ELDRITCH NIGHT (Rough Draft)

Chapter Four: From Looming Monarch's Dread

I stood on a small ledge overlooking my previous prison. Behind me was a deep narrow cleft in the cliff wall that provided a bit of shelter and would protect me from being detected by anyone looking at my hiding spot from below.

While climbing I had found a small trickle of water flowing down the cliff face. It was just enough that with patience I was able to gather a handfull of water and feed it to my drying throat and parched lips. I had found my current hiding spot by following this trickle of water up to its source. In the back of the cleft I found a small stream of water that would flow out of the rock and then flow down the cliff into the unknown below.

To reach my current perch I had climbed for at least several hundred meters, or about one-thousand feet, but the massive web still stretched out endlessly beneath me, reaching into the murky horizon. Several smaller webs branched off from the main one, and I could faintly make out movement among them. No doubt they were crawling with oversized arachnids, but nothing as large as the BMS.

The main web was completely empty, other than a few dozen cocoons in various stages of digestion. Had I been swarmed with the spider's spawn I most likely wouldn't have been able to make it as far as I had. Something, fear of being eaten probably, kept the smaller spiders from intruding into the territory of the larger spider.

My experiences of the prior day showed me that the BMS spent most of her time away from the web, probably hunting. I had hoped to be away before she returned, but the climb proved more than I could handle, and I would need to rest soon.

It had taken me roughly three hours to climb this far. The cliff was incredibly sheer, but numerous handholds and outcroppings made it climbable even by an amateur climber like myself. I still had to be careful, as the blue rock was surprisingly sleek and unnaturally cold to the touch.

Small lizards, brown with red crested necks, would sometimes scamper past me as I climbed. I had been unsuccessful in my attempt to catch one, too fearful of falling to move fast enough. If I overextend while trying to grab one I would likely fall. I would need to eat soon, however, if I was going to attempt to continue my climb.

The system would aid me somewhat, I had gained the climbing skill and leveled it to its second rank. I doubt I would have made it this far otherwise. Perhaps with some rest, water, and food I could make it to the top of this indomitable chasm.

First, I decided to do some housekeeping with my status screen. The two levelups in the climb skill brought me to a total of four FP, which was enough to buy another feat. Both athlete and acrobat seemed like they might help me with the climb, but they would be useless in a fight. What I really needed was something that might help me hunt the small lizards that lived on the cliff face.

I looked at the list of feats available to me one more time. I was surprised to find that new options had become available.

Novice (0/4)

Prestidigitator (0/3)

Warrior (0/3)

Autodidact (0/4)

Acrobat (0/3)

Inspiration (0/25)

Inspiration immediately caught my eye, but I would need to save up quite a few points before it was reasonable to invest in it. The two new feats were probably improved versions or evolutions of the feats I had bought earlier. That, plus the slight increase in cost, told me they were probably marginally better than the standard feats.

Autodidact fit my theme so far, and as tempted as I was I didn't believe it would be immediately useful. What I really needed was something that would help me to find food. The analyze skill confirmed that the small brown lizards were edible, but they were too fast for me to hit with arcane bolt. They never came close enough for me to hit with my venom spray, or to grab with my hands.