"Friendly incoming, do not freak out," I growled, realizing who the beast was. I motioned for Matt to take the ends of the stretcher, which he did.

"What now?" asked David, but I ignored him.

"Dad, you'll get to meet Grizzle," I said, putting myself between the group and the approaching predator.

He remained hidden for several seconds, but I just stared at his location, waiting.

"You can come out, no one here will attack," I yelled over the wind. "You are welcome, Grizzle."

The Spinosaur dropped Hidden Presence.

"Alpha," it growled. Its head lowered slightly.

Gasps came from David and Matt.

"How can I help you?" I asked, stepping closer. My hands away from my weapons. I let my sincerity show.

"Storm, bad, seek shelter." Its head pointed to the east, in the direction that the thunder came from. "I go lake, but Alpha territory."

It took a few moments to realize what he needed, and why he'd approached. The long way around would take longer, and he must know more about the incoming storm. If he was worried, we all needed to hurry.

"You can travel with us if you'd like, and then shelter in the lake." I started marching in the direction of the settlement. The others eventually started walking, keeping me in between them and the dino.

"That's a Spinosaurus…" mumbled David.

"He is. He hunts the outer regions of my territory. If you do not attack him, he won't attack you."

"Who'd attack him? Look at him!"

I felt Grizzle's pride at David's words. "Grizzle is working on the same set of quests that we are, to become a citizen. There is also a velociraptor at the settlement, Dengu bonded to a local friend."

David went quiet at that.

This time, it was Len who spoke up, "I mean, he talked. That dinosaur spoke…"

"Yep, it's part of their quest. Like, we need to craft things and do dungeons? They learn to speak."

Grizzle stomped slowly beside us, keeping me in sight, but I could tell he listened to how we spoke.

I caught Grizzle's attention and motioned for my Dad to come closer. "Grizzle, this is my father. Dad, this is Grizzle."

My father nodded at the dinosaur. "Nice to meet a fellow warrior."

Grizzle nodded as well, but didn't speak, just eyed my father warily, even though he was almost twice my father's level.

The fence came into view in the distance.

"You guys can go in this entrance, I'll walk around with Grizzle to the lake."

Thunder crashed even closer than before, and my attention snapped to the sky. Dark clouds rolled closer like a wave, as another gust of wind blew through the trees.

I sped up, heading around the fence, and Grizzle matched my pace. I kept myself in between the fence and the dinosaur, keeping an eye out for the patrol.

Mary and Jas caught sight of me, then the dino. Neither one moved as we stomped past.

I waved at them. "This is Grizzle, he is the Spino I spoke about last night."

Mary broke out laughing and waved back.

"They'll get used to you," I said to Grizzle. "I want you to feel welcome."

"You welcome me, here?" he asked.

"Of course. You are providing an important service on my border."

"Me hunt, grow."

"Yes, but you're also keeping higher-leveled creatures away from those who aren't that level yet. I appreciate it." I tried to explain it, but felt like I wasn't doing a great job. When Benny had commented on how big the circle of fencing was, I didn't really understand. Now I did. This settlement might be huge, unless we kept our fields inside the fence.

To my surprise, as we circled the fence, two beings stood near the lakeshore.

Abby waved at me from the shore, while Nessetra floated in the water.

Grizzle marched to the water, slowly sinking in as he headed deeper, before vanishing under the surface.

"A storm brews little Devourer, prepare your people," said Nessetra, before following Grizzle to the deep.

Abby stood, watching her go. "Now that is a grandma."

"That's what I thought," I said. "We have three more people from the colony. Len's hurt, but Sang should be able to fix him up."

Abby's head snapped to me, then she relaxed as I finished my statement. "Nessetra warned me of the storm. I came down to grab some rocks for a better firepit inside, and then, poof, she was there."

"I think we all need to be prepared to stick to the cavern for a while," I said. "Though, I'm not sure what we're going to do about the holes in the fencing."

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Waves rippled across the surface of the lake from the wind, and I turned to the path. "You coming?"

Abby nodded, and we both hurried to the large opening.

By the time we made it to where the campfire sat, people gathered around the entrance to the cavern. Len, Matt, and David were the focus.

Hawk noticed me and headed closer. "Did the dino have any intel?"

"Yeah, the storm's going to be bad. Everyone into the cavern."

"Okay, I'll pull the patrol from the fence," he said then hurried off in the direction where I'd seen Mark and Jas.

Lenna and Dengu approached from the north. I wasn't sure how we'd missed them, but they could also be sneaky when they wanted to.

"Everyone needs to seek shelter," she said, her eyes wide.

The wave of dark clouds rushed across the sky, and a burst of lightning danced within.

"Everyone inside, now!" My voice caused everyone to pause and then rush deeper into the cavern.

Lenna and Dengu followed, making sure no one hung around outside.

The shuttle sat near the opening, and John hurried down the ramp, which rose into the air as he stepped off it. He joined Lenna and Dengu.

A large prefab building now stood to the right of the cavern entrance. The word Workshop was carved above the shut double doors.

That was some progress for the time we'd spent heading north. I pondered how quickly the settlement would have houses as I waited outside for the three others I sensed.

Hawk, Jas, and Mary appeared, sprinting as a sheet of water fell from the sky, rushing after them almost like it knew they were there.

I swore it chased them as they sprinted past. I hurried after them, just keeping ahead of the rain, and I stopped at the entrance to the cavern.

Water slammed down from the sky, putting out the campfire almost instantly. A rush of wind caused water to spray further inside, and I danced back to not get wet. Hints of smoke came from behind and I turned, walking deeper into the cavern to find a roaring fire with several people huddled around it quizzing Len.

My father caught my eye and hurried over. Before he could say anything, I held up a hand.

"I'm going to check out the dungeon. I need to see if Abby, Mary, and Maggie still want to head inside.

"Maggie wants to catch up with Matt and David. How about you take Cass instead?"

At least he hadn't asked if he could go, instead replacing Maggie with one of my friends.

"That's not a bad idea."

In less time than I thought possible, the three ladies joined me in the tunnel leading deeper into the mountain.

"So, how does this work?" asked Abby.

"We enter the dungeon and it lets us know the things we need to accomplish to complete it." I really wouldn't know more until we were inside. "I'll go first and then the rest of you can follow."

The dark archway flared to light as I stepped forward.

[Welcome to The Shifting Caverns. Would you like to go solo or create a party?]

"What is the recommended level for this dungeon?" I asked, hoping that would work as I glanced around the dark cavern. The archway stood behind me, and in front was a darkness I couldn't pierce. Stepping forward felt like a bad idea.

[The Shifting Caverns offers two paths, and multiple choices. Solo or with a party.]

"Create a party then," I said, as Cass, Abby, and Mary appeared, all clenching weapons, except for Abby.

[Which Cavern would you like to test? Across the Surface, recommended level 30, Digging Down, recommended level 50, Testing the Deeps, recommended level unknown.]

"Can you complete the dungeon more than once?" I asked.

[Each Cavern can be completed once. If you leave, you cannot try that cavern again.]

"Across the Surface." Those options made the dungeon the perfect place to level in the coming days. Though, I'd blow the team option for Across the Surface. I'd be able to see how the others performed and report back. Everyone would be freed from the level cap, and if I was careful, I could leave most of the experience to them.

An archway appeared in the darkness, glowing a white color that pulsed, removing the shadows from the room.

"Alright, Cass, you take point. Abby, you'll be behind her, followed by Mary."

"What about you?" asked Abby, looking hesitant.

"I'm here in case you need help. Otherwise, I'm not going to interfere." I frowned, wondering if she'd paid attention to the explanations I'd been giving about the rules with the system. "Level 30 creatures don't give me anything."

That's when I saw Abby watching Cass. She clutched the long knife in her hand, fingers white.

"I can take point," said Mary. She pulled out her spear and put the bow on her back. She marched into the archway without waiting for the others.

Abby quickly followed, leaving Cass and I alone.

"You can do this," I whispered. "I got your back."

She let out a long sigh. "I know, it's just that we're going after danger, instead of reacting to it."

"You just need to complete the dungeon. It isn't like the outside." I stepped closer to her and set a hand on her shoulder. "No one's going to get hurt here, but we need to join them. Or leave."

She nodded and stepped through the archway. I followed, and we arrived in a similar cavern to the one we'd left, except the tunnel kept going.

Mary and Abby waited for us.

The archway stayed visible behind us, which I found interesting.

[You need to explore the tunnel and discover where it leads.]

"A straight shot isn't a bad thing," said Mary.

"Yeah, this is a little simpler than the last two I completed, but it gives us choices at the beginning, which is nice." Depending on the creatures, this should be a cakewalk.

Then off we went down the tunnel. My senses pinged with prey just around the first bend.

"Something is coming up," I whispered, giving them a heads-up.

Mary flashed me a thumbs-up, and then leaped around the corner. She stabbed something with her spear.

Everyone moved fast after that.

Abby blocked the rest of the tunnel off with a golden shield, leaving only two creatures for Mary and Cass to kill.

[Prehistoric Rat, Level 24, Prey, Unknown.]

[Prehistoric Rat, Level 26, Prey, Unknown.]

It had to be rats. I disliked rats, and these had spikes running along their bodies instead of fur. Not to mention, they were the size of dogs. They flung rocks with their tails, but everyone made sure to not give them range. Instead, Mary and Cass took them down with their weapons.

"My shield's going to fall," said Abby, stepping back. Sweat dripped down her forehead and she pulled out a knife. The golden shield vanished after the two rats died.

Two more rats scurried closer, while one stayed back, flinging rocks. All three of these were level 26. This fight took a bit longer.

I resisted getting involved twice, but I managed to keep to the back with my hands-free.

A rat tackled Cass, but a gold shield appeared between its teeth and Cass's face. Cass stabbed the creature several times, tossing it off her chest when it stopped moving.

Finally, nothing moved but the team.

"That wasn't so bad," said Cass, as she climbed to her feet, staring down the tunnel.

"You guys should rest before we move on…"

Just as the statement left my mouth, Mary marched farther down the tunnel, ignoring me. "I found something!" she exclaimed.

Everyone hurried after her toward a light shining in the distance. Shaking my head, I followed.

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