I tried not to move too much. Nothing had happened yet, and I didn't want to provoke the creatures. I wasn't even sure if they were actually creatures, though. The DTA program could be messed up since it wasn't pulling up any information. It wasn't as if it was linked to the server, so I had no idea what could happen.

Silent as a stalking cat, I moved forward. I counted at least thirty of the spiky black creatures on top of the trees. I didn't want to be in the middle of a maelstrom if they were hostile creatures. I wasn't sure what they were or how they would attack me, but those spikes didn't look pleasant.

I controlled my breathing as I reached the edge of the bushes. I was ready for anything to change. Some eyes to pop open, teeth or a large beak to be revealed, but as I went under them, nothing changed.

There was no wind in the dungeon, and sweat dripped down my face. I dodged around a branch and twisted my body to avoid rattling anything. I was almost through the copse when I made a mistake.

I became too focused on my body contorting around a branch in a tight space that I forgot about the end of my spear. I twisted too much, and as I almost fell, but I shot my leg shot out to stop. My hip hit my spear, and the back end slammed into the trunk of a bush.

A loud ring vibrated through the quiet area. At first, I thought I was in the clear. Nothing moved for a few seconds, and I was about to relax completely.

Then one of the branches waved as the spiky creature on top shuddered. Then the creature next to the first also started trembling.

Then the next, and so on, until all the creatures on that tree began to vibrate.

I didn't wait around to see what they were going to do. I was in a precarious position and moved as quickly as I dared through the rest of the bushes. Just as I cleared the line of shrubbery, I heard it.

A loud squawk broke the air. It was followed by more. Then I could hear the breaking of branches. I tried not to look back, but I had to be sure of what was happening. I paused for just a moment to glance so I knew if I really was in trouble or if I should hide and wait. Seeing what was happening, I turned and ran.

The spikey black creatures on top of the tree I struck all started to come down from the tree. Even worse, they didn't care if they hit other trees while moving. I could see as more of them began to shudder awake, break off from the branch and start to move down.

They seemed to roll off the trees as they moved. Inexplicably, they sometimes managed to leap from branch to branch. It appeared that the spikes around their bodies were used as limbs. They could also bend them slightly before pushing back like a spring. As they hit the ground, they began rolling on the floor, and even with no eyes, they seemed to know where I went.

In the quick moment I watched them, a thought popped into my head of what they resembled. I once read a book listing some of the world's creatures. They looked like what I remember being called a Sea Urchin. Since those seemed to live on branches, at the very least, I decided to call them Tree Urchins.

All that popped into my head as I quickly looked and turned to run. I didn't know which way to go, but any direction would have been fine at that point. So, I ran back to where I perceived I had come from. The terrain was almost identical to what I remembered when coming down the hill. The only difference was the lack of living vegetation and the thick fog making visibility difficult.

I was getting tired from running up the hill, and I wouldn't have been able to keep going. Looking back, I only saw one of the tree urchins following me. I felt I could take it out and needed a chance to catch my breath. I turned to wait as it rolled in my direction.

As soon as it was in range, I swung my staff as hard as possible. I held it like a club to get the most out of my swing. My strike connected with the creature cleanly.

With a tinking sound, the urchin flew off to my left. It went down the hill and into the mist, so I couldn't tell if it was still alive. I didn't have time to find out either.

After two deep breaths, another urchin came rolling out of the mist toward me. Its spikes left little holes in the ground, and I could hear them as they stabbed the ground. I reared my staff back as it got closer, waiting for it to be in range like the other. Before I was about to swing, the urchin sprang up right at my head.

I dropped down with a slight yelp. The urchin flew over my head, barely missing me. I didn't drop all the way down so I could get up and be on it before it recovered.

I swung my staff again and connected with the urchin to send it flying away. As I watched it sail in the air, I was hit in my shoulder from behind. I fell forward from the force of the attack. I yelled in pain as a sharp stabbing ache erupted from my shoulder where I was struck. Falling forward and striking the ground knocked the urchin loose, and it hit the ground with a roll.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

I got up as quickly as possible and kicked the urchin away with one giant step for leverage. The movement caused pain to crackle through my shoulder like lightning. Instead of it fading, a numb sensation was left behind around the area of the wound.

I could still move it, but it was difficult and required concentration. I thought the Tree Urchins must possess poison or venom on the spikes. Too many connecting attacks, and I could be caught unable to use my body and then be at their mercy.

The sounds of hundreds of spikes stabbing the ground as the urchins rolled along started to get louder. Having trouble with three of them, or maybe even two since I didn't see where one went, I didn't like my odds against a horde. If I had a working spear, I had better odds, but I didn't, and even then, the odds wouldn't be great.

I determined that I would have to continue running. I needed to find out how to get out of the dungeon and hopefully not get lost in the fog. I decided to circle back to where I came from, and hopefully, the urchins wouldn't follow.

I turned to head down the hill to the lower area on the side of the spur. Once in the draw, I would follow it downstream toward the direction where I came into the dungeon. If I managed to lose the urchins, I could take my time searching. Of course, that was also if the numbing sensation in my shoulder went away. If it didn't, I would have to move quickly to find an exit.

"Damn swarming Tree Urchins and their spikey parts," I grumbled quietly as I walked down the side of the spur to the draw.

Once I got to the bottom, I turned left again and walked downhill. Instead of water, which would usually be at the bottom, it was dry ground and dead shrubs. I paused to look out for the Tree Urchins but didn't see anything, so I continued.

Eventually, I got to a position I believed was close, but it was hard to tell. The dry creek bed I had been following started to move to the right. I had to either choose to continue following it or decide to climb back up and look for the dungeon exit, whatever that might look like. Honestly, I was just glad I seemed to have lost the urchins.

I wasn't in a great hurry since, even though my shoulder still hurt and felt numb at the same time, both sensations were lessening. I decided to just follow the stream for a little while. It would allow me to explore the area, and if I found anything too dangerous, I could easily find my way back.

I followed the dried creek bed for about two hours without seeing any other signs of life. Eventually, the numbness in the shoulder went away, but unfortunately, it was replaced with outright pain from being stabbed. The pain from the spike was also fading. I guessed that I was just getting used to it.

I was starting to get tired and was about to rest when I came upon an abnormally thick area of mist. As I went closer, I couldn't see any deeper into it, unlike the rest of the fog inside the dungeon. I walked up to the edge and tried to peer into it, but it was no use. I could even see a rock that was half in and half out.

I reached out but stopped when I realized how stupid that would be. What if it was poison or burned my hand away? I had no idea what anything in the dungeon could do. I used my staff instead.

As the staff touched the thick wall of mist, it wouldn't go any further. No matter how hard I pushed, it was no use; I couldn't pierce the wall. I didn't think it would work, but I decided to do more than just push on the border of fog.

I spent the next few minutes trying everything I could to get through. I stabbed it with my staff. Nothing. I struck with a swing like a club. Also, nothing. I also gathered a small pile of different-sized rocks to throw at it. Still nothing. Defeated but not dissuaded, I decided to focus on other things.

I found that the wall of mist wasn't necessarily bad. If this wasn't an anomaly, it just meant the dungeon had a boundary. I had more choices of what to do after that.

The way I saw it, I could head back up the stream toward the place I entered; from there, I could continue following that until it ended or I found another boundary. I could climb over the rise in the area, look around, and perhaps find another stream bed to walk along. Or, I could follow the border around to see the size of the place.

I liked the idea of following the area's border to get a feel for the size, but I didn't know if that would help me. I could wind up traversing it for days, and with the thick fog, I might not be able to gather any information, especially without my map program working.

I decided to do a mixture of two options. I walked up the side of the creek bed to get a better view, but I did it along the edge of the boundary. The creek, coupled with the boundary was the best bet to keep from getting lost.

When I reached a high point, I looked around. I couldn't see too far due to the fog, but I thought the ground looked like it evened out to a flat area. I thought that perhaps it was a dried lake or pond. I didn't remember seeing one on my map before entering the dungeon, but I had walked for quite a while along the creek.

With no better ideas at that moment, I chose to explore that area. I figured I could continue in that manner. I would find something to explore, move in straight lines toward it, then move back to the wall to keep from getting turned around.

I moved slowly toward the flattened area keeping an eye out for anything that stood out. The entire warped reality of the dungeon stood out, but I was looking for something more. I reached the edge of the flat area with no issues.

I slowly observed the edge and was glad to see that I was correct in my assumption. The ground changed from solid dirt mixed with gravel to a smooth clay material. It had large cracks throughout that led deeper into the flattened area. Glancing around, I could see that the flat area was clearly in a depression for as far as I could see.

I marked the spot I was standing so I could find it. Additionally, I carved a large arrow into the dirt outside the dry lakebed, so I knew which way was back to the fog wall once I exited. Confident that I could find my way back to the edge and toward the fog wall afterward, I began to explore the lakebed.