North, to where Evin could see distant towers rise and see the lights of kingdoms and cities. Cities like Dristoll, where his best friend, his mentor, Marten lived. Where countless other people, who were unaware of the threat coming at them from the south, lived.

“So what do we do now?” Jorick asked.

They fell silent again, contemplative.

“We could go home again,” Bet whispered. “We have our memories back. Evin could go back and find his friend, go adventuring. Jorick, you could go and catch that ship. I could find a new wizard to study with.”

Flames crackled across the sky ahead of them, briefly illuminating a three-headed, winged creature waging battle with some other flying beast.

“Or,” Evin whispered back, “we could clean up the mess we helped make.”

“What?” Jorick asked, looking up at him from the side. “You mean, keep slaying monsters?”

Evin shrugged. “Sure,” he said. “We just met, but we seem to make a great team. At least Sefron was right about that one thing when he put us together: our strengths make up for our respective weaknesses. And hey, we have something most people don’t: the Practical Guide, with all the details on how to handle anything we’d face out there.”

Bet bit her lip and looked down. “My magic,” she said. “Jorick’s sword. Your stealth.”

“You do like blowing stuff up, Bet,” Evin pointed out. “And Jorick, you’re amazing with that blade.”

Jorick shrugged, his face solemn. Then, he patted Evin on the back. “So, ‘old’ friend,” he said. “How about we go find our true friends and slay some monsters?”

About the Author

Lukas Ritter enjoys fancy coffee drinks, perpetually gray skies, bringing his own bag to supermarkets, and wearing wool socks with Birkenstocks. He currently resides in Seattle, WA.

Copyright

Monster Slayers
©2010 Wizards of the Coast LLC

All characters in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

This book is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is prohibited without the express written permission of Wizards of the Coast LLC.

Published by Wizards of the Coast LLC

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, WIZARDS OF THE COAST, and their respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast LLC in the U.S.A. and other countries.

Cover art by Jesper Ejsing

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Ritter, Lukas, 1982-
  Monster slayers / Lukas Ritter.
    p. cm.
  Summary: On the trail of their families and other villagers who have been kidnapped by dog-like creatures, Evin and Jorick join forces with the beautiful elf Betilivatis, an apprentice wizard who is an expert on monsters.
  eISBN: 978-0-7869-5756-9
  [1. Fantasy. 2. Monsters—Fiction. 3. Wizards—Fiction. 4. Witches—Fiction.] I. Title.
  PZ7.R5149Mon 2010
  [Fic]—dc22

2009045546