I wake up in the morning as the sunlight slowly creeps into the cave. Stellar and Kingston were already outside bathing in the sunlight as they converse quietly, making sure to not wake the rest up.
"The Roc we faced yesterday was surprisingly easy." - Kingston
"Only because we kept fighting since we left the forest. We had become stronger." - Stellar
"True. I am still worried about the dangers we are going to face in this mountain range." - Kingston
"The dinosaur?" - Ian
I walk out and stand next to the two of them. Kingston turns towards me with an aloof expression while Stellar looks into the distance nonchalantly.
"Exactly. Can we even defeat this thing?" - Kingston
"Who knows, but that's why we tried our best to gain more experience fighting as a team and fighting alone." - Ian
"What if I go berserk?" - Kingston
"Have you gone berserk in the last week? No. I think it should be fine." - Ian
"Solar will heal you before you go berserk." - Stellar
"Alright, alright. Just trying to give a heads-up." - Kingston
"Well, considering that the 3 of us are most likely the strongest individuals in this group, how do you feel about any of the others? I just want to know your opinion of them, good or bad." - Ian
"Feedback on them? David has been doing a great job as a tank, and recently he has been less scared. He has started to become the first person to rush into battle and protect the ones behind him. Plus, he also commands most of the front line by himself." - Kingston
"I feel like David is doing a good job as well. Frank and Yor has been supporting him as well. Frank tends to be behind David and covers for him if an attack goes over David's shield. Whereas Yor, after he healed, has played an active role in commanding the front line when the battle gets intense." - Stellar
"Right, I feel Yor has become more of a tactician, supporting David's initial commands with information he perceives during the battles. How about the goblins and the hobgoblins?" - Ian
"Gibing is charging into the battle without thinking most of the time and while it has worked out for now, I'm not sure what would happen later on. However, he is improving at a fast rate and can handle multiple enemies." - Kingston
"Gyumi is attacking from the distance a lot and tends to use her skills to support everyone else. While she isn't as active, she mainly helps by using her bow and arrow." - Stellar
"Those two had the most experience as a hobgoblin and now that Gopopo and Gewari have evolved it will provide us with more complex strategies. I'm thinking of letting Gopopo command 5 goblin archers while Gewari follows you, Stellar." - Ian
"I understand having Gopopo who is our main archer command a group of goblins, but why is Gewari following me?" - Stellar
"I want you to be less in the front lines and more attacking from their back line or flanks. Originally, you were at the front since we didn't have enough strong people to defend the rest of us, but after the many battles, even the normal shield bearers have grown in strength as well. Your role now is to bean assassin. Someone who lurks in the shadows and eliminates the biggest threat, and Gewari is the only other person that is similar to your strengths." - Ian
"I prefer to be alone." - Stellar
"I know that, but teaching another person what you know will help solidify your knowledge as well. Maybe she will be able to teach you something about assassinations as well." - Ian
"Alright, I'll do my best." - Stellar
"What about Ken and Kaede? I'm still slightly worried about the two of them." - Ian
"They are amazing. Too good in my opinion. Despite how small they are and how little experience in fighting they have, they are very strong. What's more, they are still growing." - Kingston
"I agree. The two of them have played, and major roles in some recent battles, and they are slowly getting faster and stronger with each monster we fight." - Stellar
"Yea, it must be in their blood as wolf demi-humans. They are strong and they are growing stronger." - Ian
I continue to chat with the two of them about some recent fights, reflecting on some things that went slightly wrong and ways we could improve on it. I took some advice from Sam and Evan and told both Stellar and Kingston about it. Slowly, more and more people woke up and by the time everyone was awake the sun was high in the sky.
We decide to venture into the mountain range in search of the treasure as well as new monsters to battle. With a new environment we had to be more careful since there were new threats.
Going out of the cave and turning left, there was a small crevice that split a tall mountain in two. It was the only path that we could see in our immediately surroundings but it only fit a person at a time.
I venture first, holding onto the basket with my left and turning my body sideways as I slowly move through. Jagged rocks hit my back as I move across. The dirt blows into my face slowly painting it red but eventually I come out the other side.
I let out a quiet whistle as I take in the scenery. I had emerged in the valley of two mountains. Boulders litter the ground and the slopes gradually become steeper the higher you look up. From what I could see, the red dirt slowly transitions into brown and then into white as the tops of the mountain had snow.
I signal for the rest of the group to come through, with David being the hardest to squeeze through. The wolves had an easy time as they just walked through at the end.
Even though the sun was high up in the sky, I feel slightly cold. My breath makes a white cloud every time I exhale, and I can feel the tips of my fingers losing feeling the longer I stood still.
"Everyone, put on your warmer clothes, it seems like this area is a lot colder than the plains outside." - Ian
I inform everyone about the temperature change and pull out the jackalope clothing, wearing them over my armor. During the week, we had also encountered droves of jackalopes. The small monsters hid in the thickest places in the plains, charging out and giving us a lot of scares. However, we had defeated a lot of them and were able to kill them quickly, obtaining a lot of fur which Celine made into clothing for everyone.
Everyone took out their set of warm clothes and put them on. Due to everyone wearing the same clothes it looked like we were wearing a uniform.
Once everyone had their new clothes on, we start to continue our journey. I look around as we walk forward, taking the new environment in and looking out for any monsters. I had the scouts not too far away from the main group, just in case there was something unexpected happening.
We slowly move forward until, we hit a dead end, a cliff. Looking down into the cliff, I can only see darkness. Even with the sun above us, it ran so deep that the sunlight cannot even touch the bottom.
On the other side, I can see that there is a cave. Interestingly, though, the cave had green lines creeping out of it, as if it were green spider webs. It crawls out of the cave as well surrounding the entrance, creeping along the mountain side.
"That just screams danger." - Kingston
Kingston walks up to me and places a hand on my shoulder. I was standing a little away from the edge, looking at the cave.
"It also screams opportunity, right? There is something there, whether it is good or bad we just don't know yet." - Ian
"So you think a random cave in the middle of a mountain that has green lines coming out of it, is a good thing?" - Kingston
"Hey, I'm just saying we should check it out if we find a way to cross this canyon." - Ian
"THIS CANYON LOOKS DANGEROUS! We can't even see the bottom." - Kingston
"Well, I think our answer lies in either we take a right or a left. The map doesn't zoom in so I can't tell exactly where the treasure is, however we are definitely in the right area." - Ian
"Gibing is currently looking at the left while Gewari ran to the right. We should be able to get an answer soon as to which we need to go." - Kingston
The both of us turn around as we begin to walk to the main group. We ha set up camp a little further away, just so nothing unexpected would happen to us near the edge of the cliff. Using two boulders as cover from the cold winds, we had a large fire to warm us up. However, the moment me and Kingston walked away from the cliff we both heard a sound.
A low growl and it wasn't the wolves. It echoes behind us, down in the canyon. I swallow my saliva and look at Kingston"RUN!" - Ian
The moment I scream run, my legs pushed off the ground as hard as I can. I activate Enhanced Agility and bolt towards the main group, but in between us the ground starts to
crack. The crack just larger and larger and as I approach it, it bursts open revealing a tower of stone rising upwards.
I quickly change directions, moving to the right while Kingston moves to the left, but I guess I should have turned to the left as another stone tower rises in front of me, forcing me to run through the small gap between the two towers. I jump over the cracks but as if I wasn't unlucky enough a third tower appears and the ground in between the three of them collapse inwards. I scream, I see the ground move further and further away from my feet as if it was escaping from me.
Unable to find any footing, I flail my arms and legs forward, desperately trying to grab onto the other side of the hole. My hand luckily grabs onto a protruding rock but with how heavy I was, it cracks and breaks, and I continue my fall, deeper into the darkness.
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