Tiff’s eyes went wide. “What’s she doing here?”

Annabelle brushed some dust off her coat. “I happened to be with Daniel when things went down and decided for my own reasons to lend him a hand.”

“And we’re incredibly grateful,” Achmed said.

Tiff started walking toward us, followed closely by her remaining teammates. They weren’t holding their weapons in a threatening way, but it was easy to tell they were wary, ready for action at any moment.

“If I can make a suggestion,” I said. “You don’t know that this is a competition between teams. You’ve both taken heavy losses and who knows what’s waiting down here, so there’s no telling if either of you will be able to complete it on your own. Your quests do have the same goal, after all, so why don’t you work together? Maybe you can both finish your quests.”

“I like that idea,” Achmed said immediately.

Tiff took longer to think about it.

“He makes a good point,” her teammate Grace said. She probably just felt guilty for shooting at me.

“I’m not opposed to working together,” Tiff said. “But in the end, I don’t intend to let someone else snatch this quest away from us. Got it?”

Achmed held his hands up in a placating gesture. “Let’s just worry about that later. Like Daniel said, maybe we can both succeed.” He lowered one hand and held the other out. It wasn’t in a fist this time, but poised for a handshake. “Let’s work together, okay?”

Tiff took his hand and they shook on it. “Deal,” she said. Then she turned to me. “And what are you gonna do?”

“I suppose that’s up to you and Achmed. If you want me to leave, I will. But Team Legion are my friends and I’d like to help if you’ll let me. Maybe we can become friends too.”

“I’ll be honest,” Tiff said. “I don’t trust you. You assembled that team with Sigrid and her friend, plus that girl who won the tournament and that healer, but then you didn’t join it yourself. I don’t get that.”

She didn’t sugarcoat things. As someone who never had the confidence to say what I really thought most of the time, I had to respect that.

We hadn’t told anybody else about how I wasn’t on the team because I hadn’t been allowed to join them, and I’d never considered how that had looked from the outside. I supposed that did look a little suspect. I also couldn’t help but notice how Tiff only mentioned the women on the team, all of whom were very strong. No doubt she would’ve loved to have had them all on Team Spice, so I couldn’t fault her if she blamed me for stealing them away first.

“Then,” Tiff continued, “you come out of nowhere and solve not one but two dungeons? Alone? I don’t believe it. You’re hiding something.”

Well, she wasn’t completely wrong.

“I admit when you put it like that it does look bad,” Achmed said, “but Daniel helped us once with a subjugation quest that would’ve ended very badly if it weren’t for him. He also taught us how to use our affinities, among other things. And right before this he totally saved our skins against the cultists. Plus I think if you got to know him you’d see he’s a really nice guy. You should give him a chance.”

“Wow,” I said. “Thank you, Achmed.”

“It’s just the truth,” he said.

Tiff seemed to consider Achmed’s words and make a decision. “Fine. Who knows what’s waiting for us up ahead. I suppose I should accept help if it’s offered.” Next she turned to Annabelle. “You coming too?”

Annabelle planted her staff’s base on the floor and stood up tall. “Are you kidding? I forgot how much fun this is.”

The rest of Team Spice seemed to relax a little and introductions were made. Tiff and Achmed started sharing details about their quests. Both quests had both started off vague, telling them to simply investigate strange things happening, albeit different things. The quests had changed as they’d investigated, growing more and more specific, ultimately leading both teams to these catacombs where they were tasked with stopping the cult’s nefarious plans.

Neither’s quest had uncovered the full story, but when their information was pooled a clearer picture emerged: the so-called healers at the Cathedral were really a group of demon-worshiping cultists who had been working secretly toward an unknown goal that was on the cusp of becoming reality. Nobody knew what that goal was exactly, but it couldn’t be good.

As well, neither quest had mentioned anything about this being an affinity dungeon.

While they were talking I noticed that almost everyone carried some kind of injuries, some more serious than others, and most were pretty low on mana.

“Say, would you guys like to heal up before we get going?” I said.

“I’d love to,” Tiff said, “but we’re all out of potions.”

“Same here,” Achmed said. “Although there’s probably a treasure trove of healing potions around here somewhere.”

“If they weren’t destroyed when the Cathedral was demolished,” Tiff said. I noticed Achmed and Annabelle both glance at me.

Oopsie.

“Never mind that,” I said quickly. “I can help. But listen: I’m gonna do something, and I want everyone here to promise that what happens in the catacombs stays in the catacombs. Okay?”

“You have an inside line on some potions or something, Daniel?” Achmed said.

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“Something like that,” I said.

“You have an ability that you don’t want us talking about to other people,” Tiff said. “I get it.”

“Exactly that,” I said.

“Then please do it,” Achmed said. “Whatever it is, I trust you.”

Tiff eyed me, if anything seeming more suspicious of me now. “Well if it can heal us, I’m not really in a position to turn that down.”

“What do we need to do?” Achmed said.

“Nothing,” I said.

I used the power I’d created for the Magikist’s staff to cure the blight, Everybody Gets A Heal. It had originally been a simple area effect heal, and that’s how I used it now. A golden glow spread in a dome shape around me to encompass everyone, and as it did each person’s wounds began to shine with golden light. Every injury, from tiny scratches to a broken arm to a gaping gash in the side of one of the Team Spice women, they all healed.

“Holy shit, Daniel. Were you always able to do that?” Achmed said.

“It’s a newly acquired thing,” I said, feeling a bit woozy. The more there was to heal, the greater the mana required. I had enough mana, but using so much at one time still packed a wallop.

Achmed must’ve seen me teeter a bit because he grabbed my arm to steady me on my feet.

“I saw that woman on Team Maple Leaf heal a teammate during a team versus team quest we had with them once, but I’ve never seen a mass heal power before,” Tiff said. “Thank you.” Several other Players added their thanks as well.

“See? I told you he was a good guy,” Achmed said.

“Nina,” I said. “That healer’s name is Nina. If you get a chance, you should get to know her. She’s quite an incredible person.”

“Oh? Is that love I smell in the air?” Achmed said. “Do you have a crush on this Nina?”

I gave Achmed a dry stare. “I’m not sure what you’re smelling, but that’s not it. Her husband’s name is Byron, and he also happens to be on Team Maple Leaf. He’s pretty incredible too.”

“My bad,” Achmed said.

“You will have to introduce me to Nina sometime, then,” Tiff said. “For now, we should get moving.”

Achmed sighed. “Yup. This quest isn’t gonna solve itself.”

“Do you have time to eat something first?” I said.

One of Achmed’s guys groaned. “I’d make time, if only we had any food.” He looked toward Tiff’s group hopefully.

Grace shook her head. “We already ate all our supplies too.”

I looked around. For some reason, all eyes were on me. “What happens in the catacombs...” I said.

“Stays in the catacombs,” they recited.

I pulled some bento boxes from my inventory, enough for everyone. I’d been getting tired of ham sandwiches, and too much orc meat makes you hella gassy, so I had tasked Maisie, the best cook among the doppels, to make a bunch of bento boxes filled with a variety of tasty treats that I could keep in my inventory. I never knew what would be in a box until I opened it, and who doesn’t love surprises?

My favorite was the chicken shawarma. Well, we called it chicken. Really it was made using the meat from those Stymphalian birds I’d watched pick apart some of Team Invictus and which, luckily enough, just so happened to have the exact taste and texture of chicken.

Everyone seemed grateful, but I got some strange looks.

“Got any picnic blankets in there, bud?” Achmed said with a grin.

I reached into the inventory. “Well they’re not plaid, but...”

“Dude, I was kidding!”

While they were busy scarfing down snacks, I went to the archway closest to where we’d dropped down and peered down it. Annabelle came to join me.

“I suppose I ought to stop being surprised when you do something unexpected,” she said.

“Yeah,” I said, using my synthesized version of Sam’s powers to covertly summon a ferret. “That would probably be a good idea.”

“I see nothing, I know nothing,” Annabelle said.

I sent the wiry rodent scampering off to scout out ahead. I’d incorporated Sam’s other ability to see through his summoned creature’s eyes into my new Arise And Shine power, and I switched it on to see what was up ahead. The ferret’s senses were much sharper than the mouse I’d used another time. I soon saw some dead cultists on the floor through its eyes. I immediately assumed it was Team Spice’s work, a suspicion that was quickly confirmed by one of Grace’s broken arrows sticking out of a cultist’s chest.

If this was the way Tiff’s group had come, then we would need to go the other way.

I brought the ferret scurrying back. It crawled up my leg and hid under my jacket. As I crossed the room to the other side nobody paid me any attention. The members of Team Spice and Team Legion were chatting amongst themselves as they chowed down my rations, and I was pleased to notice that Achmed had persuaded everyone to share their strengths so that he and Tiff could come up with some strategies for how to work together.

I reached the archway leading in the opposite direction and scanned ahead. It was a straight tunnel that branched into a four-way intersection about twenty feet ahead. My ferret friend wriggled back down my leg and scuttled out to snoop this way.

I could see, hear, and even smell everything it did. The catacombs were even more extensive than I’d imagined, a warren of tunnels and rooms dug out of the bedrock that snaked under the city. I found a few interesting rooms, and even a few domesticated guardian monsters along the way, but no cultists. The ferret was surprisingly good at opening doors, but there were a few rooms I couldn’t see into because the door was locked. The most interesting one was a large metal door with no visible keyhole, just an indentation in the middle of it that was the shape and size of a child's open hand.

After some exploration I heard the sound of many voices chanting in an unknown language. My little scout followed the noise to find its source and came to a tunnel with an imposing door at the end of it. Two cultists stood guard in front of the door, armed with darkslingers. The chanting was definitely coming from the other side.

Suddenly, I was startled by Tiff’s voice right beside me. “What’re you doing?” she said.

I was so surprised I accidentally dispelled my ferret summon.

I blinked away the abrupt shock of returning to my own vision and saw her staring at me, making no effort to conceal her mistrust.

“Using some other mysterious ability to see what’s up ahead?” she said.

“Uh, something like that,” I said.

“I’m starting to see why you’ve already got two dungeons.”

“I had a lot of help, but to be honest I mostly just got lucky.”

“If you say so,” she said, then looked away from me and peered into the tunnel ahead. “Find anything?”

“I think so.”

She gave a curt nod. “Good.”

I grabbed a broken femur from a niche nearby and started sketching out the tunnels ahead in the dust on the floor. I soon had a map of the area ahead drawn, marking the most direct route to the location of the chanting.

“I won’t ask how you know this,” Tiff said.

“I appreciate that,” I said.

“How sure are you that this is accurate?”

“A hundred percent.”

She bit her lower lip as she studied the map. “Can we expect any resistance along the way?”

“I don’t think so, but be ready for anything.”

“Always am.”

Tiff studied the map a bit more with fierce intensity, then she spun on her heel and called out to the others in a stern voice. “Okay people, finish up and let’s go end this thing.”

Every member of Team Spice chomped down the remainder of their food and readied their weapons.

“Listen up, everyone,” Tiff said. “Here's the plan.”