They arrived at the village after full night had already fallen. Dawn was dead on her feet. It had been a long and exciting day after a very short night. The rock formation that hid the entrance to the village was a welcome sight. The rangers showed no sign of exhaustion. Both had been walking at a steady pace, their bags shouldered effortlessly.

They entered and made themselves at home. The rangers started to make fire and set up for dinner. They were working well together, it was obvious they were a well-rehearsed team. The meal was nothing special, but the hot tea picked up their spirits. They weren’t talking much, tired now and ready for bed. Soon after, everyone was sound asleep.

The next morning they met in the common area, and had hot tea and bacon rolls for breakfast, Ankou not missing to claim his share from Dawn.

Finally, Grinna sighed, replete. “Such a shame. That was the last of our bacon.” She said wistfully.

“What do we do now, with the demons?” Dawn asked. “I hoped I had seen the last of them. I worried after the cave-in, when I didn’t find them in the caves, dead or alive. How did they get out of there? They certainly weren’t able to use the exit we took, Ankou and I.”

“Well, they were dwelling in those caves for a while. It is their home ground. No wonder they know it better than you.” Grinna shrugged.

“Yeah, about that.” Dawn took a deep breath and stood up. Maybe now was the time to tell them about Raknavor and the war with the grey demons. Until now, she had kept the name of the city and its inhabitants to herself. She had felt a strange reluctance to let others know about her discovery. But surely that was daft. The rangers needed all the information they could get, in order to fight effectively against the monsters.

“The demons have been staying in the caves at least for a few centuries, as far as I know.” She said.

Grinna looked up at her from her position on the bench and squinted her eyes. “How would you know that?” she asked.

Dawn told them about her first visit to the city and her entry of the library, with the message that had been recorded there.

“What an interesting story,” Grinna said. “Raknavor, eh? One more reason to find a way back into that cave system. There has to be a whole treasure trove of information in that library.”

“True,” said Dawn, “but unfortunately you can’t open any of the books in there. That stasis field prevents it.”

But Grinna waved her objection away, grinning widely. “Let the mages crack that nut. That is their job after all. Such a find is priceless. The stoneblood folk is featured in some legends. To find an actual city where they lived is a sensation. Pretty well preserved too, from your report. And a sample of their magic, with the stasis field you mentioned. This will generate a whir of excitement among a lot of people.”

“Please don’t forget the demon lair in the basement,” Dawn shook her head at Grinna’s agitation. “Remember they are the reason the whole stoneblood folk left, before you go and invite people to come visit the ruined city.”

Teren chuckled. “Grinna is not likely to give much of a thought to such minor inconveniences as a demon infestation.” He teased good-naturedly.

“Well if you are interested in books, I have found at least some that were usable.” Dawn said. “But not in the library. There was a sort of alchemy lab on the level where the demons lived. I just happened to grab some of the stuff from there.”

“Don’t tell me you fought the demons and escaped while lugging bundles of books and alchemical equipment around with you.” Grinna said incredulously.

“Yes and no,” Dawn said tentatively, and held up her hand, showing Grinna the signet ring she was wearing on her thumb. She had turned it inwards so the face wasn’t easily seen. “I have a storage ring. Quite useful, if you need to haul around a lot of equipment.”

Grinna whistled, shaking her head. “A storage ring, you don’t say? And whom did you murder to get your hands on that? Do you have any idea what those cost?”

“No, I didn’t even know such a thing existed. Not until I looked through the things of my dead father, before running away from home. But it was a lot of help. I could never have carried so much without it. My mother didn’t know what it was when she put it away. It can be accessed only by members of my father’s family. I took it without her knowledge” Dawn looked down bashfully.

“You father’s family must be very wealthy.” Grinna looked at Dawn a bit dubious now.

“I guess they are. I wouldn’t know. They were vehemently opposed to my father’s marriage to my mother. He died when I was still a baby, and they practically threw her out after his death.” Dawn shrugged.

“Yep, that’s the rich clans for you. They always marry for alliances or wealth. I don’t envy your mother if your father defied his family to marry her. Such a thing happens very rarely. They must have been furious.” With a little grimace Grinna stood up from the bench she had been sitting on.

“You said something about books from the ancient city?”

Dawn led her to the little hut she had set up as her alchemy work space. Grinna inspected the ancient alchemy books and thumbed through the brittle pages with care. Dawn felt a little guilty. She had intentionally failed to mention the books about runic magic.

Grinna thought the books from Raknavor would be a kind of sensation. Dawn was uncertain of the situation here. She had taken them from the caves, but they didn’t exactly belong to her. If the ranger decided to take the alchemy books with her, she hadn’t lost much, as they were much too complex for her use. But the books on runes were different. She had already got the skill Runic Magic after looking at a few pages of one. No way would she give those books up without a fight. Best not to mention them at all. The same held true for the echo stone. She would keep both hidden away in her storage ring. Probably she shouldn’t be that distrustful. All the rangers she had met had done their best to help her. Nevertheless, it wouldn’t hurt to keep quiet about some things.

Teren entered and said, “You wanted to talk about fighting the demons today? Ancient books are well and good, but the monsters are more important.”

Grinna laid down the book she was holding with a start. “I know, I know.” She grumbled. “I was just curious.”

She left the dwelling and began to pace in the open area outside.

“So, what do we know about these demons?” She asked, only to answer her own question.

“Huge grey spiders, with long reach and very resistant bodies. Vulnerable to fire. Led by a talking queen. Unknown number of the beasts, maybe two or three dozen still alive at the moment. Unknown number of eggs, unknown duration of reproduction cycle. Live in caves somewhere adjacent to that gorge we fought them in. Are said to be responsible for the fall of the ancient city of a pretty advanced people.”

Teren added in his deep voice, “The city fell a long time ago. That begs the question: Where did the demons come from suddenly?"

Grinna nodded and went on: "And why did no one hear of them after the city fell until now? The burning of their eggs seems to have stirred them up, but they were active in a way even before Dawn stumbled over them.”

Dawn shook her head. “No idea.”

Grinna sighed and massaged her neck: “I hate to say this, but I don’t see that the two of us can take on dozens of the beasts on our own.” She smiled at Dawn apologetically. “No offense Dawn, but you’re not a fighter.”

Dawn held up her hands defensively. “I know, believe me I know.” After a moment she added, “though I can heal.”

Grinna raised an eyebrow. “Good to know that.”

Teren asked, “so what do we do?”

Grinna grimaced. “We go back to Atelang and report the situation like good little rangers. Maybe we should have taken a leg or the head of one of the monsters with us. Even with the three of us as witnesses, I have the uncomfortable conviction Madden won’t believe half of what we’re going to tell him. He was already half convinced Nathan was three sheets to the wind when he sent his message about the spider-demons. But whatever you can say about Nathan, everyone knows he has no imagination at all. That’s the only reason Madden sent us here to investigate.”

Teren said, “so we’re going back to Atelang?”

Grinna grinned. “You bet we do, and then the higher ups can agonize over the right way to exterminate the beasts. Time for them to earn their pay.”

Dawn sighed quietly. She had just gotten used to their company. And now Grinna and Teren would return to Atelang and she would remain here alone. Well, she had Ankou.

Grinna turned to her: “Do you need some time to pack your things? I’d like to get a move on, now that we’ve decided to return.”

Dawn gaped. “Pack? Why do I need to pack?”

Grinna frowned at her. “You didn’t really expect that we would just leave you here on your own, with those spiders in the area?”

Dawn rubbed her nose. “But what will I do in Atelang? I have no money.”

Grinna said: “First, we will send a message to your parents, to tell them that you are alive.”

Dawn flinched and shook her head. “But they will try to take away my path.” It was her greatest fear.

But the ranger told her calmly, “you don’t know that. Maybe they will surprise you.”

“And maybe they won’t, and then everything I did was in vain.”

“You need a better plan than just staying in the wilds alone." Grinna told her. "You’ll get no training that way, and the odds are, you won’t survive the winter. If you make it even that long. You had a heap of luck until now, but that won’t continue forever.”

Dawn wasn’t convinced going to Atelang was the better option. “And what about Ankou. I won’t leave him.”

“You don’t have to. He will come with us. The rangers are used to strange company. So, get ready. We’re leaving. And pack the books you found in the city.”

Half an hour later, they left the Kharlin village to start their journey to Atelang. It was quiet outside, the morning overcast. They threaded their way through the bizarre rock formations when they heard a clicking noise. Dawn froze. She had heard that noise before. Before them, several demons peeled themselves away from the rocks, two directly in front of them, one each to the side. When Dawn whirled around, several more of the huge spiders were appearing behind them. The terrain with lots of boulders and natural caves had given them good cover.

Grinna cursed. “Dark stars and hot hells. I hate it when the beasts don’t play by the book.”