W: Werlkhan - title character, first person naration is from this perspective

The rest of the party is signed out for this chapter

?? .... Loading .... Welcome to ¦Founding of Humanity ¦

Brambles Forest

sight range reduced 30‰

It's dark in the woods. One thing learned, you sign in where you signed out.

New Quest!

Cats eat rats. You have attracted the attention of the hunter. Survive!

* bring live rat into Brambles Forest at night

Immediately the back of my neck starts to prickle, and I notice the forest soundscape that I was expecting absent, even the crickets are holding their breath. Taking stock, I have my pack around me and I quickly form my spirit connection to my moths. Then I hear the crack of bark on a branch overhead and look up.

The canopy blocks much of the starlight, and twisting silhouettes take the place of trees and branches. A nearby tree has a patch of night sky visible near the trunk, belying the trees behind it that should make it impossible. I dont see any other patches as big as that one. Looking again, I see a pair of eyes open on that patch of starry sky.

Twilicat - Lv 15

Crap. Level parity is a tough fight, and this thing is twice my level. Its black fur with gold spots and specks would blend well with the stary sky, and only the heavy canopy betrayed its camoflague. In one motion, the predator steps from the branch to the ground, impossibly long legs making the movement smooth, graceful, and full of confidence. Then on the ground, it lowers closer to my height, something that would be impossible for the leg length I just saw. Render glitch? It is hard to tell any definitive shape in the night, but those golden flecks stretched and elongated with the silent movement.

Initiative wins fights, so I send a moth to stun it. The moth swoops in as expected, flares its wings, and is promptly eaten.

| -27 linked damage |

A Dreameater Moth (lv 3) from your pack has died.

1 charisma removed

I send everything at it, and jump in myself with my kris and wooden sword. The moth stuns do not work, but at least they block the monster's line of sight. It takes out both of my remaining moths in one impossibly wide swipe with that foreleg that does not stick to one size. But with 2 rats, 3 snakes and a wolf we get in a series of hits in that same moment.

| linked damage -27 -27 |

| Twilicat -0 -0 -5 -4 Ambushed! -44 -44 - 6 -14 |

Dang this thing has the toughest hide I have fought yet, negating a bunch of the damage we could have done. It yowls at the damage we have done, and then the shape that should be its head expands and bites down on my wolf while stepping on one of my rats. I take the opportunity to stab and twist my kris and take another swing with my sword.

| wolf -98 |

| rat -21 |

| Twilicat -0 -0 -4 -4 -4 - 6 -14 Bleeding! -4 |

A Rat (lv 1) from your pack has died.

0.7 vitality removed

While it struggles with a mouth full of wolf, it is limited in how many of us it can take a swing at. I dont know if running is a possibility, and a peak at the monster's health shows it is still around three quarters full. This fight is turning desperate. I keep attacking wildly, but in the dark I miss what my pack is doing. My kris connects with one of my rats instead, just as the Twilicat rips an oversized bite out of the wolf.

| wolf -92 |

| Twilicat -4 -4 -4 -6 Bleeding! -4 |

A Young Wolf (lv 5) from your pack has died.

1.2 vitality removed

BETRAYAL!

You have killed your own contracted Rat (lv 1)!

0.7 vitality removed

Cursed Ratskin Boots added

I feel the boots instantly appear on my feet, and at the same time see a haze appear around my health bar. The Twilicat starts rampaging through my snakes, crushing them with paws that grow wide before coming down on my few remaining pack members. It is not a glitch in th render, that must be the skill used by this monster. I'm toast; there is no beating this thing. I turn and run blindly into the night. At the same moment, my turtle engages its shield skill and bites at the large paw now in range.

| snake -54 |

| snake -54 |

| Twilicat -4 -0 Bleeding! -4 |

A Plains Snake (lv 3) from your pack has died.

0.8 strength removed A Plains Snake (lv 3) from your pack has died.

0.8 strength removed

One snake and one turtle left, keeping the killer occupied while I cowardly run away. Nothing looks familiar in the dark, and I can not even remember the path we took as a party to get here, let alone find it. The game lets me know that the fight is still going.

| snake -54 |

| turtle -84 |

| Twilicat -0 Bleeding! -4 |

A Plains Snake (lv 3) from your pack has died.

0.8 strength removed New Skill Learned! Shielded

Quadruple armor rating for 30 seconds

20 mana 5 minute cooldown

So my turtle is still alive, and the last member of my pack. What's the name of the starting town? I cant think of what to try my Pathfinder skill on to get me out of this mess! With the damage that cat was putting out the turtle will probably die next round. I push myself faster, stumbling in the dark, trying to get far enough away to break the engagement with the monster. But then, this monster appeared with a quest?

| turtle -16 |

| Twilicat Bleeding! -4 |

An Ivory Spike Turtle (lv 2) from your pack has died.

1.5 vitality removed

There goes the last of my pack animals. Is the Twilicat still engaged with me? Chapel! There was a chapel in town. I think hard of the chapel and its tall stone spire, and engage the Pathfinder skill. I'm going the wrong direction. The tug on my compass is back in the direction of the Twilicat, which I do not want to see again for a long time. I try to circle around, in a wide arc if that is possible in my near-blind state.

| Twilicat Bleeding! -4 |

Crap. I am still in combat with that monster, and now I have run out of minions to throw at it and am in a weakended state, wearing cursed boots that inhibit my health regeneration. My healthbar, during these last few hits to my pack stats, has not noticably improved, which is very concerning. I try to get around the space where I think the fight was, and head for town as quickly as the deep shadows and uneven surfaces allow.

| Twilicat Bleeding! -4 |

The starry night in front of me melts, and drops down to pool into the shape of a large feline blocking my path. It found me. Those cold eyes, slightly shining, pupils very dialated, lock onto mine. It knew I was going this way, and it waited for the right moment to do that tree walking trick and step down in my path again. It knew.

| Twilicat Bleeding! -4 |

I hear a faint snarl, and see the star pattern that is its fur stretch and distort as it swipes at me.

| -100 |

| Twilicat Bleeding! -4 |

Half my remaining health disappears in one hit, and I am knocked sprawling in the loam. Its health has hardly moved since I last saw it, the bleeding damage like a pinprick in a 5 gallon bucket. If I could see the monster's eyes right now I swear it would be smiling at me. Gloating. One final time I see the star pattern of its fur ripple as it swings at me. Then blackness.

... you have died. Forced logout initiated.

First a deep breath. Then, as quickly as I can, I sign on to Khan of Games and start writing. I dont think anyone has reached lv 15 yet, so this hidden monster quest is exactly the kind of exclusive I need.