Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth

by WeirdRaptor

A novelization of the original game. Follow Lenneth Valkyrie on her mission to gather the souls of the heroic slain in preparation for Ragnarök. Secrets, lies, and conspiracies mire her path. Will she succeed, or will all fall to darkness?

21. Chapter 20: Isle Thackus

Valkyrie Profile:

Lenneth Novelization AU:

Disclaimer: I do not own Valkyrie Profile or any other tri-Ace properties. Please support the official release.

Chapter Twenty:

Isle Thackus

"Dear Lenneth.

I write to remind you the end of your first Sacred Phase is in one week. Your evaluation will be at 9:00 in the morning, sharp. We expect a full report of how your einherjar have progressed under your guidance. Remember, we need archers, a silent warrior who infiltrate behind enemy lines. May the Fates guide your steps.

Sincerely,

Freya."

Lenneth had received that letter from Frida, the Valkyries' maid, after she roused her. Now Lenneth sat in front of the dresser mirror garbed in a bathrobe she'd put on over her nightgown, staring at her reflection. She was lost in thoughts concerning how she was going to get Llewelyn ready in just a week. Her hands were folded, but she anxiously tapped a finger against her other hand. She barely noticed Frida redoing her braid.

"Fate has not smiled on me this Sacred Phase. How will I be able to explain this to Lord Odin and Lady Freya if I cannot get Llewelyn ready in time?" she wondered.

"There we go, Milady," her maid tied her braid with the red string and let it fall.

"Thank you, Frida," Lenneth glanced at her with a polite smile.

The maid bowed and went to make her lady's bed. Lenneth glanced down at the dresser top, which the note rested on next to the clothes Frida had picked out for her for the day. Lenneth sighed.

"Well, Llewelyn isn't going to get his training finished with me sitting here fretting," she decided.

She stood, grabbed the day's outfit, and quickly stepped behind the changing screen in the corner to get ready. As she stripped out of her night clothes, and then hung them over the top of the screen for Frida to collect later, she considered ways to speed up the boy's training.

"Perhaps I can enlist Ull to help him after today's training and patrol of Midgard," she considered. "It might not hurt for Llewelyn to go on The Hunt with him."

"Something troubles thee, Milady?" Frida asked from the other side of the screen.

"'Tis nothing, but thank you," Lenneth answered politely. "Just official Valkyrie business I must attend to."

"Alright, but please do tell me if there's anything I can do," Frida's pleasant tone heightened Lenneth's spirit.

"I will, and thank you again," Lenneth answered.

She grabbed the day's attire beside it.

She paused before putting them on. "I must observe Llewelyn closely today. Perhaps I can even get an extension on how long I can train him if he is just not ready."

Somehow, she doubted that, especially considering she wasn't supposed to choose him at all.

"If I hadn't, I would have no archer to present to Lord Odin and Lady Freya at all this phase," Lenneth could not help but find the irony in that.

---

"'Tis been over a week. Why haven't they contacted me?"

Lorenta stood at the window of her office, fretfully drumming her fingers against the windowsill as she looked out over the campus of the Flenceburg Sorcery Academy. She'd been watching the sky with a face lined with worry. Unwillingly, she turned away from her ornate casement window. The ends of her long gown swished about her heels as she walked over to her desk.

Lorenta Elricdottir was the headmistress of the academy. Despite turning 40 in about a month, she still looked a woman in her mid-thirties. Not a wrinkle of age was blighted her features yet, but she did look quite distinguished. She was a cherry-blonde with cream-colored skin. Her long hair was almost always done up in a lace braided bun, which was tied in place with a dark purple ribbon. She wore a violet Victorian gown. The skirt was a puffy and multilayered like a ballgown's and the upper half was just a modest, possessing long sleeves. It buttoned closed at the neckline and was topped with a tall collar. Lorenta wore a dark purple dress jacket over it, which was also buttoned up.

"Nine days since I sent Henry the Sigil-Keeper and the men he asked for to Isle Thackus to reseal the evil lurking in those cursed caves," she mumbled in worry. She sat down at her desk, weighing her options. "What should I do?"

While she thought, the outline of a person appeared on the other side of the obscure glass window of her office door. She knew from build and the almost delicate knocking at her door, that was it her new receptionist.

"In come, Garcia," she called.

A slight man with bland pale features and curly red hair opened the door, carrying a folder under one arm. He looked nervous as he stepped through the door. Lorenta smiled and stood to greet him.

"What may I do for you?" she asked.

"Pardon the intrusion, Headmistress," Garcia dipped into such a low bow, his head almost ended between his legs. He coughed awkwardly before continuing. "You asked me to remind you of your 11 O'clock meeting if you had not left your office by Ten. 'Tis with Grand Sorceress M… Meltina?"

Garcia took the folder out from under his arm and opened it up. "My mistake, Grand Sorceress Mystina van Aegir. Your consultation about her research budget is in one hour."

"Blast it all. That's right!" Lorenta mentally cried.

She took out a pocket-watch from one of her jacket pockets, and popped it open, looking at the time. It did not tick or tock, as it was not run by gears, but by magic, as most things were in Flenceburg. As such, it was no thicker than a locket containing a miniature painted likeness of a loved one inside. The magic circle which turned the hour and minute hands was engraved right on the clock face.

"Yes, quite correct. Thank you, Garcia," Lorenta politely said. "I will be along momentarily."

Garcia bowed again and backed out the room, closing the door behind him. Once alone, Lorenta sighed wearily at the thought of having to speak to Mystina on top of everything else.

"Well, that settles that," she decided.

She sat back down laid out both hands flat atop her desk.

"Familiar. Come forth," she chanted.

A pale light shined between where her hands were laid out on the table. When it dimmed and died out, it revealed a white dove which now stood on her desk. It bowed, even crossing one of its wing across its chest like a gentleman introducing himself.

"Master Lorenta," the feminine voice of her Familiar echoed in her mind.

"Hello, Truly," Lorenta answered servant. "I need you to journey to Isle Thackus, to the St. Thackus Institute of Hydrology and Microscopic Research."

"There, Master? 'Twas closed down after the accident," Truly sounded skeptical.

"I know," Lorenta swiftly replied. "Just listen. It is located on the Northwestern corner of the island coast, roughly three leagues southwest of the Crell-Thackus Bridge following the shoreline. 'Tis impossible to miss. It sits on a cliff. Understood?"

"Yes, Master," Truly's wings fluttered nervously.

Lorenta noticed her Familiar's unease right away. "Brave heart, Truly. I do not make issue this mission lightly."

"I know, Master, but even in the astral plane, I've heard all kinds of terrible rumors about that place. Something evil lurks there, deep in the caves which were formed by the accident," Truly said.

"Then we share a sense of urgency," Lorenta muttered.

"What is my mission, Master?" Truly asked.

Lorenta cleared her throat. "Right. Now, I sent Henry the Sigil-Keeper and some men up there to reseal the source of corruption in the caves below the ruin. That was just over a week ago."

Lorenta's voice became lower and urgent then. "I've not heard anything from them, not even by carrier pigeon or their own Familiars. I need to check on them and the status of the mission. If they have failed, you must reclaim the Phoenix Medallion. It's a powerful item I sent with them which can reinforce a seal that's been placed where the contaminated water collected deep in the caves. A majority of the beasts born of experiments ended up there. It has come to our attention that the seal is weakening. Without the medallion, we cannot hope to reforge the seal and prevent catastrophe."

"It will be done, master!" Truly flapped her wings and then vanished again.

"Now, then," Lorenta pulled open one of the drawers in her desk. She pulled out a file containing information about Mystina's research. "To go meet with her, a feat as dangerous as any Undead."

---

"I sense a gathering of corrupted energy and Undead in the Southeast. Yes, either in southern Crell Monferaigne or Northern Flenceburg," Lenneth's eyes opened as she ended her spiritual concentration.

She also considered the third possibility. "Or this darkness could be gathering on Isle Thackus. The Flenceburg Magi sometimes conduct their more dangerous experiments there because it is relatively isolated compared to anywhere in Flenceburg. Perhaps that could be the cause. We shall see when I've pinpointed the location."

Behind her, the einherjar were finishing up their morning training. They were up in the mountains again, but this time for the seclusion they offered, instead of hunting for Orlok.

"Erk!" Lawfer grunted as Arngrim pressed his blade to the side of his neck.

His halberd was imbedded in the soil. The knight sighed as he'd lost again.

"…Even after all this time, I still can't beat you," he muttered.

"Heh. You got all eternity to try now," Arngrim withdrew Dáinsleif and slid it back into its sheath.

Lawfer looked away, remembering his talk with Lenneth from his first night as an einherjar.

"With Ragnarök soon to come, perhaps not," he thought.

"Something wrong?" Arngrim asked.

"Just what has Lady Valkyrie told you of our situation?" Lawfer asked him.

Arngrim shrugged. "About the Three Kingdom Alliance, and how they're tryna take out Asgard. Could be Ragnarök. Might not be. I don't give a damn, either way, so long as I get to go out fightin'."

"In a worthy battle, of course," Lawfer added.

"Worthy, eh?" Arngrim repeated with an air of doubt. "Guess we'll see."

As the scarred warrior turned away, Lawfer was left wondering what he meant. Elsewhere on the summit, Nanami and Jelanda chatted together excitedly.

"Oh, you have a Familiar? I haven't been able to summon one yet! That's amazing, Jelanda!" Nanami squealed excitedly.

"Isn't it?" the princess proudly replied.

Jelanda proudly showed off Goldie, the little golden parrot Familiar perched on her forearm. The bird looked up at Nanami and fluttered its wings. The Yamatoese girl leaned in to look the creature over. Goldie was nearly identical to a real parrot except for the coloration. The miko couldn't recall ever seeing a gold parrot before.

"What can you use her for? She's not very big," Nanami asked.

"She's good for scouting, mainly," Jelanda scratched Goldie under the chin. "We've been using her to scout out Undead hives before heading in, ourselves, lately."

"Does she have any attacks?" Nanami asked.

"Well, she packs quite a peck if the reactions from our enemies are anything to go on," Jelanda rubbed Goldie under her chin.

The parrot Familiar outstretched her neck, enjoying the attention.

Llewelyn raised his bow, already drawn. The enchanted targets they'd brought from Valhalla were laid out around him. They looked like any round targets, having a bullseye and a series of rings which spread out from the middle, each indicating how many points a shot was worth. They were not attached to any stands, but instead lied on the ground in a circle around him.

The young archer took in a big breath and then exhaled to keep himself centered. "Alright, you got this."

"Activate," Llewelyn commanded.

The targets hovered into the air and began moving back and forth or in circular formations. Llewelyn fired his first shot at the nearest target, one of the ones moving to and thro. His arrow hit just a breath shy of the bullseye to the left. The boy made himself focus on the next, instead of mentally kicking himself. Soon, more shots were fired, each hitting the targets close to the center. When he was done, the twelve floating targets acted as a testament to his current skill. He'd managed to hit the bullseye dead center on five of them, but the other seven shots all hit within the two innermost rings around the center of the target.

That didn't really make Llewelyn feel any better, though, since he knew that tiny bit of distance could be the difference between simply wounding a foe, and killing one. An injured enemy would still be running at him with an ax, ignoring the pain of the arrow in their body while in an adrenaline rush. So just wounding an enemy wasn't good enough in battle.

"Change formation," Llewelyn ordered.

The targets circling around him reorganized themselves and took to making angled zigzagging motions or spinning around each other like partners in dance. Llewelyn trained his sights in the first target he focused on.

Not far off, Lenneth watched him go through this new drill.

"Still work to do," she observed.

She glanced towards the southeast, knowing they should get going, but her deadline kept the order to move out behind her teeth.

"I've not been forced to endure these monthly evaluations before. I cannot tell what will happen if Llewelyn isn't ready to be transferred by then," her mind was divided on the issue.

She watched him begin to run through the gauntlet again, with similar results. Always hitting the innermost rings of the targets, but only about half hit the bullseyes. She knew the margin of error would be narrow in Odin and Freya's eyes, and he was nowhere close to staying within that field yet.

"I will give them a little more time to practice, and then it's off to the next mission," she told herself.

With that settled, she turned to her team.

"Attention!" she called.

Her einherjar all fell silent as they turned to her.

When Lenneth was sure they were all listening, she began, "We will be leaving shortly, but you have time enough for more training before we depart. Llewelyn."

"Uh, yes, Lady Valkyrie," he saluted, looking nervous as ever.

"Keeping running that drill for the time being. Order the targets to vary their flight patterns each round," She ordered. "Understood?"

"Yes, Milady. So, we're leaving soon? You've sensed trouble somewhere?" the boy asked.

"Indeed. Dark energy and Undead," Lenneth raised her voice to ensure she was heard by all. "Southeast. Most likely either in Crell Monferaigne or Flenceburg. The rest of you, run through one more sets of drills, too. Jelanda, Nanami, I want to see you practicing your magics. Lawfer, spar with Belenus awhile. Arngrim, care to test yourself against me?"

Arngrim just smiled broadly. "Like you hafta ask?"

Lenneth drew her sword as she and him went over to a spot on the plateau where they had room to spar.

"Come at me, human, and don't you dare fall in less then ten blows," Lenneth ordered him.

"Just ten? That's an amateur request, lady," Arngrim cockily answered.

"Humph! We shall see," Lenneth held her sword in an upper guard.

"Oh, dear, I hope they don't destroy the mountainside," Belenus commented.

"Indeed," Lawfer murmured.

Then both sets of sparring partners began.

---

"Lord Forseti, Lord Magni, Lord Modi, thank you for coming. We have carried out your orders for the entire Forest of Spirits," the elf captain announced.

He directed their attention to the map of the island rolled out on a large table he stood on one side of. Forseti and Magni were across from him, paying full attention to his update. Modi was somewhere behind his brother and cousin at the dining table with a plate which had almost more food than it could handle piled onto it. Forseti and Magni both tried to ignore the sound of him stuffing his face as they listened to the captain.

"As per your orders, we have placed markers both around the entire boundary of The Forest of Spirits as well as in regular grids throughout the interior. They have been set to detect teleportation spells. If that human returns, he will trip the markers and we can track him. He will not escape us this time."

The elf captain traced his finger across the map of the island while he spoke. This caused several glowing dots to appear on the parchment, showing where each marker had been placed. Surrounding each one was an aura, showing their range of detection. All the markers had been placed close together enough that their detection radiuses overlapped, leaving not a single blind spot in the whole forest.

Magni looked over his shoulder, giving Modi an annoyed glare. "Brother."

"Hmm?" Modi looked up from his plate. Food hung from his bright red beard, allowing Magni to identify everything he had gorged himself on thus far. "Nmmth Sthm-thith?"

"Don't talk with your mouth full!" Magni shouted. And then pointed straight down sternly. "Get over here. Captain Rog is addressing us. Stop being rude and stop embarrassing us."

Modi swallowed his food, making his throat expand almost impossibly big, and then spoke with perfect plainness. "Alright, alright, I'm comin'."

"And clean off your beard," Forseti threw in his own input. "You are one of the gods, not a barbarian like that Arngrim fellow."

"And that man at least shaves," Magni muttered quietly.

Captain Rog stood perfectly still and quiet, trying not to make the awkwardness any worse.

Modi got up, hastily wiping off his beard with a handkerchief. When he had gathered enough of the grease and hunks of food from his beard to be 'clean enough' by his measure, he wadded up the cloth and looked for a place to put it.

"Hey, lass," he said to a passing elf woman in a dress, who carried a stack of scrolls in her arms.

"Yes, Lord Modi," she turned to him with a polite smile.

"Here, take this," he tossed her the handkerchief without warning.

While she tried to catch it despite having her hands full, it sailed right over her hands and hit her in the face. Then it fell open and dumped its contents down the front of her dress. The elf woman stood, suppressing a disgusted shout as Modi took another bite of his food. Back at the war table, Forseti and Magni both took notice of the cringe Captain Rog failed to subdue and looked to see Modi approaching them with his plate in-hand, while still eating off it. He walked past the elf woman as she gingerly removed his dirty handkerchief from her person without such much as an apology.

She tried to sound pleasant through clenched teeth, "Thank you… Lord Modi."

He just gave a dismissive wave as he walked away without so much as a look.

"What did you do?" Magni demanded.

He glanced toward the elf woman, who was departing with noticeable and deliberate haste. He meant to call out to her and apologize on his brother's behalf, but she quickly vanished from the room.

Forseti glared down at Modi's plate. "No, leave… it," he trailed off because the other Thorson had already joined them.

Captain Rog was in the midst of silently reminding himself that Modi was one of the Aesir, and reminding himself several times in a row. He happened to glance at Forseti, whose gaze met his. The god of reconciliation then quickly looked down shamefully. When Rog discerned he was embarrassed by his cousin, he calmed himself down. Modi had taken up a spot standing behind the other two, peering over their shoulders as he stuffed a whole drumstick into his mouth and loudly stripped it of its meat. Forseti and Magni both gave him disgusted sideways glances as those revolting sounds filled their ears.

Forseti was resigned at this point, and gestured to Rog. "Continue, Captain, you have something else to say?"

"Were you even paying attention?" Magni asked his brother.

"Of course. Markers all over the island," Modi answered between mouthfuls.

"Speaking of those markers," Rog raised his voice to get the Thorsons' attention. "This system has also been tested thrice before you came down from Valhalla this morning. It works. Not a single spell goes unnoticed within the forest now, but only portal, teleportation, and dark magic are set to trip the alarm."

"Excellent," Magni smiled approvingly. He put his hands on his hips as he observed the array. "Alright, the issue of this intruder's return has been handled, but we still need to find him."

"Indeed," Forseti agreed. He turned to the elf captain. "Captain, if you would please display all of Midgard?"

"Certainly," the captain reached down and swiped his fingers over a corner of the map. The map zoomed out, showing the entire realm. "The mage who abducted the maiden Lianna was exceptionally powerful, Milords. Perhaps that would be a clue to his whereabouts?"

"Hmm…" Forseti tapped his cheek thoughtfully as he looked over the continents of the Midgard. "Presently…"

"Probably just some Hel worshipper from the boonies," Modi absently commented.

Forseti glanced at him, and briefly considered the notion before lightly shaking his head. "No, he used a teleportation spell, which is far more advanced than anything Hel would be willing to share with one of her followers."

"What about her Lich Knight?" Modi asked. "She taught him a lot of advanced dark magic."

"The Lich Knight is no longer human," Magni reminded him. "He's been fully converted into a demon under her sway. The elves reported that the girl's abductor was a living human male."

"Yes, 'tis obvious this man learned from someone else," Forseti put in. "But let us use a little deduction to narrow it down, shall we?"

He reached down and tapped Flenceburg, causing the map to zoom in on it. "Most of Midgard's most powerful Magi come from Flenceburg's various academies, but this man was clearly a Necromancer, dabbling in dark magics forbidden for humans and punishable by death everywhere on Midgard."

"Yes, 'sides, we have a strong hold over Flenceburg," Magni concurred. "Thanks to Uncle Vidar, all magi in in that region are taught standardized magic at the academies and can only practice with a license. If they lose it, they can say goodbye to those research grants and access to the state's big fancy labs."

"So, what Milords are saying… it would be difficult for a Necromancer to be operating in Flenceburg?" Captain Rog asked.

"Legally, anyway," Forseti commented. "They must also pass yearly evaluations and inspections. There are simply too many resources wrapped up in their research for someone to risk losing it all just to conduct forbidden experiments."

"So, we can just count out Flenceburg?" Modi asked.

Magni kept his lips firmly shut, mostly containing an angry growl at his brother.

"No, we can count out the magi operating under the academy system," Magni said. "There's still a possibility this mage could have been taught at one of the academies, but is practicing outside of state supervision. There are plenty of unsavory ways to make oth and get necessary capital on Midgard. Unfortunately."

"However, even a rogue mage would still have to have connections within magi society," Forseti stared at Flenceburg on the map quite intently.

"Unless he found someone rich and powerful somewhere else to fit the bill, who doesn't care what he does on the side as long as they're both getting what they want," Modi suggested.

"Also a possibility," Forseti conceded. His eyes remained on Flenceburg as he thought. "Hmm…"

Magni caught his cousin's thoughtful look. "You having a thought?"

"Perhaps…" Forseti answered. "Does anyone know if Lenneth has departed for Midgard yet? She or one of her einherjar might have heard something about a rogue wizard. Captain Rog, can you send a fairy to Valhalla for us? While you're at it, fetch the sketch of the man that was made from the survivors' description of him."

"Yes, Milord."

---

"Oh, my giddy aunt. Well, I've certainly learned how not to make a Vessel for a goddess, at least."

Lezard dejectedly sat hunched over on a stool in front of a large cylindrical tank made of thick glass. It was tall enough to be set into the floor and ceiling by iron frames. It was filled with water and alchemic preserving agents which ensured the tank's contents would never rot or otherwise deteriorate so long as it was submerged. There were countless other tanks in rows throughout the room, all currently sitting empty.

Floating lifelessly in the fluid mixture was the empty husk of Lianna, the elf maiden Lezard had abducted and experimented on. The spark of her life was gone, but her body remained, fully converted into a homunculus.

She no longer looked like Lianna, though. Gone were her originally elven features, remolded through magic and alchemy to take on the appearance of Lenneth. Pointed ears were rounded and green hair had turned silver. Her proportions altered to match the goddess'. Yet Lezard was displeased. The experiment was failure, and he'd used up his one test subject getting to this point. Somehow, the soul-branding spell had failed. He'd conducted the ritual perfectly, and yet, this Vessel had failed to make a connection with the Valkyrie's soul. If Lenneth fell in battle, he would be unable to pull her out of her natural cycle and into the homunculus body floating in the tank before him.

Lezard growled and pounded a fist against the glass of the tank. Pain shot through his hand, but he ignored it, and continued to scowl at the puppet which had refused to do what he wanted it to. He'd lost hours of sleep for this, and hadn't even bathed in four days just to be able to continue his work. Stubble was thick on his chin and about his lips and his hair was a frizzled mess which could've made a porcupine envious.

Scowling, Lezard picked up his notes and began looking through them again.

"What did I get wrong?" he asked himself.

He flipped back and forth between the key pages as he tried to sort it out. He grabbed up a loose sheet of paper, an inkwell, and a pen and got to work, going over the spell again. He copied down all the key components onto one page, cursing himself for not having done it earlier. He also recopied the spell instructions and configuration. He adjusted his glasses and looked over the information, now all on the same page, however messily. Then his eyes lit up with realization. Then in the next moment, his eureka moment was over, and his shoulders sagged as his head drooped.

"I will need a sample from either my beloved's present vessel or a sample of her aura to complete the soul-brand between her and one of my homunculi," he said.

Sighing, he set down his research journey on the floor and then got up to stretch his legs. As he stiffly wandered around trying to get his limbs to loosen up, he also took stock of what he needed to do at this juncture.

"I am back at square one. I wasted the soul-brand spell by casting it incorrectly, so now that Vessel is useless. I need to somehow get a sample of my beloved Lenneth to create a soul connection between her and a suitable Vessel. Ugh, I wish I could cast the Sovereign's Rite and just transfer her soul into whatever vessel I choose directly."

However, for Lezard to attain the power of soul transference for only himself, he needed to get it directly from a god or goddess of fate. He had the practical knowledge memorized, but without a Divine source of power, it was just words and symbols. Granted, Lezard had already developed a theory that performing Divine soul transference might be doable by four or five expert magi casting in perfect unison with each other. Or three undead expert magic users doing the same.

Lezard made a grumbling sound with his throat as he considered that option.

"Turning myself Undead is out of the question. So few retain all of their mental faculties during the turn," he muttered. "'Tis a miracle the ones who become Vampire Lords are able to do it. Even harder it will be to get two other Undead magic users I could keep control of."

"As for getting the help of three living magi, who would I even recruit?" he asked himself. "Finding someone who'd dare wield that power who I could trust not to stab me in the back afterwards would be near-impossible."

Lezard removed his glasses so he could rub his temples with his palm. "Gandar's out. The old codger would Soul Transfer me into an anteater at the earliest opportunity. I could ask Mysti… No. The Soul Branding process is my only viable path right now."

He didn't want to admit it, but the Necromancer was feeling the tiniest bit daunted by the task ahead. And yet, it invigorated him. A true challenge worthy of his mind and skill, finally.

"Alright," Lezard decided. "I can work with these findings. Now that I've perfected converting an elf into a Vessel, I can grow duplicates from samples of her blood in these tanks. Then I can… Gah!"

Lezard palmed his face. "Except I've completely reconfigured that elf down to the atomic level! I'm going to need another elf, and they won't be caught off their guard so easily this time."

The alchemist began laughing at himself. "Oh, this is quite the pickle you put yourself in, Lezard."

His smile fell and as his stare grew intense. "But no price is too high for love."

He about-faced and marched back over to his prototype homunculus, and leaned on the glass looking in at it.

"Step One: get a replacement test subject, and don't waste her all in one go this time. Step Two: lure my beloved in to get a sample. Step Three: induce her fall in battle. Step Four: transfer her into my tender, loving care forever. Sound good?" he asked the Vessel.

No answer, of course.

"I think it sounds lovely, too," he replied to an imaginary response.

He stepped away from the tank, looking his creation over. "But first, you are a perfectly sculped specimen. I could probably get you some basic programming to do some work around here, especially since Belion's not been quite right after you messed with his head. Caught him dusting the weeds outside the other day."

Lezard shoved his hands into his pockets and headed for the door. "Don't go anywhere. I'll be right back."

---

"There. That strange cave at the base of the cliff. That is our quarry."

Lenneth stood with Arngrim, Jelanda, and Belenus on her left, and Lawfer, Llewelyn, and Nanami on her right atop a ridge overlooking a valley below them near the northwest shore of Isle Thackus. The island was a small landmass sandwiched between Crell Monferaigne's southeast shore and Flenceburg's northwest coastline, separated only by peninsulas, which had been circumvented with great bridges of iron and lumber some decades before.

At the other end of the valley stood a cliff which was about fifty feet inland from the beach. At its top sat an abandoned and decrepit ruin which had suffered foundational collapse, reducing it to a pile of stones with a few vague remnants of the fort it'd been still discernable. Even at the distance where the enormous ruin looked no bigger than a fishbowl, the cause of the collapse was evident.

"Thor's Hammer… they must have been working with some very dangerous chemicals," Lenneth muttered. "It melted right through solid stone walls."

Something had indeed melted right through the middle of the building, basically cutting it in two. Combined with the chemicals burning first through the foundations and then earth and stone under that, anything that survived had nothing to stand in. So, it all fell inward on itself. The ruin only still clung to its perch on the cliff because the melted stonework had resolidified into a lumpy mess which had practically fused with it.

At the base of the cliff straight down from the ruin was a cave, but Lenneth and Belenus could both tell it was nothing natural about the way it formed. It had the appearance of a fairly new volcanic cave, but was in completely the wrong place to be one on this particular island. The edges were soft as though the stone had become molten and then hardened again later, retaining the shape of waves and half-formed drips of water. There were lumps made of the same stone as the cliff surrounding the entrance, which had obviously slumped onto the ground when the acidic chemicals of the facility had burned through it all. Even the natural cave columns had an appearance unique from normal stalactites, also having been formed from molten rock.

There was also a long groove in the ground leading directly from the cave's entrance to the sea where what dangerous concoctions have flowed out from the newly cut hole into the ocean. Even though sand had filled the groove since then, it was deep enough for there to be a discernible dip in one part of the beach. As the Valkyrie and her crew took in the scene, they each began to gleam a rough outline of the circumstances leading to the present. The chilly wind blew, biting at any exposed skin it could find, as per the cold weather typical of the island.

"Another cave?" Jelanda asked. "Didn't we just do something like this?"

"You mean, didn't Valkyrie and the new girl just do something like this?" Arngrim corrected.

Jelanda huffed in response. "You know what I mean."

Llewelyn turned away from the clifftop ruin and looked around their more immediate surroundings to scout the terrain. Perhaps there were more clues nearby. As he plodded along examining the area, he spotted some upturned dirt on the slope of the hill. In some places, they were full-on skid marks spanning a few yards as though someone had slipped but then regained their footing trudging down it, and there were several round, deep imprints besides. None of them particularly old. His eyes trailed back up to the ridge and he saw more disturbed soil, kicked up by something. He went over and crouched next to the tracks, removing any leaves or twigs which covered them. There were round prints in the grass everywhere, indicating a decent-sized group. Llewelyn stooped next to them to get a better look.

Back with the group, Nanami gave the distant cave a daunted look.

"A cave, huh? I didn't think I'd be going into another so soon," she mumbled.

Lawfer noticed the Yamatoese girl fidgeting next to him. When he looked at Nanami, he saw how pale with fear she was.

"Hey, 'tis alright. No one's asking you go into a dark cave alone this time," he said assuringly.

Nanami glanced and gave a weak smile, though she still looked worried. Lawfer gave her his best smile.

When he spoke, his tone was warm, "If it gets too frightening down there, just stay behind me. I'll cover you. After all, all you can do is your best."

That cheered Nanami up and she nodded, making a chirpy noise in her throat.

"Thank you," she said. "That actually helps a lot."

Lawfer's own smile widened when he saw some of her fear give way.

Lenneth overheard the exchange and turned to Jelanda, 'Ahem-ing' at her.

"Hmm?" The little princess looked at her inquiringly.

Lenneth nodded towards the other mage girl, getting Jelanda to look at Nanami. She saw their newcomer looking anxious and knew what Lenneth was wanting from her. So, the princess approached Nanami and Lawfer.

"Nervous about your first plunge with Lady Valkyrie?" Jelanda asked the shrine girl.

"Oh, most certainly," Nanami admitted. She quickly looked away, flushing. "I must seem a coward to the rest of you."

"Nonsense," Lawfer assured from behind her.

"Hey, it's nothing to be ashamed of," Jelanda told her. "Everyone is scared the first time they go on a dangerous mission. Just like Llewelyn and I were terrified when we each had our first mission with Lady Valkyrie."

Nanami folded her hands in her lap as she silently listened.

"Like the big lug back there is always telling everyone," Jelanda pointed to Arngrim who was speaking to Lenneth and Belenus. The ex-princess smirked impishly as she did her best impression of the scarred warrior. "'All you can do is your best. You can' t be a blade of grass blowing in the wind. You have to stand firm like the mountains.'"

Lawfer and Nanami both tried to suppress a laugh.

"You really have received one of his pep talks," Lawfer tried to keep his voice down.

"Mm-hm," Jelanda giggled.

"Alright, I'll give it my best," Nanami affirmed. Then she smiled at bother Lawfer and Jelanda. "I guess I'll be in your care."

Back with Lenneth, her attention was still on the unnatural cliff cave. "Arngrim, Belenus, any thoughts to share?"

"Yeah, I'm bettin' whatever you're sensin' in the cave came from that ruin up there originally," Arngrim pointed to the abandoned research facility. "We might even find a clue or two if we go there first, but who knows what's moved in since the people left."

"I would dare say some kind of lab accident was the cause of that cave's existence," Belenus also observed. "'Tis not uncommon for Flenceburg magi to bring their more dangerous experiments up this island. The locals have complained about the effects these projects have had on their island's environment more than a few times."

"Thoughts on the building?" Lenneth prompted.

"Well," Belenus looked it over again. "From the looks of it, it used to be a military base, not a research building."

"Research for the Flenceburg military?" Arngrim wondered.

"Very likely," Lenneth muttered.

She hummed thoughtfully as she looked around. She turned clear around, facing the south and saw a well-trodden main road further inland which passed by the area, stretching out to both directions. Going northward, the path traveled along the top of the bluff overlooking the valley by the sea and eventually disappeared behind the tall cliff the ruined facility sat on. Lenneth had seen the road from the sky earlier, as well as where it went in that direction. There was seaside town with a decent-sized port and heavy fortification about a league up the coastline just off that road. Another two leagues going northeast came to the great St. Thackus Bridge which connected Island Thackus to mainland Crell Monferaigne.

The road also connected to several small villages back down south, but they were further away. Lenneth knew port towns were always a good resource of gossip and rumors. Lenneth was divided on whether they should take the additional time to go ask around there. It was possible no one knew anything concrete, but they might have at least seen some of the monstrosities dwelling in the cave.

Before she could decide, Llewelyn called out to them:

"Lady Valkyrie, everyone, I've found something. Horse prints. About twenty."

The entire group turned towards him. He crouched near the edge of the ridge a short distance away, still clearing away leaves and sticks from it. When they had gathered around, Llewelyn pointed where they should look.

"See. There are a bunch of spots where the ground's been disturbed maybe a week ago. It looked like the soil was still wet from a storm when they came by, and I can tell no one else has come by, because the tracks are still clear.

Arngrim and Lawfer each got down on the knee beside him while Lenneth crouched. Belenus, Jelanda, and Nanami stood back, allowing the outdoorsmen to examine the tracks.

"Good eye," Arngrim congratulated Llewelyn.

"Thanks," Llewelyn replied. "It looks like the riders may have been armored soldiers by the depth of the tracks."

"No, they're too deep for just that," Lawfer shook his head. "Horses bearing armored men and supplies make for deep tracks, but not like this. These people were carrying… something with them, that was heavy."

"Scientific equipment, perhaps?" Lenneth scratched her chin.

She again regarded the ruined lab atop the cliff.

"If these were magi from Flenceburg, what could they have been after?" she wondered. "This was not a recent accident."

"And where'd they go?" Jelanda asked.

"Into the cave or the ruin," Belenus answered. "But did they ever depart?"

Lenneth then looked down the cave and happened to see something in the bottom corner of her eye among a small grouping of trees near its entrance. When she turned her eye to it, she realized there were several still forms in the grass by the trunks. Under the shade of their branches, the Valkyrie could not tell exactly what they were, but had a hunch.

"I have a suspicion about what befell our mysterious horse riders, my einherjar. Look, under those trees near the cave," Lenneth pointed.

"Hrm," Arngrim shielded his eyes from the sun as he looked. "Hey… those bigger lumps right around the tree trunks are definitely big enough to be horses lying on their side."

"I'd bet the bow Lady Valkyrie gave me they are," Llewelyn commented. "They have to be the horse riders who left these tracks. There's no reason to go down into this valley, except to try getting something from the ruin or the caves."

Lenneth cast a side-eye at Llewelyn, and nearly gave him a stern word about how he would be betting nothing she had given him. She remained focused on the mission, though.

"I will take Arngrim, Llewelyn, and Nanami with me down into the valley to get a closer look," Lenneth announced. "The rest of you, remain here and get out of sight."

"Yes, Lady Valkyrie," Belenus and Lawfer both bowed.

Then while Arngrim and Llewelyn were quick to come to their lady's side, Nanami hesitated. Lenneth took immediate notice of the girl lingering.

"Nanami," Lenneth called firmly. "I gave you an order."

"Yes, Lady…" the miko squeaked. Then she cleared her throat, and tried to sound bold as she put on a deeper voice. "Yes, Lady Valkyrie!"

Nanami then went over to Lenneth, standing so stiffly at attention, it made the others suppress smiles. The goddess gave no indication of any amusement she felt as she addressed the girl.

"You were a shrine maiden in life, yes? You are a practitioner of their variation of spellcasting?" Lenneth inquired.

"I-I sure am," Nanami answered. "I'm not so good with attack magic yet, but if its healing, purifying, lifting curses, strengthening my team members, and magical barriers, I'm your woman."

"Good," Lenneth answered. "We may need a barrier while we are down there."

Then the Valkyrie nodded to Belenus, Lawfer, and Jelanda, who turned and towards the trees. Then Lenneth took to the air, taking the three she designated to accompany her. Nanami whimpered, but tried to hide it by clapping both hands over her mouth.

"Okay, I can do this. I can do this," the miko told herself.

They flew low across the ground in the valley, never higher than few feet off the ground. Lenneth kept the ruin in her field of vision, looking for any sign of movement or that their presence had been noticed. They arrived at the trees quickly, and it was a grim scene.

They found the horses, or at least, what was left of any of them. There were bloodied, mostly devoured bits and pieces of them strewn everywhere. Only a few remained mostly intact with markings that could be examined.

Lenneth landed them at the edge of the leaves' canopy. As they looked around, Arngrim remained close by her side, shadowing her as they took in the carnage around them. Llewelyn hung back, but only because it was easier to keep both the ruin and the cave's entrance in his view at the same time by doing so. Nanami remained with him out of fear. Llewelyn glanced at the shaking girl and felt for her. The sight and especially the smell of week-old rotting meat was visibly making her ill.

"Hey, start summoning up a barrier," Llewelyn suggested. "Just don't cast it unless Valkyrie tells you to."

Nanami looked at him and her eyes brightened.

"That's a good idea. Thank you, Llewelyn," she replied.

Nanami took out a paper charm and sat down on her knees as she focused. With her mind put to something useful, Llewelyn returned to keep watch.

Arngrim was crouched on one knee next to one of the more intact carcasses near the tree's trunk under low hanging branches. Lenneth was still with him, and they looked over the many deep cuts in the rotting cadaver's side. Each wound came in a set of three marks, that had slashed downwards from above.

"Three-toed claw marks," Arngrim stated.

"Harpies," he and Lenneth said at the same time.

They went around the trunk to take a look at the stinking body of a white horse with black spots. The dried remains of its guts and stomach trailed from out in the field to where the poor beast had come to rest under the tree during the attack. Lenneth had to turn away, sickened by the story it told. Her eyes fell on the cave entrance and seeing it up close did not tell a better tale. The mangled remains of a person in heavy lab gear lied across one of the smooth rock formations around the cave mouth, and there were dark crimson stains all over the other rocks and the entrance. Lenneth could tell it was dried blood even from afar. There were also shredded remains of at least two other persons among the horse carcasses. Perhaps this group had left a pair of men to mind the horses while the others went in.

Lenneth turned away and went back over to Llewelyn and Nanami with Arngrim still close behind. The goddess glanced up at the ruin once she was out from under the branches.

"Anything?" she asked.

"No movement," Llewelyn reported with eyes that remained upturned. "I heard something cry out, but I can't place it."

"Harpies," Arngrim told him.

Llewelyn gulped.

"Well done," Lenneth told the archer. Then she turned to Nanami. "Preparing a barrier?"

Nanami looked up from her meditation and nodded. "Yes, Lady Valkyrie."

The miko held up a paper ward for the Valkyrie to see. "I've imprinted the energy for the barrier spell in this charm, to be stored and cast at will."

"Very good. Keep it close, Nanami. Alright. We withdraw for now, my einherjar," Lenneth decided.

A short while later, they were back on higher ground, regrouping with the others. After telling Belenus, Lawfer, and Jelanda what they had found, Lenneth moved onto her plan of action.

"This is how we shall proceed," Lenneth explained. She stood before them with her hands folded behind her back while they listened, formed in a single row.

"We are going to find out what awaits within that cave before we venture inside," she decreed. "Those men who arrived on horseback evidently did not know what they were getting into and paid for it. We will not make the same mistake."

Lenneth then pointed ahead, towards at the base of the slope leading up to the cliffside ruin. "We will position ourselves at the edge of the trees near the base of that hill. You, Jelanda, will summon your Familiar and have her scout out the ruin to ascertain the size of the harpy nest up there. Then she will dive into the caves below. Be sure to instruct Goldie to be thorough in her reconnaissance, as I will be expecting a full report. Understood?"

She turned to Jelanda.

"Understood, Lady Valkyrie!" the princess chirped.

Lenneth then looked around at the other einherjar. "Any questions?"

"Yes, Lady Valkyrie," Belenus raised his hand. "Though, I actually have a suggestion, if I may be so bold."

The Valkyrie nodded, giving him to permission to continue.

"When we were in the air, I happened to see the St. Thackus Bridge and a port town in the distance," the noble said. "That would be Port Thackeur. The locals may know what lies beneath, so it might be worth our time to ask around. 'Tis a moment's flight away by your wings, Lady Valkyrie."

"Ah, yes, I saw the town as well," Lenneth answered. "We may go there yet, but for now, we shall see what Jelanda's Familiar can determine from her scouting mission. Thank you, Belenus."

"Milady," Belenus bowed.

"Anyone else?" Lenneth looked around.

Silence.

"Very well. We are off," Lenneth commanded.

---

"We want this ship securely moored in place. Tie those tethers good, lads. Precious cargo on this here vessel."

The harbormaster watched the dockhands work to lash the anchored merchant ship to the pier of Port Thackeur. Two gangplanks were slid over the side of the ship's deck, giving the crew access to the dock. The captain stepped out onto the plank closer to the end of the pier while the first mate remained on deck and directed the crew in rolling big, heavy barrels up the plank closer to shore.

The harbormaster approached the captain with a clipboard and pen held under one arm. He held out his hand, expecting to receive something.

"Good morning, Captain," the harbormaster greeted.

"Good evening, Wilbur," the seaman replied.

The captain was a large man with thick black hair and beard, dressing in slightly frayed sailor's clothes with a faded long red jacket. The harbormaster was a man in his waning years, wearing very official blue robes and a powdered wig to cover his baldness. His pockmarked red face was oval, and his small spectacles sat on the end of his nose as they did not fit properly, forcing him to stare down his nose at people just to get a look at them.

"You have official documents, I assume?" the harbormaster asked.

"Oh, come off it, Wilbur, ye knows it's me," the captain said.

"Sorry, Captain, but the rules state you cannot unload yer cargo without the proper paperwork. Cough it up if ye have it," Wilbur made a beckoning motion with his fingers.

The captain grumbled and pulled out a scroll with an unbroken wax seal from his jacket.

"Very well, then," the captain said as a handed it over. "Straight from the new proprietor of East Lassen Spices, herself."

The harbormaster broke the seal and opened the scroll. After a moment of reading its contents which went on a bit too long by the crew's estimation, Wilbur took out his clipboard and filled out the appropriate information.

"Welcome back to Port Thackeur, Captain Oliver," he said.

"Yeah, yeah," Oliver muttered.

He signaled his first mate up in the ship.

"Alright, ya weak-backed sea-guppies! Let those spice barrels down the ramp into the storehouse! On the double! Don't you give me 'ny lip, 'less you wanna end up in Holly Dodger's locker!"

Within a moment, barrels were being rolled down the plank. Each barrel was rolled by two men who were placed ahead of them to prevent them flying down the plank into the ocean waters. Once they reached the pier, the barrels were stopped, turned, and rolled over to a warehouse.

The captain watched them work as he and the harbormaster walked up the pier. He shook his head at the verbal abuse his first mate loved to dish out on the sailors.

"That's what I get for hiring a man straight out of the Villnore royal navy," he couldn't help but smile.

Captain Oliver came to a stop when he finally got a good look at the town in front of him. The harbormaster noticed he wasn't following and also halted.

"Something the matter?" Wilber turned around.

Oliver just stared a moment longer, and then pointed.

"When did you erect all that?" he asked.

That?" Wilbur looked towards town.

He silently went "Ah," when he realized what the seadog was talking about.

A log fort wall had been erected between the harbor and the main part of town. Currently, the drawbridge was down, allowing people to pass through. The tops of the fort wall had been carved into spikes. In front of the wall a ditch had been dug in the ground with only the drawbridge allowing people to pass over it. In front of the ditch a series of Frisian horses had been set up. Oliver beheld the anti-cavalry devises, consisting of a portable frame carved from a single log covered with many projecting long iron spikes. The only gap in the barrier was where the drawbridge rested.

"Harbormaster, what's all this, then?" Oliver demanded.

"Oh, that," Wilbur answered. "We've been having a bit of trouble with beasts coming from the cursed cave below the old St. Thackus research labs. Our benefactors from Crell Monferaigne and Flenceburg were kind enough to send us builders and engineers who construct Port Thackeur some additional defenses."

"Those must be some monsters," Oliver was still gaping at the new defenses.

The harbormaster just nodded rapidly and began to walk away again.

The captain was beside himself, wondering just what had collectively scared Port Thackeur and their mainland benefactors into erecting all this so quickly. He would soon get his answer. Oliver glanced out over the water, and paused when he noticed something strange. There were at least four circles of bubbles being blown up the surface by something below. The bubbles were all near the shore, too.

"Oi, Wil!" the captain called.

"Eh?" the harbormaster stopped and turned at the sound of his name.

"What's that?" Oliver pointed towards the bubbles. "I've not… seen…"

Oliver trailed off when the bubbles began to move towards the shore, signifying whatever thing beneath the waves was coming up for air.

The harbormaster also saw them, and his face paled as terror visibly swept over him.

"By the gods!" he shouted. He turned and ran off the dock, pushing past two of Oliver's crew as he did. "Sound the alarm! They've come! The cursed cave's fiends have come again!"

As Oliver watched the bubbles move towards the shore, he took a step away from the edge of the pier in alarm. As the shouts spread out among the port town, locals who'd been working along the shore either fled right away, or grabbed up their children first.

Then five enormous forms burst through the waves onto the wet beach. Captain Oliver got a good look. They were aqua-colored crab giants. They looked like fiddler crabs, but as big as a stagecoach. They each had one massive right claw half the size of their whole body and smaller left one. Oliver and his crews' own cries joined the terrified townspeople's screams as the giant crustaceans scuttled up the beach and after the fleeing people.

"Captain! Watch out!"

Oliver looked up and saw one of his crew pointing past him, towards the water. He turned and saw a final circle of bubbles moving for the pier.

"Everyone off!" the captain cried as he ran for the plank.

The great crab collided with the pier, causing it to shake, knocking everyone still on it off their feet or into the water. Then it rammed the structure again, this time breaking it. The surface of the platform tilted and dumped Captain Oliver and everyone else into the waters and into the giant pincher of the hellish beast.

"Everyone through! Everyone through!" armored town guardsman was ushering everyone in through the gate. He stood just inside the fort walls as the panicking locals raced past, trying to keep ahead of the giant crabs. "Quick now, we must raise the gate!"

Above him and the panicking villagers, the archers were already lining up and taking aim.

"Make sure your aim is sure and true!" their commander stepped off the ladder and onto the battlement. "You don't want to hit the villagers!"

The archers drew their strings taut, waiting for their first opportunity to loose them. At the moment, there were just too many people in the way of the crabs. They'd have to wait until they got closer.

"Steady," their commander raised his arm, ready to thrust it back down to order them to open fire.

The mob dashed through the gate, cramming onto the drawbridge, edge to edge, with the crabs were right behind him, and gaining. The guard's eyes bulged as he realized the beasts were too close for them to close the gate if they waited for everyone. He left his post and dashed over to the small wooden gatehouse where the windlass which lowered and raised the drawbridge was located. There were two men manning the crank. The guard just about fell onto the floor in his mad dash to reach them, but caught himself on the frame of the door. The two operators looked at him in surprise.

"Close the gate! Close it now!" the guard shouted.

"But, sir… The people!"

"I said raise it!" the guard screamed.

The men began turning the lever, raising the bridge. Outside, the screams intensified as the wooden surface jerked up, causing some to fall into the pit or pile onto each other on it. The upward tilt sped up, making those who'd fallen on the bridge roll over each other even more. Close behind them, the crab closest to the bridge lunged forward, plowing over several poor souls in its way. With its big pincher, grabbed a hold of the bridge.

"Fire!" the commander barked at the archers.

The arrows hailed down from above, but most of them just bounced harmlessly off the shells of the crustaceans, but a few landed between their joints and stuck. Two of them flinched and scuttled away with bad limps.

However, the one holding the bridge was not deterred. Inside the gatehouse, the windlass was suddenly halted. The two workers fought against it, but then it was torn from their grasp as the giant crab outside yanked it down. As soon as the drawbridge was almost level again, another of the crabs scuttled onto it, grabbing the nearest hapless person it could. It was a young man with dark hair. He screamed and thrashed in the grip of the massive claw and as he was lowered, headfirst towards the opening mandibles of the crab's mouths, and he belted out a terrified shriek.

---

"Master, master!" Goldie's voice chirped in Jelanda's mind.

"Oh, she' s back!" Jelanda whispered.

The others looked at her in response. They all stood with their backs to a tree as they hid along the edge of the woods. The slope leading up to the ruined facility was not even five steps behind them. Jelanda and Lenneth both peeked around the side of the trunks and saw the little golden parrot descending with her wings spread out to glide towards them. Goldie flapped her wings to stop her descend and then flew over to her master.

Jelanda extended a finger, allowing the little Familiar to land. As soon as she had Goldie, the party crept deeper into the trees until they came to a small clearing where there was just enough space for them to gather around in a circle.

"Alright, Goldie, what did you see?" the little princess asked. "Start with the ruin."

"Of course, master! Harpies indeed nest in the ruin, on the upper floors where the big hole in the roof is easy to reach. There are at least twenty adults and even more chicks. I saw what looked like human and animal bones among the sticks and leaves of their nests," Goldie answered. Although it just sounded like chirping to the others. "So, I stayed on the lower levels, even though I had to keep leaving through a window. I couldn't stay inside too long."

"Why not?" Jelanda asked.

"It's evil in there," Goldie explained. "There were all these big, smashed glass tanks holding water full of profane energy and forbidden alchemic mixtures. The air's poison in there, and not just for living creatures. You'd need someone to purify the air before you can explore."

Jelanda reflexively gave Nanami a look.

"Alright Goldie, anything else?" she asked.

"There are some old, rusted safes I don't think can be opened quietly, but they might have something useful," Goldie said. "There were two other enemy types on the lower levels. There are these weird living gray globby things with a single glowing eye. They might be acidic. There are also some Monstrous Glowflies. They're floating orbs of made of pure energy. If you don't kill them in one go, they'll blow up to try taking you with them."

"Ehh…" Jelanda let out a daunted moan.

"Well, that can't be good," Lawfer commented.

"Any idea what the building was used for? What were they studying?" Jelanda asked.

"There was an old sign outside, which read 'St. Thackus Institute of Hydrology and Microscopic Research. They must have been studying how mixtures of chemicals and magic in water effected the microorganisms living in it when something went wrong. As far as I can tell the dangerous mixtures of chemicals and dark magics ate through their containment tanks and just kept eating their way down through the earth until those caves were formed."

"Microorganisms? I thought that was just a theory," Jelanda asked skeptically.

Llewelyn turned to Belenus, asking for explanation with a look. The noble shrugged in a manner to suggest the answer was difficult to explain, and the archer fared no better with the rest of the group.

"'Tis no theory, but we can discuss that later. Have Goldie give her report so we can get down to business," Lenneth instructed.

"Yes, of course!" Jelanda quickly complied. "Alright, Goldie. Is that it for the ruin?"

"Yes, master. Now the caves… The caves are worse," Goldie continued. "There are pools of the polluted water still in there. Even if its not strong enough to eat through solid stone anymore, it still gives off a strong, poisonous miasma down there, too. It'll be very dangerous for Lady Valkyrie and you chosen souls. You'll need a way to purify the air as you go through. There were more slimebeasts and Monstrous Glowflies, and even some harpies down there. There was also an undead dragon lurking in one of the pools. Its served hand and foot by zombies it controls."

"What about the horse riders?" Jelanda asked.

"Nothing, but I didn't dare go all the way through," Goldie replied. "But there were blood strains in some of the tunnels, as well as shredded clothes left discarded. But none of that is the real problem…"

Goldie trailed off, and seemed to be mulling over how to press on.

Jelanda held up a prompting hand, "Well?"

"…The real problem lies deeper in than I dared go," Goldie hesitantly said. "It feels like there's a great evil dammed up in there by a magic seal, but I also felt that the barrier is weakening. I do not know the full extent of the disaster this could bring, but I wouldn't ignore this."

"How will we know which way to go?" Jelanda pressed her.

"The cave is unnatural. Like I said, the polluted waters burned it into the island's crust. It just goes deeper and deeper down. You will reach the source when you have gone as deep as you can go."

"Very well. Thank you, Goldie. You can go ahead and return to the astral plane now. I'll call if we need you again," Jelanda said.

"Thank you, Master," Goldie happily chirped and then vanished.

"Now then…" Jelanda looked around at the rest of the band.

She repeated all Goldie had told her, leaving nothing out.

"…We'll find the source about as deep as we can go. Goldie made it sound like the Undead dragon and the poison gas from the polluted waters will be our biggest obstacles," Jelanda finished.

Lawfer felt overwhelmed by the task Jelanda described, and let out a big whoosh of air from his nonexistent lungs as his head fell forward. It seemed to be a sentiment shared by the others to varying degrees. Nanami clutched at the collar of her robe, looking mortified by their current mission. Only Arngrim seemed unphased, leaning his head back against the tree with his eyes shut, almost as if the report bored him. Jelanda looked at Lenneth, trying not to feel discouraged.

"What's our play, Lady Valkyrie?" she asked.

Lenneth's expression was ever a stoic sight.

"We will go straight to the caves," Lenneth answered. "While there is a small chance some texts pertaining to the chemicals that were being studied up there survived, we'd likely be wasting our time. Our path is leads down."

The Valkyrie then looked right at Nanami. The miko gulped and almost cringed under the Valkyrie's scrutiny.

"Nanami," Lenneth called.

"Yes, Lady Valkyrie!" the miko nervously answered.

"It becomes clear to me that Fate sent you to us for this task," Lenneth told the girl. "Are you up to the task of keeping the air purified down in the cave system?"

Nanami made a noise that could have been a hum or a whimper. "Y-yes, of course. Lady Valkyrie."

Lenneth noted the girl's unease and uncertainty.

"You have reason to doubt?" Lenneth crossed her arms.

Nanami 'ulped' and shrank under the Valkyrie's gaze.

"No offense, Lady Valkyrie," she quickly responded. "It's just that… I have training, but hardly any real experience on the field. I've only ever reinforced a barrier and warded off the angry spirit of my sister once, but… You saw her get the better of me when she caught up to me."

"Well, yeah, 'cause you went down alone," Arngrim said from the side. "Don't know what you were thinking."

"Well, it's tradition," Nanami snapped, but then reined it back in. "Many before me went into the caves alone, but…"

She looked away in fear and shame. "I may not be the best choice to rely on purify the air in the caves. If I fail, we'll be overwhelmed by a dangerous miasma."

"You are our only choice," Lenneth bluntly asserted.

"Surely you could help her keep the air purified, Lady Valkyrie," Jelanda suggested.

"I will be leading us and doing combat beside you all," Lenneth refuted. "The task of warding off the noxious gases falls to Nanami."

Nanami felt the pressure, and a weight in the pit of her stomach.

"Hey, relax," Lawfer stepped towards her. "The Pri-er, Jelanda and I both told you, we got you covered. Leave the villains to us. You just keep the air cleansed. We'll protect each other in that way."

"You might not know it, but despite being this group's premiere magic user…" Jelanda dragged.

"You were the only mage until the new pipsqueak joined," Arngrim muttered.

"The PREMIERE magi of the group," Jelanda hissed at him. Then she turned back to Nanami sweetly, "I was pathetic at magic in life. Now I dust Undeads near daily."

Deciding that probably didn't help as much as Jelanda hoped, Lenneth chimed in again. "Surely you do not think Fate would send me a useless einherjar unable to perform her duties?"

"Well…" Nanami mumbled.

"Hey," Llewelyn spoke up, getting Nanami's attention. "I'm actually not even supposed to be here. I ended up serving under Lady Valkyrie because my Fate was changed. If even I, a soul that was never considered worthy, can pull his weight alongside those Fate did chosen, then I trust you."

Feeling emboldened by her reassurances, Nanami felt some of the weight lift from her.

"Alright, I'll do it," she said.

The others gave Llewelyn shocked looks the instant he called himself unworthy.

"To the…" Lenneth started to order, but then stopped.

She looked to the northwest with sudden alarm.

"What is it, Valkyrie?" Arngrim asked.

"…Fear. Death descends upon that port town," Lenneth's voice was also a whisper.

Her head slowly turned so she may look on her einherjar again. "Change of plans. We go to Port Thackeur. Now."

---

"Lash it! Lash it! Don't let it get away!" the commander shouted.

One of the giant crabs had been cornered in the town square and the city guard was doing everything to hold the beast still while they tried to kill it with horseback riders and men in foot acted in tandem to achieve this. Four of the crab's legs were lassoed by ropes tied to the saddles of four horses who dug in their hooves and pulled in separate directions while men in foot gripping long, iron spears stabbed at the struggling sea-beast from a semi-safe distance from the sides. The crab was putting up a fight, constantly jerking in all directions, and lashing out with its big claw, trying to grab at the men or their spears. There were more horses with riders skirting the edge of the mob battling the crab. They had lances and ropes, and where looking for an opportunity to strike.

"Steady!" one of the riders gripped the reins tightly when sudden movement from the crab's claw startled his steed.

The gray stallion whinnied, stamped, and even gave a small jump, but his rider maintained control.

"They got it pinned, men! Open fire!" the commander shouted.

A group of ten archers darted out in front of the crab and aimed at its face. As they fired, it raised its big claw, blocking the arrows as well as any sturdy shield would. The crab again tried to break loose, pulling especially hard on the ropes binding its legs. The horses were either forced to give reluctant steps forward or be dragged across the ground.

"We're losing it!" one of the riders shouted.

"More horses, more ropes!" the commander ordered. "And where are those bloody chains I called for! Get that big pincher shackled and pulled out the way!"

Then he turned to the archers. "Back for now! I'll get ye all another shot!"

Two of the support horse riders took up ropes they'd all brought, lashing them first of the horns of their saddle, and then they twirled the lassoes over their heads in preparation to further snare the crab beast, which was still jerking back and forth with its pinchers grabbing wildly for anything.

"Go for the pincher!" the commander shouted. "Wait 'til its closed! Use your horses to pull it away from its face so it can't block our arrows!"

"Ay, sir!" the mounted knights answered.

The crab reached across, trying to snare one of the iron spears sticking into its side and it almost got one, but guardsman angled himself away at the last instant. So, the crab jerked its claw back in the other direction, causing its body jerk, too. The spearman struggled to stay on their feet and keep their collective pressure applied to hold the massive thing in place. It tried to smack a man on the other side with the back of its claw, but he leapt away, falling onto his back. Another man darted past him and stook his place, jabbing a spear into the side of the crustacean's shell.

As soon as the crab closed its pincher, the lassos flew, one successfully looping around its outside while the other only managed to loop around its finger. The giant beast began frantically trying pull its claw free. Right away, the riders reined their horses to pull back, not their steeds needed the prompting. With eyes wide and full of fear and ears flat against their heads, the horses were all too happy to fight to stay as far away from the big, shelled monster as possible.

"Archers!" the commander barked. "As soon as you have an opening, fire at will!"

The men notched their arrows and took aim at the struggling beast again, each waiting for the instant the claw was away from its face. Then, some of the townspeople ran in and grabbed the ropes around the pincher as well, and began tugging on them, unwilling to wait by the wayside any longer. With the combined efforts of additional muscle and weight, the crab's pincher was pulled back.

"Gotcha!" an archer with a long red beard thought as he loosed his shoot.

His arrow hit next to one of its eyes, and the crustacean let out a gurgling noise as its jerks intensified. The villagers pulling against its big claw were yanked off their feet onto the muddy ground as it began thrashing around violently. Its legs kicked out in spasms, knocking away the long iron spears enough or it jolt back and forth more.

Another archer fired a shot, except this time, the crab lowered its face, causing his arrow to bounce off the top rim of the shell plate directly over its face. The bearded archer cursed. Then as more shots flew, he watched as they did minimal damage. After the second volley, the only dart to break through was the first, still sticking out of the side of the crab's face, but it didn't seem to effect it much.

The Bearded Archer angrily glared, and not just at the crab giant in front of them. In the distance, he could see another of the crabs had busted into a poultry pen and was devouring the chickens despite the best efforts of the town guard and the farmers to drive it out. Meanwhile, a third crab had crashed through the wall of a piano bar and was trying to reach the cowering patrons and staff who'd retreated to the second floor while members of the town guard were trying to provoke it into chasing them out onto the street.

The Red Bearded Archer dropped his bow, deciding the ranged approach wasn't working. He pulled out an ax from his belt.

"Fine, I'll do this the hard way. Just get that pincher outta my way!" he barked.

"Roy, get back here," the Commander ordered.

But Roy ignored him and charged, putting himself in the line of fire. The other archers cursed and lowered their bows, now unable to take another shot as the hot-blooded redhead charged the crab. One archer tried to aim around him and fired a shot.

Roy flinched as it whistled right past his ear and hit one of the crab's eyes dead-on. The giant crustacean gurgled more and began shaking. It struggled madly and was even began to break free. Roy ignored everyone around him shouting for him to get out of the way, or that he was a fool.

"Now or never," Roy thought as he dashed in. "If I can break its shell, I can kill it."

He opened his mouth to capacity as he belted out a battle cry as he raised his ax, gripping it in both hands. The crab heard and saw him coming and tried to grab him with its big pincher, but Roy dropped and rolled under it before jumping back to his feet. The crab pushed itself forward, opening the paired mandibles of its mouth. Roy's ax came down right into its maw.

"Ha!" he cried in triumph.

The blade had chopped right into his enemy's mouth. Roy's smile faded the instant he tried to pull it back, as he realized he hadn't struck the crab in the mouth, but it was gripping his ax with its mandibles. The crab then rose up, yanking Roy's weapon from his grasp. It spit the ax out, sending it flying several feet before it came to rest in the grass. Then it opened its mouth wide and lunged back down before Roy could even attempt to flee.

From all around, everyone watched as the fool's head vanished down the throat of the shelled behemoth. For a moment, Roy's muffled screams could be heard within its mouth while his limbs thrashed. Then the crab bit, and the man's body fell to the earth as the beast swallowed his head.

Then the beast raised itself up and again just to drop a second time. The momentum broke it looser of the human obstructions around it and dragged its big pincher in range of its little claw, which snipped the ropes holding it place. Then it made a backhanded motion with its big claw. The momentum threw its body around enough it was able to smack away spear holders on its right, grab one of spears for itself and then swing back around left, using the body of the weapon to clothesline the men over there.

With the newfound slack, the beast cut two of the ropes tethering its legs and charged the nearest rider. The horse reared up, kicking at the crab with its front hooves, and it replied by grabbing the animal by the legs and then hurling it into the crowd of foot soldiers and archers, scattering them like bowling pins.

"Ugh!" the commander grunted in pain.

He looked down at himself and saw his legs pinned under the horse's body. He had nary a moment to process his pain before something large moved in, looming over him. The guard officer looked up at the bloody mouth parts of the giant crab. He raised his arms to feebly protect himself, but he knew it was the end, and so he closed his eyes, waiting for the final pain of being devoured.

"DIVINE ASSAULT! NIBELUNG VALESTI!"

What looked like a great shining pillar shot down from the sky, skewering the crab through its top shell-plate, and burst out the bottom, sticking into the ground. It was followed by two more launching themselves through it from angles. Then they dissipated and the crab fell dead beside the horse.

"Wha…?" the guard commander gaped.

He looked up and saw a winged figure hovering in the sky above. He watched as the angelic being in blue dropped to the earth and then six other persons materialized around them. From his vantage of being pinned by a dead horse, he had to look up and view them from an upside-down perspective. As the Divine person stood, their wings vanished, and it was then the commander saw the back of the plumed helmet.

"The… the Valkyrie?" he rasped.

Lenneth and her einherjar stood in a circle formation, with them all facing outwards, covering each other. Around them, they spotted one crab in the piano bar still trying to reach up onto the second floor balcony to get at the customers and staff taking refuge up there, and the other in the poultry pen now with the arm of a man hanging from its mouth mandibles.

"Praise Odin! The gods have sent us a deliverer!" a voice shouted behind Lenneth.

Lenneth gave the town guard and straggling villagers a sideways look over her shoulder. Four men were busy throwing their backs into lifting the horse from their commanders' legs while two more pulled him out the instant they had the body high enough. Once their screaming commander was clear, they dropped the dead equine and collapsed on its carcass in exhaustion.

A guard with a badge denoting a rank approached Lenneth and her einherjar. He wasn't a young man, but also not quite middle-aged, as his light brown hair had not a speck of gray and his rugged face held no wrinkles yet.

"Lady Valkyrie, how may we serve you?" he asked with a bow.

"Five crabs in total remain?" Lenneth asked.

"Pardon?" the guardsman asked.

"Five crabs in total remain?" Lenneth repeated.

"Yes, we think so, Divine One," he answered.

Lenneth glanced at the commander, who had been moved into a travois, a primitive stretcher made of 3 twelve-foot poles lashed together with four cross-poles.

"You are in charge with him injured?" the Valkyrie then asked the badged guardsman.

"Yes, Milady," he answered. "Lieutenant Langley, at your service. Lady Valkyrie, I…"

"We will take care of these beasts in the bar and at the farm," Lenneth briskly interrupted him. "You take your men and deal with the other two. Split your forces into two teams. One will get the villagers to safety and protect them. The other will round up as many mages as they can find and have them assisting in slaying the other crabs. Their weakness is extreme heat. You are dismissed."

"Uh, uh…" the Lieutenant became tongue tied.

"Dismissed!" Lenneth's order was like the snap of a whip.

The lieutenant bowed and faced his men. "Alright, you heard her. Consider it like an order from Odin, himself. You lot here, you'll prot…"

"Lawfer," Lenneth turned to the knight in question. She pointed to the crab along the outskirts of the village in the poultry pen. "You take Belenus, Llewelyn, and Nanami, and slay that one on the farm. Arngrim, Jelanda, and I will take the one in the bar. Go!"

"Right!" Lawfer responded. He thumped the butt of his halberd against the ground. "Fall in!"

Belenus and Llewelyn silently joined him as they took off for the destroyed poultry pen. Nanami trailed them, running as fast as she could just to keep up.

"Arngrim, Jelanda! Come!" Lenneth barked.

As they took off, Arngrim grabbed Jelanda around the waist and hoisted her up onto his shoulder as he sprinted down the street towards their enemy. She let out an "Ack!" in surprise as she found herself thrown around and suddenly doubled over his shoulder, staring at his back and the muddy ground as it passed beneath. Jelanda looked up at the back of Arngrim's head, growling and baring her teeth as she flushed with embarrassment, and then began thrashing and struggling against him.

"Hey, put me down, you big ingrate! This is embarrassing!" she cried.

"Quiet!" Lenneth ordered over her shoulder.

"You can't run as fast as us," Arngrim grumbled.

Jelanda quieted, but crossed her arms as she puffed her cheeks out in a pout. She tried not to look around, and just hoped no one was paying attention.

"Oh, this is so humiliating," she whined.

As soon as they were close to the bar, Lenneth ducked behind a tall piece of debris. Arngrim did the same, and set Jelanda down. Then the three of them gave their enemy a final observation before Lenneth decided on a course of action. The crab giant had knocked down part of the upstairs floor, forcing nearby humans to either dive into rooms or flee before the floor fell out from underneath them. This seemed to give the crab an idea and it turned to the support beams holding second floor up.

Lenneth's eyes flicked over to the barrels and glasses filled with various sorts of alcohol. There were just gallons and gallons of it piled up behind the bar. She knew immediately what they needed to do.

"Jelanda, cast Levitate on all those cases of beer and mead," the Valkyrie pointed behind the counter. "Then throw all of it at the crab."

Jelanda gave her a puzzled look and Lenneth quickly held up a finger to silence her.

"No time. Just do it," she ordered. "Arngrim, see if you cannot injure one of its legs when I lure it out."

Lenneth then jumped over the short chunk of debris they'd taken cover behind and darted into the building. Arngrim also came out from behind the debris and positioned himself by the hole in the bar's wall with his sword raised and ready to cut something. Jelanda remained hunkered behind the rubble and began conjuring the spell. The Valkyrie reached down, grabbing a discarded spear without breaking stride. She drew it back alongside her head, aiming for the crab.

"Your unnatural hunger for human flesh is unbecoming, beast!" she shouted as loudly as she could.

It worked. The crab lurched around to face her. The instant its face was in view, Lenneth threw the spear, which connected just below one of its eyes. The crab spasmed from the pain and surprise, rocking back and forth on its legs while it gurgled and formed bubbles around its mouth. Then it reached up with its small pincher and plucked the offending object out before it face. It looked at Lenneth with its mouth parts moving almost violently as it intended to devour her in retaliation.

Then the crab came at her. Lenneth whirled around and retreated back outside. Arngrim tensed and readied himself to swing when she darted out through the hole. The instant the large form of the crab began to emerge, the mercenary swung straight down from above, and lobbed off one its hind legs. The beast stumbled and ran back and forth in a frenzied zigzag pattern as it struggled against its own momentum while trying to maintain balance.

Arngrim took off after the crab, already analyzing its body for more weak points. Lenneth ceased her retreat and dug her heels in to slide to a stop. When the crab giant steadied itself, it turned to put the Valkyrie and the mercenary at its sides where it could see them. It looked between the two and chose Arngrim. When it charged him, Arngrim ran straight for the big beast in return. Seeing Lenneth in his upper peripheral vision gave him idea, and he smirked.

At the last possible second, Arngrim threw himself to the ground, feet first, and slid under the attacking sea-beast on his back. As it ran over him, Arngrim stabbed the bottom of its shell, but the blade glanced off, leaving only superficial scratches. When it'd charged past him, Arngrim rolled over and sat up on his knees.

Growling, he punched the earth. "Damn! Even Dáinsleif couldn't puncture its shell!"

Lenneth came to a stop next to him.

"It was worth a try," she assured.

Ahead of them, the beast quickly looped around and was rushing in, but not directly at them this time. It was angling to snatch one of them up with its big claw as it ran past. Arngrim stood and prepared to evade, but Lenneth held up her hand, stopping him.

"Stand your ground," she instructed.

Then she hopped away from Arngrim, placing herself at the crab's other side again. The giant crustacean slowed its advance in response before coming to a complete stop. It looked its two enemies over and changed tactics. It began moving back and forth with its claws raised defensively while still advancing on them. As soon as it was close, it moved on Arngrim quickly, raising its giant pincher to like a club to smash him.

"Shit!" Arngrim backpedaled.

But the crab stopped. It felt Lenneth zip in to attack from its other side, and turned to her, reaching with its big claw open. Lenneth leapt up right through its grasp, causing its claw to clamp down on air. She landed on its other side, where she gave another of its legs a well-aimed slash, injuring the joint.

The crab clumsily scuttled away several steps and crashed through the door of another building before it could stop.

"Back to the bar," Lenneth ordered Arngrim.

He nodded and they retreated back the way they had come. Partway, Lenneth slowed down and stopped, knowing someone to be the lure.

When the crab giant backed itself out of the building's front, it turned and saw her. Its mouth-mandibles twitched for a moment, and then tore across the earth towards her again. Lenneth lowered and loosened her stance, not knowing what else the beast might have up its sleeve. Sure enough, the crab drew back its big claw and without stopping, jabbed it into the soft earth, tearing out of a chunk of loose soil before hurling it into the air. The clump of earth broke apart in midair, creating a volley of dust and dirt which brought visibility down to zero, but was otherwise harmless. Lenneth did not budge, for her eyes were on her mark the entire time.

When the crab charged straight through the dust cloud it had kicked up with its big claw extended, she shot one an icy blast in response. The frost-like particles incased its pincher, surprising the crustacean and throwing it off balance. The sudden weight of the ice crystal around its claw caused the crab to clumsily race past Lenneth who hadn't budged. The giant sea beast was unable to stop its own momentum with its center of gravity thrown off. Unable to keep up with itself, the crab collapsed with its legs either trapped under its body or at its side. Jelanda saw her chance.

"LEVITATION!" she cast.

She stood up and pointed her scepter at the barrels and bottles of alcohol. At first, the various containers of mind-numbing liquids only managed to shake where they rested, either on stands or in open shelves. After a moment, Jelanda gradually but surely got them all lifted into the air. Then she whipped her scepter around, training it on the crab, which had just succeeded in breaking the ice crystal by smashing its claw against the ground repeatedly. It was in the process of standing back up when it suddenly found itself bombarded by all many small objects. It didn't hurt, but crab shied away, almost tripping over again as the various containers broke against its plated hide, spilling a substance which smelled most foul all over it.

The crab's senses were overwhelmed by the smell, causing it to jerk and spasm around so violently, Lenneth and Arngrim were forced to duck and dodge around as their enemy flailed about. Jelanda, meanwhile, had saved the last barrel of mead for its face. The wooden projectile smashed against its target, sending planks of wood everywhere. The liquid splashed all over the crab's face and got into its eyes and mouth, stinging both with a burning sensation. The crab covered its face as it backed up blindly before collapsing into a near catatonic state in the middle of the street.

Lenneth grinned triumphantly before turning to Arngrim again.

"Arngrim, that oil lamp just inside the bar behind you! The one on the wall. Fetch it and then fling it at the beast," she ordered.

Arngrim smirked, knowing what she was getting at and reentered the piano bar through the big hole. He grabbed the lamp and returned shortly. Then he hurled it high into the air and it came down, shattering against the shell of the crab, igniting the alcohol covering the downed beast in flame. The crab did not seem to notice as it sat in the grass in a haze.

"Well done," Lenneth praised Arngrim. Then, when he and Jelanda returned to her side, she commented again, "Now, it will overheat and die before it recovers."

"That… was a lot easier than usual," Jelanda stated.

"Because we fought one alone," Lenneth turned around to face them as she answered. "When we face these beasts down in the cave, it will be a different story."

"It's gonna get dicey down there," Arngrim concurred.

Jelanda paled and tried to suppress a gulp.

"Wait here a moment," Lenneth told them.

She flew up into the air, ascending until she had a full view of the town. The Valkyrie did a complete turn, surveying in all directions around her until she had done a full 360o. There were still four crabs. The city guard were taking on two of them in the city while Lawfer's team handled a third. The fourth was left unattended at the docks terrorizing citizens. Lenneth knew that to be their next target and floated back done.

"Come," Lenneth told Arngrim and Jelanda. "We have one more opponent to face."

---

"Take cover," Lawfer ordered.

As soon as they within a city block's distance of the crab on the farm, Lawfer, Belenus, Llewelyn, and Nanami ducked behind a building. They all peered around the corner. The chickens had all either fled or been devoured, so now the crab was heading for the small stone hut which the owners were certainly cowering inside of. Nanami beheld the juggernaut of a crustacean, aqua-colored but soaked in blood. All conscious thought left her head as she found herself in a state of terrified awe. They were really about to fight that thing?

"Alright, we're going to lure it away," Lawfer told the others. "Belenus and I will lure it out by making noise. Llewelyn, you and Nanami hang back and look for an opening to exploit."

Belenus nodded to him.

"Yes, sir," Llewelyn reflexively answered.

Lawfer glanced at Nanami, who still stared at the crab like a girl being led to the gallows.

"Hey," he reached around Belenus and Llewelyn, giving her a firm tap on the shoulder.

She gasped as the spell of fear broke. She looked at Lawfer.

"I-I'm ready," she said.

She wasn't, he knew, but there was no time to do anything about that.

"Llewelyn, shadow Nanami. Keep her safe," Lawfer ordered.

Then he turned to the crab giant again. "We move, now. Go!"

Lawfer and Belenus then ran out into the dirt road. The knight began pounding the butt of his halberd against the ground to make noise. As the others also made noise any way they could, they started to shout. Nanami was the last to come out, hiding behind Llewelyn as she did.

"Hey! Hey, you unfried hunk of seafish!" Lawfer shouted.

"Hey, you! Come and get it while it's fresh!" Llewelyn hollered.

Nanami leaned to the side around Llewelyn and tried to call as well, but found her voice dying in her throat.

"You… overgrown lobster dish!" Belenus awkwardly taunted.

Lawfer and Llewelyn both looked at him with slight smirks, to which Belenus shrugged in silent admittance of not being good with off-the-cuff insults.

The crab stopped and looked at them. Lawfer grabbed a rock which a bit larger than a baseball and threw it, aiming at the crab's face. The projectile hit its target, causing the mighty crab giant to flinch.

"Belenus, you and I flank it," Lawfer ordered.

Before the crab giant could charge them, both fighters darted around to its sides. The crab charged Lawfer, knowing him to be the one who threw the rock. Belenus pursued the beast from behind, watching how its legs moved and see when its joints would be exposed. Llewelyn followed the armored creature with his bow, also looking for an opening. Behind him Nanami gasped and raised her hand with the first two fingers extended as she hastily tried to cast a spell with a panicking mind. The crab was bearing down on Lawfer faster than she could ready it, so despite not having it ready, Nanami pointed her fingers at Lawfer.

"G-Guard Reinforce!" she called weakly.

Her fingertips sparks, but then the miscast spell shocked her, making her cry out. A startled Llewelyn jumped, almost firing his shot too soon. He looked back at her and saw the girl nursing her burned fingers.

Meanwhile, Lawfer slid to a stop in front of a short but sturdy tree. He spread his feet wide apart in preparation to flee in either direction, and kept his knees bent so his stance was loose.

"Come on, come on, you," he urged quietly.

When the crab raised and opened its big claw to grab him up and devour him, Lawfer backed up a little bit more, getting closer to the trunk of the tree. Just as it was about to grab him, Lawfer threw himself for to the side and the beast instead grabbed the thick tree trunk. The knight rolled, turning himself around so he would be facing his enemy when he got up on his knees. When he did, the crab was struggling against the tree, as the jagged edges of his pincher had gotten caught on the bark.

With a couple of clenches of his claw, the crab managed to break all the way through the wood, sending the tree coming down. Belenus saw it falling from the left and dove right before it fell on one of the crab's legs. Seeing the beast trapped, the noble slowly stood and prepared to attack it from the behind. However, the beast's jerking around it difficult to get a good attack in, and then the beast jerked first towards the fallen tree and then yanked away from it with all its might.

Crunch! The beast pulled so hard, it lost that leg, but it was free. Then the crab giant faced the man who'd thrown a rock at it, and started to pursue him again. It was stopped by a sharp pain in the tender flesh of one of the joints of its remaining legs. The beast gurgled and turned around to find the culprit, but instead of seeing Belenus, it saw Llewelyn and Nanami just in time for the archer to fire a shot which punctured the side of its mouth, making it jerk back even more.

"Damn," Llewelyn cursed as he drew the string back for another shot.

As the crab giant tore after them, it knocked Belenus over with one of its legs. Llewelyn cursed again, and started to pull the bowstring again, but the crab was closing in fast. The boy turned, grabbed Nanami, and started to flee, but she did not run with him. Llewelyn turned to her, shouting for her to run, but Nanami was frozen in place, unable to even think. The ire of the blood-soaked beast was upon them, and she had locked up. Llewelyn didn't look to see how close the crab was. He just grabbed Nanami around the middle with both arms and ran to the side as best he could while dragging her.

The crab quickly caught up to them, and Llewelyn was forced to make a desperate move. He pulled a Flare Gem from his pocket and pitched it at their crustacean enemy even though it was within two mere yards of them. Then he turned himself around, so his body was shielding Nanami from coming the burst of flames.

The teens were blown out of the crab's grasp by the erupting fire. Nanami's terror-stricken mind barely noticed any of this going on until the rough impact with the ground. She gasped as she and Llewelyn were sent rolling over each other. When they came to rest, she shot up into a sitting position, getting her bearings again. There was a loud crash nearby, and Nanami turned to see the crab's back end sticking out of the side of a house. The sea creature was already backing out of the hole.

"Hang on, we're coming!" she heard Lawfer call out.

Realizing they had but a moment to get back up before it came for them again, Nanami got up on her knees and turned to Llewelyn, who lied in the glass behind her. His prone form was still, with his shirt in tatters and visible burns covering his back.

"Llewelyn! Llewelyn!" she gently shook him. "Oh, no, you're hurt!"

"It burns," he painfully wheezed. "It hurts."

"Alright, hang on. Let me heal you," Nanami assured him.

She clasped her hands together as she focused again, but this time with a clearer mind. She held out her hand over her back, chanting "First Aid!" Right away, many of the burns on his back cleared up, but the work was far from done.

Before Nanami could continue treating him, she heard a high-pitched scream like a child's in the direction of the house the crab had crashed into. Nanami looked over and saw the beast had now taken an interest in something inside. Another scream confirmed a child was in that house. The crab scuttled back up to the hole to look inside. A new kind of fear gripped Nanami, one that was for someone else.

"Oh, no," she climbed to her feet. As she ran from Llewelyn's side, she shorted "Sorry!" over her shoulder.

Nanami had never run faster as she approached the house. She kept one hand raised with the fingers extended as she focused on conjuring another spell. In the corner of her eye, she saw Lawfer and Belenus racing towards the crab as well.

"Stop!" Lawfer hollered after the crab.

"Hey! Hey, hey!" Belenus shouted at the top of his lungs.

The crustacean hesitated, but then chose to ignore them, slowly scuttling inside the house. The two warriors and the miko girl converged a few yards outside the hole and saw a preteen blonde boy fleeing the giant crab with his three-year-old sibling in his arms. He'd just run out of the kitchen where the creature had busted through. He was running for the stairs, but they weren't going to make it. The beast had just busted through the doorway into the living room and was gaining quickly enough to intercept them. In that moment, Nanami saw the dead farmers back on Yamato, and remembered her reason for venturing down to get the Dragonbane.

Something changed inside the miko, and this time, she didn't hesitate. Nanami came to a stop as her body glowed and the magic circle formed at her feet. Lawfer and Belenus both saw it and fanned out to the sides. They knew she was the only one who could reach the crab from where they were outside.

"FIRE LANCE!" Nanami screamed.

Five flaming balls shot from her fingers and flew with blinding speed through the hole in the back of the house and each one blasted the crab from a different angle, causing the monster to crash into the floor, and then through it. The space beneath the house was just deep enough for it to fall in up to the top of its shell.

Lawfer and Belenus then took off like they'd been fired from a slingshot. Nanami was about to follow them, but the sound of shuffling and heavy breathing made her pause and look over where she'd left Llewelyn. He was up on his feet, limping towards her and holding his hide.

"Wait," he weakly called.

"Oh, no! Don't move!" Nanami ran over to tend to him. "Here, let me finish healing that. Sorry, sorry, this is my fault!"

Llewelyn fell onto his knees and so did Nanami while she began to cast.

"Yeah, it was," he breathlessly agreed with that last part. "But at least you found your courage."

"First Aid!" Nanami chanted. The healing magics left her palms and washed over the archer, restoring him fully this time. In answer to her question, she looked uneasy. "…Sort of."

Llewelyn shrugged. "Good enough."

When he tried to stand again, most of the pain was gone and much of his strength had returned. Both he and Nanami gave elated smiles, and then went to join the warriors to deal with the crab giant.

---

As Lawfer and Belenus entered the house, the crab was already trying to climb its way out of the hole while the boy and his toddler sibling cowered against a wall.

"I've got the children!" Lawfer sped forward.

As he ran past the hole, the crab spotted him and tried grab him, but the knight jumped over its big claw. As one of its legs reached over the edge of the hole and planted itself on the floorboards, Belenus ran up and jumped onto the top of the crustacean's shell. The sudden addition of his weight knocked it back into the hole. With the beast indisposed, Lawfer grabbed the children, and leapt through an open window bearing them both to safety.

"Whoa!" Belenus had to struggle to keep his balance and footing as the beast.

As soon as the crab went level for a moment, Belenus raised his sword over his head and sliced down with all the strength he could muster, cutting off the crab's little pincher. The crab gurgled in agony and began jerking around to throw him off. It threw itself against the side of the hole, sending Belenus into the air. The nobleman bounced off the wall with a pained grunt.

Nanami and Llewelyn entered through the hole in the back just in time for the Lassen man hit the wall just outside the kitchen and collapse into a dazed state. The shrine maiden had another spell readied by then. Llewelyn hung back as she cast it. The crab was half out of the hole when Nanami trained her fingers on it.

"Sap Power!"

The crab felt itself grew inexplicably weak and it nearly fell back into the floor. Its movements became sluggish and in its confusion, it almost forgot about devouring the man that had just injured it. Then a creaking floorboard got its attention. The crab looked and saw Llewelyn with an energy arrow readied and trained on it, standing beside the downed Belenus. It was fast, but the archer was faster. Llewelyn fired his shot directly through one of its eyes, half-blinding it.

The weakened crab stumbled on shaking legs and crashed through a load-bearing wall in the process. Llewelyn and Nanami ran to Belenus's side, lifting him up by looping their heads under his armpits. Llewelyn grabbed his sword and then they ran, dragging their dazed comrade out of the collapsing abode. They weren't a step too fast, as the second floor crashed down into the first floor behind them, blowing a big whooshing of air and debris at their backs.

After they'd taken Belenus a few more steps to a reasonable distance, they turned around, surveying the damage. Belenus shook his head, clearing out the haze and looking around to take in the situation. He got his feet under him and stood up, while staring at the pile of wood and stone that used to be a family home.

"Was it in there?" he removed his arms from the teens' shoulders as he looked them both a once over.

Yes," Llewelyn answered. Then he handed Belenus his sword.

"Thank you," the noble took back, but did not resheath it.

All eyes were on the collapsed house.

"Think we got him?" Nanami asked.

"Doubt it. It's rarely that easy," Llewelyn answered.

Then, as if summoned by the boy's words, something under the debris began to stir and three einherjar reassumed fighting positions.

---

"Alright, you two just hide behind here, out of sight," Lawfer set the boy and his little sister on the ground behind a well.

He knelt on one knee next to them while the boy tried to keep the three-year-old in his arms quiet. The little blonde girl with curly hair was in tears and on the verge of screaming, but her big brother just kept trying to shush her as gently as he could.

"No screaming, or it will hear us. Understand?" the boy asked.

His little sister nodded, sniffing loudly.

"Good lad," Lawfer padded the boy on the shoulder. He glanced back at the house as it began to collapse. "Listen, both of you. Do not move from this spot until you are given permission to do so. I must return to finish off the beast, but I will return, I swear it."

"Really?" the scared boy's voice was a whimper.

"I do, and I'm a knight, so I know I'm good for it. Now stay down," Lawfer gently told them.

"Yes, Sir Knight," the boy and his little sister both answered.

Then with a pat on each of their heads, Lawfer took off back to the house. Even he'd seen it collapse, he had a feeling that wouldn't be the end of the crab, and he was proven right as he ran around the side of the rubble. A spot in the middle of the fallen straw roof began to swell up as something stood and moved around underneath. Belenus, Llewelyn, and Nanami were still out back and prepared for another attack when he arrived.

"I am here," Lawfer called out to them.

He slowed and sidestepped rest of the way back to the others.

"The children are well?" Nanami asked as she focused to begin another spell.

"Yes, I left them hidden," Lawfer answered without looking away from the crab.

"Good. Now we finish this," the miko firmly said.

A yellow magic circle which sparked like lightning formed at her feet, making her comrades take a good step away from her. Then she opened her eyes, looking almost fiercely at the sea monster as it fully emerged from under the house.

As the crab clamored out from the debris with straw covering its back like a tan fur coat with broken pieces of wood sticking out in random places, they all took note of its state. With two injured legs and a missing little pincher, it was in bad shape, and practically fell on its face when it stepped back out onto the grass.

"Lightning Bolt!" Nanami shouted.

An earsplitting 'crackle' punched the air as a bolt of nature's wrath shot from the girl's fingers and struck the crab's upper exoskeleton. The beast shook uncontrollably as it was electrocuted. When Nanami had fully fired the charge, the smoldering crab was left paralyzed from the shock, and with a chunk of its upper shock blasted away. Both Lawfer and Belenus took long, but quick steps forward when they saw it.

"Good work!" Lawfer praised her.

"Well done," Belenus conferred, and then both the men were off.

Llewelyn lingered back with Nanami, aiming another arrow, but he didn't fire yet for fear the jolt of pain might be enough to make crab mobile again. A short moment later, both the warriors had jumped onto the monster's back and plunged their weapons deep into the soft tissues beneath the exoskeleton. Llewelyn fired his shot just as the crab started to protest and try to get up. The arrow took out its other eye, completely blinding the beast. As its big claw and legs twitched in its final protests against its slayers, it almost managed to stand once more. Lawfer and Belenus had to fight to keep their balance. As soon as he good footing, Lawfer turned his halberd over, facing the spearhead straight down and plunged it deep into the crab. Belenus sheathed his sword and leapt to his aid, and together, and they pushed it deeper and deeper in, until they pierced something truly vital.

The crab halted all movement and its big claw dropped to the ground. It just stood there a moment, and then fell to the ground, knocking both the warriors off its back. Lawfer and Belenus "Oof'd" as they hit the ground and rolled away. When they could stop themselves, they looked at their enemy, and saw it lying lifeless with the lower half of Lawfer's weapon still sticking out of its top.

They all waited a moment, watching it lie still, before concluding that it had actually died. Lawfer's body relaxed and he fell onto his back.

"So, there is going to be more of this in the caves, huh?" he muttered tiredly.

---

"By the gods, it's after me! Somebody help!" the sailor ran in a dead panic along the outside of the town's protective wall.

The crab giant kept up with him easily, never more than one stumble away from grabbing and devouring him. The fact the man was running across uneven ground, slanted down in the direction of the sea made his flight from the pursuer even more treacherous. The man could almost feel the big pincher clamp shut just behind him as he fled. The creature had its big claw reached out for him and it clapped shut each time it gained ground on him, which would prompt the man into picking up the pace again.

"Some… help…" the sailor hoarsely cried up towards the wall again.

But no one came. Not a single soul was in sight outside of the fortified wall, and the crab had unfortunately gotten between him and the drawbridge. The fleeing man might have been able to overhear the sounds of battle happening deeper in the city if all his attention as not on staying ahead of the thing that wanted to eat him.

Sweet dampened his clothes and was thick upon his face enough that it looked he'd just come from the ocean, himself. As his breathing became more labored, he had to fight his own body harder to keep it from slowing down, but his legs were weakening, and he could feel it. It wouldn't be long before the beast had him.

So, he gave one last desperate shout, "Help me! The beast from the sea is after me!"

Then he felt an almost abnormally cold breeze hit the back of his body, especially on the back of his neck. There was a loud 'thud' behind him immediately after, but he didn't dare look. After a few more strides, he realized he no longer heard the crab's many legs pounding the earth in hot pursuit. He finally dared a glance over his shoulder, and was befuddled enough by what he saw that he tripped and went rolling downhill towards the shore. When he came to rest after a few yards, he dizzily looked at the crab giant again. Somehow, a pillar of ice had erected itself in the path of oversized shell beast, which had somehow been flipped over onto its back with the claws and legs wiggling helplessly in the air. The sailor slowly sat in confusion.

"Almost like… the ice just grew beneath it, flipping it over… all instant like," he tried to vain to wrap his mind around that.

He hadn't the chance to think much longer before something flew down from the sky, and impacted upon the crab. The sailor fell onto his back again, unable to focus for a moment in his startled stupor. When he came out of it, he realized a series of ice spikes were sticking out of the crab's face and underside. Its legs had curled in and gone still, as had its pinchers. Three figures stood by the beast, a large, scarred warrior with a ludicrously large sword, a petite blonde teenage girl, and…

"Odin's Death Angel?" the sailor uttered unconsciously.

"Man, I shoulda gone with Lawfer and the others, didn't get to do shit," Arngrim put one of his feet up on the dead crab, staring in petulant disappointment at it.

"Cease your winging, there will plenty of sword-work to do in the caves," Lenneth answered crossly.

She glanced up at the wall, and was about to hover into the air again when she spotted the sailor sitting in the grass staring at her. Lenneth turned to him, and the slender seaman shank down. He didn't know if he'd just committed some kind of trespass by laying eyes on the Valkyrie, but he hoped not. He looked down at his lap, staring at his well-worn dark blue pants instead of at the literal goddess he was in the presence of.

Then he heard heavy footsteps coming his way, and he dared only briefly to lift his eyes. She was coming right at him, flanked by the girl and fearsome-looking man.

He cursed under his breath and got up on his knees and then bowed with his face to the ground.

"Human," Lenneth called to him. "I would speak with thee."

"Ye… Ye would?" the sailor slowly looked up.

"Indeed, and it would be simpler if you would stand," she answered.

"A-ay, ma'am… Yer Holiness, er, I mean…" he shakily got up. "I mean… uh…"

"Just Lady Valkyrie will do," Lenneth wearily corrected him.

Beside her, Arngrim silently chuckled.

"Oh, just 'Lady Valkyrie', eh?" he thought.

"These defensive measures have only recently been built," Lenneth pointed at the wall and pit. "I assume this is in response to an increase of monster attacks coming from the shallows."

"Ay, Lady Valkyrie," the sailor answered. "Folk around these parts have been seein' all manner of monster and ne'er-do-well, and they all be comin' from that infernal cave. Keep headin'…"

"I am aware," Lenneth stopped him. "What I want to know is what manner of beasts have the locals been encountering. I am aware of these crabs, the harpies, the blob creatures, and the undead dragon. Is there anything else?"

"You be careful of them globs with the big yeller eye, Lad Valkyrie," the sailor answered. "Knock ye right out and then eat ye up if yer none too careful. There's also the walkin' dead."

"The zombies who serve the dragon?" Jelanda asked.

"Ay, the rotten dragon makes 'em. Nasty thing ain't none but bone and dried flesh hangin' of it, but it still moves like it be alive. The dragon's been goin' around bustin' through folks' windows by night and grabbin' them outta they own beds," the sailor was visibly shaken at the thought.

"And the victims return as living dead?" Arngrim asked.

"Ay, and these ain't no Lesser Vampires, neither," the sailor firmly stated. "They don't stay down, no matter what we've done to 'em. Master Paul, the town wizard, thinks killin' the rotten dragon is the key to makin' them go back down fer good."

Lenneth silently took in what the sailor told her.

"So, the undead dragon is intelligent, then," she realized. That only raised more questions, though. "Perhaps a survivor of the old dragon clan? They were masters of lost and forbidden magic, cultivated all the name of protecting the Dragon Orb, but why here of all places instead of guarding the Sacred Treasure his clan was charged with?"

"Lady Valkyrie?" Jelanda asked.

Lenneth realized she'd gone silent for a while. When she looked around, Arngrim was shifting around on his feet impatiently, the sailor looked like as uncertain as ever, and more of the townsfolk were coming out of hiding and staring at her.

"Ahem," Lenneth coughed deliberately. "We best rendezvous with the others and be leaving."

She turned to the sailor. "Thank you for your cooperation. Be sure to tell the rest of this city's citizens they will be able to rest well after today, for my einherjar and I will be flushing that cave of its evil right now. Adieu, sir."

Then she took to the skies, taking Arngrim and Jelanda with her, leaving the sailor standing there with his clothes rustling from the wind her takeoff produced. Around, slowly but surely, the other townspeople gathered.

"That was Odin's Battle Maiden," the harbormaster uttered. "You, good man, what'd she say to you?"

"Th-that she's gonna rid the cave of its evil," the sailor sputtered.

"She is?" someone asked.

"You hear that, everyone, Odin's Valkyrie is going to save us!"

Tthen the crowd erupted into cheers.

---

"The city guard definitely got the other two crabs," Llewelyn reported from above.

The others stood around, looking up towards the archer standing on the branch of a tree. He'd found one just tall enough that he could get a view of the port city. Although Llewelyn couldn't quite see everything, he had been able to find all the crabs.

"The beasts are dead for sure?" Lawfer called up to him.

"Yeah," Llewelyn hollered down. "They got pushed down to the bottom of a ditch. It looks like got stuck on its side and then they just speared it 'til it died. The others looks like it got cornered by those local magi Lady Valkyrie told them to find."

"Really?" Nanami asked.

"Yeah, it's smoking and turned bright red," Llewelyn observed. He laughed almost in disbelief. "It looks almost like giant seafood."

Belenus looked roughly in the direction he could see Llewelyn staring off in. "Well, I hope they don't try to eat it. Such a beast would surely be poisonous."

"I doubt the locals are that desperate," Lawfer said with a half-smile.

He then turned from his companions towards the collapsed house. The children he had saved stood beside the wreckage with their parents and some other villagers. While the adults discussed what to do next with some of the other townspeople offering to help, the two siblings stayed near them vigilantly. The boy kept a firm hold of his sister's hand to keep her from wandering off. Lawfer smiled, thinking him a good lad. Contented they were okay, his attention returned to his team.

"I see Lady Valkyrie approaching," Llewelyn called down to them.

Then the boy began hopping down, from branch to branch to rejoin them. He was still at least two leaps from reaching the ground when Lenneth and the others dropped among them. The einherjar all fell in, awaiting their orders.

"Well done," she began by congratulating them. "I knew between the four of you, the sea beast would fall."

"Ay, but we could not have done it without the help of our newest member," Lawfer placed a hand on Nanami's shoulder.

She flinched and looked up at him in surprise, and Lawfer smiled reassuringly back.

"Nanami found her courage, and softened the beast up quite a bit for us," Lawfer expounded.

The Yamatoese girl blushed, placing a hand daintily on her reddened cheek.

"I didn't do anything, really? Jelanda could have done all that," she modestly insisted.

"Perhaps, but Jelanda was not with us. You were," Belenus gently countered. "Give yourself some credit."

"Well, you see…" Nanami trailed off when she noticed Lenneth looking closely at her as if studying her. "Lady Valkyrie?"

"You are prepared to brave the cave, then?" the battle goddess asked.

Nanami glanced over toward the children they had saved from the crab before turning back to her lady with iron resolve.

"Yes, Lady Valkyrie, I am," her words were as resolute as her will.

"Very well, then," Lenneth answered. "We go to the cave immediately."

This time, Nanami did not shiver or hesitate.

"To the cave," she said.

"To the cave," Lenneth repeated.