Sure, I think.

I went off without my minder, the pair had a lot to do.

Primarily and exclusively each other.

I eventually found the crystal spire, the landmark from before, and judged the direction to the lair. On my way there I ran into an odd sight, four walking corpses building up a fire pit. One of them waved at me as I passed, and then tossed itself into the flames.

That was surreal, I chuckled to myself as I made my way.

I wandered inside of the cave and started to collect everything written on, shoveling it carefully into a rucksack. The last thing I grabbed was her ironwood staff, lost and forgetting in our frantic battle. I got hard just remembering it, her monologuing, her surprise, and her submission.

When I exited the cave the sun had already started falling towards the horizon, and I reasoned there was no way for me to get back before dark; at earliest I'd get there just after dark. I shrugged, there wasn't much I could do about that, and started on my way back. I passed the burning dead and the crystal spire, shifting my eyes to increase my night-vision as darkness fell.

And with darkness came creatures of the dark; while I'd been traveling from my hometown to the Barley area I hadn't been harassed by them. Perhaps they recognised the incubus as one of their own, and perhaps my precautions had paid off. Perhaps I'd been lucky, and perhaps all of the above were true.

But, on this night, having fed well and seeming entirely human, I caught sight of motion in the trees. I instinctively clutched the hilt of my dagger, peering around with enhanced eyes. The height of them, running in a pack, and the sounds that were just at the edge of hearing; they were probably just goblins; no stronger or smarter than a kid. Three feet of vicious cowardice, without the power to back it up.

But I had power.