Gear up and head out.

There were a few different weapon, armor and item shops on the main thoroughfare. Shiroe selected ones that looked like they did a lot of business. He offered vouchers to party members who wanted them, but everyone believed that they already had better equipment. Shiroe wasn't convinced, though. He selected a backup mace for Niki, a protective cloak for Eva, a longspear and a backup sword for himself, and crossbows for himself and Amara.

When Amara insisted on paying anyway, Shiroe explained that the vouchers only entitled them to borrow this gear, not to keep it, and suggested that perhaps her money could be better spent on bags and proper caving knives for the crab meat, and a couple of mana potions. She agreed to this idea a little too quickly. Hmm.

As they approached the river, Shiroe shared what he had heard about Giant River Crabs.

"They're weak against lightning and vibration magic. Their shells protect them against most melee attacks. Your best bet in melee combat is to crack the shell with blunt **** or stab them in the underbelly through the gap between the top and bottom shell. If you get a chance to flip one over, they'll have trouble righting themselves on land, but never pursue one into the water. They can walk on grass if they need to, but they prefer the sand and mud, because they can quickly bury themselves in it to escape from danger. They can easily move over most terrain, but they have trouble scaling a slope steeper than about 45 degrees. Which means our best strategy is to pick them off one at a time from a cliff or rocky outcropping."

"Huh?"

"Got it!"

"I believe I will follow your lead."

"That's the spirit. This looks like a pretty good spot to make our stand. Niki and Amara, I want you on point. Eva, I want you behind me. I notice that there's a spot on the left they might have an easier time climbing, so Niki, that's where I want you. Amara, ready your crossbow. I'm going to designate a particular crab, but don't fire until I give the word. Take a few shots, and when it starts to get close, switch to melee. Don't be greedy. They're faster than they look. If we play our cards right, we can aggro one of them without alerting the rest.

"Huh?"

"Got it!"

"I will do my best, sir."

"Just stand here, Niki." Shiroe moved her into position by the shoulders." Be patient. Hit them when they come to you. " He pointed out a large orange crab that was drifting a little closer to the shoreline than the others. "The orange one. We fire on three. One... Two..."

"Screw this! I'll just hit 'em!"

"I should actually be in front of you, so you can monitor my spellcasting!"

"Firing."

"Combat Control Spell: Ensnaring Terrain!" As Shiroe invoked the spell, thin cyan tendrils shot up out of the ground, wrapping around the legs of himself and the rest of his party.

"What the fuck!? What are you doing, Shiroe!?"

"Shouldn't you have cast that on the crabs?"

Amara took her shot, which glanced off the back of the crab's shell. "Reloading."

Shiroe's voice was unsettlingly calm as he began to speak. "You're asking the right question, Niki. Why would I ensnare my own party with tentacles? It's a natural reaction. You probably feel trapped. Helpless, even. Your first instinct is probably to run."

"Gods dammit, Shiroe, if I could reach you..."

"Uh-oh... I think it's noticed us... Mana Bolt!"

Amara fired again, this time managing to land a bolt into the creature's underbelly. Between that and the Mana Bolt, it roared and began to skitter towards them. "Reloading."

"But the truth is, you're actually much safer if you stay in formation. In fact, here's a general rule of thumb: When I tell you to stand somewhere, there is always a good reason for it."

"That doesn't make any sense! We're sitting ducks! How is this safe!? Let me go!"

"Mana Bolt!"

"Switching to melee."

"Niki, you are a professional warrior. Now, take that anger, and use it on the crab!"

As the crab scuttled up the side of the cliff towards Niki, cyan tentacles suddenly wrapped around it as it entered the spell's area of effect. It pinched at Niki with its claws, but she parried the first blow with her buckler.

"AAAAAAAAARGH!" Niki brought her mace down on the crab's shell over and over again, cracking the shell with every blow.

"Mana Bolt!"

Amara swung her staff down, striking one of the crab's spindly legs with an audible crack.

Shiroe thrust forward with his longspear, over Niki's shoulder and into the cracks she'd made in its shell.

With a horrific screech, the crab began to thrash around violently.

"Scatter!"

All of the tentacles disappeared at once. Niki just kept beating the shit out of the crab with her mace. Eva scampered back away from the cliff's edge, and took a swig from her mana potion. Amara moved alongside Niki, and used her staff to block one of the creature's claw attacks. Shiroe carefully waited for his opening, and then thrust his spear deep into the crab's underbelly, right between its eyestalks.

The crab shuddered, and Shiroe wiggled the longspear around in its head until it stopped shuddering. And eventually, Niki stopped raining blows down upon its shell. She slumped to her knees, panting.