Finding the mountain pass to Rockwallow Hollow was the easy part, getting to it was a bit trickier.

I had to climb over a settled rockslide that spewed into the misty lake at the base of the waterfall then maneuver over a huge copse of trees that had apparently been taken out by the rocks. These trees were much thinner than the building-sized ones on the forest floor, but that didn’t make them any more fun to climb over.

Once I got past that mess, the mountain wall split, revealing a narrow canyon—the pathway made clear. There was even a quaint little carving on the wall of a skeleton accompanied by the words, “Worst way to Rockwallow Hollow Ever,” to let me know I was headed in the right direction.

I spent a few hours squeezing my way through the mountain pass until it veered into a natural tunnel system inside the mountain. It was completely dry but the floor was deeply water-stained. It looked as if there’d been a recent shift that sealed this tunnel off from the flow of water. It was probably the same shift that caused the landslide. And that was a good thing for me, given I had to trek a solid hour or so through it. I probably spent half that time praying to the gods of this world to please, oh please, let there be an exit. I don’t know what I would have done without my handy-dandy Thumb Candle.

Eventually, the tunnel opened up to the outside world onto a flat, rocky outcropping. I would have fallen to my knees and given thanks if the overlooking view hadn’t taken my breath away.

I slowly edged over to the precipice and stood there in awe at what I saw.

“Holy balls,” I said, taking in a deep breath.

The designers had truly gone all out.

I had no idea how high up I was, but I could see over the entire Bangwilly Forest. Everything in my view was green all the way up to the horizon. It looked like an endless moss covered carpet highly in need of vacuuming.

I noticed an empty spot over to the left, a wide open clearing where vertical contrails trailed up into the sky. A village, deep in the forest, no doubt. I wondered how close it was to Gruda’s place. I hadn’t even thought to ask her about others living in the forest.

To my right, the trees thinned out revealing rolling hills. On one of these hills sat a large and decrepit stone fortress. The sun was headed down that way so I had to squint and shield my eyes to make it out. It had three distinct towers and many cubed shaped blocks scattered around it’s base. There were other stone buildings around it but the towers were definitely the most prominent structures there.

Way in the distance to the left, much further than the village, stood another mountain range completely separate from this one. Its peaks were covered in mist and snow. As I studied it I saw something that made me take a step forward.

It could have just been my eyes playing tricks or the sun glinting off the snow, but I swear I saw something circling one of the highest peaks in the sky. It was just a silhouette, and it was only for a moment, but whatever it was, it was big—I mean really big.

Or maybe it was just a glitch, I don’t know.

Anyway, the whole view made me wish the late Bob Ross, the famous painter, was still alive. This would have probably made the man’s knees go weak with a full out scenery-gasm. I know it did me.

I put my fingers out to frame a mental picture. When I turned back around to continue my journey upwards, I froze. My breath caught in my throat and my blood ran cold.

The thing, whatever it was, blended in with the mountain’s exterior perfectly. If I hadn’t stepped away I probably would have completely missed the six limbs protruding from the alcove. I had nearly walked right past the thing without even noticing it.

It twitched, and my eyes went wide.

I had no idea what it was, but the words, “giant freaking mountain spider” came to mind.

I pulled Gruda’s dagger from my inventory. I also lit a thumb. And for a loaded minute nothing happened. Nothing moved. Besides a soft breeze swirling it’s way through, the only other sound I heard was the ominous thumping of blood in my ears.

The thing twitched again and I let out an, “Ah, hell no,” and changed my posture to a more defensive pose.

What was I doing here?

I had no idea what I was doing.

How the hell did I end up on the edge of a cliff in a stand off with a—holy shit that thing is much bigger than I thought it was.

The spider slowly revealed more of itself and I could hear the sticky creaking of it’s limbs as it moved.

My heel inched towards the precipice, sending pebbles over the edge. I almost lost my balance but recovered quickly and took a step to the side.

That’s when I saw the bones beneath the alcove up against the mountain wall. It looked like a pile of rocks at first glance, but they weren't. They most definitely were not.

“Yep, that’s a skull,” I said to myself, taking another step to the side.

I glanced to my left. About twenty feet away the outcropping curved back towards the mountain and an obvious, narrow pathway formed and began to incline. Shrubs, grass, and thin trees filled the surrounding area, like a gateway around the path's entrance.

I got the distinct feeling that if I could get there, it wouldn’t pursue me. Something told me it wasn’t big on leaving it’s crack unless it absolutely had to. And unless this monster was as big as a freaking bus, it would have to do just that to follow me up the mountain pass.

Then I remembered one of the potions Gruda had stirred up for me. It was essentially a smoke bomb.

I pulled it out of my inventory and glanced at the black liquid sloshing around in the corked, glass vial. I let out a few clipped breaths, kissed it, and threw it as hard as I could at the mountain wall. I was already running before I heard the thing shatter.

A big whoosh of smoke billowed out in all directions, followed by a high-pitched, multi-corded screech that would have made me piss my new green tights had I not relieved myself in the cave minutes prior.

For a moment the smoke blocked my view of the pathway, but I kept on running anyway. When the ground began to incline, I knew I was almost there. I got confirmation I’d made it to the path when I tripped over a bush and face-planted into a thick patch of grass.

I pulled my face out, spit out a clump of dirt, and got to my feet. I looked back to make sure it hadn’t followed. There was still smoke in the air, but it was dissipating now. And there was no sign of a big-ass spider anywhere.

I sighed in relief. Then an alert popped up.

Notification

Congratulations! You crossed paths with a Mountain Arachni-Screamer and lived! How the hell did you do that? These creatures love to hide and snatch unexpecting victims. But you probably figured that out by now.

You’ve earned a Sealed Survivor's Reward Chest. In order to unseal this, you must go back and inflict pain on the monster that almost killed you.

Since you’re a Spacialist, we took the liberty of slipping it into one of the open slots in your Small Inventory. Don't you just love it when someone slips it in without asking?

I closed my interface and flipped the knife in my hand once, catching it by the hilt.

“Yeah, that’s a hard no,” I said, turning towards the grassy incline. I took a step and something wrapped around my leg. It yanked, and I was suddenly teeth-deep in the dirt again, sliding back towards the flat, rocky outcropping.