Lowlife, Scoundrel, Bandit Queen

I quietly get away from the quarry, determined to get a little more distance in between me and the slumbering apex predator that seems to have moved in here since we removed the last one. Just as my [Stealth] skill improves another bit, I stop dead in my tracks as another thought strikes me. Or is it? Is it really the apex predator? Sure, it's plenty fearsome with a stinger that can probably punch through plate armor and claws as well as teeth to match. But would the real apex predator have any need for thick thorny scales? I'd somehow rather expect those on a creature that doesn't want to end up as the meal of something even worse.

Great! If anything that thought is even more terrifying. Just wonderful! It makes me wonder if I'll be able to sleep at all tonight. Maybe I shouldn't camp in the entrance hall? Maybe I'll nap on the stairs deep down just above the water level in the tower's basement instead. That doesn't sound very appealing but at the same time so much more sensible.

Well, that's a problem I can think about later. Right now I have to consider other things. I need to find out where that damned flying giant lizard has been hunting in hopes of getting my hands on some scales as evidence. How to best go about that? This thing probably is a flying predator, hunting from up above, from where it can easily spot any worthwhile prey.

At first I'm already about to dismiss this thought as not very helpful, but I stop again. From high above it can easily spot any worthwhile prey. It probably wouldn't have trouble spotting me either most of the time! Usually I have other ground bound threats or my own prey in mind when sneaking about. The only times when I even thought about airborne predators was at the top of the tower. I really need to keep this in mind while moving about around here, or I might end up as another addition to the beast's pile of bones!

Another shiver runs down my spine. I need to keep close to the cliff side, preferably while moving along its bottom. Even with no other cover around it should help obscure my presence.

If I hug the rock I probably won't stand out quite as much when viewed from above. Otherwise I should keep below dense foliage. Yes, that too should help. In the worst case, when caught out in an open area, I should try to duck under a bush or the like. Just standing behind one certainly won't do me much good.

The creek itself might be another option. If I slip below the water I might be able to escape the beast's notice. That really depends on its eyes though. If I have no other option it would be worth the try though. The pile of bones did not suggest that it goes after anything living in the water after all.

Oh! And I need to watch for moving shadows! In the light of recent developments those might not just be from clouds after all. I have to fight to keep down a nervous laugh at this point. Sound might give the creature away too. With its leathery wings it probably doesn't fly as quiet as some owls. Yes, the sound of wind where there shouldn't be any might provide some last minute warning too.

I bite into my gloves for a moment in an attempt to slow down my breathing a little. Most of all I need to keep a calm head. Yes, that is the first priority. The thing is sleeping right now. And it looks like it gorged itself for a while. If I'm lucky it will stay curled up in its nest to warm and guard the eggs for a while longer. Yes, that would be the best case. I can't exactly count on it, but at least I can hope.

Good, now to get my mind back on track. If it hunts from above it probably dives at its prey. And when it digs its claws into some poor animal, there might be a brief struggle at least before it carries its bounty off. That's the most likely point at which it might lose some scales. Unless of course it has some grooming habits I'm unaware off, like rubbing up against a cliff, to get rid of itchy scales? Not entirely unlike bears rub against trees?

Well, I'll keep my eyes open for any likely spots. And I'll keep my eyes open for disturbed ground too. When a flying giant like that comes crashing down, there ought to be some overturned earth at least. That sounds like a decent plan of action. The best I can do right now to be honest.

Thus I resume my track back in the direction I have come from to begin with. Once I'm out of sight from the quarry for sure I return to the edge of the cliff. I decide against climbing down now though. I'll keep using the foliage up here for cover for now. And besides, the higher vantage point allows me to get a better look at the creek.

The creek might just be my best bet right now to find a spot where the monster has struck. Animals, alone or as part of a herd, that have left the cover of the forest to drink out in the open would be prime targets after all for a flying predator.

Sadly I can't spot any signs of struggle anywhere close by though. Not at the creek and not anywhere else in the land that has been cleared by fire as far as I can see from here. I don't let that dishearten me though. I keep going and try again maybe a few hundred paces later.

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This time around my persistence pays off. Well it might pay off. I'm not yet holding a scale of the beast in my hands after all, but at least I can see a spot where the earth by the side of the creek has been massively disturbed. It's my best bet so far. It's terribly far out in the open too. Well, I'll have to give it a try, but I hesitate anyway. I duck even lower, doing my best to become one with the ground, as my [Danger Sense] makes the hair at the back of my neck stand on end. A quick glance around suggests that the foliage above should obscure me well enough too.

Almost all of that is forgotten a moment later, as a shadow passes over the valley. The scaled monstrosity has taken to the air again! And I didn't even notice! It's glide is surprisingly quiet too, not quite like I expected. It's only when it comes down lower, circling once, before landing by the creek a distance away, that it's flight disturbs the air enough to be easily noticeable.

I swallow hard. That would have been much too late if I had been out in the open already. At the same time I quietly rejoice. I recognize the spot where it landed. It's the little lake below the waterfall. The very lake that saved my life when Ediva blasted the fungal titan. This monster has landed there quite obviously to drink.

Once again I duck low, careful to not even rustle any fallen leaves. Yet I don't dare take my eyes off this scaled terror either. It's scales seem to blend in with the background, at least to a degree, here too. The beast's movements somewhat ruin the effect though. This is definitely a skill at work. Once it comes to rest by the creek to drink with big greedy gulps though it almost looks like a big boulder by the riverside. And that is already accounting for my considerable [Perception] skill which as a result improves another little bit, together with my [Stealth] skill. Anyone without a matching skill at a similar or better level might as well be walking right into its waiting claws and teeth.

I keep close watch on it. I especially try my best to estimate its size, now that it isn't curled up around the eggs in its nest. It's not easy, given the long sinuous neck and tail. By comparison its actual, massive body is not that big at all. Except, what looks small at a distance by comparison really isn't. Those wings are nothing to sneeze at either. They have to be at least thirty paces across. At least that's the impression I get when the beast takes off again.

I'm pretty glad that I'm quite a distance away, as it takes to the sky again, as the monster kicks up quite a bit of dust in the process. If I were to be caught in that and succumb to a coughing fit … well, I don't really want to think about it.

I keep laying low, utterly motionless for a little longer, using both my ears and my eyes to keep track of the flying monster, as it circles the valley once more before disappearing in the direction of its nest again.

Only once it's well out of sight do I allow my self to breath a sigh of relief. The creature wasn't even on the hunt, yet I feel like this was a very close call anyway. This certainly was about as close as I want to be to that monster. Especially without a small army of other adventurers to back me up. I shudder. No, actually, even then I don't really want to get any closer.

I have a new spot of interest I can check out now though. If I don't find anything where the dirt is upturned I can check out the spot where it landed to drink. One is probably as good as the other. All I need is a single scale anyway, although I would take two or three as well, just in case. Who knows, maybe they are worth something. They may not be actual dragon scales, but they come pretty close in my opinion. Asking won't hurt.

For now I do my best to map out the terrain in the creek's valley. I look for every burned tree stump, standing or fallen, and every rock large enough to provide cover. I really hope that the beast won't be back anytime soon after that big drink, but I won't take any chances either.

Finally, at long last, I'm satisfied and get going. The cliff isn't very high here, but I don't exactly climb down as usual either. Instead I only use some carefully picked handholds and footrests to slow my descent, or rather break my fall. The new approach earns me some progress for both my [Climbing] and [Balance] skills. At the bottom of the cliff I turn the rest of my momentum into forward movement right away, scurrying from one cover to the next until I reach the spot by the creek where some creature must have met an untimely end.

Up close I can see that blood has mixed with the upturned earth, turning it into a morass of sorts. I don't bother to find out which creature died here though. Even if I reliable could, it would take too long. Instead I start searching for thorny scales right away. Those should be much easier to find.

I'm already about to give up and scurry to the spot where the winged terror drank, when I finally spot one. It's about the size of my palm. No, actually it's a little bigger. Its outside is marred by a long scratch. From a horn or antlers? Since it'S just one it probably isn't from any claws. The scales has been torn out by the root though. Even if it's just one scale of hundreds or thousands that has to have hurt.

I marvel at the thorny spike on the outside for a moment as I pick it up. It looks almost like the thorn of a rose, except on a chitinous plate instead of the narrow stem of a plant.

That seems to be just about all that is to be found around here, thus I take off at a run again, ducked low as to minimize my silhouette as I hurry from uprooted tree stump to rocks to a charred but still standing tree that has lost most but not all branches.

Finally I reach the waterfall and the pool at its foot. I don't jump down right away though. Unlike last time I was here. Instead I duck low besides a boulder first to observe the ground below. The beast's claws have dug deep rents into the dirt and pebbles at the riverbank.

There are some bubbling puddles where its tail came to rest too. Whatever poison that stinger is dripping, I probably don't want to find out up close what exactly it is. Does the creature use it to bring down prey? No, the other site didn't give me the impression. The stinger is probably a defensive weapon too, much like the scales. Something to deter other even more dangerous predators? The thought is still pretty unsettling.

What's more important right now though, I spot a few more scales from my vantage point. Not where the beast drank, but at the bottom of the very cliff besides the pool. There may be some more in the pool, or maybe the current carried them off, but I don't really care right now. As I finally descend I can see the scratch marks in the cliff face too. They are surprisingly deep, considering that this isn't exactly soft rock. I grab two more, as many as I can easily carry together with the one from before, and am off again.

Curiously enough, the action earns me a little advancement for my [Foraging] skill.