Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire, Part 2

NEW NOTE: EDITED 12/08/23, fixed stuff, and moved things around to not give away the enemies right at the start. Also, changed the dialogue a lot to give Esme***** more personality. 

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Dusk had fallen by the time we made our way out of the Wandering Wood. To be fair, our journey was quite quick as we didn't bother camping out for another night inside one of the sanctuaries along the path back to the Academy. Despite the looming shadows and the hidden threat of monsters that came out at night, we felt secure in our evening stroll because Liara and I were accompanied by a walking monster repellant. 

Yep, Reddington's new status as a dungeon boss made it an intimidating presence that caused even the likes of a chimera to avoid our path. Seriously, I'd spied the snake tail-end of an adult chimera running away from our trio while we walked leisurely along the path Liara claimed was the quickest way back to the school.