9th of Season of Fire, 57th year of the 32nd cycle

With how things had started, Newt expected a half-dead spiketail tied up in the middle of the first field outside Glowing Vale for Roselilly to kill. He didn't even exclude the possibility of a pink bow on top of the saurian.

That was not what they had found.

A storm had entered the barn on one side and left it on the other, leaving a chaos of splinters and debris in its wake. Newt had seen a handful of spiketails, but none the size of the monster which had demolished the building they were standing in.

Still, he kept his mouth shut as his more experienced teammates examined the scene.

"You said this happened five days ago?" Obsidian asked the farmer, who seemed more terrified by the team of awakened questioning him and searching his farm than he was of the rampaging spiketail.

"Yes, the beast was feral, with bloodshot eyes. Luckily, it smashed into the barn from the back, and I managed to get away in time. It butchered three of our trudgers, but the order will compensate us for the damage, so it's not a problem."

Newt could hear it in his voice - what happened was very much a problem. Saurians rampaging inside order territory happened, but it was extremely rare. Otherwise, farmers wouldn't have settled so close to a danger zone. Not without other incentives.

Newt kept half an ear out for the conversation, but there was nothing interesting. It wasn't an isolated incident. The spiketail had attacked three farms without human casualties before wandering off into the danger zone.

Fortunately for the team, tracking the six-foot-wide saurian destroying everything in its wake wasn't a difficult task, so after taking all the eyewitness accounts, the four of them followed the trail.

"Why did we need to talk with the locals?" Newt asked once they were far enough. He and Roselilly could move much faster, but they had to take it easy for the two earth mages' sake.

"We didn't," Roselilly answered, "but my elder sister advised us to gather information on the monster before rushing in to complete the mission. Said it was prudent."

Newt agreed. Not just because his group needed to build up confidence, but because knowing their enemy and planning for them was a wise approach, which would make the battle easier. And if the spiketail's power could be judged based on its size, they'd need it.

They pursued the saurian into the forest and kept following the trail until sunset, weaker beasts getting out of their way. As darkness set, Obsidian and Jasmine were showing signs of fatigue.

"Let's make camp," Roselilly tactfully suggested. "Jas and Obi, we know you two can keep going, but we will need to fight the spiketail when we catch up to it. And we need to do it in our prime condition."

Nobody protested, and they quickly made camp. There was no need for fire as they had dried rations, and while Jasmine and Obsidian ate their dinner, Newt and Roselilly both skipped theirs. The rations were tough and salty, and as third realm mageknights neither of them needed to eat every day.

After dinner, Obsidian and Jasmine went to sleep, while Newt and Roselilly took watch.

"You can take a nap if you need it," he said, being the gentleman that he was.

"I slept on the ship. I can go on for two more nights before I need rest."

Newt nodded, not wanting to force the issue. Knights and mageknights more or less halved their need for mundane sustenance with each realm, and by the third realm they could handle being awake for three or four days straight even without meditation.

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Newt thought about topics he could broach, the silence growing more stifling by the moment. In his mind, Roselilly was thinking about her dead boyfriend, or about how they would all die on the mission, or something just as grim.

"What's the Chamber of Healing like? I'm considering taking a more active part in the Chamber of Runes, but I'm not sure I'm willing to dedicate the time to it right now."

"You're a scribe?"

"Independent guild member, actually. I'm good in theory, or at least competent, but I have very little experience with anything but the basic practice seals. The one I've done the most is alarm, but I'm not sure how well it would work in the jungle with critters crawling around all the time."

Roselilly took up the conversation, but dodged any questions about herself. She told Newt in broad strokes about what was expected of members of various Chambers, she told him which restaurants were good and which to avoid, but after an hour, the conversation died again.

The silence wasn't as oppressive as the first time. Whether that was because Roselilly's mood improved or because they had exchanged some words and no longer qualified as strangers, Newt couldn't tell.

Soon the sun rose, the summer night blessedly short, and the group was off again. They hounded the spiketail for three days as it moved erratically in the danger zone's border region, never daring to venture deeper.

On the third day of their pursuit, the group had a lucky break - the spiketail crossed its own path of destruction, and the newest prints were an hour old at most. With renewed vigor, Newt's teammates gave chase and, late in the afternoon, they caught up with their prey.

The spiketail was a massive beast. Its arched back peaked at ten feet above ground, the twin red warning crests rising another two feet for the extra intimidating effect. Its head was much closer to the ground, standing at around four feet, while its entire bulk was more than thirty feet in length from snout to the end of its tail. The tail's tip sported two dozen foot-long spikes, making it look like a club with nails hammered in haphazardly - an extremely dangerous tool. Something Newt's team was painfully aware of.

The beast released a low hiss when it spotted them, earth mana flaring from its crests, clearly signaling its realm. Its aura was a bit weaker than Newt's and his team's, meaning the beast had just recently entered the third realm, possibly evolving into the bigger form.

When Newt's team fanned out at the first warning, the spiketail moved to face them, forming a crescent with its body as the spiked tail drew closer to the head. It struck the ground once threateningly, a shockwave making the earth ripple beneath Newt's feet.

Newt's skin turned to fire, with Magmin Scales and Magmin Flame burning. The beast's eyes narrowed, and all its focus went to Newt. The others realized what he was doing and moved away from him, circling around the saurian to attack it from behind.

The monster moved its head to look at Obsidian, but Newt then unleashed Salamandra's Breath. The cone of flame spewed four feet towards the spiketail, snapping its attention back on Newt. Lady Alabaster would call it a drunken flame-breather's failed stunt, but it wasn't meant to harm. It was meant to distract, and it performed marvelously.

In a moment of inspiration, Newt stomped the ground, and a pitiful mound of earth two feet tall rose from the ground. Whether by genius or dumb luck, Newt's act of balancing of his mana infuriated the spiketail.

The beast stomped sideways towards him. It smashed its tail at the ground, but instead of a general ripple, the shockwave focused on the mound, blasting it to pieces.

Obsidian chose that moment to act. He took two giant steps towards the spiketail and leaped. Black, jagged obsidian covered his body and mace as the weapon smashed into the back of the saurian's skull.

Blood splattered the ground, and the beast screamed. Obsidian kicked the back of the spiketail's neck jumping back as the beast turned to face him, but Newt made use of the opening. Fire blasted beneath his legs as he soared, salamandra's fangs in a double slash aimed at the nape of the spiketail's neck.

The spiketail caught the attack at the last possible moment. Rock formed to protect the exposed flesh, but it was too slow. The impromptu defense proved too fragile. It blocked the lethal blow, but Newt's swords cut deep, blood gushing out of the wound.

The spiked tail whipped at Newt, and Roselilly screamed. She could already see it smashing Newt to bits, but a single burst of flame changed his direction mid-air and Newt dodged the tail, somersaulting two feet in front of the enraged saurian.

Earth moved beneath Newt's feet, but he kicked off of it, using the spike as a springboard to open more distance.

"Don't take risks," Jasmine shouted. "It's bleeding heavily; we just have to keep it busy and it will drop dead sooner or later."

Newt didn't approve of the tactic, but it was undeniable that the beast was hemorrhaging a small stream's worth of blood, so he kept away. Instead of training and pushing himself the way Dandelion told him, Newt played it safe.

Jasmine's call was a good one, and two minutes later, the spiketail stumbled. Obsidian rushed in, and smashed the beast on the head, killing it instantly.

There was a moment of silence, and then Roselilly started sobbing.

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