“Well, this sucks,” Mateo says irritably.

  “Yeah, I’m getting mud between my paws,” Stitches replies.

  “You don’t have paws,” Mateo snipes.

  “Metaphorically speaking if I did, they would have mud between them.”

  The slog is a swamp populated with trees that stand above the water their roots sprouting like spider legs into it. A strange thick blueish vine wraps around most of them seeming out of place. It pulses slowly as if belonging to some animate creature.

  “How are we going to get through all this bullshit?” Mateo asks.

  “Ra’sheana has a few Dongons out back,” she turns her eyes toward Terror longingly, “I could part with them if a certain, patron, is willing to visit Ra’sheana from time to time.”

  Terror pulls Ra’shaena into his arms and she seems very comfortable in his embrace.

  “Terror finds Ra’sheana to be pleasant company, and Jade is pleased with her too, perhaps one day Ra’sheana returns to Obsidius and has many of Terror’s children,” he states stoically.

  “Oh, um, hopefully not, I am but a simple ruksha who seeks to live a simple life, without all the um, screaming and self defication that children bring.”

  “Ra’sheana, why don’t you give Terror your number, and me, in case he doesn’t understand numbers, and we’ll contact you if we find someone who is in need of children,” Mateo says with a smile.

  “You would do that for Ra’sheana, Ra’sheana is ever grateful, even more so than for the way Terror stroked her scales and vigorously pene-,” Mateo cuts her off.

  “The children are still here, anyway, thank you for the room and do not hesitate to contact us if you need anything.”

  Mateo stares at the large dragon donkey creatures that are known as Dongon. Hopefully the mother was a dragon and the father a donkey. Mateo pulls his rune tablet contacting Okami.

  “Okami, what the fuck did Eddie Murphy do?”

  “Um, who is Eddie Murphy, and those are dongon, they are not uncommon on the continent of Aramas, though not as cute as hoaram they are quite handy for carrying equipment across almost any terrain, please refrain from trying to ride them though, they can be a bit, unruly,” Okami explains.

  Dongon- Not that you need my help explaining what they are since you can just ask your fine furred wolf friend, but I’ll explain it anyway. At some point a bunch of bullshit happened and all the nearby adventurers died leaving a lone donkey roaming through the woods in remorse at the loss of his owners. A nearby female dragon stumbled upon the loathing donkey whom she took pity on. They went boom boom and the elves made a children’s play out of it, so they didn’t have to give their children the ‘dragons and donkeys’ speech.

  “Um, Natalia, the user interface is being weird again,” Mateo says.

  “It happens sometimes, just ignore it.”

  Mateo, ignoring his user interface, stares at the part donkey part dragon creature with disdain. The head of the creature resembles a donkey, sometimes with horns, sometimes without. The body is about the same, but the three large creatures all have scaled legs with the claws of a dragon. Only one of the three has wings. That one also has a long-scaled tail ending in a point like a spear. The other two have hair covered tails that swat about their backs at small blood sucking insects.

  “We should load some provisions onto these dongons, the Slog will not provide us with much respite,” Serenity says.

  Mateo gives a wave to Chrissima and stows away his tablet ending his chat with Okami. He approaches Ra’sheana who is still flustered in the presence of Terror.

  “Do your dongons have names?” He asks.

  Ra’sheana moves from Terror’s grasp as Jade slips into it. She adjusts her rustled feathers trying to seem professional.

  “The male is Mudd, he is the one with the wings and will protect the females, the two females are Blood and Water, Blood has the amber fur, and Water has the blue fur,” Ra’sheana replies.

  Leaving the orphanage the party of adventurers must once again face the Slog. They trudge through it for several days complaining the whole way, including Natalia even though she is resting on Mateo’s shoulder untouched by the muck below.

  “It’s hot, and my thighs are sweating,” Natalia says munching on a razzleberry crunch bar.

  “Lower your sugar intake and you won’t be sweating so much, sweets make you sweat more,” Mateo says drinking from a large bladder.

  “That’s not how pixies work, though I am pretty thirsty, maybe if I had some water,” Natalia replies turning her eyes toward the bladder.

  Mateo dumps water over her head soaking his shoulder and she stares at him angrily brushing her wet silver hair from her face.

  “Thanks jackass.”

  “Ask and you will receive,” Mateo says laughing.

  A tremor sends ripples through the water as the swamp quakes stirring the dongons. Large pulsating vines retract from the trees into the water as a massive creature rises from it.

  “What the hell is that?” Mateo says pulling up his user interface.

  The narrator is on break. User interface is currently unavailable.

  “Natalia, what the hell is going on with the UI?”

  “I don’t know, maybe karma from abusing your loving adorable pixie,” Natalia replies.

  Mateo turns to Serenity. Being from the Twilight Everglades she must surely know what this thing is.

  “Serenity, what the hell is that?” Mateo asks.

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  “A swamp Kraken.”

  Beatrice steps infront of Mateo holding out her right hand as she forms a large bolt with her left.

  “Don’t worry Mateo, I will end this foe in a single blow!” She yells firing a massive bolt at it.

  The bolt slams into the enemy shattering as it does, well, nothing.

  “Fuck, well I suppose a proper punishment for my failure would be rough sex,” Beatrice says with a smile.

  “Um, no, Serenity use your shadow step to ambush it, I’ll void step around it while Stitches summons Monica and Terror tanks it, where are Rayo and Charlotte?”

  “There isn’t enough mana here for dragons to be, well, dragons, that’s why dragons usually fly over this place, so they’re likely waiting for us on the other side of the Slog, probably enjoying each other’s company,” Yasmina replies.

  Large tentacles shoot up from the murky waters as they ready to combat the large swamp bound beast.

  “Serenity, how do we beat this thing?”

  “Honestly, I’m not sure, it’s just here to ward off invaders,” she replies.

  Tentacles wrap around Mateo and his friends raising them into the air. The beast lets out a wet roar from its death-soaked maw as it displays its prey.

  “Stitches,” Mateo yells.

  “Monica isn’t ready, neither are my flesh golems,” Stitches replies.

  “Damnjt, Terror, you got anything?” Mateo asks.

  Time seems to freeze for a moment, and a small horde of goblins surround the massive land kraken. Jade wades through the swamp water holding up her sketchbook. The moment passes returning the flow of time to normal.

  “Release my friends or I will send you to oblivion you squid bitch!” Jade yells.

  “Jade, language,” Mateo yells.

  “Oh, you can spank me later daddy,” Jade replies.

  Mateo turns his gaze toward Natalia floating beside him glaring at her angrily.

  “Touché.”

  Natalia smiles triumphantly.

  Terror digs his tusks into the tentacle holding him and it drops him to the muck beside Jade. Serenity, having shadow jumped, stands before the large creature unrestrained. She closes her eyes holding out her hand as if to commune with the creature telepathically.

  “Amelia, it’s Serenity, we aren’t here to hurt anyone,” Serenity says.

  The large creature retracts its tendrils into the ground and the center mass rises. A female humanoid creature connected to the main creature by thin tendrils steps out of a large, toothed maw.

  “Serenity, where is Aureillius,” it asks.

  “I’m sorry Amelia, my brother is not returning with us,” Serenity replies.

  The humanoid form dissipates, and the larger form of the kraken lingers over the group, two massive ocean blue eyes peering down at them.

  “Where is Aureillius,” the creature demands.

  “He is dead,” Serenity replies clenching her fists as her body succumbs to tremors. Mateo voidsteps removing himself from the creature’s grasp and pulls Serenity into an embrace which she leans into seeking comfort.

  “No, no, no, not my sweet Auere, not him,” the creature says curling into a grotesque ball of limbs before letting out a piercing scream.

  Like a harpy mourning the loss of a lover Amelia lets out a screech that pierces the heavens parting the clouds as if it physically moved them. Harpies nesting in distant trees rise starring toward the sky in solidarity at her mournful cry. The trees around them fill with seductive harpies that begin to sing softly into the gentle flow of the wind. Their melody does not entrance their prey as it is not a song of longing, but one of mourning.

  As the Slog fills with the angelic mourning of harpies, Serenity steps away from Mateo, tears streaming down her cheeks, and holds out her hand to Amelia.

  “I know you loved him, I did too, but he is gone,” she stammers her voice shaking.

  Amelia extends a thorned vine to her gently wrapping it around her hand.

  “I didn’t get the chance to love him, but I know he loved me, though I was just a young sprite back then,” Amelia replies.

  “We are bound for the Twilight Everglades, can you let us pass?” Serenity asks.

  “Can you tell me who felled my beloved Auere?”

  Serenity turns her tainted eyes away.

  “Vampires,” she replies.

  Viscous sap-like tears drip from the two blue orbs staring down at them as Amelia raises a tentacle toward a tree illuminated by a faint amber light.

  “Follow the amber path and you will come to solid soil, there you may take the ungrassed road to the pewter roads of Yesemer, they will lead you into the Twilight Everglades,” Amelia says shrinking into a small humanoid figure.

  Serenity steps up to her pulling a small brooch from her inventory. It’s a silver fashioned lotus garnished with quartz.

  “He told me to give this to you if he didn’t return from our adventure, I’m sorry he couldn’t give it to you himself,” Serenity says stepping away.

  The swamp stirs with remorse as Mateo’s party leave the weeping Kraken behind.

  “I have to ask, what was that about?” Mateo asks.

  “Amelia was an elf once, my brother and I went to the same academy with her, he was fond of her, the witch queen and her army of trolls attacked our academy, Amelia was the only elf among us that knew how to negate magical attacks, my brother was strong so he held off a couple of trolls while she negated the witch’s curse until the honor guard could come to our aid, but they were too late, Amelia couldn’t hold back the Witch Queen and protect my brother, so she took the brunt of the curse she placed on him, ‘sprite’, it turns the target into a woodland sprite changing them from flesh to earthen wood, by the time the honor guard drove back the Witch Queen young Amelia was no longer an elf, but a creature, her family shunned her banishing her from their home into the Slog,” Serenity pauses brushing a tear from her cheek. “My brother tracked her to a small rundown cottage in the woods where he found her hanging from the ceiling staring at the floor, her efforts to end her life in vein, sprites don’t breath through their necks, but their skin, he cut her down remaining by her side for several days until our father had soldiers sent to retrieve him.”

  “How did she become a kraken?” Mateo asks.

  “The kraken is a guardian, Amelia merely controls it, lives within it, the kraken is her home, a home granted to her by my father at my brother’s request.”

  “And what do you think of her?” Mateo asks.

  “Amelia was my friend too, we had many classes together and I knew she fawned over my brother, I didn’t go to see her as much as my brother did because I was afraid she would ask me about how he felt for other girls in school and I didn’t want to break her heart, because it was all she had left, though I suppose even that is gone now.”

  “Terror thinks we move on, brooding is boring, even the dongons are tired of it, we need more violence.”

  Jade slaps Terror giving him an irritable look.

  “Stop being such a brute, not everyone fixes their emotional damage by bashing in the faces of their enemies,” Jade yells.

  “They don’t, Terror wonders what the solution is then.”

  “They talk about it,” she replies.

  “Ah, they talk about smashing in the faces of their enemies, and then they smash in the faces of their enemies,” Terror says slamming his offhand into his open palm violently.

  Jade sighs, “there is more to life than violence Terror.”

  “Ah yes, Terror finds much more to life than violence in his youth, then he solved his problems without violence and lost those dear to him,” Terror looks down at Jade clutching a small book against her chest. “There are many who solve their problems without violence, Terror is not of them, if you need your problem solved permanently, come to Terror and he will make sure it is resolved.”

  Jade runs to Mateo gripping his arm.

  “What’s wrong with him?” She asks.

  “War, something he’s been hiding from you, give him a little time, he’s preparing for what’s coming,” Mateo replies.

  “Are you going to be that way too?” She asks starring up at him with sad ruby eyes.

  Mateo runs his fingers through Jades long dark hair.

  “We should get to the Twilight Everglades.”

  Jade turns toward Natalia, but her eyes avoid her. Jade lowers her eyes to the ground.

  “Mateo, do you think violence is the answer?” She asks.

  “Sometimes we do things we aren’t proud of, sometimes we do what we have to in order to protect the ones we love and the ideals we hold dear.”

  Jade peers up at him with a broken smile.

  “And how far is too far?” She asks.

  “That depends on what you are protecting,” Mateo replies.

  “And if it’s me?”

  “Then Terror will see the world burn, its surface covered with the ashes of those that seek to harm you,” Mateo replies.

  “And what will you do?” she asks.

  Mateo smiles placing his hand on her soft green cheek.

  “Help him.”

  It’s two more days before Mateo’s party reaches the border of the Twilight Everglades after following the path Amelia set them on. Damp swamp lands give way to firm rolling hills. Peering into the distance Mateo can see a large palace constructed of ivory stone built into massive trees. The dongons graze in the grasslands as his party comes to a halt several hours walking distance from the Twilight Everglades.

  “Everyone rest, in the morning we venture into the Twilight Everglades to meet the king of the elves.”