[I never thought I’d say this, but…]

Thank God Puck was in the mood for mischief.

The two dungeon masters sat in shocked silence for a moment.

Chubbles had been killed, seemingly on accident, by the pile-up Puck had caused. And the kids… had yet to notice?

[Surely, they’d see the notification…] Kepler mumbled.

The kids leapt to their feet, completely focused on Puck.

[… or not?]

Puck was laughing non-stop, darting through their delvers like a small hurricane, delighted by their ignorance. He tugged the girl’s hair—the same girl who had delved them earlier, Clare realized—making her squeal unhappily. Pinched the cheeks of the two boys and blew in all of their ears and eyes.

Clare couldn’t help laughing herself. What a farce!

One of the boys, the blond who had tried to touch the throne earlier, drew a knife and crouched to fighting position. The other two just ducked and covered, resigned to Puck’s harassment.

Puck backed away for the moment, assessing his only fighting opponent.

The blond sat back on his heels for a moment, too.

There was a tense standoff. The Diplurans' began to sing ‘The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly’s main theme.

Blondie startled at the sudden noise, and Puck attacked.

Thankfully, Puck had no weapon but his admittedly sharp nails and his fae sparks of pain magic.

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Blondie recovered with just a few scratches, swiping out with his knife. Puck dodged around it, but the boy kept up his assault—managing to keep Puck from getting in any more hits.

Unsatisfied, Puck hit him with his magic, causing the boy to flinch. Blondie, however, didn’t let it stop him. He threw himself recklessly forward, catching Puck by surprise and nicking one fragile wing.

Faeries weren’t actually supported by their wings, but they did use them to direct their flight. And mobility was Puck’s one advantage.

Blondie struck out again, sensing weakness. Puck managed to dodge, but just barely, and the boy continued striking relentlessly. He had pretty good aim.

The diplurans had moved onto something from ‘Inception,’ giving the fight an epic feeling. A feeling that was probably undeserved, but still entertaining.

Deserving or not, the fight was coming to a close. The boy had gotten Puck’s leg and other wing—nearly slicing it off.

Puck wobbled in the air, blue blood dripping. The blood wasn’t much, quantity wise, but faeries didn’t have a lot to start with.

The blond drew back, mouth ajar in surprise. Then he grinned and finished his opponent off.

If Clare hadn’t seen Puck die at every other dungeon servant’s hand, she might have been worried. As it was, only his pride had really been hurt.

Wow! She said, not taking her eyes from the delvers, That kid’s really good!

Kepler sniffed dismissively. [He’s still more useless than Astrid.]

Are you really comparing our Astrid to some rando? Clare huffed. Obviously, she’ll be better!

He proudly let a corner of his mouth quirk upwards. [Well, true.] He turned back to their territory. [Speaking of Astrid, she’s approaching the delvers.]

Wait—what?

It was true. Astrid had taken the water tunnels up into the stream at the border. She was now directly behind the delvers, blocking their exit.

Astrid, what are you doing? They would hurt her baby’s feelings again!

The water giant tilted her chin up proudly. [Don’t worry. I got this.]

No, but—The delvers hadn’t noticed Astrid yet. Maybe she could go back through the tunnels—

Kepler blew in her ear, startling her.

He chuckled. [She’ll be fine. You think a couple of kids can hurt her?]

Well… Clare chewed her non-existent lower lip.

Astrid crept forwards, giggling internally at the kids’ obliviousness.

What if Astrid started to think she was ugly? Or—

Kepler tugged Clare into his dusky embrace. [Don’t worry so much. Let’s just wait and see.]

She sighed, relaxing into him.

It’s not like they could keep Astrid safe from everything.

And, as a dungeon, ‘wait and see’ was all Clare could do.