All too soon Artemis felt the warmth of the sun on his face waking him from his short and restless sleep. Artemis was weary of this place still, after his run in with the other prisoners last night trust was going to be an issue. He debated staying where he was, but he begrudgingly decided to get up and go to town. If he left his water canteen and brought one of the empty ones it might give him some bargaining power with the others here. He looked around where he had been. It didn’t look much different in the day then it had at night. He did notice that some of the rocks he has been resting against were, in fact, eggs. He decided that hiding his supplies between the eggs would serve him best. He figured most wouldn’t want to tangle with a monster of that size. Being honest Artemis couldn’t believe his half-baked plan had worked to get rid of the creature last night.

“Now no hatching and eating all my supplies alright?” Artemis said softly to the eggs. He grabbed an empty water canteen and headed for the city. It was no more than half hours walk from where he was. If anyone had witnessed him coming from the nest, they would know there was no danger and might come to inspect it. He did one more look around making sure no one was in eyesight of him and hastened his approach to the city.

As he got closer to the large gate, he could hear quite the commotion there was screaming and the sound of bones breaking. Artemis thought there must be a fight at the entrance. Artemis came up to the back of the crowd that was somewhat still in a line and peered over the heads of those in front of him. The guards had encircled three prisoners and were forcing them to fight.

“Some kind of entertainment for them?” Artemis wondered aloud.

“Not just entertainment for ‘em,” the man in front of him said, not bothering to look back. “It’s entertainment for us and the winner usually gets some water.”

Artemis thought it barbaric but useful if he had to fight it wouldn’t be a problem. He noticed a guard standing off to the side taking something from other prisoners in exchange for entrance into the city. Artemis tapped the man on the shoulder again and asked, “what are they doing over there?”

Waving off Artemis’s hand he looked up and over at the guard. “Oh, that's where you go if you got Sunsparks to spare. Most people don’t, on account of how hard it is to come by. Now leave me be.” The man pushed further into the crowd trying to get away from Artemis.

Sunsparks Artemis wondered what they were, Shu’lai had mentioned them as well. He shrugged and decided to go stand on the outside of the crowd and wait out this display. He decided to go over where others were getting in with the use of Sunsparks. As he made his way over to the other side of the crowd one of the men who had run away last night came running. The man got as close to the fight as he could and started screaming at the crowd about a monster he had encountered. It was fast, blended into the dark and attacked without mercy. Artemis knew the man was talking about him but saw no reason to hide as the man had never seen him. The man continued by saying their bodies were gone this morning. All five of his friends' bodies were gone and the one they had killed too. This got the guards attention. Artemis noticed one of the guards standing up, he was a high elf. Everything and everyone seemed to stop as if his presence alone was causing it.

He was grizzly looking for a high elf who, being elves, are more known for their beauty and grace. He was tall even for an elf at least two and a half meters maybe. He walked with a bit of a limp; he had a mechanical leg from the war. It was an old and outdated technology; with the use of magic, he could have his leg back to brand new. He liked it though it reminded him of what he had given up making the elves strong. It also made it so the prisoners wouldn’t mess with him. If the prisoners saw him, they immediately straightened up and stopped acting out. His face was covered in a thick beard, another oddity for a high elf. Most High elves chose not to grow facial hair. There were scars around his one eye. The scars were deep and ached when trouble was coming. He called it his early warning system. His eyes were a terrifying red colour, the colour of fresh blood. They suited him, he was hard after all and didn’t take shit from those under his command. Those who did give him shit, didn’t stay around too long.

“Alright, what is this nonsense about a monster on this island? You’re all monsters in my opinion so what's having one more on here going to do.” Venthal said calmly. He looked over the crowd noticing new faces that stood out to him, seeing some old faces shape up as he looked at them. “More to the point you’re admitting you killed another prisoner.” He grinned at this. “You know the rules you get to keep everything on them, but we need that as proof that they are still on the island. You managed to mess up the only rule I gave you thieving screwups!”

With a quick action he cast a spell that bound the man in place. He stepped up to him and with one foul swoop he took his head. He didn’t blink twice; he calmly used the man's clothes to get the blood off of his sabre.

“Right for those of you who don’t know me and there are a few that I see, I am Venthal. I am the man in charge of this shit hole and so long as there is shit like you to put here, I will remain. I have few rules for you to follow so do as you please kill, steal, rape or whatever your black heart’s desire. Only if you kill someone or steal their things I ask that you bring the guards their bands so we can keep getting paid for them. If that’s too much for you to handle,” Venthal paused, looking down at the man laying at his feet. “You end up like him. If a guard says fight you fight either fight till, they are bored or till one of you dies. If a guard asks you for your stash of Sunsparks you hand them over, we all need a little help sometimes. If you want out of that life, and I think you’re worth a damn I’ll send you to the tower for… rehabilitation and you might just become a guard. If you feel like trying to curry favour with the guard to get water then report on your fellow prisoners, if the intel is good, you get a guaranteed ration of water. Lastly, and most important, there are no prisoners in the city after dark. Simple, those are my rules if you don’t like them then you’re welcome to try swimming back home. HA.”

He turned and sat back down where he had been. Venthal motioned for the fight to resume, and it did.

Artemis noticed how everyone around him began to go back to normal cheering for the fight and ignoring everything else. Artemis noticed this captivating harpy standing there with this boardite who looked meaner than a crazed dog. Standing a few meters away from them he could hear them speaking in hushed voices. They were talking about the price of entry and how it had gone up to 10 sparks a person. And about how they would need at least triple that to afford the equipment. It might be easier to kill a Dragolisk they continued. Artemis heard them say it would be easier if they could find a corps of one and just scavenge the parts themselves.

Artemis wondered if maybe the beast they were describing was the one he had killed last night. Making his way over to them he heard the harpy shush the boarite and stand upright from him. She eyed Artemis up and down. Probably trying to decide what to make of him as he was a Wolfite. That was hard for most to get past. Instinctively he raised his hands as he got closer to show he meant no harm. “Sorry to approach you like this, my name is Artemis. I’m new here and I have a couple questions for you if you don’t mind?”

“Can’t promise we’ll answer you Artemis but feel free to ask.” Suntiana said to him. “Seeing as you introduced yourself, I’ll at least do the same. My name is Suntiana, and this fella is Rothar.”

Artemis lowered his hands. “Most don’t know what to do when a Wolfite approaches them. I overheard your conversation; I wasn’t meaning to eavesdrop I promise. I was wondering what Sunsparks were?” Artemis already had a good Idea though as the guard smelled of that beast's dung. “I was also wondering what a Dragolisk was.”

“Mighty suspicious you are coming over here. I don’t think we should trust ‘I'm Suntiana.” Rothar growled.

“Hush now Rothar. You seem to have us at a disadvantage right now. You know what we are after, but we don’t know why you care.” Suntiana said with a smile. The smile that said I’m done here unless you have something for me.

Artemis pulled out the bag of polished balls he had found on the other prisoners. He thought long and hard about giving it to her in case it really was valuable. Artemis decided the information was worth the risk and tossed it at her. She looked in the bag and smiled. A different kind of smile this time, this one said I’m in. In the bag were sixty Sunsparks. Enough to get them everything they needed.

“I wanted to know what the beast was because last night I had a run-in with a foul beast. I made my temporary shelter in its nest. The nest was surrounded with its shit, and it smelled a lot like these things. If you want, I can take you to it.”

He gestured for them to follow him. Rothar was clearly against it but Suntiana, being curious about all this, began to follow, leaving Rothar no choice but to come along as well.

Artemis led them back to his temporary home. Once there both Suntiana and Rothar’s expressions changed dramatically. They saw the eggs, and all the supplies and had to do a double take to be sure they weren’t dreaming. The eggs could feed their people for months, the water and clothing could last them half a year at least. Rothar looked at Suntiana and motioned to them and then to Artemis who had his back to them for the time being. Suntiana seemed to know Rothar meant to rob him. She shook her head no, realizing he could very well be the one who disposed of the other prisoners last night. Rothar grunted in disapproval.

“We should get out of here before the Dragolisk comes back.” Rothar said, looking around cautiously.

“It won't be coming back. I had it chase me off a cliff last night. It's down on the rock’s dead. I was going to see…” Artemis was cut off mid-sentence.

“Show us were! NOW!” Suntiana exclaimed excitedly. She whipped around placing her arms on Artemis. Realizing she had completely lost her composure she put her arms down in front of herself, took a deep breath and smiled. “Please show us where it fell off.”

Artemis smiled a toothy smile at her and nodded. He led them around the piles of rocks he had jumped over the night before. They walked in the path the Dragolisk had made through the dead trees. Finally, after about ten minutes of walking they go to the edge. Artemis went right up to it and gestured for them to come look. Rothar wanted to keep some distance between himself and Artemis in case Artemis were to try something. Rothar shuffled over to the edge a few meters down from Artemis and peered over. There it was in all its glory a dead Dragolisk.

The Dragolisk was laying there speared on the rocks below. It was ten meters in length and at least half as wide. It’s six legs had fallen into unnatural positions from where they were skewered. Its eyes were looking straight up.

“Good thing it’s dead,” Rothar thought allowed, “that thing looking at me, makes me afraid it’s going to paralyze me.”

Artemis nodded at this, good to know it’s stair can paralyze. Artemis continued to look the creature over. Its teeth were dripping this purple liquid that appeared to be dissolving the rocks beneath them. Acid based saliva, he wondered. He already knew from his encounter last night that they couldn’t see well, at least not at night.

“Can these things not see well?” Artemis asked, more to the either than to a person.

“No idea,” Suntiana said. “Most people who see one don’t survive.”

Artemis nodded. He noticed that at the end of each of its disfigured legs long claws protruded from the beast’s toes. Glistening in the sun they looked sharp, and hard. Not something you wanted to be on the receiving end of. It was covered in scales; he hadn’t noticed the night just how scaley it was. It’s scales, even from this distance, they looked sturdy. They were big and from the few standing up around the rocks protruding from the creature; they were thick. Artemis thought they would make for great plate armour. They would be too heavy for anyone else he thought.

Rothar looked up at Suntiana and smiled. Suntiana looked at Rothar and then to Artemis. She was no longer smiling, something was wrong.

“Last night this place was crawling with prisoners who were looking to raid the newcomers of their belongings. They were out in a pack wanting to get as many as they could. I didn't understand what they were talking about back at the gates until now. They said a monster was ripping them to pieces in the dark. You used this thing last night to save your own hide, didn’t you? You made it trample over them as you lured it to the cliff. How many did it kill? Four? Six? Ten? What did you get out of it? Answer me now, or this little arrangement will turn sour for you Artemis.” Suntiana demanded.

Artemis thought how her demeaner had changed so quickly. She went from carefree and excited to blood thirsty. He thought about how he was going to get out of this in case it did go sideways. Artemis thought back to his earlier decision not to trust any of the prisoners. Realizing he had forgotten that idea when this pair had started giving him the information he wanted.

“I didn’t use the creature to kill those men, I was the monster that attacked them.” Artemis said with a smile. He was menacing and a little crazy in the eyes as he spoke.

He went on to explain the events from the previous night to Suntiana and Rothar. Embellishing the bits about his cunning with the Dragolisk and downplaying his sadistic torture of the prisoners. He explained how Shu’lai had saved him at the docks. He told them everything, all the time slowly shifting his position, so he had a path to escape.

Suntiana paused, looking between Rothar, the cliff, and Artemis as she weighed her options. She stepped forward toward the cliff, Artemis took a step back from her. Suntiana was now between Rothar and Artemis. Artemis thought about running and grabbing all his things before they could make a move. Suntiana looked at Artemis and smiled. “I believe you, there is no way that crazy story could be made up. It’s a shame about Shu’lai. If he saved you that meant he was probably bringing you to me. Fucking scavengers. I can’t believe they would kill one of ours.”

Suntiana looked at Artemis, this time with a kind smile, “thank you for avenging our friend.”

“Good, but no offence you turn from kind to bloodthirsty so quickly I’m not sure I can trust you.” Artemis stated. “What is your little group up to exactly?”

“It will be easier to show you. Rothar when we get back you will prepare a party to come and retrieve the materials from this Dragolisk,” Suntiana said. “Come, follow us.” She gestured to Artemis as she started walking back towards the city.

Artemis thought about his options, if he went with them there was the possibility it could be a trap but if he stayed on his own there was a good chance he wouldn’t make it too long on this island. He didn’t like groups; he was always on edge waiting for someone to spring on him. He didn’t really like his odds on his own much better though. Finally, after a small deliberation he decided to give the group a shot.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

“What's the worst that can happen?” He thought. “There are only two of them.”

He hurried along to catch up to Suntiana and Rothar.

Rothat looked at Artemis following them and grunted. He wasn’t pleased that this mangy wolfite was following them. He didn’t like how Suntiana changed around him. Rothar thought to himself “I’ll be watching him closely. Trouble like that needs to be dealt with before it spreads.”

“I want you to give me those emblems you picked up from the dead prisoners. I want to turn them in for water rations at the city gate,” Suntiana said. “If you were to give the emblems to the guards, they would throw you in the tower for killing all the new arrivals. My group is mostly scavengers so they would assume we just collected them after the fact. Of course you will get your share of the spoils.”

Artemis, having already committed to helping them, handed over the emblems begrudgingly. As they walked, they discussed what had gotten Artemis brought to this place. As it wasn’t a long walk to the city from where they were he didn’t go into all the details but did explain some of it to them. Once they got back to the city Rothar took Artemis off to the side of the gate past the guards. While Suntiana went up to the guards and handed over a few of the emblems to the guard. He looked at them, smiled and gestured for her to wait there. He disappeared beyond the gate and a few moments later returned with 10 canteens of water for her. She smiled, touched the side of his face and was on her way. She met up with Artemis and Rothar, she handed them the water and then led them off past the city.

“Right this way to our base. It’s a hell of a journey but worth it I promise.” Santiana said to Artemis. Suntiana led them around the city to the cliffs at the edge of the island. Artemis turned back and noticed there was no gate or guard at the back of the city. This was something he would make sure to keep in mind.

Suntiana lowered herself off the edge and disappeared. Rothar followed, leaving Artemis alone, he looked down over the edge and noticed they were making their way down a narrow ledge with barely enough room for their feet. Artemis followed their lead and lowered himself down from the cliff and onto the ledge. He followed them to the left, growing concerned as the ledge narrowed even more. Suntiana, having reached the narrowest part of the ledge, started to climb back up using a mix of the existing rock formations and some dug out hand and foot holds. Once she was almost back up to the top she started along the new path as it headed down to the bottom of the cliff. Artemis wondered why they hadn’t just started here. He went to poke his head up above the cliff and Rothar pulled him back down. Shaking his head at Artemis Rothar motioned for Artemis to keep following him.

It was an easier path to travel on. The ledge was not as narrow as the first as it had more room to walk on. Suntiana stopped about halfway down and started to climb down the cliff face. They continued down for a couple of minutes before reaching a wider ledge. It was slick with spray from the sea making it easier to slip. Suntiana led them back the way they had come from along the previous ledge. Slowly continuing along this ledge making sure not to slip into the sea below. They made it to a large boulder, Suntiana pressed herself up tight against the wall to let Rothar pass by. Rothar Leaned into the boulder and with some effort pushed it aside exposing a cave.

“Clever,” Artemis said as he walked into the cave. Had he not been with Suntiana and Rothar he would have never known this place was here.

Once inside Rothar moved the boulder back into place, leaving the group in a dimly lit cave. Artemis could feel eyes upon him from all around. The cave was far more spacious than Artemis had expected. WIth torches every couple of meters making it easy to see. He was curious about the mound of dirt that was being built by the front of the cave but decided not to question it. He noticed how one side of the cave seemed to be made of mirrors. Curious about this he walked over to look at himself.

“How did you get this wall of mirrors in the cave?” Artemis asked with a tone of astonishment. “On top of that how did you make them?”

Suntiana laughed at him, making Artemis quickly change his expression from excitement to one of displeasure. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to laugh at you. That’s the same question we all asked when we discovered this place. We don’t know how these mirrored surfaces were brought here. We only know, thanks to a collapse at the back of the cave, that they go further down and further up than we thought.”

Artemis, feeling less displeased with being laughed at, found himself laughing as well. It was a full-bodied laugh and one that caught everyone off guard as it echoed around the cave. Again, all eyes seemed to be on him, which did make him uncomfortable but not in the way it did when they were first staring at him. One of the many sets of eyes that were set upon him slowly grew closer. Moving past him to Suntiana.

“Are you sure this is a good idea? Bringing someone new in here at this time? Especially with him being a Wolfite and all,” The Badgerite whispered to Suntiana. It was of little use to whisper as Artemis heard every word.

“I’m sure, come here Artemis and explain to Sumal why it was a good idea to bring you here.” Suntiana motioned for Artemis to re-join the group. More and more of the cave's inhabitants were edging their way closer wanting to hear what Artemis had to say.

***

Tyrnal pulled himself up the ladder and headed over to Suntiana, Rothar and an ever-growing group of people all surrounding Artemis. As Tyrnal approached he heard Artemis introduce himself and start to explain why Suntiana had brought him here. As Artemis explained they handed out water that they had gotten from the guards. Suntiana then placed more arm bands on the ground as Artemis explained what had happened during his first night on the island. Rothar began pointing at the strongest members of the group as Artemis explained about the Dragolisk he had managed to kill. Suntiana, now noticing Tyrnal, waved him over frantically.

“Tyrnal!” Suntiana Exclaimed. “You’re just in time. Artemis here….”

“I heard it all and if it wasn’t for the water and badges I wouldn’t believe any of it.” Tryna interrupted. Suntiana was not impressed with being cut off, and her look said as much.

Tyrnal made his way up to Artemis. He looked Artemis up and down, round and round. Nodding and muttering as he went along. He poked at Artemis and pulled at the clothes he was wearing. Finally, after Artemis had had enough of being studied like an animal being used for experimentation he said, “Can I help you?”

Tyrnal, realizing what he was doing, backed up with wide eyes. “Sorry about that, you'll have to forgive me. I have never seen a Wolfite before. It’s simply amazing to me to see one up close.”

Tyrnal drifted off into more muttering about the strength and speed of a Wolfite. He left the group and went to write some things down.

Artemis, concluding that Tyrnal was a harmless quack, and decided not to press the matter any further. Rothar began to bring the group together that he had pointed to earlier.

There was a Bearite named Lyna. She was tall, as was common with bearites, at least two and a half meters. Her fur was a dark brown colour with a hint of grey starting around the muzzle. She was getting up in years for that to show. How long had she been on this island? Her face was soft and kind looking. Her eyes were a deep violet, they had the look of someone who knew what loss was. Her body was hunched, common among Bearites. This made her look less threatening than she was, Bearites are known for their ferocity in protecting their friends and family. They are the kind who will kill without a second thought if pressed into a situation. Even with her claws trimmed all the way down and sealed with rune magic to stop them from growing her mitts could deliver a devastating blow. Next to her stood another Bearite by the name of Quade.

He was two meters in height and his fur was black. Like Lyna he too was hunched over with his claws trimmed. He was stocky but looking at him it was easy to tell it was all muscle. His face was still hopeful and full of youth. He must have been a cub when he was brought here. It looked as though Lyna had taken a liking to him, she always stood between him and everyone else like she was protecting him.

Off to the side a bit more leaning on the cave wall was a Lynxite who went by Xix. She was small, only a little over one meter tall. She was grey and spotted, with tufts of fur going in all directions. Her fur looked soft to the touch, though no one would dare to try. Her eyes were a piercing yellow that had mystery and danger about them. Her muzzle was short and dainty.

Artemis went over to join the group, he figured that since they were going to gather materials, they might want an extra set of hands. Rothar nodded at him with appreciation and began to explain the plan. They would wait till nightfall when most of the island's inhabitants would be off doing their best to sleep or preparing for the next shipment of new inmates to arrive sometime later. Heading around the back of the city to avoid the guards and down the cliff which was easier to descend from there. It would be a Peral filled trip due to the sea crashing on that side of the island and the giant spikes awaiting anyone at the bottom. Each of them would have two sacks to carry back parts, one to sling on their back and one for across their front. To help with bringing the sacks back up the cliff they also brought some rope. Rothar explained that they would make multiple trips so as not to over burden themselves on each trip as it would be a long night. He suggested that everyone should get some sleep until nightfall.

Rothar moved the boulder off to the side of the cave and the party headed out. Back up the path that was hard enough to navigate in the daytime but was far worse at night. Instead of following the path all the way back to the top they got off halfway along. Artemis was curious why they were able to pull up here at night and not during the day. As Artemis pulled himself up over the ledge he began to understand why. The smell of blood was thick and there were body parts thrown around. Some of the bodies were dressed as guards while others were clearly prisoners. Artemis wondered what had happened here but thought this was not the time to bring it up. Rothar whispered that everyone should keep their heads down and stay close. He led them along the cliff edge until they were past the city. Rothar motioned for them to start making their way inland to cut across to the edge where the Dragolisk was.

They made their way into the dead forest. The trees were massive, gnarled and looked as though they had been here for centuries. The trees petrified from being coated in salt leaving them an eerie grey colour. Their limbs creaked in the wind as if they could drop at any minute. The sound of the wind through the trees sounded like wolves. The howling had everyone on edge wondering what horrors would pop out. Every once and awhile the light from the stars above was blacked out by passing creatures. Every time a shadow passed overhead Rothar dropped right down on the ground until the shadow was gone. Artemis was curious about what could make Rothar so afraid, then he heard it, the screech. It sounded like a creature screaming in pain as it was ripped limb from limb. Artemis’s head swivelled around trying to find the source of the sound, his gaze was drawn upward as he heard a thud of something heavy landing in the tree.

The tree creaked under the weight of the massive bird-like creature. It was massive, Artemis thought, it looked more reptilian than like any bird he had ever seen. It was making a sound much more pleasant than he had heard before it was a soft cooing sound followed by another of its otherworldly screeches. Its two heads were fighting with each other over something they were eating. As Artemis stared up at them something fell from the creature’s mouth to the ground. It was an arm, it was then that it dawned on Artemis, this creature had two heads. He knew what this was, other prisoners at the city gate had been talking about them. They were Scraves, a wyvern with two heads. scavengers that feed on dead or dying creatures. Rumour has it that these creatures were brought to the island to clean up the corpses. These creatures wouldn’t actively hunt anything that could possibly fight back; however they were still extremely dangerous. They secreted a neurotoxic venom that could kill someone of Artemis’s size but would dissuade most creatures on this island that would try to eat it. Their claws are sharp enough to rip open a Dragolisk.

Rothar motioned for everyone to keep moving and to keep quiet. The group moved forward keeping low and moving through the forest moving around the trees while trying to make as little noise as possible. The group stopped frequently as the debris made keeping quite next to impossible. With every noise the group looked up to make sure no scraves were overhead. The group would occasionally come across sleeping scraves. This slowed down their journey as they had to approach and navigate the beast. There was a clearing up ahead of the group, this seemed to make Rothar even more nervous.

“Be very careful, the scraves nesting ground is just up ahead.” Rothar whispered. He motioned for everyone to get down as low as they could and to move slowly and silently.

As they made their way into the clearing Artemis could see why Rothar was so nervous. There were multiple nests and no scraves to be seen. Artemis assumed this to mean they were watching from the shadows. This wasn’t sitting well with Artemis, there had to be a smarter way to get through this forest. Before Artemis could remark on this Rothar and the others were already headed into the clearing.

No more scraves appeared to be around as the group emerged from the forest. Rothar visibly relieved that no scraves had attacked them, breathed a sigh of relief. He continued leading the others to the edge of the island. They quickly approached the coast, once there Rothar looked to Artemis to show the way to the Dragolisk.

“So scraves huh? Could have used a heads up before we went through their feeding grounds.” Artemis said in a joking manner to Rothar. Artemis knew that the others wouldn’t have come if they had been warned.

Rothar smiled, “I was half hoping they would eat you.”

The pair laughed an uneasy laugh. Both sizing the other up in case anything should happen.

Artemis led the group down the cliff for a half hour or so until they reached the site of the Dragolisk. Looking down the cliff it was clear it would be a treacherous descent down to get the materials needed. The cliff wall was a straight drop, one small misstep and there would not be a second chance.

“Anyone want to go first?” Artemis asked in a sarcastic tone.

Quade stepped forward, puffed out his chest and exclaimed, “I’ll go!”

Lyna Put her hand on Quades shoulder and shook her head. “Let Rothar go first, he's got experience finding paths. Why don’t you stay up here and pull up the bags as they get filled.”

Quade shrunk down and nodded. Artemis felt bad for the cub. All he wanted to do was impress Lyna, but she was always mothering him. They all started to take out the rope they had brought and handed it to Quade. Artemis took Quades bags and handed them to Rothar. Rothar placed the bags over his shoulders and began his descent down the cliff. He was cautious in his approach searching out every foot hold. The other three, Artemis, Lyna and Xix followed in his steps. Each one being more cautious than the one ahead of them, no one wanted to be the one to take everyone else with them. It was slow going, moving down the cliff face in a side-to-side pattern to make sure there were as few people in a line as possible in case the worst happened. About halfway down the cliff face Rothar stopped and looked back at everyone with a concerned look on his face. As the others got closer, they realized why, there was a crevice in the wall that they would need to jump around to continue. Rothar looked closely for the foot and hand holds he would need to find to get across. There was one handhold above that he could use to swing over but he couldn’t make out more than a tiny ledge on the other side, it looked to be barely big enough for his hands to get a grip on. If he went and it wasn’t big enough, he was done for, but returning to Suntiana without the materials was scarier to him. He wanted to impress her, even if he hadn’t killed the Dragolisk himself. He placed his back hand on the hold and swung himself over the crevice. With his forward hand he reached out to the ledge and managed to grab hold. Holding on with just his hands he looked for a foot hold something to help steady himself. He was able to find a place to put his foot, it was a small rocky outcrop.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, just as everyone was feeling safe the ledge Rothar was holding onto broke. He started to fall, with his quick reflexes he grabbed onto the rocky outcrop with his hand and caught himself. He pulled himself back up to the ledge and knocked off the rest of the loose bit. This made the swing father for the rest, but Rothar made sure the rest of the ledge was stable. Rothar stayed close just in case he needed to catch the next one across. Xix was next, she swung herself with relative ease and managed to make it with no issues.

Next was Lyna, she was more concerned about the jump than the others, as a Bearite she was heavy and feared the ledge would not catch her as easily. She put her hand on the first hold and pulled with most of her weight to make sure it would hold her. It seemed secure; she then began to work herself up to make the swing. As she swung across the hand hold let loose under her weight, as she plummeted down the crevice, she grabbed onto the rocky outcropping that the others were using as a foot hold. Xix reached out a hand to help pull Lyna up. With some effort and a little bit of help from Rothar holding Xix by her other hand they got Lyna up.

Artemis on the other hand looked stuck. Artemis figured he had a couple of options one was to go back up and find another path around, or to try and jump across and follow the others down the cliff. There was no guarantee that the path would hold for another violent jump. Artemis looked down off the cliff and noticed the Dragolisk corpse was much closer to the base of the cliff than he had originally thought, it was a large target. Artemis wondered if he could survive the drop onto the beast from here. Looking across at his companions then back down to the Dragolisk Artemis began to smile. Rothar's face went pale as he figured out what Artemis was thinking.

“Don’t you even thi....” Rothar began.

It was too late Artemis had already let go of the cliff and given himself a little push off to make sure he landed closer to the centre of the Dragolisk. Artemis turned himself over in the air as he descended so he could see. Artemis noticed that the spike sticking up from the Dragolisk was coming up fast. This might have been a mistake Artemis thought. Using his arms he tried to change where he was going to land trying to glide to the left. He was making some progress, but the body was coming up fast. As he continued to glide to the left he just missed the spike that was jetting out of the stomach of the Dragolisk. Striking the side of it as he landed. Artemis rolled down the side of the spike and landed on the Dragolisk, he continued to roll almost falling from the Dragolisk’s body. After catching himself on some of the creature's scales he pulled himself back up. He Stood up, shook his head and waved to the others still up on the cliff.

“Crazy ass Wolf,” Xix said laughing. “Come on guys we need to get down there too.”

Rothar continues to cautiously lead the others down the cliff face without much trouble. Getting back up would be another matter, they would need to find another way back up, hopefully a safer one. Once the others had joined Artemis on the Dragolisk they began to work. Xix and Rothar headed to the head to take out teeth, Lyna and Artemis worked on getting scales, bones and meat from around the spikes. Each bag could only hold two teeth at most, Xix and Rothar took out a total of ten teeth enough to get started on making some tools. Artemis and Lyna were able to fit a lot more in their sacks. Scales were lightweight, not like Artemis had initially thought, and easy to compress allowing for a good amount to be collected. Two sacks of scales were a good start, enough to make some better clothing and armour. Meat was the next two bags, and they were able to get enough to feed the group for a couple days at least. Maybe a few weeks if they could smoke it. Lastly was a bag of bones they focused on getting ribs. Each bag could only hold a portion of the rib long enough to make a handle for the tools or some torches. They would have to come back for more.

Quade pulled up the sacks one at a time Xix stayed behind to send them up. The others started making their way back up the cliff using a different route than before. It was just as treacherous but didn’t require going over a crevice, so it was preferable. Once back at the top the group divided up the sacks among themselves and started back to the cave. It was midnight and the island was shrouded in darkness making it easier to go undetected. This time taking the more direct route around the city instead of through the woods. It was hard going with all the supplies they were carrying.

Suntiana was waiting by the cave entrance wondering what was taking them so long to get back with the first load of materials. At this rate we will only get one load tonight she thought. As she stood there looking pensively out the door Rothar wandered into view. He was dirty, smelly and exhausted. He placed his two sacks down by the entrance and moved further in out of the way. The others filed in one at a time doing the same before moving in and collapsing on the ground.

“We… are… going… to.. need… more… people.” Rothar wheezed. He took a moment to catch his breath before continuing. “Can you get some more to help us, Suntiana?”

Without a second thought Suntiana turned round and shouted, “Alright! Anyone who is not digging or recovering is going with this group to get more from the Dragolisk corpse! No objections.”

Groans and moans were heard coming from all over the cave, but everyone got up and moved towards the entrance. Suntiana motioned for some to empty the current sacks into four piles while telling others to grab more sacks. Slowly everything was emptied and everyone had sacks again to go for a second run. Twenty in total this time. The original five and fifteen reluctant recruits.

Once again they headed out for the Dragolisk, this time taking the more direct route. Once there it was the same routine going down in groups of four. All but Quade took turns going down. With this many people working on the corpse most of the usable materials were stripped in no time. They would have food for months if it didn’t spoil beforehand and enough tools to expedite their digging. By the time they had made it back to the cave for the final time the sun was starting to rise, and the other inmates were starting to stir.

Rothar moved the boulder back in front of the cave and finally he felt safe back home again. Tyrnal looked over at the mounds of teeth, bones and scales excitedly. Tyrnal began to draw up plans for the tools, looking for the best way to make picks and shovels from the bones and teeth. Those who had been able to get some sleep he began to rouse. He explained to them what he wanted to do and put them to work. The Boarites were put together to carve the bones into handle sized pieces, the Bearites were breaking the teeth into shovel shaped scoops or taking the tips from them to make picks, lastly the Pantherites were breaking the leather cloths Artemis had brought the night before into strapping to hold it all together.