The moon falls once more giving rise to the day star and another new beginning. Mateo and his party give thanks to Zenauria for her hospitality. She embraces Rick whispering her sweet goodbyes in his ear and he makes a not unwanted lustful advance kissing her on the neck. Everyone piles into the wagon quick to escape the discomfort of the situation.

Rayo soars above them chasing Charlotte and Yasmina as they make their leave north to return to Drakvania. Little Rayo slumps sadly and returns to Mateo morphing into a large obsidian snake. His void essence allows him to change the color of his scales between any shade in the spectrum. He often prefers to be an ivory snake, but being a shade of obsidian lets Mateo know that he is upset.

Mateo sits at the head of the wagon with Okami. He still seems a little unsettled by the nightmare horse like hoaram that draw the wagon. His eyes fall from them onto his current bounty.

Bounty- Hunt down and eliminate a flock of rabid Razor Talons currently terrorizing the town of Appleburg in the equatorial Marshes. Difficulty- Seven Talon.

“Hey Okami, what’s a Razor Talon?” Mateo asks.

“An excellent question,” Okami replies in his ill fitting English accent.

Okami pulls a small book titled ‘Beastgirls’ from his pocket but quickly puts it away pulling another titled ‘Beastiary of Gottes’. He thumbs through it until he finds a page with a picture of what looks like a poorly drawn feathered velociraptor.

“Razor Talons are a species of raptor, they hunt in small groups and like to roost in trees ambushing their prey, some cultures in the equatorial marshes tame them and use them as mounts for their agility and ability to easily traverse the marshes, they are nocturnal creatures and prefer to hunt during the night as their prey are active during the moonlight hours,” he says snapping the book shut.

“So we wait until moon fall, the hunters won’t expect to be the hunted,” Mateo replies.

“Not a bad idea, we’ll make it into Appleburg midafternoon and rest there until the day star falls from the heavens,” Okami says stirring the hoaram.

It still takes a few days to make it to the equatorial marshes. The thick golden forests of Heroldin dim to a dull thicket of vines and tall canopies that lay shadows over moist dirt and shallow waters. The trail turns from a civilized road to a pounded thick clay littered with the failings of a stone road. A sight that turns vibrant woods into ominous wetlands. Serenity joins Mateo at the front of the wagon as the hoaram lead it toward their intended destination.

“Not quite the beauty of the golden forrest,” she says moving closer to him.

“I’ve got beauty aplenty by my side,” he replies with a smile.

“Awe thanks,” Natalia says landing on his shoulder.

“I was talking about Serenity,” Mateo replies.

Natalia crosses her arms giving off an audible sigh of disdain. Serenity leans in pecking him on the cheek.

“You shouldn’t taunt her so much,” Serenity says.

“Yeah, but she’s super cute when she’s angry,” Mateo laughs.

“Hmph, I’m going to see if I can get more respect from Stitches,” Natalia replies flying into the wagon visibly upset.

There is a small moment of silence before Serenity turns to Mateo.

“Ok, she is pretty cute when she’s angry.”

The wagon stops as the day star falls below the horizon. Moon rise gives glow to an alien spectacle. Bioluminescent fauna and wildlife radiate their life force into a neon glow in the night. A once dull and lifeless marsh becomes a mix of pinks, purples, greens, reds, and blues, charged by the light of the moon. Mateo is once again stricken with awe by the beauty of the new world he has been thrust into.

“We should continue toward Appleburg, we can sleep in shifts, as the roads are open to travel starlight and moonfall,” Okami says.

Mateo stays up late taking in the bioluminescent wildlife as Rayo rests upon his shoulders also peering around in wonder. It’s near peaknight, or midnight as Mateo knows it, when Serenity sends Stitches to fetch him.

“Mateo, lady Everbold requests your attention for,” Stitches blushes jealously, “a little entertainment.”

Mateo rubs her soft ears before heading into the wagon. Stitches takes a seat beside Okami who seems at home in the light of the moon.

The interior of the wagon is enchanted so it has several private rooms. In one of these rooms Terror snores loudly as Jade sneaks out to join Okami and Stitches in the peaknight glow of bioluminescent fauna and wildlife. Okami lets her into his lap allowing her to lay her head back against the brilliant silver fur on his chest as she stares out in amazement.

“Why do they glow like that?” Jade asks.

The wagon continues down a broken road that seems almost prehistoric in nature. The bioluminescent landscape resembling something that Mateo would recognize as a land before time where prehistoric creatures roamed, and still roam in this world. Okami peers down into Jade’s ruby eyes.

“It is said, that when the lady of the Eternal Dawn traveled through these lands she saw how baron and lifeless it was, so she filled the creatures and plants with the light of eternal dawn, so that the essence of their being might shine through the gloom of darkness, this began a new era for the marshes where the native Ruksha flourished, soon after, the center of trade in Gottes, Heroldin, was named after her.”

“What happened to Heroldin?” Jade asks curiously.

“No one knows, she vanished like every other legend does,” Okami replies.

Jade gives off a soft whimper and Okami pats her head gently.

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

“If you guys become legends, are you going to disappear too?”

“Mateo would never leave his friends behind, not even to be a legend,” Stitches says butting into the conversation.

Jade gives off a smile staring back at the glowing wildlife around her.

“For the longest time I saw the fires in the cave and thought atleast there’s light, even if there isn’t hope now, atleast I’ll be able to see it when it comes, and then Mateo and Teytey arrived, and for the first time I had hope, Jade felt hope, her heart fluttered a battle between hope and fear raging inside it,” Jade says laying back against the silver fur on Okami’s chest.

“I heard Terror was to stomp you out of existence,” Stitches says curiously.

“I saw the reluctance in his eyes as he stared down at me as if I looked familiar to him and did the only thing I could think of.”

“And what was that?” Stitches asks.

“Told him I liked pretty flowers and sweets and hoped he did too.”

Three days later the party reaches the terrified town of Appleburg. The villagers, mostly ruksha men and women, have boarded themselves into their homes. Only the village leader greets them at the center of town.

The Ruksha village is made up of mud huts with straw like roofs. The roofs are enchanted with strong magic by Ruksha elders to make them nearly impenetrable, the mud is turned to near steel strength clay by way of secretions from the local fauna. The elder Ruksha bows before them his brilliant violet feathers on full display.

“Zearok is glad for your coming, Zearok and his people have suffered under the razor talons for many moons, lost many young ones, adventurers are not so eager to help Ruksha, especially marshlanders,” he says raising his head.

“That sounds like some bullshit, I haven’t met an unpleasant Ruksha yet, hell, Rick has met a more than pleasant Ruksha, not that I want any details on that even though he keeps insisting, what can you tell us about the razor talons?” Mateo asks.

The Ruksha man looks estranged, but not disappointed. He leads them into his mud hut to a small map of the surrounding area. It is mostly made up of detailed drawings of the apple orchards around the area. He has two fields marked with large red x’s.

“They are roosting in this area, you’ll have to catch them when they are hunting at night, ambushing them during the day is a death wish,” Zearok says.

“Have no fear, Rick Danger is here!” Rick yells flexing his bicep.

Beatrice gives off an audible sigh dragging him out of the hut. Mateo steps toward the Ruksha and takes a bow.

“Don’t worry, I’ll see your people safe,” he says rising.

The Ruksha man gives him a broken reptilian smile his eyes falling to the floor. Mateo notices the familiar look of loss. The void that fills one’s heart where love used to be.

“I’m sorry, who did you lose?” He asks.

“My daughter.”

“What was her name?”

“Karliana, after her mother, whom I’ve also lost,” he replies.

“My condolences, we will see the raptors gone,” Mateo says holding out his hand.

Zearok takes it with a firm grip that Mateo returns with a stern look of determination. He leaves Zearok to rejoin his party at a campfire in the center of Appleburg. Terror sees the determination in Mateo’s eyes and slams his fist into his palm.

“Glorious combat it is!” He yells.

“Violence is the answer,” Mateo replies.

They stash the wagon and the hoaram in the incapable care of Appleburg with only the promise that they will return to them unmolested. By way of foot they trek into the apple marshes. Heavy mud weighs them down for a time until they reach the solid soil of the orchards. The group forms a small camp just outside the orchard preparing themselves for a long night of battle.

“Mateo these sandwiches are delicious, are you sure I can’t repay you with some vigorous intercourse?” Beatrice asks.

“Really, for a sandwich?” Serenity says squinting her eyes.

“Did he give you a sandwich before you two had sex?” Beatrice asks with a sly grin.

“No, but I did get a mouthful.”

“Hey, can you two tone it down around Jade?” Mateo says waving his hand around.

“I was talking about a mouthful of blood,” Serenity protests acting innocent.

“Oh I know what a mouthful means everyone knows that vampires suck,” Mateo places his hand over Beatrice’s mouth.

He turns his gaze toward Jade scribbling morbid images of people dying around her on a small scroll. Her innocent naivety masking the brutal and unsettling childhood she’s had. Mateo removes his hand from Beatrice’s mouth placing it on her ebony cheek.

“Jade has had her innocence taken from her, watched as others fell to the same fate, watched as her mother was murdered infront of her, so when someone asks you to stay your words infront of her, know that if they damage her, if they hurt her, Terror will rip you apart, even if you have more talons than him, you will not overcome his fury, you are a member of this team, and I expect you to behave like one, is that understood?”

Beatrice lowers her head shamefully.

“Sorry, I didn’t know.”

Beatrice steps away entering a large tent her and Rick set up. Rick leans over Jade’s drawing rubbing his chin curiously as Terror glares at him. She peers over at him anxiously awaiting his assessment of her artwork.

“Well Mr. Danger, what is it?” She asks in a small nasally voice.

Having matured somewhat Jade’s voice is changing to a deeper tone. She’s only a half goblin so it’s causing some complications. Rick grabs a green pencil and hands it to her. He uses a red pencil to scribble a caped figure struggling to save the people that are being slaughtered. Jade bites her index finger curiously.

“I don’t understand,” she says.

“Ranger Rick Danger is struggling to save the people, but alone he cannot, he needs help, he needs,” she cuts him off.

“He needs friends!” She yells.

She scribbles in a large green man munching on sweets holding a massive hammer. Terror’s expression changes from disdain to acceptance as he realizes what, or rather, who, Rick has lost.

The two tuck Jade into bed before gathering around a small fire at the center of the encampment.

“She’s a lot being as intelligent as she is,” Rick says.

“Terror knows, but a lot is better than a little, more often than a little is better than nothing, Terror wonders, you had family?”

“I did, a wife and daughter, I can’t say I’m the man I was when I had them, or that I’m the man that deserved them now, but I’m not a monster, yet,” he replies.

“Terror asks, does pain make you stronger, or is the endurance of pain the illusion of strength?”

Rick’s gaze turns from the fire to meet Terror’s.

“Where my friend did you hear that from?” Rick asks.

Terror gives him a wry smile.

“Lady Death.”

The moon ascends lighting the night sky with an ominous glow. The party pack up their tents and head into the orchards. Mateo turns to them with a look of confidence on his face.

“There’s a Dino Crisis out there, let’s stop it,” he says holding up his hand like a pistol.

Everyone except Serenity ignores him heading into the orchard. She stops by him kissing him on the cheek.

“I’m glad you stood up for the girl, let’s go kill these ‘Dinos’,” she says with a smile.

Razor talons hide in the branches of the trees ambushing their prey from above. The raptor like creatures travel in packs and sometimes colonies. Though they are carnivores they can be tamed fairly easily by someone with the beast essence, an essence common among the Ruksha. Unfortunately, some Razor talons become rabid and are without reason or feeling. Giving into an insatiable hunger and having no other desires but the hunt. The razor talons Mateo meets in the marshes are those raptors.

Razortalons descend from the swamp canopy like birds of prey. Stitches raises a ward around herself and wards around the team. Rick and Beatrice keep a distance trying to pick off the violent birds from afar. Terror crushes them under his war hammer Gravitas. Mateo joins Serenity in physical combat for a bit casting a few spells to keep the horde of raptors at bay.

After clashing with the creatures and dispatching many of them Mateo orders his party to retreat into a large ward Stitches has created. He stands before a horde of raptors ready to tear him limb from limb and casts a ward of his own before holding out his offhand.

“From the heavens of the void I call forth its wrath, the wrath of voidstorm.”

The sky opens up giving way to dark violet clouds erupting with void lightning. The raptors attempt to flee in terror as bolts of void lightning vaporize them into piles of ash.

You have ascended to five talons. You have reached a new ascension level.

Ryukaze the wind dragon has invited you to a sparring session. Accept yes/no?

“Yes.”