Day 10

Despite my intention to stay at some level of alertness while I rested, I awoke with a start. I had been dreaming of Teeluw and what my life would have been like if I had stayed. Short. When, in my dream, I was thrown into the clearing, I realised I had fallen too far into sleep and came back to the waking world in a flash. What I wasn't expecting to see were the second and third flashes. It took me a moment to realise what was causing them. Fortunately I had left the staff's eye open enough to cast some light on my immediate surroundings. Before me stood a creature, similar to a fercac in build. Similar, but not the same. This animal had tremendous claws. It was these claws tapping the ground as the beast moved forward that caused the flashes. Causing sparks against the stone.

The cave-fercac seemed wary of me at first. I expect it had never seen light before so my staff (which I now held) had made it curious. It ran out of curiosity just as I pulled my Shard-Blade from the scabbard. The creature lunged at me with its front leg. I parried the blow with my sword, spinning him off to the side as my blade glanced one of the hook like claws. As it recovered it exposed itself to an early finishing stab but the force had knocked me onto my back. I could not deal it. We both got up and into our battle stances simultaneously. This time it was my turn to go on the offensive. I refused to wait for a second opportunity to present itself while I blocked blow after blow from a dangerous brute. I skipped left, then right, trying to confuse the two legged creature and force it to shift its weight. Another hop to the right followed by a quick jump back left and ending in a roll placed me to the side of the beast. I kicked with as much power as I could manage and I heard a crack. A rib had broken in the animal's torso. It fell onto its back but as it did so the great claws came up and slashed the leg I had kicked with. Blood poured out over the ground. The cave-fercac was struggling to stand up but I was struggling to stay concious. In a moment of desperation and blurred thinking I pulled the eyelid in the staff back as far as it would go so that I could shine as much light at the beast as the staff was capable of. He was startled for a moment but also just about stood up and ready for another attack. Meanwhile I was still on the ground bleeding profusely. It limped toward me slowly, then leaned back so that it stood on only its rear leg. The front leg was above my chest, ready to pound down and crush me. I clenched my sword tight. The hovering set of claws descended. With the last of my strength I thrust the Shard-Blade skyward and impaled the cave-fercac through the neck. It fell upon me and knocked the wind from my chest just as I passed out.