Saying that, the dwarf walked away with his bear. The four youngsters quickly followed behind right away.

The exploration that followed witnessed various stunts like sneaking, evading monsters and golems. The golems became easier to defeat once their weakness became known.

Bangor and Tobar assisted the party by guiding their partners away from the traps scattered along their path, whether if they were already used, broken or still active.

Eventually they arrived at a floor-less hall. Only ceilings and pillars which pierced deep into the dark below.

Declan tried to stare at dark bottom, and turned pale. “The ice stakes are sharp like giant needles… Should we fall on them, we’re dead…”

“How can we cross without a path?” Sophia complained.

Bangor answered, “Y’all bringing rope and hook with you, aye? Grab ’em. Maven, you prepare your archery set. And Sophia, you might hafta use your ice magic at times. About the path, be patient. The Goddess of Eternal Ice will never trap herself. Look, that’s our path."

All eyes looked towards the place Bangor pointed to. A transparent violet object was floating on air, slowly moving to where they were.

“Gravitium Crystal as a footing!” said Declan, amazed. “And it looks like it has been set up to move in order.”

Sophia commented, “A spell that hasn’t eroded in centuries… this must be a creation of a high level magician.”

Reyl added, “Seems like it can only carry one person at a time. Let me try it first.”

With the rope and hook at hand, Reyl took a square off before jumping to the floating foothold which was already pretty close. But Maven stopped him.

“No, let me do it,” said the elf before jumping onto the float. Slowly she then stood up.

The agile girl put an arrow on her bow while keep watching her surroundings. Meanwhile the floating crystal under her changed its direction, away from her friends.

Without blinking, always alert

Without moving, always ready

Without speaking, always act

The ceiling above and the floor below were no different, filled with crystallized ice forming seas of stalactites and stalagmites ready to kill. However, there were certainly among them, stakes flat enough to become a footing. She found one soon enough, which turned out to be a footpath.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Aside from that, Maven also noticed the presence of round, dark creatures, streaking her way. Naturally that surprised her. Her right hand already pulled the bow string with all her might…

The arrow flew like a flash of thunder, piercing through one of the floating spheres. The other three opened their giant eyes which covered their entire front side. Black bat wings expanded behind them, flapping rapidly. Since their wings were short, those creatures couldn’t fly very fast.

Maven yelled. “Watch out! Evil eyes are coming for us!”

Again she shot an arrow, piercing right thorugh a giant red eye ball, that it shrunk like a balloon. A moment later, the other two flying eyes countered by firing a beam of black light from their eyes.

Not only blocking it, her dagger also reflected the dark light the other way. Maven tried to direct the refection toward the enemy, but failed. Thus, the barrage of dark beams managed to scratch her.

But suddenly those monsters were cut in two and fried.

Maven stopped her action. She looked towards her savior. Reyl was riding the crystal float their way and landed beside her.

“Your dance was beautiful just now,” he praised while showing his rare smile. “For a moment I was stunned, and the next moment I mustered my Crescent Firebolt.”

“Phew, thank goodness. It was my intention to avoid wasting my arrows on them. Again I have to rely on someone else.” Maven sheathed back her daggers.

“Indeed. Next time, try to refrain from taking initiative sometimes. Perhaps you can take turns with others so no one will run out of stamina way before the others.”

“And ended up holding back everyone else. Yes, I get it. Look, Sophia is coming.”

The red-haired girl she pointed at immediately jumped and landed beside Maven and Reyl, responding to their friendliness with a frown.

On the other hand, Reyl simply turned around and said, “Now is my turn to go first.” He made haste through the footpath made of the hard crystal, leaving.

Maven was confused. They were supposed to be an item. What was with the growing distant between them?

==oOo==

Even more strange was the fact that Sophia tended to spend time chatting with Declan. Even though all she heard from their exchanges were about comparison between Declan’s knowledge, Sophia’s notes from Madame Lei, and what they had found on the field, their tone was growing more intimate. They were even almost whispering that even Maven found it difficult to listen with her sharp hearing.

Besides, Maven was busy with keeping watch and tracking with the guide. She intermittently checked on Reyl who was getting paler. Reyl, hang in there! She thought.

The grand crystal tunnels felt really silent.

Suddenly Tobar stopped moving. Bangor whispered to Maven and her party. “Halt. I’m feeling…” He sniffed the air, rubbed the crystal floor with both hands and sticked his ears on it. “There’s a guard here.”

Maven gasped, “Another golem?”

Bangor shook his head. “No. Even bigger."

Sophia was terrified. “What? Don’t tell me…”

Declan nodded. “The most guarded place. This means we’re already close to the core, yes?”

“Aye, with the worsening cold around us, it's very possible.” Bangor answered before languishing. “But I never confirmed it, because here was where me and Tobar were defeated and forced to go back with empty hands.”

Reyl responded, “But surely this time will be different, since the four of us are here, ready to help you guys.”

Maven added, “Besides, we haven't found the cure to crylium crystal, so the core chamber is our last bet. We don’t have the time to explore every corner of this massive palace.”

Declan responded, “If that’s the case, I will renew our protective spells, Omnigalatr!”

His trident radiated white light, pouring over the entire party until their body started to emit cooling and calming white light.

“Thank you, Dec.” Sophia smiled sweetly towards the handsome cleric. “I also have gathered enough strength to cast a spell.”

Reyl looked towards his five friends, saying, “I must thank you for going this far for me, an ordinary man who is not a hero, not an important person."