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She passed into the open clearing around the cave to find a filthy mess. Boxes, tables, bags, papers, plates of food with clouds of flies, all clustered around a half collapsed tent and long cold campfire. Her stomach heaved for a moment as the wind picked up and blew the stench directly into her face, but she shook it off and continued forward.
Papers everywhere. Under plates, rocks, a piece of jerky with a thick green coat, pinned to trees with a fork. A strange twisting curling script that watered her eyes to read, with just as strange content. Chestnuts need more cats. Brother in law must birth more children. Soon saturn will have no more gophers. Her head throbbed just looking at it, and the odor wasn’t helping.
The contents of the camp were equally chaotic. A bag of smooth riverside pebbles, another of oddly small forks. Another of actual chestnuts, shelled and ready to eat. A disgusting mess of rotted apples, another of hair clippings. An iron kettle lay tipped over in the cold fire, filled with eggs. Mel put together an inventory in her head of what could and couldn’t be useful.
Had Babs simply forgotten to mention that her neighbor was insane? Had something twisted his mind, like a child with a toy soldier? She sighed and marched into the cave itself, the scent of sulfur growing stronger within even as the light level dropped to dimmer and dimmer levels. There was a series of clicks behind her and she turned, then threw herself to the side as something lunged. The thing slid on the ground, then turned, standing on two clawed feet, leaning forward, eyes twitching and crazed, clawed paw like hands flexing.
“Good imp protects! Good imp kills!” It spat out then charged. Mel threw up her hand, struggling to restrain her voice.
“<span class="mu-b">Arx!</span>”
The ice spear shot up, narrowly missing the creature as it juked around it, claw smashing the spear to fragments. Mel dodged backward, circling the creature. If it wanted blood it would get it.
<span class="mu-s">Combat</span>
> ‘Shout’ Arx, spending all of your mana, but ending the fight immediately.
> Risk injury by ‘Speaking’ Arx, but conserve your mana.
> Write in?
