text: I had a terrible nightmare and I couldn’t sleep afterwards. So, I transcribed my nightmare just for you right here! Agro whinnied as we reached the bottom of the canyon. I pulled on his reins gently, and gave him a reassuring pat. His instincts kicked in, bred over thousands of years, fight or flight. Good Agro. He was becoming unruly since dusk was falling over the canyon we found ourselves in. Also, he knew we were at the bottom of a canyon. Trapped. I dismounted Agro and pulled an apple out of my knapsack to ease his anxiety. A green apple. So help me god if I try to feed him a red one. We’ve been over this before. Argo ate the apple, at least content in his snack for the time being. I put my fingers to my mouth, and let it a shrill whistle. The only answer I receive are the echoes rebounding off the canyon’s walls. Silence. I sit down and pull out some smoked elk meet for myself. Agro and I enjoy our meals for the time being. A rustle in the bushes draws my attention. My hand instinctively goes to my belt loop. I feel the comforting leather grip of my bastard sword. I grip so tightly my knuckles whiten. I see movement, the rustling of a few leaves in the distance. Twilight draws near, but my excellent night vision allows me to at least see that there is some creature stalking me nearby. A blur of white fur rushes at me. My hand drops from the hilt of my sword, and instead reaches out in an embrace. My dire cat Daisy has returned from her patrol. She leaps into my arms and wrestles me to the ground. After our greeting I offer her food but she refuses. She has this strange look in her eyes, and she begins pacing. At first back and forth, and than in a ever widening patrol circle. I didn’t set her back on patrol, her instincts did. The winds had shifted. I now felt it too. My two animal companions, being in tune with the astral plane, of course sensed the shift a few minutes before me. The canyon grew silent yet again. My pets now sensed a real impending danger, and so did I. A low rumble shook the earth beneath me. An earthquake? Couldn’t be, it was too short in duration. Again. Boom. Boom. This could only mean one thing. The monsters had awoken. Impossible. I was reminded that winter had just started coming, as the brisk air hit my chapped lips. Our shaman assured us these beasts would lie dormant until at least the spring. A low growl revved up in the distance. Quiet at first, but it slowly grew in volume. The intensity peaked, and I could feel it in my bones as my inner ear and jaw vibrated. Then again, silence. It’s these silent moments that actually are the worst. The moments where you must plan, and think, and then ultimately make a decision. Noise tends to spur action, tends to trigger fight or flight, tends to be more comforting. Silence however is an insidious monster. Silence is malicious. Silence allows you to lose track of time. Silence gives you the chance to second guess yourself.