CHAPTER 18: STARING AT THE SUN
Arcanis noticed it the moment the monster shifted its weight back towards its hind legs. Throwing himself to the side he used his improved body and flipped and twirled in mid-air, trying to get out of the impact area without stumbling to the ground. The large feline creature pounced and landed where he had been but moments ago, an explosive shockwave rolling out from the impact zone, travelling beneath the still airborne adventurer.
The explosion disoriented his attacker and Arcanis used the opening to dash in and slash its already injured flank with his sword, drawing blood. For a moment, that was, until the flames covered the injury, cauterizing it right away. Stepping back, rather than following up on the attack meant he was just far enough away that he could use the combination of his defensive maneuvers to redirect the paw as the monster whirled around and swiped at him with one of its front paws.
Still, its flames reached him and he added another burn to his collection of wounds, but he managed to complete his maneuver undeterred, landing another slash on ... air. Having seen his maneuvers before, the big predator had withdrawn just enough to be out of range as the whirl completed. with a roar it pushed forwards, ramming him in his chest and sending the young adventurer flying. That was a rib, probably.
Sent tumbling over the scorched remains of what had been grass, Arcanis used his arms to protect his injured torso from more impacts and managed to finish up the involuntary motion by pushing into a flip, landing him on his feet rather than ending up on the ground. He was thus in a position to react to the monster running after him, bounding in large jumps only barely affected by the horrible injury the adventurer had given it at the opening sequence.
Surprising the cat with his fast recovery, he gained the initiative and used it to time his counter just right, jumping in a somersault over its head and landed on its back right after it finished the pounce. The momentum allowed him to cut deep, adding what should have been - another - crippling injury. I don't think it feels the pain right now.
Again, the pounce led to an explosion, erupting around the impact zone, but this time Arcanis was shielded by the very body of the beast. His contact with the monster and the timing of the maneuver conspired to give his Sense Magic a valuable insight as well - for a moment he got an impression of the way mana flowed within the creature. Most of the mana was concentrated in its - burning - tail, and the maneuver moved some of it from there into its paws, being emitted on impact.
Again, the mana came with odd flavors, but the aspiring wizard lacked the time to parse it all. Motion, momentum and impact conspired to shake him off his furry, angry platform and he jumped voluntarily, allowing him to plan for a solid, non-tumbling landing.
Again the monster whirled around to face him, but it was getting slower, its injuries dragging it down, even if it did not feel the pain. A missed opportunity, that. Then again, Arcanis was also quite battered, even if he managed to avoid the worst of it.
Specific goal in mind, he guided the back and forth across the clearing until finally he had the monster corner him to one of its sides. Punishing one of its swipes with his sword, he gave it a cut on one of its front paws. It reared back in preparation for the next rush ... and in the same motion he threw himself back through the treeline and charged a particular tree he had picked out. Similar to the first tree this encounter had started on, this one allowed him to convert his momentum into sufficient upwards motion to reach the low branches and pull himself up.
The distraction proved enough to buy him time for two "Healing Touch" casts, significantly reducing the pain from his ribs. The monster repeated the same maneuver again as from the opening, ramming the trunk of the tree, trying to shake him out of the branches. Only this time it was burning and setting the trunk on fire as well. The heat in those claws is no joke.
But fire or no fire, it mattered little to the young adventurer - the feline monster gave him the opening he needed and with a strong somersault he avoided the next impact and fell down, executing his maneuver with precision: With a strong cut - he even noted system assistance - he cut off the monster's tail.
Rolling away and gaining some distance to avoid the counter, Arcanis turned to the beast, expecting a brutal revenge. Instead of an angry roar and tons of angry monster he faced a pained wail: The fire extinguished, the feline creature returned to its original size and it curled in on itself, the sudden agony from all of its wounds paralyzing it. Exhausted himself - checking his status he realized he had dropped below a hundred of his nine hundred and sixty energy points - he raised his blade on more time and finished off the suffering beast.
Tired, he sat down on the side of the clearing, leaning against one of the bordering tree trunks and started chain-casting his healing spell as he checked the pending system notifications.
You have unlocked the skill: Taunt!
Taunt (Level: 1) [Combat]
"I am 97% sure you don't like me, but I'm 100% sure I don't care"
Well, at least you get beaten up for a good reason.
That reason being yourself explains a lot.
Allows you to grant a target an Enrage status effect.
The details depend on your performance, the state of your target and sheer luck.
But your target will likely not appreciate your efforts.
Warning: Use of this skill can have lethal consequences.
+1 Power, +1 Luck, Improved Effect of Enrage
You have raised the skill: Acrobatics to level 8
+2 Agility, Improved Jumping Power and control while maneuvering in mid-air
You have raised the skill: Acrobatics to level 9
+2 Agility, Improved Jumping Power and control while maneuvering in mid-air
You have raised the skill: Balance to level 9
+2 Agility, Improved stability and sense of balance
You have raised the skill: Combat Casting to level 6
+1 Power, +1 Constitution, +1% Cast Time Reduction, +1% Pain Tolerance
You have raised the skill: Dodge to level 21
+1 Agility, +5% Speed for the purpose of evading attacks
You have raised the skill: Weapon: Sword to level 14
+1 Strength, +1 Constitution, +1 Dexterity, +1% Damage with Swords
You have raised the skill: Weapon: Sword to level 15
+1 Strength, +1 Constitution, +1 Dexterity, +1% Damage with Swords
You have raised the skill: Swords: Riposte to level 7
+1 Strength, +1 Constitution, +1 Dexterity, +5% Maneuver Strength
You have raised the skill: Swords: Wall of Blades to level 6
+1 Strength, +1 Constitution, +1 Dexterity, +5% Maneuver Strength
You have unlocked the skill: Swords: Moon Slash!
Swords: Moon Slash (Level: 1) [Martial]
"Soar like a sparrow, strike like a griffin"
All your mooning over the pretty girl next door has yielded some surprising results:
Your body now moves somewhat better aligned to your mood.
It also yielded some less surprising results, such as the girl marrying the miller's son.
Execute a downwards slash, while airborne from within a somersault.
+1 Strength, +1 Constitution, +1 Agility, Improved Maneuver Strength
"Now that is curious." He considered his recent gains and found three aspects noteworthy. All that jumping around and evading ... and only a single level of Dodge. Probably reaching diminishing returns here - they did warn things would slow down after the initial levels. Finishing up his healing he looked at himself and inspected his deplorable state. Healing Touch did nothing to clean up the dried blood or fix the burnt remains of his armor and clothing.
"If this continues I'll return to the surface, only to be arrested for public indecency." The many claw tears and burns from his recent encounters had the armor barely hanging on, to the point where Arcanis was surprised it had held through his energetic movements in the previous encounter.
Anyway, back to the notifications. The new maneuver seems a little ... situational. "Well, can't get lucky every single time. That said ... Improved Maneuver Strength - the first maneuver where there is no explicit percentage noted." Pondering that for a moment he did not find any explanation for the difference. Oh well, one more for the list of questions. Thus decided he withdrew his notebook and added an entry before putting it back in his inventory.
* Can food be found in dungeons?
* How does starvation work, and how do skills and attributes factor in?
* Spatial Storage - is that a thing?
* Different kinds of skills. How? What else? Small Incremental, Maneuver, Odd (Dodge, Concentration, Pain Tolerance)
* Purify Monster Meat
* Moon Slash: No percentage on the levelup boni for Maneuver Strength. What's up?
Which led the young adventurer to his latest Skill acquisition. That one had been of special interest - a skill that actually generated an effect he could observe with his Sense Magic ability, even though it had no obvious magic aspect to it. "Something else to probably bring up when discussing this involuntary adventure. But really - 'Warning: Use of this skill can have lethal consequences.' No kidding, Sherlock!"
Whoever this Sherlock may have been.
Getting up he looked back at the large feline beast he had taken down, only to realize it was already done liquefying. Should probably have thought of taking the corpse apart earlier. Still, he spotted something and walked over to where the corpse had lain - the grass was mostly scorched away, but there, among the ashes he spotted two books that looked familiar. Picking them up Arcanis opened the first of them only to be prompted by a familiar system message.
Spellbook: Kitsunebi
This book contains the knowledge of the Spell "Kitsunebi".
You have 1 spell slots remaining.
Warning: Using this tome will consume it!
Do you want to learn this spell? (y/n)
----------------------------------------
"Captain, where are we!?" The soldier asking the question looked at him, barely visible in the dark of night, as they stood and the rest of the company followed in as close to a formation as could be held in near perfect darkness, a simple lantern the only guidance. He had no good answer for his subordinate - they had been following the trailing light of the company in front of them on their night march.
A light that had just gone out.
Fortunately, before he had to give an answer the light came back. Is it not a bit off? Then another blinked on. And another. And another. They were alone in a dark forest, surrounded by dozens of guiding lights, wondering which one was the right one to follow.
None and yet all of them, as they found out the next day when they came upon the bodies of the men of the company they had been supposed to be supporting.
----------------------------------------
Foxfire, huh? He stared down at the ground, remembering that ancient debacle. "Inoue sure had his way with us back then." He recalled what little he could about their adventures back ... whenever it had been. I wonder if his people still remember him. What he did for them. What he sacrificed for them.
"Still, whatever happened to him, he'd laugh his ass off watching me get that particular spell." With a grin, Arcanis closed to book again and the prompt went away, then checked out the other book he had found.
Spellbook: Turn Undead
This book contains the knowledge of the Spell "Turn Undead".
You have 1 spell slots remaining.
Warning: Using this tome will consume it!
This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.
Do you want to learn this spell? (y/n)
"Right, those totally need help with turning around." The aspiring wizard closed the book, not interested in whatever that spell was supposed to do. The dungeon had not shown any undead so far, so anything related to them would have little immediate use for him. Thus decided, he went back to the first book, opened it and confirmed the prompt.
With Sense Magic active the spectacle from when he learned Healing Touch repeated, but gained an entirely new flavor. The book glowed in a white light, while pages kept flipping faster and faster. He felt a magic construct forming, far too intricate for him to see through beyond the most superficial shape. Nonetheless, another distinct - and unknown magical flavor formed, which he mentally filed away. Once the magic ... construct filled out with magical energy, which appeared to come out of nowhere, its effect activated and the power surged forward and entered him and settled around his magic core.
The book turned to ashes, but Arcanis barely noticed, too distracted by what happened inside. Energy swirled, the foreign, weird-flavored mana settled into him, left ... something ... behind and then vanished. Looking closer, he saw something like a ghostly outline, similar to a spell construct before his mana filled it out. It was barely perceptible, even now that he knew where to look, but with that as a starting point he found two more constructs within himself in close proximity. "Huh, so that is where my spells reside, is it?"
The others were no easier to perceive, but one was disproportionally larger than the other two. By several magnitudes. Probably Healing Touch, were I to guess. It does seem to be quite a bit more complex than a Firebolt anyway. Satisfied with what he observed so far - and apparently at the limit of what his current mastery of Sense magic was able to uncover - Arcanis turned his focus back to the last item uninspected: The spellbook he did not end up using. Which turned out to be perfectly inert, no matter how much he stared at it.
"Well, they can't all be winners, can they?"
One last thing to check. Turning around he moved to the center of the clearing - during the lengthy fight he had realized that the grassless central part of the clearing he had originally noticed, before things got dicey, was some flat stone surface with some markings. Back then he was a bit too preoccupied trying to stay alive to investigate closer, but with the conflict resolved ...
The aspiring wizard checked out the stone plate, which turned out to be covered in runes he did not understand. On first check the stone appeared to be mundane, but when he touched it directly with his hands, rather than standing in front of it, he felt ... something. Almost as if something was interfering with his new sense, similar to trying to make out something by looking through a really dirty glass, but he got the rough impression of energy flowing - a lot of energy and all going in the same direction. Curious. Unable to make out more, Arcanis took out his notebook once more and copied the runes as well as he was able before heading back to his camp. Another thing the Dwarf might have an answer for.
You have unlocked the skill: Drawing!
Drawing (Level: 1) [General]
"Drawing is vision on paper"
You have found solace in the pen.
When the world around you rages, it is the pen and the paper that allow you to immortalize that, which only you can see.
And with a few more years of practice, others will even recognize what you inflict on that poor paper.
+1 Dexterity, +1 Power, Improved Drawing Result
Arcanis continued his trip towards the source of power he had detected and was using as navigation reference. The shrubbery became thicker as he got closer, to the point that the area was probably no longer suitable for the large cat monsters. At least he did not encounter any further resistance in a trip that felt like it took about an hour.
Without much of a warning and virtually no transition at all he passed between two large bushes, only to find himself outside of the forest. The cavern narrowed down on all sides, almost as if to stop in a dead end ... except that right in front of him, the young adventurer's destination loomed: After a short but steep climb - bare rock, the vegetation stopped dead at the edge of the forest - there was a narrow opening into what looked like a large cave, one that also appeared to be well lit by crystals of all the base colors from what he could see.
The trek up the slope was annoying, the sharp rock edges cutting into his bare feet, but Arcanis managed to make it without any accidents. Also without kicking off any pebbles, which was fortunate - sound carried far in a cavern and the adventurer was fully exposed to anybody looking out from the forest. The view when he reached the top was impressive, the cave breaking with the pseudo-natural décor of the large area he had come from.
"Cave" did not begin to cover it.
Passing through the narrow entry, he entered a gigantic amphitheater, easily able to seat tens of thousands spectators. White marble stairs led from the entry down to the sanded ground floor, which seemed far away still. And yet ... when Arcanis looked left and right, based on the rows of seating he had not even entered at the top. The light crystals placed on the roof did not imitate natural formations and instead were placed in neat, regular circles, balancing each other out, giving the theatre the most natural light. "This ... can easily compare to the greatest arenas of Karalis." Several memories tugged at him and the decorations on the stone surfaces - heavy focus on laurels, framing individual fighting scenes between monsters and humanoids - almost yelled at him, trying to remind him of an elusive past.
With as much of focus as he was able to muster, Arcanis resisted the many fragments and pulls, barely managing to avoid being dragged into another of his flashbacks. Not the best time to get lost in the past.
While the semi-circle seating area directly reached the vertical rock wall, the sanded ground floor was a perfect circle, the rock wall retreating for it. Probably offering a rather poor view for the seats straight against the wall. Would definitely offer a rebate on those seats. On the far side of that circle however was the one thing the young adventurer had been looking for: An open gate set straight into the rock, framed in yet more decorated marble ... revealing stairs going up.
"Looks like that's my way to get out of here. Or at least closer it, can't wait to see the sun again." Get some real sun and relax, knowing I'm not on a food-constrained timer to survive. "Now if only ..." Arcanis looked at the other notable feature of that central area of the amphitheater-turned-arena - right besides the gate there was a ... shack. Put together from branches taken from the forest for frames and the red-orange furs of the large feline monsters, it was a crass break with the general aesthetic of the place. In front of the opening into the hut, a large wolf and one of the large cats were lying and relaxing. Both of them wearing collars. "... this did not look like a boss-fight waiting to happen."
----------------------------------------
The corpse of the last monster reptile slid off the warrior's shield and their element of the raid party rushed on towards the sound of combat, exiting the tunnel and entering hell. Their group of dozens of adventurers apparently had found the high entry into the large, bowl-shaped home of the boss-monster of the dungeon.
The cause for the dungeon break.
The large wyrm however was content to relax on his hoard as its children - hundreds of its spawn - were engaged on the opposing side of the cave, swarming all over the party led by the prince. The beams of light his [Defender of Hope] class was known for were being crossed by the fire breath of the lesser dragonoids, metal met scales, screams of the injured were mixed by roars of pain and rage of the monsters.
The first wing of the raid party held their position and fought with ferocity, managing to not be pushed back by the scaly tide. "Charge!" Commander Avato sent them into the cauldron, and Tirion along with the other members of the vanguard charged downwards and into the fray. Arrows and rays of magic rained over their heads and the ground shook by the first field use of Suna's [Armageddon] spell, the monster horde scattered by the massive explosion. The disrupted reptiles stood no chance against the new enemies flanking them and tried to run away when a primordial roar froze the battlefield.
The boss entered the fray.
"First and second, flank security, third and fourth, clear out the trash!" The first to react however was Lord Avato "Tirion ..." he looked at the warrior with a serious face, showing he knew exactly what he was asking for "... distract the boss.
Buy us the time we need."
Tirion nodded and changed direction while white light embraced him, the grace of Zara uplifting him, Her energy entered his arms and legs, Her shield formed in front of him, Her spirit uplifted his as the effects of [Divine Intervention] took hold. Damn, it's good to have a competent high priestess cover for you!
Massive explosions rocked the wyrm and the boss turned to him as he stood between it and the pony-tailed wizard busy scratching its scales. It breathed its trademark fire, but the flames parted in front of his blessing and soon the two clashed in melee, only the blessing allowing him to survive alone against the beast.
Behind him he could hear the roars of more creatures charging from one of the side tunnels, the melee turning more and more chaotic ... until finally, from the third main entrance the last section of their raid party entered the battle. Horns blew, soldiers screamed and the chaos was perfect with humans and monsters engaged from all sides. Little though Tirion could focus on it, being busy with the boss, his [Battlefield Awareness] still showed him arrows and magic projectiles going out from the new reinforcements and the tide of battle appeared to be turned.
Then one of the skill-reinforced arrows hit the prince in the eye, killing him instantly.
----------------------------------------
Arcanis blinked, then quickly took cover behind one of the seats right at the entry, scanning his surroundings. Damn, and once again the memories win. When he found nothing amiss he sighed in relieve. "At least this time around I won't have to worry about infighting and politics when dealing with the boss." No blessings and explosions either though.
This close to the source he could finally identify the exact location of the presence he had felt and used for navigational purposes. It came right from down there in the theater. Not yet, but soon. Some preparations were still needed before he would take the risk. A new spell to figure out how to use and what it did. A new idea to test out, and see whether this notion of his might work with what he already had.
He turned away and started the long return trip. I wonder how the others are doing. Will they be looking for me? Or did they think I ran away and give up and carry on?
* * *
Thomas, accompanied by the rest of the team, entered the guild hall and went to the reception, where Quentin Delgado was manning the desk, reading a book. At this late of an hour, most business was done with and while quite a few tables were filled with teams drinking, eating and chatting, it was fairly calm in the room.
Before the warrior was able to say something however, the old man closed his book, looked up and took in their appearance. "Mister Endosi, a pleasure to see you." He raised an eyebrow before continuing "Am I right in assuming you have found a trace of young Arcanis after all and it somehow involves the guild?"
Thomas nodded before answering, keeping his voice down. "Indeed we have, mister Delgado. It's not great news, but better than we feared. Is the boss still in?"
"She is indeed, however she still has a visitor. I would usually encourage you to come back tomorrow, as intruding on the business of others is rather uncouth, ..." Maria gave him a death stare as he let that hang for half a second "... but from the looks of it, time might be of the essence for you."
He nodded at them in confirmation, then nodded them to the door leading to the admin area. "Go on in, you know where her office is. But do knock before entering - while she may accept long work hours, miss Tharsus takes the privacy of the guild members quite seriously indeed. I would shudder at the rebuke both of us would earn if you intruded without warning."
"Thanks friend." Thomas gave him a warm smile "and don't worry - it may be urgent, but we are not quite bereft of courtesy yet."
They moved on and Thomas led them through the hall until they reached the door they were looking for. Most of the time this door would be open, the guild leader having a policy of always being available when needed. And being cranky when the privilege was being abused, with rather ... creative consequences for the perpetrator.
This time, the door was closed, and Thomas knocked, then settled in to wait for a response. After a minute, which felt more like half an eternity, it opened and a small black-haired woman glared at him. "Thomas." the name statement and question in one. What do you want? She stared at him for a second before vocalizing it. "What brings you here at an hour well shy of polite?"
"Well, glad you asked, Ramona. It's about our missing boy. Mind if we come in and discuss it somewhere more comfortable than through the door?"
The guild leader gave him an odd look before stepping back and pulling the door with her, allowing them entry. The office was on the large side, but not exaggeratedly so. Facing the door was a massive office desk, an oaken monstrosity designed to stand the test of time, with upholstered chairs both behind and in front of it, one each. It was completely bare, the day's work apparently done and dealt with.
On the left side, the entire wall was covered in well-filled bookshelves, on the right side there was a more comfortable and less formal table with seating for ten and some simple furniture to hold a tea-set or other paraphernalia needed for a meeting. The bulky form of a well-muscled but obviously injured adventurer was taking up one of the seats. Raul, as it turns out, an adventurer in decent standing who had spent all of his adventuring life in and around Erfurt. And someone Thomas had meant to have a few 'words' with ... once he recovered enough to take them.
She took the comfortable-looking armchair at the end of the table before commanding them all to take a seat. Using pointed stares only.
Taking the hint, the party sat down while giving Raul an inquisitive stare. The man seemed shaken and gave them all side-long glances while looking terribly guilty. What has gotten into him? He is usually one of the most self-assured people in the guild. Thomas' musings were interrupted as their host pointed at him.
"The missing boy. What did you find out."
"Wellll ..." Thomas considered for a moment how open he wanted to be in front of the other adventurer, but continued anyway. "... not too much, but the important parts I think. We figured out two things: One, he was abducted by several strong men in front of our inn and thrown into the Dungeon."
Raul looked away, refusing to meet their eyes. "And two, he is still alive." That got enough of a reaction out of the other adventurer - who looked up in sudden relief - that the warrior got a certain suspicion.
"Alive you say." the guild master responded, looking lost in thought. "Good." Looking up she pointed at Raul before continuing. "While I generally do not share one person's business with another, the timing of you coming is rather auspicious. Saves me the time of sending for you all tomorrow. Raul just confessed to having done just that while un-"
"YOU DID WHAT!?!?" Maria interrupted the guild leader, vaulted over the table, grabbed Raul and slammed his unresisting form against the wall. She shook and slammed the man against the wall once again before Thomas managed to reach her and put a calming hand on her left arm.
A short moment of silence ensued where Thomas tried to give Maria a calming look, she glared at her lover, Raul whimpered in pain of wounds that opened again and all the others stared at the scene. Only for the magic to be broken by a knock on the door.
"Is this my office or the city tavern?!" Ramona sighed as she stood up and opened the door, with the others frozen in place. "Yes?" They could not hear the response to the guild leader#s question, but the small yet fierce woman stood aside and allowed two more people to enter. One of the two newcomers was the old butler that had recently accosted Thomas, the other a brown-haired beauty even shorter than Ramona. Thomas had dealt with Camila Fernández before, but the seer was at best an acquaintance. She also looked a lot worse for wear - while her clothing was undisturbed, she had the deep frown of a person with a raging headache.
The elder gentleman raised his eyebrows at the altercation in front of him, but did not offer comment. Thomas managed to make Maria relent - for the moment, anyway - and everybody took a seat once again.
"Mister Acron, I would apologize for the scene, but ... it is an unusual hour and you did not announce your visit, so ..." The guild leader shrugged, obviously looking for a way to politely say 'You brought this on yourself'.
The head butler of the Erfurt family took no offense however and waved it all away with one hand. "Not to worry, not to worry. Besides, the current company is quite convenient." Thomas gave him a raised eyebrow over that statement. "You see, I have a rather ... special mission I wish to hire the guild for and was rather certain mister Endosi and his friends would be interested in taking part in it."
"Alright, let me summarize" Ramona spoke up after they had spent the last quarter hour bringing everybody up-to-date and deciding where to go from there. "Arcanis is alive and somewhere in the dungeon. The Erfurt estate is hiring us to send a rescue mission, as well as contributing miss Fernández to the effort. Since this is a rescue mission for a guild member-" she nodded at Thomas at that "I am going to ignore the 'prospective' part of that and backdate the papers if we manage to get him out, so the main organization can't complain.
"Anyway, since this is a rescue mission for a guild member, we are going to waive any administrative fees and offer contribution points to any team joining. The expedition starts tomorrow at noon, I will notify the temple of Mareya so be sure to go there in the morning, Thomas, and get healed properly." Then she pointed at Raul and Maria. "Moving on, no Raul, you don't get to take part. Drunk or not, you almost committed murder, and might still have if we don't make it in time. At the same time, no Maria, you don't get to lynch him either.
"We'll have a trial after this has fully resolved. Having been drunk, turning yourself in and being willing to help will certainly factor into this." A sinister grin, bordering on grimace, formed on the guild master's face. "I am looking forward to a chat with the dungeon guard however. He did not report anything but let Raul and his friends through without questioning them."
She clapped her hands together, as if to - quite unnecessarily - have people focus back on her. "Alright, if there are no further concerns, that's it. See you all tomorrow." Her smile turned back into a glare. "Now get the hell out of my office, I've got an errant guard to pick up and some sleep to get."
As they filed out of the room, Thomas happened to end up right next to miss Fernández. "So ..." he led into the question that had kept bothering him "... what happened to you? You look like a wagon ran you over, only without the physical damage."
She gave him a sidelong glare before answering cryptically and then moving on "Staring at the sun ain't no fun."