Kaden stepped through the FarPortal and blinked, blinded, while his lungs struggled to draw a breath. The sunlight was brilliant, the air thick and muggy, the heat oppressive as he stepped down from the FarPortal mound. Vines hung thick from low trees, and heavy underbrush concealed a myriad of wildlife.
“There he is!” A woman shouted.
Kaden blinked until he could see the form of Ydra Cain, the [Druid] of the Southern Ilse. When he’d first gone to visit her, he was sure she was trying to seduce him, wearing very little to cover skin turned deep brown by decades of sun. Common sense soon taught him that life in the Southern Isles wasn’t friendly to heavy armor, cloaks, or most clothing. “Ydra. How are my monsters?”
“Doing well!” she waved for him to follow, as Kaden stored his armor in Inventory. The Needful Cloak was busy rebuilding itself, and Kaden sprinted barefoot through the sandy soil to follow Ydra across the island, then swam a narrow river. The Southern Isles numbered in the thousands, each separated by small inlets no more than thirty feet deep.
Many had rope bridges between them, and Kaden sprinted along these, the path familiar.
Up ahead, Ydra stopped under the tree canopy. She wore a loose loin cloth and a wrap on her chest, but didn’t even carry a weapon. Then again, as a level seventy five druid, she had animal servants everywhere. “Please?”
Kaden drew a rusted key from Inventory, a key two feet long and heavily corroded. He focused on it. The air ahead shimmered, and a new island snapped into view where it hadn’t been a second before. “After you.”
Ydra dove into the water, swimming across ahead, while Kaden took a passing moment to [Soul Bind] and release a new kind of snake, one that froze the water as it slithered. He emerged from the water with the snake following along behind him, and immediately focused on the key again.
You have closed this island.
“That’s an [Glacial Snake],” Ydra said. “They don’t belong here. I’ve seen poacher teams trying to get onto this island for weeks, and I bet they were using it as bait.”
The snake slithered forward, into the brush—and the brush exploded as two TriTerrors no taller than Kaden’s waist burst forward. One TriTerror was bright green, the other bluer than the sea, but they used their three heads to wallop, poison and rip the [Glacial Snake] to shreds.
Kaden carefully [Soul Bound] and released each before approaching. “They’ve doubled in size. Trinity was only twice this height when I first met her. Well, actually, when I first met her, she was a [Ruby Hydra.]”
“These things eat [Ruby Hydras.]” Ydra said. “In fact, they eat everything. The blues will freeze the water for reds to attack eels. Yesterday I caught a green regrowing heads to keep a [Vorpal Fox] busy while two reds ambushed it.”
That was a little worrisome. “Are they going to take over the islands?”
“I don’t think so. When they first arrived, they’d roam as a single pack. The larger they get, the less they work together and I suspect the adults will be solitary if they’re not mating.” Ydra bent over and ran her hand down a TriTerror’s back. “And they drag fish back to the volcanic vents and leave them there to steam.”
That, too, made sense. Trinity had [Cooking] and had a special title, [Mother of Monsters], which meant her brood had her talents and skills. “How long do you think until these reproduce?”
“Ten years or so. We had a few [Prophets] look into it and while they’re all nut-jobs, it’s almost certain they lay eggs in a decade. We’ve already had reports of them spawning as monsters in the Surge Wave.”
The surge wave was now weak, but as it passed over, monsters spawned more fiercely. Kaden—and the rest of the world—were still waiting to see if a true Monster Surge would return. Right now, he had business.
Kaden followed the pull on his soul, moving inland through the dense jungle. A few poisonous snakes contributed to the effort to grow his resistances, a few Cerulean TriTerrors contributed to his attempts to remove snakes, but this island really only had one boss monster.
He pushed aside vines and stepped into a clearing where the sun broke through, highlighting Trinity. His TriTerror dozed in the sun, only her armored head awake, but the moment she saw him she rose and sprinted forward, giving a trumpeting cry with her snake head that [Beast Soul] turned into *Oh, thank goodness.*
She slowed as she reached him and wrapped her necks around Kaden to hug him against her thick center head, which was still blind.
“It’s ok, girl. Your brood are everywhere. And they’re so large!” Kaden scratched under each of her chins as she nuzzled him, careful to keep her razor scales flat. Then her middle head growled in a way that went on and on. The translation wasn’t exact, but Kaden understood it as *I had such great plans. This one would be an architect, that one a doctor. Now, some days if none of my children ate any of my other children, it’s a victory.*
“There’s been a few deaths,” Ydra said.
Trinity’s snake head whipped around to look at her, then returned to bumping Kaden in the chest to get petted. Yes, he could tell, Trinity knew about the deaths. They were unavoidable. Children had to grow strong. Children had to eat things and this world had teeth and claws and often objected to being eaten.
“Mother of Monsters, it’s time. Time for you to let your brood be free,” Ydra said. “They won’t all survive. But some of them will. And this island will always be yours, if you want to return to lay eggs.”
Trinity’s armored head answered, a grinding sound like rocks crushing each other that Beast Soul translated as *We all become mothers too early. I mean, I know I should leave my eggs to hatch in the sand, but it’s easier said than done. You’ll understand when you leave your own newborn in the sand to fend for itself.* Then all three heads focused on Kaden.
He understood the want. The desire. And pulled on the silver cord in his soul that bound them together, pulling her into his soul where she could at last rest. “I want to keep this island locked down. I know there are poachers hunting them, this place should be safe.”
“Agreed. Did you get the report on the Burning Dream Queen? She slaughtered the nest that raised her and moved deeper into the volcano. She’s been hunting there and has three eggs we think will be workers.” As Ydra spoke, she led the way through the jungle. The vines and plants moved for her.
At the islands edge, they tromped down into the canal separating islands.
Kaden stopped, because touching the sea always brought a moment of awareness.
Oceanus, the Sea Dragon, was out there, and each time he came into contact, Oceanus briefly turned his attention to Kaden. It was like an electric shock down Kaden’s spine. He plunged in and swam across, emerging with a pair of fish he stuffed into Inventory. “Thank you. I’m so grateful you gave the TriTerrors a place to start.”
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
“Nature’s daughter blessed them. How could I not?” Ydra asked. “Where are you off to? Going to see Olidar? You know he talks about you all the time.”
Kaden shook his head. “I’m headed to the Iron Gear Empire soon.”
“You’re not a [Druid] so keep in mind, that whole place feels like I got stung by a [Dagger Wasp]. Druids can sense the earth, but not the empire. It’s cut off. Did, by any chance, Memonar give you a Faction Quest?” Ydra’s tone said she was really hoping the answer was yes.
You have completed the Quest - A Most Mysterious Beast
“I’ve got more faction quests than I can keep track of. If we don’t do three a week, the Guild Administrator gets upset and I get a migraine. A literal migraine.” In the last two months Kaden had become an expert at scanning the Faction Quests, accepting fast ones, rejecting the long-haul quests and using the gap to for Party Quests.
The ever growing list of missing Quest Reports was a different problem.
The head of a boss monster was a report, as far as he was concerned. Or the liver, if the head held a crafting material. Kaden declined a dungeon run that would take five days and leave him behind, then accepted an escort quest from the Externi. Who were they? What was their view on how the world should be run? Kaden didn’t know or care, but the escort mission would take eight hours and leave them space to relax, heal, recover, or plot. “What does the Arch Druid want? Doesn’t he have dozens of [Druids] of every level?”
“We can speak to beasts but only those who have a form of speech. There’s a type of monkey we can’t talk to and they’re disappearing, and we don’t know why. The Quest is to find out who’s been taking the [Crystaline Capuchins]. My lover is in charge of their territory.” Ydra paused. Waiting. Prompting.
Kaden’s [Negotiation] skill had grown in the last two months and it prompted him to bargain here. Not for greater rewards. “Have one waiting for me. Have it near a FarPortal. I’ll swing past and see what it says—if it says anything. If it doesn’t say anything, no reward.”
“I can make him make that happen. Poachers are going to get the TriTerrors. The further they branch out the less I can protect them.” She drew a sack from Inventory. “These are the ones I took from the poachers I caught.”
Kaden couldn’t help shiering. “Why can’t we resurrect them?”
“They’re beasts, they accept that death is a part of the natural cycle and move on more or less instantly. With no soul, you’d create an empty body that just cries out for something—anything—to take control. There are entities who wait. Entities who hope for just that.” Ydra shook her head. “Beasts that are gone, are gone.”
That’s why Kaden kept most of his soul-bound, even those he couldn’t store in his soul. Speaking of which, he summoned Vip, because the small gray dog adored Ydra. Vip adored everyone who returned the favor. Vip danced along the shoreline, walking on hind leggs and hopping until Ydra clapped and petted her. “I’ll expect a bird from you when those [Crystaline Capuchins] are ready. If you get a line on who is poaching the TriTerrors, let me know. I’ll make an example of them. I know at least one place that will be hunting them, and I’ll use these corpses to deal with them.”
Kaden dispatched the [FalCrow] and waited as the FarPortal burst into existence. There was so much he wanted to do, so much he had to do, and so few hours to do it. He stepped through and emerged at the Holding.
It was dark, and monsters moved just past the border but right now, he wasn’t going to waste time killing weak night spawn. Sleep was a necessity, even in the second tier. Eve was already in bed. Sara—Sara! Kaden sprinted toward the farmhouse and threw open the door.
The fire crackled, and on the couch, Sara Scylla rested, staring at the flames.
Vip exploded forward to leap into her lap, and Trinity sucked in her ribs, pivoted, and worked back and forth until she could squeeze through the doorway and lay longways behind the couch.
“Sara?” Kaden called softly.
She’d shaved her hair, short and spikey, and what remained was sticky with black goo.
Her metalic green armor with the scale patterns was scarred and repaired with gold that reflected firelight where it lay near the fireplace. Her swords lay near them not even sheathed, and an array of loot and papers looked like a hurricane had come through.
Kaden approached quietly, taking a seat beside her. “I’m glad you survived.”
She didn’t answer, as tears rolled silently down her cheeks. Her Horror’s psuedopods licked them from her chin before they could fall, but even the entity from beyond this universe lay quiet. Sara took his hand and gripped it tightly. Hours passed before she spoke. “Where is everyone?”
“Ashi is either in Trunistan or Vichor. We found the hide for her spellbook. Eve is asleep upstairs. Trella still hasn’t come back from ShadowVale.” Kaden tried to shoo away a pair of messenger birds, both of them asking for help with a Dungeon Break.
Sara sat up and stared at him. “Oh. Party Leader. When did that happen?”
“When you accepted the Trial of the Strong. Don’t worry, you can have the title back. I hate the Guild Administrator. I hate the petty juggling of Faction quests. I hate the back and forth to increase what they’re offering. I hate the headache when I don’t take enough quests.” Kaden couldn’t help the frustration that leaked out.
“Not to worry, that all ends tomorrow. Wait, what do you mean, back and forth?”
Kaden brought up the Quest interface. “The box where they offer. Focus on it, change the value, send it off. I’ve been driving Asmodius up for months. You knew that, right?”
Sara didn’t answer. “Yes. Yes, of course I did. What have you been doing? The quests look all wrong. We shouldn’t have this many Faction Quests completed. We shouldn’t have this many quests completed. It’s been months. How did you even handle this?”
As the fire burned lower, Kaden explained about his unwanted promotion. About the migraines which could only be controlled by keeping the Faction Quests under control.
Sara’s eyes narrowed with every moment. “Tomorrow, I promise. In fact, why don’t we go now?”
Kaden’s exhaustion disapeared with the promise of freedom. “Now sounds good. Vip, go sleep with Eve. Trinity, stay here.”
Sara’s actual outfit reminded Kaden of a commoner, loose grey pants, a long sleeved shirt with heavy loops where the belt should have been, and she wore soft leather moccasins rather than hard boots.
Together, they headed straight to the Guild. Emerging on the second floor was like getting punched in the nose by the smell of beer and sweat and smoke and blood, as the Guild hummed with activity tonight.
Sara stepped off the FarPortal and lightly slid down the stairs to the ground floor and the Quest Brokers who stood at the entrance, always looking for people to take their quests. “You. Or you. I don’t care, any of you will do.”
Kaden waved to his favorite Quest Broker, a thin young man with a near skeletal appearance and wispy brown hair and a bald spot. “Parnic? Can you help Sara?”
Sara snapped her fingers. “I’m invoking section twelve for Kaden Birch, myself, Sara Scylla, Trella Sonos, Ashi Rahm, Evelyn Black, and Wren North.”
“Section twelve.” Parnic spoke it like a ghost. “It hasn’t…oh. You’ll be converting?”
“We will.” Sara tapped the desk. “I’m not leaving until it’s done. Five Gold or five years. Do you know what passed four weeks, three days ago?”
Kaden slowly did the math.
Without warning, the Quest Counters dropped away. The Faction Quest list turned gray just like the normal Quest queue.
Sara Scylla requests leadership of the Party. [Y/N]?
Sara Scylla has resumed control of the Party.
You have been demoted.
You have failed multiple quests.
Kaden couldn’t help the sigh of relief. “How did you do that?’
“It’s subjective time. I’ve never known anyone crazy enough to spend five years in a dungeon but technically one could. Now we don’t owe the Guild anything. Now we’re free to do the quests that make sense without worry.” Sara put an arm around his waist. “Thank you. We could trade off if you want to.”
“Never.” Kaden had had a taste of power and it tasted disgusting. Someone else could have the title and the choices and the responsibilities. Kaden would take the loot, experience and gold. “I have a quest I need to do with the [Druids], but it shouldn’t take long.”
“I’ve left your Quest interface enabled. Flag it for me when it comes up.” Sara said. “You have twelve private quests. And…Kaden Birch, how many quest reports have you filed?”
Kaden sighed. “Did I tell you I kept your pet party employed? Annika? She’s been sweeping the town for us every week. Killing grahts, the occasional imp, demon spider, that sort of thing. Last week, I filled Neganta’s Larder with Ratmen (and women) and left them a real surprise.”
“Kaden.” Sara wasn’t asking for his attention. It was a statement, probably of how much of a genius he was. “They have a Quest Report due tomorrow. I’ll handle it personally. I’ll reward them personally.”
She headed for the FarPortal with a grip on Kaden’s arm.
While they waited, Kaiden asked the question he’d been wondering. “Did you pass the trial?”
“There is no passing the Lesson of The Strong,” Sara said. “I made money. I honed my profession. I accomplished five hidden quests, put three levels in my optional [Swordsman] class and gained skills. But there is no passing.”
Kaden considered what the Guild administrator had said. It would change Sara if she was strong, and break her regardless. “Do you want to tell me about it?”
“Yes. Not yet. But yes. Know this. I hate the Demoni. I would send a thousand cultists on to final judgement and sleep peacefully. But however much I hate the Demoni, I hate the Mercari more.”