I awoke the next day with a feeling of clarity and determination. Aiden was also slowly rising from his slumber, which was rather surprising considering his sleep habits. He was always a heavy sleeper. Perhaps the excitement of the crypt had gotten to him.

  Anyhow, I packed up whatever things we did need and dumped the rest into the sea, which was glittering in the morning sunlight. With that, we set off once more.

  As we were walking, I heard footsteps. I quietly told Aiden to stop as I tried to discern the source. That was when I saw something approaching me. I quickly raised my blade, but it took Aiden a second to catch on and raise his shield too. I observed the humanoid creature approaching, and my face paled. ‘Huh? Wha’ is it? An orc?’ I shook my head slightly.

  ‘That’s not an orc… IT’S A BLOODY OGRE!’

  Aiden turned white as a sheet at that declaration, and with good reason. An orc we might’ve been able to handle if we were lucky. But an ogre…

  ‘New course of action! RUN!!!’

  We both bolted away, as I quickly took the lead due to my lack of encumbrance. Aiden, on the other hand, was barely catching up.

  ‘Dwarves… weren’t exactly… built to run… Luke!’ Aiden was barely gasping the words out as we ran away from the huge, 8 - foot tall monstrosity. It was clear the monster was losing interest, as it eventually slowed, stopped, and started hulking in the other direction.

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  We could live to fight another day.

  Although we were still gasping our lungs out and panting, we still kept a slow pace forward towards the crypt. It was all we could do to distract ourselves from the sheer shock of the ogre attack. Despite popular beliefs, adventurers are not immune to fear or shock. As said by the legendary Spellsword, Flynn Whitethorn, ‘The shock from an attack is likely the killing blow itself.’ Of course, he later went to explain that this only applied to the physical attack, but the message is there.

  ‘I think I see somethin’! In the distance! Look, Luke!’ I quickly turned my head at Aiden to pinpoint what exactly he was speaking of. Beyond his pointing finger was a… bunch of unorganised dark bricks? I took out one of my prized possessions, a small set of goggles with an ocular clarity Enchantment. One of the most basic Enchantments possible, it enhances the eyes to superhuman levels, allowing for clear vision of things over hundreds of metres away. I quickly put them on and fastened the strap, before looking in at the bricks with my newfound ocular clarity.

  I saw a person, clearly frustrated, trying to displace or break the bricks. I couldn’t tell which, until the figure took out a makeshift item in the shape of a pickaxe and began swinging it at the bricks. For some strange reason, the bricks didn’t budge or even move a millimetre. I slowly unfastened the goggles and nodded at Aiden. A clear signal that it was safe to approach. So, we did. Once we got within eyeshot, the figure turned toward us.

  ‘Huh? Y’all here for the crypt too?’