Chapter 47

  While my escort was unlocking the door, I sent my psi throughout the building. There was a short hallway on the other side of the door which led into a common room. There were two people in that common room positioned to watch the door. Upstairs there was one more person. When including my escort and the other seven stalkers, I have eleven enemies to neutralize. I swapped my main class over to Enforcer. A melee based, crowd control class would serve better for this scenario.

  The guy finally opened the door. He took a while at it because he was letting the other stalkers catch up and get closer. “Right this way, Miss. There’s a spare room with a cot.” He led me into the building. The two men waiting in the common room were playing some kind of card game. They acknowledged my escort and gave me a searching look, before smiling. I was taken deeper into the building to an open door. I noticed that the door had a pretty fancy lock, but the lock was on the outside of the door and the door looked very sturdy. Obviously, the room was used as some kind of holding cell.

  When I saw the cot in the corner of the ‘room’, I went over, sat down my bag, at the edge of the cot and laid down after slipping off my boots. There was only a flimsy blanket present, but I pulled it over myself. Then I waited, while acting like I was asleep.

  All the stalkers were now inside the building and my escort was watching me carefully to be sure I was asleep. One of the stalkers went upstairs toward the person up there, probably to report my ‘capture’. After a few minutes, my escort came closer and attempted to take my bag. That’s when I took action.

  I was out of the bed and on top of the man. I stopped him from making any noise while delivering a well-measured blow to the back of his neck. He was instantly knocked out. Now that the first problem was taken care of, I gave the room another onceover. There were some chains and shackles in a small side cabinet in the wall. There were also wall fixtures where you could attach them. That gives me an idea. I took advantage of the items and imprisoned my escort. I hung him from a wall that wasn’t immediately visible from the doorway.

  One of the men from earlier was coming closer, so I flattened myself against the wall by the door. “Oi, Dirge. You’re taking forever, you’re not sampling the goods again are you? The boss will be pissed.” He spoke in a low voice as he entered the room. He opened his eyes in surprise to see his associate chained up, but that’s all he could do before he too was knocked out. It was too much to hope for that they’d all come trickling in to be taken care of, so I bound this guy quickly and then moved out.

  I took advantage of the surprise of my appearance to take out another one before the rest could even react. After that as they were getting up, I took out one more, but now I had five people up drawing their swords. It was the time for the Enforcer Class to shine!

  The specialty of this class could only be shown when in the thick of battle and when facing multiple foes. One thrust his sword and I swayed to make it narrowly miss. I followed up by gripping his wrist and twisting to make him drop his weapon. I suddenly leaned forward and kicked my left leg up and backwards, hitting the man behind me with a heel to his chin as he swung his weapon over my now lowered body. He was instantly out. This was the effect of the Enforcer class. The more I comboed together counter attacks, the more likely my counter attacks were to successfully disable. The flaw was that as an exchange for this effect, your attacks actually became less lethal. That was good in these circumstances though.

  It kind of sucks that I’m not carrying any of my special Enforcer equipment, but just my body was enough to handle some thugs like these guys. I’d estimate them at level 30 to 40 at most.

  That estimate was proven right by the fact that the five were down and out inside of twenty seconds. Right on time for the last two targets in the building to show up at the top of the stairs. They had hurried at the sound of fighting, but they were too late to do any good. “By the Spirits!? What happened? Did you do all this?” The one that had been upstairs from the start shouted after surveying the wreck that had been their common room.

  “Boss, that’s the girl we captured!” The other one said.

  “You obviously didn’t capture her, you idiot. It looks like you just led her to us.” The Boss punched his subordinate hard which caused the man to kneel down. Simultaneously, he raised his other hand toward me. “Wind Cannon.”

  Fuck. The effect was too fast and wide to dodge it. I twisted my body and wrapped my cloak around Coa. I didn’t know how this would go, but I was sure I could take the damage at least.

  The blast of pressurized air hit my clothes and then was dissipated by my shield. Well, I guess that answers the question about whether or not a magic spell can penetrate my shield. Some of the thugs on the ground got hit as well, but they were out cold and weren’t even aware of it.

  Without missing a beat, the man called out another spell. “Lightning Strike!”

  It goes without saying that there was no way electricity was going to pierce my shield. I didn’t feel like letting him cast again, so I tossed one of his unconscious goons at him. He managed to dodge it, but I had already dashed toward him in that small interval. I was surprised when he managed to not only react, but also throw two knives at me before I reached him. This guy was pretty skilled.

  “Air Blast!” He yelled. Unlike the other spells targeted at me, he aimed this one at the stairs in front of him, right where I was about to step. I flexed my legs and flipped over him and landed on the last goon that was behind him. Before the caster boss could move, I had him caught in a hammerlock and I pushed him against the wall.

  “Before you try anything else, be aware that the only reason you and your idiots aren’t dead is because you have some use. At least as long as you do what I tell you, understand?” I stated. When he didn’t respond and instead I felt a magic fluctuation, I applied more pressure to the armlock. The forming magic was cut off. “I said, do you understand?”

  He groaned. “What do you want then, bitch?”

  I slipped my dagger out of its sheath and slammed it into the wall by his head. “First, if you call me that again, the dagger is going to start cutting things off.” For good measure, I drew the dagger back out and then slammed it into the wall again. Right by his pelvis. I think he got the hint. “Next, you and I are going to go for a short trip. You’re going to get me in through the back of a bar to meet the guy in charge. You will do whatever is necessary for that purpose. Trust me, this is the easy way for all concerned, mainly you. I’m sure you are attached to living, so give me a good answer.”

  “Fine! Anything you say. Just spare me! Please!” He begged.

  “Perfect score.” While keeping ahold of him, I pushed him forward down the stairs. I looked at the thugs strewn around the common room. I should probably do something about these guys first. “Actually, first we’re going to lock up all your monkeys.”

  I made him help me bring them all to the cells. It turned out that there were a few of those beyond the one I had been in. The boss has the key, so he can just release them later. I don’t have anything against them after all. I just don’t want them getting in the way right now.

  Once that was completed, I ushered him out of the hideout and back onto the street. He had slipped on a long overcoat and I had my hood back over my head. I was following him closely to the point that I was basically his shadow. I occasionally poked him with the dagger if he ever so much as slowed for even a step. We turned down an alley by the bar and walked around and reached a door there. He knocked on the door five times. There was a rhythm to the knocks that I would be sure to remember.

  A small panel opened in the door. “State your business.”

  “I needed to discuss the details about a shipment of Dragon’s Breath whiskey. There has been a delay and I don’t expect to be able to deliver it in two days. It might take as many as six days for it to arrive.” My minion replied. Some kind of code phrase perhaps? Another thing to keep in mind if I need to come back.

  “I see. We might want to think of alternatives then.” The door panel closed. There was the sound of locks being undone before the door opened. “Come on in.”

  The man inside was almost as macho as the barkeep was. “So Bartram, some problem with your new prize that you need to see Jhaeros about?” He asked when the door was closed.

  My minion was astonished since from what he knew I was right behind him and not exactly hiding. In actuality I was using my psi to hide myself from this new guy’s senses. Since he was floundering, I gave him another poke with the dagger. He got the hint. “Something like that. Sorry, but I have to talk to him about it.”

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  “Let me know if there is anything I can do to help. Jhaeros is in his study.” The man sat in a chair by the door, put on a pair of glasses and then picked back up a book. The dichotomy between a macho, glasses and a book.

  I gave out another poke, so we started moving. We went down some stairs into what I assumed would be a cellar or basement for storing alcohol, but all I saw down here was a door at the bottom of the stairs. A brief knock followed by, “It’s Bartram. Jhaeros, I need to speak with you.”

  “Enter.” It was the voice of the barkeep I had met earlier.

  Minion opened the door and went inside. I walked in after taking a moment to erase myself from being noticed by the barkeep. It was more difficult to do that than it should have been given the lack of psi resistance. He must be considerably strong minded.

  The room definitely fit what I would call a study. It was even carpeted. Pretty at odds with the macho appearance of the man inside. The barkeep looked up from his chair. “Need help disposing of the girlie, Bartram? I saw her jewelry and it was quite high class. Did you discover some kind of affiliation you need to be careful of? Based on the design of the jewelry, connected with Dodasea perhaps? What’s wrong? Take a seat already.”

  “Don’t mind if I do.” I said. I knocked out my minion and he collapsed forward. From the barkeeps point of view, I simply appeared.

  “The girlie from earlier?” He sighed. “You fooled me. I must be going senile.”

  “You can do that after I pump you for information.” I stated.

  “Now why should I do that? You attacked one of my associates and even snuck in here. I don’t see why I should tell you anything.” He had a wide grin.

  “It would be a nice thing to do?” I offered.

  “I don’t think so. How about you leave now and I’ll forget about this.” He smirked

  This elf macho mistakenly thought he had the high ground here. I should disabuse him of that notion. I went toward him, he tried to block me, but I was too small and nimble for him. I grasped hold of his hair and yanked. I swiveled my body and he landed on the ground. He rolled upward and swung with a backhand at my face. I caught his fist on my palm. It was a pretty strong blow, but not good enough. He was astonished to see me not even flinch. Was it really that amazing? I mean this is a world operating on game mechanics, so even a small child could have a high strength value couldn’t they?

  I gripped his fist with my hand and then placed my foot on the back of his head and pushed him face down into the carpet. With that done, I crushed his hand. I heard his muffled cries, but didn’t pay it any particular note. “Why do you people always, always have to make it go like this? I was willing to handle this peacefully.” I squeezed his hand again. “Don’t go thinking you’re irreplaceable, alright? I’m sure there are countless people in this city able to get me what I need, you’re just the first one I found. So please don’t waste both of our times by thinking I won’t kill you. Before you think of threatening that your associates and underlings will get revenge for you, not a single one of them saw me come in here. If I have to kill you, then I’ll also be killing this other moron who got me here. Then for good measure, I’ll kill the moron’s minions that I left chained up back at their hideout. There will be not a single soul that can connect me to your death. Consider all these very important details now before we get down to business.”

  I let him sit back up and then plopped down in a chair I placed in front of him. He was holding the hand I had broken. I detected some magic that was centered on it and then a few seconds later, it seemed like he had at least eased the pain. He hadn’t fully healed it though. He was glaring at me, but didn’t seem willing to risk another bout of violence.

  “You seem well enough to listen now. I need to speak to certain people. I can tell you have a number of connections, so I’d like for you to send a message. See, isn’t it a simple and straightforward task?” I told him.

  He clicked his tongue. “Who are you so interested in that you went to all this trouble?”

  “Ghost.” I answered simply.

  His terror and anxiety ratcheted up sharply. They really have quite the reputation to spark that extreme of a reaction with just their name. “I’ve never heard of anyone called that before. I can’t help you.”

  “Don’t lie to me. I know you know of them. It’s why I chose to get into contact with you.” Well, not really, I just picked up Ghost from his thoughts earlier. Them possibly being behind some smuggling that had ruined something for him. It was related to the topic that he had been discussing with that guy when I arrived. “I’m quite well aware of their existence and that they must operate here in the capital. All I need is a message sent to them. I don’t think it’s that dangerous?”

  He let out a long drawn out sigh. “Look girl. I’ll be frank, you don’t send a message to them. They contact you.”

  “I can understand that, but there must be some method to put a message out there.” I said.

  “No no no. Even if everyone that is anyone knows they exist, they are really definite when it comes to anyone openly broadcasting it. Trying to send a message to them at all would cross the line.” He explained.

  “Surely, you could do something that left any details of them out, but still made it plain who I really wanted to speak with.” I pointed out.

  “I probably could, but there’s no guarantee they would pay it any mind. I’m not affiliated with anyone that comes close to dealing in their circles. It’s too risky. They’re quite a bit more involved with politics.”

  “How involved are we talking about here?” I asked, curious.

  “No one has the slightest idea. There are suspicions that they might actually be part of the Empire’s government, but no one has ever found any proof of such a link. I’ve been working in the Empire capital for two centuries and they’ve always been here.” He commented.

  “You’re being remarkably forthcoming with information. I thought I might have to threaten you more.” I stated. I was impressed that he hadn’t even tried to lie after that first one!

  “I know that it's hopeless for me to fight you and I could tell you were being honest about having no stipulations against getting rid of me if I should become a problem. I’ll take the option that keeps me alive in that case.” He confessed.

  “What would you recommend when it comes to contacting them?” I questioned.

  “I won’t do you much good, but I do know of someone that is much more likely to be of service. Her business naturally involves a lot of important people, so she has routes available to her that I simply don’t have. Getting to see her will be difficult though. Her business has extremely high security, including magical means of detecting visitors that don’t come in through the normal manner. Unless you have a way around all that, the only option would be to enter through the front door as a customer and make contact that way. That has it’s own share of problems. Like I said before, she deals with important people, so someone that looks like a common adventurer being allowed to enter would be impossible.” He responded.

  I could easily do something about my appearance since I still have that gown. “Anything else? Also where is her business located. Actually, you haven’t even given me a name yet.”

  “Her pseudonym is Madame Lorelei. As for where to find her. Her establishment is in the middle district overlooking the harbor. Oh, I almost forgot. All her customers wear masks to hide their faces. A stupid custom to be honest. You’d need to bring your own mask. If you do manage to get admitted, she’ll probably get in contact with you naturally as she wouldn’t recognize you.”

  ‘Madame’? “A brothel?” I asked.

  “Yep. A brothel catering to the rich and powerful. If there is anyone in this city that can pass a message to them, it would be her. Either that or she’s actually a member.” He replied.

  A brothel! That sounds fun! Not sure how this world views same-sex coupling though. “That sounds like a plan then. I’ll show myself out. Since you’ve been so very helpful, and if this works out, I’ll consider owing you a favor. That’s quite valuable, you know?” I said with a smile.

  He grimaced. “I’m pretty sure I’d rather you just never came back. I think you’re bad for my health.”

  “I’m not making any promises on that front.” I replied.

  “Please, don’t come back. You’re poking your head into a dragon’s nest, I don’t want my subordinates dragged into that as collateral damage.” He begged.

  I let out an exasperated breath. “For now I’ll use the favor I just gave you for that purpose. I doubt I’ll even need to come back if the information you gave me was good. One last question, does the type of mask matter or is anything fine as long as it conceals some of your facial features?”

  “Anything goes.” He answered simply.

  “That works well for me then.” I already had a good idea for the kind of mask I’ll wear. “So long!” I left his study and walked out before a thought came to me. I poked my head back into the study. “Hey, it’s me again, why didn’t you drug the alcohol?”

  He looked at me incredulously. “That kind of tampering isn’t respectful to the alcohol.”

  I couldn’t help but nod. It was true after all. I guess his pride as a barkeep outweighed any other concerns.

  That extra question taken care of, I went upstairs. The guard was still suffering from my psi trick, so when I opened all the locks and the door with telekinesis, he kind of flipped out. I slipped out past him during that ruckus.

  It was only early night, but since I had preparations to make I wouldn’t be able to visit the brothel until tomorrow. I guess I’ll use the morning to do my shopping and then I’ll visit and check up on how Rie is doing. After that, I’m unsure. I should probably wait until evening for the brothel, so maybe I’ll waste my free time inside the dungeon.

  I called up the virtual keyboard. [You heard him, Lynn. I’m visiting a brothel. No complaints since it’s for official business right?]

  “I’m preparing a tactical nuke.” Lynn said in a monotone voice.

  [Wait wait wait! You don’t have to go that far!] I urgently typed.

  “I know you too well, Mistress. Brothels are terrible and troublesome. A nuke will wipe all those troubles away before they can fester.” Now she sounded serene!

  [Lynn, please calm down. I promise, absolutely promise that I won’t do anything with the workers there. I will absolutely stick to the plan.] I wrote.

  “Whatever!” And now she was sulking! “Good night, Mistress.”

  I massaged my temples. What a troublesome AI! She never has a problem when I have girlfriends, but somehow she considers brothels and prostitutes out of bounds. I truly can’t understand her pickiness. Let’s just go to the inn, set up that device and go to bed.

  Spoiler: Spoiler

  Chapter 4

  Move! Move! Move you stupid cat body! If I can’t move, it’s all over! I don’t want this dream to turn into this kind of scary nightmare!

  It felt like everything was in slow motion as the spider’s large fangs got steadily closer to my immobile body.

  Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!

  It was like all of my muscles fired at once. My body surged upward, right between the fangs that were about to skewer me, and my left paw lanced out at a blistering speed. My claws made contact with the spider’s face and ripped upward.

  The spider let out a loud screeching hiss as it quickly retreated.

  I landed and narrowly stopped myself from wobbling and falling over. Stay strong, me. You can’t show any weakness to this thing. Not now.

  We were both eying each other from a distance of probably twenty lengths. The spider was obviously confused and in turmoil about what had just occurred. It was unsteady and its body was shaking too and fro. It had probably feasted on many a prey by first paralyzing them. I wonder when or if it had ever suffered a wound such as I had just inflicted on it. Surveying the monster, I was quite proud of myself too.

  I had torn a path diagonally up the face of the spider, taking out three of its eyes as I went. That likely explained a great part of its current state. It was suddenly reduced in vision to only almost half of its normal capacity. Wait. It has six remaining eyes. It had nine in total? Is there a reason for nine specifically? Why the hell did spiders even have eight eyes? I don’t know if I ever heard of a reason for that. Seems kind of weird now that I consider it.

  Stop! That’s not important right now!

  My situation hadn’t improved much at all! Of course, I was no longer on the verge of death, but I still needed to escape somehow! The spider should overcome its hesitancy and despite how I moved earlier, I was still inflicted with the paralysis. My body felt numb and I was having difficulties to even keep standing. If I tried to flee, the spider would catch me almost immediately.

  It was time to try an ultimate level skill!

  Bluff!

  It came with very high risks given my current status, but I had nothing to lose and everything to gain. I couldn’t think of any other methods that might overturn my current predicament. I just needed to buy time until the paralysis wore off.

  With that decided, I steeled myself before taking a brave step toward the spider. I released a growl and swung my paw, claws extended.

  The spider immediately skittered back another five or so lengths.

  I took another step forward and the spider retreated away from me once again.

  Wasn’t this working too well? Was it possible this spider was actually a coward? Having something that was at least ten times my size being afraid of me was kind of an odd feeling. Or maybe it made sense because it seemed to be an ambushing type of creature. Its ambush failed and it got wounded. Now it’s probably hesitating between retreating or attacking. My bluff was then keeping it from stopping to think more carefully.

  I shouldn’t push my luck on this bluff too much. I just needed to keep it off balance. If I pushed too far it would inevitably wonder why I didn’t just attack it. How long was this paralysis going to last though? This bluff hinged on the hope of it having a short duration.

  I was taking brief glances to examine my surroundings to choose a good direction to run. My home was not an option. It’s too close. The spider would find it easily enough. That left me only one option.

  Escape into the unknown.

  It was dangerous, but it had to be better than guaranteed death against this thing!

  By this point the distance between the spider and I had opened up to twice our starting distance. That boded well, if this damn paralysis would just go away already! The spider appeared to be pulling itself together too. It was no longer flinching and shuddering away from me. It also seemed to have fixed the trouble it was having with its movement.

  That didn’t bode well for me. Despite the damage I had caused, I knew that the spider was clearly my better in all respects. I only got in a lucky blow. A devastating lucky blow, but a lucky blow nonetheless.

  About damned time!

  Without even giving the spider another passing glance, I shot into the foliage to my right. I heard the slight sound of the spider breaking into motion as well. Good luck catching me you bastard!

  I had chosen a direction that seemed overly dense in plants. I knew from earlier that the spider was definitely faster than me, but with its eyes gone and its far greater size, it shouldn’t be able to so easily chase my tiny self down.

  The sounds of the spider moving through the undergrowth were falling further and further behind, but I didn’t dare let down my guard. There was also the danger of running into something else. I prayed that my luck wasn’t that bad.

  I burst out from between two tree and had to skid to a stop. Stretched out in front of me was a gigantic web that prevented me from going any further.

  There’s no way that spider got ahead of me to do this! Does that mean I fled straight to its web!? Are you freaking kidding me!? Why!?

  I saw a number of unfortunates stuck to both sides of the web. All of them with puncture wounds showing how they had been finished off. I shuddered. I had been so very close to being just like them.

  My ears pricked up. Sounds were approaching, so I started running again. I just needed to go around this web.

  …

  How big is this blasted web!? I’ve been running and running and there hasn’t been a single opening in it! It’s been spread across this entire area like some kind of defensive wall.

  Huh? Is that why I haven’t seen many creatures these last few days? I’ve been inside this spider’s territory the whole time? Doesn’t that mean I’ve been insanely lucky that I hadn’t run into the spider before now!?

  I needed a way through, but the holes in the web were way too small. I looked up. Of course. Even if the web is long, there’s no way it could spread all the way up to the top of these gigantic trees. I don’t think there would be any benefit for the spider to do such a thing either. The web was probably mainly for keeping larger animals out. Plus that bird or the flying squirrels must have had a method by which to enter the area. The web was spread out along the trees too though. I’d have to climb up one of the trees near the web and then hopefully be able to jump branch to branch across and over. I was a bit hesitant to try this. While I’m on the ground, I seemed to be faster than the handicapped spider, but if I start going up the trees, I’d be playing more into its strengths.

  I didn’t think I had a choice. I had not seen any kind of opening near the ground large enough for me to use. I didn’t want to take the risk of trying to cut the web with my claws either. I had a feeling that that would turn out horrendously bad.

  Not wasting any more time, I jumped to the nearest unwebbed tree and started upward. I wasn’t thinking about anything else but climbing.

  Climb higher. Climb faster.

  I repeated that litany to myself over and over. Even when I finally picked up the sounds of a certain beast finally catching up to me, I didn’t stop or pay it any attention. It’s not like it would help me.

  There! Finally the top of the web!

  I kept climbing until I reached a branch that stretched that way. I scrabbled onto it and paused for a brief moment to catch my breath. Following that, I rushed along the branch and leapt. I sailed over the web and fell a good distance before grasping another branch on the other side. I didn’t stop there though. I continued along this branch and leapt again.

  I kept going until I had left the web and hopefully the spider well behind. I could no longer even see any sign of it.

  I finally allowed myself to rest and collapsed. My stamina had been nearly completely depleted by my desperate escape. I was panting heavily and my paws were dripping in sweat.

  I felt an impact. Something had landed on my back.

  The small fingers gripping at me that belonged to whatever it was told me it wasn’t the spider at least.

  Ouch! It hit me. I looked back to see a small monkey looking thing sitting on my back. One hand was placed on me while the other hand was raised up.

  Fuck. It had dropped its raised fist down onto my back.

  This little bastard. Right after I get away from the spider, now it’s this thing. Taking advantage of my weakened state. Making a fool out of me! I’m going to rip you to shreds!

  With my anger fueling me, I stood up, shaking the small monkey off my back. This is the first time, I’ve seen a beast that was close to my own size. The monkey was now standing on one leg on the branch looking at me. It was making hand gestures at me like ‘Come on!’.

  I pounced, but the monkey swung off the branch using its tail to hang. I landed slightly past where it had previously been. The monkey had made a mistake if it thought that it was out of reach using a lame method like that. Before the monkey could attempt any other movement, I bit into its tail and yanked. The monkey let out an eek filled with pain and its tail loosened its grip. I yanked again and brought the monkey back up into reach of my claws. The monkey had a wide eyed stare as my claws flashed out and cut deeply into its chest. It died pretty much instantly.

  I dragged the dead monkey onto the branch and tore into it ravenously. My stamina was even more seriously depleted after that short bout. I even lapped at the blood to sate my thirst. I was so focused on the meal in front of me, that I wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings.

  A very stupid mistake.

  My tail had been grabbed. I felt myself being tugged. I turned to see a slightly larger monkey there.

  I buckled as another monkey landed on my back. Damn it, how many of these blasted things are there!?

  The monkey on my back smacked me on the head.

  Fuck! The monkey holding my tail just bit me! Karma is a fickle bitch.

  Honestly. This dream was rapidly becoming really annoying.

  I couldn’t dislodge my passenger. I was lacking free movement because of the one that had a firm hold on my tail.

  That’s something at least. Even ignoring the attacks I was enduring, my body was so stiff and sore. That small meal had helped, but not enough. I was still exhausted and running on fumes. I was not going to let monkeys beat me though!

  I forced myself to relax as much as possible while I was panting. I needed to conserve and focus what little stamina I had left for this to work.

  That’s useful!

  Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

  I bent down and rolled slightly to my right and then back to my left. The monkey on my back was surprised and lost its balance but didn’t let go. That’s alright. I hoped for that, but I didn’t think it would actually happen. Time for the next step. Taking into account the monkey still on my tail I hopped backwards. The two monkeys smacked into each other and finally let go of me.

  I immediately turned around and shot forward, mouth open. My mouth closed around the throat of the nearer monkey. I tightened my jaw muscles and then jerked my head to the side. With its throat torn out, I watched the body collapse. There was no way that one was still alive. I pushed it aside and saw it tumble to the ground, but I didn’t care about that one. I wanted to rip apart the monkey that dared to touch and bite my beautiful tail with its filthy body.

  It had already swung and landed on a different branch. I leapt after it, much to its surprise. I was faster than it so despite its headstart, I was able to catch it. The monkey was staring up at me in terror as I pushed it against the wood. I really wanted to take my time and torture this despicable beast, but I had learned my lesson earlier. Allowing myself to get too absorbed in something was not intelligent. I settled for ripping its throat out like the other one.

  With that concluded, I swiftly ate. I wanted to consume it all, but I thought it was probably time to move on. There were three dead monkeys spread around this area. It was not safe for me to hang around any longer.

  I hopped the rest down to the ground and began my search for a tree hollow to use. It was slow going because I kept hiding whenever I picked up the slightest sign of anything.

  My quest was pretty fruitless.

  Like usual.

  I never seem to find what I’m looking for. Maybe I should move on from tree hollows and look for something different. Maybe a cave? I think I’d have to move closer to the cliff to find one of those.

  At least the cliff was easy to find. I even got another level of Hide while traveling there. That skill seems to only gain experience when I successfully hide from some entity. Which means I must have narrowly escaped from a potential fight.

  When I reached the cliff, I found something I was not expecting.

  There was a graveyard of bones. Most of them were small, but some of them were quite large. In particular, I felt drawn to a certain skull. It looked like a cat skull. It was huge. Maybe even bigger than Mother’s head.

  I don’t know why I felt compelled to get closer to it. There was some force that was driving me. Before I was really aware of it, I was already next to it. I sniffed at the skull, trying to find an explanation for my reaction to it.

  It was very faint, but Mother’s smell was on it! I walked around the skull and had to dig to make a large enough path to crawl inside of it. It was comfortable enough.

  I took a moment to check my status.

  Haha. How odd. My stamina is empty? How did I even make it this far?

  I blacked out.