Sentry found herself in quite the quandary. On the one hand, the light spell her new mage associate could cast was invaluable. Without it, she would be at a loss. On the other hand, she desperately wanted to murder the mousey little chatterbox. It was a pickle.

“…and so I told him that the size was only part of the problem. The last shape is just as important. For someone with a wide foot and a high arch, the traditional lasts used in dress boots are never going to be comfortable, regardless of size. And then there is the type of leather. I tried to convince him that he wanted something softer so it would mold more easily. But, of course, he was worried about creasing. So, I told him…”

Christophe had been rambling for almost an hour about boots. Apparently he had worked as an apprentice cobbler before coming to Farandway. It was a dull, tedious topic. But it was better than the previous hour, which Christophe had spent explaining why he liked his food spicy, but not too spicy. Before, Sentry had a hard time understanding why the mage’s companions had been so willing to leave him on his own in the wilds. Now she understood.

It had taken just over an hour to find the steep, narrow trail that led down into the ravine. It was in an area that clearly saw little traffic, and it was by pure luck that Sentry had come across it the previous week while out on one of her excursions. She hadn’t ventured down at the time, and she wasn’t sure it led all the way to the bottom. But it was worth a try.

They had been descending for less than ten minutes when the sky disappeared. That was the only way to describe it. They had been walking down the path, the blue sky above still clearly visible. Then it was gone, and they were surrounded by nothing but darkness. That had stopped Christophe’s mouth, if only for a moment. They had walked back up a short ways, and the sky had reappeared. Descending again, the darkness returned almost instantly.

It was clearly unnatural. For reasons that defied explanation, the ravine was immune to the penetrating light from above. Perhaps it was some type of ward. Maybe the ravine was the entrance to a self-contained realm or a pocket dimension. Whatever the cause, it made Sentry uneasy. She wondered, not for the first time, if this was really a good idea. It wasn’t like Nathan Sutton was her friend. She didn’t even know the man. Besides that, the most likely outcome of his fall was that he was dead. It was unlikely they would even find the body. So what was the point of taking this risk?

Yet she continued, her quiet march soon interrupted by the resumption of Christophe’s verbal assault. Something pushed her onward, despite her misgiving. An intangible sense that this was the right course. She followed that feeling. After all, she had a secret ace.

{Attribute: Uncanny Instincts

Your instincts are honed to a razor’s edge, serving you almost like a sixth sense. Whether it is detecting approaching danger, choosing the right path, or finding the weaknesses in an opponent’s defense, your intuition will rarely steer you wrong.}

The description was short and rather vague. But this was the same attribute used by generations of her people, and Sentry had a better understanding of its capabilities than what the System prompt offered. When her attention was focused on a problem or task, she would receive a subtle sense about what to do. It wasn’t perfect, and it was weak at her current level. Yet it had already served her well, allowing her to survive encounters in her early leveling crusade that would have otherwise been too much.

She wasn’t certain it was her Uncanny Instinct that guided her now. The feeling she had about searching for Nathan Sutton was less focused than those earlier experiences. She followed it anyway. The odds were stacked against her. The only chance she had to achieve her goals was to take some risks.

It was hard to judge the passage of time without the sun to act as a guide, but just as Christophe finished explaining the different methods for curing leathers, the trail suddenly ended and they were standing at the bottom of the ravine. The pale glow from Christophe’s floating orb only allowed them to see about twenty feet ahead, revealing only odd, pointed racks jutting up from the ground at random intervals. It was an eerie sight.

Then Sentry felt a prickling sensation on the back of her neck. She narrowed her eyes, studying the ravine more closely.

“…so I tried to explain that using a Blake Stitch would make resoling more difficult later. But, did he listen? Of course not. So…”

“Be quiet,” Sentry cut in. Christophe paused and looked at her, startled and a bit offended. Then he saw the way she was peering into the gloom and the tension that had filled her body. The mage went still.

There was a faint scraping sound. It was a soft rasp, but it echoed off the walls of the ravine, making the source impossible to detect. Then there was another sound, like the hiss of steam escaping a kettle. It made the hairs on the back of Sentry’s neck rise.

Christophe slowly extended a hand, the glowing orb moved away from them. As it did, the light stretched, casting more of the ravine in pale light even as the darkness edged in around the two of them from behind.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Finally, Sentry detected a small shift of movement at the edge of the light. She lifted a hand, signaling to Christophe to stop there.

A form lurched lazily into the light. It was a massive reptile, at least six feet long and covered in thick, shimmering scales. It’s long, narrow head held four dark, lifeless eyes. The mouth was closed. Yet long fangs were still visible, jutting out around the edges of its maw.

A tongue flickered out, tasting the air. The beast’s head turned, as if searching. Sentry focused on the monster.

{Stone Monitor Level 4 HP: 30/30

Special Attack: Petrifying Bite}

Sentry froze. The first skill she had purchased after going up a couple levels was an improved version of identify. So far, it hadn’t been particularly useful. But that was because she had never before encountered a monster above level 2.

The Stone Monitor was only two levels higher than the strongest creature she had fought so far. But those two levels were a gap as wide as the ravine. A level 4 monster had significantly higher stats and more hit points. Also, monsters didn’t gain a special attack until level 3. Sentry didn’t know the exact effect of Petrifying Bite. But she knew she didn’t want to find out.

Sentry was trying to figure out a way to skirt around the lizard when a terrible, yet utterly predictable, thing happened. Christophe spoke.

“What should we…” he attempted to whisper to her. But the ravine’s walls caught the words and cast them back and forth, echoing off the rocky surfaces.

The Stone Monitor’s yead jerked, its narrow eyes fixed right on them. Then it blurred into motion.

The long, low-slung body scampered forward on four powerful legs, shooting across the ravine as a shocking speed. Sentry barely had time to react. With one hand, she reached out and shoved Christophe. Hard. The little mage went tumbling away from the charging monster, crying out in alarm as he fell. With the other hand, Sentry drew her longsword and made a frantic slash towards the oncoming beast.

Her blade struck the lizard’s snout just as it opened its mouth with a snarl. The force of the blow knocked the Monitor off its charge, staggering it to the side. But rather than feeling the satisfying tug of a clean cut, Sentry’s arm buzzed as the blade bounced off the creature’s hard scales, generating a faint spark.

The Monitor whipped around, letting the momentum of Sentry’s blow carry it past her. As it did, its tail slashed out. Sentry managed to block the with her sword, though the blow staggered her back a step. The monster was fast and strong. The realization was all she had time for before the lizard was turned and snapping at her again.

Sentry parried and slashed, constantly retreating as she did so to stay out of reach of the snapping jaws. She struck the lizard multiple times, but each cut bounced off the monster’s impossibly hard scales. One flick of the tail managed to catch her cheek as she dodged, opening a shallow cut under her eye, bathing her cheek in warm, sticky blood. It wasn’t going well.

Sentry was trying to figure out some way to retreat when both her and the lizard froze at the sound of a high pitched scream. The Monitor snapped its head to look at Christophe, who was waving his arms and yelling as loud as he could with a mixture of terror and concentration.

Even as the creature tensed to charge the new target, Christophe’s blow ball, which had hung above the fight this entire time, suddenly swirled and swept towards the creature. The lizard pulled back slightly as the light approached. Then it opened its jaws wide and lunged forward, snapping down on the orb.

There was a pop. The light vanished. Everything was plunged into darkness.

For two whole seconds, Sentry was blind. Then two things happened simultaneously.

The first was that there was a sudden twinge deep in Sentry’s chest. It screamed of danger, and she reacted instantly, swiping her sword in front of her face.

The second was that the light returned, a new glow ball forming just above her right shoulder.

A heartbeat later, the Monitor was on her, teeth snapping for her throat. Had her sword not already been in motion, those jaws would have torn her to ribbons. Instead, she caught the Monitor on the side of the head with the flat of the blade, battering it aside. She leapt back, gaining distance.

In the instant she had seen the open mouth descending on her, Sentry had felt another tug at her Uncanny Instincts.

“Christophe! Send your orb at it again. Straight at it! Now!” She called.

To his credit, Christophe neither hesitated nor questioned. His jaw set in determination, the mage raised his hand.

The glowing orb shot forward, moving over Sentry’s shoulder and straight at the Monitor even as it regained its bearings. Seeing the hated light approaching again, the Monitor opened its jaws, preparing to extinguish the orb just as it had the first time.

The second it did, Sentry activated one of her skills.

{Skill: Executioner’s Thrust}

Sentry moved like an arrow, lancing straight at the Monitor. As she did, the tip of her blade blazed with a radiant light, far brighter than Christophe’s orb.

The lunge was so quick that even the Monitor, with it’s impressive speed, had no time to react. Sentry’s sword passed over the glistening teeth and directly into the open jaws of the beast.

There was a detonation as the tip of the blade made contact. Then the sword ripped through the creature’s mouth, emerging bloody and streaked with gore from the back of its head.

The Stone Monitor shuddered. Then it collapsed to the ground. Dead.

{Congratulations, Traveler! You have defeated a monster of a higher level than yourself. Bonus experience awarded.}

Sentry pulled her blade free, careful not to touch any of the Monitor’s teeth. Then she let her shoulders sag in relief, pulling in deep breaths of cool air.

Christophe shuffled over to stand beside her, looking down at the dead lizard with wide eyes.

“Jesus Christ,” he whispered. Sentry looked at him in confusion.

“What?”

“It’s something Nate says. When he is surprised. Or annoyed. Or scared. Actually, it seems to have many uses.”

“Oh. What does it mean?” She asked.

“I’m not sure. I think it is the name of someone obnoxious that he knows.” Christophe shook his head sadly. “I needed him to say it three more times today so I could win the bet. Now I’m going to lose two silvers.”

Sentry was still staring at Christophe, trying to formulate an appropriate response to that, when she saw the young man’s eyes go wide. Then she heard it. That same rasping hiss.

Sentry turned and looked out into the dimly lit ravine. Two more of the giant Monitors were slithering into the light.

“Jesus Christ," Sentry muttered.