I noticed Dengu about to leap back towards the Hunters, but I held a hand up just in time, as the fading howl awoke the crabs all at once.

  The Hunters both leaped back as suddenly two giant crabs charged at them.

  I hurried ahead, and the others followed as the center of the floor heaved. An area, which Id have sworn was a boulder came alive as small crabs scurried away and two giant eyes flickered open, staring at the Hunters.

  [Cavern Crab, Snap, Level 175, Predator, Unknown.]

  More Hunters sprinted in our direction through the tunnel behind us, but I didn’t pay them any attention. One Hunter in the cavern leaped at the nearest crab.

  The growls of fighting filled the air, as I reached the tunnel entrance. Kabi, Dengu and Lenna raced by me, while I lingered for a moment.

  Both Hunters were snuffed out just as more poured inside.

  A crab turned in my direction, but I didn’t move closer, noticing its much higher level. A different presence kept on going and soon would be in view, yet I didn’t dare linger.

  I darted out of sight and after my friends.

  They made more noise heading up the much steeper slope, but the clash and howls from below covered it.

  Lenna’s light guided me onward, and I almost slammed into the back of Dengu near what I hoped was the top.

  Kabi blocked the entrance.

  The dark entrance.

  “Go…”

  “We can’t, it’s dark,” he whispered.

  I didn’t feel anything beyond the tunnel entrance outside, and I pushed past him to see if anything lingered around, like the Flora Maw.

  Dirt, more dirt and some rocks. A few pointed at the sky in tall formations, but that was all. Stars sparkled overhead, but a buzz came from other areas. I couldn’t pinpoint it.

  Nothing seemed threatening in the dark badlands, yetet the activity in the tunnel behind the others made my heart race.

  “Let's go!” I said. Lenna exited first, followed by Dengu. Kabi hurried after them, as the pounding of legs against stone grew louder.

  Dirt rumbled and mounds formed all over the place.

  The first crab broke the surface a distance away. Small and fast, it hurried out of the hole and to the closet rock formation.

  That was only the first, as more crabs funneled out of small tunnels and the ground under our feet shook.

  I darted away from the tunnel we’d exited, but didn’t have a good way to know where to go.

  The ground settled down, but bigger and bigger crabs fled the area all heading to the rocky pillars. The dirt heaved again as the giant crab broke through the surface. Tiny crabs crawled all over it.

  Another presence slowly strode up a different tunnel to face the crab.

  [An OFFENDER has been detected in your area with a bounty. You have been given a temporary boost to stats and abilities.]

  [Bran, The Whisperer, Pack’s Call, Level 150, Unknown, Unknown, OFFENDER.]

  Orange skin and shimmery eyes stood out, glowing even without much light. It reminded me of Lenna’s skills. Yet, his eyes sent a shiver down my spine.

  One of the bigger defender crabs charged at the massive crab. It was flung far into the air and away from the fight.

  None of the Hunters came to the surface.

  We reached one of the rock formations, and huddled behind it. Yet, I couldn’t help but watch.

  A swarm of small crabs rushed Bran, yet turned and rushed back at the much larger crab. The crab almost reluctantly squashed a few before swiping a bunch away with an enormous claw.

  He scurried at Bran, who dodged the claw attack, as another group of crabs swamped in front of him, almost like a wall.

  The massive creature didn’t want to hurt his fellow crabs, which Bran was using as weapons.

  His level was too much for us. The Bag guy had only been 130, and that’d been a bit rough, even in a straight-up fight. This Forger used others as his weapons.

  No wonder Holls wanted to flee. Even if we fled across the badlands, I wasn’t sure if we could lose him. Should we help the crab?

  “Lenna, can you hit him?” I asked, knowing she could.

  “Alex…” she mumbled.

  “He isn’t going to stop,” I said, watching two more crabs get sent at the massive crab. Eventually, Bran might run out of foes to send against the creature. Yet, it didn’t feel like that. It felt like he was waiting for something.

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  Delaying.

  Like reinforcements were coming.

  “We need to end him now.” This time, I felt certain. “Don’t hurt any of the crabs if possible, especially not the big one.”

  Dengu nodded at me, though Kabi appeared torn. Eventually, he nodded as well. “Better an enemy in front of us than one in the shadows.”

  That made me snort, since I stuck to the shadows.

  I vanished into the darkness and crept closer to the fight, trying to get behind Bran.

  Lenna climbed the pillar we hid behind.

  I focused on remaining hidden and not running into any of the crabs that still fled the area.

  The massive crab lunged at Bran, who again danced out of the way, much faster than the creature. He actually laughed at it as a sword appeared in one hand and he sliced at the claw, deflecting it. It didn’t seem to do any damage, but still.

  A ring of crabs slowly formed around the area, and it shifted as Bran did, keeping away from him.

  That had to be his reach with that Pack’s Call skill. So many crabs remained within that area, just milling about. No longer fleeing.

  Then, I only had his back to focus on.

  Another wall formed in front of him as the Massive crab reached for him yet again.

  This time, a sliver of light shot through and slammed into the shoulder. His sword dipped, then vanished as he growled. For a second the wall fell, and the crab took advantage.

  It jutted out, slamming into Bran, sending him back several feet.

  I leaped with my spear. Just before it hit him, he grabbed the tip. My momentum just stopped.

  “So, you are the one causing trouble,” he said, using some sort of skill on me. It passed right through and his eyes widened just for a moment.

  That’s when I slashed at him using my claws. Four golden lines appeared right near his kneecap.

  He jerked back, yanking me sideways since I didn’t dare let go of my spear. A coppery scent still drifted my way, making me smile as I heated up the tip.

  “Little fucker,” he growled as he let go.

  I rolled away back into the shadows.

  A claw slammed into the side of him and he went flying again before crashing into the ground.

  Laughter came from him, as the claw picked him up.

  “You brought friends to the party…” Then his eyes widened again, as he tried to release himself.

  Snap.

  Half of him fell to the ground with a splat. The claw opened and the rest of him hit the ground. Then a closed claw pounded into him from above.

  A notification pinged, but I ignored it to face the massive cavern crab.

  The two eyes stared at me as my spear vanished from my hand, along with the claws.

  I held both hands up in a placating measure. Dengu and Kabi both stood in the distance, surrounded by crabs, yet neither moved.

  “We mean no harm, and we're just passing through. The offender was our only target.” I projected my voice nice and loud.

  The eyes still stared at me.

  Several seconds later they turned to Lenna, who still stood on the pillar. Then back to me.

  “You hunt the offenders…” the voice came out slowly and gravely. “More gather…”

  A claw pointed to the area where I guessed the Fortress stood.

  Then, suddenly, there was movement everywhere, as the crabs all funneled back into holes in the ground.

  “Good hunting…” The massive crab dug beneath his feet, throwing massive stones on top of himself.

  None of us moved.

  It didn’t take long before you’d never be able to tell a battle took place, or that the crabs had been here. The dirt even smoothed out almost like stone.

  “What was that?” I asked, not expecting an answer.

  “Luck,” muttered Kabi, as he stepped closer to me, along with Dengu.

  Dengu sniffed at what was left of the Forger. All the crabs who had been injured were gone, carried off by the others.

  I stepped closer to the carcass and quickly got to work. The buzz of insects hovering just outside my reach made me move faster. The cool air felt good, but the breeze blew stronger than I wanted. Who knew what creatures it’d bring closer?

  I found the heart, and quickly crunched down on it. The stringy texture reminded me of chicken.

  It almost made me choke.

  More notifications pinged, but again I ignored them.

  I searched his fingers, but found nothing. The same went for his pockets.

  “We have time,” said Lenna, as I stood.

  “No, we don’t.” I shook my head and pointed in the same direction the crab had. “He was waiting for others to join him. I bet the crabs would make excellent servants, just like the beetles.”

  “Massive creatures roam the badlands at night,” added Kabi. He studied the rock formations dotting the landscape. “But they are better than the flying creatures during the day.”

  “All I know is we gotta head in that direction,” I said with a shrug, not sure what to do with the rest of the Forger. He had nothing I could use, and I didn’t know how to access his inventory.

  “There are lights in that direction.”

  All of us turned to Lenna's voice. “What?”

  “We should get moving.” Lenna moved closer to Dengu, and to my surprise leaped on his back. “I need to rest a little, get some advice.”

  That made sense.

  “Let’s get moving then…” Awareness prickled behind me in the far distance, but I couldn’t tell what it was.

  Instead, I headed to where she said the lights were and tried to focus on my surroundings as I opened my notifications.

  [You have gained bonus experience from combat for surviving against level 150, Bran, The Whisperer.]

  [You have collected a bounty: Gained an Experience Token.]

  [You have leveled.]

  [You have leveled.]

  [You have devoured a level 150, Bran, The Whisperer, and gained proficiency with the skill Sovereign’s Call.]

  I’d only gained 2 levels, but then again, I didn’t do much of the damage at all. I wondered what Lenna had gained. The proficiency was great and all, but it wasn’t something I wanted with my current build. Flinging friends in front of enemies wasn’t what I wanted.

  I closed the notifications and tossed 14 points into flexibility and 2 into toughness. That barely kept flexibility ahead of fortitude, and toughness over half of intelligence. It was what I could do.

  The experience token would help, but I wasn’t going to use it now. Once we put enough space behind us and the carcass, we’d get some more rest.

  The cool breeze blew in our faces, which felt amazing. Nothing came up on my radar in front of us. The stars didn’t provide much light, but it was enough for me. The hard baked earth was faster to travel over than the grasslands.

  Yet, I missed that area. Even without the trees, it felt better than here.

  This area wasn’t safe. The creatures that roamed it ate… I squashed those thoughts. I wasn’t a Manee, or a prey creature. I hunted offenders.

  I took a deep breath and the dusty air almost made me cough. The breeze kept the sweat off my back, which was nice. The crystals in my inventory almost called to me. I just didn’t have time to experiment with them.

  I hoped Strange was okay on his journey back to Steadfast. Finding us at this point wasn’t going to be easy, once he accomplished his task.

  That prickling came back at the farthest reaches of my senses. The hair stood up on the back of my neck, and I pulled my spear out.

  Something stalked us in the shadows. We were being hunted.