We’d managed to bring down fourteen of the vine rays, but only eleven of the stingers were undamaged. That was more than enough for the girls to consider that part of their hunting trip ‘done’. So we focused on exploring the rest of the valley. Following the treeless curve Kassandra had spotted resulted in the three of us coming up against a large cliff face that backed an open field.

The ‘road’ that we followed wove around several small groves of trees, one of which was full of early summer fruit like the one we’d hunted the vine rays in. It was clear the vine rays had been at these fruits too, but we didn’t spot any other nests like the first one. When we came to where the road ‘ended’ against the cliff, it was again an area that was empty of trees. This was much larger than the area around the ruined fountain and there were several sections of crumbling stone formations crouched amongst the grass.

Kassandra was excited by the ruins, hurrying over to inspect the one that was closest to us. It was easily as large of a footprint as Rue House had been, at least the edges we could make out from the damaged bits of wall poking out of the tall grass. Rieka and I kept watch while the dwarf lamia slithered excitedly amongst the stones that outlined the space.

“Liam! Can you come help me with this!” Kassandra called after a moment. Both Rieka and myself headed over. The walls were less than waist high in most spots, made up of a dull red brick that matched the local stone. There were a few areas where those same stones rose up above head height, usually in the corners, but there were one or two walls that had obstinate areas too and rose up to block sight. Once we got inside the foundation, the grass wasn’t quite as bushy and made travel a bit easier. I spotted several small trees that were growing up from ‘inside’ the building as well, but they were scrubby little things and barely more than saplings.

“What is it, Kass?” I asked as I approached the dwarf lamia, who was inspecting one of the stumpy trees that was tucked into a corner. Kassandra must have already forgotten she’d called for us, because she jumped slightly in surprise at my words before slithering over to throw her arms around my waist and give me one of her adorable, pint-sized hugs.

“Oh, Liam! This is so fascinating! Would you believe that tree is growing out of a pipe in the ground?!” She crowed excitedly, looking up at me with excitement sparkling in her eyes. The afternoon sun sent glimmers along the silver frames of her spectacles as she bounced happily.

“A pipe? That doesn’t make much sense.” I glanced over at the tree in question but it was a type of pine tree and its lower branches made it hard to see the base.

“Oh agreed, but there it is. I wanted to test the root system to see if it has a hold of something solid down there or not. Can you grip the trunk and give it a tug? I don’t want you to tear it out and damage the pipes, just test it to try and get an idea of why it would be growing there.” Kassandra chattered quickly, releasing her grip around my waist to dig out her sketchbook and begin documenting what she’d found.

Shrugging, I complied with her request. Squatting down next to the trunk, I parted the pine boughs enough to see that it did look like it was protruding from a metallic pipe that was as big around as my calf and stuck up out of the ground by about four inches. Before doing more, I brushed at the bed of pine needles underneath the tree to reveal a flagstone floor that was in surprisingly good condition, though dirt filled in the thin cracks between the stone. Judging from the shallow depression under the tree, I could guess that the layer of dirt that was supporting the grasses around us was probably not very thick either.

“Wonder what is keeping the grass healthy, it can’t have a very thick root system if the topsoil is so thin. Though if this has a stone floor, that’s probably why it's in the pipe…” I muttered before doing as Kassandra had asked. Gripping the trunk, I gave it a tug and there was a quiet sucking sound as the tree shifted.

“Okay stop!” Kassandra shouted immediately and I froze, carefully letting the thin tree settle back into position. “We don’t know where the roots for the tree go. Or if they have damaged anything below, so we should leave it for now. That confirms it’s rooted in something further down the pipe, but not strongly.”

“What’s the purpose of confirming that?” Rieka asked, her eyes skimming over the large clearing that we were in. Her ears were always in motion, tracking first one way then another as she kept watch for any sort of threat while Kassandra made her notes.

“Mostly to see if the pipe was damaged. If the tree didn’t shift at all, I’d assume that either the root system had grown dense enough to crack the pipe or was nearly there. But with it shifting, it means we can leave it for now and not worry about damage. Also that there might be a basement to this structure. The pipe has to go somewhere after all and we haven’t seen anything else nearby that might be an exit point for that pipe. I wonder what it is for?”

“Hard to say. If this was back home, I’d say it’d be either a sewer pipe or a gray water pipe.” My words drew both girls' attention and they stared at me in confusion.

“Gray water?” Kassandra asked, her pen held above the leather-backed notebook she’d been making notes on.

“Ah…well gray water is…” I had to rack my brain for what the specific definition was. My dad had told me about it once while we were doing some home improvements and the term had just floated out of my memory because the pipe looked like it was cast iron and I remembered there being one we worked on. “So if I am remembering right, gray water is easiest to describe as used wash water. Whether it’s used for washing your body, clothes, or dishes doesn’t matter. It’s just water that’s been used and isn’t really meant to be drunk without treatment or filtration. But specifically it doesn’t have…uh…basically it doesn't…” I struggled with the last bit before Rieka interrupted me finally.

“Oh just spit it out, Liam. Kass and I are grown women, no need to mince around the subject.”

Sighing, I did just that. “Basically, it doesn’t have poop or urine in it. Those were designated as ‘black water’ and usually treated differently. Though when piped into the sewer system for the city, they mix the two if I remember right.”

Both girls stared at me for several seconds before Kassandra giggled.

“You said poop.”

This got a short laugh out of Rieka and drained the awkwardness from the moment fairly well.

“You are so mature, Kass…We use something similar as well in larger cities. With the pipes leading to a cistern that has filtration magic on it to remove waste, food scraps, or anything that can contaminate the water before it is released back into a river.” Rieka explained with a small grin and I heaved a sigh of relief.

“Okay, I wasn’t looking forward to explaining what a toilet was, since I still don’t quite understand the mechanics of how the dang things work.” I sighed, getting another laugh from the girls.

“Well, small cities and towns still use chamber pots, but it is a mark of a city's growth that they have an established sewer system and proper toilets. Some poor families still use chamber pots and just dump them directly into the sewer, even in the nicer cities. It’s not a cheap system to set up.” Kassandra shrugged with a smile before glancing towards the pipe. “Enough about sewage though, we should look around and see if we can find a basement or something. If there is a space that is out of the weather exposure from this, then it might have more secrets hidden away. Who knows, I might be able to use all of this to bypass some of my coursework if we discover anything new and interesting! I can think of some more fun things to spend my time doing.” The red-headed snake woman sent me a saucy wink that made sure my mind was fixated on her pert bottom as she turned and slithered off through the grass.

“She’s trouble.” I muttered to myself, which got a laugh out of Rieka as we followed Kassandra.

“Yea, but she’s also worth it. Kass is my best friend after all. We are both lucky to have her around. She keeps me from being too serious and I can already see the positive influence she’s had on you too.” Rieka teased, looping her right arm through my left.

“It doesn’t bother you?”

“What? That Kassandra flirts with you constantly? Not at all. She’s a grown woman and can make her own choices with her life. Just as I can. Also, I can’t fault her taste, you are a good person, Liam. You have constantly acted honorably and do what you can to protect and encourage us every time we meet. I’ve felt at ease around you since our first meeting. Which was interesting in its own right. You could have done any number of things to trick, ensnare, or harm us after that fact. The protective circle in the summoning ritual didn’t do anything to you, but you have done none of those things.”

“I would never do anything like that.”

“Which is why Kass and I trust you and why Kass jumped in with her arms spread wide to get your attention. We are both so used to the normal political and noble maneuvering for power and position that it stands out to us. Another reason why we don’t bring guards with us. Anonymity is its own shield.”

“I highly doubt you two are anonymous, Rieka. You and Kass are far too beautiful to blend with any crowd.” The complement was out of my mouth before I could stop it and Rieka was blushing, but the smile told me she was happy with what I’d said.

“Still, it’s good to have you there to look after us and know that you aren’t trying to find a way to elevate yourself at our expense. I know not all young nobles are after that, but enough are that it makes it hard to trust.”

“Hey you two! I found something!” Kassandra called from ahead of us, breaking Rieka and I out of our personal conversation.

Kassandra was waving her hands over her head and pointing towards another section of the clearing, closer to the cliff wall.

“What is it, Kass?” Rieka called, untangling her arm from mine to trot towards the dwarf lamia. I followed in her footsteps, just a few steps back to avoid the fluffy mass of her tail as it stirred gently behind her.

“Looks like a cave or burrow, but it’s lined up with the ‘road’ that we followed!” Kassandra called, gesturing for us to hurry with one hand while pointing towards it with the other. Rieka angled directly for Kassandra, but something caught my attention and I broke into a sprint.

The grass that filled the meadow outside the foundations was a mixture of shorter prairie grass and cheat-grass that came up to my waist in spots. The pale cheat-grass had a slight purple hint to the tips of the stalks and they danced and bobbed in the occasional breeze that came up the hill and between the trees, making the entire field ripple like the surface of a pond.

The ripple that I saw angling towards Kassandra’s back moved like an arrow and was moving in direct opposition to the wind. As I started to run, it picked up speed from a slow shimmy into a bouncing wake.

“Kass! Get behind me!” The roar cut loose of my throat while I drew the sword from my belt and sprinted through the high grass. Kassandra followed our gaze and glanced over her shoulder before she yelped in surprise. Fumbling for her spell rod, the dwarf lamia tried to back-pedal towards us. Rieka was already reacting and had her rod out while my longer legs and greater mass allowed me to bull through at higher speeds. I saw a dart of fur in the grass just as the spell left Rieka’s rod.

“Bolt Chain!” The lightning stroke hit the spot where the movement would have been, but it had already dodged. Instead, the long grass was blasted apart and sent flying in smoldering ruins that sent brief tongues of fire into the air as some of the grass burned up.

“Careful, the last thing we need right now is a brush fire!” I called back to her while the ripple of movement changed direction and shot towards us once more. I’d made it to Kassandra finally, who had her rod out and was tracking carefully on the ripple in the grass. I could hear Rieka swearing behind me as my heart thundered in my ears. I’d just been glad that Kassandra hadn’t gotten too far ahead of us. Putting myself in between whatever was coming after us and the dwarf lamia, I got as ready as I could.

“What is it?” Demanded Kassandra, holding her spell for the moment.

“No idea, but it’s fast!” My reply was tense as we waited for the creature to get closer. I could see the flash of tawny fur through the grass and my stomach clenched when I recognized the low, feline form as it raced towards us. “Shit! Mountain lion!”

It wasn’t an exact match for a mountain lion, or a cougar depending on who you asked, but it was close enough that my mind made the connection and I stepped forward to meet its charge. It approached to around ten feet before it leapt up and out of the grass at me and I realized just how different it was to the mountain lions I knew from back home.

The creature was way larger than I was used to. It had to be at least as long as my pickup and the mouth that yawned wide as it pounced was easily large enough to engulf my entire head. Paws the size of hubcaps spread wide to either side as it flew through the air. I saw several patches of what looked like stony armor ran up its legs and across its back. A pseudo ‘helmet’ sat over top of its head, leaving pointed ears bare and glaring eyes filled with hunger gleamed above its twisting snarl.

I took in all of this over a second while it flew through the air at me. I needed to get out of the way of its pounce. The creature easily outweighed me by several hundred pounds. If it landed on top of me, it’d either bite my head right off or it’d rip my guts out with its back feet. I vaguely remembered thinking it was cute watching house-cats do their little ‘bunny kick’ attack with their back paws, but I was abruptly reminded that was a vicious fighting tactic that their wild cousins used to great effect as I saw the claws gleaming on all four spread paws.

I couldn’t dodge though, the girls were right behind me after all.

So I had to meet its charge instead.

I felt the rippling, tingling sensation surge through my body as I demanded Shape-Shifting to bolster me as much as possible on an instinctive level. Following the forms that Cerebaton had been drilling me on, I stepped into the charge and brought the sword up into an overhead grip with the point forward. I then pushed off with my back foot to thrust at the leaping monster cat with my sword wielding right hand. As I moved, my left sprouted the same sharp, bladed claws that I’d been practicing after seeing Lady Valda’s as well as my familiar crocodile skin to armor my forearm.

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The mountain lion saw my lunge coming at it and it did one of those mid-air contortions that all cats seemed able to do in utter defiance to the bone structure and laws of physics but wasn’t able to completely escape. The blade of my sword sunk into its right shoulder rather than its chest. The hide and muscle parted from its body weight crashing into the blade more than my skill, based on how the sword jarred in my hand. The blade sunk deep into the shoulder joint of the creature and out the back of the creature before it caught on bone with a jarring slam that nearly tore the sword from my hand. A flailing left paw caught me across the chest and threw me back on my ass, lines of fire erupting as those claws tore through my leather armor and across my chest. The torque was enough that it diverted the pounce to the side by rebounding off of me and the sideways tension on the blade caused it to snap with a loud ‘ping’ of metal shearing off. That left me with a sword that ended about four inches above the hilt I held in my hand while the rest protruded from the creature’s shoulder.

All of this happened in the space of an instant that felt like it dragged on for minutes to hours. That stretched time snapped back to reality as the creature crashed to the ground in a tumble of limbs and yowls of pain.

A sharp crack of lightning was followed by a meaty thump of something solid hitting flesh as the girls launched their spells now that we had separated enough to do it safely.

“Ice Lance!”

“Bolt Chain!”

The yowling of the creature grew in pitch and pain as it flailed about in the grass. Rieka’s Bolt Chain continued to pump voltage into the creature before she tossed the other end of the spell at it, finishing the circuit with a sharp crack of power. Kassandra had time to launch another Ice Lance into the prone creature in the meantime before I tossed the broken hilt of my sword away and pushed to my feet. I could feel blood running down my chest inside the leather armor and, remembering Cerebaton’s words from our past training, I pushed my Shape-Shifting for a solution to slow and stop the bleeding.

Human skin is only millimeters thick, so it is very easy to cut through. The same crocodile hide that had protected me with the kobolds could be as thick as half an inch in places though. As the shifted mass rearranged itself in response to my demands, the skin under my leather tunic thickened and the skin of my forearm returned to normal. The claw wounds that had cut deep enough to bounce off ribs before were now covered over with thick crocodile hide as the surface layer of my skin thickened. This put additional pressure on the wounds and slowed their bleeding for now. It didn’t force the skin to heal, but it did put pressure where it was needed for now.

With the hide removed from my forearms, I had just enough presence of mind to give my right hand matching claws and drop the damaged sword before the massive, obviously magical, mountain lion thrashed its way back to its feet and the creature tried to limp away into the grass.

“Nope! Get back here!” I snarled, crashing through the grass after its slow attempt to escape.

This creature had threatened the girls, attempted to ambush Kassandra, and actually injured me. It’d also broken my sword, which meant that I was missing my primary means to defend those girls. I needed to eliminate the threat before it could come back. The fact that it was bleeding profusely and would likely die on its own didn’t quite make it through the proverbial ‘red mist’ and I threw myself at the beast without a thought other than to end the threat.

I landed on the creature’s broad back with a ‘thump’ that knocked it off balance and onto its injured side. I nearly stabbed myself on the protruding blade of my sword as well before I realized that it was poking out of the creature's back and angled away from it. Instead, I turned to brace my left side against the flat of the blade to give myself leverage while snaking my left arm up and around the thick neck to hang on while driving the claws of my right hand into the other side. This left the flat of the broken blade pressed to my ribs, as safe as I could while bracing on a sharp object.

The animal went berserk as soon as my arm began to wrap around its neck. I realized later that bracing against the blade like that was causing it to tear the wound open more, lateral pressure and all, which was further injuring the joint as a result. I managed to dig my claws in right before the big cat threw itself onto its back and began to thrash in an attempt to get me off of it. My left hand buried into the side of its face and jaw on the right side to hang on while my right hand dug into its neck just above the uninjured shoulder.

As it thrashed, the cat slammed against the ground and the blade of my broken sword caught and shifted to cut through my armor and into my arm slightly. It wasn’t enough to loosen my grip, but it did cause another tremendous spurt of blood to come out of the wound.

I was able to keep my legs braced on either side of the big cat’s hips so that when it kicked up at its back to get me, it only hooked the lower edge of my tunic and shredded that rather than my stomach or thighs. I could hear screaming from the girls, but I couldn’t spare a thought as I continued to cling to the thrashing animal’s back as it bled out.

Blood was everywhere. On my hands, in the fur, my face, and more.

When the monstrous mountain lion’s strength finally gave out and it died, it happened in a rush. The creature collapsed onto its side and breathed its last in one massive, wheezing rush. I didn’t release my grip for several more seconds to ensure that it was actually dead while blood continued to pump weakly from its wounds.

“Liam! Are you okay? Say something!” Kassandra’s voice was what finally penetrated my adrenaline-addled mind and I tried to speak, but ended up choking and coughing when I tried to breathe and speak at the same time and the air got caught in my throat halfway to both destinations.

“Fine.” I wheezed at last and pulled my borrowed claws out of the shredded hide of the animal with a wince. My chest burned and my left arm had a sharp pain digging into the back side of it. I could feel bruises from the blows that both the creature and the unforgiving ground had dealt me forming all over as well, but I didn’t feel like I was badly injured. No broken bones at least.

“Kass, we don’t know if the crag hunter was by itself or not.” Rieka’s words penetrated the pained fog and I immediately pushed away from the dead animal, biting back a scream of agony as the rapid movement aggravated my injuries now that adrenaline wasn’t numbing the pain as much. Need to get up…protect the girls…I thought to myself.

“You keep watch! I need to check Liam over, he got hit really hard!” Kassandra snapped back at her friend and a moment later I felt the chilling touch of her healing spell wash over me. The icy energy sunk into my aching muscles and injured body and brought with it relieving numbness. “Liam, where did you get injured? Gods, there is so much blood on you…” Kassandra’s voice was frantic as I felt gentle hands on my shoulder helping me turn over.

“Chest…and arm. I’ll be fine, Kass. Just need to get up.” I grunted painfully.

“Nope, you stay right there. I’ll wrap you if I have to, Liam.” Kassandra threatened and I saw her spell rod glow again as she chanted her spell quickly under her breath. The second dose of numbing cold helped clear my head from the cobwebs of the fading adrenaline and I blinked furiously. My chest still felt tight in the armor, but I realized that was because of the crocodile hide shift on my chest. I focused and tugged on the Shape-Shifting and the hide receded once more.

Poking a finger through the rents in my armor, I felt tender skin underneath it but no raw wounds. I prodded the back of my arm where the sword blade had cut me as well and, while it felt tender, it was no longer injured.

“Well hell, I love healing magic so much.” I muttered and turned onto my side to try and push myself upright. A click in my chest made me wince and nearly fall over as one of my ribs popped back into its proper place. “Ouch…okay I rather like healing magic, but that felt bizarre.”

“Are you okay, Liam? Are you still hurt anywhere else?” Kassandra’s soft hands on my face brought my focus back to what was important and I turned to press a kiss to the wrist closest to my mouth.

“Better now, Kass. Let me up, dear. I need to make sure we are safe.” When I caught sight of the worried frown and the tear-tracks on Kassandra’s face, I tried to reassure her more. “Seriously, I’m fine. You patched me right up. Just a bit light headed from the blood loss.” Kassandra gave me a watery smile now and nodded.

“The healing spell seals wounds and can mend some bones, but blood loss is not one my magic can handle. Ice aligned magic doesn’t do blood well due to the temperature. Even us cold-blooded creatures aren’t supposed to have icy blood after all. He’s okay, Rieka!”

“Thank the gods, I nearly soiled myself when he jumped on the crag hunter’s back like that! What were you thinking, Liam?!” Rieka’s voice was nearby and it took a bit of looking to spot her. She’d hopped up onto a piece of broken wall to get a better view of our surroundings and was shooting me scowls every so often, though I could see her relief in the way her tail was wagging furiously back and forth.

“I was thinking that I didn’t want it to get away to possibly circle back to hurt you two. Also, it broke my sword and my armor, so I was a bit pissed off.” I tried to inject some levity into the moment, but based on the glare I got it failed.

“And you just happened to forget that both of us could have killed it from a distance with spells as long as we didn’t have some great idiot in the way?”

“Like I said, I was angry. The damn cat destroyed both pieces of equipment you girls got for me…” Kassandra sniggered at my words before pressing against my side and wrapping her arms around me in a gentle hug, her tail coiling around my calves loosely as well.

“I don’t care about the gear. It did its job after all.” Kassandra sighed, nuzzling into my side. I hugged her closer before bending down to press a light kiss to her lips.

“And I did my job to keep you two safe. Now, let me finish that job, Kass?”

“Fine…but I want more cuddles later. I’m still getting over seeing you hurt like that.” Kassandra protested, trying to put up a strong front but I could feel her trembling under my arm.

“Promise. All the cuddles you want, Kass.” I gave her another kiss, this one to her forehead, before stepping free of her loosening coils. “How’s it looking, Rieka?”

“No sign of any other threats. The crag hunter wasn’t exactly quiet, so if it had a mate we’d be seeing it here soon.” Rieka called from her elevated perch. She kept glancing towards me with a concerned expression, so I strode over to her with Kassandra close behind. She had her spell rod in her hand still and held it at the ready. The perch on the stones actually put the wolf-kin at a height advantage for once over me and I looked up at her.

“I’m fine, Rieka. Kass got me patched up, though my armor is likely toast.” I glanced down at the quintet of slash marks in the leather and poked the clawed tip of my finger through one before meeting her, now relieved, eyes and holding my arms out to her.

Rieka took a leaf from Kassandra’s book and jumped at me. I’d been practicing enough with the claws to be careful with them as I caught her in a hug and held the shaking princess close to reassure her.

“You scared the wits right out of me, Liam! Charging it that first bit, then wrestling with one of the most dangerous hunters in these mountains!” Rieka’s words were muffled from where her face was pressed into my chest now, and I could feel the slight tickling of her furry ears as they twitched against my throat. I knew she wasn’t too angry though from how quickly her tail wagged back and forth behind her.

“Sorry about that, but it’s my job to look after you two.” I reminded her, giving her a tight squeeze while scanning our surroundings watchfully. The section of grass she’d hit when she missed with her first attack had spread smoldering embers around, but it hadn’t caught and there was no sign of smoke anymore. The only signs of disturbance to the clearing was the blood on the grass and the bent or broken stalks where the creature had crashed through them. The blood on the stalks reminded me that I was still covered in the stuff still, and I glanced down at Rieka.

“Rieka, I’m covered in blood, are you sure you want to be hugging me?”

“I don’t care, idiot.” Rieka muttered into my chest, not moving at all.

“Yea, but he’s our idiot.” Kassandra chirped happily before I felt another set of arms wrap around my waist to include Rieka as well.

We stood there for another handful of moments, just reassuring each other that we made it through this sudden and dangerous encounter alive. After a bit we finally separated once more and took stock again. Rieka had blood smeared on her clothes now too, as did Kassandra, but neither girl seemed to care.

“So…crag hunter?” I asked finally, turning to look at the massive predator. It was easily almost twice as long as the biggest cougar I’d seen back home and nearly as long as a full sized truck. It was covered in a tawny fur that had speckled highlights to help it blend into the grass. The armored plates on its limbs, head, and back would have been a great defense normally, but the main blows had been into its joints where the armor was weakest and bypassed the almost rocky armor.

“Yea, they are normally only found much further up the mountains. What did you call it again, Liam?” Rieka had resumed her watch post up on the broken wall but her tail continued to waft back and forth.

“Cougar. They are mountain predators back home as well. Normally solitary unless they are breeding. Same here?”

“Yea, that sounds about right for them. This one is much further down the mountain than usual though. I wonder…”

“What?”

“Well, it looks like it was trying to flee back towards that burrow that Kass was pointing to earlier. Think that’s its den?” Rieka’s question made Kassandra perk up and she checked it before nodding.

“I bet it was actually. The angles are almost perfect. We should go check the burrow to make sure it was alone first and foremost. Rieka, your sense of smell should be strong enough to tell if it has a mate and if that mate is home, right?” The wolf-kin nodded in agreement with Kassandra’s question.

“Okay, carefully and slowly. Keep your eyes out in case something else tries to rush us.” I suggested and the girls agreed, so we prowled through the tall grass towards the burrow that Kassandra had spotted.

The hole was roughly four feet across and only three feet tall, dug into the turf at a sharp angle and down into darkness. I could faintly smell something musty or musky coming from the hole, but that was as much as I could tell. Rieka sniffed at the entrance for a moment, her tail going as still as a flag with no wind before whipping back up furiously in a happy wagging motion.

“I’m only getting the one scent, this was a solitary den for the creature.”

“That’s great, we can relax some. Crag hunters are viciously territorial after all, probably why there weren’t any other small predators in the area last night.” Kassandra said with a sigh, though the statement made me tense up.

“So you are saying we slept the night away in the tent while this thing was prowling the forest?”

“Yea, but the wardstones would have warned us if it crossed into the campsite. Also, we didn’t see any signs of it on our side of the lake.” Kassandra said reassuringly, but I could see that my statement had sunk in for the serpentine woman. Rieka was the one who put words to the concern though.

“Yea…we need stronger wardstones. Warning is good and all, but I’d prefer something to at least try and block entrance to a large predator like this…can you imagine if it’d jumped one of us last night or this morning getting water?”

“I’d rather not think about that.” Kassandra mumbled, her head down in worry. A hand on her hair got her to perk back up and she gave me a shy smile.

“You did the best you could on short notice, Kass. Something to prepare for next time. Can you do stronger wards with what you have right now and some more time?” She nodded quickly to that, biting her bottom lip as I could see her mind already whirling along various ideas. “Okay, how about this. It’s getting on in the afternoon, let’s leave inspecting the crag hunter’s burrow for tomorrow morning before we pack up to leave. Rieka, should we try and skin the crag hunter? Think the hide will be worth anything?”

“We should at least try. It’s not a mission, but the Hunt and Trade hall will buy the hide off us. We can wash the hide off in the lake and Kass has a preservation spell that will keep it in decent condition till we get back to town. We can also wash up in the lake too. I doubt we will need to worry about other predators tonight, but better to give Kass more time to build stronger wards too.” Rieka said thoughtfully, turning to look back to where the carcass lay. “It got pretty torn up from the spells and the fight, but it’s big. There is plenty of usable hide there…”

“Okay, sounds like a plan then. We can play ‘cave explorer’ tomorrow. You aren’t going to forget where this is, are you Kass?” The dwarf lamia shook her head, a wry smile on her face.

“Not a chance, Liam. Sudden fights to the death and ambushes by wild predators have a way of cementing details on a location in one’s mind.”