Hello everyone. Been awhile, hasn't it? :)

Here's the newest Darkspiral chapter. Comments and the like, as always, are welcomed.

Man, Monster, or Both?

A wise man once said, "Life finds a way." Even in the most extreme conditions, under the most trying of circumstances, life flows past the limitations set by its environment. It breaks the barriers that struggle to keep it from flourishing and carves channels where none existed before, much like a raging flood that refuses to stop for any piddling obstacles that are unfortunate enough to be in it's path. Despite the best efforts of nature and fate, life finds a way.

The obstacles to life were never more extreme than they were in the Nuian Wasteland. A broiling pit of desolation by day and a freezing, empty hell by night, the limitations set by the environment were anything but piddling here. The Wasteland combined the very worst aspects of a desert; lack of water and very little protection from the twin temperature extremes that blasted the land, with the bleak, barren ugliness of ground zero at an atomic explosion, minus the radiation. If there was anyplace that life would fail to find a way to expand and flourish, it was here.

Amazingly enough, life existed anyway. The areas of the Wasteland that were more rock than sand boasted surprising numbers of both giant scorpions and various species of lizards. The latter ranged in size from no larger than an adult human's hand, to imposing beasts that weighed over 300 pounds and stretched out, from nose to tail, an average of 6 feet. These grand specimens were seen only in the early mornings, when the sun had just started to rise and warm up the reptiles' cold bodies, but before the baking heat sent them, and everything else that lived in the Wasteland, scurrying into the rock formations to sleep away the day.

But at night it was the former, the giant scorpions, which ruled the Wasteland. With piercing stingers, crushing claws, and often-deadly poison, the three main scorpion species that lived in the Wasteland were the premiere hunters of all the predators that shared the Wasteland. The species that lived among the rocks were the smallest of all the Wasteland's scorpions. Even these "smaller" scorpions could weigh up to 25 pounds, but when compared to their sand-dwelling cousins, or to the scorpions that lived near the edge of the Wasteland, where water was more plentiful, they were diminutive at best. The second largest of the three main scorpion breeds lived in the sandy expanses that comprised most of the Wasteland. These were the creatures that inspired the popular image of the giant scorpion that the Dusk Tribes held. Most were camouflaged to blend in with the sand, though variations of the normal color weren't unheard of. The adults weighed an average of 100 pounds and sported tough armor that withstood the points of the bone spears that the Dusk Tribes carried. Steel-tipped spears more easily penetrated the hides of the sand scorpions, and it was for this reason that steel hunting spears were greatly prized in the Three Tribes of the Dusk. For not only were the Sand Scorpions the nomads' chief adversary for control of the Wasteland, they and their smaller rock-dwelling cousins were also the nomads' chief source of meat.

Very rarely did the nomads encounter the truly immense scorpions, called simply Plains Scorpions, which claimed the outer edges of the Wasteland as their territory. Bands that traveled to the wetlands (as the nomads referred to the cities and villages which border the Wasteland) occasionally came back with tales of monstrous scorpions that moved nearly as quickly as the Rock Scorpions, but outweighed the sand scorpions by a hundred pounds. The members of a hunting party that encountered such a beast, and were able to kill it and bring back its armor as proof, were accorded a great deal of honor as hunters and warriors. A single nomad that was able to perform such a deed, though no such nomad existed in any of the tales told by Olodumare's priests, would have been looked upon with awe.

John mulled these thoughts over in his mind as he picked his way over the rocks. Only a few days after his warning to Shara and Mitail about his vision of hordes of inhuman monsters at war with the Tribes, he had been sent out with a hunting party to gather meat. He would have greatly preferred to have stayed at the ruins and take part in the war council, but both Ghoryad and Shara herself had been quick to remind John of his own earlier words to them: he was not a warrior, and war was a warrior's business. So, with only minor grumbling, John had packed up what things he needed for the trip and left with other selected nomads to hunt down and kill the scorpions that supplied the Tribes with meat.

Up until now, John had never seen any of the giant scorpions that the nomads dealt with on a regular basis. Whether through providence or sheer luck, he had managed to steer clear of the Sand Scorpions prior to his initial meeting with the nomads. Most of the trip immediately after that meeting he had been blindfolded and in wolf form, so even if the nomads had seen any of the arachnids, John had missed them. He found himself to be a bit curious as to just what a scorpion that weighed over a hundred pounds would look like. He had seen plenty of scorpions in the plains and forests of his native world, but they were all small enough to fit in his palm. He had tried and failed on many occasions to take the image of the tiny creatures he knew and imagine them the size of a large dog.

The group of four nomads and John had traveled north a day's (or rather, a night's since the nomads lived a nocturnal lifestyle) walk from Duskca's ruins. During that time John had been taught about the giant scorpions. One of the nomads, Chald, had also been part of the hunting party that John had originally encountered four days east of the ruined city. He had also been the one that argued most passionately for John's death, fearing that the shaman was in fact a demon that would harm his people. When John had recognized the man he had inwardly groaned, certain that the nomad's suspicions would make the trip less than pleasant. As it had turned out, however, Chald had accepted John as an ally if not a friend. Word of John's assistance with the sand demon and his efforts to heal Mitail had spread throughout the Camps and John had become something of a local celebrity.

The other three nomads were tight-lipped. John may have won Chald's acceptance, but Chald and Shara were both of the Sandstone Clan, and furthermore, were actual cousins. The others had no blood relative's gratitude affecting their opinions, and it was clear that they still considered John an outsider first, and an ally second.

Skaht, the leader of the party, was a Warder of the Chela Clan. He was tall for one of the Duskcan nomads, but John still topped him by 6 inches. The other two, Linsee and Shahri, were both women. Shahri was of Clan Sandstone, like Chald and Shara, and like both of her Clanmates, she was a Warder. Linsee was a Striker of Clan Maurus. Chald explained to John that the Maurus were very small in number, but highly respected by all the other Clans. It was told in the legends held by the Duskcan priests of the Sun-god Olodumare that Maurus was the only Clan that had escaped the destruction of the city of Duskca, and had fled into the Wasteland. They were the First Clan, and all the other Clans descended from them in one way or another. All three nomads shared the bronzed skin and dark hair that was universal in the Dusk Tribes.

Skaht nodded to Linsee as she pointed out a low shadow that scuttled across the boulders. He motioned for Chald, Shahri, and John to fan out. The Dusk Tribes had been hunting the Rock Scorpions for centuries, and the Chela Clan had perfected the technique in their territory in the rocky northern Wasteland. Skaht had briefly sketched out a common practice the Chela used to drive Rock Scorpions to the others. Linsee, as the group's Striker, would locate a scorpion and then draw its attention to her. As she was obviously larger than they were, most scorpions would try to evade her among the large boulders that lay in the rock fields. Chald, Shahri, and John would position themselves so that when the scorpion ran, it would run directly into one of them, trapping the animal between Linsee and the other. Then the other three would converge and help kill the scorpion.

John had raised his hand at this point. "What do we do if the scorpion Linsee finds is in a bad mood and decides attack, or simply doesn't run but takes up a defensive posture instead?"

Skaht had looked at John in a manner that was neither friendly nor antagonistic. "If that should happen, then she will call out to let us know, and it will then be our job to converge to where she is and distract the scorpion. Our purpose, regardless of the scorpion's initial reaction, is to confuse it so that we have less risk of being struck with the beast's poison stinger."

He had then passed out the short clubs that Clan Chela used in their scorpion hunts. Their use was not hard to realize. Chald had already told John of the difficulty bone spears had in penetrating a scorpion's carapace, and the rock dwelling scorpions moved though the rocks to quickly for accurate spear casts. Therefore, the Chela had devised this technique to corner one of the animals, then use the clubs to crack the carapace. Once this was done, the clubs were switched with spears to attack the scorpion through the weakened armor, and finish the kill.

Linsee waited for the others to get into position, then moved forward, deliberately making enough noise for the Rock Scorpion to hear her. The animal immediately turned and shot into the cover of the larger rocks. Shahri and Chald both stepped out of rocks, and the scorpion froze. It's tail came up, the deadly stinger poised over the main body of the scorpion, and the pair of crushing claws opened up in a threatening stance. Linsee came up behind the animal and swatted the stinger with her club in a daring move. When the scorpion turned to face this attack, Chald struck a ringing blow on the animal's left claw, avoiding the beast's reprisal with its stinger.

Skaht and John charged their prey then, further confusing and panicking the scorpion. It swerved from side to side, trying to keep all of its attackers in sight at once. Shahri darted in; daring the scorpions claws, and cracked the stinger itself a strong blow. The scorpion made a keening noise, presumably of pain, and slammed into her legs, sending the Sandstone Warder to the ground. John's heart skipped a beat as the stinger raised to strike at Shahri's prone form, but Skaht had already moved. He leaped at the scorpion's tail, wrapped his arms around it from behind, and leaned back. The weight of the nomad's body was far greater than the scorpion could move with its tail, and suddenly the scorpion found itself pinned, with the strongest of its natural weaponry held immobile. The 3 nomads and John moved in for the kill, cracking the creature's carapace open and then quickly finishing the scorpion off with their spears.

John stood over the quiet body of the scorpion with the others, breathing heavily as a reaction to the excitement of the kill. The sensation sparked something in John's breast. It went beyond the simple thrill of the hunt. It was older than that. He pushed the feeling aside, shaking his head as if to clear it. In the pre-dawn darkness, the motion went unnoticed.

The nomads spent only a moment collecting their thoughts before they went about the business of cleaning the kill. Skaht used a combination of his club to break open the carapace of the tail, then a sharp blade to cut off the stinger and the accompanying poison sac, which he carefully set aside. Linsee assisted Chald in eviscerating the carcass, storing the internal organs in specially prepared bags that preserved them. Shahri walked John through the process of removing the carapace from the scorpion's body. As they were doing that, Skaht began collecting the body fluids of the scorpion; carefully draining them into watertight containers that had been brought for just this purpose. It was ironic, John thought, that the inhabitants of the Wasteland let nothing go to waste.

In less than 30 minutes, the scorpion's remains were ready for transport back to the main camp at Duskca. John noted some interesting differences in this massive scorpion from the ones he had seen on his homeworld. Though he was hardly an expert on arachnid physiology, John did know a few things. The one thing that had always impressed him was that arachnids didn't have lungs, just like the insects that were often their prey. The lack of lungs was the main factor in their small size.

This scorpion definitely had lungs.

The five of them divided the meat, fluids, and organs among them and began the short trek back to their temporary camp at the edge of the rock field. The nomads were, justifiably by John's reckoning, flushed with the ease and success of their hunt, and began talking amongst themselves in a more animated fashion than John had seen before. The time seemed good to ask a few questions.

"Skaht?"

The nomad stopped and turned to look at him. John was gratified to see that his expression was noticeably more friendly. "Yes, John Darkspiral?"

"You can all really call me John. Using both names like that would be like me always calling you 'Skaht of Chela.'"

Skaht's look of realization was mirrored in the faces of the others. "That would sound very awkward."

John laughed. "It does."

Skaht smiled back. "Very well then. What was it you wanted to know John?"

John moved up to walk alongside the Warder. The other nomads agreeably moved aside to let him join the group. "I was curious about how you use the scorpion's body fluids."

The nomad smiled. "It is a common question asked by wetlanders."

Shahri looked at the hunt leader in surprise. "You have spoken with other wetlanders before?"

Skaht nodded. "Yes. Several years ago I visited a man who was once of the Chela, but had married a Whitesand woman and had moved to the eastern sands to be with her. His name was Jahk."

Chald's brow furrowed in confusion. "Why did he do that?"

"She had been married before, but her husband had been killed in a hunt. Jahk left the Chela Clan and became Whitesand so that she would not have to move her children across the Wasteland."

Chald's look of confusion was replaced by one of respect. "Your former Clansman showed honor."

Skaht nodded his head. "I have always thought so. While visiting him I accompanied him on a trading journey to Ghoryad. But, we have digressed from John's question." He looked at John. "We will use the water of the scorpion's body as drinking water."

John was surprised, and was certain his face showed it. "Is that safe?"

All of the nomads laughed. "The Dusk Tribes have been doing it for centuries John."

John felt a blush creep across his face, but had to laugh along with the nomads. "A silly question, I guess."

Skaht slapped John on the shoulder good-naturedly. " A priest of Holy Olodumare once told me that no question is silly if the person asking doesn't know the answer. Besides, in truth, the scorpion's fluids must first be purified through Olodumare's power. Until we should drink of them only in a true emergency."

John laughed. "Your priest would have gotten along well with my teacher in the spirit ways."

John and the nomads continued to ask questions of each other as they walked back to their camp. They all had questions about the Wolf Medicine, which John did his best to answer. They in turn answered as many of his questions about the Dusk Tribes as they felt comfortable with.

By the time the hunting party arrived at the their camp, the sun was already peeking over the horizon. John and the others settled down beneath their tents and fell asleep. Or tried to. The nomads were all used to sleeping during the daytime to avoid the stifling heat, and minimize their energy expenditure. John on the other hand was used to sleeping at night. Eventually he managed to drift off, but it was a lighter sleep than he would have cared for.

Once the sun set and the Wasteland began to cool off, the five of them broke camp and proceeded to make the nightlong trek back to the ruins. Skaht and Chald were quick to caution John of the dangers that this night could bring. With the fresh meat and fluids of the Rock Scorpion with them, the party made a tempting target for the larger Sand Scorpions.

Linsee was sent behind the party. As the Striker, it was now her job to scout for sign of a scorpion following their trail, and give the rest of the party enough warning to prepare. John and Chald were both positioned at a distance to the side of Shahri and Skaht, who stayed at an equal distance to the others. The loads were redistributed; Skaht and Shahri carrying more that John, Chald, or Linsee did. This allowed the three of them to move quicker and more quietly, though it meant that the group as a whole had to move slower, so that Shahri and Skaht did not tire out. They sacrificed speed for the mobility of the guards.

John let his eyes play over the sands. The power of the Wolf Medicine strengthened his human senses to a small degree, so the star-lit night jumped out at him with clarity unknown to most humans. The lack of industrial pollution in the air didn't hurt either. John honestly didn't think a scorpion would attack from the side. The most likely place for a scorpion to approach from would be the rear. Obviously the others thought along the same lines since Linsee, the only trained tracker of the group, was covering the back.

The group walked in silence for several hours. The sounds of feet shuffling across the sands lulled John into a sense of peace. Despite his night-vision, Skaht and Shahri were far enough away that he could only barely make them out. Chald and Linsee were out of sight altogether. He amused himself by matching up the sounds of footsteps to the person that made them. Linsee's footsteps were very quiet. If his hearing hadn't been as good as it was, John doubted he'd be able to hear her at all. She had an even stride, each step coming down squarely on the balls of her feet. Skaht and Shahri, with the extra weight they were carrying, both had heavier strides. Chald's footsteps, far out to John's right, were almost careless. John smiled at the mental image of the Warder he constructed. Chald would be so carefully watching the darkness, trying to see even the faintest of movements that might indicate a scorpion, so that he watched his feet only enough to make sure he didn't stumble.

John smiled at that, but an odd noise behind and to his left pulled his attention away from the sounds of his companion's footsteps. It sounded like a stick would if it was stuck into the sand and drug along behind the person holding it.

"John?" Skaht's voice came out of the night to his right. "Why have you stopped?"

John cocked his head to try and catch any more of the noise. "I thought I heard something."

There was a muttered curse from Shahri. "I had hoped the end of the hunt would be as uneventful as the kill."

Skaht harshly called out to Linsee. "Linsee. John heard something. Have you?""

"Yes. But I was unsure what it was, so I waited."

"We will wait in a group. Chald! Regroup."

Chald's footsteps grew louder as he approached. "I am here, Skaht."

As Linsee approached, John heard it again. All the nomads froze; clearly they had heard it as well. John went cold, as the sound grew more defined. Now it sounded more like several sticks being stuck into the sand and drug along, over and over again. It grew louder, and John no longer had any doubts that it was a scorpion.

All five of the party tightened their grips on the spears. John leaned over to Shahri, who hovered on his left. "How big are the Sand Scorpions again?"

She whispered harshly into his ear. "When they raise their tails the stinger is taller than even you. The biggest Rock Scorpion I have ever heard of reached a man's knees, but the average Sand Scorpion will reach a man's waist."

John twisted the spear in his hands. "Terrific."

The scuttling sound stopped for a moment. John almost felt the scorpion getting ready to jump out of the dark at them. And then, just like that, the scorpion did just that.

It stood as high as John's chest. The stinger, as large around as his own head, rose up on the tail a full 9 feet. The nomads all reacted with shock equal to John's own. They all scattered as the monster charged them.

"It is a Plains Scorpion!" Skaht shouted out. "What in Olodumare's name is it doing this far into the Wasteland?"

"We can ask it later!" John shouted back. "How do we fight it?"

"FIGHT it?" Chald spat, throwing himself out of the way of a claw as long as his own arm. "The Scorpions of the Plains are the one thing Warders are taught to run from John!"

John cursed aloud. "Now he tells me."

There was a thump to the sands. John spun around to see the meat-pack that Skaht carried on the ground. "Abandon the kill! We cannot fight a Plains Scorpion with only 5 of us!"

Abruptly the feeling John had shook off the previous night surged back. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"We must abandon the kill!"

Three other packs hit the sand close to the scorpion as the nomads threw their portion of the meat at their attacker. John stared at the giant arachnid as it stopped advancing and picked at one of the packs with a claw. John felt the feeling pound at his breast from the inside and his lips curled back from his teeth in a snarl. "Not a chance."

Skaht spun in place to stare at John. "What!?"

"I am not abandoning my kill!"

Chald ran up to John. "Do not be a fool John! The kill is not more important than our lives!"

"No." John stared back at Chald. "The pack...the camp...needs the meat. I won't let that overgrown bug have it!"

Chald moved forward again, his eyes moving left to glare at the scorpion, who had begun to rip open the meat pack in it's claw. "John," he began. When he turned his back to John, Chald choked off what he was going to say. John's eyes had turned yellow, and were reflecting the starlight back at Chald.

"Take the others and stand away." John's voice was much deeper than normal. Chald backed away as John reached within and unleashed the beast.

His body swelled upward until his massive lupine head was even with the Plains Scorpion's stinger. A great roar erupted from John's muzzle, drawing the scorpion's attention away from the meat and to him. John charged the scorpion, which raised its claws up to fend him off.

John slipped under the claws and fastened his own directly onto the animal's carapace. He flexed his fingers, driving them deep into the exoskeleton and into the flesh beneath it. The scorpion screamed in surprise and pain, whipping its claws around. One glanced off of John's shoulder, slamming him up against the scorpion. He pulled, and handfuls of scorpion carapace and meat came off in his hands. The keening of the scorpion became much louder, and John saw the tail raise up in preparation to strike.

Before the stinger could lash down at him, John leaped up onto the scorpion's body. His sudden weight drove the scorpion to the ground, and spoiled its aim. The stinger slammed into the ground harmlessly. John snarled, and wrapped his hands around the scorpion's tail. Steadying it, he leaned forward and clamped his fangs into the tail. Ignoring the screams and thrashing of the scorpion beneath him, John opened his maw and bit down again, even deeper. He wrenched at the tail, eliciting even more severe thrashing and cries of agony from his victim. He pulled at the tail again, and with a wet sound the tail parted ways at the bite point.

The scorpion went into massive convulsions. Without the tail to brace himself on, John was thrown clear and landed heavily on the sand. The breath exploded from his lungs from the unexpected impact, and the scorpion charged at his stunned form. John looked up just in time to see one of the huge pinchers come down, and clamp down on his head. He grasped at either side of the claw, his talons ripping furrows into the carapace. The scorpion only clamped down on his head tighter, trying to pull him up and shake him.

Suddenly the scorpion let go and reared back, screaming in renewed pain. John lunged forward, ripping at the less protected belly of the scorpion. The scorpion came back down, pushing him back down to the ground, but John ignored the weight. With claws and fangs he ripped and tore at the scorpion's underside until he felt a gust of air as he ripped open the scorpion's lungs.

The scorpion collapsed on top of John. John snarled at the dead body, then pushed all 200 pounds of it off of him with little effort. He closed his eyes, letting his body relax. When he opened them again he saw the nomads standing together in front of him. Reaching within, he found the man. As his body shrunk he saw a certain tension leave them, and Chald stepped forward.

"Are you all right John?"

John nodded. "Yeah. I am." He turned his head to look at the scorpion's body, and saw one of the hunting spears sticking out of the stub John had left of the arachnid's tail. He laughed. "So that's why the damn thing let go." He looked back at the nomads. "Whose spear?"

Linsee stepped forward. "Mine. I saw an opportunity." She smiled a little. "Strikers are taught to take any advantage they can. Only Warders are taught that the frontal attack is the only worthy attack."

With a crack that was almost audible, the remaining tension cracked. John lay back down into the sand and began to laugh. Linsee followed him, and after a moment Chald, Skaht and Shahri did as well.

Then they began the laborious process of cleaning the Plains Scorpion's body. There was no way they could transport as much meat as the massive arachnid offered, but they would take as much as they could.