Jenny left Farad in Balrem’s care, the former wincing as the half orc tightened the bandage around his thigh. His leathers had done a good job of protecting him, but the cut was still long, if not particularly deep. Her squad had performed well, reacting quickly to the reset, but it would have been better by far if they hadn’t been put in that situation to begin with. She should have been more conscious of the time they’d spent in the dungeon, there was no excuse. At least once Farad was bandaged they could leave.
“There’s a chest on one of the platforms in the wind room! That wasn’t there before, right?” Jeremy announced and Jenny cursed internally, she’d jinxed it.
“No, it wasn’t,” Jenny confirmed stifling a sigh, “Let’s take a look, we should at least note it’s position.”
Sure enough, about halfway into the room, far off to one side, a large chest similar to the one found in the saferoom, rested atop a low pillar. Squinting, Jenny reckoned there was just enough space for one person to comfortably stand in front of it, or two at a squeeze.
“It’s not on a natural path towards the trial token,” commented Vidan, appearing beside her with his usual soft steps.
The disks disappearing when the trial reset was expected, but still felt like a kick in the teeth.
“You think the dungeon is trying to tempt us to take a longer route by offering treasure or offering a sort of half-measure?” Jenny asked, suddenly realising with a sinking feeling why Jeremy had been so fidgety since he found it.
“Might also be temptin’ us te explore the others fer loot.” Balrem hollered from beside Farad not quite controlling a shiver, “Might take a few days before I head back in them tunnels though.”
Jenny turned to Lydia, “I don’t suppose your spells could grab the chest from here?”
“Much too far I’m afraid.”
As Jeremy took an audibly deep breath, Jenny schooled her expression.
Jeremy stiffened ramrod straight and made his request in an awkward, rapid, rambling burst, “Ma’am I’d like the chance to try to open the chest, I know it’s dangerous but I’m willing to accept the risk and…”
Jenny wished she could look at Vidan or Lydia to try to discern their take on this. Gods above! She wanted to just order everyone back to safety, but that wouldn’t be fair to the promising recruit. This was a rare opportunity to evolve his class, that aligned with their mission, and he deserved the chance to take it.
“Very well.” She cut him off, “You may attempt to retrieve the chest. Do not attempt to retrieve the token under any circumstances and be prepared to retreat if ordered. That room was dangerous for Trafin, I don’t need to tell you what that means for you.”
“Thank you ma’am!” Jeremy gave the most enthusiastic salute she’d ever received, or maybe it was just nerves, it was hard to tell.
“Let me give you a few pointers on climbing…” Vidan quickly pulled him aside demonstrating finger positions and talking about crimps, passionate about the topic as only a [ranger] could be.
Jenny seized the distraction to slip beside Lydia and quietly ask, “If projectiles start flying in there, can your magic help protect him?”
She grimaced, “Not all the way at the treasure chest, but if he can get a little closer, I might be able to block some things. I wasn’t expecting us to tackle this today, so most of my spells were prepared for the boar and underwater combat.”
Jenny gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder, “Not your fault, do what you can if things go sideways. This one was my decision.”
Lydia opened her mouth but with a frustrated expression closed it again. It was clear she wanted to say something, but Jenny was put in command and it would mess with her chance of getting a leadership skill. Jenny could only hope that if she’d made a colossal mistake the [wizard] wouldn’t let that stop her.
Jeremy set off at a ponderous pace, carefully considering every jump before he took it. Jenny couldn’t help but see the sharp contrast to how Trafin had smoothly maintained his momentum between each jump and handhold. Still, she’d rather he took it too slow than too fast. Her breath caught in her throat as Jeremy landed with his torso on a pillar, hands not quite managing to grasp the far side before he began to slide off. He scrambled managing to find a grip and pull himself up just in time, breathing noticeably faster than before. Jenny let out her own breath. Should she let him continue? She could order the retreat and no one would argue, but deep down she knew she’d be doing it not because it was right for the mission, or for Jeremy, but because she was responsible if something went wrong. So, she bit her lip and kept silent.
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Balrem shouted some encouragement to Jeremy and the others quickly followed. Jenny didn’t trust herself to speak, but Jeremy seemed to find his pace a bit more. It wasn’t pretty, or particularly quick, but he was getting there. Some advice from Vidan about when to move quickly and when to pause was helping, and he seemed to be learning as he went. With only a few more dicey moments, he reached the chest.
“Don’t try and open it. Take a look to see if you can find any traps. Vidan, Lydia can you offer any advice for this?”
“Sorry, not my area.”
“My mana sense can’t reach that far unfortunately. If you find any spell circles, I may be able to advise, but dungeons seem to work magic in a more sorcerous than wizardly fashion.”
A tense minute of Jeremy peering all over and around the chest followed, the only sound muffled metallic echoes from elsewhere in the dungeon.
“I don’t see anything.”
Jenny took a breath, “Okay, do you think you can lift the chest? Is it bolted to the floor or anything?”
“Not that I can see…” he began nervously.
“Don’t worry, I don’t expect you to carry it all the way back - though carrying the contents may not be much easier – but, do you think you could get it over to there?” Jenny pointed to a large platform a few jumps away.
“Sure thing!”
He had lifted the small chest and slung it under one arm before she could even react. Thankfully no deluge of projectiles was unleashed. The jumps were a little precarious with one arm occupied and his balance thrown off but he managed.
“Set it down on the platform and wait for my go before you do anything.” Jenny ordered, not about to repeat her mistake. “In a moment you’re going to kick open the lid then I want you to get the hell away from it and towards us as fast as you can. If projectiles start firing you don’t stop, you keep moving, am I understood?”
“Yes Ma’am!”
“Hopefully if things go to shit it will be centred on the platform the chest was originally on, but regardless you keep moving. You do not stop for treasure without my order, you understand?”
“Yes Ma’am!”
Jenny turned to the others, “If anyone has a skill that can help, be ready.”
“Yes Ma’am!” A chorus this time, though the expression on most of the faces told her they were feeling powerless to help. She couldn’t blame them, so was she. They’d done what they could.
“READY.
GO!”
Time seemed to become suddenly granular, her mind locking in on one detail at a time. The kick was a little off, tipping the whole chest over, but none-the-less flipping the lid open. A faint rattling was all the warning as tiles fell from the walls revealing metal tubes hidden behind. Jeremy was already landing grasping the handholds on the wall he’d chosen beforehand. Whooshing from the tubes, ball bearings and wooden splinters spread and whistled through the air. It was chaos, but even as Jeremy swung and sprang to the next handholds, she realised her hunch had been right; the attacks were centred on the platform where the chest had been. Yet, the maelstrom was wide and she saw Jeremy wince as a splinter hit his back, puncturing the leather.
He didn’t slow despite the injury, throwing himself from one spot the next even as he picked up a few more minor scrapes and bruises. As he slammed into a platform Jenny winced, he might be sustaining as much injury from his rapid traversal as he was from the trap. Like some mirage where questioning its effectiveness caused it to disappear, the air was suddenly clear. The only sounds Jeremy’s grunts and heavy breathing and the pattering and shattering of projectiles against the ground deep below.
Jeremy hesitated for a moment and Jenny could almost see the adrenaline starting to fade. That wouldn’t be good, then his injuries would slow him.
“Don’t stop! We don’t know for sure that’s the end of it.”
She was giving up the treasure, whatever it might be, but she didn’t care. Getting everyone back safe, with the intel, was the priority.
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“You tested the strategies, obtained the intel, and got everyone out with only minor injuries. Sounds like a successful mission to me, well done.” The warmth in Sarge’s voice sent a shiver of pleasure through her as she sat across from him. “It’s unfortunate we didn’t find out what was in the chest, but you made the right call not risking it further.” He turned to the two sitting beside her, “Vidan, Lydia, you were both there, anything to add? Any advice for Jenny here?”
Vidan cleared his throat, “Actually I noticed some sort of pale cloth roll out when the chest was overturned. It was hard to tell at that distance, but perhaps bandages? As for advice, overall, you did well. There were things I would have done differently, like being a little firmer with Gerrard but that could be put down to a difference in styles. For the record, I think you did the right thing letting Jeremy try for the chest, I might have let him go back for some of the treasure, but I respect the choice not to. Having said that, on my first official attempt at command…” He grinned, “I absolutely wouldn’t have had the balls to let him try in the first place. It was a damn impressive showing.”
“I don’t have much to add to that,” Lydia spoke softly. “Farad ended up in significant danger when the dungeon reset, so keeping track of that is something to work on, but had I been able to do so I would have warned you. Perhaps some sort of tool…” She rubbed her lip with her knuckle pondering.
Vidan winced, “Sorry I held us back so long on the light puzzle.”
“It’s not your fault. It might lack danger but I think it’s supposed to be the longest to compensate.” Jenny cut in, grateful for how kind they were with their feedback. “Perhaps we should bring a mirror of some sort next time?”
“A steel mirror could work.”
“I’ve read an account of a light mage working with soldiers with polished bronze shields. It’s unclear how much was practically tested versus merely theoretical, and it’s likely less practical for this problem than a small steel mirror, but it may be of some interest to you if you class advances to be more closely tied with your affinity.”
“Hmmm, sounds interesting. I didn’t tend to work with the guard much before and large shields aren’t really practical for rangers, but perhaps with the dungeon we could make something work.”
Sarge had a beaming grin on his face, “More collaboration and coordination between our groups can only be a good thing." He leaned in a little closer, "Don’t suppose you’ve any suggestions for metal affinity?”