[Cass]
The river tunnel pulsed with the sound of slow thunder. Every few breaths, Cass could feel the tremor of water moving through stone - the heartbeat of Rootwater itself. The eel was down there, somewhere beneath the black current, waiting.
Lantern fungi lined the walls, dim and green. Their reflections wavered on the slick stone like restless ghosts. Behind him, Karrek and the other hunters checked the resin traps - thick jars filled with pitch and fungus oil, tied with rough cords. Each hissed softly when shaken.
Cass crouched by the edge, palm hovering above the water. The current was colder tonight. Faster. The beast was near. "Three traps in place?" he asked.
Karrek grunted. "Aye. If it breaks these, nothing holds it."
Rilka stood further back, slate clutched tight, eyes darting between shadows. She'd begged to come, said she needed to see what the monster looked like. Cass had almost said no. But she'd earned her right to draw the truth, even if the truth had teeth.
Eshna knelt beside the shrine torch they'd carried down from the hamlet. "You don't have to lead the charge," she murmured.
Cass adjusted the chitin armor across his chest. "I buried six already. If it takes me too, that's fair trade."
Her eyes flashed. "Don't make graves a habit."
Cass didn't answer. He rose and gave the signal. The traps sank, the cords stretched across the river. Oil spread thin across the surface. The smell was thick enough to sting.
The hunters took their places, spears angled. The shrine torch's flame flickered, catching the oil's shimmer. Every breath was a countdown.
[System]: Quest Active – Predator's End.
Objective: Slay the Rootwater Eelbeast.
Progress: Traps set (3/3).
Reward: Predator Trophy (Unique). River Access Restored.
Failure: Rootwater Collapse (High Risk).
The water broke. First a ripple, then a swell. The eel's head rose - massive, scarred, eyes blind white, jaws lined with teeth like knives. The lanternlight bent around it as if afraid to touch.
"Now!" Cass shouted.
Karrek yanked the first cord. The trap flared, flame blooming across the river's surface. The eel screamed, a sound that shook the cavern. Steam boiled. The hunters thrust their spears, striking at its neck and gills.
The eel thrashed, tail smashing into stone. One hunter went flying, slammed against the wall. Bone cracked. Rilka screamed.
Cass dove, rolling across slick rock, catching the spear the dead man dropped. The eel's head swung toward him, mouth opening wide enough to swallow him whole. Cass jammed the spear upward, deep into its jaw hinge. Hot blood sprayed across his arm. The eel convulsed, tail whipping. The second trap ignited. Fire raced along the oil.
"Hold!" Karrek roared.
Flames painted the water red. Cass could smell cooked flesh and burning resin. The eel surged one last time, crashing against the ledge. Its head struck the ceiling. Then it stilled.
Silence fell heavy, broken only by the hiss of dying flame.
Cass's hands trembled as he pulled the spear free. His chest ached where the beast's tail had struck him. He staggered back, watching steam rise off the carcass. It filled half the cavern now, a mountain of glistening flesh.
The surviving Warbles stood frozen. Then Karrek began to laugh - a raw, hollow sound. "It's dead," he said, voice breaking. "By the Stone, it's dead!"
Rilka dropped to her knees and began sketching, chalk scraping fast, desperate. "Before it sinks," she whispered.
Eshna moved among the wounded, binding gashes with strips of her sleeve. She stopped by Cass, pressing a hand to his chest. "You're bleeding."
"Not mine," he said. "It's done."
[System]: Predator Defeated – Rootwater Eelbeast (Unique).
Reward: Predator Trophy + River Access. Resource Unlocked: Eelbeast Oil (Refined Fuel). Morale +25%.
The water cleared slowly, revealing fish beneath - small, silver, alive. For the first time in weeks, the river didn't stink of death.
Cass crouched by the beast's head. Its eyes were dull now. He touched the scar near its gill, feeling the rough pattern. "It was starving," he murmured. "Just another thing trying to live."
Karrek overheard, shaking his head. "You pity it?"
"I understand it," Cass said. "Doesn't mean I won't kill the next one."
He rose, looking at the others. "Strip the carcass. Oil, bone, hide. Everything that burns or feeds."
The Warbles moved without question. Rilka kept drawing, her hands shaking. When she was done, she held up the slate. The lines were uneven, smeared - but alive. Cass nodded. "Keep it. Let them remember what fear looks like when it dies."
[Forum – Global Noise]
[DeltaScout]: "River regions stabilizing. Fish returning. Patch event?"
[MetaWatcher]: "System reports predator species removed. Surface infection delay +1 cycle. Underground involvement suspected."
[Skeptik]: "Ghost Lord myth again. Stop making fanfiction."
[Nocti]: "Doesn't matter who. Someone's holding the shard together."
[Cass]
By the time they dragged the last of the carcass back to Rootwater, dawn above would have broken - if dawn still mattered. The hamlet greeted them with silent awe. The eel's skull was hoisted near the shrine, torches burning inside its hollow eyes.
Eshna oversaw the wounded. Karrek collapsed near the fire, asleep before he hit the ground. Rilka traced the air with her chalk as if drawing ghosts.
Cass stood alone at the river's edge. The water moved freely now, dark and endless.
The shrine's pulse echoed in his chest. He thought of the graves carved days before. "No more," he whispered.
A tremor rippled through the stone - faint, distant, almost unnoticed. He looked up at the cavern ceiling. Fine dust drifted down like snow. The mountain's heart stirred.
Cass didn't know it yet, but this was the first breath of the volcano that would seal them in.
He turned away from the river and walked back toward the shrine. His reflection followed in the water, shadow fractured by ripples, face already fading.