"Kat, can I pick you up out of the water? I'm afraid the current might sweep you away." Kat, the tiny sentient opal, was sitting in the bottom of a channel at the moment. It looked artificial, as did most of the surroundings, but that may have been the work of the minions - who had recently vanished from sight, come to think of it. {Don't want. Scary.} She still sounded sickly. "But if you get swept away, who knows where you'll end up? I might not be able to follow you." {...Careful, Arc.}

Arc stepped into the water, which went above his waist. The lack of clothes to get wet was a mixed blessing, for it also meant a lack of pockets he could cradle Kat in. Bracing against the flow, he bent over and picked Kat up with his fingers. There was just the slightest feeling of some sort of connection being severed. {Hold tight.} "I won't block your vision, will I?" {Kat not see, sense. But Arc not obstacle.} Arc clenched her in his fist as he climbed out.

"Now where did those minions get off to?" {Unknown. Low power, domain lost. Minions revert to instinct.} From the sound of it, she wouldn't be able to directly control the minions again even if they found them, but it was still something to do. Afterwards, they could figure out what happens next. There were only two directions to go in the tunnel, so he arbitrarily picked one.

Walking upstream, Arc worried about Kat's health. Dungeons weren't supposed to move, were they? He might be worsening her condition by carrying her around like this. He was about to ask Kat what she needed to get stronger, when she spoke first. {Wait. Something important nearby... Here.} Arc was suddenly acutely aware of a certain spot in the channel, but now Kat's voice was fainter than ever. Arc prayed that whatever this important thing was, it was worth it.

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He found it amidst a pile of small rocks and other debris: a silver figurine of a woman with a shawl. She was swaddling... an empty space. "This is..." {Mine.} Arc knew what needed to be done. He took Kat, and slid her into the gap. There was still a lot of room left; had Kat shrunk recently? Arc was worried about her falling back out, but then she shone a bit brighter and grew some sort of a fine silk mesh that would keep her in place. {Thank you, Arky!} She sounded a lot better than before.

"And you're okay now, Kat?" {Kat's place, domain restored. Stored energy, proper flow.} "How did you get separated?" {Falling... Kat doesn't remember.} Arc nodded, knowing the feeling well. "There's a hole in the ceiling. Maybe you were dropped from there and got knocked loose?" {...Maybe?} The figurine had a half-rotten but still usable string on it, and Arc tied it around his neck. It was really heavy; there was no way he could be comfortable like this. He adjusted the string to make a proper harness that distributed the load across his shoulders. Much better.