Carrie takes several steps back from the edge of the pitfall before sprinting toward it; She leaps, and her body sails through the air a good two meters before skidding to a stop on the top of a limestone pillar.

"God that was nerve wracking to watch..." Simon complains.

Kevin doesn't say anything as he gets a running start before making the same jump to the pillar where Carrie stands; He slams into her as he lands, and they both nearly fall over.

"Fuck! Wait until I move forward next time!" Carrie swears angrily.

Kevin nods with a nervous laugh as he picks himself up. Carrie can't get much momentum going from this crowded pillar, but she makes the next jump regardless.

"Now wait for me to move again!" Carrie shouts.

Simon pretends he wasn't getting ready to jump to the pillar Kevin is standing on, and they watch as she makes her way to the third stone column.

"Ok, now Kevin goes, then Simon!" Carrie yells.

Kevin takes a few hops across his pillar before jumping the gap, and he sticks the landing.

Simon hesitates a little now that its his turn. The eagerness he displayed earlier is nowhere to be found as he takes a few shaky steps back from the edge of the pitfall. Deep breaths; And Simon sprints toward the edge with his eyes flitting from the ground to the gap ahead.

He jumps up, and overshoots the pillar of rock! Carrie nearly leaps off her own pillar at the sight of Simon slipping into the pitfall; She stops herself when she hears Simon make a soft grunting sound as he lands safely in the shadows.

"I-I'm fine! There's a bunch of moss down here... and a ladder?" Simon calls out.

Kevin and Carrie both watch as Simon climbs his way up a previously unnoticed wooden ladder. The fear and anxiety Simon felt the first time around has vanished; Knowing there's a cushiony carpet of moss below you makes the experience much less harrowing.

"Ok, I'm going to go for that chest over there!" Carrie calls out.

The others watch as Carrie makes several jumps without pausing, and she reaches the larger pillar with the wooden chest. Kevin and Simon follow, albeit Simon sticks to the main path and waits for them by the room's exit door.

"What's inside?" Kevin asks.

Carrie has a sour look on her face as Kevin walks up, and he smiles a little as he sees a pile of dried jerky in the treasure chest. Carrie wordlessly picks up a piece, and bites into it curiously. Kevin watches as her expression changes to one of mild satisfaction, and he eats some himself.

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"It's not bad." Carrie comments.

The two of them stuff their pockets full of the salted meat strips before making their way across the pitfall toward Simon. The parkour isn't too challenging, and the lack of consequence for falling bolsters their confidence.

"Rat Jerky?" Simon says incredulously.

Simon's nose is wrinkled as he inspect a piece of the stuff. His skill for appraisal reveals the true nature of the meat, but neither Kevin nor Carrie are bothered by it. Simon declines the meat before they press on through the next corridor.

The creak of the wooden door breaks the silence of the boss room. Kevin peeks inside, and his eyes widen a little as the sheer size of the Rat King. The room is quite spacious, albeit half the room is lowered into the ground.

"I don't think we're ready for this." Kevin whispers.

Kevin has shut the door quietly, and gives Carrie a serious look. Simon seems ready to leave after the scare of falling into a dark pit; Irritation is written across Carries face, and she lets out a groan of impatience.

"Seriously? We're wussing out now?" Carrie complains.

"Yes seriously. This isn't a game, Carrie. We're heading back out, and we'll return when we have some new skills at our disposal." Kevin explains.

With that the three of them make a quiet retreat out of the dungeon, despite Carrie's displeasure. Nothing new rears its ugly head on their way out, and they decide to return later when they're better prepared.

~

"Well that's not fun. I thought it was too easy, but they ran away when they saw my boss!"

Katia watched the entire delve, and felt her first two obstacles were a cake walk for this group. The moss in the pit might have been too kind of her, and the two frontliners treated Katia's rats like regular mice!

Quest Complete: Generous

Monster 'Pack Rat' unlocked!

The information on Pack Rats flows into Katia's mind as she unlocks the new monster. She quickly spawns one of the fat things in her second room, and looks at it in adoration. The thing has silky brown fur along with a pudgy body; It carries a haphazardly arranged bundle of junk on its back.

Katia looks closer at the Pack Rat's bundle only to realize it's made of rope as well as wood and bronze; Discounting the rope, Katia owns every item on the creature's back. Several reward items are stuck onto the thing's bag, including a Floor Map.

"Wow you're cute! How do I get that rope you've got there, lil guy?"

Quest Added: Packing Up

Objective: Steal from delvers 3 times using Pack Rats.

Reward: Rope material unlocked.

Katia is a little shocked by the system's sudden response, but she shrugs it off and starts contemplating where she can introduce Pack Rats into her dungeon. They can make use of their active skill to scamper at unreasonably fast speeds; This means faster thefts, and fast getaways. Pack Rats' weakness is their pitiful combat strength.

Inspiration strikes, and Katia is busy replacing her dungeon's limestone floors with wooden planks. There's more limestone beneath these wooden planks, yet enough of a gap to create a crawlspace big enough for the Pack Rats to move through. Dire Rats could also use this hidden area, however Rat Kings are far too large.

Wooden planks and structural supports aside, the new crawlspace connects rooms to one another in ways the corridors don't. With this set of hidden passages in place Katia can quickly direct her monsters to swarm anyone threatening her core. Of course she's not sure who could threaten a core incased in solid limestone, but it's good to prepare for the worst.

Katia finishes up this update to her dungeon by spawning a Pack Rat per chamber, and gives them instructions to try and steal items using hit and run tactics with their subfloor passages.

"I can't wait to see those delver's faces!"