I cannot help but chuckle to myself as I read the next passage in my journal. I was so brash in my youth, so full of myself. It was inconceivable to me that my talents would not be enough to see me through any situation, and I behaved accordingly.

Shortly after the battle in the trenches I slipped into the shadows, letting my group continue on without me. There was only one exit from the excavation site, forcing the party to backtrack into areas I was already familiar with. I knew I could catch back up with them shortly, and I really wanted to know what kind of threat was at the bottom of the stairs we had just passed.

I eased down the stairs as far as I dared, given the absence of any form of light, and listened intently. I remained that way for some time, until I was absolutely certain that whatever it was in that room had no intention of following us. Even simple fights can turn into suicide missions if we get flanked at a critical moment. Once I was satisfied the threat was low, I hurried after my compatriots.

Even though it took me quite some time to catch up to the group again (it turns out that tracking wasn't as simple as I had thought it would be), I still to this day stand by that decision. That doesn't mean it wasn't a reckless one, but it followed sound theory. Having the chance to do it over with the wisdom of age I would obviously have done it differently, but we needed to know we weren't setting ourselves up to be ambushed. I did not, however, have the wisdom of age, and I was convinced that I was immortal.

That turned out to be a belief that would soon be tested.