"Get down," Edileth commanded in a hushed tone.

Immediately, Joenek dropped behind an outcropping of rock and turned to Edileth. She also crouched behind one of the many clusters of stone. She was nearly as still as the granite mountains upon which they traveled. The two elves had first begun their climb through the Drezken mountain range a quarter and one-hour prior.

A faint clacking sound reached Joenek's ears. He listened until he could no longer curb his curiosity. He did not wait long.

After a deep, steadying breath, he cautiously raised his head. On a ridge just south of their present location was a mass of dark creatures. Joenek peered at them in wonder.

Each creature had three pairs of limbs. Two pairs looked a bit like insect appendages and were used as legs. These supported a round body which appeared to be covered in a thick layer of greasy, matted, black hair.

The third pair of limbs looked similar to the pincers of the trendit crab; though these were larger, more menacing. The head of each creature looked like a perverse version of a vulture. Though he knew quite a bit about the strange creatures that wandered the Northern Region of Gael-Narenth, Joenek had never seen anything like these grotesque beings.

"What in Naine Mithale are they?"

Edileth did not answer for a long moment. Finally, she turned to him and spoke.

"I think they are bekhron. In the library of Merrím Villelle, there is but one book that mentions them. The information is scarce, but from what I read they seem to be one of Akkheron's creations. It is said they are difficult to defeat single-handed."

The roth looked back to the monsters and tried imagining them as deadly opponents. He stifled a laugh as he watched their round bodies waddle about on thin legs. Their large 'arms', in combination with the large hump of flesh directly behind their scabbed heads made the bekhron look top-heavy and unbalanced.

They're more likely to fall face-first on the rocks than to do any real damage.

Edileth studied him. "You find this amusing? Do not so quickly dismiss the potential for danger. They were created for evil."

Joenek nodded his head. He knew she was right, but he could not help but be amused by the creatures' comedic movements.

"What I don't understand," continued Edileth, "is why they are here. The book stated that they are rarely seen outside of Si-ol. And, on the occasion they are sighted elsewhere, they are solitary creatures."

"The scholar could have been wrong."

"That is true. However, I feel certain something more sinister is at work. We must use caution."

Edileth drew her sword and looked to Joenek. He unsheathed his own blade and nodded with a grin. Edileth glared and then she leapt over the stone that hid them and into the group of bekhron.

Joenek followed suit and found his nose instantly assaulted by a strong, musty odor. A howling shriek rose from the creatures and they lifted their pincers in the air. The bekhron stood at nearly two-thirds his height and wasted no time in attacking the two elves.

Joenek and Edileth shifted to stand back-to-back as the eight bekhron scuttled toward them with precision and haste.

At first, the bekhron stood just outside the elves' reach, clicking and chirping. They seemed to be testing their opponents' skill. The bekhron gave tentative jabs that Edileth and Joenek blocked with relative ease.

As if deciding that the two elves would make easy prey, the bekhron drew closer around them. Three stood before Joenek, while a fourth prodded at him from the left. He assumed the other four kept Edileth busy.

The appendages were, indeed, quite like insect legs; they were covered in a hard, shell-like exterior. They looked like semi-polished, black stone. For several minutes, Joenek knocked their clawed arms away from him, trying to find an opening to the body of the creatures. His sword did not so much as dent the armour-like covering of the pincers.

A soft grunt came from behind Joenek and he felt something hard prod his back. He felt a sudden panic as he imagined Edileth lying dead or injured behind him with the remaining bekhron closing in on him.

Chancing a quick glance over his shoulder, Joenek saw Edileth hack the claw off one of the bekhron. A plan formed in Joenek's mind, and he knew Edileth had also thought of it.

Joenek returned his full attention to the bekhron before him. He waited until one of the creatures extended a pincer and aimed his sword at the jointed section of its arm. It took several attempts, but at last he was able to slice through the fleshy part between the segments.

After some time, one of the bekhron was missing both of its front limbs. Joenek made a false attack for one of the others and then swept up and across, effectively beheading the right-most bekhron.

Joenek barely had time to notice the round, headless body as it fell to the ground and convulsed. Instead, he turned his attention to the remaining three.

The central bekhron gave a cry and leapt at Joenek. He ducked and lifted his blade to block the attack. His sword briefly made contact with the bekhron, and Joenek felt something bounce off the top of his head.

An odd gurgle reached Joenek's ears. As he looked up at the bekhron that had lunged at him, his eyes widened.

The bekhron's beak had been severed by Joenek's blade. What was left of the creature's thin, bird tongue wagged in the air and sprinkled thick droplets of blue blood about. Joenek cleaved the beakless bekhron in two.

The final two bekhron seemed outraged. Their beaks gaped upon and their pincers clacked open and shut.

A sudden movement caught Joenek's attention, and his eyes widened in disbelief.

The oddly-shaped humps behind the bekhron's heads shifted. What had seemed to be a mass of flesh now undulated and writhed. Four flexible appendages - two on each bekhron - uncoiled and reached toward Joenek. At the end of each was a large stinger, dripping with toxin.

"Watch their backs!" he shouted.

Edileth grunted an acknowledgement.

The beast on his left whipped one of its flexible limbs toward Joenek's face. He dodged the scythe-like point at its end and blocked the appendage with his blade.

A hiss sprang from the bekhron, and blood oozed from the soft skin.

No wonder they didn't use those earlier. No protection on those limbs.

The bekhron made another attempt at striking Joenek with its stinger. It extended the appendage that Joenek had not struck and managed to wrap it around his arm. Before the bekhron could curl the end of the appendage enough to stab him, Joenek lifted his sword. He sliced through the curling limb with little resistance.

With a squealing shriek, the bekhron extended its one remaining pincer and trapped Joenek's leg in it.

He was too slow to react and yelped in fright when the bekhron pulled. Joenek lost his footing and fell to the ground. His head tapped the stone beneath him, and Joenek blinked to clear his vision.

As the bekhron began dragging him across the granite, Joenek tried to sit up. His head ached and he found it difficult to focus. He swung his sword haphazardly at the bekhron's pincer.

A terrifying howl rose on the air and a blur of movement caught Joenek's attention.

Edileth leapt at the bekhron that had ensnared Joenek's leg. She killed the creature with one downward chop. Even after the bekhron lay motionless, Edileth continued hacking at its mutilated body, hollering as she did so.

Joenek managed to pry the stiff pincer from his leg and stood.

"Edileth," he yelled, "that's enough."

She spun and aimed her blade at him. With a little hop, Joenek avoided the tip of her sword. He lifted his hands in the air.

"Woah, calm down."

Edileth lowered her sword and stared at a patch of grass that grew through a crack in the granite's surface. Her breathing was laboured but she seemed well enough.

It was then that Joenek recalled the other bekhron. He swept his gaze across the surrounding area but saw no trace of the creature. A shiver of unease ran down his spine.

Joenek turned back to Edileth.

"How'd you fare?"

At first, there was no response. She continued staring as though he had not spoken. Then, as if rousing from a dream, she gave a little shiver and lifted her eyes to his; she seemed to look through him.

Without a word, she turned and started walking away from Joenek. He followed, watching her with curiosity. Edileth had not cleaned her blade and, instead of sheathing it, she let it drag behind her.

Something is wrong.

"Where are we going?"

Edileth halted. She glanced at Joenek and - with such suddenness that he could not respond in time - she fell to the ground. He crouched beside Edileth and shook her shoulder, while checking for any serious injuries.

Though her breeches and the sleeves of her shirt had a fair number of tears, Joenek could not see any signs of serious injury. He rubbed his neck and glanced about. Sighing, he picked up Edileth's sword and cleaned it.

"Okay, Edileth, where are we going from here?"

He glanced at the unconscious rothnak beside him. Joenek tried to stir her, again. While she did not wake, she did mumble something under her breath.

A grand mess I've found myself in.

Joenek lowered himself until he sat. No sooner had he done so than a prickling sensation started at the back of his head. He leapt up.

While it was not quite the same as when he had a vision, the feeling was similar. Subtle movement drew Joenek's attention to his right. The hair on the back of his neck rose.

The apparition he had seen on the first eve of their journey strode along a small ravine. Joenek flinched when it paused and turned to face him. Then, as if it had never existed to begin with, the figure vanished.

The sensation in the back of his head grew stronger, seeming almost urgent.

Joenek let his gaze drift to Edileth. He pondered what to do for a moment and then stood. He moved with caution, muscles taught and ready to ward off unexpected foes. When he came to the place where the strange apparition had disappeared, Joenek found a small cave entrance.

He stared into the dark opening, almost expecting the transparent figure to leap out at him. However, the prickling in the back of his head thrummed all the more and a sudden sense of ease filled Joenek.

This is where we should go.

Turning, Joenek leapt across the stony surface of the mountain and returned to Edileth. With care, he scooped her up and held her in his arms. Her head rolled back and hung over the edge of his arm.

"Sorry, Edileth," he said mostly to himself.

Joenek covered the terrain with but a handful of long strides and came to stand before the cave's entrance once more. He crouched down and shuffled through the entrance. This proved to be a challenge while holding Edileth, but in the end he managed to cross into the darkened chamber.

When his eyes had adjusted to the dim lighting, Joenek found that he was on a ledge about three meters or so above the main portion of the cavern. It was much larger than Joenek had expected; it was full of peculiar rows of stone, piles of rubble, and an odd-looking spire of stone near the center.

Searching for a way down, Joenek found a little path to his right that gradually widened as it neared the base. As he began his descent, he realized that the path had once been steps which were now cracked, crumbling, and littered with earthy debris.

At the base of the steps, Joenek realized that what he had seen from above were the ruins of a town. Along the outermost edges of the cavern there stood little niches and alcoves, interrupted only by tunnels of various sizes that led farther into the mountain.

Joenek walked among the ruins, looking for an area that had seen the least amount of damage. He found a little recess that was like a small chamber. In the far corner there lay a large chunk of stone, but the remainder of the niche was in decent condition.

Squatting, Joenek placed Edileth on the stone floor. He removed the pack from her back and unlashed her bedroll. He laid this out and lifted Edileth again. He laid her torso down first, cradling her head with his hand. Next, he lifted her legs and positioned them on the bedding. This done, Joenek spread his own bedding over the top of Edileth.

With a sigh, Joenek positioned himself against the wall closest to Edileth. Though anxiety filled him, he soon found himself drifting into sleep.

Author's note: This chapter was drastically revised/edited (as of 2021-01-04). Future chapters may not coincide with some of the changes made. Thank you for your patience and understanding.