Milo blew on his cannon, and it glowed. “Phantom doesn’t like pain. It won’t take us long.”

“Grizzizzik?” Derek asked.

The rogue pointed. “Keeping my eye on them. They just disappeared over there, and I’m certain he’s sprung two of his own traps.”

Ezekiel slipped out of the van. “Can we make it before he reaches the army?”

“I don’t know where the army is,” Grizzizzik said.

“That’s fair.” Ezekiel sniffed, then he touched his head, wincing.

The rogue gave him a look. “You alright?”

“It’s kind of bright today, isn’t it?” Ezekiel shaded his eyes.

Grizzizzik glanced at the sky, then back at the cleric and said nothing. Rafael wasn’t sure how to take this. It was about as bright as any other day. He could only assume this was a hint of the wererat, but he didn’t enjoy thinking about it.

Alejandra’s phone beeped. “That’s ten minutes. Let’s go.”

“Single file, step where I step. Phantom’s an idiot, but we still need to take this carefully. Please.” Grizzizzik gave Hraktar a pointed look.

The fighter folded his arms. “I’m bigger than you. It’s not my fault I set off traps from higher up.”

“Then crouch.” With a fluid movement, Grizzizzik lifted his hood and started off.

Rafael fell between Derek and Alejandra. The going was silent. Grizzizzik held his rapier, his eyes darting over the open space. Rafael listened to Alejandra’s hitched breathing, worried she might have a panic attack.

The rogue held up a hand, frowning. Everyone stopped, not breathing. “Son of a bitch,” Grizzizzik muttered.

The ground shook beneath them. Milo threw his hands out. “Shit, Grizzizzik, what did you do?”

The answer came when the ground disappeared from under them. Rafael braced himself for the fall and hoped Hraktar wasn’t anywhere near him.

They landed, the wind knocked out of Rafael. Grizzizzik growled as the pit grew dark again. Rafael coughed, looking up to watch whatever covering kept the pit hidden, had snapped back into place. It was pitch black inside.

“Sound off. Everyone alive?” Ezekiel asked.

There was a chorus from all five characters that they were fine.

“Alejandra? Derek?” Rafael asked.

They were both fine. There was a bit of scuffling before light illuminated the pit. Derek had his phone out and turned on the flashlight, getting to his feet. “Well, someone rolled low.”

“The dice have nothing to do with it.” Grizzizzik brushed off his cloak. “I successfully got us past three other traps. With so many traps, one was bound to get past me.”

“Right.” Derek placed his hands in his hair and shook them. “Sounds good, Grizzizzik. At least there weren’t spikes in this one.”

Ezekiel looked at the trapdoor above them, about twelve feet. “So, how do we get out?”

Grizzizzik pulled out his thieves’ tools. “There’s always a mechanism somewhere.” He glanced around, then pointed to a box halfway up. “There. Hraktar?”

Hraktar moved forward, then reached out a hand. Grizzizzik grasped it, climbing up the fighter’s body before sitting on his shoulders, opening the box. Rafael watched, fascinated. Grizzizzik and Hraktar often butted heads, but when he thought about it, they were also often fighting side by side in every battle. Maybe this was what Tyler meant about them working well together.

Derek held up his phone. “Do you need the flashlight?”

The rogue pointed to the corner of his eye. “Dark vision.”

“Oh. Right.”

He went back to twisting his tools around.

Clarissa watched, almost bemused. “You could use your mage hand for that. I hear arcane tricksters can do this with magic.”

“Oh, really?” Ezekiel asked, impressed.

Grizzizzik grumbled something unintelligible. Clarissa shook her head, smiling. “You might need it in the future, and you’ll want to practice.”

Tools clinked together as Grizzizzik glared at the box. “I’m not using magic unless I have to.”

With a final twist, the opening lifted, and daylight returned. Grizzizzik returned the tools to his inventory before climbing off Hraktar’s shoulder. Clarissa got closer to the edge. “I can climb up there as a spider.”

Ezekiel took out some rope from his inventory. “I have some rope we can use to climb out.” Clarissa took it, placing it in her own.

“Did you notice where the traps were?” Grizzizzik asked.

“I noticed the darts in the trees not that far back.”

Grizzizzik nodded. “Good. Don’t tie it around that tree. Tie it around the other one.”

Hraktar rubbed his shoulder. “Will it be strong enough for me?”

“It should, as long as you double it,” Milo said, glancing at Clarissa.

The cleric gave the fighter a firm pat on the upper arm. “Think light thoughts.”

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Hraktar winced at the touch, causing his muscles to ripple. “I’ll go last.”

With a swirl of sand, Clarissa disappeared. They were all super careful as Hraktar scooped up the wolf spider, reaching as high as he could, letting Clarissa the spider scuttle up the side of the wall. Rafael waited, heart hammering. He wasn’t sure how long they remained down here, but every minute they were trapped was another minute Tyler got closer to a goblin army.

It didn’t take long before the rope dropped into the pit. Milo gave it a good tug before climbing up. One by one, they took turns. Rafael climbed the rope, hoping it wouldn’t break halfway through. Once he got to the top of the pit, he shaded his eyes to try and see Phantom or Tyler, but they were gone.

Ezekiel and Milo helped Derek climb over the top. He panted, sitting on the ground. Rafael glanced at him, raising an eyebrow. “You alright?”

“Let’s just say strength isn’t one of my abilities,” Derek said.

Rafael walked over to the edge of the pit, watching Alejandra climbing with Hraktar at the bottom, ready to catch her if she slipped. Rafael knelt down, grabbing Alejandra’s elbow once she was close enough and helped her up the rest of the way.

“Are you okay?”

She rubbed her wrist. “Yeah. I’m fine.”

Hraktar was left. They all glanced at him as he looked at the rope.

“Come on, big guy. We’ve got you,” Milo said.

It didn’t comfort the fighter. “Perhaps you should go on ahead without me. I can figure out a way. We’re wasting time.”

Grizzizzik gave a thumbs up. “We’ll be back for you soon.”

The rogue started to leave, but Ezekiel grabbed him by his cloak hood, keeping him in place. “Not going to happen.” Ezekiel looked at Hraktar. “If things go south, we’ll need every member of our team. Especially our fighter. We won’t leave you behind.”

Rafael frowned, folding his arms. It made sense for them to need each other. Their group was splintered, but at least their characters could still work together.

Hraktar sighed, then started up the rope. He went slowly at the beginning, but when he got halfway, he sped up. Once he was near enough, Ezekiel and Milo hoisted him up.

“Great job thinking light,” Ezekiel said, clapping him on the back again.

“Yeah, uh… no problem.”

Rafael glanced at everyone’s hit points. None of them escaped unscathed from the fall. The one hurting the most was Ezekiel, who lost four hit points. Milo lost four hit points, too, but it looked much worse on Ezekiel. He was down to fourteen, whereas the mana fusor still had a healthy twenty-four hit points. He really needed to level Ezekiel up.

Grizzizzik wrapped up the rope again before tossing it to Ezekiel. Alejandra gave Hraktar a hug, and he hugged her back.

“Come on, we’ve got to keep going.” Grizzizzik checked his weapons.

They walked deeper into the outskirts of town. Grizzizzik’s shoulders relaxed the farther they got. He knelt and picked up an arrow with a touch of blood. Grizzizzik sniffed it before tossing it aside. “Don’t touch it. It’s poisoned,” he said as casually as ever.

“Poisoned?” Derek asked.

“I hope it nicked Phantom. It’ll slow him down.” Grizzizzik stood up, following the tracks.

There was a hissing and a familiar rattling.

“Ah, shit,” Rafael said. They had strayed far from the path, so it was a matter of time before they ran into a rattlesnake. Or three.

Grizzizzik shoved a hand to the side, keeping everyone behind him. He started hissing back at the snakes, almost snarling. Milo approached with his flamethrower, but Clarissa grabbed his arm. “Don’t agitate the poor dears.”

“Princess,” Ezekiel started to say.

“Hush. I’m trying to listen.” She knelt next to three snakes. “Hello, my lovelies.” She reached out to pet the rattlesnake like she would to Quetzal. Something deep inside Rafael said the next thing that would happen was the snake would bite her, and Ezekiel would have to heal her, but the snake did nothing. It kept hissing, examining her hands. “We mean no harm. One of our dear friends has been kidnapped, and we need to locate him.” She listened to their hissing, all three snakes lifting their bodies to speak with her better. Rafael stared, wondering if they were magical creatures, but he was pretty sure the magical kind would be twenty feet long. They must be from earth.

Clarissa giggled, which felt strange for a woman talking to three rattlesnakes. “Why yes. Those are the two we’re looking for. Have you seen any goblins or hobgoblins about?” There was more hissing. “Yes, the goblins will be short, nasty little things. Hobgoblins about our size.” Rafael and Derek exchanged glances as there was more hissing. “Oh. Oh dear, that’s troublesome indeed. Thank you for the information.” She was going full on Disney princess right now. The only thing she was missing was ordering creatures to clean a room. “Thank you, my friends. We will leave you in peace.” There was another hiss. “Yes. That one especially will leave you alone.” She pointed at Grizzizzik with her thumb. “I will see to it personally.”

Clarissa stood up, brushing herself off. “There are twenty goblins and eight hobgoblins. Also, two creatures the snakes described as large. Hraktar size large, but not as muscular.”

“Hmm, so Phantom’s been lying to us,” Grizzizzik said.

Milo placed his flamethrower on his shoulder. “Is anyone surprised?”

“Don’t hurt them. They know our intentions, and they won’t hurt us.” Clarissa gave a pointed stare at Grizzizzik. He grumbled.

“Fine.”

“This way.” Clarissa lifted her dress enough to step over bushes.

Grizzizzik grumbled again as he followed her. Rafael hid a smile as he moved, giving the snakes plenty of space.

They approached a hiking trail, one Rafael wasn’t familiar with, but the air shifted. He heard the shrieking and the jeers. There was a tiny dip before a deeper drop off. Grizzizzik took Clarissa’s shoulder, placing a finger to his lips. He then crouched down and crept forward toward the drop off. Rafael folded his arms, feeling antsy. He hoped Phantom and Tyler weren’t here yet, but they’d taken too long getting out of that trap.

Grizzizzik slinked back, looking grim. True, he always looked grim, but Rafael had a bad feeling about this one. “They’ve got that kid surrounded by the hobgoblins. They’re torturing him.”

Alejandra gasped, and Derek stiffened. “What?”

“Or at least they’re stabbing him over and over again. No doubt learning he can’t be killed and figuring out why,” Grizzizzik said.

Rafael rubbed his forehead. “Shit.”

“And the creatures the snakes were describing were ogres,” Grizzizzik said. “Two ogres fighting for dominance. I’d give them time to beat each other, but Phantom is a little too stab happy with that Tyler kid.”

All the characters glanced at Ezekiel, waiting. Ezekiel was rubbing his chin. “The priority is getting Tyler out of Phantom’s hands. Clarissa, do you have another animal change in you?”

She shook her head. “No. We haven’t exactly been resting.”

“Alright. Then the best idea is to go in fast and hard. Hit them as many times as we can before they can react. Milo, Hraktar, you circle around and hit the goblins. That flamethrower should hit them well enough. And Hraktar, look threatening to draw most of the crowd to you.”

“It’s going to be so hard for you,” Grizzizzik muttered.

“Clarissa, Grizzizzik, and I will work on extracting Tyler safely. Grizzizzik, you take on Phantom. Clarissa and I will deal with any hobgoblins that remain. Any questions?”

Everyone shook their heads, with Milo already holding his cannon.

“I’ll cast pass without trace, and we can have that until Milo and Hraktar part ways,” Clarissa said.

“Good idea.” Ezekiel glanced at Hraktar and Milo. “Then I’ll cast guidance to both of you.”

“I don’t need your spell, Princess.” Grizzizzik almost sounded offended. “Milo and Hraktar need it more.”

“No, Ezekiel needs it more.” Clarissa took out a few sprigs. “Since you’re with us, you’ll enjoy an almost invisible existence.”

Grizzizzik grumbled, but Clarissa was already muttering the incantation as Ezekiel started his own spell.

Time slowed down, and Rafael saw the words in his sight.

Roll for stealth.

The spell would work beautifully, at least while they were together. Once Milo and Hraktar moved away, hopefully they had enough of a stealth to get a few shots in. Or a shot where Milo burns at least ten goblins.

Rafael rolled and groaned when it landed on a three. He got a +1 with his modifier, but that added +10 was a godsend. Fourteen would have to be enough.

Time resumed again, and Rafael studied the faces of Derek and Alejandra. They did not look too worried, which helped him not feel so uneasy.

“Alright, let’s go.” Ezekiel turned toward Rafael, Derek, and Alejandra. “You three stay here.”

“We’ll keep an eye out,” Derek said.

Their characters slid quietly down the dip before disappearing.