Shaking his head, he took a moment to recover.  The others were getting in their vehicles to join him as he rode the ATV over to loot the monster.   When he set his hand on it, more notifications scrolled down his screen.   He received three hundred fifty klax, six pieces of shellback armor, two stacks of twenty pieces of shellback meat and one more item.

This one was special.  A picture of it appeared on his screen, highlighted in pulsing purple light.

Ancient Shellback’s Heart

Item Quality: Extremely Rare

The Ancient Shellback has walked the various worlds of the Nexus for more than a thousand years.  It has absorbed the essences of hundreds of species that were unfortunate enough to cross its path.  These essences were preserved in the very heart of the monster, combining to form an organ of great value to the elite among GrandMaster crafters.

As the vehicles came to a stop and the others piled out, Allistor pumped his fist in the air.  “WE just hit the damned lottery!” he shouted.   He described the heart to the others as they all took turns looting the monster.  Each of them received a few hundred klax, some meat and armor bits.  One of the elder ladies received a scroll.  And two of the kids each received an eyeball, much to their delight.

When they’d finished looting, Sam grabbed a knife and a crowbar, telling others to do the same.  He began skinning the shellback, explaining to the others how they’d harvested the titan.  The shellback didn’t smell good, but it was much easier to take than the titan stench.  They spent some time harvesting skin and fragments of shell that they managed to break off around the edges of the cannon round impacts.   George spent the time cutting the beak off the monster, saying he planned to mount it above his door and spend his old age exaggerating the details of the battle.   Two of Luther’s men drove the Humvees back and retrieved the Howitzers and the unused rounds.

Looting complete, they piled back into the vehicles and resumed their trip.   It was past sunset when they arrived, and the gates to the Warren opened for them.  The look on Ramon’s face as the convoy passed by him was priceless.  After he closed the gates and caught up to them, he teased.  “We send you away to retrieve a few strays, and you come back with an army!”

It was late in the evening before everyone was settled.  Allistor’s first order of business had been to use the Stronghold interface to construct more sleeping quarters.  He raised another fifteen, this time on the opposite side of the central fountain.  He didn’t want to force the two groups to mingle on the first night.  There were several couples and families among Luther’s group, so fifteen was sufficient to house everyone.  Some of them were two and three bedrooms.