We spent some time collecting samples and taking notes on the bears, the first step in my whimsical decision to catalogue the monsters in the wastes. I only intended to get a few entries on that trip though, the idea of coming back with kids to complete it one day filling me with a warmth that made Eve tear up.
"Right, let's go get this golem. Any idea where it is?"
"The job card said it was seen in the south end, toward the coast."
"The coast? That doesn't make sense... From what I remember they hated water."
"Well first, what you remember is hardly worth fretting over and maybe they just meant it directionaly? Like toward the coast but not actually at it."
"Maybe..." I threw my head back into cradled hands and Eve sighed as she led the way, knowing I was, at that point, too deep in thought to actually be at the fore.
After a few hours of walking at only a slightly faster than human pace, we had see an incredible demonstration of bio-diversity. Monsters of all kinds had appeared, fleeing quickly after a pulse of divine aura.
"I don't like it." I said suddenly after being too deep in thought to say a word up to then.
"Don't like what?" Eve's response was laced with worry and anticipation of disappointment. Worry for if my next words would be in relation to the mission at hand and anticipation in case it was just nonsense of no concern.
"The mana... It feels off, like it is trapped in the ground rather than a part of it."
"You aren't wrong, but what could do that, I thought mana was an agent of will?"
"My fault... An oversimplification, it is a spirit beast with no sense of self. Mana behaves as it is expected to, or asked to, or willed to, this mana is being trapped against its own will, or willing itself to be trapped."
"You started well then turned to nonsense."
"He's right, Mum ask the mana to do come out, it loves you so much it has never ignored you before."
"Mana loves me?"
"We all do dear, you have that effect on us... Now..." I made a "get on with it gesture".
"I don't know whether to kiss or hit you." She grumbled, as she asked it to come out and it felt repressed.
"Shit. We're in an anti-magic zone. A naturally occuring one... That's wh-" I never got a chance to process the thought any further before the ground started to shake.
Without thinking twice I told Quatal to grab her mother and fly and follow.
"Cosmael, how good are you without magic?"
"I'm good Dad, don-"
"You are my daughter... Run!" As I gave the order she took to the sky, falling back with Quatal, who luckily remembered to drop Caliburn as planned before retreating and Eve who was furious I stayed behind alone.
"Caliburn... Let's show my wife this wasn't self-sacrifice, I have yet to wield you properly."
"Yeah, that my be for the best, she is not happy... I'm glad I like Quatal, she may be my wielder from now on."
"Don't make me laugh. you can see my mind clearly enough to know I don't need magic."
"Still though... This thing is pretty big, about seven-hundred metres or so, feels like the Crackling Jabber you have caged up."
"I know... I'm putting my all into this one. Try and keep up."
The ground had been spitting and splitting throughout our whole exchange, then it gave way to a massive crystal formation that move like a spear toward me. I swung down cleaving it in half all the way from point to origin the lopped a chunk off in case I had to retreat.
"So how did that feel Caliburn?"
"I'm a sword and I don't even know how you did that, I barely even felt it touch me."
"Apologies, but it won't be the same when we find the body. These are denser than the average crystal dragon golem and the body is always about sixty times denser than its attacks. If you were even dwarf forged you would be splinters right now."
"Sooo... Not going to explain that attack then." It huffed, making me laugh.
"Pay attention, if I can get you to figure it out you can teach Quatal for me."
"Ah, right okay, I will do my best."
Two more spears made to skewer me, but between the sword and dagger I split them both the same way. I dodge a third that shot straight up from beneath me and then a tail emerged from the ground like a pulled root and whipped at me.
I sighed as I spun on my axis and struck it with Caliburn, not to damage, but deflect so I could return to solid ground.
"F? F sharp? what bloody key is that, wait it can't be..."
"Adam, I'm impressed okay? Stop the babbling and focus." Caliburn demanded with urgency.
"Damn, lost the tone, Caliburn, I'm not babbling, I need to focus on the sound it makes."
"What? Sorry, I guess."
"No cheating and reading my mind, I gave you enough hints already..." I added quickly before jumping and using Caliburn to deflect again and then a third time after it anticpated the deflection and launched me into the air.
I didn't bother deflecting it as the tail tried to spear me, simply grabbed it and used it as a slide, laying back to hold my ear to it as i tapped lightly with the pommel of the dagger.
"Is it really resonating as a chord? How is that even possible in one of these things?" I asked myself the question as the massive head of the creature, which was probably thirty-five metres long itself burst out of the earth and tried to eat me of its tail.
"Ah so that's how you did it, you didn't hit the other crystal at all, that weird shape you shifted me to made me resonate at the same frequency when you swung me."
"Well done... Eight points."
"Only eight?"
"For a perfect score tell me the pitch."
"Adam, I don't have ears, I can only hear thoughts."
"An imperfect score for an imperfect understanding."
"Wow! I don't know what kind of "ist" that is but is definitely one of them."
With its head revealed, it finally felt ready to reveal itself whilst we chatted. I had underestimated the thing, it definitely reached a full kilometre in length and not only that, but it was even more mutated than the Crackling Jabber.
This had characteristics that reminded me vaguely of the Demented Dancer-bug. A long and segmented body, with dozens of legs, what I thought was a tail was actually one of many tentacle-like extremities that merely resembled a tail and its actual one was more akin to a thick spiked-club that ended abruptly as though it had been cut off.
Aside from the fact it so closely resembled the object of my most recent trauma, the worst part about it was the head, or more precisely the fact there were several.
"Hey...Adam..."
"Yeah... What can I do for you Caliburn?..."
"Figured out why it had multiple frequencies?"
"Mmm hmm."
"Wishing that you didn't stay alone?"
"Mmm hmm... Yep..."
"Well... I'm wishing you weren't suuuuch aaa DUMB-ASSS!" Caliburn had started the sentance gradually, whilst the monster finished its dramatic entrance and I used my divine aura to power my physical enhancement, then began elongating its vowels as the monster started again and forced me to suddenly move at a horrific speed in order to dodge, deflect and parry dozens of attacks in just a couple of seconds. Finally becoming a head piercing telepathic shout as I tried to pierce the monster body, only to be knocked back by a sound wave defence.
"Look, just keep up, this will be easy. I'm ninety percent sure."
Then an omni-directional attack forced me into the air before a number of tentacles chased me, creating another sound wave as I tried to parry them.
"Are you sure about that? Ninety seems a bit high."
"Yes, I think I have it sussed, just trust me and keep up."
A tentacle struck me and I was able to block solidly, before stabbing it quickly with the dagger twice and then slashing it with the long-sword.
"See. It can only create a sound wave when multiple hit me, dodge the multi-attacks, parry the singles, mark the tentacles, then I make you something to let you steal the spotlight."
"Hmmmm... Okay, I'm in, let's show off a bit then, shall we?" We laughed then got to work.
Even though I was moving at incredible speed, the monster was able to keep up, to top it off it seemed to be highly intelligent. When it realised that I was marking its tentacles after lashing with individuals it stopped, choosing instead to use its claws and head where possible and forcing me to hunt down the individual tentacles to mark them.