My spirit’s caution intensified, the heavy feeling nearly crushing down on my shoulders. When it didn’t abate after our plan was set, I sent a prayer inward, hoping they heard it.

There’s no other option. Even if we tried to run, we’d end up like the ones who barricaded themselves. This isn’t optimal, but we’ll make it work. Please, help where you can.

The pressure eased slightly, the closest I'd get to the spirit’s approval. I refocused as Clover let the first stone fly. It struck one of the largest crystals on the scorpion’s leg, shattering it on impact.

The scorpion shrieked, an explosion of fire rolling outward, scorching the walls and floor. I stood firm between it and Clover, braced for its next attack. Thankfully, the fire stayed within a five-foot radius of the scorpion.

Clover, already loading another stone, hummed. “The blast doesn’t cover much ground, but it's hot enough to scorch stone. I’ll start taking out all the crystals.” She glanced at me, worried. “I’ll make sure to destroy them when you’re out of range, but be careful. It might be able to detonate them at will. And I don’t like how its stinger is glowing either…”

I hefted my sword. “I noticed. Thank you for your concern, but I’ll be fine. Just focus on destroying those crystals.”

Her concern lingered before fading into determination. “Right.” She aimed, waiting for the fire to die down enough to see the scorpion again. Smoke curled off the walls and floor, its armor glowing an angry orange as it tensed, ready to charge.

Clover launched the second stone, and I watched it strike another crystal. It shattered, and this time, the scorpion wasn’t content to stay still. Fire twined around his body, following the veins covering its shell. Power from the shattered crystal built around it, adding to the twining fire, and once it was too bright to look at, the scorpion lunged at me.

“Frederick!” Clover’s call echoed through the dungeon, nearly inaudible over the roaring flames. I couldn’t afford even a minute of distraction. Focusing on the charging scorpion, I jumped away from Clover and waited.

Power built in the stinger, its tip pulsing with ribbons of fire. Not even my armor would hold against that. I needed it to hit something else…and get out of the blast range afterward.

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The scorpion cleared the room in a single bound, towering over me. Crazed red eyes were feet away, boring into me. When its stinger struck, I spun on my heel, dodging at the last second. Heat scorched through my armor where its limb brushed me, but no pain followed. The sharp point dug deeply into the stone, its glow intensifying.

I ran, aiming for Clover. She stood on the side, hand raised with magic built in her palm and her expression twisted with worry.

The scorpion was smart enough to look for cracks in my armor; I couldn’t risk leaving her undefended. I was halfway there when the explosion went off, the sheer power launching me forward. Blinding light bathed the room in a reddish-orange glow, but I paid it no mind. The pain ripping through my back took priority.

Heat scalded through my armor, the heavy metal working against me as blisters formed wherever it touched. The burst knocked me to my knees yards away from Clover, but she quickly closed the distance.

“By the spirit’s hairy ball sacs, no wonder the party barricaded themselves. This thing is a monster.” She kept one eye on the slowly dimming scorpion while she moved to help me up. Before she could touch my armor, I caught her wrist with a strained hiss.

“Careful, the metal is scalding.”

She hovered her palm over it, flinching. “Your back must be a mess. My healing won’t be as effective through the armor, but it’ll have to do until you can take it off for me.”

Through the pain, a bubble of hysterical amusement surfaced. “I thought we agreed not to do such things until we got the herb?”

Clover snorted. “Why does your humor only show itself when you’re injured? Is this some kind of thing for you?” Magic seeped from her hand into my back, easing the fiery burning bit by bit. I rolled my shoulders, testing the tender skin, and nodded.

“Better to laugh than cry. I couldn’t tell you how many times Samson set my hair on fire when he was first learning magic. If I’d broken down, all five of them would have dropped into hysterics.”

I glanced at the scorpion. The fire was nearly gone, which meant we didn’t have long. Ignoring the lingering pain, I straightened. “We need to deal with that stinger immediately. It absorbed the blast from the crystal and concentrated it into a single strike. That isn’t survivable.”

Clover considered the scorpion. “I won’t break another crystal until the stinger is handled; it’s too risky. If you lure it over here, we might be able to break its tail off, but we need to be careful. I don’t like being in close quarters with it.”

The fire finally cleared from around the scorpion. When I saw the chunk of missing wall where the stinger had been embedded, an idea formed.

“There’s no need for that. I have a plan.”