My eyes quickly adjusted to the shadowed tunnel stretching before us, and Vera lit her small lantern beside me. I blinked stars from my eyes at the suddenly bright light. Vera glanced over and grinned as she said quietly “I can’t see in the dark, so you’ll have to deal.” I just rolled my eyes in response, pulling out the rough map Ismo had provided.

  The mine extended for miles in twisting loops downward, along with massive primary vertical shafts that served to keep the air fresh throughout, as well as staging for moving loads straight up from the deeper sections using hanging platforms. We were still quite a ways from the first primary shaft, and we’d have to walk perhaps a quarter of a mile, though Ismo had warned the map was not to scale. He’d marked where the scouts were attacked to the best of their estimation, but it was simply a general area on the 3rd stratum of the mine. We’d need to take one of the platforms down, or take a longer route through the twisting side tunnels. First, we’d go take a look at the platforms, and see if they were safe enough to use.

  After we were both satisfied with the initial plan, I folded up the map and we set out as silently as we could. I rubbed a thumb along the pommel of the sensor spike tucked into my belt, half of my attention on our surroundings, while the rest tried to piece together what we might face down here. When we reached the primary, I still hadn’t made up my mind, and quickly recanted any idea that this place was too tight for a wolfwing colony. The hole that opened up before us was massive, five hundred feet across, not even accounting for the wide ring carved out around it dotted with hanging platforms and cranes extending out over empty air that extended far, far below. Glow stones embedded into the walls marked distance down the shaft, but their meager light was swallowed by the darkness farther than a few hundred feet.

  We stood at the edge of the chasm, and I swallowed loudly. Even Vera had the sense to look a bit pale as we stepped back. Circling around the edge, we quickly found an elevator platform in good repair. The platform itself was wood, but I could find no rot or fault in it, and after a moment of terror at the creaking as I stepped aboard I pronounced it ‘safe enough’. Vera joined me, and we turned the crank to begin lowering the platform, descending into the abyss below.

  Ismo had warned us that each stratum was approximately 150 feet in depth, which meant we had a bit over 300 feet until we could expect to see an entrance to the layer we sought. The ratcheting of the crank echoed in the silent mine. Like a tomb, I thought with a shiver. When we finally reached the entrance to the third stratum, we tied the platform to the ‘dock’ extending from the tunnel mouth, the wood knocking against the stone in a clatter that echoed back at us, making the hairs along my spine stand on end.

  A gentle wind brushed past us as we stepped onto the stone, carrying with it the scent of dust and metal, and faintly, the high smell of rot. I narrowed my eyes, breathing deeply, but found nothing more. Vera waited, watching me. I whispered low, even that carried far in the silent tunnel “Smells like rot… like a corpse.”

  Vera’s gaze hardened, and she nodded sharply. The tunnel was wide, but low, and she kept the blade at her back sheathed as we stepped forward. This section of the mine was clearly one of the last to be excavated. The walls were uneven, and the stone was more naturally varied as we passed through. From somewhere ahead, a steady drip of water on stone echoed softly. I swallowed hard. The smell was growing stronger.

  The tunnel twisted, curving to the right as it descended. The smell was now so strong I held up a hand to halt. Vera had gone a bit pale around her eyes and throat, the pungent stink clogging the air. I motioned for her to wait while I crept forward. A hard shoulder of stone blocked our view, and as I peered around it, the full impact of the smell hit me. I covered my nose and mouth, trying to keep from hurling as I took in the scene. The tunnel was wider here, and the floor dipped slightly, forming a shallow bowl. Filling the depression was the source of the smell. Corpses, piled in a heap of half rotted flesh and bone spread across the tunnel.

  I took a moment to look closer, to make sure whatever had left these here wasn’t still around before I waved Vera forward. Lowering my voice to barely a breath, I whispered “Looks like a dumping ground, or maybe it’s… saving this for later.”

  We shared a grim look, and I moved closer, breathing only through my covered mouth. The corpses were mangled, broken and hard to identify, but after studying for a moment, I found what I was looking for. Jumbled amongst the remains were several dwarven bodies. I frowned as I examined a mostly intact corpse more closely. It was surprisingly intact, strangely so. Even the clothes looked mostly fine. But, something was off. I cocked my head to the side, trying to see what was missing.

  Vera quietly cleared her throat and I turned to her as she moved closer from where she’d been examining one of the other dwarves. “Their belts… Their belt buckles are missing, and so are the hammers and picks.” I frowned, before looking back at the pile of bodies. The belts of each of the dwarves we’d met in the expedition flashed in my mind: finely made iron, delicate designs on many of them. That couldn’t be right, why would the buckles be missing? The creature that did this clearly hadn’t undressed the dwarves, and from what we had been told, had swallowed them each whole.

  I mastered my revulsion, using a foot to shift the remains, searching for any glimpse of metal throughout. But after several minutes of carefully sorting as respectfully as I could, it became clear that whatever had killed the scouts had taken every piece of metal on them. I scratched my head, bewildered. I couldn’t recall a single creature that might collect metal trophies, and it didn’t make any sense if it ate them first.

  I looked at Vera, shrugging my shoulders. We’d just have to try and find it first. And clearly, whatever it was had quite an appetite, looking at all the half eaten corpses piled below the dwarves. “Odd it’s left so many uneaten corpses…” I muttered. We moved forward down the tunnel, taking grateful breaths of clearer air. The sound of dripping water grew louder as we continued down the winding path, and as the tunnel sloped slightly upward a faint light grew. We slowed as we approached, taking each step carefully and quietly.

  We reached an opening, the tunnel spreading into a wide cavern lit by a mass of softly glowing blue crystal hanging from the ceiling and smaller chunks interspersed along the walls. The tunnel ended partway up the wall, and we gazed in awe at the panorama spreading before us. A lake filled two thirds of the space, a wide shore spreading in a crescent around it covered in moss and mushrooms as tall as Vera, in more colors than I had ever imagined. The sound of dripping we’d heard before came as a single shimmering drop fell from the large crystal overhead, plopping into the still waters below.

  Something twinged at my senses, and my eyes darted to a flash of movement. A ripple slowly spread from a small rocky island not far from the shore. I placed a hand on Vera’s shoulder, slowly raising my other to point, and the island moved. A shudder passed through the rocky surface and it slowly rose from the water, revealing a bizarrely shaped monster of incredible size. The creature that emerged at the shore defied description as it heaved its bulk from the water on 4 thickly muscled legs. A wide, spade shaped nose rose over a mouth full of the largest teeth I’d ever seen. Its skin was covered in thick rocky scales, tapering down to a powerful tail ending in a wide caudal fin that dragged along the ground as it walked. It must have been twenty feet long, and nearly that big around its massive body. It trundled along the shore as we mutely observed the bizarre creature, some strange blend of shark and lizard. As it swung its head back and forth as it walked, I belatedly realized the beast was blind, no eyes adorning its massive head.

  I frowned. Was this even the creature we sought? It was blind, and clearly lived in the waters below. How could this be the same monster that devoured dwarves whole in the tunnels. I looked over at Vera, the look of consternation on her face evidence she was having the same doubts. “What do we do?” I mouthed silently.

  She hesitated, then shrugged. Motioning to her eyes, she indicated we should keep watching. So we crouched there, observing. The creature continued its meandering down the beach, shuffling its head side to side and occasionally stopping to shovel some of the coarse sand for some inexplicable reason. It passed by the mushrooms, seemingly uninterested. I looked back at the crystalline waters, utterly still and silent. What did a creature like this eat to survive? Suddenly, the - rock shark? Rock-fin? Landshark? That’s the one - froze, lifting its snout high in the air and twisting back and forth. I looked at Vera, idly rubbing dust between fingers dark with iron. She looked back, shrugging. When we returned our gaze to the creature, we froze.

  It was gone.

  My heart started to beat rapidly in my chest, and I stood from my crouch. My eyes darted across the shore and waters, but there was nothing. No movement, no sound. I strained my ears, slowly drawing my hammer. Vera stood stock still beside me, skin darkening until only a statue of iron remained. Nothing happened for several long, tense breaths.

  “Now would be a great time to use those fancy senses,” came Vera's strained whisper from beside me.

  “I can’t just-” My words cut off as my jaw snapped shut. I felt it. A slight tremor, an itch in my mind warning of danger. My eyes widened, and I turned, shoving into Vera with all the strength I could muster, slamming my shoulder into her waist as a massive spade shaped head erupted from the stone beneath us with a roar. Rolling to the side, we just barely evaded its maw, its teeth even larger up close. We leapt to our feet, Vera already moving forward to swing a massive fist at the beast.

  The creature seemed to know exactly where her fist was going to connect, swiveling far quicker than she expected to aim its gaping mouth at the fist. She pivoted her hips, jumping back as I rushed in from the side, swinging my hammer at the side of its head. It twisted, angling its head so that the blow landed at the crest of its skull. The hammer shook my arms as it ricocheted off the incredibly hard hide. I cursed. It didn’t even seem to notice as it lunged for Vera again and again, only her impressive footwork keeping her out of the beast's hungry jaws. I regained my balance, waiting for an opening as Vera dodged and threw punches which only seemed to enrage the beast, its snapping jaws closing with a loud thunderclap inches from her fists each time.

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  I ran my eyes over the monstrosity, really taking it in. It definitely didn’t have eyes at all, though there were small dark splotches along its snout, presumably how it navigated through the earth. Its hide looked to be actual stone, or something very similar, veins of different kinds banding across the hide like layers in a cliffside. Its underside was the lightest, and as I prepared myself, I hoped it was the weakest point as well. I saw my moment as the creature extended for a lunge, tipping its balance. I swung my hammer in an uppercut, putting my full weight behind it. With a mighty CLANG, I drove my hammer into its belly, and the beast missed a step, tottering slightly, but regained its balance. It finally seemed to notice my interference, bellowing a guttural snarl before twisting, swinging it tail wide. I jumped back, but the fin still caught me, sending me spinning to the ground with an OOF as the air was driven from my lungs, stone scraping against my arms and neck as I tumbled.

  “Bram!” Vera shouted.

  I gasped, sucking air into my swiftly bruising lungs. I waved a hand, clambering to my feet even as the monster refocused on Vera. “I’m fine, just keep out of its mouth!” I massaged my shoulder with only a slight tremor, watching as her blows rebounding off the creature's rocky hide as often as missing entirely as she was forced to pull back from the rows of enormous teeth.

  She feigned a punch, spinning as the creature lunged for the space she’d just occupied, shouting “Cover your ears!” I complied just as she lunged, bringing her open palms together in a full body clap directly beside the wide spade of the monster’s eyeless face. The sound was the collapse of a mountain, and I thought my ears would burst. The monster fared little better, stumbling to the side dazed as Vera went in to land heavy blows on its head.

  Her fists rained down, and as I recovered chips flew from the stone encasing its head. Our weapons were useless, and even if Vera was strong enough to break all the way through that hide, which I had my doubts on, she couldn’t manage to hit the damn thing straight on without rendering me nearly comatose. It seemed to know exactly where her blows were about to land.

  I blinked.

  Maybe it could tell exactly where they were going to land. I thought back to the corpses, their missing buckles and tools. Then I looked back at Vera, and my eyes widened. “Vera! It can sense metal! That’s how it sees you!”

  Her eyes briefly widened even as she continued to weave around the massive creature. “Okay, that’s helpful! How do we kill it?”

  I shifted from foot to foot, thoughts racing. Vera was switching tactics, but I was wasted here. The dark iron faded from her skin, and she moved faster, spinning away from the creature’s thrusting jaws as it swung its head side to side, confused. Then she leapt, drawing back a red fist before bringing it down like a meteor, iron blooming on her hand just before it struck. The landshark reeled from the blow, but was back on the offensive, surging for where it had sensed her as they continued in a dance of heavy blows as Vera continuously switched forms.

  I couldn’t do anything to a hide as thick as that, and as I glanced at my hammer, new hairline fractures ran along the haft. It would break long before I cracked enough of the stony covering to what I hoped was vulnerable flesh beneath. I ran a frustrated, impotent hand through my hair. I couldn’t do anything! I was worthless in this fight if I couldn’t think of something quick. The creature was hardly slowing down, and if something didn’t change, it would come down to endurance. While Vera was tougher than anyone I’d ever met, that thing was big.

  When Vera pulled the fight closer to me I swung again, aiming at the back of one of its thick legs. All I got was buzzing arms and a hammer that creaked ominously. “Fuck!” I shouted, panic beginning to bleed through. I seethed, angry at my inability to make a difference. The rage that I’d felt down in those ruins kindled within me, fueling my own. I growled, squeezing the haft of my hammer until my knuckles ached. Vera twirled and kicked and punched, and I knew we were minutes from death. I could feel it approaching, could feel her end, and my own, approaching like a dark wave on the horizon speeding towards us. But not inevitable. Silver light bloomed at the edges of my vision, and I felt something tug my attention downward. I looked at my belt, at the sensor spike hanging there.

  I would not hang back on the sidelines. I would not watch my friend die. The wave crumbled. I growled, deep and low, rumbling through me like nothing I’d felt before. “Keep it distracted, I’ve got a plan!” I shouted, and my voice was not my own, but something distant and powerful, primal.

  Vera only barked a laugh in response.

  I tore the spike from my belt, sprinting to the creature along the path highlighted in silver and leaping onto its back. It hardly took notice. I pulled myself across the surging, flexing stone, clinging with every bit of strength in my fingers until I reached the fin rising from the crest. I crawled forward, finding the center of where I guessed its spine met its skull. I jammed the spike between the sharp ridges of stone, wedging it in place. Straddling the beast awkwardly, I swung my hammer down, but it lunged at the same instant, causing my swing to go wide, skittering off the rocky carapace. I growled again, and I was faintly aware of Vera shouting curses at the beast, taunting it. Trying to keep its attention off the thing clinging to its back.

  I lifted my hammer once more, and paused, waiting for a lull in movement. There. I swung down hard, and the sensor punched through. The creature stumbled, bellowing, and bucked powerfully. I lost my grip, sent flying to land in a sliding tumble across the tunnel. I grunted, wincing with the pain. The creature shook its head as I stood, swiveling towards me as I lifted my hammer, and I could feel its attention settle on me like a physical weight.

  Vera didn’t stand idly by, shouting for its attention and landing a punch hard against its flank. It roared and spun, catching her with its tail and sending her sliding away on her back. Then it faced me again, and rushed forward.

  “Vera, stun it!” I said as I ran to meet the beast, its rolling gait gathering momentum. Silver still sparked in my vision as I ran, and I feinted with my hammer to the left before leaping to the right in a tight roll. Teeth snapped so close I felt it’s hot breath against my shoulder. Sliding into position, I caught sight of Vera with both arms spread. I covered my ears as best I could before she brought her hands together in another world-shattering boom.

  But I was ready this time. I had only a moment before it recovered or simply dove back into the stone. With a savage yell, I leapt atop the beast as it swayed drunkenly, slamming my hammer into the spike again, driving it deeper into soft flesh. The creature stumbled, losing its footing and slamming to the ground, spilling me over the side. I scrambled to my feet, grabbing my hammer from where it had fallen. The beast was still moving, trying to regain its feet ineffectually as its dorsal fin was wedged into the stone wall. Vera pummeled its head on the far side, bellowing right back at the monster.

  I swung again, driving the spike all the way through the hide. The haft splintered and broke, the head hanging by at an angle. Dark blue blood spurted, dribbling out onto the stone. But still, it struggled weakly, catching Vera with a swipe of a clawed foot that sent her reeling. “Vera!” I shouted, eyes wide as she bounced away

  “I’m fine, don’t worry about me!” she shouted, rolling to her feet.

  My eyes burned, the silver light growing. I dropped my hammer. It was useless now anyway. I kicked off the beast’s back, landing to the side of it’s twitching legs. “I can’t get it any deeper, hammer’s broken!”

  “I’ve got it!” Vera’s steps thundered as she dove past me, avoiding the snapping jaws of the strange beast. Slipping between its head and the stone wall, she reared one powerfully muscled arm back and slammed it forward, punching the spike deeper with an almighty crack!

  The beast shuddered, then was still.

  I fell on my ass, heaving a breath into my lungs. Vera appeared around the snout of the beast, limping heavily on one leg, but grinning hard. I smiled in return, but let it fade as she stopped, frowning at me as her head cocked to one side.

  “Bram… your eyes,” She said, worry creeping into her voice.

  That’s when I noticed the silver light in my vision hadn’t faded. In fact, it was growing brighter. I reached up a hand to my face, but stopped as I felt the monster’s life finally end, a connection binding its life to my spirit. It was sudden, sharp. Some tiny part of it had been holding on, and it just fell away. A wave of heat rolled through me and I stumbled, leaning against the mountain of a corpse. Warmth bloomed in my chest and my hand where I’d made contact as power flooded into my being, building quickly as heat burned through me, building to an inferno. I tried to choke out a gasp, a scream to stay back, but I couldn’t make a sound, couldn’t get the scalding air out of my suddenly burning lungs. My breath came in searing gasps, so hot I thought my throat would burn to ash.

  Vera tried to grab my shoulder to steady me, but yanked her hand away with a hiss of pain. I reeled from her touch. In the instant her hand had made contact, I had seen flashes of things I could not know. Storm shrouded mountains, covered in snow. A huge stone throne draped in furs stood empty, shuddering as a crack ran down the seat. A world of darkness where Vera stood alone, hesitating at the precipice of something, and an indistinct figure in armor and holding a terrifying sword stood just behind her, waiting.

  My eyes burned, and I was sure I would go blind. I couldn’t breathe. I collapsed to the ground, hands braced against the bloodied stone floor. Silver light flickered beneath my skin, and I felt my bones shifting, aching as I burned. My jaw ached as I clenched teeth that felt too large in my mouth. My fingernails thickened and lengthened into dark talons, digging furrows into the stone as I clenched. The shadow of umber scales burned across my hands as the heat reached a crescendo, before it receded and the light within faded, leaving unblemished skin and ordinary human hands.

  I coughed, and a cloud of ash spread from my mouth. The heat no longer burned me, but it remained, a burning ball at the center of my being. I breathed deeply, catching my breath as I tried to understand if what I had seen was real. I could feel something, lurking just beneath the surface. I sat back on my knees, raising a hand. Flexing my fingers, the dark talons reappeared formed around the last digit of each finger, wicked and curved. They glittered in the darkness, the soft blue light of the cavern reflecting off the thin veins of silver running through the dark claws and extending over the small scales that covered my fingers.

  I laughed, quietly at first, but it grew louder into a full bellied, hearty laugh. Vera’s eyes were wide as I met her gaze from where she stood a few feet away.

  “Bram…” she said, concern pinching her features.

  I stood slowly, feeling like a stranger in my own body. “I’m alright,” I said slowly. “I saw… things.” I hesitated. The vision had been vague, and the foreboding feeling faded. I rubbed my temple; for a moment, I’d had the beginnings of a headache but it was fading already. “I feel good though. Strong.” I clenched my hands, feeling powerful muscle tense. I was stronger. Much stronger. I was different than I was just moments before. Something… else. I looked at the corpse of the monster beside me, running my fingers over the ridges in its hide. I knew, now. I had somehow taken the mana within it, used it to remake myself. But there was something else. Something more I didn’t yet understand about the power that was growing within me.

  I shook my head. More mysteries.

  Vera just stared at me a moment, before a small smile crept over her lips. “If you say you’re alright, then you’re alright. I’ve got… no idea what just happened to you. But those claws look fucking awesome.” For a moment, we just stared at each other. Then we both burst into laughter, leaning against the monster we’d just hunted.

  After the last of my laughter had petered out, I said “I think… I think whatever is happening to me… has truly begun, if that makes sense. I think there's more, but I think I am what I’m supposed to be, now. I’m hungry, but not like before.” And it was true. I felt… whole. Like I’d been looking at a half finished painting in shadow. Now, I could see the whole thing, could see there was more to fill in, gaps that had yet to feel the brush. But I could see the canvas now.

  I grinned, leaning back and stretching my legs. “So, do I need to carry you back?”

  Vera blew a raspberry, echoing in the quiet. “Fuck off. I’ll be fine, just have to keep my power going until I’m healed. I’m the one who took the beating in that fight, so don’t think because you’ve got fancy eyes now that I can’t hang.”

  I laughed at her ribbing, before I frowned. “Wait, what do you mean fancy eyes?”