There's been a bit of a fireside tale backlog for a while, but it's a backlog Iuri is actually making a dent in as he steps up to the fireside for the second day in a row.
"One of the more memorable adventures I had took place in the Caustic Caverns. It's an area in Evotha populated by these sort of living rock monsters in addition to spiders and lizards. We were sent there by an old wizard called Henry. I wonder what he's up to nowadays? I think he was blind, that's why he needed our assistance to go into the cave and retrieve some rocks for him.
"On this occasion, we were absolutely beset by the rock monsters. They were called... garlics? Garlicheads? Something like that. They looked like rocks, and they could... I hate slightly that I'm saying this, but they could roll— Sorry, that's a pun that's only going to matter to people from a world similar to mine.
"They rolled at very fast speeds, basically came careening at us and knocked us down like skittles. It was pretty touch and go for a while there. There were a ton of us, but we were also having to use a lot of resources, and there may have been... some strategic errors, if I'm being honest.
"Thankfully, Henry had the foresight to send us in there with a magic stone that would bring us back to the entrance when we broke it. Basically an 'in case of emergency, break rock' escape plan. Ideally, we would have used it *after* collecting the magic rocks he wanted, but the important thing was that we were able to get out of there, and with a *lot* of intel about what to do and how to approach for next time.
"That ended up being crucial, as it was not the last time I visited those caves.
"It just goes to show that sometimes, the best option is a tactical retreat and to come back another day armed with information and a plan. Rushing in can be fun for some, but good plans are the key to success."
