The three stretched out and used packs and pouches for pillows and covered up with blankets. With the waves of heat from the fire and the protection of the tarp, the night was comfortable. Trey put away his whetstone and held the ax shaft in his hands with the gleaming head resting on the ground between his feet.

Morgan lay closest to Trey, then Spence, and then Caleb. Spence closed his eyes and pretended to sleep. He occasionally slightly opened one to see if Trey was still at his post. Each time he was, but several times it appeared he looked over at him, or possibly at all of them, sleeping. Slowly fatigue crept over Spence, and he caught himself dozing, waking with a start each time and checking to confirm Trey’s whereabouts. He turned his entire head to the side when he didn’t see him from the corner of his eye. The panic eased when he saw Trey outside the tarp placing more limbs on the fire. Spence closed his eyes before Trey returned to his seat.

The next time Spence opened his eyes, a face stared down at him. He caught the gasp in his throat as his eyes focused to see Trey leaning over him. His right hand instinctively clutched at the smooth handle of his staff lying beside him. Trey’s expression was unreadable. Spence’s body tensed from head to toe, involuntarily preparing for some type of blow.

“Your watch.” Trey straightened and returned to his spot. He lay on the tarp, placed his ax beside him, and rested his head on his pack.

Spence exhaled his held breath and inhaled deeply. He slowly stood and walked past Morgan and Trey to step out of the shelter. He walked a few feet away from the fire to let his vision grow accustomed to the darkness. The night was cloudy as usual, although he saw a faint glow behind the clouds that could be a moon. He had never considered if Nibiru had a moon or more than one. Or was it Earth’s moon? Sometimes he forgot this wasn’t just a strange place on Earth. He had no idea if Nibiru was actually a planet passing by every thirty-six hundred years, somewhere else in the galaxy or universe, or in some other dimension altogether. The thoughts made his head spin.

The light was too faint to see anything except the clouds. The night was eerily silent. Spence thought he had shed most of the fear he had brought from Earth. But being in nearly pitch dark, in a strange land where they had just recently fought and killed a dragon, made him a little nervous. He had a powerful staff, but a quick attack at night could kill or incapacitate him before he could even activate it. He threw some sticks on the fire and made his way inside the shelter.

Spence didn’t fall asleep on this watch; he would never do that again. He was still mad at himself for dozing off earlier, but he had been lying down and should have been sleeping, anyway. Now, Spence was sitting up and alert. He glanced at the others periodically. Caleb hardly ever moved. Morgan turned from side to side several times. Trey had occasional bouts of snoring, which only ended when he rolled over in the other direction. Spence's watch was uneventful other than a distant howl of either a wolf or coyote. He woke Morgan when he estimated his three hours were done. He stayed up with her for a few minutes to ensure she was awake and alert and then crawled into his spot. He trusted Morgan, and this time he slept soundly.

When Spence awoke again, daylight filled the shelter. Morgan lay beside him, but Caleb and Trey were not visible. He stood, clutching his staff, and headed toward the side with the fire, which still smoldered with red embers. Caleb stood a short distance away. His sword was in his hand, and he slowly swung it in different motions. Spence realized he wasn’t fighting but doing some type of practice or elaborate calisthenics.

Trey appeared from around the side of the rock and walked toward Spence and the shelter. “Had to drain the python. Mr. Miagi’s been going at it for a while.” Trey walked past Spence and into the shelter.

That seemed a little more like the old Trey. Spence walked around the side of the cliff to relieve himself and then approached Caleb. In slow, steady swings, Caleb continued waving his sword back and forth and up and down. If he saw Spence, he didn’t acknowledge him. Spence continued approaching. Suddenly, Caleb turned, and in a flash of silver, the blade's tip was almost touching Spence’s throat. “And you’re dead before breakfast.”

“Jesus! You could have stabbed me in the throat!” Spence backed up a step and rubbed at his neck to make sure the sword hadn’t nicked the skin. Even though they recently sparred, Caleb’s quickness was frightening.

“Only if I wanted to, or you deserved it.”

Spence inhaled deeply and let his anger and fear subside. “I want to learn how to fight with my staff.”

Caleb lowered his sword and wiped his brow with his other hand. “I think you’re pretty good with that.”

“No, not with the magic. I want to be able to defend myself and attack if my staff is recharging. My dagger should be last resort.”

“Ah. Good idea. Wait here.” Caleb sprinted fifty or sixty yards away. He used his sword to chop off a low limb of a hardwood tree. A few more chops made it into a straight stick of comparable size and shape as the staff. Then Caleb walked over to another tree and hacked a stick to use as a sword. He sheathed his sword and sprinted to Spence, carrying the two limbs.

“Drop your staff and use this. I’m afraid to chop your staff with my metal blade. We’d probably both end up fried.”

Spence gently laid his staff down and grasped the stick, which was thicker and bulkier than his staff but similar in length. Caleb swung his new weapon back and forth a few times.

“OK. Let’s go,” Caleb said after a minute.

Spence swung his stick in a quick overhand blow at Caleb’s head. He thought the sudden attack would take Caleb off guard. But Caleb’s stick flashed up to block Spence’s. Then Caleb’s left foot extended and stopped when it brushed Spence’s stomach. “That would have hurt,” Caleb said.

Spence pulled his stick back, and he and Caleb began circling each other. The process was like the dagger training, except at a further distance. Spence started on the offensive, and Caleb effortlessly blocked or dodged every blow. After several tiring minutes, Caleb went on the offensive. Spence thought he was doing well, blocking and sidestepping. Then Caleb continued to increase the intensity of his attacks until Spence was helpless to defend himself. Luckily, Caleb was careful to stop short of hitting him too hard with his stick.

They paused, allowing Spence to catch his breath and wipe the sweat from his face and head. Then Caleb began instructing him on offense and defense. He taught him how to gauge the opponent’s stance, where his enemy’s center of gravity was, and when his weight shifted. He explained how to anticipate typical attacks and typical defenses—and how to exploit them. Last, he taught him how to use his free hand and legs to take the enemy by surprise. Most people in a sword fight or knife fight just expected to have to watch the blade and defend from the waist up. Most attacks to the legs and groin were unexpected.

After an hour of training, Spence felt a little better. He still wouldn’t have a chance against a Caleb, but he might be able to survive against an average foe. They returned to the shelter and joined Trey and Morgan for breakfast. Then they all packed, with Caleb taking down the tarps and returning them to his and Spence’s packs.

They donned their coats and headed down the slope to where they had exited the Forbidden Forest. A wide path, almost like a small road, wound between the rocks and boulders. They followed it south and soon reached the rocky area they had seen the day before. It was devoid of trees except for a few small pines growing around the bases of some rock formations and on ledges on the side of cliffs.

The path narrowed to three feet wide as it steadily ascended farther up the rocky slope. After a few hours, the land transitioned to complete stone until the path appeared carved out of the side of the mountain. The drop-off to the left was steep, and, in some places, the trail was entirely missing, leaving gaps they had to step or leap over. The path ended late in the afternoon on top of a large, flat stone plateau. Standing in front of them in a semicircle stood a dozen dwarves.