“The heat is rising,” Kylie said.

“Heat always rises. The temperature is rising,” Groll said absently, walking at the back of the group down the stone tunnel.

Kylie rolled her eyes and flapped the collar of her shirt open and closed to cool down. Groll had sweat running down his head, but was still wearing his long-sleeved shirt and vest. Well, he had changed his clothes after the set he had been wearing was damaged in the frozen cavern the day before. He always made a point of wearing something stylish and sophisticated.

“Drink water,” Brody said, taking a swig from his own waterskin. “It’s easy to become dehydrated when it’s hot and humid. Also, I think I see a light source ahead.”

Brody took the lead, sword and shield at the ready, as they continued down the stone passage, still on a slightly downward slope. Eventually, the passage opened up into another cavern. It was, however, not a typical cavern.

“I have a feeling this is going to be a trend,” Kylie said.

Tall, leafy green plants soared into the sky in every direction. The shapes of absolutely tremendous trees could be seen through the gaps in the plants, but the greenery was everywhere. No small grasses could be seen and the ground was rocky and not particularly easy to traverse. The odd plants appeared to be one solid leaf. They were about the height of a tall tree and easily three times as wide as Groll, reaching up toward the light of what appeared to be the sun.

“Oh what beautiful sight I’ve seen,

Surrounded by these fields of green,

Nature rules this great, wide world,

I lounge within her fingers, curled,” Groll recited, solemn.

“Oh, that was beautiful, dear. Did you write that? I’ve never been able to write poems, but I do enjoy them now and again,” Helen said.

Groll blushed, “No, the sight just made me recall a passage I once read. It is quite lovely, is it not?”

“Lots of cover. Anything could be hiding behind this growth. Stay together and stay ready,” Brody said.

“Okay, Brody. We get it. You’re paranoid. Romaine calm,” Kylie said with a wink. “I’ll climb up one of these plants and take stalk of the situation.”

Groll groaned as his reverie was shattered by Kylie’s puns. The half-elf wasn’t able to get much purchase on the plants, however. There were grooves, but they were vertical and didn’t give good enough hand-holds for the rogue to climb.

“Shoot,” Kylie said, apparently still insisting on making puns, “I guess we’ll have to head through this stuff.”

Brody led the way through the thick growth of plants, weaving in between the large stalks. They didn’t see much else besides rocky mounds and the strange plants as they walked for several minutes. It seemingly went on forever.

“Wait,” Keevan said suddenly. “I hear something.”

“Well, what is it?” Kylie said after a moment of holding still.

“It’s some deep… thrumming. I don’t know, but I think it’s getting closer,” the elf replied.

Soon, the others began to hear a loud thrumming sound approaching. It sounded as if the wind were playing drums. The adventurers all looked right, then crouched and turned their heads to the sky. They tracked the sound to somewhere above them.

A black shape blotted out the sun, some sort of enormous flying monstrosity, beating its wings so quickly that the air around it thrummed. From below, it looked to have multiple pairs of wings and six huge legs, each one larger than a person. It landed on the tip of one of the stalks near the adventurers, causing the plant to flex and bend slightly under its weight.

The enormous wings tucked in close to the creature’s body as it settled on the plant. It turned its body to face the adventurers and they saw huge white spots that they initially mistook for eyes on a large black head, its tremendous mandibles that it opened and closed as it stared at its newfound prey, and a bright red carapace that stood out on its back with black spots, clearly a sign of utmost danger.

“Is that… is that a ladybug?” Keevan asked, confused.

“I think the more pressing question is ‘do those eat plants?’” Groll said.

“I believe they eat aphids. Which are a type of small insect. And, if I’m not wrong about scale, we would be aphid-sized to that one,” Brody said, adjusting his grip on his sword and shield.

“It’s pretty big… maybe we could try a diplo-gnat-ic approach?” Kylie said nervously.

“Dear? I think a fireball is in order before it gets too close,” Helen said, patting Keevan on the shoulder.

“Oh, right,” the elf said, summoning a large orb of flame between his hands.

The fireball flew through the air, directly at the giant ladybug. When it made contact, the ladybug reared and made some sort of high-pitched whine that made all the adventurers grab their ears. It wasn’t remotely dead, but it was definitely upset.

Some brownish-orange liquid dripped down from the ladybug’s legs onto the leafy plant it was perched on and also onto the ground near the adventurers. Keevan and Kylie both immediately bent over and retched. The smell was so horrid that they couldn’t keep it together.

The scene shifts to Helen seated in front of a plant-filled backdrop.

“I raised two boys. I don’t know that there’s a smell out there that would make me toss my cookies anymore,” Helen said, smiling and shrugging.

The scene shifts back to the adventurers under the shadow of the giant ladybug.

The ladybug lifted its red shell and spread its wings. The thrumming started up again as it lifted into the air. Brody held his shield up, sword poised to thrust above it. The ladybug didn’t attack them, though. Instead, it flew away to their left.

“Well. That was unpleasant,” Groll said, looking at the brown sludge near the group and over at Keevan and Kylie.

The two sick adventurers crawled away from the noxious odor that was making them vomit. The others followed, Helen patting Keevan on the back and saying something vaguely encouraging.

"What… was… that… stuff?" Kylie asked, panting.

"It was an effective defense mechanism," Brody said. "Much like a skunk's."

"Well, ladybugs never smell like that!" Kylie shouted indignantly.

"I believe sheer quantity would be the reason for that. But it has come to my attention that this chamber isn't what it seemed. This biome and all things biological within, including the bugs, are of brobdingnagian proportions," Groll said.

"Huh?" Keevan asked.

"Everything is big, dear," Helen said, patting the still-kneeling Keevan on the head.

"I believe these tall stalks are actually grass. I don't think we've shrunk, either. Or the tunnel's opening would have loomed behind us after we entered. Everything here is just enormous," Groll continued.

"We are in even more danger than I previously thought, then," Brody said. "Insects are some of the fiercest and most terrifying creatures the world has to offer. The only reason they don't rule the world is their small stature."

Kylie, Keevan, and Helen all stared at their leader.

Brody cleared his throat, "I… It's important to study combat from every perspective. That way you learn new ways of doing things. Insects are the most brutal of all non-magical creatures."

The answer seemed to satisfy their curiosity, so Brody continued.

"Be vigilant. Stay close. We head toward the nearest tree to see if we can get a better vantage and find this cavern's exit," Brody said.

The group traversed the forest floor, weaving in and out of the tall blades of grass. A few times, sounds of movement caused them all to freeze but nothing got close enough for them to see it.

Brody led them to what had to have been the root of one of the trees. It was easily twice the height of the blades of grass but had many more grooves for climbing. So many, in fact, it was almost like a walkway up the ridges that formed the exposed root.

"Keevan, keep an eye out for anything flying. We'll be exposed up there, no longer covered by the grass. If anything gets near - fireball," Brody said.

Keevan nodded. At the warning, everyone looked up. The canopy of the tree blocked much of the view, but it certainly was a sky, much like the last cavern.

"Surely even a dragon would find such a thing humbling," Groll said softly. "Just the size alone. What could possibly have the magical power to make such things?"

"I don’t have a clue," Keevan said. "But whatever it is has certainly gone to a lot of trouble to make it."

The group continued to climb the root, getting higher and higher up as they went. Keevan was the slowest, but he was also keeping his eyes to the sky most of the time, so no one complained. Kylie, unsurprisingly, sped up the side of the tree and left the others behind.

“This place is huuuuuuuuge!” she shouted below, “I can see where we came in. It’s like a rock wall or a cliff face or something. I see another one off to the left, but everything else seems really open.”

“Alright. Find us some points along the way to guide us and let’s head that direction,” Brody said.

“Look out!” Groll shouted, diving for Helen.

He was a touch too slow, as a gigantic ant climbed its way along the root, inadvertently kicking Helen as it walked. The dwarf went tumbling down the root, bouncing along and finally coming to a rest on the ground below.

“Helen!” Keevan yelled.

The elf let loose a flurry of fire at the ant. Flaming balls and bolts careened through the air at the insect’s head. Groll was already charging the ant, axe raised, and took a stray firebolt to the chest. The pain caused him to grunt and drop to his knees.

Brody was making his way further down the root to assist his team when Kylie landed hard on the ant’s back. She looked a bit dazed from her fall, but she held onto the struggling creature. Kylie unsheathed her dagger and repeatedly drove it into the chitin, stabbing it over and over. Each stab was punctuated by a word through clenched teeth.

"I… prefer… uncles!" Kylie growled.

Groll stood from where he was kneeling and buried his axe into the underside of the ant’s head. It continued to struggle, antennae waving wildly, even as Keevan threw more and more fire at it. Brody finally arrived, leaping expertly atop the abdomen. He ran along the thorax where Kylie was and drove his sword straight down where the head connected to the thorax.

The insect continued to thrash after Brody removed the sword, but it was weakening and the blow had likely been fatal. Brody and Kylie leaped clear of the struggling ant, rolling along the root. Groll had already distanced himself from the flailing legs and was seated, clutching at his chest. Keevan continued throwing fire at the ant, not realizing the fight was over.

“It’s dead, Keevan! Go see to Helen!” Brody shouted, pitching his voice to be heard over the thrashing of the insect.

The mage stopped hurling magic and looked down at the injured dwarf on the ground below. She wasn’t moving. Keevan climbed down the root as fast as he could manage and knelt beside her, checking her for any obvious wounds.

Helen had a few scratches on her hands and face, but the concerning injury was the reddish-purple lump on the side of her head. She had clearly hit it hard, knocking her unconscious. Keevan felt for her breath and found that she was still alive.

“She’s alive!” Keevan shouted up at the group.

Brody gave a thumbs up and walked over to Groll.

“How is it?” the human asked.

“It hurts, but I will be fine. Twice in two days. If I didn’t know any better, I would think he had it out for me,” the big orc said.

“I’m pretty sure you’re his second favorite person,” Kylie said, patting him on the shoulder. “I’ll go check on them.”

Kylie started climbing down and Groll stood. He walked over to the now-motionless ant and swung his axe into the abdomen three times before Brody stopped him.

“What are you doing?” Brody asked.

“Trying to crack open the chitin,” Groll replied.

Brody took his sword and wedged it into one of the cracks Groll had made. Then, he gripped the crossguard and twisted with his body weight, cracking the chitin open.

“Thank you,” the orc said.

The scene shifts to reveal Brody seated in front of the root.

“Adventurer Tip: Pounding and pounding might get the job done, but a little finesse tends to work much better,” Brody said.

The scene shifts back to Groll and Brody on the root.

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

The orc tore open a hole with his bare hands, sniffed the opening, and grabbed some yellowish goo. He began rubbing it on the burn on his chest, wincing as he did so.

“I think I need to ask again. What are you doing?” Brody asked.

“Ah. It’s a remedy from the tribes. Helen can’t heal me, so I’m applying the teachings of the elders - quite literally applying, in this case,” Groll said, smiling.

“Rubbing ant gloop on burns helps it?” Brody asked incredulously.

“Well, Orcish isn’t a very nuanced language. But this type of wound on the chest, above the heart, is what would roughly translate to a ‘heart burn.’ And the remedy for a heart burn is ant acid. I’m honestly lucky. It usually takes hours to collect enough ants,” Groll replied.

They all met up around the prone form of Helen. Kylie had placed her head on a pack for a makeshift pillow. Keevan was nervously looking around for any other dangers.

“We need to get her somewhere safe while she recovers. I say we dig a burrow at the base of the root. If we get started now, we can probably be done by dark,” Brody said, already walking over to a spot and pulling a small spade out of his pack.

Groll followed a moment later and began using his axe to break up the dirt to make digging easier. Keevan stood and began looking for something to dig with before slapping himself in the forehead.

“Um. I can help,” the elf said.

He raised his hands and concentrated, mumbling something under his breath while his hands moved in intricate patterns. The earth that Groll had been breaking up suddenly shifted, flowing away from the location like water in a stream. The earth continued flowing away, digging a deeper and deeper hole. Even forming steps. The dirt and rock that was excavated also formed into small walls to shield the opening of the little burrow.

Sweat ran down Keevan’s brow, his forehead crinkled. Suddenly, the elf let out a huge breath and sat down on the ground, panting.

“How… is that?” the mage asked between breaths.

Groll’s eyebrows were threatening to leave his head. Brody just nodded.

“Well done,” the human said.

“I’m pretty sure that’s not a well,” Kylie said, smirking.

Groll actually smiled at that one, appreciating the levity that the rogue could bring to a stressful situation.

“I mean, I would have helped. But… you know. That would have been boring,” Kylie said, encouraged.

This time, Groll did groan.

The group carefully moved Helen down into their surprisingly spacious and protected burrow.

“Why have you not done this before?!” Kylie shouted, then winced at the volume inside the close confines of the burrow.

Keevan rubbed the back of his neck, “I guess I just didn’t think of it. There are a lot of spells out there, you know. And this isn’t exactly the intended use for this one. Come to think of it, I have no idea what the intended use for this spell is…” he said, trailing off in thought.

"You know, you can tell the sex of an ant just by dropping it in water," Kylie said, breaking Keevan out of his thoughts.

"Really? How?" Keevan said.

"Well, if it sinks, the ant is female. If it floats… buoyant," she said, grinning from ear to ear.

Groll groaned. Keevan nodded as if filing that information away for later, then summoned his usual orb of light to float above him in the underground chamber.

“Alright. We’ll set up camp early and Helen will hopefully be awake before morning. If not, we’ll be staying here for a while,” Brody said.

Groll unstrapped his chair from his pack and set it down at one end of the underground chamber. He sat down, crossing one leg over the other, and began reading his book.

“You know, I never see you without a book. What are you reading?” Kylie asked.

“Just something I picked up in the last town,” Groll said.

“Well, it’s probably something like super dry with lots of big words, am I right?” Kylie prodded.

“It is… leisure reading. A good way to unwind after a long day,” Groll said.

“In that case, I might have to borrow it when you get done. It’s bound to be good, eh?” Kylie said, coming over to nudge Groll with an elbow.

The half-elf looked down at the page for a moment and began to read along. She had only gotten through about two sentences before Groll shut the book, thumb holding his place.

“Wait a second... Are you reading a romance novel?” Kylie said incredulously.

“It is not a romance novel. It is a deep look at interpersonal relationships among peoples with whom I am unfamiliar. I am researching the way non-orcs interact with each other, that is all,” Groll said defensively, blushing a bit.

“HAH!” Kylie laughed, bending over and wheezing. “You’ve been reading romance novels this whole time?! And here I thought you were some scholar!”

Groll just blushed harder and put away his book. He began muttering to himself as he set up his tent inside the burrow. Then, once the tent was up, he entered it with his book in hand. The canvas of the tent became illuminated by his magical lamp a few moments later.

This just made Kylie laugh even harder. She plopped down on the ground, cackling with mirth and holding her stomach.

“I’ll be sure to knock!” she jeered.

“Hush,” Brody said. “Don’t draw attention to our position.”

The scene shifts to show Kylie seated in front of a dirt wall.

“No, I don’t think I was being too hard on him. We’re partners! We give each other a hard time. That’s part of being an adventurer, really. The work is too dangerous to be serious all the time. Besides, I’m sure Groll will be happy that his secret is out and he can be more open about his hobby,” Kylie said.

The scene shifts to show the adventurers waking up in the burrow, Helen already awake and digging through her pack for cooking supplies.

“You’re up!” Kylie announced after rubbing sleep from her eyes.

“You betcha. That was probably the best night of sleep I’ve had in years. I need to fall off of tall things more often!” Helen said.

The dwarf stood from her crouch and winced, groaning at the pain the motion caused her.

“Maybe not,” she said, rubbing her lower back.

Groll poked a head out of his tent at the commotion at the same time Keevan awoke.

“You’re alright!” Keevan said, quickly standing up and running over to Helen before stopping short and awkwardly looking at her. It had looked like he was about to give her a hug but then opted against it.

“Thanks for your concern, dear,” Helen said, wrapping Keevan in as big a hug as her small arms could muster.

“The sun just came up,” Brody said from the entrance. “Good to see you’ve all welcomed Helen back. We should pack up and get going if we want to try and make it to the cliff’s edge before dark.”

“Not before breakfast! Celebratory sausages!” Helen said. “Though we are running low on food. Did you find anything we could eat here?”

“As of now, we have only seen insects. And they were very challenging encounters. I shudder to think of the mountainous monster masquerading in the mold of a massive mouse,” Groll said.

“Boys!” Helen said, exasperated. “Not all food is meat, you know. Not that I wouldn’t mind a little, don’tcha know. But did you see vegetables or plants on your scouting trips, perhaps?”

“Ah…” Brody began. “We didn’t go on any scouting trips. Our main priority was security.”

“Well, that’s very nice of you. Now, some vegetables or fruits would go wonderfully with some sausages, don’t you think? Would anyone like to look for some?” Helen asked.

“I’ll go,” Kylie said. “I’m great at identifying plants. Besides, we can’t just hang out here all daisy.”

That one elicited a groan from Helen, even. Let alone Groll.

“Maybe work on that one a bit more, dear. You’ll do better next time, I’m sure. I be-leaf in you,” the dwarf said with a wink.

Kylie grinned and said, “I’ll be right bok!” before heading out of the burrow.

“You too?” Groll said, a betrayed look on his face as he looked at Helen.

“If you can’t beet ‘em, join ‘em,” the dwarf said, chuckling.

Kylie poked her head back into the burrow, “Helen’s on my side, now! Thistle be great!”

Groll retreated into his tent without another word.

The scene shifts to reveal Groll seated in front of a dirt background. His shoulders were slumped and his head was buried in his huge hands.

The orc raised his head and looked forward. “Did I do something wrong? Is this my punishment?” Groll asked, defeated. He hung his head once more.

The scene shifts to the adventurers in the burrow, Kylie among them once more.

"If we continue directly on our path towards the cliff, I think there's a strawberry bush. And it's jam-packed full of them!" Kylie said, grinning.

"Alright," Brody said. "We've had a run-in with a ladybug and one ant. They both proved to be formidable. If you see something, do not engage."

"Learned that lesson the hard way, don'tcha know," Helen said, pointing at the black and purple lump on her head.

The group finished packing up and continued in the direction Kylie indicated. They walked for almost two hours and only had to stop twice when something passed by close enough to hear but out of sight.

"I told you," Kylie whispered when they arrived. "Look at all of them! And we only need half of one to feed us all for a week!"

The group was situated behind some grass, warily looking past it at the strawberry bush.

"This seems too easy. Shouldn't animals or other insects be prioritizing the fruit?" Brody asked.

"I can't imagine they wouldn't be," Groll said. "Everything I've read points to fruit as being desirable by nearly every creature."

"Everything you’ve read in all your romance books, you mean?" Kylie said, teasing.

"I have read many types of books," Groll said defensively.

"Oh, I love romance novels. Nice and steamy! Makes me feel young again!" Helen said. "You wouldn't happen to have one I could borrow, would you, Groll?"

"Um. I…" Groll began, but stopped as movement sounded nearby.

The group froze, as silent and as still as a stone. The sound passed by them, not coming any closer. The group let out a collective sigh of relief.

"Plan of action," Brody said. "We sneak along, using the grass as cover. Once we make it to the bush, Kylie climbs to the closest berry and begins slicing pieces off. Those fall to Groll and me, waiting below with sacks. Helen and Keevan keep an eye on the surroundings and warn us if anything approaches. We are The Undefilers. We can handle any challenge, no matter how foul. Including that bush."

Kylie coughed, her hand hiding a smile. She did nod at Brody's plan, though, along with the others.

They moved along the ground, sticking to the cover of the grass as they went. No insects or animals made themselves known in their path, and they made it to the bush without incident.

Kylie wordlessly began climbing the bush to get to the nearest berry. It actually hung pretty near the ground, so the pieces would be relatively undamaged by falling into the waiting sacks of Brody and Groll below. She made it to the strawberry and began slicing off chunks about half as large as a ham. She made sure to use an unpoisoned blade.

Brody and Groll caught each and every piece as it fell, stowing them in sacks with a waxy interior meant to carry foodstuffs. After under a minute, they had so much strawberry that they began trying to signal to Kylie to stop cutting, careful not to make any sounds while they did so. The half-elf wasn't paying attention to them, however. She just kept slicing and slicing.

Keevan caught sight of Brody and Groll hopping up and down, waving their arms, and began looking in every direction. Finally, the elf fired a harmless little ball of light at Kylie, startling her and bringing her attention down to the others below. She correctly interpreted their signals and climbed down, a big chunk of ripe strawberry held in her mouth.

Brody picked up his sack of strawberries and indicated with his head toward the cliffs. Once they got far enough away from the bush, Groll began distributing chunks of strawberry to the others.

“Thanks, Groll, but I had some up there. You know, strawberries are considered a very romantic fruit. What does your book have to say about them?” Kylie asked, feigning as much innocence as she could possibly muster.

Groll didn’t respond. Instead, he closed up the sack, turned, and began walking in the direction of the cliff wall.

The scene shifts to Groll seated in his chair.

“I read them for the interpersonal relationships! The complex interactions between people belonging to a culture that is not my own! How hard is that to understand?!” Groll exclaimed, exasperated. “Orcs do not mention feelings back in the tribes. It is a foreign concept that these books help me understand. Without them, my primary resource for how to act among other races would be the example of Brody. While he is an excellent example when it comes to all things combat, I have learned that he does lack quite a bit of social refinement.

"And it's not like I'm emotionally invested in whether Lola ends up with Jack or with Paul. Even though Paul has done nothing but love her while Jack toyed with Lola's affection and even became physically involved with her sister. But Jack is the handsome, famous warrior and Paul is just a scribe."

Groll sighed.

"I just can't see why Kylie doesn't understand that me reading these books is clearly all about educating myself in interpersonal relationships and nothing more."

The scene shifts back to the adventurers walking through the impossibly tall grass.

“Now if only we found some potatoes, we’d be set for weeks. Strawberries are nice and all, but that much fruit will have us taking pretty frequent breaks, if you know what I mean,” Helen said, eyebrows raised.

“This place is too dangerous to go digging for tubers. We need to leave as soon as possible. And I think we’re getting close to the exit,” Brody said. “Sorry, Helen.”

“Oh, sure. A gal can dream, of course,” Helen replied.

Groll, at the head of the group, suddenly froze. He held up a hand for silence and reached for his axe. The others in the group grew still and looked around for what Groll saw.

“There,” Groll whispered, pointing ahead of them. “Do you see the brown leaves by the cliff face? I believe it is an insect pretending to be leaves. I saw one of them move.”

“Are you sure?” Keevan asked. “They just look like leaves to me. What if it was the wind?”

“What, you don’t be-leaf him?” Kylie said, grinning.

“It moved,” Groll said, ignoring Kylie. “And look behind the leaves, to the right. That looks like there might be an opening there. That could be our way out.”

“I don’t know,” Brody said, hesitant. “That would be a very large insect, even for this place. But we can check. Stealthily.”

Brody set down his pack and pulled out a very compact horn bow. In a few quick motions, he strung the bow and retrieved an arrow.

“Stay behind cover,” the warrior said.

Brody pulled the arrow back to his cheek and sighted down the shaft toward his target. It was way beyond the range for an archer to shoot such a small bow accurately - about a hundred yards. The target was quite large, however. The twang of the bowstring sounded the release of the arrow and they watched as it sailed through the air, burying itself in its distant target.

A leaf segment twisted slightly, revealing the outline of a head. The creature was enormous and had barely noticed the arrow sinking into its flesh.

“I was afraid of that,” Brody said, nodding. “Praying Mantis.”

“Praying Mantis? That thing prays?” Keevan asked. “To what god?”

“It varies,” Kylie said, grinning. “They’re all in sects.”

Helen snorted softly at the pun. Groll, surprisingly, didn’t groan at that one. He instead kept watching the Mantis, as if afraid it would disappear again.

“They’re ambush predators. They can’t move around very quickly, but they strike faster than a viper,” Brody said, listing off the insect’s attributes. “And they have a fairly long range. The good news is that we might be too small for it to consider us a meal. From what I’ve seen, they remain perfectly still - only moving their head to follow the movements of their prey before striking.”

The rest of the group stared at Brody again. Kylie even arched an eyebrow, surprised by the extensive knowledge that their leader had regarding insects. Brody seemed oblivious to the scrutiny from his team and continued.

“I say we make a run for it. If we see the head move, we need to get away or create some sort of distraction. Perhaps Keevan could blind it with some light spells if it comes down to it,” Brody said, unstringing his bow and packing it away.

“So we run like hell to the opening we’re only partially certain is behind the giant super predator insect, trusting in Keevan to save us if anything goes wrong. And if we see it move, we bug out. Got it,” Kylie said sarcastically.

“Exactly. On the count of ten,” Brody said, beginning his count.

The rest of The Undefilers secured their things and adopted sprinting poses, trusting in Brody’s expertise when it comes to all things combat, even Kylie, despite her objections. Keevan mumbled some incantation under his breath the whole time. When their leader reached ten, they took off like a shot. Brody and Kylie took the lead, Keevan and Helen behind them, and Groll picking up the rear. Groll was the fastest of the lot by a fair amount, what with his long legs, but he took his usual place in the rear guard to protect Helen and Keevan.

When they approached the mantis, the head swiveled slightly. Keevan panicked and fired off a spell he had prepared. A shining ball of bright light hurtled through the air at the mantis’ head, sticking to its face and pulsing brightly. The insect moved, raising its barbed, hooked arms up to flail at the spots that were certainly dancing in its vision.

The adventurers were running straight toward the flailing monster. The opening to the tunnel in the rock wall was clearly visible, however, now that the mantis had moved. Brody drew his sword, preparing for some sort of desperate maneuver to get them past it.

The ground in front of them suddenly erupted in a shower of dirt. Black was all that could be seen. Then, just as suddenly, the black disappeared. The adventurers had stopped at the abrupt chaos but were now staring in wonder at the largest bird any of them had ever seen. A gigantic, terrifying crow flew off with its new mantis lunch.

Brody lowered his sword in wonder. Then, suddenly coming to his senses, began sprinting once more toward the opening in the cliff face. The others quickly followed the example of the veteran warrior. Once inside, Kylie, Helen, and Keevan collapsed to the ground, panting and exhausted. Brody kept his feet but was still breathing hard.

“I believe we owe that to Keevan,” Groll said. “Crows love shiny things.”

“I’m just… glad… we didn’t… get caw-t,” Kylie said between breaths, imitating a crow’s call with the last word.