Sighing, Aster waved his hand. He turned to Silas. “I understand that we took someone close to you. If you can’t cooperate with us, that’s quite fine. We’ll put you back in the crystal, and a month from now, we’ll let you leave the dungeon.”

“How do I know you’re telling the truth?” Silas asked, eyes narrowed.

Milo waved his hands. “They even let me try to bring Alice back after she tried to kill Stella. They’re honest people.”

Silas glanced at Milo and twisted his lips, but ultimately bowed his head. “Right. So either I go with you and fight on your side… with the people who killed Alice, or I rot away in a crystal for god-knows-how-long on your word alone.”

“Silas…” Milo said, pleading.

Aster nodded. “That’s about it, yeah.”

“You don’t mince words, huh,” Silas said.

Aster shrugged. “If I was good with words, I wouldn’t have picked up a sword. Easier to make a living with a pen than with blood.”

Sighing again, Silas shook his head. He looked over into the shadows. “And you’re holding Alice hostage.”

“Not so much. No matter what you choose, we can’t give her back to you,” Aster said, putting his hands up.

Silas twisted his lips. After a moment, he took a deep breath and shook his head. “Fine. I’ll help you. But only because I don’t want to be stuck in this hellhole for a moment longer.”

Aster grinned and clapped his shoulder. “Good man. That’s what I wanted to hear.”

“If it’s a hellhole, then why’d you come in here and kill Momma?” Stella asked, scowling at Silas.

“She was the boss! It’s her job to get killed by adventurers,” Silas said, rolling his eyes.

Aster frowned at him. “Or it might be her job to protect Stella from invaders like you. Did you ever consider that?”

“No, why the hell would I? Listen to yourself, Aster. You’re talking like you’ve never conquered a dungeon. I’ve heard about your exploits. How many dungeons have you conquered? Ten? Twenty? Fifty?” Silas asked, shaking his head at Aster.

Stella looked at Aster. Her eyes got big.

Aster grinned at Stella and ruffled her hair. “They were big, mature dungeons. Not like you. They were prepared.”

“How do you know that?” Stella asked.

“Yeah, how do you know that?” Silas threw out, glaring at Aster.

“Well, there wasn’t a lonely little Dungeon Spirit crying in the boss room, for one,” Aster said, nodding at Stella.

Stella blushed and whirled around, hiding her face. “Wasn’t crying.”

Silas rolled his eyes and looked at Milo. “How do you put up with it?”

“Put up with what?” Milo asked.

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“This sugar-sweetness…” Silas sighed. “What did I expect?”

“I really don’t know. He didn’t think you’d have a problem with Alice, either,” Aster said, shrugging.

“What? He never paid her attention when she was alive, so why would he—” Milo argued.

Silas sighed deeply and ran a hand through his hair. “Where’s Fontea and Jaro? I need someone reasonable to talk to.”

“Outside,” Milo muttered, scowling at the ground.

“They had an argument,” Aster explained.

“About what? No, wait. I can guess,” Silas muttered.

A shadow flickered behind Silas. The strings on his lute strummed.

“Alice, I told you not to touch…” Silas jolted. He whirled around.

Alice stood there, one hand on his lute. Her red eyes stared unblinkingly into his, her black cloth-like skin shivering slightly where she stood. She tilted her head.

Silas looked at her, then at Milo, who nodded. He frowned, lifting a finger. “This is Alice?”

Alice opened her mouth and hissed, revealing razor-sharp teeth. Her eyes locked on to his finger.

Silas quickly retracted his finger and hid his hands behind him.

“That’s Alice, Silas,” Milo said softly.

Reaching her clawed hands out, Alice slowly reached out for the lute. She drew it back toward her, the wooden body bumping over the cave floor.

“Hey!” Silas reached for his lute.

Alice snatched it up and darted away, vanishing into the shadows.

“Dammit. I can’t be a bard without my instrument,” Silas grumbled, climbing to his feet.

Stella stood on her tiptoes. She looked up into the shadow. “Alice!”

“That’s not Alice. That’s just a monster,” Silas said, turning away. He looked at Milo. “What happened? What did they do to you? Did they brainwash you?”

“They didn’t do anything,” Milo said, shaking his head.

“Alice, it’s okay. He knows it’s you,” Stella called.

Silas wrinkled his nose. “It’s not her anymore, is it? It’s just a monster. Stop pretending. It isn’t cute.”

Stella shook her head at him. “She remembers you. Just a little, and it’s scaring her. You have to be gentle with her.”

“Gentle? With a monster?” Silas scoffed.

A howl sounded down the stone passageways, the now-familiar sound of the berserker entering battle. Aster glanced back at the cave entrance. “We don’t have long. Silas, get Alice to give your lute back, and let’s go.”

“Get her to… she’s a monster! She won’t listen,” Silas said, shaking his head.

“She says, ‘you never listened,’” Stella reported.

“What does that mean?” Silas grumbled.

Milo coughed. “Er, Silas… you two were always fighting…”

Silas glared at Milo, then turned up to stare into the shadows. Two red eyes gazed back at him. “If you’re really Alice, you know how much that lute means to me. Give it back.”

A low hiss emanated from the dark.

“She didn’t like that,” Stella informed him.

“Thanks, I didn’t know,” Silas muttered under his breath. He looked up at Alice, then sighed. “Alright, fine. Alice. Give it back, please?”

There was a pause. Alice chittered back, looking expectantly at Stella.

“She says you still don’t believe her. And she says, ‘you know what to do if you want it back.’”

Silas wrinkled his nose. He hesitated, then let out a deep sigh and dug into his pocket. “Whatever. Fine!”

He pulled out a silver coin and held it up.

Alice darted down from the ceiling and snatched up the coin, dropping the lute. Cursing under his breath, Silas lunged and caught the lute, wrapping his arms around it. He caressed the wooden instrument and sighed. “Thank goodness.”

Up on the ceiling, Alice made a noise that was half-chitter and half-chuckle.

“She says, ‘give me gold next time,’” Stella translated.

Silas stiffened. Milo looked over at him. He opened his mouth.

Before Milo could say anything, Silas jabbed a finger at him. “That means nothing.”

“Silas, she remembers. She’s remembering. It’s Alice. Stella saved her when I couldn’t,” Milo said, putting a hand on Silas’ shoulder.

“Isn’t this all against your religion? Shouldn’t you be all for smiting monster-Alice to death?” Silas asked, shrugging off Milo’s hand.

Milo wrinkled his nose. “I was never that fond of the priesthood, to be quite honest.”

Another howl echoed down the passageways.

Stella shut her eyes. Her eyebrows flew up, and she ran over to Aster and tugged at his leg. “They’re coming!”

“Let’s get a move on,” Aster said, hefting his hammer. “Stella, can you jog with us?”

“I’ll try,” Stella said, nodding.

Even if only for a bit, it’s better if she runs on her own. I need to reserve as much stamina as I can. This won’t be a short battle. Aster nodded at the others. “Milo, Silas?”

“I’m ready,” Milo said, tucking the sides of his robes into his belt to give his legs better room to swing. He clutched his staff in both hands.

Silas glanced up at Alice, then put his lute over his shoulder, letting it dangle from its strap. “Let’s go.”