Nick looked up the stairs, afraid there would be another creature there with a crossbow. However, the stairs were clear, and he moved to the lean against the cliff to catch his breath as his stamina bar slowly ticked up. Once refilled, he made his way up the stairs. As he did, he spotted a dagger. Picking it up, the description overlapped over the club’s description, but it quickly vanished. Presumably sent to his inventory. Which could somehow be accessed by placing his hand over a campfire. Shaking his head in bewilderment, he continued up the stairs. He found a crossbow bolt, although there was no crossbow or robe. He would feel much better with some clothes and shoes on.

Nick stayed next top the bend for a long while, watching the bridge. After seeing no more of these so called fallen, he slowly started up the stairs. He was hoping the next campfire was up there somewhere. The higher he went, the narrower the stairs became, forcing him to hug the cliff. He didn’t know who would have built stone stairs like this without having any railing.

Once at the top, he looked over the bridge. It crossed over a large fissure in the ground. Glancing down, he saw fog or mist. He wasn’t sure. Part of him was curious about how deep it was, but the reasonable part of him looked around for more threats.

There was a single large tree with what appeared to be a well-maintained lawn on the other side of the bridge. Just to the left of the tree was a still, mostly intact stone structure. The stone pillars reminded Nick of a Greek temple, whether it was a temple or something else he didn’t know. The structure made the massive tree seem small. Nick approached the tree as it was the only thing he could hide behind, and he wanted to see if there was anyone patrolling the temple yard. Standing there gawking was the best way to get killed.

Once under the tree, he noticed the leaves emitted a faint glow. The canopy its self was thick, blocking the light rain. Nick simply stood there looking at the tree for a moment before he decided it was best to get out of the direct view of the temple. As he moved to the side of the tree, he stopped and gripped his club tighter. Under the tree was a white three tailed fox. It looked to be sleeping, but Nick’s instincts were telling him to run. Nick was trying to decide if he should back away or not when it turned to look at him.

The fox was larger than any fox he had ever seen, though he hadn’t seen a lot of foxes. It was obvious this was no normal fox. The black eye in the center of its forehead, along with the strange red markings on its face, made it an unnerving sight to behold.

“Ahhh, I see one of the churches has summoned a new hero,” a feminine voice echoed out into Nick’s mind, “let me guess, the Church of Light. They are always trying something.”

A white three eyed fox speaking into his mind was not the craziest thing that had happen to day. So Nick just took a deep breath before he opened his mouth to respond. But before he could say anything, the fox began looking around. “Where is that annoying little ball of light? She should be accompanying a new hero.”

Nick tensed up at the question as the fox looked at him curiously. The fox’s gaze then fell onto the club he was holding and let out a chuckle that sounded similar to a bark. “Oh my, don’t tell me you killed the Wisp.”

Nick thought he saw a sly grin fall over the fox, but it was too quick for him to tell. Deciding to be honest, he spoke up.

“It was an accident. I don’t want any trouble.” Nick said as he gripped the club tighter.

“Relax, take a sit, let’s have a chat. It’s been sometime since there has been a new face around here.”

Nick took a worry step back.

“If I wanted to hurt you, trust me, I would have already hurt you,” the fox said with a slight chuckle. “I am Kami. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Hero of light. Or should I say, tainted hero of light?”

“It’s nice to meet you, but I think it’s best I get on my way.” Nick said as he hesitantly stepped back. He was getting a dreadful feeling about this fox. He would rather face multiple red eyes than this fox.

“And where are you headed? Maybe I could direct you in the correct direction. After all, you are only a level one and these fallen could be a challenge for someone like yourself.”

This caught Nick’s attention, and he hesitated.

“Come, sit, and have some tea. Let us talk.”

As the fox spoke, a Japanese-style tea pot appeared from thin air along with a pair of cups.

“Could you direct me towards the next campfire?”

“I presume you are referring to the nearest shrine. If so, then yes. But first humor me for a time. It has been far too long since I’ve had any entertainment around here.” A straw mat appeared in front of the fox as it gestured with a paw for Nick to sit.

Hesitantly Nick sat down, as he did the cup floated over to him.

“How can you do that?” Nick asked as he slowly took the cup, peering at the green liquid inside.

“It’s a simple matter, really, just a basic spell,” Kami said dismissively. “Tell me, Hero, what planet do you come from?”

“Earth, do you know a way I could return?”

“Hmm, I’ve never heard of it,” the fox said, looking thoughtful. “You just arrived and already want to go back home. Is there something waiting for you in your home world?”

“Yess! Is there a way back?”

“Are you going to tell me what is waiting for you? I’m curious now. Entertain me for a time and, in return, I’ll answer some of your questions.”

Nick looked at the fox warily. “I have a wife and two kids. I need to make it back to them!”

The fox smiled, “Oh, I see I see, this is exciting,” the fox said in a mirthful tone, “do tell, how did you meet your mate?”

Nick’s brow creased. “I’m sorry. I really don’t have time for this. I need to start making progress on getting home.” Nick said, standing up.

“And you haven’t even touched your tea. What a shame, I would have loved a bit of distraction,” Kami raised her paw, “in that temple is the next Shrine. There are two more fallen patrolling the area. Do come back and visit me tainted Hero.” She then laid her head down, no longer paying Nick any attention.

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Nick had more questions, but he didn’t feel like he should stay around the fox longer than necessary.

“Thank you.” Nick said as he started making his way towards the temple, he would ask the Shrine lady about the fox. She didn’t seem nearly as unnerving as the fox.

“Fallen.” Nick mumbled. He hated these damned creatures.

The temple its self seemed to be made into the cliff behind it. Nick didn’t notice the two fallen Kami mentioned. But he still quickly moved behind one of the large pillars and waited. It was better safe than dead. After a moment, he heard footsteps clattering on the temples stone floor. Based on the casual sound of the footsteps, he didn’t think they had spotted him. So far from what he could tell about these creatures or fallen, they were easy to sneak up on. He hoped that continued to be the case. Peeking around the pillar, he saw a fallen. This one, like the others, had a grey robe covering its face, however this fallen carried a spear. After only seeing the one and figuring out the fallen’s walking pattern, Nick moved to a closer pillar.

From this vantage point, he could see all the way through the temple. It apparently had two entrances. The far entrance seemed to lead back outside, which was odd, since this was built into a cliff. He also spotted the second fallen. The creatures were meeting in the middle, then walking back to each entrance on a never ending patrol. He watched them do this till he was confident this was the only movement in their pattern. Nick wasn’t confident about his odds of taking them out together. He had briefly considered sneaking up behind one and taking it out while the other was on the other side of the temple. But he wasn’t sure if he could deal with one fast enough. So his plan was to sneak past them and check out each side of the temple. The temple its self was mostly just a massive tunnel, though there were open door rooms leading into both sides, however they were out of sight to the guards. This seemed like a poor design to Nick, but it was in his favor. From what the talking fox said, the shrine was in here somewhere.

The temple didn’t have any doors, from what he could tell, and Nick quickly made his way through the open doorway and out of sight. He was glad to find the area clear of threats. However, the place was massive with a maze like feel to it. Torches were flickering on the wall, throwing shadows every which way, while giving off an orange light. That alone wouldn’t have of been cause for confusion, but the size of the torches was preposterous. The handle alone was at least big as him. The torches were also placed in a ridiculously high position. He briefly wondered who lit them before shaking his head. It really didn’t matter. He needed to find the shrine, then ask the shrine keeper where to find a church.

Walking between the two large pillars, he spotted an ordinary-looking treasure chest set at the up against a wall next to a bench. A massive canvas with the painting of a blonde headed woman with a crown hung above it. Two hallways lead to either side of the painting. Nick’s attention turned back to the chest and his eyes narrowed. He was defiantly not falling for what ever trap that was. Who would leave a perfectly good treasure chest out in the open? Deciding to take the hallway leading to the right, he took off.

Nick glanced back at the chest once more before he walked past. This hallway led to two more hallways. It looked exactly the same as the previous room, aside from not having a treasure chest, and this painting was a red-headed knight holding his helmet in a hero pose. Nick starred at the painting longer than he had planned before he continued down the right path. He didn’t know what was going on or why there were twenty-foot paintings.

As he continued, he kept coming to rooms with paintings. He even went back and took the left path a few times, but that to just lead to the same room with the paintings. He nearly turned back, but he had to be getting close to the shrine.

Nick had passed through around twenty rooms when he came to the last room. His eyes grew wide. It was an exact copy of the first room.

“That’s it. I’ve wasted enough time.”

Turning, Nick walked back out of the room at a fast pace, he was irritated at wasting so much time and was trying to hurry and check the other side. But to his utter horror, when he walked out of the room, he appeared right in between the two spear wielding fallen. He was so stunned at being in the center of the temple; it took him several precious seconds to respond. One of the fallen started running at him. Luckily, the other hadn’t noticed him yet, but it was just a matter of seconds before it turned to see him. He wished he had remembered to grab that plank of wood. Having something to deflect with would have been nice. He angled the club description out of the way as the fallen was thrust a spear at him. Nick swung his club to deflect the spear and was amazed at how flawlessly it worked. However, his stamina bar dropped a quarter from that one move.

Unfortunately Nick was too caught up in how well it worked and missed his chance to counterattack and the fallen quickly regained its balance and was lunging at him again. He was forced to deflect the spear again, dropping his stamina down to half. However, when the fallen stumbled away this time, he followed up with a baseball swing to the head. The creature stumbled to the ground, its health bar dropping just under a quarter from that single hit. A red hue now surrounded his club, letting him know the Celestial Rot had set in. The pattering of footsteps had Nick whirl around just in time to deflect a spear being thrusted at him. Again, Nick was amazed at his ability to do this, and he hesitated before he retaliated. He was still able to get a glancing blow with his club, dropping the fallen’s health bar slightly, along with applying rot. His eyes winded as he noticed his stamina bar was almost empty and the other fallen now back on its feet.

Nick turned and ran back out toward the tree. As he sprinted, he watched his green bar rapidly drop. Just before it bottomed out, he stopped, hands on his knees, while painting. He was about halfway to the tree. Turning around to the temple, he saw both fallen giving chase. Nick willed his stamina bar to refill faster, but it was no use. Slowly, it continued to crawl up as the fallen got closer. At least the rot damage was still draining their health. His stamina was a quarter of the way full now, when he cursed himself for just standing there and he took off at a fast walk. As soon as he did, there was a noticeable drop in how fast his stamina was recovering. Slowing his walk, the bar visibly increased in recovering. Glancing back at the fallen, they were only about fifty feet away. He was about to run again, but he wanted his stamina to recover just a bit more. To his surprise, one of the fallen stopped running and started a slow walk towards him, quickly followed by the other.

Relief flooded Nick, “thank god for balanced mobs.” He had been worried they had infinite stamina.

As his stamina reached just above half, he took off at a sprint across the bridge, and quickly back down the stairs. He then turned to watch the stairs. His plan was to wait here till his stamina fully recovered, then head back up to deal with them.

His stamina was full within a minute. It didn’t take long, but in the middle of combat; it felt like the bar was barely moving. Nick began walking up the stairs when a swirling light flew into his chest. He smiled as he looked down at his club.

“If you would only remove that damn description, we would become great friends.”

Nick’s run had him stepping on a few sharp rocks, which caused his health bar to drop slightly. Reminding him he really needed to find some shoes. But that was a problem for later.

Reaching the bridge, he saw the fallen slowly walking back to the temple. He assumed they had a certain agro range. Nick supposed that made just as much sense as having a stat page, and talking to a three eyed fox. He glanced at the tree as he walked across the bridge. He didn’t see the fox; it was presumably asleep.

The fallen was nearly halfway back to the temple by the time Nick crossed the bridge. He was close enough now to see its health bar, and it was nearly empty. It still had a red hue to it along with his club, meaning the rot was still active. Deciding it best to let the rot kill the creature, he ever so slowly followed the fallen. It didn’t take much longer, and the creature collapsed as the light swirled up and shot towards his chest.

“I need to level up.” He planned to put whatever attribute points he got from leveling up into stamina. Depending how many he got, he would place some in health as well. At least he hoped he would get the choice, and it didn’t just assign it to him. Nick sighed as he walked towards the temple. He couldn’t help but think, why him? Why was he sent to this hellish place?