One-Eyed Monster

Kadi continued his journey into the mountainous depths with his ”prisoner” Igor. Joking aside, they needed to take their circumstances seriously. Right now, the most important thing was to get out of Ghost Wind Valley.

Ghost Wind Valley was situated between Grey Eagle Peak and Dawn Peak. One peak was lifeless, devoid of any living things; the other was quite ordinary, with nothing particularly special about it. Yet, the valley between the two was unique. No matter how cold it was, the vast lake within the valley never froze. The weather conditions were also erratic: sometimes overcast and rainy, sometimes scorching sun, sometimes light snowfall... Regardless of the climate changes, the valley always remained shrouded in mist.

Passing through Ghost Wind Valley would bring one to the base of Grey Eagle Peak, which Kadi considered home.

It was said that Grey Eagle Peak resembled a mountain hawk, but Kadi had never seen it that way. To him, Grey Eagle Peak was just ordinary, with nothing special about it. Kevin and the others constantly saying ”Grey Eagle, Grey Eagle” made Kadi very curious, but no matter how he looked, left or right, he could never see this peak as an eagle. He always thought the peak looked more like a split Rum Fruit.

Next to Grey Eagle Peak ran a stream, with water gushing from a spring deep within the mountains. This flowing water formed various creeks and rivulets. Every night, when moonlight scattered upon it, the flowing water would GURGLE, producing beautiful songs. Kevin and the others called this place Moonflow Stream. For Kadi, Moonflow Stream was the most mysterious part of Guru Mountain, not just because the flowing streams sang, but also because across Moonflow Stream lay a vast, white swamp. That swamp was inhabited by a mysterious fellow, whom Kevin said was their leader, named Guru Guru. Kadi had always wanted to cross Moonflow Stream to see this mysterious leader, but Kevin always stopped him.

The leader of Guru Mountain’s monsters; that sounded mysterious enough.

Kadi cleared his thoughts; it was not the time to reminisce about Moonflow Stream. He was currently in Ghost Wind Valley, a place where a moment’s lapse in focus could lead to getting lost. The strange weather could easily make one lose their sense of direction, and walking into one of the valley’s natural traps could be a big problem.

Kadi might have been a native of Guru Mountain, but he couldn’t claim to know Ghost Wind Valley one hundred percent. He could easily find some wild fruits there, but it was an overestimation to think he knew its every nook and cranny. Kadi was just an ordinary monster of Guru Mountain. He might be thoroughly familiar with lifeless places like Dawn Peak, but when it came to slightly mysterious places like Ghost Wind Valley or Moonflow Stream, he was still a novice. After all, Kevin had only permitted his activities to be within Dawn Peak and Grey Eagle Peak. He usually had to sneak into Ghost Wind Valley.

Now he had to cross Ghost Wind Valley to get to Grey Eagle Peak, as he had no other choice. Behind him was that large lake, and Kadi had never been to its other end either. The one who had taught him to jump from Dawn Peak hadn’t told him what lay on the other side of the lake. He only knew to swim towards whatever land was visible after surfacing, and he would eventually reach shore.

Kadi had tried several times. Each time, with a PLOP, he would fall into the water, and then with a WHOOSH, he would break the surface, only for a different scene to greet his eyes. Sometimes, it was a lush green forest; other times, a dense spread of black stones. Moreover, no matter when, only one landmark was ever visible from the water’s surface; the other directions were always a vast expanse of white. As long as he swam towards that visible landmark, he would find upon reaching the shore that he had arrived in Ghost Wind Valley. In summary, getting from Dawn Peak to Ghost Wind Valley was easy, but going from Ghost Wind Valley back to Dawn Peak was not. Therefore, exiting Ghost Wind Valley was not so simple.

”So, do you know how to get out of here?” asked Igor after listening to Kadi’s descriptions.

”Of course I do! I love adventure deep down, probably just like you Adventurers.”

”If you know, why are you being so mysterious about it? Can’t we just walk out?” Igor felt like rolling his eyes at Kadi; this fellow really loved to be deliberately mystifying.

”You still don’t get it! Getting out of this Ghost Wind Valley isn’t easy!”

”But you know how to get out!”

”’I...’” Kadi hesitated. What he actually wanted to express was that one could easily get separated in this valley with the slightest carelessness. Even though I know the way out, you, Igor, don’t. If you get lost, I won’t be able to find you in this Ghost Wind Valley. Then, even if I get out and you’re trapped inside, wouldn’t that be very awkward?

”Enough with your ’I...I...I’s’! If we’re going, let’s go quickly! I keep having this feeling that those weird creatures will still come after us.”

”But, if I don’t explain clearly, and you get lost, I won’t be able to find you!”

”Huh? What do you mean, *I’ll* get lost?” Igor’s mind went blank for a moment again.

It couldn’t be helped. One was a simple young man who wasn’t particularly bright, and the other was a monster who struggled to express himself when anxious. When these two oddballs got stuck on an issue, it wasn’t easily resolved.

Igor, red-faced, listened patiently, occasionally interjecting with questions, some of which even Kadi found unanswerable.

Most of the questions Igor asked were: ”Why are there so many climates here? Why would I get lost? Why would I suddenly not see you, even if I’m following closely?”

WHY, WHY, WHY... Kadi felt like he had suddenly become an encyclopedia, endlessly repeating explanations about Ghost Wind Valley’s mysteries and strangeness.

If one observed closely, they would notice Kadi’s complexion also changing subtly, besides his gritted teeth. If one guessed correctly, Kadi, like Igor, was also red-faced from the excessive entanglement in the argument. It was just that Kadi had blue skin, so it wasn’t obvious what a red face looked like on him.

These two argued for half a day without any result.

One insisted, ”You’ll get lost, and then I won’t be able to find you in Ghost Wind Valley.”

The other was stubborn: ”No, I won’t get lost! I just need to follow you. Even if the situation you described happens, I’ll still be able to find you.”

As they argued back and forth, they unknowingly became parched. It was only then that these two realized they hadn’t even had a drink of water since morning.

Kadi still had some wild fruits left from his harvest the previous night. Without a word, they both wiped the fruits a little with leaves and started munching on them.

”We can’t keep arguing like this; we need to come up with a solution that we both can accept.”

”I feel the same way. I already said, I have a feeling those strange things are still following us.”

”That’s right, don’t you have that Spirit Book that knows everything? Just ask it.”

”Good idea!”

And so, with Igor shaking it left and right, patting it up and down, the Spirit Book awoke once more.

”OUCH! Can’t you be a bit gentler...” A familiar voice of complaint, a familiar sense of arrogance, a familiar scent of ink...

”Tsk, you woke me, this great one, up for such a trivial matter? My sleep is very precious,” the Spirit Book said dismissively after listening to the two’s lengthy account.

”You still remember the bonfire, right?” Igor warned the Spirit Book to behave and not to resist pointlessly.

”Please don’t, Master! I know I was wrong.”

”Then hurry up and tell us the solution.”

”Tsk, can’t you just tie yourselves together with a rope? Then you won’t get lost,” the Spirit Book retorted, its arrogant tone returning as it disdainfully offered them the solution.

Tie their hands together with a rope!

Unless the rope broke, neither of them would get lost.