Nighttime belongs to monsters. In some parts of the world, that means you take extra precaution while traveling. In other parts, it means you locked yourself indoors as soon as the sun faded. In Angel Falls, it simply meant Dracky.

I was glad to see the sky clear of clouds, allowing the moon to shine down unfiltered. I wasn't afraid - I knew the land and monsters too well for that - but I wanted to have all of my strength for the mission ahead, and that meant avoiding battles whenever I could. I didn't know what to expect when I got to the Hexagon, but nothing about an ancient, abandoned, underground passageway seemed very pleasant to me. So I was happy to see the dirt road before me clearly. If any monster thought to ambush me on my way, they would have a rough time of it under the gaze of so many stars. The Dracky knew it too. I kept to the path and was out of harm's way.

Before long, I was passing the lake and found myself halfway to the mountain trail. I halted before taking the dirt road any further east. Instead, I turned south and made my way off the path and into the grass - its tall blades shimmering like a sea of silver-green in the moonlight.

Though there was no road this way, it had obviously been maintained as a side path even after the current road through the mountains was created. As Ivor had pointed out earlier, there was a healthy little spot for finding medicinal herbs back this way. There's not a person alive that would abandon a grotto of goodies that useful, least of all a little boxed in town like Angel Falls.

The path itself lay between a small cliff to the east and a dense forest to the west. It was wide enough to allow two flows of foot traffic through, but hadn't nearly enough room to properly avoid a fight. The monsters took advantage of this, and a flock of Dracky caught me between their forest home and the cliff face.

Dracky are weak. They don't have any particular power at their disposal, and are all together inferior to their magic-savvy relatives. So they fight in clusters; attacking wayward travelers at night in a group, wearing down their prey in sheer numbers, using the cover of night to inflict terror upon anyone unlucky or foolish enough to happen their way. They would share the kill, or die together.

I didn't like the idea of fighting things so weak, but enough fangs in your face will kill you eventually, no matter how tough you are. So I did what I had to do. Dracky are aerial beings, and I know - perhaps better than anyone else - just what it takes to hurt a creature that flies.

You take their wings.

Though it was hard to focus in the face of a whirlwind of screeching dark and teeth, a few well-timed slashes were all it took to leave my enemies grounded. Twitching and wailing, with no hope of avoiding my blades edge through their bellies, I quickly finished my work. I felt a little sick at what I'd done, and was thankful to have them disappear back into energy shortly after their demise, taking the scent of their blood with them.

I made my way further south, eventually catching sight of the remains of the original road heading to the Hexagon, winding east into the forest; now a mere scar left from mankind past. I stood at the mouth of the woods and felt a strong, sudden breeze at my back, pulling me forward. The leaves above my head swayed with a wraithlike grace, dancing to the winds haunting music. Despite the chill, I felt myself begin to sweat.

And then I thought about how great it would be if I headed the opposite way first and picked up some medicinal herbs. After all, it's not like I was able to do any shopping before I snuck out of town, and I'd rather not have to rely on my shaky magic for all of my healing. So I jogged west against the wind and down a wider path. I wasn't able to avoid many fights without having to go into the woods proper, but that held risk all its own; a risk that included possibly upsetting whole nests of monsters. So I charged through instead. Slimes, Cruelcumber, Batterflies - nothing I faced posed any significant threat.

When I fought for the first time, with Master Aquila by my side, I was unsure of my worth in battle. Now, even though I was grounded and alone, I felt much more confident. My training and newfound experience kept me successfully on my toes, and each monster I faced fell before my sword. As much as I envied my fluttering opponents, fighting without fleeing to the air was not as debilitating as I had originally thought. It was awkward at first, but ground-battling demanded a certain elegance in and of itself, and I relished in the challenge; emboldened with every kill.

My aching muscles appreciated the work out, and by the time I found myself picking the medicinal herbs, my body was feeling much better than it had the day before. First I only picked half of the herbs I discovered nestled at the foot of the small hill. Then, when faced with moving on, I decided it should be okay to climb the hill and pick the rest - surely the item shop was well stocked enough at the moment to allow me a little extra. Just in case.

After a few more unnecessary battles, I decided to stop stalling and just get this over with. Yes, I was afraid of going underground, but I already decided that returning without at least trying to locate this 'Patty' woman was not an option. It seemed I feared disappointing Erinn more than I feared the dark and deep.

The opposition I found down the forested path to the Hexagon was not nearly as horrid as my imagination convinced me it would be, and I found myself able to outrun any Dracky flittering about now that the sun's rays began to bleed into the sky; sending the creatures back to their nests to sleep. During my sprint however, I nearly ran face-first into a lone Teeny Sanguini, just bobbing ahead of me in the middle of the roads remains.

I readied my blade against it, certain the best time to strike would be right as it made a move of its own. But it didn't move. Well, it moved but it didn't attack. It just sort of. . . fluffed about.

I frowned and lowered my sword, not quite sure what to think. "O-kay then. Uh, hello."

It continued to float up and down, it's tiny purple wings somehow keeping its chubby body afloat in the air; just staring at me.

"Well I'm headed this way then." I said, brushing past it, further down the widening path.

It followed me.

Not quickly enough to be considered predatory, but it was unsettling all the same.

"Look," I said, turning towards it, "I don't know what you want from me. I already ate all the food I had, and I'm not lending out my neck as a tap, so shoo." I demanded, motioning the tiny creature away.

The small cow-print demon just continued to fluff about, staring at me with deceptively adorable black eyes, a ceaseless smile set on its face, wagging its cute little devil tail. . . I sighed. "D'ya wanna come explore some deadly ruins with me?" I asked, unsure why I was even bothering with such a creature.

I didn't think it'd reply, but just a few seconds later the itsy bitsy Teeny Sanguini squeaked a squeak that thoroughly melted my heart, then fluttered over to me and set itself on top of my head. It was surprisingly light for such a plushy creature, and I found myself talking idly to it as I made my way out of the woods.

"So, a monster with a sense of adventure, huh? Shouldn't surprise me I guess; anything that's lived around here too long is bound to want to get out and see the world sometime." I mused, scratching the little demon behind one of its large, furry, bat-like ears. "Hm, but I can't very well keep calling you 'Teeny Sanguini' can I?"

The Sanguini squeaked affirmatively.

"Let me see. . . every being should have a name true to its nature, shouldn't it? I think Master Aquilla said something like that once. Let's think about what I know of the Sanguini." I thought back to my days of endless studying under Apus Major, and recalled the word for the Sanguni in the Old Language. "You are the 'Sanguinem-Comedenti', blood eater." I said, tasting the Old Language on my tongue for the first time in awhile. "Very ferocious." I joked, knowing that the Sanguini were easily domesticated and made for common pets among the wealthy. "No, no. I have a name for you. 'Lanugo'." Fluff. "Do you like it? I find it very true to your nature." I teased, petting the strange little creature perched atop my head once more as it squeaked excitedly.

Light fog skirted the ground, pooling in the dips and crevices of the landscape as it painted the grass with a shimmering coat of dew. The first streaks of burning orange daylight rose up from the treetops and cast an early morning glow on the structure in front of me.

The part of the Hexagon that was visible from the outside was largely carpeted by bright green moss and stray tendrils of ivy. What I could see of the building beneath looked to be made from simple dove-grey stone bricks. The same bricks formed large doorway like arches leading the way to the entrance. Or at least they did at some point - the first arch was in pieces approximately where it would have stood proud many years ago, whereas the others were in deep disrepair but still standing.

The ground ahead of me was littered with large russet colored tiles. They had apparently created a wide walkway that lead to the road behind me, but many were cracked or missing altogether. The tiles that remained were still in one piece, but had slowly been overtaken by the lush grass, leaving very little of the path behind.

As I looked around me, I noticed tall stone pillars scattered here and there. Most were crumbling - only two that I saw looked to be in decent condition - and after a minute of confusion did I realize that if they were all present, they would have formed a hexagon around the walkway. Clever.

Trees and pillars weren't the only things dotting the landscape, however. As I walked towards the entrance, I noticed through the low-hanging cover of fog something quite unsettling. Pools of thick, noxious, purple liquid lay scattered throughout the open courtyard.

"This can't be a good sign." I said to myself as I peered into one of the poisonous ponds from a relatively safe distance. Those weren't there when I had spied the place before, during my training. "A curse, then. Great." I groused. As if this weren't going to be awful enough.

Lanugo hung in the air precariously above the slowly bubbling toxic pool, looking entirely unimpressed. I decided to quietly file 'what happens when you fall into a lake of poison' under 'things I do not want to find out for myself' as I snatched him away and took care to keep my distance.

Just above the doorway, jutting out from the Hexagon itself, was one last stone archway. This one was much larger than the others and was in surprisingly good condition. The sides were chipped and crumbling in places but the structure held firm. Unlike the others, which were all carved from the same material as the main building, this arch had a darker brown stone set into its two sides; both covered in archaic looking carvings.

I could tell it was some sort of writing but after pausing to study the markings, I quickly gave up. The letters weren't from the Celestrian Old Language or the Modern Protectorate Language. Here and there I saw letters similar to the written word mortals now used, but they were only similar, not exact. Though I was intrigued by what it said, I knew only one of the more senior Celestrians or a human scholar would be able to identify its meaning.

Turning back to the task at hand, I pulled open one of the great, grey stone doors leading into the Hexagon with a grunt of effort. As soon as the entrance opened, I could hear the distinct sound of running water reverberating through the otherwise hollow silence. Sure enough, as I stepped into the wide corridor, I spotted small pools of crystalline blue liquid hugging the sides of the stone walkway in front of me.

Though there were lily pads and some sort of tall, gently glowing plant life making itself at home in the miniature lakes, my newfound friend and I weren't deterred from taking a sip. Though 'sip' was an understatement in Lanugo's case, as he dove headfirst into the rightmost pond, splashing around gleefully before taking in gulp after gulp of mountain water. I could appreciate his enthusiasm; though it wasn't as tasty as the 'Angel Tears' of Angel Falls, the water here was quite refreshing.

After I had my share, I wiped my mouth on my sleeve and decided to take a closer look around. I quickly determined that there really wasn't a whole lot to see. The insides of the Hexagon were just like the outside; white-grey stone covering the floors and walls, vivid patches of moss here and there, brown pillars covered in those mysterious sigils, and even one of the familiar stone archways from outside. This one was fully intact, however, and I found it to be quite reminiscent of the architecture in the Observatory. I felt something tug at my insides when I looked at it, but I quickly pushed the feelings down and continued my way forward.

It was soon after passing under that familiar archway that I noticed an intricate pattern carved into the floor. It was badly worn after being walked over for so many years, but it had that same writing etched into it as the pillars did. The stone roof above me had crumbled right above this carving, allowing the faint sunlight to gently illuminate it like some sign from the Almighty. I let myself gaze at it for a few fleeting seconds, wishing I could understand it, but it was no use.

As I approached the back of the room, I noticed something odd about this half of the corridor. Instead of simple brick, the walls were flat stone covered in indistinct carvings. The entire place was too aged for someone as myself to be able to properly decipher, but I felt a sort of weight in the air here. There was a message laid out in front of me, but I just couldn't grasp it.

At the very back wall there were two stone tablets set flush into the wall with that same language carved into it. I glared in its direction and made a specific note to not pay it any mind. This mystery would steal no more of my time. I was pleased, however, to find a much more modern stone monument set between the two tablets with clear and precise modern language words cared into it. I was less pleased by what it actually said.

'Path ahead sealed due to enormous-beast-related fatalities'

I blinked.

"Nope!" I shouted, throwing my hands up in utter defeat as I spun on my heel to leave. "The place is sealed, I did all I could and now I'm getting out of here. I am not a coward." I mumbled to myself as I stalked back to the entrance as quickly as I could without actually running away in fear.

I didn't notice him at first, due to my rather intense desire to retreat, but as I got closer I knew without a doubt that I was marching right towards a ghost. He was hard to make out under the soft beam of light he stood under, but he was definitely there; I'd remember that oddly mesmerizing incorporeal effect the undead have, anywhere.

I was thrilled. Being able to see and communicate with ghosts was one of the most basic of Celestrian skills - a skill even some mortals seemed capable of in extraordinary circumstances - but all the same, it felt great to have some reassurance that I was still partially Celestrian where it counted.

As soon as I got near him, he glided away from me quicker than my brain could comprehend. He wasn't even moving, he was just. . . being somewhere else. Still, I continued down the path I saw him take, and soon found myself jogging down a hallway that lead from the right side of the corridor. The hall ended in a small hexagonal chamber with a singular statue in the middle.

The sculpture was covered almost head to toe in moss, shielding it's true form from me. It looked perhaps like it could have been a man holding a sword, possibly in some kind of armor, but it was nearly impossible to tell. Either way, the figure was the least of the interesting sights before me. The ghost man floated in the back of the room, his eyes distant, his arm outstretched towards the statue in front of him.

"Excuse me, sir?" I began, thinking to myself how oddly familiar he looked.

The man didn't look my way or seem to hear me at all. "On the. . . back of. . . this statue. . ." he replied. When he spoke, he sounded tired, as if the few words had completely drained him.

Before I got the chance to question him, he simply disappeared. Not with a great blue glow or flash of light like the ghost man I had met before; just - poof - and gone. I scowled. Maybe I did have all of my Celestrian powers, but they were just weaker than I thought. Perhaps weakening even still.

All the same, I followed the specters advice and groped around the back of the statue until I found a small, inconspicuous button on the neck of the figure in front of me. As soon as I pressed it, I wish I hadn't.

A great rumble filled the building and I felt my legs go soft in shock and fear. Small bits of debris and unimaginable amounts of dust poured from the shaking ceiling as I heard someone begin to scream. It wasn't until I tried to speak did I realize it had been me.

"This is how I die." I said with a sore throat, as I crouched and held my arms over my head in hopes of not getting concussed by the falling rocks.

The shaking abated fairly soon, but still I sat frozen in that position just shuddering, my heart racing. It wasn't until Lanugo found me and plopped his soaking little body on top of my head did I feel like I could breathe again. I not so silently griped about wet Sanguini smell and the feel of water running down my neck as I returned to the main corridor. I groaned when I saw the stone monument that had been blocking the pass had been shifted, allowing me access to the 'enormous-beast' infested dungeon. "Gah! That is so not what I wanted to happen!" I shouted, covering my face with my hands in misery. If that ghost wasn't already dead, I might have killed him.

After a few moments of self-indulgent angst, I set my hands on Lanugo, directing my voice towards him. "Hey buddy, I'm going to go deeper in now, so how about you stay outside, huh? I don't know how long it will be before I come back." If I come back at all.

Instead of doing the monsterly thing and returning to safety, Lanugo dug his damp little hands into my ponytail defiantly, and held his place. I sighed, knowing a lost cause when I saw one, but was grateful to have someone come along with me all the same. I briefly wondered if I should have drug Ivor out of his warm bed to help me on my errand, but reminded myself that his safety was as important as anyone else's in Angel Falls. Still, it was unfair I had agreed to his terrible plan, but couldn't pressure him into doing the same for me.

The small doorway ahead opened up into a simple square room with a matching set of pillars, precariously holding up the tons of rock and earth above us, and another winding hallway mirroring the one I had been led to earlier. Another carving depicting a sweeping landscape set flush against the back wall, and two stone staircases leading downward set in front of me.

Unsure of which way to go, I pointed to each path as I recounted what I remembered of an old tale, "Teeny, Pink, Genie, happy family of Sanguni. What saves Genie from Manguini? Not the blood, not the meat, just the ashes of. The. Saint." I finished just as my finger landed on the right most set of stairs. I took a deep breath as I peeked into the depth below, every instinct of mine screaming at me to turn back. Quieting my inner thoughts as best I could, I made my descent.

As soon as I made it to the bottom of the staircase, I was attacked.

A Mecha-Mynah made a high-pitched whistle as it cut through the air and flew down at me from the darkness, it's metal wings forming blades at its side. I was all instinct. I unsheathed my sword and swung in one smooth motion, my blade meeting the bird midair, smashing it into the floor. Nothing was left but a pile of broken gears and metal feathers.

"Heh." Just as I began feeling smug and turned towards the doorway to continue my trek, another whistling sound occurred and a flash of pain ripped across my upper left arm, issuing a hiss of surprise from my throat. A Bodkin Archer stood in the doorway to the next room, readying its aim once more. I felt the blood from my cut dribble down my arm, and smiled. They always did seem to have such poor aim.

Sword in hand, I ran towards my miniature attacker, making a dance of dodging its attacks. Just as I came within felling distance and raised my sword over my head to land a fatal bow, a monster jumped out from behind the Bodkin and towards my face - it's eyes crazed and teeth sharp.

I felt my heart seize momentarily in panic, but before I could react, Lanugo dove off of my head and plummeted right into the new assailant, sending both of them flying into the room beyond us in a heap of tiny teeth and angry cries.

Without missing a step, I brought my sword down hard across the Bodkin Archer's body. After its life energy had dissipated, all that was left behind was its little leather hat. Scooping up the loot, I quickly make my way over to Lanugo. He had the enemy chasing after him, keeping himself just out of harm's way with a flick of his tiny wings. It was then that I finally I got a good look at our newest enemy, and what an oddity it was.

It was some sort of demonic money pouch. It was made of light blue cloth, tied closed at the top with blue and brass cord. Its eyes were filled with hysteria, and its mouth housed rows of sharp teeth. I found the giant lolling tongue hanging from it was the most disturbing part of all, however, as it made the demon look like it was constantly laughing. Something so insane shouldn't have seemed so full of mirth.

I didn't know how this demented thing came to be, but I hated the thought of it being so close to my flock. My mind wandered to the tell-tale pools of poison outside of the Hexagon, sure signs of a curse laid upon the place. Perhaps these monstrosities had something to do with it. Truly, I did not look forward to what else was lurking within these walls.

Although Lanugo looked to be having fun with it, I cut the monster down with a quick slice, feeling thoroughly disturbed. Taking a moment to chew a medicinal herb, and assisting my Sanguni friend back to his perch atop my head, I took a look at the room around me.

It was easily as big as one of the chambers on the first floor, and looked to be made of the same materials. It was hard to tell at first glance, since the only light was that of the odd glowing fungi from before, but there was a path of lighter brown stone winding around the lower half of the room, leading to a raised hexagonal platform. There were many pillars in the room; I couldn't see the ceiling through the darkness, but I liked to imagine they were all doing their jobs and keeping the weight of the earth from crushing us. If the rest of the building was any indication, of course, they were all probably crumbing right before me. One thing I could make out however, were more of our esteemed company from before.

The room was full of them. Tongues hanging from their mouths, they bounced in mock glee all around us, too caught up in their own heads to take notice of our presence. The battle before had not upset them, and I took great caution to stay along the lighted path to keep just that from happening. I had no foreknowledge to guide me, no understanding of their tactics, so I erred on the side on safety. Sure, Lanugo could distract one, and I could probably take a few without much harm, but twenty or thirty at once? In the dark? In an unfamiliar, confined space? I'd rather not think of how we'd end up.

Holding Lanugo tight to keep him from doing anything silly - and not at all to comfort myself - I made my way around the room and up the stairs to the raised platform as stealthily as I could; forcing myself to breathe steady and even each time one of the sickening creatures bounded across our path. On the next platform was yet another smaller platform that held a staircase that wound even further downward.

It was brighter below. In front of me was a pool of water and, as before, it was home to many gently glowing fungi and fern - their radiance reflecting off the water to softy illuminate the way in front of me. I spotted two paths, one to the upper left, and one to the upper right. A long hallway bordered with water lie straight ahead.

I went forward, spying a set of jade colored stone doors at the end of the hall. It looked like the way to go, as if there would be something important beyond the doorway. I prayed for a staircase leading up as I shouldered the doors open with a pained growl.

It lead to an empty room.

Or at least I assumed it was empty. It was too dark to see beyond the soft mantle of light the plants in the hall provided, and I wasn't interested in going in any further. Before turning back, I noticed a dull gleam on the floor. Near the door, a small pouch of coins laid abandoned; the cloth of the bag was in tatters, mold creeping up its seams. As I emptied the coins into my own purse, I did my best not to think of the demonic pouches of money I'd just encountered upstairs.

My bag of gold a bit heavier than before, I turned to leave and find the true exit. It was then that I found myself face to face with a specter of fire. It was an angry orange flame floating in the air; it flickered like a candle, but gave off no heat. It hurt my eyes to stare at, but it gave off no light. It had a face; a mournful, pained expression drawn in the blaze. It cried, and it was the most miserable thing I had ever heard, the very sound of it oppressing my strained senses.

Heart racing, I skittered backward, almost tripping over my own feet, and clumsily swung my sword at it. My blade flew threw it like empty air, I hadn't harmed it at all. I cursed myself for losing my focus and striking out of fear, but I didn't have the time to beat myself over it further. The spirit crept towards me, gliding without really moving, screaming without shifting its mouth. It was pure terror and pain. And it wanted me.

So I ran.

I returned to the first room of the floor and took a right, wanting to avoid the monsters I spotted along the left path. I sighed in relief as I ran across a set of stairs, this time leading upward. I knew I was close, and I wasn't about to slow down. My nerves were shot, and I couldn't stand to be in the darkness a second longer.

I nearly slammed into a wall as I bounded up the stairs. Another carving was staring at me, this time of a large castle. I'm sure it had meaning, but I didn't care, there were places I needed to be. I had to keep moving, or I'd lose whatever courage I was able to muster. Unfortunately, the passageway to the left had crumbed, so I continued to the right. The path was littered with spirits.

Heart thundering in my chest, I dove left and right, doing my best to keep myself and Lanugo from the wailing flames, but things refused to stay so simple. Along the hallway were some other type of phantasm, decked in blue robes and armed with scythes. Avoiding them was another matter entirely.

As soon as I dodged one attack, they would phase in front of me, ready to strike. So I'd parry, sending myself gliding further down the passage, and in the sights of more enemies. Run, dodge, parry, twirl; I was happy to keep up the momentum until I reached the end of the corridor, but Lanugo had other ideas.

Not catching on to my tactic, Lanugo launched himself from my head and tackled one of the oncoming spirits, paying no heed to its scythes edge. Distracted, I missed my parry and felt a very real blade hack into my shoulder. I screamed when I felt the steel hit bone. As blood erupted from my wound, I lost my grip on my sword and it fell to the floor with a loud clatter; my right arm hanging uselessly at my side.

I didn't want to go on. The pain turned my vision black and I fell to my knees. I was dizzy and tired, I couldn't do this anymore. I felt something rip across my back, sending a flood of warm blood cascading down my skin, soaking my clothes. No, Erinn's clothes. Tsk, she'll never let me borrow her things again. No, of course she will, that's just who she is. My thoughts felt heavy in my head, keeping me rooted to the ground. It wasn't until I heard a shrill, pained cry cut short that I was able to convince myself to move again.

"Lanugo. . ." I breathed as I forced myself to my feet, grasping for my sword with my only functioning hand. Through my blurred vision, I saw the Sanguini lay bleeding in the small channel of water surrounding the walkway, a large gash across his little belly, his innards staining his fluffy coat red.

I howled in rage. Gripping my blade tight, I charged the offending spirit, aiming for its head. Slipping in my own blood as I ran toward it, I rammed my bade instead through its cloth and surprisingly corporeal stomach. It wasn't enough. I dodged its counter attack, teetering drunkenly on my feet before taking another wide swing at him, cutting him in the neck and nicking an oncoming monster in the process. Unforgivable as my performance was, it still got the job done.

The floor beneath me was carpeted in red. My blood! I thought at first until I realized, no, it was actual carpet and it lead to an ornate door. Hope rose in my chest, and I made my way to Lanugo's body. Sheathing my sword and scooping the dying monster up with my good arm as carefully as I could, I made a beeline for the door, feeing the tips of scythes nick and cut me all the while. Clenching my jaw, I rammed my bleeding arm into the door with all the strength I had. After a split second of resistance, it crumbled beneath me and sent the two of us soaring through the air and down a small set of stairs leading to the next room. I cradled Lanugo's shallowly breathing form close to mine, and took the impact of the hard floor on my own.

Sunlight flooded in from a hole in the ceiling and blinded me. I had made it. The spirits in the room before faltered at the sign of light, and didn't follow us in to finish what they'd started. I gave my thanks to the Almighty for delivering me to safety, and slipped one more prayer His way before clutching Lanugo to me tight.

Conjuring up the Heal spell was a difficulty on a good day, but I prayed and I tried and tried again, until I finally got the shimmering healing energies to travel from my inner resource of Mana to my finger tips and into my fuzzy friend. I feared it wouldn't be enough, and just before I decided to give it another go and use what I had left of my magic, I felt him stir.

"Lanugo!" I croaked as I crooked my neck to the side to look him over. His belly was once again in one piece, and his eyes shone with tiny monster tears. I smiled at him. "Don't look at me like that. . . I'll be fine. Ju-Just get me the medicinal. . . medicinal herbs from my bag."

He scurried to my travel sack and after a few seconds, he squeaked happily and drug the small container of medicine up to me. "Th-Thanks." I wheezed as I grabbed as many as I possibly could before shoving them all in my mouth at once. I choked on the bitter taste as I chewed, and Lanugo chirped sadly at my side, worry in his eyes. I powered through, and the results were nearly instantaneous.

The pain that had almost knocked me unconscious abated, leaving behind only a throbbing ache in my shoulder. The many minor cuts and scrapes along my body all vanished, and the long slash across my back dried and healed, though a slim silver scar would probably remain if I weren't properly healed soon.

Taking Lanugo up in my arms, I kissed him on the forehead. "See? All better now." I said in a voice usually reserved for my little brother. Lanugo smiled and flapped his tiny wings in excitement. I smiled back, a wave of relief coming over me. "I'm glad you decided to come along with me, you really had my back in there, thanks." I said, rubbing his tummy. "But maybe the next time I go adventuring I'll let you stay home, eh?" I suggested. He didn't argue.

Just then, a husky female voice echoed through the stone chamber. "H-Hello!? Is somebody there?"

Lanugo and I jumped up, surprised. Could it be. . . ? "Yes!" I shouted, making my way towards the voice. "Someone is here!"

I made my way up a set of stairs and saw her, a mature looking woman trapped beneath a large pile of rubble. Her face was sickly pale and covered in grime, the long strands of her silver-blue hair stuck to her body from sweat; she had been here awhile.

"Oh, my - I never expected to bump into anyone all the way down here!" she exclaimed, her voice almost hysterically happy. "Hey, sweetie, you couldn't be a hero and shift some of this rubble for me, could ya? I-I'm not badly hurt or anything, but I'm kinda stuck here, ya know? Been here stuck. . . " she trailed off, looking miserable.

"Right!" I said, kneeing by her side, carefully removing the rocks trapping her. Lanugo did his part, airlifting pebbles away. "Here," I said, handing her one of my last two medicinal herbs, "this will help with the discomfort."

She gladly accepted and immediately began chewing. "Thanks, sweetie, you're a doll," she said, her mouth full. "a regular life-saver! I don't know what I'd do if I were still here when that beast came back."

I stopped what I was doing, panic gripping me. "What did you just say?" I demanded. I was forgetting something. . .

The earth began to shake; dust and bits of rock rained down from the ceiling, clouding my vision. I heard the woman gasp, then another strong shake rocked the building around us, sending actual chunks of the ceiling falling to the floor below. "Oh, brother! It's back!" the woman shrieked. Just before I could ask what she meant, it appeared out from the cloud of dust.

Monster related fatalities, right.

I stared at the beast in front of me, my mouth dry and palms sweaty. It was large and nothing but pink, squat muscle. Dark plates of nail or metal coated its knees and the back of its body, giving way to a fin of spikes down its spine, and a large set of horns off its shoulders. Its feet, head and underbelly were carpeted with a thick green coat of hair that mimicked the color of the cheerful moss I saw outside. It had no claws or fangs, just thick, dull nails and disturbingly human teeth. It's tail was short but armored, and it had the stubby snout of a dog. But its eyes, its eyes were the worst part - deep violet, pupil-less, and glowing with rage.

"I got trapped trying to run away from this guy and not looking where I was going. Watch your head, sweetie!" the older woman offered, her voice less rough than before.

I sighed, resigned to the fact I would have to battle. There was no way to get her out in time to run. "Lanugo," I said, my voice a little shaky, "stay with the nice lady and keep her calm. This isn't your fight." I explained before downing my last herb.

He chirped affirmatively and I withdrew my sword. It was all that I could do with my right arm however; even if the herbs had healed the wound, I was still sore and my blade was just too heavy, so I switched to my left arm instead. Guardians were trained to wield with either hand, and I had plenty of guidance in the art from Master Aquila, but I never felt quite comfortable with my left. I was loathe to make this my first actual fight wielding my weapon in such a way.

I had little choice. The beast didn't care. It made its way towards me and reared up, crashing its feet into the floor in challenge, throwing dust and debris all around us. I answered its call with a scream and jumped into the fray.

I could see it was preparing to attack; I was faster. I leapt and stabbed it in the right shoulder, peddling backwards as quick as I could. It jumped in my direction, nearly flattening the trapped woman and my friend, and sent large chunks of the ceiling crashing down towards me.

I dodged most of them as I ran to the other side of the room, hoping to keep the monster away from the bystanders, but a portion of heavy rock chipped me in my hurt shoulder, antagonizing my wound. Before the beast could turn all the way around to face me, I attacked again, piercing its thick hide. I wasn't able to move out of the way fast enough this time however, as it flung me into the wall with its left horn, the momentum cracking one of my ribs and ripping the air from my lungs.

I couldn't slow down, my only advantage was being quicker, if I lost that, I'd lose it all. So I attacked once more, cutting the beast open at the side. As I did, a wave of hot, putrid blood poured forth, causing it to rear back in agony. As its head smashed into the crumbling ceiling, more rubble fell, and this time a large piece hit my head and sent my word spinning. I lashed out again, knowing my enemy was faltering, but I couldn't quite make a deep enough cut between its armor and muscles, and my frail left hand.

The battle went on similarly for awhile; I'd attack, weaker and weaker, slipping in our mingling blood, and it'd respond in kind, knocking me about with its horns, both of us too wounded to dodge the others attack. It sent me flying into the wall once more, but this time, I couldn't get back up.

My lungs felt like they were lined with lead, and on every exhale I found myself coughing up blood. I tried to laugh - it was funny to me, being in so much pain again. I thought after having my wings torn off, no pain could be greater, but here I was, dying again for the third time within a month. I had wanted to avoid suffering so badly, it looked like I wasn't going to get my way though. . . but I was determined beast wouldn't either.

I dug deep for the last bit of magic I had left within myself, and readied a healing spell. I had to get up and fight again, I had to rescue this woman. I had to see Erinn smile again, and try my best to fix her relationship with Ivor. I needed to save Lanugo. I needed to go home, see my brother. I had to. There was so much I would be leaving behind, too much was unfinished.

So I ripped every last piece of magic within me outward, and as I fixated on my healing spell, an odd thing happened. I felt a chilling calm harden inside of me as something cold passed through my lips. Through my darkening vision I saw it - a crystal of ice as large as the beasts head formed in the air at my icy call, and slammed through the beasts thick neck like a blade of frozen glass. Blood erupted from its neck as the magic ice meted into nothing, and the monster fell to its side with a great thud. Dead.

I sighed in relief, proud to earn a new spell, and promptly met the darkness.

"Hey! You awake? Heh. You're tougher than you look. Thanks for saving my hide there." said the woman from earlier as she knelt next to me, her long glistening strands of hair falling across her shoulders and onto my face.

I was confused. Wasn't I supposed to be dead? "Hrn? Wh. . . when did you. . ?"

The woman smiled. "I managed to shake myself free in all the chaos. Your cute little friend helped out too" she replied as Lanugo appeared and fluffed about happily by my head. "I know a bit of first aide so I patched you up the best I could, no need to thank me. So let's get outta here, huh? Being attacked by monsters is such a drag!" she replied, helping me to my feet with a rough tug.

Everything hurt and all I wanted was to fall back down and never wake up again, but a stubbornness inside of me was determined to not die in a place like this. I wouldn't give the curse here the pleasure of adding me to its retinue of murderous spirits.

"Hey, Patty right? Is that a knife?" I asked, gesturing to the small scabbard that hung at her waist.

She blinked in surprise. "Why, yes, it is, but how did you know my na-"

"Can you do me a favor?" I asked, smiling.

Getting out of the Hexagon was less of a hassle than I thought it'd be. Hobbled though I was, I felt battle hardened and had no problem dispatching enemies with a swift swing of my sword, left-handed even. Patty wasn't completely useless either. After having her skin the beast for me - the Hexagoon, I dubbed him - I had her use her knife work to help the three of us get out of there in mostly one piece. It took some team work; since I could apparently see far better than she could in the darkness and already knew which way to go, I lead the charge while she watched my back, cutting down any foe that sought to take on the wounded, easy prey. She only almost stabbed me twice.

"Phew! We're safe now, I guess. Ya know, I'm just not a dark ruins kind of gal!" Patty exclaimed once we made our way back into the sweet embrace of sunlight, stretching her lean arms high above her head.

"Psh, me and you both." I agreed, holding my aching arm close to me and willing the taste of my blood out of my memories.

Eager to finally get to Angel Falls - and to a proper bath - I had little trouble convincing Patty to run ahead of me, promising she'd clear the roads of anything dangerous as I followed behind. That way I could make the journey back at my own pace, and Erinn would have her hands full with her guest instead of worrying about me, as she no doubt already was.

I shielded my eyes from the noon-day sun and huffed, not quite able to fully ease the tension out of my muscles. Glad to put the Hexagon behind me, I held Lanugo close and slowly began my way home - tired, wounded, and feeling very pleased with myself.