“What is that?,” Jenny asked, staring at the rock monolith to the side of the trail.

Loch just smiled. He hadn’t been sure if it would be there or not but it was the kind of thing the Connected System would utilize.

The rock stood about ten feet tall. It was oval shaped, the sides smooth with the top almost flattened, the bottom sitting on a rough flat top rock. It looked like it could fall at any moment. Loch was surprised that it hadn’t fallen during the earthquake caused by the Connection’s arrival. He had never known where it came from or why it had been placed at the start of Demon Pond Trail, it had just always been there as a strange marker. He hadn’t been able to see the pond from the top of Saddleback as the angle of the trees hid the small body of water.

He hadn’t thought much about Demon Pond since the Connection. It had been years since he’d hiked to it. Not much of a hike since most of it was the dirt road that ran from Route 4 up to Old Mountain Road, with the small trail section to the pond itself. There hadn’t been any fishing in the pond and nothing of note. No views or land features. Nothing to really draw interest. The pond was just there, most people forgetting its existence. Just another of dozens of similar bodies of water in Northwood.

He’d been focused on the larger bodies of water, the four lakes. Northwood, Bow, Harvey and Meadow. All of which were significantly larger, although he hadn’t gotten a full view of Northwood Lake yet. Like always, Demon Pond was largely forgotten.

As Loch looked at the trail marker, he wondered if Demon Pond had changed, hoping the Connection hadn’t taken the name literally.

Originally the trail had ended midway around the east side of the pond but a few years ago for a community service project the students at Coe-Brown had increased the Meadow’s trail network, adding a bunch to the west of Demon Pond, making the Pond’s trail extend. Loch had planned on checking out Meadow Lake, during the trails around it, heading up the road toward route 4 and the entrance and coming into the transfer station from the road. But when they’d come up around the lake to where the loop trail met the main road, he’d seen the old sign with the trail map. Surprisingly the map had still been there and Demon Pond had stood out to him.

It had needed to be explored. Not something he had planned, but hoped it would be a short detour.

There was always something, he sighed.

With the addition of the new trail network, they could enter the town dump from the backside, instead of coming from Route 4. It wasn’t ideal, Loch would have to do some mental calculations to judge when to turn off the Gupta Trails and head north to the Dump. It would just add time if they missed the Dump, but as they were taking a detour already, Loch didn’t want to add more time before returning to the Clanhold.

“That marks the start of the short trail to Demon Pond,” he said, pointing at the large rock.

He saw the eyes of all the non-Northwood natives grow in shock at the name of the Pond.

“It’s always been named that,” he said, seeing Cerie’s natural glow a little brighter. Her wings were buzzing faster than normal, a sign of agitation. “You okay?”

“I’m concerned,” she said, eyes staring at the trail marker. “You said this has always been here?”

“Yeah,” Piper answered. “We’ve hiked to the Pond a couple of times. It’s nothing special.”

“Let’s get going,” Loch said. “Got a lot of ground to cover.”

Harper and Elora took the lead, Brian and Jenny waiting for everyone else. Loch let the scavengers walk by, watching as a worried looking Cerie followed Piper down the road. He turned and looked past the marker, down the trail. Depending on the time of year, it had sometimes been possible to actually see the pond from the road. He couldn’t see anything but trees. He couldn’t sense anything either, which he hoped was a good sign.

Loch gave the large stone monument a last look as he stepped off the old dirt road and onto the thinner trail, walking beneath the thick canopy of trees. It had definitely grown in length. Never a long trail, most of it could be seen from the start. Now it snaked through the trees, barely visible as before it had just been tree markers leading the way. Those markers were gone and only some parts of the visible trail remaining as the rest led through the open forest.

The group spread out, the scavenging team pointing out various new plants they’d never seen before, occasionally stopping and grabbing them. There hadn’t been much for the team to do since coming with Loch. The forest around the old recycling plant had been a bit of a disappointment. He’d hoped for more.

There could still be more, they’d only looked at a small part. It would take the hunting and scavenging teams years to fully explore all the new land and areas around just Northwood, not even worrying about the surrounding towns yet. And none of them had even headed to the northwest areas of town yet, following Bow Lake Road past Loch’s street or Route 107 where it ran towards Pittsfield past Johnsons Field.

The trail sloped down, the pond above them, unable to see the surface as it was a couple feet above their heads. Loch wondered what monsters could potentially be swimming in the water, level with them, just a dozen feet of dirt between them. More Crocolisks? Something else?

They followed the path, now more clearly defined, as it curved around the raised pond, coming to a small brook. The sound of water falling could be heard, the falls itself becoming visible as they rounded the end of the pond. What had once been only about four or five feet wide, needing to be crossed by stepping stones, the brook was now twice that. The water crashed against rocks, only falling twelve feet or so. Beavers had once closed off part of the falls, leaving it only a foot wide as it fell, now the blocks were gone, the falls the full ten feet.

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“Wow,” Harper said.

Loch agreed. It wasn’t that impressive, even now, compared to other falls they’d hiked to. Arethusa Falls in the White Mountains had been, and probably still was, one of the biggest in New Hampshire. Demon Pond still didn’t come close, but it was still amazing how much it had changed.

The stepping stones were still there, a couple wet from the swiftly flowing water. Nothing that the Adapted bodies of the entire group couldn’t handle. The trail continued on the other side, heading upslope so it was once again level with the surface of the water. The original trail had ended at a spot not quite midway around the Pond. Just dead ended. Someone had once built a trail cairn. The first time he’d hiked the trail with the family, they’d bushwhacked their way around the rest, where there was no trail. It hadn’t been hard, back then the trees had been spread out, the branches growing high, leaving plenty of space between them to walk. When the Gupta addition had been made, it had been marked with paint on trees until it got to a thicker wooded area where the trail was more visible.

The original ending spot of the trail had an open area facing the pond. A scenic view for what had never been that scenic. Demon Pond had not been an attractive pond. Moss and lichen had covered the surface, along with ferns and other plants along the shore. Looking out over the water, it’s appearance hadn’t improved.

It had looked more swamp than pond.

He listened intently, searching out any odd noises. The pond looked like a good place one of the elven Crone’s would be. All it needed was fog drifting across the water. He couldn’t see anything, not even any ripples along the surface of the pond.

Loch smiled, glad there wasn’t an actual demon at the pond. He still felt justified with the paranoia, it was better to check and be safe. Now they could move on and figure out what was at the town dump.

He motioned to Elora and Harper, telling them to head out. The others all adjusted their backpacks straps, or pulled them back on after resting. Loch started walking to where the trail headed away from the pond, but stopped, hearing something behind him.

Cursing, he turned around, seeing ripples spreading out in a circle from the center of the murky pond. They started small but grew in size, the water churning and whitecapping in the center.

“Spread out,” Loch ordered.

He took a step closer to the water, watching as the churning grew in height. The white caps spread out as what looked like arms sprouted from the sides. The waves stopped as the creature growing out of the water spread its arms, the head a rounded top with no features, the body connected directly to the water. It was a murky green, the same as the pond, standing ten feet or so tall, a lighter green algae covering most of its surface.

Even though there were no eyes, Loch felt the thing focusing on him.

ALGAIC WATER ELEMENTAL

The creature felt weaker than Loch, but not by much.

“Cerie,” he called out.

“I do not know what Algaic means,” the fairy answered. “But Water Elementals are tough opponents. They can be harmed by melee weapons but it’s best to use spell-like attacks as they are truly made of water and physical attacks can pass through. They attack by smothering their opponents in water or bludgeoning them.”

Loch nodded, expecting the last part. Anyone that had ever messed up a dive knew just how hard water could be when slamming against it. He had no doubt that this ten foot tall elemental could hit like blocks of concrete. The arms were long, six feet or so. It had no hands, instead the arms ending in rounded bulbs like fists that were easily three times the size of Loch’s head.

“Is it stuck in the water”,” Jenny asked.

“No. Elementals can travel off their element but they will be weaker. It is best to disconnect them from the source of their power.”

Loch assumed the Algaic was in reference to the algae the thing seemed to be covered in, wondering just what that would do to change the Elemental.

The Elemental surged forward, arms held out. Behind it the water started churning again. Loch cursed as a second Elemental was created. This one wasn’t as tall as the first, being only half the size.

LESSER ALGAIC WATER ELEMENTAL

Loch’s Evaluate gave the Lesser Elemental a strength similar to that of Harper, maybe even lower. The water kept churning and a third Lesser Elemental was created, followed by a fourth.

The surface of Demon Pond settled, only the water near the base of the Elementals churning. Loch could see the water actually flowing into the center of the creatures, connecting with a small glowing spot in the middle of their bodies. It was hard to keep track of the glowing spot as the algae along the Elemental’s surface kept moving in different patterns, the murky water itself sometimes hiding it.

“Is that glowing spot their core?,” he asked Cerie.

“Yes,” the fairy answered, drifting over to hover above Loch’s shoulder. “But it is not an easy target as the Elemental can move the core throughout its body.”

“Fun,” Harper muttered.

“No, it does not sound fun,” Elora replied, her tone serious and questioning, wondering why Harper would even think of it as fun.

Loch tried not to laugh, but he did smile.