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LOCATION: SECLUDED GLADE
CITY: ALLOVIA, NORTHWEST OF GRIMWATACH
DATE: DECEMBER 4, 2025 | TIME: 8:00 AM
Having coordinated their arrival time in Allovia, Mallory, Vanessa and Darian woke up in the tent. They had camped in a secluded glade two days ago, and all three had too much going on the previous day to come back. Today, their plan was clear: get the ore back to Torvyn, and meet up with Elise in Grimwatch before setting off toward the Scarred Land, where the Embermaw would be waiting for them. Whether he knew it or not.
They had decided that this time, with the magma and likely burning attacks they would face, they needed a healer, and Elise had been looking for a chance to get involved in some adventure, so the decision was an easy one.
Darian got out of the tent and looked east toward the sun. “Looks like another gorgeous day in paradise.” The sky was clear blue, with only a few streaks of pillowy clouds high above.
Mallory and Vanessa arose, and after packing up the tent again, they were on their way.
They crested a hill as the Northern Road came into view, a long, winding ribbon stretching toward Grimwatch. Vanessa adjusted the strap of her pack and glanced at Mallory.
“How’s the forge effort coming along?” Mallory asked.
Vanessa sighed. “We’ve made a ton of progress. The physical forges are humming. My team did some truly inspired work. But for some reason, the modules Colin and Ronan made aren’t giving us access to blueprint data from The System. They also can’t retrieve karmic anchor profiles from the archive.”
Mallory frowned. “That’s strange. I think Colin flew to Raleigh-Durham recently. He took one of the jets. Is he still down there?”
“Yeah,” Vanessa said. “He’s digging into the code personally. Found something interesting, too. Apparently there’s a logic flag in the forge module that references Grimwatch directly. His theory is that once Torvyn finishes this upgrade, it’ll trigger a System event that propagates back through the network to our 3D Forges.”
Darian looked up from the side of the path, where he’d been quietly watching the way the morning light caught on dew-slick trees. They all walked in silence for a moment, each lost in their own thoughts.
Finally, Mallory said, “Then let’s get this gem. Grimwatch deserves a path forward as much as we do.”
As their conversation wound down, the trio finally arrived back in Grimwatch and made their way to the forge. Vanessa unshouldered the satchel and handed it off to Torvyn Ironbrand, who set it carefully on a wooden table away from the heat of the forges.
He opened the satchel and began inspecting the sunkissed ore, lifting each chunk and turning it in his calloused hands.
“You did a fine job extracting these from the ridge face,” he said, nodding in approval. “Nicely done. And I see you brought extra.” He gave Vanessa a broad grin. “I’ll make sure Thomas logs extra contribution points for this haul. We can use it across a dozen projects, not just the forge upgrade. Much appreciated.”
Vanessa beamed at the praise. “You’re most welcome. We’re headed out to hunt the Embermaw now. Any final advice before we go?”
Torvyn let out a rumbling laugh. “Aye—bring a healer. That bastard hits like a siege ram, and every strike burns deep. Skin, armor, doesn’t matter. And watch your footing—he fights near lava flows, and he’s not above knocking people straight into the fire.”
Darian gave a short nod. “That’s good advice. Thank you. We’re meeting our healer in the square now and heading out shortly. Should be back in a day or two—assuming we survive.”
They made their way to the central plaza, where Elise Draven was already waiting. She wore her off-white robe over light brown leather armor, and leaned casually on her intricately carved staff. The Harmonic Warden’s symbol glimmered faintly near her collar.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
“Hey guys!” she called out. “Thanks for inviting me. I’ve been itching to test the healing side of Axis Harmonia. I’ve mostly been solo hunting so far—so it’s been all damage, no support.”
Mallory pulled her into a hug. “We’re lucky to have you. I can’t wait to see what you can really do, Warden.”
They shared a laugh, then stopped by The Lusty Wench for some road snacks before heading out of town.
They reached the last safe stretch before the Scarred Land and found a sheltered spot to pitch their tent. The ground here was dry but solid, nestled between two leaning stones that offered a bit of cover from the wind. As dusk fell, they sat in a loose circle around a small fire—more for comfort than warmth.
Darian poked at the flames with a stick. “You know, I used to love this kind of thing. Missions in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by good people. Except back then it was never this... surreal.”
“You mean the lava beasts?” Vanessa asked, smirking.
He shrugged. “That, and the glowing maps in your head. But yeah, mostly the lava beasts.”
Mallory stretched her legs and leaned back on her hands. “I used to get nerves before big meetings at Voss Tower, but this is definitely something else. Not fear exactly. Just… weight.”
Elise nodded thoughtfully. “It’s because this place matters. Grimwatch matters. What we’re doing—it’s not a simulation. It has consequences.”
For a moment, no one spoke.
Then Vanessa quietly added, “You think The System is watching us now? Judging?”
“I think,” Elise said, her eyes reflecting firelight, “that it already knows who we are. The real test is whether we stay true to that when things go sideways.”
A silence settled over them, but it was warm, not heavy. They shared a few more bites of dried fruit and hard bread, then quietly rolled into their blankets as the stars emerged above the jagged horizon.
Tomorrow, they would face the Embermaw.
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LOCATION: HILLSIDE IN THE WILD
CITY: ALLOVIA, FAR NORTH OF GRIMWATCH
DATE: DECEMBER 5, 2025 | TIME: 8:00 AM
Everyone woke in the tent around the same time. It was eight o’clock in Allovia. No matter when they fell asleep in the real world, they always arrived here at the same hour, as if the System enforced its own circadian rhythm.
They packed up the tent quickly, checking gear in near silence—each of them clearly focused on the task ahead.
Darian was the first to break the quiet. “Well, aren’t we a bunch of sourpusses this morning?” he said with a lopsided grin.
Mallory chuckled. “I think we’re just focused. But you’re right—some levity might help. We can’t go into this too tense or we’ll make mistakes.”
Elise raised her staff and closed her eyes, concentrating. A faint shimmer appeared near the tip, like the air itself was bending in a spiral of light.
After a moment, she exhaled and opened her eyes. “Axis is full up and ready to go. I’ll let you all do the damage—I’ll focus on healing.”
“How does that staff of yours work again?” Darian asked.
“Normally I keep it half charged so there’s space to store energy when I land a life drain. Still leaves me enough for offense. But for healing?” She tapped the shaft lightly. “Full power. I’ll stay back and keep you topped off.”
Mallory placed a hand on her shoulder. “Still excited to see the Harmonic Warden in action, Elise. This fight’s going to be tough—but I’ve got a feeling we’re going to learn a lot today.”
Vanessa gave a sharp nod. “Let’s head out.”
They followed the prompt on their map interface, moving swiftly across the terrain. As they drew closer to their destination, the ambient temperature began to rise—fast.
Fortunately, their System armor regulated heat well enough to avoid heatstroke, but even so, sweat poured freely down their faces as they emerged from a sparse copse of trees.
And then they all stopped in their tracks.
The land sloped down a hundred feet into a wide, sunken valley. In the center stretched a massive scar in the earth—twenty feet wide and hundreds long, glowing red and yellow with molten lava.
Scientifically, it shouldn't have been possible. There was no tectonic plate boundary nearby. But Allovia apparently didn’t play by Earth’s rules.
The heat here was oppressive, like breathing through a furnace. The group wiped their brows and stared at the surreal, hellish landscape.
Then they saw movement.
From behind a scorched boulder, a massive creature emerged. Ten feet tall, just as described. A head too large for its narrow shoulders, with gangly limbs that ended in long hands tipped with three sharp, hooked claws. Its skin looked charred, crusted in magma-burns and blackened ash, and yet still alive—flexing with heat and movement.
Vanessa narrowed her eyes and quickly tagged it with Mark of the Huntress. She already knew her arrows wouldn’t pierce much beyond joints or eyes.
“Go for the weak points,” she murmured. “We’ll have trouble cutting through pretty much anywhere else.”
Mallory turned to the group. “We start slow—test his capabilities. No heroics until we know what he can do. Agreed?”
Everyone nodded.
But just then the Embermaw had sensed them.
Its head snapped in their direction. Glowing red-yellow eyes locked on.
It roared—a gaping, echoing scream—and opened its jaw wide enough to make the valley quake. Inside were rows upon rows of jagged, obsidian-colored teeth, each one flickering with inner heat like they were forged, not grown.
Elise whistled low. “Well. I guess the name isn’t metaphorical.”
She gripped her staff tighter.
And the four of them prepared for battle.