Chapter 5: Mutant Crab, Encounter 1

Walking forth, the farmer, alchemist, blacksmith and rancher headed towards their first myrrh tree. They passed under a stone arch, and were met by the sound of rushing water. Stepping into a sort of grove, they were astounded by what they saw. Mushrooms and wild flowers grew around the area, and the myrrh tree could be seen at the opposite end of the enclosed space. A rushing waterfall pouring into the river could be seen and heard, the water vapor making a beautiful rainbow against the sunlight. How a monster could have dwelled within such a beautiful place was completely beyond them. It didn't even appear that there was a monster! All there was... was the blissful sounds of nature.

Senken got excited by the sight of the myrrh tree and immediately set off for it. Kaegomé was baffled. She knew for certain, due to stories, that there were monsters at each tree. How come there wasn't one there? Snow was looking left and right, he was searching for this monster, though his weapons were at ease. It was nowhere to be found. Kazuo had this problem as well, though he was ready for a fight. The rancher felt that it was what he was born to do. He was born to become a caravanner, and slay the monsters at the myrrh trees. Though there wasn't any to be found. Upon thinking this, Kazuo and Kaegomé followed Senken towards the tree.

Though something caught Snow's eye. A small glitter of light from within the waterfall distracted the blacksmith. His natural eye for danger caused him to look over and peer into the falls. Peering into the falls, he could see a large shadow. It's form looked odd, unlike anything he'd ever seen before. Its presence had misfortune written all over it though. It was no doubt a living creature, as it moved from time to time. The glitter, centered in the creature, undoubtedly an eye, focused in on... on Senken. Perhaps, it wasn't focused on Senken, but the chalice instead. This alarmed Snow, and he ran towards the Yuke.

"Look out!" He called.

It was just that much too late. The monster leapt out from the waterfall. Its oversized form sailed low towards the ground, water from the falls flying everywhere. Kaegomé and Kazuo saw this and dropped to the ground. The giant monster sailed right over their heads towards Senken. In that split moment, it seemed to the Yuke, that he was foolish. He took fate for granted, always knowing that nothing ever came so easily. As the monstrous form of what seemed to be a giant shell crab flew at the Yuke, he felt fear and regret. Luckily, Snow was there. He ran to the Yuke and tackled him to the ground just in time for the monster to sail over his head and hit the side of a small mountain.

Just inside the protective barrier of the chalice, Kazuo and Kaegomé stood up, drawing their weapons. Senken and Snow shifted back as close to their comrades as they could, standing up and getting ready for battle as well. The giant crab whirled itself around, it's one giant claw seeming to guide most of it's weight. It's offsetting appearance, shining with moisture from the water. The crustacean was mutant, which was for sure, it being the size of maybe a small house. The caravanners took the small amount of time they had to question the creature, and used it all.

"Wh-What is THAT?" Kaegomé asked.

"I don't know." Kazuo said.

"Looks like a giant crab to me." Snow responded.

"IT'S UGLY!" Kaegomé nearly wailed at the top of her lungs.

The crab then leapt at them again, seemingly enraged by Kaegomé's comment. The group scattered, though tried to stay as close to one another as possible. Whatever the thing was, it was standing in the way, and subconsciously, the all knew it had to fall. Though they didn't know how to go about it. They'd never fought anything like this before. Not to mention that what they had fought in the near past didn't require much teamwork. It was certainly going to be difficult.

Senken was the first to try something. While the crab was distracted, charging at his friends, he put the chalice down and began to cast a thunder spell. The very moment the crab held still for a moment, Senken unleashed the fury of the spell. The spell zapped the crab, though to Senken's misfortune, it seemed like a mere shock. The crab wasn't phased. It just turned its sights towards the Yuke. In a quick movement, Senken picked up the chalice and ran. The crab had attempted to cast a lightning spell of its own, though it missed the Yuke by a long shot. Where Senken stood, the grass was burned to the dirt by the thunder shock.

As the Yuke ran back towards Kaegomé and Kazuo, the giant crustacean set its sights on the Clavat and the Selkie. Extending its giant claw out before it, it produced a thick stream of bubbles. The large orbs of soapy fluid moved towards the two. Taking it for granted, Kazuo remained where he was. Kaegomé on the other hand, ran to meet Senken halfway, avoiding the bubbles. The seemingly weak bubbles his Kazuo, and although it didn't hurt, the rancher was covered from head to toe in a slippery, heavy, gooey substance.

"Aw gross!" Kazuo shouted as he flicked his wrist, soapy fluid flying off him.

The crab then lunged at him. Kazuo backed up enough for the crab to land in front of him, though his movements were slow, like he was treading. The crab then swung its mammoth claw at the Clavat, and in a panic, Kazuo helplessly raised his shield. It was to no avail, though, as when he was struck, the force sent the shield back into the rancher's face, and the momentum sent him tumbling across the ground. He could only hold onto his sword tightly as he tumbled, and when he stopped, he was outside the protection of the chalice. He felt a burning on his skin that was like acid, though not nearly as hot, and it was very slowly eating away at his body, he could feel it.

"Kazuo!" Kaegomé exclaimed as she ran over to Kazuo and dragged him back into the protective barrier.

"I'm fine!" Kazuo scolded as he stood up then, trying to be rid of the soapy fluid on him.

With a sigh, Kaegomé went back to looking out for herself. The crab had gone and attempted to attack Senken. Luckily, the Yuke had somehow managed to avoid the creature for a long period of time. Snow was eagerly attacking it in the behind. The crab would let out a somewhat gnarled noise, and attempt to attack Snow, though the small blacksmith usually ducked under the claw, and skillfully moved away from its many legs. Kazuo had attempted to get back into the action, though the crab would move too quickly for him. His slow body was unable to keep up with everyone else's.

It seemed, though, that the caravanner's weapons did next to nothing against the crab's hard shell. A mere scratch would be left, though it had the same effect on the crab as it would on a tree if someone scraped its bark. The crab just kept going, and there didn't seem to be a victory in near sight. The caravanners gathered in a place, sticking together as they avoided the various attacks, bubbles, and magic spells the crab seemed to throw at them.

"We're not doing anything to this thing!" Kaegomé pointed out. "What are we going to do?"

"Every thing we throw at it just gets back at us." Kazuo said as he barely avoided another attack. "I'm getting sick of it!"

"Me too." Snow said quietly.

Snow then fell back. Turning around, he stared the crab down with his own bit of intensity. The crab lunged at him as his friends continued to run away from it. Snow fell flat to his back then, and as the crab sailed over him, he grabbed hold of one of its legs. One hand holding tightly to his sword, the other holding firmly onto the crab's leg and his shield, he was dragged along the ground. The others stopped and looked back, moving out of the way of the crab. They saw Snow, taking the first opportunity he got to scale the creature and climb onto its back, holding his sword tightly between his teeth. They were amazed for a moment, but they knew what they needed to do.

Not only did Senken quickly move to keep the chalice's barrier over Snow, Kazuo and Kaegomé ran to attack the monster, to make a distraction. Senken focused on staying as close to the party as he could, as Kaegomé and Kazuo worked on slashing and hitting the crab's legs. Snow furiously began to stab the creature, plunging his blade as far and deep into it as he could. Its shell caused a bit of a problem at first, but being firmly planted, he continued to stab at it. Within a while, the shell began to give way and crack, though only little by little. Snow continued to go at it, the look in his eyes being that of rage.

"Hold it still!" Snow scolded as he continued to blindly hack and slash at the breaking shell. His friends tried to do what they could, though the crab was overwhelming them. It swung its mighty claw and hit Kazuo hard upon the chest, sending him flying through the air and sliding across the ground. He was outside of the chalice's protection yet again, and the miasma burned against him. He moved to his feet, but the miasma proved too much for him, and he fell to the ground after a moment, motionless. Kaegomé blinked at this, and left the crab again to fetch Kazuo. She quickly grabbed him and picked him up, carrying him back into the protective area and avoiding the lunging crab, Senken desperately following behind it.

"Kazuo you idiot!" Kaegomé shouted. "You WERE NOT okay!"

Kazuo just groaned weakly. He wasn't dead, much to Kaegomé's relief. But he was useless as he was. The Selkie farmer continued to carry him, very limited in her movements. Senken helplessly followed the crab, which Snow was still furiously stabbing. It was like a circle, one following the other. Though after a moment, the crab turned around, setting its sights on Senken. Senken stopped dead in his tracks, as did Kaegomé, and the Yuke stared at it in fear. Though luckily, at that moment, Snow broke through.

With a final plunge of his sword, the shell of the crab cracked, and then shattered like glass. The Clavat lost his footing, and fell onto the crab's bare back. His sword fell from his hand and onto the ground, though he was somewhat pleased. It had a weaker skin beneath it, and he immediately began attacking it without a weapon. Slamming his fist into its bare back, it screeched in pain. Snow grinned at this and began to laugh, almost seeming psychotic as he beat on the crab.

"Time to die!" Snow shouted as he grinned.

Though unexpectedly, the crab began to cast a spell. It was a lightning spell, Thundara was its name, and Senken knew it well. The spell was cast right over Kaegomé and the unconscious Kazuo, pure electricity flowing around then under a great radius. The two cried out in pain as they were zapped, and when the spell cleared, Kaegomé fell to the ground on top of Kazuo. The two couldn't move, no matter how much they tried. They were paralyzed, and couldn't move a muscle. Seeing this, the Yuke charged his own spell. He struck the crab with a quick jolt of lightning; causing it to spasm a bit, then, Snow quickly leapt down, took his sword, leapt up again, and stabbed it deep into the monster's back. Not once, not twice – but four times.

The monster let out and ear piercing howl and fell. Struggling to right itself again it shook furiously. Though in the end of the attempt, it fell to the ground, dead. It lay there, leg twitching as everyone hah held still. Snow seemed to calm down, hopping off the monster's back and taking a deep breath. Senken made a gesture, as if wiping sweat from his brow, relieved. Kaegomé opened her eyes and looked to her friends. Shaking her head, she woozily got to her feet and looked down at Kazuo. He way lying there, and though he was injured, he looked very peaceful, almost as if he were sleeping. Senken and Snow walked over to them, and picked Kazuo up. They gave the beat rancher some fresh spring water that Senken had bought from Xeuber before they left, and he slowly opened his eyes.

"Oh man..." He groaned. "It's dead already? I didn't get to do anything!"

"That's all you have to say?" Kaegomé asked, seeming angry again. "You fall in battle, out in the miasma, worry us to death, and THAT is all you were worried about? Killing some stupid mutant crab! You stupid Clavat!"

"Glad to see you too..." Kazuo mumbled as he brushed himself off.

The group then looked to the myrrh tree. Walking over to it, the old tree seemed to glow with life-giving radiance. Glowing balls of light seemed to swarm it, and its bark had a blue-ish hue to it. The tree's seemingly crystal branches were arched, remaining very still despite the breeze in the small clearing. All they heard was the sound of the waterfall rushing behind them as they stepped over to the myrrh tree. The sight amazed each one of them. They had never seen anything like it before. Even the old caravanners had not described it as it was. But it had a purpose, and the Yuke amongst them knew what he had to do.

He stepped towards the tree, a small stump being right in front of it. He reached out and ran his feathered hand over the annual rings of the stump. The surface was somewhat worn, meaning things had touched it before. The chalices before them had no doubt rested there for a moment or two. Senken took then chalice in both hands, and gently placed it upon the stump. Looking up, it seemed that each branch was made entirely of crystal, and each tip was towards him. On the center two, right above the chalice, there was a liquid gathered there. It was undoubtedly the myrrh, the live-giving perspiration the caravanners had set out for.

It seemed the tree knew just when to act. Only a few moments after the chalice was placed, the myrrh began to drop. Slowly, it moved, gravity taking its toll as a single drop formed between the tips of the branches. In a split second, it fell, going right down into the chalice. It was the first drop, though oddly, the chalice was filled a third of the way, even though the drop was but a small bead of water. The chalice was maybe as big as a basketball, the ratio made no sense to some of them. Though as soon as it had been done, they all felt relieved – they were doing their job right.


Year 1

I never would have thought that a myrrh tree would look so amazing. Its seemed to shed this blue glow that no one would quite understand, and its branches were made out of what looked like pure crystal! I think the others thought things that were very similar to my thoughts. To think, I was the first to have the privilege to gather a myrrh drop. It makes me feel as if I have done something important for the lives of many people.

-Senken


Year 1

Wow man, myrrh trees look so awesome! There were like, lights glowing all around it, and they seemed to dance around the tree. It was even better than the old caravanners had described! But when we fought a giant crab at the end of the Belle River Pass, I didn't do much. I was caught by something that slowed me down, and then while Snow was hitting it, it knocked me out. I think I almost died... but that's ALMOST! Nobody can kill me; I'm not that kind of guy.

-Kazuo


Year 1

I surprised even myself. At the end of the Belle River Pass, we faced a monster. I was the only one to see it though. My eyes are trained to see such things. But I felt very angry during the fight, for seemingly no reason at all. I haven't really felt that way before, maybe once, but that was a while ago. What's wrong with me?

-Snow


Year 1

The Belle River Pass looked so beautiful. I couldn't believe that such a place could have had monsters in it! We were attacked by goblins! I wonder where they came from? They're ugly, and smelly, but they're interesting I think. We also fought a GIANT, UGLY, MUTANT CRAB. It was so huge! I wonder where that came from? Oh well, that is just one of those questions people were never meant to answer, I guess.

- Kaegomé


After they had gathered the drop of myrrh, they left back the way they came. Taking the chalice, they left the clearing, out through the pass, and back out to their caravan. They decided then to rest. The day had trekked on until sunset, and after the fight, the four were weary. They climbed into the caravan, feeding their oxen, and set the chalice down. They all sat around it, sighing softly as they gazed at it. Needless to say, each of them felt accomplished.

"There are so many things to wonder." Kaegomé said.

"Like what?" Kazuo asked, seemingly in disbelief.

"Well, like where did that crab come from?" Kaegomé asked.

Senken thought about this.

"I have no idea." Snow said. "Probably some sort of mutation thanks to the miasma."

"Probably." Kazuo and Kaegomé agreed.

"And the myrrh drops." Kazuo stated. "It filled up a lot of our chalice."

"Yes, that was odd." Snow said. "It makes no sense."

"I know." Kaegomé agreed. "It's giving me a headache."

"Don't whine about it." Kazuo said. "If it's so hard to figure out, then let's leave it a mystery. There's no sense in trying to figure it out now."

"That's true." Snow said.

"Yeah." Kaegomé agreed. "I suppose it isn't worth losing sleep over."

"Speaking of which," Kazuo proclaimed. "I'm very tired."

"I think we all are." Snow said.

Senken nodded in agreement.

"Yep, maybe we should go to bed." Kaegomé suggested. "After all, a year is twelve months. We have a lot of time."

"Not really." Kazuo said. "If all the other villages beat us to the trees, we could miss out."

"Then we'd be in a pickle." Snow said.

"What should we do then?" Kaegomé asked.

"You're the leader." Kazuo bluntly responded.

"Oh yeah that's right." Kaegomé said in realization. "Alright, we'll leave for the nearest tree tomorrow."