Having shuffled - carefully - through the first hundred feet or so of the course - and having climbed several hundred steps - the lava pit they now found themselves above did not just feel ominous.
It was clearly bloody hungry.
Its bubbling surface spat sparks of liquid rock up towards the platform on which they found themselves, each mini-explosion rising with a hiss that suggested it wasn’t used to missing its mark. Even from this distance, Lorelei could feel the radiating heat from where she stood, way too close to the crumbling edge of the platform.
"There's a tightrope. Of course there's a fucking tightrope." She glanced at the words "Do Not Look Down" emblazoned in flickering neon above them. Subtle.
If there was a more obviously deadly obstacle awaiting them, Lorelei didn’t want to find it.
Pete, of course, was grinning.
“Ah reet!” he said, cracking his neck like he was not about to dash across a rope held together by literal threads and bad intentions. “This ‘ere’s nowt to worry abat."
For her part, Lorelei was finding quite a lot to worry about. She wanted to scream out every single swear word in her vocabulary but knew if she tried to say anything, it’d come out in breathy gasps that would make this whole situation even worse. Instead, she ground her teeth and settled for glaring at Pete’s back.
Her mood was not improved by Kris standing next to her. Although, at least his face was uncharacteristically serious, a rare crack in his recent perpetual air of self-satisfaction. Mind you, Lorelei thought, it was probably hard to quite so smug with lava reflecting in everyone’s eyes. “You all need to be careful here,” he said “I'm good, but one mistake, and you'll be done. Even I can't heal through you falling into that shit.”
“Yeah, that's Level 28 Infernal Fire,” Zorrobar said, wiping his face for the hundredth time as the sweat continued to pour from his round face. “That stuff won't mess about.”
"Lovely." Michelle/Michael said in unison, their expressions blank. "Should we find another way around?."
Lorelei shook her head, and Steffan took up the theme. "Look, if we go back, we're just going to find another equally crappy situation." His hands were shaking, she noticed, and well they might. Ent was already beginning to smoke - if they stood here much longer, his summons was going to be a fire hazard all of its own.
“Let’s get this over with, shall we?” Kris stepped forward, trying to reclaim some of that Charisma he’d been missing for the last day or so. He was refreshing his Skills as fast as possible, but the worry of the group was starting to overpower the sense of calm he was projecting, and there was a nervous edge now, a crack in his voice that hadn't been there before. “As long as we stick to the plan, we should be okay.”
“Do we even ‘ave a plan?” Pete shouted over his shoulder as he stepped onto the tightrope, feet spread wide, shield up as if that would somehow protect him from the lava. The rope bowed and groaned immediately, swinging madly with his every step. The man’s bulk didn’t help matters, and Lorelei swore she saw the nearest support start to fray already.
Zorrobar wiped his face again. “If the plan is ‘don’t die horribly.’ I'm on board. Anything past that is a bonus.”
Behind her, Hild grunted. "Look, if he can make it across, the rest of us will be fine."
"And if not? You okay just watching him die?" Even Chrissy's facade of optimistic joy was fraying slightly in the face of the heat blistering up from below.
Lorelei wanted to write something reassuring, but there wasn’t really anything coming to mind. The situation was fucked. She was aware Kris was eyeing her, his expression almost predatory. She could feel that familiar tugging sensation in her mind—the faint, constant pressure of Kris trying to keep everyone compliant, even when things were obviously falling apart. She wanted to shake him, to scream at him to stop messing with their heads, but that would require opening her mouth. And she sensed she'd enjoy it.
***Cold Comfort Message***
Look, I know this is probably grasping at straws, but each time you are able to resist the bullshit he's throwing out, you get a shot at a new resistance Skill. You've crapped out so far - for a luck-based avatar, you really are having a run of shitty rolls - but just by the good old law of averages, you've got to hit paydirt soon.
"Awesome," Lorelei thought back. "You keep an eye on that, and I'll focus on not, you know, dying. Teamwork, right?"
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
"Just keep moving!" Kris called out to the tank, louder now, projecting even more false confidence of his. "You’ve got this."
***Nope. Not that time either Message ***
At just that moment, Pete faltered. Because of course he did. His boots were too big, and his stance was too wide for the narrow tightrope. He tried to take another step, but the rope swung beneath him like an angry pendulum. Improbably, Hild's response was to dash forward trying to counterbalance the rope’s erratic swaying with her own weight and movement.
***Help Message***
Bet you feel bad ragging on her all the time now, don't you? That's some proper hero shit, she's trying. I mean, she's manifestly fucked, but there are some Title-worthy balls on display here. In fact . . .
Axes swung down.
They came out of nowhere—massive, spinning blades that dropped from thin air like insane ninjas. Despite being one wobble away from certain death, Pete triggered a Skill and raised his shield just in time, deflecting the first strike with a loud clang. The force of the impact sent him staggering, and the tightrope shuddered beneath his weight, the wooden beams on either side creaking ominously.
Hild reached his side, steadied him while raising her axe, and swung it at the next blade. Sparks flew, and for a moment, Lorelei could’ve sworn the woman was smiling. This was the kind of thing that got a Valkyrie out of bed in the morning, apparently.
***Help Message***
That or the massive stat buff her new 'Only Competent Person In the Immediate Area' Title is giving her.
Lorelei dismissed the message.
“We're not going to make it across that,” Steffan said. Ent grunted its agreement.
“Not with that attitude,” Kris shot back, but there was an edge to his voice now, a tension that suggested he was aware of just how unlikely it was any of the rest of them were going to survive one of those axe strikes.
As if to demonstrate their terminality, one of the axes swung down again, and Pete barely managed to block it, the weight of his shield dragging him backwards. Hild pushed him forward, her muscles straining under his weight. The tightrope groaned again, fraying visibly.
Zorrobar had taken to nervously pacing. “You think they’ve ever tested this? I mean, we’re technically below the level cap, right? This is illegal, right?”
Lorelei gave a little shrug as she watched Pete and Hild - somehow -reach the halfway point. It was a sign of how badly it was going that she could tell Pete’s hitherto unshakeable confidence was visibly cracking, his breathing ragged as he deflected another axe strike.
“Pete, you are heavier than a bloody troll in chainmail!” Hild gasped. Swinging her own axe again, sending sparks flying as it clashed with the spinning blades. “Move faster, or we’ll both fall.”
“Ahm tryin’, woman!”
Lorelei could feel the panic starting to bubble in her chest. This wasn’t going to work. The rope was going to snap. They were going to fall into the lava, and—
And then it happened.
Pete’s foot slipped, the rope finally giving way beneath him. His arms flailed wildly as the weight of his shield threw him off balance. He grabbed at the rope, but the combination of his armour and shield were just too much.
Hild moved quickly—too quickly, Lorelei thought. Apparently, the System was capable of giving out some decent title . . . Before Pete could tumble off the edge, she grabbed him by the collar, swinging her axe into the nearest pillar with all the force she could muster. The blade lodged into the stone, sending cracks spider-webbing across its surface. Hild held on tight as Pete dangled from her grip, his legs kicking uselessly above the lava.
For a moment, everything was still, except for the distant bubbling of the rock below.
Then, the pillar started to crumble. Because of course it did.
Lorelei’s heart stopped. If that pillar went, so would Hild. And Pete. And probably everyone else, because there was no way this deathtrap was going to stop there.
“Help ‘er!” Pete shouted, his voice strained as he dangled like a particularly unfortunate piñata.
“Kris, do something!” Hild called back.
And that was the final straw for Lorelei. Even in extremis, everyone was still looking to that fucking Charm Leech for salvation. Lorelei whipped and grabbed Zorrobar by the shoulder, pulling the mage toward her. “Fire up something strong,” she moaned, her words shrieking out in a parody of ecstasy. “You need to seal that crack before the whole thing comes down.”
Zorrobar, now pale as a ghost, nodded. He lifted his hands, summoning a glowing ball of flame between his fingers. “If this blows us all up, I’m blaming you.”
***Help Message***
I want it noted, sweetie, that - in deference to the danger of the situation - I am making no comment about the obvious 'crack sealing' gag that is being left right there . . .
Zorrobar's flame shot toward the pillar, bonding the splitting pillar with a hiss of steam. The stone glowed red-hot for a moment, but it held. Somehow, impossibly, it held.
“Pull him up. Now!" Lorelei yelled.
"Did she just say 'pull him off?" Chrissy whispered to Michael/Michelle, but the brother and sister stared blankly ahead.
With a grunt of effort, Hild hauled Pete back onto the tightrope, the man panting like he’d just sprinted across the entire course. Lorelei let out a breath she didn’t realise she’d been holding, her fists unclenching. That had been too close. Far too close.
Kris stepped forward, his face as serious as she’d ever seen it. “No more mistakes,” he said. He wasn’t charming anyone now—he was leading. And Lorelei really didn't like it. “We keep moving. We go all together. And we don’t stop.”
The rest of them nodded in grim agreement and, as one, they climbed onto the tightrope.