22.3ᴘᴀᴛʀᴇᴏɴ.ᴄᴏᴍ/sᴛʀᴀᴛᴏᴛʜʀᴀx

"Hey hey hey! What's the big idea you can't just kidnap me!"

"You know as well as I do Fosco that you are under contract to the Queen. If you do not wish to have your debauchery interrupted then I suggest you write a letter and have your contract voided. For the moment however you are mine and I am not pleased with your previous convenient disappearances whenever an excursion into the dungeon is planned. I suggest you make an example of yourself or I will use my superior level to end you. No one will stop me and I will face no repercussions."

The Halfling quit struggling and gulped.

"Good. Now here we are."

The group pulled into the towns stable, a huge thing due to the number of travellers who came to try the dungeon.

It only took a moment for a simpering stable master to find the Inquisitor and offer the group their best horses. Five minutes later the group galloped out of town and rode through the surrounding forest until they came upon the Inquisitor's intended destination, the dungeon.

They tied down their mounts outside and entered on foot.

"Not that I'm complaining but would somebody tell me why we are here? How am I supposed to know what I'm tracking If I don't know what I'm tracking? I'm pretty good but I'm not that good," grumbled the Halfling.

They were descending one of the massive stairs that lead between floors as he spoke. Baera paused then nodded.

"You are here to track down a new monster that has been reported on as of recent events. Black fur, wolf-like, bipedal."

"Alright, I can work with that. There are no wolves in this dungeon, nearest would be mountain wolves but they are a hundred miles away at least, so If it really is wolf-like as you say then its tracks should be distinct from everything else in this dungeon. Anything else?"

She paused. "It's reported to be drenched entirely in blood."

"Really? That's a bit gruesome. You know I'm not much good in a fight right? You better protect my half-ass"

"Myself and Drumus are enough to deal with any threat."

The Halfling eyed the minotaur. "I suppose that is… comforting. Anyway, I have a skill that gives me an enhanced sense of smell. If this monster really is covered in blood as you say then I should be able to smell it."

They went on in silence until Baera held up an armoured hand. "We're here. This Is the floor it was last sighted on. Come, it should be in this direction. Be aware of your surroundings. This new potential monster is not the only threat in the dungeon."

"Yeah yeah I know, monsters, dungeon shit, whatever," said the minotaur picking his teeth with a knife.

"Hey," said the Halfling. "I can already smell something, come on, just follow me."

The group followed as the Halfling led the way through twisting passages until at last they exited onto a sandy causeway tunnel lit by mosslight, much broader than the ones they had arrived through. A medley of footprints marked the sand as though many webbed feet had passed by.

"Hrmm. Looks Piscine. I know there are some lake tribes around here. Guess they must come through here for whatever reason."

"Oh! I found something! This might be it!" exclaimed Jilli pointing at a footprint.

The Halfling shuffled over and peered down. "Curious."

"What is it?"

"There are two sets both with wolf-like aspects, one was made a little after the other. The odd thing is that the newer set is from a larger pair of paws." He got down on his knees and stared closely at the two, switching between them every so often. "If I were an inferior tracker I would tell you that we are facing two of this monster… But these paws are functionally identical, they do not have any of the micro deviations in anatomy that occur between different people of a single species."

"Oh stop trying to make yourself look good and get to the damn point Halfling," grumbled Drumus.

The Halfling glared at him irritably. "It's the same monster but grown larger."

Baera crossed her arms. "Hrmm."

"I know, it sounds strange. I suspect we are against a monster that is absurdly quickly growing in size."

"There was speculation of something like this in the report. It seems like this could indeed become a problem if left alone. Very well, please continue."

The Halfling finished his inspection of the tracking and gestured for them to follow. He led them further down the tunnel then round a corner. He paused.

"That blood smell, it's gotten, uh, quite strong."

"You think the monster is near?"

"No, this is too strong a smell for just one monster, I'm not sure what it is exactly I'm smelling."

They continued onward, passing by a part of the tunnel closed off by piled up rocks. They slowed as they came across a gap in the sand.

"Gods! The smell! it's so strong! I, I believe it's coming from that chasm."

The group edged nearer and peered over the edge,

"Wha-What, what is that? Is that all blood?" said Jilli, her face paling.

"Dear gods it's like someone painted the floor and walls in the stuff! How many must have died for this?"

"More importantly… Where are the bodies…"

"I.. I don't like this, we should go," whispered Jilli.

"Wait, hold on, where's the Minotaur?"

Baera blinked at the Halfling and turned from the hole to look behind. No Minotaur.

"That idiot probably got bored and wandered off to take a nap. You're a tracker aren't you, let's retrace our steps and see where we got separated.