There was a lot less excitement in the next two rooms. The first contained only a single sarcophagus, that (of course) contained a wight. This one had been a little different than the previous two, in that it was actually strong enough to throw off the lid of its sarcophagus and attack me. Fortunately, I had two weapons and it had none, so I got away with some torn clothing (actually really aggravating) and a bit of lost health. Nothing major. Plus, this guy must have been a king or noble or something because he had this really cool looking crown on. Once his skull was reduced to dust, I had picked it up and nearly dropped it immediately when it… stung? Me? For lack of a better description. It’s very uncomfortable to hold. Until I can figure out what’s up with it, it’s staying in the satchel. It’s not heavy, so it’s not a big deal yet.

The next room had contained literally nothing. I even did a thorough examination of the ground and walls just to see if there was a secret room or something but no, dust and cobwebs.

As I was emerging from that room, however, the crushing silence I had been enduring was broken by a distant howling.

My first thought was that the Carnines had found this place, or something to hunt, and both needed to be addressed, which brings me to now, at the entrance to the cave again.

The howls are getting closer, and it’s definitely multiple enemies. Maybe even quite a few. It’s hard to tell with how their cries overlap. They also… don’t sound normal. There’s a strange desperation and wildness I hadn’t noticed from the Carnines… or any other monster. This might be something new. New is bad.

From the cover of the illusion, I could hear the monsters getting closer, and they’re headed almost directly here. This had better be a lucky accident. If they find this place already, I’m actually going to be alone, trying to fight off a horde of monsters until morning, which is exactly the opposite of what I wanted.

Tense seconds crawl by as I wait, fully prepared to fight for my life the moment the enemy passes through the illusion. The area I can see includes another hill about 20 feet from the base of the illusion, and 35 feet on the right and 15 feet on the left toward more steep hills. It’s these fixtures that are blocking my vision and preventing me from seeing what the fuck is happening.

Also probably making this place even harder to notice because it would be almost impossible to spy on people going in and out from ground level.

My nerves are starting to get out of control.

The first of them crests the hill. I can mostly make out shadows due to the crushing darkness, but there’s enough light from the ‘stars’ that I can make out more than I could inside the cave. This first shadow looks very humanoid, but, oddly enough, the first thing it does is shudder forward, trip, and fall down the hill... With a very human-like cry of pain (though mostly muffled by the chorus of insane howling). The cause of their scream became immediately apparent as the pair of attackers (that also look like shadows) howl in triumph and begin leisurely following the tumbling person down the hill.

You’ve got to be kidding me. Did Rav run back? That fucking madman! He must have run into trouble along the way and been overwhelmed. Throwing caution to the wind, I sprint full bore out of the safety of the cave, brandishing my eclectic pairing of weapons.

The rest of the hunting force crest the hill, and I can immediately see why Rav was having issues. Two more shadow creatures follow the initial pair over the top. I can’t fight them myself; I’m absolutely positive I’ll die. But... I can get Rav and book it. Then? Improvise.

I feel my Energy starting to move, pulsing through me, filling me with an unshakeable feeling of strength. Speed. I can do this. I *will* do this.

I throw the shattered sword at the closest shadow and switch to a two handed grip on my stick as I throw all my weight behind slamming the second one.

Without even pausing to check the results of my delaying tactics, I grab Rav around the waist and throw him over my shoulder. He’s going to be hurting a bit, but it’s a hell of a lot better than being dead. He’ll thank me later, I’m sure.

His breathing is ragged, and he’s limp. Must have given everything he had just to get this far, and I’ll be damned if I let that go to waste. Not enough good will to go around for that kind of thing. Plus, he came out here for me, so it’s really the only thing to do.

Stamina is no obstacle as I bolt with everything I have to the cave, through the doors, and down the hall. Howls of anger and pain follow immediately behind me, but they must be confused about the illusion.

There’s no two ways about this, I can’t fight jack shit with my back to a pit of spikes, so… grit your teeth Rav.

I put all my effort into launching Rav across the pit. The holds on his armor make it much easier to do this than normal clothing, and he easily clears the gap. The crack from his landing makes me think he might be slower than before to forgive, but there’s no time.

Not even taking the time to look back at the monsters I know are seconds behind me, I size up the gap, and my brain kicks into overdrive, and I see faint silhouettes of ways I could try to get across. Jumping fails, I don’t have time for a running start, but I don’t need one to run along the wall.

I open the floodgates on my Stamina usage, Energy surging and making my whole body feel like it’s vibrating.

Kick off, wall, step, step, kick off, tuck legs, hit stone, roll. I don’t feel the pain I know is there, too much adrenaline. I spring to my feet and address my attackers, the first of which launches across the gap only to be stopped dead, over the pit, by a thrust stick. My weapon bends under the strain, but I struck it center of mass, and it no longer had the ability to make it across.

It barely had the chance to scream.

[Congratulations, you defeated a Dwarf Shade! +50 Power (90)]

Standing between limp body of my friend and certain death, I beckon to the Shade lurking on the far side of pit, “Next.” my voice a cold, deadly serious whisper.

The second shade does not come. Having witnessed how the last one died, it seems to have learned that killing us won’t be trivial.

I keep my guard up, and my focus spread among the varied threats that file in. Four total shades remain.

Still too many to take in a straight fight, but this isn’t a straight fight anymore. They have to get to me across a very dangerous pit, where jumping straight over means at least some are going to fail.

I think if they all did it at once, I might be fucked, but they would have to go into it knowing one or two would die… and it would take some planning. It really depends how much brain power these things are working with. If they get ready to jump… I’m going to stand and fight. I don’t anticipate that going well.

Instead, they seem content to wait on the far side. They cluster together, every once in a while howling into the night. I don’t know why they do it, aside from scaring the shit out of me, but I fucking wish they would stop.

With them no longer in a threatening position, I opt to check on Ra-

This is not Rav.

This is not Rav at all.

Who the fuck did I sav-

Lauren?! Fucking Lauren, the one who barely resisted spitting in my face when I went to say ‘hi’... came here? To help me?

No, that’s fucking stupid. She came to kill me or make sure I wasn’t making off with loot, or to get some loot herself. Or all three. She risked her life out of greed?

Huh. We might actually be friends if she stops being an asshole for just a moment.

She’s… bleeding a lot, actually. It looks like one of the shades got her pretty badly. I need to stop the bleeding.

Keeping Lauren in between me and the shades, I place my hand on the wound in her side and enter the Energetic space to appraise the wound. It’s deep, almost went all the way through, lots of internal bleeding, some organ damage. Nothing is *missing* thankfully, no tendons destroyed, so it’s pretty basic healing. Just a lot of it. But… there’s something else wrong with her. A creeping void resides within her, sucking in all the Energy that passes through. It’s almost like someone cursed her… this will make my life more difficult. I’ll have to maintain control over my Energy so enough of it doesn’t get sucked up that I can do the most necessary repairs. I also can’t exhaust my Energy supply, as that will leave me completely vulnerable.

I could also just… leave her to die.

She has some pretty nice stuff after all. And I really think she had ill intent coming here.

It would be so easy…

...

She deserves it. She literally deserves it.

Go on. Kill again.

No, shut up. I’m not killing her, just… not saving her.

Lies the weak tell themselves.

I’m… not going to risk my life for this animal. Even her Energy is broken. She isn’t really even…

Go on, dehumanize her. Make it easy. No one will miss her anyway.

No one will miss her anyway…?

Emotion washes over me, and I can’t maintain the Energetic view anymore. Tears blur my eyes. What the fuck is wrong with me. I legitimately just thought about letting someone die because they’re inconvenient.

Look. I *know* she’ll be just as likely to stab me to death if I heal her now. I *know* I’d be saving myself the hassle of having to watch out for her. But… people aren’t born like her. I mean, angry, bitter, and broken. They’re made that way. I don’t know what hurt her, and I don’t think Energy can fix it, but if I let her die now, she’ll have died a monster. Unlikeable, unloved, and ultimately forgotten.

Maybe she has it in her to get better, and I have the ability and opportunity to give her that chance.