Kapitel 39: Kyu

Ellis picked up the small black fox monster that was snoozing at his feet. The creature barely moved as Ellis laid it on top of one of the closed barrels to sleep on so he could deal with the rest of the stuff he had to do while he was down in the ruins.

"You can sleep here for now little fox."

Ellis then walked over to the large partially glowing bronze door and pulled out the red cube-like Eternal Gem that was still radiating a strong warmth. Ellis lined up the gem with the hole in the door and gently slid the gem into the slot in the door which fit perfectly. As soon as it was all the way into the slot the bronze door began to light up like it did the previous time with the blue gem. A faint red glow snaked its way up the right side of the door, following the ornate designs like the other side had done. Finally, it finished spreading and left only the remaining center line of the bronze door unlit.

Now all I need is this last piece. From the looks of the hole, I'm pretty sure it's an oversized key that I need to find next. Hopefully, it'll be somewhere in that thick forest because otherwise I have no idea where it might be.

Ellis walked up to the barrels of wine and refilled his waterskin full of wine in the barrel that the Kukan Fox hadn't been having a spa day in. After putting his now filled wineskin away in his pack he picked up the good barrel of wine and placed it on top of one of the broken columns in the room so that it would at least be harder to get too if any other creatures got into the ruins. From the pillar at the bottom of the stairs he could see that the light that usually shone down into from hole that led outside was giving off less light, indicating that it was getting dark.

Since it's getting late in the cycle I should turn in for the night. I can probably just sleep down here since the light from the bronze door is enough to dimly light the area around the door.

Ellis laid out his bedroll down near the bronze door and drifted off to sleep as he listened to the black fox subtly snore. When Ellis woke up in the morning the black fox was no where to be seen and it didn't look like the wine had been tampered with at all again.

It must have left after it sobered up from drinking all that Thousand Year Radiant Berry Wine. It's surprising it sobered up so fast. I tried having only a couple sips at a time and was drunk for six hours plus I'm way bigger than it.

Ellis thought to himself as he packed up his stuff and took one last quick look around the room for the fox but he couldn't see too much as lots of the area was still pretty dark because the light from the door didn't make it very far. After taking a quick look around and not seeing the fox anywhere, he left the other barrel on the ground, so just in case the Kukan Fox came back it could have some. Ellis probably wasn't going to drink wine that a monster had bathed in anyways, who knows what kind of germs it had.

"You can have the rest of that barrel of wine, little fox!"

Ellis called out just in case the Kukan Fox was around and then he started heading up the stone stairs to leave the ruins.

Swish!

Suddenly, out of nowhere something small landed on his head. Ellis looked up and saw that the little black fox was laying on his head looking down at him.

"Kyu!"

"Oh, is this what's happening? You're coming with me?"

"Kyuu!"

The little monster seemed to nod its head as it made an affirmative sounding chirp and looked forward.

"Alright, let's get going then!"

Ellis jumped up out from the bottom of the ruins and started the walk toward the forest. It would only take a couple more days of travel before he'd get there. As Ellis walked the little black fox stayed attached to Ellis's head and even fell asleep without falling off. Even when Ellis fought various monsters the little fox didn't even flinch or move; it somehow could stay perfectly still on his head no matter the movement Ellis made. The fox also felt so light that sometimes Ellis would look up just to make sure it was still there, but it always was.

After walking for the entire day, the crystals above began to dim, and Ellis came to a spot that he thought would be good for a camp. Only after Ellis set up his bedroll and sat down to do his daily weapon and armor maintenance, did the black fox jump down from his head. The fox strolled up to Elli's bag and rummaged around as if it was looking for something. A couple of seconds later it came out of the bag holding a large smoked piece of meat in its mouth. It then sat down next to Ellis and began to chew the tough piece of meat.

"Alright, help yourself I guess."

Ellis said sarcastically as he finished cleaning his halberd and set it down on the ground next to him. The little black fox ignored Ellis and kept enjoying its meal. Ellis then went into his bag and grabbed out a few chunks of smoked meat for himself to eat. As he was eating Ellis laid down on his bedroll and looked up at the crystal stars. They were one of the few things he really enjoyed about this terrible place. Unexpectedly, the black fox jumped up onto his chest and looked up at the sky with him.

"I envy that you've gotten to see this every night of your life. It really is a breathtaking sight. We have stars where I'm from, but you can never really see them unless you go out deep into the wilderness, far away from humanity."

Ellis said to the little black fox that sat on his chest, who in response just tilted its head and looked at him with its purple beady eyes.

"Kyu?"

The little monster chirped at Ellis before it curled up into a ball and fell asleep on his chest. Ellis also followed suit and closed his eyes before drifting off to sleep.

…

Two days later.

"Well, were almost there, little fox. We will be there by midday tomorrow."

Ellis said to the black fox laying on his head as they stopped to make camp because it was beginning to get dark out. Ellis set up a quick fire because this time for dinner he had fresh Horned Rabbit that he was going to grill over the fire for a nice mouthfeel rather than the normal chewy, smoked jerky. As he cooked the Horned Rabbit meat the black fox stared at the it drooling. Finally, the food was done and after it had cooled off a bit Ellis gave the fox a couple of pieces, who promptly ate it up just as fast as Ellis put it down.

"You sure eat a lot, huh little fox?"

"Kyu! Kyu!"

The black fox chirped happily as it nudged Ellis for more. Ellis put a couple more pieces of meat down for it.

"Alright, alright! Here you go, little fox. You know, I think you need a name if we're gonna continue journeying together because I can't keep calling you little fox. Hmm… how about Kyu based of the sound you make?"

"Kyuu!"

The Kukan Fox seemed to be happy with the name so Ellis decided to go with it. Ellis laid down on his bedroll and the fox jumped onto his chest like usually, curling up to fall asleep.

"I'm glad you like it. Goodnight, Kyu."