Anika was making good progress towards her destination. She didn't follow a straight line though because she needed to keep Beth well fed, but she also spent time hunting down exotic creatures and working her skinning and leatherworking. It didn't take long for her skills to reach 50/50 and she was getting some clean cuts she was sure Peter would be proud of.

It was on one of her little gathering detours she spotted a beaten path leading off the main road and followed it. Soon she heard voices from what was almost certainly a group of other players. They were laughing and messing around, and since it had been awhile since she had spoken to anyone she got closer and introduced herself.

She was greeted by two other players. Lilia was a level 9 Mage, and Felix was a level 11 Rogue. They were hanging around, waiting for the third member of their group who had gone into the forest to collect herbs for potions.

After the initial introductions, Anika decided that she had had enough of a distraction and told them she would be on her way.

"Hey, don't go yet. Why don't you come run this dungeon with us?" It was Felix. He explained to her they were getting ready to do a run of the Nightmare Caverns, and that she could tag along.

"Come on Felix, she's level 4, and she doesn't have any gear. Sorry, no offence Anika. But we wiped in this dungeon earlier today, and we had a group of five with some decent gear." Lilia kicked some of the leaves in front of her in apparent frustration.

"I don't care. I want to get back in there. So what if we don't complete it today? It's better than hanging around doing nothing anyways." Felix had walked up to Anika, put an arm around her shoulder and tried to welcome her back.

"Our healer is coming back soon, you'll be okay. Just get your little pet to join the fight and take your shots from a distance. Have you run a dungeon yet?"

"No, I haven't. I was reading about it last night though, it's the best way to level up compared to just doing quests right? I'm happy to tag along and will do my best to make a difference." She was glad that Felix wanted her to join, but she felt very inadequate. She had no experience, her gear wasn't up to scratch, and she doubted she would make any difference if they brought her along.

"Yeah, you'll level up quick enough in there. Most of the mobs are above level 10, you should get an insane amount of XP without even getting to the end."

Despite the encouraging words, Lilia still didn't look excited at the prospect of her coming along. She turned to Felix and shook her head.

"We don't even have a tank. I admit the guy we brought along earlier was useless, but there's no way we can get past the first couple of mobs without somebody taking a lot of damage if we don't have a tank."

"Anika's pet can tank, look, she's got a fucking bear. Stop being so negative. Let's find Hamish and get going. I'm sick of waiting around."

Anika was feeling excited now. She didn't get the importance of having a tank, but it sounded like they knew what they were doing. Beth would be happy to jump into a fight, she checked earlier, and her loyalty rating was over 70% now. They had developed a strong bond, and she knew without a doubt that Beth would relish an opportunity to fight for her.

Hamish could be spotted from quite a distance, his robes were bright white, and he occasionally cast some spells that would make him glow in an almost fluorescent blue for a few seconds. He was in a good mood and didn't seem to mind Anika tagging along. Felix explained to him what the plan was. They were going into the dungeon without a tank, and he would have to work extra hard to keep Beth alive. Hamish just shrugged his shoulders and handed out the food he had been collecting.

With Felix and Hamish in good spirits and Anika getting more and more excited at the prospect of her first dungeon, that only left Lilia to spoil the fun. She kept pointing out various game mechanics and parts of the dungeon that would be too difficult for them to handle. She said a hunter's pet just wouldn't be useful at all. When she could see that Anika was getting slightly offended, she tried to be nice about it and even complimented Beth on her high amount of stamina. She then made a point that getting through the dungeon, required that the tank knows how to position themselves to make sure that nobody else would take any damage. Anika made a mental note of what she was explaining and looking at Beth she realised that she didn't need to pass any instructions on. Beth didn't nod in agreement, but Anika could feel she had heard and understood everything that was being said.

"This is it, boys and girls."

Felix was excited and asked them all to stop outside the entrance to the Nightmare Caverns.

"Take these Anika, they are level 10 health potions, so it's a waste on you. But don't be shy about it. If you get hit just drink this, and you'll be good as new in no time. Everyone else got what they need?"

"I could use mana potions. Got any Lilia?" Hamish said.

"You can have two. But I doubt will have time to even use them. Chances are we'll wipe soon as we step foot inside that place again." Hamish and Felix looked at each other and just chuckled.