The Firstlings

Discovery

Karla froze…

Staring back at her were beautiful golden eyes, sharp and piercing, as if they could stab right into her soul. An angular face with large eyes from fright, soft features, and an almost animal touch. The base of the nose and the position of the eyes gave it a foreign look. Human, but not...

She was about to let out a short scream to alert her party when the beast's hand shot forward. The hand grabbed her mouth, stifling her scream and slamming her against the cave wall. Hanging on to consciousness, she felt the beast's strength and knew she was a goner. She reached for her weapon in a last-ditch effort to protect herself. The beast's other fist shot forward, faster than she could even see. It struck her temple, knocking her to the cavern floor.

Everything faded into darkness.

Waking up with a gasp, she tried to move and felt tight bindings holding her arms. Something was covering her mouth to prevent her screams. Standing above her was a five-foot humanoid beast with golden eyes and the most curious expression of a child. He looked no older than a human teenager. He, or what it looked like from his build, started rummaging through her pack. Searching and stopping at a small book she carried with her, as his eyes went wide.

He opened the book, flipping through the pages as if mystified. Handling the book gently, as if it were precious, he glanced at her with hunger in his eyes. Moving towards her with grace in his steps, he leaned down, pointing at her and then to the book with a question in his eyes. Taken back by his actions and a little curious, she tried to say book, but the bindings prevented any coherent word.

Hearing her caused him to jump in fright and pull a dagger from his waist. She fell silent, sweat forming on her forehead, reminded of the dangerous position she was in. The beast calmed down when she quieted down, and he looked at the book with a longing look in his eyes. Appearing to decide something, he reached down, cutting the bindings covering her mouth. She gasped for fresh air, taking quick breaths, as he shoved the book in her face, with an almost pleading look.

"Book," she whispered.

"B..book," he replied with great effort, suprising even himself. With a look of puzzlement, he turned back to the book in his hands, silently repeating the word.

"You can talk?" she yelped with amazement, her jaw hanging in utter shock.

"You can talk?" he screeched back, a curious look still in his eyes.

"What?" she croaked, taken back by his response.

"What?" he croaked back.

Fear gripped her heart as she stared in horror. The beast was not talking but mimicking her. Her worst nightmares had come true and it was only some shape-shifting mimic or horrible creature that meant to feast on her soul. But when she looked at him and his child-like expressions, she couldn't see a monster. Only someone yearning for knowledge, someone trying to learn as if they were new to the world, and she found it rather odd. She calmed her wildly beating heart and nodded her head towards the book.

The beast, noticing her intent, placed the book in front of her yet again, eager for her to show him more. Opening its pages, he allowed her to read the first passage.

"The book of records," she read aloud, but her heart raced in excitement as she thought of a small chance to survive. Urging the beast to change the page, she kept reading small passages and getting him to continue flipping through the book. When he flipped the final page, her heart leaped into her throat. "Return!" she roared, activating the escape spell she recorded before her journey into the tunnels.

A look of pure horror spread across the beast's face, and his hand shot forward, waving the dagger, but it passed through her form. The spell had already taken hold. Her body vanished into mist and streamed down the nearest tunnel, vanishing before he could understand what had happened. The walls were a blur as the spell propelled her through the tunnels. Twisting and turning, she returned to the anchor point she had placed at the entrance to the Labyrinth.

She appeared in the designated spot in a wisp of mist, startling the sentry stationed there, who ran to her immediately.

"Karla, thank the Heavens that you're alright! What happened?" He exclaimed, looking her over with worry. "Captain Bently brought back news that you had vanished; no one was able to find any signs of your passage."

"No need to worry, Lester. I got lost for a bit," she replied hoarsely to the sentry, still trying to calm her beating heart and laboring to breathe. She turned away, her face full of disappointment, because she was the reason they hadn't found any signs. She had used a cloaking spell when traveling through the tunnels. "I'm going to go report to the Captain, take care, and keep your eyes peeled. Some weird beasts are prowling about."

"Will do, Missy; the Captain is up ahead. They are convening a meeting; you might want to hurry."

"Thanks," She waved, running up the closet tunnel, heading for the captain's tent. As she ran, she couldn't help but wonder what was going on. Out of nowhere, a city-wide event appears, and of all things a treasure hunt. The whole town had rallied with newfound vigor, parties forming to conquer the hunt and bring hope to their small settlement.

After her father had left with the crown, the city of Lightcastle had fallen into turmoil and despair. Not only did they lose the crown, but also the Hero. Her father was Adam Albrich, the Hero and Lord of Lightcastle. He had beaten back the hordes of beasts and built a stronghold to gather the survivors of humanity.

She had been following the crown's trail for years, attempting to find him and bring some relief to the city's dire problems. She had grown up very close to her father, becoming accustomed to the crown's weird magic. She could still feel slight tickles of its presence within the walls of her father's quarters.

He had once told her that the crown had a will of its own, and she believed that 'Will' was what led to her father's disappearance, but to where she couldn't fathom. She had felt a faint hint within the tunnels of the Labyrinth, which had caused her to wander off from the party, leading to her unfortunate capture.

As the Captain's tent came into view, she saw her party members rush over to greet her, with looks of worry on their tired faces. She ran over, eager to apologize for scaring them. "I'm sorry for the fright. I thought I heard a noise and got lost in the tunnels."

"You scared us half to death, Karla!" roared the gruff voice of Erick, the party leader. He was a ruffian type, but he was a big teddy bear with a kind and gentle heart. Karla had always liked working with the man and his team. Good-natured adventurers who were looking to get by, not fame and power.

"What the hell were you thinking? Why are you roughed up?" He bellowed, looking her up and down questioningly.

"I just had a fall in the tunnels. I'm fine, but I need to report to the Captain. I'll catch up with you guys later," she explained, dusting herself and straightening her clothes. She pushed her blonde hair from her eyes as she squeezed past Erick, nodding at her party members.

She saluted the guards as she entered the tent and saw the man she was looking for. Captain Bently sat at the head of the long table placed in the tent, staring at a map of the tunnels. The man seemed to be made of squares. A jawline chiseled from stone, squared shoulders, and a muscular frame. He looked up with blond hair and pale green eyes that opened wide when spotting her.

"Karla!" He rushed to her side with determined strides. "What happened? We looked everywhere, but the scouts couldn't find you."

"I got lost in the tunnels, but I found something... or it found me," She said, explaining everything that happened to her and her interactions with the beast, ending in her escape. The Captain perked up with anticipation as she described her encounter. She told him what the beast looked like, with his golden eyes and almost human-like form.

"You found it?" he exclaimed, his voice tinged with hope and excitement.

"Yeah… I think I found the nest," Karla replied with some certainty.

"Gather all parties immediately; we head out in one hour!" Bently shouted, turning back and barking orders at the members at the table. The fort began to come alive as everyone geared up, preparing for war. Karla exited the tent and raced back to catch up with her party. They had searched tirelessly in the Labyrinth for nests, even destroying a few, but never found the source of the event.

Sighing, she looked at the runes in her vision as she hurried her steps.

[Unique Event:]

Treasure Hunt!

"Your Race is Old, but the fight for survival is as old as Time."

Find the Nest

0/1

"3 days Remaining."