Diao insisted that he needed to stay behind and clean up the Silt manor for when his fiancé, Tira, returned with her family. He repeated over and over that he wanted to be there when she came back, and eventually Thimble and Shelby realized that he couldn't be convinced to go back to safety.

  "Miss Caramel, please take this token with you," Diao whispered to Shelby as she said her goodbye, placing a small silver locket in her hand, "may it protect you when you need it the most."

  They departed with some final, conflicted words, and then followed Coda towards the outpost as he flew above them, diverging from the nicely maintained road, and setting out into the dense forest. The area was even bushier than the forests to the south, and there were a variety of caltrop thorns that got stuck in Shelby's feet every dozen yards. She became an expert in spotting them before long, but lost a dozen health points to the horrible little barbs before she became savvy.

  The Hodekin were barricaded into what looked like an extensive cave system. The cave was near the top of a long cliff near the eastern coast of the peninsula. The entrance was at least 20 feet high and 50 feet wide, with wavy stone formations that wove between what looked like dried tide pools. Thimble and Shelby could hear roaring wind and the sound of waves echoing out of the cave's wide mouth. Does it go all the way down to the ocean?

  There were a dozen Hodekin patrolling the area, and they had erected a ramshackle palisade along the sloping path up to the cave. It seemed like a natural fortress that they could easily defend. They could also see a few Daizi as they surveyed the scene from the bushes they crouched in. Thankfully, they didn't seem to be harmed. Instead, they were being escorted out in a group of four towards the forest with some shoddy baskets in hand. Shelby and Thimble followed the captive group at a distance, since they were guarded by a quintet of Hodekin. They slowly walked away from the cave and into the forest, where the captives seemed to be foraging for fruits and root vegetables.

  Shelby whispered, "We could try to rescue these villagers before they go back to that cave..."

  Thimble shook his head, "I think that will just cause the Hodekin to head south and try to take them back. With the village in such a bad shape, they might even capture more than we would free here. We need to deal with the root of this problem."

  Eventually, the small baskets were filled with a variety of foraged foods, and the group headed back towards the cave. Although they were clearly being held captive, the Hodekin weren't rough or cruel to them, and the captives chatted freely with each other for most of their trip. After they were brough back into the cave, Shelby turned to Thimble and said, "At least we know they're not in any obvious danger."

  Thimble looked relieved, "Yes. They're being used as gatherers, maybe? I don't think we have the full picture, but we don't need to rush in just yet."

  Shelby mentally whispered to AIDAN, "Would this be a good time to discuss the surprise you mentioned?"

  AIDAN subtly glowed, "Yes, in fact you are close to the location I was hoping to guide you to. If you continue north on the coast you will arrive at a small fishing village. While this village is a higher level than either you or Mr. Thimble, you should be able to manage the contract missions offered there if you work together. I believe this will be an excellent opportunity for you to strengthen your group dynamics and gain some experience."

  "What level is it?" Shelby asked skeptically.

  "The enemies in the area are level 8-10."

  "Jeez Louise! We just lost to a level 10," Shelby said with doubt growing in her mind.

  "These are not dungeon bosses, so they will not pose as great of a danger to you. Additionally, they have a skillset that I believe will help you learn to coordinate with Mr. Thimble. Finally, my surprise for you is related to the creatures in the area. I ask that you keep your codex in mind as you explore."

  Tara added, "Plus if you complete two more codex milestones you can buy that ambush skill. Every point of damage helps."

  Shelby sucked in a deep breath, then exhaled in a long sigh. Thimble quirked an eyebrow towards her. She quickly said, "Why don't we see if there are any strong monsters further up the coast? I think we should try to take on enemies that would be too strong for either of us alone."

  Thimble bit his lower lip thoughtfully, "To practice fighting strong enemies as a team... and so we can advance faster? Did I get the gist of it?"

  Because my AI assistant said we should, Shelby thought, but instead replied, "Exactly."

  He held out a tiny paw, "Lead the way..."

  They snuck east for a half mile, then descended a steep hill to reconnect with the road they had followed earlier. The road abruptly ran into the sea cliffs towering over the wide beaches below, and they could see a glittering sapphire ocean extending endlessly to the horizon. Tall, lazy clouds drifted by on a pleasantly warm breeze. It reminded Shelby of images she had seen of the Mediterranean sea, and she could picture a rustic Greek village nestled into the white stone below them. Maybe the fishing village will be charming like that!

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  The road switch-backed down the sea wall, carved into the stone in long, narrow channels that would have just barely fit Elizabeth and her carriage. When the road reached the sand, it stopped, and cairns and driftwood loosely marked a path. The beach was a lot softer than the one Shelby had walked along on the opposite side of the peninsula, and it was thriving with colorful life. There were rolling mounds of white stone that were freckled with tide pools containing their own little ecosystems of coral, sea grass, starfish, and all sorts of other tiny creatures. Even Thimble was interested in the pools, and he knelt down next to one to watch the lives of the animals inside. Coda tried to fish a sea urchin out of a pool until he recoiled from the sting.

  They eventually circled around the beach until they reached a small village of about a dozen plain shacks next to a long pier made of bamboo. There were two small boats tied the the dock and a third was visible a hundred yards out on the ocean. The beach was lined with drying racks and most of them were flush with fish. It seemed like the fishing in the area was bountiful. Still, Shelby couldn't help but be disappointed that it wasn't a beautiful tourist town. A pair of beavers on the pier waved to the adventurers as they walked into town, and a tall capybara wandered their direction as they stopped in front of a simple job board. He was tall and chubby, with coconut fur and small round ears. He squinted in their direction with that classic sleepy capybara expression. Shelby waved to him with a broad smile. I love capybaras...

  The capybara had a gravely voice, but was calm and helpful. He gestured back the way they had come and told them, "Glad you got here safe, we haven't seen anyone on the road in about a week. I suspect that some of the wolf people we've seen in the area are holed up nearby."

  Thimble pointed up at the forest poking out over the tall cliffs, "They are. They're up in a cave on that cliff's crest. You should be careful if you see them approaching. They've abducted locals from the farming village to the south."

  "Thanks for the warning. In the caves, you say..."

  "Yes, we saw them in a huge cave. They have it all blocked off," Shelby reported.

  "I wonder," the capybara muttered to himself, "Well, what brings you two here? We rarely see adventurers this far from the trade roads. Heck, we don't often see anyone except for farmers looking for a little variety in their meals."

  "We came to train," Thimble said simply.

  "Yes, I heard there are strong monsters near here," Shelby said.

  "Oh, yes, yes indeed. Dragons!" the capybara laughed.

  "Dragons?!" Shelby and Thimble cried out in perfect unison.

  "Ha! Got your attention, do I? Yessir, lesser sea dragons have nested on the northern beaches for some time now. They mostly leave us be, seeing as they only care about collecting treasure, and they don't consider fish to be treasure. Every now and then one will steal a chest of lures or the like. I reckon they've got a fisherman's fortune stowed away up there. I'd love to see them thinned out a bit, but... I hate to say it, aren't you two a little green around the gills to be fighting sea monsters?" the capybara gave them a pitying look.

  "We'll be fine," Thimble growled out.

  "Yep yep! We're training to fight the wolf people, so if we can handle a dragon or ten, then we'll be more ready than ever," Shelby gave the capybara a thumbs up.

  "Ha, well then, don't let me talk you out of it. We've got plenty of contracts for them. They're more pests than real dragons, but don't think you can ignore their magic. I'd best go back to fishing. I was just enjoying my lunch, you see, but fish await. Good luck!"

  With that the capybara strode off towards one of the boats with a casual wave. Shelby turned back to the job board and asked AIDAN for help, "Since we're trying to level up, can you find me the best jobs for experience?"

  "Of course, I am displaying the top contracts now."

  Shelby accepted the recommended contracts and told Thimble about them, "Looks like we can do three jobs by slaying 'Blue Dragons' and 'Jorunnamanders' to the north. They seem to mostly live in the same area, so getting 4 of each shouldn't be too hard."

  Thimble squinted at something and then nodded, "Yes, seems like a short trip too. We can complete several of these without wasting much time."

  The beach became increasingly packed with materials as they travelled towards an area called "Dragonshore" on Shelby's map. There were tall piles of coral, shells, and other bright objects that became so densely packed that it felt like walking through a slot canyon. They spotted their first 'dragon' a dozen yards into a dead end path. It was a dog sized flying creature that was more like a kite then a dragon. It had six large blue and white striped fins that splayed out like a lizard's hand and a small round head with no visible eyes. It looked like something that you might see in a documentary about the deep ocean. Shelby identified it with Shadow:

  "It's strong, but not as bad as the wolf boss," Shelby said.

  Thimble agreed, "I'm sure I can keep it occupied, but can you handle bringing it down?"

  Shelby checked her skills and did some quick mental math. If she performed her Measured Shots perfectly, and Coda helped with his wind blasts, then it would take about 20 volleys to slay the creature. She knew that Thimble's attacks did around 4 to 6 damage, so that would take it down to about 15 rounds. That seemed like a lot, but as long as Thimble kept it from attacking her, then they probably had time to chip away at it.

  Tara said something with obvious amusement coloring her voice, "Pretty good reasoning, but are you going to be able to pull that off?"

  "Sure! I'm getting good at my skill!"

  "And what if Thimble needs healing?"

  "...I'll tell Coda to use his bloodsucking ability!"

  "Okay, why don't you try to keep Thimble healed and not miss any Measured Shots. If you can do that, you'll be going strong," Tara said with a laugh.

  Shelby drew her bow and nocked an arrow, smiling at Thimble. He hesitantly smiled back, then he charged forward and slashed at the dragon as he turned it away from Shelby. She fired an arrow into it and mentally cheered as she got the timing right on her weapon maneuver. The dragon whirled in place and a trio of red "2"s peeled away from Thimble. He had a lot more health than Shelby, a total of 80, but getting hit for 6 damage over and over during the planned 15 rounds would add up to 90 damage. Tara was right, he needs to be healed.

  Shelby fired off another Measured Shot then commanded Coda to use his health stealing ability. The bat crashed down into the dragon, bit into it's white and blue skin, and then bright red beads floated up and melted into Thimble. He was healed for 4 by the attack. It didn't make up for the damage he had taken, and it had a 10 second cooldown, but that would be enough to keep Thimble from dying. Shelby just had to remember to use it every time it was up.

  She got back into the rhythm of her attacks, and Coda swam through the air overhead, pelting the dragon with wind attacks that kept it off balance. Thimble was getting used to fighting the monster, and even avoided a swipe or two rather than blocking it, giving them extra time on the clock. Shelby perfectly timed the next heal, even managing to get the command off while firing her bow. The precision was hard to get right, but she was flying now!

  The dragon's health hit 75% and it started to pulse bright blue, and the pulses got shorter and shorter until a huge wave of water exploded out from where it stood. Thimble was thrown backward and Shelby hesitated. She could have tried to outrun it, but it was growing in height and speed with every foot it travelled. She gritted her teeth as the wave picked her up and slammed her into a wall of brittle coral.

  Tara laughed hysterically, "This was a wonderful choice, Mr. AIDAN."