Magical beast nest
It is a new day, and Shade is walking along the sandy streets of the hideout when he spots Flora, who has a vine tightly grasped on a man's right arm. A wide bloody scar goes from the elbow to the hand.
"What happened here." Shade asked. The man was grunting in pain as the doctor that helped Flora pulled out a needle and some string.
"I found a hole in the wall. I went through and found a Crystal digger nest." Shade's eyes became wide as he realized what this meant.
A crystal digger is a magical beast that closely resembles a mole. The claws of these creatures reflect light and often annoy their eyes, so they make their home below ground.
"Show me where." He ordered. The man nodded and showed them to the right side of the wall. The wall is cracked, and a hole large enough for a person to crawl through. Shade gets down on all fours to see through the hole, but the tunnel was too dark.
"If they aren't wiped out, it will be trouble not just for us but Nexus as well." Shade explained.
If left unattended, the numbers would grow to leave two worst-case scenarios. Either the Crystal diggers break into the hideout and try to consume the rogues. Or the Establishment will investigate below the sewers because of rising earthquakes. Both options would mean the end of the rogues.
"I need people to go in and investigate. Any takers!?" Shade yelled out, but no one raised their hand. Except for one. Flora stood with her hand raised, her leg had not completely healed, but she could at least walk. Shade looked confused.
"Are you sure?" he asked. Flora nodded
"Yes," she said with a form of certainty he had never heard from her voice before. In the corner of the crowd, another hand is raised. It was Rick with a big grin.
"If she wants to go, I say let her. Besides, I can protect her. What else is a Hero supposed to do?" Rick boasted while people were rolling their eyes. Shade felt concerned but accepted.
"Fine. Stay safe and call when you are done scouting ahead." Shade explained. Rick Walked up, putting his hand over Flora's shoulder before dragging her towards the hole, practically shoving her through. Shade grabbed a small lamp and tossed it through.
Rick grabs it, and it glows in a bright blue light. They began walking along the newly dug cave. The floor was uneven, making tripping easy.
"Watch your footing, and be ready to dodge if they break the ground," Rick explained. Flora looked confused. The past couple of days, she had heard him do nothing but boast, But now he was being serious.
"You seem to know a lot about these creatures?" Flora could not help herself from being curious about his knowledge.
"Well, of course, I'm from the Tamer tribe. Magical beast knowledge is in my blood." Rick's voice was surprisingly quiet, yet his pride in his birthplace was clear as day. Flora had her dress slightly pulled upwards so she would not trip, following behind Rick.
Suddenly below them, the ground begins to break, and out comes one of the Crystal Diggers. Flora reacts quickly and makes multiple flowers that all turn toward the magical beast. The bud of the flowers glows in a green light, and Mana was released.
"Flower Garden."
The bullets made scratches along the beast's hide. None of the wounds was deep, but they did annoy the beast, who lashed out toward Flora. To avoid the attack, she shot vines from her hand to pull herself away. A bloody spike goes past the head of the beast cutting its face. The bloody spike lands next to Flora. It becomes liquid and turns back into Rick.
"Good news, we found the eggs," Rick says with a big grin. Flora looked confused. She even thought that he had run ahead. He points toward the Crystal-digger. It stands its ground, spreading its paws to fill the tunnels. "It won't let us pass. It attacked because we got close. So, Help me out, will ya?"
Flora nods. Her Flowers shoot more mana. The wounds make the beast angry as it lifts its two crystal-like claws. They become radiant and glow in a blinding light. It slams the claws down, shooting out a wave of mana. Flora, while blinded, didn't react to the attack making her unable to dodge. Rick jumped in front of Flora, taking the hit and covering her skin in blood. She wanted to scream, but Rick wiped the blood from her face.
"Relax, it is just mana." He gave her a warm smile before turning to face the beast. "One more time, you ready?" Flora nods before continuing her attack. The projectiles create more small wounds on its body. It once again became angry and lifted its claws to do the strike once again.
"Now!" Rick yelled, jumping towards its head. His body becomes red and turns into a spike. He had reached the throat of the beast going through it. Blood splatters from the back of its throat as it begins to collapse.
"We did it," Flora said in disbelief that they had managed to kill it. Rick Walked up to her, covered in blood. Flora stepped back. She calmed herself before asking. "that's just your mana, right?"
"Nope. well, there should be cocoons further in. Could you call the other?" Flora nodded with a disgusted face, as she makes her way back to the hole. She yelled that the nest had been found, and the rogues began crawling through to help wipe out the nest.
"Thanks for the help, Flora." Shade had entered the tunnel. He looked pleased until he saw Rick walking towards them, carrying cocoons in his arms. "What do you think you are doing?"
"Relax, I'm just bringing them to the relic desert," Rick explained. Shade yelled back, telling him to destroy them immediately, but he refused.
"He helped me a lot. Could you just let him?" Flora asked. Shade took a big sigh.
"Fine, just this once." Shade said, slightly annoyed. Rick gave Flora a big smile as he left.