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    Chaney had managed to get lost in the dark dungeon floor. The bandits had entered the dungeon floor as he had expected, but he lost his nerves while listening to them speak quietly to each other. He had climbed higher as quietly as he could, desperately hoping that the big cat wasn’t nearby, ready to eat him. When Chaney tried to climb back down to the entrance, he ended up on a floating patch of pebbles with many mushrooms but no portal.


    “What on the fae queen’s mountain?” He wondered aloud. “What? How?” He looked back up into the darkness under the vine’s leaves. “Did you move?” He asked the vine. He nearly began another climb to try and find the right way down, but his limbs were shaking with exhaustion and he was thirsty. He sat down in the center of the pebbles and stabbed the hook into the ground nearby.


    “This has to be the floor that Oz loves so much.” He said to himself. “He said it has…” Chaney leaned forward and put his hands on the pebbles. He felt around himself for a while, feeling all the pebbles. He finally found one next to his hip and picked it up. “…dripping pebbles!” He licked a drop of water that trickled down his thumb. He furrowed his brows as he thought for a minute. After deep thought, he popped the pebble in his mouth to suck on. He lay back with his hands under his head.


    “The rainbows are nice, Oz.” Chaney said. “I can see why this floor is your favorite. I wish it was easier to see, though.” Chaney didn’t notice when his eyes closed and he fell asleep. He coughed the dripping pebble out of his mouth without waking up. Chaney dreamed about cats with rainbow eyes that could fly and carry him out of the dungeon.


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    The moon cat sniffed at the sleeping Chaney. This creature was exceedingly foolish to sleep entirely exposed right on the rocks. It was like a foolish kitten, so young it could barely climb. The moon cat leapt up into the vine branches and disappeared.


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    Chaney woke to the smell of fresh fish. He opened his eyes in confusion. On the ground next to his face, a dead fish lay. He sat up quickly and felt around for his hook. He held the hook out and looked all around his patch of pebbles. He found nothing. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and examined the fish again. He looked up but found no obvious source in the drifting rainbows. He picked up the fish. Only then did he notice that the back of the fish’s head had been bitten off. “No fall did that to you, little fish.” Chaney said.


    Chaney’s stomach rumbled. He shook his head slowly. “Oz must never know.” He said. “He must never know that I ate the leftover raw fish of some blighted dungeon creature. Fish that fell from the sky as I slept!” Chaney chuckled softly and pulled the hook from the ground. He roughly cleaned the fish and tried to peel the skin off. The process was pretty messy, and he regretted that he hadn’t cleaned the fish off the side of the patch of pebbles, because it was starting to stink. He searched around for another dripping pebble and popped it in his mouth.


    While eating, Chaney had realized there was one thing he could do to help himself find his way in the dark. He scooted to the far side of the pebble patch from the fish guts and sat cross legged. He closed his eyes and took slow, even breaths. He meditated for a while to clear his mind. When he felt light and unburdened, he let his mind fill with the desire to see in the dark. He thought through how he would use better sight to navigate climbing the vines and avoiding dungeon creatures. He thought about other ways he might use better sight: hunting in the forest, standing a watch over a sleeping camp, spying threats before they saw him on a dark road at night. He continued to work his desire and plans through his mind until the System took notice.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    _ Skill Unlocked: See in the Dark. Initial level: 0 _


    _ Description: Pay attention, and you will find yourself able to see farther and more clearly in low light conditions. Your surroundings will not appear brighter, but you will be able to squeeze out more knowledge from the light your eyes take in. _


    Chaney blinked rapidly as a sharp tingling forced his eyes to water. He wiped at his eyes to clear them. When he could see clearly again, two glowing white eyes stared right at him from a stride away. Chaney froze. His heard began to pound loudly in his ears. A large cat sat on the pebbles nearby. Or maybe the cat lay on the pebbles nearby. It lay down with some of its legs and sat up with its front legs. It was laying down but propped itself up- SHUT UP. Chaney shouted at his mind as it ran away in panic, trying to analyze the relationship between sitting and laying down for a creature with four pairs of legs. Chaney thought the cat’s fur was the color of shadows, black, but also more than just black. The edges of the cats fur were difficult to observe in the dark.


    _ Skill “See in the Dark” Level increased to 1 _


    Chaney found he could suddenly make out the shape of the cats claws where they poked out of the fur on its feet. Seeing sudden claws did not help Chaney’s pounding heart. The large cat bent down and placed a paw on something it held in its mouth. There was a ripping *pop* sound as the cat’s head came back up, followed by several crunches as the cat chewed. Chaney looked down at the dead bat under the cat’s paw. Over the next few minutes, the cat methodically ate the whole bat, crunching the bones and swallowing the entrails. Between each bite, the cat raised its head to stare at Chaney.


    Chaney was confused. Why is this blighted cat here? He wondered. There must be better burning places to eat in this dungeon. Also, it’s eating way too slowly. I’ve seen wild animals eat plenty of times, they don’t take their burning time. What is this creature doing? When the cat finished the bat, it stared at Chaney, making him feel quite uncomfortable.


    Chaney frown as he had a thought. “Are you…” He started. He looked over at the fish guts and skin he had left from his meal. “Are you saying I should have eaten the entire fish?” The cat didn’t respond, but the System did.


    _ Intrinsic Skill Discovered: Talk with Animals. Initial level: 1 _


    _ Description: Many creatures of lesser intelligence have the desire and ability to communicate in some manner. You will have better insight into the intentions of nearby creatures and some ability to make yourself understood by those creatures. _


    _ Related Element Unlocked: Creature Companion   Description: You may offer a companion bond to a non-hostile creature. This bond greatly facilitates communication and empathy between you and your bonded companion. You may only have one(1) bonded companion at a time. “Charm” style spells and abilities have no affect on the creatures decision to accept or reject the offered bond. _