Kaden’s trust for Trella lay in matters of the heart. He wouldn’t be surprised if her eagerness to gain essence shards had led her to attack first. Still, against any large creatures, his battle plan remained the same. He drew Thorn Caster and sighted on a crab.

[Dungeonesque Crab - Dungeon Monster]

These were regular crabs that wandered into an Ice Mana Domain. Now fortified with ice mana, they are armored and armed with ice. The power of the domain has mutated them, making them agressive, but their reserves of power are minimal.

Beast Knowledge - We met these at the bottom of the Frozen Abyss Dungeon and discovered their claws will literally cut a [Shield] in two. Thought they were made of nothing but ice, but turns out they were as delicious as they were ferocious.

Could he Soul Bind a dungeon’s monsters? He could definitely bind beast ones, but monster varieties were often bound to dungeon that spawned them. Better not to risk it. Part of being a [Beast Master] was understanding that Beasts were guided by their nature and most natures were violent. They were neither good nor evil, but expressions of their nature. And these were once scavengers, now predators.

Kaden sighted on the center crab, drawing a full-strength mana arrow. Before he could loose the arrow, an orange cloud exploded over the gate, enveloping it. The crabs scuttled in three different directions to escape the searing area-of-effect potion.

No time to wait, he unleashed his first arrow at the closest crab, trusting the chrono-mana to deliver the impact three times.

Your weapon’s damage has been rounded up to: 1 point of damage.

You have inflicted poison x3.

Piercing weapons didn’t work, or at least didn’t pierce the way Kaden was using them, but poison was always his lead on large monsters. His attack stopped the crab cold, and now it scanned the night, searching for Kaden.

He used the opportunity to poison another crab, which also rotated to fixate on Kaden. There wouldn’t be time for a third shot, the first crab barreled toward Kaden. Its razor-feet pierced the frozen ground, but now Kaden ran with absolute surety toward the monster. [Moment of Speed] sent him rocketing forward, while [Split Second] let him evade a claw twice as wide as Kaden.

You have been affected by [Frozen Aura].

You are not affected by [Frozen Aura] (Ulfen Armor).

Of course. If the Ulf were truly the predators of this realm, such status effects wouldn’t bother them.

A crash like thunder echoed as the crab’s claws snapped shut above Kaden, throwing a shockwave that crashed into him as he slid under the monster. Before it could react, Kaden picked a leg that looked planted and brought Remembrance across, striking just above where the leg pierced the ground.

Brutal Blows has inflicted a permanent injury.

The leg cracked, and pink ichor gushed from the crack, steaming in the relative warmth of the frozen night. The crab attempted to pivot, unsure where he’d gone, but its broken leg twisted instead of lifting.

“Hey!” Trella’s voice carried. She stood off to the right, just out of claw range. “I don’t have nearly enough lemons and butter, but I’ll make do.”

The monster lunged, snapping a claw on Trella’s Deception.

Kaden used the opportunity she’d bought him to smash a leg on the other side—and then another. Each broke where the frozen ground held firm. If it wasn’t for his Ulfen boots, the gushing ichor would have made standing hard. And speaking of standing, the crab teetered, then scuttled in circles, certain it would find Kaden.

Nowhere on his life-plan did ‘Get eaten by a giant ice-crab’ feature, so Kaden kept moving like a [Match Lizard] who just spotted a slice of bread. His crab paid no attention to the Dark Deceptions which appeared in its path. Its injuries were devastating. It was time to claim another leg, tip the monster, and end it.

Before he could attack, the wounded crab shrieked, and collapsed on top of Kaden, crushing him to the ground. Eight hundred points of crushing damage hurt, even with Kaden’s resistance.

The other wounded crab had attacked them both to get at Kaden. Its wide claw slid back and forth, searching for Kaden. As much as Kaden wanted to lift the wounded crab off him, it was acting as a shrieking, wiggling, bleeding shield against the one that would murder him.

A blue claw the width of his [Eldritch Shield] stabbed forward, snapping shut a hair-width from Kaden’s nose—then withdrew.

Kaden braced and heaved, slipping out from under the crushed crab.

Against the blue glow of the gate, Trella’s outline was pure black. She wielded both [Inkblades], and as the poisoned crab advanced, her Deceptions rose on either side. There had been three crabs, and now Kaden’s attempts to engage [Stealth Aura] said the other was still focused on him.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

“Find me that other crab and make it angry!” Kaden shouted to the Falcrow, which swooped into existence and began to circle. There was no choice, Kaden drew Thorn Caster and stacked poison on Trella’s crab, which was completely unprepared for an enemy it could never focus on.

Trella [Shadow Stepped] underneath it and stabbed at a joint.

Kaden had never seen exactly how Trella’s Dark Deception worked, but as the crab pivoted, a heavy blue glow descended, enveloping Trella. She didn’t freeze in place, but time slowed just as she activated [Dark Deception.] Shadows errupted from her heart, spreading outward, wrapping around Trella as the Deception took her place.

The icey lump in Kaden’s chest wasn’t [Prophecy], just intuition. He poured every point of mana he had into [Moment of Speed] and swung for the leg driving downward at Trella in a race between her Deception, Kaden’s attack, and the spear-leg descending.

Remembrance met the leg an inch above the razor sharp tip and shattered it.

Brutal Blows has inflicted a crippling injury.

Trella’s scream of agony rose above the wind as the splintered shards drove downward through her foot a second before the shadow envoloped it. She snapped out of existence, and Kaden spun for a second hammer strike on the next leg.

Of course, Kaden wasn’t using one of his more powerful abilities—a mistake he corrected, unleasing [Mana Drain]. [Mana Drain] ripped mana from the monster, and with it came a burning sensation in his chest.

You have been afflicted with [Frost].

Frost Points: 99

When Frost Points reach 0, you will be incapacitated.

Kaden used the poisonous mana to dodge the crab’s swipe, and switched tactics, hauling himself up from the ground to ride atop the crab, which turned in circles. Kaden slid down and used the [Levicon Blade] to slice the crab’s eye stalks off, then carved deep into the clacking mandibles and sawed the feeder-legs which waved wildly.

A shadow snapped into existence beside Kaden, transparent and without substance. “She’s wounded but hiding. It’s not worth the risk.”

Kaden drew Remembrance and let his agility compensate for the wild pitches and turns the blind crab took. With every chosen strike, he shattered a knee joint, until the crab collapsed.

“No!” Trella shouted, breaking stealth. “Don’t let it get away!”

The unwounded crab had snatched their first victim. Crabs were scavengers, and its wounded kin were just as worth of being devoured. It dragged the wounded one through the blue gate before Kaden could loose an arrow.

He took out his rage and frustration on the one beneath him, breaking every leg and each claw joint until at last it went limp.

You have defeated a Dungeonesque Crab.

You have received 7x Essence of Frost.

You have gained experience.

Kaden slid down off the crab as Trella came limping out of the shadows. “It’s dead. How many essences do you need for a [Fire Heart] potion?”

“One.” Trella clung to his shoulder.

Kaden took a fragment of shattered leg and handed it to her. “We’ve got a long way to go to get back. Did it hit you with [Frost]?”

Her eyes widened. “No. How bad is it?”

She could study the logs on the way back. “Climb on its back, I’ll drag it to the village.”

The icey snow was no match for Kaden’s [Ulfen Boots], and he began to pull, leaving a trail of pink goo behind. Near dawn, he approached the village, and scout scame running, rousing clan members to come help.

Drokor looked like she’d had her fill of mead, and neither Sara nor Ashi were present, but Eve came running. “What happened to your foot?”

Only now did Kaden get a look. The foot was mangled, broken, smashed and almost disconnected.

“I can heal some of this.” Eve invoked [Life Endowment] and the heavily damaged threads of flesh began to bleed more, then knit together in places. “This isn’t damaged, it’s almost destroyed. Kaden, mana?”

“I can’t.” Kaden shared the logs with her. “It’s a status effect. My guess is it ticks down until I freeze solid.”

“You really are one of us,” Drokor said, her words slurred. “Fire Mana will poison you now. Stay as warm as you can, it will slow the [Frost.]”

Kaden drew the essence from Inventory and passed it to Trella. “We should both rest. There’s no excuse for using an essence shard when you’re not in top condition.”

It felt like he’d swallowed a snowball and a ball of cold rested in his chest. “This is my fault. I tried to [Mana Drain] one of the domain creatures.”

“Speak of fault when you hold a cure,” Drokor said. “You can acquire [Frost] just from being near the domain spawn.”

Kaden picked up Trella and carried her to the groundhouse. She was his lover. His faith was absolute. And with rest, Trella would not only cure him, but have the key to a relationship with the Skan.

###

Kaden flinched as another explosion shook the ground. A cloud of green smoke billowed up from the groundhouse, and a moment later Trella crawled out into the snow. Sores covered her exposed skin, and she lay still as Eve removed the hex and then healed her. “Perhaps a break?”

The first three mistakes Trella took in stride.

Sara had shown up late in the morning, her armor loosely fitted, her smile pleasant, while Ashi seemed both angry and frustrated with all the Resyr, even though it wasn’t possible for all of them to have failed her in bed.

Kaden felt—disconnected. He’d woken with his frost points at 84 and the spears of cold spread through his chest. He watched with disinterest as Trella tried—and failed—over and over.

“I have mana now,” Eve said. “[Frost] is a tier four status effect, but if I ran reduce it, I will.”

“Save your mana,” Kaden said. “We’re going hunting again tonight.”

Eve stared in disbelief. “After what happened? What makes you think that’s a good idea?”

Another explosion rang out, followed by Trella cursing. “I broke an unbreakable flask. This potion is impossible. I can’t possibly heat the ingredients. No matter how gentle the heat, the moment I invert the essence, it explodes. ‘Repeat,’ it says.”

“She’s got a shard of flask stuck through her breast,” Sara said to Eve.

Kaden dipped his head. “Probably ought to heal that.”

“But…” Eve looked back to Kaden. “I’ll take another round of [Life Explosion] on you once she’s good.”

It didn’t matter. Maybe he wasn’t forged from the same material as the Resyr. Many of them had Frost points and functioned perfectly well. Kaden’s enthusiasm, his anger, his fear were blunted, almost non-existent.

Ashi sat beside him on a block of ice, hoving an inch off of it. “I feel it in your soul.”

“Yes.”

“Then let this flow through you.” Ashi drew a mana orb of perfect aqua, clear as crystal. Then she cupped her hands and concentrated.

It wasn’t so much heat as the essence of fire itself. His soul shifted, and Kaden gasped. His Frost points had shifted upward. “What was that?”

“Fire.” Ashi repeated. “I have taken fire mana from your lizard and directed it into your soul. It is not a cure.” She repeated over and over, as his Frost Points ticked upward—then sharply downward, resting at eighty-nine. “That is all I can do for now.”

The strangest part was how Kaden didn’t care.

How he shrugged as Sara ran screaming from the groundhouse, clutching bleeding eye sockets. Tonight, he’d hunt alone.