"Contract accepted," were the last two words Icarus spoke to the mysterious blacksmith that hired him on to collect a certain ore from a dead zone on the eastern continent. From what information he could gather, there was only one particular threat to the region, something called a "Tloyebog", some sort of subterranean kraken that induced fear from ancient tales. He knew the phlogiston ore was necessary to power airships, but the blacksmith had some other grand design in mind, something he said would permit flight for personal use when crafted into metal through alchemy.
It was definitely a monumental tasking as many others had gone there and never returned, only to have their bones found by others that would later tread those lands with perhaps a bit of luck and success if they were fortunate enough to do so. The mineral was likely easy to find so long as he could cross into the lands without too much difficulty. The entire concept of having a part in the creation of a new enchantment upon armor and things of that nature were far too alluring to keep him from venturing into the unknown.
Three days ago, he crossed into the territory that the Tloyebog was known to infest and he felt as though there were something watching him from every location all at once. The failure of magic in the region made him feel more comfortable, but the various corpses of animals and other travelers had kept him on guard. The sky had been gloomy overhead and only the fires that rained from above provided him with any light to travel by.
It was risky, but he had been able to find shelter from time to time in various caverns, though he had studiously avoided those which had fissures within them. Even areas with sand, he did well to avoid. To his understanding, the beast could not penetrate solid rock, depending entirely on softer areas and simple cracks in the ground that were deep enough to reach the creature's body. His swords remained in preparation at his hip in the event he was forced to defend himself, but he had no illusions to the fact it was safer to flee than it would be to stand his own ground.
From his estimate, it would take at least two more days of travel to arrive in the normal region phlogiston could be found. Based on the rumors he had heard, it would only get more dangerous as the number of fractures in the land increased. His supplies would last him another week or so and he would be required to leave by the second week lest he be suffering from starvation and severely weakened.
A few hours further, Icarus came across the first true danger zone he had heard of and had marked on his map. This land was a series of fissures that went from one end of it to the other and spread from each end of the horizon. The number of crossings in the area were minimal but at the bare minimum, he could at least make it without spelunking and hoping his luck would hold out. It would be here, crossing one of the land bridges, that the creature would first strike, and he drew both his blades. The route ahead spanned nearly a mile and led into a bottomless pit directly below it. The width left much to be desired, but given the fewer number of bodies and discarded weapons, it seemed to be the safest route possible.
Wasting no time, he crossed the land bridge as fire continued to rain from the sky. The extra threat presented by Rhylana's magic going out of control made it infinitely more difficult to cross. Perhaps a quarter of a mile across, a tentacle arose almost too quickly for him to react. Almost instinctively, Icarus flipped forward, rolling across the ground as he landed and the tentacle continued to follow him, a second one arising to follow suit.
A flaming rock from the sky crashed down upon it and seemingly out of pain, both of the tentacles retreated into the darkness below. For the moment, it seemed he was safe and he took off in a sprint, ready to depart this threatened area as quickly as possible. Icarus sped across and another of the flaming balls of death from the sky struck the land bridge behind him, breaking through and beginning a slow collapse directly behind him.
Picking up his pace even more, Icarus leapt as he neared the edge of the abyss just as the ground beneath him dropped out. Hand outstretched, he clutched the edge as fiercely as he could, his body slamming against the wall and loose rock his hand held to coming free. Starting to fall, he pulled his blade out with his other hand, driving the sword directly into a crevice in the rock. Looking down below, he saw movement again and drove his feet into the wall as quickly as possible, finding grips as he nearly flew up the side of the cliff. In less than ten seconds, he covered the three feet he was short by and scurried over the edge, running as fast as possible to put distance between the darkness below and the beast that dwelt in it.
Great… Just two more days of this and then I'll be golden, he thought to himself as he took a moment to rest when he felt he had sufficient distance from the hole.
