We gathered at the top of the stairs, each member of the party sitting down for a brief respite. It wasn’t that anyone was particularly exhausted, given the lack of injury from the fight with the mimic, but we agreed that we needed to pause to consider our next course of action.

“The way forward is between the lightning and the thunder,” Raina repeated the phrase on the plaque in the slime room. “The answer must be here.”

Five sets of eyes turned their attention upward to the ceiling. Following the deaths of the fulminous worms, the storm that they’d been hiding in had returned to what we assumed was a normal state. Lightning flashed across the ceiling, and a few moments later, thunder rumbled through the room.

“Can I get a few minutes to determine my level 15 ability, before we tackle this riddle?” Aelisra asked.

Everyone nodded and fell silent, no doubt consulting the Great and Powerful Amsiii…who was only slightly less great and slightly less powerful than the Amazing Malzifrax had been in a previous life…for their options.

I couldn’t blame them. I, too, was eager to see what Amsiii would grant me in return for the entertaining violence I’d provided. The last set of options had provided me Feline Favor, which had become my most useful ability. Technically speaking, it was my only ability besides Soulbond, which seems to have done more harm than good since I’d come here, but that was beside the point. The relative uselessness of Soulbond didn’t detract from just how impressive Feline Favor had become. The potential of another such ability, one that could alter the course of battle completely, was exciting.

Abilities to select: 1

Ability options provided by: Cat

Size - you become bigger, receiving the strength, stamina, and fortitude associated with a greater size.

Five Pointy Ends - your teeth and claws become infused with your mana, making them stronger and sharper.

Acrobat - your honed reflexes and dexterity are pushed to a new level, allowing you to more quickly move and evade danger. Requires Internal 1

Ability options provided by: Familiar

Feline Favor II - Your Feline Favor becomes stronger, able to heal greater injuries over time. Requires Energetics 5

Witchcraft Cat - you were summoned from mana, and mana is woven into you. Spells from your strongest aptitude are treated as one level higher than they are.

Empathy Link - You become even closer to your summoner, sharing not only mana but emotions, as well.

Other than Empathy Link, these options were the same as before. And…as for Empathy Link itself…I felt a bitterness deep in my heart. Why did everything have to be about Raina? It was bad enough that I couldn’t leave her side for too long, couldn’t speak on my own, and couldn’t take credit for my own accomplishments. The last thing I needed was to deepen the bond between us and further bind myself to her will.

There would be other options. Amsiii still had more to say.

Ability options provided by: Telekinetic V

Telekinetic Infusion - You can infuse mana into a favored object. Doing so will allow you to more accurately control the movement of the object when using telekinesis.

Kinetic Split - You gain the ability to manipulate multiple objects at once.

My heart soared with delight. Imagine the possibilities! If spells could also give abilities just like my race did, then just how much more powerful could I become? There was more to it than just the number tacked onto the end of a spell, there were real, tangible ways that I could improve my abilities!

Ability options provided by: Corruption Resistance V

Expulsion - For every ounce of mana you purify, some of the impure mana is stored safely within you to be passively strengthened and concentrated. You may expel these impurities at will, resulting in acute corruption for any creature caught in the blast.

Controlled Corruption - You gain greater control over the corruption in your body, allowing you to influence how corruption manifests. You can change minor traits gained through corruption.

That was…interesting. The ability to dictate corruption was more than a little enticing. Both Expulsion and Controlled Corruption had extreme potential. The former would give me an attack that could be potentially debilitating to an enemy. From what I’d seen with Qelona, corruption not only damaged the body, but also the mind. I could cripple them before they ever presented a threat. It would be irrevocable, sure, but there were many enemies out there in the world.

Controlled Corruption also presented an interesting idea. Based on the description, I could return my eyes to normal after they’d begun to glow with fire mana. It would certainly go a long way towards helping Raina and I remain hidden from those who would decry us as unholy mages. But, it was more than that.

A future flashed before my eyes, one where I allowed corruption to run within my small fur, where I could make my fur crackle with lighting and my eyes glow on command. With enough corruption, and enough control, could I create new spells and abilities to use? It would be risky, but the possibilities were nearly endless…

But those weren’t the only options that weighed heavy on my mind. Feline Favor II and Telekinetic Infusion were also worthy of consideration.

I’d been complaining to myself for days about the limitations of Feline Favor. How nice would it be if I could heal more injuries in a timely manner? The key there, was “timely.” The upgrade to Feline Favor made no mention of speeding up how fast I could heal, only that I could reverse greater damage. However, if a simple cut still took hours to heal, then it would do little to solve my current frustrations. That may still have to wait for Amsiii’s promise of Affinity Titles at Level 20.

Then there was Telekinetic Infusion. My very first spell. While Telekinesis had certainly been effective at my lower levels, I’d found less and less use for it as fire and firestorm became more viable options in combat. This infusion stuff could change that, allowing me to carry an object with me. That object could be anything, though smaller was probably better if the infusions still had to follow the other laws of telekinesis. Larger objects were harder to manipulate, but a small one could be thrown around with great speed and precision.

But…which one to choose…

Offense…or defense?

The painful truth hit me. If I didn’t survive this dungeon, it wouldn’t matter. All the options would likely come back again in the future, but what mattered now, was survival. The mana from this dungeon would not be enough to corrupt creatures of similar elements, and altering my form was not a priority. My fire was impressive, I know, but it hadn’t seriously hurt the mimic or the worms. I needed some way to keep up with the others…and that left only one choice.

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Ability gained: Telekinetic Infusion

I felt the mana in my body shift and churn uncomfortably as the ability changed the very nature of my Environmental Aptitude. It pulled and tugged on my stomach, flipflopping it every which way and making me very, very sick. I raced down the stairs, leaping down them three at a time before I lost what few trail rations were in my stomach.

“Malzy? Are you okay?” Raina called after I finished.

“Fine,” I answered. I flicked my tongue out, trying to get rid of the awful taste of bile and sickness. It didn’t work. I did it again and again, to little success. As the nausea passed, I decided to consult my own status while waiting. Amsiii, as usual, was keen to respond.

Name: Malzy

Species: Cat, Familiar

Type: Fiend

Level: 15

Titles:

Witch’s Familiar

Blessed by the First One

Aptitudes:

Environmental: 8

Internal: 0

Energetic: 7

Enervation: 2

Abilities:

Soulbond

Feline Favor

Inspection

Telekinetic Infusion

Resistances:

Corruption Resistance V

Known Spells:

Telekinetic V

Fire III

Chill II

Heat II

Drain II

Increase Potency I

Firestorm I

Description: A summoned familiar created with the purpose of protecting the summoner from harm

My stomach had settled at least, hopefully indicating that the ability had finished altering my body and mana. If so, then it was time to test it out, but what would I make my first preferred object? What was even available?

My mind immediately flashed back to the First Dungeon. I’d killed the rattler with its own fangs. How cool and awe-inspiring would it be for a cat to wield a snake fang to take down large enemies!? Alas, I did not have a snake fang. Briefly did I consider wrenching the mimic’s teeth from its corpse, but given the changing nature of the beast, I wasn’t sure how sturdy the teeth really were. There hadn’t even been teeth when we’d approached it. Besides, they weren’t nearly as elegant and cool as a snake fang, so I ultimately chose to pass on that one.

That meant I needed to borrow something from one of my hench-humans or Cithrael. Time to snoop.

I padded softly back to the party before weighing my options. Aelisra carried a lot of our supplies, being the strongest of the group, but Cithrael’s bag usually held the most useful items for our general survival. Terrowin was known to have several weapons, and Raina…nothing of hers would be useful to me in this instance. She preferred to carry bottles so she could collect herbs on our travels. Not that she had a functioning cauldron back in her home with which to brew them, so I wasn’t sure what was the point.

The humans sat in silence, contemplating their own options while I investigated. Cithrael gave me an odd look as I began rustling through his bag, but I ignored him. Per usual, he said nothing.

He had a mess kit, a tinderbox and matches, a waterskin, a map, rope and hooks for setting traps, and a small package wrapped up in twine and paper. I shook it briefly, hearing some kind of stones or nuts or something inside. That wouldn’t be helpful. I could have taken one of his arrows, but those were limited, and he would need them in the fights to come. Best not.

Moving on to Aelisra, I continued the search. I snooped through her bag, finding most of the rations. I nibbled on a piece of jerky for no other reason than to cleanse my mouth of much more vile tastes. It was effective, and I found myself in a much more charitable mood. That was good, because I moved to Terrowin’s belongings next.

As usual, the knight reached out and stroked my ears and spine. I was in such a good mood that I even deigned to purr for him.

Not that I liked it, mind you. I didn’t. It was just something that might have felt just a little bit nice after a hard day, but that was all! Don’t go getting the wrong impression.

In his bag, I finally found something suitable for my needs. It was something so simple, so useful that even my young and inexperienced hench-humans had remembered to bring one: a dagger. It was perfect! I could infuse it and then throw it at enemies! Then, unlike a real knife thrower, I could actually retrieve the weapon thanks to the range of telekinesis.

I pulled the object out and carried it with me as I sat down at Terrowin’s side.

“Malzy!” Raina scolded. “Put that back!”

“Why? I need it.”

“What could you possibly need a knife for?”

“Why does it matter?” I asked. She reached out and tried to take the blade from me, but I pinned my ears back and hissed. “Get your own dagger!”

“Malzy. You can’t just steal other peoples’ stuff!”

I rubbed my cheeks against the handle, leaving my scent on the object. Once it thoroughly smelled like me, I stared at her again.

“There, it’s mine, now.”

“That’s not how it works, Malzy.” She narrowed her eyes in frustration.

Terrowin laughed. “It’s okay, Raina, really,” he said. He pulled another one from his boot. “I keep extras. He can have that one if he really wants it.”

I purred in appreciation, bestowing my favor upon him. Raina scowled but didn’t say anything more.

Settling down with my new knife, I examined it in full detail. It was a beautiful piece of craftsmanship, even I could tell that much. The blade itself was polished to a reflective sheen. A tiny golden dragon curled around the cross guard. Truly a lovely piece.

I called upon my mana, directing it towards the blade with the same intention that I used when inspecting a creature. My mana swirled forth, almost excited to be going beyond myself. It settled first onto the blade, then seeped into the metal. It began to glow with a soft orange haze. I continued putting more and more mana into the blade until I was certain that it was ready. When I was done, I stood and tested it out with a simple lift.

The blade shot into the air with such force that it almost embedded itself in the ceiling above. I jumped back in surprise. It had been so much faster than before! Like it was nearly weightless!

“Raina, your cat is throwing daggers, now,” Terrowin said with a laugh that was more worried than amused. “Should I be concerned?”

Of course he shouldn’t be. He had provided this offering, willing or not. He might not have been quite as useful of a servant as Cithrael, but he still among my favorites.

I gently brought the dagger back down, testing the limitations of this new ability. It moved in perfect time with my command. If anything, I worried more about putting someone’s eye out by accident, making it a far improvement from the basic throws I was able to do before. Only with practice would I get even better, but the prospects were very enticing.

We sat in relative silence for several more minutes as the others finished off their selections. Only my purrs and the rumble of thunder overhead broke the silence.

I watched the ceiling. Lightning darted overhead, followed by thunder. Lightning, then thunder, then lightning again.

My purring stopped. We’d been sitting here for several minutes now. Was it just my ears playing tricks or was there a pattern? Lightning crashed. Then thunder followed, but it wasn’t always the same time between the two.

The way forward lay between the lightning and the thunder…

I leapt to my feet at the same time as Raina.

“I know the answer!” we both shouted in unison.