The skittering grew louder, and Kade’s blood turned to ice.

  [Analyze] Shellback Ravager | Level: 3 | Status: Hostile | Class: Beast

  [Analyze] Shellback Ravager | Level: 3 | Status: Hostile | Class: Beast

  [Analyze] Shellback Ravager | Level: 3 | Status: Hostile | Class: Beast

  [Analyze] Shellback Ravager | Level: 4 | Status: Hostile | Class: Beast

  [Analyze] Shellback Ravager | Level: 4 | Status: Hostile | Class: Beast

  [Analyze] Shellback Ravager | Level: 5 | Status: Hostile | Class: Beast

  They looked like amphibious crustacean predators about seven feet tall, with a broad, spiked carapace that gleamed with wet, barnacle-encrusted armor. Massive pincers that looked like they could snap through ropes, wood, and bones with ease, while its six segmented legs allowed it to leap across the floor.

  Before anyone could react, the first ravager was on the Marine nearest the door. Its massive claw closed around the man’s midsection, lifting him off the ground as he screamed, the sound raw and piercing. Kade turned just in time to see the creature’s jagged claw tighten and then the Marine was gone, silenced forever. Blood spattered across the stone, painting a grim picture of the creature’s power.

  The Claws of Death, Fight or Flight!

  Quest Notification! Trapped in the crumbling depths of the old fort, the air thick with the stench of blood and fear, predators from the abyss emerge. Their shells are impenetrable, their claws relentless. There is no refuge, no safety. Only the fleeting choice to fight for survival or flee into the unknown. Will you stand and face the monsters or risk everything to escape their grasp?

  Difficulty: Variable

  Completion Conditions: Determine if you will stand and fight or flee.

  Rewards: Variable

  Accept?: Yes/No

  "Hold the line!" Briggs bellowed, stepping forward, his axe gleaming in the dim light. His voice cut through the chaos like steel on stone, forcing the Marines to rally even as the ravagers advanced, their claws clicking with a sound that made Kade’s stomach churn.

  Kade’s gaze darted to Lawson, who was already adjusting his grip on his pike pole, his eyes darting between the advancing creatures and the doorway where Naomi had disappeared.

  "We can’t let them escape," he said, his voice tight. "But if we run…"

  "We die," Kade finished grimly. "Stand and fight."

  Lawson nodded sharply, planting his feet as the creatures surged forward. She stepped forward, raising Tempest’s Edge as the blade shimmered with a faint metallic-blue sheen.

  "Marines! Show these lobsters what actual monsters look like!" Kade called.

  The words came instinctively, and as they rang out, she felt a hum of power ripple through her blade as she triggered Officer's Command. Officer’s Command took hold, and she saw the surrounding Marines straighten, their grips tightening on their weapons as renewed determination flashed in their eyes. The monsters wouldn’t care, but her people did, and that was enough.

  The Claws of Death, Fight!

  Quest Notification! The decision is made, there will be no retreat. With weapons in hand and resolve hardened, the only way forward is through the beasts. Their claws carve through stone, and their screeches echo like the cries of death itself, but the line must hold. Survival demands courage, cunning, and a will as unyielding as the ravagers' shells. The battle begins now.

  Difficulty: Hard

  Completion Conditions: Defeat all Shellback Ravagers

  Rewards: Experience, 300 Gold, One Armor Item, One Miscellaneous Magic Item

  The ravagers struck, claws slicing through the air like scythes. One of them lunged toward Briggs, its pincers snapping inches from his chest. Briggs didn’t flinch, sidestepping the strike and bringing his axe down in a brutal arc that smashed into the creature’s jointed claw. The blow cracked the chitin, and the ravager reeled, its movement jerky and uneven as it pulled back with a shrill screech.

  "Go for the joints!" Briggs shouted.

  Kade ducked under another claw, her cutlass flashing upward. The Gale Strike enchantment surged as her blade connected, the force of the blow driving the ravager back a step. Its legs scrambled for purchase on the blood-slick stone, giving her just enough time to pivot and slash at its exposed underbelly. The impact knocked the creature onto its side, but it twisted with alarming speed, forcing her to leap back.

  Lawson fought nearby, his pike pole a blur as he alternated between thrusting and swinging. He drove the blunt end into one ravager’s eye stalk, the creature jerking back in pain, its claws flailing wildly. He used the opening to reposition, his movements sharp and deliberate.

  One creature lunged toward Kai Maleko, its claws reaching for the Chief Gunner’s mate as he scrambled back. His hands fumbled for his sledgehammer, the weapon seeming almost comically small against the towering creature. But when the claw came down again, Kai stepped forward, gripping the hammer with white-knuckled determination. He was a master of naval artillery, but a hand-to-hand combatant he was not.

  "Not today, you bastard!" he shouted, bringing the hammer down with all his strength.

  The blow landed squarely on the ravager’s claw joint, cracking the hardened shell and sending the appendage flopping uselessly to the floor. The creature screeched, stumbling as it tried to retreat. Kai didn’t stop, swinging again and again until the ravager collapsed, its legs twitching.

  Kade caught a nearby Marine clapping Kai on the shoulder, the words "Not bad for a cannon jockey" carrying through the chaos.

  "Stick around," Kai replied. "You’ll see more."

  Kade thought it would have been more heroic if Kai hadn't puked all over the Marine's boots.

  Another ravager charged, its massive claw scything toward Lawson. Kade intercepted with her cutlass, slicing into its leg with a strike that pulsed with force. The blow staggered the creature, and Kade pressed the advantage, driving it back toward Briggs, who finished it with a brutal chop to its exposed underbelly.

  The Marines fought as a unit, each movement coordinated and purposeful. One ravager went down under a hail of axes and pike thrusts, its shell cracking as the Marines exploited every weak point. Another fell as Kade landed a critical hit, the Gale Strike enchantment disrupting its movements long enough for Kai to land a crushing hammer blow to its side.

  By the time the dust settled, five of the ravagers lay dead, their massive forms sprawled across the war room. The Marines, bloodied and bruised, regrouped quickly, their weapons still at the ready as the remaining creature circled, its claws clicking ominously. It was the largest of the six, the one Kade had analyzed as level five.

  "This isn’t over," she said. "Everyone stay sharp. It's the big boy."

  The ravager skittered backward toward the room it had come from before, emitting a high-pitched screech.

  The high-pitched screech pierced the air, reverberating off the stone walls of the war room and driving an icy chill through Kade’s veins. The remaining ravager skittered backward toward the darkened doorway, its claws snapping rhythmically as though beckoning something unseen.

  "Regroup!" Briggs bellowed.

  The Marines shifted instinctively into a defensive formation, their weapons readied despite the exhaustion etched across their faces.

  Beyond the doorway, in the shadows, came the sound of claws on stone. A dreadful, rhythmic cadence that grew louder with each passing moment. Then they emerged, one by one. Six more ravagers surged into the room, their massive forms bristling with menace. The light from the remaining lanterns glinted off their jagged shells, each movement a terrifying blend of speed and raw power.

  And then came the seventh.

  Smaller than the others, the bright blue ravager stepped into the light, its shell shimmering like the surface of an azure sea. It moved differently. More deliberately, almost calculating. Its dark, beady eyes taking in the room with unsettling focus. Kade’s gaze locked onto it immediately. Something about the creature felt wrong, out of sync with the others. It wasn’t just the size or the color. It was the way it stood apart, watching like it knew more than it should.

  "What the hell is that?" Lawson said.

  "Analyze it!" Kade snapped.

  [Analyze] Shellback Ravager | Level: 3 | Status: Hostile | Class: Beast

  [Analyze] Shellback Ravager | Level: 3 | Status: Hostile | Class: Beast

  [Analyze] Shellback Ravager | Level: 3 | Status: Hostile | Class: Beast

  [Analyze] Shellback Ravager | Level: 4 | Status: Hostile | Class: Beast

  [Analyze] Shellback Ravager | Level: 4 | Status: Hostile | Class: Beast

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  [Analyze] Shellback Ravager | Level: 4 | Status: Hostile | Class: Beast

  [Analyze] Shellback Ravager | Level: 5 | Status: Hostile | Class: Beast

  [Analyze] Shellback Ravager | Level: 4 Elite | Status: Hostile | Class: Tempest mage

  The room erupted into chaos as the ravagers charged. Before slamming her cutlass into the nearest enemy, Kade barely registered the simulation’s results. The blade shimmered, its Gale Strike enchantment flaring with each swing. The impact of her strike sent the ravager staggering, its claws scraping against the floor as it tried to recover. She pressed the attack, using the momentary advantage to drive it back into the path of another Marine’s axe.

  To her left, Lawson jabbed his pike pole into a charging ravager’s legs, the force of the blow sending it sprawling. He shifted his grip, spinning the weapon to bring the butt crashing down onto the creature’s head. It screeched, flailing as Briggs stepped in to deliver the killing blow with a single, decisive swing of his axe.

  "I'm not dying to an overgrown lobster!" Kai’s voice rang out from across the room.

  He swung his sledgehammer in a wide arc, the heavy weapon connecting with a ravager’s claw and sending cracks spider webbing through its shell. The creature hissed and pulled back from the fight, but Kai followed up with another swing, the hammer crashing down with a force that shattered its limb entirely.

  "You want more? Come and get it!" he shouted, sweat dripping down his face as he stood over the fallen beast.

  Kade’s gaze darted back to the blue ravager. It hadn’t moved far from the doorway, its claws clicking in a slow, deliberate rhythm. Her eyes narrowed as a cold realization settled over her. Tempest mage… what did that mean? She knew what the title implied some wizard and what that meant before the cataclysm, but what did it translate into now? Wizards were myths. Until Today. Tempest Mage? That couldn't mean… Oh no.

  "The blue one…" she began, her voice sharp as the words cut through the chaos. "That thing’s not like the others. It’s…"

  The blue ravager tilted its head, its claws spreading wide as if responding to some unseen force around it. Kade’s pulse quickened as the pieces clicked into place.

  "It’s a magic user!" she called, her voice urgent. "Focus on the blue one!"

  Her words hung in the air as the battle raged around them, the shimmering ravager standing as an ominous figure amid the carnage.

  The blue ravager reared back, its smaller claws clicking rhythmically as a crackling energy field formed around its shell. A translucent bubble of lightning expanded outward, shimmering with erratic flashes. The temperature in the room seemed to shift as the air grew charged, the hum of power pressing against Kade’s eardrums.

  "What in the…" Briggs began.

  The Tempest Mage's claws snapped together with a deafening crack, cutting the words short. A bolt of lightning arced from its claw, leaping between the Marines with a violent hiss. It struck Briggs first, his body jerking as the current coursed through him, then chained to the Marines nearest him, dropping three more like puppets with their strings cut.

  Kade winced as the bolt dissipated. The afterimage of blue-white energy seared into her vision. Briggs staggered but remained upright, though his breath came in ragged gasps. The others weren’t so lucky. One Marine lay sprawled on the ground, his body convulsing as he fought to regain control of his limbs. Another clutched his shoulder, his weapon clattering from his hand. The third screamed. A gut-wrenching, involuntary sound before going still.

  The ravagers wasted no time. One of the hulking beasts surged forward, picking up the downed Marine. Time seemed to stop for half a heartbeat, then the claws snapped shut. The man’s cry of terror echoed briefly before it was silenced, the creature tearing him apart with brutal efficiency.

  "No!" Kade shouted.

  "You all call me the eye of the storm! Now get up and show them I brought the furry of the storm with me!" she said, triggering her Officer's Command ability again.

  Briggs gritted his teeth and forced himself to his feet, his axe rising as another ravager lunged at him. He sidestepped the attack and brought the blade down in a vicious arc, severing one of the creature’s legs at the joint. The ravager shrieked, its body collapsing as another Marine drove a pike through its vulnerable underbelly.

  "Watch the claws!" Lawson called.

  Lawson spun his pike pole to slam the blunt end into the face of a ravager closing in on Kai Maleke. The creature reeled, its claws flailing, giving Kai enough time to heft his sledgehammer and deliver a devastating blow to the side of its shell. The impact shattered the chitin with a sickening crack, and the ravager crumpled, twitching.

  Kade turned her focus back to the Tempest Mage. It still stood near the doorway unmoving, its lightning shield still crackling as it clicked its claws again, summoning a gust of wind that swept through the room. The force of the gale sent smaller pieces of debris flying, knocking over Marines who were already struggling to stand. Kade braced herself, digging her boots into the blood-slick floor as she raised Tempest’s Edge.

  The blue ravager’s claws twitched again, another chain of lightning sparking to life. Kade darted forward, her cutlass humming with the force of its Gale Strike enchantment, but she wasn’t fast enough to reach it before the bolt leapt between two more Marines. Both went down hard, one crying out as the energy slammed him into the wall.

  "Damn it!" Kade hissed, her eyes locking on Lawson. "Lawson, the mage! We need to take it down!"

  Lawson’s jaw tightened as he raised his pike pole. From where Kade stood, she could see the tension in his shoulders. The exhaustion in his face hid behind raw determination.

  "On it!" he shouted, surging forward.

  The Tempest Mage pivoted to face him, the crackling shield flaring brighter, as if sensing the threat. Lawson didn’t falter. He ducked under a claw swipe from a nearby ravager, his pike pole spinning to deliver a crushing strike to its eye stalk. The creature screeched and collapsed as Lawson pressed forward, his gaze fixed on the blue one.

  The lightning shield sparked violently as Lawson thrust his pike forward, the tip of the weapon piercing the barrier. The crackling energy surged through him in an instant, his muscles seizing as pain tore through his body. His arms shook, but he didn’t let go. With a guttural roar, he drove the pike deeper, the weapon punching through the mage’s abdomen.

  The Tempest Mage screeched, the sound high and shrill, as its shield flickered and collapsed. Its legs flailed as it staggered back, but Lawson twisted the pike with a last burst of effort, pinning it to the floor. The blue ravager went still, its body convulsing once before falling limp.

  Lawson collapsed to one knee, his breath coming in ragged gasps as the residual electricity made his limbs tremble. Kade reached him a moment later, her hand gripping his shoulder.

  "Lawson. You good?"

  "Alive," he rasped, his voice hoarse. "That counts, right?"

  Before Kade could reply, Briggs’ axe came down on the final ravager, the blade cleaving through its shell with a wet crunch. The room went eerily silent save for the ragged breathing of the Marines.

  Kade rose to her feet, surveying the carnage. Motionless, the blue ravager lay, its shimmering shell dulled. The carnage scattered the others across the war room, broken and bloodied. The cost of their victory was visible on every battered, weary face in the room.

  The Marines had survived. Barely.

  The Claws of Death, Fight!

  Quest Completion! Congratulations, you have stood in the face of danger and come to the other side victorious. The cost was high, but any warrior would tell you it is better to stand and fight like lions instead of running and being cut down like sheep.

  Rewards: Experience Points, 250 Gold, Tempest Shoulder Guard, Seafarer's Ring

  The war room was silent now, save for the occasional groan of a wounded Marine and the scrape of boots against the blood-slicked stone as the survivors regrouped. ravager carcasses lay scattered, their shattered shells oozing foul-smelling ichor that pooled in jagged cracks on the floor. Kade sheathed Tempest’s Edge with more force than necessary, the metallic whisper of the blade sliding into its scabbard sharp against the oppressive quiet.

  "Get the wounded sorted and moving," Briggs said, already hoisting one of the more seriously injured Marines into a sitting position. "We’re done here."

  Kade’s jaw tightened. Done here. With nothing to show for it. She turned her gaze toward the door Naomi had disappeared through. The image of the pirate captain's smug grin seared into her mind. With the map's disappearance, any chance of gaining leverage in this bizarre, hostile world vanished. The bitter tang of failure sat heavy on her tongue. She exhaled through her nose, pushing back the urge to kick over the nearest piece of debris.

  "Lawson," she snapped, "how’s it looking?"

  Lawson straightened from where he was helping a limping Marine to his feet, his pike pole still gripped in his other hand.

  "Four dead, four injured bad enough they’ll need help to get back. The rest are all walking wounded," Lawson said.

  Kade’s lips pressed into a thin line.

  "We move now. The Talon’s close enough, but we don’t take any chances."

  "Aye, ma’am," Briggs said, "We’ll make it."

  A few of the Marines exchanged looks, weary but resolute. Kade noticed Lawson glancing down at the blood-smeared pike in his hand, his expression distant. She crossed to him, her boots splashing through a patch of ichor, and gave his shoulder a firm squeeze.

  "You did good, Lawson," she said. "Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise."

  "Thank you, ma’am."

  "You earned it," she added, her voice softening just enough. "But we’re not done yet."

  Behind her, Briggs barked a short laugh.

  "Hell of a job out there, sir. We were on the ropes until you took out that little blue wanker. True hardcore, Sir."

  A faint smile tugged at the corner of Lawson’s mouth. One of the other Marines clapped him on the back, muttering something Kade couldn’t catch. For a moment, it was as if the weight of the room fight lessened, if only slightly. But Kade knew better than to let herself feel it.

  "We carry the wounded. No one gets left behind. If someone’s dragging, you help them. We make it back together or not at all." Kade said. Her voice carried the tone of finality, silencing any lingering doubts.

  Briggs nodded, already securing a makeshift sling for a Marine whose arm hung limp at his side. Another Marine fashioned a stretcher out of what remained of a broken table, the edges hastily lashed together with scraps of fabric.

  As they moved out of the room, the smell of burned flesh and scorched stone clung to them like a second skin. The corridors of the fort felt narrower on the way back, the oppressive quiet amplifying every sound. The scuff of boots, the faint creak of the makeshift stretcher under its burden, the quiet comments of encouragement passed between Marines as they navigated the debris-strewn halls.

  Kade walked near the front, her eyes scanning every shadow for signs of danger. Each step felt heavier, the burden of command pressing down harder than any physical exhaustion. They’d made it through the fight, but the cost gnawed at her. A lost map, a dead Marines, and a lesson learned the hard way about the dangers of this world.

  Briggs moved beside her, his axe still in hand, his posture unyielding despite the bruises forming to darkening his face.

  "We’ll make it," he said, as if sensing her thoughts.

  "Better," Kade replied, "because if we don’t, that map won’t be the only thing Naomi gets away with."

  Briggs nodded once, the ghost of a smirk crossing his face. "Fair enough."

  The light from the building’s crumbling entrance finally appeared ahead, casting long shadows as the group emerged into the open air. The sight of the Horizon Talon anchored in the distance was a welcome one, even to Kade’s critical eyes. For the first time in what felt like hours, the tension in her chest eased just a fraction.

  The trek back to the ship was slow but steady, with every step closer to safety. They hadn’t won today, not by a long shot, but they’d survived. And as Kade glanced at Lawson, his pike resting against his shoulder as he helped guide the stretcher forward, she couldn’t help but think that maybe surviving was enough for now.

  The Grand Crusade, on Royal Road. It follows a different cast of characters with their own struggles adapting to the Simulation.

  You can also find deep lore and early chapters for both Tides of Ruin and The Grand Crusade on Patreon.