Chapter 10: Scalder Crab Skirmish!

We took a few days to rest and get our bearings. Sure, we were lucky to be alive—but after our loss to the dragon, we needed to feel like a team again.

We needed a morale boost.

We also needed a coin boost so we could start saving, especially now that we had two more party members to maintain.

Up until now, we’d always gone back to our parents’ homes after every quest for food and shelter. But eventually, we’d have to start setting up our own camps or paying for inns.

I decided we should check out the Rainbow City quest board to see what gold-reward quests were available, even though I already had one in mind — the one we all eventually agreed on:

(No Limit) Pink Pearls — 2 pearls = 1 gold coin.

Pink pearls came from oysters. But our real targets were scalder crabs—an aggressive, pink-shelled species that had been devouring oysters by the dozen lately.

The fishermen wanted them gone; they were both a menace and a threat to the food supply.

Luckily for us, scalder crabs don’t digest everything at the same rate. Sometimes, cracking one open reveals a pink pearl still intact in its gut.

Unless we wanted to go deep-sea diving, this was our best shot.

As we neared the beach, Talos asked, “We all agreed on this, and I’m still in—but why were you so set on this one over the other gold-reward quests, Velara?”

“We needed something manageable but still worth the effort. A mental reset but still a decent reward.”

That was one reason, elegantly put if I do say so myself. But the other reason? Just look!

We approached Violet Beach, where crystal-clear blue water crashed elegantly against the beautiful purple sand, sparkling under the sunlight.

If you couldn’t tell by now, I believe purple is the superior color. And not just because it’s my favorite.

“Wow! The pictures don’t do it justice,” Alva said. “We can tie the horses up over here,” he added, as we made our way to a nearby hitching post.

This little cove had purple sand — deep worldbuilding, I know — but I wasn’t complaining. It’s not called Rainbow City for nothing.

As we made our way down the shore, a fisherman spotted us from his boat stowed on the pier, waving as he ran toward us.

“Are you guys here for the crabs?” he called.

He wore a loose, rolled-up blue shirt, brown pants cuffed at the knees, a worn-out straw hat, and sandals.

“Yep,” Talos said.

“Great! Just watch that water,” the fisherman added, panting as he reached us.

We turned to the ocean, watching the tide crash gently against the sand.

“No, not that water. The water they shoot. You don’t—? Heh, well, I’m glad I said something. Sometimes they shoot hot water from their snouts — and they’ve got good aim, those things.”

He held his hand out to about waist level. “They’re about the size of dogs — not giants, but definitely not small.”

So they were much bigger than I imagined.

“Is it true they travel in packs?” I asked, wanting to clear up any other misconceptions I had.

“Yeah, that’s true. Be on your toes.”

“So where are they?” Talos asked, glancing around, but he was greeted only by ocean waves and the sound of birds calling overhead.

“They usually stick to the far end of the cove, just past my boat. Come on, I’ll show you.”

We followed him for about a minute before we saw them — a dozen pink crabs scurrying across the sand together.

“They don’t mess with you unless you get too close. But once you start attacking, they don’t stop coming. Good luck.”

The fisherman turned around and started walking back to his boat.

“You’re not coming with us?” Alva asked.

“Why would I go with you? Y’all got it…I hope.” That last part he mumbled, still walking away.

“Alright. The plan’s simple: stick to your roles and we’ll be fine,” Talos said.

“I’ll block what I can but I can’t defend everyone—they’ll be coming from all sides. So it’s on each of you to dodge the water when it starts flying.”

“My water barrier won’t help this time, so stay sharp,” I added. “I’ll be ready to heal if needed, but don’t take that as an excuse to get careless. Just focus on taking down as many as you can.”

“Uri, double back and gut the ones that are already down,” I said, glancing at him. “I’ll have a bucket ready—just toss the pearls in as you go.”

“When do we stop?” Alva asked.

“When the bucket’s at least half full — or if things get too tough, we run with what we’ve got,” I said.

They all nodded, eyes locked on the swarm ahead.

“Everyone ready?” Talos asked.

They tightened their gear.

This was gonna be a doozy… but we were ready.

We finally stepped up to the crabs, bracing ourselves.

Alva drew his bow, releasing an arrow that pierced one of the shells clean through.

The other crabs froze for a split second—then scuttled to attention and charged, ready to avenge their fallen ally.

Talos swung his halberd wide, scooping up a few crabs and knocking them into the air.

More immediately scurried in to fill the gap.

Uri moved like a blur—jump, stab, gut—relentless, darting from one crab to the next.

The Talos Party was in full effect.

And I was just watching it all, keeping pace, waiting for my moment.

Then—a sudden jet of steaming water blasted from behind us.

I dodged just in time, but Alva wasn’t so lucky—he took a hit to the side.

“Ow!” he yelped.

Welp, I didn't have to wait long.

I cast a quick heal on his burn.

“He wasn’t lying—that was hot,” he said, continuing to fire arrows.

Another blast shot at Talos. He blocked it with his shield and kept swinging, unfazed.

More and more crabs kept coming, replacing the ones that fell.

After a few minutes of chaos, Uri finally cracked one open and pulled out a pearl, lobbing it into the bucket.

As I healed their occasional burns—dodging water jets in between—I started to notice something.

The water blasts were getting more frequent.

Too frequent.

Maybe… maybe I could actually do something about it.

And then it hit me.

Between heals, I started sealing as many crab snouts as I could with sticky glue—anything to buy the team some breathing room.

It seemed to help. After a few more minutes — and a few more pearls — the tension finally started to ease up.

Once again, stickiness proved its worth. So underrated.

Alva began firing arrows straight into their snouts, laughing like a maniac as he did.

Uri kept jump-stabbing from crab to crab, flipping between them—not out of necessity, but from a mix of joy and recklessness.

Talos, meanwhile, started bashing crabs not only with his halberd, but with his shield—and even kicking some just for good measure.

As our bucket grew fuller and the crab reinforcements began to dwindle, we realized we'd been out here for hours. We’d completely lost track of time—until the fading evening light reminded us.

By the time we called it quits, our bucket was more than half full. We'd collected 28 pink pearls, which came out to 14 gold coin.

Not bad for a day’s work.

As we trudged back, exhausted and a little sandy, Alva said, giddy, “That was fun.”

“Yeah,” Uri agreed.

“Let’s come back tomorrow!” Alva said, still buzzing from the fight.

“I think we put a big enough dent in the crab population. They shouldn’t be a problem for a while.”

“We had to have crushed at least a few hundred, and they just kept coming. How many are there?” Talos asked, peering into the bucket of pearls he was carrying.

When we made it back to the fisherman’s boat, he was still there.

“Man, I saw you guys out there—you were at it for a while. Good job. That should make these next few weeks a whole lot smoother. Here.”

He reached into his pocket and handed us a gold coin.

“Sorry, it’s the most I can do.”

“Thank y—” Alva started, reaching for it.

“You keep it,” I said, cutting him off. “Really. You’ve helped us enough today.”

I turned and headed for the horses. When I saw Alva still standing there, hesitating, I grabbed him by the ear and dragged him along.

“I was just saying bye!” he yelped, stumbling after me while whining the whole way.

Once we mounted up and started heading back to claim our quest reward, Alva said. “Well, we’ve been to the Beastarian Kingdom and the Elf Kingdom. We’ve got horses now — so why not hit the Orc Kingdom next? Who knows what kind of quests they’ll have?”

The party fell silent.

That was… a bold suggestion. Even for Alva.

“What? Velara got to pick this one! Why can’t I pick the next one?”

But maybe he had a point.

“You’re right. Let’s go,” I said.

I could tell Talos and Uri were still a little hesitant, but they both gave small, silent shrugs.

And just like that, the decision was made:

For the first time ever… we were heading to the Orc Kingdom.