Last week, Senshi had told the class that they were going to be covering basilisks, and hopefully they were ready to do just that as they met in the Danger Shop, once again on the second level.

Yes, there were more levels to explore, but that was just going to have to wait until the full, semester-long class. "So a basilisk," Senshi began. "First, take a chicken roughly the height of a fully-grown Tall-Man." He gestured at the whole class, even though he wasn't sure if Kamala was fully grown yet, or if she was still a youth. "And then, give it a snake for a tail. Now, I wanna be clear. I don't mean it's got the tail of a snake hangin' off its butt. Nope, I mean that protrudin' from under its tail feathers is a snake, almost like they're two creatures that were fused at the backside. And maybe that's how they started? But now they're one single creature and they breed true. If you're gonna ask me about how it works, especially biologically - don't. I know how to hunt and prepare 'em, and some information about their habits and behaviors, but how they actually function is more than I can say. Even the experts aren't sure where the dividing line between 'head' and 'tail' are, never mind folks like me."

He'd leave speculation like that to mages and monster fanboys, not that he knew Laios yet.

"Now, male basilisks have larger, brighter combs and wattles than their female counterparts do, and both sexes have a spur on the back of their claws that are attached to a venom sac - the same type of venom that the serpent produces and injects through its fangs. A bite or a kick from the spur that manages to inject even a little of the venom in your is a very dangerous emergency; their venom is very virulent, causin' hemorrhagin', paralysis, and finally death. Even takin' the venom out of the picture, the wings are strong enough to break bones, the kicks can cause internal damage and even ruptures if they land just right, and even dry bites can getcha if the fangs nick an artery or a major blood vessel. The chicken half has eyes on the side of its head like most prey animals, and have close to three hundred degrees around themselves. The snake half has its eyes facing forward, but can also sense heat and changes in the air around 'em through what's called a pit organ, found near the nostrils on the snake's head. Together, these make it very difficult to sneak up on a basilisk, because even if you can avoid the chicken's peripheral vision, the snake might still be able to sense you. And, if the chicken is sure there is danger directly in front of itself, the snake half will curl up and over the chicken's head to look forward. Basically, what I'm sayin' is that these critters are real dangerous and are probably the number one cause of death on this level. So don't go thinkin' that they're easy prey just because they look goofy."

They did look a little goofy though. As did their even more deadly cousin, the cockatrice.

"Now the best way to fight 'em is to first make yourself look as large and intimidatin' as possible. Yell, scream, bang metal together, whatever you gotta do to send a message that you're big and scary and not to be messed with. You also wanna buddy up. Just yellin' is fine by yourself if you're hopin' to scare 'em off, but if you're lookin' for a fight, you're gonna wanna have a partner. You both attack the basilisk from either side at the same time - the two brains will briefly confuse the body about what to do or where to go if they both register an attack. When the brains are figurin' out how to react and which head's impulses to listen to, that's when you finish the attack, aimin' for the brain, the eyes, or severin' the head. You can try for a stab through the chest, but the chicken side has a number of thick, insulatin' feathers, like we saw that they line the underbrush with for their eggs, and if you're not strong enough or don't have enough momentum, you can end up getting deflected off or or lodged into bone and missin' your opportunity. Which will let the body know what brain to listen to, that's for sure."

Senshi spent some more time explaining what signs to be on guard for when either trying to hunt or avoid basilisks, how they marked their territory, and their general behavior (aggressive). "All right, now, pair up and good huntin'!"