<~> CHAPTER 9

I woke up to the hurried patting of Maxwell on my side. I had slept in my wolf form which I had thought would dissuade him from touching me but when I opened my eyes I could see why he was so frantically waking me.

A group of goblins, five of them, were skulking a little off in the distance. Unfortunately, the goblins were very much aware when I opened my eyes because the light from my eyes lit them up like a spotlight. The group of goblins froze as I looked at them, maybe hoping that I wouldn't notice them if they didn't move. I scanned around the area for others and found a few goblin scouts spread out around us, but no other larger parties.

I slowly stood up, eyes focused on the largest group. A quick glance at Maxwell saw that he was waking the rest of our group too now, poor Piper would only have gotten a few hours of sleep at most, having just had the middle shift. I continued to look around for more goblins as the ones I had seen felt comfortable enough to continue their approach, there was still some distance for the goblins to cover before they could attack us and it was easy to keep track of them, I just needed to make sure there weren't more trying to circle around us. Their ranged weapons could be dangerous, even if the goblins themselves weren't too concerning to me. The scouts I could detect had shortbows but they weren't drawn yet, probably waiting for their comrades to get into position. They held still as I scanned past them, they thought I couldn't detect them.

("How many can you see?") Luna asked me.

("Five in the party ahead of us and two scouts on either side. I've been looking for more but I can't see any others,") I replied.

("And your other senses?")

I paused, having forgotten that I had new senses to draw on. I exhaled a breath and then took in the scents using my new hound nose. The scents became somewhat easy to tune out at a distance but when I focused on them I got a clearer picture of the surroundings.

("I smell one more scout, a bit further away hiding in the rocks on our left. That makes eight total,") I replied.

Maxwell and Piper traded hushed whispers in their language, probably from the information Luna shared with them by scratching in the dirt.

("We can't see them, Maxwell heard one of their fake bird calls and that's when he woke you.")

In the soft sand, I drew out a map of their position, using crude symbols to denote the rocks and the lake.

("Group of five melee fighters ahead, slowly advancing in a crouch. Three scouts fanned out around us with short bows. No arrows drawn yet, none of them know I can detect them even if they freeze when the light of my eyes passes over them.")

More hushed whispers from Maxwell and Piper.

("The scouts are the most dangerous, do you think you can take them?") she asked.

("If I go for the two on the left I can't do anything about the one on the right. Do you see that rock over there? If you can hit that one I can take the other two before the group of five attacks us head-on.")

("I see the rock, I don't need to see the goblin directly to hit him. Go on my signal?")

("Sure, relay our actions to the others, I'll wait for your signal,") I replied.

I kept my eyes trained on the group of five to still their advance while I focused on the scent of my prey to the left. I felt anticipation, excitement to hunt while I waited for Luna's signal. I caught the scent of embers and charcoal as I felt warmth flow around the fox girl.

("Now,") she said tersely.

Like a coiled spring, I launched myself to the left and toward my quarry. Before the first could react his blood had sprayed on the dirt. The second cried out when the first one died and trained its bow in its dead comrade's direction. I was moving so fast he couldn't track my bright glowing eyes in the darkness. I felt the sudden shift in air pressure on my whiskers as the rocks the other goblin had been hiding behind shook with a fiery explosion. Before the fire spell had even abated I tore the last of the scouts to ribbons.

I turned as the five goblins decided to charge Maxwell and Piper. The two of them caught the charging goblins with their shields but they were being surrounded. Luna began to hurl smaller balls of fire at them from a distance which was enough of a distraction for me to get behind one and crush its neck from behind. I was startled at how easily I felt the monster's neck break as I hadn't expected the armored goblin to die so easily. I tossed his corpse at one of the others who managed to deflect the body and stay standing.

The numbers were even again, only four of them remained. Now that I was here the others were able to push their offensive. My claws cut deep into one of the goblins and before it hit the ground the others were finished with their goblins as well. I stomped on the burning goblin next to me, tired of its screams. It was only after I had finished that I realized how brutal I had become. When the fighting started it felt like I became a different person, callous towards these semi-intelligent hostile creatures and uncaring for the gore that I saw. It was only after the fact that the idea turned my stomach.

Maxwell and Piper laughed and exchanged harried words, giddy from the fading adrenaline. Luna came and rejoined us, quietly enjoying the victorious mood. The fact that their emotions were so far from my own gave me pause but I dismissed it. That's why they were here, to kill monsters. I'm the one out of my element, I shouldn't judge them for not sharing my foul mood.

("I'm going for a dip in the lake... to wash off the blood,") I told Luna solemnly.

I walked away before receiving a response.

The smell of the lake was nice, the plants that grew inside of it gave it an earthy smell. I stepped into it, still in my wolf form. It was a bit cold but not unbearable so, so I kept going. The lake was deeper than it looked, and sunk in at a more extreme angle than I had expected, but the water was still. I waded in and fully submerged myself under the placid water.

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For four heartbeats I stayed under, just feeling the slight chill of the water before rising to the top and running my clawed fingers through the fur on my head. This form felt more and more comfortable to me, more normal by the moment. I had stayed in this mostly bestial form for hours now, I hadn't returned to my human form since I was on watch before I fell asleep. I dipped back under the water and looked around a bit, curious if I could see anything with my newly improved vision. As I was scanning the dark water a reflection glimmered near the bottom in the light of my glowing eyes. Something like metal.

("Helena? Are you alright?")

I resurfaced and turned around, seeing Luna standing nearby. ("I see something down there, something metal,") I said.

("In the lake?") she asked.

("Yeah, I'm going to go down and try to get it.")

("Wait! That's dangerous, there could be a monster lurking down there.")

("I don't see anything down here and the water is very still. I don't think much is living down there. I'll be fine,") I replied.

I dove under again before she could say anything more. But the nature of the rings made it so that I could hear her perfectly clearly, even underwater. ("Just be careful...")

The lake was rather deep and even the spot I had seen wasn't near the actual bottom, it was instead partially buried into the steep floor that headed further down. By the time I was getting close to the glimmer of metal, I was concerned I wouldn't have much time before I needed to go back up for air.

When I reached it, I could see metal banding around wood partially sticking out of the floor. Whatever the thing was, it was pretty thoroughly buried in the silt and sand. I began to brush the sand away until I could tell what I was looking at, it looked like a classic treasure chest. Brushing the sand away I was able to find a handle on the side so I planted my feet and gave a yank. Unfortunately, it didn't budge and I was worried I would run out of air if I waited any longer.

I swam back up as quickly as I could and my breath strained before I reached the top. I let out the breath I was holding and filled my lungs with fresh air again, panting. While catching my breath I looked over and saw Luna still waiting at the shore of the lake, I had drifted a bit further away but I could still see her clearly.

("I found a chest buried in the sand down there. I wasn't able to dig it out on the first try but I'm going to go back down and make another attempt,") I told her. I was a bit surprised at the range the rings could connect to each other.

("You actually found something down there? I didn't think the dungeon would spawn chests in a place like this, most people wouldn't be able to handle the cold of this water.")

I blinked. Was it cold? I hadn't even considered that, it was a little chilly but the way she spoke made it sound like it was much colder than I thought it was. I floated in the water until I fully caught my breath again.

("Alright, I'm going back down for another try,") I told her.

("Good luck.")

I dove back down and swam toward the chest I had found. Now that the chest was partially unburied it was easier to spot with the glimmering of my eyes. It must not have been underwater for that long because the metal didn't look rusted at all. Once I reached the chest again I immediately started trying to dig it out, no longer interested in examining it yet. The chest was larger than it looked initially, a bit under half my height. It was no wonder the thing didn't budge when I yanked on it.

I had reached about my halfway point on air again so I tried giving the chest another yank. Still stuck hard. I felt like I was making progress though so I didn't feel bad about going up for another breath. Next time for sure.

I floated in the water and caught my breath. It didn't look like Luna had moved from her spot, still watching over me. I could tell she could see me, or at least my eyes, because she was looking right at where I was floating. I waved a bit but she didn't react so it probably was just my eyes.

Okay, one more go.

I took in a breath and began diving one more time. The chest was even easier to see this time, mostly unburied from the sand the metal banding gleamed in the light of my eyes. Again, I began to dig as soon as I reached it, shoveling away the sand and silt as quickly as I could underwater. I had dug out more than two-thirds of the thing now so I decided to give it another tug, and this time it moved! It felt so close now but I didn't want to waste any time. I dug out more of the chest, focusing on the corners I could see.

Jackpot! I pulled the chest away from the side of the wall, now that it was free from the sand it began to slowly rise on its own. I grabbed the handle and began to swim up. It dragged on the water a little bit but its natural buoyancy helped me along. With another gasp of air, I reached the top with a big splash as the chest crested the surface of the water and bounced on the surface.

With a wide grin, I began to drag it towards the shore where Luna was still waiting for me.

("Are you coming back? Did you manage to get it?") she asked.

("I got it! It feels like there's some air trapped inside so it isn't hard to drag. I'm on my way back.")

When I finally reached the edge of the lake again my body felt heavy. I was exhausted from the swimming and all the digging but I was so excited. The dive had been exhilarating, finding actual treasure even more so.

Now that the chest was on the beach it felt heavy without the water helping me drag it along. Carrying it back onto the beach had been the hardest part, the chest alone probably weighed a lot but it was full of something.

("I told Max and Piper to come help carry it, we can check it out by the fire.")

I smiled and nodded, before realizing Luna probably couldn't see me very well. ("Sounds good. Just give me a moment to rest.")