didn't tell you is how we ended up like this. The ColoColo roamed these lands for many generations. We revered our ancestors, respected our elders, built upon their successes and learned from their failures. We forged alliances and mastered technologies which are nothing more than myth now." Grey stopped speaking, lapsing into memory for a few seconds before continuing. "Then they came, during the day, like cowards. The ColoColo fought bravely, defending our home but it was no use. Our defenses were shattered and the ColoColo, destroyed. I hatched wrong," She scratched under her milky eye "I could not fight so I was tasked with taking the hatchlings to the secret refuge. I was supposed to keep them safe until the fighting was over. We have been here for 6 years now." Grey paused again, gathering her thoughts.

"If the ColoColo could not win with all their defenses and weapons, the children here stand no chance, but you are something new. You are weak now but I sense great potential in you. Enough that I dare hope that you can help us drive them away in the future. It is a faint hope but it is more than I have felt in years."

INT: 10 --> 11

 Don waved away the prompt. He was far more interested in the story unfolding before him. 

"You're crazy," he said flatly. It wasn't that he doubted her story, just her judgment. "You want me to fight those giants? They'll turn me into paste! I could hardly run away from one with Kat's help! There's no way I'm going to intentionally run into one of those things again!"

Grey nodded. It seemed she agreed with him.

"It is a faint hope," She admitted. "But look around you, what future is there for the children here if you do not help us. You admit your debt to us freely but won't even attempt to repay it?" Grey challenged.

"I'll repay the food and potions you gave me but I'm not a fighter." Don objected. Grey poked him in the chest with her staff.

"You lack ambition" She accused "Are you happy living in these small caves? Will you stay here forever? What will you do when they finally break the Domes? Live in the tunnels? What will you do if the tunnels flood? Think hatchling. I hope you will save us but in doing so you would also be saving yourself."

That took don by surprise. He had yet to think of his own conditions. He had only been thinking about his obligations up till now. These caves were safe, or that's what he thought until today, but they were far from ideal. It would be very nice to live in a place with proper lighting where he could actually stand up. Something softer than stone might be welcome too. But he still couldn't imagine himself driving off those beasts. He shuddered involuntarily. Cel took the break in the conversation to ask a question.

"What is it saying?" 

Don looked at her quizzically. 

You can't hear them?

"Sure I can, but they're monsters. All I hear is squeaking."

Can't you understand me when I speak?

"Yeah but that's because of our soul-bond. You understand these little guys because Demons are a kind of monster nobility. All the monster languages descend from the demonic root language. Get to translating already."

Don looked back at grey. She seemed content to let Don mull over her revelation.

They want me to fight for them.

"Really? That's great!" Cel exclaimed.

No, it isn't! Don countered They expect me to fight those giant creatures!

"That means they're offering you a quest stupid. Just accept it already!" Cel was suddenly giddy with excitement. Don felt nauseous. 

These quests are nothing but trouble, why would I want another one?

"They only seem that way because you haven't completed any of them yet. Trust me, quests are a good thing."

It was becoming clear that Cel wasn't as knowledgeable as she thought she was. Don wasn't sure what to do. He looked up at the cracked ceiling while mulling over his equally terrible options. Stay here and wait for the giants to break in, or go out and take the fight to them. It seemed laughable, but it was also actionable. Don couldn't exactly hide in the caves forever. He still needed food and he couldn't just rely on the tribe to provide it for him. He would have another run-in with the giants eventually. It was only a question of whether he was prepared for the inevitable conflict or whether he would be caught in the open and ripped apart. If he was already in conflict with them, there was no reason that his misfortune couldn't benefit the tribe of refugee children. Don sighed, he was going to regret this.

"Okay, I'll try"