Just as I was drifting off to sleep, Nessy jumped up and began clapping her hands.

“Alright, alright,” she called out. “Let’s go, wake—” she paused. “Who’s that?”

El and Hamburger sat up.

“What the—” said Hamburger. He jumped to his feet.

I sat up. They were staring at Digiti and she was staring back.

“He’s with me,” I said.

“With you?!” yelled Nessy.

“Yes, I met him last night.”

“Are you serious?” said El.

“What!” Nessy shouted.

“Met him where?” asked El.

“Just stop,” I said, laying back down. “I’m tired. He’s just gonna tag along for a bit.”

“Well he better pay,” Nessy scoffed. “And get up, we’re going.”

We exited the tree. It was still raining. We stood at the door and stared out for a while.

“So, maybe we hit the tavern til it passes?” said Nessy.

“There isn’t one,” I said.

“Okay, explorer, what have they got then?”

“A market. It’s outdoors though.”

“That’s it?”

“Well, stables too.”

“They sell arrows?” asked El.

“Don’t think so,” I said.

I didn’t feel compelled to tell them about the book. I might later, but not now. I didn’t have the energy for their questions and ridicule.

We decided to trudge on in the rain. We walked along a faint path in the tundra grass. There was quite a bit of wildlife here, many of which resembled things from home. Ducks, blue birds, rabbits, chipmunks.

After a while, we came across a sign. Straight ahead was Redrock. It was quite exciting to see. There was also a sign for Naa, up and to the right.

“What’s at Naa?” I asked.

“Barbarians,” said Hamburger.

“They friendly?” I asked.

“Good one,” said Nessy.

“No,” said El.

“How far off now?” I asked.

“A day?” said Nessy, glancing at Hamburger.

“Eh,” Hamburger shrugged, “we can make it by tonight if we don’t stop.”

An hour or so passed. The terrain was wet. My boots were drenched through and the wet had splashed up to my knees over time. We heard a swoop and turned. Alice landed gracefully behind us with a smile.

“Hi,” she said.

“Yoo” I shouted with a smile as she walked over.

“Hope you’re in the mood for a map,” said Alice. She grabbed a folded parchment from her inside pocket and motioned for me to turna round.

She put the map on my back and scribbled for a solid minute or two, then handed the map to Nessy.

“Look at that,” Nessy said, showing Hamburger the map. “Right along bypath too.”

“Mmhm,” Hamburger grunted.

Ness nodded, then glanced at El and me. “Nomads,” she said. “We would have run into them trying to avoid the barbarians.”

“We got lucky,” said Hamburger, “And the path from here looks good, except for here,” Hamburger pointed to a skull labeled ‘Harpies’ along our path.

“Nature node,” Alice said. “A ton of them. Go around it to the west, here.” She tapped the map.

“Yep,” Nessy nodded.

“Harpies?”

“Mhm,” Alice nodded. “Deadly.”

“Cave here?” Nessy pointed. “Any idea what’s inside?”

“Not sure, didn’t land. Maybe bears. We could scout.”

Nessy turned to Hamburger. “Thoughts?”

“The elf’s out of arrows,” Hamburger said.

“My name is El. I have a sword too.”

Hamburger nodded his head at me. “Does he cast spells?”

“Not for this,” said Nessy.

“Eh. I’m fine with scouting,” said Hamburger.

Nessy rubbed shoulders with Alice. “Fly over when we get closer?”

Alice smiled. “Yep.”

We avoided the harpies and made it to the cave. Alice went invisible and took a look inside.

“Spiders,” she whispered. “I saw two. I also saw a chest.”

“Poison could be a problem,” said Hamburger.

“I can blast one if you can tank the other,” said Nessy.

“Heads up,” El said.

I followed her gaze. I didn't see anything. “What?”

“Spearmen. Two units.”

Alice vanished. Hamburger, El, and Nessy crouched. I did the same. Nessy motioned for us to be quiet.

“Grass Gnolls,” Nessy whispered.

“Headed here,” said El.

“Alright,” Nessy whispered. “Alice? You still around?” Nessy paused. “She's probably flying. Charlie, lay prone. Hamburger and El, on him, don't move. Diplomacy time.”

Nessy hopped up and raised her hands high, then began walking towards the spearmen. I stood up.

“Hey!” El said. “Get back down!”

I followed Nessy over.

“Hey fuckers,” Nessy called out to the gnolls, “I owe your king a beer.”

They surrounded her. Then they saw me and surrounded me too.

Nessy glanced at me. “If you're hungry, take him. However, he did get bit by a rabid beaver.”

“What do you want?” asked the apparent leader gnoll. His armor was ever so slightly more shiny, with more teeth on his collar.

“There's two spiders in them caves,” said Nessy.

“Ours,” said the leader. “And three.”

“Your cave, your spiders. But we can help.”

The leader and his apparent advisor chatted privately. They both glanced at us as they spoke. Then the advisor walked away.

“You clear it,” he said to Nessy. “We take the treasure.”

“We’ll prepare to clear it then.” She turned to me. “Go, tell the others to prepare for combat.”

I slowly turned to walk back. The gnoll leader nodded and the troops allowed me to pass.

As I walked, I heard Nessy continue.

“However, if we clear, we loot.”

“No!” the gnoll leader replied.

I walked faster and eventually made it to the others.

“How's it going?” asked El.

“I think bad.”

“I'm gonna give diplomacy another, eh, two minutes,” said Hamburger, “but then I'm running over and piggin out.”

Nessy talked for a time more, then said goodbye and walked back over to us.

“Okay, made a deal. First of all, there's three spiders. The deal is, they’ll back off, and if we can clear it, we’ll share the loot.”

“How much they get?,” said Hamburger.

“I said half-ish.”

“Wait, how is that fair?” asked El.

“I don’t think they understood the nuisance of ish,” Nessy said.

“Fair enough for me,” said Hamburger. He already has his axe and shield at the ready.

“You think we can take ‘em?” Nessy asked Hamburger, looking at the gnolls.

“What!” said El. “You just made a deal with them.”

“Yes, but after that.”

“What, sixteen spearman?” said Hamburger. “After fighting three spiders? Pushing it.”

“Three spiders is pushing it, period,” said El.

“Eh, you ever fought one?” asked Hamburger.

“I have,” said Digiti.

The others went silent.

“Can you handle one?” Nessy asked.

“They're in a tight space. I can handle all three.”

“Can you handle sixteen gnolls too?” asked Hamburger.

“Hey,” said Nessy. “Forget the gnolls for now. Focus on the spiders.”

“Well he says he can take ‘em all out.”

“Do it then,” said Nessy.

Digiti nodded and walked over to the spider entrance.

“Be ready to fight,” said Nessy. “Spiders don't usually die to ants.”

Digiti lifted his hands out and upwards. Water began to trickle to the ground from his fingers. Then a powerful stream of water formed and he directed it into the cave.

“Holy shit,” said Nessy, laughing.

The stream of water was thick and strong. He continued until the water kicked back to the entrance.

“The cave is small,” El said.

Hamburger sniffed. “That isn't water.”

“Hey!” Nessy shouted to Digiti. “Is that shit toxic? We still gotta go inside and get the damned thing.”

“It’s safe,” Digiti said.

I heard a terrifying hiss-like scream.

“But spiders really hate it,” Digiti added.

The steam of liquid slowed and narrowed, then turned green. Digiti filled the entry way with thick brown ooze. Then he backed up.

Silence. Then a spider emerged. It was massive! The size of an ambulance. It exited the cave and became encased with ooze, making it slip and slow. Another spider emerged, also struggling to move. They slowly approached Digiti. Digiti stood still, waiting.

“Come on, come on, where is the third?” whispered Nessy.

The two spiders continued their approach and were now feet away from Digiti.

Then a final spider emerged. This one was nearly twice the size.

“Holy shit,” said Nessy. “We may die.”

Digiti remained unmoved, waiting. The largest spider was hardly slowed by what ooze remained. He exited the cave, stopped, then ran towards Digiti. I saw a spark in Digiti’s hand, then a giant blast of fire directly into the three spiders. They exploded.

When the smoke cleared, there was only Digiti.

“Holy shit you're fucking cool!” yelled Nessy.

We all cheered. I swear to this day I heard cheering from the gnolls too. Digiti smiled and walked back over to us.

“Dude,” I said, tears of some emotion in my eyes. I was still terrified by the giant spiders I had just seen in front of me. But then, they were gone. Bug dust now. I wanted to laugh, cry, and laugh some more.

Digiti smiled, but I noticed a grimace in his eyes. “I've had practice.”

“With giant spiders?” asked Nessy.

Digiti nodded. “Those upper catacombs floors weren’t always empty.”

“You okay?” I asked.

He nodded. He turned to Nessy. “Hey,” he tapped her shoulder. “I’m spent. I could feel it at the end there. Don’t rely on me again until I’ve had a full night’s rest.”

Nessy nodded.

The gnolls had sent a few men into the cave to retrieve the treasure.

“Diplomacy, diplomacy, diplomacy,” Nessy uttered to herself, finger tapping the side of her head. “Okay. No. Okay. No.” Nessy’s eyes were darting around.

“Give her a moment,” I said to the others with a polite smile.

“It’s locked,” the gnoll leader shouted to us. “We open it at camp. Go to city visitor tent. We pay you a cut.” The leader then watched as his troops dragged the chest out and hoisted it up onto a wooden wagon. They were struggling with its weight.

Nessy turned to Digiti. “When I call for you, fire a warning shot. A fire one. Can you do that?”

Digiti took a deep breath. “I’ll spend whatever I have left to do it.”

“Oh I do enjoy the smell of burnt flesh, don't you?” Nessy called out to the gnoll leader. “Last I was by, the king and I spoke extensively about the self–sufficiency of the gnolls, something I am quite passionate about.”

The gnoll turned towards Nessy and scratched his ear. “Talk to visitor tent.” He turned back to his troops.

“Where my concern lies, for you personally, is that you were sent to do a task, not negotiate on the king's behalf, nor,” she chuckled, “antagonize a dark elf ambassador.”

The gnoll turned again. He stood in silence for a moment. I worried he didn’t understand.

“You are an ambassador?” he asked.

“I have the signet, don't I?” Nessy lifted her finger which beared an emerald skull.

The gnoll squinted.

“I was young once,” Nessy said. She placed her hands behind her back and walked towards the gnoll leader. “Had two units, just like you. So I care about you, as a dark elf might.”

The gnoll glared at Nessy.

“Hm,” grunted Hamburger.

“We agreed to share with you,” said Nessy. “You can have the chest. We’ll take what’s inside. And if you need help opening it, I know an ant that can melt metal with a wink. But, you’ll want to stand back.”

The gnoll walked over to Nessy, his face was a fine concoction of anger, fear, and shock.

Before he could speak, Nessy continued. “You have completed your quest and now can enjoy the comforts of knowing the region is safe and secure.”

“No,” he shouted. “That was not our deal.”

“A misunderstanding. Although, I am insulted by your interpretation. That we would do all the work, clear out your local pests, risk our lives, and be told to visit a tent for some scraps. We never had an understanding, and therefore we never had a deal. And so I offer you an ultimatum: You leave with your lives, your quest complete, your pests removed. We'll take the wagon and chest in full. Or we can melt you out from your armor and count your equipment among our treasures too.”

He growled. The hair on the back of his neck raised. His troops formed into combat positions behind him.

“Ant!” Nessy called out.

“Oh,” said Digiti. He walked forward and snapped his fingers. Sparks flew. He snapped again. More sparks. “One sec,” he snapped more.

The gnoll leader was now drooling with rage.

Digiti fired a fireball across the field. It soared over the gnolls heads and landed damn close to hitting their flank.

The gnolls howled and scattered. The panic of a few caused others to run, until all gnolls, even the leader, retreated, leaving the wagon behind.

We all laughed. Except for Nessy. She watched us laugh with a curious smile.

“Just wait,” she nodded with an evil grin.

We quieted our laughter.

“It gets better,” she said.

“They’ll return,” said Hamburger.

“Yep,” said Nessy, “they’ll regroup over that hill, forced march to town, gather the wolf riders. So what do we do, hm?”

“Hide?” I said.

“No,” Nessy smiled. “Ant, come. Hamburger, you too,” Nessy walked briskly over to the chest. All of us followed.

“We should have just fought,” said Hamburger.

“No,” Nessy said. “Ant, blast the lock.”

“Even if I could, it might destroy what’s inside,” said Digiti.

“Carefully blast it?” said Nessy.

“I told you, I’m spent. I really am,” said Digiti.

Hamburger cracked his neck and inspected the chest. “Goblin lock,” he said. He kicked it, then slammed it with the hilt of his axe, then punched it. It fell off.

Inside was a ton of large bottles of liquor or maybe potions, a tattered leather-bound brown book, and a rusty dagger.

“Alchemist stash,” mumbled Nessy.

Hamburger grabbed the dagger, but quickly tossed it back. Nessy and El started sifting through the bottles, reading the labels, and smelling a few. I grabbed the book.

“Fuck,” said Nessy, “this is actually good shit.”

The book had no title or label, however on the binding was a white ankh symbol. Inside were hand-written scribbles. It was English, but the combination of bad writing and obscure vocabulary made it difficult to readily decipher. I put it in my bag.

“We need to get out of here,” said El.

“How much you think it’s all worth?” asked Hamburger.

“That book Charlie grabbed could actually be as much as 7 silver, maybe,” said Nessy. “The alchemy raws, maybe a silver a bottle.”

“That’s like 15 bottles, give or take” Hamburger said.

“The dagger, eh,” Nessy continued, “it actually ain’t bad, but it’s rusted to shit. 40 copper maybe.”

“Hey,” shouted El. “We need to go.”

I heard a swoop from above. Alice landed behind us. “Guys, what happened?”

“Mad gnolls,” said Nessy.

“I heard an explosion,” said Alice.

“They’ll reinforce at town and come kill us,” Nessy said. “How much time we got?”

“Town in ten minutes tops,” said Alice. “Saw twelve stabled wolves yesterday. They’ll scramble fast. On top of us after three more minutes.”

“Okay, that's thirteen minutes. Charlie, keep book safe. Alice, grab dagger.”

“What’s the plan?” asked El.

“El,” Nessy said, “Diadine and forchester go boom, right?”

“Just add fire,” said El.

“Hamburger, leave those two in the chest,” Nessy said. “All other bottles, hide them in the cave. Then, haul the wagon north-east, as far as that large tree there, then run back over your own footsteps and hide in the cave with them.”

Hamburger ran over and started grabbing bottles.

“El,” Nessy said, “Take Charlie and hide in the spider cave. Don't come outside til I return and get you.”

“Come on,” El said to me.

I motioned for El to wait. I wanted to hear the plan.

“Alice, it's been a while,” said Nessy. “I need to ride with you. The ant too.”

“Hell yeah,” Alice smiled. She began morphing into a bat.

“No, not me,” said Digiti, “I'm afraid of heights.”

“Oh, trust me, you'll want to be in the air,” said Nessy.

El grabbed my hand. “Let's go.”