To his surprise, Bill lowered himself, allowing Eli to clamber up and settle on his back, with a piece of leather armor between him and the moose’s shoulders. As the moose rose to his full height, Eli almost fell off. The animal snorted and threw his head back slightly, and Eli realized he’d been clinging too tightly. He loosened his grip, and Bill took off into the forest at a terrifying speed.

The leather padding did little to cushion the thumping, and each stride felt like a kick in the groin. The wind whipped around him as Bill charged through the underbrush. Eli could barely make out where they were going, and he kept his head down in an attempt to avoid the hanging branches and twigs scratching his face.

Within minutes, he was back with the group.

"There you are, Bill," Amy said, patting the moose’s neck. "Uh... Eli, are you okay?"

"Hurg."

"Eli?" Simon asked.

Eli looked up, everything spinning in his vision. "That was... awful," he said, letting out a small burp from the nausea.

Bill snorted, sounding almost derisive, before disappearing into Amy’s internal stable. As the moose departed, Eli fell off, landing in a bush that cushioned his fall slightly.

"Whoops, sorry," Amy said, hiding a smile.

Samantha was standing a little off to the side, leaning against a tree. She fiddled with one of her wands. "Don’t forget to mark this spot now."

"Let’s get going already," Cruella added. "It can’t be much farther now, and Amy has dealt with most of the traps herself."

"You have?" Eli asked. "How?"

Amy smiled. "I herded a bunch of rats in a straight line in front of us."

"Rats?" Eli asked, bewildered.

"There are a lot of rats in the forest," Amy explained. "I don’t need to tame them to guide where they're going. It’s a handy ability."

"That’s... surprisingly useful," Eli admitted.

Amy shrugged. "I am a shepherd, after all. It’s what I do."

"Why haven’t you picked a specialization?" Cruella asked.

Amy shrugged again. "I haven't been able to decide yet, and this is not the time. I’ll do it once Sasha is returned to us."

They started back out into the forest and found that the rats had not yet cleared the entire field of traps. Many were already triggered, but some remained active. Thankfully, they managed to navigate the danger through a combination of throwing rocks and careful stepping. By the time they made it to a sizable clearing, where the grass wasn't tall enough to obscure any traps, it was fully dark, and the only light came from Eli's and Samantha's orbs.

At first, they didn’t want to advertise their presence with the lights, but they soon found it impossible to make any headway without them.

"This clearing isn’t empty," Simon murmured, looking around.

A cluster of hastily put-together houses made of logs with what looked like branches and leaves for roofs took up most of the space. Pieces of garbage were scattered everywhere—tools, sheets, bits of metal, and copper wire lay among other clutter and discarded items. Glowstones were active in three out of the four buildings, but they saw no goblins and no sign of Solomon.

"Should I blast one of the houses?" Samantha asked, her voice a low whisper. "I think I'm going to blast one of the houses."

"Wait!" Amy said quickly. "Sasha could be in one of them."

They moved forward in a tight clump, stepping carefully in case any more of the metal plate traps appeared despite the low grass. With the low brightness on their light orbs, they were unfortunately unable to see a new type of trap. This time, it was a hair-thin wire stretched low across two almost invisible sticks in the grass. It was impossible to tell who triggered it, but suddenly an alarm blared, and what looked like a pair of cannons rose out of the ground on mechanical arms. Both of them whirred as they turned to point right at the party.

Everyone froze, looking around wildly. They saw no goblins, just the barrels of the cannons pointed in their direction.

The cannons fired, but instead of cannonballs, a mess of wires shot out, hurtling through the air. The wires clung to them, humming with electricity. Both Simon and Cruella sliced at the wires, cutting several, but it wasn’t enough. The wires pulsed with a surge of power, and every muscle in Eli's body seized up, leaving him paralyzed. Just like that, everything went black.

When Eli woke, the air smelled of earth and his own sweat. It was pitch black, and as he felt around, he realized he was sitting in some sort of hole. He couldn’t reach the top, but the muted sounds of the forest above told him there was some sort of cover blocking his way out.

"Hello?" Simon’s voice called.

"It's me," Eli replied, his voice relieved. "How are you?"

"Fine, I think," Simon answered. "What happened?"

"We passed out from the shock," Eli said. "We’re trapped."

"Can't see a damn thing."

"Hold on. Let me give us some light," Eli said.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

He attempted to cast Light in The Dark, but nothing happened. His mana was at zero, and even after waiting a few moments, it did not regenerate at all. Scratching his head, he discovered something new—a rounded metal bracelet around his wrist.

"I can't cast spells," Eli muttered, frustration creeping into his voice. "Someone put some sort of device on me."

"Same," Simon said. "I have no mana."

Eli ran his fingers across the metal bracelet, looking for a way to remove it, finding none. Frustrated, he pulled on the metal and energy drained from his arm. It fell limp to his side then immediately started tingling, like his circulation had been cut off but was now returning.

"Can't remove this damn thing," Eli said.

"Can you reach the top?" Eli asked, knowing Simon was much taller.

He heard Simon grunt as he tried to stretch. "No," Simon said, jumping up. "Even with jumping, I can’t reach it."

"Come sit on my shoulders," Simon suggested after a moment’s thought.

"Really?"

"We have to get out of here and find the others. I’m not going to stay a captive," Simon said, his words clipped and intense, his voice trembling slightly. Eli noticed but didn’t press him on it. Instead, he allowed Simon to hoist him up onto his shoulders.

Even with the added height, Eli still couldn’t reach the top. "Hold on, I’ll take out a sword and try again," he said. But as he reached for his inventory, he realized it wouldn’t open.

"I can’t access my inventory," Eli breathed, his frustration building. "The bracelet must be blocking everything."

They heard a shuffling sound from above, and then a metal hatch opened, revealing the night sky.

"You should have stayed away," a female goblin said, one Eli didn’t recognize.

"Who are you?" Eli asked, squinting up at her.

"It doesn’t matter who I am," the goblin replied. "You should have stayed out of this part of the forest. Now you can sit here and think about your actions in silence."

"I didn’t see any ‘No Trespassing’ signs," Eli muttered sarcastically.

"Oh?" the goblin replied. "Did the traps seem like a warm invitation to you?"

"Where are our friends?" Simon demanded.

"They’re fine… for now," the goblin said dismissively.

"Where is Solomon?" Eli pressed.

"Solomon will speak with you tomorrow. You should get some sleep now," the goblin replied.

The hatch shut again, and Eli furiously began to think of a way out of the mess they were in.

"Simon," Eli said finally, "I need you to try and break my bracelet."

They fumbled in the dark until Simon found Eli’s wrist and gripped the bracelet. He tried to tug it off, but the metal held firm, and soon Simon’s arms fell uselessly to his sides. The only result of their struggle was a burning sensation where the metal had scraped against Eli's skin.

"It’s like I can’t grip it properly, and then all my strength just drains away," Simon said, panic rising in his voice.

Eli nodded in understanding. "Don’t worry. I have another solution."

"What?"

"If you can’t break the bracelet, then, Simon… you’re going to have to break my hand."

"I can't break your hand," Simon said, his voice trembling. "I don’t like this at all."

Eli heard him swallow hard. They couldn’t stay in this pit much longer, or Simon would lose it.

"You can do it, Simon," Eli said, trying to sound confident.

"Why don’t you… why don’t you break mine instead?" Simon offered hesitantly.

"I don’t think I’m strong enough for it," Eli replied. "Just stomp on it until it’s good and broken."

Simon made sounds of protest, but Eli pushed the issue, arguing, "If I break your hand and I’m right about the bracelet, then I’ll be able to heal myself after. But if you’re free and I’m not, I won’t be able to heal you. Break my hand, Simon. You have to do it now, before they come back to check on us."

Silence hung heavy in the darkness. Finally, Simon whispered, "Fine. I’ll do it. Just… just don't leave me here after you’re free."

"Of course not. I would never do that," Eli reassured him. "Now please, break every bone in my hand."

Eli lay down and placed his hand on the ground atop a rock embedded in the earth. "I’m ready."

He soon felt Simon’s foot searching for his hand in the darkness. Eli held his breath as Simon’s heel drove down onto his hand. Bones snapped inside, but it wasn’t enough. A groan of pain escaped Eli as agony shot up his arm.

"Keep going," Eli said through clenched teeth. "You need to do more."

Simon’s breathing turned shallow and fitful, but he didn’t let up. His foot found Eli’s hand again, breaking more bones as Eli whimpered. Again and again, Simon stomped until Eli’s thumb finally snapped with a sickening crunch.

Tears ran down Eli’s face as he grunted and groaned in pain. He felt like he wanted to vomit. His head spun and his thoughts grew muddled. All he wanted was for the pain to stop, to escape it.

With another stomp and another crunch, his hand was barely more than a skin-bag of mush. Eli yanked his hand away with a gasp. "It’s enough," he grunted. "I think it’s enough. Now grab the bracelet and pull."

"Okay," Simon agreed.

More pain surged through Eli as Simon’s searching fingers accidentally grabbed his injured hand instead of the bracelet. Finally, Simon’s fingers found the metal, and he pulled. A jolt of pain, like lightning, surged through Eli, fraying every nerve in his body, but the bracelet finally came off.

Mana trickled back, and after a few agonizing seconds, Eli had just enough to heal himself. Even the healing process was painful, as his bones realigned, muscles formed, and his tendons and sinews knitted back into place.

"Did it work?" Simon asked anxiously.

"It worked," Eli confirmed, panting. "It worked. I’m free."

Sweat dripped down his chest and back as he healed himself again. Even without the bracelet, he felt weak, ravaged by the pain.

"Give me a moment," he croaked.

His mana quickly refilled, and he said, "Close your eyes, Simon. I’m going to give us some light."

He cast Light in The Dark, setting the brightness of his orb to the absolute minimum. Even so, it stung his eyes when it appeared. Wincing, he tested the fingers on his healed hand, finding them in working condition.

"Thank God," Simon whispered. "Oh, thank God."

Eli pulled an axe from his inventory. "Your turn, Simon."

Simon’s eyes widened. "You’re not… you’re not going to chop it off, are you?"

Eli blinked in surprise. "What? No, of course not! I’m going to chop the bracelet, not your hand."

Simon let out a nervous laugh and tentatively placed his hand on the rock where Eli had rested his hand. Eli raised the axe over his head, aiming carefully. Just as he was about to swing, a message appeared:

You do not meet the prerequisites to use item: Axe.

"Damn it," Eli muttered, lowering the axe.

Simon opened his eyes. "What’s wrong?"

"My class," Eli explained, frustrated. "I can’t use axes."

Simon sighed. "What can you use?"

"Staves, mostly," Eli replied, searching through his inventory.

A wild look flared in Simon’s eyes as he extended his hand, waving for Eli to pass the weapon to him.

"Are you sure?" Eli asked.

"I have to get out of here now," he insisted. "Give it to me."

"Well… okay," Eli said, handing the axe over.

Simon accepted the axe, raising it above his head. In the cramped position, he struggled to get a full swing, but his strong shoulder and arm drove the axe down into the bracelet. The blade sliced through the metal and into Simon’s hand, leaving a long, deep gash. Beneath the muscle and tendons, Eli caught a glimpse of pale bone.

Simon whimpered as the bracelet slid off, and Eli immediately reached out to heal him, restoring his hand.

They had done it. They’d slipped their bonds.

Now it was time to escape the pit.