Drackonack in the Details

     No one could say for sure exactly what the cause was, but it was something huge. Half-bitten produce littered the fields afterwards, and Meridellian farmers stood dumbfounded at the large, clawed prints scattered in the dirt. An Ixi farmer threw her hat down in disgust and stomped on it. "Another crop ruined! What are we supposed to do for this year's harvest?"

     A Techo peasant warily observed the saliva coating a half-eaten carrot. "I don't think this is something we can fix ourselves. Best ask the King to get a professional involved." She shaded her eyes and looked to the horizon, hoping that whatever hero showed up was willing to handle their very large problem without being eaten.

     ******

     Snick! Snack! The blade swept through one Skeleton Guard after another, dissolving them to evaporating dust as a warrior deftly maneuvered their blade with the skill of a dancer. Swiveling her large ears around to hear behind her, Koya the Korbat Huntress evaded another hit and swung her sword directly into the offender. She had just finished defending the outskirts of Meridell from yet another monster outbreak and had already sheathed her sword, which she named The Echo, into its jeweled scabbard as she wiped sweat from her white-furred brow.

     Koya had barely sat down when a Draik farmer approached her in a flurry.

     "I-it's another monster! On the east fields of Meridell - something huge! All the farmers crops are done for the season, we'll go hungry without them!"

     Koya couldn't help but smile to herself. A hero's work was never done.

     "Show me," was all she said.

     ******

     It was nighttime, and the pale moon and sparkling stars were the only company Koya had as she held her stakeout in the middle of an abandoned Meridell field. She sat on a stump amid the upturned rows of soil, the damp smell of earth permeating the air, as she sharpened The Echo with a whetstone. Being no stranger to fire-breathing monsters, Koya felt completely in control. She was to wait here until sign of the monster showed itself, then track it down and destroy it, as she had done many times before. Being a Korbat, she had excellent nighttime vision and was well-suited to nocturnal pursuits, even welcoming the oncoming challenge.

     It wasn't long before a rumble broke the quiet midnight air. Koya's tall ears pivoted to the source of the noise, just over the nearby hill, as she waited, her wings folded out of the way to prepare for battle.

     Very suddenly, the noise was all around her, and under her, as the soft earth broke open. In the flurries of thrown earth, Koya suddenly couldn't see anything. Soil, stone, dirt, roots, tumbled all around her as she tried to gain footing and strike at the beast. She caught only glimpses - raking claws, scaly hide, razor spikes. She struck at something and hit a boulder in the dirt. Soil was in her eyes, ears, closing off all her senses. There were growls and massive up-turnings of earth. As if underwater, Koya couldn't tell which side was up as she grappled with the monster. She thought she got a few hits in, but was unsure and struggled to get her feet under her.

     The deep rumbles continued and earth shook all around, and by the time the Korbat Huntress could stand up again, she was alone, and underground. She had fallen into the deep earthen tunnels of the monster. Wiping soil from her eyes, Koya could see that the tunnel continued into a vast darkness that even her vision couldn't penetrate. Sheathing her sword, there was only one thing to do now - track the beast.

     ******

     Koya had been walking for a while and began to lose sense of time - was it still nighttime, was it daylight? Was it the same day? It was hard to tell being surrounded by the earth. She kept one hand on the side wall to not lose her sense of balance. She crouched down to inspect the sides of the tunnel. There were deep claw marks, and lots of them, in the packed earth. This wasn't made by one monster, but possibly by many, and over a long period of time. This tunnel was not new. Her pointed tail thrashed with concern as she continued on, one hand on the The Echo.

     Koya could tell by the deepening echoes that she was about to enter a larger hollowed out area, and she sensed the monster was near. Brandishing her sword, she approached with caution. Suddenly, it was on her. She lashed out and struck a hardened, scaly hide, yet, she still couldn't get a good look at the thing. Blade countered claws, until the massive thing moved past her in the tunnel. Koya saw purple hide, razor sharp spikes, glistening teeth. Then, she recognized it, from her forays into the Darigan Citadel - it was a Drackonack! This was no ordinary Petpet, though - it was absolutely massive, big enough to ride on. Even at their normal size, Drackonacks were nothing to sneeze at, snarling hurricanes of teeth and claws. How did this one get so big?

     And then it was gone, burrowing through the tunnels with indescribable speed. Koya had to stop to catch her breath, scared that she was caught so suddenly by surprise. A massive Drackonack, that was what was harassing the farmers, destroying their fields, eating their crops. As she crouched down, her eyes caught something white in the darkness. Old, broken eggshells.

     ******

     It was daylight by the time Koya climbed out, dirt in every pocket of her clothing, in her scabbard and boots, in her ears. She must have looked mad to the Ixi farmer when she suddenly popped out of the earth, sat down, and poured the dirt out of one boot.

     The farmer, mildly alarmed, put down their rake for a moment. "C-can I help you? Aren't you that Korbat Huntress supposed to be helping us?"

     "You there! How long has this field been plowed by farmers? Is it new?"

     Slightly afraid, the Ixi grabbed for the rake again. "I don't understand."

     Koya shook the innocent farmer. "Has this field always been planted by the farmers? Or did they just start tilling it recently?"

     "W-well, let me think... This is an expansion of the previous agricultural plots. We started tilling these fields recently. Back in the day, no one would farm this area. Us Meridellians saw the land wasn't being used, so we put some plots down."

     The Korbat was already off by the time the farmer had finished, leaving the Ixi confused.

     Koya knew she had to let the farmers know - there was something strange going on here. She pulled the white fragments from her pocket, sure that these were eggshells, and turned them over in her hand. Ancient tunnels, giant Drackonacks, eggs, new fields. She wasn't one used to figuring out riddles. Unfortunately, this was not a problem to be solved with swinging a sword.

     ******

     Returning to the planter's fields in daylight with sword sheathed, several Meridellians approached her waiting for news.

     "Is the beast slain?"

     "Is the monster vanquished?"

     "Did you destroy it?"

     Koya sighed. "I think this is a different kind of problem, friends." The farmers looked at each other in confusion, but Koya continued giving them guidance, instructing them where to plant and where to avoid. It took a lot of planning, but the farmers arrived at a new map of the area, avoiding planting in a wide berth around the center, and leaving corridors of intact dirt from the forest edge. They didn't fully understand, but trusted the Korbat's guidance.

     Several nights later, the Meridellians had solved the problem with their neighbor. The giant Drackonack used one part of the field for digging and burrowing, and the farmers respectfully planted around it. Ancient burrowing grounds, as Koya later found out after checking the records at Brightvale Library. Drackonacks have used this land for years, digging tunnels underground to hibernate and lay eggs. Turns out Neopets were the intruders.

     One night while Koya supervised the newly founded compromise, she saw again the giant Drackonack, rumbling as it burrowed through the soil. Cautious, she approached it with respect. Huge and heaving, the purple Petpet was all teeth, claws, and spikes. It was marvelous under the moonlight, purple and black scales reflecting the twinkling stars. Koya put a hand on its rough hide.

     "Sorry for how I acted before..." She hesitated, not knowing how to make this Petpet understand.

     The Drackonack seemed not to notice, and continued snuffling in the soil. Content with this, Koya returned to her watching post on a stump, grateful to have come to a kind of understanding with the local wildlife. No further incidents had occurred - the farmers had their space, and the Drackonack had its burrows.

     Squealing and snarling filled the quiet air, startling Koya out of her thoughts. Through the shadows came running many small Drackonacks, purple and black, watched warily by the large one. These were its...babies? Oh, of course, Koya thought. The eggshells. The Drackonacks must lay their eggs in the tunnels as well. As the realization dawned on her, one of the Drackonacks approached her, licking and nipping at her boots, and she picked it up without hesitating.

     "Want to go on an adventure?"

     The End.