"The Adventures of Arawyn and Acteon"

"Entity Encounter"

Keep stared at both of us.

"Did you two run here?"

Acteon spoke as his breathing came back to normal.  "Yes. we decided to have a foot race!  I won of course."

Keep stared a moment longer.  She had this unique ability that allowed her to see fibs.  Her powers were a mystery to me, but her and the other tavernkeepers had a core set of abilities such as identifying lies, cooking, and debate.  The tavernkeepers were always right and it was their rule over everything else.

I set the ingredients on the counter to avert her questioning gaze from us.

"We completed our quest.  May we have a reward?"  I asked politely.

Keep smiled half-heartedly before setting four silver coins on the counter. 

"Split it between you and your brother."

I slid Acteon's half to him and reluctantly took my half.  I wanted a bigger reward.  I was sick of doing fetch quests all the time.

"Keep do you have any other quests for us? Any quests where an evil villain needs to be slain? or a giant beast's fang to be brought back? Anything like that?"

Keep had her back turned towards us while she was going through the ingredients we just brought her.

"It is late.  It'll be dark soon, and you know what happens when the sun goes down."

"Oo oo I know!" Acteon exclaimed.  "When the sun goes down it means it's on the other side of the world."

"Yes Acteon that's correct but then theres something else." Keep came to a whisper.  "During the night, monsters come out and eat adventurers that wander around outside.  They're called Maldenti.  They don't like light so they hunt at night looking for any lost adventurers."

Acteon and I both looked at Keep with skepticism.  "Maldenti? What do they look like?"  I questioned.

Keep set on the counter in front of us, two circular doughs with tomato paste.  "Nobody knows what they look like.  Now do you two want to put the toppings on?" she said with a smile on her face.

Acteon jumped at the opportunity.  He had the attention span of a ladybug.  I grabbed a handful of cheese and sprinkled all over the dough but the mysterious Maldenti would trouble my mind well after dinner.

The zaza was delcious and just like every night after dinner, Acteon and I would retire for the night.  The Lightfeather Tavern was our home and Keep took very good care of us.  She made sure we had clean sheets, our rooms were spotless, and made sure we got enough sleep before the next day of adventure.

Keep stood at our doorway with the hall light shining behind her as we laid in separate beds with the covers up to our necks.

"Goodnight boys. love you."

"Love you too!" Acteon and I shouted back.  We didn't want to sound too lovey dovey. 

Keep shut the door, leaving us in the pitch black.  I stared up at the ceiling into the darkness and whispered.

"Acteon." no response.  "Acteon." I knew this fool didn't fall asleep this quickly.  I spoke to a loud whisper, "ACTEON!"

"What?!" he whispered loudly back.

"Are you asleep?" I asked.

A moment of silence distanced the both of us.

"How the hell would I be asleep if I just responded to you..." he snapped still speaking in a loud whisper.

Acteon made a good point but I disregarded it.  "Keep said those monsters come out at night right?"

"Yeah, but I think she said they go for wanderers outside.  She's just messing with us so we don't stay out late."

It made sense.  Keep was always looking out for us and our safety was her primary concern.

"What if the Maldenti are outside now?"

"What?" Acteon responded bewildered.

"What if the Maldenti are outsi..."

Acteon snapped again, "I heard your question Arawyn.  What's your point?!" he asked becoming increasingly agitated.

"Let's say their outside.  We slay one.  How much silver could we get?  What if they give us new magic powers?  Maybe we can capture one?!"

Acteon remained silent for a moment before responding.

"I'm going to sleep."

I could hear him turn over in his bed and pull his blanket over him.  On the other hand, I was wide awake.  What if Keep was telling the truth and these monsters are outside.  I stared at the blinds that were covering the window. 

"I guess I can just peak and see."  I got up slowly from under the covers and slowly maneuvered towards the window.  I pulled a small plastic chair over so I didn't have to stand on my tippy toes to look out the window.  It was Acteon's chair so if it broke I didn't care.

I use a finger to pull down the blinds and see nothing but the side of our neighbor's house.  I forgot that we had the worst room in the tavern.  Ever so gently and carefully I pull the blinds up and unlock the window.  I lift the window up and poke my head out to get a view of the road that was at the front of our house and the woods that were behind the house.

Suddenly I heard the sounds of leaves crunching and twigs breaking.  A creature as dark as the surrounding shadows trudged out of the woodlands.  It had the posture of a gorilla but the soft slimy skin of a frog.  It stood next to a tree and it was higher than I or Acteon ever climbed. Its head swayed about.  It lifted its chin up, revealing a set of eyes in its neck.  It lowered its head and opened its mouth much like a snake and let out a terrifying screech.  Square teeth lined its mouth, perfect for crushing and grinding.

It ran aggressively towards me. Immediately I brought my head back in, quickly shut the window, locked it and pulled the blinds down before jumping back in bed hoping the creature wouldn't just burst through.  There was nothing more than silence.