Zensuon: Crystal Age

Find the Frog, Find the Well

Where our two agents and their two new companions find the possible cause for their troubles, and get one step closer to the source of it.

It was noon when they finally arrived at an open clearing.

It had a divergence of Red River running through it deeper into the forest, creating a somewhat small bank, and by it a few prominent stones in the middle of said clearing.

It would have been beautiful scenery if not for all the bones and pieces of rotten flesh flung everywhere.

"This looks to be the place," Alexandria commented, looking around carefully.

"The thing that caused the massacre doesn't seem to be here," Owen added from behind Alexandria, who by her titanic figure hid most of the scene from him.

"If we assume it's just one thing and not a few," Conroy noted.

Owen's eyes widened with that realization.

"I'm sure it's nothing to worry about," Frank said as he walked toward the most obvious landmark- the stones.

"Why is that mound moving?" Alexandria peered over while drawing a large sword fitting her large size from along her back.

"What moun-" Frank started to ask, as the mound prematurely answered.

A large pile of mud, green ooze and ribbits pushed Frank onto the ground.

"Damnit!" Conroy reached immediately into his pack, grasping for his bow. He pulled it and started to construct it.

Alexandria, being the first to notice the moving mud, was already underway to rush at whatever it was that besieged Frank, arriving before it and giving it a wide swing of her sword.

The sound of Alexandria's swing cutting through the wind gave out a thud like she was swinging a slab of stone rather than any sort of actual weapon, but the effectiveness of it soon proved itself.

Half of the muddy thing that jumped on Frank was splattered across the floor to Alexandria's right, and the remains of the creature fumbled atop a bewildered Frank, who was writhing and flailing at the corpse awkwardly to get it off.

"Alexandria, there are more!" Owen shouted, and with a wave of his staff, a shield of radiant energy swirled before him.

A few more mounds erupted.

One ribbiting thing near the river bank not far on Alexandria's left, another ribbiting thing on the other side of the bony remains covering a large section of the clearing to her right.

In front of Alexandria were the few protruding stones, so she thought there was no need to keep her eyes that front, only for the largest of the stones before her to slide open in a blue glow, and a ribbiting thing of mud and filth to jump atop of her.

It did, however, miscalculate when it jumped from the now closing 'stone door'- it found itself hanging on Alexandria's sword.

"Ribbit" It grumbled like a sick wretch swallowing a frog, more than an actual frog.

"Get off my sword!" Alexandria said, trying to swing the sticky frog-like creature off of her weapon.

Owen's eyes glowed as he began to sway his hand in a rhythmic motion, his other hand holding his heavy spellbook. He was clicking his tongue and verbally announcing various lines that to a layman would sound very archaic, and to a standing one like a bunch of gibberish.

However, the effect was undeniable.

Three orbs of pure white light ignited from the air itself before Owen, and as he pointed at each frog-like thing one after the next, so did these orbs rush forth right after.