Spooked was the best way to describe the feeling as we set out. Between the Lizapes and the statue, extreme caution was being taken. Timothy was back in command at least until we were out of perceived danger. We set out, not knowing the horror that awaited us.

  “Halt! This is the spot,” I said quietly. Everyone fanned out a bit as I began to clear a circular area. For every tower, I made sure there was space around the tower devoid of trees. The small clearing grew in size until I was satisfied with the clearing. Before I began to build, I noticed Rinn and Timothy talking and pointing into the woods. They didn’t look like they were about to fight so I set myself to building.

  This tower was going to be built in a slightly different fashion. It would feature a large square support building made of stone. We knew there were monsters in the area and a stone base building would make the structure safer to take shelter in. I desperately wanted to make the entire structure out of stone. Time, Mana, and Materials dictated that I couldn’t do that. After finishing the stone base I stopped to take a break. I didn’t want to burn my mana in one go.

  “Is everything okay,” I asked, noticing how everyone seemed on edge.

  “No. How quick can you get that tower up,” Timothy asked. “Give me four minutes, maybe five,” I responded. “I hope you're overestimating,” Timothy stated.

  The fourth tower was rising when the sounds of screaming reached us from the woods. I

  reached a stopping point in the construction and whipped around. Curare stepped dramatically in front of me, raising their mace and shield in a defensive stance. The screams were getting louder and most likely closer. This was the first time I learned what fear tastes like. I felt sick. People burst into the clearing. They were armored and carrying weapons. Seeing us and the tower they came to a stop. Someone ran up behind them.

  “Keep going! Run you...” their voice died off as they entered the clearing. There was whispering amongst the armoured figures as they all stopped.

  “Who are you,” Timothy shouted, sword drawn.

  “Hurricane Rend, silver guild, out of Ostly. This area isn’t safe you need to leave now,” the lead figure shouted, almost panicked. Their blue armour was smeared with dirt, grime, and blood. There was a loud boom and the ground shook. Small and large rocks began to rain from the sky.

  “Volcano,” I asked, screaming over the noise of falling rocks and shouts. More people in blue armour were running into the clearing and stopping. My eyes followed where they had come from where I could see the earth shaking.

  “We're not going anywhere, we live not far from here, what's going on,” Timothy shouted.

  “Ereya,” a person in billowing robes with golden trim ran up beside the figure who had been shouting. “The seal has been broken. If these idiots want to die let them.”

  “Fine. Hurricane Rend Retreat,” the figure Ereya the mage said her name was ordered. People began to move but it was far too late. I could see the trees being destroyed and a dark mass plowing through the forest.

  “RUN,” I heard Timothy shout at the top of his lungs but it was already too late. Wood flew everywhere, full trees, tree branches, boulders, dirt all went flying as a giant monster erupted into the clearing.

  “Fucking Bullshit…” Don said with a look of terror on his face. Which was an apt description for what they were facing. Green scaly skin covered it’s massive head that looked

  longer than a school bus. This creature could have probably fit a school bus in its massive elongated mouth. Two giant yellow eyes stared down at them. Compared to the massive length of the creature which was almost as large as an american football field. It had four short stumpy legs with clawed feet. It was the largest gator I had ever seen.

  Magic, arrows and other projectiles flew at the creature pelting it. I saw a man with a sword charge one of it’s legs, only to get stomped on. Horrifyingly, I learned in that moment that humans when wearing armor make the same sound as a snail when accidentally being stepped on. A crunch followed by a wet squishy noise.

  Curare’s face popped into my vision. They were helmetless and bleeding from a wound to the head. I could feel them shaking me and watched their lips move as they screamed. I didn’t hear them. All I could hear was the sounds of the dying. Those that had been hit in the initial wave of debris. Curare jabbed their finger into my stomach. It hurt but it brought me to my senses. I looked around and noticed the gator was rising up to it’s full height.

  “GET DOWN!” I screamed just as the building-sized alligator shifted and began to pivot. People dived to the ground as a large tail tore through the forest. Trees broke apart and splintered into thousands of pieces of shrapnel. Those who got to the ground managed to dodge the tail. Those who didn’t were mutilated as the tail stuck with such force that it tore bodies apart. The tail then made contact with the earth sending rocks, dust, and dirt flying everywhere. Debris rained down into the clearing causing massive devastation. It looked like a bomb had gone off. People scrambled, stumbling around others screamed in pain.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  “Imperial Judgment!”

  So caught up in the moment I didn’t even notice Timothy. He had conjured a spectral

  lance that shot forth from his sword. It struck the creature directly in the eye and exploded. With a roar that shook the earth the creature reeled backwards rolling across the ground. Its tail swung around again, this time striking the tower which proceeded to begin a slow collapse. People tried to run but where could they go? Both gator and humans alike were hit by falling debris. The gator roared in outrage once again as a spear was now protruding from its foot.

  Then something happened that no one expected: The gator turned and headed back up into the mountain towards the giant statue. Maybe it decided we weren’t worth it, maybe it had made its point about how weak we were. We didn’t know, all we knew was what we were left with.

  I was astonished at the carnage and destruction. About forty people had run into the clearing; only about a dozen remained standing. Mutilated and ruined bodies littered the ground. Curare had run to Timothy who had dropped after the attack. Don and Rinn were standing weapons out looking at the people they didn’t know. Snapping out of it I moved over to Curare who checked on Timothy.

  “Is he okay,” I asked Curare, panic clearly in my voice.

  “Mana Fatigue. That spell ate all his mana,” Curare stated. “You're going to need to play leader.”

  I rose out of my kneel to look at the woman who approached us, hands raised. Long black hair framed tan skin and bright yellow eyes. She wore steel armor painted a blue color.

  This same coloration was seen across all of the other members of her group. Not all of them wore steel armor in fact not all of them were armored.

  “Who are you,” I asked, not really knowing if they would understand me.

  “I’m Ereya Starbeam, Banner of Hurricane Rend. We are a silver guild out of Ostly as I said earlier.” the woman said, looking around her. “We are gonna heal all those we can get moving and get out of here we suggest you do the same.” I was surprised I could understand what she was saying. Either they spoke the same language or something was translating.

  “I’m Dooley Jones of the village of Bogus. Pardon this question: what will you do with the ones who you can't heal enough to move?” Silence fell from the people who were all part of Hurricane Rend. Curare helped Timothy to his feet so he could stand next to me. Ereya spoke, breaking the crushing silence.

  “We will prepare them to either survive, or to face a good death.” Ereya said solemnly. Rinn stiffened and Timothy shook his head. The hell was wrong with these people? Face a good death? At best they’d be french fries for that giant gator. I was about to speak when I felt Curare’s hand on my shoulder. I sighed and mentally took a step back.

  “We could help them. Our place is less than 10 miles away,” I stated. Ereya looked a mixture of shocked and puzzled.

  “You're in Monster Country there is no way your home is 10 miles from here. No one lives within 100 miles of here,” Ereya stated her eyes growing steely. “I don’t know what your game is but it’s not funny.”

  “He’s not joking, we live close enough to get everyone who is still living to safety,” Timothy stated before I cut in.

  “We can’t waste time. We will help save your people but you have to trust us. Can you do that? I don’t want to leave your people to die but if you don’t trust us then we can’t save them. So can you trust us?” I asked. Ereya hesitated as she looked around at the devastation. A small white grey owl landed on her shoulder and chirped. With a resigned sigh, Ereya nodded slowly. Everyone got to work separating the living from the dead. I shocked everyone in Hurricane Rend when I conjured up several small wagons for carting of the wounded who were unable to move.

  Hurricane Rend had only five people who were unwounded; the remaining twenty three were wounded. Only thirteen of those were walking. The bodies of the dead, twelve in all, were stripped of any salvageable possessions. I thought it was harsh but Timothy shrugged it off.

  “You can’t judge by our standards,” he said grimly. Timothy seemed unfazed by the carnage. Curare, Rinn, Don, and me all were struggling but Timothy just kept calm and soldiered on. Going around, I tapped the bodies with my hammer. The bodies vanished into my inventory. In any other circumstance this would have been extremely creepy but I was determined to bury these people in an honorable and respectful way after I heard that they preferred to bury their dead but didn’t in the field.

  The tomb I constructed was built out of stone that would have been the base of the tower. I added more to the structure but ultimately wasn’t pleased with the result. It was cobbled together with a box-like structure that rose twenty feet into the air. The structure wasn’t impressive and really just looked like an earthen stone square but the mobile members of Hurricane Rend all saluted me after it was finished. I reflected on the salute which looked like a somber and serious version of a self fist bump. I had used up so much mana to build this quickly that I felt sick.

  The three hour trek was, as a result, silent, morose, and a blur. By the time we had arrived at the warehouse in Bogus, one more person in Hurricane Rend had died. All the residents of Bogus came rushing to help the members of Hurricane Rend, working all through the evening and into the morning. Sadly another two members of Hurricane Rend died that evening.

  I watched the sunrise from the entrance of the temple, sitting on the steps not far from Rinn and Curare. Timothy came hiking up with Ereya following behind. Death it seems had suddenly made this a lot less cool. Rinn was rocking back and forth slightly while Curare stared off into the distance. Stopping at the foot of the stairs Timothy looked at everyone.

  “First time,” he spoke softly. We knew exactly what he was talking about because it was all we could think about. Silence stretched for who knows how long as the wind rustled around them. I was there beside them watching the world, staring out into the forest where a giant monster had reduced a group of forty to twenty five in a matter of seconds.

  As Dooley would say "Thanks for reading dudes!"