It was the fifth day after the Thunderer and Quake fight when Axel found a large group of Duradon tracks. This seemed to be a large colony with tracks of more than twenty different sets, which generally meant that it could be anywhere from double that number to even four times if it were a pack with a lot of young. Normally, Axel would avoid this, but with Star needing more food and the fact that this pack was relatively near the camp, Axel decided to bring in both Lyra and Roran to take this group down.

  The last few days passed with Axel and Aria taking scouting trips, but the local beasts were either still hiding, acting aggressively, or grouping up in larger numbers, making attacking them a losing prospect. This did allow Axel to better map out the area, though, as many of the smaller predators that would have harassed his scouting efforts were still hiding. Aria, however, was having issues with flying beasts as they were filling the skies, making any aerial scouting unlikely.

  The others were also not idle during this time. Even with Jareth’s help, it was taking Sky a while to harvest all the beasts that were killed, about two days per Quake, as their hides took a lot of work to get through. Thankfully, storage containers like the crates seemed to put whatever was placed in them in a form of stasis, but unless you had a special or variant, they would not allow anything alive to be stored in them.

  Star was showing great signs of growth and recovery under Lyra’s constant care, much to Roran’s delight, but she was also eating about four times what was expected to fuel this growth. The early Duradon meat was running low, so unless the group wanted to start feeding her the more expensive Quake meat, Axel would need to find another location for novice beasts.

  This was what was fueling more of the hunting than finding a lone Quake to hunt, and Axel believed that things would calm down soon as he saw more and more tracks of hungry beasts. Pearl and Larimar each received a core from a Quake and were using this time to build up to finish their current cycle. Axel learned from them that it took much longer to work through an Adept potency core than a Novice, so they would not need another for at least a week, but this would still accelerate their growth greatly.

  Axel found Lyra supervising Star through exercises and stretches.

  “The Goddess says that these will maximize her recovery and growth,” Lyra explained with an exasperated tone. Axel knew that tone well, having had his treatment explained to him several times while growing up.

  “But she does not seem to like this and is reacting like she is in pain,” Roran countered while coaxing Star through the stretches.

  “Yes,” Lyra nodded while looking over the Storm Drake. “She is being forced to build muscle and tendons that should have grown naturally but were stunted by the toxins hidden in her system. There is nothing we can do but physical therapy if she ever wants to fly, but the Goddess said that this regimen has a very high chance of working.”

  “I still wish I could talk to the Goddess,” Roran said quietly. “It must be nice to be a healer and have greater access to her blessings.”

  Axel chose this moment to step in, as he did not want their group’s ability to talk to the Goddess to be bandied about. “Lyra, Roran, I have a hunt that I would like your help with,” Axel said a bit louder than normal to get their attention. “There is a large group of Duradons that could help feed Star and get us more cores to complete our cycle with.”

  “I am for it,” Roran said with excitement and hugged Star’s snout, letting the static current flow over him for a moment. “Star would also like a hunt.”

  “Lyra, is Star able to hunt?” Axel turned and asked the healer. “I don’t want to push her if she needs more time.”

  “Against Duradons?” Lyra nodded her head in agreement after a moment’s thought. “I think that would be good for her recovery and bleed the frustration. That kind of prey would not need her flight, so I would approve, but we will need to be careful not to draw in another predator looking to fight her on their territory.”

  “Aria and I checked what we could around the area and could not find any tracks of larger beasts, so I think the risk should be reasonable,” Axel replied. “Get your gear, and we should be able to get the hunt done today.”

  With that, both gathered spare gear, and Roran recalled Star into himself. Axel then brought them to Aria, who had wandered over to Sky, who was working on her share of the Quake loot as she had finished harvesting for the day. Sky was working the hide into a chest armor of some kind, and Axel looked forward to her work.

  ‘Aria said you are going out hunting,’ Sky sent mentally to Axel.

  ‘Yes, we need to feed the large hungry belly,’ Axel sent back through the link he felt in his head.

  ‘Can I come with?’ Sky asked in a mental voice that held tones of shyness.

  ‘Of course, you can,’ Axel said without a moment’s hesitation. ‘Why would you feel worried about that?’

  ‘Sky thought you invited her for crafting and dismantling skills,’ Sky returned, still sending signals of nervousness.

  ‘First, Sky, you are part of our group, so you are always welcome,’ Axel replied with a sigh and rubbed his temple as the contact was starting to give him a headache from all the extra emotions being sent. ‘Second, you have been talking with Aria too much and are starting to talk in the third person like her. If you want to join in on a hunt, unless there is a very good reason, I will always welcome more help from a friend.’

  ‘THANK YOU!!’ came Sky’s reply, filled with happiness, not helping with the building headache, and she started to gather her things.

  “Aria knew that you would say the right thing,” Aria came over after having a conversation with the excited party member. Sky’s manipulators moved swiftly and attached a bunch of packs across her body, and she was ready before Axel could reply to Aria’s statement.

  Axel then informed Jareth that they were going to hunt a large pack of Duradons and gathered everyone to head out. On the way to the location, Axel started to hand out jobs to everyone, starting with Aria, who was going to be overwatch from above. Lyra would work with him side by side into the pack, Sky would be herding and controlling how many Axel and Lyra would need to fight at once, and lastly, Roran could come out and stop any retreat with Sky.

  Axel kept the plan simple and flexible since none of the group had worked with Roran and Star. This gave him as much room for mistakes that were bound to happen. As the group reached the burrow, Axel could already see close to thirty Duradons eating the corpses of several people. This surprised Axel as he had not seen signs of anyone before, but what was being eaten were the remains of several humans and Krellians.

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  Axel could not tell from here if the bodies were only humans, as the Duradons had shredded them nearly completely. Axel made a hand sign, and Sky linked to his mind quickly.

  ‘Inform the others that this may be a worse fight than expected if this group brought down a group of hunters of at least six,’ Axel sent when he felt the connection.

  ‘Got it!’ Sky sent back quickly, and Axel felt everyone but Aria stiffen and shift around. Axel then signed for Aria and Sky to take positions in nearby trees. Aria quietly used her wings to go above and around the burrow, and Sky climbed a tree near Axel quickly. Lyra moved with stealthy movements, having learned a few things despite skipping much of the hunting training growing up. Axel could almost swear Roran was making every sound possible, but it was time for Axel to draw the pack's attention and start this fight.

  With a shout, Axel charged out from the underbrush, drawing the pack's attention away from their meal. Axel could see that of the thirty, six of the ones on the outside of the meal turned and moved toward him. Each whipped their long tails with agitation and quickly moved in his direction with their long strides. As they rushed to Axel, he used his gravity anchors just as they reached the range of his halberd, causing the leftmost one to get linked to the one on the right, disrupting everyone in the center.

  This was when Lyra leaped in and struck with speed and precision, her blade reaping a kill in the first swing. The blade blurred with vibration, slicing through the hide as if it was not there, while Axel brought another down with a downward hit, the spike of his weapon piercing the beast's thick skull.

  This was when the rest of the pack started to react, abandoning their meal and turning quickly to what was perceived as a threat. Axel was only freeing his halberd when what he took as the pack leader let out a guttural growl. This was a call to action if Axel ever heard one, and most of the pack hunters would leave the burrow soon, leaving only a few to protect the young and childbearing females.

  Feeling the adrenaline kick up, Axel made another sweeping motion to finish off Duradons one and six, the pair that were stuck together, while Lyra blocked the snapping jaws of one of the last two while killing its partner. This left only one beast, which retreated to the larger group. Axel let it go, as he wanted to draw more of the pack out and closer into this trap.

  Axel took a defensive stance with Lyra covering him a few steps behind to allow him room to swing but stop a beast from taking him from the back. Under Rex, they learned through bruises and fouled strikes the best way to stand, and this was a great time to put that knowledge to work.

  The Duradons were in no hurry to attack as they moved around Axel and Lyra to completely circle them with growling, snapping jaws. Shortly after the encirclement, reinforcements from the den arrived, with another eight joining. This was a much bigger pack than Axel had expected, but seeing the last of its members, Axel let out a whistle and heard a crashing noise as Star, in all her glory, made a large leap out of the forest with Roran on her back.

  As Star dived on the new Duradons, taking one with each claw and a third with her snapping jaws, Roran skewered a fourth with a lance strike from his saddle. This also scattered the last four from the momentum of the charge, sending each tumbling to the side.

  This surprise caused the pack to freeze for a moment, but that was all Axel’s group needed. Aria fired shots from her bow while Sky raised several walls, trapping and separating the Duradons into smaller groups. Axel and Lyra also struck out in the direction they were facing as the new walls stopped any attacks that would come from the sides.

  The fight was quick and brutal as Axel used his gravity power to disrupt the pack leader and two of the biggest members. Each beast moved with grace, but this was marred when Axel linked the leader as he jumped to the wall, causing it to veer off course while Axel attacked the smaller pack mates with a quick thrust that easily hit as he switched his power to stop them from avoiding his powerful swings.

  By the time the pack leader recovered, Axel had killed its two pack mates, at the cost of about a third of his core power at this point. As Axel turned to face the leader, he saw that Lyra had killed three of the pack while Sky opened a hole in the walls, letting a few more through. Axel also heard Star making roars and the heavy thuds of her powerful claws.

  ‘Axel, we have trouble,’ Sky suddenly said, almost causing Axel to miss a dodge.

  ‘How bad?’ Axel asked while falling back to gain more space as the pack leader made another leaping attack. He hoped Roran did not get into trouble or was hurt too badly.

  ‘A strange beast just came out of the burrow, and it is not something I have ever seen,’ Sky said, then with a hiss. ‘It just knocked Star into a tree.’

  ‘Shit,’ Axel then changed the plan as anything that could throw Star around would be very dangerous.

  “Plan change…” Axel started calling out loudly and knocked the pack leader into a wall that grew a spike. “Lyra, take over the pack leader. He is hurt but not out. Sky, open a door for me, and Roran, if you can, keep on the pack for now; otherwise, fall back.”

  With that, Axel retreated away from the pack leader, trusting that Lyra could handle it, and ran for the wall where the sound of Star's fight came from. Just as he got there, an opening appeared, and Axel did not even slow as he ran through but skidded to a halt when he saw what they were dealing with. This was a beast he had never seen before or even read about.

  It was a sleek quadruped feline about ten feet long and six feet tall at the shoulder. Its coat was a dusky brown coated in an oily sheen, each platter-sized paw had several large claws that shone with a metallic sheen, and its red eyes held a fury that Axel had rarely seen.

  The beast was standing over one of the corpses, radiating a malice that vibrated in the air. Axel’s index pulled up no data on this beast, but if Axel had to guess, it was a native of the eastern plains. Axel also guessed that it was a contracted beast much like Star, based on how it was standing next to one body, and that was very bad.

  Contracting was a power like any other, and depending on the size and strength of the beast, a Flame Seeker could contract a beast to fight with them. However, this practice outside of the Storm Knights was not popular. There were several reasons why, such as feeding, raising, and taming a beast, but the biggest was if the contractor died, they would release their charges, who would frenzy with their deaths.

  Axel took the little time that the beast was focused on its master to get a rough gauge of it. Axel could tell that the oil on its coat was either a protection or a form of attack, but the metal on the claws gave Axel another clue as they were strange in shape and wear. Axel could also tell that this was likely at the end of Novice or early Adept Beast.

  Axel ran out of time as Star seemed to have recovered from her stunned state and let out an angry roar. She then charged back out of the brush straight at the beast, opening her jaws wide to release a torrent of fire.

  Axel moved to the side and hoped that Aria was covering Sky and Lyra since Roran did not seem to be controlling Star well. They would need to work on that but now was not the time. When the flames ended, Axel learned what the oil on the coat was for. As Star roared in triumph as her cone of flames ended, a red and orange blur slammed into her again, sending her into one of Sky’s walls, sending up a cloud of debris.

  The beast, after the hit, gracefully backflipped in the air, flames dancing across its fur, leaving a trail of burning flames in its wake. Axel did not lose this opportunity, though, and used an anchor point to try to slam it into the ground, but as he rushed in for a strike, the beast landed on its feet somehow and dodged to the side.

  Axel still managed to land a glancing blow, but the beast's wound was burned closed by the time it landed. Axel also felt his anchor point snap, causing a rebound that drained a large chunk of power from his core, leaving him with less than half of his remaining energy. Axel then braced for what looked like a very tough fight as this burning beast rounded on him, ready to launch another attack.

  Beast Potency Level: Novice Low to Adept Mid on chapter 51