gremlin

We reach a part of the cave where the path is narrow and slippery. There is a lower chamber to the cave, far below us, and I can't help but think if I fall off of this narrow path I'm probably going to die down there. I can't see any way up from there, after all, and it's probably teeming with Spirits.

 Kavella and I walk slowly and carefully over the path, and sure enough we see light at the end. We've reached our destination at last!

 I hold my light up to the wall, and sure enough the numbers thirty-two are engraved into the side of the cave. This is it.

 "I'll replace the barrier, you keep your eye out for Spirits," she says as she starts to use the necessary Animus technique to create a barrier. She is creating her barrier before she removes the old one, which is wise. If she removed the old one first, a Spirit could potentially zoom out and get into the outside world. I'm glad she thought of that, because I wouldn't have.

 After two minutes, she is satisfied with the barrier she's placed and we return down the path we came to exit the cave. As we're walking along the narrow path, I hear a whistling wind. Kavella stops me on the path and instructs me to use Bright Eyes. I do, and so does she, but once the Spirit that was causing the noise appears, we both know neither of us needs Bright Eyes.

 It is a Gremlin Spirit. Of all the things to attack us when we're on a narrow, slippery ledge…

 "That's not just a Gremlin Spirit," Kavella gulps. "That thing is Baron Rank. What is such a powerful Spirit doing here?"

 What I see are big ears, half the size of the creature's body. It is climbing up against the wall, and the two glowing yellow eyes are obviously fixated on us. The creature's body looks wet and sinewy, and the flesh of the creature is covered in rigged black armor. There are only a few spots where the creature is not protected…mostly its head and neck, but also the areas around the elbows and knees.

 We are right in the middle of the slippery part of the walkway, so no matter which way we turn there is still a great distance we'll have to cover. This doesn't seem good. I look to Kavella and she's panicked as well.

 I remind myself that it is just a Spirit, and we need to keep calm. The most important thing is to get to stable land so we can actually fight.

 "Keep walking," I instruct her. As if I turn a switch in her head, she begins to creep forward, just like before. I can tell she's flustered, though, because she almost slips and falls. I hold my arm out the moment she teeters and secure her back on the path.

 "Thanks," she whispers. She's acting like she doesn't want the creature to notice us, but it is very obviously stalking us with its eyes. Not only that, but it is getting closer and closer with each and every moment.

 The moment we are back on solid land, the thing attacks.

 It goes after me first, as if sensing that I am the bigger threat. The powerful creature launches itself at me and I swing my sword toward its wrist. I know the hands and feet are not covered by that strange black armor, so if I can hit it there I might be able to cripple it long enough to deal a fatal blow.

 I miss, and the creature retreats back. As it goes, it knocks over Kavella and she goes flying toward the edge, toward where the large cavern below is. I worry she'll fall down there, and if she falls I doubt she'll survive. I'm caught, then, between saving her and killing the Spirit. I realize that I only have one option.

 I have to save her and kill the Spirit.

 The Spirit is advancing toward her, now, and I can see it wants to drag her down into the depths so that it can kill her. I rush to her side, and I find myself sliding because of the slippery wet rocks underneath my feet. I nearly slide right into the pit, but I control myself and swing my sword at the Gremlin. I do not hit him, but it's enough to make him retreat. I grab Kavella and drag her to a slightly safer position as quickly as I can, and then get ready for the Gremlin's counterattack. It comes at me, swinging both claws, but instead of swinging at him like I normally do, I instead dodge out of the way.

 The Gremlin is surprised by my dodge, and it moves past me in midair. I think it realizes the error it has made when I swoop in behind it. The back of the Gremlin's neck is exposed, and it is easy to finish the job. I thrust the sword in my hand at the creature's nape, and in moments the Gremlin turns to dust.

 Once the Spirit is eliminated, I rush over to Kavella. She's starting to get back to her feet, and she's holding her head. She must have hit it when the Spirit threw her down. She looks around, and she realizes that I saved her life and also took care of the Spirit.

 "You're not as dumb as you look," she laughs. "Good job…Sigmund."

 That's probably the best type of compliment I'll ever get from her, and I'm totally okay with that. Just then, she acknowledged that I was a useful part of the team. Not only that, but I have the credit as being the one to save her life. Not bad!

 "I wish I could have done more," I admit. It's too cramped and slippery in here for me to use Cross-Style, and we were up against enemies I'm not used to fighting. 

 "Well, I suppose we should head back to the entrance. You can follow me, I remember the way."

 As we go, I feel good. And now that I've gotten a taste for it, I'll do better next time.