The sun hangs overhead and shines down on the brown sand beneath your feet. Each coarse particle crunches beneath your feet as you walk through the desert, hoping to find your mark sooner rather than later. Unlike other hunts, the parchment that contained the hunt information also came with a map to the last known whereabouts of the giant scorpion.

You follow the map, heading from small outpost to even smaller one while searching for the notorious monster. The heat brings about a thick layer of sweat from your pores as you continue your trek through awful heat. As you traipse through the desert, you try and keep your eyes peeled for anything that could potentially lead you to your mark.

After a few more hours of walking, you eventually find yourself in an open area with a large, sandy statue sitting perfectly next to what looks like an opening to some ruins. You look past the statue to see a few small columns sticking out of the ground. You squint your eyes to try and block out the sun so you can try and see a little further, noticing the body of some soldier lying on the ground. You pull out your weapons and walk toward him, not knowing if you may have found your mark or if this is the work of something more sinister: bandits or rival soldiers.

You kneel down in front of the soldier to see that his wounds are still somewhat fresh. The blood that is covering his face is still tacky. His chest possesses a very large hole with blood drying against his skin. You examine his body closer. His armor is useless. Though really thick, it couldn't protect the soldier from what came through his chest. To his side, a wooden shield rests that offered the soldier very little in terms of protection.

Acquire: Thick Wooden Shield

Further along the path, another soldier's body is laying peacefully. With two holes in the soldier's body, one in the stomach and one just above the heart, it appears as if the soldier struggled mightily before perishing. The column beside the soldier, however, shows signs of fire damage, hinting that the soldier you are inspecting may have been some kind of caster or maji. You look around the soldier's body to find a large staff resting beneath the soldier's body along with a faintly glowing gem that offered the soldier his power.

Acquire: Simple Staff

Obtain one of the following: Shard of Restoration, Shard of Focus, Shard of Sight, Shard of Valor, Shard of Energy, Shard of Cunning, Shard of Iron Will, Shard of Illusions, Shard of Deception, Shard of Blunt Fists, Shard of the Devout, Shard of the Harvest, Shard of Executions, Shard of the Arcane Guardian

You look past the second corpse to see another body, followed by another. More and more bodies are strewn about the area, all showing different signs of decay, though all of the bodies share a similar fate: they all possess large holes in their torsos. You think back to the words Nymphera spoke in the Hunter's Guild. Death by scorpion can happen in many ways, but the most common is to be impaled through the chest by their sharp stinger.

You come up to a path with several columns on both sides. The sounds of scurrying feet hammering against the ground fill the area. You turn your head to the left to see a small scorpion, barely two feet off the ground, emerging from the ground and walking toward you. To your right, the same thing is happening with a small scorpion skittering toward you at a rapid speed.

Commence Battle with Scorpion Servant x 2

The two carapaces fall to the ground with a green ooze pouring from the tips of the stingers. You lean down and examine the scorpion corpses, taking a knee in the sand to see that the carapaces are scuffed and the stingers are full of poison, the smell of which burns your nostrils as you breathe in the fumes. You stand up quickly and stumble backwards, overwhelmed from the noxious odor. As you catch yourself from falling, the sound of skittering legs alert you. You turn back to see two more scorpions coming toward you with their stingers poised, ready to impale you.

Commence Battle with Scorpion Servant x 2

The two scorpions fall to the side, just like the two before. Around you, the sand begins to quake and propel up into the air as the sound of a skittering echoes off of the sandy walls. You hold still but keep your eyes open, hoping to see the massive creature that have been dispatched to kill. The corpses of the fallen soldiers, all falling to the large scorpions give you a sense of dread as the smell of the foul odors turn your stomach. The ground beneath your feet quakes slightly as a large stinger emerges from where you were standing and from beneath the surface emerges Emperor Sting.  The scorpion's shell is jet black and his eyes are a fierce red. He is far larger than the ones who fell to your blade and he appears to be a greater challenge. Emperor Sting claps his claws together mightily before skittering toward you and lunging his stinger at your chest. You roll out of the way just in time and get back up onto your feet, knowing that the fight of your life was now at hand.

Commence Battle with Emperor Sting

The massive scorpion collapses before you with his massive stinger slamming against the dusty ground. The mark you've been sent to destroy, one that many hunters have failed to kill, lies before you motionless. You look into Emperor Sting's eyes as they close and his arms and legs start quaking. Seconds pass with your weapon still out before you are sure that he is dead. You take out your blade and drive it into the tail of the beast, removing his massive stinger as proof of your conquest; taking the entire corpse is just not prudent or even possible. The rewards for this conquest will be massive and you anticipate that the fanfare in the guild hall will be jubilant.

The Party Gains 1500 Gold

All Players Earn 500 Shard Experience

Scenario Complete. Visit the Store?