Alone, quiet and still, he softly petted between the kitten's ears. It rolled around in his lap, purring wildly. The night sky wasn't like the cave's ceiling, he couldn't see the end of it. Plus a large number of dots sparkled in the distance, somewhere far away. In the middle of their small clearing a fire crackled next to him.
      A low grumble emitted somewhere behind the brush. In his lap the kitten stopped rolling around, clawing its way back to his shoulder. Wiping the tip of his thumb across his nose, Blake drew a dagger from his boot and stood tall. He could vaguely make out a large mass wandering behind the bushes.
      Slowly he crept up, holding the dagger out in front in case it lunged out. It loomed around, lurking behind the trees and brush. A filthy, trashy odor tingled his nose. On his shoulder the kitten hissed with its tail hair puffing out. As he edged closer it leapt off his shoulder and kept behind the bonfire, hissing.
      He glanced for a moment at the alarmed cat, then twirled again to see a giant black paw swat him to the side. The dagger disappeared as he toppled over with shreds of his sleeve flying into the air. As he rolled over to face the opponent he found himself pinned. Over him a giant, dark brown critter lumbered, with two black eyes the size of plum seeds. Both ears perked back against its head in triangular shapes as a beak curved over its mouth.
      Again it rumbled, attempting to trap him under its paw. He quickly rolled further under its belly where it couldn't reach him. It shambled over him as it threw its bulk. From here he could faintly hear the kitten still hissing. His eyes crept up to watch the kitten darting around as the beast chased after the new, smaller prey.
      Dust flew off the rough hide and dirtied Blake as it passed over him and went for the kitten. The kitten hastily hid on the other side of the small campfire, and Blake whirled to his feet again. The pavilion danced as several people stumbled out of it half asleep.
      "Bugbear!" he heard Prism shout.
      It swatted across the fire at the kitten, which ran every direction to keep away. Quickly he snatched a bottle of brandy from his belt. Shaking it well, Blake drew back and hurled the bottle into the fire. The fire burst when the bottle did, catching the bugbears arm while it reached for the cat. Screaming the bugbear pranced around before stomping away, still on fire.
      "What was that?" Blake swept leaves away with his foot, searching for his missing weapon.
      "Bugbear, it probably smelled our food." Prism answered. Emeryl stumbled out of the pavilion in a dreamy daze.
      "What happened?" he yawned. His spider dangled off the end of his staff.
      "Wake up! We were just attacked!" Bentora gave him a slight shove.
      "Hmm? We were? Blake! What happened to your arm?" Emeryl rubbed one of his eyes.
      Glancing at his arm he saw now that it not only hit him but it had claws too. Three deep gashes hadn't embedded themselves quite long enough to start bleeding much yet.
      "It hit me." Blake continued sweeping the dirt for his dagger. A small gleam caught his eye and he fished up his dirk.
      "Ne! Don't do that! Let me see!" Emeryl darted over.
      "It's fine, I don't feel anything." Blake growled.
      Inspecting his wound he dragged Blake to the pavilion, "You will tomorrow, if you don't let me fix it. It's not bleeding much. If we hurry I can get it before it starts."
      Rushing around the fire the kitten charged into the pavilion after them.