The party’s attention went to Gideon, who stared back at the cleric without a word.

Lioness turned to the ranger to gauge her reaction, but was met with stony silence.

“I’m not sure this is going to work,” Gideon said.

Forge nodded his understanding and began storing their supplies back into his ring.

Lioness turned first to Falcon, and then to Forge, and the smug smile on her face dropped.

“But I figured it out,” she said.

“Congratulations,” Falcon replied, busying herself with her pack.

Exasperated, the cleric placed her hands on her hips.

“We’re a team. We should know this sort of thing!”

Gideon stood, handing his pack to Forge, who stored it away.

“Let’s get ready for the next room, Falcon, are you taking point?” Gideon asked.

The ranger nodded her reply, and the group got ready to move.

“Wait! We should talk about this!” Lioness yelled.

Gideon faced the cleric.

“This is neither the time nor the place to be discussing it. Let’s just get through this and we’ll sort it out later.”

Lioness’s eyes widened at the icy calm that had overtaken the normally gregarious swordsman.

After a moment, she nodded and went to collect her pack.

“Fight dungeon,” Cinder sent.

Forge studied the small dragon, then nodded.

“Okay, but stay close, and listen to orders, understand?”

The dragon nodded his head and darted up to coil around his neck.

And like that, they entered the passage that would lead them to the next room of the dungeon.

***

Falcon handed her torch off to Forge and brought out the light stone.

Activating it with an effort of will, she rolled the stone out into the cavern.

Tempted to remove his mask to see the effect of the small magic rock, Forge peered around the room.

The room was much smaller than the last, with a path that wound around stalagmites, ending at a clear exit to the next room.

“Hold up,” he whispered to the party scout.

Swiveling her head to look back at him, Falcon nodded.

“Cinder, I want you to fly up and get a dragon’s eye view of the area, then come back here and tell us what you see,” Forge ordered.

With a grin, the dragon launched himself into the air and flew out over the cavern, head swiveling to take in everything.

Less than a minute later, the dragon returned and landed on his shoulder.

“What did you see?” Forge asked.

“Floor holes,” Cinder responded, sending the message to the entire party.

“How big were the holes, and how many?” Falcon whispered.

Cinder scrunched up his face as he thought about the question.

“Cinder-size. Lots.”

“Holes in the cavern floor. A new type of geese or something else?” Gideon whispered.

Falcon peered over to where the light stone illuminated the cavern.

“I don’t think we want to try sneaking past the holes, waiting for something to pop out at us.”

She turned back to Forge and Cinder.

“I have an idea. What if Cinder flies over them and breathes down fire to get their attention? He can then fly back to us, and you and I can target whatever comes out, at range.”

Nodding, Forge scratched the chin of the dragon that stood perched on his shoulder.

“What do you think, Cinder? Want to give it a try?”

“Yes!”

“Alright, let’s do it. But remember, your job is to strike, then move back here, staying high enough that you don’t interfere with our field of fire. Got it?” he asked.

Not bothering to reply, the dragon launched himself into the air with a wicked grin and flew out into the cavern.

Forge watched as the dragon took a deep breath and then thrust his head forward, unleashing a torrent of flame aimed at the floor.

Cinder turned his head, engulfing every hole in the sticky flame, before finally stopping, taking a deep breath, and flying back to Forge.

Unearthly sounding honks of outrage came from the cavern floor, as snakelike creatures erupted from their dens, nearly all burning with dragon fire, chased by gouts of flame, spit from their former hiding places.

Forge fired a Flame Bolt at the closest goose-headed snake, sending it flying backwards in an explosion of blue fire.

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Not ready for the severity of the dragon’s attack, Falcon quickly aimed and fired, spearing another of the monsters through the head.

The pair took turns firing as the confused creatures panicked and dashed around, finding flames erupting from their former homes.

An idea struck Forge, and he held out a hand and grabbed the fire, moving it to engulf the remaining snakes.

After a moment, there was no sound other than the sizzling feathered snakes and the sputtering flames coming from the holes in the stone.

Forge stepped out and reduced the flames until they were gone.

Now that he was closer, he could feel the fuel source that was coming from the cavern floor.

“I think the holes in the floor were releasing methane,” he said to the party.

“Burning!” Cinder sent the group.

Falcon, Gideon, and Lioness joined him as they took in the bodies of the monsters.

“Well, that was easy.” Gideon said, kneeling to pry open one of the goose-snakes mouth with a knife.

“Look at these. Rows of fangs, and I’m pretty sure these are venom sacs behind the jaw or bill, I guess,” he said, holding up the snake for them to see.

Falcon gave the dragon a wink.

“I had no idea your fire was that strong. Great job, Cinder!”

The dragon preened at the praise.

“Great work, Cinder! Think you can find any treasure?” Gideon asked.

The dragon puffed up proudly, gave a nod, then took off back out over the cavern.

The party watched the dragon fly around the room.

“I can see how you could clear a dungeon on your own, now,” Gideon said, turning to Forge.

Not bothering to correct the swordsman, he nodded and moved to a snake and looted the body.

Checking his System logs, he turned back to the group.

“Goose meat, cores, reagents, and venom sacs,” he called out.

Gideon gave the paladin a thumbs up and turned to Falcon.

“We really need to create some new battle plans. While this has gone really well, it could have easily gone sideways without a dragon and an elementalist,” he said, watching the pair.

Falcon nodded her agreement.

“Did you know that 80 percent of groups lose at least one member on their first dungeon run?” she asked.

“Yeah, I don’t think anyone that joins the Guild has any illusions regarding their lifespan. On one hand, you may become powerful enough to live forever; on the other, dead from a goose-snake bite in a Tier One dungeon,” Gideon replied.

“It’s us, though. We need to do better to keep up with them,” Falcon said.

Gideon shrugged.

“You’re right, of course, but this is still early days. Most teams have someone that’s cobbled together more System points than the others. And we just happen to be on a team with someone that not only has a magic class and warrior class but also a divine class. Not to mention a small dragon that can set an entire area aflame with magic fire.”

“All the more reason for us to focus on what we can do for the party,” Falcon said as she strapped her bow back into place.

“Once we get back, we can revisit it. Hopefully, my contact will have found us a place to set up as our headquarters,” Gideon said.

The ranger turned to him with a grin.

“Headquarters? Sounds official.”

The swordsman laughed.

“Well, I guess it sounds a bit grandiose. House would be a more accurate description. But every team needs to start somewhere.”

Falcon’s eyes shifted over the swordsman’s shoulder, and he turned around.

Lioness walked up; her hands clasped in front of her.

“This will be quick. I just wanted to let you know I’m sorry for prying. And I’ll understand if you want me off the team. It shouldn’t be a problem after we finish the dungeon.”

Gideon interrupted her before she could continue.

“If you want off the team, it’s fine. Just know, you don’t have to leave. We can forget about the last conversation and just keep going, providing you want to stay on.”

She nodded.

“I do. I thought I was being clever, but it just came out as pompous and…wrong. I’m truly sorry, and I’ll see if I can figure out a way to make up for it.”

The swordsman grinned wickedly.

“Well…there’s one thing you can do for me.”

The cleric stared at him for a long moment before she understood, then shook her head at the unasked question.

“Anything but taking the Cook Class,” she amended.

Gideon made a show of sulking, but his mischievous grin reappeared quickly.

“I know. Besides, I’m actually kind of looking forward to it,” he laughed.

About to say something further, she stopped herself, and instead placed a companionable hand on his shoulder.

“Thank you, Gideon.”

He gave her a grin, then turned to Falcon.

“Group hug?” he asked.

The ranger shook her head, and Lioness pulled her hand back.

“Not unless we were freezing cold and needed to huddle together for warmth,” Falcon laughed.

“Considering we have a fire-breathing dragon and a fire Elementalist, I don’t see us ever being cold,” Lioness added.

Gideon laughed, then turned toward the dragon, who had finished his loop of the cavern and had landed by a hole in the cavern floor.

“Here!”

Everyone moved over to where the dragon stood proudly by one of the goose-snake dens.

Forge peered into the hole before placing his entire head inside.

Quickly standing, he took off his mask and took a few deep breaths.

“There’s definitely gas down there. I can’t smell it, but it’ll asphyxiate anyone that goes in.”

The party looked at each other.

“Do we leave it?” Falcon asked.

Lioness snorted.

“We have two healers in the party. If one of us goes down there, we can tie a rope around them and pull them back up.”

Looking around, she laughed.

“I’ll do it. Tie a rope around me, and Forge, you heal me if necessary.”

Forge placed his mask back on.

“I should probably…”

Falcon elbowed him.

“She called it. Let her do it.”

The ranger stepped forward and tied a thin silk rope around her waist, and the cleric gave her a grateful look.

Dropping to their knees, Gideon and Forge worked on expanding the hole with their daggers and increased strength, and soon the hole was wide enough for the cleric to easily climb inside.

Gideon tied the end of the rope to his waist and wrapped the cord around his hand, before nodding to Lioness.

“The bottom is about twelve feet down, and I saw a few recesses in the wall,” Forge said.

Nodding, the cleric took a deep breath and jumped into the hole.

Gideon counted out loud as they waited for a signal.

At 35 seconds, he felt two sharp tugs on the rope and began steadily pulling the rope up.

Forge reached into the hole, grabbing the rope with one hand, then placing the other on the cleric, and cast Lay on Hands.

The cleric started, but Forge grabbed her and pulled her out of the hole and laying her down nearby, before she could panic.

Lioness’s eyes fluttered for a moment and then she sat up coughing.

“I dropped the chest,” she said, frowning at the pit.

Without a word, Forge dropped into the snake den, stored the chest that now lay in clear sight at the bottom, then leaped up to grab the ledge and pull himself out.

Breathing heavily, he gave the cleric a thumbs up.

“You got it out into the open so I could see it,” he said.

Lioness stood up and walked over to the paladin, then bent down and gave him a hug.

“Thank you!”

Forge froze at the unfamiliar physical affection, then hugged her back.

It was nice having people that cared about you; he thought.

“Want to see what we got,” he said.

Lioness laughed and released him, and the team gathered around as he summoned the chest.

“All you, Falcon,” Gideon said.

First, inspecting the chest, then running her hands over it, she carefully turned it to face away from them and opened the lid.

A green glob shot from the open chest in an arc to land on the ground ten feet away.

The group watched as the projectile sizzled on the floor before all turning back to the grinning ranger.

“That means there’s something good in here,” she said, with a pleased smile.

Slowly turning the small chest around, they all looked inside.

Large jewels glittered in the pile of gold coins, and a small black statue lay half buried inside.

“Forge, can you store the gold, please?” Gideon asked.

Cinder snatched away two coins, before Forge could touch and store the gold in his ring, drawing a laugh from the party.

The chest now had a dozen large jewels and seven small black statues in the shape of animals.

Unwilling to touch them, the party looked on.

“Any idea, Gideon?” Lioness asked.

The swordsman shook his head.

“Nope. I have no idea what they are, or if they’re magic.”

He closed the lid.

“Forge, go ahead and store it. We can have the Guild appraise it later.”

Storing the chest, the paladin looked around the room, his eyes falling on the light stone that was now melted to the floor.

Sensing where he was looking, Falcon shrugged.

“Easy come, easy go. I was going to see if I could pry it out, but the magic’s fading and it’s dimming. So, not worth retrieving.”

Nodding, Forge gestured for Cinder to join him.

The dragon leaped up to his shoulder, and they turned to the exit.

“Ready for the next room?” he asked.

“I have a feeling this one will be my time to shine,” Gideon said, hand on the basket hilt of his sword.

Falcon stepped past him, smacking him on the arm as she walked by.

“Be careful what you wish for,” she said.