The last visible fade sunk into the ground, disappearing as it died—again. We were atop the little hill that led to the mine-entrance to the Haunted Halls, and I had to admit, this time was a lot easier.

The undead refused to attack Daisy, something the cleric was thrilled about. If they ventured too close, either Alissa would cleave them with her absurdly large sword, or Briana would put an arrow through their eye.

It really was like clearing grey monsters that gave no xp back in the game.

“It’s clear all the way to the mine entrance,” Lexi said as she reappeared among us. The little faerie-dragon excelled at scouting. Her perception was only equaled by Briana’s. As my thoughts shifted to the elf, I glanced over to make sure she was okay. As we grew closer to the mine she had spoken less and less, and let’s be honest, the girl was already laconic.

With the town behind us, we continued ahead to the mine entrance. The old shaft was large enough for ten people to enter side by side and high enough that none of us had to duck to walk through. Rusty old tracks led deep in to the place. I couldn’t see far in because the light of the sun only illuminated twenty feet from the entrance.

Alissa, with her big sword over her shoulder like a club, took one step in.

“Hold it,” I said to the group. I scanned the surrounding area, making sure it was safe to do so.

“Is there a problem?” Briana asked. She had her long bow out and an arrow knocked and at the ready with three fingers brushed against the string, but not pulled back. From what I had seen, she could do that blindingly fast.

“No, we need to buff, is all,” I said. I had my back to them as I turned to make sure nothing was coming up behind us and when they said nothing I turned around to see four pairs of eyes staring at me.

“You want us to what?” Alissa asked.

“Buff... get ready to go in? Cast beneficial spells that protect all of us? Daisy can bless us and Lexi can use her daylight spell so we can all see—sorry Briana, not all of us can see in the dark,” I said with a shrug.

“Oh, is that what you meant?” Daisy said with a hesitant laugh. She sheathed her sword and held her hand up for a moment. Was it me, or did all the women have slightly pink, well, in Alissa’s case, dark green cheeks?

Daisy sang. It wasn’t a long song, just a soft tune one might sing under their breath. Her hand glowed a bright blue, building as the song built and suddenly it was unleashed, passing through all of us and dissipating a few feet behind me.

“What did that do?” Alissa asked, eying the healer carefully.

“It’s T’suni’s blessing. It protects from any sickness or disease for one day,” she explained.

“Useful in here,” Briana remarked.

Lexi was next. Her hands glowed as she summoned her daylight spell and then she hit herself with it, turning into a bright ball of light that was almost impossible to look at.

“Sweet Laurena,” Briana muttered as she shielded her eyes from the dragon's light. “Can you turn that down?”

“I can try,” Lexi replied. After a few seconds, the light level faded to that of a strong torch.

“Okay, I’ll go first. I know this place backward and forward,” I said. “Alissa, you stay behind me, then Daisy and Briana—What?” I asked. The three women, well four if I counted Lexi, were nervously glancing about.

“I don’t know how to tell you this, Nick,” Daisy started, but then stopped.

“You are a weakling,” Briana finished for her. “Maybe Alissa goes first. I seriously doubt anything in that whole Hall can hurt her. Daisy can follow and then you and II can bring up the rear.”

A weakling? WEAKLING?

I ground my teeth together and gave the elf a tight nod. I didn’t trust myself to speak for a good ten seconds. The girls moved into position and I found myself, once again, behind Daisy. She had her shield out, pulled close to her left side and her sword resting against it, ready for anything.

As far as I could tell, the mine looked exactly like it did in the game, stone walls carved out of the ground and wooden support beams every twenty feet to hold up the mass of rock above us. Lexi flew to the ceiling, casting as much light as she could for as far as she could.

“You never said why you wanted to come here,” Daisy said over her shoulder to Briana. “Are you looking for something?”

Briana, who walked backward half the time watching our six, stumbled a little before recovering. The blonde elf had her cloak off and was wearing her two-piece leather armor, a vest and pants that were stitched up the side and stopped at her hips. Before we’d entered the town, she’d taken a moment to braid her hair in a long elaborate maze that wrapped around her head.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Her brown leather boots made no sound as she stepped over the rocks and rubble of the floor. I really didn’t think she tripped on anything. She just seemed unwilling to speak of it. I shrugged. If she wanted to have a secret, that was fine. Heck, it even implied she had a secret in her character sheet. There was no reason to push her on it.

“It’s enough that she’s here,” I said, covering for her. I glanced back, and she shot me the glimmer of a grateful smile.

“Well, I know why I’m here. This is the only place I can find Fade Root,” Daisy said. She was slowly tapping her sword against her shield, and I guessed talking helped her nerves.

“What’s so special about it?” I asked.

“It’s both what caused the fade back there, and what cures the disease they can inflict with their wounds,” she said.

“Can’t you just—” I waved my free hand around. “—magic it away?”

“Not if the patient has had it for longer than an hour. After that, Fade root is their only hope. It’s sad, when someone ventures to close to this place... they’re alive, but not for long...” she let her voice trail off and I could imagine how bad it would be.

“We call them the walking wounded, where I come from,” I said.

“Why are you here Nick,” Briana asked from behind me. Her tone didn’t sound curious, more accusing. She certainly needed to work on her people skills. All that charisma was certainly stacked in the looks department.

Before I could answer— “We’re here to get Nick stronger,” Lexi added from above.

I cast my gaze at her and gave her a eye roll. “Et tu, Lexy?”

She giggled. “Come on, Nick, you have to admit. Despite your soldier training, compared to everyone else here, you’re on the weak side.”

I ignored her and focused on Daisy as we marched down the long tunnel that came to the worn out wooden staircase that circled down to the next level. To the right there was a huge hole in the wall that used to house the elevator system, but it was long since turned to scrap.

“I don’t really understand,” Briana said. “Why are you so weak? It’s like you’re a child or something. I don’t think I’ve ever met a person who was as... soft as you.”

I did my best to keep my anger in check. It’s hard when four women are calling you weak and you were a soldier and a damn good one at that. It’s a slap to the face of my self-image and everything in me screamed to show them how strong I was... but intellectually, I knew they were right. In this world, I was below average.

“Where I come from, I’m not weak, okay? This place has different rules, that is all. Wasn’t Lazieboiroy weak when he got here?” I asked Lexi. She flew around the ceiling in a little figure eight, going out over the big hole that once housed the lift, while Daisy examined the stairs to make sure they were safe.

“Oh yes, but he leveled quickly. The way he killed everyone and everything that got in his way was efficient, but sadistic. Before he stopped talking to me... he called it ‘power leveling. The only reason he didn’t kill me was because he needed me,” she said with a sad sigh. “At least at first. Then he just up and left one morning. That’s when he let Enthmar fall.”

“Why didn’t Adora simply send him back through?” I asked. If he was so evil, she should have seen it and undone what she did.

“Oh, you don’t know?” Lexi asked.

I shook my head.

“Are you speaking of Adora, Queen of Underdown?” Briana asked me.

“That’s the one. She’s my mistress, of sorts. She’s why I’m with Nick,” Lexi said, continuing her figure eight and causing the shadows to leap around the room.

“Your mistress,” Briana whispered. “Your mistress is the Goddess of Death?”

“Lexi, can you stop that for a moment? I can’t tell if these stairs will hold me or not,” Alissa asked.

“Sorry. So, Nick, to answer your question, when Adora sent you here, you came to her realm first. That is where she gave you equipment, and then she opened a portal to me and pushed you through.”

“Okay, I get it. Why doesn’t she open a portal and pull him out?”

Lexi fluttered down next to me, close enough I could make out her form even with the light shining from her.

“She can’t. If she directly interferes, then the other gods and demigods will interfere. Before you know it we’ll have another War of the Wastes and everyone dies."

This was the most she could do to save Mystaria. But with Roy, well it ended up being a disaster. She almost didn’t try again until she found you. Then it was like lightning struck and she knew where she’d gone wrong,” Lexi said.

“You serve the goddess of the underworld... directly?” Briana asked again, incapable of comprehending the idea.

“Is that unusual?” I asked the group.

“Yes,” Daisy said emphatically. “How common are the gods where you are from?” the healer asked.

“Fair point. This is kind-of a one-off situation, though,” I said to Daisy.

“Regardless,” Briana said, “You haven’t told me why you are here?”

“You see... uh, how to say this...” I had no idea how to explain?

“There’s a huge army coming to destroy everything and everyone in the world, and Nick is the only one who can stop them!” Lexi said for me, as she zoomed around excitedly.

Or we could just go with the blunt truth.

“Army... coming for us... and you are going to stop them?” Briana asked, as if she didn’t quite believe what she was hearing.

I waved my sword around a little, waiting for her to laugh. Then she did.

“No, really, he is,” Lexi said when the elf’s belly laugh turned into a chuckle.

“He can barely fight. How is he going to face down an army?” Briana asked.

She wasn’t wrong. I’d already screwed up, gambling on my class when I should have waited to select warrior, which is what I excelled at in the game. I loved playing the tank, leading from the front, and now I’m worse off than a caster without the advantage of being a glass cannon.

Alissa took her first step on the stairs and smiled. “I think it will hold,” she said. Then she took another step and the whole thing creaked. She looked at me, then down to the stairs, “ah darn,” she muttered. The entire staircase gave out under her, collapsing hundreds of pounds of old timber down three flights as she fell down to the next level, which caused it to buckle until the entire staircase was a pile of rubble seventy feet down crashing in a huge column of dust.

Daisy coughed as she tried to escape the massive wall of dust.

I ran to the edge and yelled for Alissa. There was so much dust and debris I couldn’t see very far.

“Uh, Nick,” Daisy said, tapping me on the back.

“Lexi, can you get down there and—”

“NICK!” Daisy yelled, jerking me back by my cuirass. Behind us were four large hobgoblins with shiny black armor and wicked looking scimitars they wielded with two hands. Damage dealers. These guys were not dressed in a hodgepodge of armor, but the outfits of elite mobs.

“Crap,” I muttered. “It’s a trap.”